Thursday, April 30th, 2009
While human rights and open-government groups are generally pleased with President Barack Obama’s rhetoric during his first 100 days, some are skeptical that he will deliver on his promises.
Caroline Fredrickson, head of the Washington Legislative Office for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told IPS that Obama’s first 100 days “are something of a mixed bag.”
She said the president’s first-day-in-office executive orders closing the Guantánamo Bay detention center, ordering a review of all cases there, and suspending the military commission trials were “an excellent start.”
Frederickson was far less pleased with the president’s use of the “state secrets” privilege, which has prevented a number of lawsuits from ever being heard in court. And she questioned the wisdom of the administration’s position that detainees at Bagram Air Force base in Afghanistan have no right to challenge their detention.
She also cautioned that there are a number of “unknowns,” including the issue of what to do with Guantánamo Bay detainees who are cleared for release, but who have no place to go, as well as where to keep those who are to be tried in U.S. courts and others who cannot be tried because the evidence against them was obtained through torture.
The ACLU is opposed to indefinite detention as well as to the establishment of special security courts. Obama has not yet clarified the administration’s position on these issues.
The London-based rights group Amnesty International expressed similarly mixed sentiments, praising Obama for declaring that he will close Guantánamo, but noting that after an “auspicious start” in making a swift announcement, more than 240 detainees are no closer to freedom.
“The bottom line is that… unlawful detentions at Guantánamo Bay continue, and for the vast majority of the detainees, the change in administration has so far meant no change in their situation,” Amnesty said.
The group also expressed concerns about suspects held at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, which it said remained “shrouded in secrecy.”
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) – which has mobilized a small army of pro-bono lawyers to defend Guantánamo detainees – praised Obama’s rhetoric but cautioned that “in many areas of critical importance – like human rights, torture, rendition, secrecy and surveillance – his words have been loftier than his actions.”
Vince Warren, CCR executive director, noted that “secrecy was the hallmark of the [George W.] Bush administration. It classified more documents than any administration in history, restricted Freedom of Information Act requests and tried to protect government officials and military contractors from being held liable for illegal actions, such as torture and wrongful death.”
“It invoked the state secrets privilege to avoid scrutiny in court and responsibility for government action more times than any other administration,” he said.
“Obama has come down on both sides of this issue, ordering far more transparency through cooperation with Freedom of Information Act requests, while at the same time invoking state secrets in a case charging an aviation corporation with complicity in rendering a detainee to torture,” Warren said.
He was also critical of Obama on the issue of electronic surveillance, pointing out that the new president “still has not repudiated the executive orders supporting warrantless wiretapping and the legal opinions used to support them.”
Warren said that release of the “torture memos” prepared by lawyers in the Bush Justice Department was “welcome,” but he noted that “Obama has indicated he will not prosecute former officials who broke the law and committed crimes, saying he would rather look forward than back. For there to be no consequences for creating a torture program not only calls our system of justice into question, but it also could allow the nightmare to happen all over again.”
A generally positive assessment was offered by a leading open-government advocacy organization, OMB Watch, which said, “The president and his team have made significant progress in both the right-to-know and regulatory areas.”
But it added that “there is still much work to be done as we move deeper into Obama’s term in office.”
“Overall, the Obama administration has set a strong tone on transparency, but a true assessment cannot occur until the development of agency-wide policies are put in place and fully implemented,” the group said.
“During his first full day in office, Obama successfully communicated the importance of transparency to agencies and the public by issuing memorandums on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and on transparency and open government.”
But it was critical of the new president on the issues of “signing statements” and use of the “state secrets privilege” to keep cases out of court on national security grounds.
It said, “Many groups considered Obama’s signing statement on the 2009 omnibus appropriations bill to be an affront to whistleblower protections. These groups have interpreted Obama’s signing statement as impeding the ability of government employees to communicate with Congress.”
“Further, in repeated court cases, Obama administration officials have insisted on maintaining the Bush administration’s broad interpretation of executive branch power on the issue of state secrets. There has been no public discussion of reviewing these policies for possible revision.”
(Inter Press Service)
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Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
The details of thousands of journeys made by motorists every day are being stored for up to two years by police.
Motorists are being watched and tracked by dozens of cameras, which record the vehicles’ number plates as they travel through Portsmouth.
