Two teenage girls have been charged under Florida's law against cyberbullying after authorities say they created a Facebook account in a classmate's name and posted a faked nude photograph of her.
The 16- and 15-year-old high school students were charged Wednesday after a lengthy investigation into two Facebook accounts created in April. They each face a felony charge of aggravated stalking under a 2008 law passed after a student suicide blamed on bullying.
Officials say the accounts included a photo of a nude female doctored to add the victim's head.
Authorities say the victim was ridiculed by classmates after the pages became active.
The teens have been ordered to serve 21 days of home confinement and will be arraigned on the charges Feb. 8.
Bellingham Herald
Friday, 14 January 2011
ITALIAN LEADERS DECRY LIST OF ‘INFLUENTIAL’ ITALIAN JEWS
Italian leaders expressed anger and solidarity with the Jewish community after a neo-Nazi Internet forum published a list of "influential" Italian Jews on its website. The Italian media Wednesday called the list on the American white supremacist website Stormfront "a blacklist of hate." The list included journalists, businesspeople, politicians, artists and others.
Politicians denounced the Stormfront posting and called for action against online hatred. The list "reminds us of the most shameful page in our history when, based on similar lists, thousands of Italians were expelled from schools, universities and workplaces and were deprived of citizenship and persecuted," Nicola Zingaretti, president of the Province of Rome, said in a statement. Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno expressed "shame and anger," and called those who posted the list "ignorant and racist cowards." Italian lawmaker Enrico Gasbarra called for urgent action by the European Union to implement legislation that would "put an end, once and for all, to the possibility of using the Net as a tool of violence and persecution."
According to figures cited by the Contemporary Jewish Documentation Center, Italy's leading research center on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism, there are 1,200 Italian websites with some form of anti-Semitic content. "It is very difficult to intervene when the sites have their servers in other countries," as Stormfront does, the center's Michele Sarfatti said.
JTA News
Politicians denounced the Stormfront posting and called for action against online hatred. The list "reminds us of the most shameful page in our history when, based on similar lists, thousands of Italians were expelled from schools, universities and workplaces and were deprived of citizenship and persecuted," Nicola Zingaretti, president of the Province of Rome, said in a statement. Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno expressed "shame and anger," and called those who posted the list "ignorant and racist cowards." Italian lawmaker Enrico Gasbarra called for urgent action by the European Union to implement legislation that would "put an end, once and for all, to the possibility of using the Net as a tool of violence and persecution."
According to figures cited by the Contemporary Jewish Documentation Center, Italy's leading research center on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism, there are 1,200 Italian websites with some form of anti-Semitic content. "It is very difficult to intervene when the sites have their servers in other countries," as Stormfront does, the center's Michele Sarfatti said.
JTA News
POWER OUTAGE AT CZECH COURT HALTS TRIAL OF ATTACK ON HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST BY NEO-NAZIS (Czech Rep.)
Yesterday a court in Most had to suspend its hearing into an attack on Czech human rights activist Ondøej Cakl by several neo-Nazis. The attack was committed on 17 November 2008 during an attempted pogrom against Roma residents of the Janov housing estate in the town of Litvínov. František Brávek, a 27-year-old neo-Nazi, has been charged as one of the attackers who brutally beat Cakl and destroyed his video camera. A verdict was not handed down today due to a power failure at the courthouse. On 5 January, the court acquitted another suspected assailant, Martin Loskot, of related charges. Several minutes after the trial commenced, the lights went out in the courtroom; after 10 minutes of interruption, the power could not be restored. "We had to halt the trial for technical reasons. The lights in the courtroom were gradually turning off and then there was no power at all," Judge Benno Eichler said. The trial has been postponed until May.
The judge only managed to hear testimony from Ondøej Cakl today. "While I was filming the crowd of 800, someone suddenly grabbed me from behind and slid down with me so that I flew sideways, and then all I could see were parts of the arms and legs that were striking me. I covered my head and did my best to get away. Luckily I succeeded," Cakl told the court. "Based on my memory of the scene of the crime, I am not able to identify the defendant as one of the attackers, but I am able to identify him on the basis of the photographs and video recordings made by the journalists who were present." "When I discovered that those who perpetrated the attack on Natálka had been captured on film standing next to the defendant during the march on Janov, I became concerned that they might commit a Molotov cocktail attack on our office or on my apartment . I concluded police would not be able to protect me, so I left the country," Cakl told the court.
