Society's Child

Duma revises prison rules, includes proposals from rights advocates

RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:23 UTC

Russia's Lower House has passed a bill limiting the use of physical force, weapons, and 'special means' at penal colonies that incorporates proposals from Human Rights activists aimed at minimizing the potential damage caused by such corrective actions.

"The main purpose of the bill is to ensure that the convicts' rights are protected from unjustified violence. The new edition of the bill aims to minimize the consequences of applying physical force and assure that timely medical aid is provided to all injured," the chairman of the State Duma Committee for Security, Vasily Piskarev, said in comments with TASS.

The commission's deputy chairman, Ernest Valeyev, explained that lawmakers had amended the bill to bring it in line with norms proposed by rights' advocates. These include a requirement to provide medical aid to injured inmates and allow doctors to document and report those cases. The bill also introduces restrictions on the use of "special equipment," from rubber truncheons to tasers and firearms, and requires that CCTV or portable video cameras record cases in which "special equipment" is used.

The bill also states that prison guards should not execute orders from their superiors to apply force or use 'special means' when these orders are clearly illegal. Use of force is only permitted when the disobedience of the inmates poses a threat to the lives or health of prison personnel or any other person. A separate article seeks to minimize collateral casualties by banning prison workers from using firearms in the midst of large gatherings of people.

Twitter will release info on user who allegedly sent seizure-inducing tweet to anti-Trump journalist

Russell Brandom
The Verge
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 18:48 UTC

Four days ago, an unidentified Twitter user tweeted a seizure-inducing animation at Newsweek and Vanity Fair writer Kurt Eichenwald, who has epilepsy. Now, Eichenwald has taken the first step toward identifying the user. In response to a civil suit filed by Eichenwald this week in Dallas district court, Twitter has agreed to hand over all relevant subscriber data for the user in question. The attack came in apparent retaliation for Eichenwald's aggressive coverage of President-elect Trump.

While Eichenwald has yet to file criminal charges, the civil suit was sufficient for an ex parte order from the district judge. Twitter subsequently agreed to expedited relief, declining to challenge the order or demand further evidence from Eichenwald. The next step is likely to be a lawsuit against wireless carriers or service providers implicated by Twitter's records, who will have records linking IP addresses and other metadata to the attacker's legal name.

Similar legal cases have met with success in the past. Twitter reserves the right to retain IP addresses and other location data in its privacy policy. If the attacker logs into the same account even once from an identifiable phone or home address, Twitter would be able to use those IP logs to identify them. However, Twitter's stated policy is to store those logs for only a brief period of time, and it's unclear how much information of that kind is currently available on the user.

Reached by The Verge, a Twitter representative declined to comment on individual cases, referring questions to the company's public guidelines for law enforcement requests. According to Twitter's transparency report, the company received 2,520 such requests in the US in the first half of 2016, and complied with 82 percent of requests.

Comment: See also:

Moderate Syrian rebel & wife sent daughters, 7 and 9, to blow themselves up in Damascus

Adam Hill
Russia Insider
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:50 UTC

This in fact happened. A former commander with Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda's Syria franchise in Damascus instructed his two daughters to die in suicide attacks against regime targets. The older of the girls was stopped by guards before reaching her target so she is alive. The younger one is sadly dead.

Comment: See: Terrorist attack at Damascus police station reportedly carried out by a child

DPIC report finds capital punishment convictions and public support waning in US

RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 19:16 UTC

The death penalty is on the wane in the US, with the fewest convictions since before capital punishment was reinstated and the lowest number of executions since 1991, according to a new report.

While 31 states still have the death penalty, only five conducted executions in 2016, according to the year-end report by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), an organization that monitors capital punishment.

Two states accounted for 80 percent of all executions in the US, the DPIC report noted. Of the 20 inmates executed in 2016, nine were executed in Georgia and seven in Texas. However, juries in Georgia have not imposed any new death sentences in the past two years.

MSM propaganda fail: Huge majority of Americans don't buy the Russian hacking story

Paul Kaiser
Russia Insider
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 00:00 UTC

Only 29% say they absolutely believe the claim that Russia 'hacked the election'

Despite a months-long propaganda campaign by the mainstream media to convince Americans that Russia is an enemy of the Unites States and responsible for "hacking the election" (whatever that's supposed to me) to defeat Hillary Clinton, a huge majority of 71% either aren't convinced or totally disbelieve the allegation. That's according to a new poll by Morning Consult:

Comment: 70% of U.S. citizens polled do not believe the news media is honest or truthful

'Al-Nusra Front follower' storms stage at children's Christmas play in Austria to preach from Koran

RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 15:55 UTC

A kindergarten Christmas play in Austria took an unexpected turn when an asylum seeker claiming to be a follower of Al-Nusra Front militant group stormed the stage and started preaching from the Koran. He was arrested soon after.

A video posted online by Heute newspaper shows the 24-year-old Somali refugee entering the stage while the young children were performing for their parents on Sunday. Many audience members believed it was part of the play at first, according to Mayor Rupert Imlinger, who was present at the performance in Oberndorf.

The man continued to pull a Koran from his backpack and began "gesticulating loudly," according to the Local, scaring both children and parents.

Two men from the audience were able to restrain the man, who fought them while shouting "Allahu Akbar." They were joined by several other fathers in the audience, including a policeman, and were able to take the man outside.

