NewsTrust - Human Rights - Most Recent Stories: News (Independent)

Senate Advances Expanded, "Orwellian" Gov't Surveillance With FISA Amendments, CISPA

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez - May. 24 (News Analysis) - The Senate is closer to renewing controversial measures that critics say would allow the emails and phone calls of U.S. citizens to be monitored without a warrant. The Select Committee on Intelligence has voted to extend controversial amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that were set to expire at the end of this year. "What we’re asking is that they slow down this process and start first with the question: What type of information are they picking up? How many Americans are being affected? What is the government doing with it?," says Michelle Richardson of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has sued over the U.S. government’s surveillance practices, saying agencies would be able to tap their communications with clients and sources overseas.

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President Barack Obama's shifting stance on gay marriage

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - May. 11 (Fact Check) - ABC broke into its daytime lineup May 9, 2012, to announce a historic shift: the president of the United States declaring his personal support for gay marriage. "I've been going through an evolution on this issue," President Barack Obama told ABC News .

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What’s Happening in Syria?

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Consortium News - By William Blum - Apr. 08 (News Analysis) - It’s difficult to know what’s happening in Syria not only because of the confusing violence but because the Western news media has lost nearly all credibility when it comes to reporting on Muslim countries, at least those on America’s and Israel’s enemies lists.

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4 important truths about Mike Daisey’s lies & the way ‘This American Life’ told them

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Poynter Institute - By Craig Silverman - Mar. 19 (News Analysis) - Fact checking is a real process, but what “This America Life” did wasn’t fact checking. The press release about the retraction show referenced the “fact checking before the broadcast of Daisey’s story” and the original show included this from Glass: This

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Fracking Democracy: Why Pennsylvania's Act 13 May Be the Nation's Worst Corporate Giveaway

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Steven Rosenfeld - Mar. 12 (Special Report) - Pennsylvania, where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were signed and where the U.S. coal, oil and nuclear industries began, has adopted what may be the most anti-democratic, anti-environmental law in the country, giving gas companies the right to drill anywhere, overturn local zoning laws, seize private property and muzzle physicians from disclosing specific health impacts from drilling fluids on patients.

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The message from Strasbourg | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

thebulletin.org - By Alexander Kelle - Feb. 23 (Special Report) - On December 20, 2011, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, ruled that the "use of gas against terrorists during the Moscow theatre siege was justified." It did not, that is, violate the right to life -- enshrined in Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights -- of the 700-plus hostages in a Moscow theater almost a decade ago.

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"Price Tag" Escalation Timeline: Jan 1 - present -

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

peacenow.org - By Lara Friedman - Feb. 14 (News Report) - The following is a timeline of major "Price Tag" attacks (as reported by Israeli sources). It documents a clear escalation in attacks, and the increasing spread of attacks inside the Green Line. Italics indicate so-called "triggers" - events or developments that appear to be linked to subsequent attacks. A recent Haaretz report noted: "According to the Shin Bet, the right-wing extremists no longer appear to need a 'trigger' to take action, while the targets of the violence are also widening..."

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Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón Disbarred in Trial Seen as Retaliation for Trailblazing Human Rights Work

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Feb. 10 (News Report) - Spain’s most famous judge, Baltasar Garzón, has been disbarred for 11 years after being found guilty of ordering illegal monitoring. Garzón is known for taking on global human rights cases under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction, with actions including ordering the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998, indicting Osama bin Laden for the 9/11 attacks, and probing the abuse of U.S. prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. Garzón cannot appeal his disbarment, which effectively ends his career as a judge. We speak to Human Rights Watch's Reed Brody, who observed Garzon’s trial in Madrid. Brody says the case marks "a massive attack on the independence of the judiciary and on a very brave judge." [Rush transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Voter Photo ID Laws Hit Older Americans Hard

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

AARP Bulletin - By Marsha Mercer - Jan. 05 (News Analysis) - Having a driver's license or photo identification card is commonplace for most Americans, but about 11 percent of adult citizens — more than 21 million people — lack a valid, government-issued photo ID, according to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.

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With Indefinite Detention Measure, Has Congress Also Expanded Rendition of U.S. Citizens Abroad?

