http://www.inthesetimes.com/archives/tags/censorship/ In These Times features award-winning investigative reporting about corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, insightful analysis of national and international affairs, and sharp cultural criticism about events and ideas that matter. en-us Expression Engine jessica@inthesetimes.com seamus@inthesetimes.com Tue, 11 Sep 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3339/smearing_israels_critics/ DePaul University canceled courses taught by Norman Finkelstein, the controversial political science professor known for his forthright criticism of Israel, just a week before classes resumed in June. Finkelstein, who taught at DePaul for six years, was denied tenure at the Chicago school but permitted to teach for the one year remaining on his contract. In late August, however, the university decided to axe him and pulled his required books from the school's bookstore. This was a break from the academic tradition that grants a faculty member who is denied tenure one last year (the "terminal year") in the classroom. Finkelstein initially vowed to protest his suspension, but later reached an agreement (including a monetary settlement) with DePaul to end… censorship middle east Fred Weir Tue, 02 Oct 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3338/inside_the_secret_facility/ The "Protective Order," issued by the U.S. Federal Court for the D.C. District, establishes the ground rules for the "attorney client relationship" with our Gitmo clients. These are the rules that we (habeas counsel) must follow or else face being held in contempt of court. The attorney-client privilege is one of many legal niceties that disappeared under the protective order. We are also barred from telling a client "secret information" from his files. (The absurdity is underscored by the fact that we cannot even tell a client "secret evidence" that he originally provided.) Although the protective order is a legally binding, the military routinely disregards it and the courts routinely turn a blind eye. When I meet with my client,… censorship civil rights guantanamo Fred Weir Thu, 06 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3427/third_times_the_charm/ Most courts, in what passes for the civilized world, will not admit evidence obtained under torture. That is why our government had to set up a new system to avoid these "technicalities." Under the Military Commissions Act (MCA), which Congress passed in September 2006, the Bush administration can avoid presenting real evidence in hearings for Guantánamo detainees. It seemed like an easy concept for these war criminals but like everything else that they have concocted on the fly there are a few problems. The MCA allows the government to rely on the Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CRSTs), the initial non-public hearings that were hastily pulled together after the Supreme Court held in 2004 that the detainees had a right to… censorship civil rights guantanamo Fred Weir Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3462/catch_22_in_the_21st_century/ When I visited my client Abdul Hamid al-Ghizzawi at Guantánamo on Sept. 25 and 26, he brought with him two letters that he had been working on since summer. The letters, written in Arabic, were six pages and one page in length. The six-page letter described the torture he had endured since bounty hunters picked him up in Afghanistan in late 2001. The one-page letter contained instructions upon his death. Al-Ghizzawi wanted to spend our meeting going over the letters so that if they got "lost" in the mail, the information would be recorded in my notes. We spent most of our first of two meeting days with al-Ghizzawi reading his letters to me and elaborating or explaining as necessary,… censorship guantanamo Fred Weir