So, the potential for abuse is high. The government needs to walk a tightrope; a misstep and the fall would be absolute.

Government seeking volunteers to report cyber content for certain violations could draw parallels with oppressive regimesthe Gestapo infamously relied on citizen informants as did the Soviet state. But the fact is that Twitter, Facebook et al ask the same of users: Report abuse or flag any post that violates policy. So, there is a benevolent, even beneficial, modern-day parallel of such civilian monitoring.

As per The Indian Express, MHA has notified a programme allowing people to register as cyber-volunteers, and report to the government illegal and unlawful content, including child pornography, rape threats, terrorism, radicalisation and anti-national activities. But, broad sweep, catch-all categories is where things could go terribly wrongand even lead to oppression (the state has substantive penal powers, a Facebook, at the worst,can impose a ban). If differing ideologies, lawful dissent action, and, as recent history shows, even sharp criticism, is to be termed as radicalisation or anti-national, the government will have no leg to stand on.

There are enough instances from the immediate and distant history of ruling political dispensation abusing the powers to shut up critics.

As far as prosecution is concerned, the government will have to exercise careful discretion, beyond just the face-value. The Justice Srikrishna committee report shows that despite an anti-abuse procedure governing phone-tapping, the review committee has to deal with 15,000-18,000 interception requests every meeting.

So, the potential for abuse is high. The government needs to walk a tightrope; a misstep and the fall would be absolute.

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Careless Whispers: Parallels of civilian informants in social media user-reporting policies, but govt must walk a tightrope on this - The Financial...

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A day after three international celebrities kicked up a Twitter storm by supporting the ongoing farmers agitation on Delhi borders, the farmers at Tikri border, one of the epicentres of the protest, said the solidarity from abroad is a nail on the coffin for the government. The movement will only grow further, they claimed.

The issue has become an international embarrassment now. How does it reflect on a country when an American singer has to raise awareness on protests happening in India? Indian celebrities who did not post a comment in solidarity with the movement suddenly rushed to the governments aid to issue messages of unity on Twitter. They will oppose Rihannas statement but not condemn basic human rights violations like suspension of Internet and supplies being cut off for farmers.

The hypocrisy lies exposed now, said Varun Chouhan who hails from Madhya Pradeshs Shivpuri. On Wednesday, the Centre had put out a statement against the support lent to the movement by international personalities including American pop singer Rihanna, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and US Vice President Kamala Harris niece, Meena Harris.

Soon, several Union ministers and celebrity film stars retweeted the statement. Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, and legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar were among others who issued statements on how internal issues could be resolved amicably. Activist Sudesh Goyat said it was unfortunate for celebrities to let down youth who idolise them.

Jasbir Kaur Nat, state committee member of Punjab Kisan Union, said the reaction of international celebrities in support of the farmers was a nail in the coffin for the Indian government. The government stepping up oppression against farmers at the protest sites is attracting more international attention. They thought suspending Internet would help them twist the narrative. However, it turned out to be a move of political suicide for them, he said.

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Oppression against us attracting international attention: Farmers - The New Indian Express

AS ANTI-GOVERNMENTprotests continue to grow,revolutionary forces in Turkey warned today of the states attemptsto break the backbone of their resistance.

Sixty-five people were detained in Istanbul last week after a press conferenceannouncing the launch of a new opposition alliance, theUnited Fighting Forces (BMG).

Many of those hauled into custodywill appear in court tomorrow.There have been allegations of torture during their fourdays ofinterrogation by security services.

The new alliance, which includes the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), Partizan, the Revolutionary Party and the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), has been hailed as a major step in uniting Turkeys revolutionary forces against state oppression.

The government routinely accuses its opponents of terrorism, but ina statementthe BMG said that the only terrorist organisation in this country is the ruling alliance between the ruling Justice & Development Party (AKP) headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the neofascist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), its junior partnerin government.

Your attacks will not be able to stop us. We are coming to destroy your terrorist gang, BMG promised.

ESP, founded in 2010 by jailed former Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Figen Yuksekdag, has bornethe brunt of the latest wave of government oppressionwith 48 of its leading members detained earlier this month.

After the latest wave of arrests at least 24 ESP members remain in custody, including co-chair Sahin Tumuklu;another eightare under house arrest.

Ozgur Gelecek reporter Taylan Oztas, Revolutionary Party President Elif Torun and HDP Istanbul co-chair Elif Bulutarealso being held.

But Mr Tumuklu insisted: We will overthrow fascism and gain political freedom.

And Revolutionary Party deputy leader MuratPircan Yaratantold the Morning Star that the state fears unity between Turks and Kurds and wants to break a movement that takes its power from the streets.

There is a pressure on the organisations that speak out, he said, explaining that Turkey is faced with a severe political and economic crisis.

But, he added,Mr Erdogan is afraid of thehuge protests that continue across Turkey, triggered by the appointment of a pro-Erdogan rector, Melih Bulu, at Istanbuls prestigious Bogazici University in January.

Students and other protesters have been targeted by snipers and subjected to sexual assault at the hands of security services with more than 500 detained over the course of last week alone.

We will not bow, we will not look down has become the slogan of a movement the government has vowed to put down at all costs, fearing it will become a new Gezi, the 2013 wave ofprotests that nearly brought down the government.

Mr Erdogan insists the students areterrorists taking instructions from those in the mountains.

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Turkish authorities arrest 65 revolutionaries in a bid to break the backbone of the growing anti-government resistance - Morning Star Online

Tue, Feb 9, 2021

MENASourcebyKeith Jones

A female young protester raises a placard that reads in Arabic, 'there is an armoured vehicle between the representative of the people and the People', as another raises a placard that reads, 'No justice, no peace, fall of the police state' as they stand in front of security forces members forming a wall to prevent their comrades (not shown) from demonstrating in front of the building of the Tunisian Parliament in Bardo. Dozens of young people from the tough neighborhood of Hay Ettadhamen took to the streets in an anti-government protest march that started from their neighborhood and headed towards Bardo city in Tunis. The demonstrators have demanded the release of youths arrested by the police during the latest nightly protests, and denounced the police violence and the repression of the social protest movements. Tunisia, January 26, 2021.

On Habib Bourguiba Boulevard, demonstrations call for the fall of the regime. At night, police clash with protesters in clouds of tear gas. Hundreds of demonstratorsmany who have yet to celebrate their eighteenth birthdayare arrested and thrown in jail. This isnt Tunisia in January 2011. This is Tunisia in January 2021.

The tenth anniversary of Tunisias revolution should have been a time for celebration. Instead, it has been a period of increasing alarm as near-daily protests spread across the country from mid to late January, and some demonstrations continuing in February. A twisted dj vu in which Tunisias youth have returned to the streets to make known their discontent with a government they helped establish a decade ago by overthrowing a dictator.

These protests are important, not just because of what they tell us about Tunisias current political climate, but because they serve as a litmus test for Tunisias approach to democracy building. The Tunisian approach has prioritized political consensus, reasoning that it would maintain stability while still creating the requisite political and economic change to improve citizens socio-economic conditions. However, as these protests make clear, there are serious questions about whether that deference has gone too far, creating too little change and, now, undermining stability.

Delivering democracy without change

As an ever-increasing number of newspaper articles, blogs, and reports have noted, the last decade successfully delivered Tunisian democracy, but it is increasingly apparent that democracy has not delivered for many Tunisians. The rallying cry in late 2010 and early 2011 was work, freedom, and national dignitythe push for democracy was a means towards those ends, not for democracy as an end in-and-of-itself. Ten years after the revolution, nearly nine in ten Tunisians think the country is headed in the wrong direction and the majority of the country is unconvinced that democracy is the best form of government. Those numbers are worrisome, but somewhat expected; Tunisias economy now grows at about half the rate it did before the revolution, inflation has roughly doubled over the same period, and unemployment has gone up.

The ramifications of not delivering on the revolutions rallying cry has been felt throughout Tunisias political system for some time. This is most obvious in the recent prevalence of populist politicians: the rise in profile of a counterrevolutionary politician Abir Moussi in 2020; the 2019 presidential election of Kais Saied; and Saieds electoral opponent, media mogul Nabil Karoui. But it is also apparent in the uptick of Tunisians leaving for Italy and the large protests in response to tax hikes in 2018.

As a recent Institute for Security Studies report notes, The goals and promise of the Freedom and Dignity Revolution remain unfulfilled for Tunisians. It is increasingly clear that regular elections will not translate into better opportunities without deep and structural economic reforms. The coronavirus downturn has exacerbated an already precarious situation.

