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.
Where Does Your Money Go?
Bush says we have no money for education! Bush says we have no money for healthcare!
"Where is all the money?" Yes, you may ask this very question.
Well, the money goes to the military! The money goes to war! The war costs, what? Oh, only a few trillion dollars. Wait, did you know the U.S. has aided Israel—a nation who breaks more United Nations laws than any other and proposes an apartheid state upon Palestinians—with almost $85 billion?! I'm sure it's definitely more than that now!
But, I bet you didn't know that!
The total cost to us American taxpayers is almost $135 billion! Not for us, but for another country that is illegally occupying other people's homeland!
What is education? Only a very important tool in any person's life. What is healthcare? Only a way to be healthy and get treated for an illness. But those aren't important now, are they? Who needs them!?
Forget education and healthcare! Let's destroy nations who once had FREE education AND healthcare. We can make them more like us!
UNINTELLIGENCE, ILLNESS, AND POVERTY FOR ALL!
Read more at
Where Does Your Tax Money Go?
Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes
The National Debt is $9.2 Trillion!
Here is a map of the countries that do and do not have universal healthcare. Go figure, not the US, a "super power."
http://www.gadling.com/media/2007/07/healthcareworldbig.jpg
A very detailed poster explaining exactly where and how much money goes to each thing the United States government spend on.
Death and Taxes
http://www.thebudgetgraph.com/
"Where is all the money?" Yes, you may ask this very question.
Well, the money goes to the military! The money goes to war! The war costs, what? Oh, only a few trillion dollars. Wait, did you know the U.S. has aided Israel—a nation who breaks more United Nations laws than any other and proposes an apartheid state upon Palestinians—with almost $85 billion?! I'm sure it's definitely more than that now!
But, I bet you didn't know that!
The total cost to us American taxpayers is almost $135 billion! Not for us, but for another country that is illegally occupying other people's homeland!
What is education? Only a very important tool in any person's life. What is healthcare? Only a way to be healthy and get treated for an illness. But those aren't important now, are they? Who needs them!?
Forget education and healthcare! Let's destroy nations who once had FREE education AND healthcare. We can make them more like us!
UNINTELLIGENCE, ILLNESS, AND POVERTY FOR ALL!
Read more at
Where Does Your Tax Money Go?
Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes
The National Debt is $9.2 Trillion!
Here is a map of the countries that do and do not have universal healthcare. Go figure, not the US, a "super power."
http://www.gadling.com/media/2007/07/healthcareworldbig.jpg
A very detailed poster explaining exactly where and how much money goes to each thing the United States government spend on.
Death and Taxes
http://www.thebudgetgraph.com/
Got Civil Rights? Nope: Discrimination Still Prevalent at Work.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, or religion.
Well, don't we have a lot of "rights" in this country? Doesn't the Constitution say a lot of things that don't happen? Is that not how the world works? Democracy? Ha!
A woman generally earns 76 cents per every dollar a man makes. Women make 80% of what men make despite working harder in the same field.
On average, women with disabilities employed full-time earn only 65% of the earnings of men with disabilities employed full-time.
Over 60% (18 million people) of working-age disabled individuals are unemployed. People with disabilities have been denied access to the employment market and the economic mainstream at exceptionally high rates.
Read how this affects people at
Small Business and the Disability Community
Survey: Workplace Discrimination Still Prevalent
Disability and “disability”
On payday, it's still a man's world
Well, don't we have a lot of "rights" in this country? Doesn't the Constitution say a lot of things that don't happen? Is that not how the world works? Democracy? Ha!
A woman generally earns 76 cents per every dollar a man makes. Women make 80% of what men make despite working harder in the same field.
On average, women with disabilities employed full-time earn only 65% of the earnings of men with disabilities employed full-time.
Over 60% (18 million people) of working-age disabled individuals are unemployed. People with disabilities have been denied access to the employment market and the economic mainstream at exceptionally high rates.
Read how this affects people at
Small Business and the Disability Community
Survey: Workplace Discrimination Still Prevalent
Disability and “disability”
On payday, it's still a man's world
Federal Court Decision Gives Airlines Right to Discriminate
Racial profiling is now definitely OK depending on the context of the situation (you know, hopping on a plane even if you do not look suspicious).
Looking Middle Easter = NO plane ride
It is as simple as that! You don't have to be an Arab, you just have to remotely look like one. Time for plastic surgery!
