Egypt holds Black Bloc member over 'Israeli sabotage plan'

The Daily Star, January 31, 2013

A member of the black bloc group throws a stone towards riot police during
 clashes in Simon Bolivar Square, which leads to Tahrir Square, in Cairo,
January 30, 2013. (REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

                              

CAIRO: Egyptian authorities on Thursday detained a member of the Black Bloc militant group suspected of planning to carry out an Israeli-directed sabotage plan, the official MENA news agency said.

One person "belonging to the Black Bloc organisation was arrested inside a building overlooking Tahrir Square carrying Israeli plans to target petrol companies and vital installations, maps of these places and instructions on setting fire to some places," MENA reported.

Israel firmly rejected the notion of its involvement in any such plot.

Egypt's state security prosecution is currently questioning the suspect who is accused of "belonging to an illegal organisation and planning to sabotage private and public property."

According to MENA, the suspect admitted to belonging to the Black Bloc, a group of masked militants who have appeared among protesters in recent clashes with police.

The suspect was spotted by a security guard in a residential building off Tahrir Square and handed over to police, MENA said.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said he had no idea whether or not the Black Bloc member intended to carry out a plan of sabotage, but the claim of Israeli involvement was "utter nonsense."

Elsewhere, another suspected Black Bloc member was arrested after placing an order with a clothing factory in the city of Mahalla, north of Cairo, for black masks and outfits for the group, the prosecution said in the report.

The arrests come on the eve of planned protests against President Mohamed Morsi as deadly unrest has swept the country.

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(Religions – Zionism - March 1, 2012 - Matthew Channelled by Suzanne Ward)

9. It can be no other way—simply, this is the physics that governs life in this universe. As Earth continues apace into successively higher planes, nothing with low vibrations in any form—physical bodies, subversive plans, theft, dishonesty, unjust laws and imprisonment, bigotry, cruel customs and deeds—can survive.

10. Moving on, no, it will not be quite like religions being “totally discarded and replaced by universal laws in the Golden Age.” When the truths come forth that science and spirit are one and the same and that religious dogmas were originated by early leaders of church and state to control the masses, people whose consciousness has risen beyond the constraints of third density will adhere to the spiritual aspects of their respective religions and the devised, controlling aspects will fall by the wayside.

11. One of the truths to come forth is that Zionism, which by dark intent has been made synonymous with Judaism, actually is a bellicose political movement within the Illuminati, and its aim for more than six decades has been to create conflict and instability in the entire Middle East. Zionists, who have wielded powerful influence within and behind major governments and their military forces, do NOT represent the Jewish peoples in Israel or anywhere else. And, like all other Illuminati factions, they have been committed to that cabal’s goal of global domination.

12. Although Semites are of diverse national origins and religions, the Zionists have been successful in convincing many that “anti-Semitic” is exclusively prejudice against the Jewish peoples and opposition to Israel’s right to defend itself from its “enemies.” By means of that blatant distortion, they obtained not only world sympathy, but also massive defense funding from Israel’s allies, most especially the United States, all of which served to increase the Illuminati’s vast profits from their industrial-military machine.

13. In addition to controlling the masses through dogmatic teachings, religions have served the dark purpose of divisiveness to such an extent that it resulted in centuries of trauma and bloodshed. Witness the Crusades, wars between Catholics and Protestants, pogroms against Jews, executions of “blasphemous” individuals who refused to “recant.”  (Read More …)

HRW condemns Russia's 'worst post-Soviet crackdown'

Jakarta Globe, AFP, January 31, 2013

Russian police officers arrest a gay rights activist who was protesting
 in Moscow, on January 25, 2013

Human Rights Watch on Thursday condemned the Russian authorities under President Vladimir Putin for unleashing the toughest crackdown against civil society since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

"The Kremlin in 2012 unleashed the worst political crackdown in Russia's post-Soviet history," the New-York based rights watchdog said in an English-language statement released in Moscow accompanying the release of its annual world report.

