#Tractor Rally Rout

[pathanga]

Four wheels and a helmet - Racing events that aren't all karting.

With the thrill of watching races like the 24hr of Le Mans or the British Grand Prix come statements like, ‘what does racing feel like.’ and ‘I bet I can do that’. But unfortunately not everyone has a multi-million pound hypercar, years of training and a specialist team at hand. So how can a motorsports fanatic experience the rush of racing?

This is where Track Days and races like the 24hr of LeMons come in. 

Created from comments passed over picnic blankets and coffee tables, these races give the average motorsports enthusiast the chance to experience racing as a driver. America offers amateur endurance races, Europe focusing on short distance racing with many different ‘cars’. Track days are as exhilarating as races with the added bonus of being able to drive around your favourite track as fast as you want.

Fans of endurance & Rally races will enjoy the 24hr of LeMons; a series of races taking place on street circuits in America. The 24hr of Lemons (styled a LeMons, a clever tribute to Le Mans) focuses on budget racing, with negative points awarded to cars above the $500 limit. The do-it-yourself attitude to the race is part of its charm. The less likely for your car to cross the line, the more likely you are to win an additional cash prize. Grab a friend (or include the whole family), a car that can cross the line and jump into 24hrs of pure driving. The organisers of LeMons also host a rally, with a separate trophy for Rental Cars. Earn points in the Lemon Rally with the age of your car, where it was manufactured and by meeting certain criteria laid out in the Route book.

For fans of the unusual, races like British Tractor Pulling and Piaggio Ape Racing are two main points of interest. Tractor pulling is not a race in the conventional sense, instead of racing tractors, the aim is to pull a weight transfer sledge over a distance of 100m, the fastest tractor is the winner. With twelve classes, Tractor Pulling is a great sport for those who have access to a tractor or have the drive to build one themselves. Piaggio Ape Racing is an Italian affair, the three-wheeled trucks hailing from Pisa. The roots of Piaggio Racing are firmly in Italy, with the sport reaching the UK in 2013. Piaggio Racing is straight-forward, drive the truck as fast as you can and reach the finish line first. The British Ape GP was held on the Rye House Raceway and now you and a friend can race the Piaggio around the track.

For those who don’t want to race but want the experience of driving, Track Days are the best fit. Iconic circuits such as Brands Hatch and the Nürburgring offer Track Days, just bring yourself, your car and push yourself to the limit!

There are so many options to experience and suitable for many different budgets. From grassroot sports just starting out to historic circuits, take you pick and jump into Motorsports from a whole new angle.

[head-post]

German farmers on strike over government’s traffic light coalition

German farmers are set to block traffic across Germany in protest at planned cuts to agricultural diesel subsidies, according to Bild.

From Monday, 8 January, demonstrations against the government’s Traffic light coalition in Berlin will take place across the country. Rallies, numerous tractor demonstrations and motorway closures will take place in almost all federal states.

Brandenburg police have announced that around 100 rallies and blockades have been registered. Tractors will also be used to block access roads to motorways, including the A24 (Hamburg-Berlin).

A tractor rally is planned for Monday in Bremen. Around 1,000 farmers from Lower Saxony and Bremen are expected. The central rally will take place on the Reeperbahn in Bremen’s Überseestadt district. In Hamburg, around 900 farmers with their tractors will head into the city centre from three directions during the tractor rally. Traffic is expected to be difficult. But motorways will not be blocked.

On Monday, protests will take place in Hessen. Between 500 and 800 tractors are expected. The route will take them past the Hesse State Chancellery. A rally will be held there from 12 noon. Demonstrations are also planned in Kassel, Frankfurt and Limburg.

A two-day rally and protest camp will also begin in the state capital Dresden on Monday. Protests with tractors will also take place in the Ore Mountains. Another demonstration is scheduled for Wednesday, 10 January. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) is expected to attend.

Read more HERE

[vilaspatelvlogs]

किसानों की Tractor Rally का ट्रैफिक पर होगा असर, Delhi-NCR में इन रास्तों पर जाने से बचें

किसानों की Tractor Rally का ट्रैफिक पर होगा असर, Delhi-NCR में इन रास्तों पर जाने से बचें

नई दिल्ली: नए कृषि कानूनों (New Agriculture Laws) का विरोध कर रहे किसान गणतंत्र दिवस (Republic Day 2021) पर ट्रैक्टर परेड (Tractor Parade) निकालेंगे. किसानों के ट्रैक्टर मार्च के दौरान आम लोगों को ट्रैफिक ��े कारण परेशानी का सामना करना पड़ सकता है और इसको लेकर पुलिस ने एडवाइजरी (Delhi NCR Latest Traffic Updates) जारी की है. किन रूट्स पर निकलेगी किसानों की ट्रैक्टर रैली? दिल्ली पुलिस ने शर्तों के…

[everythingshouldbereality]

Watch: Shocking video shows protestors attacking Delhi Police personnel at Red Fort

Watch: Shocking video shows protestors attacking Delhi Police personnel at Red Fort

Image Source : AP Sikhs hoist a Nishan Sahib, a Sikh religious flag, on a minaret of the historic Red Fort monument in New Delhi. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers drove long lines of tractors into India’s capital on Tuesday, breaking through police barricades, defying tear gas and storming the historic Red Fort as the nation celebrated Republic Day.  On the day when farmers in the name of…

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Groups of farmers protesting at the borders of Delhi broke through police barricades and entered the Capital ahead of the agreed time, leading to clashes with cops at many places. While the Delhi Police had allowed the farmer unions to take out the tractor rally, the farmers pushed into Delhi much before the time of the rally and also changed routes, reaching ITO in the heart of Delhi. Groups of protesters clashed with the cops and also vandalised buses at ITO.

[seriousbusinessforhumans]

NEW DELHI (IDN) – On February 6, protesters blocked roads at an estimated 10,000 spots across India as part of the ongoing movement against the new farm laws enacted by the national government last year. For over two months, the most populous democracy in the world has witnessed what is being called one of the biggest protests in human history.

Hundreds of thousands of farmers have been rallying against three new laws that have thrown open the agriculture sector to private players. Protesters feel the legislation will allow a corporate takeover of crop production and trading, which would eventually impact their earnings and land ownership.

The movement has overcome regional, religious, gender and ideological differences to build pressure. Leftist farm unions, religious organisations and traditional caste-based brotherhoods called khaps, which make pronouncements on social issues, are working in tandem through resolute sit-ins and an aggressive boycott of politicians.

