Recently, political pressure has been brought to bear against a trades unionist for attempting to express his views about the events of 9/11, on Australia's publicly funded broadcaster, the ABC. This video redresses the balance, and makes it clear that Australia's prime minister is either ignorant, beyond belief, or she is putting the interests of nuclear, Apartheid Israel ahead of Australia's.
22 Nov 2010
21 Nov 2010
Israeli soldiers 'walk free' in Gaza human shield case
Two Israeli soldiers received suspended sentences and demotions on Sunday for using a Palestinian child as a human shield by making him check for bombs during the 2008-2009 Gaza war, army radio said.
The radio's correspondent, who attended the sentencing in a military court, said the two were each given suspended terms of three months imprisonment and were demoted from the rank of staff sergeant to sergeant.
The military spokesman's office had no immediate comment on the sentencing of the two men, who were convicted on October 3 for forcing a nine-year-old boy to search bags believed to be booby-trapped during Israel's 22-day war on Gaza which erupted in December 2008.
Gerard Horton, a spokesman in the West Bank for Geneva-based rights group Defence for Children International (DCI), described the sentence as "unbelievable."
"Do the Israeli authorities think that a three-month suspended sentence is an appropriate punishment for two heavily-armed soldiers treating a nine-year-old boy as a human shield?"
Secret Map Of Britain
Activist comedian Mark Thomas draws up a map of Britain that reveals the places the government and the establishment do not want the public to know about, disproves the claim that the government is an 'open' institution, and looks at the secret democracy that Britain really is. (Channel4, 2002)
The Afghan war and the 'Grand Chessboard'
Brzezinski: America must dominate the world for a generation to prevent global anarchy.
Irish Minister Suffers Humiliating Take-Down on Prime-Time Television
Pat Rabbitte gives Pat Carey a piece of his mind on RTE Prime Time. Found via AlterNet
20 Nov 2010
Pope Benedict condones condom use in some cases
Pope Benedict XVI has said the use of condoms is acceptable "in certain cases", according to a new book. He said condoms could reduce the risk of infection with HIV, such as for a prostitute, in a series of interviews he gave to a German journalist. The Vatican newspaper ran excerpts on Saturday.
The comments appear to soften the Roman Catholic Church's hardline stance, which until now had banned the use of any form of contraception.
When asked whether the Catholic Church is "fundamentally against the use of condoms", the Pope is said to have replied, in the book entitled Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times: "It of course does not see it as a real and moral solution. In certain cases, where the intention is to reduce the risk of infection, it can nevertheless be a first step on the way to another, more humane sexuality," he said.
The Pope gives the example of the use of condoms by prostitutes as "a first step towards moralisation", even though condoms are "not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection". The pope says that the "sheer fixation on the condom implies a banalisation of sexuality" where sexuality is no longer an expression of love, "but only a sort of drug that people administer to themselves".
Children Of The Congo - From War To Witches
This documentary is available to watch now for Free and this movie highlights the awful things that are happening to Congolese kids : You can directly help this situation by donating to an amazing Congolese organization. Make a direct donation to the charity at here. Renderyard is also donating money raised from each view the film gets to the Eastern Congo Initiative so start watching today.
Critics Slam Obama Administration for 'Hiding' Massive Saudi Arms Deal
The Obama administration has quietly forged ahead with its proposal to sell $60 billion worth of fighter jets and attack helicopters to Saudi Arabia unhampered by Congress, despite questions raised in legislative inquiries and in an internal congressional report about the wisdom of the deal.
The massive arms deal would be the single largest sale of weapons to a foreign nation in the history of the U.S., outfitting Saudi Arabia with a fully modernized, potent new air force.
"Our six-decade-long security relationship with Saudi Arabia is a primary security pillar in the region," Defense Sec. Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote in a Nov. 16 letter to congress. "This package continues that tradition."
'Open prison' for Indonesia's rich
Corruption has always been a big problem in Indonesia, and it seems that the issue runs deep, even in prisons.
