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NDAA's 'Indefinite Detention' Provisions Unconstitutional, says Judge | Common Dreams
President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law last December. (Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster) An Obama-appointed judge rules provisions of NDAA likely violate the 1st and 5th Amendments May 17, 2012 (Common Dreams) -- A federal judge in New York on Wednesday ruled in favor of a group of civilian activists and journalists and struck down highly controversial 'indefinite de...
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NYPD loses face and first Occupy Wall Street trial | RT
AFP Photo / Emmanuel Dunand May 16, 2012 (RT) -- This case could have been a slam dunk for the NYPD, had it not been for one thing: the video showing police claims of disorderly conduct during an OWS protest to be completely untrue. Hundreds have been arrested during the Occupy Wall Street protests, but photographer Alexander Arbuckle’s case was the first to go to trial – and after just two days,...
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Newly Discovered Homeland Security Files Show Feds Central to Occupy Crackdown | Dave Lindorff
White House & Dems Back Banks Over Protests: Newly Discovered Homeland Security Files Show Feds Central to Occupy Crackdown May 17, 2012 (NationOfChange) -- A new trove of heavily redacted documents provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) on behalf of filmmake...
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The NSA Is Watching You | Amy Goodman
Apr. 26, 2012 (TruthDig) -- Three targeted Americans: A career government intelligence official, a filmmaker and a hacker. None of these U.S. citizens was charged with a crime, but they have been tracked, surveilled, detained -- sometimes at gunpoint -- and interrogated, with no access to a lawyer. Each remains resolute in standing up to the increasing government crackdown on dissent. The intell...
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Nuclear Calendar -- May 14, 2012 | FCNL
Nuclear Calendar -- May 14, 2012 May 13-14 Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao hold a summit. Beijing. North Korea's nuclear program is on the agenda. May 14 Noon-1:00 p.m., Catherine Thomasson, Physicians for Social Responsibility, "A Billion People at Risk: Global Impacts of Limited Nuclear War on Agr...
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Nuclear Calendar -- April 30, 2012 | FCNL
Nuclear Calendar -- April 30, 2012 April 28-May 6 House and Senate recess. April 30 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Jurgen Scheffran, International Network of Engineers and Scientists (INES); David Krieger, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation; Rob van Riet, World Future Council (WFC), "Nuclear Weapons and Climate Change." Sponsored by INES and WFC. Vienna International Centre, Room M2, Rotu...
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Nuclear Calendar -- April 16, 2012 | FCNL
Nuclear Calendar -- Friends Committee on National Legislation April 16, 2012 April 2-20 U.N. Disarmament Commission annual meeting. United Nations. April 15-16 Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, meets with Japanese officials, Tokyo (April 15-16), and South Korean officials, Seoul (April 16). North Korea's nuclea...
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The Top Short-Term Threat to Humanity: The Fuel Pools of Fukushima | WashingtonsBlog
Nuclear love. Ben Heine The Greatest Single Threat to Humanity: Fuel Pool Number 4 Apr. 7, 2012 (Washington's Blog) -- We noted days after the Japanese earthquake that the biggest threat was from the spent fuel rods in the fuel pool at Fukushima unit number 4, and not from the reactors themselves. See this and this. We noted in February: Scientists say that there is a 70 percent chance of...
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Scientists Closing in on Black Hole at Center of Our Galaxy | Clara Moskowitz
Simulated view of a black hole in front of the Large Magellanic Cloud. CREDIT: Alain R. | Wikimedia Commons Apr. 6, 2012 (SPACE.com) -- Though scientists have suspected for a while that a giant black hole lurks at the center of our galaxy, they still can't say for sure it's the explanation for the strange behavior observed there. Now researchers are closer than ever to being able to ima...
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BOOKS: The Balfour Declaration -- The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. By Jonathan Schneer | Jim Miles
The Balfour Declaration -- The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Jonathan Schneer Anchor Canada (Random House), Toronto, 2012. Apr. 2, 2012 (Palestine Chronicle) -- This is the best that academic political history gets. More than simply the dates and the ‘facts’, Jonathan Schneer is able to give some personality to the characters involved, including the all-too-human factors of lying, decei...
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Nuclear Calendar -- March 29, 2012 | FCNL
March 29, 2012 Back to regular view March 26- April 5 Rose Gottemoeller, Acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, meets with arms control officials in Vienna, Moscow, Tallinn and London. March 29 9:00 a.m., House of Representatives finishes floor action on the budget resolution for fiscal year 2013, H.Con.Res. 112. Broadcast and webc...
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BOOKS: Lester Pearson’s Peacekeeping -- The Truth May Hurt. By Yves Engler | Jim Miles
Lester Pearson’s Peacekeeping -- The Truth May Hurt. Yves Engler. RED/Fernwood Publishing, Vancouver/Winnipeg, 2012. Mar. 23, 2012 (Palestine Chronicle) -- This short book, or elongated essay, concerns the political attributes of one of Canada’s more revered politicians, Lester Bowles Pearson. As with Yves Engler’s other writing on Canada and the truth behind its role in the broader world of fo...
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Nuclear Calendar -- March 19, 2012 | FCNL
Nuclear Calendar -- March 19, 2012 | Friends Committee on National Legislation March 17-20 Friends Committee on National Legislation, spring lobby weekend. Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle, NW, Washington. For information, contact Matt Southworth by email. March 18-21 Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, DC Days. Washington. March 19 Noon-4:00 p.m., Military Operatio...
