More 'sickening' truths about torture soon to be revealed by David Edwards and Muriel Kane A crucial CIA Inspector General's report from May 2004 is expected to reveal some long-hidden truths about the Bush administration's use of torture.According to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, 'This report is sort of the big kahuna in terms of what we have been waiting to see from the government's own files on torture. That report, which is long and has been described by people who have seen it as 'sickening,' apparently stopped the torture program in its tracks.'
Death Row Case Embodies Systemic Flaws, Critics Say by Henry Parr NEW YORK - Since his conviction on Aug. 21, 1991, Troy Davis has been engaged in an exhaustive legal battle for his exoneration and release from death row. His efforts have garnered international support from organizations and figureheads such as Amnesty International, the European parliament, Desmond Tutu, and Pope Benedict XVI.
How Wall Street says 'Thank you, Suckers!': By hanging a HUGE American flag on the NYSE by Jane Stillwater After spending a few days at the 2009 Book Expo in New York City last week, I stuffed 70 pounds free books into my roll-away suitcase, dragged it off to the subway and started to trudge off to JFK airport. Okay, I know. 70 pounds is a lot of books. But I figured that instead of buying everyone back home souvenir T-shirts from Lexington Avenue, I would bring everyone books -- including several children's books for baby Mena, a hot pulp romance called 'Mexico Heat' for a gay friend of mine and 'The Whole-Food Guide to Strong Bones' for some of my aging female friends, including me.
Guantanamo: the Chinese Uighurs are going to Palau by Aimee Kligman This was the opening paragraph of the article dealing with the Uighur prisoners from Guantanamo that appeared in the New York Times: The United States has won an agreement to transfer up to 17 Chinese Muslims from the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Palau, a sparsely populated archipelago in the North Pacific, according to a statement released by Palau to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Clearing up myths about the EFCA by Mary Shaw I was talking with a friend recently, and the subject of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) came up. This friend says he is pro-union, but opposes the EFCA because, he said, it would require workers to openly sign a petition for a union prior to a secret ballot election.
MoveOn: Break the Silence on Torture and War by Tom Hayden Progressives who have been silent on the escalating wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan have a new opportunity to change their stance now that the nearly $100 billion Congressional war supplemental (HR 2346) authorizes suppression of hundreds of torture photographs held by the Pentagon.
Doctors' Group Opposes Public Insurance Plan by Robert Pear WASHINGTON — As the health care debate heats up, the American Medical Association is letting Congress know that it will oppose creation of a government-sponsored insurance plan, which President Obama and many other Democrats see as an essential element of legislation to remake the health care system.
Investigators find Feds threatened bank CEO by The Associated Press Congressional investigators say they have seen internal documents that prove the Federal Reserve threatened to force the ouster of Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis if he didn't follow through with plans to buy Merrill Lynch & Co.None of the documents reviewed by staff, however, showed that the government explicitly instructed Bank of America to hide Merrill Lynch's losses from shareholders.
Bring On the Tarantulas by Gail Collins I am deeply depressed about my state’s Legislature. This is an embarrassing thing to have to admit, since it obviously suggests the lack of a full and meaningful inner life. Still, it’s bad. You may have heard that New York is currently in crisis because two Democrats in the State Senate defected, giving Republicans control. The remaining Democrats turned out the lights and locked the doors.
The Pompous or the Populists: Who Will Win the Healthcare Debate? by Donna Smith You'd think after eight long and ugly years listening to pompous and wealthy officials slam their versions of social hatred down our gullets, we'd have sent those folks packing for good on January 20, 2009. You'd think as we debate healthcare reform for this nation, we'd have left the arrogance and the flaunting of greed back in the pre-Wall Street bailout days of summer 2008. And you'd think in the People's House, the United States House of Representatives, we'd at least have stood up and said that every single American is deserving of and yes, entitled to, healthcare and protected from going broke in the process of getting care when ill.
