... Catholic Christian Symbol -IRNI (LATIN: IESVS·NAZARENVS·REX·IVDAEORVM TRANSLATES- Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews)
....YOU CAN'T OUTLIVE HIM.....AND YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT HIM...... Oh Praise the Lord... Our Lord and Saviour...Jesus Christ
Dr. S.M. Lockeridge -That's My King: Do you know him? - 1976 sermon in Detroit -Baptist- so moving- all Christians should hear how incredible our Faith was in the 60s and 70s.... hear us roar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZvghAZLDPA
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Leonard Cohen chose beautiful Jeff Buckley- so beautiful makes me weep...1994
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8AWFf7EAc4
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You know back in the 70s.... we truly thought with extra hard work all 2gether- this would be our world 2day..... India would not be over-populated and dirt poor 95% of their people.... education would be empowered by all nations and prosperity...... so many millions around the world gave our $$$$, work tirelessly 2 create a fairer world 4 homeless, broken, disabled, aged and those who just needed help and love and enouragement.... that was our dream....
John Lennon's Imagine London 2012 Children's Choir Performance
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Redemption Song - Bob Marley - Song of Freedom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuLcTPvuH1E
and...
the best news 2da rings around the world
South Africa’s Mandela back home after long hospital stay
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and thank u Canada 4 A Little Good News
Anne Murray- A Little Good News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqUUQElQ8kM
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Canada said no 2 Iraq and Canada says no 2 Libya- Afghanistan justified September 11, 2001- We Remember
It's time 4 our Muslim brothers and sisters 2 fix their own messes- and God-Allah bless them.... moving on...
Canada right on Syria
QMI Agency
First posted: Friday, August 30, 2013 05:45 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, August 30, 2013 05:58 PM EDT
Stephen Harper Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper talks during a news conference in Hay River, Northwest Territories August 20, 2013. (REUTERS/Chris Wattie)
Prime Minister Stephen Harper got it right on Syria. No military action on our part, he announced Thursday.
Although if our allies feel like unilateral action is the right course for them, we're not going to stand in their way. We'll offer moral support.
After all, we're opposed to the chemical weapons attacks. On Friday U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said these attacks killed 1,429 Syrians.
Both the United States and France are poised to act. If they feel comfortable with the information at hand and are willing to commit their citizen's resources, so be it.
But we'll sit this one out. Admittedly we are in a convenient position. The attack reportedly being considered would use drones and cruise missiles. We have neither.
In this space on Thursday we argued that a "surgical" response was required -- a targeted attack that used minimal resources.
It also needed to be of the proportion that ruled out prolonged follow-up action. We don't want another Iraq or Afghanistan on our hands.
This seems to be what is going to happen. Good.
We're not concerned that unilateral action from the United States doesn't have the support of the United Nations Security Council. Russia, which has veto power on the council, has long been supportive of the Assad regime.
Canadians from all sides of the political spectrum will likely be happy with this outcome. Although some Syrian-Canadians apparently want more action on our part.
An Ottawa Sun story quoted a university student who wished Canadian ground troops were being sent. This is the wrong attitude.
Canada, particularly the Toronto region, is home to many immigrants and first or second generation Canadians who still feel connected to their homeland or their parent's homeland.
It's always disheartening to hear hyphenated Canadians expecting us to solve the problems of other countries.
Canada is a destination in itself, not a place from which to lobby for your ancestral homeland.
The images of violence horrify us, but we're glad we haven't committed to action. Although the time for limited action on our part may come.
Unlike President Obama, we're not drawing any red lines. The scene is still fluid and uncertain.
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/08/30/canada-right-on-syria
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War Weary Europe: The US Loses an Ally
An Analysis by Severin Weiland
British Prime Minister David Cameron suffered a bitter defeat in parliament over Syria.
The British parliament on Thursday blocked Prime Minister David Cameron's move to join the US in an air strike on Syria. The decision weakens Europe's standing against despots like Bashar Assad, who now know that Britain is no longer a reliable partner for the United States.
For United States President Barack Obama, this is a disaster. He's been left in the lurch by Britain, Washington's most loyal ally. What happened on Thursday in London was a historical decision. When it came to military deployments, the US and Britain were extremely reliable partners over at least the past two decades. Be it the first or second Iraq war or in Afghanistan, the two countries always fought at each other's side. Even when France and Britain rushed ahead into an air war against Libya and Washington's position appeared to be wavering, Obama ultimately joined the mission.
ANZEIGE
They were a well-oiled brotherhood of arms, and they remained so for years -- until, suddenly, a majority in the House of Commons voted against participation in a military strike against Syria.
What happened in Westminster on Thursday was more than just a setback for British Prime Minister David Cameron. The decision casts a Klieg light on Europe's weakness. Around the world, despots like Bashar Assad now know that even the determined British are no longer prepared to undertake just any old action Washington is planning. And this much is certain: The decision by the
House of Commons will have an impact on the entire diplomatic framework in which the West is able to navigate in the future. That framework has been weakened and along with it all those in Europe who are offering cautious support for the military action.
Berlin Won't Participate, Paris Wavers
So who will step up this time to partner with Washington? For Berlin, participation was never a question. Regardless whether it has been under conservative or liberal rule, no German government has pushed on the military front -- and when it has participated in missions, those actions have been accompanied by intense national debates, as evidenced in Kosovo and Afghanistan. This time around Berlin has issued verbal salvoes against Assad and has announced together with Washington "consequences" in the event the use of chemical weapons is proved. But the German government is not interested in direct military participation in a strike against Syria.
Now attention is shifting to Paris -- a new phenomenon for Washington. France has always been a stubborn, wavering partner. The decisions by French presidents to intervene tend to be based on the country's own interests, as evidenced by France's recent decision to send troops to battle the Islamists in Mali. Nevertheless, it appears that French President François Hollande isn't prepared to turn his back quite so quickly on Obama following the British parliament's vote. And that is indeed a courageous move on the part of the Socialist Party president given that it has the potential to unleash a harsh reaction from the French left. Indeed, with the exception of a few representatives of the French intellectual community, international military deployments in the country have never been popular.
Doubts about Military Action
Britain's sudden, unexpected backing out shows that the doubts about military operations, which have been dominant on the Continent for years, have now reached the British coalition of Conservatives and Liberals. A considerable number of coalition lawmakers joined the opposition in the Thursday evening vote.
There is a reason for that. Britain was heavily involved in both Iraq and Afghanistan, suffering far more casualties than other European countries involved. In recent years, skepticism of such military adventures has grown in the UK among all parties.
It is an irony of history that it is now Obama who is leading the charge for a military strike in Syria. His approach thus far has tended to reinforce doubts about the West's recent tendency toward intervention. It was, after all, Obama who withdrew US troops from Iraq and began the pull-out from Afghanistan, which is scheduled to be completed next year.
Now, Obama is facing his first real foreign policy (and military) test virtually alone -- even though there are decent arguments to be made for sending Assad a clear military warning should proof that he deployed poison gas be found.
The decision reached by the House of Commons on Thursday night also has a tragic aspect: It is a long-term consequence of the dishonesty used by the administration of George W. Bush -- and joined by then British Prime Minister Tony Blair -- in the run-up to the Iraq invasion. Many Britons still recall that one of the key arguments presented for going into Saddam Hussein's Iraq was the alleged existence of chemical weapons laboratories. But they were never found.
Since then, mistrust of such "proof" is rampant. And Obama must now pay the price.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/british-syria-vote-an-omen-for-difficult-diplomatic-future-in-europe-a-919576.html
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and the good news- Afghanistan
U.S. Soldiers Find Surprise on Returning to Afghan Valley: Peace
It was their first return to the Pech Valley — a rugged swath of eastern Afghanistan so violent they nicknamed it the Valley of Death — since the American military abruptly ended an offensive against the Taliban here in 2011 after taking heavy casualties.
