Brendan Coyne

A week after the FBI disrupted about twenty Web sites operated by local chapters of the Indymedia network, there is still no clear explanation as to why agents seized some of the radical news organizations’ servers. Yesterday, agents returned both of the confiscated computer hard drives used to house the affected sites to Rackspace, the … Continue reading “Indymedia Seizures Still in Question”

Faced with tens of thousands of dollars in fines and the prospect of future criminal charges for traveling to Iraq, one antiwar activist is speaking out, challenging the federal government’s right to punish her for a 2003 visit to the Middle-Eastern nation. Judith Karpova, a longtime activist, interfaith minister, and freelance writer, said she hopes … Continue reading “Human Shields Denied Hearing on Iraq Sanctions Charges”

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”

A federal grand jury in Buffalo, N.Y., investigating charges against art professor Steven Kurtz finally handed down an indictment on Tuesday, ending deliberations that began on June 15. The indictment, technically for mail and wire fraud, also ensnared the University of Pittsburgh’s head of human genetics and surprised Kurtz’s supporters who had feared more serious … Continue reading “Biotech Artist Indicted”