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:: ONU - XX Assemblea Generale (1965):
La XX Assemblea Generale dell�ONU (1965) dichiara "la legittimit� della lotta da parte dei popoli sotto oppressione coloniale, per esercitare il loro diritto all' autodeter-minazione e all'indipendenza". Inoltre, l'Assemblea invita "tutti gli Stati a fornire assistenza morale e materiale ai movimenti di liberazione nazionale nei territori coloniali".

:: ONU - Risoluzione 1514
"L'Assemblea Generale dichiara che: la soggezione dei popoli a dominio straniero, conquista e asservimento costituisce una negazione dei diritti umani fondamentali, � contraria alla Carta delle Nazioni Unite ed � un impedimento alla promozione della pace e della cooperazione mondiali. Tutti i popoli hanno diritto all' autodeter-minazione; in virtù di tale diritto essi devono liberamente determinare il loro status politico e liberamente perseguire il loro sviluppo economico, sociale e culturale".

:: ONU - Risoluzione 1514

"L'Assemblea Generale dichiara che: la soggezione dei popoli a dominio straniero, conquista e asservimento costituisce una negazione dei diritti umani fondamentali, � contraria alla Carta delle Nazioni Unite ed � un impedimento alla promozione della pace e della cooperazione mondiali. Tutti i popoli hanno diritto all' autodeter-minazione; in virtù di tale diritto essi devono liberamente determinare il loro status politico e liberamente perseguire il loro sviluppo economico, sociale e culturale".

:: Convenzione di Ginevra, Protocollo Addizionale I (1977):
La lotta armata pu� essere usata, come ultima risorsa, come mezzo per esercitare il diritto all' autodeter-minazione.

:: Tribunale penale internazionale
In base allo Statuto del Tribunale penale internazionale, sono definiti �crimini di guerra�: (1) attacchi lanciati intenzionalmente contro popolazione civili in quanto tali o contro civili che non prendano direttamente parte alle ostilit�; (4) attacchi lanciati intenzionalmente nella consapevolezza che gli stessi avranno come conseguenza la perdita di vite umane tra la popolazione civile, e lesioni a civili o danni a propriet� civili ovvero danni diffusi duraturi e gravi all�ambiente naturale che siano manifestamente eccessivi rispetto all�insieme dei concreti e diretti i vantaggi militari previsti.
:: Iraq anthem (click to listen)

:: Tribunale penale internazionale

In base allo Statuto del Tribunale penale internazionale, sono definiti �crimini di guerra�: (1) attacchi lanciati intenzionalmente contro popolazione civili in quanto tali o contro civili che non prendano direttamente parte alle ostilit�; (4) attacchi lanciati intenzionalmente nella consapevolezza che gli stessi avranno come conseguenza la perdita di vite umane tra la popolazione civile, e lesioni a civili o danni a propriet� civili ovvero danni diffusi duraturi e gravi all�ambiente naturale che siano manifestamente eccessivi rispetto all�insieme dei concreti e diretti i vantaggi militari previsti.

:: Iraq anthem (click to listen)

Yasin, Hakan and H�seyin
MERVE ŞEBNEM ORU�

October 22, 2014 - Let's talk about Yasin B�r� today. Let's talk about the 16-year-old boy and his friends Hakan G�kg�z, 26, and H�seyin Dakak, 19 - the three young men who were chased down, surrounded and brutally killed by pro-PKK attackers in Diyarbakır while they were distributing meat to Kurdish refugees who fled Syria on the third day of Eid al-Adha. Yusuf Er, a friend of Yasin, Hakan and H�seyin, who survived the mob's attack with arm, head and chest injuries said, "We hugged each other before they came for us." They were traveling in a car when they saw an armed group blocking the road. Yusuf said, "We told the attackers we were only distributing food such as meat to the refugees but they accused us of being ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham] supporters."... continua / continued avanti - next [110346] [ 02-feb-2015 03:19 ECT ]

In war against ISIL, a fine line between facts and artifacts
by Jessica Holland

October 22, 2014 - ....His speech was a version of the same foreign policy narrative that President Barack Obama has been telling, in which ISIL�s atrocities are stripped of context. Kerry referred to these crimes as "ugly, savage, inexplicable, valueless barbarism" and not the most virulent symptom thus far of two countries that have fallen apart in a mess of poverty, infrastructure failure, corruption and opportunistic power grabs. Bashar Al-Assad, of course, looms large in this picture, but Kerry sandwiched in only one mention of the Syrian president, in relation to his regime�s shelling of an ancient Roman temple, into a catalog of ISIL�s destruction. Assad�s many other, graver crimes don�t fit with the message being shaped, about the urgent need to stop a monstrous terrorist force, which threatens Americans at home as well as the entire Middle East.... continua / continued avanti - next [110343] [ 02-feb-2015 03:05 ECT ]

