7 Mar 2012
6 Mar 2012
Elections, Russian Style
The Russian Central Elections Commission has cancelled the results in a polling station in Dagestan after allegations of electoral violations. A webcam appeared to show several men standing feeding dozens of ballots into a ballot box.
U.N. investigator slams U.S. over “cruel” treatment of Bradley Manning
Juan Mendez, the United Nations Rapporteur on Torture, has slammed the United States government for abusing accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower PFC Bradley Manning during pre-trial confinement. Mr. Mendez has repeatedly sought to conduct an unsupervised meeting with PFC Manning in order to investigate these abuses.
“I believe Bradley Manning was subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in the excessive and prolonged isolation he was put in during the eight months he was in Quantico,” said Mr. Mendez
Mr. Mendez commented on Bradley Manning’s conditions of confinement at a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. He went on to say that “the explanation I was given for those eight months was not convincing for me.”
“It’s astonishing that US officials are blocking an investigation into the humiliating and degrading treatment of Bradley Manning, while the Kingdom of Bahrain has just invited Mr. Mendez to conduct a fact-finding mission into their recent abuses of political prisoners,” said Jeff Paterson, a lead organizer with the Bradley Manning Support Network.
A song by legendary singer-songwriter Graham Nash and musician James Raymond (son of David Crosby) -- is being released in support of accused U.S. Army whistleblower Bradley Manning.
Nash and Raymond composed the song "Almost Gone (The Ballad of Bradley Manning)" during this spring's US tour of Crosby-Nash, and the new recording serves as the music bed for the video; it features an impassioned lead vocal by Nash, a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted (Crosby, Stills & Nash, and The Hollies). "Bradley Manning is a hero to me," he sings, acknowledging Manning's role in making public videos and documents that shed light on such as issues as the true number and cause of civilian casualties in Iraq, human rights abuses by U.S.-funded contractors and foreign militaries, and the role that spying and bribes play in international diplomacy.
Climate migrants cause baby boom in Bangladesh's urban slums
Climate and economic migrants to Bangladesh’s urban slums are contributing to a population boom that is creating social strains in this tiny and impoverished country of 160 million people.
Bangladesh is suffering increasingly frequent flooding from cyclones and from heavy rainfall that experts believe is associated with climate change. Its coastal plains are particularly at risk, but many who live in the country’s interior are also vulnerable to river bank erosion – or conversely to drought.
When flooding and erosion displace families, and in many cases leave them landless and penniless, they often take refuge in urban areas, and have little option but to live in slums. There, lack of education about family planning, poor access to birth control and worries about financial security combine to result in large families.
“These unlucky people feel that in old age they will have to depend on children to secure a living. So, they prefer to take more number of children to be sure that at least one of them will take care of the parents,” said Ainun Nishat, an environmentalist and vice chancellor of Brac University.
5 Mar 2012
Gay marriage is like slavery says Scottish Catholic leader
Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien said countries which legalise gay marriage are “shaming themselves” by going against the “natural law,” and should not consider their actions “progress”.
He claimed same sex unions were the “thin end of the wedge” and would lead to the “further degeneration of society into immorality.” In a series of controversial comments, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that if same sex marriage were legalised, “further aberrations would take place and society would be degenerating even further than it already has into immorality.”
The interview, conducted by John Humphries, followed an article Cardinal O’Brien wrote for the Sunday Telegraph, in which he likened gay marriage to slavery. He wrote: “Imagine for a moment that the Government had decided to legalise slavery but assured us that ‘no one will be forced to keep a slave’.
'Better To Be A Dictator Than Gay'
Belarussia's Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday criticised EU politicians who have threatened him with further sanctions and in an apparent reposte to the German Foreign Minister's branding him "Europe's last dictator", said: "Better to be a dictator than gay."
Guido Westerwelle is Germany's first openly gay minister.
European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels on Friday called for new measures to pressure the Belarus President, in power since 1994, over alleged human rights abuses.
Lukashenko said Belarus would give a strong reaction to any sanctions, according to local news agency Belta. "This is absolute hysteria," Belta reported him as saying. "And as you can see, at the forefront there are two types of politicians ... one lives in Warsaw, another in Berlin. Whoever was shouting about dictatorship there ... when I heard that, I thought: it's better to be a dictator than gay."
4 Mar 2012
Putin declares victory in Russian presidential election
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin claimed victory for a new term as president after early results in Sunday's election showed him taking an insurmountable lead. Putin, who has previously served two terms as president, had received a comfortable 63% of the vote, with 28% counted, according to the preliminary tabulation of the Russia Central Election Commission. He declared victory at a large rally of supporters outside the Kremlin.
