Mark DJ Aldiss
projectbrainsaver
Harlech
Wales
UK

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bahrain Center for Human Rights <admin@bahrainrights.org>
Date: 1 January 2012 04:03
Subject: BCHR: Urgent appeal, 15 year old Sayed Hashim Sayed Saeed killed today, areas under attack
To: markdj@projectbrainsaver.com

BCHR: Urgent appeal, 15 year old Sayed Hashim Sayed Saeed killed today, areas under attack

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Urgent appeal, 15 year old Sayed Hashim Sayed Saeed killed today, areas under attack Posted: 31 Dec 2011 02:45 PM PST 31 Dec 2011 On the eve of New Years, another child's life was taken in Bahrain. 15 year old Sayed Hashim Sayed Saeed was shot with a teargas canister in the face which caused his death. Picture of Sayed Hashim with 14 year old Ali AlShaikh who was shot in the neck with a teargas canister on August 31st. The teargas canister which reportedly killed 15 year old Sayed Hashim, still covered in his blood: and next to his blood According to eyewitnesses: Sayed Hashim was shot in the head with a teargas canister by the riot police. When 3 boys and a woman tried to save him, they were shot at with teargas, some of the teargas was shot near Sayed Hashim were he lay. Then the riot police attacked those trying to save Sayed Hashim, beating some with batons, one may have a broken arm and another has a serious injury. When one woman said "you killed him" one of the riot police shouted "shut up and don't you dare speak of this". Lawyer Zahra Massoud went to the morque, she was prohibited from entering the area where Sayed Hashim's body is being kept. Sayed Hashim after he was shot: and https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1015056668972.. Video right after he was shot: http://www.twitvid.com/6IL0M The marks of the canister where it hit Martyr Sayed Hashim near the face pic.twitter.com/bXKtn1Va Video of when 15 year old Sayed Hashim after he was shot with a teargas canister, and at the hospital until he announced dead youtube.com/watch?feature=… Official notification of cause of death confirm death due to bleeding caused by injury in the nick Today we are receiving numerous reports of kidnappings, arrests and injuries in different parts of Bahrain.  Several villages, as well as religious processions continue to be attacked as I write this email, in what has become the nightly routine of collective punishment. Other injuries today: Man shot in the eye: https://twitter.com/#!/SAIDYOUSI.. Man beaten with batons: https://twitter.com/#!/SAIDY.. Old man was beaten as he defended his daughters, now suffers from broken ribs and bruises: Shot in the head with a rubber bullet: https://twitter.com/#!/SAIDYOUS.. Girl was beaten after she fell from the effects of the teargas: https://twitter.com/#!/SAIDYO.. Shooting teargas inside people's home: https://twitter.com/#!/SAI.. Riot police use vile body language to instigate response from protesters: http://ow.ly/i/oMbi Government thugs with the protection of security forces attacked Dar Kulaib tonight using teargas and rocks: https://twitter.com/#!/Fatima.. Woman's car was attacked by the thugs in Dar Kulaib after she heard them shouting "she's Shiaa" Government thugs attacking Arad: https://twitter.com/#!/Aradi_NEWS.. Zakaria Salman AlAradi is one of those arrested today: In updates from the past ten days: Protests in more than 26 villages on a daily basis, excessive use of force and attacks on these protests every day. It is important to note that the cases mentioned below are a sample of what has been happening, and do not cover all cases. Injuries: Protester injured above his eye: Riot police grabbed a child, told him "I will not arrest you" took out a knife and cut him in the arm, then let him go: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=853... This seems to be the new strategy to avoid documentation of abuse inside police stations. Security forces attempted to run over brother of AbdulRedha Buhmaid who was shot in the head in February by the army. He had to be taken to the hospital as a result of the injuries sustained. Little Asma lost her eye due to the security forces shooting directly at their car, which caused the glass to go inter her eye: https://twitter.com/#!/NABEEL_.. Beaten by riot police: https://twitter.com/#!/SAIDYOUS.. Eye injury: http://p.twimg.com/AhRfVhgCEA.. Security forces went into a shop and attacked those working inside: http://p.twimg.com/AhSylVE.. Protester was beaten and hit with a knife: https://twitter.com/#!