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Israel lobby demands music artist Lowkey be deleted by Spotify

Asa Winstanley
Te Electronic Intifada
Thu, 24 Mar 2022 00:01 UTC
lowkey rapper
© SH5 SakuraLowkey performing on stage. The UK rapper is a strong supporter of Palestinian liberation.
A British pro-Israel lobby group is demanding that Spotify delete the music of rapper and Palestine solidarity campaigner Lowkey.

"The presence of Lowkey's music is particularly offensive," anti-Palestinian newspaper The Jewish News reported in an interview with lobbyist Luke Akehurst this week.

Akehurst is the director of a group called We Believe in Israel.

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Attention

Leaders warn of 'unprecedented' global food crisis risks


RT
Thu, 24 Mar 2022 21:20 UTC
food grain
© Getty Images / Bartosz Hadyniak
G7 leaders have called for an extraordinary session of the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization in a bid to prevent the Ukrainian conflict from turning into a global food crisis, while French President Emmanuel Macron presented his own "initiative for food security."

According to a communique adopted on Thursday at the summit of the world's biggest economies, the Russian offensive on its neighboring country "places global food security under increased pressure." Therefore, the G7 leaders agreed to use "all instruments and funding mechanisms" and involve the "relevant international institutions" to address food security, including support for the "continued Ukrainian production efforts."

"We call for an extraordinary session of the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to address the consequences on world food security and agriculture arising from the Russian aggression against Ukraine," reads the communique.

The countries agreed to avoid export bans and other "trade-restrictive measures" and to maintain open and transparent markets, in accordance with World Trade Organization rules.

French President Emmanuel Macron has used the summit in Brussels to present his own "initiative for food security." The world is facing an "unprecedented" food crisis, Macron said, adding that it is "a direct consequence of Russia's choices and the war." In the president's opinion, the situation is already difficult and might further deteriorate "in 12-18 months."

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Attention

Ukrainian civilians stripped, tied up and beaten by vigilantes in shocking videos

Frank Chung
news.com.au
Wed, 23 Mar 2022 10:14 UTC
ukraine pole tying
Some are left badly beaten and bloodied.
WARNING: Distressing content

A series of horrifying videos published on social media show Ukrainian civilians - including women and children - being tied up, stripped and beaten in apparent vigilante attacks.

Since Russia's invasion last month, reports have emerged of humiliating public punishments dished out by Ukrainians to alleged looters and saboteurs, with several photos showing people tied to poles with their pants pulled down going viral online.

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Arrow Up

New Zealand overhauls its COVID-19 restrictions: Jacinda Ardern announces vaccine passes and mandates will end


Source
Fri, 25 Mar 2022 08:30 UTC
Jacinda Ardern
© Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesNew Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced changes to the country's COVID-19 restrictions.
Jacinda Ardern has announced sweeping changes to New Zealand's COVID-19 restrictions, axing the My Vaccine Pass and removing vaccine mandates in almost all industries.

Vaccine passes are being axed in New Zealand, with mandates being removed in almost all industries.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the changes on Wednesday as she unveiled the country's post-Omicron peak plan.

Comment: The Covid-zero approach was always doomed to failure, but it provided a framework for authoritarian clamp-down on the populace (which was the true goal). New Zealand now joins the rest of the world in the grand narrative shift, giving the plebs their rights back for now. We're all waiting for the other shoe to drop.

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Toys

EU leaders call Putin's rubles-for-gas plan breach of contract


RFE/RL
Thu, 24 Mar 2022 20:51 UTC
gas pipelines, natural gas
© ReutersThe trade bloc was planning to slap sanctions on imports of oil and natural gas
Several leaders from European Union members have scoffed at Russia's demand that some "unfriendly" countries will be forced to pay for its natural gas and oil in rubles, saying the move is a breach of contract.

In a move seen aimed at bolstering Russia's beleaguered currency in the face of crippling economic and financial penalties over its invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow will no longer accept payments in dollars or euros, what he called "compromised currencies" from countries that have imposed the sanctions.

While Putin did not name any countries, it is understood the policy would target Britain, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United States, and members of the European Union.

Comment: EU leaders can cry like children all they want about how they think Putin's counter-measures are unfair. But at the end of the week they're still going to have to pay in rubles.

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Bad Guys

US prepares for failure of anti-Russian strategy - media


RT
Thu, 24 Mar 2022 20:38 UTC
White House/flag
© Getty Images/E4C
Senior US officials tasked with improving the country's geopolitical position in the wake of Russia's attack against Ukraine have doubts about their government's current strategy, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the discussions.

The admission was buried in an article detailing the work of the Tiger Team, a group created in late February by the White House for planning around the situation in Ukraine.

The report itself largely focused on how the US was preparing contingency plans for the unlikely scenario that Moscow would use weapons of mass destruction.

In addition to establishing the unit, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan formed a second body for long-term planning, the newspaper said, explaining its skepticism of the established Western narrative regarding the Ukraine conflict.

"Inside the White House, it has become an article of faith that [Russian President Vladimir Putin] made a huge strategic error - one that will diminish Russia's standing, cripple its economy, and alienate potential allies for years. But it is early in the conflict, other officials caution, and that conclusion may prove premature," the newspaper detailed.

