July 2015


Matthew Behrens

Just before the annual orgy of Canada Day self-celebration, the Pew Research Center released a poll revealing that over one-third of Canadians supported the use of torture. This was no late April Fool’s joke, but rather a shocking figure that was part of a global survey on U.S. foreign policy (more…)

Steven Greenhut reason.com

One of California’s most prominent federal judges, Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit court of appeals, has sparked a nationwide debate about the state of the nation’s criminal-justice system with a recent 42-page jeremiad in the Georgetown Law Review. The article depicts a system that tilts heavily in favor of district attorneys, incarcerates thousands of innocent people and fails to hold accountable prosecutors who abuse their power. (more…)

by Justin Elliott, ProPublica, and Laura Sullivan, NPR, July 21, 2015, 11:01 a.m.

The documents also raise questions about the accuracy of the Red Cross’ count of how many Haitians it helped, concluding the figures on one project were “fairly meaningless.” (more…)

Commondreams.org

The internet is not for businesses, governments, or spies. It’s for users—and it’s up to the independent web engineers to keep it safe for them. (more…)

To commemorate the 11th anniversary of the arrests of Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain on August 4, 2004, two Muslim men entrapped in a phony FBI sting operation in Albany, seventeen area peace and justice groups will present a free screening of the Peabody Award-winning documentary The Newburgh Sting on Monday, August 3 at 7 p.m. at The Linda339 Central Ave. in Albany. The film will be preceded by a rally and dinner at the Masjid As-Salam, 280 Central Ave., at 5:30 p.m., and then a 6:45 p.m. march up Central Avenue to The Linda, WAMC-FM’s performing arts theater. (more…)

John Pilger Truthout

An historic betrayal has consumed Greece. Having set aside the mandate of the Greek electorate, the Syriza government has willfully ignored last week’s landslide “No” vote and secretly agreed on a raft of repressive, impoverishing measures in return for a “bailout” that means sinister foreign control and a warning to the world. (more…)

Twenty-year-old Scottish National Party MP Mhairi Black gives cause for hope in her maiden speech (8 mins) at Westminster.  Transcript available here at “3.6 pm”.

Chris Hedges Truthdig

The poor and the working class in the United States know what it is to be Greek. They know underemployment and unemployment. They know life without a pension. They know existence on a few dollars a day. They know gas and electricity being turned off because of unpaid bills. They know the crippling weight of debt. They know being sick and unable to afford medical care. (more…)

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