… on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing

Category: new authoritarianism

  • ‘Genocide Alert!’ Israel Slammed for Cutting Off Power to Gaza Water Plant

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    Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

    A water treatment plant in Deir al-Balah, Gaza is on the verge of shutting down due to Israel’s order to cut electricity flow on March 10, 2025. (Photo: Moiz Salhi/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    One expert noted that “this collective punishment of civilians” violates the Geneva Convention as well as a preliminary injunction from the International Court of Justice.

    Outrage over the Israeli government’s decision to cut off electricity to a water treatment plant in the decimated Gaza Strip mounted on Monday.

    As Common Dreams reported Sunday, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said that he “signed an order for the immediate halt of electricity to the Gaza Strip” as part of a policy to use “all of the tools that are at our disposal to ensure the return of all the hostages” taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

    The Times of Israel noted that the new move by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “was mainly expected to affect a single desalination plant, the only facility in the strip still running on a power line supplied from Israel.”

    Responding on social media Monday, the Peace & Justice Project—founded by Jeremy Corbyn, an Independent member of the U.K. Parliament—condemned the cutoff as Israel’s “latest act of genocidal collective punishment against the Palestinian people.”

    “This latest despicable act must be condemned by all governments and Israel must be sanctioned,” the group added.

    Also speaking out on social media, Francesca Albanese, United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, declared, “GENOCIDE ALERT!”

    “Israel cutting off electricity supplies to Gaza means, among others, no functioning desalination stations, ergo: no clean water,” Albanese said. “STILL NO SANCTION/NO ARMS EMBARGO against Israel means, among others, AIDING AND ASSISTING Israel in the commission of one of the most preventable genocides of our history.”

    Unconscionable, and immoral:Israel stops electricity supply to Gaza to ratchet up pressure on Hamas | The Times of Israel www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_ent…

    — Timothy McBride (@mcbridetd.bsky.social) 2025-03-09T15:53:43.709Z

    Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, called the move “a desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance through cheap and unacceptable blackmail tactics,” according to The Times of Israel.

    He tied the decision to Israel halting all humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave last week, saying that “we strongly condemn the occupation’s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza, after depriving it of food, medicine, and water.”

    Clean water has been a key issue in Gaza since October 2023. Oxfam said last July that Israel had systematically reduced the water available by 94%, with just 4.74 liters per resident obtainable each day—less than a third of the recommended minimum amount in emergencies.

    A Human Rights Watch report from December accuses Israel of “extermination and acts of genocide” in Gaza “by intentionally depriving Palestinian civilians there of adequate access to water, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths.”

    Netanyahu said that last week’s block on aid was done “in full coordination” with U.S. President Donald Trump, who proposed an American takeover of Gaza—a plan that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Sunday “is taking shape.”

    Israel and Hamas reached a fragile three-part cease-fire and hostage-release deal in January. Stage one expired on March 1, and negotiators have not yet agreed to terms for the second phase, but talks are being held in Qatar this week.

    “Food cut off, almost all electricity cut off, with the remaining energy now cut off too, in order to cut off water supply. This is a ‘cease-fire’ Israel-style,” said Nick Dearden, director of the U.K.-based group Global Justice Now. “Barbaric collective punishment. Stop all weapons, suspend trade deals, economic sanctions now.”

    Since we made this statement Israel has announced it is cutting off electricity to Gaza. We say again: the threat of starvation and denial of vital humanitarian aid and services should never be used as a tool of war or a bargaining chip in negotiations. www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve…

    — Quakers in Britain (@quaker.org.uk) 2025-03-10T15:51:44.465Z

    University of Michigan professor Juan Cole wrote Monday on his website, Informed Comment, that “the Israeli government is cutting Palestinian civilians in Gaza off from staples as a means of pressuring Hamas to release all Israeli hostages with no quid pro quo so that Netanyahu can start bombing again.”

    “This collective punishment of civilians violates the Geneva Convention and other elements of internationally agreed on laws of war to which Israel is signatory,” noted Cole. “It also violates the preliminary injunction of the International Court of Justice, in which Israel also has membership.”

    Israel faces an ongoing genocide case at the Hague-based court over its deadly blockade and assault of Gaza—assisted by billions of dollars in U.S. weapons. Like his predecessor, Trump’s administration is working to send even more arms to Israel.

    Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

    Zionist Keir Starmer is quoted "I support Zionism without qualification." He's asked whether that means that he supports Zionism under all circumstances, whatever Zionists do.
    Zionist Keir Starmer is quoted “I support Zionism without qualification.” He’s asked whether that means that he supports Zionism under all circumstances, whatever Zionists do.
    Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
    Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.

  • ‘This Is the Fascist Playbook’: Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil Shows Depths of Trump Threat

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    Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

    Mahmoud Khalil was pictured speaking to the press during a briefing organized by pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University on June 1, 2024. (Photo: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    “Arresting and threatening to deport students because of their participation in political protest is the kind of action one ordinarily associates with the world’s most repressive regimes.”

