Jahanzeb Hussain - The Global Worth of Human Life

I wonder how Europe and North America would react if the victims of 9/11, 7/7 and Madrid bombings were universally declared as nothing but “collateral damage”. It is simply unthinkable that victims who happen to be citizens of imperialist countries can be deprived of their humanity, the value of their life negated and their memories brushed under the rug. It would be totally wrong if we dismissed the lost lives as a mean to an end. Human life is an end in itself and its worth can never be diminished.

However, it is culturally accepted that when an innocent Iraqi, Palestinian, Afghan and a Pakistani dies they are not automatically accorded the same human right that Westerners and whites are. They are not viewed as valuable lives, but they are looked down upon as “collateral damage”.

Read More:

http://afghansforpeace.org/archives/2059

FBI Wants New App to Wiretap the Internet

The FBI's Strategic Information and Operations Center (SOIC) posted a 'Request for Information (RFI)' online last week seeking companies to build a social network monitoring system for the FBI. The 12-page document (.pdf) spells out what the bureau wants from such a system and invites potential contractors to reply by February 10, 2012.

It says the application should provide information about possible domestic and global threats superimposed onto maps "using mash-up technology".

It says the application should collect "open source" information and have the ability to:

Read More:

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/01/26-3

Chris Hedges - Thank You for Standing Up

I spent Friday morning sitting on a wooden bench in a fourth-floor courtroom in the New York Criminal Court in Manhattan. I was waiting to be sentenced for “disturbing the peace” and “refusing to obey a lawful order” during an Occupy demonstration in front of Goldman Sachs in November.

Those sentenced before me constituted the usual fare of the court. They were poor people of color accused of mostly petty crimes—drug possession, thefts, shoplifting, trespassing because they were homeless and needed a place to sleep, inappropriate touching, grand larceny and violation of probation. They were escorted out of a backroom by a police officer, stood meekly before the judge with their hands cuffed behind them, were hastily defended by a lawyer clutching a few folders, and were sentenced. Ten days in jail. Sixty days in jail. Six months in jail. A steady stream of convictions.  My sentence, by comparison, was slight. I was given an ACD, or “adjournment in contemplation of dismissal,” which means that if I am not arrested in the next six months my case is dismissed. If I am arrested during this period of informal probation the old charge will be added to the new one before I am sentenced.

Read More:

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/thank_you_for_standing_up_20120123/

Ethiopia forces thousands off land - Human Rights Watch

Ethiopia's government has been accused of forcing tens of thousands of people off their land so it can be leased to foreign investors.

US-based Human Rights Watch says people are being forcibly relocated to new villages that lack adequate food, farmland and facilities.

Ethiopia has already leased out more than 3.6 million hectares (8.8m acres) of land - an area the size of The Netherlands - HRW says.

Addis Ababa rejects HRW's allegations.

"I can tell you that it is baseless - on both grounds - on both the land grab issue and resettlement of the people," Ethiopian Information Minister Bereket Simon told the BBC World Service.

Read More:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16590416

Steve Benen - Victory for Internet Freedom: Obama Announces Opposition to SOPA, Congress Shelves Bill

Misguided efforts to combat online privacy have been threatening to stifle innovation, suppress free speech, and even, in some cases, undermine national security. As of yesterday, though, there’s a lot less to worry about.

At issue are two related bills: the Senate’s Protect IP Act and the even more offensive Stop Online Piracy Act in the House, both of which are generated intense opposition from tech giants and First Amendment advocates. The first sign that the bills’ prospects were dwindling came Friday, when SOPA sponsors agreed to drop a key provision that would have required service providers to block access to international sites accused of piracy.

The legislation ran into an even more significant problem yesterday when the White House announced its opposition to the bills. Though the administration’s chief technology officials officials acknowledged the problem of online privacy, the White House statement presented a fairly detailed critique of the measures and concluded, “We will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.” It added that any proposed legislation “must not tamper with the technical architecture of the Internet.”

Read More:

http://www.alternet.org/story/153776/victory_for_internet_freedom%3A_obama_announces_opposition_to_sopa%2C_congress_shelves_bill

David Rosen - 8 Ways Your Privacy Is Being Eroded Online and Off

By David Rosen, AlterNet

Printed on December 29, 2011

http://www.alternet.org/story/153592/are_you_being_tracked_8_ways_your_privacy_is_being_eroded_online_and_off

In a recent hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Al Franken reminded his fellow Americans, “People have a fundamental right to control their private information.” At the hearing, Franken raised an alarm about Carrier IQ’s software, CIQ.

Few people have ever heard about CIQ. Running under the app functions, CIQ doesn't require the user’s consent (or knowledge) to operate. On Android phones, it can track a user’s keystrokes, record telephone calls, store text messages, track location and more. Most troubling, it is difficult to impossible to disable.

Carrier IQ, located in Mountain View, CA, was founded in 2005 and is backed by a group of venture capitalists. Its software is installed on about 150 million wireless devices offered through AT&T, HTC, Nokia, RIM (BlackBerry), Samsung, Sprint and Verizon Wireless. It runs on a variety of operating systems, including the Apple OS and Google’s Android (but not on Microsoft Windows).

