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Thursday, February 28, 2013

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH PRESS RELEASE: Syria: Unlawful Missile Attacks Kill More Than 140


Recent Escalation of Tactic Threatens Civilians
February 26, 2013
(Kilis) – The Syrian government launched at least four ballistic missiles that struck populated areas in the city of Aleppo and a town in Aleppo governorate during the week of February 17, 2013. The attacks killed more than 141 people, including 71 children, and caused immense physical destruction.

The extent of the damage from a single strike, the lack of aircraft in the area at the time, and reports of ballistic missiles being launched from a military base near Damascus overwhelmingly suggest that government forces struck these areas with ballistic missiles. Human Rights Watch visited the four attack sites, all in residential neighborhoods. Human Rights Watch found no signs of any military targets in the vicinity of any of the four sites, which would mean that the attacks were unlawful.

“I have visited many attack sites in Syria, but have never seen such destruction,” said Ole Solvang, emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch, who visited the sites. “Just when you think things can’t get any worse, the Syrian government finds ways to escalate its killing tactics.”

Human Rights Watch compiled a list of those killed from cemetery burial records, interviews with relatives and neighbors, and information from the Aleppo media center and the Violations Documentation Center, a network of local activists.

Around midnight on February 18 a missile struck the Jabal Badro neighborhood in Aleppo, killing at least 47 people, including 23 children. According to local residents, government forces started shelling the attack site about 20 minutes after the missile struck, wounding several people. Just before 6 p.m. on February 22, a missile struck the Tariq al-Bab neighborhood in the eastern part of Aleppo, killing at least 13 people, including eight children. Just minutes later, a missile struck the Ard al-Hamra neighborhood close by, killing at least 78 people, including 38 children......

FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE: Syria: Unlawful Missile Attacks Kill More Than 140 | Human Rights Watch

Totalitarian and Paranoid North Korea says nuclear weapons can reach US | NDTV.com


North Korea says nuclear weapons can reach US
File photo
 
Seoul: North Korea warned on Wednesday that the US mainland was "well within" the range of its nuclear weapons, as Pyongyang continued to ramp up the bellicose rhetoric after its recent nuclear test.

In an article posted on the official Uriminzokkiri website, a member of the Korean National Peace Committee - a propaganda body -- said the North was now a "fully-independent rocket and nuclear weapons state"....


FULL ARTICLE HERE: North Korea says nuclear weapons can reach US | NDTV.com

AUTOPSY REPORT ON JARADAT CONTRADICTS PALESTINIAN CLAIMS: Autopsy finds no signs of violence on Palestinian inmate's body | The Times of Israel

 Arafat Shalish Shahin Jaradat (photo credit: image capture from Channel 2)
Arafat Shalish Shahin Jaradat (photo credit: image capture from Channel 2)

The preliminary results of Arafat Jaradat’s autopsy reveal no signs of violence or poisoning, Israeli pathologists revealed Thursday, contradicting previous statements by a Palestinian doctor who attended the procedure.....

Autopsy finds no signs of violence on Palestinian inmate's body | The Times of Israel

NY DAILY NEWS HAMMERS BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions movement): Separating fact from fiction on BDS

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS EDITORIAL

Students for Justice in Palestine invited guest speaker Omar Barghouti (pictured here) to address an audience which sparked anger from Pro Israeli groups on campus. Photo taken outside the student center at Brooklyn College in Brooklyn New York on February 7, 2013.   Julia Xanthos

BDS proponent Omar Barghouti needs fact-checking.

To shed light on the passions generated by the Brooklyn College program that promoted the so-called BDS movement, the Daily News opens its Op-Ed page to one of the evening’s speakers.

BDS proponent Omar Barghouti writes of the movement’s motivations and goals. We recommend that you read his piece and then return here for the truth.

Barghouti aims in the short-term to undermine Israel’s moral legitimacy on the way to the long-term prize of securing rights for Palestinians that would effectively dismantle the Jewish state.

His dancing around this central point lets Barghouti verge on anti-Semitism while claiming respectability......

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Separating fact from fiction on BDS - NY Daily News

NAVY PRESERVING ARMY HISTORY: Local Sailors restore, preserve Buffalo Soldier burial ground - The Flagship: Top Stories

Northwest Annex Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery

New footstone markers will eventually replace the deteriorating wooden crosses that represent unnamed Soldiers buried at the Northwest Annex Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery onboard Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads – Northwest Annex in Chesapeake..............

FULL ARTICLE: Local Sailors restore, preserve Buffalo Soldier burial ground - The Flagship: Top Stories

BABY "DOC" DUVALIER IN THE DOCKET: Former Haiti leader appears in court - Americas - Al Jazeera English


Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier was in exile for 25 years until 2011 in France [Reuters]

Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier faced corruption and human rights charges in a court for the first time since a popular revolt forced him into exile in 1986, and denied responsibility for abuses under his 15-year rule.