Taking a cue from the Institute for Security Studies, it is important to position the action in the streets of Tunisia within the broader context of reforms. Doing so illuminates tendencies within the countrys approach to democracy building and raises questions about its stability moving forward. Specifically, these protests create a dichotomy between the state and the citizenry, in the form of police and protestor, which helps illustrate the complexity of Tunisias current political situation.

Security forces havent changed their ways

Police brutality was a very compelling mobilizer during Tunisias revolution. Mohamed Bouazizis act of self-immolation, which launched Tunisias revolution, came after police harassed him about being a street vendor. Bouazizis martyrdom resonated powerfully across the country because his story coalesced Tunisias broader issues of state oppression and economic disparity into a simple narrative. The hopelessness and frustration that Bouazizi clearly felt were deeply familiar to other Tunisians.

In the protests that occurred after Bouazizis immolation, clashes between protests and internal security forces were common. As protests spread across the country and intensified in January 2011, police reform became an important revolution objective. However, while some important initial steps were taken in the first months following the revolution to overhaul security forces, true reform never happened.

Tunisian politicians avoided reforming the security sector in large part because of the myriad of security threats that Tunisia has faced over the past decade: the 2012 attack on the United States Embassy in Tunisia, the civil war in neighboring Libya, multiple largescale terror attacks in 2015, the high number of Tunisian citizens who left to fight for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and the continued existence of Islamic extremists in the mountains bordering Algeria.

But the lack of reformative action also indicates the importance Tunisias elected officials have given to maintaining stability through consensus at the expense of pursuing the revolutions mandate. This logic is the defining characteristic of Tunisias post-revolutionary politics and its mettle is currently being tested in the streets.

With each story of arbitrary detention, arrest of minors by police barging into their homes, or harassment of journalists for filming an arrest, it seems obvious that the security forces are operating much as they did under ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Close observers of Tunisia are not surprised that the police have kept up a number of their pre-revolution tactics, including arbitrary restrictions on movement and torture.

What direction does Tunisia go?

This casts a shadow over Tunisias entire project in democracy building. The institutions that were oppressive instruments of the old regime need to change for Tunisia to achieve work, freedom, and national dignity. Like the timid approach to security sector reformation, deep economic reforms and transitional justice mechanisms have been avoided or defanged throughout the past ten years, as politicians sought to avoid political confrontation that could upset consensus across major political parties.

The argument for this approach is that gradual change produces a more stable long-term trend of democratic consolidation. It has been a decade since Tunisian security forces were in the streets limiting Tunisians freedom and violating their dignity in the name of an autocrat. If the political system is the independent variableswitched from autocracy to democracythen the structure and membership of security forces are the control variable and police repression is the dependent variable. This means that the presence of a democratic election alone has not made much of a difference.

Tunisias politics of consensus has spent most of the past ten years being laudeda grand political coalition that has delivered dialogue instead of destruction. Broadly speaking, that is true. Tunisias was the only Arab Spring revolution to produce a democracy. The country also has avoided a major counterrevolution and there have been repeated peaceful transitions of power over the last decade. However, a growing contingency of experts wonder if the obeisance to consensus has gone too far, creating fissures in the foundation of Tunisias democracy. As a recent report from Sharan Grewal and Shadi Hamid at the Brookings Institute posit, the extended pursuit of consensus in Tunisia, from 2015-19, has also had a dark side, constraining its democratic transition.

The past few weeks make this argument seem prescient. It will likely continue to seem that way throughout the remainder of the year. Even if the demonstrations cease in the short term, the underlying political and economic issues will not, nor will the added socioeconomic stress of the COVID-19 pandemic in the medium term. These broader trends are being compounded by the resemblance between the tableaus of early 2021 and January 2011. That does not mean that Tunisia is on the verge of collapserevolutions are rare and hard to predictbut it is a worrying step in the wrong direction.

Keith Jones is assistant director of corporate relations at the Atlantic Council. He previously conducted research in Tunisia on youth organizations, active citizenship, and democratic consolidation.

Mon, Mar 30, 2020

It is important to monitor the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic, its effects on each North Africa system, and the debate between government elites and masses to better understand the situation in these countries and the long-term implications of the health crisis.

MENASourcebyKarim Mezran, Alessia Melcangi, Emily Burchfield, and Zineb Riboua

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Protests in Tunisia conjure images of the past and questions about the future - Atlantic Council

Tirupathur: Invoking late AIADMK stalwarts M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa, expelled AIADMK leader V.K. Sasikala on Monday called for unity to jointly defeat the common foe and announced her intention to engage in active politics, four years after she completed a prison term in a corruption case in Bengaluru.

Whenever the party faced challenges, it has risen like a phoenix, she said alluding to the mythical bird, even as she kept up the suspense on going to the AIADMK headquarters at Chennai, the building of the ruling dispensation she once controlled.

Both Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa are former chief ministers of the state.

In her first comments days after being discharged from a hospital in Bengaluru where she was treated for COVID-19 post her release from the prison, Sasikala asserted she will not be cowed down by oppression.

I have overcome COVID-19 due to divine intervention and the blessings of my akka (elder sister) puratchi thalaivi idaya deivam (God) Amma who lives in the hearts of the people, she said addressing supporters here en route to Chennai from Bengaluru.

Jayalalithaa is also addressed as puratchi thalaivi, meaning revolutionary leader and Amma.

Sasikala said she would dedicate the rest of her life to ensure Jayalalithaas oft-repeated statement that AIADMK will exist for a 100 years even after her and would follow the principle of family is the party, party is the family.

Puratchi thalaivis children are forever mine too. The party has faced so many challenges and had risen like a phoenix. In lines with the golden words of Puratchi Thalaivar (Ramachandran), we should stand united

My desire is that we must jointly work to ensure our common foe does not come to the ruling saddle again in Tamil Nadu, she said without naming anyone.

It was the duty of all to ensure there should be no place for divide and rule by political opponents and the grand movement which was walking the path laid down by Ramachandran, the founder, should not collapse due to the whims and fancies of a few, she added.

She said she will strive for the AIADMKs welfare till her last breath and said workers should remain united and ensure victory in the coming polls.

Any challenges will be faced with the blessings of Jayalalithaa, Sasikala added.

Quoting late Ramachandran, she told her loyalists, I am bound by love, to the Tamil ethos and the principles I have embarked upon as well as the people of Tamil Nadu. But I can never be enslaved by oppression.

Later, answering reporters query if she would visit the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai, she said please wait and see.

Sure, for party workers was her response when scribes asked if she would engage in active politics, months ahead of the scheduled Assembly polls in the state.

Earlier, Sasikala returned to Tamil Nadu to a grand reception, days after completing her jail term in Bengaluru in the Rs 66.6 crore disproportionate assets case, amid indications of a confrontation with the ruling party.

She underwent her sentence at the Parapana Agrahara central prison in Bengaluru since February 2017 and was set free on January 27.

However, she remained at the Government Victoria Hospital, where she had been admitted after testing positive for COVID-19 while under judicial custody.

She was discharged from the hospital on January 31 after which she stayed at a resort, about 35 km from Bengaluru.

On Monday morning, she left for Chennai.

On AIADMK ministers filing police complaint against her use of the ruling party flag on her car, she said, I think it shows their apprehension.

Responding to Jayalalithaas memorial in Chennai being closed for maintenance, she said, The people of Tamil Nadu know very well what all this means.

Asked about supporters demand to wrest control of the AIADMK, she said, I will meet you all soon. Will speak in detail then.

(PTI)

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Will Not be Cowed Down by 'Oppression', Says VK Sasikala; To Engage in Active Politics - The Wire

New Delhi: On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi coined a new term andolanjivi to describe people who apparently cannot live without protests. Replying to the motion of thanks on the presidents address in the Rajya Sabha, he also described them as parasites.

The Modi governments second term has faced pan-India protests opposing controversial policy decisions such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the three farm laws. While these protests grew organically into a movement, the government has tried to project them as a ploy fuelled by the opposition parties or the so-called anti-nationals.

He was perhaps referring to these groups, when he said, This community [of andolanjivis] can be spotted wherever there is a protest, be it agitation by lawyers, students or labourers, sometimes at the forefront and sometimes from behind. They cannot live without protests. We have to identify such people and protect the nation from them.

