Zainab al-Hosni, dubbed the “Flower of Syria,” who the Syrian opposition claimed was tortured and murdered, burned and decapitated, by the Syrian government, has just appeared on Syrian TV, very much alive. Here is the video of the TV interview with Zainab, who says she fled from her family home because her brothers were beating […]
Subjects Archives: Inequality
Cuba: A Tireless Defender of Gay Rights
Francisco Rodríguez Cruz is a Cuban journalist and activist who for over a year has maintained a controversial blog committed to advancing the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Cuba. This is a community that has experienced a difficult history of discrimination on the island. Paquito, as he is […]
Call to Action: Support Palestinian Prisoners on Hunger Strike!
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons issued a statement on Sunday, September 25, 2011, stating that they plan to begin an open-ended hunger strike on September 27, 2011, demanding an end to the isolation of Ahmad Sa’adat, an end to isolation for all Palestinian political prisoners, and an end to the policies of repression […]
Practicing Revolutionary Medicine in Cuba and Venezuela
Steve Brouwer. Revolutionary Doctors: How Venezuela and Cuba Are Changing the World’s Conceptualization of Health Care. New York, Monthly Review Press, 2011. 245 pp. $18.95. As Venezuela becomes the first country to reproduce the Cuban medical model on a massive scale, it is doing so in ways that are unique in both form and process. […]
I Am Troy Davis (T.R.O.Y.)
Does the court system employ racists? Then why are so many black boys in cages? Why shouldn’t I be paranoid of hatred? Just look at the curious case of Troy Davis Let’s travel on down to Savannah In the state of Georgia just south of Atlanta Where they wave the rebel flag like a […]
Outcome of the Visit to Syria by a Mission of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
In August a UN OCHA Mission visited Syria to assess humanitarian needs in the country stemming from the ongoing crisis there. The Mission included staff from several UN institutions and humanitarian agencies (UNHCR, UNICEF, WHO, WFP, IOM, etc.). The Syrian authorities provided the Mission unimpeded access to all objects of interest. The UN officials […]
Ecuador Expresses Its Concern about Libya and Human Rights
Regarding the recent events in Libya, Rafael Quintero, Undersecretary for Asia, Africa, and Oceania, reiterated Ecuador’s disagreement with disrespect for the territorial integrity of that country. He expressed Ecuador’s insistence that international conventions be complied with, that human rights in Libya be respected, and that no attempt be made to take the Libyan case as […]
Turkish and Kurdish Labourers and Traders Must Refuse to Be Pitted Against the Black People
To the attention of the Press and the Public: As it is known, last Saturday a protest took place outside Tottenham police station in order to attain answers or explanations as to how and why Mark Duggan, a father of four, was killed by the police on Thursday 4th August. The events were unleashed as […]
Health Economics
Terry Everton is a cartoonist. Visit his blog Working Stiff Review at . Cf. “State of Working America Preview: A Staggering Rise in Health Insurance Costs” (Economic Policy Institute, 15 December 2010); Don Trementozzi and Steve Early, “Romney, Obama Health Care Reforms Offer No Relief for Unions” (Labor Notes, 22 June 2011). | Print
Prisoners Strike against Torture in California Prisons
The torture of prisoners in U.S. custody isn’t confined to foreign countries. For more than two weeks, inmates at California’s Pelican Bay State Prison have been on a hunger strike to protest torturous conditions in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) there. Prisoners have been held for years in solitary confinement, which can amount to torture. […]
Malaysia: Vigil for PSM 6 at Bukit Aman
A vigil for six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members — Choo Chon Kai, Sarat Babu, Sarasvathy Muthu, Sukumaran A/L Munisamy, A. Letchumanan, and Dr. Jeyakumar Devaraj — detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO). Bukit Aman Vigil for PSM 6, 11 July 2011 Yudistra Darma Dorai, Legal Counsel for PSM 6, 6 July 2011 Cf. […]
Help Us Improve New Edition of The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers
We’re now working on a new edition of our book, The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers, and you can help us. We won’t be making dramatic changes — unfortunately, not that much has changed in the immigration debate since the book came out back in 2007. The media repeat the same myths about immigration, […]
Nandini Sundar & Ors vs. State of Chhattisgarh
Excerpt: This case represents a yawning gap between the promise of principled exercise of power in a constitutional democracy, and the reality of the situation in Chattisgarh, where the Respondent, the State of Chattisgarh, claims that it has a constitutional sanction to perpetrate, indefinitely, a regime of gross violation of human rights in a […]
Prisoners in Pelican Bay SHU to Go on Indefinite Hunger Strike July 1st!
Prisoners in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay State Prison (California) are going on an indefinite hunger strike as of July 1, 2011 to protest the cruel, inhumane, and torturous conditions of their imprisonment. The hunger strike has been organized by prisoners in an inspiring show of unity across racial and geographic […]
All These People
“Where did all these people come from?” “Who cares! Don’t stop. They don’t belong to our circles.” Juan Ramón Mora is a cartoonist in Barcelona. This cartoon was first published in his blog on 19 June 2011 under a Creative Commons license. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com). Cf. Victor Mallet, […]
We Will Continue Resisting the Occupation
“Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, it’s my fault. Israel’s PR failure is on my account. But after you forbid us from protesting, after you pass the law, everything will be different here. The entire world would know that Israel is a magnificent democracy. Tourism and trade will flourish. Anywhere Israelis go, everybody will know that […]
Falling Behind: Life Expectancy in US Counties from 2000 to 2007 in an International Context
Excerpt: Across US counties, life expectancy in 2007 ranged from 65.9 to 81.1 years for men and 73.5 to 86.0 years for women. When compared against a time series of life expectancy in the 10 nations with the lowest mortality, US counties range from being 15 calendar years ahead to over 50 calendar years […]
Louisiana Civil Rights Activist Sentenced to Fifteen Years in Prison
On June 1, a week past her 31st birthday, civil rights activist Catrina Wallace was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. This was a first arrest for Wallace, a single mother who became politically active when her brother was arrested in the case that later became known as the “Jena Six.” Wallace was part of […]
Syrian Opposition’s “Day of the Clans”
Today, with the declaration of “Day of the Clans,” it becomes obligatory for one to distance oneself from the dominant reactionary forces within the Syrian opposition. It is clear that the same reactionary forces that have been at the heart of the Iraqi opposition under occupation are there in the Syrian opposition. What about […]
Alabama’s HB 56: The Harshest State-level, Anti-immigrant Measure to Date
Alabama Governor Bentley today signed into law what may be the harshest state-level, anti-immigrant measure to date. Inspired by Arizona’s notorious racial profiling law, SB 1070, the new Alabama law imposes a draconian immigration enforcement scheme that will subject immigrants and people of color to scrutiny in every aspect of their lives, including when renting […]
