Category Archives: human rights

Gaza death toll hits 1,980 as dozens succumb to war wounds | Maan News Agency

A Ministry of Health official warned Friday that the death toll in Gaza was expected to continue to rise as dozens succumbed to wounds sustained during the offensive and more bodies were recovered under the rubble of homes.

Healthy ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said that the death toll had hit 1,980 on Friday with at least 10,181 injured.

Dozens have been added to the death count despite a fragile calm maintained through back-to-back ceasefires in recent weeks.

Al-Qidra said that many of those injured are still in a critical condition, and are not expected to survive their wounds.

The low survival rate is also due in part to the continued lack of appropriate medical supplies and facilities for injured patients, while 18-hour

daily power cuts and a lack of fuel for generators aggravate the condition of those hospitals still functioning.

via Gaza death toll hits 1,980 as dozens succumb to war wounds | Maan News Agency.

Missouri Unrest Leaves the Right Torn Over Views on Law vs. Order – NYTimes.com

{In the late 1950s and 1960s, Governors and sheriffs in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Arkansas used the terms outside agitators and pinkos/reds/commies (communists) for those who advocated for ending segregated schools, stores, restaurants, rest rooms, buses, theaters, water fountains, as well as laws that kept Black Americans from voting, or seeking employment. So I guess, it is clear which side Sean Hannity is on: allow segregation, use dogs, fire hoses, chains, clubs, guns, gas, and false arrest on anyone who disagrees with official racial biases and profiling}

In much of the conservative news media, the protesters in Ferguson are being portrayed as “outside agitators,” in the words of Sean Hannity, the Fox News host.

via Missouri Unrest Leaves the Right Torn Over Views on Law vs. Order – NYTimes.com.

‘Good Dad’ Dies After Deputy Tases Him, Everyone Who Knew Him Says They Had The Wrong Guy: LAist

Deputies stopped Parker, who was cycling nearby on Luna Road, around 5 p.m. to question him. The Sheriff’s Dept. said in a press release that the deputy there believed that Parker was possibly “under the influence of an unknown substance,” and that he became “uncooperative and combative.”

NBC Los Angeles reported that Parker allegedly fought a female deputy, leaving bruises on her arms, and she tased Parker multiple times. She and another deputy say they struggled with Parker before they handcuffed him and put him the backseat of the patrol car. They noticed that he was sweating and having trouble breathing, so they called a medical aid to treat him, and then they had an ambulance take him to a hospital, where he died.

“That whole story is totally wrong; that’s just not Dante,” Richard Loredo, a former coworker of Parker’s, told Daily Press. “Dante’s not a burglar … You can see how well his kids were raised; he was a good dad. For the police department to portray him like that is … unfair.”

Parker’s father, Darrell Parker, told NBC Los Angeles: “He was a big, gentle guy. So I don’t understand it. I’m at a loss for words. I miss him already.”

Parker is survived by his wife and five children, including four girls from the ages of 8 to 19, and a 5-year-old boy.

The Sheriff’s Dept. is investigating Parker’s death and have arranged for an autopsy to determine the cause of his death.

via ‘Good Dad’ Dies After Deputy Tases Him, Everyone Who Knew Him Says They Had The Wrong Guy: LAist.

Afghan Women’s Writing Project | Biking on the Streets of Kabul

On our second group bike ride in Darlaman, an old man stopped us. To be honest, all of us were scared, but he told us: “You girls raise Afghanistan’s flag. Foreigners will change their minds about Afghanistan when they see you biking around. Let me tell you something, I am in charge of that park right there and I am not allowed to let bicycles inside, but today is a good day, and I am proud of you so I can make an exception!”

These encouragements help us to ignore the judgmental looks from others. Although many people in Afghanistan think a good Muslim girl should never sit on a bike, there are still people who give us a pat on our shoulders. We decided we would smile back at people who encourage us, rather than give up from the harassment that we receive from others. Although it can be a little bit scary to ride in public, if a girl has the courage to ride a bike, the chances that she will be stopped or physically hurt is very low.

