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We seek the repeal of the Tennessee Constitutional Amendment passed in 2006 by voters that defines civil marriage as only between one man and one woman therefore denying equal marriage rights to gay and lesbian Tennesseans. Civil rights should NEVER be put to a popular ...vote. Do the right thing. End state-sanctioned discrimination. Support equality for ALL Tennesseans and ALL Americans. We are not affiliated with the Tennessee Equality Project, but highly recommend that you follow them in the fight for equal rights in Tennessee.
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Shiva The White House Mr Barack Hussein Obama can you hear people of iran, they are asking you, R U With People of IRAN Or a Dictaror Government That Does Not Represent Iran, U Sould Select Only 1, " you are either with us or them "
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Posted via email from onlymehdi's video
Vanessa Hamilton The White House
Thousands of protesters ignored warnings from Iranian authorities to
stay home, many chanting "Death to the Dictator" and others saying,
"Obama - Either you're with us or with them," referring to the U.S.
president.
www.tehran.at
. . . . . In a country where only government is allowed to speak, do not believe anything. . .آزادی برای زنان در ...
Donna Morris The White House
Kentucky
(D) Representative John Yarmuth: He contradicts himself: he first says
"they have got to do something to bring the insurance costs down" and
then later says "He know that insurance costs will go up, but they are
trying to make them go up less" UNBELIEVABLE!! You have to watch this......
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.co...m/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=1644959
cosmos.b...cst.yahoo.com
Tracy Mapes The White House
Italy Convicts 23 Americans for C.I.A. Renditions
Share Today at 4:03pm
November 5, 2009
Italy Convicts 23 Americans for C.I.A. Renditions
By RACHEL DONADIO
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/world/
MILAN — In a landmark ruling, an Italian judge on Wednesday convicted a
base chief for the Central Intell...igence Agency and 22 other American
C.I.A. operatives of kidnapping a Muslim cleric from the streets of
Milan in 2003.
The case was a huge symbolic victory for Italian prosecutors, who drew
the first convictions involving the American practice of rendition, in
which terrorism suspects are captured in one country and taken for
questioning in another, often one more open to coercive interrogation
techniques.
Critics of the Bush administration have long hailed the case as a
repudiation of the tactics it used to fight terrorism. And that Italy
would actually convict intelligence agents of an allied country was
seen as a bold move that could set a precedent in other cases.
Still, the convictions may have little practical effect. They do not
seem to change the close relations between the United States and Italy.
Nor did they reveal whether the government of Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi had approved the kidnapping. And it seemed highly unlikely
that anyone, Italian or American, would spend any time in prison.
Judge Oscar Magi handed an eight-year sentence to Robert Seldon Lady, a
former C.I.A. base chief in Milan, and five-year sentences to the 22
other Americans. Three of the other high-ranking Americans were given
diplomatic immunity, including Jeffrey Castelli, a former C.I.A.
station chief in Rome.
Citing state secrecy, the judge did not convict five high-ranking
Italians charged in the abduction, including a former head of Italian
military intelligence, Nicolò Pollari.
All the Americans were tried in absentia and are considered fugitives.
Through their court-appointed lawyers, they pleaded not guilty.
Italian prosecutors had charged the Americans and seven members of the
Italian military intelligence agency in the abduction of Osama Moustafa
Hassan Nasr, known as Abu Omar, on Feb. 17, 2003. Prosecutors said he
was snatched in broad daylight, flown from an American air base in
Italy to a base in Germany and then on to Egypt, where he asserts that
he was tortured.
Ian Kelly, a State Department spokesman, said that the United States
was “disappointed” by the verdicts in Milan. He said that since the
verdicts were likely to be appealed, he could not comment on the
specifics of the case.
Armando Spataro, the counterterrorism prosecutor who brought the case,
said he was considering asking the Italian government for an
international arrest warrant for the fugitive Americans.
Mr. Spataro said he was pleased with what he called “very courageous”
verdicts. He said it was a victory that “we brought the trial to an
end, and the facts were shown to be what they were.”
In May, Mr. Magi ruled that there was enough evidence to proceed with
the case even after Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled in March that
any evidence of coordination between the Italian secret services and
the C.I.A. violated state secrecy rules and was therefore inadmissible.
Mr. Magi also asked for $1.45 million in damages for Mr. Nasr and
$750,000 for his wife, Ghali Nabila. In separate lawsuits, Mr. Nasr,
who is now living in Alexandria, Egypt, is seeking $14 million in
damages from the defendants, and his wife is seeking $7.4 million
against the Italian authorities. In August the couple also filed a suit
with the European Court of Human Rights.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International applauded Wednesday’s
ruling. In a statement, Tom Parker, Amnesty International’s United
States point man for terrorism issues, called on the Obama
administration to “repudiate the unlawful practice of extraordinary
rendition.”
The administration has closed secret overseas prisons but is keeping the practice of rendition in place.
