Saturday, June 21, 2014

The little girl, her dad's day off and Google...

One Google employee has his daughter to thank for scoring him a week’s worth of summer vacation.

A letter sent from the little girl to the Internet giant asked that they provide her father with a day off to celebrate his birthday.

“Dear google worker,” read the letter, which was widely circulated on the Internet Thursday. “Can you please make sure when daddy goes to work, he gets one day off. Like he can get a day off on wednesday. Because daddy ONLY gets a day off on saturday.”

“P.S. It is daddy’s BIRTHDAY!” the letter added.

The company not only obliged, but sweetened the deal. Full story...

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Spying together: Germany's deep cooperation with the NSA...

Three months before Edward Snowden shocked the world with his revelations, members of NSA's "Special Source Operations department" sat down for a weekly meeting at their headquarters in the US state of Maryland. The group, considered internally to be particularly efficient, has several tasks, one of which is overseeing the intelligence agency's delicate relationship with large telecommunications firms. It is the department that Snowden referred to as the "crown jewels" of the NSA.

At this particular meeting, one significant slip-up was on the meeting agenda. On March 14, 2013, an SSO member had reported a potentially damaging incident. "Commercial consortium personnel" had apparently discovered the program "Wharpdrive," for which SSO had tapped a fiber-optic cable. "Witting partner personnel have removed the evidence," he explained further, "and a plausible cover story was provided." According to an internal NSA document to which SPIEGEL has access, a team was quietly put together to to reinstall the program.

The NSA, apparently, did not perform the highly sensitive operation on its own. All signs indicate that the agency had help from Germany's Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), the country's foreign intelligence agency. The code name Wharpdrive appears in a paper drafted in preparation for a BND delegation's visit to NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, and which instructs NSA leaders to "thank the BND for their assistance with the trilateral program." It also makes clear that the German agency plays a leadership role in the Wharpdrive program, with the NSA providing only technical assistance.

It isn't clear from the document exactly where the BND and NSA accessed the fiber-optic cable nor is there any indication of the operation's target. Neither agency responded to questions about Wharpdrive. What appears obvious, however, is that the BND cooperates closely with NSA in one of its most sensitive areas of operation. Full story...

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Former Goldman Sachs trader upset at $8.25M bonus, files suit seeking $16M more...

Poor baby.

A former Goldman Sachs trader angry that he got a bonus of only $8.25 million has gone to court to get the millions of dollars that he says his bosses still owe him.

Deeb Amin Salem, 35, claims he helped Goldman Sachs make billions of dollars in profits by betting against the mortgage market and he expected a bonus of roughly $13 million for 2010, Bloomberg News reported.

Salem says that Goldman Sachs executives shortchanged him because he had discussed the firm’s lucrative mortgage-hedging bets in writing and his comments became the focus of ire in the U.S. Senate, according to Manhattan Supreme Court papers filed last week. As a result, Goldman Sachs was deeply embarrassed.

Salem had earned a $15 million bonus in 2009 and had told his mother after her house burned down on Christmas 2010 that she shouldn’t worry because he was expecting $13 million, Bloomberg reported. Full story...

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Indian officials ordered to ditch English for Hindi...

Since Lord Macaulay set out to turn India’s native elite into “a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect” in 1835, English has been the country’s language of government.

But according to a leaked memo, Indian officials must now use Hindi in all official posts on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Ministers have also ordered officials, many of whom do not speak fluent Hindi, to use the language in presentations.

The disclosure provoked an angry response from state leaders across the country yesterday, who resent the imposition of Hindi.

 India is a linguistically diverse country, and Tamil, Kashmiri, Bengali and Marathi are spoken with pride in different regions. Hindi is mainly spoken in the north and in Bihar, but not fully understood in other places. Only 40 per cent of Indians speak Hindi as their mother tongue, and previous attempts to impose it as the official national language have met with violent protests. Full story...

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Pro-Muslim Buddhist monk attacked and stripped naked in Sri Lanka for criticizing Buddhist extremists...

A Buddhist leader and fierce critic of hardliners blamed for attacks on Muslims, is in hospital after reportedly being abducted, stripped naked, and beaten.

Watareka Vijitha Thero, the leader of the Jathika Bala Sena who opposes the actions of Sinhala Buddhist hardliners Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), was abducted and assaulted in the outskirts of capital Colombo on Wednesday night.

