2015-02-14 US, UK and Torture - a medieval love affair...

2015-02-14 US, UK and Torture - a medieval love affair...
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Above the law? UK govt attempts to block torture, rendition lawsuit

Government lawyers are arguing in Britain’s Court of Appeal that the case of a Pakistani man who claims he suffered brutal torture at the hands of British and American troops...

RT.COM

2015-02-14 Dawn of the "Medieval Digital Era"

2015-02-14 Dawn of the "Medieval Digital Era"
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There are numerous reasons to consider our time the Dawn of the Medieval Digital Era.
The opinion voiced here by Vint Cerf pertains only to one aspect of it.
Moreover, he is in peculiar position, as Google VP - being one of the key agents in imposing the Medieval Digital Era, and should therefore be considered insincere.

‘Digital Dark Age’ could see our most precious memories consigned to dust – Vint Cerf

One of the “fathers of the internet” has warned that images and documents we store on computers may disappear from history as the ongoing digital revolution makes older...

RT.COM

2015-02-14 US

2015-02-14 US
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37yrs solitary for using Facebook: S. Carolina inmates face harsh penalties for social media

For South Carolina prison inmates, posting on Facebook is regarded as a severe crime on par with murder, according to a new report. Social media activity in the state’s...

RT.COM

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• Heri Kurniawan Sitepu likes this.
• 2 shares
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  Stephen Doyle But I just wonder what exactly this term 'disciplinary detention' entails? Is it a straight forward euphemism for solitary confinement? I tried looking it up but couldn't find out

  41 mins · Like
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  Joseph Zernik Solitary Detention. The UN considers long term solitary confinement torture. But 30 years is unthinkable, like being buried alive. 
  The worst case in the US is the Angola Three, Totally medieval...
  http://www.theguardian.com/.../angola-three-albert...

  

  Angola Three inmate in longest solitary confinement seeking damages in court

  Albert Woodfox, on lockdown in a small cell for 40 years,...

  THEGUARDIAN.COM|BY ED PILKINGTON
• 
  

2015-02-14 US: No moer executions in Pennsylvania!

2015-02-14 US: No moer executions in Pennsylvania!
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Pennsylvania gov. declares moratorium on ‘unjust’ death penalty

Pennsylvania’s Democratic Governor Tom Wolf said he will offer the state’s 186 death row inmates temporary reprieves from each scheduled execution, calling the system...

RT.COM

2015-02-14 GAZA!

2015-02-14 GAZA!
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‘Mostly civilians’: Probe into Gaza homes strikes finds 60% of deaths non-militants

An investigation carried out by AP has stated that 508 of 844 victims in air strikes on residential buildings during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge that unfolded previous...

RT.COM

2015-02-14 Bahrain

2015-02-14 Bahrain
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Strike of Defiance: Tear gas floods Bahrain as protests mark 2011 uprising (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Bahraini police fired tear gas at hundreds of Shia protesters who took to the streets on Saturday, on the fourth anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising, supporting the...

RT.COM

2015-02-13 US: Murderous police - a cardinal sign of a totalitarian police

2015-02-13 US: Murderous police - a cardinal sign of a totalitarian police
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The article says that in Paso, Washington State, a town of 68,000 people with over half of the residents being Latino and most of the city’s police force, however, is Caucasian, police have shot and killed four (4) people over the last six (6) months alone. 
That is easy to believe.
But the article also claims that is a higher number (absolute, not relative) than:
* Those killed by police in UK (80 millions) over the past three years;
* Those killed by police in Germany (80 millions) over the past year.
Anybody can check these numbers?

Pasco Police Who Just Shot Unarmed Man Have Killed More Than Cops In Germany and the UK Combined

Eyewitnesses to the shooting of an unarmed man, fleeing the Pasco Police, contacted us with the raw video footage just days ago. Since we ran that footage,

COUNTERCURRENTNEWS.COM

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• Donald Gene FitzGerald likes this.
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  Joseph Zernik Well, well, well, the numbers are apparently right, according to the Economist: " Last year, in total, British police officers actually fired their weapons three times. The number of people fatally shot was zero. In 2012 the figure was just one. "
  http://www.economist.com/.../democra.../2014/08/armed-police

  

  Trigger happy

  THE shooting of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African-American, by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, is a...

  ECONOMIST.COM
• 
  

2015-02-13 UK and the Banksters

2015-02-13 UK and the Banksters
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HSBC tax scam: Whistleblowing email to UK govt agency uncovered

An email sent by HSBC whistleblower Herve Falciani to British tax authorities, which they denied ever receiving, has been discovered by a French newspaper.

RT.COM

2015-02-13 AUSTRALIA

2015-02-13 AUSTRALIA
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Police pepper-spray protesting students in Sydney – including a legally blind girl

A protest against the Australian government’s education reforms in Sydney has turned violent, as security forces pepper-sprayed dozens of student activists – including a...

RT.COM

2015-02-13 US: FBI stonewalls on the Occupy Houston assassination plot
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[via Occupy Wall St.]

Occupy Houston assassination plot records won't be released

Details of a plot to kill Occupy Houston leaders won't be released after a federal court upheld the FBI's claim that the documents are legally exempted from the Freedom of...

