Finland is an attractive country for asylum seekers and refugees because of its reputed human rights records and its wealth, which is similar to other northern European countries such as Norway and Sweden. While most of the asylum seekers in Portugal are transferred due to Dublin II regulations, it’s not as attractive to asylum seekers in the current economic situation. Dublin II regulation is a signed regulation among Schengen agreement countries to identify as quickly as possible the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application, and to prevent abuse of asylum procedures.

Schengen space includes all European Union countries (excluding the UK and Ireland), Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The main article in the Schengen agreement is to abolish the borders between the signed countries and strengthen the outer borders with nonmember countries.

In Finland, the asylum seekers stay in a reception center managed by the Finnish Red Cross after submitting the asylum application in the police station or to the border police. Usually the police check the asylum seeker’s luggage, mobile phone, computer and wallet. The main reason for checking it is to try to find the route that was used by the asylum seeker to reach the country.

Most of the asylum seekers hide their passports and money and destroy any receipts that would show that they’ve bought anything from Schengen space. This is to avoid being deported to the first country that they passed into within the Schengen area according to Dublin II regulations.

All these attempts to hide information would not work if they had finger prints for visa applications or for any other reason within Schengen space. Also, Dublin II regulation states that if the applicant has a visa or residency permit from any Schengen country, that country would be responsible for his asylum application if he had not been there.  In most of the Schengen countries’ embassies around the world, the applicant of tourism or business visa must do finger printing at the embassy itself. Also, in most European Airports, sometimes the immigration officer decides to take the fingerprints, especially if passengers are from countries that have a large number of refugees.

If the asylum seeker gives his passport to authorities in Finland, they will hold it while studying his asylum application. While in Portugal, the passport will remain with him.

While checking the bags the police would take the initial feedback from the asylum seeker and they will search in the Eurodac system, which is a European computer system created to double check if the asylum seeker applied in other Schengen and if he had committed any crime in Europe. The finger printing in Finland is fully computerized, while in Portugal they still use ink fingerprinting for the application and ID preparation.

Also, the police count the money that might be with the asylum seeker so the Finnish Red Cross constants can count the reception allowance for every asylum seeker per month. This allowance is given to the asylum seeker to cover his food, transportation and other essential things for living.

In Finland the allowance is 10 euros per day, and they don’t give one penny to the asylum seeker, even for medication, before confirming that the money with him is accounted for. The payment is given monthly.

In Portugal they follow the same procedure, except for money and baggage, mobile, computer and mobile checking. The allowance is 150 euros per month with some support of food; also, they cover all medical expenses. The allowance is paid on the first Thursday of each month by the dedicated social assistance workers.

The reception center in Portugal is managed by the Conselho Português para os Refugiados (CPR), or Portuguese Refugee Council, which is a Non-government organization (NGO) that is exclusively NGO dedicated to the support of refugees and asylum-seekers in Portugal.

Some of the food that is given by CPR to the asylum seekers and refugees is either expired or about to expire in a few days; most of the food is donated either by the nearby supermarket to the CPR or some other Non-government organizations. When Toonari Post asked one of the members of the CPR social assistance program [her name is reserved] about the reason for providing expired food, the answer was that everyone is able to decide whether the food is suitable to consume or not. Nevertheless, some asylum seekers are not educated enough to read the expiration date on the food.

Another strange procedure in CPR is that they don’t give an independent room to any person without hassle. For example, on the eve of December 29, 2012, one vigilant employee switched off the internet from the main router without informing the person who was talking to his family online. When the resident asked him to keep it for personal reasons, the employee refused to follow his request. The resident decided to watch television in the living room to civilly protest the aggressive Vigilant. After some minutes, three policemen came to the CPR and spoke in Portuguese. When the resident asked them either to speak in English or to bring an interpreter they assaulted the resident using their hands and the police stick. They took him to the police station to continue to beat him for three hours, then returned him to the CPR to sleep in his room. The resident went to the hospital the next day to take the proper treatment and to make a report so he could press charges against the policemen and the original employee. Other employees tried to convince him to withdraw the case from the court and promised the independent room. He took the room but refused to withdraw the case.

