Category Archives: Global Politics

Japan plans final push to bring home its war dead | Asia | DW.COM | 19.04.2016 Prelude to? Renewed Imperialism, Reconciliation, Uber-Nationalism?

More than 70 years after the end of World War II, the government announces plans to locate and repatriate 1.13 million Japanese who died on battlefields across the Asia-Pacific region. Julian Ryall reports.

Source: Japan plans final push to bring home its war dead | Asia | DW.COM | 19.04.2016

“There had been talks about joint recovery operations prior to the visit by the emperor and empress, but that trip did become something of a catalyst for more action,” said Charles Mitchell, the deputy chief of mission at the embassy of Palau in Tokyo.

Buried alive

On Peleliu, many of the Japanese defenders refused to surrender and so were simply buried in the tunnels that they had turned into a warren of interconnected fighting positions. Many of those tunnels have not been reopened to this day.

“We expect to be able to provide local knowledge of exactly where these caves are and where other remains might be, but there will also be a strong commitment to safety when recovery work begins,” Mitchell said. “We need to make sure that it is safe to enter these tunnels before we can start recovering remains.”

In May last year, a ceremony was held at Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery, built in 1959 to serve as the last resting place for the remains of unidentified Japanese repatriated from battlefields overseas, to inter the latest sets of remains.

Attended by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prince Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko, the remains of 2,498 soldiers killed in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Russia were solemnly interred.

John Grisham: ‘I Am Not Worried about Trump’ – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Grisham: Bernie is a fluke. Bernie is the kind of guy that the Democrats used to nominate because the left wingers ruled the party, just like the right wingers rule the Republican Party.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: But doesn’t he bring up valid issues?

Grisham: They sound great to a point, but look at our history. In 1972, McGovern was a left-wing guy and got annihilated by Richard Nixon, I think it was the largest defeat in history. In 1984, Walter Mondale got killed by Reagan. In 1988, Michael Dukakis, a Democrat, got slaughtered. Bernie cannot win in November. He has a lot of far-left voters, but there aren’t enough to win. He’s got a bunch of young kids who have no clue what they’re talking about. He’s not going beat Hillary. And if he does, we’re doomed as Democrats. He can’t win in November. If it’s Bernie versus Trump, God help us.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Either way, it seems like we’re heading into a nasty fall campaign.

Grisham: The divisions are getting deeper. Most of my friends are Republicans, my family is split 50/50. And we never discuss politics because if we did it would get really ugly really fast. We all have such strong feelings, and their feelings are just as strong as mine. So we learned. Don’t get anywhere near politics. It cannot be discussed. It’s been that way for the last 20 years, and it’s not getting any better today.

Source: John Grisham: ‘I Am Not Worried about Trump’ – SPIEGEL ONLINE

The Israeli Right’s historic ties to European fascism | +972 Magazine

The ties Likud is trying to build with extremist right-wing groups in Europe is an attempt to find common ground over both’s hatred for Islam. This way, Europe’s racist right wing is no longer considered anti-Semitic, while the Israeli Right gets more support for settlement building and the violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Likud, whose members often do not hesitate to label President Barack Obama an “anti-Semite,” does not think twice before it grants legitimacy to a racist political party. This is an alliance of hatred, which mocks the very idea of Israel’s war against global anti-Semitism. Unfortunately, Jewish-Israeli nationalism, as we have seen, did not shy from forming rotten alliances with the most deplorable groups. It continues to do so today. Noam Rotem is an Israeli activist, high-tech executive and author of the blog o139.org, subtitled “Godwin doesn’t live here any more.”

Source: The Israeli Right’s historic ties to European fascism | +972 Magazine

» Live Today

What if I die tomorrow?
Nothing is so easy.
I don’t live in yesterday
because it is gone.
I don’t live in the future
because it is not here yet.
It will come, whether I am alive or not
I live today. It is the moment!
Live today,
Not the regrets of yesterday,
Not the worries of tomorrow…
Enjoy the moment,
The smile, the tea, the food,
The dance, the song, the walk
Enjoy the love and existence.
Live in today
Forget yesterday and tomorrow.
They are gone or not here yet.

