ácrata @acrata@anticapitalist.party

#Thailand: on the registration of the "Commoners' Party" which aims to give civil society a say in Thai government, which has historically been dominated by the military and its supporters, or by billionaire oligarchs http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30342933

@Facebook's #Zuckerberg struggles to explain basic #tech concepts to confused US Senators, most of whom wouldn't know how to configure an email account https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zuckerberg-explains-facebook-to-a-room-full-of-confused-senators_us_5acd3233e4b09212968cb23f

Thomas #Piketty on hyper- #capitalism in #Russia, #oligarchs and off-shoring of financial assets, which assets, in the main, are unaffected by the sanctions regimes targeting Russia http://piketty.blog.lemonde.fr/2018/04/10/capital-in-russia/#xtor=RSS-32280322

TV producers in #Germany are accused of sanitizing German history and soft-pedalling the history of the 3rd Reich http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/09/dont-mention-the-war-germany-television-holocaust-anti-semitism-babylon-berlin-europe/

#Brazil's Tiffany Abreu, the first #transgender woman to play in the country's top women's volleyball league, extends her contract for another year. She is expected to play in the Olympics, following a 2016 IOC ruling permitting the participation of transgender athletes https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/brazilian-transgender-volleyball-player-extends-contract/2018/04/10/ee4771c0-3cf8-11e8-955b-7d2e19b79966_story.html?utm_term=.9383bdc63b3d

#Trump orders a "top to bottom" review of US social welfare programs, with an aim to make it more difficult for applicants to receive assistance. He talks of "putting Americans back to work", but a large number of recipients are already working at jobs with poverty wages https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/10/trump-welfare-programs-513814

Multiple news sources say #Trump, supported by some of his advisers, intends to fire Rob Rosenstein or Jeff Sessions (or both), the #2 and #1 respectively at US Justice Department, in order to restrict the reach of the Special Counsel investigation https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/10/politics/trump-rod-rosenstein-robert-mueller/index.html

#HumanRights activists in #Vietnam question Zuckerberg over @Facebooks collusion in the suppression of dissent https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-privacy-vietnam/vietnam-activists-question-facebook-on-suppressing-dissent-idUSKBN1HH0DO

#France: president #Macron tells #HumanRights critics to "give #Saudi Arabia a chance" and defends the sale by France to the Saudis who are prosecuting a brutal war in #Yemen https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-saudi-macron-salman/give-saudi-arabia-a-chance-french-president-tells-critics-idUSKBN1HH3CN

#Russia citizen Yulia #Skripal, victim of nerve gas assassination attempt in Salisbury, #UK, has been released from prison. The Russian Embassy in London has congratulated her on her recovery, somewhat disengenuously. Her father remains in hospital https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/ex-russian-spys-daughter-released-from-british-hospital/2018/04/10/774b5df2-3c8f-11e8-955b-7d2e19b79966_story.html?utm_term=.af81b7e68717

7 #Myanmar soldiers have been sentenced to 10 years in prison at hard labor for the massacre of #Rohingya in Rakhine state. The incident was investigated by 2 Reuters journalists who have been imprisoned for their coverage and remain behind bars for violating the countries Official Secrets law https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya-military/seven-myanmar-soldiers-sentenced-to-10-years-for-rohingya-massacre-idUSKBN1HH2ZS?feedType=RSS&feedName=newsOne&google_editors_picks=true

#Thailand's coup and #junta leader, designated Prime Minister for reasons of civility, says the 20 year plan ensconced in the Junta written constitution is not part of a plot to remain in power. He does have such a plot, he just denies this is part of it http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30342863

#Hungary: Fidesz, Party of re-elected authoritarian xenophobe Victor Orban promises a crackdown on organizations that promote and protect #migrant rights. Orban is emboldened by support for his policies from Austria and Poland https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-election/orbans-party-signals-crackdown-after-victory-in-hungary-idUSKBN1HG1DG?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29

On the #humanrights crisis in Central America, and the open support by #Hillary Clinton and #Obama for the military coup d'etat that removed popular and elected president Zelaya from office in #Honduras https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/04/06/hill-and-dons-honduran-caravan/

The #MSM media love fest over the charm tour of #Saudi autocrat prince Mohammed bin Salman is a journalistic derilection of duty. "This positive press is part of a long and sordid tradition of the American press celebrating friendly dictators" https://newrepublic.com/article/147784/mohammed-bin-salman-death-foreign-policy-debate

Outrage breaks out over #PuertoRico's decision to close 1/3 of its public schools. "The harm that the education secretary is causing children and their parents is immeasurable." Part of the PR government's drive to privatize #education https://www.alternet.org/education/outrage-follows-puerto-ricos-announcement-its-closing-nearly-third-its-public-schools

#Medicine: #UK scientist makes a breakthrough in preventing #malaria, by a process that will interrupt the parasite in mosquitos that causes the disease. (Dengue fever, also spread by mosquitos, remains a major problem here in SE Asia) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/malaria-eradication-world-health-organisation-gates-foundation-gsk-jake-baum-a8280526.html

#Trump's war on the US Postal Service, which is in the red by Congressional design, is a thinly veiled attempt to raise acceptance for #privatization https://angrybearblog.com/2018/04/fake-news-flawed-analysis-and-bogus-tweets.html

The woman who co-founded the Thai Lawyers for #HumanRights, and is fighting the #Junta in patriarchal #Thailand. She has been arrested 3 times, once for sedition. https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a19664067/woman-of-courage-award-june-charoensiri-thailand/

#Transgender women in #Kyrgyzstan, who are subject to unbelievable abuse and violence, seek refuge in #Russia, despite that country's hostility to #LGBT folk. Comparatively safer, but hardly safe http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41437866