As the rest of the technology industry spends million lobbying lawmakers in Washington, Apple, which on Tuesday came in for a gentle grilling over taxes, has remained aloof. … Read More
Protesters greet Sein in US
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Protesters gathered as the president of Myanmar arrived at the White House.
Rights groups and some US lawmakers think Obama has moved too quickly since a breakthrough in relations in 2011.
Thein Sein is the first leader of the country, also known as Burma, to make an official visit to the US in 47 years.
He admitted to President Obama that democracy reforms were a daunting challenge. Citing poverty and a lack of job opportunities, Sein agreed his people must become more familiar with democratic norms and values.
Obama agreed but insisted violence against Muslim communities must stop:“The displacement of people, the violence directed towards them needs to stop and we are prepared to work in any ways that we can with both the government of Myanmar and the international community to assure that people are getting the help that they need, but more importantly, that their rights and their dignity is recognized over the long term”.
At least 192 people died in ethnic violence last year mostly in the western state of Rakhine.
Most of the victims, and the 140,000 people made homeless in the attacks, were Muslims.
More about: American politics, Barack Obama, Myanmar, USA, Washington
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Using dead children’s names ‘common practice’ for undercover UK cops
Mick Creedon, who is leading an investigation into undercover policing dubbed Operation Herne, told British lawmakers in a letter that none of the families of the children whose identities were utilized were “ever contacted and informed.”In response to a query regarding the number of children’s names which had been used as aliases by undercover police, Creedon was unable to provide an exact figure, though he confirmed “this was common practice within the SDS [Special Demonstration Squad],” ITV cites him as saying.Creedon confirmed that Scotland Yard had received multiple “speculative inquiries” from relatives seeking confirmation over whether their dead child’s identity had been used.“No answer, either positive or negative, has yet been given in relation to these inquiries from families,” he continued.The chief constable added that the issue is “very complicated and mistakes could put lives in jeopardy.”Herne was launched in October 2011 to investigate allegations made against the SDS, including the use of dead children’s identities and involvement in inappropriate sexual relationships.Regarding the latter accusation, Creedon said it would be inappropriate to provide details on the number of children the Metropolitan Police has identified as being born as a result of relationships with undercover officers. The letter, written in response to a series of questions forwarded by the Home Affairs Select Committee, revealed the operation is expected to cost 1.66 million pounds over the next 12 months. Nearly two dozen officers and 10 police staff are currently taking part in the investigation.Creedon, who serves as the Derbyshire Police chief, was brought in to take over the investigation from the Metropolitan Police in February.In an interim report published on the probe in March, MPs took a hard line towards the entire system of undercover police work in the country, arguing that such police activity should be limited to genuine threats to public safety or national security. In many instances dating as far back as the 1980s, undercover officers infiltrated activist groups and in many cases initiated long-term romantic relationship, which were ended when the agents finished their assignment. Several women are now seeking legal recourse as a result. The MPs further castigated the force over the use of the use of the names of dead infants as “ghoulish and disrespectful,” saying the practice is potentially dangerous to the bereaved families. In one case, a witness told the commission how she found the home address of the people whom she believed to be the parents of her missing partner. The individual was in fact an undercover officer. The report stressed that “it is easy to see how officers infiltrating serious, organized criminal and terrorist gangs using the identities of real people could pose a significant risk to the living relatives of those people.” The investigation has highlighted the weak oversight mechanisms for undercover agents who were gathering intelligence, arguing that officers’ methods should never undermine its admissibility in court. The report said there was a legitimate case that the legislative framework governing undercover policing, including 2000’s Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, should be fundamentally reviewed. … Read More
Vermont approves assisted suicide bill
State lawmakers on Monday approved the bill, which is now awaiting the signature of Gov. Peter Shumlin, who has already pledged he would sign it. Legalizing assisted suicide “gives Vermonters who are suffering from a terminal illness and anticipating excruciating pain peace of mind in knowing that this is an option,” Shumlin told the Wall Street Journal.Physician-assisted suicide is already legal in Oregon and Washington, where it was approved through general elections and enacted in 1997 and 2009, respectively. A similar bill failed to garner enough voter support to pass in Massachusetts last November, and was defeated 51 percent to 49 percent. Vermont is the first US state to pass such a measure through the legislative assembly.Vermont’s legislation will let anyone over the age of 18 with an “incurable and irreversible disease” and a maximum of six months to live to get a prescription for lethal drugs. The measure requires two doctors to make the medical determination whether or not a patient qualifies for assisted suicide. The patient must also be capable of self-administering drugs, which would be difficult in the rare instances in which someone is fully paralyzed.In order to obtain the lethal drugs, a terminally ill patient must make written and oral requests to the prescribing physician and wait at least 48 hours before receiving the drugs. The requests would need to be witnessed by two “disinterested” individuals, which the bill defines as anyone that is not related to the patient, doctors or employees of the healthcare facility. Doctors will not be obliged to help the patient with his or her suicide.The state of Vermont has held internal debates on doctor-assisted suicide for about a decade, and while the decision might influence other states, Shumlin indicated that not every legislature has worked on it as long as his.