U.S. Air Force veteran added to no-fly list after visiting sickly mom
A 10-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force is once again unable to return to his home after being mysteriously added to a federal no-fly list for a second time.Saadiq Long, an American Muslim born in the state of Oklahoma, is stranded near his hometown despite having purchased a plane ticket to return to Qatar, a small Arab nation where he...U.S. government accused of spying on 9/11 attorneys
WASHINGTON - Detainees being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and their defense attorneys are accusing both the United States government and Gitmo guards alike this week of infringing on the inmates’ rights by conducting illegal surveillance.Only days after lawyers representing alleged terrorists accused the government...TSA nude scanners might be coming to federal buildings
The TSA is retiring 250 of their high-tech “backscatter” screening machines in the coming weeks, easing both healthcare and privacy woes from frequent travelers that don’t trust the devices. Are they really going away for good though?Backscatter makers Rapiscan and the Transportation Security Administration announced the ending of...Research suggests video games about terrorism could incite violence against Arabs
MICHIGAN-A recent study published in the January issue of Psychology of Violence showed that video games about terrorism can incite violence against Arab Americans, even when they don’t appear in the games. According to Muniba Saleem, a researcher from the University of Michigan, and the co-author of the study, the...
Civil liberties groups seek court order to stop NYPD from spying on Muslims
February 8th, 20130 NEW YORK — The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a motion in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday that aims to stop police in the Big Apple from continuing surveillance that specifically targets practicing Muslims.In court papers filed by the NYCLU, the civil liberties group asks a federal judge to grant an injunction “against ongoing...Major U.S. newspapers admit to honoring CIA demands
As incoming CIA chief John Brennan prepares to answer questions from Congress, some of the biggest names in U.S. media are under attack for hiding a secret drone base that the Obama nominee helped build.Reports in the New York Times and Washington Post this week confirm that the United States Central Intelligence Agency, which Brennan...Report: Pentagon backed plan for U.S. to arm Syrian rebels
WASHINGTON - Pentagon leaders told Congress on Thursday that they had supported a recommendation to arm Syrian rebels promoted by the State Department and CIA but which was reportedly rebuffed by the White House.President Barack Obama's government has limited its support to non-lethal aid for the rebels who, despite receiving weapons...UN inquiry says Israel must end settlements in West Bank
GENEVA — Israeli settlements in the Occupied West Bank violate international law, and the country must "immediately" withdraw all settlers from such areas, UN human rights investigators have said.Israel has not co-operated with the inquiry, set up by the Human Rights Council (HRC) last March to examine the impact of settlements in the...AT&T to invest $14 billion to significantly expand wireless and wireline broadband networks, support growing customer demand
NEW YORK — AT&T* recently announced plans to invest $14 billion over the next three years to significantly expand and enhance its wireless and wireline IP broadband networks to support growing customer demand for high-speed Internet access and new mobile, app and cloud services. The investment plan – Project Velocity IP (VIP) –...Americans demand re-legalization of cell phone unlocking
WASHINGTON, DC — The practice of unlocking a smartphone without a carrier’s permission was recently criminalized in the U.S., forcing Americans to stand up for the right to use their property as they wish without the fear of prosecution.Over the weekend the window of opportunity closed for U.S. consumers to buy and legally unlock a...U.S. high school allows Muslims time for prayer if they earn good grades
WASHINGTON, DC — A high school near Washington DC has taken a rare step of accommodating Muslim prayer during class hours. Parkdale High School now allows a handful of its students to be excused to pray. The decision has made some Christian staffers "unhappy."Prince George County High School Principal Cheryl J. Logan said the...The second inauguration and the Middle East
President Obama re-affirmed his commitment to the Jeffersonian principles of universal equality of all men and women, and that everyone is entitled to life, liberty and the opportunity for pursuit of happiness. President Obama did not claim that these rights are only for Americans but for all people; indeed the President stated that he...New hope for a second term
This year’s presidential inauguration on Martin Luther King Day finds us as a nation and people at a remarkable crossroads. We have the same daunting issues we have faced for years before us; and yet there is something different.There is a developing shift in our consciousness and responsibility. We are witnessing a new awareness of...Screenshots prove it: N.Y. Times altered headline to remove words “Israeli-occupied”
NEW YORK - A New York Times headline accidentally told the truth earlier this week about Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land, before it was ‘fixed.’ Before.The story was about this week's action by Palestinians to establish a village called Bab Al AfterShams on land that Israel has seized for construction of...Obama’s Op-ed on Netanyahu angers Israeli MPs
JERUSALEM — Israeli MPs on Wednesday accused U.S. President Barack Obama of meddling in Israel's upcoming elections over an opinion piece purporting to outline his view of Benjamin Netanyahu's "self-defeating" policies.The piece, which was published by the prominent Bloomberg columnist Jeffery Goldberg, made headlines across the......
