Judge Jeanine Pirro Full Bore
Judge Jeanine deserves our congratulations for standing up to the bullies at the Journal News, owned by the Gannett paper chain. If you have not seen this, take five minutes to watch her monologue. Completely brilliant!
2010: The Year the Second Amendment Dies?
Increasingly, it is understood that social and economic development can only take off if people feel safe in their communities. This concept brings together issues of disarmament and development in an exciting new way. The 2009 Secretary-General’s report:
The United Nations system, regional and subregional organizations, national and local governments, and civil society organizations have mobilized to prevent and reduce armed violence through evidence-based interventions, but responses need to be scaled up. Armed violence prevention and reduction efforts must be carefully designed, targeted and monitored. Programming options include interventions related to conflict prevention and peacebuilding, to interventions targeting demand and risk factors at the individual, relationship and societal levels.
The report places particular emphasis on tackling the risks and effects of armed violence and underdevelopment. This includes implementing existing conventions and agreements associated with armed violence and development; improving the effectiveness of armed violence prevention and reduction policies through investment in the production, analysis and use of evidence; strengthening capacities to diagnose, articulate strategies and implement programmes; developing measurable goals, targets and indicators for armed violence prevention and reduction; building partnerships among the United Nations system and with regional organizations, national authorities and civil society to ensure coherent policy and programming; increasing resources for armed violence prevention and reduction; and fostering greater international action.
V. Observations and recommendations
63. Tackling armed violence successfully requires coordinated responses that draw on different areas of expertise. Many Governments, civil society actors and United Nations entities are starting to work together to address risk factors and the negative effects of armed violence on development, but the international response is still somewhat fragmented. In bringing together donors, Governments of affected States and civil society, as well as in uniting core competencies and developing good practices, the United Nations system is well-positioned to help catalyse more coherent, comprehensive, coordinated and integrated initiatives, and to encourage targeted armed violence prevention and reduction policies and programmes at the international, national and local levels.
64. In order to be successful, policy responses must involve meaningful and legitimate local ownership, and full partnerships between Governments and civil society. They must also be integrated into regional and subregional approaches.
65. In order to be effective in its role as a convenor and catalyst, the United Nations system, as well as national and local governments and civil society, will need to scale up support to affected States in designing and implementing armed violence prevention and response strategies. The following recommendations are proposed:
(a) Strengthen the implementation of existing global conventions and agreements. There is a range of existing agreements that can contribute to the prevention and reduction of armed violence. United Nations agencies should support national Governments to uphold, implement and strengthen existing global and regional norms and measures, including relevant international and regional treaties, conventions and other instruments that contribute to the reduction and prevention of all forms of armed violence. These include the Firearms Protocol; the Programme of Action; the universal conventions and protocols against terrorism; the three conventions on narcotic drugs; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the conventions on the rights of women and children; Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008) on women, peace and security; and the 2005 World Summit Outcome document. There should also be a concerted effort to ensure that international norms and standards are reflected and implemented at the national and local levels through the adoption of national legislation and other domestic measures.
(b) Improve the effectiveness of armed violence prevention and reduction policies and programmes through investments in the production, analysis and use of evidence. Effective approaches to armed-violence prevention and reduction will require investments by national Governments and international organizations in high-quality data-gathering and analysis capacities. Comprehensive, reliable and timely information is critical for informed policymaking and programming, monitoring and evaluation, and the forecasting of future trends and needs. This will involve ongoing and baseline data collection and analysis, the regular transfer of knowledge and lessons learned and innovative approaches to bring evidence and analysis into the programming process. The most comprehensive picture of conflict, non-conflict and interpersonal armed violence is likely to be obtained from a combination of data drawn from the public health and criminal justice systems, combined with population-based surveys, civil society monitoring, as well as rich historical and cultural research. Routine monitoring and evaluation of armed violence prevention programmes will increase the range of evidence-based options to prevent armed violence available to national authorities, local authorities and civil society.
