Nuremberg II

Mother takes son’s police shooting case to UN Human Rights Committee

"Tyler Cassidy was armed with knives, intoxicated and in a distressed state when he confronted four police officers in a deserted Melbourne skate park in December 2008 and was shot dead in little more than a minute. The police, who between them emptied two cans of capsicum spray and fired 10 bullets at the teen, were cleared of blame in 2011 by a coroner who ruled that they acted within the limits of their training. But Tyler’s mother, Shani Cassidy, has taken the case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee alleging Australia breached its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMother takes son’s police shooting case to UN Human Rights Committee

Report Confirms US Government Tortured Detainees

"'It is indisputable that the United States engaged in the practice of torture.' This damning statement derives directly from a report released by The Constitution Project who, along with former members of Congress, drew up this most comprehensive independent study to date of US torture in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, and secret CIA black sites around the world. The two-year study only looked at public documents, as well as interviews with interrogators and others involved in the counterterrorism program. However, classified information was not accessible to the non-governmental organization." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReport Confirms US Government Tortured Detainees

UN human rights chief slams failure to shut Guantanamo

"Washington is breaking international law by holding detainees indefinitely at Guantanamo and must honour a pledge to shut the controversial jail, the UN’s human rights chief said. 'The continuing indefinite incarceration of many of the detainees amounts to arbitrary detention and is in clear breach of international law. It severely undermines the United States’ stance that it is an upholder of human rights… When other countries breach these standards, the US — quite rightly — strongly criticises them for it.' The jail, in a US Navy base in Cuba, was opened in 2002 to hold prisoners taken in the 'War on Terror' waged by George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUN human rights chief slams failure to shut Guantanamo

Why Is the U.S. Funding International Drug Rehabs Known for Torture and Abuse?

"Children are not exempt from indefinite detainment in these camps. UNICEF-sponsored investigations in Laos found 150 detainees under 18 in 2003, and more than 600 children in 2006. Despite calls from human rights organizations, the United States has continued to pump money into the Somsanga Rehabilitation Center. In March of last year, 12 United Nations agencies, including the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Health Organization, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and UNAIDS, issued a joint statement calling for the closure of drug-user detention centers where they identified grave human rights violations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Is the U.S. Funding International Drug Rehabs Known for Torture and Abuse?

Iraq War Anniversary: Birth Defects And Cancer Rates At Devastating High In Basra And Fallujah

"Ten years after the start of the U.S. invasion in Iraq, doctors in some of the Middle Eastern nation's cities are witnessing an abnormally high number of cases of cancer and birth defects. Scientists suspect the rise is tied to the use of depleted uranium and white phosphorus in military assaults. Dr. Jamail says that the current rate of birth defects for the city of Fallujah has surpassed those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the nuclear attacks at the end of World War II. A September 2012 study recorded a devastating number of birth defects in the past decade. The study also indicated that childhood leukemia and other types of cancers are on the rise." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIraq War Anniversary: Birth Defects And Cancer Rates At Devastating High In Basra And Fallujah

UN official tells US to stop drone strikes

"With America's drone capabilities expanding, the United Nations has stepped in and is demanding the US stop conducting unmanned airstrikes in Pakistan. The UN is calling the drone program a violation of the country's sovereignty and the attacks are being carried out without the consent of the people of Pakistan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUN official tells US to stop drone strikes

Drones killing innocent Pakistanis, U.N. official says

"The study concludes that the strikes have killed far more people than the United States has acknowledged, and traumatized many more innocent people. That trauma is destroying a way of life, Emmerson said. 'The Pashtun tribes of the ... area have suffered enormously under the drone campaign.' And tribal law prescribes revenge for the killing of a tribe member, which serves to radicalize more young men against the United States, he said. Pakistan considers the strikes counterproductive, illegal and a violation of its sovereignty." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDrones killing innocent Pakistanis, U.N. official says

UN investigator: Obama must release details of Bush kidnapping and torture program

"Ben Emmerson, the U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, will release a new report on Tuesday detailing his findings about the Bush-era program, according to Reuters. The report was not published online ahead of a planned hearing set for Tuesday, and a spokesperson was unavailable for comment. He added that there is 'credible evidence' that the CIA under the Bush administration had 'black sites' in Thailand, Poland, Morocco, Lithuania and Romania. Emmerson’s report is expected to urge lawmakers in those countries to fully investigate the matter and prosecute former officials if necessary." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUN investigator: Obama must release details of Bush kidnapping and torture program

Georgia rushes to complete executions before lethal drug supply runs out

"Georgia’s difficulties procuring execution drugs is a reflection of the gradual stranglehold that is being put on the US death penalty by authorities and companies around the world refusing to act as accomplices in the death sentence. The European Commission, following unilateral action by the UK, has imposed restrictions on the export of medicines to all US corrections departments. One of the leading manufacturers of pentobarbital, the Danish firm Lundbeck, has introduced tough restrictions on the distribution of the drug to prevent it falling into the hands of US executioners." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGeorgia rushes to complete executions before lethal drug supply runs out

Julian Assange on Real Time With Bill Maher: NDAA Kill List

"WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange weighed in on the brewing controversy surrounding the Obama administration's targeted killing program Friday night during an appearance on 'Real Time With Bill Maher.' Assange railed against the revelation, made by NBC News earlier this week, that the U.S. government reserves the right to extrajudicially kill U.S. citizens, as long as they are perceived to be 'imminent' terror threats -- with 'imminence' being given an especially broad definition." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJulian Assange on Real Time With Bill Maher: NDAA Kill List