Dissident convicted on Yahoo! data released in China

Yahoo! and other Western businesses can say "it's just business" but there are human costs to their actions. A ten year prison sentence in China because a company turned over information is serious stuff. BBC:

Wang Xiaoning was freed early on Friday morning, his wife, Yu Ling, told the BBC by telephone.

Mr Wang, who was detained in 2002, served his 10-year sentence in a Beijing jail.

Yahoo drew widespread criticism for providing information linking him to emails and political writings.

Ms Yu said her husband was in "good health and fine spirits" but was not allowed to give media interviews under the conditions of his release.

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Child survivor of Syrian massacre details shooting

The details on the latest bloody attack in Syria are emerging and it's as bad as you might expect. Somehow one eleven year old boy managed to save himself during a deadly visit by Assad's forces. Five others in the household were murdered and had the young boy not smeared blood on his face and acted dead, he too likely would have been murdered.

Until Assad steps aside or is taken to The Hague for war crimes, there's not going to be an end to such madness in Syria. The Guardian:

Shivering with fear, the boy stood towards the back of the entrance to his family home as gunmen then shot dead every family member in front of him.

"My mum yelled at them," said the boy. "She asked: 'What do you want from my husband and son?' A bald man with a beard shot her with a machine gun from the neck down. Then they killed my sister, Rasha, with the same gun. She was five years old. Then they shot my brother Nader in the head and in the back. I saw his soul leave his body in front of me.

"They shot at me, but the bullet passed me and I wasn't hit. I was shaking so much I thought they would notice me. I put blood on my face to make them think I'm dead."

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UN counts 32 children murdered in Syria

Assad has been a thug for a while, but this is a new low even for him. The Guardian:

Syria's fragile peace process is in shreds after what was claimed to be a regime-backed massacre left 32 children among more than 90 dead and triggered a wave of international revulsion. As UN observers in the central town of Houla confirmed one of the bloodiest death tolls of the 15-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, rebels said they were on the brink of abandoning a negotiated plan to end the conflict.

Videos uploaded to the internet and purporting to be from Houla show many dead and badly mutilated infants. Residents say some victims were killed with knives, while many more died from 18 hours of relentless shelling that left buildings wrecked and homes destroyed in a large residential area near the centre of town. Major General Robert Mood, head of the UN team in Syria, deplored the attack, which began at midday on Friday, as "indiscriminate and unforgivable" but did not say who had been to blame. Syrian state television blamed "terrorist gangs".

As calls mounted for international intervention, a peace plan negotiated in March by the former UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, appeared to be in ruins. Yesterday the main opposition Free Syrian Army, which, like regime troops had failed to abide by Annan's terms, told the TV station al-Jazeera that unless civilian safety could be guaranteed, the plan was "going to hell".

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Louisiana takes throne as prison capital of the world

Thanks to the wasteful so-called war on drugs, the US has a thriving prison business that flushes taxpayer dollars down the drain every day. Somehow the pro-austerity (mostly GOP) crowd can overlook the excessive spending on making the US the incarceration capital of the world. Our numbers exceed even China yet that's acceptable. What exactly are we getting in return for this investment, dare I ask? Someone out there is profiting from this system but it's not the country.

How's that prison system working out for you, Louisiana?

Louisiana is the world's prison capital. The state imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of its U.S. counterparts. First among Americans means first in the world. Louisiana's incarceration rate is nearly triple Iran's, seven times China's and 10 times Germany's.

The hidden engine behind the state's well-oiled prison machine is cold, hard cash. A majority of Louisiana inmates are housed in for-profit facilities, which must be supplied with a constant influx of human beings or a $182 million industry will go bankrupt.

Several homegrown private prison companies command a slice of the market. But in a uniquely Louisiana twist, most prison entrepreneurs are rural sheriffs, who hold tremendous sway in remote parishes like Madison, Avoyelles, East Carroll and Concordia. A good portion of Louisiana law enforcement is financed with dollars legally skimmed off the top of prison operations.

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Sanctions easing against Myanmar, but should they?

