WHO Chief On COVID-19 Pandemic: 'The Worst Is Yet To Come'

June 29, 2020
SCOTT NEUMAN NPR

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a news conference this week in Geneva.Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty ImagesThe head of the World Health Organization is warning that the COVID-19 pandemic is speeding up, and he criticized governments that have failed to establish reliable contact tracing to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Speaking at a briefing in Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives. But the hard reality is this is not even close to being over."

"Although many countries have made some progress, globally the pandemic is actually speeding up," he said.

He said the solution is the same as it has been since the early days of the pandemic: "Test, trace, isolate and quarantine."

"If any country is saying contact tracing is difficult, it is a lame excuse," he said.

SHOTS - HEALTH NEWS
Former NIH Director Calls Trump Administration's Pandemic Response 'Amateur Hour'

According to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than 10 million confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide since the virus was first identified in China late last year, with more than a half-million deaths. The United States alone accounts for more than one-quarter of all confirmed cases with nearly 126,000 deaths.

"If any country is saying contact tracing is difficult, it is a lame excuse," says @WHO Chief @DrTedros, pointing out that many public health professionals have risked their lives to do contact tracing in active conflict zones, including @DrMikeRyan when fighting #Ebola in DRC. pic.twitter.com/ka8vbLrAUL— Global Health Strategies (@GHS) June 29, 2020

"The lack of national unity and lack of global solidarity and the divided world ... is actually helping the virus to spread," Tedros said. "The worst is yet to come."

"I'm sorry to say that, but with this kind of environment and conditions we fear the worst," he said.

The head of WHO's emergencies program, Mike Ryan, said there had been "tremendous work" toward a coronavirus vaccine but said there's no guarantee of success.

In the U.S., a spike in coronavirus infections has been driven in part by people unwilling to heed public health guidelines to wear masks and continue social distancing.

Currently, the U.S. leads the world in both coronavirus infections and COVID-19 deaths. Brazil ranks second in the number of infections, followed by Russia, India and the United Kingdom.

President Trump has been highly critical of the WHO, accusing it of helping China cover up the extent of the pandemic within its borders. Earlier this month, the president announced that the U.S. was "terminating" its decades-long relationship with the WHO and would withdraw vital U.S. funding.

Congress Unites To Demand Answers From Trump On Russian Bounties In Afghanistan

June 29, 202011:40 AM ET


PHILIP EWING

U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers trained in Afghanistan in 2009. Members of Congress want answers about reported Russian bounties paid to target American troops.Maya Alleruzzo/AP

Members of Congress in both parties demanded answers on Monday about reported bounties paid by Russian operatives to Afghan insurgents for targeting American troops.

The stories appeared to have taken even the most senior lawmakers off guard, and they said they wanted briefings soon from the Defense Department and the intelligence community.

"I think it is absolutely essential that we get the information and be able to judge its credibility," said Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.


NATIONAL SECURITY
Trump Says He Was Not Briefed On Russian Bounties Because Intelligence 'Not Credible'

The story is unfolding along two parallel tracks in Washington, based on two key questions:

First, what actually has taken place — and have any American troops been killed as a result of Russian-sponsored targeted action? And second: Who knew what about the reporting on these allegations that has flowed up from the operational level in Afghanistan?


ANALYSIS
Trump Is Still Running Against The City And Idea Of Washington, D.C.

The White House tried to defend itself over the weekend on both counts, arguing that senior intelligence officials aren't convinced about the reliability of the reports and that they never reached President Trump or Vice President Pence personally.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who usually receives some of the most sensitive intelligence briefings as a member of the so-called Gang of Eight leaders in Congress, said she too hadn't been informed and sent a letter Monday requesting a briefing for all members of the House soon. She also said she relayed that request directly to Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe and CIA Director Gina Haspel in calls Monday evening.

In statements Monday evening, Ratcliffe and Haspel said they will continue to look into the matter and will brief the president and congressional leaders at the appropriate time.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for a briefing for all members of the Senate.

