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Civil Liberties

Will The Next "Underwear Bomber" Succeed?

Alan Dershowitz | Posted 01.05.2010 | Politics

Read More: Detroit, Suicide Bomber, Civil Liberties, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Profiling, Northwest Flight 253, Full-Body Scanners, Privacy, Racial Profiling, Newark Airport, Politics News
Alan Dershowitz

My dire New Year prediction is that Islamic terrorists may well succeed this year in blowing up a civilian airliner. They have already twice proved that suicide bombers can get through security.

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America's New Face of Terrorism

Yvonne R. Davis | Posted 01.04.2010 | World

Read More: Profiling, News, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, World, Civil Rights, America, Politics News, Uniteds States of America, 7/7, London 7/7, Arabs, Civil Liberties, Saudi Arabia, El Al, United States. U.S., Black Men, Richard Reid, Nigeria, Senator Joe Liberman, Discrimination, Thurgood Marshall, Newsweek, Islam, American Muslim, Usama Bin Laden, Politics, U.S. Government, Transportation Safety Administration, John Muhammad, Blacks, Newt Gingrich, Tsa, Muslim Public Affairs Council, General McInerney, U.S. Pysche, Arab, Racial Profiling, Muslims, African American, Nigerian, Justice Thurgood Marshall, Israel, New York Times, Fox News, Joe Lieberman, Terrorism, Dc Sniper, Shoe Bomber, European Allies, The West, Alejandro Beutal, World News
Yvonne R. Davis

Thanks to a 23-year-old black man who deceptively looks like an innocent boy, African-Americans, Arabs and the Muslim Diaspora all have something in common. They are more easily viewed as terrorists, and there's no escaping it.

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Command Indiscretion

Rachel Natelson | Posted 01.05.2010 | Politics

Read More: Civil Liberties, Sexual Violence, Women's Rights, Women, Military, Violence Against Women, Women's Health, Military Sexual Assaults, Sexual Harassment, Pregnancy, Sexual Assault, Civil Rights, Politics News
Rachel Natelson

Punishing soldiers for getting pregnant is among the injustices that point collectively to the military's longstanding power to undermine the civil rights of its personnel.

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Afghanistan: In War, Winners can be Losers

Lawrence Wittner | Posted 12.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: Nuclear War, Civil Liberties, World War I, War Winners, Vietnam War, Caesarism, War Losers, World War II, Casualties, Afghanistan War, Politics News
Lawrence Wittner

Supporters and opponents of President Obama's Afghanistan decision focus on whether it is possible to secure a military victory in the conflict; however, in war, even a winner can be a loser.

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Barack Obama, Inc.

Cenk Uygur | Posted 12.17.2009 | Politics

Read More: Civil Liberties, Barack Obama Inc., Corpoate America, Afghanistan, Lobbyists, Climate Change, Corporatists, Financial Reform, Health Care Reform, Barack Obama, Politics News
Cenk Uygur

The man who said he was going to challenge the system, fight corporate lobbyists and change the system now appears to be fighting for the status quo and corporate America at every turn.

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The Best Books of the Decade

Anis Shivani | Posted 12.10.2009 | Books

Read More: Snow, My Name Is Red, The Museum of Innocence, White Teeth, Aleksander Hemon, Orhan Pamuk, Civil Liberties, Dystopian Fiction, Modernization, Margaret Atwood, William Boyd, Multiculturalism, Philip Roth, Oryx and Crake, Netherland, Immigrants, Zadie Smith, Joseph O'Neill, Poetry, Fundamentalism, Terrorism, The Plot Against America, Iraq War, Post-9/11 America, Bush Administration, Racism, Islam, Books News
Anis Shivani

Orhan Pamuk's The Museum of Innocence will be interpreted by clueless reviewers as one about "obsession," just as they might view Nabokov's Lolita to be about "pedophilia."

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ACLU Loses $20 Million Donor, Said To Be David Gelbaum

New | STEPHANIE STROM | Posted 12.08.2009 | Politics

Read More: Aclu, Civil Liberties, Sierra Club, Philanthrophy, Quercus Trust, Madoff, Economy, David Gelbaum, Religious Freedom, Equal Rights, Funding, Anonymous Donor, Quercus, Open Society Institute, Politics News

A longtime anonymous donor to the American Civil Liberties Union has withdrawn his annual gift of more than $20 million, punching a 25 percent hole in...

