And big humiliation in ‘Standard Operating Procedure’
Errol Morris’s new documentary about the low-ranking “bad apples” who were charged with various forms of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib isn’t exactly revelatory. You’ve already read the facts, and the photographs that shocked the entire world (the hooded figure standing on a box, the dusty piles of naked [...]

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*  A Justice Department official testified on the legality of waterboarding before a House Judiciary subcommittee this morning, and actually provided an unequivocal [...]

The view from the north
Following the U.S.’s recent pro-kidnapping embarrassment in a British court, comes a fresh embarrassment in a Canadian court. From ABC’s The Blotter we learn:
Because of the U.S. government’s policies on torture and refugees, Canada can no longer turn away refugees coming from the United States, a Canadian judge has ruled.

Waterboarding made easy
The official language inside a U.S. passport that no one bothers to read includes a request from the Secretary to State to “all whom it may concern” to “give all lawful aid and protection” to the passport’s holder. Turns out, that in the Bush era, the second “all” in the sentence might be [...]

Rendition is politically relevant
One of a number of post-9/11-themed films being released this fall, Rendition is the first to deploy its Hollywood magic in the defense of civil liberties. The title comes from the U.S. policy of “extraordinary rendition”: the act of shipping terror suspects overseas, where they can be tortured with impunity. The plot [...]