via youtube.com
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Amnesty International UK - global letter writing event 9-10-dec
Dear Mark,
Last week I wrote to you about the power of letter writing and our new Write for Rights campaign. This week I want to tell you about one of the people your letters could help to free: Azerbaijani youth activist, Jabbar Savalan. Write a letter now
In February, inspired by the events of the ‘Arab Spring’, Jabbar posted a message on Facebook calling for protests against the government of Azerbaijan. The following evening he was arrested and later sentenced to two and a half years in prison on drugs charges - charges we believe were fabricated to punish him. Watch Ian Hislop explain how your letters can help Jabbar
Letters change lives
We've been writing letters for 50 years, because we know that it works. Earlier this year another Azerbaijani prisoner of conscience, Eynulla Fatullayev, was released after an international campaign to free him. He recently told us:‘I believe that if Amnesty will do half as much for Jabbar Savalan as it has done for me, he is sure to be released soon.’
Eynulla FatullayevCall on the President of Azerbaijan to release Jabbar Savalan
Already taken action for Jabbar?
There are another nine people and communities whose lives could be changed by your letters right now. To hear their stories, either click on one of the Amnesty supporters pictured below or view all Write for Rights casesHappy writing,
Tom Davies
Individuals at Risk CampaignerP.S. If you can't write right now, join with thousands of other people around the world by getting involved in our global letter-writing event on 9 - 10 December. Pledge to take part
Spectacular Moharram Pageant - lissping
عکس / محرم فرانر از عزاداری : خرافات، سرگرمی برای عده ای و ریخت و پاش بی حساب
(via Mehr News)
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Marijuana: Legalize 2012 initiative in final drafting stage, to be posted online soon - Denver News - The Latest Word
Marijuana: Legalize 2012 initiative in final drafting stage, to be posted online soon
Comments (16)
Categories: Follow That Story, MarijuanaWe've been hearing a lot about the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012, whose petition passed the 130,000 signature mark last week and could be submitted to the state by year's end according to proponent Mason Tvert. But what about a rival measure, Legalize 2012? Laura Kriho, among its main backers, says it'll be reviewed by the public before officials take a look at it.
Laura Kriho. Kriho is a vocal critic of the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, which she sees as a sop to law enforcement rather than the sort of true legalization measure she envisions. Indeed, the Legalize 2012 forces formally objected to Regulate's name in a July action before the Colorado Title Board. In addition, Kriho argues that the guiding lights of the act -- including Tvert and Sensible Colorado's Brian Vicente -- should have shared the language of their proposal with the public prior to formalizing it. In response, the Regulate supporters say they did community outreach for months before settling on the text.
Whatever the case, Kriho says "we're almost done writing our initiative, and after we're done, we're going to put it up for comment" on the Legalize 2012 website. "We're not going to do what Mason and Brian did."
The timeline? "We hope to have it out before the holidays for comment from the public," she notes. Then, in early January, the initiative will be presented to the title board. She expects to gain approval in about a month's time. "Our goal is to hit the streets for signatures on February 6, six months before the petitions are due, and get them approved by the August deadline, ninety days before the November 6 election."
We'll let you know when the initiative is online.
Click here to follow and like the Michael Roberts/Westword Facebook page.
More from our Marijuana archive, from November 2010: "Photos: Colorado's Legalize 2012 marijuana campaign kicks off in Boulder."
STATE v. ORAM - Opinion filed December 2, 2011.
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STATE v. ORAM STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee, v.
MISTY A. ORAM, Appellant.
No. 104,163.
Court of Appeals of Kansas.
Opinion filed December 2, 2011. Charles D. Lamb, of Kansas City, for appellant.Shawn M. Boyd, assistant district attorney, Jerome A. Gorman, district attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, for appellee.Before GREENE, C.J., GREEN, J. and LARSON, S.J.