U.S. health worse than nearly all other industrialized countries
WASHINGTON (IPS)— U.S. citizens suffer from poorer health than nearly all other industrialized countries, according to the first comprehensive government analysis on the subject, released Wednesday.Of 17 high-income countries looked at by a committee of experts sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, the United States is at or...The Pentagon as a global NRA
Given these last weeks, who doesn’t know what an AR-15 is? Who hasn’t seen the mind-boggling stats on the way assault rifles have flooded this country, or tabulations of accumulating Newtown-style mass killings, or noted that there are barely more gas stations nationwide than federally licensed firearms dealers, or heard the renewed......
A Jewish problem: Anti-Muslim hate-mongers
Three weeks ago a Muslim man was pushed from behind into the tracks of an incoming New York subway meeting instant death. The perpetrator was apprehended and she declared, “I hate Muslims (and Hindus) ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers. I’ve been beating them up.”This is just one instance of violence and...IRS plans Jan. 30 tax season opening For 1040 Filers
WASHINGTON — Following the January tax law changes made by Congress under the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA), the Internal Revenue Service announced today it plans to open the 2013 filing season and begin processing individual income tax returns on Jan. 30.The IRS will begin accepting tax returns on that date after updating forms...Hate crimes against American Muslims remain near decade high
Societies have laws in order to protect people from serious threats made by other people. To protect innocent victims, judges should take into consideration the criminal background of the alleged perpetrator in a climate of growing crimes. The job of the police is not only to enforce the law, but also to prevent crimes from...Halting anti-Muslim violence
There has been a sudden uptick in the number of violent hate crimes where the victims are thought to be Muslim or "Middle Eastern". Sunando Sen, a Hindu man originally from India, was shoved in front of an oncoming subway train in New York City, where he died. Cameron Mohammed, a Catholic American man whose parents are from Trinidad, was......
U.S. health worse than nearly all other industrialized countries
WASHINGTON— U.S. citizens suffer from poorer health than nearly all other industrialized countries, according to the first comprehensive government analysis on the subject, released Wednesday.Of 17 high-income countries looked at by a committee of experts sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, the United States is at or near...U.S. immigration system’s cost and reach are “unprecedented”
WASHINGTON (IPS) — The United States government is spending more on immigration enforcement each year than it is on all other federal law-enforcement agencies combined, according to the first comprehensive look at how the country’s sprawling immigration complex has grown over the past decade.Likewise, on a daily basis the U.S.......
Why U.S./Israel face sinking polls
When U.S. and Israeli officials look glumly at international polls showing their declining popularity, they often think that just some better salesmanship will do the trick. But the real problem isn’t the pitch; it’s the product, in this case policies that offend much of the world, says ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.An Israeli think...What Hagel could give Obama
With the “fiscal cliff” partly solved and partly delayed, President Obama may now turn his attention to filling his national security team for the second term, including whether to face down neocon opposition to Nebraska Republican Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary, as ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern notes.Absent from the discussion......
