Category Archives: human rights

rotflmao – French Police Question Boy, 8, After Remarks on Paris Attacks – NYTimes.com

Police officials in the southern French city of Nice questioned an 8-year-old boy who is believed to have made comments in school defending the gunmen who killed 17 people in terrorist attacks in and near Paris this month, a senior regional police official confirmed on Thursday.

The questioning of the boy, which occurred Wednesday, grabbed headlines across the country and spurred a debate on social media and elsewhere about whether France’s desire to combat terrorism was tipping over into hysteria. Since the attacks, France has moved to enforce tough new laws against the incitement of terrorism, fueling tensions between free speech and public order.

The boy was identified as a Muslim by the French National Observatory Against Islamophobia.

via French Police Question Boy, 8, After Remarks on Paris Attacks – NYTimes.com.

16-year-old queer Latina Jessie Hernandez killed by Denver police

White supremacy is how. A system meant by design to exert control over communities can do little else.

Jessie Hernandez did not deserve to die. She did not deserve to have her bleeding, dying, body handcuffed and searched, being flipped lifelessly on the street, before she got any medical attention. Her friends did not deserve the lifetime of trauma this incident will provide them. Even if the car was stolen. Even if Jessie did injure an officer with the car.

“I mean, with everything that’s going on,” a friend said in tears at a vigil, “it wouldn’t be a surprise that she got scared, you know?”

Women’s deaths and abuse at the hands of the police rarely make the news in the same way that the deaths of some men do, but today we speak Jessie Hernandez’s name. Today we remember.

Rest in peace, Jessie.

via 16-year-old queer Latina Jessie Hernandez killed by Denver police.

Review: ‘Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal’ | Labor Notes

Meatpacking was once a strong union industry with a mostly Eastern European and African-American workforce. The jobs were dangerous and dirty, but by 1970 the typical meatpacking worker earned 20 percent more than the average factory worker. In the following three decades, urban unionized plants shut down and re-opened on a non-union basis in rural areas actively recruiting Mexican and Central American workers. Wages fell by 45 percent and, by the end of the century, one-quarter of the industry’s workers were undocumented. In 1980, nearly half the workforce was unionized; today fewer than 1 in 5 is a union member.

Construction has followed a similar story. Once a pathway to the middle class, building trades jobs have become poorly compensated outside of union strongholds in the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast. Fifteen percent of the nation’s construction workers are now estimated to be undocumented, and the numbers are even higher in the lower paid non-licensed crafts, such as carpenters, painters, roofers, and laborers. These workers are often paid off the books and subject to unsafe working conditions. A 2013 Texas study estimated that half the state’s construction workforce was undocumented and 41 percent were victims of wage theft. It is a disservice to immigrant advocacy to maintain that existing Americans don’t want these jobs. It’s the sharply reduced compensation and sweatshop conditions they don’t want.

via Review: ‘Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal’ | Labor Notes.

Israeli settlers chop down olive trees near Hebron | Maan News Agency

A group of Israeli settlers on Sunday chopped down dozens of olive trees belonging to an elderly Palestinian man in the village of Sisiya south of Hebron, a local spokesman said.

Ratib al-Jubour, spokesman of a local popular committee, said “a mob of settlers chopped down more than 30 olive trees planted four years ago.”

He said the trees belonged to a man named Khalil Najawaa.

Settlers have been pressuring Najawaa to leave his land, al-Jubour said.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is commonplace but is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

via Israeli settlers chop down olive trees near Hebron | Maan News Agency.

Police Day and human rights – Daily News Egypt

I do not understand how the president can thank the police for “protecting human rights” or for “keeping the peace and security”. What do the powers in this country expect as a result from such brutality and impunity? How can a nation rise when it is down on its knees continually receiving the merciless whip lashes from those who should protect it? How can the January revolution die if its main cause still lives?

via Police Day and human rights – Daily News Egypt.

I understand why people believe sexual predators before victims. I did | Ijeoma Oluo | Comment is free | The Guardian

We have to believe victims, even if we are hurt and ashamed by what they say. It’s necessary to face that pain and that shame in order to protect the innocent and get justice for those who have been harmed. The pain and heartbreak that the families of rapists face should never be an excuse for turning your back on victims – and I know just how devastating acknowledging the truth can be.

via I understand why people believe sexual predators before victims. I did | Ijeoma Oluo | Comment is free | The Guardian.

RNC Turns Deaf Ear To Questions About Trip Funded by Hate Group | Hatewatch

Last week, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) faxed and sent letters to every member of the Republican National Committee (RNC) regarding an upcoming trip to Jerusalem being organized by RNC Chair Reince Priebus.

The letters expressed concern about the organization paying for the trip, the American Family Association (AFA), which the SPLC has listed as an anti-LGBT hate group since 2010.

In particular, the letters asked RNC members not to lend their good offices to an organization with a long track record of making anti-LGBT, anti-Muslim and other hateful statements. An email to Priebus’ director of communications about this matter was not responded to.

via RNC Turns Deaf Ear To Questions About Trip Funded by Hate Group | Hatewatch.

Camila Vallejo Diputada » VIDEO: Camara de Diputados pone fin al sistema Binominal

Hoy es un día en que podemos celebrar la democracia como una forma en que la mayoría, de forma pacífica, logra hacer mejor el país. Forjamos dos leyes que representan una sociedad más democrática, mejor representada, una sociedad más igualitaria, más libre y pluralista. Al terminar el día, podremos decir que el Congreso de Chile aprobó una ley de cuotas de género para postular al Parlamento y diremos también que la Cámara de Diputados aprobó el acuerdo de vida en pareja, que no distingue el sexo de los contrayentes. Hoy es un día de triunfo democrático y de los movimientos sociales, de la lucha por la justicia, la igualdad y la libertad.

via Camila Vallejo Diputada » VIDEO: Camara de Diputados pone fin al sistema Binominal.

Ideas for a Road Map for Truth and Justice in Sri Lanka | Groundviews

Importance of Truth-Telling

The search for the truth continues for many conflict-affected Sri Lankans, but present processes have failed to provide answers. This area urgently requires reform. The new Government should review the Commission of Inquiry Act to see whether amendments can ensure future COIs work independently and make their findings public. In terms of legislative reform, they should also revisit the possibility of enacting victim and witness protection legislation that provides for an effective protection mechanism.

via Ideas for a Road Map for Truth and Justice in Sri Lanka | Groundviews.