Best Chinese Government Whistleblowers: Mistresses

What do Chinese government whistleblowers have in common with Marilyn Monroe, Gennifer Flowers, Camilla Parker Bowles, Lucy Mercer, and Monica Lewinsky? That’s correct; they are all mistresses. Many mistresses of government officials in China are causing an upheaval with revelations destroying the officials’ careers. by William Bigelow 11 Jun 2013

Obama Admin Considering Lethal Weapons For Syrian Opposition

Obama administration officials are meeting this week to decide if its time for the U.S. to arm rebels in Syria with lethal weapons.  by AWR Hawkins 11 Jun 2013

Turkey's Secular Riot

While superficially similar, the protests in Istanbul's Taksim Square are quite different from those in Cairo's Tahrir Square, which brought down Hosni Mubarak's regime in 2011. In Turkey, the Islamist party is already in power; in Cairo it had been suppressed for decades. The protests are a backlash of the secular, liberal and urban Turkey that hearkens back to Kemal Atatürk for inspiration, and forward to Europe in its aspirations. by Joel B. Pollak 11 Jun 2013

Francis Reportedly Confirms 'Gay Lobby' in Vatican

Pope Francis has confirmed there is a "gay lobby" inside the Vatican, a Catholic website reported. from UPI 11 Jun 2013

Discovered Manual Suggests al-Qaida Has Feared Surface-to-Air Missiles

The 26-page document in Arabic, recovered by The Associated Press in a building that had been occupied by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in Timbuktu, strongly suggests the group now possesses the SA-7 surface-to-air missile, known to the Pentagon as the Grail, according to terrorism specialists. from AP 11 Jun 2013

U.S Intelligence Sabotages Al-Qaeda Magazine

The U.S. intelligence community is doing something about al-Qaeda’s Inspire magazine; they’re sabotaging it. The magazine, which offers first-person accounts of terrorist acts, inspirational messages for jihadists, and do-it-yourself advice, which accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev confessed gave him and his brother Tamerlan the information to build the pressure-cooker bombs they used, has been targeted by various methods. by William Bigelow 11 Jun 2013

Corpse Found in Russian Airplane After 7 Flights

If you’re dead, try to avoid flying Russian airlines. That’s the message after a Russian airplane, iFly Airbus A330-300, made seven flights with a corpse in its wheel well. The man’s body went undiscovered until maintenance crews noticed blood stains on the landing gear; he died from freezing to death, attempting to fly without a ticket, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee. by Breitbart News 11 Jun 2013

Benghazi Attackers Still on the Loose

With all the attention going to the multitude of scandals swirling around the Obama administration right now, some may not have noticed that the Benghazi terrorists are still on the loose. by AWR Hawkins 11 Jun 2013

Obama Admin Considers Resettling Thousands of Syrian Refugees in U.S.

The Obama administration is considering resettling thousands of refugees who left Syria during the country's ongoing civil war to multiple towns and cities across the United States, the L.A. Times reports. by Kerry Picket 11 Jun 2013

Fort Hood Suspect Expected to Argue Shooting Was in Defense of Taliban

Accused Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal Hasan is expected to tell a military judge on Tuesday how he plans to argue he was protecting the Taliban when he opened fire on dozens of people at the facility in 2009. from REUTERS 11 Jun 2013

Double Suicide Bomb Attack in Central Damascus

Two suicide bombers struck the heart of the Syrian capital Tuesday morning, causing an unknown number of casualties, said official television channel Al-Ikhbariya. from AFP 11 Jun 2013

Nepal Court Orders Passport Change for Transgenders

Nepal's Supreme Court has ordered the government to alter passports so that transgenders no longer have to describe themselves as male or female, a court spokesman said, a move welcomed by rights activists. from AFP 11 Jun 2013

Mandela Spends Fourth Day in Hospital

Former South African President Nelson Mandela is spending a fourth day in a hospital, where he is being treated for a recurring lung infection. from AP 11 Jun 2013

Toll from Iraq Carnage Rises to 73 Dead

A wave of attacks mostly targeting security forces in Sunni areas of Iraq killed at least 73 people, officials said on Tuesday, updating the toll from the violence a day earlier. from AFP 11 Jun 2013

Russian Parliament to Vote on Anti-Gay Bill

A dozen activists have been detained in Moscow as they were protesting a bill that stigmatizes the gay community and penalizes dissemination of information about them. from AP 11 Jun 2013

Germany Uses Special Label to Target Israeli Products

The German government of Angela Merkel has approved of a plan to put special labels on products made by Jews in the Israeli land of Judea and Samaria. Germany joins 13 other EU members in adopting this practice. by William Bigelow 11 Jun 2013

