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20 Feb 2011 11:32

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World: China quickly quashes modest “Jasmine” protests of its own

  • 100+ Chinese protesters have been arrested by the government in the wake of an anonymous call for protests
  • 13 number of cities where the protests were expected; police have been out in full force in each of them
  • no China won’t let people talk about “Jasmine” online, and protest discussion has been prevented source
  • » China doesn’t screw around: The pro-democracy “Jasmine Revolution” protests, inspired by the situations in the Middle East, haven’t drawn very large crowds. But China’s elaborate and sophisticated response has basically been designed to discourage dissent against the state, making the road the anonymous protesters took much harder than, say, in Egypt.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2011 10:59

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World: Report: Egyptian military detaining, torturing protesters

  • Their range is very wide, from people who were at the protests or detained for breaking curfew to those who talked back at an army officer or were handed over to the army for looking suspicious or for looking like foreigners even if they were not. It’s unusual and to the best of our knowledge it’s also unprecedented for the army to be doing this.
  • Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights director Hossam Bahgat • Describing the nature of some of the arrests and detainment taking place in Egypt at the moment. Bahgat’s words go against the narrative suggesting that the military is on the side of the people in the current spate of protests, and instead paint a picture that they are in fact taking part in incidents more commonly associated with the country’s notorious state security intelligence. One protester, only offering to go by his first name, Ashraf, put his experience as such: “I was on a sidestreet and a soldier stopped me and asked me where I was going. I told him and he accused me of working for foreign enemies and other soldiers rushed over and they all started hitting me with their guns.” Harrowing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Feb 2011 21:32

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World: Egypt gets strong scolding from U.S. over emergency law

  • Hey Egypt, your strongest ally is yelling at you. Here’s why. See, Egypt has this emergency law in place that allows them to detain protesters and other folks they don’t like without charge. And the United States doesn’t like this. Especially in the wake of comments that vice president Omar Suleiman made about the country not being ready for democracy. It also doesn’t help that he suggested that the government might step in to quell the protests. What does the U.S. think? Well, a few things, which they released in a statement today. First – Stop screwing with protesters. Second – Rescind an emergency law that allows the government to detain anyone for any reason. Third – Broaden the dialogue to allow opposition voices. And finally – Invite the opposition to the bargaining table. This hard line was needed before Suleiman was around, guys. Why did this guy get the golden ring, anyway? He’s terrible. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Dec 2010 22:09

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World: Iranian woman spared awful death; Iran’s justice system still appalling

  • awfulBack in 2006, Iranian woman Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was sentenced to death by stoning for (alleged) adultery.
  • great According to a German human rights group, Ashtiani has been released, and is at home. Great news for human rights!
  • still…She was still forced to endure 99 lashes back when the charges were brought. Good grief. source
  • » Yeah, the worst outcome was avoided, but still. The fact that this even came close to happening is horrific and inexcusable. If the campaign to free this woman hadn’t succeeded, she would have been buried up to her neck in sand and pelted with stones big enough to eventually kill her, but small enough not to kill her in a mere one or two strikes (seriously, that’s what the law states). The evidence? None, aside from a forced confession and “the knowledge of the judge.” This, you know, shouldn’t happen. Anywhere.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Nov 2010 09:50

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World: In Myanmar/Burma, military’s stranglehold showed with election

  • 80% of all votes went to the military-aligned party source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Oct 2010 11:23

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World: Saleed Malekpour: An Iranian jailed for “internet offenses”

  • You may not know Saleed Malekpour, but you should read up. This web developer created a program that people used to upload pictures, and put his name on it. Someone (not him) used it for an adult Web site, and because his name was in the credits, he was arrested on the descriptive charge of “internet offenses.” While born in Iran, he was a Canadian citizen and had only returned to Iran to visit his terminally ill father. Malekpour has been in jail for two years now on reportedly trumped-up charges, some of which are punishable by death. And he’s been tortured, too. Harrowing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Oct 2010 10:51

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World: Human rights violation: Nobel Peace laureate’s wife under house arrest

  • The precondition for sentence reduction or parole is an acknowledgement of your crime. If Xiaobo would do that, he wouldn’t have won the peace prize.
  • Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo’s lawyer, Shang Baojun • Regarding his client’s current status in prison. As crazy as the Chinese democracy fighter’s incarceration is, his wife’s status is nearly as bad. Liu Xia is currently under house arrest for simply being married to the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. While she was allowed to meet her husband briefly, she’s been blocked off from the outside world since Friday night. Chinese authorities also broke her mobile phone. Her only contact with other life forms right now? Twitter. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

13 Aug 2010 00:56

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World: Hundreds of Tamil refugees are on a boat (against their will)

  • 500 Tamils were found on a boat near British Columbia source
  • » Wait a second … Yes, you read that right. British Columbia. Somehow the Tamils, reportedly being held there by terrorists and criminals, were brought all the way to Canada. From Sri Lanka. Remember that war they had where all those Tamils got killed? Here’s what the Tamil Tigers are doing now. Reportedly trafficking humans.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jul 2010 11:12

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Biz, World: At least Kate Gosselin’s kids aren’t working for Philip Morris

Apparently kids as young as ten are making painful livings harvesting tobacco for Philip Morris, says Human Rights Watch. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jun 2010 12:46

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World: Wow. Bloggers a pretty common target of imprisonment

  • 120 online journalists are currently in jail over blogging source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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