RUSSIA TODAY– In the past few weeks the U.S. has witnessed an aggressive crack down on whistleblowers. For many the Obama administration’s tough investigative stance on unauthorized press leaks goes against the president’s own election promises to bring back openness and transparency. Moreover, some journalists now accuse the Obama government of actually attacking press freedom. Democracy Now Part 1/3 Democracy … Read More
NY TIMES– The Supreme Court’s refusal to consider the claims of Maher Arar, an innocent Canadian who was sent to Syria to be tortured in 2002, was a bitterly disappointing abdication of its duty to hold officials accountable for illegal acts. The Bush administration sent Mr. Arar to outsourced torment, but it was the Obama administration that urged this course … Read More
BLOOMBERG– President Barack Obama probably would veto legislation authorizing the next budget for U.S. intelligence agencies if it calls for a new investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks, an administration official said. A proposed probe by the intelligence agencies’ inspector general “would undermine public confidence” in an FBI probe of the attacks “and unfairly cast doubt on its conclusions,” Peter … Read More
TRUTHOUT– High-value detainees captured during the Bush administration’s “war on terror,” who were subjected to brutal torture techniques, were used as “guinea pigs” to gauge the effectiveness of various torture techniques, a practice that has raised troubling comparisons to Nazi-era human experimentation. according to a disturbing new report released by Physicians for Human Rights, an international doctors’ organization. PHR, based … Read More
GUARDIAN– American officials are searching for Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks in an attempt to pressure him not to publish thousands of confidential and potentially hugely embarrassing diplomatic cables that offer unfiltered assessments of Middle East governments and leaders. The Daily Beast, a US news reporting and opinion website, reported that Pentagon investigators are trying to track down Julian … Read More
