Thursday, October 30, 2008

George Calin's Forbidden Words to Be Judged Again by Supremes

An outburst from pain, disgust, or politically protected free speech, will be judged once again in the Supreme Court. FCC wants to protect viewers or listeners from a single use of an F word or an S word. And they are not even sure they will allow the use of the words in talking about them. Our Bush League President appointed the Chief Supreme but might be censored by him?
clipped from www.scotusblog.com
The case to be heard first on Tuesday is, in fact, about profanity — what two widely used, vulgar words mean, at least in legal terms, and what the government can do about punishing their use, at least on radio and television in daytime and prime time.  The case is Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations (07-582); the FCC is asking the Court to restore its authority to ban the single, fleeting utterance on the air of two words — “fuck” and “shit.”
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BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Indonesia passes anti-porn bill

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Indonesia passes anti-porn bill

It's not the USS Minnow, It's the SS Dignity!

You never know when your effort to help bring peace might strike the right chord - but this one seems to be riding a wave of good will and may well help to realize peace.
clipped from www.presstv.ir
SS Dignity breaks Israeli siege on Gaza

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:14:31 GMT


The SS Dignity

Human right activists from the Free Gaza Movement aboard the SS Dignity have arrived in Gaza in spite of Israeli threats to stop them.


"Whatever risks we face are nothing compared to the daily violence, brutality and suffering imposed against Palestinians," Irish human rights activist Caoimhe Butterly told Press TV correspondent Ashraf Shannon upon arrival in the coastal strip on Wednesday.
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American Civil Liberties Union : Former U.S. Attorney General, Senior Justice Officials And Top Military Officers Urge Supreme Court To Review Indefinite Detention Case

American Civil Liberties Union : Former U.S. Attorney General, Senior Justice Officials And Top Military Officers Urge Supreme Court To Review Indefinite Detention Case

Immigration officials held U.S. citizen for two weeks - Los Angeles Times

Immigration officials held U.S. citizen for two weeks - Los Angeles Times

Homeland Security launches program to find illegal immigrants in jails (10/27/08) -- www.GovernmentExecutive.com

Homeland Security launches program to find illegal immigrants in jails (10/27/08) -- www.GovernmentExecutive.com

Legalize LA - Read it and See

Good on You American Apparel!
clipped from www.reuters.com
Photo

«»1 of 7Full Size









By Alexandria Sage


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Atop its pink factory in downtown Los Angeles, a sprawling banner declares American Apparel a "Compania Rebelde" (rebel company) and all over town, benches and billboards sponsored by the company shout "Legalize LA."

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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Support growing for new arms sales treaty

It is time to end the slaughter now!
clipped from us.oneworld.net

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 27 (OneWorld) - From Nobel laureates to human rights activists to former military commanders, calls are on the rise for the international community to stand up against those who are making billions of dollars by selling illicit arms around the world.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu. © Amnesty International USAArchbishop Desmond Tutu. © Amnesty International USA"It is time to end the slaughter," said Desmond Tutu, the Noble Peace Prize winning archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, in a statement urging the 192-member UN General Assembly to adopt the proposed Arms Trade Treaty.

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Support growing for new arms sales treaty

It is time to end the slaughter now!
clipped from us.oneworld.net

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 27 (OneWorld) - From Nobel laureates to human rights activists to former military commanders, calls are on the rise for the international community to stand up against those who are making billions of dollars by selling illicit arms around the world.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu. © Amnesty International USAArchbishop Desmond Tutu. © Amnesty International USA"It is time to end the slaughter," said Desmond Tutu, the Noble Peace Prize winning archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, in a statement urging the 192-member UN General Assembly to adopt the proposed Arms Trade Treaty.

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The Newest Bush League Doctrine

If we can do it, we will - no matter the later consequences that we do not consider or pretend do not exist.