CHRON.COM

2015-02-13 PALESTINE: 14 yo Malak Khatic is free after almost 2 m in jail

2015-02-13 PALESTINE: 14 yo Malak Khatic is free after almost 2 m in jail
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[via Israeli site o139.org]
Following intense international pressure, Malak was released today. Hundreds of Palestinian minors remain imprisoned in what is called "The Kids Intifada".

o139.org

מלאכ אלח'טיב בת ה-14 חוזרת הביתה אחרי כמעט חודשיים בכלא הישראלי. כמאה וחמישים ילדים נוספים מוחזקים עדיין על ידי ישראל, חלקם לתקופות ארוכות, סובלים מהתעללות, מקור, מבדידות, ומהניתוק הכפוי והממושך ממשפחתם.
מקומם של ילדים הוא לא בכלא, ואסור לתת למדינה להמשיך להחזיק אותם שם, בשמנו

2015-02-13 EU-US rift - tectonic plate shift?

2015-02-13 EU-US rift - tectonic plate shift?
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The Eurasian Century is here to stay!
But wait, a US-induced flare-up in Ukraine may still stop it...

EU to restart gas talks with Russia, Ukraine

The European Commission (EC) will resume energy talks with Russia and Ukraine in hope of avoiding gas problems during the winter of 2015, EC President Jean-Claude Juncker told journalists.

RT.COM

2015-02-13 Israel, Russia, U.S. lose ground in 2015 press freedom report Israel falls five places in Reporters Without Borders' annual index, from 96 to 101, sandwiched between Kenya and Guinea.

2015-02-13 Israel, Russia, U.S. lose ground in 2015 press freedom report
Israel falls five places in Reporters Without Borders' annual index, from 96 to 101, sandwiched between Kenya and Guinea.
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http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.642253

Israel, Russia, U.S. lose ground in 2015 press freedom report - World

Israel falls five places in Reporters Without Borders' annual index, from 96 to 101, sandwiched between Kenya and Guinea.

HAARETZ.COM

2015-02-13 ISRAEL: BREAKING: 8:25 AM AG to Netanyahu: Don't intervene in choice of Israel Prize judges, due to elections [Haaretz daily]

2015-02-13 ISRAEL: BREAKING: 8:25 AM AG to Netanyahu: Don't intervene in choice of Israel Prize judges, due to elections [Haaretz daily]
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Netahnyahu, trying to police the annual Israel Prize in literature and film, changed the judges. In response, judges and nominees refused to participate in the charade... Artists in a last ditch effort to resist the Duce... Netanyahu, on his part, complains that the Israeli legal system prevents "effective governance"...
It's all in the eye of the beholder...
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.642320

David Grossman withdraws from Israel Prize in protest of Netanyahu's interference - National

Six high-profile candidates have now withdrawn their candidacies, including Ruth Dayan and writers Haim Be'er and Sami Michael.

HAARETZ.COM

2015-02-13 From Israel to the US Congress

2015-02-13 From Israel to the US Congress
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2015-02-13 US Occupy leaders assassination plot

2015-02-13 US Occupy leaders assassination plot
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Details Of Assassination Plot On Occupy Movement Leaders Withheld From Public At FBI's Behest

A heavily-redacted FBI document first revealed a Houston plot "to gather intelligence against the leaders of the protest groups and obtain photographs, then kill the...

MINTPRESSNEWS.COM

2015-02-13 ISRAEL: Notable writer Sami Michael removes his nomination for Israel Prize in literature in protest against Netanyahu meddling with the award process

2015-02-13 ISRAEL: Notable writer Sami Michael removes his nomination for Israel Prize in literature in protest against Netanyahu meddling with the award process
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סמי מיכאל - سامي ميخائيل - Writer and president of ACRI - Sami Michael

"אני מבקש מהידידים היקרים שהגישו את מועמדותי לפרס ישראל לספרות להסיר את המלצתם כמחאה על התערבות ראש הממשלה בתהליך בחירת חתן הפרס לספרות.

אני מודע לכך ששוררת אווירה עכורה בעולם הספרות רווי הקליקות. אבל מסוכן מאוד שפוליטיקאי, יהיה מעמדו רם ככל שיהיה, ייקח על עצמו את התפקיד של מנקה אורווה האורוות בספרות. למיטב ידיעתי, מאז שקמה מדינת ישראל ועד היום לא נחשד ולא נעצר סופר באשמת שחיתות, אך מספר מזוויע של פוליטיקאים שוכנים בבתי-כלא, ומספר זה עלול להיות גבוה עוד יותר. לא הפוליטיקאים אם כן הם אלה שיתקנו את המעוות בשדה הספרות הישראלית.

מוטב היה אילו הפוליטיקאים היו נוקפים אצבע למען שיקום מצבו הכלכלי של הסופר בישראל. אני מכיר סופרים רבים שנקלעו למצוקה בערוב ימיהם חרף תרומתם הרבה לתרבות הישראלית.

ועוד מילה לחברי מפלגת הליכוד, הצעד שנקט בו ראש הממשלה אופייני למדיניות הפסולה של ראשי השלטון בימי מפא"י. עוולות כאלו גרמו להידרדרותה של מפא"י. זהירות, חיקוי פסול זה עלול להזיק מאוד לספרות וגם ליוזמיו."

סמי מיכאל