Tag Archives: Equality

Jeff Bezos Donates $120 Million to Fight Homelessness, Then Invests $500 Million to Make It Worse

“The last thing Americans need is a Bezos-backed investment company further consolidating single-family homes and putting homeownership out of reach for more and more people. Housing should be a right, not a speculative commodity.”

By Jon Queally. Published 12-3-2023 by Common Dreams

*Jeff Bezos. Photo: Dan Farber/flickr/CC*

Among the three richest people on the planet, mega-billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos received some praise last week for announcing approximately $120 million in donations to a number of groups fighting the scourge of homelessness in the United States.

“It’s a privilege to support these orgs in their inspiring mission to help families regain stability,” Bezos wrote in an Instagram post touting the multiple grants to 38 individual nonprofits in 22 states.

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Win for ‘Hateful Far-Right Islamophobe’ Geert Wilders Sends Shockwaves

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The outspoken Dutch xenophobe often compared to Donald Trump is poised to become the next prime minister of the Netherlands if he can cobble together enough support to form a coalition government.

By Jon Queally. Published 11-23-2023 by Common Dreams

*Geert Wilders, Dutch right-wing politician and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV). Photo: uair01/flickr/CC*

National election results in the Netherlands on Wednesday sent shockwaves across Europe as “hateful far-right Islamophobe” Geert Wilders and his party have won the most seats in parliament and positioned Wilders himself to become the nation’s next prime minister.

Wilders, a xenophobic nationalist who is regarded as the “Dutch Donald Trump—but worse” by many of his critics, has for years spewed anti-immigrant rhetoric and speaks openly about making the Netherlands a home only for those he considers pure Dutchmen.

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Students Demanding Protection for Pro-Palestinian Activism Arrested at House Hearing on Campus Speech

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“Palestinian students deserve to speak on the genocide of their families,” said one protester as they were led out of the room by police.

By Julia Conley. Published 11-8-2023 by Common Dreams

A pro-Palestinian rights protester holds a sign saying that “Pro-Palestine is not equal to Antisemitism” at a hearing held by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on November 8, 2023. (Photo: @codepink/Twitter)

The limits of the Republican-led U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s views on freedom of speech were on full display Wednesday shortly after a hearing on “Free Speech on College Campuses” began, when several pro-Palestinian rights demonstrators were removed from the hearing room and arrested for speaking out.

The committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), invited representatives of conservative and pro-Zionist groups including Young Americans for Freedom and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to speak about what Jordan called “hostility towards certain points of view, in particular conservative points of view” amid growing outrage over Israel’s U.S.-backed assault on Gaza and the West Bank.

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Netanyahu is unlikely to listen to the West’s growing unease

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The Israeli leader is emboldened by a hard-right coalition and frustrated with calls for humanitarian pause in Gaza

By Paul Rogers. Published 10-30-2023 by openDemocracy

Within a week of the 7 October atrocities, numerous Israeli Defence Force (IDF) units had converged on southern Israel close to Gaza. A major ground offensive was expected to start within days but the actual deployments into Gaza have not so far been substantial.

Possible factors in the delays included US president Joe Biden’s unexpected visit to Israel, negotiations with Hamas on hostage releases, and an announcement from the Pentagon that additional US air defence systems will be sent to the region. These are not specifically for Israel’s use but are primarily to offer additional protection to US personnel in bases in Iraq, Syria, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Drone and rocket attacks against some US bases have increased in the past two weeks, especially in Iraq, and many more are expected when the IDF starts a ground assault.

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As Gaza War Enters ‘Second Stage,’ Hundreds of Thousands March for Cease-Fire

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“This is not about Hamas. This is about protecting Palestinian lives,” one demonstrator said.

By Olivia Rosane. Published 10-28-2023 by Common Dreams

*Hundreds of thousands march for a cease-fire in Gaza on October 28, 2023. (Photo: Palestine Solidarity Campaign/Twitter)*

The day after Israel unleashed its most intensive bombing campaign against Gaza since October 7, hundreds of thousands of protesters marched in cities around the world calling for a cease-fire and the protection of Palestinian lives.

Gaza lost all telephone and internet communication Friday night as Israeli officials said the country had entered the “next stage” of the war on Saturday as it expanded its operations on the ground.

