Two weeks ago, the Israeli cabinet voted to demolish de-consecrated synagogue buildings left in Gaza settlements. A court challenge by settlement rabbis to not demolish them was rejected. On Sept. 9, reversing an earlier stance in favor of demolishing, the… Read moreIsrael makes Gaza synagogues political hot potato
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, VA, ruled unanimously Sept. 9 that Jose Padilla, held for more than three years as an “enemy combatant,” can be detained indefinitely without trial. Judge Michael Luttig wrote the decision for a… Read more4th Circuit upholds Padilla detainment
More than 200 detainees in Guantánamo Bay are in their fifth week of a hunger strike, the UK Guardian reports Sept. 9. The paper cites statements from prisoners recently declassified by the US government, revealing that the men are starving… Read moreHunger strikers pledge to die in Gitmo
Reports Sarah Garland of Newsday Sept. 9: Michael Dardar lost his home when Hurricane Katrina flooded his trailer in Boothville, La., but that is the least of his worries. For Dardar, 43, a Houma Indian, the loss of his land… Read moreKatrina pushes Houma Indians towards cultural extinction
Sarah Ferguson of the Village Voice reports Sept. 8 of the feds shutting down yet another citizens’ self-help initiative: Although the effort was trumpeted in the media as an example of grassroots ingenuity in the face of disaster, local officials… Read moreFEMA shuts down grassroots radio initiative for evacuees
From AP, Sept. 9, via TruthOut: The deployment of thousands of National Guard troops from Mississippi and Louisiana in Iraq when Hurricane Katrina struck hindered those states’ initial storm response, military and civilian officials said Friday. Lt. Gen. Steven Blum,… Read moreIraq deployment cost lives on Gulf Coast: National Guard chief
Contrary to earlier reports, the St. Petersburg Times states Sept. 9 that nobody has yet been arrested for disobeying evacuation orders—but authorities are preparing to carry out forcible evacuations if “hold-outs” continue to resist. The paper acknowledges that this suspension… Read moreNew Orleans: “standoff” over forced evacuation
From a Sept. 10 TruthOut account by Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo: Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm, infamous for their work in Iraq, are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans. Some of the mercenaries… Read moreIraq mercenaries deployed to New Orleans
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency: French official praises, blasts Israel France’s foreign minister described Israel’s “colonization” of the West Bank as illegal. Visiting the Jewish state this week, Philippe Douste-Blazy praised the success of the Gaza withdrawal but said that… Read moreFrench FM: Israeli colonization illegal
For a second day, US war-planes struck a supposed al-Qaeda stronghold in the city of Qaim on the Syrian border. A US military statement said the attack is thought to have killed Abu Ali, a senior al-Qaeda agent in charge… Read moreIraq: US airstrikes, forced evacuations on Syrian border
Survivors of Hurricane Katrina who refuse to follow the mandatory evacuation order have been handcuffed as soldiers and police force them to abandon their homes. Up to 10,000 “hold-outs” are still thought to be in New Orleans, and many are… Read moreForcible evacuation of “Occupied New Orleans”
Every Friday for months now, the Palestinian village of Bi’lin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has been the scene of creative and organized non-violent protests against the illegal construction of Israel’s “separation wall,”which will cut off much of the village’s… Read moreIsrael represses non-violent protest in occupied West Bank
