Bill of Rights

The Young Turks: “”Whether you think him a truth-teller or a bigot, Bill Maher deserves credit for launching one of the most robust public cultural/intellectual debates in recent memory. Two weeks ago today, he said on HBO that “a vast number of Muslims across the world” believe people who do not share their religious beliefs […]

Barack Obama

Is Obama worse than Nixon on Harassing Journalists? Committee to Protect Journalists Petition

contributors

Electronic Frontier Foundation p>A free press has always been an essential part of any democracy. That’s why repressive governments insist on state control over media. That’s why the very first addition to the Constitution, the First Amendment, protects freedom of speech. And that’s why EFF is joining over 60 organizations supporting the Committee to Protect […]

Bill of Rights

Apple and Google Take on U.S. Government Over Encryption

contributors

“ Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) — While the newest Apple and Google smartphones will automatically encrypt data stored on them, that won’t keep U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies from obtaining evidence linked to the devices. Bloomberg’s Jordan Robertson reports on “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg)” Bloomberg News: ” Apple and Google Take on U.S. Government Over […]

Bill of Rights

What the Hackers did to Celebs? The NSA has been Doing that to All of US instead of Predicting ISIL

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole There has been a lot of justifiable outrage about the invasion of privacy of celebrities and the posting of their private, nude photos at 4Chan by hackers who apparently got into their cloud accounts. It seems odd to me that the discussion of this issue has been completely unconnected to the Snowden […]

BDS Occupied Territories

Victim of McCarthy-Era Witch Hunt calls on U-Illinois not to Fire Critic of Israeli Policies

Juan Cole

Note by Juan Cole: In the early 1950s, under the influence of Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI), a national witch hunt was conducted for leftists. McCarthy claimed to have a list of 100 Soviet moles in the State Department. Even former members of the Communist Party, which had been popular in the 1930s Great Depression before […]

Bill of Rights

Gov’t: Be Careful what you Say on Facebook: “Are you on the Terrorist Watchlist?”

contributors

AJ+ “One million people worldwide have been swept up by TIDE, the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment. It’s a list of people suspected of being terrorists that’s managed by the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. But how easy is it to get on the list, and are we step closer to a world where everyone’s a suspect?” […]

Bill of Rights

6 Things To Know If Police Stop You In The US

contributors

AJ+ “If a police officer were to stop you on the street in the U.S. and start questioning you, what would you do? Check out our quick list of six things you should know about your rights. Learn more about your rights here: https://www.aclu.org/ AJ+ Labs 6 Things To Know If Police Stop You In […]

Bill of Rights

One Nation, under SWAT: The undemocratic Militarization of the Police

contributors

By Matthew Harwood via Tomdispatch.com Jason Westcott was afraid. One night last fall, he discovered via Facebook that a friend of a friend was planning with some co-conspirators to break in to his home. They were intent on stealing Wescott’s handgun and a couple of TV sets. According to the Facebook message, the suspect was […]

American Jews

Is Zionism/ Jewish Nationalism a Political Cult? The Salaita Firing

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Liberal politics in the broad sense, in the tradition of Locke, Voltaire, Madison, Jefferson and John Stuart Mill, is rooted in a conviction that vigorous debate clarifies issues and makes for better public policy over time. This principle is often misunderstood by political partisans, who confuse analytical disagreement with simply being contrarian […]