Monthly Archives: January 2021

ISLAMABAD (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jan, 2021 ) :Pakistan on Friday said for Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the year 2020 was marked with "Indian brutalities and oppression" of Kashmiris.

"The military siege, communications blockade, media blackout, incarceration of Kashmiri leadership, and every possible violation of human rights of the Kashmiri people continue for 515 days since Indian's illegal and inhuman actions of 5th August 2019," the Foreign Office Spokesperson said at a weekly press briefing. Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said in their brazen acts of state terrorism, the Indian occupation forces martyred more than 300 innocent Kashmiris, including women and children, in fake encounters and staged cordon-and-search operations.

He said during the same period, 750 Kashmiris were critically injured, while 2,770 innocent Kashmiris were arbitrarily detained and 922 houses destroyed as part of collective punishment inflicted on the Kashmiri communities.

In pursuit of its agenda to convert the Muslim majority of IIOJK into a minority, he said, the Indian government issued more than 2 million fake domicile certificates to non-Kashmiris under the so called "Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 2020".

The Spokesperson said Pakistan reiterated its call for a UN Commission of Inquiry, as recommended by the OHCHR in its two reports in 2018 and 2019.

"The Commission should thoroughly investigate the Indian crimes against the Kashmiri people during the past three decades," he stressed.

The FO Spokesperson expressed Pakistan's deep concern over the health condition and continued incarceration of Kashmiri leadership, including founding leader of Kashmiri organization "Dukhtaran-i-Millat" and the "Iron Lady of Kashmir" Asiya Andrabi, leader and founder of the Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party; Shabbir Ahmed Shah; and prominent leaders such as Yasin Malik, MasaratAlam Bhat, Mohammad Ashraf Sehraie, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

He recalled that Pakistan had written to the UN Secretary General and the UN Human Rights Commissioner, particularly highlighting the inhuman and illegal treatment of Ms. Andrabi. Zahid Chaudhri said to divert attention from its internal failings and the situation in IIOJK, India continued to escalate tensions along the Line of Control (LOC).

"During 2020 alone, Indian occupation troops made 3,097 ceasefire violations, deliberately targeting the civilian populated areas.In these unprovoked Indian violations, 28 innocent civilians embraced shahadat, while 257 sustained serious injuries," he said.

The Spokesperson said the Indian government with its illegal and inhuman actions had failed and "will continue to fail in breaking the will of the Kashmiri people". "The brutalization of innocent Kashmiris at the hands of Indian occupation troops, will only further strengthen their resolve for freedom from illegal Indian occupation.

I wish to reassure our Kashmiri brothers and sisters that they are not alone in their rightful struggle," he said.

He said Pakistan would continue to stand with them till the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination.

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Excerpt from:

Year 2020 for IIOJK marked with Indian brutalities, oppression: FO Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez - UrduPoint News

Slamming the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre for making "false promises" of giving jobs to 75 lakh youths in the country, the Trinamool Congress on Thursday called the saffron party one of "cheats".

The TMC credited itself with improving the condition of the tribals in West Bengal in the past 10 years that it has been in power and ensuring their democratic rights and representations.

TMC tribal cell leader Deb Tudu told a press meet here that the same NDA government at the Centre had promised that Rs 15 lakh would be given to the bank account of everyone and that too remains unfulfilled.

"This is a central government which cheats people with false promises before elections. From providing jobs to 75 lakh youths to giving Rs 15 lakh to every bank account, they make promises only to take it back and deceive people," Tudu said.

Highlighting the achievements of the TMC regime since 2011 when it came to power in the state, Tudu said the democratic rights of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and indigenous people have been established in the state and a democratic environment has been created.

He said the TMC government has ensured more representation of indigenous people in panchayats.

"Before 2011 the economic situation in tribal-dominated areas was characterised by hunger, illiteracy, non-development. The poor people were branded as Maoists and incidents of oppression, exploitation, torture, and deprivation on poor tribals were rampant.

"After 2011 for the first time, the whole of West Bengal, including Jangalmahal (tribal area of the state) changed. There has been a significant development for scheduled castes, tribes and adivasis in the past nine years," he claimed.

Tudu accused the Left parties of turning saffron and called for fighting the 'slanderous propaganda war' that has been started against TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien said in a tweet "What the tourist gang wont tell you. Bengal's allocation for SC/ST welfare more than doubled in the last 10 years, Rs 2024 cr per annum.

He was apparently referring to visiting BJP leaders when he spoke of "tourist gangs.'"

"Union budget saw massive shortfalls in allocations. SC Population: 16.6% Funds allocated: 8.5%, ST Population: 8.6% Funds allocated: 5.6%, Photo ops by henchman of the tourist gang versus work by a diligent CM," he said.

"While the country saw 37% increase in Crimes against SC/ST population, Bengal with second-highest SC population ranked one of the lowest in crimes against SC/ST (SC: rank 27th, ST: rank 24th)," O'Brien said.

More here:

NDA govt making false promises, BJP party of cheats: TMC - Deccan Herald

Chinas National Peoples Congress ratified a treaty with Turkey at the weekend allowing for the forcible deportation of ethnic Uyghurs fleeing persecution by authorities in Xinjiang, with opposition lawmakers in Turkey vowing to block ratification in their own parliament.

Beijing has described the treaty signed in 2017 as a measure to defeat Islamic terrorism in northwestern Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), where more than a million Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minority groups accused of religious extremism are believed to have been held in a vast network of internment camps since April of that year.

Turkey, is home to more than 50,000 of the worlds nearly 12 million Uyghurs, who historically have viewed a fellow Turkic nation as a refuge and advocate for their religious and cultural rights.

Speaking in interviews with RFAs Uyghur Service, Turkish lawmakers pledged to block Turkeys ratification of the agreement with China, citing fears that Uyghurs sent back to China by force would face political persecution and human rights abuses for peacefully stating their views.

Clauses defining criminal offenses in the treaty with China are ambiguous and unclear, said Yurter Ozcan, a representative in the United States of the Turkish opposition Republican Peoples Party, saying his party respects freedom of expression.

Small-scale dissentfor example, criticisms of Chinas state systemare classified by China as crimes, and this agreement unfortunately could lead to the repatriation of Uyghurs who oppose [Chinas policies] and have commented on the oppression faced by Uyghurs in East Turkestan, Ozcan said, referring to Xinjiang by the name preferred by many Uyghurs for their historic homeland.

This is a great injustice, and we will work hard in the Republican Peoples Party to block this agreement from being ratified by the National Assembly, he said.

'Not right to remain silent'

With China having ratified the extradition treaty, the agreement will now likely be brought forward for approval by Turkeys parliament, said Fahrettin Yokusha member of parliament for Turkeys opposition Iyi, or Good, Party.

It is not right to remain silent on the issue of East Turkestan, Yokush told RFA, conceding there is now a risk that Turkey may approve the agreement, putting all Uyghurs seeking refuge in Turkey in danger.

China is a country where our brothers and sisters who suffered various difficulties to come to Turkey have been trampled on, Yokush said. And China has signed this agreement with Turkey so that they can demand the return of our Uyghur brothers and sisters who came here.

Lets not lose hope, he said.

