Category Archives: human rights

Amal Alamuddin refuses UN offer to investigate possible war crimes in Gaza | World | The Guardian

“I am horrified by the situation in the occupied Gaza Strip, particularly the civilian casualties that have been caused, and strongly believe that there should be an independent investigation and accountability for crimes that have been committed,” said the statement.

“I was contacted by the UN about this for the first time this morning. I am honoured to have received the offer, but given existing commitments – including eight ongoing cases – unfortunately could not accept this role. I wish my colleagues who will serve on the commission courage and strength in their endeavours.”

via Amal Alamuddin refuses UN offer to investigate possible war crimes in Gaza | World | The Guardian.

Why are Haitians still eating mud cakes? — New Internationalist

In a junkyard at sundown, rusted trucks rest among the bushes and a fire crackles in a clearing. A man in his early twenties approaches, closely watched by a few others, who seem in awe of him. He pulls a handgun from his waistband and tries his best to carry the swagger of a hardened militia leader.

‘We’re ready to give them a lesson,’ he says. ‘And once we do, it’s going to be a lesson to remember.’

These young men, some still in their teens, form one of the many street gangs in Cité Soleil, the most hellish corner of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. The ‘lesson’, they say, awaits the government of President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, which stands accused in these parts of overseeing what has been a disastrous recovery from the 2010 earthquake.

‘They never want to sit down and talk to us,’ he continues, ‘so it’s only right that we’re armed and ready to do everything that has to be done.’

via Why are Haitians still eating mud cakes? — New Internationalist.

March for Gaza one of the biggest Cape Town has seen | World | World | Mail & Guardian

The huge crowd, which stretched halfway across the inner city, chanted, sang and held aloft banners and posters calling for an end to the violence in the Gaza Strip. (Photos: David Harrison, M&G)

via March for Gaza one of the biggest Cape Town has seen | World | World | Mail & Guardian.

Latin America turns against Israel on Gaza | World | DW.DE | 07.08.2014

Latin America’s own colonial history is a common denominator in the region’s critical attitude toward Israel. At the Mercosur summit last month in Caracas, the presidents of Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay urgently demanded an “investigation of all violations of international humanitarian law and crimes in the Gaza Strip, and the identification of those responsible.”

Appeal to Security Council

Following the second bombing of UN quarters in Gaza, Argentina, too, reacted. “Buenos Aires regards the Israeli military attacks on a United Nations school to be a criminal act that must be investigated in order to bring those responsible to court,” a Foreign Ministry statement said on August 3, adding that the Security Council must intervene.

via Latin America turns against Israel on Gaza | World | DW.DE | 07.08.2014.

Did You Get The Call? | Rebelle Society

DelRita Butler

Did you get the call?

I did.

Did you hear your name

in the middle of the night?

That voice egging you on,

nudging you to awaken.

The silent alarm vibrating

through your heart,

bursting your confusion,

this nameless knowing.

This tumult

of soul seeking truths

Are there words

for this disposition?

Come out,

add to the dialog

this hiding no longer suits you.

You’re on the brink

of transformation

and you need to jump in

or defy gravity,

and float

into the collective

of indie souls.

Or, into the cast

of nameless and

unidentified

seekers of change,

your new family.

So go out.

Be the change.

By doing,

sharing,

creating.

Walk the walk

and talk the talk

in your gifted way,

your language.

Paint the story,

write the story,

sing, dance,

play the story.

Pass it on,

teach it, grow it,

word by word,

by mouth.

Be the person

you want to be.

Be the person

you need to be.

Take your hat off.

Sit down

and journal this pause.

Put on sneakers,

grab a towel,

and run this moment.

Pick up your mat,

find space,

and meditate this moment.

But however you do

what you do,

carry someone with you,

forward.

Talk to them,

touch them,

share fears,

share joys,

speak ideas.

Collectively we cannot

effect change by only watching.

We are the town criers.

via Did You Get The Call? | Rebelle Society.

40,000 Iraqis stranded on mountain as Isis jihadists threaten death | World | The Guardian

{No one cares, no one will help?}

Tens of thousands of members of one of Iraq’s oldest minorities have been stranded on a mountain in the country’s north-west, facing slaughter at the hands of jihadists surrounding them below if they flee, or death by dehydration if they stay.

