Monday, January 7, 2008

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments on the constitutionality of the use of lethal injection as a method for the imposition of the death penalty in the United States. Two men, Ralph Baze and Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr., who were convicted of murder in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and sentenced to death, sued the state in 2004 arguing that the use of lethal injection as a method of imposition of capital punishment violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

Thirty-seven states and the Federal Government have capital punishment for some crimes, all except Nebraska (which uses electrocution) use lethal injection. The process uses three chemicals in a “cocktail”, which, by the procedures that are used to apply them to the condemned, (three injections given consecutively) allegedly “create a significant and unnecessary risk of inflicting severe pain that could be prevented by the adoption of reasonable safeguards”, their lawyers said in court papers. “Kentucky seeks to execute in a relatively humane manner and has worked hard to adopt such a procedure,” Kentucky Attorney General Gregory Stumbo has said. The state has also argued in its brief against supporting the plaintiffs’ appeal that it will lead to “an endless road of litigation. … Condemned inmates will never run out of ideas for changes to the procedures, drugs or equipment used during lethal injection.”

Baze was scheduled to be executed on January 8 after Governor of Kentucky Ernie Fletcher signed his death warrant, but the Kentucky Supreme Court suspended his execution on September 12, 2007, arguing it needed more time to examine arguments he had made in a separate appeal. He was convicted of killing Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and Deputy Arthur Briscoe in 1992 while the lawmen were trying to serve him with arrest warrants. Bowling was convicted of killing Edward and Tina Earley in Louisville in 1990.

According to the article on lethal injection in Wikipedia, the three chemicals used are Sodium thiopental to render the offender unconscious; Pancuronium/Tubocurarine: to stop all muscle movement except the heart, causing muscle paralysis, collapse of the diaphragm, and would eventually cause death by asphyxiation; and Potassium chloride to stop the heart. The chemicals apparently cannot be combined together as they could precipitate into a solid and be ineffective. It is argued that thiopental is a very short-term anesthetic and may wear off during the procedure, causing anesthesia awareness and excruciating pain from the effects of the other drugs.

In oral hearings today, the justices seemed skeptical that the chemical concoction causes extreme pain or that a better method was available. A lawyer for one of the plaintiffs argued that if insufficient anesthetic is given, when the inmate is given the paralyzing drug, they will experience agonizing pain, but be unable to react, and that it is even illegal in Kentucky to euthanize animals in this fashion. Some of the justices have considered sending the case back for further hearings to determine if a single barbiturate would be superior to the current method.

While the Supreme Court has examined the application of the death penalty many times over the past 40 years, this is the first time the court has reviewed the issue of the method of execution in 100 years, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs. A ruling is not expected until June. There are about 3,000 people on death row in the United States, and about 60 are executed each year. Since the case was accepted by the Supreme Court, all executions in the United States have been temporarily suspended pending the decision.

The case name is Baze v. Rees.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Hamas, the current government controlling Gaza and a labeled as a “foreign terrorist organization” by the United States, is claiming that the Israel Defense Forces are preparing for an incursion into Gaza, and they are preparing for any such attempt, performing military exercises and drills to “surprise” Israeli forces with “ferocious fighting.” Hamas says that Israel is planning to attack after several rockets were fired into populated cities the southern portion of Israel from Hamas controlled portions of the strip.

“Your brothers, the sons of Hamas … have the weapons that they claimed as booty from the war of cleansing (of Fatah) and will now fight the state of Israel with them,” said Nizar Rayyan a senior Hamas government official in a statement who also added that they would kidnap any Israeli soldiers attempting an attack on the government or the city.

Drills and exercises including training their forces in handling and firing rocket launchers and automatic rifles. They also train in “taking cover” and wear camouflage outfits. An abandoned building was also blown up in a controlled explosion.

Israeli officials don’t deny that any military action is not part of possible plans to stop the rocket fire into the country, but also say that there are several other plans to try and stop rocket attacks.

“I think there are a series of actions other than military actions,” said Tzipi Livni, the Foreign Minister of Israel.

Some plans include stopping supplies such as water and fuel from going into Gaza, and shutting off the gas and electricity to homes and businesses in the attempt to stop attacks.

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

On Tuesday, the day preceding Australia Day, the Australian government announced it had purchased the copyright to the Australian Aboriginal Flag for A$20.05 million.

The flag, created by Luritja man Harold Thomas in 1970, represents the connection Aboriginal people have to the land. It was adopted as a national flag in 1995, however copyright remained with Thomas. The flag could not be used without his approval or compensation.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised the flag would be treated in a comparable way to the national flag, which can be used by anyone so long as it is displayed in a “respectful and dignified way.”

Morrison promised: “All Australians can now put the Aboriginal Flag on apparel such as sports jerseys and shirts, it can be painted on sports grounds, included on websites, in paintings and other artworks, used digitally and in any other medium without having to ask for permission or pay a fee,”

“We’ve freed the Aboriginal Flag for Australians.”

Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt said: “Over the last 50 years we made Harold Thomas’ artwork our own — we marched under the Aboriginal Flag, stood behind it, and flew it high as a point of pride,”

“Now that the Commonwealth holds the copyright, it belongs to everyone, and no-one can take it away.”

The commercial arrangements surrounding the flag were highlighted in 2019 after one of the clothing companies holding a licence for the flag, WAM Clothing, gave notices to the National Rugby League and Australian Football League, alleging jerseys worn at their Indigenous round infringed upon their copyright. At the time, Wyatt urged football fans to show their objections to the claim by clothing themselves in the flag. It is understood several other organisations were given similar notices.

