Month: July 2004

A renaissance of warfare is one of the most striking features of the early twenty-first century. War, it seems, is not the prerogative of international criminals, but the first resort of the righteous. After September 11, 2001, it was widely believed that might could indeed enforce right: President George W. Bush was quick to proclaim … Continue reading “Risk-Transfer Militarism and the Legitimacy of War After Iraq”

"A state of war is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation’s citizens." Those words from Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor are music to the ears of every friend of freedom. That line is a direct slap at President George W. Bush, who has signaled … Continue reading “War Is No Blank Check”

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that Yaser Hamdi and Shafiq Rasul (and other Guantanamo detainees) are entitled to seek habeas corpus relief in U.S. federal district courts to challenge their detention by U.S. military officials, the question naturally arises: What relief should the federal district courts provide in those habeas corpus proceedings as … Continue reading “Padilla, Hamdi, and Rasul: Charge Them or Release Them”

At a June 29 arraignment hearing, a judge ordered that University of Buffalo art professor Steven Kurtz report all future purchases of bio-matter to university and government agents, Assistant United States Attorney William Hochul, Jr., told The NewStandard. Kurtz, co-founder of the Critical Arts Ensemble, a group of artists whose work challenges government and corporate … Continue reading “Biotech Art Case Continues; Artist Restricted”

Martha Stewart has been sentenced to 5 months in prison and two years of supervised release for not telling the truth about a legal stock tip. The only thing she has been found guilty of is lying about a noncrime. Mrs. Stewart was neither charged with, nor found guilty of, insider trading. Neither she nor … Continue reading “Whom Did Martha Stewart Kill?”

Tom Ridge, the federal official in charge of defending the United States against terrorism, was on message when he told a July 14 news conference: “We don’t do politics at Homeland Security.” Such high-level claims of patriotic purity have been routine since 9/11. But in this election year, they’re more ludicrous than ever. Days earlier, … Continue reading “Terrorism and the Election: Trial Balloons and Spin”

President George Bush says that America is safer because of our war against Iraq. I respectfully disagree. For one thing, our “shock and awe” campaign has turned into a show and tell of America’s military limitations. We have not been able to defeat the Iraqi resistance, and trying to do so has put a great … Continue reading “Where Is This ‘Safer’ America?”

The Select Committee on Intelligence has just issued a report [pdf] highly critical of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) of October 2002, which served as the basis for the “Congressional Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq.” Various congresspersons are now saying that if they had known in October … Continue reading “The Vote for Gulf War II”

NEW DELHI – Ahead of the Indian government’s proposed move to repeal a draconian anti-terror legislation, a new report says the law is used to settle personal vendettas, frame children, torture prisoners and systematically target the minority Muslim community. Lashing out at the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002 (POTA), human rights lawyer Nitya Ramakrishna charges, … Continue reading “Report: Indian Anti-Terror Law Preys on Minorities”

Hong Kong, followed closely by Singapore, retains the highest rating in the latest edition of the “Economic Freedom of the World” annual report released here Thursday by the Cato Institute and more than 50 other libertarian think tanks around the world. The United States tied for third place with New Zealand, Switzerland and the United … Continue reading “Asia Tops Economic Freedom Survey”