The End of International Law?




by Robert Dreyfuss




A parallel new Bush doctrine is emerging, in the last days of the
soon-to-be-ancien regime, and it needs to be strangled in its crib.
Like the original Bush doctrine -- the one that Sarah Palin couldn't
name, which called for preventive military action against emerging
threats -- this one also casts international law aside by insisting
that the United States has an inherent right to cross international
borders in "hot pursuit" of anyone it doesn't like.

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Voting Rights and State Voting Laws: Time off to Vote, Voting Location, Voter Registration, Online Voting, Voting System and more - 2008 voting

Voting Rights and State Voting Laws: Time off to Vote, Voting Location, Voter Registration, Online Voting, Voting System and more - 2008 voting

Vlad and Boris Send a Song to Sarah P

Sorry just too funny to resist - grin.
clipped from www.youtube.com
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Monday, October 27, 2008

Improving NAFTA to Reduce Tide of Economic Immigrants

If worker's rights were better protected as they were to have been under NAFTA and CAFTA, and we would have fewer workers fleeing to US to make a living. Read and see if you agree.
clipped from hrw.org
“A Way Forward for Workers’ Rights in US Free Trade Accords,” provides a roadmap for a new US administration to strengthen the requirements for workers’ rights in these agreements and to improve their enforcement.
 

 
“The US approach to labor rights in its free trade agreements, beginning with NAFTA, has failed,” said Carol Pier, senior researcher on labor rights and trade at Human Rights Watch. “The government needs to make dramatic changes in its strategy.”
 
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One cent, Two Cents for Peace

Not a bad idea - a very good one actually - to aid education in Afghanistan and Pakistan where many families do not have the money for basic secular education

Kids join school mission


Benefit concert, penny project aid education overseas




Angela Jones and Sydney Billings


Angela Jones, North Harford Middle choral director, and Sydney Billings, 12, of Whiteford,
count donated coins.
(Photo by Cassandra A Fortin / Special to The Baltimore Sun / October 23, 2008)

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Friday, October 24, 2008

The Daily Bruin - Students participate in political fast

The Daily Bruin - Students participate in political fast

Science News / Book Review: Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault On Our Children By Philip Shabecoff And Alice Shabecoff

Science News / Book Review: Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault On Our Children By Philip Shabecoff And Alice Shabecoff

Think and speak in disagreement and whap! You're a terrorist in Maryland!

Deja vu all over again for those who remember the Nixon enemy and J. Edgar Hoover lists!

Mike Tidwell, executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, released yesterday an Oct. 6 letter from the state police superintendent informing him that he was a target of surveillance in 2005 and 2006 and was entered into a multistate database as a suspected terrorist. Two of his former colleagues - including former Deputy Director Josh Tulkin - received similar letters, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland says that more people are expected to come forward in coming weeks to show the scope of the spying.

Maryland State Police officials, who declined to comment on Tidwell's case, have sent letters to 53 people to inform them that they had been spied upon.

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Old but good news - Patch Adams & Healthcare Justice

If you are not familiar with the Gesundheit Institute and the work of Patch Adams beyond the movie about him - visit and read about him here.
clipped from www.patchadams.org

HEALTH CARE JUSTICE RETREAT • January 2-5, 2008: Update. Thirty medical students involved gathered on the Gesundheit land in West Virginia to start the New Year with new ideas for the health care relationship. This retreat was organized by students involved in the American Medical Students Association

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Doctor Laments Brush-Off of Iraqi War Dead | CommonDreams.org

Doctor Laments Brush-Off of Iraqi War Dead | CommonDreams.org

Dumb Move by UK - Icelanders Attack with Humor!

You had to know it would come to this misusing anti-terror laws instead of say... making a phone call and saying let's talk.
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk

Icelanders protest UK terror move




Icelanders protesting against use of terror legislation
Iceland has a population of 300,000, about 40,000 people have signed


Thousands of Icelanders are sending a message to Gordon Brown that they are not terrorists after the UK used terror laws to freeze their assets.

