Nov 12, 2012
Turkey MPs join hunger strike for Ocalan
Turkey MPs join hunger strike for Ocalan: Kurdish politicians join 700 inmates and activists demanding better treatment for jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Yemen's main oil pipeline shut after bombings
Yemen's main oil pipeline shut after bombings: Unknown attackers set off explosives in two places, damaging country's main pipeline that carries oil to the Red Sea.
NATO 'ready' to help Turkey deal with Syria
NATO 'ready' to help Turkey deal with Syria: Secretary-general says Ankara can rely on alliance, as Assad's troops try to regain control of rebel-held Ras al-Ain.
GCC recognises new Syrian opposition bloc
GCC recognises new Syrian opposition bloc: Recognition by the Gulf Co-operation Council
comes as Arab foreign ministers deliberate the Syrian crisis in Cairo.
comes as Arab foreign ministers deliberate the Syrian crisis in Cairo.
EU suspends aid to Afghanistan
EU suspends aid to Afghanistan: European Union cuts $25 million in aid and says all future assistance will depend on government sticking to reforms.
Gaza groups offer conditional truce to Israel
Gaza groups offer conditional truce to Israel: Palestinian armed groups in Gaza say they are ready for a ceasefire if Israel "stops its aggression".
Where FEMA Fell Short, Occupy Sandy Was There
Where FEMA Fell Short, Occupy Sandy Was There: In Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath, Occupy Wall Street has tapped into an unfulfilled desire among city residents to assist in the recovery.
Washington Memo: Legacy at Stake, Obama Plans Broader Push for Budget Deal
Washington Memo: Legacy at Stake, Obama Plans Broader Push for Budget Deal: Rather than hunker down in negotiations as he did in 2011, aides said, the president will try to rally the public for an accord that could set the tone for his second term.
Cuomo to Seek $30 Billion in Aid for Storm Relief
Cuomo to Seek $30 Billion in Aid for Storm Relief: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s request would exceed the roughly $12 billion in FEMA disaster aid currently available in Washington without action from Congress, where there is likely to be strong opposition to additional spending.
MSNBC, Its Ratings Rising, Gains Ground on Fox News
MSNBC, Its Ratings Rising, Gains Ground on Fox News: Known to fans of politics as the nation’s liberal television network, MSNBC is looking to gain ground on the Fox News Channel in President Obama’s second term.
The New Islamists: Tunisia Battles Over Pulpits and a Revolution’s Legacy
The New Islamists: Tunisia Battles Over Pulpits and a Revolution’s Legacy: In the aftermath of Tunisia’s revolution, a heated competition is on to redefine the nation religiously and politically.
Syrian Jet Strikes Close to Border With Turkey
Syrian Jet Strikes Close to Border With Turkey: Syria pulled both Turkey and Israel closer to its civil war on Monday, bombing a rebel-held Syrian village near the Turkish border and provoking Israeli tank commanders in Golan Heights.
Report Sees U.S. as Top Oil Producer, Overtaking Saudi Arabia, in 5 Years
Report Sees U.S. as Top Oil Producer, Overtaking Saudi Arabia, in 5 Years: The International Energy Agency also said the United States would be a net exporter by 2030, partly because of advances in unlocking reserves in shale rock.
Revenge of the Kurds
Revenge of the Kurds: Iraqi Kurdistan is reveling in its newfound oil wealth and growing more estranged from the violent and dysfunctional central government in Baghdad. Yet statehood -- the ultimate dream of Iraqi Kurds -- will likely be deferred once again, as Kurdistan shifts from Iraq’s suffocating embrace to a more congenial dependence on Turkey
Turkey needs to change course over own insurgency
Turkey needs to change course over own insurgency: Oped by Hugh Pope, Turkey/Cyprus project director for the International Crisis Group, on Turkey's "most important internal problem" -- the Kurdish insurgency.
