Category Archives: terrorism

Israel’s waiver to discriminate: Sam Bahour | cleveland.com

Preferential treatment of Israel has, sadly, come to be expected in the United States. Too often, the United States turns a blind eye as Israel discriminates against American citizens, then rewards Israel for this unacceptable behavior.

The so-called visa waiver bill would reward Israel by allowing Israelis to travel to the United States without a visa — a privilege that is supposed to hinge on Israel reciprocating the gesture.

The bill’s main co-sponsor, Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, has defended a key provision of the bill that would allow Israel to continue discriminating against U.S. citizens. The provision, absent from the agreements that the United States has with all 37 other countries participating in the visa waiver system, gives Israel a green light to deny entry — on its own terms and for its own reasons — to any Americans whom it deems as “jeopardizing the security of the state of Israel.” No need to justify why. No need to explain. Just blanket U.S. capitulation to Israel’s discriminatory policies.

In other words, being American will count for nothing at Israel’s borders, and Israel will be free to continue discriminating against Americans it unilaterally deems unacceptable.

Mostly Arab-Americans are affected, many of them born in the United States and tracing their roots to historic Palestine. But when they try to visit the land of their ancestors, these American citizens are humiliated at Israel’s ports of entry, and many are turned away (or given abbreviated visas) by Israel, our “closest ally” in the Middle East.

via Israel’s waiver to discriminate: Sam Bahour | cleveland.com.

Hunters (faux-men) in Gemany Say Wolf Populations a Growing Threat – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Wannabe “he-men” hunters in Germany similar to same in US – any excuse to go and shoot a wolf – to feel like a “real” man and lie about it to get your way! Members of district hunting association in Meissen, an idyllic city with a castle that is world famous for its porcelain, recently criticized the wolves’ return in a letter to the Saxony state interior minister that included the header “urgent”. In it, the hunters lament that Saxony has the “world’s densest population of wolves,” and that it is increasing. It goes on to say that they worry not only about public safety, but also that “previously unseen mass packs” of up to 40 wild boar had been lurking about in the Meissen area recently.

The hunters claim the animals have joined together in large packs out of fear of the wolves and are causing tremendous damage. They also claim that local partridges, pheasants, hares, owls and skylarks are disappearing, devoured by wolves and other predators. Something has to be done, the hunters warn — otherwise fear “will become an unwelcome part of daily life.”

via Hunters in Gemany Say Wolf Populations a Growing Threat – SPIEGEL ONLINE.

Northeast Nigeria attack by extremists kills 52 people | News , International | THE DAILY STAR

Who is in charge here?

Suspected Islamist extremists used homemade explosives and heavy guns to attack a village in Nigeria’s northeast, killing 52 people and razing more than 300 homes, security officials and witnesses said Monday.

It was among the highest death tolls in attacks increasing in frequency and ferocity as militants defy an 8-month-old military state of emergency to halt the Islamic uprising.

The attackers planted se

via Northeast Nigeria attack by extremists kills 52 people | News , International | THE DAILY STAR.

Breadcrumbs in Dark Times: Any minute now, everything will change. | Rebelle Society

When the Going Gets Tough…

These days, the rough patch we’re navigating has turned into a very long haul. I believe we’ll weather the changes. I believe we’re strong enough to do so. Still, it’s easy to fall into despair and wish that our journey wasn’t so rife with trouble.

Right now, we’re in a thick soup of changes that rival any changes we’ve weathered in human history. The shit’s hitting the fan — environmentally, economically, emotionally — and everywhere we look, people are losing it. Shooting up the joint. Setting themselves on fire. Totaling their cars. Blowing up their personal lives.

via Breadcrumbs in Dark Times: Any minute now, everything will change. | Rebelle Society.

