Despite repeatedly denouncing the CIA’s drone campaign, top officials in Pakistan’s government have for years secretly endorsed the program and routinely received classified briefings on strikes and casualty counts, according to top-secret CIA documents and Pakistani diplomatic memos obtained by The Washington Post.
The files describe dozens of drone attacks in Pakistan’s tribal region and include maps as well as before-and-after aerial photos of targeted compounds over a four-year stretch from 2008 to 2011 in which the campaign intensified dramatically.
Secret memos reveal explicit nature of U.S., Pakistan agreement on drones
Injured vet loses battle over 'combat-related' benefits
A National Guard veteran injured while training for combat has lost her battle to obtain the enhanced benefits provided to those injured while engaged in combat.
In a decision potentially important for other training-injured vets as well, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Edward J. Damich rejected the pleas of former New York National Guard soldier Tanya L. Towne.
Nuclear officers napped with blast door left open
Air Force officers entrusted with the launch keys to long-range nuclear missiles have been caught twice this year leaving open a blast door that is intended to help prevent a terrorist or other intruder from entering their underground command post, Air Force officials said.
The blast doors are never to be left open if one of the crew members inside is asleep - as was the case in both these instances - out of concern for the trouble an intruder could cause, including the compromising of secret launch codes.
US CEOs break pay record as top 10 earners take home at least $100m each
For the first time ever, the 10 highest-paid chief executives in the US received more than $100m in compensation last year, and two took home billion-dollar paychecks, according to a leading annual survey of executive pay.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's co-founder, was America's highest-paid boss in 2012, according to GMI Ratings annual poll of executive compensation, released on Tuesday. Zuckerberg's total compensation topped $2.27bn – more than $6m a day. His base salary was $503,205 but the vast majority of his enormous pay package came from exercising 60m Facebook share options when the company went public last year.
Exoplanet tally soars above 1,000
The number of observed exoplanets - worlds circling distant stars - has passed 1,000.
Of these, 12 could be habitable - orbiting at a distance where it is neither "too hot" nor "too cold" for water to be liquid on the surface. The planets are given away by tiny dips in light as they pass in front of their stars or through gravitational "tugs" on the star from an orbiting world.
These new worlds are listed in the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia.
Food stamp cuts to affect millions ahead of holidays
Millions of Americans will see their Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits cut ahead of the holiday season, as food stamp stimulus spending is set to expire October 31.
The fiscal stimulus legislation of 2009, followed by further rounds of stimulus, increased the SNAP benefits, first by $20 to $25 per month to spur economic recovery. According to the USDA, the average monthly benefit is about $275 per household, or about $1.40 per meal.
EPIC FOIA fails to get secret GW Bush cybersecurity order
A secret presidential directive on cybersecurity is going to stay secret, despite the best FOIA-filing efforts of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
In a decision issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell rejected the long-running Freedom of Information Act request for the unredacted text of National Security Presidential Directive 54.
Gulf Ecosystem in Crisis Three Years After BP Spill
Hundreds of kilograms of oily debris on beaches, declining seafood catches, and other troubling signs point towards an ecosystem in crisis in the wake of BP's 2010 oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
"It's disturbing what we're seeing," Louisiana Oyster Task Force member Brad Robin told Al Jazeera. "We don't have any more baby crabs, which is a bad sign. We're seeing things we've never seen before."
The Military-Industrial Pundits: Conflicts of Interest Exposed for TV Guests Who Urged Syrian War
New research shows many so-called experts who appeared on television making the case for U.S. strikes on Syria had undisclosed ties to military contractors. A new report by the Public Accountability Initiative identifies 22 commentators with industry ties. W
hile they appeared on television or were quoted as experts 111 times, their links to military firms were disclosed only 13 of those times. The report focuses largely on Stephen Hadley, who served as national security adviser to President George W. Bush.
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