Hissyspit
Hissyspit's JournalU.S. Air Force Stops Reporting Data on Afghanistan Drone Strikes
Source: Reuters
U.S. Air Force stops reporting data on Afghanistan drone strikes
Sun Mar 10, 2013 5:17am EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With debate intensifying in the United States over the use of drone aircraft, the U.S. military said on Sunday that it had removed data about air strikes carried out by unmanned planes in Afghanistan from its monthly air power summaries.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Afghanistan war, said in a statement the data had been removed because it was "disproportionately focused" on the use of weapons by the remotely piloted aircraft as it was published only when strikes were carried out - which happened during only 3 percent of sorties. Most missions were for reconnaissance, it said.
The debate over the use of drones in Afghanistan and elsewhere was triggered in part by U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to nominate his chief counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan, an architect of the drone campaign, as the new director of the CIA.
The Air Force Times said air force chiefs had started posting the drone data last October in an attempt to provide more detail on the use of drones in Afghanistan.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE92903520130310
Italy Court Sentences Berlusconi to 1 Year Jail in Wiretap Trial
Source: Reuters
@Reuters: Italy court sentences Berlusconi to 1 year in jail in wiretap trial: judge says in court #breaking
@BreakingNews: Former Italian PM Berlusconi sentenced to 1 year in prison; won't serve time until all appeals complete
Italy court sentences Berlusconi to 1 year jail in wiretap trial
Thu Mar 7, 2013 6:10am EST
MILAN (Reuters) - An Italian court on Thursday sentenced former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to a one-year jail term for making public the taped contents of a confidential phone call in a case related to a 2005 banking scandal.
The sentence, which was read in court by the judge, came as Berlusconi is facing two other trials for alleged tax fraud and paying for sex with an underage prostitute.
Prosecutors in the wiretap case had asked for a one-year jail term for the media tycoon.
Berlusconi, who has denied any wrongdoing, can seek to have the decision overturned before a court of appeal.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9260FG20130307
North Korea Vows to Cancel Korean War Cease-Fire Amid Talk of New Sanctions
Source: CBS News
North Korea vows to cancel Korean War cease-fire amid talk of new sanctions, continued U.S. military drills
March 05, 2013
SEOUL, South Korea North Korea is vowing to cancel the 1953 Korean War cease-fire because of sanctions and ongoing U.S.-South Korean joint military drills.
North Korea's Korean People's Army Supreme Command made the statement Tuesday amid reports that Washington and North Korean ally Beijing have approved a draft of punishing resolutions that is expected to be circulated among U.N. Security Council members this week.
North Korea's latest nuclear test on Feb. 12 was its third. The United States and others worry that North Korea is pushing closer toward its goal of having nuclear-armed missiles that can reach America.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57572520/north-korea-vows-to-cancel-korean-war-cease-fire-amid-talk-of-new-sanctions-continued-u.s-military-drills
Tom Tomorrow: The New Improved Republican Party (Keep It Up, GOP)
Daily Kos Link: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/03/04/1190743/-New-and-improved
Support independent cartooning: join Sparky's List!
British Inquiry Shown Graphic Evidence of Iraq Torture
Source: Reuters
British inquiry shown graphic evidence of Iraq torture
By Estelle Shirbon
Mon Mar 4, 2013 9:19am EST
LONDON (Reuters) - A public inquiry in London into allegations that British soldiers killed, mutilated and tortured Iraqi detainees after a battle in southern Iraq was shown gruesome photographs of bloodied corpses on Monday.
The Al-Sweady Inquiry, ordered by the British government in 2009 to get to the bottom of disputed events in the aftermath of the battle of Danny Boy on May 14, 2004, began oral hearings after three years of exhaustive detective work.
The allegations are that soldiers captured a number of Iraqis during fighting near the Danny Boy checkpoint, about 5 km (three miles) from the town of Majar al-Kabir, and took them to the Camp Abu Naji base, where some were murdered and others tortured.
The military denies any unlawful killings or ill-treatment in the aftermath of the battle.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9230KC20130304
Report: Miracle Baby Dies After NYC Hit-And-Run
Source: CBS News
Report: Miracle baby dies after NYC hit-and-run
March 04, 2013
NEW YORK A newborn baby boy who was delivered by emergency cesarean section after his parents were killed in a horrific hit-and-run crash in New York City has died, reports CBS station WCBS-TV.
The baby's death was confirmed by community leader Isaac Abraham.
The boy, who only weighed four pounds, died early Monday morning as police continue to search for the driver of a BMW and a passenger who fled the scene of the crash.
Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, were looking forward to welcoming their first child into their tight-knit Orthodox community.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57572313/report-miracle-baby-dies-after-nyc-hit-and-run
Breaking: Obama Signs Sequestration Order to Begin $85 Billion in Spending Cuts
Source: CBS News
Pres Obama has now signed the sequestration order putting in place $85 bil in automatic spending cuts.
by Steve Holland via twitter 8:41 PM
Obama signs order to begin spending cuts
March 01, 2013
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama has signed an order authorizing the government to begin cutting $85 billion from federal accounts, officially enacting across-the-board reductions that he opposed but failed to avert.
Obama acted Friday, the deadline for the president and Congress to avoid the steep, one-year cuts.
Obama has insisted on replacing the cuts, known as a "sequester" in government budget language, with tax increases and cuts spread out over time. Republicans have rejected any plan that included tax revenue.
The government says the reductions will soon result in furlough notices to government employees and will trim government spending on defense contracts and in domestic government programs. Active military personnel and anti-poverty and low-income assistance programs are largely protected from the cuts.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57572184/obama-signs-order-to-begin-spending-cuts
Texas School Employee Shot in Gun Safety Class
http://www.salon.com/2013/02/28/texas_school_employee_shot_in_gun_safety_classTHURSDAY, FEB 28, 2013 6:32 PM UTC
Texas school employee shot in gun safety class
In a district-sponsored workshop on arming school, an employee is accidentally wounded
BY NATASHA LENNARD
A Texas public school employee was accidentally shot and wounded during a district-sponsored handgun safety class. According to local news sources KLTV and the Tyler Morning Telegraph, maintenance worker Glenn Geddie was accidentally shot after a training session aimed toward arming employees.
A statement from the district superintendent read:
At the conclusion of the CHL training on February 27, 2013, one certified person stayed for private instruction with the instructor and had a mechanical malfunction with his weapon. With the assistance of the instructor, the malfunction was addressed, but the gun misfired and the bullet ricocheted coming back to strike the VISD employee in the left leg. The VISD employee was attended to at the scene and transferred to Tyler for further treatment. The injury is not life threatening or disabling. Because of privacy and security issues we cannot make any further statement.
The accident will not affect the district’s decision, in light of the Sandy Hook massacre and other school shootings, to arm employees. Since the Connecticut shooting, a number of school districts nationwide have moved to arm teachers and school employees either by pushing for a legislation shifts on concealed weapons in schools, or, as in one Michigan township, by training school employees as volunteer reserve police officers, enabling them to carry concealed arms.
Profile Information
Member since: Fri Nov 12, 2004, 08:39 AMNumber of posts: 45,788
