CBS: Iran caught in lie about involvement in Syrian civil war - YouTube

LINK: CBS: Iran caught in lie about involvement in Syrian civil war - YouTube

Insight: Starvation in Syria: a war (crime) tactic | Reuters

A boy makes bread in Duma neighbourhood, in Damascus September 22, 2013. All official government bakeries were closed since 10 months ago and no flour has reached the area except those smuggled by Free Syrian army members, activists said. - Credit: Reuters/Bassam Khabieh

ARTICLE LINK: Insight: Starvation in Syria: a war tactic | Reuters

I Am Malala (Official Music Video) - YouTube

LYRICS (from YouTube info):

look, i wanna make a nation proud
one day we'll say things loud and be free
with the power of our speech
we can change our world and how it's perceived
we've got doubts and beliefs
but not one thing's truly out of our reach
don't tell me the sky's the limit
cause nothing can pull me down when I dream
i'm working on turning 'em into a reality and opening eyes
and sharing a vision with every person
who had chose to be blind
i wanna focus their minds
to show that despite we're broken inside
we can stand powerful together without a cloak or disguise
i hope in the future that I can look back
on a new generation that's peaceful
that's grateful they're equal
cause those before made a change for the people
with paints and an easel we picture perfect
drew our attention to making the most of our time
creating more than useless inventions
i'm only young so I guess it's down for you to decide
would you choose to fight for what you believe in
would you do what is right if I needed you
would you stand tall with me right here by my side
be the change you want to see, take a look through my eyes

I am Malala
I am infinite hope
I am Malala, I am, I am, I am
I am Malala
I am infinite hope
I am Malala, I am, I am, I am
I am Malala

they say the harder the culture, they say the harder the girl
i say the smarter the girl, then the stronger our world
from a country where we made fortunes
of others misfortunes and betray our own people
then we mourn for a portion of time
always taught to fight for my rights
Malala fought for education then she fought for her life
it's hard to strive to be better
when oppressed by the suppressors
treated like the lesser, just be clever
ignore the ignorance from the ignorant
society is ridiculous but it's the world that we living in
chauffeurs our drive and denies our desire
being silent doesn't help, it adds fuel to the fire
how can somebody young like me even find any truth
when nobody's looking for truth in the youth
life isn't a choice, so who are we to say what's void
and Malala gave a voice to me cuz...

(repeat chorus)

hard work and talent equals infinite growth
in school a child and a teacher equals infinite hope

LINK: I Am Malala (Official Music Video) - YouTube

Obama Admin. Knew Millions Could Not Keep Their Health Insurance - Investigations

Larry Downing / Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama walks out to deliver remarks alongside Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, October 1, 2013.

By Lisa Myers and Hannah Rappleye
NBC News

President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that after the Affordable Care Act became law, people who liked their health insurance would be able to keep it. But millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.

Four sources deeply involved in the Affordable Care Act tell NBC NEWS that 50 to 75 percent of the 14 million consumers who buy their insurance individually can expect to receive a “cancellation” letter or the equivalent over the next year because their existing policies don’t meet the standards mandated by the new health care law. One expert predicts that number could reach as high as 80 percent. And all say that many of those forced to buy pricier new policies will experience “sticker shock.”...........

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Obama admin. knew millions could not keep their health insurance - Investigations

BBC News - NSA: New reports in German media deepen US-Merkel spy row

 

The US embassy, near Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, was used to monitor communications, the documents suggest
 

Fresh reports in German media based on leaked US intelligence documents are prompting damaging new questions about the extent of US surveillance.

Der Spiegel suggests the US has been spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone since 2002.

Another report says Mr Obama was told in 2010 about the surveillance and failed to stop it.

The spy row has led to the worst diplomatic crisis betweeen the two countries in living memory.

Leaked documents say a US listening unit was based in its Berlin embassy - and similar operations were replicated in 80 locations around the world.

The German interior minister has been quoted as saying such an operation, if confirmed, would be illegal..............