Seriously, you don't have to be Middle Eastern, because as long as you look Middle Eastern you will automatically be a suspicion. You don't really have to do anything suspicious, but you can just be sitting in your seat ready to go to you desired destination. Oops, they just looked at you! Sorry, out of luck!
This very situation happened to an American man of Portuguese descent in the case, Cerqueira v. American Airlines.
Cerqueira? I mean, does that name even sound Middle Eastern? No...
Read the full story at
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2585
and case details at
http://www.citizen.org/litigation/briefs/PersLiberty/
Ever Hear of the Jena 6?
You probably have (some maybe not). Most of you have probably have read the typical story that is presented everywhere when you do a search, or see the news, or read the newspaper. Although, I don't think the news talked about this story very much.
I mean, what did you hear? I'll break down the common story.
Well, at Jena High School in Louisiana, some White kids made racial taunts towards some Black kids and they hung nooses on a tree called the "White Tree." Fights broke out. A Black student, 17 yr old Mychal Bell, was charged with aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. The trial consisted of an all white jury, a series of white witnesses called by a white prosecutor, and overseen by a white judge. Bell's tennis shoes were the considered "dangerous weapon" needed to convict him. He faces up to 22 yrs in prison. On consecutive days, brawls broke out. In total, six black Jena students, including Mychal, were arrested and charged with attempted second degree murder. All sex were expelled from school. All bails were set too high for any of their families to afford. No white student suffered any consequences for taking equal, if not more, part into the brawls. Nor was any white student seriously injured.
Sound like a fair trial? Nope. Sound pretty racist? Yup.
HOWEVER, some claim, this is NOT the truth. The jist of the "real" story is that the nooses were a joke, and they were in the schools colors, to have no racist implication. Mychal Bell had three prior assault and battery charges. He picked on a white student who had nothing to do with the nooses or any of the insults thrown. Mychal Bell left the student unconscious. No white students started any of the Jena fights.
So, which is true? Who knows (unless you were there or course. If so, enlighten us with the truth! Which, I still won't know if it's the truth because I was not there. So no matter what, we won't know)! Either story can be justified, but someone who has had prior charges on the same thing he is currently being charged for deserves to spend a little time, eh?
To read the full story about what may have really happened check out the site:
What Really Happened in Jena
Oh, and recently some White supremacists had to protest too!
White, black groups clash at Jena, La., protests
I mean, what did you hear? I'll break down the common story.
Well, at Jena High School in Louisiana, some White kids made racial taunts towards some Black kids and they hung nooses on a tree called the "White Tree." Fights broke out. A Black student, 17 yr old Mychal Bell, was charged with aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. The trial consisted of an all white jury, a series of white witnesses called by a white prosecutor, and overseen by a white judge. Bell's tennis shoes were the considered "dangerous weapon" needed to convict him. He faces up to 22 yrs in prison. On consecutive days, brawls broke out. In total, six black Jena students, including Mychal, were arrested and charged with attempted second degree murder. All sex were expelled from school. All bails were set too high for any of their families to afford. No white student suffered any consequences for taking equal, if not more, part into the brawls. Nor was any white student seriously injured.
Sound like a fair trial? Nope. Sound pretty racist? Yup.
HOWEVER, some claim, this is NOT the truth. The jist of the "real" story is that the nooses were a joke, and they were in the schools colors, to have no racist implication. Mychal Bell had three prior assault and battery charges. He picked on a white student who had nothing to do with the nooses or any of the insults thrown. Mychal Bell left the student unconscious. No white students started any of the Jena fights.
So, which is true? Who knows (unless you were there or course. If so, enlighten us with the truth! Which, I still won't know if it's the truth because I was not there. So no matter what, we won't know)! Either story can be justified, but someone who has had prior charges on the same thing he is currently being charged for deserves to spend a little time, eh?
To read the full story about what may have really happened check out the site:
What Really Happened in Jena
Oh, and recently some White supremacists had to protest too!
White, black groups clash at Jena, La., protests
Presidential Candidates of 2008: What Do You Know? Probably Nothing!
CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE! What change? The word, yes, I hear a lot about that word. I hear a lot about applying change, creating change, producing a world that has CHANGED. I sure don't see it, nor, do I expect to see it in the near future either. LIES—that's more like it! Obama pushes for invasion of Pakistan! Pakistan is supposed to be our ally! Since when have they been a threat to the US! Oh wait, they are mostly Muslims, which means they are automatically a threat according to government conventions! He likes war. He wanted Israel to go to war with Lebanon. He was going to tell Bush not to intervene. How nice! A man who wants change! Seriously now! come on!
