Category Archives: Global Politics

Racist hate speech has ‘become routine in France’ – The Local

Even the current Prime Minister Manuel Valls was reprimanded for his comments made in March 2013 about Roma people having “no interest in integrating in France”. French Mayor and MP Gilles Bourdouleix was also pulled up for his comments about Roma made in July

French Mayor and MP Gilles Bourdouleix was also pulled up for his comments about Roma made in July 2013, when he was recorded saying “Hitler didn’t kill enough”. National Front leader Marine Le Pen was singled out for picking on Muslims, particularly with her rants against the distribution of halal meat and comparing Muslims praying in the streets to the Nazi occupation. And Nicolas Sarkozy’s

National Front leader Marine Le Pen was singled out for picking on Muslims, particularly with her rants against the distribution of halal meat and comparing Muslims praying in the streets to the Nazi occupation. And Nicolas Sarkozy’s

And Nicolas Sarkozy’s Republicains party were chastised for hosting its “conference on Islam” last year, which was boycotted by many Muslim groups. And there was the infamous recent case of MEP Nadine Morano repeatedly insisting “France was a country of

And there was the infamous recent case of MEP Nadine Morano repeatedly insisting “France was a country of white race.”

Source: Racist hate speech has ‘become routine in France’ – The Local

Trump sparks furore for tweeting Mussolini ‘lion’ quote – The Local

Trump’s official Twitter account retweeted a quote from an account under Mussolini’s nickname, Il Duce, which even has as its profile photo a portrait of the famously bald dictator with Trump’s wispy hair photo-shopped onto his hairless pate. The quote read: “It’s better to live one day as a lion than a thousand years as a sheep,” a saying often attributed to Mussolini, who was fond of the expression and used it in a 1922 speech.

Source: Trump sparks furore for tweeting Mussolini ‘lion’ quote – The Local

A disastrous end ..the story of the PA | nadiaharhash

I do believe that we are standing on a verge of a revolution as people. This time, it is inevitable, unless Israel makes a move to save the PA. While we are living under a life of daily attacks and killing, within a context that death of youngsters and corpses laid on the street bleeding is just becoming another normal scene. Like the checkpoint, the separation walls … the daily killings of alleged stabbing or whatever. It is a historical moment in the life of Palestinian people. A time when the occupation is no longer the only oppressive component in life under occupation. An oppression that is equally practiced on the people from the occupier and the guardians of that occupying power. This deterioration amid the ongoing oppression is almost impossible to believe. But yet it is happening. And like those dominoes pieces in a raw, everything is falling in a quick systematic fall. The PA managed to survive especially in the last years, within the absence of the rule of law that is basically represented by conducting elections, through the continuous oppression of the occupation. People tend to shut up infront of the bigger tragedies of life. How could we revolt against the government when Israeli forces kill our children and continue to humiliate our existence in every single manner and given opportunity?

Source: A disastrous end ..the story of the PA | nadiaharhash

‘The idea that Brexit threatens Brits in France is ludicrous’

While many British expats in France are concerned by the thought of Britain voting to leave the EU, many, for various reasons, believe “la belle vie” will hardly change and that it may indeed be better for our hosts.Original enclosures:

Source: ‘The idea that Brexit threatens Brits in France is ludicrous’

The Death of Islamophobia: The Rise of Islamo-Racism | Race Files

Understanding the nature of Islamo-racism is also essential to understanding the contemporary realities of being “apparently Muslim.” In these communities, race and religion have commingled to form aspects of an othered identity which is not only outside of the mainstream, but one that has been criminalized by the State. Furthermore, Islam and Muslim Americans have been deceitfully vilified by influential political, religious, and media figures. As a consequence, visible religious identity has emerged as a primary factor rendering individuals vulnerable to the social degradation— and potential violence— that has plagued peoples of color throughout our history. Putting Islamo-racism in historical perspective also illuminates our understanding of an old societal disorder. The contemporary use of religion as a tool with which to differentiate and designate the “other” in public life— a space once occupied in our past by every community of color— mimics closely the role of race in our collective history. Once we historically contextualize Islamo-racism, we can see clearly how identity (or perceived identity) is again being deployed by demagogues to divide Americans, for personal gain. Ultimately, identifying Islamo-racism as a strain of racism illuminates a major impediment to building a more egalitarian nation, one in which people are judged for their character instead of their race, ethnic, or religious identity. By rejecting the fanciful specters conjured by the peddlers of this latest brand of American racism, we must stand against the rising tide of bigotry sweeping the nation with renewed vigor in the Age of Obama. If we cannot find the courage to fight this battle now, it will continue to vex future generations.

Source: The Death of Islamophobia: The Rise of Islamo-Racism | Race Files

Ukraine’s Eurovision pick highlights Russian oppression

A Crimean Tatar singer has been chosen to represent Ukraine with a song about Russia’s deadly deportation of the group. Jamala may face challenges if the song “1944” breaks Eurovision’s rules on political content.

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Source: Ukraine’s Eurovision pick highlights Russian oppression

Alfred W. McCoy: How a Pink Flower Defeated the World’s Sole Superpower – Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics

Long and good on analysis – very, very short on plausible solutions.

Even in troubled Afghanistan, however, there are alternatives whose sum could potentially slice through this Gordian knot of a policy problem. As a first and fundamental step, maybe it’s time to stop talking about the next sets of boots on the ground and for President Obama to complete his planned troop withdrawal. Next, investing even a small portion of all that misspent military funding in rural Afghanistan could produce economic alternatives for the millions of farmers who depend upon the opium crop for employment. Such money could help rebuild that land’s ruined orchards, ravaged flocks, wasted seed stocks, and wrecked snowmelt irrigation systems that, before these decades of war, sustained a diverse agriculture. If the international community can continue to nudge the country’s dependence on illicit opium down from the current 13% of GDP through such sustained rural development, then perhaps Afghanistan will cease to be the planet’s leading narco-state and just maybe that annual cycle can at long last be broken.

Source: Alfred W. McCoy: How a Pink Flower Defeated the World’s Sole Superpower – Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics

Why is US storing new tanks in hidden Norwegian caves? – The Local

Russian aggression in the Nordics has been an ongoing concern for Norway and its neighbours in recent years.

In 2015, it was revealed that Russia rehearsed military takeovers of northern Norway, the Swedish island of Gotland and the Danish island of Bornholm.

Norwegian, Swedish and Danish intelligence services have all reported that Russia is one of the biggest threats in the region.

Just last week, the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) singled Russian spying out as having major “damage potential” for Norwegian interests.

The Marines statement said that more than 16,000 troops will use equipment stored in the Norwegian caves later this month for cold weather training exercises.

Source: Why is US storing new tanks in hidden Norwegian caves? – The Local

 

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