GREEN, J.Misty Oram appeals her conviction for possession of marijuana after a bench trial was held on stipulated facts. On appeal, Oram raises two arguments. First, Oram argues that the trial court correctly concluded that the search violated Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332, 129 S.Ct. 1710, 173 L. Ed. 2d 485 (2009), but she argues that the trial court erred when it determined that the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule applied. We determine that the trial court correctly held that the search violated Gant. Nevertheless, we determine that because the search was not conducted in an objectively reasonable manner, the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule did not apply. Second, Oram contends that the trial court erred when it denied her motion to suppress her confession regarding evidence that was seized in the illegal search. We agree. Accordingly, we reverse and remand this case to the trial court with directions to vacate Oram's conviction.On October 2, 2008, at approximately 10:20 p.m., sheriff's deputies in Wyandotte County, Kansas, conducted a routine traffic stop that eventually resulted in the arrests of the driver Oram (for obstruction) and the passenger Emanuel Butler (for an outstanding warrant). The deputies handcuffed both Oram and Butler and placed them in the back seat of separate patrol cars. The deputies then searched the car and found a white paper bag behind the driver's seat which they believed to be marijuana. It was later determined that the substance in the white paper bag was marijuana.After finding the marijuana, Oram was read her Miranda rights which she later waived and agreed to answer questions. Oram confirmed that the marijuana in the car was hers and admitted that she uses it to medicate herself. Oram was then arrested for possession of marijuana.Oram filed three separate motions to suppress. In the first motion, Oram argued that her arrest was unlawful and that the later search was unlawful because it took place while she was secured and away from the vicinity of her car. After hearing evidence, the trial court issued a memorandum opinion. The trial court determined that the deputies had probable cause to arrest Oram for obstruction. The trial court then determined that although the State contends that the search was an inventory search, it was clearly a search incident to arrest. The trial court further held that the search incident to arrest violated the rule set out in Gant but did not explain which factors were violated. After determining that the search was unlawful, the trial court determined that because the deputies acted in good-faith reliance on the law when the search was made, the evidence would not be suppressed.Oram filed two later motions where she argued that her confession should be suppressed because it was the fruit of an illegal search. The trial court again denied her motions. The trial court held that although the search violated Gant, the search was done in good faith and, as a result, the statement was voluntary.After her motions were denied, Oram waived her right to a jury trial and proceeded to a bench trial on stipulated facts. The trial court found Oram guilty of possession of marijuana. Oram was sentenced to 12 months' probation.
via leagle.com
LOS ANGELES, CA: City Council Vote on Resolution to End Corporate Personhood | Move to Amend
Location:Date:December 6, 2011 - 9:30am - 12:00pmLos Angeles City Hall200 North Spring Street Room 340Los Angeles, CA 90012-3224See map: Google MapsCome help make history!
The Los Angeles City Council will vote on a resolution which calls on Congress to amend the Constitution to clearly establish that only living persons, not corporations, are endowed with constitutional rights and that money is not the same as free speech.
If we succeed in passing this resolution, Los Angeles will become the first major city to call for an end to all Corporate Constitutional rights!
The vote will be held on December 6 at 10:00am in Room 340 City Hall.
We want to fill the chambers so please come down to City Hall that day and bring your friends! We'll meet at 9:30am to get organized.
Please RSVP that you'll be attending AND send an email to the City Council members in advance urging them to support the resolution.
We've made it easy for you to send a letter - just click your Councilmember's name and your mail program will open an email with a sample letter for your to personalize and send. It is most effective if you take a few minutes to make the letter your own by adjusting it to fit what you most want to say.
If you have a moment to make a quick phone call that would really help too!
District 1 - Ed Reyes
(213)473-7001District 8 - Bernard Parks
(213)473-7008District 2 - Paul Krekorian
(213)473-7002
District 9 - Jan Perry
(213)473-7009
District 3 - Dennis P. Zine
(213)473-7003
District 10 - Herb J. Wesson, Jr.
(213)473-7010
District 4 - Tom LaBonge
(213)473-7004
District 11 - Bill Rosendahl
(213)473-7011
District 5 - Paul Koretz
(213)473-7005
District 12 - Mitchell Englander
(213)473-7012
District 6 - Tony Cardenas
(213)473-7006
District 13 - Eric Garcetti
(213)473-7013
District 7 - Richard Alarcon
(213)473-7007District 14 - Jose Huizar
(213)473-7014
via movetoamend.org
Forbes - The National Defense Authorization Act is the Greatest Threat to Civil Liberties Americans Face
12/05/2011 @ 9:48PM |4,569 views
The National Defense Authorization Act is the Greatest Threat to Civil Liberties Americans Face
E.D. Kain, Contributor
Image via Wikipedia
If Obama does one thing for the remainder of his presidency let it be a veto of the National Defense Authorization Act – a law being debated in the Senate currently which would place domestic terror investigations and interrogations into the hands of the military and which would open the door for trial-free, indefinite detention of anyone, including American citizens, so long as the government calls them terrorists.