Hampshire Constabulary is building up a vast database of round-the-clock information on the comings and goings of visitors and residents from the data recorded by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
The information is passed on to police by Portsmouth City Council – one of a few local authorities across the country with the ability to manage and read ANPR data on its large network of 15,000 cameras.
The number of CCTV cameras works out at one for every 12 people who live in the city – although a city council source said only 170 cameras are actually placed in public areas like Guildhall Square.
Police argue the ANPR cameras – designed to read car number plates to see whether vehicles are insured, have an MOT certificate or road tax – are essential for catching criminals and terrorists.
However civil liberty campaigners are concerned that all trips, no matter how mundane, are being recorded and stored for two years.
Isabella Sankey, director of policy for civil liberties group Liberty, said: ‘The road to massive scale real-time surveillance is paved with good intentions.
‘We have no problem with ANPR being used to locate vehicles whose owners the police firmly suspect of having committed an offence but it shouldn’t be used as a tool of mass surveillance.’
Hampshire Constabulary, like all police forces, see the cameras as an essential part of their surveillance of more serious criminals.
Spokesman Tim Feltham said: ‘Automatic Number Plate Recognition is an extremely useful police tool which can be used to reduce crime, detect offences and combat terrorist activity.
‘Hampshire Constabulary uses the system in a lawful and proportionate way and in line with national policies on the storage and retention of data.’
Ray Stead, the CCTV manager for Portsmouth City Council, said: ‘ANPR is linked to our cameras but it is a transparent system, which means we do not do anything with the information.
‘It is all sent back to the police. We do not do anything with it and we do not see it.’
HOME SECRETARY’S CLIMBDOWN
Just this week, Home secretary Jacqui Smith climbed down on government plans for giant database tracking all e-mails, phone calls and internet activity, saying a central store of electronic data was an ‘extreme’ solution and would have undermined privacy.
Instead, records of every electronic connection made by Britons will be held by private companies at a cost of around £2bn.
Internet and telephone firms will be asked to collect and store vast amounts of information on who we are speaking to, what websites we are visiting and who we are exchanging e-mails with.
Communications data – which excludes the content of messages and calls – will be held for at least a year so it can be accessed by government agencies such as the police, security services and other bodies.
Michael Powell
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Police Track & Record Journeys For 2 Years
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Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
The following news advisory comes from Witness Against Torture.
On April 30th, hundreds of human rights activists will gather near the White House to call on the Obama administration to support a criminal
inquiry into torture under the Bush administration and to fully break with past detention policies.
At a rally at Lafayette Park at 11:15 am, members of Witness Against Torture, Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Torture Abolition Survivors Support Coalition will speak out about the need for accountability and an end to Bush-era policies. At noon, sixty activists from Witness Against Torture — each representing one of the Guantanamo inmates cleared for release but still imprisoned – will risk arrest.
“Despite early, encouraging signs,” says Matthew Daloisio of Witness Against Torture, “the Obama administration has been a disappointment with respect to detainee issues and torture. President Obama has been reluctant to investigate possible, past crimes, and many of the immoral and illegal policies of the Bush administration — from the denial of habeas rights at Bagram Air Base, to the continued detention of innocent men in Guantanamo — remain in place. We need accountability, not immunity, and an end to the abuse of detainees. This president and many members of Congress are in office partly
because of their promise to repudiate Bush’s detention regime. It’s time they live up to that promise.”
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS, THURSDAY, APRIL 30
10:15am: Rally at the Capitol Reflecting Pool, followed by detainee procession to Lafayette Park
11:15 am: Rally at Lafayette Park and detainee procession to the White House
Noon: White House Protest
Witness Against Torture formed in 2005 when 25 activists went to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to protest outside the detention camp. The April 30 demonstration concludes Witness Against Torture’s 100 Days Campaign to Close Guantanamo and End Torture. During the campaign, WAT activists have held a daily vigil at the White House, brought protest signs to confirmation and other congressional hearings, lobbied lawmakers to change detention policies, and hosted numerous public events in the Washington area.
Background on the campaign and WAT demands, http://www.100dayscampaign.org/node/475
Details for April 30th, http://www.100dayscampaign.org/a30
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Civil Disobedience at White House
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Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Claims made by the Philippines government to a good human rights track record “are utterly false”, the Rev Berlin Guerrero told the United Nations Committee against Torture this week. A victim of torture himself, Guerrero said the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is “remiss in its responsibility to prevent torture”.
