BBC News: YouTube to redirect searches for IS videos

I saw this on the BBC and thought you should see it:

YouTube to redirect searches for IS videos – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40681625

BBC News: Poland court reforms: Hungary vows ‘solidarity’ as bill approved

I saw this on the BBC and thought you should see it:

Poland court reforms: Hungary vows ‘solidarity’ as bill approved – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40692318

My birds on the wire today

My birds on the wire today

My Chakra today

My Chakra today

My Duck today

My Duck today

Triptych of Garden of Earthly Delights- Central Panel , detail C.1500Artist: Hieronymus BoschPeriod: Northern Renaissance Location: Museo del Prado , Madrid, Spain

Triptych of Garden of Earthly Delights- Central Panel , detail C.1500

Artist: Hieronymus Bosch

Period: Northern Renaissance 

Location: Museo del Prado , Madrid, Spain

Wikipedia Main Page: Today’s featured article

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page?wprov=sfla1

Today’s featured article

Bradley Wiggins

The 2012 Tour de France was the 99th edition of the race, one of cycling’s Grand Tours. The 21race stages, including theprologue, covered 3,496.9 km (2,173 mi), from the Belgian city of Liège on 30 June to the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 22 July. Bradley Wiggins(pictured) from Team Skywon the overall general classification, becoming the first British rider to win the Tour. Wiggins’s teammateChris Froome placed second, and Vincenzo Nibali(Liquigas–Cannondale) was third. Wiggins maintained leadership of the race after stage seven, the first mountainous stage. Thepoints classification was won by Nibali’s teammate Peter Sagan, who won three stages, as did André Greipelof Lotto–Belisol and Team Sky rider Mark Cavendish.Team Europcar‘s Thomas Voeckler won the mountains classification. BMC Racing Team‘s Tejay van Garderen, in fifth place overall, won theyoung rider classification. The team classification was won by RadioShack–Nissan, and Chris Anker Sørensen(Saxo Bank–Tinkoff Bank) was given the award for the most combative rider. (Full article…)

Today’s Holiday:Gambia Revolution Day

Today’s Holiday:
Gambia Revolution Day

The Gambia, a former British colony in West Africa, celebrates the anniversary of a coup in 1994 that ousted the country’s president, Sir Dawda Jawara, and ushered in a military government. Following the bloodless coup, the government made the transition to civilian leadership and the people elected Yahya Jammeh president. The commemoration is essentially a vehicle to show the Gambian people’s approval of their president. Past celebrations have included the unveiling of new development initiatives as well as cultural festivities. More…: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch

Today’s Birthday:Edward Hopper (1882)

Today’s Birthday:
Edward Hopper (1882)

Hopper was an American painter who supported himself as a commercial illustrator until he gained recognition in the mid-1920s with his now-iconic scenes of American life. His dramatically lit works often feature still, anonymous figures inside geometric buildings and evoke a haunting sense of isolation that was his hallmark. His famous Nighthawks depicts a mostly empty, brightly lit diner on an otherwise dark, desolate street at night. What was said to be Hopper’s favorite thing to paint? More…: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch

This Day in History:Pablo Escobar Escapes from His Luxury Prison (1992)

This Day in History:
Pablo Escobar Escapes from His Luxury Prison (1992)

By 1989, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was one of the world’s richest men. At the height of his success, his Medellín cartel controlled 80% of the global cocaine market. Even after he was incarcerated, he continued to conduct business from the resort-like Colombian prison that had been built to his specifications. In 1992, in an effort to avoid extradition to the US, Escobar escaped. He was killed by police 16 months later. His intimidation tactic of plata o plomo translates to what? More…: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch

Quote of the Day:Sophocles

Quote of the Day:
Sophocles

He who throws away a friend is as bad as he who throws away his life. More…: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch

Article of the Day:The Pearl of Lao Tzu

Article of the Day:
The Pearl of Lao Tzu

Linked to multiple legends, the Pearl of Lao Tzu is the largest known pearl in the world, measuring 9.45 inches (24 centimeters) in diameter and weighing 14.1 pounds (6.4 kilograms). Reportedly extracted from a giant clam off the coast of the Philippines in 1934, the pearl has been labeled “The Pearl of Allah” by some who believe it resembles the face of Muhammad and has also been connected to a legend involving the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. What is the pearl’s estimated value? More…: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch

Idiom of the Day:jolly (someone) along

Idiom of the Day:
jolly (someone) along

To encourage someone (to do something), especially in a positive, cheerful manner. Watch the video…: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch

Word of the Day:pathos

Word of the Day:
pathos

Definition: (noun) A quality, as of an experience or a work of art, that arouses feelings of pity, sympathy, tenderness, or sorrow.
Synonyms: poignancy
Usage: The documentary film captured the pathos of the refugee’s situation, and there was not a dry eye in the theater when the movie ended.: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch

France 24 : Poland in growing row with EU over reforms to Supreme Court

Poland in growing row with EU over reforms to Supreme Court

Poland’s ruling party on Saturday dismissed a growing wave of criticism from abroad and worries at home that an overhaul of the Supreme Court would undermine judicial independence.

http://www.france24.com/en/20170722-poland-growing-row-with-eu-over-reforms-supreme-court

In the early hours of Saturday senators of the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party approved a bill that would end all the terms of Supreme Court justices except those hand-picked by the justice minister.

Tens of thousands of protesters had gathered in Warsaw and cities across Poland for candle-lit vigils, chanting “Free Courts” and demanding that President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the PiS, veto the bill. More protests were planned during the day on Saturday.

The government has said the changes will ensure state institutions serve all Poles, not just the “elites”, and were needed to make judges accountable.

But the opposition, judges’ groups and critics in Brussels say the legislation is a new step by the Polish government towards authoritarianism.

The European Union’s executive has given Poland a week to shelve the judicial reforms that Brussels says would put courts under direct government control, or risk sanctions.

The United States, Poland’s most important ally in NATO, urged Warsaw to make sure that any changes respect the constitution.

“We urge all sides to ensure that any judicial reform does not violate Poland’s constitution … and respects the principles of judicial independence and separation of powers,” it said in a statement.

‘Premature’

The foreign ministry of Poland – a country that overthrew communism in 1989 and was later seen by many as a model young democracy – said on Saturday it was “surprised” that the United States has decided to voice concerns.

“The fact that the legislative process is still underway makes any such pronouncements premature,” the ministry said, adding that the bill protected judicial independence.

The largest U.S. and British organisations of lawyers have disagreed, a stance mirrored by top judges in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Estonia.

“I have written to the President of Poland … calling on him to exercise his power of veto over new legislation that will undermine the independence of the Polish judiciary,” chair of the Bar of England and Wales, Andrew Langdon, said.

“Judges must be independent. History tells us that justice is not done well when it is influenced by political turbulence and populism,” he said.

The European Network of Councils for the Judiciary has said the situation in Poland is “very grave”.

Critics point out that PiS senators approved the Supreme Court bill on July 22, the date widely considered to be the start of the communist regime in Poland 73 years ago.

So far only Poland’s fellow eurosceptic government in Hungary, led by Prime Minister Victor Orban, has said it will stand by Warsaw in its drive to overhaul the judiciary.

“The inquisition offensive against Poland can never succeed because Hungary will use all legal options in the European Union to show solidarity with the Poles,” Orban said in a televised speech in Baile Tusnad, Romania.

President’s call

An opinion poll for private television TVN showed on Friday that 55 percent of respondents said Duda should veto the judicial overhaul, while 29 percent wanted him to sign it.

Duda’s spokesman said on Saturday the president believed there was an inconsistency in the bill, but stopped short of saying what Duda would do.

The president has 21 days to decide whether to sign a bill into law, veto it or send it to the constitutional court for checks.

Earlier this week, Duda demanded that new Supreme Court justices be chosen by a panel composed mostly of judges chosen by a three-fifths parliamentary majority. PiS lawmakers agreed to introduce this change.

Since coming into power in 2015, the PiS has sought to tighten government influence over courts, and brought prosecutors and state media under direct government control. It has also introduced restrictions on public gatherings.

The party remains broadly popular among the electorate, despite an upsurge of protest in recent days.

With the economy growing robustly and unemployment at record lows, the party’s nationalist rhetoric infused with Catholic piety resonates strongly among Poland’s conservative voters.

(REUTERS)