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India Protests Swell as Anna Hazare Fasts

Arup Roychoudhury and Matthias Williams
Reuters
Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:49 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Adnan Abidi
A supporter of veteran Indian social activist Anna Hazare shouts anti-government slogans as he waits for Hazare to leave Tihar jail in New Delhi August 17, 2011.
Protests swelled across India Wednesday in support of a self-styled Gandhian anti-corruption campaigner fasting to the death in jail, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's struggling government at a loss over how to end the standoff.

Singh, 78, who is widely criticized as out of touch, dismissed the fast by Anna Hazare as "totally misconceived," sparking outrage as lawmakers cried "shame."

"It is a wake-up call for all of us unless we put our house in order. The people of this country are becoming restless," said Arun Jaitley, a leader of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

The squat and slight 74-year-old Hazare fasted as thousands of his followers gathered outside the jail, the latest development in a crisis that saw him arrested Tuesday and then refuse to leave jail after the government ordered his release.
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Megaphone

UK Propaganda: Clegg Brands Riots 'An attack on Liberty'

Ian Dunt
Politics.co.uk
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:01 UTC
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Clegg: We need punishment that sticks.
Nick Clegg made his first major foray into the political debate over the riots today, with a speech branding them an "attack on liberty".

The deputy prime minister was in danger of being overshadowed yesterday as David Cameron and Ed Miliband both made speeches laying out markedly different responses to the violence which rocked England last week.

"Crime and lawlessness deprive ordinary, decent people of their freedom," he said.

"Violence and disorder are an attack on liberty, on the freedom of individuals to live and work in peace in their own communities."

Comment: For a more balanced view of the London riots read: Who Started The London Riots?

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Crusader

Texas Observer: Rick Perry's Army of God


BlogForArizona.com
Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:34 UTC
The radical religious right Christian Reconstructionism and Dominionism movements have a prophet to lead them to their end-times Rapture: Governor Rick Perry of Texas.

The Texas Observer has this disturbing must read report by Forrest Wilder in its August issue, Rick Perry's Army of God:

Comment: Read also:

Rick Perry's Army of God
Dominionism: A 'dangerous' Christian movement influencing Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry?
US: Meet the Christian Dominionist 'Prayer Warriors' Who Have Chosen Rick Perry as Their Vehicle to Power
Texas Governor Perry took Merck money before mandating cervical vaccine

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People

The "Israeli Spring" versus Netanyahu

Etgar Keret
CBS News
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:31 UTC
Image
© Getty Images
Demonstrators shout slogans near the Knesset in central Jerusalem on August 16, 2011 to protest against rising housing prices and social inequalities in the Jewish state
Nine days ago, in the middle of Ibn Gevirol Street, on the cornerof Shaul Hamelech, I saw D. We were separated by the hordes of people flooding the street on the way to the demonstration in Tel Aviv, and though I was close enough to recognize him, there was too much noise to hear exactly what he was shouting. From his lip movements, I could guess that it was "The people demand social justice."

A few days earlier, when Margol, the well-known Mizrachi (a term used for Jews who immigrated to Israel from the Arab world) singer and judge on A Star Is Born, the Israeli version of American Idol, spoke out against the social revolution and its "inauthentic" activists, she must have been thinking of him. D. is a fair-skinned, round-spectacled redhead. He has two apartments on a quiet Tel Aviv street given to him by his well-to-do family. In addition, he holds a summa cum laude masters degree from Tel Aviv University and a dream job at one of Israel's successful high-tech companies, the kind featured in financial columns. In short, the guy has it made. And this guy who has it made, instead of sitting home and watching the finale of A Star Is Born, is standing and sweating in the middle of Ibn Gevirol Street on Saturday night, shouting hoarsely with thousands of others that the people want social justice.
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Cell Phone

UK: 'Devastating' Evidence Puts Murdochs Back in the Crosshairs

Adam Clark Estes
The Atlantic Wire
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© Getty
New evidence in the News Corp. phone hacking scandal reveals a widespread cover-up that casts doubt on sworn testimonies from the company's most senior leadership. A 4-year-old letter written by former News of the World reporter Clive Goodman but published Tuesday claims that phone hacking was "widely discussed" at the tabloid and conducted with "the full knowledge and support" of the tabloid's senior management. The fresh revelation spells trouble for former Dow Jones chief Les Hinton, former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, Prime Minister David Cameron, and Rupert Murdoch. But it's potentially explosive for James Murdoch, who now faces another set of allegations that he lied to Parliament.