But the Americans, from the First Battalion of the 327th Infantry, had not come back to fight. Instead, their visit this summer was a chance to witness something unthinkable two years ago: the Afghan forces they had left in charge of the valley then, and who nobody believed could hold the ground even for weeks, have not just stood — they have had an effect.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/31/world/asia/us-soldiers-find-surprise-on-returning-to-afghan-valley-peace.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1&
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POSTED
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Sept 1-Canada's World Trade Sept 11, 2001 -We Remember-Photohonour/Afghanistan 158 Canadians Remembered/ AFGHANISTAN news- Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the Nelson Mandela of Afghanistan and hopefully next President 2014/Repatriation and Remembering Canada's finest who gave all in Afghanistan 158 photos- God bless Afghanistan and Nato troops/Girls Inequality NOT just Afghanistan
http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2013/08/canada-military-news-sept-1-afghanistan.html
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On This Day in 1939, Germany invaded Poland, triggering World War II, the Holocaust and the deaths of up to 85million people across the globe. Click here to see archive Pathe footage: http://yhoo.it/1cmN4JS
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=629301093770692&set=a.355331247834346.88380.115060728528067&type=1&theater
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imho...
MUSLIM WORLD IS STEPPING UP - Bless them- just watch the Muslim world instill their own way of law of the Muslim Monsters hijacking and butchering all over the Middle East, Asia and Africas- Muslim Law
Muslim world is stepping up 4 their own countries and peoples- Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia etc.- NO MORE HAMAS, HEZBOLLAH, ALQUADA-TALIBAN..NewAgeNazi Muslim coward butchers by whatever name.... who kill innocents.....
Iraq peoples are now taking the law in2 their own hands and grabbing the Muslim Monsters right there and hanging them and setting them on fire- IT'S CALLED MUSLIM LAW... and let's leave them 2 it....
sometimes think Jesus would be more comfortable among the Africas and Middle East than the Industralized world nations.... imho
and...
World from Berlin: 'Humanitarian Wars Are Also Wars'
The UK and the US are preparing for a possible military strike on Syria. Zoom
Getty Images
The UK and the US are preparing for a possible military strike on Syria.
The US, the UK and France have laid the rhetorical groundwork for a military strike against Syria. Germany too looks as though it will not remain on the sidelines this time. But will it happen? German commentators warn that escalation may only make things worse.
Preparations for a possible US strike on Syria are underway. According to a report in the Greek daily Kathimerini on Tuesday, Washington has made a formal request to Athens for permission to use two military bases in the country, one on the island of Crete and another on the Peloponnese Peninsula. Citing sources in the Greek Defense Ministry, the paper also reports that increased activity in the country's airspace has been registered. The US has four destroyers in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean according to separate media reports.
ANZEIGE
The news comes just one day after US Secretary of State John Kerry delivered an impassioned statement in Washington condemning the apparent use of chemical weapons in Syria last week, saying it was a "moral obscenity" and that it "is undeniable." White House spokesman Jay Carney said over the weekend that "there is very little doubt in our mind that the Syrian regime is culpable."
The rhetoric would seem to indicate that a military strike on Syrian forces is imminent. US President Barack Obama has spent days consulting with military leaders in Washington and allies overseas on just such a strike.
And many in Europe would seem to support such a move. British Prime Minister David Cameron cut short his vacation on Monday for consultations on how to move forward on Syria. His spokesman said that London reserves "the ability to take action swiftly if needed," and hinted on Tuesday that the British military was preparing for a response. France too is supportive of a rapid response, with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius saying "all options are open. The only option that I can't imagine would be to do nothing."
Reminiscent of Iraq?
Even Germany on Monday showed an increased willingness to consider a firm response to the use of gas agents in Syria. Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said that "the alleged widespread use of gas has broken a taboo. It requires consequences and a very clear response is needed." He repeatedly refused to rule out the use of force.
Still, any move would likely have to be made without full backing from the United Nations Security Council. China and Russia, both permanent members, have come out against a military strike and continue to support Syrian autocrat Bashar Assad. China's official Xinhua news agency warned on Tuesday that the rhetoric from Washington is reminiscent of that in the run up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Statements from Xinhua are generally considered to be indications as to how the government in Beijing is thinking.
Russia too has drawn parallels with Iraq. The country insists that there remains a paucity of proof that poison gas was used in the attack last Wednesday and that Assad was behind it. The US on Monday postponed talks with Russia on an international peace conference for Syria, a decision that Moscow called "regrettable."
With the US opting for direct consultations with specific European leaders -- Merkel, Cameron and French President François Hollande first among them -- the European Union has taken a back seat on the Syrian issue. On Monday, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said that it was "extremely important" for any Syrian response to be backed with a UN mandate.
German editorialists on Tuesday warn that a military strike, while tempting, may only make things worse.
The business daily Handelsblatt writes:
"Humanitarian wars are also wars. Those who jump into them for moral reasons should also want to win them. Cruise missiles fired from destroyers can send a message and demonstrate conviction, but they cannot decide the outcome of a war. Neither can a "we'll see" bombardment. There has to be a strategic motivation behind the moral one, and it demands perseverance."
"There are plenty of possible strategic considerations. One is that of challenging Russia and Iran, both of which are pursuing the cold calculation of saving Assad to increase their own influence in the region. For the Obama administration, another motivation is that of demonstrating America's weight in the region following years of retreat. Then there is the consideration of keeping Israel from launching its own, ill-considered attack. Thus, the Assad regime must go -- and the Iranian/Russian bridgehead along with it. This, of course, would merely be the first war. After that, a second one would have to be fought against al-Qaida and the Al-Nusra Front to prevent the country from becoming a source of Islamist terror."
"Following this logic shows that there is no such thing as a short and cheap war…. Moral imperative versus interests and ability: the gas attacks change little in this conundrum. Doing nothing is also not a solution. But whatever is done should be well considered. Entering a war is always easier than winning it."
Left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung writes:
"It is a human reflex. More than that, those who, upon seeing the images of the many murdered Syrian children, did not feel the impulse to immediately invade the country have lost their humanity. Which makes it all the more reassuring that Germany's political parties have not sought to use such emotions for their political advantage."
"But the emotions triggered by the pictures of dead children cannot be the decisive factor. We know that short-term military successes do not always mean long-term improvements for the people involved. Especially now, at a time when the region seems so flammable, all alternatives to a military strike must be considered."
Center-right daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:
"A broken taboo, a crime against civilization -- Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle have chosen noticeably clear words to condemn the poison gas attacks in Syria, and they, along with other Western leaders, have left little doubt that they believe Assad is behind them. Merkel made it clear that the deed … must be punished. The question is, by whom?"
"First and foremost, it is up to the United States as to whether there will be a military reaction. President Obama is primarily concerned about securing Syria's chemical weapons, not about Assad. That is certainly a serious enough motivation. And still he will have to consider the possible consequences for a troubled region. Warnings that violence could spread are justified -- and obsolete. The Syrian war has long since crossed the borders into Lebanon and Iraq. Berlin, meanwhile, wants to be on the side of its allies this time, rather than on the sidelines as it was during the Libya response. Without direct military involvement, of course."
-- Charles Hawley
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/german-pundits-weigh-pros-and-cons-of-syria-intervention-a-918849.html
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Hizbollah stops Saudis and Kuwaitis at checkpoints
Elizabeth Dickinson
Sep 1, 2013 .
Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/hizbollah-stops-saudis-and-kuwaitis-at-checkpoints#ixzz2df0P3ayV
Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook
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Turkish military units to return from Lebanon
1 September 2013 /TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA
Turkish military units operating in southern Lebanon within the scope of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission have started making moves to return to Turkey after their missions have expired, according to an official statement from the Turkish General Staff.
The mission of Turkish military units made up of engineering and construction experts expires on Sept. 5, and preparations for the discharge of troops has already started. As part of the discharge, military engineering and construction units and Turkish Naval Forces units are expected to be received at Iskenderun's Limak Port on Monday morning in an official ceremony.
The statement noted that the arrival of units to Iskenderun could be delayed due to weather conditions at sea.
Turkey decided to pull from Lebanon an approximately 260-strong engineering construction company serving with UNIFIL, though the mission's Turkish maritime task force will remain in the country. The report of the Turkish withdrawal came on the same day two Turkish pilots were kidnapped by gunmen in Beirut. However, Turkish officials stated that the withdrawal decision was made before the kidnapping event and was not connected to the abduction of the pilots.
Turkish Airlines (THY) pilot Murat Akpinar and his co-pilot, Murat Agca, were kidnapped by gunmen near Beirut's international airport on Aug. 9. A group called Zuwwar Imam Ali al-Reda has claimed responsibility for the abduction and demanded that Turkey step up pressure on the Syrian opposition to release nine Lebanese Shiites who were kidnapped by opposition fighters in war-torn Syria last May.