Xi to Be 'Weak' President
Xi to Be 'Weak' President: 
China's presumed leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping will be the weakest political leader of recent decades, taking over following a divisive political scandal that has prompted major power struggles within the ruling Chinese Communist Party, analysts said on Monday.
More than 2,000 hand-picked delegates to the 18th Party Congress have been deliberating on who will take over from outgoing president Hu Jintao and premier Wen Jiabao since Sunday, official media reported.
As the Party reels from a series of scandals affecting its top echelons, including former Chongqing Party boss Bo Xilai's link to the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, the era of Chinese "strongmen" along the lines of Mao Zedong or Deng Xiaoping has given way to factional struggles that seek the least offensive candidate to all sides.
"Xi Jinping will be a very weak leader," Willy Wo-lap Lam, former China editor of the South China Morning Post and author of five books on China, said in an e-mailed comment.
"Firstly, he is not charismatic and he lacks a power network comparable to the Shanghai faction for [former president] Jiang Zemin and the Communist Youth League faction for Hu Jintao."
"His key crony, General Liu Yuan, is finished due to his association with Bo Xilai."
He said Xi's presidency would be overshadowed by the political heavyweights who enabled his rise to power, the country's previous two presidents.
"Xi will have two mothers-in-law: Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, who nominated him as crown prince in 2007," Lam said.
New generation 'not that powerful'
Liu Dawen, former editor of the Hong Kong-based political magazine Outpost, said a number of China's retired senior leaders had put in an appearance as the Party Congress debated the once-in-a-decade leadership transition.
"This shows that these veterans still have influence," Liu said. "To begin with, everyone thought it was only Jiang Zemin having his say."
"But the fact that all the old guard turned out for the 18th Congress suggests that the new generation isn't that powerful," he said.
"They still seek opinions from the old guys on a lot of matters."
As the Party reels in the wake of the purge of its former political star Bo, reports of the crash of a luxury car belonging to the son of a close Hu aide, and of huge wealth connected to the families of Xi and premier Wen Jiabao have also brought its highest-ranking political elite into the spotlight.
Liu said the Communist Youth League power base of Hu, together with the following of Jiang and the attempt by upcoming leader Xi to build his own support within the Party, would mean Xi's tenure as president would be more complicated than those of his predecessors.
"Everyone is putting their oar in, which will make the personnel negotiations extremely complicated," he said.
Politburo Standing Committee
Cai Yongmei, acting editor of the Hong Kong-based political magazine Kaifang, said the fierce factional struggles meant that it was still unclear whether the nine-member all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee would shrink to seven members.
Nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's highest decision-making body, are due to step down at the Congress, where 2,270 delegates are meeting to vote on their replacements, although delegates rarely vote against leadership guidelines.
Hu and Wen will retire, while Xi and vice-premier Li Keqiang, who is widely tipped to replace Wen, are expected to have a place on the new committee, which reports say could number only seven.
"What we are sure of is two of them; Xi Jinping [as president] and Li Keqiang [as premier]," Cai said. "The liberal faction inside the Party is hoping that the more open-minded [Guangdong provincial Party chief] Wang Yang and [Politburo member] Li Yuanchao will get a place."
Wen corruption scandal
But she said their positions looked less assured now.
"The [Party elder] supporting them is Wen Jiabao, and now Wen himself is facing a corruption scandal," said Cai, referring to a recent report in the New York Times alleging that Wen's relatives hold U.S.$2.7 billion in hidden assets.
"It's hard to say how much this has affected his voice within the Party until the decision is announced," she said.
Bo Xilai
A political commentary in Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper on Monday said the 18th Party Congress was effectively a crisis management meeting at which the leadership would seek to consolidate around the middle ground.
It said the Bo scandal had effectively blocked off seats on the Politburo Standing Committee to any of Bo's left-wing, Maoist supporters, while cooling political backing for liberal-minded Wang Yang at the same time.
"Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao have left a largely conservative following for Xi Jinping," the paper said.
And the Apple Daily newspaper commented that Xi looked set to be the weakest and least stable Chinese leader the Party had ever appointed to the top job.
The Party last month expelled fallen Chinese political star Bo from its ranks following accusations of corruption and sexual misconduct, removing his parliamentary privilege and paving the way for a criminal trial.
Bo was also judged to bear "major responsibility" in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, for which his wife Gu Kailai was handed a suspended death sentence on Aug. 20.
His former police chief and right-hand man Wang Lijun was jailed for 15 years in September for "bending the law for selfish ends," "abuse of power," and "defection," after his Feb. 6 visit to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu brought the scandal to public attention.
Reported by Fang Yuan for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
China's presumed leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping will be the weakest political leader of recent decades, taking over following a divisive political scandal that has prompted major power struggles within the ruling Chinese Communist Party, analysts said on Monday.
More than 2,000 hand-picked delegates to the 18th Party Congress have been deliberating on who will take over from outgoing president Hu Jintao and premier Wen Jiabao since Sunday, official media reported.
As the Party reels from a series of scandals affecting its top echelons, including former Chongqing Party boss Bo Xilai's link to the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, the era of Chinese "strongmen" along the lines of Mao Zedong or Deng Xiaoping has given way to factional struggles that seek the least offensive candidate to all sides.
"Xi Jinping will be a very weak leader," Willy Wo-lap Lam, former China editor of the South China Morning Post and author of five books on China, said in an e-mailed comment.
"Firstly, he is not charismatic and he lacks a power network comparable to the Shanghai faction for [former president] Jiang Zemin and the Communist Youth League faction for Hu Jintao."
"His key crony, General Liu Yuan, is finished due to his association with Bo Xilai."
He said Xi's presidency would be overshadowed by the political heavyweights who enabled his rise to power, the country's previous two presidents.
"Xi will have two mothers-in-law: Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, who nominated him as crown prince in 2007," Lam said.
New generation 'not that powerful'
Liu Dawen, former editor of the Hong Kong-based political magazine Outpost, said a number of China's retired senior leaders had put in an appearance as the Party Congress debated the once-in-a-decade leadership transition.
"This shows that these veterans still have influence," Liu said. "To begin with, everyone thought it was only Jiang Zemin having his say."
"But the fact that all the old guard turned out for the 18th Congress suggests that the new generation isn't that powerful," he said.
"They still seek opinions from the old guys on a lot of matters."
As the Party reels in the wake of the purge of its former political star Bo, reports of the crash of a luxury car belonging to the son of a close Hu aide, and of huge wealth connected to the families of Xi and premier Wen Jiabao have also brought its highest-ranking political elite into the spotlight.
Liu said the Communist Youth League power base of Hu, together with the following of Jiang and the attempt by upcoming leader Xi to build his own support within the Party, would mean Xi's tenure as president would be more complicated than those of his predecessors.
"Everyone is putting their oar in, which will make the personnel negotiations extremely complicated," he said.
Politburo Standing Committee
Cai Yongmei, acting editor of the Hong Kong-based political magazine Kaifang, said the fierce factional struggles meant that it was still unclear whether the nine-member all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee would shrink to seven members.
Nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's highest decision-making body, are due to step down at the Congress, where 2,270 delegates are meeting to vote on their replacements, although delegates rarely vote against leadership guidelines.
Hu and Wen will retire, while Xi and vice-premier Li Keqiang, who is widely tipped to replace Wen, are expected to have a place on the new committee, which reports say could number only seven.
"What we are sure of is two of them; Xi Jinping [as president] and Li Keqiang [as premier]," Cai said. "The liberal faction inside the Party is hoping that the more open-minded [Guangdong provincial Party chief] Wang Yang and [Politburo member] Li Yuanchao will get a place."
Wen corruption scandal
But she said their positions looked less assured now.
