Category Archives: International

Korea ‘Nuclear War’ Is unavoidable; Japan First Target

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North Korea warns Japan, Tokyo will be the target if war breaks out on the on the Korean Peninsula.

In a communique released by the Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea warned Tokyo, that their standing orders to destroy missiles launched toward Japan, will bring a nuclear strike on Tokyo. “Japan is always in the cross-hairs of our revolutionary army and if Japan makes a slightest move, the spark of war will touch Japan first,” the KCNA report said.

Japanese defense officials replied that Japan, “will take every possible measure to respond to any scenario.” US Secretary of State warned that a North Korean missile launch would be a huge mistake.

With rhetoric ratcheting up in the current North Korean aggression, many insiders and political pundits are predicting the inevitability of a war on the Korean peninsula. that could draw the entire Pacific Theater of Operations into the fray, including the US holdings of Hawaii and Guam, which are within striking range of Korean missiles.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/391376/North-Korea-states-nuclear-war-is-unavoidable-as-it-declares-first-target-will-be-Japan

UN Arms Trade Treaty Headed For World Ratification

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With or without US ratification, the UN Global Arms Trade Treaty appears to be headed towards becoming International Law, as soon as 50 countries have ratified the controversial measure.

North Korea, Iran and Syria attempted to block an effort to approve the treaty last week by consensus. The US voted in favor of the measure despite pressure from the National Rifle Association and the US Senate, which stated it would work to ensure the Senate would not ratify it. Russia led a group of nations that abstained.

US diplomats said much of what’s in the legislation is in practice in the United States, where weapons companies are forbidden from selling to nations or groups likely to commit genocide.

Partially Sourced from United Press International

Can Rational Government Come To Iran?

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An Iranian American Professor at Rutgers University believes he can run against Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and win, in Iran’s upcoming elections.

Professor Hooshang Amirahmadi, 65 is a Public Policy Professor with dual American-Iranian citizenship. He has lived in the US for 40 years, married and raised a family in America but feels overwhelmingly compelled to run for Iran’s Presidency against current two-term President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Other sources claim that Amirahmadi’s Candidacy in not a serious one at all and say that his American citizenship will easily disqualify him with Iran’s Guardian Council headed by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, despite his claim of dual citizenship. All candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council to be eligible to run for office, however Amirahmadi is confident he will be approved.

Amirahmadi has stated that he doesn’t believe the problem between the US and Iran is nuclear enrichment, but instead, it is a lack of trust. He further stated that Iran has a right to nuclear enrichment and he has the best chance to bring the US and Iran together.

Iran has fostered defiance and disturbing rhetoric against the US and Israel, threatening to eliminate Israel as a nation. Iran has longed claimed their Uranium enrichment program is to be used in peaceful applications, but this claim has lacked worldwide credibility, as Iran’s war-drum rhetoric has increased as its nuclear capabilities have neared nuclear weapons status.

Amirahmadi is the founder and president of American-Iranian Council, holds a Ph.D. in planning and international development from Cornell University and is a professor of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
He has served as Director of Rutgers University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies as chair and graduate director of his department at the Bloustein School.

He registered as a candidate for President in the Ninth Presidential Election in Iran in June 2005. Amirahmadi is also the president of Caspian Associates, Inc., an international strategic consulting firm headquartered in Princeton, NJ.

Though most insiders consider him a long shot in Iran’s Presidential race, Many Iranian Americans find hope in his candidacy.

Breaking News: North Korea Beats War Drum

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North Korea says it has entered a ‘state of war’ with South Korea

North Korea has rounded off a week of bellicose rhetoric by warning that it has entered a “state of war” with South Korea, causing a further deterioration of relations on the Korean peninsula.
http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/EKRB3A/TP7UPU/8Z6ESN/LS0SF2/OS/h?a1=2013&a2=3&a3=30

Reuters has this take

.

“From this time on, the North-South relations will be entering the state of war and all issues raised between the North and the South will be handled accordingly,” a statement carried by the North’s official KCNA news agency said.

KCNA said the statement was issued jointly by the North’s government, ruling party and other organizations.

There was no sign of unusual activity in the North’s military to suggest an imminent aggression, a South Korean defense ministry official said.

The North has been threatening to attack the South and U.S. military bases almost on a daily basis since the beginning of March, when U.S. and South Korean militaries started routine drills that have been conducted for decades without incident.

Many in the South have regarded the North’s willingness to keep open the Kaesong industrial zone, located just a few miles (km) north of the border, as a sign that Pyongyang will not risk losing a lucrative source of foreign currency by mounting a real act of aggression.

The Kaesong zone is a vital source of hard currency for the impoverished state and hundreds of South Korean workers and vehicles enter daily after crossing the armed border.

“If the puppet traitor group continues to mention the Kaesong industrial zone is being kept operating and damages our dignity, it will be mercilessly shut off and shut down,” KCNA quoted an agency that operates Kaesong as saying in a statement.

The threat to shut it down could sharply escalate tensions because it would suspend a symbolic joint project run by the rivals. It could also trap hundreds of South Korean workers and managers of the 123 firms that have factories there.

The North has previously suspended operations at the factory zone at the height of political tensions with the South, only to let it resume operations later.

The project has been kept running despite the North’s move on Wednesday to cut off a military hotline used to process the hundreds of workers and vehicles that cross the Demilitarized Zone border.

“We have been exercising extreme restraint considering the plight of medium and small companies whose livelihood depends on the Kaesong industrial project as an immediate shutdown will drive them to bankruptcy and people jobless,” KCNA quoted the agency as saying.

The South’s Unification Ministry, which handles political ties with the North, said earlier in the day that the Kaesong industrial park was operating as normal with workers and vehicles crossing the border both says.