Oh, I can't forget about any of the other candidates, who all want to go to war with Iran. I sure hope not, because I don't feel like getting nuked, in case they do have nukes and all that! But I don't understand why Israel—an apartheid state who violate so many UN laws—can have nuclear weapons? Russia gets nuclear weapons! Iran...Nope! America already accuses them of having nuclear weapons with some kind of proof they invented (you know, the non-existent kind). And what if they do have nuclear weapons and we do go to war with them. What do you think...the start of World War III? Most definitely. And, I don't think that would be great for us either. It would be quite unfortunate for everyone. All the candidates suck, man. For real. And now, its between Hilary and Obama. Well, I don't like either of them. And I sure don't like any of the Republicans either. I mean, which is the least of all evils? Probably Ron Paul. But I don't know either. I wonder what it would be like to live in a country where you have the most amazing President and everyone loves that President and will do what it takes for that country. I don't think we will ever experience that in America (as long as I'm alive anyway). Check out all these sites to learn some more information about the candidates:
Awful Truth About Hillary, Barack, John… and Whitewash
Against Hillary Clinton
The "Monsters" behind each Candidate
Hillary Clinton says she supports 'apparent' IAF action in Syria
Tough talk on Pakistan from Obama Republicans side with Hillary Clinton in Iowa Hillary Clinton on International Law
In AIPAC speech, Obama repeats support for Israel, peace talks
Compare the Candidates
Barack, Hillary, and the Sinister Nothingness of “Change
Obama delivers bold speech about War on terror
And the list can go on and on. Do some research.
Oh, I can't forget about any of the other candidates, who all want to go to war with Iran. I sure hope not, because I don't feel like getting nuked, in case they do have nukes and all that! But I don't understand why Israel—an apartheid state who violate so many UN laws—can have nuclear weapons? Russia gets nuclear weapons! Iran...Nope! America already accuses them of having nuclear weapons with some kind of proof they invented (you know, the non-existent kind). And what if they do have nuclear weapons and we do go to war with them. What do you think...the start of World War III? Most definitely. And, I don't think that would be great for us either. It would be quite unfortunate for everyone. All the candidates suck, man. For real. And now, its between Hilary and Obama. Well, I don't like either of them. And I sure don't like any of the Republicans either. I mean, which is the least of all evils? Probably Ron Paul. But I don't know either. I wonder what it would be like to live in a country where you have the most amazing President and everyone loves that President and will do what it takes for that country. I don't think we will ever experience that in America (as long as I'm alive anyway). Check out all these sites to learn some more information about the candidates:
Awful Truth About Hillary, Barack, John… and Whitewash
Against Hillary Clinton
The "Monsters" behind each Candidate
Hillary Clinton says she supports 'apparent' IAF action in Syria
Tough talk on Pakistan from Obama Republicans side with Hillary Clinton in Iowa Hillary Clinton on International Law
In AIPAC speech, Obama repeats support for Israel, peace talks
Compare the Candidates
Barack, Hillary, and the Sinister Nothingness of “Change
Obama delivers bold speech about War on terror
And the list can go on and on. Do some research.
'Janjaweed leader' is Sudan aide
The Sudanese authorities have given a senior government position to a man accused of co-ordinating the Janjaweed Arab militia in Darfur.
Federal Affairs Minister Abdel Basit Sabderat said clan leader Musa Hilal had been named as his adviser.
The US State Department and human rights groups say Mr Hilal is a leader of the Janjaweed, which is accused of committing war crimes in Darfur.
He denies the accusations and blames the violence on Darfur rebel groups.
More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur and two-thirds of the surviving population rely on humanitarian assistance.
'Slap in the face'
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has strongly condemned Mr Hilal's appointment.
"Musa Hilal is the poster child for Janjaweed atrocities in Darfur," said HRW's Richard Dicker.
"Rewarding him with a special government post is a slap in the face to Darfur victims and to the UN Security Council," he said, pointing out that Mr Hilal was under a UN travel ban for his role in Darfur.
Mr Hilal, an Arab clan leader, told Reuters news agency he would be based in Khartoum but might have to travel to outlying regions.
He has said he has simply mobilised Arab clans to defend against rebel attacks.
