aal11 (13. 782)

Shortly after taking office in January of this year, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s staff found a tranche of documents, sixty-four boxes, never released that suggest that residents of Lower Manhattan were misled about the safety and air quality in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks and for years following. The mayor directed his staff to upload these documents and make them available on a portal that anyone can search, coming online earlier this week. One can see environmental surveys for any given neighbourhood and learn more about the actual risk, exposure with resources about filing a claim for compensation. In a rush to get businesses in New York running again and to not “let the terrorist win”—reminiscent of the resistance to social-distancing schemes, shuttered shops and restricted gatherings and the push by some for a return to normality that was premature and had far-reaching consequences—public officials at the city, state and federal levels assured that the air was safe to breathe and the water safe to drink for those living next to ‘the Pile’—rescue workers avoiding the term ground zero favoured by the media, the rubble of the Twin Towers, burning concrete, lead, asbestos as well as hazards from the some two thousand automobiles buried in the underground parking. Three times the number of individuals, not only first responders, who died that day a quarter of century ago have now died as a result of illnesses caused by living with the toxic debris. The terror attacks were declared an act of war to limit the city’s legal liability. The resource, courtesy of Web Curios, also includes a wealth of information documenting the social impact, search and recovery efforts and perhaps most importantly how institutions respond to something so unimaginably world-changing and violent.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a 1970 documentary on Kenneth Anger (with synchronoptica) plus artist Ivan Aivazovsky

two years ago: search engine optimisation, transcribing presidential debates plus tales of Chemical Romance 

three years ago: the Hoover Dam comes online (1936), an actual flying car from 1973, bird photograph of the year plus a manliness calibrator

four years ago: an important battle in the Scottish War of Independence (1297)

five years ago: 80s automotive dashboards, avian photograph of the year, the Dead Internet conspiracy theory plus Mid-Century Modern home-entertainment consoles

six years ago: a memorable, perfectly timed photograph, Disintegration Loops, fiery skies plus assorted links to revisit

 

twa 355 (13. 780)

Hijacked on this day in 1976, the domestic flight from LaGuardia to O’Hare in Chicago was taken by a group of five Fighters for Free Croatia to further the independence movement of the constituent state from Yugoslavia. Halfway into the flight, the hijackers stormed the cockpit and directed the plane to Montreal’s Mirabel airport, allowed to refuel after telling authorities that a bomb had been planted in a locker at New York’s Grand Central Station and issued instructions on how to locate and disarm it. Further the group group demanded an appeal for the movement be printed in major American newspapers. The plane was flown to Gander, Newfoundland where an air traffic controller negotiated for the release of thirty-five passengers. Refused permission to land by the UK government in London, the aircraft touched down in Keflavík before traveling to Paris where the hijackers surrendered after talks with US ambassador Kenneth Rush. America writer and activist Julienne Bušić, married to the operation’s mastermind Zvonko Bušić, was hugged by the pilot for her help in keeping the passengers calm during the whole ordeal. Although a New York police officer was killed attempting to dismantle rather than detonate the explosive device planted at the train terminal, the devices on board the airplane were discovered to be fakes. The group of five were sentenced to long terms in prison, minimum of thirty years, for conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy and for the death of the police officer (Julienne Bušić served her time in a correctional facility in Dublin, California along with cellmate Squeaky Fromme, whom was reassigned after several incidents of violence perpetrated by Fromme), though eventually all were remanded to parole in an independent Croatia.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronoptica), a posturepedic bed, AI can’t do clocks plus Russian threatens Finland’s sovereignty 

two years ago: more links to enjoy

three years ago: even more assorted links  

four years ago: Hey Jude (1968), links to enjoy, more telling the bees plus more even more links to revisit

five years ago: St Aubert, the ecological importance of oyster-beds, comparable to coral reefs plus even more links worth revisiting

six years ago: the largest basilica in the world, artist Marianne von Werefkin, a devastating earthquake in Constantinople (1509), the original and the reprised Fresh Prince, burning skies plus Hongkonger neologisms

 

 

day one hundred eighty-three (13. 769)

