Life As A Drone Pilot

The Telegraph: Armchair killers: life as a drone pilot



In the film Good Kill, Ethan Hawke plays a drone pilot troubled by his work. What's it really like to take a life from thousands of miles away with the push of a button?



Its nickname is Predator Porn, and Paul Rolfe used to watch it 12 hours a day. Sometimes it was horrific, sometimes it was life affirming; mostly it was just dull. But whenever fellow soldiers at his airbase in Nevada wandered past the "live feeds" from his console, he'd notice how their eyes would wander to the screen and have trouble looking away.



Small wonder. For the cameras on the Predator drones that Rolfe once operated offer a voyeuristic experience unlike no other.



Filmed from two miles up, but with a lens so powerful it feels like a hawk hovering at 100 feet, the cameras captured parallel lives in some of Iraq and Afghanistan's most hostile corners. On his screen at the Combined Joint Predator Task Force, 50 miles north of Las Vegas, Rolfe and his colleagues would watch locals going about their business, sometimes in the harsh light of the midday sun, sometimes in the black and white silhouettes of infrared night vision.

Saudi king relieves health minister, second in a month

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Salman has relieved Health Minister Ahmed al-Khatib of his post, removing a second minister handling social welfare issues in the space of a month as he reshapes the cabinet soon after coming to the throne.

Iraq Wants U.S. Arms But Wants To Pay For Them Later

Iraq's Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi speaks during a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Baghdad March 31, 2015. Reuters/Ahmed Saad

Reuters: Exclusive: Iraq's leader to seek arms, with deferred payment, on U.S. visit



(Reuters) - Iraq's prime minister will seek President Barack Obama's help to acquire billions of dollars in drones and other U.S. arms to fight Islamic State during a U.S. visit next week but wants to defer payment for the purchases, a senior Iraqi official said.



Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi is grappling with an insurgency by militants from Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot that emerged from the chaos in Iraq and neighboring Syria and seized much of northern and central Iraq last year.



He is also facing a cash crunch thanks to a plunge in oil prices that is ravaging Iraq's state finances. The government is projecting a budget deficit of roughly $21 billion this year.



Update #1: Iraq to ask US for billions of dollars in arms to fight Islamic State -- The Telegraph

Update #2: Iraq's leader to seek billions in military aid, with deferred payment, on U.S. visit -- Haaretz



WNU Editor: It appears that Iraq is running out of money .... Iraq’s fiscal woes (Jamal Doumani, Arab News).

President Obama: Partisanship On The Iranian Nuclear Talks Has 'Crossed Boundaries'

Politico: Barack Obama to John McCain: Back off John Kerry



The president responds to McCain's statement about Kerry being "delusional."


Barack Obama wants John McCain to leave John Kerry alone.


The president blasted the Arizona senator on Saturday for his recent comments questioning how forthcoming the secretary of state has been about what’s contained in the preliminary nuclear deal with Iran.


During a press conference in Panama City, Obama praised Kerry’s service to the country, noting that he’s a former senator and a Vietnam veteran.


For McCain (R-Ariz.) to imply that Kerry “is somehow less trustworthy in the interpretation of what’s in a political agreement than the supreme leader of Iran, that’s an indication of the degree to which partisanship has crossed all boundaries,” Obama said.


WNU Editor: President Obama is getting testy .... and he has good reason to be .... This was not a good week for Obama's Iran polic y (Armin Rosen, Business Insider). My guess is that he thought he would be universally applauded when the Iranian deal was announced last week .... but events since then have been anything but.

More News On President Obama's Criticism Of Washington Politics Towards His Iran Nuclear Deal

Obama Rebukes Congress Over Iran Deal Partisanship -- AP

Obama: Partisanship on Iran has 'crossed boundaries' -- The Hill

Obama Rakes Partisanship Over Iran Nuclear Deal -- VOA

Obama urges patience on Iran deal -- SKY News

Obama slams GOP lawmakers as trying to 'short-circuit' Iran talks -- L.A. Times



WNU Editor: President Obama is getting testy .... and he has good reason to be .... This was not a good week for Obama's Iran polic y (Armin Rosen, Business Insider). My guess is that he thought he would be universally applauded when the Iranian deal was announced last week .... but events since then have been anything but.

Chinese demands, rebels and Buddhist ruins stall Afghan copper dream

MES AYNAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - China and Afghanistan remain deadlocked over a stalled $3 billion copper mine five months after Beijing demanded royalties be slashed by almost a half, underlining Kabul's struggles to support itself as foreign aid dries up.

A year after ferry disaster, safety concerns persist in South Korea

SEOUL (Reuters) - Nearly a year after her 16-year-old daughter was among 304 people killed when an overloaded ferry capsized, Park Eun-mi says not much has changed when it comes to safety in South Korea.

President Obama: Iran’s Leaders Using Nuclear Talks for Political Spin

U.S. President Barack Obama holds a news conference at the conclusion of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama April 11, 2015. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

Bloomberg: Obama Says Iran’s Leaders Using Nuclear Talks for Political Spin



U.S. President Barack Obama disputed Iranian leaders’ assertions that immediate sanctions relief would spring from a final nuclear accord, and faulted Senate Republicans for injecting partisanship into the negotiations.