Individual government officials "had their own authority," the 61-year-old Duvalier said when asked about his role as head of state from 1971 to 1986. "Under my authority, children could go to school, there was no insecurity."

Duvalier, who had boycotted three previous court hearings, struck a mostly defiant tone during a four-hour grilling by a panel of three judges in a packed and sweltering courtroom.

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Former Haiti leader appears in court - Americas - Al Jazeera English

National Journal: Obama's Sequester Narrative Implodes


Over the past weeks, President Obama has been running around the country like Chicken Little spreading falsehoods about sequester, all in the hopes of blaming a 2% budget cut (which he proposed and signed into law) for an anemic economy that might be headed into a double-dip recession. Simply put, the White House and its media are pushing this fabricated Narrative in the hopes of shifting blame away from Obama's failed economic policies and onto the GOP and a lack of government largess.

If our economy crashes, Obama wants to blame sequester; he wants to argue that our economic woes are caused by a government that isn't big enough, and that he needs a Democrat-controlled House to correct that. It's an audaciously dishonest plot, and it almost worked. The monkeys in the wrench, though, have been little things called facts, a Republican Party refusing to blink, and one brave and honest reporter...............

FULL ARTICLE HERE: National Journal: Obama's Sequester Narrative Implodes

Syrians find shelter in ancient ruins - CBS News

Sami, 32, center, speaks with his children at an underground Roman tomb which he uses with his family as shelter from Syrian government forces shelling and airstrikes, at Jabal al-Zaweya, Syria, Feb. 28, 2013.
Sami, 32, center, speaks with his children at an underground Roman tomb which he uses with his family as shelter from Syrian government forces shelling and airstrikes, at Jabal al-Zaweya, Syria, Feb. 28, 2013. / AP


LINK: Syrians find shelter in ancient ruins - CBS News

Haitian Senate Calls for Halt to Mining Activities

by Haiti Grassroots Watch and Inter Press Service
... 
Outraged that they have not been consulted, this week Haitian senators called for a moratorium on all activities connected with recently granted gold and copper mining permits.


In a resolution approved by 15 of 16 senators present, the lawmakers also demanded the establishment of a commission to review all of the current mining contracts and “a national debate on the country’s mineral resources.”

The resolution – voted Feb. 20 in reaction to three new gold and copper mining permits issued late last year by the government – decried “the genocide that accompanied the pillage of our mineral resources in the 15th century”, “the waste of resources… since the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake,” the foreign mining experiences of the 20th century which caused “trauma,” and “the incapacity of our country to calmly undertake negotiations related to its mineral resources in a context of political disequilibrium.”....................

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Haitian Senate Calls for Halt to Mining Activities

Ron Fournier: Yeah, I Got the Abusive Treatment From the WH and the Same 'You Will Regret This' Threat

AS THE BASH BOB WOODWARD MEDIA SHILLS CRESCENDO, THIS REPORT FROM BREITBART:

Now National Journal reporter Ron Fournier -- whom I believe to be a liberal in good standing with his paperwork in order -- drops this tidbit:

As editor-in-chief of National Journal, I received several e-mails and telephone calls from this White House official filled with vulgarity, abusive language, and virtually the same phrase that Woodward called a veiled threat. “You will regret staking out that claim,” The Washington Post reporter was told.

Once I moved back to daily reporting this year, the badgering intensified. I wrote Saturday night, asking the official to stop e-mailing me. The official wrote, challenging Woodward and my tweet. “Get off your high horse and assess the facts, Ron,” the official wrote.....................


FULL ARTICLE HERE: Ron Fournier: Yeah, I Got the Abusive Treatment From the WH and the Same 'You Will Regret This' Threat

Arab spring rappers blast ‘thieves of the revolution’

As Syrian hip-hop developed alongside the nearly two-year-old revolt against the regime, “people started to listen... and it became more direct,” al Sayyed Darwish, a member of the Syrian trio LaTlateh, said. (AFP)
As Syrian hip-hop developed alongside the nearly two-year-old revolt against the regime, “people started to listen... and it became more direct,” al Sayyed Darwish, a member of the Syrian trio LaTlateh, said. (AFP)


Sitting on the fringes of upheaval in the Middle East, Lebanon’s capital Beirut has become the scene of experimental music-making by Khat Thaleth, a group of rappers out to take the revolts that started during the Arab Spring to the next level. The collective has members from around the region - ranging from Tunisia, birthplace of the Arab uprising, to the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon - and vocalizes the realities of a new generation carrying the baggage of the past...................

