Human Rights Glance
According to the forthcoming report on the Justice Department's investigation into the Ferguson, Mo. police department for alleged civil rights violations, the department has demonstrated a history of racial profiling that has intensified race relations in the St. Louis suburb.
The investigation was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder last September after the shooting and killing of unarmed, black 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, and the ensuing violent protests that erupted in the city in the days thereafter.
Justice Dept Finds Years of Racial Discrimination By Ferguson PD: Report
Bush White House’s Repeated Torture Denials Led CIA Torturers to Seek Repeated Reassurances
The Bush administration was so adamant in its public statements against torture that CIA officials repeatedly sought reassurances that the White House officials who had given them permission to torture in the first place hadn’t changed their minds.
In a July 29, 2003, White House meeting that included Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, CIA Director George Tenet went so far as to ask the White House “to cease stating that US Government practices were ‘humane’.” He was assured they would.
Uganda's 'Kill the Gays' Bill Is Back
David Bahati, the sponsor of Uganda’s notorious Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), announced this weekend that he intends to reintroduce the bill in parliament, after a court found it invalid for procedural reasons last August.
But this time will be different. President Yoweri Museveni is under heavy pressure not to once again invite international condemnation by supporting it. More importantly, the Ugandan coalition opposing it is broad-based and deep.
In fact, American activists could learn a lot from their Ugandan counterparts.
Rio de Janeiro homicide division to investigate 'resistance killings' by cops
The police department in Rio de Janeiro has launched an investigation into so-called "resistance killings" committed by officers who allege victims have died in shootouts while resisting arrest.
Police officials in Brazil have recently been under fire by human rights watch groups for classifying what they believe are public executions as "resistance killings." In 2014, there were 582 deaths labeled as "resistance killings," a whopping 40 percent spike in deaths over the previous year.
Mysterious graffiti artist Banksy illustrates Gaza debris
The work of mysterious British graffiti artist Banksy has made an appearance in the Gaza Strip.
In a short film posted on his website, the popular street artist appears to have sneaked into Gaza through an underground tunnel from Egypt. The video combines footage from the Israeli-Hamas war last summer, with political commentary about the coastal strip's misery.
UN: Third of Afghan Detainees Report Torture, Ill Treatment
More than one in three Afghans detained on conflict-related allegations say they were tortured or mistreated, according to a U.N. report released Wednesday based on interviews with nearly 800 detainees.
The detainees reported 16 torture methods, including beatings, suspension from walls or ceilings, electric shocks and near-asphyxiation. Some detainees said their genitals were twisted with a wrench-like device while others reported being kept in extremely hot or cold conditions and being denied food and water.
'2014 Was A Catastrophic Year,' Amnesty International Says
Governments "must stop pretending the protection of civilians is beyond their power," Amnesty International says in its human rights report for 2014. The group faults the U.S. on a range of issues, from the use of excessive force by police to rights abuses in the name of fighting terrorism.
"Governments pay lip service to the importance of protecting civilians," Amnesty says. "And yet the world's politicians have miserably failed to protect those in greatest need."
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