With economic indicators like the better than expected jobs numbers and crippling inflation pointing to a need to increase interest rates, Trump (sporting a new coif apparently) threatens his newly minted chair of the Federal Reserve that if he does not comply and reduce rates, the American president will embargo countries that have a trade surplus with the US and suspend all economic activity—as an alternative to the reciprocal tariffs declared unlawful. The US fires upon at least six tankers headed towards Iranian ports—confirming by the numbers its new tit-for-tat policy of striking an Iranian affiliated ship for every commercial vessel or US asset targeted by Tehran, the Revolutionary Guard attacking a US naval warship enforcing the blockade. Netanyahu orders the IDF to bomb Qatar, labeling it a hostile state. Special envoys Kushner and Witkoff, despite their terrible track records, hold a late night meeting with Putin to discuss ending the war with Ukraine—in time for the midterms. AfD is poised to take over state government of Saxon-Anhalt as more suspected acts of sabotage against Germany‘s power grid are narrowly thwarted by authorities—Russian agents are thought to be behind the attacks. The US justice department pauses cooperation with the government of Canada.

the new model army (13. 764)

Though always eager to disclaim its remit as a spoken history of a global language, the latest episode of The History of English presents a rather excellent overview of the English Civil War through the lens of linguistic developments and documentation from the decade of the 1640s, including the early discourse on orthography The English Primrose—1644, subtitled, the easiest and speediest-way, both for the true spelling and reading of English, as also the true-writing thereof ...Planted (with no smal pains) by Richard Hodges, a school-master, which includes the first instances of phonetic notation and expanded punctuation and Joshua Poole’s The English Accidence on inflection and a new way of expressing the future tense. Further we learn through the chronology that the term Tory, a traditionalist and supporter of political conservatism in the contemporary sense was a product of this tumultuous era, Irish guerrillas thwarting parliamentary republicans as royalist were labelled as tóraidhe from the Irish term for pursuer or outlaw. King Charles I pandered to these partisan even though Ireland, struggling for independence and aligned with the Catholic church, was seen as a traditional enemy of the monarchy and the association somehow survived the ensuing centuries. As a counterpoint, the term Whig has a similar rebellious and notably non-English etymology emerging from the same period of crisis as a shortening for the nickname Whiggamore for a Scottish presbyterian, a more liberal faction that opposed absolute monarchy, a robust parliament and religious toleration, and meant one who drives a horse briskly and by extension an outlaw or fanatic. The imposition of Anglican strictures on the Church of Scotland being on the chief causes of Charles’ downfall, the king ultimately surrendered to a group of Scottish sympathisers, hoping for clemency and the chance to return to power, inconceivable that the monarch could face trial and be held accountable for his actions. Though the latter was dissolved as a political party in the 1860s and does not carry the modern resonance that the Tories have, the two, despite their derogatory connotations, were the main caucuses of the House of Commons for two centuries.

the power and the glory (13. 727)

Courtesy of Strange Company, we learn about writer Graham Greene’s self-exile to Mexico (see previously here, here and here) and how the author’s visit to a country he held in contempt for research on religious persecution (see above), supposedly, was prompted in part by a libel suit leveraged against him by the legal team of child actor Shirley Temple Black after Greene intimated that her on-screen persona was crafted for the titilation of men of a certain age or certain ecclesiastical occupations, conveniently safe from prosecution outside of the court’s jurisdiction. The objective of gathering materials for a novel, expanded into a travelogue and two books that turn out to be historical fictions, transformed into a multi-year odyssey through Tabasco and Chiapas.

 

synchronoptica

one year ago: Trump’s campaign of retribution goes after former national security advisor John Bolton (with synchronoptica) plus the splintering of the internet

two years ago: GPS epochs plus a potential violation of the Logan Act

 

three years ago: assorted links worth the revisit

four years ago: the state song of Idaho, more links to enjoy plus social media driven overtourism

five years ago: Petra discovered (1812), a Saturnine satellite, even more links plus educational books for precocious witches and warlocks

six years ago: the canine Saint Guinefort,  i lik the bred plus Ray Bradbury (*1920)

day one hundred sixty (13. 707)

The EU issues another condemnation of continued political executions in Iran whilst Lebanon outlaws the death penalty. Houthi rebels maintain their hold on the junctions to the Red Sea. A grounded Russian tanker is leaking oil off of the coast of Oman—threatening environmental damage greater than the Exxon Valdez. Even if markets are still failing to acknowledge realities, the the International Energy Agency assesses that the world is burning through petroleum reserves.