India’s right-wing government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, pushed the laws through the parliament in September 2020, despite lacking a majority in the upper house and agriculture being in the jurisdiction of state governments. The protest is a response to the lack of respect for parliamentary democracy and federalism, but its main focus is the pervasive corporate influence on governance.

After limits on corporate contributions were removed and allowed to be made anonymously, 8.2 billion dollars was spent on Indian parliamentary elections in 2019, which exceeded how much was spent on the U.S. election in 2016 by 26 per cent. Most of this money came from corporations and the BJP was the primary recipient.

Farm crisis is the fuel

Farmers are a large electoral block in India, with half the population being engaged in agriculture. No political party can afford to offend them publicly even though policymakers have done little to increase farm incomes and address their indebtedness. Around 300,000 farmers died by suicide between 1995 and 2013, mostly due to financial stress. In 2019, another 10,281 farmers took their lives.

Indian farms are mostly family-owned, and the land is a source of subsistence for millions. Around 86 per cent of farmers, however, till less than five acres while the other 14 per cent, mostly upper castes, own over half of the country’s 388 million acres of arable land.

Farmers in a few north Indian states were able to consolidate their holdings through increased incomes with the introduction of irrigation, modern seeds, fertilisers, machines, market infrastructure and guaranteed price support from the government during the Green Revolution in the 1960s.

But rising input costs and climate crisis have adversely impacted the profits there as well. In Punjab, the most agriculturally-developed state, for instance, the input costs of electric motors, labour, fertiliser and fuel rose by 100 to 290 per cent from 2000 to 2013, but the support price of wheat and rice rose by only 122 to 137 per cent in the same period, according to a government report. Heavy use of chemicals, mono-cropping and farm mechanisation have damaged the soil, affecting productivity and forcing farmers into debt.

Strength and strategy

Punjab saw widespread protests as soon as the laws were enacted. Farmers occupied railway tracks and toll plazas on major roads besides corporate-owned thermal plants, gas stations and shopping malls. Scores of subscribers left Jio, the telecom service owned by the top Indian businessman perceived to be close to Prime Minister Modi.

Farm unions also held regular sit-ins in front of the houses of prominent political leaders forcing an important regional party to leave the national government alliance. Several state leaders of the ruling party resigned from their posts as well. Similar scenes played out in the neighbouring state of Haryana, where leaders were publicly shamed and the helicopter of the elected head of the government was prevented from landing for a public meeting after farmers dug up the helipad area.

In November, thousands of farmers drove their tractor trolleys towards the national capital as they played protest songs by celebrity singers. Stocked with rations, clothing, water and wood for months, they braved tear gas shells and water cannons used by the police along the way. Powerful tractors pushed heavy transport vehicles, concrete slabs and barbed wires that the administration had placed en route out of their way.

Open libraries and medical camps were set up and volunteers offered their skills, ranging from tailoring to tutoring children. Besides speeches by the farm leaders, cultural performances, film screenings and wrestling bouts became a regular feature. More farmers poured in with each passing day.

“These occupations are not just a reaction of wronged citizens who have set out to reform the Indian parliament or assert dissent. Rather, they form an important stage in a still-unfolding narrative of militant anti-capitalist struggle,” wrote Aditya Bahl, a doctoral scholar at the John Hopkins University who is archiving the peasants’ revolts that took place in Punjab in the 1960s and ’70s.

The Indian Supreme Court suspended the implementation of laws and formed a four-member expert committee on Jan. 13 to look into the issue. Farmers have, however, refused to meet the committee members, alleging that many of them have already written or spoken in favour of the laws.

The protests are not only targeting domestic companies and political figures. Farmers have also burnt effigies of Uncle Sam, the World Trade Organisation and IMF, signifying the influence of global trade over domestic agricultural policies. Developed countries have been pressuring India for last three decades to open up its agriculture sector to multinational players by slashing subsidies and reducing public procurement and distribution of food grains to the poor.

Protesters are also seeking a legal right to sell their produce at a guaranteed price. The Indian government usually declares a minimum support price on various crops based on the costs of their production, but only a fraction of the produce is procured at that rate. In the absence of government procurement facilities in their areas, most farmers have to settle for a lower price offered by private traders. A law would make it mandatory for private players to buy the produce at a declared price.

“If Indian farmers are able to get the law on guaranteed price passed through their current agitation, they will become a role model for farmers across the world living under heavy debts,” Sharma continued. “India should put its foot down at the WTO and create much-needed disruption in the world food trade policy for the benefit of the global agriculture sector.”

The movement grows

The BJP-led national government has faced numerous protests over the last six years of its rule..... The country has dropped 26 places in the Democracy Index’s global ranking since 2014 due to “erosion of civil liberties.”

This is the first time peasants have been galvanised in such large numbers against the government. The government has already held 11 rounds of negotiations with farmers’ representatives and offered to suspend the laws for one and a half years on Jan. 20. But farmers are not budging from their demand of the complete repeal of the laws and legal cover for the selling of their crops at a guaranteed price.

On January 26, which marks India’s Republic Day, 19 out of 28 states witnessed protests against the farm laws.

In Delhi, however, a plan to organise a farmers’ tractor march parallel to the official Republic Day function, went awry. A group of protesters clashed with police at multiple spots and stormed the iconic Red Fort, a traditional seat of power for the Mughals, where the colonial British and independent India’s prime ministers have also raised their flags.

The protesters unfurled banners of the farm unions and Sikhs – one of the minority religious groups and the most prominent face of the protests. Mainstream media and ruling party supporters used the opportunity to blame the movement for desecration and religious terrorism. Security forces charged sleeping farmers with batons at one location, filed cases against movement leaders, allowed opponents to pelt campaigners with stones, arrested journalists and shut down the Internet.

The attacks, therefore, ended up lifting the flagging morale of the farmers and helped the movement gain even more supporters, who shunned the government and media narrative. Massive community gatherings of khaps were organised at multiple places over the next few days, extending their support to the protests and issuing a boycott call for the BJP and its political allies.

Mending fault lines

The movement has also been able to overcome regional and gender divisions, and is trying to address caste divides.

The states of Haryana and Punjab are often at loggerheads on the issue of sharing of river waters. Haryana was carved out of Punjab on linguistic lines in 1966, but most of the rivers flow through the current Punjab state. Haryana has been seeking a greater amount of water for use by its farmers, while Punjab’s farmers oppose the demand, citing reduced water flow in the rivers over the years. The current protests have united farmers for a common cause, helping them understand each other even though opponents have made attempts revive the water issue.

Women have also been participating in the protests in large numbers. They are either occupying roads on Delhi’s borders or managing homes and farms in the absence of men, while taking part in protest marches in villages.

