Kuwait gives tweeter two years in jail for ‘criticizing’ rulers
January 8, 2013A Kuwaiti court has sentenced a youth activist for allegedly defaming the country’s ruling emir on Twitter. The opposition tweeter is the second person to fall foul of a recent government crackdown on social networking sites in Kuwait.
The court claimed that although the offending tweets written by Ayyad al-Harbi last October did not explicitly mention the emir, it was understood they were meant to insult him. The court sentenced the opposition activist who has over 13,000 followers on Twitter to two years in prison for his supposed crimes.
Al-Harbi categorically denied that the tweets had anything to do with Kuwait’s ruling family. He tweeted on the eve of the court hearing that “tomorrow morning is my trial’s verdict on charges of slander against the emir, spreading of false news.”
The defendant’s lawyer, Mohammed al-Humidi commented on the ruling following the trial, saying that the judge’s decision had taken them by surprise.
“Kuwait has always been known internationally and in the Arab world as a democracy-loving country,” Humidi said in a phone call to Reuters. “People are used to democracy, but suddenly we see the constitution being undermined.”Just a day earlier another offending tweeter, Rashid Saleh al-Anzi, was also sentenced to two years behind bars for an incendiary tweet that allegedly “stabbed the rights and powers of the emir.”
Under Kuwaiti law, those who defame or criticize the ruling emir are committing a state security offense and as such are liable for a jail term of up to five years. Currently, a number of important opposition figures are awaiting trial on similar charges of insulting the country’s ruler.
The back-to-back rulings drew the attention of the US, which appealed to the Kuwaiti government to respect human rights and freedom of speech.
“You know how strongly we feel about locking people up for their use of Twitter,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. “We call on the government of Kuwait to adhere to its tradition of respect for freedom of assembly, association, and expression.”
Public malcontent over Kuwait’s ruling government has increased recently following the parliamentary elections in December. Activists claim that the country’s parliament is dominated by royalist-sympathizers and members of the ruling family.
In an effort to quell protest after the elections, lawmakers passed a bill that requires all public demonstrations to have written permission from the authorities.
The bill sparked protester ire as more than 1,000 anti-government activists took to the streets, disobeying the new decree. Riot police were deployed with teargas and stun grenades to disperse the angry crowd.
Tell Congress: Amend “Anti-Protest Bill” to Ensure First Amendment Protections
Imagine an America in which the government can deny protest in any public space it deems fit. Where wearing a dissenting shirt around an elected official could be construed as a felony. Where First-Amendment protections become privileges subjectively doled out by the state. Sadly, that America is pretty much here.
In March, Congress passed HR 347, a bill that limits Americans’ ability to protest in public and on government grounds. Mainstream media didn’t raise peep, but now there’s finally some anger building. The bill, passed almost unanimously, makes it a federal offense punishable by up to ten years in prison to “knowingly“ protest in the vicinity of the Secret Service—that is anywhere the Secret Service “is or will be temporarily visiting.”
It also makes many public events impervious to lawful protest. Any “National Security Special Event” (NSSE) requires Secret Service protection. NSSE-designated events have proliferated since 9/11 to include Super Bowls, concerts, campaign events, and now any public event that Very Important People want protest-free.
Most dangerously, it criminalizes protest. Under the bill, “disorderly or disruptive conduct” or activities that “impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions” could warrant felony charges. What constitutes such “disruptive conduct” rests in the eye of the beholder—or the eye of Eric Holder. To put it plainly: the government can decide where and when free speech is allowed and severely prosecute any “disruptive” activity, while we’re confined to “free speech zones.” We can help fix it, however! Join our petition below to protect our speech rights!