In the latest scandal to shock the country, a detained tax official - on trial for corruption involving millions of dollars - was photographed at a tennis tournament in Bali wearing a wig and glasses. After days of denial, he admitted that he had taken a holiday from prison.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Indonesian president, has made combating corruption one of his main priorities. But he says he cannot interfere in the legal system.
A special team established by him has announced plans to improve the system, but as Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen reports from Jakarta, so far no concrete steps have been taken to stop wealthy detainees from taking a break from prison.
Silvio Berlusconi in ‘protection deal with mafia’
The billionaire Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, once met a leading mafia godfather to ask for protection, according to testimony gathered over several years by crime prosecutors.
Mafia informants claim the meeting took place in Milan in 1974, when Berlusconi was already a wealthy entrepreneur, at the offices of his property company. The informers say Berlusconi met Stefano Bontade, then one of the mafia’s most powerful bosses, because he feared for his family’s safety at a time when Italy was plagued by a wave of high-profile kidnappings.
Francesco Di Carlo, one of Bontade’s henchmen who is now in jail, told prosecutors that he was at the meeting. He claims Berlusconi asked for help to ensure that neither he nor his children would be abducted by other mafia clans.
According to the henchman’s testimony, Bontade gave his word that he would personally ensure Berlusconi’s safety. In return Berlusconi told the mafia godfather that he was “at his disposal, for anything”.
More on Times Online
19 Nov 2010
U.N. Official Admits: We Redistribute World’s Wealth by Climate Policy
“This has almost nothing to do with environmental policy.”
Is this quote from a) a climate change skeptic, or b) an official from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change?
Climate change skeptics have long theorized about ulterior motives behind attempts to legislate and regulate man-made global warming. This speculation reached a fever pitch after data from the University of East Anglia — widely referenced by the United Nations — was found to be flawed and private emails pointed to a broader conspiracy to falsify the so-called evidence.
But this speculation is only likely to grow after a leading member of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) told a German news outlet, “[W]e redistribute de facto the world’s wealth by climate policy.” Via the Media Research Center, Swiss NZZ Online Sunday interviews Ottmar Edenhofer of the U.N. (emphases mine):
(NZZ AM SONNTAG): The new thing about your proposal for a Global Deal is the stress on the importance of development policy for climate policy. Until now, many think of aid when they hear development policies.
(OTTMAR EDENHOFER, UN IPCC OFFICIAL): That will change immediately if global emission rights are distributed. If this happens, on a per capita basis, then Africa will be the big winner, and huge amounts of money will flow there. This will have enormous implications for development policy. And it will raise the question if these countries can deal responsibly with so much money at all.
(NZZ): That does not sound anymore like the climate policy that we know.
(EDENHOFER): Basically it’s a big mistake to discuss climate policy separately from the major themes of globalization.
Haitians Barricading Streets With Coffins as Protests Against the UN
Protests are continuing in Haiti over the cholera outbreak that has now killed more than 1,100 people and infected some 17,000. On Wednesday, residents in the city of Cap-Haitien clashed with U.N. troops for the third consecutive day. Crowds have taken to the streets expressing anger at the Haitian government and the United Nations for failing to contain the disease. Democracy Now! goes to Cap-Haitien to speak with independent journalist Ansel Herz.
18 Nov 2010
Family waits to see if mother, accused of blasphemy, will be hanged
This month a Pakistani court sentenced 45-year-old Asia Bibi, to death not because she killed, injured or stole, but simply because she said something.
Prosecutors say Bibi, who is a Christian, broke Pakistan's strict blasphemy law by insulting Islam and the prophet Muhammad, a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment according to Pakistan's penal code.
The alleged incident happened in June 2009 when Bibi, a field worker, was picking fruit in a village two hours west of Lahore. Prosecutors say when Bibi dipped her cup into a bucket of drinking water during a lunch break, her co-workers complained the water had been contaminated by a non-Muslim.
