The Hero of Labor – the second most important decoration after the Hero of Russia – is comparable to the Hero of Socialist Labor which was introduced under Joseph Stalin and existed up until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.Putin voiced the idea to restore the medal at a Popular Front movement conference on March 29 and signed a respective decree the same day.The award is handed to citizens for their most outstanding achievements in state and public work and their contribution to Russia’s development in various fields, including healthcare, culture, education, science, production and transport.On May 1, amid Labor Day celebrations, the first five recipients of the award were invited to the Konstantin Palace in Strelna, St Petersburg where Putin handed them their medals.Among the recipients were Valery Gergiyev, conductor and artistic director of St Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre, and Aleksandr Konovalov, a leading neurosurgeon in the country. … Read More
Covered at Reason 24/7: Somali Intelligence Chief Reportedly Fired Over Extrajudicial Killings
It’s never too early to introduce
palace intrigue to a nascent government. Somalia’s president has
been in office just a little more than six months, and he’s already
reportedly sacked his intelligence chief.
From Garowe Online:
Somalia’s intelligence chief Ahmed Moallim Fiqi has
been sacked by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who appointed an
interim intelligence chief, Garowe Online reports.
Mr. Fiqi claimed at a media conference in Mogadishu on Monday that
he has resigned as national intelligence boss, but sources say he
held the press conference after receiving information that
President Hassan appointed an interim intelligence chief.
Also on Monday, President Hassan told Radio Mogadishu that he
appointed an interim intelligence chief after Mr. Fiqi “resigned”
from his post.
Sources in Mogadishu tell Garowe Online that Mr. Fiqi has been
accused of “extrajudicial killings” in Mogadishu, after a number of
dead bodies were discovered. Some of the dead bodies were young men
apprehended by security services days prior to their deaths, the
sources added.
Mr. Fiqi has also been accused of involvement in the killing of an
intelligence official in Mogadishu’s Yaaqshiid
district.
If you like extrajudicial killings so much–ah, forget it.
Follow these stories and more at ;Reason 24/7 ;and don’t forget you
can e-mail stories to us at 24_7@reason.com and tweet us
at ;@reason247. … Read More
Buckingham Palace Threat: Armed Man Arrested Outside Queen’s Residence
LONDON — Police used a stun gun to arrest a man armed with knives outside Buckingham Palace on Sunday as throngs of tourists gathered to watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony there.
Scotland Yard said the man, thought to be in his 50s, was spotted carrying two knives outside the central gate of the London tourist landmark. He did not threaten other people at the scene, but when challenged by police he acted aggressively.
Naked man beaten by Cairo police claims officers were ‘helping’ him
Naked man beaten by Cairo police claims officers were ‘helping’ himGet short URLLink copied to clipboardemail story to a friendprint versionPublished: 03 February, 2013, 07:16
TAGS:Health,
Accident,
Protest,
Human rights,
Police,
Egypt,
Clashes,
Violence
Egyptian anti-government protesters throw stones towards the Presidential Palace, on February 2, 2013 in Cairo.(AFP Photo / Gianluigi Guercia)An Egyptian man millions saw being assaulted by police has claimed the officers were saving him from the demonstrators. Meanwhile, as police once again dispersed Cairo protesters, Egypt’s Minister of Interior has announced that he’s ready to resign.
