The trial of Saddam Hussein continues to get more problematic. From the London Times, Jan. 24: THE court trying Saddam Hussein has replaced its chief judge a day before the former dictator returns to the dock. The Iraqi Special Tribunal… Read moreSaddam’s new judge from Halabja
A victory for historical memory—doubtless motivated by the Turkish state’s desire to gain EU entry. But as this Jan. 23 press release from Amnesty International makes clear, the greater victory will be when the law under which Orhan Pamuk was… Read moreTurkey: court drops case against writer
A glimmer of hope. But will the Supreme Court uphold it? From the Jan. 24 New York Times, via Mediachannel: A federal judge has ordered the Pentagon to release the names and nationalities of hundreds of prisoners detained at Guantánamo… Read moreJudge orders US to release names of Gitmo detainees
You can almost feel blood pressures rising on Wall Street and in corporate board rooms. From Dow Jones Newswire, Jan. 23: Bolivia Pres Names Cabinet; Marxist In Energy Post Bolivian President Evo Morales on Monday announced his 16-member Cabinet, which… Read moreBolivia: Evo appoints rads to cabinet
Two explosions in North Ossetia near a border post between the Russian Federation and Georgia’s unrecognized breakaway Republic of South Ossetia seriously damaged the main pipeline that supplies gas to Georgia and Armenia Jan 22. The FSB concluded it was… Read moreGeorgia accuses Russia in pipeline blast
A conviction in a torture-killing in Iraq… But no prison sentence—just a “reprimand”… FORT CARSON, Colo., Jan 23 (Reuters) – A U.S. Army jury on Monday ordered a military interrogator be reprimanded but not sent to prison for the killing… Read moreUS Army officer gets reprimand in Iraqi death
This one really takes the cake. William Blum’s anti-imperialist tome Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower has shot up from 205,763 to 26 on Amazon.com‘s index of the most-ordered books since it was given a favorable review… Read moreOsama has poor reading comprehension
From London News, Jan. 22: Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova died on Saturday aged 61, after a long fight with lung cancer. Mr Rugova was a key player fighting for peace in the region for more than a decade. He took… Read moreKosova independence leader Ibrahim Rugova dead at 61
From the AP, via Israel’s Ha’aretz, Jan. 22: CARACAS – Hundreds of Venezuelan intellectuals expressed “shock and consternation” in a public condemnation Saturday of allegedly anti-Semitic remarks made recently by President Hugo Chavez. “These dangerous tendencies must be denounced and… Read moreVenezuelan intellectuals speak out on anti-Semitism flap
Once again—how convenient is this? As bumping off Iran’s regime becomes more of a strategic necessity for Washington, suddenly Tel Aviv accuses Tehran of being behind the latest suicide bombing. Tehran, for its part, denies the charges—while publicly embracing Islamic… Read moreIran rejects link to Tel Aviv blast
From BBC, Jan. 19: France ‘would use nuclear arms’ French President Jacques Chirac has said France would be ready to use nuclear weapons against any state which launched a terrorist attack against it. Speaking at a nuclear submarine base in… Read moreFrance threatens nuclear strikes
From the AP, Jan. 19: Al-Jazeera on Thursday aired an audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden, who says al-Qaeda is making preparations for attacks in the United States but offering a truce “with fair conditions.” The tape’s release came days… Read moreAl-Qaeda bigs killed in Pakistan? Osama offers truce?
