Commondreams.org Newswire

Bill Clarifying Rights of Same-Sex Couples Married Outside of California Passes Key Committee

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 16:18:15 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Equality California (EQCA)

Today SB 54, which clarifies the rights of same-sex couples married outside of California, passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee in a 7-3 vote.

Senate Overturns Obama Decision Wednesday to Rescind Flawed Bush “No-Match” Immigration Rule

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 16:01:38 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

ACLU

The U.S. Senate passed by voice vote today an amendment offered by Senate David Vitter (R-LA) requiring employers to fire workers, including U.S. citizens, who are unable to resolve discrepancies in their Social Security records. The Senate vote seeks to overturn President Obama's decision Wednesday to rescind the fatally flawed Bush administration Social Security no-match rule by prohibiting the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") from implementing any changes to it.

US Human Rights Activists Stand Vigil in front of the United States Embassy in Honduras

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 16:01:17 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

School of the Americas Watch

A delegation of U.S. citizens from School of the Americas Watch will be standing vigil in front of the U.S. embassy in Honduras to call upon their government follow through with actions consistent to their acknowledgment of a coup in Honduras. Earlier this morning, the group had a meeting with the U.S. ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens.

The U.S. embassy vigil will take place today, Thursday, July 9 at 2 p.m.

Latin America Experts Call on Clinton to Oppose Early Elections Option in Honduras

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 15:19:42 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Latin American Experts

Over 35 scholars and experts on Latin America sent an open letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today urging against the idea of early elections in Honduras as a possible resolution of the current crisis resulting from the June 28 military coup d'etat. Stating that "Anything less than the urgent restoration of President Manuel Zelaya to office would be an usurpation of the will of the Honduran people," the signers urged Clinton to enact forceful sanctions on the coup regime to ensure Zelaya's prompt reinstatement.

Food & Water Watch Exposes Kona Blue’s Claims of Sustainability

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:13:47 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Food & Water Watch

Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy group, today released a paper that rebutts the recent claims by Kona Blue Water Farms that the fish it raises are more sustainable than wild fish. The consumer group's paper enumerates the problems with the Hawaii-based aquaculture operation's methods and debunks the claims that its Kona Kampachi fish are sixty times as "efficient" as wild fish.

CREW Asks DoJ for Criminal Investigation Into Ensign Severance Payment to Former Mistress

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:11:44 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

CREW

Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), called on Attorney General Eric Holder to order a criminal investigation into payments made by Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) to his former mistress, Cynthia Hampton, when he fired her from her positions with his campaign committee and leadership political action committee (PAC).

CREW's request is in direct response to statements by Ms. Hampton's husband, Doug Hampton, that Sen. Ensign provided Ms. Hampton with over $25,000 in severance.

Environmentalists Signal Support for Sotomayor

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:08:27 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Earthjustice

Senate Judiciary Committee members received a letter today signed by 60 national, regional, state, and local environmental, conservation and Native American organizations representing millions of members and supporters. The letter signals strong support for the Senate to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Americans United Urges Senate Judiciary Committee to Ascertain Sotomayor's Views on Church-State Separation

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:07:12 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today reiterated its call for the Senate Judiciary Committee to question Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on issues relating to religious liberty and church-state separation.

The committee is scheduled to begin hearings on Sotomayor on Monday. In advance of that, Americans United has released a report listing Sotomayor's rulings on church-state issues.

Amnesty International Charges That Iran Used Tear Gas Against Demonstrators Marking 18 Tir Anniversary

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:53:50 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Amnesty International - USA

Amnesty International condemned the excessive use of force by Iranian security forces today, following baton charges and use of teargas against demonstrators in Tehran commemorating today's tenth anniversary of 18 Tir, the brutal suppression of student-lead protests in 1999.

California Congressional Delegation Urges Obama Admin to Let State Protect Its Waters From Ship Pollution

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:25:00 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Friends of the Earth

Members of Congress from California sent a letter yesterday to Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, urging the EPA to allow California to protect its waters and the public from harmful sewage and pollution discharges from large ships.

The Fight Against Chagas: Time to Focus on Patients

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 11:51:25 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) today launched a campaign to raise awareness of the parasitic disease Chagas. MSF is calling on countries where the disease is endemic to stop neglecting the disease by moving beyond prevention activities to increased diagnosis and treatment.

The campaign, "Chagas: It's Time to Break the Silence," coincides with the 100th anniversary of the discovery of one of the world's most neglected diseases.

ACLU Seeks End to Censorship of Religious Material by Virginia Jail

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 11:41:30 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia today demanded that officials at the Rappahannock Regional Jail immediately end their illegal practice of censoring religious material sent to detainees.

Equatorial Guinea: Account for Oil Wealth

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:55:41 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

The government of Equatorial Guinea has set new low standards of political and economic malfeasance in handling its billions of dollars in oil revenue instead of improving the lives of its citizens, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

The 107-page report, "Well Oiled: Oil and Human Rights in Equatorial Guinea," details how the dictatorship under President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has used an oil boom to entrench and enrich itself further at the expense of the country's people.

AIDS Activists Take Over Capitol Rotunda to Demand Action on AIDS From Obama and Congress

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:15:11 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Health GAP

Dozens of AIDS activists from across the Northeast U.S. risked arrest today, staging a loud demonstration inside the Capitol Rotunda on the eve of key Congressional votes on appropriations for life-saving programs and one day before President Obama’s first trip to Africa since his election.

