After the arrest of the Canadian officer, who was suspected of espionage for Moscow, the Canadian authorities expelled four employees of the Russian Embassy in Ottawa.

According to CTV, Dmitry Fedorchatenko and Konstantin Kolpakov were sent back to Russia. The names of two other Russian citizens, who were involved in the story, have not been exposed. However, spokespeople for the Russian Embassy in Ottawa have not confirmed the information. They simply said that the diplomats returned to Russia because their missions expired.

It was reported this week that the Canadian authorities arrested naval officer Jeffrey Paul Delisle, whom the media nicknamed as the “Russian spy.” The charges against Delisle were filed within the scope of the law about the security of information, which was passed in Canada soon after the 9/11 attacks in the USA. The officer may spend a life in prison.

Prosecutors said that the officer had been delivering secret information to Moscow since July 2007. However, none of the suspicions against him have been officially confirmed yet.

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Britain has revoked the press license of Iran-based English language broadcaster Press TV, accusing it of violating press regulations. But some say the decision was really motivated by British geopolitical interests.

­The Office of Communications (Ofcom), a government-approved watchdog overseeing broadcasting and telecommunications in the UK, says the channel does not control its content.

It also says the channel’s license should be held by its office in Tehran, not London, since its editorial control is clearly coming from the Iranian capital.

In addition, Press TV is accused of not paying a fine of £100,000 ($156,000) for airing an interview with an imprisoned journalist in 2009.

Press TV says it’s being silenced, calling the withdrawal of the license “a clear act of censorship.”

Phil Rees, a UK-based media analyst and author, thinks that although the regulation breaches did technically take place, the driving force behind the decision is geopolitics.

“If this had been separate from geopolitics, it would not have happened – and some other kind of sanction would have been made,” he explained.

“Press TV has been viewed through geopolitical terms – and there is a breakdown of relations between Britain and Iran,” he continues. “Press TV’s journalism is not viewed through journalism, but it is viewed in terms of British-Iranian relations.”

“Most of the criticisms of Press TV have been due to its coverage, because it sees the Middle East very differently than the mainstream media in Britain,” the journalist asserts.

Rees also says the withdrawal of Press TV’s license means a limitation of dialogue in the British media, a “tragedy” at the moment when British-Iranian relations are at their lowest point in a long time.

And journalist Yvonne Ridley told RT that this story is part of a bigger phenomenon in the US these days.
“Through Wikileaks we discovered that the American government was putting pressure on the British government to pull the plug on Press TV. They’ve obviously passed that pressure on to Ofcom, and today Press TV was pulled off the Sky satellite platform. But we need to put this in perspective – it would be like the BBC being pulled off broadcasting on the Isle of Man. Press TV has more than a dozen satellites around the world, so it will continue, and of course it’s streamed live on the Internet.”

Ridley also noted that the move shows how “the so-called ‘free democracies’ don’t like the truth, and they will go to extraordinary levels of censorship to stop what they see as criticism of the way that they run their governments.”

Source

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Ugandan opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, sits in a police cell in Uganda's capital Kampala on January 19, 2012.

Ugandan police have arrested Kizza Besigye, the president of the country’s main opposition party, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), as he was preparing to lead an anti-government protest against spiraling living costs in the East African nation.

Besigye, a one-time advisor to President Yoweri Museveni, was meeting a number of senior opposition figures in an upmarket suburb of the capital Kampala on Thursday before the rally, which was set to focus on corruption and economic hardships.

Armed police intercepted the group as they were heading towards the city center. The police then fired teargas canisters before bundling the politicians into vans and hauling off the opposition leader into detention.

“We’re holding Besigye and others as a preventive measure because there was a likelihood of a breach of peace and chaos,” deputy police spokeswoman, Judith Nabakooba, said.

She added, “We’ll hold until we’re sure there is no more threat.”

Besigye has announced that he would step down as party leader to devote more time to organizing anti-government rallies.

He was arrested on several occasions last year. He was once injured and had to be hospitalized in neighboring Kenya, following violent clashes during a rally between Ugandan security forces and his supporters.

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Federal prosecutors in Virginia have shut down one of the world’s largest file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, and charged its founder and others with violating piracy laws.

The indictment accuses the company of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content. The indictment was unsealed Thursday, one day after websites shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart the online piracy of copyrighted movies and TV programs.

Megaupload.com has claimed it is diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material.