“North Korea’s statement today (on entering a state of war) … is not a new threat but is the continuation of provocative threats,” a ministry statement said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday signed off on an order putting its missile units on standby to attack U.S. military bases in the South and the Pacific, after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force.

U.S. officials said the B-2 bombers were on a diplomatic sortie aimed at reassuring allies South Korea and Japan and were also aimed at trying to nudge Pyongyang back to dialogue, although there was no guarantee Kim would get the message as intended.

The South Korean government brushed off the North’s latest statement on entering a state of war, saying there was nothing fresh in it to cause greater alarm. South Koreans went about with daily lives as they have done through March under the North’s constant threat of attack.

UN Talks On Global Arms Treaty To Convene Monday In New York

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Hours after President Barack Obama was re-elected, the United States backed a UN committee’s call to renew debate over a draft international treaty, to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade. UN talks broke down in July 2012 largely because Obama feared attacks from Republican rival Mitt Romney, if his administration was seen as supporting the treaty, a charge that Obama has denied.

Talks are to open in New York Monday for the UN to negotiate a UN Treaty that will supposedly regulate the global arms trade. Sources state that although the UN Treaty would not substantially control the domestic use of weapons in any country, it would prohibit states that ratify the treaty from transferring conventional weapons if they would violate arms embargoes or if they would promote acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.

In July 2012, NRA’s CEO Wayne LaPierre told the UN that the NRA wants no part of a treaty that infringes on the American citizen’s right to bear arms. “Any treaty that includes civilian firearms ownership in its scope will be met with the NRA’s greatest force of opposition,” he said.

US Secretary of State, John Kerry maintains that the US is committed to reaching an agreement during the new talks. The last round of talks were stalled when the US said it needed more time to consider the proposed accord. Russia and China also asked for a delay.

On Thursday, Rep. Mike Kelly, R-PA, introduced a bipartisan resolution opposing the treaty, which states the proposal “places free democracies and totalitarian regimes on a ‘basis of equality’ and represents a national security threat.”

An official at the British US mission said Washington’s objectives have not changed. “We seek a treaty that contributes to international security by fighting illicit arms trafficking and proliferation, protects the sovereign right of states to conduct legitimate arms trade, and meets the concerns that we have been articulating throughout. We will not accept any treaty that infringes on the constitutional rights of our citizens to bear arms.”

How do you, the citizen believe this will affect America’s Second Amendment rights?

Sources in part: from Foxnews and Reuters

Afghan President Says U. S. Collaborating With Taliban

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President Karzai said during New Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s visit that the U.S. and Taliban were collaborating while the Taliban was setting off bombs by homicide/suicide agents. He went as far to say the bombs were at the service of the U.S. The typical reaction is that he has come unhinged. I am not so sure.

Karzai Accuses U.S. of Taliban Collusion as Hagel Visits
By Gopal Ratnam – Mar 10, 2013 6:05 PM ET

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was greeted on his first visit to Afghanistan since taking office by suicide bombs, threats and Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s accusation that the U.S. is colluding with the Taliban.

As Hagel prepared to leave a U.S. military compound in Kabul on March 9, a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Ministry of Defense, and another suicide bomb detonated in Khost province. Yesterday, Karzai said that those attacks, which together killed 19 people, aided U.S. goals. A joint Hagel-Karzai press conference at the presidential palace was canceled for what Pentagon officials said were security reasons.
Enlarge image U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he told Afghan President Hamid Karzai that “it was not true that the United States was unilaterally working with the Taliban trying to negotiate anything.” Photographer: Jason Reed/Pool/Getty Images

While the Taliban said the attacks were aimed at sending a message to Hagel that the insurgents remain a powerful force, Karzai said in a speech yesterday that the U.S. is holding peace talks with the radical Islamists and the bombs were in the “service of America.”

The truth is the Afghans have been abandoned by the U. S. before. Once we used them, we left them alone without making sure they had proper support. They fell into civil war and the Pakistan supported Taliban controlled most of the country with a reign of tyranny and terror. Now Pakistan and the Taliban have arranged secret meetings with the U. S. in Qatar. It is understandable that Karzai is afraid of being left out of any deal. The Obama Administration denies that talks have occurred since they were suspended a year ago, but the denials are carefully worded. They do not say we are not considering or prepared to start talks unilaterally. Trusting this administration is like leaning on a cardboard cutout for support. It may look strong, but eventually you end up flat on your face. Karzai is taking a preemptive strike to distance himself from any such talks without him and send a message that he needs to be at the table, in my view.

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Halts Any Chance Of Nuclear Talks With U.S.

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Although six world powers, including the US are due to resume nuclear talks with Iran on February 26 in Kazakhstan, after an eight-month delay, few expect a breakthrough because Iran is preparing for elections in June.
The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is Iran’s supreme leader and has rejected the possibility of direct talks with the US, rejecting a proposal by the Obama Administration to ease the stalemate over Iran’s nuclear program. Ali Khamenei has the final say on all strategic decisions in Iran, as official holder of the title “God’s Deputy on earth.”
Sanctions were tightened yesterday on Iran by the US, forcing Iranian oil importers into barter arrangements to further restrict cash flow into the country. The moves taken yesterday were described by a senior Obama administration official as “a significant turning of the screw” that will “significantly increase the economic pressure on Iran.”
“You Americans are pointing the gun at Iran and say either negotiate or we will shoot. The Iranian nation will not be frightened by the threats” Khamenei told Air Force commanders in a speech today.
Khamenei has authorized Talks with the six world powers and said today, via Twitter, that “having relationships and negotiating with countries who had no deceit against us, is in our national interest.”
Information received from The Christian Monitor.