These comments maligning largely peaceful protests and protesters are in stark contrast to the prime ministers exhortation in 1974, when as a youngster in his 20s, Modi took part in Gujarats Navnirman Andolan.

As Raghu Karnad pointed out in his piece for The Wire, Modis personal website dedicates a page to the movement, which is described as Modis first encounter with mass protest and led to a significant broadening of his worldview on social issues. The page adds:

It also propelled Narendra to the first post of his political career, General Secretary of the Lok Sangharsh Samiti in Gujarat in 1975.

The movement began in December 1973, when students at the LD Engineering College in Ahmedabad protested against grievances such as canteen charges. When the police used force against them, protests spread to other campuses by early 1974, leading to state-wide strikes, arson and looting, all targeting the state government.

A scene from the Navnirman protests. Photo: narendramodi.in

According to the Ahmedabad Mirror, the Navnirman Andolan led to the dismissal of the Gujarat government and triggered a national movement against Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

A message to the youth written by Modi at the time was later published in a book titled Sangharsh ma Gujarat (Gujarat in a period of trial). In that message, Modi urges the youth to take to the streets and not let democracy die.

The message, translated into English by Ahmedabad Mirror, provides valuable advice to the protesters of today, but also represents the drastic swing in the prime ministers opinion of protests.

Children of Bharat Mata, think in what direction the country is being pushed into today. If you dont act today, take a moment to ponder the consequences you will have to face tomorrow. You are the harbinger of Indias future. Because todays young are tomorrows leaders. Who will take up the responsibility making this nation rise and shine? The answer is clear. The responsibility is yours, Modis message begins.

He says the country has been rendered silent by cheaters and fraudsters and says poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, immorality, corruption, and oppression will be a cross for the youth to bear in future.

The way Democracy is being destroyed in the country today to pave the way for dictatorship, you will be the herd of sheep that will be walked, heads down, he says, in what could well be a reference to the clampdown on dissent and freedom of expression that the Centre has embarked upon since 2014.

If you dont make adequate sacrifices today in this second movement of Independence, who will the history judge harshly? You. Whose names will appear in the list of cowards that historians will compile? Yours How should the history of this country be written? With ink and pen? Or with the blood pouring out from the hearts of the youth? You will decide, he adds.

The Navnirman Andolan was developing around the same time when the ABVP was planning a more-broad based uprising in Bihar. As Karnad explained in another piece for The Wire:

Once [this movement] had taken hold in Bihar, it was joined by a new leader the freedom fighter Jayaprakash Narayan, or JP, whom students invited back to the public stage to lead them.

This was the beginning of a movement against the Indira Gandhi movement. As the movement became increasingly popular, the then-prime minister imposed Emergency on June 25, 1975.

Karnads piece, written in June 2018, also argues that while the BJP and right-wing groups push the narrative that Modi has encountered more protest, provocations and subversion that the Congress ever did, the truth is the opposite.

He says:

Just try to imagine students rioting in the streets, for months at a stretch, to bring down BJP governments, a Union minister being assassinated, and then a judge dismissing Modi from parliament, and banning him from the following election. Those were the provocations that brought about the Emergency. They may not have justified it. But the fact is, in the past four years, no protests outside of Kashmir have come close to the scale of disruption that Indira confronted for years prior to Emergency. The activism in JNU or at Jantar Mantar is a musical flash-mob in comparison.

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When Narendra Modi Exhorted 'Andolanjivis' to Rise Up Against the Government in 1974 - The Wire

The White Tiger movie debuted this January after long-delayed plans for movie production, and is one of the largest international releases of an Indian movie in recent years. Its not hard to guess why: Despite its source material being over a decade old, it presents a story of class warfare, global inequality and crises of democracy that have become even more relevant today.

Based on the book of the same name, The White Tiger is a somewhat eclectic story of class struggle in a neoliberal world, a witty critique of the oppressive social hierarchies and government institutions in India, as well as a psychological study of the origins of crime and violence and its complicated morality.

At the center of these threads is protagonist Balram Halwai (played by Adarsh Gourav), who rises from his poor, lower caste, rural background destined to servitude to become his own master and own his own company. He does this all through the murder of the man he worked for: the upper caste, upper class, Americanized Mr. Ashok (Rajkummar Rao). Through Balrams own narration, we see how he grows from a precocious, talented boy into a young man who is constantly dehumanized, controlled and ignored. He is mistreated by his bosses, his family and his government, causing him to lash out in what he believes to be the only way to escape the jungle violence.

Several American reviews have noted that the movie is almost the opposing force to the last great international movie about India Slumdog Millionaire a grittier, more realistic vision of how the Indian poor live. As Balram himself says, no game-show prize awaits him (the crux of Slumdog Millionaire). He only has a life of running from his crimes and struggling to never fall back into poverty. While its true that The White Tiger is certainly darker, rawer and angrier, its not necessarily more real.

What really makes the story so cogent and interesting was that it takes the perspective of the murderer without us knowing that to be the case. All the violence and oppression he faces is filtered to us through him. We come to realize how close he was to his father, who died an early, preventable death due to manual labor and the lack of healthcare in his village. We see how Balram loved and worked for Ashok and his wife Pinky (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) like his parents, only to be let down when they allowed him to be the fall man for the death of a homeless girl that was the fault of Pinky, not Balram.

This, coupled with all the daily humiliations his accent being mocked, being treated as uneducated, the rundown and segregated living quarters he had to live in as a servant means that you cannot help but sympathize when he lashes out, freeing himself from oppression through revolution.

Yet the perspective leaves us purposefully fooled. Much as The Joker (2019) was not a justification for violent revolution against the rich, The White Tiger simply lays out a story of violence against the rich through the prism of a flawed person who faced and understood his oppression in very specific ways. Think, for example, about Kusum, Balrams grandmother and the matriarch of his family, who is considered one of the primary antagonists of the movie constantly pushing Balram to send nearly all of his money home to support the family, to marry, and to leave Delhi and come back to the village.

Balram, of course, resents these demands and wants to preserve his individualism and freedom to break out of the rooster coop of family and its related obligations, which he considers to be the main reason for the lack of lower-class revolt or resistance. Yet from Kusums perspective, a person who is undoubtedly facing the same oppression as Balram, the solution to break out is through the building of family wealth of gradual, stable improvement through the pooling of resources. At the end of the movie, its strongly suggested that Balrams murder of Ashok was met with the retributive murders of Kusum and the rest of his family in the village. I dont think Balram is to blame for those murders, but to Kusum, it wouldve undoubtedly seemed so.

Thus, the strongest point of the movie is that it is able to carry these same moral quandaries to the big screen, aided greatly by Gouravs performance as Balram. He really succeeds in bringing the character to life. His mannerisms, speech and expressions evolve throughout the movie from meek responsiveness to smoldering anger.

Yet by sticking so sincerely to the book, I think the movie does itself a disservice. Nearly all of the lines from the movie and all of the plot points are the same in the book itself, and a substantial amount of the movie just ends up being a narration chock full of Balrams sociological critique and dry humor. This works far better in the book than in the movie, where it has more space to be digested. Yet even with the voiceover, the movie still has a fast-paced, pulpy feel to it. For viewers who have not read the book, it should not be a significant issue.

Overall, The White Tiger provides a compelling and at times difficult watch. It forces you to consider the impact of global capitalism on the nuanced (and often unravelling) social hierarchies of third-world countries reacting to the forces of a changing economy and makes you deal with the moral weight of understanding and empathizing with a killer. While its brevity and overuse of the overbearing narration of Balram may weigh on its exploration of these ideas, its close to as good a recreation as you can get.

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The White Tiger tackles class struggle in the era of globalization - Johns Hopkins News-Letter

Amid its ever-deepening foreign policy mess that has alienated the entire political establishment in Washington D.C, raised the tension in Eastern Mediterranean, and sanctions against it across the Atlantic, Turkeys troubled government seems to have found a useful ally for its continuity: Spain.

If the process of this rapprochement - which is a visible counter-dynamic to what the main bulk of the E.U members regard Erdoans Turkey as - continues according to the wishes of Ankara, it will not only weaken further the influence of European institutions (including the European Court of Human Rights), but also must be seen as a harbinger for an apparent conflict of interests with NATO and the U.S.A.

While Ankara is preparing for arm wrestling and a possible thorny cold war with the Biden administration, as well as an E.U sanctions regime looming in March, leaders of Turkey and Spain were busy in the past weeks, engaging in a diplomacy flourished with terms like positive agenda, constructive stance and - even - strategic partnership. No wonder why eyebrows are raised in various circles that realistically and critically observe the harmful demise of the Erdoan government.