The indictment says that at one point, Megaupload was the 13th most popular website in the world. sfgate.com

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which defends free speech and digital rights online, said in a statement that, “This kind of application of international criminal procedures to Internet policy issues sets a terrifying precedent. If the United States can seize a Dutch citizen in New Zealand over a copyright claim, what is next?”

Highlights

In what the federal authorities on Thursday called one of the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought, the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized the Web site Megaupload and charged seven people connected with it of running an international enterprise based on Internet piracy.

Four of the seven people, including the site’s founder, Kim Dotcom (born Kim Schmitz), have been arrested in New Zealand, the authorities said; the three others remain at large. Each of the seven people – who the indictment said were members of a criminal group it called “Mega Conspiracy” – is charged with five counts of copyright infringement and conspiracy. The seven each face a maximum of 55 years in prison.

Coming just a day after civil protests in the United States over proposed antipiracy bills, the arrests were greeted almost immediately with digital Molotov cocktails. The hacker collective that calls itself Anonymous attacked the Web sites of the Justice Department and several major entertainment companies and trade groups in retaliation for Megaupload’s seizure. The Justice Department’s site and several others remained inaccessible for much of Thursday afternoon. nytimes.com

As part of the crackdown, more than 20 search warrants were executed in the United States and in eight other countries. About $50 million in assets were also seized, as well as a number of servers and 18 domain names that formed Megaupload’s network of file-sharing sites. mediabistro.com

On Wednesday, Google and Wikipedia joined dozens of sites in political theatrics by blacking out some content and explaining their arguments against the laws. nytimes.com

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Human rights groups are holding demonstrations to protest the tenth anniversary of the US military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay while hopes for its closure weaken, Press TV reports .

Protesters dressed in orange prison jumpsuits, paraded in front of the White House to demand that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility be closed.

Detainees at the US Navy base also plan to mark the day with sit-ins, banners and a refusal of meals.

Guantanamo Bay “war prison” turned 10 years old on Wednesday, while US president Barack Obama promised two years ago to shut down the prison within a year of taking office.

Meanwhile, no detainee has left in a year because of restrictions on transfers, and indefinite military detention is now enshrined in the US law.

On December 15, the US House of Representatives passed a bill, which allowed the authorities to jail terrorism suspects for an indefinite period.

Under the new legislation signed by Obama, the US military is given the custody of anyone, who is deemed to be a member of al-Qaeda or one of the terrorist group’s affiliates.

The Guantanamo detention facility was initially established at a US naval base in Cuba after the US invasion of Afghanistan on January 11, 2002, under former US President George W. Bush.

Gitmos still houses 171 detainees.

The US has used torture techniques, including simulated drowning, known as waterboarding, on alleged terrorist suspects over the past years.

Human rights groups and lawyers for prisoners are disappointed that Obama failed to overcome resistance in Congress and close the prison. Besides, his administration has resumed military tribunals at the base and even continues to hold prisoners cleared for release.

The 10th anniversary of Guantanamo has been the focus for demonstrations in London and Washington and Paris this week.

The protesters also demand the closure of the US military’s Bagram prison in Afghanistan and the repeal of provisions of the 2011 Defense Authorization Act.

Source

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Journalists Johan Persson (L) and Martin Schibbye

Two Swedish journalists have been sentenced to 11 years in prison in Ethiopia for supporting terrorism and illegally entering the African state.

Reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson were arrested in July after entering the eastern province of Ogaden from Somalia.

“The court has sentenced both defendants to 11 years. We have heard both cases… and we believe this is an appropriate sentence,” Judge Shemsu Sirgaga told the court on Tuesday.

The journalists had also been charged with terrorism but were acquitted in November on that count, as the court did not believe they were involved in carrying out any attacks.

The two Swedes did admit to crossing the border without a permit.

Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesman Anders Jorle called the sentencing expected but regrettable.

He said Sweden has been in contact with the Ethiopian government over the court case “at a high level.”

The defendants’ lawyers plan to hold a meeting at the Swedish Embassy later Tuesday to discuss the possibility of an appeal.

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Do you own flashlights? Or pay with cash instead of a credit card? And do grocery shopping for the week? I do. You probably do – and guess what, according to the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, that could make both of us terrorists.