/SAIDY... Kidnappings: Boy was kidnapped and tortured in the Youth Hostel in Sanabis: Man who was kidnapped and tortured, then dumped on the streets: http://a3.sphotos.ak.. Two boys who were kidnapped, beaten and dumped on the streets: http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn... http://photos-e.ak.fbc.. Arrests: Man being arrested, kicked and hit on the way: youtube.com/watch?v=2ceGSS63eno Mohammed AbdulHassan, 29 yo policeman, was arrested on the 27th, accused of helping detainees in Hidd and Samaheej police station. Arrest of Sayed Mahmood Hashem: youtube.com/watch?v=nJisHOEStDI Four women were arrested on the 243rd of December for several hours for honking their car horns to the tone of "down down Hamad". Riot police kicks protester before arresting him: youtube.com/watch?v=H7zHfD-zGHU Child cases: Child detainee 16 year old Ahmed Nema who suffers from Atopic Dermatitis Xerosis (https://twitter.com/#!/SAIDYOU..) was beaten by officer Hamad AlTurki who is now refusing him any kind of medical treatment. Ahmed is being kept in a cell with adult drug users. Ali AlAradi, 13 years old, and Naji AbdulAziz, 11 years old, are being kept in custody on charges of throwing stones at riot police. Use of Excessive teargas: Yellow teargas being used: http://hh7.an3m1.com/S.., https://p.twimg.com/AiAwMuyCQAI2lu7.jpg  woman standing in the midst of the yellow teargas: https://twitter.com/#!/Peace.. Blue teargas being used: Green teargas being used: https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamai.. New symptoms of teargas being used: vomiting blood, severe abdominal pain along with the usual burning sensation on skin, seizures, temporary blindness, temporary memory loss. Excessive teargas being shot in Duraz village, at a time when there were no protests, in what is the recurrent group punishment: youtube.com/watch?v=AOyZuz0nX4E Teargas shot inside a home: https://twitter.com/#!/ZozOo9.. House caught on fire due to direct shooting of teargas into it: http://v2.nonxt6.c.. Teargas shot directly into a window next to someone filming the security forces: youtube.com/watch?v=CJXFV2QP-so Widow of Zakariya AlAsheeri, who was killed under torture, had her parents house attacked with teargas which cause a fire. The targeting of family members of those killed during the uprising has happened numerous times, through arrests, imprisonment, teargassing of their homes, and desecrating the grave of the person killed. Teargas shot into people's homes: https://twitter.com/#!/SAIDYOU../1 Journalist Kassim Hussain's house was attacked with teargas on the 27th, while his children were asleep inside. Family traumatized as their home was teargased by security forces, getting the women and children out who were affected by the teargas: http://www.youtube.com/user/sitrawadyan 3 month old baby suffering from teargas: , 7 month old suffering from teargas: , one year old suffering from teargas: Children were put under staircase, as family not aware how to protect them from teargas: Sky full of teargas in AbuSaiba on the 22nd https://twitter.com/#!/man9o.. 63 areas were heavily teargassed on the 22nd of December: http://www.enduringamerica.com/h..0, Other violations, attacks and reports: Thugs backed by security forces attack Dar Kulaib on the 24th: youtube.com/watch?v=OqDId4pJMVM, https://twitter.com/#!/Ahrarelm.., https://twitter.com/#!/Ahrarelma.., , , , Riot Police throwing molotov cocktails at protesters on three different days: youtube.com/watch?v=lgpL--55UGs,  youtube.com/watch?v=n3iZHdU5ZFw,  youtube.com/watch?v=gI7OPixtq3E Green Laser being used on protesters, reason and effect unknown: https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaih.. Riot police use vile body language in an attempt to instigate a violent response from protesters: Riot police threatening to shoot Mazen Madi, journalist photographer: https://twitter.com/#!/Moaw.. Tariq Hassan, who called the attack on the Pearl Square "Cleansing" has been promoted to Head of Public Security bna.bh/portal/en/news/487099 BCHR: After report of the BICI: situation at the central prison is turning from worse to worst: bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/4934 RSF: Bahrain among 10 most dangerous place for journalists: bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/4926 BCHR: Miscarriage and Spontaneous abortion cases as a result of excessive use of tear gas and violence: bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/4930 Maryam AbuDeeb speaks of her fathers arrest: youtube.com/watch?v=mS7akPkdS7M Security forces continue to break cars in areas they attack: https://twitter.com/#!/SAIDY.., youtube.com/watch?v=j4hwOmyC8dk We have received complaints from families that Officer Turki AlMajed has kidnapped and raped young boys, then forces them to work for the intelligence services. He also uses telephone nr: 36646448 to call young boys threatening to arrest them if they don't work for him. Ministry of Interior reinstates 79 teachers, at the same time continues to suspend tens of others: (Arabic) alwasatnews.com/3394/news/read/616458/1.html Group starting a hunger strike chain for Bahrain: https://twitter.com/#!/HRhchain4BH

