3 d. ago Louis CK defends decision to perform at Riyadh comedy festival as ‘a good opportunity’

Comedian admits to mixed feelings but says event is a ‘positive thing’ despite human rights abuses in Saudi ArabiaLouis CK has defended his decision to perform at the Riyadh comedy festival in Saudi Arabia after fellow comedians criticised the big names taking part as whitewashing a regime guilty of human rights abuses.Speaking on Real Time With Bill Maher, CK, who is co-headlining the festival with the British comedian Jimmy Carr on Monday night local time, said other comedians had been “really surprised” by the response from audiences in Riyadh so far. Continue reading...

Culture

3 d. ago JK Rowling once called me an amoral celebrity toady, but I vocally defend the way she's standing up for women's rights in the face of the cancel culture mob: PIERS MORGAN

None of this is complicated. Trans people deserve rights and equality and safety - but not at the expense of the rights and equality and safety of women.

Politics

4 d. ago Every American should read this judge’s stirring rebuke to Trump | Austin Sarat

The court’s opinion in a case on immigrants’ right to free speech is a powerful lesson in civics Democracy requires that we do more than look out for our own interests and defend our own rights. Ever since the birth of this nation, its citizens and leaders have echoed Benjamin Franklin’s admonition that “we must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”In Donald Trump’s America, hanging separately seems to be the order of the day. This seems especially true when it comes to his treatment of this country’s millions of non-citizen residents. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Police probe whether Islamist terrorist sent death threats to MP over his stance on Israel before attacking synagogue

Former Conservative MP John Howell received threatening emails in 2012 over his position on Israel, after he spoke about the nation's right to defend itself against rocket fire.

Events

7 d. ago Only Keir Starmer KC can fix Britain’s broken migration laws

Editorial: The prime minister has staked his reputation on recognising that our relationship with the European Convention on Human Rights isn’t working. His unassailable record as a defender of those rights must be brought to full force to save our immigration system from itself

Politics

9 d. ago ID Cards, ILR and Starmer, the human rights lawyer seemingly incapable of defending human rights

Labour's desperation to bring in ID cards and out-Reform the extremists has left millions of voters struggling to recognise the party they voted for.

Politics

9 d. ago JK Rowling condemns 'ignorant' Emma Watson and accuses her of 'pouring petrol on flames' of abuse she suffered for defending women's rights

JK Rowling has accused Emma Watson of being 'ignorant of how ignorant she is' in a lengthy rebuke of the Harry Potter star amid their fallout over trans issues.

Events

2 w. ago The Librarians review – the heroic women battling against book bans and censorship

Kim A Snyder’s documentary highlights the defenders of young readers’ rights to see their lives in print facing rightwing attacksThere is real and genuine fear about young people’s use of pornography; usually, that conversation is about exposure to porn online, not in libraries. But this excellent culture wars documentary tells the story of book-banning in red states such as Florida and Texas, where religious rightwingers are crusading to protect children from “obscene” books. Usually that means titles about LGBTQ+ issues or race, and books about girls getting their period aren’t safe either. In Tennessee, a school board banned Maus, the graphic novel memoir of the Holocaust by Art Spiegelman, for mouse nudity. The utter nonsense of it would be funny if it wasn’t so disturbing.The most recent purge began in 2021 with a list of 850 books circulated by Texas state representative Matt Krause (over 60% were books with LGBTQ+ themes). Rightwing Florida governor Ron DeSantis piled in, fol...

Events

2 w. ago Pep Guardiola loves 'incredible signing' that could solve Man City problem position

Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov has started the season strongly at right-back

Politics

2 w. ago A curious incident dog in Night Watch was a copy by Rembrandt, expert claims

Rijksmuseum says that just like Shakespeare, Rembrandt drew widely and shamelessly from earlier sourcesWhen most people copy someone else’s pictures or ideas it’s generally considered plagiarism. But when Rembrandt did it, it was “emulation” – a display of his craft, experts have said, as they revealed research pointing to an image in one of the Dutch master’s most famous paintings believed to have been inspired by another artist’s work.The Night Watch, Rembrandt’s 1642 masterpiece showing the citizens of Amsterdam marching out to defend the city, features a barking dog in the right-hand corner that is largely copied from a popular drawing by a lesser-known Dutch artist, it has been claimed. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Hundreds of Hollywood stars sign open letter condemning Kimmel suspension

Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro among signatories of ACLU letter decrying Disney’s move after Jimmy Kimmel made remarks on Kirk’s deathMore than 400 Hollywood stars have signed an open letter by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) condemning Disney’s indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! under pressure from the Trump administration.The letter, released five days after Disney “pre-empted” the late-night talkshow over host Jimmy Kimmel’s comments on the death of slain rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, calls on all Americans to defend their right to speak freely. It states that efforts to pressure artists, journalists and others with retaliation for their speech “strike at the heart of what it means to live in a free country”. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago The right’s free speech defenders declare war on First Amendment over Charlie Kirk murder reactions

As right-wing activist Laura Loomer refocuses on suppressing dissent among private citizens, Pam Bondi joins in — to some conservatives’ horror, writes John Bowden

Events

3 w. ago Jews and Israel are not the same. Equating them is a propaganda technique | Norman Solomon

The claim is central to rationales for arming Israel even as leading human rights groups decry genocide in GazaMore than nine months after Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued reports that concluded Israel was committing genocide – and more than a month since key Israeli human rights groups asserted the same – the American political establishment remains in rigid denial while horrors continue nonstop in Gaza. Virtually all Republicans and most Democrats in Congress still support massive US arms shipments to Israel, so they certainly can’t admit that the weaponry is making genocide possible.Central to rationales for arming Israel is the claim that it is the nation of “the Jewish people”.Norman Solomon is the director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. His latest book is War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Taoiseach calls for more international pressure on Israel after genocide report

Independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council said Israeli was committing genocide in Gaza.

Politics

3 w. ago Human rights experts join rising chorus that accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza

A team of experts commissioned by the U.N.'s Human Rights Council has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

Politics

3 w. ago Hamas 'moves hostages above ground to use them as human shields ahead of Israel's ground operation in Gaza'

Ahead of a looming ground operation, the IDF has issued evacuation orders for large sections of the city.

Politics

3 w. ago ‘I woke up and there was no water’: Gaza’s human rights defenders in their own words | Mary Lawlor

A UN special rapporteur shares the stories of those trying to record the horrors of Gaza even as they live through them“Yesterday I talked to a mother of a child who was born and died in the war.”“Every day I look at my child, who instead of going to school is going to fetch water, and instead of playing football is hanging around in areas where corpses are lying.”Mary Lawlor is UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders Continue reading...

Politics