nru ≫ nro (13. 690)

Following moves by the Czech Republic, Swaziland and Turkey to change their exonyms to Czechia, Eswatini and Türkiye respectively, the world’s third smallest country, the remote Pacific atoll, facing an existential threat over climate change and rising ocean levels, has announced it will be henceforth called Naoero after a popular referendum. Whilst ditching the colonial name of Pleasant Island when Great Britain allowed the German Empire to annex it as part of the Marshall Islands Protectorate, its endonym was restored, though in sort of a backhanded, paternalistic manner by ethnographer and linguist Paul Hambruch who gave it the folk-etymology as a contraction of the phrase a-nuau-a-a-ororo, supposedly, “I go to the beach.” After the British retook the phosphate-rich island following the end of World War I to be administered by Australia, the name Nauru stuck but as a pronunciation of convenience since the native name was difficult for foreigners to say. The twelve thousand residents of the parliamentary republic is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth and the International Monetary Fund. Mineral resources mostly exhausted—which destroyed all arable land and all food is currently imported, Naoero has earned a significant portion of its revenue by alternating recognition for the ROC and the PRC under the One-China Policy, as well as the breakaway regions of Georgia of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and from housing refugees awaiting immigration requests for Australia and New Zealand to be processed.

12x12 (13. 670)

we should rely less on the nazi bar somewhat: Elon Musk is given a pass for his virulent racism on the social media site he owns  

googlewhack: it’s becoming impossible to find old emails for reference—see previously 

pitsur í steinofni: the history of pizza in Iceland 

claim-jumping: taking space prospecting down a notch with no known commodity resources that could be sold profitably on Earth  

pyrocumulonimbus: the wildfires in southwest France have grown so intense that their smoke columns became a thunderstorm, with lightning strikes that ignited new fires  

absurdly optimised: the antithesis of a product review site—via Card House  

spirit airlines: Evangelical preachers, much to the dismay of fellow passengers, are turning planes in pulpits with a captive congregation       

dinopocalypse: all life with the Chicxulub impact zone sixty-six million years ago would have been immediately obliterated and grateful for it 

icc: US is pressuring countries to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, with Chad and Venezuela being the latest to begin the process of leaving the Hague 

today’s special: restaurateurs are increasingly reject AI generated advertising and menus as cheap and lazy and turn to the handmade and bespoke  

blame the home row: a work-around for not reenforcing one’s browser history and being lured into to distraction—we can relate to this 

regular animals: artist Beeple (previously) put the head of Elon Musk on a robot dog for a dynamic art installation in Berlin

synchronoptica

one year ago: balance of trade (with synchronoptica) plus more misheard lyrics

two years ago: JD Vance’s sofa memoirs, nobody reads ads, twirling towards freedom, a phoney controversy over the Olympics opening ceremony plus Friday Night Videos (1983)

three years ago: Martha of Bethany 

four years ago: departing from Newcastle 

five years ago: St Olaf, in-game economies, Lord of the Rings (1954) plus philosophical CAPTCHAs

six years ago: the Seashells of North America, more Universal Everything, the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana (1981) plus Trump’s personal physician

 

décalcomanie (13. 668)

Corresponding with the frequency bias of the previous post as well as being illustrative of way humans use the internet to check spelling and how for a small sample size can create random noise—or possibly an art exhibit, however the methodology might be flawed, this look at the most searched terms by the US was intriguing. Overall, from this study, it seems as if Americans are seeking the definition of societal factors rather than objects or something driven by a particular news story with gaslighting, socialism, equity, fascism, empathy, anxiety, etc. The outlier seems to be Montana’s top query in gouache, which defies explanation—other than maybe the above gallery opening—or, though equally unlikely but aligned with the other results a check on spelling for gauche. Similar to watercolour, the technique and paint produces a heavier and more opaque as it dries and employs a binding agent to remain colourfast on the canvas. The related process of decorative technique of art transfer, decalcomania, usually clipped to decal, came to English from the French décalquer, “to transfer the tracing of” and is in turn derived from the Italian calcare for to “stomp, stamp or trample,” with its etymology ultimately from the Latin calx or heel.

