'Extreme surveillance' becomes UK law with barely a whimper

November 19, 2016 by element115
A bill giving the UK intelligence agencies and police the most sweeping surveillance powers in the western world has passed into law with barely a whimper, meeting only token resistance over the past 12 months from inside parliament and barely any from outside.

US whistleblower Edward Snowden tweeted: “The UK has just legalised the most extreme surveillance in the history of western democracy. It goes further than many autocracies.”
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French PM: Europe at risk of collapse; France, Germany must lead

November 17, 2016 by element115
The European Union is in danger of breaking apart unless France and Germany, in particular, work harder to stimulate growth and employment and heed citizens' concerns, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in the German capital on Thursday.
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Britain has passed the 'most extreme surveillance law ever passed in a democracy'

by element115
The law will force internet providers to record every internet customer's top-level web history in real-time for up to a year, which can be accessed by numerous government departments; force companies to decrypt data on demand -- though the government has never been that clear on exactly how it forces foreign firms to do that that; and even disclose any new security features in products before they launch.
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DNA-editing breakthrough could fix 'broken genes' in the brain, delay ageing and cure incurable diseases

by element115
The Independent --> Scientists have discovered a new way to edit DNA that could fix “broken genes” in the brain, cure previously incurable diseases and potentially even extend the human lifespan.

The breakthrough – described as a “holy grail” of genetics – was used to partially restore the sight of rats blinded by a condition which also affects humans.

“We now have a technology that allows us to modify the DNA of non-dividing cells, to fix broken genes in the brain, heart and liver.

“It allows us for the first time to be able to dream of curing diseases that we couldn’t before.
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Professor Stephen Hawking says humans will be WIPED OUT in 1,000 years

November 16, 2016 by element115
The world's most influential scientist says humans must continue to go into space to find a new place to live or otherwise face mass extinction
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Russia withdraws signature from international criminal court statute

by element115
Russia has said it is formally withdrawing its signature from the founding statute of the international criminal court, a day after the court published a report classifying the Russian annexation of Crimea as an occupation.

The Russian foreign ministry made the announcement on Wednesday on the orders of the president, Vladimir Putin, saying the tribunal had failed to live up to hopes of the international community and denouncing its work as “one-sided and inefficient”.
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Physicists just discovered a second state of liquid water

by element115
...physicists have demonstrated that somewhere between the temperatures of 40 and 60 degrees Celsius (104 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit), liquid water can 'switch' states, exhibiting a whole new set of properties depending on the state it flips to.
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British woman who says she was gang raped arrested on 'extra-marital sex' charges in Dubai as attackers go free

by element115
When she reported the rape at a police station, she was allegedly arrested for breaking Emirati laws against extra-marital sex, while her attackers have since flown home to the UK.

Radha Stirling, the founder and director of Detained in Dubai, said the case a “tremendously disturbing“ example of long-running abuses in the holiday resort.

"Police regularly fail to differentiate between consensual intercourse and violent rape,” she added. "Victims go to them expecting justice, and end up being prosecuted. They not only invalidate their victimisation, they actually punish them for it."
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Snowden: Stop Relying on Facebook for Your News

by element115
“To have one company that has enough power to reshape the way we think, I don’t think I need to describe how dangerous that is,” he said.

...the former CIA employee turned whistleblower said the fact that fake news is available on Facebook isn’t so much of a problem, but the bigger issue is that Facebook is the only news source for many people.
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US transgender people rush to legally change gender in wake of Donald Trump's win

by element115
In a race against the clock, transgender people have been connecting on Twitter using the hashtag #TransLawHelp with lawyers offering to help them make the changes free of charge before Trump takes office on Jan 20, 2017.

Last week's victory for Trump has left many transgender advocates fearing a backlash against their community after the Republican candidate sent mixed messages on transgender rights during the campaign.

