Did you know that in a few days, Scotland will vote on becoming an independent nation?
On the 18th of this month, Scots will be flocking to polling stations to vote either “yes” or “no” on becoming a self-governed country, joining in the movement with many areas of Europe, currently campaigning for self-determination (though barring the Catalonians, Scotland’s probably the closest any have yet gotten).
And may that day yet come…
So is this a good thing? We here at CWR say yes. Continue reading
Posted in Economy, environmentalism, Europe, government, health, history, money, news, politics
Tagged age, bigotry, BNP, citizenship, EDL, ethnocentrism, Europe, fracking, freedom, GCHQ, healtchare, independence, Indyref, loch lomond, Military, missile, Nationalism, NHS, no, NSA, nuclear, pension, pensioner, poverty, proposal, racism, Referendum, scotland, Scottish, September 18, SNP, spending, taxes, trident, UKIP, vote, weapons, Yes
On the ninth of this month Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown during a traffic stop. The subsequent days have seen massive protests in both the city and across the nation, matched only in their intensity by the crackdown of the local police.
Now while the police have just now cited that the deceased Michael Brown was the suspect in a local convenience store robbery (nothing has yet been proven), the cops have nevertheless come under widespread criticism. By all accounts, 18-year-old Michael Brown, who has no record of bad behavior- criminal or otherwise, surrendered to Wilson after a brief struggle. Despite his raised hands and his shouts that he was unarmed, Wilson opened fire anyway, shooting the teenager no less than six times.
We could talk about the struggle that allegedly occurred, the protocol in place for such events, and a host of other factors, but ultimately the fact that Wilson shot and killed an unarmed teen remains undisputed.
But we’re not here to talk about that.
We’re here to talk about the days that have since passed.
Posted in America, crime, government, media, morality
Tagged Al Jazeera, Army, Bahrain, Brutality, Darren Wilson, Egypt, enemy, Ferguson, Fergustan, Fucking Animals, Gaza, Huffington Post, Jean Quan, justice, Michael Brown, Militarized, Military, Missouri, occupation, Occupy Oakland, palestine, peaceful, police, Protest, reporters, riot, siege, Tear Gas, unarmed, Washington Post, weapons
UN Officials report having warned Israel “17 times” that the school was housing refugees and children.
I’m writing this after one of the deadliest days in the recent bombing of Gaza. As of right now, estimates place the Palestinian death toll for the past 24 hours as being over 100, with many lost after the IDF (“Israel Defense Force”) bombed a UN school-turned-refugee shelter. With the total death count standing at 1,336, it can be tough in such times to feel that there’s any hope- but readers, there is a way to fight back.
It’s called “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions“.
Posted in Africa, America, Christianity, Economy, Europe, Fame Day, government, history, money, morality, news, politics, religion
Tagged Alice Walker, apartheid, BDS, Boycott, civil rights, Death Toll, Desmond Tutu, Divestment, Gaza, Haredi, human-rights, idf, israel, israeli, Presbyterian Church, Sanctions, school, south africa, Stephen Hawking, Tesco, UN, UNWRA, West Bank, zionism
This was originally going to be my topic for Monday, but I decided to put this discussion off for a few days and showcase it here. Our “Fame Days”, after all, aren’t just about celebrating achievements but include shining the spotlight on noble issues or events we believe should have more attention, and I’d be hard-pressed to think of any idea more deserving than the “One-State Solution”.
Chances are that you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, and that’s fine. Normally I rail against what I’d consider self-imposed ignorance when it comes to politics or foreign affairs, but this is a really, really obscure concept (heck, that’s the entire reason we’re talking about it today).
When we’re talking about either the “one-state” or (more common) “two-state” solutions, we’re referencing the debate over the future of Israel and the Palestinian territories. Pretty much every so-called “road map” to “peace in the Middle East” revolves around settling the question of the borders of Israel and what would eventually become the state of Palestine. Who gets what land, access to which resources, authority over which sites- you get the idea.
Posted in Africa, Fame Day, government, history, lgbt, morality, politics, race, relationships, religion
Tagged 1967, a cancer in the body, african migrants, anti-occupation, antisemitism, apartheid, Arab, askhenazi, bigotry, borders, cancer, conversion, democracy, descrimination, Ethiopian Jews, freedom, interracial, israel, jewish, jews, Knesset, leftist, messianic, messianic jews, middle-east, Miri Regev, mizrahi, mk, nabka, one state, one state solution, palestine, Palestinians, peace, prejudice, race mixing, racism, racist, rally, religion, right of return, road map, segregation, sephardic, tolerance, two state, two state solution, Yad L'Achim
There’s a prevailing idea that the Middle East and its history is nothing but a quagmire of conflicts and wars too ancient and complicated for all but the most scholarly. This simply isn’t true, and 9 times out of 10 it’s just a flimsy excuse for one’s ignorance on the people and politics of civilization’s cradle. The truth is, the Middle East isn’t anymore complex than any other part of the world, and by the end of this post, I’m hoping to have proven that.
This is as simple as it gets, people.
Let’s talk about a little stretch of beach called Gaza.
A fifth of the size of Los Angeles, and with a population of 1.7 million, the Gaza Strip is the world’s largest open-air prison.
That’s right, a prison. We can call it a “territory” or a “reservation” or dress it up any number of ways- at the end of the day, a gigantic holding cell is all that it is.
Posted in government, morality, news, politics
Tagged 2010, 2014, aid, arrest, bantustan, bigotry, Blockade, civil rights, democracy, election, fishermen, Gaza, Gaza Strip, Hamas, human-rights, humanitarian, ignorance, imprisoned, israel, justice, kidnapped, Mavi Marmara, murder, palestine, palestinian, prison, Rachel Corrie, racism, siege, violation
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