(c) Strengthen national and local capacities for armed violence prevention and reduction. States have the primary responsibility for preventing and reducing armed violence. Multilateral and bilateral agencies can support Governments of affected countries by strengthening national and local capacities to address armed violence, including capacities to collect reliable data on the scope and scale of armed violence and victimization, and on different risk and resilience factors. This could include the development of national armed violence prevention and reduction strategies, investments in national and local surveillance systems, establishment of effective criminal justice systems based upon the rule of law, including reinforcement of counter-terrorism and policing capacities, and support for programmes targeting specific risk factors and at-risk groups. International agencies and national Governments can also ensure that armed violence prevention and reduction practices are integrated into wider development strategies, such as United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, and other national and local plans. Local actors and in particular governments, community authorities (including local governments and community peace and security committees), research institutions and the media should be supported and strengthened in order to design, implement and measure the effectiveness of local strategies and interventions. Several United Nations stakeholders can be involved in these activities, including the three United Nations regional centres for peace and disarmament.
(d) Develop measurable goals, targets and indicators for armed-violence prevention and reduction. A growing body of evidence demonstrates how armed violence hinders the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and, more generally, social, economic, political and human development. Yet armed violence reduction efforts are seldom incorporated into strategies for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Development Goal Review Process, starting in 2010, provides an opportunity to consider the reduction of armed violence as an important requisite to meeting the Millennium Development Goals, in particular through the development and endorsement of a set of goals, targets and indicators to achieve measurable reductions in armed violence and tangible improvements in human security. Developing measurable goals on armed violence towards 2015 will offer the opportunity to integrate security-related themes into the possible follow-up of the Millennium Development Goals (see S/2008/258).
First Committee of the UN General Assembly, 2009
Throughout October 2009, governments are attending the First Committee, which proposes and adopts resolutions on disarmament and international security. Their discussions include resolutions on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and small arms control. North American Members List is shown below. Contact information provided for your convenience.
| Canada | |
| Amnesty International – Canada 214 Montreal Road Ottawa Ontario K1L 1A4 CANADA Telephone: + 1 613 744 7667 Fax: + 1 613 746 2411 hhomes@amnesty.ca www.amnesty.ca |
Canadian Peacebuilding Coordinating Committee (CPCC) 1, Rue Nicholas Street, #1216 Ottawa Ontario K1N 7B7 CANADA Telephone: +1 613 241 3446 Fax: +1 613 241 4846 cpcc@web.ca www.peacebuild.ca |
| Coalition for Gun Control 3300 Boulevard Rosemont Bureau 211 Montreal Quebec HIX 1K2 CANADA Telephone: +1 514 725 2021 Fax: +1 514 725 5926 cgc_montreal@compuserve.com www.guncontrol.ca |
Group of 78 145 Spruce Street, Suite 206 Ottawa Ontario K1R 6P1 CANADA Telephone: +1 230 0860 Fax: +1 563 0017 group78@web.ca www.hri.ca/partners/g78 |
| One Sky PO Box 3352 Smithers BC V0J 2NO CANADA Telephone: +1 250 877 6030 Fax: +1 250 877 6040 nikki@onesky.ca www.onesky.ca |
Oxfam Canada 300 – 294 Albert Street Ottawa Ontario K1P 6E6 CANADA Telephone: +1 613 237 5236 Fax: +1 613 237 0524 elizabethb@ott.oxfam.ca www.oxfam.ca |
| Physicians for Global Survival (PGS) 208-145 Spruce Street Ottawa Ontario K1R 6P1 CANADA Telephone: +1 613 233 1982 Fax: +1 613 223 9028 pgs@web.ca www.pgs.ca |
Project Ploughshares 57 Erb Street West Waterloo Ontario N2L 6C2 CANADA Telephone: +1 519 888 6541 Fax: +1 519 888 0018 lgriffiths@ploughshares.ca eregehr@ploughshares.ca www.ploughshares.ca |