7x7 (13. 666)

serenity prayer: the EU can rein in Google and other tech behemoths despite Trump’s threats 

the fun palace: Cedric Price’s modular playground and social laboratory that was never realised  

hot 100: Paste magazine lists the greatest songs of the 1970s—via MetaFilter 

dear stranger: a disturbing experiment in voyeurism that turned into something beautiful  

ǝsᴉʅƎ ɹn̤ᖵ: Beethoven’s bagatelle inverted—originally as a prank—but hauntingly evocative—see also  

hedonic treadmill: welcome to the age of decadence without pleasure  

we used to be able to buy things in this country: the plexiglass retail landscape of America—via Kottke

summum bonum (13. 658)

Via a losing lawsuit against the Utah state liquor board (see also)—with no official roles of membership kept, the syncretic church that combines Gnostic beliefs with ancient Egyptian polytheism estimates its adherents at a quarter of a million by volume of wine bottles sold—we are introduced to the religious movement founded in 1975 by Claude “Corky” Nowell after an encounter with supernatural beings described as “Summa Individuals.” Unlike sacramental wine, authorities in Nowell’s home town of Salt Lake City, ruled that the “nectar” had too high of a proof—despite the fact, as Nowell argued, it had been produced in a pyramid and was imbued with sacred messages, resonances that impart different spiritual concepts, which aid in meditative practise, the eleven percent alcohol content said to cross the blood-brain barrier and led to enlightenment. Though contracted out to California producers for since 1983 until 2008, Summum’s “publication” branch ultimately prevailed and obtained a winery license, becoming the first federally bonded vintner in the state. Drawing from early twentieth century writings on neo-alchemy and spiritualism, Nowell, also known as Summun Bonum—after Cicero’s concept of the highest good—Amon Ra and later Chucky Ra, founded the movement to share his gift of revelation, arguing that the only path to knowledge lay in revelatory experience and not through intellect or obedience. The church also practises mummification as a way to guide one’s essence post-death to a higher plane—offering this service to any who seek it for spiritual reasons, and pets, with a suggested donation.  The founders mummy is inside the pyramid.  Following its precept that “The voice of wisdom is silent except to the open mind,” Summum has reinterpreted the Ten Commandments as the Seven Aphorisms, believing humanity has evolved since the time of Bible enough for a more sophisticated reading—which the movement also unsuccessfully lobbied to be publicly displayed along side Mosaic law, maybe Summum will win in the end on this case too. As above, so below.

line of succession (13. 638)

Based on the novel of the same name by Irving Wallace with screenplay by Rod Serling (previously), the Paramount release starring James Earl Jones, Burgess Meredith and Barbara Rush, the political drama debuted in US theatres on this day in 1972. The first in an aspirational cinematic trope of casting distinguished Black actors as the American president, taking place thirty-six years before the real world occurrence, Jones portraying Douglass Dilman, interviewed just prior to the inauguration of Barack Obama expressed disappointment in the project that he wished what was originally slated as a made-for-tv movie had been given more thought and budget to fully realise its significance, as president pro tempore of the US senate is elevated to high office, as also the first unelected individual, nor in capacity of the vice-presidency, through a series of unforeseen events. This secondary plot point foreshadowing the elevation of Gerald Ford in lease than two years after the film’s premiere. In attendance at a summit in Frankfurt in West Germany, the president and house speaker are killed in a building collapse. Suffering from a terminal illness that was heretofore undisclosed to the public, the vice president—played by Lew Ayres, Dr Kildare and the protagonist German Solider of All Quiet on the Western Front, refuses the job, with the secretary of state, played by William Windom (district attorney Horace Gilmer in To Kill a Mockingbird and with reoccurring roles on Murder, She Wrote and Commodore Matt Decker on Star Trek, voicing Uncle Chuck in Sonic the Hedgehog), dispelling the popular but false belief that his cabinet position makes him the designated survivor. These seeming allies do not set up Dilman for success and conspire to make his shortcomings and scandals overtures to the party and electorate to strengthen their campaigns. The promotional taglines were “It took an accident to make this man President of the United States. What they do to him now won’t be an accident, “The First Black President of the United States. First They Swore Him In. Then They Swore to Get Him,” and “Fate thrust him into the biggest job in the world...President of the United States. Now he wonders if he's big enough to do it.”

