government

Kurdish protests over referendum continue

The current count is 80 people wounded and five dead in Iraqi Kurdistan as a result of massive protests held in response to a denial for independence after September’s referendum vote. Kurdish citizens predominantly voted in favor of cession from the Iraqi government and Baghdad’s stranglehold on Kurdistan’s economy, but Iraq responded swiftly with the […]

The Karen and the Burmese Army: an insider’s perspective

Fighting between the Karen people and the Burmese (Myanmar) government dates back to World War II.  I went for a trip into the jungles of Burma to meet with the Karen people back in 2015, and it was quite the profound experience. The conflict between the Burmese and its surrounding ethnic minorities has been described […]

America first? US government pledges 91 million dollars to Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — The United States will provide an additional $91 million in humanitarian aid for Ethiopia to cope with a third straight year of drought, the top U.S. official in charge of assistance said Thursday. The extra funding brings U.S. aid for food and medical care in Ethiopia to $454 million this year, said […]

Syrian government denies U.S. accusation of crematorium at prison

The Syrian government on Tuesday denied U.S. accusations that a crematorium had been built at one of its prisons that could be used to dispose of detainees’ remains. A foreign ministry statement published by state news agency SANA said the U.S. administration had come out with “a new Hollywood story detached from reality” by alleging […]

What if terrorists got their hands on explosives and a drone?

Our air traffic control system successfully monitors thousands of aircraft per day. Yet, no such system for monitoring drones exists, yet. And UAVs are not required to report their location, as aircraft does. Even so, drones are quickly becoming ubiquitous in our society, making it less likely for us to know if the flier has ill intentions, until it’s too late. A group of no-goodniks could easily fly an explosive-laden drone, or half a dozen of them, into an office building, a park, city square, or even a stadium full of spectators.

Iraq to the Peshmerga: “Back down or else!”

With the soup sandwich that is the conflict in Syria ramping up, no one seems to be watching the ISIS presence in Iraq get snuffed out. The Iraqi government is watching however and they have a close eye on where their borders currently are. Their message to the Kurds was very clear last month; return […]

Double standard for Muslims forces counterterrorism official to quit

Muslim officers working for London’s Metropolitan Police were often racist toward white officers. But few people take seriously the claim that a minority can be racist against a non-minority. What’s often called “reverse racism” is dismissed as being racist itself. The conversation, it would seem, is closed on this issue. Only whites can be racist. If minorities have negative views of whites, it must be because of their history of oppression.

U.S. intelligence challenges for our next Commander-in-Chief

Why is this important? The intelligence community deals with such a large amount of data, you can’t always assume people who have the “need to know,” and who should have access to the data, have seen all of the available information on any topic. The challenge of the intelligence professional is to rapidly sort through all of the data in order to develop usable intelligence analysis, enabling decision makers and warfighters to make informed decisions. Depending on the scenario, these decisions sometimes have to be made within minutes. Sometimes seconds.

Think of someone shoving you into a room filled with thousands of puzzle pieces, and then telling you to put it together in a few hours.

DNI rejected national security damage assessment of Clinton emails as required by 2014 law

Angelo Codevilla, a former intelligence officer and former Senate Intelligence Committee staff member, said FBI Director James Comey’s “vague and evasive” comments regarding Clinton’s handling of classified information confirm that she compromised a significant number of secrets.

“Common sense, the intelligence community’s standard practice, as well as a 2014 directive, require assessing the damage done by any such compromise,” Codevilla said. “The DNI’s refusal to conduct such an assessment, even more than the FBI director’s obfuscation, shows that U.S. intelligence agencies have been reduced to mere political arms of the Democratic Party.”

Rep. Mike Pompeo, Kansas Republican and member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, wants the DNI to do a formal damage assessment.

How did a nuclear warhead end up lying in a ditch in Arkansas?

 The Damascus incident isn’t the only accident recounted in the movie, or the most frightening. In 1961 a nuclear-armed bomber broke apart over Goldsboro, North Carolina. One of the bombs was saved from going off by a single safety switch, of the kind you use to turn your lights on and off. And then there were the false alarms that almost led the United States or the Soviet Union to launch an all-out nuclear attack. In researching his book, Schlosser obtained a never-before released government assessment that revealed that between 1950 and 1968 alone there had been over 1,000 accidents, large and small, involving nuclear weapons.

Watch: Veteran fights to get life back after maddening false allegations

“Our country says you’re innocent until proven guilty but the reality is if your brought up on charges we automatically assume you’re guilty,” Sabino said.

The day after Smith learned of the indictment, he claims UT suspended him without pay, eventually ending his career as a “termination.”