FULL ARTICLE: BBC News - NSA: New reports in German media deepen US-Merkel spy row

'Russia eyes Egypt's ports in bid to boost military presence' | The Times of Israel

The Russian warship Varyag (illustrative photo: CC BY-randychiu, Flickr)

Russia has been seeking to upgrade its military ties with Egypt in an effort to augment its limited access to the Mediterranean and bolster its navy’s presence in the region, the London Times reported Sunday....(CONTINUED)

FULL ARTICLE HERE: 'Russia eyes Egypt's ports in bid to boost military presence' | The Times of Israel

Congo's Kabila says to create national unity government | Reuters

 

By Pete Jones

 
KINSHASA | Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:05pm BST

(Reuters) - Congo's President Joseph Kabila said on Wednesday he would create a government of national unity including members of the opposition and civil society to push for peace in the central African giant....(CONTINUED)

FULL ARTICLE: Congo's Kabila says to create national unity government | Reuters

Double Down: Obamacare Will Increase Avg. Individual-Market Insurance Premiums By 99% For Men, 62% For Women - Forbes

For months now, we’ve been waiting to hear how much Obamacare will drive up the cost of health insurance for people who purchase coverage on their own. Last night, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finally began to provide some data on how Americans will fare on Obamacare’s federally-sponsored insurance exchanges. HHS’ press release is full of happy talk about how premiums will be “lower than originally expected.” But the reality is starkly different.......(CONTINUED)

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Double Down: Obamacare Will Increase Avg. Individual-Market Insurance Premiums By 99% For Men, 62% For Women - Forbes

For Syrian refugees in Jordan, aid from Israel comes in a whisper | The Times of Israel

Buoyed by donations from Jewish groups around the world, an Israeli agency helps distribute relief one purple bag at a time.

A Syrian refugee child holds her little sister as her family queues for aid behind her. (photo credit: Mickey Alon)

 Debra Kamin

Debra is a features writer for the Times of Israel.
 
AL MAFRAQ, Jordan — Sultana is 23 years old and very hungry. She grew up in the suburbs east of Damascus, but when her house was firebombed by an airplane belonging to the Syrian regime, she fled the city in the night along with her husband and their five children.........(CONTINUED)
FULL ARTICLE HERE: For Syrian refugees in Jordan, aid from Israel comes in a whisper | The Times of Israel

SOME DARK HUMOR MAKES ITS POINT: Kafranbel: the Syrian revolution in 3 minutes كفرنبل:الثورة السورية في ٣ دقائق - YouTube

Kafranbel: the Syrian revolution in 3 minutes كفرنبل:الثورة السورية في ٣ دقائق - YouTube

▶ Blood Diamonds and Coltan in the Congo - YouTube

LINK: ▶ Blood diamonds and coltan (in the Congo, near RWANDA) - YouTube

▶ Peace One Day Celebration 2013 The Hague PART 3 - YouTube

Here is the 3rd part of the Peace One Day 2013 Celebration from The Hague featuring performances from Paul van Dyk, Natasha Bedingfield, Carlinhos Brown, Miguel Bosé, The Feeling, Jahméne Douglas & Kane, as well as contributions from Jeremy Gilley, Jude Law, Emmanuel Jal and Monique Coleman. (YouTube Statement)



▶ Peace One Day Celebration 2013 The Hague PART 3 - YouTube

United Nations Launches New Committment To End Sexual Violence In War Zones - The Daily Beast

(Bryan Anselm/Redux)

Stop the violence

End Sexual Violence In War Zones

Posted by Akshaya Kumar on Oct 15, 2013

 

With the support of stars such as Angelina Jolie, the United Nations has launched a powerful new campaign to end rape in war.

Half a million women were raped during the Rwandan genocide. As many as 64,000 suffered sexual violence during Sierra Leone's brutal blood diamond fueled civil war. And 40,000 were raped in Bosnia. The sheer magnitude of women raped and the frequency of the crime tells us something. These attackers aim to do more than rape. They seek to shame and demoralize, break down the fabric of victim communities, and stigmatize survivors for life.

With the vocal support of Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron, the United Nations has partnered with the UK to launch a powerful new political campaign to end rape in war. Already, 128 countries have publicly committed themselves to a new Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, which Jolie has described as the "clearest statement we have heard, ever, that the international community must and will confront these crimes." More countries are joining every day.

One of the most remarkable elements of this new initiative is its thoughtful intervention into the world of peacemaking. Among the dozen specific and pragmatic pledges enshrined in the declaration, the signatories promise to promote women’s full participation in peace negotiations. In doing so, the declaration casts women as more than victims of sexual assault during conflict who require restitution. Instead, it envisions them as peacemakers and change agents for their countries' futures.............