The majority of the asylum seekers are, in both countries, coming from Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Macedonia and Iran. Some of them come from other countries. The political and the humanitarian are among the top reasons for applying for asylum while some others are coming for economic or family reasons.

This compression is done according to the personal experience of one Toonari Post writer who applied for asylum in Finland, then was transferred to Portugal due to Dublin II regulation.

Image Courtesy : Northfoto / Shutterstock.com

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Dallas, U.S.A-From its headquarters in Lyon, France, INTERPOL’s police network spans its 190 member countries enabling it to consistently assist in the pursuit of fugitives for both high profile and lesser-known crimes. As a result of years of films and novels glamorizing INTERPOL agents as fast-draw superheroes, there is still some public confusion regarding what they do and how they do it.

One of INTERPOL’s most effective “tools” is the Red Notice, which has assisted in the apprehension of thousands of wanted persons this past year.Last month, Luka Magnotta was charged with murdering his former lover, Jun Lin, in Montreal, Canada, and mailing body parts to the Canadian Prime Minister and schools around that country. Canadian police identified Magnotta as the probable killer and issued their warrant for his arrest copying INTERPOL through its National Central Bureau in Ottawa.

Hours later, the warrant seeking Magnotta’s arrest had been reviewed by INTERPOL, translated into INTERPOL’s four official languages (English, French, Spanish, Arabic), attached to a Red Notice and electronically circulated to all 190 INTERPOL members. The Red Color of INTERPOL’s emblem on the Notice signals police to stop the person and determine if their national laws will permit the fugitive to be detained until Canada can seek his formal extradition.

When you operate in 190 countries with different legal systems, languages and relationships with one another, you must have a system that is easy to understand and use. The system must also respect the sovereign right of each member country to decide if and how it wishes to cooperate with judicial authorities and police of another country.  For this reason, the INTERPOL Red Notice is not an arrest warrant and is not binding on an INTERPOL member country unless that country decides to make it binding.
Its purpose is to provide countries with information to protect their borders and citizens from fugitives seeking to enter their country while being hunted internationally. The Red Notice has been described as a Wanted Poster with teeth that appears around the world in minutes and includes a picture of the accused, a description of the offense, a supporting arrest warrant and a commitment by the country requesting it to seek the extradition of the person sought.

Magnotta had flown from Montreal to Paris before authorities were aware of his crime, so he was not stopped at either airport as he would have been had the Red Notice been distributed before his attempted flight. Meanwhile, because of the sensational nature of the crime, the story reached the public through media reports even as police in many countries searched.Two days later, Magnotta, who had arrived by bus, visited an Internet cafe in Berlin. The cafe’s owner and other customers immediately recognized him. Police were called and he was in custody in a matter of minutes. ”Public awareness and public support for police in the search for any criminal is perhaps the most important advantage our society maintains, whether hunting terrorists or those accused of individual horrendous crimes like Magnotta,” said INTERPOL’s Secretary-General Ronald K. Noble.

Meanwhile, 5,700 miles from Germany in Cambodia, Alexander Tro­fimov, a Russian national, was being arrested by authorities responding to a Red Notice issued by INTERPOL at the request of Russia. Trofimov, a known pedophile, was wanted by Russia for sex crimes against children.

Former Colombian model Angie Sanclemente Valencia, also the subject of a Red Notice, was suspected of recruiting young women to smuggle cocaine from Argentina to Europe via Mexico. She was arrested in Buenos Aires by Argentinean police after INTERPOL’s Fugitive Investigative Support (FIS) unit, working with police in Buenos Aires, Bogota and Mexico City, provided information to Argentinean police on her whereabouts and travel plans. After her arrest, INTERPOL’s Secretary-General Noble said, “This case has proven to be a perfect model of international police co-operation, combining action by our National Central Bureaus on the ground and our ability to instantly share information on wanted persons via our Fugitive Unit at our Lyon headquarters.”

