Death Penalty too expensive for Illinois - Lawyers say

Illinois was state that first discovered that it's death penalty or capital crimes cases were hugely flawed over the years - so this recommendation comes from real experience with many who were wrongly accused and sentenced to death or life imprisonment.

clipped from www.wbbm780.com

Death Penalty's Expensive, Lawyers Recommend Ending It Bob Roberts Reporting WBBM Newsradio 780

CHICAGO (WBBM) - A Chicago Bar Association committee is unanimously recommending an end to the death penalty in Illinois. The 10-0 vote by the group's criminal law committee did not surprise retired Cook County Judge Sheila Murphy, who told the committee that multi-million dollar payouts being made by the city of Chicago and state of Illinois for wrongful death sentences is money that could be spent for far more useful purposes.

New Methods Needed to Combat Bird Flu

Greed, as well as the need by small farmers to earn once a year extra cash from selling poultry for Tet (Lunar New Year) has and will continue to subvert the means to contain or stop bird flu and even new flu mutations. Introducing a market for collecting and fermenting/digesting manure can defeat the virus and serve needs of farmers.

clipped from www.gmanews.tv Vietnam finds bird flu virus in Chinese chickens 01/13/2009 | 03:51 PM Email this | Email the Editor | Print | ShareThis HANOI, Vietnam — Animal health officials in Vietnam detected the bird flu virus in chickens smuggled from neighboring China, highlighting the danger of outbreaks as the Lunar New Year approaches, an official said Tuesday. Eight of 16 samples taken from nearly 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of poultry confiscated by authorities late last month in the border province of Lang Son tested positive for the H5N1 virus, said Do Van Duoc, director of the provincial animal health department.

International Center for Research on Women

Awesome organization doing great research based work and link to fantastic resources and careers for women who want to help women and children around the world.

clipped from www.icrw.org ICRW seeks to promote a world free of poverty in which women and men, girls and boys have equal opportunities to achieve their potential and realize their rights. Research to Insight Founded in 1976, ICRW has earned a reputation as the leading international institution on gender and development.

Israeli Soldiers Refuse to serve in Gaza

People here in US can protest and support either side (I believe both sides should choose ceasefire). In Israel or Gaza, choosing not to fight now, on your own, is an act of high moral courage.

clipped from www.youtube.com

Docs and Immigrants look to President-Elect Obama for health care help

I hope that the Obama team pulls together a wide group of people with specific knowledge about how lack of health care is effecting different groups in US and listens to their suggestions for reform rather than reform designed by those inside the Washington Beltway!

clipped from feetin2worlds.wordpress.com By Eduardo A. de Oliveira EthnicNewz.org and FI2W reporter When Barack Obama begins to focus on health reform as part of his lengthy to-do list, the new President probably won’t address the case of Pretinha, a 64-year-old undocumented housecleaner from Framingham, Mass., who worked for 22 years, but has no health insurance.

Make it double hard to get help - Trafficking victims times 2

Nations all over the world are dealing with human trafficking - some well and some not so well. The Dutch are know for usually doing things well but not for victims of trafficking is seems.

clipped from www.radionetherlands.nl Victims of people trafficking unjustly detained by NRC Handelsblad in partnership with RNW 13-01-2009 A report just published reveals that victims of people trafficking are often unjustly locked away in cells intended for illegal aliens. In many cases, once they have been arrested by the police or the military police (Koninklijke Marechaussee) for being illegal immigrants without residence documents, their status as a victim does not come to light.

Minimum wage should be raised again

Hundreds of thousands of 18-30 somethings, many with children, just can't make it on $7 something an hour.

clipped from us.oneworld.net U.S. Faith Leaders Rally to Raise Minimum Wage January 12, 2009 OneWorld US, Economic Policy Institute, Let Justice Roll, United States Department of Labor Your rating: Select ratingPoorOkayGoodGreatAwesome Poor Okay Good Great Awesome Average: 5 (3 votes) WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (OneWorld.net) - Nearly 400 faith leaders across the United States have joined a campaign to raise the federal minimum wage to $10 per hour by 2010 and more are signing on every day.

Saturn and GM: GM's Slide Began with Not Sustaining Saturn

Read the editorial, it tells you a lot about why GM is in bankrupt city and has its hand out to taxpayers. The story is not about workers, it's about poor leadership of the corporation.

clipped from www.thetruthaboutcars.com Editorial: The Truth About Saturn By David Holzman January 6, 2009 - When I went car shopping in the early ‘90s, my priorities were fun-to-drive, reliability, and economy. Style— not so much, or so I thought. But the first time I saw a Saturn, I knew instantly what it was, although I’d never seen a photo, since the car was conspicuously absent from the ads. As soon as Consumer Reports gave Saturn a preliminary blessing for reliability, I gave it my consideration. Ultimately, I became so smitten that I didn’t bother to re-look at the Integra after I discovered to my great chagrin, in the dealer’s lot, that the turning circle was nearly as big as the namesake planet’s diameter.

Yes! Gitmo will be closed as a detention center.

clipped from www.google.com Advisers: Obama preparing order to close Gitmo By LARA JAKES – 7 hours ago WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to issue an executive order his first week in office — and perhaps his first day — to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, according to two presidential transition team advisers. It's unlikely the detention facility at the Navy base in Cuba will be closed anytime soon. In an interview last weekend, Obama said it would be "a challenge" to close it even within the first 100 days of his administration.

Human Trafficking - Males are getting trafficked too!

clipped from www.iom.int The research, conducted by Rebecca Surtees of the NEXUS Institute, is based on interviews with 685 trafficked males. It shows that adult men were overwhelmingly trafficked for forced labour, mostly in the construction sector in Russia. A minority, especially boys, were trafficked for begging, petty theft or sexual exploitation in Russia. Other destinations include South-Eastern Europe, the European Union, the United States, Turkey, Central Asia, North Asia and the Middle East.

