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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
August 7, 2012
Man accused of shoplifting book on ethics
Joseph Lord
The Courier-Journal
University of Louisville Police are accusing a Prospect man of stealing a textbook called “Resolving Ethical Issues” and trying to sell it at a bookstore, according to an arrest report.
Terry J. Davis, of the 14200 block of Harbor Place, was arrested Wednesday and charged with theft by unlawful taking by shoplifting, a Class A misdemeanor.
Davis allegedly took the book from 555 S. Floyd St., according to the arrest report. The address is listed as UofL’s Health Sciences Center. ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120726/NEWS01/307260033/Prospect-man-accused-shoplifting-book-ethics
August 7, 2012
la dinguerie
PARIS (Reuters) - The French Catholic Church will revive a centuries-old custom next week with an updated national "prayer for France" opposing the same-sex marriage and euthanasia reforms planned by the new Socialist government.
The prayer, to be read in all churches on Aug 15, echoes the defense of traditional marriage by Pope Benedict and Catholic leaders around the world as gay nuptials gain acceptance, especially in Europe and North America.
King Louis XIII decreed in 1638 that all churches would pray on Aug 15, the day Catholics believe the Virgin Mary was assumed bodily into Heaven, for the good of the country. The annual practice fell into disuse after World War Two.
In the text, Catholics will pray for newly elected officials "so that their sense of the common good will overcome special demands." This would include support for traditional families "throughout their lives, especially in painful moments." ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/french-catholic-church-prayer-against-gay-marriage-euthanasia-122846382.html
With Socialists in power, the French Catholic Church plans to pray to defeat same-sex marriage
la dinguerie
PARIS (Reuters) - The French Catholic Church will revive a centuries-old custom next week with an updated national "prayer for France" opposing the same-sex marriage and euthanasia reforms planned by the new Socialist government.
The prayer, to be read in all churches on Aug 15, echoes the defense of traditional marriage by Pope Benedict and Catholic leaders around the world as gay nuptials gain acceptance, especially in Europe and North America.
King Louis XIII decreed in 1638 that all churches would pray on Aug 15, the day Catholics believe the Virgin Mary was assumed bodily into Heaven, for the good of the country. The annual practice fell into disuse after World War Two.
In the text, Catholics will pray for newly elected officials "so that their sense of the common good will overcome special demands." This would include support for traditional families "throughout their lives, especially in painful moments." ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/french-catholic-church-prayer-against-gay-marriage-euthanasia-122846382.html
August 6, 2012
Texas Set to Execute a Man with an IQ of 61
In 2002, in Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled that the execution of so-called "mentally retarded" people was unconstitutional, a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Yet Texas, which executes far more people each year than any other state, is set to kill Marvin Wilson by lethal injection tomorrow unless the Court steps in. Liliana Segura at The Nation notes:
The evidence against Wilson, Segura notes, is murky at best--he was convicted on eyewitness testimony that has proved shaky, the testimony of his accomplice and his accomplice's wife that he was the primary gunman in the murder of police informant Jerry Williams. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/hot-news-views/texas-set-execute-man-iq-61
Texas Set to Execute a Man with an IQ of 61
Texas Set to Execute a Man with an IQ of 61
In 2002, in Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled that the execution of so-called "mentally retarded" people was unconstitutional, a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Yet Texas, which executes far more people each year than any other state, is set to kill Marvin Wilson by lethal injection tomorrow unless the Court steps in. Liliana Segura at The Nation notes:
Thus, barring a last-minute intervention, a man who has been diagnosed with an IQ of 61 and who sucked his thumb well into adulthood, now faces the prospect of being strapped to a gurney and injected with lethal chemicals until he is pronounced dead. “It doesn't usually get to this point when you have an Atkins claim this strong,” his lawyer, Lee Kovarsky, told me over the phone on Sunday. “This claim is really sort of the worst of the worst.”
Kovarsky grew up in Texas and has seen his share of death row injustices. Yet, clients like his are hardly exceptional. “If getting the death penalty is like getting struck by lightning,” he says, drawing on Justice Potter Stewart's famous quote about the arbitrariness of capital punishment, “then it seems to strike offenders with MR a lot. Because their disability prevents them from effectively disputing guilt or culpability, they end up on death row for some of the least aggravated first-degree murders that are tried to verdict."