INTERPOL will issue Red Notices only “if it is satisfied that all the conditions for processing the information have been fulfilled.” For example, a Notice will not be published if it violates Article 3 of the INTERPOL Constitution, forbidding any intervention or activities of a predominantly “political, military, religious or racial character.”

This past year, INTERPOL declined a request by Egypt to issue Red Notices for 15 individuals – 12 American, 2 Lebanese and 1 Jordanian national – with links to several US-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) after ruling that Egypt’s request was a political matter.

In 2011, 7,958 persons were arrested or detained following the publication of INTERPOL Notices. Among the notable successes were:

-Joran Van der Sloot, a Dutch national suspected in Aruba in the case of the missing American Natalee Holloway. He was arrested in Chile after circulation of a Red Notice based on warrants issued by Peru and the United States. His transfer in custody wearing an INTERPOL flak jacket was seen worldwide.

-Austrian police arrested and extradited Ali Achekzai, an Afghani national, based on a Red Notice and INTERPOL’s matching of a DNA linking him to violent sexual attacks in California over a seven-year period.

-Dragan Vasiljkovic, a suspected Bosnian war criminal and the subject of a Red Notice issued at the request of Croatia, was arrested in Australia and extradited.

“People must remember that INTERPOL’s strength comes from countries where fugitives have fled alerting police worldwide via INTERPOL Red Notices to use their national powers and judicial authorities to identify, locate and detain these dangerous fugitives before they can do more harm or escape justice. All too often, local authorities don’t get enough credit for their outstanding law enforcement work,” says Secretary-General Noble.

Image Courtesy of  Interpol

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What started as a gruesome mystery involving the severed limbs of a man being mailed to the headquarters of Canadian political parties, has taken a turn for the bizarre as investigators announce that their sole suspect in the homicide is a porn actor. Luka Rocco Magnotta, 29, a former stripper and adult film star, is wanted by the Montreal police for the death of the still unidentified victim.  Reports indicate that the limbs all came from the same man.

The case began like something out of a particularly grisly episode of  ’Criminal Minds‘, a bloody package with a poorly drawn heart on it arriving at the headquarters of the Conservative Party of Canada on Tuesday, with staff members hesitantly opening it to find a foul odor and a decaying foot lying inside. The next discovery was by an apartment complex’s janitor, who had noticed a similar odor coming from a suitcase that had been abandoned nearby since Friday.

A man’s torso was revealed upon his unzipping the piece of luggage. Finally, on Tuesday evening, a postal sorting station was searched extensively by the police in Ottawa, where they were able to prevent the delivery of a second package containing a limb – this one holding a severed hand with the recipient listed as the Liberal Party of Canada.

While no other body parts have since been reported as appearing anywhere unexpected, when police searched Magnotta’s Montreal apartment they were only able to recover the other hand and foot. The implication is that the rest of the victim’s body may still be somewhere in the postal system.

Though the targets of the macabre mailings were, thus far, Canadian political parties, there has yet to be any clues as to a motive for the murder or a rationale for why the limbs were addressed to the parties.

On Magnotta’s personal website, which has been taken down as of Wednesday, police found nothing pertaining specifically to politics – though it did indicate what sort of disturbed individual Magnotta is, with nonsensical rants detailing his rage against news organizations and evidence that Magnotta has previously been accused of posting morbid videos and murdering cats.

His penchant for indulging in filming himself may have been his downfall; local police reports that their main piece of evidence against Magnotta is a video that details his killing the victim.

As of now, Magnotta has not been seen in several days – presumably since the murder – and the police are using all available resources in a nationwide manhunt for the suspect.

Until Magnotta is apprehended and able to fully disclose the location of the remaining body parts, both Canadian postal workers and political staffers are treating each package they come across with the utmost caution.

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A plane search of Mount Rainier National Park for a suspect in the murder of a park ranger, sighted what is thought to be the suspect’s body lying face-down in the snow on Monday, according to authorities. It could be hours before they reach the body, and though it is yet to be identified, it is believed to be that of Benjamin Barnes, a 24-year-old Iraq War veteran.

