We are secular Muslims, and secular persons of Muslim societies. We are believers, doubters, and unbelievers, brought together by a great struggle, not between the West and Islam, but between the free and the unfree.

New issue of Le COUAC out on the news stands

Malalai Joya, elected by the people of Farah, and banned from parliament for denouncing criminals of war (though her democratic mandate was to last till the current elections), spoke to an audience of 300 at Conway Hall in central London (July 2009). She has survived five assassination attempts, had her passport taken away by Karzaï, and must constantly take various precautions in Afghanistan. We invite you to hear what a woman fighting for human rights and justice has to say...

The following is an official message from a grassroots movement in Israel named New Profile, which is part of a larger coalition of Israeli groups opposed to the occupation and repression of Palestinians and to the militarization of Israeli culture. Currently, the Israeli government is using methods that are becoming more and more repressive, which is why we feel it is important to share this with you. Below their summary of the situation, you will find links to related articles and a call to action.

Excerpts :

We would like to reiterate that police harassment of New Profile and the interrogation of eleven of our members are not isolated events. They are part of a virulent drive of state McCarthyism, a stepped-up systematic persecution of left-wing activists and voices. This drive arguably obviates the remnants of Israel's claim to democracy and parodies its ludicrous boast to representing a single democratic beacon in the Middle East. // Among human rights organizations in Israel, Adalah for instance is still preparing a report on the recent, sharp escalation in combined state and university repression of student activists and [...] will soon be publicizing their comprehensive report on state violence against activists, left-wing groups and individuals, as well as their international supporters.

For more than a week, Iran has been convulsed by mass demonstrations denouncing election fraud. Hundreds of thousands have repeatedly taken to the streets to denounce the government, which is now threatening, and beginning to carry out, a bloody crackdown. This time around, imperialist intervention is veiled: the White House feigns neutrality, the Western media go all out for the opposition, while in the background various agencies provide vital technical aid. In reality, all candidates in the presidential vote swear allegiance to the Islamic Republic, and the supposed moderate reformers are no less butchers and enemies of poor and working people than the conservative "populist" government. The situation cries out for revolutionary leadership independent of all factions of the theocracy, to wage a struggle for workers revolution against imperialism and clerical reaction.

Many Indian nationals had their marriages in India and domicile in the United States. They travel back to India for the purpose of obtaining divorce judgments according to the Hindu law. The issue of jurisdiction becomes important factor for the recognition of their foreign divorce judgments in the United States. This article analyzes this issue.

* Remembering the Stonewall Rebellion (The Stonewall Inn, a gay and lesbian neighborhood bar with a large number of African American and Latino patrons, was also well-known as a safe space for those who did not conform to gender norms...)
* Socialists Protest NYC Library Cuts
* A Socialist Speaks: An Interview with David McReynolds
* Peruvian Strike Backs Indigenous Protests
* The "Colombianization" of Chihuahua
* Celebrating Howlin' Wolf and Les Paul

http://socialistwebzine.blogspot.com/

On March 17th, two American journalists - Euna Lee and Laura Ling - were taken into custody by the North Korean military. The two women were reporting on the trafficking of women along the border with China.
The women were charged with "hostile acts" and illegally entering the country, then sentenced to 12 years of "reform through hard labor."

:: included here: quick links to know more, video, and cyberactions !

The International Queer Solidarity Network calls for a European mobilization, with support from the United States, that will stand in solidarity with Queer Bulgaria

“This massacre offers the world a glimpse at horrors faced by our people”

As an elected representative for Farah, Afghanistan, I add my voice to those condemning the NATO bombing that claimed over 150 civilian lives in my province earlier this month. This latest massacre offers the world a glimpse of the horrors faced by our people.

However, as I explained at a May 11 press conference in Kabul, the U.S. military authorities do not want you to see this reality. As usual, they have tried to downplay the number of civilian casualties, but I have information that as many as 164 civilians were killed in the bombings. One grief stricken man from the village of Geranai explained at the press conference that he had lost 20 members of his family in the massacre.

:: Read the rest on Malalai Joya official site »»

Many Muslim American men travel to foreign countries to obtain quick Islamic divorce. Most often the husband who goes to a foreign country leaves his wife, property and children in the United States. This type of divorce may be valid in the foreign country but it is not necessary valid in the United States.

Bonobos have no ideology, they just do it.

EveryOne Group and civil society in democratic countries have taken up the appeal from the IRAQI LGBT association, based in London, which calls on activists and democratic citizens to take part in an international campaign to save the lives of 128 prisoners sentenced to death because they are homosexual.

According to the judicial and religious authorities, the prisoners will be murdered in groups of about 20 people. The first series of executions is imminent. »»

SIGN THE PETITION NOW: www.petitiononline.com/iraqgay/

An invitation from the Fédération des femmes du Québec, the Committee for Human Rights in Latin America  (CDHAL) and the Comité de solidarité avec les femmes de Ciudad Juarez

BARRIO TERRAZAS PERSONA NON GRATA

Friday, April 3, 2009 from 12h to 13 h

In Montréal :
Mexican Consulate in Montreal
2055, Peel, between Maisonneuve and Sherbrooke (Peel Metro).

:: Read the rest of this announcement (French) »»
:: Féminicides au Mexique, par le CDHAL

Amidst a deepening economic crisis engendered by the global financial meltdown, thousands of women workers belonging to the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) poured out into the streets of key Manila, Cebu, Davao, General Santos and Cotabato, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day to demand full employment and equality between women and men.