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Scott Brown Will Not Run For John Kerry's Seat

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A person familiar with the situation says Brown isn't looking to replace the new Secretary of State in the Senate.

Scott Brown, the former Massachusetts senator who lost reelection to Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren in November, will not pursue John Kerry's vacated seat, The AP reports:

A person familiar with the decision says Brown will not run. The person wasn't authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Related: "Bqhatevwr."


Post Office Tells Cleveland It's Immune From Traffic Laws

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Postal Service attorney Jennifer S. Breslin told the City of Cleveland that two school-zone speeding tickets and five red-light tickets given to Post Office trucks would not be paid, citing the constitution.

SuperPAC Calls For Boycott Of Beyonce's "Anti-Liberty" Halftime Show

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“If you look at Beyonce and this Jay-Z fellow, it's been pretty much in praise and celebration of the modern criminal police state,” the founder says.

The founder of a registered superPAC calling for a boycott of the Super Bowl halftime show this Sunday said he is concerned that Beyonce's performance will be "anti-liberty."

William Fawell, who runs Elect A New Congress, sent out a press release Friday urging America to change the channel when the halftime show comes on in order to send a message to its corporate sponsor, Pepsi. He said he didn't call for a boycott of the entire Super Bowl because he enjoys watching football.

Madonna's performance last year, Fawell said, was marked by satanic symbolism, and Beyonce's show is bound to be just as bad.

"If you look at Beyonce and this Jay-Z fellow, it's been pretty much in praise and celebration of the modern criminal police state," Fawell said, mentioning the singer's 2010 Grammy performance that included dancers dressed in police outfits. "And that runs completely at odds with liberty and in complete odds with me and I just couldn't sit still and not take some action to bring people's attention to this. We're going to turn you off. Pepsi, you just spent millions on a presentation that is un-American. We reject it and we reject you."

Fawell said his PAC has one other member, who works in social media. The PAC has had, at most, $5,000 in reported income, and its latest filling listed $80 on hand. The PAC is not in favor of Republicans or Democrats, but supports one thing alone:

"We support one candidate," Fawell said. "Its name is liberty."

32 Weirdest Celebrities On The NRA's "Enemies" List

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The NRA has a published list of its enemies , which includes over 200 celebrities.

Diane Keaton

Diane Keaton

Image by Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT

Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz

Image by Jason Reed / Reuters

Britney Spears

Britney Spears

Image by Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Source: jtt4ever.blogspot.com


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New Birth Control Coverage Rule Won't Satisfy Critics

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The Obama administration just proposed a change to its birth control coverage rules presumably meant to placate contraceptive coverage opponents. It won't work.

Protesters demonstrate against the contraceptive mandate, March 2012.

Image by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / Getty Images

The department of Health and Human Services released a proposed change to its much-debated contraceptive coverage policy on Thursday, which would allow religious employers to offer insurance plans that don't cover contraception. Employees would then be automatically enrolled in a separate third-party policy that would cover birth control at no cost.

This new compromise replaces one from last February, in which employers would have to include contraceptive coverage in their plans but would not actually pay for such coverage. That didn't satisfy opponents of the birth control coverage mandate, and this new plan is unlikely to do so either.

"Today's proposed rule does nothing to protect the religious liberty of millions of Americans," said Kyle Duncan of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has helped a variety of employers bring suit against the mandate, in a statement. The Becket Fund and others object to the new rule because it would only cover groups designated by the HHS as religious employers (such as churches and religious schools), and not private companies that do not wish to provide contraceptive coverage. "The rights of family businesses like Hobby Lobby are still being violated," Duncan wrote.

And Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List said in a statement to the Washington Post, "There must be no religious 'test' by the government as to who, and what type of entities, are entitled to a conscience. We demand respect for non-religious entities such as the Susan B. Anthony List that recognize the taking of human life is the antithesis of health care."