Under the agreed deal, the government paid A$20.05 million to Thomas and licence holders to secure copyright and buy back the rights of licence holders. They have pledged to:

• transfer future royalties from commercial flag sales into a fund to support NAIDOC Week;
• establish a A$100 thousand scholarship in Thomas’ honour for Indigenous students to develop leadership skills;
• accept and display a painting by Thomas celebrating the flag’s 50th anniversary and the transfer of copyright;
• create a web portal for flag history and education.

Bangarang woman Geraldine Atkinson told Nine News she was “absolutely pleased” about the flag passing to the government, saying the news gave Indigenous Australians something to celebrate on Australia Day. Atkinson said: “When I read it, it was the first I’d heard about it, and I punched the air, I was so excited […] We’re not going to be celebrating the day, but we’re going to be celebrating our flag. We’re going to be celebrating that we can fly our flag, and wear it on our shirts.”

While Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe welcomed the news, she was wary about the deal, saying: “I’m concerned that the Commonwealth owns the copyright over our flag and what that means for the unceded sovereignty and the self-determination of our people […] We need to have genuine conversations about what it means for the Commonwealth to own the copyright of our flag and if any other models of community ownership were seriously considered. For the moment, this is a win.”

Labor Party Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said she would be scrutinising the deal during the Senate’s forthcoming budget estimates: “I look forward to scrutinising this deal and examining the details through Senate Estimates next month, in particular the copyright and custodianship of the flag”. McCarthy went on to state, “Scott Morrison and the Indigenous Affairs Minister need to also clarify where the money for this deal is coming from.”

Thursday, January 28, 2010

An international conference in London on Tuesday came up with a plan to fight al-Qaeda’s presence in Yemen. Delegates present at the conference were from twenty countries, including Yemen, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The conference was called by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown due to the failed Christmas Day plot to blow up a US plane, for which al-Qaeda in Yemen claimed responsibility. However, the attendees stress that the al-Qaeda presence is not Yemen’s only problem, and that it cannot be solved without first dealing with the others.

Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, said that bringing peace to Yemen and making it more stable is a major priority for the United States. She said that the United States had signed a three-year agreement on security development in Yemen. “To help the people of Yemen, we—the international community—can and must do more. And so must the Yemeni government,” she said.

Clinton said that she does not believe that military action would be enough to solve Yemen’s problems, and that corruption must be combated as well as building up democratic institutions and promoting human rights. She asked that the government of Yemen begin its proposed ten-point program for the development of these areas and to reduce the influence of extremist organisations.

Yemen is the poorest nation in the Arab world, and its economy was also on the meeting’s agenda. The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband chaired the talks, and said that the Yemeni government had pledged to begin an attempt to combat this by entering into discussions with the International Monetary Fund, representatives of which were present at the conference, in order to put together a plan for its economy.

Miliband also announced that a “Friends of Yemen” organisation was to be launched, to discuss the economy, government, and judicial process of Yemen. Also present were delegates from the United Nations, European Union, and World Bank. Miliband acknowledged that the solution was not simply a military one by saying at a press conference, “It’s been a common feature of every contribution that we have heard today that the assault on Yemen’s problems cannot begin and end with its security challenges and its counter-terrorism strategy. In tackling terrorism it is vital to tackle its root causes. In Yemen’s case these are manifold—economic, social and political”.

Ali Mujawar, the Prime Minister of Yemen, received this support warmly, but said that any attack on the nation’s sovereignty would be considered “unacceptable”, and that it should not be portrayed as a failing nation, despite a multitude of problems, including its damaged economy, rapidly growing population, and shrinking oil reserves, as well as the beginning of a drought and its problems with insurgents, such as al-Qaeda terrorists. British Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis echoed Mujawar’s statements by saying that Yemen is “not a failed state”, but “an incredibly fragile state”. Lewis also said that “[s]upporting the government of Yemen is crucial to the stability of that country but it is also crucial to the stability of the world”.

Yemen’s Foreign Minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, asked the delegates at the conference for “international support to build infrastructure, combat poverty and create jobs, as well as support in combating terrorism”. However, he said that the idea of having US military bases in Yemen was “inconceivable”.

Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa is unsure how useful the meeting will be. He expressed these concerns by telling the BBC, “I don’t know how a conference like that can decide something useful, something reasonable for Yemen… in a couple of hours”, and saying that it was a “strange” and “very unusual sign” that the Arab League had not been given the chance to send delegates to the conference, despite wanting to discuss all of Yemen’s problems without specific focus on al-Qaeda. Despite these concerns, donors from a number of Western and Gulf nations have agreed to meed again, this time in the Saudi Arabian capital city of Riyadh, in February.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Having worked as an aide, advisor, and Executive Assistant to municipal and provincial politicians, Sheila White is running for the Ontario New Democratic Party in the Ontario provincial election, in the Scarborough-Rouge River riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed her regarding her values, her experience, and her campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Santa Clara, California, USA. The adult literacy program Read Santa Clara marked its tenth anniversary today with a gathering of program participants, staff, and supporters from the community. Read Santa Clara trains volunteer tutors and matches them with adult learners who wish to build their literacy skills.

In the presentation, program staff and supporters reviewed the program’s history and growth, honored long-time participants, and looked toward the future.

Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan spoke at the gathering, noting, “Read Santa Clara joins people who need to learn with people who need to teach, and what a powerful combination that is.” She added, “I think adult literacy is so important.”

Program coordinators estimate that tutors volunteered some 5000 hours last year. City Manager Jennifer Sparacino estimates, “That’s worth about $100,000 per year in volunteer time.”

Learners also spoke about what Read Santa Clara meant to them. Raymond Moreno said, “I hope it stays for another ten, twenty, thirty years, because we need it.” Juan Velasquez said, “My life has changed a lot…I did many things I could not have done without help.” And Ike Moore said, “To be able to express myself…What a gift!”

A compilation of brief news reports for Wednesday, December 23, 2009.