New York area Mexicans, Mexican-Americans and their supporters held a 24-hour vigil at the gates of the Mexican consulate in Manhattan June 19-20, to protest recent attacks in Chiapas that left an unarmed teacher dead and other unarmed Zapatistas wounded. Protesters charged the… Read moreNew Yorkers occupy Mexican consulate
The View Today from Erbil
by Bill Park, openDemocracy
ERBIL — Life in Erbil continues pretty much as normal. Children chase the pigeons that gather by the fountains outside the bazaar at the foot of the city’s ancient citadel; young couples share an ice cream; women try on shoes; and the men sit in the shade drinking endless tulip glasses of sweet chai and chatting—probably about the twists and turns of the world cup, judging by the crowds that gather around the large number of TV screens showing each and every game in tea shops, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants.
Yet Mosul, scene of a dramatic take-over by ISIS fighters just days ago, the complete disintegration of the locally deployed units of the Iraqi army, and the flight of half a million terrified citizens to the borders of the Kurdish region, is just a few hours’ drive away.
Continue ReadingMOSUL, MALIKI AND ISIS: THE KURDISH FACTORPakistani air-strikes and ground offensives against militant strongholds in North Waziristan have caused 150,000 to flee the region to overcrowded camps near Peshawar.
Students for a Free Tibet have issued an urgent appeal for Khenpo Kartse, an ailing Buddhist abbot and human rights defender imprisoned for over six months in harsh conditions.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report citing abductions, detentions, torture and killings in the eastern regions of Ukraine where armed groups hold control.