“Obviously the strong probability is that it is” the gunman, Ed Troyer, Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman, stated. After a shooting at a New Year’s house party that wounded four people, Barnes is thought to have fled to the park to hide. He is suspected by the authorities to have shot and killed Margaret Anderson later on Sunday. Police began a manhunt for the veteran and cleared out all of the park’s visitors. They believed Barnes had survivalist and weapons training.

Barnes had had trouble adjusting to regular life after he got home from the war and was suspected of suffering from suicidal tendencies and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Court documents show that his daughter’s mother had sought a temporary restraining order against him during a custody battle because she believed he was suffering from PTSD after he was sent to Iraq for a year in 2007. She said that he text messaged her, claiming that he wanted to die, that he was easily angered and depressed, and that he had an arsenal of weapons in his home. The mother said she was afraid for their child.

Police showed undated photos of Barnes posing with two big weapons. A guardian ad litem, in November 2011, made a recommendation of classes for communication and parenting and said Barnes should have supervised visits with his daughter twice a week. A mental health evaluation was also mandated.

On New Year’s in a house located close to Seattle, gunfire erupted during an argument at a party of which Barnes was in attendance, according to Sgt. Cindi West, the spokeswoman for King County Sheriff. Two other people, who had fled the shooting, were found and West said that authorities attempted to locate Barnes, asking his family to try to get him to turn himself in and “tell his side of the story”.

A ranger started following him after he flew through a checkpoint on Sunday morning, while Anderson, mother of two and married to another park ranger, blocked the street to potentially force Benjamin Barnes to pull over. Instead, the driver fired a gun and shot Anderson before she was able to get out of her vehicle, spokesperson Troyer said. Park Superintendent, Randy King, stated, “It’s just a huge tragedy – for the family, the park, and the park service.”

The shooting has renewed debate over loaded firearms and whether they should be allowed into Mount Rainier or not. Bill Wade of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees has stated in several news reports that Congress needs to reconsider the 2010 law that makes state laws responsible for gun regulation in national parks.

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On the streets of Rome, Italy’s capital, up to 200.000 demonstrators took the streets to join the global protest called from one side to other of the world. Among those, a group of Black Bloc protesters – between 100 and 200 people – hijacked the peaceful march with an explosion of violence against stores, banks, cars, police and other protesters.

October 15th was the day of worldwide demonstrations. In 951 cities in more than 80 countries hundreds of thousands of people took the streets and the squares to protest against financial elites, capitalists, bankers and governments’ austerity measures and to claim rights and real democracy for all.

Although the massive participation in most of the cities, reports on violence are rare and the protests were peaceful and quiet even in the European capitals which are the epicenter of the crisis and where the anger and the frustration are stronger.

In this scenario of collaboration and solidarity the exception has been Rome. Here just half an hour after the peaceful march of the Italian “indignados” started – at around 2.30 pm Italian time –, a small group of demonstrators with covered faces and clad totally in black broke away from the main rally and began to throw bottles, stones and incendiary devices at stores, banks, and police.

Numerous cars and trash bins were set on fire in the streets of downtown, offices of the Defence Ministry were assaulted and set on fire as well, banks and stores’ windows were smashed, journalists crew were attacked and many other damages were caused by the group of Black Bloc rioters. Pictures and videos report images of urban guerrilla, terrified people, bloody faces, fire, smoke, destruction and violence. They show the “total black protesters” breaking away from the main group and attacking police and peaceful demonstrators on their way.

The estimated number of injured people is around 70. Two protesters and one policeman have been seriously hurt, one of them – a 52-years-old man who tried to stop the violents – lost two fingers for the explosion of a firecracker thrown by one of the Black Blocs – as it’s shown in one video.

During a high tension moment of clashes between riot police and the violent group, a police armour-plated car was set on fire and police charged repeatedly the protesters and used tear gas and water cannons to stop the riots. The peaceful part of demonstrators, that is the big majority of them, ran away and fled the violence. Some of them who turned against the small violent group trying to stop and push them away were attacked and injured.

