Network Archives

Egyptian court orders Al Jazeera and other news outlets to close down

"A Cairo court Tuesday ordered the closure of four television channels, including Al-Jazeera Egypt and Ahrar 25, a network belonging to the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. The closure comes a day after Islamist broadcaster Al-Hafez was ordered shut following accusations that it was 'inciting hatred' against Coptic Christians and 'undermining national unity'. Tuesday’s order against Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr comes two days after Egyptian authorities expelled three foreign journalists working as freelancers for the Doha-based network’s English-language channel. Egypt’s authorities have accused Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr of bias in its reporting of the coup that ousted Morsi." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgyptian court orders Al Jazeera and other news outlets to close down

Journalist shield laws do not apply to blogger, judge says

"A reporter for a local news website has been ordered to give up his notes and name the sources of police investigation reports he used for a series of stories about two grisly Joliet slayings. Journalist shield laws do not allow patch.com reporter Joe Hosey to protect the source who gave him police reports about the January deaths of Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins in a home on Joliet's north side, Judge Gerald Kinney said in a ruling issued Friday. Hosey will have 21 days to turn over all the documents he received and to reveal their source." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJournalist shield laws do not apply to blogger, judge says

Obama Drone Attack Deaths versus Syria Chemical Weapon Deaths

"The actual number of drone deaths is at least 200 times the '22 top Al-Qaeda leaders plus Bin Laden' noted by President Obama. Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) recently floated the number 4,700. Independent studies by both U.S. and British investigators have confirmed numbers in that ballpark, with many of those being 'collateral damage.' [..] More than 1,400 killed in Syrian chemical weapons attack, U.S. says." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Drone Attack Deaths versus Syria Chemical Weapon Deaths

Dennis Rodman heads back to North Korea to see ‘friend’ Kim Jong-Un

"Korean-American Kenneth Bae, 44, has been held prisoner in the North since November, and Rodman had said last week that he might seek the man’s release. But speaking to reporters at Beijing airport en route to the North Korean capital, Rodman said 'I haven’t been promised anything' on Bae. 'I’m just going to meet my friend Kim the marshal to start a new basketball league going,' Rodman said. 'I’m just trying to keep the communication job going.' North Korea, which bans religious proselytising, said Bae was a Christian evangelist who brought in 'inflammatory' material." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDennis Rodman heads back to North Korea to see ‘friend’ Kim Jong-Un

UK troops deny mutilating Iraq insurgents’ corpses

"Troops are accused of unlawfully killing 20 or more Iraqis at Camp Abu Naji near Majar-al-Kabir in May 2004, and ill-treating detainees there as well as later at Shaibah Logistics Base, also in southwest Iraq. But at a hearing in London on Monday, Colonel Adam Griffiths said he had not seen any evidence to suggest that around a dozen bodies taken to Camp Abu Naji were mutilated before being returned to relatives, or that detainees had been mistreated. He suggested that the rumours sprang from 'ignorance amongst the local population as to the traumatic injuries that can be suffered in combat' as well as insurgents’ efforts to discredit the US-led troops that had invaded Iraq in 2003." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUK troops deny mutilating Iraq insurgents’ corpses

U.S. steps up Pakistan surveillance: ‘black budget’ analysis

"America has delivered nearly $26 billion in aid to Pakistan over the past 12 years, with the money aimed at stabilizing the country and ensuring its cooperation in counterterrorism efforts, according to the paper. US spy agencies reported that senior Pakistani military and intelligence officials knew of and possibly ordered a broad campaign of extrajudicial killings of militants and other adversaries, the Post said. Public disclosure of the reports could have forced the administration of President Barack Obama to sever aid to the Pakistani armed forces. This is because of a US law that prohibits military assistance to human rights abusers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. steps up Pakistan surveillance: ‘black budget’ analysis

Kentucky Supreme Court Chides Cops For Searching Litterbug Motorist

"Kentucky's highest court on Thursday admonished police officers that they cannot force motorists out of a vehicle and search them merely because they refuse to answer questions. They conducted a traffic stop in which Frazier produced his license and insurance when asked, but he balked when Deputy Moore asked him to identify his passengers and explain where they were going. 'Does it matter?' Frazier replied. Enraged, Deputy Moore ordered Frazier to exit the vehicle, and Deputy Boggs conducted a pat-down search over Frazier's objection. Boggs felt something 'suspicious' in the driver's front jeans pocket." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKentucky Supreme Court Chides Cops For Searching Litterbug Motorist

A New Yorker’s view of gun control

"'In New York,' he said, 'the gun laws are so strict, the majority of people who have them are the criminals. Maybe if you're a small-business owner or have some other valid reason for protecting yourself, you might get a permit to carry. But if you're a regular guy like me, forget about it. But I live on the Brooklyn-Queens border, and in that part of town there's only one way to protect yourself — you got to let the punks know you're packing heat. So I bought myself a street gun that I carry with me everywhere. Lots of the decent people in my neighborhood are carrying illegal guns. It's the only thing we can do.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA New Yorker’s view of gun control

For some blacks, gun control raises echoes of segregated past

"As far back as the 1860s, gun control has been used to keep arms out of the hands of black people. After the Civil War, a group of discriminatory laws known as the Black Codes limited the civil liberties—like the right to bear arms—of newly freed slaves. Rules in nine states that give local law-enforcement officials discretionary authority to deny people gun permits even if they meet all criteria for ownership – the same power Alabama’s police department exercised when Martin Luther King Jr. applied to carry a concealed weapon. Despite threats to his life from the Ku Klux Klan, the police denied the civil rights leader permission to own a gun." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFor some blacks, gun control raises echoes of segregated past

Chicago Police Superintendent Says Cops Will Shoot Gun Carrying Citizens

"Chicago police superintendent Garry McCarthy is not happy about the new concealed carry laws in Illinois. And now he is predicting that police will shoot citizens who are lawfully carrying firearms. While every cop has a right to protect himself, this bold statement by McCarthy is obviously meant to intimidate gun owners who choose to exercise their rights. This threat that cops may mistakenly shoot a gun carrying citizen is just another attempt to fight the concealed carry laws that Illinois has long been deprived of. McCarthy would not say what specific training officers will undertake if any. However, he did admit that in the past his department has made mistakes in shooting unarmed civilians." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChicago Police Superintendent Says Cops Will Shoot Gun Carrying Citizens