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United Nations For a Free Tibet

Basic Information

Founded	March 2010/ Non-Profit 501(C)3 status State and Federal. -
Location	Oakland, CA
About	Since 1949, when Communist China’s Army invaded Tibet, Tibetans have endured nothing but persecution and brutal oppression. http://unitednations4freetibet.com/ http://twitter.com/UNFFT UNFFT Skype: freetibet2012

Company Overview	Tibets suffering is our suffering. Fighting for Tibet with compassion against an ever increasing violent China. Every year, thousands flee Tibet. Those able to survive the dangerous journey over the Himalaya Mountains first make their way to Dharamsala, India, where their spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, lives in exile. It is here, that the seat of the Tibetan Government in Exile ...has been established. Today, there are approximately 200,000 Tibetans living in exile worldwide (in 40 countries) while another 6,000,000 still struggle against oppression in their homeland; illegally occupied by China. Thousands have ‘disappeared’ and thousands more remain in prisons or forced labor camps. The situation in Tibet is worsening as the Chinese Government continues to ravage Tibet by torturing, killing and denying Tibetans their basic human rights, as well as destroying the environment. Tibet’s culture, natural resources, wildlife and fragile ecosystem are facing extinction due to over 50 years of mismanagement and abuse under the People’s Republic of China. Rich in the arts, Tibetan culture is one of the most ancient cultures on this planet. In our tumultuous world, much can be learned from the gentle and peaceful Tibetans; their Buddhist philosophy exemplifies, most importantly~kindness and compassion. Since it is vital that the world does not allow this unique and precious culture to perish, ALL NATIONS must STAND UNITED for a FREE TIBET…UNTIL TIBET IS FREE! Without our help, there will not longer be a Tibet to save. We are: UNITED NATIONS FOR A FREE TIBET. Tibet shall be free! See more
Description	Time is running out for the Dragon...the Snow Lion is rising.....♥ UNFFT: we must not be here in 10 years from now, not even in 5 years from now. Because by then, Tibet shall be free. And if not, we have failed* -- "The United Nations for a Free Tibet (UNFFT) works to raise awareness of gross human rights violations committed against Tibetans in their homeland by the Communist Chinese Army which... has occupied Tibet for more that 60 years. Our mission is to educate the public and to advocate for an end to the oppression and atrocities brought by the brutal Communist Chinese occupation. With over 35,000 members spread across the globe, we are a strong ally of Tibet. UNFFT is registered in the United States as a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization." See more
General information	Founder and Chair: Brigitte von Bulow Abu Dhabi/United Arab Emirates Board: Ron Streitz--Secretary and Treasurer -California/USA John Green -London/UK ... Ankit Jindal -Bangalore/India Karma Sonam Chopel =Toronto/Canada Tsering Gyaltsen =India Nangsa Tibet Jolie =Hong Kong Nhan Truong Germany www.ceciliawyu.wordpress.com -Global social enterprise Diego Milan WLE Lito Sauna David Rimantas Anthony Turqoise Mark Tseten dagyap Tsering Vaidas Monika Joy Maryse Charlotte Carly Martha Zhimin Daniel Chin Jin Marina Pradip Sarah Vrigil Artur Brandon Herve Ngima Saket Xiaomin UNFFT Location: http://bit.ly/pZisaf UNFFT team: List being worked on right now. See more
Mission	Our mission is to help free Tibet by providing a platform for uniting all nations, organizations and individuals who are working for the same goal: a Free Tibet. *************************************** The UNFFT is a peaceful, compassionate, honest and non-violent organization, with no wish to do anything that could harm another living being. We therefore shall always work towards an intelligent solution to the dire situation of an occupied Tibet by the Chinese Communist Regime by getting world medias and Governments involved. WorldPeace and Freedom are our goals. Tibets future can be peacefully changed into a free future for all. The Government of Tibet is a dynamic and very well organized, honest organization: *Tibets Kalon Tripa, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, is a man of great integrity, class, intelligence and strength: all attributes for a real STATESMAN ...which he is rapidly becoming*. -- (UNFFT Chair Brigittes statement)
Products	**** FREE TIBET **** For information or helping the UNFFT with donations please email to: unfft@gmx.com We are a 501(C)3 organization/tax exempt United Nations for a Free Tibet P.O. Box 10044 OAKLAND, CA 94610 secretary: Ron Streitz Donations gratefully accepted: please send a checque to the above address. An easier method to donate is via PAYPAL which you shall find on our website: http://unitednations4freetibet.com/

Email	unfft@gmx.com
Phone	(971) 55 4973787 (UAE)
Website	http://unitednations4freetibet.com http://twitter.com/unfft http://www.printfection.com/UNFFT

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Model beats cop stalker - Today Tonight

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4,000 LUXURY BMWs FOR OLYMPIC VIPs: OCCUPY PARK LANE | Ian Bone

The Olympic authorities  are to ship 4,000 brand-new luxury vehicles in from Germany to escort dignitaries and officials staying around Park Lane hotels for the Olympics.

Plush: A BMW 3 Series. The enormous fleet will include more than 3,000 BMW 3 and 5 Series saloons

However, traffic should not be a problem for the VIPs who will cruise along specially reserved ‘games lanes’ running all the way from Park Lane to the olympic stadium at stratford. ONE OLYMPICS FOR THEM – ANOTHER ONE FOR US.

It is obvious that the terrain of struggle during the Olympics will not be at the sports venues but in Park Lane  where all the bigwigs will be staying – getting good view of  OCCUPY HYDE PARK?  An ideal opportunity to show disparities in wealth  and work with the taxi dfrivers already planning to block VIP routes. OCCUPY PARK LANE!

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War on Drugs? Where is the Government War on Obesity? - Michael Lustgarten, PhD - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

The government sponsored war on drugs, at a cost $15.5 billion/year has as its goal to reduce drug use and its consequences in the US (Ref. 1, 2011 FY Budget Summary). Sadly, in 2007 (the most recent year for which data were available), the economic impact of illicit drug use on American society totaled more than $193 billion (Ref. 1).

But, where is the war on obesity? In 2009, the consequences of being overweight or obese cost a combined $270 billion (overweight, $72 billion; obesity, $198 billion; Ref. 2) in excess medical costs, mortality, and disability. The Society of Actuaries in 2010 (Ref. 2) reviewed almost 500 research articles published between 1980-2009 on obesity and its relation to mortality, and found that being overweight or obese is associated with increased prevalence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, kidney disease, stroke, osteoarthritis and sleep apnea. In addition, being obese significantly increases the risk of death and morbidity (Ref. 2). Although the government has sponsored a "let's move" program, and, has invested $750 million in research with the goal of preventing tobacco use, obesity and heart disease (Ref. 4), these are minor moves when compared with the $270 billion economic burden of being overweight or obese.

