Sunday, March 31, 2013
FROM THE ARCHIVES: President Reagan's Radio Address to the Nation on the Observance of Easter and Passover - 4/2/83 - YouTube
YOUTUBE LINK: President Reagan's Radio Address to the Nation on the Observance of Easter and Passover - 4/2/83 - YouTube
What really happened in Jerusalem | Human Events
“I honestly believe that if any Israeli parent sat down with those [Palestinian] kids, they’d say I want these kids to succeed.”
— Barack Obama, in Jerusalem, March 21
WASHINGTON — Very true. But how does the other side feel about Israeli kids?
Consider that the most revered parent in Palestinian society is Mariam Farhat of Gaza. Her distinction? Three of her sons died in various stages of trying to kill Israelis — one in a suicide attack, shooting up and hurling grenades in a room full of Jewish students.........(continued)
FULL ARTICLE: What really happened in Jerusalem | Human Events
Wounded Syrian taken to Israeli hospital, rebels gain more ground - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
A newly built military field hospital in Israeli army base 105 is pictured from the Israeli side of the occupied Golan Heights on March 27, 2013. In the past month, 11 Syrian fighters have been treated in Israel. (AFP)
Israeli medics transferred a wounded Syrian to hospital in Israel after he crossed the armistice line on the Golan Heights in a serious condition, an army spokeswoman said on Saturday.
This came as Syrian opposition made advances against regime troops in several parts of the country, seizing a strategic neighborhood in the northern city of Aleppo.
“In light of his medical state, and based on humanitarian considerations, chief of staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz approved the injured Syrian’s transfer to hospital in Israel for further medical treatment,” she said.
“On his release from hospital, he will be returned to Syria.”
The spokeswoman would not say whether the wounded man was a civilian or rebel fighter. She also stressed that the incident did not indicate a change in Israel’s policy, which discourages Syrian refugees from entering Israel but affords medical treatment in serious cases..............
FULL ARTICLE: Wounded Syrian taken to Israeli hospital, rebels gain more ground - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Pope washes feet of a Muslim girl in pre-Easter ritual - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Pope Francis washes the foot of a prisoner at Casal del Marmo youth prison in Rome. (Reuters)
Associated Press -
Pope Francis has won over many hearts and minds with his simple style and focus on serving the world’s poorest, but he has devastated traditionalist Catholics who adored his predecessor, Benedict XVI, for restoring much of the traditional pomp to the papacy.
Francis’ decision to disregard church law and wash the feet of two girls - a Serbian Muslim and an Italian Catholic - during a Holy Thursday ritual has become something of the final straw, evidence that Francis has little or no interest in one of the key priorities of Benedict’s papacy: reviving the pre-Vatican II traditions of the Catholic Church.
One of the most-read traditionalist blogs, “Rorate Caeli,” reacted to the foot-washing ceremony by declaring the death of Benedict’s eight-year project to correct what he considered the botched interpretations of the Second Vatican Council’s modernizing reforms...........
FULL ARTICLE: Pope washes feet of a Muslim girl in pre-Easter ritual - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Congress passes bill with $45 million to help arrest Joseph Kony // IC CITIZEN | Invisible Children Blog
Our IC|Citizen team is excited to report that earlier this week, Congress passed, and President Obama signed into law, budget legislation (known as a “continuing resolution”) that includes a special allocation of $45 million to support efforts to locate and arrest top LRA leaders. More specifically, these funds would likely go towards new intelligence and surveillance equipment that the U.S. advisors in central Africa need to better identify the movements and locations of LRA groups and top commanders.
This week’s news is a huge encouragement to our Citizen team, which has been working with activists across the country for months, lobbying members of the House and Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittees (who had the most influence over this decision), and specifically asking them for this kind of funding....
Congress passes bill with $45 million to help arrest Joseph Kony // IC CITIZEN | Invisible Children Blog
This week’s news is a huge encouragement to our Citizen team, which has been working with activists across the country for months, lobbying members of the House and Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittees (who had the most influence over this decision), and specifically asking them for this kind of funding....
Congress passes bill with $45 million to help arrest Joseph Kony // IC CITIZEN | Invisible Children Blog
Saturday, March 30, 2013
The liberated Syrian city of Raqqa avoids chaos, gains visitors - Alarabiya.net English
Al Arabiya -
After declaring that the northern city of Raqqa was “liberated” and taken from the Syrian regime’s control, opposition fighters said they have been successful in keeping chaos at bay, by deploying heavily in the city, while looking to bring in new visitors.
“The opposition has succeeded in avoiding any chaos and protected all government institutions and private properties, but it still needs to succeed in establishing a civilian authority,” reported Al Arabiya’s correspondent, currently in the city.
