When The S*** Hits the Fan

#UN Begged to Intervene After #Refugees Sew Mouths Shut

by

Michaela Whitton
March 10, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Calais, France — Desperate volunteers in a Calais refugee camp have issued an urgent plea to the U.N. to recognise the plight of a group of Iranians who sewed their mouths shut a week ago. The extreme protest — joined in solidarity by a British volunteer — was initiated to draw attention to the atrocities being carried out by the French government.

The latest shocking tale to unfold from the Calais camp — known as The Jungle — began on March 1st to raise awareness of the human rights violations taking place. Homeless, jobless, and now hopeless, eight Iranian men aged between 17 and 46 sewed each other’s lips shut in the extreme form of protest against the forced evictions of the southern side of the squalid camp. Their bold move has been supported by British volunteer, Tom Radcliffe, who has joined in solidarity.

The decision by the French authorities to dismantle the camp has had significant implications for the 3,500 refugees living there, over three hundred of whom are unaccompanied minors. Legally, the authorities can only evict people if they are able to offer alternative accommodation, but France has grossly underestimated the numbers.

A few residents have moved into shipping containers and centres throughout France, while others have shifted to the northern part of the camp, which volunteers predict will be next to be cleared. Organisations on the ground believe there will be more temporary encampments as refugees continue to be hounded by the police. Volunteers report people camping in fields, churches, under bridges, and in abandoned buildings with no sanitation, water, access to aid, or other facilities.

Despite a ruling that the dismantling of The Jungle was to be humane, video footage from a volunteer showed residents running from clouds of tear gas. Eyewitnesses said the camp was lined with riot police and claim residents were given an hour’s notice to leave, many without alternative accommodation to move into. In general, most refugees in Calais have strong ties to the U.K., and many have family they are waiting to be reunited with. Others lived in Britain previously.

Since beginning the hunger strike, the men’s condition is deteriorating rapidly according to The Worldwide Tribe:

“These men were already weak from their traumatic journey across Europe. Many of the refugees in the camp are suffering from illness and infection, malnutrition and post traumatic stress syndrome. Although they are determined and focused, they are now gradually growing weaker by the day. They say they are prepared to die for this cause. It won’t be long before they do.”

In a desperate plea to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, a petition drawing attention to their plight has gathered thousands of signatures overnight. Demanding the United Nations assess the camp conditions and witness the human rights breaches taking place on European soil, it calls for a stop to the demolition of the camp until adequate alternatives are put in place. You can sign it here.

This article (UN Begged to Intervene After Refugees Sew Mouths Shut) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Michaela Whitton and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

From theantimedia.org Team

UK Spying Laws Give Government Access to Your Entire Internet History

by

Michaela Whitton
March 2, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) United Kingdom — Two years after Edward Snowden’s revelations, which included details about the U.K. government’s own blanket surveillance operations, authorities are champing at the bit to update laws on what data spies and police can access — and under what circumstances.

Hailed by the Home Secretary Teresa May as “world-leading“ legislation that balances security and privacy, the Investigatory Powers Bill, dubbed the “Snoopers Charter,”  has long-been rumoured to be a sinister mandate for mass surveillance that chills free speech.

The U.K. has rapidly expanded its surveillance capabilities over recent years. With the Investigatory Powers Bill, Britain has sought to legitimise surveillance that many governments conduct covertly.

In Tuesday’s publication of the re-drafted bill, May expanded the number of situations in which the powers can be used. The increase in powers came in spite of heavy scrutiny and criticism from pressure groups and parliamentary committees.

One of the new provisions allows police forces to access individuals’ internet history and hack into laptops and phones, under certain conditions. According to the Guardian, the bill dictates that U.K. security services will only extend remote computer hacking ‘privileges’ to major police forces in cases involving a threat to life, missing persons, or “damage to somebody’s mental health.”

Tweaks to the original draft include stronger protections for journalists and lawyers — codes of practice specifying how the powers will be used — and the use of a “double-lock” authorisation for use of the most intrusive surveillance methods.

In spite of these alleged safeguards, criticism of the bill remains widespread. Lord Strasburger, a Liberal Democrat and member of the scrutiny committee, rebuked Tuesday’s publication. “The Home Office just doesn’t do privacy. It does security and ever more intrusive powers they claim will make us safer, but not privacy,” he said. “The fact that they see simply changing the name of one section to include the word ‘privacy’ as addressing the fundamental concerns about privacy protections in this bill is breath-taking.”

