Category Archives: Global Politics

IOF assault, kidnap two sisters, claim they had knives: Hebron | PNN

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Tuesday noon have brutally assaulted and kidnapped two Palestinian girls from Hebron, claiming that they had knives.The Imam of the Ibrahimi Mosque, Munther Abu Al-Feelat said that the sisters who were identified as Nour and Jihan Erekat, were passing in front of the mosque when Israeli soldiers stopped them to search them, but they refused.The Imam continued by saying that then, the mosque guards interfered to stop the soldiers from potentially shooting the girls.The two guards, Salah Al-Ja’bari (52) and Jehad Al-Ja’bari (30) were both arrested for “defending the girls.”

Source: IOF assault, kidnap two sisters, claim they had knives: Hebron | PNN

One-woman counter-protest breaks up anti-choice vigil by chanting “yeast infections!”

Numair’s best friend and co-worker clocked in early so she could head out to the protest, where she planted herself between two families with children. “In my first 30 seconds of walking out there, I did get called a whore,” Numair said. “One woman was shaking her head. I knelt down to her kid and said, ‘Do you know about yeast infections?’ ”Onlookers gave Numair the thumbs-up, and some passing cars honked in support, but she was the only counter-protester on the scene. Still, with a spontaneous chant, she managed to break up the protest in under a half-hour. “I don’t know why I started chanting ‘Yeast infections!’ but it just came out. I have this cold, so it was just this obnoxious squeak, cheerleader-like. And I started doing high kicks, which I don’t normally do, in my skinny jeans.” A religious leader was guiding a circle of protestors in prayers for Numair—but as her chants got louder and more grating, they stopped.I’m on board with pretty much anything — including being straight-up obnoxious — that makes it as hard as possible for anti-choicers to gather in front of clincs. A recent British study found that patients found the presence of anti-choice protestors outside clinics distressing, regardless of the protestors’ behavior; a silent prayer vigil by so-called “sidewalk counselors” was just as much of an unwanted intrusion as a more aggressive protest with graphic signs.Unfortunately, our legal system apparently thinks anti-choicers’ right to free speech takes precedence over patients’ right to access a legal medical procedure without harassment and intimidation. As long as that’s the case, the only (imperfect) solution is countering their speech with our speech — and if it’s shouting about yeast infections that makes anti-choicers as uncomfortable as they make those seeking abortions, so be it.

Source: One-woman counter-protest breaks up anti-choice vigil by chanting “yeast infections!”

Texas Is Fishing Through Your Abortion Files | Dame Magazine

A demand for records—especially an extensive demand such as the one apparently occurring in Texas—is just as much about serving as a warning to future providers and patients as it is about casting as wide a net as possible in the hopes of finding some sort of error or deviance to potentially prosecute. For doctors, it’s a warning that the act of performing an abortion will inevitably put you under a microscope, where a mistake made in another medical profession that would likely be overlooked could in this case turn into a fine, a loss of a medical license, or worse. For patients, it’s an active reminder that someone, somewhere could find out about your medical past, and that there is always the chance that information could get out.  That’s an especially alarming scenario for the women of Texas, who are already learning the hard way that politics will often trump their health and safety, as the state cuts off family-planning services, refuses to expand Medicaid for low income residents, and will even arrest an undocumented mother while she is visiting her gynecologist.Subpoenaing medical records is just the latest salvo of the state of Texas’s vendetta against Planned Parenthood, and regardless of what the health department finds, the state will most likely be successful in frightening some patients and medical professionals away from the clinics. But like every other political attack in the state, it will do nothing to stop the need for reproductive health services, and instead it will just continue to put those services further out of reach for those who need it.

Source: Texas Is Fishing Through Your Abortion Files | Dame Magazine

Northrop Grumman wins $60-billion Air Force contract to build new stealth bomber – LA Times

{This tells the tale – Northrop which began is California, now based near the Pentagon in DC to be closer to the feedline for dollars. Are the new bombers needed? Or is this just a jobs and budget game for lobbiests and folks planning to cash in when they “retire” and take cushy jobs for companies like Northrop?}

Northrop, based in Falls Church, Va., built the iconic bat-winged B-2 stealth bomber two decades ago. But the company was seen as the underdog in the battle against a team considered better funded and more politically connected.

Source: Northrop Grumman wins $60-billion Air Force contract to build new stealth bomber – LA Times

US cutting Palestinian aid, says official | PNN (Major Fail by US!)

A US State Department official, travelling with Secretary of State John Kerry on a trip to Amman, confirmed there would be a cut.“The decision to reduce assistance to the Palestinian Authority was made this past spring,” he told reporters.“There were several factors contributing to this decision, including unhelpful actions taken by the Palestinians and constraints on our global assistance budget.”