"The [Party elder] supporting them is Wen Jiabao, and now Wen himself is facing a corruption scandal," said Cai, referring to a recent report in the New York Times alleging that Wen's relatives hold U.S.$2.7 billion in hidden assets.
"It's hard to say how much this has affected his voice within the Party until the decision is announced," she said.
Bo Xilai
A political commentary in Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper on Monday said the 18th Party Congress was effectively a crisis management meeting at which the leadership would seek to consolidate around the middle ground.
It said the Bo scandal had effectively blocked off seats on the Politburo Standing Committee to any of Bo's left-wing, Maoist supporters, while cooling political backing for liberal-minded Wang Yang at the same time.
"Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao have left a largely conservative following for Xi Jinping," the paper said.
And the Apple Daily newspaper commented that Xi looked set to be the weakest and least stable Chinese leader the Party had ever appointed to the top job.
The Party last month expelled fallen Chinese political star Bo from its ranks following accusations of corruption and sexual misconduct, removing his parliamentary privilege and paving the way for a criminal trial.
Bo was also judged to bear "major responsibility" in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, for which his wife Gu Kailai was handed a suspended death sentence on Aug. 20.
His former police chief and right-hand man Wang Lijun was jailed for 15 years in September for "bending the law for selfish ends," "abuse of power," and "defection," after his Feb. 6 visit to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu brought the scandal to public attention.
Reported by Fang Yuan for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
Cuban Civil Society V. Sandy
Cuban Civil Society V. Sandy:
Satellite image of Hurricane Sandy making landfall in Cuba. Photo: NASA Earth ObservatoryHurricane Sandy has devastated the east of Cuba. In just a few hours on October 24 the cities of Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, and HolguÃn were transformed into a battle scene.
Tens of thousands of buildings collapsed, including residential and state buildings, along with colonial and newly-constructed edifices. Telephone service was interrupted immediately and electricity was cut off, since the Island still uses overhead power-lines rather than running the cables underground. Three Cuban provinces were almost completely shut off from the rest of the country.
There were floods and tidal surges. Pipes for drinking water burst. Countless Cubans lost their personal possessions and there are no insurance companies on the Island to compensate them for their loss. President Raúl Castro visited the disaster zone and said that he would not return to the capital until electrical service had been returned to normal. He also warned that the damage would take years to repair.
The revolutionary state, with its sluggish bureaucracy and mistrust of its citizens, has begun to organize international humanitarian aid, mainly from ALBA member states. At the same time, the affected cities have mobilized to put an end to the nascent protests and vandalism that took place after the catastrophe.
Nevertheless, as a whole, civil society has reacted with a force that demonstrates both its maturity and its view to the future. In Havana alone, around one thousand kilos (2204 lbs.) of clothing, medicine, food, and other supplies have been spontaneously collected, and now the materials are starting to be privately dispatched to the east of the Island. These highly successful efforts have been made by human rights activists and pro-democratic dissidents who, for the first time in decades, were able to count on the grateful support of a people that is usually apathetic and apolitical. Will the suffering brought about by Sandy signal the beginning of the end of political apartheid in Cuba?
Just this once we’ve fulfilled the wishes of our national hero, José MartÃ, when he dreamed of a Cuba “with everyone and for the common good.”
The case for hope after a natural disaster
Satellite image of Hurricane Sandy making landfall in Cuba. Photo: NASA Earth Observatory
Tens of thousands of buildings collapsed, including residential and state buildings, along with colonial and newly-constructed edifices. Telephone service was interrupted immediately and electricity was cut off, since the Island still uses overhead power-lines rather than running the cables underground. Three Cuban provinces were almost completely shut off from the rest of the country.