Link

Civil Liberty Minded Americans Joined by Europeans in Concern Over FISA

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The latest revision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has sparked concerns in Europe. The Act now allows the U.S. government to mind data in the “Cloud” that does not belong to U.S. citizens if the servers are owned by U. S. companies. A report to European policy makers blows the lid off the U.S. power grab. Some consider it a threat to the sovereignty of the E.U. and others a threat to the privacy rights of its citizens.

From RT News:

An intelligence bill has put the frighteners on EU citizens as it allows the US access to their personal data stored in internet clouds like those used on Facebook and Google. The law is a ‘grave risk’ to the rights of EU citizens, says an EU report.
The amendments to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on Monday.
US lawmakers passed a five-year extension to 2008 amendments of the FISA at the end of December, allowing the US to keep tabs on phone calls and emails in and out of the country by US citizens.
However, a new EU study entitled ‘Fighting Cyber Crime and Protecting Privacy in the Cloud’ states the real threat lies in the US monitoring of information stored in US-owned public data clouds. The report writes that the legislation has “strong implications for EU fundamental rights” because it allows the US to lawfully extract any information from the clouds without any prior warning or consultation.
All data in the US clouds “becomes liable to mass-surveillance – for purposes of furthering the foreign affairs,” writes the document.
“FISAA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Ammendment Act] can be seen as a categorically much graver risk to EU data sovereignty than other laws hitherto considered by EU policy-makers,” notes the report.
In essence, at the behest of a secret government order US companies operating in the EU will be obliged to hand over data on European citizens. Non-American citizens dwelling outside the US are not subject to the search and seizure protections of the Fourth Amendment, and as such are easy picking for American snooping.
The report concludes that EU citizens should be warned that the information will be freely accessible to the US authorities and calls for EU citizens to be given the same rights as US citizens in American courts. Additionally, it recommends that privacy violations of data cloud information should constitute a cyber crime.
The report’s co-author, Caspar Bowden, former chief privacy advisor to Microsoft Europe told news site slate.com that the lack of attention paid to the bill by EU authorities was “shocking.”
“It’s like putting a mind control drug in the water supply, which only affects non-Americans,” said Bowden, adding that FISAA was “carte blanche for anything that furthers US foreign policy interests,” including the “continuous mass-surveillance of ordinary lawful democratic political activities.”

Benghazi–2012 Scandal of the Year

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Senator Marco Rubio had the best characterization of the new independent report. He said that it showed this was a planned act of terror not related to some obscure video.

His office released this statement last week.

Rubio Statement on Independent Report Regarding Attacks on U.S. Mission Facility and Annex in Benghazi
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement after an independent report was released regarding the attacks on the U.S. mission facility and annex in Benghazi:

“The independent report on the September 11 attacks on our mission facility and annex in Benghazi confirms what we have long known to be true: that Ambassador Stevens and the other Americans who lost their lives in the attacks could have been saved by better protection, a swifter military response and more attentive leadership from Washington. In the months leading up to the attacks, credible reports were brought to the attention of the State Department alleging insufficient security in the area. These reports also contained warnings of rapidly growing radical militias that threatened anti-American attacks. Despite all of the information available to them, the State Department failed to construct an adequate safety plan, declined to provide sufficient security personnel and failed to consider closing the mission given the growing threat.

“This is evidence of a flawed process to access and provide security for our diplomats. Such oversight failure and neglect is unacceptable. The report made strong recommendations regarding personnel who should be held accountable, and I am pleased that some individuals in positions of responsibility have resigned today. However, such resignations are a small step toward addressing this issue, which can only be fully resolved by an open and transparent internal review of the State Department’s relevant policies, operations and procedures. The men and women who represent our nation have the right to expect that our government is taking every possible measure to ensure their safety, and it is now clear that a leadership failure at the State Department led to grossly inadequate protection of our diplomats in Benghazi. I join my colleagues in wishing Secretary Clinton a speedy recovery. However, as she is ultimately responsible for the department and U.S. posts around the world, her testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is indispensable to any effort to address this failure and put in place a process to ensure this never happens again.”

China v. U. S.

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The Olympic games seem to be a China v. U. S. competition. Is this friendly rivalry limited to sports field? I think not as the BRICS (economic alliance) and the military buildup show. China desires to be a superpower. That is not a bad thing. What is bad is that we do not seem to take them as seriously as we should. Wake up America, the next 25 to 50 years are going to be Pacific rim dominated not Atlantic dominated.

Will Mexican Elections Foreshadow Ours?

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A popular governor who had a successful economic reputation leads the return of a party formerly blamed for past economic doldrums. Governor Enrique Peña Nieto focused on the future and rebuilding the economy as the centerpiece of his campaign. His party raised and spent a great deal of money driving the theme home in a first class marketing campaign. If exit polls are correct, he will be the first candidate of his party to win the Presidency after 12 years out of power.

Will Governor Romney be able to pull off the same feat? The narratives are uncanny. We shall see. It has only been 4 years here.

Another Case Against Interventionism: Black Genocide In Libya

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Why is the Obama State Department Silent while ethnic cleansing is rampant in Libya? Blacks are being slaughtered by Muslim North Africans in our new NATO paradise, Libya. Lynchings are back. Real torture is occurring, not scaring people with water. People are being targeted because their skin is a certain color, black. Amnesty International had this to say on page 71 of their report,

    The Battle for Libya, Killings, Disappearances, and Torture

:

With the justice system virtually paralysed, no coordination between the Department of
Public Prosecution and individuals abducting, detaining and interrogating suspects, and no
civil society organizations or independent local media addressing these concerns, victims of
abuses by opposition forces have no means of seeking redress or having their grievances
addressed.135
LYNCHING
“The protesters in al-Bayda have been able to seize control of the military airbase in the city
and have executed 50 African mercenaries and two Libyan conspirators. Even in Derna today,
a number of conspirators were executed… This will be the end of every oppressor who stands
with al-Gaddafi.”
‘Amir Sa’ad, political activist in Derna, 18 February 2011136
In the first days of the uprising, groups of protesters killed a number of captured soldiers and
suspected mercenaries in al-Bayda, Derna and Benghazi. Some were beaten to death, at least
three were hanged, and others were shot dead after they had been captured or had
surrendered. Those killed were presented as “African mercenaries” but their identities are not
known. Most were believed to be Libyan soldiers with dark skin and some may have been
Sub-Saharan African nationals wrongly presumed to be “mercenaries” (see Chapter 6).

