Monday, October 8, 2012

#NDAA In case you missed the BIG news yesterday...




We are all now under the threat of #NDAA. Again. We had a reprieve for a few months from May to September, 2012. The case will next be heard in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, then it goes to the Supreme Court.


A federal appeals court has extended a temporary stay of a district court judge's order barring the government from using an indefinite detention provision in a defense bill passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama late last year.

A three-judge motions panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit issued the order Tuesday afternoon, indicating they saw flaws with the scope and rationale for U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Forrest's original order blocking the disputed provision of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011.

"We conclude that the public interest weighs in favor of granting the government's motion for a stay," Appeals Court Judges Denny Chin, Raymond Lohier and Christopher Droney wrote in a three-page order that also expedited the appeal.

Read the full story here...

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Democracy Now! covers Wikileaks

What do you think about the way that the U.S. government handles whistleblowers? Democracy Now! broadcast a segment that discussed documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act that show WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may have been designated an "enemy of the state" by the U.S.

See this and all of Democracy Now!'s coverage of Wikileaks here

WikiLeaks Declared 'Enemy' In US Military Documents, Australian Newspaper Reports


The United States has declared WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange to be an "enemy," an Australian newspaper reported Wednesday.

The Sydney Morning Herald, which has been reporting for months on behind-the-scenes government communications about Assange, wrote that declassified Air Force documents showed that military employees found to have been in contact with WikiLeaks personnel could be charged with "communicating with the enemy."

The maximum punishment for communicating with the enemy is death. The Herald wrote that this is the same classification given to Al Qaeda or the Taliban.

The revelation will do little to quell fears among WikiLeaks supporters about the American view of the organization. One of the reasons Julian Assange says he is still holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London is that he fears being extradited to America. Though there has been fierce debate over whether this could occur, and whether Assange is instead attempting to avoid a potential sex crimes prosecution in Sweden, it is clear he is no friend of the US government.

Read the full story here...

Monday, September 24, 2012

Open up the 2012 Presidential Debates!

Currently, the Commission on Presidential Debates excludes all candidates who do not poll at 15% or higher in at least 5 national polls (raised from 5% after that threshold secured Ross Perot a spot in the 1992 debates). However, most national polls exclude third party candidates, making it nearly impossible to achieve the required percentage of support.

Click here to sign the petition...

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Thousands Have Retaken Zuccotti Park Ahead of Occupy Wall Street's One-year Anniversary

Ahead of tomorrow's highly anticipated marches set for the one-year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, thousands of activists have retaken Zuccotti Park.


The crowds occupying Zuccotti Park are an eclectic mix. Some of those who have retaken the park streamed in on buses from all across the country.

There is also a large contingency of activist Jews (many of whom have been inspired by Occupy Judaism) who are holding Rosh Hashanah services in Zuccotti to celebrate the Jewish New Year.


The festivities tonight come on the heels of scores of indiscriminate and brutal arrests by the NYPD last night as hundreds of activists gathered to usher in the one-year anniversary.

As people continue to stream into Zuccotti Park, and as the supplicated Hebrew chants for a year of renewal echo off Zuccotti's concrete, one thing is clear: all eyes should be on New York City tomorrow morning, for Occupy Wall Street will once again lift up its head and roar a mighty roar.

For yes, we are (still) the 99 percent.



Read the full story here...