Recently, a Department of Homeland Security video has been making its way around the Internet; it tells people in no mixed terms that “paying cash is suspicious and weird.” In an assertive, yet calm voice, the narrator tells viewers that, “if a patron appears nervous or anxious, or insists on paying cash, contact security personnel. This IS suspicious behavior.”

So basically, if you’ve had a stressful day and don’t have a credit card, you’re done for.

This suggestion, and many others, has been sent out to hotels across the United States as part of the DHS’ ongoing “See something, Say something” program. It even includes an 84-page manual, grandly titled, “Protective Measures Guide for the US Lodging Industry” – which points out that asking for privacy, among other things, is a red flag.

And that’s really what this boils down to: a war on privacy. A potential terrorist, argue the US security agencies, is much easier to track if he uses a credit card. Credit card use provides Big Brother instant access to the buyer’s contact information, purchase history – and, if need be, the ability to cut off his financial supply in an instant.

But the implementation of this idea is a rather grim prospect: instead of using an existing system to aid their efforts, agencies like the DHS and the FBI are effectively taking away the freedom of choice guaranteed in a supposedly free country.

Don’t want to live on credit? Potential terrorist. Nervous? Potential terrorist. Don’t want to be disturbed? Potential terrorist.

And it gets worse. In an FBI pamphlet distributed to military surplus stores, people who “make bulk purchases of items including weatherproofed ammunition or match containers, meals ready to eat or night vision devices including flashlights” should be reported. Because all those things are “potential indicators of terrorist activities.”

FBI Handout Lists Purchase of Preparedness Items as “Potential Indicators of Terrorist Activities” (image from www.oathkeepers.org)

Of course, people who, say, want to go camping, can make do without any of the aforementioned items. They can just take their credit cards, march right into the woods and make do that way. Or better yet, take the card, leave the woods and check into a hotel – smiling all the way, never locking the door and burning the “do not disturb” sign immediately upon arrival.

The helpful Bureau booklet also mentions “purchasing bipods or tripods for rifles” as dangerous. Not the rifles themselves – what’s a lethal weapon between friends, right? No, in a country where almost anyone anywhere can buy firearms, people only worry when you buy a tripod for it.

And the absurdity doesn’t end there. The agencies are going out of their way to instill fear into whoever they can, convincing them to report anything they deem suspicious. Of course, that includes sending a text message discreetly if you’re in public. An unsuspicious, law-abiding citizen would obviously have to read his private messages or broadcast his phone calls out loud to be considered above-board. If he’s whispering into his handset, however, the DHS is relying on its “citizen spies” to pounce and denounce the poor guy.

Right-wing political tendencies can also land you in trouble. Vice President Joe Biden recently likened Tea Party supporters to terrorists. But go too far left – and you’re right back where youstarted, with the whole might of the American security system breathing down your neck. If you align yourself with the 99% of the Occupy movement, you’re not above suspicion either. Stories of undercover officers infiltrating various ‘Occupy’ camps across the country have been rife, CIA involvement has been hinted at – and the US’ biggest ally, the United Kingdom, has officially equated the protesters to terrorists.

Add to this:

- Being a veteran. Not that America has that many veterans, of course, having been recent history’s most peace-loving, non-invading, unbiased country.

- Owning a gun. Of course, not only is it legal to own a gun, most people in the country know full well how to use one.

- Owning precious metals. Because the dollar is worth so much nowadays, the government thinks there’s something kooky about people wanting to invest in something other than US Treasury paper.

And then, of course, there are SOPA and PIPA. They might sound like a couple of cute cartoon names, but the two bills – the Stop Online Piracy and Protect IP Acts – have caused huge concern in the States. Internet giants such as Google, Yahoo, and Twitter likened the act to Chinese-style censorship.

There’s also the infamous NDAA – or National Defense Authorization Act, which basically allows indefinite detention of terror suspects, including American citizens.

And if you look at what makes a potential suspect, you can pretty much expect to be waterboarded every time you answer your phone. Or buy too much food. Or a flashlight.

The irony of all this, of course, is that while the various agencies spin their citizen-spy web, they’re overlooking the obvious. What they’re doing is in conflict with the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

But hey, undermining a country’s founding document is nowhere near as bad as paying cash, right?

Source

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Pakistani soldiers carry the coffins of their comrades who were killed in a Saturday strike. Peshawar, November 27, 2011.

The Pakistani army has rejected a US investigation that concluded mistakes on both sides led to US air strikes last month that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and severely damaged the already strained relationship between the two countries.

