Category Archives: Global Politics

Attacks on Women in Germany – The New York Times

“For the chancellor, it is important that first of all the whole truth is laid on the table, that nothing is held back, or prettified,” said Georg Streiter, a spokesman for Ms. Merkel. Anything else would undermine Germany’s rule of law and also hurt the overwhelming majority of innocent refugees who seek shelter, he added.Regarding the assaults in Cologne, “this is a matter not of refugees, but above all of criminality,” Mr. Streiter said.

Source: 18 Asylum Seekers Tied to Attacks on Women in Germany – The New York Times

Constitutional Smoke and Mirrors: Illegal Occupation of Malheur Wildlife Refuge – Native News Online

The Hammonds and the County of Harney have neither invited nor welcomed Bundy and his group of militiamen. Nonetheless, the militiamen are referring to themselves as ‘patriots’ and are encouraging all who value the constitution to come join their fight-which directly contradicts the property clause of the Constitution. Article IV, section 3, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution states, “The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States ….”  Although there are some parts of the Constitution that may seem vague or up for interpretation, this particular clause is not one of them. Additionally, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge lies on land that was formally designated for the Paiute tribe. Conflicts in the region between Native Americans and ranchers led the federal government to discontinue the reservation in 1879 and relocate the Paiutes under Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. In 1908 Teddy Roosevelt declared the area a wildlife refuge for birds and other migratory animals.

Source: Constitutional Smoke and Mirrors: Illegal Occupation of Malheur Wildlife Refuge – Native News Online

Burns Paiute Tribe Reacts to Takeover of Ancestral Land by “Group of Clowns” – Native News Online

“We as a Tribal Council, believe it is important to set the record straight: the land prior to 1890 belonged to the Paiute, not ranchers as Bundy has stated,” said Cecil Dick, tribal council member.“WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF A GROUP OF NATIVES HAD GONE OVER THERE TO TAKOVER THE LAND? I THINK PEOPLE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THAT AND WE DON’T NEED SOME GROUP OF CLOWNS TO COME IN HERE TO SPEAK FOR US…THEY NEED TO GET OUT. WE ARE HARD-WORKING PEOPLE. WE CAN STAND UP FOR OUR OWN RIGHTS,” STATED JARVIS KENNEDY, TRIBAL COUNCIL MEMBER AND  OF THE BURNS PAIUTE TRIBE.Charlotte Rodrique, tribal chairperson of the Burns Paiute Tribe. Photo from FacebookRodrique, who has been tribal chairperson of the Burns Paiute Tribe for the past five years, disputes that any group of ranchers were ever rigthful owners of the land. While the land was never ceded by the Paiute, she said the wildlife refuge land was part of a the Treaty of 1868 that was never ratified by the U.S. Senate, but both parties have  upheld the language fo the treaty.

Source: Burns Paiute Tribe Reacts to Takeover of Ancestral Land by “Group of Clowns” – Native News Online

Fear Factor Rising for Federal Workers as Refuge Occupation Goes Unchallenged – The New York Times

So, the notion that these yahoos can take over federal buildings and go on national TV while facing no consequences – and no prospect of future consequences, a la Cliven – means that you are encouraging even more of these incidents.I am not urging a Waco-like mechanized assault.  I am suggesting that Cliven be prosecuted and imprisoned. Moreover, the Department of Justice should begin now preparing federal charges against the Malheur occupiers.The model should be how the feds handled the Recapture Canyon incident. There a Utah county commissioner, some local activists and even a Bundy son defied a federal order to close a trail to protect archaeological and natural resources. The demonstration of driving a parade of all-terrain vehicles through the closed area went off without any law enforcement resistance.Shortly afterward, however, the organizers were all prosecuted— with the leader sentenced to jail with a hefty fine.The utter absence of an appropriate, proximate response tacitly concedes the legitimacy of this utter craziness.  And, we can only expect more of these dangerous incidents.

Source: Fear Factor Rising for Federal Workers as Refuge Occupation Goes Unchallenged – The New York Times

Argentina seeks negotiations with UK over Falklands | News | DW.COM | 04.01.2016

Argentina is firmly committed to “peacefully settling its differences” and to “international law and multilateralism,” the nation’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.The statement confirmed that the new Argentinean government would continue to press its territorial claim on the Falkland Islands, with the conflict remaining the key stumbling block between Buenos Aires and London.The administration “invites the United Kingdom to resume, as soon as possible, the negotiations aimed at settling the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas [Falklands] islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich islands and surrounding territorial seas fairly and definitively,” the ministry said.

