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The dangers of journalism in war zones

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We should take a moment to honor Anja Niedringhaus, a photojournalist based in Afghanistan who was shot & killed this past week. It is estimated that at least 70 journalists were killed last year & 20 so far this year. Twenty-eight of those killed in 2013 were reporting from Syria. Journalists face many dangers in war zones & areas of conflict since they are often targeted for assassination. It’s not a glamorous job.

One press freedom group estimates over 850 journalists were killed in the line of duty between 1992 & 2012. Mexico is considered by press freedom groups to be among the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Almost 100 reporters have been killed or disappeared since 2000 with most of those crimes unsolved, un-investigated, & with few arrests. Many Mexican journalists have sought refuge in neighboring countries from possible assassination. Unsolved murders of journalists exist in many countries, including Russia & the US. Presently, a group of al-Jazeera reporters are in a kangaroo court in Egypt for alleged collaboration with the Muslim Brotherhood. There are many such cases around the world & press freedom groups have formed ostensibly to monitor & defend media workers when they are targeted, arrested, prosecuted, or murdered by tyrannous regimes.

Most notable groups include the Committee to Protect Journalists (formed in 1981), which has a conservative board of directors including Christiane Amanpour, Tom Brokaw, & Dan Rather. The association of such establishment figures should put up a huge red banner saying “donors beware”.

Reporters Without Borders (formed in 1985), has questionable corporate & foundation financial sponsorship (like the Open Society Institute of George Soros & anti-Cuban immigrant groups in the US); & extremely reactionary political associations (like Otto Reich, a former Reagan & Bush official with a political rap sheet a mile long). The group shows particular venom toward Cuba (explaining their association with Reich) & is accused of disinformation campaigns against the Haitian government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide & the Venezuelan government under Hugo Chávez–giving the group its distinct malodorous whiff of deceit & nefarious connections with tyranny.

Another group is the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which has existed off & on since 1926 & now claims 600,000 members in 100 countries. It claims it has no political point of view as an organization & is based on the trade unions. That association does not make it free of political fault but it does appear to be run by journalists, not by corporate & tyrannous agendas, & seems the least compromised of the press freedom groups. It advocates for women journalists who face threats, assaults, rape, & murder due to gender, particularly in Israel, Mexico, the Philippines, Somalia, Russia, & Nepal.

Calling out Israel for targeting women journalists & for endangering journalists in Israeli bombing sieges in Lebanon (2006) & Gaza (Dec. 2008-Jan 2009) put the group at loggerheads with the Israeli journalist association. The resolution of that conflict nearly a year after Israel’s Operation Cast Lead (a three-week ground invasion & aerial bombardment of Gaza) is not the IFJ’s finest moment. In fact, it was despicable. One of the issues was Palestinian press freedom after Operation Cast Lead & Israeli journalist complaints that they were not consulted in the IFJ’s investigative mission. In the rapprochement brokered by Franco Siddi from the Italian IFJ with the Israeli journalist association, Siddi said, “Eliminating the contribution of Israeli journalists to our international federation was inconceivable. Israeli media are amongst the most independent & freest in the world, & their voices are an essential element in the IFJ, which is based on democratic, ethical principals.” That would constitute shameless groveling & outright lies.

In fact, at the IFJ world congress in Dublin, Ireland, in June 2013, the delegates launched a campaign protesting Israeli restrictions on Palestinian journalists with official press passes from free movement between Israel, Gaza, East Jerusalem, & the West Bank & within the West Bank itself. No mention how Signore Siddi voted on the resolution. Hopefully he was covering his head in shame or hiding in the bathroom in disgrace.

According to independent sources, not just restrictions on movement, but attacks on Palestinian journalists is common, including targeting them in the same way they target all Palestinians–with rubber-coated bullets, tear gas, stun grenades, stink bombs.

