Archive for May 2007
pic’s
Odd News
Serial Socks Snatcher in Trouble Again / BELLEVILLE, Ill. — James Dowdy has admitted his hankering for women’s hosiery has been his undoing, earning him three stints in prison and repeated scoldings from judges over the years. So police say
Man Gets Wallet Back From 1946 Hudson / TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Glenn Goodlove said he was likely smooching with a girl in the expansive back seat of a 1946 Hudson when his wallet slipped from his pants pocket more than five decades ago. The year
Vlemx News: Keep Informed
HBO’s Albrecht Arrested in Vegas
Las Vegas — HBO chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht was arrested Sunday morning and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery after an alleged altercation with his girlfriend here, according to Bloomberg News. According to Bloomberg, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Bill Cassel said Albrecht was “engaged in a physical altercation” with a woman outside of the MGM Grand Casino at about 3 a.m. Sunday. Cassel, Bloomberg reported, said the woman was Albrecht’s girlfriend but did not name her. The MGM Grand was the site of the welterweight boxing title match Saturday night between Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. and broadcast on HBO. Click to read more…
Global Security
The next round of six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program could occur in the near future, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Friday (see GSN, May 4).
“The United States is confident that (the settlement of the issue) is near. I would not be surprised at all (if the six-party talks) resumed next week,” he said, according to Reuters (Reuters/The Star, May 5)… Full Story
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty talks in Vienna remained inactive today as Iranian diplomats said they needed more time to consult with officials in their capital, Reuters reported (see GSN, May 4)… Full Story
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WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
Tenet Takes Blame for Erroneous Powell Speech… Full Story
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
West Has Open Mind on Iran Crisis, Officials Say… Full Story
Jordan Reports Sufficient Uranium for Nuclear Effort… Full Story
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Retrial Ordered in Jordan Chemical Plot… Full Story
Former Iraqi Defense Minister Says He Received No Orders to Use Chemical Weapons… Full Story
VX Waste More Dangerous Than Claimed, Groups Say… Full Story
MISSILE DEFENSE
U.S. Ready for Russian Talks on Missile Defense… Full Story
CNN removes link to protested site
CNN removes link to protested site Following a protest, CNN has removed a link from its website to an organization that is raising money to fight illegal immigration. The link to smalltown defenders.com was included on Lou Dobbs’ home
House sends sweeping immigration reform bill to governor’s desk
THURSDAY MAY 3, 2007 Last modified: Wednesday, May 2, 2007 5:01 PM CDT
House sends sweeping immigration reform bill to governor’s desk
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Legislation described as the nation’s most sweeping attempt to deny jobs and public benefits to illegal immigrants was sent to Gov. Brad Henry’s desk Tuesday.
State lawmakers urged Henry to sign the measure into law after it was approved in a bipartisan 84-14 vote by the state House. The bill was approved 41-6 by the Senate last month.
“The people of Oklahoma are very strongly for this bill,” said House Speaker Lance Cargill, R-Harrah.
Immigrant groups said the bill is a wrong-headed approach to stop illegal immigration and urged Henry to veto it.
“It’s not going to control immigration. It’s going to create a long-term sour view in the Latino community,” said Ed Romo, vice president of the League of United Latin American Citizens.
“It’s targeting the Latinos, the Hispanics, and nobody else,” said Ed Madrid, state director of LULAC.
Pat Fennell, executive director of the Latino Community Development Agency in Oklahoma City, said the state does not have the authority to supersede federal immigration law.
“It opens the door for all kinds of litigation,” Fennell said. “We’re going to be paying the consequences of this silly bill.”
Henry, who has previously said he believes illegal immigration is a federal issue, has not decided whether he will sign or veto the measure, a spokesman said.
“Gov. Henry supports responsible and effective immigration reform, but he will withhold judgment on this particular bill until he has had an opportunity to review the final version,” communications director Paul Sund said.
The measure contains the toughest state guidelines on dealing with illegal immigration in the nation, said Mike Hethmon, general counsel of the Immigration Reform Law Institute in Washington.
