Latest news with #oppression
National Post
3 hours ago
- Politics
- National Post
Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay: Iranians must be ready for the day after the Islamic Republic falls
In the span of just a few days, the ground has shifted beneath the feet of over 90 million Iranians. The sky above roars with the sound of warplanes, sirens, and explosions. Roads are jammed with families fleeing Tehran. Shelters are improvised in metro stations and mosques. The heavy-handed and repressive regime is suddenly exposed, wounded by foreign airstrikes, panicked at the top, and fraying at the edges. And the Iranian people, long silenced, find themselves standing at a rare and dangerous crossroads. Article content Article content This moment is not about Donald Trump or Benjamin Netanyahu. It is not about the geopolitical ambitions of foreign powers. It is about the people of Iran, the same people who have endured 46 years of fear, oppression, economic despair, and stolen futures under the Islamic Republic. It is about the mothers mourning their children, indiscriminately shot at or left on death row; the dissidents in prison cells; the young women who dared to walk unveiled; and the workers who braved bullets to demand bread and dignity. They are the ones that everyone has forgotten to consult. Article content Article content Article content Iranians continue to struggle and suffer. Even with the Israel Defense Forces' precision targeting, there has been collateral damage. Over 200 civilians have already lost their lives in the past few days due to Israel's strikes. Bombs do not always distinguish between soldiers and the civilians, between regime assets and innocent children. If nuclear facilities, such as the deeply buried Fordo plant, are targeted, radioactive fallout could spread through the air, soil, and water, posing serious risks to civilian populations. Article content Article content Iranians who have fled Tehran to the north, trying to comply with Trump's alarming evacuation orders, now find themselves without enough fuel, food, or medicine. Article content Article content And yet, we must also speak with clarity: history may not offer a second chance like this where the regime is at its most vulnerable. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), designated as a terrorist organization by Canada, has had its top leadership eliminated and its command structure severely fractured. Article content The regime's response to this conflict has been revealing. While bombs fall and buildings burn, instead of concentrating on security and people's basic needs, its priority remains unchanged: suppress dissent, arrest women for defying the hijab and silence journalists, and punish activists. The internet has been shut down and a new bill was just passed in parliament calling for anyone cooperating with Israel to be immediately sentenced to death. Even now, they are more afraid of their own people than of foreign powers. That fear is telling. And it is justified.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Whoopi Goldberg shocks The View panel by claiming living in US as a black person is as bad as living in Iran
Whoopi Goldberg sparked a furious clash on The View after claiming that black people in the US are just as oppressed as people living under the Iranian regime. The panelist, who has a net worth of $60 million, flew into a rage when co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin argued that, 'it's very different to live in the United States in 2025 than it is to live in Iran.' 'Not if you're black,' Goldberg responded. The View panelists' back and forth came as they discussed President Donald Trump 's threat to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei as an 'easy target', opening a debate over how involved the US should get in the conflict. 'Let's just remember, too, the Iranians literally throw gay people off of buildings. They don't adhere to basic human rights,' Griffin said. Goldberg responded: 'Let's not do that, because if we start with that, we have been known in this country to tie gay folks to the car.' The panelists raised their voices as Goldberg repeatedly told Griffin that, 'there's no way I can make you understand it', to which Griffin fired back: 'The Iranian regime today is nothing compared to the United States.' The hostile exchange came amid rising fears in the US that Trump could plunge into war with Iran, with the country's leader Ali Khamenei sending an ominous warning hours before The View episode that America would face 'irreparable damage' if it joins the conflict. As Goldberg claimed that black Americans suffer as much as Iranians, The View panelists waded into the possibility of US strikes on Iran as the world waits to see if Trump pulls the trigger. Host Sunny Hostin appeared to justify Iran's side of the conflict, arguing that the Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites and the assassinations of several top Iranian military leaders was illegal. She said she disagreed with Trump branding Khamenei an 'easy target', saying: 'We really need to have a bird's eye view of what's going on. If that's OK for Israel to do, if that's OK for our president to do. Is that OK for another country to do to us?' Joy Behar added: 'Well, think of it this way, what if Canada was saying was going to build a nuclear bomb and they threatened to kill us all? What would we do?' Hostin responded: 'You have to do it diplomatically, Joy.' Behar said: 'Really? What's so diplomatic about having a nuclear bomb and threatening another country?' The View's take on the conflict comes as many of the president's diehard MAGA supporters have urged him not to enter the conflict and follow through with his isolationist platform that got him elected. On Wednesday, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson released bombshell interview clips where Texas Senator Ted Cruz appeared to admit U.S. is already actively engaged against Iranian targets. 'You said Israel was,' Carlson said, to which Cruz responded: 'I've said "we." Israel is leading them, but we're supporting them.' 'You're breaking news here,' Carlson responded. 'The U.S. government last night denied... on behalf of Trump, that we're acting on Israel's behalf in any offensive capacity.' Earlier this week, both Carlson and Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon said on their podcasts that striking Iran would put the US on a disastrous path forward. They blamed the 'deep state' in the intelligence agencies and war hawk Republicans for swaying Trump to support Israel's military strikes on Iran. And they warned the president faced the 'end of his presidency' if he got America embroiled into another lengthy war in the Middle East. The president bristled at Carlson's criticism, dismissing his comments at the G7. 'I don't know what Tucker Carlson is saying, let him go get a television network and say it so the people listen,' Trump said. Shortly afterward, the president fired back at Carlson on social media.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Pilgrimage remembers women condemned as witches
