All posts by nedhamson

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

′No one is asking the women in Cologne what they feel′ | News | DW.COM | 06.01.2016

“No one is talking about the fact that this is happening to women every day,” Tanja, an activist and one of the initiators of the event told DW. Most of the attacks took place in and around the main station in Cologne”People are insisting on making this a political story, trying to shift the focus on pro- or anti-refugees. But in fact, no one is listening to what we have to say – the women – who suffer from this violence in the streets on a daily basis long before refugees even came here,” she says.The violence on New Year’s Eve was not different from any other big-scale celebration in the city, according to Tanja. “Because refugees are now a burning topic, the media all of a sudden report about these events, but what nobody wants to admit is that these things happen all the time. I’m sorry to break this to you, but German-born men also harass and rape.”

Source: ′No one is asking the women in Cologne what they feel′ | News | DW.COM | 06.01.2016

Caribbean Journalists Prepare to Report on Climate Change | Inter Press Service

“Scientific information must be published in clearer language, and we must talk about the real impact of climate change on people’s lives,” journalist Amelia Deschamps, an anchorwoman on the El Día newcast of the Dominican channel Telesistema 11, told IPS.She was referring to the communication challenges posed in the wake of COP21 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 in Paris to produce the first universal agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions and curb the negative impacts of global warming.

Source: Caribbean Journalists Prepare to Report on Climate Change | Inter Press Service

Fear Factor Rising for Federal Workers as Refuge Occupation Goes Unchallenged – The New York Times

So, the notion that these yahoos can take over federal buildings and go on national TV while facing no consequences – and no prospect of future consequences, a la Cliven – means that you are encouraging even more of these incidents.I am not urging a Waco-like mechanized assault.  I am suggesting that Cliven be prosecuted and imprisoned. Moreover, the Department of Justice should begin now preparing federal charges against the Malheur occupiers.The model should be how the feds handled the Recapture Canyon incident. There a Utah county commissioner, some local activists and even a Bundy son defied a federal order to close a trail to protect archaeological and natural resources. The demonstration of driving a parade of all-terrain vehicles through the closed area went off without any law enforcement resistance.Shortly afterward, however, the organizers were all prosecuted— with the leader sentenced to jail with a hefty fine.The utter absence of an appropriate, proximate response tacitly concedes the legitimacy of this utter craziness.  And, we can only expect more of these dangerous incidents.

Source: Fear Factor Rising for Federal Workers as Refuge Occupation Goes Unchallenged – The New York Times

incoherencing a moment …

نادية حرحش

I tend to suppress my urge to write often. Sometimes it’s like binging. But inside this specific situation I think it is a must. I have been busy writing mostly in Arabic, because the topic I am addressing are strictly palestinian Arab related, where I find the need to talk in the mindset of the street within the topics that are stirring the Palestinian emotions. Issues that are not necessarily related to the Israeli military occupation even though all what is happening is the result of two things that cannot be excluded form one another: the Israel oppression and the corrupt Palestinian authority.

The Palestinians are finding themselves squeezed into this state of serious loss and despair. Young people are going out for free voluntarily deaths, and others are going to the dungeons of fanatic extremism within the growth of Da’esh that is definitely being fostered as a result. And…

View original post 700 more words

Sri Lanka’s torture machine continues in peacetime

Sri Lanka’s new government has been lauded for efforts at reconciliation after a devastating civil war. Yet, civilians are still being abducted, tortured and sexually abused by security forces, according to a report published today.

Source: Sri Lanka’s torture machine continues in peacetime

Here are some key points included in the report:

· All victims were Tamil and many had come home from other countries or came out of hiding in Sri Lanka, because they felt secure after the change in government. The most recent abduction was last month.

· Researchers interviewed 15 men and five women in four countries. In addition to other corroborating evidence of torture, several victims had fresh wounds and two were still bleeding at the time of the interviews.

· Torture occurred in well-equipped rooms and included being hung upside-down and beaten, being branded with metal rods, and asphyxiated using a plastic bag soaked with petrol or chili. Both male and female victims were raped repeatedly.

· The perpetrators were members of the police and military intelligence, and some were senior officers. The torture took place in army bases in the former war zone, at Terrorism Investigation Division headquarters in the capital, Colombo, and in secret facilities throughout the country.

· The abductions were pre-planned operations and the torturers had information about many of the victims’ political activities, including participation in peaceful protests or elections. Several victims were accused of attempting to start up the Tamil Tigers group again.

· All but one victim paid security forces for their release and escape from the country. The bribes ranged from $2,500 to $7,000 for release from detention and $17,000 to $35,000 to then be smuggled out of the country.

· The report concludes that there is a well-organised “machine” within the security forces that practices torture and extortion in order to terrorise and oppress Tamils. It urges the government to stop denying the extent of the problem and to take action immediately to halt the abuses and hold perpetrators accountable.