Pelosi cited reports in The New York Times and The Washington Post that suggested that Trump has been aware of the bounty practice since earlier this year but he and his deputies haven't acted in response.


"The administration's disturbing silence and inaction endanger the lives of our troops and our coalition partners," she wrote.

Another top House lawmaker demanding more information was Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Republicans' No. 3 leader in the chamber.



If reporting about Russian bounties on US forces is true, the White House must explain:
1. Why weren’t the president or vice president briefed? Was the info in the PDB?
2. Who did know and when?
3. What has been done in response to protect our forces & hold Putin accountable?— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) June 28, 2020

Limited briefings

White House officials briefed a limited number of House Republicans on Monday.

Cheney; Thornberry; Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah; Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana; Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas; Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York; Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois attended, a White House official said.

There was no immediate explanation for how and why this particular group of lawmakers was chosen and not others. A group of House Democrats was expected to travel to the White House on Tuesday with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

McCaul and Kinzinger said in a joint statement that they'd been told that "there is an ongoing review to determine the accuracy of [the bounty targeting] reports, and we believe it is important to let this review take place before any retaliatory actions are taken."

If U.S. officials ultimately are satisfied that they've proven what they suspect is happening, Trump must act, the lawmakers said.

"There are already those who are politicizing this issue. However we cannot let politics overshadow a truth that Republicans and Democrats alike can agree on: [Russian President Vladimir Putin's] regime cannot be trusted," McCaul and Kinzinger said. "If the intelligence review process verifies the reports, we strongly encourage the administration to take swift and serious action to hold the Putin regime accountable."

In an interview with NPR, McCaul said the president was not briefed because "they like the information to be verified across the intelligence community."

Banks used a Twitter thread after the briefing to attack the newspapers for reporting the bounty allegations because he said they'd revealed an ongoing intelligence investigation — one that he said now might never be resolved because it has become public.



I just left the White House where I was briefed by CoS @MarkMeadows and top intelligence officials. They discussed @nytimes' hit piece falsely accusing @realDonaldTrump of ignoring reports that Russia placed bounties on American soldiers in Afghanistan.

A thread, 👇— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) June 29, 2020

"The real scandal: We'll likely never know the truth..." he wrote.

That characterization of the reality inside the secret intelligence world was different from the one offered earlier by McEnany, who suggested that American spies don't agree about what they've uncovered or what it means.

McEnany told reporters there was "no consensus" about the allegations within the intelligence community and that it also includes some "dissenting opinions."

McEnany also suggested that intelligence officials decided to keep the bounty payment allegations below Trump's level until they were "verified," as she put it, but those details were not clear.

Sen. Ben Sasse, who was not part of the briefing, said he heard concern from military families in his state, Nebraska, and the country. "What we're talking about here is putting a target of crosshairs on the backs of American servicemen and women in uniform. ... and they're livid. They're right to be livid. This isn't a time for politics," Sasse told Capitol Hill pool reporters. "This is a time to focus on the two things Congress should be asking and looking at: 1. Who knew what, when, and did the commander-in-chief know? And if not, how the hell not? What is going on in that process? And 2. What are we going to do to Impose proportional cost in response?"

Custody of the information

Although Trump and Ratcliffe both said the president hasn't been briefed about the alleged bounty practice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not address whether aspects of the reporting had been included in written briefings submitted to the president.

McEnany did not directly address a question about written briefing materials on Monday.

Past accounts have suggested that Trump doesn't read many of his President's Daily Briefs and prefers to hear from in-person intelligence presenters — but even then, according to the recent book by former national security adviser John Bolton, Trump does more talking than listening.

This has added to questions about practices within the administration for passing intelligence to the president that he might not like or wish to hear about.

For example, former officials have said they learned not to talk with Trump about Russian interference in U.S. elections, about which the president has been critical and skeptical.

Another example included reports that suggested Trump had received warnings about the coronavirus in his daily briefing but hadn't absorbed them; the White House has detailed two specific briefings Trump received about the virus early this year.