Here's one of their videos:

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Arab spring rappers blast ‘thieves of the revolution’

Fresh violence threatens DR Congo peace deal - Africa - Al Jazeera English


 
At least 3,000 civilians have sought refuge near a UN base in Kitchanga following the recent fighting [AFP]

Less than a week after the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring African nations signed a peace accord to hold off hostilties, a fresh wave of violence has erupted in the central African nation.

Fighting erupted on Thursday between the Congolese troops and the rebel group Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo (APCLS) in Kitchanga, about 90km from Goma, Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri reported.


FULL ARTICLE HERE: Fresh violence threatens DR Congo peace deal - Africa - Al Jazeera English

NOT JUST WOODWARD RECEIVED WH THREATS: Lanny Davis: Obama White House Threatened Washington Times Over My Column



LINK: Lanny Davis: Obama White House Threatened Washington Times Over My Column

NEW BOOK DETAILS How China is "enslaving the world: Beijing's ruthless leaders subjugate armies of foreign workers with opium, plunder resources across the globe"


The new boss: Chinese industry is cutting a swathe across Africa and the rest of the world
The new boss: Chinese industry is cutting a swathe across Africa and the rest of the world

LINK: How China is "enslaving the world: Beijing's ruthless leaders subjugate armies of foreign workers with opium, plunder resources" across the globe

AUSSIES TEACHING TRADES: NATO in Afghanistan - Building Afghanistan's future generation - YouTube



LINK: NATO in Afghanistan - Building Afghanistan's future generation - YouTube

INDIA'S FEATHERS RUFFLED: Chuck Hagel’s 2011 gaffe sparks international incident | Washington Free Beacon

Pentagon having to pull Hagel's foot out of his mouth for him.

LINK: Chuck Hagel’s 2011 gaffe sparks international incident | Washington Free Beacon

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

RABBI TELLS ISRAEL TO FOLLOW HIGHEST ETHICS: Judaism’s enemy No. 1: Moral complacency among religious Zionists - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper


Producer Philippa Kowarsky, left, and director Dror Moreh
'The Gatekeepers' producer Philippa Kowarsky, left, and director Dror Moreh. Photo by Nir Kafri 

Friday night dinner in Jerusalem. The young man sitting opposite me sports a huge kippah, sings religious songs with gusto, and regales us with stories from his yeshiva days. He's dating an old friend of mine, so I want to get to know him better. At a suitable lull in the conversation, I turn to him, "Have you seen the movie, ‘The Gatekeepers’?" I ask................ 

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Judaism’s enemy No. 1: Moral complacency among religious Zionists - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

MORE ON WOODWARD THREAT: Bob Woodward: ‘Very Senior’ White House Official Warned Me I’d ‘Regret’ Attacking Obama Over the Sequester | Video | TheBlaze.com


Bob Woodward: Very Senior White House Official Warned Me Id Regret Attacking Obama Over Sequester

LINK: Bob Woodward: ‘Very Senior’ White House Official Warned Me I’d ‘Regret’ Attacking Obama Over the Sequester | Video | TheBlaze.com

THREATENING A STORIED JOURNALIST? White House to Woodward: You'll 'Regret' Challenging Us

White House to Woodward: You'll 'Regret' Challenging Us

Famed Journalist Bob Woodward Hammers Obama: His Sequester Cuts 'Madness'



   

FULL ARTICLE W/VIDEO: Last Honest MSM Reporter in America: Obama Sequester Cuts 'Madness'

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING OFFICE REPORT: Obamacare Adds $6.2 Trillion to Long-Term Deficit - By Andrew Stiles - The Corner - National Review Online



LINK: GAO Report: Obamacare Adds $6.2 Trillion to Long-Term Deficit - By Andrew Stiles - The Corner - National Review Online

TINY STEPS IN RIGHT DIRECTION BUT STILL NO WEAPONS: US considers sending aid to Syrian rebels - Middle East - Al Jazeera English



According to the report armoured vehicles and body armour may be sent to the rebels [FILE: Reuters]

The White House is considering a shift in policy towards the nearly two-year-long conflict in Syria, and may send body armour and armoured vehicles to rebels, and possibly provide military training as well, the Washington Post has reported citing US and European officials.

John Kerry, US secretary of state, was expected to discuss the proposed policy change with officials during his nine-nation tour of European and Arab capitals, the newspaper said on Tuesday.

US officials remain opposed to sending weapons to the rebels, it said.........


