New lobbying bill to criminalize political bloggers?One of the Democratic priorities for the new Congress was passage of a lobbyist reform bill, but the introduction of S.1 into the Senate has caused a veritable firestorm of controversy. That's because section 220 of the bill introduces disclosure requirements for "paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying." The Traditional Values Coalition calls this section... (more)
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Congress preparing to criminalize critics?"In what sounds like a comedy sketch from Jon Stewart's Daily Show, but isn't, the U. S. Senate would impose criminal penalties, even jail time, on grassroots causes and citizens who criticize Congress," says Richard A. Viguerie, chairman of GrassrootsFreedom.com
Section 220 of S. 1, the lobbying reform bill before the Senate, would require grassroots causes, even bloggers, who communicate to 500 or more members of the public on policy matters, to register and report quarterly to ... (more) Richard Viguerie appears to be a shill. GrassrootsFreedom.com asks for your address when you sign their petition. Why would they need it? There is no reason they would need it unless they wanted to sell your info for something called "lead generation" or send you crap in the mail. This bill may be an assault on the first amendment, but I would not recommend signing their petition. |
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Soldiers taunt crippled dog in Iraq
... (more) "Listen, little man! Every single one of your petty misdeeds throws a light on the wretchedness of human life. Every one of your petty actions diminishes the hope of improving your lot just a little more. That is ground for sorrow, little man, for deep, heartbreaking sorrow. To avert such sorrow you make silly little jokes. That's what you call your sense of humor." - Wilhelm Reich - Listen, Little Man! |
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Protesters Found in DatabaseA Defense Department database devoted to gathering information on potential threats to military facilities and personnel, known as Talon, had 13,000 entries as of a year ago -- including 2,821 reports involving American citizens, according to an internal Pentagon memo to be released today by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Pentagon memo says an examination of the system led to the deletion of 1,131 reports involving Americans, 186 of which dealt with "anti-military protest... (more)
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Lobbying Bill Will Violate Free Speech And The Right To Freely Petition GovernmentWashington, DC – “The Traditional Values Coalition is deeply concerned about the grassroots lobbying requirements in Section 220 of S.1, Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act,” said TVC Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon today. “Section 220 is a direct assault on the First Amendment and the right of citizens to freely petition their government for a redress of grievances!
“This legislation will place onerous reporting requirements on individuals... (more)
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Lobby Reform Bill Would Stifle Free Speech, Say Advocacy GroupsRailing against the lobbying reform bill scheduled for a vote on Tuesday, several conservative groups say the bill will stifle the free speech rights of grassroots organizations.
A similar bill was introduced last year but did not pass. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) reintroduced the legislation on Jan. 8.
"Now that the new Congress is underway, we need to get down to business and show Americans that we are responding to their call for change," said Sen.... (more)
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Condi's Middle East Junket; a new dose of cynicismCondoleezza Rice has used her trip through the Middle East to announce her intention to “accelerate the road map and move to the establishment of a Palestinian state”. (NY Times) She plans to convene a summit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert so that “informal talks” can be held on the main issues related to a permanent settlement.
Why? Why this sudden interest on Rice’s part in Palestinian statehood?
... (more)
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Iran shoots down U.S. spy drone amid growing military pressureTEHRAN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iranian troops have shot down a U.S. pilotless spy plane recently, an Iranian lawmaker announced on Tuesday as the Islamic Republic was facing increasing military pressure from its arch rival -- the United States.
The aircraft was brought down when it was trying to cross the borders "during the last few days," Seyed Nezam Mola Hoveizeh, a member of the parliament, was quoted by the local Fars News Agency as saying.
The lawmaker ga... (more)
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Attacking Iran: What's In It For Bush? January 17, 2007 Attacking Iran What's In It For Bush? By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
Initially, the Bush Regime denied that Bush’s escalation speech on January 10 signaled that the Regime intends to attack Iran. Now a number of Regime officials have made it clear that Iran, not Iraq, is the focus of the Regime’s war planning. Robert Gates, the new Defense Secretary and member of the Iraq Study Group, was supposedly brought into the Pentagon to de... (more)
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Critics See 'Slippery Slope' in Reintroduced Federal 'Hate Crimes' Law (CNSNews.com) - As the new Democratic majority continues its 100-hour legislative blitz in the U.S. House, one Democrat has quietly reintroduced controversial legislation that would give the federal government more authority over so-called "hate crimes."
On Jan. 5, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas introduced a bill that would create federal guidelines for the sentencing of violent criminals who were "motivated by the actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sex... (more)
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Blair Set To Radically Enhance British Police State A series of policy review documents have been published today by the Cabinet Office of the British Government that detail Tony Blair's desire to implement radical "crime tackling" measures that would not look out of place in the most hellish of dictatorship states on the face of the planet.
... (more)
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Was Jesus an evil-doer? Everyone knows George W. Bush loves Jesus. You might even say he's crazy about him. As governor of Texas, he went as far as to proclaim June 10, 2000 to be "Jesus Day," for chrissake. "I urge all Texans to answer the call to serve those in need," Dubya declared. "By volunteering their time, energy or resources to helping others, adults and youngsters follow Christ's message of love and service in thought and deed."
Everyone also knows George W. Bush does not love evil-doers. "Our... (more)
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Democrats complain that 'little known' Patriot Act amendment allows the Bush Administration to 'circumvent' Senate with US Attorney 'swaps' A little-known, year-old amendment to the USA Patriot Act is allowing the Bush Administration to replace outgoing U.S. Attorneys with controversial appointments in a process that circumvents the usual approval process in the Senate, and three Democrats are charging that an unknown number of attorneys have been asked to resign "without cause."
