Gaza on Fire | Americans More Critical of Israel | How the Army Field Manuel Codified Torture

Rights & Liberties Newsletter January 7th, 2009 More from Rights & Liberties »

My Father Was No Militant, But Israel's Bombs Reduced Him to a 'Pile of Flesh' By Fares Akram, Independent UK What is the difference between the pilot who blew my father to pieces and the militant who fires a small rocket? Read more »   The new year started with the bloodiest military assault on Gaza in decades. Some 700 Palestinians have been killed, among them 43 innocent civilians who died after Israel bombed a United Nations school being used as a shelter. That happened yesterday; even as the developments in Gaza move too fast to keep up, the cumulative story remains the same: death, destruction, an appalling humanitarian crisis -- despite claims to the contrary -- and no end in sight. Below are only some of the stories on the horrific events unfolding in Gaza. For more coverage, including the voices of victims' family members and journalists on the ground (despite Israel's ban on foreign reporters), visit AlterNet's Rights & Liberties section. *** In the early morning hours of New Year's Day, 22-year-old Oscar Grant was shot in the back by Bay Area Rapid Transit police in Oakland, CA. Grant was on the ground alongside other young men of color who had been pulled off a train after an alleged scuffle. Video footage shot by a witness -- who refused to hand over her camera to police as they confiscated others' phones and cameras -- show Grant subdued, lying on his stomach on the train platform before he was shot. He died soon thereafter, leaving behind a 4-year old daughter. If this story outrages you, go here to find out what you can do. Happy New Year -- and thanks for reading. Liliana Segura Editor, Rights & Liberties Special Coverage     My Grandpa Lives in Gaza By Laila Al-Arian, The Nation My family has struggled to get in touch with my grandfather. As missiles rain over his Gaza neighborhood, I can only imagine what he is thinking. Read more »   Unprecedented Numbers of Americans Question Israel's Actions in Gaza By Max Blumenthal, Huffington Post Could it be the rise of online progressive media telling the truth about Israel, or that the public rejects the same pundits who sold us Iraq? Read more »   Keeping Journalists Out of Gaza is Futile and Counterproductive By Robert Fisk, Independent UK Israel is ignoring the lessons of history by banning the press from the areas it is bombing. Read more »   Atrocities in Gaza: Piecing Together the Story By Liliana Segura, AlterNet As Europe calls for a ceasefire, Israel is accused of cruel tactics and use of deadly white phosphorous in its blood-soaked assault on Gaza. Read more »   Israel Bombs UN School, Three Killed; Death Toll 100 on Monday Alone By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! A "large number" of Monday's casualties were civilians, and twelve of them were children. Read more »   How the U.S. Army's Field Manual Codified Torture -- and Still Does By Jeffrey S. Kaye, AlterNet Buried in Appendix M of the Army Field Manual, the Guantanamo virus is spreading, and eradicating it will require all of us to spread the word. Read more »   Woman Asks for Rights, Gets Acid Thrown on Face By Apostolis Fotiadis, IPS News After standing up to workplace injustice, two men poured sulphuric acid on Decheva Elena Kuneva, badly disfiguring her. Read more »   PEEK and Video: The hottest buzz and videos on the web     War on Gaza: More Civilian Deaths; Olmert Lies: 'No Humanitarian Crisis' By Siun, Firedoglake Despite Olmert's claims, reports of civilian causalities and brutal firsthand accounts continue to pour in. Read more »   Cop Shoots Helpless Man ... Did He Mistake His Gun for His Taser? By Digby, Hullabaloo See, the problem isn't the form of gun cops use, a stun gun or one with bullets. It's that they use any gun on people who are already down. Read more »   Talking While Brown: A Look at Racism in U.S. Airports By dday, Hullabaloo No kind of profiling is more justifiable than any other. It's all part of a creeping assault on our collective civil liberties and it has to stop. Read more »

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