Around 12 people have been arrested. Rome’s mayor Gianni Alemanno, ministers and leaders of all parties blamed the violence. Some leader of the opposition questioned on how it was possible that the police was not able to stop such a small and well identifiable violent group for so many hours.

Meanwhile, on the web and on social media some users are rising the question on whether the Black Blocs could be real protesters or infiltrated policemen. Some suggest also that those protesters could have been paid and supported by “men of power”, who have strong interests in a violent hijacking of the peaceful protest to boycott it and manipulate the consequent news for condemning the demonstration. At the moment there is no proof for these conjectures to be true.

What it’s sure is that the news of the violent riots spread easier and stronger than the actual and true mass event which was this global peaceful protest covering it up. Though this has been a serious and blameworthy violence episode, we should also look to the importance and the strength of a worldwide movement that gathered 200.000 people just in Rome who are claiming for a future and protesting against a heavy economical crisis which is not the people’s fault. Also in a country which is standing on bended knees such as Italy, people answered to the call “People of the word: rise up!”.

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The death of two 18-year-old boys, while partying at the end of August, was reported by the National Police in Getafe, Madrid. Another boy was hospitalized. After the investigation, police concluded that the boys died due to an overdose of a new drug composed of alcohol, speed, and a plant called Datura Stramonium.

The consumption took place in a remote and derelict old monastery where an underground rave party was taking place. Some thought that a 23 year-old male, nicknamed Cabe, must have been involved in the partiers’ deaths. According to party-goers, Cabe had offered free samples of his homemade drug to people.

As Cabe reported to the police “We [Cabe and his girlfriend] handled it for free to lure people to try it and open new markets.” Both Cabe and his girlfriend were arrested and charged of offense against public health and negligent homicide. Three days after Cabe’s public statement and arrest, an unrelated group of adolescent, intrigued by the media coverage of the incident, decided to experiment with the same toxic plant just for fun.

But the euphoria caused bizarre behavior of the boys.  Witnesses reported that one of the guys, at night in the middle of a crowded street, started to suffer hallucinations, was incapable to focus his vision, and was moving his arms as if he was trying to catch something in the air. He was unable to answer questions and only murmured indecipherable words.

A girl observing the scene decided to call the emergency service with her cell phone. Unfortunately the operator on duty did not believe her claims. It took the girl several calls to get an ambulance to come to the scene. Upon arriving, the ambulance was unequipped to care for the drugged up boy and drove him straight to the hospital – the boy was in a deep coma.

Datura Stramonium is an ancient plant with very toxic seeds and leaves that contains atropine, a drug with a wide variety of effects. Among others it can be listed as: delirium, hyperthermia, tachycardia or photophobia. There is not a maximum dose per person because it depends on the physical characteristics of the consumer so any quantity can be lethal.

The plant is also known as devil´s weed, devil´s trumpet, moonflower or Jamestown weed. Many are questioning whether the media should raise alarm concerning this drug. Last time there was a similar reported case in Spain, was during 2004 in Valencia; a Danish man was offering a beverage made from Stramonium to whoever wanted it and five people consumed the dangerous substance.

A week later, four more were intoxicated during a Gay Pride Parade due to the same media luring effect.

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Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Police rescued 24 people kept in “filthy and cramped” living conditions, on Sunday morning. They also arrested 5 persons under the Slavery and Servitude Act 2010.

Greenacre caravan site was disturbed by dog-handling officers, a helicopter and firearms support from local Major Crime units, and UK Human Trafficking Centre in search of 15 possible persons forced to live and work in harsh conditions.

According to Sean O’Neil, Detective Chief Inspector, police units have been aware, since 2008, of 28 persons who have made accusations of slavery. After searching the place, 24 people were found “living and working in a state of virtual slavery.”  The victims were from England, Poland and Romania, while LeightonBuzzardOnline stated Slovakians were involved as well.

“One man was found to be covered in dog excrement, while others were so malnourished that an intake of proper food may kill them,” LeightonBuzzardOnline said. People were recruited from soup kitchens and benefits offices, being promised to receive £80 per day, in addition to board and lodgings.

