More ironically positive developments in the José Padilla case. First, his lawyers demanded that the Justice Department charge him with a crime, rather than hold him in military custody indefinitely as an “enemy combatant.” Now that the Justice Department has… Read moreAnother ironic victory in Padilla case
We’ve heard the allegations that the Darfur rebels are operating out of Chad where they receive covert support from the US. Has Sudan now entered this bloody game by grooming a Chadian rebel force on its own territory? EL-GENEINA, Sudan,… Read moreSudan backing Chad rebels?
From AP, Dec. 19: They called the two ladies “Dr. Germ” and “Mrs. Anthrax.” It was a breakthrough when U.S. forces arrested Rihab Taha, a British-educated biological weapons expert, and Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, a former top Baath Party official,… Read moreIraq: “Mrs. Anthrax” freed —from bogus detainment?
From the BBC, Dec. 19: Spanish police have arrested 14 people suspected of being members of an Islamist extremist group, with links to al-Qaeda. The arrests were made in the southern towns of Malaga, Nerja and Seville. Spanish police say… Read moreSpain: more al-Qaeda busts?
Looks like it is back to the bad old days in Iran—the years of revolutionary fervor in the early ’80s when music was banned from the public airwaves. Writes one of our readers: “Too bad the neo-cons are too stupid/sectarian/scared… Read moreIran: president bans Western music
US Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Afghanistan today to attend the inauguration of the country’s first Parliament in more than 30 years and visit US troops. Cheney joined President Hamid Karzai and other dignitaries at a ceremony to swear… Read moreAfghanistan: warlords dominate new parliament
Glad some hearty souls are keeping the anti-globalization flame alive, even in the post-9-11 world, and even under the heavy hand of the Chinese state. From AP Dec. 17: Police removed hundreds of protesters who staged a sit-in that shut… Read moreAnti-WTO protests rock Hong Kong
Our readers are aware that the leaders of the San José de Apartado Peace Community in Colombia have been forced to take refuge in a camp they have dubbed San Josecito (Little San José) since their village was occupied by… Read moreColombia: new threats against “peace community”
From ITN: A teacher has been shot dead in southern Afghanistan by suspected Taleban guerrillas after he ignored their orders to stop teaching girls. The attack was carried out by two armed men who arrived at the secondary school in… Read moreAfghanistan: Taliban target teachers
From Socialism Now, the website of the Left Worker Communist Party in Iraq: We denounce the Coward Terrorist Act Of Kidnapping Two of our Comrades by a Militant Gang in Baghdad On the morning of Wednesday, December 7, 2005 an… Read moreIraqi socialists kidnapped
Alert Oliver Stone. But this piece by our frequent contributor Dr. Michael I. Niman (which originally appeared Nov. 10 in ArtVoice of Buffalo, NY, and is archived on Dr. Niman’s website) makes a disturbing case. Who Killed Pat Tillman? by… Read moreDid US government kill Pat Tillman?
The discovery of yet another clandestine torture center run by the Shi’ite-dominated Interior Ministry provides helpful propaganda to the Sunni jihadis. Around it goes. From Newsday, Dec. 13: BAGHDAD – Five Islamic extremist groups denounced Iraq’s parliamentary elections this week… Read moreIraq: dialectic of terror as elections begin
