Salem-News.com Legal articles Page 53

Smokeless `E-Cigarettes` Raise New Health Concerns (AUDIO)

Oregon’s Ban has National Implications.

(SALEM, Ore. ONS) - Oregon is the first state to ban the sale of so-called electronic cigarettes, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon be in court to fight the same battle nationally.

The battery-operated tube looks like a real paper-and-tobacco cigarette, but contains nicotine and flavors that can be inhaled without producing smoke. The FDA wants to regulate them as drug devices.

Oregon`s Immigrant Rights Coalition Applauds Historic Sotomayor Confirmation

Justice becomes the first of Hispanic decent confirmed to the High Court.

(SALEM, Ore.) - In another historic day for the United States, Sonia Sotomayor has become the nation's 111th Supreme Court justice. She is also the third female and the first of Hispanic descent confirmed to the nation's highest court.

CAUSA applauds the Senate for confirming this well-qualified judge to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Alien Abduction in Calgary

Go downtown on any weekday and you’ll find it easy to spot the aliens.

(CALGARY, Alberta) - I recently spent a morning as an observer at the provincial criminal court in Calgary. There were the usual run of the mill cases—some individuals were clearly bad news; some individuals were clearly confused about how they got there—when a woman in custody appeared in the prisoner’s box and changed my entire perspective on the proceedings.

She looked used and abused, making it difficult to guess her age, but I would say about 30.

New Report Documents Dramatic Reductions in Youth Detention

Reformers Gather in DC to Review Progress.

(BALTIMORE, Md.) - A new report released by the Annie C. Casey Foundation shows that two decades of juvenile justice reform have reduced youth detention, improved public safety and saved taxpayers millions of dollars.

The report, Two Decades of JDAI: From Demonstration Project to National Standard, documents the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative’s (JDAI) progress both in reforming juvenile detention practices nationwide and also in contributing to the larger movement for more comprehensive reforms in juvenile justice.

Taser Use in the U.S. is a Serious Problem

Just because we have the guts to talk about it.

(SALEM, Ore.) - You know, Sigmund Freud would have had a time with the psychology behind police Taser abuse. My story Monday on the new Taser gun that shoots and tortures up to three people at once, did not go over well with the Taser company in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Skateboarding on a sidewalk, being disrespectful, refusing to sign a speeding ticket; these are the reasons some cops use Tasers on people.

Pirates Free MV Hansa Stavanger Along With Crew

The box-ship with around 1,070 containers was sea-jacked by Somali sea-shifta on 3rd April 2009 400 km off the southern Somali port of Kismaayu.

(NAIROBI, Kenya) - "The nightmare of being held hostage in Somalia is over for five Germans, three Russians, two Ukrainians, two Filipinos, 11 Tuvaluans and one sailor from Fiji," according to Ecoterra International, a group in Africa that monitors the pirate situation off Somalia around the clock since 1986.

They say pirates freed the German owned, German-flagged MV Hansa Stavanger and the vessel is sailing - Ecoterra's sources confirmed.

ABI Asks: Why Would MADD Oppose Obama`s Beer Summit?

MADD's Opposition to Beers at the White House Exposes Group's Anti-Alcohol Sentiment.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - Today, the American Beverage Institute (ABI) criticized Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for publicly lamenting that President Obama chose to hold a “Beer Summit” in an effort to cool tensions between the gentlemen involved in the recent police incident in Cambridge.

“MADD is no longer an organization that opposes drunk driving, but an anti-alcohol group that has been hijacked by the modern day temperance movement,” said Sarah Longwell, ABI Managing Director.

Journalists Face Trial in Iran as Arrests Continue

Iran has confirmed that it is holding 150 people arrested after the election, according to the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper. Other sources cite higher numbers.

(NEW YORK) - After more than a month of detention, several journalists may face trial for "sending pictures to enemy media."

Three documentary filmmakers were arrested July 29th, bringing the total of journalists currently held in Iranian jails to 42, the highest count in the world.

Is Texas Harboring Torture Decider?

It is essential that those responsible for torture be held to account. This is not about “policy differences.” It is about crimes.

(DALLAS, Tx.) - Seldom does a crime scene have so clear a smoking gun. A two-page presidential memorandum of Feb. 7, 2002, leaves no room for uncertainty regarding the “decider” on torture. His broad-stroke signature made torture official policy.

This should come as no surprise. You see, the Feb. 7, 2002, memorandum has been posted on the Web since June 22, 2004, when then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales mistakenly released it, along with other White House memoranda.

Agent Orange and Dioxins: The Most Destructive, Poisonous Substances Ever Found

One of our reader/correspondents, Chuck Palazzo, just brought to our attention that Agent Orange, actually DIOXINS, have been re-discovered to cause all sorts of damage to humans.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - I believe I had the first human DDT insecticide poisoning case in the US in about 1952.

The patient was a “cropduster” pilot spraying mosquito swamps in Portland, Oregon. He filled the sprayer tanks with DDT in oil with 5 gallon cans and spilled it all over himself.