FULL ARTICLE HERE: US considers sending aid to Syrian rebels - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Boehner release of detained immigrants "outrageous" - CBS News Video



LINK: Boehner release of detained immigrants "outrageous" - CBS News Video

Hagel Limps Into Pentagon


 
Hagel Limps Into Pentagon

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

After months of calm, rocket slams into Ashkelon | The Times of Israel


Journalists documenting the fallen rocket in Ashkelon Tuesday. ( photo credit: Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
Journalists documenting the fallen rocket in Ashkelon Tuesday. ( photo credit: Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
 
After months of calm, rocket slams into Ashkelon | The Times of Israel

ALAN DERSHOWITZ: Pink Anti-Semitism Is No Different from Brown Anti-Semitism :: Gatestone Institute

Pink Anti-Semitism Is No Different from Brown Anti-Semitism :: Gatestone Institute

BBC News - DR Congo: M23's Makenga and Runiga factions 'clash'

Col Sultani Makenga photographed in July 2012  
M23 military chief Col Sultani Makenga is reportedly at loggerheads with other leaders

At least eight people have been killed in the first clashes between rival factions of the M23 rebel group in DR Congo, sources have told the BBC.

The violence was linked to a power-struggle between M23 political leader Jean-Marie Runiga and military chief Sultani Makenga, the sources said.

On Sunday, regional leaders signed a UN-brokered accord to end conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.............

FULL ARTICLE HERE: BBC News - DR Congo: M23's Makenga and Runiga factions 'clash'

POSITIVE STEPS: Libya looks to new Human Rights credentials | Libya Herald



Prime Minister Ali Zeidan at the 22nd Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva yesterday (Photo: UN)
Tripoli, 26 February 2013:

Libya has every intention of fully respecting human rights in all their various forms, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has told the UN’s Human Rights Council.

Speaking yesterday, Monday, at its 22nd session in Geneva, the Prime Minister said that two years after the revolution the country was still hurting from the consequences of the Qaddafi dictatorship and still rebuilding its infrastructure. Nonetheless, he stated, a Human Rights Commission had been created and all laws restricting the enjoyment of human rights had been repealed............

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Libya looks to new Human Rights credentials | Libya Herald

Women and children bear the brunt of the Syrian war

Syrian refugees play outside their parents’ tent at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, Feb. 25, 2013. (Reuters)
Syrian refugees play outside their parents’ tent at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, Feb. 25, 2013. (Reuters)


The War in Syria continues to claim hundreds of casualties daily for the second year in a row, and for those it does not kill, it affects them for life. Children and women especially, bear the brunt of the war as thousands of them are left orphans and widows.

According to The Syrian Human Rights Watch Network, an estimate of 40,000 Syrian children are fatherless and 4,237 are motherless as a result of daily airstrikes and gun battles across the country...............


FULL ARTICLE HERE: Women and children bear the brunt of the Syrian war

Syrian rebels claim successful attack on Hezbollah | The Times of Israel

Syrian rebels battle Hezbollah operatives near Qusayr, February 2013 (photo credit: screen capture Muslim Voice/Youtube)
Syrian rebels battle Hezbollah operatives near Qusayr, February 2013 (photo credit: screen capture Muslim Voice/Youtube)

Syrian rebels said they attacked and destroyed a convoy carrying Hezbollah operatives and officers of the regime’s army near the Lebanese border on Tuesday.

Trucks carrying the fighters, including a high-ranking Syrian officer, were blown up by landmines planted on the Beirut-Damascus highway after the rebels were informed of the convoy’s route, a statement by the Free Syrian Army said. According to the statement, all of the passengers were killed in the explosion.

The convoy was reportedly en route to Lebanon, where its members were slated to meet an unnamed security official................

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Syrian rebels claim successful attack on Hezbollah | The Times of Israel

In Shift, Saudis Are Said to Arm Rebels in Syria - NYTimes.com

 

In Shift, Saudis Are Said to Arm Rebels in Syria - NYTimes.com

UNHOLY CAUSE: Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria will ‘go to hell,’ says former leader


In a televised interview with Al Arabiya in October 2012, former Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Sobhi Tfaili urged Hezbollah to reconsider its political position towards Syria. (Al Arabiya)
In a televised interview with Al Arabiya in October 2012, former Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Sobhi Tfaili urged Hezbollah to reconsider its political position towards Syria. (Al Arabiya)

Former Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Sobhi Tfaili criticized the participation of Hezbollah fighters in the Syrian conflict, saying those who are killed in Syria will “go to hell” and are not considered martyrs.

During a televised interview this week, Tfaili “confirmed” that Hezbollah is fighting alongside the regime in Syria.

“Hezbollah members who kill children, terrorize people and destroy houses in Syria will not be martyrs and will end up in hell,” he said...........

