be just

Police in CA looking into possibility of hate crime in death of severely beaten Iraqi woman By Associated Press, Published: March 24 | Updated: Sunday, March 25, 6:54 PM EL CAJON, Calif. — A woman from Iraq who was found beaten next to a threatening note saying “go back to your country” has died, and police are investigating the possibility of a hate crime. Hanif Mohebi, the director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Shaima Alawadi was taken off life support Saturday afternoon. “The family is in shock at the moment. They’re still trying to deal with what happened,” said Mohebi, who met with family members. Alawadi, a 32-year-old mother of five, had been hospitalized since her 17-year-old daughter found her unconscious in the dining room of the family’s El Cajon home in suburban San Diego on Wednesday, police Lt. Steve Shakowski said. “A hate crime is one of the possibilities, and we will be looking at that,” Lt. Mark Coit said. “We don’t want t...

 Incarceration Nation   : Information Clearing House March 25, 2012 "TIME.com" --  Mass incarceration on a scale almost unexampled in human history is a fundamental fact of our country today,” writes the New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik. “Over all, there are now more people under ‘correctional supervision’ in America - more than 6 million - than were in the Gulag Archipelago under Stalin at its height.” Is this hyperbole? Here are the facts. The U.S. has 760 prisoners per 100,000 citizens. That’s not just many more than in most other developed countries but seven to 10 times as many. Japan has 63 per 100,000, Germany has 90, France has 96, South Korea has 97, and Britain - with a rate among the highest - has 153. This wide gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world is relatively recent. In 1980 the U.S.’s prison population was about 150 per 100,000 adults. It has more than quadrupled since then. So something has happened in the past 30 years to push millions of Americans int...

A veteran American journalist has been fired after referring to Israel's occupation of Palestinian and Syrian land as "brutal." Sunni Khalid, managing news editor at WYPR-FM in Baltimore, was dropped by the public radio station on Thursday after more than nine years on the job. He had been on probation following criticism of comments he made on Facebook about Israel's continued illegal occupation of Palestine. "I, for one, have had enough of this pandering before the Israeli regime," he wrote. "The war-mongering toward Iran has, once again, distracted the world from Israel's brutal military occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights." Khalid, who previously worked for National Public Radio, has also written for Time Magazine, The Washington Times, and USA Today. Israel maintains a siege of Gaza and a military occupation in the West Bank, with devastating consequences for the indigenous Palestinian population. Rights grou...

'Belambai' is Afghanistan's 'My Lai'  : Information Clearing House March 23, 2012 "Al Jazeera" - - San Pedro, CA - I immediately thought of the My Lai Massacre when I heard the news of a US Army sergeant who murdered at least 16 civilians, including nine children and three women, burning most of their bodies after murdering them, in their homes near Belambai in Kandahar, Afghanistan. As with My Lai - where 504 unarmed civilians were murdered on March 16, 1968 - it was a single bloody incident that seemed to epitomise the entire misbegotten war.  Whatever illusions or delusions might have been harboured early on, had by then either faded or been violently stripped away. The massacre of innocents came as no real surprise, however much some might still pretend to be shocked or surprised. Also like My Lai, Belambai is clearly a massacre after the war has already been lost, but before the generals and politicians are prepared to admit it. To be honest, b...

Government Now Allowed to Store Info on Innocent Americans -- News from Antiwar.com The U.S. intelligence community can now store information innocent Americans for up to five years under new Obama administration rules, expanding previous authority to hold details on individuals with no ties to terrorism.

Mali Coup Leader: President Has Been Arrested -- News from Antiwar.com The leader of the military coup in Mali said Friday that the president and other top government officials have been arrested and will soon be handed to the courts for trial, but refused to reveal their whereabouts. photo via BBC News “These people are safe and sound. We will not touch a hair on their heads. I will hand them over to the courts so that the Malian people know the truth,” Captain Amadou Sanogo said. Sanogo and the rebel troops he leads toppled the democratically elected government in Mali this week after tensions arose over how to fight the Tuareg insurgents in the north of the country. Mali’s army had grown upset with President Amadou Toumani Toure for not arming them sufficiently enough to quell the Tuareg fighters who had recently returned from fighting for Gadhafi’s side in Libya. Mali appears to be very unstable from this week’s events. Looting has spread throughout the country and Tuareg...

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia (left), the country’s top Islamic cleric, has declared that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region,” placing Christian places of worship throughout the Arabian Peninsula in potential jeopardy. Since Christianity is already forbidden in Saudi Arabia and no churches exist there, the implications of the cleric’s words were that the church ban should extend to other countries in the region, including Yemen, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. According to the Arabic Christian news site Linga.org, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah made the controversial statement during a meeting with a delegation from the Kuwait-based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage, in response to a query about Sharia law concerning the construction of churches in Islamic countries. As reported by the Christian Post, the question was in reference “to a recent controversial statement by a Kuwaiti member of parliament who reportedly called f...

