Author: The Freedom Watch Staff

This author has written 11091 articles

The Chilling Effects of License-Plate Location Tracking

"Location tracking has far-reaching implications for the way we live, even if we don't think we've done anything wrong. Our recent report, 'You Are Being Tracked,' shows that automatic license plate readers allow law enforcement to track every car on the road, not just those relevant to an investigation. This type of widespread tracking endangers our rights of protest and association and has the potential to reach deep into our lives and alter our daily decision making. Once your location information is collected and stored by a third party, you have lost control over it, and there is no way to know whose hands it will end up in." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Chilling Effects of License-Plate Location Tracking

America’s best educated kids don’t go to school

"Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, compared home schoolers and public school students on the results of three standardized tests for the 2007-2008 academic year. With public school students at the 50th percentile, home schoolers were at the 89th percentile in reading, the 86th percentile in science, the 84th percentile in language, math, and social studies. Socio-economic factors may have a lot to do with why home schoolers do so much better. Virtually all have a mother and a father who are living together. Nearly two thirds of fathers and 62 percent of mothers have a bachelor’s degree or higher." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica’s best educated kids don’t go to school

President of American Academy of Arts and Sciences Resigns Over Resume Fraud

"Leslie Cohen Berlowitz, the embattled president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, will officially depart her post at the end of the month, the academy has announced. Ms. Berlowitz has been on paid administrative leave since early June, following reports that she had falsely claimed, on several grant applications and other documents, to have a doctorate. In a letter sent to members, Louis W. Cabot, the chairman of the academy’s board, said that Ms. Berlowitz would resign effective July 31, without any severance. She will receive a one-time payment of $475,000." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPresident of American Academy of Arts and Sciences Resigns Over Resume Fraud

Fort Hood shooting suspect apologizes for U.S. ‘illegal and immoral aggression’ against Muslims

"Hasan asked for forgiveness and prayers from 'the believers and the innocents' for 'participating in the illegal and immoral aggression against Muslims, their religion and their lands.' Hasan was a army psychiatrist at Fort Hood and was about to be deployed to Afghanistan at the time of the shooting. Hasan is acting as his own attorney in his court martial. If convicted he could face execution or life in prison without parole. Hasan had said at a pre-trial hearing that he opened fire at the base to protect Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan from U.S. aggression. The base is a major center for soldiers deployed to Afghanistan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFort Hood shooting suspect apologizes for U.S. ‘illegal and immoral aggression’ against Muslims

Obama cheers ‘victory’ in Korean War on 60th anniversary

"The United States was by far the biggest contributor to the multinational United Nations force that poured into South Korea to roll back a Chinese-supported invasion from the North. Nearly 1.8 million US servicemen and women served in Korea, of whom 33,739 died in combat and more than 100,000 were wounded, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. It was also the first war in which US forces were not racially segregated. The conflict ended with a ceasefire, which was never cemented with a treaty, leaving the two Koreas still technically at war." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama cheers ‘victory’ in Korean War on 60th anniversary

Big Marijuana lobby fights legalization efforts

"Medical marijuana is a billion-dollar industry — legal in 18 states, including California, Nevada, Oregon and Maine — and like any entrenched business, it’s fighting to keep what it has and shut competitors out. Dispensary owners, trade associations and groups representing the industry are deeply concerned — and in some cases actively fighting — ballot initiatives and legislation that could wreck their business model. That pits them against full legalization advocates, who have been hoping to play off wins at the ballot box last fall in Colorado and Washington state that installed among the most permissive pot laws in the world." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBig Marijuana lobby fights legalization efforts

Wisconsin town to charge parents $114 fine if child accused of bullying

"Parents in Madison, Wisconsin suburb of Monona will soon face fines if their kids are the subject of repeat complaints about schoolyard bullying. The local ordinance, passed by Monona officials on May 20, provides for a $114 fine within 90 days after a written notice about their child’s behavior. The fine increases to $177 for each repeat instance within one year of the first violation. Officials told the paper that the ordinance was not taken up in response to any specific problem children. The ordinance appears to be the first of its kind anywhere in the nation. It also covers cyber bullying through social media and text messaging." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWisconsin town to charge parents $114 fine if child accused of bullying

Calgary student, 13, reprimanded for defending his classmate against a knife-wielding bully

"He didn’t see the knife, but 'I heard the flick, and I heard them say there was a knife.' The rest was just instinct. Briar stepped up to defend his classmate, pushing the knife-wielding bully away. It wasn’t until fourth period everything went haywire. 'I got called to the office and I wasn’t able to leave until the end of the day,' he said. That’s when Leah O’Donnell, Briar’s mother, received a call from the vice-principal. Instead of getting a pat on the back for his bravery, Briar was made to feel as if he had done something terribly wrong. The police were called, the teen filed a statement and his locker was searched." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalgary student, 13, reprimanded for defending his classmate against a knife-wielding bully

Rural Chinese children ‘left behind’ as parents join mass migration to the cities

"For more than 20 years China’s government has encouraged the rural poor to move to cities as a way to boost growth and lift living standards. The country now has 263 million migrant workers, and new leaders who took office this year have renewed the drive to urbanise. But while city wages are higher, so are their costs of living, exacerbated by a 'hukou' residency system that bars Chinese from receiving benefits such as healthcare and schooling outside their registered hometown. Nearly half of left-behind children live with neither of their parents. Almost 70 percent of those stay with grandparents. A quarter have other guardians, and seven percent survive on their own." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRural Chinese children ‘left behind’ as parents join mass migration to the cities

Young Catholics flood Rio’s streets after Pope Francis speech

"Heeding Pope Francis’ call to shake up the Church, hundreds of thousands of young Catholics marched across Rio on Saturday, singing, beating drums and chanting 'this is the pope’s youth!' They waved flags from around the world — Brazil, Australia, South Africa, the United States — and pitched tents on the crescent-shaped beach of Copacabana for an all-night vigil and final mass with the pope to cap World Youth Day festivities. Since his election in March, history’s first Latin American pope has sought to re-energize Catholics, using his Rio trip to urge young believers to spread the Gospel and 'make a mess' in their dioceses." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYoung Catholics flood Rio’s streets after Pope Francis speech