Neither an idealist nor an ideologue… just an American politician
 
Political conservatism went onstage this past week (February 18-20) in the nation’s capital with some new faces taking leading roles, while the true and tried actors of old conservatism resorted to a thicker coat of Obama-hate makeup in order to stay visible.  It was the largest annual gathering of conservatives sponsored by CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) and the first major rally to unseat the Democratic majorities now ruling Congress as the campaign trail for mid-term elections gets underway.

Suppressing the Practice of Torture

The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PACTI - stoptorture.org) "believes that torture and ill-treatment of any kind and under all circumstances is incompatible with the moral values of democracy and the rule of law." Yet it's systematically practiced by the Israeli Police, General Security Service (GSS), Israeli Prison Service (IPS), and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

by Jacob G. Hornberger

In preparation for two recent back-to-back blizzards, residents in the Washington, D.C., area emptied the shelves of neighborhood grocery stores. Notwithstanding the pre-blizzard panic buying, what’s interesting is that no one was freaking out about whether the stores would be adequately stocked after the blizzards.

By Ivan Eland

The arrest of the 10-member church group trying to “rescue” 33 Haitian children from the aftermath of the earthquake by smuggling them across the border to the Dominican Republic has wider implications for U.S. foreign policy. The group’s besmirching of the substantial and laudable American humanitarian effort in Haiti is regrettable. But the arrogance of simply ignoring the rule of law in foreign countries is a rich American tradition, practiced by the U.S. government as well as missionaries such as these.

Well may Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warn students in Qatar that “Iran is moving toward a military dictatorship.” She is, after all, an authority on the subject, representing a country where the Pentagon has long been ascendant. Her comment was followed up by Robert Gibbs, President Obama’s press secretary, who, at a February 16th news conference refused to deny the possibility of the U.S. taking military action against Iran, stating, “I wouldn’t rule out anything.” As anti-war activist David Swanson of AfterDowningStreet points out, this is “a public threat to engage in aggressive war…” The Charter of the United Nations forbids such threats, of course.

Sudan's largest opposition group is set to sign a peace deal with the government that could end the conflict in Darfur.

There are mounting concerns in Haiti's earthquake-hit capital over the welfare of thousands of orphans suffering amid the devastation.

An Afghan immigrant has pleaded guilty to planning a suicide bomb attack on New York City's subway system.

Dick Cheney, the former US vice-president, has been admitted to hospital in Washington after complaining of chest pains, his office has said.

The White House has unveiled a new plan for restructuring the healthcare system in an attempt to break the deadlock over a key campaign issue for Barack Obama, the US president.

The Australian government plans to tighten visa requirements for visitors from 10 countries it considers as "high risk".

The working group set up by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has proposed allowing a limited return to commercial whale hunts, in exchange for a reduction in the number of whales killed annually.

At least eight people have died after a bomb exploded in the provincial capital of Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, amid a Nato and Afghan military offensive there.

The US defence secretary has said that Nato forces are doing their best to avoid civilian casualties in Afghanistan, after an air raid killed 27 people, including women and a child.

A massive car bomb has exploded outside a courthouse in Northern Ireland, the first such attack in the province for over a decade.

Turkish police have begun questioning about 50 military officers detained on Monday over an alleged plot to destabilise the country and trigger a coup to topple the government.

Investigators in the United Arab Emirates have identified four more suspects in the killing of a Hamas military commander last month - all of them holders of European passports.

Iran's state radio says its security forces have arrested a leader of an armed Sunni opposition group that is waging a violent low-level campaign in southeastern Iran.

The head of Toyota, the Japanese car manufacturer, has vowed to change the way the company does business in the wake of a series of safety recalls.