Critics have noted that the ethnic cleansing of some Northern African States is creating a black free zone in Northern Africa. The conflict between the Arabs and Blacks is being stoked by those who desire a “Clash of Civilizations” to fund the global war machine. If the intervention in Libya and the clamored intervention in Syria and elsewhere was to save lives, why not use our influence to peaceably persuade those we arm to do the same? How about a simple doctrine, you commit ethnic cleansing, we do not arm, support, or aid you?

American Interventionism feels good, but it creates more harm than good because we are inconsistent and unwilling or unable to work for long run solutions. We end up creating more instability not less. It is the concept of blowback.

My message to those who insisted we support the effort to stop the slaughter of innocent armed rebels so they can lynch, torture, and create black free zones is thank you for creating a genocide with our approval. Before we listen to you again, start correcting the string of failures that you have left.

Welcome to the New Iraq

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News Release from Persecution.com  Analysis by me at the end

Recent attacks on Christian-owned businesses in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region have put believers on edge in an area that was formerly considered safe for Christians.

In a sermon on Dec. 2, 2011, Mullah Mala Ismail Osman Sindi complained of moral corruption in the northern town of Zakho. Incited by the sermon, a Muslim man stood up afterward and called out the names of Christian-owned businesses. A group of young men then marched to Zakho carrying banners declaring “There is no God but Allah.” They attacked and burned about 30 businesses, most owned by Christians. The men also tried to attack a Christian neighborhood in Zakho, but they were stopped by authorities. A VOM team in the region had to evacuate quickly.

Violence erupted again the following morning, Dec. 3, in two Christian neighborhoods on the outskirts of Dohuk, where Muslims attacked liquor stores and burned a Christian cultural club. Two days later, on Dec. 5, smaller incidents of violence against Christian communities were reported near the Kurdish capital of Erbil and in the center of Sulaymaniyah, 124 miles to the south.

“The interesting thing with this incident is the place where it happened,” said Emanuel Youkhana, an archdeacon of the Assyrian Church of the East. “[The Kurdish Regional Government] is, for the most part, safe and secure, and all inhabitants enjoy prosperity and security, until now at least. The future is, by all means, bleak for Christians and other minorities living there.”

Local sources said the attacks were organized by a pro-Islamic party influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood. The attacks reflect a growing attitude of intolerance among many Muslims in Iraq. Kaldo Oghanna, the general secretary of the Chaldo-Assyrian Student and Youth Union, said the attacks threaten the Kurdish region’s stability and safety.

“This attack is not a normal attack,” Oghanna said. “It threatened our businesses, and it is threatening the situation in Kurdistan. They attacked the democracy of the Kurdish region, its safety and security. Of course, we think these are international and domestic influences that made this situation escalate, but we also think this is in the mentality of those people, that they do not tolerate those who are different. This is our real struggle.”

Kurdistan had long been a region of safety for Christians in Iraq. Thousands had moved to the region from elsewhere in Iraq during the conflict. The vicar of St. George’s Church in Baghdad, Canon Andrew White, told VOM partner Release International, “We had placed so much hope on the fact that there was one place in Iraq where Christians could find security and a future. That place was Dohuk.

“Sadly, with the violence in the last few days, this hope has now gone. People are petrified and are saying, ‘What happens to us now?’ Will we stand with them and support them in this great difficulty? Faith shines a light into the darkness, hope into despair, gives a future where there is no future.”

Sources: Compass Direct News, Release International

Posted: December 16, 2011
 
Analysis
When we fought for freedom, it should have been freedom for all.  We put in troops and and a no fly zone to prevent the genocide of the Kurdish minority who were Muslims.  I applaud that.  Yet this Administration refuses to look at the idea of a safe zone for Christians.  International report after international report speaks of the coming extinction of Christians in Iraq.  Some even use the word genocide.  Afghanistan is not much better.   How can we be a Christian nation and not stand up for Christians’ lives under our charge?  Oh, I forgot we are no longer a Christian nation according to our President.  We are one of the largest Muslim nations.  Okay, I don’t agree, but can we just treat everyone equally and push for the human rights of everyone?  Pretend the Iraqi Christians are gay and give them foreign aid.  Do something.  Just to show you this is not new, here is an excerpt  from a report from a Syrian ArchBishop about the situation in Iraq.

December 2010
A report by the church committee for Iraqi Refugees in al-Hassake, Syria.

“In some of the cities even the streets are almost empty of Christians.”

Their conditions are no longer bearable. The people are living behind locked doors, they are compelled to take long leaves of absence from work, in Mosul and other cities, as a result of the dangers they face at work.

The universities are almost empty of Christian students, as are the schools. In some of the cities even the streets are almost empty of Christians.

It is as if they are in prison: without work, without study, without Church meetings. Fear rules over all situations and in all places.

Threats and insults are daily occurrences, and offensive graffiti is daubed on the walls of the homes of these innocent people.

There is no getting around this problem nor is there a solution to it. The people are deprived of everything that could bring security to their lives; all they can do is depend on God’s mercy or leave for the north. However, travelling to the north requires great financial means for paying the very high rent of homes there, and meeting the cost of living.