Instead, they had their hair cut off; they were kept in “horseboxes, dog kennels, and old caravans” and worked for nothing or for little food. The time they spent there ranged between a few months to 15 years, being forced to work for British and Scandinavian projects, detectives said.

In some cases, on Sundays, the prisoners’ only day of rest, they were obliged to get up at 6 a.m. to clean the travellers site. The individuals’ present mental conditions are poor. Immediately after the raid, they were given medical and professional assistance – a specialist in torture was there to offer support and assistance as well.

Most of them were among the most “vulnerable category of people in society, who can disappear and be held here without anyone knowing they were missing,” Sean O’Neil said, according to BBC UK. The five persons arrested are 4 men and one woman, being identified as Irish. Further interviews will be held and accusations established. Money, drugs and weapons were found at the location.

In light of such events, many believe it is necessary that Europe revisit it’s policy of respect for human. Migrants to Western Europe as well as nomadic population are still an issue for the European Community and their living conditions and working facilities are to be revised in order to avoid such inhumane cases of abuse and mistreatment from reoccurring.

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Two weekends ago, a riot in Tottenham followed a peaceful protest over the police shooting of Mark Duggan. The violence escalated in the streets of London and soon spread to other cities around the British country. The spectators looked in shock as young British people acted out in complete anarchy.

As England deals with the aftermath of the worst street riots in decades, musicians react on London riots on Twitter. Musicians M.I.A., Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos, Example and many others, made statements about the situation on their personal Twitter accounts.

Kapranos, the lead singer and the guitarist of the Glasgow band Franz Ferdinand, asked the Prime Minister to do something about all these riots and widespread looting. He said, “Where the fuck are the Bullingdon boys? What’s wrong you cunts? Would you only end your holidays if it were Fortnum & Mason being looted?”

M.I.A brewed contention with a riot-sympathizing tweet “I’m going down to the riots to hand out tea and mars bars.”

Example, with humor and frustration said, “All these Nandos on fire? That’s some over cooked chicken wings. Pull the army of Afghanistan and stop all this bullshit now please,” before adding, “If you’re gonna set fire to any house in London please make it the Big Brother house.”

Moreover, as Spinner previously reported, a Sony warehouse where thousands of records were stored for many indie labels was burned to the ground (on Tuesday 9 Aug), undoubtedly affecting independent music throughout Europe.

“What music fans can do to show their support for the indie label community, and help them survive this disaster is to buy a digital download of an album from any one of the digital retailers in the UK, as well as going to their local record store while stocks last,” the Association of Independent Music has stated in a press release (via NME).

In the face of continuing violence several artists have now taken to the streets in an effort to help clean up London. ”At the Bethnal Green clean up, nice to see so many people ready to help in the community!” pop songstress Kate Nash tweeted about helping out.

Scroobius Pip, poet and musician, simply posted, “This is Britain punching itself in the face. Repeatedly”

The fact is that many theories have been posited about the underlying causes of the riots in England — from moral decay to excessive consumerism. According to criminologists, the reasons for the riots are many, including social exclusion, welfare dependence, spending cuts, weak policing, racism and opportunism.

The situation in England has been reflected in foreign publications, from Europe, Asia, Middle East, U.S. to Africa, all of which try to explain what exactly happened in the streets of London and other cities, and why. Anthony Daniels in the New York Daily News said:

“The riots in London and elsewhere in England have confirmed what I long knew and have long preached to my disbelieving but totally unobservant countrymen: that young British people are among the most unpleasant and potentially violent young people in the world.”

Rovenko Design / Shutterstock.com

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Over the last days riots broke out in Northern Ireland in occasion of the Orange parades held by Protestants.

Numerous clashes in the nationalist areas of the capital Belfast have brought to light the historical conflicts between nationalists and loyalists once again. Groups of nationalist youths attacked the police throwing bottles, stones, petrol bombs, bricks and fireworks.

