Category Archives: human rights

Both Sides Report Deadliest Day in Gaza War – NYTimes.com

Taghreed Harazin, 34, sat under a gazebo with her six-month-old son, Diaa, in the car seat in which she had carried him on foot until finding a taxi. She said she had believed the evacuation order was only for the eastern part of the neighborhood, and mistakenly thought she would be safe at home. Moving was frightening, she said, because of airstrikes.

But during the night, as the family prepared their predawn Ramadan meal — only bread, since there was no electricity to cook with — heavy shelling started. They went to the basement for three hours, then ventured out at dawn.

As the family dashed through the streets to avoid crashing shells, Ms. Harazin, said, she saw the decapitated body of a boy who looked about 4, and a wounded woman in a black abaya nearby, both lying on the sidewalk. An ambulance came and took them both away.

“We are not Hamas, and we are not with the others,” Ms. Harazin said. “We just want to live in our homes. The people are not Hamas. Israel has a problem with Hamas. What’s the fault of the other people? We have nothing to do with it.”

Asked what she thought of Hamas’s handling of the current war, she said, “Sometimes it’s difficult to express your opinion.”

She faulted Israel for shelling civilian homes, but said of Hamas’s actions, “If you say any word, it’s held against you.” She said her husband had been beaten for complaining about Hamas.

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A lab technician, Ms. Harazin had brought a medical kit with her, along with her son’s diaper bag, in case anyone needed help. She had bandaged the foot of an elderly woman sitting next to her, who cut it on glass as she fled barefoot.

The woman, Wadha Abu Amr, said her family were refugees from what is now Beersheba. They fled from there in 1948 during the war over Israel’s founding.

“I’m afraid that this is another 1948,” she said, “God forbid. We were driven out in 1948 and we are being driven out again now.”

via Both Sides Report Deadliest Day in Gaza War – NYTimes.com.

MH17: rebels block access to part of site of crash as evidence against them grows | World | The Guardian

All sides have called for a thorough and impartial investigation into what caused the crash, which killed all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. However, the first group of international investigators on the scene were involved in a tense standoff with the armed separatists who control the crash site at Grabovo.

A unit of heavily armed rebels blocked the 30-strong team from the OSCE, cordoning off a large part of the crash site. The inspectors retreated after an hour-long standoff, having been unable to gain access. They were sent on their way by warning shots fired by the rebel unit commander.

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“We will keep coming back tomorrow and the next day and the next day,” said spokesman Michael Bociurkiw. “Tomorrow will be a crunch day. There are a lot of experts from the Netherlands and Malaysia gathering in Kiev as well as relatives. The bodies are starting to bloat and decay. An expert team is clearly needed. There is a lot to be done in a short amount of time.”

In Washington, Obama called for a full, impartial investigation and said the tragedy should cause people to “snap their heads together” and stop playing games in Ukraine. In veiled criticism of the lack of European support for US-led economic sanctions against Russia, Obama said the loss of so many European lives should serve as a “wake-up call” for Europe.

via MH17: rebels block access to part of site of crash as evidence against them grows | World | The Guardian.

Some good common sense! The Ebola Denial Starts from the Top: Sierra Leone News

One of the major reasons behind the unprecedented scale of the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone has been the aspect of denial. The denial is visible from top to bottom. Yesterday July 17th 2014, even as an ambulance raced through streets of Freetown with a dead Ebola patient to be hastily buried, it was interesting to see top government cadre is still in denial as to extent of catastrophe.

 

Minister of Tourism Peter Bayuku Conteh yesterday asked journalists to tell potential tourists that Ebola was only found “in one region” of Sierra Leone. He passionately urged journalists to report such false information as a means of making tourists comfortable to come and visit Sierra Leone.

 

The minister is in denial of what Ebola represents. We wonder if this minister knows the implication of just one tourist catching Ebola here? Is it not better for tourists to stay away until we stop active viral transmission in the country?

 

So, until top cadre in government develop the required maturity on this issue, every time these government officials point at denial amongst the ordinary citizens, four fingers will be pointing right back at them. We just hope Posterity will not harshly judge this government on how it managed this Ebola crisis.

via The Ebola Denial Starts from the Top: Sierra Leone News.

Desmond Tutu likens Gaza crisis to apartheid | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

“It is not a Muslim or Jewish crisis. It is a human rights crisis with roots to what amounts to an apartheid system of land ownership and control,” he said.