So much for innocent until proven guilty. So much for limited government. What Americans are now facing is quite literally the end of the line. We will either uphold the freedoms baked into our Constitutional Republic, or we will scrap the entire project in the name of security as we wage, endlessly, this futile, costly, and ultimately self-defeating War on Terror.
Over at Wired, Spencer Ackerman gives us the long and short of things:
There are still changes swirling around the Senate, but this looks like the basic shape of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. Someone the government says is “a member of, or part of, al-Qaida or an associated force” can be held in military custody “without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.” Those hostilities are currently scheduled toend the Wednesday after never. The move would shut down criminal trials for terror suspects.
But far more dramatically, the detention mandate to use indefinite military detention in terrorism cases isn’t limited to foreigners. It’s confusing, because two different sections of the bill seem to contradict each other, but in the judgment of the University of Texas’ Robert Chesney — a nonpartisan authority on military detention — “U.S. citizens are included in the grant of detention authority.”
An amendment that would limit military detentions to people captured overseas failed on Thursday afternoon. The Senate soundly defeated a measure to strip out all the detention provisions on Tuesday.
So despite the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a right to trial, the Senate bill would let the government lock up any citizen it swears is a terrorist, without the burden of proving its case to an independent judge, and for the lifespan of an amorphous war that conceivably will never end. And because the Senate is using the bill that authorizes funding for the military as its vehicle for this dramatic constitutional claim, it’s pretty likely to pass.
I seriously don’t care if you’re a liberal or a conservative or a libertarian or a Zen anarchist. So long as you aren’t Carl Levin or John McCain, the bill’s architects, you can join the Civil Liberties Caucus. Spencer writes:
Weirder still, the bill’s chief architect, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), tried to persuade skeptics that the bill wasn’t so bad. His pitch? “The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States,” he said on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill would just letthe government detain a citizen in military custody, not force it to do that. Reassured yet?
Civil libertarians aren’t. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said it “denigrates the very foundations of this country.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) added, “it puts every single American citizen at risk.”
This is what I mean: Give me Rand Paul and Al Franken any day of the week over the Levins and McCains of the Senate. We need more elected officials with the sensibility of Ron Wyden or Al Franken on the left, or Rand Paul on the right. Right and left are such shoddy, ad hoc descriptors these days anyways.
What’s truly at stake when we start talking about Big Government and such is far more dangerous and preposterous than high marginal tax rates.
We’re talking about the stripping away of our most basic freedoms. We’re talking about a potential state that can call me a terrorist for writing this blog post and then lock me up and throw away the key.
What’s the line from Batman? It’s always darkest just before the dawn. I like to think that’s true, because times seem awfully dark these days.
You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here.
Monday, 5 December 2011
Overseas Embassies and Consulates of Syria - We need to take action to demand the release of Razan and all political prisoners in Syria.
Syrian Embassy in Algiers, Algeria
Syrian Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Syrian Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia
Syrian Consulate in Arncliffe, NSW, Australia
Syrian Embassy in Vienna, Austria
Syrian Embassy in Brussel, Belgium
Syrian Embassy in Brasilia, Brazil
Syrian Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria
Syrian Embassy in Ottawa, Canada
Syrian Embassy in Santiago De Chile, Chile
Syrian Embassy in Beijing, China
Syrian Embassy in Havana, Cuba
Syrian Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus
Syrian Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic
Syrian Embassy in Cairo, Egypt
Syrian Embassy in Paris, France
Syrian Embassy in Berlin, Germany
Syrian Embassy in Athens, Greece
Syrian Embassy in Budapest, Hungary
Syrian Embassy in New Delhi, India
Syrian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia
Syrian Embassy in Tehran, Iran
Syrian Embassy in Rome, Italy
Syrian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan
Syrian Embassy in Amman, Jordan
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
Algiers, Algeria
City: Algiers
Phone: (+213) 21912026, 21912031
Fax: (+213) 21912030
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
Avenida Callao 956
1023 Buenos Aires, Argentina
City: Buenos Aires
Phone: (54 11) 4813-2113 / (54 11) 4813-5438
Fax: (54 11) 4814-3211
Email: embanic@overnet.com.ar
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
4, Marshall Bagramian Ave, Yerevan
City: Yerevan
Phone: + 374 2 52-40-28
Fax: + 374 2 52-40-58
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Honorary Consulate of the Syrian Arab Republic
10 Belmore Street
Arncliffe, NSW 2205
Australia
City: Arncliffe, NSW
Phone: (+61-2) 95977714, 95662037
Fax: (+61-2) 95972226, 96659850
Email: alex1@cherry.com
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Honorary Consulate of the Syrian Arab Republic
2nd Floor, 57 Cardigan Street
Carlton, VIC 3053
Australia
City: Carlton
Phone: (+61-3) 93478445
Fax: (+61-3) 93478447
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Canberra, Australia
41 Culgoa Circuit O'Malley
Act 2606 Canberra
- Australia.