Richard Grenell, the former acting director of national intelligence who temporarily held the post before Ratcliffe's confirmation, said on Twitter that he wasn't aware of any reporting about the alleged bounty practices.



I never heard this. And it’s disgusting how you continue to politicize intelligence. You clearly don’t understand how raw intel gets verified. Leaks of partial information to reporters from anonymous sources is dangerous because people like you manipulate it for political gain. https://t.co/403X9AVGAC— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) June 27, 2020

Tension with intelligence services

The game of who knew what when is an old one in Washington but which is further complicated now by Trump's longstanding antipathy with the intelligence community.

The president has feuded with his aides and advisers over their assessments about Russia and other issues such as North Korea's nuclear program.

Meanwhile, there have been reports for years about Russian paramilitary or intelligence activity in Afghanistan with implications for American forces. A top general said Russian operatives were helping the Taliban with weapons or supplies. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis also said he worried about it.

The full picture never emerged, but as the situation on the ground in Afghanistan evolved, so did the practices in Washington to ingest, process and brief intelligence in a capital that has endured a number of tense episodes involving the spy agencies.

It isn't yet clear what practices the intelligence agencies may have adopted to process intelligence like that connected to the alleged bounty program and whether they were continuing to evaluate it — or different agencies might have reached different conclusions, as sometimes happens.

In other words, did the Defense Intelligence Agency or one of the military services find evidence about the bounty practice in Afghanistan, but there hasn't yet been confirmation about the intentions of Moscow from the eavesdropping National Security Agency or human spy-operating CIA?

Banks' Twitter thread on Monday suggested something along these lines — that The Times had, he wrote, "used unconfirmed intel in an ONGOING investigation into targeted killing of American soldiers."

At the same time, the story appears to be broader than that. Britain's Sky News reported that British military forces also may have been targeted in exchange for bounties paid by Russian forces and that members of Parliament want more information from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

What was clear Monday is that members of Congress want to resolve these questions fast. The House Armed Services Committee's Thornberry said that the safety of American and allied troops could depend on it.

"When you're dealing with the lives of our service members, especially in Afghanistan — especially these allegations that there were bounties put on Americans deaths, then it is incredibly serious," he said. "We in Congress need to see the information and the sources to judge that ourselves, and it needs to happen early this week. You know, it will not be acceptable to delay."

NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales contributed to this report.

GOTHIKA; SANTA MUERTE SINGS BAUDELAIRE FLEUR DE MAL

3D DRAGON

Animated Dragon by elly77ellison on Sketchfab

FLYING SNAKE NO PLANE

Flying Snake 95, Trial 618 by isaacyeaton on Sketchfab

Undulation enables gliding in flying snakes

Isaac J. Yeaton, Shane D. Ross, Grant A. Baumgardner, and John J. Socha

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-020-0935-4

doi: 10.1038/s41567-020-0935-4

Reconstructed wing-body of C. paradisi snake 95, (trial 618), from the indoor glide experiments. The snake’s mass is 37.3 g and snout-vent length is 64.4 cm. Snake 95 was the lightest individual tested. The visualization shows the time-varying body posture as the animal glides through the arena. From the analysis presented in the main text, this trial has the following average spatial and temporal wave characteristics: undulation frequency: 1.33 Hz, number of spatial periods of bending: 1.07, horizontal wave amplitude: 112°, vertical wave amplitude: 28°, dorsoventral bending angle: −20°.

The Uncounted Workforce

PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX 
IS POSTMODERN SLAVE LABOUR

June 29, 2020

CARDIFF GARCIA

DARIUS RAFIEYAN

AUDIO AT THE BOTTOM

Download

Transcript


MEGAN JELINGER/AFP via Getty Images

Prison labor has been a part of the U.S. economy since at least the late 19th century. Today it's a multi-billion dollar industry. Incarcerated people do everything from building office furniture and making military equipment, to staffing call centers and doing 3D modeling.