Correspondents say his appointment as a ministerial adviser will be seen as another set-back in the faltering peace process in Darfur, and is likely to increase rebel suspicions about the motivations of the authorities in Khartoum.
The International Criminal Court last year issued an arrest warrant against a junior government minister and another Arab clan leader.
The government has denied backing the Janjaweed.
There have been repeated delays in deploying a joint UN-AU peacekeeping force to Darfur, with accusations that the government is trying to block them.
Only 9,000 troops out of a planned 26,000 are currently in place.
Will this ever end? It's not a surprise that the US is not stepping in too much. What a super power. That really is quite unfortunate.
Read more here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/4007191.stm
UN warns of humanitarian crisis as Israel seals Gaza crossings
By News Agencies and Haaretz Service
UNITED NATIONS - United Nations officials implored Israel to reverse its decision Friday to seal all border crossings with the Gaza Strip, warning that the violence in the region and cutoff of crucial supplies for 1.4 million Palestinians was provoking a humanitarian crisis.
The Defense Ministry closed all border crossings with Gaza on Friday and prevented the delivery of a United Nations aid shipment. Only humanitarian cases given Defense Minister Ehud Barak's personal approval would be allowed through, the ministry said.
"If milk is low in Gaza, the minister will be asked to approve a milk shipment, and it will enter," a Defense Ministry spokesman said. "Such action cuts off the population from much-needed fuel supplies used to pump water and generate electricity to homes and hospitals," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "If this situation endures, the closure will also cause further shortages of food, medical and relief items in the Gaza Strip."
Ban urged an immediate end to the violence engulfing Gaza and southern Israel, including Palestinian sniper and rocket attacks into Israel, and he called on Israel's defense forces to use "maximum restraint."
He said he had "deep concern that the hostilities taking place on the ground will undermine the hopes for peace" that have come out of November's U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland.
The UN Relief and Works Agency, which distributes cooking oil, flour and sugar to hundreds of thousands of Gazans, said it had about two months worth of supplies in its warehouses. However, "Gazans need to supplement the basics with nutritious foods, such as fruit, vegetables and proteins, which have become expensive and hard to find," said UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness.
The International Committee of the Red Cross called on Israel and the Palestinians to respect international law and stop harming civilians. Christoph Harnisch, head of the organization's delegation to Israel and the Palestinian territories, said in a statement he was in daily contact with the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian armed factions in an effort to persuade them to respect the civilian population.
Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror said Gazans had sufficient stocks of food so that no one would go hungry. "There is a government decision that there will not be a humanitarian crisis in Gaza," Dror said.
The deputy head of Israel's mission to the United Nations, Daniel Carmon,
told Reuters Israel's actions were "what any responsible government would do when it is confronted as we are with this surge of violence and terrorism."
He gave no indication of when the closure would end.
Israel sealed the Gaza border crossings to cut the flow of supplies in an attempt to pressure Hamas to halt its rocket fire, which kept falling in southern Israel. The violence has surged since Tuesday when an Israeli ground and air offensive against rocket squads killed 19 Palestinians.
The Gaza death toll had risen to 36, including at least 10 civilians, by Saturday.
"It is a crisis already," said John Holmes, the UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, who called it "unacceptable" and "morally unjustifiable" that Israel closed the border to a daily average of 120 trucks of food and humanitarian supplies entering Gaza from Israel.
"In Gaza, we're getting to a situation where virtually all of the population is dependent on international aid supplies," he said. "This violence is putting what is already an extremely worrying and fragile humanitarian situation into an even more dangerous context."
"The Israeli reaction is not justified by those rocket attacks, even though it's caused by those rocket attacks," said Holmes.
A the behest of Arab and Muslim countries, the UN Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session next Wednesday to examine Israel's new measures in Gaza, a UN source said.
"Gaza is completely shut down. This will only add to an already dire situation," said Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), whose aid shipment on Friday was blocked.
The decision to close the crossings came after Israel vowed to broaden its military campaign against Gaza militants who have fired more than 130 rockets and 80 mortars at southern Israel in the last three days.
You can also read the article here:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/946066.html
Wait, you mean the UN is telling Israel to stop? Why bother, they never listen anyway. Does the UN even care? Does Israel care? I highly doubt that, otherwise this garbage would not be happening. I mean, Palestinians busted down the wall and went to Egypt to buy food! They didn't go storm places and shoot people and blow people up, no, they went to buy necessities for their families. The broke out of a prison. Now they want to seal it back up. How nice.
Oh, look, even the EU cares!