Iyi party leader Meral Asksener has dedicated herself to the cause of Turkic identity, the cause of Islam, and especially the cause of East Turkestan, Yokush said, adding that the party now has 36 members in the National Assembly, all of them working together to reject the agreement with China.

The Republic of Turkey should never approve this Criminal Mutual Transfer Agreement with China, agreed Selcuk Ozdag, vice president of Turkeys opposition Future Party, calling the protection of Uyghurs seeking asylum in Turkey a duty.

In remarks directly addressing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ozdag appealed to the Turkish president to end consideration of the extradition agreement with China as soon as possible.

Neither your heart nor your conscience should allow this, he said.

A stronger relationship

Analysts have noted that the relationship between Turkey and China is increasingly growing stronger, however, with Turkeys President Erdogan recently pledging security cooperation with Beijing and saying that residents of the XUAR live happy and prosperous lives under Beijings rule, according to reports in Chinese state media.

The Turkish government had long refused to deport Uyghurs back to China, but that changed in June last yeartwo months after the extradition treaty was submitted to the parliamentwhen Turkey sent several Uyghurs home via Tajikistan, including a woman named Zinnetgul Tursun along with her two toddler daughters.

A month later, Tursuns sister, who lives in exile in Saudia Arabia, learned from her mother in the XUAR that Tursun had disappeared and that her family had no information about what had happened to her, and was warned by her mother to end all further communication.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress called on Turkey to abide by international law and the principle of non-refoulement and refrain from signing the extradition treaty with the government of China.

If adopted by Turkey, the extradition treaty is likely to become another instrument of persecution for China, aiding the Chinese government in its coordinated efforts to forcibly return Uyghurs living abroad, the WUC said.

Reported by Nuriman Abdulreshid for RFAs Uyghur Service. Translated by Mamatjan Juma. Written in English by Richard Finney.

See original here:

Turkish Lawmakers Vow to Block Extradition Treaty With China That Puts Uyghurs at Risk - Radio Free Asia

Future historians may well look back on 2020 as a dark time for humanity.

The Covid-19 pandemic has left virtually no part of the world untouched and will infect 2021, despite incredible scientific efforts to develop vaccines.

But for millions around the world, even the spread of a deadly disease was not the worst thing to happen this year.

Conflicts broke out in Ethiopia and between Armenia and Azerbaijan, while the Syrian civil war continued to devastate a nation, as did the Yemen crisis.

There were also uprisings against oppression in Belarus and Nigeria and, of course, a global movement demanding equality for black people after the killing of yet another African-American.

It meant that moments of compassion and togetherness were even more precious in 2020.

Marcus Rashford and Captain Sir Tom Moore inspired millions, while a 90-year-old woman became the first to receive a Covid-19 vaccine in the UK, followed by a man called William Shakespeare.

Here, we've tried to document the lows and few highs from a torrid year with images that defined 2020.

January

2020 began for millions the same way 2019 ended - with an invasion of locusts.

The desert locust crisis that swept large parts of east Africa put food supplies for millions at great risk.

There are fears a another wave yet to come could be even worse or at least match the scale seen here in Kenya, which saw its first locust invasion in 70 years in January.

2020 was the year justice finally caught up with Hollywood giant Harvey Weinstein, who was jailed for 23 years in March after he was found guilty of rape in the third degree in February.Here he was in January, leaving court with the help of a zimmer frame.

Thousands of homes were destroyed as wildfires, which began in 2019, burned through Australia through the early weeks of 2020.

The devastation left 113 animal species in need of "urgent intervention" after months of fires left their habitats destroyed.

The year's first month ended on a tragic note with the death of Basketball icon Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, 13, who were both among nine killed in a helicopter crash.

The Los Angeles Lakers - the team Bryant played for during his entire career - would go on to win the NBA championship for the first time since Bryant himself led the franchise to victory in 2010.

They dedicated the win to Bryant.

February

Children were particularly devastated by the ongoing civil war in Syria, with more than 6,000 taken from Idlib to refugee camps every day in the early parts of the year.

The suffering was unrelenting as forces of President Bashar Assad and his Russian allies focused on Idlib, inflicting suffering and death on thousands.

An average of two children were killed per day at one stage, according to the UN, one of whom was found here in Idlib after an air strike.

Storm Ciara caused widespread flooding in the UK, resulting in this picture of a Tesco in Carlisle.

From one force of nature to another - Tyson Fury roared to victory over champion Deontay Wilder for the WBC Heavyweight title.

He dominated the match from start to finish, 14 months after a controversial draw between the fighters.

Popular TV presenter Caroline Flack was found dead in her flat in east London in the middle of February.

March

This month would be remembered for the beginning of the end of normal life for the year but there was also a huge shift in royal life.

Harry and Meghan officially left the royal family - in a move dubbed 'Megxit' - to pursue a new life in California.

This was one of the last photos taken of the Sussexes on royal duty.

Then came the lockdown.

On March 23, Boris Johnson announced the country would head into a lockdown the next day as it became clear to the government just how serious the Covid-19 outbreak was becoming.

This was what Westminster, usually packed with people and traffic, looked like on the morning of March 24 - the first day of lockdown.

April

Appreciation for health workers, nurses and doctors grew in 2020 and this picture sums up why it was so deserved.

Many worked to the point of exhaustion to save lives, despite the obvious personal risk, as this picture shows.

Boris Johnson was taken to hospital after his coronavirus symptoms persisted into April.

He was moved into intensive care later in the month but was back speaking in front of 10 Downing Street before May.

April saw one of the highlights of the year as 99-year-old Captain Sir Tom Moore (now 100) raised tens of millions of pounds for the NHS with sponsored walks.

The former British Army Officer was knighted by the Queen in July.

May

One of the more grim images to surface from the pandemic surfaced in May.

This woman died on the street in Ecuador and she wasn't the only one.

Rescue workers and local residents search for survivors in the wreckage of a plane that crashed with nearly 100 people onboard in a residential area of Karachi, Pakistan on May 22.

The footage showing a white police officer kneel on black man George Floyd, who died as a result, shocked the world.

Transcripts from the body-cam footage of the arrest confirm unarmed Mr Floyd said "you're going to kill me, man" as police officerDerek Chauvinknelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

His death, for which four police officers have been charged, sparked protests around the world as Black Lives Matter campaigned for true racial equality.

Property was damaged during some of the subsequent protests in the US, in the wake of the killing of Mr Floyd.

Here, an Arby's fast food restaurant was torched.

In Minneapolis at the end of May, some were ordered to lie face down on the ground during a protest.

June

An emotional embrace was caught on camera as a protester and police officer - both black - shook hands in the midst of demonstrations.

This picture of an elderly couple kissing and hugging through a screen would not be the only poignant image to come out of Barcelona in the pandemic.

This was as close as they could get to each other in a nursing home.

Donald Trump's June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma was billed to be a sell-out event, with crowds overflowing outside the arena.

A million had expressed interest in tickets, Republican claimed, but in the end large sections of the audience were empty and the rally was a flop.

A grim-faced Trump was pictured ambling across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington after stepping off the helicopter that brought hum back from the failed rally.

The year wouldn't get much better for the president.

