September 2015


A former prostitute tries to rescue Iraq’s most vulnerable women 

By Rania Abouzeid The New Yorker

On a Saturday night in late May, I sat in the back seat of a taxi as it drove through a shantytown in Baghdad. We were not far from Firdos Square, where, in April of 2003, invading American troops famously toppled a large statue of Saddam Hussein. A highway passed overhead, its traffic thudding, and Baghdad’s tallest building, the Cristal Grand Ishtar Hotel—still widely known as the Sheraton (more…)

Consortiumnews.com

When the U.S. Department of Defense published a new Law of War Manual (LOW) this past summer, editorialists at the New York Times sat up and took notice. Their concern was that the manual stated that journalists could be deemed “unprivileged belligerents.” The editorial explained that as a legal term “that applies to fighters that are afforded fewer protections than the declared combatants in a war.” In fact, it is far more insidious than that innocuous description. (more…)

ICH

John Pilger discusses WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his bid for his own freedom – and for freedom of information. John Pilger also gives us his take on Jeremy Corbyn’s bid for leadership of the UK Labour Party. (more…)

Truthout.org

The Scottish National Party’s landslide electoral victory in May has given a major boost to the anti-nuclear movement in the United Kingdom and could have significant repercussions in the United States and other countries as well. (more…)

The Intercept

Canada has charged a Syrian intelligence officer with torturing Maher Arar, the Canadian whose 2002 rendition to Syria by U.S. authorities became a cause célèbre. (more…)

Guardian U.K.

A motion filed Friday says the State’s Attorney’s office colluded with police to withhold ‘discovery’ material obtained via Stingrays from defendants (more…)

Commondreams.org

Canada on Tuesday filed charges against a Syrian intelligence officer for torturing Maher Arar, the Canadian citizen who was handed over to the Syrian government in 2002 by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (more…)

The Daily Beast

Members of al Qaeda’s branch in Syria have a surprising advocate in the corridors of American power: retired Army general and former CIA Director David Petraeus. (more…)

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