Companies like Walmart, AT&T, Whole Foods and Victoria's Secret have all relied on the labor of incarcerated people. And right now there are people in prisons all over the country working for little to no money making hand sanitizer and face masks to help fight COVID-19.

This industry is not well understood. Incarcerated workers are not included in official employment statistics and there's not a ton or economic research done on this topic, so it can be difficult to know just how substantial this sector of our economy actually is.

Today on the show, we bring you one person's story of working behind bars, and we look at what it can tell us about how America's prison labor system functions.

'Real Life Is More Tragic Than Fiction,' A Filmmaker Documents NYC Protests

June 29, 2020 ANNABEL EDWARDS

VIDEO AT THE END


"WE ARE GEORGE FLOYD," by Julian Marshall, is a film that captures New York City's protests in the days after George Floyd was killed by a police officer. It tells the story in two parts.

The first half of the film, shot entirely at night, is narrated with excerpts from a CNN interview with Harvard philosophy Professor Cornel West, who describes how, in his words, "We are witnessing America as a failed social experiment." We see fires and shattered windows and protestors under arrest, their hands zip tied together. West continues, "It looks as if the system cannot reform itself."

The second half: daylight breaks and now we're on the ground with protestors and they're organized, moving in unison. Killer Mike's speech at the Atlanta Mayor's press conference serves as the narration, where he asks, "After it burns, will we be left with char, or will we rise like a phoenix out of the ashes?"

If the first half paints a portrait of a country in deep trouble, the second half offers a way forward – first: despair; second: hope. First: desperation; second: opportunity.

NPR spoke to Marshall about his experience making this film.

Why did you decide to make this film?

I started to tune into the protests on Friday (May 29). I didn't sleep a wink Friday night. To be honest, I wanted to protest but was afraid because of coronavirus' virulence in NYC. Saturday morning, I watched Cornel West's interview and Killer Mike's press conference and was immediately struck. It was very clear that I had to create something productive in order to help people channel the collective outrage. Thematically, my focus was on Killer Mike's ultimate message: "Don't burn your own house down." That was the message that I wanted to hammer home. We need NYC in tip-top shape going into the November election in order to beat Trump. So we can't compound the damage done by coronavirus by burning the city to the ground in anger.


What was the process of making it like? What was the most challenging part about making it?

On the 30th, I shot all of the daytime footage first, which went very smoothly. I wore a P100 respirator to protect myself from coronavirus so that I could move in and out of crowds more comfortably. However, everything that I shot at night was a complete surprise. After nightfall, around 9 p.m., I decided to venture back out, instinctively thinking that something unusual was going to happen. To be honest, the chaos found me. I walked out of my apartment and immediately a swarm of 20 cop cars blasted past me up Third Avenue, going toward Union Square, so I chased them. When I arrived at 13th Street and Fourth Avenue it was very clear that this night was going to be unlike anything I had ever seen in my life, outside of a film set.

There was a cop car that had been bombed and was burning into the night sky. The NYPD and FDNY had just arrived on the scene. I had to maneuver my way around cops who were trying to block my shots, but I managed to get clean shots. Then the cruiser's gas tank exploded like a bomb! After I got the shot, I made my way around the block to try to find a different angle—and suddenly, another cop car exploded and went up in flames. I managed to get better shots of this one because the cops were starting to get spread thin between the two sites. But it was pretty sketchy having no clue how these cars were blown up. I feared that someone could have been throwing IEDs in the cop cars and trash cans, so I tried to hide behind parked cars for cover as I shot. Then, just like the first cop car, the second cop car's gas tank exploded!

As if this wasn't enough, I continued down the street and a third cop car went up in flames. I carefully made my way over and shot it while again trying to find some sort of cover for safety, knowing that the third car's tank would probably explode as well.

What has been inspiring you lately?

I've drawn immense inspiration from the continued energy of this movement. One month later, people are still out in the streets protesting. And this is how it needs to be. We cannot allow the powers that hope to maintain the status quo to change the narrative.

What do you hope audiences take away from this film?

