Human Rights Law

What The Wingnuts Are Saying

Posted on November 04, 2008
Tracking in real time the bloviations of rightist radio gasbags and their tube-looney cronies, on election day 2008, as their world--finally--falls apart.

Curious timing

Posted on November 03, 2008
On the very eve of the presidential election, George Bush & Co. finally got to unveil a conviction of somebody accused of having at least some role in the September 11, 2001 attack. They've spent years paying little attention to bin Laden himself and doing nothing to charge the hundreds of alleged terrorists they've locked up without trial at Guantanamo Bay - and in who knows how many other secret prisons around the world...

Monday Open Thread and News

Posted on November 03, 2008
Do you feel it yet? The end of the Reagan Era is almost at hand. There is an almost palpable excitement and sense of joy, with no small degree of relief all about us. But don't rest just yet. Don't be complacent. We need to do whatever we can over the next 30 hours to GOTV...

An Educator Hears A Dog Whistle in the Obamamercial

Posted on November 02, 2008
Senator Obama didn't spend a whole to of time during last night's infomercial on education policy, but in the few seconds he did talk about it, he managed to send a chill down the spine of at least one Denver-area teacher when he held up as an example of positive change the Mapleton School District in Thornton, Colorado...

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Sami al Haj: From Guantanamo Bay to Al Jazeera

Posted on November 01, 2008
Sami Al Haj was was working as a cameraman for al-Jazeera in December 2001.  As a Sudanese citizen he was covering the American-led invasion of Afghanistan.  The tale begins with his transit into Afghanistan through Pakistan.Pakistani authorities arrested him at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in December 2001 and turned him over to American authorities in January 2002, to make a little cash...

Saturday Open Thread and News of the Day

Posted on November 01, 2008
Saturday morning and all is well in Possum Valley.  The news of the day is mixed this morning.  There is much of note for pondering today. Beginning with an op-ed by Audrey Macklin of the University of Toronto School of Law, we get an analysis of the Omar Khadr trial at Guantanamo...

Halloween/Guavaween Blogging

Posted on October 31, 2008
I had planned to write about the legendary witch-hunts brought from Europe and England to this country by the Puritans, and the culture of witch-hunting still prevalent today, but some work got in the way and most of mi amigos are GOTV with only 4 days until the election...

"Because Every Detainee Is Important . . . . "

Posted on October 30, 2008
A civilian CIA contractor accused of beating an Afghan detainee who later died in custody was found guilty of assault. David Passaro is the first person affiliated with the spy agency to be convicted in a post-September 11 abuse case. As we have so often read of other murderers, he "looked just like the guy next door...

Mohammed Jawad Confession Tossed by Judge

Posted on October 29, 2008
Army Col. Stephen Henley said Mohammed Jawad's statementswere obtained by physical intimidation and threats of death which, under the circumstances, constitute torture. The judge went even further sayingThe relevant inquiry is whether the threat was specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering upon another person within the interrogator's custody or control...

My Nominee for the NION Video Awards 2008

Posted on October 29, 2008
So I was sitting around, bemoaning the fact that Jackson Browne is coming to my city this Saturday (just a regular ole' concert, not a Barack thing) and that since I'd only heard about it today, the prices of the remaining seats are well out of a teacher's entertainment budget...

. . . And Justice For Whom?

Posted on October 28, 2008
What will be the legacy of George W. Bush? I can't imagine a single volume of history will ever fully answer that question, but the word "justice" will likely be absent from the historical record. Our self-described "war president" has never shown an interest in that which is fair or just...

Monday Night Book Club: Oath Betrayed

Posted on October 27, 2008
Soldiers are trained to kill and doctors to heal. At least that's how we usually understand those two professions. --Dr. Steven Miles of Physicians For Human Rights. There are literally tens of thousands of FOIA requests on the ACLU website, categorized as Government Documents on Torture Freedom of Information Act...

Remembering Paul Wellstone

Posted on October 26, 2008
On October 25, 2002, Senator Paul Wellstone diedin a charter jet crash that also took the lives of his wife, Sheila, daughter Marcia, three political aides and the plane's two pilots. Wellstone was 58. Wellstone's time in the Senate was marked by devotion to liberal causes, including work on affordable health care, family leave, and a new farm bill...

RedSKINS & HATE CRIMES

Posted on October 26, 2008
Source The Indian removals which destroyed one quarter of the Cherokee tribe, were actually conceptualized by Jefferson and then extended and carried out by Jackson. There were great debates about whether the "redskins" were human and whether they had souls...

Unit 731: Biological Warfare & Human Medical Experimentation

Posted on October 25, 2008
The story of United States research into and use of biological weapons remains a huge blank spot in the known history of this country. There have been attempts to document this history, but much remains classified or has been destroyed. The use of biological weapons dovetails with U...

Open Thread and Science Friday

Posted on October 24, 2008
Science never fails to offer new and exciting news on a regular basis.  Today I have a few offerings.  For more see the website, e! Science News. Next time you see your physician for a chronic illness, be sure you are getting real medicine and not a placebo...

Hu Jia Wins EU Sakharov Prize

Posted on October 23, 2008
Named for the physicist, Andrei Sakharov, the EU awardsthe annual Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in order to honour individuals or organisations for their efforts on behalf of human rights and fundamental freedoms and against oppression and injusticeThis year the prize is awared to Hu Jia, the Chinese dissident jailed in the Spring of this year for his actions in China...

