Sunday, February 3, 2008
Let Me Know about the Paper
Hey, if you came to this blog and you want to comment on the actual paper, please reply here. If you want to comment about a specific article then you may do so in that post. Thanks :D
Friday, February 1, 2008
Newspaper Undelivered
:( The newspaper was going to be delivered today, but due to the blizzarding snow, it did not happen. Look for it Monday.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
In Other News
Five refugees die in Kenya attack
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7198330.stm
A Gross Undercount of Iraqi Civilian Deaths
http://www.slepton.com/slepton/viewcontent.pl?id=1299
'Rebel base destroyed' in S Lanka
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7193258.stm
And the unhappy events will never end, so I will stop mentioning them for now. Which brings me on a happier note, M.I.A. is a great rapper/singer who is Sri Lankan. Her dad was actually a rebel. Cool information.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7198330.stm
A Gross Undercount of Iraqi Civilian Deaths
http://www.slepton.com/slepton/viewcontent.pl?id=1299
'Rebel base destroyed' in S Lanka
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7193258.stm
Analysis: Israel's real intention behind sanction on Gaza Strip
And the unhappy events will never end, so I will stop mentioning them for now. Which brings me on a happier note, M.I.A. is a great rapper/singer who is Sri Lankan. Her dad was actually a rebel. Cool information.
Canada removes U.S., Israel from torture watchlist
Oh, What do you know? This happened literally only a day after they were PLACED on the list. Bunch of babies who can't own up. They just whine and I'm sure Canada does not want to deal with it.
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's foreign ministry, responding to pressure from close allies, said on Saturday it would remove the United States and Israel from a watch list of countries where prisoners risk being tortured.
Both nations expressed unhappiness after it emerged they had been listed in a document that formed part of a training course manual on torture awareness given to Canadian diplomats.
Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said he regretted the embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the manual, which also classified some U.S. interrogation techniques as torture.
"It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies. I have directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten," Bernier said in a statement.
"The manual is neither a policy document nor a statement of policy. As such, it does not convey the government's views or positions."
The document -- made available to Reuters and other media outlets -- embarrassed the minority Conservative government, which is a staunch ally of both the United States and Israel.
U.S. ambassador David Wilkins said the listing was absurd, while the Israeli envoy said he wanted his country removed.
Asked why the two countries had been put on the list, a spokesman for Bernier said: "The training manual purposely raised public issues to stimulate discussion and debate in the classroom."
The government mistakenly gave the document to Amnesty International as part of a court case the rights organization has launched against Ottawa over the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan.
AMPLE EVIDENCE OF ABUSE
Amnesty International Canada, which says it has ample evidence that prisoners are abused both in U.S. and Israeli jails, said it was disappointed by Bernier's announcement.
"When it comes to an issue like torture, the government's main concern should not be embarrassing allies," Alex Neve, the group's secretary-general, told Reuters. The U.S. embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under "definition of torture," the document lists U.S. interrogation techniques such as forced nudity, isolation, sleep deprivation and blindfolding prisoners.
It also mentions the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where a Canadian man is being held.
The man, Omar Khadr, has been in Guantanamo Bay for five years. He is accused of killing a U.S. soldier during a clash in Afghanistan in 2002, when he was 15.
Other countries on the watch list include Syria, China, Iran, Afghanistan, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
The foreign ministry launched the torture awareness course after Ottawa was criticized for the way it handled the case of Canadian engineer Maher Arar, who was deported from the United States to Syria in 2002.
Arar says he was tortured repeatedly during the year he spent in Damascus prisons. An official inquiry into the affair showed Canadian diplomats had not been trained to detect whether detainees might have been abused.
(Editing by Philip Barbara)
This isn't torture! They are having the times of their lives! Don't you wish you could have just as much fun? This really is sad.
You can also read full story here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1762987120080119?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's foreign ministry, responding to pressure from close allies, said on Saturday it would remove the United States and Israel from a watch list of countries where prisoners risk being tortured.
Both nations expressed unhappiness after it emerged they had been listed in a document that formed part of a training course manual on torture awareness given to Canadian diplomats.
Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said he regretted the embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the manual, which also classified some U.S. interrogation techniques as torture.
"It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies. I have directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten," Bernier said in a statement.
"The manual is neither a policy document nor a statement of policy. As such, it does not convey the government's views or positions."
The document -- made available to Reuters and other media outlets -- embarrassed the minority Conservative government, which is a staunch ally of both the United States and Israel.
U.S. ambassador David Wilkins said the listing was absurd, while the Israeli envoy said he wanted his country removed.
Asked why the two countries had been put on the list, a spokesman for Bernier said: "The training manual purposely raised public issues to stimulate discussion and debate in the classroom."
The government mistakenly gave the document to Amnesty International as part of a court case the rights organization has launched against Ottawa over the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan.