Will Obama Follow Bush Down the Made-Up Torture Loophole?
By Jamil Dakwar, Director, ACLU Human Rights Program


October 22, 2014 - Twenty years ago, the United States ratified an international treaty banning the use of torture and cruelty worldwide. Three successive American presidents, with bipartisan support, threw their weight behind the treaty � Ronald Reagan signed it in 1988, George H.W. Bush approved it, and Bill Clinton signed implementing legislation into law in 1994. But less than a decade later, the administration of George W. Bush took it apart. To justify the torture of prisoners in American custody abroad, the Bush administration decided that the sweeping prohibitions enshrined in the Convention Against Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment just didn't apply... continua / continued [110342] [ 02-feb-2015 02:58 ECT ]

October 22, 2014 - Twenty years ago, the United States ratified an international treaty banning the use of torture and cruelty worldwide. Three successive American presidents, with bipartisan support, threw their weight behind the treaty � Ronald Reagan signed it in 1988, George H.W. Bush approved it, and Bill Clinton signed implementing legislation into law in 1994. But less than a decade later, the administration of George W. Bush took it apart. To justify the torture of prisoners in American custody abroad, the Bush administration decided that the sweeping prohibitions enshrined in the Convention Against Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment just didn't apply... continua / continued avanti - next

[110342] [ 02-feb-2015 02:58 ECT ]

Blackwater Founder Remains Free and Rich While His Former Employees Go Down on Murder Charges
By Jeremy Scahill

October 22, 2014 - A federal jury in Washington, D.C., returned guilty verdicts against four Blackwater operatives charged with killing more than a dozen Iraqi civilians and wounding scores of others in Baghdad in 2007.The jury found one guard, Nicholas Slatten, guilty of first-degree murder, while three other guards were found guilty of voluntary manslaughter: Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, and Dustin Heard. The jury is still deliberating on additional charges against the operatives, who faced a combined 33 counts, according to the Associated Press. A fifth Blackwater guard, Jeremy Ridgeway, had already pleaded guilty to lesser charges and cooperated with prosecutors in the case against his former colleagues. The trial lasted ten weeks and the jury has been in deliberations for 28 days... continua / continued avanti - next [110339] [ 16-jan-2015 19:09 ECT ]

Will the U.S. Go to "War" Against Ebola?
By Tom Engelhardt & Karen Greenberg

October 21, 2014 - As Karen Greenberg points out today, given an administration already on the ropes over its new war in the Middle East, it would be all too easy for U.S. officials, amid the usual panic, to fall back on that comfortable template of the post-9/11 years, the war on terror, when it comes to Ebola. After all, it�s already enscribed in the DNA of a national security state that is, effectively, a shadow government. So no one should be surprised that Washington's first response to the Ebola crisis was to militarize it. U.S. boots are already on the ground in West Africa and preparations are underway for a possible future call-up of the reserves and the National Guard. In other words, in his initial move to contain Ebola, President Obama sent in the U.S. military, an organization as ill equipped to deal with a pandemic disease as it was to deal with "nation-building" in Afghanistan or Iraq... continua / continued avanti - next [110332] [ 01-jan-2015 00:26 ECT ]

Shaker Aamer�s Abuse in Guant�namo Dismissed by British Foreign Secretary
Andy Worthington


October 21, 2014 In disappointing but predictable news, the British foreign secretary Philip Hammond, who replaced William Hague on July 15 this year, has "dismissed concerns over the abuse" of Shaker Aamer, the last British prisoner in Guant�namo, in a letter to his lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, the founder and director of the legal action charity Reprieve, as described by the charity in a press release. In August, as I explained at the time, Clive Stafford Smith wrote to Philip Hammond after he had "received a series of unclassified letters from various detainees who we represent in Guant�namo Bay," which told "a disturbingly consistent story" � of "a new 'standard procedure�" whereby the FCE team (the armored guards responsible for violently removing prisoners from their cells through "forcible cell extractions") was being "used to abuse the prisoners with particular severity because of the on-going non-violent hunger strike protest against their unconscionable treatment."... continua / continued [110328] [ 01-jan-2015 00:03 ECT ]