Turkish Parliament first agreed to send troops to the war-torn country in 2006, despite widespread opposition and protests, to help monitor a shaky cease-fire between Israel and Shiite Hezbollah guerrillas based in southern Lebanon, and has extended the mandate for a year every summer since then
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-325151-turkish-military-units-to-return-from-lebanon.html
Pope Francis: War leads to more war
By Agence France-Presse
Sunday, September 1, 2013 10:10 EDT
"There is judgment from God and from history on our actions that no one can escape."
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/01/pope-francis-war-leads-to-more-war/
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Kuwait asserts importance of Arab-African summit
AMMAN, Aug 29 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's ambassador to Jordan Dr. Hamad Al-Duaij has asserted importance of the 3rd Arab-African Summit that would be held in Kuwait in November.
The summit is important to boosting Arab-African cooperation in order to honor aspirations of the Arab and African peoples who seek to live in peace and security, Al-Duaij told KUNA Thursday.
He said summiteers would be discussing how to achieve economic and social prosperity for their people.
Al-Duaij had handed over an invitation from His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to Jordanian King Abdullah II to attend the summit, due on November 18-20.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2330714&Language=en
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Lebanon: Parliament speaker calls for dialogue
Berri calls for Lebanese dialogue to solve political impasse and says Lebanon will be worst affected by war on Syria
Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman (C), Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam (L) and Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) attend a graduation parade for Lebanese officer cadets at a military academy in Fayadyeh, near Beirut, marking the 68th Army Day, August 1, 2013. (REUTERS/Sharif Karim.)
Lebanese president Michel Suleiman (C), parliament speaker Nabih Berri, prime minister-designate Tammam Salam (L) and caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati (R) attend a graduation parade for Lebanese officer cadets at a military academy in Fayadyeh, near Beirut, marking the 68th Army Day on August 1, 2013. (REUTERS/Sharif Karim.)
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—The speaker of Lebanon’s parliament, Nabih Berri, presented a six-point road map based on reviving "open dialogue" in Lebanon on Saturday, adding that ownership of military weapons outside the army and resistance within Lebanese borders was not acceptable.
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/09/article55315510
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Jordan and Seychelles tourism talk peace through tourism
Aug 29, 2013
Mr. Akel Biltaji, the Jordan's Upper House of Parliament Senator and Tourism and Heritage Chairman and Minister Alain St.Ange, he Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture used the opportunity of the Tree Planting Ceremony in the Livingstone International Peace Park to discuss with Mr. Louis D'Amore, the President of the IIPT (International Institute for Peace through Tourism) areas for further cooperation between his institute and countries committed to the development of tourism as an industry.
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Iran ex-president says Syria gov't launched gas attacks
Published: 09.01.13, 17:03
Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said the Syrian government, a strong ally of Tehran, had carried out chemical weapons attacks against its own people, the semi-official Iranian Labor News Agency reported on Sunday.
"The people have been the target of chemical attacks by their own government and now they must also wait for an attack by foreigners," Rafsanjani said, according to ILNA. "The people of Syria have seen much damage in these two years
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4424992,00.html
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POSTED- BLOG
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Aug 28- Muslims killing Muslims- Come on Canada- Leave Middle East, Persia, Africas, Asias clean up their own messes- let's fix Canada now- it's time- no more Canadian/Nato troops dying 4 oil
http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2013/08/canada-military-news-aug-27-muslims.html
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check it out- u make me so proud...
EGYPT:
Egypt army plans buffer zone along Gaza border
Published today (updated) 01/09/2013 16:45
CAIRO (Ma'an) -- Egypt plans to impose a 500-meter buffer zone along its border with the Gaza Strip, a senior Egyptian military official said Sunday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=625995
CAIRO (Ma'an) -- Egypt plans to impose a 500-meter buffer zone along its border with the Gaza Strip, a senior Egyptian military official said Sunday.
Egyptian residents living in Saladin, al-Barahmeh, Canada, Brazil, al-Sarsouriya and other neighborhoods close to the Gaza border have received eviction notices.
Homeowners who received eviction orders demonstrated against the decision and burned tires in protest.
Army bulldozers have also uprooted trees in the border area.
The army has demolished 13 homes in the al-Sarsouriya neighborhood where tunnel entrances were found.
An Egyptian military official told Ma'an that most cross-border tunnels with entrances in fields or open areas had been destroyed in a security campaign to stop smuggling. He said it was more difficult to locate tunnels that opened into houses.
Egypt's army spokesman Ahmad Mohammad said that forces have destroyed 343 smuggling tunnels. He said the Egyptian military has also prohibited fishing near the border to prevent smuggling via the sea.
Hamas said Friday that two Palestinian fishermen were wounded and five others arrested by the Egyptian navy off the coast of the Gaza Strip.
"Some Egyptian navy ships fired in the direction of Palestinian fishing boats near the Egyptian border off the coast of Rafah at dawn on Friday," the Hamas government's press agency reported.
"Two fishermen were wounded and five others arrested," said Hamas.
They were both taken to the hospital in Rafah, medical sources said, adding that their lives were not in danger.
Hamas described the incident as an "unjustified act," and called for those "detained to be freed."
Egypt did not immediately confirm the incident, which took place amid growing tensions with Hamas.
Gaza fishing boats often venture into Egyptian waters to compensate for the restriction caused by a maritime blockade imposed by Israel on the coastal strip.
But the practice has been less and less tolerated, since former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, whose Muslim Brotherhood is close to Hamas, was ousted in a military coup on July 3.
Under the terms of the current Israeli restrictions, Gaza fishermen are not allowed to enter waters more than six nautical miles from the shore, and complain that the area is insufficient to support the needs of Gaza's population.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=625995
AND..
Egypt army destroys 2 smuggling tunnels near Rafah
Published yesterday (updated) 31/08/2013 21:36
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egypt's army on Friday destroyed two smuggling tunnels under the border with Gaza, security officials said.
The tunnels were used to smuggle cars and other goods.
Egyptian army engineers demolished the tunnels using explosives
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=625558
AND...
Egyptian forces shoot at Palestinian fishermen
Published Friday 30/08/2013 (updated) 01/09/2013 11:42
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Egyptian naval forces on Friday shot two Palestinian fishermen near the Egypt-Gaza border and detained five others, Palestinian sources in Gaza said.
Egyptian forces opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats, injuring 19-year-old Ibrahim Abdullah al-Najjar and 21-year-old Wael al-Bardawil. They were taken to the Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in the Palestinian side of Rafah.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=625444
AND..
EGYPT:
Egypt forces arrest leader of Al-Qaeda group in Sinai
Published today (updated) 01/09/2013 16:46
CAIRO (Ma'an) -- Egyptian forces on Saturday arrested the commander of an Al-Qaeda-linked group in the Sinai peninsula, officials said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=625900
AND...
Egyptian forces deploy around Suez Canal
Published today (updated) 01/09/2013 16:46
CAIRO (Ma'an) -- Egyptian forces deployed along the Suez Canal on Saturday after an alleged terrorist attack was thwarted, Egyptian military sources said.
Forces supported by armored vehicles and Apache helicopters deployed on both sides of the canal, military officials told Ma'an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=625939
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Canada and Russia agree- it's the economy... period.... the world is crashing $$$$ in ruins- 45% of youth globally unemployed.... EU is in actual tatters.... USA is owned by China..... China's environment is a disaster.... Asias and India and Africas has one crisis after another- our planet is in ruins.... Muslim world eating itself.....
GERMANY AND CANADA - ONLY 2 COUNTRIES ON THE PLANET .... NOT...IN...THE...$$$$ RUINS... come on G20.... get with it...45% of youth are educated (many) and unemployed- older folks have lost their pensions and life savings 2 banks and stock markets bullshit and beans....
- come on world- United Nations is just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk... remember League of Nations was dumped in 1945 after despots and thieves hijaced LON and Jewish Holocaust..... they 4got to be the saviours..... WELL ... NOW UN NEEDS DISBANDING... (did u see how on Human Rights at UN?)..imho
Prime Minister Stephen Harper to focus on economy at G20 summit
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will not shy away from rebuking Russia over its stance on Syria — and anti-gay legislation — at the G20 Summit next week, but plans to devote official talks to the world economy.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/08/30/prime_minister_stephen_harper_to_focus_on_economy_at_g20_summit.html
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quote of the day- reality check
Neville Chamberlain's notorious phrase describing Hitler's threat to Czechoslovakia as being
"a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing".