"This (2012) has been the worst year for human rights in Russia in recent memory," the rights group quoted Hugh Williamson, its Europe and Central Asia director as saying.

"Russia's civil society is standing strong but with the space around it shrinking rapidly, it needs support now more than ever."

After returning to the Kremlin for a third term despite unprecedented protests against his 13-year rule, Putin signed off on a raft of laws in what critics saw as a bid to quash dissent.

The new legislation re-criminalised slander, raised fines for misdemeanours at opposition protests and forced non-governmental organisations that receive foreign funding to carry a "foreign agent" tag in a move seen as a throwback to Soviet times.

AFP

S.Africa's richest man to give away half his fortune

Yahoo – AFP, Gianluigi Guercia, 30 January 2013

South African businessman Patrice Motsepe on May 07, 2008 in Sandton. 

Billionaire Motsepe announced Monday he would give half his family's fortune

to a charity, matching a pledge made by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe announced Monday he would give half his family's fortune to a charity, matching a pledge made by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

"This is to be used during his lifetime and beyond... to improve the lifestyles, and living conditions, of poor, disabled, unemployed, women, youth, workers and marginalised South Africans," his wife Precious Motsepe said.

The mining tycoon becomes the first African to join the Giving Pledge, which challenges the world's wealthiest to give 50 percent or more of their fortune to charity.

Since Microsoft mogul Gates and investment guru Buffett launched the Pledge in 2010, more than 70 billionaires have joined.

Motsepe owns mining company African Rainbow Minerals and is Africa's eighth richest person with a fortune of $2.65 billion (1.96 billion euros), according to Forbes magazine.

His announcement, two days after his 51st birthday, makes him part of an illustrious club that includes Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings, and Intel co-founder Gordon Moore.

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Africa is becoming more peaceful, despite the war in Mali


"The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)

“…  Africa

Let me tell you where else it's happening that you are unaware - that which is the beginning of the unity of the African states. Soon the continent will have what they never had before, and when that continent is healed and there is no AIDS and no major disease, they're going to want what you have. They're going to want houses and schools and an economy that works without corruption. They will be done with small-minded leaders who kill their populations for power in what has been called for generations "The History of Africa." Soon it will be the end of history in Africa, and a new continent will emerge.

Be aware that the strength may not come from the expected areas, for new leadership is brewing. There is so much land there and the population is so ready there, it will be one of the strongest economies on the planet within two generations plus 20 years. And it's going to happen because of a unifying idea put together by a few. These are the potentials of the planet, and the end of history as you know it.

In approximately 70 years, there will be a black man who leads this African continent into affluence and peace. He won't be a president, but rather a planner and a revolutionary economic thinker. He, and a strong woman with him, will implement the plan continent-wide. They will unite. This is the potential and this is the plan. Africa will arise out the ashes of centuries of disease and despair and create a viable economic force with workers who can create good products for the day. You think China is economically strong? China must do what it does, hobbled by the secrecy and bias of the old ways of its own history. As large as it is, it will have to eventually compete with Africa, a land of free thinkers and fast change. China will have a major competitor, one that doesn't have any cultural barriers to the advancement of the free Human spirit. …”

British queen not likely to follow Dutch example

The Daily Star, AP, Gregory Katz, January 29, 2013

FILE - In this Monday, June 4, 2012 file photo Britain's Queen Elizabeth II
shakes  the hand of her son Prince Charles at the end of the Queen's Jubilee
Concert in front of Buckingham Palace, London. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

                             

LONDON: One European queen has announced her retirement. Any chance Europe's most famous queen - Elizabeth II of Britain - might join her?

Not likely, experts say.

The spectacle of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands stepping down in April at age 75 so her 45-year-old son can become king is sparking some speculation in Britain about whether Elizabeth might follow suit so her eldest son, Prince Charles, can start his reign.

