9th Circuit throws out CIA torture lawsuit for national security reasons
Five foreigners who say they were tortured and interrogated by the CIA want to sue the Boeing subsidiary that whisked them away for interrogations. But they’re not going to get that chance—a federal court of appeals denied them, saying a trial would compromise issues of national security. The case was dismissed in 2008, only to be reinstated last year, before the Obama administration filed this appeal.
The judges voted 6-5 in favor of the ruling. Bush-era torture victims continue to be silenced in court. The ruling is another win for presidential powers. One civil rights lawyer says that now the United States “has closed its courtroom doors to torture victims.” The judges who ruled in favor say that the alleged victims can still seek reparations, like the Japanese Americans interned during World War II.
So, they can expect compensation in about 50 years?
World Economic Forum survey: Debt, financial crisis hurt U.S. competitiveness
Last year, we fell from the top spot on the list of the world’s most competitive economies. According to the World Economic Forum, things aren’t getting any better—the newest survey lists the U.S. as fourth behind Sweden, Switzerland, and Singapore. Yes, Singapore.
Government debt and a generally bleak economic outlook have led to the continued slide down the rankings. Debt affects competitiveness by limiting our ability to respond to crisis and our ability to increase productivity.
The U.S. ranked high in the efficiency of labor markets, innovation, and higher education. In what should be a surprise to no one, we weren’t in the top 50 for the strength of corporate reporting requirements, or business costs of crime and terrorism.
Our government officials were generously ranked as the 54th most trustworthy group in the world.
NATO Drive on Kandahar Begins, With Mixed Results
Expected to begin earlier this summer, the NATO push on the Taliban stronghold has finally begun. The visible Taliban presence has been removed from the city, with troops moving in to set up a central presence in cooperation with the Afghan police force.
The local police (mostly made up of new recruits) is out front, with American troops generally serving as back up.
Assassinations are still rampant, with local media reporting 397 since the middle of June. Some say the situation is improving, while others believe its getting worse. Sound familiar?
Nearly 200 commercial pilots faked experience, China says
If you’re planning a trip to China any time soon, you might want to rethink that. Aviation officials have discovered that nearly 200 Chinese “pilots” faked their flying records. This comes on the heels of an investigation following August’s Shenzhen Airlines crash that killed 42 people.
Maybe I’m not understanding communist governments, but isn’t China one of the places where this is specifically not supposed to happen?
Apparently, it’s common knowledge among Chinese pilots that guys are faking their records. Most are military pilots who falsify their experience so they can switch over to commercial flights. There’s such a demand for pilots that officials often don’t spend time verifying records.
informative and entertaining, thanks