Liverpool FC ended a 30-year wait for the league title in style, finally lifting the elusive Premier League trophy after a dominant campaign was paused by Covid-19.

Because of coronavirus restrictions, the squad celebrated in an empty stadium, but that didn't stop fans from setting off fireworks and celebrated a momentous occasion for the city.

Marcus Rashford's campaign for an extension to the free school meal voucher scheme through the summer holidays was widely praised.

The Manchester United and England forward became a figurehead for the movement against child hunger, even forcing a government u-turn on the matter.

July

Donald Trump delivered a divisive speech at Mount Rushmore, warning over the rise of 'far left fascism' and taking aim at Black Lives Matter on July 3 - the day before what is supposed to be a unifying date in the US calendar.

Later reports suggested Trump had asked about the possibility of adding his face to landmark, which he has denied.

Later in July, England World Cup winner Jack Charlton died aged 85.

The former Leeds United player had been diagnosed with lymphoma in the last year and was also battling dementia.

It may feel like masks and face coverings have been with us for a long time, but they only became mandatory in shops on July 24.

The so-called 'new normal' was now complete.

But before masks became so widespread, 'Super Saturday' was welcomed by punters up and down the country as a taste of normal life finally returned after months of lockdown.

On Saturday, July 4, pubs and bars reopened under strict measures.

August

Around 200 were killed and thousands more injured during the huge explosion in a port in Lebanon's capital city, Beirut.

One of those to lose their life was Alexandra Naggear, who was just 3.

ITV News spoke to her father, who called it a "murder of incompetence."

Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, denied the August 9 election was rigged despite widespread claims to the contrary.

Millions have since taken to the streets in protest in the country, despite reports of a brutal crackdown, and one of the enduring moments was captured at the end of the month in Minsk.

Two women were pictured kissing during a protest - in a country where LGBT+ rights have regularly been oppressed.

A 'Wakanda Forever' tribute sits next to a mural of the actor Chadwick Boseman's character T'Challa from the 2018 film Black Panther.

Mr Boseman died aged 43 in August after a four-year battle with colon cancer.

September

Months after massive fires spread across Australia, California was dealing with its own crisis.

Large parts of the state were lit up, resulting in this Hollywood-style image at the Bidwell Bar Bridge.

Francisco Espana had spent weeks in intensive care with Covid-19 in Barcelona and his doctors felt the need to provide him with a small mercy.

He was wheeled out from his ward to overlook the Mediterranean sea in the outdoors from his bed.

A reminder of normal life during a weeks' long battle with death.

ITV News witnessed a brazen display of militia in Louisville in September. Civilians were armed with guns and rifles and looked like their own little army.

You can watch the full, shocking report here.

In the same month, ITV News uncovered chilling testimonies from Uighurs in China, including forced abortions and sterilisation.

The Chinese government has detained an estimated one million in Xinjiang, holding them in internment camps and prisons where they are subjected to ideological discipline, forced to denounce their religion and language and physically abused.

You can read more here.

October

The brutal war fought over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan cost at least 5,000 lives.

Many of those deaths were military but dozens of civilians were also killed, including a seven-year-old girl in Azerbaijan, Aysu Isgandarova.

Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and ex-girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, awaits trial in a high-profile case in the US.

She is charged with facilitating the sexual abuse of underage girls by Epstein.

In October, formerly sealed documents in which Maxwell was asked about her knowledge of Epstein's sex trafficking operations were published in the US for the first time.

November

Saudi Arabia's bombardment of Yemen - backed by the US and UK - has devastated the country for years and 2020 saw the emergency come to the fore once again.

Two-thirds of Yemen's population of about 28 million people are hungry, and nearly 1.5 million families currently rely entirely on food aid to survive.

See the original post:

2020: The pictures that defined a torrid year | ITV News - ITV News

By Samy Magdy| Associated Press

CAIRO Nearly two years after the overthrow of autocrat Omar al-Bashir, Sudan is taking steps to rejoin the international community from which it was long shunned. That includes its film industry.

For the first time in its history, Sudan has a submission for the Academy Awards. Produced by a consortium of European and Egyptian companies but with a Sudanese director and cast, "You Will Die at Twenty" will compete in the Best International Feature Film category.

The story follows a young man whose death at the age of 20 is prophesied not long after his birth, casting a shadow over his formative years, and parallels the burdens placed on a generation of Sudan's young people.

Based on a short story by Sudanese novelist Hammour Ziyada, critics say it demonstrates that the country's cultural scene is reawakening after decades of oppression.

The film was produced amid mass demonstrations against al-Bashir, who was toppled by the military in April 2019 after ruling the country for nearly 30 years.

"It was an adventure," filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala told The Associated Press. "There were protests in the streets that had grown to a revolution by the beginning of filming."

Sudan's uprising erupted in late 2018, and as the number of people in the streets swelled, many of them young, the military stepped in and toppled the Islamist president. Since then, the country has embarked on a fragile transition to democracy, ending years of theocratic rule that limited artists' freedoms.

The film's submission was announced in November by the country's ministry of culture, a month before the second anniversary of the start of the uprising.

It follows a narrative written by Ziyada in the early 2000s that chronicles the life of a child in 1960s in a remote village, located between the Blue and White Nile rivers. The inhabitants are largely guided by ancient Sufi beliefs and traditions, a mystical strain of Islam.

The film starts when a mother, Sakina, takes her newborn boy to a Sufi ceremony at a nearby shrine as a blessing. As a sheikh gives his blessing, a man in traditional clothing performs a meditative dance, suddenly stopping after 20 turns, falling to the ground a bad omen.

The frightened mother appeals to the Sheikh to give an explanation. But he says, "God's command is inevitable." At this point, the crowd understands this is a prophecy predicting the child will die at 20.

Stunned and frustrated, the father leaves his wife and son, named Muzamil, to face their fate alone.

Muzamil grows up under the watchful eye of his overprotective mother, who wears black in anticipation of his early demise. He is haunted by the prophecy even other children name him "the son of death."

Despite that, Muzamil proves to be an inquisitive boy full of life. His mother allows him to go to study the Quran. He receives praise for his memorization and recitation of verses. Then comes a turning point.

A cinematographer, Suliman, returns to the village after years working abroad. Muzamil, who is by now working as an assistant to the village shopkeeper, gets to know him through delivering him alcohol, a social taboo.

Suliman, who lives with a prostitute, opens Muzamil's eyes to the outside world. Through their discussions, he starts to doubt the prophecy that has governed his life so far and torn his family apart.

As he turns 19, Muzamil takes it upon himself to decide what it means to be alive, even as death beckons.

The film has received positive reviews from international critics. It premiered at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival's parallel section, Venice Days. It won the Lion of the Future for Best First Feature the first Sudanese film to do so. Since then, it has won at least two dozen awards at film festivals worldwide.

Abu Alala says his team tackled obstacles in making the film, thrown up by the same conservative milieu that it depicts. He blames the environment created by al-Bashir, who came to power in an Islamist-backed military coup in 1989. Under his rule, limited personal freedoms meant art was viewed with suspicion by many.

One major challenge, he said, was that local residents at the initial filming location objected to their presence. The crew was forced to move, but they persevered.