I think the most important thing for girls is to take action. There is nothing in either the Qur’an or in our Constitution forbidding girls to ride a bike, so I believe girls should take advantage of biking.

People often ask me why I want to go biking. I tell them it is to make bike riding for girls a part of our culture. Some girls have to walk a long distance to get to their destination and it’s much faster on a bike. Afghanistan doesn’t offer girls many sport options and biking can serve as a perfect option for exercising.

It is unbelievable that in countries like Afghanistan we have to fight to make bike riding for girls acceptable for people or we have to have a complicated philosophy behind simply riding. My generation has to fight, but I hope our next generation gets the right to bike in Kabul freely.

I hope one day the domination of one sex in an activity stops, because a society really develops when both men and women can participate in all the activities. If bike riding for girls is not acceptable for people, it means we have a long way to civilization. Let girls bike, and civilization will be right in front of our doors.

via Afghan Women’s Writing Project | Biking on the Streets of Kabul.

‘My wife thinks I will come home in a box’ – and three days later Gaza bomb disposal expert was dead | World | The Guardian

Rahed Taysir al’Hom was buried in the sandy soil of the cemetery of Jabaliya, the rough Gaza neighbourhood where he had grown up, at 1pm on the third day of the ceasefire.

His funeral was quick, attended by a hundred or so mourners, and accompanied by a quick sermon from a white-turbaned cleric, a sobbing father and some shots fired from a Kalashnikov by a skinny teenager.

Two breezeblocks and a ripped piece of cardboard with his name scrawled on it now mark the grave of a personable man with an easy smile, hollow eyes and a quiet intensity that was entirely understandable given his job.

The 43-year-old father of seven lies next to his brother – a Hamas fighter killed in an Israeli air strike two weeks ago. But the al’Hom who died on Wednesday was not a warrior. He was head of the sole bomb disposal unit of Gaza’s northern governorate and his job was to protect several hundred thousand people from the unexploded ordnance that now litters the streets, fields and the rubble of many homes.

Al’Hom, who died when a 500kg bomb he was trying to defuse exploded at 10.30am on Wednesday, was an incidental casualty of a month-long war that no one seems able to stop.

via ‘My wife thinks I will come home in a box’ – and three days later Gaza bomb disposal expert was dead | World | The Guardian.

Israeli Occupation Forces wage campaign of mass arrests in Jerusalem this morning

{Have not yet learned that this type of control cannot go on forever – if for no other reasons than expenses and allocation of personnel – 30% of Israeli’s working as police and military?} Today at dawn the Israeli Occupation Forces launched a campaign of mass arrests all over Jerusalem. They arrested more than 60 Palestinians under the pretext that they participated in protests in solidarity with Gaza and that they threw stones and bottles to the IOF and settlers during clashes.

A large group of Israeli Occupation Forces raided several districts and villages in and around Jerusalem in the early morning, causing the outbreak of clashes with the youth in different areas.

via Israeli Occupation Forces wage campaign of mass arrests in Jerusalem this morning.

SBCDC: Same Bull Crap Different Country – Kenya: New Bill Wants Gays Stoned in Public

A bill seeking to have foreign gay people stoned to death in public in Kenya is now before the National Assembly through a petition by a political party.

The draft bill has proposed that a foreigner who commits a homosexual act be stoned in public, while Kenyan nationals found guilty will be jailed for life.

The draft bill, presented alongside a petition by the party’s legal secretary, Edward Onwong’a Nyakeriga, is seeking to criminalise sodomy, with offenders earning life imprisonment.

“There is need to protect children and youth who are vulnerable to sexual abuse and deviation as a result of cultural changes, uncensored information technology, parentless-child developmental settings and increasing attempts by homosexuals to raise children in homosexual relationships through adoption, foster care or otherwise,” Nyakeriga says in his petition.

via allAfrica.com: Kenya: New Bill Wants Gays Stoned in Public.

