European Court of Human Rights Protects UK Citizens From Their Own Police

Thank you Euro chums & Kevin Gillan and Pennie Quinton & Liberty who have persevered and achieved this victory-

Police stop and search powers under UK terrorism laws have been declared illegal by human rights judges after two Londoners questioned their legality. The right to question people without grounds for suspicion – granted by the Terrorism Act of 2000 – violates the Human Rights Convention, said the European Court of Human Rights.

The ruling came in a case brought by two Londoners who were stopped and questioned by police near an arms fair in the city in 2003. Kevin Gillan and Pennie Quinton were both searched on the same day in the area of the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition at the Excel Centre in Docklands, where there had already been protests and demonstrations. Nothing incriminating was found on either of them and they went to court questioning the legality of stop and search powers. The High Court and the Court of Appeal said the powers were legitimate given the risk of terrorism in London. But the human rights court disagreed.

The Home Office called it ‘disappointing‘ and I would guess the fuzz will keep stopping and searching as most people have neither the time, money or determination to challenge each stop and the plod will come up with some arcane justification for their illegal activity, y’know, as usual.

Section 44 is supposed to give the police the powers to search for “articles of a kind which could be used in connection with terrorism” in a designated area renewable every 28 days. But since it came into force in 2001 it has been widely used against anti-war and anti-globalisation protesters, photographers and even Japanese tourists. More than 117,000 searches took place under the powers in 2008 and the European judges drew special attention to the statistics showing black and Asian people were at least four times more likely to be stopped.

Short

Campbell’s lies at a pantomime that does not require witnesses to massive crimes to be under oath is beneath contempt nor will I dignify it with many words, just this- failing a war crimes trial in a neutral court, I wish him ill.

Avatar From Someone Who Knows

Interestingly Avatar is extremely popular outside the US, seems they are enjoying the film’s right-to-resist action which some US reviewers sort of ignore…oddly (a Tweet from Ali Abunimah today- Going west to east from Palestine to Afghanistan, every other country is occupied by US or Israel. All in between except Iran are puppets). A review of Avatar from someone who daily fights actual fascists, imperialists, corporations and racists (so drop the liberal hand wringing) most of whom get some funding from the US government-

Evo Morales, Bolivia’s socialist president, said the blockbuster movie Avatar was an inspiration in the fight against capitalism and efforts to protect the environment, Latin American media reported on Tuesday. James Cameron’s 3D blockbuster is the story of a man sent to infiltrate an alien race – tall blue creatures inhabiting Pandora – who are in conflict with humans, who want to seize their planet’s resources.

The movie, featuring lavish special effects, has reportedly made more than $1.1 billion at the box office worldwide and is likely to become the biggest grossing film in history. “There is a lot of fiction in the movie, but at the same time it makes a perfect model for the struggle against capitalism and efforts to protect nature,” Morales said, according to regional media. Morales has said he wants the Bolivian revolution to be promoted in Africa to help the continent shed the “imperialistic manacles” and nationalize its natural resources. The UN General Assembly last year declared Morales a “World Hero of Mother Earth” for his efforts to protect the environment.

Morales, 50, watched the movie on Sunday with his 15-year-old daughter. It was just his third visit to a movie theater. He said the film impressed him and he shares many of its messages. (Ht’s2 Otto & El Duderino)

And as ever-

Bolivian President Evo Morales’ 10 commandments to save the planet, life and humanity:

1-Acabar con el sistema capitalista/Stopping the capitalist system

2-Renunciar a las guerras/Renouncing wars

3-Un mundo sin imperialismo ni colonialismo/A world without imperialism or colonialism

4-Derecho al agua/Right to water

5-Desarrollo de energías limpias/Development of clean energies

6-Respeto a la madre tierra/Respect for Mother Earth

7-Servicios básicos como derechos humanos/Basic services as human rights

8-Combatir las desigualdades/Fighting inequalities

9-Promover la diversidad de culturas y economías/Promoting diversity of cultures and economies

10-Vivir bien, no vivir mejor a costa del otro/Living well, not living better at the expense of others

First:  a call to end the capitalist system.  The capitalist system was inhuman and encouraged unbridled economic development.  The exploitation of human beings and pillaging of natural resources must end, as should wars aimed at securing access to those resources.  Also, the world should end the plundering of fossil fuels; excessive consumption of goods; the accumulation of waste; as well as the egoism, regionalism and thirst for earning where the pursuit of luxury was taking place at the expense of human beings.  Countries of the south were heaped with external debt, when it was the ecological debt that needed paying.

Second, the world should denounce war, which brought advantage to a small few, he said.  In that vein, it was time to end occupation under the pretext of “combating drugs”, such as in South America, as well as other pretexts such as searching for weapons of mass destruction.  Money earmarked for war should be channeled to make reparations for damage caused to the Earth.