October 21, 2014 In disappointing but predictable news, the British foreign secretary Philip Hammond, who replaced William Hague on July 15 this year, has "dismissed concerns over the abuse" of Shaker Aamer, the last British prisoner in Guant�namo, in a letter to his lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, the founder and director of the legal action charity Reprieve, as described by the charity in a press release. In August, as I explained at the time, Clive Stafford Smith wrote to Philip Hammond after he had "received a series of unclassified letters from various detainees who we represent in Guant�namo Bay," which told "a disturbingly consistent story" � of "a new 'standard procedure�" whereby the FCE team (the armored guards responsible for violently removing prisoners from their cells through "forcible cell extractions") was being "used to abuse the prisoners with particular severity because of the on-going non-violent hunger strike protest against their unconscionable treatment."... continua / continued avanti - next

[110328] [ 01-jan-2015 00:03 ECT ]

Surprise: U.S. Drug War In Afghanistan Not Going Well
By Ryan Devereaux


October 21, 2014 - A new report has found the war on drugs in Afghanistan remains colossally expensive, largely ineffective and likely to get worse. This is particularly true in the case of opium production, says the U.S. Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. In a damning report released Tuesday, the special inspector general, Justin F. Sopko, writes that "despite spending over $7 billion to combat opium poppy cultivation and to develop the Afghan government�s counternarcotics capacity, opium poppy cultivation levels in Afghanistan hit an all-time high in 2013," hitting 209,000 hectares, surpassing the prior, 2007 peak of 193,000 hectares. Sopko adds that the number should continue to rise thanks to deteriorating security in rural Afghanistan and weak eradication efforts.... continua / continued [110325] [ 28-dec-2014 03:33 ECT ]

October 21, 2014 - A new report has found the war on drugs in Afghanistan remains colossally expensive, largely ineffective and likely to get worse. This is particularly true in the case of opium production, says the U.S. Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. In a damning report released Tuesday, the special inspector general, Justin F. Sopko, writes that "despite spending over $7 billion to combat opium poppy cultivation and to develop the Afghan government�s counternarcotics capacity, opium poppy cultivation levels in Afghanistan hit an all-time high in 2013," hitting 209,000 hectares, surpassing the prior, 2007 peak of 193,000 hectares. Sopko adds that the number should continue to rise thanks to deteriorating security in rural Afghanistan and weak eradication efforts.... continua / continued avanti - next

[110325] [ 28-dec-2014 03:33 ECT ]

Syria News - October 20, 2014
Local Coordination Committees of Syria


October 20, 2014 - By the end of Monday, LCC were able to document 41 martyrs including 5 martyrs under torture, 3 children, and one woman: 10 martyrs reported in Damascus and its Suburbs , 7 martyrs in Daraa , 7 martyrs in Idlib , 6 martyrs in Aleppo , 6 martyrs in Deir Ezzor , 3 martyrs in Homs , 2 martyrs in Hama... continua / continued [110322] [ 22-dec-2014 02:31 ECT ]

�The Alawite Tide Has Exploded� � A �Secular� Song For a �Secular� Regime?
Ben Allinson-Davies


October 20, 2014 - When bearing in mind the allegedly "secular" nature of Bashar al-Assad�s regime� It might also be worth bearing in mind that Assad�s regime has utilised Alawi and Shiite sectarianism for decades (Assad�s own family hails from the Alawite sect, in an attempt to shore up the regime�s power base, and give it a reliable supply of cannon fodder from the minorities, fearful of repression should the regime fall. This it has done with considerable success; frightening Alawites everywhere into believing that evil Sunni terrorists will somehow slaughter them wholesale if it falls. In many Alawite villages, practically every young man has joined regime militias, which, although they ostensibly have a secular, inclusive mentality, are actually vicious Alawite militia which genuinely believe that they are fighting an existential battle, such as the "National Defense Force" or the "Syrian Resistance"... continua / continued [110313] [ 18-dec-2014 02:03 ECT ]

October 20, 2014 - When bearing in mind the allegedly "secular" nature of Bashar al-Assad�s regime� It might also be worth bearing in mind that Assad�s regime has utilised Alawi and Shiite sectarianism for decades (Assad�s own family hails from the Alawite sect, in an attempt to shore up the regime�s power base, and give it a reliable supply of cannon fodder from the minorities, fearful of repression should the regime fall. This it has done with considerable success; frightening Alawites everywhere into believing that evil Sunni terrorists will somehow slaughter them wholesale if it falls. In many Alawite villages, practically every young man has joined regime militias, which, although they ostensibly have a secular, inclusive mentality, are actually vicious Alawite militia which genuinely believe that they are fighting an existential battle, such as the "National Defense Force" or the "Syrian Resistance"... continua / continued avanti - next

