be just

Kenya court humiliates and deports 89 Ethiopians (video) | Ethiopia : "A court in Kenya sentences 89 Ethiopian refugees 10,000 shillings each and orders their immediate deportation. These Ethiopians went to Kenya to escape from the fascist junta in Ethiopia led by the despot Meles Zenawi. Kenya court’s decision is not only immoral, it is also in violation of international law that call for the protection of refugees. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

It Is Official: The US Is A Police State : Information Clearing House: ICH : "Anti-war activist Mick Kelly whose home was raided, sees the FBI raids as harassment to intimidate those who organize war protests. I wonder if Kelly is under-estimating the threat. The FBI’s own words clearly indicate that the federal police agency and the judges who signed the warrants do not regard antiwar protesters as Americans exercising their Constitutional rights, but as unpatriotic elements offering material support to terrorism. “Material support” is another of those undefined police state terms. In this context the term means that Americans who fail to believe their government’s lies and instead protest its policies, are supporting their government’s declared enemies and, thus, are not exercising their civil liberties but committing treason. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

AU Troops Kill At Least 20 Civilians in Mogadishu Market Shelling -- News from Antiwar.com : "After raids by militants from multiple factions, African Union troops responded as they so often have in recent months, by shelling the most crowded marketplace in Mogadishu. The attack on the Bakara Market left at least 20 civilians, including a number of women and children, dead and 86 others wounded. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Arrests of Journalists: Is NATO Censoring Afghan War Coverage? -- News from Antiwar.com : "Update 9/24: NATO has released the detained journalists, insisting that they determined they “were not considered a significant security threat.” Officials declined to clear them of accusations that they were in league with the Taliban, however. Popular television station Al Jazeera today accused NATO of deliberately trying to suppress coverage of the rising violence in Afghanistan by arrested two of its cameramen and accusing them of being in league with the Taliban. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

FBI Launching Mass Raids of Antiwar Activists’ Homes -- News from Antiwar.com : "The warrant against antiwar activist Mick Kelly’s home cited efforts to look into his ability to “pay for his own travel” to Palestine and Colombia and appeared to have been little more than a fishing expedition looking for possible links to “foreign terrorist organizations including but not limited to FARC, PFLP, and Hezbollah.” Kelly insists that the raids were about harassing antiwar organizers. Officials said they were related to a Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation. The JTTF in Minneapolis has a long history of heavy-handed investigations against protest groups, including an attempt in 2008 to infiltrate a vegan potluck. Most of the raids were conducted in Minneapolis and were related to antiwar leaders in that city. Other raids were also reported in Chicago, Michigan, and North Carolina. Many of the homes targeted were related to the “Freedom Road Socialist Organization” (FRSO) but it is n...

7.5 million acres of fertile Ethiopian land to be leased away | Ethiopia : "The Oakland Institute has released a report titled (Mis)Investment in Agriculture: The Role of the International Finance Corporation in the Global Land Grab, which points out that more than 13 million Ethiopians are in need of food aid, “but paradoxically the government is offering at least 7.5 million acres of its most fertile land to rich countries and some of the world’s most wealthy individuals to export food back to their own countries.” The 59-page report explains: …the leasing of farmland has increased dramatically in Ethiopia the past three years. In what has been called Ethiopia’s great “land lease project”—in an effort to introduce large-scale commercial farming to the country—the government is offering up vast chunks of fertile farmland to local and foreign investors at almost giveaway rates. By 2013, three million hectares of idle land is expected to have been allotted, equivalent to more th...

ei: Palestinians take to Jerusalem streets after killing : "'I could not believe my eyes. I saw a man lying in his own blood and dying. The settler guards had just shot him in cold blood and watched him dying. He was there, on the ground, for one hour until an Israeli ambulance arrived on the scene, of course they would not allow any of us to get near him. The Israelis did, however, bring over forty settler guards and Border Police to the scene before the he was moved.' The dead man was named as Samir Sarhan, aged about 30 according to news reports, and the father of five children. Rajmi spoke clearly while looking me straight in the eye but once could see the rage simmering over the killing. 'This is not a good situation. This is an extremely hard situation and I think that chaos is going to break out here,' he said. 'If another one dies from his wounds sustained last night, I think that Silwan is going to blow up. You just wait and see what happens during the...