Obama said that phased reduction of penalties on the Islamic Republic was part of a preliminary accord reached last week and that Iran has its own politics and hardliners “just as we have in our own country.”


“It’s not surprising to me that the supreme leader or a whole bunch of other people are going to try to characterize the deal in a way that protects their political position,” Obama said in a news conference Saturday after a summit of Western Hemisphere leaders in Panama.



Update #1: Obama optimistic about Iran nuclear deal despite Khamenei's comments -- Reuters

Update #2: Obama: Nuclear Deal Possible Despite Khamenei Objections -- WSJ



WNU Editor: I find it very strange to see a sitting U.S. President finding excuses while trying to explain the politics in Iran and what it's leadership really means when their comments on the nuclear deal do not mirror what the Obama administration has been saying.

A Very Brief Meeting Between Venezuelan President Maduro And President Obama At the Summit Of The Americas

U.S. President Barack Obama (front row, L) and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (top row, R) attend the inauguration ceremony of VII Summit of the Americas in Panama City April 10, 2015.

Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Reuters: Obama meets Venezuela's Maduro at time of high tensions



(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro privately at a regional summit on Saturday and tried to ease tensions that surged after the United States recently placed sanctions on Venezuela.


Maduro had earlier challenged Obama to discuss his decision to sanction seven Venezuelan officials, saying in a speech to the summit in Panama that he had been trying to arrange a meeting with Obama for two years but never received a response.


Obama was not present at the time but the two later met. A Venezuelan government spokeswoman said they greeted each other in Spanish and had a respectful conversation.


A U.S. official said it was a brief conversation just as Obama was leaving for his return to the United States.



WNU Editor: What can I say about Venezuela .... trillions in oil wealth .... but toilet paper is hard to find. Hmmm .... reminds me of what life was like living in the old Soviet Union .... on paper we were one of the richest nations in the world .... even though we had problems finding toilet paper.

More News On Today's Brief (Very Brief) Meeting Between Venezuelan President Maduro And President Obama

Obama meets Venezuela's president on sidelines of summit -- AP

Obama, Venezuela's Maduro speak at summit amid tensions -- Channel News Asia/Reuters/AFP

Obama, Venezuela's Maduro speak at summit amid tensions -- iFocus

Presidents Obama And Castro Meet In Panama

BBC: Obama says Castro meeting a 'turning point' in US-Cuba relations



US President Barack Obama has said that his meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro could be a "turning point".


He described the meeting on the fringes of the Summit of the Americas as "candid and fruitful".


Mr Obama said that the former foes would continue to have differences but that they could advance their mutual interests.


The meeting was the first formal talk between the two countries' leaders in half a century.



WNU Editor: Will the Castro brothers change and put Cuba on a different path .... nope .... that is not going to happen. And those in Cuba who are waiting in the wings to take over when the Castros are gone .... they are not going to implement the necessary reforms and policies that would transform Cuba from being one of the poorest nations in the Americas to one of the richest. My hope is on what will come after the next generation .... but that is far into the future.

More News On Presidents Obama And Castro Meeting In Panama

Obama meets Raul Castro in highest-level U.S.-Cuba talks in decades -- Reuters

In historic face to face, Obama, Castro vow to turn the page -- AP

President Obama, Cuban President Raul Castro Officially Meet For Substantive Talks In Panama -- ABC News

Obama, Raul Castro Historic Meeting At Summit Of The Americas -- CBS

Obama holds historic meeting with Cuba's Castro, pledges to 'turn the page' -- FOX News

Barack Obama and Raul Castro meet, launch new era of U.S.-Cuba ties -- CNN

Barack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro Hold Historic Meeting -- WSJ

Obama, Castro Have 'Historic' Face-to-Face Meeting -- VOA

Castro and Cuba show new side at Summit, and old tactics too -- Washington Post

Barack Obama: Cold War days with Cuba are over -- The Telegraph

Obama in historic talks with Castro but Cuban leader in no mood for a love-in -- The Guardian

What do Obama and Castro hope to accomplish by meeting? -- Samantha Laine, CSM

Castro and Obama’s New Bromance -- Daily Beast

U.S. and Cuba: from Cold War hostilities to a historic meeting -- Reuters

Most Brazilians favor impeachment, but few see Rousseff gone: poll

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Almost two thirds of Brazilians favor the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff over a corruption scandal at state-run oil company Petrobras, but roughly as many doubt it would drive her from office, according to a poll released on Saturday.

Obama meets Raul Castro in highest-level U.S.-Cuba talks in decades

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met Cuban President Raul Castro on Saturday in the highest-level talks between the two countries in nearly 60 years, and the two men agreed to push ahead on improving relations after decades of hostility.

Obama optimistic about Iran nuclear deal despite Khamenei's comments

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama expressed optimism on Saturday that major world powers and Iran could finalize a deal to curb Iran's nuclear program despite strong words this week from the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.