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Rolling Stone's Afghanistan 'kill team' expose: 5 disturbing takeaways

The magazine publishes fresh details on U.S. soldiers who murdered Afghan civilians and mutilated their corpses — and how senior officers failed to stop them

Anhas shed fresh light on the unnervingallegedly carried out by a "kill team" of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. In the 8,000-word article, writer Mark Boal — who won an Oscar last year for his screenplay for The Hurt Locker — delves into the gory details of the charges faced by soldiers from the 5th Stryker Brigade, 3rd Platoon, and the lengths to which thethe extent of their murderous violence. Here, a list of five takeaways:

1. The kill team murdered with impunityFive low-ranking soldiers were charged with three murders of Afghan civilians last summer, and were labeled a "" that acted covertly and without the knowledge of its superiors. But, writes Boal, a "review of internal army records and investigative files" shows that the "Kill Team" was effectively "operating out in the open, in plain view of the rest of the company." The murder of civilians was thought to be "common knowledge," and officers who were in a position to question the killings — including the 3rd Platoon's commanding officer — failed to do so. Several officers, reveals Boal, have since been promoted.2. They kept gruesome photos and mementosOne of the accused soldiers, Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, allegedly took body parts from murdered corpses as grisly mementos of the kills. He is said to have removed fingers from two murdered civilians, and also removed a tooth from one of the dead. Other soldiers took photos of the trophy kills, and shared them with colleagues via "thumb drives and hard drives." Rolling Stone has[Warning: graphic images]. Some show severed heads and limbs, and others bloodied corpses. "Among the soldiers" of 3rd Platoon, writes Boal, "the collection was treated like a war memento." 3. A coverup went right to the topBefore the charges were revealed last summer, an Army-wide investigation into the alleged war crimes found evidence of the photos — and went to extraordinary lengths to suppress them, writes Boal. The military "sent agents fanning out across America to the homes of soldiers and their relatives," gathering up copies of the video files. Both General Stanley McChrystal and Afghan President Hamid Karzai were made aware of the photos' existence. But they were not revealed until now. "The message was clear," writes Boal. "What happens in Afghanistan stays in Afghanistan." 4. There may be more murders... and more suspectsFive soldiers were charged with the murder of three civilians. But evidence from the photos suggests there may be more killings to investigate. One photo of two corpses, alleges Boal, shows two more civilans whose deaths were not reported, "killed by soldiers from another platoon, which has not yet been implicated in the scandal." A source tells Rolling Stone: "Those were some innocent farmers that got killed." Two of the fingers discovered in Staff Sgt. Gibbs' possession did not match the prints taken from the murdered corpses. "Either the records were screwed up," says Boal, "or there were more dead guys out there who were unaccounted for."5. There's a conspiracy of silenceOne of the killers, Spc. Jeremy Morlock, has now been sentenced to 24 years in prison, and Staff Sgt. Gibbs and three others await military tribunal for their crimes. But not a single officer or senior official has been charged in either the murders or the coverup, reveals Boal. A secret investigation into the "critical question of officer accountability" has been carried out, but the Army refuses to reveal what, if any, disciplinary action it has taken against the 3rd Platoon's commanding officers..

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Absolute Auction - 1.12 Acres, Venice, Florida

This is a great opportunity for a business or investor who can utilize this high traffic, high visibility location in Venice, Florida," said David E. Gilmore of Sperry Van Ness Accelerated Marketing.

Visitfor property information, photos, terms and environmental reports.

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For more information:Ashley Bloom - Sperry Van Ness/Commercial Advisory Group941.366.1136

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Ashley Bloom Sperry Van Ness Accelerated Marketing941.366.1136Email Information

AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion: Supreme Court to rule on consumers' class-action rights

In AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, the Supreme Court will decide whether a company has the right to require customers doing business with it to sign away their right to participate in class action lawsuits.

What led to the lawsuit?