Fish & Wildlife Service in Florida: Portrait of a Failed Agency

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 09:46:02 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)

Sam Hamilton, the man tapped to run the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, presided over rampant destruction of open space vital to Florida's fragile and fraying web of wildlife, according to documents posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). In order to justify his agency's approvals of waves of development, Hamilton enabled FWS managers to skew science, terrorize scientists and drive out whistleblowers.

Fish & Wildlife Service in Florida: Portrait of a Failed Agency

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 09:46:02 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)

Sotomayor Not an Activist Judge, Study Finds

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 09:43:16 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Brennan Center for Justice

A new comparative study of 1,194 constitutional cases shows that Judge Sonia Sotomayor is neither an "activist" judge nor an "outlier" jurist among her peers on the Second Circuit. In the run-up to next week's Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings, the unprecedented depth of this analysis provides hard data to counter the rhetoric of "judicial activism" that has plagued her nomination since May.

UK: Investigate Complicity in Torture in Pakistan

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 09:24:56 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

The UK government should order an independent judicial inquiry into mounting evidence that its security services and law enforcement agencies were complicit in the torture of terrorism suspects in Pakistan, Human Rights Watch said today.

In Norway, Obama a "Right Winger"

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 09:03:14 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA)

GEORGE LAKEY

Where Is the Iranian Movement Going?

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 08:59:26 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2009

Iran Analysts

Conference call time: Thursday July 9, NOON ET

Conference Dial-in Number: (218) 844-8230
Participant Access Code: 1027804#

The Huffington Post is hosting a teleconference on July 9 with Mohsen Makhmalbaf (spokesperson for the Mir-Hossein Moussavi's campaign abroad), Fatemeh Haghighatjoo (former Iranian parliamentarian) and Hamid Dabashi (Columbia University professor).

Michigan Citizens Score Victory in Bottled Water Battle Against Nestlé

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 16:43:40 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009

Food & Water Watch

"Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation went to court on Monday, July 6 and prevented Nestlé Waters North America from pumping even more water from an already depleted stream in Mecosta County to bottle for its Ice Mountain brand bottled water.

House Subcommittee to Examine Role of Federal Statute in Denying Prison Rape Victims Access to Court

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 16:28:37 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009

ACLU

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security will hold a hearing today to examine the role of a federal statute in denying prison rape victims access to courts. During today's hearing, entitled "National Prison Rape Elimination Commission Report and Standards," lawmakers will review the need to reform provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA), a law intended to reduce frivolous lawsuits by prisoners.

Ad Campaign Asks President Obama to Keep Promise to Protect Roadless Forests

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 15:52:00 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009

Conservation Groups

Conservation groups working to save America's nearly 60 million acres of roadless national forests launched a national advertising campaign with a target audience of one: President Obama.

View the campaign at www.roadlessnow.org

"The Obama Justice System"

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 15:47:57 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009

Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA)

The Wall Street Journal reports today: "The Obama administration said Tuesday it could continue to imprison non-U.S. citizens indefinitely even if they have been acquitted of terrorism charges by a U.S. military commission.

Honduras: Evidence Suggests Soldiers Shot Into Unarmed Crowd

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 15:36:34 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Evidence obtained by Human Rights Watch suggests that Honduran soldiers may have used excessive force against supporters of the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, outside the Tegucigalpa airport on July 5, 2009, Human Rights Watch said today. At least one teenage boy was killed, and more than 10 other people are reported to have been injured during the confrontation between soldiers and demonstrators. Reports of a second death remain unconfirmed.

Hearing Tomorrow on State Water Permit for Catawba-Wateree Dams

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 15:35:10 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009

American Rivers

A hearing will be held tomorrow to address the concerns of American Rivers and the Coastal Conservation League over a recent water quality permit issued by the South Carolina's Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The groups said last month that DHEC isn't doing enough to protect the health of the Catawba and Wateree rivers at five dams operated by Duke Energy. The state permit carries mandatory conditions for a new 30-50 year operating license sought by Duke Energy for its Catawba-Wateree Hydroelectric Project.

Justice Department Official Tells Congress Due Process Applies to Guantánamo Military Commissions

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 14:45:39 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009

ACLU

In a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill about the Guantánamo military commissions Tuesday, Justice Department official David Kris testified that the Due Process Clause of the Constitution should indeed apply to the commissions system. However, in other testimony, Defense Department official Jeh Johnson stated that the United States can continue to indefinitely hold detainees who have been acquitted of crimes.

Polar Bears Poisoned by Pesticide Pollution: Lawsuit to Be Filed to Force EPA to Protect Arctic From Pesticide Contamination

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 14:41:39 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009

Center for Biological Diversity

Today the Center for Biological Diversity notified the Environmental Protection Agency of its intent to file suit against the agency for failing to consider impacts to the polar bear and its Arctic habitat from toxic contamination resulting from pesticide use in the United States.

Human Rights Campaign Comments on Historic Challenge to Discriminatory 'Defense of Marriage Act'

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 14:39:18 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009

Human Rights Campaign

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization, today commends the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Attorney General Martha Coakley for filing a federal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA"), which denies thousands of married same-sex couples in Massachusetts access to over 1,000 federal protections, benefits and obligations.

US: Revisions Can’t Fix Military Commissions

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 14:37:51 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Obama administration-backed legislation before the US Senate to revise military commissions would harm efforts to bring terrorism suspects to justice, Human Rights Watch said today. The changes to existing military commissions legislation were included in the defense authorization bill that was approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee last week and is expected to be voted on by the full Senate next week.