Thursday 25 July 2013

The European Union Times

‘Recognizing same-sex unions brings us closer to apocalypse’ – Russian Patriarch

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 04:19 AM PDT

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill

The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill sees the recognition of same-sex unions by Western countries as a portent of doom. He called upon Russians to ensure that sin is never formalized by the rule of law.
“We face enormous temptations when countries start approving sin and codifying it into law in order to justify it,” Itar-Tass quoted the patriarch as saying after the Sunday service in the Kazan Cathedral on Red Square.
Those who follow their conscience and “fight such laws imposed by the minority are subjected to repressions,” he added.
Kirill urged Russians to ensure that sin is never formalized in the rule of law.
“This is a very dangerous apocalyptic symptom, and we must do everything in our powers to ensure that sin is never sanctioned in Russia by state law, because that would mean that the nation has embarked on a path of self-destruction,” Kirill stated.
The patriarch pointed out that people have been convinced that the only value is the freedom of choice and no one has the right to infringe on that “even when a person chooses evil or a socially dangerous behavior.”
The Patriarch called upon Russians to fight for freedom from sins. “Where sin is elected through freedom, there comes death, terror and dictatorship,” Kirill said.
He asked people to pray for the future of the country to prevent “the slavery of sin” that leads to the “self-destruction of the nation”.
Patriarch Kirill led a church service in Moscow on Sunday that honored the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan, one of the most revered relics in Russia. The liturgy took place at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan on Red Square, which has a copy of the revered icon.
The topic of same-sex unions has been heatedly debated in Russia. On June 30 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a controversial law strengthening the penalties for “propagating homosexuality among minors”.

Participants in gay activists’ rally protesting against the law prohibiting gay agenda at the Oktyabrsky concert hall in St Petersburg.

The so-called ‘gay propaganda’ introduces fines for propaganda of non-traditional sex relationships to minors, including in the media, on the internet and via viral adverts.
Under the controversial law, holding LGBT rallies is now prohibited, as well as the distribution of information aimed at informing children of non-traditional sexual concepts. The bill also prohibits the “obtrusive spreading of information about non-traditional sexual relationships that may arouse interest in such relationships.”
Gay rights activists in Russia and abroad deemed the bill “anti-gay”. In a statement on GayRussia.eu, a Russian gay-rights activist wrote that Putin violated Russia’s international obligations by signing the law.
Earlier this year, in April, Vladimir Putin faced hundreds of protesters ranging from gay rights activists to a topless feminist group during his visit to Germany and the Netherlands. In Amsterdam, over a thousand gay rights activists picketed outside his meeting with Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
However, according to a recent poll conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Center (VTSIOM) in June, 88 per cent of Russians supported the amendments to the law; only 7 per cent said they are against. 54 per cent staid that homosexuality should be banned and be criminalized.
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US involved in every civil war on planet: Rand Paul

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 04:10 AM PDT

Outspoken Republican Senator Rand Paul has strongly criticized Washington’s “overeagerness to be involved in every civil war on the planet.”
“There is no greater priority for the federal government than the defense of the Constitution and the nation,” Paul said during a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention on Monday.
“Yet, sometimes I think our defense is weakened by our overeagerness to be involved in every civil war on the planet,” he was quoted as saying by Politico.
The Kentucky senator also blasted the US intervention in Libya, Egypt, and Syria, saying “we often don’t think before we act.”
“For our country’s sake, certainly for our soldiers’ sake – for the sake of every veteran who ever donned a uniform and fought for this country – America’s mission should always be to keep the peace, not police the world,” Paul said.
“Last week I was told by the administration, you know what their goal is in Syria? To fight to a stalemate,” he added.
The US Congress on Monday gave green light to President Barack Obama to send weapons to militants fighting against the government in Syria.
Last month, the White House announced that it would arm the militant groups in Syria, but some US officials opposed the idea.
“We believe we are in a position that the administration can move forward,” said House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says imposing a no-fly zone against Syria would cost the United States one billion dollars a month.
In a letter to the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Army General Martin Dempsey warned that thousands of American troops would also be required to establish a no-fly zone.
The use of such force is “no less than an act of war,” he said, and would come at a time of growing fiscal restraint on the Pentagon.
“Some options may not be feasible in time or cost without compromising our security elsewhere,” Dempsey said.
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UK bans online Porn by default but gives People option to Enable it

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 03:39 AM PDT

The British government has set the precedent for establishing the state’s power to censor web content of its choosing by automatically blocking online porn via mandatory web filters set to be in place by the end of next year.
“Every household in the UK is to have pornography blocked by their internet provider unless they choose to receive it, David Cameron is to announce,” reports BBC News. During an interview with the BBC, Cameron focused almost exclusively on blocking obscene images of children, ignoring the fact that the move would also block legal forms of pornography.
Under new legislation, every Internet user will be contacted by their service provider and asked whether they want the government filters switched on or off. Customers signing up to new broadband packages will automatically have the filters enacted by default. The filters will also be installed on all new cell phones.
“Horrific” Internet search terms will also be completely blacklisted under the legislation. Although for the moment, Internet users will be able to opt out of the filter, this clearly represents a step in the direction of centralizing control of Internet content in the hands of the state since parents are already able to install their own web filters to block any website they wish.
While all these measures are being justified in the name of protecting children and targeting pedophiles, they mimic Internet policing systems of draconian countries like China and pave the way for free speech to be similarly censored.

