All posts by nedhamson
Global measles cases spike 30 percent: WHO | News | DW | 29.11.2018 – This one’s on you anti-vaxers! 110,000 dead children!
There were an estimated 110,000 deaths, mostly of children, linked to the vaccine-preventable disease last year.
Source: Global measles cases spike 30 percent: WHO | News | DW | 29.11.2018
Calling this exodus a ‘migrant caravan’ obscures the heart of the matter | Mark Isaacs

We need a new term that acknowledges the dire circumstances that have caused Central Americans to leave their homes
When I first heard of the “migrant caravan” I thought it was a grossly inadequate way to describe this mass movement of people. The more I have learned about the movement, the more convinced I am of its inappropriateness as a definition. Thus far, I have been using it for social media purposes but I want to break down the terminology.
The term “migrant” is a misnomer. It gives the impression that these people have similar situations to us. It implies they can apply for a visa, get a job and relocate their families the legal way just like an Australian might migrate to the United Kingdom for work. It is misleading to use the term migrants for a group of people who are fleeing criminal violence, authoritarian governments, corrupt security forces, economic failure and extreme poverty. It is misleading to imply that these people have the same opportunities to migrate as people from Australia, the US or other wealthy nations.
81,000 people say ‘no’ to Proud Boys founder touring Australia

The organisation has been listed as an extremist group by the FBI, and a petition has been delivered to Parliament calling on its founder to be banned from entering the country.
Senate defies Trump and votes to punish Saudis for Khashoggi slaying
Defying President Trump, senators sent a strong signal Wednesday they want to punish Saudi Arabia for its role in the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Senate voted 63 to 37 to move forward with legislation calling for an end to U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
The vote…
WHAT TO DO NOW: 1) Say Russia must return Ukrainian sailors NOW. 2) If it does not, expel five Russian intel officers from Europe every day. 3) Publish data on money of Kremlin oligarchs in EU. 4) Wait until Russia stops its aggression. – @20committee @john_sipher @IlvesToomas
WHAT TO DO NOW:
1) Say Russia must return Ukrainian sailors NOW.
2) If it does not, expel five Russian intel officers from Europe every day.
3) Publish data on money of Kremlin oligarchs in EU.
4) Wait until Russia stops its aggression.
–
@20committee @john_sipher @IlvesToomas
Two Cases Pit Native American Sovereignty Against U.S. Death Penalty

As federal prosecutors dropped the death penalty against a Navajo man accused of killing a police officer on Navajo land, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in a separate case on the status of a treaty establishing the borders of the Creek Nation reservation that could determine whether Oklahoma has jurisdiction to carry out the death penalty against a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) tribe. The two cases highlight issues of Native American tribal sovereignty with potentially profound implications for the administration of capital punishment under state and federal death penalty laws.
On November 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Carpenter v. Murphy, Oklahoma’s appeal of a lower federal court decision that overturned the conviction and death sentence of Patrick Murphy, a citizen of the Creek Nation, for a murder the federal court ruled was committed in Indian Country, on lands within the boundaries of the Creek Nation reservation established by treaty in 1866. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in August 2017 that because the homicide with which Murphy was charged “was committed in Indian country, the Oklahoma state courts lacked jurisdiction to try him.” Under the federal Major Crimes Act, the court said, Murphy could be prosecuted by federal authorities, but not by the state. Because of tribal opposition to the death penalty, Murphy would not face capital prosecution under the act. Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief James Floyd hailed the Circuit court’s decision as “affirm[ing] the right of the Nation and all other Indian Nations to make and enforce their own laws within their own boundaries.”
In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that only Congress had authority to disestablish or diminish an Indian reservation. Congress has never explicitly disestablished the Creek reservation. However, Oklahoma appealed the court’s ruling, arguing that the admission of Oklahoma into the Union in 1907 superseded the treaty and disestablished the reservation. Arguing for Murphy, Ian Gershengorn told the Court that the tribe has never ceded authority over the lands and “for the last 40 years, … when the Creek Nation adopted a constitution in 1979, they asserted political jurisdiction to the extent of their 1900 boundaries.” The Court’s decision in the case could affect criminal prosecutions in an 11-county region of eastern Oklahoma.
In New Mexico, federal prosecutors on November 19 withdrew their notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Kirby Cleveland in the killing of a tribal police officer. In January 2018, U.S. attorneys announced they would capitally prosecute Cleveland, prompting opposition from the Navajo Nation, which holds the official position that “capital punishment is not an acceptable form of punishment.” Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch stated in a letter, “The death penalty is counter to the cultural beliefs and traditions of the Navajo People who value life and place a great emphasis on the restoration of harmony through restoration and individual attention.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office had argued that because the murder involved the death of a police officer, the tribe’s position was not binding on the federal government. The case was further complicated by the fact that the state of New Mexico abolished the death penalty in 2009, so a death-penalty prosecution was counter to the policy of the state in which the crime took place.
(Curtis Killman, Life, tribal sovereignty at forefront of Oklahoma case before U.S. Supreme Court, Tulsa World, November 27, 2018; Justin Wingerter, U.S. Supreme Court justices skeptical of state’s claims in Creek reservation case but concerned about outcomes, The Oklahoman, November 27, 2018; Ronald Mann, Argument preview: Justices to turn again to rules for disestablishing tribal reservations, SCOTUS Blog, November 20, 2018; Andrew Oxford, Navajo man no longer faces death penalty in officer’s slaying, Santa Fe New Mexican, November 19, 2018.) See Native Americans, U.S. Supreme Court, and Federal Death Penalty.
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Israeli police draft bill that allows forced naked searches of detainees
Ramallah/ PNN/
Israeli police are working on a bill to allow detainees to strip search detainees under the pretext of “preventing the entry of objects into police stations” even if there is no real suspicion that the detainee is trying to smuggle items.
This proposal comes within the framework of a government bill dealing with police jurisdiction in prison which will be discussed on Wednesday in the Knesset Constitution Committee.
The bill explained that the law enforcement agency was working on a proposal to allow police officers to strip search detainees and perform “visual inspections” to ensure that no items are being smuggled.
According to the draft bill, a policeman can conduct an inspection of the detainee in order to prevent a prohibited item into the place where he is being held. The police officer will be allowed to perform visual inspection of the naked detainee without any reason.
It also states the strip searches will be carried out with the consent of the detainee, but if they object, an officer may issue an order to use “reasonable force” to remove the detainee’s clothes.
The Judicial Review team pointed out that strip searches even if carried out in a dignified manner are a flagrant violation of human privacy.
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