Are You Prepared to Needlessly Die for Your Country?
Wim Laven | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-30
When I was a young boy, I used to play war, and watch movies that celebrated violence. Rambo showed the awesome potential for a single devoted patriot to turn the tables on evil. I had a glamorous account of war, and as an 8-year-old I did not understand why my father cried when we went…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/30/are-you-prepared-to-needlessly-die-for-your-country/
IDF, US Military Hold Joint Drills Using F-35 Jets in Southern Israel Amid COVID-19 Outbreak – Photo
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-30
Earlier in March, the two countries called off the cheduled joint exercise Juniper Cobra over concerns that it might facilitate the spread of the virus among the military.
sputniknews.com/military/202003301078759258-idf-us-military-hold-joint-drills-using-f-35-jets-in-southern-israel-amid-covid-19-outbreak—photo/
Netanyahu to go into quarantine after aide tests positive
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-30
Netanyahu decided to enter self-quarantine until he receive the test result, according to his office.Netanyahu's parliamentary adviser Rivka Paluch tested positive for the novel coronavirus.Israeli PM will undergo a coronavirus test for a second time after Paluch tested positive, local media said.Paluch reportedly spent the last few days "in the vicinity" of Netanyahu, Knesset members and other advisers, the Jerusalem Post reported.Netanyahu had tested negative for coronavirus after he and his immediate circle underwent tests for the virus on March 15.Israeli health authorities have so far confirmed 16 deaths and…
yenisafak.com/en/world/netanyahu-to-go-into-quarantine-after-aide-tests-positive-3515427
COVID-19: Pakistan's top court halts prisoner release
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-30
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Monday halted the release of hundreds of prisoners who were supposed to be set free in an attempt to stem the spread of coronavirus in the country's overcrowded jails, local media reported.Several high courts, including the Islamabad High Court, last week, had ordered the release of over 500 under-trial prisoners and those already sentenced for their involvement in petty crimes, to reduce burden on the jails."Coronavirus is a serious issue but the decisions taken in haste and fear won't work," Chief Justice of Supreme Court Gulzar Ahmed remarked, according to local broadcaster Geo News…
yenisafak.com/en/world/covid-19-pakistans-top-court-halts-prisoner-release-3515414
Analysis: Palestine Is Occupied, Segregated, And About To Face COVID-19
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-03-29
Israel's military control of Gaza and the West Bank has only grown more brutal during the pandemic. Workers are held in quarantine, prisoners have been infected, and Israel is withholding money that could be used to help contain the outbreak. By Taya Graham for The Real News Network Israeli Journalist …
imemc.org/article/analysis-palestine-is-occupied-segregated-and-about-to-face-covid-19/
India's PM Asks Poor to 'Forgive Him' Over COVID-19 Lockdown
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-29
Indian far-right Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Sunday the nation's poor to forgive him for having imposed a three-week lockdown on the country over the coronavirus pandemic. | RELATED: | Amid COVID-19, India Buys $116M Worth Of Weapons to Israel | "I apologize for taking these harsh steps that have caused difficulties in your lives, especially the po…
telesurenglish.net/news/Indias-PM-Asks-Poor-to-Forgive-Him-Over-COVID-19-Lockdown-20200329-0010.html
Israeli Police in Occupied East Jerusalem Invade a Number of Palestinian Neighborhoods, Abduct One
Rami Almeghari | imemc.org | 2020-03-29
Israeli police forces, at dawn Sunday, invaded the occupied city of East Jerusalem, storming a number of Palestinian neighborhoods, according to local sources. Palestinian sources and witnesses said that Israeli police forces invaded through out Saturday night and early on Sunday, al-'Isawiya village and stormed a number of neighborhoods. Sources …
imemc.org/article/israeli-police-in-occupied-east-jerusalem-invade-a-number-of-palestinian-neighborhoods-abduct-one/
League of Arab States Reiterates Support to the Palestinian People
Rami Almeghari | imemc.org | 2020-03-29
The Cairo-based League of Arab States, comprising of 22 Arab countries, reiterated on Sunday its support to the Palestinian people's struggle against the Israeli occupation and called for unveiling all Israeli practices that undermine the existence of Palestinians on their own homeland. The league's reiteration came in a statement, issued …
imemc.org/article/league-of-arab-states-reiterates-support-to-the-palestinian-people/
