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Too blatant to ignore? Four human rights groups warn that 'radical groups' have free rein in Ukraine


RT
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 18:46 UTC
Defender of Ukraine Day Kiev
© Gleb Garanich / Reuters
Far-right radical groups take part in a rally to mark Defender of Ukraine Day, in Kiev, Ukraine October 14, 2017.
Four human rights groups have issued a joint letter to the Ukrainian government, calling on Kiev to condemn attacks and threats committed by "radical groups" which promote hate and to hold the guilty parties accountable.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Front Line Defenders, and Freedom House sent a letter to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor General's Office detailing a series of attacks by right-wing groups against minorities and activists that have gone largely ignored by law enforcement.
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Arrow Up

Journalist: Majority of Austrians would remove anti-Russia sanctions, hostility comes from political groups


Sputnik
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 21:50 UTC
putin kurz
© Sputnik / Alexei Druzhinin
Many Austrian residents want to restore good relations between Russia and Europe, and they would vote in favor of removing sanctions, Austrian journalist and writer Hannes Hofbauer believes.

Hostilities in EU-Russia relations are not beneficial for either party, and Austrian citizens understand that, Hannes Hofbauer said during a presentation of his book, titled "Russia: image of the enemy. History of demonization."

"Most people in Austria want to have better relations with Russia. If there was a referendum in Austria now, the majority would vote for the withdrawal of sanctions," the writer said.

Comment: The realization that anti-Russian sentiment is coming from the political class who are hell-bent on maintaining their ailing hegemony is becoming clear for all to see: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Ditches Europe, Europe Bluffs, Russia and China Carry on With Eurasian Integration

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Alarm Clock

California moves closer to abolishing daylight saving time

Taryn Luna
The Sacramento Bee
Thu, 14 Jun 2018 21:50 UTC
daylight savings time
California voters may get a chance to weigh in on daylight saving time in November.

The state Senate on Thursday approved a proposal to ask voters to repeal a 70-year-old initiative that set a biannual clock change in California and give lawmakers the power to adjust the time with a two-thirds vote.

"If signed by the governor, the bill will bring California closer to abolishing the outdated practice of switching our clocks in the fall and spring," said Assemblyman Kansen Chu, D- San Jose, who introduced Assembly Bill 807.

Foes of the practice shouldn't celebrate just yet. The state cannot officially end daylight saving time until next year, at the earliest. The process is best described as complicated and would require a second bill and federal approval, according to analysis from the Legislature.

Comment:

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Question

Aaron Rich refusing to authorize Wikileaks to reveal info on murdered brother Seth

Alicia Powe
The Gateway Pundit
Thu, 14 Jun 2018 17:38 UTC
seth rich deep state

Murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich
Former President Obama's White House Counsel, representing the brother of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich, are "desperately" working to obstruct WikiLeaks from revealing the truth of how it obtained troves of DNC and Clinton campaign emails during the 2016 election, an attorney who's been subpoenaed by Rich's legal team warns.

Aaron Rich, the brother of Seth Rich, filed a lawsuit in April in US District Court in the District of Columbia, against the Ed Butowsky, a wealth management and financial adviser who financed a private investigator to help the Rich family find Seth's killer(s); Butowsky's attorney, Ty Clevenger; Matt Couch and his media company, America First Media; and the conservative-leaning newspaper the Washington Times for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy, among other actions.

Comment: One might ask if anyone is "leaning" on brother Aaron.

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Arrow Down

Former prisoner of conscience condemns Amnesty International for its part in worsening Nicaragua's current crisis

Camilo E. Mejia
teleSUR
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 17:26 UTC
Nicaragua
© Reuters
An open letter to Amnesty International by former Prisoner of Conscience Camilo E. Mejia on the violence gripping his native Nicaragua.
Through this letter I express my unequivocal condemnation of Amnesty International with regards to the destabilizing role it has played in Nicaragua, my country of birth.

I open this letter quoting Donatella Rovera, who at the time of speaking had been one of Amnesty International's field investigators for more than 20 years:

"Conflict situations create highly politicized and polarized environments... Players and interested parties go to extraordinary lengths to manipulate or manufacture 'evidence' for both internal and external consumption. A recent - though by no means the only - example is provided by the Syrian conflict in what is often referred to as the 'YouTube war,' with a myriad techniques employed to manipulate video footage of incidents which occurred at other times in other places - including in other countries - and present them as 'proof' of atrocities committed by one or other parties to the conflict in Syria."
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Bad Guys

French police claim to have thwarted 5 terrorist attacks this year, including plots against gay and swinger clubs


RT
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 17:41 UTC
French DGSI officers
© Vincent Kessler / Reuters
French DGSI officers
French authorities have foiled five terrorist attacks this year, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb revealed, with local media reporting that, in at least two cases, radicalized suspects had plotted to target gay and swinger groups.