| Small Arms Firearms Education Research Network (SAFER-Net) 3300 Boulevard Rosemont Bureau 211 Montreal Quebec HIX 1K2 CANADA Telephone: +1 416 979 5000 ext. 6740 Fax: +1 416 979 5249 wcukier@ryerson.ca www.ryerson.ca/SAFER-Net |
South Asia Partnership – Canada (SAP Canada) 1 Nicholas Street Suite 200 Ottawa Ontario K1N 7B7 CANADA Telephone: +1 613 241 1333 Fax: +1 613 241 1129 sap@sapcanada.org ffaisel@sapcanada.org www.sapcanada.org |
| David Jackman (individual) 95 Main Street Apt. 206 Ottawa Ontario K1S 1B8 CANADA Telephone: +1 613 237 8762 djackman@cyberus.ca |
Peggy Mason (individual) 2077 Kinburn Side Road RR#2 Kinburn Ontario K2A 2H0 CANADA Telephone: +1 613 832 9322 peggymason@bellnet.ca |
| Alan Simons (individual) 1 Kenwood Avenue, Suite 2, Toronto Ontario Canada M6C 2R6 Tel. (416) 473.0354 Skype: alansimons alansimons@rogers.com |
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| United States |
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| Adopt-A-Minefield, UNA-USA 801 Second Avenue New York NY 10017 USA Telephone: +1 212 907 1314 Fax: +1 212 682 9185 mburke@unausa.org www.landmines.org |
Amnesty International – USA – Military, Security and Police Transfers Working Group 202 East Riverside Street Williamston MI 48895 USA Telephone: +1 202 544 0200 Fax: +1 202 546 7142 swaltz@umich.edu www.amnestyusa.org/arms_trade |
| Arms Trade Resource Center 66 Fifth Avenue 9th Floor New York NY 10011 USA Telephone: +1 212 229 5808 Fax: +1 212 229 5579 berrigaf@newschool.edu www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms |
Coalition To Stop Gun Violence – USA (CSGV) 1023 15th Street NW Suite 600 Washington DC 20005 USA Telephone: +1 202 408 0061 Fax: +1 202 408 0062 mikebeard@csgv.org www.csgv.org |
| Crime Gun Solutions LLC (CGS) 2214 West Greenleaf Drive Frederick Maryland 21702 USA Telephone: +1 301 631 2950 Fax: +1 301 631 2950 JJVinceCGS@aol.com |
Derechos Human Rights 46 Estabrook Street San Leandro California 94577 USA Phone: +1 510 483 4005 Fax: +1 603 372 9710 marga@derechos.org www.derechos.org |
| Economists Allied for Arms Reduction (ECAAR) 330 East 38th Street New York NY 10016 USA Telephone: +1 212 490 6494 Fax: +1 212 490 6494 lucywebster@ecaar.org www.ecaar.org |
Firearm Injury Center – Medical College of Wisconsin Medical College of Wisconsin 8701 Watertown Plank Road Milwaukee WI 53226 USA Telephone: +1 414 456 7676, +1 414 456 7670 Fax: +1 414 456 6472 hargart@mcw.edu rlwjd@mcw.edu www.mcw.edu/fic |
| Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies Hampshire College 893 West Street Northampton MA 01002 USA Telephone: +1 413 559 5563 Fax: +1 413 559 5620 mklare@hampshire.edu www.hampshire.edu |
Franciscans International 211 East 43rd Street. Room 1100 New York NY 10017 USA Telephone: +1 212 490 4624 Fax: +1 866 283 0134 fdeacon@franciscansinternational.org |
| Global Action to Prevent War GAPW c/o LCNP 211 East 43rd Street New York NY 10017 USA Telephone: +1 212 818 1861 Fax: +1 212 818 1857 coordinator@globalactionpw.org www.globalactionpw.org |
HELP Network 2300 Children’s Plaza #88 Chicago IL 60614 USA Telephone: +1 773 880 3826 Fax: +1 773 880 6615 contact@helpnetwork.org www.helpnetwork.org |
| Human Rights Watch – Arms Division – USA 1630 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 500 Washington DC 20009 USA Telephone: +1 202 612 4321 Fax: +1 202 612 4333 arms@hrw.org www.hrw.org |
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) 727 Massachusetts Avenue. 2nd floor Cambridge MA 02139 USA Telephone: +1 617 868 5050 ext 203 Fax: +1 617 868 2560 mvalenti@ippnw.org www.ippnw.org |
| Join Together Boston University School of Public Health 1 Appleton Street Boston MA 02116 USA Telephone: +1 617 437 1500 Fax: +1 617 437 9394 info@jointogether.org www.jointogether.org |
Legal Community Against Violence (LCAV) Firearms Law Center 268 Bush Street, Suite 555 San Francisco CA 94104 USA Telephone: +1 415 433 2062 Fax: +1 415 433 3357 www.firearmslawcenter.org |
| Maha Vajra Films 2811 Iroquois Road Wihnette IL 60091 USA Phone: +1 847 736 1954 jamiemurrayiii@hotmail.com |
Million Mom March / Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 1225 Eye Street NW, Suite 1100 Washington DC 20005 USA Telephone: +1 202 289 7319 Fax: +1 202 408 1851 stopgunvio@aol.com www.stategunlaws.org www.gunlawsuits.org www.millionmommarch.org |
| Monterey Institute of International Studies – Program on Security & Development (SAND) 460 Pierce Street Monterey CA 93940 USA Telephone: +1 831 647 4142 Fax: +1 831 647 4199 elaurance@miis.edu www.cns.miis.edu |
