"[The American operations will] degrade KH's ability to conduct future attacks [against coalition forces]." "Iran
and their KH [Kataib Hezbollah] proxy forces must cease their attacks
on U.S. and coalition forces, and respect Iraq's sovereignty, to prevent
additional defensive actions by U.S. forces." "KH has a strong linkage with Iran's Quds Force and has repeatedly
received lethal aid and other support from Iran that it has used to
attack OIR coalition forces." Jonathan Hoffman, chief Pentagon spokesman
"The Iraqi Prime Minister expressed his
strong objection to this unilateral decision and his concern that it
would lead to further escalation and demanded that he [Defense Secretary Mark Esper] stop it [airstrikes] immediately."
"These strikes represent a treacherous stab in the back."
Abdelkarim Khalaf, spokesman of the commander of Iraq's Armed Forces
"[The Baghdad government rejects] unilateral action [by coalition forces inside his country]." "We
have already confirmed our rejection of any unilateral action by
coalition forces or any other forces inside Iraq. We consider it a
violation of Iraq's sovereignty and a dangerous escalation that
threatens the security of Iraq and the region." Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi
Iraqi people walk on a United States flag in a protest after an air
attack at the headquarters of Kataib Hezbollah militia group in al-Qaim,
Iraq [Alaa al-Marjani/Reuters]
To Iraqis and their leaders it is reprehensible that the U.S. gave
warning to its Iraqi hosts that it intended to respond to the attack on
U.S. positions in Iraq, then carried out a government-unauthorized
mission delivering a compelling message that any militias with plans to
bomb Americans should consider themselves placed on notice that
repercussions would be swift and deadly. How Iraqi authorities garnered
the impression that Washington and the U.S. military are at their beck
and call and will act only with their express permission remains a
mystery.
Repeated attacks on U.S. installations on Iraqi bases by Kataib
Hezbollah spurred the U.S. to action, as simple as that. Five facilities
in Iraq and Syria with ownership of the Shiite militia with its Iranian
backing were bombed by U.S. F-15 Strike Eagle fighter planes on order
from the Pentagon and the U.S. administration after an American
contractor was killed when an Iraqi base was hit. That the Iraqis feel
Iran-linked militias have impunity to act as they will targeting the
U.S. may very well reflect the fear the Iraqi administration feels that
Iran might hold them accountable.
Paramilitary Popular Mobilisation: dozens of people killed or injured Reuters
Pulling the strings on a puppet government cautious lest it give offence
to its powerful terrorist neighbour seems appropriate for the Byzantine
intrigues and violence of the Middle East. The targeted militia has
given its own due warning that it is prepared to draw on its resources
to inflict further casualties on U.S. interests. Which will have the
effect of drawing the U.S. back into an endless conflict it would prefer
to vacate.
The Pentagon knows the militia's links to Iran's Quds Force, the special
operating forces of the Iranian Republican Guard Corps tasked to guide
their external proxy militias outside Iran. Since Iran controls the
militias and they feel secure enough to attack U.S. interests, the
provocation is coming from Iran, the response from the U.S. So if any
entity is responsible for the potential of heightened hostilities and
linked violence it is the Islamic Republic which feels itself
indomitable.
It is long past time for a comeuppance and for events to take place to
determine whether or not the regime can survive the restive efforts of
Iranian protests and the linked Iraqi protests at the involvement of
Iran in the affairs of its neighbours to fulfill its viciously nefarious
plans of conquest. Those protests are concerning enough to both regimes
to elicit deadly means to stifle dissent.
The militia's holdings that were targeted in both Iraq and Syria
included facilities for weapons storage, and areas used by the militia
in planning attacks against coalition forces.
In Iraq about 25 of their fighters were killed and 55 wounded. Among the
dead were four local Kataib Hezbollah commanders, the result of one of
the strikes targeting the group's headquarters near the border with
Syria. Intelligence had alerted Pentagon officials that Iranian backed
groups were planning to attack U.S. forces in Iraq. And then, it
happened; over 30 rockets had been launched on an Iraqi base near Kirkuk
on Friday, killing the contractor and wounding another few U.S. service
members.
Concern related to tensions between the U.S and the Popular Mobilization
Units, Shiite militias supported and armed by Iran of which Kataib
Hezbollah is but one group among many paramilitary groups under the
umbrella of the 'popular mobilization units', will lead to further
violence within Iraq. "If something happened then we'll be in the middle and it will be chaos", observed Lt.Col.Hassan Kadhim, an officer with the Iraqi army's 8th Division. "It's being done by Iran proxies. Iran wants to have their war in our land."
Iraqi officials failed to effectively respond to a request by U.S.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper when he had conveyed his concerns about
recent attacks on U.S. bases, with the knowledge it was not the Islamic
State that was involved, but rather Iranian proxies. Iraq's co-operation
was sought to itself respond to an increase in those U.S. base attacks;
an appropriate action since they care so much about their sovereignty.
Their previous inaction has led directly to the U.S. defending its own
interests.
"My
suspicion would be that Iran is behind these attacks, much like they're
behind a lot of malign behaviour throughout the region, but it's hard
to pin down." "So
again, we need their help [Iraqi military] in terms of getting the
security situation under control and stabilized, but we also still
retain our right of self-defence." U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper
Kataib Hezbollah said its headquarters in the western Iraqi town of al-Qaim was hit Reuters
"Alexei was forcibly detained and taken away. He did not resist. Lawyers
are still at the FBK, and there's a search underway." "[Police timed the raid to coincide with the filming of an episode of
Navalny's YouTube show 'Navalny Live' so that] there can be no show." "[Last week's episode — which covered a shooting outside the FSB
building and Putin’s press conference — garnered nearly 1.5 million
views], a record number." "They didn’t like that success. If they search our offices they can seize our
technical equipment, so there can be no show." Kira Yarmysh,
Navalny's spokeswoman
Lawyer-turned-political campaigner has been among the most prominent
figures of Russia's opposition to President Vladimir Putin. Navalny
came to prominence in 2008, when his blog exposing malpractice in
Russian politics and among the country's major state-owned companies
came to public attention. Revelations published on his blog even led to
resignations, a rarity in Russian politics.