Sums up Syria and the world being tired of the cesspool that has become Muslims killing brother and sister Muslims in such blatant and vicious and cowardly ways- no rules, no laws, no country, no humanity...
The world is returning 2 healing and fixing their own nations on this planet and moving 4ward- no one has the patience, time or $$$ or the heart anymore 2 even try 2 help... we are all Muslimed out... imho
This defeat over Syria has left the prime minister humbled, not Britain
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/01/david-cameron-defeat-syria
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Pope calls international day of prayer for peace in Syria
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday urged the international community to seek a negotiated solution to the conflict in Syria and announced he would lead a worldwide day of prayer for peace in the country on September 7.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pope-calls-international-day-prayer-peace-syria-104630521.html#WSclBJC
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Opinion: Iran has learned its lesson
It does not matter how Bashar Al-Assad views the British parliament’s decision to reject participation in the international coalition that US president Barack Obama is trying to assemble to respond to Damascus’s use of chemical weapons in Syria. What is more important is how Iran will view this international division, and what will happen in the region as a result of this.
Iran, which cooperated—in every sense of the word—with the US invasion of Iraq, has been well aware since that time that this region is fated to chaos and violence. In fact, it was well aware of this following the September 11 terrorist attacks that struck the US in 2001. Tehran expanded its influence in the region against this backdrop, and today there can be no doubt that Iran has understood that the international division over Syria—and particularly over the use of chemical weapons—means that it is not just the region that is divided, but the international community. This gives Iran the opportunity to strengthen its position in terms of the nuclear negotiations, in addition to extending its influence across the region either by strengthening its presence on the ground or by working to escalate the chaos and violence.
Therefore, we say that Assad’s response is unimportant because he is now a known factor, and regardless of what he does—and regardless of the international division over his regime—the story now is no longer about the Assad regime collapsing as a result of a possible military strike by the US, France and others. The story now is about Iran’s reading of this international division—or, shall we say, international weakness. Tehran is well aware that the region has been exposed internationally, particularly during the Obama era, while it is also aware that regional alliances broke down as a result of the so-called Arab Spring, which has seen crisis after crisis strike the Arab world. The region is fortunate that Egypt did not slide into violence and chaos, following the course of Libya and Syria, although Cairo remains in the recovery phase. As for the reputation of the Syrian revolution, this has been significantly distorted by the wrong approach followed by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt during the Mursi era. As for the Arab Gulf, the puzzling differences of opinion between Gulf states remains clear for all to see. The best example of this can be seen in the Qatari position towards Egypt, in contrast to its dealings with some parties in the Syrian opposition.
Therefore, we can be certain that Iran has absorbed the British message—namely that the international community is divided, and is not serious about dealing with vital issues, including the use of chemical weapons in Syria, not to mention the suffering of the Syrian people at the hands of the Assad regime. This is something that Assad is only able to do thanks to the blatant intervention of Hezbollah and Iran. The question that must be asked here is: What about us? What about the region? How will we deal with the ambitions of Iran in light of this international division, particularly when we take Washington’s disparate and contradictory positions into account? The US is making these costly foreign policy fumbles in a post-Arab Spring region, and Washington is acting like a bull in a China shop, particularly in Syria, where the US president’s statements are likely to lead to disasters today, and these could engulf the entire region tomorrow.
So Iran has learned its lesson—but what about the region?
http://www.aawsat.net/2013/09/article55315468
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Refugee Council appeals to Govt to help Syrian refugees
Kailesh Thana, FuseworksSeptember 1, 2013, 9:27 pm
The United Nations has confirmed that over 1 million people have now fled Syria as refugees since the civil war began 2 years ago. Over 70% of the refugees are vulnerable women and children who were forced to flee for their lives and are now surviving inside UNHCR tent cities in neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq. The alleged poison gas attack in Ghouta last week has brought worldwide condemnation and deepening concern about the deteriorating and desperate situation inside Syria.
Refugee Council of New Zealand spokesperson Gary E. Poole said that there are some Syrian refugees in New Zealand, most of them had arrived as asylum seekers and were victims of torture.
"Many people know that New Zealand does accept an annual humanitarian quota from the UNHCR of 750 urgent protection high needs cases from the UNHCR, but so far they are from other countries (Afghanistan, Burma Iraq, Congo, Sri Lanka) and not from Syria," he said. "The Syrian asylum seekers are reluctant to speak to media because they don’t want to be identified or have their families placed in greater risk back at home," he said.
"At the recent UNHCR consultations in Geneva, the UN High Commissioner Antonio Guterres expressed deep concerns that his agency was struggling to even feed the thousands of desperate refugees pouring out of Syria at the present time. It is likely that the NZ Government will be approached by UNHCR to accept some of the Syrian refugees for resettlement here, but 150 of the 750 places in the UN quota have been displaced by the deal by our Government with Australia to take 150 of their asylum seekers arriving by boat," he said. "Our Government probably will respond and take some of the Syrian refugees in the quota when requested to do so by UNHCR," Poole said.
"Our recent visit to some of the camps in Lebanon has confirmed that the situation is very serious and neighbouring countries are being destabilised by the widening civil war in Syria. The humanitarian crisis is the worst we have seen since the Cambodian Crisis. The asylum seekers from Syria have often survived torture by the Assad regime and undergo treatment and rehabilitation," he said. "The international community must act urgently to bring about a cease-fire and get the parties into negotiations."
The Refugee Council of New Zealand is presently appealing to the Government to accept some of the high protection cases of women and children from Syria in upcoming humanitarian quota resettlement intakes.
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/18745122/refugee-council-appeals-to-govt-to-help-syrian-refugees/
and....
Over 716,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon
Updated: 2013-09-01 17:31
BEIRUT - The UN's refugee agency said on Sunday that the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon receiving aid has surpassed the threshold of 716,000 after an increase of 13,000 in the past week.
Among the refugees, about 606,000 have been registered so far, while more than 109,000 are still waiting to be registered, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.
About 200,000 Syrian refugees were registered in northern Lebanon, 206,000 in the eastern Bekaa region, 119,000 in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, and 79,000 in southern Lebanon, it added.
Amid threats of a US-led strike against Syria, Lebanon witnessed a huge influx of Syrians in the past few days, but most of them were not refugees.
UNHCR representative in Lebanon Ninette Kelly has said the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is expected to surpass one million by the end of 2013.
Lebanon has frequently called on the UN Security Council and International donors to help it shoulder the burden of hosting the Syrian refugees on its lands.
The Lebanese government has adopted strict measures on the entrance of Syrian refugees, requiring them to hold a valid identity card or passport, which in a way limits their influx.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2013-09/01/content_16935800.htm
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Dubai anti-piracy conference to focus on rebuilding Somalia
Awad Mustafa
Sep 1, 2013 .
Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/dubai-anti-piracy-conference-to-focus-on-rebuilding-somalia#ixzz2df3aVoQQ
Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook
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AFRICAS....
Chinese Dream, African Dream: Achieving Common Development
2013-08-28 15:47
Recently, the new Chinese administration under the distinguished leadership of President Xi Jinping unveiled "The Great Chinese Dream."
AND...
Bob Marley - Zimbabwe - freedom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss9LkEAWRkI
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EUROPEAN UNION
Insolvent town exposes gulf between EU dreams and reality
REUTERS | 01 September, 2013 16:05
On an abandoned storefront, an old poster advertises one of the few career opportunities available in this Romanian town: naked webcam models wanted for Internet chatrooms.
If joining the European Union was supposed to lift Romania out of poverty, it has yet to work in Aninoasa, a town of 4 800 people in the mountainous central region of Jiu Valley.
Six years after Romania's accession to the EU, not only is Aninoasa still poor - it has also become the first town in Romania to file for insolvency.
Town officials took out a bank loan to fund investment projects, they could not repay it, they fell behind on paying other bills and over the years they got themselves so deep in debt they could not carry on.
"Our mayor likes to joke there are only two major towns in insolvency in the world, Detroit and us," said deputy mayor Adrian Albescu, brought in last year after the previous administration lost the election. "For the past year we have done nothing else but pay debts."
Aninoasa's experience raises a question: did the European Union make a mistake when, six years ago, it admitted Romania, a country with living standards and levels of governance well below the average for the bloc?
