Hundreds of men, captured in raids against Al Qaeda extremists, have disappeared into a secret network of prisons in South Yemen, where torture and abuse is the norm and people are subjected to horrible forms of "interrogation", AP reports:

In Yemen's secret prisons, UAE tortures and US interrogatesOne of the most shocking examples is the so ( Read more... )

Obama gives Congress Guantanamo closure plan

About fucking time, eh? Not that the guys who believed the plan was unacceptable the first time, would believe it's any more acceptable this time around. Shame the fearmongering Congress doesn't trust US prisons, hmmm. And in the meantime, they're so hell-bent on keeping the steady influx of prisoners ( Read more... )

Dozens of migrant children are being held against their will for months and even years by the Australian authorities in a detention center for refugees located in Nauru, in the middle of the Pacific - a place merely the size of 21 square kilometers, CNN has reported.

The kids unequivocally describe that place as a prison. They are forced to live ( Read more... )

Private messages at work can be read by employers, says court

Employees in the EU better watch out from now on. Their bosses can snoop into their online communications, a human rights court has ruled. The whole case started with a scandal in 2007 where a Romanian engineer was fired after his boss had found out he was using Yahoo Messenger to chat ( Read more... )

I came across this short story around our local blogosphere here, and though it isn't my creation, I've taken the task of translating it into English, and I would be grateful if the mods allow my version to be posted here, as I think it helps illustrate a point - even if it sounds a bit silly and hyperbolical. So here it is.

( The short story )

The irony of Iran rallying behind the cause of a champion for the freedom of speech and religious equality...

...And the Saudis' absolute disregard for human rights, even in the face of a universal global outcry.

Iran leader sees 'divine vengeance' for Saudi cleric execution

As the Daily Mail summarizes the story of this, ehm, martyr for human ( Read more... )

Last March, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) announced plans to shut off water service for 1,500 to 3,000 customers every week if their water bills were not paid. And on Tuesday, the City Council approved an 8.7-percent water rate increase ( Read more... )

In 2010 it became clear that the FIFA World Cup in 2022 would be hosted by Qatar. A very controversial result that stirred calls for boycotts, and even for a re-vote. Still, the projects for the new stadiums have already been initiated, with some massive construction works going on all around the tiny country. From the day when the construction ( Read more... )

Forbes Columnnist John Tamny, on the Daily Show: I think food stamps are cruel… I don’t think anyone is happy if they are reliant on somebody else, if they’re taking a handout.

Jessica Williams: Okay, well what about kids being hungry, nobody getting the food that they deserve or need?

Tamny: I think if people were literally starving, you would ( Read more... )

Welcome to my mid-20th century world, you fellow chauvinistic xenophobians (sic?!) peace-loving tolerant folks who want nothing but love and harmony throughout the Universe! Let's begin today's rant with a picture. Yep, this is a wall. OK, let's say it's a fence. But we call it a wall. Anyway. Could you try to guess where it's located? Palestine? ( Read more... )