According to Guardian.co.uk, human rights lawyers have accused the United States of imprisoning “enemy combatants” on prison ships, in an attempt to conceal the true number of people arrested and detained in the name of the “War on Terror.”

From the article:

Details of ships where detainees have been held and sites allegedly being used in countries across the world have been compiled as the debate over detention without trial intensifies on both sides of the Atlantic. The US government was yesterday urged to list the names and whereabouts of all those detained. (more…)

I’ve heard of not wearing fur, eating vegan-only or treating your dog like he’s actually your baby, but this is getting out of hand. According to CatholicNewsAgency.com, activists have asked a European court to grant Matthew, a 26-year-old chimpanzee, “human” status.

From the article:

British teacher Paula Stibbe and activists with the Vienna-based Association Against Animal Factories want to declare Matthew a person so that Stibbe may be appointed his legal guardian if the bankrupt animal sanctuary where Matthew lives in Vienna shuts down, the Evening Standard says.

Matthew lives with another chimpanzee and a crocodile in an animal shelter. The shelter requires about $8,000 each month in expenses. While donors have sought to support Matthew, under Austrian law only humans may receive personal gifts. (more…)

Is it just me or have we all entered some kind of Twilight Zone in which torture and terror are both permissible as long as the defenders of freedom and democracy are using them?

This past Saturday, March 9, President Bush exercised his veto on a piece of legislation that would have banned interrogation techniques used by the CIA, such as Waterboarding.

In his weekly radio address he stated:

“The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror […] so today I vetoed it.”

What is Waterboarding?

Waterboarding is an incredibly controversial interrogation technique – or form of torture, depending on who is talking – that originated in the 16th century during the Italian inquisition.

A bound and gagged prisoner is immobilized on his back, head tilted downward. Water is then poured over him, causing an immediate gag reflex and simulating drowning. Often, cellophane is also placed over the prisoner’s face—further preventing him from taking any air. (remember how your parents told you not to place saran wrap over your face when you were little….) (more…)