Video: Spying on Americans - Where Do We Draw The Line?

Spying on Americans - Where Do We Draw The Line?

By: Ryan Duncan

In New York, the Handschu rules place limits on surveillance. In the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, a judge loosened the law, technically allowing police to infiltrate any group. The namesake of the Handschu rules says it shouldn't be that way and wants her name removed from the law. A judge denied her request. She's concerned the rules are being used to justify the widespread surveillance of Muslim Americans. They also don't approve of the use of surveillance on protesters, as has been occuring during the Occupy Wallstreet movement. The theory is, when people think they're being watched, they'll be scared to dissent.

Where do we draw the line between protecting our safety, and protecting our rights to free speech and assembly?

McKPR Salutes the Freedom Riders at 50 Years Today

 McKPR Salutes the Freedom Riders at 50 Years Today

Today marks the 50^th anniversary since a group of Americans united to fight for the right of all African Americans to use the same seats, bathrooms and water fountains on public transportation systems that whites could use. The stakes were high in 1961—a time when opposition toward civil rights activists had reached its deadliest point, but this diverse group of young people never lost sight of the prize. Ultimately, their efforts and those of others involved in the Civil Rights Movement led President John F. Kennedy to ban segregation along bus and train lines. Join us as we salute these brave leaders who risked their lives on behalf of our future.

Read more here "Freedom Riders Mark 50 Years," USA Today

Egypt’s Future: Freedom, Now What?

Egypt’s Future: Freedom, Now What?

February’s uncontrolled, enduring protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to remove longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were fueled by a fire ignited by social media. The Egyptians’ unyielding pursuit for long-deserved democracy at whatever costs, resulted in several hundreds injured and some killed. But in the end, the people won. In today’s New York Times article, “Polls Find Egyptians Hopeful About the Future,” Egyptians seem “extraordinarily confident and enthusiastic” about their first free and fair election. What direction will this mean for them? Sometimes those who’ve never had freedom and suddenly come to posses it without instruction on how to best use it, worse actions will follow. It is hoped the country is collectively successful. Only time will tell how freedom’s price is invested.

Highlighted Clip for Tuesday, April 26, 2011:"Poll Finds Egyptians Full of Hope About the Future"

By David D. Kirkpatrick and Mona El-Naggar

Egyptians are looking forward with extraordinary confidence and enthusiasm to their first free and fair elections this fall after the defining revolution of the Arab spring, according to the first major poll since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. But they remain deeply divided over the role of Islam in their public life.



As the Volume Rises, Are Right People Listening?

As the Volume Rises, Are Right People Listening?

Today, the violence volume in Libya, Tripoli and other Middle Eastern countries was turned up as protestors pressed for similar outcomes of ousting old leadership for new, as witnessed in Egypt. Colonel Qaddafi’s vow to “fight to the last drop of blood” indicates opposing messages may fall on deaf ears no matter how loud the volume, with far different results than Egypt, more lives lost. According to today’s New York Times article, Human Rights Watch confirmed at least 62 deaths in the violence in Tripoli so far, in addition to more than 200 people killed in clashes elsewhere. In communications, we know each situation requires strategies that are not always “cookie cutter” or applicable in all events. When your message is not resonating with your target audience, isn’t it time for new strategies, tactics?

Highlighted Clip for Tuesday, February 22, 2011:

"Chaos Grows in Libya as Defiant Qaddafi Vows to Fight"

Libya appeared to slip further into chaos on Tuesday, as Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi vowed to “fight until the last drop of my blood” and clashes intensified between rebels and his loyalists in the capital, Tripoli.

Celebratory, Yet Appropriately Cautious.

Celebratory, Yet Appropriately Cautious.

Speaking to the American people and the world today, President Barack Obama said that Egypt "will never be the same" after the successful revolution to oust Hosni Mubarak as President.

"Egyptians have inspired us, and they've done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best gained by violence," he said "For Egypt, it was the moral force of nonviolence, not terrorism, not mindless killing, but nonviolence, moral force, that bent the arc of history toward justice once more."

The President went on to quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous saying, "there is something in the soul that cries out for freedom," today the Egyptian people's cries were heard, and so they celebrated. No one knows for sure what lies ahead for Egypt, things are still very uncertain, but the dominoes have now begun to fall, and we join our President in his cautious excitement.

Watch President Obama's Speech Below: