RSN:For Israel, 'Human Rights' Has Meant the Right to Dominate Palestinians, Bernie Sanders Accomplished More Than Hillary Clinton Ever Did, John Kiriakou | Saudi Arabia Has No Business Chairing the UN Human Rights Council

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John Kiriakou | Saudi Arabia Has No Business Chairing the UN Human Rights Council 
 
John Kiriakou, Reader Supported News 
Kiriakou writes: "Saudi Arabia, that champion of religious freedom, civil liberties, and human rights, seems to have found itself as the new chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council. This is despite the fact that the Kingdom is having a bad year, even by Saudi human rights standards, and has beheaded more people in 2015 than ISIS." 
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Dan Froomkin | Rare Veto Keeps Obama's Options Open for Closing Gitmo 
Dan Froomkin, The Intercept 
Froomkin writes: "President Obama broke his cycle of empty veto threats over Guantanamo on Thursday, sending a defense authorization bill back to Congress with a defiant message: 'Let's do this right.'" 
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Bernie Sanders Accomplished More Than Hillary Clinton Ever Did 
teleSUR 
Excerpt: "Presidential hopeful for the Democratic Party, Bernie Sanders, has accomplished more as a lawmaker than his contender Hillary Clinton ever did, an in fact, he is one of the most effective members of Congress." 
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Files for El Salvador Lawsuit Against CIA Stolen From University Office 
teleSUR 
Excerpt: "Just over two weeks after the University of Washington's Center for Human Rights filed a lawsuit in federal court against the CIA for the intelligence agency's refusal to release declassified documents, the office of the center's director was broken into, with data and equipment stolen." 
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Ohio's Weed War: Corporations, Activists Clash Over Legal Pot 
Ben Wofford, Rolling Stone 
Wofford writes: "Why are corporate raiders and old-school activists locked in a battle for the soul of the marijuana movement?" 
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For Israel, 'Human Rights' Has Meant the Right to Dominate Palestinians 
Belen Fernandez, In These Times 
Fernandez writes: "The idea of human rights has too often been put to use by perpetrators rather than victims." 
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Strongest Hurricane Ever Recorded Barrels Toward Mexico 
Jason Samenow, The Washington Post 
Samenow writes: "Early Friday, the behemoth Hurricane Patricia became the strongest hurricane ever measured by the National Hurricane Center. Patricia is forecast to make landfall on Mexico's west central coast late Friday with destructive winds, torrents of rain, and a devastating storm surge." 
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RSN: Coal Dethroned, The Government's Hypocrisy on Hacked Information, Some Latino Workers Still Haven't Been Paid a Decade After Cleaning Up After Hurricane Katrina

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John Kiriakou | The Government's Hypocrisy on Hacked Information

John Kiriakou, Reader Supported News
Kiriakou writes: "If the government is going to be consistent, it can do two things, in my view. It can either drop all of these witch-hunt investigations into federal employees with Ashley Madison accounts right now, or it can release from prison immediately a federal inmate named Barrett Brown."
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Video Shows Suspect in San Antonio Shooting Had Hands Raised When Shot
Ashley Southall and Manny Fernandez, The New York Times
Excerpt: "The fatal shooting of a Texas man by sheriff's deputies in San Antonio last week was captured on video that appears to show he had his hands up when the officers fired."
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Despite SCOTUS Rejection of Request, Kentucky Clerk Cites 'God's Authority' to Deny Marriage Licenses
Claire Galofaro, Associated Press
Galofaro writes: "A county clerk in Kentucky has again refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, invoking her religious beliefs and 'God's authority' - this time in defiance of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against her."
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Dear White People, Laughing Is Not a Crime
Victoria Bond, Al Jazeera America
Bond writes: "The wine train incident highlights how black women in the United States are perceived, treated and policed."
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Pope to Allow All Priests to Forgive Abortion During Holy Year
Isla Binnie, Reuters
Binnie writes: "Pope Francis will give all priests discretion during the Roman Catholic Church's upcoming Holy Year to formally forgive women who have had abortions, in the Argentine pontiff's latest move towards a more open and inclusive church."
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Some Latino Workers Still Haven't Been Paid a Decade After Cleaning Up After Hurricane Katrina
Esther Yu-Hsi Lee, ThinkProgress
Lee writes: "Latino workers, some of whom are undocumented, went to New Orleans in the days and weeks following the disaster to help with reconstruction efforts and debris and mold removal. But even a decade later, many remain underpaid or unpaid."
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Laura Gottesdiener | Coal Dethroned
Laura Gottesdiener, TomDispatch
Gottesdiener writes: "In the first half of this year, at least six domestic coal companies filed for bankruptcy. In February, West Virginia's Covington Coal fell, followed by Xinergy and Grass Creek Coal in April, Patriot and Birmingham Coal & Coke in May, and A&M Coal in June."
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RSN: US Says Gulf Oil Leak Predating Deepwater Horizon Could Last Another Century, Shocking Video: Texas Soldier Dies After Telling Jail Guards He Couldn't Breathe 20 Times, John Kiriakou | I Went to Prison After Exposing US Torture. Why Weren't the Perpetrators Charged?

