Special Coverage: Rights and Liberties

From the blogs

Cynthia McKinney Detained (Again) by Israeli Defense Force; Israeli Protesters Brutally Beaten in West Bank

by Joshua Holland, AlterNet

A tipping point approaches.

Looney Oklahoma Legislator: Gays to Blame for Econopocalypse ... 'Bigger Threat than Islam'

by Matt Corley, Think Progress

Sigh ... it's actually not a new meme, just a pathetic one.

White Supremacists Arrested in 2004 Bombing ... Is the FBI Finally Taking Domestic Terrorism Seriously Again?

by David Neiwert, Orcinus

An undercover ATF sting raided white supremacists in at least three states last Thursday.

'Out of Control' Cop Allegedly Brutalizes Guests at Dem Fundraiser

by Staff, AlterNet

“I have never personally witnessed law enforcement officers behave this brutally and incompetently ...”

Obama Has Become Radical in His Commitment to Secrecy

by Martin Garbus, Huffington Post

Obama's attempt at secrecy, continued torture and repression of speech must be stopped.

Right-Wingers React to Supreme Court Decision as Proof Sotomayor Is 'Indeed a Racist'

by Digby, Hullabaloo

The Right has long anticipated this ruling so as to spin it as proof of Sotomayor's incompetence, hatred of white people, etc.

The Madoff Sentence: Swindle the Rich? Get 150 Years. Swindle the Poor? Who Cares?

by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville

Surely I'm not the only one who sees this as just the sort of ridiculously excessive sentence that's reserved for scapegoats.

Thinking Chipotle For Lunch? Read This First If You Care About Workers' Rights

by Peter Rothberg, TheNation.com

The country's fastest-growing fast food chain has resisted calls for a commitment to ending the brutal exploitation in Florida's tomato fields.

Texas Cops Raid Gay Bar, Brutalize Patrons, on 40th Anniversary of Stonewall Uprising

by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress

Ft. Worth police arrested seven customers for public intoxication, claiming several customers made sexual advances toward them.

Why Are Two Top Torture Lawyers Working for Obama?

by David Swanson, After Downing Street

People like John Rizzo and John Fredman should not be working for our government. They should be impeached. They should be prosecuted.

In Iran, Fears That a Prominent Prisoner Detained In Election Upheaval Could Die in Jail

Katie Mattern, IPS News. July 3, 2009.
Sick and disabled, 55-year old Saeed Hajjarian is one of hundreds of reformists arrested for "orchestrating" the post-election violence in Tehran.

ACLU: Racial Profiling "Widespread and Pervasive"

Haider Rizvi, IPS News. July 2, 2009.
Millions of U.S. citizens continue to face discrimination at the hands of law enforcement just because they are not white.

Tortured to Death: New Details On Detainee Abuse Prove Bush Officials Are (Literally) Getting Away With Murder

Suzanne Ito, Blog of Rights. June 30, 2009.
The Obama administration has yet to hold accountable those who authorized torture -- torture that killed at least 100 people.

White House Drafting Executive Order to Allow Indefinite Detention; Move Would Bypass Congress

Dafna Linzer, Peter Finn, ProPublica. June 30, 2009.
Such an order embraces claims by George W. Bush that certain people can be held without trial for long periods under the laws of war.

Why Does Our Government Still Spy On, Arrest and Persecute Dissidents?

Emily Spence, Consortium News. June 30, 2009.
One needn't return in time to the McCarthy Era to find many individuals who have been investigated and persecuted for holding vilified opinions.

Is the Whistleblower Protection Act Dead?

Nick Schwellenbach, The Center for Public Integrity. June 29, 2009.
A new decision could allow government agencies to evade protections that are supposed to be offered to whistleblowers.

Immigration Reform Headed for Passage

Markos Moulitsas, Daily Kos. June 29, 2009.
The Democratic leadership have reiterated that they expect to pass meaningful immigration reform this year or early next year.

New Threat on the Border: Rogue Anti-Immigrant Militias

* Staff, AlterNet. June 29, 2009.
“I had to take an oath, and part of the oath was that I couldn’t eat Mexican food.”

Obama's Stance on Same-Sex Marriage Puts Him on the Wrong Side of History

Richard Kim, The Nation. June 29, 2009.
The question is no longer whether Obama can afford to support gay rights with full-throated passion, but rather: Can he afford not to?

Right-Wing Israeli Extremists Using Gay Rights to Justify Incursions Into Arab Villages

Marsha B. Cohen, AlterNet. June 27, 2009.
Gay Pride marches are being exploited by rabidly homophobic extremists who plan to parade through Arab towns, asserting their "Jewish pride."

'A Comedy of Errors': Why It's Time to Get Rid of the So-Called Terrorist Watch List

Liliana Segura, AlterNet. June 27, 2009.
A new report finds people on the terrorist watch list can more easily buy guns than board planes. But the real problem lies deeper than that.