Comment: The US shouldn't be preparing for nuclear war but for the ramifications of its short-sighted policies.

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Handcuffs

The Biden administration is cooking the books on illegal immigrant arrests

Jon Feere
The Federalist
Thu, 24 Mar 2022 00:00 UTC
immigration officers
© UnknownImmigration officers at the US border.
The Biden administration is attempting to put a positive spin on its dangerous enforcement guidelines through unreliable data.

The Biden administration has delayed for months an annual illegal immigration report that contains crucial statistics about this key national security issue, as the U.S. border crisis keeps breaking records since Joe Biden took the presidential office.
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Oil Well

Indian Oil Corporation buys Russian crude at deep discount

PTI
The Indian Express
Thu, 17 Mar 2022 11:37 UTC
gas sign
© File PhotoIndian Oil Corporation
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's top oil firm, has bought as much as 3 million barrels of crude oil that Russia had offered at steep discount to prevailing international rates, sources said.

The purchase, made through a trader, is the first since Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine that brought international pressure for isolating Putin administration.

Sources aware of the matter said IOC bought Urals crude for May delivery at a discount of USD 20-25 a barrel to dated Brent.

As the US and other western nations slapped sanctions on Moscow, Russia has begun offering oil and other commodities at discounted prices to India and other large importers.

IOC made the purchase on modified terms that require the seller to deliver it to the Indian coast so as to avoid any complications that sanctions may lead to in arranging shipping and insurance.

Unlike the sanctions the US imposed on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme, oil and energy trade with Russia has not been banned. This means international payment systems are available to settle any purchase made from Russia, they said.
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Network

Lawsuit accuses NYPD of secretly building 'rogue' DNA database

Monique Beals
The Hill
Tue, 22 Mar 2022 04:22 UTC
DNA Jail
© New York Post
A lawsuit filed Monday accuses the New York Police Department (NYPD) of collecting genetic materials from thousands of citizens in a secret attempt to create a "rogue" DNA database.

Legal Aid Society, in a post on social media announcing the federal lawsuit, said:
"For decades, the NYPD has used dishonest tactics to obtain New Yorkers' DNA, including those as young as 11-years-old, by offering bottles of water or cigarettes to our clients detained at local precincts."
The organization accused the NYPD:
"of keeping citizens' DNA permanently stored in a rogue local database," saying it "continuously compares past and future crime scene DNA evidence against this database, which has led to wrongful arrests and prosecutions."
The NYPD has previously said it would review its DNA database after discreetly collecting thousands of the samples, according to CBS News. But the Legal Aid Society said in its post that the database "only continues to grow."

Comment: Is it a crime deterrent, invasion of privacy or gross overreach?
This increase in police authority was part of a broader and ongoing trend in the U.S., where DNA databases have expanded to include incrementally less severe crimes at different rates across state jurisdictions. Studies show larger databases do not correlate to a more efficient crime fighting tool, and can even lead to increased margins of error.

In 2013, President Obama signed into law a bill to provide federal funding for states to implement DNA collection programs for people arrested for serious crimes.

Beyond the question of effectiveness, as forensic DNA databases have expanded across the U.S., there has been an ongoing legal debate about whether such surveillance techniques violate a constitutional right to privacy.

Taking DNA samples was "like fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment." However, Antonin Scalia, argued that using DNA in "cold hit" searches was an unconstitutional invasion of privacy that eroded the presumption of innocence.

Local governments, like NYC, maintain unregulated DNA indexes that include people who have never been convicted, and might not have even been arrested, for a crime."


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Pistol

New York a city under siege, as staggering crime wave roils politics, challenges Left


Judicial Watch
Wed, 23 Mar 2022 18:36 UTC
Frank Abrokwa new york city assault
© Jesse Ward/Daily MailFrank Abrokwa, 37, whose record includes more than 44 arrests, was arraigned on charges stemming from the feces attack on March 1 (pictured), but a judge released him
The NYPD's new anti-gun units hit the streets last week and not a moment too soon. New York City is in the midst of a staggering crime wave. Over the past weekend, 29 people were shot in 24 separate incidents, the Daily News reported. According to the latest NYPD statistics, major felonies in the city increased 58% in February 2022, in year over year comparisons to February 2021. Murders rose 10%. Felony assaults rose 22%. Rapes increased 35%. Robberies increased 56%. Hate crimes — largely against Jews and Asian-Americans — surged 189%. Crimes in the transit systems — mainly the subways — were up 73%.

New York is a city under siege. Every day brings a new horror story. A child is assaulted in Times Square. A young woman is stabbed to death in her Chinatown apartment. A senior citizen is hacked to death by a wheelchair-bound transgender two-time convicted murderer. A madman smears feces on a woman's face in a subway station, is released on bail, and arrested again after hurling a dumbbell through a window. A woman is shoved in front of a subway train and killed. Another woman is attacked with a hammer. A teen is shot to death in front of a Brooklyn high school. A baby is shot in the face in the Bronx. A teenage cashier at a Burger King in Manhattan is shot and killed during a robbery. Two police officers are killed by gunfire in Harlem.

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