Indeed, Spains deviant attitude, distanced from Brussels utterly cautious stance vis a vis Ankara, is striking. On January 18, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared that he wants to enhance ties with Turkey, which he called a strategic partner of the European Union and a NATO ally. An intergovernmental summit will also be held this year, he added.

The fact of the matter is, that there is not much of a strategic partnership between Turkey and the E.U left to speak of. Given what many observers see as an acrimonious display of expansionist agenda, the Erdoan governments deployment of a militarized foreign policy against Greece and Cyprus (both E.U members like Spain), makes such heavyweight terms utterly redundant. It was not a surprise that when Turkey engaged in naval seismic reasearch activities in Greek and Cypriot territorial waters, it quickly turned into a crisis between Turkey and the E.U.

Strategic partnership under normal circumstances requires a full package of agreements, and a common understanding, between the parts - on the entire spectrum of relations. A part which questions and challenges the territorial integrity of the other is not a strategic partner, but at best, only a transactional one. If anything, Turkey exists as such for the E.U, especially on the issues such as refugees and a battle against the COVID-19.

So one must speak of a mutual tactical approach rather than strategy, and similar ornate rhetoric between Madrid and Ankara.

It was clear that what defined Spains dissenting attitude from many other members, when the sanctions against Erdoans government was debated at the E.U Summit last December, was mainly due to its deep financial concerns - Madrid has high stakes (and risks) through its investments in Turkey. A possible collapse the of the Turkish economy -as a result of Erdoans erratic policies - is, understandably sending chills down the spines of some E.U member countries.

Erdoan, in a constant existential battle to cling to power, knows this aspect very well. Resolutely engaged in what the European Council President Charles Michel recently called a cat-and-mouse-game with the E.U, the Turkish president thrives on pinching the vulnerable nerve endings of the bloc- such as the fear of a refugee influx or an economic meltdown.

Like an X-ray device, he has seen through the weaknesses within the E.U which gives him possibilities to drive wedges between its members. Up to now, it can be said that his divide and rule policies has worked in favour of his power. He has taken every gesture of appeasement as a concession to be abused, and enjoyed its results, which only extended his oppressive rule. The remarkable delay of the E.U in responding to the case of Erdoans appointment of a lackey as the president of Bosporus University, prompting a massive unrest among students and their unlawful arrests, was utterly striking in this case.

Erdoan and his partner, Devlet Baheli, not only openly criminalize the students, and incite violence against them, but also demonize the entire LGTBQ+ community in Turkey. Despite the sensitivity on both issues, Brussels remained silent for days. Also, when a court extended the detention of Osman Kavala, one of the most ardent supporters of Turkeys E.U accession process as a civil society activist, the reactions remained nothing more than a blip.

That Erdoans top diplomat, Mevlut avuolu, recently sang full praises for the Sanchez government should be seen in this wide context. Ankara is constantly busy seeking and successfully finding new accomplices.

Recently, in an article for La Razon, titled Spain and Turkey: Mediterranean allies and partners, avuolu said Turkey-Spain relations have now reached an ideal level. Regarding economic relations, he pointed out that the two countries aim to increase their bilateral trade to 20 billion euros (about $24.5 billion) from its current level of 13 billion euros. Further on, on January 20, he met with Spain's Ambassador Francisco Javier Hergueta and a top official from a state-owned Spanish engineering firm, Navantia.

"We discussed our cooperation in the defense industry with Spain's Ambassador Hergueta and Pablo Menendez, the Eastern Mediterranean General Manager of Navantia Company, which provides design support to TCG Anadolu," Cavusoglu said on Twitter, referring to a new Turkish naval ship.

Navantia is responsible for designing and constructing the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship. It will be able to transport a force the size of a minimum battalion without needing home base support, according to Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries. It can carry four mechanized, two air-cushioned and two personnel landing vehicles as well as aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The ship, spanning 231 meters (758 feet) long and 32 m (105 ft.) wide, will have a full load displacement of about 27,000 tons, according to Anadolu Agency.

Will the ship be engaged in combat against the E.U members, if things eventually turn sour in the Aegean? We can only ask such questions, and perhaps receive only mumblings as responses. But the issue must certainly be seen in much broader context.

First, it is apparent that in the satisfaction expressed by the Erdoan government, something is not right.

Why avuolu is enthusiastic about the Spanish approach is telling enough: The longer the E.U remains divided about his government, the longer it may continue to rule. Turkeys foreign minister also knows very well that Erdoans proposal to Brussels of assembling a Mediterranean Conference - which the E.U seems to have in principle accepted - will be a non-starter. How will it go ahead with Turkey which does not officially recognize Cyprus? So, in a nutshell, each and every move, if backed by any E.U member, is regarded as a successful tactical move, by Ankara.

Seen from a higher altitude, what casts a dark shadow over the recent Spanish warming up to Erdoans government has to do with the principles and values of the E.U, moral pillars of any democracy vis-a-vis autocracy and, it should not come as a suprise, with the memory of Spain.

Ever since the attempted coup and the following state of emergency, Erdoan failed to fulfill his ancient pledge to establishing democracy; on the contrary, the country is a de-jure super-presidency or in other words, one man rule, following the referendum in 2017. Since then the separation of powers and the rule of law collapsed entirely. Media, academia and the judiciary have been seized almost entirely by the government. In the past five years, the country has turned practically into a slaughterhouse of justice.

In his latest report by Carnegie Europe, Marc Pierini, a former ambassador of the E.U to Turkey, reminds us of what he calls the dimensions of a massive and seemingly endless purge.

Around 150,000 civil servants have been fired, while some 70,000 others remain detained, many without any indictment. Among thousands of others, the baseless detentions of the journalists and authors Ahmet and Mehmet Altan, the Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirta, the journalist Nazl Ilcak, and the businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala illustrate the fundamental rift between Turkey and its Western partners. These cases are clear violations of Ankaras obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

According to a fresh report by Sezgin Tanrkulu, an MP of the main opposition party Peoples Republican Party (CHP), 1,855 citizens were tortured in police custody and the prisons in 2020, bringing the total of the since the beginning of AKPs tenure in 2002 to 27,493 citizens.

The most recent Bosporus University seizure case, accompanied by an open declaration of war against the LGBTQ+ community, should be a reminder that ever since the attempted coup, nearly 9 thousand academicians were fired from their jobs, with hundreds of them having to leave Turkey to seek jobs elsewhere.

These findings per se are telling enough of how problematic, ethically and morally, the official Spanish warming up to an oppressive regime is. That it is driven by a government of the Socialist Party, raises eyebrows. It only adds salt to the wound felt by large chunks of Turkish society, Turks and Kurds alike, who dissent and despise Erdoans massive abuse of power, which has left Turkey in solitude internationally and in systemic crisis domestically.

I cant help but remember how the Spanish socialists raised the flag of democracy in late 1970s and 80s, which I as a young journalist had followed closely, in envy. Sanchez can take it for granted, that I as an exiled journalist give voice to many in Turkey, when I see through the ethical questions current Spanish-Turkish relations raise.

On the other hand, we shall see the tide turning soon when the Biden administration will unleash new dynamics to promote human rights and democracy, especially in Turkey - a change of attitude that will require a tougher stance within the EU against all forms of oppression and injustice. We are already seeing strong signs of a sea change in terms of not tolerating such a massive oppression. Biden will find many strong allies within the EU to change the language into deeds.

I wonder if Sanchez government is prepared for the change thats a coming. To be on the rights side of history is a duty for any democracy, based on principles.

Spain, out of its painful past that ended not so long ago, should never deceive its memory. It has to choose to be on the side of the people of Turkey or the clique that rules over it. Democrats in Turkey, I am rather sure, want to remain hopeful that, the ever-dynamic segments of the Spanish society - Left, Women and the LGBTQ+ community - may be willing to say a word or two to their government.

Read more:

Spains enhancing ties with Turkey can only serve to strengthen Erdoans oppressive rule - Ahval

25 years ago: IRA bombs London DocklandsDamage after the South Quay bombing. (Wikimedia Commons)

On February 9, 1996, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombed the London Docklands, killing two people and injuring over 100 others. In the incident also known as the South Quay bombing, the IRA had sent warnings prior to detonating the truck bomb, but the area was not completely evacuated.