A pastor of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Guerrero stated that “church people have not been spared from torture”.
“Most of the victims of torture among church people are from member churches of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, and I am one of those who have been victimized,” he said.
According to the human rights group Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights), between 2001 and 2008 there were 1,010 documented victims of torture in the Philippines. Extra judicial killings over the same period amounted to 991.
Guerrero spoke before the 42nd session of the UN Committee against Torture meeting in Geneva, Switzerland this week to review the human rights record of Philippines and other countries. He was sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches in International Affairs.
Guerrero was abducted on 27 May 2007 in front of his family, soon after Sunday worship at the local UCCP church in Malaban, Biñan. “No warrant of arrest was shown despite our pleas and protests,” he recalled in his statement to the UN committee.
After “one year, three months and 15 days”, he was released because of the “insufficiency of evidence” against him. “To experience this kind of persecution strengthened and confirmed my faith,” he says. “While in detention I was happy to be able to serve the prison community by starting a Christian ministry to my fellow detainees.”
When he visited the WCC offices in Geneva on 28 April, Guerrero was welcomed by the WCC general secretary, the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia. During a visit to the Philippines in November 2007 at the helm of an international delegation, Kobia had joined the campaign for Guerrero’s liberation, publicly calling for his release.
According to Guerrero, thanks to an international campaign in which churches have played a crucial role, the extra judicial executions in the Philippines have decreased. But “with general elections scheduled for 2010 they are peaking again, with a rate of one person killed every week,” he says.
“The WCC will continue supporting the efforts of human rights defenders in the Philippines,” Kobia told Guerrero, who was accompanied by Karapatan general secretary Marie Hilao-Enriquez, and by Raymond Manalo, another torture victim.
A farmer’s ordeal
Manalo, a 27-year old farmer in San Ildefonso, in the northern province of Bulacan, was abducted together with his brother Reynaldo on 14 February 2006. He was held for 18 months in three different secret detention facilities within military camps.
“The soldiers beat us with pieces of wood on our backs and different parts of our bodies, beat us with chains, burn different parts of our bodies with cigarettes and heated metal tin, kicked us with their combat boots on, hit us with the butts of their rifles, poured gasoline on my waist and legs while threatening to burn me,” Manalo told the UN committee.
He witnessed “soldiers summarily killing civilians whom they accused of being rebels or aiding them” as well as other captives being tortured. After admitting to his captors’ accusations, the torture was eased and he entered a slave work regime.
Manalo escaped with his brother in August 2007. With help from human rights organizations he was able to obtain a writ of amparo - a legal remedy for victims of extrajudicial killings or enforced disappearances - and in September 2008 filed criminal complaints against members of the military he was able to identify amongst his torturers.
“I do not want this ordeal to happen to anybody else. I wish that the extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture in my country will stop […] I hope that President Gloria Arroyo will end the impunity,” Manalo told the UN committee.
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Pastor testifies that he was tortured in the Philippines
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Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
RINF News
Emails secured through an Freedom of Information Act request show exchanges between the British Home Office and Phorm, a highly controversial advertising company that secretly worked with British Telecom to illegally spy on users connecting to its Internet service.
Subsequently the EU has initiated legal action against Phorm for violating European privacy and consumer-protection laws.
The emails, which date back to August 2007, show that Phorm influenced the way authorities decided policy guidelines and that the company repeatedly asked the Home Office if it “has no objection to the marketing and operation of the Phorm product in the UK”.
A UK Home Office official also offered advice on how to skirt British law.
“My personal view accords with yours, that even if it is ‘interception,’ which I am doubtful of, it is lawfully authorized under section 3 by virtue of the user’s consent obtained in signing up to the ISPs terms and conditions,” an unnamed Home Office official said in an e-mail dated August 2007, talking to Phorm’s legal representative.
The Home Office wrote to Phorm again, asking: “I should be grateful if you would review the attached document, and let me know what you think.”
Another email from the Home Office stated: “If we agree this, and this becomes our position do you think your clients and their prospective partners will be comforted.”
Liberal Democrat spokeswoman on Home Affairs, Baroness Sue Miller, said: “My jaw dropped when I saw the Freedom of Information exchanges. The fact the Home Office asks the very company they are worried is actually falling outside the laws whether the draft interpretation of the law is correct is completely bizarre.”
