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Sam Sacks - page 76

Sam Sacks has 859 articles published.

U.S. Hails Planetary Catastrophe as Business Opportunity

There’s the scientist’s way to look at ice disappearing in the Arctic—as evidence that irreversible catastrophe could soon be upon us. And then there’s the American official’s way. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), the Chairman of a House Foreign Relations subcommittee held a hearing on Wednesday to look into the implications of an ice-free Arctic, one that could precipitate mass flooding, ocean acidification, and, yes, more rising temperatures. “People have only been seeing this through the lens of global warming,” he groused in opening remarks. Instead,… Keep Reading

More Corruption, More Drugs, More Risk: A Grim Look Into the Reconstruction of Afghanistan

Government agencies charged with rebuilding Afghanistan have put the mission at “unnecessarily high levels of risk,” and have left the country completely incapable of governing itself without international assistance, according to a new inspector general report released on Wednesday. Citing the absence of rule of law, a booming narcotics industry, and inadequate security forces, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) blamed the agencies for “widespread failure to anticipate problems and to implement prudent countermeasures.” The inspector general said that American policy may have… Keep Reading

Udall Spills More CIA Secrets on Senate Floor

In what might be his last stand as a US Senator, Mark Udall (D-Colo.) delivered a blistering floor speech, in which he revealed classified details about the CIA torture program and demanded the resignation of agency director John Brennan. One day after the release of the Senate intelligence committee’s grisly torture report, Sen. Udall said, “the deeper more endemic problem lies in a CIA, assisted by a White House, that continues to try to cover up the truth.” As a member of the intelligence committee,… Keep Reading

Fed Starts Comment Period on “Too-Big-To-Fail” Rule

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors said on Tuesday that it was accepting public comment on a rule that would require the eight biggest banks in the country to shore up their capital positions to prevent another potential worldwide financial meltdown. If enacted, the proposal would affect Bank of America, BNY Mellon, Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, State Street Corporation, and Wells Fargo. It would force these banks, the largest and most interconnected American financial institutions, to identify as a… Keep Reading

CIA Report: “SWIGERT” & “DUNBAR” Paid Millions to Torture Some Folks

He told CIA interrogators to throw prisoners against the wall, to waterboard them, to make them defecate themselves, and to put them in boxes with insects. And despite disastrous results, the newly released torture report reveals he was rewarded handsomely for his services. His name is James E. Mitchell, and his partner in all of this was Bruce Jessen. They were the architects of the CIA’s post-9/11 interrogation program—the disturbing details of which are just now being revealed to the public after Tuesday’s release of… Keep Reading

Committee Examining Civil Rights in America: “More Work to Do”

Normally, they hold these kinds of hearings about foreign countries – often those American officials want to invade. But, on Tuesday, members of a senate subcommittee looked into the state of civil and human rights in the US. In his final hearing as Chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called on the panel to reform the criminal justice system in the next Congress. Sen. Durbin said the regular killing of “unarmed African Americans, men and… Keep Reading

Footnote Undermines New DOJ Racial Profiling Guidelines

New guidelines aimed at stamping out racial profiling in federal law enforcement contain key exclusions, and stop well short of demands for reform made by lawmakers earlier in the year. The rules released Monday by the Department of Justice prohibit certain federal agents from using “race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity to any degree” while conducting routine or spontaneous law enforcement activities. But a footnote buried on the second page of the directive renders it narrow in scope and legally… Keep Reading

Supreme Court Rejects Oil Giant, US Corporations Warn of Consequences

In a move bound to upset powerful lobbyist, the Supreme Court dismissed a motion by oil giant BP to block further payments related to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. As is often customary, the Supreme Court didn’t offer details as to why BP’s review was denied. But the decision on Monday dealt a serious blow to the oil giant’s very public efforts to discredit a settlement it agreed to in 2012. The US Chamber of Commerce warned in a friend of… Keep Reading

Despite Own Calls for Reform, Obama Continues Bulk Collection of Phone Records

Just before the deadline expired last week, the Obama administration renewed its authority to collect in bulk the telephone records of millions of Americans. The Department of Justice and the Director of National Intelligence informed the public on Monday about the reauthorization, which came from the top-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on December 4th. “Given that legislation has not yet been enacted, and given the importance of maintaining the capabilities of the telephony metadata program, the government has sought a 90-day reauthorization of the existing… Keep Reading

White House Indifferent, Confused about Transgender Military Service Ban

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest this week was caught off guard by questions about the military’s ongoing ban on transgender servicemembers, despite having almost two months to prepare for the inquiry. He was similarly unprepared in October when asked the same question. “We can look into this a little further if you like,” Earnest told a reporter from the Washington Blade after he was asked on Friday if openly transgender service is a policy that can be implemented independently of officials in charge at… Keep Reading

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