It's not just about Romania. Bulgaria joined at the same time and is still saddled with corruption and poverty, Croatia joined in July bringing problems of organised crime and the legacy of war in the 1990s, and EU candidates such as Albania and Macedonia have even deeper troubles.
In Romania's case the calculation was that pressure from Brussels, coupled with EU development cash, would help the country catch up. In many ways it has: Romania's economic output has almost doubled since 2006.
But in other respects, the lessons learned with Romania, as well as neighbouring Bulgaria, could make the EU much more sceptical the next time it contemplates bringing in new members.
When enlargement is next on its agenda, the European Commission will view the experience with Romanian local administrations as a "negative example," said Sergiu Miscoiu of think tank CESPRI.
SPIRAL OF DEBT
One of the biggest difficulties for Romania is that, while billions of euros worth of EU funds are on offer, it often fails to qualify for the money because it cannot convince Brussels it will spend it honestly and efficiently.
In Aninoasa, former mayor Ilie Botgros held the office for 20 years until he was defeated in an election last year.
During that time the town's economy declined, a process which accelerated in 2006 when the government shut down the coal mine that was the town's sole employer.
As income from local taxes fell, the town hall's revenue shrank and officials now have only 4.2 million lei ($1.25 million) per year to cover staff wages, public utility bills and much-needed projects to improve infrastructure.
Many of the roads in the town are surfaced with gravel, some neighbourhoods are not connected to the sewage system or gas supply, and there are hundred-year-old buildings which have no central heating against freezing winter temperatures and are in dire need of repair.
The town currently has only two projects with European funding: one is a sewage scheme, the other a move to renovate Aninoasa's cultural centre, which should include a gym, a library and meeting hall.
Botgros went instead to the bank. In 2006 he took out a loan worth 3 million lei ($893 600) from Romania's top lender BCR, owned by Austrian Erste Bank. He said he used the money to pay off previous investments, including work on a bridge and a gas pipeline in the north of town.
But the debt was stacking up. By now, Aninoasa has debts worth a total of roughly 6 million lei. The town owes money to 70 service providers. Public lighting was cut off for months last year because of unpaid bills.
The town could have carried on getting deeper into debt, but this year Romania tightened up its rules on municipal finances.
It started enforcing a law that requires local governments to file for insolvency if they are 120 days or more behind with repayments and their debt exceeds 50 percent of revenue. Aninoasa filed for insolvency in June. A court-appointed administrator is working on a plan to tackle debts.
The new mayor has filed a criminal complaint against Botgros over his management of town finances, and prosecutors have launched an inquiry, but it is too soon to tell whether any charges will be made. Botgros denies any wrongdoing.
"Do you really think that after 20 years in office I went crazy or started stealing money or something," said Botgros, who is now a local council member and plans to run for mayor in the next election. "I say I did what was needed for the community."
WEAK INSTITUTIONS
Aninoasa is probably not the last town that will file for insolvency. A study from the independent Institute for Public Policy showed hundreds of towns cannot cover their running costs, let alone invest in basic infrastructure. Poor tax collection and one of the EU's highest inflation rates do not help.
As with Aninoasa, EU money is available in theory, but in practice a highly segmented local administration is too weak to be able to use the funds effectively.
Romania ranks 116 out of 144 states in an index of institutional strength, according to the World Economic Forum's competitiveness report.
The EU has set aside 20 billion euros in non-refundable development money for Romania to build roads, sewage systems and central heating facilities in its impoverished regions during 2007-2013, aimed primarily at local authorities.
The country has so far secured only a fifth.
Roughly one in two mayors that have tapped funds were penalised later for various irregularities. The European Commission briefly blocked funds last year.
"There is reluctance to talk about European funds given that it is not simple to tap them, it is not simple to implement projects," said Elena Iorga of the Institute for Public Policy.
A lack of competence is, in some cases, compounded by cronyism and corruption - adding to the EU's reasons for not allocating cash.
The National Integrity Agency, an anti-corruption watchdog, has ruled that 193 mayors, deputy mayors and councillors had conflicts of interest, falsified statements or had wealth they could not account for since the middle of last year.
A study by the agency of 2 856 local councillors from all political parties showed almost half of them or their spouses owned private service providers, several of which had been awarded public contracts.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/2013/09/01/insolvent-town-exposes-gulf-between-eu-dreams-and-reality
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Germany Has Created An Accidental Empire
25/03/2013 by Ulrich Beck
ulrich_beck
Are we now living in a German Europe?
In an interview with EUROPP editors Stuart A Brown and Chris Gilson, Ulrich Beck discusses German dominance of the European Union, the divisive effects of austerity policies, and the relevance of his concept of the ‘risk society’ to the current problems being experienced in the Eurozone.
How has Germany come to dominate the European Union?
Well it happened somehow by accident. Germany has actually created an ‘accidental empire’. There is no master plan; no intention to occupy Europe. It doesn’t have a military basis, so all the talk about a ‘Fourth Reich’ is misplaced. Rather it has an economic basis – it’s about economic power – and it’s interesting to see how in the anticipation of a European catastrophe, with fears that the Eurozone and maybe even the European Union might break down, the landscape of power in Europe has changed fundamentally.
First of all there’s a split between the Eurozone countries and the non-Eurozone countries. Suddenly for example the UK, which is only a member of the EU and not a member of the Eurozone, is losing its veto power. It’s a tragic comedy how the British Prime Minister is trying to tell us that he is still the one who is in charge of changing the European situation. The second split is that among the Eurozone countries there is an important division of power between the lender countries and the debtor countries. As a result Germany, the strongest economic country, has become the most powerful EU state.
Are austerity policies dividing Europe?
Indeed they are, in many ways. First of all we have a new line of division between northern European and southern European countries. Of course this is very evident, but the background from a sociological point of view is that we are experiencing the redistribution of risk from the banks, through the states, to the poor, the unemployed and the elderly. This is an amazing new inequality, but we are still thinking in national terms and trying to locate this redistribution of risk in terms of national categories.
At the same time there are two leading ideologies in relation to austerity policies. The first is pretty much based on what I call the ‘Merkiavelli’ model – by this I mean a combination of Niccolò Machiavelli and Angela Merkel. On a personal level, Merkel takes a long time to make decisions: she’s always waiting until some kind of consensus appears. But this kind of waiting makes the countries depending on Germany’s decision realise that actually Germany holds the power. This deliberate hesitation is quite an interesting strategy in terms of the way that Germany has taken over economically.
The second element is that Germany’s austerity policies are not based simply on pragmatism, but also underlying values. The German objection to countries spending more money than they have is a moral issue which, from a sociological point of view, ties in with the ‘Protestant Ethic’. It’s a perspective which has Martin Luther and Max Weber in the background. But this is not seen as a moral issue in Germany, instead it’s viewed as economic rationality. They don’t see it as a German way of resolving the crisis; they see it as if they are the teachers instructing southern European countries on how to manage their economies.
This creates another ideological split because the strategy doesn’t seem to be working so far and we see many forms of protest, of which Cyprus is the latest example. But on the other hand there is still a very important and powerful neo-liberal faction in Europe which continues to believe that austerity policies are the answer to the crisis.
Is the Eurozone crisis proof that we live in a risk society?
Yes, this is the way I see it. My idea of the risk society could easily be misunderstood because the term ‘risk’ actually signifies that we are in a situation to cope with uncertainty, but to me the risk society is a situation in which we are not able to cope with the uncertainty and consequences that we produce in society.
I make a distinction between ‘first modernity’ and our current situation. First modernity, which lasted from around the 18th century until perhaps the 1960s or 1970s, was a period where there was a great deal of space for experimentation and we had a lot of answers for the uncertainties that we produced: probability models, insurance mechanisms, and so on. But then because of the success of modernity we are now producing consequences for which we don’t have any answers, such as climate change and the financial crisis. The financial crisis is an example of the victory of a specific interpretation of modernity: neo-liberal modernity after the breakdown of the Communist system, which dictates that the market is the solution and that the more we increase the role of the market, the better. But now we see that this model is failing and we don’t have any answers.
We have to make a distinction between a risk society and a catastrophe society. A catastrophe society would be one in which the motto is ‘too late’: where we give in to the panic of desperation. A risk society in contrast is about the anticipation of future catastrophes in order to prevent them from happening. But because these potential catastrophes are not supposed to happen – the financial system could collapse, or nuclear technology could be a threat to the whole world – we don’t have the basis for experimentation. The rationality of calculating risk doesn’t work anymore. We are trying to anticipate something that is not supposed to happen, which is an entirely new situation.