Taliban Beheads 10-Year-Old Boy

The Taliban beheaded two boys, one 10-year-old and one 16-year-old, after the Taliban charged them with spying. The boys were rummaging among rubbish bins near police headquarters in Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second city, a vital base for Western forces. Grabbed by the Taliban, they were accused of trading the food for information. by William Bigelow 11 Jun 2013

EU Won't Acknowledge Funding NGO's Leading Sanctions Against Israel

In a new report released by the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor data indicates that NGO’s funded by the European Union have been leading the campaigns to target Israel through boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) actions. by William Bigelow 11 Jun 2013

World View: Russia Considers Putting Troops on Israel-Syria Border

Russia is considering putting Russian troops into the Golan Heights on the Israel-Syria border as peacekeepers. Russia made the suggestion last week after the Austrians announced that they would pull their troops out of the U.N. peacekeeping force, but the U.N. rejected the suggested because of a 1974 agreement between Syria and Israel that no permanent members of the U.N. Security Council could serve there as peacekeepers. by John J. Xenakis 11 Jun 2013

Wikileaks' Assange in Touch with Edward Snowden

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange called whistleblower Edward Snowden "a hero" and says he has been in indirect contact with the ex-CIA employee who exposed a vast US surveillance programme. from AFP 10 Jun 2013

U.S. Has Given Afghan Army More than $1 Billion in Ammo

A new oversight report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction shows that the U.S. government has provided the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) over $1 billion worth of U.S. taxpayer funded ammunition. by AWR Hawkins 10 Jun 2013

Interview: Geert Wilders and the 'Islamicization' of Europe

Following his provocative lecture on the "European Spring" to a conference of the American Freedom Alliance in Los Angeles on Sunday, I sat down with Dutch political leader Geert Wilders, who leads a party that demands an end to immigration from Islamic nations and advocates leaving the European Union.  by Joel B. Pollak 10 Jun 2013

NSA Leaker: China Not America's Enemy

Edward Snowden, the 29-year old who blew the whistle on the NSA's surveillance programs, claims that China is not an enemy of the United States. by Tony Lee 10 Jun 2013

Air Force Bans Personnel from Reading News Stories Reporting NSA Scandal

The Air Force's 624th Operations Center sent an e-mail with a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) that prohibits them from accessing and reading news stories related to the current National Security Agency snooping controversy on the Air Force’s NIPRNET (Non-Secure Internet Protocol Router Network) systems. by Kerry Picket 10 Jun 2013

Two Koreas Strike Cautious Accord on High-Level Talks

North and South Korea reached a patchy agreement to hold a high-level meeting in Seoul, following marathon talks aimed at rebuilding trust after months of soaring tension and threats of nuclear war. from AFP 10 Jun 2013

Pressure on N. Zealand to Save World's Rarest Dolphin

New Zealand is facing pressure to save the world's rarest dolphin at an international scientific meeting underway this week in what conservationists say is a test of the nation's "clean, green" credentials. from AFP 10 Jun 2013

All 7 Militants Dead at End of Kabul Airport Attack

All seven militants who launched an attack Monday on Kabul airport died in the assault, Afghan police said, adding that no civilian and security force casualties had yet been reported. from AFP 10 Jun 2013

Three Dead in Attack on NATO Convoy in Pakistan

Militants attacked NATO supply trucks in northwest Pakistan with guns and mortars, killing at least three drivers and wounding six others, officials said. from AFP 10 Jun 2013

Mandela Still in Hospital in Serious Condition

The South African government says former President Nelson Mandela's condition remains serious but stable, his third day in a Pretoria hospital. from AP 10 Jun 2013

Global Carbon Emissions Hit Record High in 2012

China led a rise in global carbon dioxide emissions to a record high in 2012, more than offsetting falls in the United States and Europe, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday. from REUTERS 10 Jun 2013

World View: The Deafening Silence Following the Xi/Obama Summit

Prior to the two-day meeting of China's president Xi Jinping and U.S. president Barack Obama, both of them bubbled with enthusiasm, and talked about a "new model" of cooperation between China and the U.S. Now that's it's over, a U.S. official has described it as "unique, positive and constructive." by John J. Xenakis 10 Jun 2013

Afghanistan's Kabul Rocked by Militant Attack

Militants launched a suicide attack on Kabul shortly after dawn, police said, with loud explosions and gunfire heard near the Afghan capital's airport. from AFP 9 Jun 2013

Afghan Parliament Blocks Ban on Child Marriage

Although Afghan President Hamid Karzi supported a new body of laws which banned violence against women, the Afghan legislature has rejected the laws on the grounds that parts of them "violate Islamic principles." by AWR Hawkins 9 Jun 2013

Will UN Ambassador Samantha Power Legitimize Anti-US/Israel Richard Falk?