Thero was found by a roadside in Panadura town. He was stripped naked, and his arms and legs were tied. His robe and wallet were found nearby. Shehan Kapuge, a local resident, said he had been told the the monk was thrown from a vehicle on Thursday morning.

The monk was taken to the National Hospital in Colombo. Dr Prasad Ariyawansha, the hospital's deputy director, told Al Jazeera: "The monk has suffered numerous cuts in his body and has experienced severe bruising."

Thero has been a strong critic of the BBS and has on several occasions been attacked by the group. Full story...

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Friday, June 20, 2014

Female genital mutilation exposed in Swedish class...

Some 60 cases of genital mutilation have been discovered in Norrköping in eastern Sweden since March with all 30 girls in one school class found to have undergone the procedure.
Of the 30, some 28 of the girls were found to have been subjected to the most severe form of genital mutilation, when the clitoris and labia are completely cut away and the genital area sewn together except for a small opening.

The abuse was discovered by the school health services, according to a report by Norrköpings Tidningar. Additional resources have been provided by the local social services to help the girls.

Female genital mutilation has been illegal in Sweden since 1982 and can be punished with up to four years in prison. If the offence is considered to be aggravated then the penalty can be up to ten years.

 Since 1999 it is also an offence under Swedish law if the procedure is performed in a different country. Full story...

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Indian teen with 7-inch tail worshipped as reincarnated Hindu god Hanuman...

An Indian teenager is worshipped as a god because he has a 7ins ‘tail’.

Arshid Ali Khan, 13, has become a divine symbol in the state of Punjab. Locals have hailed him a reincarnation of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman – and refer to him as Balaji.

However, Arshid has to use a wheelchair and he is considering having the ‘tail’ removed. He said: ‘This tail has been given to me by God. I am worshipped because I pray to god and the wishes of people come true.

‘I feel neither good nor bad about having a tail.’

(...)

Arshid’s home has been converted into a temple where his devotees come to visit him to receive his blessings and touch his ‘tail’.

‘A lot of people’s wishes have come true after they have visited,’ claimed Mr Qureshi. ‘Sometimes there are childless couples who come to Balaji for help.

He blesses them, and often they are then able to conceive.’ Full story...

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Fukushima’s children are dying...

Some 39 months after the multiple explosions at Fukushima, thyroid cancer rates among nearby children have skyrocketed to more than forty times (40x) normal.

More than 48 percent of some 375,000 young people—nearly 200,000 kids—tested by the Fukushima Medical University near the smoldering reactors nowsuffer from pre-cancerous thyroid abnormalities, primarily nodules and cysts. The rate is accelerating.

More than 120 childhood cancers have been indicated where just three would be expected, says Joseph Mangano, executive director of the Radiation and Public Health Project.

The nuclear industry and its apologists continue to deny this public health tragedy. Some have actually asserted that “not one person” has been affected by Fukushima’s massive radiation releases, which for some isotopes exceed Hiroshima by a factor of nearly 30.

But the deadly epidemic at Fukushima is consistent with impacts suffered among children near the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island and the 1986 explosion at Chernobyl, as well as findings at other commercial reactors. Full story...

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Three Chinese dead after World Cup all-nighters...

At least three sleep-deprived Chinese football fans have died after burning the midnight oil to watch World Cup matches, according to reports in the Chinese media.

The 11-hour gap between China and host nation Brazil means millions of Chinese football lovers have been forced to sacrifice their beds in order to keep up with the South American goal fest.

Some have paid the ultimate price, Xinhua, China’s official news agency, reported on Tuesday.

The first Chinese victim of the 2014 World Cup appears to have been Li Mingqiang, a retired goalkeeper and football enthusiast from Liaoning province in northeast China.

 Mr Li, 51, suffered a heart attack on Saturday as he watched the Netherlands spring an unexpected pre-dawn thrashing on Spain, the defending world champions. Full story...

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Amazon and the Fire Phone...

Japan finally bans child pornography...

Japan on Wednesday finally fell into line with other major developed countries and made the possession of child pornography illegal, but the sometimes graphic images of paedophilia in manga comic books remain legal.

The upper house of parliament voted overwhelmingly for a bill revising laws under which only the production and distribution of child pornography had been banned.

The legislation cleared the lower house earlier this month.

Campaigners had long urged Japan to toughen its stance on child pornography, complaining it was a major source of the material for global markets.