Chilean Economist Manfred Max-Neef: US Is Becoming an "Underdeveloping Nation" : "While President Obama is reporting looking into tapping a former corporate executive to become his next top economic adviser, many economists question the path the United States is on. We speak to the acclaimed Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef. He won the Right Livelihood Award in 1983, two years after the publication of his book Outside Looking In: Experiences in Barefoot Economics. [includes rush transcript] - Sent using Google Toolbar"

CIA’s Afghan Kill Teams Expand U.S. War in Pakistan : Information Clearing House: ICH : "September 21, 2010 'Wired' -- Let there be no doubt that the U.S. is at war in Pakistan. It’s not just the drone strikes. According to insider journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, the CIA manages a large and lethal band of Afghan fighters to infiltrate into Pakistan and attack al-Qaeda’s bases. What could possibly go wrong? Woodward’s not-yet-available Obama’s Wars, excerpted today in the Washington Post and the New York Times, unveils a CIA initiative called the Counterterrorist Pursuit Teams, a posse of anti-Taliban and al-Qaeda locals who don’t respect the porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The teams are practically brigade-sized: a “paramilitary army” of 3000 Afghans, said to be “elite, well-trained” and capable of quietly crossing over in the Pakistani extremist safe havens where U.S. troops aren’t allowed to operate. The CIA directs and funds the teams. - Sent using Goo...

The War Profiteers - Top Marine Officer Charged in Haditha Killings is Forced into Retirement : "Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the highest-ranking of the eight Camp Pendleton Marines charged in the 2005 killings of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, has been forced into retirement, his lawyers said Monday. Chessani's last day on active duty was Friday, according to the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Thomas More Law Center, which called the occasion 'a sad day for America and the Marine Corps.' In June, the secretary of the Navy upheld a ruling by a Board of Inquiry at Camp Pendleton that found Chessani was not guilty of misconduct but had shown 'substandard' performance and should be required to retire. The Board of Inquiry was convened after a military appeals court upheld the trial judge's ruling to dismiss criminal charges against Chessani because of the appearance of 'undue command influence' in the case. Chessani was commander of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine...

Iraqi tennis player aims to be Venus in wheelchair | Antiwar Newswire : "Even the rocket that blew off her legs four years ago hasn't dampened her desire to play the game. It's just that she now does so in a wheelchair. Alwan is among a growing number of young Iraqis who have turned to competitive sports to learn to live with the physical scars and emotional trauma of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and sectarian bloodshed it unleashed. It's not easy in a country still suffering from daily violence, and limited help for handicapped people. Alwan and others like her are determined to persevere. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Census: 1 in 7 Americans live in poverty - Yahoo! News : "WASHINGTON – The ranks of the working-age poor climbed to the highest level since the 1960s as the recession threw millions of people out of work last year, leaving one in seven Americans in poverty. The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million people, the Census Bureau said Thursday in its annual report on the economic well-being of U.S. households. The report covers 2009, President Barack Obama's first year in office. The poverty rate climbed from 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million people, in 2008. The share of Americans without health coverage rose from 15.4 percent to 16.7 percent — or 50.7 million people — mostly because of the loss of employer-provided health insurance during the recession. Congress passed a health overhaul this year to address rising numbers of the uninsured, but the main provisions will not take effect until 2014. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

2 ministers burn Quran in Tennessee backyard | MichaelMoore.com : "SPRINGFIELD, TN — A Florida pastor's threat to burn Islam's holy book on the anniversary of 9/11 set off a nationwide furor and incited Muslim anger as far away as Afghanistan, but the incendiary plan ended quietly in the backyard of a home in Springfield. After a week that included warnings that burning the Quran would endanger American troops overseas, a personal phone call from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and an appeal from President Barack Obama to listen to 'those better angels,' the Rev. Terry Jones of Gainesville, Fla., relented and canceled his plans. But the Rev. Bob Old vowed to stick with his plan to burn the Quran. On Saturday, despite the national tempest and opposition from conservative Christian leaders including Middle Tennessee pastors, Old carried out his plan. But for all the controversy and hype, his Quran burning took place in front of just a handful of people, most of them f...

Michael Moore Raises $50,000 for Islamic Center Near Ground Zero | MichaelMoore.com : "LOWER MANHATTAN — Michael Moore says he has raised over $50,000 for Park51, the mosque and community center near Ground Zero. Moore, a liberal director and author, wrote a blog post on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of 9/11, urging supporters of the Park51 project to donate whatever they could. He promised to match up to $10,000. Less than 48 hours later, five times that amount had poured in as thousands of people from around the country heeded Moore’s call, he said. 'Times are tough economically, and supporting our Muslim brothers and sisters is not a popular thing to do right now,' Moore said on his blog Monday morning. 'I am truly touched by your generosity — and people around the world will know that you, too, represent an America they rarely get to see.' - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Daniel Ellsberg Calls for Release of Wikileaks “Whistleblower” Army Pfc. Bradley Manning | CommonDreams.org : "Nationwide - September 14 - Daniel Ellsberg helped end the war in Vietnam when he leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press in 1970. Pfc. Bradley Manning, the alleged “whistleblower” accused of releasing documents and combat video showing the gunning down of Iraqi civilians and Reuters journalists to Wikileaks. Manning was not born when Ellsberg blew the whistle on the Vietnam War, but Ellsberg says, “Soldiers sworn oath is to defend and support the Constitution. Bradley Manning has been defending and supporting our Constitution.'
 - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Nelson Mandela 'felt betrayed by Tony Blair over decision to join Iraq invasion' | World news | The Guardian : "Tony Blair, Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela with Tony Blair in May 2007. Photograph: Jerome Delay/AP Nelson Mandela felt so betrayed by Tony Blair's decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq that he launched a fiery tirade against him in a phone call to a cabinet minister, it emerged today. Peter Hain, a lifelong anti-apartheid campaigner who knows the ex-South African president well, said Mandela was 'breathing fire' down the line in protest at the 2003 military action. The trenchant criticisms were made in a formal call to the minister's office, not in a private capacity, and Blair was informed of what had been said, Hain added. The details are revealed in Hain's new biography of Mandela. 'He rang me up when I was a Cabinet minister in 2003, after the invasion,' he told the Press Association. 'He said: 'A big mistake, Peter,...