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria will ‘go to hell,’ says former leader

WHERE THERE'S SMOKE THERE'S FIRE? Obama Donors Aren't Getting Special Access For Checks To Organizing For Action: White House

Obama Donors

Obama Donors Aren't Getting Special Access For Checks To Organizing For Action: White House

Monday, February 25, 2013

HAGEL FOOT CAUGHT IN MOUTH AGAIN IN PAST SPEECH: Chuck Hagel attacks India and NATO | Washington Free Beacon



LINK: Chuck Hagel attacks India and NATO | Washington Free Beacon

WILL HAGEL CROW ABOUT THIS ENDORSEMENT?: Nation of Islam Leader Farrakhan Endorses Hagel

Farrakhan Endorses Hagel

Congo Siasa Blog Posts Important Press Release for DR Congo: NGO policy brief on framework agreement

File:Lake Kivu, UN Refugee Camp, Restaurant, Gacaca.jpgNear Lake Kivu, DR Congo (Wikimedia Commons photo)

Sunday, February 24, 2013


NGO policy brief on framework agreement

This is a press release with a link to a policy brief signed by 46 Congolese and international NGOs in occasion of the signing of the framework agreement in Addis, to which Jason Stearns, Congo Siasa Blogger, contributed. 

46 LEADING CONGOLESE AND INTERNATIONAL NGOs WELCOME PEACE, SECURITY AND COOPERATION FRAMEWORK BUT CALL FOR FURTHER ACTION TO MAKE PEACE A REALITY

Groups say agreement is not enough and outline concrete steps that need to be taken
Reiterate call for UN, US and EU to appoint Special Envoys and greater regional involvement

(Goma/Washington/Kinshasa, February 24, 2013)

A group of prominent Congolese and international NGOs today called on countries in the Great Lakes region, along with their international partners, to ensure that the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement signed in Addis Ababa is given the political backing necessary to bring an end to war in the eastern Congo.

In a published policy response, the groups welcomed the Framework Agreement as an opportunity for a new kind of decisive engagement in a conflict that has persisted for two decades and ravaged the lives of millions of Congolese.

However, they also suggest that the Agreement will be hollow without specific additional measures, including the appointment of a high-profile UN Special Envoy with the power to mediate on both a domestic and regional level; the inclusion of Congolese civil society and Kinshasa’s main bilateral and multilateral donor partners in the proposed national oversight mechanism; and the tying of donor aid to clear and agreed benchmarks and genuine collaboration between government, donors, and civil society.

The groups also called for the creation of a donor fund to support projects aimed at deepening regional economic integration to emphasize the benefits of regional stability; UN-mediated negotiations with armed groups that avoid the impunity characteristic of past deals; and substantial donor engagement to promote demobilization of rebel soldiers and regional economic integration.
“We need a new approach, a peace process based on the principles of justice,”says Raphael Wakenge, Coordinator of the Congolese Initiative for Justice and Peace (ICJP). Past peace deals have often closed their eyes toward impunity, allowing war criminals to be integrated into the army, police and security services. This has undermined the legitimacy of the peace process and the reputation of the security services, including the judiciary.”
The Framework Agreement is based on two main points: bringing an end to foreign backing of Congolese rebellion movements, and fostering the comprehensive reform of state institutions such as the national army, police and judicial sectors. The groups today called on the facilitators and the eleven state signatories of the Framework to make sure that there are clear benchmarks in order to carry out these goals. They further suggested that donors should tie their aid to progress in the peace process


“The Framework Agreement is a strong promise to the Congolese people, but past peace processes have stumbled due to a lack of transparency, weak international engagement and the absence of a comprehensive process,” says Federico Borello, Great Lakes Director for Humanity United. “This time, it is imperative to tackle once and for all the Congo’s root problems of impunity, regional interference, and state weakness. Without them, our best chance for peace will fail.”

In addition, the groups also called on the international community to show steadfast commitment that goes beyond the technocratic approach of recent years. In addition to calling for a UN Special Envoy, the groups called on the United States and the European Union to name special envoys to support the process, and on the African Union, the International Conference on the Great Lakes (ICGLR) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) to continue providing support to the process. They also called for a donor conference to commit the resources necessary to promote cross-border economic collaboration and deep-rooted reform of Congolese institutions.

“There has not been a solid peace process in the Congo since 2006, despite the escalation of violence since then,” says Jason Stearns, Usalama Project director for the Rift Valley Institute. “The Framework Agreement provides hope, but it will require substantial political and financial capital to overcome entrenched interests.” 

The groups releasing the policy paper today included:

