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BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand's Constitutional Court has upheld a law
that metes out 10 years imprisonment to anyone who voices an opinion
about the junta's favored draft constitution, or campaigns for or
against it before a scheduled nationwide August 7 referendum.
   "If the draft constitution does not pass, a new one has to be
written," coup-installed Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on June
28, one day before the court ruling.
   The court's decision and Mr. Prayuth's orchestration of a new
constitution contrast sharply with dissidents, politicians, local
media, Thai and international human rights groups and others who have
asked that the draft and referendum be open to public debate,
criticism and changes.
   Voters decide on the junta's draft constitution on August 7 by
casting a "yes" or "no" vote.
   Some see the referendum as a popularity test of the junta as it
enters a third year in power.
   Before retiring as army chief and general, Mr. Prayuth led
Thailand's U.S.-trained military in a bloodless May 2014 coup against

I’ve just ended two weeks visiting cities in four regions of Russia. The one question that was asked over and over was, “Why does America hate us? Why do you demonize us?” Most would add a cavaet– “I like American people and I think YOU like us individually but why does the American government hate our government?”

This article is a composite of the comments and questions that were asked to our 20 person delegation and to me as an individual. I do not attempt to defend the views but offer them as an insight into the thinking of many of the persons we came into contact in meetings and on the streets.

None of the questions, comments or views tell the full story, but I hope they give a feel for the desire of the ordinary Russian that her country and its citizens are respected as a sovereign nation with a long history and that it is not demonized as an outlaw state or an “evil” nation.  Russia has its flaws and room for improvement in many areas, just as every nation does, including for sure, the United States.

New Russia Looks Like You-Private Business, Elections, Mobile Phones, Cars, Traffic Jams

Clare Hanrahan's memoir The Half Life of a Free Radical: Growing Up Irish Catholic in Jim Crow Memphis is a remarkable feat: part Jack Kerouac, part Dorothy Day, part Howard Zinn, and a bit of Forest Gump.

“Please be gentle.”

The story is too easy to believe. At the Memphis airport, a confused, nervous teenager sets off the metal detector — possibly because she has sequins on her shirt — and is told she needs to come to a “sterile area.” Armed guards show up to escort her. She’s terrified.

This happened a year ago. The girl, then 18, is Hannah Cohen. She was flying — at least that was the idea — back to Chattanooga with her mother, Shirley Cohen, who had just passed through the checkpoint and was waiting for Hannah when, according to a lawsuit the family recently filed, a TSA horror story began.

With a major vote coming up for the city, a city that I am extremely proud to call home... I felt it is important to write about Columbus possibly going to a district system for City Council. The Free Press’ coverage has been good on this, but there are a few things they have missed in this conversation over Columbus and districts. This proposed plan would change the Council from the current seven members citywide to a group of 13 made up of 10 districts and three at-large. The City would have 240 days from the date the voters approve this plan to get the ball moving on this change. This what we are voting for on August 2nd.

On this, I am asking you the reader to Vote Yes for this plan. Originally, I had my doubts about this plan. The truth is as we grow in a world-class city we need to have a system that will keep up with growth. This plan is our best shot to do that to move Columbus forward. There have been arguments placed for it and against it. I would like to address them at this time.

Joe Motil submitted this letter to The Columbus Dispatch recently in response to former Columbus Mayor Greg Lashutka's letter in opposition to the District-at-large City Council Issue. The Dispatch did not print it. Turning down a letter from one of Central Ohio’s most active and intelligent progressives is damn-near unconscionable considering how many passionate progressives are active in this community’s affairs. We’re proudly running it here:

There’s a void in Kyle Harrison’s trophy case. The Ohio Machine midfielder has won championships at every level.

Every level but one.

In high school, Harrison led Friends of Baltimore to two Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association championships. In college, he helped Johns Hopkins University win its eighth national title with a 9-8 win over Duke in the 2005 championship.

However, there’s a dust ring reserved for the Steinfield Cup, the trophy awarded for the Major Lacrosse League championship. Harrison has come close, guiding the Denver Outlaws to the 2009 championship game before losing to Toronto Nationals 9-8 in the finals. The past two seasons, the Machine has fallen in the semifinals, losing to Rochester Rattlers 12-8 last year and 15-11 in 2014.

“You can’t look at it that way or you will drive yourself insane,” said Harrison, whose team is 6-4 overall after losing to the Rattlers 16-13 on June. 25. “(But at the same time) the ultimate team goal is to win a championship.

Note: This article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season six. If you’re not caught up yet, set it aside and come back when you are.

Among Game of Thrones fans, there’s long been an important divide between those who’ve read the books the show is based on (the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin) and those who haven’t. With a show defined by its willingness to kill off important characters with little warning, those who kept up with the books were able to lord their foreknowledge over lesser-read fans. “Oh yes, Robb Stark’s wedding,” they’d grin wickedly, cackling internally in anticipation of the pain you would soon enough know. “That’s going to go great.”

But George R.R. Martin is not a fast writer. The first in the series, A Game of Thrones, was published in 1996. When the show started adapting his books, one per season, he had finished four out of a planned seven. In 2011 he published the fifth. And while he assures his fans that he’s hard at work on the sixth, it’s yet to appear.

>>>>italics: This is urgent if you care about limiting efforts to not
limit GMO labeling, a vital consumer protection issue. Write your 2
Senators as soon as you have read this....


I'm writing to ask you to oppose the Roberts-Stabenow compromise language
on the GMO labeling bill. This legislation would overrule Vermont's GMO
labeling law, and prevent states from passing similar laws.

This legislation would create a confusing, misleading and unenforceable
national standard for labeling GMOs. Instead of a uniform labeling
standard like Vermont's law, the language allows text, symbols, or an
electronic code to be used. This is intentionally confusing to consumers,
and the information may be entirely inaccessible if the consumer does not
have access to the internet.

Perhaps most shockingly, this bill imposes no penalties whatsoever for
violating the labeling requirement, making the law essentially
meaningless. Thus, this is a weak bill, full of loopholes, without any
requirement to comply.