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SENIOR ON LIMITED INCOME WHO CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU: Ever since a friend connected me to RSN I have been your "slave." Was always relieved to be let off the hook of finances as a "senior." But threat of losing you will get a donation because you are the most comprehensive news source I have. I never have time to read all the articles I'd like to, but read what I can almost daily. What's going on in Ukraine? Dead silence on NPR, MSNBC, and I don't bother with anyone else because I don't get Al Jazeera. / Virginia, RSN Reader-Supporter

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Roger Waters to Dionne Warwick: "You Are Showing Yourself to be Profoundly Ignorant of What Has Happened in Palestine Since 1947"

Roger Waters, Salon
Waters writes: "I believe you mean well, Ms. Warwick, but you are showing yourself to be profoundly ignorant of what has happened in Palestine since 1947, and I am sorry but you are wrong, art does know boundaries."
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John Kiriakou | I Went to Prison After Exposing US Torture. Why Weren't the Perpetrators Charged?
John Kiriakou, OtherWords
Kiriakou writes: "After I blew the whistle on the CIA's torture program in 2007, the fallout for me was brutal. To make a long story short, I served nearly two years in federal prison and then endured a few more months of house arrest. What happened to the torture program? Nothing."
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Shocking Video: Texas Soldier Dies After Telling Jail Guards He Couldn't Breathe 20 Times
Democracy NOW!
Excerpt: "Local news station KFOX14 said they fought all the way to the Texas attorney general to obtain video of the 2012 incident. The video shows something happened which caused Brown to bleed in his cell."
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'Dark and Dangerous Times': GOP 2016 Hopefuls Focus on Islam at Iowa Summit
Dan Roberts, Guardian UK
Roberts writes: "'We are led by stupid people and we can't go on like this,' added Trump, whose focus, like that of Bobby Jindal, Ted Cruz and Rick Santorum, was what they see as the threat posed by Islam: both from jihadists living within America and in the shape of Iran and the Islamic State."
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Feds Say That Banned Researcher Commandeered a Plane
Kim Zetter, Wired
Zetter writes: "A security researcher kicked off a United Airlines flight last month after tweeting about security vulnerabilities in its system had previously taken control of an airplane and caused it to briefly fly sideways, according to an application for a search warrant filed by an FBI agent."
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ACLU Warns Idaho Schools Not to Force Girls to Wear Dresses to Graduation
Laura Zuckerman, Yahoo! News
Zuckerman writes: "A civil liberties group warned Idaho's public school districts on Tuesday that a secondary school's decision to require girls to wear white or pastel dresses or skirts to graduation could be discriminatory."
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US Says Gulf Oil Leak Predating Deepwater Horizon Could Last Another Century
Eric Tucker and Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press
Excerpt: "For more than a decade, oil has been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico where a hurricane toppled a drilling company's platform off the coast of Louisiana. Now the federal government is warning that the leak could last another century or more if left unchecked."
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RSN: Killer Whales Forced to Steal Fishermen's Catch Due to Overfishing, Baltimore Police Commissioner Admits to Mistakes in Freddie Gray's Handling, Won't Resign

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David Petraeus. (photo: Reuters)

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Glenn Greenwald | The Key War on Terror Propaganda Tool: Only Western Victims Are Acknowledged

Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
Greenwald writes: "The reason for the unusually intense, largely critical coverage of drone killings yesterday is obvious: the victims of this strike were Western and non-Muslim, and therefore were seen as actually human."
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Two men hold flag at protest for death of Freddie Gray by the Baltimore Police Department. (photo: JM Giordano/Guardian)

Baltimore Police Commissioner Admits to Mistakes in Freddie Gray's Handling, Won't Resign

By Nina Golgowski and Jason Silverstein, NY Daily News

25 April 15

ALSO SEE: Police Officer 'Bill of Rights' Blamed for Baltimore's Information Blackout in Case of Freddie Gray's Severed Spine

altimore's police commissioner says he is not stepping down as a top police official admitted that Freddie Gray should have gotten medical attention the moment of his arrest – not after placed in a police van.

 

Commissioner Anthony Batts, speaking at a press conference Friday, admitted that his officers made mistakes during Gray's April 12th arrest which resulted in a fatal spine injury but he defiantly brushed off calls for him to resign.

 

“That’s not going to happen. I'm focused on my job. I'm focused on this investigation,” he said.

 

Batts' vow came as a top officer spearheading their investigation said that Gray should have been given medical treatment the moment he was handcuffed.

 

"That's quite frankly where Freddie Gray should have received medical attention and he did not," Deputy Commissioner Kevin Davis said.

Police released this photo taken from surveillance video at the time of Gray's April 12th arrest. They're trying to
identify and speak with the person seen in the street who was filming Gray's arrest. (photo: Baltimore Police)

Batts added that despite Gray’s pleas for medical help, officers "failed to get him medical attention in a timely manner multiple times.”

 

Gray was also not buckled up inside of the van, he said, violating his department’s rules.

"No excuses for that, period," Batts said.

 

Instead the 25-year-old was placed in leg irons and driven to a police station. The 30-minute ride included three stops during which a second prisoner was added to the back.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said what happened to Freddie Gray while in police custody
earlier this month was 'absolutely unacceptable and I want answers.' (photo: Cliff Owen/AP)

It was only after their arrival that an ambulance was called when Gray was found struggling to breathe and unable to speak. He died a week later.

Davis said they're now looking into "each and every stop along the way."

"How long it took, the distance, the travel route," he said. "We need to know from A to Z what exactly occurred on each and every stop."

As of Friday Davis said five of six of their officers have given statements on the incident while the sixth continues to invoke their right not to speak.

 

Hundreds of protesters marched to Baltimore's City Hall Thursday for the fifth consecutive day of protests
over the police custody death of Freddie Gray. (photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Batts said they're particularly interesting in learning how Gray was seated inside of the vehicle and how he appeared before his arrival.

 

He said he's added more than 30 investigators to their task force and on Friday will submit their findings to the state attorney's office.

He called that "not the conclusion of our investigation" but "step two."

 

"We will continue to follow the evidence wherever it goes."

 

Earlier in the day the city's mayor also publicly spoke out saying what happened to Gray while in police custody was “absolutely unacceptable and I want answers.”

“A mother has to bury her child and she doesn't even know how or why this tragedy occurred only that this tragedy occurred while her child was in our custody, in police custody and this is not acceptable,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said at a press conference.

 

The mayor specified concern over police policies and procedures in Gray's transportation not being followed as well as the 25-year-old not immediately provided medical assistance when he requested it.

Rawlings-Blake’s stern words come less than a week after Gray's death, with his family’s attorney describing his spinal cord as nearly severing after placed in a police van for unclear reasons.

The mayor stressed her trust that an investigation into what happened will be “comprehensive, thorough and fair,” and that if necessary “we will hold the appropriate parties responsible.”

 

In the meantime she asked protesters to continue to exercise their rights, but in a peaceful manner.

Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan echoed that plea in his own statement on Twitter Friday which chiefly praised protesters for their civilized behavior.

 

“To date, the nature of these demonstrations have been a testament to Baltimore's strong character and our common commitment to peace and justice. It is my hope that events planned for this weekend continue to reflect positively on the community," he stated in part.

Hogan’s request follows more than 200 protesters descending on Baltimore’s City Hall and marching through rush hour traffic downtown Thursday afternoon, chanting and demonstrating against police brutality until about 10 p.m.

Some protesters antagonized the officers and state troopers on the scene, shouting insults and hurling objects, but no violence was reported.

 

“We’re not calling for revenge,” the Rev. Jamal Bryant of Baltimore’s Empowerment Temple, one of several speakers outside City Hall, told the crowd.

 

“We’re calling for justice.”

 

Cell phone footage from the April 12 arrest of Freddie Gray, who died in a hospital a week later after suffering a
severe spinal cord injury while in police custody.(photo: WJZ-TV)

Two protesters were arrested, the department said on its Twitter page.