The ‘liberated’ Syrian city of Raqqa avoids chaos, gains visitors - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
After declaring that the northern city of Raqqa was “liberated” and taken from the Syrian regime’s control, opposition fighters said they have been successful in keeping chaos at bay, by deploying heavily in the city, while looking to bring in new visitors.
“The opposition has succeeded in avoiding any chaos and protected all government institutions and private properties, but it still needs to succeed in establishing a civilian authority,” reported Al Arabiya’s correspondent, currently in the city.
The ‘liberated’ Syrian city of Raqqa avoids chaos, gains visitors - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Feds Paying Millions of Dollars For Workers To Do Nothing
WHY ARE WE SEQUESTERING RESPONSIBLE, ON-THE-JOB EMPLOYEES FOR THOSE WHO DON'T SHOW UP (AWOL), OR ARE IN LIMBO OR ON CALL?
VIDEO LINK: Feds Paying Millions of Dollars For Workers To Do Nothing
VIDEO LINK: Feds Paying Millions of Dollars For Workers To Do Nothing
Ship carrying Iran weapons for Assad regime en route to Syria: opposition source - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Vessel heading to Turkey is suspected to make a stop at Syrian port to unload Iranian weapons. (AFP)
Al Arabiya, Dubai -
A ship raising a Tanzanian flag and carrying Iranian arms cargo is expected to cross the Suez Canal within six hours, an opposition source told Al Arabiya Saturday.
‘The ship is said to be carrying 8,500 tons of weapons and ground missiles from Iran to be given to the Syrian regime,’ the source said, adding: ‘It is scheduled to make a 'fuel stop' at a Syrian port where it will unload its cargo.’..............
FULL ARTICLE HERE: Ship carrying Iran weapons for Assad regime en route to Syria: opposition source - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Friday, March 29, 2013
VERY OMINOUS: North Korea in 'state of war' with South - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English
North Korea has been threatening to attack the South and US military bases since the start of March [Reuters]
North Korea announces that it has entered a "state of war" with South Korea and would deal with every inter-Korean issue accordingly.
"As of now, inter-Korea relations enter a state of war and all matters between the two Koreas will be handled according to wartime protocol," the North said in a joint statement attributed to all government bodies and institutions.
"The long-standing situation of the Korean peninsula being neither at peace nor at war is finally over," said the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)................
FULL ARTICLE: North Korea in 'state of war' with South - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English
Iran said advancing 'at murderous pace,' could have bomb by July | The Times of Israel
US President Barack Obama, right, talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a state dinner in his honor last week, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. (photo credit: Avi Ohayon/Flash90) Iran could have the capability to build a nuclear bomb by July, unnamed security sources said in a report published Friday.
The sources added that Israel’s leadership had been mollified by US President Barack Obama’s visit earlier this month, which saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemingly cotton to Washington’s later timeline on when Iran could have a nuclear bomb........
FULL ARTICLE HERE: Iran said advancing 'at murderous pace,' could have bomb by July | The Times of Israel
MLK 50 Years Ago: A Just Law Is a Man-Made Law That Squares With the Law of God | CNS News
(CNSNews.com) - Fifty years ago, on Good Friday 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, was arrested in Birmingham, Ala., for participating in a march against local segregation laws in violation of a state court order prohibiting civil rights activists from staging peaceful protests in that city.
While incarcerated, King wrote an open letter to a group of clergymen who had objected to his march.
On what basis could King, a Christian minister, justify directly flouting an order issued by an Alabama court? ..(CONTINUED)
FULL ARTICLE HERE: MLK 50 Years Ago: A Just Law Is a Man-Made Law That Squares With the Law of God | CNS News
Syrian rebels 'seize' key town near Jordan - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
The rebels are inching closer to the Daraa province capital, said the director of the SOHR [Al Jazeera]
Syrian rebels have seized an important town on a main highway between Damascus and the south in Daraa province on the border with Jordan, a UK-based watchdog says.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Friday that 10 civilians, including a child, were killed in fighting for Dael, the latest to be seized by the rebels over the past 24 hours.
"Rebels seized control of Dael after destroying the three army checkpoints at the entrances to the town," SOHR said. "The town is located on a main road linking Daraa to Damascus."
At least 15 rebels and a media activist working with the rebels were also killed, along with 12 loyalist troops, SOHR added.
"Large swathes of Daraa [province] are now under rebel control. Their advance in the south is escalating," Rami Abdel Rahman, SOHR's director, told the AFP news agency............
FULL ARTICLE HERE: Syrian rebels 'seize' key town near Jordan - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
Thursday, March 28, 2013
GIANT CROCK - INSTEAD OF A MEDAL FOR FIGHTING A TYRANT, FEDS ARREST HIM: American who fought with "Al Qaeda(???)" against Syria's Assad arrested in Virginia | Fox News
An American who has gone by the name Eric Harroun has taken up arms with Islamists, most recently in Syria.A former Army soldier from Phoenix who joined rebels fighting the Syrian government and boasted to FoxNews.com of his exploits as a Muslim soldier of fortune earlier this month was arrested Wednesday in Virginia and could face life in prison.
