(India) "The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019 also ensures that those using firearm in a rash or negligent manner in celebratory gunfire, endangering human life or personal safety of others shall be punishable with an imprisonment to two years, or with fine which may extend to Rs one lakh, or with both...Replying to a nearly three-hour-long debate, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the bill has been brought as a requirement to significantly impose weapons control in the country." https://www.news18.com/news/india/lok-sabha-passes-arms-amendment-bill-that-proposes-punishment-of-life-imprisonment-for-illegal-arms-makers-2417983.html
"Hundreds of confidential interviews with key figures involved in prosecuting the 18-year US war in Afghanistan have revealed that the US public has been consistently misled about an unwinnable conflict...Transcripts of the interviews, published by the Washington Post after a three-year legal battle, were collected for a Lessons Learned project by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar), a federal agency whose main task is eliminating corruption and inefficiency in the US war effort." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/09/afghan-papers-reveal-us-public-were-misled-about-unwinnable-war
"China has issued a strident defence of its Muslim “re-education camps” in the face of growing international condemnation, with a top official claiming everyone held there has now “graduated” and is happy...Uighur Muslims and ethnic Kazakhs who had been detained and made to study Mandarin, law, vocational skills and deradicalisation at the indoctrination camps had found “stable employment and improved the quality of their life” with the help of the government, insisted Xinjiang state governor Shohrat Zakir, himself a Uighur, on Monday." https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-muslims-detention-camp-uighur-xinjiang-reeducation-latest-graduates-a9238851.html
"It appears that the AGM-114R9X, a secret low collateral damage derivative of the AGM-114 Hellfire missile, has been employed against occupants of another vehicle in northwestern Syria. This is the second time this week. Previously, we knew of only one other instance in which the unique missile had been used, back in 2017 when an Al Qaeda kingpin was similarly targeted and killed in western Syria. The War Zone was the first to posit that an exotic new low-collateral damage weapon was being used after images from that strike surfaced." https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/31375/americans-hellfire-missile-that-uses-swords-instead-of-explosives-struck-again-in-syria
"Beijing has ordered every public institution in the country to remove foreign computer equipment and software within three years, according to the Financial Times...The newspaper reported that the order was made by the Chinese Communist Party's central office earlier this year, and is the first publicly known directive obliging government offices to begin purchasing equipment from domestic technology vendors." https://news.sky.com/story/china-bans-foreign-computer-equipment-and-software-from-state-offices-11882174
"The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved an investment fund that will invest in bitcoin futures contracts. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce calls this move “a bit of progress.” The SEC has also revealed why it decided to approve such a fund." https://news.bitcoin.com/sec-approves-bitcoin-futures-fund/
"India took a major step toward the official marginalization of Muslims on Monday, as Parliament opened debate on a bill that would establish a religious test for migrants’ eligibility to become citizens, solidifying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist agenda...The bill, which is expected to easily pass the lower house of Parliament, would give migrants of all of South Asia’s major religions — except Islam — a clear path to Indian citizenship." https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/world/asia/india-muslims-citizenship-narendra-modi.html?emc=rss&partner=rss
"An Ohio legislator who said he had “no knowledge” of a rightwing Christian bill mill called Project Blitz is, in fact, the co-chair of the state branch of an organization behind the campaign...The Ohio state representative Timothy Ginter sponsored a bill called the Student Religious Liberties Act. Opponents argued the bill would provide students with a religious exemption to facts, and would frighten teachers and school administrators into including religion in school functions...The Guardian revealed the bill was nearly identical to one promoted by Project Blitz, a state legislative project guided by three Christian right organizations, including the Congressional Prayer Caucus (CPC), WallBuilders and the ProFamily Legislators Conference. Project Blitz aims to promote and help pass conservative legislation across the US to fulfil its rightwing Christian agenda." https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/09/ohio-timothy-ginter-project-blitz
"The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has imposed a four-year ban on Russia from all global sport, including the 2020 Olympics and the 2022 World Cup finals...WADA's executive committee took the decision after concluding Moscow had tampered with laboratory data." https://news.sky.com/story/russia-banned-from-all-global-sport-including-2020-oiympics-and-2022-world-cup-11882206