Take Germany as an example. If we look at Angela Merkel, a few years ago she didn’t believe that Greece posed a major problem, or that she needed to engage with it as an issue. Yet now we are in a completely different situation because she has learned that if you look into the eyes of a potential catastrophe, suddenly new things become possible. Suddenly you think about new institutions, or about the fiscal compact, or about a banking union, because you anticipate a catastrophe which is not supposed to happen. This is a huge mobilising force, but it’s highly ambivalent because it can be used in different ways. It could be used to develop a new vision for Europe, or it could be used to justify leaving the European Union.
How should Europe solve its problems?
I would say that the first thing we have to think about is what the purpose of the European Union actually is. Is there any purpose? Why Europe and not the whole world? Why not do it alone in Germany, or the UK, or France?
I think there are four answers in this respect. First, the European Union is about enemies becoming neighbours. In the context of European history this actually constitutes something of a miracle. The second purpose of the European Union is that it can prevent countries from being lost in world politics. A post-European Britain, or a post-European Germany, is a lost Britain, and a lost Germany. Europe is part of what makes these countries important from a global perspective.
The third point is that we should not only think about a new Europe, we also have to think about how the European nations have to change. They are part of the process and I would say that Europe is about redefining the national interest in a European way. Europe is not an obstacle to national sovereignty; it is the necessary means to improve national sovereignty. Nationalism is now the enemy of the nation because only through the European Union can these countries have genuine sovereignty.
The fourth point is that European modernity, which has been distributed all over the world, is a suicidal project. It’s producing all kinds of basic problems, such as climate change and the financial crisis. It’s a bit like if a car company created a car without any brakes and it started to cause accidents: the company would take these cars back to redesign them and that’s exactly what Europe should do with modernity. Reinventing modernity could be a specific purpose for Europe.
Taken together these four points form what you could say is a grand narrative of Europe, but one basic issue is missing in the whole design. So far we’ve thought about things like institutions, law, and economics, but we haven’t asked what the European Union means for individuals. What do individuals gain from the European project? First of all I would say that, particularly in terms of the younger generation, more Europe is producing more freedom. It’s not only about the free movement of people across Europe; it’s also about opening up your own perspective and living in a space which is essentially grounded on law.
Second, European workers, but also students as well, are now confronted with the kind of existential uncertainty which needs an answer. Half of the best educated generation in Spanish and Greek history lack any future prospects. So what we need is a vision for a social Europe in the sense that the individual can see that there is not necessarily social security, but that there is less uncertainty. Finally we need to redefine democracy from the bottom up. We need to ask how an individual can become engaged with the European project. In that respect I have made a manifesto, along with Daniel Cohn-Bendit, called "We Are Europe", arguing that we need a free year for everyone to do a project in another country with other Europeans in order to start a European civil society.
A more detailed discussion of the topics covered in this article is available in Ulrich Beck’s latest book, German Europe (Polity 2013). This interview was first published on EUROPP@LSE
http://www.social-europe.eu/2013/03/germany-has-created-an-accidental-empire/
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Rage and Refuge: German Asylum System Hits Breaking Point
Germany has recently seen a significant rise in the number of asylum seekers arriving in the country. Its shelters are overwhelmed and opposition to new ones has recently turned ugly. Refugees themselves argue that the system is broken.
"Their villages are bombed, then they come here and they are called criminals," says Turgay Ulu, a Turkish journalist and former political prisoner who came to Germany about two years ago as an asylum seeker. He's sitting on a tattered sofa in a makeshift protest camp in the middle of Oranienplatz, a central square in Berlin's Kreuzberg district. Ulu and some 200 fellow refugees have been occupying the square since October of last year.
ANZEIGE
"Look around! These people are from Afghanistan, Libya, Mali," says Ulu, gesturing in turn at a group of men playing foosball under a blue-and-white-striped big top and two others helping a toddler blow soap bubbles in the middle of the square. "We are refugees, not criminals!"
The ongoing protest is meant to call attention to the significant procedural shortcomings of Germany's asylum policy. Recently, it has been joined by demonstrations of an entirely different sort. Earlier this month, a newly opened shelter in the eastern Berlin neighborhood of Hellersdorf became the scene of heated clashes between far-right protesters and hundreds of anti-fascist demonstrators. Dozens of political refugees -- mostly from war-torn Afghanistan and Syria, as well as Serbia -- arrived at the shelter, established in an unused school building, only to see chaos unfolding outside their windows for several days running. Some reportedly left out of fear.
The protests in Hellersdorf have been orchestrated predominantly by the right-wing extremist National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) as it strives for relevance in the upcoming election. But they are symptomatic of a second significant refugee-related challenge currently facing Germany: The number of asylum seekers arriving in the country is rising rapidly and has far outpaced the ability to properly house them.
According to Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), more asylum seekers arrived in the country in the first half of this year than in any six-month period since 1999, with the total for 2013 expected to top 100,000. Thus far, 52,000 refugees have arrived in Germany, an increase of 90 percent over the same period one year ago. The newcomers are primarily from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Chechnya.
A Slow Process
Cities are struggling to keep up with the influx, but the problem has been particularly acute in Berlin. Many asylum seekers come here first and, even if they will ultimately be relocated elsewhere in the country in accordance with Germany's geographical allocation system, they have to be housed initially. But all the city's shelters are now full, and the reserve capacity established for spikes in arrival numbers has proved insufficient. Officials are currently rushing to establish new housing.
But it's a slow process. "If I want to create a shelter for refugees, it takes a half year, a year, or more, just like with any construction project," says Franz Allert, head of the Berlin city-state authority responsible for asylum seekers. "It doesn't go faster … just because they are asylum seeker shelters."
The protests in eastern Berlin can, in part, be seen as a side effect of the rush. Allert notes that his office generally seeks to open a dialogue with residents in neighborhoods where a new shelter is to open. This in fact happened in Hellersdorf, when officials invited residents to a public informational meeting led by district mayor Stefan Komoss, on Juy 9, less than a month before the shelter's scheduled opening.
The meeting, however, was hastily organized and poorly planned -- and was quickly taken over by right-wing voices. Organizers expected 400 to attend, a far cry from the over 900 who showed up. Chants of "Nein zum Heim!" (No to the shelter) echoed from the surrounding concrete block apartment buildings and the NPD made it clear that it would fight the refugee home, a pledge met with cheers. Local residents voiced concerns over rising criminality and worries that newcomers would receive greater benefits than locals. Since then, the NPD has organized marches, leading to the clashes earlier this month.
"There is sometimes no time to talk with people in the neighborhood," admits Allert. "That creates dissatisfaction among the residents, and I can understand that. But at the moment, we unfortunately have no alternative."
'Unacceptable Delay'
Limited capacity for new arrivals, and the protests in Berlin, are not the only serious problems that authorities now have to contend with. As Germany's infrastructure for taking in refugees buckles under the influx, its asylum policy is also coming under criticism. According to Germany's Basic Law, or constitution, the right to asylum is extended to all those who are "politically persecuted" in their country of origin. If asylum is granted, the applicant receives a temporary residence permit for three years, which can then be converted into permanent residency.
The problem is that the vast majority of asylum seekers in Germany get caught up in a kind of limbo. They initially arrive at one of 19 reception centers throughout the country, where they submit their applications. According to BAMF, it takes an average of about eight months for a decision to come down on an asylum application. But stories are plentiful of applicants waiting for much longer. Some say they have heard nothing for years.
"The long delay is unacceptable," says Bernd Ladwig, an expert on human rights and migration at the Berlin-based Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science. "Very often these people remain in an intermediate position regarding their status for an extended period of time, and in the interim they do not have any kind of clearly defined, respected status. If it is going to take so long, then they absolutely should have more rights extended to them."
While applicants await word, they are required to adhere to the so-called Residenzpflicht, or compulsory residence, which bars all asylum seekers or those who have been given a temporary stay of deportation from leaving the city or county where they filed their application. They are usually required to live in state-run shelters -- often in extremely cramped quarters in cordoned-off facilities resembling detention camps. In the past year, several asylum seekers living in a facility in Eisenhüttenstadt, the main communal housing center for the state of Brandenburg, went on a hunger strike to protest conditions there.
