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Syrian rebels use kidnappings to raise funds
Common criminals also getting in on the game, with wealthy families being targeted An epidemic of kidnapping has broken out in Syria, with rebels using ransoms to fund their military operations and common criminals taking the opportunity to cash in. In al-Bab, a town on the edge of Aleppo, the country’s second largest city, abductions…
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UN outlaws praising Nazis (Baltic states disagree)
The United Nations General Assembly has passed a Russia-sponsored draft resolution against the glorification of Nazism and attempts to rewrite WWII history. The document states that any attempts to revise the history for war, the Nuremberg decisions and to whitewash former Nazis must be considered as violations of the UN Charter and the principles on…
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Why I Won’t Vote (1956) by W.E.B. Dubois
On October 20, 1956, W. E. B. Du Bois delivered this eloquent indictment of US politics and why he won’t vote in the upcoming Presidential election. Du Bois condemns both Democrats and Republicans for their indifferent positions on the influence of corporate wealth, racial inequality, arms proliferation and unaffordable health care. The article appeared in…
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Turkish troops kill 26 PKK rebels in major offensive
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – Turkish soldiers have killed 26 Kurdish rebels in two days in an offensive involving over 2,000 troops, as well as F-16 fighter planes operating on both sides of the Turkey-Iraq border, security sources said on Friday. The operation against separatist rebels from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) began on Wednesday night…
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Watching Syria, remembering Nicaragua
By Richard Becker History shows U.S. viciously attacks—not supports—real revolutions Sandinistas enter Managua, July 19, 1979 On July 18, a huge bomb blast killed or critically wounded several top Syrian security officials. While the “Free Syrian Army,” claimed credit, the highly sophisticated July 18 bombing in Damascus has the earmarks not of an operation by…
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US stops training Afghan forces due to rise in ‘insider attacks’
The United States has stopped training Afghan forces due to rising incidents of the so-called insider attacks in Afghanistan The Washington Post reports that the commander of the US Special Forces has suspended training for all new Afghan recruits until Afghan soldiers are re-investigated for their possible ties to Taliban militants. The US daily says…
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US Shares Responsibility for Rachel Corrie’s Death
On Aug. 28, an Israeli court rejected a civil lawsuit against Israeli occupation forces for the 2003 murder of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American peace activist killed in the Gaza Strip, upholding a severely flawed internal Israeli military investigation. Amnesty International strongly condemned the decision, noting how “the verdict continues the pattern of impunity for…
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Israeli Court Whitewashes Military Role in Murder of American Activist
No Justice for Martyred Internationalist On 28 August 2012, an Israeli court in Haifa rejected charges that the Israeli Defense Forces or Israel’s Ministry of Defense were in any way responsible for the killing of American internationalist and solidarity activist Rachel Corrie in 2003. In a widely televised and reported event, Ms. Corrie, a member…
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In wake of lynch, Arabs fear the streets
Arab Israelis say they try to avoid walking around at night for fear they would be attacked by racists Hassan Shaalan A brutal assault allegedly perpetrated by dozens of Jewish teens last week has reawakened long-harbored feelings of fear among Arab Israelis across the country. The tension was primarily felt in Jaffa, Safed and Haifa,…
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Iraq Executes 21 in a Single Day
US financial and military support for the increasingly authoritarian Maliki government has continued despite rights abuses by John Glaser Iraq executed 21 people convicted of terrorism charges on Tuesday, including three women, according to an Iraqi spokesman for the Justice Ministry. The appalling number of state executions in a single day is just one illustration…
The Red Phoenix
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