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Hissyspit
Hissyspit's Journal
Hissyspit's Journal
February 7, 2012
Uganda’s anti-gay bill, condemned by US and others, reintroduced in parliament
By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, February 7, 10:53 AM
KAMPALA, Uganda — The Ugandan parliamentarian who first introduced an anti-gay bill that carried the death penalty for some homosexual acts reintroduced the bill on Tuesday, raising concerns among rights activists who have been fighting the legislation.
Parliamentarian David Bahati first introduced the bill in 2009 but it has never come before the full legislative body for a vote. Though widely supported in Uganda, the bill’s progress apparently has been slowed by an international outcry against the bill, including condemnation from President Barack Obama.
Bahati has said that homosexuality poses a serious threat to family values and that his bill has helped raise public awareness about what he calls “the dangers to our children.”
Bahati told The Associated Press last year that he is willing to drop the death penalty provision if that is the recommendation of a parliament committee, though a current reading of the bill hasn’t been made public.
Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill, Condemned by US and Others, Reintroduced in Parliament
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/ugandas-anti-gay-bill-condemned-by-us-and-others-reintroduced-in-parliament/2012/02/07/gIQA1saMwQ_story.htmlUganda’s anti-gay bill, condemned by US and others, reintroduced in parliament
By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, February 7, 10:53 AM
KAMPALA, Uganda — The Ugandan parliamentarian who first introduced an anti-gay bill that carried the death penalty for some homosexual acts reintroduced the bill on Tuesday, raising concerns among rights activists who have been fighting the legislation.
Parliamentarian David Bahati first introduced the bill in 2009 but it has never come before the full legislative body for a vote. Though widely supported in Uganda, the bill’s progress apparently has been slowed by an international outcry against the bill, including condemnation from President Barack Obama.
Bahati has said that homosexuality poses a serious threat to family values and that his bill has helped raise public awareness about what he calls “the dangers to our children.”
Bahati told The Associated Press last year that he is willing to drop the death penalty provision if that is the recommendation of a parliament committee, though a current reading of the bill hasn’t been made public.
February 7, 2012
January deficit fell sharply to $27 billion: CBO
Tue Feb 7, 2012 2:24pm EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The budget deficit shrank by nearly half in January compared to a year earlier as tax collections from individuals rose and outlays fell, the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday.
The CBO said it expects the Treasury Department to report a $27 billion deficit for January, versus a $50 billion deficit in January 2011.
The January budget gap will bring the total deficit for the first four months of fiscal 2012 to $349 billion, a decrease of about $70 billion from the same period of fiscal 2011.
The CBO last week predicted that the United States would rack up a $1-trillion-plus deficit for a fourth straight year, forecasting a $1.08 trillion gap for fiscal 2012, which ends on September 30. The fiscal 2011 U.S. deficit was $1.3 trillion.
January Deficit Fell Sharply to $27 Billion: CBO
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE8161WV20120207?irpc=932January deficit fell sharply to $27 billion: CBO
Tue Feb 7, 2012 2:24pm EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The budget deficit shrank by nearly half in January compared to a year earlier as tax collections from individuals rose and outlays fell, the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday.
The CBO said it expects the Treasury Department to report a $27 billion deficit for January, versus a $50 billion deficit in January 2011.
The January budget gap will bring the total deficit for the first four months of fiscal 2012 to $349 billion, a decrease of about $70 billion from the same period of fiscal 2011.
The CBO last week predicted that the United States would rack up a $1-trillion-plus deficit for a fourth straight year, forecasting a $1.08 trillion gap for fiscal 2012, which ends on September 30. The fiscal 2011 U.S. deficit was $1.3 trillion.
February 6, 2012
Obama signs executive order freezing Iran
WASHINGTON | Mon Feb 6, 2012 10:39am EST
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order on Monday imposing new, stricter sanctions on Iran and its central bank, saying a broader asset freeze was necessary because Iranian banks were concealing transactions.