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The Home Office Helped Phorm To Spy On You
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Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
RINF News
The UK national DNA database is expanding at an alarming rate and is already five times larger than DNA databases in other European countries.
Many of the profiles contained on the database are of innocents who were later cleared of any crime but their details remained on the database.
The figures were revealed in parliament in response to a question asked by Lord Hanningfield in his role as a Conservative peer at Westminster.
Lord Hanningfield said: “I was a bit surprised at the numbers. As someone who believes in personal freedom, I am a bit worried about this creeping state control.”
In Suffolk alone 52,275 profiles have been added to the database and 140,103 in Essex have also been added.
A spokeswoman for human rights group Liberty said: “Our DNA database is at least five times larger than those of European countries, yet our crime rates are remarkably the same.
“A smaller, more targeted database of serious sexual and violent offenders would cost less to our purses and our privacy.”
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More Than 5 Million Stored On DNA Database
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Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
RINF News
A senior Cabinet minister has sparked a flurry of speculation that the national ID card scheme will be axed to ease public spending and reduce Britain’s debts.
The controversial ID card scheme will cost the taxpayer more than £5bn, however cancelling the ID card national rollout, due in 2011, will cost £40m.
The minister, according to The Independent newspaper, is reported to have said: “My sense is that ID cards will not go ahead. We have to find savings somewhere, and it would be better to shelve schemes like this that aren’t popular.”
The Government has just signed contracts of £750m to set up a biometric database and upgrade passport applications, ID cards would be used in conjunction with the database.
Former cabinet minister, Stephen Byers, is the first senior Labour figure to admit that ID cards may have to be axed
He also suggested the £25bn replacement of the Trident nuclear missile system also be axed.
Speaking about Trident, the unnamed senior Cabinet minister source said: “There is a case for shelving Trident Two, but the number of jobs that go with it is just too great. I just can’t see us cancelling a Trident replacement now.”
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Could The Government Drop ID Cards?
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Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
The Tamil Tigers have accused the Sri Lankan military of continuing to bomb civilians after Colombo ordered an end to air strikes in the country’s northern war zone.
Under intense international pressure to prevent further civilian deaths, the Sri Lankan government declared that it would immediately stop air strikes and artillery attacks in its war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The Presidential Secretariat said: “Our security forces have been instructed to end the use of heavy-calibre guns, combat aircraft and aerial weapons which could cause civilian casualties.”
But the LTTE-aligned Tamilnet website on Monday immediately accused the government of violating its own order and “deceiving the international community.
“Two Sri Lanka air force fighter bombers continued to bomb civilian targets in Mu’l'li-vaaykkaal after the announcement by the Sri Lankan forces that it would not deploy heavy weapons or carry out air attacks,” Tamilnet alleged, citing Tamil Peace Secretariat director Seevaratnam Puleedevan.
Meanwhile, top UN humanitarian official John Holmes met Sri Lanka’s foreign minister to express concern for the estimated 50,000 trapped civilians amid reports of growing cases of starvation and casualties among the population.
Mr Holmes later visited a village south of the war zone to inspect displacement camps overwhelmed by the massive influx of war refugees in recent days.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband heads off to Sri Lanka with his French and Swedish counterparts tomorrow to attempt to mediate the conflict and address the dangers faced by civilians.
They are unlikely to get a warm welcome in Colombo, which has rejected previous British mediation offers, saying that it will only talk peace once the LTTE rebels have been crushed.
A recent government offensive forced the LTTE out of their strongholds in the north and cornered them in a narrow coastal strip less than four miles long.
Expressing concern for the civilians, the rebels declared a unilateral ceasefire on Sunday.
They asked the international community to press the government to halt its offensive as well, saying that the unfolding “humanitarian crisis can only be overcome by the declaration of an immediate ceasefire.”
The government, which accuses the LTTE of holding the civilians as human shields, derided the appeal as a “joke” and accused the rebels of playing for time.
Copyright Morning Star
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Sri Lankan military ’still killing civilians’
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Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
A quick snapshot of a search for ‘SEO’ in Google Trends demonstrates how more and more people are searching for a new way to market their Internet business.
Search Engine Optimization provides a simple solution for website owners to gain traffic, which eventually leads to sales.
Google Trends has shown that demand for SEO has tripled in recent years, including the topic being a frequent search in Google News, again with a steady climb in searches.