“Earlier, we were able to rally only 8,000-10,000 women for a protest. Today that number has swelled to 25,000-30,000, as they recognised the threats posed by the new laws to the livelihoods of their families,” said Harinder Bindu, who leads the women’s wing of the largest farm union in Punjab. “For many women, this is the first time they are participating in a protest, which is a big change because they were earlier confined to household work. Men are getting used to seeing women participate and recognising the value they bring to a movement.”

“When women members participate in sit-ins, men manage the house. I feel this movement will bring greater focus on women’s issues within the farming community – one of which is the need to support the widows of farmers who died by suicide due to financial constraints.”

In Punjab, less than four per cent of private farmland belongs to Dalits, the lowest caste in the traditional social hierarchy of India, even though they constitute 32 per cent of the state’s population. They often earn their livelihoods through farm work or daily wage labour. Even though Dalits have a legal right to till village common land, attempts to assert that right often lead to violent clashes with upper-caste landlords who want to keep it for themselves. Dalits are waging similar battles across India. Researchers recorded 31 land conflicts involving 92,000 Dalits in 2019. A few of the farmers’ unions have supported and raised funds for Dalit agitations in the past.

The movement is gradually encompassing other rural issues beyond the farm laws. In the state of Maharashtra, for instance, thousands of tribal people travelled to the capital Mumbai on Jan. 23 to extend support to the farmers. They also asserted their own long pending demand for land titles under the Forest Rights Act, which recognises traditional rights of scheduled tribes and other forest dwellers on the use of land and other forest resources.

* Manu Moudgil is an independent journalist based in India. He tweets at @manumoudgil.The original version of this article was published on Waging Nonviolence under the title ‘India’s farmers’ protests are about more than reform – they are resisting the corporate takeover of agriculture’.

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Pandemic aftershocks overwhelm global supply lines (Washington Post) One year after the coronavirus pandemic first disrupted global supply chains by closing Chinese factories, fresh shipping headaches are delaying U.S. farm exports, crimping domestic manufacturing and threatening higher prices for American consumers. The cost of shipping a container of goods has risen by 80 percent since early November and has nearly tripled over the past year, according to the Freightos Baltic Index. The increase reflects dramatic shifts in consumption during the pandemic, as consumers redirect money they once spent at restaurants or movie theaters to the purchase of record amounts of imported clothing, computers, furniture and other goods. That abrupt and unprecedented spending shift has upended long-standing trade patterns. “It’s crazy. Prices are at record highs. Multiple things are happening all at once,” said Phil Levy, an economist with Flexport, a San Francisco-based freight forwarder. “People work off of expectations. But now there’s just so much uncertainty.” At the Port of Los Angeles one day last week, 42 ships were anchored offshore, waiting to unload their cargoes, even as every warehouse within 60 miles was already full. A shortage of dock workers amid California’s worsening coronavirus outbreak is further complicating operations; inbound cargo volumes in December were more than 23 percent higher than one year earlier. “Some areas of the supply chain need to be sharpened,” Gene Seroka, the port’s executive director, said. “People are a little bit on edge.” It’s a global problem, and it may get worse before it gets better.

Destructive protests by anarchists and extremists signal divided left as Biden administration begins (Washington Post) The hundreds of far-left and anarchist demonstrators who gathered in protest mere hours after President Biden swore the oath of office Wednesday signal a fracturing on the left that could become a scourge for the new administration, political leaders and experts say. Some activists are carrying their destructive tactics into a new administration to voice rejection of centrist ideologies they believe will do little to address existential worries over climate change, economic inequality, foreign wars and racism. The vandalizing of the Oregon Democratic Party headquarters by extreme-left demonstrators on Inauguration Day has split Portland liberals, and federal agents’ launching of tear gas at crowds that descended on the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters produced scenes reminiscent of similar summer standoffs ordered by President Donald Trump. In Seattle, a march organized by anarchists and the city’s Youth Liberation Front branch roved through neighborhoods, chanting expletives at both Trump and Biden, some breaking windows. James Ofsink, president of Portland Forward, a local advocacy group for liberal causes, said the growing tension in Portland’s progressive circles is emblematic of a larger tug of war happening in the nation. “Portland is going to continue to be a microcosm of the political divides, especially among the left, that we’re seeing across the country,” Ofsink said. “The idea that middle-of-the-road Democrats can say with a straight face that we need to take things slowly or do things in a very deliberate way rubs a lot of people the very wrong way.”

Trump’s coming impeachment trial aggravates rift among Republicans (Reuters) The coming second impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump on a charge of inciting the deadly storming of the Capitol has aggravated a rift among his fellow Republicans that was on full display on Sunday. At least one Republican, Senator Mitt Romney, said he believed the trial, which could lead to a vote banning Trump from future office, was a necessary response to the former president’s inflammatory call to his supporters to “fight” his election defeat before the Jan. 6 attack. Ten Republicans joined the House of Representatives in voting to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting insurrection. But a significant number of Republican lawmakers, concerned about Trump’s devoted base of voters, have raised objections to the impeachment. Trump is the first U.S. president to be impeached after leaving office. Senator Tom Cotton, another Republican, said the Senate was acting beyond its constitutional authority by holding a trial. “I think a lot of Americans are going to think it’s strange that the Senate is spending its time trying to convict and remove from office a man who left office a week ago,” Cotton told Fox News on Sunday. “I think the trial is stupid,” Republican Senator Marco Rubio told Fox News on Sunday, saying he would vote to end it at the first opportunity. “I think it’s counterproductive. We already have a flaming fire in this country and it’s like taking a bunch of gasoline and pouring it on top of the fire.”

Ununited Kingdom (Times of London) The UK is facing a constitutional crisis that will strain the Union as new polls reveal a majority of voters in Scotland and Northern Ireland want referendums on the break-up of Britain. A four-country survey we commissioned, based on separate polls in Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales, also found that the sense of British identity that once bound the country together is disintegrating. And in another significant move, the Scottish National Party (SNP) announced that it is prepared to call a wildcat referendum of its own if Boris Johnson refuses to grant one himself—a move that puts the two governments on a constitutional collision course.

Riots explode across Netherlands over covid restrictions (Washington Post) Dutch rioters who attacked police and destroyed property over the weekend while protesting new coronavirus measures are “criminals,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Monday, as law enforcement officials warned that the violence could last for weeks. The unrest across the Netherlands, some of the worst in decades, had “nothing to do with protest,” Rutte, who resigned last week following a scandal, told reporters outside his office in The Hague, news agencies reported. Protesters had gathered in defiance of lockdown orders in at least 10 towns and cities Sunday, looting stores and clashing with police after authorities imposed a new nighttime curfew — the first in the Netherlands since World War II. The violence continued Monday night in several cities, including Amsterdam and The Hague. The curfew, from 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m., tightens an already-strict lockdown aimed at curbing coronavirus infections and comes amid fears that a new, more contagious variant, first identified in Britain, will cause a surge in cases.

