HUMAN RIGHTS

Photo: Julian Assange. Source: acidpolly/Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

The British and American Press Don't Tell All on Human Rights Violations

That's Why We Need Wickileaks and Julian Assange Should Be Exonerated.

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Julian Assange of Wickileaks languishes in a British jail during a too-long wait for a court to decide if he can be extradited to the US where the government has made clear that it wants to put him on trial on charges that could land him in prison for the rest of his life, even though President Donald Trump was happy to quote from Wickileaks research on his opponent, Hillary Clinton, during his campaign for president. "I love Wickileaks", he said.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 31 March 2020

Photo: Collage of images of Joe Biden (left) and Bernier Sanders (right) from Wikimedia Commons.

Bernie Sanders Pushes Democratic Party to the Left

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Is Bernie Sanders still in with a chance? It is a slim one, but in these primary elections one never knows. There have been a number of surprising upsets.

Even if Joe Biden comes out on top and has to face Donald Trump for the presidency the Democratic Party has been pushed to the left by Senator Sanders. That is all to the good.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 19 March 2020

Amnesty Accuses Facebook, Google of Harming Human Rights

By J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – Facebook and Google play an important role in the lives of people across the globe – too big a role, according to Amnesty International. The pro-human rights organization recently published a report entitled, Surveillance Giants, which critiques the "insidious" surveillance exercised by these two digital giants.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 11 March 2020

Photo: First unrest in Guyana after announcement of electoral results. Credit: Guyana Standard.

Former ACP Secretary General Appeals for Calm in World's Newest Oil State Guyana

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS | PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (IDN) – Former secretary general of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group, Dr. Patrick I. Gomes whose five-year tenure concluded end of February, has called on "all political leaders to let the rule of law prevail and the country remain calm".

He told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC): "Guyana has always been held in high regard for good governance and respected by the 79-member countries of the ACP family of nations, so it is expected that this will continue in the interest of the good of all, Guyana and the Caribbean."

: Reinhard Jacobsen; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 08 March 2020

Photo Credit: Illustration by Emil Lendof/The Daily Beast

America's Christian Right, Republicans and Donald Trump – 6

Viewpoint by John Newsinger*

This is the sixth of a six-part article originally published in International Socialism under the title The Christian right, the Republican Party and Donald Trump. Click here for part five of the series. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News.

LONDON (IDN) – As for President Clinton, who many evangelicals came to regard as the Antichrist, with him in office the secular humanists were in power and Christian America was in greater danger than ever before.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 26 February 2020

Photo: UN Secretary-General António Guterres attends the High Level Segment of the 43rd Regular Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Credit: UN Photo/Violaine Martin

UN Chief Launches Call to Action at Boosting Equality

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – During the 75th anniversary year of the United Nations, "because of the centrality of human rights in all UN does, and because human rights are under assault", UN Secretary-General António Guterres has launched a Call to Action aimed at boosting equality and reducing suffering everywhere.

"Human rights are our ultimate tool to help societies grow in freedom," he told Member States on the opening day of the UN Human Rights Council’s 43rd session on February 24 in Geneva.

: Jamshed Baruah; UN INSIDER; 24 February 2020

Photo: President George H.W. Bush with Jerry Falwell. Credit: Liberty University

America's Christian Right, Republicans and Donald Trump – 5

Viewpoint by John Newsinger*

This is the fifth of a six-part article originally published in International Socialism under the title The Christian right, the Republican Party and Donald Trump. Click here for part four of the series. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News.

LONDON (IDN) – Pat Robertson, whose Christian Broadcasting Network in many ways led the field and who was to establish the Christian Coalition, found faith healing an extremely useful way to generate donations (all tax free). He regularly cured disabilities, both health and financial, on the TV, as noted by James Randi in ‘The Faith Healers’:

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 24 February 2020

Photo: Evangelical prayer rally in Washington, D.C., in 2008. Credit: Creative Commons

America's Christian Right, Republicans and Donald Trump – 4

Viewpoint by John Newsinger*

This is the fourth of a six-part article originally published in International Socialism under the title The Christian right, the Republican Party and Donald Trump. Click here for part three of the series. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News.

LONDON (IDN) – According to Craig Unger, the evangelical churches fill the "real or perceived needs of tens of millions of Americans". They lived in "an elaborate, fully developed evangelical counterculture that utilised all the marketing tools of the modern world".

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 23 February 2020

Photo: Baxter with her kids before they fell victim to the brutality of her husband. Source: Internet.

Epidemic of Domestic Violence Shocks Australia

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) —The gruesome murder of a 31-year-old mother Hannah Clarke and her three small children aged 6, 4 and 3 years, by her estranged 42-year-old husband Rowan Baxter, a former footballer, has shocked the nation and brought into the spotlight an epidemic of domestic violence in Australia that has gone largely unchecked for years. It has also got Australians questioning the attitude of men towards women with their greater tendency towards violence against women.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 22 February 2020

Photo: Fundamentalist Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority, a political-action organisation to mobilise religious conservatives, with President Ronald Reagan. Credit: Salon.com

America’s Christian Right, Republicans and Donald Trump – 3

Viewpoint by John Newsinger*

This is the third of a six-part article originally published in International Socialism under the title The Christian right, the Republican Party and Donald Trump. Click here for part two of the series. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News.

LONDON (IDN) – Graham was, according to one of his biographers, by this time, “something like an extra officer in Nixon’s cabinet, the administration’s own Pastor-without- Portfolio”. Or as the left-wing journalist I. F. Stone put it, he was Nixon’s “smoother Rasputin, dishing out saccharine religiosity”.