... 1885, suffragist Alice Paul was born to "an upper middle-class Quaker family" in Moorestown, New Jersey. Paul (right) attended Swarthmore College and earned a doctorate in social work from the University of Pennsylvania. Graduate studies took her to England, where she embraced the militant feminism of Emmeline Pankhurst and associates. Back home in the United States, Paul applied the lessons she'd learned to raise public consciousness on the suffrage issue. She is perhaps best known for unflagging, yet unsuccessful, efforts to have the Equal Rights Amendment, introduced in 1923, become part of the Constitution. In draft, that amendment stated: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex." Paul is an 
inspiration to IntLawGrrls guest blogger Deborah Popowski.... 2002, the 1st plane of persons captured during the post-9/11 counterassault in Afghanistan were brought to the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where they faced indefinite detention, most without charges or trial. (photo credit) As we've posted (39 posts so far!), the camp remains open to this day. About 700 persons, seized not only in Afghanistan but also at other sites in what the U.S. executive calls the "Global War on Terror," have been detained there. The GTMO detainee population has dropped. But it's increased at another offshore U.S. military site -- Bagram, mentioned in my article on Gitmo. The New York Times reported earlier this week:
The American detention center, established at the Bagram military base as atemporary screening site after the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, is now teeming with some 630 prisoners — more than twice the 275 being held at Guantánamo.
The American Civil Liberties Union's marking the date with the message at right.
