The Red Velvet Lawyer

It's Easy: Set Up a Monthly Donation This morning, my Facebook feed is blowing up over a Huffington Post article about the immigrant kids being separated from their parents at ages as young as 53 months.  For additional information about the situation see here  (agency that lost 1500 kids says it is not "legally responsible" for finding them),  here (history of policy), here  (Trump blames Democrats for the lost kids), and here  (SWOPE's fact check: True). Many people want to know how they can help support resistance to this and other Trump administration policies affecting civil, human, and environmental rights. I put together a list of charity groups that support gun law reform.  I post it after every mass or school shooting,  So, in the same vein and with the same purpose,  I am creating this list of organizations that work to protect civil, human, and environmental rights.  If I need to add an organization to the list, please l...

A New Arab Spring Fueled by Socio-Economic Factors? On April 28-29, 2018, Al Jazeera held its 12th Forum providing an opportunity for leading scholars and other experts to discuss a variety of topics affecting the Arab world.  The website for the forum,  @aljazeeraform , provides additional information and links to the videos of each session.  You can follow the Twitter coverage at  #AJForum . As I noted in my  first post  in this series, I am working from my notes, so I apologize in advance if I incorrectly paraphrase the remarks of any speaker. I was also reliant on the quality of the translation services and their audibility. Therefore, I am happy to make any needed edits to this summary. For summaries of the other sessions see: Opening Session Session 1: The Gulf Crisis Session 2: Iran and the Gulf Session 4: Changing Alliances in the Arab World Session 5: Palestine and the "Deal of the Century" Session 6: The Media During Times of Cr...

Blockade Called "Arbitrary": No Evidence of Any "Legal Decisions" Motivating Measures Taken by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt In December, 2017, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Technical Mission to the State of Qatar, issued a very important report that got no coverage by Western press.  You can find the report here . I am quoting the Findings and Observation at the end of the report in full.  I have added the emphasis. IV. Findings and observations   59. All Interlocutors met by the team mostly referred to the decision of 5 June as a  “blockade”, and some evoked an “embargo”, a “boycott” or “unilateral sanctions” against the State of Qatar and its inhabitants (nationals and residents). Most emphasized the unprecedented divide and distrust this situation has generated, not least given the tight family  bonds across the Gulf region. They also expressed concern about the uncertain and far-reaching consequences, with ...