Category Archives: Global Politics

Bumble Bee Sold to Thai Seafood Company

Bumble Bee is the No. 2 tuna brand in the U.S., and Chicken of the Sea is third in sales. The leading brand is Starkist, owned by South Korea’s Dongwon Industries Co. Ltd.

via Bumble Bee Sold to Thai Seafood Company.

Ummm – Just saying – wonder how much mercury and other heavy metals will be in your tuna and how much will be real tuna?

Russian mafia, remains mafia in Russia or Israel – Avigdor Lieberman: Hard-right Israeli minister’s fate in balance after aides arrested for fraud – Middle East – World – The Independent

Police believe Ms Kirshenbaum, like Mr Lieberman an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, is the key player in suspected misuse of government funds in exchange for kickbacks and appointments tainted by nepotism. Other allegations against members of Mr Lieberman’s party include,  disrupting the police investigation and destroying documents. Others have been arrested for fixing tenders and receiving bribes. Mr Lieberman, who has a long history of fighting corruption charges, has not been implicated in this scandal.

Yisrael Beiteinu issued a statement saying it is confident in the innocence of the suspects and claiming that the arrests and investigations are aimed at subverting its electoral prospects. It also that said police had publicised investigations during previous campaigns. “The fact that this was done once again during elections points to the intention to damage Yisrael Beiteinu,’’ it said.

via Avigdor Lieberman: Hard-right Israeli minister’s fate in balance after aides arrested for fraud – Middle East – World – The Independent.

Arsonist sets fire to Swedish mosque, injuring five – Europe – World – The Independent

An arsonist set fire to a mosque in the Swedish town of Eskilstuna on Thursday, injuring five people, police said, an incident which comes amid an intense debate over immigration.

The immigration debate has pitted the far right, which wants to cut the number of asylum seekers allowed into Sweden by 90 percent, against mainstream parties intent on preserving the Nordic country’s liberal policy.

Between 15 and 20 people were in the mosque, located in the ground floor of a building in a mainly residential area, when the fire erupted. Local media footage showed smoke and flames billowing from the windows.

“A witness saw somebody throw an object through the window of the building, which serves as a mosque, after which a violent fire began,” police spokesman Lars Franzell said.

An arsonist set fire to a mosque in the Swedish town of Eskilstuna on Thursday, injuring five people, police said, an incident which comes amid an intense debate over immigration.

The immigration debate has pitted the far right, which wants to cut the number of asylum seekers allowed into Sweden by 90 percent, against mainstream parties intent on preserving the Nordic country’s liberal policy.

Between 15 and 20 people were in the mosque, located in the ground floor of a building in a mainly residential area, when the fire erupted. Local media footage showed smoke and flames billowing from the windows.

“A witness saw somebody throw an object through the window of the building, which serves as a mosque, after which a violent fire began,” police spokesman Lars Franzell said.

via Arsonist sets fire to Swedish mosque, injuring five – Europe – World – The Independent.

Fox station edited video of Eric Garner protesters to make it sound like they were chanting ‘kill a cop’ – Americas – World – The Independent

She said: “What really gets to me is where you edited it and stopped. Like, how could that be a mistake?”

The blunder made by Fox45 follows the death of two NYPD police officers, Rafael Ramos and Liu Wenjin, who were shot dead by gunman Ismaaiyl Brinsley while sitting in a police patrol car on Saturday afternoon. {no blunder – intentional political and racist propaganda from FOX!}

“My community needs the cops. Nobody deserves to be brutally murdered, so that hurt me,” Ms Jones continued in explaining that the real version of the chant actually meant that she believes everyone should be held accountable for their actions.

Ms Jones said that she complained to Fox after her ex-partner, a police officer himself, had alerted her to the gross misrepresentation that was being shown across the US and also worldwide.

via Fox station edited video of Eric Garner protesters to make it sound like they were chanting ‘kill a cop’ – Americas – World – The Independent.

wtf! How could this be happening without thousands on the streets! Trending: Prosecutions of Pregnant Women Continue in Wisconsin | National Women’s Law Center

How do you care for a pregnant woman with a history of drug use? Well, according to Wisconsin, you throw her in jail and administer no prenatal care. You deny all her requests to keep scheduled prenatal visits. When she experiences stress-induced cramping, you require her to visit a doctor who is not an OB-GYN. When she refuses to take a pregnancy test, you toss her in solitary confinement and threaten her with a taser. When she fears she will miscarry, you tell her “there [is] nothing [you can] do about it anyway.”

As ruthless as it sounds, this is exact treatment Tamara Loerstcher, a pregnant woman in Wisconsin, endured after doing the right thing and admitting prior drug use to her doctor, even though she had already stopped using drugs when she suspected she could be pregnant.