Comment: See also:

Austria arrests failed asylum seeker who was 'plotting holiday terrorist attack'
Iraqi refugee who raped 10yo boy at Austrian swimming pool claiming a 'sexual emergency' given 7 years

Ecuadorian natives detain govt soldiers for trespassing as state attempts to give their land away to Big Oil

Justin Gardner
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:53 UTC

A bold action by indigenous peoples in Ecuador is providing a stark contrast to the situation of Native Americans over the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The Kichwa de Sarayaku indigenous group has detained 11 government soldiers who were traveling through their territory in northeast Ecuador. The soldiers were going by canoe along the Bobonaza River, were not on duty and had not asked permission to enter the territory, according to the Kichwa.

"For security reasons we have been obligated to isolate them to consult them about their purpose and where they were headed. Sarayaku guarantees their Human Rights," a Kichwa statement read. Pictures of the soldiers sitting on benches inside a camp were also posted.

The detainment comes as tensions flare once again over government-enabled corporate exploitation of native lands.

A Chinese mining site was attacked by another indigenous group, the Shuar, who say the mine encroaches on their territory. This prompted the government of Rafael Correa to declare a state of emergency, which the Kichwa say "threatens the existence, peace and liberty of indigenous peoples."

In August, indigenous protesters briefly detained 27 soldiers and demanded the release of dozens of demonstrators who had been arrested. The protests reflect growing anger among indigenous Ecuadorians who say the government won't allow them more control over land and water resources.

The protesters have every reason to be concerned.

Freed citizens suffering from 'East Aleppo Syndrome' - form of 'Stockholm syndrome'

RT
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:53 UTC

Last week, the Syrian Army declared victory in Aleppo. As the city was freed, msm reports began seeking out civilians who 'didn't trust' their liberators, citing this as evidence of the government's 'brutality'. Commenting on the phenomenon, journalist Thierry Meyssan explained that many residents are actually suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

On Wednesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that about 37,500 people had been evacuated from eastern Aleppo, with buses taking them to camps in opposition-controlled areas and to Turkey following a deal negotiated with Damascus, Moscow and Tehran. Many of the evacuees are thought to be opposition fighters and their families, but other civilians are also assumed to be in the mix.

Meanwhile, even while the majority of the city's residents, estimated at 120,000 people in total, have greeted their liberators and welcomed them as heroes, others have been less eager to do so, saying they don't trust the government or its efforts to assist them.

French journalist and political writer Thierry Meyssan described this phenomenon in a recent article for Syrian online newspaper al-Watan. According to the journalist, a significant minority of the city's non-militant affiliated residents are suffering from what he has dubbed the 'East Aleppo Syndrome', a localization of the well-known psychological condition known as Stockholm Syndrome.

"Strangely," Meyssan wrote, "although the state is offering them food, health care and temporary housing, some residents of these neighborhoods continue to say that 'they do not trust the state.'"

Islamophobia? Famous YouTube prankster claims he was thrown off Delta flight for speaking Arabic

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:45 UTC

In yet another case of Islamaphobia, a famous YouTube performer has been kicked off a Delta flight after passengers allegedly expressed fear over him speaking Arabic.

Adam Saleh explained on Twitter that he was simply talking to his mom on the phone before being forced off the plane.

"I was speaking to my mum in Arabic, then I spoke to Slim in Arabic, and they kicked us out," Saleh explained, adding, "I will not let this issue go by. I will speak up and make sure anyone can speak any language in a plane."

Sheriff investigating Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle murder found dead at home of apparent suicide

Liz Farme
Dallas Morning News
Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:28 UTC

Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant (center) during a press conference in 2013. He is pictured with District Attorney Alan Nash (left) and Chief Deputy Jason Upshaw,

Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant was reportedly found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his home overnight, according to local officials.

The death occurred about 12:05 a.m. Tuesday at Bryant's house in Stephenville, according to a Texas Rangers statement sent by Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Lonny Haschel.

The Texas Rangers are investigating his death at the request of the Stephenville Police Department. Haschel said the statement did not include Bryant's cause of death.

Bryant's death is less than one week after reports surfaced that the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement was investigating him for allegedly cheating on his continuing education training, yourstephenvilletx.com reports. He served as sheriff for nearly 20 years in Erath County, which is about 80 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

Bryant was one of the lead investigators in the double murder of Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield at a gun range in February 2013.

Comment: See also:

Seriously, lets break down these words, and I am fully equipped for this task that I give to myself NOW. gives OSHA the authority to act quickly...

Buffalo_Ken

Forensic pathologists performed a postmortem and concluded that the man had probably died mid-flight Let me see ... he walked onto the plane,...

HashAttack2

This ain't no fucking real emergency. It is an effing emergency in the mind of a few....who thought they were gonna put the rest of us into...

Buffalo_Ken

The administration defended OSHA's legal right to issue these requirements, saying that the Occupational Safety and Health Act "gives OSHA the...

HashAttack2

Thanks, SOTT. Good read.

ReRan

Society's Child

Duma revises prison rules, includes proposals from rights advocates

Twitter will release info on user who allegedly sent seizure-inducing tweet to anti-Trump journalist

Moderate Syrian rebel & wife sent daughters, 7 and 9, to blow themselves up in Damascus

DPIC report finds capital punishment convictions and public support waning in US

MSM propaganda fail: Huge majority of Americans don't buy the Russian hacking story

'Al-Nusra Front follower' storms stage at children's Christmas play in Austria to preach from Koran

Ecuadorian natives detain govt soldiers for trespassing as state attempts to give their land away to Big Oil

Freed citizens suffering from 'East Aleppo Syndrome' - form of 'Stockholm syndrome'

Islamophobia? Famous YouTube prankster claims he was thrown off Delta flight for speaking Arabic

Sheriff investigating Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle murder found dead at home of apparent suicide

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