Sunday, April 3, 2022
Tunisian Journalists’ Union Announces General Strike On April 2
https://popularresistance.org/tunisian-journalists-union-announces-general-strike-on-april-2-to-defend-press-freedoms/
By People's Dispatch.
March 30, 2022
Resist!
The announcement of the journalists’ general strike came a day before government authorities detained a local news reporter at Mosaique FM under anti-terrorism laws.
Journalists in Tunisia will go on a nationwide general strike on April 2 to protest governmental interference in public media and to defend the freedom of speech and freedom of the press in the country. The National Syndicate for Tunisian Journalists (SNJT), Tunisia’s main journalists’ union, announced on Wednesday, March 23, that it has approved a mass strike by journalists. Union official Amira Mohammed cited the “president’s attempts to control public media and the authorities’ insistence on hitting the sector” as the main reason for the strike.
The journalists’ union has criticized president Kais Saied and his regime for a number of recent measures which according to them drastically reduced the independence of state media. These include attempts to bring the state television directly under the control of the president, banning state television from inviting opposition political figures in debate programs, and severe restrictions on journalists regarding reporting on information that the government might deem sensitive. Several journalists who refused to reveal their sources to the government have also been arrested. Speaking to news outlets, union head Mohamed Yassine Jelassi said that Tunisia “has become an authoritarian state that jails and intimidates journalists. Since July 25, the people are imprisoned for their thoughts and tweets and are tried militarily.” He added that the authorities are “seeking to frighten journalists and disrupt them from doing their job” by introducing new restrictive measures and laws which enable the regime to target and persecute journalists.
On July 25 last year, the president through a series of extraordinary measures seized virtually all executive and legislative power in Tunisia, dismissing the prime minister and government and suspending the national parliament. These actions have been widely condemned in the country and by the international community. Many in the political opposition and civil society have termed these moves an unconstitutional and anti-democratic “presidential coup.” Rights groups have warned that the country may return to one-man authoritarian rule, like under former president Zine Abidine Ben Ali who was overthrown in a hard fought revolution in 2011. The new constitution after the revolution had guaranteed many of the civil liberties and press freedoms that journalists are now fighting to protect.
Since seizing power, president Saied has announced the holding of a referendum to write up a new constitution, to be followed by general elections. This move has been rejected by several sections and regular protests have been witnessed in opposition to the president’s power grab.
The announcement of the journalists general strike came a day before government authorities detained a local news reporter at Mosaique FM under anti-terrorism laws. The anti-terrorism police arrested Khalifa Guesmi in the central region of Kairouan last week on Friday for refusing to reveal his sources for an article on the break-up of a “terrorist cell” which reportedly had a former soldier and a university professor as members. Two other journalists with Mosaique FM, as well as its editor-in-chief Houcine Dabbabi, were also summoned by an anti-terror judge for questioning in the case. SNJT president Jelassi denounced the arrest in a press conference as the “gravest attack” on press freedom since the 2011 revolution. He said that the arrest was “an attack on press freedom… and journalists’ right to access information” and “it reflects a policy of using state institutions to silence and intimidate journalists. It is an attack on journalists’ right to protect their sources, which is guaranteed under Tunisian law.”
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) also called upon the government to immediately release Guesmi. IFJ president Anthony Bellanger said in a statement, “President Saied has a duty to defend freedom of the press and ensure the security of our colleagues as they do their work. We cannot tolerate journalists continually being targeted.”
SQUASH "PLANTING TIMELINE" *LAST SPRING FROST DATE IS CRITICAL* (OAG)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE5rlmN40d8
Global Food Shortages: How Does Your Garden (Or Pantry) Grow?
https://popularresistance.org/global-food-shortages-how-does-your-garden-or-pantry-grow/
By Thomas Knapp, Counter Punch.
March 30, 2022
Educate!
Above Photo: Farmers harvesting wheat last year (2021) near the village of Tbilisskaya, Russia. Vitaly Timkiv / AP.
“President Joe Biden and other leaders of the world’s major industrialized democracies pledged action on Thursday [March 24] to address food shortages caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine,” Politico reports.
Biden says food shortages “are going to be real,” although he seems to see them as an opportunity to increase US grain production and food exports rather than a real threat to Americans’ own well-being.
After a year of continuing his predecessor’s “trade war” policies, Biden seems to be getting some free trade religion, which is nice, but he may be under-estimating the scope of the problem.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine — and the US/EU/NATO sanctions response — doesn’t just up-end the global supply of grain crops (Russia and Ukraine are both top exporters of wheat) and other foods.
