Human rights

Mandela’€™s sharp statements rarely cited in mainstream media
As the world remembers Nelson Mandela'€™s legacy as South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon, he was also deeply skeptical of American power, the Iraq invasion, and was a key supporter of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. [...]
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Internet inventor slams UK, US for ‘appalling and foolish’ surveillance and censorship
The inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has said the US and UK must do more to protect internet users’ privacy as the US has fallen to fourth place in a survey ranking countries in terms of their internet freedom. [...]
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CIA monitors Americans’ financial activities
The Central Intelligence Agency is collecting bulk records of international money transfers, including the financial and personal data of millions of Americans. Citing “officials familiar with the programs,” the Wall Street Journal reported that the CIA and FBI collect financial information when international transactions are filed through numerous money-transfer companies, including MoneyGram [...]
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Obama denies he made a promise that was videotaped two dozen times
Despite more than two-dozen video recordings showing otherwise, President Obama said that he never promised Americans they'€™d be able to keep their health care plans under the Affordable Care Act. Speaking to supporters in Washington on Monday, Obama claimed that in the past, he said, “You could keep [your plan] if it hasn’t changed since the law was passed.” [...]
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No more wiggle room: Drone wars a knockout punch to US credibility
This week saw the most extraordinary scene materialize in Washington DC. Nine-year-old Nabeela ur Rehman, from North Waziristan in the remote tribal region of Pakistan, arrived to a media blitz. She came to tell her own personal story to the nation, in front of the US Congress and national media, of drone horrors and the savagery of America’s secret assassinations overseas. [...]
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“Damage Accumulating”€™ after US Loses Trust Over Spying Activities
The White House is at a loss as it not only depended on espionage in formulating its policies, but also nobody can trust its word anymore, former US Senate foreign policy analyst James Petras told RT. The latest news on monitoring of phone calls in France, and probably German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s own cellphone, brought anger from the French and German governments this week. [...]
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Germany warns of “€˜diplomatic damage”€™ if Israel ignores UN rights panel – report
Germany told Israel to expect "€œsevere diplomatic damage"€ should it fail to attend a periodic human rights review Tuesday, Haaretz reports. Israel severed ties with the UNHRC in March 2012 after it expressed concern over Israeli settlements. “On Friday, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle sent a personal letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning that Israel's failure t [...]
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And The Question Still Remains Valid Today: What Has America Become? by Ken Huber
"What Has America Become" was the title of a letter to the editor written by Ken Huber of Tawas City, Michigan. It contains a series of comparisons and contrasts which causes one to think about the double-standards and conditions under which we now live here in America. Sadly America is in decline. [...]
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Snowden’s father arrives in Moscow
The father of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has arrived in Moscow. Lon Snowden's flight touched down at Sheremetyevo Airport - where his son famously spent five weeks in transit limbo before receiving asylum in Russia. The plane carrying Lon Snowden landed in Moscow Thursday morning, RT crew on the scene reported. [...]
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California governor signs law defying cooperation with NDAA indefinite detention
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a law barring state cooperation with any attempt by the federal government to indefinitely detain people. The legislation targets the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Brown signed into law AB351, which goes beyond any other state in rejecting federal indefinite detention power, according to the Tenth Amendment Center. [...]
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NSA uses metadata “to create sophisticated graphs” of US citizens’€™ social connections
The US National Security Agency has been exploiting US citizens' personal information drawn from its large collection of metadata to create complex graphs of social connections for foreign intelligence purposes, the latest Snowden leaks have revealed. Documents obtained by the New York Times from the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden say that the practice has been going on since November 2010, [...]
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American exceptionalism an “€˜outdated”€™ concept
The longstanding notion of US exceptionalism has deep roots in the American psyche, but as the world experiences a “tectonic shift in global geopolitics” the very idea of Washington’s superiority is being challenged, analyst Eric Draitser told RT. Earlier this week, President Barack Obama reaffirmed Washington's desire to engage in the affairs of other states, particularly in the Mi [...]
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EU calls for explanations from Israel over diplomat scuffle
European diplomats are holding Israel accountable over an incident where IDF servicemen attacked a EU humanitarian convoy in the West Bank on Friday. So far Tel Aviv has left the scandal in limbo, offering no official explanation for the incident. [...]
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