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Blog — Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Friday March 29, 2013
We’ve been reading some diverse material this week, and here are three articles we think you’ll find interesting. They cover a broad scope of issues, including Arab American community news, national security, and Arab Americans in politics. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 3:14 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday March 18, 2013
We’ve written a number of times about the lack of transparency around the administration’s drone policy and its constitutional implications. As the administration continues to face scrutiny for its use of drones abroad, state legislators are introducing legislation to combat the use of drone surveillance domestically. More than twenty state, including New Jersey , have considered creating laws that would limit or ban the use of unmanned aerial systems, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Read More »
Posted by Yasmine Taeb at 2:48 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday March 13, 2013
By Jennine Vari
One of the most recent ad campaigns in NYC to take on Geller’s hate speech is “Talk Back to Hate,” a grassroots campaign started by Akiva Freidlin. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 10:14 am / / Leave a comment
Thursday March 07, 2013
While Attorney General Holder was being grilled by Senators on the Judiciary Committee during an oversight hearing about the administration’s drone policy, Rand Paul (R-KY) got on the Senate floor to filibuster the nomination of John Brennan for the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Read More »
Posted by Yasmine Taeb at 4:53 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday March 07, 2013
You may be surprised to learn that federal law enforcement does not track hate crimes aimed at the Arab American community. US Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY) is working to change that, and he’s asking his colleagues in the House of Representatives to help. You should too. Take action now and ask your representative to sign on to the Crowley letter. The deadline is tomorrow, Friday, March 8 Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 1:14 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday March 05, 2013
In a letter released earlier today, US Attorney General Holder said the administration does have the authority to use military force to kill an American on US soil in an “extraordinary circumstance” although it has “no intention of doing so.” Read More »
Posted by Yasmine Taeb at 4:52 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday February 28, 2013
Yesterday, Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) circulated a letter to her colleagues announcing her intention to introduce the “Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Terrorism Act of 2013,” a bill that will require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop training programs on counterterrorism and violent extremism in the US that are “consistent with our constitutional rights.” Read More »
Posted by Yasmine Taeb at 5:10 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday February 27, 2013
Today, the Supreme Court hears arguments on one of the most important legislative initiatives from the Civil Rights era: the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The VRA ensures that all eligible American citizens are able to vote, unimpeded by processes or regulations— from literacy tests and English-only ballots, to moving polling places and redistricting— that could effectively disenfranchise ethnic minorities. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 1:36 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday February 26, 2013
The administration’s drone policy has been the center of attention in part because of the nomination of John Brennan for director of the CIA. Read More »
Posted by Yasmine Taeb at 12:31 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday February 19, 2013
Today, Senators Dick Durbin and Dianne Feinstein released the names of 26 Senators, all Democrats, who signed a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller to revise the FBI Hate Crime Incident Report Form (1-699) to allow for the collection and tracking of hate crimes committed against Sikhs, Hindus, and Arab Americans. There have been other congressional initiatives to track crimes against Sikhs, but the Durbin/Feinstein letter is the first time Arab Americans have been included. On the House side, Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) is seeking signatures for his own letter which includes all three communities. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 5:20 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday February 15, 2013
By Jade Zoghbi
The video depicts Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, a UC Santa Cruz lecturer, who made outrageous accusations and comments towards the MSA and Palestinian groups Read More »
Posted by Guest at 1:53 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday February 13, 2013
She was strip-searched and jailed for more than four hours based on complaints that she, along with the two other men sitting on her row, were “conducting suspicious activity” during a flight. Read More »
Posted by Johara Hall at 2:39 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday February 12, 2013
President Obama will deliver his fifth State of the Union address tonight, amidst a flurry of political activity on the Hill. The speech will be his first substantive foray into the political agenda of his second administration, and many are hoping to get a sense of Obama’s priorities for the coming years. Read More »
Posted by Samer Araabi at 4:26 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday February 12, 2013
There is a problem with the way federal law enforcement tracks hate crimes aimed at the Arab American community: they don’t. In the past ten years, there have been more than 800 incidents involving “violence, threats, vandalism, and arson against persons perceived to be Muslim or to be of Arab, Middle Eastern, or South Asian origin.” Federal charges have been brought in only a handful of cases, with only 45 convictions as of March 29, 2011. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 2:55 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday February 08, 2013
By Jennine Vari
The injunction against the NYPD is seeking to end the investigations of Muslims communities without evidence of unlawful activity. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 12:27 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday February 08, 2013
The House Judiciary Committee held the first of many hearings Tuesday on Immigration policy. AAI submitted testimony for the record, specifically emphasizing the need for incorporating civil rights and civil liberties protections in immigration enforcement and prohibiting racial profiling. Read More »
Posted by Yasmine Taeb at 11:44 am / / Leave a comment
Thursday February 07, 2013
Brennan, a controversial national security figure who currently serves as a counterterrorism advisor to the Obama administration, is widely credited as the architect of the President’s current global war strategy. As such, Brennan is intimately linked with a number of the Obama administration’s most controversial policies, particularly the use of unmanned aerial drones for targeted assassination campaigns. Read More »
Posted by Samer Araabi at 2:26 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday February 07, 2013
Earlier this week, NBC News released a Department of Justice memo outlining the administration’s legal rationale for the targeted killing of American citizens. Read More »
Posted by Yasmine Taeb at 11:40 am / / Leave a comment
Tuesday February 05, 2013
By Jennine Vari
A student club at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colorado has been working to break down cultural barriers by translating the Pledge of Allegiance and reciting it in other languages. However, the most recent translation has sparked controversy. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 2:45 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday January 28, 2013
The "Gang of Eight", eight senators taking the lead on immigration reform, released a document of principles today agreed- upon by the bipartisan group. Read More »
Posted by Yasmine Taeb at 1:17 pm / / Leave a comment
Looking at Iran by James Zogby
Kahlil Gibran Awards Gala - April 16, 2013