As Reuters reports, it also affects the global supply of the fertilizers that power farming elsewhere. Russia is the world’s top fertilizer exporter, followed by China, a top “trade war” target of the last few years.
What does this mean for Americans? Probably not starvation in the streets, but food prices are going to keep soaring, probably even more so than they have the last couple of years. More of our incomes will go to putting food on the table, and less to other things. We’re getting, in a word, poorer.
If you had the foresight to go full “prepper” years ago — a basement full of freeze-dried meals, a large garden and annual canning operation, etc. — good on you. Unless things escalate we’re probably not looking at the apocalypse, but you’ve been vindicated nonetheless.
As for the rest of us, at least a little “prepping” is definitely in order. It’s not too late to start stocking up on canned food BEFORE the next big price increase. And, if you have a yard or access to a community gardening space, to put some food in the ground for harvest later this year.
Personally, I’ve had gardening ambitions for years — I spent part of my childhood on a subsistence farm and enjoyed it — but until last week I limited myself to a little raised bed affair with some salad and stir fry items.
This week I invested in a tiller and an assortment of “heirloom” seeds, with the expectation of getting to work on a much larger garden next week. I’m fortunate to live on a full acre in northern Florida, where I can reasonably expect to get two growing seasons in this year.
If worse comes to worst, doubling up on the cans in your pantry and growing a little romaine for Caesar salads won’t save your life. But if not, they’ll save you some much-needed money in the harder days to come.
Pres. AMLO Denies US Claim Mexico Hosts Russian Spies
https://popularresistance.org/president-amlo-criticizes-us-claim-it-hosts-russian-spies/
By Ben Norton, Multipolarista.
March 30, 2022
Educate!
‘Mexico Is Not A Colony.’
Left-wing Mexican President AMLO criticized the US government accusation that his country hosts more Russian spies than any other, stating “Mexico is not a colony of any foreign country. Mexico is a free, independent, sovereign country.”
Mexico’s left-wing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has criticized the United States for claiming his country hosts more Russian spies than any other.
“We need to send them telegrams, informing them that Mexico is not a colony of any foreign country, that Mexico is a free, independent, sovereign country,” declared López Obrador, who is known popularly by the acronym AMLO.
“More and more this should be known, because sometimes it appears that it is not understood well enough,” the Mexican president added.
The leader of US Northern Command (Northcom), General Glen VanHerck, claimed in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on March 24 that Russia’s foreign military intelligence agency the GRU supposedly has more spies in Mexico than anywhere else.
The general accused Russia of using Mexico to spy on and try to infiltrate the United States, alleging “that most of the GRU members in the world are in Mexico at the moment,” and that “they keep a very close eye on their chances of influencing the opportunities and access that the United States has.”
AMLO rejected the US government’s accusations in his morning press conference on March 25.
“We are not a colony of Russia, or of China, or of the United States,” AMLO asserted. “Mexico is an independent country, free and sovereign.”
“We don’t have information about that,” he stated in response to the US general’s allegations.
AMLO said Washington has the right to share its views, because, “We respect the free expression of ideas.” But he condemned the idea that Mexico is controlled by any foreign power.
President López Obrador also stressed that Mexico maintains an independent, non-aligned foreign policy, which respects all countries.
“We have a policy of non-intervention,” AMLO explained.
“We don’t go to Moscow to spy on anyone, nor do we go to Beijing to spy on what they’re doing in China, nor do we go to Washington, or even to Los Angeles. We don’t involve ourselves in that.”
The president added that his government respects the rights of foreigners who abide by Mexico’s laws, while those who violate the law will be detained and face consequences.
AMLO has repeatedly criticized the US government for funding right-wing opposition groups in Mexico.
He also condemned the European Union for meddling in his country’s internal affairs. In a scathing open letter on March 10, AMLO’s office denounced the European Parliament as “flunkies of the reactionary and coup-plotting strategy of the corrupt” right-wing Mexican opposition.
AMLO called on Brussels to “evolve, leave behind your obsessive meddling disguised as good intentions,” adding, “Don’t forget that we are no longer a colony of anyone. Mexico is a free, independent, and sovereign country.” In both his March 25 press conference and his March 10 letter to the European Parliament, AMLO quoted former president Benito Juárez, who said, “Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace.” When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the United States pressured Mexico to join the Western powers in imposing sanctions on Moscow, but AMLO refused, emphasizing Mexico’s policy of non-intervention. López Obrador has enjoyed a consistent 66% approval rating among Mexicans, making him one of the world’s most popular leaders.
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