There are only a few projects that I've made where I have been in tears in the edit room. This one hit me like a brick wall. We are living in a moment where real life is more tragic than fiction. Making this film was almost like therapy for me but the larger goal was to help people cope with, process and channel their emotions into something actionable, which in this case is mobilizing to vote. But not just vote for president—to vote at every level. Because this election is not just about Trump. It's about Congress, it's about the Senate, and it's about the soul of our judicial system, the impact of which, to be quite honest, will outlive Trump.

You can find filmmaker Julian Marshall @julianmarshall.

Minnesota Attorney General Sues Exxon Over Climate Change

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, pictured on June 3, is leading a lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries and the American Petroleum Institute.Scott Olson/Getty Images

AUDIO BELOW

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is suing Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute over what he calls "a campaign of deception" about climate change that the companies "orchestrated and executed with disturbing success."

Ellison and his office say internal documents show the oil and gas companies knew the damage that fossil fuels would cause as far back as the 1970s and '80s, yet hid that science and instead launched public relations campaigns denying climate change.

"They directly contradicted what their research found," Ellison tells NPR. "We can prove that and we will."

The lawsuit claims that the oil and gas companies violated Minnesota laws against consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices and false statements in advertising. Ellison said last week that the state is seeking "substantial" damages and for the companies to fund a public education campaign about climate change.

Exxon Mobil responded, calling the lawsuit part of an "ongoing coordinated, politically motivated campaign against energy companies."

"Legal proceedings like this waste millions of dollars of taxpayer money and do nothing to advance meaningful actions that reduce the risks of climate change," the company added, calling the claims "baseless and without merit."


Other states and cities have sued Exxon Mobil and other oil companies over climate change. Most recently, Exxon Mobil won a suit last year brought by New York's attorney general accusing the company of misleading investors.

Ellison talked with NPR's All Things Considered about the case.

Interview Highlights

On his supporting evidence

We have documents, such as one stamped "proprietary information" from Exxon Engineering, which says, "the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has increased" and "the rate of CO2 release from anthropogenic sources appears to be doubling every 15 years. The most widely held theory is that the increase is due to fossil fuel combustion."

That document was from Oct. 16, 1979. So they knew in '79 and then they lied about it. They actually, they produced propaganda, which essentially said things like: "Who told you the Earth was warming? Chicken Little?" And then other ones: "The most serious problem with catastrophic global warming is that it may not be true." They directly contradicted what their research found. We can prove that and we will.

On why the lawsuit begins by saying global warming will "disproportionately impact people living in poverty and people of color"

Well, because it's true, which is always important, to make sure that we tell the story about what's really going on here. So many civil rights groups that work on issues of racial and economic justice don't always factor in the environmental realities that people of color and low-income people face. I mean, the fact is, is that environmental justice and environmental harms that disproportionately affect communities of color and low-income people is a civil rights issue and it should be treated as that. We've got to make sure that as people are working on criminal justice and things like that, that they factor in environmental justice, as urgent as it is.

On examples of how climate change is already impacting Minnesotans

If you're a farmer, you probably have seen much wetter fields than you've ever seen. Those wetter fields delay your growing season. You've seen infestation and pests that are impacting. There are a range of things that Minnesotans are seeing every day. We saw many of them join with us just last week.

One person who was with us was an environmentalist who is from the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe. And she was talking about how wild rice production has been dramatically impacted, which is a, she called it a sacred food of the Ojibwe people, and how that just climate change has so dramatically affected how they can harvest their crop.

NPR's Noah Caldwell and Dave Blanchard produced and edited the audio version of this interview.

Dalit youth and five of his friends stoned to death in Nepal because of his love for an upper-caste girl

Discrimination is criminalised, but Nepal's caste system is crippling

Posted 31 May 2020

Children in Shikharpur, Nepal. Image via Flickr user Linus Mak. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Despite the country's multiculturalism, minority groups in Nepal — known as Dalits or untouchables — are often subjected to various forms of discrimination, which ranges from hate speech and abuse to rape and murder.