The Concepcions signed aand thought they were getting a package discount on two phones, only to pay sales tax on the full price of the phones, which resulted in a $30 claim. They sued, contending it was a fraud for AT&T to advertise the discounted package then charge them tax on the full-price of both phones.

Why does it matter whether this case is heard as a class action?

Every consumer signing the same contract with potentially had an identical claim against AT&T. Individually, each of those claimants, including the Concepcions, were out so little money, it would cost more to hire a lawyer than they could recover if they won. But AT&T collected millions of dollars through these charges. By pooling their resources on legal representation, consumers can afford to pursue their legal claims.

How did the case come to be before the U.S. Supreme Court?

The Concepcions filed suit against AT&T in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The court combined their case a class action case known as Laster that raised the same issues. AT&T tried to get the case dismissed, arguing that its contract both required the Concepcions to resolve disputes through arbitration (which resolves the dispute outside of the court system) and forbid the Concepcions to pursue a class action. The district court refused to dismiss the case, and AT&T filed an appeal of that ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. , and AT&T appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

What is the basis of the Circuit Court decision?

The 9th Circuit said based on earlier court rulings, the Concepcions had to meet three criteria in order for the clause barring class actions to be ruled unconscionable and, therefore, unenforceable. The contracts must be contracts of adhesion, meaning one party unilaterally created the contract and imposed it on the other; the dispute must be over relatively small sums of money; and the party that drafted the contract must be found to have used its superior bargaining power to cheat large numbers of people out of small amounts of money.

What is the key issue before the U.S. Supreme Court?

The Federal Arbitration Act governs arbitration agreements and determines whether and under what conditions they are enforceable. Generally, that law says arbitration agreements are enforceable unless the state law requirements for revoking a contract are met. When a specific provision of an arbitration agreement, like a class-action ban, is unenforceable under state law, does the state law or the FAA determine the outcome?

Why does this case matter?

When a consumer does business with a corporation, the contract setting out the terms is generally a standard one imposed by the corporation. With increasing frequency, such contracts contain arbitration clauses, requiring a customer to resolve any claim against the company through arbitration rather than a lawsuit. The rationale behind such clauses is that arbitration is less expensive and procedurally simpler than a court case. Courts have upheld such arbitration clauses where they don't unfairly limit the consumer's rights to recover damages due them.

If the court rules for the Concepcions, AT&T argues that companies will not be willing to enter into arbitration agreements because they will no longer offer advantages over traditional litigation.

If the court rules for AT&T, plaintiffs whose individual legal fees would exceed their potential recovery in litigation will be deterred from seeking recompense due them, allowing corporations to help themselves to millions of dollars by getting small sums from large numbers of people.

Barca still favourites says Wenger

LONDON (AFP) – Arsene Wenger insisted Barcelona remained favourites to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals after Arsenal came from behind to score a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Spanish giants.

A goal apiece from Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin in the final 12 minutes sealed a memorable win for the Gunners after a largely dominant Barcelona had taken a first-half lead through David Villa.

Arsenal's slender advantage gives the Premier League side a fighting chance of progressing when the two teams meet in the second leg.

But while Wenger is adamant that Barcelona will be favourites to prevail, he believes his vibrant young team will be armed with a vital commodity when they enter the Camp Nou on March 8 -- belief.

"We are not the favourites now," Wenger said. "But what is important is we believe we have a chance and we'll go for it. Barcelona are still favourites. "But after tonight we know that we can beat them. And we didn't know that last year," said Wenger, referring to last season's quarter-final, which saw Barcelona crush the Gunners 4-1 in the second leg, 6-3 on aggregate.

"Tonight's result gives us a chance to go to Barcelona with belief. We know that it will be a very difficult game but we will prepare well and be highly focused and try to play our natural game," Wenger said.

"It gives a special lift to my team. Our players have shown their strength and togetherness and this result will reinforce that."

Arsenal's victory was also a vindication of Wenger's unrelenting commitment to attacking football.

