Restoring justice to America
The United States is a violent nation. The police are part of this problem. They have to be part of the solution.
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation/molly-rowan-leach/restoring-justice-to-america
#USA #Etats-Unis #justice #police #Ferguson #violence
From #Gaza to the #UK: mental health isn’t just a medical problem, it’s political
We have to interchange ‘mental illness’ with words like ‘suffering’, and emphasise political action alongside psychological intervention.
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation/annie-kaminsky/from-gaza-to-uk-mental-health-isn%27t-just-medical-problem-it%27s-pol
#santé_mentale #problème_politique #politique #Palestine
cc @reka
Life after detention
The adverse effects of being detained in an immigration removal centre harm possibilities for reintegration in the country of origin.
#détention #détention_administrative #rétention #asile #migration #réfugiés #intégration #post-détention_administrative
Why the right keeps winning and the left keeps losing | openDemocracy
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation/michael-lerner/why-right-keeps-winning-and-left-keeps-losing
Most US residents work in an economy that teaches them the common sense of global capitalism: “Everyone is out for themselves and will seek to advance their own interests without regard to your well-being, so the only rational path is for you to seek to advance your own interests in the same way. Those who have more money and power than you have are just better at seeking their own self-interest, because this is a meritocratic society in which you end up where you deserve to end up. If you deserved more you would have more.”
Now here is the central contradiction: most people hate this kind of reality. We believe that it is in stark contrast to the values we would like to live by but simultaneously we also believe that the logic of capitalist society is the only possible reality, and that we would be fools not to try to live by it in every part of their lives. This message is reinforced in our workplaces and also by almost every sitcom and television news story available. Unconsciously, many people adopt the values of the marketplace, and these values have a corrosive impact on their own friendships, relationships, and family life.
So when many people encounter a different reality in right-wing churches that have specialized in creating supportive communities, they feel much more addressed there than they’ve ever felt in progressive movements that focus on economic entitlements or political rights, which sometimes disintegrate due to internal tensions over dynamics of relative privilege and unproductive feelings of guilt.
Only rarely do these liberal or progressive movements actually manifest a loving community that seems to care specifically about the people who come to their public talks or gatherings.
#imaginaire #politique #militantisme
voir aussi
►http://seenthis.net/messages/317218
▻http://seenthis.net/messages/315703
►http://seenthis.net/messages/315340
►http://seenthis.net/messages/199547
Extraordinary things: visiting the women at #Yarl’s_Wood detention centre
Next door to a Formula 1 car testing zone, hundreds of migrant women are kept behind bars. Heather Jones is a long-term visitor.
▻https://opendemocracy.net/5050/eiri-ohtani-heather-jones/extraordinary-things-visiting-women-at-yarl%E2%80%99s-wood-detention-
#détention_administrative #rétention #réfugiés #asile #migration #femmes
Oil politics and the battle for Kobane | openDemocracy
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/mika-miniopaluello/oil-politics-and-battle-for-kobane
Kobane was supposed to fall. As ISIS assaulted the town, Turkish troops besieged it from the north, preventing reinforcements and arresting hundreds fleeing. US jets bombed ISIS forces elsewhere, driving them towards #Rojava: the largely Kurdish region in northern Syria self-administered by the movement for a democratic society (#Tev-Dem), headed politically by the PYD, and defended by the YPG and YPJ. A month into the battle, Kerry admitted that defending Kobane was still not a US strategic priority, despite growing pressure for an airdrop.
(...)
Why was the US happy to see ISIS crush Rojava? The heavy violence in Syria is heavily influenced by oil-driven geopolitics. This goes well beyond the smuggling of crudely refined fuel from ISIS-controlled Deir Ezzor into Turkey. For decades, energy colonialism has enabled the repression of democratic movements.
Is justice blind in Egypt?
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/amani-massoud/is-justice-blind-in-egypt
Yara might be just one more name to add to the list of people wronged by the Egyptian justice system. But more importantly, she is one more name temporarily taken off an ever shrinking list of those fighting against all odds to correct injustice.
#Yara Sallam #prisonniers politiques #Egypte
Immigration detention in the media: anarchy and ambivalence
Alongside calls for the reduction or ending of immigration detention, we must demand more balanced coverage from our media. Melanie Griffiths reports on two decades of ‘riots’ and fires inside Campsfield which is on track to become one of the biggest detention centres in Europe.