The driving force behind major anti-government protests thoughtfully livestreamed a video from his office while Russian law enforcement officers used an electric saw on Thursday morning to cut through the front door of his office. One wag described it as New Year's fireworks. The foundation's employees were ushered into a room by several masked men, telling them "Put your face to the wall! Stay where you are!" The room was nicely decorated with a Christmas tree and a disco ball. This was all recorded until the officers disabled the CCTV cameras.
Not by any means the first raid on Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation in Moscow. It followed hard on one of his allies being detained and shipped off to a remote Arctic base for military service. To some in Navalny's movement it represented a kidnapping. The Kremlin appears to have initiated an unusually vigorous crackdown on its most effective, vociferous critics whose growing popularity and support is somewhat concerning to them.
According to Mr. Navalny and his spokesperson, the raid was precisely timed for a purpose; the disruption of his weekly YouTube presentation, set to be streamed live that evening. "They clearly chose this day because I have a show tonight", he tweeted. His show the week before had over 1.4 million views on YouTube, evidence of just how provocatively popular it is. And how much of a potential threat it poses to the Kremlin.
Each time one of these raids occurs equipment, including cameras for streaming YouTube shows are seized; the effort's obvious purpose revealed. State-ordered theft, in other words. The foundation's bank account, where donations are collected to pay for operating expenses, was blocked. An employee of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, tweeted to caption the video of the sparks flying when the electric saw sliced through the office door: "New Year's Eve fireworks".
Navalny was ordered in 2017 by a court ruling to remove a YouTube video of his investigation into the secret wealth of Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, a video that had gone viral. A wave of nation-wide protests was triggered by the 50-minute film in the spring of 2017 after having been viewed over 32 million times. Obviously the Kremlin was not impressed.
Police broke into the flat of Ruslan Shaveddinov, 23, a colleague and supporter of Mr. Navalny. He was taken in for questioning, then sent to the Arctic to serve at a secret military base even while he had appealed against his military conscription. So there was the answer to his appeal. His voice as an ally of Mr. Navalny will not be heard for a while, not as long as he remains on the remote archipelago known as Novaya Zemlya. ,
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaking to the media as police
stood guard at the Foundation for Fighting Corruption office in Moscow.
(AP)
Chile: Mass Protests -- Massive Human Rights Violations
"We never thought we would have to come back to Chile under these circumstances to record massive human rights violations." "We thought this was history." Jose Miguel Vivanco, Human Rights Watch
"Carabineros is a militarized police force, with a military structure and logic, not a civil police force." "All attempts to reform it after dictatorship have been very slow, with very little capacity for civilian control." Claudio Fuentes, professor, Diego Portales University
"The march was very peaceful, but when we approached a mall some
soldiers appeared. Some protesters began to insult them and
they suddenly knelt and aimed their guns at us." "After the first shots rang out people started throwing stones. More
gunfire followed – and that’s when Romario was hit. We must have been
more than 100 metres away, so we couldn’t have hurt or threatened them." Ulises Cortés, 19-year-old student, Coquimbo, Chile
Riot police chases demonstrators during a protest against the government in Santiago on 19 November 2019.
Photograph: Claudio Reyes/AFP via Getty Images
Two months ago the Chilean protests were inaugurated when a proposed subway fare increase brought people to the streets and then inequality was identified as a greater issue in the peaceful gatherings which swiftly turned to violence in confrontations with police whose abuse of the protesters was starkly reminiscent of Chile's years under dictatorship. Chile's National Institute for Human Rights, an agency of the state, categorized thousands of instances of abuse.
The National Institute for Human Rights looked at 400 of the incidents they documented as torture and cruel treatment, while another 194 involved sexual violence, along with four rapes. Excessive use of force by police was charged in over 800 incidents, among them at least six killings by security forces. Chile's national police force, the Carabineros, has reacted to the street unrest precisely as they did under the rule of General Augusto Pinochet, when it finally ended back in 1990.
Police accused of aiming at peoples' eyes EPA
At that time, the kind of human rights violations notched up by the Carabineros resulted in the deaths and disappearances of over three thousand Chileans, with some 38,000 people having undergone systemic torture while in incarceration. General Mario Rozas, who heads the Carabineros spoke of 856 internal investigations in response to the reports, and announced institutional changes to the Carabineros' organization.
Chile's President Sebastian Pinera has opened welcoming arms to four human rights organizations; the Organization of American States and the United Nations among them, claiming that all accusations will be investigated. A task force led by the interior minister is prepared to propose reforms. The use of pellets has been suspended by police, but as the human rights groups point out, the Carabineros continue to fire tear gas cartridges at demonstrators.
Eye injuries suffered at the hands of police have left hundreds of demonstrators maimed, caused by the indiscriminate use of riot guns. Two protesters were blinded. Altogether, over 12,700 people were wounded across Chile since mid-October. In the past two years, 35 generals in the Carabineros were involved in a series of scandals, and ousted, including the former police chief who stepped down last year after an anti-terrorist squad killed an indigenous man, then covered it up.
More than 200 protesters have sustained eye injuries Reuters
One of the largest, most far-reaching embezzlement scandals in the history of the country involved senior officers of the Carabineros, involving some $35-million, which led to the conviction of close to 100 police officers and civilians. For the past ten years, large protests demanded education and pension reform, an end to corruption, and respect for the land rights of indigenous people.
