Italy’s Five Star Movement (M5S) topped the polls in last week’s election. It was born in 2009, expressing the massive disillusionment with traditional political parties and politics. The five stars represent its core polices for change – public water, sustainable transport, sustainable development, right to Internet access, and environmentalism. Continue reading Italian election has shown widespread discontent with the political establishment
These are not scenes from a poor country in Africa, Latin America or Asia, but the reality of life for many in the United states of America. Continue reading Video: Homeless in the streets of Los Angeles
Since last November and the forced Catalan election, not much has been heard of what has happened there and across Spain since. Continue reading Spanish state increasingly relying on repression in Catalonia and the whole of Spain
“Canada’s $233 million arms sale of military combat helicopters to the Philippine government will enable and worsen the already dire human rights situation under the Duterte administration. We call on the Canadian people and Filipino migrants in Canada to oppose this arms deal and intensify support for human and people’s rights in the Philippines,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay, after the agreement between the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) and Philippine military was announced on February 6, 2018. Continue reading Canada’s Philippines arms deal will abet human rights violations
Continue reading West Papuan leader appeals for support on eve of Summit
Julian Assange failed in his bid to have the British warrant for his arrest struck down, despite being tied to an earlier Swedish investigation that is no longer taking place. They dropped their investigation last year. The United Nations also ruled that the case should not be proceeded with. The international arrest warrant was dropped and this implied that the British one should be as well. Continue reading Julian Assange loses bid to get British arrest warrant dropped
Rupert Murdoch and his empire has been caught in Saudi Arabia’s purge of members of the royal family, government ministers and officials. Continue reading Murdoch at risk of losing control over his empire
Since the 7 October unilateral declaration of independence, events have moved fast. The central Spanish government has taken over administration, set an election for 21 December and ha started taking steps to maximise the vote in its favour.
Continue reading Catalan political crisis enters a new phase
The woman at the forefront of the Panama Papers is dead. She lost her life when a bomb in the car she was driving blew up and sent the vehicle flying into a paddock.
A tranche of 11.5 million documents connected to more than 200,000 offshore accounts make up the Panama Papers and this immense volume of information is still being sifted through and new evidence of money laundering and tax evasion is constantly bubbling to the surface.
Those who stand to be exposed had an incentive for having her silenced.
Daphne Caruana Galizia was a journalist who passionately focused on uncovering establishment corruption and her untimely death shows that the corrupt are ruthless and will do anything to keep on the gravy train.
Her son, Matthew Caruana Galizia said, “this was no ordinary murder and it was not tragic” and argued that “when there is blood and fire all around you, that’s war. We are a people at war against the state and organised crime, which have become indistinguishable.”
He added on Facebook. “Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri, Chris Cardona, Konrad Mizzi, the Attorney General and the long list of police commissioners who took no action: you are complicit. You are responsible for this”.
There is an obvious connection between these words and the Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his closest aids, whose links to offshore companies had been exposed.
There is also a global dimension to this, as the exposures Galizia worked on involved the who’s who list of multinational corporations and political leaders. Even the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been named as one of them.
It makes perfect sense to allege that there is a war going on between the people in general and the greed of a small and exclusive group, amassing fortunes at the expense of everyone else. A war that is becoming more open and brutal.
Rights of citizens are being trampled
One of the Maltese police officers who is supposed to be investigating the murder, a sergeant called Ramon Misfsud, wrote about it on his own Facebook account: “Everyone gets what they deserve, cow dung! Feeling happy”. There is not going to be much of an investigation from this quarter.
Although the sergeant has been suspended, this is not a great deal under the circumstances, and it suggests that power structures provide impunity to wrongdoers, encourage corruption and punish those who make a stand against it.
This is why it is so important that other carry on the work of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
