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William Fisher has managed economic development programs in the Middle East and elsewhere for the US State Department and the US Agency for International Development. He served in the international affairs area in the Kennedy Administration and now writes on subjects ranging from human rights to foreign affairs for a number of newspapers and online journals.
Friday, February 10, 2012 Reigning in the Prosecutors
Is anyone trying to keep innocent people off death row? Well, yes!
Saturday, January 28, 2012 What We Left Behind in Iraq (3 comments)
We pulled out of Iraq not because we wanted to but because the Iraqi government wanted us to. Today, it is arguable whether what we left there is better or worse than what we found there.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 The Man Who Refuses Silence (3 comments)
What's the price for truth-telling? This man is about to find out.
Saturday, January 21, 2012 The Royal Stall (1 comments)
What part of "dialogue" does King Hamad not understyand?
Thursday, January 19, 2012 Baradei's Anguish
One of the prospective leaders of post-revolutionary Egypt has taken his hat out of the ring. He is Mohamed ElBaradei, whom naby consider on of the more capable among possible leders.
Saturday, January 7, 2012 Obama Immigration Agency Exaggerating Deportations
Is this an Obama gambit for currying favor with with anti-immigrant right? But at the same time, it's likely to curry anger from Latino voters.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012 Saudis to Reinforce Crackdown on Peaceful Protesters, Amnesty Says
In Saudi Arabia, our ally and oil-supplier, the Arab Spring has been greeted by yet more repression. Here's the scoop on what may become SA's latest contribution to the rule of law.
Saturday, December 31, 2011 Toothless and Tone Deaf
Here's a classic example of the Arab League's Foxes mobilizing to guard Syria's Henhouses.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Egypt Security Raids US, German and Egyptian NGOs (2 comments)
This couldn't be more Mubarak-esque! Take a look at what the Egyptian Army is trying to do to the country's last bastions of civil liberties and huiman rights!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 Early Christmas for Virginia Prisoner
Our Justice System is broken in many places, one of which results in innocent people being convicted and sentenced to long terms in prison. The job of The Innocence Project, and other groups like it, is to get these prisoners out. They have been hugely successful but continue to face daunting obstacles.
Monday, December 19, 2011 Death Sentences Drop to Lowest Number Since 1976
There are no do-overs for those we execute. Do we ever make a mistake? Ask the Innocence Project. Ask the Death Pentalty Information Center.
Sunday, December 18, 2011 Is ICE Running Out of Criminals to Deport?
A few months ago, our immigration authorities were criticized for deporting people for broken tail lights and so forth under a program designed to catch serious criminals. Did things get better? Read On!
Friday, December 9, 2011 Abu Ghraib Redux (1 comments)
There's another Abu Ghraib scandal coming our way!
Monday, December 5, 2011 Driving on Breast Milk
A Saudi cleric proposes a solution to mingling by unrelated men and women. But the women see him and raise him.
Saturday, November 19, 2011 Egypt: Demonstrators Push to Reverse Army's Power Grab. (1 comments)
Is the Egyptian Army trying to hang on to power as the country's rulers? Or is it trying to shed that responsibility a.s.a.p. because it knows nothing about governance? And it's getting tired of being everyone's whipping boy! You figure it out.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 Oh Those "Debates" (1 comments)
Republican Wannabees for the President Nomination seem to have drunk all the Kool-Aid.But they'd be great at a showbiz roast or, better yet, a Minstrel Show.
Sunday, November 6, 2011 Liberties Lost Since 9/11 (5 comments)
One of the world's renowned human rights defenders concludes that the so-called 'War on Terror' has cost Americans some of their most cherished liberties.
Saturday, October 15, 2011 Those Pesky Renditions Again!
Should someone be telling us voters and taxpayers about new information on thwe CIA's extraordinary renditions and secret prisons? Yes, but who?
Saturday, October 1, 2011 He's Dead, But Is It Legal? (4 comments)
Glenn Greenwald: He was simply ordered killed by the President: his judge, jury and executioner." Where are the courts?
Sunday, September 18, 2011 Egypt: The Murder of Dissent
Press freedom is under a serious threat from Egypt's military rulers. Little has changed from the decades of repression under Hosni Mubarak.
Sunday, September 11, 2011 Joe Trippi's New Gig
Bahrain has hired a couple of high-powered PR people to erase its outrageous human rights record. One is Joe Trippi, John Edwards' former Internet guru. The other is Matt Lauer, who used to work for the State Department in the public diplomacy area. It's a good test of whether PR can change people's attitudes when nothing substantive really changes!
