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Senators Press Holder to Declassify Key Facts about Patriot Act

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Salem-News.com - Nov. 19 (News Report) - We believe that the information we referenced in those paragraphs – specifically about the use of section 215 – is essential to understanding the full scope of the PATRIOT Act, which is about to be debated in Congress. As we said in June, if you have concerns about declassifying the specific language contained in our letter, we ask that you work with us to find language that conveys enough information to allow for an informed public debate on the PATRIOT Act’s reauthorization

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Arkansas 10-Year-Old Won't Pledge Allegiance Until Gays Gain Equality

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

edgesanfrancisco.com - By Kilian Melloy - Nov. 13 (News Report) - A 10-year-old Arkansas boy name Will Phillips has decided that he cannot in good conscience pledge allegiance to the flag as long as the country for which it stands refuses legal equality to its GLBT citizens.

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Catholic Church gives D.C. ultimatum on same-sex marriage issue

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Tim Craig, Michelle Boorstein - Nov. 12 (News Report) - The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.

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Mormon Church Backs Salt Lake City's Gay Rights Law : NPR

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - By Associated Press - Nov. 11 (News Report) - The Mormon church for the first time has announced its support of gay rights legislation, an endorsement that helped gain unanimous approval for Salt Lake city laws banning discrimination against gays in housing and employment

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Gay-rights support stops at Cascades

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By Lornet Turnbull - Nov. 05 (News Report) - The lopsided results over expansion of the state's domestic-partnership law, which voters overall were approving, show the challenge supporters of gay rights face in winning over all Washingtonians as they seek full equality.

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Dallas police chief: Dozens of tickets issued for not speaking English

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Dallas Morning News - By Scott Goldstein - Oct. 23 (News Report) - Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle said this afternoon that his officers have written at least 39 citations to people over the past three years for not speaking English

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Straight Guys Tell

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Advocate - By Michael Joseph Gross - Oct. 21 (Special Report) - You’ve heard the threats -- about how gay men in the shower might bring down the U.S. military with a wink, a pinch, or a flick of a wet towel. But where’s the truth in that? What’s it really like to serve alongside gay and lesbian service members?

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Interracial couple denied marriage license in La.

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Mary Foster - Oct. 16 (News) - A white Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long. "I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

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La. interracial marriage: Is life tougher for biracial kids?

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Christian Science Monitor - By Patrik Jonsson - Oct. 16 (News Analysis) - Researchers are finding that multiracial kids can sometimes be better socially adjusted than single-race offspring. And with the high-profile success of multiracial progeny such as Tiger Woods, Halle Berry, and President Obama (who at his first press conference as president described himself as a "mutt"), stereotypes about the split world of the "tragic mulatto" have long fallen by the wayside.

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Obama Administration Accused Again of Concealing Bush-Era Crimes

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Matt Renner - Oct. 14 (News Report) - the Obama administration has sought to conceal information in several high-profile court cases, in an effort that civil libertarians say amounts to covering up crimes committed by the Bush administration. Last week, in a federal courthouse in New York, Obama's Justice Department attorneys again argued in favor of secrecy.

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Prayer Effort Seeks 'Right Thinking' From Liberals

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Barbara Bradley Hagerty - Oct. 04 (Special Report) - A Christian conservative group, fearing a liberal drift in the country's leadership, has put 11 prominent politicians and activists on an "Adopt a Liberal" roster. They're asking God to help their targets change their stances on a variety of social issues.

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Police Use Painful New Weapon on G20 Protesters

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Allison Kilkenny - Sep. 28 (News) - This technology has been deployed in Iraq as an "anti-insurgent weapon" - it could easily be used as a torture tool.

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Battle Looms Over the Patriot Act

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Charlie Savage - Sep. 20 (News Report) - As Congress prepares to consider extending provisions of the USA Patriot Act, civil liberties groups and Democratic lawmakers are gearing up to press for sweeping changes to surveillance laws.

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Back to School: Military Recruiters Increasingly Targeting High School Teens

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Juan Gonzalez - Sep. 04 (News) - Journalist David Goodman writes in the new issue of Mother Jones, quote, "Using data mining, stealth websites, career tests, and sophisticated marketing software, the Pentagon is harvesting and analyzing information on everything from high school students' GPAs and SAT scores to which video games they play. Before an Army recruiter even picks up the phone to call a prospect, the soldier may know more about the kid's habits than do his own parents."

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Appeals court rules against Ashcroft in 9/11 case

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - Sep. 04 (News Report) - A federal appeals court delivered a stinging rebuke Friday to the Bush administration's post-Sept. 11 detention policies, ruling that former Attorney General John Ashcroft can be held liable for people who were wrongfully detained as material witnesses after 9/11. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the government's improper use of material witnesses after Sept. 11 was "repugnant to the Constitution and a painful reminder of some of the most ignominious chapters of our national history

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Obama formalizes Bush policy on digital searches and seizures

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

wsws.org - By Tom Eley - Sep. 01 (News) - The Obama administration disclosed on August 27 that it will carry on Bush administration policies that allowed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to seize and search international travelers' laptop computers, cellular phones, cameras, and other electronic devices, even in the absence of suspicion of criminal activity.