Other countries that have attempted to introduce similar filters, such as Australia, also justified their introduction by primarily targeting child pornography, but tried to use them to blacklist activist and political websites, leading to accusations of “totalitarianism”.
Given that major think tanks with direct ties to the UK government like Demos have claimed that “conspiracy theories,” which is a pejorative term for anything that challenges the official narrative, cause violence, how long before anti-establishment websites are also included on a government blacklist?
The campaign to block online porn was led by the Daily Mail, whose website is ironically littered with images which could be considered soft porn on a daily basis. Perhaps the newspaper wants to eliminate its competition.
Daily Mail readers reacted by slamming the newspaper itself for featuring suggestive images of underage children on a routine basis.
“Will this extend to your endless pictures of teenage stars in their bikini’s, and overuse of the headline “all grown up”?” commented one reader.
“Better block your own Showbiz Section/Sidebar of Shame first, you hypocrites,” added another.
The vast majority of comments voted up by other users slammed the block as a move towards a Chinese-style censored Internet.
“I’d like to tell this unelected Prime Minister to keep his nose the hell out of my personal business. As for the Mail congratulations on turning your beloved Great Britain into a Chinese clone,” remarked one user.
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Reporters denied access to California prison hunger strikers

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 03:34 AM PDT

A solitary confinement unit at California’s Pelican Bay State Prison

California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is denying media access to hunger strikers in its prisons, officials said.
As of Sunday, about 1,000 inmates were still on a hunger strike in protest of prolonged isolation for inmates with ties to prison gangs, KPCC public radio, Pasadena, reported.
Prison officials have denied reporters access to inmates participating in the hunger strike, as well as tours of Security Housing Units, where inmates are held in isolation for up to 22 hours a day, KPCC said.
“There are a lot of staffing resources being used to manage this mass hunger strike and maintain the safety and security of our institutions,” department spokeswoman Terry Thornton said. “When this is concluded we can resume having reporters visits our institutions.”
“They just seem so paranoid to let any information out about what’s going on,” said Jim Ewert with the California Newspaper Publishers Association.
Ewert said Department of Corrections’ decision to ban media during the hunger strike, which is now in its third week, prevents the public from making inform decisions on the situation.
“I’m not saying the public should side one way or the other,” Ewert said, “but at least people can make an informed decision about whether the protesters have a legitimate beef or not. But right now, the public can’t.”
Meanwhile, Amnesty International accused California prison authorities Monday of violating international human rights laws by punishing hunger-striking inmates.
“Prisoners seeking an end to inhumane conditions should not be subjected to punitive measures for exercising their right to engage in peaceful protest,” said Angela Wright, an Amnesty International researcher in the United States. “Prolonged isolation under conditions which can only be described as cruel and inhumane treatment is prohibited under international law.”
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US Intel committees approve arming Syrian rebels, top general warns of costs

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 02:53 AM PDT

The House and Senate Intelligence Committees have given a green light to arm Syrian rebels, as their concerns were alleviated. But a top US general warned that high costs of military options could reach billions.
Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and the highest-ranking American military advisor, wrote that a no-fly zone over Syria would cost the US between $500 million and $1 billion a month to maintain, and may be ineffective because the Syrian army relies on artillery, not air support, to fight the insurrection.
In the meantime, US President Barack Obama will continue with the plan to arm Syrian rebels after several congressional concerns were alleviated, Reuters quoted officials as saying. “We believe we are in a position that the administration can move forward,”House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said.
The House and Senate intelligence committees gave a green light to send CIA weapons shipments to opposition fighters in Syria, Washington Post reported, adding that the US will use the money already in the CIA’s budget and transfer it to the Syria operation. The plan was announced last month by the Obama administration and involves giving small arms and ammunition to some of the 1,200 groups of Syrian rebels, some of which have known affiliations with al-Qaeda.
The infrastructure is already in place and arms are expected to start coming in the next several weeks.
Dempsey’s letter, dated July 19 and made public July 22, was written in response to a contentious meeting with Senator John McCain, who accused Dempsey of withholding information during a previous meeting with the Senate Armed Services Committee. McCain has threatened to place a hold on Dempsey’s nomination for another two-year term as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs unless the general provides more details on hypothetical military action.
Scenarios outlined by Dempsey included: Train, Advise and Assist the Opposition; Conduct Limited Stand-off Strikes; Establish a No-Fly Zone; Establish Buffer Zones; Control Chemical Weapons.
The chairman warned that any decision would need to be weighed carefully and treated as “no less than an act of war.”
McCain and the other Senate Armed Services Committee members previously pressed Dempsey to consider the “costs, benefits and risks associated with training and arming vetted elements of the Syrian opposition? In your view, could such action alone be sufficient to adequately build the military capability of the moderate opposition in Syria and create the necessary conditions for the administration’s stated policy objective – Bashar Assad’s departure and a negotiated solution to the conflict in Syria – to succeed?”
Dempsey pushed lawmakers to consider the long-term consequences any military action would mean.
“Risks include the loss of US aircraft, which would require us to insert personnel recovery forces,” he replied. “It may also fail to reduce the violence or shift momentum because the regime relies overwhelmingly on surfaces fires – mortars, artillery and missiles.”
He reminded the committee that virtually every scenario “could also average well over one billion dollars a month” and could provide aid to al-Qaeda or other radical groups. Along with this came a warning of no guarantee that Syrian chemical weapons would be put under an American safeguard.
“Should the regime’s institutions collapse in the absence of a viable opposition, we could inadvertently empower extremists or unleash the very chemical weapons we seek to control,” he wrote. “It would be inappropriate for me to try to influence the decision with me rendering an opinion in public about what kind of force we should use.”
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