Pretty Radical: extremists in Europe (video)

Pretty Radical: Independence Day March, Parts 1 & 2

(The Guardian) Jan. 26, 2015. Pretty radical: a young woman's journey into the heart of the far right. In this documentary, 19-year-old Paulina the Pole travels to an Independence Day march in Warsaw, where she meets other young women inside the far right movement. More than 100,000 people attended the rally before it descended into police riots with significant damage to the city and citizen participants. Paulina also hits the campaign trail as she seeks election for the National Radical Camp. Guardian website ► is.gd/guardianhome. Subscribe to The Guardian.

Protests rage in Venezuela

Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; BBC.co.uk

Mr. Lopez's wife is calling for the release of her husband at marches attended by thousands.

 

Venezuela country profile (BBC)

Anti-government protesters in Venezuela have erected barricades in the capital, Caracas. They placed burning rubbish and furniture on main roads in an attempt to bar access to the city.

 

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles had earlier asked his supporters not to follow a call for a "national blockade" circulated on social media.

 

Nat'l hero led independence from Spain (AFP)

The blockades are the latest in a series of opposition protests in which 13 people have died. There have been reports of similar blockades in the cities of Maracaibo and Valencia.

Protesters also banged pots and pans in the early hours of the morning to show their opposition to the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

They say they will continue with their wave of protests, which started more than two weeks ago, until Mr. Maduro resigns. More than 130 people have been injured and an opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, has been arrested on charges of inciting violence. More

 

Anti-government protesters erect barricades in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas (AFP).

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Iceland liberates itself from its gov't (video)

Ashley Wells, Pat Macpherson, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly

(The R.E.A.L. Institute - Max Bliss) The people of Iceland forced their corrupt government to resign. A citizens' assembly was created to rewrite the constitution. The banks were nationalized, and it was decided not to pay debt PRIVATE banks created. All of this was accomplished peacefully. What would happen if the rest of the world followed this example?

In spite of a wall of silence by the American mainstream media, Icelanders took to the street and ousted everyone from its government, forcing all members to resign. Ask your relatives in Iceland, because you won't be hearing about it on the US evening news.

 

The unprecedented move followed the worst financial crisis the world had ever seen, which in 2008 set motion the worldwide bank and real estate crises. It all began in relatively safe and isolated Icelandic banking system, which are nevertheless connected to the Euro zone system.

 

(TYT) Ron Paul: Iceland dismantles corrupt gov't then arrests all

Rothschild bankers. Iceland was right; we were wrong: The IMF

Bjork loves her Scandinavian homeland

Iceland, a green wonderland and home of Bjork (apparently its main export), took to the streets and peacefully replaced the incompetent government and took to rewriting its constitution in a citizens' referendum. Government agents may have colluded with bankers and high finance traders to enrich themselves personally. That will have to be worked out later if ever. In the meantime, Iceland gets a fresh starts. World governments seem terrified that anyone find out that such a thing is possible.

Iceland is closer than most Europeans think and far stranger than anyone imagines. Over the millennia, glaciers, erosion, and tectonic movement have shaped the land. Winter is amazing as white snow accentuates black lava fields and the dark sky is suddenly disturbed by dancing, flickering veils of Northern Lights. In spring the sun climbs ever higher, warming the earth, and the green vegetation turns a picturesque red, yellow, or brown. It is a paradise for bird watchers. Látrabjarg in the West Fjords is the largest birdcliff in the known world. Iceland is among the 10 best destinations for whale and dolphin watching just offshore in the Grundar fjord and Kolgrafar fjord on the north coast of the Snaefellsnes peninsula.

 

Bloody coups and deposings (depositions?) are the norm in the history we hear. If such a thing were known to have taken place peacefully and by popular revolt -- which was easier in Iceland with its small, homogenous, and unified population -- citizens or libertarians might get the idea to "occupy" their capitals.

Is there a movement across the globe? The Ukraine, formerly a part of Scandinavian Finland and Russia, wants to join the Euro zone. Russia will not stand for it. The solution? A long standing protest and demonstration continues in the Ukraine. Lenin statue toppled in symbolic challenge to Ukrainian government.