The police fired plastic bullets and used water cannon to try to push back the rioters. During these escalations of violence a number of police officers were injured and also a photographer, who was hit by a plastic bullet fired by the police. Some of the demonstrators were slightly wounded.

The night before the 12^th of July the trouble broke out after an Orange parade marched closed to a Catholic area and the police took up position ahead of it while passing the Ardoyne shops. On that day, the members of the Protestant Orange Order walk the streets to commemorate the victory of the Protestant Prince William of Orange over the Catholic King James II in the Battle of Boyne in 1690.

This celebration is of a strong symbolic value regarding the historical ethno-religious and political conflict between Catholic nationalists and Protestant loyalists in Northern Ireland. Also in the past the Orange celebrations have led to violent and serious riots and clashes.

The nationalist area of Ardoyne in north Belfast is a traditional flashpoint. In 2010 there have been several troubles during the Orange march season. The people in Ardoyne area oppose the Orange parade, and the decision of the Parade Commission to allow it passing through it caused the locals’ reaction.

“The difficulty was that there was an Orange parade,” said Gerry Kelly, a member of the left-wing republican party Sinn Féin. “People have made great efforts, but a parade coming through a catholic area is a problem,” he added.

Witnesses told that the violence was organized by nationalist youths, who gathered with the only intention of creating trouble and attacking the police.

Robert McClenaghan, a community worker from the Falls Residents Association said: “There was no provocation. There was nothing from the Protestant, loyalist, unionist community. Broadway interface was quiet”.

“What you had was 100 or 150 of these young people all tooled up and masks around their faces. They were armed with petrol bombs, they were armed with sticks and stones. They had wheelie bins with extra ammunition that they were pulling behind them.”

Nigel Dodds, the North Belfast Democratic Unionist MP stated: “These people have been intent on attacking the police and wreaking havoc in their own community. Such violence is senseless and has clearly nothing to do with protesting against a parade but is just futile rioting”.

“The people engaged in the violence didn’t even see the parade go past,” Dodds said. “This violence was intended, created and brought into existence by a small group of militant extreme republicans who were determined to have it, come what may.”

Riots broke out also in other locations around Belfast, and minor disorders also happened in other towns of the country. The police arrested some rioters and others are still to be indentified with the help of closed-circuit TV’s footages.

“As far as the outside world is concerned, it does not matter which side is rioting. What counts is the perception that Northern Ireland is unstable and unsafe,” said Peter Bunting, the assistant general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

Quotes Courtesy of www.bbc.com and www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

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Police officers risk their lives to protect the safety of others; at least that is what we are led to believe. And probably many cops out there are good people. But, unfortunately, the profession is also loaded with corrupt officers who only want to look out for themselves.  Higher-ups in departments fastidiously protect officers, even officers who may be doing something wrong. The latest examples come from Chicago and a ridiculous law that protects police officers from being recorded.

In July of 2010, Chicago police responded to a domestic situation at the home of Tiawanda Moore and her boyfriend. While separating the couple to sort out the details, Moore reports that an officer groped her breast and gave her his home number. Later on, when Moore and her boyfriend tried to report the incident to internal affairs officials at the Chicago Police Department, the couple was discouraged from filing a report, according to Robert Johnson, Moore’s attorney. “They gave her the runaround, scared her, and tried to intimidate her from reporting this officer — from making sure he couldn’t go on to do this to other women,” Johnson stated. Okay, so men in uniform protecting each other is not that newsworthy. But, Moore was arrested the very same afternoon suggesting that this form of protection goes way too far. What was her crime, you ask.  During her conversation that day with internal affairs investigators, Moore began to record the interactions on her Blackberry.  In Illinois, it is illegal to record people without their consent.  Especially, as it turns out, police officers.

“This is someone who is already scared from being harassed by an officer in uniform,” said Johnson. “If the police won’t even take her complaint, how else is a victim of police abuse supposed to protect herself?”