This petition launched last year by Palestinian journalists demanding press freedom is still active & requires signatures; please take a moment to sign it: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Freedom_of_Movement_for_Palestinian_Journalists

This 2012 photo by Anja Niedringhaus (done for AP), is an Afghan nomad with his daughter in Helmand province. The caption read that Helmand province was one of the country’s deadliest battlefields, leaving the residents terrorized. They say the promised development by US-NATO forces has not materialized & Taliban rule is often preferred.

May Ms Niedringhaus RIP.

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Obama sheds phony tears over Fort Hood murder-suicide

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Obama says he’s “heartbroken” over the shooting deaths of three soldiers & the suicide of the shooter at the Fort Hood military base in Texas. That would be a step in the right direction–if it were at all believable. The US War-Monger in Chief didn’t express any sorrow when they reported in 2012 that suicides in the military eclipsed the number of combat-related deaths. Suicides among soldiers & veterans is now about one-a-day & increasing.

Of course, the Pentagon cooks the books when it comes to accurate reporting of combat deaths so none of those figures are reliable. On the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC, there are about 58,000 names of soldiers killed in that war. Names continue to be added. But more importantly, for that memorial the Pentagon only released the names of soldiers who were injured & died in Vietnam. If they were injured in Vietnam but died on a ship en route to a hospital in Japan, if they died from Agent Orange poisoning in a US hospice, or died from complications of combat injuries after release from the military, or if they were injured in the US invasion of Cambodia, the Pentagon does not include their names among Vietnam War casualties. It should also be added, they’re not counted if they just drank or doped themselves to death over grief & guilt at what they had done in war.

Obama has yet to shed any tears over the monumental numbers of civilian deaths caused by US wars–they number in the millions, not even including those who suffer from injuries like dismemberment, disfigurement, & birth disabilities.

Last year, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study funded by the Pentagon that claimed the real reason behind the catastrophic number of military suicides was not combat experiences or extended deployments but in fact underlying mental health issues in the population. It’s inarguable a society built & sustained by racist policies & wars will have more than its fair share of insanity. US politicians give glaring testimony to that–only rivaled by the parliament of England. But to find scientists willing to sing for their supper who dare claim soldiers who kill, massacre, rape, participate in torturing prisoners, are coming home sane is an abomination of science & politics.

So hold your tears, Obama! You’ll need them when you meet the devil as he leads you to that special hellhole set aside for war criminals. You’ll be spending your eternity with the smelly likes of Hitler, Kissinger, Bush, Reagan, Nixon, & Dick Cheney. You earned that shame, buster!

(Photo of US soldier in Afghanistan putting children in harm’s way from antiwar.com; photographer not identified)

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Immigration is a human right! Open the damn borders!

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This photo is of two African immigrants who on March 18th made it past the 20-foot chain-link fence between Morocco & Melilla, an outpost of Spain on the coast of northern Africa. Because the detention center already has triple its capacity of immigrants, the Spanish Red Cross set up additional tents (seen in the background).

The photo is posted not to evoke pity–a patronizing emotion–because immigrants are among the toughest, most determined people on the planet. It is posted because the faces of these young men express the fear, trauma, & ordeal of undocumented immigrants routed by neoliberal barbarisms, forced to leave their families & countries, travel thousands of often treacherous miles, risk their lives & limbs simply to find work.

Our fullest solidarity with them. Immigration is a human right!

(Photographer not identified; photo from CNN)

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Military occupation of Brazilian favelas under guise of drug war

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Military special forces in Rio de Janeiro have now taken over at least 38 favelas, mostly those near the venues for the 2014 World Cup scheduled to begin in June. This favela, Complexo da Mare, was slated for “pacification”–that is, military occupation–as far back as 2011 but it is a primary target now since it’s located near Rio’s international airport where hundreds of thousands of tourists will be pouring in for the games.

The ostensible reason for the occupation is to rout drug trafficking but many traffickers on the run claim half their monthly proceeds go to buying off the police. If drug trafficking in the rest of the world is any indication, the police are not just accepting bribes to look the other way but helping to organize the trade. There were so many corruption accusations made during “pacification” of other favelas that officials banned cops carrying backpacks & began teaching ethics courses in the police academy. The officials most likely have special six-wheelers carting in the drugs & carting out their cut of the dough.

