Eqyptian Protests Underway

Huge protests calling for the resignation of Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi and early presidential elections are taking place in over a dozen locations across Cairo, with thousands of protestors surrounding the presidential palace in Cairo.  Demonstrations are also reported to be in progress in other different locations across the country including Alexandria, El-Mahalla and cities of the Suez Canal.   Supporters of Morsi held demonstrations in Rabaa Square, although not nearly in the same numbers.   Protesters accuse Morsi of failing to tackle economic and security problems since taking power a year ago.  So far the protests have been mainly peaceful, although Egyptian police announced they seized more than 142 grenades and 440 rockets from two apartments in Cairo near Tahrir Square.

So True

When the Army Doesn't Like the News, It Censors the News

The U.S. Army banned its members from reading the website of The Guardian, the publication that broke several stories about the National Security Agency's surveillance program. An Army spokesman confirmed that it had filtered "some access to press coverage and online content about the NSA leaks."  Their rationale for censoring access to the website was to preserve "network hygiene."

The Pentagon insisted the Department of Defense was not seeking to block the whole website, merely taking steps to restrict access to certain content.  But a spokesman for the Army's Network Enterprise Technology Command in Arizona confirmed that this was a widespread policy, likely to be affecting hundreds of defence facilities.

Protests Heat Up in Egypt

Egypt's highest religious authority warned of an impending civil war as fights broke out ahead of massive planned protests at the end of the month.  The mostly secular protesters have complained that President Mohamed Morsi is corrupt and incompetent, while those in the Muslim Brotherhood have defended Morsi's presidency.   Morsi's two-hour speech on national TV this week was full of threats and accusations targeted against his opponents, which only hardened the protesters' resolve.

Standing Your Ground

Go Git 'Em Wendy!

Think About It

Israeli Forces Accused of Brutal Mistreatment of Palestinian Kids

A United Nations human rights body has accused Israeli forces of mistreating Palestinian children, including by torturing those in custody and using others as human shields.  Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank are routinely denied registration of their birth and access to health care, decent schools and clean water, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child also said.

"Palestinian children arrested by (Israeli) military and police are systematically subject to degrading treatment, and often to acts of torture, are interrogated in Hebrew, a language they did not understand, and sign confessions in Hebrew in order to be released," it said in a report.

The report by the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child acknowledged Israel's national security concerns and noted that children on both sides of the conflict continue to be killed and wounded, but that more casualties are Palestinian.  Most Palestinian children arrested are accused of having thrown stones, an offense which can carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, the committee said. Israeli soldiers had testified to the often arbitrary nature of the arrests, it said.

During the 10-year period examined by the committee, an estimated 7,000 Palestinian children aged 12 to 17, but some as young as nine, had been arrested, interrogated and detained, the UN report said.  Many are brought in leg chains and shackles before military courts, while youths are held in solitary confinement, sometimes for months, the report said.

It voiced deep concern at the "continuous use of Palestinian children as human shields and informants", saying 14 such cases had been reported between January 2010 and March 2013 alone.  Israeli soldiers had used Palestinian children to enter potentially dangerous buildings before them and to stand in front of military vehicles to deter stone-throwing.  "Almost all those using children as human shields and informants have remained unpunished and the soldiers convicted for having forced at gunpoint a nine-year-old child to search bags suspected of containing explosives only received a suspended sentence of three months and were demoted," it said.

 

Kelly Rowland - Dirty Laundry

The Week Sure Zipped By

Still Famous for Making a Sex Tape: Kim Kardashian gives birth to a daughter. (USA Today)

Holy Motors: Pope Francis blesses thousands of Harley Davidson motorcycle enthusiasts on the company's 110th anniversary. (The Australian)

Lago, Camera, Action: President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan announces a $18 million-equivalent fund to support the Nollywood film industry. (allAfrica) 

Grisly Grizzlies: Russian smugglers carrying 213 bear paws are arrested in China. (Global Times)

So Why Do They Cross the Road: A new study finds that chickens possess numeracy skills and self-control. (Herald Sun)  

Sleeping With the Fishes: Actor James Gandolfini, best known for portraying Tony Soprano in The Sopranos, dies of a heart attack at the age of 51. (ABC News)

 

Mystery of the Moving Egyptian Sculpture

At the Manchester Museum in England, behind a locked glass cabinet, there's a row of small ancient Egyptian statues. And one statue in particular - it's about 10 inches tall - is doing something unexpected and mysterious. It has been spinning in place, very slowly, turning so slowly that it took time-lapse photography over a week in April to show it making about a three-quarter rotation. It's made full rotations, though.

The statue is a figure of a standing man, with three seated figures next to it.  Only the figure of the standing man is spinning on its own.  The case is sealed, with an active alarm to protect against burglary.  Dr. Campbell Price who is the Egyptology curator at the museum, is the only one with the key.