Trump's choice for vice-president, Mike Pence, has rankled many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights activists who are wary of the current Indiana governor's years of opposition to gay rights.
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German far-Right extremists teaming up with gangs in America and Europe to plan attacks, intelligence chief warns 

by element115
Mr Maassen's remarks came after the Verfassungsschutz's annual report revealed that cases of far-Right violent acts in Germany had increased by 42 per cent to 1,408 in 2015.

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US army and CIA may be guilty of war crimes in Afghanistan, says ICC

November 15, 2016 by element115
US armed forces and the CIA may have committed war crimes by torturing detainees in Afghanistan, the international criminal court’s chief prosecutor has said in a report, raising the possibility that American citizens could be indicted even though Washington has not joined the global court.
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Trump in the White House: An Interview With Noam Chomsky

November 14, 2016 by element115
"On November 8, the most powerful country in world history, which will set its stamp on what comes next, had an election. The outcome placed total control of the government—executive, Congress, the Supreme Court—in the hands of the Republican Party, which has become the most dangerous organization in world history.

The Party is dedicated to racing as rapidly as possible to destruction of organized human life. There is no historical precedent for such a stand.

Is this an exaggeration? Consider what we have just been witnessing."
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It’s Worse Than You Think

by element115
by Chris Hedges: Widespread social unrest will ignite when Donald Trump’s base realizes it has been betrayed. I do not know when this will happen. But that it will happen is certain. Investments in the stocks of the war industry, internal security and the prison-industrial complex have skyrocketed since Trump won the presidency. There is a lot of money to be made from a militarized police state.

Our capitalist democracy ceased to function more than two decades ago. We underwent a corporate coup carried out by the Democratic and Republican parties. There are no institutions left that can authentically be called democratic. Trump and Hillary Clinton in a functioning democracy would have never been presidential nominees. The long and ruthless corporate assault on the working class, the legal system, electoral politics, the mass media, social services, the ecosystem, education and civil liberties in the name of neoliberalism has disemboweled the country. It has left the nation a decayed wreck. We celebrate ignorance. We have replaced political discourse, news, culture and intellectual inquiry with celebrity worship and spectacle.
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China's President Calls Trump, Tells Him "Cooperation Is The Only Choice"

by element115
"During the call, the leaders established a clear sense of mutual respect for one another, and President-elect Trump stated that he believes the two leaders will have one of the strongest relationships for both countries moving forward," a statement from Trump's presidential transition office said. The two agreed to maintain close communications and meet soon.
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Putin & Trump discuss Syria and US-Russia relations in phone call

by element115
In their telephone conversation, the two leaders agreed that they share a common view on “uniting efforts in the fight with the common enemy number one – international terrorism and extremism,” the Kremlin said in a statement published on its website late Monday. The Kremlin added that Putin and Trump also discussed ways to settle the Syria crisis.
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Report: Two-thirds of the world's internet users live under government censorship

by element115
Web freedom declined across the globe for the sixth consecutive year, according to a new report.

The findings are based on an analysis of web freedom in 65 countries, covering 88 percent of the world's online population.
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Renegade states plan to pull off their own Brexit and ditch the US for Canada

by element115
Momentum is building for a proposal which would see California, Oregon, Nevada and Washington state ditch a USA run by Donald Trump.

Those that propose the historic shift claim it is the perfect solution, as it allows Republicans to do their thing under Trump while those who object to him can pledge allegiance to Canada instead.

Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau has already promised to take in Syrian refugees, legalise marijuana and tackle climate change – pretty different to Donald Trump’s take on things.
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First at-home brain implant lets “locked in” woman talk, venture outdoors

by element115
A paralysed woman, who is "almost completely locked in," has become the first person to use a fully implanted brain-computer interface at home in day-to-day life without constant doctor supervision.
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Yes, Trump will have broad power to crack down on immigration

by element115
Presidents have the power to bar access to the U.S. to specific immigrants or entire classes of immigrants. That power is laid out in the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows a president to block would-be immigrants if they are deemed "detrimental to the interests of the United States."

...so far, it looks like he will be able to follow through on many of his pledges — with or without help from Congress.
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