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ACLU Challenges Illegal Disfranchisement of American Indian Voters in South Dakota

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2010

ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union filed an amended class actionlawsuit in federal court today to restore the voting rights of AmericanIndians who were illegally disfranchised in the 2008 presidentialelection. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for theWestern District of South Dakota on behalf of Kim Colhoff, Eileen Janisand others, who attempted to vote in the election but were improperlyremoved from the voter rolls due to felony convictions.

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New Jersey Downplays Disturbing Air Toxics Study

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2010

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)

A groundbreaking but long-delayed study of toxic air pollution inPaterson, New Jersey is finally being released this week with anelaborate state public relations roll-out designed to convince peoplethat it contains nothing new, according to documents released today byPublic Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Yet the draftof the study indicates that there are significantly increased healthrisks to residents from breathing ambient levels of numerous hazardousair pollutants.

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Survey Shows Few Haitians Willing to Move Far to Camps Outside the City

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2010

Oxfam International

Less than a third ofpeople living in one of the largest camps in Port au Prince say thatthey are willing to move to camps sited outside the city according to asnap-shot survey carried out by international agency Oxfam. If the newimproved camps are established close to where they used to live thenthe proportion willing to move leaps to nearly three quarters.

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Israel: Attacks on New Israel Fund, Critical Groups, Threaten Civil Society

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2010

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

The growing harshness of attacks by Israeli government officials on nongovernmental organizations poses a real threat to civil society in Israel, Human Rights Watch said today.
 
The most recent attacks center on the New Israel Fund (NIF), which supports a wide range of Israeli civil rights and social welfare organizations, including some that provided information to the United Nations fact-finding mission under Justice Richard Goldstone that investigated abuses by both sides in last year's Gaza conflict.  
 

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Statement: Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the January Employment Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Today's jobs report shows that job losses have slowed to a tricklecompared with what they were in the months just before President Obamaand Congress enacted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)last February. But it also highlights the huge jobs deficit thatremains the legacy of the longest and most severe recession since theGreat Depression. Temporary recovery measures that extend or expand onARRA remain vital to putting the economy on a path that will close thatjobs deficit.

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Stronger Efficiency, Renewables Measures Would Benefit Consumers, Industry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

Union of Concerned Scientists

If Congress passed climate and energy legislation that strengthenedthe energy efficiency and renewable energy standards in the version theHouse of Representatives approved last June, consumer electric andnatural gas costs would be $113 billion lower by 2030, and emitterswould pay 4 percent less in compliance costs, according to an analysisreleased today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

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Kucinich Challenges Potential Extrajudicial Killing of Americans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

Congressman Dennis Kucinich

CongressmanDennis Kucinich (D-OH) yesterday wrote to Attorney General Eric Holderfollowing news reports that Americans have been included on targetedassassination lists maintained by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The reports indicatethat the President has authorized military operations with the expressunderstanding that Americans might be killed under this policy.  In theletter, Kucinich requests the legal basis for revoking theconstitutional rights of any American citizens.

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White House Must Reform Faith-Based Initiative, Says ACLU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

ACLU

Oneyear after the formation of the White House Office of Faith-Based andNeighborhood Partnerships, the American Civil Liberties Union joins abroad coalition of religious, education, civil rights, labor and healthorganizations in urging the Obama administration to reform its“faith-based initiative.” As part of this initiative, the governmentprovides federal funds to religious organizations that engage inreligious discrimination and do not separate their religious contentfrom their social service work.

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AFSCME President Gerald McEntee to Supporters of Privatizing Social Security: “Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

AFSCME

This week, Congressman and House Budget Committee Ranking Member Paul Ryan (R-WI) woke a sleeping giant when he released his alternative Republican House Budget Committee's plan to privatize Social Security and replace Medicare with private, for-profit care-rationing measures.

"The Republicans may be morphing from the Party of ‘No' to the Party of ‘You Gotta Be Kidding Me'," said AFSCME President Gerald McEntee.

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Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on January Jobs Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

AFL-CIO

January unemployment finally fell below double digits, but our countryremains in a serious, deep, and long-term jobs crisis.  We need tocreate at least 10 million jobs now, and Wall Street and the big banksthat created the crisis need to foot the bill. 