The Parliamentary committee investigating phone hacking allegations describes the Goodman letter as "absolutely devastating." Based on the context in which it was written in March 2007--just after Goodman's release from a four-month-long, phone-hacking-related prison sentence--the letter implicates each of the above News Corp. leaders in a slightly different way.
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Eagle

Jeers and (Some) Cheers as Obama Goes on Vacation

Linda Feldmann
The Christian Science Monitor
Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00 UTC
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© The Associated Press / Senne
Life-size photographs of first lady Michelle Obama, left, and President Barack Obama, right, are seen in the window of a store, in Oak Bluffs, Mass., on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Thursday, Aug. 18. Obama is expected to vacation on the island with his family during the last half of August.
Mitt Romney says Obama 'shouldn't be out vacationing' during a 'crisis.' Newt Gingrich agrees. But a veteran of multiple White Houses says presidents need to 'recharge.'

When President Obama planned his annual August break on Martha's Vineyard, he could predict he'd face some grief for going off and relaxing a bit with his family while the nation goes through tough economic times.

But Mr. Obama couldn't predict the stock market would tank again. Not that there's anything he could do about that, no matter where he's physically situated. Still, the posh locale for this summer break - once again, Blue Heron Farm in the charming village of Chilmark - just seems especially bad optics for a president who is obviously financially comfortable while so many Americans are not, politicos are opining.

And ultimately, they say, he just shouldn't be on vacation, period.
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People

India Faces Risk of its Own Arab Spring Over Anti-Graft Protests

Jan Lokpal Bill
The Times of India
Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:35 UTC
India protests
© Times of India
The anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare is snowballing into one of the biggest challenges in decades for the ruling Congress party.
An anti-corruption movement led by the feisty 74-year-old social activist Anna Hazare is snowballing into one of the biggest challenges in decades for the ruling Congress party and if not contained risks sparking India's own version of an Arab Spring revolt.

While no one is expecting an Egypt-like overthrow in the world's biggest democracy, a galvanised and frustrated middle class and the mushrooming of social networking sites combined with an aggressive private media may be transforming India's political landscape.

Hazare has quickly become a 21st century Mahatma Gandhi inspiration for millions of Indians fed up with rampant corruption, red tape and inadequate services provided by the state despite the country posting near-double digit economic growth for almost a decade.
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Stormtrooper

US: Airport security: You ain't seen nothing yet

Bill Briggs
MSNBC
Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:45 UTC
Image
© Wong Maye-E / AP
In June, the IATA unveiled a mockup of the "checkpoint of the future" that includes three sensor-lined tunnels that divide passengers into high-, medium- and low-risk threats.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks forever changed the way Americans fly.

Gone are the days when friends or family could kiss passengers goodbye at the gate, replaced by X-rayed shoes and confiscated shampoo bottles at security checkpoints.

Air travelers are increasingly subjected to revealing full-body scans or enhanced pat-downs - all in the name of keeping the skies safe.

As America prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks in the U.S., security experts question whether freedom, speed and personal space will one day return to air travel - while still maintaining high standards of safety.

Some security analysts foresee a bumper crop of futuristic detection methods - from biometrics to electronic fingerprinting to behavioral analysis - and predict smoother, nimbler and less-intrusive airport walkthroughs in the coming years.
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Stormtrooper

US: Meet Verizon's Newest Security Force: Blackwater

T Santone
Daily Kos
Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:31 UTC
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© Ahmad al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Wait. What? Blackwater? That private, for-profit, trigger-happy army that killed 17 civilians in Nisour Square in Baghdad in 2007? Yeah. THAT BLACKWATER.

I have just confirmed with Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1104 that Blackwater is indeed being contracted by Verizon for security purposes. At this moment, CWA Local 1104 was not able to say how many security contractors have been hired or where they will be working. I'm sure more information will follow.

Blackwater, now called Xe, is considered to be the world's largest and most powerful mercenary army. In 2004, they had 2,300 men actively deployed around the world and another 20,000 contractors ready to go. They claim that they have trained tens of thousands of security personnel since 1998.
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Vader

Coup d' Etat in Syria almost complete: Obama says Assad must resign

Chris McGreal & Martin Chulov
The Guardian
Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:10 UTC
Image
© Sana handout/EPA
Bashar al-Assad of Syria is facing invasion by NATO forces
EU leaders echo stinging rebuke, delivered by US president in executive order imposing sanctions and assets freeze

Barack Obama has led a demand by world leaders for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, to surrender power. The US president declared that the "sustained onslaught" of Assad's regime against pro-democracy protesters has cost it all legitimacy.

The US president was joined by David Cameron of Britain, Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Angela Merkel of Germany, as well as the European Union in demanding Assad immediately resign.

Obama said the Syrian people's pursuit of democracy was an inspiration that had been met with "ferocious brutality" by their government.

"The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way. His calls for dialogue and reform have rung hollow while he is imprisoning, torturing, and slaughtering his own people," Obama said.
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