CLibertyC

Disability Rights are Human Rights

"Imagine if you had to fight in a court of law in order to be permitted to move in with friends, go to work, and make basic decisions about your daily life. Jenny Hatch doesn’t have to imagine, because she just fought and won that battle for her basic liberties. Hatch has volunteered for political campaigns, held down a job at a thrift shop, and shown a capacity to live independently. But because she has Down’s syndrome and an IQ of 52, her parents argued that she should be forced to continue living in a group home. Under the law, she could not leave. It was a form of imprisonment enacted not as punishment but under the paternalistic auspices of 'care.'" Continue reading →

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17-year-old tased to death by Miami cops after spray-painting abandoned McDonald’s

"Miami Beach Police Chief Ray Martinez told The Miami Herald that Israel Hernandez-Llach — who was known as 'Reefa' in the local graffiti and skateboarding scene — began running when officers confronted him about 'tagging' an abandoned McDonald’s. 'The officers were forced to use the Taser to avoid a physical incident,' Martinez explained. Hernandez-Llach collapsed after being hit once in the chest. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and later died. One witness told WFOR that police were 'congratulating' each other and 'making fun' of Hernandez-Llach after he was shocked by the Taser." Continue reading →

Continue Reading17-year-old tased to death by Miami cops after spray-painting abandoned McDonald’s

Marine who urinated on dead Taliban fighters in 2011 receives reduced rank as punishment

"Sergeant Robert Richards was the last of eight Marines to be punished in connection with the incident, which took place on July 27, 2011, during a counterinsurgency operation in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. The videotape showed four Marines wearing camouflage combat uniforms urinating on three corpses as one of the Marines joked, 'Have a nice day buddy.' The video became public in early 2012 and was one of a series of offensive incidents at the time that roused Afghan ire and led to heightened tensions between Washington and Kabul." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMarine who urinated on dead Taliban fighters in 2011 receives reduced rank as punishment

TSA: Ask the Fed for Relief…From the Fed?

"Compared to NSA’s confiscation of U.S. citizens’ phone records, however, Americans can take some comfort that TSA’s PreCheck program is voluntary—at least for now. Yet in the past, government experimentation has oft become permanent policy, which, in this case, would then require every American to undergo fingerprinting and a background check to be eligible to fly commercially. In other words, as government’s thirst for security mounts, its 'no-fly' list, which includes names of suspected terrorists, could eventually be replaced by an 'OK to fly' list. Do you think this scenario is outlandish and would never happen?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTSA: Ask the Fed for Relief…From the Fed?

Fox News host demands escalation of nuclear hostilities with Russia over Snowden

"Fox News host Gregg Jarrett on Thursday suggested that President Barack Obama should pull out of nuclear treaties and send missiles to Europe after Russian President Vladimir Putin granted asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Earlier this year, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that the U.S. was cancelling plans to put long-range missile defense interceptors in Poland. Moscow had refused to move forward with additional nuclear arms cuts unless the system was scrapped. Three other phases, including short-range missiles in Poland, were expected to be rolled out as planned." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFox News host demands escalation of nuclear hostilities with Russia over Snowden

What Egypt Tells Us About U.S. Foreign Aid

"What do Angola, Cambodia, Chad, Haiti, Laos, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Yemen and Zimbabwe have in common? They all receive U.S. foreign aid and, according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, boast some of the most corrupt governments in the world—strong-arm governments in most cases. If money can’t buy the United States influence, it’s also not buying America a lot love. According to a recent Pew poll, in Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan only 16, 14 and 11 percent of their respective populations have a favorable view of the United States. Egypt is a clarion call to stop throwing good money after bad." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Egypt Tells Us About U.S. Foreign Aid

Michael Scheuer: Obama, Rice, Kerry, McCain, and Graham intervening for more war

"Today there are only two parties in the United States: (a) the bipartisan and interventionist elite and their ideological, fifth-column, and globalist supporters and funders (AKA: The Tyranny), and (b) the rest of us who are taxed to death for the privilege of paying for, and seeing our children die in their unnecessary, intervention-caused wars. How can Americans change this reality? It seems clear that intervention cannot be stopped at the ballot box. On the issue of options, there are many to consider. But one can get off to no better start than to reread the works of John Dickinson, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine written in 1775 and 1776." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichael Scheuer: Obama, Rice, Kerry, McCain, and Graham intervening for more war

Anti-government protest rallies thousands in Tunisia

"Tens of thousands of protesters marched peacefully in the Tunisian capital on Tuesday evening demanding the resignation of the Islamist-led coalition government as the political crisis in the north African country grew. Around 40,000 people took to the streets of Tunis, according to police, while opposition leaders put the protest figures between 100,000 and 200,000. They waved Tunisian flags and chanted slogans against the moderate Islamist movement Ennahda that heads a three-part government coalition. The protesters were largely middle-class Tunisians from the capital, according to the Sunday Times." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnti-government protest rallies thousands in Tunisia

Yemen: American Foreign Policy in Action

"Yemeni security forces have been put on high alert amid warnings of an imminent attack by al-Qaeda in Sana’a, as the US and Britain withdrew embassy staff and urged their citizens to leave the country. BBC Arabic quoted a Yemeni security source as saying 'extraordinary and unprecedented' security measures had been taken, with armoured vehicles deployed at the presidential palace and other sensitive government and foreign installations in Yemen’s capital. Dozens of al-Qaeda operatives were said to have streamed into Sana’a in the last few days, apparently to take part in a terrorist attack, the BBC said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYemen: American Foreign Policy in Action

India’s financial prophet Raghuram Rajan to run central bank

"Mr Rajan, a Chicago professor and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, clashed openly with US Federal Reserve officials and top policymakers in 2005 over the risk that derivative contracts would amplify any financial crisis once the cycle turned. He said the US had created incentives for destructive behaviour, effectively pushing homeowners and banks into risky ventures. He was called a 'Luddite' by none other than Larry Summers, former US Treasury Secretary and now front-runner to take over as Fed chairman. The two men may soon be direct counterparts. Mr Rajan’s warnings were borne out by events." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia’s financial prophet Raghuram Rajan to run central bank