(2022-12-24). Riyadh sentences prominent Shia cleric to 4 years in prison. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 24 (MNA) — Saudi Arabia has sentenced prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Kazem al-Omari to four years in prison, as the Riyadh regime presses ahead with its heavy-handed crackdown on members of the religious community.
(2022-12-24). Justice Sues "True the Vote" Vigilantes. dissidentvoice.org Finally. The Department of Justice has finally taken on 'True the Vote', the right-wing group behind the wrongful challenge of hundreds of thousands of legal Georgia voters. True the Vote challenges were the central subject of the film Vigilante, Georgia's Vote Suppression Hitman created by the Palast Investigative Fund team. I know what you're thinking: …
(2022-12-23). West Opposes Rest Of World In UN Votes For Fairer Economic System, Equality. popularresistance.org Most countries on Earth voted at the United Nations General Assembly to support a call for a new international economic order that is based on sovereign equality and cooperation, that rejects unilateral sanctions and advocates for debt relief for the Global South. | The only countries that opposed this widely popular proposal were the West and its allies. | The United States and its proxies were also the lone votes against common-sensical resolutions promoting sustainable development, biological diversity, and basic civil rights for Palestinians. Almost the entire world supported these proposals. Washington showe…
(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). Oregon governor commutes death row sentences. workers.org 
Portland, Oregon Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has commuted the sentences of everyone awaiting execution by the state: 16 men and one transgender woman. Instead they will face life in prison. Oregon has a long history of indecisiveness regarding the death penalty, abolishing and reinstating it twice over the past century. . . . |
(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…
(2022-12-23). The Catholic Church expelled me for supporting women joining the priesthood. therealnews.com 
As a young man, Roy Bourgeois enlisted to fight in the Vietnam War. After being injured, he became a volunteer at a local orphanage and was inspired to become a priest upon his return to the US. Bourgeois became a priest in Bolivia during the dictatorship of General Hugo Banzer. He decided he could not be an apolitical priest. He spoke out against Banzer's political repression, leading to his arrest and expulsion from Bolivia. Back in the US, Bourgeois organized protests outside Fort Benning, Georgia where the US was training Salvadorian soldiers to fight the leftist insurgency. He was imprisoned twice for…
(2022-12-23). Day 3: Closing Arguments in Legal Hearing Concerning US Political Prisoner Alex Saab's Diplomatic Status. orinocotribune.com By Stansfield Smith Dec 21, 2022 | After Saab's defense explained that to determine whether Alex Saab…