Category Archives: human rights

Nebraska Lawmakers Vote to Abolish Death Penalty

The bill, bolstered by conservatives, passed with enough votes to override a promised veto from Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican.mf.gif

via Nebraska Lawmakers Vote to Abolish Death Penalty.

US Christians ‘bankrolling’ no campaign in Ireland’s gay marriage referendum | World news | The Guardian

With just five days to go before Ireland’s historic referendum on the legalisation of gay marriage, a bitter row has broken out between supporters and opponents over the funding of their respective campaigns. Supporters of a yes vote have accused opponents of a lack of transparency over finances and of accepting funding from rightwing Christian groups in the US.

Ireland’s referendum is the only one in the world where a national electorate is being asked to legalise gay marriage. If it is passed on Friday, gay couples will have the right under the state’s constitution to marry. At present only civil partnerships are recognised in law. Marriage equality would provide full rights of inheritance as well as the right to adopt children – the latter being the most contentious issue of the campaign. A yes vote would also mark yet another defeat for the Catholic church and the political power it used to wield in Ireland.

via US Christians ‘bankrolling’ no campaign in Ireland’s gay marriage referendum | World news | The Guardian.

The Beauty In Brutal Breakdowns. | Rebelle Society

I have come to see beauty in the breakdown and no longer shy away from this place of broken, real and uncomfortable. When I let go of resistance, broken-down becomes a place where I can rest. A place of naked tranquil abiding, where the trivialities of life no longer disturb or distress.

As a hospice nurse, I have the rare privilege of sharing in the exquisite and brutal breakdown that is death and the dying process.

I meet people when they are most vulnerable, and together we stand in the eye of the storm, bathed in uncomfortable uncertainty. I go with them into the deepest dark place of broken-down; I meet them in the inescapable exposed reality of the inevitable. It is an honor to help bear their pain, for the pain of loss belongs to all of us — none are exempt.

via The Beauty In Brutal Breakdowns. | Rebelle Society.

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee : Video-Lyrics

Indian legislation on the desk of a do-right Congressman

Now, he don’t know much about the issue

so he picks up the phone and he asks advice from the

Senator out in Indian country

A darling of the energy companies who are

ripping off what’s left of the reservations. Huh.

1.

I learned a safety rule

I don’t know who to thank

Don’t stand between the reservation and the

corporate bank

They send in federal tanks

It isn’t nice but it’s reality

chorus:

Bury my heart at Wounded Knee

Deep in the Earth

Cover me with pretty lies

bury my heart at Wounded Knee. Huh.

2.

They got these energy companies that want the land

and they’ve got churches by the dozen who want to

guide our hands

and sign Mother Earth over to pollution, war and

greed

Get rich… get rich quick.

chorus…

3. We got the federal marshals

We got the covert spies

We got the liars by the fire

We got the FBIs

They lie in court and get nailed

and still Peltier goes off to jail

chorus…

4.

My girlfriend Annie Mae talked about uranium

Her head was filled with bullets and her body dumped

The FBI cut off her hands and told us she’d died of

exposure

Loo loo loo loo loo

chorus…

We had the Goldrush Wars

Aw, didn’t we learn to crawl and still our history gets

written in a liar’s scrawl

They tell ‘ya “Honey, you can still be an Indian

d-d-down at the ‘Y’

on Saturday nights”

Bury my heart at Wounded Knee

Deep in the Earth

Cover me with pretty lies

Bury my heart at Wounded Knee. Huh!

via Buffy Sainte-Marie: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee : Video-Lyrics.

Leftist Party’s Win in Alberta May Affect Future of Oil Sands – NYTimes.com

With an economy dominated by the oil industry and a conservative, free-market political tradition, Alberta has long been cast as the Texas of Canada. But on Tuesday, not only did the province’s voters put the Progressive Conservative Party out of power after 43 years, they elected a government from the far left of Canada’s mainstream political spectrum.

The unexpected rise of the New Democratic Party, which was partly founded by labor unions, may have implications for Alberta’s oil sands, which, many critics say, enjoyed a light regulatory touch under Conservative governments. And with a federal election coming this year, the result will not be welcomed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a Conservative whose party’s power base is in Alberta, along with his own parliamentary constituency.

via Leftist Party’s Win in Alberta May Affect Future of Oil Sands – NYTimes.com.

Ukip candidate suspended for threatening to ‘put a bullet in’ Tory rival | Politics | The Guardian

In the footage, Blay is heard to express his frustration with suggestions that Jayawardena has a bright political career ahead of him and especially at the possibility that he could rise to be Britain’s first prime minister of Asian descent.

Election 2015 interactive: who is ahead in the polls where you live?

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“If he is, I will personally put a bullet between his eyes,” says Blay. “If this lad turns up to be our prime minister, I will personally put a bullet in him. That’s how strong I feel about it.

via Ukip candidate suspended for threatening to ‘put a bullet in’ Tory rival | Politics | The Guardian.

Russell Brand has endorsed Labour – and the Tories should be worried | Owen Jones | Comment is free | The Guardian

He has been supportive of the Greens, and still calls on the people of Brighton Pavilion to return Caroline Lucas to parliament.

via Russell Brand has endorsed Labour – and the Tories should be worried | Owen Jones | Comment is free | The Guardian.

Unarmed Teen Killed By Police Cried: ‘Mommy, Mommy, Please Come!’: LAist

Police said they found gang-related graffiti inside of the home after the shooting. They also arrested four others in the incident: Edgar and German Rodarte, ages 20 and 21, respectively, and Yesenia Pineda, 22, and Ceclia Cox, 22. However, the family says Hector Morejon was not in a gang. Their statement said that linking him to a gang “reflects the police department’s immediate tactic to attempt to make the victim of a police killing (here Hector) appear like a bad person. Hector was a sweet son and favored little brother.”

Anyone with information regarding this shooting is urged to contact the Long Beach Police Homicide Detail at 562-570-7244.

via Unarmed Teen Killed By Police Cried: ‘Mommy, Mommy, Please Come!’: LAist.