Action Aid, Action des Chrétiens pour l'Abolition de la Torture (ACAT), Action Humanitaire et de Développement Intégral (AHDI), Action pour la Paix et la Concorde (APC), Africa Faith and Justice Network, Association Africaine de Défense des Droits de l'Homme (ASADHO), Association pour le Développement des Initiatives Paysannes (ASSODIP asbl), Atma Foundation, Bureau d'Etude et d'Accompagnement des Relations Internationales en RDC (BEARIC), Centre des Etudes et de Formation Populaire pour les Droits de l'Homme CEFOP/DH, Centre pour la Paix et les Droits de l'Homme- Peace and Human Rights Center (CPDH – PHRC), Christian Aid, Collectif des Organisations des Droits Humains et de la Démocratie au Congo (CDHD), Comité des Observateurs des Droits de l'Homme (CODHO), Conciliation Resources, CordAid, Danish Refugee Council, Dynamique Synergie des Femmes, Enough Project, Eurac, Falling Whistles, Fonds pour les Femmes Congolaises (FFC), Forum de la Femme Ménagère (FORFEM), Groupe Justice et Libération, Humanity United, IFDP, International Refugee Rights Initiative, Invisible Children, Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Jesuit Refugee Service, Jewish World Watch, Justice Plus, Ligue des Electeurs (L.E), Ligue pour la Cohabitation Pacifique et de Prévention des Conflits (LCPC), MDF, Norwegian Refugee Council, Réseau pour la Réforme du Secteur de Sécurité et de Justice (RRSSJ), Resolve, SERACOB, Société Civile du Territoire de Nyiragongo et le point focal du COJESKI Nyiragongo, Solidarité Féminine pour la Paix et le Développement Intégral (Sofepadi), Solidarité pour la Promotion sociale et la Paix (SOPROP), The Global Centre for Responsibility to Protect, Union des Jeunes Congolais pour la Paix et le Developpement Intégral (UJCPDI), Voix des Sans Voix (VSV), Youth Program for the Development of Africa (YPDA)

A copy of the groups’ recommendations is attached and can be found at –http://humanityunited.org/drcf/A_Comprehensive_Approach_FINAL_v5.pdf

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Congo Siasa: NGO policy brief on framework agreement

ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE: USS Vinson— America’s greenest carrier - The Flagship: Quarterdeck


  130211-N-TZ605-822
USS Vinson— America’s greenest carrier - The Flagship: Quarterdeck

Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group Deploys - The Flagship: Top Stories

Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group Deploys
Brittany Szkaradnik wipes her tears away as she watches aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower pull away with her husband, Seaman Christopher Szkaradnik, from the pier on a four-month deployment to the Persian Gulf Thursday, February 21, 2013. (Hyunsoo Leo Kim | The Virginian-Pilot)

LINK: Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group Deploys - The Flagship: Top Stories

Michelle Obama slammed for using military as 'props' during Oscars | The Daily Caller


  

First lady is under fire after she appeared as a long-distance award presenter on the Oscars Sunday evening, flanked by active-duty American service members.

The well-dressed members of the military stood attentively behind the first lady inside the White House as she presented the award for best picture to the movie “Argo.”

But the use of those service members has left some of her critics fuming..........
FULL ARTICLE HERE: Michelle Obama slammed for using military as 'props' during Oscars | The Daily Caller

Fossils of Africa’s oldest ‘lion’ found in Libyan Sahara | Libya Herald

Team members search for fossils at the Zallah oasis (Photo: Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

LINK: Fossils of Africa’s oldest ‘lion’ found in Libyan Sahara | Libya Herald

NEW PLEDGES CHANGE STANCE: BBC News - Syria opposition to join Rome talks after foreign aid pledge

Syrian rebel fighters (30 January 2013)  
The UK said it was ready to 'significantly increase' its support for Syria's opposition

LINK: BBC News - Syria opposition to join Rome talks after foreign aid pledge

SALAFIST SUSPECTS: Suspected killer of Tunisia’s Chokri Belaid arrested: police


Tunisian protesters hold placards shouting slogans during a demonstration on February 23, 2013 on the Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis. (AFP)
Tunisian protesters hold placards shouting slogans during a demonstration on February 23, 2013 on the Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis. (AFP)

The suspected killer of leftist opposition figure Chokri Belaid, a leading critic of Tunisia’s ruling Islamists whose murder sparked a political crisis, was arrested on Monday, police sources said.
 

They said the suspect was arrested along with an alleged accomplice, both members of the radical Muslim Salafist movement. The main suspect, a 31-year-old furniture maker, was arrested in the Carthage suburb of Tunis.

The second man was allegedly the getaway motorbike rider for the lone, hooded gunman who shot dead Belaid, 48, at close range in front of his Tunis home on February 6, two police officers told AFP.
They said the arrests were carried out on the strength of the testimony of a woman who had witnessed the killing and has since been placed under police protection........


FULL ARTICLE HERE: Suspected killer of Tunisia’s Chokri Belaid arrested: police

ADL Slams Oscars for 'Legitimizing Anti-Semitism'

ADL Slams Oscars for 'Legitimizing Anti-Semitism'

IRANIAN-HEZBOLLAH SUBVERSIVE MILITIA IN SYRIA? Rise of the Militias in the Middle East


 
Rise of the Militias in the Middle East

‘Game over’ for Mursi and Egypt’s Islamist rule, Shafiq tells Al Arabiya

Former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq said Egypt’s road to stability should include cancelling the current constitution, and installing a new one. (Al Arabiya)
Former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq said Egypt’s road to stability should include cancelling the current constitution, and installing a new one. (Al Arabiya)
It is “game over” for Islamist rule in Egypt, former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq told Al Arabiya in an exclusive interview on Monday.

