Suchergebnisse

"The overwhelming support, protests and political education of the overseas Burmese community for the Spring Revolution has been critical to our victories."

From the sign code in Arab, Alabama, which regulates privately owned signs on private property: While trying to maintain content-neutrality, signs that contain vulgar, threatening, hate speech, lewd or indecent content are not permitted. I believe that should read "while not actually trying to maintain content-neutrality." Indeed, a prohibition on "vulgar" signs is unconstitutionally content-based…

The latest data covering global arms sales shows that sale of arms in 2010 decreased to around $40.4 billion, 76% of which went to developing countries. This was a substantial 38% decrease in arms sales compared to 2009, and the lowest since 2003.

The global financial crisis has affected many countries, and developing countries have started to see a decrease in purchases in the last couple of years. Although most arms are sold to developing countries, 10 countries account for some 60% of all sales in the period 2003 to 2010, which the data covers. Saudi Arabia tops that list followed by India and the United Arab Emirates. (As well as concerns about some of the regimes in the top buyers, some of this spending is also said to be due to modernizing efforts.)

Updated graphs and charts on arms sales data are provided here.

The arms trade is big business. The 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council (US, Russia, France, United Kingdom and China), together with Germany and Italy, account for approximately 84% of the arms sold between 2003 and 2010.

Some of the arms sold go to regimes where human rights violations will occur. Corruption often accompanies arms sales due to the large sums of money involved.

Read full article: The Arms Trade Is Big Business

The inside story of how Germany deployed hundreds of police and 'cancelled' a Berlin conference with speakers like Ghassan Abu Sitta and Yanis Varoufakis for speaking out for Gaza.

A church in Bethlehem has decided to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ differently this year, symbolizing the suffering of children in Gaza amid Israel's ongoing indiscriminate war.

As people take to the streets and governments recall their ambassadors to Israel, Palestine solidarity in South America is not only a fight against Israeli apartheid but also US hegemony in the region.

This article looks at South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and what will happen during the legal proceedings.

Palestinian American author Randa Jarrar was forcibly removed for disrupting ceasefire opponent Mayim Bialik by reading the names of Palestinian writers killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

British journalist, filmmaker, and writer Myriam Francois strongly challenges the "insane" suggestion that bombing the Houthis in Yemen should have occurred earlier for economic reasons, in her interview on Sky News.

Director of Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer denounced the dehumanization of Palestinian victims in Gaza alongside those of the October 7 attacks.

The latest data covering global arms sales shows that sale of arms in 2011 increased to around $85 billion, 84% of which went to developing countries. This was almost double the arms sales compared to 2010 which was the lowest since 2004.
One major factor for the increase was the US sales of arms to Saudi Arabia. Most other major arms sellers otherwise saw a decrease in sales and the trend in recent years had been declining sales.
The global financial crisis has affected many countries, and many developing countries started to see a decrease in purchases in the last few years. However, just 10 developing countries account for some 85% of all sales to developing countries in the period 2004 to 2011, which the data covers. Saudi Arabia tops that list followed by India and the United Arab Emirates. (As well as concerns about some of the regimes in the top buyers, some of this spending is also said to be due to modernizing efforts.)
Updated graphs and charts on arms sales data are provided here.
The arms trade is big business. The 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council (US, Russia, France, United Kingdom and China), together with Germany and Italy, account for approximately 85% of all arms sold between 2004 and 2011.
Some of the arms sold go to regimes where human rights violations will occur. Corruption often accompanies arms sales due to the large sums of money involved.
Read full article: The Arms Trade Is Big Business

Shaheen wondered whether there existed an unwritten law that Hollywood must portray Palestinians as irrational and evil, while depicting all Israelis as rational and righteous.

USCIS is impermissibly using user fees meant for adjudications to conduct investigations that ICE could be doing using congressional appropriations. It will therefore likely require litigation to demonstrate that the USCIS/FDNS program of site visits is unlawful because Homeland Security Delegation No. 0150.1 was issued in violation of 6 U.S.C. § 291(b).