Eric Harroun, 30, who left the Army in 2003 on full disability pay after a truck accident, was charged with conspiring to use a rocket-propelled grenade while fighting with the al-Nusrah Front, an organization also known as Al Qaeda in Iraq. Harroun, who was in Syria or Turkey when he spoke to FoxNews.com by Skype, was nabbed shortly after flying in to Dulles International Airport after a voluntary interview with FBI agents, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.
FULL ARTICLE: American who fought with "Al Qaeda" against Syria's Assad arrested in Virginia | Fox News
100 Arrested at Union Protest of Mayor Emanuel
Chicago is set to close 54 public schools to help close a $1 billion budget gap. Yesterday teacher's unions gathered downtown to protest the closings, including acts of civil disobedience which led to over 100 arrests.
Video of the protests suggests that most of the crowd's ire was directed at Mayor Rahm Emanuel. When Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis mentioned the Mayor during her speech to the crowd, they booed loudly.........FULL ARTICLE W/VIDEO: 100 Arrested at Union Protest of Mayor Emanuel
UN approves DR Congo 'intervention brigade' - Al Jazeera English
The UN Security Council has unanimously approved the first-ever "offensive" UN peacekeeping brigade to battle rebels groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The force of more than 2,500 troops will operate under orders to "neutralise" and "disarm" armed groups in the resource-rich east of the huge country, according to the council's resolution on Thursday.
The intervention brigade is unprecedented in UN peacekeeping because of its offensive mandate.
But the resolution states clearly that it would be established for one year "on an exceptional basis and without creating a precedent" to the principles of UN peacekeeping.
FULL ARTICLE: UN approves DR Congo 'intervention brigade' - Al Jazeera English
PRESSURE OBAMA & KERRY: U.S. must act on Congo now - Robin Wright and JD Stier - POLITICO.com
The petition was delivered to the White House in January. | Donovan Slack/POLITICO By ROBIN WRIGHT and JD STIER | 3/26/13 4:42 AM EDT
On March 18, one of the world’s worst warlords, Bosco Ntaganda, turned himself in to the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda. Ntaganda, also known as “The Terminator,” is the leader of several brutal armed groups and army units, including the M23, that have terrorized eastern Congo for over a decade. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
As we write this, Ntaganda is being transferred to The Hague, and a hesitant celebration has spread throughout a region home to the deadliest conflict in the world since World War II.
Further good news came on March 18 when the United Nations announced the appointment of Mary Robinson as the secretary-general’s special envoy to the region, delivering the highest level of diplomatic gravitas to broker a peace deal between the government of Congo, the M23 rebel group and regional governments. These events present a historic opportunity to secure lasting peace for the people of eastern Congo, and an urgent opportunity for the U.S. government to take action...........
FULL ARTICLE: Opinion: U.S. must act on Congo now - Robin Wright and JD Stier - POLITICO.com
M23 Rebel Leader Bosco Ntaganda Pleads 'Not Guilty' at the International Criminal Court | Enough
In a bizarre turn of events, M23 rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda surrendered to the U.S. Embassy in Kigali on March 18th amidst swirling rumors of his presence in Rwanda, reports of internal fighting among M23 factions, and an impending peace deal between rebels and the Congolese government.
Ntaganda, also known as “The Terminator,” a nickname that reflects the brutal reputation he earned through his violent career, is widely considered one of the most blatant perpetrators of mass atrocities in eastern Congo. Despite this, on Tuesday, March 26, Ntaganda preemptively pleaded “not guilty” to ten counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity. Two arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court, or ICC, in 2006 and 2012, charge him for his actions as an “indirect co-perpetrator” while leading the rebel group, Forces Patriotiques pour la Libération du Congo, or FPLC, in the Ituri region of North Kivu province in late 2002 and early 2003. The charges include two counts of murder, two counts of rape and sexual slavery, pillaging, attacks on civilian populations, persecution, and the enlistment, conscription, and use of child soldiers during combat..............
FULL ARTICLE: M23 Rebel Leader Bosco Ntaganda Pleads 'Not Guilty' at the International Criminal Court | Enough
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Arab Summit Supports Libya Quest to Recover Stolen Assets, Rejects Interference in Internal Affairs
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan looks on during the opening of the Arab League summit in Doha March 26, 2013.
Doha, Qatar—The Arab Summit has confirmed in its final communiqué that it supports the Libyan government quest to retrieve stolen assets that are estimated at hundreds of billions of Dollars..........
