conservative justices in state of DeNiAl
interpreting the constitutionposted on 19 June 2009
In one of the most closely watched cases on its calendar, the United States Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that prisoners do not have a constitutional right to DNA testing of evidence gathered by police. The 5-4 decision is a setback for DNA testing advocates who point to more than 250 exonerations of wrongly convicted defendants using biological testing techniques. Legal analysts familiar with the decision said that the Court is essentially leaving it to legislators to work out uniform procedures for the rapidly evolving field of DNA evidence.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts acknowledged that DNA evidence techniques have an “unparalleled ability both to exonerate the wrongly convicted and to identify the guilty.’’ Still he concluded, “To suddenly constitutionalize this area would short-circuit what looks to be a prompt and considered legislative response.’’ Roberts was joined in his opinion by Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito, who represent a conservative voting “bloc” on the Court as it is currently composed.
Attorney Peter Neufeld, who argued the case representing the Innocence Project, which advocates for broader DNA testing, said that the ruling will inevitably mean “more innocent people will languish in prison,’’ because they lack the means to examine the state’s evidence. 47 states have laws allowing defendants and prisoners some rights to access biological evidence.
it’s all true
Supreme Court rules DNA tests for prisoners not a constitutional right : Los Angeles Times
Supreme Court rejects inmates’ right to have DNA test : Boston Globe
Justices Reject Inmate Right to DNA Tests : New York Times
Supreme Court rejects right for criminals to DNA tests : Reuters
federal funds finally find toxic town
weatherposted on 19 June 2009
The Environmental Protection Agency has declared a public health emergency in the town of Libby, Montana, a Superfund cleanup site where hundreds of people have died over the past several decades as a result of exposure to asbestos from a vermiculite mine operated by the WR Grace Company. According to an EPA spokesman, although the town will not be evacuated, extensive remediation programs will be undertaken, involving the investment of hundreds of millions of federal dollars over the next five years. The announcement marks the first time the EPA has ever declared such an emergency, although the agency has had the authority to do so since 1980.
Last year Democratic Senator Max Baucus of Montana accused the Bush administration of orchestrating a coverup of the extensive asbestos contamination in and around Libby. Baucus alleged that former EPA Director Christine Todd Whitman had tried to declare a public health emergency in the small town as early as 2002, but was overruled by the Bush White House for political reasons.
Officials of the WR Grace Company were acquitted last month of criminal charges that they knowingly allowed the residents of Libby to be exposed to the toxic substance even after they became aware of the contamination, in a verdict that dismayed environmental and public health advocates.
it’s all true
U.S. Cites Emergency in Asbestos-Poisoned Town : New York Times
EPA declares health emergency in Montana town : Associated Press
Asbestos emergency declared in Libby, Montana : Los Angeles Times
quirky brits still concerned about iraq war
newsposted on 19 June 2009
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced earlier this week that his government will authorize an official inquiry into policy and procedural errors before and during the US–led invasion and occupation of Iraq. Soldiers’ families and antiwar groups in the UK have campaigned for an independent panel for years, but were disappointed that the inquiry announced by the Prime Minister would hear evidence privately. By Friday, pressure from these groups and from political opponents had forced Brown to modify his approach and agree that some hearings could be public.
On Monday Brown told the House of Commons, “Now is the right time to ensure we have a proper process in place to learn the lessons of the complex and often controversial events of the last six years.” He said that the panel will have broad powers to subpoena documents and witnesses in an effort to learn from mistakes in prewar intelligence gathering and planning, and in postwar reconstruction projects.
But campaigners and rival MPs immediately derided the proposed inquiry as a “whitewash”, with Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg saying, “I am staggered that the Prime Minister is seeking to compound the error, fatal to so many of Britain’s sons and daughters, by covering up the path that led to it.” The panel is not scheduled to publish its report until after the next general election in June of 2010.
it’s all true
Some sessions of Iraq war inquiry could be public : Reuters
Britain to conduct long-awaited Iraq war inquiry : Associated Press
Iraq inquiry to hear evidence in private : Independent
lovable losers a troubled asset
sportsposted on 19 June 2009
Signs that the tentative deal to sell the Chicago Cubs to a private investor group led by Thomas Ricketts has all but fallen apart continued to emerge this week, some eight months after the purchase was scheduled to be finalized. Tribune Company owner Sam Zell had hoped to spin the baseball team off for more than a billion dollars by the end of 2008, but worsening economic conditions have postponed the sale and reduced the price. Now Ricketts reportedly is seeking further concessions from the media conglomerate, which is struggling to avoid liquidation.
The Tribune Company announced this morning that it will return to considering alternative bids for the Cubs, after having granted the Ricketts group exclusivity last year. Each participant in the negotiations appears to be using media leaks to pressure the other side, but it is clear that Zell needs the sale to proceed as soon as possible because of the massive debt load from his purchase of the Tribune Company.
The news capped a difficult week for the Cubs organization, after the New York Times earlier revealed that former Cubs star Sammy Sosa was among the major league players who tested positive for steroid use in 2003. On the field, the team continued to disappoint, struggling to stay near .500 with one of the highest payrolls in the sport.
its all true
Tribune Co. mulls relief bidder for Chicago Cubs : Chicago Tribune
Tribune Co reopens talks on Cubs sale with rival bidder : Reuters
Report: 2nd group back in talks : ESPN
links 06.11.09
links of the weekposted on 11 June 2009
Search the complete archive of the first four years of weekly issues of redstateupdate.net in its original ‘broadsheet’ format. In 2008, as in previous years, redstateupdate.net reported on a majority of the “Most Censored Stories” of the year as determined by the media watchdog organization Project Censored.
Interview with activist Charles Evers by author David Koppel, which was first presented by redstateupdate.net in 2007. Charles is the brother of civil rights leader Medgar Evers who paved the way for civil rights progress in the United States and who was slain 1963.
Small Farm Funding Resources, distributed by the US Department of Agriculture’s RuralInformation Center, is a guide that contains information about issues to consider before starting a farming operation with links to full-text guides on how to start a farm business, and develop business and marketing plans.
World now at the start of 2009 influenza pandemic, announcement by the World Health Organization that “On the basis of available evidence, and…expert assessments of the evidence, the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic have been met…(the WHO) therefore decided to raise the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6,” and a report from the Congressional Research Service regarding The US response to the global Swine Flu pandemic.
links 05.24.09
links of the weekposted on 24 May 2009
Justice Department report to Congress covering all applications made by the Government during calendar year 2008 for authority to conduct electronic surveillance and physical search for foreign intelligence purposes under the Act, all applications made by the Government during calendar year 2008 for access to certain business records (including the production of tangible things) for foreign intelligence purposes, and certain requests made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation pursuant to national security letter authorities.
The Agricultural Newsletter from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Number 1944 May 2009- “There was a quarterly decrease of 6 percent in the value of “good” agricultural land—the largest quarterly decline since 1985—according to a survey of 227 bankers in the Seventh Federal Reserve District on April 1, 2009. Also, the year-over-year increase in District farmland values eroded to just 2 percent in the first quarter of 2009.”
The Online King Access Database - A joint project of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University, and the Robert W.Woodruff Library at Atlanta University Center.
The month of May, Les très riches heures du Duc de Berry - LesTrès Riches Heures, was commissioned by manuscript collector, the Duc de Berry. Les Très Riches Heures is one of a genre of 15th-century illustrated prayer books known as “book of hours”.
Run On, Blind Boys of Alabama - live performance from British Show “Later”
verbatim 35.5
verbatimposted on 23 May 2009
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