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said:

“Minor Botox has not fixed this bill. Government must return to the drawing board and give this vital, complex task appropriate time. Anything else would show dangerous contempt for parliament, democracy and our country’s security.”

Eric King, director of Don’t Spy On Us, a coalition of organisations that defend privacy, free expression, and digital rights in the U.K. and Europe, also raised pointed concerns about the latest version of the bill.

“Rather than a full redraft, we’ve been given cosmetic tweaks to a heavily criticised, deeply intrusive bill,” he said.

“Reshuffling safeguards without meaningfully improving protections, authorisations or oversight does nothing to address widespread concerns about mass surveillance. The unsettling absence of a robust, technical, detailed evaluation of those bulk powers means the case still hasn’t been made, and parliament won’t have the information it needs to do its job.”

He said more than 100 experts have raised concerns about the bill, and “the government must think again.”

Don’t Spy On Us is calling for new legislation that meaningfully seeks to hold elected representatives accountable — as well as the government at large. Find out more about the campaign here.

This article (UK Spying Laws Give Government Access to Your Entire Internet History) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Michaela Whitton and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org

From theantimedia.org Team

This Restaurant Just Banned Bankers but Allows Dogs

by

Michaela Whitton
February 24, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) France — Furious French cafe owner Alexandre Callet has taken the unprecedented step of banning bankers from his establishment after claiming that they have treated him like a dog. The 30-year-old restaurant owner is fuming with the morally corrupt industry after his request for a €70,000 ($78,000) loan to open a second restaurant was denied.

Callet said the requested amount of €70,000 is “nothing” given that his turnover for last year was €300,000. To express his disgust, the blackboard outside his Parisian restaurant which would normally display the day’s specials now reads: “Dogs welcome, bankers banned (unless they pay an entry fee of €70,000).”  [Read more…]

From theantimedia.org Team

Facebook’s New Tool to Help You Prevent Your Friends from Committing Suicide

by

Michaela Whitton
February 23, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) United Kingdom — Over one billion people are active daily on Facebook, and as a result, the social networking giant is continually updating its products and services. The most recent attempt to expand resources available to users was rolled out last week in the U.K., with a feature that aims to reduce suicides.

Facebook Stats
— 1.04 billion daily active users on average in December 2015
— 934 million mobile daily active users on average in December 2015
— 1.59 billion monthly active users as of December 31, 2015
— 1.44 billion mobile monthly active users as of December 31, 2015
— Approximately 83.6% daily active users are outside the U.S. and Canada

We are more open and connected to others online than ever before. By now, many of us have stumbled across troubling posts by friends that leave us unsure as to how to respond, if at all. Maybe it is someone we don’t feel we know well enough to intervene, or perhaps we debate whether to send a private message but simply ignore the cry for help and scroll past. Well, Facebook has taken the dilemma out of our hands.

Hoping to help reduce suicides, the social media platform’s new tool offers assistance to those who may be at risk of harming themselves. Launched last year in the U.S. and Australia, the opportunity to report suicidal content on Facebook has now been launched in the U.K.

Built in partnership with the Samaritans, the tool has been developed to encourage users to help friends they feel may be at risk, as well as offer support for friends and family. While Facebook encourages people to contact emergency services first if they are worried about friends, the tool is intended to flag posts with troubling content.

Suicidal posts will be prioritised by a round-the-clock team, and when friends flag a post they are concerned about, staff will assess the best way to proceed.

The next time the user logs into their account, they will receive a message saying “a friend thinks you might be going through something difficult and asked us to look at your recent post.” Those who Facebook feels are struggling to cope will then be offered options for support. As with most resources on the social networking site, the support options can be ignored, should the person wish.

Samaritans CEO Ruth Sutherland said:

“If people can start to talk about the unbearable pain that they’re facing, we can interrupt that journey towards suicide. Suicide is not inevitable, it is preventable. This tool plays a really vital role in achieving that.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and need to talk to someone, visit samaritans.org or call 08457 90 90 90.