Most recently, on May 24, two Dalit boys, Nawaraj Bishwakarama (BK) and Tika Ram Sunar, were found dead on the banks of the Bheri river in the Jajarkot district of Southern Nepal. Three other bodies of Ganesh Budha, Sandip BK and Lokendra Sunar were found later and another youngster, Govinda Shahi is still missing. An inter-caste love relationship was deemed to be the major reason for their tragic deaths.

A love story gone wrong

Nawaraj, a 21-year-old from Jajarkot who loved playing sports and wanted to join the police force, was born into a Dalit family. He fell in love with Sushma Malla, an upper-caste, 17-year-old girl. Once her family learned about their relationship, Nawaraj and his family received frequent warnings to keep away from her, and on one occasion, he was reported to the police.

Sushma's family wanted to marry her off with someone from her own caste, so she reportedly asked Nawaraj to rescue her before they did. On the night of May 23, Nawaraj — accompanied by 18 friends — headed to Sushma's village of Soti, in the Rukum district, so that the two could elope. Upon their arrival, they were chased, stoned and beaten. In an attempt to save themselves, some of them jumped into the nearby river and managed to escape, but Nawaraj and five of his friends didn’t survive the fall. Five bodies have been recovered so far, one still missing, and other members of the group were handed over to the police and were released later.

One survivor told to media:

Nawaraj was badly beaten up by the crowd. All his body parts, including his head, were seriously injured. He wasn't able to move and he was thrown into the river, he was not in a condition to even swim [so he] could survive.

After the incident, police arrested Dambar Bahadur Malla, Sushma's father and ward chair of the local municipality, along with fifteen others in connection with the incident.
Protests over the murders

Various human rights organisations and Dalit leaders have been pressuring the government to take immediate action on the case and provide justice to the victims’ families:

Although protests and discussions are ongoing in different parts of the country, many fear that this case will soon be forgotten, like so many others in the past. One Twitter user explained:

रुकुमको घटना एउटा जघन्य अपराध हो।नवराज बिक संगै गएका भागेर ज्यान बचाएका २ साथीहरुको बयान सुन्दा आङ जिरिङ्ग हुन्छ।उनका साथीहरूको कुरा सुनिसकेपछि,दलित भएकै कारण नवराजको ज्यान लिइएको बुझ्न कठिन हुने छैन।तर्क/कुतर्कले नबराज र साथीहरूको जीवन अब फिर्ता हुने छैन।https://t.co/gtxd78MgDx

— Rabi Lamich2ane (@hamrorabi) May 26, 2020

Rukum's incident is a heinous crime. It is heartbreaking to hear the statements of two friends who ran away with Nawaraj BK, who escaped from the crowd [in order] to save their own lives. After listening to his friends, it will not be difficult to understand that Nawaraj was killed because he was a Dalit. The lives of Nawaraj and his friends will not be returned by any logic/gossip.

The criminalisation of caste-based discrimination is only on paper
Despite laws to the contrary, caste-based discrimination is a festering sore in Nepalese society, as Dalits face continuous social prejudice and violence.

On May 23, 2020, one day after a 12-year-old Dalit girl from the western Rupandehi district was forced to marry her upper-caste rapist, she was found hanging from a tree. Preliminary police investigations suggest that she had been raped and murdered.

Every year in Nepal, many cases of inter-caste marriage are reported. In 2016, for example, 18-year-old Ajit Mijar married his upper-caste girlfriend Kalpana Parajuli. Five days later, his body was found hanging. By the time his family arrived on the scene, the police had already buried him, and — without any investigation — declared his death a suicide.

According to the Article 18 of Nepal's Constitution, caste-based discrimination is criminalised — but while the country announced itself as an untouchability-free nation in 2006, the Act only came into effect in 2011 and is not enforced. Most cases of caste-based discrimination are swept under the carpet, the police often fail to investigate reports of violence against Dalits, and perpetrators often go unreported or unpunished.

