Sweden is second in line to benefit the most from an EU free-trade deal with the US, for which negotiations were finally given the all-clear in a move welcomed by pro-business groups in Sweden. … Read More
Thousands gather for anti-G8 protests in Northern Ireland
What started as 1,500-strong march to the Belfast City Hall in police estimates, grew into a massive rally in front of the hall after thousands of people accumulated there. Trade unionists, environmentalists, socialists and rights activists were among those taking part in the protest organized by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and aimed “to challenge the agenda of the G8 leaders.” The demonstration was marked by strong security presence, with hundreds of police flanking the march’s route, dozens armored vehicles deployed, and several helicopters patrolling the city. The police have blocked about 100 jeering loyalists, who have been staging a separate rally, along the protest’s way. Many Belfast shops chose to board up their fronts, fearing the protests could turn violent, but the march went on peacefully. “Obama and Cameron, you’re not welcome,” the protesters chanted, according to the Guardian. The ICTU chairperson Pamela Dooley branded the world leaders’ policies “damaging” and anti-democratic. “The eight people meeting in Fermanagh are leaders of some of the richest and most powerful countries on the planet. They do not have our consent to form a Gang of 8 or 9 or 20 in order to force their damaging policies on the rest of us,” Dooley said. “This is not democracy. This is not compliance with human rights obligations in our own jurisdiction, let alone around the world. This is hypocrisy and greed which holds the seven billion human beings on this planet in contempt,” she added. Dooley then urged the trade unions and the whole civil society to “demand a different and better way” and a change from the “consequences of a corrupt capitalist system bereft of moral standards.” Brian Campfield, the ICTU’s vice-president, said the essence of the G8 summit is “selfishness and dog eat dog,” adding that the protesters are sending a message that there is an alternative to “cut throat capitalism.” Meanwhile, Patrick Corttigan of Amnesty International called on the Russian government to free the jailed members of Pussy Riot group. “Belfast is a punk city and here’s a punk message to you – free Pussy Riot,” Corttigan said. Separate G8-related rallies and events are also due to take place in Northern Ireland ahead of the June 17-18 summit at Fermanagh’s Lough Erne resort, while London has already seen protests and clashes with the police. At least 8,000 are expected to come to the IF anti food poverty campaign concert in Belfast on Saturday. The charities-backed concert aims to send a message to world leaders about ending world hunger. The trade unions are also calling “ordinary people refusing to accept what the G8 wants to impose” to join a protest rally in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh on Monday. Earlier this week, anti-capitalist protesters blaming the banks and the politicians for the inequality clashed with riot police in central London. Around 60 arrests were made, RT’s Polly Boiko reported from the UK’s capital: Video: /files/news/1f/6f/60/00/original_571437_boiko.mxf.flv … Read More
Intel says prototype Thunderbolt flash drive is the world’s fastest
Haswell is no doubt Intel’s bread and butter at this year’s Computex trade show but that of course doesn’t mean that’s all they are showing. Case in point is a new prototype thumb drive that uses Thunderbolt connectivity to produce what Intel says is the fastest technology available to transfer… … Read More
South African bodies call for Israel to be excluded from diamond processing over ‘war crimes’
The certification scheme is designed to stop ‘conflict diamonds’ from entering the mainstream diamond market and was set up in 2003. The organisation which runs the scheme is currently meeting in South Africa. The coalition of organisations such as South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers, the country’s largest trade union federation COSATU; South African Students Congress; the Coalition for a Free Palestine and BDS South Africa say that “billions of dollars’ worth of diamonds exported via Israel are a major source of revenue for the Israeli military, which stands accused of war crimes.” The coalition is calling for Israel to be excluded from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme due to its human rights record against Palestinians, and to end all exports of rough diamonds to Israel immediately. The organizations also wants to ban diamond polishing and cutting in Israel. They claim excluding Israel from the diamond processing would be a great chance for the South African authorities to display “moral vision and political leadership”. “The Kimberley Process has played an important role over the past decade in resolving conflicts linked to the diamond trade but there is no doubt that it has to be reformed… [by] expanding the definition of conflict to include human rights abuses linked to diamond extraction perpetrated by governments and companies; and expanding downstream monitoring so that the process covers not just the rough diamond trade but also the international movement and polishing of diamonds,” Southern Africa Resource Watch director Claude Kabemba told the Business Day newspaper. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process to prevent “conflict diamonds” from entering the mainstream rough diamond market. Established by UN GA Resolution 55/56 in 2003, the process is aimed “to ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments.” In order for a country to be a participant, it must ensure that any diamond originating from the country does not finance a rebel group or other entity seeking to overthrow a UN-recognized government, that every diamond export be accompanied by a Kimberley Process certificate and that no diamond is imported from, or exported to, a non-member of the scheme. As of 30 November 2012, there were 54 participants in the KPCS representing 80 countries, with the European Union counting as a single participant. The coalition also pointed to the local benefits of such a move, claiming it could bring more diamond processing jobs back to South Africa. “Consumers will have a clear conscience that their diamonds are not funding, assisting or in any way involved with the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine, and more jobs will be created locally for our people by bringing this diamond processing back home instead of it being done in Israel,” South African activist Mbuyiseni Ndlozi is quoted by the Middle East Monitor as saying. The Kimberley Process, established a decade ago to help resolve international diamond trade conflicts and to ensure that the diamond trade is not used as an instrument to fund military rebellions and other violence interfering with human rights. The organization includes 54 participants representing 90 countries while its members account for about 99.8 percent of the global production of rough diamonds, the Middle East Monitor reports. … Read More
ITC bans sale of iPhones, iPads they say infringe on Samsung patent
The International Trade Commission has issued a ban on the sale of older iPhones and iPads in the US after it was discovered that select models infringe on a patent owned by Samsung. Infringing models include the iPhone 3G, 3GS, iPhone 4 as well as the 3G models of the… … Read More
Unions urge Social Democrats to go it alone
A majority of the unions in the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) wants the Social Democrats to enter the 2014 elections alone, and not to promise a ministerial post to the Greens or the Left Party. … Read More
DOJ Pushes to Jail Hershberger After Jury Acquittal
Farmer Acquitted by Jury Now Threatened With Jail Time by Wisconsin Department of Justice … Read More