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Same-Sex Marriage: "A Basic Civil Right"

James Rotondi | Posted 12.08.2009 | New York

Read More: Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal, Civil Liberties, Proposition 8, Prop 8, Roman Catholic Church, Same Sex Couples, Christian Right, Civil Unions, Civil Rights, New York, Same-Sex Marriage, California Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Same Sex Marriage, Living, Gay Marriage, New York News
James Rotondi

Is it is really acceptable to start putting human rights up for a vote, either on the Senate floor or the public voting booth?

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NYC Trial Of High-level Terror Masterminds Will Violate Civil Liberties -- Of Americans

Heather Robinson | Posted 11.30.2009 | New York

Read More: Guantanamo, Civil Liberties, President Obama, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, War on Terror, Eric Holder, 9/11 Trials, New York News
Heather Robinson

To put it simply, in bringing these men to civilian trial the Obama Administration is allowing for the possibility that they may be released at some point, unless the trials are kangaroo trials.

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Right And Left Join To Reform Criminal Justice System

New York Times | ADAM LIPTAK | Posted 11.24.2009 | Politics

Read More: Civil Liberties, Republican Party, Heritage Foundation, Conservatives, Liberals, Courts, Crime, Ronald Reagan, Nacdl, Reform, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Edward Meese Iii, Beyond Left and Right, Aclu, Libertarians, Judicial Reform, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- In the next several months, the Supreme Court will decide at least a half-dozen cases about the rights of people accused of crimes invol...

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Democracy, Human Rights, Us. No Way We're Giving Them Up.

Hagai El-Ad | Posted 11.23.2009 | World

Read More: Freedom of Speech, Civil Liberties, Equality, Social Justice, Human Rights, Acri, Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Israel, March, World News
Hagai El-Ad

A state in which human rights are conditional is no democracy at all, and there is no way we will allow Israel to slide down that slippery slope.

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Honduras: Coup D'etat Murder, Mayhem and Lost Civil Liberties

Lys Anzia | Posted 10.29.2009 | World

Read More: Honduras Coup, Civil Liberties, Women, Women's Rights, Global Politics, Human Rights, World, Manuel Zelaya, Honduras, World News
Lys Anzia

Due to the current military state of affairs since June, the World Bank has now completely "paused its lending" to Honduras. This means that numerous humanitarian programs aimed at helping women and children have been completely stopped.

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Patriot Act Redux

James Zogby | Posted 10.19.2009 | Politics

Read More: Richard Durbin, Civil Liberties, Patriot Act, Amy Klobuchar, Senate Judiciary Committee, Patriot Act Civil Liberties, Politics News
James Zogby

Civil libertarians of the right and left urged the Senate not to reauthorize the three provisions of the Patriot Act without providing new restraints on law enforcement and adequate protections.

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Obama Versus Obama on the Patriot Act

Leslie Harris | Posted 10.10.2009 | Politics

Read More: Civil Liberties, Inspector General, Patriot Act, Congress, Justice Department, President Obama, Fbi, National Security Letters, Judiciary Committee, Barack Obama, Nsl, Politics News
Leslie Harris

Disturbingly, Obama Administration officials played a significant behind the scene role in opposing stronger civil liberties protections, directly contradicting Obama's positions as a Senator.

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Stop And Frisk: Police Stop More Than 1 Million People On Street

AP | COLLEEN LONG | Posted 10.09.2009 | New York

Read More: Civil Liberties, American Civil Liberties Union, Nypd, Police Stops, Crime, Stop and Frisk, New York, Racial Profiling, New York News

NEW YORK — A teenager trying to get into his apartment after school is confronted by police. A man leaving his workplace chooses a different rou...

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Our Neighbors' Keeper: Local Cop Chiefs Want to Create a Nation of Snoops

Dave Lindorff | Posted 10.08.2009 | Local

Read More: Civil Liberties, Terrorism, Citizen Spies, Domestic-Spying, Police Spying, Local News
Dave Lindorff

The last thing we need is a bunch of self-appointed citizen snoops calling in to the cops with reports on every neighbor who looks or acts a little bit different.