With Internet Search Engine Optimization companies reporting a massive 10 fold increase in demand for their SEO services, has this little known technique reached the mainstream? No.
Comparison searches in Google Trends for celebrity names, TV shows and pop artists still produce much larger search volumes, as expected.
However SEO is catching up and looks set to remain that way for a long time to come.
This alone is evidence that Search Engine Optimization techniques work.
If you would like to SEO your own website, RINF News is offering the SEO video masterclass containing over 30 videos from novice to expert, explaining how we became a Google authority and receiving top rankings for a multitude of search terms.
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SEO Internet Marketing Skyrockets
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Monday, April 27th, 2009
After receiving telephone threats from Zeitgeist creator, Peter Joseph, over a year ago RINF warned readers that not all was as it seems with the disinformation filled production.
It should also be noted that “Peter Joseph” refuses to use his real name so his background cannot be verified.
Now the flamesong.com website exposes some of the cult-like propaganda the films’ creator is pushing to discredit peaceful activist movements:
When I first saw Jacques Fresco in the film Zeitgeist: Addendum, I was uncomfortably minded of the leader of the UFO cult Heaven’s Gate, Marshall Applwhite (aka Bo and Do) who died in the cult’s mass suicide in 1997.
Jacques Fresco does, however, have UFO cult connections - he was ‘bestowed the title of Honorary Guide of the Raelian Movement‘ in October 2008, the Raelian movement being by far the biggest UFO cult on this planet.
I make this point because I started to get the Kool-Aid feeling about the Venus Project when I watched Zeitgeist: Addendum and more so the Zeitgeist Activists Orientation Video (see Zeitgeist and the Venus Project) in which a utopia reminiscent of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is proposed as a solution to the problems of global capitalism and religion. A feeling which grows the more familiar I become with all things Zeitgeist/Venus Project.
The Raelians claim to be ‘reclaiming the swastika’, according to Wikipedia but its incorporation into the Israeli (IsRAELi) Star of David in the same fashion that some have done to promote the concept of ZioNazism is peculiar, if not sinister.
As mentioned previously, the Zeitgeist movement has partially (but successfully) co-opted the the 9/11 Truth and Anti-NWO Movements into supporting a project which ought to be contrary to their instincts. Those hungry for an alternative to the inevitable future of a tyrannical one world government may well be desperately biting into a poisonous fruit.
The former racing driver Claude Vorilhon, known to his followers as Raël said in December 2008:
‘All the ‘Illuminati’ myths are distilled through the internet to try to reverse the wonderful trend of globalization, which will lead us to the only way to save humanity: a world government ending nationalism, making all national armies obsolete and ending the huge waste of money which is military spending’.
I stumbled upon the Zeitgeist Movement’s Z-Day website a couple of weeks ago and discovered that there was to be an event which coincided with a visit to Perth in Scotland.
I had watched Zeitgeist and found it very interesting as would all but the die-hard fundamentalists of all religions. Earlier this year, I watched Zeitgeist: Addendum and was going along with it until it reached the part about the Venus Project. Something felt very technocratic and sterile about it.
Anyway, I watched the Activists’ Orientation Video (the title gave me the creeps) and had deep reservations about it but felt that I ought to go to the event anyway - to get a measure of what other people felt. As it happened the event was merely a showing of the AOV again. On second hearing I can only say that my reaction was one of horror. Most people simply disappeared at the end but I stayed to share my concerns with the organiser who seemed to share at least a few of my reservations.
Since then I have been expecting to see the usual suspects denouncing the Zeitgeist Movement/Venus Project as a New World Order psy-op - after all, it presents Huxley’s Brave New World as a utopia rather than the dystopia which Huxley attempted to portray. Incidentally, anybody who believes that Aldous Huxley was a pro-NWO eugenicist has not read his 1958 book, Brave New World Revisited.
It wasn’t until a couple of days later that I found a video of the ’sold out’ event in New York. I skipped to the end of the presentation of the AOV at which point there was rapturous applause (I assume that the flock were on their feet too).
Surely this can’t be real? Surely these people who are apparently ‘open’ to the notion that humankind has been manipulated for centuries cannot seriously fall for this thinly veiled New World Order propaganda.
