Friday, September 23, 2016

The following is the fourth edition of a monthly series chronicling the U.S. 2016 presidential election. It features original material compiled throughout the previous month after an overview of the month’s biggest stories.

In this month’s edition on the campaign trail: the vice presidential nominee of the Reform Party is revealed; those attacked in a high profile campaign speech respond; and Wikinews interviews an economist seeking the presidency a second time.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Following a failed escape attempt on Wednesday at the detention facilities of the Subordinate Courts of Singapore, security has been increased.

At 1:45 a.m., Jamaluddin Salam, 32, and Salman Abu Samah, 28, tried to escape from the basement lock-up by requesting water. An officer opened the cell gate to fulfill the request, which is a breach of procedure; he should have merely passed water through a hole in the cell door. The prisoners took advantage of the open gate and overpowered the officer, violently punching and kicking him to the ground before heading to the gates at the lock-up’s exit, pressing a buzzer to inform the officer at the control room to unlock the gates. The officer did not check the security camera monitor to see who was at the gates before unlocking it, constituting another breach of procedure.

Following their successful exit from the lock-up, the duo used the lift just past the exit gates to reach the fourth floor of the facility, forcing open a locked door and going down a stairwell to reach the ground floor.

Within 10 minutes of the escape, the duo was spotted at the ground floor. The alarm was raised and officers were deployed to seal off all exits. Near the facility’s main entrance, Salman tripped and was quickly subdued. Jamaluddin made his way to the back entrance, but found it locked. He then doubled back to the front and dashed out of the facility. An officer tripped him with his baton about 100m outside of the facility.

The attempted escape came barely four months after terrorist-fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari fled the Whitley Road Detention Centre. Failure to observe procedures on the part of his minders was also a reason for that escape.

The two men were brought from Queenstown Remand Prison to the Subordinate Courts for bail purposes. Jamaluddin was facing six counts of robbery with hurt and drug charges, while Salman had three charges of robbery with hurt. Both cases are unrelated. Bail was set at $30,000 for Jamaluddin and $20,000 for Salman.

Police revealed yesterday that Jamaluddin and Salman were not the only inmates in the cell. It has not been revealed how many inmates were in the cell but it is known that they stayed put during the escape attempt.

In a statement, police said they have been upgrading the lock-up area since 2003, adding extra security grilles and enhancing the CCTV system.

A security audit of all lock-ups was conducted in March. The following month, a working group was set-up to look specifically into the security of the Subordinate Courts lock-up facilities.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is now investigating the circumstances of the attempted escape to see if any officers were negligent.

Due to the escape attempt, security at the facility has been tightened to prevent a similar incident from happening. New security measures include an extra lock fixed onto the lock-up exit gates so that another officer will need to check who is leaving the area when it is unlocked. The elevator has also been secured and can only be activated with a key.

Jamaluddian and Salman are now likely to face a barrage of charges including vandalism, police battery and escaping from legal custody.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Women’s rights advocate and Georgetown University Law Center graduate Sandra Fluke has been named as a candidate by Time magazine for their Person of the Year.

Sandra Fluke was the focus of media in February after attempting to testify before a Republican-controlled committee in the United States House of Representatives about contraception and women’s health. Kate Pickert of Time wrote in her profile, “Fluke … weathered the attention with poise and maturity and emerged as a political celebrity.”

Time concluded Fluke helped give U.S. President Barack Obama an edge in his presidential re-election campaign: “Democrats gave her a national-convention speaking slot as part of their push to make reproductive rights a central issue in the 2012 presidential campaign — one that helped Barack Obama trounce Mitt Romney among single women on Election Day.”

Fluke responded to the nomination via Twitter, and stated she was “Honored to be listed for Time’s Person of Year”. In the same statement she also drew attention to the scarcity of women on the list of candidates.

An analysis of Fluke’s candidacy by Peter Roff of U.S. News & World Report called attention to her role in the political phenomenon in the recent election cycle known as the “War on Women” which drew significant attention to issues of women’s rights. Roff gave advice to the Republican party on the way it relates to women, “Once the Republicans become comfortable talking about all issues as though they were women’s issues too — issues like unemployment, economic growth, job creation, education, and healthcare as well as the so-called social issues — they will be demonstrating that women have a home in the GOP. Until they do however it will be the Sandra Flukes of the world that continue to carry the day when it counts.”

Journalist Leslie Marshall observed some conservative political commentators were critical of Time for its nomination of Fluke for Person of the Year.

Marshall argued Fluke belongs on the list: “She should be credited with reminding women on both the right and the left; that many of us agree on the issue of women’s reproductive rights. Although some of us might be Democrats and some Republicans, our gender unites us. She brought more women to the polls, reminding us of the decades it took to be where we are and what was at stake for women if we did not re-elect President Obama. In speaking at the Democratic National Convention, she showed true strength over adversity. And she has since become a women’s health activist. For these reasons alone, she belongs on this list.”

However, Marshall stated she wouldn’t be voting for Fluke’s candidacy, but would instead cast her ballot for Malala Yousafzai, a 15-year-old female education activist who survived a Taliban assassination attempt.

Fluke was a featured speaker on September 5 at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Fluke spoke to attendees at the convention about the consequences for women of electing Republican candidate for U.S. President, Mitt Romney, over incumbent President Barack Obama. Fluke has campaigned with President Obama in his bid for re-election.

She was recognized April 22 with the Stand Up for Choice Award. Fluke was given the Stand Up for Choice Award at the “Third Annual Multi-Generational Brunch” of the organization NARAL Pro-Choice America which was held in New York City (NYC), New York in the United States.

Fluke received a nomination in March as a candidate for Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. The list is released annually as a special edition of Time magazine, titled Time 100.

She gave testimony to the US Congress on February 23 before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee at a hearing about women’s health and contraception. She also worked for Sanctuary for Families in NYC which worked to crack down on human trafficking and domestic violence.