Longtime supporters of the contraceptive mandate supported the new proposition. Ilyse Hogue, the new president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a statement, "Today's draft regulation affirms yet again the Obama administration's commitment to fulfilling the full promise of its historic contraception policy." The National Women's Law Center also released a statement in favor of the proposal.

The new compromise will now enter a 60-day comment period. The Becket Fund's many lawsuits on behalf of for-profit and nonprofit employers are ongoing — of the 14 for-profit companies that have brought suits, which wouldn't be affected by the new rule, 10 have received injunctions allowing them to refrain from contraceptive coverage for now.

Update: Catholic Association Board Member Leonard Leo says the new proposal doesn't benefit Catholic employers either, and may in fact be worse for them than the February compromise. Previously, charities included in an exempt Catholic diocese's insurance plan were also exempt from the mandate, but "the new proposal seems to take that away." And he says the new plan could require Catholic employers to make sure a third-party insurer exists to provide the contraceptive coverage they aren't providing: "You are putting that objecting charity right in the middle of having to arrange free contraceptive services for its employees, even though it is not paying for them itself. That is a distinction without a difference."

The 33 Most Important Things Found On Meghan McCain's Instagram Account

Henry Waxman: Carbon Tax Is "Best Legislative Option"

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The new bicameral task force on climate change could move forward with carbon tax legislation. “It can also help reduce our deficit,” says Waxman.

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), co-chairs of a new task force on climate change, speak at a news conference on Jan. 24, 2013.

Image by Alex Wong / Getty Images

Rep. Henry Waxman, a leading member of the House of Representatives on environmental issues, told BuzzFeed Friday afternoon that the "best legislative option" for the new Congress to act on climate change would be a measure that White House press secretary Jay Carney has already ruled out — a carbon tax.

Although Carney said at a press briefing last month that the administration had "no intention of proposing a carbon tax," Waxman made the case that putting a price on carbon could actually appeal to Republicans and private sector business leaders.

"Putting a price on carbon is a very important way to give an incentive to the private sector to develop technologies and take actions through market incentives through which they'll benefit," said Waxman.

"There are a lot of Republican economists who would like us to put a price on carbon," he added. "They see that a cap and trade or carbon tax could git in their view of, 'When we tax the things we don't want, we'll get less of it.' That can help us deal with the environmental problem that is so urgent, but it can also help reduce our deficit."

The Democratic representative from California announced last Thursday that he and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse would be leading a bicameral task force on climate change, which would work toward proposing legislation of some kind, though neither Waxman or Whitehouse, who spoke with BuzzFeed earlier this week, would specify what type of bill they envisioned for the task force.

Waxman's comments, though, gestured toward the increasing possibility that a carbon tax was the course of action he and his colleague are considering.

"It would be the best legislative option," said Waxman of a carbon tax. "But I wouldn't want it to replace the other actions that, say, the EPA could take."

"It's too early to talk about specific proposals," he added. "Senator Whitehouse and I both support a tax on carbon, but that may or may not be what the task force will recommend."

Waxman said he and Whitehouse sent quieries this week to 300 buseinesses and organizations across the country — "from the utility industry, to the auto industry, to the range of environmental organizations," he said — to ask for their "best ideas" on how to chip away at the problem of climate change. The co-chairs asked that proposals be submitted back to the task force by the end of February.

"We want to get more information and recommendations from these different groups about what they think ought to be done," said Waxman, "and then we'll talk about specific legislation."

Waxman and Whitehouse invited every member of both chambers, and both parties, to join the climate task force. So far, said Waxman, 17 members of Congress — all Democrats — have joined the group. No Republicans yet.

15 Hillary Clinton-Inspired Crafts You Can Own


The Dying Political Tradition Of Avoiding The Gay Question

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Was Ed Koch the last one to get away with it? If there's nothing wrong with being gay, why can't we ask it?

Image by John Gara/Buzzfeed

NEW YORK CITY — The late New York Mayor Ed Koch, who died Friday, never answered one way or the other the question of whether he was gay, though he'd cheerfully berate reporters for asking it.

