Canada caves in—the US remains intransigent. From This Week of Kamloops, BC, Jan. 28:

Maher Arar is Kamloops' newest millionaire, but in an impassioned speech Friday, his lawyer reminded potential detractors that no amount of money will help Arar and his family to ever lead a normal life again.

Freedom's on the march. From AlJazeera, Jan. 18:

The US defence department has released new rules allowing terror suspects to be convicted and possibly executed on the basis of hearsay evidence and some coerced testimony.

Impeaching George Bush is a damn good idea. But the full page ad in the Jan. 12 New York Times by ImpeachBush.org appears to be a bid by the unrepentantly Stalinist Workers World Party to garner mainstream liberal support, probably to keep pace with the Maoist competition. The ad reads "Articles of impeachment drafted by former Attorney General Ramsey Clark." We have repeatedly noted that Ramsey Clark is a totalitarian pseudo-left huckster who supports fascism. The ad also plugs the March 17 anti-war march in Washington sponsored by WWP's front group International ANSWER. Significantly, it does not plug the Jan. 27 march on Washington sponsored by the rival United for Peace & Justice—which has the usual problems with elitism and timidity, but is, at least, not crypto-fascist.

A little more than a year ago, it was a mysterious sweet smell that mystified New Yorkers. This time a mysterious sinister smell. A psychological warfare experiment? From Reuters, Jan. 10:

A powerful, mysterious smell of gas wafted through much of Manhattan and parts of New Jersey on Monday, forcing building evacuations and a temporary suspension of commuter train service before dissipating by mid-afternoon.

An ACLU press release, Nov. 28, online at Common Dreams:

Khaled El-Masri, Victim of CIA Kidnapping and Abuse, Seeks Acknowledgement, Explanation and Apology
RICHMOND, Virginia - The American Civil Liberties Union today argued before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that its lawsuit on behalf of Khaled El-Masri, a victim of the CIA’s policy of “extraordinary rendition,” should proceed. Earlier this year a federal district court in Alexandria, VA dismissed El-Masri’s lawsuit based on the government's argument that allowing it to proceed would jeopardize state secrets.

Hmmm, it seems that all the lefties who weighed in against the admittedly vile Judith Miller's journalistic privilege in the Plame affair will be in the uncomfortable position of having to cheer her on this time around. From AP, Nov. 22:

Court Rejects N.Y. Times on Leak Probe
The Supreme Court ruled against The New York Times on Monday, refusing to block the government from reviewing the phone records of two Times reporters in a leak investigation of a terrorism-funding probe.

Is this a great time to be alive or what? From The Independent, Nov. 19:

A high-tech and unmanned "bionic wasp" capable of destroying a cell of militants or guerrillas is among a series of futuristic weapons being discussed by a group of experts set up by the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, Shimon Peres.

From UPI, Nov. 14, links added:

WASHINGTON -- A Pentagon spokesman dismissed as "frivolous" a lawsuit alleging war crimes filed in Germany Tuesday against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.