Rabobank raids rural Romania | Europe | DW.COM | 12.11.2015

On the unpaved streets of Zarand, a village in Western Romania where hundreds of subsistence farmers scratch a living on tiny plots of land, everyone is telling the same story. In hushed tones, they tell how hundreds of hectares of farmland have been stolen from local families by a corrupt mafia, leaving them with no kind of income and no access to the food source they almost wholly relied on. How it happened, few of them know, but they are aware of one thing: it now belongs to foreign-owned companies, and those companies have little interest in farming.Zarand is one of over 50 Romanian villages where the Dutch banking giant Rabobank now owns large tracts of land, as part of a 315-million-euro ($337-million) investment into farmland in Romania and Poland. Through subsidiaries belonging to a farmland investment fund called Rabo Farm, Rabobank have bought up at least 140 hectares in Zarand since 2011, and over 21,000 hectares in Romania as a whole. In 10 to 15 years, the fund plans to sell at a profit of over 900 million euros, in line with the rapidly soaring price of land in Eastern Europe.

Source: Rabobank raids rural Romania | Europe | DW.COM | 12.11.2015

france 24 – Deadly explosions rock Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut – France 24

{No mention of fact this is a huge Palestinian refugee community that has taken in thousands of Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Syria}

Local media said that the attacks occurred just outside a Shiite centre in the Borj al-Barajneh area.This southern suburb of the Lebanese capital – popularly known as “Dahieh” – is a stronghold of the Shiite militant Hezbollah group and has been hit by several deadly bombings since the 2011 Syrian uprising began.Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV says there were two explosions, about seven minutes apart, in the neighborhood of Burj al-Barajneh.

Source: france 24 – Deadly explosions rock Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut – France 24

france 24 – Undercover Israeli agents stage raid on Palestinian hospital – France 24

Bilal Shalaldeh, Shalaldeh’s brother, told the AFP news agency that he was in the room at the time of the raid, which occurred around 3 a.m.”They arrested my brother and tied me up,” he was quoted as saying. “My cousin was in the bathroom and when he opened the bathroom door, and without any warning or any words, they shot at him five times.”Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency confirmed the incident in a statement, but claimed the man who was shot dead tried to attack the troops, and would not say if undercover forces were behind the deadly raid.

Source: france 24 – Undercover Israeli agents stage raid on Palestinian hospital – France 24

Lebanon: Life for Palestinian refugees in Bourj el-Barajneh | OCHA

In the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut lies Bourj el-Barajneh, a cramped refugee camp which is home to an estimated 28,000 Palestinian refugees. At least 3,000 people have arrived in the past year, fleeing the violence in Syria. Their arrival has stretched the limited resources available in the camp, leaving many without adequate access to even the most basic public services.The narrow alleys of Bourjel-Barajneh run between numerous buildings – old, new, mostly unfinished or poorly maintained. Most Palestinian refugees living there are completely dependent on organizations like the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and other humanitarian partners.“Over 90 per cent of the Palestinians here are unemployed so they either depend on assistance or they have to borrow,” says Dima Zayat Shehab, a health manager from the American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA), an international NGO that works with OCHA and UNRWA. “We have found that food and shelter are the two biggest concerns.”

Source: Lebanon: Life for Palestinian refugees in Bourj el-Barajneh | OCHA

life on the verge of existence…. my article in huffington post italia | nadiaharhash

When Oppression is the Law. Resistance becomes an Obligation. Resistance is the way to liberation. Liberation is the way to peace. Peace cannot be built under oppression, apartheid and injustice.

Source: life on the verge of existence…. my article in huffington post italia | nadiaharhash

Theft, Lies, and Facebook Video — Medium {So is anyone surprised? Profit before people debases the whole system and is not likely to change}

Among the user generated content that drove traffic to YouTube in 2006 and 2007, there were plenty of Family Guy and Daily Show clips. But YouTube was a tiny start-up flying under the radar. As soon as it got big (and got bought) Google fixed this problem with “Content ID,” a system that analyzes every single video uploaded to YouTube and checks it against a massive database of known owned content.It’s a little inexcusable that Facebook, a company with a market cap of $260 BILLION, launched their video platform with no system to protect independent rights holders. It wouldn’t be surprising if Facebook was working on a solution now which they can roll out conveniently after having made their initial claims at being the biggest, most important thing in video.But even if they do have a system, it won’t function as well as Content ID. Content ID works so well largely because YouTube is good at monetizing content. So, instead of taking a video down, a copyright holder can claim the video and receive revenue from it. Content ID has claimed millions of videos and is responsible for over a billion dollars in revenue so copyright holders love it. But without a good system of monetization, Facebook can only remove videos, not send big checks to the owners of stolen content. For the copyright holder, interfacing with a profitless system is just a pain in the ass with no upside.

Source: Theft, Lies, and Facebook Video — Medium

A Clergyman Of Peace and Courage: Remembering Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero

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Picture courtesy omlanka

Today has been declared a national day of mourning as Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero is laid to rest.  To mark this day, Groundviews has curated some of the best stories in remembrance to his tireless pursuit for social justice.

Access the stories curated directly on Storify here.

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