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NEW YORK (AP) - To the protesters, it's Guantanamo on the Hudson. Police prefer the acronym PASS, though nobody gets one. Either way, the dilapidated, hulking pier on the Hudson River in Manhattan has become a landmark of sorts in the clash between activists and authorities at the Republican National Convention. Some protesters have complained bitterly about conditions at the temporary holding area set up at Pier 57 for processing convention-related arrests. One former detainee, Andrew Lynn, claimed he was held there for hours on end in "Guantanamo-style pens" - a reference to the U.S. military facility in Guantanamo Bay,...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - More than two dozen environmental representatives went into their first face-to-face meeting with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday preparing to express some disappointment in his administration, but came out reassured by his renewed pledge of commitment to their goals. "There's a lot of high hopes," Kim Delfino of Defenders of Wildlife said after the hour-long meeting at the Capitol. "We've got the possibility of having some really good things come out of this administration, but only time will tell." A Schwarzenegger spokeswoman said the governor is committed to creating jobs and improving the state's business climate without...

A U.S. Muslim civil rights group last year received its largest number of complaints that Muslims were being harassed at work, in school and in their communities, a new report found. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it received 1,019 claims of physical and verbal attacks on Muslims; on-the-job discrimination; and racial profiling by law enforcement. In 2002, the organization received 602 such complaints. The report cautioned that the jump partly reflected an increase in the number of regional offices opened by the Washington-based advocacy group, which allowed more cases to be documented. The council blamed continued fear among Americans...

As most of you are aware, we've recently received several copyright complaints. In the last few weeks, we've received complaints from the SJ Mercury News, Independent (UK), SF Chronicle and The Boston Globe. Just a couple days ago the Post-Gazette send a cease and desist notice and yesterday I heard from the Tribune-Review. Tonight, I got a call from Amy and there were two more registered letters at our PO Box. The McClatchy News (Sacramento Bee) and USAToday are now added to the list of publications that have complained about copyright violations. Well, folks, the handwriting is on the wall....

<p>Note: Don't post anything at all from the Las Vegas Review Journal or anything from organizations run by Stevens Media, LLC or RightHaven, LLC until the lawsuit brought against us by them is resolved.</p>

<p>SACRAMENTO - A key Assembly committee is investigating complaints by at least five legislative staffers to Assembly member Rebecca Cohn, including two sparked by a photo shoot for San Jose Magazine in which Cohn allegedly asked aides to handle her bras and underwear.</p>

hen Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced that the city was adopting a 311 hot line for public complaints, he promoted it as a way to help New Yorkers navigate the hurdle-strewn path to city services. But in the nine months it has been active, 311 has become that and much more. In ways large and small, city officials are using information gathered through the 311 system to re-examine how city agencies carry out their jobs. When pothole complaints started pouring into 311 after a harsh winter, Iris Weinshall, the transportation commissioner, dispatched an extra 150 workers to pothole duty, and...

PARIS - France's power company asked people to use less electricity Tuesday as some plants were forced to cut output during a Europe-wide heat wave that has fanned wildfires and killed dozens of people. One French medical expert said at least 100 Parisians have died of heat-related illnesses — a claim that if proven would quadruple the number of deaths blamed on the heat wave. With river temperatures hitting record highs, some plants that use water in production are cutting back, and six have stopped altogether. Plants are constrained by regulations limiting the amount of hot water they can discharge...

<p>ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Public griping by spouses of soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq could hurt the war effort by encouraging Saddam Hussein loyalists to continue their guerrilla war, according to the wife of the division's commander.</p>

Locals take complaints to the top Click here to see the redistricting proposals By JOHN FUQUAY AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Fearing diminished representation in West Texas, Lubbock banker W.R. Collier is among a group planning an Austin trip today to discourage state senators from drawing new congressional districts. "A number of people from Lubbock are going to meet with Sen. (Robert) Duncan ... and (Rep.) Tom Craddick in the House concerning this redistricting that we're all faced with," Collier said Sunday. "My interest is in leaving it as it is." Duncan, a Lubbock Republican, is chairman of the Senate Jurisprudence Com mittee charged...

<p>A meeting Thursday night organized to discuss policing issues turned into a sometimes-virulent attack on the Police Department with residents expressing their concerns about recent police related matters.</p> <p>Shreveport Police Chief Jim Roberts, looked on as the 50 to 75 citizens gathered at Winnfield Funeral Home spent much of the meeting talking about fears and outrage regarding the department's handling of situations involving black residents. Cursing and yelling thundered as citizens expressed their frustrations.</p>

A group of eunuchs in New Delhi are helping to right faulty telephone lines by taking up complaints on behalf of consumers. They collect complaints from subscribers and present them before telephone company officials the next day. The eunuchs reportedly adopt direct and unorthodox line of actions like threatening to expose themselves to get cases heard. They lay siege to telephone company offices and refuse to move until faults are repaired. A leader of a group of eunuchs, who is known only by her first name Jameelajaan, told the Hindustan Times: "We have less polite ways of dealing with those...

<p>PG&E lineman Pat Corpus re-connects a fallen power line Tuesday on Black Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains.</p> <p>Storms battering the Bay Area are causing some of the worst power outages in a decade, triggering griping about PG&E and exposing serious faults in the way the state monitors the utility's customer service.</p>

Two threads appeared here over the last couple of weeks concerning alleged complaints of Air Force personnel about conditions at Bagram Airbase ("Top 10 Air Force Complaints Overheard at Bagram Airbase" and "Power Point Slide Show, Pictures from Bagram") I received an email containing a reply by an Air Force doctor concerning this topic. I don't know who the e-mail was written to originally, and I am omitting his name for obvious reasons. I thought you FREEPERS might appreciate it. The email follows: My response to the articles: For those who don't now me, I'm an Air Force Colonel, a...