[LAAMN] video-shooting of Palestinian teenager in Hebron, PNC Council expels PFLP-GC camps in Damascus
http://972mag.com/watch-security-camera-captures-shooting-of-palestinian-teenager-in-hebron/62244/ WATCH: Security camera captures shooting of Palestinian teenager in Hebron Last Wedensday, 17-year-old Muhammad Ziad Awad Salaymah was killed at an IDF checkpoint in Hebronhttp://972mag.com/why-was-17-years-old-muhammad-killed/61950/. The army claimed that the young Palestinian drew a fake gun on one of the soldiers, leaving a border policewoman who was near the scene no choice but to shoot him. The Salaymah family said that Muhammad was on his way to a candy store to by a cake for his birthday. Until now, the army refused to release the footage captured by a security camera which monitors the checkpoint. Today, this clip was posted on the IDFs Arabic channelhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embeddedv=ybw9gT1oFpE. It is hard to tell whats going on Muhammad and a soldier can be seen exchanging blows, and it seems that the Palestinian is the first to try and hit the soldier (0:33). The alleged gun cannot be spotted, but the clip which is slightly edited (0:24) is very dark. The second soldier comes out to the street and when the soldier and the Palestinian are away from each other, she shoots Muhammad (0:48). Unless the teen was indeed holding a gun, the soldiers dont seem to be under threat at that moment. *http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embeddedv=ybw9gT1oFpE* I will try and add some commentary on this issue later this week. Here is a photo of the dead teenager: http://972mag.com/why-was-17-years-old-muhammad-killed/61950/muhammad/ Muhammad Ziad Awad Salaymah, a 17-year-old Palestinian shot to death at an army checkpoint in Hebron *Related:* The heroine vs. the terrorist: A case study in brainwashinghttp://972mag.com/the-heroine-vs-the-terrorist-a-case-study-in-israeli-brainwashing/61969/ Why was 17-year-old Muhammad killed?http://972mag.com/why-was-17-years-old-muhammad-killed/61950/ http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=548995 Palestinian National Council expels PFLP-GC leader over Syria fighting Published today (updated) 18/12/2012 13:02 AMMAN, Jordan (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian National Council on Tuesday expelled faction leader Ahmad Jibril over his role in involving Palestinians in the conflict in Syria. The council condemned Jibril, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command, for dragging Palestinians into Syria's conflict despite a decision by the Palestinian leadership that Palestinians must not intervene in internal Syrian affairs. Jibril's membership of the council was suspended in 1984 after he fought late President Yasser Arafat in Tripoli a year earlier. The council said in a statement that his membership would now be canceled. Thousands of Palestinians have fled Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus amid weeks of fighting between rebels, backed by some Palestinian fighters, and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. The camp has come under heavy jet and artillery fire by the Syrian regime. Jibril's PFLP-GC has fought alongside Assad's forces, but rebels say many PFLP-GC fighters have defected to join them. Jibril left the camp days ago, rebel sources said. Syrian rebels said Monday they had taken full control of the camp, on the southern edge of Assad's Damascus powerbase. All of the camp is under the control of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army, said a Palestinian activist in Yarmouk. He said clashes had stopped and the remaining PFLP-GC fighters retreated to join Assad's forces massed on the northern edge of the camp. The PNC said it feared government troops would storm the camp and commit massacres, and called on the UN and the international community to intervene and provide urgent assistance to refugees. The council has written to the Arab Parliamentary Union, the Arab Parliament and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, as well as the Council of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and a number of European parliaments warning of the urgency of the situation. Jibril's alliance with Assad has caused divisions within PFLP-GC and the resignation of several central committee members, who have criticized the group's leader for arming Palestinians. *Ambassador: Palestinian camp in Damascus deserted* *Published today (updated) 18/12/2012 13:34* ** *BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Over 95 percent of Palestinians in Yarmouk have fled the refugee camp near Damascus under heavy shelling, the Palestinian ambassador to Syria said Tuesday. Mahmud al-Khalidi told Ma'an that refugees fled to UNRWA schools amid violent clashes between rebels and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. Rebel and Palestinian sources said Syrian rebels took full control of Yarmouk camp on Monday after fighting raged for days in the district on the southern edge of Damascus. Al-Khalidi said he had contacted the Syrian Foreign Ministry to request an end to airstrikes on Yarmouk, but Syrian officials
