April Reign

Speak your mind even if your voice shakes

war

Genocide

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From The Hamilton Spectator

But no militant casualties were seen yesterday by an Associated Press reporter at Shifa Hospital, the Gaza Strip’s largest. Instead, the hospital was overwhelmed with civilians. Bodies were two to a morgue drawer, and the wounded were being treated in hallways because beds were full.

Gaza health officials reported more than 550 Palestinians dead and about 2,500 wounded since Israel began the campaign 10 days ago, including 200 civilians.

Diplomats and European leaders raced around the region in search of a ceasefire, but with Palestinian rocket fire continuing, Israel said it won’t stop its crippling assault until “peace and tranquility” are achieved in southern Israeli towns in the line of fire.

You are not going to get peace with millions of armed men. The chariot of peace cannot advance over a road littered with cannon. ~David Lloyd George

Gangs or… “Torture? What Torture?”

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This is the write up on gang signals from wiki. Bolded text and links are mine.

Gangs often establish distinctive, characteristic identifiers including graffiti tags[18] colors (red, white and blue), hand-signals, clothing, jewelry, hair styles, fingernails, slogans[911,support the troops,], signs such as the swastika, the noose, or the burning cross[20], flags for example the Confederate flag, secret greetings (or meetings), slurs(terrorists, liberals), or code words (freedom, WMD,intelligence) and other group-specific symbols associated with the gang’s common beliefs, rituals, and mythologies to define and differentiate themselves from rival groups and gangs.[]As an alternative language, signs, symbols, and slurs in speech, graffiti, print, music, or other mediums communicate specific informational cues used to threaten, disparage, taunt, harass, intimidate, alarm, influence[23], or exact specific responses including obedience, submission, fear, or terror. One study focused on terrorism and symbols states: “… Symbolism is important because it plays a part in impelling the terrorist to act and then in defining the targets of their actions.”[24] Displaying a gang sign, such as the noose, as a symbolic act can be construed as “… a threat to commit violence communicated with the intent to terrorize another, to cause evacuation of a building, or to cause serious public inconvenience, in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience…an offense against property or involving danger to another person that may include but is not limited to recklessly endangering another person, harassment, stalking, ethnic intimidation, and criminal mischief.”[25] [Read more…] about Gangs or… “Torture? What Torture?”

Omar Khadr

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Two stories in The Star today about Omar Khadr.

One on a video tape that was released to the press, despite not having been allowed to be aired in court. Oops wonder how that happened?

The lawyer for detained Canadian terror suspect Omar Khadr accused the U.S. government yesterday of abusing the legal process after CBS News broadcast for the first time a controversial video recording which allegedly shows his client manufacturing explosive devices.

“I think it’s outrageous that this tape has been released without the approval of the court,” lawyer Dennis Edney said in Edmonton.

Long seen as a key piece of evidence against Khadr in the eyes of the prosecution, Edney believes the U.S. government leaked the video after stalled proceedings prevented it from being shown in court.

The courtroom airing of the 12-minute tape, which allegedly shows a 15-year-old Khadr planting land mines and assembling bomb timers, was delayed during a hearing Nov. 8. The recording was broadcast Sunday on the CBS newsmagazine show 60 Minutes.

[Read more…] about Omar Khadr

Mr Layton have you stopped beating your wife?

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In an interview with AR media when Mr. Layton was asked if he had stopped beating his wife he replied no.

Full Transcript follows;

AR Media: Mr. Layton, have you stopped beating your wife?

Mr. Layton: Well since I never started beating my wife and in fact believe strongly in ending domestic abuse, I would have to say no.

AR Media: Mr Layton some might opine that by saying no you are in fact aligning yourself with those who see nothing wrong with such activity. How would you answer those people?

Jack Layton: Well to repeat I am against domestic violence and this question is one which has no winning answer to say yes I have implies support for an activity I condemn, to say no implies that I am going to continue on with an activity which in reality I have never been a part of.

AR Media: Can you explain further?

Mr. Layton: Look it’s much this vote on Afghanistan. If we vote to support a partial pull out in 2009 we are seen as saying we support our troops being there until that time, if we vote against it we are seen as saying that we support a war effort completely and without timetable.

It is much like your first question, one in which there is no way not to come out smeared by an accusation of an activity I was never involved with in the first place.

AR Media: Thank you Mr. Layton

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Edited to add there was an NDP ammendment proposed

In an effort to try to find common ground, let me propose the following amendment to determine whether or not the House would be willing to take the appropriate actions. The amendment would read as follows: “That the motion be amended by deleting the words after ‘operations in southern Afghanistan’ in the preamble and replacing them with the following: ‘This House call on the government to begin now to withdraw Canadian Forces in a safe and secure manner from the counter-insurgency mission in Afghanistan and call upon the government to notify NATO of this decision immediately’”.

Third Planet Review

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the audio is off a bit but still well worth watching. You may laugh at the Macleans’ reference.

Third Planet Review hosted by hippielawyer Alan Graf, features a panel of activists from The Farm in Summertown, TN commenting on and analyzing the news giving you a completely different take than the corporate pundits. Panelists are Ina May Gaskin, midwife and author, Albert Bates, founder of the Eco-Village Training Center and author of a new book on surviving peak oil and Peter Schweitzer, executive director of Plenty International, otherwise known as the hippy peace corps

Is Canada a soveriegn country?

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It’s getting hard to tell.

First we turned from peace keepers to war mongers.

Then

An American policy has forced Montreal’s Bell Helicopter to ban 24 employees from working on a U.S. military contract because of their nationalities.

and now


The Royal Bank has refused to open American dollar accounts for people of certain nationalities since April 2006, Radio-Canada reported Monday.

Canadian citizens with dual citizenship in Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Sudan, North Korea or Myanmar are affected.

The bank didn’t agree to an interview with Radio-Canada, but did confirm the report.

The Royal Bank is conforming with U.S. Treasury Department laws.

Conforming with US Treasury laws???

Holy crap did I sleep through the invasion? Are we now the Northern Division of the States?