Category Archives: Global Politics

Ideas for a Road Map for Truth and Justice in Sri Lanka | Groundviews

Importance of Truth-Telling

The search for the truth continues for many conflict-affected Sri Lankans, but present processes have failed to provide answers. This area urgently requires reform. The new Government should review the Commission of Inquiry Act to see whether amendments can ensure future COIs work independently and make their findings public. In terms of legislative reform, they should also revisit the possibility of enacting victim and witness protection legislation that provides for an effective protection mechanism.

via Ideas for a Road Map for Truth and Justice in Sri Lanka | Groundviews.

Isis throws ‘gay’ men off tower, stones woman accused of adultery and crucifies 17 young men in ‘retaliatory’ wave of executions – Middle East – World – The Independent

 

The observatory said: “Isis is sending a message to all people living under its control, to say: ‘This is what will happen to any opponent,” the IB Times reported.

On Saturday, the US-led anti-Isis coalition claimed to have carried out 29 air strikes on Syria and Iraq in a 24-hour period.

via Isis throws ‘gay’ men off tower, stones woman accused of adultery and crucifies 17 young men in ‘retaliatory’ wave of executions – Middle East – World – The Independent.

Keeping the people down/amused 2015! Five killed in second day of Charlie Hebdo protests in Niger | Reuters

Callous political move to create a mob to pillage and burn to avoid their seeing that there government does nothing to help its people – A man holds a copy of the Koran during a protest against Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou’s attendance last week at a Paris rally in support of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, which featured a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad as the cover of its first edition since an attack by Islamist gunmen, in Niamey January 17, 2015.

via Five killed in second day of Charlie Hebdo protests in Niger | Reuters.

RWB condemns presence of “predators” in Paris march, calls for solidarity with “all Charlies” – Reporters Without Borders

“It would be unacceptable if representatives of countries that silence journalists were to take advantage of the current outpouring of emotion to try to improve their international image and then continue their repressive policies when they return home. We must not let predators of press freedom spit on the graves of Charlie Hebdo.”

The authorities have announced the presence of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, Algerian foreign minister Ramtane Lamamra, UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Gabonese President Ali Bongo.

via RWB condemns presence of “predators” in Paris march, calls for solidarity with “all Charlies” – Reporters Without Borders.

In Solidarity With a Free Press: Some More Blasphemous Cartoons – The Intercept

Some of the cartoons published by Charlie Hebdo were not just offensive but bigoted, such as the one mocking the African sex slaves of Boko Haram as welfare queens (left). Others went far beyond maligning violence by extremists acting in the name of Islam, or even merely depicting Mohammed with degrading imagery (above, right), and instead contained a stream of mockery toward Muslims generally, who in France are not remotely powerful but are largely a marginalized and targeted immigrant population.

via In Solidarity With a Free Press: Some More Blasphemous Cartoons – The Intercept.

Noa: Gam Ani Charlie!

I become infuriated when i see the “soft spot” people have for religion: oh, what a nice Jewish boy you see he’s wearing a kippah? he must be nice. oh what a nice Muslim girl! you see, she covers her head? she must be good! oh, look , shes wearing a cross on her neck! she is a believer!! That is such Bogus! as if the clothes, the necklaces or the dietary practices of ANYONE are any indication of what kind of a human being they are?? In Israel we let Rabbis who have plainly proselytized Jewish supremacy, hatred and racism, roam free in the streets! not only that, we give them positions and budgets! the we ELECT them for office! that is nausiating! and needless to say, that happens in the Muslim world too, big time. And the same happened in the Christian world throughout history, in a bloody and horrible way, and is probably still happening.

I am actually envious of the Christians. It seems their bloodiest times are behind them, after the massacres and butchering of the crusades, inquisitions etc etc, and now they have Pope Francis! oh, Pope Francis! a guy who would say: “you don’t have to believe in God to be a good person! Some of the best people in the world do not believe in God, and some of the worst things are done in his name!”..OMG!!! i love this man!! so where is the parallel, someone of such power and influence who would say that, in the Muslim world? or the Jewish?? if someone can point him or her out, let me know.

via Noa: Gam Ani Charlie!.

The Vineyard of the Saker: I am NOT Charlie

So what is going on here?  I will tell you what – the EU 1%ers are now capitalizing on these murders to crack down on their own population.  Sarkozy already met Hollande and they both agreed that new levels of firmness and vigilance need to be implemented.  Does that not reek of a French 9/11?

So no, I am most definitely NOT Charlie this morning and I am disgusted beyond words with the obscene display of doubleplusgoodthinking “solidarity” for a group of “caviar-lefties” who made their money spitting in the souls of billions of people and then dared them to do something about it.  And I am under no illusion whatsoever about the fact that cui bono clearly indicates that the French regime either organized it all, or let it happen or, at the very least, makes maximal political use of it all.

But most of all, I am disgusted with all those who play along and studiously avoid asking the right questions about all this.  I guess they really are “Charlies” all of them.

via The Vineyard of the Saker: I am NOT Charlie.

Meet the three American families bank-rolling Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu – Americas – World – The Independent

the Falic family of Florida which owns the Duty Free Americas airport shops, the Schottenstein family, owners of the American Eagle Outfitters fashion chain, and the Book family of New Jersey, owners of Jet Support Systems.

via Meet the three American families bank-rolling Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu – Americas – World – The Independent.

Something Disturbing Happens When People Say “Black” Instead of “African-American” – Mic

How is it that researchers/journaists totally miss how the world has changed – There are still many negative effects of old racism but the world has really changed and these are the people who led the change.

African-American says little since Africa is not  single culture, nation, or ethic grouping. A Black-American represents a diverse group of people who created a new culture in America and ultimately the world. With Jass/Jazz in music, language, style, all sort of arts, new art forms were invented and a new culture. That culture, which is uniquely American has become the unifying global youth culture. Hip Hop and Rap – the modern forms of jazz and blues can be heard and see in youth culture from Japan, China, India, Iraq, Egypt, Serbia, Bulgaria, Italy, England, Ireland, Spain, Argentina, Chile and beyond. One need only view and listen to Chile’s Ana Tijoux’s – Vengo explosion on the world this hear to understand my point.

What follows is a view based on the 19th century, not the 20th or 21st.

What accounts for the difference? Today, in popular culture and journalistic discourse, the terms black and African-American are often used interchangeably, and neither has established a leg up over the other as the more progressive linguistic choice. But perhaps civil rights and religious leader Jesse Jackson, who championed “African-American” in the 1980s, was right to assume that the term served as an opportunity to recast black America in a more positive light. As Joe Pinsker notes at the Atlantic, the logic was that it “echoed the labels of groups, such as ‘Italian-Americans’ and ‘Irish-Americans,’ that had already been freed of widespread discrimination

via Something Disturbing Happens When People Say “Black” Instead of “African-American” – Mic.