When Microsoft locked an ICC prosecutor out of their email, it proved just how easily U.S. power can reach across borders and into the heart of global justice, writes Paul Budde.

THE RECENT INCIDENT involving Microsoft and the International Criminal Court (ICC) should send a chill down the spine of every democratic nation.
Following a sanctions order from White House, Microsoft locked ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan out of his enterprise-level Office 365 account.
That account wasn’t personal — it was part of the ICC’s institutional infrastructure.

And just like that, an American tech giant disabled access to a key international legal actor.

...

What’s worse is the normalisation of it all. We scroll past headlines like “Microsoft cuts #ICC access” and carry on with our day. The sociologist Alexei Yurchak coined a term for this: hypernormalisation — the idea that everyone knows the system is broken, but we all pretend things are normal because no one can imagine how to change them..."

#Tyranny #Kakistocracy #ManufacturingConsent #Office365 #Censorship

https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/trumps-war-on-the-icc-goes-digital-with-microsoft-as-an-ally,19894

While John Cena won the WWE title in Saudi Arabia this weekend, nearly a hundred migrants from Ethiopia, Egypt and Somalia were preparing for their executions on drug related charges.

For the Middle East Eye, I document the sudden upscale in executions in the Kingdom, the plight of a family of one condemned man on death row, and efforts by researchers and NGOs documenting the scourge, and calling on crown prince Mohammed bin Salman to commute the death sentences.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/least-50-african-people-risk-imminent-execution-saudi-arabia