In France, growing alarm over students’ well-being as pandemic pushes some to the brink (Washington Post) he hardships of university students during the pandemic have now reached the attention of the highest levels of the French government, with President Emmanuel Macron promising to provide more assistance. “You haven’t been forgotten,” he said this month. But students protesting de facto campus closures, seeking psychological support and lining up for free food handed out by private donors have come to a different conclusion. In a country that prides itself on having one of the world’s most generous public welfare systems, student food banks have become the most visible display of the economic impact of the pandemic on young people. After 10 months of varying degrees of isolation and restrictions, a less visible but increasingly worrisome mental health crisis is taking form among students, too. Some have been confined for months under lockdown or curfew in 97-square-foot dorm rooms off campus. New measures by Macron last week indicated growing alarm among French officials that financial distress and mental health are increasingly intertwined and are fueling one another. Students have written open letters asking French ministers for more support. Mental health hospitals have expanded their offerings to cope with a surge in demand among high school and university students. Some professors have themselves requested psychological support after finding their students in distress.

Navalny Protests Sweep Russia (Reuters) Russian authorities have attempted to deflect attention from Saturday’s nationwide street protests—the largest in years—by accusing the United States of interfering in the country. On Saturday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the U.S. embassy in Moscow of fanning the flames of dissent by publishing protest times and routes (as part of a notice to avoid such gatherings) on the embassy website. “What was that: a setup or an instruction?” Zakharova told the Russian news agency TASS, adding that if the Russian embassy in Washington had done the same during U.S. protests “global hysteria” would ensue. The government’s rhetorical counters came after thousands of Russians across roughly 100 towns and cities protested amid freezing winter temperatures on Saturday, heeding a call from detained anti-Putin activist Alexei Navalny to take to the streets to demand his release. Over 3,500 people were arrested during the protests, according to the monitoring group OVD Info—the most arrests the NGO had ever recorded in one day.

Angry farmers drive thousands of tractors into New Delhi (AP) Tens of thousands of protesting farmers drove long lines of tractors into India’s capital on Tuesday, breaking through police barricades, defying tear gas and storming the historic Red Fort as the nation celebrated Republic Day. They waved farm union flags from the ramparts of the fort, where prime ministers annually hoist the national flag to mark the country’s independence. Thousands more farmers marched on foot or rode on horseback while shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At some places, they were showered with flower petals by residents who recorded the unprecedented rally on their phones. Leaders of the farmers said more than 10,000 tractors joined the protest. For nearly two months, farmers have camped at the edge of the capital, blockading highways connecting it with the country’s north in a rebellion that has rattled the government. They are demanding the withdrawal of new laws which they say will commercialize agriculture and devastate farmers’ earnings.

Syrian refugees in Lebanon are under pressure as never before (Washington Post) Millions of Syrians have sought safety in Lebanon and across the region since the Syrian uprising began nearly a decade ago. Now they are stuck between untenable options: ongoing instability and violence back in Syria as President Bashar al-Assad consolidates control, and deteriorating conditions in cash-strapped Lebanon, where politicians are pressing refugees to leave. Syrians have long struggled in Lebanon, where about a million refugees make up some 20 percent of the population. But 2020 brought a new cascade of problems. The country’s financial system collapsed, and the prime minister resigned, ousted by protesters fed up with endemic corruption. Then the coronavirus hit, followed by the devastating Beirut port explosion, of which many Syrians were among the victims. In less than a year, the currency depreciated by more than 80 percent. Communities across Lebanon are hurting, especially Syrians, amid mounting competition for resources, said Elena Dikomitis, advocacy adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Lebanon. “The landscape of needs in Lebanon has changed dramatically over the last year,” she said. “There are a lot of increasing tensions as one can expect over access to jobs, to aid, to basic services.” In October, the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, estimated that nearly 90 percent of Syrians in Lebanon lived below the extreme poverty line, up from 55 percent the year before. Already legally excluded from many jobs, 90 percent of Syrians reported losing their income or having salaries reduced, the agency found in July. [Many Lebanese want the refugees to go home. Syria, however, remains a very dangerous homeland.]

Pirates in the Gulf of Guinea (Reuters) Pirates are stepping up attacks on ships in West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, defying regional navies. On Saturday, pirates off Nigeria kidnapped 15 sailors from a Turkish container ship and killed one. Pirates in the Gulf of Guinea kidnapped 130 seafarers in 22 separate incidents last year, accounting for all but five of those seized at sea worldwide. The pirates come from Nigeria’s turbulent Niger Delta, experts say. The region produces the bulk of the nation’s petroleum, but is woefully underdeveloped, scarred by pollution and has some of the highest unemployment in the country. Bands of men desperate for money engage in a variety of illegal but lucrative activities, including kidnapping, stealing and refining oil, and piracy. Last year’s oil price crash and Nigeria’s second recession in five years worsened unemployment and economic hardship. Saturday’s attack, which took place 200 nautical miles offshore, reflected increasing sophistication, as vessels further from shore are less likely to have naval protection.

Satellites (Space.com) SpaceX launched a record 143 small satellites into orbit on Sunday, the most ever on a single rocket. The launch was the first mission where SpaceX ferried lots of satellites up rideshare-style along with 10 of its own Starlink internet satellites. In 2019, the company announced that at various points in the year smaller satellites could hitch a ride at launch for $1 million a pop. Among the payload was a South Korean military communications satellite, two Taiwanese satellites which will improve navigation, a payload called Celestis 17 containing cremated human remains, three Hawk 2 radio satellites and a cargo capsule for the space station. The team successfully recovered the Falcon 9’s first stage in the Atlantic, which was the 73rd recovery of a booster for the company.

[swanvalley]

5 things to do in winter with kids in the Swan Valley

Don’t let the cooler weather put a dampener on your plans to get out and exploring with the kids these winter school holidays. From nature trails and animal experiences, to chocolate factories and museums, the Swan Valley and Guildford are bursting with things to see and do in winter, with lots of delicious treats to enjoy along the way. A bonus? The region is only 25 minutes from Perth. Read on for five things you can enjoy with kids in the Swan Valley during the cooler months.