Friday, September 2, 2011 Looking for Frank Church
The CIA and the New York City cops? Brings back memories, no?
Friday, August 19, 2011 The Kids Count (2 comments)
It's hard to fathom, but politicians won't act even when our children's welfare is involved! Unbelievable!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 BAHRAIN: UNION LEADERS ON HUNGER STRIKE
Will the findings of an international commission sway the King of Bahrain? I wouldn't take it to the bank.
Friday, August 5, 2011 Can We Please Call a Nut a Nut?
Here's how the cult of "objectivity" distorts our knowledge of what's going on in the world.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 Gaming the Voters (1 comments)
Can we find enough truth in what the pols are telling us to cast an inteligent vote -- on anything?
Saturday, May 14, 2011 WILL SAUDI WOMEN DRIVERS MAKE NASCAR NERVOUS?
Like all of the Arab Awakening demos that have takern place in recent months, this one is totally nmon-violent. But instead of using people to motivate the crows, it's using cars. Read and see how.
Monday, May 9, 2011 Bahrain: Iran Accused of Aiding Pro-democracy "Terrorists" (1 comments)
While Syria steals the headlines for The Arab Spring, the protesters in tiny Bahrain are largely ignored. Particularly troubling is the silence of the Obama White House.
Monday, May 2, 2011 Egypt: What Else is the Army Not Doing? (1 comments)
What's going on in Egypt keeps reminding me of Don Rumsfeld's "command influence" and the "few bad apples." Tell me if I'm losing it!
Sunday, April 24, 2011 Where is Mohammed al-Tajer? (1 comments)
Do you understand how or why our government is so unwilling or so unable to speak out against man's inhumanity to man? Bahrain is a perfect example.
Thursday, April 21, 2011 Lawyers Matter! (3 comments)
The media naturally focuses on the most egregious sins of the legal profession. Very little far and balanced here! But just try to imaging an America without lawyers!
Saturday, April 16, 2011 The Three Blind Mice of the Middle East
When movements such as The Arab Awakening reach the kind of
numbers and intensity it took to oust Mubarak from Egypt and Ben Ali from Tunisia they become virtualy nstoppable.
Friday, April 8, 2011 Are Mideast Women Being Sidelined from "The Arab Awakening"? (1 comments)
The women of Tahrir Square and similar hotspots in the Middle East weren't just there to make the tea. Nor onlt to raise their voices in protest along with their male colleagues, They were engaged in -- and in many cases led -- the pro-democracy demos. They were motivated, smart, courageous. So what's ther future in the democracy movement now?
Thursday, March 31, 2011 Assad's Cookie-Cutter (2 comments)
President Hafaz al-Assad of Syria needs two things: 1) a few new ideas; 2) a good speechwriter.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 From Saudi Arabia: Thanks, Muammar! (1 comments)
We may be treating Saudi Arabia's leaderhsip with kidd gloves, but the Saudi people may not be so patient.
Sunday, March 27, 2011 The Mubarak Comedy Hour
Wanted: Leaders Who Tell The Truth (Just for Fun, That Is!)
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Egypt Shocked by Proof of Mubarak's Legacy
Egyptian knew most of this grisly stuff anyway, either by gossip or by experience. But it's a different ballgame when it turns up on State TV as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
Thursday, March 3, 2011 Is That a Light at the End of the Tunnel? Or an Oncoming Train?
So far, the Egyptioan military appears to be responsive to the wishes of the Tahrir Square Democrats. Today they announced a new Prime Minister, after protests about the old one's ties to Mubarak. We talk with one of the most reliable analysts of all things Egyptian.
Monday, February 28, 2011 Could Syria Be Next? (3 comments)
People who are waiting for Tahrir Square in Syria may be disappointed for a while. But on the other hand, mayube not!
Friday, February 25, 2011 It's On to Cali and a Real Good Time! (2 comments)
Is there a "Conservative History" that's different from "American History"? It would seem so. Just ask Messrs. Koch and Walker!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 Diplomacy: Fig Leaf for Inaction? (1 comments)
Human Rights: Has Obama done enough? How about Europe? And the UN? What should we expect?
Saturday, January 22, 2011 Battle of the Prosecutors (2 comments)
Military Commmissions: Due Process for the Accused or a Mistake of Epic Proportions?
