Just before the annual orgy of Canada Day self-celebration, the Pew Research Center released a poll revealing that over one-third of Canadians supported the use of torture. This was no late April Fool’s joke, but rather a shocking figure that was part of a global survey on U.S. foreign policy (more…)
July 2015
Monthly Archive
Wed 29 Jul 2015
Wed 29 Jul 2015
Reagan-appointed judge questions fairness of criminal-justice system
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , DemocracyNo Comments
Steven Greenhut reason.com
One of California’s most prominent federal judges, Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit court of appeals, has sparked a nationwide debate about the state of the nation’s criminal-justice system with a recent 42-page jeremiad in the Georgetown Law Review. The article depicts a system that tilts heavily in favor of district attorneys, incarcerates thousands of innocent people and fails to hold accountable prosecutors who abuse their power. (more…)
Thu 23 Jul 2015
Confidential Documents: Red Cross Itself May Not Know How Millions Donated for Haiti Were Spent
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , DemocracyNo Comments
by Justin Elliott, ProPublica, and Laura Sullivan, NPR, July 21, 2015, 11:01 a.m.
The documents also raise questions about the accuracy of the Red Cross’ count of how many Haitians it helped, concluding the figures on one project were “fairly meaningless.” (more…)
Tue 21 Jul 2015
Snowden’s Plea to Top Technologists: Build an Internet for the People
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , DemocracyNo Comments
The internet is not for businesses, governments, or spies. It’s for users—and it’s up to the independent web engineers to keep it safe for them. (more…)
Tue 21 Jul 2015
GROUPS REMEMBER 11TH ANNIVERSARY OF AREF-HOSSAIN ARRESTS WITH RALLY, MARCH, FILM
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , DemocracyNo Comments
To commemorate the 11th anniversary of the arrests of Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain on August 4, 2004, two Muslim men entrapped in a phony FBI sting operation in Albany, seventeen area peace and justice groups will present a free screening of the Peabody Award-winning documentary The Newburgh Sting on Monday, August 3 at 7 p.m. at The Linda, 339 Central Ave. in Albany. The film will be preceded by a rally and dinner at the Masjid As-Salam, 280 Central Ave., at 5:30 p.m., and then a 6:45 p.m. march up Central Avenue to The Linda, WAMC-FM’s performing arts theater. (more…)
Wed 15 Jul 2015
The Problem of Greece Is Not Only a Tragedy – It Is a Lie
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , Democracy , Finance , Globalization/EmpireNo Comments
John Pilger Truthout
An historic betrayal has consumed Greece. Having set aside the mandate of the Greek electorate, the Syriza government has willfully ignored last week’s landslide “No” vote and secretly agreed on a raft of repressive, impoverishing measures in return for a “bailout” that means sinister foreign control and a warning to the world. (more…)
Tue 14 Jul 2015
Mhairi Black: SNP MP’s maiden speech in full
Posted by k under Civil Liberties , DemocracyNo Comments
Twenty-year-old Scottish National Party MP Mhairi Black gives cause for hope in her maiden speech (8 mins) at Westminster. Transcript available here at “3.6 pm”.
Sun 12 Jul 2015
Chris Hedges Truthdig
The poor and the working class in the United States know what it is to be Greek. They know underemployment and unemployment. They know life without a pension. They know existence on a few dollars a day. They know gas and electricity being turned off because of unpaid bills. They know the crippling weight of debt. They know being sick and unable to afford medical care. (more…)