FULL ARTICLE HERE: United Nations Launches New Committment To End Sexual Violence In War Zones - The Daily Beast

▶ Educate Yourself about Conflict Gold - YouTube

Take three minutes to watch this video presentation by John Prendergast on the deadly effects of Congolese Conflict Gold. If you buy gold jewelry or anything gold, you may be part of the problem. Learn how to part of the solution:



LINK: ▶ Conflict Gold 101 - YouTube

▶ Trey Gowdy questions NPS Director on Barricading Monuments - YouTube

GO TREY, GO!


Congressman Gowdy's questions to National Park Service Director Jarvis at the Wednesday, October 16th, House Oversight and Government Reform and House Natural Resources Committees joint hearing entitled, "As Difficult As Possible: The National Park Service's Implementation of the Government Shutdown."

LINK: ▶ Gowdy questions NPS Director on Barricading Monuments - YouTube

MAURITANIA: Slavery's last stronghold - CNN.com

Slavery’s last stronghold

Mauritania’s endless sea of sand dunes hides an open secret: An estimated 10% to 20% of the population lives in slavery. But as one woman’s journey shows, the first step toward freedom is realizing you’re enslaved.

Story John D. Sutter   Photography and video Edythe McNamee

In 1981, Mauritania became the last country in the world to abolish slavery. Activists are arrested for fighting the practice. The government denies it exists.
“On this land, everybody is exploited.” The vast Saharan nation didn't make slavery a crime until 2007. Only one slave owner has been successfully prosecuted.

Moulkheir Mint Yarba escaped slavery in 2010. She has asked the Mauritanian courts to prosecute her slave masters. "I demand justice," she says, "justice for my daughter that they killed and justice for all the time they spent beating and abusing me."

Moulkheir Mint Yarba returned from a day of tending her master’s goats out on the Sahara Desert to find something unimaginable: Her baby girl, barely old enough to crawl, had been left outdoors to die. The usually stoic mother — whose jet-black eyes and cardboard hands carry decades of sadness — wept when she saw her child’s lifeless face, eyes open and covered in ants, resting in the orange sands of the Mauritanian desert. The master who raped Moulkheir to produce the child wanted to punish his slave. He told her she would work faster without the child on her back.....(CONTINUED)

FULL SITE HERE: Slavery's last stronghold - CNN.com

Committee to Protect Journalists Report says ‘control-freak’ Obama administration is chilling journalism | Washington Free Beacon

The Obama administration’s hostility toward media and efforts to crack down on whistleblowers and leakers has created “a tremendous chilling effect” on substantive reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists and veteran reporters said Thursday.

The CPJ issued last week a scathing report, written by former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie, Jr., on the effects of the Obama administration’s efforts to control press coverage, burnish its image, and thwart unauthorized leaks......

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Report says ‘control-freak’ Obama administration is chilling journalism | Washington Free Beacon

The Horror Continues: Syria: Accusing the Syrian Regime of Detaining Thousands of People - YouTube

The world, as cowardly now as it was in the 1930s, continues to watch and do little to nothing to end this horror:



LINK: Syria: Accusing the Syrian Regime of Detaining Thousands of People - YouTube

▶ Peace One Day Celebration 2013 The Hague PART 2 - YouTube

Here is the 2nd part of the Peace One Day 2013 Celebration from The Hague featuring performances from Paul van Dyk, Natasha Bedingfield, Carlinhos Brown, Miguel Bosé, The Feeling, Jahméne Douglas and Kane, as well as contributions from Jeremy Gilley, Jude Law, Emmanuel Jal and Monique Coleman.



Jahmene Douglas starts off  Part 2, awesome singer!

LINK▶ Peace One Day Celebration 2013 The Hague PART 2 - YouTube

The U.S.’s Arm’s Length Approach to Syria is Backfiring | Syria Deeply – Syria News

As top politicians representing the Syrian opposition pushed their case with world leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last week, a dozen rebel brigades inside Syria, fed up with waiting for elusive Western support, issued a joint statement rejecting their political leaders and called on both military and civilian groups in Syria to “consolidate under an Islamic framework … with Sharia as the main source of legislation.”

To many armchair observers, Communiqué No. 1, as the statement is called, appears to shatter the myth of moderates in Syria and exposes opponents of the Assad regime as radical jihadists bent on establishing a repressive Islamic state. The inclusion of Jabhat al-Nusra, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, as a signatory in the communiqué is touted as proof of rebels throwing in their lot with the extremists.

