On Feb. 28, the US State Department released its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, covering 2004. The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) finds that some of the findings have been shaped by "political considerations": One glaring discrepancy… Read moreState Department rights report reveals double standard on Venezuela, Colombia
A resolution calling for troop withdrawal from Iraq was put before Vermont town meetings March 1 as a result of a statewide campaign by anti-war activists. By the following night, the resolution had been approved by 38 towns of the… Read moreVermont townships reject Iraq war
A new Homeland Security Department pilot program is placing electronic ankle bracelets—similar to those placed on criminal offenders—on immigrants who are waiting for a resolution on their legal status. Homeland Security says the program is an alternative to internment in… Read moreUndocumented immigrants to get ankle bracelets
On Feb. 28, the husband and mother of Chicago federal judge Joan Lefkow were murdered at their home, in a case likely linked to the wacko ultra-racists called the World Church of the Creator. Lefkow had been receiving threats since… Read moreWorld Church of the Creator strikes again?
The ACLU and Human Rights First filed suit in Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s home state of Illinois on behalf of eight men who suffered psychological and physicial injuries while detained by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Rumsfeld bears direct… Read moreRumsfeld sued over prisoner abuse
Citing an anonymous "intelligence source," Newsday and assorted other media outlets claim that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most-wanted militant leader in Iraq, has been urged by Osama bin Laden’s top aide to organize attacks in the US. "It was a… Read moreZarqawi urged to hit U.S.?
On Feb. 28, a federal judge in South Carolina ruled that the U.S. must charge or release accused "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla within 45 days. The Justice Department vows it will appeal. Padilla, a US citizen, has been held without… Read moreDoJ vows to appeal Padilla ruling
The latest testimony in the Brooklyn federal trial of Yemeni Sheikh Mohamed al-Moayad is a Yahya Goba, 28, a member of the "Lackawanna Six," himself facing ten years imprisonment. His courtroom recount of a spring 2001 visit to an al-Qaeda… Read moreMedia frenzy in NYC terror trial
A judge in the tribunal created to try Saddam Hussein was assassinated by unkown gunmen along with his son outside their home in north Baghdad, two days after the tribunal ruled that a first group defendants from the Saddam regime… Read moreSaddam tribunal judge assassinated
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Omar Karami has resigned follwing a wave of angry protests in Beirut. "I declare the resignation of the government that I had the honour to head. May God preserve Lebanon," Karami said. Lahoud was a close ally… Read moreLebanon’s government resigns
Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel is being deported by Canada back to his German homeland, where he is expected to be arrested for inciting racial hatred. Zundel, who has been sitting in a jail cell in Canada for the last two… Read moreZundel goes home
Iran and Russia signed a deal Feb. 27 to get the Bushehr nuclear reactor, Iran’s first, up and running. Under the deal, Russia agrees to supply fuel, and Iran agrees to have the spent returned to Russia so that it… Read moreIran and Russia sign nuke deal
