Search Results for: 2008-03-28

Australia is the only Western democracy not to have a Human Rights Act in its legal system or constitution. Instead, Australia has a patchwork of rights, leaning on individual legislation, such as the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1977, implied rights, common law, and state-by-state legislation. As noted by the Australian Human Rights Commission,  “There are five [...]

A French court Monday began hearing the criminal trial of Lebanese-Canadian Hassan Diab, who is accused of committing the 1980 bombing of the Copernic synagogue. The trial is expected to last three weeks and will be conducted in abstentia, meaning Diab will not be present for the trial. The bombing, which took place on October [...]

In 2002, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in Turkey, defeating Kemalist hegemony, there was a glimmer of hope in the West for the overwhelmingly Muslim country. However, the experience of Turkey over the past 20 years is one descending into an authoritarian regime with clampdowns [...]

In April 1940, in what would come to be known as the Katyn Massacre, members of the feared Soviet secret police force, the NKVD, began the systematic murders of more than 21,000 Polish prisoners of war. The victims of the massacre — which, in addition to military officers, included many civilians — were buried by [...]

Giants run the airline industry. Today, four airlines, American, United, Delta, and Southwest, control over 65 percent of the market. They achieved this level of dominance in just the past twenty years, with merger after merger cutting the number of major airlines left today into less than half the number that existed in 2000. The [...]

The US Supreme Court heard two oral arguments on Monday: US Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association, in which the court will consider a case concerning a pipeline on federal forest land; and Opati v. Sudan, which asks whether the current version of the terrorism exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act allows punitive [...]

Mercury is one of the most toxic substances on earth. When inhaled or ingested by humans, mercury can cause severe neurological damage, cardiovascular harm, endocrine disruption, kidney damage and muscle coordination issues. When pregnant women are exposed, their babies can suffer IQ and motor skills impairments that will last their lifetime. Through rain, snow or [...]

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement announcement yesterday rightfully set off shock waves across the country. For the past three decades, Justice Kennedy has gone from one of the more moderate justices who could sometimes swing an important vote, to the lone decider on monumental issues from gay marriage (siding with the liberals) to campaign finance and [...]

Military courts in Lebanon are trying civilians, including children, in matters regarding political activism and protest against the government, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Thursday. HRW said that 14 individuals who protested the 2015 waste...

The US Congress on Wednesday overrode US President Barrack Obama's veto of a bill that would allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. Obama vetoed the Justice Against Sponsors of...