Source: US cutting Palestinian aid, says official | PNN

Thousands demonstrate in Tel Aviv: ‘No security without a solution’ | +972 Magazine

Thousands of Israelis participated in a protest march in central Tel Aviv Saturday night against the Netanyahu government’s policies in the West Bank and the continuing violence.The demonstrators, many of them from Peace Now — which organized the event — and the left-wing Meretz party, along with several members from the Arab-Jewish Hadash party and Da’am Workers Party, marched from Habima Square to the IDF headquarters on Kaplan Street, waving Israeli flags and holding signs that read “Intifada government, go home” and “There is no security without a solution.”Among the speakers was Peace Now head Yariv Oppenheimer, who accused the government of “taking an entire country hostage in an unnecessary religious war, and we are all paying the price. You have turned the state into a violent, racist, and hopeless place. We have come here to call for an end to the hatred and the incitement, for a struggle against racism, and to demand a political solution — two states for two people.”

Source: Thousands demonstrate in Tel Aviv: ‘No security without a solution’ | +972 Magazine

I’m “bien”, says French journalist beaten by Jewish thugs | PNN

A FRENCH journalist assaulted by masked far-right Israeli nationalists has reported he is safe and well.David Perrotin, who works for Buzzfeed, was viciously attacked outside the Paris offices of the Agence France Presse news agency on Thursday.Dozens of activists from the Jewish Defense League hit him on the head and back with batons after one of the group recognised him and pointed him out to the others.Earlier, they had tried to storm the building, thrown eggs, and waved Israeli flags, chanting: “We’re coming to get you”. Riot police used tear gas to break up the protest.But the respected correspondent, who has written about the extremist group in the past, told fans on Twitter last night (Friday) that all was “bien”.

Source: I’m “bien”, says French journalist beaten by Jewish thugs | PNN

Jimmy Carter: A Five-Nation Plan to End the Syrian Crisis – The New York Times

Iran outlined a general four-point sequence several months ago, consisting of a cease-fire, formation of a unity government, constitutional reforms and elections. Working through the United Nations Security Council and utilizing a five-nation proposal, some mechanism could be found to implement these goals.The involvement of Russia and Iran is essential. Mr. Assad’s only concession in four years of war was giving up chemical weapons, and he did so only under pressure from Russia and Iran. Similarly, he will not end the war by accepting concessions imposed by the West, but is likely to do so if urged by his allies.Mr. Assad’s governing authority could then be ended in an orderly process, an acceptable government established in Syria, and a concerted effort could then be made to stamp out the threat of the Islamic State.The needed concessions are not from the combatants in Syria, but from the proud nations that claim to want peace but refuse to cooperate with one another.

Source: Jimmy Carter: A Five-Nation Plan to End the Syrian Crisis – The New York Times

Source: SPIEGEL ONLINE

Then there was the man who called Dorothea Moesch, a local SPD politician in Dortmund, late in the evening on June 30. “We’re going to get you,” he threatened. “We’re at your door.”

Another local SPD politician in Hesse, district administrator Erich Pipa, has been similarly threatened. “We can have you taken out at any time,” he was informed in a letter.

And in Bernau in the eastern state of Brandenburg, graffiti scrawled on the wall of a warehouse namechecking the local mayor reads, “First Henriette Reker (the mayoral candidate stabbed in Cologne last weekend), next André Stahl.”

These are but a few examples — four politicians who have taken a stand, and, if the threats are to be taken seriously, may now need to fear for their lives. Kutschaty fell into the crosshairs for saying, “Pegida is not about protecting the Western world, it’s about its demise.” Moesch, for her part, attracted ire because she organized a protest against right-wing extremism. Pipa became the target of hatred because he was recently awarded a Federal Cross of Merit, Germany’s highest civilian honor, for his longtime lobbying work on behalf of refugees. Finally, Stahl was the subject of denigration because of his public declaration that he wants refugees to feel welcome in his city.

So far, none of them have scaled back their political work. They all still say it’s more important than ever. But since the knife attack against Reker last Saturday on the eve of her election as mayor of Cologne, they can no longer feel entirely safe. District administrator Pipa is wondering whether he should take police advice and wear a bullet-proof vest.

Sweden school killer fueled by ′racist motives′ | News | DW.COM | 23.10.2015

The motives behind a 21-year-old sword-wielding attacker who killed two people and wounded two others at a school in Sweden became clearer on Friday as media reports began to describe a background of xenophobia and racism. Police sources had already told the press after the incident on Thursday that they were investigating a “political motive.””We are convinced that the assailant was driven by racist motives when he carried out the act,” police chief Niclas Hallgren told Swedish radio.”We have reached this conclusion based on what we found when we searched his apartment and his behavior during the act, and also on the basis of how he selected his victims.”Earlier reports by Swedish news also claimed the assailant had a YouTube channel in which he glorified Hitler and spoke critically of Islam and immigration to Sweden.

Source: Sweden school killer fueled by ′racist motives′ | News | DW.COM | 23.10.2015