"These Three Men Were Sacrificed To Show The United States That Canada Was Doing Something"

Posted on October 22, 2008
A Canadian inquiry has determined that false and inflammatory information passed by Canadian officials to the United States contributed to the detention and torture of three Canadian men in Syria. Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou-Elmaati, and Muayyed Nureddin, Canadian citizens all, were arrested while visiting Syria, then imprisoned and tortured there as suspected "Islamic extremists," "terrorists," "Al Qaeda procurement officers," and the like...

"Interrogation Psychologists" and the Allure of "National Security Psychology"

Posted on October 22, 2008
Martha Davis Ph.D., a Clinical Psychologist and a Visiting Scholar at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, has produced an important new documentary, Interrogation Psychologists: The Making of a Professional Crisis". The film premiered at a conference entitled "The Interrogation and Torture Controversy: Crisis in Psychology," held at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Center on Terrorism in New York City on September 12, 2008...

Evening Open Thread

Posted on October 21, 2008
You remember the War on Terror, don't you? It was in all the papers. Back before presidential politics sucked the air from the room and your 401(k) shrank till it was worth maybe dinner and a movie, it was considered quite the important news story. Abu Ghraib? Extraordinary renditions? Fight 'em over there so we don't have to fight 'em over here? Surely, you recall...

U.S. Drops Charges (Sorta, Kinda) Against Binyam Mohamed, 4 Others

Posted on October 21, 2008
The Pentagon announced Tuesday it has dropped war crimes charges against five Guantanamo Bay detainees after the former prosecutor for all cases complained that the military was withholding evidence helpful to the defense. The five detainees are Noor Uthman Muhammed, Binyam Mohamed, Sufyiam Barhoumi, Ghassan Abdullah al Sharbi and Jabran Said Bin al Qahtani...

Bush to Keep Guantanamo Open

Posted on October 20, 2008
In spite of past statements supporting closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, this will not happen under the current administration.President George W. Bush has decided not to do so, and never considered proposals drafted in the State Department and the Pentagon that outlined options for transferring the detainees elsewhere, according to senior administration officials...

Monday Night Book Club: October 20, 2008

Posted on October 20, 2008
Good evening, and welcome to the grand opening of NION's Monday Night Book Club. I'll be your hostess. I want to thank you all and encourage you to be comfortable, have a tea or coffee or adult beverage of your choice (or a virtual tall hazelnut cappuccino with a shot of vanilla) and join me in a discussion of books which I plan to start every Monday night, but due to this marvels of the 'tubes, we can continue at our leisure throughout the week...

New Details on BSCT-led Torture of Mohammad Jawad

Posted on October 19, 2008
Newsweek has a new article out giving more information on the role of a Guantanamo military psychologist working for the Behavioral Science Consultation Team (BSCT) that interrogated "child prisoner" Mohammad Jawad. U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Diane M...

Alexa Foresees New Powell Doctine: "His Name Was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, And He Was An American"

Posted on October 19, 2008
Back in July, amid the fuss over Barry Blitt's New Yorker cover--the one that portrayed Barack and Michelle Obama as gun-toting, flag-burning, Osama-respecting Muslims--Alexa posted here a diary that asked: Is there something wrong with being Muslim? What message do the heated denials and debates send out to Arab Americans, and to our own children, when Barack Obama is challenged about being "as far as I know" (not Muslim)? ...

Weekend Open Thread and Book Club Info

Posted on October 18, 2008
Hola, mis amigos. Are you lovin' the change of seasons as much as I am? (We don't really have seasons per se in Florida, but the slightly cooler weather and the autumn and Halloween decorations are rockin' in my 'hood.) I want to start a new feature here at NION, the Monday Night Book Club...

Marching Straight Towards Authoritarianism

Posted on October 17, 2008
Whenever a civilian government either outsources its responsibilities in matters domestic and/or foreign affairs, whether to corporations, security agencies and/or the military, then it is safe to say that it is the beginning of the end of democratic governance - ultimately leading to authoritarian corporatocracy, security state and/or military junta ...

Guantanamo Interpreters' Accuracy Questioned

Posted on October 16, 2008
As if there were not enough problems with the ongoing military tribunals in Guantanamo Bay, now comes word the interpreters may not be as accurate as one may hope or assume.  In his recent pre-trial hearing Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, a Saudi national, was speaking in Arabic while Marine Col...

Bush Approved Torture in Secret Memos

Posted on October 15, 2008
As many have long suspected we get news today that what we thought is confirmed.The Bush administration issued a pair of secret memos to the CIA in 2003 and 2004 that explicitly endorsed the agency's use of interrogation techniques such as waterboarding against al-Qaeda suspectsThe memos were signed to protect the interests of people worried about future prosecution for their actions...

The New (Old) Solution Of Neocons: More Nukes!

Posted on October 14, 2008
Neocons prove once again that they just can't live without an "all fearful enemy" to contend with. They've missed the USSR so much, they've kept trying to make Russia the same at its former monolithic "Iron Curtain" incarnation (hence their predictable, wrongheaded and misinforming reaction with regards to the latest Georgia crisis)...

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