Two artists are to undertake a riverside pilgrimage in period dress to remember women persecuted as witches in the 17th Dillon and Eleanor Dale are following the River Yare from Limpenhoe, near Norwich to Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, on Saturday as part of a broader art project called We Are 10-mile (16km) walk aims to highlight the miscarriages of justice in 400-year-old cases from East Anglia, while exploring contemporary issues of oppression, freedom of speech and feminism. The journey would offer a "unique opportunity to connect with people and place", Ms Dillon said. "I am interested in modern pilgrimage as an act of honouring and devotion. "Walking was central to the lives of people in the 1600s and to the trials of the women persecuted as witches. "In making and wearing period clothing, we hope to embody something of their stories and lives through cloth and stitch. "Using clothing as a portal for connection allows us to share the project more widely with people we meet along the route." The walk sets off from Limpenhoe village church - St Boltolph's - as he was the patron saint of will culminate in a ceremony at North Denes beach in Great Yarmouth, which held several 17th-Century witch trials. One of the most notorious was in 1645 when Matthew Hopkins, the so-called Witchfinder General, was invited to the town and 11 people, including two men, were tried in the court in the Tolhouse. Several of the defendants were acquitted but five women - Alice Clisswell, Bridgetta Howard, Maria Blackborne, Elizabeth Dudgeon and Elizabeth Bradwell - were found guilty and hanged."These women were killed at the height of the trials in East Anglia," said Ms Dillon."It is hard to comprehend the fear that must have been present in communities where every woman was at risk."The project is called We Are Witch in recognition that if any one of us was born at a different time, we could have experienced the same fate; when women were singled out for being different, poor, single, disabled or for speaking their mind."The project is also producing a quilt, expected to be exhibited later in the year, featuring the condemned Sunday, Ms Dillon and Ms Dale will be at the Tolhouse Gaol and Great Yarmouth Minster to discuss their walk and the project. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
CNN
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Doechii criticizes Trump's use of ‘military force' against protestors
The BET Awards were heavy on nostalgia, but rapper and singer Doechii brought a very current event to the stage on Monday. While receiving the award for best female hip-hop artist, she referenced the ongoing protests against immigration raids happening in Los Angeles, California, where the ceremony was being held. 'As much as I am honored by this award, I do want to address what's happening right now outside of the building,' she said after noting that she grew up watching BET and it was her first award from the network. 'There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order. Trump is using military forces to stop a protest.' 'I want y'all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us. What type of government is that?' she added. 'People are being swept up and torn from their families,' the Grammy-award winning artist continued. 'I feel it's my responsibility as an artist to use this moment to speak up for all oppressed people, for Black people, for Latino people, for trans people, for the people in Gaza.' Doechii ended her speech with a call to action as some in the audience gave her a standing ovation. 'We all deserve to live in hope and not in fear,' she said. 'And I hope we stand together, my brothers and my sisters, against hate, and we protest against it.' BET is the largest network dedicated to celebrating the Black community and its culture. Los Angeles has been the site of unrest for days as protests broke out against recent immigration enforcement action in the city. President Donald Trump ordered National Guard troops to the region, against the wishes of both Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
CNN
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Doechii criticizes Trump's use of ‘military force' against protestors
The BET Awards were heavy on nostalgia, but rapper and singer Doechii brought a very current event to the stage on Monday. While receiving the award for best female hip-hop artist, she referenced the ongoing protests against immigration raids happening in Los Angeles, California, where the ceremony was being held. 'As much as I am honored by this award, I do want to address what's happening right now outside of the building,' she said after noting that she grew up watching BET and it was her first award from the network. 'There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order. Trump is using military forces to stop a protest.' 'I want y'all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us. What type of government is that?' she added. 'People are being swept up and torn from their families,' the Grammy-award winning artist continued. 'I feel it's my responsibility as an artist to use this moment to speak up for all oppressed people, for Black people, for Latino people, for trans people, for the people in Gaza.' Doechii ended her speech with a call to action as some in the audience gave her a standing ovation. 'We all deserve to live in hope and not in fear,' she said. 'And I hope we stand together, my brothers and my sisters, against hate, and we protest against it.' BET is the largest network dedicated to celebrating the Black community and its culture. Los Angeles has been the site of unrest for days as protests broke out against recent immigration enforcement action in the city. President Donald Trump ordered National Guard troops to the region, against the wishes of both Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
