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Week In Review: A Zygote Is A Person?, Eurozone Greek Crisis, NJ Gay Marriage, Internet Freedom

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 Eurozone crisis pushes Greece to form a Unity government, New Jersey court rules civil unions challenge may continue, is a zygote a person?

International

Eurozone Sovereign Debt Crisis Dominates Week, Greek PM  Prepares to Form Unity Government After Prevailing on Confidence Vote, Greece Could Return to “Drachma”

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou

In what could only be defined as an extraordinary week in Europe: Eurozone countries, the G-20 and the financial global community were completely seized with the Greek sovereign debt crisis. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, joined by Nicholas Sarkozy, President of France, brokered a 130 billion Euro rescue package in an arduous and protracted effort to rescue Greece from going bankrupt and vigorously acted in an overt gesture to calm roiling world markets.

Despite the heightened crisis, the G-20 countries failed to make additional commitments for contributions to the International Monetary Fund or to the European financial stability facility.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou responded to the rescue package by a surprise announcement that he would send it to voters before his government would agree to its terms. Members of Papandreou’s Socialist government, who were blindsided by his call for a referendum, immediately rejected a public vote, forcing a Friday vote of no confidence that he miraculously sustained by winning 153-145. But not before Berlin and Paris told Athens that it was withdrawing 8 billion Euros in immediate aid and conveyed that if Greek voters rejected the rescue package, Greece would be ejected from the Eurozone on January 1, 2012.

This morning European officials are urging Greece to form a Unity government to shepherd through a rescue package, that includes deep cuts, insuring Greece remains solvent and in the Eurozone.   Papandreou’s political future is uncertain, but in the aftermath of the no confidence vote, he said he would be stepping down to make way for financial minister Evangelos Venizelos to become leader. Papandreou was mortally wounded by his mishandling of this monetary crisis that has gripped Europe for months and weeks.

It remains unknown the extent of American exposure in the possibility that Greece would default on their sovereign debt. Neither the U.S. government, nor brokerage houses on Wall Street have addressed this question to date.

The political takeaway is that Merkel, the most powerful leader in Europe today, has indicated that the Euro currency is more important than Greece, and if need be, Greece could be forced from the Eurozone and a return to the “Drachma”.

The New York Times today notes small businesses are closing rapidly, and quotes one owner who says, “The politicians are playing games with the people … This city is boiling. I am not a protester, but soon the top on the kettle will pop.”

OSCE Representative Supports Internet Freedom, Tajik Journalists Freed

 

Dunja Mijatovic

Dunja Mijatovic is the Representative on Freedom of the Media for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the 56-member State mulit-lateral Vienna-based security organization (US and Canada are members too) that formed in 1973, serves as a mechanism to advance human rights in countries formerly behind the Iron Curtain. During the past couple of weeks, Mijatovic spoke out on behalf of Internet freedom for bloggers and activists Jabbar Savalanli and Baxtiyar Haciyev who have been imprisoned in Azerbijan for their internet activism. She called for their release on the margins of meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia on media freedom in the Caucasus. The Caucasus have been challenged and fraught with violations of media freedoms, both in traditional and new media fields.

“The emergence of new media has completely changed the way people communicate and share and receive information,” she said, according to an OSCE press release.  These new challenges underline the need to discuss how new technologies necessitate new approaches to safeguarding OSCE commitments regarding media freedom.”

In a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty  interview about the Azerbaijani bloggers, Mijatovic pointedly made specific reference to how freedom of expression should be defined in the age of new media:

“When I raise my voice for bloggers, Facebook activists, sometimes I’m told that they’re not journalists. I do not engage myself in defining journalism when I see that people are stopped by imprisonment or any other form of harassment for expressing their views freely. I think it’s my mandate to raise my voice and to ask for their release. This is actually the case with two of them at the moment.”

When this writer contacted Mijatovic last week, she was preparing to board a plane for Dushanbe, Tajikistan. She was making the long trip to launch a three-day workshop with government officials and journalists and also join a celebration with Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov and Urunboi Usmonov, journalists who had just been released from prison after she had applied pressure for their release. And that seems to be a developing pattern wherever Mijatovic goes–journalists are freed, a successful trend to watch.

National

Court Rules NJ Gay Marriage Challenge Can Continue

Marcia Shapiro and her partner Louise Walpin

A New Jersey Superior Court Judge ruled on Friday that a legal complaint filed by seven plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of New Jersey’s Civil Union law can go forward for review that could ultimately establish legal gay marriage in the Garden State.

Judge Linda Feinberg said that same-sex couples don’t have a fundamental right to marry, but they should have a chance to prove New Jersey’s civil union law does not give them benefits equal to heterosexual married couples.