“We are listening to the concerns of the community while protecting their constitutional rights to protest and be heard,” the department tweeted hours into the protests.

 

On Thursday, a lawyer for the Baltimore police officers union said officers did not buckle Gray during the drive to the station, a potentially fatal oversight specifically prohibited by new guidelines approved by the department days before the 25-year-old’s death.

 

Lt. Brian Rice, the police supervisor suspended for Gray’s death, was accused in 2013 of stalking and threatening to kill a man as part of a “a pattern of intimidation and violence” that resulted in a temporary restraining order, according to an investigation published by the Guardian on Thursday.

 

And the man who filmed Gray’s arrest told the Baltimore Sun Thursday police had the man's body twisted like “origami” and “a pretzel” while apprehending him.

 

Gray suffered a massive spinal cord injury in custody and died a week later in a hospital. His cause of death remains unknown and the Justice Department announced Tuesday it is opening a federal investigation into the arrest.

 

Petraeus Gets Wrist Slap for Sharing CIA Intel as Other Leakers Face Harsh Sentences
Liz Fields, VICE
Fields writes: "What kind of retaliation would you expect to receive from the US government if you handed over state secrets to the media or public?"
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DOJ Report Slams West Texas Prison, Scene of Riots
Al Jazeera America
Excerpt: "A prison in West Texas that holds mostly immigrant inmates and has been the scene of multiple riots was understaffed and failed to address persistent security problems, a federal report released Thursday said."
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Facing Threat in Congress, Pentagon Races to Resettle Guantanamo Inmates
Missy Ryan and Adam Goldman, The Washington Post
Excerpt: "Facing a potential showdown with Congress, the Pentagon is racing to move dozens of detainees out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in coming months before lawmakers can block future transfers and derail President Obama's plan to shutter the U.S. military prison."
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People Across Europe Protest Inhumane Immigration Policy
teleSUR
Excerpt: "After nearly 900 people drowned in the Mediterranean on Sunday trying to reach Europe from Libya, European leaders have finally decided that the looming migration crisis should be taken seriously."
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Killer Whales Forced to Steal Fishermen's Catch Due to Overfishing
Jason G. Goldman, Guardian UK
Goldman writes: "Over the past 50 years, even as whaling itself has been banned in most of the world, overfishing has impacted killer whale populations."
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RSN: CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou: Torture Happens in the US, Restoring The Gray Wolf

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Ken Klippenstein | CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou: Torture Happens in the US

Ken Klippenstein, Reader Supported News
Klippenstein writes: "John Kiriakou exposed the Bush-era torture program and was subsequently sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison."
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'They Looked Like ISIS:' Masked Raid Led to Kidnapping at Chicago Black Site
Spencer Ackerman and Zach Stafford, The Guardian UK
Excerpt: "When the group of armed masked men burst into Eddie's Sandwiches in Chicago, John Vergara initially thought he had walked into a stickup. Their guns were drawn, and they told everyone at Eddie's that afternoon to put their hands on the counter."
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Trevor Timm | Violating Privacy Isn't Only Bad for China, Mr. President
Trevor Timm, The Guardian UK
Timm writes: "Want to know why forcing tech companies to build backdoors into encryption is a terrible idea? Look no further than President Obama's stark criticism of China's plan to do exactly that on Tuesday."
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Petraeus Plea Deal Reveals Two-Tier Justice System for Leaks
Peter Maass, The Intercept
Maass writes: "David Petraeus, the former Army general and CIA director, admitted today that he gave highly-classified journals to his onetime lover and that he lied to the FBI about it."
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In Northern Syria, is the US Running out of Rebel Allies?
Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor
Soguel writes: "Gains by Jabhat al-Nusra, an Al Qaeda affiliate, have forced two major US-backed rebel groups to disband at a time when Washington needs solid partners to counter the influence of jihadists in Syria."
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Jessica Valenti | May the 2016 Elections Be Full of Angry Women Politicians
Jessica Valenti, The Guardian UK
Valenti writes: "If there's one word that women in politics are accustomed to, it's 'angry.'"
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Center for Biological Diversity | Restoring The Gray Wolf
Center for Biological Diversity
Excerpt: "Few animals evoke the wild like wolves. Majestic, rangy and highly social, wolves play a crucial role in driving evolution and helping calibrate nature's complex relationships."
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