Huge rallies and demonstrations have ramped up the pressure on the government Getty Images
"The Islamic Republic is in danger." "Do whatever it takes to end it." "You have my order." Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Government officials in the Islamic Republic of Iran and security agencies were given their marching orders. Stop the protests. Do whatever it will take to stop them. What then ensued was a bloody crackdown on protesters where approximately 1,500 Iranians were killed in a two-week period of unrest that began on November 15 and unrestrained violence on the part of Iranian security that followed. That number was provided by three Iranian interior ministry officials.
And of that total, 17 were teens, and roughly 400 women. Some members of the security forces and the police were also included in the toll of 1,500. Altogether higher than what was previously considered to be the case reflecting figures from international human rights groups and an investigation by the United States. Even a December 15 Amnesty International report claimed the death toll stood at 304. Understated, all.
Hillel Neuer✔@HillelNeuer
·
No joke: the Islamic Republic of #Iran was just appointed to the @UN_Women's rights committee that judges complaints of women's rights violations. Yes, a day after the regime sentenced women's rights lawyer Nasrin Sotudeh to 38 years prison and 148 lashes. http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/communications-procedure …
A spokesman for Iran's Supreme National Security Council spoke of the death toll figure as "fake news", reported the semi-official Tasnim new agency. However, on social media sites, video clips surreptitiously posted by Iranians gave a startling first-hand account of what was transpiring in the country during the protest period, the rage of the people, the response of the security forces.
Scattered protests initiated the mass response that eventuated when anger over an announcement of an increase in gasoline prices spread into a challenge to Iran's rulers. The capital Tehran saw protests taking place two days after they had started elsewhere in the country. People called for an end to the Islamic Republic and the removal of its leaders as protesters burned images of Khamenei while calling for the return of Reza Pahlavi, son of the Shah of Iran whom the Revolution replaced.
People block a highway in Tehran to protest increased gas prices Nov.15, part of widespread unrest in Iran. Nazanin Tabatabaee/Wana via Reuters
Furious that his image was put to the torch, and livid at the destruction of a statue of the republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei called together senior officials, security aides, President Hassan Rouhani and other cabinet members to read the riot act. His is the final word over all state matters. When he rages, everyone listens quietly and carefully.
All the more so when he threatened to hold the officials in his hearing responsible for the protest consequences should they fail to immediately put a halt to them. Labelling the protesters 'thugs' with links to opponents in exile and the Republic's enemies abroad -- the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia for inciting Iranians to destabilize the country -- he is no doubt conspiring some level of vengeance.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with Basij militia in the aftermath of protests, thanking them for the crackdown-- 27 Nov 2019 They respond with the Aryan Nazi salute
"This report illustrates how the Syrian government has effectively criminalized the provision of nondiscriminatory care to all, regardless of political affiliation." "[Workers who provide care in line with their legal and ethical obligations are branded] enemies of the state [in Syria]." "[A majority of Syrian health care workers who fled the country were arrested] because of their status as care providers, and their real or perceived involvement in t he provision of health services to opposition members and sympathizers." Physicians for Human Rights report
"The law is problematic." "The reality is that under this law, anyone could be a terrorist." Mai El-Sadany, legal and judicial director, Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, Washington
"The continuing threat and persecution of professions including medical professionals is a huge barrier to returning." "To freely practice in accordance with their code of ethics -- they don't see that as possible." Rayan Koteiche, Physicians for Human Rights
The entrance of Idlib Health Directorate in November 2018. Photo: Getty Images.
For violations of human rights and the universal codes of military conduct in places of conflict of an unprecedented magnitude look no further than Bashar al-Assad's Alawite Shiite regime in civil war- conflicted Syria which has resulted in over a half-million Sunni Syrian deaths, internal displacement of millions of Syrians, and millions more swelling the ranks of the world's refugees. This butcher of Damascus who ranks Sunni protesters along with 'terrorists' and treats them accordingly with no humanitarian holds barred, stands out for the atrocities committed under his brutal watch in an area of the world where mass atrocities regularly occur.
His violations of what, during wartime is considered to be within the bounds of international conventions has been notable for their extremes, from the use of chemical weapons, to barrel bombs, to the bombing of bread lines, hospitals and clinics and marketplaces. His notorious torture of prisoners, arrest and torture of children, all the while claiming that everyone who opposes his brutality and scorched-earth responses to originally-peaceful protests are 'scum', set him apart and above those generally considered to be state-level war criminals.
Back in 2011 Assad's government enacted a counterterrorism law making it a criminal offence for health workers and physicians to render any aid to those whom he considers enemies of the Syrian state. The criminalization of medical care has seen the collapse of the nation's health care system. The crime-status of giving even the most basic of medical care, like disinfecting a wound or giving painkillers through clinics in neighbourhoods held by insurgents are punishable under a counterterrorism law.
In this file photo from 2017, a nurse carries a box of ventilation tubes
to prepare for sterilization as doctors perform an operation rebel-held
Douma [File: Mohammed Badra/EPA]
Where a special court is known to have tried tens of thousands of medical workers and others, under the law. A study released by Physicians for Human Rights speaks of health workers who are branded "enemies of the state", and as such they are free game for government vengeance. Extensive interviews were undertaken with 21 formerly detained Syrian health care workers who fled the country. Without exception they all had undergone fearful interrogations while imprisoned, along with torture. None wished to be identified by name in fear of retribution.
