In their bid to get the Patriot Act made permanent when it comes up for renewal later this year, Bush and Attorney General Gonzales are claiming 200 terrorism convictions thanks to new post-9-11 powers. However, a review of the cases… Read moreGonzales cooks the “terror conviction” books
Our reader Ivo Skoric offers the following observation on news that National Intelligence Director John Negroponte will be appointing his personal intelligence overseer at the FBI: Now that White House will have its man inside the FBI, actually a top… Read moreNegroponte gets man at FBI
Jonathan Bennett of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) sends the following observations on follow-up coverage of revleations the Bush White House altered science on global climate change: Go figure. Two days after the Times reports… Read moreQuiet exit for White House science-cooker
On the same day that Bush called for the Patriot Act to be made permanent when it comes up for renewal later this year (see his comments at the National Counter-Terrorism Center), finally some dissension emerges in Congress over the… Read moreCapitol Hill dissension over Patriot Act
Tentative moves towards peace are reported from Darfur, where the first group of some 200 internally displaced people left Kalma camp near Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur, on 20 trucks provided by the Sudanese government. They are part… Read moreDarfur peace talks start badly
Just as Bush is trumpeting claims that Syria is planning to re-intervene in Lebanon, comes a disturbing June 8 story from the New York Sun, claiming that the familiar “regime change” formula is about to be applied to Damascus: At… Read moreSyria target of “regime change” offensive
We noted two weeks ago that police authorities in Edinburgh are refusing to grant permission for an anti-war march during the G8 Summit scheduled for the Gleneagles resort outside the city in July. Now comes this June 10 press release… Read moreFree speech under attack at G8 summit
An interesting commentary from Robert Fisk on watching Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven in Beirut. But we do wish the boy would learn a bit more about the part of the world he has built a career reporting from. The… Read moreRobert Fisk goes to the movies
The International Criminal Court at The Hague has launched a war crimes probe into the mass killings in the Darfur region of Sudan. Over the past 2 years at least 180,000 people have died in the region and over 2… Read moreInternational Criminal Court launches Darfur investigation
The trial of former Palestinian professor Sami Al-Arian began June 6 in Tampa. The government has accused Al-Arian and 8 others of racketeering, conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists. The government alleges that Al-Arian used an Islamic academic think… Read moreTrial of Palestinian professor begins in Florida
Germany’s high court on June 9 upheld the acquittal of Abdelghani Mzoudi, accused of assisting the 9-11 attacks on the US, but German officials said Mzoudi would be deported anyway. Prosecutors had appealed the February 2004 acquittal of the Moroccan… Read moreGermany to deport 9-11 suspect
Speaking at Luxembourg on a tour of NATO countries one day after ruling out closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Donald Rumsfeld responded to reporters’ questions on the issue: “Our goal is not to obviously have these people, but… Read moreRumsfeld softens on Gitmo?
