reuters:

A look at how much the National Rifleman’s Association spent on lobbyists compared to other gun control lobbyists in 2011.

crisisgroup:

10 Conflicts to Watch in 2013 | Foreign Policy

By Louise Arbour, Crisis Group’s President and CEO

Every year, around the world, old conflicts worsen, new ones emerge and, occasionally, some situations improve. There is no shortage of storm clouds looming over 2013: Once again, hotspots old and new will present a challenge to the security of people across the globe.

FULL ARTICLE (Foreign Policy)

Photo: IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation/Flickr

House GOP blocks Violence Against Women Act →

kohenari:

If you’re a little peeved that Congress didn’t get around to dealing with disaster relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy, you might also want to take a moment to consider this other little thing that Congress didn’t get done:

Congress had a lengthy to-do list as the end of the year approached, with a series of measures that needed action before 2013 began. Some of the items passed (a fiscal agreement, a temporary farm bill), while others didn’t (relief funding for victims of Hurricane Sandy).

And then there’s the Violence Against Women Act, which was supposed to be one of the year’s easy ones. It wasn’t.

Back in April, the Senate approved VAWA reauthorization fairly easily, with a 68 to 31 vote. The bill was co-written by a liberal Democrat (Vermont’s Pat Leahy) and a conservative Republican (Idaho’s Mike Crapo), and seemed on track to be reauthorized without much of a fuss, just as it was in 2000 and 2005.

But House Republicans insisted the bill is too supportive of immigrants, the LGBT community, and Native Americans — and they’d rather let the law expire than approve a slightly expanded proposal. Vice President Biden, who helped write the original law, tried to persuade House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to keep the law alive, but the efforts didn’t go anywhere.

And so, for the first time since 1994, the Violence Against Women Act is no more.

motherjones:

Mass shootings in the US are on the rise—and ordinary citizens with guns don’t stop them.

motherjones:

Via 350.org:

As Hurricane Sandy approaches the city, New Yorkers gathered in Times Square to send our politicians and the media a message:

End the climate silence. Connect the dots between extreme weather and climate change.

"I have experience in health-care reform. Now and then the president says I’m the grandfather of Obamacare. I don’t think he meant that as a compliment but I’ll take it."

Republican presidential candidate and would-be repealer of Obamacare MITT ROMNEY, during a forum hosted by Univision on Wednesday.

When he’s not unintentionally delivering messages, he’s mixing them.

(via The Wall Street Journal)

— inothernews

(via election)

(via inothernews)

"

A federal appeals court Thursday declared that the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally denies federal benefits to married gay couples, a groundbreaking ruling all but certain to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In its unanimous decision, the three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the 1996 law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman deprives gay couples of the rights and privileges granted to heterosexual couples.

The court didn’t rule on the law’s more politically combustible provision, which said states without same-sex marriage cannot be forced to recognize gay unions performed in states where it’s legal. It also wasn’t asked to address whether gay couples have a constitutional right to marry.

The law was passed at a time when it appeared Hawaii would legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, while eight states have approved it, led by Massachusetts in 2004.

The court, the first federal appeals panel to deem the benefits section of the law unconstitutional, agreed with a lower level judge who ruled in 2010 that the law interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including the ability to file joint tax returns.

The 1st Circuit said its ruling wouldn’t be enforced until the U.S. Supreme Court decides the case, meaning that same-sex married couples will not be eligible to receive the economic benefits denied by DOMA until the high court rules.

That’s because the ruling only applies to states within the circuit, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire and Puerto Rico. Only the Supreme Court has the final say in deciding whether a law passed by Congress is unconstitutional.

"

The Huffington Post, “DOMA Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal Appeals Court” (via inothernews)

"

They came in armoured vehicles and there were some tanks. They shot five bullets through the door of our house. They said they wanted Aref and Shawki, my father and my brother. They then asked about my uncle, Abu Haidar. They also knew his name.

My mum yelled at them. She asked: ‘What do you want from my husband and son?’ A bald man with a beard shot her with a machine gun from the neck down. Then they killed my sister, Rasha, with the same gun. She was five years old. Then they shot my brother Nader in the head and in the back. I saw his soul leave his body in front of me.

They shot at me, but the bullet passed me and I wasn’t hit. I was shaking so much I thought they would notice me. I put blood on my face to make them think I’m dead.

"

From an account of the Syrian government’s massacre in Houla, Homs province by an 11-year-old survivor, as told to The Guardian.

Jesus fucking Christ.

(via inothernews)

(via mohandasgandhi)

think-progress:

Meet Maureen Russo: An eligible voter who couldn’t vote, thanks to a voter purge being conducted by Florida Gov. Rick Scott.

More at ThinkProgress

Today’s Must-Read.

inothernews:

A Guy Fawkes mask is attached to the Justice fountain during the Blockupy protest in Frankfurt.  (Photo: Carsten Koall / Getty Images via The Telegraph)