Why does such a noble, benevolent seed company require the services of the most notorious mercenary army of modern times? … Read More
Vermont legalizes assisted suicide
The governor’s signature has made Vermont the fourth US state to legalize assisted suicide, which Shumlin hailed as a victory for the few terminally ill Americans whose suffering surpasses their will to live.“This bill does not compel anyone to do anything that they don’t choose in sound mind to do,” he said before signing the End of Life Choices law on Monday. “All it does is give those who are facing terminal illness, are facing excruciating pain, a choice in a very carefully regulated way.”The state legislature last week approved the legislation, which allows anyone over the age of 18 with an “incurable and irreversible disease” and a maximum of six months to live to acquire a prescription for lethal drugs.The measure requires at least two doctors to make the medical determination whether or not a patient qualifies for physician-assisted suicide. A patient wishing to end their life must make an initial oral request at least 15 days before receiving lethal drugs, and a written and oral request to die 48 hours before receiving them. Two “disinterested” individuals that are neither related to the patient nor the healthcare providers must witness these requests. The law takes effect immediately, and state officials are now scrambling to pull up guidelines for doctors who plan to administer lethal drugs.Bob Ullrich, a board member of the advocacy group Patient Choices Vermont, has been pushing for the legalization of assisted suicide for more than 10 years. He stood beside Gov. Shumlinon Monday, witnessing the governor sign the bill into law.“It means peace of mind and comfort to a lot of people, including me, that I hope no one ever has to use the law, but to know every day of your life that it’s there should such an occurrence happen,” he told The Burlington Free Press after the signing.Vermont is the first state that has passed this measure through the legislative assembly. In Oregon and Washington, assisted suicide was approved through general elections, and in Montana, the Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that physicians may aid terminally ill patients who are on their death beds already.Across the US, eight other states have introduced bills allowing physician-assisted suicide, while two states introduced bills banning the procedure, according to information from the Death with Dignity National Center.But while Vermont’s governor celebrated the signing of the bill – which coincidentally fell on his father’s 88thbirthday – the signing ceremony also drew out numerous opponents.The Vermont Alliance for Ethical Healthcare, a group that opposes the new law, said it will now focus its efforts on helping health care providers find alternative ways to health the terminally ill.“We now have state-sanctioned suicide in Vermont,” Edward Mahoney, president of the group, told Reuters. “If the state won’t protect Vermonters, we will try.”Carrie Handy, a Vermont resident and member of True Dignity, said her group will now try to help patients who feel pressured into requesting their own deaths.“We would have liked to defeat the legislation,” Handy told The Burlington Free Press. “Now that it’s been enacted we feel our role needs to be for the time being serving as a watchdog organization. We do feel this legislation puts vulnerable people at risk.”But even though doctor-assisted suicide is now legal in Vermont, experts estimate that very few people will turn to this option. Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Harry Chen told AP that he only expects doctors to write out 10 to 20 lethal prescriptions each year, with an even smaller number of patients actually choosing to self-administer the drugs.Chen’s estimate comes from figures in Oregon, where 673 patients died from ingesting lethal barbiturates prescribed between 1997 to 2012. The most ever prescribed in a year was 77, which occurred in 2012.“It’s used by a very small number, but it brings comfort to a much greater number knowing it’s there,” Chen said.But supporters in Connecticut and New Jersey – states that have recently considered similar bills – hope that Vermont’s decision will influence other US legislatures in passing similar measures.”Vermont’s law reflects another normalization of the practice of aid in dying in the practice of medicine,” Kathryn Tucker, director of legal affairs at Compassion and Choices, told Reuters. “Support for patients to be empowered and choose aid and dying is growing. So I think this is an important step in moving that forward.” … Read More
UK spyware used against Bahraini activists – court witness
The evidence submitted contains a witness statement from Bahraini activist and writer Ala’a Shehabi, 30. She has both Bahraini and British citizenship, and is one of the founding members of Bahrain Watch, an independent research and advocacy organization set up following a security crackdown in the country in February 2011.Shebabi became one of the targets of the FinSpy malware emails, developed by UK firm Gamma International, the Guardian reported.The activist claimed she received four phishing emails from what appeared to be authentic email accounts after being released after detention.According to Shehabi, the FinSpy software allows for surveillance of emails, social media messaging and Skype calls, and can retrieve files saved on an infected computer’s hard drive. It also can remotely operate microphones and cameras on computers and mobile phones.“I have real concerns about the Bahraini regime having effective unfettered access to my computer, reading my emails and monitoring my calls. Not only is this a gross invasion of my privacy, I am concerned that it could put in danger from the Bahraini authorities myself, my family members and other activists,” the Guardian quoted Shehabi as saying.In her witness statement, she claims that the first infected email was supposedly from Kahil Marzou, the deputy head of Bahrain’s main opposition party. Other emails purported to have come from an Al Jazeera journalist.