• AUDIO: Lenin deposed in Kiev, Ukraine (The World) Ukrainian protesters took down Vlad Lenin in Kiev over the weekend. It has been more than 20 years since the break up of the USSR, so it is kind of surprising that it was still there.

"Compassion is revolution" (GR)

Buddhist Thailand is discontented with its government, the Yingluck Shinawatra adminstration, while still loving its king (who is no more involved with actual governing than the British monarchy is seen to fiddle with the country's Parliament). The solution? A long standing protest and demonstration continues in Bangkok and is growing beyond the capital. This is part of an older direct action between Red Shirts (radicals) and Yellow Shirts (reactionaries).

Now Singapore, an idyllic police state in Asia, is being rocked by an unexpected series of protests. This is unheard of in modern Singapore, an economic powerhouse that traded its civil liberties for order and productivity. But it did once happen in the sixties. Singapore shocked by worst riots since 1969.

Psychotic DARPA Dr. Regina Dugan aims to "chip" everyone (Google)

Headlines as we lose our freedoms

• Recording brain activity could lead to mind-reading devices (The Almagest) Dr. Josef Parvizi: "We're now able to eavesdrop on the brain in real life."
• IRS using Google Maps to spy on taxpayers Agents from the Internal Revenue Service are using Google Maps as part of their tool kit to audit taxpayers and organizations.
• Company develops real-life RoboCop Knightscope has invented a futuristic autonomous robot that is able to predict and prevent crime. 
• Vast freshwater reserves discovered under the ocean floor (Daily Mail) Australian researchers have discovered vast freshwater reserves beneath the seabed which they believe could sustain future generations.
• Send wireless power long range with lasers and balloons An idea for beaming power over hundreds of miles could help provide emergency power where it is needed.

Thailand protesters oust army from the streets

Supporters of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra gather on a road during a Bangkok rally, Mar. 27, 2010. "Red Shirt" protesters raised tensions on Sat. with threats to expel thousands of troops guarding PM Abhisit Vejjajiva (Reuters/Kerek Wongsa).

BANGKOK (AP) – Protesters in Thailand claimed a symbolic victory Saturday after forcing soldiers to retreat from parts of Bangkok's historic district, raising tensions in what so far has been a nonviolent bid to bring down the government.

• Slideshow: Thailand

Riding motorcycles and piled into pickup trucks, more than 60,000 red-shirted protesters clogged traffic and traveled in a noisy parade to the Bangkok Zoo, Buddhist temples, and a half dozen other locations being used by soldiers as temporary camps.

"We will storm the places where soldiers camp out. We'll shake the fence. We'll cut the barbed wire. We'll march through the barricades. We'll march for democracy!" a leader of the "Red Shirt" protesters, Nattawut Saikua, shouted to the crowd. "This is where we'll end military suppression. This is where we'll create democracy." More>>

Thai police use tear gas to disperse protesters

Buddhist monks sit with anti-government protesters during a demonstration inside Government House in Bangkok, on August 28. Thai anti-government protesters besieging Government House expelled about 1,000 police from the compound early Friday, testing the prime minister's promise to end the rally peacefully (AFP).

Sutin Wannabovorn (AP)

BANGKOK, Thailand - Thai police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of several thousand anti-government protesters who were besieging city police headquarters. The prime minister said he might declare a state of emergency if the rioting worsens.

Associated Press journalists witnessed police throwing dozens of canisters of gas at the crowd of at least 2,000 people. Protest leaders claimed they had come to demand the surrender of officers who allegedly beat demonstrators earlier in the day.

Tensions rose Friday, three days after members of the People's Alliance for Democracy occupied Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's office compound to demand his ouster.

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Anti-government protesters shout at Government House in Bangkok. Thai anti-government protesters besieging Government House expelled about 1,000 police from the compound early Friday, testing the prime minister's promise to end the rally peacefully (AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul).

The alliance accuses Samak's government of serving as a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and faces several pending corruption cases. Thaksin is in self-imposed exile in Britain.

Alliance sympathizers also staged actions in other parts of the country, causing railway and airline delays and cancellations.

• Thread to VIDEO

More than 200 railway workers staged a work stoppage by taking emergency sick leave, forcing the cancellation of 35 trains from Bangkok to major provinces, said State Railways of Thailand spokesman Pairat Rojcharoen-ngarm.