"I asked you once if we would win and we did win!" Putin said loudly as the crowd, numbering in the thousands, began chanting: "Putin, Putin, Putin!" Meanwhile, observers voiced concerns about large-scale election violations and opposition activists predicted forthcoming protests in Moscow and other big cities.
"Star Wars" designer Ralph McQuarrie dead
Ralph McQuarrie, the artist whose conceptual paintings were instrumental in designing the landmark "Star Wars" films, has died at age 82. The announcement was made on his official website, ralphmcquarrie.com.
A commercial artist and designer whose career included stints at Boeing and Kaiser Graphic Arts and creating animations of Apollo space flights for CBS News, McQuarrie created the concept art that was crucial in winning 20th Century Fox's approval to put George Lucas' "Star Wars" in production.
The success of his "Star Wars" paintings launched a late feature film career for McQuarrie that included helping design such classics as "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial," "Back to the Future," "Cocoon," "Total Recall," and the original TV series "Battlestar Galactica."
The evacuation of Belo Monte has begun!
You feel nothing? I understand, you do not know what is Belo Monte. What this country is Brazil, with a hypocritical society unable to put a stop to this policy rotten. LETS STOP THE INSANITY IN OUR BEAUTIFUL BLUE GLOBE PLEASEEE!!!; Unfortunate examples such as the construction of the hydroelectric plants of Tucuruí (PA) and Balbina (AM), the last built in the Amazon in the 1970s and 1980s, there is evidence.
Displaced communities and flooded huge tracts of land and destroyed the fauna and flora of these regions. Balbina, 146 km from Manaus, meant flooding of the Indian reservation Atroari, fish killed, food shortages and hunger for local people. In contrast, it was the supply of electricity for the local population was not met. The disaster was such that in 1989, the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), after analysing the situation in the Uatumã River where the dam was built, completed by his biological death. In Tucuruí it was not much different. Nearly ten thousand families were left without their lands, indigenous and riverine. Given this situation, in relation to the Belo Monte, one must wonder how anti-democratic as the project was being conducted, the cost-effectiveness of the work, the fate of energy to be produced and the lack of an energy policy for the country favors alternative energy.
3 Mar 2012
ACTA in UK: 10 years in jail for a download?
UK web surfers have caught a grim glimpse of the future with Internet users being threatened with 10 years in jail for "illegal downloading" after a prominent music file-sharing site was shut down shortly after Britain signed the notorious ACTA bill.
It is the first time such a move has been made against Internet users in the UK. The British government introduced regulations in 2009 enabling Internet providers to track users who downloaded illegal content from the web and disable their connection if warning letters had no effect. But signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has brought the conflict to a whole new level.
In Europe, people are taking to the streets in protest at the contradictory Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, with some countries refusing to sign it.
After hackers from the activist group Anonymous attacked practically all US government websites in retaliation, the authorities are now considering adopting their own home-grown anti-counterfeiting laws like PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) / SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act).
Iran election: President Ahmadinejad's sister fails to win seat
Parvin Ahmadinejad, a sister of the president and a current member of Tehran's municipal council, was defeated by a conservative rival in their hometown of Garmsar. She only lost by 728 votes, which would indicate that she did have considerable support - albeit not enough to defeat her rival.
Her failure is seen as a big blow to Mr Ahmadinejad in the first balloting since his disputed re-election in 2009. Conservative rivals of the president were leading in the race for parliament according to early election results on Saturday in an indication he may face a more hostile house in the remaining 18 months of his second term in office.
The strong showing by loyalists of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Friday's parliamentary elections also reflected staunch support for Iran's theocracy and its firm stance in the nuclear standoff with the West.
Syria blames 'booby traps' for Red Cross Baba Amr delay
The Red Cross says it has been told by Syrian authorities it cannot enter the devastated Baba Amr district in the city of Homs until mines and booby traps are cleared. Its aid convoy arrived on Friday but has since been denied access.
There have been reports of revenge killings and summary executions by Syrian forces since rebel fighters pulled out of Baba Amr on Thursday. The UN secretary-general said Syria had committed clear and widespread crimes.
BBC News - Statement - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
2 Mar 2012
HK Street Sharks on Vimeo
Thousands of sharks fins are laid out across the sidewalk in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong for airing and sorting. This is a rough/raw edit due to time. Would have rather added a proper voice over, but it is what it is........bloody disgraceful!
