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April-May 2014
US aid to Pakistan again linked to Dr Afridi’s release
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: The US Congress has once again attached the release of Shakeel Afridi to the provision of military aid to Pakistan. In an amendment introduced to the defense spending bill, passed on May 22, the House members overwhelmingly called for the release of Dr Shakeel Afridi who had helped the CIA by running a fake vaccination campaign in Abbottabad a month before the US forces raid on Osama bin Laden compound in 2011. Read More
Americans think the Supreme Court is too political
By Khalid Saeed: A new poll, by Democracy Corps and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, finds the US Supreme Court too political. According to the poll released on May 7, 2014, Americans of all political affiliations support policies that would make the U.S. Supreme Court more accessible and its justices more accountable. The poll was conducted from April 16–24, two weeks after the Supreme Court, in McCutcheon V. FEC, struck down limits in federal law on the overall campaign contributions the biggest individual donors may make to candidates, political parties and political action committees. Read More
NYPD coerced Muslim immigrants to become spies
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Seven million strong American Muslim community was alarmed by the New York Times Saturday (May 11, 2014) report that the New York Police Department (NYPD) coerced Muslim immigrants who were arrested for infractions as minor as an argument over a parking ticket to become informants to spy on their community.It may be recalled that in August 2011, the Muslim community was shocked to know about the NYPD program of surveillance of the Muslims. Again in August 2013, the New York Times reported that the NYPD has secretly designated mosques as “terrorist organizations.” Read More
Pakistan Supreme Court case highlights plight of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has finally admitted for hearing a petition filed in 2009 seeking repatriation of around 230,000 stranded Pakistanis from Bangladesh. The petition was filed by Advocate Rashid-ul-Haq Qazi as a representative of the Stranded Pakistanis General Repatriation Committee and the Organization for Repatriation of Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh. Read More
Orwell’s Nightmare: The NSA and Google — Big Brother Meets Big Business
John W. Whitehead: What would happen if the most powerful technology company in the world and the largest clandestine spying agency in the world joined forces? No need to wonder. Just look around you. It’s happened already. Thanks to an insidious partnership between Google and the National Security Agency (NSA) that grows more invasive and more subtle with every passing day, “we the people” have become little more than data consumer commodities to be bought, sold and paid for over and over again. With every smartphone we buy, every GPS device we install, every Twitter, Facebook, and Google account we open, every frequent buyer card we use for purchases—whether at the grocer’s, the yogurt shop, the airlines or the department store, and every credit and debit card we use to pay for our transactions, we’re helping Corporate America build a dossier for its government counterparts on who we know, what we think, how we spend our money, and how we spend our time. Read More
Islamophobia: An increasing and disturbing trend
By Dr. Farooq Hassan: Islamophobia, an increasing and disturbing trend today. Does Islamophobia really exist and how it was created and instilled? What is the current status and debate of it? How do we rethink it in American context? What is the truth about American Muslims? Is the loyalty of American Muslims under suspicions? What are the forms and sources of it? Who is the beneficiary of it? How should a modern world, humanitarian organizations and faith community leaders act responsibly to overcome it? Read More
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