Two alleged Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) radicals, aged 21 and 22, were arrested in the eastern Paris suburb of Seine-et-Marne, were indicted on Tuesday by an anti-terror judge for "criminal terrorist conspiracy" and remain in custody, pending trial. France's intelligence service DGSI managed to foil their alleged planned attack by monitoring the online chatter of an alleged jihadist cell, Collomb revealed on Thursday.

"This case began in January, when two individuals exchanged regularly with Daesh [IS]," the Interior Minister explained, speaking at Dinéault gendarmerie school near of Châteaulin. "We listen a lot to what happens on the Internet," he added, praising the use of electronic surveillance.

During the raid on the suspects' apartment, authorities discovered "combat knives and components that would create explosives," as well as IS-related material. "It's the fifth time this year that such a preventive action has permitted security forces to foil what would have been a violent act," the Interior Ministry said, without offering any details.

Comment: Keep in mind though, that most attacks turn out to have been carried out by people who were either on intelligence watch-lists, or were 'radicalized in prison', then let out...

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Calculator

New Zealand to tax tourists as surge in visitors puts pressure on infrastructure


Yahoo News
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC
New Zealand tourism

Tourism is a key pillar of the New Zealand economy and the new tax is expected to raise up to NZ$80 million in its first year, which will be split between tourism infrastructure and conservation initiatives.
Tourists to New Zealand are to be charged a special tax, under new government plans announced Friday to deal with the growing influx of holidaymakers coming from overseas.

Visitor numbers have surged by nearly a third in the past three years to 3.8 million in the 12 months to April -- almost as big as the country's population.

"This rapid growth has impacted on the costs and availability of publicly-provided infrastructure," tourism minister Kelvin Davis said.

"Many regions are struggling to cope and urgently need improved infrastructure, from toilet facilities to carparks."
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Star of David

Israeli West Bank outpost is evacuated without a shot, even as settlers throw stones

Jonathan Ofir
Mondoweiss
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 17:12 UTC
Netiv Ha'avot evacuation
© Jacob Magid for the Times of Israel
Evacuation at Netiv Ha'avot
There is a big difference between how Jewish-Israeli settler outposts are evacuated, and how Israelis imagine a Palestinian outpost being evacuated, if it ever came to be.

Let's start with the Jewish-Israeli settler outpost. On Tuesday, 15 homes in the West Bank settler outpost called Netiv Ha'avot were evacuated, following a 21-month old ruling from the Israeli High Court of Justice, affirming that they were built on privately-owned Palestinian land. Under international law, all Israeli West Bank settlements are illegal and considered a "flagrant violation under international law" - but Israel has a "selective" view of what is legal in this respect, and considers some settlements to be legal if they are built on land that the state has confiscated.

Times of Israel reports how "some 2,500 Border Police officers were deployed to ensure the demolition of the homes was carried out peacefully". And it is important to note, these officers are almost all unarmed. It's worth looking at those pictures. Officers in t-shirts, backpacks, caps really look more as if they're geared up for a hike in the hills south of Jerusalem, rather than prepared for any sort of violent confrontation. It's very clear, that they are dressed up in order to give a signal: "we are not here to fight with you".
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Alarm Clock

Stabbing attack at Germany's main railway station kills 1, injures 3


Sputnik
Fri, 15 Jun 2018 20:04 UTC
Sign at Munich's main rail station
© Via Twitter@Golemiker
The incident took place on Friday, the Bild newspaper reports, citing local police. An attacker killed a 25-year-old woman and injured several others, subsequently fleeing the scene.

As the media noted, the police ruled out that the stabbing was a terrorist attack, saying it was a domestic assault.

The attacker has fled the crime scene and police is now searching for him. A city resident reports that Munich's main railway station was closed due to the incident.

TWEET: What's happened at Munich main railway station? According to the announcement and screen message, the trains do not stop there, as police operation is underway
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Propaganda

News Corp CEO calls for social media censorship to 'protect professional journalism'

Allum Bokhari
Breitbart
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 00:00 UTC
Robert Thomson, News Corp
Speaking at an event on social media and its impact on the news industry, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson called for social media platforms to "protect professional journalism" and be subject to an "algorithm review board" made up of "experts."

Social platforms, said Thomson, have "a responsibility to project professional journalism, and cultivate a culture of compliance so that the real could be separated from the unreal and the surreal."

"If your business model is to commodify content - which is an egregious mistake because there is a hierarchy of content - and then allow a search engine or a social platform to be easily manipulated by bad actors then you're failing a basic test of compliance."

"The pervasiveness of the largest digital platforms makes Standard Oil look like a corner gas station."

Comment: Protecting the official versions of events is more to the point as mainstream 'journalists' destroyed journalistic credibility years ago. The internet has made it much more difficult for MSM purveyors of fake news to propagandize without redress, thus the calls for outright censorship are becoming increasingly strident.

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