"We believed that it should be done under any circumstances," Abu Alala said. He says that it was lucky that the film's production period coincided with the cultural watershed moment of the uprising. The previous government wouldn't have been a proponent of his work.

The movie has also been met with commendations from inside the region.

"It is a very real and local film that makes the audience feel all of its details whenever and whoever they are," wrote Egyptian film critic Tarik el-Shenawy.

The film is only the eighth to be made inside Sudan. Abu Alala says that its selection shows Sudan has countless stories that remain untold.

"There wasn't a film industry existing in Sudan only individual attempts ... Sudan's rulers communists or Islamists were not interested in cinema. They just were interested in having artists on their sides," he said.

Now, he hopes that he and other filmmakers will have the freedom to share Sudan's stories with the world.

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A Sudan in transition presents first-ever film for Oscars - LubbockOnline.com

At the end of 2019, people gathered to embrace the New Year. Claiming the phrase, The Year of 20/20 Vision, many of us had no idea of the words we spoke. The end of 2020 marks a year unlike any in our recent memories. It was a year filled with a global pandemic, death, racial injustice, and a government in turmoil. This year tested the resolve of many Americans like no other. In this challenging year, we also saw glimpses of the best parts of ourselves in everyday heroes. It was a year of great revelation, both good and bad.

The year began with the impeachment trial of Donald Trump and the death of Kobe Bryant. Trump became the third impeached President in history. Accused of abuse of power and the obstruction of Congress, the Senate acquitted him, voting along party lines. Killed in a helicopter crash on January 26, the death of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others, left the world stunned.

It would not be the last time Americans would feel numb, bewildered, shocked, or disgusted.

A GLOBAL PANDEMIC.

At the close of 2019, the world learned of a man who died of an unknown virus in Wuhan, China. Similar cases continued in China as news of this new deadly virus began to spread. Americans watched from afar, never thinking the virus would affect the world. Scientists in China identified the virus as a type of coronavirus. The World Health Organization said it was monitoring this new virus, but the worst was yet to come.

By February, the virus spread to other counties. Cruise ships were among the first to see the rapid spread of this new virus. The first coronavirus case was diagnosed in the US on January 20. The first case diagnosed in Illinois occurred in March. Countries began initiating travel restrictions and lockdowns. Cruise ships became stuck at sea with sick vacationers. State officials wondered how to prevent this viruss spread. When asked by the media, the President told the American people, there was nothing to worry about. He compared the virus to a different strand of the flu. As the numbers began to rise in the US, individual states took matters into their own hands. Cities across the country initiated Stay at Home orders allowing only essential services to remain open. Offices and schools closed and moved to remote working and learning. We learned new phrases like pandemic, COVID-19, and social distancing. We ceased going anywhere without a mask and sanitizer. The world, as we knew it completely changed.

Restaurants and businesses closed. Weddings, Graduations, and proms became drive-in and virtual events if they werent canceled or postponed. Scientists became household names as Americans tuned in for daily briefings from the nations expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci or Dr. Ngozi Ezike in Illinois. Parents struggled with remote learning while working from home. Death was massive with many COVID-19 patients dying alone without family and friends present. The losses were staggering, with many losing loved ones and livelihoods. Employers furloughed or laid off their staff. Artists, Actors, and Musicians saw their incomes disappear with event cancelations. Freelancers and Gig Workers saw their incomes shrink as people stayed home. As a result, unemployment skyrocketed to rates unseen since the great depression and the recession. Black people were dying at higher rates from COVID-19. With many working as essential workers, living with pre-existing conditions, and lacking access to good medical care, our communities were suffering.

In November, a vaccine was announced by the pharmaceutical company, Pfizer. Recently approved the vaccine has been distributed to first responders around the world. Vaccinations need to be taken by at least 70% of the public to call an end to the pandemic. Coronavirus changed everything for everyone all around the world. Nothing about the year 2020 would be the same.

8 MINUTES 46 SECONDS THAT OPENED THE FLOODGATES

Police killings of unarmed black people are not new. Still, the trifecta of the murders of Ahmaud Arbery in February, Breonna Taylor in March, and George Floyd in May hit Black Americans hard. Fed up, Americans took to the streets in anger, frustration, and rage to protest their killings and the polices lack of accountability. With the world watching, Black Lives Matter went global with protests happening around the world. Countries stood in solidarity with Black people exhausted by the increasing number of hashtags. Collective anger turned to rage as some looted businesses already struggling in a pandemic. The world learned what a Karen or Ken was. Corporations and businesses rushed to initiate diversity and inclusion committees and programs often out of fear of being canceled or highlighted negatively on social media. There was a newfound interest in black-owned everything. The media went into overdrive, highlighting black everything; Film, Books, Music, TV, and Art, to appear diverse. Emotionally drained and mentally exhausted Blacks were asked by well-intentioned white friends and allies to explain it all so they could understand 400+ years of injustice, racism, and systematic oppression.

The holiday celebrated for generations, Juneteenth, all of a sudden, became important to businesses and corporations who decided to recognize it. Despite all these cosmetic changes, Colin Kaepernick remains blackballed from the league, and the killers of unarmed black people remain free. The second half of the year would mark Jacob Blakes shooting, shot seven times in the back, the unlawful search warrant executed against innocent civilian, Anjanette Young, and the latest police murder of Casey Goodson, Jr.

Young people became leaders and activists using social media to mobilize and engage. Tired of watching their community fight the same battles against racism and racist structures as generations before them, young people were defiant and loud. They were bold in their requests to dismantle systems of oppression. These young people used social media to engage like never before, and they harnessed their power in protests and at the polls.

THE REALITY SHOW KNOWN AS THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Staying true to form as the craziest year ever, we watched in sheer disbelief; a President reveal his admiration of racists, denial of science, and praiser of himself.

Trump refused to believe America was amid a pandemic, constantly refuting scientists, and casting doubt on whether masks and social distancing worked. Filled with conspiracy theories and outright lies, his press conferences often stunned the press. He even suggested Americans inject their bodies with disinfectant or UV rays. It sounds interesting, he said. His response to the coronavirus pandemic has been abysmal. Trump contracted COVID-19 in the latter part of the year after hosting super spreader events and maskless rallies. While Americans were dying, cities struggling financially, and people suffering, Trump sang his praises, telling reporters he has done a phenomenal job controlling the virus. As of December 2020, the United States has 19.1 million confirmed COVID-19 and over 300K deaths.

He attacked the press calling many of them idiots and morons. He called fallen soldiers and war heroes suckers and losers. He refused to address the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery but made sure to admonish protestors while praising the police. He even had protestors sprayed with tear gas so he could pose with a bible upside down at a local church.

Americans watched the road to the election that held enough drama for a Bravo reality show. He fueled racists, calling the coronavirus the Chinese Virus, and refused to denounce white supremacy in a chaotic debate.

Joe Biden made history when he selected Kamala Harris as his running mate as the first Black Woman to secure the role. The pandemic drew more people to vote by mail as Americans voted in record numbers. After a lengthy count, Joe Biden secured both the popular and electoral vote to win the election. Since election day, the nation watched Trump become even more unhinged. From denying the election results, suing states to void election numbers, and repeating false claims of a rigged election, many wonder if he will leave the office peacefully in January.