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/918171.html
UNITED NATIONS - United Nations officials implored Israel to reverse its decision Friday to seal all border crossings with the Gaza Strip, warning that the violence in the region and cutoff of crucial supplies for 1.4 million Palestinians was provoking a humanitarian crisis.
The Defense Ministry closed all border crossings with Gaza on Friday and prevented the delivery of a United Nations aid shipment. Only humanitarian cases given Defense Minister Ehud Barak's personal approval would be allowed through, the ministry said.
"If milk is low in Gaza, the minister will be asked to approve a milk shipment, and it will enter," a Defense Ministry spokesman said. "Such action cuts off the population from much-needed fuel supplies used to pump water and generate electricity to homes and hospitals," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "If this situation endures, the closure will also cause further shortages of food, medical and relief items in the Gaza Strip."
Ban urged an immediate end to the violence engulfing Gaza and southern Israel, including Palestinian sniper and rocket attacks into Israel, and he called on Israel's defense forces to use "maximum restraint."
He said he had "deep concern that the hostilities taking place on the ground will undermine the hopes for peace" that have come out of November's U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland.
The UN Relief and Works Agency, which distributes cooking oil, flour and sugar to hundreds of thousands of Gazans, said it had about two months worth of supplies in its warehouses. However, "Gazans need to supplement the basics with nutritious foods, such as fruit, vegetables and proteins, which have become expensive and hard to find," said UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness.
The International Committee of the Red Cross called on Israel and the Palestinians to respect international law and stop harming civilians. Christoph Harnisch, head of the organization's delegation to Israel and the Palestinian territories, said in a statement he was in daily contact with the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian armed factions in an effort to persuade them to respect the civilian population.
Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror said Gazans had sufficient stocks of food so that no one would go hungry. "There is a government decision that there will not be a humanitarian crisis in Gaza," Dror said.
The deputy head of Israel's mission to the United Nations, Daniel Carmon,
told Reuters Israel's actions were "what any responsible government would do when it is confronted as we are with this surge of violence and terrorism."
He gave no indication of when the closure would end.
Israel sealed the Gaza border crossings to cut the flow of supplies in an attempt to pressure Hamas to halt its rocket fire, which kept falling in southern Israel. The violence has surged since Tuesday when an Israeli ground and air offensive against rocket squads killed 19 Palestinians.
The Gaza death toll had risen to 36, including at least 10 civilians, by Saturday.
"It is a crisis already," said John Holmes, the UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, who called it "unacceptable" and "morally unjustifiable" that Israel closed the border to a daily average of 120 trucks of food and humanitarian supplies entering Gaza from Israel.
"In Gaza, we're getting to a situation where virtually all of the population is dependent on international aid supplies," he said. "This violence is putting what is already an extremely worrying and fragile humanitarian situation into an even more dangerous context."
"The Israeli reaction is not justified by those rocket attacks, even though it's caused by those rocket attacks," said Holmes.
A the behest of Arab and Muslim countries, the UN Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session next Wednesday to examine Israel's new measures in Gaza, a UN source said.
"Gaza is completely shut down. This will only add to an already dire situation," said Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), whose aid shipment on Friday was blocked.
The decision to close the crossings came after Israel vowed to broaden its military campaign against Gaza militants who have fired more than 130 rockets and 80 mortars at southern Israel in the last three days.
You can also read the article here:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/946066.html
Wait, you mean the UN is telling Israel to stop? Why bother, they never listen anyway. Does the UN even care? Does Israel care? I highly doubt that, otherwise this garbage would not be happening. I mean, Palestinians busted down the wall and went to Egypt to buy food! They didn't go storm places and shoot people and blow people up, no, they went to buy necessities for their families. The broke out of a prison. Now they want to seal it back up. How nice.
Oh, look, even the EU cares!
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/918171.html
Canada Places US, Israel on Torture Watch List
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's foreign ministry has put the United States and Israel on a watch list of countries where prisoners risk being tortured and also classifies some U.S. interrogation techniques as torture, according to a document obtained by Reuters on Thursday.
The revelation is likely to embarrass the minority Conservative government, which is a staunch ally of both the United States and Israel. Both nations denied they allowed torture in their jails.
The document -- part of a training course on torture awareness given to diplomats -- mentions the U.S. jail at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where a Canadian man is being held.
The man, Omar Khadr, is the only Canadian in Guantanamo. His defenders said the document made a mockery of Ottawa's claims that Khadr was not being mistreated.
