Split (1)

train · 2.59M rows

text stringlengths 12 69.1k
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: Well, I don’t—I don’t have a position I can announce yet. I think if—I believe there is a new application for him in there. And when I have time, after the election is over, I’m going to review all the remaining executive clemency applications and, you know, see what the merits dictate. I will try to do what I think the right thing to do is based on the evidence. And I’ve never had the time actually to sit down myself and review that case. I know it’s very important to a lot of people, maybe on both sides of the issue. And I think I owe it to them to give it an honest look-see. So, part of my responsibilities in the last 10 weeks of office after the election will be to review the requests for pardons and executive clemencies and give them a fair hearing. And I pledge to do that.
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: Oh, yeah, I’ll decide one way or the other.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that was President Clinton, Election Day 2000. And we know which way he decided. Mass protests by the FBI.
MARTIN GARBUS: And he pardoned Marc Rich.
MARTIN GARBUS: Well, he had a whole bunch of pardons. Marc Rich was a corrupt person, involved heavily with Clinton, someone who had been a donor to his campaigns, no question about the rightness of his conviction.
AMY GOODMAN: A millionaire financier, fugitive from justice, living in Switzerland.
MARTIN GARBUS: No support at all for his granting pardon and clemency. And then he denied it to Peltier. He told us—Clinton—within the period before he was going to step down, because of the election in 2000, that he would grant clemency to Leonard Peltier. And it was clear that it was the FBI demonstration. And the FBI opposes now, and they have started a letter-writing campaign to Obama saying, “Do not release him, do not release him.” That’s why it’s so important that your viewers respond, either by going to the Amnesty International site, but by themselves writing to the president.
AMY GOODMAN: I mean, we see the FBI director is extremely powerful, James Comey, who may have tipped the election for Donald Trump.
MARTIN GARBUS: Surely. The other thing I want to mention is, if it’s not done now, President Trump is highly unlikely. The next pardon is 2014 [sic, next eligible for parole in 2024]. Leonard is sick now. He won’t make it to his next pardon. He won’t make it through a Trump presidency, I fear.
AMY GOODMAN: What word have you gotten from the White House?
MARTIN GARBUS: No word. Well, we have submitted it to the pardon attorneys, who then have to send it on to the president. We understand that it has left the pardon office and is now on the president’s desk.
AMY GOODMAN: And I want to thank Norman Patrick Brown for joining us from Albuquerque. Martin Garbus, one of the leading trial lawyers in this country. This is Democracy Now! We will continue to follow the call for clemency for Leonard Peltier, as we do a series on high-profile prisoners that President Obama is weighing their clemency. This is Democracy Now! When we come back, we’re going to look at the case of Chelsea Manning. Stay with us.
AMY GOODMAN: Water protectors from Standing Rock praying with a sacred song with the Ta Oyate Olowan drum from Wounded Knee, here in Democracy Now!'s studio. A group of the water protectors were holding up a sign for Leonard Peltier. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman.
Suicide bombers struck hours apart at two Coptic churches in northern Egypt, killing 44 people and turning Palm Sunday services into scenes of horror and outrage at the government that led the president to call for a three-month state of emergency.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the violence, adding to fears that extremists are shifting their focus to civilians, especially Egypt’s Christian minority.
The attacks in the northern cities of Tanta and Alexandria that also left 126 people wounded came at the start of Holy Week leading up to Easter, and just weeks before Pope Francis is due to visit.
Pope Tawadros II, the leader of the Coptic church who will meet with Francis on April 28-29, was in the Alexandra cathedral at the time of the bombing but was unhurt, the Interior Ministry said.
It was the single deadliest day for Christians in decades and the worst since a bombing at a Cairo church in December killed 30 people.
Late Sunday night, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi called for a three-month state of emergency. According to Egypt’s constitution, parliament must vote in favor of such a declaration — a virtual certainty since it is packed with supporters of the president. It cannot exceed six months without a referendum to extend it.
The attacks highlighted the difficulties facing el-Sissi’s government in protecting Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population.
The first bomb exploded inside St George’s Church in Tanta, killing at least 27 people and wounding 78, officials said, overturning pews, shattering windows and staining the whitewashed walls with blood.
Video from inside the church broadcast by CBC TV showed people gathered around what appeared to be lifeless, bloody bodies covered with papers. Several doors had been blown off. Women wailed outside.
“After the explosion, everything became dark from the smoke,” said Edmond Edward, attending Mass with his brother, Emil, who suffered head wounds and leaned on him for support at a nearby hospital.
“There was a clear lapse in security, which must be tightened from now on to save lives,” he told the Associated Press. The blast appeared to be centered near the altar, he said.