Reporters Without Borders Condemns Jailing of Journalists in Iran

Oliver Luft, The Guardian. June 26, 2009.
Some 40 journalists have been arrested since 12 June, including the entire staff of presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi's newspaper.

Obama 'Appalled' by Iran Repression

Khody Akhavi, Ali Gharib, IPS News. June 24, 2009.
Facing calls to speak out more forcefully on Iran's disputed election results, the U.S. president made his harshest statement yet Tuesday.

The Real ID Act Is an Unfixable Disaster... Why Tinkering with it Won't Help

Joan Friedland, Immigration Impact. June 24, 2009.
PASS ID would repeal the REAL ID Act, a burdensome, unfunded mandate that's akin to creation of a national ID system.

Torture Has Not Ended Under Obama; What Are We Going to Do About It?

Diana Gibson, Ray McGovern, San Jose Mercury News. June 24, 2009.
Meanwhile, a recent Pew survey shows that a majority of Americans who go to church regularly believe torture can be justified.

China's Other Genocide: the 'Mother of the Uyghurs' Speaks Out

Richard Gale, Gary Null, AlterNet. June 24, 2009.
One of China's "Public Enemies" talks about the secret war on the Uyghurs.

Brutal Crackdown in Iran Targeting Key Opposition Figures, Activists, and Journalists

Sara Farhang, IPS News. June 23, 2009.
Ahmadinejad seems determined to round up anyone who could play a key role in rallying public support for opposition demands.

We Made Them Rich and They Called Us Criminals

David Bacon, TruthOut.org. June 23, 2009.
Companies exploit undocumented workers, and then claim that sanctions require them to fire them when it's convenient.

How the Dept. of Homeland Security Rips Families Apart in the Name of Fighting Terrorism

Joseph Nevins, New America Media. June 22, 2009.
Each year the U.S. government deports tens of thousands of non-citizens, to countries to which they often have tenuous ties.

Life After Guantanamo: Why the Media's Happy-Ending Narrative Is Totally Bankrupt

Liliana Segura, AlterNet. June 20, 2009.
The transfer of four Uighur prisoners to Bermuda has been treated like a happy human-interest story, but the truth is far darker.

What Do You Do With Father's Day When You Grew Up With a Deadbeat Dad?

James Spooner, AlterNet. June 20, 2009.
Father's Day, for me, is usually just a reminder of what should have been. But that's about to change.

Are the Protests in Iran Getting Hijacked?

Jasmin Ramsey, PULSE. June 18, 2009.
As the fight over Iran becomes more polarized, images of youth-filled streets in Tehran only tell part of the story.

Armed Radical 'Minutemen' Kill Father and 9-Year-Old Daughter in Anti-Immigrant Hate

Sally Kohn, Center for Community Change. June 18, 2009.
Right-wing hate groups are hijacking America's economic distress to push their lethal agendas.

Priests Charged with Fleecing Immigrants in Green Card Scam

AlterNet. June 17, 2009.
Pastors accused of fleecing the faithful are nothing new.

"I Hate Arabs More Than Anybody": Desperate Army Recruits Neo-Nazis

Matt Kennard, Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. June 17, 2009.
Why the U.S. military is ignoring its own regulations and permitting white supremacists to join.

'Minuteman' Leader Allegedly Kills 9 Year-Old and Her Father to Finance Hate Group

Andrea Nill, Think Progress. June 17, 2009.
What all of these groups have in common is that they target individual immigrants rather than immigration policies.

The Revolution Will Be Tweeted: How Cyberwarriors Are Foiling Iran's Information Crackdown

Austin Heap, New America Media. June 17, 2009.
Cyber activist Austin Heap: "My website has been attacked by Iran. My servers are melting. But protesters are still using technology to mobilize."

Hardline Anti-Immigration Group Targets VA Immigrants ... and Kids

Walter Ewing, Immigration Impact. June 16, 2009.
Educating U.S. citizens is an investment in our future, not a sunk cost.

Big Insurance Companies Are Sure to Fight Obama's Public Option

Dean Baker, AlterNet. June 16, 2009.
Insurers don't want to compete with a well-run public plan. Let's hope they have to.

25 Years in Prison for Pot? Drug Warrior Congressman's Idea Is Way Obsolete

Paul Armentano, NORML. June 15, 2009.
Rep. Mark Kirk thinks that the magic number of 15% THC concentration in marijuana should lead to a 25-year prison penalty.

Sign up

About

Coverage concerning protecting your rights, habeas corpus, torture, death penalty, eavesdropping, spying, no-fly lists and more.

RSS Feed

Check out Rights and Liberties' RSS feed!

CEDP

The death penalty is racist, punishes the poor, condemns innocent people to die, and is not a deterrent to violent crime. Join the Campaign to End the Death Penalty today.

Innocence Project