This photo in Complexo da Mare lets us judge for ourselves whether the military invasion is a “pacification” or an occupation.

(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Image)

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The unspeakable barbarisms of European Union immigration policies

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Melilla is a Spanish territory on the Mediterranean coast of Africa surrounded by Morocco. It has long been disputed territory between Spain & Morocco, along with the enclave of Ceuta & several nearby Mediterranean islands. Spain has claimed it since the 15th century & it remains a vestige of European colonialism. Ironic that, since now it serves Spain as a military outpost against African immigrants fleeing the ravages of neoliberal plunder in their own countries.

Reportedly, the Spanish government estimates there are 40,000 African immigrants in Morocco trying to get into Melilla or the enclave of Ceuta which is closer to the Strait of Gibraltar. They estimate another 40,000 moving from Mauritania to Morocco to make entry into Spain & the rest of Europe to find work.

The border between Morocco & Melilla is secured by a six-meter (nearly 20 feet) high chain-link fence with detection wires, tear gas dispensers, radar, day/night vision cameras, & lots of armed border patrol agents. That hasn’t deterred immigrants from repeatedly attempting to cross into the enclave where there is an overcrowded migrant center.

The barbarisms Spain uses to thwart immigrants have created a furor, especially since last February when fifteen immigrants drowned trying to swim from Morocco past a retaining wall into Ceuta. Spanish police fired rubber bullets at them although they claim they were not directly aimed at the immigrants. You don’t find a more paltry defense of barbarism than that. Who were they shooting at then? Fish?

In late March, under early morning cover of dense fog, about 800 young men reportedly mostly from Mali & Cameroon, rushed a weak section of the chain-link fence at Melilla; 500 made it in. It was the single largest crossing since October 2005 when 350 successfully crossed. The young immigrants ran toward the holding center shouting “bosa, bosa” (“victory, victory”) & we join that rally cry with them. Spanish officials claim most were turned back by phalanxes of border patrol from both Morocco & Spain.

European Union immigration policy is barbaric & racist & must be opposed. Immigration is a human right! Open the damn borders!

(Photo of immigrants trying to get into Melilla by Jose Colon/AFP)

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Protests continue in Egypt against military repression

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There are protests all over the world in opposition to neoliberal barbarisms but this guy in Cairo is certainly among the toughest & most intransigent in the world. He is identified in the media as a “supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood,” but media now identifies all Egyptian protestors with that designation. Perhaps the designation is to discredit protestors & associate them with the disastrous policies of the Mohammed Morsi regime which colluded with the Egyptian military, US Pentagon, & Israel.

But in a savvy program to thwart the Egyptian uprising, the military turned on the MB to blame that conservative organization for the crimes of the military. This treacherous program included the massacre of thousands of members of the MB last year; classifying the group as a terrorist organization; arrest & incarceration of thousands of members; & last week, an Egyptian kangaroo court sentencing 529 MB “supporters” to death. Fortunately, according to reports, only 123 of the defendants were present at the sentencing; the rest were either released, out on bail, or on the run. The mass death sentence came down the same day a group of journalists went on trial for allegedly being associated with the MB. Trusting the military as allies was a fatal mistake for the MB; you never trust a rattle snake not to bite.

The sole motive for the military going after the MB was to legitimize & gain popular support for repression. So whether we dislike what the MB stands for or disagree with their conduct during the Morsi regime, it is the duty of democracy activists around the world to stand with them against persecution by the military. Because you can be damn sure the regime is not just targeting MB members but also thousands of MB “supporters” who understand “an injury to one is an injury to all.” The Egyptian uprising is proving that slogan not to be just an empty slogan but the iron law of social revolution.

