$134M Claim Against Omar Khadr Based on False Information, Lawyer Argues: Here’s What We’re Reading
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Here’s what we’re reading today.
1. $134-million claim against Khadr is based on false information and should be thrown out, lawyer argues
“A multimillion-dollar claim seeking damages against Omar Khadr for the death of a U.S. special forces soldier should be dismissed because it relies on false information and a conviction before Guantanamo’s controversial military courts, documents filed Tuesday state.”
2. Brazilian court blocks abolition of vast Amazon reserve
“A Brazilian court has blocked an attempt by the president, Michel Temer, to open up swaths of the Amazon forest to mining companies after an outcry by environmental campaigners and climate activists.”
3. The empire stopper
“When the American Author James A. Michener went to Afghanistan to research his work of historical fiction, ‘Caravans,’ it was 1955 and there were barely any roads in the country. Yet there were already Americans and Russians there, jockeying for influence. Later, the book’s Afghan protagonist would tell an American diplomat that one day both America and Russia would invade Afghanistan, and that both would come to regret it.
“Michener’s foresight was uncanny, but perhaps that is not terribly surprising. Afghanistan has long been called the ‘graveyard of empires’ — for so long that it is unclear who coined that disputable term.”
4. Why Europeans slack off in August
“Many Europeans wishing to build a house, see a dentist or buy a baguette this month will have been disappointed. A surprising number of businesses continue the long-established practice of collectively taking off July or August”
5. Mark Zuckerberg will be our downfall
“It’s really amazing that there exists a virtual platform that not only proffers the soul-sucking personal propaganda of everyone you ever knew and/or didn’t want to know, but also the propaganda of the government, Mark Zuckerberg, and your local Denny’s — and people love it.”
