Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/19/police-intimidation-protesters-civil-liberties

The police have always faced a degree of suspicion from the public. The founders of the Met dressed their men in blue rather than the more military red to underline their civilian role. Keeping the peace is one of society's toughest jobs and one that our police have performed sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Maybe people in the UK are becoming impatient with the police, but not the cattle in America. The police can tazer, stomp, club, tear gas, strip search, and beat people nearly to death in the U.S. with total impunity and the America people silently accept the abuse with nary a whimper.

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8006597.stm

Mr Obama has banned the use of controversial interrogation techniques
US President Barack Obama's decision not to prosecute CIA agents who used torture tactics is a violation of international law, a UN expert says. The UN special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, says the US is bound under the UN Convention against Torture to prosecute those who engage in it.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/19/iran-america-journalist-sentence

An Iranian-American journalist, Roxana Saberi, was sentenced to eight years in prison yesterday by the Iranian authorities after being found guilty of spying for the United States.