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Ateqah
Khaki
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Vote for the ACLU’s SXSW Panels!

By Ateqah Khaki at 1:18pm

The South by SouthWest Panel Picker has launched for the 2013 festival, and we need your help!

The ACLU has submitted two panel pitches (one and two) for SXSW Interactive, which will take place March 8-12, 2013 in Austin, Texas. (Wondering why the ACLU is going to SXSW? We work with policymakers, business and community members every day on issues related to privacy, free speech and emerging technology. And as we’ve done for the past several years, we’ll be at SXSW this year to make sure that privacy is on the agenda!)

ACLU at DEFCON 20!

By Ateqah Khaki at 5:04pm

The ACLU will be out in force at DEFCON – one of the largest annual hacker conventions in the country – later this week and weekend! 

We will have a table at the vendor area all weekend (with super awesome ACLU t-shirts for anyone who signs up to become a member!). In addition to trying our hardest not to end of up on the Wall of Sheep, here’s a rundown of what we’ll be up to in Las Vegas.

ProPublica: “Can the government declare anything a Guantanamo detainee does or says automatically classified?”

By Ateqah Khaki at 6:56pm

Earlier this week, ProPublica published an article discussing the government’s attempts to censor the statements of the defendants in the 9/11 Guantanamo military commission trials.  The article’s well worth reading because it discusses in detail the government’s arguments for censorship, as well as legal challenges brought by the ACLU, media organizations, and one of the 9/11 defendants’ lawyers.

ACLU Releases New Report on Widespread Police Brutality in Puerto Rico

By Ateqah Khaki at 10:18am

The ACLU today released a report that finds the Puerto Rico Police Department -- the second-largest police department in the U.S. -- is plagued by a culture of unrestrained abuse and brutality. The use of excessive or lethal force is routine among the 17,000 officer-department. In recent years, civil and human rights violations have resulted in the unjustifiable loss of civilians’ lives, and severe and lasting injuries.

Why Targeted Killing is “Unlawful and Dangerous”

By Ateqah Khaki & Hannah Mercuris at 2:08pm

This morning, USA Today ran an op-ed by ACLU National Security Project director, Hina Shamsi about the U.S. government’s unlawful targeted killing program. She writes:

Today, our government is killing people in countries in which the United States is not at war. It reportedly adds suspected terrorists — including U.S. citizens — to "kill lists" for months at a time, which by definition cannot be limited to genuinely imminent threats. The New York Times disclosed that the government "counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants" unless intelligence proves them innocent — but only after they are dead.

When mistakes are made, our nation refuses to acknowledge them and does not compensate victims. The first Yemeni missile strike President Obama authorized, in December 2009, targeted alleged militants but killed 21 children and 14 women. WikiLeaks revealed a secret agreement by Yemen to accept responsibility for the U.S. killing. Yemenis were enraged, but most Americans probably never heard about it.

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