Saber’s wife has also allegedly sent a message of gratitude to the ministry of interior.”The police are very respectful and are standing by our side, and the minister’s assistant for human rights has visited and will come again tomorrow [Saturday],” Fathya Saber told ONTV satellite channel.In an interview with Al-Hayat TV, Saber said the riot police had a valid reason to treat him violently as he was resisting an arrest.“I understand what they did because the protesters were near and I was giving them a hard time.”Asked how the police saved him, Saber replied “I know what is in my best self-interest. Do not make serious problems for me.” In the meantime, the main opposition group, the National Salvation Front has called for Interior Minister, Mohammed Ibrahim to resign over the assault.An Egyptian anti-government protester holds empty tear gas canisters and shotgun shells outside the Presidential Palace during a demonstration on February 2, 2013 in Cairo.(AFP Photo / Gianluigi Guercia)Egypt’s interior minister ready to resignOn Saturday, Mohamed Ibrahim announced that he was ready to resign if that was the wish of the people following an upsurge in violence.In his statement at a press conference, Ibrahim assured that an investigation had been opened into Saber’s case and it would be transferred to the public prosecutor to hold those responsible to account.He added that he ultimately took responsibility, but warned if the ministry collapsed it would pave the way for militants to take over the country.Tortured into confessingMany Egyptians are not convinced Saber’s statement about the police rescuing him is genuine. Critics of the government claim the fifty-year-old was forced into confession through torture. ”We feel sorry for him because he was tortured in front of the world then he was mentally abused into lying about the facts inside of the police hospital in the absence of any lawyers,” Mohamed Zaree, the head of the Arab association for Criminal Reform, has told Ahram.Zaree also added that he and other lawyers were not allowed access to Saber as they apparently lacked legal credentials.”President Mohamed Morsi and the minister of interior are solely responsible for the carrying out of systematic torture which violates all international codes of human rights,” Zaree concluded.Egyptian anti-government protesters carry a fake casket outside the Presidential Palace during a demonstration to protest against the killing of protesters during clashes on the eve, on February 2, 2013 in Cairo.(AFP Photo / Gianluigi Guercia)An Egyptian anti-government protesters shout slogans holding candles outside the Presidential Palace during a demonstration on February 2, 2013 in Cairo.(AFP Photo / Gianluigi Guercia)Egyptian anti-government protesters celebrate after setting a Presidential Palace guard post on fire during a demonstration on February 2, 2013 in Cairo.(AFP Photo / Gianluigi Guercia)”);
$(“.tail_text”).show(500);
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Clashes between protesters and security forces continued on Saturday night as large crowds gathered around the Presidential palace, deman
1000
ding the resignation of Mohamed Morsi. Fireworks and Molotov’s cocktails were used by the demonstrators to battle police, who used tear gas and warning shots to quell the crowd. It was the second day running of violence in front of the Palace.Police on Saturday announced that they made 20 arrests, and were filmed beating and dragging a naked man into a van, enraging President’s Morsi’s critics who compared the incident to methods used under Hosni Mubarak.’Protesters attacked me and stripped me of my clothes’A picture can tell a thousand words, not in a case of Hamada Saber, the man who has made global video headlines as he was assaulted by Egypt’s security forces Friday night. The man claims it was the demonstrators that “initiated” the battering.The one and half minute video shows a naked man repeatedly assaulted by police, beaten with batons and dragged on the ground. But the fifty year old painter presented a different picture of the events that were recorded and aired by Al-Hayat satellite TV. Speaking from a military hospital, where he was being treated, Saber claimed that Central Security Forces (CSF) protected him instead of assaulting him, Ahram Arabic news website reports. ”I was standing at Roxy Square [near the palace] drinking a soda, when a large number of protesters who mistook me for a CSF officer because of my black attire attacked me and stripped me of my clothes,” Saber was quoted as saying by the Ahram, adding that the crowd were angry as he tried to dissuade them from “firing bird shots” at the police.Saber has also appeared on State Television on Saturday and thanked the police for their role in the incident.”The protesters fired an unknown bullet at me and robbed me. When I saw the CSF soldiers coming at the crowd, I was scared and I ran. The soldiers chased after me yelling they wanted to help me. When I fell, they caught me and said: ‘you gave us a hard time, man.’”Egyptian anti-government protesters pull off barbed wire barricades from one of the main gate of the Presidential Palace during a demonstration on February 2, 2013 in Cairo.(AFP Photo / Gianluigi Guercia)Saber’s wife has also allegedly sent a message of gratitude to the ministry of interior.”The police are very respectful and are standing by our side, and the minister’s assistant for human rights has visited and will come again tomorrow [Saturday],” Fathya Saber told ONTV satellite channel.In an interview with Al-Hayat TV, Saber said the riot police had a valid reason to treat him violently as he was resisting an arrest.