Morocco military trial of Sahrawi civilians flawed from the outset ...

The trial of 24 Sahrawi civilians before a military court in Morocco is flawed from the outset Amnesty International said, as it called for the defendants to be tried in a civilian court and for an investigation into their torture allegations.

All of the group, which includes several activists, are on trial in Rabat today in relation to violence during and after the dismantling of the Gdim Izik protest camp near Laayoune, Western Sahara in November 2010, when 11 members of the security forces and two Sahrawis were killed.

Most of the defendants have said that they were tortured and otherwise ill-treated at different stages of their two-year pre-trial detention. Some are said to have been coerced into signing statements.

"The trial of civilians before a military court does not meet internationally recognised standards for a fair trial. The 24 accused must be brought before a civilian court with all the human rights guarantees that go along with it, and in no event must anyone be sentenced to death," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International?s Director of the Middle East and North Africa.

"Allegations of the torture of detainees must be investigated and any evidence obtained under torture must be dismissed by the court. The authorities must also launch an independent and impartial investigation into the events of Gdim Izik, which is already two years too late."

The 24 - including members of Sahrawi civil society organisations and Sahrawi political activists - face charges including belonging to a criminal organisation, violence against a public official and the desecration of a corpse.

The crime of violence against a public official can be punished by the death penalty when such violence leads to intentional death.

On 8 November 2010, violence broke out when Moroccan security forces tried forcibly to remove people from and dismantle the Gdim Izik protest camp a few kilometres east of the town of Laayoune, in the Moroccan-administered Western Sahara.

The Gdim Izik camp had been set up in early October by Sahrawis protesting against their perceived marginalization and demanding jobs and adequate housing.

Eleven members of the security forces and two Sahrawis were killed during the violence.

Some 200 Sahrawis were arrested by the security forces during and days after the violence. Further arrests were also made in December.

Most of those arrested were released but the 24 on trial today have already spent two years in pre-trial detention in Rabat's Sale prison.

In December 2010 Amnesty International published a report following a fact-finding visit to Morocco and Western Sahara to investigate allegations of human rights abuses committed on and in relation to the events of 8 November at Gdim Izik and Laayoune.

Following its review of Morocco in December 2011, the UN Committee against Torture stated that Morocco ?should put in place stronger measures for ensuring prompt, thorough, impartial and effective investigations into the violence and deaths that occurred during the dismantlement of the Gdim Izik camp and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice? and that Morocco ?should amend its laws to guarantee that all civilians will be tried only in civilian courts.?

During his visit to Morocco and Western Sahara in September 2012, Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture noted that prosecutors and investigative judges rarely investigate allegations that torture was used to obtain evidence or confessions during the initial stages of interrogations.

Juan Mendez stated that ?The complaint system regarding allegations of torture and ill-treatment and investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators, with the exception of a very few cases, seems to be in law only,? and that ?this gap between law and practice must be closed.?

Source: http://www.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/30971/

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Apple Takes 3 Of Top 5 Spots In U.S. Mobile Phone Sales For Q4 2012, Says NPD

Apple has managed to nab three of the top 5 spots for the top-selling mobile phones in the U.S. during Q4 2012 according to the NPD group, with the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 ranking first, third and fourth respectively. Apple also retained the crown for best-selling overall smartphone maker, accounting for 39 percent of smartphone sales in Q4 2012, compared to Samsung's 30 percent.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/MY71cQ10g5Y/

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Drake Dropping New Single On Grammy Night

'Started From the Bottom' will come out on February 10.

Drake
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1701195/drake-new-single-grammy-night.jhtml

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Unique photography rig captures snowflakes in mid-flight

Devin Coldewey , NBC News ? ? ? 22 hrs.

They say no two snowflakes look the same ? well, scientists at the University of Utah aren't going to take that for granted. They've devised a photography rig that can take detailed photos and measurements of thousands of snowflakes in a single night.

It's called the Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera, and it's just what it sounds like. Three cameras are arrayed around an infrared sensor that detects the presence of a snowflake and tells the cameras to fire. By lighting the snowflake carefully and using a super-short exposure (1/25,000th of a second), they can get tack-sharp images of snowflakes on the fly.

The system is so efficient that it can take tens ofthousands of shots in a single night. While that may be too many to browse through for fun, it's a huge benefit to researchers. Meteorologists only have a partial understanding of snowflakes ? their size, density, shape, fall speed, things like that ? because, naturally enough, they tend to melt before anyone can get a good look at them.

