What is "SOPA" & "PIPA" ? READ IN DETAIL

Stopping dangerous blacklist Bills SOPA AND PIPA

READ ABOUT SOPA AND PIPA HERE

LINK

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_FmU-x1QSW0MjQxM2M4YzItZTg1ZS00NmIxLWE3MjgtMzZhMGI0ODA2N2Fi

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PM Gilani not guilty of contempt: Aitzaz

Aitzaz Ahsan has said contempt of court could not be applied in NRO implementation case


Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani is not guilty of contempt of court but should bow to pressure and write to Switzerland about reopening graft cases against the president, Aitzaz Ahsan said Wednesday.

The comments from Aitzaz Ahsan are the clearest indication yet that Yousaf Raza Gilani may step back from the brink of further confrontation with the judiciary when he is summoned before apex court on Thursday.

The Supreme Court initiated contempt proceedings against Gilani, exasperated by his refusal to write to the Swiss asking them to re-open graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari since an amnesty expired in 2009.

If the prime minister were to be charged with contempt, he would be stripped of office and could face up to six months in prison -- leaving little option but satisfy the judges, resign or risk being unceremoniously sacked.

"Asif Ali Zardari has complete immunity as president," Ahsan told reporters.

"There is no harm in writing a letter to the Swiss authorities. He enjoys immunity in Pakistan and abroad as long as he is president," he added.

The standoff between the government and the courts over corruption cases facing political leaders rests on principle alone given that Switzerland says Zardari is immune from prosecution as long as he remains in office.

Gilani s decision to appoint Ahsan as his lawyer has been seen as a conciliatory gesture to the judiciary -- on a collision course with the government that is widely expected to help force early elections this year.

Ahsan is a senior leader in Zardari s Pakistan People s Party (PPP) and well respected by the judiciary for his role at the vanguard of a lawyers  movement that forced the government to reinstate independent judges in March 2009.

Ahsan said he did not believe Gilani would be convicted.

"I don t think the prime minister has committed contempt of court by not writing the letter. Through my arguments I will try to convince the court that the prime minister is not guilty of contempt."

PPP leaders accuse unnamed conspirators of plotting to bring down the government before its mandate ends in early 2013, in what many have interpreted as a judiciary-military axis working behind the scenes.

But the options open to Gilani are slim.

Former chief justice, Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui, told AFP that Gilani could either resign or comply with the court s order.

"The matter has gone too far. It will only make sense if he complies with the court order after tendering an apology," Siddiqui said.

He acknowledged that the tussle was on principle given that the Swiss could not prosecute a sitting head of state under the Geneva Convention.

"The government should have written a letter to the Swiss authorities much earlier irrespective of consequences," he said.

Political and security analyst Imtiaz Gul agreed that the prime minister had no choice but satisfy the judges or face dismissal.

One compromise might be to write to the Swiss about the case while pointing out that Zardari has immunity and cannot be proceeded against.

"The fact that they chose Aitzaz Ahsan to represent the prime minister underscores the possibility of reconciliation," Gul told AFP.

"He is well respected and a good lawyer. They chose him to find a middle ground which may be a win-win situation for the court and the prime minister."

"But it all depends on how Gilani responds to the options and whether he can satisfy the court," Gul added.

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How To: Access/Open Wikipedia in Blackout

So many big organizations and websites has announced that they will go blackout tomorrow in protest of the pending PIPA/SOPA anti-piracy bills. One of the big organization that will go blackout is Wikipedia which they already announced on their homepage.

If you are Wikipedia addict or if you really want to use Wikipedia during the blackout so here is simple tricks and tips on how to open or access Wikipedia during the blackout:

1. Disable JavaScript

Since “Wikipedia” blackout implementation uses javascript, it’s so simple to get it back. Just turn of/Disable javascript in your browser and Wikipedia will be accessible again during blackout.

Here is how to disable Javascript in Firefox:

• go to options and then content and uncheck “Enable Javascript”.

For Chrome:

• In settings, Go to “Under the bonnet” then click “content settings” and disable Javascript.

2. Wikipedia mobile

Another option is to visit the mobile Wikipedia site, as mobile site is unaffected by the blackout.

3. Google cache

The third option is to use Google cache. Just search for the page you want and load it via Google cache instead of accessing the Wikipedia site directly.

That’s it! You bypass the Blackout and can open/access Wikipedia!

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Supreme Court dismisses NAB's plea against Sharif family

The Supreme Court (SC) dismissed the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) appeal against Sharif brothers on Wednesday and ordered to release all their assets.

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Switzerland ready to cooperate in Zardari graft cases

Says mutual legal assistance through established channels will be provided. PHOTO: PID/FILE

LAHORE: Despite expressing complete neutrality on the graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and terming it an ‘internal matter’, the government of Switzerland has said that they will always be ready to cooperate with other states requesting mutual legal assistance through established channels.
Responding to written queries by The Express Tribune, the Swiss Embassy in Islamabad stated that: “Contrary to misperceptions, Swiss banking regulation is no obstacle for authorities to prosecute. It was regularly lifted in all kinds of investigations including tax offences and money laundering cases.”
However, one thing is clear: There are no criminal proceedings pending against President Zardari or former prime minister Benazir Bhutto after a Swiss investigating magistrate handed down a six-month suspended sentence against the couple.
“One thing must be clearly understood. Contrary to common perception, the Supreme Court is not asking the government to write a letter to re-open criminal proceedings against anyone,” clarified prominent lawyer Abid Hasan Minto.
“Pakistan’s government was never party to criminal proceedings against the Swiss companies SGS and Cotecna. Those proceedings were started by the Swiss government on their own initiative since both the companies are Swiss. Once the charges of money-laundering were proven, then the Pakistani government asked the Swiss government to return the $60 million frozen in the name of those Swiss companies,” added Minto.
“When the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was signed by former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s government filed a petition asking to withdraw the application regarding the frozen money. And now the court
is asking to revive that application if possible,” said Minto.
“However, there is a time-barring factor here. It is believed that if the Swiss cases are not revived by April, they would be rendered dead and then they cannot be revived. That is why the court is pressing the government to write the application now.”
Both the SGS and Cotecna are shipment inspection firms who were hired by late Bhutto’s government in 1995 to check imports for quality. Money-laundering speculations surfaced when it was reported in the media that the couple had deposited kickbacks worth millions in two alleged front off-shore companies. The party, President Zardari and Bhutto, during her lifetime, vehemently denied the charges.
The Pakistan Peoples Party termed the whole saga a ‘political witch-hunt’. In a recent interview, President Zardari categorically stated that his government would never ask the Swiss government to re-open the matter.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2012.

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