“I understand what they did because the protesters were near and I was giving them a hard time.”Asked how the police saved him, Saber replied “I know what is in my best self-interest. Do not make serious problems for me.” In the meantime, the main opposition group, the National Salvation Front has called for Interior Minister, Mohammed Ibrahim to resign over the assault.An Egyptian anti-government protester holds empty tear gas canisters and shotgun shells outside the Presidential Palace during a demonstration on February 2, 2013 in Cairo.(AFP Photo / Gianluigi Guercia)Egypt’s interior minister ready to resignOn Saturday, Mohamed Ibrahim announced that he was ready to resign if that was the wish of the people following an upsurge in violence.In his statement at a press conference, Ibrahim assured that an investigation had been opened into Saber’s case and it would be transferred to the public prosecutor to hold those responsible to account.He added that he ultimately took responsibility, but warned if the ministry collapsed it would pave the way for militants to take over the country.Tortured into confessingMany Egyptians are not convinced Saber’s statement about the police rescuing him is genuine. Critics of the government claim the fifty-year-old was forced into confession through torture. ”We feel sorry for him because he was tortured in front of the world then he was mentally abused into lying about the facts inside of the police hospital in the absence of any lawyers,” Mohamed Zaree, the head of the Arab association for Criminal Reform, has told Ahram.Zaree also added that he and other lawyers were not allowed access to Saber as they apparently lacked legal credentials.”President Mohamed Morsi and the minister of interior are solely responsible for the carrying out of systematic torture which violates all international codes of human rights,” Zaree concluded.Egyptian anti-government protesters carry a fake casket outside the Presidential Palace during a demonstration to protest against the killing of protesters during clashes on the eve, on February 2, 2013 in Cairo.(AFP Photo / Gianluigi Guercia)An Egyptian anti-government protesters shout slogans holding candles outside the Presidential Palace during a demonstration on February 2, 2013 in Cairo.(AFP Photo / Gianluigi Guercia)Egyptian anti-government protesters celebrate after setting a Presidential Palace guard post on fire during a demonstration on February 2, 2013 in Cairo.(AFP Photo / Gianluigi Guercia) … Read More
“The Lost Carving”: Meditations on the creative life
There’s a booming and rather dubious genre of inspirational book aimed at people who want to do something creative — usually writing. (Rule of thumb: If you spend way more energy and time psyching yourself up to work than you do actually working, there’s a serious problem with your approach.) Much rarer are those books written by and about the working artist; perhaps the best-known and most-cherished is Annie Dillard’s “The Writing Life.” To this select company we can now add David Esterly’s profound and wondrous “The Lost Carving: A Journey into the Heart of Making.”Esterly is that uncommon thing, a visual artist who can coax as much beauty from words as he can from his primary medium. The medium is wood, specifically limewood, a “charismatic” material noted for its creamy pallor and, among woodcarvers, for its “crisp and firm” texture and reticent grain. The great master of limewood carving was a 17th-century Dutch-born Englishman named Grinling Gibbons. His works adorn several London churches and stately homes, among them Hampton Court Palace, a royal residence in Richmond upon Thames.Continue Reading… … Read More
Queen in 3D for Christmas: Special TV message recorded for UK
Queen Elizabeth II stands in the 1844 Room of Buckingham Palace in London after recording her Christmas Day television broadcast to the Commonwealth (AFP Photo / John StillwellS)This year’s annual greeting from the Queen of England will be unlike any that came before, as Elizabeth II has turned to cutting-edge technology and recorded her Christmas address in 3D format for the first time, Buckingham Palace announced.After recording the video address, the Queen watched her 3D message, produced by Sky News, and said it was “absolutely lovely,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said. “We wanted to do something a bit different and special in this Jubilee year, so doing it for the first time in 3D seemed a good thing, technology wise, to do,” the BBC quoted the spokesperson as saying. “The Queen absolutely agreed straight away there was no need for convincing at all, she was absolutely ready to embrace something new in this year.”Only viewers with the required special TV sets and viewing glasses will be able to enjoy the Queen’s speech in 3D. Those who have not bought the necessary high-end equipment will see the Queen’s speech broadcast in either standard- or high-definition.The tradition to give a radio speech on Christmas Day was started 80 years ago by the Queen’s grandfather, George V. Since then, British monarchs have addressed the nation every year during Christmas holidays.In her previous annual addresses, Queen Elizabeth usually referred to the most significant events of that year in the life of her country. This year, she is expected to mention the London Olympic Games and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee festivities. … Read More