Under "definition of torture" the document lists U.S. interrogation techniques such as forced nudity, isolation, sleep deprivation and blindfolding prisoners.
"The United States does not permit, tolerate, or condone torture under any circumstances," said a spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy in Ottawa.
A spokesman for Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier tried to distance Ottawa from the document.
"The training manual is not a policy document and does not reflect the views or policies of this government," he said.
The government mistakenly provided the document to Amnesty International Canada as part of a court case the rights organization has launched against Ottawa over the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan.
Amnesty Secretary-General Alex Neve told Reuters his group had very clear evidence of abuse in U.S. and Israeli jails.
"It's therefore reassuring and refreshing to see that ... both of those countries have been listed and that foreign policy considerations didn't trump the human rights concern and keep them off the list," he said.
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.
Rights groups say Khadr should be repatriated to Canada, an idea that Prime Minister Stephen Harper rejects on the grounds that the man faces serious charges.
"At some point in the course of Omar Khadr's detention the Canadian government developed the suspicion he was being tortured," said William Kuebler, Khadr's U.S. lawyer.
"Yet it has not acted to obtain his release from Guantanamo Bay and protect his rights, unlike every other Western country that has had its nationals detained in Guantanamo Bay," he told CTV television.
Other countries on the watch list include Syria, China, Iran, Afghanistan, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
"If Israel is included in the list in question, the ambassador of Israel would expect its removal," said Israeli embassy spokesman Michael Mendel.
The awareness course started after Ottawa was criticized for the way it handled the case of Canadian 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 inquiry into the case revealed that Canadian diplomats had not received any formal training into detecting whether detainees had been abused.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)
Read the article at its site here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1762987120080117?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
Wow, can you believe it? The US! Woah, no way! HAHA well, I mean come on, after this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz7UNxnOI3M&eurl
But, the US would have never had this gone out to the mainstream media, now would they? Nope!
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's foreign ministry has put the United States and Israel on a watch list of countries where prisoners risk being tortured and also classifies some U.S. interrogation techniques as torture, according to a document obtained by Reuters on Thursday.
The revelation is likely to embarrass the minority Conservative government, which is a staunch ally of both the United States and Israel. Both nations denied they allowed torture in their jails.
The document -- part of a training course on torture awareness given to diplomats -- mentions the U.S. jail at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where a Canadian man is being held.
The man, Omar Khadr, is the only Canadian in Guantanamo. His defenders said the document made a mockery of Ottawa's claims that Khadr was not being mistreated.
Under "definition of torture" the document lists U.S. interrogation techniques such as forced nudity, isolation, sleep deprivation and blindfolding prisoners.
"The United States does not permit, tolerate, or condone torture under any circumstances," said a spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy in Ottawa.
A spokesman for Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier tried to distance Ottawa from the document.
"The training manual is not a policy document and does not reflect the views or policies of this government," he said.
The government mistakenly provided the document to Amnesty International Canada as part of a court case the rights organization has launched against Ottawa over the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan.
Amnesty Secretary-General Alex Neve told Reuters his group had very clear evidence of abuse in U.S. and Israeli jails.
"It's therefore reassuring and refreshing to see that ... both of those countries have been listed and that foreign policy considerations didn't trump the human rights concern and keep them off the list," he said.
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.
Rights groups say Khadr should be repatriated to Canada, an idea that Prime Minister Stephen Harper rejects on the grounds that the man faces serious charges.
"At some point in the course of Omar Khadr's detention the Canadian government developed the suspicion he was being tortured," said William Kuebler, Khadr's U.S. lawyer.
"Yet it has not acted to obtain his release from Guantanamo Bay and protect his rights, unlike every other Western country that has had its nationals detained in Guantanamo Bay," he told CTV television.
Other countries on the watch list include Syria, China, Iran, Afghanistan, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
"If Israel is included in the list in question, the ambassador of Israel would expect its removal," said Israeli embassy spokesman Michael Mendel.
The awareness course started after Ottawa was criticized for the way it handled the case of Canadian 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 inquiry into the case revealed that Canadian diplomats had not received any formal training into detecting whether detainees had been abused.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)
Read the article at its site here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1762987120080117?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
Wow, can you believe it? The US! Woah, no way! HAHA well, I mean come on, after this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz7UNxnOI3M&eurl
But, the US would have never had this gone out to the mainstream media, now would they? Nope!