City: Canberra
Phone: (61) 2 6218 5200
Fax: (61) 2 6218 5250
Website: http://syrianembassy.org.au/syr/english/index.php?page=category&category_id=41
Email: info@syrianembassy.org.au, consular@syrianembassy.org.au
Office Hours: Working Hours : 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Monday to Friday
Details: Embassy has updated the visa fees for Australian passport holders to be /100/ Australian dollars for single and multiple entries, and /105/ Australian dollars for New Zealand passport holders
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
Daffingerstrasse 4
1030 Wien
Austria
City: Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 5334633, 5334634/5
Fax: (+43-1) 5334632
Email: vienna_embassy@syrianembassy.jet2web.at
Office Hours: Office Hours 09.30 - 13.00
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Honorary General Consulate of the Syrian Arab Republic
Kärntnerring 4
1015 Vienna
Austria
City: Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 5042830
Fax: (+43-1) 5058381
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Embassy of Syria in Brussel, Belgium
3.Avenue Franklin Roosevelt BXL 1050
City: Brussel
Phone: +32(0)26480135
Fax: +32(0)26464018
Website: http://www.syrianembassy.be/
Email: info@syrianembassy.be
Office Hours: Opening hours Monday-Friday: 09:00 AM - 12:00 AM Saturday- Sunday: Closed
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
Avenida das Naes Lote 11
70434-900 Brasilia, D.F.
Brazil
City: Brasilia
Phone: (+55) (61) 3226-1260/(+55) (61) 3226-0970
Fax: (+55) (61) 3223-2595
Email: embsiria@uol.com.br
Office Hours: Office Hours 08.00-14.30
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Consulate General of the Syrian Arab Republic
Avenida Paulista 326, 6°andar, Conj 61
01310-000 São Paulo
Brazil
City: São Paulo
Phone: (+55-11) 2880060
Fax: (+55-11) 2883941
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
Hristo Gueorguiev Street 10
1000 Sofia
Bulgaria
City: Sofia
Phone: (+359-2) 9433059, 441585
Fax: (+359-2) 442396
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Ottawa, Canada
151 Slater Street, Suite 1000
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 5H3
City: Ottawa
Phone: (613) 569-5556
Fax: (613) 569-3800
Website: http://www.syrianembassy.ca/
Email: consular@syrianembassy.ca
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 - 15:30
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Honorary Consular of Syria in Toronto, Canada
7370 Baramalea Road, Suite 14
Mississauga, ON L5S 1N6
Canada
City: Mississauga
Phone: (905) 564-0955
Fax: (905) 564-6302
Website: http://www.syrianembassy.ca
Email: yaser-kherdaji@syriatoday.ca
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 - 15:30
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Honorary Consular of Syria in Montreal, Canada
740 Côte vertu, suite 180
V.S.L. (Québec), H4L 5C8
City: Montreal
Phone: 514-744-0084
Fax: 514-744-9423
Website: http://www.syrianembassy.ca
Email: syrian.consulate@hotmail.com
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 - 15:30
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
Carmencita 111
Las Condes
Santiago de Chile, Chile
City: Santiago de Chile
Phone: (+56-2) 2327471, 2327472
Fax: (+56-2) 2311825
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
sanlitun Dongsijie No.6 - 100600 Beijing - China
City: Beijing
Phone: 10-65321372
Fax: 10-65321575
Website: http://www.syria.org.cn/en/index.html
Email: sy@syria.org.cn
Office Hours: The working hours for visa application: On Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:00am-12:00am). It needs four workdays for the applicants to receive the visa.