This article (Facebook’s New Tool to Help You Prevent Your Friends from Committing Suicide) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Michaela Whitton and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

From theantimedia.org Team

Is Britain About To Declare Independence from the European Union?

by

Michaela Whitton
February 22, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) United Kingdom — Much like the relentless media coverage of the U.S. presidential race, the British media is already awash with the political posturing and in-fighting that was to be expected in the run up to the E.U. referendum. Still four months away, the vote on whether the United Kingdom should remain a member of, or leave the European Union, is scheduled for June 23. Is it any wonder that the public are dismayed when terms like “Brexit” and “Bremain” are being bandied about as sensible words.

Ask people in the street and many are confused as to what the being in E.U. has actually done for Britain. Others wonder what has it done to it. As usual, it’s almost impossible to ascertain what the practical issues are, beneath the propaganda and distraction of what appears to be rapidly becoming a civil war — not only between political parties, but within them.

Why is a referendum being held?

Shortly after Britain joined the E.U. — or the Common Market as it was then called — a referendum was held and the country voted to stay in. Since then, the public and politicians have called for another vote, claiming that the E.U. has changed so much in 40 years since many more countries have joined, and the institution has exercised more control. After initially resisting the calls, David Cameron changed his mind in 2013.

Who wants to leave?

Since September, the race has been fairly evenly split with latest opinion polls showing 51% wish to remain in the EU 51%, 49% want to leave. The U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), which won the European elections, campaigns for Britain’s exit from the E.U. In addition, about half of Conservative MPs, including five cabinet ministers, several Labour MPs, and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) are in favour of leaving.

Why do they want to leave?

Many believe that the E.U. imposes too many rules and charges billions of pounds in membership fees for little in return. They want Britain to take full control of its borders and reduce the number of people entering for work. They also object to the idea of “ever closer union” and the ultimate goal to create a “United States of Europe.”

Who wants to stay?

David Cameron and sixteen of his cabinet back staying in. The Conservative Party has pledged to be neutral in the campaign, while the Labour Party, Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru, and the Liberal Democrats are in favour of staying in.

Why do they want to stay?

Some believe that Britain gets a boost from E.U. membership . They claim it makes selling things to other E.U. countries easier and that the flow of immigrants fuels economic growth and helps pay for public services. The ‘ins’ also believe that Britain’s status in the world would be damaged by leaving and that the country is more secure as part of the bloc.

Who’s saying what?

A number of campaigners and union leaders wrote a letter to the Guardian calling the E.U. a “profoundly anti-democratic institution” and claiming that it is irreversibly committed to privatisation, welfare cuts, low wages, and the erosion of trade union rights. The letter stated: “We stand for a positive vision of a future Europe based on democracy, social justice and ecological sustainability, not the profit-making interests of a tiny elite. For these reasons we are committed to pressing for a vote to leave the E.U. in the forthcoming referendum on U.K. membership.”

Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has said that many Scots would object to being taken out of the E.U. against their will. She added that a second Scottish independence referendum would almost certainly be triggered if the U.K. votes to leave the E.U. but Scotland does not.

Caroline Lucas Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion said the end of David Cameron’s marathon twenty-five hour negotiations last week must mark “an end of men in grey suits shouting at each other” and added “The distraction of the negotiations is now over and the real debate can begin. Every single vote is equal in this referendum – and it’s crucial that this conversation is taken out from behind closed doors and into our communities.”

In an opinion piece for the Guardian, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Cameron’s recent negotiations of“overblown tinkering.’’ Corbyn agrees that the E.U. needs reform but said Labour will be campaigning to stay in, as he said: “It’s because being part of Europe has brought Britain investment, jobs and protection for workers, consumers and the environment. We are convinced that the EU is a vital framework for European trade and international cooperation in the 21st century, and that a vote to remain in Europe is in the best interests of our people.”

London Mayor Boris Johnson released a statement on Sunday night siding with the exit campaign: “I will be advocating Vote Leave – or whatever the team is called, I understand there are a lot of them – because I want a better deal for the people of this country, to save them money and to take control. That is really what this is all about.” Despite the buffoon-like vagueness of his claims, the revelations caused shockwaves through currency markets on Monday with the pound hitting its lowest point against the U.S. dollar in seven years.

Stomach-churning photos of Nigel Farage and George Galloway at a rally for the Grassroots Out campaign last week no doubt boosted numbers for the Remain camp while prompting some hilarious tweets.

This article (Is Britain About To Declare Independence from the European Union?) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Michaela Whitton and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

From theantimedia.org Team