Journalist Ajay Das tweeted:
संविधानबाट ‘दलित’ शब्द हटाए विभेद अाफै हट्छ भनेर कुतर्क गर्ने केही महान विचारकहरूले ‘गरिबी’ शब्द शब्दकाेशबाट हटाए विपन्नता पनि हट्छ र समृद्धि अाउँछ भनेर तर्क गरे अनाैठाे नमाने हुन्छ। #Nepal #Dalit
— Ajay Das (@ajaydas09) May 29, 2020

Some great thinkers, who speculate that removing the word ‘Dalit’ from the constitution will eliminate discrimination itself, argue that removing the word ‘poverty’ from the vocabulary will also remove poverty and bring prosperity.

Entrepreneur Shiwani Neupane challenged the media not to shun their responsibility:

I hope the Nepali media will continue to follow on the story of lynching of innocent Dalit boys in Nepal till justice is served. There is no space for impunity and that should be clear to everyone. I beg the media to not set this aside and move to the next news cycle. Please.
— Shiwani Neupane (@ShiwaniNeupane) May 30, 2020
Changing a culture

Dalits remain one of the most underprivileged groups in Nepal, prompting the successful social entrepreneur and human rights activist Bishnu Maya Pariyar, who came from a low-caste family, to return to Nepal and produce a documentary, “Untouchable”, on the discrimination that she faced growing up:

The caste system is categorised in a hierarchical arrangement, with Brahmins (priests) at the top, followed by Kshatriya (warriors and princes), Vaishya (farmers and artisans), and Shudra (shoemakers, tailors, metal workers, and servants). A fifth element varna categorises those deemed to be entirely outside its scope, including tribal people and untouchables such as Dalits.

According to a comprehensive 2011 census report, Dalits made up 13.6 per cent of the total population (approximately 3.6 million people), but some researchers estimate that the number could be more. The census is conducted every 10 years in Nepal; the government is currently preparing for new census data collection.
The caste system has played an influential role in Nepal’s social, economic, and political landscape. Most higher caste people are in positions of leadership, while Dalits are held back economically, socially, culturally and politically. In some parts of Nepal, Dalits are still not allowed to use public taps, temples, or shops.

Though such incidents — which range from social exclusion to murder — are still prevalent nationwide, they are usually felt most strongly in conservative regions like Western Nepal, although the cities exhibit the underlying prejudice in subtler ways.

Written byBenju Lwagun

NEPAL HAS HAD MAOIST GOVERNMENTS, AND HAS A MILITANT MAOIST PARTY, IT WAS A KINGDOM, IT IS A CASTE BASED CULTURE, A FASCIST CULTURE AS WE SEE FROM THE CONTINUED SLAVERY OF THE DALITS

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/HINDUISM

Mexican feminists and workers’ rights defenders faced wave of arrests in June

Various activists were detained in Mexico in under two weeks

AMLO IS A LIBERAL A NEOLIBERAL IN SOCIAL DEMOCRAT DISGUISE 

Translation posted 30 June 2020

Susana Prieto, Claudia Hernandez and Kenia Hernandez. 

Montage made by Global Voices, of photos by IM-Defensoras 

a screengrab from a video by Milenio.

The health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has not diminished the threat of intimidation and violence faced by Mexican activists, human rights defenders, and journalists. The month of June saw cases of assault, death threats and arrests of some of these human rights defenders on potentially trumped up charges.

On 8 June, Susana Prieto Terrazas, a lawyer committed to defending workers’ rights in the factories of Matamoros city in northern Mexico, was arrested by local police on charges of “rioting, threats and assaults on public servants”. Prieto Terrazas was involved in creating a labour movement called Movimiento 20/32. At the beginning of 2019, this movement started a strike with thousands of workers to demand a salary increase and better working conditions.

Various organizations in Mexico, such as trade unions and human rights defenders, consider her a political prisoner who is being punished for exposing irregularities and corruption by transnational companies. Currently, Prieto Terrazas remains in prison waiting for clarification on her legal status.