Lawmakers in Oklahoma and other states have proposed immigration bills because of the federal government’s failure to control the flow of undocumented immigrants, now estimated at 12 million nationwide, Hethmon said.
The Oklahoma bill builds on measures passed by other states but has a stronger focus on deterring unauthorized employment, he said.
“It lays the foundations for state and local action in a very broad scope of public activities,” Hethmon said.
The legislation addresses the root cause of illegal immigration — exploitation of illegal immigrant labor, he said. Among other things, the bill contains employment, labor law and civil rights provisions to protect citizens and legal immigrants who lose their jobs at companies that employ illegal immigrants to perform the same or similar work.
“Stealing American jobs is now a civil rights violation in Oklahoma,” Hethmon said.
The measure targets employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens in order to gain a competitive advantage. Key elements of the bill focus on determining worker eligibility, including technology called the Basic Pilot program, which screens Social Security numbers to make sure they are real and that they match up with the person’s name.
Created by the federal government to verify the eligibility of government employees, use of the program is mandated in Georgia, said the author of the Oklahoma legislation, Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore. It is free to employers who voluntarily sign up, he said.
Public agencies will be required to use the program beginning Nov. 1 and private companies by July 1, 2008.
Mike Seney, senior vice president of operations for The State Chamber, a business and industry group in Oklahoma City, said the group initially opposed the bill but took a neutral position after changes were approved in the Senate.
The changes widened so-called “safe harbor” provisions that allow employers to avoid sanctions for hiring undocumented immigrants if they use the Basic Pilot program and other methods to verify worker eligibility, Seney said.
“All of that goes out the window if you are participating in one of these safe harbor areas,” he said.
Terrill said the measure would limit state driver’s licenses and identity cards to citizens and legal immigrants and would require state and local agencies to verify the citizenship and immigration status of applicants for state or local benefits.
“The land of opportunity is becoming the land of entitlement,” Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs, said while debating for the bill.
The measure would not affect emergency medical and humanitarian services, such as visits to hospital emergency rooms and enrollment in public schools, that are required by federal law.
Terrill said the Federation of American Immigration Reform estimates that illegal immigrants costs state taxpayers up to $200 million a year in public benefits and other resources.
“We have several thousand illegal aliens coming across our border every day,” Terrill said. “It is a situation that is not sustainable or desirable.”
Lawyer: Imus to Sue for Nearly $40M
By LARRY McSHANE
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NEW YORK (AP) – Disgraced radio host Don Imus will sue CBS Radio for the huge portion of his $40 million contract that was left unpaid after he was fired for racist and sexist comments, his attorney said Thursday.
Martin Garbus, a First Amendment attorney, said he plans to file the breach of contract lawsuit by the end of next week.
Imus, 66, was barely three months into the five-year deal with CBS when he was dismissed April 12 after describing the Rutgers women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos” on his nationally syndicated radio program.
Garbus cited a contract clause in which CBS acknowledged that Imus’ services were “unique, extraordinary, irreverent, intellectual, topical, controversial.” The clause said Imus’ programming was “desired by company and … consistent with company rules and policy,” according to Garbus.
CBS Radio, in a statement issued Thursday, said it would vigorously contest Imus’ claim.
“We terminated Mr. Imus for cause,” the statement said. “Based on the comments in question and relevant contract terms, we believe that the termination was appropriate and CBS would expect to prevail in any attempt by Mr. Imus to recover money for his actions.”
Garbus’ past clients include comedian Lenny Bruce, the rap group Public Enemy and filmmaker Spike Lee.
Amnesty is not a solution—it’s a SURRENDER!
Enough!
MAY DAY: Immigration Rallies Nationwide…
Around globe, walls spring up to divide neighbors…
Immigration Rally Highlights Green Bay’s Image/the City of Green Bay is trying to deny business owners’ licenses if they knowingly employ illegal immigrants. Not everyone thinks that’s the best way to build the
City preparing components of municipal ID card for documented …/will be available to citizens and noncitizens, documented and undocumented. The number of illegal immigrants in the state is hard to pin down, but the Hispanic Pew