PETITION TO CONGRESS: We treasure our first amendment rights of free speech and public assembly! HR 347 limits valid arenas of peaceful public protest, and broadens the government’s ability to curtail civil liberties. We demand that Congress amend the bill to provide clearer language as to what constitutes “disruptions”; to allow for reasonable, peaceful protest at NSSEs and around Secret Service; and to ensure that no peaceful protest can ever be deemed a felony.SIGN HERE: http://act.watchdog.net/petitions/963?l=PUIIHd0RcuE
TL;DR: Guys, this is REALLY fucking important. Under this bill Occupy Wall Street, the March on Washington & virtually ANY other protests could not have happened. Peaceful protests are an important part of our political process (not to mention our Constitutional Rights!) Please take a moment to sign & reblog this. Thanks!
Sally McAlister
Leading the FREE PUSSY RIOT event within the SLUTWALK TOULOUSE 2012 protest walk on October 6th 2012.“I attend the SLUTWALK for women and their freedom. FREE PUSSY RIOT!”
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In this image Kyrgyz women protest an oil refinery being built by a Chinese company, Jundi.
“[The Chinese company] aren’t just expanding, they are poisoning people. None of this is legal. No kind of sanitary norms are being observed.”
Physically bordered, but culturally distant, China’s growing economic presence in Kyrgyzstan continues to be a topic for heated discussion in Kyrgyz society. In the country’s regions, this discourse is reflected in acrimonious standoffs between Chinese companies and locals, confrontations the mainstream media often fails to report on. Recently, a series of photo and news reports from the ground by youth media organization Kloop.kg have shed light on some of these conflicts, as well as an apparent spike in antipathy towards Chinese investments in the Central Asian republic.
Read ‘Kyrgyzstan: China Inc. Under Attack’ on Global Voices.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9acnlc8vE1qg9hq7o1_500.jpg)
In this image Kyrgyz women protest an oil refinery being built by a Chinese company, Jundi.
“[The Chinese company] aren’t just expanding, they are poisoning people. None of this is legal. No kind of sanitary norms are being observed.”
Physically bordered, but culturally distant, China’s growing economic presence in Kyrgyzstan continues to be a topic for heated discussion in Kyrgyz society. In the country’s regions, this discourse is reflected in acrimonious standoffs between Chinese companies and locals, confrontations the mainstream media often fails to report on. Recently, a series of photo and news reports from the ground by youth media organization Kloop.kg have shed light on some of these conflicts, as well as an apparent spike in antipathy towards Chinese investments in the Central Asian republic.
Read ‘Kyrgyzstan: China Inc. Under Attack’ on Global Voices.
The life and times of Occupy Wall Street | International Socialism Journal
Though a few months old, this article is still extremely useful in drawing up a sober assessment of the explosive growth and subsequent ebb of the Occupy movement — including its implications for future organizing …
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… Today the future direction—and even the existence—of the Occupy movement, as such, is an open question. If activists and the left are to learn from this last wave of struggle, it is important to take this opportunity to assess the experience of the last eight months and the debates that have emerged. Most analysis of the Occupy movement has overwhelmingly centred on what are seen as its unique organisational and tactical forms. Many commentators and participants have focused on the way in which Occupy arose outside of the traditional forms of the left, movement organisations and the unions. They look for an explanation of its dizzying success in its tactical audacity, its rejection of hierarchical structures and its independence from existing organisations, which are seen as bureaucratic and ossified.
This article will argue that such a focus is too narrow to adequately understand the dramatic rise of the movement. Moreover, this focus on the “new” leaves us ill-equipped to understand the challenges facing us today and how to move forward. In reality, the picture is much more complex than the dominant narrative of the movement admits.
… Regardless of the initial reasons for the explosion of the movement, it tells us little about how to move it forward now. OWS tapped into a deep vein of accumulated bitterness and discontent in the US. But as a movement, it far exceeded the existing organisational and political capacity of the working class. That class has been in retreat for 35 years and suffers the scars of defeat and demoralisation. The monumental events of 2011, from the Egyptian Revolution to the occupation of the Capitol in Madison to OWS, all began a process of reversing that tide. But it is precisely that—a process, which will advance spectacularly at times, suffer defeats at others and need to consolidate its forces.
