Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
Stephan: This has the potential to fundamentally alter our relationship with high order mammals. It is going to be very interesting to see where this goes. At one time I ran a marine survey and recovery project, which kept me at sea for much of two years. During that time we were adopted by a pod of dolphins in the Caribbean. The experience left me with the clear sense these were sentient beings.
Five killer whales have been named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit which argues they deserve the same constitutional protection from slavery as humans.
A US judge is considering a complaint by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (Peta) against SeaWorld.
It is reportedly the first time a US court has heard legal arguments over whether animals should enjoy the same constitutional protections as humans.
SeaWorld’s legal team said the case was a waste of time and resources.
The marine park’s lawyer, Theodore Shaw, told the court in San Diego: ‘Neither orcas nor any other animal were included in the ‘We the people’… when the Constitution was adopted.’
He said that if the case were successful, it could have implications not just on how other marine parks or zoos operate, but even on the police use of sniffer dogs to detect bombs and drugs.
‘Historic case’
Peta says the killer whales are treated like slaves for being forced to live in tanks and perform daily at the SeaWorld parks in California and Florida.
It is not considered likely that the whales will win their freedom, but campaigners said they were pleased the case even made it to a courtroom.
The lawsuit invokes the 13th Amendment to the constitution, […]
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Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
STEVEN ROSENFELD, - AlterNet
Stephan: The debate over the Electoral College has been going on for a long time. It is hard to tell what will happen with it, since the the College has been a part of the American political process from the beginning, and it is difficult to change something like that. But the arguments for and against are important whatever the outcome because they reveal the thinking and perspective of the various positions. It is for this reason that I chose this report.
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell calls it ‘absurd and dangerous.
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Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
SAM HEMINGWAY, - Burlington Free-Press
Stephan: At one level this seems a desperate ploy on the part of the Catholic Church. At another it is a jaw-dropping attempt to avoid accountability. Should it prevail the implications would have considerable impact on a whole range of church-state issues.
The prospect of paying more big damage awards to victims of long-ago priest sexual abuse will put the state’s Roman Catholic diocese out of business and violate constitutional protections regarding religious freedom, the diocese is claiming in papers on file at U.S. District Court in Burlington.
‘The State cannot infringe on a protected freedom by imposing damages and penalties that the church cannot pay,
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Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
TIM ARANGO, - The New York Times
Stephan: More truth revealing what the insane wars of the Neocons have bequeathed to us. What it tells us is that we have spent tens of thousands of young lives, and a trillion dollars to earn ourselves generations of hate. I believe history is going to see these wars of choice as one of the worst decisions in history.
You will note that the wars have become invisible and are not mentioned in the election debates, by the candidates of the party that created them.
BAGHDAD — Less than two months after American troops left, the State Department is preparing to slash by as much as half the enormous diplomatic presence it had planned for Iraq, a sharp sign of declining American influence in the country.
Officials in Baghdad and Washington said that Ambassador James F. Jeffrey and other senior State Department officials are reconsidering the size and scope of the embassy, where the staff has swelled to nearly 16,000 people, mostly contractors.
The expansive diplomatic operation and the $750 million embassy building, the largest of its kind in the world, were billed as necessary to nurture a postwar Iraq on its shaky path to democracy and establish normal relations between two countries linked by blood and mutual suspicion. But the Americans have been frustrated by Iraqi obstructionism and are now largely confined to the embassy because of security concerns, unable to interact enough with ordinary Iraqis to justify the $6 billion annual price tag.
The swift realization among some top officials that the diplomatic build-up may have been ill-advised represents a remarkable pivot for the State Department, in that officials spent more than a year planning the expansion and that many of the thousands of additional personnel […]
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Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
Stephan: When I was a boy, about 10, several friends of mine and I read a book about codes. Following the rules laid out in the book we created a code and began exchanging secret messages -- chalking on mailboxes being a favorite transmission point. Today we would be sending them over the internet, or in tweets. Apparently, following the new guidance, that would draw the attention of the DHS, and we would be at risk of being labeled terrorists.
When you use the Internet in a public place, do you prefer to have as much privacy as possible? Well, that makes you a potential terrorist. According to the FBI, Internet privacy is now considered to be suspicious activity. If you are out in public and you attempt to keep snoopers from peeking at your computer screen, then according to the FBI they should gather as much information about you as they can and they should report you to the authorities immediately. If this seems completely and totally ridiculous to you, then you are not alone. Millions of Americans have become deeply concerned about the constantly expanding definition of ‘suspicious activity’ in the United States. Sadly, the federal government is now engaging in an all-out attempt to have us all spy on one another. All over America, the Department of Homeland Security is running ads promoting the ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign. They even had 8,000 stadium workers at the Super Bowl this year go through special training on how to spot potential terrorists. So the next time you see a hot dog vendor, keep in mind that he might also be […]
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