December 23, 2017 – Bridge Agents

DEA Operation Played Hidden Role in the Disappearance of Five Innocent Mexicans

December 23, 2017 Bridge Agents

Monterrey, Mexico (ProPublica) – At about 2 a.m. on April 21, 2010, a convoy of gunmen working for the Zetas drug cartel, one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations in the world, rolled into Monterrey, Mexico, a wealthy, bustling city considered that country’s commercial capital. With brazen efficiency, they set up roadblocks at all major thoroughfares, then sent a convoy of sport utility vehicles downtown, encircling a Holiday Inn. The heavily armed men, some wearing ski masks, swarmed into the hotel’s lobby and rushed directly to the fifth floor, bursting into…

After Moore, the Deluge

December 23, 2017 Bridge Agents

United States (OW) – The defeat of Roy Moore in the Alabama senate race tells us something about voters. Women — especially black women — made the difference. Some 57 percent of Alabamian women voted against Moore, while 56 percent of mostly white men stuck with him. That also tells us something about the Grand Old Pedophile Party (no need to say more). The election raised the national consciousness about the sexual predation, harassment, and assault that’s still woven deep into the fabric of our society. It starts with demeaning…

A Looming Crisis for Turkey’s President

December 23, 2017 Bridge Agents

(FPIF) – Viewed one way, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan looks unassailable. He weathered last year’s coup attempt, jailed more than 50,000 opponents, fired more than 100,000 civil servants, beheaded the once powerful Turkish military, eviscerated much of his parliamentary opposition, dismissed almost half of the county’s elected officials, and rammed through a constitutional referendum that will make him an all-powerful executive following the 2019 election. In the meantime, a seemingly never-ending state of emergency allows him to rule by decree. So why is the man running scared? Because the…

‘Love Wins for Today’ as Indonesian Court Rejects Petition to Criminalize Gay Sex

December 23, 2017 Bridge Agents

(GVO) – The Indonesian Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusional or MK) has rejected the petition of an Islamic conservative group to outlaw extramarital and gay sex. Activists believe the proposal to amend several articles of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP) is aimed at persecuting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The petition was filed by Love Family Alliance (AILA) which asked the court to make a judicial review of Article 284 (extramarital sex), Article 285 (rape), and Article 292 (pedophilia). The group wanted the law to consider homosexual sex as…