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Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy Dies at 77 After Cancer Battle

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Joe Holley - Aug. 26 (News Report) - Edward M. Kennedy, one of the most powerful and influential senators in American history and one of three brothers whose political triumphs and personal tragedies captivated the nation for decades, died late Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass., at age 77. He had been battling brain cancer.

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Glenn Greenwald on CIA Interrogation Probe, Obama and Why the Media Failed on Covering Torture

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Glenn Greewald, Anjali Kamat, Amy Goodman - Aug. 26 (News Analysis) - Attorney General Eric Holder has opened an inquiry into CIA torture. On Monday, Holder appointed veteran federal prosecutor John Durham to look into whether CIA interrogators and contractors should be charged for the torture and abuse of foreign prisoners. Holder says he ordered the probe in response to a Justice Department recommendation to reopen nearly a dozen prisoner abuse cases that the Bush administration had closed. Holder says he was further influenced by the 2004 CIA report on the prisoners’ torture and abuse, which he released on Monday.

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Cap-and-trade & Health Care & Insurance Reform I see these two issues as one and the same thing. The first one is to heal our planet, and the second is to heal our human bodies. Also, both issues have to deal with how the 'healing' is delievered and wh

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Foreign policy, EU news, climate, green technology, health. - Aug. 21 (Investigative Report) - Experts and politicians on whether health care reform will trump climate change.

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Threat Assessment: When Protesters Bring Guns to Health-Care Town Halls

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Mark Thompson - Aug. 19 (News Analysis) - The fact that protesters at President Obama's political events have begun showing up bearing arms may be disquieting, but it's perfectly legal — and the Secret Service, charged with protecting the President, insists that it is not unduly alarmed by the development. That's because while the Second Amendment guarantees Americans the right to carry guns, federal law also gives the Secret Service the right to keep gun-toting folks away from the President. ... But former Secret Service agent Joseph Petro thinks his former employer may be trying to put the best face on a bad situation. "The Secret Service is very concerned about this," says Petro, who spent 23 years as an agent, including four guarding President Reagan and his family. "It's hard enough to protect the President, and this is not helpful."

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Why Are Cops Tasering Grandmothers, Pregnant Women and Kids?

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Scott Thill - Aug. 17 (Special Report) - Thanks to the taser's wildfire deployment, classification as non-lethal weaponry and pop-cultural appeal in films, television, comics and even cartoons, cops have nearly lost their minds using it on everyone from children, the elderly, and pregnant mothers to the mentally unstable and physically disabled.

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Youssef Megahed Speaks Out from Prison

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Aug. 14 (News Report) - Florida student Youssef Megahed was arrested by federal immigration agents in April just three days after a jury acquitted him on federal explosives charges. He now faces deportation on the same charges. But this time, he won’t be tried by a jury of his peers, but by an immigration judge.

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Myanmar: Locked up

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Economist - Aug. 12 (News Analysis) - AFTER many delays, a court in Myanmar at last handed down its verdict on Tuesday August 11th, concluding the trial of the country’s main opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The staunchest foe of the ruling junta has been consigned to another 18 months of house arrest, as punishment for a bizarre incident in May when an American eccentric swam to her lakeside villa, forcing her to break the terms of her previous house arrest. The verdict was expected: the government has, in effect, found an excuse to prolong her detention, which was about to expire, until after elections that are planned for some time next year. Her defence, that as a prisoner she was in no position to fend off uninvited visitors, was brushed aside by the court.

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Iranian Official Acknowledges Torture of Protesters

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Robert F. Worth, Nazila Fathi - Aug. 09 (News Report) - A top judiciary official acknowledged Saturday that some detainees arrested after post-election protests had been tortured in Iranian prisons, the first such acknowledgment by a senior Iranian official. Meanwhile, a second day of hearings was held in a mass trial of reformers and election protesters, with more than 100 people accused of trying to topple the government. The accused included a French researcher and employees of the French and British Embassies, prompting angry responses from Britain, France and the European Union. But even as the trial appeared to further the campaign by the hard-line establishment to intimidate and silence the opposition, at the expense of alienating Iranian moderates and the West, the statement on torture by the judiciary official, Iran’s prosecutor general, revealed continued divisions within the government.

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Criminal investigation into CIA treatment of detainees expected

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Greg Miller, Josh Meyer - Aug. 09 (News Report) - U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. is poised to appoint a criminal prosecutor to investigate alleged CIA abuses committed during the interrogation of terrorism suspects, current and former U.S. government officials said. A senior Justice Department official said that Holder envisioned an inquiry that would be narrow in scope, focusing on "whether people went beyond the techniques that were authorized" in Bush administration memos that liberally interpreted anti-torture laws.

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