- Is it worth-while to focus on the last images and letters coming from
the inside of the last living utopia on Earth? Is Cuba by now a
contemporary country or just another old-fashioned delusion in the middle
of Nowhere-America? A Cold-War Northtalgia maybe? Can we expect a young
Rewwwolution.cu within that Ancien Régime still known as The Revolution? I
would like to provoke more questions than answers. - Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo was born in Havana City and
still resides and resists there, working as a free-lance writer,
photographer and blogger. He is the author of Boring Home (2009)
and is the editor of the independent opinion and literary e-zine
Voces.
The revolutionary state, with its sluggish bureaucracy and mistrust of its citizens, has begun to organize international humanitarian aid, mainly from ALBA member states. At the same time, the affected cities have mobilized to put an end to the nascent protests and vandalism that took place after the catastrophe.
Nevertheless, as a whole, civil society has reacted with a force that demonstrates both its maturity and its view to the future. In Havana alone, around one thousand kilos (2204 lbs.) of clothing, medicine, food, and other supplies have been spontaneously collected, and now the materials are starting to be privately dispatched to the east of the Island. These highly successful efforts have been made by human rights activists and pro-democratic dissidents who, for the first time in decades, were able to count on the grateful support of a people that is usually apathetic and apolitical. Will the suffering brought about by Sandy signal the beginning of the end of political apartheid in Cuba?
Just this once we’ve fulfilled the wishes of our national hero, José MartÃ, when he dreamed of a Cuba “with everyone and for the common good.”
Nov 11, 2012
Nov 10, 2012
Laos Links Rail to Neighbors
Laos Links Rail to Neighbors: 
Laos has inked an agreement to build a railway connecting Thailand and Vietnam, just after sealing plans for a rail link to China, in ventures that will cost a combined whopping U.S. $12 billion.
By linking the landlocked nation to its giant neighbor China and mainland Southeast Asia, officials say the high-speed rail network will help open up the impoverished and resource-starved nation to development.
A Malaysian company, Giant Consolidated Ltd., was this week awarded a contract to construct and operate the 220 kilometer (140 mile) railway from Savannakhet, on Laos’s southwestern border with Thailand, to the Lao Bao border gate with Vietnam in the east.
An official from Laos’s Public Works Ministry said work on the U.S. $5 billion railway project, which will runs parallel to the Route 9 highway, will begin next year and be completed in five years.
“The construction work will start next year, from Savannakhet to Vietnam’s Quang Tri province,” the official told RFA’s Lao service, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“It is a double-track railway for passengers and for merchandise transport,” he said, adding that it will run mostly through rice fields.
Giant Consolidated has been granted a 50-year concession for the project and will submit an environmental impact assessment and other studies for government approval, Lao state media said this week.
Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Abdu Razak witnessed the signing of the agreement between Giant Consolidated and Laos’s Ministry of Planning and Investment on Monday, on the sidelines of the 49-nation Asia-Europe Meeting in Vientiane.
The investment is the largest yet in Laos by a company from Malaysia, Laos’s ninth largest investor, and follows other joint venture projects including a special economic zone near Savannakhet.
Laos-China line
The planned line will form a new branch of the proposed Southeast Asia network through which Laos aims to link up with its neighbors and China.
Last month, the Lao parliament approved plans to launch a 420 kilometer (261 mile) line from Vientiane to southern China’s Yunnan province.
A Chinese company was originally planned to build the railway line but it backed out of the deal.
China will, however, finance the U.S. $7 billion project through a loan from Exim bank.
The planned line will link the Lao capital Vientiane to the country's Luang Namtha province along the border with China, with the network linked further to Yunnan’s capital of Kunming.
The state-run Vientiane Times said that Laos had decided to assume sole ownership of the project because “transforming the country from being landlocked to a land link is central to the future of the nation’s development.”
Laos opened its first international rail route, the 3.5 kilometer (2 mile) Thanaleng-Nongkhai track linking Vientiane to the Thai border, in 2009.
Reported by RFA’s Lao service. Translated by Somnet Inthapannha. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Laos has inked an agreement to build a railway connecting Thailand and Vietnam, just after sealing plans for a rail link to China, in ventures that will cost a combined whopping U.S. $12 billion.