“Yes, we condemn those who fan the flames, who launch the missiles against Israel, but missiles do not justify Israel’s excessive response,” he said.

“As an old man, my appeal to my fellow laureates and peacemakers is to step into the leadership void, to make your voices heard from all corners of the globe, to advocate or pressure your government and institutions to cajole, to persuade,” Tutu said

via Desmond Tutu likens Gaza crisis to apartheid | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR.

Chile, Home to the Largest Palestinian Community Outside the Arab World, Urges Israel to Stop Bombing Gaza · Global Voices

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has not gone unnoticed in Chile. Representatives of Chile’s sizable Palestinian community have been urging the government to take a more active stance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and build on President Michelle Bachelet’s condemnation last week of the shelling.

So far, 243 Palestinians, including many women and children, have been killed and more than 1,500 injured since the bombing began on July 8, according to Gaza’s health ministry. In Israel, rockets launched from Gaza that weren’t picked off by the Iron Dome missile defense system have injured several people. One Israeli civilian died after he was hit by shrapnel near the Gaza border, and an Israeli soldier was killed during ground operations that began on July 17.

Chile, which recognized Palestine as a “free, independent and sovereign state” on January 7, 2011, is home to the largest Palestinian community outside the Middle East. Estimates of the number of Palestinian descendants in Chile range from 450,000 to 500,000.

via Chile, Home to the Largest Palestinian Community Outside the Arab World, Urges Israel to Stop Bombing Gaza · Global Voices.

Better to keep heads down than “crow” about “rocking” tanks – Israeli tanks withdraw from Beit Lahiya after clashes with Hamas | Maan News Agency

Everyone wants to be the big guy but who is bringing peace? And when I say everyone, I am including Israelis and various brigades…

Hamas’ military wing the al-Qassam Brigades has claimed responsibility for hitting multiple Israeli military vehicles in the area, confirming direct hits with mortar shells and 107 rockets.

The Al-Quds Brigades affiliated with Islamic Jihad also claimed responsibility for the targeting of the military site Dugit, which is on the site of a former Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip, and two wells with four 107 missiles and the Mighen military site north of Beit Lahiya with three mortars.

For its part, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, claimed responsibility for the targeting of Eshkol with three rockets.

via Israeli tanks withdraw from Beit Lahiya after clashes with Hamas | Maan News Agency.

Increase reasons to emigrate to US – To reduce the amount of foreign assistance to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador based on the number of unaccompanied alien children who are nationals or citizens of such countries and who in the preceding fiscal year are placed in Federal custody by reason of their immigration status. (H.R. 5141) – GovTrack.us

One of the few Representatives with less than half a brain now serving in US House of Representatives

H.R. 5141: To reduce the amount of foreign assistance to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador based on the number of unaccompanied alien children who are nationals or citizens of such countries and who in the preceding fiscal year are placed in Federal custody by reason of their immigration status.

Introduced:

Jul 17, 2014

SPONSOR

Michael Burgess

Representative for Texas’s 26th congressional district

PARTY

Republican

via To reduce the amount of foreign assistance to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador based on the number of unaccompanied alien children who are nationals or citizens of such countries and who in the preceding fiscal year are placed in Federal custody by reason of their immigration status. (H.R. 5141) – GovTrack.us.

A bill to require notification of a Governor of a State if an unaccompanied alien child is placed in a facility or with a sponsor in the State and for other purposes. (S. 2628) – GovTrack.us

Afraid of children and wants Governors to be able to refuse to aid children in need!

S. 2628: A bill to require notification of a Governor of a State if an unaccompanied alien child is placed in a facility

via A bill to require notification of a Governor of a State if an unaccompanied alien child is placed in a facility or with a sponsor in the State and for other purposes. (S. 2628) – GovTrack.us.

Michelle Obama the Colored Woman: Some Takes on the Brilliant Brown vs Board of Ed. Site Visit Photo — BagNews

If you weren’t completely transfixed yesterday by the shooting down of a commercial jetliner over Ukraine, you might have come across this. Simply put, it’s the best visual to come out of the Administration in months, maybe longer.

via Michelle Obama the Colored Woman: Some Takes on the Brilliant Brown vs Board of Ed. Site Visit Photo — BagNews.