Images of the bitter reality
If a Christian wishes to rent out his house and leave, the terrorists will force the person renting the house to pay the rent to them, because according to them this house is theirs by right. And, if he dared to sell it they would threaten the person who bought it, so in the end all the money would go to the terrorists.

What is the response? Not only is the administration not putting any pressure on the Iraqi government to clean up the problem, it is not giving persecuted status to Iraqi Christians and letting in America while Muslim communities come in by the tens of thousands.Why are we not follow U. S. law and opening our hearts to hard working business people who will build our economy and correct the mess we made by the sloppy job Paul Bremer did. This is a disgrace. I think it is the biggest disgrace since we encouraged the Hungarian freedom fighters to stand up knowing that we would do nothing if they were crushed by the tanks.

U. N. Turns Blind Eye to Genocide?

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The United Nations is refusing to recognize Christians in some Muslim Countries as human rights refugees in spite of the fact that they are having to flee for their lives.  It is reminiscent of the West refusing to recognize the refugees fleeing from the coming Holocaust before WW2.   Naturally, the Jewish persecution by constant shelling, terrorism, and plots by Iran to get a nuke to complete the final solution even if it costs them half of their own country gets no recognition either so they are not any better at there either.  The link shows why this is happening.  The internal politics of the UN favors a coherent block of member states.  Just like it did not recognize the human rights problems of the communists because a huge block of its members were communists, now the Organization of the Islamic Conference (56 nations) is a very powerful block holding administrative positions all throughout the UN including the human rights  commission and the UN High Commission on Refugees. 

It is horrifying that Afghan Christians are being refused refugee status by the UN and many Western nations, including Britain. The UN claims that Afghan Christians do not meet the criteria for refugees under Statute 6B of the UN High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR), which requires refugees to have “a well founded fear of persecution by reason of his race, religion, nationality or political opinion.” 
Since 1976, millions of new citizens have entered America as legal humanitarian refugees, according to reports of the US State Department. The Somalis are certified as “humanitarian refugees” under our State Department rules. Whole Muslim communities are imported into the United States, and they are supported by social services provided by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The cities who receive these huge numbers are determined by Refugee Councils. And yet back in October 2008,  Muslim UN employees were “discouraging” applications for resettlement from the desperate Christian Iraqis. The Christian Iraqi population has since been decimated. By buying into the argument that Islam is a religion of peace and ignoring the penalties for apostasy, we are sentencing thousands of Christians to martyrdom and forcing others to live in the shadows in dire poverty.  We need to demand that our government provide protection and asylum for Christian apostates.

Humanitarian refugees have literally won the proverbial lottery. Typically, they receive green cards as resident aliens within a year of arrival and are eligible to become full US citizens within five years, unless they violate our immigration laws, commit a felony or are deported. In the process they are provided with cash stipend and social services assistance from federal, state, NGO’s and voluntary agency contractors.The irony is the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) determines which of the world’s huddled masses comes to the US as humanitarian refugees. UNHCR trends for 2006 indicate that worldwide there were more than 32.9 million ‘persons of concern’ with approximately one third defined as ‘refugees’. Major refugee ‘hot spots’ include the Horn of Africa with Somalia, Darfur in the Sudan and Ethiopia, Iraq, Pakistan and Myanmar. The US is the third highest ranked country in terms of hosting refugees. The annual budget for the UNHCR is over $1.7 billion derived from government contributions, foundation grants and donations. A veritable cottage industry of federal and state alphabet soup agencies, NGO’s and voluntary agencies or VOLAG contractors has sprung up to facilitate absorption of humanitarian refugees. (more here)

This is no accident. We know that the UN is driven largely by the largest bloc of countries, the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation). The OIC is one of the largest intergovernmental organizations in the world. 

 The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is a religious and political organization. Close to the Muslim World League of the Muslim Brotherhood, it shares the Brotherhood’s strategic and cultural vision: that of a universal religious community, the Ummah, based upon the Koran, the Sunna, and the canonical orthodoxy of shari’a. The OIC represents 56 countries and the Palestinian Authority (considered a state), the whole constituting the universal Ummah with a community of more than one billion three to six hundred million Muslims.

The OIC has a unique structure among nations and human societies. The Vatican and the various churches are de facto devoid of political power, even if they take part in politics, because in Christianity, as in Judaism, the religious and political functions have to be separated. Asian religions, too, do not represent systems that bring together religion, strategy, politics, and law within a single organizational structure. (Morefrom Bat Yeor) 
The OIC is a unique organization — one that has no equivalent in the world. It unites the religious, economic, military, and political strength of 56 states. By contrast, the European Union represents half as many states and is a secular body only, and the Vatican — which speaks for the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics — is devoid of any political power. Many Muslims in the West resist the OIC’s tutelage and oppose its efforts to supplant Western law with sharia. But the OIC’s resources are formidable.

Most Muslims are not the problem here so don’t bother sending this post to CAIR. What is the problem is a type of Shiria Correctness in which recognizing the abuses by some radical Muslims is seen as giving ammunition to attack the faith as a whole. The result is an enabling of the extremists and the very stain on the Islamic faith that the bureaucrats are trying to prevent. When they turn back the persecuted to their persecutors they become a party to it. When we do not make it right, we become a party to it.

I call upon our State Department to stand up and be counted. Where are you Hillary Clinton? Where would your approval ratings be if Americans knew you too busy to bother with Christian Genocide?  Even worse the U. S. has troops on the ground protecting people in Afghanistan and Iraq where some of this is occuring, yet nothing for Christians?  Is the Obama administration the new Chamberlain government?