The response indicates the report will do little to ease tensions, a worrying development for the US because Pakistan’s co-operation is critical for its conduct of the Afghan war. The Pakistani army has said its troops did nothing wrong and claimed the attack was a deliberate act of aggression, according to The Guardian.

Pakistan has retaliated by closing its Afghan border to supplies meant for NATO troops in Afghanistan and kicking the U.S. out of a base used by American drones. NATO officials have said the closure of the supply route has not affected operations so far, but it would eventually if not reversed.

The army “does not agree with the findings of the US/NATO inquiry as being reported in the media,” the force said in a short statement sent to reporters shortly after midnight Friday. “The inquiry report is short on facts.”, informs Fox News.

“This, coupled with other gaps in information about the activities and placement of units from both sides contributed to the tragic results,” George Little, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters.

The episode, the worst in nearly a decade riddled with fatal cross-border blunders, underscored gaping flaws in a system established in recent years to avoid such mistakes. American officials acknowledged that the policy of not divulging to Pakistan the precise location of allied ground troops in Afghanistan – for fear Pakistan might jeopardize their operations – contributed to the accident and underscored what the chief investigator called an “overarching lack of trust between the two sides.”, says New York Times.

In a news briefing later at the Pentagon, spokesman George Little said: “For the loss of life and for the lack of proper co-ordination between US and Pakistani forces that contributed to those losses we express our deepest regret.

“We further express sincere condolences to the Pakistani people, to the Pakistani government and, most importantly, to the families of the Pakistani soldiers who were killed or wounded.” The Defence Department has said lessons must be learned and that it hopes Pakistan and the US can work together to improve their mutual level of trust, reports BBC News.

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Detention Act will imprison Americans abroad

If you’re upset that congressional approval of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 can send you away to military prisons and be tortured in America, don’t worry — it could be worse.

The US could send you somewhere else.

No, really. They could. And they can. Anywhere else, too. Really.

While the bill that left Capitol Hill last week and awaits authorization from US President Barack Obama allows for the United States to indefinitely detain and torture American citizens suspected of aiding enemy forces, one provision in the bill specifies that that detention doesn’t necessarily have to occur domestically — nor does it have to be in a foreign prison run by the US.

The ongoing detention of foreign terror suspects at the US base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has been a hot topic since the War on Terror began, with American military authorities torturing could-be criminals without ever bringing them to trial. An exposé years earlier on the Abu Ghraib facility in Iraq revealed how American troops were subjecting detainees to disgusting, inhumane conditions; conditions which left some dead without ever going to trial. While Abu Ghraib has since been shut down, Guantanamo Bay continues to hold suspected criminals despite a promise to Obama to shut it down.

When the commander-in-chief inks his name to NDAA FY2012, Americans can be on their way to the same torture cells that have kept al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked terrorists for the last decade. It’s now been revealed, however, that US citizens and anyone suspected of a crime against America can be sent all over the world.

Under the legislation, the president has the power to transfer suspected terrorists “to the custody or control of the person’s country of origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity.”

China? Sure. Iran? Why not! North Korea? That’s a possibility too. David Glazier, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, tells Mother Jones that this was an authority that the president has had before, but only under the new NDAA is the legislation endorsed and insured that it could be applied to Americans.

“If the president could lawfully transfer a German prisoner of war to a foreign country, then in theory he could do the same thing with an American prisoner of war,” Glazier says.

Under the Feinstein Amendment imposed under NDAA FY2012, the Democratic senator from California proposed a law which would not change “existing law” with regards to detaining Americans. As Mother Jones notes, however, the jury is still out on what exactly “existing law” is when it comes to the topic, with those suspected of hostilities against America already being imprisoned without trial — citizen and otherwise. Both US-born Bradley Manning has been under military watch, isolation and torture for nearly two years, and the same has applied to a countless number of suspected terrorists at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib.

Al Franken, a Democrat senator from Minnesota, wrote in an op-ed last week that the provisions put in NDAA such as Feinstein Amendment were enough for some lawmakers to sign onto the legislation, but he said the final draft was still “simply unacceptable.”

“These provisions are inconsistent with the liberties and freedoms that are at the core of the system our Founders established. And while I did in fact vote for an earlier version of the legislation, I did so with the hope that the final version would be significantly improved. That didn’t happen, and so I could not support the final bill,” wrote Franken.

