Interrogation rooms with wooden boards used to immobilize detainees, are among the evidence of torture Human Rights Watch says it has uncovered in Syria.

Proof of torture -- that's what Human Rights Watch says they've uncovered in Syria. Researcher Lama Fakih says they've found everything from written accounts of abuse to actual torture devices, in the rebel held city of Raqqa.

Human Rights Watch researcher, Lama Fakih: "We were able to see, for example, documentary evidence of the types of cases that the intelligence forces were following. We were able to see the solitary confinement cells where the detainees were held. We were also able to see interrogation rooms and torture rooms."

Most of the material was found inside former security and military intelligence facilities.

"In one case," Fakih continues, "in the State Security branch, we were able to see a basat el-reeh torture device. This device is a wooden board that is in the shape of a cross that a detainee is bound to. It folds in half and enables the guards and interrogators to bind to detainee in a very uncomfortable position so they can beat him while he is defenceless."

Interviews with locals, according to Human Rights Watch, also confirmed reports of torture and arbitrary detainment. The New York based activist group is urging local oppositon leaders to safeguard documents and other material that might be used as evidence that war crimes were committed.

Much more on the findings in Syria from Human Rights Watch.

Bill Moyers is joined by the heads of two independent watchdog groups keeping an eye on government as well as on powerful interests seeking to influence it. Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics and OpenSecrets.org, and Danielle Brian, who runs the Project on Government Oversight, talk to Bill about the importance of transparency to our democracy, and their efforts to scrutinize who’s giving money, who’s receiving it, and most importantly, what’s expected in return.

Here's a snippet:

BILL MOYERS: The cliché is that you have to pay to play. What does that mean to the two of you?

SHEILA KRUMHOLZ: It means that organizations and mostly we’re talking about corporations, understand that Washington is often standing in the way of bigger profits for them. And so they see this as a perfectly legal, entirely common way for their companies to shape policy legislation, even regulation coming out of Washington that will ameliorate the damage and ultimately enhance their ability to turn a profit.

And so private interests if they are not successful in achieving their legislative agenda in Congress have other opportunities, many bites at the apple, to try to water down regulations that they see as onerous or to otherwise tweak laws as they are actually being implemented by the agencies.

Look at this headline: “After Aa Powerful Lobbyist Intervenes, EPA Reverses Stance on Polluting Texas County's Water.” That's a story from the news organizations ProPublica reporting that a big energy company wants permission from Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA, for a large-scale mining project in Texas that would pollute a pristine supply of drinking water.

So the EPA says no, can't have it. The big company hires Heather Podesta who's a big time lobbyist, a big time fundraiser for Democrats who was married at the time to another big Washington Democratic fixer named Tony Podesta, who used to be president of the liberal organization People for the American Way.

Through their connections these two have become the king and queen of influence peddling. Lo and behold, some months after the industry hires Heather Podesta, EPA reverses itself and the company gets an exemption and is allowed to pollute the aquifer. To hell with the public health. This is routine, isn't it?

A full transcript of the show follows below the fold...

Continue reading »

Joe Stringer of ACCE, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment talks about why he is going to Washington, DC to risk arrest at the Department of Justice.

Stringer,in Los Angeles talks about how the foreclosure crisis has decimated his neighborhood in Watts.

It's time for bankers to go to jail!

This may be President Obama's last chance to get justice for the millions of homeowners, taxpayers, and retirees whose homes, savings, pensions and livelihoods were stolen by Wall Street bankers.

Tell President Obama:

1. Prosecute Wall Street bankers for stealing our homes, savings and livelihoods.

2. Keep people in their homes by resetting their mortgages.

3. Make Wall Street pay us back.

Sign the petition here.

The ousted chief of the Internal Revenue Service, Steven Miller, told the House Ways and Means Committee that his agency made errors in targeting conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, but he says the mistakes were not the result of partisan views.

"I want to apologize on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service for the mistakes that we made and the poor service that we provided," said IRS acting commissioner Steven Miller, who resigned on Wednesday. "The affected organizations and the American public deserve better."

Revelations surfaced last week from an inspector general report that found IRS officials used inappropriate criteria for 18 months, such as flagging the names of groups that included "tea party" or "patriots," for additional scrutiny.

"Partisanship or even the appearance of partisanship has no place at the IRS," Miller said. "I do not believe that partisanship motivated the people who engaged in the practices."

"I think that what happened here was that foolish mistakes were made by people trying to be more efficient in their work load selection," he continued. "The listing described in the report, while intolerable, was a mistake, and not an act of partisanship."

