Category Archives: human rights

Bill Gates declares war on world’s (surprisingly) deadliest creature | Green Prophet

Mosquitoes and I are not on friendly terms but I do like birds and many other living things which were once nearly all killed off by DDT – Today is Rachel Carson’s birthday, so this is all appropriate. One of the biggest facilitators of skeeters breeding out of control is the number two in your infographic – humans! As we cut down forests, stop rivers from flowing, etc., we more often than not create the best breeding grounds for the types of mosquitoes that are vectors for diseases that effect us – see the connection. Mosquitoes are nature’s control mechanism for out of control humans. Do we need a new DDT or do we need to learn how to not create breeding grounds for mosquitoes and in turn not destroy nature or ourselves.

via Bill Gates declares war on world’s (surprisingly) deadliest creature | Green Prophet.

Palestinian beaten by settlers near Ramallah | Maan News Agency

Dozens of Israeli settlers on Tuesday assaulted a Palestinian man on the road between the villages of Mikhmas and al-Tayba near Ramallah.

Ahmad Abbas, 41, from Beitin village east of Ramallah was brutally beaten after he left his cousins car to urinate because he suffers from diabetes, his sister said.

He was attacked with rods and plastic sticks, and suffered a fracture in his skull and bruises all over his body, the sister added.

via Palestinian beaten by settlers near Ramallah | Maan News Agency.

Erdogan’s visit riles German government – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

{Why did Caliph-wannabe visit Germany? Votes!}

Turks outside of Turkey will for the first time be allowed to vote in these elections. This makes the nearly 1.5 million votes in Germany crucial for Erdogan. German politicians are also aware of this and reflected it in their remarks prior to Erdogan’s Cologne appearance.

Thomas Strobl, the deputy chairman of Merkel’s conservative parliamentary bloc, for example, said, “It would have been better if Mr. Erdogan had recognized ahead of time that at the moment there are tasks in Turkey that are more important than a campaign appearance in Cologne.”

The same view was repeated by left-wing German politicians. Martin Schulz, the Socialists’ candidate for European Commission president, said, “I’d prefer it if Prime Minister Erdogan concerned himself with Turkey’s problems instead of waging election campaigns abroad in Cologne. But, we are a tolerant and democratic country in which of course a foreign leader can speak.”

The German media was, however, less diplomatic. “Erdogan, you’re not welcome here! We do not want politicians like you,” the mass circulation Bild newspaper declaimed in its headline in both Turkish and German, highlighting in its open letter to Erdogan his increasingly authoritarian policies.

via Erdogan’s visit riles German government – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East.

Roundup: Essential feminist writing on the Isla Vista shooting

We, as a feminist community, have spent the last four days in shock after the Isla Vista shooting. That the roots of the tragedy — violent misogyny — may be too intimately familiar to so many of us hasn’t softened the blow. Here we’ve tried to compile some of the best feminist writing in the aftermath, highlighting how our movements are processing, responding, and fighting back. Let us know what you’ve been reading in the comments.

via Roundup: Essential feminist writing on the Isla Vista shooting.

Supreme Court Strikes Down Florida’s IQ Threshold for the Death Penalty – The Wire

As Andrew Cohen points out, Tuesday’s decision here could have implications for other pending executions of intellectually disabled inmates in Florida and in other states with narrow guidelines.

Interestingly, in addition to providing some clarity on the constitutionality of Florida’s standard, Kennedy’s opinion also updates the terminology used to describe ineligible inmates. “Previous opinions of this Court have employed the term ‘mental retardation,'” Kennedy wrote, adding, “this opinion uses the term ‘intellectual disability’ to describe the identical phenomenon.”

Justice Alito wrote the dissent for the decision, joined by Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Scalia, and Justice Thomas.

via Supreme Court Strikes Down Florida’s IQ Threshold for the Death Penalty – The Wire.

Voters reject EU as shocking new figures reveal Europe is full of foreigners | Pride’s Purge

Voters across the width and breadth of Europe have rejected the European Union after they discovered most of their fellow citizens in the organisation were foreign.

The political earthquake comes after shocking figures revealed the EU is flooded with foreigners – including 89 million Germans who have taken up residence in an area of the continent between France and Poland.

Huge numbers of Italians have also been revealed to be swamping the Italian peninsula and other nationalities are residing legally in the EU, including hordes of Poles in Poland, millions of Hungarians in Hungary and vast amounts of Bulgarians in Bulgaria.

Experts say France has been particularly hard hit by the invasion of foreigners with as many as 67 million French people living there, the majority of whom have full access to health and welfare services provided by the French state.

And in the UK, UKIP leader Nigel Farage expressed his outrage at the number of foreign languages he often hears while travelling by train:

“I was on a train in Brussels the other day and all I could hear was French, Flemish and a bit of German – which admittedly was coming from my wife. But the point is not a word of English was being spoken. And even when I went to buy something in a shop in Italy the shop keeper spoke to me in Italian! It’s outrageous.“

via Voters reject EU as shocking new figures reveal Europe is full of foreigners | Pride’s Purge.

Veterans Groups Lash Out at Republican Senator – NYTimes.com

The open letter from Senator Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, the ranking Republican on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee — and the groups’ responses — pushed that conflict into the open. Mr. Burr, angry that only the American Legion has called for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, accused the groups of being “more interested in defending the status quo within the V.A., protecting their relationships with the agency, and securing access to the secretary and his inner circle,” than helping members.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans and the Paralyzed Veterans of America hit back hard.

“For years, the V.F.W. has come to Congress with hat in hand, and for years we’ve heard the same old story,” the heads of the veterans groups wrote to Mr. Burr. “You can be assured, Senator, that you’ve done a superb job showing us the error in our ways. You can also be assured that in the future, we will spend a substantial percentage of our time seeking to inform our members and our constituents of the repeated failure to act by our elected officials.”

To that sentiment, the national president and the executive director of the Paralyzed Veterans of America added, “Perhaps you should have shared with all veterans in your ‘open’ letter that you cared so much about their health care that you were not actually present during the testimony that the V.S.O. representatives provided, and you did not ask a single question.” V.S.O. stands for veterans service organizations.

“Regrettably, Senator Burr shows no interest in pursuing policy solutions, preferring instead to launch cheap political attacks on the integrity of leaders of veterans organizations that do not agree with him,” wrote Joseph W. Johnston, the national commander of the Disabled American Veterans.

via Veterans Groups Lash Out at Republican Senator – NYTimes.com.

Eat Drink Better | Healthy recipes, good food: sustainable eats for a healthy lifestyle!

The Great Vegan Search Engine Project is a constant work in progress, and I’m totally happy to add sites! If you have a site that you think should be on the Engine, send me an email! I’ll take a peek, get some feedback from the folks who helped with the project, and if it gets the thumbs up, I’ll add it.

via Eat Drink Better | Healthy recipes, good food: sustainable eats for a healthy lifestyle!.

Apocalyptic Scenes in Andranondambo, Madagascar as Villages Fight for Land Properties · Global Voices

When we arrived, a dog was eating what was left of a corpse. In a nearby home destroyed by fire, we found more corpses. The stink was unbearable. Even the public school and the church were ravaged. All the materials from houses were taken apart.

The land dispute started in 1991 when an important source of sapphire and mica was discovered in the Andranondambo. The rush of land miners pushed local villagers away to another village Ambato­tsivala. Since then, the two villages have been at odds over land rights but the conflict has never reached such a harrowing level of violence until recently.

via Apocalyptic Scenes in Andranondambo, Madagascar as Villages Fight for Land Properties · Global Voices.