Israeli Navy Shoots, Injures Palestinian Fisherman off Gaza Coast
Ali Salam | imemc.org | 2020-03-29
One Palestinian fisherman was wounded by Israeli forces on Sunday, while fishing off the coast of the northern besieged Gaza Strip, according to local sources. Sources told Quds News Network (QNN) that the fisherman was in his boat fishing, when Israeli soldiers opened fire at him, wounding him with a …
imemc.org/article/israeli-navy-shoots-injures-palestinian-fisherman-off-gaza-coast/
PCHR Condemns Israeli Authorities Discriminatory Treatment of Palestinian Workers Suspected with Coronavirus
PCHR | imemc.org | 2020-03-29
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights strongly condemns the Israeli occupation authorities' discriminatory and unethical treatment towards Palestinian workers in Israel, by dumping workers suspected with coronavirus symptoms in the West Bank at checkpoints and seam points within the Annexation Wall that separates Israel and the West Bank without providing …
imemc.org/article/pchr-condemns-israeli-authorities-discriminatory-treatment-of-palestinian-workers-suspected-with-coronavirus/
Dr. Ashrawi Sends Message of Solidarity from Palestine
Ali Salam | imemc.org | 2020-03-29
Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, on Saturday, sent a message of solidarity to the rest of the world, in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. | Dr.
imemc.org/article/dr-ashrawi-sends-message-of-solidarity-from-palestine/
Palestinian Shoemaker Starts West Bank's Mask Factory Overnight
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-29
As soon as Amjad Zaghir got word of the COVID-19 outbreak in Bethlehem, the 30-year-old Palestinian shoemaker from Hebron decided to transform his shoe factory into the only manufacturer of face masks in the occupied West Bank, as +972 Magazine reported Monday. | RELATED: | First COVID-19 Death in West Bank, Gaza Prepares for the Worst | "I approached my friend, a pharmacist, and asked him what materials are used to make masks," recalled Zaghir. "He explained that what we use in…
telesurenglish.net/news/Palestinian-Shoemaker-Starts-West-Banks-Mask-Factory-Overnight-20200329-0007.html
300 Palestinian-owned Olive Trees Cut by Illegal Settlers near Bethlehem
Ali Salam | imemc.org | 2020-03-28
Israeli settlers, on Saturday, cut down 300 olive trees on Palestinian owned land in the southern occupied West Bank, according to a local official. Hasan Breijieh, a member of the Anti-Wall, Anti-Settlements Commission, told Palestinian WAFA News Agency that the illegal colonial settlers cut the trees in an area close …
imemc.org/article/300-palestinian-owned-olive-trees-cut-by-illegal-settlers-near-bethlehem/
Isareli Settlers Attack Palestinians, Injure One near Hebron
Ali Salam | imemc.org | 2020-03-28
Israeli settlers attacked, on Friday, Palestinian herders and other civilians in the village of Al-Tuwani, south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, according to a local activist. Fo'ad Amour, a local rights activist, told Palestinian WAFA News Agency that illegal colonial settlers, accompanied by attack dogs, assaulted herders …
imemc.org/article/isareli-settlers-attack-palestinians-injure-one-near-hebron/
COVID-19: UN envoy hails strong Israel-Palestine cooperation
news.un.org | 2020-03-28
Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, has praised the coordination between the Israeli and Palestine authorities in reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1060572
Israeli Troops Open Fire on Palestinian Farmer in Southern Gaza
Rami Almeghari | imemc.org | 2020-03-28
Israeli troops opened fire at Palestinian farmers and shepherds, early on Saturday, near the border fence in eastern Khan Younis city, southern Gaza Strip, according to local sources. Local Palestinian media sources and witnesses said that Israeli troops, stationed on the Israeli side of the border, opened their machine guns …
imemc.org/article/israeli-troops-open-fire-on-palestinian-farmer-in-southern-gaza/
[Commentary] A systems approach to preventing and responding to COVID-19
Declan Terence Bradley, Mariam Abdulmonem Mansouri, Frank Kee, Leandro Martin Totaro Garcia | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
A novel zoonotic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in a pandemic of respiratory infection [1,2]. COVID-19 has provoked restrictive infection control measures, social and economic disruption, and expressions of racism [3]. Systems thinking can help policymakers understand and influence the spread of infection and its multifaceted consequences across the community since society is itself a complex adaptive system [4]. It can provide a framework to look beyond the chain of infection and better understand the multiple implications of decisions and (in)actions in face of such a complex situation involving many inte…