Just a Reminder What Government by Regulation Looks Like

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EU bans claims by bottled water manufacturers that regular consumption of water prevents dehydration.  21 scientists couldn’t decide if low water levels were a cause or symptom of dehydration and the regulatory board actually took them seriously.  These are the type of  people who we should turn our economy over to in order to save us from global some kind of climate change.  We also need to follow their example on all sorts of issues from health care to tax levels, to wealth distribution because things are going so well. 

Even more mind boggling, the national leaders are debating whether or not to give the Euro zone bureaucrats more power.

Success

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I am so happy that the administration is making the world safe for Sharia law.  I am sure that you have seen the headline about the new decree from the interim Libyan leader.  When you look at the fact we are rushing out of Iraq without finishing training the Air Force in spite of the fact 80% of parliamentwanted us to finish, which may strengthen Iran’s hand.  We look at Egypt.  We look at the wings in Yemen.  We look at the likely turn toward the clerics in Saudi Arabia.  We look at Pakistan.  We look at shifts in Turkey or Hamas in Palestine.  We have to ask, Is the adminstration going in the right direction?   The people in these countries have the right to make decisions, but should we not side with those among them who agree with our values instead of those who despise them.

Hurt Feelings or Bullying

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China blasted Mexican President Calderon’s 45 minute meeting with the Dalai Lama in the strongest terms.  It is not unusual for China to express dismay when foreign leaders meet with the Tibetan Spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient.  The nature of this rebuke seems to have gone way over the top to the point of interfering with the Mexican President’s right to speak with whomever he wants in his country.  The tone was aggressive.  Is this a new China?  As the nation becomes stronger economically, militarily, and politically will we see more of this?

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said the meeting “grossly interfered with China’s internal affairs, hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and harmed Chinese-Mexican relations.”

“We demand the Mexican side adopt measures to eliminate the bad impact and to safeguard the sound and stable development of Chinese-Mexican relations,” Ma said in a statement.

Read more at the Washington Examiner:

Osama Bin Laden Dead

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The President addressed the nation minutes ago to say Special Ops Forces killed Bin Laden.  When America sets its mind to do something, there is nothing it cannot accomplish, declared the President.  General Wayne Downing would be proud.  It is too bad the founder of the modern Special Operations command didn’t live to see this day.  Thank GOD for this event because innocent people will eventually be safer.

President Obama deserves credit for making this a top priority.    It has now been achieved and the standing of America in the world will only improve.

Goldstone has integrity; Will the UN?

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In a startling turnaround, Richard Goldstone of the UN’s Goldstone Report which found that both Israel and Hamas committed potential war crimes and possibly Crimes against Humanity.  He now says that if he knew what he knew today, it would have been a very different report.  Israel is innocent of targeting civilians and most of the 1000 killed in the Gaza war turned out not to be civilians as Hamas claimed.

Goldstone wrote this in the Washington Post Saturday:

As I indicated from the very beginning, I would have welcomed Israel’s cooperation. The purpose of the Goldstone Report was never to prove a foregone conclusion against Israel. I insisted on changing the original mandate adopted by the Human Rights Council, which was skewed against Israel. I have always been clear that Israel, like any other sovereign nation, has the right and obligation to defend itself and its citizens against attacks from abroad and within. Something that has not been recognized often enough is the fact that our report marked the first time illegal acts of terrorism from Hamas were being investigated and condemned by the United Nations. I had hoped that our inquiry into all aspects of the Gaza conflict would begin a new era of evenhandedness at the U.N. Human Rights Council, whose history of bias against Israel cannot be doubted.

Some have charged that the process we followed did not live up to judicial standards. To be clear: Our mission was in no way a judicial or even quasi-judicial proceeding. We did not investigate criminal conduct on the part of any individual in Israel, Gaza or the West Bank. We made our recommendations based on the record before us, which unfortunately did not include any evidence provided by the Israeli government. Indeed, our main recommendation was for each party to investigate, transparently and in good faith, the incidents referred to in our report. McGowan Davis has found that Israel has done this to a significant degree; Hamas has done nothing.

Some have suggested that it was absurd to expect Hamas, an organization that has a policy to destroy the state of Israel, to investigate what we said were serious war crimes. It was my hope, even if unrealistic, that Hamas would do so, especially if Israel conducted its own investigations. At minimum I hoped that in the face of a clear finding that its members were committing serious war crimes, Hamas would curtail its attacks. Sadly, that has not been the case. Hundreds more rockets and mortar rounds have been directed at civilian targets in southern Israel. That comparatively few Israelis have been killed by the unlawful rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza in no way minimizes the criminality. The U.N. Human Rights Council should condemn these heinous acts in the strongest terms.

Based upon this, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the report repealed and the resolutions based upon it. Defense Minister Ehud Barak want it to compel the author of the report to go before international forums and take his message of clarification to the world.

Israel couldn’t make information available before there were even preliminary investigations.  Now that the facts are in, what do we see?  1. War is horrible for both sides.  2. Hamas doesn’t care to hold anyone accountable even by investigation.  3. Hamas uses terror and targeting of civilians as an instrument of statecraft.  4. The UN has two standards.  We will now see if the UN has enough integrity to admit that new information deserves a new verdict.  This is a defining moment.

Joe Says It Aint So: Mubarak Not a Dictator

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Vice President Biden does not want Egyptian Strongman Mubarak to step down and I am sure that the entrance of the Muslim Brotherhood into the fray makes the U. S. nervous. I get that. We should learn our lesson from the Sha of Iran. We should not pull the rug out like we did there. We also cannot prop them up and become enemies of the people like we did there. We should be neutral. The government is cutting off the Internet, cell phones, and other communications. That needs to be condemned. The protesters have legitimate demands. Protester signs are in English for two reasons. They admire our ideals of freedom and they want to send us a message that we need to live up to them. The world is not given to easy answers.

