Pope John Paul II, who died April 2, leaves a mixed legacy. In his native Poland, and elsewhere in the Communist world, he was a catalyst of revolutionary change in the ’80s, but this same anti-Communism caused him to ally… Read morePope leaves mixed legacy—will successor be Black?
From the LA Times, April 1: Fred Korematsu, the Japanese-American whose court case over his refusal to be interned during World War II went to the U.S. Supreme Court and became synonymous with this nation’s agonized debate over civil liberties… Read moreFred Korematsu dead at 86
Reads the latest communique from the Biotic Baking Brigade, dated March 30: William Kristol, founder of the Project for the New American Century (a leading neo-con think tank) and a key figure in American foreign policy for over 20 years,… Read morePNAC piggie gets just desserts
Well, all the lefties and Bush-haters are gloating again—this time at the new report from a presidential commission finding that the intelligence the White House received aboout weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was "dead wrong." (AP, March 31) Will… Read moreWMD report: worse than a whitewash
The City of New York has reached an agreement in a lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the Ya-Ya Network, a youth advocacy group. Ya-Ya activists had been threatened with arrest for handing out… Read moreNYC: Ya-Ya Network in First Amendment victory
More than 400 members of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) staged a rally in Kathmandu March 29 to demand an end to press censorship imposed by King Gyanendra when he seized power last month. Unlike other anti-monarchy demonstrations in… Read moreNepal: journalists protest censorship
Reads an AFP report that seems to have been picked up exclusively by the Kurdish Media website: A musician from Turkey’s Laz minority group said the country’s public television refused to allow him to perform his songs, claiming that new… Read moreTurkey’s Laz minority face cultural exclusion
From Connecticut’s Shore Publishing group of community newspapers: New London — Drawing parallels to Cold War-era paranoia and fear mongering, a regional group is organizing protests of next month’s TOPOFF3 drill, which will simulate a chemical attack on New London…. Read morePeaceniks protest TOPOFF 3
From the Bond Buyer, April 1: The Bond Market Association will participate in next week’s U.S. TOPOFF 3 test, an exercise in which municipal market participants, government agencies, and trade groups will explore how a simulated terror scenario might affect… Read moreBond market prepares for terror
What is now being dubbed Kyrgyzstan’s "Tulip Revolution" is starting to look considerably less than velvet. The country remains divided, with ousted president Askar Akayev in hiding but refusing to step down, and some protests and even road blockades reported… Read moreKyrgyzstan: revolution “made in USA”?
The Indonesian army and police have killed three people, burned down houses, killed pigs and destroyed crops, in the latest in a series of attacks against tribal villages in the Papuan highlands. One of those killed was a child. The… Read moreIndonesia: army massacre in West Papua
A group of ex-national security officials have sent an open letter calling for weaning America off the oil addiction and asking the Bush administration to spend $1 billion on develeoping more fuel-efficient automobiles. Retail gasoline prices now averaging above $2… Read moreEx-national security bigwigs protest profligance