This lawsuit emanates from last year’s failure to adopt gay marriage in the state legislature in its last days before the new governor, Chris Christie, assumed office. Christie announced he would veto a measure to legalize gay marriage in New Jersey.

Garden State Equality for LGBT persons has challenged the equality of benefits which is illustrated in this video:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=tnGjQKjIdaA%3Fversion%3D3%26hl%3Den_US

Herman Cain Leads Republican Polling, Despite Revelations of Past Sexual Harassment

 

Herman Cain denies sexual harassment charges

Herman Cain, the current Republican Party leader for the presidential nomination, was confronted two weeks ago when Politico.com broke a story  reporting that Cain had been accused of sexual harassment during his tenure as the President of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s that resulted in two women receiving compensation before leaving the group.

Cain battled back against the charges sometimes more effective than others during the week, but questioning of his conduct continued last night following a congenial “Lincoln-Douglas” style debate sponsored by the Texas Tea Party that disallowed discussion of the sexual harassment allegations. When journalists confronted Cain after the debate about the allegations, he refused to answer and said his campaign “was going back on message,” and directed his chief of staff to give a copy of a “journalistic code of ethics” to journalists who attempted question him. Takeaway political message during these events is that women’s allegations of sexual harassment are not serious matters of character for Republicans. Republican women voters take note.

Mississippi Poised to Vote on Law Declaring  a Fertilized Egg a “Person” 

Human Embryo

Voters in the State of Mississippi will have the opportunity to decide the legal definition of “personhood” on Tuesday when they go to the election polls. Advocated by anti-abortion forces in Mississippi and beyond, ballot Initiative Measure 26, which legally stipulates a fertilized egg, unattached to a woman’s uterine wall, is a person. This radical proposed constitutional amendment, is surprisingly opposed by none other than the Roman Catholic Church.

If adopted, all abortions would cease (only one abortion clinic remains in the state). In vitro fertilization in Mississippi would also be eliminated, forcing infertile couples, including lesbians seeking to become pregnant, to go out of state. If adopted, what kind of legal environment would be created by such a draconian law?  In essence, the State of Mississippi would legally be empowered to occupy and regulate the uteruses of all women residents, strikingly akin to Margaret Atwood’s chilling fictional novel “The HandMaid’s Tale.” Could Mississippi sink to even lower depths? It appears it can.

Ohio Voters Face Referendum on the Future of Collective Bargaining Rights 

Labor union supporters placed Ohio Senate Bill 5 on the ballot for voters on Tuesday to repeal a law that would strip public workers the right to organize and sharply curtail their right to engage in collective bargaining. The law is backed by the increasingly unpopular Republican Governor John Kasich and Democrats see the referendum as an opportunity to beat Republicans on an issue that is vital to labor unions, one of the Democratic Party’s core constituencies as both parties move forward into the 2012 election cycle. The anti-labor rights movement began in Wisconsin in 2010 after the election of Republican Governor Scott Walker, who is backed by the Koch Brothers, Republican business leaders who have sought to shut down unions in Wisconsin.

USAID Encourages Contractors Not to Discriminate Against LGBT Persons

A new policy at USAID that encourages contractors not to discriminate against LGBT persons sounds great (and is likely an election year initiative), but not enforceable, according to Nan Hunter, Georgetown University law professor. Hunter posted the new policy on her blog site titled “Hunter for Justice.” A report of the new policy initially was published by the Washington Blade. The new policy “strongly encourages all its contractors (at all tiers) to develop and enforce comprehensive nondiscrimination policies for their workplaces” that include the same prohibitions that USAID applies to itself.” Stopping short of President Obama issuing an executive order, this is the best that can be expected during the election season.  New Civil Rights Movement readers should bookmark Hunter’s excellent blog on LGBT related rights.

(Image: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou)

Tanya L. Domi is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University who teaches about human rights in Eurasia and is a Harriman Institute affiliated faculty member. Prior to teaching at Columbia, Domi worked internationally for more than a decade on issues related to democratic transitional development, including political and media development, human rights, gender issues, sex trafficking, and media freedom.

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News

Trump Battled to Go to Son’s Graduation – So Why Is He Speaking at a Fundraiser That Day?

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May 7, 2024

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Last month Donald Trump falsely told reporters Justice Juan Merchan had blocked him from attending his youngest son’s high school graduation, refusing to give him the day off from his required attendance at his New York criminal court case.

Justice Merchan had actually told Trump he would take the request under advisement, but Trump quickly ran to reporters painting the judge as heartless.

On April 15 Trump said, “it looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son who’s worked very, very hard and he is a great student.”