Source: Argentina seeks negotiations with UK over Falklands | News | DW.COM | 04.01.2016

Middle East – Protests over Saudi execution of Shiite cleric turn deadly in Iraq – France 24

{No question any longer that Saudi Arabia aids ISIS and its terrorism by further dividing Sunni and Shia Muslims.}

The spark for Sunday’s attacks appears to have been Nimr’s execution a day earlier, which triggered angry reactions in Shi’ite-led Iraq and Iran.Saudi Arabia cut ties with regional rival Iran on Sunday after protesters attacked the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran. Bahrain, the Shi’ite-majority Gulf state ruled by a Sunni family, and Sudan followed suit on Monday.The attack on a mosque in central Hilla destroyed its dome and several walls, according to a Reuters TV cameraman who visited the site. Provincial council member Falah al-Khafaji and a police source said a guard in the building was killed.“We saw smoke rising from the dome of the mosque. We found all the walls destroyed and the furniture inside in shambles,” said resident Uday Hassan Ali.Another mosque in Hilla’s northern outskirts was also attacked, and a Sunni cleric was killed in a separate incident in Iskandariya, about 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, Khafaji and the police source said.“We have leads and security measures will be taken near mosques,” said Khafaji, pledging to rebuild the buildings.

Source: Middle East – Protests over Saudi execution of Shiite cleric turn deadly in Iraq – France 24

Armed anti-government militiamen seize federal wildlife refuge in Oregon | News | DW.COM | 03.01.2016

Many locals in Burns want the Bundy family to leave

The sentencing has stirred controversy in a tight-knit rural community and reignited a long-running dispute between ranchers and the federal government over grazing land.The Hammonds’ case has drawn the attention of far-right, anti-government groups , including the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy.Previous standoffBacked by right-wing militia, the Bundy family challenged the federal government in a 2014 standoff after the federal Bureau of Land Management tried to remove cattle from public grazing land.Bundy owed more than $1 million in arrears to the government after not paying leasing fees for some 20 years. The Bureau ultimately handed back the cattle and federal agents withdrew.Taking up the Hammonds’ cause, Ammon Bundy and other militiamen arrived in Burns in December. Ammon told “The Oregonian” the militiamen demanded the Hammonds be released from prison.

Source: Armed anti-government militiamen seize federal wildlife refuge in Oregon | News | DW.COM | 03.01.2016

Qaeda Affiliate Uses Video of Donald Trump for Recruiting – The New York Times

In addition to footage of Mr. Trump, the video, which is 51 minutes long, included excerpts from speeches by Malcolm X and unnamed white supremacists, as well as footage of white police officers, African-Americans protesting police brutality and African-American men in prison. Some appeared to be performing Islamic prayers.Using footage of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American member of a Qaeda affiliate who was killed in an American drone attack in 2011, the video also said the United States was gripped by a “malignant hatred” of Islam. It warned American Muslims that “there are ominous clouds gathering in your horizon.”

Source: Qaeda Affiliate Uses Video of Donald Trump for Recruiting – The New York Times

Unity of Strength USSR and RAF bombs falling together on factory and docks Artist Stephen | Flickr – Photo Sharing!

Catalogue reference: INF 3/342 POSTERS: Unity of Strength – Inter-allied posters: U.S.S.R. and R.A.F. bombs falling together on factory and docks Artist’s signature: Stephen This image is part of the collection from the Ministry of Information held at The National Archives. Feel free to share it within the spirit of the Commons. For high quality reproductions of any item from our collection please contact our image library

Source: Unity of Strength USSR and RAF bombs falling together on factory and docks Artist Stephen | Flickr – Photo Sharing!

Israel bans novel on Arab-Jewish love story | News | DW.COM | 31.12.2015

Israeli author Dorit Rabinyan holds her novel ‘Borderlife’The book, ”

The book, “Borderlife,” by the Israeli author Dorit Rabinyan, tells the story of Liat, an Israeli translator, and Hilmi, a Palestinian artist, who meet in New York and fall in love. Eventually, they go their separate ways, as she has to return to Tel Aviv and the to the West Bank city of Ramallah.

“Intimate relations between Jews and non-Jews threaten the separate identity of each sector,” the Education Ministry said in a statement, adding that “young adolescents don’t have the systemic view that includes considerations involving maintaining the national, ethnic identity of the people and the significance of miscegenation.”

 

 

Preventing fruitful debate

However, many cultural figures in Israel, and even high school pupils themselves, tend to disagree.

“I know I may not represent the opinion of all the students, but I personally think it’s pretty stupid to ban the book,” Noa, a 17-year-old student from Haifa, told DW. “What happens now is that it created such a stir that our teacher is forced to talk about the book with us, because we keep asking her about it,” she adds.

Source: Israel bans novel on Arab-Jewish love story | News | DW.COM | 31.12.2015