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Tens of Thousands of Women Strike in Iceland Over Pay Gap, Gender-Based Violence

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“An ‘equality paradise’ should not have a 21% wage gap and 40% of women experiencing gender-based or sexual violence in their lifetime,” said one organizer.

By Julia Conley. Published 10-24-2023 by Common Dreams

*Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir is seen at a conference. (Photo: Herve Cortinat/OECD via flickr)*

Schools, health systems, and television broadcasters in Iceland were among the businesses that said they would have to close or reduce services on Tuesday due to the country’s first full-day women’s strike in nearly 50 years—potentially helping to prove the point that tens of thousands of women and non-binary workers are hoping to make by demonstrating that their labor is vital and must be paid accordingly.

Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir is among the women taking part in the “kvennafrí,” or “women’s day off,” and told reporters she expects women in her cabinet to strike as well, as organizers push to close Iceland’s gender pay gap and end gender-based violence.

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$10 Trillion in Added US Debt Since 2001 Shows ‘Bush and Trump Tax Cuts Broke Our Modern Tax Structure’

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“In their blind loyalty to their mega-donors, Republicans’ fixation on giant tax cuts for billionaires has created a revenue problem that is driving up our national debt,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse in response to new Treasury Department figures.

By Jon Queally. Published 10-21-2023 by Common Dreams

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday released new figures related to the 2023 budget that showed a troubling drop in the nation’s tax revenue compared to GDP—a measure which fell to 16.5% despite a growing economy—and an annual deficit increase that essentially doubled from the previous year.

“After record U.S. government spending in 2020 and 2021” due to programs related to the economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis, the Washington Post reports, “the deficit dropped from close to $3 trillion to close to $1 trillion in 2022. But rather than continue to fall to its pre-pandemic levels, the deficit unexpectedly jumped this year to roughly $2 trillion.”

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Hundreds of Thousands March in London Demanding ‘End to War on Gaza’

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The large-scale demonstration in the U.K. occurred as paltry levels of humanitarian aide were finally allowed through the southern border of Gaza, but nowhere near enough given the scale of death and destruction.

By Jon Queally. Published 10-21-2023 by Common Dreams

*People take part in a ‘March For Palestine,’ in London on October 21, 2023, to “demand an end to the war on Gaza.”* *Photo:* *Hope Worsdale*/X

Organizers and participants said hundreds of thousands of people were in the streets of central London on Saturday to demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza as the Israeli military continued its bombardment of the besieged enclave a full two weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

Organized by a coalition that includes the Solidarity Campaign, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Palestinian Forum in Britain, and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the march also called for Israel to “end its occupation of Palestinian land and apartheid rule over the Palestinian people.”

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Indigenous Australians Mourn Failure of Referendum to Recognize Groups in Constitution

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“It is a blight on Australia’s history that successive governments of various political persuasions have failed to uphold the rights of First Nations people,” said the Australia director for Human Rights Watch.

By Julia Conley. Published 10-15-2023 by Common Dreams

Indigenous groups in Australia on Sunday called for a “Week of Silence” beginning Saturday night to protest what one campaigner called the “gut-wrenching” outcome of a referendum that would have formally recognized Indigenous Australians in the country’s Constitution and created a body to advise the government on policies that affect them.

Communities with large populations of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders voted overwhelmingly for the referendum, but nationwide, 60.4% of voters sided with the “No” campaign that relied on misleading the public about how the new policies would be implemented.

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Narges Mohammadi: Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Champion of Women’s Rights Jailed in Iran

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Mohammadi, said the prize committee, “fights for women against systematic discrimination and oppression.”

By Jon Queally. Published 9-6-2023 by Common Dreams

*Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi*. Image: The Nobel Prize/X

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee on Friday awarded its prestigious prize this year to Narges Mohammadi, the human rights defender currently imprisoned in her home country of Iran.

Mohammadi deserved the recognition for “her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all,” said Nobel Peace Prize Committee chair Berit Reiss-Andersen during the announcement ceremony in Oslo.

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Occupy World Writes

The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: Equality

Win for ‘Hateful Far-Right Islamophobe’ Geert Wilders Sends Shockwaves

The outspoken Dutch xenophobe often compared to Donald Trump is poised to become the next prime minister of the Netherlands if he can cobble together enough support to form a coalition government.