Category: Human Rights

Limbaugh Disdains Anything Obama

When a Republican is in the White House, the Right is all for military interventions and decries critics as un-American. But now, even a small-scale operation in Africa encouraged by human rights groups is denounced by Rush Limbaugh and others, as…

Why OWS Has Already Prevailed

With a few exceptions, the initial reception of the “Occupy” movement across America was fairly benign. But authorities in Oakland and elsewhere are now turning aggressive, sending in police to shut down encampments and disperse protesters, as Phil Rockstroh observes.

‘Occupy’ Protests Grow in Philadelphia

As the “Occupy” movement spreads to scores of American cites, some encampments are encountering challenges, from sanitation woes to chilly weather to hostility from local authorities. But the occupation in Philadelphia appears determined to persevere, as photo-journalist Ted Lieverman reports.

Vatican Decries Financial Excesses

The Christian Right talks about applying Biblical tenets to political issues, but ignores the most central of Jesus’s teachings standing with the poor, opposing financial elites and abhoring violence. The Vatican has now issued a reminder of those principles, as Daniel C.…

Toward a Non-Violent Revolution

Like the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, the French Revolution began as a rejection of an unjust system where the few were obscenely rich and the many had little money or power. Where it went off-track was in its…

Israel Rejects Appeal for Change

During a recent visit to Israel, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta delivered a blunt message that the country’s leaders must adjust to the changing realities or risk ending up isolated in the region and losing international support. But Israel’s leaders only…

Low-Balling Afghan Civilian Deaths

Night-time raids by U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan are taking a lethal toll on Taliban militants and on civilians who happen to be nearby. Earlier this year, the international community played down this “collateral damage” by taking a narrow look at the…

NPR Retaliates Against Opera Show

After discovering that the host of an opera program had joined pro-democracy protests in Washington, NPR decried the woman’s ethics and got her ousted from one job. But the opera show refused to buckle, so NPR dropped it from national…

Ending the Iraq Catastrophe

Exclusive: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told President Barack Obama that U.S. troops wouldn’t have immunity from Iraqi laws after December, forcing the last thousands of American soldiers to leave. That signals the end of the Iraq War and the…

Through the US Media Lens Darkly

From the Archive: U.S. officials are congratulating themselves after NATO aircraft bombed a convoy fleeing the Libyan town of Sirte, leading to the capture and murder of Muammar Gaddafi the grisly affair justified by Gaddafi’s supposed role in the bombing of Pan Am 103.…