But Koch may be the last public figure to have succeeded in such evasions. Two factors — changing attitudes toward LGBT people and a shrinking zone of privacy — are making answers like his harder and harder to manage for public figures. And Koch himself was increasingly asked the questions directly, and in mainstream forums.

Just last month, the The New York Times' Gina Bellafante took a look at the issue under the headline: "Judging Mayor Koch's AIDS Record, Whispers Aside."

Bellafante writes of a new documentary on the former mayor that Koch "is asked to address questions surrounding the longstanding interest in his sexuality. He responds as he has done for a long time now, declaring that it is no one's business. He argues that his engagement with the issue would set a precedent for gross intrusions into the personal lives of political candidates, a bit of narcissistic posturing that seems to ignore the extent to which that field has already been trampled by mad dogs and wild horses."

But while Koch died without answering the question — though others claim to have the answer themselves — the space in which a politician can refuse to "dignify" such questions has narrowed dramatically. In a world where being gay isn't a bad thing, though, it's hard to say that gay questions are undignified.

And yet, within the small-"c" conservative world of politics, many '80s-era responses remain.

This week alone, speculation about the sexual orientation of three single, male politicians — Sen. Lindsey Graham, Rep. Aaron Schock and Newark Mayor Cory Booker — was rampant online. And, despite advancements on LGBT issues, two of the three have, at one point or another, used the same old "beneath my dignity to respond" response. All three, moreover, have said at some point that they are not gay. And yet, questions remain.

In the case of Booker, about whom BuzzFeed's Ruby Cramer published an extensive profile Monday, Cramer wrote that "rumors about Booker's personal life" — including claims that he is gay — "have followed his career for more than a decade now."

Then, "When asked about the mayor's sexuality, a spokesman said he 'would not comment on such matters.' Booker, of course, talks openly about dating women."

On Tuesday, when President Obama announced his aims for immigration reform — and included same-sex couples in those plans — Graham was not happy. AmericaBlog's John Aravosis was not subtle in his response, headlining his coverage, "Lindsey Graham (R-Closet) having vapors over including gays in immigration bill."

In a 2010 interview with The New York Times' Robert Draper, Graham addressed the rumors with a head-on, if quite detailed, denial. "Like maybe I'm having a clandestine affair with Ricky Martin. I know it's really gonna upset a lot of gay men — I'm sure hundreds of 'em are gonna be jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge — but I ain't available. I ain't gay. Sorry." The response did not, however, stop the speculation.

Then, on Thursday, Schock delivered a confusing answer about his opposition to same-sex couples' marriage rights — sparking a new round of speculation about his sexual orientation. In September 2012, though, he told The Huffington Post's Michelangelo Signorile that "questions about his sexual orientation ... are 'inappropriate and ridiculous' and not 'worthy of further response.' He also stated, 'I've said that before,' when asked if he is confirming that he is not gay, and added, 'You can look it up.'"

This "refer to my earlier response" has been Schock's go-to answer for questions since joining Congress. A 2010 New York Times report noted that Schock "has told reporters that he is not gay."

Koch's death marks the end of an era, but Americans' interest in the personal lives of their elected officials is unlikely to change. What is changing is that the question about sexual orientation is, more and more, no different than any other question.

Ed Koch, RIP

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Art by Andrea Hickey

Clinton Brought Women's Rights In From The Diplomatic Margins

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“The whole range of soft issues were regarded as kind of second class pursuits” before Clinton. Will the change last?

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waves as she departs the State Department for the final time as Secretary of State in Washington February 1, 2013.

Image by Yuri Gripas / Reuters

The most striking legacy of Hillary Clinton's four years at the State Department is an institutional shift in the way international women's rights are viewed, and a sense that the place of women and girls in a range of societies proper subject of high-level diplomacy.

"What Hillary did that was unprecedented was to put [women's issues] in the center and not have it be a box-checking thing, and for women profesionals that's been a hard thing to do," said Heather Hurlburt, director of the National Security Network and a former staffer in Madeleine Albright's State Department. "There's a fear that you would be defined as a women's issues person."