FULL ARTICLE: Arab Summit Supports Libya Quest to Recover Stolen Assets, Rejects Interference in Internal Affairs
Syrian childhoods ‘smashed to pieces’: UK Prime Minister’s wife - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Samantha Cameron meets a Syrian mother whose baby is suffering from a broken leg. (Photo courtesy Save The Children) Al Arabiya - Syrian childhoods are “being smashed to pieces,” said the UK prime minister’s wife following her visit to a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon on Wednesday.
“As a mother, it is horrifying to hear the harrowing stories from the children I met today. No child should ever experience what they have,” The Guardian quoted Samantha Cameron as saying.
“With every day that passes, more children and parents are being killed, more innocent childhoods are being smashed to pieces,” she added..................
FULL ARTICLE: Syrian childhoods ‘smashed to pieces’: UK Prime Minister’s wife - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Bennett says Erdogan is making Israel regret its flotilla apology | The Times of Israel
Naftali Bennett at a party meeting on March 18, 2013 (photo credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Minister of Economics and Trade Naftali Bennett criticized Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Wednesday for his behavior since Israel’s apology to Turkey last Friday for the May 2010 Gaza flotilla incident in which nine Turkish nationals were killed.
“Since the apology was made public, it seems Erdogan is doing everything possible to make Israel regret it, while managing a personal, vitriolic campaign at the expense of Turkish-Israel relations,” Bennett, who is the head of the national religious Jewish Home party, wrote on his Facebook page, in a post titled “IDF fighters, we are always with you.”..........
FULL ARTICLE: Bennett says Erdogan is making Israel regret its flotilla apology | The Times of Israel
POWERFUL SONG: Dave Tieff, Tears for Syria - YouTube
Award-winning indie musician Dave Tieff sings out for the children (and adults) of Syria struggling for freedom and human dignity.
LINK: Dave Tieff, Tears for Syria - YouTube
LINK: Dave Tieff, Tears for Syria - YouTube
TWO MORE KILLERS NAILED: War crimes court convicts Bosnian Serbs - Europe - Al Jazeera English
Zupljanin (left) and Stanisic (right) were charged for conspiring with former leader Radovan Karadzic [Reuters]The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal has sentenced two former Bosnian Serb officials to 22 years in prison, each, for their roles in a campaign against Muslims, Croats and non-Serbs in Bosnia during the Balkan country's 1992-95 war.
Mico Stanisic, the former interior minister, and his subordinate Stojan Zupljanin, a former senior security official in charge of police, were convicted on Wednesday at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Stanisic, 58, and Zupljanin, 61, faced war crimes and crimes against humanity charges including murder, torture and cruel treatment of non-Serbs in municipalities and detention centres during Bosnia's war which left 100,000 people dead and about 2.2 million homeless...........
FULL ARTICLE: War crimes court convicts Bosnian Serbs - Europe - Al Jazeera English
Norway's Foreign Ministry admits it gave false information about the PA's use of Norwegian aid - YouTube
Norway inadvertantly (?) paying "salaries" to imprisoned terrorists?
FULL ARTICLE: Norway's Foreign Ministry admits it gave false information about the PA's use of Norwegian aid - YouTube
FULL ARTICLE: Norway's Foreign Ministry admits it gave false information about the PA's use of Norwegian aid - YouTube
DRACULA UPSET THAT VICTIMS ARE WHITTLING STAKES: Assad regime enraged over ‘deformed’ opposition in Arab League - Alarabiya.net English
The pre-Baath flag is seen in front of the seat of the Syrian delegation at the opening of the Arab League summit in Doha March 26, 2013. (Reuters)
Reuters, Beirut -
Syria vented its wrath at Qatar and the Arab League on Wednesday for handing its seat at an Arab summit in Doha to a “deformed” opposition coalition trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
The emir of Qatar, the biggest bank for supporting terrorism in the region, began his presidency of the Arab League by hijacking it with tainted oil and money,” said state news agency SANA, which carries the views of Assad’s government.........
FULL ARTICLE: Assad regime enraged over ‘deformed’ opposition in Arab League - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Press Briefing on Afghanistan - VTC with Deputy Commander ISAF, 27 March 2013 - Part 1/2 - YouTube
Published on Mar 27, 2013
Lieutenant General Nick Carter, Deputy Commander, ISAF, briefed the press via video teleconference on his assessment of the current situation in Afghanistan, progress with transition to Afghan security leadership and ISAF's evolving mission:
LINK: Press Briefing on Afghanistan - VTC with Deputy Commander ISAF, 27 March 2013 - Part 1/2 - YouTube
Lieutenant General Nick Carter, Deputy Commander, ISAF, briefed the press via video teleconference on his assessment of the current situation in Afghanistan, progress with transition to Afghan security leadership and ISAF's evolving mission:
LINK: Press Briefing on Afghanistan - VTC with Deputy Commander ISAF, 27 March 2013 - Part 1/2 - YouTube
Syria’s Attasi, first Arab woman to head Arab League session - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Syrian opposition figure Suhair Atassi was born in Damascus and descends from prominent family in Homs. (AFP)
Al Arabiya -
Suhair Atassi, vice-president of the Syrian opposition National Coalition, on Tuesday became the first Arab woman to head a session at the Arab League summit.
