America is in trouble – Amnesty International alleges war crimes on both sides of the recent Gaza conflict – Damn – And more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

The Republican party took control of the United States Senate, leaving US President Barack Obama isolated in the White House, the only branch of government his Democratic Party still controls.  The results indicate a “wave election” with Republicans not only making gains in both houses of the legislature, but also successfully defending state governorships that were thought to be endangered and picking up a few plums from Democrats along the way.  What does that mean?  More war, more tax cuts for the wealthy, slashes to food assistance for the poor and renewable energy, attacks on women’s health and rights, and given the highly ideological bent of some of these brain damaged goobers.. Impeachment proceedings against the President, even though he committed no “high crimes and misdemeanors”.

At the official memorial for Gough Whitlam, this really happened.  Seriously, when are the early elections?  Soon?  Getting there?

Israel is rejecting a report from Amnesty International accusing it of war crimes in Gaza.  Amnesty’s report details eight instances in which Israeli forces attacked homes in Gaza “without warning”, killing “at least 104 civilians including 62 children”.  The report alleges that Israel’s military targeted civilians even when it could not identify any Hamas activity in the area.  While the majority of the report is dedicated to Israel’s excesses, it also clearly blasts Palestinian militant groups for “firing thousands of indiscriminate rockets into Israel killing six civilians including one child”.  Israel dismissed the report as “propaganda” for Hamas.

Prime Minister John Key says New Zealand will take more steps to prevent any of its citizens from joining Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria.  But the Kiwi leader is ruling out any military role for his country in the Middle East.  As many as 40 New Zealanders people were “of concern in a foreign fighter context” and were on a watch list compiled by government agencies, according to Key.

China’s official news agency is pouring cold water on any possible direct talks between President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.  Japan’s media had speculated about a possible meeting on the sidelines of next week’s APEC summit.  But relations between the two countries are pretty weak right now, due to China’s attempts at grabbing territory in the East China Sea that has been part of Japan for more than 100 years; and by the Abe government’s insistence on militarism and glossing over the atrocities in Japan’s past.

Now, it’s pilot error?  US investigators will focus on why one of the pilots of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo unlocked the ship’s moveable tail section, causing it to break up 15,000 meters above California’s Mojave Desert.  That pilot, Mike Alsbury, was killed.  The other pilot, Pete Siebold, survived the crash but was severely injured parachuting to the ground.  The National Transportation Safety Board’s initial report is due in about a week; the full investigation could take a year.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is raising the Minimum Wage 15 percent in December.  It follows a 30 percent hike in may and a 10 percent rise in January.  Maduro says it’s necessary to help the lowest-tier earners get through the country’s annual inflation rate of more than 63 percent.  Maduro blames Venezuela’s economic woes on outside interference and an “economic war” being waged from within by the country’s wealthy.