[110313] [ 18-dec-2014 02:03 ECT ]

Palestinian man successfully harvests olives for the first time in 14 years
International Solidarity Movement

October 20, 2014 - Today in al-Khalil (Hebron) Hashem Azzeh, a Palestinian man living in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood was able to successfully harvest his olives, on a certain part of his land, for the first time in 14 years. Hashem and his family live in H2 (the area of Hebron under full Israeli military civil and security control), right next to the illegal settlement in the heart of Tel Rumeida.Since the year 2000, Hashem has applied for a permit from the Israeli authorities to harvest his own olive trees but has been either denied, or received "permission", and had his olives stolen by Zionist settlers. This year, Hashem received a permit to harvest six trees today, and along with his brother and activists from ISM and Christian Peacemakers Team � Palestine (CPT), he began to work on his land. Two colonial settlers soon arrived an attempted to convince the Israeli police and army present that Hashem�s land belonged to them and that he should not be picking olives on "their land"... continua / continued avanti - next [110312] [ 18-dec-2014 01:57 ECT ]

For near identical crimes, an Israeli and a Palestinian�s fate couldn�t be more different
By John Brown* (translated by Sol Salbe)


October 20, 2014 - Three months ago, on July 25, Raed al Jabari, a 35-year-old a father of five, was driving on Route 60 through the West Bank. He apparently fell asleep at the wheel (having earlier taken painkillers). Near the Gush Etzion Junction he hit a woman standing on the road. The woman was slightly injured. Immediately afterwards, he veered sharply back onto the road and turned himself in to Israeli authorities. There he explained what is outlined above. Al Jabari was arrested and taken to the Ofer military prison. He was brought to the military court within the complex, where in light of these facts, the military judge released him on NIS 8,000 bail ($2140), having decided that he was not dangerous and his action wasn�t a deliberate terrorist act... continua / continued [110306] [ 16-dec-2014 03:26 ECT ]

October 20, 2014 - Three months ago, on July 25, Raed al Jabari, a 35-year-old a father of five, was driving on Route 60 through the West Bank. He apparently fell asleep at the wheel (having earlier taken painkillers). Near the Gush Etzion Junction he hit a woman standing on the road. The woman was slightly injured. Immediately afterwards, he veered sharply back onto the road and turned himself in to Israeli authorities. There he explained what is outlined above. Al Jabari was arrested and taken to the Ofer military prison. He was brought to the military court within the complex, where in light of these facts, the military judge released him on NIS 8,000 bail ($2140), having decided that he was not dangerous and his action wasn�t a deliberate terrorist act... continua / continued avanti - next

[110306] [ 16-dec-2014 03:26 ECT ]

IS, coalition, regime: 'They're all criminals'
Syria Direct

October 20, 2014 - Since beginning airstrikes across Syria in August, the US-led international coalition has focused heavily on the Islamic State-controlled Iraqi border town of Al-Bokamel, which sits between Syria's Deir e-Zor and Iraq's Anbar provinces. There, coalition airstrikes targeted, among other locations, oil fields and refineries, paralyzing economic activity in a town whose residents rely on fuel supplies for personal business, Abu Zeid Abdullah, a member of the Syrian LCC Union, the umbrella group for the country's local coordination committes, told Syria Direct's Mohammed al-Haj Ali earlier this month.Now, Abdullah says the coalition is targeting grain silos and mills. For Syrians living in these towns, the airstrikes are part of a larger plan to destroy Syria.... continua / continued avanti - next [110304] [ 16-dec-2014 02:46 ECT ]

The Reign of �Terror�
By Tomis Kapitan

October 19, 2014 - ... Even when a definition is agreed upon, the rhetoric of "terror" is applied both selectively and inconsistently. In the mainstream American media, the "terrorist" label is usually reserved for those opposed to the policies of the U.S. and its allies. By contrast, some acts of violence that constitute terrorism under most definitions are not identified as such � for instance, the massacre of over 2000 Palestinian civilians in the Beirut refugee camps in 1982 or the killings of more than 3000 civilians in Nicaragua by "contra" rebels during the 1980s, or the genocide that took the lives of at least a half million Rwandans in 1994. At the opposite end of the spectrum, some actions that do not qualify as terrorism are labeled as such � that would include attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah or ISIS, for instance, against uniformed soldiers on duty. ... continua / continued avanti - next [110296] [ 12-dec-2014 02:02 ECT ]