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NYPD Is Building Database Of Cell Phone Users: Report

nydailynews.com | By Rocco Parascandola | Posted 10.08.2009 | New York

Read More: Cell Phones, Civil Liberties, Nypd, Crime, Criminals, Criminal Cell Phones, Cell Phone Database, New York Police Department, New York News

The NYPD is amassing a database of cell phone users, instructing cops to log serial numbers from suspects' phones in hopes of connecting them to past ...

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Jeff Muskus

GOP Targets Dodd For Trying To Repeal Immunity For Telecoms In Wiretapping Program

HuffingtonPost.com | Jeff Muskus | Posted 10.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: John Cornyn, Civil Liberties, FISA Amendments, Warrantless Wiretapping, Telecom Immunity, Chris Dodd, Domestic Spying, Chris Dodd Wiretapping, Politics News

The Senate GOP fundraising arm is soliciting donations by vowing to defeat Democrats who want to repeal the retroactive immunity granted last year to ...

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Twittering the G20 Iranian Style

Leslie Harris | Posted 10.06.2009 | Technology

Read More: Freedom of Speech, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Civil Liberties, Iran, Center for Democracy and Technology, First Amendment to the United States Constitution, State Department, Federal Government of the United States, Free Speech, United State, U.S. Government, Twitter, New York, Pittsburgh, Technology News
Leslie Harris

In the wake of protests last week at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, the police arrested a self-professed anarchist for using Twitter to coordinate communications among G20 summit protesters.

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Desperate Honduran Leaders Vow To Restore Freedoms

AP | MARK STEVENSON | Posted 11.28.2009 | World

Read More: Journalists, Lawmakers, Honduras Coup, Zelaya, Micheletti, Latin America, Tegucigalpa, Radio, Protests, Update, Brazil, Press Rights, San Pedro Soula, Coup, Television, Civil Liberties, Military, Honduras, World News

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The coup-installed president of Honduras backed down Monday from an escalating standoff with protesters and suggested he...

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Jeff Muskus

Democrats Spar With Obama DOJ Over PATRIOT Act

HuffingtonPost.com | Jeff Muskus | Posted 11.23.2009 | Politics

Read More: Patriot Act, Patriot Act Extension, PATRIOT Act Expiring, Civil Liberties, National Security, Obama, Obama Doj, Politics News

When President Obama was Senator Obama, he had deep reservations about the expansion of executive authority. Now that he wields that authority, he's h...

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Did Obama Break His Campaign Promise to Scrap the Patriot Act?

Earl Ofari Hutchinson | Posted 11.15.2009 | Politics

Read More: Civil Liberties, Terror War, Constitutional, Bush, Civil Rights, Wiretaps, President Obama, Lone Wolf Terrorists, Patriot Act, Campaign Pledge, Politics News
Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Provisions of the Patriot Act that remain on the books are legally questionable and constitutionally suspect. President Obama has given no hint that he'll change them.

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The Hysteria Factor: Obama and the Swine Flu

Mike Papantonio | Posted 11.11.2009 | Politics

Read More: Vaccine, Air America, Pap Attack, Swine Flu, Civil Liberties, Mike Papantonio, Fear, Kathleen Sebelius, GoLeft.Tv, Golefttv, Pandemic, Panic, Ring of Fire, Politics News
Mike Papantonio

Napolitano can't afford to understate the seriousness of the swine flu, even though America has been abused by politically motivated scare tactics for eight years.

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Obama Gets Failing Grades From Privacy Advocates

Huffington Post | Jenna Staul | Posted 11.09.2009 | Politics

Read More: Civil Liberties, Online Medical Records, President Obama, Electronic Surveillance, Privacy, Online-Marketing, Electronic Medical Records, Politics News

President Obama earns poor to failing grades from privacy advocates who claim that his administration is neglecting privacy and civil-liberties issue...

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White Rivers, Brown Skin, and Black Deeds: Into the Rabbit Hole of Border Detentions and Racial Profiling

Hamdan Azhar | Posted 11.09.2009 | Politics

Read More: Muslims, BORDER ISSUES, Racial Profiling, Canada, Homeland Security, Aclu, Civil Liberties, National Security, Customs and Border Protection, Politics News
Hamdan Azhar

The evil of profiling is that it dehumanizes its victims, stripping them of their individuality. The border officials didn't see me as a writer or as a wide-eyed student in the grip of wanderlust.

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