Again: democracy is not just voting. Respect for fundamental human rights is essential to democracy. Don't believe me? OK, say you're in a room in a tall building with 9 others, and 6 people vote to throw you out the window. Happy with that? It was voted on, right? See what's missing?
After Trump signed an executive order authorizing sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) officials & supporters, 79 ICC member countries issued a statement reaffirming their “unwavering support” for the ICC. LESSON: Governments can stand up to Trump's madness.
Human Rights Watch
World Responds to Trump’s Targeting of International Criminal Court
US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on February 6 authorizing sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) officials and others ...
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Trump's sudden 90-day suspension of USAid funding – which accounts for 40% of humanitarian aid globally – threatens countless lives around the world. It's also a "perfect opportunity" for China:
the Guardian
US cedes ground to China with ‘self-inflicted wound’ of USAid shutdown, analysts say
Sudden suspension of aid funding a ‘perfect opportunity’ for Beijing to fill the gap and grow its own soft power
Also - and I realise this is a side issue, not nearly as important as the world's most powerful man declaring an intention to commit mass atrocity crimes - how many American voters actually want the US to "take over" Gaza & expel its people? Who voted for that?
the Guardian
Trump says US will ‘take over’ Gaza Strip in shock announcement during Netanyahu visit
Plan, which critics said was ‘ethnic cleansing by another name’, would involve resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring countries
"One rescue team had their passports and phones confiscated by police, and their fingerprints and photographs taken. A female activist was strip-searched at the police station."
the Guardian
Bulgarian police ‘blocked rescue’ of teenage migrants who froze to death
Report by rights groups alleges border police refused to rescue boys and blocked activists’ efforts to save them
"Auschwitz-Birkenau has become an abiding symbol of Nazi Germany’s genocide of 6 million European Jews, looming large in the world’s collective memory as the embodiment of where hatred, racism and antisemitism can lead." If only it loomed larger today.
the Guardian
Among monarchs and presidents, focus of Auschwitz anniversary is on 50 survivors
Former inmates of Nazi concentration camp in Poland will speak at ceremony marking 80 years since its liberation
Good news: Europe made more electricity from solar than coal in 2024, and wind now tops gas.
the Guardian
‘Rising star’: EU made more electricity from solar than coal in 2024
Report reveals solar power generated 11% of bloc’s electricity, surpassing coal at 10%
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An image of Musk’s Hitler salute has been beamed onto Tesla's Gigafactory in Berlin.
Newsweek
Elon Musk controversial salute image beamed on Tesla factory in Berlin
The large image shows Musk giving the salute with the words "Heil Tesla" beamed above him.
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"Accepting a pardon would only insult the Capitol police officers, rule of law and, of course, our nation," she said. "I pleaded guilty because I was guilty, and accepting a pardon also would serve to contribute to their gaslighting and false narrative."
Convicted US Capitol rioter Pam Hemphill turns down Trump pardon
Former "Maga granny" Pamela Hemphill tells the BBC the Trump government is trying to "rewrite history".