-
Former U.S.-Backed Guatemalan Dictator Faces Genocide Trial
By Mariano Castillo, CNN (CNN) — A Guatemalan judge has ordered the country’s former dictator to stand trial on charges that he was responsible for atrocities committed during his rule. Efrain Rios Montt will remain under house arrest while prosecutors work to gather evidence that would link him to genocide and human rights abuses. After…
-
Acta protests break out as EU states sign up to treaty
MEPs of 21 EU states, including the UK, have signed off on the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement The UK and 21 other European Union member states on Thursday signed an international copyright agreement treaty called Acta (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), sparking more demonstrations by internet users who have protested for days both virtually and physically over…
-
SOPA’s big brother signed by EU nations amid widespread protests
Polish citizens take to the streets in protest at ACTA By Jennifer Baker IDG News Service – The European Union signed up to the controversial Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) on Thursday despite widespread opposition, particularly in Poland, where people took to the streets in protest. The agreement was officially signed in Tokyo by 22…
-
Libya: UN alarmed over failure to stop torture of detainees
Medicins Sans Frontieres, the medical charity, is suspending operations in Libyan detention centres because they were being asked to make torture victims fit for further interrogation. The UN has expressed its alarm over the failure of the Libyan government [the National Transitional Council government set up by the Libyan “rebels” — Ed.]to disarm militias and…
-
Gadhafi Loyalists ‘Retake’ Town of Bani Walid
Four Killed as Old Regime’s Flag Is Raised in Town by Jason Ditz, January 23, 2012 Major fighting has broken out in the Libyan town of Bani Walid this weekend, and reports indicate at least in the near term, that it has fallen to fighters loyal to the former government of Moammar Gadhafi. The same…
-
French Senate passes Armenian genocide law
The French Senate has approved a controversial bill that makes it a criminal offence to deny that genocide was committed by Ottoman Turks against Armenians during World War I. Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-16 as the Ottoman empire split. Turkey rejects the term genocide and says the number was much…
-
Kim Jong-il’s Death is a Danger for North Korea, not its Neighbors
By Stephen Gowans There are a few facts to keep in mind to understand what’s going on in the wake of the death this week of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. #1. US foreign policy vis-a-vis North Korea has always sought to force the latter’s collapse to pave the way for its absorption into the…
-
The Absurdity of Intellectual Property
Beginning at midnight on January 18th, 2012, Wikipedia blacked out its website in protest to two bills, SOPA and PIPA, while other websites undertook similar actions. The following day, the federal government shut down Megaupload.com, a popular file sharing website, claiming they constituted a criminal organization circulating copywritten material. In the battle of “free internet” versus…
-
Congress puts brakes on anti-piracy bills
By Jasmin Melvin WASHINGTON | Fri Jan 20, 2012 6:31pm EST (Reuters) – Lawmakers stopped anti-piracy legislation in its tracks on Friday, delivering a stunning win for Internet companies that staged an unprecedented online protest this week to kill the previously fast-moving bills. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he would postpone a critical vote…
-
US Closes Major File-Sharing Website One Day After Anti-SOPA Protest
Was Takedown a Personal Vendetta Over ‘Mega Song’ Lawsuit? by Jason Ditz, January 19, 2012 In what was either an attempt by the Obama Administration to thumb its nose at Wednesday’s massive public protests against the notion the federal government can shut down websites at whim, or solid evidence the government plans to do what…
The Red Phoenix
Real news for workers, by workers