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Havana, Cuba
5ta Avenida #7402 E174 y 76
Miramar
Havana
Cuba
City: Havana
Phone: (+53-7) 332266, 332434
Fax: (+53-7) 332829
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Nicosia, Cyprus
Nikodimou Mylona 24, 1071 Nicosia
P. O. Box 21891, 1514
Nicosia/South
City: Nicosia
Phone: + 357 2 2764481
Fax: + 357-2 2756963
Office Hours: Monday-Friday: 08:30 - 14:30
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
Pod Kastany 16
16000 Prague 6, Czech Republic
City: Prague
Phone: (+420) 224310952, 224311171
Fax: (+420) 224317911
Website: http://www.syrianembassy.cz/
Email: souria@volny.cz
Office Hours: Office Hours 09.00 - 15.00 Entrance: Heineho 10
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Cairo, Egypt
18 Abdel Rahim Sabry
P.O.Box 435 Dokki
Cairo, Egypt
Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Paris, France
20, Rue Vaneau
75007 Paris
City: Paris
Phone: 01 40 62 6100
Fax: 01 47 05 9273
Website: http://www.amb-syr.fr
Email: ambassade-syrie@wanadoo.fr
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Honorary Consulate of Syria in Marseille, France
27, rue Paradis - 13001 Marseille
City: Marseille
Phone: 04.91.54.73.00
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Honorary Consulate of Syria in Pointe-a-Pitre, France
ZAC de Sergent
97160 Le Moule
City: Pointe-a-Pitre
Phone: 0.590.23.69.94
Fax: 0.590.23.49.00
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Berlin, Germany
Botschaft Syrien, Rauchstrasse 25
Berlin 10787
City: Berlin
Phone: 030-50177-0
Fax: 030-50177-311
Website: http://www.syrianembassy.de
Email: info@syrianembassy.de
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Honorary Consulate of Syria in Hamburg, Germany
Honorarkonsul Syrien, Brooktor 11
Hamburg 20457
City: Hamburg
Phone: 0 40 321 861
Fax: 0 40 327 086
Office Hours: Office Hours 09.00-13.00
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
DIAMANDIDOU 61,P.Psychico 154 52 ATHENS- GREECE
P.Box: P.Psychico 650 85
15452 Athens
Greece
City: Athens
Phone: (210) 6722324 - 6715713 - 6725577; Consular Section Tel: (210) 725575
Fax: (210) 6716402
Website: http://www.syrianembassy.gr/Ambassador.html
Email: ambassador@syrianembassy.gr, admin@syrianembassy.gr
Office Hours: Monday-Friday: 08:30 AM - 15:00 AM
Details: Ideal Periods for Travel in Syria: in Spring ( April , May ) and in autumn ( September, October ) .In winter , the climate is mild but the nights can be cold . The summer months are very dry , with the temperature varying from 30 to 40 degrees .
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
22 Ker. Harangvirag u. 3
1026 Budapest
Hungary
City: Budapest
Phone: +36 1 2008138 / +36 1 200804
Fax: +36 1 2008048
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
28 Vasant Marg
New Delhi 110057
India
City: New Delhi
Phone: (+91-11) 6870233, 6870285
Fax: (+91-11) 6143107
Office Hours: Office Hours 08.30-15.00
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
Jalan Karan Asem 1/8
Kuningan Raya
Jakarta 12950
Indonesia
City: Jakarta
Phone: + 62 + 21 +520411 / + 62 + 21 +5255991
Fax: + 62 + 21 +5202511
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
P.O.Box 15815-356
Africa Avenue, 19 Iraj Street
Tehran
Iran
City: Tehran
Phone: (+98-21) 2059031/2, 2052780
Fax: (+98-21) 2059409
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
Piazza del'Ara Coeli 1
00186 Rome
Italy
Embassy of Syria in Tokyo, Japan
Homat-Jade, 6-19-45
Akasaka, Minato-ku
Post Code:107 Tokyo, Japan
City: Tokyo
Phone: 35868977/ 35868978
Fax: 35868979
Website: http://syrian-embassy.jp/
Office Hours: 9:30 AM ~ 12:00 PM
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Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
P.O.Box 1733
Amman
Jordan
City: Amman
Phone: (+962-6) 5920684 / 5923791
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