"But as of now, Schulte’s trial is due to start on January 13, a month and a half before Assange’s first substantive extradition hearing starting on February 25...And at that trial, the government is preparing to argue that Schulte intended to harm the United States when he leaked these files to WikiLeaks, a stronger level of mens rea than needed to prove guilt under the Espionage Act (normally the government aims to prove someone should have known it could cause harm, relying on their Non-Disclosure Agreements to establish that), and one the government has, in other places, described as the difference between being a leaker and a spy." https://www.emptywheel.net/2019/12/07/the-wikileaks-conspiracy-the-government-prepares-to-argue-wikileaks-has-always-been-an-organized-crime-syndicate/
"A seminar on Nato in Copenhagen has been cancelled after the US blocked an American academic who has criticised Donald Trump from attending...The Danish Atlantic Council said it was "regrettably" no longer holding its event after Stanley Sloan, an expert in foreign policy, was apparently prevented from coming at the request of Carla Sands, the US ambassador to Denmark." https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-nato-event-denmark-cancelled-stanley-sloane-carla-sands-a9238406.html
"Australian paedophiles are paying as little as A$15 for children to perform sexual acts online while being filmed in the Philippines, according to the head of the Australian federal police team in Manila." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/09/australian-paedophiles-pay-15-dollars-online-abuse-filipino-children
"A global search is on to find a man accused of sexually abusing children in Sydney over a six-year period in the 1980s...Simon Gordon Davies, 63, is wanted on an outstanding New South Wales police warrant in connection with 18 child sexual and indecent assault offences across the city between 1981 and 1987." https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/09/global-manhunt-under-way-for-man-accused-of-sexually-abusing-sydney-children-in-1980s
"A bombshell domestic spy scandal has been unfolding in Britain, after hacked internal communications exposed a covert UK state military-intelligence psychological warfare operation targeting its own citizens and political figures in allied NATO countries under the cover of fighting “Russian disinformation.”...The leaked documents revealed a secret network of spies, prominent journalists and think-tanks colluding under the umbrella of a group called “Integrity Initiative” to shape domestic opinion—and to smear political opponents of the right-wing Tory government, including the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn." https://thegrayzone.com/2019/01/08/new-documents-reveal-a-covert-british-military-intelligence-smear-machine-meddling-in-american-politics/
"Divergence in job growth, incomes and future prospects between strong-performing cities and the rest of the country is an emerging focus of political debate and economic research. It is seen as a source of social stress, particularly since President Donald Trump tapped the resentment of left-behind areas in his 2016 presidential campaign...Research from the Brookings Institution released on Monday shows the problem cuts deeper than many thought. Even cities that have performed well in terms of overall employment growth, such as Dallas, are trailing in attracting workers in 13 industries with the most productive private sector jobs." https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-superstars/jobs-of-the-future-are-clustering-in-a-handful-of-u-s-cities-study-finds-idUSKBN1YD0B4
"The U.S. government is required by law to pursue "prompt and continuous efforts" to unify unaccompanied migrant children with family. In practice, those efforts vary widely at roughly 170 facilities across the country, an analysis of government data being shared with members of Congress Monday has found...Children at some standard facilities may be released to family in as little as a month. At others, it takes more than three months...Some children end up in "secure" facilities, more like the juvenile detention where U.S. teens accused of serious crimes are held. The children in these secure facilities are held on average more than six months." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/some-migrant-kids-detained-for-months-in-jail-like-secure-facilities-new-study-for-congress-finds/
"The Trump administration intends to propose a regulation next year that would require all travelers - including U.S. citizens - to be photographed when entering or leaving the United States, according to the administration's regulatory agenda, reports Reuters." http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/peace-and-prosperity/2019/december/04/trump-administration-proposes-face-scans-for-us-citizens/
"On December 1, the Virginia Contracting Activity, on behalf of the Defense Intelligence Agency, released the final request for proposals (RFP) for the Data Science, Operations, Requirement, Exploitation, and Engineering (DORE2) solicitation. Proposals are due no later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern on January 17...DORE2 seeks innovative capabilities for the ground, aerospace, and maritime technical collection domains in order to enhance foundational intelligence; provide strategic warning; and inform R&D, acquisition, and operational activities. These services will primarily support the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in execution of its Directorate for Science & Technology (DIA/ST) mission."" https://intelligencecommunitynews.com/dia-releases-dore2-rfp/