Susan Mikhail, whose apartment balcony across the street has a clear view of the church and its front yard, said the explosion violently shook her building.
“Deacons were the first to run out of the church. Many of them had blood on their white robes,” she told the AP. The more seriously wounded then were carried out by other survivors and taken to hospitals in private cars, she said.
Hundreds of residents gathered in the area, and church members blocked people from entering the church as police cordoned off the area.
A few hours later, a suicide bomber rushed toward St Mark’s Cathedral in the coastal city of Alexandria, the historic seat of Christendom in Egypt, killing at least 17 people and wounding 48.
CCTV images showed a man with a blue sweater tied over his shoulders approaching the main gate to St Mark’s and then being turned away by security and directed toward a metal detector. He passed a female police officer talking to another woman, and entered a metal detector before an explosion engulfed the area.
The Health Ministry said six Muslims were among the dead in Alexandria.
Pope Tawadros II had held Palm Sunday services at the cathedral and the timing of the attack indicated the bomber had sought to assassinate him.
Magdy George Youssef, a deacon at St George’s, said the church was almost full when the blast occurred and threw him under a pew.
“All I could think of was to find my wife, and all I could see was smoke, blood and completely charred bodies,” the distraught 58-year-old said. Youssef, who suffered only an injured ear, later found his wife at home, with burns to her face.
ISIS said in a statement that two Egyptian suicide bombers named Abu Ishaq al Masri and Abu al Baraa al Masri carried out the church attacks and vowed to continue attacks against Christians.
El-Sissi said in a statement that Sunday’s attacks would only strengthen the resolve of Egyptians against “evil forces.” He held an emergency meeting of the National Defense Council, which includes the prime minister, the defense and interior ministers, the speaker of parliament and top army commanders and security chiefs.
Regional police chief Brig Gen Hossam Elddin Khalifa was fired over the Tanta bombing, with Maj Gen Tarek Hassouna replacing him, state-run newspaper al-Ahram reported.
President Donald Trump tweeted that he is “so sad to hear of the terrorist attack” against the U.S. ally but added that he has “great confidence” that el-Sissi “will handle the situation properly.” The two leaders met at the White House on April 3.
Both Israel and the Islamic Hamas movement ruling neighbouring Gaza condemned the bombings as well.
An Islamic State affiliate claimed the December bombing as well as a string of killings in the northern Sinai that forced hundreds of Christians to flee to safer areas. The militants recently vowed to step up attacks against Christians, whom they regard as infidels.
Egypt has struggled to combat a wave of Islamic militancy since the 2013 military overthrow of an elected Islamist president.
The Sinai-based IS affiliate has mainly attacked police and soldiers, but has also claimed bombings including the downing of a Russian passenger jetliner in the Sinai in 2015, which killed all 224 people aboard and devastated Egypt’s tourism industry.
Egypt’s Copts are one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East and have long complained of discrimination and that the government does not do enough to protect them. Security at churches is routinely increased around religious holidays.
The Copts largely supported the military overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, and incurred the wrath of many of his followers, who attacked churches and other Christian institutions.
While the Copts have stood steadfast alongside the government, an increase in attacks on Christians has tested that support.
Egyptian media had previously reported that the church in Tanta had been targeted before, with a bomb defused there in late March.
As night fell, hundreds of Christians, mostly clad in black, streamed to the church to offer their condolences. Scuffles broke out between the mourners and church volunteers guarding the church’s doors as many pushed and shoved to get in.
Respite from the heatwave which has blanketed NSW will be short-lived forecasters say.
A cool change has swept through parts of NSW, giving temporary respite from a heatwave ahead of another hot spell expected next week.
In southern and coastal regions temperatures have dropped by as much as 10C since Friday, when the heatwave peaked across most of NSW, breaking records along the way.
But Saturday's relief hasn't spread to northern and inland areas that continue to swelter with temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Olenka Duma said the southerly change had reached Port Macquarie on Saturday afternoon but some northern inland regions wouldn't see much change at all.
"It still hasn't got through to a lot of the Hunter, parts of Upper Hunter are still quite warm," she told AAP.
Scone Airport in the Hunter reached 42.8C, while Walgett in the north reached 42.9C on Saturday afternoon.
Temperatures remain shy of 30C across metropolitan Sydney.
However the relief will be short-lived, with temperatures set to rise again in western NSW from Monday and the rest of the state from Tuesday, according to the bureau.