WHO | Ethical considerations for use of unregistered interventions for Ebola viral disease (EVD)

{Nothing in the guidelines says patients/victims/stricken people must give informed consent to use of experimental drugs on them, or informed consent of their family – lots to be sure that medical community and drug firms get information. I smell a rat here and it seems that WHO has caved to both governments and companies. Governments have to appear to be doing something or look bad. Drug firms want to look compassionate, get a get out of jail free card for doing good deeds while still charging billions for drugs that in many cases were financed with public funds for initial research. Me cynical – well yes, Wellcome Foundation made billions from Burroughs Wellcome first HIV/AIDS drug before they made it a bit more affordable. No more drugs available now but everyone looks good and has permission to experiment on West Africans.}

Ethical criteria must guide the provision of such interventions. These include transparency about all aspects of care, informed consent, freedom of choice, confidentiality, respect for the person, preservation of dignity and involvement of the community.

In order to understand the safety and efficacy of these interventions, the group advised that, if and when they are used to treat patients, there is a moral obligation to collect and share all data generated, including from treatments provided for ‘compassionate use’ (access to an unapproved drug outside of a clinical trial).

The group explored how the use of these interventions can be evaluated scientifically to ensure timely and accurate information about the safety and efficacy of these investigational interventions. There was unanimous agreement that there is a moral duty to also evaluate these interventions (for treatment or prevention) in the best possible clinical trials under the circumstances in order to definitively prove their safety and efficacy or provide evidence to stop their utilization. Ongoing evaluation should guide future interventions.

In addition to this advice, the panel identified areas that need more detailed analysis and discussion, such as:

ethical ways to gather data while striving to provide optimal care under the prevailing circumstances;

ethical criteria to prioritize the use of unregistered experimental therapies and vaccines;

ethical criteria for achieving fair distribution in communities and among countries, in the face of a growing number of possible new interventions, none of which is likely to meet demand in the short term.

via WHO | Ethical considerations for use of unregistered interventions for Ebola viral disease (EVD).

Annie Lennox Responds To Gaza Blog Comments – Look to the Stars

The singer and activist has been blogging about the situation in Gaza over the last few weeks, but her thoughts have caused a stir among those who read them, with many choosing sides.

“Over the last few weeks my blogs have been mainly focused on the plight of thousands of innocent civilians trapped in Gaza (many of whom are young children) who have been the victims of bombing raids,” she wrote. “Whichever way you look at the arguments for and against on either side, it is abominable that any human being should have to suffer on such a scale.

“I have read most of the comments posted on my blogs. The entire spectrum of viewpoints has been well represented… from hate filled bigotry to more rational viewpoints, all passionately expressed. Somewhat predictably it is so often “There is only one side… and if you’re not with us, you’re against us.”

“For me, this kind of perspective only ever leads to destruction as the inevitable end game. The possibility for long term sustainable peace should be the only goal. But it seems that after decades of abuse, the situation is further away from a positive solution than it ever was. How many more innocent people must be slaughtered? How many lives shattered?

“Latest developments across the entire Middle East seem to be rapidly turning the region into an even bigger tinder keg of madness and extremism. What’s the end game? I personally don’t see how this can turn out well. I don’t know how other people are feeling, but I find this all deeply disquieting.”

via Annie Lennox Responds To Gaza Blog Comments – Look to the Stars.

Dahr Jamail | Open Source Farming: A Renaissance Man Tackles the Food Crisis

Breskin’s project has already increased the overall profitability of the farm where it is implemented. It has reduced total energy costs by 50 percent by running on around $2 per day; appears likely to have generated a 10-month growing season; has caused productivity increases per square foot and per plant – and appears likely to be expanding soon.

The entire project was built for $10,000, and it has already produced more than that amount in food alone.

But rather than aiming to make money on it, Breskin is more concerned about improving the system and getting it into the hands of more local farmers as quickly as possible.

“I’m open source,” he said. “The only reason to patent this is to keep someone else from patenting it in order to monetize it.”

via Dahr Jamail | Open Source Farming: A Renaissance Man Tackles the Food Crisis.