According to Ibrahim al-KIasem, a Syrian lawyer who represented detainees, trials in military courts are held in secret with detainees tried in the counterterrorism court minus lawyers. "The judges have the ability to do anything" in such settings, he stressed. Legal scholars and rights activists speak of the counterterrorism law as vague in identifying terrorism. That lack of specificity leaves the situation wide open for government agencies and the military to apply their own widely encompassing and inclusionary definitions of just who is a terrorist. Taking their cue from their president.
Those same legal scholars have no trouble whatever in stating that the law violates the Geneva Convention that obliges doctors and other health care professionals to treat the wounded and the sick, irrespective of which 'side' in a conflict they may support or be representative of. And nor would the vast majority of former detainees who fled the country contemplate returning at any given time, under current conditions imposed by the current regime.
Children at Al Hol camp in Syria get different services according to whether their parents are considered 'terrorist'.
(Ali Yousef/ICRC)
"In the past few years, there has been a rise of right-wing Indian immigrants -- who have been on the ground accusing anyone who speaks against (Prime Minister] Narendra Modi of being anti-Indian and anti-immigrant." "They're trying to manufacture this discourse that anyone who challenges the BJP [Bharatia Janata Party of Hindu nationalists] is essentially anti-India or Hindu-phobic." Divyani Motla, Indian student, University of Toronto
"There's a lot of hateful posts that I see from people living in Canada and originating in India." "It concerns me, because this country is different from back home and people still carry that baggage here." Nasser Khan, Indo-Canadian
Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest
against a new citizenship law and to show solidarity with the students
of New Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia university after police entered the
university campus on Sunday following a protest against the new law, in
Ahmedabad, India, December 17, 2019. (REUTERS/Amit Dave)
The newly introduced Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by the ruling BJP party in India has stirred up a hornet's nest of Muslim protest in India, protests that have become increasingly violent, leading the Indian military to respond with its own level of force. This is not a new bill, but one that was passed in 2014; it has been amended with a view of enforcement. India is basically a Hindu nation, but its huge population base also holds minority groups of various sizes.
The largest minority group is Muslim, and as a minority of 180 million, they represent 14 percent of the population.
After Indonesia and Pakistan, India has the second-largest Muslim population in the world. At independence and partition, when India wrenched itself away from British rule, it shed a significant portion of Muslims in an agreement that created Pakistan, a significantly Muslim-majority country whose relations with India are fraught, uncertain and sometimes deadly. India has reason to fear that many of its Muslim citizens are more loyal to Pakistan than to India.
Police have escorted students to buses, driving away from demonstrations Getty
The new citizenship law accelerates citizenship for refugees facing discrimination and seeking haven in India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Muslims are specifically excluded; favoured are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians. The law is built on the premise that conditions for religious minorities are unsafe in those three Muslim countries. The law has no impact whatever on Indian Muslims; it simply will not give citizenship to Muslim refugees.
Muslim Indians have responded with typical frenzied ferocity with massive protests on the streets, on campuses, leading to riots in the northeast of the country where five people lost their lives. Muslim crowds have attacked buses and railway stations and police have responded in force. The crux of the matter appears to be Narendra Modi and his Hindi nationalist party taking steps to ensure that India remains a Hindu nation. Just as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are Muslim nations.
Indian students of the Jamia Millia Islamia University and locals
participate in a protest demonstration against a new citizenship law in
New Delhi, India, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
It just happens not to accord with the secularist mission of the original constitution after independence. That India could ever be neutral seems a stretch, but that is what the founding state declared itself to be. So despite the obvious declaration of Hindu nationhood, India remains prepared and dedicated to offering citizenship to illegal refugees, responding to their need for refuge, in abandoning countries where they are persecuted.
Persecuted in a Islamist-centric country like Pakistan where it is a capital offence to say or do anything that might be construed as critical of Islam or of the Prophet Mohammad. Like the death sentence passed this week as punishment for a U.S.-educated Pakistani academic, working as a university professor in Pakistan whom critics accuse of insulting Islam. Like the Christian woman who spend years on death row awaiting execution on charges of defaming Mohammad.
In and of itself this new citizenship amendment doesn't appear to threaten the place of the Muslim minority in India, and it does throw a lifeline to non-Muslims who are threatened in Muslim-majority countries nearby. As for transporting the sectarian divisions in the diaspora, it is wrong and it is unfortunate. Canada has a significant Indian Hindu and Sikh population and it has an equally significant Muslim population. Their differences should be dissolved with their Canadian citizenship.
Hundreds have gathered in Mumbai to protest Getty Images
"It is just what we call a UFO. It couldn't identify it. It was flying. And it was an object. It's as simple as that." "You don't see birds at 5,000 or 10,000 or 20,000 feet. That's just not how birds operate." "You know, I've got top-secret clearance with a ton of special-project clearances. So, it's not like I wasn't cleared to know. But, as I'm sure you've found in your research [New York Magazine], to have clearance to know something you have to have both the clearance that it's elevated to and you have to have the 'need to know' it. And, clearly, whatever it was, if it was a government project, I did not need to know." "The thing that stood out to me the most was how erratic it was behaving. And what I mean by 'erratic', is that its changes in altitude, air speed, and aspect were just unlike things that I've ever encountered before flying against other air targets." "Because, aircraft, whether they're manned or unmanned, still have to obey the laws of physics. They have to have some source of lift, some source of propulsion. The Tic Tac was not doing that. It was going from like 50,000 feet to, you know, a hundred feet in like seconds, which is not possible." "If it was obeying physics like a normal object that you would encounter in the sky -- an aircraft, or a cruise missile, or some sort of special project that the government didn't tell you about -- that would have made more sense to me. The part that drew our attention was how it wasn't behaving within the normal laws of physics." U.S.Navy pilot Chad Underwood
U.S.Navy Pilot Chad Underwood
"We've been waiting around as scholars and researchers on the subject for many decades and hoping to God that one day the government would come out and acknowledge what this is." Tom DeLonge, UFO researchers, The Stars Academy of Arts & Science
He was flying his F/A-18 Super Hornet over the Pacific fifteen years ago, when the radar pod on his plane captured a strange object flying in the near distance, and suddenly it was gone. Another, different pilot earlier that very day reported the very same image, about 40-feet long, in an oblong shape, white, hovering above the Pacific off the coast of Mexico. They called it "the Tic Tac". Pilot Underwood has had ample experience with flying objects, and he shudders at the prospect of himself being taken as a "little green men crazy".