"The drawings show the detainee crouched and handcuffed in a small box; naked and strapped to a table as water pours over his covered face; shackled as an interrogator slams his head into a wall...The graphic self-portraits, drawn in captivity by a Guantanamo Bay detainee, provide a new and harrowing account of the CIA’s torture program during a dark chapter in the U.S. war on terror. They were published for the first time this week in a report called “How America Tortures,” by the Seton Hall University School of Law's Center for Policy and Research." https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/12/07/seton-hall-report-depicts-cia-detainee-in-graphic-drawings-of-torture/4364697002/
"The Pacific island of Vanuatu has called for ecocide— wide-scale, long-term environmental damage—to be considered an international crime equivalent to genocide...At a meeting of the International Criminal Court in the Hague on Tuesday, ambassador John Licht of Vanuatu said the court should consider an amendment to the Rome Statute, which sets the court’s legal framework, that would “criminalize acts that amount to ecocide. We believe this radical idea merits serious discussion.”" https://www.climateliabilitynews.org/2019/12/06/ecocide-international-criminal-court-vanuatu/
"More than 11,000 scientists across 153 countries are shouting out a new climate change warning. The delay for action has been too long. Addressing our rapidly degrading and already overly dangerous climate is now officially an emergency. Here is an excerpt from the article in the journal BioScience..." https://truthout.org/articles/the-climate-emergency-has-already-begun-as-earth-systems-collapse/
"Over the past two years, Washington has blocked the W.T.O. from appointing new members to a crucial panel that hears appeals in trade disputes. Only three members are left on the seven-member body, the minimum needed to hear a case, and two members’ terms expire on Tuesday. With the administration blocking any new replacements, there will be no official resolution for many international trade disputes...The loss of the world’s primary trade referee could turn the typically deliberate process of resolving international disputes into a free-for-all, paving the way for an outbreak of tit-for-tat tariff wars...It could also signal the demise of the 24-year-old World Trade Organization itself, since the system for settling disputes has long been its most effective part." https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/08/business/trump-trade-war-wto.html?emc=rss&partner=rss
"George Maschke from Antipolygraph.org (previously) writes, "Thousands of individuals are annually compelled to undergo a pseudoscientific polygraph screening ritual called the 'Test for Espionage and Sabotage.' The administration guide for this procedure, which is marked 'For Official Use Only' is now publicly available."... https://boingboing.net/2019/12/08/ducking-stools-r-us.html
"The U.S. Air Force’s top civilian and a key member of Congress agreed Saturday on the need to declassify a large amount of information about America’s military space programs to both intimidate foes and encourage support among the public...“Declassifying some of what is currently held in secure vaults would be a good idea,” Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said during a panel at the Reagan National Defense Forum. “You would have to be careful about what we declassify, but there is much more classified than what needs to be.”" https://www.defensenews.com/smr/reagan-defense-forum/2019/12/08/barrett-rogers-plan-to-declassify-black-space-programs/
"Ostensibly, these remarks apply to fundamentalists from all religions. But by mentioning Argentina, the Pope made it exceedingly clear who his real target was...There aren't any "Muslim fundamentalists" or "Hindu fundamentalists" in Argentina. The fundamentalists that he was referring to are the Christian fundamentalists in Argentina, and in the very next sentence he denounced such people as " https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=3655#AwboJb7DexHYI3mA.99
"The Army is issuing a solicitation request to industry to collect information of future mobile intelligence ground station architecture to operate at brigade, division, corps and field Army echelons, in vehicles and shelters organic to the formation as part of the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) project...The system is a part of the future Battle Management Command and Communication program, a new-start in fiscal year 2020 estimated to cost the Army $93.5 million." https://skystatement.com/u-s-army-seeks-new-titan-expeditionary-intelligence-ground-station/
"The book-burning incident, with all its dark historical precedents from this country and Nazi-era Germany, has heightened alarm at a time when Chinese intellectuals see their society tipping further into authoritarianism...The incident attracted widespread attention Sunday after Chinese social media users noticed a report on the Library Society of China’s website from a library in Zhenyuan County. The library declared it had removed “illegal publications, religious publications and deviant papers and books, picture books and photographs” in an effort to “fully exert the library’s role in broadcasting mainstream ideology.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-china-library-officials-burn-books-that-diverge-from-communist-party-ideology/2019/12/09/5563ee46-1a43-11ea-977a-15a6710ed6da_story.html
"People Power Under Attack 2019 also provides analysis on the kinds of violations most frequently recorded on the CIVICUS Monitor over the past year. Globally, censorship is the most common violation, occurring across 178 countries. From blocking websites and social media, to banning television programmes, governments across the world are going to great lengths to control public discourse and suppress free speech." https://monitor.civicus.org/PeoplePowerUnderAttack2019/