The new legislation bans possession of photographs and videos depicting real children aged below 18, but it does not include drawings or digitally-created imagery. Full story...

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Philippines asks Singapore to probe racist blog...

The Philippines has asked Singapore authorities to take action against a blog author who suggested Singaporeans should shove Filipinos on the street and be rude to Filipino workers, the latest sign of growing intolerance toward migrant workers in the wealthy city-state.

The blog, titled "Filipino infestation in Singapore — 5 point guide to showing displeasure without breaking the law," was posted at the end of May and has since been taken down. It was written anonymously and was widely shared on social media, prompting the Philippine Embassy in Singapore to appeal to the government for prompt action.

Police said they were investigating, according to local media reports, but gave no other details.

The incident came in the wake of rising tensions involving the growing number of migrant workers, who have largely built the country's impressive skyline, transport infrastructure and other facilities. About a quarter of the country's 5.4 million people are transient workers, compared to a tenth in 1990, according to government statistics.

A small but vocal group of radical Singaporeans has been fanning online discontent with what they claim are lax immigration policies. In an anti-immigration rally last month, protesters claimed foreigners were stealing jobs from Singaporeans. Full story...

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Iranian child bride faces execution for killing the man she was forced to marry...

Razieh Ebrahimi was forced to marry at the age of 14, became a mother at 15, and killed her husband at 17. Now at 21, she is on Iran’s death row.

Ebrahimi, who shot dead her hubsand while he was sleeping, faces imminent execution, despite international laws prohibiting execution for crimes committed by juveniles.

Human Rights Watch, has urged Iran’s judiciary to halt the execution. Earlier this week, Ebrahimi’s lawyer also asked judges to consider a retrial, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

“I married our neighbour’s son when I was only 14 because my dad insisted,” Ebrahimi was quoted as telling officials working on her case, according to Mehr. “My dad insisted I should marry him because he was educated and was working as a teacher. I was 15 when I gave birth to my child.” Her child is believed to be now six years old.

“I didn’t know who I am or what is life all about,” she said soon after being arrested. “My husband mistreated me. He used any excuse to insult me, even attacking me physically.” Full story...

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Thursday, June 19, 2014

Uganda students smuggle pigs into parliament to prostest against corruption...

Two Ugandan students and police have been arrested after two painted pigs were smuggled past tight parliament security in a protest against political corruption and youth unemployment.

The pigs, painted yellow - the colour of the ruling National Resistance Movement - were smuggled by two university students for their protest in Kampala on Tuesday. The pigs also had slogans pinned to their ears condemning corruption.

After their arrest, the youths said they were protesting against the a lack of jobs for young people and the extravagance of politicians.

A number of police guarding the buildings were also arrested for failing to spot the animals.

The government has been previously criticised by the opposition for corruption. In 2012, Western donors suspended aid to Uganda following reports of embezzlement in the Prime Minister's office.

Opposition politicians have defended the youths. Full story...

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FIFA bans Beats headphones from World Cup matches....

... soccer's governing body makes it clear that Sony is the games' official sponsor.

Beats headphones are causing something of a kerfuffle at the World Cup in Brazil. After several top soccer stars, including Brazilian sensation Neymar, have been spotted wearing the chunky, brightly colored headphones, FIFA, the game's governing body, has banned the headgear from inside the stadiums, according to Reuters.

Why? Because Beats is not an official sponsor of the games -- Sony is.

While it may seem that FIFA is being a bit harsh on the headphones that soccer players prefer to don, it appears this isn't the first time that Beats has caused a stir at a world sporting event.

During the London Olympics last summer, Beats sent thousands of free headphones to the world's top athletes, according to Reuters. The International Olympic Committee, with its rules to protect official sponsors, had to ban the earphones since Beats wasn't a sponsor. Also, Olympic athletes are forbidden from wearing gear from their personal sponsors -- the same goes for World Cup players.

It's unclear if Beats gave Neymar his headphones for free or if the soccer star bought them. It seems most likely the headphone company gave them to Neymar, considering the fact he starred in a Beats YouTube ad earlier this month titled "The Game Before the Game." CNET contacted Beats for comment, and we'll update the story when we get more information. Full story...

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Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Sealand, the world's smallest nation...

Chennai traffic stops for timely heart transplant to save a life...