"But Hillary was fearless about taking up women's issues," Hurlburt said, "and the fact that it's now such that a male Secretary of State will have to maintain the initiatives that she institutionalized at State — it won't just be the project of a woman Secretary of State anymore."

Clinton was known for meeting with women's rights activists and organizations during her travels abroad, as well as environmental groups, anti-poverty NGOs, and other things that make up a sector of foreign policy that former diplomat Aaron David Miller calls "planetary humanism." Clinton's ambassador for global women's issues, Melanne Verveer, traveled to over 60 countries on women's rights-related missions, according to the Washington Post.

In interviews and speeches, she's returned to the theme over and over again, including in her farewell address to the Council on Foreign Relations on January 31: "If women and girls everywhere were treated as equal to men in rights, dignity and opportunity, we would see political and economic progress everywhere," Clinton said.

"The nature of diplomacy has changed so much," Hurlburt said. "There was high diplomacy and low diplomacy, and the whole range of soft issues were regarded as kind of second class pursuits, not career-making in the State Department."

Hurlburt noted that Albright created the first office of women's issues at the State Department, an office that later fell into doldrums and was revived under Clinton's "rockstar status."

Clinton's commitment to women's issues in some ways mirrors Albright's, the first female Secretary of State. Both emphasized how empowering women improves the prospects for poor countries.

"When I became secretary of state, I made women's issues central to American foreign policy," Albright said last year. "Not just because I'm a feminist, but because it's a fact that if women are politically and economically empowered, societies are more stable."

In her address, Clinton acknowledged that some of her wheelhouses are considered "soft," and said she had and could handle the big security issues as well:

So technology, development, human rights, women — now, I know that a lot of pundits hear that list, and they say, isn't that all a bit soft? What about the hard stuff?

Well, that is a false choice. We need both, and no one should think otherwise. I will be the first to stand up and proclaim loudly and clearly that America's military might is and must remain the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. I will also make very clear, as I have done over the last years, that our diplomatic power, the ability to convene our moral suasion, is effective because the United States can back up our words with actions. We will ensure freedom of navigation in all the world's seas. We will relentlessly go after al-Qaida, its affiliates and its wannabes. We will do what is necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"As Hillary Clinton steps down as Secretary of State, it's worth noting that she has not only done a terrific job but also that the reason is largely that she has expanded her realm to include a non-traditional agenda," New York Times columnist Nick Krisof wrote on his Facebook page on Friday. "On some of the traditional areas, she didn't do as well: Most striking, she backed the 'surge' in Afghanistan, which I think is now widely regarded as a mistake. But Hillary Clinton will be remembered as a superb SecState partly because she attended not only to security and diplomacy, but also brought development, women's rights, agriculture and nutrition, and climate change onto the agenda."

Many around Clinton expect that focus on women's rights abroad to remain with Clinton after she leaves government, and perhaps to become a plank in a future presidential platform.

"The gender equality issues, women's rights are huge," Miller said. "And it resonates if she has political aspirations."

But Miller said that Clinton's focus on issues outside the male-dominated "hard" security and diplomacy spheres was probably more a result of President Obama, who "wouldn't give her the big issues."

"We don't know what kind of negotiator she would have been, she was never tested," Miller said.

And the highlighting of women's rights globally might duck under the radar again under the secretaryship of John Kerry. The boys-club atmosphere of the upper reaches of the foreign policy establishment — where the only real and important work is considered to be Richard Holbrooke-esque dealmaking — may prove hard to shake off for good.

"I don't think John Kerry is going to be the champion of planetary humanism," Miller said.

White House Releases Photo Of Obama Skeet Shooting

Bloomberg-Led Gun Control Group Sponsors Super Bowl Ad

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The Mayors Against Illegal Guns ad features NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre calling for universal background checks in 1999.

