So, the person who will presumably become the next president of the United States had a little tweetstorm which included the statement that people who burn the American flag should suffer some consequence like losing their citizenship or spending a year in prison ( Read more... )

This Is Not Normal

The one thing authoritarians want you to do is to accept that their conduct is normal, even when it is not. They do not want you to yearn for a freer, less oppressive and less corrupt time, and they do not want you to think it odd when, say, a government agency is purged or a bunch of protesters are arrested and vanish into the ( Read more... )

Sometimes people online will link to a comic strip and tell you, "This is the story of my life!" Well, yeah, this is the story of my life. Thank you, XKCD.

In other news, The Doctor has been following the news: Wikileaks, Cablegate, the media, and you.

The Doctor has an excellent write-up of new TSA procedures.
Oh, and ginmar, a veteran actually trained in doing full-body searches, offers her take on the usefulness of TSA procedures. Note: Any articles or blog posts about the TSA should be considered potentially triggering for anyone with any kind of triggers ( Read more... )

This evening, Google alerted me to an entry about the case of Michael Tony Futi, the 14-day-old baby who died in February 2008 after being locked up at Honolulu International Airport, having flown to Hawaii from American Samoa for heart surgery. This one still hurts to read about, hurts to think about.

This is the only ending I have. An ( Read more... )

September 27-October 4, 2008: Happy Banned Books Week! Celebrate by picking up one of the most frequently challenged books from your local library or bookstore! This is somewhat US-centric, but those of you in other locations can probably find or figure out what books would be on a similar list where you are ( Read more... )

Detainees drugged without medical reason--U.S. government violating its own rules in the process.

The U.S. government has injected hundreds of foreigners it has deported with dangerous psychotropic drugs against their will to keep them sedated during the trip back to their home country, according to medical records, internal documents and ( Read more... )

Baby locked up at Honolulu airport dies

Luaipou Futi and a nurse banged on a locked door at Honolulu International Airport Friday morning and begged for medical help for Futi's 14-day-old son, who had flown here from American Samoa for heart surgery and was becoming distressed in the warm room ( Read more... )

So, a bunch of people have been linking to this article recently, all about a Russian blogger (a LiveJournal user) who was charged with "inciting hate" against police officers in his journal several months ago. People who have been linking to that article have been claiming that it's evidence of SUP's being in bed with Putin's government, but is ( Read more... )

I believe in basic human rights for everyone, whether or not they deserve them ( Read more... )