Atassi lead a Syrian delegation in a live sitting during the summit in the absence of the coalition’s leader Moaz al-Khatib.
Atassi was born in Damascus and descends from a prominent family in Homs. She started the Jamal al-Atassi National Dialogue Forum in 2001, which she named after her father, a pan-Arab nationalist who inspired opposition against Assad in 1973, according to the Carnegie Middle East Center................
FULL ARTICLE HERE: Syria’s Attasi, first Arab woman to head Arab League session - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
GLARING HYPOCRISY: Media Ignores Lavish Obama Vacations, Slammed Bush for Mountain Biking
Eight months into President George W. Bush's second term, the Washington Post wrote that Bush's frequent trips to his Texas ranch symbolized "a lackadaisical approach to the world's most important day job" and gleefully noted that Bush was intent on setting the record for being on "vacation"--or away from Washington, D.C.--for the most number of days of any president.
But when President Barack Obama vacations in Hawaii, sets up a fantasy golf vacation for himself with Butch Harmon and Tiger Woods, averages more than a vacation a month in 2013 while purporting to be a man of the people and demanding the rich pay their fair share, and playing sequester politics by shutting down White House tours, the mainstream media is silent............FULL ARTICLE: Media Ignores Lavish Obama Vacations, Slammed Bush for Mountain Biking
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Could upheaval in CAR spell the end for operations against the LRA?
A violent change of government that took place in the Central African Republic over the weekend could lead to the withdrawal of Ugandan and US forces working to track down LRA groups in the eastern part of the country. The departure of Ugandan and US forces from CAR, which are operating there under an authorization from the African Union and with permission from the previous CAR government, would create a security vacuum in LRA-affected areas and allow the reversal of significant gains made against the LRA in recent years.................
FULL ARTICLE HERE: Could upheaval in CAR spell the end for operations against the LRA?
Saudi Arabia warns of Syria crisis’ regional spillover - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Saudi Crown Prince Salman al Saud looks on during the opening of the Arab League summit in Doha March 26, 2013. (Reuters)
Al Arabiya With Agencies -
Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, in a statement to the Arab League read by Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, warned of serious repercussions of the Syrian crisis on the Middle East’ regional security.
King Abdullah said the Syrian regime of embattled President Bashar al-Assad is bent to spoil any initiative to achieve a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Syrian opposition representatives took the country's seat for the first time at an Arab League summit that opened in Qatar on Tuesday, a significant diplomatic boost for the forces fighting President Bashar Assad's regime.
FULL ARTICLE: Saudi Arabia warns of Syria crisis’ regional spillover - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
BBC News - Pope Francis shuns grand apartment for two rooms
Pope Francis has opted for the simpler surroundings of the Domus Santa Marta hotel-style residence rather than the traditional palatial papal quarters.
Pope Francis has decided to shun a grand papal apartment on the top floor of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace in favour of a modest two-room residence.
Pope Francis has decided to shun a grand papal apartment on the top floor of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace in favour of a modest two-room residence.
His spokesman said he was "trying out this type of simple living" in a communal building with other priests.
In doing so he has broken a tradition which is more than a century old.
The decision reinforces the newly-elected Pope's austere reputation. As archbishop of Buenos Aires he refused to move into the Bishop's Palace.
Preferring more modest accommodation, he also often cooked his own meals...............
FULL ARTICLE HERE:
BBC News - Pope Francis shuns grand apartment for two rooms
Desmond Tutu: LIVING IN A GLASS COUNTRY, THROWING ROCKS AT EVERYONE ELSE
Desmond Tutu has been busy lately. Two weeks ago he wrote an editorial calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. A week later he joined an international anti-tobacco campaign. Last month he condemned American drones for killing Muslim terrorists. Last summer he denounced a military-themed NBC Reality Show.
A grinning and giggling social butterfly, Tutu is always going somewhere and expressing his opinion on something. One minute he’s in Myanmar and the next minute he’s weighing in on Bradley Manning. Wait a little longer and there will be a Tutu column, video or letter on climate change, the death penalty or the price of tea in China.....................
FULL ARTICLE: Desmond Tutu: Godfather of Hell
GOOD NEWS FOR SYRIAN OPPRESSED: Doha summit gives Arab states 'right' to arm Syria rebels - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Arab League leaders and delegates pose for a picture at the opening of the Arab League summit in the Qatari capital Doha on March 26, 2013. (AFP)
Al Arabiya with Agencies - Leaders at the Doha meeting condemned President Bashar al-Assad’s regime’s violations against the Syrian people and urged for providing urgent aid to refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
The Arab League members ensured Syrians’ right to return the Golan Heights, which were occupied by Israel in 1967.
