Life in the Guantanamo concentration camp: Mohamedou Ould Slahi

The following is an excerpt  from the The Guantánamo Memoirs of Mohamedou Ould Slahi.  The entire series can be read at Slate.comHe was tortured, beaten, and humiliated, and he remains in prison. Here is his story, in his own words.By Mohamedou Ould Slahi|Posted Tuesday, April 30, 2013, at 5:31 AM This...

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Solidarity With Striking Mexican Teachers

 by Jack Gerson!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times...

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US, Britain, Derry and chemical weapons.

It was 1969. The people of the Bogside in Derry, Ireland, rose up against the London backed Unionist state. With nothing but sticks and stones we took on the cops. London is the main ally of the USA.  The USA supported London in its efforts to put down the uprising. One of the ways they did this was by saturating the area with CS Gas, that is chemical weapons. Many people, especially children suffered permanent lung damage. This blog gives no support to the vicious dictatorship in Syria. But neither are we fooled into believing the lies and...

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US capitalism's war crimes at the root of anti-Americanism: Thank you Wikileaks and Bradley Manning

" Note, the above video was aired by Channel 4 and is based on investigations into Iraq War deaths using material analysed by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in partnership with Wikileaks and which, in turn, is gleaned from information provided by whistleblower Bradley Manning (currently facing a possible life sentence for revealing war crimes). This must-watch video not only examines the actual numbers of those killed, but the proportion of civilians, how deaths occurred, as well as the use of unorthodox methods by US military, including...

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Thatcher and the coup in Britain.

Dance on Thatcher's grave, but remember there has been a coup in BritainBy John Pilger. 25 April 2013In the wake of Thatcher's departure, I remember her victims. Patrick Warby's daughter, Marie, was one of them. Marie, aged five, suffered from a bowel deformity and needed a special diet. Without it, the pain was excruciating. Her father was a Durham miner and had used all his savings. It was winter 1985, the Great Strike was almost a year old and the family was destitute. Although her eligibility was not disputed, Marie was denied help by...

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Seattle Teachers Appeal for May Day Solidarity With Their Test Boycott

by Jack GersonSeattle teachers are calling for an international show of support and solidarity on May Day for their inspirational fight against high stakes standardized testing.Readers of this blog may recall that three months ago, teachers at Seattle’s Garfield High unanimously to refuse to administer the districtwide Measures of Academic Performance (MAP) standardized test and launched a boycott that has received national acclaim.  Their boycott has since spread to several other schools.From the outset, this blog has supported the Garfield...

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More on the act of terror in West Texas

West Texas: No accidentby Richard MellorAfscme Local 444 retiredA recent Pew study found that the richest 7% of American households now own 63% of the country’s net worth up from 56% in 2009, while for the remaining 93% our average net worth declined to $134,000 from $140,000.  Poverty and inequality is presently at 1920’s levels. This is what their media calls a recovery, they actually mean, “our” recovery, it’s a matter of language. ...

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A small reminder; who are our friends and who are our enemies.

Just a short contribution to remind us who US politicians, representing the interests of the giant US multinationals, meet with when they visit other countries.  Here's an example from their travels in Central and South Asia:Those they meet with:Enemies: Reagan and the MujahadeenWho they avoidBrother and sisters: two of more than 250 Bangladeshi Factory workers crushed this week. ...

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Irish TD Clare Daly takes up abortion rights in the Irish parliament.

Followers of this blog are aware of the events that took place in Ireland around the death of Savita Happanavar, the Indian woman, a Dentist, who pleaded for authorities to terminate her pregnancy as she was having a miscarriage. Clare Daly, an Independent TD (Member of the Irish parliament)has been one of the most outspoken critics of Ireland's abortion laws and has campaigned for legalizing abortion when a mother's life is in danger. Ms Daly, along with three other TD's introduced such a bill in to parliament that was voted down.  She...

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Capitalism at work: More Bangladeshi workers die as factory collapses

Workers mourn the death of their comradesby Richard MellorAs I write, Bangladeshi authorities are trying to figure out how many workers have been killed in the latest factory disaster there.  So far, the death toll as a building housing workers collapsed according to the Wall Street Journal is 145, but it is expected to climb much higher. 700 workers have been killed in factory fires in the last decade in this Dickensian world of manufacture...

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AC Transit board backs off fare increases---for now.

Richard Mellor in Oakland CAI went to an AC Transit board meeting tonight as I heard there was going to be a bit of a protest by some of the users of mass transit Oakland.  "Mass" transit is actually a misnomer as public transportation is not a priority in the United States, after all, the car is king. Readers are probably aware of GM's buying up of the electric tram systems and shutting them down in order to profit from the manufacture of gasoline powered vehicles.The event was organized by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment,...

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