Friday, January 1, 2010

Irish Blasphemy Law Goes into Effect Today

via @firedoglake

Lisa Derrick Friday January 1, 2010 8:35 am

Where would humor be if you couldn’t tell the one about a priest, a rabbi and a witch walking into bar or watch an episode of South Park about a litigious, celebrity-filled space alien cult or their classic “All About Mormons“? Where would art, music literature and film be without reactions against religion?

But as of today in the Irish Republic–a nation known for its poets, authors, musicians and artists, a nation which has had tens of thousands of its citizens beset upon by pedophile priests who’ve now been ordered to pay $242 million in victims’ aid to the children they raped, and nuns who systematically abused children and have since offered to pay $193 million in restitution–blasphemy is punishable by a € 25,000 fine–about $40,000.

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Brazil Announces National Policy on Climate Change

Via Environmental News Network:


Brazil's President introduced national legislation that will guide efforts to reduce projected emissions by 36.1 to 38.9 percent by 2020. This legislation comes on the heels of the COP-15 climate change conference held in Copenhagen earlier this month, and demonstrates Brazil's eagerness to make significant and immediate progress against global climate change.

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Controversy about Bagua official report continues in Peru

via @LivingInPeru



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For background, see Struggle of Indigenous People of #Peru Amazon to preserve rainforest,way of life,human rights





Hope, War and Resistance: 2009 in Review

Via Democracy Now

Hope, War and Resistance: 2009 in Review




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Indian tribes buy back thousands of acres of land

Via Indian Country Today:

Indian tribes buy back thousands of acres of land

By Timberly Ross, Associated Press Writer

Story Published: Jan 1, 2010

Story Updated: Dec 31, 2009

OMAHA, Neb. – Native American tribes tired of waiting for the U.S. government to honor centuries-old treaties are buying back land where their ancestors lived and putting it in federal trust.

Native Americans say the purchases will help protect their culture and way of life by preserving burial grounds and areas where sacred rituals are held. They also provide land for farming, timber and other efforts to make the tribes self-sustaining.

Tribes put more than 840,000 acres – or roughly the equivalent of the state of Rhode Island – into trust from 1998 to 2007, according to information The Associated Press obtained from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs under the Freedom of Information Act.


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Learning the Wrong Lessons From the Attempted Bombing

Via @laprogressive

Learning the Wrong Lessons From the Attempted Bombing

by Ivan Eland posted on Friday, 1 January 2010

The botched attempt by a Nigerian, apparently trained in Yemen by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to conduct a suicide bombing on a plane as it neared Detroit has highlighted the U.S. government’s overzealous, ineffective, and even counterproductive efforts to overcome terrorism.

Although Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano’s stance that “the system” worked buckled under withering ridicule, she was right—but only if the non-governmental aspects of that system are included. The government’s performance and after-incident measures are ridiculous and even ill-advised.


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Ex-Homeland Security Chief Chertoff Pushes Body Scanners, Abuses Public Trust

Via Common Dreams

Ex-Homeland Security Chief Chertoff Pushes Body Scanners, Abuses Public Trust


by Kimberly Kindy

Since the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day, former Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff has given dozens of media interviews touting the need for the federal government to buy more full-body scanners for airports.

What he has made little mention of is that the Chertoff Group, his security consulting agency, includes a client that manufactures the machines. The relationship drew attention after Chertoff disclosed it on a CNN program Wednesday, in response to a question.

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Houston Mayor-Elect Annise Parker: “The World Is Changing”

Via @firedoglake

Houston Mayor-Elect Annise Parker: “The World Is Changing”


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