We welcome thenews that unemployment dropped to 9.7%, but we shed another 20,000 jobslast month, following a revised 150,000 loss in December, and thenumber of long-term unemployed continues to break records.

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Stop-Lossed Iraq War Vet to Face Court Martial in Iraq over Protest Song

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

Iraq Veterans Against the War

The US military plans to extradite a stop-lossedIraq war veteran to Iraq “within a few days” to face a court martialfor allegedly threatening military officers in a protest rap song hemade.

Spc. Marc Hall has been jailed in the Liberty County Jail near FortStewart, Ga., since Dec. 11 because he wrote a song called “Stop Loss”about the practice of involuntarily extending military members’contracts.

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Real Unemployment Rate at 16.77%

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

Americans for Democratic Action

Americans for Democratic Action’s National Director, Michael J.Wilson, made the following statement about today’s unemployment numbersfrom the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

“The real unemployment rate released today bythe Bureau of Labor Statistics is 16.7% -- a full 7 points higher than theofficially reported rate. 

“We are beginning to see signs of an economic recovery.  Even though we know that jobs are alagging indicator, we know that is of little comfort to the millions who haveremained jobless for week after week after week.

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Tancredo Sets the Tone For Tea Party: Extreme, Racist, Nativist

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

PFAW

Former Representative Tom Tancredo kicked off the tea party convention in Nashville today with an offensive speech in which he said President Obama was elected by "people who could not even spell the word ‘vote' or say it in English" because "we do not have a civics literacy test before people can vote in this country."

People For the American Way Foundation President Michael B. Keegan issued the following statement in response:

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GOP Obstruction on Nominations Reaches New Low

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

PFAW

According to media reports, Richard Shelby has placed a blanket“hold” on all executive branch nominations in an effort to securefederal spending in his state.

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Brady Campaign Urges Starbucks To Prohibit Guns In Its Retail Outlets

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

Brady Campaign

 Radical gun enthusiasts have begun parading into Californiarestaurants and coffeehouses in recent weeks brazenly displayinghandguns.  The gun activists have frightened customers,alarmed police and caused at least two restaurant chains to establishfirm policies prohibiting firearms in their retail locations. 

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NPR Ombud: 'Critics are Right' on Zinn Obituary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

FAIR

NEW YORK - NPR ombud Alicia Shepard responded to the over 1,500 activists who wrote individual letters to NPR regarding the Howard Zinn obituary that aired on All Things Considered.

Her response is below. Thanks to all of those on the list who wrote to NPR.

http://www.npr.org/ombudsman/2010/02/howard_zinns_obit.html

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G7 MustTake on Emergency Recovery Plan for Haiti, Global Economic Crisis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2010

Oxfam International

G7 finance ministersmeeting in Canada this weekend must agree to a Financial TransactionTax to leverage billions needed to help poor nations deal with theimpact of the global economic crisis, international agency OxfamInternational said today.

The G7 ministers and central bankers who are meeting in Iqaluit mustalso ensure that devastated Haiti is not left saddled with cripplingdebts as it recovers from the recent earthquake.

Oxfam is asking G7 finance ministers to:

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Pres. Obama’s Proposed 2011 Budget Bolsters War on Drugs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2010

Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)

Accordingto 2011 funding "highlights" released this week by the Office ofNational Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the Obama administration isexpanding the war on drugs and focusing its funds toward lawenforcement over treatment. The budget puts America's drug war spendingat $15.5 billion for fiscal year 2011; an increase of 3.5 percent over2010 and an increase of 5.2 percent in overall enforcement funding($9.7 billion in FY 2010 to $9.9 billion in FY 2011). Addictiontreatment and preventative measures are budgeted to increase from $5.2billion to $5.6 billion.

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Environmental and Health Groups Face Off Against Household Cleaner Giants in Court

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2010

Earthjustice

Public health and environmental advocates faced off againsthousehold cleaning giants Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive,Church and Dwight and Reckitt-Benckiser in a Manhattan court today in afight for transparency about the toxic chemicals in cleaning products.

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Lawsuit Launched to Defend Pacific Fisher From Federal Negligence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2010

Center for Biological Diversity

The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra ForestLegacy, Environmental Protection Information Center, andKlamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center today filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Department of the Interior over its failure to protect the Pacific fisher- a relative of the mink and otter that has been decimated by historicfur trapping and logging of old-gr

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