day one-hundred thirty-three (13. 622)

Facing international backlash, just like over his arbitrary and vacillating tariff regime, Trump walked back his plan to impose twenty percent transit fees on all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, turning to investment deals in the gulf to help offset costs of policing the waterways. US strikes continue with explosions reported on Qeshm Island and the deployment of submarine drones—threatening to bomb bridges, highways and power plants over stalled talks, whilst Iran continues aerial assaults against Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. New sanctions against the Iranian shadow financial network by America are announced. The governor of South Carolina appoints Lindsay Graham’s sister to serve out his term as the governor of Kentucky demands an in person interview with Mitch McConnell and a medical assessment, wanting to make his own appointment should McConnell be unable to return to the senate chamber.

day one-hundred thirty-three (13. 619)

Claiming that the strait separating the Persia from the Omani gulf is open and will “remain” so “with or without Iran,” Trump announced that the USA will reinstate the IRANIAN BLOCKADE and issues assurances that all other countries will have fair and open use of the vital waterway, with the USA henceforth known as the “‘The GUARDIANS OF THE HORMUZ,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.” Not only is Trump ignorant of the fact that his actions have caused the regional and global turmoil and an insult to the gulf partner nations hosting American military bases under attack, the transit fees are more than ten times higher than the tolls Tehran charged and the US has pronounced a toll on international waters to be illegal under international law. Iran’s foreign ministry announces that diplomacy has failed and is under no obligation to adhere to the framework of the MOU after the blatant violations of the US. Following the unexpected death of senate colleague Lindsay Graham, Mitch McConnell supposedly issues a statement as a sign of life, complete with a still photograph showing him reclining in his hospital bed, his wife at his side and reading the sports section of today’s Washington Post, like how a kidnapper would send a date-stamped ransom picture with the hostage holding up a newspaper.

count binface (13. 611)

Regretful that UK politics has been forced to the back of the queue lately what with everything else going on the world, I was a bit grateful to find entree with British scriptwriter, comedian and so called novelty candidate—though in the tradition of Lord Buckethead and Screaming Lord Sutch, dismissed at one’s peril, Jonathan David Harvey—standing against Boris Johnson multiple times for different offices (under his previous persona), Liz Truss, Andy Burham (centre) and now running against Nigel Farage in the by-election of the parliamentary constituency of the Reform UK leader, Clacton-on-Sea in Essex. Self-described as an intergalactic space warrior and commander of the Recyclons (like a Dr Who baddie but with the best intentions, championing true social reform, environmental stewardship and returning broadcast teletext), Binface chiefly campaigns to increase voter engagement and is not a serious contender for party leadership, though managing to unseat a candidate from their home county, he would certainty put the breaks on the career progression of his opponent. Facing controversy over his finances and allegations of taking ￡5 000 000 bribe, Farage “resigned” to contest the results before voting—technically a member of the House of Commons cannot resign, they can only face indignity, death or defeat, though a longstanding legal fiction, Farage was appointed as the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, a procedural device to circumvent this restriction, by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Appointment to a crown office disqualifies one from membership in Parliament, and this limbo usually is intended only for those tendering their resignations and not a staging area for a comeback.

9x9 (13. 600)

we don’t need anybody’s help but before i asked they said they wouldn’t be there: Trump airs classic grievances upon his arrival for the NATO summit in Ankara 

artisanal work culture: beekeeping, baking and candlestick-making as rebellion and a shift to the approach of skilled trade  

you don’t have to blog like me: just write  

project 2029: the crusade against the annoyance economy   

cheddaring: a cheese heist and other organised food crimes  

confessions of a dachsund: these videos were a little less David Attenborough and a little more Baby Reindeer  

rollerena: NYC’s queer fairy godmother  

doomjobbing: an employment system trusted by no one 

bel:usa: America out of the World Cup play-offs after excoriating defeat by Belgium

bicentenary (13. 588)