From the Christian Science Monitor:

Asked if he would characterize Mubarak as a dictator Biden responded: “Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things. And he’s been very responsible on, relative to geopolitical interest in the region, the Middle East peace efforts; the actions Egypt has taken relative to normalizing relationship with – with Israel. … I would not refer to him as a dictator.”

He also appeared to make one of the famous Biden gaffes, in comments that could be interpreted as questioning the legitimacy of protesters’ demands. Monitor Cairo correspondent Kristen Chick, other reporters in the country, and activists have generally characterized the main calls of demonstrators as focused on freedom, democracy, an end to police torture, and a more committed government effort to address the poverty that aflicts millions of Egyptians.

Biden urged non-violence from both protesters and the government and said: “We’re encouraging the protesters to – as they assemble, do it peacefully. And we’re encouraging the government to act responsibly and – and to try to engage in a discussion as to what the legitimate claims being made are, if they are, and try to work them out.” He also said: “I think that what we should continue to do is to encourage reasonable… accommodation and discussion to try to resolve peacefully and amicably the concerns and claims made by those who have taken to the street. And those that are legitimate should be responded to because the economic well-being and the stability of Egypt rests upon that middle class buying into the future of Egypt.”

Egypt’s protesters, if they’re paying attention to Biden at all, will certainly be wondering which of their demands thus far have been illegitimate.

The World to Come: My View of the International Portrait in 2011

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This is met to be a quick outline of the challenges that I see facing the U. S. in the world in 2011 not a comprehensive essay.  Call it a prediction thread.

1.  China will strengthen the Sino-Russian alliance and pull the “Stans” away from the U. S. and toward it which will give it access to oil and mineral resources.  The alliance will begin to morph beyond trading and China will begin to make baby steps to a military alliance to protect its newly acquired wealth not just from the U. S. but Russia.  Russia will not see it because they are too focused on the U. S.  China has already replaced Russia as the counterweight to the U. S.  Only Russia and  the Obama adminstration with its START and other Russian focused polices doesn’t seem to notice.

2.  China will sign a major trade agreement with India and begin to attempt to pull India into “non-aligned” status.

3.  Russia will continue to undermine us with Iran and the U. S. will have the Taliban being aided by hostile powers on both the Eastern and Western Border.

4. OPEC will get greedy and may stifle the global economic recovery in the economic equivalent of crib death.

5. The Obama administration’s anti-drilling and EPA regulations will become the new political center stage as health care was in 2010.

6.  The Middle East will continue to be a source of unease as the covert conflict between Israel and Iran step up.  It could flame into conflict as Iran may step up funding Hamas and Hezbollah in retaliation for the cyber attack which disabled Iran’s nuclear program.

7. The International Monetary fund basket of currency will begin to be seen as an alternative standard for the world.  The dollar will begin to be abandoned as the reserve currency for the world.  China will us its alliance with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to use its own currency as a regional alternative.  China will no longer beholden to the Federal Reserve.  The Arab nations will join China and Russia in pushing to end the valuation of commodities in the dollar.

8.  If the administration does not deal effectively with the effort to end the U. S. as the world reserve currency, our economic power in the world will begin a decline which may be irreversible. 2011 may be the beginning of the post Pax Americana.  So far, it seemed unengaged or even open to the idea.

9.  North Korea (DPRK) decides to be bought off for another year and makes noise again next winter when it needs money.  The six party talks restart this spring.  (Just a prediction).  China leaks technology to them and they get better at ballistic missles.

10. The 2011 draw down in Afganistan goes by the wayside.

11. Pakistan becomes mired in political conflict.  The coalition gets nothing done and the country moves toward economic collaspse.  It becomes internally focused and unable to help fight the Taliban in a meaningful way.

There is my 11 for 11.  How many hope that I am wrong?  BTW, I predict China fields and at least one Aircraft Carrier by 2012  Europe will be focused internally with Spain and Portugal being the next of its group facing  giant budgetary crises, Italy is not far behind with Britain, France, and Germany facing pressure at home.

Defense Strategy Is Not Just for Today

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One of the problems that America has faced is that we look at national defense based upon today’s challenges.  We should.  That is not where we need to stop.  Our defense posture must be preparedness against potential and future threats.  We must develop future weapons systems to stay a couple of steps ahead of the competition.

Foolishly, we have cut the F-22 which is the best aircraft in the world.  Worse yet, we did it in such a way which makes it more difficult for Japan to fill its needs.  Oh, they are not what we need in Afghanistan.  The fact is that you buy more of what you need, but do not sacrifice the ability to deal with more sophisticated competitors.  Now we may be seeing the error of our ways.

China welcomed Secretary Gates with a new stealth fighter.  We didn’t even know they had it.  According to Defense experts for both Australia and the U. S. working computer simulations, we have lost air superiority with China.  I remember writing in an another forum on this subject and one person dismissed China’s abilities as overblown.  He said the Pentagon reports to which I referred were exagerated.   The fact is they were not aggressive enough.  China’s advances have shocked even me.  I look at their nuclear subs and I see them skipping generations.  They could be off our shores right now.  I look at this advance in air power and I look at the diplomatic blitz with India, Russia, Germany, the U.K., and oil rich nations then I see a picture emerge.  We have the superpower counterweight of the mid-21st century.  At least, I thought the mid-21st century starting around 2035.  Now, it may be 10 years out.

The U. S.  needs to adjust to this new reality.  China is not our enemy.  However if we are not to be checkmated in the East which is vital to our economic survival, we need to open our eyes.  We cannot cut national defense.  We cannot have economic polices which build China at our expense.  Otherwise our allies will abandon us because they will not be able to be protected from Chinese hegemony.   We will lose access to the only region in the world with both strong growth and high technology besides us.  The future of the world is the Pacific not the Atlantic.  It is time we play for real.  China is.