- snip -
The executive order, described as a further step in the U.S. effort to isolate Iran, prevents any assets deemed to be in U.S. control - including foreign branches of American banks - from being transferred, paid, exported or withdrawn.
https://twitter.com/#!/Reuters/status/166543335635435521
@Reuters: FLASH: Obama signs executive order blocking all assets of the Iranian government, including central bank held in the United States.
https://research.tdwaterhouse.ca/research/public/Markets/NewsArticle/1314-L2E8D66JS-1
8 minutes ago by Thomson Reuters
OBAMA SAYS ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS WERE WARRANTED IN LIGHT OF DECEPTIVE PRACTICES OF IRAN CENTRAL BANK AND OTHER IRANIAN BANKS TO CONCEAL TRANSACTIONS
.
Reuters: Obama Signs Exec Order Blocking All Assets Of Iranian Gov't Held In U.S.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/06/us-iran-usa-assets-urgent-idUSTRE81519Q20120206Obama signs executive order freezing Iran
WASHINGTON | Mon Feb 6, 2012 10:39am EST
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order on Monday imposing new, stricter sanctions on Iran and its central bank, saying a broader asset freeze was necessary because Iranian banks were concealing transactions.
- snip -
The executive order, described as a further step in the U.S. effort to isolate Iran, prevents any assets deemed to be in U.S. control - including foreign branches of American banks - from being transferred, paid, exported or withdrawn.
https://twitter.com/#!/Reuters/status/166543335635435521
@Reuters: FLASH: Obama signs executive order blocking all assets of the Iranian government, including central bank held in the United States.
https://research.tdwaterhouse.ca/research/public/Markets/NewsArticle/1314-L2E8D66JS-1
8 minutes ago by Thomson Reuters
OBAMA SAYS ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS WERE WARRANTED IN LIGHT OF DECEPTIVE PRACTICES OF IRAN CENTRAL BANK AND OTHER IRANIAN BANKS TO CONCEAL TRANSACTIONS
.
February 6, 2012
DU's Front Page Should Currently Carry A "Strong Graphic Imagery" Warning
I think you know why.
But in case you don't, here's a hint:
http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201202032
Friday, February 3rd, 2012
What Grosses You Out?
Science Friday Your Host Ira Flatow
In That's Disgusting: Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion, psychologist Rachel Herz discusses the origins of disgust - what she calls the 'instinct that's learned' - and why humans turn up their noses at smelly feet but devour expensive cheeses cultured with some of the very same stinky bacteria.
February 3, 2012
Panetta believes Israel may strike Iran this spring: reports
WASHINGTON | Thu Feb 2, 2012 8:53pm EST
(Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a growing possibility Israel will attack Iran as early as April to stop Tehran from building a nuclear bomb, U.S. media reported on Thursday.
The Washington Post first reported that Panetta was concerned about the increased likelihood Israel would launch an attack over the next few months. CNN said it confirmed the report, citing a senior Obama administration official, who declined to be identified.
"Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June - before Iran enters what Israelis described as a 'zone of immunity' to commence building a nuclear bomb," Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote.
"Very soon, the Israelis fear, the Iranians will have stored enough enriched uranium in deep underground facilities to make a weapon - and only the United States could then stop them militarily," Ignatius wrote.
Panetta Believes Israel May Strike Iran This Spring: Reports
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/03/us-nuclear-iran-usa-israel-idUSTRE81202Z20120203Panetta believes Israel may strike Iran this spring: reports
WASHINGTON | Thu Feb 2, 2012 8:53pm EST
(Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a growing possibility Israel will attack Iran as early as April to stop Tehran from building a nuclear bomb, U.S. media reported on Thursday.
The Washington Post first reported that Panetta was concerned about the increased likelihood Israel would launch an attack over the next few months. CNN said it confirmed the report, citing a senior Obama administration official, who declined to be identified.
"Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June - before Iran enters what Israelis described as a 'zone of immunity' to commence building a nuclear bomb," Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote.
"Very soon, the Israelis fear, the Iranians will have stored enough enriched uranium in deep underground facilities to make a weapon - and only the United States could then stop them militarily," Ignatius wrote.
