Monthly Archives: June 2016

‘Climate of Xenophobia’ Gripping Europe, UN Official Warns

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UN refugee chief warns of ‘worrying’ atmosphere as Brexit referendum puts immigration attitudes in spotlight

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-19-2016

Demonstrators rally in support of refugees in London on 12 Sept. 2015. (Photo: Ilias Bartolini/flickr/cc)

Demonstrators rally in support of refugees in London on 12 Sept. 2015. (Photo: Ilias Bartolini/flickr/cc)

As more details indicate the killing of British lawmaker Jo Cox was politically motivated, the United Nations Refugee Agency head is warning of a “climate of xenophobia” gripping Europe.

Speaking to Agence France-Presse in Tehran on Saturday, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said, “Refugees… don’t bring danger” but “flee from dangerous places.”

He put responsibility on the shoulders of national leaders, saying that those who don’t talk about the benefits of immigration but instead “stir up public opinion against refugees and migrants have a responsibility in creating a climate of xenophobia that is very worrying in today’s Europe.” Continue reading →

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Caving to Post-Orlando Fear, House Betrays Civil Liberties

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Massie-Lofgren amendment fails 198-222 in turnaround for House

By Nadia Prupis, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-17-2016

The amendment would also have prohibited the government from mandating backdoors into encrypted communications. (Photo: Antonio Netto/flickr/cc)

The amendment would also have prohibited the government from mandating backdoors into encrypted communications. (Photo: Antonio Netto/flickr/cc)

Late Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives blocked an amendment that would have prohibited warrantless surveillance of Americans’ electronic communications and banned the government from forcing technology companies to install backdoors to encrypted devices.

The amendment to the House’s annual military spending bill, introduced by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), failed by a vote of 198-222. The roll call is here. Continue reading →

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Read This Before The Government Uses the Orlando Shooting to Start Another War

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By Claire Bernish. Published 6-17-2016 by The Anti-Media

Syria civil war victims. Photo: By محمد السعيد (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp_Ju6742Z0) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Syria civil war victims. Photo: By محمد السعيد [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Late Thursday evening, the Wall Street Journal reported, 51 State Department officials signed a statement condemning U.S. policy in Syria in which they repeatedly call for “targeted military strikes against the Damascus government and urging regime change as the only way to defeat Islamic State.”

“In other words,” as Zero Hedge summarized, “over 50 top ‘diplomats’ are urging to eliminate [Syrian Pres. Bashar al] Assad in order to ‘defeat ISIS’, the same ISIS which top US ‘diplomats’ had unleashed previously in order to … eliminate Assad.” Continue reading →

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Israel Elected to UN International Law Committee — While Violating International Law

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By Michaela Whitton. Published 6-16-2016 by The Anti-Media

The UN Secretariat Building, home to the Legal Committee. Photo: geoffreyq [CC by 3.0] via wikimedia commons

The UN Secretariat Building, home to the Legal Committee. Photo: geoffreyq [CC by 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

United Kingdom — Palestinians and other Arab leaders have condemned a United Nations decision electing Israel to chair one of its permanent committees. On Monday, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Dahon, won the chair of the Legal Committee, which oversees matters related to international law, for the first time in the world-body’s 71-year history. Danon’s candidacy was put to a vote by secret ballot where he picked up 109 votes from the 193 member states.

Prior to the election, PLO executive Dr. Hanan Ashrawi described Israel’s nomination as “getting the wolf to guard the sheep.” A fitting metaphor, perhaps, in view of the fact that the U.N. investigator for human rights violations in Palestine resigned earlier this year after accusing Israel of obstructing his work by denying him repeated access to the territories. Continue reading →

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ACLU Sues Cleveland Over ‘Draconian Reach’ of RNC Protest Rules

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‘The restrictions on speech put in place by the city of Cleveland are arbitrary, unnecessary, and unjustifiable.’

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-15-2016

Police in riot gear stand behind a group of protesters at the 2008 RNC in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo: Brendan Scherer/flickr/cc)

Police in riot gear stand behind a group of protesters at the 2008 RNC in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo: Brendan Scherer/flickr/cc)

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in a federal court against the city of Cleveland charging that the rules for the 2016 Republican National Convention violate free speech and “criminalize everyone.”