Get exploring on a family fun trail

The Family Fun Trails are a great way to get the whole family out and visiting some of the best parts of the Swan Valley at your own pace, in less than a day.

Get on board the Great Valley Rally, a thrilling treasure hunt where you and your fellow explorers can follow Stirling the Black Swan’s cryptic clues along a specific route in the Valley. Designed for families with children aged five to 12 years old, the trail begins at the Swan Valley Visitor Centre and takes around three hours to complete. Experience the trail using Facebook Messenger as your guide or a printed clue sheet.

Follow the Swan Valley’s Kids in the Valley Trail, where kids and grown-ups alike can feed Australian wildlife, cuddle farm animals, play a round of mini golf, venture on a bush walk and so much more. All explorers need to eat, so once you’ve run the kids ragged, revive the family at one of the many venues on the trail that offer specialised children’s menus and treats. Just follow the map to find them.

Check out a chocolate factory

The Swan Valley is the ultimate destination for chocolate lovers. With free entry, free tastings and hundreds of mouthwatering chocolates on offer, a visit to Whistler’s Chocolate Co. and Margaret River Chocolate Company are a must.

You’ll find loads of traditional favourites, from rocky road to handmade honeycomb, as well as other choccy inspired treats that will leave everyone’s tummies rumbling for more. And for the parents — you’ll find a fabulous cafe and expansive outdoor area at each venue so you can relax with your favourite warm beverage while the kids have a play.

Meet some friendly animals

With its wide open spaces and laidback rural charm, the Swan Valley is one of the best places to get up close and personal with Australia’s wildlife and farm animals.

Get familiar with the natives and give a wombat a scratch, stroke a friendly kangaroo or meet a koala at Caversham Wildlife Park.

Head to Swan Valley Cuddly Animal Farm to feed baby animals, jump on a tractor ride, and give the resident horses and goats a pat.

Hold a real python if you dare at the West Australian Reptile Park and enjoy a range of interactive presentations designed to entertain and educate visitors of all ages.

Enjoy family-friendly dining

We all gotta eat, and the Swan Valley is filled to the brim with choices for family-friendly dining.

There are plenty of venues with dedicated play areas and kid-friendly food including Oakover Grounds, Swan Valley Station, Pasta in the Valley, The Henley Brook, Bailey Brewing Co, Sandalford Wines, Mandoon Estate and Maison Saint-Honore — just to name a few.

Explore a museum

On cold or rainy days, take refuge and get exploring in a museum. Discover the Museum of Natural History located on James Street in Guildford where you can marvel at the hundreds of displays showcasing everything from Australian wildlife to life size dinosaurs.

For the history and motor buffs, a visit to Whiteman Park is an absolute dream. Home to three transport museums — Revolutions Transport Heritage Museum, the Motor Museum of Western Australia and the Tractor Museum of Western Australia — you can check out thousands of meticulously restored displays and traditional artefacts.

Find out more about all of the family attractions in the Swan Valley.

[lj-writes]

What is, in your opinion, the biggest battle (Republic v. Mandalore, Republic v. Separatist, Rebellion v. Empire, Resistance V. First Order) in the entire Star Wars franchise, and how would you try to top all of them in your version of IX?

What an excellent question, and it really helped me focus my Episode IX feels. I’d say the Battle of Endor from RotJ was the biggest with significant resources thrown in on both sides with a ground battle element, though the Battles of Scarif and Yavin were IMO better written with higher emotional stakes.

My Episode IX could roll all those elements together and bring the trio of trilogies full circle to… the Second Battle of Tatooine! The existence and plans of the Galactic Union have been revealed, and while it has failed to take Coruscant the worlds loyal to the Union have declared their allegiance. The Republic is split in two and turning on itself, while Mandalore faces an impossible dilemma: Must it fight its own stolen children? See also my alternate Episodes VII (link) and VIII (link).

The action would be divided into three parts: space battle over Tatooine, ground battle on Tatooine, and an uprising plot with Finn turning the Union’s Crusaders. The newly reinstated Chancellor Leia Organa together with Admiral Ackbar leads the Republic forces to Tatooine and Geonosis space, where the Galactic Union had been hiding a large part of its fleet and personnel now ready to deploy and take Naboo, Takodana, Jakku, Hosnia and more.

Leia implores Boba Fett for help, but the Mandalorians have their own problems. The part of the Republic now loyal to the Union is continuing the assault against the Mandalorians, tying them down.  The Mandalorians are also hesitant to fight the main body of the Galactic Union and the Crusaders who were revealed to be Mandalorians stolen as children. Unable to count on Mandalorian help Leia nevertheless continues to Tatooine, Lando’s fleet from Bespin joining hers. Poe and Black Squadron have scouted the area and report back that the Union fleet are close to deploying. Luke has already been on his home planet a while, brokering a peace treaty between the Republic and the various factions on Tatooine with the help of C3PO (link).

Rey is on a separate mission looking for Finn. Finn himself, imprisoned and being reconditioned, tries desperately to hang onto his sense of self. Rey senses his pain and resolve, and dives into a dangerous defunct hyperspace route in search of him. She makes it through a hyperspace storm that she barely steers the Falcon through before finding herself in a regular hyperspace route alongside the Union flagship. They drop into normal space and so does she, and is tractored on board. Taken prisoner and facing Kylo Ren with the Knights of Ren arrayed around him, she finds Finn–standing guard next to Kylo, staring straight ahead, not seeming to hear her pleas. Ren offers her a place in the Union and she refuses. Ren then orders Finn to fight Rey, and during the fight reveals to her that Finn’s father killed her parents. Rey realizes he’s telling the truth and fights back in hate and rage until she realizes she is falling to the Dark Side and, remembering her love for Finn, throws down her saber.

Ren orders Finn to kill Rey and he marches forward, seemingly about to strike her down before he turns his attack on Phasma. He had been repeating a phrase drilled into him, a Mandalorian motto that the Union had stolen and twisted around, and held onto it while he was being reconditioned. Now, with the revelation of his heritage by Ren, his memories rush back and he remembers his fathers, his sense of belonging, Mandalore in whose ways he had been brought up all along though in a way that was twisted to serve his kidnappers. He rallies the Crusaders, reminding them that they are Mandalorians even though they were stolen and bred as weapons. They are not weapons, however, they are warriors. Some of the Crusaders rally to him, others turn on them, and there is enough confusion for Finn and Rey to escape with the freed Mandalorians and damage the flagship in the process.

Back on Tatooine the Tatooine Alliance of Hutts, Jawas, Tuskens, and farmers attack the Union ships and supplies, destroying a significant number of ships before they can launch. Luke is in the thick of the fray, with C3PO complaining about how disorderly everything is and also directing a droids for espionage and sabotage.