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Dec. 22 (News Analysis) - The Obama administration is continuing to come under intense criticism from civil liberties groups for saying it will sign a controversial defense spending bill that some legal experts say would authorize the military to jail anyone it considers a terrorism suspect anywhere in the world without charge or trial. While much of the media focus has been on the bill's provisions regarding indefinite detention, Mother Jones magazine has revealed the bill also contains text that could make it easier for the U.S. government to transfer American citizens to foreign regimes and security forces, a process known as rendition. We speak with Mother Jones national security reporter, Nick Baumann, who also details the cases of several U.S. citizens who have already been detained abroad by foreign security forces, interrogated, sometimes abused, and asked questions they believe could only have come from U.S. law enforcement. [Rush transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Obama Prepares to Authorize Indefinite Detention of U.S. Citizens For First Time Since McCarthy Era - Glenn Greenwald on NDAA

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Dec. 19 (News Analysis) - The $662 billion National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress last week includes controversial provisions that could usher in a radical expansion of indefinite detention under the U.S. government by authorizing the military to jail anyone it considers a terrorism suspect anywhere in the world without charge or trial. “Congress, with the Democrats in control of the Senate and a Democratic president, is about to enact into law the first bill that will say that the military and the United States government do have this power,” says Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com blogger and constitutional law attorney. “It's muddled whether it applies to U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, but it's clearly indefinite detention, and there's a very strong case to make that it includes U.S. citizens as well, which, as we know, the Obama administration already claims anyway, and that's what makes it so dangerous.” [Rush transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Indigenous Activists From Canada Protest Tar Sands Oil at Durban Climate Change Summit

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Dec. 06 (News Report) - This morning in Durban, South Africa, a group of youth and indigenous activists from Canada gave delegates to the U.N. climate talks mock gift bags containing samples of fake tar sands along with tourism brochures for Canada and Canadian flags. Kandi Mossett, one of the activists participating in the action, says Canada’s reliance on tar sands oil “is the largest catastrophic project that I am aware of on earth right now.” Mossett, who is the Native Energy and Climate Campaign Organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network, notes that the tar sands extraction process is energy and water-intensive, emits immense amounts of pollution into the air, and destroys the landscape. “To even get to the tar sands they have to remove boreal forests — old growth forests — and they call it ‘overburden.’ They just scrape it off and get rid of that. And then they dig down and move so many tons of earth,” Mossett says. “Then they squeeze out the last little 10 percent of oil that’s actually in the sand. And then they have to use chemicals to make it liquid enough to be able to put it through the pipelines — it’s much more toxic than any other kind of, you know, sweet crude oil.”

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20 Ways the Obama Administration Has Intruded on Your Rights

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Bill Quigley - Dec. 04 (News Analysis) - Is there a fundamental difference between the Bush presidency and the Obama presidency in the area of domestic civil liberties?

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Battlefield America: U.S. Citizens Face Indefinite Military Detention in Defense Bill Before Senate

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Nov. 29 (News Report) - The Senate is set to vote this week on a Pentagon spending bill that could usher in a radical expansion of indefinite detention under the U.S. government. A provision in the National Defense Authorization Act would authorize the military to jail anyone it considers a terrorism suspect — anywhere in the world — without charge or trial.

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SWAT team's shooting of Marine causes outrage

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By Amanda Lee Myers - Nov. 27 (News Report) - Jose Guerena Ortiz was sleeping after an exhausting 12-hour night shift at a copper mine. His wife, Vanessa, had begun breakfast. Their 4-year-old son, Joel, asked to watch cartoons.

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Newsvine - AP Impact: Right-to-know laws often ignored

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

NewsVine - By Martha Mendoza, AP National Writer,: Ravi Nessman from India, Charles Hutzler from China, Adriana Gomez Licon from Mexico. - Nov. 17 (Investigative Report) - In Mexico, the AP filed a query through a website and got all the information requested within two months. But in the U.S., the AP had to mail requests to six branches of the Justice and Homeland Security departments. After 10 months, 18 phone calls and 40 letters from the government, the AP ended up with two spreadsheets and a piece of paper with all names blanked out.