At the hearing, Sen. Franken questioned FBI director Robert Muller about the FBI’s use of CIQ software. Muller assured the senator that FBI agents “neither sought nor obtained any information” from Carrier IQ.

Following Muller’s Senate testimony, Andrew Coward, Carrier IQ’s VP of marketing, told the Associated Press that the FBI is the only law enforcement agency to contact them for data. The FBI has yet to issue a follow-up “clarification.”

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Stephen Lendman - Growing Hunger and Homelessness in America

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Growing-Hunger-and-Homeles-by-Stephen-Lendman-111220-842.html

December 20, 2011 By Stephen Lendman Millions of Americans now endure protracted Depression conditions at a time half the population is either poor or low income. Long-term unemployment is unprecedented, and federal aid is being cut, not increased. Growing Hunger and Homelessness in America - by Stephen Lendman America's most needy are largely abandoned by Washington. Millions of Americans now endure protracted Depression conditions at a time half the population is either poor or low income. Long-term unemployment is unprecedented, and federal aid is being cut, not increased.  Two new reports highlight enormous depravation levels and human suffering, getting little or no major media attention. Many affected families used to be middle class. They're now low-income or impoverished by unemployment or spotty low-pay part-time work. Most important is that much worse conditions are coming during America's greatest ever Depression to last years and devastate many more households than already. In December, the US Conference on Mayors published its "Hunger and Homelessness Survey: A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities." It covered 29 cities. The period between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011 was examined. Key findings reflected dire nationwide conditions. Only four cities said emergency help wasn't requested in the past year. In two cities, conditions were unchanged. Two others said they improved. Overall, aid requests increased by 15.5%. Among those needing it, 51% were in families, 26% were employed, 19% were elderly, and 11% homeless. Causes cited included unemployment, poverty, low wages, and high housing costs.

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Robert Lederman - Audio Recording and Report from Washington Square Park Speakout on Artists’ Rights

by Robert Lederman
artistpres@gmail.com

On 12/19/2011 Community Board #2 held a public speakout
about the recent blitz of summonses issued to artists, performers and
musicians in Washington Square Park under the new Park rules for
artists. See the link right below for the full audio (a minute or two
in the beginning is hard to make out, the rest is very clear):
http://youtu.be/dWe623Sax9A

It was standing room only.

The crowd consisted primarily of residents who live right around or
near the park (many of whom have been there for most of their lives)
plus a sizeable number of artists and musicians who regularly work in
the park. Also present were elected officials, representatives of
elected officials and advocates for both parks and for free speech.

Manhattan Park Commissioner William Castro testified in support of the
park rules on behalf of the City.

Everyone was allowed to testify. Without a single exception (other
than Commissioner Castro) everyone present was 100% against the park
rules being applied to artists, musicians and performers. The
testimony was interesting, well-informed, emotionally moving and very
entertaining. It included an opera aria, original poetry and a stand
up comedy routine about the park rules.

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Rabbi Arthur Waskow - CONVICTED in Court -- and PRAISED by the Judge!

http://www.opednews.com/articles/CONVICTED-in-Court--and-by-Rabbi-Arthur-Wasko-111215-76.html

December 15, 2011 By Rabbi Arthur Waskow Yesterday I stood trial in Washington DC Superior Court for the pray-in last July  in which I joined with ten other religious folk in the Capitol Rotunda, seeking to focus Congress on the need to pass a budget responsive to needs of the poor, the disemployed, the homeless. (I was alone for trial yesterday because my cancer and its treatment had made it physically impossible for me to be with the other ten when they stood trial.)   I decided against the "deferred prosecution/ probation" arrangement offered by the prosecution partly because it would have required taking 3 days away from sacred Shalom Center work, coming from Philadelphia to DC 3 separate times to pee into a test tube to be tested for drug use -- and much more because it would have required me to promise not to get arrested in the next months. (I may very well choose to risk arrest again as the movements for social / political/ religious transformation go forward.) So I pleaded guilty to "disrupting traffic in the US Capitol," a violation of DC law. What I told the judge (Harold Cushenberry ) in my pre-sentencing statement was -- In the late "50s/ early "60s I worked as legislative assistant to a congressman who was a member of the House Judiciary Committee and therefore deeply involved in efforts to pass a vigorous civil rights bill;

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Ed Pilkington - NAACP Warns Black and Hispanic Americans Could Lose Right to Vote

Published on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 by The Guardian/UK

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/05/civil-rights-naacp-voter-warning

Civil rights group petitions UN over 'massive voter suppression' after apparent effort to disenfranchise black and Hispanic people

by Ed Pilkington

The largest civil rights group in America, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is petitioning the UN over what it sees as a concerted efforted to disenfranchise black and Latino voters ahead of next year's presidential election.

The organisation will this week present evidence to the UN high commissioner on human rights of what it contends is a conscious attempt to "block the vote" on the part of state legislatures across the US. Next March the NAACP will send a delegation of legal experts to Geneva to enlist the support of the UN human rights council.

The NAACP contends that the America in the throes of a consciously conceived and orchestrated move to strip black and other ethnic minority groups of the right to vote. William Barber, a member of the association's national board, said it was the "most vicious, co-ordinated and sinister attack to narrow participation in our democracy since the early 20th century".

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