February 2, 2012
Komen Foundation ousted their Democratic lobbyist just before hiring Karen Handel
By Megan Carpentier
Thursday, February 2, 2012 17:07 EST
It wasn’t until 2008 that the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, a 501(c)3, founded the Susan G. Komen For The Cure Advocacy Alliance, a 501(c)4 non-profit that, under IRS rules, can spend unlimited donor funds on lobbying. It’s that arm of the Komen Foundation that former Secretary of State and failed gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel (R-GA) was hired to run in April 2011, despite being once investigated for issuing voter ID regulations that the Department of Justice determined to be discriminatory against non-white voters. She’d been serving “as a consultant” to the organization since January 2011.
Before Handel’s hiring, Komen’s lobbying shop was staunchly Democratic — from its head to its hired guns, former Democratic aides did most of the heavy lifting on everything from the breast cancer stamp to breast cancer research to its advocacy on the health care bill. And when their lead lobbyist, former Democratic staffer Jennifer Luray, quietly left in 2010, she took with her a six-figure severance package not in keeping with an employee that just found a new job.
At the time Handel was hired as a consultant — shortly after Luray left — Handel told the local magazine Northside Woman that Komen was her first and only client, and that her role was to “(work) with (the affiliates) to make sure they are as strong as they can be,” adding, “we’re making sure there’s a good relationship between the national group and the affiliate group [sic].” She told the Atlanta Trend last year, “Everybody understands that budgets are really, really tight in virtually every state. And that means that every program, no matter how worthwhile, is on the table to be scrutinized.” That would seem to belie Komen Foundation President Nancy Brinker’s assertion today that Handel wasn’t involved in the decision to end most affiliates’ grants to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings, let alone her assertion that none of their decisions were “political.”
Interestingly, before Brinker took the reins of the organization itself and Handel came on board, Komen’s lobbyists had typically leaned to the left, especially since the Advocacy Alliance opened. Though everyone from lobbying powerhouse Patton Boggs to smaller shops like Foley Hoag (a law-firm based practice headed by former Kennedy aide Nick Littlefield) got money from the Komen Foundation to do what limited lobbying is allowed under their tax-exempt status, launching the Advocacy Alliance in 2008 allowed Komen to hire former Democratic aide Heather Podesta’s lobbying firm to represent them alongside its other long-term lobbying firms.
MORE[p]
Komen Foundation Ousted Their Democratic Lobbyist Just Before Hiring Karen Handel
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/02/komen-foundation-ousted-their-democratic-lobbyist-just-before-hiring-karen-handelKomen Foundation ousted their Democratic lobbyist just before hiring Karen Handel
By Megan Carpentier
Thursday, February 2, 2012 17:07 EST
It wasn’t until 2008 that the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, a 501(c)3, founded the Susan G. Komen For The Cure Advocacy Alliance, a 501(c)4 non-profit that, under IRS rules, can spend unlimited donor funds on lobbying. It’s that arm of the Komen Foundation that former Secretary of State and failed gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel (R-GA) was hired to run in April 2011, despite being once investigated for issuing voter ID regulations that the Department of Justice determined to be discriminatory against non-white voters. She’d been serving “as a consultant” to the organization since January 2011.
Before Handel’s hiring, Komen’s lobbying shop was staunchly Democratic — from its head to its hired guns, former Democratic aides did most of the heavy lifting on everything from the breast cancer stamp to breast cancer research to its advocacy on the health care bill. And when their lead lobbyist, former Democratic staffer Jennifer Luray, quietly left in 2010, she took with her a six-figure severance package not in keeping with an employee that just found a new job.
At the time Handel was hired as a consultant — shortly after Luray left — Handel told the local magazine Northside Woman that Komen was her first and only client, and that her role was to “(work) with (the affiliates) to make sure they are as strong as they can be,” adding, “we’re making sure there’s a good relationship between the national group and the affiliate group [sic].” She told the Atlanta Trend last year, “Everybody understands that budgets are really, really tight in virtually every state. And that means that every program, no matter how worthwhile, is on the table to be scrutinized.” That would seem to belie Komen Foundation President Nancy Brinker’s assertion today that Handel wasn’t involved in the decision to end most affiliates’ grants to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings, let alone her assertion that none of their decisions were “political.”
