"Today's ruling by the Supreme Court strikes at the core of our democracy. The framers could never have imagined, and surely didn't desire, a system in which corporations could pour literally billions of dollars into elections and hold virtually limitless influence over the fate of our elected representatives. Such a system does not promote free speech; it mocks it.
"As Justice Stevens pointed out in his dissent, corporations are not people. They are not citizens. They do not have a right to vote and they can not be given unlimited power to influence elections.
People For the American Way Calls for Constitutional Amendment to Undo Supreme Court Decision
Copper pipes could cause heart disease and Alzheimer's
Scientists have claimed people should remove old copper pipes from their homes or install special filters because the metal has been shown to build up in their bodies and cause serious health problems.
They have warned that tiny traces of copper from pipes, which are still installed in British homes, mix with tap water and are then consumed by people.
Liberal talk-radio network Air America to cease operations
Air America, the talk-radio network that helped boost the careers of liberals Al Franken and Rachel Maddow, said Thursday it was going out of business.
In a statement to employees of the New York-based network, Air America's chairman, Charlie Kireker, wrote: "It is with the greatest regret, on behalf of our Board, that we must announce that Air America Media is ceasing its live programming operations as of this afternoon, and that the Company will file soon under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code to carry out an orderly winding-down of the business.
FBI broke law for years in phone record searches
The FBI illegally collected more than 2,000 U.S. telephone call records between 2002 and 2006 by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not exist or simply persuading phone companies to provide records, according to internal bureau memos and interviews. FBI officials issued approvals after the fact to justify their actions.
U.S. indicts four Israelis in international bribery case
The United States Justice Department indicted four Israeli businessmen Tuesday for allegedly attempting to bribe the defense minister of an African country in order to secure a multimillion-dollar contract to supply his country with military equipment. 18 other businessmen were indicted in the same case.
US to seek world cyber crackdown after Google China row
The US is calling for tough action against people and states that carry out cyber attacks, following an alleged attack on search giant Google in China.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will say in a speech an attack on a nation's networks is "an attack on all".
Google has threatened to quit China, saying hackers tried to infiltrate its software coding and e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
More...
U.S. Envisions a Continuing Civilian Presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan
The Obama administration’s ambitious civilian push in Pakistan and Afghanistan will keep thousands of Americans in those countries for years — rebuilding Afghan agriculture, rooting out corruption and using the local media to counter anti-American sentiment.
The steps, laid out in a 30-page policy paper to be released Thursday by the State Department, are the most detailed blueprint yet for the civilian part of the administration’s strategy in the region.
Hope for MS pill after cladribine and fingolimod trials
Oral drugs to treat multiple sclerosis could become available in 2011 after promising results in two trials.
Drug licences have been applied for and the MS Society said it was "great news" for people with MS - current treatments involve injections or infusions. The trials of the drugs each involved 1,000 people in over 18 countries, the New England Journal of Medicine says.
International Criminal Court Complaint Filed Against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Tenet, Rice, Gonzales
Professor Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, U.S.A. has filed a Complaint with the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) in The Hague against U.S. citizens George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, and Alberto Gonzales (the “Accused”) for their criminal policy and practice of “extraordinary rendition” perpetrated upon about 100 human beings.
This term is really their euphemism for the enforced disappearance of persons and their consequent torture. This criminal policy and practice by the Accused constitute Crimes against Humanity in violation of the Rome Statute establishing the I.C.C.
Page 849 of 1156
