Amnesty International To Cameroon: Decriminalize
Homosexuality

Amnesty International is calling on the African nation of Cameroon to repeal “laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relationships” and is asking the government for the “release of those currently in prison for homosexuality.” ?It is time to end the arrest, detention, prosecution and other forms of persecution and discrimination against people perceived or known to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender,? said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International?s director for Africa. Western nations — including the United States — have begun pressuring countries in the region to respect the rights of all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/03/06/438842/amnesty-international-to-cameroon
-decriminalize-homosexuality/

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After VA Police Break Out Riot Gear To Arrest
Peaceful Protestors, GOP Gov. McDonnell Wants Dems To Apologize

State police in riot gear respond to peaceful Virginia capitol protest (Credit: J.C. Whitmore/The Richmonder)

Following the state general assembly’s passage — mostly along party lines — of a bill to require medically unnecessary ultrasounds for women seeking abortions, hundreds of Virginians assembled Saturday for a peaceful protest march on the state capitol in Richmond.

Police forces — including state police, under the control of Republican governor Bob McDonnell’s administration, wearing riot gear — arrested 31 protesters for ignoring an order to confine the demonstration to the corner of the Capitol grounds for where they had a rally permit.

Watch the video:

Virginia Democrats objected to the disproportionate show of force. Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax County) said the on the state senate floor “Not since the massive resistance days in the 60s have I seen such a disgraceful display of excessive police presence in my state.” Sen. Chap Petersen (D) noted that though “there was no indication that anyone was in any harm,” the police showed up dressed “for a bar brawl.”

The response from the McDonnell administration? Blame the Democrats.

McDonnell:

I understand today, on the floor of the Senate, we witnessed something that I haven’t heard in the 21 years I’ve been up here, and that is legislators taking to the floor of the Senate of Virginia and essentially attacking our law enforcement officers for doing their job.

And his lieutenant governor, Bill Bolling (R) said the Democratic critics “owe an apology to Virginia’s law enforcement professionals.”

According to the state police, there were 19,033 violent crimes in Virginia in 2010. Perhaps they would be better off focusing on preventing those?

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/03/06/438493/after-va-police-break-out-riot
-gear-to-arrest-peaceful-protestors-gop-gov-mcdonnell-wants-dems-to-apologize/

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Is Roe v. Wade Really Still the Law of the Land

The Los Angeles Times has a devastating article about one woman?s reluctant quest to replace Dr. George Tiller, the murdered Kansas abortion provider. The woman?s name is Dr. Mila Means:

After his killing on May 31, 2009, the decision to step into his place did not come as an epiphany but rather over time, with sad reluctance.

In the past, if her patients with unwanted pregnancies asked where to get an abortion, she sent them to Tiller. After his death, women seeking the procedure increasingly turned to her for advice, often with panicked eyes and voices, asking what to do and where to go.

"I didn't have an answer," she said. "I kept thinking one of the OB-GYN doctors would start, but slowly it became apparent no one was going to step up."

But Means had no idea what ?stepping up? would involve:

A letter arrived from an antiabortion activist who befriended Scott Roeder, the man convicted of killing Tiller, after he went to prison. That letter, now in federal hands, warned Means to check under her yellow Mini Cooper for explosives before turning the key?.

The pressure on Means was unrelenting. Her business manager quit, patients fled. A feminist group offered her a bulletproof vest. Law enforcement officials briefed her staff on how to spot a bomb.

Her landlord slapped her with a nuisance lawsuit, saying the protests disrupted other tenants. When Means tried to find another office, she said, no one would rent to her. She stayed put, settling the lawsuit with a promise not to perform abortions at that location, all the while quietly working toward creating a nonprofit organization so she could buy her own building?.

In spring 2011, some of the most sweeping antiabortion measures in the nation became Kansas law, including the defunding of Planned Parenthood and the imposition of building specifications and medical equipment requirements ? both of which Means said would put abortion providers out of business.

Means hasn?t yet helped any woman terminate a single pregnancy.  Not because of the death threats?she?s willing to face those?but because of the legislature.

Is Roe v. Wade really still the law of the land?

Read The Full Article:
http://prospect.org/article/roe-v-wade-really-still-law-land

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FRAK: Conventional ETF Access to Unconventional
Oil & Gas

Van Eck Global, the firm behind the Market Vectors brand of focused ETFs, unveiled the Market Vectors Unconventional Oil & Gas ETF (FRAK) on 2/15/12.  The underlying rules-based index targets companies expected to generate at least 50% of revenues from the unconventional oil and gas segment defined as: coalbed methane, coal seam gas, shale oil, shale gas, tight natural gas, tight oil, and tight sands.

For those of you not familiar with this corner of the energy sector, Van Eck provides an excellent educational piece Industry Spotlight: Unconventional Oil & Gas (pdf) that will quickly bring you up to speed.  The country breakdown indicates an industry dominated by North American companies with the US at 71.2%, Canada 28.5%, and . . . → Read More: FRAK: Conventional ETF Access to Unconventional Oil & Gas

Read The Full Article:
http://jutiagroup.com/20120306-frak-conventional-etf-access-to-unconventional-oil
-gas/

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President Obama holds Super Tuesday news
conference, announces help for homeowners #2

Part one here.

10:42 AM PT: On energy policy, President Obama says we need to reduce our overall dependence on oil, noting that overall, imports now account for less than half our oil consumption. On the question of why he hasn't visited Israel, he points out that he has visited twice, and that the U.S. has Israel's back unequivocally.