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Nuclear Calendar -- March 13, 2012 | FCNL
Nuclear Calendar -- Friends Committee on National Legislation March 13, 2012 March 9-18 House of Representatives recess. March 13 12:30-2:00 p.m., George Perkovich, Carnegie Endowment, "The Non-Unitary, Irrational Actor Model and Deterrence Stability in South Asia." Stimson Center, 1111 19th St., NW, 12th Floor, Washington. RSVP to Nate Cohn by email. March 13 2:00 p...
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BOOKS: The Politics of Teaching Palestine To Americans. By Marcy Jane Knopf-Newman | Jim Miles
The Politics of Teaching Palestine to Americans - Addressing Pedagogical Strategies. Marcy Jane Knopf-Newman. Palgrave/MacMillan, 2011. Mar. 10, 2012 (Palestine Chronicle) -- When I first read this title it struck me as being "intriguing" but also perhaps very limited in its audience. As a lifetime teacher, the latter phrase in particular, “Addressing Pedagogical Strategies,” would be...
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Nuclear Calendar -- March 7, 2012 | FCNL
Nuclear Calendar -- Friends Committee on National Legislation March 7, 2012 Week of March 5 Israel Aerospace Industries test launches an Arrow 3 ballistic missile interceptor (estimate). Palmachim Air Force Base, Israel. March 7 10:00 a.m.-noon, Mark Minton, Korea Society, and seven other speakers, "The 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit: Peace and Securit...
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Nuclear Calendar -- Feb. 27, 2012 | FCNL
February 27, 2012 Feb. 27 6:00-8:00 p.m., Suzanne Maloney, Brookings Institution, and Michael Rubin, American Enterprise Institute, "PONI Debates the Issues: Sanctioning Iran." Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1800 K St., NW, Washington. RSVP to David Slungaard by email. Feb. 28 9:30 a.m., Senate Budget Committee, hearing on the Defense Dep...
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BOOKS: The Unmaking of Israel. By Gershom Gorenberg | Jim Miles
The Unmaking of Israel. Gershom Gorenberg. Harper Collins, New York. 2011 Feb. 21, 2012 (Palestine Chronicle) -- Many recent works are reflecting an internal crisis within Israel, part of which is the increased power of the ultra-Orthodox Jews within the educational, military, and political systems of Israel. Gershom Gorenberg’s “The Unmaking of Israel” presents clear and well argued points con...
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Nuclear Calendar -- February 20, 2012 (FCNL)
Nuclear Calendar -- February 20, 2012 -- Friends Committee On National Legislation Feb. 18-26 House and Senate Presidents Day recess. Feb. 20 7:00 p.m., Trita Parsi, National Iranian American Council, book discussion of A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama's Diplomacy with Iran. Politics & Prose Bookstore, 5015 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington. Feb. 20 Presidents Day (fede...
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BOOKS: The Anatomy of Israel’s Survival, By Hirsh Goodman (Jim Miles)
The Anatomy of Israel’s Survival. Hirsh Goodman. Signal/McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 2011. Dec. 30, 2011 (Palestine Chronicle) -- The “Anatomy of Israel’s Survival” rests on a single backbone: military strength. I have always said that Israel will survive regardless of the situations it may find itself embroiled in because of its obvious overwhelming military strength and its historical r...
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BOOKS: Imperial Messenger -- Thomas Friedman at Work. By Belen Fernandez (Jim Miles)
Imperial Messenger -- Thomas Friedman at Work. Belen Fernandez. Verso Books, London/New York, 2011. Dec. 12, 2011 (Palestine Chronicle) -- Thomas Friedman is a writer whom I have avoided reading over the past several years, mainly due to my distinct disdain for his writing and his thinking. It was therefore very good to be able to read “Imperial Messenger” and be brought up to date on some of his...
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Nuclear Calendar -- February 13, 2012 (FCNL)
Nuclear Calendar -- February 13, 2012 -- Friends Committee On National Legislation Feb. 13 11:15 a.m., Office of Management and Budget releases the annual federal budget. Posted on the Government Printing Office website. Feb. 13 11:15 a.m., Defense Department releases its budget on the Defense Department website and on a second Defense Department website. Feb. 13 Noon-1:30 p.m....
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MF Global And The Great Wall St Re-Hypothecation Scandal (Christopher Elias)
Image from Business Insider Dec. 7, 2011 (Business Law Currents) -- A legal loophole in international brokerage regulations means that few, if any, clients of MF Global are likely to get their money back. Although details of the drama are still unfolding, it appears that MF Global and some of its Wall Street counterparts have been actively and aggressively circumventing U.S. securities rules ...
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U.S. Stocks Rally on Global Bank Central Liquidity Move (Rita Nazareth)
Nov. 30, 2011 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark gauges higher for a third day, after central banks acted together to make additional funds available to lenders as Europe’s crisis threatens global economic growth. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) advanced 3.4 percent after the Federal Reserve and five central banks lowered interest rates on dollar swaps and China cut ba...
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Fed, Five Central Banks Cut Rate on Dollar Swaps (Scott Lanman and Jeff Black)
Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve cut the cost of emergency dollar funding for European banks as part of a globally coordinated central-bank response to the continent’s sovereign-debt crisis. The interest rate has been reduced to the dollar overnight index swap rate plus 50 basis points, or half a percentage point, from 100 basis points, and the program was extended to Feb. 1, 2013, the ...
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