A European court issued a landmark ruling Thursday that condemned the CIA's so-called extraordinary renditions programs and bolstered those who say they were illegally kidnapped and tortured as part of an overzealous war on terrorism.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that a German car salesman was a victim of torture and abuse, in a long-awaited victory for a man who had failed for years to get courts in the United States and Europe to recognize him as a victim.
European court condemns CIA in landmark ruling
Yeshiva University High School Protected Child Sexual Abusers, Failed To Report Crimes To Police
Rabbi George Finklestein's case has been well-known to those of us who cover child sexual abuse for many years. Finkelstein was the principal of YU's high school in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The reason I didn't do an exposé on him was that I require at least one victim who comes forward using his real name and allows his real name to be published, and corroborating evidence of some kind – usually court documents or other victims who will sign affidavits that they, too, were abused. And that wasn't possible as recently as two years ago in this case.
Israel's Foreign Minister Lieberman indicted on lesser charges
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman will be indicted for fraud and breach of trust, the Justice Ministry said on Thursday, less severe charges than were originally considered.
The announcement comes ahead of a January 22 election which the right-wing party of Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is predicted to win.
Lieberman has denied all wrongdoing but had said he would resign if indicted. He is expected to speak later on Thursday.
How the Mainstream Press Bungled the Single Biggest Story of the 2012 Campaign
Post-mortems of contemporary election coverage typically include regrets about horserace journalism, he-said-she-said stenography, and the lack of enlightening stories about the issues.
But according to longtime political observers Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein, campaign coverage in 2012 was a particularly calamitous failure, almost entirely missing the single biggest story of the race: Namely, the radical right-wing, off-the-rails lurch of the Republican Party, both in terms of its agenda and its relationship to the truth.
US backs United Nations measure in favor of universal health coverage
The United States has backed a United Nations draft resolution favoring universal healthcare coverage. The nonbinding measure calls on U.N. member states to ensure citizens' access to health insurance, and was approved by the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.
Supporters say the draft resolution paves the way for the post-2015 development agenda to include universal health coverage.
Regulators Under Fire for Keeping Fracking Pollution Test Results Under Wraps
Residents living in the shadow of fracking rigs say they've suffered from headaches, nosebleeds and other health effects since drilling began in their communities. Meanwhile, state agencies refuse to release the results of air and water pollution tests.
Thirty years ago, Jenny and Tom Lisak moved into a historic farmhouse in Pennsylvania's rural Jefferson County. The couple raised three children there and established a certified organic farm they named LadyBug Farm.
Bosnian Serb general found guilty of genocide, sentenced to life
A Bosnian Serb general was convicted of genocide and other war crimes Wednesday by a United Nations tribunal in the Netherlands for his role in plotting and carrying out the murder of thousands of Muslim men in Eastern Bosnia in 1995.
Zdravko Tolimir, intelligence chief and deputy to wartime Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic, was found guilty of murder, persecution, deportation and genocide by a 2-1 judgment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Alex Baer: Good Thing We Still Have One Left
Republicans control the Michigan state legislature. It was the perfect opportunity to push through laws limiting union power and labor rights for public-sector workers. So, they did. Michigan is now the 24th state out of 50 designated as a "right-to-work" state.
For critics, this act translates into a "right-to-fire-and-treat-workers-anyway-we-want" law. Critics will also know that Republicans and their fat cat constituents are no doubt all smiles with today's action in the House of Representatives, a push they began last week in the Senate.
Gov. Rick Snyder makes Michigan 24th right-to-work state
Gov. Rick Snyder said today he has already signed right-to-work legislation into law, soon after the House passed it earlier today.
The word historic kept coming up Tuesday as the state House of Representatives considered and ultimately passed controversial right-to-work legislation for public- and private-sector employees.
It was a historically large crowd outside, estimated at 12,500 people by police. Most of the folks were loudly protesting the bills that would make it illegal to require a financial contribution to a union as a condition of employment. Plenty of right-to-work supporters were on hand, too, leading to heated words between the pro- and anti-forces, and the dismantling of tents erected to shield the right-to-work supporters.
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