All posts by nedhamson

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

Israeli teens charged for brutally beating asylum seeker to death | +972 Magazine

Two weeks ago two Israeli teens murdered Babikir Adham-Uvdo, a Darfuri asylum seeker who lived in the city of Petah Tikva, not far from Tel Aviv. Adham-Uvdo was attacked after he reportedly spoke to two white teenage girls. The teenagers kicked him in the head for an hour and a half, leaving him for dead. His body was found and brought to Rabin Medical Center. After four days in the hospital, Adham-Uvdo was taken off life support and died.On Sunday the State Attorney indicted the two teenagers, 19-year-old Dennis Bershivitz and a 16-year-old minor, on manslaughter charges. Manslaughter, not murder, since the State Attorney argues that it cannot be proven that the two intended to kill Adham-Uvdo. The State Attorney claims that it cannot be proven that the two acted out of racism.This is an absurd claim: whoever kicks a helpless person in the head for an hour and a half clearly intends to kill him. It is also clear that the killing was racially motivated: had a white person been caught with the teenage girls, we would safely say that the two attackers would not act the same way.Channel 10’s Itay Vered’s excellent report [Hebrew] shows how several Petah Tikva locals responded to the attack. One woman can be seen saying “whoever isn’t Jewish can go fuck himself,” a different woman says “this is the Jewish state, why do we need Muslims?” while a passerby is asked his opinion on the fact that a brutal killing had taken place right where he was standing. His response: “Okay, so what? Yalla.”

Source: Israeli teens charged for brutally beating asylum seeker to death | +972 Magazine

Off-Duty Muslim NYPD Officer Told To ‘Go Back To Your Country’ In Bay Ridge: Gothamist

A Brooklyn man allegedly yelled xenophobic insults at an off-duty Muslim NYPD officer and her teenage son, police sources said.An NYPD spokesperson told Gothamist that the officer was dropping off her 16-year-old son on Ridge Boulevard and 67th Street in Bay Ridge on Saturday around 6 p.m. After the officer parked her car, she saw a man shoving her son. Police said the man was in his 30s.She approached the man—but did not identify herself as a police officer—who told her “ISIS [expletive], I will cut your throat, go back to your country!” The suspect fled the scene, and the NYPD Hate Crimes Unit is investigating the incident as a bias crime.

Source: Off-Duty Muslim NYPD Officer Told To ‘Go Back To Your Country’ In Bay Ridge: Gothamist

Photos: Jewish Group Leads Several Hundred On Anti-Bannon March To Breitbart HQ: LAist

Approximately three hundred members and allies of IfNotNow marched through the Mid-Wilshire area Sunday morning to protest former Breitbart executive Stephen Bannon’s appointment as chief strategist for President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.”Los Angeles has one of the largest Jewish communities in the entire country, and has yet to say anything denouncing the kind of hate speech that Bannon represents,” organizer Max Daniel told KPCC of the march.The march began at 10 a.m. at La Cienega Park and the group continued on to Breitbart’s headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard. Breitbart is headquartered in Los Angeles. IfNotNow LA is the local branch of a national Jewish group dedicated to opposing anti-Semitism and Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.

Source: Photos: Jewish Group Leads Several Hundred On Anti-Bannon March To Breitbart HQ: LAist

‘I have never felt so terrified’: Harassment of female runners a gendered issue with no simple solution – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

‘It is a highly gender-based experience’But the experiences of these women are far from unique.A recent study by Runner’s World found that 43 per cent of female runners experienced harassment at least sometimes — compared with just 4 per cent of men.The study also found that 63 per cent of women ran where they felt it was unlikely they would encounter a person who might harm them, and 41 per cent ran where they thought they would be less likely to received unsolicited attention.For men, the figures were 23 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively.Thirty per cent of women reported being followed by someone — and 18 per cent had been sexually propositioned while out running.

Source: ‘I have never felt so terrified’: Harassment of female runners a gendered issue with no simple solution – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Army will deny easement, halting work on Dakota Access Pipeline – The Washington Post Not entirely over – keep eye on prize.

Dan Nanamkin, of the Colville Nez Perce Native American tribe in Nespelem, Wash., right, drums after it was announced Sunday that the Army Corps won’t grant an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline. (David Goldman/Associated Press)

The Army said Sunday that it will not approve an easement necessary for the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, marking a monumental victory for the Native American tribes and thousands of others who have flocked in recent months to protest the pipeline.Officials in November had delayed the key decision, saying more discussion was necessary about the proposed crossing, given that it would pass very near the reservation of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose leaders have repeatedly expressed fears that a spill could threaten the water supplies of its people.“Although we have had continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access, it’s clear that there’s more work to do,” Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Army’s assistant secretary for civil works, said in a statement Sunday. “The best way to complete that work responsibly and expeditiously is to explore alternate routes for the pipeline crossing.”What started as a small but fierce protest in a remote spot along the Missouri River months ago has evolved into an epic standoff involving hundreds of tribes, various celebrities and activists from around the country. It has involved heated confrontations — police have sometimes employed water canons, pepper spray and rubber bullets — and has carried on through the swelter of summer into the snowy cold of winter.

On Sunday, news of the Army’s decision triggered a wave of celebration and relief among those who have fought to stop the 1,170-mile-long pipeline’s progress.“We wholeheartedly support the decision of the administration and commend with the utmost gratitude the courage it took on the part of President Obama, the Army Corps, the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to take steps to correct the course of history and to do the right thing,” Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault II said in a statement. “With this decision we look forward to being able to return home and spend the winter with our families and loved ones, many of whom have sacrificed as well.”