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/melanie-griffiths/immigration-detention-in-media-anarchy-and-ambivalence
#détention #détention_administrative #rétention #médias #journalisme #migration #asile #réfugiés
Clawing at the sky: fighting for political prisoners in Syria | openDemocracy
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/mataz-suheil/clawing-at-sky-fighting-for-political-prisoners-in-syria
Her name is Fadwa Mahmoud. She is a lifelong Syrian political dissident, born in 1945 and a veteran member of the banned Communist Action Party (CAP). In the past year and a half as an exile she has become a mother figure to fellow political dissidents who, like her, have sought refuge in Beirut (Lebanon) from Bashar Al Assad’s security forces.
But above all, Fadwa wishes to be known as the wife and the mother of two leftist opposition activists who were forcibly disappeared two years ago near Damascus: Abdulaziz Al Khayer (63), head of the CAP and a leading figure in the opposition group ’National Coordination Body for Democratic Change’, and her son Maher Tahan (31), a young civil activist who followed in the footsteps of his mother to fight for a democratic Syria. Along with them disappeared Iyas Ayash. The three are part of the same political coalition.
How children’s charity Barnardo’s locks up kids with #Guantánamo contractor #G4S
Britain’s leading children’s charity helps the world’s biggest security company lock up children who have committed no crime.
#privatisation #détention #détention_administrative #rétention #migration #enfants #enfance #UK #Angleterre
A crisis of harm in immigration detention
A young Guinean woman has become the sixth victim in three years of ‘inhuman and degrading treatment’ in UK immigration detention, with the High Court ruling that detention explicitly caused the disintegration of her mental health.
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/jerome-phelps/crisis-of-harm-in-immigration-detention
#Heathrow #détention #détention_administrative #rétention #asile #migration #réfugiés #mourir_aux_frontières #Guinée #décès #mort #UK #Angleterre
Migrant lives in the UK: the deprivation of liberty
Detention is often seen as a difficult issue and one best avoided, even among those who make it their business to talk about immigration. To mark the first Parliamentary Inquiry into Immigration Detention, Eiri Ohtani and Jennifer Allsopp introduce a new series which will explore migrant lives out of sight.
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/files/imagecache/article_xlarge/wysiwyg_imageupload/541754/IMG_6023_1.JPG
▻http://thejusticegap.com/2014/09/migrant-lives-uk-deprivation-liberty
#UK #Angleterre #détention #rétention #détention_administrative #asile #migration #réfugiés
Closed eyes, closed borders: EU policy and refugees from Syria
There are now nearly 3 million registered refugees from Syria. About 96% of them live in five countries neighbouring Syria – Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. Many refugees in those countries live in appalling conditions, without adequate food, water, shelter, healthcare, or other basic necessities of life, and many also face abuse of various types. Some groups, such as Palestinians, face particularly dire circumstances, including being prohibited from entering some countries in the region.
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/cynthia-orchard/closed-eyes-closed-borders-eu-policy-and-refugees-from-syria
#Syrie #réfugiés #politique_migratoire #accueil #Europe #Forteresse_europe #asile
Syrian refugees ’left to starve’ in Scotland by benefits move
Syrian refugees arriving in Scotland are being left penniless and reliant on food banks after having benefits suspended because they cannot speak English, it has been claimed.
#accueil (well...) #Syrie #réfugiés #asile #migration #Ecosse
Leaky ceilings and racist abuse: asylum housing in Scotland
A Scottish Refugee Council report adds weight to calls for UK-wide review of asylum housing.
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/files/imagecache/article_xlarge/wysiwyg_imageupload/536680/%2ASRC%20Sept%202010%2C%20c.%20Jenny%20Wicks%2C%20ongoing%20use%20-%2
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/graham-o%27neill/leaky-ceilings-and-racist-abuse-asylum-housing-in-scotland
Scottish Refugee Council say Scottish people would be “outraged” if they lived in same conditions as asylum-seekers
A RECENT report from the charity detailed how a family of four had to share a one-bedroom property for nine months, and that people had to live with strangers in shared accommodation without lockable doors.
▻http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/scottish-refugee-council-say-scottish-4158496
Fresh fears for Buddhist monk under threat of deportation from the UK
Friends and supporters share anxiety over the safety of Buddhist monk who made South Yorkshire his home after seeking refuge from persecution in his native Bangladesh.
#migration #déportation #renvoi #expulsion #asile #réfugiés #Bangladesh
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/files/imagecache/article_xlarge/wysiwyg_imageupload/536680/sushil-helping-raise-awareness-of-asylum-seekers-at-sharrow-festival-
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/marishka-van-steenbergen/fresh-fears-for-buddhist-monk-under-threat-of-deportation-from-u
Nice work : #G4S wins $118 million #Guantánamo contract
Security company G4S has won a $118 million contract to supply Guantánamo Bay, the US military base in Cuba where the US government unlawfully detains 149 alleged terrorists.
