Sharpton Arrested In Citywide ‘Slowdown’ Protests
Sean Bell Protesters Blocking Streets In Manhattan, Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBS) ? The Rev. Al Sharpton and dozens of others were arrested Wednesday amid a series of protests throughout the city, part of a response to the acquittals of three New York City undercover detectives in the killing of an unarmed groom on his wedding day.

Hundreds took to the streets in Manhattan and Brooklyn as part of the citywide “slowdown” effort led by Sharpton and his National Action Network. Police have arrested those who took part in acts of civil disobedience by blocking the streets to rally.

Sharpton was arrested without incident at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, along with Bell’s fiancé, Nicole Paultre Bell, and his two friends who were with him on the night of the shooting.

Bell’s parents were also arrested.

One of the arrested protesters told CBS 2 the protests go beyond the 50-shot killing of Sean Bell.

“We have to stand up for something or we’ll fall for anything. It’s not just about Sean Bell, it’s about every man that’s been injustly killed in America,” he said. “The point to make to the people is to get their attention. It could be their son tomorrow or their daughter tomorrow.”

The rallies are aimed at putting pressure on federal authorities to bring civil rights charges against the officers in the Bell case. The three were acquitted of all charges in a Queens court last month.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/sean.bell.protests.2.717705.html

http://www.ilaalerts.org/UM/T.asp?A1.2.2998.22.415695>

But where is the link?

Help Fight the Assault on Ammunition Sales!

The California

Assembly is currently considering a bill (Assembly Bill 2062) that, if passed, will

have dire consequences for California’s law-abiding gun owners. As scheduled,

AB2062 will be heard on Wednesday, May 7 in the Assembly Appropriations

Committee. This egregious attempt to water down your rights as law-abiding

gun owners would require all gun owners to obtain a permit to buy handgun

ammunition and would impose severe restrictions on the private transfers of

handgun ammunition. Under AB2062, it would be unlawful to privately transfer

more than 50 rounds of ammunition per month, even between family and

friends, unless you are registered as a “handgun ammunition vendor” in the

Department of Justice’s database. Please make your voice heard to today to

stop these attacks on your Second Amendment rights. To find out what you can

do to help, please click here

US diplomat says 100,000 may have died in cyclone

WASHINGTON – The top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar says 100,000 may have died in the cyclone and that 95 percent of buildings in the affected area are demolished.

Shari Villarosa heads the U.S. embassy in the capital Rangoon. She says food and water are running short in the Myanmar delta area inundated by the storm. She called the situation in that area “increasingly horrendous.”

Villaros told reporters Wednesday: “There is a very real risk of disease outbreaks as long as this continues.”

She said that almost all the deaths are in the delta area. In the capital, some 600-700 people may have died. Villarosa also said she does not think the military rulers in Myanmar are blocking U.S. assistance because of the Bush administration’s past strong criticism of the junta.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080507/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_myanmar

WOULDN’T IT BE GREAT TO TURN ON THE TV AND HEAR ANY U.S. PRESIDENTAL CANDIDATE, DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN GIVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH?
‘My Fellow Americans: As you all know, the defeat of the Iraq regime has been completed.

Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission in Iraq is complete.

This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American forces from Iraq This action will be complete within 30 days. It is now time to begin the reckoning.

Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries which have stood by our side during the Iraq conflict. This list is short . The United Kingdom , Spain , Bulgaria , Australia , and Poland are some of the countries listed there.

The other list contains every one not on the first list. Most of the world’s nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of both lists later this evening.

Let me start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those nations on List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The money saved during the first year alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war. THEN EVERY YEAR THERE AFTER IT’ll GO TO OUR SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM SO IT WONT GO BROKE IN 20 YEARS.

The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world Hellholes and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption.

Need help with a famine ? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call France .

In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money t oward solving the vexing social problems we still have at home On that note, a word to terrorist organizations. Screw with us and we will hunt you down and eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth.

Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try France or maybe China .

I am ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with France, Germany , and Russia . Thanks for all your help, comrades. We are retiring from NATO as well. Bonne chance mea amies!

I have instructed the Mayor of New York City to begin towing the many UN diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two unpaid parking tickets to sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed. I don’t care about whatever treaty pertains to this. You creeps have tens of thousands of unpaid tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your precious Benzes, Beamers and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop shops in the world. I love New York !

A special note to our neighbors. Canada is on List 2. Since we are likely to be seeing a lot more of each other, you folks might want to try not pissing us off for a change.

Mexico is also on List 2 its president and his entire corrupt government really need an attitude adjustment. I will have a couple extra thousand tanks and infantry divisions sitting around. Guess where I am going to put ‘em? Yep, border security.

Oh, by the way, the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty – starting now.

We are tired of the one-way highway. Immediately, we’ll be drilling for oil in Alaska – which will take care of this country’s oil needs for decades to come. If you’re an environmentalist who opposes this decision, I refer you to List 2 above: pick a country and move there.

It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by saying, ‘darn tootin.’

Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet. It is time to eliminate hunger in America It is time to eliminate homelessness in America . To the nations on List 1, a final thought. Thank you guys. We owe you and we won’t forget.

To the nations on List 2, a final thought: You might want to learn to speak Arabic.

God bless America . Thank you and good night. ‘

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – Former Sen. George McGovern, who backed Hillary Rodham Clinton, is urging her to drop out of the Democratic presidential race.

McGovern said Wednesday he has decided to endorse Barack Obama.

After watching the returns from the North Carolina and Indiana primaries Tuesday night, McGovern says it’s virtually impossible for Clinton to win the nomination.

McGovern says he is calling former President Clinton to tell him of the decision and adds that he remains close friends with the Clintons.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D90GS75G0&show_article=1

GOP leaders warn of election disaster

By JOHN BRESNAHAN

Shellshocked House Republicans got warnings from leaders past and present Tuesday: Your party’s message isn’t good enough to prevent disaster in November, and neither is the NRCC’s money.

The double shot of bad news had one veteran Republican House member worrying aloud that the party’s electoral woes — brought into sharp focus by Woody Jenkins’ loss to Don Cazayoux in Louisiana on Saturday — have the House Republican Conference splitting apart in “everybody for himself” mode.

“There is an attitude that, ‘I better watch out for myself, because nobody else is going to do it,’” the member said. “There are all these different factions out there, everyone is sniping at each other, and we have no real plan. We have a lot of people fighting to be the captain of the lifeboat instead of everybody pulling together.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10138.html

Conservatives Happier Than Liberals

Individuals with conservative ideologies are happier than liberal-leaners, and new research pinpoints the reason: Conservatives rationalize social and economic inequalities.

Regardless of marital status, income or church attendance, right-wing individuals reported greater life satisfaction and well-being than left-wingers, the new study found. Conservatives also scored highest on measures of rationalization, which gauge a person’s tendency to justify, or explain away, inequalities.

The rationalization measure included statements such as: “It is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than others,” and “This country would be better off if we worried less about how equal people are.”

To justify economic inequalities, a person could support the idea of meritocracy, in which people supposedly move up their economic status in society based on hard work and good performance. In that way, one’s social class attainment, whether upper, middle or lower, would be perceived as totally fair and justified.

If your beliefs don’t justify gaps in status, you could be left frustrated and disheartened, according to the researchers, Jaime Napier and John Jost of New York University. They conducted a U.S.-centric survey and a more internationally focused one to arrive at the findings.

“Our research suggests that inequality takes a greater psychological toll on liberals than on conservatives,” the researchers write in the June issue of the journal Psychological Science, “apparently because liberals lack ideological rationalizations that would help them frame inequality in a positive (or at least neutral) light.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080507/sc_livescience/conservativeshappierthanliberals