The Free

from thefreeonline on 27th Feb 2023 by International Affairs / Countercurrents/ Agencies/ shared with thanks

Rallies against the U.S.-led NATO bloc, the EU, supply of weapons to Ukraine and anti-war have been held across France, and in Italy and Germany. At protest sites, demonstrators defaced and tore down NATO and EU flags.

Berlin

Tens of thousands of Germans braved the elements to attend the Uprising for Peace, a massive rally organized by Die Linke (Left Party) politician Sahra Wagenknecht and author Alice Schwarzer on Saturday.

The demonstrators massed at the Brandenburg Gate, calling for peace talks to end the conflict in Ukraine and demanding Berlin cease supplying Kiev with weapons.

Wagenknecht slammed the German government for trying to “ruin Russia,” urging leaders to make Moscow an “offer” so that peace talks could begin. The rally, she said, represented the “start of a citizens’ initiative” and the launch of a “new, strong peace movement in Germany.”

The rally welcomed protesters from across the political spectrum, declaring anyone who wanted peace “with an honest heart” was welcome, though neo-Nazi provocateurs jostling for media attention were not.

The organizers counted some 50,000 participants, while the police gave a lowball figure of 13,000.

‘NATO out!’ Anti-war activists clash with police defending Italian base ..

Wagenknecht and Schwarzer earlier this month published a Manifest for Peace urging Chancellor Olaf Scholz to “stop the escalation in weapons deliveries.” It has since been signed by over half a million people, including well-known public intellectuals and political figures.

Continue reading “Waves of Anti-NATO, Anti-EU, Anti-War, Protest Rallies Hit Germany, France, Italy.. NATO KILLERS OUT!”

translation thefreeonline on 27th February 2023 by Prensa Bolivariana

SUCCESSFUL XVI NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF The National Federation of State Service Workers, With pleasure, the National Executive Committee of “FENALTRASE” expresses a warm greeting and thanks to the delegations attending.

This is the result of a process oriented from the EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF NATIONAL BOARDS, on November 3, 2022, which welcomed the roadmap for the design and compliance of the FENALTRASE ACTION PLAN for the NATIONAL STATE NEGOTIATION 2023, which was endorsed by the NATIONAL PLENARY held in Bogotá, D.C., on December 6 and 7, 2022.

“CHANGE.. FOR CHANGE!”

2. As a pillar of this plan, we proceeded with the collective and pedagogical construction of the thematic axes; tactics and strategy for the general negotiation of the specifications, as well as the specifications for negotiations of a singular nature to be carried out;

all this stems from the IV NATIONAL STATE seminar OF OFFICIAL WORKERS AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, FENALTRASE – CORPEIS, held in person from January 23 to 27, 2023, culminating finally and successfully with the XVI NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF FENALTRASE, held in person at the UNEB Bogotá headquarters, this past and recent Wednesday, February 22,, as agreed and with a remarkable 48% presence of women union leaders.

3. In a fraternal atmosphere, the contradictions of the economic political situation in which the national state negotiation 2023 will take place were identified; the historic opportunity to advance, with the structural reforms in the health, pensions and work sectors, as well as the active and determined role that union organizations have to play, each day more fragmented into numerous ombudsmen, reduced in digits of affiliations and prolific in multiple affiliations.

With the announcement of the Ninth Central, the position of demanding the certification of the number of affiliates is maintained and justified, so that representativeness and proportionality are the democratic axes of the formation of collective bargaining commissions.

Continue reading “Colombia: CHANGE Process advanced by Federation of State Service Workers”

from thefreeonline on 26th February 2023 by Freedom News …

The latest attempt by the far right to harass a drag Queen Story Hour event in London fell flat on its face today in Honor Oak following their previous annihilation at Tate Britain a couple of weeks ago.

The obsessive weirdos of Turning Point Uk called a protest which attracted around 20 racists & reactionaries including some of their tiny membership and a handful of local z-list DFLA types who’d clearly seen better days.

They didn’t manage to get anywhere near the pub hosting the event as a large police presence kept their ‘protest’ 200 yards down the road for their own protection.

Their attempts at speeches where completely drowned out by jeering and booing from hundreds of anti fascists, LGBTQ+ people and local trade unionists.

The exception was hate preacher & GB News pundit Calvin Robinson who was rendered inaudible by the deafening and thoroughly accurate chant of “You’re not a real vicar!”

The cops made a provocative & unnecessary push into the calm counter protest at one point resulting in one arrest but otherwise the event was a peaceful and resounding victory.

The bigots were totally outnumbered and their live streaming social media wannabes were harassed & removed from the area.

Our new generation of fascists should probably learn some basic history about places like Lewisham if they don’t want to be humiliated like this.

