Posts Tagged ‘crimes’

Israel and Human Rights – Parting Ways

Monday, March 26th, 2012

You know how when you catch a liar in a lie, they overreact and get all angry and hostile? That’s pretty much what the State of Israel has just done.

The United Nations human rights council decided to establish an international investigation into abuses committed in the West Bank settlements. And in response, Israel has severed all ties with that branch of the UN.

Oh, what… afraid that your horrendous, ongoing atrocities will be exposed? Too bad. The world is waking up, no matter how hard you try and hide. (more…)

US-NATO Perpetrated Extensive War Crimes in Libya

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

The invasion of Libya and murder of Gaddafi has been touted by many as the future of warfare. Why use expensive invasions and occupations when you can just drop bombs from the safety of the sky?

Well, the war may be fought by-proxy with jets and remote controlled drones, but the same atrocities remain, even if they happen to be further out of sight. There is no such thing as a clean war.

Confirming this is an in-depth report released by several Middle East Human Rights groups, presenting extensive evidence of war crimes carried out in Libya by the United States and NATO. The coalition stands accused of targeting civilian sites, including schools, government buildings, food warehouses, and private homes.

The report also shows evidence of systematic murder, torture, expulsion and abuse of suspected Gaddafi loyalists by the NATO-backed “rebel” forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC). It describes the forced expulsion of the mostly black-skinned peoples and the ongoing persecution of sub-Saharan migrant workers by forces allied to the NTC and its transitional government.

Investigators also discovered evidence of savage and repeated beatings of prisoners held without trial or charges, the summary execution of pro-Gaddafi fighters, along with witness reports of “indiscriminate and retaliatory murders, including the ‘slaughter’ (i.e., throat slitting) of former combatants.”

What’s that you say? America and NATO shouldn’t be held liable for what the rebels were doing? Of course they should! US-NATO gave the rebels carte blanche, and are therefore just as culpable for the heinous acts committed under their wing.

The lie we were sold, and what the UN mandated, was an operation to protect civilians. But, as estimated by the NTC themselves, the war took 50,000 lives and injured another 50,000 people. And now, with escalating infighting between rival NTC factions, the door is open for full-scale civil war across Libya.

So much for improving security. The only thing US and NATO secured in Libya is control over its natural resources, which were divvied up long before Gaddafi was dragged out of a hole and shot.

Don’t be fooled again. The next time the United States or NATO want to ‘help’ some other nation for whatever cockamamie reason they come up with, rest assured that unspeakable atrocities will be committed for the true motive behind war – furthering corporate interests around the globe.

Iraq: Millions Left Uprooted

Monday, January 9th, 2012

While last week’s final Iraq War death count highlights those most directly impacted by the US-led invasion, these figures leave untold yet another tale of woe: that of the 3.7 million newly created refugees.

Detailing the plight of displaced Iraq civilians, Andrew Lam writes:

Each time Uncle Sam ventures abroad he leaves an unfinished story, and nowhere is it most unfinished than the story of Iraq, where the tragedy caused by the United States occupation and inevitable abandonment is on an epic proportion.

Whether tyranny has been cast aside is questionable, but certainly cast aside are the people of Iraq. They have been displaced both internally and internationally and are now imperiled by the sin of our omission.

Lam goes on to show how Iraq is not the exception, but more like the rule:

A Theme of Betrayal: Uncle Sam left unwanted children in Vietnam known as con lai – mixed-race children — and it took years for them to come to the US, years in which many lived as abused and abandoned as children of the enemy. Uncle Sam also left tens of thousands of South Vietnamese allies to languish in re-education camps.

The costs of war far outweigh any gains, and the scars left behind can last for generations. Never has war been more unnecessary than it is right now. It is time we move ahead into the world of peace we know exists.

Corporations Seeking Immunity for Rape, Torture, Genocide

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

Imagine what can happen when international corporations are no longer liable for committing heinous crimes against humanity. It’s a scary premise for any entity, let alone some of the world’s most influential and vehemently greedy institutions.

Yet that is precisely what is being ruled on right now in the US, where a split decision is due to be settled in the Supreme Court.

The case centers around Shell Oil subsidiaries that colluded with the Nigerian government to torture and execute individuals protesting against the companies’ oil exploration. Plaintiffs filed suit in a US district court under the Alien Tort Statute, which empowers federal courts to hear cases by “an alien” bringing a civil suit for wrongs committed “in violation of the law of nations.”