Source

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When he’s not recording tunes like “Personal OG” and “National Anthem (Fu*k the World),” rapper Freddie Gibbs likes to travel. He also likes to smoke weed. A real lot.

Somehow for Gibbs, real name Fredrick Tipton, he didn’t think there would be much of a problem with combining those two passions lately, even if it involved the US government’s notoriously tough Transportation Security Administration in the equation. And — yes, somehow for Gibbs — he was right.

The rapper took to Twitter on Wednesday to let the micro-blogosphere know that while boarding a flight this week, a TSA agent managed to intercept Gibbs’ stash of marijuana but, rather than confiscate it, issue a citation or make an arrest, the officer put the contraband back in the passengers luggage along with a note.

It read, “C’mon, son.”

Gibbs took a photo of the weed and the lovely little note from the TSA and posted it to his Facebook account, where around 40,000 fans follow his happenings in 140-character blurbs.

“LOL,” added Gibbs.

In a cookie-cutter response from the Administration, a spokesperson issued a statement saying, “TSA takes all allegations of inappropriate conduct seriously and is investigating this claim.”

Gibbs posted the photo after landing in Denver, Colorado and tweeted from Los Angeles, California earlier in the day; both states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. While the rapper posted a photo of a sizeable stash of weed Friday afternoon with a “Rx” label, it’s not exactly clear if it was obtained with a doctor’s permission — or why Gibbs needed to transport a half-ounce or marijuana across the state lines in a plane knowing he would go through a government checkpoint.

In Colorado, unlawful possession of a half-ounce of pot is a felony offense which comes with up to three years in prison and upwards of $100,000 in penalties for only a first offense.

Gibbs isn’t about to let the man keep him down, however. “Still smoking,” was his latest Twitter posting as of this publishing.

Source

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A picture taken on December 13, 2011 shows a Romanian officer of the EULEX mission in Kosovo standing guard in front of a truck carring Russian aid at the border crossing of Jarinje between Serbia and northern Kosovo

Russian diplomats have announced that EU officials continue to block a Russian aid convoy on the Serbia-Kosovo border and insist the issue must be solved at a senior political level.

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Konuzin said on Wednesday that the Russian 25-truck convoy with aid to Kosovo Serbs was blocked on the border because Russian side refused an escort by the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), manned by Kosovo Albanians, as Russia does not recognize Kosovo as an independent state. In addition, Serbian residents of northern Kosovo said they would not allow the escort to pass as they do not recognize Albanians’ rule in their territory.

“There have been no changes regarding the convoy’s further movement. And, in fact, there have been no additional contacts with representatives of the mission since yesterday,” the Russian ambassador said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also issued an official comment on Wednesday in which it accused EULEX of exceeding the powers granted by its mandate, as well as resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council, which secures the unobstructed delivery of humanitarian cargo in Kosovo.

Radenko Nedeljkovic, the political leader of Kosovo Serbs, said he was grateful to the Russian people for their support and promised to keep pressing for the unobstructed transportation of aid to Northern Kosovo populated by Serbs. Nedeljkovic said that EULEX’s position that the escort is needed for convoy’s security is weak, as there are other official bodies, recognized by the Serbs, that can take care of this problem, first of all KFOR and the regional police force.

Russian Emergencies Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Wednesday that Russia was acting within the framework of the UN resolution and ready for any customs checks, but the cargo must be delivered to a particular address – to Serbian enclaves in Kosovo-Mitrovica. “They want to direct us through Pristina government, but we cannot allow this as we are carrying the aid to a particular address and to particular people,” Shoigu said.

Russia’s envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin called the actions by EU representatives a “humanitarian crime” and arbitrariness. Speaking to Russian news channel Vesti-24, Rogozin said that by such actions the Western countries condemn the Serbian minority in Kosovo to extinction. At the same time, the envoy stressed that the conflict is fuelled by EULEX, while NATO is not interfering and is following its agreements with the Russian side.

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Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

With the approval from the Oval Office the only thing keeping a terrifying law that will allow for the indefinite detention and torture of Americans from passing, presidential hopeful Ron Paul has finally unleashed on the legislation.

Although President Barack Obama had originally insisted that he would veto the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin revealed recently that the bill in its current wording was drafted after the current administration asked for changes.