As in every mass social movement, the Egyptian uprising has ruptures & clashes in political perspective & ideology & divergent class interests. Because it was so massive & so monumental, we are learning what a complicated task social transformation really is. There’s no historic forgiveness for naiveté like trusting the military & no substitutions for forging unity with disparate political forces.

Our fullest solidarity & deepest respect for all those in Egypt defying tyranny.

(Photo by Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)

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Yet another slum fire in district slated for gentrification

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This is the human toll of urban gentrification/urban development mandated by IMF programs: a man & his child are headed to a basketball court turned into an evacuation center in the Tondo district of Manila, Philippines. In the fourth slum fire just in the past five weeks, thousands more were left homeless in an area targeted for development into swanky venues for the rich.

The Philippine government is authorized to clear out tens of thousands of slum residents all over Manila by December 2015 so the land can be privatized to suit IMF mandates & used for gentrification schemes. With no place else to go, residents are understandably resistant to being evicted, so it appears the Aquino regime is using the same method used in dozens of other cities & other countries: simply burning the shanties to the ground.

Fire forensics are seldom reported but fire officials theorized this latest fire on March 24th was caused by an unattended electrical appliance which torched hundreds of homes made of makeshift, flammable materials. We only wish that were persuasive but it isn’t–at least not to residents. Arson motivated by greed is the more likely cause & the least likely to be investigated.

The more important issue is why governments aren’t addressing the massive, global housing crisis which their policies, in league with IMF plunder programs, create for now over a billion impoverished people.

Housing is a human right!

(Photo by Noel Celis/AFP)

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Vatican puts the screws on Obama against reproductive rights

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It’s swell Obama & the pope found something to chuckle about for the cameras but this is not just a photo op to prop up Obama’s waning popularity. Media sources can’t figure out what the hell they talked about in their 50 minute meeting or what Obama discussed in a separate hour-long meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, because the Vatican & Obama issued distinctly differing reports on the content. The media’s usual facility with passing off baloney as hard news served them well here & most repeated Obama’s claim that the two discussed a common commitment to world peace, eliminating poverty, & immigration reform.

The Vatican issued a statement veiled in poetics saying they raised concerns about “the exercise of the rights to religious freedom, life & conscientious objection” in the US. This is an intentionally vague reference to the Catholic Church’s active opposition to the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare which requires employers to cover the cost of contraception in insurance plans. It’s good the Catholic hierarchy has it’s priorities straight since Obamacare also denies medical coverage to millions of undocumented immigrants & that was not in contention. Doesn’t that exclusion fall under the ‘exercise of the rights to life’?

Obama denies that Obamacare came up in discussions with the pope but admits it was covered in his talk with Cardinal Parolin. They wanted talks with the pope to be a photogenic moment so left it to the cardinal to put the screws on Obama.

The Francis-Obama meeting took place just two days after the US Supreme Court heard two cases challenging the “contraception mandate” in Obamacare & whether corporations have a right to opt out of it if it offends their religious convictions. Two cases by Hobby Lobby, Inc. & Conestoga Wood Specialties claim contraception violates their First Amendment rights & the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) filed amicus curiae briefs in support of both corporate challenges.

Abortion is not at issue in either suit because, along with many state & insurance company restrictions, federal law (the Hyde Amendment) bans federal funds from being used for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest, or if the life of the woman is in danger. While not agreeing, one can understand opposition to abortion & why it violates some religious commitments. But contraception!? The Catholic hierarchy claims contraception drugs & devices may cause abortions. So could denying medical care to undocumented immigrants but that does not concern the Vatican. Denying medical care to immigrants will also cause deaths. So where’s the Catholic hierarchy on that issue?

Reproductive rights for women are under serious attack in the US. It will take far more than legislative filibusters or electing women politicians to fend these massive assaults off. Proof of that is that the voices of women politicians are quiet as a mouse, if not altogether mute, in opposing these attacks or organizing women against them.

