Civil Rights // Current

Genocide by Wilkine Brutus

Genocide performed in the renowned Ronnie Scotts in London.

wilkinebrutus
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11 hours ago
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Domestic Workers United and Allies Urge Legislators to Pass Bill of Rights

On Nov. 4th 2009, on the steps of City Hall members of Domestic Workers United City... more

peoplesmovement
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1 day ago
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Student Rights

Press Pass TV examines the importance of individuals knowing their rights from an... more

presspass
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3 days ago
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Outrage Over Gay Bar Raids

Two recent police raids of gay bars in Atlanta, Georgia and Fort Worth, Texas have... more

The_Global_Report
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4 days ago
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LGBT community worried about haters winning in Maine

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/03/maine-gay-marriage-vote-e_n_344688.html

Daniel_Leyva
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5 days ago
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Tight pants banned women in Indonesian Religous district

NO...Your Moving Backwards JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Muslim women would be banned... more

ksutherland27
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12 days ago
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ARE MEN TREATED EQUALLY?

Some else a female actually recognized the fact that men aren't treated equally....... more

dv627univ
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14 days ago
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The Poverty of Philosophy- Imortal technique- The philosophy of poverty

Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name... more

ksutherland27
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16 days ago
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Philosophy of poverty

This man Felipe Andres Coronel or Immortal Technique is the kind of artist we need to... more

ksutherland27
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16 days ago
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FOX NEWS STARTED IT

this video taken from media matters an unbiased organization that i feel serves as a... more

ksutherland27
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16 days ago
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Dallas police chief: Dozens of tickets issued for not speaking English | Dallas, Texas |

By SCOTT GOLDSTEIN / The Dallas Morning News sgoldstein@dallasnews.com Editor's... more

kingfugazi
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16 days ago
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Pittsburgh police, G-20 arrests, and the US Constitution

We must punish police who violate the constitution.

patomalley
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18 days ago
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SEE

SEE is a short documentary that presents the growing phenomenon of surveillance... more

ApostolosGaitanis
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24 days ago
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Groups Laud Major Legislation To Improve the Criminal Justice System

New York; (October 21,2009) Joined by Civil Rights advocates, Sen. Eric T. Scheneiderman (D-Manhattan/Bronx) and Assm. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) today unveiled legislation to help exornerate innocent people who are wrongfully convicted in cases that lack DNA evidence. The "Actual Innocence Act of 2009" establishes "actual innocence" as a lawful basis for vacating a prior conviction and removes certain roadblocks that can prevent the wrongfully convicted from presenting proof that conclusively establishes their innocence.

"New York is behind the curve when it comes to giving the courts an opportunity to reverse wrongful convictions in non-DNA cases. Experts have proven that DNA exonerations represent only a small fraction of all wrongful convictions, that's why innocence claims must be fully and fairly aired," said sponsor Sen. Eric T. Scheiderman, Chair of the Senate Codes Committee and member of Chief Justice Lippman's task force on wrongful convictions. "This 'actual inocence' legislation is about justice and fairness - it ensures that innocent people don't spend decades behind bars while the real criminals go free."

For wrongfully convicted individuals in these non-DNA cases - even when new evidence comes to light - New York State law offers only limited hope for relief by establishing procedural obstacles that can deprive them of having an innocence claim thoroughly heard. The tragic result - as demonstrated in hundreds of DNA exoneration cases throughout the country - is that an innocent person can spend years in jail while the real perpetrator is free to commit more crimes and terrorize countless victims.

"In many cases, those convicted of serious crimes do not have access to attorneys with the experience and expertise to help prove their innocence. This legislation levels the playing field and will ensure that in non-DNA cases, the wrongfully convicted will have a greater opportunity to prove that they were actually innocent," said Assm. Hakeem Jeffries, the bill's Assembly sponsor.

The Scheiderman/Jeffries bill (S.6234) creates a freestanding ground of "actual innocence" upon which a criminal court could grant a post-conviction motion to vacate its prior judgement of conviction. The motion can be granted only where a defendent is able to present "reliable and relevant" proof that "conclusively establishes" the defendant's actual innocence of the crime os which he or she was convicted.

To ensure that a defendent cannot benefit from prior inaction or delay aimed at "gaming" the system, the bill would specifically permit the court to deny relief where it determines that the defendent's failure to act was intentional.