In the space above Tatooine Leia and Lando’s fleet shoot down the Union fleet while Ackbar blocks off the perimeter with mines and bombers. The Union fleet is still an enormous force and are wearing down the Republic fleet. They need help and have nowhere to expect it from.

On Mandalore, the warriors are defending the home world from Union forces while a Union dreadnought moves into position for bombardment from orbit, a move that would wipe out all life on the surface. At that desperate hour more Union ships emerge from hyperspace and it looks like all is lost–but these are the free Mandalorian warriors led by Finn and they fall on the Dreadnought, destroying it! Finn informs the Mandalorians by comm of what happened. Watching this brave young man, Idrian Fett and Teros Kryze are gripped by the strangest feeling of recognition while telling themselves it can’t be. The Mandalorians together send the Union fleet into a route.

The Mandalorians must now decide whether to stay and protect their homeworld or go to Leia and the Republic’s aid. Finn argues that they must save the Republic’s fleet. The Union’s entire strategy consisted of sowing dissension between the Republic and the Mandalorians, and it is only together that they can win the day. Idrian, thinking of the long-ago tragedy his own anger caused, backs him up, convincing the Mandalore.

Over Tatooine Lando personally shoots down a number of ships at the head of the Bespin fleet. Leia crashes enemy starships together using the Force. Ackbar’s defense never wavers, despite great sacrifices. Droid-piloted ships crash into the enemy, leaving holes in their lines. Poe and Black Squadron bring down a capital ship. If the Republic is to fall here, they will make every death count to at least give a fighting chance to the rest of the galaxy.

That is when new Union ships arrive, alongside Mandalorian ships! There is confusion for a moment before they realize the Mandalorian cavalry is here, and the day seems to be theirs.

Meanwhile, the Tatooine Alliance back on the surface of the planet discover among the captured Union equipment some kind of regulator that is connected to one of Tatooine’s suns. Luke is stunned when he realizes that, essentially, the suns of Tatooine have been turned into bombs. The Union must have been waiting for their enemies to gather in one place and one of the suns will engulf the entire system in twenty minutes, setting off the other in a chain reaction.

Luke warns Leia to get the fleet out of harm’s way while he attempts to evacuate the planet, but when none of the ships can jump into hyperspace they realize that the Union has blocked off hyperspace travel in the area.

Then Kylo Ren’s Union flagship bursts into normal space. Ren informs his mother by comm that this system is about to be destroyed and he will take her away, installing her as the political head of the new Union to rule the galaxy as she sees fit–as she deserves to, as their family deserves to after all it has done for the universe. Leia flat-out refuses, saying she won’t be a puppet front for a mass murdering regime. She urges her son to stop the bomb and Kylo is angry with her, berating her for her ingratitude when he has paid such a high price for her. He tries to tractor and drag her ship into hyperspace, but she orders thrusters reversed and holds fast.

Ren, now panicked at the thought of losing his mother as well as his father, leads a boarding party to her ship to extract her. When the hatch opens he is greeted by Finn and his Mandalorian warriors who jump into battle with Ren and his Knights.

Meanwhile Rey is on the Falcon, having hit on a plan with Luke over the comm to try and open a hyperspace route to divert the solar flare from the first sun before it hits Tatooine and reaches the other sun in the system. Luke, with no time to join her physically, goes into Force meditation on Tatooine.

Finn and Ren have a rematch and it looks like Finn is done for when Ren disarms him. But Finn takes Ren’s lightsaber to replace his own, wins the fight, then pulls a T’Challa and captures Ren before he can kill himself. Ren needs to face a tribunal–and worse, his mother–for his crimes.

Together Rey and Luke manage to open a route into hyperspace and Rey disappears into it ahead of the flare, trapping it in hyperspace. Back on Tatooine Luke disappears in the light of the binary sunset, too much of his essence poured into the Force. Finn and the others watch and wait for Rey to emerge into normal space and contact them, but she doesn’t.

The battle won, the captured Union database gives the freed Mandalorians information of their origins and Finn reunites in an emotional scene with Idrian and Teros. Leia, unsmiling, tells an arrested Ben that he is grounded for life. A memorial is held for those lost in battle, and Rey’s name is among them.

After a time skip Finn is proclaiming the creation of a new joint force between the Republic and Mandalore to keep peace in the Outer Rim and root out slavery. At that moment a ship jumps out of hyperspace, its hull red-hot and visibly falling apart, and a giant gout of flame follows in its wake. Finn recognizes the Falcon and tells Rey through the Force to eject, which she does just before the Falcon is consumed by the flames and blows up. Told you my version of Finn solves far too many problems by ejecting people into space Finn blasts into space to catch her and they bring her in, burned, frostbitten, and barely conscious but clinging to Finn as she tells him she followed him home, his light burns so bright.

When Rey comes to she is safe and in treatment. Her right hand was damaged and had to replaced with a mechanical prosthesis. She is, little by little, introduced to the new reality and we learn it through her. The Galactic Union is in disarray, and Republic and Mandalorian forces are hunting them throughout space. Leia is working to pull the Republic back together and bring the pro-Union leaders to justice. Hearings are beginning on Ben’s trial. Rey talks about her own ordeal, how she was lost in space and time and thought she was going to die, how she found Finn’s Force signature in the maeltrom and made her way out.

Hesitantly Finn introduces Rey to his fathers, and Rey hears from Idrian himself what happened. She learns that her mother is alive, though comatose, and goes to see her in the same hospital. When Rey stands over her mother’s bed she and Finn both feel Irena trying to wake up and reach out to her daughter, and they clasp hands to join their Force powers and bring Irena back. You see glimpses of Force ghosts around the bed, Qui-Gonn, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Anakin, and Luke, helping them. Irena opens her eyes and, without a moment’s hesitation, calls her daughter’s name. They hug, camera pans out, credits.

[kayla1993-world]

A few thousand protesters opposed to vaccine mandates and COVID lockdowns gathered outside Ontario’s provincial legislature Saturday, but police kept a feared convoy of trucks from entering the area.

Police closed off streets around Queen’s Park, so the protesters walked to a park behind the legislative building on foot.

In Yorkville, where horn-honking trucks had been delayed, about three or four thousand people heard rabble-rousing speeches before marching north.

As a crowd braving minus-10 cold cheered “Freedom” and attacks on the federal government, the microphone sounded repeatedly.

A speaker who identified himself as Danny DeSantis said, "We should resist."

“We will crush this establishment and regain our freedoms,” another shouted.