The Moapa Paiutes are celebrating the switch to solar power and the beginning of the end of dirty coal power in southern Nevada.

They're building their own solar plant on tribal lands, which will allow them meet their own needs as well as generate income through the sale of electricity to Los Angeles. Most importantly, they can anticipate the closing of the dirty coal plant that has caused respiratory illnesses among their tribe.

The Sierra Club:

Southern Nevada's Moapa Band of Paiutes are calling for the closure of the Reid Gardner coal plant and a transition to clean renewable energy future for Nevada. On Earth Day 2013, they organized a 16-mile "Walk from Coal to Clean Energy". The walk celebrated the tribe's efforts to retire the polluting Reid Gardner coal plant that adjoins their tribal lands, and also their success in developing the largest solar project on tribal lands in the nation, which will begin construction later this year. The walk began at the coal plant and ended at the solar site - a powerful symbol of change for Nevada and the nation.

Remember, there's no such thing as solar spill.

After this, he might not sleep so well anymore!

Via Upworthy:

After hearing Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries express his desire of not wanting larger-sized women or "not so cool" kids wearing his brand, this guy decided to fight back. He helps a group of people who could really use the clothes that Jeffries tries so hard to keep out of the hands of people he doesn't deem worthy. Check under the video for other ways in which you can help the homeless.

Click on these to find out more about how you can help:

Horizons for Homeless Children

5 Simple Ways to Help the Homeless

National Coalition for the Homeless

Yes, it's real. Hope everyone had a happy weekend.

Open thread begins below...

This is your Moment of Clarity #233: For the first time in 3 million years the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide is over 400 parts per million. Scientists say this is well beyond a sustainable level, and it's increasing every day.

Keep fighting,

Lee

After a lot of labor and learning, the workers who famously occupied the Republic Windows and Doors factory in Chicago in '08 are opening a new cooperative business: New Era Windows. Laura Flanders discusses the journey with Brendan Martin of The Working World and three of the worker-owners.

You can watch the full show here.

Via OccupyWallSt.:

May 20th: Day of Action

Homeowners VS. Banking Execs

Showdown at the Department of Justice

Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Jail?

Millions of underwater homeowners have paid the price for Wall Street's crimes. From mortgage fraud to predatory lending, it's time to put bankers in jail.

Join Occupy Homes, dozens of underwater homeowners, and hundreds of allies from across the country as we take action and risk arrest at the Department of Justice.

Bring Justice to Justice Rally: May 20th @ 1pm Gather: Freedom Plaza, 14th Street and Pennsylvania Ave NW – March to Department of Justice @ 1:30pm

With Occupy Homes, Home Defenders League, Campaign for a Fair Settlement, and community and faith leaders

Five years after Wall Street crashed the economy, not one banker has been prosecuted for the reckless and fraudulent practices that cost millions of Americans their jobs, threw our cities and schools into crisis, and left families and communities ravaged by a foreclosure crisis and epidemic of underwater mortgages.

Record profits are back at the bailed-out banks. Meanwhile:

Homeowners and communities have lost billions to Wall Street’s foreclosure crisis;

Millions more families face foreclosure in the coming months;

Communities of color have been impacted the most.

This March, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, testifying before a U.S. Senate committee, admitted that big banks and their executives have escaped prosecution simply because they are too wealthy and powerful. "Too big to fail” banks are officially “too big to jail."

The time is now for Congress and the Obama administration to make Wall Street pay us back:

Prosecute Wall Street bankers for stealing our homes, savings and livelihoods;

End the foreclosure crisis;

Reset mortgages to their current value (“principal reduction”);

Restore and rebuild wealth stolen from communities of color hardest hit.

Since the crisis began, Americans from all walks of life have banded together to help each other. Working through community organizations, civil rights groups, the Occupy movement, and community and faith leaders, we have shared our stories, lobbied, petitioned, and even faced arrest for occupying our own homes and demanding justice.

During the Wall Street Accountability Week of Action in Washington, D.C., May 18-23, families on the front line of the foreclosure crisis will travel from around the country to Washington, D.C., to make their voices heard. The week will include community organizing, home-defense training, and non-violence and civil-disobedience training.

On Monday, May 20, at 1:00pm, home defenders, as well as faith and community leaders will rally to Bring Justice to Justice – demanding an end to the “too big to jail” policy, and relief for families and communities devastated by the financial crisis and foreclosure epidemic.