contributions

John Gardner is the Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford, and occasional Visiting Professor at Yale Law School.
Police state: Like many of my fellow-Londoners I am less alarmed by suicide bombers than I am by the police’s Mossad-style execution of a ’suspect’ (who turned out to be a completely innocent passer-by) on Friday 22 July. This is not because we are at greater risk of death at the hands of the police than at the hands of the bombers. (Both risks are pretty tiny, (…)

Joe and Valerie Wilson are my next door neighbors in a hilly neighborhood just west of Georgetown. We moved in within months of each other seven years ago, attracted to our respective houses by the view of the Capitol in the distance and the Washington Monument in the foreground. The patriotic view is stirring.
I have another view from my window, of a neighbor who is a working, devoted mother of 5-year-old twins, a volunteer for charities, a woman active in her church, and a caring person. (…)

Some of the die-hard, rabid right-wingers who still support George W. Bush’s immoral and illegal actions tried recently to overload my email system by flooding it with bitches and moans over recent columns about their poster boy for destruction of the Constitution.
Their grand plan didn’t work. My anti-spam filter caught most of them because it quite properly considers GOP-generated mail spam (as it does for Democratic-generated mail).
The handful of messages that got through cried about (…)

EXCLUSIVE: 85% BLAME BOMBS ON WAR IN IRAQ
By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent
AN overwhelming 85 per cent of people blame the Iraq invasion for the London bombings, a Daily Mirror/GMTV poll reveals today.
The survey is a hammer blow to Tony Blair, who insists Britain’s role in the war had nothing to do with the 7/7 terror attacks.
His words were greeted with incredulity by critics who are convinced Muslim anger on Iraq has fuelled Islamic extremism. And now that view has been (…)

Reality of war rewrites the script
by Gerard Henderson is executive director of the Sydney Institute.
At times of war, Anglo-Celtic societies tend to support their leaders, writes Gerard Henderson.
LAST Thursday was the second night of David Hare’s play Stuff Happens at Sydney’s Seymour Centre. Company B’s production of the British playwright’s latest work was extremely well acted and directed. Yet the play seemed strangely out of step with the times.
Stuff Happens is a docudrama (…)

Ricky Martin Seeks End To Arab Stereotypes Dale Gavlak, AP AMMAN, Jordan (July 25) - On his first visit to the Middle East, Ricky Martin declared he will try to change negative perceptions of Arab youth in the West. "I promise I will become a spokesperson, if you allow me to, a spokesperson on your behalf. I will defend you and try to get rid of any stereotypes," the 33-year-old singer told youngsters from 16 mainly Arab countries at a youth conference on Monday.
The children, ages 14 to (…)

Muslims Are Condemning Terror, But Who’s Listening? Linda Heard July 26, 2005
While discussing last week’s terror attacks on CNN, Sen. Dianne Feinstein appeared to heap blame on Muslim clerics, urging them to issue “fatwa after fatwa denouncing jihad and denouncing terror”. She claimed that mosques have become “enablers” with few leading imams “if any”, saying, “Enough of this. Stop! This is not Islam.” No doubt, Feinstein is well-intentioned but she is also, unfortunately, grossly (…)

Let’s Go Terror Jihad Travel Guide Yassin Musharbash July 25, 2005 The terror in Iraq seems to be getting worse by the day. Now, a new guide has appeared on the Internet advising would-be terrorists on the best way into the country. It isn’t easy, but a disguise of jeans and a Walkman may be just the ticket. Warning that entering Iraq is a journey fraught with peril, the author of the four-page pamphlet tells his readers, "It’s a long and difficult route. It’s no bed of roses." But by (…)

Is Your Printer Spying On You? Posted by Donna Wentworth July 24, 2005 Imagine that every time you printed a document, it automatically included a secret code that could be used to identify the printer — and potentially, the person who used it. Sounds like something from an episode of "Alias," right?
Unfortunately, the scenario isn’t fictional. In an effort to identify counterfeiters, the US government has succeeded in persuading some color laser printer manufacturers to encode each page (…)

Before They Were Bombers, They Were Just Boys Maggie Gallagher July 19, 2005 The terrorists are coming. They are coming for your sons and daughters. But especially your sons.
Islamist terrorists blowing up London subways and buses left 55 bodies of both sexes and all races and religions gruesomely twisted beyond recognition. But first, they twisted the minds of four young men beyond their mothers’ recognition.
My heart aches for Mrs. Hussain. She is the mother of 18-year-old bomber (…)