New Yorkers Against Gun Violence Telephone: +1 212-679-2345 Fax: +1 212-679-2484 nyagv@nyagv.org www.nyagv.org NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security |
| Oxfam America 1112 16th Street NW #600 Washington DC 20036 USA Telephone: +1 202 496 1304 Fax: +1 202 496 1190 jruthrauff@oxfamamerica.org www.oxfamamerica.org |
Oxfam International 355 Lexington Avenue, Third Floor New York NY 10017 USA Telephone: +1 212 687 2091 Fax: +1 212 687 2092 nicola.reindorp@oxfaminternational.org www.oxfam.org |
| Program on Global Security & Disarmament 3140 Tydings Hall College Park MD 20742 USA Telephone: +1 301 405 4969 Fax: +1 301 405 8822 pgsd@gvpt.umd.edu merrigold@erols.com www.bsos.umd.edu/pgsd |
Quaker United Nations Office – New York (QUNO) 777 United Nations Plaza New York NY 10017 USA Telephone: +1 212 682 2745, +1 212 682 8713 Fax: +1 212 983 0034 sclarke@afsc.org www.quno.org |
| Small Arms Working Group (SAWG) C/O CDI 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20036 USA Telephone: +1 202 797 5283 Fax: +1 202 462 4559 rstohl@cdi.org www.cdi.org |
Task Force for Child Survival & Development 750 Commerce Drive, Suite 400 Decatur Georgia 30030 USA Telephone: +1 404 687 5635 Fax: +1 404 371 1087 mrosenberg@taskforce.org www.taskforce.org |
| The Fund for Peace 1701 K Street NW, 11th Floor Washington DC 20006 USA Telephone: +1 202 223 7940 Fax: +1 202 223 7947 pbaker@fundforpeace.org www.fundforpeace.org |
Trauma Foundation San Francisco General Hospital San Francisco CA 94110 USA Telephone: +1 415 821 8209 Fax: +1 415 282 2563 www.traumaf.org/ |
| Veterans for Peace (VFP) 216 South Meramec Ave St. Louis MO 63105 |
Vivat International 211 East 43rd Street, Suite 706 New York NY 10017 USA Telephone: +1 646 487 0003 Fax: +1 646 487 0004 maco@vivatinternational.org www.vivatinternational.org |
| Watchlist on Children & Armed Conflict C/o Women’s Commission for Refugee Women & Children 122 East 42nd Street, 12th Floor New York NY 101168 USA Telephone: +1 212 551 2743 Fax: +1 212 551 3180 www.watchlist.org www.womenscommission.org |
Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND) 691 Massachusetts Avenue Arlington MA 02476 USA Telephone: +1 781 643 6740 Fax: +1 781 643 6740 info@wand.org www.wand.org |
| Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF) 777 UN Plaza, 6th Floor New York NY 10017 USA Telephone: +1 212 682 1265 Fax: +1 212 286 8211 wilpfun@igc.org www.reachingcriticalwill.org www.peacewomen.org www.wilpf.int.ch |
World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP) 777 United Nations Plaza, 9th Floor New York NY 10017 USA Telephone: +1 212 687 2163 Fax: +1 212 983 0566 info@wcrp.org www.wcrp.org |
| World Peace Foundation 79 John F. Kennedy Street Cambridge MA 02138 USA Telephone: +1 617 496 9812 Fax: +1 617 491 8588 world_peace@harvard.edu |
World Vision International (WV) 800 West Chestnut Avenue Monrovia CA 91741 USA Telephone: +1 626 301 7715 Fax: +1 626 301 7786 don_brandt@wvi.org www.wvi.org |
| Worldwatch Institute 25 Treasure Road Riverhead NY 11901 USA Telephone: +1 631 369 6896 Fax: +1 626 608 3189 mrenner@optonline.net www.worldwatch.org |
Loretta Bondi (individual) Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies 1717 Massachusetts Avenue NW, 5th Floor Washington DC 20036 USA Telephone: +1 202 663 5956 Fax: +1 202 663 5879 lbondi1@jhu.edu http://transatlantic.sais-jhu.edu/bondi.php |
| Barbara Frey (individual) 214 Social Sciences Building 267 Avenue 19 South Minneapolis Minnesota 55455 USA Telephone: +1 612 626 1879 Fax: +1 612 626 2242 freyx001@umn.edu http://hrp.cla.umn.edu |
Bill Godnick (individual) USA Telephone: +1 305 251 6813 w.h.godnick1@bradford.ac.uk wgodnick@aol.com wgodnick@international-alert.org |
| Matt Schroeder (individual) Arms Sales Monitoring Project Federation of American Scientists 1717 K Street NW Washington DC 20036 USA Telephone: +1 202 454 4693 Fax: +1 202 675 1010 mschroeder@fas.org www.fas.org/asmp |
Rachel Stohl (individual) 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20036 USA Telephone: +1 202 797 5283 Fax: +1 202 462 4559 rstohl@cdi.org www.cdi.org |
| Daniel Webster (individual) Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 624 North Broadway Baltimore MD 21205 USA Telephone: +1 410 614 3243 Fax: +1 410 614 9055 dwebster@jhsph.edu |
Stand Tall, America, Clinging To Your Gun(s)
