Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
Latest editorial
CIA torture: a very disingenuous mea culpa
Paddy McGuffin finds the CIA reaction to the recent torture report wanting
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
So, there you have it. The CIA tortured hundreds if not thousands of people and hid behind the egregious euphemism of “enhanced interrogation.” Quelle surprise!
In further shock news Pontiff wears funny hat and ursine mammals defecate in arboreal surroundings.
The evidence published this week by a US Senate committee was indeed damning — as far as it went — detailing as it did, waterboarding, sleep deprivation, beatings and rectal force feeding among numerous other charming techniques routinely employed by the spooks.
Similar stories
Newly revealed documents reveal that MI5 taught Brazilian secret police the techniques deployed by the 1964-85 military dictatorship in horrific prisons like Rio de Janeiro’s House of Death. SARA VIVACQUA reports
Legal frameworks designed to safeguard women are too often weaponised against them, reinforcing male power and entrenching injustice. The FiLiA Ending MVAWG Team highlight some of the issues
![SHAMELESS DISPLAY OF COERCION: Previously unreleased photos of Guantanamo captives, 2002, brought to Guantanamo Bay from Afghanistan by way of Incirlik, Turkey. [Pic: Staff Sergeant Jeremy Lock/CC]](https://morningstaronline.co.uk/sites/default/files/styles/desktop/public/2025-11/cia%20web2.jpg.webp?itok=o_Dyxu_T)
GUILLERMO THOMAS enjoys a survey of the current state of the CIA (aka Langley) from an expert and insider of sorts
