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CIA World Fact Book News

Return of the international spy thriller Sunday, August 1, 2010 @ 1:06AMForecast: Hot action, with chance of stormy encounters The best definition of the spy business I've ever read involves not derring-do, not leaps from lurching trucks or pirouettes within bloody gun battles, but something far more dreary and mundane: the cold art of compromise.
Book Suggests Torture by U.S. Was Widespread Friday, July 30, 2010 @ 9:13PMAlthough U.S. officials have attributed the torture of Muslim prisoners in their custody to a handful of maverick guards, in fact such criminal acts were widely perpetrated and systemic, likely involving large numbers of military personnel, a book by a survivor suggests.
Stephen Schlesinger: Capturing the Birth of the UN on Film Thursday, July 29, 2010 @ 1:52PMWhy has the story of the UN's founding never made it into the cinematic arena? The story of the UN's creation is an extraordinarily dramatic...
Around Town Thursday, July 29, 2010 @ 11:39AMThis week features an exciting mix of events, from traditional Malay theatre to a nostalgic musical performance!
New releases, now playing and special screenings Thursday, July 29, 2010 @ 3:31AMCats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (PG, 82 mins) In this sequel, Kitty Galore is a former cat spy gone rogue to take down her canine enemies and her former kitty comrades. Thank God they brought back Mr. Tinkles. Opens wide
What have you done for us lately? Wednesday, July 28, 2010 @ 11:15PMEvery May, after the tasseled hats have fallen to the ground and the graduation parties have died down, hundreds of thousands of new graduates enter the workforce. Or at least that’s the plan.
UPI interview with Hamid Gul Wednesday, July 28, 2010 @ 4:01PMBy ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE UPI Editor at Large After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, UPI's Arnaud de Borchgrave had an exclusive interview with former Pakistani Gen. Hamid Gul. In light of the role Gul is given in the recently released secret U.S. military documents, UPI republishes de Borchgrave's interview with Gul. The item was originally published Sept. 26, 2001. United States ...
They Aren’t Coming -- Debunking the Biggest Immigration Myth Wednesday, July 28, 2010 @ 3:01PMThey keep coming to the United States — the men and women from rural Mexico — to work in the flower fields, nurseries, avocado groves and sundry jobs throughout the country. Some would say that they are coming as criminal...
Is Pitt Pulling His Weight? Wednesday, July 28, 2010 @ 8:35AMWhile Angie tirelessly promotes her films, Pitt usually has co-stars do the heavy lifting SHOCKING ANGIE PHOTOS PUBLISHED
Barack Obama, an avowed enemy of media leaks, deals with yet another Tuesday, July 27, 2010 @ 5:18PMThe White House says classified Pentagon information about the Afghan war leaked to the Internet represents no threat to national security, but within the Oval Office, Barack Obama is proving to be one of the most anti-leak U.S. presidents in recent history.
Socialist’s Journal: Sports and the Supreme Court Tuesday, July 27, 2010 @ 11:57AM*The Supreme Court recently decided that Title IX, the amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act that deals with the equality of opportunity in federally subsidized education, does not apply to the activity of cheerleading. This significant because Title IX generally mandates that schools receiving federal funding maintain gender equality in their athletic programs. The [...]
How Bush Botched the Afghan War Tuesday, July 27, 2010 @ 9:21AMThe 92,000 classified Afghan War documents, which were just released by Wikileaks, provide a troubling narrative of that conflict’s downward spiral as President George W. Bush concentrated the American military on the neoconservative target of choice, Iraq.
Clueless in Afghanistan - and Washington Tuesday, July 27, 2010 @ 9:09AMThe Taliban haven’t had tens of billions of dollars in foreign training funds; they haven’t had years of advice from the best US and NATO advisors that money can buy; they haven’t had private contractors like DynCorp teaching them how to fight and police, and strangely enough, they seem to have no problem fighting, notes Tom Engelhardt .
NPP should act now or never! Monday, July 26, 2010 @ 11:12PMStaging a comeback to power in 2012 - NPP should act now or never! According to Abraham Lincoln, “things that come to those who wait may be the things left by those who got there first”.
FPI Overnight Brief Monday, July 26, 2010 @ 7:02PMFPI seeks college juniors or seniors, graduate students, or recent graduates to work as unpaid interns at its office in downtown Washington, DC for the fall semester.
Leaked file suggests 4 Canadians killed by friendly fire Monday, July 26, 2010 @ 4:36PMA classified document that was part of a torrent of secret files released to the WikiLeaks website suggests four Canadian soldiers died from friendly fire, not a Taliban attack, in a 2006 incident.
How Bush Botched the Afghan War Monday, July 26, 2010 @ 3:31PMThe 75,000 classified Afghan War reports, which were just published by Wikileaks, provide a troubling narrative of that conflict’s downward spiral as President George W. Bush concentrated the American military on the neoconservative target of choice, Iraq.