Syria’s opposition chief took the Syria seat at the Arab body and demanded in a fiery address that the Syrian opposition be granted Syria’s seat at the United Nations...................
FULL ARTICLE: Doha summit gives Arab states 'right' to arm Syria rebels - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
BRIGHTENING THE HOOD: Jalousie Slum Painted Psychedelic Colors In Haiti, Critics Call Project Superficial (PHOTOS)
In this picture taken March 21, 2013, homes painted in bright colors cover a hill in Jalousie, a cinder block shantytown in Petionville, Haiti. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — One of Haiti's biggest shantytowns, a vast expanse of grim cinderblock homes on a mountainside in the nation's capital, is getting a psychedelic makeover that aims to be part art and part homage. Workers this month began painting the concrete facades of buildings in Jalousie slum a rainbow of purple, peach, lime and cream, inspired by the dazzling "cities-in-the-skies" of well-known Haitian painter Prefete Duffaut, who died last year.....
FULL ARTICLE HERE: Jalousie Slum Painted Psychedelic Colors In Haiti, Critics Call Project Superficial (PHOTOS)
GLAD TO SEE BOSCO GONE: DR Congo: Victims, Activists Respond to Warlord's Surrender - YouTube
Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda is in the Hague where he faces trial by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
LINK: DR Congo: Victims, Activists Respond to Warlord's Surrender - YouTube
LINK: DR Congo: Victims, Activists Respond to Warlord's Surrender - YouTube
Syrian opposition leaders take seat at Arab League summit opening - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
A pre-Baath Syrian flag, currently used by the Syrian opposition, is seen in front of the seat of the Syrian delegation at the opening the Arab League summit in the Qatari capital Doha. (AFP)
Al Arabiya With Agencies -
The opposition flag replaced the official Syrian one as Moaz al-Khatib, who has resigned as the head of the National Coalition took his seat at the gathering and addressed the summit.
FULL ARTICLE: Syrian opposition leaders take seat at Arab League summit opening - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Monday, March 25, 2013
ASSAD'S OpEd on THE ONION: Hi, In The Past 2 Years, You Have Allowed Me To Kill 70,000 People | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
FULL ARTICLE HERE: Hi, In The Past 2 Years, You Have Allowed Me To Kill 70,000 People | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
Defected Syrian pilot says he made trips to Russia and Iran to ‘collect cash’ - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
A Ammon News handout photo supplied by Syrian activists shows the Syrian Air Force Russian-made MiG-21 plane that a pilot landed with at the King Hussein Air Base in northern Jordan on June 21, 2012. (AFP)
Al Arabiya -
A defected Syrian pilot told The Sunday Telegraph that he was part of the Syrian regime’s air fleet to Russia, where he amass money to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The pilot, who asked the Telegraph to identify him as Nazim, said that he and his fellow pilots “flew a cargo plane two or three times a month” to collect funds that were used to allegedly support the regime........
FULL ARTICLE: Defected Syrian pilot says he made trips to Russia and Iran to ‘collect cash’ - Alarabiya.net English |
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Congo Siasa: The Bosco surrender: more questions than answers
In this Jan. 16, 2009 file photo, Bosco Ntaganda, seated center, holds a press conference with Congo Interior Minister Celestine Mboyo, right, in Goma, Congo, as rebel leader Ntaganda agreed to work with the Congolese government. (AP Photo/T.J. Kirkpatrick, File)
There has been a lot of conjecture and speculation surrounding Bosco's "surrender" to the US embassy on Tuesday morning. In recent weeks, various parties to the conflict have been purposely spreading false information, which has made it difficult to parse the facts. Here are my own thoughts on some of these points.
Why did Bosco surrender?
His time was up. On February 24, an internal battle had broken out among the M23, pitting Bosco's wing against that of Sultani Makenga (for more information about Bosco's career and the divisions within the M23 see the Usalama Project's briefing here). While Bosco led a large group of soldiers––at least 500 were reported to have crossed the border on 14 March––he was short on ammunition. After weeks of fighting, he decided to run.
The larger and perhaps more important question is: Why did the M23 implode? Divisions existed since the group's creation in April 2012, driven by ethnic considerations (Bosco is from the Gogwe sub-ethnic group, many of Makenga's officers are Banyajomba), historical differences (Makenga was close to Laurent Nkunda, whom Bosco replaced in January 2009), and struggles over money and power (each carried out promotions behind the other's back and set up separate tax structures)...............
FULL ARTICLE: Congo Siasa: The Bosco surrender: more questions than answers
70th Anniversary of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising this Passover | United with Israel
The first night of the Seder this year commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Indeed, it was on the first night of the Seder in 1943 that the Germans began the process of attempting to liquidate the Jewish community which lived in the Warsaw Ghetto, in a vain attempt to crush the Jewish spirit, soul, and nation.
