Category Archives: human rights

Just Because They Can – JBTC – Israel bans Muslims from Ibrahimi Mosque Thursday, Friday | Maan News Agency

The Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron will be closed to Muslim worshipers on Thursday and Friday, an official at the mosque told Ma’an Sunday.

Hijazi Abu Sneina told Ma’an the mosque would be open to Israeli settlers during the two days of Rosh Hashanah, or Jewish New Year, but closed to Muslims.

via Israel bans Muslims from Ibrahimi Mosque Thursday, Friday | Maan News Agency.

No, ‘Django Unchained’ Actress Won’t Apologize To The LAPD: LAist

her boyfriend wrote a post on Facebook earlier this week explaining why she was quick to assume the LAPD was racially profiling her, “What we experienced this past Thursday, September 11 was the THIRD time in the past few months that D and I have had to deal with cops profiling a ‘black and white couple.’ This is the THIRD time, an officer has realized his error and had to let us go because we weren’t breaking any laws.”

He writes that in one incident, neighbors in Loma Linda called police to report that a suspicious black and white couple were loitering in the area and that there may have been a potential robbery. He said it was just he and Daniele trying to go through storage in his father’s garage.

via No, ‘Django Unchained’ Actress Won’t Apologize To The LAPD: LAist.

Creepy/Fail: Egypt starts monitoring online communications | Egyptian Streets

Egypt’s interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim had released a statement claiming the regulation was intended to focus on developing Egypt’s security by monitoring criminal activity online.

The Minister, in June, added that the monitoring would provide the Ministry with information about illegal topics and issues against public morals and traditions.

A report leaked by state media newspaper Al-Ahram in June revealed that the monitoring will also aim to “create a database for influential persons and persons of interests and registering their connections with others.”

Egyptian social media users have reacted strongly against the move to monitor communications, criticizing its negative impacts on privacy and freedom of self-expression.

via Egypt starts monitoring online communications | Egyptian Streets.

“Comfort women” who serviced U.S. soldiers demand justice – Salon.com

The lawsuit alleges that, since 1957, poor and undereducated South Korean women were pressured into prostitution in those government-designated zones around American military bases. Authorities should be legally held responsible because they turned a blind eye and therefore promoted the trade, according to the filing.

Former prostitutes say that the government rounded up bar workers — some of whom were girls in their mid-teens — and mandated that they undergo forced STD testing. The ones who tested positive for diseases were held against their will in quarantine and treatment centers, say the plaintiffs. “It was terrible. And we believe that the government was responsible for its negligence,” said Kim, the former sex worker, who was tested multiple times.

The government also sponsored etiquette and English-language classes for these hostesses, where they were praised for contributing to economic development and national security.

Scholars say the South Korean government, run by three dictators from the 1960s to 1980s, sought to please the US military out of fear that it would depart, while bringing in US dollars to buttress this struggling economy. In the past, the South Korean government has denied encouraging prostitution. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family would not comment on the litigation.

via “Comfort women” who serviced U.S. soldiers demand justice – Salon.com.

ISIS seizes 16 Kurdish villages in north Syria: Kurds | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

ISIS fighters have seized 16 Kurdish villages in northern Syria in a major advance towards the city of Ayn al-Arab at the border with Turkey, a Kurdish military official and an activist group said Thursday.

Ocalan Iso, a commander in Kurdish armed group YPG, told Reuters that ISIS fighters were using heavy weapons including tanks in their attack near the city, known as Kobani in Kurdish. He also said the Syrian Kurds were seeking support from other groups including the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) to fend off the advance by ISIS. Speaking via Skype, he said they wanted support “in all military aspects.”

Rami Abdel-Rahman, founder of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the villages had been seized in an ISIS advance that started Wednesday. “They have a large number of fighters,” he told Reuters by phone.

via ISIS seizes 16 Kurdish villages in north Syria: Kurds | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR.

The woman behind the Democratic party’s twin threat: Rosie Castro | Latina Lista

Rosie Castro helped shape a new political era for the struggling Chicano movement in the 70s. Her work with La Raza Unida has put her in the spotlight. From getting young democrats involved, to registering voters and operating campaigns, Rosie has been a pioneer in the movement and continues to do so.

“There were things happening, in terms of Latinos – or things not happening – that really had me worried. There was a great deal of discrimination at the time.” Rosie told La Prensa. “I really got involved in Politics when I was at Our Lady of the Lake, and I haven’t stopped since then.”

via The woman behind the Democratic party’s twin threat: Rosie Castro | Latina Lista.

French minister ‘first from Europe’ to visit Africa’s Ebola-hit region – France 24

“I’m the first European minister to set foot” in the region since the start of the epidemic, Girardin told FRANCE 24’s sister station RFI in an interview ahead of the trip. “France can be proud,” she exclaimed.

Girardin’s visit follows a call from the World Health Organization (WHO), urging the international community to respond more quickly to stop the epidemic from spiraling out of control.

“I’m going to Guinea first to say that France is with them. And that’s not an insignificant message,” she told a news conference in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, on Friday.

“It’s also an important message to say that there are behaviours to adopt, that there are health systems that are resilient and that can take on this Ebola virus,” Girardin said.

“This is the case here in Senegal, it is the case in Ivory Coast and, unfortunately, not the case in Guinea, where health systems have proved less resilient to this virus, this epidemic,” she said, adding that Guinea desperately needs an overhaul of its health infrastructure, but noted “for that we need resources”.

via Africa – French minister ‘first from Europe’ to visit Africa’s Ebola-hit region – France 24.

 “LaDonna Harris: Indian 101” to Air on PBS November 1

Harris is best known for her work in U.S. civil rights when she set the tone with a landmark legislation initiative that returned land to the Taos Pueblo Tribe and Native tribes of Alaska. She also served a pivotal role in helping the Menominee Tribe regain their federal recognition.

Her trailblazing efforts began when President Lyndon B. Johnson selected her to educate both the executive and legislative branches of U.S. government on the unique relationship that American Indian tribes hold within our nation. This education course was affectionately called “Indian 101″ and was taught to members of Congress and other federal agencies for over 35 years.

via Executive Producer Johnny Depp’s  “LaDonna Harris: Indian 101” to Air on PBS November 1.

Japanese regulator caves to the nuclear industry and government pressure – but still no restart for Sendai | Greenpeace International

The Abe government is desperate to prevent people from grasping that the world’s third largest nuclear reactor program has failed to generate any electricity for 12 months. In that year, there have been no blackouts or brownouts, the trains still run, the lights still turn on, and smart phones are still charged.

Most people in Japan understand that the declared government policy, that nuclear power is an essential and a stable source of energy, is a myth. They will not be fooled.

via Japanese regulator caves to the nuclear industry and government pressure – but still no restart for Sendai | Greenpeace International.