Since when is our Constitution up for debate? I am disgusted by the constant attacks on the very foundation of our country. There are those in government, our president for one, who would just as soon see all weapons stripped from law abiding citizens. The second amendment is clear:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
President James Monroe said: “The right of self-defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and to individuals.”
President Thomas Jefferson said:
“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” — Proposed Virginia Constitution, 1776
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms. . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” — Jefferson‘s “Commonplace Book,” 1774-1776, quoting from On Crimes and Punishment, by criminologist Cesare Beccaria, 1764
Can it be any clearer than that?
Progressives, Fascists and Marxists strive to remove from the citizenry the ability to defend themselves.
Those same persons and groups are determined to legislate “We The People” back in to slavery for the servitude of the government.
Alan Keyes has a very clear stance on the Second Amendment :
Presently, pending in the House, are two diametrically opposed bills:
H.R. 17 Citizens’ Self-Defense Act of 2009
OpenCongress Summary
In correlation with the restrictions outlined by the 1993 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, this bill protects and provides context for the possession and use of fire arms, namely in defense of the self or family (or, when relevant, the home) against a reasonably perceived threat of unlawful bodily injury or violent felony.
This bill is sponsored by Roscoe Bartlett (R) MD and has 21 co-sponsors, including Michele Bachmann.
Please check the link above to ensure your Representative is a co-sponsor, and if not, get on the phone!
The other bill, which seeks to impinge upon our second amendment rights, is H.R. 45 Blair-Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009
The Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act would establish a nationwide system for prohibiting unlicensed gun-ownership. If approved, the law would require gun owners to apply for five-year licenses to own firearms, and would give the U.S. Attorney General broad authority over the program.
This bill is sponsored by Bobby Rush (D) IL and the good news is it has zero co-sponsors. This man MUST GO!
I have received, as have many of my friends, an email circulating regarding fictitious SB 2099. Open Congress says:
Over the past six months or so, I’ve seen an occasional e-mail about SB 2099, a bill that would supposedly require gun owners to declare their firearms on tax forms. During the past few days, however, the volume of questions about the bill has increased. So, I thought I would write a bit about SB 2099 to try and set the record straight…In short, an inaccurate rumor from 2000 is still running the rounds today, and still scaring people into writing the NRA and their lawmakers to stop it, despite ample evidence to the contrary.
Even Archie Bunker had the right idea:
Some enlightening recent articles on the subject:
A Brief History of the Right to Self-Defense
by Bob Heinritz Posted at HumanEvents.com
11/10/2009
For the first 150-years of the existence of the U.S.A., the right of citizens to carry arms was so fundamental it was not considered worthy of debate. The Founders considered their right to keep and bear arms the ultimate and most fundamental guarantee of life and freedom against crime, foreign invasion, and as a last resort, a despotic government. No knowledgeable American–from the founding of the United States through the mid-1950’s–would have questioned that the Second Amendment to the Constitution meant exactly what it says, “… the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” This was not a right of a Militia. The “Militia” was–and under current law still is–all able-bodied adults, who are expected to keep their privately-owned arms similar to what is used by the military at the time.Nineteenth-century U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Joseph Story, called the American right to bear arms “the palladium of the liberties of the republic.” Our Founders believed that in a free society good citizens must always be prepared to defend themselves and their country. Thomas Jefferson said, “The God who gave us life, gave us freedom to defend life.” Being armed was more than a right. It was a moral obligation of citizenship.