It is unclear in what way the Occupy movement will revive or even whether, in its current form, it can. But it has fundamentally altered the landscape of American politics and exposed the fault lines of class anger. In that sense, it has made a contribution to the rebuilding of working class confidence, organisation and militancy. There is no shortage of issues around which to organise. And certainly the continuing assault of the ruling class in this country guarantees new upheavals. Recently the struggle for justice for Trayvon Martin—an unarmed black teenager murdered by a racist vigilante—has played a role in galvanising an emerging anti-racist movement. In May as many as 10,000 protesters marched against the NATO summit in Chicago. And as of this writing, the 32,000 members of the Chicago Teachers’ Union are preparing for a potential strike in the autumn. These struggles may not flow through the structures of the Occupy movement. But they are part of the same dynamic that gave rise to it. The most important contribution that those on the existing left and those inspired by the movement can make is to draw the lessons of the most recent wave of struggle and help extend the organisation of this resistance in all directions possible.
Ongoing Mexico Revolution - Ignored by the Media
Mexico, July 11, 2012. The largest protest in human history. USA and UK governments pushed the press not to publish. Google censored videos on youtube and restricted keywords on this event.
The Mexican media has blacking out the protests against their new government, who have been accused of doing everything from buying votes to buying off the media.
If the corporate media won’t spread this story, then let’s spread the story. Share this all over your pages and your friend’s pages and help support the democracy movement in Mexico.
People of Lebanon protest China & Russia’s support of massacres in Syria
July 24, 2012
Dozens of people protested at the Russian embassy in Beirut on Tuesday, denouncing Syrian regime massacres while calling on Russia and China to change their positions on the crisis.
The protesters — both Syrians and Lebanese — held up posters denouncing the violence in neighboring Syria, where rights activists say more than 19,000 people have been killed in a 16-month uprising.
“We also wrote the names some of the martyrs on sheets of paper, turning them into paper planes and launching them at the Russian embassy building,” a 30-year-old Lebanese activist told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“I think more and more people are becoming sympathetic to the Syrian people’s demands,” she said.
But when protests were held in Lebanon early on in the uprising, “pro-Syrian regime thugs came to beat up protesters who took to the streets, scaring many people off from demonstrating again.”
The protesters also held up signs denouncing Russia and China for providing “cover” for the regime of President Bashar al-Assad since the revolt began in March 2011, organizers said.
Earlier this month, Russia together with China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Syria for the third time in nine months.
What Greece’s SYRIZA stands for
June 6, 20121. Creation of a shield to protect society against the crisis:
— Not a single citizen without a guaranteed minimum income or unemployment benefit, medical care, social protection, housing, and access to all services of public utilities.
— Protection of and relief measures for indebted households.
— Price controls and price reductions, VAT reduction, and abolition of VAT on basic-need goods.2. Disposal of the debt burden
The national debt is first and foremost a product of class relations, and is inhumane in its very essence. It is produced by the tax evasion of the wealthy, the looting of public funds, and the exorbitant procurement of military weapons and equipment.
We are asking immediately for:
— A moratorium on debt servicing.
— Negotiations for debt cancellation, with provisions for the protection of social insurance funds and small savers. This will be pursued by exploiting any available means, such as audit control and suspension of payments.
— Regulation of the remaining debt to include provisions for economic development and employment.
— European regulations on the debt of European states.
— Radical changes to the European Central Bank’s role.
— Prohibition of speculative banking products.
— A pan-European tax on wealth, financial transactions, and profits.3. Income redistribution, taxation of wealth and elimination of unnecessary expenses:
— Reorganization and consolidation of tax collection mechanisms.
— Taxation of fortunes over 1 million euros and large-scale revenues.
— Gradual increase, up to 45 percent, of the tax on the distributed profits of corporations (SA).
— Taxation of financial transactions.
