Adventures of a Gonzo Journalist
Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News
Israel and Honduras announced a new security agreement this month in which Israel will supply weapons and training to the Honduran military.
Honduras is ruled by an oppressive and murderous regime that took power after a 2009 coup, and the agreement marks just the latest chapter in Israel’s long, bloody history of arming Central American despots.
The deal, inked on Aug. 20, would dramatically upgrade the Honduran regime’s offensive capabilities.
Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News
The recent bombing of a hospital in northwestern Yemen has drawn international outrage and new criticism of the Saudi-led, U.S.-backed forces fighting there, but it’s just the latest in a slew of war crimes committed over the past 15 years in the name of the U.S.-backed global war on terror.
Nineteen people were killed and 24 were injured in the Aug. 15 bombing, which struck Abs Hospital in northwestern Yemen. Among the dead was Abdul Kareem al Hakeemi, a staff member of Doctors Without Borders (frequently referred to by its French name, Médecins sans Frontières, or MSF).
It was the fourth and deadliest bombing of an MSF-supported hospital since the attacks on Yemen began in early 2015, leading the NGO to evacuate its six hospitals in the region three days later.
Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News
According to whistleblower Edward Snowden, a recent leak of secret NSA hacking tools reflects an escalation in tensions between Russia and the United States. For others, though, it highlights concerns about what, if any, privacy is afforded to the general public.
The NSA whistleblower lit up Twitter on Tuesday with suggestions of “Russian responsibility” in the recent release of the NSA tools, noting that it could be a response to accusations by the Hillary Clinton campaign that Russian hackers leaked internal Democratic National Convention emails.
The suite of hacking tools, which were leaked by a group calling themselves the Shadow Brokers, consists of complex “malware” programs, malicious software designed to secretly take over targeted networks by exploiting security vulnerabilities in commercially available, widely used internet software.
Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News
Israel could soon accept its largest ever military aid deal from the United States, which is reportedly increasing an annual support package that already numbers in the billions.
Currently, Israel receives over $3.1 billion in aid annually from the U.S. under a 10-year deal forged under President George W. Bush and set to expire in 2018, but the Obama administration could soon sign another 10-year agreement to increase that aid even further.
“In addition, Congress has provided additional money for missile defense,” noted The Washington Post on Friday.
Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News
After two years of bombing, the U.S. recently marked a horrendous milestone in a war with no clear end in sight.
Vocativ reported that the American-led coalition in the Middle East has now dropped 50,000 bombs in the ongoing campaign against Daesh (an Arabic acronym for the terrorist group commonly known as ISIS or ISIL in the West) that began in August 2014.
The analysis noted that bombing has increased with time, peaking in June when coalition forces dropped 3,167 bombs on Iraq and Syria.
Despite a number of high-profile attacks that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of Americans both in the United States and abroad, police continue to pose a far deadlier and more immediate threat to Americans than terrorists.
At least 8,882 civilians have been killed by police since 9/11. This figure is based on government data and civilian- and media-run databases of police killings, although experts agree that the true number could be far higher. By contrast, the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, still the deadliest act of terrorism committed on U.S. soil, claimed the lives of 2,996 people and injured over 6,000 others.
Even including the “Global War on Terror,” in which about 6,879 U.S. servicemembers were killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which were a direct result of 9/11, and more recent terrorist attacks like the San Bernardino shooting (14 deaths), the Orlando nightclub shooting (49 deaths), or even Thursday’s attack on Dallas police officers protecting a Black Lives Matter march (five deaths), those who receive public funds to “protect and serve” are proving to be deadlier than terrorists.