By Raha

Source: » Live Today

Germany to support training of Mexican police and army in repressive techniques.

Following her talks yesterday with Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that Germany will strengthen its partnership with Mexico. It will train members of the police and armed forces and enhance economic cooperation with that country. Mexico, traditionally, has been one of the German companies’ two most important trading partners in Latin America. Particularly German automobile companies use Mexico as a low-wage production site for the lucrative US market. Cooperation now will also be strengthened with the military and in the field of domestic repression.

Source: www.german-foreign-policy.com

Meet the outspoken critic of Israel who is Bernie Sanders’ new Jewish outreach director – US Elections – Jerusalem Post

Zimmerman is hardly an anti-Semite. A native of Los Angeles born in 1990 and the great-granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, Zimmerman grew up in a Conservative Jewish household, went to Jewish day school and Jewish camp and was active in United Synagogue Youth, the Conservative movement’s youth organization, according to a biography of Zimmerman on the website of the American Jewish Peace Archive. The bio is based on an interview with Zimmerman last May. Zimmerman said she visited Israel a number of times during her childhood.When she started college at the University of California, Berkeley, Zimmerman initially gravitated toward the traditional pro-Israel camp. She joined Berkeley’s Israel Action Committee, protested a divestment bill in the student senate and went to Washington in the spring to attend AIPAC’s annual policy conference.But Zimmerman’s political views changed as she learned more from advocates of divestment and witnessed Israeli mistreatment of Palestinians during a visit to Israel, she said. She soon joined her campus chapter of J Street, the “pro-Israel, pro-peace” lobbying group that supports US pressure on Israel to support a two-state solution. She spent the summer after her sophomore year studying colloquial Arabic at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 2012, Zimmerman was elected president of the national student board of J Street U, the group’s campus arm.

Source: Meet the outspoken critic of Israel who is Bernie Sanders’ new Jewish outreach director – US Elections – Jerusalem Post

Rousseff decries ′conspiracy′ to replace her | News | DW.COM | 12.04.2016

“The mask of the conspirators has fallen,” Rousseff said. “One of them is the not-so invisible hand that’s leading this impeachment process, through perversion of power and unimaginable abuses,” she added. “The other is rubbing his hands together and is rehearsing the farce of a would-be inauguration speech.” Brazil is facing a deep political crisis, with opposition parties accusing Rousseff of illegally manipulating government accounts. In addition, many allies of the embattled president are suspected of links with the massive Petrobras corruption scandal. Rousseff and her supporters insist that the accusations are bogus.

Source: Rousseff decries ′conspiracy′ to replace her | News | DW.COM | 12.04.2016

Kurdish commander: European jihadists plan new attacks – Radio Sweden | Sveriges Radio

European jihadists are the most ruthless fighters within the terrorist group the Islamic State and they have formed special units that focus on carrying out terrorist attacks in Europe, says the commander-in-chief of the female Kurdish forces in northern Syria. “European jihadist who join IS become key figures in the organisation. They become professional terrorists,” says Nasrin Abdullah, who is visiting Sweden this week. “A majority of the suicide bombers and decapitators that we see have been selected from the European recruits.” Abdullah heads the YPJ, the Kurdish Women’s Protection Units in northern Syria. Recently, the Kurds have made significant advances in the region, and have managed to reclaim large areas of land from the Islamic State, also known as IS.  But they have paid a high price. Abdullah has lost more than 500 soldiers in the fight against IS over the past two years, and she says IS has far-reaching plans to carry out further attacks in Europe. “IS has formed special units to attack Europe. To a large degree those units are made up of jihadist who have joined from Europe,” Abdullah tells Radio Sweden.

Source: Kurdish commander: European jihadists plan new attacks – Radio Sweden | Sveriges Radio

4th yr in a row, 65k H-1B visas exhausted in 5 days – Times of India

The US Citizenship and Immigration Service did not give out the number of applications it got, but it is believed to be higher than last year’s 230,000. This will trigger a computer-generated process -also known as the lottery -to randomly select the petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 for the general category and 20,000 for the advanced-degree exemption.

Source: 4th yr in a row, 65k H-1B visas exhausted in 5 days – Times of India