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The Al-Qaeda Leader Who Wasn’t: The Shameful Ordeal of Abu Zubaydah

Rebecca Gordon TomDispatch
In a stunning piece on an unforgettable set of American crimes, TomDispatch regular Rebecca Gordon catches the nightmarish quality of those years, now largely buried, in the grim case of a single mistreated human being. It should make Americans shudder. She has also just published a new book, American Nuremberg: The U.S. Officials Who Should Stand Trial for Post-9/11 War Crimes, that couldn’t be more relevant.

Letter from Pakistan: Demanding Land Rights Is Not Terrorism

Farooq Tariq Portside
A massive repression of the most militant but peaceful peasant movement--the Anjman Mozareen Punjab (AMP)--is underway. Most of its leadership has been arrested under false anti-terrorist laws. Dozens are missing while over 50 remain behind bars.

Updating the Party: Cuba’s New (and Not So New) Leaders

William M. LeoGrande The WorldPost
Generational succession is high on the agenda of Cuba’s Communist Party leadership, still dominated at the highest level by “los historicos“ — the generation that fought together against the Batista dictatorship and founded the revolutionary regime.

The Life and Death of Daniel Berrigan

Rev. John Dear Common Dreams
Rev. Daniel Berrigan, the renowned anti-war activist, award-winning poet, author and Jesuit priest, who inspired religious opposition to the Vietnam war and later the U.S. nuclear weapons industry, died at age 94, just a week shy of his 95th birthday.

The Labor Movement’s May Day Promise

Erica Smiley The American Prospect
Some cast the labor movement as dying or even dead, but even amid attacks on collective bargaining workers are finding innovative ways to organize.

How Chicago's White Donor Class Distorts City Policy

Sean McElwee Demos
Chicago’s democracy is being distorted by an overwhelmingly, white, wealthy and male donor class. But public financing provides a clear solution. The “Fair Election Ordinance,” introduced on January 13, 2016 would match all small donor contributions up to $175, increasing the influence of the most diverse small and mid-level donor pool.

Entanglement Made Simple

Frank Wilczek Quanta Magazine
Quantum entanglement is thought to be one of the trickiest concepts in science, but the core issues are simple. And once understood, entanglement opens up a richer understanding of concepts such as the “many worlds” of quantum theory.

Free From Jail, Imprisoned by Debt

Libero Della Piana OtherWords
People in at least 30 states are barred from voting because they're unable to pay their court fines.