The number of Americans that are overweight (BMI between 25.0-29.9) or obese (BMI of more than 30) is continuing to rise, and, it has been projected that by the year 2030, half of all US citizens will be obese, resulting in an additional cost of ~$60 billion/year (Ref. 5).

What's the solution to this health crisis? In my opinion, taxes on all prepared and junk food. In other words, fruits, vegetables, raw nuts, meat, fish, eggs and dairy would not be taxed. There would be no taxes on farmed items, but, additional taxes on everything else. And, I believe this will work for the same reason that cigarette taxes have reduced the amount of smokers in the state of NY.

In 2008, NY increased its state cigarette excise tax by $1.25 to a total of $2.75 per pack, making it the highest state cigarette tax in the nation at the time. One year later, adult smoking in the state was at its lowest rate ever recorded, 16.7% of all New Yorkers. This was a 12% decrease, or nearly 310,000 fewer adult smokers than in 2008 (Ref. 3).

Furthermore, when reading the upcoming quote, the same argument can be made for reducing both childhood and adult obesity: "Cigarette taxes and are the most effective way to reduce smoking because higher prices drive people to quit, and, prevent young people from starting smoking. The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimated that New York's $1.25 cigarette tax increase would prevent more than 243,000 New York children alive today from smoking and motivate 140,000 more New York smokers to quit for good" (Ref. 3).

In an attempt to further reduce cigarette smoking in NY, the cigarette tax was raised an additional $1.60 in 2010.

Isn't it about time that city, state and the federal government start a war against obesity?

References:

1) http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/2011-national-drug-control-strategy (2011 FY Budget Summary)

2) Society of Actuaries, "Obesity and its Relation to Mortality and Morbidity Costs" 2010.

3) http://www.health.ny.gov/press/releases/2009/2009-06-04_cigarette_tax_iincrease_anniversary.htm

4) http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/02/20110209b.html, "HHS Announces $750 million Investment in Prevention" 5) Wang YC, McPherson K, Marsh T, Gortmaker SL, Brown M. Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK. Lancet. 2011 Aug 27;378(9793):815-25.

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Drogoteca.com: Historias de Drogas y otras Delicadezas.

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The Four Companies That Control the 147 Companies That Own Everything - Forbes

The Four Companies That Control the 147 Companies That Own Everything

skanda42The major cause of European debt crisis is the political control of the moneyDan OgdenIt would be interesting to see what the effect of inclusion or removal from the S&P does to a public company’s value afterwards.

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There may be 147 companies in the world that own everything, as colleague Bruce Upbin points out and they are dominated by investment companies as Eric Savitz rightly points out. But it’s not you and I who really control those companies, even though much of our money is in them. Given the nature of how money is invested, there are four companies in the shadows that really control those companies that own everything.

Before I reveal them, some light math:

According to the 2011 annual factbook from the Investment Company Institute, there is $24.7 trillion in all the mutual funds in the world (a little less than half from the US). Based on data from the ICI, $1.24 trillion of this is directly invested in index funds, plus another $992 billion in assets beyond that $24.7 trillion in Exchange Traded Funds, which aren’t mutual funds but are index funds. That means the bulk of that money is in “active” managed funds or fund of funds.

But then consider this: the chief of hedge funds at a very large asset manager told me last week (alas, I cannot identify either) that an internal study his firm recently performed found that the vast majority of mutual funds defined as actively managed see 95% of the assets they hold determined by an index.That means just 5% of actively managed funds really are driven by the active manager’s judgment.

This less-than-active management is for two reasons: one is to maintain the fund in a style box (i.e. large value stock, medium value stocks) and comply with the reality all mutual funds are required to have a benchmark index they compare their relative performance to. The other reason is to adhere to risk metrics to which most of the fund industry is beholden. This second point is partly due to Modern Portfolio Theory (a complex topic we won’t debate here) and to the human nature that active managers tend to build portfolios close to the indexes they benchmark against to avoid really awful downward relative performance years that ends up costing them their jobs.

So of the $25.69 trillion in worldwide assets we’ve identified, $2.23 trillion are directly in indexes (ETFs and index mutual funds) with another $22.3 trillion indirectly beholden to indexes (that 95% of actively managed fund holdings said to be determined by an index).

You can see where I’m headed here. That means the real power to control the world lies with four companies: McGraw-Hill, which owns Standard & Poor’s, Northwestern Mutual, which owns Russell Investments, the index arm of which runs the benchmark Russell 1,000 and Russell 3,000, CME Group which owns 90% of Dow Jones Indexes, and Barclay’s, which took over Lehman Brothers and its Lehman Aggregate Bond Index, the dominant world bond fund index. Together, these four firms dominate the world of indexing. And in turn, that means they hold real sway over the world’s money.

While that may seem benign – they are indexers after all you may say –  a financial index isn’t cut and dried like the index of a book. It’s a misperception indexers merely do some simple math like identifying the 500 largest US companies and voila! you have the S&P 500. Every indexer has a fudge factor that allows them to say one company is more “economically significant” for the index at hand than another company. To again take the S&P 500 as an example, the 502-largest company by market cap could get the nod over number 500 by size if S&P decides it wants to.