Elizabeth is 86. Charles, 64, has been heir to the throne since he was three.

The British press poked fun at these concerns Tuesday, with the Daily Mirror featuring a photo of Beatrix with the headline: "Queen Gives Up Her Throne to Son." Then, in smaller type, "Easy, Charles...It's Queen Beatrix of Netherlands."

Others said, "Sorry Charles...it's in Holland, not here!"

But commentators quickly noted that Elizabeth - who seems to be in excellent health - has said in the past that she regards being queen as a "job for life."

At her Diamond Jubilee last summer marking 60 years on the throne, former Prime Minister John Major said the idea that the queen would abdicate was "absolutely absurd." He said she would serve her entire life unless a health crisis made it impossible.

Author Robert Lacey, who has written several books about the British monarchy, said Beatrix's decision would likely firm up Elizabeth's resolve.

"It would reinforce her feeling that the Dutch don't know what monarchy is about, and that she should go on forever," he said. "The crown is a job for life in the British system."

Lacey said the idea of abdicating is particularly unpleasant for Elizabeth because her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936 so he could marry Wallis Simpson, a divorced American woman.

The resulting scandal, remembered as a low point for the monarchy, brought her father, King George VI, to the throne.

No one in British history has been heir apparent as long as the now-greying Charles, who is set to become a grandfather when his daughter-in-law, the former Kate Middleton, gives birth this summer.

The Queen was asked for consent on a range of bills, including those affecting
 her estates. There is growing concern in parliament at a lack of transparency
over the royals’ role in lawmaking. Photograph: Sergeant Dan Harmer

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Queen Beatrix's abdication: too 'typically Dutch' for the Windsors? - New

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to abdicate for son

Willem-Alexander and queen Beatrix wave to the crowds. Photo: Novum

Davos 2013: world leaders to discuss aliens, super-humans, and immortals

The voice of Russia, Yulia Zamanskaya, Jan 25, 2013        

"The Voice of Russia"

                              

This year, apart from the traditional economic concerns, the program of the World Economic Forum in Davos is scheduled to address a number of highly controversial issues which have been kept classified for decades. Called the 'X factors', these issues include the potential risks of medically induced enhancement of cognitive abilities, prolongation of human life, and discovery of extraterrestrial life.

After reading the Executive Summary of the WEF 2013 one is left with an impression that he has just read the scenario for the next 'X Files' episode. Runaway climate change, rogue deployment of geoengeneering, and digital wildfires are just a few issues that the readers of the Executive Summary can find not only unconventional but also futuristic. Nonetheless, all of these themes are due to be discussed under the rubric of the 'X Factors'.

Developed in partnership with the editors of Nature, a leading science journal, the 'X Factors' category looks well beyond the landscape of 50 traditional global risks and identifies the most significant game-changers of the next decade. Apart from the already mentioned runaway climate change, digital wildfires, and rogue geoengeneering, which seem to be at least minimally realistic, the list of 'X Factors' also includes the possible implications of people living longer, getting smarter, and meeting extra-terrestrial 'Others'. While some remain highly skeptical regarding these issues, the editors of Nature together with the WED team seem to be convinced that in the very near future these risks will not only become very real, but will also profoundly challenge the existing social and scientific paradigms.

In WEF team's opinion, super-human abilities are no longer the preserve of science fiction. Instead, the time of human prodigies is fast approaching the horizon of plausibility. At the time when researchers all over the world are working hard to develop the medical cure to such mental illnesses as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia, it is conceivable that in the not too distant future scientists will identify compounds that will be more effective than existing cognitive pharmaceutical enhancers such as Ritalin and modafinil. While these new compounds will be prescribed only for treatment of severe neurological diseases, it is highly likely that they will also be used off-label by healthy people seeking for an edge in their every-day endeavors. effective new compounds which appear to enhance intelligence or cognition are sure to be used off-label by healthy people looking for an edge at work or school.

