Category Archives: Global Politics

Trumpish notes from the AP

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“I don’t necessarily know that that’s his role, to be a sticking point for the Republican nominee,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, one of a growing number of Trump supporters in the House. Added Rep. Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania: “The voters of our party have spoken loud and clear, and it’s their voice that matters.” Trump has criticized Ryan in the past and renewed his attacks Friday by arguing that Ryan and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, “lost a race that should have been won” in 2012. Trump and Ryan also have disagreements on policy, from immigration to Social Security to trade. In his latest surprising breach of orthodoxy on Friday Trump questioned whether the U.S. government would make good on its commitment to fully honor Treasury notes, suggesting he might try to get a better deal.

Source: News from The Associated Press

Protest Movement Threatens TTIP Transatlantic Trade Deal – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Greenpeace published classified documents from the closed-door negotiations. Even if the papers only convey the current state of negotiations and do not document the end results, they still confirm the worst suspicions of critics of TTIP.The 248 pages show that bargaining is taking place behind the scenes, even in areas which the EU and the German government have constantly maintained were sacrosanct. These include standards on the environment and consumer protection; the precautionary principle, a stricter EU policy that sets high hurdles for potentially dangerous products; the legislative self-determination of the countries involved, etc. Even the pledge made on the European side that there would be no arbitration courts has turned out to be wishful thinking. So far, the Americans have insisted on the old style of arbitration court.The result is that Merkel’s grandly staged meeting with US President Barack Obama in Hanover eight days earlier had been nothing more than a show — one aimed at hiding the fact that the two sides are anything but united in their positions.The leaks have resulted in a failed attempt to bypass 800 million European citizens as they negotiate the world’s largest bilateral free trade agreement. From the very beginning, the government underestimated the level of resistance these incursions on virtually all aspects of life would unleash among the people.What began as a diffuse discomfort over opaque backroom dealings grew into a true public initiative, especially in Germany. It was fueled by an international alliance of non-government organizations that has acted in a more professional and networked way than anything that has come before.TTIP Protests a Part of Everyday LifeThree years after the beginning of negotiations, events protesting free trade agreements have become part of everyday life in Germany. In cities and towns, thousands of events are being held to express opposition to deals like TTIP, CETA, as the recently negotiated agreement with Canada is called, and TISA, an international deal covering trade in services.Here’s a sample of what this looks like in just a few places. In the city of Mainz, 150 orchestra musicians play the protest song “We’re not Merchandise,” a reworked version of Ludwig von Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” In Darmstadt south of Frankfurt, 230 people in a packed hall grill candidates in the local election on the issue of free trade. Meanwhile, in Cologne, where there are traditional “dance into May” celebrations marking the arrival of May 1, a “Dance against TTIP” was even held.In Bergisch Gladbach, a town located near Cologne, the city council approved a resolution opposing TTIP and CETA. A total of 310 cities, municipalities, counties, districts and regions have registered themselves with the Munich Environmental Institute as TTIP-free zones.

Source: Protest Movement Threatens TTIP Transatlantic Trade Deal – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Report: Cops Tried To Memory-Hole Hasidic Jews’ Beating Of Black Man In Williamsburg: Gothamist

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Realizing the case was going nowhere, Patterson’s mother Zahra went on a publicity blitz, placing stories about the attack in several news outlets, and only then did the investigation pick up. Police arrested five men the following April, and in their indictment prosecutors claimed that the suspects were all members of the Williamsburg Safety Patrol, a Hasidic volunteer neighborhood watch group, members of which carry walkie talkies and sometimes drive imitation police vehicles. The group is supposed to notify the police of crimes in progress and sometimes make citizens’ arrests, but has been accused of vigilantism and other attacks on black and Latino people in the neighborhood.The revelation about the apparent mishandling of the investigation comes as high-ranking officers elsewhere in the NYPD are facing federal scrutiny for, among other things, allegedly taking bribes from a leader of the Williamsburg group’s Borough Park counterpart, the Boro Park Shomrim, to grant gun permits to people who would otherwise have been denied them. Mayor Bill de Blasio halted city funding to the Borough Park group and is reassessing whether it is a “responsible vendor.”

Source: Report: Cops Tried To Memory-Hole Hasidic Jews’ Beating Of Black Man In Williamsburg: Gothamist

Afghan film star in French exile after death threats – The Local

“It’s very important that no-one recognises Marina,” said Azizi, who locks his wife in the room every time he leaves to make sure no one gets to her and carries out the death sentence passed by conservative imams a world away. To avoid detection, Golbahari remains tightly veiled in public — a cruel twist in the tale, given the way their nightmare began. “When you are an actor or actress in Afghanistan, or part of a film, you are accused of being an infidel, you are always in danger,” said Siddiq Barmak, the director of “Osama”, who also became a refugee in France a year ago. Since the withdrawal of most international forces from Kabul in mid-2014, a wave of religious conservatism has washed over the country — “and not only from the Taliban”, said Barmak. Nearly 3,700 civilians died in the ongoing conflict last year according to the UN — a record for the past decade. The increase in violence has sparked a fresh exodus from the country, particularly among Kabul’s middle-class liberals. Golbahari’s appearance at the Korean film festival coincided with two major events in the city of Kunduz — its temporary seizure by the Taliban and the bombing by US forces of a Doctors Without Borders hospital. Around the same time a local-language BBC channel also screened “Osama”. Back in her dank room, Golbahari sees little hope. “Before, I dreamed of the future,” she said. “Now I think only of the past.”