FEATURES: 5 bedrooms, 3 bathroom, 2 car parking ADDRESS: 32 Carlton Crescent, Kogarah Bay AUCTION: Saturday, November 24 on site at 1.30pm AGENCY: McGrath Sans Souci CONTACT: Liam Tsaprazis 0410 883 560, Kelvin Zheng 0434 293 181 INSPECT: Thursday 6pm to 6.30pm, Saturday 1pm to 1.30pm A statement in luxurious family living, this beautifully presented double brick home showcases a contemporary design with ultra-modern finishes and a selection of living areas. Capturing superb views over picturesque Kogarah Bay, it perfectly caters to both the family and entertainer, with a range of amenities just moments away. Opening through a grand sun soaked foyer, the home features a versatile layout with an upstairs lounge as well as an open plan living and dining area that flows onto an alfresco entertainers' deck. The CaesarStone kitchen offers Miele appliances and accommodation features five bedrooms including a master suite with a balcony. Positioned in a premier locale, this immaculate home enjoys a sought-after address. It is located just walking distance from buses and Carss Park, while local schools, including Blakehurst Public and Blakehurst High, are moments away. It also provides convenient access to Hurstville CBD's Westfield shopping centre and public transport interchange.
A statement in luxurious family living, this beautifully presented double brick home showcases a contemporary design with ultra-modern finishes and a selection of living areas.
Capturing superb views over picturesque Kogarah Bay, it perfectly caters to both the family and entertainer, with a range of amenities just moments away.
Opening through a grand sun soaked foyer, the home features a versatile layout with an upstairs lounge as well as an open plan living and dining area that flows onto an alfresco entertainers' deck.
The CaesarStone kitchen offers Miele appliances and accommodation features five bedrooms including a master suite with a balcony.
Positioned in a premier locale, this immaculate home enjoys a sought-after address.
It is located just walking distance from buses and Carss Park, while local schools, including Blakehurst Public and Blakehurst High, are moments away.
It also provides convenient access to Hurstville CBD's Westfield shopping centre and public transport interchange.
The City of Chattanooga Water Quality Program announces year two of offering the Ivy Rain Barrels. The rain barrels are offered at a discounted price to encourage residents to conserve water resources, as well as to protect water quality. Also offered at a wholesale price is a compost bin.
Order rain barrels or a compost bin online at http://www.rainbarrelprogram.org/chattanooga.
The rain barrels can be purchased directly through the program’s website using a credit card.
There will also be a limited number of rain barrels on the day of the sale as a first-come-first-served basis. The normal retail is $129 but through this special promotion, they are $39.00 for city residential property owners (limit 2) and $69 for non-city residents. The backyard compost bins are provided at the wholesale price of $65. The deadline to purchase your order is June 16 at 11 p.m.
The Second Annual Rain Barrel Distribution Event will be held on June 22 from 8 a.m.-noon in the North Parking Lot at Finley Stadium.
Editor’s note: This post is a Care2 Favorite. It was originally published on December 7, 2011. Enjoy!
In a twist to the expression “look what the cat dragged home,” an Iowa woman named Kelly found a huge surprise last August. She pulled into her driveway to find her dog, Reagan, sitting next to a crumpled Meow Mix bag. Reagan was known to bring “treasures” home for her but this was different. He whined incessantly at her. Upon hearing the faint sounds of kittens in distress, she decided to investigate.
To her horror, when she opened the bag she found two tiny three-week-old kittens covered in the viscera of their littermates.
“What was painfully obvious to her was that these kittens were intentionally put in a bag and dumped on the road. It was also apparent that the bag had been run over and that at least two kittens, maybe more, had been crushed; and that her dog had retrieved the bag from the road and brought it up to the house for Kelly to find,” as described by Raccoon Valley Animal Sanctuary & Rescue (RVASR), the organization that eventually took these traumatized kitties in.
Kelly reached in the bag and took the frightened kitties inside her home. She bathed them, fed them and tried to offer comfort. The next day she tried contacting various rescue organizations only to be told they could not help. Finally RVASR told her to take the little fellows to their veterinary group and from there, found a foster mom experienced in neo-natal kitten care to take them in.
Now known as the “bag kittens,” the two little boys were named Skipper and Tipper. With numerous hours of dedicated around the clock care by a foster mom — including hand feeding every two hours — the little guys are now ready for adoption.
The bag kittens are described as brown and cream tabby mixes. Skipper is curious and energetic and loves to snuggle before nap time. Tipper is a gentle, sweet and laid-back fellow – a consummate lap kitty.
The question on everyone’s mind by now is certainly “who could do such a thing?” But it doesn’t look like an answer to that question will be discovered anytime soon.
If this story doesn’t beg for more spay/neuter laws, I don’t know what does. Preventing the birth of unwanted kittens (and other pets) certainly makes more sense than shoving a litter of innocent beings into a bag and tossing it on a highway to be killed.
So for now, let’s celebrate the remarkable survival of the bag kittens and wish them well as they search for their fur-ever home.