The power is even more obvious in bonds. The now-Barclays Aggregate Bond Index attempts to mirror volume of bond issuance in a region or the world, but it can’t include even a sizable percentage of all the bonds issued. Essentially, there’s  a big judgment call in there in what bonds it adds to its index. A judgment that influences bond fund flows worldwide.

What does all this mean? Researchers at a desk in midtown Manhattan are the butterflies that cause the hurricanes in the markets. For instance, 37% of all index funds in stocks are in a S&P 500 index fund. That’s $370 billion directly buying and selling stocks based on when the S&P analysts decide to drop ITT from the S&P500 and replace it with just one of three ITT spin-off, Xylem, as announced on Monday. Then add on top of that all of the so-called active mutual funds aiming to beat the S&P 500 (but still reflect 95% of the S&P in their funds) who react to the change and then all of the hedge funds who trade ahead of time trying to guess what S&P may drop or add.

I don’t have a grudge against any indexer (and full disclosure, I’ve done work for some of them). And the folks at McGraw-HIll don’t seem to spook people the way George Soros manages to. But when you discuss power in the world markets, the answer isn’t what you think it is.

Follow me on Twitter.

 

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#Extradition The Fight of Our Lives - http://juliasblog-the-fight-of-our-lives.blogspot.com/#

Dear.....

Thank you for your email expressing your concerns about the nature of the UK’s extradition arrangements with America. Nick has asked me to respond.

The Liberal Democrats have been vocal in our criticism of the ‘lopsided’ extradition arrangements between Britain and the US. We believe that the treaty puts the citizens of the United Kingdom in a disadvantaged position when compared with citizens of the United States.  That is why the Liberal Democrats proposed amendments to the Extradition Act in 2006 to protect the freedom and fair judicial treatment of British citizens. Sadly the previous Government refused to accept or act on these amendments.

The Treaty is wrong in principle. Extradition is based on reciprocity. For a state to give up one of its citizens to another jurisdiction can be justified only by the confident knowledge that citizens of both states have equal rights.

As you know, Sir Scott Baker (a former Lord Justice of Appeal) recently published a Government commissioned review of the Extradition Act. The review concluded that the Extradition Act was not biased and that there was no need for reform.

You may be pleased to know that Nick has asked Sir Menzies Campbell QC to lead a Liberal Democrat review of the current extradition arrangements. Amongst many issues, the panel will consider the need to introduce a ‘forum bar’ which would give judges more discretion in deciding whether it is in the interests of justice for cases to be tried in the UK, such as the case involving Gary McKinnon.

I trust this is helpful.

Yours sincerely

Barbara Masters

On behalf of:-

NICK CLEGG MP

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The Mysterious Death of Dr David Kelly: "Subversion of Due Process" of the Law in the United Kingdom

The Mysterious Death of Dr David Kelly: "Subversion of Due Process" of the Law in the United Kingdom

by Dr. Stephen Frost

Global Research, December 31, 2011

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Due process of the law has not been followed by the British state in the investigation into the death of Dr David Kelly. Of this there is now no doubt. The original inquest was derailed by Lord Falconer, in his dual capacity as Minister of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor.

Dr. Kelly remains the only British citizen not to have had his suspicious death examined properly at a coroner's inquest. This to some may seem trivial. It is not. It is a matter of the highest importance and should be of great concern to all British citizens, especially given the highly political context in which the death took place, inextricably linked as the death was to the United Kingdom's waging of illegal war (according to both the Geneva Conventions and the United Nations Charter) on the sovereign state of Iraq. Disregarding the political context of the death, all doctors are taught, or should be, that none of us is safe without inquests and that the Coroner speaks for the dead to protect the living.

The national disgrace, which the original failure to hold an inquest into this loyal public servant's death constitutes, is all the more concerning because it is a fact that the purported suicide verdict of Lord Hutton is the first time ever that a suicide verdict (if that is what Hutton's "finding" of suicide constituted) has been reached by someone other than a coroner. The standard of proof required to reach a suicide verdict is necessarily very high (the Coroner must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the deceased not only killed himself but also that he intended to kill himself) because such a verdict closes down the case for ever, permanently smearing as it does the victim (who cannot argue back) and his family and stopping for ever any police investigation into the possibility of murder. With such a high standard of proof requirement one would have thought that Lord Hutton heard evidence under oath, but it later emerged that he did not. In simple practical terms, there has never been a case in which a suicide verdict has been overturned and a murderer subsequently convicted.

The possible, indeed probable, gross miscarriage of justice which Hutton's "finding" of suicide in the Kelly case constituted has now been compounded by the Attorney General Dominic Grieve's 9 June 2011 decision not to allow the doctors, who had put before him an unanswerable case for an inquest (see the twenty documents immediately below), permission to apply to the High Court, nor to apply himself, for an inquest.