And then, as if any further proof were needed that something wasn’t right with this picture, I found this in the New York Times:
The tenth paragraph says:
‘The former [Zeitgeist: The Movie] may be most famous for alleging that the attacks of Sept. 11 were an ‘inside job’ perpetrated by a power-hungry government on its witless population, a point of view that Mr. Joseph said he has recently ‘moved away from.’ Indeed, the second film, the focus of the event, was all but empty of such conspiratorial notions, directing its rhetoric and high production values toward posing a replacement for the evils of the banking system and a perilous economy of scarcity and debt.
Do the libertarians who oppose the New World Order really want to surrender their decision making to computers? In the AOV, this is compared to using a pocket calculator to make decisions - except that pocket calculators don’t make decisions - they -er calculate.
After stating that the Earth’s soil is eroding at a rate of 1% per annum earlier in the film, it later says that food will be grown by hydroponics - no irony there?
Everything will be plugged into a central computer which will monitor all resources - is there any reason to believe that people will not be regarded as resources in this context?
In summary, there was nothing in the Activists’ Orientation Video which made me feel comfortable and I am deeply concerned that anybody who has had their eyes opened will think that this is the solution.
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The Zeitgeist Disinformation Project
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Monday, April 27th, 2009
In a report released under the Freedom of Information Act, the MoD has admitted that is guilty of regularly leaking Radioactive Material.
Politics.co.uk reports:
British nuclear submarines leaking radioactive material has become “a recurring theme” according to a confidential report.
The submarines have leaked into the Firth of Clyde three times since the turn of the century; in 2004, 2007 and 2008, prompting the the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) to warn it has the power to close the base at Faslane.
SNP Westminster leader and defence spokesperson Angus Robertson said: “This utterly damning disclosure reveals repeated and serious nuclear safety breaches, and the MoD (MInistry of Defence) cannot be above the law.
“We are not talking about a one off incident but a whole catalogue of serious and frankly shocking failures.”
Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Nick Harvey said: “A certain amount of operational independence is inevitable given the role played by nuclear submarines, but that cannot come at such a price to human safety and the environment.
“This is no longer the Cold War. The MoD must operate its nuclear facilities at at least the same level of safety as civilian nuclear operators.”
Kate Hudson, chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), said: “These shocking revelations show a disregard for safety that is simply inexcusable.
“The combination of high-explosive weaponry and floating nuclear reactors should make it obvious that every safety precaution possible must be taken, but once again the MoD has been found lacking.”
The revelation features in a document handed over the Channel 4 News under the Freedom of Information Act.
“The MoD is a responsible nuclear operator and informed the appropriate regulatory authorities,” a spokesman said, adding there had not been any environmental consequences..
“We commissioned an independent study into the facilities and practices at HM Naval Base Clyde and an improvement plan is currently under way to ensure modern standards and best practice at the base.”
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MoD Illegally Leaks Radioactive Material
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Monday, April 27th, 2009
Three woman and one man have glued themselves to a statue at the Houses of Parliament.
A message posted on the Internet from the four states: “4 members of Climate Rush have just glued themselves to a statue in Parliament, 100 years to the day after a Suffragette!”
The Climate Rush website says: “We are a diverse group of women and men who are determined to raise awareness of the biggest threat facing humanity today - that of climate change.
“Our government acknowledges the huge problems we face from climate change, but carries on with business as usual.
“We demand deeds not words because individual choice alone cannot curb CO2 emissions if we are to stop runaway global warming.”
Police were forced to seal off the area outside as the protestors glued themselves to a statue of Viscount Falkland. The statue they chose was one famously used in peaceful civil disobedience by Suffragettes, who chained themselves to it to campaign for the vote for women.
“They entered as visitors before taking this action,” a police spokesman said.
“At 1715 officers arrested the three women and one man for public order offences and criminal damage.
“They are in custody at a central London police station. The business of the House was not affected.”
Spokeswoman Jenny Lovell said the protest was linked to a recent Government announcement giving the go-ahead for new generation coal-fired power stations.
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Houses of Parliament Protestors Get Stuck
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Monday, April 27th, 2009
Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch has sent and open letter to the President United Arab Emirates highlighting acts of torture commited by UAE police and members of the royal family.
———————
His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
President
United Arab Emirates
I am writing to express Human Rights Watch’s deep concern about the torture of Mohammed Shah Poor, which there is overwhelming evidence that it was committed by royal family member Shaikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan and UAE police.
