be just

Yemen's President Saleh arrives in US - Americas - Al Jazeera English

Demanding justice for Yousef, a quiet boy killed by Israeli settlers On 28 January 2011 at 6:30am, Yousef Ikhlayl, 17, went with his father Fakhri to their farmland on the outskirts of the West Bank village Beit Ommar, where they prepared the land around their grapevines. At approximately 7am, two groups of Israelis from the illegal settlements Bat Ayn and Kiryat Arba were taking a “hike” in the privately-owned Palestinian agricultural land belonging to the residents of Beit Ommar (“Palestinian killed in clashes with settlers near Hebron,” The Jerusalem Post, 29 January 2011).

Call for the World Social Forum Free Palestine, Nov. 2012 in Brazil Occupied Palestine is part of every free heartbeat in this world and her cause continues to inspire solidarity across the globe.  The World Social Forum Free Palestine is an expression of the human instinct to unite for justice and freedom and an echo of the World Social Forum’s opposition to neo-liberal hegemony, colonialism, and racism through struggles for social, political and economic alternatives to promote justice, equality, and the sovereignty of peoples. The WSF Free Palestine will be a global encounter of broad-based popular and civil society mobilizations from around the world. It aims to: 1. Show the strength of solidarity with the calls of the Palestinian people and the diversity of initiatives and actions aimed at promoting justice and peace in the region. 2. Create effective actions to ensure Palestinian self-determination, the creation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the fulfil...

NYPD Admits Using Anti-Muslim Film for Training Nearly 1,500 Officers -- News from Antiwar.com NYPD Admits Using Anti-Muslim Film for Training Nearly 1,500 Officers Film Accuses All Muslims of Plotting to Overthrow US by Jason Ditz, January 24, 2012 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Last year, the New York Police Dept. was caught in an ugly scandal when the Village Voice reported it showed a 72-minute film titled The Third Jihad to police as a “terrorist training” video. Officials at the time downplayed the number of officers who saw it, and claimed it was quickly pulled when it was deemed “inappropriate.” The video condemns Muslims in general and moderate American Muslims in particular, claiming that all non-violent Muslims are part of a secret conspiracy to overthrow the US government and impose Sharia law in its place. FOIA requests have finally gotten through the red tape, however, and it is now revealed that movie was not an isolated mishap at NYPD, but rather was required...

Haditha Massacre ‘Sentence’ Riles Iraqis, Seen as ‘Insult’ -- News from Antiwar.com Haditha Massacre ‘Sentence’ Riles Iraqis, Seen as ‘Insult’ Staff Sergeant Faces Pay Cut Over Butchering of Civilians by Jason Ditz, January 24, 2012 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum In the mother of all plea bargains, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who was charged with leading the US Marines’ massacre of 24 civilians in the Iraqi city of Haditha, plead guilty to a single count of “dereliction of duty.” His “sentence,” such as it is, will amount to a demotion to the rank of private and a pay cut related to his loss of rank. He will serve no jail time. The announcement has angered a number of Iraqis, particularly the relatives of the slain, who say the verdict is an insult. Khalid Salman, a lawyer for the relatives of the victims, and a cousin of one of the slain, condemned the decision. “This is not a traffic felony,” he said. Even skeptical Iraqis weren’t prepared for this total dismissal. Saleem a...

Jack Murtha and the Ghosts of Haditha by Kelley B. Vlahos -- Antiwar.com Jack Murtha and the Ghosts of Haditha by Kelley B. Vlahos, January 24, 2012 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Nearly two years ago on Feb. 8, 2010, Rep. Jack Murtha, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, who was also a Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran, died of complications from gall bladder surgery. In what is probably a first in modern Congressional history, his untimely death was greeted ghoulishly in certain unseemly sectors with cheers and jeers. Rep. Jack Murtha “Sufficient time has passed since John Murtha’s death to reckon with his true record,” carped right-wing maven Michelle Malkin four days after the 77-year-old died in a hospital just outside Washington in Arlington, Virginia. “No tears for the wreckage, poison, and damage to the public trust he left behind… John ‘Jack’ Murtha was an unrepentant smear merchant and corruptocrat to the bitter end.” And for what did Murtha deserve such a vicious postmortem? ...

US marine pleads guilty to Haditha killings - Americas - Al Jazeera English A US Marine sergeant accused of leading a massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha pleaded guilty on Monday to negligence, ending the final prosecution stemming from a 2005 incident. Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, 31, the commander of a group of Marines whose other members have been exonerated, entered his plea as part of a deal with military prosecutors in which more serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault were dismissed. Wuterich was initially charged with murder. A sentencing hearing will be held Tuesday, said a spokesman for Camp Pendleton, south of Los Angeles.