Source: youtube.com

Obama: Gays Should Be Allowed In Scouts

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Before the Super Bowl, Obama says he won't push for another increase to tax rates.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama condemned the ban on gays from openly joining the Boy Scouts of America Sunday in an interview with CBS News two hours before Super Bowl kickoff.

"Should scouting be open to gays," asked interviewer Scott Pelley, to which Obama replied simply "Yes," before expanding to say that gays and lesbians should have the same opportunities and access to institutions as other Americans.

In the wide-ranging interview, the president also discussed his plans for tax reform in the coming year, saying he won't propose further raising tax rates after January's fiscal cliff agreement raised rates on the nation's wealthiest.

"I don't think the issue now is raising rates," he told Pelley, saying he wants to raise revenues by tackling loopholes and deductions — specifically mentioning the carried interest tax loophole, which benefits hedge funds.

"There is no doubt we need additional revenue coupled with smart spending reductions," he added, in a rebuke to Republicans who have tried to keep new revenues off the table.

Asked about his recent comments about safety in football, Obama reiterated that he isn't sure he'd let his son — if he had a son — play the sport, which in recent years has been linked to chronic brain and other injuries.

"The game is probably going to evolve a little bit," Obama said.

The pre-game interview has been a tradition for Obama since taking office in 2009.

"I've got some wings waiting for me upstairs," he said before returning to the White House residence to watch the game.

America's Political Leaders Thought The Blackout Was Funny Too

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Surprisingly little grandstanding. Blame Roger Goodell!

"Like most Saints fans, I am immediately assuming [NFL Commissioner] Roger Goodell is the chief suspect," New Orleans Senator David Vitter told BuzzFeed.

A few of his colleagues on Capitol Hill weighed in on Twitter:


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Even "Anti-Liberty" Halftime Conspiracy Theorist Can't Fault Beyoncé

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SuperPAC founder that boycotted Super Bowl halftime show thinks Bey is in the Illuminati, but “probably a very nice lady.”

The founder of registered SuperPAC Elect A New Congress said he heard Beyonce's performance "was pretty non-controversial" although he stood by his resolve to boycott her Superbowl halftime show, which he called "anti-liberty" earlier this week.

William Fawell, who runs the SuperPAC, accused Beyoncé of representing the rise of the military state and new world order Illuminati, because she has in the past performed with dancers dressed like policemen.

"I didn't watch it. But I think the whole thing was pretty non-controversial," Fawell said. "I didn't hear anything about storm troopers."

Fawell had not heard the Twitter-fueled arguments that Beyoncé had made a supposed Illuminati-referencing triangle sign with her hands during her performance.

"I'm not surprised that they came with the triangle thing, and I don't think it was in reference to high energy particle physics," he said. "I'm sure it was about the new world order."

Fawell said he watched the first half of the game at a bar in Galena, IL. When he asked the bartender to change one of the televisions to the Puppy Bowl during halftime, the bartender refused.

"So I went for a drive," he said. "I stopped at the legion hall and finished the game."

The call for a national boycott was not regarding Beyoncé's talent, Fawell said. He said the reason for boycotting the show was to make a statement against Madonna, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and other performers who he said are part of the "new world order."

"I never attacked Beyoncé," Fawell said. "I think she's probably a very nice lady who is 24 or 25 and she's got a husband who is her mentor-manager who is beyond her life and anything he tells her to do she thinks is the right thing to do."

Beyoncé is 31 years old. Fawell said he has not received any donations to his SuperPAC after his call to boycott the halftime show.

Republican Congressman Calls John McCain Racist For Ahmadinejad Monkey Joke

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A Twitter quip falls very flat.

Senator John McCain's joke comparing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the monkey that Iran claimed it sent into space earned him a scolding from a fellow Republican, Michigan Congressman Justin Amash.

"Maybe you should wisen up & not make racist jokes," Amash, who is of Palestinian and Syrian descent, tweeted at McCain. McCain had sent a tweet in response to the strange news that Ahmadinejad was offering himself up to be Iran's first astronaut, writing, "So Ahmadinejad wants to be first Iranian in space - wasn't he just there last week?" and linking to a story about the monkey.