Interestingly, WEF experts believe that significant enhancement of cognitive abilities can be attained through hardware as well as drugs. Laboratory studies indicate that direct electrical stimulation through the implanted electrodes can significantly improve memory. Unlike drugs, such cognitive enhancement therapy is less easily available and is thus less likely to be adopted by healthy people. Nonetheless, the scientists suggest that within 10 years time intra-brain devices and sensors will open a new realm of enhanced neurobiology for those who can afford it. In this context, the scientists wonder whether it can be ethically acceptable for the world to be divided into the cognitively-enhanced and unenhanced. Will the humanity accept the idea that significant cognitive enhancement should be available to purchase on the open market or will there be a push for legislation to maintain a more level playing field?

The other question that the experts are asking is what happens if cognitive enhancement program goes awry or if it falls in the wrong hands. Cognitive enhancement drugs and devices have a very wide-ranging effects on various systems of human body since they work by targeting neurotransmitter systems. In this respect, WEF scientists argue that "there is a significant possibility of (un)intended effects on other systems – for example, drugs to enhance learning may lead to a greater willingness to take risks; drugs to enhance working memory may lead to increased impulsive behaviour". Indeed, recent research into the field already suggests that, in addition to improving long term memory, it is possible to use TMS to manipulate or even suspend a person’s moral judgement of right versus wrong. The technology can also be used to “erase” memory and deliberately cause permanent brain damage. In this sense, it is not difficult to see how new cognitive enhancement drugs and technologies can open up a space for their misuse by criminal organizations and terrorist networks.

Another issue that the WEF experts decided to present for discussion this year is the implications of longer life-span among humans. The WEF team suggests that while "medical advances are prolonging life, long-term palliative care is expensive. Covering the costs associated with old age could be a struggle". Indeed, according to official statistics people all over the globe now live up to 35 percent longer than hundred years ago and more funds are needed to provide adequate care for the millions of elderly. However, the problem of funding is not the only concern which is related to longer life-span. The risk of over-populating the planet is yet another issue which the world will soon face.

In this respect, most radical commentators were quick to suggest that the only solution to the problem of longer living humans is euthanasia. The proponents of this view contend that with medical advancements even the weakest and the sickest people will survive and live to their late 90s and possible 100s, which will not only lead to a significant increase in global population, but will also negate the fundamental law of the survival of the fittest. In this context, some suggest that euthanasia might be the only way out from the vicious circle of artificially healthy individuals living unnaturally long lives.

The last and probably the most controversial X Factor that will be discussed during the Davos Forum is the possible discovery of extraterrestrial life. While it is the first time that the Forum addresses the aliens, the issue has recently become a frequent theme of discussion among the world leading politicians and military officials. In December 2012, Russian Prime Minster Dmitry Medvedev mused on topic of aliens after completing an on-camera interview with international reporters in Moscow. Back then, Mr Medvedev jokingly claimed that "I will not tell you how many of them [aliens] are among us because it may cause panic". It turns out, however, that Mr Medvedev's concern with the aliens did not end last December. A shocking Davos Forum agenda aims to bring the topic of aliens beyond the realm of jokes.

WEF experts contend that "given the pace of space exploration, it is increasingly conceivable that we may discover the existence of alien life or other planets that could support human life. In 10 years’ time we may have evidence not only that Earth is not unique but also that life exists elsewhere in the universe." In this context, WEF team urges the global elite to prepare themselves and their nations for such discovery. The scientists suggest that new funding and new brain power will be needed to overcome the challenges that the humanity will face as a result of its encounter with an extra-terrestrial civilization. The world might even need to create artificial-intelligence emissaries to survive an inter-stellar crossing. The discovery of an Earth 2.0 or life beyond our planet might also inspire new generations of space entrepreneurs to meet the challenge of taking human exploration of the galaxy from the realm of fiction to fact.

