he U.S. Department of Homeland Security tracked an anti-war group's plans for peaceful protests and passed the information on to the Maryland State Police, according to documents released to The Washington Post and reported in Tuesday's editions.
The documents are the first indication that the state police had federal partners during their widely condemned spying on activist groups, which went on in 2005 and 2006. The revelation has alarmed Maryland's U.S. senators, who are asking DHS for more details about how it obtained the information it shared.
State police have apologized for spying on peaceful activists and for classifying 53 people as terrorists in an internal database. Police have said the names were not put on federal anti-terrorism lists.
Documents: DHS passed protest info to Md. police
British Scientists Condemn Using Children in GM Food Trials as Unacceptable
Children have been used as 'lab rats' in GM rice trials that were carried out in breach of ethics rules drawn up in response to the medical crimes of Nazi Germany, it is claimed.
Critics are furious that the GM rice was not put through animal feeding trials to ensure it was safe before being given to children.
The decision to use the children has been condemned as 'completely unacceptable' by a group of 22 scientists - all GM critics - from Britain and around the world.
They claim it is indicative of moves by the biotech lobby, led by the USA and biotech firms, to force GM food into the mouths of the world without proper assessment.
Calling the police to account
From today, it is illegal to photograph the police, despite the fact that they use increasingly aggressive techniques to record us.
On the day that it becomes illegal to take pictures of police engaged in counter-terrorist operations – in practice a ban on taking pictures of the police – it is worth noting events in Brighton recently where police set up outside a cafe and photographed people attending a meeting about the environment.
The local MP, David Lepper, agrees that the police operation was designed to scare activists rather than prevent crime, and has written to the divisional commander for Brighton and Hove demanding to know why officers were photographing people engaged in a political activity. The police have refused to comment other than to produce the usual assertion that this was a normal police operation.
Coming to NBC: "To Catch a Cheney"
Here's my idea: A series of NBC News prime-time specials featuring spectacular ambushes of big-time criminals lured into what they expect to be pleasurable surroundings. But, with hidden cameras whirring, the startled villain is dramatically confronted with the evidence of his massive crimes as millions of viewers look on in scorn and righteous amusement.
North Dakota Moves to Outlaw Abortion
Led by American Life League Associate group North Dakota Life League, the personhood movement celebrated the passage of The Personhood of Children Act (House Resolution 1572), introduced by State Rep. Dan Ruby, in a 51-41 vote.
"We are very excited about the personhood movement in North Dakota, which has the chance to become the first state to protect the rights of all its citizens from their biological beginning," said Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League.
Fifteen other states are currently pursuing personhood legislation.
TVNL Comment: This simply a way to outlaw abortion.
ATF Announces $25,000 Reward in Explosives Theft Investigation
John A. Torres, special agent in charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Orange County Sheriff's Department, today announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the theft of explosives.
Between September 2008 and Oct. 9, 2008, large quantities of explosives were stolen from a locked container on a remote hillside in Blackstar Canyon located adjacent to the Cleveland National Forest. The items taken consisted of the following:
Thousands of Gazans remain homeless
According to a 16 February report by Save the Children Alliance "at least 100,000 people, including 56,000 children, remain displaced with many continuing to take shelter in tents or crowding into remaining homes with other families, one month since the Gaza ceasefire was declared."
The NGO estimated that some 500,000 people, including 280,000 children, were forced from their homes at some point during the conflict and added that 'tent cities’ had sprung up where whole neighbourhoods were destroyed. Many tent residents are without access to clean drinking water and toilets, it said.
Does the United States make anything anymore?
It may seem like the country that used to make everything is on the brink of making nothing.
In January, 207,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs vanished in the largest one-month drop since October 1982. Factory activity is hovering at a 28-year low. Even before the recession, plants were hemorrhaging work to foreign competitors with cheap labor. And some companies were moving production overseas.
There's another Earth out there – and we'll find it
The first Earth-like planet orbiting a distant star could be discovered within four years, astronomers believe. None of the 300 "extra-solar" planets so far identified beyond our own system is thought to be suitable for life, so the discovery of an Earth-like planet made of rock rather than hot gas or frozen ice would significantly increase the chances of finding the second habitable world, scientists said.
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