be just

Archbishop Tutu refuses platform with Blair - Africa - Al Jazeera English Blair's office said he was 'sorry' the archbishop had decided to pull out [Reuters] Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said he will boycott an event in protest at sharing a stage with Tony Blair, former British prime minister, over his "morally indefensible" support of the US-led Iraq invasion. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate decided to withdraw as a speaker on Tuesday at a one-day leadership summit in Johannesburg on Thursday after "wrestling with his conscience and taking counsel", his office told organisers. "Ultimately, the archbishop is of the view that Mr Blair's decision to support the United States' military invasion of Iraq, on the basis of unproven allegations of the existence in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, was morally indefensible," Tutu's office wrote to organisers. Blair's office said he was "sorry" the Archbishop had decid...

No charges in Afghanistan Quran burning - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English Six US army soldiers and three marines have escaped criminal charges for burning copies of the Quran and urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, but have received administrative punishments, according to US military officials.

Israeli army cleared in Rachel Corrie death - Middle East - Al Jazeera English Corrie was 23 years old when she went to the town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip as part of a group of activists from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). They were acting as human shields to try to stop the Israeli army demolishing Palestinian homes and clearing land around Rafah.

Foreign fighters join Syria's rebels      :    Information Clearing House: ICH August 23, 2012 "Al Jazeera" --  Some foreigners are fighting in Syria's largest city, Aleppo, alongside rebels who say they are disappointed that more residents have not joined their cause.

Al-Qaeda Linked ‘Al-Nusra Front’ Gaining Prominence in Syrian Civil War -- News from Antiwar.com From al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) on, there are several different al-Qaeda-styled factions hoping to make a name for themselves in the Syrian Civil War. Among the most successful in recent weeks has been the al-Nusra Front.

PressTV - Iran to give massive response to Israeli military strike: Hezbollah leader Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has stressed that Iran's response to any Israeli military strike aimed at stopping its nuclear energy program will be “massive.”

Obama More Sympathetic to Israelis Killed in Bulgaria than to Sikh Americans Murdered in Wisconsin   :    Information Clearing House: ICH Obama More Sympathetic to Israelis Killed in Bulgaria than to Sikh Americans Murdered in Wisconsin By Ali Abunimah August 07, 2012 "Information Clearing House" --   As soon as news came of a bomb attack that killed Israeli tourists in Bulgaria on 18 July, US President Barack Obama condemned it in the most strident terms – even though, then, as now, the perpetrator and his motive remain unknown. Obama’s statement left no room for ambiguity: I strongly condemn today’s barbaric terrorist attack on Israelis in Bulgaria. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed and injured, and with the people of Israel, Bulgaria, and any other nation whose citizens were harmed in this awful event. These attacks against innocent civilians, including children, are completely outrageous. The United States will stand with...

John Pilger :  How the Chosen Ones Ended Australia's Sporting Prowess and Revealed its Secret Past:   Information Clearing House: ICH August 10, 2012 "Information Clearing House" -- The ferries that ply the river west of Sydney Harbour bear the names of Australia's world champion sportswomen. They include the Olympic swimming gold-medalists Dawn Fraser and Shane Gould, and runners Betty Cuthbert and Majorie Jackson. As you board, there is a photograph of the athlete in her prime, and a record of her achievements. This is vintage Australia. Often shy and never rich, sporting heroes were nourished by a society that, long before most other countries, won victories for ordinary people: the first 35-hour working week, child benefits, pensions, secret ballots and, with New Zealand, the vote for women. By the 1960s, Australians had the most equitable spread of personal income in the world. In modern-day corporate Australia, this is long forgotten. "We are the chosen on...

Don't go to Israel because it mistreats Palestinians, South Africa tells citizens as mayors cancel trip “Because of the treatment and policies of Israel towards the Palestinian people, we strongly discourage South Africans from going there,” South Africa’s deputy minister of international relations and co-operation has told the Mail & Guardian. The Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim added that this was South Africa’s “general policy,” but more so “in regard to municipalities, since they are part of government.” South African mayor’s visit to Israel canceled The minister’s comments came in the wake of the cancelation of a visit to Israel by a delegation of mayors and municipal leaders from South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. The Mail & Guardian reported: A South African pro-Palestinian lobby group has welcomed the news that a delegation of mayors and other members of several KwaZulu-Natal municipalities has cancelled a planned visit to Israel. “This is a major se...

China region bans Muslims from fasting during Ramadan - The National BEIJING // Authorities in China's restive northwestern region of Xinjiang have banned Muslim officials and students from fasting during Ramadan, prompting an exiled rights group to warn of new violence.

Paul Craig Roberts:  The Neoconservative War Criminals In Our Midst    Information Clearing House: ICH Inside Syria: Aleppo’s Christians Arm Against Islamists As foreign and local radicals rise amid the chaos of Syria’s civil war, Christians are taking arms from the Assad regime. By Hugh Macleod, Annasofie Flamand and a reporter inside Syria August 01. 2012 "Global Post" -- ALEPPO, Syria and BEIRUT, Lebanon — As evidence mounts that foreign Islamists are fighting alongside Syria’s increasingly radicalized rebels, Christians in Aleppo and elsewhere are taking up arms, often supplied by the regime. “We saw what happened to the Christians in Iraq,” Abu George, a Christian resident of Aleppo’s Aziza district told GlobalPost. “What is going on in Aleppo is not a popular revolution for democracy and freedom. The fighters of the so-called Free Syrian Army are radical Sunnis who want to establish an Islamic state.”

Inside Syria: Aleppo’s Christians Arm Against Islamists:        Information Clearing House: ICH Inside Syria: Aleppo’s Christians Arm Against Islamists As foreign and local radicals rise amid the chaos of Syria’s civil war, Christians are taking arms from the Assad regime. By Hugh Macleod, Annasofie Flamand and a reporter inside Syria August 01. 2012 "Global Post" -- ALEPPO, Syria and BEIRUT, Lebanon — As evidence mounts that foreign Islamists are fighting alongside Syria’s increasingly radicalized rebels, Christians in Aleppo and elsewhere are taking up arms, often supplied by the regime. “We saw what happened to the Christians in Iraq,” Abu George, a Christian resident of Aleppo’s Aziza district told GlobalPost. “What is going on in Aleppo is not a popular revolution for democracy and freedom. The fighters of the so-called Free Syrian Army are radical Sunnis who want to establish an Islamic state.”

Mitt Romney, Palestinian culture and white supremacism: responses worth reading US Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney generated a backlash with his claims in Jerusalem that the vast (20:1) disparity in income between Israelis and Palestinians can be explained by a superior Jewish Israeli culture and “the hand of providence” – rather than by the systematic depradations of Israeli occupation on the economy of Palestinians.

90% of Gaza water "unsafe for drinking," says UN UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - After a fact-finding tour of the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip — and following hearings in Jordan and Egypt — a three-member United Nations committee has lambasted Israel for the harsh treatment of Palestinian children held in custody.

Mitt Romney: Richer Means Superior:         Information Clearing House: ICH Romney's Remarks Against Palestinian Culture Seen as Racist By The Associated Press July 30, 2012 "AP" --   JERUSALEM - Mitt Romney told Jewish donors Monday that their culture is part of what has allowed them to be more economically successful than the nearby Palestinians, outraging Palestinian leaders who called his comments racist and out of touch. ``As you come here and you see the GDP per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality,'' the Republican presidential candidate told about 40 wealthy donors who breakfasted around a U-shaped table at the luxurious King David Hotel.