Praise is pouring in for the Chennai Police, who, along with a team of doctors from two hospitals ensured that an ambulance carrying a donor heart could be transported in the nick of time. The donor heart was transported from the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital to the Fortis Malar Hospital 12 kilometres away.

With 26 policemen stationed at different intersections, the ambulance transporting the heart was given a green corridor, ensuring that it reached within 14 minutes.

It was a relief for the family of 21-year-old Hvovi Minocherhomji who was suffering from end-stage heart failure and had waited over a month for a donor for their daughter.

"I am aware that there are patients waiting for two or three months for a transplant. We have to thank the donor's family. It takes great courage when you have lost someone to think of somebody else. I thank the mother a lot and I hope god gives her courage to bear this loss," Patient's Mother Amaity Minocherhomji said. Full story...

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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Rohingyas: These aren’t refugee camps, they’re concentration camps, and people are dying in them...

Several days before he was born, Mohammad Johar’s family escaped the Buddhist mobs that attacked their Muslim neighborhood, leaving bodies and burnt homes in their wake. The threat of renewed violence has since kept the family and tens of thousands of fellow ethnic Rohingya confined to a wasteland of camps, ringed by armed guards, outside this coastal town in western Burma. But enforced confinement has spawned more insidious dangers. Last week, 2-year-old Mohammad Johar died of diarrhea and other complications, contracted in a camp that state authorities claim was made to safeguard him. The local medical clinic was empty and the nearest hospital too far — perhaps impossible to reach, given that his family would have to secure permission to go outside the wire. “Only in death will he be free,” sighed his 18-year-old brother, Nabih, moments after wrapping the toddler’s body in a cotton shroud.

Two years after the outbreak of communal violence, a deepening humanitarian crisis is claiming more lives by the day. Malnutrition and waterborne illnesses in the camps, aggravated by the eviction of aid groups and onset of monsoon rains, have led to a surge of deaths that are easily preventable. In a country that’s still being hailed in the West for its tilt toward democracy, the ongoing blockade on critical aid to more than 100,000 displaced Rohingya around Sittwe — and thousands elsewhere in Rakhine state — amounts to a crime against humanity, rights groups say.

For years, the Rohingya have been denied citizenship in Buddhist-majority Burma, and have faced severe restrictions on marriage, employment, health care and education. Now, it seems, the Burmese authorities are determined to starve and sicken the Rohingya out of existence. Full story...

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Monday, June 16, 2014

Malaysian caned by wife for refusing sex!!!

A woman from Klang turns violent and will hit her husband with a cane whenever he is not able to meet her sexual needs, China Press reported. And, she wants it every day!

The woman also forced her husband to drink aphrodisiac products to enhance his sexual prowess so he could meet her demands.

The man, who married the woman two years ago, had thought of lodging a police report several times, but did not as he still loved his wife.

However, the abuses continued and he could no longer take it anymore. He decided to seek the help of Selangor Community Policing founder Kuan Chee Heng.

He showed scars on his legs and buttocks. Kuan, however, admitted he was in a bind as he did not know how to handle such a case. Source...

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Fasting activates your body's 'survival' mode, boosting your immune system...

Scientific research is finally validating the ancient health and healing practice of fasting. The Telegraph recently reported that scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) have discovered that fasting "for as little as three days can regenerate the entire immune system, even in the elderly, scientists have found in a breakthrough described as 'remarkable.'"

Researchers suggest that the mechanism behind this phenomenon is that "starving the body kick-starts stem cells into producing new white blood cells, which fight off infection." And fasting "'flips a regenerative switch' which prompts stem cells to create brand new white blood cells, essentially regenerating the entire immune system."

Tech Times recently quoted key findings from the same USC study. Valter Longo, corresponding author of the study and a professor at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, stated: "When you starve, the system tries to save energy, and one of the things it can do to save energy is to recycle a lot of the immune cells that are not needed, especially those that may be damaged."

Longo added, "With a system heavily damaged by chemotherapy or aging, fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system." Full story...

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Social media in India has suddenly become a decidedly dangerous place for dissent or irreverence, especially if Prime Minister Narendra Modi is at the centre of your dissidence.

Social media in India has suddenly become a decidedly dangerous place for dissent or irreverence, especially if Prime Minister Narendra Modi is at the centre of your dissidence.

State administrations, be it in Goa, Karnataka or Kerala, have shown great alacrity in arresting, browbeating and often simply terrorizing anyone who is even slightly critical of Modi on networking sites. On a few occasions, at the receiving end of the police's anger — and anxiety — have been students not even out of college.