“It looks like the judge isn’t going to allow me to escape this scam. It’s a scam trial,” Trump alleged.

The Associated Press reported, “Trump then furthered his criticism of the judge on his Truth Social platform, writing in one post both that he ‘will likely not be allowed to attend’ and that ‘the Judge, Juan Merchan, is preventing me from proudly attending my son’s Graduation.’ He wrote in another post less than two hours later that he is ‘being prohibited from attending.'”

READ MORE: Johnson Demands All Trump Prosecutions Cease, Vows to Use Congress ‘In Every Possible Way’

None of that was accurate.

Last week Judge Merchan granted Trump the day off from court to attend his son’s high school graduation.

But The Lincoln Project and others on Tuesday posted the announcement for “Minnesota’s 2024 Lincoln Reagan Dinner With Special Guest DONALD J. TRUMP” on Friday, May 17, 2024.

Trump, as The New Republic notes, will be the headline speaker at the event in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which starts at 5:00 PM.

The fundraiser offers supporters the opportunity to spend $100,000, which grants them “10 VIP Dinner Seats | 10 VIP Reception Passes | 3 Photo Opportunities with President Trump.”

Or, for example, for $50,000, a supporter can get a “Chairman’s Host Table – 10 VIP Dinner Seats | 10 VIP Reception Passes | 1 Photo Opportunity with President Trump.”

KARE reports “the visit is expected to be the former president’s first trip to Minnesota of the 2024 election cycle.”

READ MORE: ‘I’m Not Talking About That Meeting’: Noem Implies She May Have Met With Kim Jong Un

Trump has strong motivation to head to Minnesota.

Over the weekend, as NBC News reports, “Top officials for former President Donald Trump’s campaign believe they can flip Democratic strongholds Minnesota and Virginia into his column in November, they told donors behind closed doors at a Republican National Committee retreat Saturday.”

Barron Trump’s graduation from Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida reportedly will be the same day, May 17. Depending on timing, It’s possible Trump could fly from Florida to Minnesota to get to the fundraiser by 5 PM.

Watch Trump’s remarks from April 15 below or at this link.

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OPINION

Johnson Demands All Trump Prosecutions Cease, Vows to Use Congress ‘In Every Possible Way’

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May 7, 2024

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In a clear attack on the executive branch, the judicial system, states’ rights, and the rule in law in America, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson vowed on Tuesday to use all the powers of Congress at his disposal to end all four current criminal prosecutions of ex-president Donald Trump.

Johnson’s remarks late Tuesday morning came at the exact same time Stormy Daniels was giving sworn testimony about her alleged sexual relationship with Trump in a Manhattan Superior Court case. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee is on trial for 34 felonies related to falsification of business records when he allegedly paid hush money to the adult film star then covered up those payments in what prosecutors say was election interference.

“President Trump has done nothing wrong here and he continues to be the target of endless lawfare,” Speaker Johnson told reporters Tuesday during an official House news conference (video below). “It has to stop. And you’re gonna see the United States Congress address this in every possible way that we can, because we need accountability. Ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s bigger than President Trump. It’s about the people’s faith in our system of justice. And we’re gonna get down to the bottom of it. All these cases need to be dropped, because they are a threat to our system.”

Johnson’s remarks also come as he faces an ouster threat from far-right MAGA Republican Christian nationalist Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Speaker, who repeatedly has said he speaks to Trump frequently, spent the weekend at the ex-president’s Florida resort and residence, Mar-a-Lago. He also traveled there just weeks ago as Greene’s threats were heating up. Trump and Johnson held a joint press conference on “election integrity,” an image some say was a show of strength and support from the leader of his party.

READ MORE: Trump Threatens to Violate Gag Order and Go to Jail: ‘I’ll Do That Sacrifice Any Day’

Johnson’s job is being protected by Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and the vast majority of the Democratic caucus, who have promised to protect him should Greene call up her motion to vacate.

Claiming Republicans are “trying to keep steadying hands on the wheel here and keep the legislative branch moving and operating in the best interest of the people,” Johnson also alleged: “one of the things that is also in jeopardy right now is our judicial branch. And it’s our system of government itself. And I don’t think we can say often enough here how much of that has been abused under this administration, and with local prosecutors, state prosecutors, and at the federal level, who are using lawfare. They’re using our judicial system to go after political opponents.”

The Speaker continued his targeting, declaring Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s “case should never have been brought.”

“If there’s ever been an example of lawfare. Everybody can look at that and see, the trial is being orchestrated by Democrats, supporters of President Biden who are trying to make a name for themselves. I mean, they’re they’re pretty open about that. They used it in their campaign flips. We’ve got a Democrat District Attorney, a Biden donor judge, whose daughter is a Democratic political consultant and has clients that use the case in their solicitation emails to raise money.”