McCain then told everyone on Twitter who had taken him to task for the tweet to "lighten up."

Amash, 31, is a libertarian Republican who was endorsed by Ron Paul and who has in a way molded himself in Paul's image — which includes calling out more senior Republicans.

Brian Rogers, a spokesman for McCain, declined to comment on Amash's reaction, saying in an email that "As Senator McCain said in his follow-up tweet, he was poking fun at Ahmadinejad's outer space ambitions..." and including a link to the "lighten up" tweet.

This Is What The Internet Did To A Photo Of Obama Shooting A Gun

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The White House asked that the picture not be photoshopped. The internet responded with… this.

The White House released this photo on Saturday, with a standard request not to photoshop.

The White House released this photo on Saturday, with a standard request not to photoshop.

This is the standard disclaimer released with every photo posted to The White House's Flickr Photostream: "The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House."

Image by Pete Souza/The White House

But the internet said 'Yes We Can.'

But the internet said 'Yes We Can.'

Via: knowyourmeme.com

Some people used it as a political statement.

Some people used it as a political statement.

Via: knowyourmeme.com

Via: knowyourmeme.com


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White House: No Timeframe For Obama To Release Budget

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“I'm disappointed the President has missed his deadline. But I'm not surprised,” Budget Chairman Paul Ryan says.

Image by Charles Dharapak / AP

WASHINGTON — White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday that he had no updates on when President Barack Obama will release his budget for the next fiscal year.

"I don't have an update on the President's budget," Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One as the president travels to Minneapolis to discuss his gun control proposals when asked when Obama will submit his spending plan to Congress. The deadline for submitting his budget for fiscal year 2014 is Monday, February 4, 2013 under the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921.

Republicans have blasted Obama for missing the deadline — his third consecutive miss and the most of any president since the act was passed, according to data from the House Budget Committee.

Carney encouraged reporters to "focus on substance over deadlines," saying Obama has proposed detailed plans for bringing down the nation's deficits, and that unlike Republicans, what he "hasn't done is submit a highly partisan budget that has no support among the American public."

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan accused Obama of "shirking" his responsibility by submitting the budget late.

"I'm disappointed the President has missed his deadline. But I'm not surprised," he said in a statement. "In four of the last five years, he's failed to submit his budget on time. We still don't know when we'll receive the president's request. And for nearly four years, Senate Democrats haven't passed a budget at all. We deserve better."

3 Startling Facts About Drone Attacks

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Covert CIA hits are getting “bigger, badder and more frequent.”

The use of drones by the CIA and organizations in the United Kingdom and Israel represent a new era of warfare — without countries ever declaring war. The CIA program uses unmanned vehicles to target and kill high-profile members of terrorist organizations, chosen from a "kill list" by the CIA and President Barack Obama. More than 50 countries have access to drone technology.

Up to 120 people died in attacks during the first month of 2013.

Up to 120 people died in attacks during the first month of 2013.

In the first month of 2013 alone, there were 15 covert operations — most including unmanned artillery vehicles or drones — in Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan that have killed up to 120 people. Those figures include nearly 20 civilians and up to four children, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Civilians are often the casualty of mistakes and mis-hits. In the 362 strikes in Pakistan from 2004 to 2013, nearly 900 civilians have been reported killed, which includes 176 children. The drone program (which spares pilots from risk) is Obama's weapon of choice as deployed troop numbers decrease.

"If the level of threat doesn't go down and the US military presence in the world is dropping, it's going to lead to even more drone strikes," said Daniel Goure, Vice President with the Lexington Institute and an expert in national security and defense. "It shows the necessity of getting some rules of the road because drone use is only going to get bigger, badder and more frequent."

More than 50 countries have access to drone technology — and the UN is worried.

More than 50 countries have access to drone technology — and the UN is worried.


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