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Court bars Muslim group access to FBI operating guidelines

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

rcfp.org - By J.C. Derrick - Nov. 16 (News Report) - He ordered the agency to provide further explanation to allow the court to "undertake a meaningful assessment of the redacted material."

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"Corporations Are Not People": Activists Push Amendment to Revoke "Corporate Personhood"

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Nov. 09 (News Report) - After an Election Day that saw a number of wins for progressive causes nationwide, activists opposed to "corporate personhood" — the notion that corporations have equal rights to individuals — are pushing ahead with a campaign to add a twenty-eighth amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would reject the idea that corporations are people and reverse the 2010 landmark case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. In a 5-to-4 vote, the Court ruled corporations have First Amendment rights and that the government cannot impose restrictions on their political speech — clearing the way for corporations and other special interest groups to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections. We speak to John Bonifaz, a constitutional attorney and co-founder and director of Free Speech for People. [Rush transcript to come. Please check back soon.]

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Scott Campbell Films Police Shooting At Occupy Oakland: Video Sparks National Outrage (VIDEO)

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - Nov. 08 (News Report) - Early Thursday morning after Occupy Oakland's general strike, Campbell filmed police as they surrounded the remaining protesters. According to Campbell, an officer asked him to step back as he approached the police line with a video camera. Campbell obliged, and then began filming about ten feet from the officers. On the video, Campbell can be heard asking "is this OK?" twice. Several seconds later, an officer shoots him with what appears to be a rubber bullet.

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Missoula voters say corporations are not people, ask for constitutional amendment

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

missoulian.com - Nov. 08 (News) -

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Glenn Greenwald on Two-Tiered U.S. Justice System, Obama’s Assassination Program & the Arab Spring

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Glenn Greenwald - Oct. 26 (News Analysis) - Glenn Greenwald’s new book,"With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful,” offers a scathing critique of what he calls the two-tiered system of justice that ensures the political and financial class is virtually immune from prosecution in the United States. Greenwald explores how the media, both political parties, and the courts have abetted a process that has produced torture, war crimes, domestic spying, financial fraud and even the assassination of U.S citizens. [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Murder Conviction Upheld

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Pirate FM - Oct. 25 (News Report) - One of the brothers serving life for the brutal murders of a Wadebridge couple in their own home loses his last appeal.

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Alleged Inhumane Conditions for Post-9/11 Suspects Sparks Global Scrutiny of U.S. Detention Policies

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Oct. 14 (News Analysis) - Mehanna is accused of trying to serve in al-Qaeda’s "media wing." He was 27 years old when he was arrested in October 2009 and has been held in solitary confinement since then. Mehanna was originally courted by the FBI to become an informant. Meanwhile, the European Court of Human Rights is hearing a case on the legality of extradition of terror suspects to the United States on the grounds that inmates are subjected to inhumane conditions of confinement and routine violations of due process. This could become a landmark case in human rights law, potentially damaging the international reputation of the U.S. legal system.

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"Chaos and Bloodshed": 25 Die in Cairo as Egyptian Military Attacks Coptic Christian Protesters

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Sharif Abdel Kouddous - Oct. 10 (News Report) - In Egypt, at least two dozen people died on Sunday when the Egyptian military attacked a large gathering of Coptic Christian protesters. The violence broke out after a protest in Cairo against an attack on a church in Aswan province last week. Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous was in Cairo and witnessed the killings. "Then the military attacked. They came rushing forward, beating anyone in their path. Then they started opening fire. The sound of gunfire filled the air," said Kouddous. "It was really a scene of chaos, a scene of bloodshed, the likes of which I have not seen since the revolution here in Cairo. And the reaction of the army does not bode well for the future." [includes rush transcript]

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U.S. Continues to Back Afghan Warlord Linked to 2006 Massacre and Torture of Prisoners

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, NERMEEN SHAIKH - Sep. 27 (Special Report) - New revelations about a U.S.-backed warlord in Afghanistan are raising questions about whether the United States has violated its own laws in its aim to defeat the Taliban. The Atlantic magazine reports the United States, under both former President George W. Bush and President Obama, has actively supported the police commander in Kandahar, General Abdul Raziq, despite knowing of his involvement not just in corruption and drug smuggling, but also in major human rights abuses including killings and torture.

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