Justice Juan Merchan, CNN reported last month, made a $15 donation to the Biden campaign, amid a total of $35 total in 2020.

Johnson also called Justice Merchan “a well known Democrat” who “is pursuing an indefensible gag order on President Trump,” and “trying to override President Trump’s constitutional right to defend himself against the constant smears of his political opponents.”

READ MORE: ‘I’m Not Talking About That Meeting’: Noem Implies She May Have Met With Kim Jong Un

Pointing to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Donald Trump in the Espionage Act case, often called the “classified documents” case, Johnson called it “the weaponization of our justice system.”

He called all the cases against the ex-president “a clear attempt to keep Donald Trump in the courtroom and off the campaign trail. That’s what this is. It’s an election interference. It is borderline criminal conspiracy and the American people see right through it.”

Watch a short clip of Johnson’s remarks below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Israel Aid, Ukraine Aid, Kitchenaid’: Dem Mocks GOP’s ‘Hands Off Our Appliances’ Week

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News

Marjorie Taylor Greene Delivers Demands to Johnson as Her Three-Person Posse Weakens

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May 7, 2024

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Under her threat to call up her motion to oust Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) met with the Louisiana Republican for several hours on Monday, delivering her list of demands, while knowing that Democrats have vowed to ensure her efforts to have him removed will fail.

Congresswoman Greene, a far-right extremist and self-proclaimed Christian nationalist, tried to build a faction of disaffected House Republicans but only two other GOP lawmakers have signed on to her “motion to vacate.” One of them, Christian nationalist U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) did not show for her Monday meeting.

At the top of Greene’s list of demands is ending all aid to Ukraine, according to Punchbowl News. The second item is defunding Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal investigations into Donald Trump. And lastly, promising to adhere to the so-called “Hastert Rule,” putting on the floor for a vote only legislation that is supported by the majority of the Republican majority.

“Of course, the Senate would never take this up, and President Joe Biden would never sign any such bill including this provision if it somehow landed on his desk. Senior House Republicans privately admit this,” Punchbowl News reports.

READ MORE: Judge Hands Trump ‘Incarceration’ Threat as Experts Say Next Time He’ll Toss Him in Jail

Calling these maneuvers “cosplay” and “mostly theater,” Punchbowl notes: “Greene doesn’t really see those political realities as hurdles — or care. She wants to cause legislative crises and get media coverage.”

Johnson has the support of Donald Trump, along with, for now, the support of House Democrats including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Greene and her number two supporter, U.S. Rep. Tim Massie (R-KY), possibly with Congressman Gosar – whose support for Greene’s motion to vacate appears to be wavering – are expected to meet again with Speaker Johnson on Tuesday.

The Guardian reports some observers are “suggesting the Georgia congresswoman is looking for an off-ramp,” and adds that Greene’s “lunchtime summit” could “finally offer clarity” on whether she “still intends to press ahead with her drive to oust speaker Mike Johnson, or accept a face-saving alternative that would give the impression of a win.”

Gosar’s apparent wavering has not gone unnoticed.

Punchbowl News’ Mica Soellner reports: “Rep. Paul Gosar tells me he’s still very much behind the MTV [motion to vacate] effort and missed today’s meeting due to a flight delay.”

READ MORE: Trump Threatens to Violate Gag Order and Go to Jail: ‘I’ll Do That Sacrifice Any Day’

He told Soellner: “If Marjorie wanted me to come, I would’ve been there.”

She notes Gosar did not commit to attending Tuesday’s meeting.

Meanwhile, from the non-Greene side of the House Republican conference, Fox News’ Chad Pergram reports on comments made by U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE).

Citing his Fox News colleague Brianna O’Neil’s reporting, he writes (not direct quotes): “GOP NE Rep Bacon on Greene’s efforts to remove Johnson: We don’t like it. We’d be angry about it because all it does is weaken all of us. And it’s it’s like 2 or 3 people working for the other side of the aisle…it appears to us, you know, the other side shooting this also foot right now over all the campus stuff. Joe Biden’s polling at 36%, the lowest of any president going back to 1952. So why jump in the way of that? And we’ve got 2 or 3 people are doing that. And it’s just a tactical and strategically. It’s not smart.”

Last week, Congresswoman Greene held a news conference and vowed to call up her motion to vacate, “next week, absolutely.”

On Monday, Greene alleged a “deal” has been made between Johnson and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.

READ MORE: ‘I’m Not Talking About That Meeting’: Noem Implies She May Have Met With Kim Jong Un

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