Source: Afghan film star in French exile after death threats – The Local

About The Stereotype Busting High Median Incomes Of Trump Voters | Race Files

We need to get real about who really constitutes the current and projected base for right wing extremism. They aren’t mainly poor folk. Real poor folks are our current and immediate projected base of support and we need to start acting like it. Instead, they are those with relative privilege, living in the anxiety of losing that privilege in a society that punishes the poor. White privilege is eroding. We need to acknowledge this reality.  If we don’t, we will become the victims of nostalgia, trading rose colored pictures of a romanticized past for a sustainable, fair, and secure economic future.

Source: About The Stereotype Busting High Median Incomes Of Trump Voters | Race Files

Why this fearless woman is the talk of Sweden – The Local

National Photo: David Lagerlöf/Expo/TT

Why this fearless woman is the talk of Sweden Published: 03 May 2016 14:12 GMT+02:00 A woman who blocked the path of a group of neo-Nazis marching through a town in central Sweden has earned huge praise on social media after a picture of the incident went viral. Sweden Democrat steps down over church-burning posts (28 Apr 16) Nazi flag sparks anger in Sweden on Hitler’s birthday (20 Apr 16) Stockholm special squad to stop far-right mobs (02 Feb 16) Tess Asplund, an anti-racism activist from Stockholm, was in Borlänge to protest against a march by hundreds of neo-Nazis through the centre of the town on May 1st.  Traditionally a left-wing stronghold, where big Labour Day rallies are the norm, Borlänge has recently seen many voters lurch to the far-right.  The uniformed neo-Nazis were however far outnumbered by counter demonstrators like Asplund, who described the moment captured on camera to local radio station P4 Dalarna.   “I don’t think I even thought about it really, I just jumped out,” she said.  “I just thought: you shouldn’t be here. Then one of them stared at me and I stared back. He didn’t say anything and neither did I. Then the police came fairly quickly and took me away.”  Asplund said she often raised her fist at anti-fascist rallies in a gesture borrowed from Nelson Mandela. The picture spread rapidly on social media on Tuesday as Swedes hailed the iconography of a lone woman bravely standing up to dark forces.

Source: Why this fearless woman is the talk of Sweden – The Local

Egyptian Aak 2016 – Week 17 April 25-May 1 — Nervana

Photo of anti-Sisi protests in Egypt – via Tahrir Institute Top Headlines Protests against President Fattah el-Sisi broken up with tear gas. Monday Egypt puts on trial 237 activists for protests against Sis. Saturday Egypt’s Nour Al-Sherbini becomes youngest ever-female squash world champion. Saturday Egypt’s police arrest two journalists wanted “for incitement.” Sunday […]

via Egyptian Aak 2016 – Week 17 April 25-May 1 — Nervana

German populists want France excluded from eurozone – The Local

Arian only Euro-Zone – Ja – Not!

Germany’s right-wing populist AfD believes that France and southern European countries should be excluded from Europe’s common currency, the party’s top officials said, AFP reported.

“We can have a common currency with the Netherlands, Austria, Finland or Baltic states. They have similar cultures of stability like ours,” Jörg Meuthen, the party’s co-leader, told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in remarks to be published in Monday’s edition.

“But the French have a different one, not to mention the Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese and Greeks. They don’t want austerity at all,” said the co-leader of Alternative for Germany, which was formed three years ago as an anti-euro party but is now running mainly on an anti-immigrant platform.

Source: German populists want France excluded from eurozone – The Local

Japanese MPs visit Tokyo war shrine, China and South Korea displeased

Japanese members of parliament visited a Tokyo war shrine Friday. The ritual will no doubt anger China and South Korea, with memories of Japan’s military record still very raw.

(and the relative of hundreds of thousands of people in South East Asia, US, Australia, New Zealand… of service people who died at the hands of Japanese lead by a government bent on enslaving peoples for their fascist government’s advantage.)

Source: Japanese MPs visit Tokyo war shrine, China and South Korea displeased

» Safe Home

No home is safe for me. Always I am in danger.

Where is my safe home?
I am not safe anywhere.
My father abuses me,
My brother scorns me,
My husband disrespects me,
For the crime of being female!

My penalty is to be hated,
Hated simply for being female,
Hated for being a daughter,
Hated for being a sister,
Hated for being a wife.

No home is safe for me.
Always I am in danger.
I want a safe home,
But that home will come
Only after my death.

That home will be my grave.
I will live without fear,
I will sleep soundly,
I will go into darkness,
Safe at last.

By Nasrin

Source: » Safe Home