He has initiated a firing spree of any of his elected officials who do not side with him on his baseless claims. To anger republicans who have not remained loyal to him, Trump recently refused to sign the new Coronavirus bill to provide Americans with additional financial help, protect unemployment benefits, and prevent evictions and a government shutdown. Unemployment benefits expired at midnight on December 26. The President reluctantly signed the bill on December 27.

With less than 20 days in office, Americans wonder how much more damage and chaos he can do. He refuses to work with Biden on a peaceful transition of power. He refuses to discuss the surge in COVID-19 cases across the country, choosing instead to post tweets about unfound election fraud and golfing.

A pandemic, revolution, uprising, and a President unhinged affected all our lives in many ways. Tomorrow, we will explore how Black Americans adjusted to the new normal and the good that came from one of the most revealing years in history. 2020 The Year that Opened our Eyes will continue tomorrow with Part 2.

Danielle Sanders is a writer and journalist living in Chicago. Find her on social media @DanieSandersOfficial.

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2020: The Year that Opened Our Eyes-Pt. 1 - Chicago Defender

The Role of Minorities and their Significance in Building Social Stability. Let 2021 Be the Year of Minorities in Iraq. Remarks by SRSG Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Thursday 31 December 2020

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased to be addressing this timely workshop on a topic that could have easily been ignored, given the numerous competing challenges facing Iraq. It is most encouraging that critical issues of citizenship, diversity, inclusion, and coexistence, have been placed front and centre today.

My years in Iraq have reinforced the conviction that tolerance and inclusiveness are not only moral and political imperatives: they are a precious source of national vitality, of cultural and indeed economic wealth. A society in which diverse groups peacefully coexist is not only a secure society, but also a dynamic, prosperous and self-confident one.

It is at once a clich and a fundamental truth that Iraq is, and has always been, a rich mosaic of cultures. Some of the greatest inventions in human history were created or perfected here: the wheel, the written word, algebra, and countless more.

Crucially, these were not the innovations of one community, speaking one language, sharing one culture. Instead, they are the products of diversity, of ideas and viewpoints being exchanged. The communities who gave humanity these legacies embraced and leveraged their differences.

And Iraqis should take just as much pride in their current diversity. Not only does it offer immense cultural beauty, it can also provide a competitive edge in the global knowledge economy.

A strong House of Wisdom, however, requires solid foundations. Sadly, these have recently been shaken to their core. Mismanagement, geopolitical tensions, callous communitarianism, incitement and hate speech, the horror of Daesh, have all conspired to render many people in Iraq extremely vulnerable.

Displacement, rights deprivations and poor access to essential services disproportionately affect Iraqs minorities, along with women, the young, the elderly, and those suffering from disabilities. This has only worsened with the economic downturn.

In my most recent briefing to the UN Security Council, I emphasized that combatting divisive muhassassa, fighting corruption, building domestic resilience and more inclusive forms of development, are not just economic necessities: they offer political alternative to constant crisis management. Moreover, cohesion undermines those pursuing private gains instead of the national good. And unity strengthens sovereignty: the more Iraqis speak and act as one, the less vulnerable they are to external meddling.

Conversely, a community that is united will be best positioned to defend its interests at the national level: therefore, intra-community reconciliation is just as important as the work at the inter-community level.

We all agree that that defending diversity is imperative, but the question is: how? Well, the key is: respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law, applied to all without exception.

Like a physical crossroads, a crossroads of civilizations offers multiple options, and allows us to go in different directions. But properly navigating a crossroads, requires rules, and for these rules to be respected. Anyone who has driven in Baghdad will agree that very few adhere to any rules in sharing the road.

Building on that metaphor: respecting multiple identities, which can combine and complement each other rather than suppress, exclude or supersede each other, requires the recognition of every citizens equality before the law.

Political and community leaders must step up, join hands and serve the interests of the Iraqi people, never engaging in or condoning inflammatory actions and statements that stigmatize, blame or dehumanize.

Just as Iraq must be treated as equal and sovereign within the international community, so must all Iraqis be treated as equal citizens at home. The UN is based on the sovereign equality of all members, and Iraqs sovereignty is strongest when the equality of all its components is assured.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities are essential reading. But today we will focus on a central principle: States have a responsibility to protect and promote the identities of minorities, and may not discriminate against them.

Of course, individual and collective identities intersect in complex ways. But there can be no superior or separate rights for any group that would place its members outside the rule of law. Social, cultural or religious identity should never be invoked to justify any form of oppression or rights violation.

Todays workshop asks us to examine the role of diversity in building citizenship: in fact, we can emphasize the importance of citizenship rights in preserving diversity.

Now, as you know, the promotion of human rights and the rule of law is central to the UN mandate in Iraq:

In recent conversations with minority representatives as well as young demonstratorsI felt (once again) their great disappointment and despair. I explained that change requires time, and hard work by many. I also explained that a collective understanding on the way forward cannot be imposed by the UN: Iraqi ownership is essential.

I am the first to admit that Iraqs challenges did not arise overnight, and are larger than any single government. But the essential spirit of unity is too often being undermined by narrow divisive interests.

Iraqis have overcome immense challenges in the past, and should not despair today. This October, the UN celebrated its 75th anniversary in the service of humanity. Iraq is a founding member of the United Nations - and we will continue our partnership, working together for a safer, more prosperous and just Iraqi society.

In the short term, Iraq will continue to face multiple storms at once, from economic and security challenges to the pressing need for reform.

The June 2021 elections can give all Iraqis the opportunity to have their voices heard in shaping their future. The credibility of these elections will prove essential, and political leaders must ensure that debates are about ideas and policies rather than bankrupt identity politics.

I sincerely hope that 2021 will be the year in which every Iraqi can proudly say I too am Iraq.

Thank you.

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Social, Religious and National Diversity in Iraq and its Importance in Building Citizenship and Peaceful Co-existence - Iraq - ReliefWeb

Ten years ago, on 17 December 2010, a Tunisian street hawker named Muhammad Bouazizi set himself ablaze when a policewoman confiscated his fruit cart and slapped him. To take such an extreme step, he must have reached the end of his tether with nothing more to lose, including hope. His death ignited the spark of a collective rage that quickly became revolution and promised to usher democracy into the Arab world by overthrowing the dictators who had ruled people with an iron hand. However, ten years later, the Arab spring that swept the region with the force of a gale and kindled hearts with the hope of freedom is all but dead, and the spring of discontent has vanished into the Arab winter of despair and despondency. The world let the day pass almost unnoticed, not even bothering to write an obituary.

The Arab Spring did unseat dictators who seemed invincible till then ~ Tunisias Zine el- Abidine Ben Ali, Egypts Hosni Mubarak, Libyas Muammar al- Qaddafi and Yemens Ali Abdullah Saleh. But except in Bouazizis Tunisia, democracy has remained elusive in the Arab world which, as The Economist has observed, is less free today than perhaps it was then. Egypts brief sojourn with democracy was ended by a military coup in 2013, and the country under General Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi toady is certainly much more authoritarian and oppressive than it was under Mubarak. Qaddafi is dead, but Libya remains as dysfunctional as Syria and Yemen are ~ they descended into chaos and are being torn apart by civil wars that have killed half a million people and displaced 16 million more. In Syria Bashar al-Assad is still in the saddle ~ proposed up by Iran and Russia, but Syria is one of the most violent places in the world today. It has also become the chessboard where foreign powers ~ USA, Russia, Turkey, Iran and others are playing their own geopolitical games.