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30069-9/fulltext?rss=yes
Palestinian Political Parties Call for Digitally Marking Land Day
Rami Almeghari | imemc.org | 2020-03-28
The Higher Committee for Follow-up, consisting of majority of Palestinian political factions in the occupied West Bank, decided Saturday that due to current widely-spread Coronavirus in Palestine and other world countries, there will be no marches for marking the Palestinian Land Day of March 30, 2020. Instead, the committee urged …
imemc.org/article/palestinian-political-parties-call-for-digitally-marking-land-day/
Russia Calls to Lift 'Genocidal' Sanctions Against Venezuela
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-28
Russia's Foreing Minister Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Friday reiterated her country's call to lift the illegal economic sanctions imposed by the United States on Venezuela, which they consider as a "genocide tool" in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | Putin Urges G20 to Lift Sanctions on Goods Due to COVID-19 | "We will not tire of repeating our call to immediately cancel arbitrary unilateral sanctions that at the current juncture of the epidemic become almost a weapo…
telesurenglish.net/news/Russia-Calls-to-Lift-Genocidal-Sanctions-Against-Venezuela-20200328-0001.html
From Electoral Politics to Coronavirus Response: In Israel, Apartheid Mentality Reigns
Miko Peled | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-27
Israel's longstanding political crisis didn't end due to some altruistic desire to pull together in a time of crisis, it ended because Israelis were faced with a choice, work with Arabs or throw it all away, writes Miko Peled.
mintpressnews.com/electoral-politics-coronavirus-response-israel-apartheid-mentality/266093/
We won't go back to normal, because normal was the problem
Vijay Prashad | mronline.org | 2020-03-27
It is hard to remember that just a few weeks ago, the planet was in motion. There were protests in Delhi (India) and Quito (Ecuador), eruptions against the old order that ranged from anger at the economic policies of austerity and neoliberalism to frustration with the cultural policies of misogyny and racism. Ingeniously, in Santiago …
mronline.org/2020/03/27/we-wont-go-back-to-normal-because-normal-was-the-problem/
Weekend Read: SPLC demands ICE act amid pandemic to save the lives of countless immigrants trapped in its crowded detention centers
splcenter.org | 2020-03-27
As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, tens of thousands of immigrants, many of whom came to this country seeking asylum, seem to have been forgotten by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
The Supreme Court Just Made It Easier to Get Away With Discrimination
Elie Mystal | thenation.com | 2020-03-26
The Supreme Court Just Made It Easier to Get Away With Discrimination…
thenation.com/article/society/scotus-comcast-discrimination/
How a network of Ukrainian ultra-nationalists penetrated Canada's Conservative Party to lobby for military conflict
Moss Robeson | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-26
Once an underground network of fascist ideologues shunned by the Ukrainian Canadian community for "criminal ideas," Canada's ultra-nationalist Bandera lobby…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/26/canadian-conservative-party-bandera-canada/
White Supremacists See Coronavirus as an Opportunity
Cassie Miller | splcenter.org | 2020-03-26
Far-right extremists believe the intense uncertainty surrounding the outbreak of COVID-19 will aid their ability to recruit new members into their movement.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/03/26/white-supremacists-see-coronavirus-opportunity
Malaysian socialist calls out dangerous myth of COVID-19 'mitigation'
Susan Price | greenleft.org.au | 2020-03-26
Asia & the Pacific Healthcare Jeyakumar DevarajIssue 1258 Malaysia COVID-19March 26, 2020I received a video on March 22 featuring an Israeli minister making an argument supporting "mitigation" as a strat…
greenleft.org.au/content/malaysian-socialist-calls-out-dangerous-myth-covid-19-mitigation
BJP and Israel: Hindu Nationalism is Ravaging India's Democracy
Ramzy Baroud | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-25
It was only a matter of time before the anti-Muslim sentiment in India turned violent. A country that has historically prided itself on its diversity and tolerance, and for being 'the largest democracy in the world' has, in recent years, exhibited the exact opposite qualities
MN shows solidarity with Palestine during COVID-19 pandemic
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-03-25
