Madeleine Baran

Civil liberties and immigrant rights advocates say House Republicans are using legislation based on the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations as cover to implement a series of troubling, unrelated reforms condoning torture, limiting immigration and increasing surveillance of both non-citizens and citizens. The House will vote on the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act this week. Opponents say the … Continue reading “House Set to Nullify More Civil Liberties”

In the eighteen months since central New York oncologist Rafil Dhafir was arrested and charged with violating the U.S. embargo against Iraq, he has been sitting in a Syracuse jail, ignored by most of the national media, as prosecutors continue to add charges threatening him with a maximum sentence of almost 300 years in prison. … Continue reading “Doctor May Get Life for Violating Iraq Sanctions”

In what civil liberties advocates call the most massive database surveillance program in U.S. history, the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange, or Matrix, continues to compile billions of records on law-abiding citizens and receive federal funding, despite public outcry and suspicion. A Florida-based company, Seisint, Inc., created the database shortly after the terror attacks of Sept. … Continue reading “Welcome to the Matrix”