Europe

No possession of drugs required for Malta drug possession charges

"A recent case in which a man was charged in court with possession of cannabis - even though the police found no cannabis on his person - turns out to be far more commonplace than one would think. According to criminal lawyer Dr Joe Giglio, this case was no by means a one-off incident. In fact he claims that as many as half the cases pressed by the police for possession of illicit substances will not be based on the discovery of any drugs in the possession of the accused, adding that the police have a standard formula for how to extract such confessions from unwitting suspects." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNo possession of drugs required for Malta drug possession charges

Edward Snowden Receives German Whistleblowing Award

"My gratitude belongs to all of those who have reached out to their friends and family to explain why suspicionless surveillance matters. It belongs to the man in a mask on the street on a hot day and the women with a sign and an umbrella in the rain, it belongs to the young people in college with a civil liberty sticker on their laptop, and the kid in the back of a class in high school making memes. All of these people accept that change begins with a single voice and spoke one message to the world: governments must be accountable to us for the decisions that they make. Decisions regarding the kind of world we will live in. What kind of rights and freedoms individuals will enjoy are the domain of the public." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden Receives German Whistleblowing Award

Germans Hide Cash in Diapers as Swiss Secrecy Crumbles

"With Swiss banks the target of an international crackdown against tax evasion, Germans who avoided taxes by keeping money in Switzerland are bringing wads of cash home and hiding it in odd places. The customs districts bordering Switzerland turned up 20 million euros of undeclared cash last year. In the Bavarian border town of Lindau, where officers once caught a man with 25,000 euros stuffed inside a gingerbread house, 2 million euros of undeclared bills were discovered last year. German border agents also hunt for stacks of papers that point to secret accounts. 'To hold a binder with lots of bank statements, that’s quite a good feeling,' said Georg Kruegers, a German customs officer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGermans Hide Cash in Diapers as Swiss Secrecy Crumbles

Gorbachev urges US-Russia deal on Syria

"Gorbachev, 82, said the international community must be level-headed. 'I think that we've seen situations in the past that were more dangerous and where we were nevertheless able to find a solution and to find a way out,' he said. 'A lot will depend on the permanent members of the UN Security Council. They need to show the Cold War is over, that they are able to work together,' he said. Gorbachev took a jab at France, a vocal supporter of intervention in Syria. 'I was surprised that France, instead of supporting an international conference, is taking its current position on Syria,' he said. 'I think that France will have to change its position.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGorbachev urges US-Russia deal on Syria

Egypt court orders Hosni Mubarak freed

"An Egyptian court has ordered the release on bail of former President Hosni Mubarak in a corruption case. Analysts say Mr Mubarak's release - if it happens - would be seen by many as a sign the military is rolling back the changes that flowed from the 2011 uprising. European Union foreign ministers on Wednesday held urgent talks to determine a response to the clampdown. Arms are provided by individual countries rather than the EU as a whole, mostly by Germany, France and Spain. The UK has already suspended some of its military help." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt court orders Hosni Mubarak freed

Roger Waters backs Bulgarian protesters during performance of ‘The Wall’

"Red captions 'No f*cking way' and 'Ostavka' in Cyrillic — which means resignation in Bulgarian — flashed upon Waters’ famous Wall during the performance of the song 'Mother'. The slogans appeared right after Rogers sang the line 'Mother, should I trust the government' and were met with rounds of applause and shouts of 'Ostavka' by the crowd of over 40,000 people in Sofia’s national stadium. Thousands of Bulgarians have taken to the streets of the capital every evening since June 14 to protest against the three-month-old Socialists-backed cabinet of technocrats, which they see as corrupt and too easily swayed by shady business interests behind the scenes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRoger Waters backs Bulgarian protesters during performance of ‘The Wall’

Germany’s Hitler-Era Homeschool Laws Still In (Brute) Force

"The Wunderlichs simply felt that they could teach their children better. They opposed the idea of being forced to send them to the government-monopoly schools whose power is based on a law imposed during the WWII era. The Wunderlichs are Christian, and preferred that their children receive an education incorporating Christian themes, and devoid of some elements force-fed to German kids in the public schools. That doesn’t sit well with the German regime, however, which is, by its own admittance, in the business of preventing 'dissent,' including the emergence of 'separate philosophical convictions.' In other words, the ban on homeschooling is about control." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGermany’s Hitler-Era Homeschool Laws Still In (Brute) Force

Britain fights EU’s ‘Big Brother’ bid to fit every car with speed limiter

"Drivers face having their cars fitted with devices that slam on the brakes if they go over the speed limit, under draconian new road safety measures being drawn up by officials in Brussels. All new cars would have to include camera systems that ‘read’ the limits displayed on road signs and automatically apply the brakes. And vehicles already on the road could even be sent back to garages to be fitted with the ‘Big Brother’ technology, meaning that no car in the UK would be allowed to travel faster than 70mph – the speed limit on motorways. The EC’s Mobility and Transport Department aims to slash the death toll from traffic accidents by a third by 2020." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritain fights EU’s ‘Big Brother’ bid to fit every car with speed limiter

France will ‘prove’ Syria regime behind chemical attack

"France will hand over evidence to lawmakers on Monday proving President Bashar al-Assad’s regime was behind last month’s chemical weapons attack in Syria, a government source told AFP. 'It will be a set of evidence of different kinds that will allow the regime to be clearly identified as responsible for the August 21 chemical attack,' the source said. Another government source said the evidence would include 'declassified secret documents' and that 'some of them could be made public'. France has become Washington’s main ally in the Syria crisis after the British parliament in a shock move rejected plans for military action mooted by Washington." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance will ‘prove’ Syria regime behind chemical attack

CEO of Danish CopyrightAlliance: “Control is Freedom!”

"Maria Fredenslund, the CEO of the Danish CopyrightAlliance, in a debate in which she argues for increased control of the Internet in the name of copyright, proclaims that 'control is freedom.' She lauds the 'highly controlled and regulated society we live in' and insists that 'control gives us freedom.' You see, 'Control and regulation creates innovation … and personal liberty.' She criticizes the Internet as being 'undemocratic' because there is not enough 'control' of it. And people say I am exaggerating when I use the term 'fascism' to describe IP." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCEO of Danish CopyrightAlliance: “Control is Freedom!”