Minneapolis, MN – The MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) wanted to be a part of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network's global week of action for Palestinian Land Day but they couldn't do it as a protest the way they had originally planned. Instead on March 24 the MN AWC reorganized their protest as a call-in day, and then did a five-person social distancing bannering protest. | In 1976, Land Day marked a turning point as the first mass mobilization by Palestinians within Israel against colonialism and land theft. Israeli police shot and killed six Palestinian citizens of Israel for protesting the Israeli go…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/3/25/mn-shows…
Moving forward requires confronting slavery's 'racist legacy': UN chief
news.un.org | 2020-03-25
In his message for the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, observed on Wednesday, the UN Secretary-General called for the dismantling of racist structures and institutions so that the world can move forward.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1060202
Once a High-Profile Neo-Nazi, Azzmador Has Pulled a Disappearing Act
splcenter.org | 2020-03-25
At "Unite the Right" in Charlottesville, Virginia, Azzmador appeared to be everywhere.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/03/26/once-high-profile-neo-nazi-azzmador-has-pulled-disappearing-act
SPLC and allies seek federal court injunction in system-wide suit to protect people detained by ICE from contracting COVID-19
splcenter.org | 2020-03-25
The SPLC and its allies asked a federal court today to issue a preliminary injunction requiring that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) take immediate steps to protect people in its custody, particularly those who have medical conditions making them more susceptible to serious illness and death from COVID-19.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/25/splc-and-allies-seek-federal-court-injunction-system-wide-suit-protect-people-detained-ice
King David's Ancient Road: How Israeli Archaeologists Are Aiding the Theft of Silwan
Miko Peled | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-24
Claiming "science" as their reason and in total disregard for the wellbeing of the population, tunnels are dug under Palestinian homes in Silwan, destroying foundations and forcing residents to flee.
mintpressnews.com/how-israel-archeologists-aiding-theft-silwan/266005/
Arbitrary & excessive: Marijuana trafficking sentences in Alabama
Kathryn Casteel and Will Tucker | splcenter.org | 2020-03-24
Alabama resident Lee Carroll Brooker garnered national attention in 2016 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the marijuana trafficking case that put Brooker, in his 70s at the time, in prison for life.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/28/arbitrary-excessive-marijuana-trafficking-sentences-alabama
Hate Group Leaders, Antigovernment Extremists Push Anti-China Coronavirus Rhetoric
Hatewatch Staff | splcenter.org | 2020-03-23
A litany of conservative groups and figures, including members of hate and antigovernment extremist groups, have signed a March 17 letter to President Trump asking him to investigate China for its alleged role in spreading the novel coronavirus and hiding its origins.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/03/24/hate-group-leaders-antigovernment-extremists-push-anti-china-coronavirus-rhetoric
COVID-19 Updates: SPLC continues fight against injustice
splcenter.org | 2020-03-20
We are only beginning to feel the impacts of the coronavirus, but we know that the communities we serve
Expert: US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during pandemic could be genocidal
Aaron Maté | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-20
Intensified US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during the COVID-19 pandemic could amount to genocide, a former UN expert warns. Iran…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/20/expert-us-sanctions-on-iran-venezuela-during-pandemic-could-be-genocidal/
How the ACLU Organized to end Racial Profiling on Greyhound Buses
Andrea Flores | aclu.org | 2020-03-20
Two years ago, the ACLU set a clear goal: push Greyhound to refuse Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers access to their buses to conduct warrantless searches. As part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, CBP officers were targeting bus passengers around the country, boarding their buses to racially profile, harass, and too often, detain people who they suspected of being undocumented. Of course, you can't tell someone's immigration status by how they look or sound
SPLC responds to Trump's Racist and Xenophobic Attacks on Asians
splcenter.org | 2020-03-20
President Trump continued to use racist and xenophobic language today during a news conference about the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. by calling it the "Chinese virus."
