Human Rights

Ex-CIA Agent, Whistleblower John Kiriakou Sentenced to Prison While Torturers He Exposed Walk Free

"Former CIA agent John Kiriakou speaks out just days after he was sentenced to 30 months in prison, becoming the first CIA official to face jail time for any reason relating to the U.S. torture program. Under a plea deal, Kiriakou admitted to a single count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act by revealing the identity of a covert officer to a freelance reporter, who did not publish it. Supporters say Kiriakou is being unfairly targeted for having been the first CIA official to publicly confirm and detail the Bush administration’s use of waterboarding. Kiriakou joins us to discuss his story from Washington, D.C., along with his attorney, Jesselyn Radack, director of National Security & Human Rights at the Government Accountability Project. "This ... was not a case about leaking; this was a case about torture. And I believe I’m going to prison because I blew the whistle on torture," Kiriakou says. "My oath was to the Constitution. … And to me, torture is unconstitutional."".

http://m.democracynow.org/stories/13426

10 reasons the U.S. is no longer the land of the free by Jonathan Turley

Every year, the State Department issues reports on individual rights in other countries, monitoring the passage of restrictive laws and regulations around the world. Iran, for example, has been criticized for denying fair public trials and limiting privacy, while Russia has been taken to task for undermining due process. Other countries have been condemned for the use of secret evidence and torture.

Even as we pass judgment on countries we consider unfree, Americans remain confident that any definition of a free nation must include their own — the land of free. Yet, the laws and practices of the land should shake that confidence. In the decade since Sept. 11, 2001, this country has comprehensively reduced civil liberties in the name of an expanded security state. The most recent example of this was the National Defense Authorization Act, signed Dec. 31, which allows for the indefinite detention of citizens. At what point does the reduction of individual rights in our country change how we define ourselves?

Obama to sign indefinite detention bill into law by Glenn Greenwald

In one of the least surprising developments imaginable, President Obama – after spending months threatening to veto the Levin/McCain detention bill – yesterday announced that he would instead sign it into law (this is the same individual, of course, who unequivocally vowed when seeking the Democratic nomination to support a filibuster of “any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecom[s],” only to turn around – once he had the nomination secure — and not only vote against such a filibuster, but to vote in favor of the underlying bill itself, so this is perfectly consistent with his past conduct). As a result, the final version of the Levin/McCain bill will be enshrined as law this week as part of the the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). I wrote about the primary provisions and implications of this bill last week, and won’t repeat those points here.

The ACLU said last night that the bill contains “harmful provisions that some legislators have said could authorize the U.S. military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians, including American citizens, anywhere in the world” and added: “if President Obama signs this bill, it will damage his legacy.” Human Rights Watch said that Obama’s decision “does enormous damage to the rule of law both in the US and abroad” and that “President Obama will go down in history as the president who enshrined indefinite detention without trial in US law.”

Operation Checkmate: the pawns fight back

 

"When the people fear the government that is tyranny.
When the government fears the people, that is liberty.
"

 

 

- Thomas Jefferson

 

 

WIKILEAKS on World's Most Controversial Prison

The overt terror administrations are being exposed a little more.. Wikileaks is exposing the insane human rights scam of the US terror prison.

Jonathan

FN is posting to this following article and the related Chris Hedges' article, The Corporate State Wins Again

I have been commenting at Common Dreams encouraging a wake-up call to get to NYC this 9/11!

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Media Roots Radio- TSA, Bush's Book, Flotilla Attack, Interview with Dr. Paul Larudee

On this week's episode of Media Roots Radio, Robbie and Abby Martin talk about the new TSA procedures and privacy violations despite the nonexistent threat of terrorism, Bush's book tour and the media giving him a pass, and analyze the WhatTheFuckHasObamaDoneSoFar website. On the second half of the show we talk about the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, the Freedom Flotilla raid and air a forty minute interview with a survivor of the Flotilla attack, Dr. Paul Larudee.

Listen to last week's broadcast about Pyschedelic Drugs, the CIA, LSD, DMT, the DEA, Lucid Dreaming and Consiousness.

