(2022-12-23). New Israeli Gov't to un-ban Violent Racists from Parliament, and allow Discrimination against Women, Gays. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) The new Israeli government, formed in the nick of time by incoming Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, is so morally compromised that even the country's right wing is visibly uncomfortable with the agreements made by Netanyahu to allow him to come back to power. Iconic among those concessions was Netanyahu's acquiescence …
(2022-12-23). Factors Behind the Support for Castillo That Lima Refuses to Understand. orinocotribune.com 
By Francesca Emanuele Dec 20, 2022 | Neither the unfulfilled promises, the indications of corruption, nor the coup attempt could make Castillo's supporters turn their backs on him. Despite the former president no longer representing hope for change, he still symbolizes—perhaps today more than ever—the structural discrimination in Peru. | In Lima, the political, economic, and intellectual elites are intrigued, still searching for an explanation for the large number of Peruvian men and women protesting in demand of freedom for Pedro Castillo. They are even more puzzled by the smaller group demandi…
(2022-12-23). Facebook parent Meta to settle Cambridge Analytica case for $725 million. tribune.com.pk 
Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) has agreed to pay $725 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit accusing the social media giant of allowing third parties, including Cambridge Analytica, to access users' personal information. | The proposed settlement, which was disclosed in a court filing late on Thursday, would resolve a long-running lawsuit prompted by revelations in 2018 that Facebook had allowed the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to access data of as many as 87 million users. | Lawyers for the plaintiffs called the proposed settlement the largest to ever be achieved in a…
(2022-12-23). Serial killer Charles 'Serpent' Sobhraj freed from Nepal prison. tribune.com.pk 
Confessed French serial killer Charles Sobhraj was freed from prison in Nepal on Friday after serving most of his sentence for killing American and Canadian backpackers and was taken to the airport for a flight back to Paris, his attorney said. | His alleged killings were dramatized in a series co-produced by the BBC and Netflix called "The Serpent," which aired last year. | A ticket was purchased with money received from a friend and the French Embassy in Kathmandu prepared the necessary travel documents allowing him to take the flight Friday evening, attorney Gopal Siwakoti Chitan said. | Sobhraj was driven…
(2022-12-23). Closing Arguments In US Political Prisoner Alex Saab's Legal Hearing. popularresistance.org After day one and day two of the hearing, December 12-13, the case of Alex Saab's diplomatic immunity wrapped up on the third day, December 20. Judge Robert Scola in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida will make his decision by the end of this month. | Saab's defense explained that to determine whether Alex Saab is entitled to diplomatic immunity, the judge must answer three questions: "First, did the sending state, Venezuela, appoint Mr. Saab as a special envoy for the purpose of obtaining humanitarian aid in the form of food, medicine and oil? Second, did the receiving state, Iran, accept…
(2022-12-22). 2022 in Review: How We Showed Up to Protect Abortion Access. aclu.org 
Even before the bombshell leak of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, 2022 was a harrowing year in the fight for abortion access. From the halls of state legislatures to clinics, advocates, organizers, and abortion providers worked tirelessly to prepare and protect abortion access. When the
(2022-12-22). Dept of Education Opens Inquiry Into Texas District That Banned LGBTQ Books. truthout.org The civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Education has opened a federal investigation into a Texas school district, alleging that officials violated the rights of LGBTQ students when they ordered librarians to remove books with LGBTQ themes from schools. The investigation, which was opened on December 6, notes that the superintendent of the Granbury Independent School District… |
(2022-12-22). California's Lost History of Lynching Latinos in LA More Than 100 Years Ago. scheerpost.com 
By Victoria Valenzuela / L.A. TACO This article was originally published in L.A. TACO, a James Beard Award-Winning local food publication. Not far from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, a crowded line of cars take turns crossing Aliso and Alameda streets. In front of the Metropolitan Detention Center, many sit in their cars, oblivious …
(2022-12-22). Morocco Slush Fund in Brussels Was Network of Bent MEPs Which Qatar Accessed. strategic-culture.org 
How much does the cash-for-whitewashing scandal effect Morocco's current claims on Western Sahara, both at the UN and at EU level? | After the dust is starting to settle on the biggest corruption scandal the EU has ever had, it seems that it was not created by Qatar, but by Morocco which had a network of corrupt MEPs on the books for almost 20 years. But who else got the whitewashing service? | It has shaken both the foundations and the highest echelons of the EU elite in Brussels. But the Eva Kaili corruption case, which has so far jailed three MEPs, is not quite what it seems. Much as it would be desirable to p…
(2022-12-22). Banks' Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card . levernews.com 
(2022-12-22). Koch-Funded Legal Group Fights to Protect COVID Misinformation. truthout.org A Koch-funded legal group is suing the state of California to protect the medical licenses of doctors who promote quack cures for Covid-19. The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a right-wing litigation operation funded in large part by oil billionaire and industrialist Charles Koch, is behind the latest lawsuit. In 2021, the group received more than $1 million from Stand Together Fellowships… |
(2022-12-22). U.N. council demands end to Myanmar violence in first resolution in decades. tribune.com.pk 
The U.N. Security Council adopted its first resolution on Myanmar in 74 years on Wednesday to demand an end to violence and urge the military junta to release all political prisoners, including ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. | Myanmar has been in crisis since the army took power from Suu Kyi's elected government on Feb. 1, 2021, detaining her and other officials and responding to pro-democracy protests and dissent with lethal force. | "Today we've sent a firm message to the military that they should be in no doubt – we expect this resolution to be implemented in full," Britain's U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodwa…
(2022-12-22). Latin America Rejects Coup In Peru, While US Supports Unelected Regime. popularresistance.org More than a dozen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have condemned the coup in Peru and backed democratically elected President Pedro Castillo. | Meanwhile, the US government has staunchly supported the coup regime, which has suspended civil liberties, imprisoned Castillo for 18 months without trial, and unleashed extreme violence on Peruvian protesters, killing dozens and wounding hundreds. On the other side, Peru's unelected coup regime has the strong support of the United States and Canada, as well as Brazil's far-right Jair Bolsonaro administration and the right-wing governments in Ecuador, Uruguay…
(2022-12-22). Far-Right Judges Who Attacked Catalonia, Now Go Against The Spanish Government. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | Written by Jordi OriolaFolch | Spain has always refused to negotiate with the Catalans over a referendum on self-determination. And, when in 2017 this peaceful social movement self-organised a referendum, the Spanish state again denied the political debate and sought to criminalise the movement through the judiciary. Spain wanted to defeat Catalan independence at any cost, and gave the judges a free hand: they imprisoned politicians and activists, dismissed two pres…
(2022-12-22). Right-Wing Media Flaunted Their Racism in Smearing Brittney Griner's Release. truthout.org Brittney Griner had barely landed in the U.S. before the right-wing media blasted the prisoner trade agreement that secured her freedom in exchange for the release of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. "To exchange the Merchant of Death for this," sneered GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy on CNN, "It's made us weaker, it's made Putin stronger." Former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that… |