10:44 AM PT: On the Limbaugh question, he doesn't speculate on what was in Limbaugh's heart or on the political ramifications, but says: "All decent folks can agree that the remarks that were made don't have any place in the public discourse. The reason I called Ms. Fluke is that I thought about Malia and Sasha and [...] I want them to be able to speak out in a  civil and thoughtful way, and I don't want them attacked or called horrible names because they are being good citizens. I wanted Sandra to know that I thought her parents should be proud of her. And that we want to send a message to all of our young people [...] and we want you to be engaged."

10:46 AM PT: CNN's Jessica Yellin: Do you think there's a war on women (as DCCC has claimed). Obama: Women will make their own determination who to vote for?on a range of of issues, things like the economy and the education. "I believe Democrats have a better story to tell to women about how we're going to solidify the middle class, grow the economy, make sure everybody has a fair shot, and make sure that everybody does their fair share."

10:49 AM PT: On immigration: "Every American should want immigration reform. We've got a system that's broken. [...] Millions of families living in the shadows worried about deportation. [...] Workers worried about being undercut by [those here illegally] [...] We can be a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. It's not just a Hispanic issue. It's an American issue." Why hasn't reform happened? "What used to be a bipartisan issue became a partisan one. [...] My hope is that after this election the Latino community will have sent a message that they want bipartisan" progress.

10:51 AM PT: And how will that bipartisan solution come about? "I can't vote for Republicans. They're going to have to come to the conclusion that this is good for the country."

10:51 AM PT: Question: "What would you like to say to Mr. Romney?" Obama: "Good luck tonight." Question: "No really?" Obama: "Really."

10:57 AM PT: Final two questions are about NATO/G8 summit. First question is about Chicago security. Yawn. Second question is about transition plans for withdrawing from Afghanistan. Obama reaffirms that the plan is to get out by 2014. "What we are now going to be doing ... is to make sure that that transition is not a cliff, but that there are benchmarks along the way ... so that it is gradual." "Yes the situation with the Koran burning concerns me. It's an indication of the challenges in that environment and that now is the time to transition. Obviously the violence directed at our troops is unacceptable." Obama again reaffirms draw down plans but says "There are going to bumps" on the road.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/3gCCYNbsvAE/-President-Obama-holds
-Super-Tuesday-news-conference-announces-help-for-homeowners-2

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Halftime

• At Mother Jones, Tim Murphy and Andy Kroll have the goods on Rick Santorum?s first Senate campaign, where he warned that single mothers are ?breeding more criminals.?
• Here at The Prospect, Abby Rapoport reports on the crazy notion that a state might encourage voting, not work to restrict it.
• The iPad 3 debuts tomorrow. Get ready.
• Speaking of Apple, Thomas Brand has an awesome Tumblr where he walks you through classic Macintosh programs.
• A mashup of two of my favorite things?Community and Batman:

Read The Full Article:
http://prospect.org/article/halftime-10

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National Review's Andy McCarthy: Before Fluke,
Limbaugh Didn't Engage in Personal Attacks

Even before his vicious, sexist attack on Sandra Fluke, El Rushbo was a deeply reviled figure with the American public. And now, as his advertising sponsors continue to bail, even Republicans are abandoning him.

But just like they did with George W. Bush, the dead-enders in the wingosphere are determined to go down with the USS Limbaugh. Over the past week, they've offered some pretty hilarious defenses of Rush, but this take from Andy McCarthy at the National Review is truly in a class by itself.

...as Rush eloquently explained today in publicly apologizing, yet again, to Sandra Fluke, his error in judgment was to succumb to a temptation at odds with the personality fans have come to know, and the person friends have come to know, over the past 25 years: the temptation to resort to the base language of unfounded personal insult ? the language that is the Left?s stock-in-trade and that Imus often seems unable to complete a sentence without.

Apparently on Planet Wingnut, the man who compared feminists to Nazis, who called Chelsea Clinton "the White House dog," who told an African-American caller to "take the bone out of your nose," who promoted a song titled, "Barack the Magic Negro," called the president a "Halfrican American," said he and the First Lady weren't "decent Americans," compared both President Obama and President Clinton to Hitler, labeled veterans who opposed the Iraq War "phony soldiers," dismissed Danica Patrick as a "woman driver," and suggested that all homosexuals are pedophiles -- eschews ad hominem attacks.

And, besides, that's what the "Left" does.

Simply amazing.

Read The Full Article:
http://crooksandliars.com/blue-texan/national-reviews-andy-mccarthy-fluke-li

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As Talks Resume With Iran, Obamas No Containment
Policy Could Have Terrible Implications

Undercutting Israeli saber-rattling on the topic, Western leaders agreed today to new negotiations with Iran on their nuclear program. And Iran possibly agreed to new inspections. That may give diplomacy a chance for now, but the President's speech to[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/xd9i29URe4A/

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Time To Catch The Flying Flat Boat Back To Texas

It is time to catch the flying flat boat for the return trip from Cincinnati to Houston. Often this flight traces the route of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers Picture is of Ohio River from Cincinnati’s Eden Park this afternoon. Peace and blessings to all.

Read The Full Article:
http://texasliberal.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/time-to-catch-the-flying-flat-boat-b
ack-to-texas/

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HAS THE CORRECTION FINALLY BEGUN

Today is a classic example of why I have been warning traders not to push the long side of the stock market. When these creeper trends finally break they often generate a crash or semi crash type of profit-taking event. 

The last 2 1/2 months were a classic example of why I have been warning traders not to short the stock market. These creeper trends can go on much longer than many people expect and shorts just end up getting whipsawed out multiple times until they’re so shell shocked that they can’t hold on when they finally do catch the top.

All in all the correct strategy was to remain in cash until the profit-taking event occurred and . . . → Read More: HAS THE CORRECTION FINALLY BEGUN?

Read The Full Article:
http://jutiagroup.com/20120306-has-the-correction-finally-begun/

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