August 28, 2012

For those disturbed by the nature of the police presence @ the RNC protests

and how protestors are treated at these affairs. Where were you when these appeals from the NLG were posted?
It's usually better to try to help beforehand, than complain later~~~


Help the NLG Protect Protest!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021138186

Help the National Lawyers Guild protect protest.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1188595

How Pitiful! The National Lawyers Guild has raised only $957

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021194207


http://www.nlg.org/news/announcements/help-the-nlg-protect-protest-at-the-rnc-and-dnc-2/

08/15/2012

Help the NLG Protect Protest at the RNC and DNC

Have you ever written the number for a National Lawyers Guild hotline on your arm before setting out to a protest march? Have you ever stood in a crowd squaring off with police and been comforted by the sight of bright green NLG Legal Observer® hats? Has an NLG member ever helped you through a legal problem stemming from a demonstration?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, or if you simply care about keeping the First Amendment strong and the streets safe for protesters, now is the time to consider giving to the NLG through our Indiegogo campaign at http://indiegogo.com/nlg

The Republican and Democratic national conventions are rapidly approaching. In addition to the delegates coming to shake hands and eat catered food, thousands of demonstrators will converge to protest politics as usual, and the NLG is mobilizing dozens of volunteers to provide protest legal support. That means keeping Legal Observer eyes on police for as long as protesters are in the streets. That means staffing a support office and a 24-hour legal hotline to ensure that each arrested protester has an ally in the courtroom. And, despite the fact that the NLG is not-for-profit, that means coming up with money.

The things we need are simple: office space and office supplies, gas money, housing, and hats for our Legal Observers®. But every piece is vital to this effort, and the costs add up. To make this happen we need $20,000. We know it sounds like a lot, but it is only 1/5,000 of the budget for policing the two conventions. Put another way, law enforcement may have the latest in tear gas and surveillance technology, but with some of the best legal minds in the country volunteering their services, a few computers and hats will go along way.

August 27, 2012

The politics of rape

http://www.brissc.org.au/resources/for/for_12.html

The politics of rape

Rape is one violent form of oppression and is a mechanism by which individuals or groups gain, express and maintain their dominance and power over others. This is evident when rape is used as a tool of war, when men are raped in jail, or when rape occurs on the basis of someone's race, age, ability or sexuality. Rape is about the use and abuse of power to intimidate, degrade or control others with less status. The fact that women and children are raped more often than men is a manifestation of lesser power and inferior status in society.

Structural and institutional powers and societal beliefs maintain a culture where women have less power and status. Power imbalance or discrimination is also practised on the grounds of race, class, sexuality, age and ability. Sexual violence for women then, is not only an extension of sexism, but often exists in conjunction with these other forms of oppression.

..more..

August 24, 2012

How Pitiful! The National Lawyers Guild has raised only $957

toward the 20,000 it hopes to raise to protect protesters, really SAD!

http://www.nlg.org/news/announcements/help-the-nlg-protect-protest-at-the-rnc-and-dnc-2/

08/15/2012

Help the NLG Protect Protest at the RNC and DNC

Have you ever written the number for a National Lawyers Guild hotline on your arm before setting out to a protest march? Have you ever stood in a crowd squaring off with police and been comforted by the sight of bright green NLG Legal Observer® hats? Has an NLG member ever helped you through a legal problem stemming from a demonstration?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, or if you simply care about keeping the First Amendment strong and the streets safe for protesters, now is the time to consider giving to the NLG through our Indiegogo campaign at http://indiegogo.com/nlg

The Republican and Democratic national conventions are rapidly approaching. In addition to the delegates coming to shake hands and eat catered food, thousands of demonstrators will converge to protest politics as usual, and the NLG is mobilizing dozens of volunteers to provide protest legal support. That means keeping Legal Observer eyes on police for as long as protesters are in the streets. That means staffing a support office and a 24-hour legal hotline to ensure that each arrested protester has an ally in the courtroom. And, despite the fact that the NLG is not-for-profit, that means coming up with money.