[LAAMN] Juan Cole: America Is Filling the World With Guns
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/416-gun-control-/15084-america-is-fi lling-the-world-with-guns America Is Filling the World With Guns By Juan Cole, Informed Comment Reader Supported News: 17 December 12 http://readersupportednews.org/images/stories/alphabet/rsn-T.jpg he American obsession with guns and violence is not unique, but it is distinctive. The US ranks 12th in the world for rate of firearm-related deaths. El Salvador, Colombia, Swaziland, Brazil, South Africa, the Philippines and some others are worse. But that is the company the US is in- not, say, relatively peaceful places like Japan, Singapore and the Netherlands. It turns out that the Newtown shooter used a semi-automatic Bushmaster rifle http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/school-shooter-adam-lanza_n_231281 8.html and he had lots of thirty-round high-capacity clips for it. Authorities have revealed that each of the 20 children and six adults he killed was shot multiple times, but given the number of clips Lanza brought with him, the number of victims could have been much, much higher. The Federal ban on weapons such as the Bushmaster, in place 1994-2004, was allowed to lapse by the George W. Bush administration and his Republican Congress, all of whom received massive campaign donations from the gun lobby. There is a Connecticut ban, but the maker of the Bushmaster used a loophole in the poorly written state law to continue to sell the gun in the state. The Bushmaster is manufactured by a subsidiary of the Wall Street hedge fund, Cerberus Capital Management, called the Freedom Group- which also owns Remington and DPMS Firearms. It is the largest single maker of semi-automatic rifles in the US, and they are expected to be a major growing profit center in the coming years. The Freedom Group was sued over the Washington, DC, sniper attacks, and paid $500,000 without admitting culpability. So, the hedge funds are doing us in every which way. But the weird idea of letting people buy military weaponry at will, with less trouble than you would have to buy a car, is only one manifestation of America's cult of high-powered weaponry. In 2011, US corporations sold 75% of all the arms sold in the international http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/world/middleeast/us-foreign-arms-sales-re ach-66-3-billion-in-2011.html?_r=0 weapons market, some $66 billion of the $85 billion trade. Russia was the runner-up with only $4 billion in sales. Saudi Arabia bought F-15s and Apache and Blackhawk helicopters. Oman bought F-16s. The UAE got a missile shield. And, of course, Israel gets very sophisticated weapons from the US, as well. The US share of the arms trade to the Middle East has burgeoned so much in the past decade that it now dwarfs the other suppliers, as this chart [pdf] from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/R42678.pdf a Congressional study makes clear. Graph http://readersupportednews.org/images/stories/article_imgs8/8569-arms-trans fer-graph.jpg The University of Michigan Correlates of War project, run by my late colleague David Singer, tried to crunch numbers on potential causes of the wars of the past two centuries. Getting a statistically valid correlation for a cause was almost impossible. But there was one promising lead, as it was explained to me. When countries made large arms purchases, they seemed more likely to go to war in the aftermath. It may be that if you have invested in state of the art weapons, you want to use them before they become antiquated or before your enemies get them too. So the very worst thing the US could do for Middle East peace is to sell the region billions in new, sophisticated weapons. Moreover if you give sophisticated conventional weapons to some countries but deny them to their rivals, the rivals will try to level the playing field with unconventional weapons. The US is creating an artificial and unnecessary impetus to nuclear proliferation by this policy. I first went to Pakistan in 1981. At that time it was not a society with either drugs or guns. But President Ronald Reagan decided to use private Afghan militias to foment a guerrilla war against the Soviets, who sent troops into Afghanistan in late 1979. Reagan ended up sending billions of dollars worth of arms to the Mujahidin annually, and twisting Saudi Arabia's arm to match what the US sent. The Mujahidin were also encouraged by the US to grow poppies for heroin production so that they could buy even more weapons. Over the decade of the 1980s, I saw the weapons begin to show up in the markets of Pakistan, and began hearing for the first time about drug addicts (there came to be a million of them by 1990). I had seen the arms market expand in Lebanon in the 1970s, and was alarmed that now it was happening in Pakistan, at that time a relatively peaceful and secure society. The US filled Pakistan up with guns to get at the Soviets, creating a gun culture where such a thing had been rare (with the exception of some Pashtuns who
[LAAMN] Chris Hedges: Egypt's New Pharaoh
