As I prepare to leave Idaho, and particularly Pocatello, I have been borderline maudlin. It is time to go, and new adventures are calling, but…
A former Syrian military official convicted of torturing prisoners during the rule of President Bashar Assad has been sentenced to 60 years in a U.S. prison. A federal judge in Los Angeles sentenced Samir Ousman Alsheikh on Thursday. A jury found him guilty in March of conspiracy to commit torture and torture for his actions while in charge of Syria’s infamous Adra Prison from roughly 2005 to 2008. Alsheikh’s attorneys called for a five-year sentence, noting that he is 74 years old and in ill health. They will appeal the sentence.
A dancer, wearing photos of detainees who disappeared during Chile's military dictatorship, places a flower at the National Stadium, which served as a detention and torture center in the early days of the regime, during an event marking the anniversary of the 1973 military coup that toppled the government of President Salvador Allende, in Santiago, Chile, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
A man initially accused of being a high-profile al-Qaida figure and who was tortured in CIA custody has appeared at a hearing to review his detention. Abu Zubaydah has been held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for 20 years without charges. A government official said Thursday that Zubaydah had “probably” served as one of Osama bin Laden’s most trusted facilitators. Zubaydah was detained after 9/11 and subjected to torture in CIA black sites. His lawyers say he was never in al-Qaida, but they acknowledge he knew bin Laden. They say Zubaydah is no longer a security risk and should be approved for transfer out of Guantanamo.
Before leaving for Patagonia last December, I was in limbo regarding whether to continue my part-time legal consulting and mediation practice.…
All the excitement surrounding the 250th anniversary of America’s independence is now in the past. It was the Revolutionary War, of course, wh…
How often do you discover that something you believed was true is simply not the case? Take cork, for instance. For years, I harbored the beli…
Apparently, “The Art of the Deal” (when it comes to Trump) is that you blow up a solid treaty with Iran because it was brokered when Obama was…
If you are a bit stuffy, you might consider me inappropriate for commingling a memorial with other people, but Ralph will forgive me because h…
Many of you probably read Chairwoman of the Republican Party Dorothy Moon’s opinion piece last week titled ‘The future is MAGA.’ And I’m sure …
