CounterVortex weekly headlines
Russia vetoes UN resolution to bar nuclear arms in space
Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution sponsored by the US and Japan which called on all nations to contribute to the peaceful use of outer space and to prevent a dangerous arms race in space-based weapons. The resolution reaffirmed the principles set out in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which compels states to "not place in orbit around the earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction." The resolution was announced after the US accused Russia of developing an anti-satellite nuclear weapon to put in space. President Vladimir Putin and Moscow's ministry of defense have denied the accusations. Russia's UN ambassador called the resolution a "cynical ploy."
https://countervortex.org/blog/russia-vetoes-un-resolution-to-bar-nuclear-arms-in-space/
ICC petitioned to investigate new Armenian genocide
The California-based Center for Truth & Justice (CFTJ) published a report purporting that acts of genocide have been committed in the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region and Armenian border provinces, and calling upon the International Court of Justice to open an investigation. The CFTJ claims that Azerbaijani security forces have evicted ethnic Armenians from their native lands in these areas since the war of 2020, documenting instances of torture, arbitrary detentions and extrajudicial killings.
https://countervortex.org/blog/icc-petitioned-to-investigate-new-armenian-genocide/
Google fires employees who protested Israel contract
Google fired some 50 workers after dozens of employees participated in sit-ins at the company's offices in New York City and Sunnyvale, Calif., to protest a cloud computing contract with the Israeli government. Several were arrested at both locations. Tensions had been building between management and activist employees over Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion joint Google-Amazon deal to supply the Israeli government with cloud services, including artificial intelligence. Google employees affiliated with the group that organized the sit-ins, No Tech for Apartheid, said in a statement that the firings were "a flagrant act of retaliation." The use of artificial intelligence to generate potential targets appears to have contributed to the destructive nature of the current war on the Gaza Strip, an investigation by progressive Israeli website +972 recently revealed.
https://countervortex.org/blog/google-fires-employees-who-protested-israel-contract/
India: security forces launch new anti-Naxal ops
Indian security forces killed at least 29 Naxal insurgents in Kanker Bastar district of Chhattisgarh state this month. The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and District Reserve Guard (DRG) carried out the joint operation in what the BSF called "a major crackdown against the Maoist menace." Among those reported killed was a top Naxal commander, Shankar Rao. A large cache of weapons was also reported to have been seized in the operation. Chhattisgarh is one of several states, mostly in east-central India, officially designated as affected by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE).
https://countervortex.org/blog/india-security-forces-launch-new-anti-naxal-ops/
Ecuador votes to approve tightened security measures
Ecuadorians voted to approve a number of security proposals from President Daniel Noboa as the South American country experiences a surge in violence that has claimed the lives of multiple public officials. Among the proposals was a measure to amend Ecuador's constitution to allow the armed forces to fight organized crime alongside the police. The vote also included a "popular consultation," containing six non-binding proposals. Among those approved was a proposal to increase penalties for crimes such as murder, human trafficking, drug trafficking and arms trafficking.
https://countervortex.org/blog/ecuador-votes-to-approve-tightened-security-measures/
US deports Haitians amid surging gang violence
The Biden administration reportedly sent over 70 Haitians back to their homeland amid the Caribbean nation's ongoing struggle with gang violence. The deportations were met with condemnation from human rights organizations, including the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), which characterized the move as "intentional violence." The HBA and nearly 500 other rights groups sent a letter to the Biden administration last month requesting an extension on the moratorium on deportations of Haitians. The letter also called for the White House to re-designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program for migrants from countries beset with armed conflict, allowing them to live and work in the US without fear of deportation. The letter reminded the administration of its "promise to build a fairer and more inclusive immigration and asylum system."
https://countervortex.org/blog/us-deports-haitians-amid-surging-gang-violence/
Audio:
Podcast: from Warsaw Ghetto to Gaza Strip
Masha Gessen in a New Yorker essay draws a parallel between the Warsaw Ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland and the Gaza Strip, where Israel's long siege is now escalating to genocide. Some Israeli military tactics in Gaza indeed mirror those of the Nazis in Warsaw. Yet, while some voices on the ostensible "left" go so far as to glorify Hamas, Israel's online partisans are drawing a parallel that reverses the roles, depicting Hamas as the new Nazis. In a case of paradoxical fascistic pseudo-anti-fascism, the genocidal rhetoric of figures such as hardline Israeli cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich dehumanizes the victims by portraying all Gazans as Nazis. In Episode 223 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg turns to the words of Leon Trotsky and Albert Camus to make sense of the seeming contradiction. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.
https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-from-warsaw-ghetto-to-gaza-strip/
From Global Ganja Report:
Oregon activists charge betrayal as drug decrim overturned
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed a law recriminalizing the possession of personal quantities of illicit drugs. The law overturns Measure 110, approved by voters with 58% support in 2020, which made personal-use possession of drugs such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine only punishable by a ticket and a maximum fine of $100. The recrim comes in response to a spike in overdose deaths and substance abuse rates in the state. However, the activists who fought for Measure 110 say decrim was overturned before it had a chance to work.
https://globalganjareport.com/content/oregon-activists-charge-betrayal-as-drug-decrim-overturned
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