The notorious Somali paramilitary warlord who goes by the nom de guerre Indha Adde, or White Eyes, walks alongside trenches on the outskirts of Mogadishu’s Bakara Market once occupied by fighters from the Shabab, the Islamic militant group that has pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda. In one of the trenches, the foot of a corpse pokes out from a makeshift grave consisting of some sand dumped loosely over the body. One of Indha Adde’s militiamen says the body is that of a foreigner who fought alongside the Shabab. ‘We bury their dead, and we also capture them alive,

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WASHINGTON — Changes to a key anti-bribery law that applies to international commerce, proposed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, could have disastrous consequences, hurting multinational firms, human rights, and the U.S.’s place of respect as an early adopter of the legislation, opponents to the changes argued here Friday.

According to a report published by the Open Society Foundation’s (OSF) Open Society Policy Center, proposed changes to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), corporate anti-bribery legislation passed in 1977, could create loopholes in the legislation so large as to make the FCPA largely useless.

Anti-corruption advocacy organisations including Global Financial Integrity, Transparency International, and the Project on Government Oversight have written letters in support of keeping the FCPA, which applies to U.S. businesses and any businesses trading on the U.S. Stock Exchange and makes it a crime to trade favours for business advantages in countries where multinational companies do business, in its current form.

They say changing the FCPA now could also reduce the strength of a law, in force for more than 30 years, which OSF says is good for governance, good for human rights, and good for democracy. OSF pointed out that corruption has been linked to higher infant and maternal […]

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I. Overview

Of the 13 recessions that the American public has endured since the Great Depression of 1929-33, none has presented a more punishing combination of length, breadth and depth than this one. A new Pew Research survey finds that 30 months after it began, the Great Recession has led to a downsizing of Americans’ expectations about their retirements and their children’s future; a new frugality in their spending and borrowing habits; and a concern that it could take several years, at a minimum, for their house values and family finances to recover.

The survey also finds that more than half of the adults in U.S. labor force (55%) have experienced some work-related hardship – be it a spell of unemployment, a cut in pay, a reduction in hours or an involuntary move to part-time work. In addition, the bursting of the pre-recession housing and stock market bubbles has shrunk the wealth of the average American household by an estimated 20%, the deepest such decline in the post-World War II era, according to government data.

While nearly all Americans have been hurt in one way or another, some groups have suffered more than others. Blacks and Hispanics have borne a disproportionate share […]

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[Look] at Phoenix, Arizona,’ Neill Franklin, a former undercover police officer in Maryland, told Raw Story recently. ‘That is the number two kidnapping capital in the world. A couple years back they were averaging one drug-related kidnapping every day. We do already have these [cartels] in the United States, but you just don’t hear about them very often. And when we do, it’s not the ‘undocumented workers’ as people are often led to believe, it’s the result of our drug policies.’

Suggesting Phoenix has the second most number of kidnappings out of any city in the world is not new: for instance, that very claim was immediately disputed after Sen. John McCain said it in 2010. However, a review of kidnapping statistics by a team of judges and criminologists earlier this year nearly doubled the official 2008 numbers, lending at least some credibility to the statement.

No matter what statistic it is that’s examined, be it the kidnapping ranking of Phoenix, shootings in El Paso, marijuana arrests in Brownsville or the number of new gang members in San Diego, the reality of today’s America is that drug violence has become a pervasive and pressing threat to most citizens.

‘We have got to fix […]

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A unique discovery has been made in southern Alberta: perfectly preserved dinosaur feathers.

The first prehistoric feathers were found perfectly preserved in amber uncovered in southern Alberta.

This marks the first time such a sample has been found — a real change for experts who are used to studying feathers fossilized in rock.

‘It’s a kind of preservation that can have a lot of detail, but in amber what you have essentially is the original feathers and they’re preserved in three dimensional detail,’ said Dr. Philip Currie, with the University of Alberta.

Currie said researchers at the University of Alberta will be able to study the feathers in more detail than before, since they are so well-preserved and can even see colour.

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