"The timing couldn’t be worse, coming amid reports the US and Saudi governments intend to push a new peace deal which is overwhelmingly biased in favor of Israel, and which leaves the Palestinians with only 'limited sovereignty' and no state."
"There are no heroes in the civil war between Houthi rebels, who have Iranian backing and were responsible for killing Saleh, and the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's government. Both sides have inflicted death and suffering on civilians. The Saudi coalition currently has a partial blockade on ports and airfields controlled by the Houthis. Hostilities have already killed or wounded at least 14,000 people in nearly three years, and countless others have died from disease and starvation. Some 1 million people have contracted cholera in part because the lack of fuel has affected the ability to pump clean water."
"The coalition said that despite 'significant successes' against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), 'combat has taken a toll on populations suffering under the militant extremists.' 'We continue to hold ourselves accountable for actions that may have caused unintentional injury or death to civilians,' the report said."
"The embargo is a failed foreign policy that’s only served to punish the Cuban people and isolate the United States internationally. And rolling back Obama’s opening there is a major blow for diplomacy, people-to-people ties, and — most of all — Cuba’s new private businesses."
"The Pentagon tried to block an independent assessment of child sex abuse crimes committed by Afghan soldiers and police, instead insisting on the creation of its own report offering a far less authoritative review of human rights violations perpetrated by U.S. allies, according to an aide to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). Afghan security personnel have been known to recruit young boys as servants, sometimes to use for sex. There is a broader practice in Afghan society to dress some boys as women and have them dance at gatherings. Known as bacha bazi, it was banned under the Taliban but revived after the U.S. invasion in 2001."
"SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said regime must 'stop killing children' as he condemned the Government for failing to suspend selling arms to Riyadh during the devastating three-year conflict in Yemen."
"We are told that US foreign policy should reflect American values. So how can Washington support Saudi Arabia – a tyrannical state with one of the worst human rights record on earth – as it commits by what any measure is a genocide against the Yemeni people? US involvement in Saudi Arabia’s crimes against Yemen is a national disgrace. That the mainstream media fails to accurately cover this genocide is shameful. Let us join our voices now to demand that our US Representatives end US involvement in Yemen immediately!"
"There is no particular need –aside from red meat for the anti-immigrant base — to expel these law-abiding people who have made their home here for as long as seven years. Florida’s unemployment rate of 4.1 percent does not suggest that they have displaced U.S.-born workers. And the notion that these people can return to Haiti to enjoy a decent life is belied by the facts on the ground there. The lack of humanity is evident in the administration’s anti-family action. The hardship on those Haitians is immense, while the 'benefit' to the United States is nonexistent."
"Around seven million people are living on the brink of famine and four million have no access to clean water. Save the Children estimates that even before the blockade began around 130 children were dying each day and that more than 50,000 will have died by the end of 2017. The Saudi-led military coalition has also been bombing the Houthis for more than two years in support of the internationally-recognised Yemeni government, but there is no end in sight to the fighting. Both the US and UK have supported the Saudi-led coalition with logistics and intelligence, despite accusations that the coalition was guilty of war crimes for bombing civilian targets."
"The program featured imagery of starving children and interviews with displaced people, all obtained after Saudi Arabia blocked '60 Minutes' from entering the country. The program did not once mention that Saudi Arabia is a U.S. ally, and that U.S. support is essential for the Saudi campaign to continue. For two-and-a-half years, the U.S. government has backed Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen every step of the way. The United States has dispatched warships to reinforce the blockade. It has refueled Saudi planes, sent the Saudi military targeting intelligence, and resupplied them with tens of billions of dollars worth of bombs."