The Memorial
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/07_01_11davidkelly1.pdf ,

the Addendum to the Memorial
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/03_03_11_kellyinquest.pdf,

and the Appendix to the Addendum to the Memorial
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/appendix-to-addendum-to-memorial.html,
 

all of which were submitted in the proper manner by Frances Swaine of the well known London law firm Leigh Day & Co. as part of a formal Section 13 application, were supplemented by no fewer than seventeen other submissions to the Attorney General:

http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/first-submission-of-14-from-me-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/second-submission-of-14-from-me-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/third-submission-of-14-from-me-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/fourth-submission-of-14-from-me-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/fifth-submission-of-13-from-me-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/sixth-submission-of-13-from-me-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/seventh-submission-of-12-from-me-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/eighth-submission-of-12-from-me-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/ninth-submission-of-12-from-me-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/tenth-submission-of-12-from-me-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/eleventh-submission-of-12-from-me-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/twelfth-submission-of-12-from-me-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/submission-by-dr-david-halpin-to.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/office-of-attorney-general-december.html
 http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/third-submission-of-5-by-dr-david.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/fourth-submission-of-5-by-dr-david.html
http://drdavidkellyinquestrequired.blogspot.com/2011/06/fifth-submission-of-5-by-dr-david.html 

Worse still, an attempt by one of the group of doctors to judicially review the Attorney General's deeply disturbing decision was recently (19 December 2011) stopped, before clearing the first hurdle, by Mr Justice Nicol at the High Court. Despite the fact that the Attorney General is a Cabinet Minister and that his June decision was clearly political when it should have been based solely on the law and that his decision was infamously pre-empted by David Cameron's remarks on the case in the House of Commons, it seems that there is no provision to challenge the Attorney General's decision through the Courts.

This of course makes an already very bad situation much worse and raises profound constitutional questions, as well as questions of propriety. For common sense surely informs us that, of the many disingenuous assertions which the Attorney General Dominic Grieve made on behalf of the British state in June of this year, the conclusions he reached in his oral statement to the House of Commons are indefensible and misled Parliament:

"Having given the most careful consideration to all the material that has been sent to me, I have concluded that the evidence that Dr Kelly took his own life is overwhelmingly strong. Further, nothing that I have seen supports any allegation that Dr Kelly was murdered or that his death was the subject of any kind of conspiracy or cover-up. In my view, no purpose would be served by my making an application to the High Court for an inquest, and indeed I have no reasonable basis for doing so. There is no possibility that, at an inquest, a verdict other than suicide would be returned."
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110609/debtext/110609-0002.htm

The evidence that Dr Kelly took his own life was NOT overwhelmingly strong, for example crucially we are told there was no suicide note. Further, the Attorney General saw plenty of evidence that pointed to the possibility "that Dr Kelly was murdered" and plenty of evidence "that his death was the subject of" some "kind of conspiracy or cover-up". Further, the Attorney General's claim that "no purpose would be served by my making an application to the High Court for an inquest, and indeed I have no reasonable basis for doing so" is simply untrue. Finally, it is clearly impossible for him to predict the outcome of a future inquest and he must have known that for him to say in Parliament that "there is no possibility that, at an inquest, a verdict other than suicide would be returned" was misleading in the extreme.

Further, the Attorney General knew full well that the test for him (under a formal Section 13 application) to request an inquest or to allow the doctors to do so was very generous: he only had to conclude that at an inquest the verdict of suicide MIGHT be different NOT that it WOULD different.

There seems to be some confusion in the mind of the Attorney General as to whether or not an inquest took place. It makes no difference:

if an inquest DID NOT take place a Section 13 application should be successful if the Coroner refuses or neglects to hold an inquest which ought to be held

AND

if an inquest DID take place a Section 13 application should be successful if that inquest was inadequate for any one of the following reasons:

1) insufficiency of inquiry

2) irregularity of proceedings

3) new facts or evidence

4) fraud

5) rejection of evidence

Whether an inquest did or did not take place, the doctors, in the evidence which they submitted to the Attorney General, satisfied not just one of the six requirements, but all six.

There are thus reasonable grounds for concluding that a high level conspiracy to pervert the course of justice has taken place. But what was/is so important to hide which would justify the risk of blocking an inquest, apparently at any cost?

At the very least, the David Kelly suicide verdict must be considered unsafe.

Dr Stephen Frost BSc MBChB (United Kingdom) Specialist in Diagnostic Radiology (Stockholm, Sweden)

stephen.frost@btinternet.com  

Stephen Frost is a frequent contributor to Global Research.  Global Research Articles by Stephen Frost

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‘Holy’ Sex Toys? - The Daily Beast

Religious Sex-Toy Sites Vow to Save Marriages

Dec 30, 2011 4:45 AM EST

Christian, Jewish, and Muslim entrepreneurs have launched ‘religious’ sex-toy shops online in an effort to improve pious couples’ sex lives—and strengthen the marital bond. Allison Yarrow investigates: what makes a vibrator holy?

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Joyce’s sex life can be divided into two acts: before and after the Turbo 8 Accelerator.  



The evangelical Christian from California’s central valley had never had an orgasm alone nor with her husband of 25 years. “I didn’t know I wasn’t having one,” the 59-year-old mother of two told The Daily Beast. Yet after chatting with some church girlfriends, she learned what she was missing. “’All that happens to you?’” she asked. “They looked at me like I was crazy.”

Joyce, who requested that we use only her first name, and her equally devout spouse never would have found the bullet-shaped vibrator or the array of “marital aids” they’ve ordered since, if it wasn’t for the Christian sex toy website Book 22—introduced to her by a friend after their chat. “I’m a Christian, but this is awesome,” she said. “It was like being newlyweds again.”

