All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Rodrigo Duterte, Philippines President, says he personally killed people when he was a mayor – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

“By boasting about the blood on his own hands, President Duterte will further embolden police and vigilantes to blatantly violate laws and carry out more extrajudicial executions without fear of being held to account,” Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty’s director for South East Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement.”President Duterte should be fulfilling his obligations by ordering investigations into these killings and bringing those responsible to justice, not claiming a part in them.”Statements like these continue to give everybody, including the police in the Philippines, a license to kill in the knowledge that they are protected by the President.”Mr Duterte, who took office in June, has been widely criticised for his brutal crackdown on illegal drugs, which has led to the deaths of more than 2,000 suspects in gun battles with police.About 3,000 other drug-related killings are being investigated by authorities to determine if these were related to the illegal drug trade.

Source: Rodrigo Duterte, Philippines President, says he personally killed people when he was a mayor – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Violence against women: Mexican senator vows to fight gender violence after vicious attack | In English | EL PAÍS

This is a cowardly act,” said Guevara, unable to hold back tears. “I have always been a simple person, I don’t have a chauffeur or bodyguards. I am always encouraging civic behavior among people. I believe in my country and this is where we have to do our work.”Guevara, known to Mexicans for earning a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Games in the 400-meter dash, said she did not identify herself as a senator while she was being attacked.“It was hard for them to identify me because I was wearing glasses and my helmet… I took every single blow they delivered.”

Source: Violence against women: Mexican senator vows to fight gender violence after vicious attack | In English | EL PAÍS

vintage everyday: 40 Beautiful Portrait Postcards of Women of the German Cinema Between 1918 and 1933

Brigitte Helm (1906-1997) was not even 18 when she was discovered by Fritz Lang for the lead in his film Metropolis. Helm played the double role of the noble and chaste Maria and her evil and sensual twin, a robot created to urge the workers in revolting and destroying their own city. Helm was subsequently often cast as the evil but oh so seductive ice queen, as in the two versions of Alraune; Marcel L’Herbier’s late silent film L’Argent; and the multilinguals The Mistress of Atlantis by G.W. Pabst, and Gold, by Karl Hartl.Helm proved, though, to be able to perform also more restrained and emotionally expressive characters such as in Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney, her first film directed by Pabst, and Abwege, a late silent film by the same Pabst. In the latter she resents her neglecting and older husband but hesitates to fall for her cousin, enamoured with her and of her own age.In real life, Helm was a timid, modest and not very ambitious personality. After a short but prolific career of some 32 films, she resented the German film business, controlled by the nazi’s. In 1935 she married, moved to Switzerland and withdrew radically from her film career, refusing any interviews. Till this day, however, she still has fans everywhere. In particular the bad Maria won’t be forgotten. For her the Mae West line is very apt: “When I am good, I am very good; but when I am bad, I am better.”

Source: vintage everyday: 40 Beautiful Portrait Postcards of Women of the German Cinema Between 1918 and 1933

Aleppo and the split of hypocrisy 

Hard but accurate words.

نادية حرحش

Aleppo and the split of hypocrisyCleansing Aleppo from the criminals of da’esh, nusra and co. , should have been a reason to celebrate amid the mourning of hearts and lives of the damage and loss in Syria .

I don’t have to say each time that I am not pro Asad and I would ever be on the side of dictatorships. But here , in Syria specifically it is not about dictatorships . At the end we are into a situation that it is dictatorship vs criminals . And dictatorship in this case should win . At the end the Arab nations seem to be far from democracy . We are having a real problem in living with such notions . Democracies need liberated mindsets which we don’t have . We still live in a tribal mindset that searches a head to attach to the body . In Syria the…

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Don’t spread ‘straight-man cancer’, China feminist warns Trump | World news | The Guardian

“We wish you to watch out, the feminists worldwide are speaking, and we are watching you.”Zhang called on Trump to respect women’s rights, warning him not to use his position to spread “straight-man cancer”.The term has become popular in China in recent years to describe a “disease” among narrow-minded men seeking to control women and work against gender equality.“Straight-man cancer” also chastises men seen to cling on to traditional Chinese norms in relationships, such as suppressing women’s rights through official policies, devaluing female labour and branding educated women as unattractive.“In general ‘straight-man cancer’ is the equivalent of ‘male chauvinist pig’ in English,” Zhang wrote.

Source: Don’t spread ‘straight-man cancer’, China feminist warns Trump | World news | The Guardian

‘So beautiful’: Mick Fanning goes for midnight surf under the northern lights – video | Sport | The Guardian

Australian pro surfer Mick Fanning pulls on a thick wetsuit and hood to surf under the stars as the northern lights play above him in Norway

Source: ‘So beautiful’: Mick Fanning goes for midnight surf under the northern lights – video | Sport | The Guardian

John Kasich Signs One Abortion Bill in Ohio but Vetoes a More Restrictive Measure – The New York Times – Sick men still try to control women’s life without cause or right.

Gov. John Kasich of Ohio on Tuesday signed into law a ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, but vetoed a far more restrictive measure that would have barred abortions after a fetal heartbeat was detected, as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.In reaching the split decision on the two bans, adopted last week by the Ohio legislature, Mr. Kasich, a Republican, said the so-called heartbeat bill was “clearly contrary to the Supreme Court’s current rulings on abortion.” He called the 20-week ban the “best, most legally sound and sustainable approach to protecting the sanctity of human life.”

Israel officials snub Swedish foreign minister – The Local

No Israeli officials will meet Sweden’s foreign minister during her trip to the region, a spokesman has said.Erik Wirkensjö, spokesperson for Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, told the AFP news agency she had wanted to meet both Israeli and Palestinian officials during her visit from Thursday to Saturday.“This time it was not possible to visit Israel,” said Wirkensjö.Asked why there were no meetings planned, he said such questions must be “asked to the Israelis”.Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon blamed “schedule problems” and declined to provide further details.Earlier, Wallström told Swedish news agency TT: “I would have gladly seen myself travel to Israel as well, but unfortunately they do not welcome it.”There is no international airport in the Palestinian territories. Wirkensjö declined to comment on whether Wallström would fly to an Israeli airport and then travel to occupied West Bank or go via Jordan. She was not denied entry to Israel, he said.

Source: Israel officials snub Swedish foreign minister – The Local