Before last year's amendment was added to the Patriot Act, the Attorney General was allowed to appoint interim State Attorneys, but only fo... (more)
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Time and the More It Changes
Charismatic philosopher and mystic Alan Watts muses on the meaning of time and change, causality and the significance of being driven, and how in reality, the past is a result of the present.
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Presidential absolutism: Bush claims unlimited surveillance powersWhen Congress was out of town for the winter recess, President Bush asserted unilateral powers to open U.S. mail without a warrant. In yet another unfortunate "signing statement," Bush claims he can do searches without obtaining a warrant, as required by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and laws enacted by Congress. This comes on top of earlier claims that he can intercept phone calls and e-mails.
Congress passed a routine bill designed to improve the quality of posta... (more)
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The Strange Case Of Dirt-Peddler De-Luxe And ‘Dubious Julia’Early last December, at the height of anti-Kremlin hysteria, the Observer turns up with the real story on Litvinenko.
Instead of the passionate human rights worker of press release pathos, Litvinenko is suddenly revealed as an eccentric, a man given to wild claims and to strange fantasies of being... (more)
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Bush 'chain gang' attacked in Memphis; Protesters claim police ignored street scuffle MEMPHIS – Memphis police officers observed an attack on anti-Bush protesters but drove away and failed to intervene, two activists who were on the scene told RAW STORY.
"We were down on Beale Street late on Friday night [January 12]," said Barbara Cummings, a peace activist with the Backbone Campaign, self-described as "a grassroots effort to embolden citizens and elected officials to stand up for progressive values." Cummings, a grandmother from Spring Valley, California, ... (more)
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Fox Show "24": Torture on TV With at least one big torture scene in every episode and steadily increasing ratings, TV show "24" is more convincing than the White House at making the case for torture.
"24" is back on Fox TV -- the hit show starring Kiefer Sutherland, which premiered Sunday night, once again features at least one big torture scene in every episode -- the kind of torture the Bush White House says is necessary to protect us from you-know-who.
The show is much more convincing than ... (more)
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Is 24 Propaganda? Is The Pope Catholic?To coincide with the start of a new season of Fox's much vaunted 24 program, MSNBC featured a debate asking whether the lead character, Jack Bauer, was a right-wing propagandist. What the talking heads and others that defend the neutrality of the show consistently fail to omit is the fact that 24 cast and crew members met with U.S. government officials and Neo-Con ideologues to run PR for the war on terror last year. ... (more)
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Interior minister proposes pan-European network of DNA and fingerprint databasesAt an informal meeting of European Union ministers of justice and ministers of the interior in Dresden on Monday the Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble proposed within the context of what is known as the Trio Presidency of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers that the Prüm Treaty be transposed into the legal framework of the EU. The treaty, which was signed by Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria and Spain in the town of P... (more)
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Turkey Considers Military Action In Northern IraqAnkara is thinking aloud about a possible military intervention in northern Iraq. As the Kurdish population consolidates its hold on oil-rich Kirkuk, the Turkish government worries about increased sectarian violence among the separatist PKK.
The confidential report on strategic threats to the Turkish nation issued by Turkey's National Intelligence Service (MIT) bore a simple title: "Iraq, Terror, Kirkuk and the PKK." Copies of the explosive document were a... (more)
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Update: Supreme Court Rejects Eminent Domain 'Extortion' CaseThe U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a New York case challenging a use of eminent domain that the landowner called "extortion."
The case was one of more than 100 that the court rejected Tuesday without comment. It would have provided the justices an opportunity to clarify their controversial 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London, in which they ruled that local governments can seize personal property for redevelopment plans.
The New York case, D... (more)
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AWB executives receive $1.25m pay-outAWB executives receive $1.25m pay-out
Wheat exporter AWB has awarded termination payments totalling $1.25 million to two former executives facing possible criminal charges over the oil-for-food scandal.
The details are contained in the company's annual report, released today.
AWB's annual report details the salaries and payments made last year to its current and former senior executives.
The Cole inquiry last year identified 11 former ... (more)
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Microchips for mentally ill planned in shake-up Radical measures for tackling crime - ranging from monitoring the behaviour of the mentally ill with radio chips to hormone injections for sex offenders — are to be considered by the Government in a wide-ranging policy review ordered by Tony Blair.
The Prime Minister said yesterday that Labour had to renew its sense of leadership and energy as voters were getting bored with the party after 10 years in power.
He disclosed that he intended ... (more)
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Federal Workers Owe Billions in Unpaid Taxes WASHINGTON - As the 2006 tax season approaches, the federal government is still trying to recover nearly $3 billion from its own employees who failed to file income tax returns for 2005.
More than 450,000 active and retired federal employees did not voluntarily comply with federal income tax requirements for the 2005 tax year, according to documents obtained by WTOP through the Freedom of Information Act. (2004 - 2005)
The total balance owed is $2,799,950,... (more)
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Escalation Against Iran: The Pieces Are Being Put in PlaceThe pieces are moving. They’ll be in place by the end of February. The United States will be able to escalate military operations against Iran.
The second carrier strike group leaves the U.S. west coast on January 16. It will be joined by naval mine clearing assets from both the United States and the UK. Patriot missile defense systems have also been ordered to deploy to the Gulf.
Maybe as a guard against North Korea seeing operations focused on Iran as a chan... (more)
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New Year, New LiesWell it's a new year, and you know what that means... time to update the administration's list of stated reasons for it's war in Iraq, why we are there, why we are/must “win,” and why the loss of American lives there is a “price worth paying.”
Whew! Just typing the above sentence exhausted me. I am so tired of three years of struggling with this administration's full frontal assault on our collective intelligence. Tired of trying to untangle their torqued l... (more)
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