The winner of the 1.2-million-ruble (about $38,000) contract, expected to be named by the end of June, will be tasked with helping the Investigative Committee monitor 15,000 print publications and 8,500 online sources, as well as blogs and social networks, to find information on crimes and public reactions to them.The list of sites the Committee plans to monitor round-the-clock includes popular Russian social networks Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki (‘Classmates’), Twitter, LiveJournal, video-hosting websites Youtube and Rutube, and location-based social network Foursquare.The Committee claims that the system will track down the sources of Web posts in order to determine the causes of crimes, and help to solve them, Russian news website Lenta.ru reportedHowever, it is unclear if the Committee will focus only on Russian websites and crimes committed in Russia – the contract says that the system should be able to operate in Russian, English and German. And besides information on crimes, the Investigative Committee is also interested in online reactions to its work.The Investigative Committee launched a similar scheme in January 2013, signing a contract worth 1.1 million rubles ($35,000) with Intergrum Company to monitor media coverage of the Committee’s work.The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation was formed in January 2011 to probe high-profile cases, similar to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. The agency’s predecessor was the Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor General’s Office (SKP), which was formed in 2007. The Committee, which employs over 20,000, is aimed at establishing a wall of separation between the prosecution and the preliminary investigation in criminal cases. … Read More
Syrian rebels abduct 4 UN peacekeepers near Golan Heights
A Syrian rebel group identified as the “Yarmouk martyrs brigade” claimed responsibility for the act, saying the peacekeepers had been detained for their own safety after clashes erupted in the separation zone between Syria and Golan, Reuters reports. … Read More
Palestinian Christians urge pope to oppose Bethlehem wall
Palestinian Christians near Bethlehem on Monday urged Pope Francis to speak up against an Israeli decision to build its controversial separation barrier on a route they say would cut off their community. “We cry to your Holiness with a feeling of despair and urgency in order to keep alive our…
National Security Letters Are Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules
A federal district court judge in San Francisco has ruled that National Security Letter (NSL) provisions in federal law violate the Constitution. … Read More
Rhode Island flower shops shun atheist teenager
There’s a war over roses in Rhode Island, where a slew of flower shops allegedly refused to deliver a bouquet to a 16-year-old atheist who had fought to have a prayer banner removed from her high school.
The skirmish began when the girl’s school, Cranston West High School, hung a banner titled “School Prayer.” The banner’s text appealed to “Our Heavenly Father” — text that clearly violates the 1962 Supreme Court decision that prohibits mandatory religious prayer in public schools.
The 16-year-old student, Jessica Ahlquist, who identifies as an atheist, fought to have the school banner removed — a court battle she won earlier in January.
But the victory party was cut short over discrimination by — of all people — the city’s flower vendors. When the group Freedom for Religion Foundation, a national organization that fights to keep the separation of church and state, tried to send Ahlquist a congratulatory bouquet, no less than four local flower vendors refused to fill the order.
Satanists, Believing They Have The Right To Pray In School, Rally Support For Florida Bill
(Christine Roberts) Members of the Satanic Temple, who will gather Jan. 25 at the State Capitol in Tallahassee, particularly like Scott’s support of Senate Bill 98, which allows students to read ‘inspirational messages’ at assemblies and sports events. The group says the bill permits alternative views and lets Satanic children pray in school. Florida Gov. [...]
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Rand Paul Vows to Stop Obama on Guns–and Obama Might Be Prepared to Lose
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) thinks Obama’s gun control plans,
especially the parts Obama thinks he can activate strictly via
executive power, must be stopped, and has announced plans to
try to stop them legislatively.As published by Talking Points Memo, here
are his intentions in what he calls the “Separation of
Powers Restoration and Second Amendment Protection Act.”Paul says his legislation will declare that “Any executive order
by President Obama infringing on the Second Amendment rights of all
Americans would be declared null and void” and “would prohibit
federal funds to implement President Obama’s executive orders
impacting the 2nd Amendment.”The prospective bill would also allow congressmen, state and
local governments, and private persons to sue over such executive
orders.Politico has an interesting analysis arguing that,
contra his generally understood policy in his first term of
starting only political fights he can win, Obama might be
prepared to crash and burn politically on principle on this gun
issue, strongarming Senate Democrats to use political capital on
possibly damaging (to their prospects, not considering their damage
to American liberties, which will be more considerable) legislation
that will surely die in the GOP-controlled House. The article says
this is because of his deep emotional reaction to Sandy Hook — and
does not point out that no reasonable person could expect any of
Obama’s proposals to have stopped that from happening. … Read More
