Ovi magazine; Tuesday December 6th, 2022 – Finland’s Independence Day

 

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Tuesday December 6th, 2022 – Finland’s Independence Day

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U.N. Human Rights Council Focus on Iran by Rene Wadlow

On 24 November 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council held a Special Session on the human rights situation in Iran.  A Special Session is the highest form of attention which the Human Rights Council can take.  The Foreign Minister of Germany came in person to Geneva to present the Special Session resolution.  The resolution which was adopted calls for the creation of a special fact-finding mission to investigate “alleged human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”  

Such fact-finding is an essential step towards ensuring that perpetrators are held responsible for their abuses.  While it is unlikely that the government of Iran will allow the fact-finding group to enter the country, the creation of the group after a heated debate indicates the wide-spread international concern with the repression of the demonstrations and the death sentences given by courts to at least five protesters accused of “moharebek” (waging war against God).

The manifestations began on 16 September 2022 concerning the death of a 22-year old woman Mahsa Animi at the hands of the “morality police”.  She had been arrested for showing too much of her hair under the mandatory veil – the hijab.  Now women cutting their hair in public has become one of the symbols of the manifestations.  The first cries were “Women-Life-Liberty” (Zan- Zevdegi-Azadi) and were focused on women’s issues. 

Continue reading HERE!

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The Exile #poem & #painting by Nikos Laios

“He woke up 
In the age of 
Machine men,
Cold steel streets,
Brick and cement beats,
A merciless world of 
Factories and smoke stacks,
Green fog fingering the city.”

Continue reading HERE

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Mika Toxica #42 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

For more Mika Toxica HERE!

For more Ovi Cartoons, HERE!

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Ovi magazine; Thursday November 10th, 2022 – Sesame Street Day

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Thursday November 10th, 2022 – Sesame Street Day

Sesame Street Day was first established in 2009 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the show’s original broadcast. Beginning in 1969 in the United States, Sesame Street is a creation of the Children’s Television Workshop (CTW), an educational series that combines live actors with animation as well as special puppets by Jim Henson, known as “Muppets”. Through short vignettes, songs, skits and cameo appearances, the show seeks to create educational opportunities for children of all ages by fostering learning, engaging their minds, building social skills, promoting self-esteem and offering basic academic skills.

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A Wind of Change Blows Ever Stronger in Iran by Rene Wadlow

Despite strong governmental repression, a wind of change blows ever stronger in Iran.  What began  as manifestations on 16 September 2022 concerning the death of a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Anini at the hands of the “morality police” continues today among all ethnic groups and in most parts of the country.  The first cries of “Women -Life- Liberty” continue, but “Down with the Islamic Republic” is increasingly heard.

This is a new generation of protesters, too young to have been in the 2009 Green Movement protests linked to the election of the President or the 2019 protests linked to the high costs of living.  The country still faces economic difficulties, but the hopes for gradual reforms to be undertaken by the government have given way to protesting the nature of the government.  More and more people are discussing the nature of a post-theocratic government. People are discussiong radical social change.  The tight control by the government and its conservative allies is fast slipping away.

Continue reading HERE!

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The Boss #poem & #painting by Nikos Laios

“Sunday, 
And a cool change 
Descends at the end 
A hot summer day,
And a sharp 
Herbal smell 
Of trees floats 
In through 
An open window,
And storm clouds 
Slowly collect 
Over the harbour 
And there’s moisture
In the air.”

Continue reading HERE

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Sceptic feathers #50 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

For more Sceptic feathers, HERE!

For more Ovi Cartoons, HERE!

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Ovi magazine; Saturday December 18th, 2021

 

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Saturday December 18th, 2021 – International Migrants Day

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The other Thai protests – Community resistance to the proposed Chana Industrial Estate by Murray Hunter

Thirty-seven elderly Thai villagers from Chana in Songkhla province, on 6th December were arrested in front of government house Bangkok for peacefully protesting against the proposed development of the Chana industrial estate. They were held in custody for a day and charged under the emergency regulations. After outcry from activists, academics and the National Human Rights Commission, they were released the next day without bail. Critics and the local media claimed the arrests by police under prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s orders was a grave miscalculation, as the villagers were both peaceful and lawful under the constitution.

The protest was led by local residents of Natub, Sakom, and Thaling Chan sub-districts of Chana where 30,000 people reside and primarily earn a living through fishing and small holder agriculture. They are members of the Chana Rak Thin or Love Chana Network who requested Prayuth honour an MOU the government had signed with the residents last year to undertaken an environmental impact assessment and cease preliminary work at the project site.

Prayuth had earlier torn up the MOU signed with the villagers which agreed to the environmental assessment.

Continue reading HERE!

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“It’s All Technique” #poem #haiku by Saloni Kaul

“Dreams flower, reach fruition.
Heights arrived, things ease.
Poem’s prime tension-release!”

Continue reading HERE!

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Worming 21#24 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

For more Worming, HERE!

For more Ovi Cartoons, HERE!

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Violence in China

Violence in China's restive western region of Xinjiang has left at least 140 people dead and more than 800 people injured, state media say.

Several hundred people have also been arrested after the violence erupted in the city of Urumqi on Sunday.Xinhua news agency said police restored order after demonstrators attacked passers-by and set fire to vehicles.The protest was reportedly prompted by a deadly fight between Uighurs and Han Chinese in southern China last month.

And these are the news that can reach us...