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The United States is known as the land of liberty, but lately it seems it is becoming the land of fear and suspicion. In a post 9/11-America, the slogan "if you see something, say something" has become a national campaign to prevent another terrorist attack. According to FBI pamphlets, people who pay with cash, wear backpacks and use cameras could be potential terrorists. Recent reports also confirm that the NYPD has covertly been monitoring and spying on Muslims. Marina Portnaya looks into why the US government wants citizens spying on citizens.
Lady Liberty, in her guise as the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and specifically "the right of the people peaceably to assemble," has been dragged to the gallows by the Senate, the rope placed around her neck by the House of Representatives, and awaits only the President's signature to drop into the abyss of history.
On February 6, the Senate passed S.358 by Unanimous Consent, moving it on to the House of Representatives, where it became H.R.347.1 On February 27, it passed the House by a vote of 388-3.
The only "no" votes were from Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), Paul Broun (R-Ga.), and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.). Forty-two Representatives were absent for the vote.
Many Americans criticize that their rights are slowly slipping away. Surveillance in the US has become more and more common and it is evident by the number of cameras going up on almost every street corner. In a post 9/11-America the national campaign slogan, "if you see something, say something" has been implemented in order to prevent another catastrophic occurrence. So is America slipping into a new era of totalitarianism? George Hemminger, founder of Survive and Thrive TV, joins us to answer this question.
A petition drafted in opposition to the draconian Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has ended up in the hands of the European Parliament, and it has a lot of signatures.
We are impressed to see that 2.5 million people have signed the Avaaz petition that asks that ACTA be rejected. The size of the protest, and no doubt the weight of the petition, has surprised the European Parliament, where the general reaction is that they must take the decision much more seriously now.
"Receiving a petition supported by more than 2 million people places an even bigger responsibility on us to listen to the European people and offer them a place to express their views to the European institutions," said Petitions Committee chair Eminia Mazzoni.
Responsibility for considering ACTA has only just landed at the European Parliament's feet, and in its statements it said that it had to consider both sides of the argument. The other being that ACTA is a force for good, a sentiment that comes out from media firms and rightsholders.
The Parliament must now decide whether the petition is admissible and should be included in its discussions.
The Petitions Committee will decide this in mid-March, after which time it will hold discussions with the petitioners, experts, the European Commission and other stakeholders. Then, if it listens to the people of Europe, it will reject ACTA.
We are impressed to see that 2.5 million people have signed the Avaaz petition that asks that ACTA be rejected. The size of the protest, and no doubt the weight of the petition, has surprised the European Parliament, where the general reaction is that they must take the decision much more seriously now.
"Receiving a petition supported by more than 2 million people places an even bigger responsibility on us to listen to the European people and offer them a place to express their views to the European institutions," said Petitions Committee chair Eminia Mazzoni.
Responsibility for considering ACTA has only just landed at the European Parliament's feet, and in its statements it said that it had to consider both sides of the argument. The other being that ACTA is a force for good, a sentiment that comes out from media firms and rightsholders.
The Parliament must now decide whether the petition is admissible and should be included in its discussions.
The Petitions Committee will decide this in mid-March, after which time it will hold discussions with the petitioners, experts, the European Commission and other stakeholders. Then, if it listens to the people of Europe, it will reject ACTA.
Great summary video of comments by various scientists and prominent individuals regarding man-made Global Warming and how the peer-review process failed.
© Martin Argles/GuardianJenny Tonge said Israel would ‘lose support and then they will reap what they have sown
Party leader urged to condemn Lady Tonge, who said Israel would 'lose support and then they will reap what they have sown'
A Liberal Democrat peer has said Israel will not last for ever, with her remarks prompting calls for the party's leader, Nick Clegg, to take disciplinary action.
Lady Tonge, who was sacked as the Lib Dem children's spokeswoman in the Commons in 2004 when she suggested she could consider becoming a suicide bomber, made her remarks in a meeting at Middlesex University.
"Beware Israel," she said. "Israel is not going to be there for ever in its present form. One day, the United States of America will get sick of giving £70bn a year to Israel to support what I call America's aircraft carrier in the Middle East - that is Israel. One day, the American people are going to say to the Israel lobby in the USA: enough is enough."
She added: "Israel will lose support and then they will reap what they have sown."
In the face of escalating sanctions imposed by the European Union and the U.S. government, supposedly related to the Iranian nuclear program, officials in Iran announced that the nation would accept gold and currencies other than the dollar in international trade. China, Russia, India, and other major economies have continued to do business with the Islamic Republic despite the growing Western pressure.
"In its trade transactions with other countries, Iran does not limit itself to the U.S. dollar, and the country can pay using its own currency," Iranian central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani was quoted as saying in state-controlled media. "If a country should so choose, it can pay in gold and we would accept that without any reservation."
Analysts said the move, officially announced Tuesday, represents another serious attack on the status of the already-embattled American dollar. While it currently serves as the global reserve currency - due mostly to its use in paying for oil on international markets - the Federal Reserve-issued debt-based currency is facing increasing challenges on several fronts.
© Natural Society
Stating that newborn babies 'aren't people' and it is therefore acceptable to kill them, two 'ethicists' writing for the peer-reviewed Journal of Medical Ethics are now calling for after-birth abortions. The writers, who worked with Australian universities in the construction of their paper, say that newborn babies simply do not have a "moral right to life." Furthermore, the paper goes on to state that the babies have no right to live as they do not offer "at least basic value" that would represent a loss.
Study authors Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva, both from the University of Melbourne, state in their paper that "after-birth abortion' (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion, including cases where the newborn is not disabled." They go on to say that while it is infanticide, they prefer not to call it that. Instead, they prefer the term 'after-birth abortion' - a term that avoids the true labeling of the proposed technique.
Authors of the paper write that simply being a human isn't something that grants 'a right to life'. It appears the paper authors believe that they are the ones who are to determine whether or not a human can live or die. Under this train of thought, then these 'after-birth' abortions are not limited to infants. In fact, if being a human does not grant a 'right to life', then so-called 'ethicists' could soon state that everyone with a disability no longer has the right to live. Does this sound familiar? From 1929 to 1974, the United States began forcibly sterilizing individuals they deemed to not be 'fit to live'.
Washington-- Mortgage giant Fannie Mae said Wednesday that it lost money in the fourth quarter and is asking the federal government for nearly $4.6 billion in aid to cover its deficit.
Washington, D.C.-based Fannie said it lost roughly $2.4 billion in the October-December quarter, stung by declining home prices. Revenue was about $4.5 billion.
The government rescued Fannie and sibling company Freddie Mac in September 2008 to cover their losses on soured mortgage loans. Since then, a federal regulator - the Federal Housing Finance Agency - has controlled their financial decisions.
© unknown
Google says the changes will make it easier for consumers to understand how it collects personal information, and allow the company to create more helpful and compelling services. Critics, including most of the country's state attorneys general and a top regulator in Europe, argue that Google is trampling on people's privacy rights in its relentless drive to sell more ads.
Here's a look at some of the key issues to consider as Google tries to learn about you.