In recent months, the West has been responsive to discussions with the government in Myanmar to open up the relationships. In return for ending sanctions, Myanmar allowed elections and have freed some (not all) of the political prisoners. With each step, Western governments have made moves to normalize the relationships including steps leading to aid agreements and eventually trade agreements.

One of the opposition groups in Myanmar is pushing back, arguing that these rapid changes are sending the "wrong signal" to the government since so many more political prisoners remain and the war against ethic groups continues. They're not wrong with this argument, though without some links into the previously secretive and closed government, the West has almost no leverage with the government.

If you look at countries like Iran and Syria, the US faces challenges in pushing the local governments since there are so few links. The reasons behind the lack of links is understandable, but without any leverage, is being completely cut off really in the best interest of the West or the local opposition groups? More on the evolving links between the West and Myanmar at Al Jazeera. Read the rest of this post...

China sentences disabled activist to prison

Of course, the activist is disabled because of alleged abuse by the police before. China doing what China does so well.

Ni Yulan 51, was tried with her husband Dong Jiqin. Both were both arrested in April 2011. Dong was sentenced to two years in jail.

Ni’s daughter Dong Xuan said Ni attended her court appearance lying on a bed with an oxygen supply, according to a report in the Global Post. Ni is confined to a wheel chair and suffers other health problems that she says were caused by torture at the hands of police during two previous jail terms.

Ni had been an outspoken advocate for citizens forced to leave their homes to make way for development and provided what she argued was grossly inadequate compensation for the sacrifice. She lost her own home this way, so she camped in a tent in a public park for a time, The Global Post reported.

Great business partner though, right? Read the rest of this post...

UN human rights chief: Syria targeting children

One can only hope that those ordering these attacks are eventually brought to justice. What kind of a coward does this? BBC News:

Syrian authorities are deliberately and systematically targeting children, the United Nations' human rights chief, Navi Pillay, has told the BBC.

She said she was deeply concerned about the fate of hundreds of children being held in detention.

Ms Pillay said President Bashar al-Assad could end the detentions and stop the killing of civilians immediately, simply by issuing an order.

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Myanmar monk taken away by police

The new peace with Western governments didn't last for very long. Yesterday there was a story out there about the price of real estate rising in Myanmar due to the new understanding. Suddenly, it looks like the same old, same old dictatorship. BBC News:

Some 15 officials came in three cars at about 01:15 local time (1845 GMT Thursday), a monk who was with Gambira told the BBC. These officials were from the government religious authority department and Rangoon division government, he added. After he was freed last month, Gambira has reportedly been reopening monasteries that were locked up by the authorities since the ''saffron revolution'' movement led by monks in 2007. "He was taken this morning from his monastery for questioning because he broke the locks of three monasteries since his release," the official who wished to remain anonymous told AFP.

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Myanmar signs peace treaty

If it holds, this is a very big deal as the internal fighting has gone on for decades. Parts of Myanmar were off-limits due to the ethnic fighting. We've seen visits from the UK and US recently which have indicated a new Myanmar, plus the call for more open elections so perhaps there is going to be actual change there. Perhaps. Al Jazeera:

Myanmar's government and one of the country's most prominent ethnic rebel groups, the Karen National Union (KNU), have signed a ceasefire after decades of civil conflict. A delegation of ministers from the capital Naypyidaw and senior members of the KNU signed the pact in Hpa-an, the capital of eastern Karen state, an AFP news agency reporter witnessed on Thursday. The military-dominated government, which came to power in March last year after decades of outright army rule, has been trying to reach out to ethnic groups as part of reforms seemingly aimed at ending its isolated status. Civil war has gripped parts of the country since its independence in 1948, and an end to the conflicts, as well as alleged human rights abuses involving government troops, is a key demand of the international community.