Afghan Massacre Soldier ‘Doesn’t Remember’ Killings -- News from Antiwar.com Adding further intrigue to the impending charges against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales for the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians in Kandahar Province, his lawyer now says Bales “doesn’t remember” carrying out any massacres that night.

Ret. Gen.: Massacre Could Force US From Afghanistan in Weeks -- News from Antiwar.com Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Retired Major General James A. Marks, the senior intelligence officer during the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, said that the fallout from last weekend’s massacre could force a withdrawal from Afghanistan in a matter of weeks. “It’s not inconceivable that that could happen,” Marks said, noting that Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s demand for occupation troops to remain confined to base could dramatically change the mission. Karzai demanded NATO confine its troops on Thursday, during a meeting with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Panetta has been among the officials who insist that there will be no policy changes because of the massacre. But they may not have a choice in the matter, as reports emerge that the Afghan parliament unanimously passed a resolution to abandon the current agreed upon terms of engagement for US troops (the Afghan War’s equivalent of a Status of Force...

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Progressive Mainstay in Congress, Loses Dem. Primary in Redrawn Ohio District

After Kucinich Defeat, Will Progressive Mantle Fall? - The ITT List When Dennis Kucinich’s political career came to an abrupt end this week, the progressive movement lost one of its most vocal and visible advocates. Kucinich’s rise to that status illustrates a paradox that's worth reflecting on: U.S. Representatives hardly ever achieve national influence until they aspire to a higher office. For this reason, a replacement of Kucinich's stature and far-reaching influence may be difficult to come by.

There Will Be Paranoia -- In These Times There is still a lot to figure out about organized haters, even for dedicated scholars such as Goldwag. He concedes being caught unprepared five years ago, after publication of ‘Isms and ‘Ologies. Radio talk show host Tavis Smiley asked Goldwag why the book’s index failed to list the term “racism.” Improvising a reply, Goldwag said, “That’s because I confined myself to specific systems of thought. I wrote about racist philosophies, but racism in general signals the absence of thought.” Goldwag could tell Smiley found that answer weak, as did Goldwag. As a result, he conceived The New Hate as a book about “the role of organized hatreds in the historical arc of American politics.”

J.P. Morgan Chase's Ugly Family Secrets Revealed       : Information Clearing House J.P. Morgan Chase's Ugly Family Secrets Revealed By Matt Taibbi March 16, 2012 "Rolling Stone" -- In a story that should be getting lots of attention, American Banker has released an excellent and disturbing exposé of J.P. Morgan Chase's credit card services division, relying on multiple current and former Chase employees. One of them, Linda Almonte, is a whistleblower whom I've known since last September; I'm working on a recount of her story for my next book.

Maid in Lebanon Abuse Video Kills Herself     : Information Clearing House   Maid in Lebanon Abuse Video Kills Herself By Al-Jazeera Suicide comes days after footage emerged of Ethiopian woman being violently dragged on Beirut street by male employer. March 16, 2012   An Ethiopian domestic worker in Lebanon who was filmed being physically abused in public has committed suicide, local media have reported. The video, first aired by Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) last week, caused outrage by showing a man abusing Alem Dechasa as she cried on a street outside the Ethiopian embassy in Beirut. The man was shown grabbing Dechasa and telling her, "get into the car" while she screamed out, "no, no, no". Another man then assisted in dragging Dechasa into the back of a car as she struggled to resist. Asaminew Debelie Bonssa, Ethiopian general consul in Lebanon, told The Daily Star newspaper in Beirut that Dechasa committed suicide by ...

Humanitarian disaster unfolds in South Sudan - Features - Al Jazeera English Washington, DC - Less than a year since South Sudan's independence, thousands of people in the region continue to face the stark realities of secession. As an impending famine and daily violence grow in severity, the governments in Juba and Khartoum remain mired in disputes over borders and oil revenues. Among the areas most affected by the latest violence and food shortages are states on the border between Sudan and South Sudan. Thousands of civilians stranded in the Nuba Mountains of Southern Kordofan, a Sudanese province with a population close to 1.1 million, now face starvation - largely a result of the Sudanese government's move to restrict international humanitarian relief agencies from accessing the most troubled areas. The recent fighting has destroyed large tracks of farmland and crops essential for isolated populations in Sudan's Blue Nile State and Southern Kordofan. According t...

UN panel approves sidelined report praising Gaddafi's human rights record [newKerala.com News # 173120] UN panel approves sidelined report praising Gaddafi's human rights record Washington, Mar 15 : A United Nations panel has adopted a report praising the human rights record of the former government of deposed Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, a year after it was sidelined amid international objection.