The parallel universe Sunday, July 25, 2010 @ 11:44PMAs a result of Dana Priest’s three-part article, Top-Secret America, published in the Washington Post, pundits have been falling all over themselves in their rush to describe the size and implications of the elephant in the living room.
The WikiLeaks Afghanistan leak Sunday, July 25, 2010 @ 7:51PMWhat will be the consequences of the greatest government leak since the Pentagon Papers?
After the CIA, Barry Eisler writes thrillers Sunday, July 25, 2010 @ 9:13AMFor a former CIA operative, Barry Eisler is remarkably open. The best-selling thriller writer, a Menlo Park resident, rides his bicycle to an interview at Kepler's Books, doesn't wear sunglasses or a hat to disguise himself, and scoffs at the idea that a... Barry Eisler - Central Intelligence Agency - Kepler's Books - Menlo Park California - Writer
Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: July 25, 2010 Sunday, July 25, 2010 @ 8:48AMHere’s our weekend box office report and various movie news tidbits we may have missed during the week.
The Other 'Top Secret America' Saturday, July 24, 2010 @ 4:16PMEditor’s Note: The Washington Post’s series on the gigantic size of the new post-9/11 “counter-terror” apparatus represented a worthy attempt to quantify the newest federal bureaucracy dedicated to national security, as it joins its powerful older brother, the “military-industrial complex.”
Does Iran pose a major threat to our world? Saturday, July 24, 2010 @ 8:32AMIran had for long been an American stooge, to say it in a diplomatic polished language an ally. Tehran had seen and enjoyed a lot of development on the American model. Things however had undergone a radical change in 1979 when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini launched Iran's Islamic revolution.
Ranger’s job was no walk in park Friday, July 23, 2010 @ 2:26PMAndrea Lankford worked for the National Park Service for 12 years, and all she got was a faded hat. At least, that’s all she kept — that and a book’s worth of memories, some good, some bad and many ugly.
Angelina Jolie stars in 'Salt' as a CIA superspy Friday, July 23, 2010 @ 9:28AMAngelina Jolie plays a CIA superspy, in the new movie ‘Salt,' a high-octane action thriller.
How To Transform Search Behavior Into A Great Search Experience Friday, July 23, 2010 @ 5:15AMYou’ve done your research. You understand how consumers search for your products and services. Now, what do you do with this insight? In my previous article about Giving Customers What They Want , I outlined an approach to creating a search behavior model that can be used to develop your information architecture and your website content strategy.
'Salt' review: Angelina Jolie can't help cool character escape lousy script Friday, July 23, 2010 @ 5:04AMSpy thriller is mired in the ridiculous
Slaying the US intelligence behemoth Friday, July 23, 2010 @ 4:51AMWASHINGTON - Most of the United States is still suffering through the final stages of a cataclysmic economic decline, but not so my home town of Alexandria, Virginia, nestled along the banks of the Potomac River, a silver dollar's toss away from the white marble statues of our founding fathers.
Comic-Con 2010: RED Press Conference – Willis, Mirren, Urban… Thursday, July 22, 2010 @ 10:02PMDirectly after the RED panel at Comic-Con the press got a chance to a more intimate gathering with the group where we got to pick their brains. Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban, producer Lorenzo DiBonaventura, graphic novel author Warren Ellis and graphic novel artist Cully Hamner were all in attendance and eager to answer [...]
The Post Covers Spy Town Thursday, July 22, 2010 @ 12:01PMThough comprehensive, the paper's much-anticipated intelligence contracting series is late in the game and provides no new information. Dana Preist and Bill Arkin should have read my book. Washington Post - Dana Priest - United States - National security - Central Intelligence Agency
Movie listings for Southwest Michigan: opening this weekend, drive-in showings and special screenings Thursday, July 22, 2010 @ 10:21AMCheck out the movies playing in Southwest Michigan this weekend.
Sanctions and Dr Strangelove | David Shariatmadari Thursday, July 22, 2010 @ 9:27AMWhat if efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons only made countries like Iran and North Korea more likely to want them? In a world of competing national interests, political differences, clashes not just of personalities, but of civilisations, you could be forgiven for thinking that there's nothing of any significance all our leaders agree on. The need to prevent the spread of nuclear ...
Shahzad’s charade continues Tuesday, July 20, 2010 @ 11:29PMAbout 8 a.m. a week ago, I’m watching NY1 TV and here comes a video segment on Faisal Shahzad, post full-confession, showing him in previous days with reputed Taliban members.
The Weekend Warrior: July 23 - 25 Tuesday, July 20, 2010 @ 12:20PMComingSoon.net's The Weekend Warrior offers a preview of the new releases opening on Friday, July 23, including the new Angelina Jolie action-thriller Salt (Sony), reteaming her with Phillip Noyce, and the family film Ramona and Beezus (20th Century Fox) based on the popular series of books. This week's "The Chosen One" is Tamra Davis documentary Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child about the ...
