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- STEVE, Editor :)
FFRF sues IRS to enforce church electioneering ban
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is taking the Internal Revenue Service to court over its failure to enforce electioneering restrictions against churches and religious organizations, calling it a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and of FFRF’s equal protection rights. FFRF filed the lawsuit today in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. (View the lawsuit here.)
The Surveillance State
FBI's abuse of the surveillance state is the real scandal needing investigation
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33017.htm
FBI's Abuse of the Surveillance State is the Real Scandal Needing Investigation
The Petraeus scandal is receiving intense media scrutiny obviously due to its salacious aspects, leaving one, as always, to fantasize about what a stellar press corps we would have if they devoted a tiny fraction of this energy to dissecting non-sex political scandals (this unintentionally amusing New York Times headline from this morning - "Concern Grows Over Top Military Officers' Ethics" - illustrates that point: with all the crimes committed by the US military over the last decade and long before, it's only adultery that causes "concern" over their "ethics"). Nonetheless, several of the emerging revelations are genuinely valuable, particularly those involving the conduct of the FBI and the reach of the US surveillance state.
Powers Designed for 'Terrorists' Entangle US Top Brass
As the New York Times reports Tuesday morning that the Petraeus sex scandal has now spread and the Pentagon has initiated an investigation into top NATO commander in Afghanistan, US General John Allen, what is becoming increasingly clear—beyond all the seemingly bizarre twists of this unfolding drama and leaving aside the question about whether or not the private sexual lives of top officials are, in fact, worthy of the endless media blitz they receive—is that the FBI's ability to examine private email accounts during an investigation are having far-reaching, if not ironic, consequences.
America Isn't The Greatest Country Anymore
Via Lance Roberts of Street Talk Live - This weekend I had my first opportunity to watch "Newsroom," an HBO series, and I was struck by the opening sequence of the show as Jeff Daniels, aka Will McAvoy, discusses why America WAS the greatest country in the world - but no longer is. Here are the stats as he breaks them down:
Poll: One-Third of Americans Would Accept Cavity Searches By TSA
In past columns, I have lamented how our government has not only stripped away core civil liberties from citizens, but that citizens have become increasing passive and accepting of the loss of such freedoms. A new poll conducted by Harris Interactive offers a particularly chilling measure of just how passive and accepting citizens have become to the new realities of our internal security system. The poll found almost one third of American adults would accept a “TSA body cavity search” in order to fly. Moreover a majority believes that it is reasonable to criminalize the act of disobeying any TSA agent.
ICC should increase efforts to bring war criminals to justice: HRW
Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged [press release] theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) [official website; JURIST backgrounder] on Monday to improve its impact and stimulate cooperation amongst the international community as the court enters its second decade. HRW not only emphasized the importance for ICC member countries to strengthen their efforts in making arrests of known suspects harbored within their borders, but also called upon the ICC to establish a stronger dialogue with the UN Security Council [official website] in order to facilitate arrests and prosecutions. Some Red-State Residents Say They Want to Secede -- But Their States Wouldn't Be Able to Sustain Themselves
Surveys conducted outside the US shortly before polling day showed Obama was the preferred candidate in every country but two – Pakistan and Israel. But unlike Pakistan, where the two candidates were equally unpopular, he scored just 22 per cent in Israel against a commanding 57 per cent for Mitt Romney.
http://www.countercurrents.org/cook141112.htm
Translating The Palestinian Declaration Of Independence
This Palestinian Declaration of Independence explicitly accepted the UN General Assembly's Partition Resolution 181(II) of 1947, which called for the creation of a Jewish state and an Arab state in the former Mandate for Palestine, together with an international trusteeship for the City of Jerusalem. The significance of the PNC's acceptance of partition in the Palestinian Declaration of Independence itself cannot be overemphasized.
http://www.countercurrents.org/boyle141112.htm
Government Surveillance Is On The Rise, Google Confirms
Google Inc. said government requests to remove content from its search results and other services rose 71 percent in the first half of the year, according to a new report.
http://www.countercurrents.org/cc141112B.htm
The New Grand Old Party
The defeat of 2012 is forcing Republicans to rethink what they stand for. What will the new conservatism look like?
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2012/11/_2012_election_lessons_and_republican_recriminations_what_will_a_reformed.html
Google: Government Surveillance Requests Are Way Up—and the U.S. Is the Leader
Skeptics often dismiss those concerned about growing levels of surveillance as paranoid conspiracy theorists. But Google’s latest transparency report, released Tuesday, shows the fears are grounded in reality: Government surveillance is on the rise.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/11/14/google_transparency_report_shows_government_surveillance_takedown_requests.html
Skeptics often dismiss those concerned about growing levels of surveillance as paranoid conspiracy theorists. But Google’s latest transparency report, released Tuesday, shows the fears are grounded in reality: Government surveillance is on the rise.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/11/14/google_transparency_report_shows_government_surveillance_takedown_requests.html
For The Military, A Possible Fall From Grace
Although the story so far is of a personal failing, it's possible that the widening sex scandal surrounding retired Gen. David Petraeus will begin to affect the military's reputation as a whole.
If staff concerns about wrongdoing are not handled properly, an organisation's reputation could come under threat
http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2012/nov/14/whistleblowing-important-charities
New Whistleblower Protections Could Impact Food Safety Oversight
Netanyahu: Engineering Consent For An Attack On Gaza
A new bill on its way to President Obama’s desk for approval aims to improve protections for whistleblowers working in the federal government, including those in food-related areas such as veterinarians, U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors and U.S. Food and Drug Administration employees.
BBC Scandal Exposes Cover-Up of Host Jimmy Savile’s Pedophilia, Fueling Public Broadcaster’s Foes
"Mea Maxima Culpa": New Doc Exposes Horror of Catholic Child Sex Abuser and Heroism of His Victims
Robert Reich on the Fiscal Cliff: ‘We’re Back to Where We Were Before the Election’
Netanyahu: Engineering Consent For An Attack On Gaza
