Day: November 18, 2017

IRR News (3 – 16 November 2017)

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18 November 2017 — Institute of Race Relations

Institute of Race Relations weekly digest – Against Racism, for Social Justice

No one should be stigmatised, harassed or prosecuted for saving lives at sea or assisting weary and displaced people at a border. This week, the IRR launches its new report Humanitarianism: the unacceptable face of solidarity which charts the hostile political and legal environment facing humanitarian actors who seek to protect life at Europe’s land and sea borders. On 4 December, we will be discussing the report with colleagues from Watch The Med and Médecins Sans Frontières. We invite you to join us for this launch event – but please note that registration for this meeting is essential, as space is limited.

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UN Anti-Nazi Resolution 10 Year Anniversary: Syria, Israel and North Korea Support It, US Adamantly Opposes It By Carla Stea

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18 November 2017 — Global Research

Throughout the past decade, the UN General Assembly Third Committee has adopted the resolution: “Combating Glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.”

Every year the resolution is adopted by an overwhelming majority of UN member states, while the European Union, which, as the battleground of Nazism should have supported the resolution, merely abstains, and their fence-straddling raises disturbing questions about their actual tendencies. Japan’s abstention raises equally disturbing questions. The United States has consistently, and shockingly, opposed this resolution.

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The Pathological Refusal to Report the Simple Truth About Presidential Lying By Reed Richardson

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16 November 2017 — FAIR

It is a truism to say that everyone lies to someone. Since public officials entrusted with power in our democracy are no exception to this human trait—as historical research documents—it should be exceedingly acceptable to point out that all politicians, from your local city council right up to the White House, lie as well. The Framers afforded the press special constitutional protection in large part to ensure that such lies would not reach the public unchallenged.

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Guardian, NYT Paint Power-Grabbing Saudi Dictator as Roguish, Visionary ‘Reformer’ By Adam Johnson

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17 November 2017 — FAIR

Guardian: Saudi arrests show crown prince is a risk-taker with a zeal for reform

The Guardian (11/5/17) reported that de facto Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman “is willing to take on the kingdom’s most powerful figures to implement his reforms and consolidate power.”

Two weeks ago, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman carried out a brutal crackdown on his political opponents, arresting dozens of high-ranking relatives, kidnapping the prime minister of Lebanon, and seeing eight of his political rivals die in a convenient helicopter crash. The “consolidation of power” by the de facto Saudi ruler comes as his government ramps up its siege of Yemen and gets even closer to its US sponsor, thanks to a Trump’s dopey love affair with—and direct assistance of—the regime.

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William Hartung on Nuclear Overkill, Karen Orenstein on Climate Disconnect

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17 November 2017 — FAIR

Bikini nuclear test (photo: Department of Defense)This week on CounterSpin: The opinion column in Scientific American headlined “The Caveman and the Bomb” conveys, just a little more colorfully, the sense one got from the Senate hearing on the process involved in the use of a nuclear weapon. Put simply, folks are scared that Donald Trump may not understand the difference between threats to “rain fire and fury” on the people of North Korea and the devastating reality of nuclear war. But while we’re talking about the dangers of Trump having his hand on the figurative button, we should also be asking why we maintain a world-ending arsenal at all. We’ll hear from William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy, about what drives nuclear-weapons production.

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