At the same time, WEF experts do not believe that the discovery of alien life will change the fabric of human society in the short-run. While the discovery would certainly be one of the biggest news stories of the year and interest would be intense, it would not change the world immediately. Over the long run, however, the psychological and philosophical implications of the discovery could be profound. In the opinion of WEF scientists, "the discovery of even simple life would fuel speculation about the existence of other intelligent beings and challenge many assumptions that underpin human philosophy and religion."

All in all, it seems that humanity is heading to exciting times, and Davos may be the first trigger that will unleash a series of most extraordinary worldwide revel worldwide revelations.

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Star Trek style 'tractor beam' created by scientists

UFO Seen in Washington DC on Inauguration Day?  (UFO sighting caught on FOX NEWS before the President's speech)

"THE NEXT 18 YEARS"–  Dec 2, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) (Subjects: You are looking  at a Quantum event, clearing a filter - Portal pineal , Higher self to step forward and communicate to You, Still remains in 3D but exposure to multi dimensions, Evolution of humanity, Intent, Mayan Calendar, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, 26.000 Years, Milky Way, Nostradamus, 1987, Beginning to a New Time, Channellers/Teachers, Center of Galaxy – Black hole, Bridge of Swords, Pleiadians, Children, Inventions – The discoveries (e.g. : Airplanes - Medicines – Radio ...): These new Discoveries were given all over the planet when Human consciousness was ready for it, New Inventions are coming, the timing depends on how the middle East problems are solved, Biology reaction of quantum energy; new radio of the future, seeing quantum energy, when it is revealed all science books will have to be rewritten, This will be an AHA moment – be possible to communicate with the rest of Galaxy, NASA, Church/religion will be effected the most by these discoveries, The quantum discovery will see the grid, life, gardens and will redefine life, DNA (3 billion pieces) evolving piece DNA are chancing, Gaia/Humanity are linked, new instruments will start to reveal the DNA variance, Evolution revealed: Autistic children have born with the removal of their 3D structure in the brain, Gaia/Spirit are testing these quantum beings  (Evolved DNA), Universe central clock = Rifs,  Globally there will be only 5 currencies, Wars on earth will be declared barbaric, Middle East, Global Unity, .. etc.)

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  3 - Longer Life is Going to Happen, But…

Here is one that is a review. We keep bringing it up because Humans don't believe it. If you're going to start living longer, there are those who are frightened that there will be overpopulation. You've seen the way it is so far, and the geometric progression of mathematics is absolute and you cannot change it. So if you look at the population of the earth and how much it has shifted in the last two decades, it's frightening to you. What would change that progression?

The answer is simple, but requires a change in thinking. The answer is a civilization on the planet who understands a new survival scenario. Instead of a basic population who has been told to have a lot of children to enhance the race [old survival], they begin to understand the logic of a new scenario. The Akashic wisdom of the ages will start to creep in with a basic survival scenario shift. Not every single woman will look at herself and say, "The clock is ticking," but instead can say, "I have been a mother 14 times in a row. I'm going to sit this one out." It's a woman who understands that there is no loss or guilt in this, and actually feels that the new survival attribute is to keep the family small or not at all! Also, as we have said before, even those who are currently ignorant of population control will figure out what is causing babies to be born [Kryon joke].

Part of the new Africa will be education and healing, and eventually a zero population growth, just like some of the first-world nations currently have. Those who are currently tied to a spiritual doctrine will actually have that doctrine changed (watch for it) regarding Human birth. Then they will be able to make free choice that is appropriate even within the establishment of organized religion. You see, things are going to change where common sense will say, "Perhaps it would help the planet if I didn't have children or perhaps just one child." Then the obvious, "Perhaps I can exist economically better and be wiser with just one. It will help the one!" Watch for these changes. For those of you who are steeped in the tradition of the doctrines and would say that sounds outrageously impossible, I give you the new coming pope [Kryon smile]. For those of you who feel that uncontrolled procreation is inevitable, I encourage you to see statistics you haven't seen or didn't care to look at yet about what first-world countries have already accomplished on their own, without any mandates. It's already happening. That was number three.….”