The evidence, which includes a 45-minute videotape featured in a recent news segment on ABC News on April 22, 2009, suggests that Shaikh al Nahyan tortured Mr. Poor, with the assistance of police and others, as punishment as Shaikh al Nahyan believed that the Afghan grain dealer had short changed him in a sale of grain, in the following manner:
- Fired bullets from an automatic rifle around Mr. Poor in very close proximity as the victim was screaming;
- Used an electric cattle prod against the Mr. Poor’s testicles and inserted it into his anus;
- Poured lighter fluid on Mr. Poor’s testicles and set them on fire;
- Pulled down the pants of Mr. Poor and repeatedly struck him with a protruding nail attached to a wooden board. At one point, Shaikh al Nahyan placed the nail next to Mr. Poor’s buttocks and banged it through the flesh;
- Whipped Mr. Poor over all his body including his face;
- Poured a large container of salt on to Mr. Poor’s wounds which were still bleeding ;
- Positioned Mr. Poor on the desert sand and then drove over him repeatedly in a 4 x 4 vehicle. The sound of what appears to be breaking bones can be heard on the tape.
While Shaikh al Nahyan does not hold an official government position, as a member of the royal family that runs the UAE government and as the brother of the Minister of Interior, he commands wide authority especially among the country’s security personnel. The actions by the police, which included tying Mr. Poor’s arms and legs to facilitate torture and restraining him as Shaikh al Nahyan poured salt on the wounds, are tantamount to state complicity in the torture; as the officer appeared in full police uniform, his actions appear to be under color of law.
These acts constitute clear violations of the UAE’s Constitution as well as international human rights law. The Constitution of the UAE guarantees in absolute and unconditional terms that “no person shall be subjected to torture or degrading treatment.” The prohibition of torture is one of the most fundamental under customary international law, which binds the UAE. States have an obligation not only to prevent torture, but also to conduct thorough and impartial investigations, and to prosecute those found responsible for committing them.
The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials calls upon those who exercise police powers to protect “all persons against illegal acts” and, in performance of their duty, to “respect and protect human dignity and maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.” According to Article 3 of the Code of Conduct, “law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty.” The Code of Conduct further states that “no law enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act of torture or any other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
These acts of torture by Shaikh al Nahyan and the police are extremely serious and require the immediate action of UAE authorities. Based on the information we have received to date about the Ministry of Interior’s response to the brutal events depicted in the video, we regret that the Ministry has failed to properly investigate and prosecute or discipline any of the perpetrators in this incident.
We are in receipt of a copy of the Ministry’s letter sent on April 8, 2009, in which the Ministry did not characterize the abuse in question as torture, but simply as an assault that the parties (presumably Shaikh al Nahyan and Mr. Poor) subsequently settled “privately.” The letter states:
The events depicted in the video tapes referenced in the complaint were fully investigated by the Police Department at the time of the incident. As permitted under Abu Dhabi law, the parties involved in the incident settled the matter privately by agreeing not to bring formal charges against each other, i.e., theft on the one hand and assault on the other hand. The Government’s review concluded that all rules, policies and procedures were followed correctly by the Police Department. The review also concluded that the incidents depicted in the video tapes were not part of a pattern of behaviour.
Furthermore, neither the police department nor the Ministry of Interior has made public the findings of the police review and investigation, and the basis for the conclusion that the police “followed all rules, policies and procedures correctly.” It would be particularly important to understand the “rules, policies and procedures” of the UAE police that “correctly” allow for such torture to take place.
This response is entirely inadequate under any notion of due process and the enforcement of both UAE and international law. The Ministry has a duty not only to investigate and prosecute the UAE police involved in this incident, but also to investigate and prosecute Shaikh al Nahyan for torture. The UAE government must not grant legal immunity to Shaikh al Nahyan or any torturer because he has settled the case privately - to do so would be a perversion of justice, especially in a case when there is such a disparity of power between the two parties; a royal family member and a foreign grain dealer. Particularly in light of Shaikh al Nahyan’s close relationship to the government, it is imperative that the government demonstrate that those with such close ties are not immune to prosecution.