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Myanmar releases more political prisoners

British foreign secretary William Hague is currently visiting Myanmar, following Hillary Clinton's visit last month. There seems to be a new interest from Myanmar in opening to the west but their track record is not great. When I visited Myanmar nearly ten years ago, it was a country that had mostly stood still and not progressed. Is Myanmar eager to be the next factory country for the west or do they have other plans? Surely they have a plan though it's not yet clear. BBC News:

Mr Hague's visit is the latest by top world diplomats after Burma's first elections in 20 years which brought in a nominally civilian government. Since then the new administration has freed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and begun a process of dialogue. Last month she formally registered her National League for Democracy as a political party, after boycotting the 2010 polls because of electoral laws that prevented her taking part. In December US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Burma, in what was seen as an endorsement of the reform process - although Western observers say much more is needed.

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China continues crackdown on dissidents

It's so refreshing to know that the Olympics did so much to open up China. Mission Accomplished, IOC. Governments in the West remain much too afraid to take a hard line with China, fearing the loss of cheap factory labor for business. The Independent:

A lawyer left wheelchair-bound after alleged mistreatment in police custody went on trial yesterday, testifying from a sickbed. Earlier in the week two other rights activists were jailed for up to 10 years as Beijing continued its crackdown on dissent. Ni Yulan, 51, is charged with fraud and falsifying information to steal property. She is also charged, along with her husband, Dong Jiqin, with causing a disturbance at a guesthouse where the couple were detained by police. Her daughter, Dong Xuan, told reporters that her mother appeared at the opening of her trial in a bed, and relied on an oxygen mask to help her breathe. "Seeing my mother lying on that bed, it made my heart ache," Ms Dong said. "This is definitely not a normal trial procedure, so I feel the risk of conviction is high," she added.

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Human Rights Watch calls refusal to veto detainee bill "a historic tragedy for rights"

From Human Rights Watch:

US President Barack Obama’s apparent decision to not veto a defense spending bill that codifies indefinite detention without trial into US law and expands the military’s role in holding terrorism suspects does enormous damage to the rule of law both in the US and abroad, Human Rights Watch said today. The Obama administration had threatened to veto the bill, the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), over detainee provisions, but on December 14, 2011, issued a statement indicating the president would likely sign the legislation.

“By signing this defense spending bill, President Obama will go down in history as the president who enshrined indefinite detention without trial in US law,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “In the past, Obama has lauded the importance of being on the right side of history, but today he is definitely on the wrong side.”

The far-reaching detainee provisions would codify indefinite detention without trial into US law for the first time since the McCarthy era when Congress in 1950 overrode the veto of then-President Harry Truman and passed the Internal Security Act. The bill would also bar the transfer of detainees currently held at Guantanamo into the US for any reason, including for trial. In addition, it would extend restrictions, imposed last year, on the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo to home or third countries – even those cleared for release by the administration.

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Myanmar showing small signs of change

We've been here before, so let's see how long it lasts. The good news is that the political party of Aung San Suu Kyi is going to join politics again and labor unions have been granted the right to strike. Small steps, but at least it's moving in the right direction for the moment.

After more than two decades of rule that has been by turns obstinate, cruel and surreal, the generals are showing tentative signs of reform.

Labour unions have been granted the right to strike. Some political prisoners have been released. An unpopular dam project on the Irrawaddy was suspended, the authorities preferring to annoy their Chinese paymasters rather than furious locals.

But is Burma about to undergo a proper thaw after years of frosty diplomacy – or is it just a play by the generals to improve international relations at a time when they are short of cash and intimidated by the rise of their mighty northern neighbour?

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China orders dissident Ai Weiwei to pay $2.4m

The artist and human rights dissident was released this past summer and has not been given a week to hand over the money for alleged tax evasion. Somehow this sounds like China being China with anyone who dares to criticize. What is amazing is how many people have contributed online to help fund the tax bill. Reuters:

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei said he is still agonizing over whether to pay a 15 million yuan ($2.4 million) bill for alleged tax evasion due next week and tacitly admit guilt, or to fight the charge and possibly risk detention again.

Supporters of Ai, whose 81-day secret detention earlier this year sparked an international outcry, have said the tax case is part of Beijing's efforts to muzzle China's most famous social critic, and many have chipped in contributions.