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/files/imagecache/article_xlarge/wysiwyg_imageupload/536680/071123-N-1125B-016.JPG
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/clare-sambrook/nice-work-g4s-wins-118-million-guant%C3%A1namo-contract#
Will the UK ever give up on its racist immigration policy?
▻http://africasacountry.com/will-the-uk-ever-give-up-on-its-racist-immigration-policy
There have been lots of stories in the British press recently related to immigration, and these have made it clear that a sentiment still exists that is opposed to the familiar xenophobia with which the topic is usually discussed in the UK. For a moment it has seemed that perhaps not everyone around us is […]
#OPINION #POLITICS #Ambalavaner_Sivanandan #G4S #Jimmy_Mubenga #Mark_Duggan #Paul_Gilroy #Racist_Van #Stuart_Hall #UKBA
Jimmy Mubenga’s widow: I can’t watch this happen to another family
Adrienne Makenda Kambana says she wants Home Office to introduce independent monitors to observe deportations
REPORT BY THE ASSISTANT DEPUTY CORONER
Karon Monaghan QC
UNDER THE CORONER’S RULES 1984, Rule 43
INQUEST INTO THE DEATH OF JIMMY KELENDA MUBENGA
The racist texts. What the Mubenga trial jury was not told
Jimmy Mubenga died under restraint by three G4S guards. Extreme racist texts found on two of the guards’ phones were withheld from the jury who yesterday cleared all three men of manslaughter. (Warning: this piece contains highly offensive language)
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/clare-sambrook/racist-texts-what-mubenga-trial-jury-was-not-told
The Jimmy Mubenga case exposed a system in denial over racism
Justice demands that the reality of racism be brought into the courtroom, not excluded. In the early 1980s, as a young barrister, I participated in the defence of 12 young Asian men facing trial at Leeds crown court for conspiracy to cause explosions and to endanger life, and for possession of a crate full of petrol bombs. They admitted making the petrol bombs – in order to defend their community from the racist rampages of the National Front, against which the police provided no protection. To defend the young men, we and they had to demonstrate the reality of racism – individual and institutional – faced by the Asian community of Bradford, so that the jury could contextualise the men’s actions. The judge allowed us to do this. The young men’s defence of community self-defence was accepted and they were acquitted. Most jury members had been wholly unaware of the parallel world of daily racism the men faced, as they admitted to us later.
Justice blindfolded? The case of Jimmy Mubenga
Following the acquittal on 16 December of the G4S guards charged with the manslaughter of Jimmy Mubenga, IRR vice-chair Frances Webber focuses on the judge’s decision to rule inadmissible evidence pointing to endemic racism within G4S.
▻http://www.irr.org.uk/news/justice-blindfolded-the-case-of-jimmy-mubenga
Campaign first, grieve later
A campaigner for Justice for Jimmy Mubenga recalls how his widow, Adrienne Makenda Kambana, was thrust into a campaign for justice.
IMO: Justice By Passport? The Case of Jimmy Mubenga (E008)
After three G4S guards were acquitted of the murder of Angolan asylum seeker Jimmy Mubenga, Aaron Bastani looks at why racism and white supremacy are so endemic within the British legal system.
▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBUXlzoLF8w&feature=youtu.be
Jimmy Mubenga coroner issues damning report on deportations
Karon Monaghan raises concerns over how people are removed from UK after death of Angolan man at Heathrow
▻http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/04/jimmy-mubenga-coroner-report-deportations
#décès #UK #Grande-Bretagne #renvoi #enquête #conditions_de_renvoi #aéroport #Heathrow #mort #médecin_légiste
Le #rapport sur la mort de #Jimmy_Mubenga, établi par la #police_judiciaire...
le rapport de l’officier de police judiciaire (coroner) chargé d’effectuer des recommandations afin que des situations comme celle vécue par Jimmy Mubenga, mort des suites de maltraitances au cours de son expulsion à l’aéroport d’Heathrow (Londres), ne se reproduisent plus.
Presque 3 ans après la mort de J.Mubenga, une enquête a finalement permis d’attester que les officiers de la compagnie de sécurité G4S chargés de l’escorter avaient fait un usage disproportionné de la force, utilisant notamment des techniques interdites car pouvant provoquer l’asphyxie de la personne, conduisant à la mort de cet homme en octobre 2010.
Le rapport fait état de pratiques critiquables notamment une rémunération plus importante pour les agents de sécurité qui parviennent à maintenir « tranquille » la personne en cours d’expulsion ainsi qu’un « racisme pervers » de la part des agents de la compagnie G4S. Entre autres....