"Common Questions from Non-Lightworkers" - Feb 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) 

"... Question Three: Is there life on other planets?

Are you kidding? There's life everywhere. Everywhere! Right now, your scientists are searching for microbial life on all the planets and their moons in your solar system, and they will eventually find it. They expect to find it. They will eventually understand that the seeds of life are everywhere.

How much life might there be? How long has it been "out there"? When science starts to realize the scope of how long life has been in your galaxy, they will begin to see something counterintuitive to evolution - their own Human history. How old is your Universe? Ask your scientists and they will say about 13 billion years. That's OK. Let's use their numbers. How old is your own planet - 4 or 5 billion, perhaps? Correct. But how old is humanity? Why weren't you here with the dinosaurs? You think the earth wasn't ready? Do you think that perhaps that which controls evolution was a little too stupid to make a Human sooner, but the process could make a dinosaur? Have you ever thought about these things?

If you put the earth's entire history into a 24-hour clock, life itself only started in the last hour and humanity, all of civilization, happened the last few seconds. Isn't that odd to you? Therefore, in a Universe that may be 13 billion years old, you arrived in the last few seconds. Did you ever think maybe you're the newest ones on the block? Well, you'd be right.

If the Universe is really that old, do you think perhaps there are civilizations in your galaxy that might be a billion or more years older than you? If that's the case, do you think perhaps they have gone through anything you're going through? Do you think any of them might have had your DNA attributes? Perhaps they also went through what you are going through spiritually? Perhaps they even went into a quantum ascension status? The answer is dozens of them.

You already know them and you've listed them in your publications. The ones who directly seeded you are called Pleiadians. The ones who seeded them might be Octurian and the ones who seeded them may be even Orion. They're everywhere, and they're all here as well. They're looking at you, for you are the ones who are next, and you are passing this marker of the shift ...."

“… Is there life on other planets? The scientists are saying, "It's going to be a long time before we get to the stars, you know? We have to get in this little metal can and put air in it, and then travel in it for years and years before we ever get to the next star." Meanwhile, a Pleiadian can do it in the blink of an eye! What do you think is going on there? Do you even believe me?

Not long ago, if you wanted to communicate to someone far away, you sent a letter. It was carried by a horse. It took a month to get a response. Now you communicate instantly!  Why is this so unbelievable to you about travel?

I will tell you, as long as you stay in 3D, you'll still be getting in little metal cans and air suits and going to planets. As soon as you begin the quantum age, however, you will simply wish yourself there, because you will be entangled with everything and can go with intent. If you don't believe this now, you will later, for what I give you is true. It may be lifetimes and lifetimes from now, but the group that is before me is the group that is going to come back over and over and over. The difference is that you're done coming back in an old energy. This is a new energy. ..”

"The Big Picture - You Are Not Alone" - (a message from Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)

Sri Lanka to ban women from being maids abroad: minister

The Daily Star, AFP, January 24, 2013

Sri Lankan Buddhist monks and their supporters march outside the president's
 residence demanding authorities to stop sending Sri Lankan women as maids
 to the Middle East following the recent beheading of a Sri Lankan maid by Saudi
Arabia, during a protest in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/
Eranga Jayawardena)

                            

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka said on Thursday it would bar women of all ages from travelling abroad to work in menial jobs, following an international outcry over the beheading of a young nanny in Saudi Arabia.

Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella announced that women under 25 were now banned from going to the Arab state to work as maids, adding that it was the first step towards a worldwide travel ban for low-paying jobs.

The move was in response to the execution earlier this month at a prison in Riyadh of Sri Lankan maid Rizana Nafik, who was only 17 when she was charged with smothering a four-month-old baby in Saudi Arabia in 2005.

"As a first step we are raising the age limit to 25. We will gradually move towards a total ban on our women going abroad to do low-paying jobs," Rambukwella told reporters.

