Category: International Affairs,

Palestinians and settlers talk about peace in a shack in “The Field”

On By peanutgallerynhIn Middle East,Leave a comment

So about three years ago, he built a small shack on a plot of land owned by his family in Gush Etzion, one of the large West Bank settlement blocs, and invited some settlers to join him in a new grassroots initiative. They would look each other in the eye for once, talk about their fears and dreams, pray together, plant crops together, share meals together, hike together, and start thinking out of the box about how to live together.  He gave the space this unpretentious name: “The Field.”

…In the fall of 2015, barely a year after the initiative was launched, Gush Etzion was targeted in a series of bloody terror attacks. The fresh wave of violence challenges the bonds that have been painstakingly forged between the Palestinian and settler peace activists.

In a particularly charged scene, following the stabbing to death of a 25-year-old Israeli woman at the Gush Etzion junction, Abu Awwad tries to explain to a group of agitated settlers gathered in his shack why it is difficult for most Palestinians to sympathize with them. The two sides in this conflict, he cries out, are not equals.

“After we leave this place, you go back to your nice settlements, and we go back to our refugee camps,” he says. “You call us murderers and criminals, but you are sitting on our places of livelihood, you are sitting on our homes, and you are sitting on our hearts – not as partners, though.”

Palestinians and settlers tried to make peace on their own, and then this happened – Israel News – Haaretz.com

hmmm

Kosovo government loses no-confidence vote, coalition fails 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Europe,Leave a comment

PRISTINA, Kosovo – Kosovo’s government on Wednesday lost a no-confidence vote, setting the scene for an early election following months of political deadlock over a border demarcation deal that critics say would mean a loss of territory for the tiny Balkan country. 

Kosovo government loses no-confidence vote, coalition fails – NEWS 1130

hmmm

‘Stark choices’ for 450,000 civilians trapped amid fighting in Mosul’s Old Town

On By peanutgallerynhIn Middle East,Leave a comment

As many as 450,000 civilians are trapped in Mosul’s Old City, caught up in house-to-house fighting between Islamic State and Iraqi government forces and cut off from aid, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday.

 

‘Stark choices’ for 450,000 civilians trapped amid fighting in Mosul’s Old Town: ICRC | The Japan Times

sigh…

Trump administration wants evidence of Haitian immigrants’ crimes so it can avoid providing humanitarian aid 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Caribbean,, Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is taking the unusual step of hunting for evidence of crimes committed by Haitian immigrants as it decides whether to allow them to continue participating in a humanitarian program that has shielded tens of thousands from deportation since an earthquake destroyed much of their country.

...The request for criminal data for an entire community is unorthodox. The law doesn’t specify it should be a consideration for Temporary Protected Status and the government has never said it would use criminal rates in deciding if a country’s citizens should be allowed to stay under this program. Introducing new criteria is likely to cause consternation among law-abiding Haitians who may feel they are being penalized for the wrongdoing of their compatriots.

Trump administration wants evidence of Haitian immigrants’ crimes – NY Daily News

Grrrrrrrrr

Refugees name their newborn baby ‘Justin Trudeau’ and it’s so cute

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Muhammad and Afraa Bilan arrived as refugees in Montreal with their daughter Naya, 4, and son Nael, 3, after fleeing from Damascus. 

…The couple felt they had to pay homage to the man who helped them escape Syria through his refugee initiative. 

So, when she gave birth to their first Canadian[-born] son, Afraa and Muhammad decided to call him after the Canadian prime minister.

Refugees name their newborn baby ‘Justin Trudeau’ and it’s so cute

Betcha there aren’t too many Syrians naming their babies Donald the Cheeto or Maggie Hassan….

The Mother of All Bombs: How badly did it hurt IS in Afghanistan? 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Middle East,, Military,Leave a comment

Reports of the bomb had made me think that it had wiped out the IS stronghold here in Achin district. I assumed that US and Afghan troops would have sealed off the area and that IS (or Daesh, as it is known here) would be in disarray.

An Afghan officer corrected me. “For a start this bomb wasn’t as powerful as you think,” he said.

“There are still green trees standing 100m away from the site of the impact.”

…”Daesh hasn’t gone anywhere; there are hundreds of caves like the one the Americans bombed,” the officer says, adding that strikes have continued since the bomb was dropped. “They can’t get rid of them like this.”

…Unlike the Taliban, who tend to have many supporters in their core areas, IS seem to have angered a lot of people. Few seemed unhappy about the US bombardment.

…However, there was anxiety. One man, Khaled, said local people were pawns in a US game.

