Controversies
Libyan Chair of “Anti-Racism” Conference Confronted by Victim of Libyan Torture
The United Nations Durban II conference on racism in Geneva last week attracted media coverage surrounding both the issue of the United States and other western nations boycotting the summit because of its anti-Israeli bias, and Iranian President ... read more
Wiretapped Rep. Harman Accused of Intervening for Right-Wing Jewish Group
After allegedly declaring over the phone she would use her influence to help two Israeli lobbyists accused of spying, Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) concluded by saying, “This conversation does not exist.” Guess again, congresswoman.
That conversatio... read more
Illinois Town Officials Hid Warnings about Toxic Tap Water
Officials of Crestwood, a village of 11,000 in Cook County, Illinois, used to proclaim that their water was “Good to taste but not to waste!” while cutting taxes as part of their fiscally-conservative municipal operation. Well, it turns out that c... read more
It’s Time to Close West Point: Thomas E. Ricks
The best way to save money and improve the caliber of officers in the U.S. military would be to shut down the training academies for the Army, Navy, and Air Force, argues Thomas E. Ricks, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, ... read more
Are Local Police Wasting Resources Enforcing Immigration Laws?
Since 1996, local police have been enlisted to help enforce immigration violations. Now questions are being raised as to whether some jurisdictions are using the program to arrest illegal immigrants for traffic violations, and thus reducing the re... read more
Susan Boyle and a Lesson from Jane Austen: Carol Platt Liebau
Susan Boyle became the talk of the Internet on both sides of the Atlantic following her surprising appearance on “Britain’s Got Talent,” when she stepped on stage with her frumpy appearance and middle-aged spread and wowed audience and judges alik... read more
CIA Uses College Marketing Classes to Create Recruiting Campaigns
In an unusual appeal for help, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has begun tapping into university and college marketing programs in an effort to revamp its image and expand recruitment. The Bush Administration mandated the National Clandestin... read more
Should CIA “Black Sites” be Preserved as Evidence?
Leon Panetta, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has been asked by lawyers of one Guantánamo Bay detainee not to dismantle the secret prisons used to interrogate suspected terrorists. The counsel for Abd al-Rahim Hussain Mohammed al-Nash... read more
10 Most Challenged Books at Schools and Libraries
Each year, the American Library Association (ALA) releases a list of the top 10 books libraries or schools have been asked to ban. According to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, 513 complaints were filed in 2008 from individuals or groups cla... read more
Dozens of Memos Still Secret
Although they shed new light on the secret authorizations of the Bush administration, the Justice Department memos released last Friday are, to a certain extent, just the tip of the iceberg. According to an assessment by ProPublica, there remain a... read more
New Bill Supporting Patented Seeds Divides Aid Groups
A new push for federal funding of genetically-modified (GM) crops has touched off a battle among non-profit organizations seeking to help developing countries and ease world hunger. On one side is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Chicag... read more
Torture Memos Released, Except…
The Department of Justice on Thursday released four declassified memos authored during the Bush administration that were used to justify the methods of torture to be used against suspected terrorists. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had ... read more
Injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, Contractors Fight AIG for Medical Care
Private security and logistics contractors who come home wounded from Afghanistan and Iraq face an insurance-created nightmare, according to a joint investigation by ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times. Unlike wounded members of the US military, ... read more
Las Vegas Water Authority Opposes Recycling Water
One would think that in an era of greater demand for shrinking resources, no government agency would oppose a plan to save water. But the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which services Las Vegas and Clark County, is just such an agency.
Water... read more
Is Secretary of Commerce Locke Too Close to Boeing and Microsoft?
Unlike other cabinet members, the Secretary of Commerce has always been expected to be on the side of business; a friend to corporate America. President Obama’s Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke, is in familiar territory. Large corporations spent ... read more
TSA Official Warned Airports in Advance of Secret Security Tests
Surprise inspections aren’t much good if the surprise gets blown. That’s what happened in April 2006 when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) tried to pull off a series of security tests at 12 airports around the country. The test was... read more