“His programme would be the elimination of criminality. At the core of this is the use of extrajudicial killings,” he said. “It was already done in Davao, the so-called peace and order. It will continue.” In 2009, Human Rights Watch released a report calling for the Philippines to dismantle highly organised vigilante gangs it said were directly linked to government officials and police.
Category Archives: human rights
Illma Gore: ‘If anyone is going to be threatened by a small penis, it’s Trump’ | US news | The Guardian
If the painting does sell, I will donate a portion of the payment to Safe Place for Youth, a homeless shelter for youth in Los Angeles. My face has been swollen all week. There is still bruising around my eye, and the red marks from the burst blood cell remain. But still, people wonder if I am making this up. Is being hit in the face a grand hoax or performance art? No. It is sad; it is a part of the painting as a whole; it is indicative of this election, how Trump is inciting violence and splitting America apart. As for what it means for me as an artist – nothing. I will continue to create art. Art is supposed to evoke an emotion. Art represents the time we live in. All I want to do is make better and better art, black eyes and all.
Oops – deny this? Rise in sea level causes five islands in Solomons to disappear: study | News | DW.COM | 07.05.2016


“At least 11 islands across the northern Solomon Islands have either totally disappeared over recent decades or are currently experiencing severe erosion,” said the study, published in “Environmental Research Letters.” The researchers behind the study looked at satellite and aerial images of 33 islands made from 1947 to 2014, and drew additionally on accounts by local residents. The five islands that had vanished were all vegetated reef islands of significant size that were unpopulated, but subject to occasional use by fishermen, the study said. The study also said that between 2011 and 2014, 10 houses had been swept into the sea on one of the six other reef islands that have undergone severe erosion damage from the rising waters, which result from global warming. In addition, receding shorelines at two sites had forced communities that had existed since at least 1935 to relocate, the researchers said.
Source: Rise in sea level causes five islands in Solomons to disappear: study | News | DW.COM | 07.05.2016
Thousands of pro-EU, pro-democracy demonstrators march on Warsaw | News | DW.COM | 07.05.2016
Around 240,000 people marched through Warsaw on Saturday, the same day a smaller, pro-government rally took place. The rally of nearly a quarter of a million people gathered in the Polish capital to express support for both democracy and the EU, as the country’s right-wing government, headed by the Law and Justice Party (PiS), continues to draw criticism for suppressing opposition and alienating Brussels. People march during an anti-government demonstration organized by the main opposition parties in Warsaw “We are here because we believe in Polish law, Polish freedom and common action in the EU,” ex-President Bronislaw Komorowski told demonstrators.
Source: Thousands of pro-EU, pro-democracy demonstrators march on Warsaw | News | DW.COM | 07.05.2016
EU won’t sacrifice food safety for US trade deal: Germany – The Local
Washington and Brussels want the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) completed this year before US President Barack Obama leaves office, but it has faced mounting opposition on both sides of the Atlantic. Schmidt told the German news weekly Der Spiegel that it was time for the United States to “at last make a move” if it wants the agreement. “So far at least they have hardly made any serious concessions,” the minister was quoted as saying in an early excerpt of the interview in Saturday’s edition of Der Spiegel magazine. US policymakers are wrong if it thought “they can lure us Germans with concessions in the automotive sector”, he said. “We won’t sacrifice our high food safety standards in a barter trade for approval of European car blinkers,” he said, in reference to industry standards on car parts. “One has nothing to do with the other,” he said. “There won’t be any such horse-trading.”
Source: EU won’t sacrifice food safety for US trade deal: Germany – The Local
Roy Moore, Alabama Judge, Suspended Over Gay Marriage Stance – The New York Times
An Alabama judicial oversight body on Friday filed a formal complaint against Roy S. Moore, the chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court, charging that he had “flagrantly disregarded and abused his authority” in ordering the state’s probate judges to refuse applications for marriage licenses by same-sex couples. As a result of the charges, Chief Justice Moore, 69, has been immediately suspended from the bench and is facing a potential hearing before the state’s Court of the Judiciary, a panel of judges, lawyers and other appointees. Among possible outcomes at such a hearing would be his removal from office.
Source: Roy Moore, Alabama Judge, Suspended Over Gay Marriage Stance – The New York Times
Trumpish notes from the AP
Remember a movie named a Face in the Crowd? Watch it. https://youtu.be/9lrmxkF-UKM
“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
A Guide to Ethical Shopping – IJPC | Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center | Cincinnati Ohio
How many slaves work for you? You might feel a little indignant about this question thinking that we abolished slavery way back in 1865, and no freedom-loving American would think of condoning slavery in this day and age. That’s how I felt too, but guess what? I’ve just discovered that I have no less than 46 slaves working for meNow, you might be a little confused. You might be asking things like: How in the world can 46 slaves be working for you? And how did you not know this before?The answers to these questions are shocking. While it’s true that the type of slavery we generally think of-African Americans engaged in forced labor on southern plantations-is a thing of the past, slavery has not been abolished at all. What has replaced the old system is a much more insidious one which operates covertly in order to avoid public scrutiny. Unfortunately, we are discovering that slavery is very much alive and well in the world, and many unsuspecting consumers support the practice with their wallets. Because slave labor is often buried deep within supply chains and outsourced production facilities, we can only estimate the actual number of victims, but by all accounts there are more slaves today than at any other point in history. That’s where my 46 slaves can be found, producing the material goods that are in my apartment or on my body, or cultivating and harvesting the food that I buy at the grocery store and restaurants. All so that I can get a good deal and manufacturers achieve the highest margins of profit. Never mind that these laborers are often women and children. Never mind that they are subjected to coercion and violence. Never mind that they never enjoy the fruit of their own labor, living in the most deplorable conditions imaginable..
Source: A Guide to Ethical Shopping – IJPC | Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center | Cincinnati Ohio
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
Why Filipinos Are Voting for a New ‘Dictator’ – The New York Times
Drift to supporting trash-talking drones is same in US, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Japan… Not to be taken for granted that democracy can survive oligarchy – time for real problem solvers to step up and vote for civility and change!?!
This image as a brash, no-nonsense leader explains why nothing he says is able to damage him. He repeatedly described a rival using a homophobic slur. He called Pope Francis “a son of a whore.” He told human-rights groups to “go to hell.” He joked that he should have been first in the gang rape of an Australian missionary. “That’s how men speak,” Mr. Duterte explained. “I am not a son of the privileged class.” His supporters, who often threaten his critics on social media with death and rape threats, defended him with an offensive, but telling, rhetorical question: How can people get so upset at a rape joke when politicians have been raping the country for so long?
Source: Why Filipinos Are Voting for a New ‘Dictator’ – The New York Times








You must be logged in to post a comment.