Leading Jewish news agency JTA headlines a story like this: Israeli aid effort helps Haitians—and Israel’s image The article discusses the humanitarian work and adds: In a statement, the head of the delegation, Mati Goldstein, was quoted in an e-mail describing a “Shabbat from hell” in the earthquake-ravaged city. ZAKA is made up of Orthodox…
Showing all posts tagged human rights
The police state known as Sri Lanka
Brahma Chellaney is on the advisory council of the UK-based Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice (as am I). His latest piece for the Guardian reminds us that the country’s upcoming election is between two alleged war criminals and the Tamils are likely to remain the meat in the sandwich, abused and feted by…
Life on the streets in Iran, an eyewitness perspective
On the ground reports from Iran are hard to obtain these days. Western journalists are largely writing stories about the political chaos in the country. So I’m publishing this exclusive report from a friend currently in Tehran. He’s an Australian traveling around the country. Names and identifiable places have been removed to protect all concerned:…
Amnesty protest Israeli impunity over Gaza and justice
Amnesty UK release a report this week that concludes Israel’s siege on Gaza is collective punishment. The human rights group also issued this statement, in the wake of the attempt to arrest Tzipi Livni in London for war crimes over Gaza: The UK Government are planning imminent changes to the law, to avoid any future…
No blood for panties: boycott Sri Lanka
Boycott Sri Lanka Press Release January 18, 2010 On the heels of its successful release of the first episode of No Blood For Panties series, Boycott Sri Lanka released its second episode today (see below). No Blood For Panties is part of a campaign to encourage Americans to boycott products made in Sri Lanka to…
Review of The Road
Last night I watched the new film, The Road, based on Cormac McCarthy’s award winning book and directed by Australian John Hillcoat (here’s his diary): It’s a terrifying vision of a post-apocalyptic world where cannibalism thrives. We are never told why the planet is destroyed (nuclear holocaust/environmental catastrophe?) but it doesn’t matter. The grim vision…
Israel will love you if you’re pro-government, pro-war and pro-state
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel released its annual report in late December. The findings are devastating and reflect Israel’s gradual descent into a proud monoculture that slams alternative groups, racial classes and anti-mainstream perspectives: Freedom of Expression – If they like what you say: In 2009, there has been a disturbing increase in…
Using white phosphorous on Palestine cannot be forgotten
The call for Zionist accountability is growing: Israeli officials who authorized the use of white phosphorous in densely populated Gaza should be tried for war crimes, a British Labour Party legislator said Friday, after entering the Hamas-ruled territory with 60 European parliamentarians. … “The lawmakers are visiting Gaza to draw attention to the territory’s evil…
Galloway has a few words for dictator Mubarak
Following the Gaza Freedom March and Viva Palestina, two humanitarian efforts bringing assistance to the people of Gaza, British MP George Galloway unloads on the US-client state of Egypt in a typically brash effort: I have been in a few dangerous places in my life. In the mid 80s along with an ITN news crew…
Attacking the infrastructure of terror and occupation
I reported yesterday on moves in the US to hold Western multinationals accountable that behaved badly during the apartheid era in South Africa. Marjorie Jobson, the national director of the South African Khulumani Support Group that filed the lawsuit, tells Democracy Now! what the focus is (and why many of us are thinking about similar…