The statue is a representation of a high-ranking official named Neb-Senu, who lived around 1800 B.C.  The time-lapse photos seem to show that it only moves when people are walking around it, which leads to the most credible theory that the vibrations from all the pedestrian traffic are the cause of the spinning.  But that raises a new question-- why aren't any of the other figures affected as well?  Others believe that the mysterious movement is due to a pharaoh's curse.

Hearse in Reverse

Putin Intensifies Crackdown on Homosexuality

Gay activists were attacked and then arrested outside Russia’s parliament as lawmakers unanimously passed a bill that will ban “gay propaganda” aimed at under-18's.  The Duma passed the bill, which also outlaws the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations”.

The bill will now become law if it is approved by Russia’s upper house of parliament and then signed by Vladimir Putin, who has already expressed his support for it. The bill is the most criticized element of a series of measures that activists say makes a difficult situation for gay people in Russia even worse. Individuals who violate the law can be fined up to £100, while the penalty for organizations can be up to £20,000.  Foreigners found to be promoting gay equality in violation of the law will be arrested and immediately deported.

More than 20 of the protesters who gathered outside parliament were attacked by extremist Orthodox Christians and pelted with eggs, stinging nettles and urine as they attempted to stage a “kissing protest”.

The law states that “propaganda” of gay relationships includes, “making a false statement about the socially equal nature of traditional and non-traditional relationships”.

Gay-rights rallies and gay-pride marches have been banned in Russia as a matter of policy and the former Moscow Mayor famously referred to gay rallies as “a place for Satanists”.  Surveys frequently show that many Russians feel gay people should be “treated” and there are almost no openly gay public figures. A television presenter, Anton Krasovsky, was fired earlier this year shortly after announcing his homosexuality on television.  Putin said recently that Russian laws do not discriminate against gay people in any way, but when the new bill comes into force it will be illegal to suggest that homosexuality is a normal life choice.

Peter Tatchell, who was beaten and arrested four times for participating in Moscow’s gay-pride parades, said: “This new law is symptomatic of Putin’s increasing authoritarianism and his crackdown on civil society. It violates the Russian constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, and the European Convention on Human Rights, which Russian has signed and pledged to uphold. Although the law is ostensibly aimed at prohibiting the dissemination of so-called gay propaganda to young persons under 18, in reality it will criminalize any public advocacy of gay equality, HIV education or welfare provision where a young person could see it.”

 

You Know I'm Right

British High Court Upholds Government Scheme to Prevent Resettlement of the Chagos Islands

The British High Court of Appeals upheld the creation of a controversial marine park in the Indian Ocean that many believe was designed to protect a U.S. airbase by preventing the resettlement of the native population.

Former residents of the Chagos Islands, who were forced into exile say the designation of the islands as a marine park (which comes with a ban on commercial fishing) was unlawfully aimed at preventing them resettling their former homeland.  But Lord Justice Richards and Justice Mitting ruled that the marine protected area (MPA) was compatible with EU law.

The British expelled the Chagossians between 1965 and 1973 to allow the U.S . to establish an airbase on Diego Garcia island, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago. The expulsion has been described by critics as one of the most shameful episodes in modern British colonial history.  The exiled Chagossians have fought a long series of legal battles for the right of return.  It is also believed that the island was used by the U.S. for several rendition flights during the Iraq war.

Chagossian lawyers said the designation of the marine park came on the heels of British consultations with the U.S ., during which the Americans were assured that the use of their base on Diego Garcia island would not be adversely affected by the MPA. 

Roberts denied under cross-examination at the high court that the marine park was created for the "improper purpose" of keeping the Chagossians out as the US wanted, and said it was for environmental and conservation purposes.

A classified U.S. government cable leaked by WikiLeaks supported their accusations.  In a leaked cable from 2009, British diplomat Colin Roberts told American diplomats the MPA designation would keep the Chagossians from resettling the islands and mean "no human footprints" in the British Indian Ocean territories.  The judges initially allowed the Chagossians' lawyers to question Roberts about the cable-- but later reversed themselves, saying the the cable (and all copies of it held by newspapers) were inadmissable as evidence.

The judges tried to explain their decision, saying there was now "a settled principle of public international and municipal law that the inviolability of diplomatic communications requires that judicial authorities of states parties to the 1961 convention should, in the absence of consent by the sending state, exclude illicitly obtained diplomatic documents and correspondence from judicial proceedings".  The ruling of the High Court failed to make any mention of the Chagossians or their right to reclaim their homeland.