    Civil rights organizations, legal experts, and lawmakers were among the chorus voicing alarm Sunday and into Monday over the dire implications of the Trump administration’s brazen arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian rights organizer who helped lead Columbia University student protests against Israel’s assault on Gaza.

    “The Trump administration’s outrageous detention of Mahmoud is designed to instill terror in students speaking out for Palestinian freedom and immigrant communities,” said Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which has helped organize nationwide demonstrations against Israel’s catastrophic war on the Palestinian enclave.

    “This is the fascist playbook,” the group added. “We all must fiercely reject it, and universities must start protecting its students.”

    Khalil, a permanent U.S. resident with a green card, was arrested on Saturday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who stormed his university-owned apartment in Manhattan. Khalil’s attorney told The Associated Press that the ICE agents also threatened to arrest his pregnant wife, an American citizen.

    As of Monday morning, Khalil—an Algerian citizen of Palestinian origin—was being held in an ICE facility in Louisiana, and the Trump administration is moving to revoke his green card.

    While the State Department CAN revoke *visas* with very little legal process involved, stripping someone of a green card is done by DHS (not the State Department) and requires filing formal charges alleging a violation of immigration law and a removal hearing in front of an immigration judge.

    — Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social) 2025-03-09T23:05:27.133Z

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, said Sunday that Khalil’s arrest was carried out “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting antisemitism.”

    But JVP and other advocacy groups warned that the administration’s purported crackdown on antisemitism is a pretext for a dangerous assault on civil liberties, including those of Palestinian rights advocates.

    “We are not fooled by the Trump administration’s claims that this blatantly unconstitutional and authoritarian attack is somehow in the name of Jewish safety,” said JVP. “Deporting anti-war students who are trying to end genocide and silencing political speech endangers all of us. We will not be divided.”

    “The unlawful detention of Mr. Khalil reeks of McCarthyism. It’s clear that the Trump administration is selectively punishing Mr. Khalil for expressing views that aren’t MAGA-approved.”

    Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said in a statement that “arresting and threatening to deport students because of their participation in political protest is the kind of action one ordinarily associates with the world’s most repressive regimes.”

    “It’s genuinely shocking that this appears to be what’s going on right here,” Jaffer added. “Universities must recognize that these actions pose an existential threat to academic life itself. They must make clear, through action, that they will not sit on the sidelines as the Trump administration terrorizes students and faculty alike and runs roughshod over individual rights and the rule of law.”

    Khalil’s arrest came days after Trump threatened to imprison students engaged in what he described as “illegal protests.” AP reported that “Khalil’s arrest is the first publicly known deportation effort under Trump’s promised crackdown on students who joined protests against the war in Gaza that swept college campuses last spring.”

    Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement Sunday that “the Trump administration’s detention of Mahmoud Khalil—a green card holder studying in this country legally—is targeted, retaliatory, and an extreme attack on his First Amendment rights.”

    “The unlawful detention of Mr. Khalil reeks of McCarthyism. It’s clear that the Trump administration is selectively punishing Mr. Khalil for expressing views that aren’t MAGA-approved—which is a frightening escalation of Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestine speech, and an aggressive abuse of immigration law,” Lieberman added. “Ripping a student from their home, challenging their immigration status, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint will chill student speech and advocacy across campus. Political speech should never be a basis of punishment, or lead to deportation.”

    Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

    Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
    Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.

  • Women take to the streets across the world demanding end to inequality and violence

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/women-take-streets-across-world-demanding-end-inequality-and-violence

    Women chant slogans during a protest marking International Women’s Day in Istanbul, Turkey, March 8, 2025

    WOMEN took to the streets of cities across Europe, Africa, South America and elsewhere to mark International Women’s Day with demands for ending inequality and gender-based violence.

    On the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey’s biggest city, a rally in Kadikoy saw members of dozens of women’s groups listen to speeches, dance and sing in the spring sunshine.

    The colourful protest was overseen by a large police presence, including officers in riot gear and a water cannon truck.

    Protesters pushed back against the idea of women’s role being confined to marriage and motherhood, carrying banners reading “Family will not bind us to life” and “We will not be sacrificed to the family.”

    …

    From Athens to Madrid, Paris, Munich, Zurich and Belgrade and in many more cities across the continent, women marched to demand an end to treatment as second-class citizens in society, politics, family and at work.

    …

    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/women-take-streets-across-world-demanding-end-inequality-and-violence

  • Trump’s scrapping of corporate transparency will strengthen dictators

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    Original article by Eleanor Rose republished from TBIJ under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

    The White House’s latest move doesn’t just encourage financial crime in the US – it encourages the acceptance of it everywhere else

    Another week, another startling development from Donald Trump’s White House. On Sunday, the US Treasury said it will halt enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), a federal law that requires certain companies to declare their owners’ identities.

    Scott Bessent, secretary of the Treasury, described the move as “a victory for common sense” that would “unleash American prosperity by reining in burdensome regulations”.

