Human Rights

TeleSur | – – Civilian casualties from explosive weapons rose by 54 percent in 2015 compared to 2011. More than three-quarters of those harmed by explosive weapons in 2015— bombs, missiles and mortars— were civilians, with 30 of them killed on average every day, according to a new study from Action on Armed Violence or […]

Human Rights

Defeating ISIL in Iraq while Protecting Civilians: Don’t destroy Mosul to “Save” It

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (Beirut) – Iraqi government forces gearing up to drive Islamic State fighters from Mosul should prioritize protection of civilians. Hundreds of thousands of civilians remain in Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which the extremist group Islamic State, also known as ISIS, took control of in June 2014. ISIS and pro-government […]

Bush

Not al-Qaeda: Abu Zubayda as Bush’s Mengele Experiment

contributors

By Rebecca Gordon | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Intro: Rebecca Gordon catches the nightmarish quality of those [Bush] years, now largely buried, in the grim case of a single mistreated human being. It should make Americans shudder. She has also just published a new book, American Nuremberg: The U.S. Officials Who Should Stand Trial […]

Displaced and Refugees

Caravan Schools and educating Syrian Refugee Children

Juan Cole

By Samantha Schmidt | ( Yes | – – In response to overcrowded public schools in countries neighboring Syria, caravan schools provide refugees with free education to keep them from falling behind. ZAATARI, Jordan – In a tiny classroom in a metal trailer, the 11-year-old Syrian refugee writes his name on the chalkboard, practicing the […]

censorship

Berlin Pirate Party Leader Arrested for Erdogan Insult

contributors

TeleSur | – – Bruno Kramm was arrested while protesting against a German law allowing the prosecution of citizens for insulting foreign leaders. The head of Berlin’s Pirate Party branch has been jailed after protesting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to the Pirate Party’s news agency, Pirate Times. Bruno Kramm was arrested in […]

censorship

Press Freedom in ‘Deep And Disturbing’ Decline in New Age of Propaganda

contributors

By RFE/RL | – – A leading journalism advocacy group says media freedom experienced a sharp decline around the world over the past year, citing increasing government restrictions in places like Turkey, Poland, Tajikistan, and Egypt. In its 2016 World Press Freedom Index released on April 20, Reporters Without Borders said that there had been […]

Displaced and Refugees

Who are the Syrian Refugees, really, and where are they? Hint: Mainly women and children, & not in the West

contributors

By Jeffrey H. Cohen | (The Conversation) | – – Editor’s note: This article is part of our collaboration with Point Taken, a new program from WGBH that will next air on Tuesday, April 19 on PBS and online at pbs.org. The show features fact-based debate on major issues of the day, without the shouting. […]

censorship

Turkey’s Pres. Erdogan demands Germany prosecute comedian over satirical poem

contributors

RT | (Video News Report) | – – “Turkey has made a formal request to the German government to prosecute a TV comedian over a crude poem about the Turkish President.” RT: “Erdogan demands Germany prosecute comedian over satirical poem”

Children

Lebanon: Over 70% of Syrian Refugee Children Forced into Exploitative Child Labor

contributors

TeleSur | – – A report by an anti-slavery group also details how Syrian refugee girls are being forced into child marriage and sex slavery. Up to 70 percent of Syrian refugee children are being forced into child labor in Lebanon, the anti-slavery Freedom Fund group said in a report Tuesday. The report also pointed […]