nytimes: Volkswagen Says 11 Million Cars Worldwide Are Affected in Diesel Deception

A scandal that has undermined Volkswagen in the United States spread to its core market of Europe on Tuesday, after the company said that 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide were equipped with software that was used to cheat on emissions tests. [more..]

newyork times: U.S. Agrees to Begin Military Talks With Russia on Syria

Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that the United States was prepared to engage in military-to-military talks with Russia concerning Syria, even as Russia continued its military buildup there by deploying fighter jets. [more...]

New York times: 1.5 Million Missing Black Men

In New York, almost 120,000 black men between the ages of 25 and 54 are missing from everyday life. In Chicago, 45,000 are, and more than 30,000 are missing in Philadelphia. Across the South — from North Charleston, S.C., through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi and up into Ferguson, Mo. — hundreds of thousands more are missing. [more...]

guardian: Chicago 'black site': former US justice officials call for Homan Square inquiry

Two former senior Justice Department officials are calling on their colleagues to investigate a secretive warehouse used for interrogations by Chicago police and likened to a CIA “black site” facility. [more...]

ef-Russland-Konferenz (Teil 16 von 16): Erich Weede (Russlands geopolitische Bedeutung)

Am dritten Tag der großen ef-Russland-Konferenz stellte der Soziologe Erich Weede fest: Ein allzu schwaches Russland ist nicht im deutschen Interesse.

spiegel online: Ermittlungen des Generalbundesanwalts: BND-Mitarbeiter soll für die USA spioniert haben

Zwischen Deutschland und den USA bahnt sich eine neue Spionage-Affäre an. Nach Informationen von SPIEGEL ONLINE ermittelt die Generalbundesanwaltschaft gegen einen 31-jährigen Mitarbeiter des BND, der für die USA spioniert haben soll. [mehr...]

Frankfurter Rundschau: Hinter verschlossenen Türen

Selbst die Bundesregierung beklagt laut internen Dokumenten die Geheimniskrämerei der EU-Kommission um die Abkommen mit den USA und Kanada. [mehr...]

new york times: Divided Senate Panel Approves Resolution on Syria Strike

A divided Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday approved an authorization of force against the Syrian government, setting up a showdown next week in the full Senate on whether President Obama should have the authority to strike. [more...]

new york times: Obama and Kerry Press Case for U.S. Action in Syria

Jabbing his finger at the lectern, his voice forceful, his words brimming with indignation, John Kerry laid out the case like the prosecutor he once was, making a closing argument to a skeptical jury. [more...]

spiegel online: Syrien-Intervention: Amerikas Stunde der Wahrheit

Die USA haben einen Geheimdienstbericht als Beweis für einen Giftgaseinsatz der syrischen Regierung vorgelegt. Darin ist von mindestens 1429 Toten die Rede. Für US-Präsident Obama gibt es nun kaum mehr einen Weg zurück: Ein Militärschlag scheint sicher. [more...]

Center of Investigative Reporting: License-plate readers let police collect millions of records on drivers

When the city of San Leandro, Calif., purchased a license-plate reader for its police department in 2008, computer security consultant Michael Katz-Lacabe asked the city for a record of every time the scanners had photographed his car. [more...]

truthdig: Murder Is Our National Sport written by Chris Hedges

Murder is our national sport. We murder tens of thousands with our industrial killing machines in Afghanistan and Iraq. We murder thousands more from the skies over Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen with our pilotless drones. [more...]

spiegel online: USA stürzen von der Fiskalklippe - vorerst

Demokraten und Republikaner haben sich im US-Haushaltsstreit nicht endgültig geeinigt [mehr...]

ABC News: Connecticut Massacre

President Obama: 'These Children Are Our Children'

new york times: School Gunman Kills 20 Children in Connecticut

A gunman killed 26 people, 20 of them children between ages 5 and 10, in a shooting on Friday morning at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., about 65 miles northeast of New York City, the authorities said. [more...]

28 dead after Newtown massacre; shooter's brother being questioned

A gunman opened fire Friday morning at a Newtown elementary school, killing 20 young children and six adults in one of the deadliest mass shootings in history. Another adult was found dead at a nearby house, and the gunman was found dead in the school after the shootings, authorities said. [more...]

spiegel online: 20-Jähriger soll Massenmord in US-Schule begangen haben

27 Tote an einer Grundschule in Connecticut, eine Leiche in einem Wohnhaus, ... [mehr...]

spiegel online: US-Abgeordnete wurden in der Krise noch reicher

Der amerikanische Durchschnittshaushalt verlor in der Finanzkrise viel Geld - anders stellt sich das bei den Abgeordneten im US-Kongress dar. Viele Repräsentanten und Senatoren verdienten laut "Washington Post" in der Krise kräftig dazu. Besonders erfolgreich waren die ohnehin reichsten Politiker. [mehr...]

washington post: Capitol Assets: Congress’s wealthiest mostly shielded from effects of deep recession

If you could peer deeply into how the 535 members of Congress handle their money, what would you find? 
You would see a diversity of investment strategies and results, from those who put their money into riskier, high-growth funds to those who own safe municipal bonds. The legislators range from the super-rich to the deep-in-debt, from inherited wealth to married wealth to no wealth at all. They are entrepreneurs and farmers, oilmen and ranchers, lawyers and real estate developers. [more...]