Twenty-two African and Gulf countries ~ members of the Arab League ~ constitute the Arab world. Most are still dictatorships, and the rest, with the sole exception of Tunisia, are either failed states that lock up and kill their critics, crush civil society and muzzle their press, or are ruled, under the garb of fragile democracies, by dictators who have clawed back most of their powers and are now sitting secure on their thrones.

As Merc Lynch wrote in Foreign Affairs, Autocrats have learned how to co-opt, disrupt, and defeat challengers. Domestic unrest or regional contagion is unlikely to catch regimes offguard, and governments are less likely to refrain from using force in the early stages of protest. Reinforced in their belief that repression works, they continue to deny their citizens any freedom to debate and criticise, often by using coercive state power riding piggyback on Islam and jihad.

Without civil society and political institutions, without a system of education that encourages critical thinking, democracy is an alien sapling yet to take root in this world. Nothing much has changed here during the decade except for the worse ~ it is the same tinderbox of poverty, corruption, inequality, unemployment, failed governance, abuse of human rights and political oppression that is probably waiting for another spark to get ignited.

Nowhere is the situation worse than in Syria. Following the Arab Spring, Syria has descended into utter chaos which indeed has proved a boon to its dictator, but a nightmare of misery and bloodbath for its people. What began as a peaceful movement against Assad has morphed into a protracted sectarian conflict that provided fresh blood to the Islamic Jihadists and resulted in a never-ending trail of horror and depressing images of an endless stream of refugees trying to flee from violence. The heartrending photo of the three-year old Syrian boy Alyan Kurdi, lying dead, face down in sand on the Turkish shore, has been a defining image of this conflict and its terrible humanitarian cost.

Syria was the seat of the Umayyad Empire ~ the first Arab dynasty after Muhammad, and no stranger to bloodbaths, being the arena for the nearly 200 yearlong conflicts of Crusades between the Muslims and the Christians. As Robert Kaplan wrote in The Revenge of Geography, Syria will continue to be the epicentre of turbulence in the Arab World. It is a multi-faith, multi tribal state with a population of 20 million of which Sunnis constitute about 70 per cent but is ruled by the minority Shiite Alawites or Followers of Ali. Alawites are a hill tribe who constitute only 12 per cent of the Syrian population, but were placed by its erstwhile rulers, the French, in the army and the police in which they entrenched themselves.

After the French left in 1946, they further consolidated their power. The Alawite Hafez-as- Assad assumed power in a coup in 1970. His rule was unpopular and in 1982, he ruthlessly crushed a Muslim Brotherhood-sponsored uprising in Hima ~ killing an estimated 30,000 people. As Tim Marshal reminds us in Prisoners of Geography, the Sunnis have never forgotten or forgiven the Alawites for this massacre. They got their chance for revenge during the Arab Spring in 2011. Lebanon was a part of Syria till 1920 when the French separated it as a separate nation, cutting Syrias only outlet to the Mediterranean. Desperate to restore Lebanon to itself, Syria intervened during the Lebanese civil war in 1976, sending 25,000 soldiers to prevent the defeat of right-wing Christian militias. It still remains heavily engaged in Lebanon ~ both militarily and politically along with its Shiite ally, Iran which backs the Hezbollah militants in Lebanon with arms and funds. Sunni Jihadists, supported by Turkey, hate the Alawite Bashar.

Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father Hafez in 2000. After a brief initial romance with democratic reform, in 2001 he cracked down brutally on opponents, imposing pervasive censorship and surveillance. He liberalised Syrias state-controlled economy only to benefit the crony capitalists close to his regime. Inequality and corruption became as endemic as the poverty and deprivation of the vast multitudes and devastating droughts in 2006 and 2010 had reduced hundreds of thousands of farming families to abject poverty.

It was in the impoverished drought-stricken rural province of Daara in southern Syria that the first major protests erupted in March 2011. The trigger was the arrest and torture of 15 schoolchildren for writing Arab Spring graffiti; one child was killed. Security forces responded by unleashing unrestrained firepower on unnamed demonstrators, killing many and provoking nation-wide protests. It seemed that the regimes days were indeed numbered.

As the protests intensified, the regime responded with heavier force, using tanks, artillery and even attack helicopters, forcing some groups of protesters to take up arms against the security forces.

By late 2011, combat between poorly organised rebel militias, many armed by foreign powers, and government troops were erupting all over. This was when the initial trickle of refugees fleeing violence became a flood; they sought shelter all over Europe and forced European countries to erect barriers to their entry. As rebels seized key cites like Aleppo in the north, Iran stepped in, sending Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon and its own Revolutionary Guards as military advisors to prop up the beleaguered Assad government.

Within Syria, as the sectarian divisions hardened, by the summer of 2011, its regional neighbours and global powers had both begun to split into pro- and anti-Assad camps. The USA and the European Union (EU) and the Arab League wanted Assad to step down, while Syrias longstanding allies, Iran and Russia and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, continued to support the regime, later enlisting China in their support. There was also a regional anti-Assad bloc of Qatar, Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia which was supporting the opposition to Assad, with each supporting a different opposition group.

Funds and arms ~ and sometimes fighters ~ flowed freely into Syria to the respective forces from their backers, making it one of the most dangerous places on earth. Involvement of Iran drew Israel into the conflict, which targeted Iranian military infrastructure within Syria in 2018 prompting Iran to respond by shelling Israels Golan Heights.

The battle fortunes oscillated wildly between the government and rebel forces. In August 2013, chemical weapons attacks using rockets filled with the lethal nerve agent sarin in the suburbs of Damascus killed hundreds of civilians, prompting the US led coalition to call for international military action against Syria which was opposed by Russia, China and Iran. Eventually, an agreement between Russia, Syria and the USA placed all chemical weapons under international control which were finally removed by 30 June 2014, but that did not eliminate the future use of chemical weapons in the conflict. (To be Concluded)

The writer is a commentator, author and academic

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Spring to Winter ~I - The Statesman

ByRichard B. Spence, Ph.D.,University of IdahoLeaders can wield tremendous power in secret societies. (Image: ltummy/Shutterstock)The Early Life of Robert Mathews

The founding leader of The Order was Robert Jay Mathews. Like other leaders, Mathews wasnt only inspiring but inspired. Mathews moved from Texas to Arizona as a boy. The first hint of something out of the ordinary came in 1964, when 11-year-old Robert joined the rigorously conservative and fiercely anti-communist John Birch Society. It was an odd thing for an 11-year-old kid to dedicate himself to.

In high school, Mathews joined the Mormon Church. It was also during high school that he formed his own secret society, the Sons of Liberty. Mathews borrowed the name of a patriotic secret order from the American Revolution. Thats another pattern: new secret societies cannibalizing or copying old ones. Mathews Sons of Liberty attracted 50 members before it fell apart.

This is a transcript from the video seriesThe Real History of Secret Societies.Watch it now, on The Great Courses Plus.