While drug use during pregnancy is a serious public health concern, it should not be handled as a criminal matter. Nonetheless, Wisconsin’s fetal protection law, also known as the “cocaine mom” law, gives the state power to detain any pregnant woman who is using drugs. Although Tamara was not using drugs, she was thrown into jail for 17 days for refusing treatment.

Sadly, Tamara’s ordeal is not just bad luck. In Tennessee, for example, a pregnant woman can now spend up to 15 years in prison for pregnancy complications after she has used illegal drugs. Throughout the rest of the country, hundreds of women have been arrested on pregnancy-related charges and new arrests occur each week.

via Trending: Prosecutions of Pregnant Women Continue in Wisconsin | National Women’s Law Center.

If anyone still thinks this is about religion, and…

Applies to all the politicized “religious fundamentalists” in all the movements claiming to be protecting their “religion/power/control.”

If anyone still thinks this is about religion, and not a political struggle with the barest patina of religion as justification for this war, they need only come to Peshawar to attend the funerals of the children, who will be buried before the sun goes down, in the Islamic tradition. They have only to hear what their parents will say, the customary response to the news of a Muslim’s death: to Him we belong and to Him we will return. The children who were killed are of the same religion as the attackers claim to follow. This is not about religion: this is about power, intimidation and revenge.

If anyone still thinks this is about religion, and not a political struggle with the barest patina of religion as justification for this war, they need only come to Peshawar to attend the funerals of the children, who will be buried before the sun goes down, in the Islamic tradition. They have only to hear what their parents will say, the customary response to the news of a Muslim’s death: to Him we belong and to Him we will return. The children who were killed are of the same religion as the attackers claim to follow. This is not about religion: this is about power, intimidation and revenge.

claiming If anyone still thinks this is about religion, and not a political struggle with the barest patina of religion as justification for this war, they need only come to Peshawar to attend the funerals of the children, who will be buried before the sun goes down, in the Islamic tradition. They have only to hear what their parents will say, the customary response to the news of a Muslim’s death: to Him we belong and to Him we will return. The children who were killed are of the same religion as the attackers claim to follow. This is not about religion: this is about power, intimidation and revenge.

Bina Shah, The Guardian on the Taliban massacre of school children in Peshawar, Pakistan.  (via politicsalamericana)

(via randycwhite)

via If anyone still thinks this is about religion, and….

The Taliban’s Massacre in Peshawar Must Be Its Last – NYTimes.com

Outside the main ward of the Lady Reading Hospital, where five teenage Muslim boys lay fighting for their lives, a Christian had come bearing roses.

“Cannot go inside!” said the officer in plain clothes.

“But these roses,” pleaded the Christian man.

“You may give these flowers to me,” said the officer. “Thank you.”

The officer turned to us. “The Christians have called off Christmas, you see,” he explained — in honor of the schoolchildren murdered here this week.

via The Taliban’s Massacre in Peshawar Must Be Its Last – NYTimes.com.

Extremist Settlers Commit Successive Breakings Into Al-Aqsa

Israeli extremist groups on Wednesday broke into Al-Aqsa mosque compound from Al Mughrabi gate, accompanied by private forces.

Local sources said that the attacks on the mosque took place through small but successive groups, making provocative ‘tours’ in the corners and facilities of Al-Aqsa.

via Extremist Settlers Commit Successive Breakings Into Al-Aqsa.

Three Arrested in Egypt For Speaking English | Egyptian Streets

The latest detentions come as there is a climate of paranoia and suspicion among Egyptians. Earlier this year Le Monde Diplomatique’s Editor-in-Chief Alain Gresh was arrested at a trendy cafe in downtown Cairo after a woman reported him to police for discussing politics.

Gresh and two Egyptians were arrested after the woman screamed at them for speaking about Egypt in English and Arabic.

The French journalist, who was born in Cairo, said he received a formal apology from authorities, including both police and military figures.

The incidents have raised fear among Egypt’s expatriate community and foreign journalists.

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via Three Arrested in Egypt For Speaking English | Egyptian Streets.

PEGIDA demos march for the ninth time in Dresden | News | DW.DE | 15.12.2014

However, on Monday, the group was met by counter-demonstrators from the group “Dresden for all,” who brought 9,000 people to the streets calling for more tolerance last week.

In a similar counter-protest on Sunday, around 15,000 people marched in a peaceful demonstration against xenophobia and right-wing extremism in the western German city of Cologne.

Associated movements

An associated protest under the name “BOGIDA” also took place in the western German city of Bonn on Monday evening. On their Facebook page, the group described the event a “peaceful evening stroll against Salafists in Bonn, the Islamization of the occident and misled refugee and immigrant policy in Germany.”

via PEGIDA demos march for the ninth time in Dresden | News | DW.DE | 15.12.2014.