Brávek, who is charged with rioting and could face a two-year sentence, refused to testify, referring the court to the statements he made in the preliminary hearing. After the trial was postponed, he told journalists he had not attacked Cakl, although he did admit to participating in the neo-Nazi march. "I participated in the march, but I was in the crowd. I did not see the incident described here until footage of it was released on the internet," Brávek said in response to journalists' questions. "The court should concern itself with more serious matters. That camera may have cost CZK 30 000 at the time, but today it probably only costs CZK 5 000," he added, trivializing the entire case.
Another defendant, Martin Loskot, was acquitted of all charges in the case by the court on 5 January. Loskot refused to testify in Brávek's case. Klára Kalibová, Cakl's attorney, has commissioned experts in biomechanics and biometrics to produce a professional evaluation of the evidence for the next phase of the trial. "This is a technical tool that facilitates the identification of those who perpetrate crimes," Kalibová told Czech Television. Petr Pánek of the state prosecutor's office in Most has confirmed that such evidence has not yet been considered. "However, it may be considered on appeal," he said.
Jiøí Straus, an expert witness in the field of biomechanics, says an attack of this sort cannot be ruled on without an expert evaluation. Experts are able to use visual images of an incident to precisely identify assailants. "A person's movements are relative and can be analyzed in very brief intervals to determine who was kicking and with what intensity," Straus told Czech Television.
Romea
The judge only managed to hear testimony from Ondøej Cakl today. "While I was filming the crowd of 800, someone suddenly grabbed me from behind and slid down with me so that I flew sideways, and then all I could see were parts of the arms and legs that were striking me. I covered my head and did my best to get away. Luckily I succeeded," Cakl told the court. "Based on my memory of the scene of the crime, I am not able to identify the defendant as one of the attackers, but I am able to identify him on the basis of the photographs and video recordings made by the journalists who were present." "When I discovered that those who perpetrated the attack on Natálka had been captured on film standing next to the defendant during the march on Janov, I became concerned that they might commit a Molotov cocktail attack on our office or on my apartment . I concluded police would not be able to protect me, so I left the country," Cakl told the court.
Brávek, who is charged with rioting and could face a two-year sentence, refused to testify, referring the court to the statements he made in the preliminary hearing. After the trial was postponed, he told journalists he had not attacked Cakl, although he did admit to participating in the neo-Nazi march. "I participated in the march, but I was in the crowd. I did not see the incident described here until footage of it was released on the internet," Brávek said in response to journalists' questions. "The court should concern itself with more serious matters. That camera may have cost CZK 30 000 at the time, but today it probably only costs CZK 5 000," he added, trivializing the entire case.
Another defendant, Martin Loskot, was acquitted of all charges in the case by the court on 5 January. Loskot refused to testify in Brávek's case. Klára Kalibová, Cakl's attorney, has commissioned experts in biomechanics and biometrics to produce a professional evaluation of the evidence for the next phase of the trial. "This is a technical tool that facilitates the identification of those who perpetrate crimes," Kalibová told Czech Television. Petr Pánek of the state prosecutor's office in Most has confirmed that such evidence has not yet been considered. "However, it may be considered on appeal," he said.
Jiøí Straus, an expert witness in the field of biomechanics, says an attack of this sort cannot be ruled on without an expert evaluation. Experts are able to use visual images of an incident to precisely identify assailants. "A person's movements are relative and can be analyzed in very brief intervals to determine who was kicking and with what intensity," Straus told Czech Television.
Romea
SWEDEN LOOKS TO COMBAT ISLAMOPHOBIA
The suicide bombing in Stockholm risks resulting in suspicions being cast against hundreds of thousands of Swedish Muslims, Ullenhag writes in a debate article in the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper. He argues that it is unacceptable to blame an entire group for one person’s actions. “We who believe in the Swedish values of openness and tolerance have a responsibility to fight the Islamophobia and prejudice which can follow in the wake of terror,” writes Ullenhag. “We should never allow one individual’s act to result in an entire religion being seen as suspect or having a group saddled with collective guilt.” He points out that "more than 99.9 percent" of Sweden's estimated 400,000 Muslims are not among the list of roughly 200 violent Islamic extremists in the country identified by Swedish security service Säpo. Ullenhag said he shared concerns expressed to him by Muslim students in the days following the December 11th suicide bombing in Stockholm that the blasts would affect perceptions of them and their families.
He also cites a recent study from Sweden's Forum for Living History (Forum för levande historia) which found that tolerance among Swedish youth for Muslim, Jews, and Roma had decreased in recent years. In an effort to counteract potential discrimination against Swedish Muslims that could result from the suicide bombing, Ullenhag is meeting on Thursday with a number of prominent leaders from Sweden’s Muslim community. “The purpose of the meeting is to discuss how the government can deepen its work to combat discrimination and an increasing Islamophobia,” writes Ullenhag. “I want to listen to the experiences of Swedish Muslims and talk about what we can do to reduce polarisation and stop barriers between groups and people from taking root.” Ullenhag further emphasised that Sweden should never abandon its ideals of openness and tolerance in the fight against terrorism. “If a suicide bomber succeeds in creating large divisions and increased intolerance – then terror has won,” he writes.