Poll: Most Americans want military trial for 9/11 suspects

Considering that only 16% of Americans in 2006 said they believed the Bush Administration was "telling the truth" about "what they knew prior to September 11th, 2001, about possible terrorist attacks against the United States" http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/13469 , the results of this poll are puzzling and disturbing. Why are so many Americans not interested in a public trial, if they're so sure of KSM's guilt? Why are so many Americans willing to tolerate secret evidence and other limitations on the human rights of the accused? The percentages in the polls show that some of the same people supporting military tribunals are also skeptical the Bush Administration has told the truth about 9/11. It seems likely that significant numbers of Americans believe that, whatever responsibility the Bush Administration (and/or others) bear for 9/11, that KSM and the other accused did play a role in the 9/11 attacks. And KSM et al may well have played a role- but let's have the evidence produced, in a public courtroom, where it can be challenged by competent defense counsel, and weighed by a jury and the interested public. - loose nuke

Change.org Censors 9/11 Truth

Censored Idea

news.ReOpen911.info by Spotless Mind
Translated by DJDaveMark
December 1st, 2008

The administrators at Change.org have deleted the idea for a new investigation into 9/11.

They declared that a new investigation into the attacks – which gave the Bush Administration the power to spy on it's own citizens, to torture, to launch two preventative wars based on lies and more generally to trample all over the Constitution – was "outside the scope" of the site's stated mission and therefore didn't meet their criteria for "specific policy solutions". It doesn't matter how many people want to know the Truth about 9/11, they refuse to have the idea promoted and discussed on their site.

Because of this censorship, the Change.org site has shown that it isn't a "social platform" but, rather, just another gatekeeper of 9/11 Truth.

When the idea was pulled, it was by far the most popular, comfortably occupying the top spot, totaling at least 660 votes (twice the amount of the next best rated idea) only 48 hours after being submitted. On a side note, the other proposed ideas had a 3 week head start, and the 9/11 Truth idea was only just warming up.

Why (pretend to) ask the citizens for ideas then simply delete the most popular? It seems like all of this is more of a joke than a wishful expression for democracy…

Here is the e-mail received by everyone who voted (and to whom we thank for voting):

"CRIMINALISING WAR"- Former Prime Minister of Malaysia & 911 Truther

SPEECH BY
TUN DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
AT THE WAR CRIMINAL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION
AT DEWAN MERDEKA, PWTC, KUALA LUMPUR
ON MONDAY, 5 JANUARY 2007
http://www.perdana4peace.org/2007/criminalising_war.php

Also Watch the Video:-

Implications of the US Military Agenda Michel Chossudovsky's Address at the Opening Session, Perdana Global Peace Forum to Criminalize War, Kuala Lumpur, 5-7 February 2007

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5337690562294546168&q=perdana+for+peace&total=6&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&pl...

“CRIMINALISING WAR”

1. This is the third in a series of conferences and exhibitions with the theme “Criminalising War”. But apart from this the Perdana Global Peace Organisation has also set up an office and recruited staff so as to correspond and coordinate the work which we think is necessary if this idea of a worldwide effort to change orthodox perceptions of war and peace into one which rejects war totally is to be successful.

NEW Wiki dedicated to 9/11 Information and Human Rights Issues

I need your help, please.

I have created a community wiki called WikiYourRights.com, which is dedicated to 9/11 information and human rights issues. The topics in the wiki will not be restricted to just those issues, but they will be the main issues covered.

What is a wiki anyway?

As you can read from the above definition, a wiki is usually a community project. I am posting this topic here because the people who belong to this group are exactly the type of people I would like to have help me.

I chose the wiki format because it is very easy to create and edit information. I am using the same wiki software used by wikipedia.com and the same content license as well.

I decided to create the wiki because after posting information on my own website, Your-Rights.com, since 2002, I have discovered that it is physically impossible to dig up all of the available information posted on a single day that is worthy of mention. I am barely scratching the surface. To be quite honest, I am starting to get burned out. So, I am asking for your help.

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