A victory for free speech in New York City. Congratulations to the courageous June Brashares. The only scary thing is that some of the jurors said they “weren’t clear” on whether free speech is constitutionally protected. We fail to see… Read moreRNC protester not guilty
The latest sorry debacle over the slow and tempestuous redevelopment of New York’s Ground Zero concerns plans for an International Freedom Center on the site. Survivors groups are protesting that the museum will not be exclusively dedicated to the 9-11… Read moreJingoism or self-reflection for Ground Zero museum?
A fairly amazing escalation in the European rendition scandal. This from the June 24 NY Times: Italian Judge Names 13 in Abduction Tied to C.I.A. ROME (AP) — An Italian judge on Friday ordered the arrests of 13 CIA officers… Read moreItalian judge orders arrest of CIA officers
A new communique from Subcomandante Marcos—this one more typically personable and verbose—sheds further light on the “red alert” recently declared by Mexico’s Zapatista rebels. The screed notes the deadlock which has persisted in the Zapatistas’ struggle for indigenous rights since… Read moreChiapas: Marcos speaks on “Red Alert”
This from the BBC, June 24. We know that the Indonesian regime (which the White House is seeking to reward with renewed military ties) is harshly intolerant of marijuana-smokers as well as ethnic separatists. We were hoping the separatists of… Read moreSharia law in Aceh
Just as the White House has rejected creation of an independent commission to investigate abuses at Gitmo and elsewhere (Reuters, June 21), comes this deeply disturbing news. It is (as we’ve recently noted) taboo to say this sort of thing,… Read moreDoctors involved in Gitmo interrogations
The US may soon be facing a counterinsurgency quagmire in Afghanistan as well as Iraq soon, even if the former still fails to grab headlines. Largely because the US has been more effective at grooming proxies to do the fighting,… Read moreAfghan war widening
The continuing violence in Lebanon seems to be forcing the situation there to a head: June 24, 2005 Lebanon’s anti-Syrian coalition urges president to resign Lebanon’s anti-Syrian coalition on Thursday accused President Emile Lahoud of being responsible for a series… Read moreWho is behind Lebanon violence?
A friend writes from Philadelphia, scene of the recent anti-biotech protests (where, as we noted, a police officer died of a heart attack): Please donate bail money! A dozen or so protesters were arrested at the Biodevestation protests in Philadelphia… Read moreBiodevastation protesters need help
Freedom’s on the march. That’s why a South Asian man gets detained by the police for taking photos on the streets of New York. Gotta love the irony. Thanks to the Independent Press Association’s Voices That Must Be Heard, “the… Read moreAward-winning Indian film-maker harassed by NYPD
With Congress considering new privacy-eroding measures in Patriot Act (and making the law permanent), and similar measures being weighed by the Homeland Security Department, comes this disturbing news. This did make the front page of the NY Times today, albeit… Read moreSocial Security shared data with FBI
A very unfortunate turn of events at the protests against the biotech industry confab that just concluded in Philadelphia, organized under the banner Biodevastation to Biojustice. This June 21 account from Philly’s KYW News Radio: A Philadelphia police officer involved… Read moreCop dead in Philly biotech protest