The Local Sweden
He also cites a recent study from Sweden's Forum for Living History (Forum för levande historia) which found that tolerance among Swedish youth for Muslim, Jews, and Roma had decreased in recent years. In an effort to counteract potential discrimination against Swedish Muslims that could result from the suicide bombing, Ullenhag is meeting on Thursday with a number of prominent leaders from Sweden’s Muslim community. “The purpose of the meeting is to discuss how the government can deepen its work to combat discrimination and an increasing Islamophobia,” writes Ullenhag. “I want to listen to the experiences of Swedish Muslims and talk about what we can do to reduce polarisation and stop barriers between groups and people from taking root.” Ullenhag further emphasised that Sweden should never abandon its ideals of openness and tolerance in the fight against terrorism. “If a suicide bomber succeeds in creating large divisions and increased intolerance – then terror has won,” he writes.
The Local Sweden
IN FRANCE, FAR RIGHT SEIZES ON MUSLIM STREET PRAYERS
A call to prayer goes up from a loudspeaker perched on the hood of a car, and all at once hundreds of Muslim worshippers touch their foreheads to the ground, forming a sea of backs down the road.
The scene is taking place not in downtown Cairo, but on a busy market street in northern Paris, a short walk from the Sacre Coeur basilica. To locals, it's old news: some have been praying on the street, rain or shine, for decades. But for Marine Le Pen -- tipped to take over from her father this weekend as leader of the far-right National Front party -- it is proof that Muslims are taking over France and becoming an occupying force, according to remarks she made last month. Her comments caused a furore as she seized on the street prayers to drive home the idea that Islam is threatening the values of a secular country where anxiety over the role of Muslims in society has deepened in the past few years. More than two thirds of French and German people now consider the integration of Muslims into their societies a failure, pollster IFOP said in a survey published on Jan. 5. In France, where Islam is the second-largest religion after Catholicism, 42 percent saw it as a threat to national identity. "This has become a key political issue," said Frederic Dabi, IFOP's head of research. "Street prayers and the perceived growing influence of Islam are seen as impinging on French values of secularism, communal living."
Controversy over the street prayers has translated into growing confidence within the National Front, some 15 months before a presidential election likely to see a battle for votes between the far right and Sarkozy's centre-right UMP party. National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen has said he expects the party to outdo its electoral performance in 2002, when it knocked out the mainstream Socialist candidate in the first round of voting, but then lost to Jacques Chirac. "These fears hang mostly on symbols: minarets in Switzerland, the niqab (full-face veil) in France, even the halal Quick menu," Dabi said, referring to a fast-food chain which recently opened a range of halal-only restaurants in France and Belgium. "The far right is playing on these fears." Le Pen's comments seem to be taking hold. A poll published by TNS Sofres this week, showed that support for National Front ideas has grown by 12 percentage points over the past year.
Mosque-o-phobia
Back on the market road, Friday prayers come to an end as quickly as they begin, with hundreds of worshippers packing up their mats and heading back to work. Many told Reuters that given the choice, they would avoid the cold and rain and pray indoors. The problem is that their warehouse-turned-prayer site, an unofficial mosque called al Fath, is too small to accommodate them all. "It's cold and filthy. Do you think we would be out here praying if we had the choice? The whole neighbourhood comes and prays in the street because there is not enough room inside, that's all," said Mohammed Delmi, 62. Such scenes are replicated at a dozen sites across France where worshippers kneel outside because prayer rooms are too full, according to a report by the centre-left daily Liberation.
"There are simply not enough of them," said Hakim El Karoui, head of the Islamic Culture Institute, which advises the City of Paris on faith issues. "It's no wonder there is an overflow." The problem has grown along with the country's Muslim population, which the French Council of Islamic Faith estimates at between 5-7 million, or 8 percent of the population -- a larger community than in any other European nation. Campaigners in favour of building new mosques said they faced two major difficulties, starting with financing: mosques in France must be funded privately due to restrictions against using public money for religious purposes. The second, pricklier issue is the public, which has grown increasingly intolerant of Islamic symbols. Research by pollster IFOP shows that support for building mosques fell to 20 percent in 2009 from 31 percent in 2000.