MASC is the project of University of Utah atmospheric scientist Tim Garrett, and the setup has been spun off as a separate company, Fallgatter Technologies. Right now, the company's device is documenting snowflakes at Utah's famous Alta ski area.

Scientists in the 1970s also measured snowflakes, but it was by hand, which must have been extremely delicate (and cold) work ? "I knew the guy who did it and he felt he needed to get glasses because of this project," Garrett told LiveScience.

And if the snowflakes in the pictures don't look much like the symmetrical geometric shapes one usually think of (and which were recently captured in stunning fashion by macro photographer Andrew Osokin), that's because most "snowflakes" are actually clumps made up of smaller flakes that have collided or broken apart.

Achieving a better understanding of snowflakes means a better understanding of snowy weather systems. Alta, for example, can use it to gauge the quality of the snow falling, and the Army is planning to use the device to improve its avalanche prediction techniques.

You can watch a live-updating feed of recent snowflakes from Alta, or check the project's highlight page, showing a few outstanding examples of what the system can capture.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/unique-photography-rig-captures-snowflakes-mid-flight-1B8219491

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WTF?!? Canada Has Given 48 Million To Support Syrian Jihadists In Their Hobby Of Beheading Captives

"Speaking to reporters during a teleconference from Kuwait City, International Co-operation Minister Julian Fantino praised "the willingness of the greater international community to come together to co-operate and work towards promoting the rule of law, democracy, human rights" in Syria.?The funds bring Canada's total contribution to $48 million since January 2012."

Humanitarian aid my ass, anything funneled through the UN is bound to be siphoned off at best or at worst find its way into hands of the Jihadis.

This is where your money is going. Warning extreme violence.

More Asshattery: ?Hard to imagine they?ll do anything good?: RCMP may train Saudi Arabia?s ?cruel? police

h/t Porketta

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/NWSav/~3/XKWHwQ3itIw/wtf-canada-has-given-48-million-to.html

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Ham Radio, The Only Form of Communication After Disaster ...

Posted: 2 hours ago

By JM

We take communication for granted because if we want to talk to someone we have multiple ways of contacting them:? home phones, cell phones, email, and instant messaging.? We are used to instant gratification by calling or texting and pretty much getting an immediate response from virtually everyone on our contact list.? But after all the electronic infrastructure is gone, how will we get in contact with people?? Cell phones, landlines, and the internet will be useless. ?However there are multiple radio options.? Which ones will be of the best use and which ones will be basically useless?

General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS), Family Radio Service (FRS) and Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) use basic handheld radios that are available commercially with pre-programmed?frequencies.? The person responsible for the GMRS radio must be licensed by the FCC, while FRS and MURS users do not require a license.? These are all basically high end walkie talkies.? The upside:? easy to use, inexpensive and requires no training.? The down side:? there are only 23 channels on GMRS, 14 on FRS and 5 on MURS and when all other forms of communications are unavailable they will be overloaded and basically useless.? Another drawback is that they are basically line of site communication only.? In other words, you will have to be very close to who you want to speak to for them to hear you.

Citizen Band (CB) is a step up from the previously mentioned radio communication possibilities.? CB radio is easy to use and requires no training or license.? CB allows communication on 40 pre-programmed?frequencies.? Like the other radio options the major problem is with the limited number of frequencies, they will be overloaded. ?Range is also limited to around 2 to 5 miles.

The GMRS, FRS, and MURS systems are only useful for small groups to communicate with each other while they are in proximity of each other.? They are not useful to communicate with other groups or people outside your immediate area.? CB radio falls in the same category.? Other forms of radio communications which are utilized by police, fire, EMS and military require outside equipment such as repeaters and infrastructure to operate properly.? In other words the radio is rather useless without the other equipment that you have no control over (or might not be able to acquire).

Amateur Radio (Ham) provides users with the most versatility when considering post SHTF communication scenarios.? The positive aspects of Ham radio are many: ?there are no pre-programmed?frequencies, a Ham operator can program the frequencies of their choice. ?Sure in a functioning government you may only transmit on certain frequencies but after T-SHTF an experienced Ham operator may use any frequency they wish.? Other pros:? range is unlimited, many Ham operators contact people around the world and you can pick up weather channels and short wave frequencies.? The downside:? an FCC license is needed, users much pass a written test to prove they are worthy. ?Additionally equipment is more expensive.

