David was unable to call me because his phone and laptop are now with UK authorities. So I don’t yet know what they told him. But the Guardian’s lawyer was able to speak with him immediately upon his release, and told me that, while a bit distressed from the ordeal, he was in very good spirits and quite defiant, and he asked the lawyer to convey that defiance to me. I already share it, as I’m certain US and UK authorities will soon see.
“David’s detention was unlawful and inexcusable. He was detained under a law that violates any principle of fairness and his detention shows how the law can be abused for petty vindictive reasons.
It is unclear what the UK government was trying to accomplish by detaining Miranda. Likely, it was meant as some form of intimidation. But surely, it will backfire. Investigating acts of journalism under “terrorism” laws and detaining family members of reporters are hallmarks of authoritarian regimes.
“People think they can all be pop stars, high court judges, brilliant TV personalities or infinitely more competent heads of state without ever putting in the necessary work or having natural ability. This is the result of social utopianism which believes humanity can be genetically and socially engineered to contradict the lessons of history.” – Prince Charles
Local groups are the frontline of resistance to unconventional gas across the country. On Sunday 18 August they will be coming together from all four corners of the UK to join with the people of Balcombe to show the world that we stand united in rejection of unconventional gas in our communities.
“People will try to convince you that hydraulic fracking is going to be good for the country, that it’s going to bring jobs, that it’s going to make the price of fossil fuel cheaper – don’t be fooled,” added Bianca Jagger, the former wife of the Rolling Stones lead singer, who visited Balcombe this weekend to show her support. “The harm that it will cause to this beautiful area – they’re fooling you.”
Readers outside the UK may not be aware of what’s been going on in this country in the past few weeks. In a nutshell, our politicians have taken advantage of the long hot lazy days of summer, with lots of people away, to allow in the energy companies to begin exploratory drilling work for shale gas… otherwise known as fracking.
One of the purported achievements of the Coalition government’s disastrous economic policy of austerity, has been the unemployment figures. Pundits say that at 7.8% (2.51m) they are nothing to shout about but not the disastrous rates seen in states such as Greece (26.9%) or Spain (26.3%). In reality, the unemployment rate is more than double this in many areas, while those in employment are facing ever worsening conditions to retain their non-jobs.
How low will the Western powers stoop in the assault on the people and nation of Syria? You may be surprised. Here are three nightmares from the conflict.
The United States, United Kingdom, France, Turkey, and the Gulf oligarchies sponsored a rebellion in Syria that chose cities as the primary battleground. Syrian rebels entered the cities, took over without invitation by the residents, and battled the police and other representatives of the Syrian government. Nobody expected the government to simply surrender the cities to the rebels. This often-overlooked fact explains the scale of death and destruction in Syria.
Interview on Russia Today with BSNews Co-Editor Mike Raddie
Discussing the example Edward Snowden has set and the implications for future whistleblowers as well as the fallout from the NSA scandal in the EU and the way the telecoms companies, the backbone of the public internet, have gone above and beyond, effectively serving the interests of the intelligence community rather than their customers.
Like the corsairs of the middle ages, except these privateers are trained at tax payer expense. Another public subsidy for the private sector.
Former Chairperson of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries, José L. Gómez del Prado, explains how private military and security companies have created an association to counter the regulations called for by his working group.
A field investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in Pakistan’s tribal areas appears to confirm that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) last year briefly revived the controversial tactic of deliberately targeting rescuers at the scene of a previous drone strike. The tactic has previously been labelled a possible war crime by two UN investigators.
