MOSCOW ( Russia Amnesty to Free Greenpeace, Pussy Riot Members )

MOSCOW – Russia’s parliament on Wednesday passed an amnesty bill that extends to individuals charged or convicted of hooliganism, including Greenpeace activists who staged a protest against oil drilling in the Arctic and members of feminist punk rock group Pussy Riot.

Twenty-eight crewmembers of Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise icebreaker and two freelance journalists on board the vessel were arrested on Sept. 19, a day after some of the activists tried to scale the Prirazlomnaya oil platform – operated by Russian state energy giant Gazprom – in the Barents Sea.

They were jailed for two months before being released on bond pending trial on hooliganism charges and may not leave the country until their legal proceedings have concluded.

The protest will not halt Gazprom’s plans to produce oil with the Prirazlomnaya rig in the Arctic, according to the company.

In a statement on its Web site, Greenpeace said “legal proceedings against the ‘Arctic 30’ are now almost certain to come to an end and the 26 non-Russians will be free to return home to their families as soon as they are given exit visas by the Russian authorities.”

But the Arctic Sunrise’s captain, American Peter Willcox, one of the suspects expected to be allowed to leave the country, was quoted as saying the news was no cause for celebration.

“There’s no amnesty for the Arctic. We may soon be home, but the Arctic remains a fragile global treasure under assault by oil companies and the rising temperatures they’re driving. We went there to protest against this madness. We were never the criminals here.”

Meanwhile, two jailed members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, who were convicted on charges of “hooliganism motivated by religious hate,” are expected to be released from prison ahead of schedule.

The two women have already served most of their two-year sentence.

Ekaterina Samutsevich, a third member of the group who took part in the February 2012 protest against President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church hierarchy at a Moscow cathedral, had earlier been released on a suspended sentence.

The Duma, in its 446-0 vote on Wednesday, approved changes to an amnesty that was proposed by Putin and includes “the most unprotected social sectors” such as minors, pregnant women and mothers whose children are still under the age of 18.

Eric Snowden ( NSA Leaker Snowden Wants Asylum in Brazil )

NSA Leaker Snowden Wants Asylum in Brazil, Press Reports Say
According to the daily Folha de Sao Paulo, the former NSA analyst is still planning to seek permanent asylum in Brazil, even though this country has already refused to grant it

BRASILIA – The former analyst of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), Edward Snowden, is planning to seek permanent asylum in Brazil, even though this country has already refused to grant it, according to a letter that the daily Folha de Sao Paulo obtained and published Tuesday.

After Snowden revealed that the communications of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, several of her ministers and even the state-run oil company Petrobras were under surveillance by the United States, Brazil has headed several global initiatives to regulate online spying.

In an “open letter to the people of Brazil,” Snowden says he “stepped out from the shadows of the United States Government’s National Security Agency” and shared with the world “evidence proving some governments are building a world-wide surveillance system to secretly track how we live, who we talk to, and what we say.”

In the letter obtained by the daily Folha de Sao Paulo, Snowden refers to the way Brazil has been affected by U.S. espionage.

“The NSA and other spying agencies tell us that for our own ‘safety’ – for Dilma’s ‘safety,’ for Petrobras’ ‘safety’ – they have revoked our right to privacy and broken into our lives. And they did it without asking the public in any country, even their own.”

He adds that “today, if you carry a cell phone in Sao Paulo, the NSA can and does keep track of your location: they do this 5 billion times a day to people around the world.”

According to Snowden, “until a country grants (me) permanent political asylum, the U.S. government will continue to interfere with my ability to speak” and report on what it is doing.

Currently living in Brazil is journalist Glenn Greenwald, ex-columnist for the British daily The Guardian, who is one of Snowden’s “contacts” and who published many of the documents revealed by the one-time NSA employee.

WASHINGTON ( Harvard University Returns to Normal after Bomb Hoax )

WASHINGTON – Harvard University is returning to normal after a bomb hoax on Monday forced authorities to evacuate four buildings on the Cambridge, Massachusetts, campus where final exams were being given.

University police found no trace of the alleged explosives during their investigation and they were unable to verify any specific threat against the campus or students, and so the all clear was given for the university to return to its normal activities.

However, authorities will continue investigating to determine who was responsible for the bomb threat that disrupted campus activities and forced some final exams to be suspended.