“It upset me a lot, scared me and made me feel quite paranoid. I am very concerned that it appears that a product of a British company,” she stressed.The campaign group Privacy International (PI) in November reported that Gamma International is selling surveillance technology without a proper license. The technology sold is being used by 25 countries to spy on activists, who are later targeted by repressive regimes – a situation that “amounts to criminal conduct” on the part of the tech firms, the activist group said in an 186-page report it sent to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).In the spring and summer of 2012, Bahraini activists, including Shehabi, received emails containing malware. After the University of Toronto’s CitizenLab investigated the case, it found evidence connecting the malware to FinSpy.With this new witness statement, privacy rights groups are seeking to force the UK government to review exports of surveillance technology. The activists are pushing for a judicial review of the government’s apparent failure to investigate whether the sale of technology to repressive regimes is a breach of export-license controls.In April, Privacy International filed an application for judicial review of HMRC over its role in allowing the export of advanced surveillance technology used by repressive regimes worldwide – including Bahrain – to spy on dissidents.Privacy International’s lawsuit is over the government’s refusal to disclose whether it investigated UK-based Gamma International (GI). GI’s FinSpy software has allegedly been used by some two dozen countries worldwide.“In the wrong hands, today’s surveillance technologies can have devastating effects, and the public, especially victims targeted by this surveillance, have a right to know what the UK government is doing about it,” said Eric King, head of research at Privacy International.Gamma International, an Anglo-German company registered in the British Virgin Islands, denied reports it had sold to oppressive regimes, and maintained that it complies with export controls.The UK’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills advised Gamma International that FinSpy products have been controlled by EU legislation since 2000 and “require a license” in order to be sold outside the EU. This would require the tech firm to disclose the names of export customers.Bahrain’s human rights violationsBahrain’s human rights situation is “critical in the wake of the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that erupted in February 2011,” Human Rights Watch reported in December.Police regularly use violence to disperse crowds of protesters, while Bahrainis, led by the country’s Shia Muslim majority, are continuing to protest, demanding greater rights and freedoms from the ruling Sunni minority.More than 80 people have died in unrest since the pro-democracy protests begun in the February 2011 uprising, with thousands arrested and imprisoned and severe violence reportedly employed during the course of the arrests. Physical and psychological torture of prisoners to sign false confessions has also been reported.New laws were passed in Bahrain in April making it illegal to insult the country’s king and national symbols, charges that carry five-year jail sentences. … Read More
New bill aims to legalize cell phone unlocking, fix the DMCA
Unlike jailbreaking, which has remained legal since 2010, a DMCA exemption allowing cellphone unlocking was effectively banned in an update to the act late last year. The controversial decision pushed forward by the Librarian of Congress sparked responses from consumer advocacy groups and government agencies alike. Both the EFF and… … Read More
Spanish teachers, students mobilize in national anti-austerity protests (PHOTOS)
Organizers for Thursday’s demonstrations, which led to mass actions in the capital Madrid as well as Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and Zaragoza, reported up to a 70 per cent turnout by Spain’s teachers, though the country’s education ministry put the figure at 20 per cent. Protesters, many wearing the green T-shirts that have come to be identified with the education-advocacy movement, marched towards the Education Ministry, calling on head minister Jose Ignacio Wert to resign. Thursday’s action was said to affect all levels of education, and union pickets were visible across schools and universities throughout Spain. The trigger for the latest demonstrations was a set of changes to the country’s education system, set to be approved on Friday, that would enact new grading systems, enact further funding cuts and place more emphasis on Catholic religion courses.According to Almudena Cabezas, politics professor at Madrid’s Complutense University who spoke with the Associated Press, the new round of defunding would render an already strained education system inoperable.”Teachers are working in very limited conditions with less time and fewer teachers than before,” said Cabezas.”Pupils are being harassed with tax increases and are having to cancel enrollments. Also, administrative staff are having their salaries reduced and are being fired… so I think we have every reason to be here today,” she added.Having been in recession for the last four years, the cuts are only the latest austerity measure brought forward by the country’s ministry, which is still struggling to lower deficit levels to within European Union limits through a program of combined funding cuts to public programs and tax raises. The Education Ministry’s budget has already been cut by 14 per cent between 2012 and 2013, and the Platform for the Defence of Public Schools, which brings together students, teachers and administrators, has further been incensed in various regions by claims that new reforms would boost Spanish-language instruction at the expense of regional dialects.Historically, the country’s various regions have been prickly in their defense of regional languages, such as Catalan and Gallego, which were historically banned during its long dictatorship under Francisco Franco. Critics point to a conservative government educational agenda, which seem to be embedded within a larger aim to reduce the education system’s costs. … Read More
Daily Report: Zuckerberg’s Lobbying Group Is Criticized Over Tactics
The advocacy group Fwd.Us, created by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and others, has shocked some liberals with its tactics in a campaign to support immigration reform, Somini Sengupta and Eric Lipton report in The New York Times. … Read More
Anarchists Topple Peaceful May Day Protests
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