Reflection on torture 

rabble.ca 20/09/2012 - The ease with which self-described democratic states embroil themselves in torture continues to be illustrated by the manner in which agencies of the Canadian state, from spies to judges, have wedged open a door to legitimize complicity in a practice that both domestic and international law ban outright. 

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North American Security Perimeter  

Embassy 26/09/2012 - Citizenship and Immigration Canada plans to introduce new legal rules that would force Canadians and Americans to present authorized travel documents such as passports when entering Canada, according a departmental document. A system to track entries and exits from Canada is being set up by the CBSA, and the document notes that the immigration department's legislation will support this system. Data collected by the new system "will assist CIC officers in identifying visa overstays and confirming residence in Canada," the document adds.   

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Rule of Law   

The drone war may be popular in the US AND illegal

The Huffington Post 26/09/2012 - Targeted killings abroad may be justified, whether done by drone or otherwise. Under international law, the U.S. government can kill members of enemy armed forces it's at war with, or because the individual targeted poses an imminent threat to American lives. But a growing number of both journalistic and academic reports suggest the U.S. drone program is targeting far more broadly than that. And the consequences are serious. As a Pakistani photojournalist told the NYU/Stanford researchers: "When people are out there picking up body parts after a drone strike, it would be very easy to convince those people to fight against America."

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Are US drones terrorising civilians? Report 

The Nation 22/09/2012 - Federal appeals court judges expressed doubt at the CIA's efforts to block the release of information about its use of unmanned drones to kill terror suspects around the world. Citing the public statements, Judge Merrick Garland asked government lawyers: "Isn't that an official acknowledgment that the CIA is involved with the drone program?"

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Rendition to Torture  

UK Government admits secret courts would protect it from bad publicity

The Guardian 24/09/2012 - The government has admitted that a key motive for its plan to expand secret courts is to shield itself politically from charges that Britain has been complicit in the abuse of detainees abroad. Ministers have previously argued that more secret courts are needed to protect national security. But documents seen by the Guardian make it clear the government believes it would also benefit politically from the measure because it could defend itself against sensitive charges behind closed doors, without the details ever being made public.

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As Italy Sentences 23 CIA Agents in Rendition Case, Obama Refuses to Prosecute Anyone for Torture

Democracy Now! 21/09/2012 - The ruling marks the final appeal in the first trial anywhere in the world involving the CIA's practice of rendering terror suspects to countries that allow torture. But back in 2008, then presidential candidate Barack Obama unequivocally denounced torture and extraordinary rendition. Well, according to our guest, four years after Obama made those comments, impunity for torture has now become a bipartisan policy of the U.S. government. For more, we speak with Alfred McCoy, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of the new book, "Torture and Impunity: The U.S. Doctrine of Coercive Interrogation."

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