SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
June, 05 2010, 12:31pm EDT
Contact:
Free Gaza Cyprus: Greta Berlin or Mary Hughes
tel: +357 99 187275 or +357 96 383 809,
Free Gaza Ireland: Niamh Moloughney
tel: +353 (0)85 7747257 or +353 (0)91 472279,
Perdana Global Peace Organisation, Malaysia: Ram Karthigasu
tel: +60 1222 70159,
Israeli Military Forcibly Stops Aid Boat to Gaza - Again
Just before
9am this morning, the Israeli military forcibly siezed the Irish-owned
humanitarian relief ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, from delivering over 1000 tons
of medical and construction supplies to besieged Gaza. For the second time in
less than a week, Israeli naval commandos stormed an unarmed aid ship, brutally
taking its passengers hostage and towing the ship toward Ashdod port in
Southern Israel. It is not yet known
whether any of the Rachel Corrie's passengers were killed or injured during the
attack, but they are believed to be unharmed.
OFF THE GAZA COAST
Just before
9am this morning, the Israeli military forcibly siezed the Irish-owned
humanitarian relief ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, from delivering over 1000 tons
of medical and construction supplies to besieged Gaza. For the second time in
less than a week, Israeli naval commandos stormed an unarmed aid ship, brutally
taking its passengers hostage and towing the ship toward Ashdod port in
Southern Israel. It is not yet known
whether any of the Rachel Corrie's passengers were killed or injured during the
attack, but they are believed to be unharmed.
The Corrie carried 11 passengers and 9 crew
from 5 different countires, mostly Ireland and Malaysia. The passengers
included Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire, Parit Member of the
Malaysian Parliament Mohd Nizar Zakaria, and former UN Assistant Secretary
General, Denis Halliday. Nine
international human rights workers were killed on Monday when Israeli commandos
violently stormed the Turkish aid ship, Mavi Marmara and five other unarmed boats
taking supplies to Gaza. Prior to being taken hostage by Israeli forces, Derek
Graham, an Irish coordinator with the Free Gaza Movement, stated that:
"Despite what happened on the Mavi Marmara earlier this week, we are not
afraid."
The 1200-ton cargo ship was purchased
through a special fund set up by former Malaysian Prime Minister and Perdana
Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) chairman Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The ship
was named after an American human rights worker, killed in 2003 when she was
crushed by an Israeli military bulldozer in the Gaza Strip. Its cargo included
hundreds of tons of medical equipment and cement, as well as paper from the
people of Norway, donated to UN-run schools in Gaza.
According to Denis Halliday: "We are
the only Gaza-bound aid ship left out here. We're determined to deliver our
cargo." The Rachel Corrie had been part of the Freedom Flotilla, a 40-nation
effort to break through Israel's illegal blockade, before being forced to drop
off late last week due to suspicious mechanical problems.
The attack on the Rachel Corrie may spell
trouble for Israel's relationship with Ireland. The Irish government had
formally requested Israel allow the ship to reach Gaza. On 1 June, the Irish
parliament also passed an all-party motion condemning Israel's use of military
force against civilian aid ships, and demanding "an end to the illegal
Israeli blockade of Gaza."
Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire summed up
the hopes of this joint Irish-Malaysian effort to overcome Israel's cruel
blockade by saying: "We are inspired by the people of Gaza whose courage,
love and joy in welcoming us, even in the midst of such suffering gives us all
hope. They represent the very best of humanity, and we are all privileged to be
given the opportunity to support them in their nonviolent struggle for human dignity,
and freedom. This trip will again highlight Israel's criminal blockade and
illegal occupation. In a demonstration of the power of global citizen action,
we hope to awaken the conscience of all."
---
Passengers
aboard the Rachel Corrie include:
Ahmed Faizal bin Azumu, human rights
worker, Malaysia
Matthias Chang, attorney, author &
human rights worker, Malaysia
Derek Graham, Free Gaza Ireland
Jenny Graham, Free Gaza Ireland
Denis Halliday, former UN Assistant
Secretary General, Ireland
Mohd Jufri Bin Mohd Judin, journalist,
Malaysia
Shamsul Akmar Musa Kamal, PGPO
representative, Malaysia
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, Ireland
Abdul Halim Bin Mohamed, journalist,
Malaysia
Fiona Thompson, film-maker, Ireland
The Hon. Mohd Nizar Zakaria, Parit Member
of Parliament, Malaysia
Free Gaza is a human rights group founded in 2006. Our mission is to break the Israel's illegal siege on Gaza's 1.8 million civilians, since it inflicts collective punishment on the Palestinians who live there and has destroyed its economy. Free Gaza believes in direct action in confronting Israel's abuse of Palestinians using non-violent means and has found these voyages to be one of the most effective ways to alert the world to the prison-like conditions of Gaza. Ultimately, there is no better example of direct action than Free Gaza's sustained attempts to break the siege on Gaza which Israel claims it no longer occupies
LATEST NEWS
'A Brazen, Unprecedented Power Grab': Trump Fires Copyright Office Head
The reported firing of Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office Shira Perlmutter comes on the heels of Trump's dismissal of Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.
