Perverse Justice -- In These Times: "“I have seen a number of scenarios,” he wrote. “For example, some prisoners lose the capacity to focus their attention rationally on the things which should be priorities; instead, they become obsessively focused on some minor detail, or some perceived injustice—and most commonly, they become obsessively focused on some perceived injustice or offense they are experiencing in confinement (issues which are not relevant to defending themselves in their criminal case).” Jose Padilla spent approximately three and a half years in solitary confinement at the Navy Brig in Charleston, S.C. He spent most of his day in a 9’x7’ cell. The window of his cell was painted over so that he could not see daylight. At times he was deprived of his mattress and pillow. He ate alone in his cell. “I have seen a number of scenarios,” he wrote. “For example, some prisoners lose the capacity to focus their attention rationally on the things which should be priorities; instead, they become obsessively focused on some minor detail, or some perceived injustice—and most commonly, they become obsessively focused on some perceived injustice or offense they are experiencing in confinement (issues which are not relevant to defending themselves in their criminal case).” Jose Padilla spent approximately three and a half years in solitary confinement at the Navy Brig in Charleston, S.C. He spent most of his day in a 9’x7’ cell. The window of his cell was painted over so that he could not see daylight. At times he was deprived of his mattress and pillow. He ate alone in his cell. "
Broken Spring? : Information Clearing House This is a sequel to my June 2011 article, ‘After the spring’, on the upheavals in the Arab world. It is an article that has been painful to write, because it brings bad tidings and offers a pessimistic analysis of the upheavals, at least in the short term, in a number of Arab countries. The outcomes and potential outcomes of these uprisings have also acquired new, very significant dimensions. These include a complex entanglement with the accelerated preparations for a possible attack on Iran, and a poisonous, sectarian aspect that could have the consequence of ripping Syria and the Middle East apart.
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