"Prolonged and unnecessary incarceration of the innocent is detrimental to all - the wrongfully incarcerated, society, the criminal justice system and the victim. I can only hope that the proposed legislation ensures the others wrongly incarcerated like me, never have to suffer like I did in securing their freedom through the criminal justice system," said Marty Tankleff, who was wrongfully convicted for murder of his parents based on false confession.

"New York State's criminal justice system, like many other states,' has too often stressed the 'criminal' more than the 'justice,' sometimes resulting in innocent people being convicted and incarcerated. But, new tools are available to prove the innocence of the wrongly convicted, and I am proud to co-sponsor this legislation which will make them more fully available in New York State," said Sen. Velmanette Montgomery (D-Manhattan). "If the bill provides for the exoneration of just one person it will be worth it."New York; (October 21,2009) Joined by Civil Rights advocates, Sen. Eric T.... more

peoplesmovement
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18 days ago
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Bill Prohibiting Discrimination In Adoption Is Introduced

Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA, pictured) introduced legislation last Thursday that... more

ryanqk
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20 days ago
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1 comment

Could New York City Mayoral Debate Have Violated Voter's Rights?

On Wed. Oct.14th, 2009 The first Mayoral debate was held at El Museo Del Barrio, where... more

peoplesmovement
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25 days ago
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1 comment

The Workers Defense Project Helps Build a Better Austin!

Gov. Rick Perry and employees within the state insurance building did not meet the... more

ZGraphix
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25 days ago
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FBI Veteran Executive Calls For Special Counsel Investigation, Prosecutions in Sibel Edmonds Case

An 18-year Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Manager for the FBI has called for a Special Counsel to be appointed to investigate the allegations of FBI translator-turned-whistleblower Sibel Edmonds. John M. Cole, who now works as an intelligence contractor for the Air Force, made his comments during an audio interview released late last week with radio journalist Peter B. Collins.

He also offered a detailed insider's look at the concerns among high-level officials inside the Bureau as Edmonds' disturbing allegations began coming to light back in 2002, before they would be quashed for seven long years by the Bush Administration's unprecedented use of the so-called "State Secrets Privilege" to gag her.

Earlier last week, following the publication of a remarkable American Conservative magazine cover story interview with Edmonds --- detailing a broad bribery, blackmail, and espionage conspiracy said to have been carried out between current and former members of the U.S. Congress, high-ranking State and Defense Department officials and covert operatives from Turkey and Israel, resulting in the theft and sale of nuclear weapons technology on the foreign black market --- Cole had been quoted by the magazine confirming one of Edmonds' key allegations.

"I am fully aware of the FBI's decade-long investigation of" Marc Grossman, he said in response to the AmCon article/interview. Grossman had served as the third-highest ranking official in the Bush State Department and was alleged by Edmonds in the interview, and in a sworn, video-taped deposition a month earlier, to have been the U.S. ringleader for a massive Turkish espionage scandal reaching through the halls of power and into top-secret nuclear facilities around the country to the benefit of allies and enemies alike. Cole said that the FBI's counterintelligence probe "ultimately was buried and covered up," and that he believes it is "long past time" for an investigation of the case to "bring about accountability."

In his subsequent interview with Collins last week (audio and text excerpts posted below) Cole elaborated on those comments in much greater detail, noting that Edmonds has been "one hundred percent right on the money, on the mark" and confirming the existence of an "ongoing and detailed effort by Turkey to develop influence in the United States" through various illegal activities.

"Yes, I can confirm that," Cole told Collins, "That's true."

The FBI veteran executive also offered an insider's account of the panic that ensued inside the highest echelons of the bureau following Edmonds' first disclosure of information in 2002, recounting how an executive assistant director admitted to him at the time, just after the story first broke, "Well, all I know is that everything that Sibel is stating is true. I read her file. Everything she stated is, in fact, accurate."
Cole further describes how the concerns about Edmonds ultimately led to the Bush Administration's two-time use of the Draconian "State Secrets Privilege" in hopes of keeping her extraordinary information from becoming public. "Everybody at headquarters level at the bureau knew that what she was saying was extremely accurate."

"I know they didn't want her to go out and speak about it at all," Cole revealed, "and I know they were trying to figure out ways of keeping this whole thing quiet, because they didn't want Sibel to come out."

He also offered information which directly counters one of the criticisms of Edmonds' allegations as frequently offered by skeptics. Namely, that as a short time FBI contract translator --- even though she was tasked to review some seven years of counterintelligence wiretaps made from 1996 to 2002 --- she couldn't have had enough understanding of the full scope of the investigations to understand what was really going on.
More...An 18-year Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Manager for the FBI has called for... more