Believe it or not, there are people in the British press who are genuinely arguing that this week's Spring Budget "stuck two fingers up" to pensioners because the Chancellor decided to focus his efforts on tax cuts for working-age people, instead of throwing yet another bone to retirees. From the Mirror to the Telegraph the headlines were the same - pensioners are the big losers of this budget, pummelled by stealth tax rises and neglected by the Chancellor. Let's not mince words - this couldn't be further from the truth. However, it's useful to examine exactly how this false narrative came to be, why it isn't true, and what it can tell us about the broader direction of travel in Britain today. As I wrote in CityAM on Wednesday, this Budget represents a cautious step in the right direction against a challenging economic backdrop. In particular, we should celebrate the 2% cut to National Insurance which, combined with the 2% cut announced in the Autumn, will mean that NI has fallen to a third, from 12% to 8%. We should also welcome reforms to how Child Benefit eligibility is calculated, investments in public sector productivity, and the removal of stamp duty on shares.Of course, it wasn't all perfect. Our very own Maxwell Marlow has highlighted elsewhere the damaging effects of frozen income tax thresholds, and the Chancellor's failure to deliver any substantive fiscal measures on housing. All in all though, this was a Budget characterised by modest measures designed to get more people into work, while improving the efficiency of the public sector and rewarding working-age people for their graft. So who's to blame for spreading the idea that the Chancellor has suddenly turned against the ever-reliable grey vote? This harmful misconception is, in no small part, the result of research from the Resolution Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Both have pushed the idea that pensioners are the big losers of this budget, with the Resolution Foundation suggesting that households headed by someone aged 66+ "will see losses of £770 on average", mostly due to the fiscal drag caused by frozen income tax thresholds.However, they can't seem to see the wood for the trees. This Budget maintained and extended a host of costly benefits for older people, which more than make up for any apparent losses. As the Chancellor himself has rightly pointed out, those over State Pension age already benefit from not having to pay National Insurance at all. By default, their tax burden will already be 8% lower (12% lower prior to cuts over the past two fiscal events) than their working-age counterparts.There's also spending on public services like the NHS, disproportionately used by older people. Alongside £2.5 billion in additional NHS funding, the Chancellor has invested £3.4 billion in the process of NHS digitalisation, which will enable up to 200,000 extra operations a year. It is pensioners who will see the greatest benefit from this investment.Then, of course, there is the public sector hydra known as the Pension Triple Lock. Since the Triple Lock was introduced in 2011/12, the cost of the state pension is estimated to have grown by a staggering £78 billion - that's about the same amount as the UK's entire corporation tax revenue in 2022/23. Across this Parliament alone, the state pension has risen by 31%.In April, the state pension will again increase by 8.5% (more than double the current rate of inflation), representing a £900 income boost for pensioners. It's worth reminding ourselves that the state pension is not means-tested, despite the fact that one in four British pensioners lives in a household with a combined wealth of more than a million pounds. Let me repeat that - depending on your definition, one in four British pensioners is a millionaire. They will all receive an additional £900 per annum from April. From taxation to pensions to public services, this was a budget which works squarely in the interests of pensioners. To suggest that a 2% tax cut for working-age people means neglecting retirees is risible; with the cohort of people aged 22-29 now earning less than it did in 2002, it's right that support is targeted to those earlier in their careers. So why, despite all of this, are so many commentators eager to tell us that pensioners have been stiffed by the Treasury?As is so often the case in politics, the fault lies with the politicians. Over successive Parliaments, politicians of all parties have propagated the view that the benefits enjoyed in later life are directly related to taxes paid throughout one's career. We've all heard that slippery little phrase before - "I paid into the system all my life, and now I expect to get back out". Of course, in most cases, this simply isn't true. The money that we pay in tax during our working lives does not sit in a hypothecated pot, to be drawn on in times of crisis. In fact, the money that many pensioners receive far outstrips their tax contributions - the average person born in 1956 will receive about £291,000 more in state benefits than they paid in across their lifetime. Not only did favourable economic conditions in the 1980s and 1990s allow older people to build up assets which younger people can now scarcely dream of, but the state now gives them additional support on the questionable basis that they "paid in" to the system throughout their working lives. Alas, common sense ceases to matter when the ballot box looms. Older people vote in far greater numbers than their younger counterparts, with 81% of older people expected to vote at the next election, compared to just half of those in their twenties. Governments must now contend with this 'grey vote'. There is a resultant expectation that all major fiscal events must involve a confession of faith in the Baby Boomer orthodoxy, and a vindication of that faith through ever-greater public spending. It would be far more sensible to recognise this expenditure for what it is - state assistance for old people. What else can we call money provided by the state with no expectation of returns, drawn from general taxation on working-age people?If pensioners want to hold onto their state benefits - and yes, these are benefits -, they should celebrate the tentative steps taken in this Budget to incentivise work, reinjecting a modicum of dynamism into our sluggish economy. Covering the cost of these benefits will only be possible with a growing economy, particularly as the fiscal burden grows larger every year due to our ageing population. More people working more productively means more revenue for the Treasury, and a greater likelihood that older people will continue to enjoy these favourable conditions. If our economy continues to languish in its current sorry state, beset by low growth and high taxes, it won't be long before the bill simply becomes too large to bear. 

4/20/2010: United States v. Stevens decided.