He saw something on that day, something he has no explanation for. What he does know for certain is that whatever it was he saw failed to respect the law of physics. It flew from around 50,000 feet to descend to some hundred feet above sea level within the eye-blinking space of seconds and despite its speed, no sonic boom presented, there were no exhaust plumes reflective of some kind of propulsion.
And nor was it a top-secret test aircraft since someone like him with top clearance in the military would have been informed that to be the case. And then ... someone from NORAD contacted the USS Nimitz immediately following the report of the sighting for a narrative of what, exactly, was seen by this man. Serious enough that the military spent two weeks in an effort to understand what Pilot Underwood had seen and described. The radar system on his plane underwent recalibration to ensure it was working properly.
There was a credible report on objects observed by navy pilots in May, reported by The New York Times, including an incident where a Super Hornet came disastrously close to hitting ... 'something'. Another story from 2017, of the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Thread Identification Program to analyze UFO sightings. This past September, a report on former Blink-182 frontman, Tom DeLonge, who left the band to occupy himself as a UFO researcher.
Whose prodding seemed to lead the U.S. military to acknowledge that several objects whose presence was caught on film, a presence that defies identification other than flying objects was in their possession and well known to them. The organization has fixed a firm focus on research in the 2004 Tic Tac video filmed by Chad Underwood, hoping to be able to understand or interpret the profound mystery behind these flying objects.
An image taken from a video released by
the Defense Department's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification
Program shows a 2004 encounter near San Diego between two Navy F/A-18F
fighter jets and an unknown object. U.S. Department of Defense
"Many middle-class Chinese used to believe that if they went to good schools, worked hard and cared little about the current affairs they would be able to realize their Chinese dreams." "Now their dreams are in tatters." Chinese blogger, Weibo
"One enjoyed a sunny Canadian mansion while the other enjoyed the cold and damp detention cell in Shenzhen." Jiang Feng, psychologist, Zhihu Internet site, China
"Huawei has the right, and in fact a duty, to report the facts of any suspected illegal conduct to authorities. We respect the decisions made by the authorities." "If Li Hongyuan believes that he has suffered damages or that his rights have been infringed, we support his right to seek satisfaction through legal means, up to and including lawsuit against Huawei." Huawei Technologies
Huawei is facing backlash after a former employee was wrongfully detained for eight months in China. Getty
When, over a year ago, Huawei's CFO, Meng Wanzhou was arrested at the Vancouver Airport on an extradition warrant from the United States for malfeasance relating to the Iran sanctions, an outpouring of support was manifested in China for Huawei and the arrested Ms. Meng. Huawei's smartphone sales in China increased from a year earlier by 66 percent. While sales for Apple and Huawei's own domestic competitors dwindled, according to research firm Canalys.
That was then. There is an entirely different story afoot currently with many Chinese thinking of boycotting Huawei products. A new wristband campaign is circulating online of a pair of Huawei-branded handcuffs. One of the bands is the "free meal and accommodation version" in reference to life in prison. According to a public relations executive, Tang Ting, the outrage could very well be the cause of long-lasting damage for the Huawei brand.
Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co., leaves
her home for a court appearance wearing an electronic ankle tag in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Oct. 1, 2019. Jennifer Gauthier—Bloomberg via Getty Images
And that has its genesis in the plight of a former Huawei employee who had graduated from one of China's 985 elite universities, worked from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. six days weekly and then was put in jail for 251 days when he demanded severance pay when his contract failed to be renewed. This story generated furious online responses. Articles and comments on the issue saw swift deletion thanks to Chinese censors.
Li Hongyuan, the former employee, was released from prison eventually. No charges were ever brought against him. He did receive government compensation to the tune of $15,000 a few weeks back, and then he did the unthinkable; he shared his story online. Which became a cause celebre and a gigantic headache for Huawei as its reputation began to wane.
And then, coincidentally, Meng Wanzhou published an open letter bemoaning feelings of fear, pain, disappointment, helplessness, torment at her arrest and subsequent bail which allowed her to live in one of her luxury Vancouver mansions. Happily, she wrote, she has learned to accept the unknown and passes her days, talking to people, shopping, painting.
On its publication, the Chinese Internet went wild at the published plight of "princess", daughter of Huawei's founder, Ren Zhengfei. On Weibo, the Chinese media platform, users posted the numbers 984, 995, 251 and 404 in comments under her letter, referring to the real plight of Li Hongyuan. The contrast between Meng's house arrest and the Huawei employee's plight struck a chord in the public.
They would, of course, know nothing about the arbitrary arrest of two Canadian businessmen in China who have been incarcerated for over a year, as pay-back to Canada for Meng's arrest. The Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig languish in harsh conditions in a Chinese jail, refused legal counsel, unable to see family members, permitted brief and infrequent consular visits, awaiting their fate, having been accused of trumped-up charges of espionage.