The explosion took place just a few hundred yards from the Barkantine housing project on the Isle of Dogs, one of the most oppressed working-class neighborhoods in London. Windows were smashed and residents were showered with glass. Thousands of children attending a basketball game at the nearby London Arena narrowly missed serious injury. That the bomb did not result in a massive loss of life was purely accidental.

On February 18, a second bomb ripped apart a London bus traveling through the theater district of the city, killing the bomber himself and seriously injuring others aboard, including the driver.

The bombing campaign marked the end of a ceasefire that had lasted about 17 months. The ceasefire was agreed to in 1994 on the grounds that Sinn Fein, the IRAs political arm, would be involved in peace talks. However, as a precondition to formal talks, the British government had demanded a full and unilateral IRA disarmament. The IRA refused and eventually ended the ceasefire.

The bombings, carried out with total disregard for the lives of innocent working class people, were the acts of a politically bankrupt petty-bourgeois nationalist organization. The IRA was attempting, through means of random violence, to restore its bargaining position at the imperialist negotiating table. Its aim was to pressure the Tory government of Prime Minister John Major.

The conflict centered on Northern Ireland, which, comprising most of the province of Ulster, had remained in British possession after the Irish War of Independence concluded 75 years earlier. Catholics, predominately working class and comprising roughly 40 percent of the population, faced oppression in Northern Ireland at the hands of its right-wing Unionist government and British imperialist forces.

The IRAs targeting of the working class in Britain was not accidental. While claiming to represent the national interests of the oppressed Catholic minority in Northern Ireland, the IRA/Sinn Fein was actually representative of a very thin layer of the Catholic middle class which feared most of all united working-class action against the British government.

The violence was also directed at suppressing any political challenge to the claim that the IRA alone represented the Catholic minority in the North. Just a few weeks earlier, on January 30, the IRA assassinated Gino Gallagher, chief of staff of the Irish National Liberation Army, a rival nationalist group which had refused to support the ceasefire.

On February 2, 1971, a massive earthquake rocked the San Fernando Valley of southern California, killing 64 people and causing extensive damage to homes, hospitals, power lines, dams and other structures. The 6.6 magnitude quake hit just after 6:00 a.m. and lasted for 12 seconds, making it Californias third-largest earthquake in history after the quakes in San Francisco in 1906 and Long Beach in 1933.

The two most deadly building collapses were at Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals at Olive View and San Fernando, which housed hundreds of soldiers convalescing from Americas imperialist war in Vietnam.

The VA at San Fernando saw the most fatalities, with 44 deaths. Twenty-six buildings at the hospital campus were built before 1933, when new construction regulations had been put in place following the Long Beach disaster. Four hospital buildings totally collapsed. A nurse, Betty Van Decar, witnessed the earthquake just after leaving night shift. She spoke of the events in an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News on the 45th anniversary of the earthquake. It buckled down, caved in, the whole building, Van Decar recalled. There was an awful soundyou could hear the ground rumbling. I thought: Theyre not going to make it.

At Olive View, where three died, most of the buildings in the hospital complex had been built before 1933. Damage was concentrated in the basement and first floor, along with several stairwells. Two of the deaths were attributed to power outages that shut off life sustaining support to patients. A hospital worker was struck by falling debris as she attempted to evacuate the building.

Another structure that sustained significant damage was the Van Norman Dam. In the days after the earthquake 80,000 people living below the dam were forced to evacuate until the water could be pumped out. Engineers estimated that if the earthquake had happened one year earlier when the dam was full with 6.5 billion gallons of water, as many as 100,000 people living in the San Fernando Valley would have been killed.

In the aftermath of the earthquake engineers carried out investigations that concluded that current building codes for dams, bridges, highways, hospitals and other large buildings were dangerously inadequate to meet the threat of a major earthquake. Legislation was subsequently passed that created new building codes, restricted development near fault zones, and created the California Strong Motion Instrumentation Program which allowed scientists to collect needed data to develop buildings that can withstand stronger earthquakes.

On February 10, 1946, the US governor of the Marshall Islands, in the central Pacific Ocean, informed all 167 residents of the Bikini Atoll that they would be permanently relocated as their former home became the scene of American military testing of nuclear weapons.

Over the following weeks, all civilian structures, including homes and a church, were dismantled and the villagers were permanently moved to Rongerik Atoll, some 125 miles away. Rongerik had long been uninhabited, due to inadequate water and food supplies. The Bikini Atoll residents were initially left there with only a few weeks of supplies.

The US seizure of the Bikini Atoll took place in the context of an emerging nuclear arms race following World War II. In the last stages of the war in the Pacific, the US had dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in August 1945. In addition to terrorizing the Japanese population, the attack was a threat to US rivals among the old colonial powers like Britain and France, but above all to the Soviet Union.

At the conclusion of the war, the US administration of President Harry Truman rapidly drew up plans for expanded testing of nuclear weapons. Experiments in the Pacific were particularly focused on how the devices could be used as an adjunct to naval warfare.

Between 1946 and 1958, the US military detonated 27 nuclear devices in and around the Bikini Atoll, including on the reef, underwater, on land and in the air. One of the first tests, in July 1946, involved the detonation of a massive nuclear bomb 95 feet under water. Dubbed Baker, the operation was described by one Atomic Energy Commission official as the the worlds first nuclear disaster, after it resulted in widespread radioactive contamination. The tests would render the Bikini Atoll uninhabitable.

On February 11, 1921, workers and peasants led by communists seized control of strategic locations in the Lori province of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, a capitalist state headed by the Social Democratic (Menshevik) Party. Lori, a predominantly Armenian-speaking region claimed by Georgia, had been occupied by the Georgian army after the withdrawal of Turkish forces in November 1920.

The uprising set up a Revolutionary Committee in the town of Shulaveri, led by the veteran Georgian Bolshevik Filipp Makharadze. The Committee sought to expand its influence into the rest of Georgia. It called upon the Soviet government to intervene and by February 14 the Red 11th Army had been sent to Georgia. After fierce fighting, the Red Army entered the capital of Tbilisi on February 25 and established the Soviet Republic of Georgia.

Menshevik-ruled Georgia, established in 1918, became a toehold of European imperialism in the Caucasus. The regime at first placed itself under German protection. It permitted German troops to occupy strategic areas and allowed Germany the unrestricted use of Georgian railways and ports. By June 1918, the German military was parading down the main thoroughfare of Tbilisi.

After the defeat of German imperialism in November 1918 by the Allies, Menshevik Georgia allowed British troops to enter the country in December.

The regime committed other crimes, including the suppression of the minority South Ossetians. It opposed land reform in South Ossetia by backing the local Georgian landowners. In a conflict between the South Ossetians and the Menshevik government in 1920, roughly 5,000 Ossetians were killed in a wave of ethnic cleansing.

Leon Trotsky summed up the Soviet experience with bourgeois Georgia in his famous work, Between Red and White (1922):

What took place was the result of long preparation. It was what, owing to the logic of events, could not but take place. The history of the relations between Georgia and Soviet Russia is only a chapter in the book of the blockade of Russia, of military interventions, of French gold, of British ships, and of the four fronts on which the best elements of the working class have been sacrificed. This chapter cannot be eliminated from the book. The Georgia which is being described today by the beaten Menshevik commanders of the civil war never existed. There has never been either a democratic, or a peaceful, or an independent, or a neutral Georgia. There was a Georgian fortress in the all-Russian class struggle. That fortress is today in the hands of the victorious proletariat.

See more here:

This week in history: February 8-14 - WSWS

The Proud Boys are a far-right white nationalist organization based in Canada that was recently designated a terrorist entity by the Canadian government. This designation, however, will not stop violent extremists from attacking Canadian values.

This is a moment in time where extremism now pervades social media. This change has been so gradual that we have not noticed our tacit involvement each time we post or pass on softly violent memes and slogans wrapped in humour.

The criminal justice system will be unable to weather this storm unless it adjusts its approach to understanding the true nature of social movements and determining whether terrorist designations are the most appropriate means of dealing with social movements that express soft violence.

Soft violence describes harmful activities that stop short of actual physical violence. It takes the form of culturally nuanced, inexplicit cues that reinforce perceived power disparities. Specific clothing, memes and symbols are all types of recorded social violence activity associated with right-wing extremists.

While groups like the Proud Boys are undoubtedly violent in intention, they are softly violent in their expression. This soft violence demonstrates the creeping normalization of extremist sentiment in our communities.