Already making its way through the House and Senate, the Act in its current wording will allow for Americans suspected of any “belligerent” act to be detained in Guantanamo Bay-style military prisons indefinitely for any alleged crimes without trial. With it now being revealed that the president put forth suggestions to draft the latest version of the legislation, Levin told the press Monday night, “I just can’t imagine that the president would veto this bill.”

“I very strongly believe this should satisfy the administration and hope it will,” added Levin.

Outside of the independent media, opposition to NDAA has remained almost nonexistent, with the mainstream neglecting to discuss the colossal implications the bill would have if it is signed into law. Speaking to radio host Alex Jones on Tuesday, however, Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul finally became one of the first main figures to attack the act.

“This is a giant step – this should be the biggest news going right now – literally legalizing martial law,” said Paul. The congressman from Texas also appeared flabbergasted that the bill managed to escape discussion in any of the recent GOP debates, despite its provisions being detrimental to the US Constitution and the freedom of every man, woman and child in America.

“This is big,” continued Paul, adding “This step where they can literally arrest American citizens and put them away without trial….is arrogant and bold and dangerous.”

The bill could be on the desk of Barack Obama as early as Wednesday of this week.

Congressman Paul has been continuously critical of the Obama administration as of late, and although his fellow candidates for the GOP nomination have been equally as opt to attack the president, Paul has largely been the only one to tackle the sacrifice of civil liberties that Obama and the Republican Party frontrunners seem unconcerned with.

“Today it seems too easy that our government and our congresses are so willing to give up our liberties for our security,” Paul said during a presidential debate earlier this election season. “I have a personal belief that you never have to give up liberty for security. You can still provide security without sacrificing our Bill of Rights.”

Paul has also condemned the Patriot Act for crushing the freedoms of Americans, while top-tier candidate and former-House Speaker Newt Gingrich has insisted on finding a “balancing act between our individual liberties and security.”

Source

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Police have been criticised after tearing a tent being worn as a dress by an Occupy Melbourne protester.

The Ethical Standards Department is investigating a physical assault complaint over an incident in which police stripped an Occupy Melbourne protester down to her underwear.

The incident happened in the Flagstaff Gardens this morning when police moved in to remove tents being worn by a couple of protesters.

Disturbing video of the exchange has been posted on YouTube. See above: Strong language warning

Victoria Police released a statement this evening revealing the Ethical Standards Department was investigating the incident after receiving a complaint.

”The Ethical Standards Department has subsequently received a physical assault complaint in relation to this incident and is investigating. As this investigation is ongoing we will not be commenting further.”

The footage appears to show a council worker being handed a knife by police to cut the tent from the woman – identified as Sarah, 20, who begins to struggle.

“This is not consensual,’’ she says as police work to tear the tent off her body. “Don’t take my clothes off.’’

After a minor scuffle police are filmed walking away with the tent, leaving the distressed woman semi-naked and cowering on the grass.

Police said they advised protesters that if they chose not to wear clothes under the tents, they would be given reasonable time to dress before the structures were seized.

”Three of the four protesters co-operated and evacuated their tents. The fourth, a female, refused to comply with direction,” police said.

According to Occupy Melbourne spokesperson Tal Slome, “Sarah” was just out of high school and was “extremely distressed” by the incident.

Ms Slome said Sarah had been wearing the tent as a costume and said police stripped her knowing she was wearing nothing but underwear underneath.

And she claimed there were eight police officers involved including a female officer, who had for some reason targeted Sarah among two other “tent wearers”, cutting the tent off with a knife.

Ms Slome described the incident as a “completely unnecessary form of brutality. Who decides what constitutes clothing in our society?”

Occupy Melbourne earlier released a statement this morning condemning police for their behaviour.

“This morning at 8:45am a peaceful Occupy Melbourne Protester was violently stripped of her protest costume and discarded on the ground in her bra and panties,” the statement reads.

“The individual in question was part of the Occupy Melbourne protest and was dressed in a protest costume made from a converted tent. The significance of the costume was to highlight restrictions placed on protesters staging a 24/7 protest in Flagstaff Gardens.

“The protester was surrounded by at least four Melbourne City Council officers and eight Victorian police officers.

“Her movement was restricted by the formation of officers surrounding her and she was subsequently restrained as officers proceeded with aggressively removing her costume.

“At each stage she declared that she did not consent or feel comfortable with the actions of the council and police officers, stating that this was a sexual assault.’’

“Her requests and declarations were ignored as officers continued to rip and jostle her costume and person. A knife was requested and used by MCC Officers as the Protest Costume was cut from her body.