While conventional wisdom dictated that the only way to beat Barcelona is via containment, Wenger insisted all along that his side would be true to their instincts and seek to fight fire with fire.

At the Emirates on Wednesday they proved as good as their word, when, despite ceding possession for long periods, they continued to throw men forward on the counter-attack.

When the final whistle blew, Arsenal had two strikers on the pitch, Nicklas Bendtner and van Persie, complemented by a midfield brimming with creative intent -- Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere and Arshavin.

"I wanted to go for it offensively," said Wenger, as he explained his risky decision to substitute defensive midfielder Alex Song for Arshavin with Arsenal trailing 1-0 early in the second half.

"We needed to score two goals. I just took a gamble -- it could have backfired to 2-0 or 3-0 but it worked.

"I'm very proud for Arsenal tonight. Because everybody urged us to play differently to our nature and this result will strengthen the belief in our philosophy. That's important."

Wenger is only too aware that one big performance from Lionel Messi, however, could see his team's hopes unravel next month.

The mercurial Argentinian threaded through the pass for Villa's opener and came agonisingly close to opening the scoring after 15 minutes, when he committed Wojciech Szczesny with a lovely feint and beat the Arsenal keeper with a delicate dink, only to see his effort trickle just wide of the upright.

"Who doesn't worry about Lionel Messi?" Wenger said. "When we play in Barcelona that will be one of our tasks. But you never can keep him completely quiet. However we can take encouragement from tonight."

Wenger's counterpart Pep Guardiola said his side had paid the price for failing to convert more than one of the half-a-dozen openings their famously slick passing play presented.

"In general I'm happy with the performance -- the result is the thing I don't like," Guardiola said.

"It was a fantastic match for anyone who likes football. When two teams want to play attacking football its always nice. We're try to turn the tables on them at our place."

Guardiola predicted another classic could be on the cards in three weeks time as his team try to overturn the first leg deficit.

"They are going to attack and we are going to attack," Guardiola said.

"So if you have nothing better to do, I invite you to come to Barcelona because it's going to be a great match."

Study Links Brain Molecule to Risk of Major Depression

TUESDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- People whose genetic make-up produces lower levels of a brain molecule called neuropeptide Y (NPY) may be at increased risk for major depression, says a new study.

Previous research has shown that NPY helps people calm down after experiencing stressful events.

This study found that when exposed to negative stimuli, people with gene variations that cause them to produce lower levels of NPY have stronger responses in key brain circuits related to emotion. This means they have less resilience to stress and a stronger psychological response to pain; they were also overrepresented in a population diagnosed with a major depressive disorder, the researchers said.

The study was published Feb. 7 in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

"We've identified a biomarker -- in this case genetic variation -- that is linked with increased risk of major depression," senior author Dr. Jon-Kar Zubieta, a professor of psychiatry and radiology, and a research professor at the University of Michigan Molecular and Behavioral Neurosciences Institute, said in a university news release.

"This appears to be another mechanism, independent of previous targets in depression research, such as serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine," he added.

In the study, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at the brain activity of participants as they read neutral words (such as "material") negative words ("murderer") or positive words ("hopeful").

Participants who had lower NPY levels showed lots of activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is involved with processing emotion, compared to those with higher NPY levels.

"This tells us that individuals with the risk-associated NPY gene variant tend to activate this key brain region more than other people,even in the absence of stress and before psychiatric symptoms are present," said lead study author Dr. Brian Mickey, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Researchers then injected participants' jaw muscles with a saline solution that causes brief moderate pain. The level of pain was adjusted for each person until they rated it a 4 on a 10-point scale.

Participants were asked to describe how they felt before and after the injection. Participants in the low NPY group reported more negative emotions both before and after the injection, suggesting they weremore emotionally affected while both anticipating and thinking about the painful experience later.

The finding may eventually help with early diagnosis and treatment for depression, including individualized therapies based on a patient's genetic profile, the researchers said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about depression.