EmailPrintSave January 20, 2012 (JUBA) – The government of the Republic of South Sudan has decided to shut down all its oil production throughout the country in response to the action by Khartoum which confiscated the oil as it flows through North Sudan pipelines. A Southern Sudanese soldier (R) stands next to crude oil reservoir tanks while a foreign Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (NPOC) oil worker walks by at a field processing facility in Unity State on November 10, 2010. (Getty) The resolution was passed today in the Council of Ministers meeting chaired by President Salva Kiir Mayardit. The minister of Petroleum and Mining, Stephen Dhiew, was directed by the Council to immediately workout the technicalities of shutting down the oil operations. South Sudan said it has already lost hundreds of millions of dollars as Khartoum took over 3 million barrels of oil that passed through the pipeline to Port Sudan. Khartoum claimed that it confiscated the oil because of unpaid fees....

By LUC VAN KEMENADE, Associated Press – Tue Jan 17, 9:59 am ET ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Ethiopia has forcibly moved tens of thousands of semi-nomadic people in the country's west to barren villages and threatened, assaulted and arrested those who resisted, an international rights group said in a report Tuesday. The Human Rights Watch report said that Ethiopia last year resettled about 70,000 people in its western Gambella region after the first of a three-year "villagization" program. The rights group said it suspects people have been moved to lease out farmland to investors, and not just to lift them out of poverty. It said that security forces "repeatedly threatened, assaulted, and arrested villagers" who resisted relocation. The watchdog also reported rape, killing of cattle and burning of houses among rights violations. Instead of the promised improved life with "access to basic socio-economic infrastructures," locals found new villages that lacked ...

Tourists killed in Ethiopia attack - Africa - Al Jazeera English Unknown assailants killed five foreign tourists in Ethiopia's northeastern Afar region, state television reported. The foreigners, whose nationalities were not immediately known, were killed on Monday in the remote region bordering Eritrea, Ethiopian Television (ETV) said on Tuesday, citing the defence ministry. ETV said two tourists were injured severely and have been brought to a health clinic by defence forces. They are in critical condition, the television said. Another tourist survived the attack unharmed. ETV suggested that the attackers were rebels with ties to Ethiopia's archrival Eritrea, which hosts the exiled Oromo Liberation Front, a rebel group listed as a terrorist organisation by the Ethiopian government. Ethiopia's foreign ministry acknowledged tourists had been attacked in the Afar region but said it didn't have any further details about the attack or the victims' nationalities. 'E...

Gov. Perry: Urinating on Dead Afghans Not a Crime -- News from Antiwar.com With Newt Gingrich the first candidate to claim Palestinians are a myth and Rick Santorum the first candidate to promise a more or less instant war on Iran if elected, the ways in which other candidates might single themselves out as uniquely jingoist appeared limited, but Gov. Rick Perry of Texas (who already tried with a promise to reinvade Iraq if elected) has found a way.

Iraq: Arbaeen Attacks Leave 71 Killed, 145 Wounded -- Antiwar.com Today is Arbaeen, which marks the end of the 40-day mourning period observed by Shi’ite pilgrims in honor of Hussein bin Ali, the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson. As expected, insurgents staged a major bombing against pilgrims. It alone left about 200 casualties. Overall, at least 71 people were killed and 145 more wounded. It is unknown if any foreigners were among the casualties.

Gitmo Prison Camp Enters Its Second Decade -- News from Antiwar.com It was ten years ago today that President Bush converted the Naval base at Guantanamo Bay from a facility aimed primarily at spiting the Cuban government to the most notorious detention center on the planet, using the facility’s unique location as legal cover for open-ended detention of captives without charges or access to any civilian courts.

US military to probe 'marine abuse video' - Americas - Al Jazeera English The US Marine Corps has said it will investigate a video posted on the internet which appears to show US soldiers in Afghanistan urinating on corpses. In a statement issued on Wednesday after the footage came to light, the corps said the matter would be fully investigated. "While we have not yet verified the origin or authenticity of this video, the actions portrayed are not consistent with our core values and are not indicative of the character of the marines in our corps," the statement said. The video, which was first posted on the Live Leak website, shows four men in military uniforms urinating on three bloodied bodies on the ground, apparently aware that they were being filmed. One of them jokes: "Have a nice day, buddy."  The other makes a lewd joke about a shower. "Regardless of the circumstances or who is in the video, this is... egregious, disgusting behavior, unacceptabl...

Report: Saudi King Abdullah ordered to assassinate Iraqi VP 'Tariq al-Hashemi' (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Saudi regime is reportedly planning to assassinate fugitive Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi over fears that he might disclose Saudi Arabia's role in the bloody events in Iraq. According to reports coming from Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, where Hashemi has taken refuge, head of Saudi Arabia's intelligence agency Prince Muqrin bin Abdul-Aziz is tasked with killing Hashemi to prevent the disclosure of his cooperation with Riyadh in assassinating Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Iraqi Girl tells of US Attack in Haditha Ten-year-old Iman Walid witnessed  the killing of seven members of her family in an attack by American marines last November. The interview with Iman was filmed exclusively for ITV News by Ali Hamdani,our Iraqi video diarist.