To receive a terrorist designation, an oganization must meet three criteria: it must intend or have committed physical harm; it must intend to impact decision-making by policy-makers and or intimidate citizens; and it must be driven by ideological beliefs. The danger of physical harm to citizens must be clearly demonstrated with reasonable grounds that it has carried out, attempted to carry out, participated in or facilitated terrorist activity.

Groups that plan, conduct and execute physical harm driven by ideological beliefs are just the tip of the iceberg. Neo-Nazi groups like the Atomwaffen Division and The Base also designated terrorist organizations by the Canadian government fit this designation: they sell guns and train militias for race wars, and utter and disseminate hate speech.

These organized right-wing extremist groups are the violent visible minority, and a small part of the much larger movement of sympathizers and supporters.

Extremists thrive in environments where they can easily cultivate an identity that is fixated on maintaining the dominance, authority, legitimacy and superiority of the white race. Misogyny and ultra-nationalism are extensions of these constructs of what white well-being and white welfare should look like.

Groups like the Proud Boys recruit and spread their messages through non-offensive affiliations where grievances align. These destructive, inward-looking, nationalistic, race-dominant, regressive beliefs can lead to oppression, community strife and dehumanization.

This is especially true in an uncertain pandemic, where lockdowns lead to an increase in time spent online and conspiracy theories and anger at restrictions prevail.

My research studies a dataset of more than 94 million extremist transactions to examine how online activity may be a confident predictor of the escalation to violence, based on the degree of usage of softly violent mass identity manipulators, like memes and visual cues.

In particular, I look at how these mass identity manipulators strengthen the bonds of violent transnational social movements. My research lab is currently tracking 16 Canadian Facebook groups with over a quarter million followers who engage with extremist rhetoric.

When other platforms are considered, Canadian support for these groups might number in the millions. These followers make up a range of segments within extremism violent transnational social movements are often elements within broader social movements.

Many of the groups we are examining are actually derivatives, splinters or rebrands of known extremist groups. Elements of the Proud Boys have already refashioned into a new incarnation called Canada First, effectively sidestepping their terrorist designation.

The Three Percenters, a far-right militia movement, have created a group called Canadian Sheepdogs, which has more than 400 followers. The Aryan Guard became Blood and Honour, but three of its members who were charged in racially motivated assaults in Vancouver allegedly joined the Asatruu Folk Assembly. The Qubec Soldiers of Odin splintered into the Northern Guard. The Wolves of Odin, Canadian Infidels and The Clann all emerged from the Edmonton Soldiers of Odin.

Alleged neo-Nazis like Gabriel Sohier Chaput have shown that Canadians are highly influential on message boards and forums. The activity of right-wing extremist groups in Canada is a real and present danger.

It is a positive sign that the Canadian government has asserted that violent extremists will be held accountable for their activities, but the punitive measures are incidental at best. The Proud Boys as an organization will not be able to hold property or be named as a charitable foundation.

The members of the group, however, are free to join other groups because they have not been named individually, and expressing nuanced hate is not a crime or a terrorist offence. These groups, like other extremist violent transnational social movements, raise money through crowdfunding being designated a terrorist organization will limit their ability to do so.

This is possibly the single positive tangible benefit of this action.

A consideration for the justice system may be to focus on more appropriate penalties and legislation for criminalizing individuals who incite violence both on and offline. Stopping the normalization of extremism is the direction we need to move. But without addressing the environment, there will always be an endless supply of groups waiting to take the Proud Boys place.

The rest is here:

Designating the Proud Boys a terrorist organization won't stop hate-fuelled violence - The Conversation CA

Jessica A. Johnson| Columnist

Ive been giving quite a bit of thought to an opinion piece that noted Chicago Tribune columnist Cal Thomas wrote last year regarding evangelical Christians disappointment with the 2020 election results.Evangelicals were, and many still are, some of former President Donald Trumps most steadfast supporters.

In his column, Thomas referenced an essay thatDr. Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, wrote for the Fox News website before the election results were confirmed.Jeffress, a fervent backer of Trump, called for evangelicals to continue trusting in God, stating that Our faith and our salvation lie not in any human ruler, but in the ruler of rulers, the King of kings.

Thomas further elaborated on these points by maintaining that although evangelicals are strongly at odds with the policies of the Biden and Harris administration, this disagreement should not prevent them from carrying out their ministry efforts to those in need in their communities.

Given where we are now during the aftermath of the election, American churches are in, to quote the book of Esther, a critical for such a time as this moment, as the country is still reeling from extreme political discord and racial strife while battling through the coronavirus pandemic. Many evangelical congregations were heavily into politics during Trumps term in the White House and were devastated and angry when he lost to Joe Biden.They thought, as Jeffress wrote, that the God of the evangelicals should be on the side of Republicans and conservatives.I believe that God wanted the church to acknowledge two significant issues in the wake of Trumps defeat.First, racial division needs to be addressed, and second, Christians need to refocus on the primary mission in ministry: to share the Gospel and draw souls into the kingdom of God.

When it comes to political headlines in the media regarding evangelicals, race is hardly an elephant in the room of discussion.White evangelicals have been called purveyors of white supremacy and hypocrites regarding their faith.Recent Fact Tank reports from the Pew Research Center list white in many titles in analysis of evangelical approval of Trumps stances on issues such as immigration and travel bans while he was in office.An NPR podcast last year titled Multiracial Congregations May Not Bridge Racial Divide did not offer an overly optimistic view of churches becoming more diverse.

The historical racial divide in American churches is deeply rooted in the South, with racist ideology infiltrating congregations since the days of slavery.The Black Church, also historically known as the Negro Church, formed out of necessity for blacks to have a haven of worship as early as the 1780s.A pertinent question we must ask ourselves today is how can the church be a true witness of the teachings of Christ when stark segregation remains?The ugliness of our politics in the past four years greatly exposed the longstanding racial rifts within the church, placing evangelicals at the forefront, and it is something that both white and Black pastors can no longer ignore.

During this time when so many people are suffering and on the brink of despair, it is imperative that ministers not let ongoing political disputes take their attention away from the work of the Gospel.In fact, when studying the Gospels, it is evident that Jesus really did not get completely immersed in the political debates of His day.For example, Mark 12:13-17 records the devious intention of the Pharisees and Herodians to bait Jesus into speaking against paying taxes to Caesar.Instead of getting into an argument about the oppression of the Roman government, Jesus simply said to render to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are Gods.

Now, Im by no means implying that churches should idly stand by in the face of injustice and not participate in civic discourse, but when we do take a public stand, Christ must remain in the center of our message.When we minister to those who are marginalized in our society, those in prison, sick, and poor, Jesus said we have ministered unto Him.

This is the ministry the church should be focusing on in this tumultuous political moment, our Esther moment, but we cannot effectively carry it out with the current division within the body of Christ.

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Opinion: Politics should not distract the church from its mission - Online Athens

Joe Biden's presidency is well underway, and he has already taken to his new position by pulling back on many of the policies made during the Trump administration while continuing to appoint new members to his cabinet and other leading positions. One decision he doesn't seem to be budging on is the ban on companies like Huawei that have been placed on the Entity List for allegations of threats to U.S. security. Biden's nominee for Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, has stated (via Bloomberg) that she sees "no reason" to remove the company from the list, strongly suggesting the unlikely nature of the scenario.

I understand that parties are placed on the Entity List and the Military End-User List generally because they pose a risk to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests. I currently have no reason to believe that entities on those lists should not be there. If confirmed, I look forward to a briefing on these entities and others of concern.

That's not good news for Huawei, which has been dealing with U.S. sanctions for quite some time. After largely losing access to its high-end Kirin chips, the company has been struggling to produce flagship smartphones like the P40 Pro, which is one of the best Huawei phones you can't get. Recently Huawei had to give up ownership of its sub-brand, Honor, in order to keep it from facing the same fate as its parent company, a move that sees Honor free to challenge companies like Apple.

Huawei had hoped that the Biden administration would be more lenient than Trump, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has previously referred to the decision by the U.S. government to restrict Chinese companies as "oppressive," a sentiment that still stands today. "We urge you to stop this wanton oppression against Chinese companies."

Other Chinese companies that had faced government sanctions include ZTE as well as Xiaomi, the latter of which recently placed a lawsuit against the U.S. government for placing it on an investment block.

