Category Archives: Fail!

India’s diabetes rate up 123% since 1990

{Fat times, make for fat folks and diabetes surge!} The findings are part of a global study conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

via India’s diabetes rate up 123% since 1990.

David Cameron (aka: the 1% troll): British bill of rights will ‘safeguard legacy’ of Magna Carta | Law | The Guardian

In a speech at Runnymede Green King John Cameron will heap praise on the influence of Magna Carta worldwide in spreading freedom and the rule of law, and say every Briton should be proud of its influence. But he will stray into controversy by saying that “the good name of human rights has sometimes become distorted and devalued”.

He will say: “For centuries, Magna Carta has been quoted to help promote human rights and alleviate suffering all around the world. But here in Britain ironically, the place where those ideas were first set out, the good name of human rights has sometimes been distorted and devalued. It falls to us in this generation to restore the reputation of those rights – and their critical underpinning of our legal system. It is our duty to safeguard the legacy, the idea, the momentous achievement of those barons. And there couldn’t be a better time to reaffirm that commitment than on an anniversary like this.”

via David Cameron: British bill of rights will ‘safeguard legacy’ of Magna Carta | Law | The Guardian.

Unison boss to tell government that efforts to crush unions will fail

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Dave Prentis also attacks proposed legislation making strikes unlawful unless 50% of those entitled to vote take part in a ballot as vindictive

The boss of the largest public sector union will tell the government this week that its efforts to crush union power will fail, after a successful recruitment drive in newly privatised businesses.

Dave Prentis, the general secretary of Unison, said an exodus of members following steep job cuts in the public sector had been all but made up for by new members recruited from businesses taking on public sector contracts.

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via Unison boss to tell government that efforts to crush unions will fail.

$125 Million in ‘Dark Money’ Helped Fund Climate Change Skeptics

An analysis by the Guardian finds that conservative donors gave more than $125 million over three years to groups that have promoted climate denial and/or oppose environmental regulations….

philanthropynewsdigest.org

via $125 Million in ‘Dark Money’ Helped Fund Climate Change Skeptics.

Indonesia’s Aceh bans women from nightspots after 11pm – Al Jazeera English

The chief of Indonesia’s national commission on anti-violence against women said the measure would only restrict women’s freedom and threaten their livelihoods.

“The government should stop meddling in women’s affairs,” said Azriana, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.

“If the intention of the Aceh government is to provide protection for women, it must instead educate the public and men to respect women or provide security at the nightspots.”

via Indonesia’s Aceh bans women from nightspots after 11pm – Al Jazeera English.

India – Police said to have set fire to journalist, causing his death

Reporters Without Borders is dismayed to learn that Indian journalist Jagendra Singh died on 8 June from the 60 percent burn injuries he received when police accompanied by a government official raided his home in Shahjahanpur, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, on 1 June

A well-known critic of Uttar Pradesh state government minister Ram Murti Verma, Singh had accused the police of deliberately setting fire to him during the raid. He died in a hospital in Lucknow, the state capital.

Singh named police inspector Sriprakash Rai as the person who set him on fire. Relatives and other eye-witnesses confirmed his version of the events.

Singh also accused Verma of subjecting him and his family to a “reign of terror” because of Singh’s investigative reporting and comments about him. Singh recently posted an article on Facebook about Verma’s alleged involvement in land seizures and illegal mining.

After he died, his family refused to cremate the body until the police registered their complaint. The police finally opened an investigation into suspected murder, criminal conspiracy and intimidation, provisionally detaining Verma, the police inspector and four other suspects the day after Singh’s death.

A police representative nonetheless denied Singh’s version, claiming that Singh set light to himself to avoid arrest. He did not say why the police wanted to arrest him.

We are shocked to learn of Jagendra Singh’s tragic death and we offer his family and friends our condolences,” said Benjamin Ismaïl, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific desk.

We note that an investigation into this terrible crime has been opened and we hope it will be as thorough and as transparent as possible so that all the perpetrators and instigators are quickly identified.

Ismaïl added: “We also hope that the justice they receive will be exemplary. The most severe sentences must be passed on those found guilty. Their senior government positions or membership of the police should have absolutely no impact on the way the justice system functions in this case. The most severe sanctions must be taken against those who will be found guilty. ”

A journalist for more than 15 years, Singh worked for leading India dailies such as Amar Ujala, Hindustan and Swatantra Bharat before focusing on social networks.

Ranked 136th out of 180 countries in the <a href=”http://index.rsf.org/

via India – Police said to have set fire to journalist, causing his death.

Man Dies After Cops Taser Him In His Apartment: Gothamist

Man Dies After Cops Taser Him In His Apartment: Gothamist.

A Bronx man died yesterday morning after NYPD officers say they encountered him brandishing a pair of scissors inside of his apartment and proceeded to Taser him.

Officers responded to a call regarding an “emotionally disturbed person” (EDP) at 2263 Loring Place in the University Heights neighborhood of the Bronx around 8:15 a.m., according to the NYPD. Inside Apartment 15, police say they found a 51-year-old man, identified by the NY Times as one Mario Ocasio, “armed” with a pair of scissors.