He did not say by when the total ban would kick in, but said the authorities have started to discourage women from going to the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia where most maids are paid less than $300 a month.

Nafik was beheaded after she was found guilty of smothering an infant in her care after an argument with the child's mother, the Saudi interior ministry has said.

The US and the United Nations led international condemnation of the Saudi authorities over the January 9 execution.

Nearly 1.7 million Sri Lankans are employed abroad and the $6 billion they sent home last year is a key source of foreign exchange for the government.

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RI stops sending workers to Middle East countries

Indonesian Migrant Worker Shares Horror Story After Working in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Beheads Indonesian Woman Convicted of Murder

Global record on fighting slavery

Obama SEC Pick Pleases Wall Street Critics

ABC News, Zunaira Zaki, Jan 24, 2013

Dennis Cook/AP Photo

After four years of disappointing many of Wall Street’s toughest critics, President Obama seems to have done something to please them.  His decision to nominate former U.S. attorney and NASDAQ director Mary Jo White to lead the SEC is getting some pretty good reviews from those who favor tighter rules for financial firms.

Neil Barofsky, former TARP cop whose recent book “Bailout” blasted Treasury’s response to the financial crisis, says she is a “terrific” choice and a “true beacon of independence.”

Dennis Kelleher, president of Better Markets, a nonprofit organization that pushes for tougher regulations, is hopeful that she will get things done.

He says, “Mary Jo White was a tough, smart, no nonsense, broadly experienced and highly accomplished prosecutor.  She knew who the bad guys were, went after them and put them in prison when they broke the law.  That’s what must happen if integrity and investor confidence is to be restored in our securities markets.  Wall Street is a high crime area and Mary Jo White brings the right skill set to restore the rule of law on Wall Street.  If the SEC does that, Wall Street, Main Street, our economy and our country will prosper.”

Related Article:

Cameron takes on tax avoiders in Davos keynote speech

Goldman, Shell win Public Eye 'shame' awards at Davos

The Daily Star, AFP, January 24, 2013

In this March 15, 2012 photo, a trader works in the Goldman Sachs booth on
the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

                              

DAVOS, Switzerland: Campaigners at Davos on Thursday awarded their annual Public Eye shame awards to Goldman Sachs and Shell "for particularly glaring cases of companies' greed for profit and environmental sins".

At an "award ceremony" on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Swiss chapter of Greenpeace and the Berne Declaration said Goldman Sachs had won the jury prize, while Shell had been chosen by online voters for the public award.

Goldman Sachs "is a key player in financially driven globalisation, which pays for profits of a few with exploding inequality and the impoverishment of broad strata," the groups said in a statement.

They highlighted the investment bank's role in the Greek debt crisis.

"Goldman's derivative deals, which fudged Greece's way into the eurozone, pawned the future of the Greek people," said Andreas Missbach, a financial expert from the Berne Declaration.

Shell won the public vote by a wide margin among 41,800 online voters, the two groups said, singling out its "highly risky search for fossil fuels in the fragile Arctic".

"Shell has invested $4.5 billion into a senseless, highly risky plan and only produced problems. The Public Eye Award vote shows that the public keeps an eye on Shell and that its pig-headedness will continue to be sanctioned by public opinion," Greenpeace International director Kumi Naidoo said.

The groups have carried out the "naming and shaming awards" at the annual gathering of the world's political and business elite in the Swiss ski resort of Davos since 2000.

Last year's winner of the jury prize was Britain's Barclays bank, while the public award went to Brazilian mining giant Vale.

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UN official calls on British government to investigate undercover police scandal

Maina Kiai says he is 'deeply concerned' about use of officers such as Mark Kennedy to infiltrate non-violent groups

guardian.co.uk, Paul Lewis and Rob Evans, Wednesday 23 January 2013

Mark Kennedy, an undercover police officer who infiltrated a group of

environmental protesters. Photograph: Philipp Ebeling

A senior United Nations official has called on the British government to launch a judge-led public inquiry into the "shocking" case of Mark Kennedy and other undercover police officers who have been infiltrating protest groups.