Local media reported on Twitter that students on campus did not take the threat very seriously, recalling that this is final exam week.

University authorities ordered four buildings evacuated after the threat was received and alerted the police that they had an “unconfirmed” report regarding the presence of explosives on campus.

Harvard authorities in a Twitter message instructed students to evacuate the Science Center, Thayer, Sever and Emerson buildings, but all facilities later returned to their normal functions and operations.

San Diego ( 3,000 Bikers Take Part in Toy Run to Tijuana )

SAN DIEGO – More than 3,000 motorcyclists traveled from San Diego to Tijuana to participate in the 28th edition of the “Toy Run,” a charitable event to support children living in the Mexican border city.

The event, organized by the Solo Angeles club of Tijuana and the Harley Davidson club of San Diego, gathered bikers from California and the Mexican state of Baja California, who donated toys to thousands of children who waited from early in the morning seated along Revolucion Ave. in Tijuana.

According to organizers, the caravan required about six months of preparation during which thousands of toys were donated by companies in the United States.

One of the participants, Diablo, said that the Toy Run began more than 20 years ago when a group of bikers delivered toys to a Tijuana orphanage and, once the immense demand was noticed, they decided to organize a much larger event.

“At times there are no words. You’re giving a child something he’s going to play with, and seeing his happy face is a great satisfaction,” Diablo said.

Maria Santos waited in line since very early in the morning, her 6-year-old son Samuel said, since in addition to helping him get a toys she enjoys seeing the motorcycles.

“She asked for one for Christmas,” he said smiling.

“It’s a very perfect event and we’re always grateful that they take the time to come and give happiness to my son and other children,” she said.

Iran ( Police Chief threatens officials over " Facebook " Governor opened his account )

Just days after Iran's Police Chief threatened the country's officials with "legal and judicial consequences" if they continue to cross the regime's red lines by using Facebook, a governor in the southeastern province of Fars has opened his own Facebook page.

 

Mohabat News -  With only 326 followers, and labeled "managed by fans of Dr. Seyed Mohammad Ahmadi," this Facebook page is no less significant than Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif's Facebook page with 771,000 followers: they have both crossed the regime's red lines.

The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to face a precarious position vis-à-vis Facebook and other social networks. While some Iranian officials have discovered the importance and significance of social networks as tools for disseminating information about their activities and testing the waters for new policies or getting public feedback through online dialogue, use of these social networks is still considered a crime for ordinary Iranians.

Last week Abdolsamad Khorramabadi, Secretary of the Work Group to Determine Instances of Criminal Content on the Internet, called Facebook "an espionage website" which must be blocked. "Considering the Supreme Leader's explicit reference to Facebook's effective role in the '2009 Sedition'"—referring to public protests following the disputed 2009 elections—"as well as warnings in this regard, issued by the esteemed Grand Ayatollahs, Ulama, and those who care about the regime, I doubt anyone is pondering the necessity of continuing the blocking of this website," Khorramabdi told Fars News website. The week before that, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi had also expressed dismay at statements made by officials about the possible unblocking of Facebook.

Gholamali Haddad Adel, a conservative MP from Tehran and a high-ranking advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader, said on December 6 that decisions about unblocking Facebook must be made by the Parliament. While agreeing with the notion that the Parliament should be involved in decision-making about Facebook, however, Ali Motahari, another conservative MP, told reporters this week that he is still investigating, "to see which one outweighs the other—Facebook's advantages or disadvantages. Blocking [Facebook] has not led to the elimination of demand for this network. Even my son has a page on Facebook." Another Rouhani cabinet member with a Facebook page is his Vice President in Women's and Family Affairs, Shahindokht Mowlaverdi, whose following includes many social and civil activists and journalists.

Movie NEWS ( I see the Show has " already started " )

Mexico ( The killing of " Women " continues in Mexico )

Matamoros, Coahuila -. A young woman was killed and her body was located Sunday at noon south of town on the side of the road.



The body, with multiple stab wounds, had lower garments down in the inner most part to humiliate her, It was on a dirt road south of the city, near the terminus of the Red Bus La Laguna.

Spokesmen for the State Attorney's Office today reported that the deceased is not identified and described some 25 years old, fair complexion, white skin, with dyed red hair.


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