Disclosure Petition II - the Rockefeller Initiative
The petition is now active on the White House "We the People" website. Sign it here: http://wh.gov/8wh
25,000 signatures must be obtained by March 23 to ensure a response from the White House. Spread the word via Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, email and websites that the second Disclosure petition is active. All nations can sign.
"WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO immediately investigate UFO/ET Disclosure efforts during the Clinton administration - the Rockefeller Initiative."
Disclosure Petition II - The Rockefeller Initiative
The Obama administration has formally stated, "The U.S. government has no evidence that any life exists outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted or engaged any member of the human race."
If true, what was Clinton's Office of Science and Technology Policy investigating from March 1993 to October 1996 in concert with billionaire, Clinton friend, Laurance Rockefeller?
Those who knew and have not spoken publicly of this initiative include: President Bill Clinton, Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, Obama transition chairman John Podesta, Sec. of Defense Leon Panetta, Vice President Al Gore and Gov. Bill Richardson.
For more information on how to sign the petition see: www.disclosurepetition.info
A project of Paradigm Research Group
See: Disclosure Petition I
Hillary Clinton with Laurance Rockefeller at the JY Ranch, Jackson Hole, WY, August 21, 1995
It took some time but researcher Tonio Cousyn was able to determine the book is Are We Alone: Philosophical Implications of the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life by Paul Davies (photos: paradigmresearchgroup.org)
WikiLeaks 2.0
Yesterday was a very big day for WikiLeaks. It just released 500 million internal documents stolen from the private intelligence firm Stratfor, allegedly obtained by hacktivist collective Anonymous in December. This is huge; it’s the first time Anonymous has ever cooperated with an aboveground entity, lending an unprecedented amount of political legitimacy to the often inscrutable group.
But why? What do these strange bedfellows have to gain from collaboration? With this new collaboration, Anonymous has obtained new credibility, and WikiLeaks has obtained a hugely valuable new source. This potentially powerful alliance could point to the future of the leak economy, and this awkward symbiosis provides each party with exactly what they need to move forward. A new age of transparency activism may have just begun.
Converting dead Mormons to Judaism
In response to some Mormons baptizing the dead (including Anne Frank), some have turned to 'converting' dead Mormons to homosexuality or Judaism.
1 Mar 2012
Woeser under house arrest, Barred from collecting Award
Tsering Woeser, the award-winning Tibetan writer and blogger has been barred from collecting an award from the Netherlands Embassy in Beijing and issued a month-long house arrest order.
Writing on her social networking page, Woeser said she was invited to receive her 2011 Prince Claus Award at a dinner reception at the Netherlands Embassy but on the eve of the private felicitation ceremony, officials from the Beijing Public Security Bureau arrived at her doorstep and issued orders barring her from visiting the Embassy.
“They (State Security police) said I could not go to the Netherlands Embassy tomorrow. They also said: for the month of March I would not be able to go out. If I wanted to go out it would have to be with them following along,” Woeser wrote.
Calling the 44-year old, a “courageous Tibetan writer,” the Prince Claus Fund while announcing the award last September had noted the “unique perspectives” that Woeser offers “on the complexities of Tibet today.”
According to Woeser, the Chairman of the Fund was scheduled to personally present the award but he was refused a visa to visit China. Moreover, the Netherlands Embassy was also warned by officials in Beijing against honouring Woeser. “But the Netherlands Embassy stated that it was still going to award me the prize, but at a fairly private ceremony in the embassy residence,” Woeser wrote.
DoYaThing
Check out the official video launch for Converse's newest 3 Artists, 1 Song titled "DoYaThing" featuring Gorillaz, Andre 3000, and James Murphy. It’s a commercial, but whatever..
Download the track at http://bit.ly/DoYaThing
Leaked Stratfor Email Suggests Secret U.S. Indictment of WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange
The whistleblowing website WikiLeaks has published an internal email from the private intelligence firm Stratfor that suggests the U.S. Justice Department has obtained a sealed indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The email is one of around five million obtained from Stratfor’s servers by the hacker group, Anonymous. "Somehow you have a private intelligence company, Stratfor, a 'shadow CIA,' as people have called it, having information about this sealed indictment—secret again—that Julian Assange doesn’t have, that WikiLeaks doesn’t have, that his lawyers don’t have," says Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who is a legal adviser to both Assange and to WikiLeaks. "What you see here is secrecy, secrecy, secrecy." News of the indictment comes less than a week after Army Private Bradley Manning was arraigned for allegedly leaking classified U.S. military and State Department documents to WikiLeaks.