Photos: 'Holy' Sex Toys

Christian, Jewish and Muslim entrepreneurs have launched ‘religious’ sex toy shops online, in an effort to improve pious couples’ sex lives—and strengthen the marital bond. , Charles Benavidez / Getty Images

Sex and religion have long been perceived to be at odds, with carnal pleasures representing sin more than saintliness. Yet in recent years, a handful of savvy Christian, Jewish and Muslim entrepreneurs have embraced the notion that the two can coexist in a way that jibes with doctrine—and even glorifies traditional values by strengthening marriages.

Enter the religious sex-toy industry, which carefully markets and sells a range of sexual-pleasure products to the faithful. With the voice and disposition of a summer-camp director, Joy Wilson founded Book 22 a decade ago, when she had trouble “getting her body to respond” to her husband after their second child, and her online search for remedies yielded scandalous imagery that offended more than it helped. The pioneering site, named after the Biblical book also known as the Song of Solomon, now faces growing competition from rival vendors including Hooking Up Holy, Intimacy of Eden, and Covenant Spice.

And the industry grew exponentially this fall with the launch of the Orthodox Jewish shop Kosher Sex Toys, and last year with the Muslim vendor El Asira. The sites even enjoy the support of many community leaders. “Religious people do it like everybody else,” said David Ribner, a rabbi and sex therapist based in Israel, who works as a consultant for Kosher Sex Toys. “Why shouldn’t they have access to toys that make their lives more satisfying?”

To be clear, the “religious people” targeted are married, heterosexual religious people; pious sex-toy vendors market their products exclusively to these couples. Unlucky in love and looking for some solitary fun after morning prayers? Look elsewhere.

What happens in the heterosexual marital bed, however, should be nothing short of transcendent, say the site owners, who happily report that their holy books not only permit sexual fulfillment between partners, but require it. “If a man is unable to please a woman in bed, she can divorce him,” said Abdelaziz Aouragh, a 30-year-old Dutch Muslim businessman who founded El Asira—stressing the Islamic belief that “man and woman must reach their peak” during intercourse, and that only then is the “deed complete.”

The burgeoning niche, part of the roughly $15 billion sex-toy industry, reports that business has been steadily growing, with most sites shipping a few hundred orders per month. Clients usually find them through Google, say the owners, or a thoughtful religious leader or astute sex therapist. The vendors use many of the same distributors as secular shops, with most products made in China. Gavriel, a 25-year-old furniture salesman who owns Kosher Sex Toys (and asked that we use only his middle name) stressed in an interview, “There’s nothing wrong with having all the sex you want.” 


To an outsider, visiting the religious sites feels a bit like listening to the bleeped-out version of an explicit hip-hop song: the substance is the same, it’s just missing the X-rated details. None of the sites feature any nudity, instead relying on mannequins to display lingerie. Nor do they feature any sexy language. Kosher Sex Toys, for example, rewrites product descriptions that risk shocking its audience. (The “Butterfly Clitoris Stimulator” becomes, simply, the “Vibrating Stimulator.”) And while they don’t flaunt their holiness, they’ll occasionally rely on religious messaging to sell themselves, or perhaps put potential customers at ease. Book 22, for example, promises to “enhance the intimate life of all God’s children.”

The “piousness” of the products themselves comes down to packaging and presentation. Book 22’s Wilson, who is 22 and lives in central Oregon, repackages plastics in plain boxes and includes additional care instructions. Kosher Sex Toys’s Gavriel also removes items from offensive packaging before shipping. Meanwhile, El Asira’s Aouragh only stocks brands that arrive in tasteful and inoffensive wrappings.

Despite consistencies across the religious sites, the vendors do vary based on doctrine, audience, and each owner’s preferences. Wilson refuses to sell anal devices and condoms, not because she objects, but because her customers do. “The Catholics protested the condoms, and the evangelical Christian community is sensitive about anal sex and play,” she said. “But I’ll special order anything if people ask.”

Aouragh, who rejects the term “sex shop,” preferring to say that he’s in the business of “sexual well-being,” sells only Sharia-compliant items. Meaning: no vibrators, dildos, or drugs that claim to enhance size or use, because these items misinterpret the male form. The homepage for El Asira, which means “The Society” in Arabic, is partitioned by gender, with two ornate mosque doors—and while it carries women's lingerie and a range of massage products, oils and lubricants sell best.

Meanwhile, Kosher Sex Toys’ Gavriel won’t stock male masturbatory aids because, he says, God frowns on wasted potential, according to the Torah. However, since Judaism doesn't prohibit female self-pleasure, he carries myriad trinkets that buzz. He also proudly sells whips and drip candles; performance-enhancing pills and sprays; clear-heeled shoes and thigh-high boots; and a variety of handcuffs, restraints, and tools for cutting them off.

"You can’t buy love and respect between a man and a woman," said Aouragh. "But we’re trying to be creative and clever in selling it."

And at least one customer is grateful for this inventory. Yaakov, a 25-year-old ultra-Orthodox Jewish salesman from New Jersey who preferred not to use his last name, views the site as a godsend. Shortly into his marriage, he discovered that he suffered from premature ejaculation, and his therapist, who works with many Orthodox couples, prescribed him “marital aids,” and directed him to Kosher Sex Toys. Without getting into detail, Yaakov told The Daily Beast simply, “It should be considered a mitzvah to use these things.”