The rules for the convention, which takes place July 18-21, cover a 3.3-square mile so-called Event Zone. They include restrictions on the duration and location of protests and marches, and require permits for parades. No proverbial soapbox will be allowed within the Event Zone. The rules have already been the target of sharp criticism by advocacy groups and protest organizers. Continue reading →

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Only 10 Countries in the Entire World Are Not Currently at War

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By Claire Bernish. Published 6-9-2016 by The Anti-Media

A U.S. soldier stands guard duty near a burning oil well in the Rumaila oil field, 2 April 2003. Photo: US Navy (Public domain) via Wikimedia Commons

A U.S. soldier stands guard duty near a burning oil well in the Rumaila oil field, 2 April 2003. Photo: US Navy (Public domain) via Wikimedia Commons

United States — A troubling report by the Institute for Economics and Peace found a mere ten nations on the planet are not at war and completely free from conflict. According to the Global Peace Index 2016, only Botswana, Chile, Costa Rica, Japan, Mauritius, Panama, Qatar, Switzerland, Uruguay and Vietnam are free from conflict. Iceland tops the list of most peaceful countries in the world, followed by Denmark, Austria, New Zealand, Portugal, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Canada, Japan, and Slovenia — while the United States ranked far lower, at 103. Palestine, placed in the index of 163 nations for the first time this year, ranked 148th.

War-torn Syria placed at the bottom of the list, lower than only South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Central African Republic, Ukraine, Sudan, and Libya. Continue reading →

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Supreme Court Renders Puerto Rico ‘Powerless’ in the Face of Austerity

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‘To survive and thrive, Puerto Rico needs flexibility—not austerity.’

By Deirdre Fulton, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-13-2016

"The government should not have to wait for possible congressional action to avert the consequences of unreliable electricity, transportation and safe water," wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor in the dissenting opinion. (Photo: Alex/flickr/cc)

“The government should not have to wait for possible congressional action to avert the consequences of unreliable electricity, transportation and safe water,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor in the dissenting opinion. (Photo: Alex/flickr/cc)

Confirming for one Puerto Rican politician “that the island’s current territorial status has evolved into the worst of both worlds,” the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that U.S. bankruptcy code bars Puerto Rico from restructuring more than $20 billion of its $72 billion debt.

The 5-2 decision (pdf) “struck down a Puerto Rico law that would have let its public utilities restructure their debt over the objection of creditors, leaving it to Congress to help the island resolve its fiscal crisis,” Bloomberg reports.  Continue reading →

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The Cost to You and Me of Proposed Offshore Drilling? $179.2 Billion

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‘Not accounting for the social cost of carbon in federal leasing decisions is a negligent disregard for the public safety.’

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-10-2016

A Break Free From Fossil Fuels action outside the White House in March 2016 calls on President Obama to stop new offshore drilling. (Photo: Erica F/flickr/cc)

A Break Free From Fossil Fuels action outside the White House in March 2016 calls on President Obama to stop new offshore drilling. (Photo: Erica F/flickr/cc)

Representing “negligent disregard for the public safety,” the Obama administration’s proposal for selling fossil fuel companies new leases for drilling in the Arctic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico comes with a social cost of up to $179.2 billion and risks jeopardizing climate commitments made in the recent UN climate deal.

That’s according to The Climate Change Costs of Offshore Oil Drilling, a new report released by Greenpeace USA and Oil Change International, which looks at the carbon emissions from consumption of the oil expected to be produced from those leases scheduled to take place from 2017 to 2022. Continue reading →

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Germany: Thousands Surround US Air Base to Protest the Use of Drones

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Over 5,000 Germans formed a 5.5-mile human chain to surround the base

By Common Dreams staff. Published 6-11-2016

Thousands took to the streets in Germany to protest at U.S. Base in Ramstein

Thousands took to the streets in Germany to protest at U.S. Base in Ramstein

Demonstrators have formed a human chain near a US air base in western Germany to protest against lethal drone strikes.

The demonstration was organized by the alliance “Stop Ramstein – No Drone War“, which says the Ramstein base relays information between operators in the US and unmanned drone aircraft on missions over Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Syria and other places.

Organizers said that 5 to 7 thousand people took part in the chain near the Ramstein Air Base, the principal US Air Force facility in Europe, on a rainy Saturday. Continue reading →

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With Latest Denial of Rights, Israel May be Guilty of ‘Collective Punishment’: UN

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After deadly Tel Aviv attack, Israel cracks down, boosting troops in West Bank and barring Palestinian entry for Ramadan

By Deirdre Fulton, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-10-2016

Route 443 near Giv'at Ze'ev Junction, with pyramid-shaped stacks of razor wire forming a section of the Israeli West Bank barrier. Photo: Etan J. Tal (Own work) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Route 443 near Giv’at Ze’ev Junction, with pyramid-shaped stacks of razor wire forming a section of the Israeli West Bank barrier. Photo: Etan J. Tal (Own work) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Israel’s blanket ban on Palestinian entry—put in place after Wednesday’s deadly attack in Tel Aviv—”may amount to prohibited collective punishment and will only increase the sense of injustice and frustration felt by Palestinians in this very tense time,” the United Nations’ top human rights official said Friday.

As Agence France-Presse reported, “the Israeli military on Thursday revoked permits for 83,000 Palestinians to visit Israel during Ramadan…and said it would send hundreds more troops to the occupied West Bank after a Palestinian gun attack that killed four Israelis in Tel Aviv.” Continue reading →

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