"We are walking on egg shells here," said Moussa Niambele, head of a group seeking new prayer space near the al Fath mosque. "There is the minaret issue in Switzerland and they do not want to import such problems to France." In Paris, where the Muslim population is denser than elsewhere in France, there is only one official mosque, La Grande Mosquee de Paris, located by a park on the posh Left Bank, far away from immigrant-heavy neighbourhoods. El Karoui said the problem had grown more acute since the closure of a large mosque in northern Paris two years ago forced more Muslims to pray in converted garages or vacant lots. A project to build two new prayer spaces which would be called "cultural" and "faith" centres lacks 5.9 million euros of private funding and building would not start before 2012. Worshippers were sceptical about the timetable. "You know, we have been praying on this street for years, long before Marine Le Pen made her remarks," said one man. "I am not going to throw away my raincoat quite yet."
Reuters
The scene is taking place not in downtown Cairo, but on a busy market street in northern Paris, a short walk from the Sacre Coeur basilica. To locals, it's old news: some have been praying on the street, rain or shine, for decades. But for Marine Le Pen -- tipped to take over from her father this weekend as leader of the far-right National Front party -- it is proof that Muslims are taking over France and becoming an occupying force, according to remarks she made last month. Her comments caused a furore as she seized on the street prayers to drive home the idea that Islam is threatening the values of a secular country where anxiety over the role of Muslims in society has deepened in the past few years. More than two thirds of French and German people now consider the integration of Muslims into their societies a failure, pollster IFOP said in a survey published on Jan. 5. In France, where Islam is the second-largest religion after Catholicism, 42 percent saw it as a threat to national identity. "This has become a key political issue," said Frederic Dabi, IFOP's head of research. "Street prayers and the perceived growing influence of Islam are seen as impinging on French values of secularism, communal living."
Controversy over the street prayers has translated into growing confidence within the National Front, some 15 months before a presidential election likely to see a battle for votes between the far right and Sarkozy's centre-right UMP party. National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen has said he expects the party to outdo its electoral performance in 2002, when it knocked out the mainstream Socialist candidate in the first round of voting, but then lost to Jacques Chirac. "These fears hang mostly on symbols: minarets in Switzerland, the niqab (full-face veil) in France, even the halal Quick menu," Dabi said, referring to a fast-food chain which recently opened a range of halal-only restaurants in France and Belgium. "The far right is playing on these fears." Le Pen's comments seem to be taking hold. A poll published by TNS Sofres this week, showed that support for National Front ideas has grown by 12 percentage points over the past year.
Mosque-o-phobia
Back on the market road, Friday prayers come to an end as quickly as they begin, with hundreds of worshippers packing up their mats and heading back to work. Many told Reuters that given the choice, they would avoid the cold and rain and pray indoors. The problem is that their warehouse-turned-prayer site, an unofficial mosque called al Fath, is too small to accommodate them all. "It's cold and filthy. Do you think we would be out here praying if we had the choice? The whole neighbourhood comes and prays in the street because there is not enough room inside, that's all," said Mohammed Delmi, 62. Such scenes are replicated at a dozen sites across France where worshippers kneel outside because prayer rooms are too full, according to a report by the centre-left daily Liberation.
"There are simply not enough of them," said Hakim El Karoui, head of the Islamic Culture Institute, which advises the City of Paris on faith issues. "It's no wonder there is an overflow." The problem has grown along with the country's Muslim population, which the French Council of Islamic Faith estimates at between 5-7 million, or 8 percent of the population -- a larger community than in any other European nation. Campaigners in favour of building new mosques said they faced two major difficulties, starting with financing: mosques in France must be funded privately due to restrictions against using public money for religious purposes. The second, pricklier issue is the public, which has grown increasingly intolerant of Islamic symbols. Research by pollster IFOP shows that support for building mosques fell to 20 percent in 2009 from 31 percent in 2000.
"We are walking on egg shells here," said Moussa Niambele, head of a group seeking new prayer space near the al Fath mosque. "There is the minaret issue in Switzerland and they do not want to import such problems to France." In Paris, where the Muslim population is denser than elsewhere in France, there is only one official mosque, La Grande Mosquee de Paris, located by a park on the posh Left Bank, far away from immigrant-heavy neighbourhoods. El Karoui said the problem had grown more acute since the closure of a large mosque in northern Paris two years ago forced more Muslims to pray in converted garages or vacant lots. A project to build two new prayer spaces which would be called "cultural" and "faith" centres lacks 5.9 million euros of private funding and building would not start before 2012. Worshippers were sceptical about the timetable. "You know, we have been praying on this street for years, long before Marine Le Pen made her remarks," said one man. "I am not going to throw away my raincoat quite yet."
Reuters
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