Naval engineer Devu Chodankar got into a fair bit of trouble in Panaji last month when he posted some comments on Facebook which were deemed to be anti-Modi. Though he withdrew them later, a sessions court ordered his arrest and rejected his anticipatory bail plea after inputs from the local cyber crime cell said there was a "larger game plan to promote communal and social disharmony".

 The police went on to file an FIR under Section 153(A), 295(A) of the IPC, besides Section 125 of the Representation of People Act and Section 66-A of the Information Technology Act. Justifying these sections, some of them non-bailable, police inspector Rajesh Job told the court that Chodankar's custody was being sought as his interrogation was "essential" to find out if there was a greater conspiracy behind the posts. Full story...

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Ayahuasca: a strong cup of tea...

On a recent Friday night, a dozen seekers in loosefitting attire, most in their 20s and 30s, climbed a flight of steps of a mixed-used community space in Bushwick, Brooklyn. After arranging yoga mats and blankets on the floor, they each paid $150, listened to a Colombian shaman and his assistant welcome them in Spanish and English, signed a disclaimer, and accepted large plastic takeout-style containers for vomiting.

Then, one at a time, each got up to receive a cup of thick brownish liquid with a muddy herbal taste. It was ayahuasca (eye-uh-WAH-skuh) tea, a hallucinogenic brew from the Amazon that they hoped would open them to personal insights through optic and auditory hallucinations.

Once they drank and had settled into their spots, they waited in the darkness with just one candle flickering. The shaman played traditional stringed and wind instruments while chanting ritualistic melodies, some sweet, some guttural.

A participant who asked that her name not be used because it might jeopardize her teaching positions at several graduate programs in Manhattan settled in for the all-night journey. She had abstained for several days from alcohol, red meat, spicy foods, aged cheese and television, as prescribed by email. She had not had sex and she was not on antidepressants. Full story...

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The slaughter that shames Tony Blair: Outcry from all sides over former prime minister's 'Crusader' call for a new blitz on Iraq as the country descends into a bloodbath...

Iraq descended to new depths of savagery yesterday – as Tony Blair washed his hands of all blame for the bloodshed.

With Islamist jihadists now in control of large areas of the country, appalling pictures emerged showing the mass execution of government soldiers by masked fanatics.

Dozens of terrified men in civilian clothes lie in a shallow ditch before being executed in cold blood by Islamist extremists.

The Iraqi Army deserters, some wearing football shirts, were taken to scrubland where they faced a firing squad of Al Qaeda-inspired insurgents.

But, to derision from Left and Right, Mr Blair insisted that the sectarian violence tearing the country apart had nothing to do with his own actions in supporting the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Full story...

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No Mr Blair. Your naive war WAS a trigger for this savage violence in Iraq...

Last year, on the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by American and British forces, Tony Blair sought to justify his decision to go to war by arguing that Iraq was a far better place for the removal of Saddam Hussein. ‘Think,’ he said ‘of the consequences of leaving that regime in power.’

In an echo of his former master’s voice, Alastair Campbell added for good measure: ‘Britain… should be really proud of the role we played in changing Iraq from what it was to what it is becoming.’

Today, neither Mr Blair nor Mr Campbell could utter such things without arousing the world’s bemusement and incredulity. Iraq is descending into such violence and disorder that its very existence as a sovereign country is under threat.

(...)

So, we are reaping what we sowed in 2003. This is not hindsight. We knew in the run-up to war that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein would seriously destabilise Iraq after 24 years of his iron rule.

For all his evil, he kept a lid on sectarian violence. Bush and Blair were repeatedly warned by their advisers and diplomats to make dispositions accordingly.

But, as we now know, very little was done until the last minute; and what was done, as in the case of Bremer’s edicts, simply made things far worse. Full story...

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Sri Lanka shaken by religious violence...

Sri Lankan police have fired tear gas and enforced a curfew in two coastal towns popular with tourists in an attempt to end clashes between Muslims and Buddhists that threatens to spark wider religious violence.

The police said on Sunday they were widening a curfew in Alutgama, to the neighbouring town Beruwala, a predominantly Muslim area, after violence threatened to take hold in the region.

According to the AFP news agency, the two groups attacked each other with stones in fighting over the weekend - the latest in a series of religious clashes to hit the island nation.