What do Samantha Power, Obama’s nominee for UN Ambassador, and Richard Falk, UN Human Rights Council “expert” and Boston terror apologist, have in common? They both champion the United Nations’ human rights credentials and denigrate those of the United States. by Anne Bayefsky 9 Jun 2013

China Loans U.S. Neighbors Billions for Oil Development

China will loan Venezuela $4 billion and Mexico $1 billion for oil development. by Wynton Hall 9 Jun 2013

The Two-Front Forever War

So which should we be more afraid of? The US Government and its scandalous--even tyrannous--intrusions on our finances and privacy? Or foreign enemies with their explosives, cyber-weapons, and nukes? by Hamilton 9 Jun 2013

Death Toll from Benghazi Clashes Rises to 31

At least 25 people were killed and 70 wounded in clashes in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Saturday between protesters, eventually backed by government forces, and a militia operating with Defence Ministry approval, a doctor said. from REUTERS 9 Jun 2013

Hardliner Tipped to be India Opposition Frontman

Controversial opposition politician Narendra Modi's chances of becoming India's next prime minister could get a major boost later Sunday when his party chooses its frontman for next year's general elections. from AFP 9 Jun 2013

Japan PM Hints at Tax-Hike Delay

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said an upper-house election will take place on July 21 and voiced the possibility of delaying a consumption tax hike scheduled for next year if the economy remains weak. from AFP 9 Jun 2013

Karzai Orders Britain to Hand over Detainees

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has demanded that all detainees being held by British forces in the restive south be handed over within two weeks, saying that holding prisoners any longer would be a violation of sovereignty. from AFP 9 Jun 2013

Cambodians Hold Mass Protest over Khmer Rouge Prison Denial

About 10,000 Cambodians protested in the capital Phnom Penh to show their anger at an opposition leader who allegedly described a notorious Khmer Rouge prison as a Vietnamese invention. from AFP 9 Jun 2013

Baghdad Suicide Car Bomb Kills Six

A suicide car bomb targeting a Baghdad police station killed six people on Sunday, the latest in a string of bombings and attacks that have revived fears of all-out sectarian war in Iraq. from AFP 9 Jun 2013

2 Koreas Talk in Border Village After Tensions

Government delegates from North and South Korea began preparatory talks Sunday at a "truce village" on their heavily armed border aimed at setting ground rules for a higher-level discussion on easing animosity and restoring stalled rapprochement projects. from AP 9 Jun 2013

Pope Francis Warns of 'Culture of Waste,' Disposable Human Beings

Pope Francis spoke to a general audience in Rome on Wednesday- which also happened to be World Environment Day- about the “culture of waste.” by Dr. Susan Berry 9 Jun 2013

Soldier Faces Punishment for 'NOBAMA' Bumper Sticker, Reading David Limbaugh

Master Sergeant Nathan Sommers is a 25-year Army veteran facing "retribution and punishment" for having a "NOBAMA" bumper sticker on his car and for reading David Limbaugh's The Great Destroyer privately backstage at a U.S. Army band concert. by AWR Hawkins 9 Jun 2013

World View: Obama, China's Xi Jinping Endorse New Cooperative Relationship

Saying that his meeting with China's president Xi Jinping was "terrific," President Barack Obama met with the Chinese leader for several hours on Friday and Saturday. Prior to the meeting, both leaders endorsed a "new model" of U.S.-China cooperation. by John J. Xenakis 9 Jun 2013

'Combat Devotions': A Soldier's Source of Strength Under Fire

Amidst the recent controversy over Pentagon religious policy and the potential court-martialing of service members who share their faith, it is extremely important to understand the power of faith when faced with the unspeakable realities of war. by Christopher Burton 8 Jun 2013

Obama Ordered List of Foreign Targets for Cyberwar Attack

The Guardian has uncovered a Presidential Policy Directive in which Obama ordered national security and intelligence officials to compile a list of overseas targets for U.S. cyber attacks. by AWR Hawkins 8 Jun 2013

Car Bomb in Baghdad Shiite Area Kills Four

A car bomb explosion in a majority Shiite area of the Iraqi capital killed four people on Saturday, medical and security officials said. from AFP 8 Jun 2013

NATO Troops Killed in Afghan 'Insider Attack'

A man wearing an Afghan uniform shot dead three NATO-led soldiers on Saturday in the east of the country, the international coalition said, in the latest apparent example of an "insider attack". from AFP 8 Jun 2013

South Africa: Mandela Taken to Hospital

Former South African President Nelson Mandela is in "serious but stable" condition after being taken to a hospital to be treated for a lung infection, the government said Saturday, prompting an outpouring of concern from admirers of a man who helped to end white racist rule. from AP 8 Jun 2013