— Special taxation on consumption of luxury goods.
— Removal of tax exemptions for ship owners and the Greek Orthodox Church.
— Lifting of confidentiality for banking and merchant transactions, and pursuit of those who evade taxes and social insurance contributions.
— Banning of transactions carried out through offshore companies.
— Pursuit of new financial resources through efficient absorption of European funds, through claims on the payment of German World War II reparations and occupation loan, and finally via steep reductions in military expenses.4. Productive social and environmental reconstruction:
— Nationalization/socialization of banks, and their integration into a public banking system under social and workers’ control, in order to serve developmental purposes. The scandalous recapitalization of the banks must stop immediately.
— Nationalization of all public enterprises of strategic importance that have been privatized so far. Administration of public enterprises based on transparency, social control and democratic planning. Support for the provision of Public Goods.
— Protection and consolidation of co-operatives and SMEs in the social sector.
— Ecological transformation in development of energy production, manufacturing, tourism and agriculture. These reforms will prioritize nutritional abundance and fulfillment of social needs.
— Development of scientific research and productive specialization.5. Stable employment with decent wages and social insurance:
The constant degradation of labor rights, coupled with embarrassing wage levels, does not attract investment, development or employment. Instead, we are calling for:
— Well-paid, well-regulated and insured employment.
— Immediate reconstitution of the minimum wage and reconstitution of real wages within three years.
— Immediate reconstitution of collective labor agreements.
— Instigation of powerful control mechanisms that will protect employment.
— Systematic opposition of lay-offs and the deregulation of labour relations.6. Deepening democracy: Democratic political and social rights for all:
There is a democratic deficit in the country. Greece is gradually being transformed into an authoritarian police state. We are calling for:
— The restoration of popular sovereignty and an upgrade of parliamentary power within the political system:
— Creation of a proportional electoral system
— Separation of powers
— Revocation of ministerial immunity
— Abolishment of economic privileges for MPs— Real decentralization to create local government with sound resources and expanded jurisdiction.
— The introduction of direct democracy and institutions of self-management under workers’ and social control at all levels.
— Measures against political and economic corruption.
— The solidification of democratic, political, and trade union rights.
— The enhancement of women’s and youths’ rights in the family, in employment, and in public administration.
— Immigration reforms:— Speeding up the asylum process
— Abolition of Dublin II regulations and granting of travel papers to immigrants
— Social inclusion of immigrants and equal rights protection— Democratic reforms to public administration with the active participation of civil servants.
— The demilitarization and democratization of the Police and the Coast Guard. Disbandment of special forces.7. Restoration of a strong welfare state:
Anti-insurance laws, the shutdown of social services, and the steep fall in social expenditures under the Memorandum have turned Greece into a country where social injustice reigns. We are in need of:
— An immediate rescue of the pension system, to include tripartite financing and the gradual consolidation of separate pension fund portfolios into one public, universal system of social insurance.
— A raise in unemployment benefits until the substitution rate reaches 80% of the wage. No unemployed person is to be left without unemployment benefits.
— The introduction of a guaranteed minimum income.
— A unified system of comprehensive social protection covering the vulnerable social strata.8. Health is a public good and a social right:
Health care is to be provided for free and will be financed through a Public Health System. Immediate measures include:
— Support and upgrades for hospitals. Upgrade of health infrastructures of the Social Insurance Institute (IKA). Development of an integrated system of first-level medical care.
— Covering the needs of medical treatment in both personnel and equipment, in part by stopping layoffs.
— Open and cost-free access to medical treatment for all residents in the country.
— Free pharmaceutical treatment and medical examinations for low-income pensioners, the unemployed, students, and those suffering from chronic diseases.9. Protection of public education, research, culture and sports from the Memorandum’s policies:
With regards to education, we are calling for:
— Consolidation of universal, public, and free education, including coverage of its urgent needs in infrastructure and personnel at all three levels.
