“Extraordinary rendition” is White House-speak for kidnapping. Just ask Maher Arar. He’s a Canadian citizen who was “rendered” by the U.S. to Syria, where he was tortured for almost a year.
Filed under Weekly Column
U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Chancellor Keesling died in Iraq on June 19, 2009, from “a non-combat related incident,” according to the Pentagon. Keesling had killed himself.
Filed under Weekly Column
Climate-change activists, from pranksters to presidents, are stepping up the pressure by staging elaborate stunts.
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Lt. Dan Choi doesn’t want to lie. Choi, an Iraq war veteran and a graduate of West Point, declared last March 19 on “The Rachel Maddow Show,” “I am gay.” Under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” regulations, those three words are enough to get Choi kicked out of the military.
Filed under Weekly Column
A social worker from New York City was arrested last week while in Pittsburgh for the G-20 protests, then subjected to an FBI raid this week at home—all for using Twitter.
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Journalist Christian Parenti responds to our interview with Kevin Bales, founder of Free The Slaves
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“Vulture fund” companies buy up the debt of poor countries at cheap prices, and then demand payments much higher than the original amount of the debt, often taking poor countries to court when they cannot afford to repay. Investigative journalist Greg Palast reports on one company trying to collect $40 million from the government of Zambia after buying its debt for $4 million. [includes rush transcript]
An estimated 300,000 demonstrators rallied in Beirut Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. The rally came one day after a pair of bus bombings killed three people and wounded at least 20. We go to Lebanon to speak with columnist and author Rami Khouri. [includes rush transcript]
Perhaps no musical act has paid a bigger price for speaking out against war than the Dixie Chicks, the biggest selling female music group of all time and the big winners at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. They have been largely blacklisted since the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003. That’s when the group’s lead singer–Natalie Maines–said the group was against the war and ashamed that the President Bush is from Texas. Barbara Kopple joins us to talk about her new documentary, “Shut Up & Sing”, which chronicles the period since. [includes rush transcript]