The article goes on to detail what has happened in other countries on the subject of guns and gun control and is one of the most concise pieces I have seen on the subject. Extremely poignant and interesting. It concludes:
…You won’t see this data on the American evening news or hear our President, governors or other politicians disseminating this information. Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property. Guns in the hands of honest citizens preserve freedom and dignity — from both criminal and government predators. And, yes, gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding citizens. The gun-control party is now in the majority in Congress. Take note before it’s too late. The next time a politician talks in favor of gun-control, please remind all who are listening of the lesson of history. All credible scholarship indicates so-called “gun-control” laws never work, are dangerous to the rights of the law-abiding, and are inconsistent with the values on which the United States were founded. The Founders of America had it right. With guns, we are “citizens.” Without them, we are “subjects.” Please spread this civil-rights message — the right to life — to all of your friends, and especially all your government servants. You don’t work for them. They work for you.
Another fantastic article I recently came upon was through the Buckeye Firearms Association:
Obama administration backs U.N.’s pursuit of international gun control treaty By Chad D. Baus
Reuters is reporting that the Obama administration has reversed U.S. policy and said it would back launching talks on a United Nations treaty to regulate arms sales, a move that is pro-gun activists warn is one giant leap toward side-stepping Congress and overturning the Second Amendment.
From the story:
The decision, announced in a statement released by the U.S. State Department, overturns the position of former President George W. Bush’s administration, which had opposed such a treaty on the grounds that national controls were better.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States would support the talks as long as the negotiating forum, the so-called Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, “operates under the rules of consensus decision-making.”
“Consensus is needed to ensure the widest possible support for the Treaty and to avoid loopholes in the Treaty that can be exploited by those wishing to export arms irresponsibly,” Clinton said in a written statement.
Although President Obama is clearly doing their bidding, gun control extremists are still not happy, saying they are opposed to the proposed concensus rules because decisions on the treaty be made by consensus “could fatally weaken a final deal.”
“The shift in position by the world’s biggest arms exporter is a major breakthrough in launching formal negotiations at the United Nations in order to prevent irresponsible arms transfers,” Amnesty International and Oxfam International said in a joint statement.
However, they said insisting that decisions on the treaty be made by consensus “could fatally weaken a final deal.”
“Governments must resist US demands to give any single state the power to veto the treaty as this could hold the process hostage during the course of negotiations. We call on all governments to reject such a veto clause,” said Oxfam International’s policy adviser Debbie Hillier.
The proposed legally binding treaty would tighten regulation of, and set international standards for, the import, export and transfer of conventional weapons.
Supporters say it would give worldwide coverage to close gaps in existing regional and national arms export control systems that allow weapons to pass onto the illicit market.
Nations would remain in charge of their arms export control arrangements but would be legally obliged to assess each export against criteria agreed under the treaty. Governments would have to authorize transfers in writing and in advance.
The main opponent of the treaty in the past was the U.S. Bush administration, which said national controls were better.
The change in policy is opposed by the National Rifle Association, as well as by conservative U.S. think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, which is quoted as saying the treaty will not restrict the access of “dictators and terrorists” to arms but would be used to reduce the ability of democracies such as Israel to defend their people…….
Stand tall America and defend your second amendment rights!
News for 07/23/2009 – Entitlements for illegals, banks, big med, but not gun owners
LaRaza says if American People Find Out This Health Care Bill Covers Illegals They Will Rise Against It
http://constitutional…
You won’t believe this one. Take 3.5 minutes to listen, for your own sake. This is RIDICULOUS! Please, listen.
Victory for Gun Control Proponents In Senate Yesterday from DC Examiner
http://www.washington…
Gun control proponents scored a rare victory as the Senate rejected the carrying of concealed weapons across state lines. The 58-39 vote Wednesday defeated a measure giving people with concealed weapons permits the right to carry their firearms into other states that have similar gun laws. Sixty votes were needed to approve the provision, an amendment to a defense spending bill. It is an unusual setback for the gun rights side, which has been able to muster majorities of Republicans and pro-gun Democrats to move its agenda through both the Bush and Obama administrations. Opponents say the concealed weapon proposal would force states with tough gun laws to accept gun-carrying visitors from states with weaker laws.