Originally posted here:

Huawei's situation won't get any better with the Biden administration - Android Central

The coup d'tat is disrupting the countrys development, but also the missionary and social activities of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, who care for girls, seniors and the sick. The military dictatorship will increase poverty. The Sisters decided to stand with the people in the name of the social doctrine of the Church and Pope Francis 'Laudato si'. Feb 10, 2021

By Sr Rebecca RaySister Rebecca Ray, superior of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, decided to express, together with her community, explicit support for non-violent demonstrations against the military dictatorship and the coup dtat of 1 February.

The Sisters are one of the many religious institutes that support the protesters who have filled the streets of Myanmar cities: Mandalay, Myitkyina (Kachin), Yangon, Taunggy, etc. They are united with the people, in total harmony; they share their concerns, worries and fears. They want to grow in the future and in the light.

Here is what Sister Rebecca told us.

We want to show our unity with the people. We are in total harmony, we share the same concerns, worries and fears. We don't want to be under the junta, we want a safe life.

In the last 10 years, for better or for worse, we began to enjoy freedom, and were able to meet the world. Our country saw the future and the light grow.

Before the coup, the situation was rather calm. I could communicate with the world; I was able to carry out my missionary work as provincial superior of four countries; I could arrange meetings even without travelling; I could support the work of my Sisters in different countries; I could have relations with our mother house in Rome.

Now all this is gone and nothing is certain. All this makes me sad because it limits my abilities to serve the people.

We do not want to go back to the time of darkness, living in fear and oppression. Life under the dictatorship was terrible, fearing pointed guns, fights. Now we don't know what will happen to us, when and how.

Praying is not enough. I believe in prayer and work and both are the most effective way to support our country.

[In the convent] we have continuous adoration, day and night; the rosary every day and the breviary. We say the rosary together with the people who work with us or with the guests of the clinic for the poor we manage.

In Myanmar last year, due to COVID, the country got poorer. The communities we serve already have many difficulties. If now there is a coup d'tat and tensions arise, I cannot imagine how much worse the situation of poor people will be.

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd have a mission in society. Under the new democratic government, its social works are registered as a foundation. Maybe, under the junta we won't be able to keep this registration anymore and our service to the people will be reduced. We work with many women, with non-profit organisations, with foundations, etc.

Unfortunately, our future is now confused; the future of our nation is dark. We cannot go out, we have restrictions, and we cannot work for the people. All this is terrible for those who need it most, especially women (street girls, abused women, etc.).

As citizens, we stand with our people and for our mission to the poor and need; to women, girls, children; to the most vulnerable. It is unbearable to see our people suffer, lose hope, overwhelmed by fear.

What is happening violates the laws of the country, it violates our human rights and our dignity. It is a great blow to democracy and development, which began to take hold in the country over the past five years.

The military are advising religious leaders to tell their faithful to stay calm, that nothing is going on, that everything will be fine. But we don't believe it. We already see the insecurity and darkness; power supplies, the Internet and telephone lines cut; banking instability, job insecurity, unemployed day labourers. This is the main concern that grieves me: all of this will have an impact on the people of Myanmar.

Perhaps we risk being imprisoned, but we want to be together with the people in the streets, sharing their traumas and suffering. What is happening violates our freedom of expression, our free vote that we cast three months ago, the right to choose our new democratic government, our leaders.

What has happened in recent days is real injustice, a manipulation of power. We want a civilian government; we don't want to be under a military government. We want to be governed by love, attention, not oppression and fear.

At present, according to the constitution, we men and women religious do not have the right to vote, but we want to vote because we too are citizens and have human rights. We want to have the right to life, security and joy.

We want all the people of Myanmar, of all religions, races and ethnicities, to enjoy the same rights and democracy. We all want development for the whole country, like what we have seen over the past 10 years.

In past few days, life has plunged into darkness, uncertainty, full of fear and anger. We no longer want this; we want to stand by our people.

Religious leaders, Brothers, Sisters, priests, even the Bishop of Mandalay have expressed their solidarity with the people. We will do this today and always, in the name of the Church's social doctrine, as well as our mission and for what Pope Francis says in Laudato si.Asia News

Excerpt from:

Sisters of the Good Shepherd are united with the people for the future of Myanmar - Malaysian Christian News

PS 90 in 2007. By Nicholas Strini/PropertyShark

The 2020 murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd thrust the Movement For Black Lives firmly into the public consciousness. When centuries of anger, frustration, and despair spilled out into the streets, I hoped that our political and civic leaders would finally take stock of the mass uprisings and realize the dire need to radically rethink the practice of government. Sadly, that message seems lost on Mayor Bill de Blasio and Council Member Mathieu Eugene, as evidenced by their announcement last October of an affordable housing project at 2286 Church Avenue in Flatbush, previously P.S. 90 and potentially associated with a burial ground for enslaved Africans.

I would like to clarify that I agree with Mayor de Blasio and Council Member Eugene on one point: there is a real desperate need for genuinely affordable housing across the City, especially in Flatbush, Brooklyn. However, I vehemently disagree with their approach: top-down planning with no transparency in the same old guise, an illusion of inclusion. Its a disingenuous method that attempts to trick the community into believing that it has a say in an already decided process and destination. The hand-selected Task Force, to be convened in private though paraded as transparency indicates that the process is business as usual, and the community will have little to no real influence in the projects details. Instead of cloak and dagger political actions, there should be open public planning meetings with development stakeholders, with extensive promotion to ensure public participation.

To make matters worse, the sites potential history as an African American burial ground seems like a mere footnote in this projects consideration. It is downright unfortunate that the City has a terrible track record acknowledging its relationship to slavery and struggle to respect Black lives. Although not surprised in the slightest, I was disappointed to see only a brief mention of the burial ground for enslaved Africans in the press release. I sincerely hope that the Task Force charged with investigating the history and making the final decision on a memorial will be transparent and include real community representation. This land and the people who toiled and died on it deserve more than just a plaque somewhere in a big shiny building.

Let us not forget that this is public land. I repeat, this is public land. Why was its usage decided without broad community input and discussion? Instead, unspecified local leaders determined its designation as affordable housing and a community center. People in power dictate the projects destiny without community input. There are numerous affordable housing units under construction within proximity to 2286 Church Ave. Why should we build more affordable housing on this site? Were there other options considered, such as a reflective, open-space memorial and education center about Black Americans contributions to Central Brooklyn? Or, merely using every available square footage for a community center with a full-service gymnasium, playground, and more? An urban farm for composting and addressing the food insecurity in the neighborhood. How about a concert park or some other cathartic space to help Black people heal from not only centuries of oppression but the added traumas of COVID-19? How about any ideas the community might contribute during an opportunity for public comment or engagement?

This site is an excellent chance to do something dramatically different. The City should take this opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of Black enslaved people who built Brooklyn and the legacies of the African descended people from across the diaspora whove shaped our borough into the vibrant collage it is today. It can honor them by allowing the community to maintain ownership of PS 90 rather than giving it away to enrich another private developer. Why doesnt the City hand this property to a Community Land Trust (CLT) that would transparently and democratically serve community residents needs instead of the private markets whims? CLTs are for acting on behalf of the community; a CLT would ensure that real homage to history is paid and that any development would only happen in a way shaped in true partnership with the community. Considering how racism denied Black people the opportunity to build generational wealth for centuries, a CLT might propose affordable homeownership on the site as a more robust community benefit.

If our elected officials meant it when they affirmed that Black Lives Matter, then we need to see it in their actions. They must throw out the old playbook and commit to building in partnership and collaboration with Black communities. Im calling on the Mayors Office, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), and Councilmember Mathieu Eugene to host a public hearing with an opportunity for genuine community input in coordination with Community Board (CB) 14 and the neighboring CB 17 so the people can decide what this site should look like from our perspective. The future of the PS 90 site is far from settled. Now is the time for a new approach.

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OPINION: PS 90's Future Belongs To The People Of District 40 - BKLYNER

Mulondwe Muzungu says the PF governments oppression, cruelty, brutality, tribal hate and political violence have the potential to escalate into genocide.

The PF has destroyed our cherished national unity, leaving Zambia polarised by their divide and rule schemes and the naked tribal hate. With the foregoing abominations in Zambia, citizens are fed-up and desire a regime change sooner than later, says Muzungu.

Theres no doubt that Edgar Lungu and his PF are relying heavily on divide and rule strategy, and the tribal card to perpetuate their stay in government.

We have all been witnesses to how they have viciously canvassed on tribal and regional lines.

And they dont seem to care the long term consequences of their political game.