The Chinese public is fixated on the contrast between Meng's and Li's circumstances. Having been employed by Huawei for 12 years, Li negotiated a $48,000 severance package in 2018 but he was not given an end-of-year bonus that had been promised him and he sued Huawei in November 2018. A month passed and he was detained and accused of leaking commercial secrets. Officially arrested in January on an accusation of extortion, he was released with no charges in August.
"Once a company becomes a cold, dehumanized grinding machine, what's the point for it to exist?" wrote a blogger, Jiang Jingling, criticizing Huawei for trampling on its employee's rights. In its initial operation, Huawei had cultivated a "wolf culture" encouraging employees to embrace hard work to the extent that new employees would be given a mattress on joining the firm, since everyone was expected to work late and often to sleep in the office.
A series of employee deaths drew harsh attention to the company's work ethic with an investigative report by a news weekly verifying six unnatural deaths in two years, including four suicides, linking them all to the company's work rules. More currently, Huawei became symbolic of China's technological industry, and the public was encouraged to criticize the U.S. for its efforts to degrade Huawei's reputation with claims of cyber espionage.
Online users have been circulating articles about what it's like to be imprisoned, particularly in Shenzhen in the Longgang detention centre where Li was imprisoned for over eight months, leading many middle class professionals to be concerned that what happened to Li could visit them. Huawei just happens to be based in Shenzhen's Longgang district.
The Weibo posts of Meng's letter received thousands of comments, many of which simply noted 251, the number of days Li had been detained in prison. "A company that's too big to criticize is even scarier than a company that's too big to fail", stated economics professor Nie Huihua, at Renmin University in Beijing.
"I write to express my strongest and most powerful protest against the partisan impeachment crusade being pursued by the Democrats in the House of Representatives. This impeachment represents an unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power by Democrat Lawmakers, unequalled in nearly two and a half centuries of American legislative history." "The Articles of Impeachment introduced by the House Judiciary Committee are not recognizable under any standard of Constitutional theory, interpretation or jurisprudence. They include no crimes no misdemeanors, and no offenses whatsoever. You have cheapened the importance of the very ugly word, impeachment!" U.S. President Donald Trump
Mark Galli wrote in Christianity Today: ‘We believe the impeachment
hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller
investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority.’
Photograph: Michael Reynolds/POOL/EPA
Unprecedented? Yes, surely. The election to the presidency of the United States of America of a vain, pompous oaf, an ignoramus, a coarse, undiplomatic misogynist was most certainly unprecedented and it is fair to say that while his supporters, legion as they were to elect this man were absolutely delighted, the rest of the world was amazed and bemused. But here's the truth of the matter. The Republic of the United States of America is a democracy. And as a democracy proud of its traditions and its heritage, and chafing under the administrations that preceded Mr. Trump's accession to power, elected the man they wanted to sit in the Oval Office.
While the world held its breath, it gradually became acclimatized to its new suspenseful collegiality with a brusque, critical imperialist with an admiration for dictators and tyrants who well knew that his office and his nation would not permit one in him. Those Americans who did not vote for Mr. Trump and chose instead the Democratic candidate whose own failings as a political leader of distinction became starkly evident throughout the course of the election campaign, raged and ranted and led feminist marches determined to bring down the extremely flawed man who was their president.
Mr. Trump's tenure so far has been one of unprecedented suspense in attempts to anticipate what his next moves might be, impacting not only on his country but the world stage at large. His critics detest him and mostly with very good reason. His supporters are delighted with him and for their own good reasons. He is no one's image of an accomplished politician widely respected whose words and actions give cause for admiration and trust. But he is, withal, the President of the United States of America.
He won office as fairly as any other candidate ever did. The accusations of Russian interference in the election represented a hysterical denial of the truth, that the Democratic Party lost the election fairly; the majority of Americans failed to appreciate their progressive qualities that lent themselves as much as did the Republicans' agenda, to further widening the gap between the haves and have-nots in America. The have-nots have the day. They have their president, one of the haves who incites admiration from followers because he scorns the elite in Washington.
The virago-politician that is Nancy Pelosi was scorned by Donald Trump as a has-been, a poor political leader, a foolish prod by a foolish man who now sees the damage that can be done by a woman scorned. Above all, the spectacle of a President of the United States who occupies a seat in the order of world politics that reflects that imperfect as he is, he is still the most powerful man on the planet, but brought low temporarily by the viral, nauseating hatred of half of the people he governs.
When the Russia-interference accusations failed to be proven, desperation turned Democrats' attention to Ukraine, where the inference was that funding would be released to Ukraine for arms to defend itself from Russia with the cooperation of an investigation into a potential 2020-election rival's son's connections with his father and his corrupt financial links in Ukraine. Obama, Biden, Trump and Pelosi.Trump, as atrocious as his persona is, is being accused of using his office in a manner quite similar to that of his predecessors.
The Democrats have shamed America. Democrats themselves, however, have no shame. They have shamed the very democracy they claim to uphold and to venerate. Democracy brought Trump to the presidency. The succeeding election would tell whether Americans continue to support the man they brought to Washington to 'clean up the Aegean stables'. And then what will they all wallow in? Mr. Trump takes little comfort in Ms. Pelosi praying for him.