Imagine Dragons - Demons

While You Weren't Looking

Kicking the Competition: At the Tony Awards, Kinky Boots takes home the most awards, with six, including Best Musical. (Los Angeles Times)

Leaker Leaves: Former CIA employee Ed Snowden comes forward as the source of recent NSA leaks. Fearful of prosecution for his actions, he defects to Hong Kong. (Washington Post)

Double Fault: Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal wins a record-extending eighth French Open title by defeating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.  The event is marred by two protesters, one of whom ignites a flare on court, evoking memories of the 1993 Monica Seles stabbing in Germany. (Reuters via News24)

Land of the Setting Sun: Jiroemon Kimura, who had been the world's oldest living person and the verified longest lived man ever, dies in the Japanese city of Kyotango. (AFP via New Strait Times) 

Duplicity on the Diamond: Officials of Nippon Pro Baseball in Japan acknowledge that they introduced a new, livelier ball for the current season. Previously, NPB had denied that a marked increase in homes runs from last season was due to changes in the ball. (AP via Fox News)

Antitrust Anti-Body: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that isolated human genes are not patentable, invalidating BRCA gene patents held by Myriad Genetics. (WSJ) 

Maroon 5 Main Man Made by Media Mob

Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine is drawing scorn on social media after quipping "I hate this country" on an episode of The Voice.  On an elimination show, viewers voted off two of the three singers Levine coaches on the show.  Part-way through the segment (at 1:14 in this video), Levine, nor realizing his mike was on, blurted out the offending remark.

Most viewers, one would think, would understand Levine's comment: the American public had just rejected two thirds of his contestants.  But across the country, hundreds of viewers took Levine's smartass comment as an existential threat to liberty, democracy and the principles of the founding fathers.

"Hey @adamlevine this country you apparently hate so much made you rich. You're free to leave. Try Syria. I hear it's nice this time of year," wrote one patriot. "Can we send Seal Team 6 after him?" asked another. Others suggested Levine "move to a communist country".

Initially, Levine tried to laugh off the incident. After the episode aired, he tweeted dictionary definitions for "joke", "humourless" , "lighthearted" and "misunderstand". But social media is (apparently) very serious about being anti-American (whatever that means), and whether due to public or network pressure, his publicist was distributing a penitent press release within the week.

"I obviously love my country very much," Levine avowed. "My comments last night were made purely out of frustration."  Careful everyone-- live by social media, die by social media!

Heroes of the Feline World

H1N1 Outbreak in Venezuela

An outbreak of H1N1 flu killed 17 people in Venezuela and infected another 250, private media and local authorities said.

H1N1, often referred to as swine flu, was a flu strain that swept around in the world in a 2009/2010 pandemic.   “We’re suffering a tail-end of the pandemic,” a former Venezuelan health minister, Rafael Orihuela, told a local TV station, commenting on the widespread reports of 17 deaths in the South American nation of 29 million people.  Most of the cases were in border states near Colombia.

Venezuela’s government has not confirmed the figures given by media and local health authorities. But officials said high-risk groups had largely been immunized, with 3 million vaccinations carried out so far this year.  The World Health Organization’s (WHO) official data show 18,500 people were reported killed in the 2009/2010 H1N1 pandemic, but a study in The Lancet last year said the actual death toll may have been up to 15 times higher at more than 280,000.

Wale & Rihanna - Bad

Leaked Top Secret Document Confirms NSA Domestic Spy Program

The National Security Agency has obtained direct access to the systems of Google, Facebook, Apple and other U.S. internet giants, according to top secret documents obtained by the Guardian.

 

The NSA access is part of a previously undisclosed program called Prism, which allows officials to collect material including search history, the content of emails, file transfers and live chats, the document says.

The Guardian has verified the authenticity of the document, classified as top secret with no distribution to foreign allies – which was apparently used to train intelligence operatives on the capabilities of the program. The document claims "collection directly from the servers" of major U.S. service providers.

Google denied having a "back door" for the government to access private user data.  Apple said that it had "never heard" of Prism.

The NSA access was enabled by changes to US surveillance law introduced under President Bush and renewed under Obama in December 2012.  It opens the possibility of communications made entirely within the U.S. being collected without warrants.

No Due Process For You!

Attorney General Eric Holder has acknowledged four U.S. citizens have been killed in drone strikes since 2009.  In a letter to the Senate judiciary committee, Eric Holder defended the targeted killing of Anwar al-Awlaki.  But he said Awlaki's 16-year-old son as well as two other individuals were "not specifically targeted by the U.S."

The disclosure comes as President Barack Obama prepares to make a speech on counter-terrorism and the drone program on Thursday.  The president will "discuss why the use of drone strikes is necessary, legal and just, while addressing the various issues raised by our use of targeted action", administration officials said.

His speech coincides with the signing of new "presidential policy guidance" on when drone strikes can be used, the White House said.  According to news reports, the Pentagon has already started taking over responsibility from the CIA for drone strikes outside Pakistan. 