Time-out in Ukraine | Europe | DW.DE | 23.01.2014

In Kyiv, they\’re trying to pull off a coup,\” he told DW. The government, he added, has reacted \”very cleverly\”. It wants a political solution through negotiations. \”If we\’d wanted it otherwise, we would have settled the protests with violence a long time ago,\” Kalaschnikov said.

Government supporters meet in the Mariyinsky Park

\’Designate a leader\’

Yet the impression that Ukraine\’s police force stands fully behind the president is deceiving. At a blockade just one hundred meters (328 feet) from parliament, two police officers get involved in a discussion with opposition protesters. They\’re wearing black helmets and masks, so that only their eyes can be seen.

\”How should the crisis be solved?\” a man asks.

An officer replies that the opposition should designate a leader to negotiate with the president.

It\’s a line that almost sounds like the opposition.

Fearing he\’d said too much, the police officer glanced around and walked quickly away.

via Time-out in Ukraine | Europe | DW.DE | 23.01.2014.

Everyone wants to do a remake of The Warlord but people are dying for real! Anbar war opens front on Facebook, Twitter – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

A new front has opened in the battle for control of Anbar province. The conflict, which began in late December 2013 when the Iraqi army deployed to the Anbar desert to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), has now expanded to such popular social media platforms as Facebook and Twitter. Activists backing the Iraqi army have established pages supporting the security forces, while tribal fighters battling the army as well as ISIS have created similar pages. They all provide updates of events on the ground, and some do not shy from indulging in incitement against their adversary.

via Anbar war opens front on Facebook, Twitter – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East.

Memorandum — Establishing a White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault | The White House

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT:  Establishing a White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault

The prevalence of rape and sexual assault at our Nation\’s institutions of higher education is both deeply troubling and a call to action.  Studies show that about one in five women is a survivor of attempted or completed sexual violence while in college.  In addition, a substantial number of men experience sexual violence during college.  Although schools have made progress in addressing rape and sexual assault, more needs to be done to ensure safe, secure environments for students of higher education.

via Memorandum — Establishing a White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault | The White House.

Electronic Village: OURstory: Lynching in America

Some of the most graphic photographs that I\’ve ever seen in my life contained the images of Black men people being lynched. Collector James Allen uncovered an extraordinary visual legacy: photographs and postcards taken as souvenirs at lynchings throughout America. He published these photographs in his book Without Sanctuary. You can experience the images as a flash movie with narrative comments by James Allen, or as a gallery of photos. Please be aware before entering the site that much of the material is very graphic and very disturbing.

via Electronic Village: OURstory: Lynching in America.

Settlers uproot hundreds of trees near Ramallah | Maan News Agency

Israeli settlers uprooted over 600 recently planted olive and almond saplings in a village north of Ramallah on Wednesday, a Palestinian Authority official said.

Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma\’an that a group of settlers from Givat Ariel and Maale Levona uprooted newly planted saplings in the village of Sinjil.

Daghlas said Israeli police opened an investigation into the incident.

The saplings were planted by the International Committee of the Red Cross to support Palestinian farmers, Daghlas said.

More than 70 families would have benefited from the trees, he added.

via Settlers uproot hundreds of trees near Ramallah | Maan News Agency.

Avian Flu Diary: China’s CDC: H7N9 infections will grow further

While it may seem like a statement of the obvious, Feng Zijian, deputy director of China’s CDC has taken to the Chinese airwaves to warn that they expect the number of H7N9 cases to increase in the coming weeks, and that the elderly and the chronically ill should limit their exposure to live poultry.

 

Despite continued warnings over the dangers of exposure to live poultry, live markets remain open in many regions, and when markets are closed, they tend to remain closed only long enough for disinfection of the seller’s stalls.

 

Last October, in The Lancet: Poultry Market Closure Effect On H7N9 Transmission, the consensus was the closure of live markets  – while costly, and not particularly popular among many in China – was largely responsible for the rapid decline in human cases during the first outbreak.

via Avian Flu Diary: China’s CDC: H7N9 infections will grow further.