The US State Department’s new annual human rights report accuses China of “extrajudicial killings, torture and coerced confessions of prisoners and the use of forced labor.” Russia and Sudan were also especially criticized. Ten countries were named as under “unaccountable… Read moreWhite House bashes China torture, vetoes bill banning torture
A man claiming to be Jaber al-Banna (also rendered Elbaneh), a Yemeni-American who is among the FBI’s most wanted terrorism suspects, showed up in a Yemeni court Feb. 23—and was allowed to walk free, surprising the attendees. Al-Banna’s appearance was… Read moreYemen lets jihadi walk free?
From New Scientist, Feb. 27: Governments around the world are rushing to develop military robots capable of killing autonomously without considering the legal and moral implications, warns a leading roboticist. But another robotics expert argues that robotic soldiers could perhaps… Read moreScientists want moratorium in “robot race”
Jawed Ahmad, an Afghan journalist for Canada’s CTV network held by the US military four months without charge, has been designated an unlawful enemy combatant, the Pentagon announced. Ahmad was allowed to make a statement before an enemy combatant review… Read morePentagon names reporter for Canadian TV “enemy combatant”
Our February issue featured the story “Oil Shock Redux: Is OPEC the Real Cartel —or the Transnationals?,” by Vilosh Vinograd, which argued that the unprecedented $100 a barrel is due less to OPEC production levels than the correct perception that… Read moreOur readers write: $200 a barrel oil?
The New York Times reports in a front-page story Feb. 23 that the Justice Department has opened an internal ethics investigation into the notorious August 2002 Bybee Memo that gave the imprimatur of legality to the Administration’s use of “waterboarding”… Read moreSupreme Court Justice Scalia defends torture
We’ve noted that Zbigniew Brzezinski is one of the primary exponents of the policy-elite backlash against the neocons, and his emergence as an adviser for Barack Obama says much about the coalition that is coming together behind the Obamarama. The… Read moreBarack Obama pawn in intra-elite paleo-neocon wars?
We’ve noted ourselves that Ron Paul is the only Republican candidate that talks a good line on the Iraq war. But it is really disturbing to see anti-war folks line up behind him uncritically. Nico Pitney notes the phenomenon—without comment—on… Read moreRon Paul: right-wing wackjob
The New York Times reports Feb. 9 that military prosecutors are in the final phases of preparing a “sweeping” case against suspected conspirators in the 9-11 plot. The charges, to be filed in the military commission system at Guantánamo Bay,… Read moreSix at Gitmo to face trial in 9-11
British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith signed an order Feb. 7 for the extradition of Abu Hamza al-Masri, the radical cleric imprisoned in the UK who is wanted by federal prosecutors in New York. Al-Masri, the former imam of north London’s… Read moreAbu Hamza al-Masri faces extradition to US
A new “manifesto” from five senior Western military commanders finds: “The risk of further [nuclear] proliferation is imminent and, with it, the danger that nuclear war fighting, albeit limited in scope, might become possible. The first use of nuclear weapons… Read moreNATO “manifesto” calls for pre-emptive nuclear strike option
Activists from the US-based groups CodePink and Juventud Bolivariana launched a “Most Wanted” campaign against Cuban-born former US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) “asset” Luis Posada Carriles in Miami on Jan. 12, demanding that the US government designate him a terrorist… Read moreCode Pink protests Posada Carriles