“Religious rule is no longer viable in Egypt,” he said. “It’s not even religious rule. What’s happening has no ties with religion. This is a mask.”

Islamist rule will last “two years max” from now, said Shafiq, who narrowly lost to Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi in the country’s first democratic presidential elections last year....

FULL ARTICLE HERE: ‘Game over’ for Mursi and Egypt’s Islamist rule, Shafiq tells Al Arabiya

"ROYAL FAMILY" CROWNS BEST PICTURE: FLOTUS Interruptus: Obamas Hijack the Oscars


 
FLOTUS Interruptus: Obamas Hijack the Oscars

Sunday, February 24, 2013

ONGOING NIGHTMARE: Mexico: Crisis of Enforced Disappearances | Human Rights Watch



A woman carries a banner bearing photographs of missing persons in a march by mothers of the disappeared in Mexico City, May 10, 2012. 

LINK: Mexico: Crisis of Enforced Disappearances | Human Rights Watch

North Korea prison camps 'like the Holocaust', survivors who escaped say | News.com.au


South Korea North Korea soldiers border
South Korean army soldiers patrol along the barbed-wire fence under a heightened alert put in place in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test. Source: AP
 
NORTH Korea's prison camps are a closed-off world of death, torture and forced labour where babies are born slaves, according to two survivors who liken the horrors of the camps to a Holocaust in progress.....

FULL ARTICLE HERE: North Korea prison camps 'like the Holocaust', survivors who escaped say | News.com.au

RED CHINA STILL RED: China's Christians see mounting persecution in country's effort to disband churches, report finds | Fox News


May 3, 2012: Rep. Chris Smith, left, and ChinaAid President Bob Fu, right, listen as Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng addresses a Capitol Hill committee over the phone.

FULL ARTICLE HERE: China's Christians see mounting persecution in country's effort to disband churches, report finds | Fox News

Johnson Wins, Danica Patrick Impresses in Daytona


 
Johnson Wins, Patrick Impresses in Daytona

African leaders sign DR Congo peace deal - Africa - Al Jazeera English

African leaders sign DR Congo peace deal - Africa - Al Jazeera English

HOLLYWOOD OSCARS NOT THE ONLY FILM GAME ON PLANET: Benghazi film festival shows the city in a different light | Libya Herald


By Ahmed Ruhayem


The cinema was packed for all the screenings (Photo: Ahmed Ruhayam)

Benghazi, 24 February 2013:

A very different Benghazi to all the international media reports about insecurity in the city has just been on show. The 3rd Arab Screen Independent Film Festival (ASIFF), which ended yesterday, Saturday, has, in the view of everyone who was involved in it or who attended, been a remarkable success. Every day throughout the festival, there was a massive turnout with both local and international participation well exceeded expectations. Approximately 60 films were screened. Those attending told the Libya Herald that it was a fantastic environment to network and learn.........

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Benghazi film festival shows the city in a different light | Libya Herald

allAfrica.com: Uganda: Opposition Pushes for Reforms Before 2016 Polls

allAfrica.com: Uganda: Opposition Pushes for Reforms Before 2016 Polls

SAVING THE JEWS IN NORTH AFRICA: Purim History 1942: "Hitler Purim" in Morocco | United with Israel


king-m5

In 1940, the Nazis invaded France and thus inherited the French colonial empire, which included present-day Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The Vichy government of France, which controlled French colonies in North Africa, actively collaborated with the Nazis and many Jews in France were sent to extermination camps. However, in 1942, Allied forces invaded Vichy-controlled Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, defeating the Nazis and their Vichy collaborators. The Jews of North Africa viewed this invasion as a heaven-sent miracle that spared their communities from suffering the same fate that the Jews of Europe were forced to endure. 

images (4)

At the time of the Allied invasion, 330,000 Jews were living in French-controlled North Africa and under Vichy rule, Jews had been stripped of their civil rights, had their property confiscated, endured violent pogroms by Muslims, and numerous North African Jewish men were also sent to forced labor camps. The Vichy regime had also sought to deport the Jews of North Africa to extermination camps, yet Morocco’s King Mohammed V refused to cooperate in this, resulting in delays in the deportation of Moroccan Jews. In the end, due to the Allied intervention, the Jews of North Africa were not sent to extermination camps................

