“Armies are equipped and trained to vanquish enemies. If turned inward, they can easily become an instrument of tyranny.” —Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director for Liberty & National Security, Brennan Center for Justice The United States has long drawn a bright line between military power and civilian law enforcement. The Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) embodies that [...]
There are moments in everyone’s life when it feels as though everything has come to an end—overwhelmed by pressure, stress, and problems. As a woman living in Afghanistan under the systematic violence of the Taliban, I have experienced this deeply. I remember the day my younger sister walked toward school with her books, only to [...]
For months, the United States has been carrying out a campaign of escalating force against Venezuela—one that now includes dozens of lethal maritime strikes, a naval blockade of “sanctioned” oil tankers, and, most recently, a drone strike on Venezuelan soil. The administration has acknowledged hitting a dock inside Venezuela that it claims was used to [...]
Argentina was the first country in Latin America to adopt data protection laws. In 2000, it enacted a comprehensive legislative framework that integrated protections for the right of privacy. This early institutional commitment positioned the country as a pioneer in recognizing a variety of technological trends that affected these fundamental rights. This early adoption, however, [...]
Performative cruelty is an ancient practice, even though the phrase itself is new. Gladiatorial fights (Ancient Rome, c. 264 BCE–5th century CE) in arenas like the Colosseum were intentionally staged spectacles of violence, often involving slaves, prisoners, or volunteers fighting to the death. These public events, attended by massive crowds, promoted imperial power and Roman [...]
On November 10, right-wing Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir proposed a bill that would use the death penalty to punish Palestinian terrorists convicted of killing Israeli citizens. Some Knesset members have argued that such a law would prevent future prisoner release swaps, as there would be little value for a dead prisoner in such an exchange. [...]
At the beginning of the pestilence and when it ends, there’s always a propensity for rhetoric… It is only in the thick of a calamity that one gets hardened to the truth, to silence. —Albert Camus, The Plague World system chaos is not emerging ex nihilo, out of nothing. There have been conspicuous warnings. In [...]
It is Thanksgiving Day. The aroma of turkey; of dressing; candied sweet potatoes; green bean casserole; cranberry sauce; freshly baked yeast rolls; giblet gravy, and of pies emanating from the kitchen fills our nostrils. Home is the place to be today. But have you ever given thought to the law of the gobbler? This Day in [...]
Once again, the US is politically meddling with the conflict in Ukraine. The back-and-forth of Washington’s destabilizing efforts to bring “peace” to the country is a blatant attempt to secure the Nobel Peace Prize for President Donald Trump, whose proposed 28‑point “peace plan” for Ukraine is not a blueprint for stability but a capitulation to [...]
The United States’ decision to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council and, consequently, from this year’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) marks a worrying retreat from global human rights accountability. Although the announcement did not cite any specific reasons for the withdrawal, it reflects a deeper unwillingness to accept scrutiny under the same universal standards [...]