By linking the landlocked nation to its giant neighbor China and mainland Southeast Asia, officials say the high-speed rail network will help open up the impoverished and resource-starved nation to development.
A Malaysian company, Giant Consolidated Ltd., was this week awarded a contract to construct and operate the 220 kilometer (140 mile) railway from Savannakhet, on Laos’s southwestern border with Thailand, to the Lao Bao border gate with Vietnam in the east.
An official from Laos’s Public Works Ministry said work on the U.S. $5 billion railway project, which will runs parallel to the Route 9 highway, will begin next year and be completed in five years.
“The construction work will start next year, from Savannakhet to Vietnam’s Quang Tri province,” the official told RFA’s Lao service, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“It is a double-track railway for passengers and for merchandise transport,” he said, adding that it will run mostly through rice fields.
Giant Consolidated has been granted a 50-year concession for the project and will submit an environmental impact assessment and other studies for government approval, Lao state media said this week.
Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Abdu Razak witnessed the signing of the agreement between Giant Consolidated and Laos’s Ministry of Planning and Investment on Monday, on the sidelines of the 49-nation Asia-Europe Meeting in Vientiane.
The investment is the largest yet in Laos by a company from Malaysia, Laos’s ninth largest investor, and follows other joint venture projects including a special economic zone near Savannakhet.
Laos-China line
The planned line will form a new branch of the proposed Southeast Asia network through which Laos aims to link up with its neighbors and China.
Last month, the Lao parliament approved plans to launch a 420 kilometer (261 mile) line from Vientiane to southern China’s Yunnan province.
A Chinese company was originally planned to build the railway line but it backed out of the deal.
China will, however, finance the U.S. $7 billion project through a loan from Exim bank.
The planned line will link the Lao capital Vientiane to the country's Luang Namtha province along the border with China, with the network linked further to Yunnan’s capital of Kunming.
The state-run Vientiane Times said that Laos had decided to assume sole ownership of the project because “transforming the country from being landlocked to a land link is central to the future of the nation’s development.”
Laos opened its first international rail route, the 3.5 kilometer (2 mile) Thanaleng-Nongkhai track linking Vientiane to the Thai border, in 2009.
Reported by RFA’s Lao service. Translated by Somnet Inthapannha. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Freedom of Speech Roundup
Freedom of Speech Roundup:
In the weekly Freedom of Speech Roundup, Sampsonia Way presents some of the week’s top news on freedom of expression, journalists in danger, artists in exile, and banned literature.
Green Party nominee Jill Stein speaks at an Occupy Wall Street demonstration. In an interview this week she spoke about the censorship inherent in the U.S.'s two-party political system. Photo: Paul Stein.
Video: Footage posted to YouTube by Hablemos Press allegedly showing Cuban authorities detaining Yoani Sanchez.
Jose Rodolfo Ibarra, president of the Costa Rica Journalists Association, speaks out about the passage of the “Gag law.” Video: YouTube user ColegioPeriodistasCR.
In the weekly Freedom of Speech Roundup, Sampsonia Way presents some of the week’s top news on freedom of expression, journalists in danger, artists in exile, and banned literature.
Green Party nominee Jill Stein speaks at an Occupy Wall Street demonstration. In an interview this week she spoke about the censorship inherent in the U.S.'s two-party political system. Photo: Paul Stein.