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Purim History 1942: "Hitler Purim" in Morocco | United with Israel

MORE TOUGH RHETORIC, BUT WILL THEY ACT? Lebanon and Turkey slam Syria violence, Erdogan vowing not to remain ‘silent’

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, shakes hands with Lebanon's President Michel Sleiman before a meeting to discuss the case of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims kidnapped in Syria, in Ankara on July 17, 2012. (AFP)
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, shakes hands with Lebanon's President Michel Sleiman before a meeting to discuss the case of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims kidnapped in Syria, in Ankara on July 17, 2012. (AFP)

By Al Arabiya
Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday vowed his country will not remain silent over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's “crimes”.

“Every day a large number of innocent children and women fall dead in Syria,” Erdogan, a key backer of Syria's opposition, said in a speech in the United Arab Emirates.

“We will not remain silent on those committing crimes against their people... We will not remain silent on the brutal dictator in Syria,” Erdogan added.

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman also spoke out and demanded Syria “refrain from firing towards Lebanese territory.”........
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FULL ARTICLE HERE: Lebanon and Turkey slam Syria violence, Erdogan vowing not to remain ‘silent’

DEMONIZING A TROUBLE-MAKER: Dictatorship of Hypocrites: The Media's Crusade Against Cruz


 
Dictatorship of Hypocrites: The Media's Crusade Against Cruz

POWERFUL: Pastor Saeed Writes of “Death Threats” | Iran, American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ



ARTICLE AND VIDEO: Pastor Saeed Writes of “Death Threats” | Iran, American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ

ONE MORE REASON TO ERADICATE AL QAEDA: Alleged US spy crucified in Yemen | The Times of Israel


 Yemen crucifixion (photo credit: MEMRI)
Alleged US spy crucified in Yemen | The Times of Israel

HOW ABOUT ACTION NOW TO BACK UP WORDS! US sharply condemns Syrian army attacks on Aleppo | The Times of Israel


Syrian civilians searching through the debris of destroyed buildings in the aftermath of a strike by Syrian government forces, in the neighborhood of Jabal Bedro, Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday Feb. 19 (photo credit: AP/Aleppo Media Center)
Syrian civilians searching through the debris of destroyed buildings in the aftermath of a strike by Syrian government forces, in the neighborhood of Jabal Bedro, Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday Feb. 19 (photo credit: AP/Aleppo Media Center)

The US State Department condemned on Saturday a series of rocket attacks carried out by the Syrian military. The latest attack, said to employ Scud missiles, killed several dozen people in the eastern district of Aleppo on Friday......

FULL ARTICLE HERE: US sharply condemns Syrian army attacks on Aleppo | The Times of Israel

Fighting rages in Northern Mali after suicide bombs

 Fighting rages in Northern Mali after suicide bombs.(AFP)
Fighting rages in Northern Mali after suicide bombs

Surprise, Surprise! Uranium discovery: Iran reveals days before nuclear talks

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits the Natanz uranium enrichment facilities south of the capital Tehran, in April 2008. (AFP)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits the Natanz uranium enrichment facilities south of the capital Tehran, in April 2008.

By Reuters Dubai
Iran said it has found significant new deposits of raw uranium to feed its nuclear program and has identified sites for 16 more nuclear power stations, just days before talks with Western powers over its disputed atomic program...... 

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Uranium discovery: Iran reveals days before nuclear talks

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Black Leaders: 'Direct Correlation Between Gun Control And Black People Control'



Black Leaders: 'Direct Correlation Between Gun Control And Black People Control'

Why Is This Month-Old Clip of an Ex-Secret Service Agent Suddenly Going Viral? | TheBlaze.com



Why Is This Month-Old Clip of an Ex-Secret Service Agent Suddenly Going Viral? | TheBlaze.com

Jailed American Pastor Writes of ‘Horrific,’ ‘Unbearable’ Conditions in Iranian Prison | CNS News


Saeed Abedini
American pastor Saeed Abedini was recently transferred to a notoriously harsh Iranian judge. (Photo credit: The American Center for Law and Justice)

(CNSNews.com) – Imprisoned American pastor Saeed Abedini wrote of what he called “horrific” and “unbearable” conditions in the Iranian prison where he is held after being convicted in January for being a Christian.

“They are trying to put me under such horrific pressures (that are sometimes unbearable) so that they can show me that my faith is empty and not real,” Saeed wrote in a letter obtained by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).

Saeed wrote that his Iranian jailors subjected him to “psychological warfare” and that one of his guards had “attacked me” while he was singing worship songs in his cell. He also wrote that “my body does not have the strength to walk” due to the conditions of his imprisonment.........

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Jailed American Pastor Writes of ‘Horrific,’ ‘Unbearable’ Conditions in Iranian Prison | CNS News

Graham Demands Access to Hagel Archives


Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) requested Friday that Chuck Hagel, the former Nebraska Senator nominated for Secretary of Defense, give Congress access to his archives at the University of Nebraska and past speeches from the Washington Speakers Bureau, the agency that coordinated his past public speaking engagements.


FULL ARTICLE HERE: Graham Demands Access to Hagel Archives
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