The Freedom Watch

Lawmakers urge Obama to allow public debate on military action against Syria

"The United States is poised to launch a military strike on Syria in coming days after determining that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime used chemical weapons during an attack outside Damascus last week which killed hundreds of civilians. Several lawmakers sought to put the brakes on what Republican congressman Scott Rigell, who drafted the letter to Obama, said could be potential abuse of presidential authority if he decides to attack Syria without a congressional green light. Rigell and others are bristling at a possible executive order of use of force without the House and Senate weighing in, as was the controversial case in Libya." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawmakers urge Obama to allow public debate on military action against Syria

United States and allies build case for military action in Syria

"The ground for a military intervention was set out by US Vice President Joe Biden, who for the first time said last week’s attack, thought to have killed hundreds, could only have been perpetrated by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. Britain joined the US in saying regime forces were behind the strikes, and Prime Minister David Cameron said London and its allies had to consider whether targeted military action was required to 'deter and degrade the future use of chemical weapons'. Senior officials in Washington told NBC news that possible strikes against targets in Syria could take place as early as Thursday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUnited States and allies build case for military action in Syria

Britain to submit UN resolution on Syria

"Britain will submit a draft resolution to the UN Security Council condemning suspected chemical attacks in Syria and demanding 'all necessary measures' to protect civilians. The announcement came as the US and its allies pressed their case for likely military action against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain would present a resolution 'condemning the chemical weapons attack by Assad' to a meeting of the Security Council’s five permanent members in New York on Wednesday. The developments came after US Vice President Joe Biden said the chemical attacks could only have been perpetrated by Assad’s forces." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritain to submit UN resolution on Syria

British prime minister: We’re not considering regime change in Syria

"Any action against Syria would be aimed at 'degrading' the regime’s alleged chemical weapons’ capability, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday. But any military action against Syria would have to be proportionate and legal, the prime minister said. Cameron said no decisions had been taken but Britain and its allies had to consider whether targeted military action was required to 'deter and degrade the future use of chemical weapons'. Earlier, British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg denied that the aim would be to topple the regime of President Bashar al-Assad." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritish prime minister: We’re not considering regime change in Syria

Dubai And Saudi Stock Markets Getting Totally Smoked

"There's a lot of ugly stuff today. Emerging markets (India, Indonesia, Turkey, etc.) are getting crushed on all the standard emerging market worries. Plus there's all the Syria stuff that seems to be having a financial market impact. You can really see that in Mideast stock markets. Dubai is getting simply demolished, as the stock market there is down 7%. Saudi Arabia is down 3.5%." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDubai And Saudi Stock Markets Getting Totally Smoked

Russia evacuates citizens in Syria ahead of military strikes in the ‘next few days’

"A Russian emergency situations ministry aircraft carrying aid landed in Syria on Tuesday, and is set to take Russians and other CIS citizens out of the country on its return flight. Russia said it had evacuated all of its defence personnel from Syria in June, but a foreign ministry spokesman said at the time that about 30,000 other Russians were still living across the country. Russia's deputy prime minister, Dmitry Rogozin, said on Twitter: 'The West behaves towards the Islamic world like a monkey with a grenade.' The build up to military action continued today when Chuck Hagel, the United States defence secretary, said that American forces are now ready to act on an order to strike Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussia evacuates citizens in Syria ahead of military strikes in the ‘next few days’

Indiana: Court Overturns Stop For Hole In Tail Light

"A small hole in a tail light does not justify a traffic stop, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled last week. A three-judge panel said the evidence against Brad Kroft should have been suppressed because police should not have stopped his Jeep Commander on April 22, 2012. At around 1:30am, Kroft had been driving with his wife Heidi on 96th Street near Hague Road in Indianapolis. There was a crack in his passenger-side tail light that created a dime-size hole in the otherwise fully functional stop light. A passing police officer saw it and decided he could issue a ticket." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndiana: Court Overturns Stop For Hole In Tail Light

Chi Raq

"The first in a series of exclusive commissions for Protein TV, Chi Raq is an intimate video portrait of life in South and West Chicago. For the past decade, Chicago has been enduring a violence epidemic, with a death toll in the thousands and casualties mirroring the losses experienced by the US army in Iraq war over the same period. Allowing its subjects to take centre stage and tell their stories in their own words, Robson-Scottʼs film is unflinchingly honest in its depiction of life on the streets of one of the most dangerous cities in America." Continue reading →

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2.7 Million Children Under the Age of 18 Have a Parent in Prison or Jail

"Most prisoners are parents of children under 18 years of age. Two-thirds of incarcerated parents are nonviolent offenders, often locked up on minor drug-related charges. They make up the majority of parents in prison, and they and their children are the ones criminal justice reform will most affect. One in 28 kids in the United States (as of 2010) has a mother or father, or both, in lockup – a dramatic change from the one in 125 rate a quarter of a century ago. One in nine black children have an imprisoned parent, four times as many 25 years ago. 14,000 or more children of the imprisoned annually enter foster care, while an undetermined number enter juvenile detention and adult prisons." Continue reading →

Continue Reading2.7 Million Children Under the Age of 18 Have a Parent in Prison or Jail

Bitcoin Gains Credit Union Cred

"A New Jersey credit union has agreed to accept accounts transferred from a trading exchange that handles Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. The move, apparently aimed at attracting business from investors and financial institutions that trade in the alternative forms of tender, could provide them with a much needed level of legitimacy. Staff reporters discuss." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Gains Credit Union Cred