Images: Guy Smallman

*************

Fascists again vastly outnumbered in Lewisham – Grumpy Nazis humiliated https://t.co/GrbPsYKgs3 @lgbtplusnews @bristolantifa @AfedLondon @resist_london @Freedom_Paper @BrightonSolFed @solfed_iwa @RaggedTP @NoBinaries_es @antifaintl @WeAreLewisham pic.twitter.com/xhMyYV0yQP

— Mike Gilliland (@MikeGilliland11) February 26, 2023

from thefreeonline on 26th February 2023 by SCF, Al-Monitor, and Turkish Minute .. .

see SCF Report Below..Turkey’s Transnational Repression: Abuse of asset freezing mechanisms under the pretext of prevention of terrorist financing . Download PDF

Turkish authorities ban access to 340 more URLs and websites

A Turkish court on Wednesday blocked access in Turkey to 340 more websites and URLs, including news websites, blogs and social media accounts, at the request of the Security Directorate General, the Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reported.

According to a decision by the Ankara 4^th Criminal Court of Peace, the URLs and websites were blocked due to their attempts to legitimize the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and for disseminating terrorist propaganda.

More than 349,000 websites banned in Turkey in last 5 years (Aug 16, 2021). A total of 349,763 websites were banned in Turkey between 2016 and 2020, according to the 2020 annual report of the Freedom of Expression Association’s (İFÖD) EngelliWeb initiative. The number since 2006 has reached 467,011, with 58,809 website bans in 2020, the report says.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the international community.

The blocked addresses include the website of Dutch freelance journalist and author Frederike Geerdink, the pro-Kurdish media group Rudaw, Avesta Publications and the Kurdish Twitter account of MA.

Geerdink said she would take legal action against the decision.

see SCF Report Below..Turkey’s Transnational Repression: Abuse of asset freezing mechanisms under the pretext of prevention of terrorist financing . Download PDF

it's much bigger even. pages full of twitter accounts (incl mine) of journalists/media, analysts, politicians (incl mp's), kurdish centers in europe etc, fb-pages, telegram channels, all informing about kurdish matters, also blocked. #elections are coming. https://t.co/vr91VLv6Ar

— Frederike Geerdink (@fgeerdink) February 22, 2023

Journalist Fehim Işık, who posted the full list of blocked URLs on Twitter, said despite the bans, people will still find a way to access information.

Continue reading “Turkish regime banning 467,011 websites, 340 more this week + thefreeonline banned + SCF Report”

from thefreeonline on February 23, 2023 by Free West Media

|Demonstration in Berlin Around 13,000 people demand the end of arms deliveries to Ukraine / 25th Feb 2023

After the sensational revelations by US investigative reporter Seymour Hersh about the perpetrators of the Nord Stream attacks on September 26, 2022, the German government has remained silent. It does not want to comment on Hersh’s research results, according to which the pipelines were blown up by Americans and Norwegians.

The Scholz administration certainly has not drawn any conclusions from the revelations.

The German public obviously sees things very differently – at least if one wants to believe a voting simulation by the Dutch portal “Restart Democracy”.

There, the Rudulin Foundation, which by its own admission is committed to more co-determination and a “truly democratically oriented society”, asked 6425 German citizens to vote between February 10 and 17.

Almost 100 percent voted to convene a Nord Stream investigative committee. The question was: “Do you vote for or against the convening of the Nord Stream committee of inquiry?”

Continue reading “Germans demand Expulsion of US bases and Military after Nord Stream sabotage/ Mass Demos > Ramstein Base Sun 26 Feb 12 pm/”

3h ago

from thefreeonline on 25th February 2023 by Freedom News …

Solidarity Trans rights Transphobia Brianna Ghey

Image: Guy Smallman

They provoke a constitutional crisis to try to stop us identifying as who we are. They close down the children’s and youth hospital that supported our children rather than allow them to grow up happy and free. They kill us in parks and the police wont even call it a hate crime. They smash the windows of our community spaces and the shops that display our flags in solidarity. They call our elders groomers, rapists and paedophiles. They torment our youth by calling them confused, easily influenced or immature. They threaten to deny the legal rights of our international siblings who might come here with gender recognition certificates issued in more tolerant states. They deny us the chance to take part in or compete in sports. From Prime Minister to Leader of the Opposition, front bench to front bench, newspaper to news website they misgender us, deadname us, and transphobically abuse us both in life and even after we have died. Their attack dogs – whether from organised fascism or the shadow minister for women and equalities – denigrate our existence or picket our events or call our very existence ‘a debate’. They demonise our lives and scoff at our deaths. They refuse us healthcare, hormones, puberty blockers, HRT, medicines, surgeries, and the possibilities of transitioning for spurious heterosexist reasons. Or simply because they can. They gate-keep their incredible power to change and transform our existence. They leave us on waiting lists for decades. Our elders spend a lifetime being denied and are then forced to spend their last precious years re-closetting themselves in care homes and home care services.

And They distract us with Rowldemort, billionaire bigot who relishes the pain she causes.

Continue reading “#SayOurNames – To kell and back – Transphobia/ Brianna Ghey”