“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.
Filed under Weekly Column
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.
Filed under Weekly Column
Journalist Christian Parenti responds to our interview with Kevin Bales, founder of Free The Slaves
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Maoist rebels in Nepal say an end to monarchy is near, following their surprise victory in last week’s national elections. The Communist Party of Nepal is expected to come out with more than half the seats in the constituent assembly when final results are released. Maoist officials say one of their first orders of business will be to abolish the monarchy and declare a republic. We speak with New York-based journalist Kashish Das Shrestha, and we go to Nepal to speak with anthropologist Mary Des Chenes. [includes rush transcript]
In Egypt, twenty-five members of the opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, were sentenced to jail by a military court on Tuesday. Among those sentenced was the group’s second most senior member. In the weeks ahead of Egypt’s municipal vote earlier this month, hundreds of members of the group were arrested. The verdicts come on the heels of food riots in Egypt in response to skyrocketing prices for food staples such as bread, rice, pasta. We speak with Hossam el-Hamalawy, an Egyptian journalist, blogger and activist. [includes rush transcript]
The rise in global food prices has sparked a number of protests in recent weeks, highlighting the threat of worsening already dire levels of global hunger. The World Bank estimates world food prices have risen 80 percent over the past three years and that at least thirty-three countries face social unrest as a result. The World Food Program has issued a rare $500 million emergency appeal to deal with the growing crisis. We go to Part II of our conversation with Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System. [includes rush transcript]