The Warsaw Ghetto originally contained 450,000 souls. However, by the time of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, only 35,000 Jews were permitted to remain within the ghetto by the Nazis, while an additional 20,000 Jews were in hiding. The Nazis sought to finish off the few Jews who remained within the Warsaw Ghetto by Hitler’s birthday, which corresponded with Passover, yet the Nazis also wanted to render the idea of Jewish liberation from slavery as meaningless..........
FULL ARTICLE HERE: 70th Anniversary of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising this Passover | United with Israel
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, STILL ENTIRELY RELEVANT: The Palestinian Wall of Lies - YouTube
EXPOSING THE ANTI-SEMITIC DESTROY-ISRAEL PROPAGANDA FACTORY:
LINK: The Palestinian Wall of Lies - YouTube
LINK: The Palestinian Wall of Lies - YouTube
Members of Syrian leader's sect form opposition group, back rebels | Fox News
The Alawites have long been seen as a backbone of the Assad regime, and a decision to support the rebel force in Syria is complicated by the fact that many see their own futures interlocked with Assad's survival.
The pressure on Alawites who dare oppose Assad comes not only from the regime, but also from within their own families. Nearly all of the 50 Alawites at the opposition conference have been arrested, abused or threatened for their political views. One participant said he received an email threatening his life if he attended the conference.......
FULL ARTICLE: Members of Syrian leader's sect form opposition group, back rebels | Fox News
HELP STOP THIS TRAVESITY OF JUSTICE: Avaaz - Horror in paradise
The girl's stepfather is accused of raping her for years and murdering the baby she bore. Now the court says she must be flogged for “sex outside marriage” with a man who has not even been named! President Waheed of the Maldives is already feeling global pressure on this, and we can force him to save this girl and change the law to spare other victims this cruel fate. This is how we can end the War on Women – by standing up every time an outrage like this happens.
Tourism is the big earner for the Maldives elite, including government ministers. Let's build a million-strong petition to President Waheed this week, then threaten the islands' reputation through hard-hitting ads in travel magazines and online until he steps in to save her and abolish this outrageous law. Sign now and share this with everyone to get us to a million!
GO TO PETITION LINK: Avaaz - Horror in paradise
ERDOGAN TWO-FACED: Normalization with Israel not a done deal, Erdoğan says | The Times of Israel
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (photo credit: AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)
Confirming an apparent backtrack on reconciling differences with Israel, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Sunday that normalized relations with Jerusalem would only happen if Israel implemented its side of an ostensible new bargain with Turkey.
“We have said: ‘An apology will be made, compensation will be paid and the blockade on Palestine will be lifted.’ There will be no normalization without these,” Erdogan said, clarifying that Turkey would not return its ambassador to Israel right away. “Normalization will happen the moment there is an implementation.”..........
FULL SCALE: Normalization with Israel not a done deal, Erdoğan says | The Times of Israel
IDF fires missile into Syria after more cross-border shooting | The Times of Israel
View of the Golan Heights from Kuneitra (photo credit: Yossi Zamir/Flash90)
IDF soldiers on Sunday morning fired a Tammuz missile at a Syrian army position in Tel Fares, from which shots were fired both that day and the previous day across the border into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The missile destroyed the Syrian post and reportedly wounded two gunmen there........
IDF soldiers on Sunday morning fired a Tammuz missile at a Syrian army position in Tel Fares, from which shots were fired both that day and the previous day across the border into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The missile destroyed the Syrian post and reportedly wounded two gunmen there........
Kerry presses Iraq on ‘problematic’ Iranian over-flights to Syria - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State, made his first trip to Iraq since taking office to push Iraq for more help over the conflict in Syria. (AFP)
AFP, BAGHDAD -
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Iraq to stop allowing “problematic” Iranian flights apparently carrying military equipment through its airspace headed to Syria, on a surprise visit to Baghdad on Sunday.
“Anything that supports President Assad is problematic,” Kerry told reporters, “I made it very clear to the prime minister that the over-flights from Iran ... are in fact helping to sustain President Assad and his regime.”
Kerry warned Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that Washington was “watching what Iraq is doing,” the highest-level criticism yet of Baghdad for not inspecting flights which Tehran insists are carrying humanitarian supplies............
FULL ARTICLE: Kerry presses Iraq on ‘problematic’ Iranian over-flights to Syria - Alarabiya.net English
BBC News - Syrian opposition leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib resigns
In a statement on his Facebook page, Mr Khatib said he was leaving the job as he wanted to work with more freedom than an official institution allowed.
He had promised the Syrian people he would resign if what he called certain red lines were reached, he said.
He appeared to criticise the world community for not doing enough to stop two years of bloodshed in Syria.......
