Society's ChildS


Bad Guys

Britain gives up legal sovereignty over European treaty

Britain yesterday surrendered 1,000 years of legal sovereignty in return for a European extradition treaty.

Judges and magistrates across the continent will be given the power to demand the arrest and handover of British citizens simply by naming them as suspects.

The pact sweeps away the right of people in this country to turn to the courts here for defence against charges abroad.

Also brushed aside will be the historic principle that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and the habeas corpus protection against unjustified imprisonment.

The treaty, being rushed through as part of the war on terror, covers 32 categories ranging from fraud and rape to 'xenophobia' and ' corruption' - offences which are currently not recognised in British law.

Light Saber

Best of the Web: US: Congresswoman Lee Introduces Bill to Repeal the Authorization to Use Military Force

Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, like Jeanette Rankin before her, bravely stood alone in Congress against a vote for war, the vote in 2001 for the so-called Authorization to Use Military Force, a Constitutionally dubious passing of the war decision buck to President Bush and his successors. A majority of Americans now believes that the Afghanistan War that followed that authorization never should have been begun and should, in fact, be ended. So, the Congresswoman, along with initial cosponsors Jones, Woolsey, Grijalva, Conyers, and Honda, is offering us a second chance, a chance to get our response to 9-11 right, to restore war powers to the Congress, and to impose the will of the people on that body.

Congresswoman Lee has sent her colleagues this letter, which we should each send them ourselves by email, fax, phone, carrier pigeon, and by nailing it to their cathedral doors:
"Dear Colleague:

"Please join me as an original cosponsor of the 'Repeal of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Act of 2011.' This legislation repeals the joint resolution providing overly-broad authorization to the President to use all necessary and appropriate force against those involved in attacking our nation and to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States.

Family

People Power: Italy Grinds to a Halt as THREE Million Strike Over €45bn Austerity Cuts

Italy protest Turin
© EPAThousands of strikers took to the streets of Turin yesterday to protest against the austerity plans mooted by the Italian government
Italy ground to a halt today as a general strike brought thousands - if not millions - on to the street in protest at a belt-tightening €45billion (£39.5bn) austerity package.

The strike was organised by the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), the country's biggest trade union, and saw disruption to flights, buses, trains as well as hospitals, schools, post offices and other government services.

Demonstrations were held in several cities across the country with extra police being drafted in to stop any potential disorder but there were still sporadic outbursts with eight officers hurt by fireworks.

CIGL officials said that three million people had taken part in the strike - which also affected the Amanda Knox appeal trial in Perugia as jury members using public transport were held up.

Stormtrooper

BBC Journalist was Killed by Nato Troops in Afghanistan

Afghan National Army patrol
© Tim Wimborne/ReutersAn Afghan National Army (ANA) patrol in Uruzgan province - Omaid Khpalwak was the BBC's stringer for the region.
Commanders say Omaid Khpalwak was 'mistakenly' shot dead as suicide bombers attacked a police station

Nato has admitted accidentally shooting dead a BBC journalist in Afghanistan during a battle against insurgents after mistaking him for a suicide bomber.

Military officials met close relatives of Omaid Khpalwak on Thursday and apologised for their "mistake" during an operation against a squad of insurgents, who had attacked a police command post.

Khpalwak, who was hiding in fear during the attack and spoke good English, was shot 11 times. His brother Jawid, who always maintained that his brother was killed by Nato forces, said his family remained angry at Nato's actions on the day.

"They thought he was a suicide bomber, but how?" Jawid asked. "He spoke English and would have been showing his press card."

Hourglass

What Was In That Mysterious Dust Of 9/11? The Dangerous Effects A Decade Later

As the 10th anniversary of September 11 draws near, a nation re-lives the horror and devastation that unfolded that day.

The catastrophic terror attack on New York City's World Trade Center, which took the lives of 3,000 Americans and reduced two of the tallest, most majestic skyscrapers in the world to mere dust and rubble, is forever imprinted on our minds.