Court records show the women got into a heated argument. Magia Satar said she was there and heard Bibi's insults. "She said your Muhammad had worms in his mouth before he died," Satar told CNN, a crude way of saying Muhammad was no prophet.
The town cleric, Qari Muhammad Salim, reported the incident to police who arrested Bibi. After nearly 15 months in prison came her conviction and the death sentence.
Thank god she already paid back her loan…
Egypt blogger released after 4 years in jail
An Egyptian blogger has been released after serving four years in prison on charges of insulting Islam and the president, a human rights group and an interior ministry source said on Wednesday.
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) said blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil, 26, known as Kareem Amer, was in bad health and was beaten by security officers before his release on Tuesday.
A Cairo-based source from the Interior Ministry confirmed Amer had been release on Tuesday but denied the blogger was beaten by officers. A student at the state-run religious al-Azhar University, Amer was arrested in 2006 on charges of insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak in his blog posts. He was sentenced to four years in prison and expelled from the university.
"Kareem was released on Tuesday morning and his health is bad but he is safe now," Gamal Eid, head of ANHRI, which represented Amer at court, told Reuters. "He was detained for 11 days beyond his court sentence and beaten by officers who did not give any reasons," Eid added.
The first blogger to face trial in Egypt for online content, Amer was first released on November 5 from Alexandria's Borg el-Arab prison where he stayed for four years.
'Sometimes Dictators Have Good Ideas'
Nevada Republican Sharron Angle found herself back in the spotlight on Wednesday after questionable comments she reportedly made towards the end of her campaign came to light.
"Sometimes dictators have good ideas," explained the Tea Party darling at a private campaign event, according to Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston. At the Las Vas Sun, he writes, "Her staff fretted the line would get out. It did not. Until now."
Angle, who developed a reputation for sparking controversy over the course of her campaign, reportedly made the remarks in arguing that the country's Social Security system should be privatized. She cited right-wing dictator Augusto Pinochet and a system he implemented in Chile in 1981 to make her point.
Dr Kelly was murdered
Drugs experts leading an inquiry into the death of Britain's former weapons inspector in Iraq, David Kelly, say his death was “murder” and not suicide.
Experts also called on the police to launch a murder inquiry into Dr Kelly's death, casting serious doubt on the official claim the scientist overdosed on painkillers.
According to Dr Andrew Watt who is a top clinical pharmacologist, Kelly could have only take a “safe” dose of coproxamol painkiller tablets as there was so little of the substance in his blood after he died.
“I reported to the Thames [Valley Police] force that I believe that the death of Dr Kelly may have been murder. I have received an acknowledgement and they have given me an incident number,” Watt said.
He added he has been “told that the inquiry is being conducted by a very senior officer”.
This comes as other reports strengthen doubts about the validity of the verdict by the Hutton inquiry which took priority over an inquest normally required for cases of suspicious death.
Friends of Muad'Dib
The Irish Supreme Court ruled today to uphold the extradition of Anthony John Hill, also known as Muad'Dib, for sending DVDs of the widely popular "7/7 Ripple Effect" to the jury foreman and judge, in c/o a British courthouse.
The Irish Supreme Court's decision was to facilitate the British government's demand, through Westminster Magistrates Court, and an European Arrest Warrant, and surrender Mr. Hill to face charges for simply mailing DVDs of the "7/7 Ripple Effect” (with no letter) to the Kingston Crown Court, during the original trial of Waheed Ali, Sadeer Saleem and Mohammed Shakil. The British government had hoped to use the trial to lend credence to their "official story", which they failed to do when the 3 young men were found innocent.
17 Nov 2010
Nazis Who Hid Still Get U.S. Government Cover
To whatever degree the U.S.knowingly or carelessly sheltered Nazi murderers after World War II, it’s a national shame. “America, which prided itself on being a safe haven for the persecuted, became -- in some small measure -- a safe haven for persecutors as well,” according to a 607-page Justice Department report made public this week by the New York Times and National Security Archive, a private research group.