Epidemic of Birth Defects in Iraq
Carol Dudek


October 18, 2014 - On Tuesday, Oct. 14, Columbia University's School of Public Health hosted a presentation by two prominent researchers who have been documenting the shocking increase of birth defects and cancers in newborns in Iraq after bombardments by the US and its coalition. Dr Mozhgan Savabieasfahani of the University of Michigan's School of Public Health is an environmental toxicologist. She has written two dozen articles and a book, Pollution and Reproductive Damage. Dr Muhsin Al-Sabbak is the Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Basra Maternity Hospital.Dr Al-Sabbak opened the discussion with slides of newborns who had devastating birth defects: the infants bore hydrocephalus, severe cleft palate, webbed neck, no toes or fingers, no rear skull and the brain outside the head, bright red skin that looked burnt, no kidneys... continua / continued [110289] [ 10-dec-2014 21:59 ECT ]

October 18, 2014 - On Tuesday, Oct. 14, Columbia University's School of Public Health hosted a presentation by two prominent researchers who have been documenting the shocking increase of birth defects and cancers in newborns in Iraq after bombardments by the US and its coalition. Dr Mozhgan Savabieasfahani of the University of Michigan's School of Public Health is an environmental toxicologist. She has written two dozen articles and a book, Pollution and Reproductive Damage. Dr Muhsin Al-Sabbak is the Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Basra Maternity Hospital.Dr Al-Sabbak opened the discussion with slides of newborns who had devastating birth defects: the infants bore hydrocephalus, severe cleft palate, webbed neck, no toes or fingers, no rear skull and the brain outside the head, bright red skin that looked burnt, no kidneys... continua / continued avanti - next

[110289] [ 10-dec-2014 21:59 ECT ]

Palestinian boy fatally shot by Israeli forces
Defence for Children International Palestine


October 18, 2014 - Israeli forces fatally shot a 12-year-old boy in the chest on Thursday evening in Beit Liqya. Baha Eldeen Samir Bader, 12, was killed by a bullet to his chest after Israeli soldiers raided Beit Liqya, southwest of Ramallah, on the evening of Thursday, October 16. Israeli soldiers bombarded the village with tear gas and ammunition."Israeli forces continue to fire live ammunition at Palestinian children, killing them with impunity," said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program Director at DCI-Palestine. "Israeli soldiers consistently violate their own live-fire regulations and know that they will not be held accountable for their actions no matter what the result."According to eyewitness testimonies collected by DCI-Palestine, three Israeli military jeeps entered Beit Liqya at around 5:00 pm on Thursday afternoon. The raid resulted in a confrontation between Israeli soldiers and local youths... continua / continued [110286] [ 10-dec-2014 18:34 ECT ]

October 18, 2014 - Israeli forces fatally shot a 12-year-old boy in the chest on Thursday evening in Beit Liqya. Baha Eldeen Samir Bader, 12, was killed by a bullet to his chest after Israeli soldiers raided Beit Liqya, southwest of Ramallah, on the evening of Thursday, October 16. Israeli soldiers bombarded the village with tear gas and ammunition."Israeli forces continue to fire live ammunition at Palestinian children, killing them with impunity," said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program Director at DCI-Palestine. "Israeli soldiers consistently violate their own live-fire regulations and know that they will not be held accountable for their actions no matter what the result."According to eyewitness testimonies collected by DCI-Palestine, three Israeli military jeeps entered Beit Liqya at around 5:00 pm on Thursday afternoon. The raid resulted in a confrontation between Israeli soldiers and local youths... continua / continued avanti - next

[110286] [ 10-dec-2014 18:34 ECT ]

Phantoms of the past: Britain�s vote on Palestine is a nonstarter
Ramzy Baroud

October 17, 2014 - It would be intellectually dishonest to reflect on the British House of Commons� vote of Monday, 13 October, on a Palestinian state without digging deeper into history. Regardless of the meaning of the non-binding motion, the parliamentary action cannot be brushed off as just another would-be country to recognise Palestine, as was the Swedish government decision on 3 October. Unlike Sweden, and most of the 130 plus countries to effectively recognise Palestine, Britain is a party in the Middle East�s most protracted conflict. In fact, if it were not for Britain, there would be no conflict, or even Israel, of which to speak. It is within this context that the British vote matters, and greatly so..... continua / continued avanti - next [110276] [ 05-dec-2014 03:52 ECT ]

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