Thursday, January 20, 2011 Another Chance for Second-Class Justice? (1 comments)
President Obama is reportedly getting ready to start terrorist trials of GITMO detainees using Military Commissions. Here's to second-0class justice!
Friday, January 14, 2011 GITMO By The Numbers (1 comments)
Corporate Media are falling in lockstep behind the government in publishing unsupported data -- again.
Thursday, December 30, 2010 Barbour Burning?
Is Haley Barbour really a color-blind,fair-minded son of the New South?
Thursday, December 16, 2010 Bloggers Under Fire (1 comments)
We sit down at our computers and write whatever's on our mind. We take it for granted that we can say pretty much anything we want. We have our First Amendment. Other folks aren't so lucky. Here are some of them.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 The Fall and Rise of a Lovely Day (1 comments)
President Ahmadinejad Threatens to Wreck My Much Anticipated Lovely Day
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Peace Groups Slam High Court Ruling on "Terror Support" (7 comments)
Carter, whose organisation, the Carter Centre, filed a "friend of the court" brief in the case, said in a statement, "We are disappointed that the Supreme Court has upheld a law that inhibits the work of human rights and conflict resolution groups. The vague language of the law leaves us wondering if we will be prosecuted for our work to promote peace and freedom," he added.
Thursday, May 20, 2010 Europe's Great Cover Up! (1 comments)
American readers are conflicted about Europe's upcoming Burqa-Ban. Europeans, not so much!
Sunday, May 16, 2010 An Open Letter To Arizona Senator Sylvia Allen (1 comments)
The Senator sounds really worried and abgry. She has good reason. But I think she's drecting her emotions at the wrong target. Janet Napolitano and Barack Obama should be her targets.
Sunday, May 9, 2010 Is "Think" Just an Old Bumper Sticker? (4 comments)
Government is the enemy -- until you need a friend.
Former Defense Secretary Bill Cohen
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 Feel Safer Now? (10 comments)
None of my usual distractions worked in this case to detour my anger! I am still angry; in fact, I am furious. Furious enough to try to tell this story.
If this case didn't make you angry, you need to take a refresher course in American History or Civics 101.
And you need to do it right away! Before the Constitution disappears altogether.
Saturday, April 3, 2010 Al Haramain: Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop (2 comments)
We're about to discover whether there's any difference between Obama's Justice Department and George W. Bush.
Thursday, March 25, 2010 Post-Racial What?
Bigotry has been with us always. The Tea Party crowd, and their allies, are unlikely to do much to stop it.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 Blackwater's Migraines Multiply
it emerged at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee that Blackwater employees took more than 500 assault rifles intended for the Afghan police force and routinely carried weapons without permission. Blackwater was awarded contracts worth billions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Saturday, February 20, 2010 Where is the Outrage? (4 comments)
Tea-baggers tilt at windmills while real outrages go unanswered.
Sunday, February 7, 2010 The Silence of the Sheep (45 comments)
Do you want the president of the United States to have the power to kill you? Well, it seems he took the power without asking anyone.
Monday, January 25, 2010 Well done, Mr. Kennedy! (1 comments)
Are you impatiently waiting to change Exxon-Mobil's diapers, or take KBR's kids (subsidiaries) to school? It's all about to happen!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010 Emma Lazarus Redux
What will immigration reform look like? E Pluribus Gridlock!
Sunday, December 13, 2009 Good News 2009 (4 comments)
Where I make good on a deal made with a friend -- to make up for all the depressing news stories I had to write this year.
Friday, November 6, 2009 Most Happy Fella!
Can you imagine Glenn Beck at 2 A.M.?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 And Where Was A.G. Ashcroft? A.W.O.L. (1 comments)
After years of denial, finally an admission of guilt from the Bushies. It's refreshing. But it's also worth remembering how panicked and paranoid most of us were right after 9/11!
Monday, November 2, 2009 Justice Delayed... (4 comments)
For those of us who seek justice, the rule of law can be frustrating. But consider what kind of country we'd be without due process!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 Rendition Victim Not Giving Up (1 comments)
Thwarted by U.S. Courts, a German citizen who claims he was "rendered" by the U.S. and secretly detained and tortured for four months is taking his case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Saturday, September 5, 2009 Titillating the News Business
The hottest question for TV viewers: Do you want news or cleavage?
Monday, August 10, 2009 Sotomayor: The Umpires Strike Out! (1 comments)
What did we learn from Judge Sotomayor's hearing in the Senate. Did we learn anything?
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 ICE: ABOVE THE LAW?
Give us your huddled masses -- but why?