In four days, more than 20,000 people have donated about 6 million yuan ($945,000) over the Internet, by post and even by folding bills into "airplanes" and flying them over the walls of his home in northeastern Beijing, Ai said on Tuesday. But he said he has not decided whether to pay the tax bill.

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Chinese dissident blasts justice system in China

Quite bold and it may mean he will go back to jail. The last time he was sent to jail even his friends were held. The Guardian:

Ai Weiwei, the Chinese artist held by the authorities for almost three months earlier this year, has attacked injustice in China in a passionate article fuelled by his own experiences of detention.

He accused officials of "deny[ing] us basic rights" and compared migrant workers to slaves, describing Beijing as "a city of violence" and "a constant nightmare".

But one of the most powerful passages describes how people "become like mad" as they are held in isolation and how detainees "truly believe [captors] can do anything to you".

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New law in China allows police to hold suspect for 6 months

The Olympics sure changed a lot and China remains very concerned about its public image. The Guardian:

Chinese police will gain new legal powers to detain suspects for up to six months without telling their families where or why they are held, according to a state newspaper's account of planned reforms.

Human rights activists and legal scholars warned that the change would legitimise an alarming pattern of detentions under the residential surveillance law, which was initially intended as a less punitive measure than formal detention.

Most of those who went missing in a crackdown on activists, dissidents and lawyers this year were taken to secret locations chosen by police. They were held for weeks or even months under residential surveillance. The law does not specify that relatives must be informed, presumably because it was assumed suspects would be held at their homes. In comparison, police must inform relatives within 24 hours of detention and must seek prosecutors' approval for arrest within 30 days.

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China blocking human rights lawyers

The only real surprise is that they are doing more of this now than they were in the past. BBC News:

The UK-based human rights group Amnesty International has accused China of suppressing lawyers who become involved in politically sensitive cases.

It says many have been threatened with suspension or criminal charges.

If these measures fail, the lawyers can face detention - or even just disappear, it says.

Amnesty says the treatment of lawyers has worsened in recent months, after calls in China for Middle East-style protests.

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Social prejudice is bad for the economy

Interesting.

The report "Does Prejudice Prejudice Growth?" by UBS economist Paul Donovan compared data on competitiveness from the World Economic Forum and survey evidence of prejudice from the World Values Study Group.

The report found that there was a strong correlation between social inclusion, competitiveness and economic development, and argued that "prejudice, in whatever form – including racism, sexism, homophobia, religious intolerance – irrationally destroys the value of human capital."

While prejudice is something that rarely features in investment decisions, the destruction of human capital through social prejudice in the 21st Century is at least as significant as that the destruction of physical capital wrought by the Luddites, the anti-technology groups who sabotaged machinery during the industrial revolution, Donovan wrote.

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Bahrain king proposes human rights review

Surprising and a move in the right direction. Al Jazeera:

"We still need to look at what happened to know all the details of February and March and evaluate those events as they really were," al-Khalifa said, speaking at an extraordinary cabinet session on Wednesday.

The king said that the decision had been taken after consultations with the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, and that the committee would "be formed from internationally reputable figures well-versed in international human rights law".

He said that no member of the Bahraini government or anyone who was part of the "domestic political arena" would be a part of the committee.

"The committee will carry out its tasks and responsibilities, as defined after consultation with the members themselves in absolute independence without any intervention of any form, to present its report to me to take the actions necessary," he said.

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China frees another political dissident

Released from prison but how free are they to speak opening? Al Jazeera:

One of China's most prominent dissidents, Hu Jia, has been released after serving after serving more than three years in jail on subversion charges.

"He is back home with his parents and me," his wife, Zeng Jingyan, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Hu Jia was arrested in December 2007 after a long period of confinement at his home. He was sentenced in April 2008 for "incitement to subvert state power."

Hu had written a series of articles ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games criticising the Chinese government on the state of human rights in China.

His long-scheduled release in the early hours of Sunday followed the freeing of prominent artist and activist Ai Weiwei. The releases came while Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was visiting Europe on trips to Hungary, Britain and Germany.

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