Israeli shelling kills Palestinians - Middle East - Al Jazeera English : "Israel said it began the shelling in response to rockets fired across the border from Gaza [GALLO/GETTY] Israeli shelling has killed three Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, medical workers and witnesses say. Hamas security and medical officials said two of the Palestinian killed on Sunday, in Beit Hanoun near the Israel-Gaza border, were farmers. 'Ibrahim Abdullah Abu Saeed, a caretaker at a a farm, aged 91, and Ismael Walid Abu Audeh, 20, were killed on Sunday by fire from an Israeli tank,' Adham Abu Salima, a spokesman for local medical services, told AFP news agency. Shortly after, Hossam Khaled Abu Saeed, the farmer's 17-year-old grandson, also died of wounds sustained in the incident, close to the flashpoint Gaza-Israel border, a medical source said. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Tribes in Kenya Wage Water War -- In These Times : "For hundreds of years, the Turkana have herded cattle, sheep and goats. They are among the most nomadic people in the world, constantly moving in search of pasture for their livestock. But the changing climate and marginalization by successive governments have caused resources to dwindle at a startling rate across the Turkana’s traditional home. “It was easier before,” says Loochi’s father Akadaye as he holds a protective palm over Loochi’s damaged eye. “We used to have dry periods, but the rains did eventually come. But now it just goes on and on.” Droughts that once appeared every decade have started ravaging the land every two or three years, throwing the tribe’s migratory patterns into disarray. All this is undoubtedly due to climate change. Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro have seen their ice caps recede during the last 60 years and Lake Chad, which extends over Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria has lost 80 percent of its water s...

Jenkins: Bible Far More Violent than Qur’an | Informed Comment : "My experience is, people are people. They’re all equally capable of the same good and evil, across religions and cultures, and how much of each they commit has to do with both their opportunities and their character at any point in history. The amazing thing is that the West has managed to convince itself that all its wars and killing were someone else’s fault (even though it was mainly elements of the West fighting other elements of the West that produced the charnel houses of the twentieth century). - Sent using Google Toolbar"

tehran times : Who is behind the Shia killings in Pakistan? : "Who is behind the Shia killings in Pakistan? By Gul Jammas Hussain In a devastating series of sectarian attacks over the last three days, terrorists struck at two separate Shia rallies in two different cities in Pakistan, killing over 98 innocent people -- 33 in Lahore and 65 in Quetta. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

"Security for Everyone, Not Just Settlers and Occupiers" - Ali Abunimah on Opening of US-Brokered Mideast Peace Talks : "'Security for Everyone, Not Just Settlers and Occupiers'–Ali Abunimah on Opening of US-Brokered Mideast Peace Talks Abuminah US-brokered talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority begin today in Washington. Both sides agreed to sit down last month after the US successfully pressured Palestinian leaders to drop their precondition of an Israeli settlement freeze. On the eve of the summit, Palestinian militants killed four Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. We speak with Ali Abunimah, co-founder of The Electronic Intifada. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Alexander Zaitchik on "Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance" : "Glenn Beck organized a much-publicized 'Restoring Honor' rally on Saturday in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Beck’s fans reportedly number in the millions, and Saturday’s rally drew nearly 100,000 supporters. We speak with Alexander Zaitchik, author of Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance. - Sent using Google Toolbar"

Africa ... states of independence - Programmes - Al Jazeera English

Riyadh questions maid torture claim - Middle East - Al Jazeera English : "Saudi government officials have questioned the account of a Sri Lankan maid who said her Saudi employers planted 24 nails and needles into her body. Saad al-Badah, the chairman of the National Recruitment Committee, told Saudi state television on Tuesday that the account of L.T. Ariyawathi seemed '80 per cent fabricated' and suggested the motive could be extortion. He questioned how the woman, who worked for a Saudi family in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, for five months until August, could have continued to be healthy and without infection with nails in her body. He also said that it was hard to believe she could have passed through several airport metal detectors on her return from Riyadh with so many pieces of metal in her body. 'Even someone with just one coin in his pocket has to remove it when passing through the detector,' Badah said. Abdel-Hadi Abaeri, the head of the security ...