Archive for February 4th, 2013

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04/02/2013

Is Obama Abandoning His Commitment to a Nuclear-free World?

By , IPPNW*,  February 4, 2013 – In a major address in Prague on April 5, 2009, the newly-elected U.S. President, Barack Obama, proclaimed “clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.”  On January 24, 2013, however, Senator John Kerry, speaking at Senate confirmation hearings on his nomination to become U.S. secretary of state, declared that a nuclear weapons-free world was no more than “an aspiration,” adding that “we’ll be lucky if we get there in however many centuries.” 

**Photo: President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama meet in the Oval Office of the White House Monday, November 10, 2008. Author: White House photo by Eric Draper

**Photo: President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama meet in the Oval Office of the White House Monday, November 10, 2008. Author: White House photo by Eric Draper

Has there been a change in Obama administration policy over the past four years? There are certainly indications that this might be the case.

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04/02/2013

A Full-scale Invasion of Africa Is Under Way – US Deploying Troops in 35 Countries

Human Wrongs Watch

By John Pilger, TRANSCEND* – A full-scale invasion of Africa is under way. The United States is deploying troops in 35 African countries, beginning with Libya, Sudan, Algeria and Niger. Reported by Associated Press on Christmas Day, this was missing from most Anglo-American media.

**Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.2 million km², it covers six percent of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4 percent of the total land area. It is inhabited by more than 1.0 billion people | Author: Martin23230

**Africa is the world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.2 million km², it covers six percent of the Earth’s total surface area and 20.4 percent of the total land area. It is inhabited by more than 1.0 billion people | Author: Martin23230

The invasion has almost nothing to do with “Islamism”, and almost everything to do with the acquisition of resources, notably minerals, and an accelerating rivalry with China.

Unlike China, the US and its allies are prepared to use a degree of violence demonstrated in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Palestine.

As in the cold war, a division of labour requires that western journalism and popular culture provide the cover of a holy war against a “menacing arc” of Islamic extremism, no different from the bogus “red menace” of a worldwide communist conspiracy.

Reminiscent of the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century, the US African Command (Africom) has built a network of supplicants among collaborative African regimes eager for American bribes and armaments.

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Posted in Africa, Market Lords, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | 1 Comment »

04/02/2013

Syria: UN Begins Delivery of Safe Water for 10 Million People, Half of Total Population

Human Wrongs Watch

A large-scale operation is under way in Syria to secure safe water supplies for more than 10 million people – close to half the population, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today 4 February 2013, amid reports that the quality and quantity of water is continuing to deteriorate with negative impacts for children’s health.

Syrian children outside their UNHCR tent at Jordan’s Za’atri refugee camp. Photo: UNHCR/M. Abu Asaker

Syrian children outside their UNHCR tent at Jordan’s Za’atri refugee camp. Photo: UNHCR/M. Abu Asaker

“This shipment is very timely as supplies of chlorine in Syria have fallen dangerously low, making access to safe water challenging for many families,” said Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, UNICEF Representative in Syria.

“This puts the population – and children especially – at high risk of contracting diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases.”

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04/02/2013

Why Didn’t France Intervene in Central African Republic?

“While France responded to Mali’s conflict by sending in 2,500 French soldiers, it largely ignored the Central African Republic’s calls for help.”

A rebel fighter in the Central Africa Republic. Photograph by hdptcar | Source: Think Africa Press

A rebel fighter in the Central Africa Republic. Photograph by hdptcar | Source: Think Africa Press

By Amit Singh, Think Africa Press*, 4 February 2013 – When France received requests from two of its former African colonies to intervene in their domestic conflicts these past couple of months, its replies could not have been more different.

Mali’s calls were answered with a swift and affirmative response, and France found itself intervening in Africa once again, having been involved in conflicts in Libya and the Ivory Coast in 2011.

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04/02/2013

The Poverty of DR Congo’s Gold Miners

Human Wrongs Watch

Iga-Barrier, (IRIN*) – There is no refuge from the blistering heat at this artisanal gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Any trees that might have provided shade have been consumed by the mine, which covers an area the size of five or six football fields.

Photo: Guy Oliver/IRIN.Artisanal gold miners form human chains to excavate near Iga-Barrière, about 25km east of Bunia

Photo: Guy Oliver/IRIN.
Artisanal gold miners form human chains to excavate near Iga-Barrière, about 25km east of Bunia

About a thousand people – men, women and some children – swarm across the open-cast mine near Iga-Barrière, about 25km east of Bunia, the administrative town of the Ituri Region.

The scene has all the trappings of a 19th century gold rush, apart from the hum of diesel generators powering pumps to drain water from the open shafts, while hawkers sell drinking water in translucent plastic bags.

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04/02/2013

What If One of World’s 19,000 Nuclear Weapons Is Detonated… Intentionally or Accidentally

Human Wrongs Watch

If just one of the world’s 19,000 nuclear weapons was detonated, be it intentionally or accidentally, not only would it kill thousands of people instantly, says the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

Source: ICAN

Source: ICAN

“But, as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has concluded, first responders would be unable to provide the emergency relief so urgently needed. This makes the continued existence and deployment of nuclear weapons one of the most serious humanitarian challenges of our time, ” it adds.

To demonstrate that a treaty banning nuclear weapons is both possible and urgently needed, ICAN will host the Civil Society Forum on 2-3 March 2013. We have invited hundreds of people from all corners of the world to give inspiring speeches, participate in informative workshops, engage in lively discussions and of course, to have fun.

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Posted in Asia, Middle East, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | 1 Comment »

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