UN demands prosecution of Bush-era CIA crimes

Breaking: President Hugo Chávez Dies After Battle with Cancer 05 Mar 2013 President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela died Tuesday afternoon after a long battle with cancer, the government announced, leaving behind a bitterly divided nation in the grip of a [CIA-engendered] political crisis that grew more acute as he languished for weeks, silent and out of sight in hospitals in Havana and Caracas. His departure from a country he dominated for 14 years casts into doubt the future of his socialist revolution. It alters the political balance in Venezuela, the fourth-largest foreign oil supplier to the United States, and in Latin America, where Mr. Chávez led a group of nations intent on reducing American influence in the region.

Breaking: Record High Close for Dow, Spurred by Fed and Profits 05 Mar 2013 The stock market is back at a record high. The Dow Jones industrial average, which measures the performance of 30 blue-chip companies, closed with a gain of more than 125 points Tuesday, surpassing its previous record close of 14,164.53, which it achieved nearly five and a half years ago, as well as its record intraday high, set around the same time, of 14,198.10. Since a low point in March 2009, the Dow Jones index has more than doubled, stunning even the most seasoned stock market watchers. It closed at 14,253.77 Tuesday.

UN demands prosecution of Bush-era CIA crimes --The US has not prosecuted any of its agents for human rights violations. 04 Mar 2013 A United Nations investigator has demanded that the US publish classified documents regarding the CIA's human rights violations under former President [sic] George W. Bush, with hopes that the documents will lead to the prosecution of public officials. Documents about the CIA's program of rendition and secret detention of suspected terrorists have remained classified. UN investigator Ben Emmerson, the UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, said that the classified documents protect the names of individuals who are responsible for serious human rights violations.

DHS purchases 2,700 MRAPs to go with their 1.6 billion bullet stockpile 03 Mar 2013 According to one estimate, since last year the Department of Homeland Security has stockpiled more than 1.6 billion bullets, mainly .40 caliber and 9mm. DHS also purchased 2,700 Mine Resistant Armor Protected Vehicles (MRAPs). ...The MRAP featured in this video is was in Albuquerque, New Mexico for Law Enforcement Day which was held at a local area Target Store. This MRAP is stationed in El Paso, Texas at The Homeland Security Investigations Office.

Did Alitalia Pilot Spot a Drone Near JFK? 04 Mar 2013 A mystery in the sky over New York City on Monday got one commercial airline pilot's attention. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a report from the pilot, who claims he saw an unmanned or remote-controlled aircraft while on his final approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The pilot, who was at the controls of Alitalia Flight AZA 60, spotted what may have been a drone about four to five miles southeast of the airport at an altitude of 1,500 feet while on final approach to Runway 31 Right at about 1:15 p.m.

Press TV CEO blasts war on Iranian media 05 Mar 2013 The chief executive officer of Iran's English-language news network Press TV, Dr. Mohammad Sarafraz, has in an open letter lambasted the ongoing muzzling campaign embarked on by the Franco-Israeli chief of the European satellite provider Eutelsat against Iran’s media. The full text of the letter was made public on Tuesday.

Halliburton, KBR Burn Pit Suit Thrown Out by U.S. Judge 28 Feb 2013 Halliburton Co. and KBR Inc. are entitled to the same legal protection as U.S. armed forces when serving as military contractors, a judge ruled, dismissing claims over so-called burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. District Judge Roger Titus threw out 57 consolidated lawsuits against the companies brought mainly by military personnel who claim they suffered damaging health effects from exposure to the contractors' pits, where items including medical waste, paints and pesticides are burned in war zones.

Escort was paid to frame Robert Menendez and top Dem donor 04 Mar 2013 An escort who appeared on a video claiming that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) paid her for sex has told Dominican authorities that she was instead paid to make up the claims and has never met or seen the senator, according to court documents and two people briefed on her claim. The woman said a local lawyer had approached her and a fellow escort and asked them to help frame Menendez and a top donor, Salomon Melgen, according to affidavits obtained by The Washington Post. That lawyer has in turn identified a second Dominican lawyer who he said gave the woman a script and paid her to read the claims aloud.

Democrat protests exclusion of EPA, DOE from House E15 hearing 04 Mar 2013 Representatives from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy should have been invited to testify at a hearing examining potential problems from EPA's allowing gasoline with a 15% ethanol blend into the US market, the ranking minority member of a US House Science, Space, and Technology subcommittee suggested. Witnesses representing the Coordinating Research Council, American Automobile Association, and National Motorcycle Association all told the committee's Environment subcommittee that tests EPA asked DOE to conduct did not adequately address potential hazards of widespread E15 use. "Although I agree that EPA should not base decisions on incomplete information, neither should this committee," Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) said in her opening statement. Bonamici expressed concern that the American Petroleum Institute and automakers funded research being used to refute EPA's science leading up to its decision to grant E15 waivers.

U.S. and Russia Team Up in Bid to Aid Polar Bears 04 Mar 2013 Russia and the United States, two of the five countries where polar bears live, are now the main allies pushing for greater protection for the bears under a global treaty on endangered species, which is being reviewed this week at a conference in Bangkok. "It really seems that both countries were willing to put aside their differences in order to work together to help save the polar bear," said Jeffrey Flocken, North American regional director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The impetus for this shift may be the increasing danger to polar bears and the return to the presidency of [hero] Vladimir V. Putin, who often expresses his personal affection for wildlife and has declared 2013 to be the "Year of the Environment" in Russia. Mr. Putin, as prime minister, traveled to the Arctic in April 2010, and in one of his highly publicized encounters with animals he was photographed tagging a bear with a collar fitted with a global positioning device. He has taken a direct personal interest in government preservation programs and has scheduled a major conference on polar bears to take place in Moscow this fall.

Dow surpasses record high 05 Mar 2013 The Dow has never been higher. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 100 points early Tuesday, climbing to an all-time high. The Dow gained 103 points, or 0.8 percent, to 14,239 as of 10 a.m. ET, surpassing its previous record high of 14,198 set on Oct. 11, 2007. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 12 points, also 0.8 percent, to 1,538. The S&P is also within striking distance of its own record close of 1,565. The Nasdaq composite gained 32 points, or 1 percent, to 3,213.62.

Recovery in U.S. Is Lifting Profits, but Not Adding Jobs 04 Mar 2013 With the Dow Jones industrial average flirting with a record high, the split between American workers and the companies that employ them is widening and could worsen in the next few months as federal budget cuts take hold. That gulf helps explain why stock markets are thriving even as the economy is barely growing and unemployment remains stubbornly high. With millions still out of work, companies face little pressure to raise salaries, while productivity gains allow them to increase sales without adding workers.

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