"As far as I know, compulsory residence is unique among European countries," says Ladwig. "This is something that needs to change. You can't conclusively show that this is a necessary restriction to fulfill the right to asylum. I've not seen any effort to justify this restriction."
'Stop Locking Us Away'
Another problem is that, while asylum seekers are given a moderate monthly allowance for "personal daily necessities" and are technically allowed to work, they are forbidden from earning more than €1 ($1.32) per hour. Furthermore, special permission must be granted for access to legal counsel and, if an asylum seeker leaves his shelter or area of compulsory residence, he faces potential deportation.
The result, Ladwig says, is that asylum seekers wind up isolated and often -- as with the new housing facility in Hellersdorf -- antagonized. "These people are already here," he says. "The work restrictions should be relaxed and they should be given freedom of movement. I see no compelling reason to concentrate the refugees into these compulsory residence camps."
"The solution is normalization," agrees refugee activist Turgay Ulu. "Stop detaining us, locking us away, isolating us."
Last October, Ulu and some 200 other asylum seekers broke their compulsory residence requirement and marched 600 kilometers (373 miles) from the Bavarian town of Würzburg to Berlin. In addition to the protest camp on Oranienplatz and their occupation of a nearby school, they have set up protest camps in Hamburg, Munich, Eisenhüttenstadt and Duisburg and have organized numerous marches and demonstrations calling for an end to compulsory residence, deportations, forced communal housing and the employment ban. It has been one of the largest, most visible protests by asylum seekers in Europe to date.
The protest camp at Oranienplatz includes a makeshift school, an information tent, a theater, a kitchen tent and a large round circus tent that serves as the main hangout. Banners bearing slogans like "No Person Is Illegal," "Repeal Compulsory Residence" and "Lampedusa Village" -- a reference to the Italian island in the Mediterranean where many African refugees land -- hang throughout the camp. With financial support from local charities and leftist groups, they organize German lessons, computer courses and legal assistance. But it's an uphill battle.
Far-right groups have staged counter-protests. The stabbing in June of a Sudanese camp resident by a young man yelling racist insults escalated into a confrontation involving more than 200 police officers.
It has been enough to awaken unsavory memories of the years immediately following German reunification. The early 1990s saw several right-wing attacks on refugee homes in the former East, including the infamous arson attack on the asylum shelter in Rostock in August of 1992. Nobody died in the days of rock throwing and fire-bomb lobbing that plagued Rostock that summer, but later that year, the home of a Turkish family in Mölln was lit on fire by neo-Nazi attackers, killing three. Another five people lost their lives in a similar attack in Solingen in 1993.
Allert is quick to note that public sentiment in 2013 is generally more welcoming. The protests in Hellersdorf this summer have taken him and many others by surprise. "We recently opened a facility in (the Berlin neighborhood of) Stieglitz and we didn't have sufficient time to notify the neighbors there either," he says. "Not a single one of them complained."
But the German general election, scheduled for Sept. 22, is rapidly approaching. And the NPD has struggled to attract votes in recent years. The asylum home in Hellersdorf has provided the extremist party with the perfect opportunity to mobilize -- and foment -- concerns, fears and latent xenophobia.
The man responsible for running the NPD campaign in Berlin is Sebastian Schmidtke, a 28-year-old who is classified as an active neo-Nazi by Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. But he is also an experienced political operative by virtue of his role as head of the Berlin city-state NPD chapter. At a recent meeting with a journalist at a café in the center of Berlin, Schmidtke was on his best behavior, polite and neatly clad in black jeans and a black button-down shirt.
Even his message of intolerance was nicely wrapped in gentle, even tones, carefully calibrated so that the neighboring table wouldn't hear. "The people think, here come the foreigners and they get the same benefits as we do. Our children have no youth facilities and have to more or less play in the concrete jungle. ... Other people are given money even though they don't belong here," he says. "We have almost €2 trillion in national debt, eventually we have to think about our national interests." He makes sure to place the campaign brochures he brought along -- "Live Safely: Stop the Asylum Flood" -- face down so as not to attract unwanted attention.
'Sometimes We Have No Choice'
Yet Schmidtke is anything but passive when it comes to pursuing his vision of nationalism. Since last fall, he has organized several anti-asylum rallies in front of refugee shelters around the city. Recently, he and his followers have been hanging xenophobic campaign posters up in front of the Hellersdorf facility. In January, he attacked a counter-demonstrator with an umbrella, though he claims it was in self-defense.
He also promises that more anti-asylum rallies are to come. "We will definitely be going back to the asylum homes to establish contact with the neighboring residents," Schmidtke says.
Allert, meanwhile, is taking a closer look at what went wrong in Hellersdorf. One thing he pinpoints is that the meeting on July 9 was open to all comers, practically an invitation to the NPD to hijack it. He says that from now on, informational gatherings in neighborhoods will only be open to those who live in the immediate vicinity. He also notes that asylum facilities in Berlin often host events with locals where people bring toys for the children or warm clothes in the winter.
"This is done not because we as a state don't make enough resources available," he says. "It is done to create contact -- to reduce fear and barriers."
Human rights expert Bernd Ladwig, on the other hand, thinks the housing system itself is largely at fault. "When they concentrate refugees in these collective facilities, often without properly consulting the people who live there, it makes it easier for right-wing activists to mobilize against them. People get the impression that there are these huge numbers of foreign people with their foreign habits and appearances moving into their neighborhood. And of course some of the resentments articulated are shared by mainstream people who are not right-wing extremists but do share some xenophobic tendencies."
But with the pressure on to rapidly expand the numbers of asylum homes in Berlin, Allert also noted that his first priority is to house the newcomers. "We don't carry out a survey and if the residents say yes, we do it, and if they say no, we don't," he says. "Sometimes we have no other choice than to simply take a building and say: 'Okay, we are going to do this here now.'"
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/refugee-influx-reveals-german-asylum-policy-shortcomings-a-919488.html
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PEACEKEEPERS- no more placing our Peacekeepers in danger with absurd Rules of Engagement like Rwanda.... please...
We... also... remember... RWANDA
UNITED NATIONS GREATEST PEACEKEEPING HERO- CANADA'S ROMEO DALLAIRE- THE SAVIOUR OF RWANDA- the world's compassionate folks will never 4get the great hero of Rwanda whom United Nations and global media betrayed in 100 days of silence- NEVA AGAIN-RULES OF ENGAGEMENT-
We love u Romeo Dallaire- 4ever and 4always
Shake Hands With the Devil - Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaHAXnOGj9k
COMMENT:
Roméo Dallaire is probably our greatest living hero, but this isn't the first time he got mixed up with organizations with duplicitous motives. The United Nations sent him to Africa to save people from genocide, but they effectively tied his hands, made him watch, and then blamed him for the failure.
Roméo Dallaire 'embarrassed' over mix-up with fringe group
Lack of due diligence sees senator hired to lecture by organization accused of anti-Semitism
CBC News
Posted: Aug 26, 2013 8:55 PM ET
Last Updated: Aug 26, 2013 10:49 PM ET
Senator Roméo Dallaire was being promoted as a speaker at a conference organized by the Fatima Centre, a fringe Catholic group accused of anti-Semitism. Dallaire has since pulled out of the engagement. Senator Roméo Dallaire was being promoted as a speaker at a conference organized by the Fatima Centre, a fringe Catholic group accused of anti-Semitism. Dallaire has since pulled out of the engagement. (Pawel Dwulit/The Canadian Press)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/08/26/dallaire-fatima-conference.html
External Links
The Fatima Centre's conference website
(Note:CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external links.)
Senator Roméo Dallaire has pulled out of a speaking engagement organized by a fringe Catholic group accused of anti-Semitism, but his name is still being promoted alongside those of anti-abortionists, conspiracy theorists and former U.S. presidential candidate Ron Paul.
A Dallaire aide said Monday that the retired Canadian Forces general was "embarrassed" and "really unhappy" to have been accidentally mixed up with a southern Ontario group called the Fatima Centre, which is organizing a conference next month in Niagara Falls, Ont.
The Fatima Centre is a Catholic organization whose publications include references to "the duty incumbent upon Catholics of... opposing Jewish Naturalism" and to "Satan's plans against the Church," which include "the granting of full citizenship to the Jews." The Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit that lists organizations it deems to be hate groups, says the Fatima Centre is part of a movement that is "perhaps the single largest group of hard-core anti-Semites in North America."
