Human Rights

TeleSur | – – The number of migrants applying for refugee status in Canada after crossing the border from the United States has been rising since the beginning of the year, officials said Thursday. “Canada has seen an increase in the number of asylum claims in January of this year, compared to the same time […]

Iraq

ISIL: In Iraq’s desert, mass grave horror beneath the dirt

contributors

AFP | (Video News Report) | – – “The sinkhole that could be the largest mass grave in Iraq’s latest conflict is barely visible from the road, nothing more than a small depression behind a desert ridge near Mosul. The Islamic State group transformed the Khasfah into a “place of death”, using it as an […]

censorship

Turkey’s Coup aftermath and Human Rights: A Feminist Perspective

contributors

By Banu Gökarıksel | ( Duke University Blog ) | – – Feminist critiques of political power reveal the central function of gender, sexuality, and difference in maintaining that power. Yet, in current events, a feminist geopolitics is rarely considered and has been absent from analysis of the 2016 coup attempt and its aftermath in […]

censorship

Oscar Nominee Asghar Farhadi between US Muslim Ban and Ayatollahs’ Censorship

contributors

By Kevin Hagopian | (The Conversation) | – – Politics loom over this year’s Oscars, with many bracing for what the winners will – or won’t – say when they ascend the stage before millions of television viewers on Feb. 26. One nominee, however, has already made a statement. Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” […]

censorship

Confusion over U.S. Travel Ban Grounding Foreign Correspondents

contributors

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage | (Inter Press Service) | – – NEW YORK (IPS) – New restrictions on immigrants and refugees coming to the United States are also posing challenges for foreign correspondents covering news in the United States. Some have had to indefinitely postpone plans to report on conflicts in the Middle East while others […]

Authoritarianism

Danger as Turkey votes on Presidential System while in State of Emergency

contributors

By Arzu Geybullayeva | (Globalvoices.org) | – – On April 16, Turks will head to polls to yay or nay constitutional amendments which have been approved by the 550 seat parliament where the majority of seats (317) belong to the ruling party of Justice and Development (AKP) under the control of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. […]

Far Right

Top 8 Signs someone is a White Terrorist, e.g. plotting to Blow up Mosque

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – 1. If you appoint yourself to carry out surveillance of a mosque congregation who have never given any evidence of being violent, you might be a white terrorist. 2. If you don’t know the difference between gentle Sufi mysticism and violent extremism, you might be a […]

Displaced and Refugees

Trump’s Refugee Ban Is Even Crueler Than You Think

contributors

By Max Friedman | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | – – The so-called “Muslim ban” has been compared to U.S. treatment of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust. It’s actually even more draconian. The MS St. Louis, whose Jewish refugee passengers were turned away from the United States shortly before the Holocaust. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) The […]

Africa

Gambia’s ‘Trump’ and the dilemma of the Int’l Criminal Court

contributors

By Ebrahim Shabbir Deen | (Informed Comment) | – – The stepping down, under duress, of long-term Gambian president Yahya Jammeh clearly illustrates the impact of credible collective security. However, for this ‘African solution’ to be replicable, much will need to be allayed regarding possible future attempts to renege on the deal, which reportedly provides […]