A police spokesman said trouble began when a group led by Buddhist monks tried to march in an area with a sizeable population of Muslims, who are a minority in the mainly Buddhist country.

"The curfew was declared to bring the situation under control," he said. "The curfew was extended to a neighbouring area to prevent an escalation of clashes."

"Several Muslim-owned shops have been burned and homes attacked," a resident in Beruwala told AFP. Full story...

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Sunday, June 15, 2014

Brazil: A World Cup for corporations...

(...)

Brazilian amateur soccer player Danilo Cajazeira is a fan of the Corinthians Paulista (from São Paulo), and he is passionate about the sport. He plays for the Autonomus F.C., an amateur team, and is part of the World Cup People’s Committee of São Paulo. Yet, despite his love for soccer, he is not a fan of what the World Cup and FIFA has meant for Brazilians.

“Imagine your father invites someone to your house,” said Cajazeira, “and the guest says, ‘I’m going to kick your son out of his room. Build an office for me, fill the refrigerator with only drinks and food of the brands I chose, ask your grandmother to leave because I don’t like her, hire security so I can be there, kick your neighbors out to build a parking lot for my cars, and make sure your 14-year-old daughter dances half-naked during my entire stay.’ This is exactly what’s happening here.”

The World Cup has already caused the death of eight people during the construction of the new stadiums and three people in other stadiums; evicted a quarter of a million people from their homes; banned independent merchants and artists from working; and led to an increase of sexual exploitation of women, children and teenagers, and an increase of violence against the homeless. Additionally, the rights to several public spaces were granted to private companies without concessions. In addition to these legacies, Brazil has invested 1.5 billion reals in weapons for the police and other security measures, passed laws to criminalize social protest, and saddled the country with an immense and questionable debt that Brazilian citizens will have to pay.

“The World Cup is not for the people,” he said. “It’s for corporations, construction companies, tourists, but not for Brazilian people.” Full story...

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Inventing Terrorists: US orchestrated most 'terror-plots'?

The Brazil World Cup could be the last true sports mega-event...

Plagued by delays and opposition at home, the World Cup in Brazil might be a turning point for sporting mega-events, forcing soccer's governing body and the International Olympic Committee to accept less ambitious bids to reduce the risk of public backlash.

Described by Brazil's government as "the Cup to end all Cups," the tournament kicked off on Thursday to a backdrop of controversy and concern.

The world soccer organization, FIFA, is facing corruption allegations over how Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup as well as match-fixing claims, fewer countries are keen to host big events and even some sponsors are starting to question the "halo effect" of associating with them.

Ever since the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, which set the gold standard, large sporting events have been increasingly used to drive infrastructure projects and try to regenerate cities.

Sports economists and sources inside FIFA say Brazil, the most expensive World Cup ever at an estimated cost of $11.3 billion, has shown both the limits and the risks of this model.

Although the nature of the bidding process means countries able to splurge on state-of-the-art stadiums will still attract support, there is a growing sense among the populations of cities and nations considering being hosts for major sporting events that bigger is not always better. Full story...

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Children detained on Christmas Island to attend Catholic-run education centre...

Children asylum seekers in detention on Christmas Island will attend a learning centre run by the Catholic Education Office of Western Australia.

The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, announced on Friday the signing of a deal to provide full-time education services for detainee children, following long-running concerns about the adequacy of schooling available to young asylum seekers on the island.

The agreement with the Catholic Education Office flows on from the government's decision to allocate $2.6m in last month's budget "to fund access to full-time school education for all school-aged illegal maritime arrivals on Christmas Island".

Morrison said the learning centre at the island's Phosphate Hill Alternative Place of Detention would enrol up to 150 children and provide full-time education for all kindergarten, primary and high school-aged children detained on the island.

The Catholic Education Office was currently recruiting a principal, teachers and teaching assistants, the government’s statement said. The office would deliver services from term three but would not provide religious instruction. Full story...

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YouTube refuses Egypt's request to remove footage of Tahrir Square sexual assault...

YouTube has refused a request from the Egyptian government to remove footage of a violent sexual assault in Cairo.

The video of a naked and bloodied woman being dragged out of Tahrir Square after being attacked during celebrations for the inauguration of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi caused international outrage.

The new leader visited the woman in hospital last week, “apologising to every Egyptian woman” for sexual violence in the country in the televised meeting.

