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Bill McKibben, Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College and author of a dozen books about the environment, beginning with "The End of Nature" in 1989, which is regarded as the first book for a general audience on climate change. The group he founded, 350.org, has coordinated 15,000 rallies in 189 countries since 2009. The Boston Globe said in 2010 that he was "probably the country’s most important environmentalist."
Alexis Tsipras, a member of the Hellenic parliament, president of the Synaspismos political party since 2008, head of the SYRIZA parliamentary group since 2009, and leader of the Opposition since June 2012. SYRIZA currently leads in Greek opinion polls. Listen to the audio here.
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"Rand Paul: Making a Point," by Reginald Johnson, March 8, 2013
"The Bipartisan Gift: Budget Cuts," by Reginald Johnson, March 2, 2013
"Fighting for Gun Control," by Reginald Johnson, Feb. 18, 2013
"Tyranny of the Minority," by Reginald Johnson, Jan. 28, 2013
"Is President Obama About to Betray Those Who Re-elected Him Less than 2 Months Ago?" by Scott Harris, Dec. 21, 2012
"Will the Slaughter of the Innocents in Newtown Lead to Gun Law Reform in U.S.?" by Scott Harris and Anna Manzo, Dec. 16, 2012
"My Friend in Sandy Hook," by Doug Moss, posted by Scott Harris, Dec. 16, 2012
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Posted April 11, 2012
Interview with Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, conducted by Scott Harris
In a 5-4 ruling on April 2, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision that allows security officials in American jails to strip search any person arrested on serious or minor offenses, without reasonable suspicion that the person may be concealing contraband. The case, Florence v. County of Burlington, stemmed from the 2005 New Jersey arrest of Albert Florence, an African-American who was a passenger in the car his wife was driving, when state police pulled the vehicle over to issue her a speeding ticket. When officers found that there was an outstanding warrant for Florence due to an unpaid traffic fine, he was arrested. Although records later found that the fine had been paid two years earlier, Florence was held for a week in two jails and subjected to humiliating strip-searches in each facility.
In their ruling, the justices found that persons placed into a jail’s general population for minor offenses, such as not stopping at a red light, violating pet leash laws, driving a car with a noisy muffler or riding a bicycle without an audible bell, can be stripped of their clothing and have their body cavities searched by jail guards. Writing for the majority opinion, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said the court should not second-guess prison officials and cited the arrest of Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh, for a traffic violation.
Writing for the dissenting minority, Justice Stephen G. Breyer found there was little evidence to support the conclusion that strip searches would detect contraband that would not have been otherwise found by jail officials using less invasive methods. He cited a study that found of the 23,000 people admitted to a correctional facility in Orange County, N.Y., there was only one instance of contraband found by a strip search that otherwise would have been missed. Between the Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Baher Azmy, legal director with the Center for Constitutional Rights, who expresses concern that the ruling in this case could lead to systematic abuse by police officials.
Visit Center for Constitutional Rights' website at www.CCR-Justice.org.
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