Health Situation in Gaza - UN Report

Read and see what is going on.

clipped from www.who.int This is the 11 January update on the health sector situation since Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza on 27 December. UNRWA resumed activities after suspending staff movements. 3 MoH PHC clinics closed due to conflict, taking to 24 number of MoH PHC clinics now closed. Dorah Paediatrics hospital closed for fourth day, except for emergency services.

Does Video Speak for Itself at Crime Scene?

It can surely tell part of the story and perhaps the most important part. It can also be misleading, if you don't consider other context of the event. It's not the same thing but recall what the different video shots can show in a football game, where a change in view can be absolute in showing the truth or be absolutely confusing.

clipped from www.csmonitor.com Gabrielle Rae (r.), held a photo of Oscar Grant while attending a BART board of directors meeting in Oakland, Calif. on Jan. 8. Noah Berger/AP BART officials stood next to closed-off stalls leading to trains during a protest of the shooting death of Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland, Calif. Mr. Grant was shot and killed by a police officer after an altercation on the platform on New Year's Day. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP ACOP_P1 csmli-1 stem-1 ACOP_P2 csmli-2 stem-2 In video age, a rush to judgment? Cellphone videos of a police killing in Oakland, Calif., spark outrage.

Cease Fire Now!

Now - Cease Fire!

clipped from www.commondreams.org Leftwing Israeli activists take part in a protest in Tel Aviv against Israel's offensive in Gaza January 10, 2009. Peace Now was joined by Israeli peace movement Gush Shalom, after the joint Palestinian-Israeli non-governmental organisation Alternative Information Centre made an appeal to make Jan. 10 "a huge global day of mobilisation against the Israeli war in Gaza." (REUTERS/Eric Gaillard)

Score One for the Green Guys & Gals - DC court to EPA: Stick It!

EPA was letting chemical and oil refiners off the hook for fouling our air - DC Court says "No Way!"

clipped from news.findlaw.com EPA's Pollution Exemption Struck Down By RITA CICERO, Andrews Publications Staff Writer The D.C. Circuit has vacated an Environmental Protection Agency-approved regulation that allowed oil refineries, chemical plants and other industrial facilities to exceed emission standards for hazardous air pollutants when equipment malfunctions or the plants start up or shut down operations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that the exemption violated the plain text of the Clean Air Act.

Suprise - Wonder Drug Touted as Protection - Isn't!

Drug companies are all about profit and often promise much more than they can deliver. Tamiflu is not the wonder drug is was touted as and it's a good thing that governments did not buy millions of doses.

Learn two things:

1. Drug company greed is main reason health care is so expensive.
2. They will be of little or no help in combating the outbreak of the next pandemic.

clipped from www.philly.com Early flu strains this season resistant to treatment By Don Sapatkin Inquirer Staff Writer   Tests showing that nearly all early-season flu cases are resistant to the main antiviral drug will likely complicate treatment of the elderly this year and planning for pandemics in the future, health officials said.

Women for Peace Worked in N. Ireland - Maybe between Israel and Palestine Too?

I would surely love to see 100,000 Israeli and Palestinian moms marching for peace and maybe their own type of boycott might get peace moving!

clipped from www.voanews.com Palestinian and Israeli Women, in New Book, Seek Peace By Mohamed Elshinnawi Washington 09 January 2009 Peace By Peace, an American non-profit group, has brought together Palestinian and Israeli women to discuss how to achieve peace. The organization released a book that tells how the 60 women envision peace. Late last year, before the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, the women visited Washington. They said they hoped to push for peace which they say has eluded the region's male leadership.

Bird Flu is Result of Factory or Industrialized Farming!

I have been saying this for several years now and now it is becoming more generally known - great!

clipped from news.guelphmercury.com The reality is, factory farming produces cheap animal products, not humane or safe animal treatment. In 2005, a United Nations task force identified high-density poultry farming as a root cause of the bird flu epidemic. Commenting on a Canadian outbreak of avian influenza, University of Ottawa virologist Earl Brown said "high intensity chicken rearing is the perfect environment for generating virulent avian flu virus."

Canadians proper but sensible about peace protest

clipped from jta.org Jewish women protest in Toronto’s Israeli Consulate January 8, 2009 TORONTO (JTA) -- Eight Jewish women were arrested after they entered the Israeli consulate in Toronto and began protesting Israel's actions in Gaza. The women entered the heavily secured consulate in pairs Wednesday. Once all eight were inside, they staged a sit-in. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were called and led the women out in handcuffs. The protesters were turned over to Metro Toronto Police and each was charged with one count of breach of the peace. The charges were later dropped and the women were released.

Prince Mukasey and King George Strike Against Evil Aliens Again - Not!

There is no limit to the lack of shame and disregard for basic human rights by the Bush League, or so this latest outrage met with silence by Congress makes it seem.

clipped from www.times-standard.com Mukasey sets limit on immigrants' rights to lawyer By AMY TAXIN Associated Press Writer Posted: 01/08/2009 03:54:37 PM PST SANTA ANA, Calif.—The Bush administration has ruled that immigrants facing deportation do not have an automatic right to an effective lawyer, stoking outrage among immigrant advocates who say the government aims to weaken immigrants' right to fair hearings.

An Unnecessary War

By Jimmy Carter
Thursday, January 8, 2009; Page A15

I know from personal involvement that the devastating invasion of Gaza by Israel could easily have been avoided.

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com An Israeli artillery piece firing into the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. (By Anja Niedringhaus -- Associated Press)