Astonishingly thorough and readable, the 2006 draft report tells the story of how hundreds of Nazis came to be admitted into the U.S. following the war and what the government did about it.
It lays out how Otto von Bolschwing, a former deputy to Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, went to work for the Central Intelligence Agency abroad and then entered the U.S. with the CIA’s help.
The report offers details on the case of Arthur Rudolph,who brought forced labour into the munitions factory he ran in Germany. He later worked as a U.S. rocket scientist, helping to make the first moon landing possible.
In both cases, Justice investigators finally uncovered the extent of their wartime past and acted to have both men stripped of their citizenship and deported.
Reel Injun
At the star-studded 25th Annual Gemini Awards, Reel Injun took home three awards, including the prestigious Canada Award, a prize designed to recognize work that explores the racial and cultural diversity of Canada (and whole North America) by fostering greater awareness.
16 Nov 2010
Thailand Sends 'Merchant Of Death' To U.S.
Thailand extradited accused Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout to the U.S. on Tuesday to face terrorism charges, siding with Washington in a tug of war with Moscow over whether to send him to stand trial or let him go home.
The Cabinet approved Bout's extradition Tuesday after a long legal battle, and police said the 43-year-old was put aboard a plane that departed Bangkok at about 1:30 p.m. (0630 GMT; 1:30 a.m. EST) in the custody of eight U.S. officials. In New York, a law enforcement said Bout was expected to arrive there around 9 p.m. EST Tuesday (0200 GMT Wednesday). The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, declined to name the airport.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said his Cabinet had approved extradition after acknowledging an earlier appeals court decision that Bout could be legally extradited.
Bout, a former Soviet air force officer who is reputed to have been one of the world's most prolific arms dealers, was arrested at a Bangkok luxury hotel in March 2008 as part of a sting operation led by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents.
The Coming Sell-Out to the American Super Rich
Mr. Obama seems to be campaigning for his own defeat! Thanks largely to the $13 trillion Wall Street bailout – while keeping the debt overhead in place for America’s “bottom 98%” – this happy 2% of the population now receives an estimated three quarters (~75%) of the returns to wealth (interest, dividends, rent and capital gains).
We are dealing with shameless demagogy. The financial End Time has arrived, but Mr. Obama’s happy-talk pretends that “two years” will get us through the current debt-induced depression. The Republican plan is to make more Congressional and Senate gains in 2012 as Mr. Obama’s former supporters “vote with their backsides” and stay home, as they did earlier this month. So “two years” means forever in politician-talk. Why vote for a politician who promises “change” but is merely an exclamation mark for the Bush-Cheney policies from Afghanistan and Iraq to Wall Street’s Democratic Leadership Council on the party’s right wing? One of its leaders, after all, was Mr. Obama’s Senate mentor, Joe Lieberman.
British author arrested in Singapore over death penalty book
A British author promoting his book on the death penalty in Singapore was arrested there on Sunday for alleged criminal defamation.
Alan Shadrake's arrest came two days after the government's Media Development Authority lodged a police report. The Foreign Office said it was seeking further information from Singaporean authorities. The 75-year-old has also been served with an application by the attorney general for "an order of committal for contempt of court", police said. Mr Shadrake, who was arrested at a hotel on Sunday, remained in police custody as the investigation was ongoing, a police spokesman said. More on Telegraph
The book contains interviews with human rights activists, lawyers and former police officers, as well as a profile of Darshan Singh, the former chief executioner at Singapore's Changi Prison. It claims he executed around 1,000 men and women from 1959 until he retired in 2006.
"I think I've been given a fair hearing," Shadrake told the media after the verdict was issued last week. US-based Human Rights Watch and other rights groups had urged Singapore to exonerate the author. Separately, Shadrake is being investigated by the police for criminal defamation; his passport is being held by the police. BBC
Singapore introduces death penalty for use of irony (newsbiscuit) and Capital punishment in Singapore (wikipedia)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)