Month: April 2013

What we know to date about the family of the boys, one now dead, accused of the Boston bombings: The Tsarnaev Family: A Faded Portrait of an Immigrant’s American Dream (Washington Post) Syria’s neighbors are apprehensive about the impact of American intervention — except for Israel, which is eager to see it: Syria’s Neighbors Cautious […]

“U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler told Tsarnaev he did not have to answer questions and could have a lawyer. And he apparently did stop, though other cases in recent years suggest that silence won’t necessarily last”: Questions Surround Decisions to Interrogate Bombing Suspect Without Lawyer, then Call a Halt (AP / Washington Post) “[I]n a letter […]

The Obama administration has expanded its interrogation authority “beyond the ‘public safety’ exception [to Miranda warnings] established by the Supreme Court to arrogate unto itself the power to question suspects about other matters without reading them their rights”: What Rights Should Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Get and Why Does It Matter? (Guardian) Anonymous officials say the suspect […]

With the FBI claiming it had no evidence of a tie between Tamerlan Tsarnaev and terrorist activity even as his mother insists that they “regularly” told her he suspected of  being an “extremist leader,” politicians and the press are asking questions … FBI Faces Questions over Previous Contact with Boston Bombing Suspect (Guardian) Boston Bombing Suspect Was […]

The now dead older brother of the target of the Boston manhunt that has locked down the city is on record opposing the Russian occupation of Chechnya, but why should he then want to kill Americans? His Uncle Ruslam offer an inspired answer, telling his nephew to turn himself in: Boston Bombing Suspects’ Muslim Identity Provides Few […]

“The reason there was such confusion and uncertainty about whether this was “terrorism” is because there is no clear and consistently applied definition of the term. At this point, it’s little more than a term of emotionally manipulative propaganda” — Glenn Greenwald: The Boston Bombing Produces Familiar and Revealing Reactions (Guardian) “The Islamic Republic of […]

The bill would “exempt Israel from a requirement that applies to every other nation on the planet, for no reason other than to allow the Israeli government to engage in racial, ethnic and religious discrimination against US citizens”: Barbara Boxer, AIPAC Seek to Codify Israel’s Right to Discriminate Against Americans (Guardian) The rail union in […]

“A U.S. Special Operations raid targeting … a Taliban weapons dealer, in Uruzgan Province on Sunday night resulted in the death of [his] brother …, who is also the brother-in-law of Mohammed Qaseem, an aide to Karzai.” NATO claims U.S. troops were under fire, but “the provincial governor and police chief say both men were […]