Last year, while ruling on the Citizens United bill, the Supreme court found the First Amendment does mean Corporations are considered people, opening the doors for unlimited political spending by business entities. Now, this same ruling might make international corporations financially liable for their actions.

Of course, given how much clout these mega-conglomerates yield, it won’t come as a huge surprise to see the Supreme Court affording corporations all the pros of personhood while shielding them from any cons – like facing repercussions for using mass murder as a business tactic.

Whatever comes of this ruling, it certainly shows us the direction the pro-corporatism people want to take our world. It is far more profitable when businesses get all the benefits the government offers, while at the same time skirting any accountability and shirking all responsibility to the world in which they exist.

This is why populist movements, like #occupy, are so essential. The pro-business side will continue to tirelessly and systematically stack the cards in their own favor at the expense of everyone else. Unless we fight tooth and nail right now, the hill we’re climbing towards a more just civilization could very well grow into a mountain right under our feet.

Israel Expands Settlements, Might Annex Entire West Bank

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

(Here’s two minutes of self-righteous Israeli settler drivel that you’ll never get back.)

Israel has approved the construction of 1,100 more homes in the settlement of Gilo on the outskirts of Jerusalem, earning widespread condemnation by Palestinian and Western powers, including the EU and US.

The move follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the UN, where he decried the Palestinians unwillingness to negotiate a peace deal. Well, no shit, Benji – it’s kinda hard to work out a deal if you keep grabbing land from the people you’re negotiating with.

But Israel’s slow, systematic creeping might turn into a leaping pounce, should a new bill pass in the Knesset next month. The bill, which comes in response to Palestine’s bid for UN statehood recognition, will decide if Israel should just go ahead and annex the whole West Bank.

Oh great. Palestine is poised to become an official nation in the eyes of the international community, and Israel decides the best course of action is to usurp as much land as possible, while they still can.

Well, the Palestinian’s bid with the UN was supposed to move forward stalled peace talks. If Israel gets their way, there most certainly will be peace between Palestine and Israel, but only because Palestine no longer exists.

Long Distance Murder

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

Every single day, tens of millions of people risk being executed by foreign governments who rain down death from thousands of miles away.

It is time for this long distance murder to stop. Take action now!

US Troops Handcuff, Execute Elderly Women and Children

Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

Wikileaks just dumped 250,000 un-redacted US embassy cables – most of which were classified – to the series of tubes we call the Internet. Out of the many stories which have already surfaced, none, so far, are more damning than one stemming from a controversial 2006 incident in the central Iraqi town of Ishaqi.

The leaked cable provides evidence that U.S. troops executed at least 10 Iraqi civilians, including a woman in her 70s and a 5-month-old infant, and then they called in an airstrike to destroy the evidence!!! Autopsies showed that all the dead – including four woman and five children aged 5 years or younger – had been handcuffed and shot in the head.

Disgusting.

Hopefully these and other leaked documents will provide the push needed to hold the key players behind this war – Bush, Cheney, Rummy – accountable for their crimes against humanity. Then, maybe the next time a problem arises, leaders won’t be quite so eager to drop the bombs.

Israel’s Response: Just Blow Them All Up

Friday, August 26th, 2011

Well, so much for the truce between Israel and Palestine. I guess it was kind of naive to expect it to last long, especially when the Israeli government benefits so much from the perpetuation of war.

Yesterday, Israel’s airstrikes killed 10 people and wounded 30 others, in response to rockets being launched from within Gaza. The rockets from the Gaza side were likely fired in response to Israel’s continued oppression and abuse of the Palestinian people.

Both sides are equally in the wrong, except for one glaring difference: The rockets originating from the Gaza strip were fired from extremist militants whose actions weren’t sanctioned by the government of Palestine. The airstrikes, on the other hand, came from Israel’s modern military arsenal with the full support of the Israeli government.

To think that bombing your enemies helps your cause is pretty asinine. It’s something that might be expected from uneducated fanatic ideologues, like some of the Gaza militants, but not from the government of one of the most advanced nations in the world.

Take the above video, for example. Israeli intelligence tracked down a militant organization living in the large residential complex. So what do they do – send in an elite commando unit to eliminate the threat? No… they just blow up the whole fucking place, full of men, women and children!

Now what kind of bullshit is that? Are these mass murders supposed to be bringing peace? How can any rational person look at these atrocities and not be outraged?

Then again, one could just as easily say the same for the Israeli side. Don’t they have the same right to feel the same way about being bombed?

Of course they do.

But these feelings – the same ones used by extremists to rationalize acts of terror – should not manifest themselves all the way up into the government. Governments should know better, and Israel is no exception.