Obama: US, China in 'Uncharted Waters' on Cybersecurity

The United States and China are in "uncharted waters" as they tackle the contentious issue of cybersecurity, President Barack Obama said following the opening round of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit in the California desert. from AP 8 Jun 2013

French Geographers Publish Global Atlas on Sexuality

Where are people most unfaithful? Who uses sex toys? On a darker level, where is child rape more prevalent? French geographers have tried to answer these questions and others in a global atlas on sexuality. from AFP 8 Jun 2013

Russia TV 'Pulls Show' Over Putin Divorce Joke

Russian state television has pulled a show over a joke about President Vladimir Putin's surprise divorce announcement, one of its presenters said Saturday. from AFP 8 Jun 2013

World View: UN Rejects Russian 'Peacekeepers' for Israel-Syria Border

There was a bit of humor on Friday, when Russia's president Vladimir Putin offered Russian troops to replace the Austrian troops that are pulling out of the peacekeeping force on the border between Syria and Israel because it's become too dangerous there, as we reported yesterday. by John J. Xenakis 8 Jun 2013

China Province Bans Metal Bra Clamps for Entrance Exams

More than nine million students packed exam halls across China for the opening day of the country's university entrance exam on Friday -- with attempts to stop cheating even leading to bans on metal bra clasps. from AFP 8 Jun 2013

Kerry 'Quietly' Approved $1.3 Billion in 'Military Aid' to Egyptian Government

Reuters is reporting that Secretary of State John Kerry "quietly acted last month to give Egypt $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid." by AWR Hawkins 7 Jun 2013

Benghazi II? Beirut Embassy 'Fails to Meet Security Protocols'

Three decades after 63 people were killed in a bombing there, the U.S. embassy in Beirut is not classified as "high threat," even though Lebanon as a whole is listed as "critical," Hezbollah has a strong presence near it, and the embassy itself "fails to meet security protocols." Eight months after Benghazi, with the administration insisting it has learned its lesson going forward, nothing seems to have changed. by AWR Hawkins 7 Jun 2013

165 Imprisoned as Slaves by Cartel Rescued One Mile from US Border

Mexican troops have rescued 165 people who were purchased and kept as slaves by a Mexican drug cartel. The adults, children, and pregnant women had been kept in Mexico less than one mile from the U.S. border. by Brandon Darby 7 Jun 2013

Church Schools in Gaza Face Closure with Hamas Order for Gender Segregation

Five church schools in Gaza are facing closure by the Hamas government if it follows through with an order forbidding co-educational institutions. by Dr. Susan Berry 7 Jun 2013

GOP Rep: Atheist Chaplains Would Describe Slain Soldiers as 'Worm Food'

As atheists push for chaplain positions within the military, Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) and others within the House of Representatives ask why the family of a solider KIA would want to be told their son or daughter is now "worm food"? by AWR Hawkins 7 Jun 2013

Amendments Protecting Soldiers' Religious Rights Approved by Committee

Congress is taking action on religious liberty in the military, a story that was originally reported by Breitbart News. New legal language passed a key committee this week and next goes to the full House and then the Senate; it could become federal law later this year. by Ken Klukowski 7 Jun 2013

Report: U.S. Conducts Test to Destroy Underground Iranian Nuke Facilities

Reports indicate the Pentagon recently conducted tests in which advanced bunker buster bombs were used to destroy a replica of an Iranian underground nuclear facility. by AWR Hawkins 7 Jun 2013

Why Collect So Much Information if Obama Refuses to Use It Against Terror?

Yesterday America learned that the U.S. government is gathering information on our phone calls and can follow our every keystroke. We are reassured that the information is to stop terrorists. And yet the government fails to stop terrorists when it has information about them, because President Barack Obama refuses to understand that our enemy is radical Islam and the agencies he directs follow his disastrous lead. by Joel B. Pollak 7 Jun 2013

Turkey PM Urges End to Protests

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an immediate end to mass protests against his rule Friday but urged supporters to "go home" after they staged a major show of strength welcoming him home from an overseas trip. from AFP 7 Jun 2013

UK's Prince Philip Faces Exploratory Surgery

Britain's Prince Philip is facing exploratory abdominal surgery after being admitted to a London hospital. from AP 7 Jun 2013

World Stocks Fall Ahead of US Jobs Report

World stock markets fell Friday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a key U.S. jobs report later in the day. from AP 7 Jun 2013

World View: Austria Quits U.N. Peacekeeping Force on Syria-Israel Border

The entire United Nations peacekeeping effort in the Golan Heights on the border between Syria and Israel is in jeopardy after Austria's announcement that it's withdrawing its 380 troops from 1,000 member force, because the peacekeepers' lives are in danger. by John J. Xenakis 7 Jun 2013