— Compulsory 14-year unified education.
— Revocation of the Diamantopoulou Law.
— Assurance of self-government for Universities.
— Preservation of the academic and public character of Universities.10. An independent foreign policy committed to the promotion of peace:
The capitulation of our foreign policy to the desires of the U.S. and the powerful states of the European Union endangers the country’s independence, peace, and security. We propose:
— A multi-dimensional and peace-seeking foreign policy.
— Disengagement from NATO and closure of foreign military bases on Greek soil.
— Termination of military cooperation with Israel.
— Aiding the Cypriot people in the reunification of the island.Furthermore, on the basis of international law and the principle of peaceful conflict resolution, we will pursue improvements in Greek-Turkish relations, a solution to the problem of FYROM’s official name, and the specification of Greece’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
Nine-year-old stages a one-man anti-Westboro protest
Meet Josef Miles: While walking around the Washburn University campus with his mother, Josef noticed a group of protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church . After reading the group’s signs, Miles asked his mother if he could create his own sign. A sign featuring his thoughts on God’s worldview. With the approval of his mother, Patty , Josef wrote “God Hates No One” on a notepad, crossed the street, and proceeded to spend a few minutes staging a protest of his own. (Photo via Morris News Service) source
pdf & transcript.
transcript is better for reading. pdf is good for looking. all radicals be smart & be safe.
IMPORTANT THINGS. ‘Specially in Chicago. Take care of yourselves and each other.
This deployment of law-enforcement resources already dwarfs the amount of money and manpower that the government “committed” to fighting crime and corruption during the financial crisis.
This is a profound statement about who law enforcement works for in this country.
” How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the OWS Protests | Politics News | Rolling Stone (via valkyrierisen)Alice’s Restaurant (in two parts, illustrated).
This occurs on or about Thanksgiving but is about war, choice and protest. Arlo Guthrie sang this in the height of the Viet Nam war. Listening to this song has been the only Thanksgiving tradition I cared for since I heard it for the first time.
I would be remiss if I did not pass this on and burn the candle one more time.
Meet Cheri Honkala. She’s running for sheriff of Philadelphia as the Green Party candidate, and she’s amazing. Her statement:
My name is Cheri Honkala and I’m running for Sheriff of Philadelphia to keep families in their homes. Every 7 seconds in this country a family is going into foreclosure. The banks received billions of dollars in taxpayer bailout money and yet they refuse to help out struggling homeowners and continue to increase blight and homelessness in our communities. Well, I’m here to act as the people’s bailout! When I’m elected Sheriff, I will refuse to throw anyone out of their home. We live in the richest nation in the world and there is no reason why we can’t house every man, woman, and child.
I’m also working to establish community land trusts. There are over 40,000 vacant properties in our city and having democratic community-based control over these properties offers the potential for housing people in need of homes and creating more urban gardens, farms, and public spaces.
I will refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). We are a nation of immigrants and must work together and not against one another if we’re going to survive this economy.
In the past 10 years our civil liberties have been degraded through legislation like the Patriot Act. As the people’s Sheriff I will uphold the US Constitution.
I believe in transparency. The previous Philadelphia Sheriff’s office cannot account for 53 million dollars. I will ensure that the financial records and activities of the Sheriff’s office are public and accessible.
I’m a formerly homeless mother who, for over 25 years, has been fighting for economic human rights alongside poor and homeless people in Philadelphia and across America. Together we’ve been working on the sources, not just the symptoms of our problems, to create a more compassionate and sustainable economy. My campaign for Sheriff is a rare opportunity for us to do something real and significant about the crisis we are facing. Let’s make history again in Philadelphia. Please support my campaign.
Please Donate, Volunteer, and Spread the Word…
Another Philadelphia is coming November 8
If you live in or near Philly, spread the word. Visit her site for videos of her debating and discussing Occupy Wall Street. Remember, it’s not the worst idea to occupy the polls as well as the streets.
