According to South Africa’s rape statistics for 2011 ”it is estimated that a woman born in South Africa has a greater chance of being raped than learning how to read.”
What Should Government Do?
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Steve Hochstadt: Unless Iran actually puts our nation in mortal danger, declaring war on Iran would violate the trust that Americans put in our government. It’s what our government shouldn’t do.
Supreme Court Matters
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Andy Love: Elections do have consequences, as they say, and the electorate needs to understand that the consequences this time around couldn’t be more serious. If ever there was a time for the President to run against the Court, it is now.
Guantanamo Prison’s True Secret
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“There had been 65 prisoners still held, who had been cleared for release by military review boards under the Bush administration. When Obama came into office, he could have released some of those guys easily. But he did nothing,”
Kony 2012: Whiteness, Social Media and Africa
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Jessie Daniels: Kony 2012 is, then, an endorsement of the moral superiority of white values of reason, order, and now social media against the supposed chaos and violence of Africa.
All I Want for Christmas Is My Civil Liberties!
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Coleen Rowley: Obama’s expected signature will not only de-link the “war on terror” from its original justification, the 9-11 attacks of more than a decade ago, to ensure the “long war” does not end.
Hope and Change: Landmark Human Rights Victories
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Julie Gutman: As the international community prepares to mark the 61st annual Human Rights Day on December 10, here is a short list of some of the best human rights developments of 2011 outside the Middle East.
God and Vietnam
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Jim Rhodes: Before I departed the United States last August, I read an official American government report on ‘religious persecution’ in Vietnam. This event and that report did not add up.
Vet Caucus Leader Calls for End to Afghan War
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Rick Reyes: The report Saturday that the crash of a Chinook helicopter killed 30 U.S. troops in Afghanistan is just one more sad reason we need to end operations sooner rather than later in that theatre of war. I’ve been there and we need to get our brothers and sisters home now.
Vet Leader: Afghan War Deaths an “Atrocity,” War Should End
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Thirty U.S. American troops reported killed Saturday in an Afghanistan helicopter crash emphasizes the need for the U.S. to end operations sooner rather than later in that theatre of war, according to a Iraq/Afghanistan U.S. Marine veteran, who now is chair of the Veterans Caucus of the California Democratic Party.
Do We Care About Civilian Casualties in Our Wars?
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John Tirman: The initial enthusiasm of engaging in savage wars often turns sour as the war goes badly, and then the hard reality of innocent suffering is all the more difficult to acknowledge.
Obama’s Disappointing Peace Plan
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Rebecca Griffin: Unfortunately, the president’s plan allows the war to last indefinitely and leaves in place almost twice as many troops as when he came in office. The American and Afghan people will pay the price for prolonging this disastrous policy.
Obama Not Likely to Call for Major Afghan Drawdown
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Sherwood Ross: Outside of the White House, is it possible to find an American anywhere who believes that the presence of U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan is essential to our national security — particularly when we have some 800 bases around the world ready to deploy troops at the drop of a bomb?
Progressive Caucus Urges Significant Afghan Troop Withdrawal
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On behalf of one of the largest and most active caucuses in the California State Democratic Party, we are writing to thank those of you who have worked to end the war in Afghanistan and urge you all to take advantage of every opportunity to push for a significant military withdrawal in July and a clear end date for the war.
Secret CIA Wars Cost Billions
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Sherwood Ross: It’s been estimated the Iraq war, besides making that country pretty much unlivable, will flush $3 trillion in U.S. taxpayer dollars down the Pentagon drain.
Prediction: The U.S. Stays in Iraq
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Tom Hayden: It is becoming almost certain that the U.S. succeed in forcing Iraq to “invite” thousands of American troops to stay indefinitely in the latest imperial outpost of the United States in the Arab world
Jon Huntsman Makes His Moves
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Brent Budowsky: It is easy to conceive of Huntsman running a New Hampshire primary campaign that widens his criticism of China well beyond strong condemnation of Chinese human-rights abuses.
Phoenix Police Exaggerate Kidnapping Stats
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Andrea Nill: One city councilwoman claims that police officials have known the figures were wrong since August 2010, but continued to deny allegations that they weren’t for months.
Bradley Manning’s Torture Commonplace in U.S. Prisons
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Sherwood Ross: Those supporting Manning need to recognize he is an icon for the bizarre, systemic destruction of tens of thousands of other human beings locked away in perpetual silence by their tormentors, often for mere infractions of prison rules, without the review of any judge or jury.
Police Misconduct and Public Accountability
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Wendy McElroy: Why is it difficult to prosecute police officers for criminal misconduct even when the abuse is severe and unequivocal?
American Midterm Candidates Pandered For Pro-Israel Money and Votes
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Linda Milazzo: It’s time to right this wrong. Holding office in America is not for the purpose of serving Israel. It’s for the purpose of serving America, the American people, and America’s honor in the world.
Is Progressive Dissent Public Enemy #1?
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Lydia Howell: The US government — bought and paid for by weapons-makers and mercenaries (‘contractors’) —does not think that We The People have the right to even question, much less challenge and resist permanent war, which is bankrupting our country and civilian deaths ignites violent reaction.
Conservatives Repeat False Claim That Phoenix Is ‘Kidnapping Capital of the World’
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Andrea Nill: Mike Huckabee defended SB-1070, telling Greta Van Susteren that Arizona was perfectly justified in passing the draconian immigration law partly because the state is the “number one kidnapping capital in the world.”
Shrewdness, Thy Name Is Barack
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One does not become POTUS after three years in the Senate without making shrewd moves. These two are genius: separating John McCain’s political legacy from the ‘Wasilla Hillbilly’ and letting others carry the torture debate so he can honestly say he has no choice but to pursue prosecution of highest Bush officials for war crimes. [...]
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More Torture, Please
Steve Hendricks: I derive immense comfort, for example, from the similarity between the pro-torture 70 percent and the 68 percent of Americans who believe “angels and demons are active in the world.” Surely many of my pro-torture countrymen just need a little more education about torture. Well, a lot more.