Protesters also tried to block passengers from entering three airports in southern Thailand, at Hat Yai, Krabi and the popular tourist destination of Phuket. Airport authorities announced that all three airports would close Friday night for safety reasons, causing flights in and out to be canceled.

Anti-government protesters push line of Metropolitan Police in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, 8/29/08. Thai police muscled into crowds of anti-government protesters occupying the prime minister's office compound Friday to deliver a court order demanding they leave, sparking scuffles that left several people with minor injuries (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn).

Earlier Friday, several skirmishes erupted outside the Government House as police and protesters jockeyed for position.

In the morning, police muscled into the site to deliver a court eviction demanding that the alliance members leave the site. Several minor injuries were reported throughout the day as brief skirmishes erupted around the perimeter of the compound and in nearby streets.

Police then announced that they would retreat in order to ease tensions.

"The situation was very volatile and a clash was likely if we pushed on," police spokesman Surapol Tuantong told the NBT TV network. "We have given way to let them back into the Government House to prevent a clash. All security forces have left the government compound."

But protesters then descended on the police station.

"We went there to demand responsibility from the police who ordered the beatings of protesters," said alliance spokesman Suriyasai Katasila. "They responded by firing tear gas at us."

Thai monk joins a rally outside Government house in Bangkok, 8/29/08 (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit).

About 10 people suffered minor injuries in that clash.

Earlier, Sondhi Limthongkul, a protest leader, vowed to continue the protests until Samak steps down.

"We definitely won't leave the Government House until we can topple Samak's administration," Sonthi told The Associated Press. "He cannot stay on for long, I am very sure of that. You can see people coming more and more to join us."

Sondhi promised that the alliance would install a "clean and efficient political system."

Arrest warrants were issued Wednesday for nine of the group's leaders on charges of insurrection, conspiracy, illegal assembly and refusing orders to disperse. Insurrection, the legal equivalent of treason, carries a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment.

Protesters deck on the ground as Thai police shoot tear gas into them in Bangkok, 8/29/08 (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn).

Riot police scuffle with demonstrators outside the United Nations Building in Bangkok, 8/29/08 (AP Photo/Wally Santana).

Another court issued an order late Wednesday demanding that the protesters leave the government compound immediately and stop blocking streets. But on Friday, the court suspended the order, saying it posed a risk of further unrest.

Samak, who refuses to resign, has accused the protesters of trying to provoke violence.

After Thaksin was deposed in the bloodless coup, his party was dissolved and he was banned from public office until 2012.

Thailand's embattled prime minister has vowed to end massive rallies against his rule without force -- raising the spectre of a prolonged siege of Bangkok's main government compound (AFPTV).

But Samak led Thaksin's political allies to a December 2007 election victory, and their assumption of power triggered fears that Thaksin would make a political comeback on the strength of his continued popularity in Thailand's rural majority.

Thailand has had 17 constitutions since 1932 — a reflection of the political instability and military coups that followed the drafting of the first charter that created a constitutional monarchy. The last coup was in 2006, when Thaksin was ousted.

The prime minister spoke Friday after two meetings with the country's military chiefs to discuss the increasing unrest in Bangkok's streets caused by protesters seeking his resignation.

Supporter of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) wipes the face of a fellow supporter after riot police used tear gas during clashes outside the metropolitan police headquarters in Bangkok 8/29/08. Protesters trying to overthrow Thailand's government launched an attack on Bangkok's police headquarters on Friday as demonstrations against Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej spread from the capital (REUTERS/Stringer).

Samak says he had ordered police to withdraw from confronting demonstrators because he hoped to calm down the situation, in which both sides scuffled roughly in the street.

But he says that after he hosts a ceremony honoring Thailand's royal family Saturday, he will consider declaring a state of emergency if the situation deteriorates.

That would allow suspending some legal procedures to restore the peace.

Anti-government demonstrators push past police barricades Friday, Aug. 29, 2008, near the Royal Plaza in Bangkok, Thailand (AP Photo/David Longstreath).

Anti-government protesters gather at the Government House in Bangkok. Thai anti-government protesters besieging Government House expelled about 1,000 police from the compound early Friday, testing the prime minister's promise to end the rally peacefully (AFP).