Ecuador contends that the British Foreign Office has yet to renounce a threat to storm its embassy in London, where Julian Assange has taken refuge from British authorities. So says The Guardian. A British court has ordered the WikiLeaks founder's extradition to Sweden to face questioning about allegations of sexual misconduct, although no formal charges of any crime have been filed against him. Outside the British consulate in New York, where Occupy demonstrators are conducting a round-the-clock vigil demanding that Assange be given safe … [Read more...]

WHILE ALL EYES were on the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where Julian Assange has been granted political asylum for good reason, there was a two-man demonstration on Sunday at the British consulate (875 Third Ave.) in midtown Manhattan. Yoni Miller, 18, identified himself as an "occupier" who believes in "direct action." Articulate and steadfast, he has vowed to continue the protest for as long as it takes to gain Assange's freedom. "This is a 24/7 indefinite occupation," Miller said last week on Facebook. "We will leave when Assange … [Read more...]

Human Rights Watch reports: Iraq is quickly slipping back into authoritarianism as its security forces abuse protesters, harass journalists, and torture detainees. Despite U.S. government assurances that it helped create a stable democracy, the reality is that it left behind a budding police state. — Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director of Human Rights Watch I suppose that's not the same thing as the Sunni genocide or the death squad massacres hidden in plain sight or the loud whispers, which we blogged about in … [Read more...]

You can say a lot of things about Christopher Hitchens's role as a cheerleader for the war in Iraq, most of all that it stank to high heaven. Of course it's pure coincidence that he died on the same day that marked the official end of the war. But it's a fitting irony that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's lie to the departing troops -- "You will leave with great pride, lasting pride" -- applies to Hitchens's departure as well. All the fine principles that Hitchens stood for were tarnished by his relentless drumbeat for an unforgivable war. … [Read more...]

The U.S. Supreme Court, the Constitution, & the health care law. … [Read more...]

That's the pretext for the cop sweep of OWS protestors at Zuccotti Park. Or as NYC's billionaire mayor claims, that's the reason for the eviction by what he called "the world's greatest police department." It's the same police force recently convicted of planting drugs and currently charged with smuggling guns, armed robbery, making false arrests, and massive ticket-fixing. Falsis in unum, falsis in omnibus -- false in one thing, false in all things. … [Read more...]