AMPLE EVIDENCE OF ABUSE
Amnesty International Canada, which says it has ample evidence that prisoners are abused both in U.S. and Israeli jails, said it was disappointed by Bernier's announcement.
"When it comes to an issue like torture, the government's main concern should not be embarrassing allies," Alex Neve, the group's secretary-general, told Reuters. The U.S. embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under "definition of torture," the document lists U.S. interrogation techniques such as forced nudity, isolation, sleep deprivation and blindfolding prisoners.
It also mentions the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where a Canadian man is being held.
The man, Omar Khadr, has been in Guantanamo Bay for five years. He is accused of killing a U.S. soldier during a clash in Afghanistan in 2002, when he was 15.
Other countries on the watch list include Syria, China, Iran, Afghanistan, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
The foreign ministry launched the torture awareness course after Ottawa was criticized for the way it handled the case of Canadian engineer Maher Arar, who was deported from the United States to Syria in 2002.
Arar says he was tortured repeatedly during the year he spent in Damascus prisons. An official inquiry into the affair showed Canadian diplomats had not been trained to detect whether detainees might have been abused.
(Editing by Philip Barbara)
This isn't torture! They are having the times of their lives! Don't you wish you could have just as much fun? This really is sad.
You can also read full story here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1762987120080119?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
Faulty heaters kill many in Iran
Wait, what? You're probably thinking, "Huh? But it's the Middle East! Isn't it all just one big desert?" Nope, sorry to burst your bubble, my friend. They have winters, too!
Faulty gas heaters have been blamed for 89 deaths during a cold snap in Iran, according to local media reports.
Most of the victims are reported to have died in their sleep after inhaling carbon monoxide gas from badly installed or damaged gas heaters.
Iran is experiencing its coldest winter for years. Snow has blocked roads and airports and schools are closed.
In neighbouring Afghanistan, more than 100 people and 35,000 cattle have died due to the weather in the past week.
Refugees
Iran's Jomhuri Eslami newspaper and Fars news agency said 89 people had been killed since the start of January by gas heaters.
Carbon monoxide given off by the heaters is odourless and can kill in poorly ventilated spaces.
The Afghan winter has killed people and livestock
Other people have been killed by the freezing temperatures and earlier this month, Tehran declared two days of national holiday, urging people to stay at home to avoid the bitter cold. Temperatures have dropped to -24 degrees Celsius or lower.
In Afghanistan, aid agencies have raised concerns about displaced people and refugees being repatriated from Iran having to survive in extreme conditions.
Iranian and Afghan news agencies report that Iran has responded to Kabul's requests for a temporary halt to forced repatriations during the winter.
Around 9,000 Afghans who were illegally living in Iran have been deported this year.
You can also read the story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7192452.stm
Faulty gas heaters have been blamed for 89 deaths during a cold snap in Iran, according to local media reports.
Most of the victims are reported to have died in their sleep after inhaling carbon monoxide gas from badly installed or damaged gas heaters.
Iran is experiencing its coldest winter for years. Snow has blocked roads and airports and schools are closed.
In neighbouring Afghanistan, more than 100 people and 35,000 cattle have died due to the weather in the past week.
Refugees
Iran's Jomhuri Eslami newspaper and Fars news agency said 89 people had been killed since the start of January by gas heaters.
Carbon monoxide given off by the heaters is odourless and can kill in poorly ventilated spaces.
The Afghan winter has killed people and livestock
Other people have been killed by the freezing temperatures and earlier this month, Tehran declared two days of national holiday, urging people to stay at home to avoid the bitter cold. Temperatures have dropped to -24 degrees Celsius or lower.
In Afghanistan, aid agencies have raised concerns about displaced people and refugees being repatriated from Iran having to survive in extreme conditions.
Iranian and Afghan news agencies report that Iran has responded to Kabul's requests for a temporary halt to forced repatriations during the winter.
Around 9,000 Afghans who were illegally living in Iran have been deported this year.
You can also read the story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7192452.stm
Christians in Jerusalem want Jews to stop spitting on them
(what a hilarious headline)
By Amiram Barkat
A few weeks ago, a senior Greek Orthodox clergyman in Israel attended a meeting at a government office in Jerusalem's Givat Shaul quarter. When he returned to his car, an elderly man wearing a skullcap came and knocked on the window. When the clergyman let the window down, the passerby spat in his face.
The clergyman preferred not to lodge a complaint with the police and told an acquaintance that he was used to being spat at by Jews. Many Jerusalem clergy have been subjected to abuse of this kind. For the most part, they ignore it but sometimes they cannot.
On Sunday, a fracas developed when a yeshiva student spat at the cross being carried by the Armenian Archbishop during a procession near the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City. The archbishop's 17th-century cross was broken during the brawl and he slapped the yeshiva student.