The things we need are simple: office space and office supplies, gas money, housing, and hats for our Legal Observers®. But every piece is vital to this effort, and the costs add up. To make this happen we need $20,000. We know it sounds like a lot, but it is only 1/5,000 of the budget for policing the two conventions. Put another way, law enforcement may have the latest in tear gas and surveillance technology, but with some of the best legal minds in the country volunteering their services, a few computers and hats will go along way.

August 24, 2012

Never Forget Rape is a Form of Oppression!

especially in the context of the views of RW politicians and others..

http://www.brissc.org.au/resources/for/for_12.html

The politics of rape

Rape is one violent form of oppression and is a mechanism by which individuals or groups gain, express and maintain their dominance and power over others. This is evident when rape is used as a tool of war, when men are raped in jail, or when rape occurs on the basis of someone's race, age, ability or sexuality. Rape is about the use and abuse of power to intimidate, degrade or control others with less status. The fact that women and children are raped more often than men is a manifestation of lesser power and inferior status in society.

Structural and institutional powers and societal beliefs maintain a culture where women have less power and status. Power imbalance or discrimination is also practised on the grounds of race, class, sexuality, age and ability. Sexual violence for women then, is not only an extension of sexism, but often exists in conjunction with these other forms of oppression.

As feminists, we do not believe that rape is inevitable, but rather that rape and other forms of men's violence are a result of learned attitudes and behaviours which are reinforced by a society that often defines manhood or masculinity through domination. Too many men make choices to exert power and control over others by using sexual violence. Men who rape CHOOSE to rape and must always be held accountable for their actions. Other men can and do choose non-violence.

Men who rape are behaving according to a belief system which says they have the right to own, dominate and punish women and to use rape to control women. But where would such a belief system come from? How does it show itself in everyday life?

Recent research shows that approximately one third of young men believe it is OK to force a young woman to have sex if she has "led him on". In other words they believe they have the right to use violence to make a girl do what they want, regardless of that girl's wishes, rights or needs.

..more..

August 23, 2012

A Message from the Coalition to March on the RNC

http://occupywallst.org/article/message-coalition-march-rnc/

A Message from the Coalition to March on the RNC

Posted 1 hour ago on Aug. 23, 2012, 2:16 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt


The Republican National Convention is taking place in Tampa starting August 27th. The Coalition to March on the RNC encourages you to join us and stand in solidarity as we march at the RNC to fight back against the political elite and the 1% agenda.

As of now, we are a Coalition uniting groups from around the country to say NO to this political system that only works for the 1% and therefore are marching at the Republican National Convention to let our voices be heard. Together we stand to march for good jobs, healthcare, affordable education, equality and peace. On top of this, we stand against all parties of the 1% and have also endorsed the March on Wall St. South, who will protest the DNC in Charlotte, NC. For too long people have suffered while the rich got richer. We say money for human needs, not on wars overseas and corporate greed. Together, we are planning a 5000 strong march at the first day of the convention on Aug 27th. We have hundreds of national and local organizations such as Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, Get EQUAL, Dream defenders, United National Antiwar Coalition, Occupy Tampa, Occupy USF, Occupy Pensacola, Occupy Tallahassee and more (See here for full list) endorsing us and we would love for all Occupy Assemblies to come down to Tampa to join and/or endorse our coalition. Only through unity is there strength.

We will be encouraging people to sleep at Occupy Tampa's Voice of Freedom park or at these parks that allow camping for a nominal fee [Editor's note: Please be aware that a tropical storm system, potentially a hurricane, is expected to effect Tampa during the Convention. The RNC isn't telling people not to go to Florida, so neither are we. But you should check with organizers about alternatives in case of flooding.] We will be rallying at Perry Harvey Sr. Park, located at 1200 N. Orange Ave Tampa, FL, at 10 am and will be marching from the park through the streets of Tampa to "Protest RNC Square" at around noon. See here for the parade route.

Thanks and please e-mail us at marchonthernc@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.

Also visit:
http://www.marchonthernc.com
https://twitter.com/marchonthernc
http://marchonthernc.tumblr.com/

In solidarity, -Coalition to March on the RNC-

For more info about the RNC and the Occupy movement's plans, see also: Occupy Tampa's Official Statement Regarding the RNC

August 21, 2012

Let's Help WikiLeaks Liberate the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiating Text

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/11019-lets-help-wikileaks-liberate-the-trans-pacific-partnership-negotiating-text
Let's Help WikiLeaks Liberate the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiating Text
Tuesday, 21 August 2012 13:40
By Robert Naiman, Truthout | Op-Ed


On September 6, negotiators will go to Leesburg, Virginia, for the latest round of secretive talks on the "Trans-Pacific Partnership" (TPP) agreement. This proposed agreement threatens access to essential medicines in developing countries, threatens environmental regulations and threatens Internet freedom. Even members of Congress and their staff have been blocked from seeing the draft text, while corporate representatives have been allowed to see it.

Americans - and citizens of the other countries that would be covered by the agreement - have a right to see what our governments are proposing to do. Parts of the draft negotiating text have been leaked. But don't we have a right to see the whole text before the agreement is signed? After the agreement is signed, if there's anything in it we don't like, we'll be told that it's too late to change it.

Just Foreign Policy is issuing a reward if WikiLeaks publishes the TPP negotiating text. Instead of getting one rich person to put up the money, we're "crowdsourcing" the reward. We figure, if many people pledge a little bit, that will not only potentially raise a helpful sum of money for WikiLeaks, it will show that the opposition to this secretive agreement is widespread.

If WikiLeaks publishes the TPP negotiating text, it will show that WikiLeaks is still relevant to citizen demands for government transparency, that publishing US diplomatic cables wasn't the end of WikiLeaks' contribution to public knowledge of government misdeeds. And it will show that the WikiLeaks campaign for government transparency isn't just about issues related to war, but extends to every area where secretive government action threatens the public interest.

..more..

August 20, 2012

Remove Rep. Todd Akin from the House Science and Technology Committee

Sign your name to call on Speaker John Boehner to remove Rep. Todd Akin from the House Science and Technology Committee.

Republican Congressman Todd Akin told a Missouri news station:

"First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare... If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

The notion of "legitimate rape" is insulting. But this isn't the first time Akin went down this path. In 2011, Rep. Akin co-sponsored House bill H.R. 3 that proposed redefining rape to only cases of "forcible rape" to deny access to women's health services. Paul Ryan supported it too.

It is outrageous that someone with Rep. Akin's views and appalling ignorance is on a committee devoted to overseeing science policy. This is something that John Boehner can and must change right now.

Tell Speaker Boehner to immediately remove Rep. Akin from the House Science and Technology Committee.