Trial of three G4S officers to begin
Next week, on Monday 3 November, the trial of three G4S officers accused of the manslaughter of Jimmy Mubenga will begin.
▻http://www.irr.org.uk/news/trial-of-three-g4s-officers-to-begin
Jimmy Mubenga: Deportee shouted ’you’re killing me’
An Angolan deportee was heard by air passengers to cry out “you’re killing me” as he was pinned down in his seat by G4S security guards, a jury heard.
Jimmy Mubenga and the shame of British Airways
Three years after the unlawful killing of a passenger in its care, why hasn’t British Airways held an inquiry into what went wrong? What are the consequences of its inaction?
▻https://www.opendemocracy.net/shinealight/clare-sambrook/jimmy-mubenga-and-shame-of-british-airways
A Secret Deal on Drones, Sealed in Blood- ▻http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/world/asia/origins-of-cias-not-so-secret-drone-war-in-pakistan.html?pagewanted=3&_r=3&
Bon voilà : La CIA adorerait les assassinats par drones parce qu’ils lui évitent d’avoir recours à la torture, cette dernière étant passible de poursuites judiciaires.
A New Direction
As the negotiations were taking place, the C.I.A.’s inspector general, John L. Helgerson, had just finished a searing report about the abuse of detainees in the C.I.A.’s secret prisons. The report kicked out the foundation upon which the C.I.A. detention and interrogation program had rested. It was perhaps the single most important reason for the C.I.A.’s shift from capturing to killing terrorism suspects.
Mr. Helgerson raised questions about whether C.I.A. officers might face criminal prosecution for the interrogations carried out in the secret prisons, and he suggested that interrogation methods like waterboarding, sleep deprivation and the exploiting of the phobias of prisoners — like confining them in a small box with live bugs — violated the United Nations Convention Against Torture.
“The agency faces potentially serious long-term political and legal challenges as a result of the CTC detention and interrogation program,” the report concluded, given the brutality of the interrogation techniques and the “inability of the U.S. government to decide what it will ultimately do with the terrorists detained by the agency.”
The report was the beginning of the end for the program. The prisons would stay open for several more years, and new detainees were occasionally picked up and taken to secret sites, but at Langley, senior C.I.A. officers began looking for an endgame to the prison program. One C.I.A. operative told Mr. Helgerson’s team that officers from the agency might one day wind up on a “wanted list” and be tried for war crimes in an international court.
The ground had shifted, and counterterrorism officials began to rethink the strategy for the secret war. Armed drones, and targeted killings in general, offered a new direction. Killing by remote control was the antithesis of the dirty, intimate work of interrogation. Targeted killings were cheered by Republicans and Democrats alike, and using drones flown by pilots who were stationed thousands of miles away made the whole strategy seem risk-free.
Lire
Drones et kamikazes
, dans le monde diplomatique d’avril 2013
►http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2013/04/CHAMAYOU/49004
Paul Rogers: Suicide-bombs without the suicides: why drones are so cool- ►http://www.opendemocracy.net/paul-rogers/suicide-bombs-without-suicides-why-drones-are-so-cool
(...)
The similarity [of suicide-bombing] with armed-drones is striking. (...)
(...)
Then comes the blowback.
As paramilitary movements learn to respond, their range of options starts with the utilisation of many readily available technologies. They may be aided by support from a sympathetic regime - witness the unarmed TV-guided drones from Hizbollah, deploying Iranian technology, that have caused the Israelis such concern (see “Hizbollah’s warning flight”, 5 May 2005). Even short of that, the fusion of so many available dual-use technologies and the abilities of skilled engineers and technicians working within radical movements means that armed-drones from non-state actors will be a feature of asymmetrical, transnational war very soon (see An asymmetrical drone war", 19 August 2010).
In addition, and even without using drones, paramilitary movements should be expected to target the drone-war centres such as the Creech and Waddington bases - if not the bases themselves, then soft targets in their vicinity.
What military planners and policy-formers in the west realise least of all is that while the results of drone-warfare rarely make the western media in any depth, they are extensively reported on regional and satellite TV stations across the middle east and into Asia. Even more pertinent is the pervasive coverage of drone-attacks on the worldwide jihadist social media. Moreover, the graphic images of death and suffering on both these kinds of outlets are far grimmer than anything seen in the west (see “Every casualty: the human face of war”, 15 September 2011).
For now, the drones hold sway - but it is no more than a temporary phenomenon, a transient phase. Within a very few years, and maybe even only months, the next phase will commence as paramilitary groups respond. As with other elements of the “war on terror”, the seduction of short-term advantage disguises damaging longer-term consequences.