Farm tractors and smaller trucks began arriving on Friday afternoon for the demonstration. The activists were unable to get near the Ontario legislature because of police barricades, so they parked next to the Royal Ontario Museum.

Police were trying to prevent a long-term occupation of the city’s core and secure the five major hospitals located just south of Queen’s Park on University Avenue.

A protest erupted in Toronto over COVID-related vaccine mandates and lockdowns. Further proof that the movement has spread beyond just the truck drivers who spearheaded the Ottawa rally was the arrival of farm vehicles.

They promised to prevent them from repeating the chaos in the nation’s capital, where hundreds of protesters clogged streets around Parliament Hill and filled the area with honking.

Mayor John Tory said at a news conference Friday, “We all want to do what we can to prevent the kind of situation we’re seeing in Ottawa, right now. I would urge anyone planning to protest here to stay home if it isn't peaceful and respectful.”

In the afternoon of Friday, police had used parked buses to block off University Avenue, which is home to some of Canada’s largest healthcare facilities. In Toronto and elsewhere, protests against lockdowns and vaccines have targeted hospitals, sometimes making them inaccessible.

Police Chief James Ramer said anyone attempting to disrupt hospitals or emergency routes would face “strict enforcement."

Police have also flooded the downtown area with a large number of officers, who have been instructed to keep their body cameras on during the protest.

Despite residents' concern over a large number of uniformed officers, Pogue told the same news conference the department is doing everything to keep the city safe.

In addition, the police installed additional closed-circuit cameras throughout the area, she said.

Police Chief Ramer said that no vehicles will be parked around Queen’s Park and officers will not permit demonstrators on foot to encamp there.

In contrast, the Tories appeared to take an indirect shot at protesters. In Toronto, over 90 percent of eligible residents have received a vaccine and six out of ten are triple vaccinated.

He noted how remarkable it was to see the unity of the people of this city, to see their teamwork, to see their concern for one another.

It’s unclear who organized the Toronto event. Lamont Daigle, leader of The Line Canada, whose leader appeared on the radar of an anti-extremist watchdog last year, is one of the organizers of the demonstration.

On his Facebook page, Daigle perpetuated anti-Semitic tropes about a Jewish conspiracy that controls world banks and the media, wrote Canada Anti-Hate Network.

Daigle wrote, “The Israelis oppressing the Palestinians are zionist children who own 75% of Israel, the World Bank and WHO," in a 1,400-word essay. He also wrote, “The Globalist Elites are the ones responsible for the Palestinian occupation as a testing ground for how they plan to ‘Occupy’ and lock down the rest of the World.”

[vilaspatelvlogs]

Tractor Rally की मंजूरी के बाद किसानों ने रखी नई मांग, कहा- शर्तों के साथ रैली का मतलब नहीं

Tractor Rally की मंजूरी के बाद किसानों ने रखी नई मांग, कहा- शर्तों के साथ रैली का मतलब नहीं

नई दिल्ली: नए कृषि कानूनों (New Agriculture Laws) के खिलाफ प्रदर्शन कर रहे किसानों को दिल्ली पुलिस ने गणतंत्र दिवस (Republic Day 2021) पर शर्तों के साथ ट्रैक्टर परेड (Tractor Parade) निकालने की मंजूरी दे दी है. हालांकि मंजूरी मिलने के बाद अब किसानों ने ट्रैक्टर रैली की टाइमिंग और रूट पर सवाल उठाया है. किसानों ने कहा शर्तों के साथ रैली मंजूर नहीं किसान मजदूर संघर्ष कमेटी के नेता सुखविंदर सिंह सभरा…

[everythingshouldbereality]

Appeal farmers to go back, shouldn't give any opportunity to govt to blame you: Sharad Pawar

Appeal farmers to go back, shouldn’t give any opportunity to govt to blame you: Sharad Pawar

Image Source : PTI Senior NCP leader Sharad Pawar addresses during the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha at Azad Maidan, in Mumbai. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said that the Centre failed to control the tractor march going out of hands in the national capital. He said farmers from Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh held protest in a disciplined manner but the…

[jknewsinfo]

NEW DELHI 200 farmers reach Jantar Mantar for protest against farm laws amid Parliament session NEW DELHI: A group of 200 farmers reached Jantar Mantar in central Delhi on Thursday to protest against the Centre''s three contentious farm laws as the Monsoon session of Parliament was underway. Police threw a ring of security around central Delhi and kept a tight vigil on the movement of vehicles. Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal has given special permission for demonstration by a maximum of 200 farmers at Jantar Mantar, a few metres from the Parliament Complex, till August 9. The 200 farmers, wearing identification badges and carrying flags of their unions, travelled to Jantar Mantar from their Singhu border protest site in buses with a police escort. The protest was to start at 11 am, but the farmers reached the venue only by 12:25 pm. Farmer leader Shiv Kumar Kakka said police stopped them at three places en route and their Aadhaar cards were checked. Upon reaching Jantar Mantar, farmers raised slogans, demanding the government scrap the three laws. The protesting farmers have been restricted to a small section of Jantar Mantar with police putting up barricades on both sides. Several teams of the Delhi Police manned the roads leading to the protest venue, while personnel of the Rapid Action Force, an specialized unit of the Central Reserve Police Force, stood guard at the site, carrying riot shields and batons. A water cannon and metal-detector gates have been deployed at the site. Two tankers carrying drinking water have also been stationed there. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions spearheading the protest against the three farm laws, has been asked to give an undertaking that all COVID-19 norms would be followed and the stir would be peaceful. Although the SKM had said that their protest at Jantar Mantar would continue till the end of the Monsoon session of Parliament on August 13, the lieutenant governor has given permission for protest till August 9. This is the first time since the violence in the national capital during a tractor rally on January 26 that the authorities have granted permission to the https://www.instagram.com/p/CRoB1z1Mf5U/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thenewsroom8]

Farmers plan another tractor rally to UP Gate tomorrow | Noida News

Farmers plan another tractor rally to UP Gate tomorrow | Noida News

GHAZIABAD: To mark seven months of protests against the three contentious agricultural bills and to exert pressure on the government, farmers have planned another ‘tractor rally’ on June 26. As per their plan, hundreds of tractors from BKU’s headquarters Sisauli have started for UP Gate and will reach Ghaziabad on Saturday. Protesting farmers along the route will join in, with their tractors.…

[newsmatters]

Republic Day violence: Delhi Police files chargesheet against 16 including Deep Sidhu

Republic Day violence: Delhi Police files chargesheet against 16 including Deep Sidhu

New Delhi, May 21: The Delhi Police on Friday filed chargesheet against 16 people including Punjabi actor-activist Deep Sidhu in the Republic Day violence case. The CBI in it’s chargesheet has mentioned that the protesters had a “pre-conceived and well-coordinated” plan to break the agreement between the police and the farmer leaders about the three routes for the tractor rally. The police has…

[expatimes]

Free speech under threat as India clamps down on farmer protests | Agriculture News

When Vinod K Jose, executive editor of The Caravan, India’s leading investigative magazine, logged onto Twitter on Monday, he was shocked to find the magazine’s account had been blocked.

