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Two can play this game: China releases scathing Human Rights report on U.S.


teleSUR
Fri, 10 Mar 2017 17:49 UTC
black activist arrest
© ReutersCops arrest an activist peacefully protesting the police shooting of 16-year-old Kiki Gray in New York City, 2013.
"The colonial history, enslavement, segregation, racial terrorism and racial inequality in the U.S. remained a serious challenge," the report noted.

On Thursday, China's State Council Information Office released a human rights report on the U.S., noting that while that country continues to act as "the judge of human rights" it continues to ignore its own "terrible problems."

The report, called "Human Rights Record of the United States in 2016," cites both international and U.S. academic and NGO sources focussed on that country's domestic and international human rights record.


Comment: The full report is worth reading. It's available in English here.


Comment: Another quote from the report:
The United States refused to approve core international conventions on human rights and did not accept UN draft resolutions related to human rights. It still has not ratified core international human rights conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women; the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. At the 71st General Assembly of the UN, the United States voted against draft resolutions related to human rights including "The right to development," "Human rights and unilateral coercive measures," "Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order," and "Declaration on the right to peace" .
Here are the subtitles and main observations:
I. Serious Infringement on Right to Life, Personal Security
  • Occurrence of gun-related crimes sustained a high level. ...
  • The crime rate shot up. ...
  • Police abused their law enforcement power. ...
  • The incarceration rate remained high. ...
II. Political Rights Undermined
  • Voter turnout and support rate reached new low. ...
  • Most Expensive Election Ever. ...
  • Media failed to be objective and impartial. ...
III. Grim Living Conditions of Low- and Middle-income Americans
  • Income gaps continued to widen. ...
  • The middle class shrank. ...
  • Low-income and poverty population lives deteriorated. ...
  • Life expectancy dropped. ...
  • Health conditions declined. ...
  • Social security system was seriously flawed. ...
IV. Racial Discrimination Worsened
  • Incidents of police killing African-Americans happened repeatedly. ...
  • Racial discrimination in law enforcement and judicial fields was common. ...
  • Gap between minority and white people was widened in employment and income. ...
  • Disciplinary punishments are clearly differentiated among racial groups in public schools. ...
  • Muslims suffer increasingly serious discrimination. ...
  • Racial discrimination is strongly condemned by the United Nations. ...
V. Women, Children, Elders' Rights Lack Proper Protection
  • Gender pay gaps remained large. ...
  • Sexual harassments and assaults took place frequently. ...
  • Protection for children's rights was inadequate. ...
  • Elders lived in difficulties. ...
VI. Gross Violations of Human Rights in Other Countries
  • Air strikes caused a large number of civilian casualties. ...
  • The issue of illegal detention and torturing prisoners of other countries remained unsolved. ...
  • The United States continued overseas monitoring projects in a large scale. ...


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Key

Volkswagen set to plead guilty to US emissions fraud


RT
Fri, 10 Mar 2017 11:23 UTC
Volkswagon
© Mike Blake / Reuters
The world's largest car producer Volkswagen is due to plead guilty on Friday in a US court in Detroit. The company is expected to admit fraud, obstruction of justice and entry of goods by false statement charges, a court spokesman said.

Volkswagen has been accused of secretly installing software into 580,000 diesel cars in the US. The software was designed to allow VW cars to emit 40 times more than the legally permitted amount of pollution. The cars spewed harmful nitrogen oxide.

Volkswagen has also admitted lying to investigators to cover up the scheme.

The company has agreed to reforms and a new audit by an independent source. VW will also spend up to $30 billion in various civil fines and contributions to owners, environmental regulators, and dealers in the US. Seven employees also face criminal charges in the case.

The settlement includes a commitment to pay a $2.8 billion criminal penalty and $1.5 billion to settle environmental, customs and financial misconduct.

Comment: See also : Hypocritical US pretends to care about justice by acting as global policeman of the business world

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Question

Editor-in-chief of RT mocks German finance minister Schauble: 'Let's make a bet' who will lie about us next


RT
Thu, 09 Mar 2017 17:53 UTC
RT studio
RT's editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan has jokingly responded to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble, who accused the news channel of broadcasting "false reports from dusk till dawn" and waging "propaganda war."

"This is quite funny that another lie about RT is coming from Germany's finance minister. Let's make a bet who is going to say this next - the healthcare or the tourism minister?" Simonyan said.

On Monday, speaking to a group of journalists, Schauble said that the Russian news channel is broadcasting "false reports from dusk till dawn" that are "putting the peaceful coexistence of people in Germany in danger," Germany's Bild reported.
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Handcuffs

Former immigration agent convicted of accepting cash bribes and sex


AP
Fri, 10 Mar 2017 16:59 UTC
Police ICE
© JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES
A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been convicted of accepting cash bribes and sex from immigrants in the U.S. without legal permission in exchange for employment authorization documents.

Arnaldo Echevarria, of Somerset, New Jersey, was found guilty Thursday of bribery, making false statements and harboring a person living in the U.S. illegally. Attorney Michael Koribanics said an appeal is likely.