Kovarsky grew up in Texas and has seen his share of death row injustices. Yet, clients like his are hardly exceptional. “If getting the death penalty is like getting struck by lightning,” he says, drawing on Justice Potter Stewart's famous quote about the arbitrariness of capital punishment, “then it seems to strike offenders with MR a lot. Because their disability prevents them from effectively disputing guilt or culpability, they end up on death row for some of the least aggravated first-degree murders that are tried to verdict."
The evidence against Wilson, Segura notes, is murky at best--he was convicted on eyewitness testimony that has proved shaky, the testimony of his accomplice and his accomplice's wife that he was the primary gunman in the murder of police informant Jerry Williams. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/hot-news-views/texas-set-execute-man-iq-61
August 6, 2012
I swear it's on every time I flip on the telly.
When did water polo become the premier Olympic sport?
I swear it's on every time I flip on the telly.
August 6, 2012
from Mountain Xpress:
Tactical urbanism: "Parklet" coming to Lexington Avenue parking spots
A "parklet" including plants, benches and a bike rack may soon take over Lexington Avenue parking spots, as the Downtown Commission endorsed the project last week. The initiative is the first major effort from Open Asheville, a new nonprofit, to apply "tactical urbanism" to downtown.
"The overall thought process is to increase open public space: we feel there's not enough of it," Luly Gonzalez, a designer for Open Asheville, tells Xpress. "We're trying to spearhead placemaking as a liaison between artists, designers, and business."
The nonprofit still needs to complete the permits for the project from the city, and staff estimate the process could take two to three weeks. After that, Gonzalez says the parklet could be completed within a month, Open Asheville aims to have it up and running by the annual Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival Sept. 1. The parklet will remain for three to six months.
[font size="1"]The design for the Lexington Avenue parklet[/font]
Open Asheville's approach is something called "tactical urbanism," an idea that's recently gained increasing attention nationwide. It focuses on smaller, faster projects as a way to change an area for the better and create a model for larger initiatives in the future. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.mountainx.com/article/44289/Tactical-urbanism-Parklet-coming-to-Lexington-Avenue-parking-spots
Tactical urbanism: "Parklet" coming to Lexington Avenue parking spots (Asheville, NC)
from Mountain Xpress:
Tactical urbanism: "Parklet" coming to Lexington Avenue parking spots
A "parklet" including plants, benches and a bike rack may soon take over Lexington Avenue parking spots, as the Downtown Commission endorsed the project last week. The initiative is the first major effort from Open Asheville, a new nonprofit, to apply "tactical urbanism" to downtown.
"The overall thought process is to increase open public space: we feel there's not enough of it," Luly Gonzalez, a designer for Open Asheville, tells Xpress. "We're trying to spearhead placemaking as a liaison between artists, designers, and business."
The nonprofit still needs to complete the permits for the project from the city, and staff estimate the process could take two to three weeks. After that, Gonzalez says the parklet could be completed within a month, Open Asheville aims to have it up and running by the annual Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival Sept. 1. The parklet will remain for three to six months.
[font size="1"]The design for the Lexington Avenue parklet[/font]
Open Asheville's approach is something called "tactical urbanism," an idea that's recently gained increasing attention nationwide. It focuses on smaller, faster projects as a way to change an area for the better and create a model for larger initiatives in the future. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.mountainx.com/article/44289/Tactical-urbanism-Parklet-coming-to-Lexington-Avenue-parking-spots
August 6, 2012
CENTRAL LONDON had the most visitors its ever had last week, despite fears the Olympics was putting punters off coming into town.
Figures released today by Transport for London show that 4.4 million passengers used London Underground on Friday 3 August, breaking a record set the day before when 4.3 million took to the Tube.
In the same week last year, the Underground carried 3.7 million passengers.
"Just like our Team GB athletes, records on the Tube are tumbling almost every day right now," said Peter Hendy, London Transport Commissioner. .......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.londonnet.co.uk/news/2012/aug/london-underground-breaks-passenger-numbers-record-calm-fears-ghost-town-olympics.html
London Underground Breaks Passenger Numbers Record
CENTRAL LONDON had the most visitors its ever had last week, despite fears the Olympics was putting punters off coming into town.
Figures released today by Transport for London show that 4.4 million passengers used London Underground on Friday 3 August, breaking a record set the day before when 4.3 million took to the Tube.
In the same week last year, the Underground carried 3.7 million passengers.