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/egypts_new_pharaoh_20121216/ Chris Hedges' http://www.truthdig.com/report/category/hedges/ Columns Egypts New Pharaoh By Chris Hedges http://www.truthdig.com/chris_hedges/ Truthdig: 12/17/17 When Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 14 years in exile on Feb. 1, 1979, he set out to destroy the secular opposition forces, including the Communist Party of Iran, which had been instrumental in bringing down the shah. Khomeinis declaration of an Islamic government, supported by referendum, saw him rewrite the constitution, close opposition newspapers and ban opposition groups including the National Democratic Front and the Muslim Peoples Republican Party. Dissidents who had spent years inside Irans notoriously brutal prison system under the shah were incarcerated once again by the new regime. Some returned to their cells to be greeted by their old jailers, who had offered their services to the new regime. This is what is under way in Egypt. It is the story of most revolutions. The moderates, who are crucial to winning the support of the masses and many outside the country, become an impediment to the consolidation of autocratic power. Liberal democrats, intellectuals, the middle class, secularists and religious minorities including Coptic Christians were always seen by President Mohamed Morsi and his Freedom and Justice PartyEgypts de facto political wing of the Muslim Brotherhoodas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot useful idiots. These forces were essential to building a broad movement to topple the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. They permitted Western journalists to paint the opposition in their own image. But now they are a hindrance to single-party rule and are being crushed. The first of two days of voting on a new constitution was held Saturday. According to reports Sunday, the document is being approved. The second round of voting, next Saturday, includes rural districts that provide much of the Brotherhoods base of support, and it is expected to end in the constitution being ratified by the required 50 percent or more of Egypts 51 million voters. Opposition forces charge that the first round was marred by polling irregularities including bribery, intimidation, erratic polling hours and polling officials who instructed voters how to cast ballots. A large number of the 13,000 polling stations will have had no independent monitors; many judges, in protest over the drafting process, have refused to oversee the voting. The referendum masks the real center of power, which is in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood. The party has no intention of diluting or giving up that power. For example, when it appeared that the Supreme Constitutional Court would dissolve the panelstacked with party membersthat was drafting the new constitution, the Brotherhood locked the judges out of the court building. Three dozen members of the panel, including secularists, Coptic Christians, liberals and journalists, quit in protest. The remaining Islamists, in defiance of the judges, held an all-night session Nov. 29 and officially approved the 63-page document. The draft constitution is filled with disturbingly vague language about democratic rights, civil liberties, the duties of women and the role of the press. It gives Islamic religious authorities control over the legislative process and many aspects of daily and personal life. One reason the constitution is expected to pass, apart from voting fraud, is because many liberals, secularists and Copts have walked away in disgust from electoral participation. The Brotherhood, ironically, was not part of the vanguard that led the 18 days of protests in February 2011 that brought down Mubarak. It was reluctant, after decades of being severely repressed, to throw its weight behind the protesters clogging Tahrir Square. It said at first that it would not compete in the presidential election or run a full slate of parliamentary candidates. But once it saw the chaos, squabbling and disarray among its secular opponents, who ran three competing presidential candidates, it seized the opportunity. Passages in the proposed constitution such as The state is keen to preserve the genuine character of the Egyptian family and the state guarantees freedom of the press except in times of war or public mobilization are vague enough to allow the Muslim Brotherhood to severely curtail womens rights and ruthlessly silence press criticism. Morsis imperial presidential declaration of Nov. 22, until he rescinded it last week after street protests, effectively placed him above the law. Rescission of the decree will not, however, prevent the party from attaining dictatorial power. The Brotherhood does not shrink from the use of deadly force. The violent street clashes between thousands of pro- and anti-government demonstrators outside the presidential palace last week left 10 dead and about 700 wounded. Some
[LAAMN] Photo-sharing site says it now has the right to sell your photos
Instagram and it's new owners, Facebook, own what ever you send to their
servers. You have till Jan 16th to close your account, or work for them
for free, as in you give up the copyright to your intellectual property.