A spokesman for the President said the victim asked for the footage, which had gone viral on social media, to be taken down.

“The Egyptian embassy in Washington DC and a number of Egyptian authorities, at the direction of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, have requested the YouTube administration to remove the video of the sexual assault victim,” the spokesman said.

“This came in response to her wish, which she expressed during the president's visit to her yesterday at the hospital to check on her condition.”

YouTube has removed copies of the video where the woman can be identified but is allowing versions that blur her image to remain on the site because the company considers them to be newsworthy. Full story...

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Saturday, June 14, 2014

Omidyar and the oligarch’s code: Enabling extremism, monetizing dissent and India's Modi...

India is now in the hands of Narendra Modi — a lifelong member of an unabashedly neofascist paramilitary group. His chief claim to fame is presiding over the wanton slaughter of more than 2,000 Muslims as a provincial chief minister — and getting away with it. A staunch neoliberal as well as a neofascist, he is preparing to unleash the by-now standard “shock doctrine” tactics of the pernicious neoliberal cult on the whole country: unrestricted corporate rapine aided by a heavy-handed, all-surveilling militarist state, waging war on the poor — and the very notion of a common good.

What is surprising is that Modi’s rise to power has been aided for years by substantial support, direct and indirect, from an American billionaire widely regarded by the left as one of the world’s great champions of dissent: Pierre Omidyar. But perhaps this is not so surprising when you consider that Omidyar now stands to reap millions if not billions of dollars from Modi’s vow to open up India’s burgeoning e-commerce market to foreign companies — like Omidyar’s eBay, as Mark Ames reports at PandoDaily.

Ames provides a detailed look at Omidyar’s extensive involvement with Modi and his sinister movement. The story could serve as a companion piece to Ames’ earlier investigation into Omidyar’s relentless efforts to “monetize” philanthropy — turning it into a money-making tool for a small elite while wreaking havoc among those it is ostensibly trying to help. A key element in this monetization of human misery on the part of Omidyar and his cronies is the privatization of state services aimed at providing some measure of support, opportunity and social justice for ordinary people. In country after country, our neoliberal extremists are pushing policies to turn every aspect of human community into profitable enterprises under corporate control.

To do this, of course, one must also “monetize” democracy itself. Thus, as Ames and others have pointed out, Omidyar has also been active in “pro-democracy” NGOs and other organizations in foreign countries, working closely with Washington to bring down regimes considered insufficiently open to the strip-mining of national wealth and resources by Western elites. The aim, as in Ukraine, where Omidyar’s partnership with government was particularly active, is to replace the regimes with technocrats willing to stick the shock doctrine cattle prod to their own people. Full story...

Read also: Narendra Modi and the new face of India...

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Swiss researchers study WhatsApp messages...

Researchers at the universities of Zurich, Bern and Neuchâtel are aiming to compare the language patterns of WhatsApp messages with SMS, after similar research was carried out on text messages five years ago.

The project will investigate how different languages and dialects are used in WhatsApp messages, how users interact with each other and the linguistic differences between SMS and WhatsApp messages.

Any Swiss resident can donate their messages to the project between now and July 13th. Messages may be in English, German, French, Italian or Romansh.

Everyone who successfully submits their WhatsApp messages according to the criteria will be entered into a prize draw, with some 60 prizes up for grabs.

 Since 1 June over 200 people have donated their conversations. The researchers hope to receive data from at least 2,000 users by the deadline. Full story...

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Singapore grapples with smartphone addiction...

Easily distracted? Can't be separated from your smartphone? Constantly checking your device for no real reason? Chances are you're an addict -- and you may even need professional help.

Psychiatrists in Singapore are pushing for medical authorities to formally recognise addiction to the Internet and digital devices as a disorder, joining other countries around the world in addressing a growing problem.

Singapore and Hong Kong top an Asia-Pacific region that boasts some of the world's highest smartphone penetration rates, according to a 2013 report by media monitoring firm Nielsen.

Some 87 percent of Singapore's 5.4 million population own smartphones -- as Internet-capable phones with cameras are popularly known.

In the United States, where there are similar concerns about the impact of smartphones on society, a 65 percent penetration rate would not even make the top five in Asia Pacific. Full story...

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Nepal workers pay terrible price in Qatar World Cup build-up...