Since the Ministry is satisfied with the police department’s flawed investigation, believes the matter is closed, and appears uninterested in seeking justice against the perpetrators of this heinous crime, I respectfully urge you, as President of the United Arab Emirates, to move without delay to ensure the establishment of an independent counsel or commission. This independent entity should investigate both the torture of Mr. Poor by Shaikh al Nahyan and police and/or other security forces during the events shown on the videotape as well as the “review” conducted by the Ministry of Interior and police department and the basis for MoI’s findings that the police abuse did not violate the rules, policies or procedures of the UAE. This independent body should:
- Be under the direction of a person independent of the interior ministry or other security-related government agencies, and well-known for integrity and impartiality;
- Be provided with the financial and other resources to accomplish its mandate in a timely manner, including the power to compel the testimony of police officials and provision of official documents from their offices.
- Ensure Mr. Poor is able to participate fully, with legal representation;
- Hold open hearings, and make its findings and recommendations public;
- Make recommendations concerning the discipline or criminal prosecution of any persons believed to be responsible for violations of UAE law or international human rights law in connection with the torture of Mr. Poor, as well as the compensation of Mr. Poor.
- Inquire more broadly into the prevalence of abuse and torture by UAE police, inviting the public to submit anonymous testimony of such incidents;
- Establish policies and procedures with respect to the manner in which investigations of police misconduct shall be conducted in the future;
- Implement a wide-scale training program on abuse and torture prevention for UAE police officers.
It is crucially important that the government demonstrate to its citizens and the international community, many of whom are now undoubtedly aware of the abuse of Mr. Poor at the hands of Shaikh Al Nahyan and UAE police, that the government has zero tolerance for torture. The UAE government must act now if it is to restore public confidence in the country’s criminal justice system and to show that the rule of law, and not impunity for its violators, is the policy of the country.
The government should also ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and must publicly and unequivocally renounce the use of torture and physical abuse by the police, others in positions of authority, or private citizens in the UAE. It should reaffirm its commitment to abide by international law provisions banning the use of torture and other cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and requiring police to abide by international rules on the use of force by law enforcement officers, and that any incident of torture will lead to investigations and prosecutions of the perpetrators. The circumstances of this case demand nothing less.
I thank you for your urgent attention to this important matter, and welcome your response.
Sincerely,
Sarah Leah Whitson
Executive Director
Middle East and North Africa division
cc: Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, Embassy of United Arab Emirates in Washington, DC
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Human Rights Watch on Torture of Mohammed Shah Poor
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Monday, April 27th, 2009
The UK government wants communications companies to keep records of our phone, text messages, e-mail and Internet traffic, but has dropped plans to keep this information stored in a centralized database.
Currently UK Internet service providers are required to keep records of Web and e-mail traffic for one year, the Government wants to change this to include all communications that come from other countries that cross British networks.
The dates, duration and location/IP address will be kept by communications companies.
Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith said “Advances in communications mean that there are ever more sophisticated ways to communicate and we need to ensure that we keep up with the technology being used by those who would seek to do us harm.”
“My key priority is to protect the citizens of the UK, and communications data is an essential tool for law enforcement agencies to track murderers and pedophiles, save lives and tackle crime,” she added.
“It is essential that the police and other crime-fighting agencies have the tools they need to do their job. However, to be clear, there are absolutely no plans for a single central store.”
The Government claims there will be “strict safeguards on who could access the information” but this has not stopped local authorities from abusing their new found powers in the past.
A spokesman for the Conservative party, Chris Grayling, said the government had “built a culture of surveillance”.
“Too many parts of government have too many powers to snoop on innocent people and that’s really got to change,” he said.
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UK Government Drops Big Brother ‘Database’ But Remains Big Brother
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Monday, April 27th, 2009
During the weekend, Tory Leader, David Cameron placed further scrutiny under the Labour Governments ”Electronic Patient Records system” and has called for NHS records to be stored online with companies such as Google and Microsoft.
He stated “People can store their health records securely online, they can show them to whichever doctor they want… But best of all in this age of austerity, a web-based version of the government’s bureaucratic scheme services like Google Health or Microsoft Health Vault cost virtually nothing to run.”
The fact that Google wants our health records is no secret. In 2008 Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Product and User Experience at Google, said:
“Google Health is our product that takes our users medical records and brings them online, where users can see them and control them and put them to good use in getting better health care, and I’m happy to say today that it’s no longer just talk. We actually have a product.”
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Tory Leader wants to give our medical records to Google
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