AltWeeklies Wire
Eight RNC Protesters Accused of 'Furthering Terrorism' Thanks to Statutenew
The RNC 8 face more than the standard felony charges. For the first time, authorities are wielding an obscure state anti-terrorism statute passed in the nervous aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Matt Snyders |
11-13-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Profanity Police in Memphis?new
During the Center City Commission's (CCC) pilot program to curb aggressive panhandling downtown, safety patrol officers also reprimanded people for loitering and profanity.
The Memphis Flyer |
Bianca Phillips |
10-03-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Project Censored: The Top 10 Stories the US Media Missednew
The mainstream media regularly covers terrorism, but rarely discusses how the fear of attacks is used to manipulate the public and set policy. That's the common thread of many unreported stories last year.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
10-01-2008 |
Media
Boston Musician Freed After Three Months in Security Detentionnew
Percussionist Vicente Lebron intends to seek US citizenship -- now that he has discovered that the government is able and willing to ruin his life, at the drop of a hat, and for no discernible reason.
Boston Phoenix |
David S. Bernstein |
09-11-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Detained in Chinanew
An Orlando native finds himself locked up during the Olympics.
Orlando Weekly |
Billy Manes |
09-04-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Police Raid Homes in Advance of RNCnew
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Department and St. Paul police -- working under the direction of federal agencies, including the FBI -- began raiding homes of protesters throughout the metro. Before the weekend was through, authorities would arrest six people and detain dozens more in a preemptive strike against would-be RNC rabble-rousers.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Matt Snyders |
09-04-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Judge Ungags Subway Hackersnew
Free speech has won in the struggle between the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and three MIT undergrads who claim to have uncovered flaws in the subway's electronic fare-collection system.
Boston Phoenix |
Harvey Silverglate |
08-21-2008 |
Civil Liberties
A Field Guide to Chinese Oppressionnew
Though Beijing's enemies are way too numerous to list, consider the following four non-Tibetan religious, ethnic, and intellectual minorities a sort of Olympic qualifying heat. In order to advance Beijing's "Harmonious Society" in preparation for the 2008 Games, members of these groups have been locked up, exiled, or have disappeared altogether. Enjoy the synchronized swimming!
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Matthews |
08-07-2008 |
International
Tags: China, Olympics, Tibet, journalism, civil liberties, international, Falun Gong, Uighurs, Mongolians
Pasties in Public? Not in Colorado Springsnew
Turns out the city's public indecency ordinance prohibits exposure of the "genitals or buttocks of either sex or the breast or breasts of a female." Lt. David Whitlock, a police department spokesman, says officers twice asked the women to either put on shirts or leave the park. "That is a proper interpretation [of the law]," he says. "The only statutory defense is breast-feeding."
Colorado Springs Independent |
Anthony Lane |
08-01-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Political Humor is No Longer Welcome in Academianew
For close to two decades, academia has been in the grips of a political-correctness fury that has strangled the sense of humor that was once the campus's best-known calling card. So if you're wondering why Barack Obama had such a surprisingly negative reaction to that New Yorker cover, consider the Harvard Factor.
Boston Phoenix |
Harvey Silverglate |
07-31-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Federal Raid on Iranian Charity Stokes Debate About Tightened Bush Sanctionsnew
Two weeks after federal agents raided the largest Iranian charity in Oregon, employees at Child Foundation have regained possession of their seized cell phones and fax machines. But the feds are still holding the charity's computers and remaining silent about the reasons behind a raid that's alarmed many Iranians.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
07-31-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Trying Out a 'Sonic Cannon'new
Watch out for police agencies in your area seeking to buy LRADs -- long range acoustic devices. They're not nearly as benign as cops make them out to be.
Portland Phoenix |
Jeff Inglis |
07-17-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Remembering Rev. Louis Colemannew
"I can't think of a time I didn't know Louis Coleman," says Raoul Cunningham, president of the Louisville NAACP. The pair grew up together and while Cunningham says he participated in Louisville's sit-in movement as a teenager in the 1960s, Coleman didn’t join the civil rights movement until later in life.
LEO Weekly |
Phillip M. Bailey |
07-14-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Pride & patriotismnew
The fight for the right to serve
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Scott Freeman |
07-03-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Mass Gun Laws Now Target for Debatenew
Good news, Bostonians: you can own guns! The bad news: so can your weird neighbor.
Boston Phoenix |
Kim Liao |
07-03-2008 |
Civil Liberties
Tags: civil liberties