We Are Approaching Critical Mass by Ron Ewart at Canada Free Press
http://canadafreepres…
Never, in all of our 70 plus years, have we seen the country so riled up! Never have we heard so much anger in people’s voices and in their written messages, as we see today. Never have we seen so many normal, hard-working, responsible Americans take to the streets in tea parties and other forms of protest, to express their anger at what government has done and is doing. Never have we seen so many different solutions to re-claiming our freedom, with many of those solutions based on the simple application of the foundation of our liberty …..the constitution. The word “Revolution”, is uttered quietly amongst some of the more hot-headed types, whose rising emotional frustration has transcended reason and logic. Some might say it is a terrible, if not a frightening sight. On the other hand we say it is liberating, encouraging and uplifting. This rising anger we are witnessing, is a free country waking up from a deep, deep sleep and it is a sign that critical mass is approaching and approaching rapidly. Feds will be rapidly back-peddling, as more and more of the 545 people who think they run this country, come face to face with an angry Consent of the Governed who DO run this country, and those 545 people won’t like what they see. We will reclaim our freedom, as more and more proud Americans unite as one and we reach necessary critical mass. The right of the people to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness, the irrevocable gift from their creator, shall not be infringed. At critical mass, we will make sure these rights are not infringed. Government should be afraid, very afraid, as the people approach the event horizon to critical mass, where the power of the people will overwhelm the intransigence and arrogance of government tyranny. “Government only responds to the rising collective voices of millions of Americans who demand that government stay within its constitutional limits. No other power, short of armed revolution, will have any affect on them. If you don’t care, neither do they and their power rises accordingly. That is exactly the “State of the Union” today.”
Outrage at ‘Potential’ $23.7-Trillion Liability Bank Bailout Law Could Impose on Taxpayers at CNS News.com
http://www.cnsnews.co…
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) – Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) called it a “brave new world.” Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) called it “one fraud after another.” Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) said the corporate bailout was being run as a “don’t ask, don’t tell program,” and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) made biblical references. A bipartisan group of lawmakers were mystified Tuesday at how what began as the $700-billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) could potentially reach a liability of $23.7 trillion for U.S. taxpayers–compared to the U.S. gross domestic product of $14 trillion. Neil Barofsky, special inspector general of the TARP program, testified Tuesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the same day his office’s TARP quarterly report was released, which showed the potential escalating cost of the program. “Your report really demonstrates that we have entered into a very, very scary territory, a brave new world where Washington decides what happens on Wall Street and Main Street, and hopefully sometime in the future, we can find a way to have an exit strategy,” Bilbray said. Generally, the Treasury Department has been lacking in transparency in operating TARP, the report said. “TARP has become a program in which taxpayers (i) are not being told what most of the TARP recipients are doing with their money, (ii) have still not been told how much their substantial investments are worth, and (iii) will not be told the full details of how their money is being invested,” reads the report. “In SIGTARP’s view, the very credibility of TARP (and thus in large measure its chance of success) depends on whether Treasury will commit, indeed as in word, to operate TARP with the highest degree of transparency possible.” The special inspector general’s office has 35 ongoing criminal and civil investigations examining how TARP money is being spent. These include suspected cases of accounting fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, mortgage servicer misconduct, mortgage fraud, public corruption, false statements, and tax investigations. More than half of those were initiated from the inspector general’s tip line (877-SIG-2009, or http://www.sigtarp.gov), Barofsky said.
Visitor list shows White House meetings with health execs started soon after inauguration by Sharon Theimer at DC Examiner http://www.washington…
President Barack Obama’s administration began holding private meetings with health industry executives at the White House a few weeks after he took office, a visitor list released Wednesday night by the White House shows. Lobbyists were among those there to talk health care. Richard Umbdenstock, president of the American Hospital Association, was at the White House on Feb. 4 and has been back at least a half-dozen times since then, most recently May 22. Other industry executives making February visits included health insurance company chief executives Angela Braly of WellPoint Inc. and Jay Gellert of Health Net Inc. Obama released a list of White House visits by health care executives after a government watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, announced it planned to sue to try to get White House visitor logs. Only names and dates were released, not the visitors’ titles or employers. So far, the Obama administration is following a Bush administration policy of refusing to release the logs, which are maintained by the Secret Service.
