NYPD Caught Tampering With Evidence.

Charges have been dropped for over 400 people in last year’s mass arrest during the Republican National Convention. While video evidence proved that none of them had committed a crime, the New York Police Department tampered with video evidence in the case of arrested protester Alexander Dunlop. Dunlop, who claimed he was falsely arrested, was charged by the police using confiscated video evidence that had been edited. The police failed to tell the court that the video had been edited in two spots. A member of I-Witness Video had found another tape capturing Dunlop’s arrest, and once the tape was presented to the court showing that Dunlop was acting peacefully, the prosecution immediately dropped the charges. The city is now claiming that the video was edited by a technician by mistake. Nearly 1,700 of the convention cases have run their course with 91% of charges either being dismissed or have come back with a verdict of not guilty.

Students Stage Living Wage Sit-In.

Following a successful hunger strike campaign for Living Wages at Georgetown University last month, students at Washington University in St. Louis have entered their ninth day of a sit-in calling on the University to pay all employees a living wage.

Negroponte Linked To The Iran-Contra Affair.

The Washington Post has reported that newly declassified cables and memos from the early 1980’s have shed new light on the links between National Intelligence Director nominee John Negroponte and the Iran-Contra affair. Negroponte wrote in July of 1983 that “Hondurans believe special project is as important as ever.” Honduras was being used as the base for over 10,000 US-backed anti-Sandinista rebels.

Military Judge Ignores International Law In Guantanamo.

Court transcripts of the proceedings at Guantanamo Bay by military judges last year expose how detainees were treated. Feroz Ali Abbasi, a British citizen, was rejected from his own hearing when he challenged to legality of his detention. When asked to speak the judge responded saying, “No, you don’t.” The judge also said “I don’t care about international law.” The military tribunal found Abbasi “deeply involved” in Al Qaeda, but four months later he was released from custody.

US Run Iraqi Jails In Deplorable Condition.

Bakhtiar Amin, Iraq’s human rights minister, has admitted that US and Iraqi run jails are operated in deplorable conditions. Amin said, “None of the Iraqi detention centers meet international standards for cleanliness, food and the treatment of prisoners.”

Brand Name Prescription Prices Soar.

According to a new report commissioned by AARP, the prices of brand name prescriptions have just 7% since last year. The price of prescription drugs have jumped 35% in the last 6 years.

The EPA Cancels A Program Of Giving Poor Families Money For Poisoning Their Children.

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced it will cancel a pesticide testing program that gave low-income Florida families nearly a thousand dollars to document the effects of giving pesticides to their children. Senate Democrats threatened to block the confirmation of EPA nominee Stephen Johnson unless the program was canceled.

Mexican Populists Are Very, Very Bad.

In Mexico, the upcoming Presidential election has been turned upside down after Mexico’s congress voted to impeach one of the leading candidates from his post as mayor of Mexico City. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is now facing an arrest over a minor infraction that is four years old. If an arrest warrant is issued Lopez Obrador would lose his political rights and be barred from running for the presidency. Lopez Obrador has accused Mexican President Vincente Fox of trying to orchestrate Lopez Obrador’s downfall. Lopez Obrador has been campaigning on a populist platform that is opposed by the business community, and he has called for a state-supported economy and a renegotiation of free trade agreements. Lopez Obrador said, “I am proud to be accused, like those who struggled for justice in the past. Today you are judging me, but don’t forget that history will judge both of us.”

Fundamentalist Terrorist Caught: He’s Just White And Christian.

Eric Rudolph has plead guilty for carrying out a series of bombings that has killed two and has injured 150 others. Rudolph will spend the rest of his life in jail for the bomb he set off at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, a bombing of an abortion clinic in 1997 in the same town, Later in 1997 Rudolph bombed a family planning clinic and a gay club in Atlanta. In 1998 Rudolph set off another bomb outside a Birmingham abortion clinic. It is unknown, but suspected that an underground network of supporters helped to protect Rudolph from federal custody in the mountains of North Carolina.

Palestinian Teenagers Playing Soccer? Terrorism!

On Saturday, April 9th 2005, Israeli troops shot dead three 15 year old Palestinian boys in Rafah, a town in Gaza. Israel claims the boys were trying to cross into Egypt to smuggle back weapons. However, a Palestinian teenager who survived the shooting said his friends were shot as they were playing soccer.

GM Pulls Ads From Newspaper.

General Motors has announced it will stop advertising in the Los Angeles Times in protest over the LA Time’s recent coverage of GM. The decision was announced after the paper’s Pulitzer Prize winning automobile critic Dan Neil called for the removal of GM’s chairman and chief executive for focusing on SUVs instead of more aggressively developing fuel-efficient cars.

Republican Congressman Calls On Tom Delay To Resign His Post.

Republican Congressman Chris Shays of Connecticut is calling on Tom Delay to resign his post as the Republican majority leader of the House of Representatives. Representative Tom Delay of Texas has recently come under fire for several ethical lapses. Last year the House Ethics Commission admonished Delay three times. Shays told the Associated Press “Tom’s conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election.”

Massive Protests In Baghdad Calling For US Withdrawal.

In the Iraqi capital Shiite protesters organized by Moqtada al Sadr, gathered in the same square where two years ago US troops pulled down a statue of Saddam Hussein. The protesters burned effigies of Saddam Hussein, George W. Bush, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The protests, estimated by the Los Angeles Times to be 300,000 strong, demanded immediate withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.

All Apologies.

I have not updated in some time, due to the fact that I recently had a death in my family, and I have seen all my free time taken up. Things are getting back to normal now, and hopefully I can keep this more up to date.