be just

Pat Robertson: Haiti 'Cursed' By 'Pact To The Devil' : Information Clearing House - ICH : "January 13, 2010 - - 'Huffington Post' - By Danny Shea -- Televangelist Pat Robertson said Wednesday that earthquake-ravaged Haiti has been 'cursed' by a 'pact to the devil.' 'Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it,' he said on Christian Broadcasting Network's 'The 700 Club.' 'They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you'll get us free from the French. True story. And so, the devil said, okay it's a deal.'"

Help Haiti: The Unforgiven Country Cries Out : Information Clearing House - ICH : "Exactly two hundred years ago, Haitian slaves overthrew their French masters -- the first successful national slave revolt in history. What Spartacus dreamed of doing, the Haitian slaves actually accomplished. It was a tremendous achievement -- and the white West has never forgiven them for it. In order to win international recognition for their new country, Haiti was forced to pay 'reparations' to the slaveowners -- a crushing burden of debt they were still paying off at the end of the 19th century. The United States, which refused to recognize the country for more than 60 years, invaded Haiti in 1915, primarily to open it up to 'foreign ownership of local concerns.' After 19 years of occupation, the Americans backed a series of bloodthirsty dictatorships to protect these 'foreign owners.' And still it goes on."

Q+A: Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan tops $1 trillion | Reuters : "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The cost to U.S. taxpayers of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 has topped $1 trillion, and President Barack Obama is expected to request another $33 billion to fund more troops this year."

NATO: US Troops Shot Civilian Protesters in Afghanistan’s Garmsir District -- News from Antiwar.com : "In the second NATO shooting incident in a little over 24 hours in the Garmsir District of Afghanistan’s restive Helmand Province, US Publish Post troops opened fire on a crowd of civilian protesters on Wednesday, wounding five."

AU Forces Shell Playground in Somalia, Kill Seven Children -- News from Antiwar.com : "In the second high profile killing of civilians by the ostensible “peacekeeping” body in less than a week, African Union forces shelled a playground in the Somali capital city of Mogadishu, killing 10 people including seven children who were playing soccer."

Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Saudi troops killed at Yemen border : "Four Saudi soldiers have been killed in an operation to seize back a border post from Yemeni Houthi fighters, Saudi Arabia's state television has said. Following the clashes, Saudi forces seized the position back from the fighters and 'destroyed' them, the report added on Tuesday. The latest casualties bring the death toll of Saudi soldiers in the border conflict with the Yemeni fighters to 82. Twenty-one others are reported missing."

Africans blocked as Jerusalem acts to guard 'Jewish character' | The Australian : "ISRAEL yesterday announced plans for a new border fence, this one aimed at keeping out African migrants rather than Palestinian bombers. Construction of the fence, to be built along the border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, is aimed at stemming the inflow in recent years of thousands of Sudanese and other Africans across the open frontier seeking work. Residents of southern Israeli towns such as Eilat and Arad have complained of what they term an overwhelming influx that has hurt their quality of life. In approving construction of a fence along the more accessible stretches of the 170km-long border, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu termed it 'a strategic decision to secure Israel's Jewish and democratic character'."