“We’ve had a very respectful, dignified conversation about a difficult issue where there are strongly held beliefs on both sides,” he told Politico.Vermont’s House passed the bill 75-65, after the Senate’s passage last week, but some critics and religious institutions have starkly criticized it. “This, in our opinion, is a terrible thing to have happen to our state… because it sort of sanctions suicide as a way of dealing with many end-of-life health care issues,” Gerald McMurray, a board member at True Dignity Vermont, told Politico. The organization describes itself as a citizen-led, grassroots initiative in opposition to assisted suicide in Vermont.The Roman Catholic Dioceses of Burlington has also called on Vermont residents to urge the bill’s defeat before lawmakers voted on it Monday.“Physician-assisted suicide will forever transform the role of physician from the one who preserves life to one who takes life,” the dioceses told the WSJ.But for the governor, the legislature’s passage of the bill is a victory that both he and his 80-year-old mother are celebrating.“For me, it’s watching my own parents grow older and them begging me… to ensure that they grow older in a state where they have some peace of mind that if they have a terminal illness that is extraordinarily painful, they have this option,” Shumlin told Politico.Bills legalizing physician-assisted suicide have also been introduced in Connecticut, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Kansas. … Read More
Ignorance is bliss? US attorney claims no knowledge of AP phone taps
US lawmakers questioned the attorney general at a House Judiciary Committee about the two months of AP phone records obtained by the Justice Department without permission. In a session that saw the attorney on the back foot amid calls for his resign, he maintained his ignorance in the “ongoing matter.” Flatly denying any prior knowledge to the subpoenas and who had issued them, he stated that he was 99 per cent sure that deputy attorney general James Cole had issued them.“The matter is being supervised by the deputy attorney general. I am not familiar with the reasons why the subpoena was constructed in the way that it was because I’m simply not a part of the case,” Holder told the committee, adding he was confident that the people who are involved in the investigation adhered to Justice Department regulations. Investigators wish to discern why it was necessary to gather so much information from AP phone records. The Justice Departments claims that the records were seized as part of an investigation into leaked data on a CIA operation in Yemen to stop an airliner bombing plot on the anniversary of the death of Osama Bin Laden. Holder stressed that the leak was very serious and had put the safety of the American people at risk and as such the Justice Department’s action was justified.Passing the buckThe Justice Department admitted its surveillance of AP’s phone lines in a letter to the organization’s heads last Friday. AP’s Chief Gary Pruitt reacted with ire, condemning the intrusion as a gross violation of press freedom that is inexcusable. AP estimates that over 100 of its journalists were affected by the phone surveillance and has implicated the involvement of the attorney general, alleging that subpoenas require his signature to be carried out. There was a degree of frustration at Holder’s answers during the hearing due to his inability to answer questions on the subpoenas and why the Justice Department failed to negotiate with AP prior to the subpoenas, which is usually standard practice in such situations.“There doesn’t appear to be any acceptance of responsibility for things that have gone wrong,” Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., told Holder. He suggested that Justice Department office should stop by Harry S Truman Presidential Library and take a photo of the famous sign, “The buck stops here.” The White House has also claimed ignorance, stating that it had no knowledge of “any attempt by the Justice Department to seek phone records of the AP.” … Read More
US Congress seeks to block Iran’s access to foreign reserves
The legislation backed by a bipartisan group of US senators seeks to block Iran’s access to an estimated $60-$100 billion in foreign exchange reserves currently held in foreign bank accounts.According to Washington lawmakers Teheran taps the reserves held in banks around the world to get around US and EU sanctions on oil sales that according to media reports have damaged Iran’s economy.Though Iran’s minister of economic affairs and finance Seyed Shamseddin Hosseini said that his government was finding new ways to soften the impact of the tough sanctions imposed last summer.“At first we witnessed inflationary shocks, but then we saw that we could use our domestic capacity to increase our competitiveness,” he told the Washington Post in April.The Iranian government, including the Central Bank of Iran and National Iranian Oil Company, converts the earnings from selling oil into local currencies in an attempt to finance imports and stabilize its budget, said the lawmakers. If the bill is passed it would block such currency conversions and be retroactive to May 9.The lawmakers added that they have notified financial institutions around the world to freeze all foreign currency transactions of the blacklisted Iranian banks and sectors “or risk being cut off from the US financial market.” The legislation is also to authorize President Barack Obama to impose sanctions on foreign banks that will continue to carry out the transactions.The bill, if passed, is to be attached later this month to Iran sanctions legislation in the US House of Representatives that was introduced in February.This is despite US Secretary of State John Kerry requesting Congress in April not to add more sanctions as they could affect the upcoming presidential race in the Islamic republic.”We don’t need to spin this up at this time…. You need to leave us the window to try to work the diplomatic channel,” Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Los Angeles Times reports.The United States, the European Union, Israel and several other states believe that Iran is enriching uranium to levels that could be used in nuclear weapons. Tehran says the program is intended for producing power and medical supplies.Russia says that it is necessary to recognize all the rights of the Islamic republic, including its right to enrich uranium in exchange for Iran agreeing to comprehensive control of its nuclear program by the International Atomic Energy Agency.Earlier last month the talks in Kazakhstan concerning Iran’s nuclear program between Iran and six world powers – US, Russia, Britain, China, France and Germany – ended without an agreement. Six world powers have called on Iran to halt enriching uranium over 5 percent, however the Islamic Republic insists on recognition of its right to enrich uranium. The negotiators will meet for another round of talks in Istanbul on May 15 in an effort to reach a diplomatic agreement. … Read More