But a closer examination reveals that the issue is much more complex and multifaceted than a demand for sharia law. Instead, the communiqué is a manifestation of the realities in Syria, and a direct result of the international community’s refusal to adequately address the needs of the armed opposition, and the millions of civilians they are trying to protect against a government that used weapons of mass destruction to exterminate its opponents...........(CONTINUED)

FULL ARTICLE HERE: The U.S.’s Arm’s Length Approach to Syria is Backfiring | Syria Deeply – Syria News

▶ Peace One Day Celebration 2013 The Hague PART 1 - YouTube

This year Peace One Day held a fantastic celebration at The Hague in the Netherlands featuring performances from Paul van Dyk, Natasha Bedingfield, Carlinhos Brown, Miguel Bosé, The Feeling, Jahméne Douglas & Kane, as well as contributions from Jeremy Gilley, Jude Law, Emmanuel Jal and Monique Coleman. Here is Part 1, opening with Kane:



LINK: ▶ Peace One Day Celebration 2013 The Hague PART 1 - YouTube

On the Anniversary of Che Killing, CIA's Felix Rodriguez Remembers

Feliz Rodriguez, left, with Ernesto "Che" Guevara before he was shot to death in Bolivia.

Former CIA operative Felix Rodriguez, who participated in the historic manhunt to capture Ernesto "Che" Guevara, says the Marxist revolutionary was little more than a criminal and devoted killer who deserves to be demystified.

"I believe that eventually people will see what he really was. He was an assassin," said Rodriguez, who spoke to Newsmax about Guevara in advance of the 46th anniversary of his death on Oct. 9, 1967, at age 39. "He was an individual with very little regard for life. He enjoyed killing people."

In the interview with Newsmax, Rodriguez gives a detailed first-hand account of the capture and subsequent execution of the man whose image is still being appropriated as a counterculture fashion statement..........(CONTINUED)

FULL ARTICLE W/VIDEO HERE: On Anniversary of Che Killing, CIA's Felix Rodriguez Remembers

Rapper Omekongo Dibinga: Raise Hope for Congo

▶ UHAKI "JUSTICE" in the DR CONGO, EP 2 - YouTube

RAPPING ABOUT JUSTICE FOR THE DR CONGO

YOUTUBE NOTES: 

A conscious social critique by finalists of SKIFF 2013 by Doris, Dak2, Black man ,DMD, BIN-G, Babu, Wanny S-king, Djcouleur, M-chris, Nathan, Jobson Madibo, Darsana, Fal-G, Gaius Kowene, Willy Stone. Produced by Bokande Kataliko, student of Yole Africa beat making lab. Video by Jobson Katondolo, student of Yole!Africa's cinema department.

LINK: ▶ Uhaki "Justice" EP 2 - YouTube

RAPPING OUT TRUTH ABOUT THE DR CONGO▶ Mazao (EP. 1) ART on FrontLine - YouTube

LINK: ▶ Mazao (EP. 1) ART on FrontLine - YouTube

▶ Saving Syria's Children BBC 2013 - YouTube

LINK: ▶ Saving Syria's Children BBC 2013 - YouTube

Syria: Political Detainees Tortured, Killed by Regime | Human Rights Watch

• 
  Enlarge

  Mazen Darwish, Hussein Gharir, and Hani Zaitani
  © Private 2013

Behind the awful brutality of the fighting in Syria is the unseen abuse of political detainees – arrested, tortured, and even killed for peacefully criticizing the government or helping people in need. Arbitrary detention and torture have become business as usual for Syrian security forces.

Joe Stork, acting Middle East and North Africa director

(New York) – The Syrian government is unlawfully holding tens of thousands of political detainees solely on the basis of their peaceful activity, Human Rights Watch said today in opening a campaign to cast light on their fate. Many have been held for long periods and tortured.

The Human Rights Watch campaign, Inside the Black Hole, tells the individual stories of 21 Syrians who have been detained by the government since the start of the Syrian uprising in 2011. All have been detained solely for exercising their rights to free expression and peaceful assemblyor for providing medical care to people injured at protests and shelter to people displaced by the conflict. The government should drop charges against political detainees who are before the military field courts and the Counterterrorism Court set up in July 2012.............

 
FULL ARTICLE HERE: Syria: Political Detainees Tortured, Killed | Human Rights Watch