The International Criminal Court is, by any objective measurement, racist. So why do liberals love it? March 15, 2012 "The Telegraph" -- Imagine if there were a criminal court in Britain which only ever tried black people, which ignored crimes committed by whites and Asians and only took an interest in crimes committed by blacks. We would consider that racist, right? And yet there is an International Criminal Court which only ever tries black people, African black people to be precise, and it is treated as perfectly normal. In fact the court is lauded by many radical activists as a good and decent institution, despite the fact that no non-black person has ever been brought before it to answer for his crimes. It is remarkable that in an era when liberal observers see racism everywhere, in every thoughtless aside or crude joke, they fail to see it in an institution which focuses exclusively on the criminal antics of dark-skinned people from the "Dark Continent". Yes...

Call to Action: Support Hana al-Shalabi as her health declines 4 weeks into hunger strike in Israel jail The parents of hunger-striking political prisoner Hana al-Shalabi have issued a call to all Palestinians to protest this weekend in support of their daughter who is on her 28th continuous day without food in protest at her detention without charge or trial by Israel: “We call upon the Palestinian National Authority, the Palestinian national factions, and all Palestinians to take to the streets on Saturday, March 17 and to demonstrate in support of our daughter Hana Shalabi and all administrative detainees. Pressure on the Palestinian street is imperative in achieving Hana’s immediate release, as well as support for her open hunger strike [that began on February 16, 2012] We as Hana’s family continue to support her hunger strike, and we want to let our daughter know that we are with her in every step of her hunger strike until she achieves her immediate release from the Israel...

Israeli Apartheid Week connects Gaza with South Africans, Palestinians in exile Everything in Gaza testifies to its deep-rooted culture of resistance against a ruthless system that continues to besiege, murder, and expel the Palestinian people who, instead of lamenting their endless losses, refuse but to find life in its fullest sense. As Israel’s F-16 aircrafts dropped its bombs on whoever it deemed a “terrorist,” including a twelve-year-old boy, Palestinians still went to work, schools, universities, and even wedding parades were still to be seen in the streets. Gaza’s Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) also went ahead, and on its first day, the first-ever musical collaboration between Palestine and post-Apartheid South Africa was launched. “The New Black” is the name of the eight-minute video clip, a name that accurately depicts the oppressive reality of the Palestinian people. Mohammed Omar, a Palestinian oud player based in Gaza, and the South African band The Mavrix coordinated ...

Dennis Kucinich And “Wackiness”         : Information Clearing House Dennis Kucinich And “Wackiness” By Glenn Greenwald March 13, 2012 "Salon" -- Last week, Rep. Dennis Kucinich was defeated in a Democratic primary by Rep. Marcy Kaptur after re-districting pitted the two long-term incumbents against each other. Kucinich’s fate was basically sealed when the new district contained far more of Kaptur’s district than his. His 18-year stint in the House will come to an end when the next Congress is installed at the beginning of 2013. Establishment Democrats have long viewed Dennis Kucinich with a mixture of scorn, mockery and condescension. True to form, the establishment liberal journal American Prospect gave Kucinich a little kick on the way out, comparing his political views to the 1960s musical “Hair” (the Ohio loser talked about “Harmony and understanding”!), deriding him as “a favorite among lefty college kids and Birkenstock-wearers around the country,” and pronouncin...

US Kills 16 Civilians in Afghanistan: Kabul Government US Kills 16 Civilians in Afghanistan: Kabul Government By Reuters March 11, 2012 "Reuters" - - Western forces shot dead 16 civilians including nine children in southern Kandahar province on Sunday, Afghan officials said, in a rampage that witnesses said was carried out by American soldiers who were laughing and appeared drunk. One Afghan father who said his children were killed in the shooting spree accused soldiers of later burning the bodies.

James Petras : The Bloody Road to Damascus        : Information Clearing House March 10, 2012 "Information Clearing House" --- There is clear and overwhelming evidence that the uprising to overthrow President Assad of Syria is a violent, power grab led by foreign-supported fighters who have killed and wounded thousands of Syrian soldiers, police and civilians, partisans of the government and its peaceful opposition.

Israeli Air Strikes Kill 15 in Gaza Strip -- News from Antiwar.com A possible Israeli attack on Iran has been the topic of many discussions this week, but attention turns elsewhere today as Israeli warplanes have launched multiple air strikes against the Gaza Strip, killing at least 15 people and wounding 22 others.

Saudi Arabia May Be Tied to 9/11, 2 Ex-Senators Say:       : Information Clearing House March 01, 2012 "NY Times" --WASHINGTON — For more than a decade, questions have lingered about the possible role of the Saudi government in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, even as the royal kingdom has made itself a crucial counterterrorism partner in the eyes of American diplomats. Now, in sworn statements that seem likely to reignite the debate, two former senators who were privy to top secret information on the Saudis’ activities say they believe that the Saudi government might have played a direct role in the terrorist attacks. “I am convinced that there was a direct line between at least some of the terrorists who carried out the September 11th attacks and the government of Saudi Arabia,” former Senator Bob Graham, Democrat of Florida, said in an affidavit filed as part of a lawsuit brought against the Saudi government and dozens of institutions in the country by families of Sept. 11 v...