Maina Kiai, a UN special rapporteur, said the scandal involving undercover police cultivating intimate sexual relationships with political activists over long periods of time had been as damaging as the phone-hacking controversy that prompted the Leveson inquiry.

He said he was "deeply concerned" about the UK's use of undercover police officers in non-violent groups exercising their democratic rights to protest.

"The case of Mark Kennedy and other undercover officers is shocking as the groups in question were not engaged in criminal activities," Kiai told a central London news conference. "The duration of this infiltration, and the resultant trauma and suspicion it has caused, are unacceptable in a democracy.

"It is a clear violation of basic rights protected under the Human Rights Act, and more generally under international law, such as the right to privacy."

He added: "This is not a James-Bond-type movie issue. I think it is unacceptable that the state can pay somebody who will use women, and be part of their lives and then just devastate them and leave them. That's unbelievable."

Kiai is the latest senior figure to call for a full investigation into the controversy since the Guardian began revealing details of the spy operation two years ago. The undercover policing controversy will be raised in parliament next month during a special hearing hosted by the home affairs select committee.

Undercover police have been living double lives for several years among protest groups, sometimes even residing with female activists and spending weeks abroad with them on holiday. At the end of their deployment, the police spies vanish without a trace.

The surveillance operation, which has continued to plant long-term spies in protest groups despite recent controversies, comes under the remit of an initiative to combat what police call domestic extremism. Many of the targets of the operation have turned out to be law-abiding anti-capitalist campaigners or protesters against global warming.

In at least three cases, relationships between police and the women they were spying on have resulted in the birth of children.

The UN rapporteur's preliminary report follows a 10-day fact-finding mission to London, Belfast and Edinburgh. Kiai met campaigners, senior police, civil servants and the home secretary, Theresa May. He said she told him a full inquiry into undercover policing was "not something on the agenda".

However, Kiai, who has responsibility in the UN for the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, said he believed the case of Kennedy and others had left a "trail of victims and survivors in its wake" who deserved answers.

Eleven women and one man are bringing a high court legal action for the emotional trauma suffered as a result of "deeply personal" relationships they formed with men who turned out to be police officers.

A judge ruled last week that some of their claims should be heard by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, an obscure body that usually deals with complaints against MI5 and MI6.

Mr Justice Tugendhat cited the fictional case of James Bond to argue that when parliament introduced legislation allowing covert police to have personal relationships with targets, they must have assumed they may have sexual encounters.

Rejecting the idea that it could be a "James Bond movie issue", Kiai said: "I therefore call on the authorities to undertake a judge-led public inquiry into the Mark Kennedy matter, and other related cases, with a view to giving voice to victims, especially women, who were deliberately deceived by their own government, and paving the way for reparations."

The government has so far resisted calls for a judge-led inquiry, instead choosing to back a host of other separate reviews into the conduct of Kennedy and related issues.

Fifteen inquiries have so far been launched into the controversy since January 2011.

All have been held behind closed doors, a process Kiai said was inadequate because it did not allow victims the opportunity to speak about their concerns.

The largest of the inquiries is being run internally by the Metropolitan police, the force that has overseen the spy operation against protesters since 1968. It has declined to provide any detail about the scope or remit of the inquiry.

Jenny Jones, a Green party member on the London Assembly, welcomed Kiai's intervention. "The hacking of voicemail messages was an invasion of privacy and lead to a judge-led inquiry into the practice," she said. "In contrast, the gross invasion of privacy by the police into the lives and families of 11 women – who were not criminals – will be dealt with in a secretive tribunal which not even the women will be able to attend."

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Panetta's decision will set a January 2016 deadline for the military service branches to argue that there are military roles that should remain closed to women.

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