Mr. Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Laureate

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Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
December 10, 2010

Statement by the President on the Awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize

One year ago, I was humbled to receive the Nobel Peace Prize – an award that speaks to our highest aspirations, and that has been claimed by giants of history and courageous advocates who have sacrificed for freedom and justice. Mr. Liu Xiaobo is far more deserving of this award than I was.

All of us have a responsibility to build a just peace that recognizes the inherent rights and dignity of human beings – a truth upheld within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  In our own lives, our own countries, and in the world, the pursuit of a just peace remains incomplete, even as we strive for progress.  This past year saw the release of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, even as the Burmese people continue to be denied the democracy that they deserve.  Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos Horta has continued his tireless work to build a free and prosperous East Timor, having made the transition from dissident to President.  And this past year saw the retirement of Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, whose own career demonstrates the universal power of freedom and justice to overcome extraordinary obstacles.

The rights of human beings are universal – they do not belong to one nation, region or faith.  America respects the unique culture and traditions of different countries.  We respect China’s extraordinary accomplishment in lifting millions out of poverty, and believe that human rights include the dignity that comes with freedom from want.  But Mr. Liu reminds us that human dignity also depends upon the advance of democracy, open society, and the rule of law.  The values he espouses are universal, his struggle is peaceful, and he should be released as soon as possible. I regret that Mr. Liu and his wife were denied the opportunity to attend the ceremony that Michelle and I attended last year.  Today, on what is also International Human Rights Day, we should redouble our efforts to advance universal values for all human beings.

A WORD FROM ME:

I congratulate the President on His Nobel Prize Award.  Oh, sorry I read the statement too quickly.  I thought it was about the President and a history of Nobel Laureates.   Seriously, why is the statement from the White House almost nothing about Mr. Liu Xiaobo?  The Chinese government is livid about this award and put out the word last week that any governments attending this cerimony “were clowns” and the award to a “criminal” serving time for subversion of the state “an obscenity”. 

 China has advanced a great deal from the Cultural Revolution or even Tiananmen Square in the area of human rights and expects the world to recognize  their achievements.  They see this award as an affront by the international community.  The fact that the human rights activist is imprisoned seems to escape them.  China does have a human rights problem, but like an alcoholic who has cut back from being a  bum on the street to a functional alcoholic who only loses control and beats his wife once a month, China is in denial of its problem.  The administration had an interesting choice before it.  It choose to deflect attention back to the President, Bishop Tutu and everyone else and not single out any of Mr. Liu Xiaobo’s achievements.  Considering that we cannot offend our banker and Top 3 trading partner at this time, it may be the best we can hope for.  I am under no such constraint.  Ladies and Gentlemen, Liu Xiaobo’s Charter O8 which was signed by ten thousand Chinese leaders including mid-level government officials.

Continue reading →

Israel revises Embargo

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Israel is still restricting weapons and construction material which can be used for fortifications, but instead of running all consumer goods through it, it is easing the restrictions to allow most goods to go through directly.

But prospects for rebuilding the damage from a punishing Israeli military offensive last year remain uncertain. Materials like steel and cement, which Israel says can be diverted for use by the territory’s ruling Hamas militants, would be allowed to enter only for international aid projects. And Gazans will still remained largely confined to their tiny territory.

CASTLE JOINS REP. MALONEY ON MATERNAL HEALTH BILL

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Release from the Castle Office

Legislation Could Save Lives of Millions of Women Globally

Washington | June 7, 2010 – Reps. Mike Castle (R-DE) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) recently introduced legislation, the Obstetric Fistula Prevention, Treatment, Hope and Dignity Restoration Act of 2010, H.R. 5441, which would authorize funding to prevent and treat women suffering from obstetric fistula, a horrific and debilitating condition that occurs in women after prolonged labor, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

“I am pleased to be working with Rep. Maloney on this maternal health initiative, which will help address the avoidable agony caused by obstetric fistula,” Rep. Castle said. “By focusing on a coordinated and locally relevant approach to prevention and treatment, we can improve the health of women and children around the globe and give them a chance at living full and productive lives.”

“Women around the world are needlessly suffering from the horrors of obstetric fistula. The World Health Organization estimates that between 50,000-100,000 new cases of obstetric fistula develop each year, adding to the estimated 2 million current cases– yet this condition is almost entirely preventable, and treatable in 90 percent of cases when it does occur,” Rep. Maloney said. “This bill will help ease the suffering of women suffering with obstetric fistula and demonstrate the United States’ commitment to the health of women and children around the world.”

The bill supports a comprehensive approach to end obstetric fistula – prevention to eliminate occurrences, treatment to repair those women who already suffer, and rehabilitation to help those recovering fully heal and reenter society. It focuses on efforts to build local capacity and improve national systems to prevent and treat obstetric fistula.

Reps. Castle and Maloney also sent a letter to their colleagues urging them to support HR 5441. The letter also announced a briefing to take place to discuss this devastating issue this Thursday, June 10. The briefing will include presentations from the following people:

Sarah Omega, a Kenyan woman whose dramatic personal story illustrates the trauma of fistula
Joseph Ruminjo, Clinical Director of Fistula Care who worked as a fistula surgeon in Kenya prior to joining EngenderHealth
Josephine Elechi, First Lady of Ebonyi State in southeastern Nigeria and founder of the Mother and Child Care Initiative
Agnes Odhiambo of Human Rights Watch and researcher on this issue.
UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), and EngenderHealth representatives who will discuss successful partnerships in communities to prevent and treat fistula and simultaneously strengthen health systems
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