“Free expression is the life blood of a political system” An Interview with Jill Stein
Index on Censorship. Green Party nominee Jill Stein talks about censorship in the U.S. Presidential Election, her experience being arrested outside of a presidential debate, her subsequent detainment, and why freedom of expression is essential for the democratic process. Read here.Bahrain Revokes Citizenships of 31 People
AlJazeera. After the Bahraini government banned all protests and gatherings in the name of state security late last month a spate of bombings occurred in the capital on Monday. On Wednesday the names of 31 people—including two cabinet members—were published in an official report. Read here.The Dark Side of Free Speech
Huffington Post. When Twitter user @ComfortablySmug posted bogus tweets about the extent of Cyclone Sandy’s damage to New York City his 140-character fictions were picked up by CNN, Reuters, and the Weather Channel, causing near-panic. Columnist Grace Nasri discusses the legal ambiguity of the offense. Read here.Cuba: Outrage, disbelief over latest dissident arrests
GlobalPost. Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez was arrested and released on Thursday. She was arrested along with about 20 other political activists protesting the detainment of Cuban lawyer Yaremis Flores. Read here.Video: Footage posted to YouTube by Hablemos Press allegedly showing Cuban authorities detaining Yoani Sanchez.
Egypt: Satirical Play Targeted by Censors
Daily News Egypt. After director Mohamed El Sharkawy was instructed to remove political content pertaining to the current Egyptian government from his new play he warned, “censorship is not only back, but … it could be worse than it was before…” Read here.China: Hacks into Twitter and Censors it Ahead of Chinese Communist Election
Policy Mic. On Thursday Twitter informed an unknown number of its users that that their accounts “may have been compromised by a website or service not associated with Twitter.” Many of the users are located on the Chinese mainland, though some French users also received the notification. Read here.American Jailed for Insulting Thailand’s King says Law Holds Country Back
Washington Post. Joe Gordon, a Thai-born American, was imprisoned for 14 months this year for violating Thailand’s lese majeste law when he posted a translated text of the biography The King Never Smiles. Now released, he speaks out about his experience and Thailand’s climate of repressed speech. Read here.Tashi Rabten Writes a Letter from Prison
High Peaks Pure Earth. Rabten, a Tibetan writer, editor, and poet, disappeared in 2009. In 2011 he was sentenced to four years in prison. In this letter he writes, “Here, although our bodies are like corpses confined in the darkness, our thoughts resemble gold and are always shining brightly.” He also asks for more books to read. Read here.Costa Rica: Journalists Could Now Face 10 Years in Prison for Publishing “Political Secrets”
Inside Costa Rica. A new law dubbed the “Gag law” was passed into immediate effect on Tuesday, punishing the publication, search and access of personal information with four to 10 years in prison. Jose Rodolfo Ibarra, president of the Journalists Association, said that the passage of the law effectively ends the freedom of expression for journalists. Read HereJose Rodolfo Ibarra, president of the Costa Rica Journalists Association, speaks out about the passage of the “Gag law.” Video: YouTube user ColegioPeriodistasCR.
Federal agents charge 34 white supremacists
Federal agents charge 34 white supremacists:
Federal agents arrested dozens of members of the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood of Texas on Friday and charged them with murder, kidnapping, racketeering and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
Read full article >>
Federal agents arrested dozens of members of the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood of Texas on Friday and charged them with murder, kidnapping, racketeering and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
Read full article >>
Russia opens two new graft cases
Russia opens two new graft cases:
MOSCOW — Two new big corruption cases have been opened in Russia just days after a graft investigation brought down the minister of defense.
Investigators said Friday that about $200 million has been stolen from a troubled space agency program and that about $3 million was skimmed off the budget for an international economic summit held in Vladivostok in September. Roman Panov, who is head of the Perm Territory and was involved in preparing for the summit, was detained by police Friday, the Interfax news agency reported.
Read full article >>
MOSCOW — Two new big corruption cases have been opened in Russia just days after a graft investigation brought down the minister of defense.
Investigators said Friday that about $200 million has been stolen from a troubled space agency program and that about $3 million was skimmed off the budget for an international economic summit held in Vladivostok in September. Roman Panov, who is head of the Perm Territory and was involved in preparing for the summit, was detained by police Friday, the Interfax news agency reported.
Read full article >>
Nov 9, 2012
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