Mainstream News

Australian postal workers who send porn from work e-mail will no longer be sacked

"Emailing pornography on work addresses should not automatically be considered a sackable offence, an Australian workplace tribunal has ruled. The Fair Work Commission made the decision after considering a case in which three postal workers were fired after it was found they used work email addresses to send or distribute sexually explicit material. The commission said the terminations of the workers — all of whom were long-standing employees of Australia Post — were too harsh, it confirmed on Wednesday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAustralian postal workers who send porn from work e-mail will no longer be sacked

Secret U.S. documents reveal Al-Qaeda has anti-drone operation

"Al-Qaeda’s leaders have set up cells of engineers to try to shoot down, disable or hijack US drones, The Washington Post reported late Tuesday citing top-secret US intelligence documents. The Al-Qaeda leadership is 'hoping to exploit the technological vulnerabilities of a weapons system that has inflicted huge losses against the terrorist network,' the Post said online. The Al-Qaeda commanders are keen to achieve 'a technological breakthrough (that) could curb the US drone campaign, which has killed an estimated 3,000 people over the past decade,' the Post reported. [Drone strikes] have taken a toll among civilians in those countries, something that has fueled anti-US sentiment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSecret U.S. documents reveal Al-Qaeda has anti-drone operation

Australian TV networks reject anti-Rupert Murdoch commercial

"Australia’s commercial television networks are refusing to run an advert which accuses Rupert Murdoch of printing 'misleading crap' in his newspapers ahead of national elections, the activist group behind the ad said Wednesday. The left-leaning GetUp!, which describes itself as an independent community advocacy organisation, is complaining to the competition watchdog after three major commercial networks refused to air the video which has been viewed more than 270,600 times on YouTube. Network Ten, of which Murdoch’s son Lachlan Murdoch is a director, had said it did not want to target another media organisation." Continue reading →

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‘Putin in drag’ artist seeks asylum in France

"A Russian artist said Thursday he has fled to France and is applying for asylum after police seized his painting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in women’s underwear. Police on Tuesday raided an exhibition in the northwestern city of Saint Petersburg, which next week hosts the G20 summit, and confiscated works including a painting of Putin in a strappy nightie and Medvedev in a bra and skimpy knickers. The artist, Konstantin Altunin, 45, said by telephone from Paris that he had requested political asylum and was now gathering the necessary documents. The exhibition also included paintings of Lenin and Stalin." Continue reading →

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Putin: Edward Snowden ‘condemned himself to a rather difficult life’

"'You know, I sometimes thought about him, he is a strange guy,' ex-KGB spy Putin said in an interview with state-run Channel One television. 'How is he going to build his life? In effect, he condemned himself to a rather difficult life. I do not have the faintest idea about what he will do next,' Putin said. 'Well, it’s clear we will not give him up, he can feel safe here. But what’s next?' Putin said. 'And maybe some compromises will be found in this case.' Putin said while US special services consider Snowden a traitor 'he is someone with a completely different frame of mind and considers himself to be a fighter for human rights.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPutin: Edward Snowden ‘condemned himself to a rather difficult life’

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 →

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Syria says it will never give up ‘even if there is World War III’

"Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad also insisted that Russia had not wavered in its support, despite comments by President Vladimir Putin suggesting a more conciliatory tone towards the West. 'Syria has taken every measure to retaliate against… an aggression,' he said, although he refused to provide any clue as to what that might mean. 'The Syrian government will not change position even if there is World War III. No Syrian can sacrifice the independence of his country,' he added. US President Barack Obama is busy trying to convince Congress to approve a strike against the Assad regime in retaliation for a suspected deadly poison gas attack on August 21." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSyria says it will never give up ‘even if there is World War III’

Ron Paul: Syria Intervention ‘Beginning of the End’ of ‘American Empire’

"'How many people do we have to kill?' former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) told Fox News Channel host Neil Cavuto on Tuesday. Discussing the plan for a possible intervention in Syria after government forces used chemical weapons on civilians, Paul said that if the president does not get a vote in Congress authorizing Syrian intervention, it would represent 'the beginning of the end' of the 'American empire.' 'I think there is a sea change,' Paul said of the debate over Syrian intervention. 'The American people are waking up. They are tired of it. They don't have the money.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: Syria Intervention ‘Beginning of the End’ of ‘American Empire’

U.S. Will Now Let in A Whole 2,000 Syrian Refugees Per Year

"The numbers are relatively small: just 2,000 refugees, compared to an estimated two million people who have fled Syria during the civil war. But it's a significant increase from the 90 or so Syrian refugees who have been permanently admitted to the U.S. in the last two years. And it's not entirely uncontroversial. The refugees, mostly women and children, will be screened for terrorist ties -- a process that could take a year or more to complete. Unlike previous efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to give temporary protected status to Syrians already in the United States, the State Department effort will bring in Syrians from overseas for permanent resettlement in America." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Will Now Let in A Whole 2,000 Syrian Refugees Per Year