Iranian Nuclear Scientist Killed in Bombing

YouTube: Israeli Occupation forces arrested Khaled Atallah Al-Tamimi (Nabi Saleh), Azmi Shyoukhi (Hebron), the young Omar Saleh Al-Tamimi (Nabi Saleh) and a Palestinian girl by the name of Anwar. Further the Israeli intelligence services demanded confiscated the id and car of Mahmoud Zwahre. When he managed to evade arrest, Israeli army called him telling him he would be put on wanted list if he does not turn himself in for arrest within 30mins. Mahmoud is now also arrested, 10mins ago, he was at the DCO in Jericho, to be taken to Ma'ale Adumim. In addition, the IOF apparently held the identity card of Naim Marar intending to force him to turn himself in to the occupation authorities. In addition, since last night, ITF imposed a tight security cordon on the village of Nabi Saleh... Many people joined to show their rights to pass the road freely at Jericho checkpoint today, israeli soldiers were not accept to go trough the road .

When we landed, the American officers unshackled me before they handed me over to a delegation of German officials. The American officer offered to re-shackle my wrists with a fresh, plastic pair. But the commanding German officer strongly refused: “He has committed no crime; here, he is a free man.” I was not a strong secondary school student in Bremen, but I remember learning that after World War II, the Americans insisted on a trial for war criminals at Nuremberg, and that event helped turn Germany into a democratic country. Strange, I thought, as I stood on the tarmac watching the Germans teach the Americans a basic lesson about the rule of law.

Former “Dumbest Member of Congress” Scorches Romney  : Information Clearing House January 04, 2011 "Counterpunch" - - A Catholic former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania once rated the dumbest man in the US Congress crested Tuesday night in Iowa’s see-saw battle among candidates for the Republican nomination and ran a virtual tie with Mormon millionaire Mitt Romney. Well after chilly midnight on caucus night in the Midwestern state, Iowa’s Republican Party declared Romney the winner by 8 votes, a count that Santorum will inevitably question and perhaps contest. Each hovered just below 30,000 votes, with libertarian Republican Ron Paul of Texas running third with a respectable 26,000-plus votes.

 Debunking the Terrorism Narrative : Information Clearing House The war with Al-Qaeda is over. Western leaders must level with their citizens: Al-Qaeda poses only a security irritant, not a serious threat. Terrorism cannot be eradicated with drone attacks or even massive military interventions, all of which are, in any case, costly. Rather than battling against a mythic foe, the U.S. and Western powers should expedite the withdrawal of soldiers from Muslim territories where their presence is a painful reminder of the European colonial legacy of domination and subjugation. Further, the U.S. and others offer assistance in rebuilding Yemen and Pakistan's institutions and empowering them to address those serious localized threats, yet resist the temptation of turning the struggle into a war between Al-Qaeda and the West. Taking up the anti-Western mantle is the only option for the survival of localized Al-Qaeda groups, and it behooves the United States and its allies not to give them a...

When Can the President Assassinate Americans?  : Information Clearing House January 03, 2011 "American Conservative" -- The New York Times puts this question to the GOP contenders. Sophistry ensues. “Under what circumstances, if any, would the Constitution permit the president to authorize the targeted killing of a United States citizen who has not been sentenced to death by a court,” the paper asks. Gingrich, Huntsman, Perry, and Romney take the same line: “Under wartime circumstances” says Newt; “If such an individual is engaged on a battlefield,” says Huntsman; “Due process permits the use of deadly force against all enemy combatants, including citizens,” Romney avers; and “The President would be so authorized … where a citizen has joined or is associated with a nation or group engaged in hostilities against the United States” according to Perry. Only Ron Paul describes the conditions in which extrajudicial targeted killing of Americans is permitted as “none.”

Seven years after sieges, Fallujah struggles - Features - Al Jazeera English Fallujah, Iraq - Fallujah still bears the scars of war; skeletons continue to be pulled from the rubble of bombed buildings, and, worse, rates of birth defects and childhood malformations have skyrocketed. There is evidence of reconstruction, but shortages of electricity and clean water remain prevalent. The overall mood in the city is one of anger, hopelessness, and fear. In April and November of 2004, the United States military launched two massive military sieges against the city of Fallujah, located 60km west of Baghdad, due to on-going resistance there against the occupation. Doctors at Fallujah General Hospital told Al Jazeera in 2004 that 736 Iraqis had been killed during the April siege. They said approximately 60 per cent of the victims were women, children, and elderly, and told of medical personnel being fired on by US forces while trying to evacuate the wounded. By the end of nearly three weeks of ...