fattymoon's posterous

From my inbox - Civil Liberties and survival

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China leads US in another area.

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If you are buying prescription meds directly, that is, not through your
health insurance policy (or you don't have health insurance), there's
a discount program available for you that doesn't cost you anything.
You do need a prescription ordering the drug.
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On New Year’s Eve, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which could spell the end of due process and the right to trial—but not if We the People have anything to do with it.

The Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) has been coordinating grassroots efforts across the country to turn back the tide on the NDAA and restore the right to trial. Since our elected officials in Washington seem ignorant of the Constitution, it’s time to take action at the local level, where we still have a voice and can make a real difference.

BORDC has drafted a resolution that gives any city or town the opportunity to raise its voice in defense of due process and the right to trial. Cities, counties, and even states across America have already begun mobilizing, and the first resolution opposing the NDAA has already passed in El Paso County, CO, home of the US Air Force Academy. Could your city or town be next?

If you want to make your community part of the movement, we’ll support you every step of the way.

  1. Check out our anti-NDAA resolution, which offers your local elected leaders a way to raise their voices.
  2. Review our toolkit for local campaigns opposing the NDAA’s detention provisions. It includes talking points, action ideas, and more.
  3. Once you’re ready to start a campaign in your community, sign up for more support. We’ll add your city to the national campaign map we’ll be launching soon.

Beyond these materials, we at BORDC—National Field Organizer George Friday and Grassroots Campaign Coordinator Emma Roderick—are standing by to support you, answer any questions you might have, and help you reach out to people in your community.

The NDAA has already taken effect, and although President Obama has promised not to use all the powers it authorizes, they will remain available for future administrations unless Congress repeals them. So don’t wait—there’s no better day than today to restore due process and reaffirm the right to trial.

Looking forward to working with you!

George Friday
National Field Organizer

Emma Roderick
Grassroots Campaign Coordinator

Bill of Rights Defense Committee
8 Bridge Street, Suite A, Northampton, MA 01060
www.bordc.org
info@bordc.org
Telephone: 413-582-0110
Fax: 413-582-0116

 

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FBI says activists who investigate factory farms can be prosecuted as terrorists

The FBI tracked animal rights activists who exposed factory farm abuses and recommended they be prosecuted as terrorists for causing corporate economic losses, according to a recently released FBI file.
Activist Ryan Shapiro submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the 2003 FBI documents, which track the work of activists who worked undercover to expose animal welfare abuses. The activists trespassed onto factory farms to videotape and photograph animal rights abuses, and some activists also released abused animals.
Animal and environmental advocates were singled out by the FBI because they pose a risk not to human life, but rather to corporate profits.
FBI agents initiated their investigations under the pretense that the activists "disrupt the normal business and cause economic loss" to the corporations they examined. The FBI reasoned this was a violation of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), a bill that targets environmental and animal rights activists, labeling them “eco-terrorists.”
AETA instills fear among activists and constitutional experts because the law criminalizes First Amendment-protected activity. Furthermore, the law unfairly penalizes animal welfare activists by designating them as terrorists, despite the fact that their activities would not be considered terrorism if they were instead advocating a different belief or interested solely in personal gain.
AETA supporters claim it only targets people who "burn down buildings." Yet the law has a much larger purview; it has been used to punish activists for causing a business "loss of profits." The Center for Constitutional Rights filed a lawsuit against the AETA in December because of its breach of civil liberties.
The disclosed documents show definitively that the FBI opens investigations in order to defend corporate profits, a revelation that furthers longstanding concerns about corporate cooptation of terrorism policy. The danger of corporate influence can be seen in recent policies ranging from the TSA’s body scanners to the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program to ongoing national security letter abuses under the PATRIOT Act—none of which effectively protect national security, but all of which are quite lucrative for private contractors.
Targeting animal rights activists is also disturbing because of it precedent it sets. By laying a foundation for government targeting of advocates who threaten corporate profits, treating radical environmental activists as terrorists could help justify similar crackdowns on Occupy sites, Tea Party groups, or other grassroots advocates exercising their First Amendment rights.

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Over Half of Germany's Renewable Energy Owned By Citizens & Farmers, Not Utility Companies
Germany's promotion of renewable energy rightly gets singled out for its effectiveness, most often by me as an example of how to do things well versus the fits and starts method of promotion common in the US. Over at Wind-Works, Paul Gipe points out another interesting facet of the German renewable energy saga: 51% of all renewable energy in Germany is owned by individual citizens or farms, totaling $100 billion worth of private investment in clean energy. 

http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/over-half-germany-renewable-energy-owned-citizens-not-utility-companies.html

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In addition to next week's schedule at the Community Enterprise Center,
there will also be a Great Conversation at
The Montana Senior Village
on
Monday, January 23rd - from 1:00 - 2:30pm. 

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Monday, January 23rd
at
**Montana Senior Village**
West Side of El Paseo - Past Taco Bell
Turn right into the driveway at 305 Montana.
Go through the gate and park at the
Office/Community Center
or surrounding parking, but
NOT
in the residence parking.
  1:00 - 2:30pm
Let's take a look at
"Sustainability"
What does that word really mean?
Can we sustain and maintain 
the lifestyles we're accustomed to?
What does sustainability look like?
How do we go about it? 

Check the Great Conversation Blog For Postings 
of Relevant Articles & Videos.
Please Feel Free to Post Your Own Comments and Links
*
http://thegreatconversationlascrucesnm.blogspot.com/