Humanism and Human Rights Who or what is the ‘human’ of human rights and the ‘humanity’ of humanitarianism? The question sounds naïve, silly even. Yet, important philosophical and ontological questions are involved. If rights are given to beings on account of their humanity, ‘human’ nature with its needs, characteristics and desires is the normative […]
Subjects Archives: Inequality
To Win Marriage Equality, We Need a Divorce
Pop psychology has long had a term for the political marriage between LGBT people and the Democrats — it is a dysfunctional relationship. The Democrats court the votes and money of gays and lesbians, but offer few gains and a stunning share of abuse in exchange. For those LGBT activists wooed by the Democrats, ditching […]
Rights Activist Binayak Sen Released on Bail
Civil rights activist Dr. Binayak Sen is finally a free man after spending two years in jail. This video was released by IBN on 26 May 2009.
Massive Casualties Feared in Nigerian Military Attack on Niger Delta Villages
Go to <www.democracynow.org/2009/5/21/nigeria> for the transcript of this program. ABUJA, 22 May 2009 (IRIN) — Thousands of civilians have fled their villages in Nigeria’s Delta state after government troops launched an offensive against militant groups in the state on 13 May. Villagers in Delta state’s Gbramatu kingdom reported Oporoza and Okerenkoko villages being attacked […]
Jasad, the Body Unveiled
“Fetishism: the Key to Sensuality”; “Is Cannibalism a New Religion?”; “Syrian Lingerie”; “I Am Gay, Therefore I Do Not Exist.” . . . With such a table of contents, Jasad (“body” in Arabic), a Lebanese, Arabic-language, cultural quarterly “specializing in the art, literature, and science of the body,” might be mistaken for an unidentified […]
International Day against Homophobia in Cuba
Havana, 16 May (Prensa Latina) — The International Day against Homophobia was observed here today, with the participation of a diverse, largely youthful public. In the early hours of the morning, the day’s activities began at the headquarters of the Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC) and the Pabellón Cuba, in the central district of […]
UE’s General Executive Board Weighs In on Washington Healthcare Proposals
Meeting at the union’s national headquarters in Pittsburgh on May 14-15, the General Executive Board of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) discussed the national debate on healthcare and the reform proposals now being considered by Congress and the Obama administration. The union’s national leadership board adopted the following statement on […]
How Many Secret Prisons Does Israel Have? UN Torture Watchdog Demands Access
The United Nation’s watchdog on torture has criticized Israel for refusing to allow inspections at a secret prison, dubbed by critics as “Israel’s Guantanamo Bay” and demanded to know if more such clandestine detention camps are operating. In a report published on Friday, the Committee Against Torture requested that Israel identify the location of the […]
Interview with Judith Butler: “Gender Is Extramoral”
Essayist, thinker and professor in the Department of Rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley, Butler is best known for her studies of gender and sexuality, in which she examines the question of what it means to remake, to resignify, the restrictive normative concepts of sexual life and gender. Is it possible to establish any […]
“Israel’s Internal Matter”: The Palestinian Prisoners of Zion
A year has passed since we last marked Prisoners’ Day. Throughout this period, we have witnessed the most intensive media coverage with regard to Palestinian prisoners. Speculation about an impending deal to swap a large number of prisoners for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit (captured in Gaza in 2006) stirred waves of rumors, including […]
Prisoners and Detainees in Israeli Prisons
General Statistics — 2008-2009 Data is presented below regarding detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons, as collected from various sources. As of January 2009, approximately 22,500 individuals were imprisoned or detained in Israeli prisons; around 70% of those individuals are Arabs.1 Palestinian prisoners and detainees holding Israeli citizenship (January 2009) Security classification Criminal classification […]
Climate Change Biggest Threat to Health, New Study
JOHANNESBURG, 14 May 2009 (IRIN) — Climate change will be the biggest global health threat in the 21st century, but little is known about its possible effects on developing countries, where the impact will be felt most, says a new report. “Information that is reliable, accurate, and disseminated is fundamental for effective adaptation and to […]
Hundreds of Thousands Displaced by Fighting in Pakistan Highlands
MARDAN DISTRICT, Pakistan, May 8 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency said Friday there was a situation of “massive displacement” in north-west Pakistan, as the confrontation between government forces and militants becomes more widespread and people take advantage of the partial lifting of curfews to move into safer areas. The provincial government estimates between […]
Manage Afghan Labour Migration to Curb Irregular Flow to Iran, Study Urges
A study of Afghan deportees from Iran has revealed that economic pressures are the main reasons behind the increase in irregular population movements from Afghanistan, and that illegal human smuggling from Afghanistan has thrived despite the range of restrictive and deterrent measures adopted. Analyzing the factors that drive Afghan migrants into Iran and the […]
France: Prison Blockades End, But Tensions Remain
On Monday, 4 May 2009, 4,000 prison guards went on strike in France, protesting prison overcrowding (63,351 prisoners held in facilities designed for only 52,000), which has led to rising suicides of prisoners (96 in 2007, 115 in 2008, and 42 so far this year), inadequate budgets (resulting in the low starting salary of 1,200 […]
CAIR’s Humanitarian Mission to Iran for Saberi, Momeni, and Levinson
The current relation between the U.S. and Iran is not pretty; in fact, it is like a roller-coaster ride. This is bad news for Muslims in America and abroad. Iran is bitter over its billions of dollars in frozen assets still in U.S. banks for the last three decades, following the takeover of our embassy […]
Help Israeli Human Rights Activist Ezra Nawi
“Nawi is not a typical rights activist. A member of Ta’ayush Arab-Jewish Partnership he is a Jewish Israeli of Iraqi descent who speaks fluent Arabic. He is a gay man in his fifties and a plumber by trade. Perhaps because he himself comes from the margins, he empathises with others who have been marginalised — […]
Israel: New Profile under Investigation
Dear friends, Some of you have already heard: The attempt to criminalize New Profile, begun in September 2008 with the Israeli Attorney General’s announcement of a criminal investigation of the movement, has now been accelerated. On April 26th, a day before Israel’s Memorial Day, Israeli police produced a hyperbolic piece of political theater. As […]
Re-visiting Race and Class in “The Age of Obama”
Remarks delivered at the Thomas Foley Institute, Washington State University,, Pullman, Washington, April 18, 2009 Recently appointed Attorney General Eric Holder, whose parents hail from the Barbados, aroused instant ire when he remarked last February 18 that the U.S. remains a “nation of cowards” for not talking enough about things racial. But is this […]
Chrysler’s Plan? Send Pay and Standards Down the Drain
The media consensus is that union auto workers escaped the government-imposed restructuring of their industry basically unharmed, exchanging a few dings for control of the companies. Nothing could be further from the truth. Chrysler retirees — like me — were assured in 2007 that our retiree health care benefits, funded through the Voluntary Employee […]