 Of course, many religious leaders and worshipers disagree. Rabbi Avi Shafran, who works in communications at an Orthodox communal organization in New York City, said in an email that Kosher Sex Toys is “about as immodest—in the definition of the Jewish religious tradition—as one can get.” He describes Judaism's stance on sexual intimacy as “sublime” and “holy,” but believes toys taint this intention.

Indeed, navigating ingrained religious beliefs, and misconceptions, about sex and pleasure poses a continuous challenge for site owners, who have either taken it upon themselves to advise clients or enlisted the help of experts. Wilson pursued a master's degree in counseling to better help her customers. And Kosher Sex Toys keeps the rabbi and sex therapist Ribner on call as a licensed authority on both sex and scripture. Because of a lack of proper sex education, Ribner said, religious couples often suffer from misguided advice. “One couple was told that if the woman does not like sex, she should take two Tylenol and finish as quickly as possible,” he said. In his work with Kosher Sex Toys, he has advised on topics ranging from the science of erectile dysfunction to the morality of spanking a partner.

Ultimately, across religions, owners share the same lofty goal: to help fellow (married) worshipers find happiness and peace behind closed doors. “You can’t buy love and respect between a man and a woman,” said Aouragh. “But we’re trying to be creative and clever in selling it.”

Like The Daily Beast on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for updates all day long.

Allison Yarrow is assignment editor and a staff writer at Newsweek and The Daily Beast. Her essays and journalism have appeared in Huffington Post, Slate, CNN.com, Poets & Writers magazine and The Forward. She created and hosted the Yid Lit podcast, which interviews authors of literary fiction and nonfiction. Previously, as an associate producer at NBC News Productions, Allison produced health segments for a nationally syndicated program hosted by Hoda Kotb, and long-form documentary hours for MSNBC.

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Obama pledges to exempt Americans from indefinite detention law | The Raw Story

Obama pledges to exempt Americans from indefinite detention law

By Stephen C. Webster
Saturday, December 31, 2011

135

Topics: President Barack Obama ♦ President Obama

President Barack Obama signed on New Year’s Eve a bill that gives the military authority to detain American citizens indefinitely and without criminal charge, breaking with the stroke of a pen one of his many campaign promises, even as he pledged that the new powers the bill grants will not be applied to U.S. citizens.

The provision was just one part of a massive $662 billion defense spending authorization that funds the military, penalizes Iran’s central bank and freezes military aid to Pakistan, among other things.

The president’s opponents in Congress, including some Democrats, attached the indefinite detention provision to force the administration to either accept a much heavier load of terrorism suspects, many who would be heading to the Guantanamo Bay military prison, or veto the bill and stand accused of opposing funds for the troops.

President Obama issued a veto threat after a provision was added that required all terrorism suspects be automatically rendered into military custody — a fundamental change to the criminal justice system that members of the administration warned could stymie other agencies or put investigations at risk.

Obama agreed to sign it after language was left in the bill that allows the administration to dedicate terror prisoners to civilian courts instead of military custody. In its final form, the bill stipulates that all terrorism suspects are to be handled by the military unless the administration decides otherwise and explains its reasoning to Congress.

“My administration will not authorize the indefinite detention without trial of American citizens,” President Obama said in a signing statement, a tactic presidents occasionally use to clarify how they interpret laws. “Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation. My Administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the Constitution, the laws of war, and all other applicable law.”

Obama went on to explain that as he understands the indefinite detention provision, his administration is being given “broad authority to determine how best to implement it,” which he said would be used to ensure American citizens are exempt.

“I reject any approach that would mandate military custody where law enforcement provides the best method of incapacitating a terrorist threat,” Obama wrote.

“As my Administration has made clear, the only responsible way to combat the threat al-Qa’ida poses is to remain relentlessly practical, guided by the factual and legal complexities of each case and the relative strengths and weaknesses of each system. Otherwise, investigations could be compromised, our authorities to hold dangerous individuals could be jeopardized, and intelligence could be lost. I will not tolerate that result, and under no circumstances will my Administration accept or adhere to a rigid across-the-board requirement for military detention.”

The signing statement, while likely a relief to some of the president’s more liberal allies, will not assuage all criticism. As one writer for the progressive blog FireDogLake pointed out, future administrations may interpret the law differently, applying a wholly new standard of who should or should not be held in military custody.

“President Obama’s action today is a blight on his legacy because he will forever be known as the president who signed indefinite detention without charge or trial into law,” Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, explained in a media advisory. “The statute is particularly dangerous because it has no temporal or geographic limitations, and can be used by this and future presidents to militarily detain people captured far from any battlefield.  The ACLU will fight worldwide detention authority wherever we can, be it in court, in Congress, or internationally.”

“We are incredibly disappointed that President Obama signed this new law even though his administration had already claimed overly broad detention authority in court,” he added. “Any hope that the Obama administration would roll back the constitutional excesses of George Bush in the war on terror was extinguished today.”

Stephen C. Webster

Stephen C. Webster is the senior editor of Raw Story, and is based out of Austin, Texas. He previously worked as the associate editor of The Lone Star Iconoclast in Crawford, Texas, where he covered state politics and the peace movement’s resurgence at the start of the Iraq war. Webster has also contributed to publications such as True/Slant, Austin Monthly, The Dallas Business Journal, The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Weekly, The News Connection and others. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenCWebster.

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