(Photo from Reuters)

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Texas leads assault on abortion rights

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In July 2013, Texas governor Rick Perry, signed into law one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the US. As of 2011, Texas women already must undergo a mandatory ultrasound (where the physician is required to play the sound of the heartbeat & describe the development of the fetus) & a 24-hour waiting period before getting an abortion. Under the mandates of the new law, abortions are banned after 20 weeks of gestation; the use of medicines like RU-486 to induce abortion are restricted; physicians performing abortions must have hospital admitting privileges within 30-miles of the abortion facility; & as of September 2014, all abortion procedures must be performed in ambulatory surgical centers.

As a result of all these restrictions most clinics providing abortion services have been forced to close down. By September 2014, only six abortion clinics will remain in the immense state of Texas.  And of course it goes without saying that poor working women will be the primary victims of this restrictive legislation.

Planned Parenthood & several other defendants sued to overturn two of the new provisions. Their legal strategy was to challenge only the admitting privileges requirement & that concerning the use of drugs like RU-486. The state of Texas was allowed to implement all of the law while it was wending its way through the legal challenge.

Yesterday (Mar 27th), a 3-judge appellate court ruled the Texas law was constitutional. The decision was something of a foregone conclusion. Judge Edith Jones, the conservative judge issuing the verdict for the court, has renowned herself for racism, opposition to abortion rights, enthusiastic advocacy of the death penalty. She once claimed Blacks & Latinos are “predisposed to crime” & “prone to commit acts of violence.” She has long been actively & outspokenly opposed to Roe v. Wade & has attempted to juridically challenge & overturn it. She also upheld the Texas sonogram law when it was challenged in 2012. Jones used all sorts of legalese blah blah blah to explain the court decision, but in legal proceedings seeking injunction against the new law, she’s the bozo who argued that if you drive fast a 300-mile trip to get an abortion is no big deal. They don’t come more stupid or more vicious.

Planned Parenthood has indicated they plan no massive protests against the appellate court decision. This is an election period where Wendy Davis (the state politician who filibustered the Texas legislature to obstruct passage of the anti-abortion law) is running for governor. Elections always impact mass protest in powerful & negative ways while people look to a savior to bring them their rights. There could not be a more bankrupt political perspective because it has nothing to show for it in over 100 years of experience.

What is needed is mass mobilizations of women from all over Texas converging on the state capitol in Austin to demand reproductive rights. A filibuster is a parliamentary gimmick but what is needed is an uprising. The forces opposed to abortion have been relentless since Roe v. Wade was passed in January 1973. They have taken a primarily legislative approach because they cannot win popular support for their views; the majority in the US support a woman’s right to choose if & when she will bear children.

In response, & regrettably, the abortion rights movement has taken an electoral approach to abortion rights & in those 41 years has only mobilized massively in Washington, DC on two occasions. Those two protests drew well over half a million people each. That is exactly what is needed in Texas & across the US since these state legislative initiatives have long existed & are now emboldened by the victory over abortion rights in Texas.

Mass mobilizations are not counterposed to electoralism & lobbying. Showing up to lobby in Austin or Washington, DC with half a million people trumps a handful of women beseeching politicians like beggars.

Abortion rights are human rights! Stand with the women of Texas! Don’t mess with our rights!

(Photo of women at Texas legislature in Austin protesting new law in 2013 from ThinkProgress.org)

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Antiwar protests in Manila, Philippines

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These are intrepid antiwar activists in Manila, Philippines (yesterday), protesting the upcoming visit of Obama & ongoing negotiations between the Philippines & US to establish a framework for long-term presence of US troops in the country & the “unlimited & unqualified use of Philippine bases & facilities by US forces.” Filipinos have a belly-full of that arrangement since WWII, particularly in the Vietnam War when their country played a vital role for the US military.

If you want to get the measure of Obama, you ignore his affable meeting with the pope & the media nonsense about how they share a concern for the poor. These activists, defying his mission on behalf of the Pentagon, take his full measure: that of war-monger in chief.

Hats off to our Filipino brothers & sisters! No military presence in the Philippines!

(Photo by AP)