May 12, 2025
The Trump administration reportedly fired the country's top copyright official, Shira Perlmutter, on Saturday, shortly after her office released the pre-publication version of a report that raised flags about training artificial intelligence models using copyrighted material.
Perlmutter's termination came two days after the White House abruptly fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, who appointed Perlmutter to the role of Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office in 2020.
On Saturday, Perlmutter received a communication from the White House that she had been "terminated," according to Politico.
Other outlets have since reported that the Copyright Office confirmed her firing, though the White House appears to have not offered comment on the situation.
Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, which oversees the management of the Library of Congress, said in a statement on Saturday that Trump's termination of Perlmutter is "a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis."
"It is surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk's efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models," alleged Morelle, in reference to the recent report from Perlmutter's office.
While not all observers are convinced of the link drawn by Morelle, in a post on Sunday from the American Federation of Musicians labor union echoed Morelle, writing that Perlmutter "understood what we all know to be true: human creativity and authorship are the foundation of copyright law—and for that, it appears, she lost her job."
Her "unlawful firing will gravely harm the entire copyright community," the union said.
The report, the latest in a series exploring the intersection of copyright law and AI, states that the "extent to which they are fair, however, will depend on what works were used, from what source, for what purpose, and with what controls on the outputs."
The report draws a distinction between using copyrighted works in AI training when it comes to research and analysis versus commercial use. "Making commercial use of vast troves of copyrighted works to produce expressive content that competes with them in existing markets, especially where this is accomplished through illegal access, goes beyond established fair use boundaries," according to the report.
AI models are generally trained by feeding them large amounts of data. Several news publishers have sued AI companies alleging their copyrighted content was used to train AI models, in cases that deal directly with fair use.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who owns an AI company called xAI, has been core to the Trump administration's efforts to slash federal spending and personnel through the Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE has reportedly used AI as part of its efforts to reshape government.
In a post prior to news of Perlmutter's firing, University of Colorado law professor Blake Reid on Saturday said that the report is a "straight-ticket loss for the AI companies" and also mused whether a "purge" at the Copyright Office was incoming and whether "they felt the need to rush this out."
According to Reid, when it comes to the significance of the report, "the [Copyright] Office (with a few exceptions) doesn't have the power to issue binding interpretations of copyright law, but courts often cite to its expertise as persuasive."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Economic Anxiety of Americans Surges Under Trump: Poll
"The president promised to lower costs on day one, and by that standard, he's broken that promise and has made choices that will cost families thousands of dollars a year," said one policy expert recently.
May 12, 2025
The Trump administration has made its desire for Americans to expand their families well known, but a new survey out Monday details how a growing number of people are postponing such major life decisions—including having children, buying a home, or expanding their education—due to the economic anxiety created by President Donald Trump's policies.
The Harris pollwas conducted on behalf of The Guardian between April 24-26, in the wake of the news that the White House was considering multiple ways to encourage people to have more children. The proposals being floated by "pronatalist" advisers include a $5,000 "baby bonus" that the administration would offer to people when they have a new baby—which would cover less than half of the average annual cost of childcare in the United States.
The survey suggested that the proposal was not enticing to would-be parents in the U.S., with 65% of people who had previously planned to have a child in 2025 reporting they were now holding off on the decision. Thirty-three percent said they were not comfortable expanding their families in the current economy, and 32% said they were unable to afford having a child.
Trump has imposed and rolled back various tariffs several times since taking office; the White House announced Monday that reciprocal tariffs with China were being paused for 90 days while the two countries try to work out a trade deal. Tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods are partially in effect, and the administration has also imposed tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, cars, and car parts.
The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter, with the gross domestic produce declining at an annual rate of 0.3% after having climbed by 2.4% in the final quarter of 2024.
For Americans, the tariffs have meant higher prices for items like toys, children's clothes, household tools, and washing machines.
As Common Dreams reported last week, despite Trump's proposal of a "baby bonus," Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens has termed the tariffs a "baby tax"—directly causing essentials like strollers, high chairs, and cribs to cost more.
"The president promised to lower costs on day one, and by that standard, he's broken that promise and has made choices that will cost families thousands of dollars a year," said Groundwork Collaborative fellow Michael Negron told a U.S. House committee last week.
Nearly 80% of people surveyed said they've experienced higher grocery prices since Trump took office—despite the fact that he explicitly promised his presidency would swiftly bring about a lower cost of living—and 60% said they noticed their monthly bills going up.
The Harris poll found that 66% of people are now putting off making large purchases like cars or home appliances under Trump's economy, and three-quarters of those who had previously been hoping to buy a home are postponing that purchase.