One book that grabbed his attention was Which Way Western Man? by William G. Simpson. Simpson started as a devout Christian, and director of what became the liberal American Civil Liberties Union. But in the 1930s, Simpson repudiated Christianity and liberalism. He came to believe that race was the dominant factor in human affairs. Simpson restyled himself a white nationalist and argued that violence in defense of the white race was justified.

But the book that really lit a fire under Mathews was The Turner Diaries, published in 1978. Its author, William Luther Pierce, ran a white nationalist society called the National Alliance. The Turner Diaries, a novel, was set in a future dystopian America in which the government had collapsed, and race war raged. In The Turner Diaries, Robert Mathews found his vision. He joined the National Alliance.

By 1983, Mathews was living in Metaline, Washington. In September of that year, he invited eight other like-minded young men to his home. They pledged to form a new order to fight for the white race. In homage to the Nazis, Mathews and his comrades officially dubbed their group the Brder Schweigen, or Silent Brotherhood. Outwardly, it was known as The Order.

Over the course of just one year, The Order allegedly committed a string of violent crimes beginning with a robbery at a Spokane, Washington porn shop, and graduating to a $3.6 million armored-car robbery. The Order was also supposedly responsible for the assassination of late-night radio talk-host Alan Berg, who was an outspoken critic of anti- Semites, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis.

Learn more about American secret societies at the turn of the last century.

The Order also dabbled at counterfeiting, which proved to be the organizations downfall. A member was caught passing phony fifties, and the Feds turned him into an informant. By December 1984, the FBI had rounded-up most of the group, and cornered Robert Mathews, in his Whidbey Island, Washington, farmhouse. Mathews refused to surrender, and died in a fiery shoot-out with 75 federal agents.

More than 70 Order members and associates were convicted of crimes, though none for Alan Bergs murder. The best the feds could do was convict two Order brothers, David Lane and Bruce Pierce, for violating Bergs civil rights.

Robert Mathews career as a secret-society leader was brief and bloody, but it didnt really end with his death. In the white supremacist universe, he became a martyr and source of new inspiration.

FEAR is a more recent organization. This emerged in 2011, in the American South. Georgia police found the bodies of two young people, 19-year-old Michael Roark and 17-year-old Tiffany York, dumped along a road. Both had been shot execution-style. Investigation led to the arrests of four young men. All turned out to be members of a secret militant group called Forever Enduring, Always Ready; FEAR for short.

Interestingly, the four young men, along with the murdered Roark and most of their other associates, were current or past members of the US Army. The ringleader was an Army private named Isaac Aguigui.

Aguigui and his associates killed Roark and York because they feared that the couple would betray the group. FEAR took their oaths of secrecy very seriously. Among other things, they were planning to blow up dams, assassinate the President, and overthrow the US government.

Learn more about Irelands secret war for independence.

The most glaring example involved the sudden death in July 2011 of Isaac Aguiguis pregnant wife, an Army sergeant. She supposedly died from a blood clot. In fact, Aguigui murdered her and his unborn son to collect $500,000 in insurance. FEAR was planning similar murders while also engaged in theft, weapons smuggling, and probably drug dealing. They needed money to buy land in Washington State. Aguigui and his comrades planned to build a secret army that would take over the country. They even had a target date: 2031.

In true secret-society tradition, FEAR members took oaths, got matching tattoos, and adopted code names. Aguiguis was Loki. It all started with bored young men playing a video game that featured a heroic militia group, the Patriots, who battle forces of oppression. But Aguigui and pals werent just ordinary bored young men. They were soldiers.

They had access to weapons, and they knew how to use them. Most of them were disgruntled soldiers with troubled pasts. Aguiguis military experience hadnt lived up to his expectations. A history of disciplinary infractions was common among FEAR members. These were young men with chips on their shoulders. In some countries, they might have plotted a coup dtat. In the United States, they created a terrorist-criminal secret society.

The Order and FEAR were secret societies with leaders who were willing to take quite violent action to achieve their ends.

Robert Jay Mathews was the founding leader of The Order, a secret society.

Robert Mathews was first influenced by Which Way Western Man? by William G. Simpson. He was also influenced by The Turner Diaries, written by William Luther Pierce.

The Order, a secret society, allegedly committed a robbery at a Spokane, Washington porn shop, and carried out a $3.6 million armored-car robbery. The Order was also supposedly responsible for the assassination of late-night radio talk-host Alan Berg.

The ringleader of FEAR, a secret militant society, was a US Army private named Isaac Aguigui.

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Brief but Bloody: The Order and FEAR - The Great Courses Daily News

The year 2020 has been shaped by the global pandemic and international outcry over institutional racism and white supremacy.

A number of technology companies, for example, came under sustained scrutiny for their ties to law enforcement and how, despite their proclamations of using tech for good, their products are used to further entrench racist policing practices.

Facial recognition was another major focus of Computer Weeklys 2020 coverage. On the one hand, police use of the technology in south Wales has been found unlawful, while on the other, both public and private sector bodies are racing to develop facial recognition that can work on people wearing masks or other face coverings, which could severely limit peoples ability to protest or even exercise their basic privacy rights.

Big tech also came under fire from lawmakers around the world for their anti-competitive business practices, bringing the possibility of legal anti-trust action much closer to reality, and Amazon in particular caught flak for its poor treatment of workers throughout the pandemic.

Computer Weekly also looked at where the raw materials that technology companies rely on such as cobalt, coltan and lithium are sourced from, and the negative consequences this has for people living in these mineral-rich areas.

Here are Computer Weeklys top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2020:

Following a massive international backlash against police racism and brutality sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, private technology companies started coming under increased scrutiny for their relationships with law enforcement.

Within a month, the protests prompted tech giants Amazon, Microsoft and IBM to halt sales of their respective facial-recognition technologies to US law enforcement agencies. However, all three remained silent on how other technologies, such as predictive algorithms and body-worn video cameras, can also be used to fuel racial injustice and discriminatory policing.

Despite the moves, which were condemned by some as merely a public relations stunt, many privacy campaigners were not satisfied and are continuing to push for a permanent ban on the technologys use.

There should be a nation-wide ban on government use of face surveillance, said the Electronic Frontier Foundation in a blog post. Even if the technology were highly regulated, its use by the government would continue to exacerbate a policing crisis in this nation that disproportionately harms black Americans, immigrants, the unhoused, and other vulnerable populations.

The European Unions upcoming Conflict Minerals Regulation is designed to stem the flow of 3TG minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold) from conflict zones and other high-risk areas. However, upon closer inspection Computer Weekly found a number of loopholes in the new rules that mean multinational technology companies which rely on these vital natural resources for their products and components are not covered.

For example, the technology companies will not be obliged to monitor, track or otherwise act to remove the minerals from their global supply chains; a number of minerals key to the tech industry, such as cobalt and lithium, are ignored by the regulation; and companies will not even be penalised if found to be in breach of the rules.

As is the case with previous regulatory or legislative attempts to deal with conflict minerals, the regulation will also do very little for those living and working on the ground in mineral-rich conflict zones such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Those Computer Weekly spoke to instead suggested moving away from voluntary corporate governance and social responsibility models to focus on increasing the productive capacity of those living in conflict zones, so they can develop their own solutions to what are essentially deeply political conflicts.

