George Orwell wisely observed that our understanding of the past, and the meaning associated with it, directly influences the future. And as the unprecedented public feud between the CIA and Congress makes clear, there are still significant aspects of our recent history of state-sponsored torture that need examination before we put this national disgrace […]

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(Photo: Hassan Rouhani | Source: Times of Israel) A six-month diplomatic dance with Iran is underway—each step as dainty as a minuet because any misstep is weighted with danger. The issue is Iran’s nuclear research program and the UN inspections that are taking place as a result. And while each side has its own agenda, […]

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  The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) would have been much better off if the snowstorm that blanked Washington, D.C., at the beginning of March had forced their annual “policy conference” to be cancelled. That didn’t happen. Instead, it took place and accomplished nothing for the powerful lobby, except to demonstrate how much it […]

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  I am so fucking scared of the moment a lieutenant or a general would say enough of this rubbish and we are back at military rule completely. It is in their interest for this to disintegrate into chaos, it is in their interest to say ‘you people enough! law and order!’” So says Mona […]

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  Because I am married to the principal of a public high school located in a border state, each semester I witness at a remove an agonizing process. A student arrives home at the end of the day to find that one or both parents have been picked up and are being processed for deportation. […]

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