Source: Army will deny easement, halting work on Dakota Access Pipeline – The Washington Post

Bowe Bergdahl asks Obama for pardon before Donald Trump takes office | US news | The Guardian

Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump was Bergdahl’s most vocal critic, saying repeatedly the soldier is a traitor who would have been executed in the “old days”. In a July speech in Indiana, Trump lamented that Bergdahl could wind up with a light punishment.“Remember the old days? A deserter, what happened?” he said before pantomiming pulling a trigger and adding: “Bang.”Bergdahl’s lead defense lawyer, Eugene Fidell, declined to comment on the pardon request. But Fidell said he plans to file a motion seeking dismissal of the charges against Bergdahl shortly after the January inauguration, arguing Trump violated Bergdahl’s constitutional due-process rights.The defense has been noting Trump’s comments about Bergdahl in what they have called the “Trump Defamation Log”. A version included in the court record lists 40 such instances as of August.“All of these things put together and repeated rally upon rally for basically a year have a cumulative effect that I think is totally at odds with the right to a fair trial,” Fidell said in a phone interview.A spokeswoman for Trump did not respond to emails seeking comment.There is precedent for a military judge to decide a president’s comments have tainted a military prosecution.

Source: Bowe Bergdahl asks Obama for pardon before Donald Trump takes office | US news | The Guardian

Muslim Woman Attacked By Men Screaming ‘Donald Trump’ Says No One Intervened: Gothamist

“I was harassed on the subway last night and it was just so dehumanizing I can’t speak about it without getting emotional,” 18-year-old Yasmin Seweid wrote on Facebook. “It breaks my heart that so many individuals chose to be bystanders while watching me get harassed verbally and physically by these disgusting pigs.”According to police, the incident occurred around 10 p.m. on Wednesday while Seweid was waiting for an uptown-bound 6th train at the 23rd Street station. Three men, believed to be around 21 years old, approached her and started screaming Trump’s name at her. The three men also followed her on to the train, where they began to scream xenophobic insults at her.The men allegedly called her a “fucking terrorist” and told her to “get the hell out of the country.” Police say they ripped her purse off her shoulder, breaking the strap, and tried to remove her hijab from her head.

Source: Muslim Woman Attacked By Men Screaming ‘Donald Trump’ Says No One Intervened: Gothamist

Meet the Palestinian man arrested for being sarcastic on Facebook | +972 Magazine

Like Ludvik, the protagonist in Milan Kundera’s novel “The Joke,” Anas Abudaabes has discovered firsthand the problems that arise when a regime lacks a sense of humor or irony. Yet Abudaabes, unlike Ludvik, has not lost his own sense of humor, even following his Kafkaesque arrest last week for writing an ironic Facebook post lampooning those who celebrated the fires that were raging across Israel.

Source: Meet the Palestinian man arrested for being sarcastic on Facebook | +972 Magazine

Pakistan says Donald Trump called Nawaz Sharif ‘a terrific guy’ with ‘a very good reputation’ – Times of India

In ‘yuge’ news, US President-elect Donald Trump pressed on with his love for hyperbole and vague generalizations, and purportedly told beleaguered Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday that he’s a “terrific guy”, “has a very good reputation” and added that he is “ready and willing to play any role that you want me to play” to address outstanding problems.That is, Trump said this to Sharif according to a Pakistan government press release of a phone conversation between the two, after Sharif called the US President-elect to congratulate him.In his country, Sharif is under investigation for funnelling money abroad, after his and his family members’ names were mentioned in the Panama Papers.The US real estate magnate supposedly also told Sharif “it will be an honor” and that he will “personally” play any role to “find solutions to the outstanding problems” – problems that Trump didn’t specify.Trump also purportedly told Sharif that he feels like he’s “talking to a person I have known for long” and that Pakistanis “are one of the most intelligent people.” He apparently urged Sharif to “feel free” to call him at “any time even before 20th January that is before I assume my office.”

Source: Pakistan says Donald Trump called Nawaz Sharif ‘a terrific guy’ with ‘a very good reputation’ – Times of India

Blood and pain: Extreme performance artist Marina Abramovic turns 70 | Arts | DW.COM | 30.11.2016

‘The art of sitting still – Those who thought Abramovic had already broken all the rules of performance art were soon surprised. During “The Artist Is Present,” a retrospective in her honor at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Abramovic took the title literally. For 75 days, seven hours a day, she sat on a wooden stool, neither eating nor using the restroom during that time. This was only possible by following a strict diet.An empty chair was set up across from her so that visitors could take a seat and observe the art icon. Stars like Sharon Stone, Tilda Swinton, Björk and Lady Gaga made use of the chair and participated in Abramovic’s performance.Even today, her works continue to be intense, but are characterized less by violence and more by asceticism and recollection. That’s what her “Abramovic Method” is based on – a mix of various esoteric and eastern relaxation and meditation exercises. She says she aims to communicate the techniques that she employs during her strenuous performances. Abramovic sat for days in MoMA for “The Artist is Present” in 2010Her critics say Abramovic reduces herself to a society shaman. Her crowdfunding project for the Marina Abramovic Institute was scoffed at and the building, designed by Rem Koolhaas, remains unfinished.’I’ve decided to be happy’Why does the artist want to bury three Marinas? Each one stands for a different part of her, she says: courage, spirituality and nonsense. She used to feel ashamed for these parts, but now accepts herself as she is, which is why she doesn’t have a problem with turning 70.”You need night to understand yourself. Getting older means getting wiser,” Abramovic told DW. “Seventy is a big number. You know that you’re going to the last part of your life and that you have to concentrate on the most important things. And I’ve decided to be happy.”

Source: Blood and pain: Extreme performance artist Marina Abramovic turns 70 | Arts | DW.COM | 30.11.2016