Other speakers scheduled for the conference include the president of the U.S.-based John Birch Society, a right-wing American group that campaigns against the U.S. Federal Reserve, says the UN is trying to control "all human activity" and claims Nelson Mandela is "carrying forward a communist program of terrorism and genocide."
The conference's keynote speaker is Paul, the former U.S. congressman and three-time candidate for president. Photos of Paul and Dallaire feature in ads for the conference on the internet and on a billboard near the Peace Bridge to the U.S.
"There is absolutely no way that General Dallaire would be associated with these speakers," his personal secretary, David Hyman, said in an interview Monday.
Hyman said it stemmed from an oversight. The senator's appearance at the conference was booked last March through the agency that arranges his speaking engagements, the National Speakers Bureau.
But when the agency called, they named a different group that was seeking to have the former lieutenant-general come and speak about the Rwandan genocide.
"It was called the National Pilgrim Virgin of Canada. We didn't have a clue that this other organization that were sponsoring his talk had anything to do with Fatima," Hyman said.
In fact, National Pilgrim Virgin of Canada is the official name for the Fatima Centre.
Dallaire's staff only found out last week through a civil rights lawyer.
"He said, 'Do you know who this group is? I'm really disappointed that the senator is going to this conference,' " Hyman said. "And I looked, I went to their site, I downloaded the list of other speakers and started to look at them."
Hyman blames himself for the lack of due diligence.
"I should have Googled."
'Not against the Jews'
A conference organizer said there was absolutely no intent to deceive because "everybody knows us as the Fatima Centre."
Coralie Graham, who is also one of the centre's directors, said they've been assured they will be refunded Dallaire's appearance fee, but they're still out the cost of their Dallaire advertising, which they will have to scotch.
Graham also affirmed that the Fatima Centre is in no way anti-Semitic and has been the victim of smear campaigns and guilt by association.
"We are not against the Jews and never have been and never will be," she said by phone.
"It doesn't matter whether it's Jewish, it's Catholics, it's politics: There's always good guys and a couple bad guys, so when you're speaking about some wrongs, you're not painting the whole race with the same brush."
As for the conference speakers from the John Birch Society, Graham said the Fatima Centre isn't affiliated with the group, but just booked lectures on the conference theme of peace.
"It's just a case of our speakers have been selected that have something to say to the people that this is happening in the world, and take off your rose-coloured glasses and see it, people. Because we have a crisis in the world. I've heard that all the generals are saying there's going to be World War III."
Responding to the incident, the Toronto-based Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said in a statement that it was "concerned by anti-Jewish content" on some websites affiliated with the Fatima Centre and that "it’s important that people of good will — particularly public officeholders — distance themselves from such extremism."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/08/26/dallaire-fatima-conference.html
and...
Last Line of Defense: How Peacekeepers Can Better Protect Civilians
Wed, 02/24/2010 - 09:00
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
When violent conflict breaks out, the United States and other United Nations member states often call for the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces to create stability and protect people from harm. The UN Security Council has explicitly instructed peacekeepers to protect civilians under "imminent threat of violence" in most UN peacekeeping mandates since 1999. But there is no clarity as to what "protection" means in practice. Which circumstances require action and what level of force should be used? This has resulted in a lack of proper training, guidance and resources for peacekeepers to accomplish protection activities.
This report draws on Refugees International’s field analysis and the recommendations made in two comprehensive UN studies. It outlines concrete steps that the UN Security Council, the U.S. and other UN member states can take to address these challenges and improve peacekeepers’ ability to keep people safe in times of armed conflict.
The first challenge peacekeeping missions face is that protection of civilians is not the only priority of a peacekeeping mission. For example, the mandate for the UN peacekeeping mission in the DR Congo incorporates over 40 discreet tasks. Modern peacekeeping operations are asked to support everything from ceasefire agreements to long-term peacebuilding activities. Further, the strategies needed to protect people vary significantly depending on the type and scale of the threat. Peacekeepers may have to protect people from large-scale attacks as well as banditry and day-to-day violence. They must protect UN staff, humanitarian workers, and, of course, the peacekeepers themselves.
Commanders on the ground should not be placed in the politically difficult position to choose between competing priorities. Security Council members must craft mandates that are realistic in scope and reflect the political context and actual resources available to carry out the job. To help the Security Council do this, it is essential that early assessment teams identify the nature, persistence and scale of threats to civilian safety. The UN Secretariat and mission leadership must also clearly advise the Security Council on their actual mission requirements.
It is also essential that the Security Council consider the political implications of protection vis-à-vis other mission tasks. The very presence of peacekeepers creates expectations among local people that they will be protected if violence erupts. The failure to meet these expectations can result in a breakdown of wider mission legitimacy that will make it extremely difficult for peacekeepers to accomplish other, long-term peacebuilding objectives.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan (UNMIS) is a telling example of the cost of unclear mandates. UNMIS was deployed and resourced primarily to support the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, but its mandate included language to protect civilians under "imminent threat of violence." In an outbreak of violence in May 2008, thousands of people were displaced and the town of Abyei was destroyed. Local communities and international humanitarian actors were outraged that UNMIS had failed to prevent the crisis. Yet, the peacekeepers did not feel that they had the resources required to respond, and the terms of the mandate led many people within the mission to deny that this sort of protection was their responsibility.
The lack of clarity is made even more challenging by the fact that peacekeepers do not have a standard doctrine on how to conduct protection activities. This forces peacekeepers to improvise tactics in the field. Traditional military doctrines and training were built mainly to defend territories, not to protect individuals. While a refugee camp is more straightforward to defend, it is much more difficult to plan an operation to protect civilians in far-flung communities.
Nonetheless, peacekeepers have developed some activities to protect people. Many regularly conduct foot and vehicle patrols in vulnerable areas to deter attacks. Other forces have established small bases near villages where violence is likely to take place. In the DR Congo and southern Sudan, peacekeeping missions are forming joint civilian and military protection teams to assess needs and work with local community leaders to develop concrete protection strategies. Despite these efforts, there is still a need for a uniform operational definition of what protection means from a peacekeeping perspective to guide their planning and activities.
Another way to eliminate confusion in the field is to improve peacekeeping training. In addition to the standard lessons on international humanitarian law, peacekeeper training modules should be constantly updated to incorporate emerging protection strategies and tactics that have developed and proved effective over time. In particular, the U.S. Global Peace Operations initiative should work closely with the UN and other training bodies to incorporate latest practices and ensure that peacekeepers from around the world share a common understanding of their protection roles and strategies.
Clear, forceful mandates and improved training will go a long way towards addressing peacekeepers’ challenges. However, these efforts will show no results if peacekeepers are left blind, overstretched, and immobile. Peacekeeping missions routinely operate with a shortage of troops, civilian staff and equipment in some of the most insecure and logistically challenging environments in the world. It is essential that the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and UN Secretariat identify the resources that are required to fulfill protection activities effectively. Once the needs are better understood, it will be necessary for UN member states to show a greater willingness to provide those tools.
Finally, it is clear that peacekeepers and the wider community of humanitarian actors — including UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) — must cooperate better to coordinate their activities when responding to a humanitarian crisis. One way to accomplish this is to hold senior mission leadership, as well as the humanitarian leadership that coordinates civilian protection activities (typically the UN High Commissioner for Refugees), accountable for ensuring constructive and ongoing engagement and dialogue between peacekeepers and the humanitarian community.
Real reform will only be possible if UN member states show their commitment to driving forward these changes. For this reason, the U.S. government has a crucial role to play. It can help craft strong, clear mandates with achievable objectives. It can support the proactive use of force to protect civilians in harm’s way, and work with global training partners to ensure high standards of quality and consistency. The U.S. is also in a position to offer advanced militaryexpertise and specialized equipment — such as appropriate armored vehicles and intelligence gathering equipment. With these efforts, the U.S. could help make it possible for peacekeepers to better identify threats against civilians, respond more quickly to violent attacks and maximize the use of scarce resources in the field.
When a crisis breaks out, the U.S. and other world leaders must do more than simply call out, "Send in the peacekeepers!" Sometimes peacekeeping isn’t the answer and other options should be considered. However, by ensuring that peacekeepers have strong, clear mandates, and the necessary guidance, tools and training, the UN and its member states can substantially improve peacekeeping operations. More importantly, they will be taking meaningful steps to maintain stability and prevent the horrific abuse and displacement of civilians around the world.
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