But as Dr Kenneth Kaunda warned against a spate of hate based on tribe, province, race, colour and religion in 1967 The people we have taught to hate others, may successively be taught to hate us next time. So that even from a personal and rather selfish angle this way of electioneering must be condemned as completely unZambian unless, of course, we do not mean it when we speak of One Zambia One Nation. Let it be remembered that it would be madness to expect to harvest groundnuts where in fact we had planted castor oil.

Today, our country is witnessing schemes that eat at the core of our unity as Edgar attempts to rewrite our democratic values and entrench himself in power, even at the expense of mutilating the Constitution.

Indeed, the PF is unashamedly destroying our cherished national unity, leaving Zambia polarised by their divide and rule schemes and the naked tribal hate.

But as we have stated before, there are no corrupt and tyrannical politicians whose ending has not been disastrous. And Edgar will be no exception. His ending will be bad.

In this we are in no way cursing him or wishing him bad things. Its simply an honest assessment of things and a matter of drawing the right conclusions.

Every corrupt and tyrannical politician thinks he is different and what happened to other corrupt and tyrannical politicians before him wont happen to him. But the ending has been invariably the same. Look at Idi Amin, Mobutu, Bokassa, Blaise Compaore, Eduardo Dos Santos, Mugabe! The list is endless. And what is special about Edgar?

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'PF's divide and rule schemes' The Mast Online - themastonline.com

There is a quiet movement among settler colonials in Australia and the US to critically examine their family histories as a way of re-examining the impact of centuries of dispossession and slavery of Indigenous peoples.

Critical family histories enable a shift from celebratory tropes of benign settlement to deep considerations of legitimacy. The myth of great white men and women, bravely opening new worlds and taming the wilderness, including the savage Indigenes, is now being challenged by a search for the truth.

As Diane Kenaston, an American pastor and genealogist, explains in her book Genealogy and Anti-Racism: A Resource for White People, genealogy has long been entwined with white supremacy. And family history research has been the preserve of white privilege.

But, she writes, critical family history can also change the narratives within our own families.

Our ancestors were works in progress, just as we are. They, like us, sometimes participated in oppressive systems and sometimes resisted them. [We need to] engage this complex legacy.

Read more: Friday essay: the 'great Australian silence' 50 years on

Education activist Christine Sleeter first adopted the use of critical family history in this way. While researching teaching methods for the multicultural classroom, she discovered that intersections of race, class, culture, gender and other forms of difference and power had shaped her own family history.

In her research, Sleeter found

a history and legacy of not only European American immigration, but also of Appalachia, of slave ownership, of African Americans passing as white and leaving family behind, and of Jim Crow.

Her awareness led to a sense of responsibility and debt. In 2017, she returned to the Ute people US$250,000, which she had inherited from the sale of a homestead on land stolen from the Ute people in Colorado in 1881.

In Australia, David Denborough, a writer and academic, thought there would be nothing of interest in the stories of his ancestors.

Working alongside Aboriginal people, documenting their stories of dispossession and survival, he was challenged by Jane Lester, a Yangkunytjatjara/Antikirinya woman, to find his ancestors.

Now, 20 years later, he is publishing a book of letters to his great-great-grandfather, Sir Samuel Walker Griffith.

Griffith, a celebrated founding father of Australia, was premier of Queensland during the killing times and later became the countrys first chief justice.

The relationships between Denboroughs ancestors and Aboriginal people were marked by colonisation, racism and often inhumane treatment. While Griffith wrote terra nullius into the Australian constitution, another ancestor, Charles Cummins Stone Anning, was responsible for atrocities against Aboriginal people in Queensland.

Denborough is determined to tell the truth as part of his healing journey and his close relationship with Aboriginal people. He has realised

there is no sense in moral superiority towards my ancestry because colonial violence in this country has not ended; no place for hopelessness because First Nations resistance has never wavered; and, no time for paralysing shame because invitations to partnerships are still being offered by Aboriginal people and [there is] so much to be done.

James Brown was 16 years old and shepherding alone on a remote sheep run near present-day Quorn, South Australia, in 1852. He was found tragically clubbed to death and mutilated in unknown circumstances.

An unwritten rule of the frontier was that attacks on white people, no matter the circumstances, were followed by vigilante violence. Men, women and children were often massacred in retribution.

Seventeen men, including Browns brothers and two Aboriginal trackers, rode out. They reported killing four Aboriginal men. Tellingly, though, two of the 15 men would not swear this on the Bible.

Mike Brown, a descendent of this family who took over land in the Flinders Ranges area, knew very little of the Aboriginal history of Australia. After hearing Reg Blow, a Gureng Gureng elder, speak about the true history of the criminal takeover of Aboriginal lands, Brown was inspired to research his own family history.

Read more: Friday essay: masters of the future or heirs of the past? Mining, history and Indigenous ownership

Wanting to investigate the Aboriginal stories of the 1852 massacre, he found a lifetime friend in Ken McKenzie, a prominent Kuyani-Adnyamathana elder, from whom he received the dignity of forgiveness.

Brown is now working with others on a documentary, Beyond Sorry, to reveal the full story of the massacre. He told me,

Its how we discover who we really are as a people and our relationship to this land [] we need to be released from the illusion we live under that affects our attitudes to others, to be free.

In NSW, playwright Clare Britton was also shocked to discover the story of brutally murdered relatives in her family history.

The pregnant Elizabeth O'Brien and her infant son Poggy were clubbed to death by the Aboriginal bushrangers Jimmy and Joe Governor in 1900. With the help of descendents of the Governor family and Aboriginal elders, Brittons theatre company produced a play based on this story, Posts in a Paddock. The title refers to all that remained of the O'Brien household when she visited, a stark memorial to the family tragedy.

Britton explained that elder Aunty Rhonda Dixon Grovenor introduced the concept of dadirri deep listening to the ensemble. They sat with their Aboriginal collaborators and each others families. And listened to each other. She said,

so many Indigenous people were killed, separated from their families and taken away from their homes and you cant read about that in the same way because those stories were not recorded. [These murders] were thoroughly documented because my family and the other victims were white.

The understandings I formed then have changed me.

In the US, artist Anne Mavor was inspired to learn about her ancestors after attending a public meeting where a local Indigenous person challenged the white audience to critically examine their histories.

Mavor put together an exhibition, I Am My White Ancestors: Claiming the Legacy of Oppression, comprised of 12 pieces of art depicting her ancestors. They include royal figures, a slave owner, warriors, farmers and a pilgrim all with Mavors face. The life-size portraits make whiteness visible and accountable.

Mavor told me she seeks

to inspire white viewers to claim both positive and negative aspects of their own family histories to contribute to the end of racism.

She says white people dont get a pass by ignoring the oppression of their ancestors. They need to ask: What is the legacy of this oppression and how does this affect me now?

This is just one of many projects designed to give back to Indigenous peoples. In Seattle, residents can pay rent to the citys first inhabitants, the Duwamish people, who have long been rejected by the US government for federal recognition as a Native American tribe.

Read more: Explorer, navigator, coloniser: revisit Captain Cooks legacy with the click of a mouse

The Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites has developed the Real Rent program as a means of restitution, but also to educate the broader public about the plight of the Duwamish.

Another project, Reconciliation Rising, coordinated by Lakota journalist Kevin Abourezk and academic Margaret Jacobs, showcases the work of those engaged in confronting painful and traumatic histories as a way towards reconciliation.

Their website lists examples of apologies, notable activists and many instances of the return of ancestral lands.

Land hand-backs are happening in Australia, too. Tom and Jane Teniswood have returned half of their 220-acre property in Tasmania to the local Aboriginal community. The Teniswoods advocate individual action over government reconciliation efforts, saying

reconciliation is great but it is so much talk, so many documents and so little action. This is just a symbol of action.

It is easy to agree with them. While government leadership in truth-telling is vital, we will see more of these acts of profound generosity and genuine reconciliation from settler colonials.

Settler colonials are beginning to understand the true impacts of the criminal takeover of Indigenous lands. They are seeking to right the balance and achieve a spiritual resolution.

This is the Aboriginal way of approaching history, in order to move forward after a conflict. A common process across the continent, it is called Makaratta by the yolngu people of Arnhemland. In the same way, a critical approach to family histories involves a great deal of communication between settler colonials and Indigenous peoples. It enables the forging of new relationships.

It is histories such as these that will change people through deep understanding and empathy. They also present an opportunity to truly and indelibly change the nature of our society and leave a meaningful legacy for our children.

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Truth telling and giving back: how settler colonials are coming to terms with painful family histories - The Conversation AU