“[Dropping the bomb] was a trick to show the world that their mission was going well. But this wasn’t the type of bomb they showed in the media. The bomb did nothing.”

“Will IS come back?” I asked.

“Yes, as soon as the government leaves, the locals won’t be able to fight them. If the government makes permanent bases in the area and helps us, then we will be happy,” he answered.

The Mother of All Bombs: How badly did it hurt IS in Afghanistan? – BBC News

hmmmm

Trump will “not to terminate NAFTA” 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Trump told the leaders of Canada and Mexico Wednesday he was not immediately planning to end the North American Free Trade Agreement, a pact which he railed against as a candidate and as recently as last week declared was harmful to US workers.

…During his run for office last year, Trump made his disdain for NAFTA a central component of a populist message designed to engender support among working class Americans. He consistently cast the agreement — which was negotiated by President Bill Clinton, the husband of Trump’s presidential opponent Hillary Clinton — as a raw deal for the middle class.

…Nonpartisan congressional research found in 2015 that NAFTA isn’t responsible for an exodus of jobs south of the border, nor for a big jobs boom in the US. Researchers concluded the deal has had a minor impact on the US economy.

Still, about 14 million US jobs depend on trade with Mexico and Canada, according to the US Chamber of Commerce.

Trump agrees “not to terminate NAFTA at this time”, will negotiate – CNNPolitics.com

hmmmm

Cherokee Nation Sues Walmart, Drug Companies Over Opioids 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Addiction,, Drugs & Drink,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, The Americas,Leave a comment

The Cherokee Nation filed suit against CVS, Walmart and others on April 20 declaring an “opioid epidemic of unprecedented proportions’ in Indian country.

…By ignoring red flags and refusing to monitor the supply chain, contributing to what is known as “drug diversion,” the suit alleges that the effects of opioid addiction has had a devastating human toll on the tribe’s citizens and crushing impact on its resources.

Cherokee Nation Sues Walmart, Drug Companies Over Opioids – Indian Country Media Network

hmmm

CNN Politics on Twitter: House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz says it appears that Michael Flynn accepted money from Russia 

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Central Northern Asia and The Caucasus,, Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

 

And so it begins….

I wonder how many Trump administration officials will have to face charges before one of them sings like the proverbial canary.

‘I Dreamed of Africa’ Author And Conservationist, Shot In Kenya 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,Leave a comment

…The Laikipia Nature Conservancy, has been the center of a bloody battle for weeks, as a large-scale drought has pushed cattle-herders to extreme measures to try and find grazing land.

…”You have nomadic herders who are moving into private wildlife conservancies with thousands of heads of cattle,” [NPR’s Eyder] Peralta said. “And in response, the Kenyan government launched a military-style operation to push the herders out. But what we’ve seen is an escalation of violence. Police have killed lots of cows. And the herders have responded by burning tourist lodges on the properties.”

…Members of the Pokot and Samburu tribes have long grazed on conservancy land in Kenya, but over the past few years things have changed. Herders have brought more and more cows, killed other wildlife, and begun to vandalize property. 

..”That is heavily politicized violence. And that is what’s much more worrying about this situation.”

[Gallmann’s daughter, Sveva Gallmann] added that she doesn’t think the herders even own many of the cows.

“There’s a lot of, actually, politicians, people within the police, people within the administration storing their wealth in cattle and laundering ill-gotten money through cattle,” she said.

…Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s office issued a statement warning politicians in the area not to inflame the situation with “reckless rhetoric.”

“Politicians encouraging invasions of privately-owned property or attacks on individuals can expect strong deterrent action in terms of the law,” Kenyatta’s spokesman, Manoah Esipisu, said.

‘I Dreamed of Africa’ Author And Conservationist, Shot In Kenya : The Two-Way : NPR

hmmm

Guess Who Came to Dinner With Flynn and Putin 

On By peanutgallerynhIn Central Northern Asia and The Caucasus,, Domestic Affairs,Leave a comment

NBC News reviewed video and photos from a 2015 Moscow gala that Mike Flynn was paid $45,000 to attend to see who else was in the room.

…U.S. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, the only American besides Flynn at the head table.

Stein’s 2016 campaign was heavily promoted by RT. 

“And my own connection to RT, you know ironically, it takes a Russian television station to actually be open to independent candidates in this country and that is a shame. A shameful commentary on our own media,” she told NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald.

(Stein did well enough to help Russia achieve its aims. Her vote totals in the crucial states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan were all greater than Clinton’s margin of defeat, and arguably denied Clinton an Electoral College victory.)

Guess Who Came to Dinner With Flynn and Putin – NBC News

hmmm