Both were questioned by police and the yeshiva student will be brought to trial. The Jerusalem District Court has meanwhile banned the student from approaching the Old City for 75 days.
But the Armenians are far from satisfied by the police action and say this sort of thing has been going on for years. Archbishop Nourhan Manougian says he expects the education minister to say something.
"When there is an attack against Jews anywhere in the world, the Israeli government is incensed, so why when our religion and pride are hurt, don't they take harsher measures?" he asks.
According to Daniel Rossing, former adviser to the Religious Affairs Ministry on Christian affairs and director of a Jerusalem center for Christian-Jewish dialogue, there has been an increase in the number of such incidents recently, "as part of a general atmosphere of lack of tolerance in the country."
Rossing says there are certain common characeristics from the point of view of time and location to the incidents. He points to the fact that there are more incidents in areas where Jews and Christians mingle, such as the Jewish and Armenian quarters of the Old City and the Jaffa Gate.
There are an increased number at certain times of year, such as during the Purim holiday."I know Christians who lock themselves indoors during the entire Purim holiday," he says.
Former adviser to the mayor on Christian affairs, Shmuel Evyatar, describes the situation as "a huge disgrace." He says most of the instigators are yeshiva students studying in the Old City who view the Christian religion with disdain.
"I'm sure the phenomenon would end as soon as rabbis and well-known educators denounce it. In practice, rabbis of yeshivas ignore or even encourage it," he says.
Evyatar says he himself was spat at while walking with a Serbian bishop in the Jewish quarter, near his home. "A group of yeshiva students spat at us and their teacher just stood by and watched."
Jerusalem municipal officials said they are aware of the problem but it has to be dealt with by the police. Shmuel Ben-Ruby, the police spokesman, said they had only two complaints from Christians in the past two years. He said that, in both cases, the culprits were caught and punished.
He said the police deploy an inordinately high number of patrols and special technology in the Old City and its surroundings in an attempt to keep order.
You can also read the story here:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=487412&contrassID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y&itemNo=487412
Atleast they are spitting, and not shooting or bulldozing or bombing.
By Amiram Barkat
A few weeks ago, a senior Greek Orthodox clergyman in Israel attended a meeting at a government office in Jerusalem's Givat Shaul quarter. When he returned to his car, an elderly man wearing a skullcap came and knocked on the window. When the clergyman let the window down, the passerby spat in his face.
The clergyman preferred not to lodge a complaint with the police and told an acquaintance that he was used to being spat at by Jews. Many Jerusalem clergy have been subjected to abuse of this kind. For the most part, they ignore it but sometimes they cannot.
On Sunday, a fracas developed when a yeshiva student spat at the cross being carried by the Armenian Archbishop during a procession near the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City. The archbishop's 17th-century cross was broken during the brawl and he slapped the yeshiva student.
Both were questioned by police and the yeshiva student will be brought to trial. The Jerusalem District Court has meanwhile banned the student from approaching the Old City for 75 days.
But the Armenians are far from satisfied by the police action and say this sort of thing has been going on for years. Archbishop Nourhan Manougian says he expects the education minister to say something.
"When there is an attack against Jews anywhere in the world, the Israeli government is incensed, so why when our religion and pride are hurt, don't they take harsher measures?" he asks.
According to Daniel Rossing, former adviser to the Religious Affairs Ministry on Christian affairs and director of a Jerusalem center for Christian-Jewish dialogue, there has been an increase in the number of such incidents recently, "as part of a general atmosphere of lack of tolerance in the country."
Rossing says there are certain common characeristics from the point of view of time and location to the incidents. He points to the fact that there are more incidents in areas where Jews and Christians mingle, such as the Jewish and Armenian quarters of the Old City and the Jaffa Gate.
There are an increased number at certain times of year, such as during the Purim holiday."I know Christians who lock themselves indoors during the entire Purim holiday," he says.
Former adviser to the mayor on Christian affairs, Shmuel Evyatar, describes the situation as "a huge disgrace." He says most of the instigators are yeshiva students studying in the Old City who view the Christian religion with disdain.
"I'm sure the phenomenon would end as soon as rabbis and well-known educators denounce it. In practice, rabbis of yeshivas ignore or even encourage it," he says.
Evyatar says he himself was spat at while walking with a Serbian bishop in the Jewish quarter, near his home. "A group of yeshiva students spat at us and their teacher just stood by and watched."
Jerusalem municipal officials said they are aware of the problem but it has to be dealt with by the police. Shmuel Ben-Ruby, the police spokesman, said they had only two complaints from Christians in the past two years. He said that, in both cases, the culprits were caught and punished.
He said the police deploy an inordinately high number of patrols and special technology in the Old City and its surroundings in an attempt to keep order.
You can also read the story here:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=487412&contrassID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y&itemNo=487412
Atleast they are spitting, and not shooting or bulldozing or bombing.
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