The disclosure of the killings in Yemen and Pakistan marks the first formal public acknowledgement of the U.S. citizen deaths in drone strikes.  Holder defended the killing of Awlaki, whom he described as a "senior operational leader" of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.  Holder said officials "appropriately concluded that [Awlaki] posed a continuing and imminent threat" to the U.S.

Awlaki, who was born in the state of New Mexico, was killed in a missile strike from an unmanned plane in Yemen in September 2011.  The original announcement of his death did not officially reveal he was killed by a drone.  Samir Khan, a naturalized U.S. citizen who produced an online magazine promoting al-Qaeda's ideology, died in the same missile strike.

Awlaki's 16-year-old son Abdulrahman, who was born in Colorado, was killed in Yemen a month later.  Jude Kenan Mohammad, a North Carolina resident with a Pakistani father and an American-born mother, was thought to have died in a strike in November 2011 in Pakistan's South Waziristan region. Speculation of his death had been reported in local media in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he lived, but was not confirmed by U.S. officials before Wednesday.

 

 

Jay Sean & Rick Ross - Mars

I Know, Right?

Tragic Miscarriage of Justice for Guatemalan People

The victims of Guatemala's civil war waited decades for justice, and finally got it when José Efraín Ríos Montt was found guilty of genocide.  But in a matter of only a few weeks, justice was cruelly snatched away.

Guatemala's constitutional court shockingly overturned the conviction against the former dictator, throwing out all proceedings against him as a result of a dispute over who should have overseen the trial.

Ríos Montt was found guilty in mid-May of overseeing the deliberate killings by the armed forces of at least 1,771 members of the Maya Ixil population during his 1982-83 rule. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison.  But the constitutional court threw out all proceedings in the case, saying that the trial against Ríos Montt should have been suspended in order to resolve a disagreement between judges over who should have overseen the case.  

If the Guatemalan people can't rely on its government or the judiciary for justice, who can they rely on?

American Caught In The Crossfire During India's War On Women

Indian police say that a 30-year-old American woman has been gang-raped in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh.

Police said that the woman had been attacked after she accepted a lift by three men in a truck in Manali, a resort town in the state.  No arrests have been made but police have set up roadblocks and are searching for the suspects.

"Because it happened at night, she couldn't read the truck number. At around 7am, we put up checkpoints everywhere and we've been looking for the suspects," senior local police official Vinod Dhawan told reporters.  "We have found some clues at the crime scene.  A case of rape was filed after the woman had been medically examined in a local hospital.

Georgia Clergy Encourage Violence Against LGBT Activists

Police in the Georgian capital Tbilisi failed to protect LGBT activists as thousands of people violently attacked a Pride event in what Amnesty International said was an ineffective response to organized and violent homophobia. 

Georgian LGBT activists were assembling in the capital's Pushkin park for a peaceful rally to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) when the event was cut short by a throng of angry counter-protesters reported to number in the thousands. The ensuing violence resulted in 17 people being injured – 12 of whom were hospitalized, including three policemen and a journalist. 

“Ironically this shameful violence marred a day that is meant to mark solidarity in the face of homophobic violence around the world, and it shows that the Georgian authorities have a long way to go to promote tolerance and protect LGBT people and their human rights,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Program Director at Amnesty International. “The authorities must investigate this violence and bring to justice those responsible for committing acts punishable by law.” 

Video from the scene depicts dozens of people apparently attempting to lynch a young man because they believed he was gay – something he denies, while making the sign of the cross in front of a nearby church. Police intervened to separate the man from the crowd, but no arrests were made at the time. The attackers at the event appear to have been encouraged by religious authorities from the Georgian Orthodox Church.  The day before the incident, the Church's highest authority, Patriarch Ilia II, called on the authorities to ban the event, saying it would be "an insult" to Georgian tradition.  

Amnesty International noted that this is the second consecutive year that police in Tbilisi have failed to protect LGBT activists from violent attacks by Orthodox groups inspired by intolerance.  “It is becoming a dangerous trend in Georgia to condone and leave unpunished the acts of violence against  religious and sexual minorities if they are perpetrated by the Orthodox religious clergy or their followers. It is simply unacceptable for the authorities to continue to allow attacks in the name of religion or on the basis of anyone's real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Dalhuisen. 

“It was clear from last year’s events, as well as this year’s announcements for the planned counter-demonstrations, that violence was to be expected. The police appeared to have been woefully unprepared and failed once again to ensure that LGBTI activists could exercise their right to freedom of assembly and expression.  By failing to take effective measures and hold these accountable to justice, the Georgian authorities are allowing the intolerance and impunity to grow and fester. They must improve their policing of peaceful demonstrations in future and ensure that this is not allowed to happen again,” Dalhuisen added.

 

H.R. Nightmare in Space

Gucci Mane & Rick Ross - Traphouse 3