“It makes no sense to undertake commitments or deploy U.S. military forces in a manner that could trap the United States in wars unrelated to vital American interests. Yet that is what U.S. policymakers have done for decades and continue to do.”
“Many of the heavily-armed activists who flocked to the scene feared that the FBI snipers had a license to kill the Bundys. Their reaction cannot be understood without considering a landmark 1990s case that continues to shape millions of Americans’ attitude towards Washington: the federal killings and coverups at Ruby Ridge.”
“ELUCD uses location (tracking) technology to ask citizens questions like “do you feel safe in your neighborhood? Do you trust the police? Are you confident in the New York Police Department? 24 hours a day 7 days a week. One should assume that law enforcement is using ELUCD’s data to identify individual cell phone users. As Tech Crunch revealed, the NYPD is keeping all the data they collect a secret. ELUCD hopes that police departments across the country will use ELUCD to gauge people’s sentiments.”
Read more: https://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2018/01/police-are-using-50000-apps-to.html
“Retired Army lieutenant colonel Thomas Lesnieski, who was involved with the production of the film, says that in order to ‘make sure that the way the military is portrayed is done right,’ changes were made to the script of Pitch Perfect 3 after the film enlisted ‘DoD support’.”
“In Iraq, a population that numbered more than a million in the 1990s dwindled to less than a third of that in the wake of the US-led invasion and removal of the secular government of Saddam Hussein. In Syria, under threat since 2011 by Salafist groups armed and funded by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and other countries – the US shamefully included – Christians seemed to be facing a similar fate.”
Read more: https://www.rt.com/op-edge/415047-syria-christmas-russia-vatican/
“A Gulfstream jet from a quiet airport south-east of Raleigh flew captives to be tortured around the world. The government failed to act but local people have refused to let the issue die.”
“America’s war on terror has spread to 76 countries, as shown below. This metastasizing of ‘counterterror’ efforts is truly paradoxical: the more the U.S. military works to stop terror, the more terror spreads.”
Read more: https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2018/01/05/the-war-on-terror-the-globalization-of-perpetual-war/
“Tillerson once again reiterated the US desire to eventually see President Bashar al Assad removed from power while also pledging US commitment to staying in Syria in order to counter Iran’s influence in the region. Ultimately, according to Tillerson, ‘the United States will remain in Syria’ until certain conditions are met which include the complete destruction of ISIS, Assad’s removal from power, and the return of refugees to a stabilized country.”
“Contradiction has become the norm for US foreign policy over the past many years – an observation that is clear to anyone even remotely paying attention. On Tuesday the US State Department spokesperson was asked during the daily press briefing about the obvious contradiction inherent in US ally and NATO member Turkey shelling US-backed Kurdish forces in Afrin – the Kurdish held zone in northwest Syria near the Turkish border.”
“Despite the PKK being listed as a terrorist group by the U.S., European Union, and U.K., the U.S.-led coalition supports the PYD and YPG as the most effective partner against Daesh, overlooking their proven links with the PKK.”