Mortgage rates are currently 6.7%—more than double what they were four years ago.
CNNreported last month that although interest rates on home loans have been falling, "President Donald Trump's scattered approach to tariffs and an escalating trade war with China has injected volatility into the stock market, and resulted in a sell-off in U.S. bonds last week."
Sixty-eight percent of Millennial and Gen Z renters—those in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s—said they had a goal of buying a home, compared to 29% of older renters, suggesting that the major life decisions of younger Americans are being most affected by the Trump administration.
The Harris poll also asked respondents if they believed the economy is worsening, and found a partisan divide: 33% of Republicans said yes compared to 73% of Democratic voters who agreed.
But among Independents—44% of whom supported Trump in the 2024 election, according to a post-election survey—64% agreed with the majority of Democrats about the economy's trajectory.
Nearly a third of respondents said they believe Trump's tariffs will cause the most harm to their household finances, despite the president's claims that the tariffs will "make America wealthy again."
During his testimony last week, Negron said that higher prices on essential goods and services "are the types of things that you would expect to hear when you look at what experts have said, that [tariffs are] going cost anywhere from $4,500 to $5,000 more for the average household once they're fully in effect."
"When you look at the promises to lower prices," he said, "the administration is not living up to them."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Children Are Being Starved By Design': All of Gaza Faces Hunger Crisis Due to Israeli Siege
"This catastrophe did not unfold in the dark; it happened in plain sight."
May 12, 2025
Data released Monday shows the total Israeli siege that's now in its third month has made Gaza's already dire hunger crisis worse, leaving the entire Palestinian enclave in emergency conditions and hundreds of thousands at risk of starvation as much of the international community looks on, tunes out, or actively fuels the disaster.
The new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report places 244,000 people in Gaza in Phase 5, defined as such "an extreme deprivation of food" that "starvation, death, destitution, and extremely critical levels of acute malnutrition are or will likely be evident."
The entirety of the Gaza Strip, according to the IPC, is in Phase 4, where households "have large food consumption gaps which are reflected in very high acute malnutrition and excess mortality."
"Goods indispensable for people's survival are either depleted or expected to run out in the coming weeks," the report states. "The entire population is facing high levels of acute food insecurity, with half a million people (one in five) facing starvation."
"With the announced expansion of military operations throughout the Gaza Strip," the report adds, "the persistent inability of humanitarian agencies to access populations in dire need, an anticipated escalation in hostilities, and the continued mass displacement of people, the risk of Famine in the Gaza Strip is not just possible—it is increasingly likely."
Kate Phillips-Barrasso, vice president of global policy and advocacy at Mercy Corps, said the IPC data is "horrifying" but "tragically not surprising," with everyone from children to the elderly suffering.
"This catastrophe did not unfold in the dark; it happened in plain sight," said Phillips-Barrasso. "After more than two months of total blockade, Gaza's food system has collapsed, humanitarian operations are paralyzed, and people are starving. Families are in pure survival mode—hungry, exhausted, and displaced."
"The international community must act now to open the crossings and deliver lifesaving aid. We cannot stand by while an entire population is starved in plain sight."
The updated IPC figures came amid increasingly desperate warnings from aid groups operating in Gaza, most of which has been decimated by Israel's U.S.-backed military assault.
Last week, World Central Kitchen announced that it "no longer has the supplies to cook meals or bake bread in Gaza," pointing to Israel's closure of border crossings and total shutdown of humanitarian aid deliveries in March. Some aid meant for the strip has been left to rot due to Israel's blockade.
"By constantly adapting over the past weeks, we were cooking 133,000 meals daily at our two remaining WCK Field Kitchens and baking 80,000 loaves of bread each day," the aid group said. "But we have now reached the limits of what is possible."
In addition to cutting off deliveries of humanitarian supplies, the Israeli military has continued its attacks on food distribution facilities inside Gaza, further complicating efforts to aid the enclave's starving population. United Nations officials, human rights groups, and the International Criminal Court have accused Israeli leaders of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.
Ahmad Alhendawi, a regional director at Save the Children, said in a statement Monday that "this is a deliberate humanitarian catastrophe."
"Children are being starved by design under Israeli authorities' total siege," said Alhendawi. "We have the food, we have the aid, and we know how to treat malnutrition in children—what we don't have is access. There is food, water, and medical aid ready to go, but it's being blocked at the border while families are forced to eat animal feed and leaves, taking unimaginable and dehumanizing measures to survive."
"This is not a crisis of supply; it's a crisis of access," Alhendawi stressed. "At any given moment in Gaza, a child, someone's whole world, could be killed by bombs and bullets, starvation and disease. The international community must act now to open the crossings and deliver lifesaving aid. We cannot stand by while an entire population is starved in plain sight."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular