human rights

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America Has Abandoned Human Rights

  America Has 
 Abandoned 
 Human Rights 
jimmy carter
Jun 25, 2012 10:38 AM CDT

America Has Abandoned Human Rights

Jimmy Carter slams counterterror techniques of past decade

(Newser) - Ever since the 9/11 attacks, the US has put human rights on the back burner—a grave problem in a country that should be "the global champion of human rights," writes Jimmy Carter. In 1948, we committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; today, "our government’...

Syrian Rebels Accused of Kidnapping, Torture

Human rights group calls out freedom fighters for abuses

(Newser) - It's tempting to paint the conflict in Syria as a brutal regime fighting virtuous rebels, but Human Rights Watch today issued an open letter to the Free Syrian Army accusing insurgents of a variety of brutalities, including kidnapping and torturing security forces and government supporters. "The Syrian government'...

Germany Advised to Stop Castrating Sex Offenders

Anti-torture panel at human rights watchdog calls practice 'degrading'

(Newser) - Germany doesn't mess around when it comes to sex offenders—serious offenders can volunteer to be surgically castrated—but now an anti-torture committee says the country should put an end to that practice, Reuters reports. The panel at the Strasbourg Council, Europe's top human rights watchdog, called the...

Human Rights Groups Need Drones

 Human Rights  
 Groups Need  
 Drones 
OPINION
Jan 31, 2012 12:11 PM CST

Human Rights Groups Need Drones

They don't have to be just flying assassins

(Newser) - Drones have transformed warfare, but they're "not just for firing missiles in Pakistan," anti-genocide activists Andrew Sniderman and Mark Hanis argue in the New York Times . Their radical proposal: Human rights groups should be buying drones, and using them to keep an eye on brutal governments. Imagine...

Internet Is a Tool, Not a Right
 Internet Is a Tool, Not a Right 
OPINION
Jan 5, 2012 1:42 PM CST

Internet Is a Tool, Not a Right

Access enables rights, but is not a right itself: Vinton G. Cerf

(Newser) - With Facebook and Twitter fueling protests across the Arab world, many wonder: Is the Internet a human or civil right? No, declares Google VP Vinton G. Cerf firmly. Courts in various countries have declared it so, but the UN stopped short, calling the Internet "an indispensable tool for realizing...

China Jails 2nd Writer for Subversion

Chen Xi was arrested last month after publishing his essays online

(Newser) - China handed yet another dissident yet another long sentence today: Chen Xi was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being charged with "incitement to subvert state power" following the online publication of 36 essays he had written. His wife called the verdict "utterly absurd," explaining that...

Nursing Mom Accused of Indecent Exposure at Court

In fact, DC human rights law protects babies' right to breastfeed

(Newser) - A shocked mom was told by security guards outside a DC courtroom that nursing her baby son was "indecent exposure." This is "a government building, and you can't breastfeed in a public corridor of a government building," said one of the guards, the woman recounted...

Perry Smacks Obama's Push for Gay Rights Abroad

It's not in US interests, or worth the money

(Newser) - Rick Perry was quick to jump on President Obama's decision yesterday to use foreign aid to fight for gay rights , calling it "not in America's interests," ABC News reports. "Just when you thought Barack Obama couldn’t get any more out of touch with America’...

US Will Use Foreign Aid to Push Gay Rights

Marks government's first push for LGBT rights abroad: White House

(Newser) - President Obama has ordered US agencies abroad to use foreign aid to fight for gay rights. "I am deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world," Obama wrote in a memorandum, calling the effort "central to the United States' commitment to promoting...

PETA Sues SeaWorld for Whale 'Slaves'

Says their treatment violates 13th amendment

(Newser) - Never known for half-measures , PETA is suing SeaWorld—for violating the 13th Amendment. You know, the one that outlawed slavery. In a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of killer whales Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka, and Ulises, the animal rights group contends that SeaWorld keeps its orcas in conditions that violate...

Afghanistan Routinely Tortures Prisoners: UN

'Even stones confess here,' one guard said; Kabul promises reform

(Newser) - A UN investigation has uncovered “a compelling pattern … of systemic torture and ill-treatment” in Afghan prisons, with prisoners reporting being beaten and shocked with electrical cables, hung by their hands, and having their genitals twisted until they passed out, the New York Times reports. Nearly half of all...

Court: Owning a Satellite Dish Is a 'Human Right'

Banning them could breach freedom of expression: European judges

(Newser) - Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness ... and a satellite dish? In a somewhat bizarre ruling out of Europe, judges in Strasbourg declared that owning a satellite dish is a human right. It all started when two renters in Sweden were evicted by their landlord for installing a satellite dish—which...

Israel Jails Over 800 Palestine Youth In Five Years
 Israel Jails 
 Rock-Tossing 
 Palestinian Kids 
SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
Jul 18, 2011 5:16 PM CDT

Israel Jails Rock-Tossing Palestinian Kids

Treatment disproportionate to the crime, says group

(Newser) - Israel's military has detained and tried more than 800 Palestinian youths and children over the past five years for throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers, jailing most of them, said a report released today. The Israeli rights group B'Tselem counted 835 minors who were charged with rock throwing from...

Iran to Try Bush Officials for Human Rights Abuses

Trial designed to counter accusations of Tehran's own abuses

(Newser) - Iran intends to try 26 current or former US officials in absentia for human rights violations and forward its findings to international tribunals, one lawmaker said today. He didn’t specify which officials, but Reuters believes it’s likely to be the same people listed on a bill currently in...

China Releases Dissident Hu Jia

But human rights activist now faces house arrest

(Newser) - The prominent Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia has been freed from prison, after serving three-and-a-half years for "inciting subversion," reports the BBC . Hu's wife posted the news on Twitter this morning. "We are fine and happy. Need to rest for some time. Thank you everyone,...

Biden, Clinton Press China on Human Rights

Protesters gather outside as talks begin in Washington

(Newser) - Chinese officials arrived in Washington today for a round of high-level talks, and were greeted with a light scolding from Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton for their government’s recent crackdown on dissent. “We have a vigorous disagreement in the area of human rights,” Biden said in his...

Comic Must Pay $16K for Lesbian Insults: Court

Jokes during amateur's show were discriminatory, says victim

(Newser) - A Canadian human rights tribunal has ordered a stand-up comedian to pay a woman $15,700 after he insulted her and her partner at a show. Lorna Pardy says amateur comic Guy Earle discriminated against her based on gender and sexual preference, the Vancouver Sun reports. The owner of the...

'Effeminate Boys' Sent to Macho Malay Boot Camp

Human rights groups scream as official talks of 'right path'

(Newser) - Human rights groups have expressed alarm after some 66 boys determined to be "effeminate" by Malaysian public schools have been picked for re-education at a macho boot camp. The education department in Terengganu state established the camp to help boys deal with "identity issues" and place them on...

China to US: Fix Your Own Human Rights Problems

American criticism just a 'political tool,' says Beijing

(Newser) - The US should take a hard look in the mirror before it criticizes other countries over human rights, China says. “The United States ignores its own severe human rights problems,” said a Chinese report, “treating human rights as a political tool to vilify other countries and to...

Ron Paul: Education, Medical Care Aren't Rights

They are 'things that you have to earn'

(Newser) - Neither education nor medical care are rights, Rep. Ron Paul told MSNBC—they’re "things that you have to earn." Host Cenk Uygur asked Paul whether the government should give "a helping hand" to a hypothetical poor child in his district who couldn't afford tuition, to which...

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