Two days before Prieto Terrazas was arrested, on 6 June, feminist activist Kenia Hernández was arrested after being stopped by police in the state of Mexico and detained along with three minors who were traveling in her vehicle.

“During the arrest, Hernández and her three companions were forced out of the car in which the defender was being driven. She was held at gunpoint and her companions were beaten. They all had their belongings taken away and were not informed of the reason for their arrest,” said the Zapata Vive Collective, to which the activist belongs. Kenia Hernández was also imprisoned, although five days later she was released from jail to attend the proceedings against her under probationary measures. In her statement broadcast online, Kenia said:

Translation
Original Quote

“They couldn't even frame me (…) When they arrested me after the demonstration they didn't tell me why”.
#EnVivo: Posicionamiento sobre la liberación y situación jurídica de #KeniaHernández https://t.co/clld4fiGWF
— Cencos (@cencos) June 12, 2020


#Live: Statement on the release and legal status of #KeniaHernández

A day earlier, on 5 June, human rights defender Claudia Hernández was arrested by agents of the San Luís Potosí state police while participating in a demonstration to protest the extrajudicial killing of Giovanni López. López was a young worker who lost his life after being restrained by police who arrested him for allegedly not wearing a mask while outside his home.

According to a statement by the Mesoamerican Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders, Claudia attended the demonstration to conduct observation and mediation work during the march. After being arrested, she was held incommunicado. Like Kenia Hernández, Claudia was released, but subject to proceedings with probationary measures.

📢🚨🆘 #AlertaDefensoras MÉXICO / Detienen ilegalmente, torturan y criminalizan en San Luís Potosí a la defensora Claudia Hernández por participar en protesta por el asesinato de Giovanni López
📌Más información➡https://t.co/PWWsMw93mg pic.twitter.com/b2My8YLzhF
— IM-Defensoras (@IM_Defensoras) June 8, 2020

#Defenders’ Alert MEXICO / Defender Claudia Hernandez illegally detained, tortured and criminalized in San Luis Potosi for participating in protest against the murder of Giovanni Lopez
More information

During the month of June, threats and intimidation extended to organizations as well as the individuals mentioned above. On 15 June, members of Consorcio Oaxaca, a feminist organization that promotes women's rights and gender equality, found a black bag containing pieces of meat (apparently an animal head) with a threatening and misogynistic message at the door of its premises. State actors, like in previous cases, are accused of the threats.

According to the organization, there have been several incidents of intimidation since they launched a campaign to demand justice for femicides committed in Oaxaca state.

In this case, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) urged Mexico to clarify the incidents against Consorcio Oaxaca. It has pushed for the adoption of protective measures for the organization as well as Soledad Jarquín, a feminist journalist who is part of Consorcio Oaxaca and mother of María del Sol, a victim of femicide. Jarquín has received threats for years while demanding justice for the murder of her daughter.

La #CIDH urge a #Mexico a esclarecer los hechos, considerando como primera hipótesis la labor de defensa que realiza @consorciooaxaca y a adoptar las medidas necesarias para proteger a la organización de amenazas y en especial a Soledad Jarquín y su familia. #DDHH 3
— CIDH – IACHR (@CIDH) June 19, 2020

The #CIDH notes that @consorciooaxaca has connected the act of intimidation to their struggle for justice in the femicide of #MaríadelSolJarquín in Juchitán, Oaxaca in 2018, which has implicated Oaxacan state officials. #Women #HumanRights

The #CIDH urges #Mexico to clarify the facts, considering as a first hypothesis the advocacy work carried out by @consorciooaxaca and to adopt the necessary measures to protect the organization from threats and especially Soledad Jarquín and her family. #HumanRights

In 2019, Mexico ranked fourth in Latin America for the killings of human rights defenders, after Colombia, Honduras and Brazil, with 23 manslaughters. On June 29, a UN expert urged Mexico to guarantee protection for women human rights defenders.

Written by Mercedes Matz

Translated by Liam Anderson