08 Sep 2015

‘A Dangerous International Precedent’: British Government Embraces Killer Drones

British Prime Minister David Cameron informed Parliament the government had launched a drone strike on August 21, which assassinated three people in Syria alleged to be Islamic State militants, including two British citizens. The strike against British citizen Reyaad Khan, the “target of the strike,” was committed without approval from Parliament. British citizen Ruhul Amin, who was killed in the strike, was deemed an “associate” worthy of death.

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08 Sep 2015

‘Police Lives Matter’ March In Austin, Texas, Hosted By Ex-Cop Accused Of Violence

An Austin, Texas, police constable with a violent past as an officer is organizing a “Police Lives Matter” march in opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement, which police supporters blame for the recent death of a Houston-area sheriff’s deputy.

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07 Sep 2015

Protest Song of the Week: ‘Take This Hammer’

In the days of slavery and Jim Crow, there was a type of work song commonly sung by black Americans known as the hammer song. Blues singer Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Leadbelly, popularized this particular tune. The work song is constructed in the following form—a line repeated three times for a

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05 Sep 2015

Lawsuit: NYPD Retaliated Against Whistleblower Cop For Exposing Illegal Quotas

Adhyl Polanco, an NYPD officer who spoke out publicly against the department’s use of illegal quotas for summonses and arrests, filed a lawsuit in federal court this week alleging his superiors discriminated and retaliated against him based on his race and speech. According to Polanco’s lawsuit, the NYPD was threatening officers with “termination and negative employment actions, such as low performance evaluations and punitive postings,” to force them to meet Stop & Frisk and arrest quotas.

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04 Sep 2015

1996 Welfare Reform Law Caused Increase In Extreme Poverty

The 1996 welfare reform law championed by the Clinton Administration known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was supposed to bring in a new era and “end welfare as we know it.” In some sense it did, as the consequence of the law has been a considerable increase in extreme poverty in America.

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04 Sep 2015

Justice Department’s New Stingray Surveillance Policy Has Major Loophole

On September 3, the Justice Department announced a new policy which will require the FBI, Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives to get a warrant when using Stingray surveillance in domestic crime investigations. But the new policy contains a potentially major “exceptional circumstances” loophole that is undefined and could fuel further abuses of privacy.

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04 Sep 2015

Police Dogs’ Lives Don’t Matter? 12 Police Dogs Died Of Heat Exhaustion In 2015

Despite years of awareness campaigns by animal rights activists, hundreds of dogs still die each year after being left in parked cars on hot summer days. Working dogs are not exempt, and heat exhaustion has claimed the lives of at least 12 police dogs so far this year.

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03 Sep 2015

In No Fly List Retaliation Case, Court Rules American Muslims May Not Seek Damages from FBI Agents

A federal court ruled American Muslims, who claim they were placed on the No Fly List after refusing to become informants, are not allowed to sue FBI agents for damages. The case, Tanvir v. Holder, was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Creative Law Enforcement Accountability

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03 Sep 2015

Human Interest: The High Cost Of Private Prisons

Winn Correctional’s switch from private to public opens a new chapter in the incarceration industry. MuckRock’s new Private Prison Project seeks to uncover the inner workings of privatized incarceration in America through FOIA requests and original reporting.

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03 Sep 2015

U.S. Rejects Recommendations Aimed at Ending Systematic Human Rights Abuses

On September 1, the United States government rejected several recommendations from countries which suggested how the U.S. could better uphold human rights. Rejected recommendations included abolishing the death penalty, ending spying on private communications of people of the world, and allowing foreign aid to assist rape victims in war zones who need access to safe abortions.

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