NY has risen from the ashes, resilient and defiant but some are still struggling a decade later. Our heroes, the First Responders, are having a hard time for the mysterious thick dust that coated everything and everyone in the city that fateful day, had deadly consequences.

CNN correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, hosted a riveting program Wednesday night called 'Terror In The Dust," which chronicles the effects of the deadly dust on firefighters, police officers and others who were directly in the path of the collapsing twin towers. Those who selflessly worked prolonged hours rescuing others.


Mr. Potato

Republican Debate: Rick Perry Physically Grabs Ron Paul, Points at His Face

At the September 7 Republican debate, Ron Paul clashed with fellow Texan Rick Perry once again.

This time, things got physical.

During a commercial break, Perry walked up to Paul's podium, physically grabbed Paul's wrist, and pointed at Paul's face with his other hand (photo below from Reuters).

Attention

Indonesia: Starving Dogs Attack And Eat Owner

Dead Owner
© 9 NewsPolice found Mr Lumboga's body ripped to pieces.
An Indonesian man who left his nine dogs to starve while he was away on a two-week holiday was decapitated and eaten by the hungry animals when he returned home.

Police found Andre Lumboga's body ripped to pieces on Monday after a neighbourhood guard noticed a revolting smell coming from his house in the Batam Centre district of the Riau Islands, a province of Indonesia north-east of Singapore in the South China Sea.

The guard had gone to his house to investigate after noticing the 50-year-old's suitcase sitting outside the front door five days after he returned from his trip, The Sun reports.

Arrow Up

US: Jailed Native American Activist Leonard Peltier Wins Rights Prize

Image
Leonard Peltier, Mario Benedetti
Leonard Peltier, an indigenous rights activist jailed in the United States for decades, has received the first Mario Benedetti Foundation international human rights prize, the group said Monday.

The group called Peltier, a Native American activist convicted in 1977 for the murder of two US FBI agents, the longest serving political prisoner in the Americas. The case stemmed from a shootout at a reservation in the US state of South Dakota.

"Leonard Peltier, who on September 12, 2011 will turn 67, has spent more than half his life in prison. He is a symbol of resistance to repressive state policies by the United States, where there are people in jail for ethnic, racial, ideological and religious reasons," a foundation statement said.

Dollar

Iceland Says It Was "Bullied" Over Bank Debt

Image
© Reuters/Ints KalninsIceland's President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson watches ''Song of Freedom'' concert in Tallinn August 20, 2011.
Iceland's president accused European countries on Sunday of having bullied it into agreeing to guarantee repayment of the debts of a failed bank, reviving a dispute with Britain and the Netherlands whose citizens are owed billions.

When Iceland's banking sector collapsed in the 2008 global financial crisis, accounts were frozen at the bank Landsbanki, which had accepted deposits from British and Dutch savers through online funds called Icesave.

Iceland says the estate of the failed bank will be enough to repay about $5 billion of debt to the British and the Dutch. The two countries had wanted the government in Reykjavik to give a state guarantee to the repayment.

In a referendum earlier this year, Icelanders rejected for a second time giving a guarantee.

"People (in the government) bowed to the bullying of the Europeans ...," President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson told RUV public radio. He said the British and Dutch demand that the government guarantee the debt had been "absurd."

Key

Austria: Free at last! Chimps caged for 30 years and injected with HIV in cruel experiments finally feel the sun on their faces again

Like prisoners emerging from a lifetime behind bars, a group of chimpanzees step blinking into the sunlight with what appears for all the world to be a wave and a smile.

And they have much to be joyful about. For this is the first time they have felt grass under their feet and breathed fresh air for 30 years.

Though a few of the chimps were born in captivity, most were kidnapped from African jungles as babies and flown to Europe, where they were locked in metal laboratory cages to be used in a long series of experiments.
Surreal: Three chimpanzees step out into the daylight for the first time in 30 years
Surreal: Three chimpanzees step out into the daylight for the first time in 30 years