A broken leg, a metal crutch and piles of paper testifying to his fight for justice: all reminders of Bhupendra Malla's stint working for a Qatari construction firm, ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

As the 32-nation tournament gets under way in Brazil, the oil-rich emirate of Qatar has come under fire for allegedly bribing officials to secure 2022 hosting rights and over the abusive conditions endured by migrant workers like Malla.

Three years ago, Malla was desperate to leave his village in central Nepal.

Drowning in debt after a failed attempt to open a shop, the prospect of a job in the Gulf state that would clear his loans and fund the education of his three children seemed like his only way out.

"I could barely make ends meet, my father was a farmer but farming doesn't pay and I needed to find another way to feed my family," Malla told AFP in Kathmandu.

Like hundreds of others who leave the Himalayan nation every day in search of jobs, Malla headed for Qatar, where demand for labour has skyrocketed in the run-up to the World Cup. Full story...

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Saddam Hussein was right: Iraq blows wide open...

The late Saddam Hussein was certainly right when he predicted that America’s invasion of Iraq would become “the Mother of All Battles.” Eleven years later, it continues.

This week saw the collapse of two divisions of Iraq’s government army, a full 30,000 men running like chickens before the relentless advance of the fighters of ISIS – the Islamic State of Iraq and Shams(Syria). The same puppet army trained and equipped for a decade by the US at a cost of $14 billion. An evil portent of what awaits Afghanistan’s US-led army and police.

Remember when President George W. Bush boasted, “mission accomplished?” Was not the wicked Saddam Hussein lynched by US Shia allies? Wasn’t the dreaded al-Qaida defeated and its leader, Osama bin Laden, assassinated? Remember all that crowing from Washington about “draining the swamp” in Iraq?

As soon as the US knocks down one challenger to its domination of the Mideast – which I call the American Raj - another rises up. The latest: ISIS, a fierce jihadist force that now controls large parts of Syria and Iraq.

(...)

This awful mess can be directly traced to neoconservative strategists in Washington clustered around Vice President Dick Cheney. In 2002, their primary goal, according to Cheney, was to wreck Iraq, the most industrially advanced and progressive Arab state, so removing a major foe of Israel, and then grabbing Iraq’s oil. Full story...

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India rape: screaming woman ignored by passers-by in social experiment...

Experts and activists said the video posted on YouTube pointed to a general apathy in India about violence against women despite outrage in some quarters over the gang-rape and lynching of two girls in the country's north.

"There's still an apathy about what's happening to women, an insensitivity on the issue, although attitudes are changing," said women's activist Ranjana Kumari.

The video, which has been viewed more than 1.2 million times since it was posted last week, shows a white van parked in a secluded area of Delhi with the windows blacked out at night.

Although the screams of a woman are clearly heard coming from inside, a handful of men are seen walking and cycling past. Some stop to listen before calmly moving on.

 Finally, a young man tries to break into the van, clearly upset about the 'staged rape' occurring inside. An elderly man is also seen attacking the van with his stick. More + video...

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Friday, June 13, 2014

Sexual violence in Sri Lanka deserves world's attention...

(...)

On Friday, June 6, I met with two Tamil survivors of torture and rape in Sri Lanka -- a man and a woman. I felt sickened after listening to their horrific testimonies of unlawful detention, torture, sexual crimes and repeated rape -- the young man was subjected to similar torture and rape as the woman. I have withheld their names and certain details in the accounts below, in order to protect them and their families from reprisals. They are in fear for their lives.

The young woman told me of being dragged from her home in front of her mother by five men in civilian dress, blindfolded and taken in a white van to a place where men and women were screaming and crying behind the walls. She was put in a room with no window, water, toilet, bucket or sink. Two men in cargo pants interrogated her. She was crying so much that she couldn't answer. They tore her dress off as she cried and shouted and slapped them. They burned her with cigarettes on the face and breasts. Then they both raped her. That night she lay on the cement floor, bleeding from the rapes. She was not given food or drink and she didn't sleep. She says she felt very ashamed, that perhaps it would have been better if they had killed her. Through the walls other male and female voices were screaming.

Over the next nine days she was raped repeatedly. She believes it was by many different men. Sometimes there were as many as four at once. She was burned on the face, breasts, thighs, arms, buttocks and back and beaten with a plastic pipe, repeatedly ducked in a barrel of water.

After the ninth day, men came every other day rape her, one at a time. During the time she was held prisoner she never saw a lawyer or a judge. Full story...

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