Scott
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CNET's tips for making fun DIY tech gifts.
December 18, 2012 CNET Community
Photo-sharing site says it now has the right to sell your photos
Dear CNET members,
Imagine this: you're at a beach in Hawaii, snapping photos of your family
having the time of their lives. Later, you upload them to your favorite
photo-sharing site to show your family and friends on your social network,
not giving it a second thought. Two years from now, you go to a travel
site to book another trip to Hawaii, and lo and behold, you see a
familiar-looking photo in an advertisement for the Hawaii resort you are
looking into. You look a bit closer and you realize that in the
advertisement is a picture of your kids at the beach that you took two
years ago! You wrack your brains trying to figure out how it happened, who
did it, and why.
If you think this scenario is a bit frightening or just can't be, you
better take note of this report by CNET writer Declan McCullagh:
Instagram says it now has the right to sell your photos. Declan
reports that with the first major policy shift since Facebook bought the
photo-sharing site, Instagram claims the right to sell users' photos
without payment or notification. And if you don't opt out of this by
deleting your Instagram account by January 16, you can't opt out of it
afterward.
So what do you think of this new policy? Do you care that your photos
could potentially be used or sold for commercial purposes without being
notified? Or do you believe that this is just part of business, and
because it's a free site and the photos that you post on Instagram are
made public, this shouldn't be a shock to anyone? If you are a user of
Instagram, are you going to opt out before the deadline? If you aren't a
user of Instagram, does this change how you would use photo-sharing
sites in general, and how so? Read Declan's article and share how you
feel!
Lee Koo
Community managerView profile |
Email
Here's what some of your fellow members had to say
about this week's topic:
Instagram says it now has the right to sell your
photos
Stop moaning. Its a free app with
millions of users - how do you expect a company to
keep afloat offering a free service with continual
updates hosting so much content? If you are all
photographers whose IG pics are how you make your
living then fair enough but none of you are, are you?
so you're not...Read more
Posted by Jarvdesign
[LAAMN] NO TOY GUNS MERIT AWARD PROJECT RESUMES FOLLOWING GUN VIOLENCE TRAGEDY AT NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jerry Rubin 310-399-1000 jerrypeaceactivistru...@earthlink.net NO TOY GUNS MERIT AWARDS OFFERED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES WHO PLEDGE TO NOT BUY OR PLAY WITH TOY GUNS. YOUTH PEACE PROJECT RESUMES FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF 20 CHILDREN AT SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT. Santa Monica, CA- If we are to create peace in our world, we must begin with our children. was a quote from Mahatma Gandhi. In the spirit of that message, and following the violent gun killing of 26 people, including 20 children ages 6 and 7, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the Alliance for Survival peace group based in Santa Monica, California will once again resume their No Toy Guns Merit Award Project, offering the awards to children and families who pledge to not buy or play with toy guns. Longtime peace activist and project coordinator Jerry Rubin says the free personalized 81/2 by 11 suitable for framing merit awards can be obtained by sending a letter or email stating Why I will not buy toy guns for my children. and that parents can also help younger children compose their own letters, if the children are not yet old enough to compose it themselves, stating Why I do not like to play with toy guns. Pledge letters should be e-mailed to Jerry Rubin at: jerrypeaceactivistru...@earthlink.net Or mailed to: Alliance for Survival Att.: Jerry Rubin 2035 Fourth Street #103-C Santa Monica, CA 90405 People are reminded to please include the spelling of the child's name the merit award should be made out to, as well as the return mailing address. If requesting a merit award by mail, people are asked to enclose $1 to cover return postage. For further information call: 310-399-1000 or e-mail to the above address. People can also visit the project website at: NoToyGuns.org (website now being constructed) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --- Unsubscribe: mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com --- Subscribe: mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com --- Digest: mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com --- Help: mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn --- Post: mailto:la...@egroups.com --- Archive1: http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn --- Archive2: http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com --- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