"Canada remains a steadfast supporter of Israel and Canada will always defend Israel’s right to live in security." "I understand that
many of you were alarmed by this decision [when Canada voted 'yes' on a UN Human Rights condemnation of Israel in November]." "The government felt that it
was important to reiterate its commitment to a
two-states-for-two-peoples solution at a time when its prospects appear
increasingly under threat." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at menorah lighting on Parliament Hill
"This vote reflects poorly on Canada’s record as a defender of democracy
and justice. It stains Canada’s reputation." "Just
last week, Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau assured the Jewish community that Canada would
'always defend Israel’s right to live in security'. Voting for this
resolution is not in line with that commitment." Michael Mostyn, CEO, B’nai Brith Canada
"[The resolution condemned
Israel’s security barrier but it] omits to mention that it was built in
response to the Second Intifada which killed or wounded 8,341 Israelis
by Palestinian suicide bombings, suicides, stoning, stabbings,
lynchings, rocket and other methods of attack." "[Canada has chosen the position of] standing with the jackals [by voting yes]." Hillel Neuer, director, UN Watch
"[Canada
voting for the resolution was an example of] cultural corruption playing
out in real time [and was] trading its integrity [for a seat on the
Security Council]." "This is a resolution that Canadian governments
for years have voted against'.” "I speak from experience when
I say the United Nations presents many opportunities to strike a deal
with the devil." Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife
Sophie Gregoire light the menorah on Dec. 5, 2018 in Ottawa. Last week,
Trudeau said, "Canada will always defend Israel's right to live in
security."Justin Tang/The Canadian Press/File
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper unblinkingly assured Israel that
there was no question that Canada would always stand in support of the
right to existence of the State of Israel. He fully supported and
understood the necessity of Jews to have a homeland of their own, to
return to their original geographical Judaic heritage and re-establish
their presence where they were once exiled to establish a world-wide
diaspora but never forgetting their origins dating back thousands of
years in the Middle East in the land of Judea before the tribes were
dispersed.
In November, Canada voted for a controversial resolution within the
United Nations that was co-sponsored by North Korea, Zimbabwe and the
'State of Palestine' among others, that condemned Israel as the "occupying power in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem".
A speciously absurd statement without any foundation in history both
ancient and current. 'Palestine' was originally concocted as a
place-name identifying with Jewish residence, coopted in modern times by
Arabs declaring themselves the 'original' Palestinians, not the Jews.
Moreover, the timeless Judean capital of Jerusalem now being claimed by
Palestinian Arabs as their very own, bears no factual resemblance to
reality nor heritage and history. The Islamic conquest of the Middle
East and beyond robbed Jews of Jerusalem, and of their homeland. The
Palestinian 'cause' is simply a reiteration of ancient wrongs and
wrongdoings, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation within the
United Nations has succeeded in isolating, slandering and victimizing
Israel, in consequence of a Jewish presence in a wholly Islamic
geography.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, centre, meets with heads of
Israeli settlement authorities at the Alon Shvut settlement in the West
Bank on Nov. 19. Canada has affirmed it does not share the U.S. view
that Israel's settlements in the West Bank are legal under international
law. (The Associated Press)
''Although it was a
slow process … I am delighted. [The vote was] 'very significant, very
positive.''
''I
was involved personally in extensive discussions with my colleagues in
the foreign ministry in Ottawa'[leading up to the vote]"
''But still we have a lot more to do.''
Palestinian envoy to the UN,
Riyad Mansour
Endorsed, predictably, as all such resolutions always are, by 167
nations with eleven countries abstaining, and five voting against, from
Israel, to t he United States, Australia, the Marshall Islands and
Micronesia, in a vote at the United Nations General Assembly on
Tuesday -- Canada, despite its prime minister having reassured
Canadian-Jewish leaders that its support of Israel was assured, and the
previous November vote was merely an anomaly, reaffirmed a major change
in position in the controversial and
long-running dispute between Israel and the Palestinians with
yesterday's vote.
The change in Canada's voting position where it usually votes against
the 16 recurring Palestinian resolutions brought before the General
Assembly on an annual basis, is now obvious. The issues revolve around
East Jerusalem, sovereignty over natural resources, Israeli settlements
and in general, the "occupation" whereby Israel protects itself and its
population from violent ongoing attacks from Palestinians incited to
violence, and from Palestinian terrorist groups intent on annihilating
the Jewish state.
Yesterday, the UN General Assembly adopted six non-binding resolutions
all of which as per formulaic determination, single out and criticize
Israel, lacking any indication whatever of knife attacks by
Palestinians, of the deliberate and vicious incitement by the
Palestinian Authority, of the institutionalized hate machine that
teachers Palestinian children through school curricula, through songs
and plays, and televised programs aimed at them that Jews are their
aggressors and they must aspire to become martyrs to the cause of
freeing Palestine, minus Israel.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Canada's longstanding role of supporting Israel at the United Nations,
and its past commitment alongside a limited number of countries
dedicating themselves to preventing "Israel bashing"
appears to be history. Canada joined 163 other countries on Wednesday
in support of the motion leaving only the United States, Israel itself,
and three others opposing it.
This is a surprising, abrupt and totally confusing departure from
Canada's voting record for the years 2014 - 2015. Not only under the
previous Conservative-led government, but under both Conservative and
Liberal governments of the past, when Canada under all administrations
demonstrated its support for Israel ranged against the UN's abysmal
record of singling out Israel for condemnation on countless numbers of
accusations led by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and
unfailingly supported by the union of Non-Aligned nations and, sadly,
the
European Union.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's focus is on his Security Council
revolving two-year seat campaign. Foreign Affairs Minister
Francois-Philippe Champagne's 'mandate' from the prime minister was
quite specific in directing him to "lead Canada's United Nations Security Council campaign"
as a top priority, challenging Norway and Ireland, both themselves
campaigning vigorously for that seat, both having lobbied to that end
for over a decade. Ireland is seen as the EU favourite, while Norway is
acknowledged for its annual generous foreign aid contributions.
So Canada has decided that its chances would be enhanced by abandoning
its long-held commitment to the defence of Israeli presence and security
in the Middle East to curry favour with the huge voting bloc
represented by countries of the Islamic Cooperation group. But this
should not come as a huge surprise, the signs and signals were all
there, and all the favour-currying on the part of Canadian-Jewish groups
hoping to ensure Canada's continued support of Israel, has come to
nought.