You may be thinking that you won?t need a license if T-SHTF, and that you?ll just buy a Ham radio and use it when the time comes.? You can do that but like other survival skills you need to practice in order to be proficient.? You will need experience in the use of the radio, building antennas, Morse Code and fine tuning of frequencies.? By getting an Amateur Radio License you can also network with other Hams and become familiar with ?Best practices? in Ham operation.? Hams are well versed in making home made antennas that work better then commercial antennas and even building radios.? These are skills that can be learned but it does take time.

A Ham radio operator can function effectively without the use of any other equipment, even though operators do frequently use repeaters on a day to day basis.? Another great aspect of Ham radio is this: you can do more then use voice communication.? Morse Code is a common form of communication in Ham radio.? Also operators commonly utilize ?packet radio?.? Packet radio allows transmission of photos, video, and text.? The text was the predecessor to email.? Yes indeed, Ham radio operators were using email before you were and all these forms of communications are available with just a radio.

Ham radios are versatile and can be base stations located in your home with high output power, mobile mounted in a vehicle with moderate output power, or portable small handheld radios with low power output that can be carried anywhere.

After T-SHTF communication will be difficult but needed. ?Land lines, cell phones, email, instant messaging, and the internet will be lost but Ham Radio will still be there.? When natural disasters like Katrina or Sandy strike, Ham Radio is there to allow emergency personnel to communicate because the normal communications channels are lost. ?When the government can?t communicate with each other during disaster, who do they call for help?? Amateur radio operators, because they know amateur radio is there and works when all other forms of communications fail.? That leads me to believe that after T-SHTF, Ham Radio will be the only form of communication available.

This post was contributed by JM, a certified Paramedic who is also a local EMS Coordinator. ?Look for more posts from him in the future. ?For more information on how to obtain a Ham Radio license check the ARRL Website for details.

*** This article appears courtesy of Prepper-Resources.com, one of the premier prepper/survival blogs online today. Whether you are a new or experienced prepper feel free to visit and check out all of the other valuable information posted there.

Related Posts:

Source: http://usahitman.com/hrofocad/

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Free Fun in Austin: Zilker Botanical Faerie Homes & Gardens Events

Zilker Botanical Garden?s new ongoing program series for kids, Faerie Homes & Gardens, has plenty of family friendly activities lined up through May, 2013. Some events are free with admission to Zilker Botanical Garden ($1 - $3 per person) and others have a small fee to participate. The series has a new website?and new registration forms for events that cost to attend. ?Be sure to submit your registration forms now if you are interested, as these events are filling up fast.

Faerie Garden Events will include:

February 3, 2013; 12 to 4:00 p.m.
Afternoon in the Garden; Faerie Gardens
(Sunday drop in program, free with admission as part of the bimonthly free programming). Plant the flowers that attract faeries and learn about special qualities of plants.

February 16, 2013; 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Faerie Luminaries
$5/person, limited spaces - see registration information.
Create fabulous faerie woodland luminaries to take home and to hang along the woodland trail.

March 11 & 12, 2013
Woodland Faerie Trail opens with faerie homes on display.

March 15, 2013; 7 to 9:00 p.m.
Faerie Trail by Starlight
$5/person, $15/family, no registration or space limits, pay at gate.
A magical visit along the Woodland Faerie Trail after dark. Look for signs of faeries at home, drink hot chocolate or cider, and see performers.

April 20, 2013; 2 to 4:30pm
Faerie Tea Party
$10/child, limited space - see registration information.
Come dressed in your faerie best for a tea party overlooking the garden. Create faerie wings to wear, walk the woodland faerie trail and follow the bubbles. Includes fruit, miniature cupcakes, tea, and juice.

May 11, 2013; 9 to 11:00am and 12 to 2:00pm
Faerie Landscaping Workshop
$5 (+ kit costs) - see registration information.
Create adorable faerie saucer gardens using live plants and natural materials to take home and invite a faerie into your backyard. Working with gardeners and horticulture staff, learn what is needed to keep your miniature landscape alive. Additional accessories will be available for purchase.

Registration for events:

• Complete these two forms (PDF):
• Participant Waiver/Registration Form
• Payment Registration Form
• Submit both forms:?email to ANSC@austintexas.gov or?fax to 512-974-3885.
• Confirmations will be emailed.

Admission to Zilker Botanical Garden:

• $1 for children (ages 3-12)
• $2 for adults (ages 13-61)
• $1 for seniors (age 62 & over)?
• Cash or check only

Zilker Botanical Garden
2220 Barton Springs Rd
Austin TX 78746
512.477.8672

Source: http://www.freefuninaustin.com/2013/01/zilker-botanical-faerie-homes-gardens.html

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