    Unleashing prosperity is a nice goal, but the White House’s chosen method will come as a bombshell for anyone who believes in transparency or accountability – both in the US and around the world.

    Knowing who owns a company isn’t just a matter of corporate admin. It can serve as a vital tool against dictatorships, which build their power on global networks of financial secrecy. It’s key to tackling money-laundering and fraud. Trump’s actions pull the rug out from international efforts to reveal this hidden world. Autocrats and major criminals around the world will be celebrating.

    The CTA was a key plank in Biden’s plans to counter corruption. Passed by Congress in 2021 and brought into force in 2024, it aimed to address the fact that businesses created in the US weren’t previously obliged to disclose the names of their shareholders or the people that ultimately control them.

    Speaking in 2022, Himamauli Das of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said the CTA would “play an important role in protecting American taxpayers and businesses who play by the rules”.

    He added: “It has been far too easy for criminals, Russian oligarchs and other bad actors to fund their illicit activity by hiding and moving money through anonymous shell companies and other corporate structures right here in the United States.”

    Investigations from our Enablers team‘Butcher of Hama’: Assad’s uncle used Guernsey fund manager to stash millions looted from SyriaIllegal donations: how does dark money get into UK politics?HMRC fines zero ‘enablers’ of offshore tax evasion in five years

    Since the CTA has been in force – and despite some challenges in district courts – that sort of anonymity has been a lot harder to come by. Beneficial ownership details have had to be filed by most domestic corporations and Limited Liability Companies (though not non-profits or publicly traded companies that meet certain criteria). Non-compliance has been punishable with a maximum fine of $10,000 and up to two years in prison.

    That progress has now been undone. Once a leading champion of corporate transparency, the US is now basically saying that such measures are harmful red tape.

    And the news could have implications beyond US shores. The UK is currently trying to impress the need for transparency requirements on its crown dependencies and overseas territories (CDOTs). Stephen Doughty MP last week said the UK government expects overseas territories to bring in publicly accessible registers this year.

    Our Enablers team has spent years reporting on how these places facilitate serious financial wrongdoing: the British Virgin Islands, for instance, have been central to arrangements that helped Roman Abramovich avoid huge amounts of UK tax, funnel half a billion dollars to a now-sanctioned oligarch and bankroll a Dutch football club in secret.

    But the recent calls for transparency have not been universally popular with the CDOTs. There’s been some disagreement about what exactly it means and how it should work, as well as some outright pushback.

    The BVI, for instance, has proposed a registry that would grant access to a limited amount of information and to a limited number of parties. Which means it wouldn’t be all that transparent.

    It’s in situations like this where the White House’s latest move feels especially pertinent. Corruption robs ordinary taxpayers and undermines global security. And the fight for financial transparency – to stop the world’s oligarchs, organised criminals and kleptocrats from stashing their wealth – is one that urgently needs international momentum.

    Not only does Trump’s intervention encourage fraudsters and money-launderers to do their business on US turf – it also sends a message of apathy towards financial crime that will be heard around the world.

    Reporter: Eleanor Rose
    Deputy editor: Katie Mark
    Editor: Franz Wild
    Fact checker: Ero Parksakoulaki
    Production editor: Alex Hess

    TBIJ has a number of funders, a full list of which can be found here. None of our funders have any influence over editorial decisions or output.

    Original article by Eleanor Rose republished from TBIJ under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

    Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
    Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.

  • Britain returning to ‘bad old days’ of the Birmingham Six

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/britain-returning-to-bad-old-days-of-the-birmingham-six

    Photo: Andy Aitchison

    BRITAIN has returned to the “bad old days” of the Birmingham Six, with corrupt judges and police swapping Irish people for black and Muslim communities, top defence lawyers have said.

    Fifty years on, the lessons from that monumental miscarriage of justice have “all been eroded” with senior judges back to pushing for guilty verdicts, an anniversary event in Parliament heard.

    Renowned solicitor for the six men wrongly convicted of the 1974 terrorist pub bombing, Gareth Peirce, warned “frightening signals” by the Court of Appeal since their sensational 1991 acquittals have led to the “self-imposed censorship” of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) watchdog.

    She described how police and prosecutors have found “endlessly innovative” ways to subvert laws which were originally passed to prevent the state framing innocent people for terrorist attacks during the Troubles.

    Ms Peirce said the “halcyon” days following the Court of Appeal’s quashing of those wrongful convictions, based on false confessions through police brutality, were over.

    “The authorities can distort science in just the same way,” she told MPs, lawyers, victims and campaigners on Thursday.

    …

    “Individuals from communities that have different customs, different faiths, different ways of looking at things — it’s easy to distort those and present to a jury.”

    She added: “The experience I and others have had are of ‘back to the bad old days’ of judges helping to push a guilty verdict in these kinds of cases.

    “The Court of Appeal isn’t as it once was, in its mind to the possiblity of quashing convictions.

    …

    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/britain-returning-to-bad-old-days-of-the-birmingham-six