http://www.leftaction.com/action/tell-boehner-remove-akin-science-committee

````````````````````````

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/20/us/politics/todd-akin-provokes-ire-with-legitimate-rape-comment.html?_r=1

Senate Candidate Provokes Ire With ‘Legitimate Rape’ Comment
By JOHN ELIGON and MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ
Published: August 19, 2012 582 Comments


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In an effort to explain his stance on abortion, Representative Todd Akin, the Republican Senate nominee from Missouri, provoked ire across the political spectrum on Sunday by saying that in instances of what he called “legitimate rape,” women’s bodies somehow blocked an unwanted pregnancy.

Asked in an interview on a St. Louis television station about his views on abortion, Mr. Akin, a six-term member of Congress who is backed by Tea Party conservatives, made it clear that his opposition to the practice was nearly absolute, even in instances of rape.

“It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Mr. Akin said of pregnancies from rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”

The comments, made during an interview with KTVI-TV that was posted on Sunday on the station’s Web site, provoked howls of outrage from Democrats and women’s rights organizations. Senator Claire McCaskill, the Democrat who will face Mr. Akin in the November election, immediately took to Twitter with a blunt response. “As a woman & former prosecutor who handled 100s of rape cases,” she wrote, “I’m stunned by Rep Akin’s comments about victims this AM.”

..more..

August 15, 2012

Help the NLG Protect Protest!

http://www.nlg.org/news/announcements/help-the-nlg-protect-protest-at-the-rnc-and-dnc-2/



08/15/2012

Help the NLG Protect Protest at the RNC and DNC

Have you ever written the number for a National Lawyers Guild hotline on your arm before setting out to a protest march? Have you ever stood in a crowd squaring off with police and been comforted by the sight of bright green NLG Legal Observer® hats? Has an NLG member ever helped you through a legal problem stemming from a demonstration?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, or if you simply care about keeping the First Amendment strong and the streets safe for protesters, now is the time to consider giving to the NLG through our Indiegogo campaign at http://indiegogo.com/nlg.

The Republican and Democratic national conventions are rapidly approaching. In addition to the delegates coming to shake hands and eat catered food, thousands of demonstrators will converge to protest politics as usual, and the NLG is mobilizing dozens of volunteers to provide protest legal support. That means keeping Legal Observer® eyes on police for as long as protesters are in the streets. That means staffing a support office and a 24-hour legal hotline to ensure that each arrested protester has an ally in the courtroom. And, despite the fact that the NLG is not-for-profit, that means coming up with money.

The things we need are simple: office space and office supplies, gas money, housing, and hats for our Legal Observers®. But every piece is vital to this effort, and the costs add up. To make this happen we need $20,000. We know it sounds like a lot, but it is only 1/5,000 of the budget for policing the two conventions. Put another way, law enforcement may have the latest in tear gas and surveillance technology, but with some of the best legal minds in the country volunteering their services, a few computers and hats will go along way.

Help us defend dissent. Donate today, and pass the word on to your friends and family.

August 8, 2012

Texas Executes Man With IQ of 61; State Cites Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” To Justify Killing (DN!)

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/8/8/texas_executes_man_with_iq_of


Last night, Texas executed 54-year-old Marvin Wilson, despite evidence that he was mentally disabled and reportedly sucked his thumb into adulthood. Wilson’s lawyers had argued that an IQ test on which Wilson scored 61 — nine points below the standard for competency — should have saved him from execution under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling barring execution of the intellectually disabled. Wilson is the second prisoner in Texas to be executed by a new lethal injection method involving a single drug. We speak with Democracy Now! producer Renée Feltz, who has long reported on the death penalty, especially in Texas, where she has covered the state’s ongoing execution of developmentally disabled prisoners. Feltz reads from a statement by the son of legendary author John Steinbeck condemning Texas for using Steinbeck’s fictional character, Lennie Small, from "Of Mice and Men," as a "benchmark to identify whether defendants with intellectual disability should live or die."

"On behalf of the family of John Steinbeck, I am deeply troubled by today’s scheduled execution of Marvin Wilson," Thomas Steinbeck wrote. "The character of Lennie was never intended to be used to diagnose a medical condition like intellectual disability. I find the whole premise to be insulting, outrageous, ridiculous, and profoundly tragic. I am certain that if my father, John Steinbeck, were here, he would be deeply angry and ashamed to see his work used in this way." [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]




http://www.democracynow.org/2012/8/8/texas_executes_man_with_iq_of

August 8, 2012

The Devil Still Has Us Death Dancing at Fukushima

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/08/08-0

Published on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 by Common Dreams

The Devil Still Has Us Death Dancing at Fukushima

by Harvey Wasserman

Our lives still hang by a Devil’s thread at Fukushima.

The molten cores at Units 1, 2 & 3 have threatened all life on Earth. The flood of liquid radiation has poisoned the Pacific. Fukushima’s cesium and other airborne emissions have already dwarfed Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and all nuclear explosions including Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Children throughout Japan carry radioactive burdens in their thyroids and throughout their bodies. Hot spots in Tokyo demand evacuation. Radioactive tuna has been caught off San Diego. Fallout carried across the Pacific may have caused spikes in cancer and infant mortality rates here in the United States.

And yet, 16 months later, the worst may be yet to come. No matter where we are on this planet, our lives are still threatened every day by a Unit 4 fuel pool left hanging 100 feet in the air. At any moment, an earthquake we all know is coming could send that pool crashing to the ground.

If that happens---and it could as you read this---the radiation spewed into the atmosphere could impact every living being on Earth. And that certainly includes you.

Cecile Pineda lays it all out in her brilliant new DEVIL’S TANGO: HOW I LEARNED THE FUKUSHIMA STEP BY STEP (Wings Press: San Antonio; www.ipgbook.com).

..more..