“The remaining severed costume was violently torn from her body while the protester herself was discarded, semi-naked and crying on the ground as Vic police and MCC officers walked away with the costume.”

Source

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Alex is joined by Lord Christopher Monckton to discuss the latest attempt to build world government on a foundation of eco-fascism.

Specifically, Monckton writes that the summit aims include: “A new International Climate Court will have the power to compel Western nations to pay ever-larger sums to third-world countries in the name of making reparation for supposed “climate debt”. The Court will have no power over third-world countries. Here and throughout the draft, the West is the sole target. “The process” is now irredeemably anti-Western.

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Attack: Three of the young women can be seen setting upon Rhea Page, 22, in the centre of Leicester. Despite leaving her traumatised, they were handed suspended sentences

A gang of Muslim women who attacked a passer-by in a city centre walked free from court after a judge heard they were ‘not used to being drunk’ because of their religion.

The group – three sisters and a cousin – allegedly screamed ‘kill the white slag’ as they set upon Rhea Page as she waited for a taxi with her boyfriend.

Miss Page, 22, was left with a bald patch where her hair was pulled out in the attack and was left ‘black and blue’ after suffering a flurry of kicks to the head, back, arms and legs while motionless on the pavement.

Ambaro Maxamed, 24, students Ayan Maxamed, 28, and Hibo Maxamed, 24, and their 28-year-old cousin Ifrah Nur each admitted actual bodily harm, which carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

But Judge Robert Brown gave them suspended jail terms after hearing mitigation that as Muslims, the women were not used to being drunk. The Koran prohibits Muslims from consuming alcohol, although Islamic teachings permit its use for medicinal purposes.

After the sentencing, Ambaro Maxamed wrote on her Twitter account: ‘Happy happy happy!’, ‘I’m so going out’, and ‘Today has been such a great day’.

Yesterday Miss Page, a care worker, called the sentence ‘disgusting’ and said the gang deserved ‘immediate custody’.

‘It’s no punishment at all,’ she said. ‘And for them to say they did it because they were not used to alcohol is no excuse. If they were not supposed to be drinking then they shouldn’t have been out in bars at that time of night.

‘Even after the police came and they all ran away, one of them came running back to kick me in the head one last time.

‘I honestly think they attacked me just because I am white. I can’t think of any other reason.’

Miss Page was treated for bruises and grazes after the attack in June last year as she walked to a taxi rank with boyfriend Lewis Moore, 23, in Leicester city centre.

At the time she worked caring for people with autism and learning difficulties but gave up the job after repeated absences because of stress and flashbacks.

She is still having counselling and suffers panic attacks.

She said: ‘We were just minding our own business but they kept shouting “white bitch” and “white slag” at me. When I turned around one of them grabbed my hair then threw me on the ground.

‘They were taking turns to kick me over and over. I thought they were going to kill me.’

Yobs: Sisters Hibo and Ambaro Maxamed, both 24, who attacked Rhea. They were both given six month suspended jail sentences

Girl gang: Ayan Maxamad, 28, left, and her cousin Ifrah Nur, 28, who were also involved in the attack in Leicester

None of the defendants was charged with racial aggravation. Nur claimed Mr Moore, a fence builder, had been racially abusive, but this was not accepted by the prosecution.

Gary Short, mitigating for Ambaro Maxamed, said the attack was down to alcohol. He said: ‘Although Miss Page’s partner used violence, it doesn’t justify their behaviour.

‘They’re Somalian Muslims and alcohol or drugs isn’t something they’re used to.’

The four women, who all live in Leicester, were each sentenced to six-month jail terms, suspended for 12 months, at Leicester Crown Court last month.

Hibo Maxamed also received a four-month curfew between 9pm and 6am, while the others were ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

Judge Brown said that ‘those who knock someone to the floor and kick them in the head can expect to go inside’.

But he said he accepted the women may have felt they were the victims of unreasonable force from Mr Moore as he tried to defend his girlfriend, and handed the defendants a suspended sentence.

Speaking at her home, Hibo Maxamed said: ‘I’m not proud of it, it’s not something I want to talk about. I just want to get on with my life.’

When asked if she wanted to apologise, she replied: “What, to the public? I really don’t care.”

Victims: Rhea, 22, was with her partner Lewis Moore, 23, when she was attacked. He tried to defend her, the court was told

Source

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