In Argentina, human rights icon Hebe de Bonafini died Sunday at the age of 93. Bonafini was one of the founders of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in 1977, after two of her sons were disappeared by Argentine security forces during the country’s brutal U.S.-backed military dictatorship. Bonafini and other mothers of the disappeared led frequent protests in Buenos Aires’s Plaza de Mayo in defiance of the dictatorship, wearing white scarves on their heads, which became a symbol of their struggle. In the decades that followed, they continued to fight for justice for the tens of thousands of people disappeared, tortured and killed during Argentina’s “Dirty War.”
Tag: News
Archbishop says desecration of Jerusalem cemetery a ‘hate crime’
Jerusalem’s Anglican Archbishop Hosam Naoum has called the desecration of a Protestant cemetery in Jerusalem a “clear hate crime,” days after Israel swore in the most far-right government in the country’s history. Two unidentified men broke into Jerusalem’s Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery and desecrated more than 30 graves on Sunday, local media reported. Security footage circulated on social media shows one man of Orthodox Jewish appearance entering the graveyard, pushing over a cross-shaped tombstone and smashing it with rocks with the help of a second man. The graveyard, founded in 1848 and maintained by local communities, contains the graves of 73 men of the Palestine police service who were killed during the second world war. It is also the burial place of many senior Christian leaders including Samuel Gobat, the former bishop of Jerusalem.
— source Jews For Justice For Palestinians | Jan 5, 2023
White men charged in attack on Black teens at South African swimming pool
Police in South Africa charged a White man with attempted murder and have charged two others with assault after an attack on Black teenagers trying to use a swimming pool while on vacation sparked widespread outrage. Video of the incident, which was shared widely on social media, appeared to show a White man choking and striking a Black teen in the face before pushing another Black teenager into the pool and gripping him in a headlock, seemingly to try to push him underwater. Kgokong Nakedi, 18, told reporters that he and a 13-year-old cousin were assaulted on Christmas Day by White people at a vacation resort they were visiting in Bloemfontein, in the Free State province.
— source washingtonpost.com | Dec 29, 2022
Spying on Phone Calls via Ear Speaker Vibrations Captured by Accelerometer
As smartphone manufacturers are improving the ear speakers in their devices, it can become easier for malicious actors to leverage a particular side-channel for eavesdropping on a targeted user’s conversations, according to a team of researchers from several universities in the United States. The attack method, named EarSpy, is described in a paper published just before Christmas by researchers from Texas A&M University, Temple University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and the University of Dayton. EarSpy relies on the phone’s ear speaker — the speaker at the top of the device that is used when the phone is held to the ear — and the device’s built-in accelerometer for capturing the tiny vibrations generated by the speaker.
— source securityweek.com | Dec 28, 2022
Welsh wind power for Wales
The largest wind farm in Wales has 76 turbines and provides enough energy for a sixth of all Welsh households. It’s run by the company Vattenfall, and that’s an interesting firm. The name is the Swedish word for waterfall, as the roots of the company lie in the Royal Waterfalls Board, a state-owned agency that built hydroelectric power. The company was expanded in the 1970s to build nuclear power in Sweden, and it has since moved into renewable energy across Europe.
— source earthbound.report | Dec 15, 2022
Facebook shuts down major left wing group in Britain
Facebook has shut down the accounts of one of the biggest left wing organisations in Britain, the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). The Socialist Workers Party Facebook page – as well as account of local pages – have been removed from Facebook with no explanation given. Those targeted say it amounts to a silencing of political activists.
The SWP Facebook page regularly posts in support of Palestine, Black Lives Matter and against Boris Johnson’s Covid policies. It also hosts dozens of online events every week that activists across the country take part in.
— source socialistworker.co.uk | 22 Jan 2021
Scientists Created Male and Female Cells from a Single Person
Most people have two sex chromosomes, either two X’s or an X and a Y, which give rise to female or male biological attributes on a spectrum. Studies suggest these chromosomes also have much broader effects, contributing to processes that include immune system function, neuronal development, disease susceptibility and reactions to drugs. But scrutinizing the specific role of X and Y chromosomes is challenging. With current tools, it is difficult to disentangle the effects of genes versus hormones, for example.
Now scientists have devised a tool that could overcome this obstacle—by generating XX and XY cells from a single person for the first time. This unique set of cells could help researchers tackle long-standing questions about how sex chromosomes affect disease and the role they play in early development.
— source scientificamerican.com | Dec 21, 2022
Climate activists arrested after blocking private jets in Amsterdam airport
Dutch border police arrested hundreds of climate activists who stormed Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and sat in front of the wheels of aircraft to prevent them from leaving. More than 100 protesters, wearing white suits, entered an area where private jets are kept on Saturday as part of a day of demonstrations in and around the airport organised by environmental groups. Greenpeace says Schiphol is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the Netherlands, emitting 12bn kilograms annually. Extinction Rebellion was also involved in the action. Hundreds of other demonstrators in and around the airport’s main hall carried signs saying “Restrict aviation” and “More trains”.
— source theguardian.com | 5 Nov 2022
Will You Follow Same Rules Here as in Europe, SC Asks Google
The Supreme Court has asked Google whether it will follow the guidelines set on pre-installed apps on Android phones in the European Union in India as well.
Google India has approached the court to challenge the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s order declining to stay a Rs 1,338 crore penalty imposed on the company by the Competition Commission of India for unfair and anti-competitive practices.
The CCI told the Supreme Court, LiveLaw reported, that the EU commission had found Google’s practice of pre-installing apps on Android phones unfair in 2016, and the company had since changed how it approached the matter there. However, in India, it continues with its earlier practices and was unwilling to adhere to a similar order passed by the CCI.
On January 6, NCLAT refused to stay CCI’s fine order and told the company to deposit 10% of the fine amount within three weeks. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appeared for Google.
— source thewire.in | 17/Jan/2023
Disha Ravi Accuses Police of Leaking Private Info
The Delhi high court on Monday, February 27, ordered the Union government to file an affidavit on the status of the investigation against climate activist Disha Ravi, who is an accused in the 2021 ‘toolkit’ case. Ravi, who secured bail in February 2021, moved the court accusing the Delhi Police of leaking private information about her to the media despite the fact no charge sheet has been filed in the case thus far. This, she said, was “malicious and in violation of the right to privacy and free trial”, Livelaw.in reported.
— source thewire.in | 28/Feb/2023