Monthly Archives: September 2014

The system tortures, and they call it democracy

Posted on by

The Guardian:  “Gitmo hunger strikes are a cry for help. Why is the US fighting back with secret torture?……..Force-feeding at Guantánamo shames America – not just in the bad old days of George W Bush, but today, in 2014. And you deserve to hear the truth, loud and clear.”

by Cori Crider, theguardian.com, Tuesday 30 September 2014

gitmo fence hand

Gitmo is a warehouse of the forgotten, run by a military that doesn’t know how to treat the sick souls it’s caged without charge for over 12 years. Photograph: Dar Yasin/AP

“Safe, Humane, Legal, Transparent”: so goes the slogan of the world’s most famous offshore prison. It’s an Obama-era rebrand, a bid by Gitmo’s PR people to persuade Americans that today’s is a kinder, gentler Guantánamo Bay. There’s just one wrinkle: Gitmo is still dangerous, nasty, lawless and secretive – and the evidence just keeps piling up.

At the forefront of this war over the truth is the first-ever trial concerning the practice of force-feeding prisoners on hunger strike, due to start Monday. My client, Abu Wa’el Dhiab – a Syrian man who has never been charged, and indeed has been cleared to leave Guantánamo by the US government for more than five years – has been fighting for over a year to reform the way he and other hunger-strikers have been treated. He’s finally about to have his day in court.

But the Obama administration refuses to accept this unusual intrusion of justice into its island idyll. On Friday, US justice department attorneys filed a motion asking the court to hear all evidence in the trial entirely in closed court, save a short, anodyne opening statement from lawyers on both sides. Continue reading →

Vietnam: Prison Sentences Imposed on Farmers for Protesting Land Grab

Posted on by

[Nearly 40 years after the defeat of the US in Vietnam, the faux “socialist” regime has continued semi-feudal relations amidst a very corrupt capitalist regime.  The long struggle of the Vietnamese people continues under these exploitive and repressive conditions today.  —  Frontlines ed.]

SEPTEMBER 20, 2014

Can Thi Theu

VNRN – Three land activists from Duong Noi [Dương Nội], a village in suburban Hanoi mostly known for its long-standing land disputes, on Friday appeared before the Ha Dong People’s Court. While they were on trial, dozens of their supporters were barred from approaching the courtroom; many were temporarily arrested, including their family members.

Mrs. Can Thi Theu [Cấn Thị Thêu], 52, and her husband, Trinh Ba Khiem [Trịnh Bá Khiêm], 56, were given 15 and 18 months of imprisionment respectively for “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” under Article 257 of the Penal Code. The third accused, Mr. Le Van Thanh [Lê Văn Thanh], was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

The three were arrested after a land grab on April 25. Mrs. Can Thi Theu was reportedly shooting a video footage of the eviction where her husband and other farmers got beaten by police forces. The police then tried to stop her by allegedly giving her anaesthetic before taking her away. The video clip, spread subsequently on Facebook, showed a violent conflict between the farmers of Duong Noi and foreces of police and social order defenders. Continue reading →

Netanyahu-Modi Forging a Global Zionist-Hindutva anti-Muslim alliance

Posted on by

[Bringing together the leader of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine with the leader of the Gujarat Massacres, ominous new steps in diplomatic/state-spying/military conspiracies, open and covert, are forged–as The Jerusalem Post spins, below, in glowing terms. — Frontlines ed.]

modi-israel-L

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a meeting in New York. (Source: AP)

Netanyahu Meets PM of India, Seeks Strengthened Ties

“We are both ancient peoples but we are also two democracies,” Netanyahu tells India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

By Ben Ariel, Jerusalem Post,, 9/29/2014

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met on Sunday with India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in New York, marking the first meeting between an Israeli Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of India in more than a decade.

During the meeting, Netanyahu and Modi spoke of the danger of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, and the threat posed by Islamic terrorism around the world. Continue reading →

US’ Controls on Kashmiri and Sikh anti-Modi Protests

Posted on by

September 30, 2014 | By Parmjit Singh, sikhsiyasat.net

Washington, DC: The Kashmir American Council staged a sit-in outside the White House on Monday (Sept. 29) as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived to attend a private dinner where he was due to meet US President Obama and other key US officials.

A number of Sikh protesters also gathered outside the White House and raised slogans against the Indian prime minister.

An “International The News” report says police had to intervene when some of Narendra Modi supporters and protesters came face to face.

WASHINGTON: The Kashmir American Council staged a sit-in outside the White House on Monday as Indian Prime Minister arrived to attend a private dinner where he was due to meet President Obama and other key US officials.

Continue reading →

Andhra Pradesh: Against the Suppression of Democratic Activists

Posted on by
APCLC district president Vijay Kumar, vice-president Harinatha Reddy and general secretary Bommaiah were also taken into custody and were put under house arrest top restrain them from attending the meeting of 42 people's organisations scheduled to

APCLC district president Vijay Kumar, vice-president Harinatha Reddy and general secretary Bommaiah were also taken into custody and were put under house arrest top restrain them from attending the meeting of 42 people’s organisations scheduled to be held in Tirupati on Sunday to highlight their demands. They were released from house arrest on Sunday evening. (Photo: DC/File)

[42 Organizations demand release of Democratic Activists including Dr. GN Saibaba, APCLC leaders, and others.  And they demanded an end to Operation Green Hunt, military withdrawal from tribal areas, and cancellation of multinational deals. Civil Liberties’ leaders were released after meeting was over.  This is what the Indian State, and imperialists, deceptively call “the world’s largest democracy.”  —  Frontlines ed.]

DC CORRESPONDENT | September 29, 2014

Kurnool: Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee president and state convenor of Operation Green Hunt Vythireka Porata Samiti Prof S. Seshaiah has been taken into custody and put under house arrest by Anantapur police on Saturday night. 

APCLC district president Vijay Kumar, vice-president Harinatha Reddy and general secretary Bommaiah were also taken into custody and were put under house arrest to restrain them from attending the meeting of 42 people’s organisations scheduled to be held in Tirupati on Sunday to highlight their demands. They were released from house arrest on Sunday evening.
It is reported that the police have stepped up surveillance on their houses  and tapped their phones to know their movements.

Continue reading →

Over 200 arrested in Gujarat after anti-Muslim violence

Posted on by

Agence France Presse — Tuesday 30 September 2014

1412002528017251500.jpg

DEADLY RIOTS: Soldiers walk past burned vehicles as they patrol the streets of Vadodara city, India. (AFP)

NEW DELHI: Indian police in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat have arrested more than 200 people after violence between majority Hindus and minority Muslims, a senior officer said Monday.

The clashes in the western city of Vadodara were sparked by a distorted image posted on social media that offended Muslims, prompting authorities to block mobile Internet and bulk text messaging, the officer said.

Continue reading →

As Hong Kong Protests Resist Police, Ferguson Protesters say: “Stay Strong”

Posted on by
[As mentioned earlier, the Hong Kong protests against the Capitalist rulers of China, are focused on the semi-colonial relationship that Hong Kong has with Beijing ever since the HK break in formal colonial relations with Capitalist-Imperialist Britain.  The following news article repeats the misstaken characterization of China as “Communist” even years after it restored capitalism and remained “Communist” in name only. — Frontlines ed.]

Hong Kong activists hold ‘umbrella protest’

ITV, 29 September 2014
Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong held an “umbrella protest” as police sprayed pepper spray at them.
After three days thousands of protesters would not be moved despite the Hong Kong government saying they were withdrawing riot police.

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters remain on the streets of Hong Kong after police used tear gas and batons in an attempt to disperse them yesterday.

Continue reading →