Mark Juddery: 11 Most Overrated Things Ever (PHOTOS) Tuesday, July 20, 2010 @ 6:14AMIt seems that my latest (and first US-published) book Overrated: The 50 Most Overhyped Things in History is leaving a few people enraged.
Goldman's New Dream-inception Technology Tuesday, July 20, 2010 @ 12:47AMGoldman's New Dream-inception Technology
Paul B. Farrell: Goldman's new dream-inception technology Monday, July 19, 2010 @ 11:26PMThey get in fast. Milliseconds: “Implant.” Out fast: “Extraction.” All traces erased. What happened? Paradigm shifted? Not sure? Maybe Goldman’s latest high-frequency trading algorithms? No. Maybe artificial intelligence? No.
Hot Zone Monday, July 19, 2010 @ 10:50AMLawless . The word tends to travel in tandem with Pakistan’s tribal areas . Sometimes you also get wild , often restive , and the occasional seething . Where the focus switches from people to terrain, there’s a great deal of rugged or forbidding ––implying that hostility is built into the area’s very topography.
FACTBOX-Key facts and figures about Afghanistan Sunday, July 18, 2010 @ 9:34AMSource: Reuters (For Kabul conference stories, click on [ID:nKABCON]) July 18 (Reuters) - Reuters) - Afghanistan will ask for more control of billions of dollars pledged to reconstruct the war-torn country at a ...
US mum on ISI role, Hillary follows up Krishna visit Friday, July 16, 2010 @ 10:09AMWith US Secy of State topping off high-level visits to Islamabad by US and Indian officials in an effort to get Pak to forswear terrorism, American officials have adopted a cautious tone on role of its troubled ally in terrorism.
Dov Zakheim retires from Booz Allen Hamilton Friday, July 16, 2010 @ 12:29AMFor those of you who don’t know who Dov Zakheim is, let me refresh your memory. The ordained rabbi served as comptroller of the Pentagon from May 4, 2001, to March 10, 2004, when he resigned to go to Booz Allen Hamilton, a leading consulting firm.
Doing Away with 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell' Thursday, July 15, 2010 @ 2:08AMHow UCSB’s Palm Center is winning the war against gay discrimination in the American military.
Author Claims 2Pac's Death Was A Government Conspiracy, "They Orchestrated The Assassination" Wednesday, July 14, 2010 @ 9:39PMThe author of FBI War on Tupac Shakur & Black Leaders recently gave an interview explaining his belief that the United States government was involved in the 1996 fatal shooting of Tupac Shakur. [Visit SOHH.com for more information]
Spies on acid Tuesday, July 13, 2010 @ 6:42PMThe strange story of the CIA, LSD and Frank Olson (with a stop at the Weekly Planet ).... By Mitch Perry Beginning after World War II and escalating through the early 1950s, the U.S. government launched a multimillion-dollar series of experiments in mind control and behavior modification. It wasn't until the mid-1970s that Americans learned of such programs, which went by the names of Bluebird ...
Matthew Harwood: No Dominion: The Dangerous Fight Against Christian Supremacists in the Armed Forces Tuesday, July 13, 2010 @ 4:02PMThe United States military cannot favor one religious sect over another, staying true to the Constitution's establishment clause that service members pledge to defend.
Afghan success could be worse than failure Tuesday, July 13, 2010 @ 5:18AMJuly 12, 2011, Washington, DC - In triumphant testimony before a joint committee of the United States Congress in which he was greeted on both sides of the aisle as a conquering hero, General David Petraeus announced the withdrawal this month of the first 1,000 American troops from Afghanistan.
‘I Dream’ – The Musical Drama Inspired by ‘A Preacher From Atlanta’ Tuesday, July 13, 2010 @ 3:45AM*”I Dream” is a musical celebration and journey through the life and work of a man whose prophetic and historical significance has become legend. The story of the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is now a self-proclaimed rhythm-and-blues opera now playing in Atlanta.Presented by Musical-Dramatic Arts and directed by acclaimed actress Jasmine Guy, [...]
Andy Borowitz Archives Monday, July 12, 2010 @ 10:26PM06/23/10 : Hawking: Aliens ‘No Longer Interested’ in Invading Earth 05/27/10 : Experts Propose Plugging Oil Leak with BP Executives 05/10/10 : Greece Offers to Repay Loans with Giant Horse 01/12/10 : Blago Defends Remarks: ‘It's a Black Thing, You Wouldn't Understand’ 10/16/09 : Balloon Boy to America: Punk'd!
What if we actually "win" Afghanistan? Monday, July 12, 2010 @ 6:06PMAs David Petraeus takes over, success may be worse than failure
UNCIEF to release report on Haiti relief efforts Monday, July 12, 2010 @ 12:34PMUNICEF plans to release a report Monday about the relief efforts in Haiti. More than 1.5 million people were displaced after an earthquake struck the area in January.