"The sources said the meetings of Haftar took place with Israeli intelligence officials (Mossad) that ended up striking security cooperation between the two sides to train Haftar's forces in Guerrilla warfare by Israeli officers who arrived in Libya via coordination with Egypt between August and September this year..."Israeli officers trained a special unit from Haftar's forces, which are carrying out an offensive against Tripoli." They added...The sources said the meeting between Haftar and Israeli officers wasn't the first of its kind as a similar meeting was held in one of the capitals visited by Haftar, yet the recent meeting was the first to be held on Libyan soil." https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/report-israeli-officers-trained-group-haftars-forces-libya
"The focus has until now been on academic conferences in Europe and the U.S., conferences monitored closely by the National Security Agency...But only recently have computer networks and personal computers attained sufficient speed to make the ideas practically realizable. And the next ten years will bring enough additional speed to make the ideas economically feasible and essentially unstoppable. High-speed networks, ISDN, tamper-proof boxes, smart cards, satellites, Ku-band transmitters, multi-MIPS personal computers, and encryption chips now under development will be some of the enabling technologies...The State will, of course, try to slow or halt the spread of this technology, citing national security concerns, use of the technology by drug dealers and tax evaders, and fears of societal disintegration. Many of these concerns will be valid; crypto anarchy will allow national secrets to trade freely and will allow illicit and stolen materials to be traded...An anonymous computerized market will even make possible abhorrent markets for assassinations and extortion. Various criminal and foreign elements will be active users of CryptoNet. But this will not halt the spread of crypto anarchy." https://news.bitcoin.com/the-crypto-anarchist-manifesto/
"A few days ago, the Russian news outlet Avia.pro reported that the Russian warship Yantar, which Russia calls “an oceanographic naval vessel”, was blocked from entering the Panama Canal after a U.S. warplane flew over it...Western military experts believe that the reconnaissance vessel may have deployed submersible remote-controlled unmanned vessels or deep-water manned bathyscaphes at the places where it remained stationary." http://uawire.org/russian-spy-ship-blocked-from-entering-panama-canal
Oldie "they are still held in what Australia's government calls "regional processing centres". Critics call them prisons...Nauru is a tiny 29sq kilometre island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean...That small independent country - a member of the United Nations - has played a central role in the history of Australia's refugee policies...Nauru's "detention centre" first opened in 2001, under a policy brought in by Australia's conservative Liberal Party - the so-called "Pacific Solution"....But this all changed when Kevin Rudd, from the centre-left Labour party, came to power in 2007. Rudd closed Nauru's centre and most of the refugees were relocated to Australia...But then as the number of asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat started going back up, the Labour Party's government was forced to reconsider. The centre reopened in 2012...Today, the island's detention centre is home to almost 500 people, including about 50 children." https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/inthefield/2016/09/nauru-australia-guantamo-bay-160909075644783.html
"According to the Kuwaiti court, he is accused of "espionage for Iran" and this action has been identified as harming Kuwaiti political and social interests...He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, along with another person, whose name and identity were not mentioned...It is noteworthy that Sheikh al-Mutaq is a member of the Supreme Council of the Secretary-General of AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly...The issuance of this unfair verdict has caused a lot of negative reactions in various parts of the world and statements of outrage and hatred have been issued by organizations and individuals." https://en.abna24.com/news//kuwaiti-shia-cleric-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison_992273.html
"U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday discussed last week’s Florida naval base shooting and vowed to work together on the investigation of the attack, which left three people dead and injured eight others..."The Crown Prince reiterated Saudi Arabia’s commitment to working with the United States to prevent a horrific attack like the Pensacola shooting from ever happening again,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement." https://www.reuters.com/article/us-florida-shooting-crownprince/trump-saudi-crown-prince-vow-to-cooperate-on-florida-base-shooting-probe-idUSKBN1YD00P
"Leaked classified documents, published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists last month, showed a concerted effort by regional officials to keep a close eye on Uighurs with foreign citizenship, wherever they are..."For those ... whom suspected terrorism cannot be ruled out, they should first be placed into concentrated education and training for examination," it added, referring to tightly-secured detention camps in the region, where former inmates say they are physically and psychologically tortured." https://www.businessinsider.com/china-uighurs-spooked-even-outside-country-2019-12