The United Nations monitoring organization UN Watch, had undertaken a
petition launched after November's vote, for the purpose of amassing a
collection of signatures hoping to impress upon the Liberal government
of Justin Trudeau that it would represent an honourable decision to
disown its last choice in voting against Israel. There were close to
40,000 signatures when the final vote was cast, when Canada's decision
to stay the course for leaving Israel to its fate as an outcast, was
described as a "Faustian bargain".
Nikki Haley Condemns Canada's UN 'Deal With the
Devil'
"Global warming has destroyed the concept of the monsoon." "We have to throw away the prose and poetry written over millennia and start writing new ones!" Raghu Murtugudde, scientist, University of Maryland
"After 1990, cities in India have grown very rapidly." "But they grew without considering where the resources are
coming from." "It's not that we are waiting for the future in terms of water challenges. We are already there." Samrat
Basak, director, World Resource Institution India's Urban Water
Program
"It does not affect people the same way." "Some people can still cope, if
you can still afford to pay for it." "...We're not going to survive solely on hope." VK Madhavan, CEO, WaterAid India
"Climate change will have devastating consequences for people in poverty."
"We
risk a 'climate apartheid' scenario where the wealthy pay to escape
overheating, hunger and conflict while the rest of the world is left to
suffer."
"Human rights might not survive the coming upheaval."
UN human rights report
Chennai residents line up to fill vessels with water from a tanker.
India's monsoon arrival, responsible for the agricultural success of millions of farmers reliant on the rains for nourishment of their fields in the world's second largest-populated country is no longer as reliable as it has been traditionally, with climate change affecting the seasonal rains making them more intense and less predictable. That government policies are leaving millions in the population defenseless in the aggravated age of climate disruptions, particularly the vast demographics of the poor is an additional existential hazard.
Lakes once reliably holding rain deposits in the city of Bangalore are now clogged with plastic detritus and stinking sewage, leaving people to try to manage with the water they can find. In villages where all is desiccated and dry, residents use a fetid stream, since there is nothing else available. The sacred Yamuna river in Delhi is slathered with toxic foam runoff from local industries ("Yes, the Yamuna is polluted, but it has the power to liberate us") , while in Chennai, kitchen taps remain dry and women sprint with neon plastic pots when the sound of a water truck screeches to a halt on their block.
In the last 70 years, extreme rainfall has increased threefold in the region that stretches from western Maharashtra State to the Bay of Bengal in the east, the largely poor central Indian belt, according to a recent scientific paper -- even as total annual rainfall has declined measurably. The Himalayas, upon whose generosity of seasonal melt India has been reliant against droughts is also at risk where the mountains are projected to lose a third of their ice caps by century's end, should greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.
Greed and mismanagement is held to be more responsible by scientists, than climate change, as lush forests naturally able to hold the rains are continually cleared where developers pave over creeks and lakes, and government subsidies lead to the over-extraction of groundwater. The World Bank estimates that by 2050, erratic rainfall, along with rising temperatures will "depress the living standards of nearly half the country's [1.3 billion] population".
This year's rains failed to solve the drinking water shortage where even at the end of the monsoon wells were dry. Marathwada province saw a dam built to supply drinking water to some twenty villages, turned to scrubland. Women drink half a cup of water rather than a full one, going without so children can have what they require, including sending their children to school clean after showers that they deny themselves.
Residents line up to get drinking water from a distribution tanker in the outskirts of Chennai on May 29, 2019.
Daily, four government trucks drive down the muddy lanes to fill village water tanks which manage to provide but a fraction of what village needs are realistically. Annual rainfall has declined by 15 percent across Marathwada since 1950, and in that same period cloudbursts capable of dumping huge amounts of rain in a short period, have shot up threefold in frequency. On land receiving water from an upstream dam, farmers planted hectares of sugar cane, and sugar mills appeared across the state, many owned by politicians.
Government subsidies for electricity encourages farmers to pump groundwater for sugarcane fields, and state-owned banks offer cheap loans sometimes written off, for politicians. Close to $880 million in export subsidies for sugar mills was approved by government this year. In an era of water shortages, subsidizing sugar cane which represents horrendously water-intensive farming. Yet sugar cane production has proliferated and increased more swiftly than any other crop, making India the globe's largest sugar producer.
As it winds through Mumbai, a city of 13 million people, the Mithi River has been blocked by sewage and rubbish that pours into the river. High rise buildings have been constructed on land reclaimed from the Mithi, where working class enclaves perch precariously on the edge of the river, and where floods first strike after heavy rains. Exceptionally heavy downpours several times this season, gave Mumbai more rain than in 65 years.
And each time the drains overflowed, lanes filled with muck, commuter trains were disrupted, flights were diverted and several times neighbourhood schools turned into storm shelters. As waters began to recede from each of these floodings, neighbours covered their noses and swept sludge out of their homes where mosquitoes can breed, threatening a dengue outbreak.
Indian school children walk on a water-logged road during heavy rain in
Kolkata on Sept. 25, 2019. (Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty)
This represents a general opinion site for its author. It also offers a space for the author to record her experiences and perceptions,both personal and public. This is rendered obvious by the content contained in the blog, but the space is here inviting me to write. And so I do.
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In the last 70 years, extreme rainfall has increased threefold in the region that stretches from western Maharashtra State to the Bay of Bengal in the east, the largely poor central Indian belt, according to a recent scientific paper -- even as total annual rainfall has declined measurably. The Himalayas, upon whose generosity of seasonal melt India has been reliant against droughts is also at risk where the mountains are projected to lose a third of their ice caps by century's end, should greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.
