[In case it needs to be said: I don't agree with every word of everything I link to. --L.]
- CSS3 Design Contest Results
- [Smashing Magazine]
[ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -L]
- Supermax Prisons: Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading
- [ACLU Blog]
[Trigger warning for discussion of self-harm and suicide. -L]
This week the European Court of Human Rights temporarily halted the extradition of four terrorism suspects from the United Kingdom to the United States. The court concluded that the applicants had raised a serious question whether their possible long-term incarceration in a U.S. “supermax” prison would violate Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits “torture or … inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The court noted that “complete sensory isolation, coupled with total social isolation, can destroy the personality and constitutes a form of inhuman treatment which cannot be justified by the requirements of security or any other reason,” and called for additional submissions from the parties before finally deciding the applicants’ claim. [...]
The devastating effects of isolated confinement on the human psyche have long been well known. In 1890, the Supreme Court described the results of solitary confinement as it had been practiced in the early days of the United States…
- A One-Two Punch to DOMA
- You’ve probably heard by now about yesterday’s fabulous pair of decisions striking down a portion of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). I wanted to explain a bit about what the decisions mean and put them in context…
- BP Will Penalize Fishermen For Not Helping To Clean Up Their Toxic Mess. Unbelievable!
- [Crooks and Liars]
Kindra Arnesen is the wife of a Gulf fisherman and she's been kicking butt on exposing BP abuses. In this latest news, she's discovered that BP is claiming is that if fishermen choose not to take part in the oil spill cleanup, BP will consider that as potential income declined and deduct it from their claims…
- 74% of Americans Say Junk the Electoral College – Here’s How
- [Firedoglake]
While this would not technically abolish the Electoral College, it would have the same effect and create a de facto direct popular vote once enough states enter into a multistate compact. And for it to take effect requires only that roughly half of the states pass a bill, a much lower hurdle than a Constitutional amendment.
What is surprising, given its overwhelming support, is that the national popular vote plan has not already passed in a sufficient number of states. So far, it’s succeeded in only five. The effort to enact it has been under way for several years. This shows the power of status quo bias…
- Americans Still Hate Republicans, Ready to Give Them Control of Congress
- [Firedoglake]
It’s hard to see this as anything else but a colossal failure on the part of the Obama administration and the Democrats in Congress.
- Don't Enslave Me, Bro
- [Talking Points Memo]
It seems like the more right-wing the Republican is, the more concerned they are about Obama turning white people into "slaves."
- Claimed Proof That UNIX Code Was Copied Into Linux
- Slashdot: "SCO's ex-CEO's brother, a lawyer named Kevin McBride, has finally revealed some of the UNIX code that SCO claimed was copied into Linux."
- Record U.S. Income Gap Growing Again
- [Crooks and Liars]
In June, an analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities confirmed that gap between rich and poor in the United States reached levels not seen since 1929. Between 1979 and 2007, the yawning chasm separating the after-tax income of the richest 1 percent of Americans from the middle and poorest fifths of the country more than tripled. But while the Bush recession which began in December 2007 temporarily halted the stratospheric advance of the wealthy, the rich – and the rich alone – have largely recovered their losses. Which means that the record level of income inequality in America is growing once again…
The Link(s): Mon, Jul 12th, 1pm by Lee Salazar, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Terms and conditions beyond the scope of this license may be available at leesalazar.com.