"British cyber security officials are investigating whether classified UK-U.S. trade documents that were shared online ahead of Thursday’s election were acquired by hacking or were leaked, two sources told Reuters." https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-election-documents/britain-investigating-whether-leaked-trade-papers-were-hacked-sources-idUSKBN1YC0CT
"As a stream of terrorism cases flooded Minnesota’s federal courts four years ago, its chief probation officer was given a controversial task: deradicalize the would-be jihadi extremists being charged...After retiring in late December, Kevin Lowry published a report on his experiences creating the country’s first deradicalization program. While it’s still too early to say if the program will work — and with the first 30 cases being too few to measure — early results have been promising." http://m.startribune.com/country-s-first-deradicalization-program-shows-promise/506069262/
"Today, Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz will reportedly issue his findings on the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI’s compliance (or lack thereof) with the legal requirements and internal policies and procedures related to the Carter Page Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) applications. Horowitz’s report follows a 20-month investigation into possible FISA abuse, as well as an inquiry into the DOJ and FBI’s relationship and communications with dossier author Christopher Steele, triggered by requests from then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and members of Congress." https://thefederalist.com/2019/12/09/13-things-to-look-for-in-the-inspector-general-fisa-abuse-report/
"The training, which was devised by counter terrorism officers and security experts, was previously only available to staff working in crowded areas. But Counter Terrorism Policing has now opened the training modules (monday only) to people who want to become so-called "CT Citizens", so they can spot the signs of suspicious behaviour...The National Police Chiefs' Council said the London Bridge terror attack on November 29 was a stark reminder of the "ongoing threat and the need for vigilance"." https://www.itv.com/news/london/2019-12-09/free-online-counter-terror-training-offered-to-the-public-will-you-sign-up/
"In October, Catalan law enforcement agents detained two men who were reportedly linked to a Russian spy ring, Spanish media have reported. These two were arrested on the AP-7 motorway, close to the French border, during a road check. In a Mercedes registered in Belarus, agents found a Russian-made M-75 grenade. Both men, who were unofficially said to be Russian and Ukrainian nationals, ended up in provisional prison. One of two detainees had an arrest warrant in another European country. Spanish investigators are probing into purported links between the two men and secession activists that for the past few weeks have been destabilizing Catalonia." https://warsawinstitute.org/gru-spies-accused-destabilizing-situation-catalonia/
"Bitcoin-hungry hackers have attacked a data center in Argentina which houses local government files. According to Alicia Bañuelos, the country’s Minister of Science and Technology, the attacktook place on November 25." https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/12/09/bitcoin-ransomware-government-data-argentina/
"The Bolivian leader, who left Bolivia on November 10 to avoid a "bloodbath" when repression against his supporters intensified after the coup d'etat, asked the MAS members for unity at the end of yesterday's first extraordinary national expanded in Cochabamba...“I want to tell you, sisters and brothers, for now I am temporarily out of the country. Any moment, whether I want to do it or not, whatever they say, whatever they do, I will soon be in Bolivia so that together we can face the elections and win them, as we have always done, ”Morales said...Yesterday, the MAS carried out a national extension to assess the political situation in the face of the 2020 general elections. At the meeting, leaders from different social sectors expressed their support for Morales, whom they referred to as "their President."...The political platform urged to make responsible judgments to the de facto president, Jeanine Áñez and to make interpellations to ministers, police and military due to the coup d'etat; as well as follow-up on cases of human rights violations, demand the development of pro-courts that can guarantee clean elections." https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Evo-Morales-Vows-to-Return-to-Bolivia-After-Right-Wing-Coup--20191208-0003.html
"The student government at Brown University voted on Wednesday to affirm “the autonomy and privacy of University representatives” as it accused an outside pro-Israel group of an “attempt to intimidate” members of the school’s Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies (ACCRIP), which voted on Monday in favor of the BDS movement that aims to boycott Israel...Although the group was not named during the Undergraduate Council of Students meeting, The Brown Daily Herald reported it is Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF), which has a chapter at the university." https://www.algemeiner.com/2019/12/09/brown-student-government-accuses-outside-pro-israel-group-of-intimidation/
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