Random News Stories

[Junkenstein]

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/vietnam-wont-stop-locking-up-its-bloggers

Vietnam is not a good place to be a blogger. At least, it's not a good place to be a blogger if you actually want to write what's on your mind. In the last month or so, three bloggers have been arrested for criticising the communist government, or – as Vietnamese authorities deftly put it – "abusing democratic freedoms" by posting their opinions online. While that charge might seem like a bit of a paradox, their prospects post-arrest aren't looking great; on May the 16th, another blogger – Dinh Nguyen Kha – was sentenced to ten years in jail for "distributing anti-State propaganda" and "deliberately causing injuries".     

Those arrests are just one of the issues that spurred former US congressman Joseph Cao into calling Vietnam, "The worst violator of human rights in Southeast Asia" (and that's including Burma, a country where the Rohingya Muslim minority are being systematically wiped out, allegedly with tacit approval from the government). Other issues worthy of some credit for that title include outlawing political opposition to the one-party state, repressing dissidents, severely restricting freedom of expression and arresting, imprisoning and torturing peaceful activists.

[Junkenstein]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23061391

Kevin Rudd has ousted Prime Minister Julia Gillard as leader of Australia's Labor Party.

He won 57 votes in a leadership ballot of Labor MPs and senators called by Ms Gillard, who received 45 votes.

The change comes ahead of a general election due in September, which polls suggest Labor is set to lose.

After the vote, Ms Gillard confirmed she would stand by a pledge to resign from politics following a loss in the leadership challenge.

"I will not recontest the federal electorate... at the forthcoming election," she said.

Probably a bad thing. She seems to have dealt with a lot of the worst of Politics relatively well, though I doubt she'll be remembered fondly in the immediate future.

Some HA HA
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23063255

A commission of inquiry has been set up by Pope Francis to review the activities of the Vatican bank, following recent scandals.

Earlier this month, he named a trusted cleric to oversee the management of the bank, which is known officially as the Institute for Religious Works.

The institution, one of the world's most secretive banks, has been beset by allegations of money-laundering.

It has 114 employees and $7.1bn (£4.6bn; 5.4bn euros) of assets.

The new commission is tasked with ensuring the bank operates in "harmony" with the mission of the Church.

No doubt this will be worth watching, for what they fail to find as much as what they actually find. Yet another good publicity move from this pope though.

[Junkenstein]

Did anyone order a shitstorm?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23068454

The US Supreme Court has struck down a law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman only, in a landmark ruling.

The court's 5-4 vote said the Defense of Marriage Act, known as Doma, denied equal protection to same-sex couples.

The decision means that legally married gay men and women are entitled to claim the same federal benefits available to opposite-sex married couples.

The legal challenge to Doma was brought by New York resident Edith Windsor, 83.

She was handed a tax bill of $363,000 (£236,000) when she inherited the estate of her spouse Thea Speyer - a levy she would not have had to pay if she had been married to a man.

Don't fuck with pensioners.

[Junkenstein]

Today in scumbags:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23094320

A senior Italian cleric has been arrested in connection with an inquiry into the Vatican bank scandal over allegations of corruption and fraud.

Monsignor Nunzio Scarano works in the Vatican's financial administration. A secret service agent and a financial broker have also been arrested.

They are suspected of trying to move 20m euros illegally into Italy.

Pope Francis ordered an unprecedented internal investigation into the bank's affairs in the wake of recent scandals.

Monsignor Scarano has been under investigation by Italian police for a series of suspicious transactions involving the recycling of a series of cheques described as church donations through the Vatican Bank.

Earlier this month, the Pope named a trusted cleric to oversee the management of the bank, which has been beset by allegations of money-laundering.

Officially known as the Institute for the Works of Religion, the bank is one of the world's most secretive. It has 114 employees and $7.1bn (£4.6bn; 5.4bn euros) of assets.

Pope Francis has given the commission carte blanche, bypassing normal secrecy rules, to try to get to the bottom of scandals which have plagued the bank for decades.

Surely much more to come here.

[Junkenstein]

UK Media shitting the bed again:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23098284

Five UK phone hacking defendants, including Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, have lost a last ditch legal bid to block their prosecution over alleged phone hacking.

Former News International chief executive Mrs Brooks has pleaded not guilty to phone hacking charges.

Revelations about phone hacking led to the closure of the News of the World in July 2011.

Mrs Brooks, 45, also denies conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.

Guilty all round I suspect to be an understatement. Can't wait for all the fair and balanced reporting that will go along with the coverage of the trial.

[Junkenstein]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23093581

The government says energy minister Michael Fallon is "fully behind" a National Grid consultation that could see big businesses paid to cut their energy usage in times of shortage.

Last night Mr Fallon appeared to dismiss the proposal in an interview on the BBC's Newsnight programme.

It followed a warning from energy regulator Ofgem that the risk of power cuts has increased in the UK.

Despite that the government has emphasised "the lights won't go out".

The UK's energy policy has been quite insane for years. Private Eye has been regularly noting the reduction in capacity with brown/black outs the inevitable result at some point.

That point now appears to be fairly soon.

[Salty]

I cannot tell, is this satire or not?

http://americablog.com/2013/06/the-most-unfortunate-logo-and-slogan-in-the-history-of-american-politics.html

[Doktor Howl]

I cannot tell, is this satire or not?

http://americablog.com/2013/06/the-most-unfortunate-logo-and-slogan-in-the-history-of-american-politics.html

[Doktor Howl]

STAY CLASSY, TEXAS!

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/28/19190519-texas-woman-indicted-for-sending-ricin-letters-to-obama-bloomberg?lite

[Doktor Howl]

D'AWWWWWW

http://www.today.com/news/bert-ernie-mark-doma-decision-new-yorker-cover-6C10480518#news/bert-ernie-celebrate-doma-decision-new-yorker-cover-6C10480518

[Salty]

Is it just me, or is there something like a Obama Home Stretch that's bringing out the weird?

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I cannot tell, is this satire or not?

http://americablog.com/2013/06/the-most-unfortunate-logo-and-slogan-in-the-history-of-american-politics.html

YOINKED 

[Salty]

So, not satire then.

These assholes are for real.

I just, I can't even...

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

STAY CLASSY, TEXAS!

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/28/19190519-texas-woman-indicted-for-sending-ricin-letters-to-obama-bloomberg?lite
[/quote

That's a variation of the "Texas Face" you mentioned, isn't it? 

[Doktor Howl]

D'AWWWWWW

http://www.today.com/news/bert-ernie-mark-doma-decision-new-yorker-cover-6C10480518#news/bert-ernie-celebrate-doma-decision-new-yorker-cover-6C10480518

It occurs to me to wonder just how long The New Yorker has been waiting to stub that particular cigarette out in the right wing's eye.