"Just like our Team GB athletes, records on the Tube are tumbling almost every day right now," said Peter Hendy, London Transport Commissioner. .......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.londonnet.co.uk/news/2012/aug/london-underground-breaks-passenger-numbers-record-calm-fears-ghost-town-olympics.html
August 6, 2012
[font size="1"]Merlin Bartin, a member of the photo club at St. Clair West Seniors Services, stands before an outdoor exhibit that decorates an Eglinton Crosstown construction fence. Bartin says her only regret about the LRT is that it will be completed too late for some of her friends to see.[/font]
Tess Kalinowski
Transportation Reporter
The Eglinton LRT is already changing the face of their neighbourhood. So it was only fitting that residents’ own faces — many of them long-standing members of the Eglinton West community — be part of the street’s transformation.
That’s why visitors who venture into Keelesdale Park near the Chris Tonks Arena will see that the fence around the Crosstown construction site has been embellished with large-scale images of the neighbours and the nearby street.
One streetscape is so large, the photo so crisp, you might be tempted to walk right up the nearby hill it depicts.
The outdoor exhibit is called the Intergenerational Fence Project. It’s the result of a collaboration between the photo club at the St. Clair West Seniors Services Centre (actually located on Eglinton just east of Black Creek Dr.) and some university students. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1237446--eglinton-crosstown-neighbourhoods-getting-involved-construction-of-ttc-line
Toronto Star: Neighbourhoods getting involved construction of TTC line
[font size="1"]Merlin Bartin, a member of the photo club at St. Clair West Seniors Services, stands before an outdoor exhibit that decorates an Eglinton Crosstown construction fence. Bartin says her only regret about the LRT is that it will be completed too late for some of her friends to see.[/font]
Tess Kalinowski
Transportation Reporter
The Eglinton LRT is already changing the face of their neighbourhood. So it was only fitting that residents’ own faces — many of them long-standing members of the Eglinton West community — be part of the street’s transformation.
That’s why visitors who venture into Keelesdale Park near the Chris Tonks Arena will see that the fence around the Crosstown construction site has been embellished with large-scale images of the neighbours and the nearby street.
One streetscape is so large, the photo so crisp, you might be tempted to walk right up the nearby hill it depicts.
The outdoor exhibit is called the Intergenerational Fence Project. It’s the result of a collaboration between the photo club at the St. Clair West Seniors Services Centre (actually located on Eglinton just east of Black Creek Dr.) and some university students. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1237446--eglinton-crosstown-neighbourhoods-getting-involved-construction-of-ttc-line
August 6, 2012
from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:
In a Plutocracy, Only Moguls Have Megaphones
August 5, 2012
In today’s anything-goes political fundraising world, the nation’s super rich and their favored politicos are no longer even going through the motions of maintaining ‘separate and independent’ campaigns.
By Sam Pizzigati
The U.S. Supreme Court’s most notorious decisions have almost always rested on preposterous claims. The 1896 ruling that okayed segregation, for instance, held that imposed racial separation violated no constitutional rights since government had the capacity to keep public services and facilities “separate but equal.”
But government officials during segregation made no effort to offer anything even remotely close to equal services — and no one ever expected they would.
The 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United — the decision that has opened the door to letting rich people essentially spend whatever they want, whenever they want, on political campaigns — rests on another preposterous claim.
All those millions the rich are injecting into politics won’t distort our democracy, the high court assures us, because we can keep these millions separate and independent from the campaigns that the candidates the rich favor are running. ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://toomuchonline.org/in-a-plutocracy-only-moguls-have-megaphones/
In a Plutocracy, Only Moguls Have Megaphones
from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:
In a Plutocracy, Only Moguls Have Megaphones
August 5, 2012
In today’s anything-goes political fundraising world, the nation’s super rich and their favored politicos are no longer even going through the motions of maintaining ‘separate and independent’ campaigns.
By Sam Pizzigati
The U.S. Supreme Court’s most notorious decisions have almost always rested on preposterous claims. The 1896 ruling that okayed segregation, for instance, held that imposed racial separation violated no constitutional rights since government had the capacity to keep public services and facilities “separate but equal.”
But government officials during segregation made no effort to offer anything even remotely close to equal services — and no one ever expected they would.
The 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United — the decision that has opened the door to letting rich people essentially spend whatever they want, whenever they want, on political campaigns — rests on another preposterous claim.
All those millions the rich are injecting into politics won’t distort our democracy, the high court assures us, because we can keep these millions separate and independent from the campaigns that the candidates the rich favor are running. ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://toomuchonline.org/in-a-plutocracy-only-moguls-have-megaphones/
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