Shameful behaviour in Britain that shows the collusion between privatised power and those tasked to care for the most vulnerable (via Open Democracy): Back in March, almost a year after the government had promised to end what Nick Clegg called the “shameful practice” of locking up asylum seeking families in conditions known to harm their…
Showing all posts tagged human rights
Anything to distract from crimes in Palestine; Australia to make BDS illegal?
This story is almost comical but shows the desperation of the establishment in Australia to silence any serious, legitimate and legal civil disobedience against Israel crimes. Ignore the shameful spin; this has nothing to do with targeting Jewish businesses because they’re Jewish; when the “peace process” fails, Israel must pay a price for occupying the…
Here’s how Israelis become racist brutes in the IDF
The evidence is clear and reminds us of similar, colonial-era nations, including Australia, desperate to prove the morality of its ethnic cleansing: (via the UK Observer): Nurit Peled-Elhanan, an Israeli academic, mother and political radical, summons up an image of rows of Jewish schoolchildren, bent over their books, learning about their neighbours, the Palestinians. But,…
Deaths in Serco’s care and yet the company still thrives
What exactly will it take for Western governments to realise that the profit motive is the worst argument for outsourcing essential human services? Separate investigations into three deaths in immigration removal centres (IRC) in the past month have been launched by the police, amid growing concern about the treatment of detainees. The spate of deaths…
Israeli paper sorry it publicly stated its dislike for racial diversity
Just after the massacre in Norway, the pro-settler Jerusalem Post wrote an editorial that appeared to blame multiculturalism for the crimes of Anders Behring Breivik. What the world needs is ethnically pure nations (like Israel?). The paper has now issued an “apology”. The message? We’re so sorry that readers would think we hate Muslims: A…
The hundreds of thousands marching in Israel are forgetting the bloody stain of their nation
Dimi Reider, an Israeli journalist and photographer and Aziz Abu Sarah, a Palestinian columnist with the newspaper Al Quds, write in the New York Times about the profound myopia of the current massive protests in Israel: There are profound and institutionalized economic disparities between Arabs and Jews in Israel. But when it comes to housing…
Oh wait, says Sri Lanka, maybe we did murder civilians
Telling the truth isn’t really popular in the halls of power in Colombo: Sri Lanka’s government on Monday acknowledged for the first time civilian casualties occurred in the final phase of its 26—year civil war against Tamil Tiger rebels but calls those deaths unavoidable. A Defence Ministry report said “it was impossible” to avoid civilian…
Israel’s fear of real free speech underlines its authoritarian heart
Ahmad Tibi, an Arab Israeli, is deputy speaker of the Israeli Parliament and has written the following article in the International Herald Tribune: Free speech in Israel was dealt a severe blow this month when the country’s Parliament passed antiboycott legislation that targets individuals or organizations publicly calling for a boycott against Israel or any…
Is Serco really able to handle Australia’s asylum seeker trauma?
Thankfully and finally, Australia’s Ombudsmen will be investigating the high rate of self harm in immigration detention and the role, responsibility and actions of British multinational Serco. But, according to this report in today’s Australian by Paige Taylor, the contractor has little understanding of the conditions under which refugees find themselves (and where the government…
