Monthly Archives: January 2014

Pelath seeks best strategy for defeating HJR 3

Posted: January 27, 2014 at 2:41 am

By Ryanne Wise and Erika Brock

The minority leader in the Indiana House is drafting an amendment to strip the controversial second sentence out of a constitutional proposal to ban same sex marriage.

But Rep. Scott Pelath said he's not certain he'll call the language for a vote. Instead, the Michigan City Democrat said he's analyzing the best way to defeat the proposal.

The constitutional amendment - House Joint Resolution 3 - would, first, define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The second sentence would prohibit any legal relationship that is "identical or substantially similar" to marriage.

"My first approach is to extinguish the obvious stink bomb of the second sentence and if they are going to insist to move this forward, let's at least get that monstrous language out of there," Pelath said. "The second approach is letting HJR 3 die under its own lumbering brontosaurus-like weight."

Pelath said he'll talk to members of the Democratic caucus - who hold just 31 of the chamber's 100 seats - before deciding how to proceed.

An amendment to HJR 3 means the constitutional amendment process would likely restart. That could postpone a possible ratification by voters from this fall to 2016.

Republicans will likely be waiting for Pelath's decision as well. Rep. Casey Cox, R-Fort Wayne, voted for HJR 3 when it came before the House Elections Committee this week. But later, he said that he may vote against the proposal when it reaches the House floor next week.

Cox said he wants to "reconsider" the second sentence. He cited concerns raised by a lawyer with Indiana University, who said the provision threatens the school's ability to offer benefits to same-sex partners.

"I thought IU's council made some points that certainly need further discussion," Cox said. "The caucus really wanted this to come to the floor. I can understand that. If it remains intact, I certainly reserve the right to vote no."

Excerpt from:
Pelath seeks best strategy for defeating HJR 3

Posted in Transhuman | Comments Off on Pelath seeks best strategy for defeating HJR 3

February 4th Second Amendment Rally Announcement – Video

Posted: at 2:41 am


February 4th Second Amendment Rally Announcement
Delegate Smigiel Announces a pro-gun rally on February 4th at 11am on Lawyers Mall in front of the state capitol.

By: James Madison

See original here:
February 4th Second Amendment Rally Announcement - Video

Posted in Second Amendment | Comments Off on February 4th Second Amendment Rally Announcement – Video

"Piers Morgan Act" To "Reaffirm Oklahomans' Second Amendment rights" – Video

Posted: at 2:41 am


"Piers Morgan Act" To "Reaffirm Oklahomans #39; Second Amendment rights"
"Piers Morgan Act" To "Reaffirm Oklahomans #39; Second Amendment rights"

By: Hacks

Go here to read the rest:
"Piers Morgan Act" To "Reaffirm Oklahomans' Second Amendment rights" - Video

Posted in Second Amendment | Comments Off on "Piers Morgan Act" To "Reaffirm Oklahomans' Second Amendment rights" – Video

French 201 | Free Speech | 2014-01-20 – Video

Posted: at 2:40 am


French 201 | Free Speech | 2014-01-20
2 months progress.

By: lingojourney

View post:
French 201 | Free Speech | 2014-01-20 - Video

Posted in Free Speech | Comments Off on French 201 | Free Speech | 2014-01-20 – Video

AP Civics Video – Video

Posted: at 2:40 am


AP Civics Video
A video on student rights and liberties covering religion, privacy, and free speech.

By: Joshua Kramer

Read the original post:
AP Civics Video - Video

Posted in Free Speech | Comments Off on AP Civics Video – Video

Bill HR 347-Free Speech is a Felony Now – Video

Posted: at 2:40 am


Bill HR 347-Free Speech is a Felony Now
http://www.westernjournalism.com/obama-just-made-free-speech-felony/ Yes,bills are being passed now to eliminate any freedoms by congress for us to peacefully protest anyone protected by Secret...

By: CosmicTruthNetwork

Read this article:
Bill HR 347-Free Speech is a Felony Now - Video

Posted in Free Speech | Comments Off on Bill HR 347-Free Speech is a Felony Now – Video

Libya: Critical TV Bans Setback for Speech

Posted: at 2:40 am

Reverse Punitive Scholarship, Salary Cuts for Anti-February 17 Revolution Students and Employees

January 26, 2014

(Tripoli, January 27, 2014) A new decree passed byLibyas parliament banning satellite television stations critical of the government and the 2011 uprising against Gaddafi violates free speech and Libyas Provisional Constitutional Declaration. The decree was passed January 22, 2014. The government also slashed scholarship funding for students abroad, along with salaries and bonuses to employees who take part in activities inimical to the revolution.

