JTA reports that more than 500 scholars have now signed a petition blasting C-Span’s decision to air a talk by Holocaust-denier David Irving. JTA reports, “The petition was organized by the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies in response… Read more500 scholars blast C-Span over Irving
The unclassified 21-page summary of a 400-page secret Pentagon report prepared by Vice-Admiral Albert Church confirms that at least six detainees have died in more than 70 proven cases of abuse in Afghanistan and Iraq, and reveals that the U.S…. Read morePentagon torture report exonerates brass
The Pentagon is funding development of a Pulsed Energy Projectile (PEP), a laser that generates a burst of expanding plasma when it hits something solid, like a human being, inducing excruciating pain from up to a mile away. The program… Read morePentagon develops ultra-pain weapon
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
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 Justice Department has dropped its claim that allegations by FBI contract translator Sibel Edmonds of grave security breaches at the translation unit are classified. Edmonds’ claims had already been made public in letters to the DoJ inspector general by… Read moreDoJ blinks in Sibel Edmonds case
Al-Jazeera has aired another propaganda video from Ayman al-Zawahiri, now said to be al-Qaeda’s number two man after Osama bin Laden. "Your new crusade will end, God willing, with the same defeat as its predecessors, but only after you have… Read moreAl-Zawahiri: We’ll kill thousands.
John Negroponte has been named by Bush to be the first Director of National Intelligence, a post created by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Act, recommended by the 9-11 Commission and signed into law in December. If confirmed by the… Read moreNegroponte fingered for intelligence czar
A newly declassified report from the 9-11 Commission–released five months late and heavily censored, with several passges blotted out by thick black ink lines–reviews Federal Aviation Administration daily intelligence briefings to airport administrators in the months leading up to the… Read more9-11 Commish FAA revelations: more fodder for conspiranoia mill
Tom Wilner, attorney for 11 Kuwaiti men arrested by US forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan and now held at Guantanamo Bay, told the press his clients say they were beaten, tortured and subjected to electro-shock and sodomy to extract confessions…. Read moreKuwaiti GitMo detainees: We were tortured
Newly-confirmed US Atttorney General Alberto Gonzales may begin his term as an indicted war criminal. The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights filed new documents January 31 with the German Federal Prosecutor looking into war crimes charges against high-ranking US… Read moreGonzales may face war crimes charges in Germany
I generally like Hobsbawm, but there has always been a contradiction in hisworks between his enthusiasm for the ultra-democratic movements of theEnglish Civil War (Diggers, Levellers, etc.) and his allegiance to theBritish Marxist soft-on-Russia crowd. This piece reflects that ambivalence,and… Read moreHobsbawm on “exporting democracy”