The treatment of Moore has prompted outrage from domestic violence groups all over the country. “We just had two Chicago police officers indicted for sexual assault, there have been several other cases of misconduct against women,” says Melissa Spatz of the Chicago Task Force on Violence Against Girls & Young Women. “And now you have Moore, who was trying to report this guy, and she gets arrested. The message here is that victims of unwanted sexual advances by police officers have no recourse — that the police can act with impunity.”

Clearly, the Chicago police have demonstrated their wacky priorities. The Chicago cops recently indicted for sexual assault face four to 15 years in prison. That is the same sentence that Moore could receive for recording a police officer. Recording an on-duty police officer in Illinois is a Class 1 felony, the same class of crimes as rape.

And Moore is not the only or most shocking case of the systematic application of the Illinois law to protect police officers. A Robinson, Ill. Resident is facing up to 75 years in prison after he recorded conversations he was having with police officers.  75 years with no prior convictions all because the police like to act the way they want to and not take any responsibilities for their action. It is despicable and the reason why the distrust of police officers is very justified throughout the United States. I guess Ice Cube had it right all along.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/chicagobart/

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On Tuesday, the fifth of April, the Ecuadorian Government announced the expulsion of the United States ambassador Heather Hodges. The government expressed that the ambassador was not an unwelcome person. This action was taken by consequence of a confidential diplomatic leak, from Wikileaks, and was published by the newspaper El Pais. The leak contained information about the corruption present in Ecuador, mainly in the Police ground.

In a press conference, the foreign minister Ricardo Patiño said: “ We have asked that she abandons the country as soon as she can. Regarding the relationship with United States, he also claimed: “ There is no way, that we would intend to affect the relationship with United States”. In response United States has classified the issue as “unjustified”.

Mr. Patiño called Mrs. Hodges to her office, in order to ask some explanations about the diplomatic leak that was exposed in the media. The ambassador in response, said that the documents had been stolen, and that neither her nor her Government would make any comments about it. The minister explained that once said that she was not a welcome person in the country, it is directed to a functionary who did a leak of this nature and then she resign to give any other explanation about the them”.

Mr. Patiño, also assured that Ecuador would not proceed to contact its ambassador in Washington, because its reaction has is not linked at all towards the American Government, but it’s linked against the leaks that had been signed by the ambassador.”

The leaked material had been released in 2009. Whereas the United States embassy in Quito affirmed that “ the corruption is generalized in the rows of the Ecuadorian Police”. The leaked document exposed the information about a policeman named Jaime Hurtado Vaca, whom resigned his charge on May of the same year. The document contained information about how the referred policeman had utilized his status by being the main authority in his congregation. He recurred to extortionate, accumulated money, facilitated the traffic of people and protected other corrupted agents as well.

Also, the document exposed “ that some of the functionaries of the United States embassy thought that the President Rafael Correa, was conscious about the corrupt activities. Some observers concerned about the issue, believed that Correa took advantage of this situation in order to have a Chief policeman whom could be easily manipulated”.

Mr. Patiño affirmed: “It is absolutely unacceptable, our Government cannot accept this kind of information that has been released by the ambassador of United States in our country.”

On the other hand, the president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, had accused United States of spying the country’s policeman. In an interview that was retransmitted by more than ten radio stations, he affirmed that the relationship among both countries “were the best”, he remarked that it was a “pity” about how this things can be done, spying the police, and trying to involucrate the President of the Republic in corruption cases. He classified Mrs. Hodges as “ bad functionary” that he “had never liked” to his executive. And added, that “ he wished that this doesn’t damage the relationship among United States and Ecuador, because if it does, what a shame, but here we will make the sovereignty of the country be respected”.

Grasping also the other side point of view, a spokesman from the Whitehouse declared, “ The ambassador Hodges is one of our most experimented and talented diplomatic. The State department considers her expulsion as unjustified and we are deeply sorry that the Ecuadorian Government proceeded to do so ”.

The American ambassador from her side said that the decision of Correa’s executive has left her “ tremendously sad”.” I hope I can have another opportunity, maybe, to answer questions”. She added that she did not count with enough time to prepare an adequate response regarding the question about the leaking material from Wikileaks, and that before she make any declarations about the issue, she has to consult Washington.

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