UN groups say at least 40,000 members of the Yazidi sect, many of them women and children, have taken refuge in nine locations on Mount Sinjar, a craggy mile-high ridge identified in local legend as the final resting place of Noah’s ark.

At least 130,000 more people, many from the Yazidi stronghold of Sinjar, have fled to Dohuk, in the Kurdish north, or to Irbil, where regional authorities have been struggling since June to deal with one of the biggest and most rapid refugee movements in decades.

Sinjar itself has been all but emptied of its 300,000 residents since jihadists stormed the city late on Saturday, but an estimated 25,000 people remain. “We are being told to convert, or to lose our heads,” said Khuldoon Atyas, who has stayed behind to guard his family’s crops. “There is no one coming to help.”

Another man, who is hiding in the mountains and identified himself as Nafi’ee, said: “Food is low, ammunition is low and so is water. We have one piece of bread to share between 10 people. We have to walk 2km [1.2 miles] to get water. There were some air strikes yesterday [against the jihadists], but they have made no difference.”

via 40,000 Iraqis stranded on mountain as Isis jihadists threaten death | World | The Guardian.

Q & A On Experimental Treatments and Vaccines for Ebola | Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever | CDC

What is ZMapp?

ZMapp, being developed by Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., is an experimental treatment, for use with individuals infected with Ebola virus. It has not yet been tested in humans for safety or effectiveness. The product is a combination of three different monoclonal antibodies that bind to the protein of the Ebola virus.

How effective is the experimental treatment?

It is too early to know whether ZMapp is effective, since it is still in an experimental stage and has not yet been tested in humans for safety or effectiveness. Some patients infected with Ebola virus do get better spontaneously or with supportive care. It’s important to note that the standard treatment for Ebola remains supportive therapy.

This consists of the following measures:

balancing the patients’ fluids and electrolytes;

maintaining their oxygen status and blood pressure; and

treating them for any complicating infections.

Why aren’t more people getting ZMapp?

At this time, very few courses of this experimental treatment have been manufactured. Since the product is still in an experimental stage, it is too early to know whether ZMapp is effective. The manufacturer of this experimental treatment continues to research and evaluate the product’s safety and effectiveness. It has not yet been tested in humans for safety or effectiveness and much more study is needed.

Did the NIH play a role in getting the experimental therapy to the two U.S. patients in Liberia?

This experimental treatment was arranged privately by Samaritan’s Purse, the private humanitarian organization, which employed one of the Americans who contracted the virus in Liberia. Samaritan’s Purse contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who referred them to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH was able to provide the organization with the appropriate contacts at the private company developing this treatment. The NIH was not involved with procuring, transporting, approving, or administering the experimental treatments. {But they did not stop the drug from being transmitted and given – aka: turned away and is not enforcing its own regulations to protect the public – there is a procedure to ask for and quickly get emergency experimental treatment|

via Q & A On Experimental Treatments and Vaccines for Ebola | Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever | CDC.

‘Fashion police’: Xinjiang city goes off deep end, bans burkhas, beards from buses: Shanghaiist

It appears China’s war on terror has devolved into a McCarthyist witch hunt, the latest ‘extremist’ measure concerning the banning of beards, burkhas, and headscarves on buses in Karamay, Xinjiang. Well known fact: only uyghur terrorists sport beards.

Foreign Policy reports:

“The QQ news portal and other Chinese news sites that picked up the report also ran a graphic showing the “five abnormal styles” that weren’t allowed on Karamay public transport. It showed pictures of women in full and partial veils, headscarves, and men with full beards and even a modest goatee.”

So if you’re a rabbi, hipster, or any other one of our shaggy friends, you might want to hold off on that Xinjiang trip, unless you want to walk the whole time. Other banned items include the ilbab, a type of robe, and anything sporting the crescent moon and star. Violators are subject to arrests.

We figure it’s only a matter of time before they start banning anybody who’s eaten pita bread in the last month or ever watched a Muhammad Ali fight. In fact, we’re not far off. Last July, Urumqi authorities prohibited bus passengers from carrying cigarette lighters, yogurt and even water, to prevent attacks…somehow.

via ‘Fashion police’: Xinjiang city goes off deep end, bans burkhas, beards from buses: Shanghaiist.