Interestingly, before Brinker took the reins of the organization itself and Handel came on board, Komen’s lobbyists had typically leaned to the left, especially since the Advocacy Alliance opened. Though everyone from lobbying powerhouse Patton Boggs to smaller shops like Foley Hoag (a law-firm based practice headed by former Kennedy aide Nick Littlefield) got money from the Komen Foundation to do what limited lobbying is allowed under their tax-exempt status, launching the Advocacy Alliance in 2008 allowed Komen to hire former Democratic aide Heather Podesta’s lobbying firm to represent them alongside its other long-term lobbying firms.
MORE[p]
February 1, 2012
New Slowpoke Toon: "It's The System, Stupid."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/01/1060327/-Politics-101:-Its-the-system,-stupid?detail=hide&via=blog_792316
January 31, 2012
Group Says FBI Snoops on Wikileaks Supporters
By IULIA FILIP
WASHINGTON (CN) - A nonprofit government watchdog claims the FBI refuses to release information on "the government's identification and surveillance of individuals who have demonstrated support for or interest in WikiLeaks."
The Electronic Privacy Information Center sued the Department of Justice's Criminal Division and National Security Division, and the FBI, in a FOIA complaint in Federal Court.
It claims the Justice Department and FBI refuse to disclose a single record of their tracking of people who are sympathetic to WikiLeaks.
EPIC, a public interest research organization, says it based its request for information "on the need for the public to obtain information about government surveillance of individuals exercising the rights to freedom of speech and association guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."
Group Says FBI Snoops on Wikileaks Supporters; Files Suit
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/01/31/43485.htmGroup Says FBI Snoops on Wikileaks Supporters
By IULIA FILIP
WASHINGTON (CN) - A nonprofit government watchdog claims the FBI refuses to release information on "the government's identification and surveillance of individuals who have demonstrated support for or interest in WikiLeaks."
The Electronic Privacy Information Center sued the Department of Justice's Criminal Division and National Security Division, and the FBI, in a FOIA complaint in Federal Court.
It claims the Justice Department and FBI refuse to disclose a single record of their tracking of people who are sympathetic to WikiLeaks.
EPIC, a public interest research organization, says it based its request for information "on the need for the public to obtain information about government surveillance of individuals exercising the rights to freedom of speech and association guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."
January 29, 2012
Police clash with Oakland protesters, 100 held
By Laird Harrison
Sat Jan 28, 2012 11:51pm EST
OAKLAND (Reuters) - Riot police arrested more than 100 anti-Wall Street protesters during a series of clashes in the streets of Oakland on Saturday that saw officers in riot gear firing tear gas at activists who tried to take over a shuttered convention center.
Three officers were injured during the running confrontations, which police said first erupted when the crowd began destroying construction equipment and tearing down fencing at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in downtown Oakland in the early afternoon.
"Officers were pelted with bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, improvised explosive devices and burning flares," the Oakland Police Department said in a statement. "Oakland Police Department deployed smoke and tear gas."
The scuffles marked the latest confrontation between police and Occupy activists seeking to regain lost momentum in their movement against economic inequality after authorities cleared protest camps across the country late last year.
Police Clash with Oakland Protesters, 100 Held
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE80S00520120129?irpc=932Police clash with Oakland protesters, 100 held
By Laird Harrison
Sat Jan 28, 2012 11:51pm EST
OAKLAND (Reuters) - Riot police arrested more than 100 anti-Wall Street protesters during a series of clashes in the streets of Oakland on Saturday that saw officers in riot gear firing tear gas at activists who tried to take over a shuttered convention center.
Three officers were injured during the running confrontations, which police said first erupted when the crowd began destroying construction equipment and tearing down fencing at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in downtown Oakland in the early afternoon.
"Officers were pelted with bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, improvised explosive devices and burning flares," the Oakland Police Department said in a statement. "Oakland Police Department deployed smoke and tear gas."
The scuffles marked the latest confrontation between police and Occupy activists seeking to regain lost momentum in their movement against economic inequality after authorities cleared protest camps across the country late last year.
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