Constitution

By John Scales Avery | (Inter Press Service) | – – COPENHAGEN, (IPS) – As many observers around the world have pointed out, the United States is no longer a true democracy. It is an oligarchy. The US government ignores the safety, wishes and needs of the majority of its citizens, and instead makes decisions […]

Bill of Rights

On the Fourth of July: None of us has Inalienable Rights if American Muslims don’t

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – On this day when the United States was first conceived in rebellion against people being deprived of their God-given rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, it is worth remarking on our political season. One of our two major presidential candidates has targeted America’s some […]

Bill of Rights

Trump’s response to Orlando massacre proves just how dangerous he is

contributors

By Adam Quinn | (The Conversation) | – – Those who’ve been wondering when Donald Trump would switch from the wild bombast of his primary campaign to the sober mode traditionally demanded by a general election now have their answer: never. The dreadful gun massacre at the Pulse club in Orlando, Florida on June 12 […]

BDS Occupied Territories

Israel-First McCarthyism: Cuomo’s vow to spy on, punish BDS Activists in long Tradition

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – After New York governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order directing the state to monitor and sanction activists in the Boycott, Sanctions and Divest Movement (BDS) against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, critics complained that the order is McCarthyism. They objected that […]

Bill of Rights

Dear Mr. Holder: Why Ed Snowden can’t get a Fair Trial in your National Security State

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Former US Attorney General Eric Holder said in an interview that what NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden did was illegal but added “”We can certainly argue about the way in which Snowden did what he did, but I think that he actually performed a public service […]

Bill of Rights

Snowden on Torture Report: “When the CIA destroys s.th., it’s never a Mistake”

contributors

TeleSur | — After the CIA inspector general admitted it destroyed a 6,700 page report on torture, the famed whistleblower said the CIA does not destroy by “accident.” Edward Snowden commented this week on the CIA inspector general office’s “mistaken” destruction of its only copy of a top secret torture report: ““When the CIA destroys […]

Bill of Rights

The late great Fourth Amendment: Feds, Police and Intrusive Technologies

contributors

By Matthew Harwood and Jay Stanley | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Can’t you see the writing on the touchscreen? A techno-utopia is upon us. We’ve gone from smartphones at the turn of the twenty-first century to smart fridges and smart cars. The revolutionary changes to our everyday life will no doubt keep barreling […]

CIA

Murdering Civilians: US Drone Whistleblowers Step Out of the Shadows

contributors

By Pratap Chatterjee | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – In a trio of recent action-packed movies, good guys watch terrorists mingling with innocent women and children via real-time video feeds from halfway across the world. A clock ticks and we, the audience, are let in on the secret that mayhem is going to break loose. After […]

Bill of Rights

Jailed without trial for Life? Guantanamo’s Lawlessness may outlast the Obama Administration

contributors

By Karen J. Greenberg | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – Can you believe it? We’re in the last year of the presidency of the man who, on his first day in the Oval Office, swore that he would close Guantánamo, and yet it and everything it represents remains part of our all-American world. So many years […]