Jose was already dealing with a case of sedition and other charges against him, the magazine owners and a freelance journalist. At the heart of the allegations is the magazine’s coverage of the ongoing farmers’ protests that have gripped India for more than two months.

As the farmers camp out on the edges of the capital, protesting against new agricultural laws they say will devastate their earnings, mainstream and social media have come under unprecedented attacks from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Critics say the government has used the mass demonstrations to escalate a crackdown on free speech, arresting journalists and freezing Twitter accounts.

“It’s a very chilling development for the press,” said Apar Gupta, executive director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group.

The government first came after Muslims because they are an easily visible minority. But now it is coming after anyone who has an informed, intelligent expression.

Sanjay Rajoura, satirist

Jose shared a screenshot of the blocked account from his personal handle. Soon, outrage ensued. Activists, journalists and media watchdogs rushed to condemn Twitter, which said it had acted upon a “valid legal request” issued by an Indian authority.

Hundreds of Indian Twitter accounts, including those of news websites, activists and a farmers’ union, were suspended on Monday. Some, including The Caravan’s, have since been restored.

Offline, at least nine journalists have been charged in the last few weeks for covering the protests.

Protesters demonstrate with the body of a farmer killed on January 26 in New Delhi

The trigger for the clampdown was the death of a protester, Navneet Singh, when the largely peaceful rallies turned violent on January 26 after a group of farmers veered from an agreed protest route and stormed New Delhi’s historic Red Fort.

Hundreds of police and farmers were injured in clashes. Farmer leaders condemned the violence but refused to call off the protest.

Authorities say no shots were fired and that Singh died because his tractor overturned. His family alleged he was fatally shot. Their account has been published by several outlets, including The Caravan.

Ministers in Modi’s government accused the journalists and a prominent opposition parliamentarian of inciting hatred and endangering the nation’s integrity through inaccurate reporting and tweets. It led to the filing of colonial-era sedition charges, which carry a maximum five-year prison term.

The law, like its equivalent in other former British colonies, is viewed as draconian and was revoked in the United Kingdom in 2010.

Prosecutions on sedition charges are rare but their use to silence journalists, critics and dissenters in India are not new and previous governments had also resorted to it.

But official data shows Modi’s government has used the law more than any other – up by nearly 30 percent. It has also repeatedly rejected demands to repeal it.

Calls and messages seeking comment from four BJP spokespeople went unanswered, said The Associated Press news agency, adding that calls to the party’s media office were also unsuccessful.

Rajdeep Sardesai, consulting editor and anchor at India Today Group, was charged with sedition

Media watchdogs and rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, condemned the government’s actions as censorship. The Editors Guild of India said the cases against journalists were “an attempt to intimidate, harass, browbeat, and stifle the media”.

Daniel Bastard, the head of Reporters Without Borders’s Asia-Pacific desk, said the government was trying to impose its own narrative.

Critics say India under Modi is growing intolerant. Its ranking on the World Press Freedom Index has fallen every year, and it ranked 142nd out of 180 in 2020.

Reporters Without Borders noted “police violence against journalists” and increased “pressure on the media to toe the Hindu nationalist government’s line” as key reasons for the demotion.

But similarly, Twitter’s reaction to the suspension of accounts has also “set a terrible precedent” for free speech and press, said Jose.

“We like Twitter to stand neutral as opposed to being vulnerable to the pressures of power,” he said.

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in its notice to Twitter on Monday said it directed the company to take down accounts that had used incendiary hashtags during the January 26 violence.

But Jose said The Caravan never used such hashtags and Twitter did not notify the magazine before suspending its account.

The ministry did not respond to calls and emails but issued another statement on Wednesday, accusing Twitter of “unilaterally” restoring the accounts “despite orders to withhold them”.

It said the platform had to adhere to the authorities’ directions and may face criminal charges “for not complying with government orders”.

Twitter declined to comment.

Gupta from Internet Freedom Foundation said the information technology law the government invoked to freeze the Twitter accounts gives it the power to direct online intermediaries and internet service providers to block certain content without providing any explanation.

“In the past, governments have blocked individual journalistic accounts, but the blocking of an account of an entire publication is a level of escalation,” said Gupta.

The government’s response to the farmer protests has gone beyond India’s borders.

On Wednesday, India’s foreign ministry condemned “vested interest groups trying to enforce their agenda” after pop star Rihanna and teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg tweeted in support of the protests.

Muslim comedian Munawar Faruqui was jailed for more than a month on unproven charges

Entertainers in India have not been spared either.

On January 1, Muslim comedian Munawar Faruqui was arrested for allegedly insulting Hindu sentiments before he could even begin his performance in Indore, a city in Madhya Pradesh state that is governed by Modi’s party.

In India, intentionally hurting religious sentiments is a criminal offence. But Faruqui was arrested preemptively before his performance even began.

“Before he could even make the joke, before he could even really start the show, police came and dragged him away,” said Anshuman Shrivastava, Faruqui’s lawyer.

The show was cancelled and police have since admitted they have no evidence against the comedian. He was granted temporary bail by the Supreme Court on Friday, after three lower courts refused to do so.

The Associated Press reached out to five prominent comedians who did not want to speak on the record but said they were increasingly scared of making jokes against the government and Hindu religion.

“What we are witnessing right now is a blatant violation of free speech in India, which the government has legitimised in full public view,” said Sanjay Rajoura, a prominent Indian satirist.

“The government first came after Muslims because they are an easily visible minority. But now it is coming after anyone who has an informed, intelligent expression.”

The ire of Hindu nationalist groups aligned with Modi’s party has also caught streaming platforms off guard. Many of their shows have faced boycott calls and legal cases.

Recently, the Supreme Court issued a notice to Amazon Prime over its show Mirzapur after a petition claimed it hurt cultural sentiments.

Such incidents have not inspired much faith in the courts, said The Caravan’s Jose. He and the owners are still battling criminal charges.

“I hope the courts see that the world is watching how the largest democracy’s judiciary defends personal liberties,” Jose said.

Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=17761&feed_id=32349