ukwatch.net

Jonathon Burch draws attention to Oxfam’s recent announcement that Afghanistan needs urgent help to avert a humanitarian crisis this winter, with millions facing some of the worst conditions for more than 20 years.

The outcome of the British High Court’s hearing on the case of Binyam Mohamed may open an important crack in the wall of secrecy that surrounds the CIA’s rendition, detention, and interrogation abuses, writes Joanne Mariner.

Tahrir Swift discusses the dubious case of a recent female Iraqi suicide bombers – and the characteristically gullible media treatment of it.

Yuri Prassad, Simon Assaf and Simon Basketter warn that continuing police discrimination against black youths, as displayed recently at Notting Hill Carnival, is liable to have explosive consequences further down the line.

Our former prime minister’s address in Malaysia was met with both amusement and disbelief, writes Inayat Bunglawala.

The Taliban’s sophisticated, deadly new tactics are bringing them closer to Kabul. The United States’ response has been to redouble the failed tactics that helped achieve this outcome, argues Paul Rogers.

Laurie Penny on male genital mutilation – and why those pesky penis enlargement emails are a political issue

The US War Resisters League 2008 Listening Project recently conducted interviews with a hundred activists from peace organisations. Hugh Tynan reports on some of the results

The Criminal Justice Alliance systematic demolition of the government’s case for building three US-style huge Titan prisons ought to be grabbed as a lifeline by the government, says the Morning Star

Yuri Prasad casts a sceptical eye over the patriotic atmosphere that has accompanied the Beijing Olympics and the anticipation of the 2012 games

Those who keep themselves mercifully removed from the murky world of blogging narcissism will not be aware that for a brief period today, Harry’s Place had their free speech violated…

Andy Rowell on the mainstream media and PR industries interpretation of the war in Georgia.

The surge of support for a one-off windfall tax on energy firms’ obscenely excessive profits may be on the point of becoming irresistible…

Symon Hill questions whether the UK really is the world’s number one arms exporter.

Richard Tyler reports on the recent High Court ruling that the British government must disclose information that could support the claim that torture was used to extract confessions from Binyam Mohamed, a former British resident who has been held in Guantánamo Bay since September 2004.

Young people face poverty, racism and abuse from the press and politicians. John Bowman looks at the plight of youth under New Labour and how they can fight back.

Alex Salmond’s remark to Iain Dale that Scots ‘didn’t mind the economic side’ of Thatcherism, created a storm of hypocrisy and exposed a fundamental truth about Scottish politics, argues Gerry Hassan. Mainstream politicians are as united in tacitly accepting Thatcher’s legacy as in publicly abominating her policies.

George Monbiot exposes the new wave of food colonialism practiced by the EU, and several other rich nations, that is snatching food from the mouths of the poor.

The Morning Star describe recent developments regarding policing in Northern Ireland, where Sinn Fein have reacted to the slow progress towards devolving powers to Stormont by threatening to pull out its ministers from the power-sharing government.

Steve James reports on the massive public health failings that are responsible for the Clostridium difficile associated disease (CDAD) deaths at Vale of Leven hospital in Scotland.