In early March, it came to light that the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police Service were collaborating with UK universities on a live facial recognition (LFR) project, known as face matching for automatic identity retrieval, recognition, verification and management, or FACER2VM, which could identify people wearing masks or other face coverings.

According to information listed on UK Research and Innovation, the project coordinators expected their research to have a substantial impact.

The societal impact is anticipated to be multifaceted, it said. Unconstrained face biometrics capability will significantly contribute to the governments security agenda in the framework of smart cities and national security. It can effectively facilitate access to public services.

While reports by other media outlets focused on FACER2VMs connection to Jiangnan University, which sparked fears that the project could enhance the Chinese governments ability to identify both masked protesters in Hong Kong and Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, the use of this technology by UK police or security services is also worrying, as general LFR has already been used against protestors in south Wales, while officers across Britain now routinely film gatherings and demonstrations.

In mid-April, shortly after official lockdowns went into effect around the world, online retail giant Amazon which has done very well financially during the pandemic was hit by a wave of strikes across its European and North American warehouses as frontline logistics workers protested against unsafe working conditions and corporate inaction.

While the striking workers complained about a lack of protective latex gloves and hand sanitiser, overcrowding during shifts and high barriers to quarantine pay, the initial wave kicked off in Spain and Italy after Amazon refused to shut down its facilities after learning that a number of workers had contracted the coronavirus.

Following a similar pattern to their European counterparts, workers in the US began taking strike action after Amazon decided to keep warehouses open.

A number of Amazon employees have since been fired for either taking part in the strikes or showing public support for those who did allegations that Amazon continues to contest.

After reporting on the initial wave of Amazon strikes, Computer Weekly got in touch with Christian Smalls, a process assistant at Amazons Staten Island warehouse in New York, who was the first person fired for speaking out about the alleged state of its warehouses during the pandemic.

The termination of Smalls employment remains a contentious issue, with both parties giving different versions of events.

Smalls told Computer Weekly he was just the first in a growing line of people allegedly fired by Amazon for speaking out or protesting about Covid-related issues, despite Amazons claims that the employees were dismissed for violating various guidelines or internal policies.

This includes the firing of user experience designers Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, organisers in the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ) campaign group who publicly denounced Amazons treatment of employees such as Smalls.

It also includes Minnesota warehouse worker Bashir Mohamed, who was advocating better work conditions and pushing for more rigorous cleaning measures.

In May, Computer Weekly interviewed Shoshana Zuboff, author of The age of surveillance capitalism: the fight for a human future at the new frontier of power (2019), to discuss how the practice of surveillance capitalism is intersecting with the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic and public health crisis.

As part of a growing body of work alongside texts such as Safiya Nobles Algorithms of oppression and McKenzie Warks Capital is dead: is this something worse? that seeks to analyse and explain the increasingly pivotal role of information and data in our economic, social and political lives, The age of surveillance capitalism argues that human experience (our experience) is captured in data, which is then repackaged in what Zuboff calls prediction products.

These are then sold in behavioural futures markets, making us and our experiences the raw material of these products, which are then sold to other companies in closed business-to-business markets.

Zuboff told Computer Weekly that the current health crisis presents a massive opportunity for surveillance capitalism, adding: While it is a crisis for all of us, it is something like business as usual for surveillance capitalists, in the sense that it is an opportunity to, possibly, significantly enhance their behavioural data supply chains.

She concluded that the fight against surveillance capitalism is a problem of collective action: We need new social movements, we need new forms of social solidarity. Lawmakers need to feel our pressure at their backs.

Although awareness of algorithms and their potential for discrimination have increased significantly over the past five years, Gemma Galdon Clavell, director of Barcelona-based algorithmic auditing consultancy Eticas, told Computer Weekly that too many in the tech sector still wrongly see technology as socially and politically neutral, creating major problems in how algorithms are developed and deployed.

On top of this, Galdon Clavell said most organisations deploying algorithms have very little awareness or understanding of how to address the challenges of bias, even if they do recognise it as a problem in the first place.

She further noted that while companies regularly submit to, and publish the results of, independent financial audits, there is no widespread equivalent for algorithms.

We need to change how we do technology, she said. I think the whole technological debate has been so geared by the Silicon Valley idea of move fast, break things that when you break our fundamental rights, it doesnt really matter.

We need to start seeing technology as something that helps us solve problems. Right now, technology is like a hammer always looking for nails Lets look for problems that could be solved with blockchain, lets look for problems that we can solve with AI actually, no, what problem do you have? And lets look at the technologies that could help you solve that problem. But thats a completely different way of thinking about technology than what weve done in the past 20 years.

In a landmark decision, the Court of Appeal ruled in August that South Wales Polices (SWP) facial recognition deployments breached human rights and data protection laws.

The decision was made on the grounds that SWPs use of the technology was not in accordance with citizens Article 8 privacy rights; that it did not conduct an appropriate data protection impact assessment; and that it did not comply with its public sector equality duty to consider how its policies and practices could be discriminatory.

However, speaking to Computer Weekly at the time, Matrix Chambers barrister Tim James-Matthews said the problem the Court of Appeal ultimately found was an absence of regulation around how the technology was deployed, as opposed to anything particular in the technology itself.

He added: What they said was that, essentially, South Wales Police hadnt done the work of identifying and determining whether or not there were equalities implications in using the technology, and how they might guard against or protect from those.

In the US, following a 16-month investigation into the competitive practices of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, the Democratic majority of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law published a report detailing their recommendations on how antitrust laws and enforcement can be changed to address the rise and abuse of market power in the digital economy.

They found that although the four corporations differed in important ways, the investigation into their business practices revealed common problems.

First, each platform now serves as a gatekeeper over a key channel of distribution, the report said. By controlling access to markets, these giants can pick winners and losers throughout our economy. They not only wield tremendous power, but they also abuse it by charging exorbitant fees, imposing oppressive contract terms, and extracting valuable data from the people and businesses that rely on them.

This echoed the opening remarks made by David Cicilline, chairman of the antitrust subcommittee, during its questioning of Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Googles CEOs in July.

The report suggested imposing structural separations and line-of-business restrictions on the companies, which would respectively prohibit a dominant intermediary from operating in markets that place the intermediary in competition with the firms dependent on its infrastructure and generally limit the markets in which a dominant firm can engage.

At the tail of 2019, Computer Weekly reported on a landmark legal case launched against five of the worlds largest multinational technology companies, which were accused by the families of dead or maimed child cobalt miners of knowingly benefiting from human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The lawsuit against Alphabet, Apple, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla marked the first legal challenge of its kind against technology companies, many of which rely on their cobalt supply chains to power products such as electric cars, smartphones and laptops.

In August, the companies filed a joint motion to dismiss the case, largely on the grounds they did not have requisite knowledge of the abuses at the specific mining sites mentioned.

However, in the latest round of legal filings, the Congolese victims maintained that the companies had specific knowledge of horrific conditions facing child miners in DRC cobalt mines from a number of sources. Computer Weekly will continue to monitor the case.

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Top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2020 - ComputerWeekly.com