Echevarria received $75,000 in bribes from immigrants not in the U.S. legally in exchange for employment authorization documents from 2012 to 2014, prosecutors said, and in one instance he demanded and received sex.
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Black Magic

'Exorcism' by electrocution: Indian father & grandmother torture children to 'cleanse evil' and achieve enlightenment


RT
Fri, 10 Mar 2017 15:21 UTC
Indian ritual ceremony
© Saikat Paul / Global Look Press via ZUMA PressThe children's mother was reportedly locked in a room during the ordeal.
An Indian mother was reportedly locked in a room while her children were electrocuted by their father and grandmother in an exorcism ritual. The grandmother reportedly convinced her son to carry out the electrocution so she could achieve enlightenment.

Nirmal Kaur and her son Kulwinder Singh were arrested in Kotfatta, Bathinda in northern India following the deaths of Singh's five-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, reported India Today.

Kaur, reportedly feared by her neighbors for having "divine powers", allegedly convinced her son the ritual would cleanse the children of "evil spirits" and help her achieve a degree of tantra.
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Sheriff

Disgraced cop involved in quadruple homicide and cocaine conspiracy kills himself as Feds try to arrest him

Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Fri, 10 Mar 2017 15:56 UTC
Gerard Benderoth
Gerard Benderoth
Disgraced NYPD police officer Gerard Benderoth, 48 — nicknamed "White Rhino" from his days as a strongman competitor — was being arrested by the FBI Wednesday when he pulled out a pistol and put a bullet in his head.

Benderoth was under arrest for his role in a quadruple homicide and massive cocaine conspiracy, of which he was alleged to be a part of and involved at least one other New York cop.
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Attention

Helicopter crashes into television tower killing 7 in Istanbul (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)


RT
Fri, 10 Mar 2017 15:46 UTC
Helicopter crash
© Cemal Cokun / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
Seven people, including four Russians, have died after a helicopter crashed into a television tower in Istanbul in dense fog. The seven on board comprised two pilots, four foreign nationals and a Turkish citizen.

An emergency center for Russians abroad confirmed five of the deaths in a tweet earlier on Friday.

Mayor of Istanbul Kadir Topbas announced the updated on death toll, reported AP, saying all seven on board had died.
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Family

Refugees living in Britain can be deported after 5yrs under new Tory policy


RT
Fri, 10 Mar 2017 12:40 UTC
Refugees
© Reuters
Refugees living in Britain will be subjected to an official review after five years where the Home Office will assess whether it is safe to send them back home.

Tens of thousands of people who applied to live in the UK permanently will face checks under a new government policy taking immediate effect.

"The policy is designed to meet our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and EU law by granting refugee status and an appropriate period of leave to those who need our protection," a document by the Home Office outlining the plans reads.

"To maintain a fair immigration system that requires all migrants, including those granted refugee status, to earn the right to settlement, and all the benefits that come with it, by completing an appropriate period of limited leave."

The strategy, which echoed many of the reforms brought in by Prime Minister Theresa May during her time as home secretary, is designed to make sure "those who no longer need protection will need to apply to stay on another basis or leave the UK."

Comment: See also: What are the real numbers saying about refugees

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Butterfly

UK watchdog group crowdfunds legal challenge to beat British military secrecy on drone wars


RT
Fri, 10 Mar 2017 12:29 UTC
Drones from UK
© Reuters

Drone Wars UK is crowdfunding a legal attempt to force the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to tell the public where its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are operating.

Although the UK government has disclosed details of conventional bombing and surveillance operations, it has refused to reveal details of drone deployments, the watchdog says.

The British government says releasing such information would prejudice security and capability. This is despite disclosures being commonplace in the past.

As recently as February 23, the MoD appeared to acknowledge it is working its way through a US-style 'kill list' of UK citizens who are fighting with jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq.

In a statement at the time, the MoD said: "We and our coalition partners have been clear that if you are fighting for Daesh [Islamic State/IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL] in Iraq and Syria then you will be targeted, irrespective of nationality."

Comment: Transparency is anathema to the UK, US and other militaries of Western world. How could they possibly feel free to intimidate, bully and wreak terror on countries they seek to subjugate if they are held to account for their actions?

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Die

Elon Musk promises to solve South Australia's energy problems in 100 days or do it for free


RT
Fri, 10 Mar 2017 15:46 UTC
Elon Musk
© Danny Moloshok / ReutersElon Musk
Billionaire Elon Musk has offered SolarCity services to help South Australia tackle blackouts across the state. Musk promised to solve the problem in 100 days, or he will do it for free.

South Australia is vulnerable due to its energy requirements. Last September, storms led to a state-wide blackout, forcing the shutdown of ports and public transport.

Outages also disrupted operations of mining majors like BHP Billiton. The state has 1.7 million people, making in the fifth most populous in the country.

While energy prices have surged in the state, local companies have failed to meet demand for environmental reasons.
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