At the time of his abduction, Mr. Nasr was under surveillance by the
Italian authorities, who suspected him of preaching violence from his
Milan mosque and recruiting militants to send to Iraq in anticipation
of the American invasion. He was missing for a year, finally
resurfacing in Egypt, where he called his wife in Italy to say he had
been tortured.
The phone call was enough to activate Italian prosecutors, who are
required to investigate if there is the possibility of a crime.
Prosecutors were able to reconstruct his disappearance using cellphone
records traced to the American agents. The operatives used false names
but left a paper trail of unencrypted cellphone records and credit card
bills at luxury hotels in Milan, suggesting they believed they were
operating with latitude.
Court-appointed lawyers for several of the American defendants assert
that prosecutors never adequately established their clients’
identities. They said they would appeal the ruling.
“The C.I.A. has not commented on any of the allegations surrounding Abu Omar,” said Paul Gimigliano, a C.I.A. spokesman.
The Italian government has denied involvement. Through a spokesman, it declined to comment on Wednesday.
In June, Il Giornale, a newspaper owned by the brother of Mr.
Berlusconi, published an interview that it said it had conducted via
Skype with Mr. Lady, the former C.I.A. base chief in Milan, whose
whereabouts are unknown. In the interview, he said of Abu Omar’s
abduction: “Of course it was an illegal operation. But that’s our job.
We’re at war against terrorism.”
Among the 22 Americans convicted was Sabrina De Sousa, who was accused
of having worked closely with Mr. Lady and who has sued the State
Department for diplomatic immunity.
Ms. De Sousa’s lawyer, Mark Zaid, said she would amend her lawsuit
against the State Department, pending in federal court in Washington,
adding as defendants Mr. Castelli, Mr. Lady and the C.I.A., because
“according to news reports, they were responsible for this alleged
abduction.” Ms. De Sousa has never admitted working for the C.I.A. and
has denied any role in the rendition. Former colleagues have said she
did work for the agency.
According to one former senior C.I.A. official, Mr. Castelli, as the
C.I.A.’s Rome station chief, was assigned to the American Embassy and
would therefore be entitled to full diplomatic immunity. But Mr. Lady
and Ms. De Sousa worked out of the United States Consulate in Milan and
had more limited immunity.
The former C.I.A. official said that if Italian prosecutors were
successful in getting an international arrest warrant, the convicted
spies would probably face the threat of arrest anywhere outside the
United States for the rest of their lives.
Both Mr. Castelli and Mr. Lady have retired from the C.I.A., according to former agency officials.
Most of the top C.I.A. officers said to have planned the Abu Omar
rendition have left the agency, with the exception of Stephen R.
Kappes, who at the time was the assistant director of the C.I.A.’s
clandestine branch.
He is now the C.I.A.’s second ranking official.
Mark Mazzetti and Scott Shane contributed reporting from Washington.
www.nytimes.com
The Americans were tried in absentia for the seizure of a Muslim cleric from the streets of Milan over six years ago.
Tony The White House
Excellent commentary from Catherine Fitts. The Fed is subsidizing the derivatives trade (the game) at any cost, even the destruction of the dollar. Why is Madoff and Lehman being thrown overboard, but AIG is not? Think about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p5oXdUi3
www.youtube.com
Art Bell was joined by financial advisor Catherine Austin Fitts for a discussion on fraud and the economy. Financial fraud is tied into the black budget-- "the local narcotics trade is financing Tony Soprano, who's financing James Bond," she quipped. ...
The White House Some of the world's greatest classical musicians perform live at the White House at 7:00 PM EST. Watch and discuss, all through Facebook. A great experience: http://apps.facebook.com/whitehouselive/
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William Collins The White House
Israel Official Says Hamas Rockets Can Reach Tel Aviv
THANK YOU BARRACK HUSSAIN OBAMA FOR THE FUNDS YOU GAVE HAMAS!
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=2
www.bloomberg.com
The Islamic Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip can now launch rockets capable of reaching the Israeli metropolitan area of Tel Aviv, Deputy Foreign Minister [bn:PRSN=1] Danny Ayalon [] said at a Jerusalem briefing.
Steve Pesce The White House SCOTT RITTER - UNITED NATIONS WEAPONS INSPECTOR IN IRAQ AND FORMER MARINE SPEAKS OUT AGAINST OUR AFGHANISTAN WAR STRATEGY.
www.youtube.com
LATEST NEWS IN ACTION http://www.seechannel9.webs.com/ , the latest news, financial crisis ,housing crisis ,stockmarket crisis , layoffs, recession, unemployment rate, job search ,economic tsunami , recovery ...
Laura Watkins The White House
http://www.truthout.org/1104099
Amen to that!
www.truthout.org
Michael Moore. (Photo Illustration: Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t; Adapted From: Reza Vaziri, lonely radio / flickr)