Considering animals like disposable objects. That is the bottom line. Used to have pieces of corpses in their plates, drink bodily secretions of others or feeding on menstruation of birds: what do you expect? Some people use hypocritical double-standard depending on the type of animal. This monster just treats all species with the same callousness and lack of empathy. What was done to these kittens is not worse of what is done to male chicks (they are literally ground alive), male calves and others ... long list.
The levels of mercury in these hospitals are much higher than permissible standards, reports Avishek G Dastidar.
Patients admitted in Delhi’s hospitals have more reasons to worry than the immediate ailments they are admitted with. For the first time, a study has found that the air inside two of the city’s most famous private hospitals is choked with vapours of toxic heavy metal mercury, inhaling which causes a host of long-term damage to the body like retardation of the nervous system and kidney failure.
The study by Delhi-based NGO Toxics Link found that by routine handling, nearly 70 thermometers break every month in each of the more-than-300-bedded hospitals. As a result, the levels of mercury vapours in the air inside these hospitals are much higher than the permissible international standards, posing huge risk to patients. This is because mercury is the only heavy metal that evaporates even in room temperature and pollutes the air.
"The staff and patients are being unsuspecting victims of this contamination which will lead to severe consequences in the long run. In India, we are yet to have a standard on mercury for healthcare sector, which uses this metal the most," said Ravi Agarwal, director of Toxics Link on Wednesday while releasing the study — Mercury in Hospital Indoor Air: Staff and Patients at Risk.
Mercury in hospitals is present in not just the thermometers, but in blood pressure-measuring instruments and fluorescent lights as well. The study found dangerous levels of mercury in all departments like general wards, nursing stations, storage rooms and the likes, in both hospitals.
For instance, in one hospital, the air in the room for nurses was detected with an average mercury concentration of 1.98 micrograms per cubic-meter, much higher than the US permissible limit of 0.3 micrograms per cubic meter. The storage room of another hospital was more choked with a perilous 3.78 micrograms per cubic meter.
"The dental room in this hospital was also choked with 3.11 micrograms per cubic meter of mercury. This is because mercury is heavily used in dental fillings," said Prashant Pastore, a co-author of the study.
As an extension of the study, ten hair samples of nurses and doctors of these hospitals were analysed only to find that all samples contained high levels of mercury. "No level of mercury is safe for the human body, especially for pregnant women," Pastore said. The NGO had sent the results of these samples to a larger study comprising 266 similar samples from 21 countries. "More than 94 per cent of the samples were found contaminated," he added.
The NGO did not wish the names of the two hospitals be published saying both hospitals had initiated "responsible mercury management programmes". It can, however, be mentioned that one hospital is in west Delhi and the other is in the north. At least one of these hospitals has around 3,000 medical and non-medical staff in it.
"Data from two big hospitals are an indicator of all the big and small hospitals exposing this occupational hazard to their workers," Ravi Agarwal said.
Responding to the study, medical officer of Centre for Environment and Occupational Health Dr Neeraj Gupta told Hindustan Times that mercury was one of the major causes for concerns as occupational hazard in health sector. "Apart from nervous system, it also affects the kidney and it has been found to be causing autism in children as well," he said.
*The British papers are reporting that Rihanna has been left broken-hearted by her boxerboyfriend because he has no time to be with her.
Rihanna, 23, hand-picked Dudley to star in her music video, “We Found Love,” which was filmed last month in Northern Ireland. Since hitting it off, the singer has taken him on a string of dates. Paps caught them spilling out of trendy London hotspot Mahiki on Thursday night, following her gig at the O2 Arena.
Rihanna even asked him to accompany her on her UK arena tour, Loud, but Dudley says not so fast.
Yo!, Yo Yo Yo Yoooooe, chick is…. CRAZY!!!! And “that’s” what EVERY dude WITH a crazy chick, says! WTFU!!! Lmbao!
Talk about awkward! Amy Roloff walks in on her estranged husband in a compromising position in Tuesday, July 21's episode of Little People, Big World. In Us Weekly's exclusive clip of the TLC hit, the Roloff family matriarch is searching everywhere for Matt Roloff and gets an eyeful when she finally locates him.
"I never go over to Matt's house, and this is definitely why," she says when she walks into his living room to find him sitting inside a personal sauna. "It was just really kind of awkward."
The contraption looks a bit like a rolltop desk — but with an adult man just hanging out inside. "Do you know how hot it is in here? It's a sauna," Matt tells Amy, who asks him to finish up so they can get more work done for their son's wedding.
"I will get everything done. I need to be healthy. I need to feel good. Give me a few more minutes, please," he pleads.
Watch the clip above. Little People, Big World airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.
Alleged drug kingpin extradited to U.S.

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.