Culminating on this day in 1976, a decade in planning and preceded by numerous events, both sanctioned and unsanctioned by the US government including the Boston Oil Party, when objects symbolising the petroleum industry were tossed in the city’s harbour to promote environmental justice and declare independence from polluting corporations and Richard Nixon was hanged in effigy, elected representatives reenacted the first Continental Congress, a state visit by the Queen, the Freedom Train made a circuit of the nation and a time-capsule opened, America celebrated its the beginning of its third century, focused on themes of renewal and rebirth, recently have endure the Watergate scandal and the Fall of Saigon. The logo was designed by Bruce Blackburn, who also modernised the NASA insignia (see also here and here). The bicentennial parade in Philadelphia was lead by grand marshal Johnny Cash and the US space agency unveiled its first test vehicle in its line of space shuttles—originally to be christened the Constitution in honour of the anniversary but renamed Enterprise due to popular demand.   Fifty years on, the holiday will probably be marked with the end of the fourteenth and seventeenth amendments, reversing birth-right citizenship and direct voting for senatorial representation.

synchronoptica

one year ago: another cosmic interloper (with synchronoptica) plus One Big Beautiful Bill 

two years ago:  the introduction of the Caesar salad (1925) plus the waterfalls of Mount Cuvignone

three years ago: David Bowie’s Station to Station, My Country ’Tis of Thee plus forgotten American mascots

four years ago: an ancient nebula 

five years ago: occupied Austria plus local flora 

six years ago: American Top 40 (1970), Nixon’s Honor America Day plus the superlative of free

9x9 (13. 585)

hospitalithings: a quiet, meticulous observation of common objects found in lodgings—via Nag on the Lake  

aka vlogging: Hank Green interviews Ze Frank (previously) about the YouTube format he pioneered, advising discomfort to put ideas out into the world—via Waxy  

yes, yes, very good—thank you for self-identifying as a short-sighted rube and saving us the trouble: the US constitution us for simple folk still burdened by the belief that words have meaning  

llog: Victor Henry Mair, sinologist and frequent Language Log contributor has passed away, aged 83  

new posting: an interactive map charting the careers of civil servants managing the bureaucracy of the British Empire—via Map Mania  

alignment chart: a cross-over of Chekhov’s Gun, Schrödinger’s Cat, Occam’s Razor and Murphy’s Law

in an instant: the last Polaroid factory in the world is in the Dutch town of Enschede 

bilberry buns: a Polish pastry gets its own holiday  

ozzy’s ozzy is a unique case: observations from a celebrity impersonator cruise—via Kottke 

from vanity to insanity (13. 582)

The preliminary findings of a Democrat-led House subcommittee have been published in a report that the Trump administration staged a hostile takeover of America’s semiquincentennary celebration to promote political ideology, self-enriching pet projects, the harvesting voter data and white Christian nationalism through a shadow corporation embedded within the Nation Parks Foundation, which hijacked the agenda from the independent, non-partisan and non-profit commission established by congress in 2016 to plan and execute the event. Charted as a wholly owned subsidiary under the parks foundation charity for public remove, Trump’s Freedom 250 sustained a relentless pressure campaign against America250 to hijack the anniversary for personal enrichment through transparent fraud and dissimilitude and selling access to the president, his Praetorian guard given a bonus in lieu of overtime with crypto-coins issued by the family crime syndicate and the same firm that organised the January Sixth rally being awarded contracts for July Fourth related events. Meanwhile, after the supreme court affirmed birthright citizenship, the acting attorney general directed prosecutors and law enforcement officers to monitor pregnant non-citizens and to try to prevent them from giving birth on US soil and whilst attending the opening of the Teddy Roosevelt presidential library (skipping Obama’s) quizzed the AI-generated hologram of Old Rough and Ready about the Panama Canal and lied to the press, whom had just witnessed the exchange, about how it went.

day one-hundred twenty-one (13. 576)

The Qatari foreign ministry confirms that no high-level meeting between US and Iranian officials is scheduled to take place in Doha over the coming days despite the arrival of envoys Kushner and Witkoff, Tehran saying it is currently not negotiating with Washington in any capacity and will not resume talks until violence ends in Lebanon. Concerned over increased executions has prompted French lawmakers to sponsor individual death-row political prisoners, whilst German intelligence services find that Iran is spying on opposition activists domestically.