An online petition was launched this week following the UK government's attempt to protect British savings in Iceland's failed Landsbanki.

The petition has been signed by about 40,000 people and shows Icelanders with signs saying they are not terrorists.

The Treasury said Iceland was in no way considered to be a terrorist regime.

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Talk is Talk; Where's the Action for Darfur?

Does the world have no shame or courage to stick with helping the people in Darfur?
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk

Trapped in Darfur refugee camp







By Amber Henshaw



BBC News, Fasher, Darfur




I first met 28-year-old Khaled Abdel Muti Ali a year ago in Abu Shouk camp on the outskirts of Fasher in North Darfur.


Abu Shouk camp, Darfur, 2007





Sitting around in a small mud hut in the huge, sandy settlement, he and a group of other Darfuris described the grim conditions there and answered questions from people around the world as part of a BBC laptop link-up.

I went back to see how their lives had changed, and they said the violence and insecurity had only got worse.

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Exonerated death row inmate embodies gaps in justice system | JackCentral - Your online Northern Arizona news source

Exonerated death row inmate embodies gaps in justice system | JackCentral - Your online Northern Arizona news सोर्स

10/23/2008 - The Death Penalty Isn't Working - Opinion - Chattanoogan.com

10/23/2008 - The Death Penalty Isn't Working - Opinion - Chattanoogan.com

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Georgia: Commute Death Sentence of Troy Davis (Human Rights Watch, 20-10-2008)

Georgia: Commute Death Sentence of Troy Davis (Human Rights Watch, 20-10-2008)

No Matter How You Cut It - Migrants Getting Shaft Too

Good on You Court! Migrant workers have always been exploited, that's why many US employers say that "American" workers won't do the work - so they can legally employ guest workers or migrant workers and then not pay them or otherwise exploit them as they could not locals.
clipped from www.csmonitor.com
Exploited? A crew of migrant workers in the forests near Franklin, Ga. A federal court found guest workers known as pineros
to be grossly underpaid.
Josh McDaniel/file

Guest workers win in court over low pay

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Too Close for Comfort? Hide Them from View!

Ironic that the new "Cold War" wall is not between US and Russia but US and that Super Power Threat to the US - Mexico. Or maybe it is more like the Great Wall of China that did not succeed in keeping foreigners out either.
[Wendy Castro of Tijuana, Mexico, showed her 9-month-old son, Aaron, to family members at Border Field State Park in California. Such meetings will soon be halted by a fortified barrier. (Ashley Surdin/ Washington Post) ]Wendy Castro of Tijuana, Mexico, showed her 9-month-old son, Aaron, to family members at Border Field State Park in California. Such meetings will soon be halted by a fortified barrier. (Ashley Surdin/ Washington Post)
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Green Policies in California Generated Jobs, Study Finds | CommonDreams.org

Green Policies in California Generated Jobs, Study Finds | CommonDreams.org

Can You See the Ice Gov. Palin?

Picture this - our climate without any ice in the Arctic - may not be long - eh?
[Arctic sea-ice in September 1979 and 2007, showing the biggest reduction since satellite surveillance began.  (Photo: Fugro NPA Ltd)]Arctic sea-ice in September 1979 and 2007, showing the biggest reduction since satellite surveillance began. (Photo: Fugro NPA Ltd)
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Must read for this political season!

Must read for this political season! If you can't win it; steal it!
This Election: Deceptive Practices 2.0?
10/20/2008
Washington – Amid daily reports of voter suppression and dirty tricks in the 2008 Presidential election, major civil rights organizations today released a report exposing a worrying new generation of online deceptive practices designed to mislead and intimidate voters. The report, released by Common Cause, The Century Foundation and The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is entitled Deceptive Practices 2.0: Legal And Policy Responses and describes potential online dirty tricks to disseminate false or misleading information over the Internet
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