Youd think that Libyans learned long ago that suppressing speech, no matter how harsh, does nothing to foster security or peace, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director. The best way to confront opinions that the government doesnt like is to challenge them with better ideas that will convince Libyans.

Decree 5/2014, Concerning the Cessation and Ban on the Broadcasting of Certain Satellite Channels, passed by Libyas parliament, the General National Congress (GNC), on January 22, instructs the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Communications, and [Mass] Media to take necessary steps required to halt the transmission of all satellite television stations that are hostile to the February 17 revolution and whose purpose is the destabilization of the country or creating divisions among Libyans. It further instructs the government to take all measures against states or businesses in territories from where the channels are broadcast if they do not block the transmission of these stations.

The decree violates freedom of expression because it censors a wide range of speech, including peaceful political dissent, and its broad and vague wording is open to arbitrary implementation, Human Rights Watch said. While the government could lawfully ban speech that is found to directly incite violence, it should not ban all of a satellite channels broadcasts even if some of the speech that it disseminates is found to incite violence. Human Rights Watch urged the government to revoke the resolution.

The ban appears intended to block satellite stations that have taken a pro-Gaddafi position in their editorial content; in particular, it appears aimed at a pro-Gaddafi station, al-Khadra Channel, and al-Jamahiriyah.

Libyas government also passed Resolution 13/2014 on January 24, discontinuing scholarships to students studying abroad and salaries and bonuses to Libyan employees, for taking part in activities inimical to the February 17 revolution, which is widely understood to encompass statements and protests against the current government. It calls on Libyan embassies abroad and others to draw up lists of names and refer them to the Prosecutor General for prosecution.

These efforts to sanction Libyans who dont support the revolution or the current government should be an embarrassment for all those who pledged a new era of freedom for Libyans, Whitson said. Punishing students and employees who dont toe the governments political line is a tactic that should have ended with the fall of Gaddafi.

The governments effort to ban pro-Gaddafi media comes in the context of a difficult political and security environment. Seemingly pro-Gaddafi armed groups in southern and western Libya have engaged in pitched battles against pro-government forces, resulting in at least 154 deaths and 463 injured people according to an Agence France Presse report. In the past year, armed groups and unknown assailants assassinated at least 70 Libyans associated with the Gaddafi government, mainly former members of the Gaddafi security forces, but also political opponents of Gaddafi, and judges, with virtually no arrests by the government.

Go here to see the original:
Libya: Critical TV Bans Setback for Speech

Posted in Free Speech | Comments Off on Libya: Critical TV Bans Setback for Speech

International space station training lab on Earth – Video

Posted: January 26, 2014 at 5:44 pm


International space station training lab on Earth

By: JOHNSON BOY

The rest is here:
International space station training lab on Earth - Video

Posted in Space Station | Comments Off on International space station training lab on Earth – Video

UFO on Nasa video International Space Station This week1 – Video

Posted: at 5:44 pm


UFO on Nasa video International Space Station This week1
OVNI UFO.

By: OVNI UFO

More here:
UFO on Nasa video International Space Station This week1 - Video

Posted in Space Station | Comments Off on UFO on Nasa video International Space Station This week1 – Video

Space station science under microscope

Posted: at 5:44 pm

Nasa

400km ABOVE: The International Space Station photographed from the shuttle Endeavour.

After the White House decided recently to prolong the life of the International Space Station until 2024, the US' top science official declared that the four-year extension would help Nasa get a big return on its US$100 billion (NZ$120b) investment.

The station is "proving to be an amazingly flexible laboratory," said John Holdren, chief science adviser to President Barack Obama.

Yet despite his endorsement, critics ranging from space bloggers to official Nasa watchdogs say the agency still has work to do before the station reaches its scientific potential.

"The old adage is that if you build it, they will come," said Keith Cowing, a former Nasa space station payload manager who runs the popular website Nasa Watch.

"Well, it's there, but Nasa has a lot of catching up to do in terms of fully utilising the capability of the space station."

Billed as the "largest spacecraft ever built," the football-field-sized observatory began in 1998 with the launch of a bus-sized module from Russia. Since then, the station's two major partners - the US and Russia - have steadily added pieces and equipment, along with contributions from Japan, Canada and Europe.

Astronauts have lived there continuously since 2000, but as recently as 2008 crew members were spending only about three hours a week on science.

Now Nasa officials say it's up to about 50 hours a week, due largely to the crew size doubling from three to six members in 2009. But about 15 per cent of the US racks for experiments onboard the station sat empty as of December 31, and in a report issued last July, Nasa's internal watchdog raised questions about the "real world" benefit of station science.

Go here to read the rest:
Space station science under microscope

Posted in Space Station | Comments Off on Space station science under microscope