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/20/splc-responds-trumps-racist-and-xenophobic-attacks-asians
Grassroots effort sponsored by SPLC protects voting rights for hundreds across South Florida
splcenter.org | 2020-03-20
Clutching a clipboard full of voter registration forms under his arm, Marq Mitchell knocked on the front door of a small, beige, stucco house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/20/grassroots-effort-sponsored-splc-protects-voting-rights-hundreds-across-south-florida
As White House Contemplates Coronavirus Asylum Ban, Hate Groups Urge Trump to Seize the Moment
Michael Edison Hayden and Hannah Gais | splcenter.org | 2020-03-20
The Trump administration took steps to block asylum seekers from entering the U.S.-Mexico border amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This nativist policy course has been pushed by anti-immigrant pundits and hate groups from the time the crisis started to unfold.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/03/23/white-house-contemplates-coronavirus-asylum-ban-hate-groups-urge-trump-seize-moment
The Fight to Vote: Overcoming voter suppression in the South
splcenter.org | 2020-03-20
Voter suppression is alive and well across the South.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/24/fight-vote-overcoming-voter-suppression-south
Fight To Vote: Florida man's voting rights restored by Amendment 4
splcenter.org | 2020-03-20
Abdul Yaw Akachi was talking to his neighbors one sunny day in Florida when a voting rights advocate walked up to him.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/24/fight-vote-florida-mans-voting-rights-restored-amendment-4
Trump Continues Calling the Coronavirus "Chinese" Despite Reports of Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-19
"I would like to begin by announcing some important developments in our war against the Chinese virus. I will be invoking the Defense Production Act just in case we need it." That was the opening line of President Trump's news conference Wednesday afternoon. Later in the news conference, Trump was questioned by ABC News reporter Cecilia Vega on continuously referring to the coronavirus as the "Chinese virus." A member of the administration also reportedly referred to the coronavirus as the "kung-flu." Meanwhile, racist incidents and threats of hate crimes against Asian Americans have emerged across the United Sta…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/19/trump_ant…
Who are we, America?
Eric K. Ward | splcenter.org | 2020-03-19
Just as the authoritarian-tinged tenure of Donald Trump underscores the question, the coronavirus and near shut-down of public life in response highlight this defining time in our democracy.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/22/who-are-we-america
West Virginia Tourist Hub Rejects VDARE's 'Negative' Message‚Äã
splcenter.org | 2020-03-19
A vacation hub known for its placid spas and lush hiking trails, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia has hardly been defined by Trump-era political strife in recent years.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/03/19/west-virginia-tourist-hub-rejects-vdares-negative-message
California Anti-Immigrant Activist Robin Hvidston Seeking State Assembly Seat
Hatewatch Staff | splcenter.org | 2020-03-19
Robin Hvidston, a longtime anti-immigrant activist, is running as a Republican for a California Assembly seat in District 41.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/03/19/california-anti-immigrant-activist-robin-hvidston-seeking-state-assembly-seat
2019 Year in Hate and Extremism Report Release
splcenter.org | 2020-03-18
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/18/2019-year-hate-and-extremism-report-release
SPLC's Three Strikes Project helps nonviolent offenders move from prison to parole
splcenter.org | 2020-03-17
Drugs were a way of life in the economically struggling "Brickyard" neighborhood of Clarksdale, Mississippi, where Nicky Patterson grew up.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/17/splcs-three-strikes-project-helps-nonviolent-offenders-move-prison-parole
SPLC offices, Civil Rights Memorial Center close
splcenter.org | 2020-03-14
Our work continues with fervor and is needed more now than ever.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/20/splc-offices-civil-rights-memorial-center-close
Anti-LGBTQ Hate Group Presents "Make the Family Great Again" Petition to U.S. State Department Commission
Hatewatch Staff | splcenter.org | 2020-03-13
Anti-LGBTQ hate group Ruth Institute presented a "Make the Family Great Again" petition to the State Department at its Commission on Unalienable Rights meeting Feb. 21.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/03/16/anti-lgbtq-hate-group-presents-make-family-great-again-petition-us-state-department