FULL ARTICLE: BBC News - Syrian opposition leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib resigns
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Hitler’s gun control lie debunked - Little Rock gun rights | Examiner.com
On Friday, January 11, 2013, Salon addressed the issue of Hitler’s gun control. This article was in response to a Drudge Report article concerning Vice President Joe Biden’s recent threat of executive orders over gun control.
The most shocking part of the article was the picture accompanying it, which featured Hitler and Stalin.
The Salon article aims to debunk the idea that gun control was a key feature in the extermination of the Jews. While it claims that gun rights activists have their history dangerously wrong, it is, in fact, the article itself that has the facts dangerously wrong............
FULL ARTICLE: Hitler’s gun control lie debunked - Little Rock gun rights | Examiner.com
Syrian opposition fighters seize key military base in Deraa - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Free Syrian Army fighters carry their weapons as they cheer in Qusair town near Homs March 17, 2013. (Reuters)
Al Arabiya With Agencies -
Syrian opposition fighters on Saturday seized a key air base in the southern Syrian province of Daraa, bolstering access to supply routes to the capital Damascus.
The fighters also seized several military sites along the Jordanian-Syrian border, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of informants across the country.
The developments on ground Saturday give fighters control of about 25 km (15.5miles) of frontier adjacent to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Observatory said, and could fuel tensions in the sensitive military zone....
Syrian opposition fighters seize key military base in Deraa - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
Iran laundering billions through Venezuela | Washington Free Beacon
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Nicolas Maduro / AP
BY:
Iran has illegally laundered billions of dollars through the Venezuelan financial sector and is currently stashing “hundreds of millions” of dollars in “virtually every Venezuelan bank today,” according to a former senior State Department official.
“It’s a huge blind spot in those trying to implement sanctions” on Iran, Roger Noriega, a former United States ambassador and assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, told the Washington Free Beacon.
Venezuela served as Iran’s closest Western ally under the late President Hugo Chavez, who allowed the rogue regime to establish a military and financial presence at the highest levels of the Venezuelan government......
FULL ARTICLE: Iran laundering billions through Venezuela | Washington Free Beacon
Fearing stark future, Syrian Alawites meet in Cairo | Reuters
AMMAN |
(Reuters) - Followers of the religion of Bashar al-Assad who oppose the Syrian president met in Cairo on Saturday to support a democratic alternative to his rule, seeking to untangle his fate from their own.In the first meeting of its kind by Alawites who support the revolt, delegates aimed to draft a declaration supporting a united Syria and to invite other opposition groups to cooperate on preventing sectarian bloodletting if Assad falls.
"We are inviting all of the opposition to confront the sectarian problem being ignited by the regime. The last card the regime can now play is civil war and the partition of Syria," said veteran opposition campaigner Bassam al-Youssef, an Alawite who spent more than a decade in jail under the iron rule of Assad's father, the late President Hafez al-Assad.
FULL ARTICLE: Fearing stark future, Syrian Alawites meet in Cairo | Reuters
LYNCH THE BUM! Ohio prosecutor seeks death penalty for Punxsutawney Phil after bad forecast
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Update, Friday, 4:10 p.m.: Pa. law group warns Ohio official to “cease and desist” prosecution of Punxsutawney Phil
From Thursday, 4:38 p.m.: As severe cold grips the eastern U.S. on March 21, Punxsutawney Phil’s forecast for an early spring is best described as an epic failure. The prosecuting attorney of Butler County, Ohio, Michael Gmoser, wants the groundhog to pay for his flawed prediction, with his life.
Gmoser filed an indictment against Phil which reads accordingly:
On or about February 02,2013, at Gobbler’s Knob, Punxsutawney Phil did purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the people to believe that Spring would come early. Contrary to the Groundhog day report, a snowstorm and record low temperatures have been and are predicted to continue in the near future, which constitutes the offense of MISREPRESENTATION OF EARLY SPRING, a Unclassified Felony, and against the peace and dignity of the State Of Ohio.....(CONTINUED)FULL ARTICLE: Ohio prosecutor seeks death penalty for Punxsutawney Phil after bad forecast
Kerry blasts Iran over imprisonment of American pastor - Alarabiya.net English
Pastor Saeed Abedini (Courtesy of ACLJ)
AL ARABIYA WITH AGENCIES -
An Iranian-American Christian pastor who was sentenced to eight years in jail in January must immediately be freed, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Iran on Friday.
Kerry said he was “deeply concerned” about the fate of Saeed Abedini, who has already been held for six months in Iran in the notorious Evin prison.
The top U.S. diplomat said in a statement that he was also “disturbed by reports that Mr Abedini has suffered physical and psychological abuse in prison, and that his condition has become increasingly dire.....
FULL ARTICLE: Kerry blasts Iran over imprisonment of American pastor - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
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