The Largest Minority

July 24th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Disgusting.

July 22nd, 2008 by Manila Ryce

No, not by the fashion police. The UN War crimes tribunal announced Monday that Former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadžić is in custody after being on the lam for more than a decade. He is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the law of war.

When Bosnia and Herzegovina seceded from Yugoslavia in 1992, Karadžić declared himself president of a Bosnian Serb republic. The Bosnian Serbs were backed by Yugoslavian military and paramilitary forces, and quickly seized control of most of the country. During the conflict, Serb forces ethnically cleansed the territories they seized with forced displacements and killings of Muslims and Croats.

One crime in particular, which Karadžić is accused of overseeing, is the massacre at Srebrenica. The area was a UN “safe area” until it was overrun by Serbian troops who killed almost 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys. It was the largest massacre in Europe since World War II.

It’s believed that added pressure lead to Karadzic’s arrest. In December, the European Union warned Serbia that it would have to cooperate with the war crimes tribunal if it wanted to join the organization. Serge Brammertz of the Tribunal said, “It is also an important day for international justice, because it clearly demonstrates that nobody is beyond the reach of the law and that sooner or later all fugitives will be brought to justice.”

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July 21st, 2008 by Manila Ryce

The above video shows an Israeli soldier shoot a rubber coated steel bullet from just 1.5 meters away at the left foot of Abu-Rahma, a bound and blindfolded Palestinian who was protesting the continued construction of Israel’s Apartheid Wall. The incident was taped by a fourteen-year-old girl on July 7th in the West Bank. A probe was only launched into the conduct of the soldiers when human rights organization B’Tselem received the video and demanded that the Military Police Investigation Unit conduct an immediate investigation.

Despite IDF claims that such abuse is in “direct contradiction with IDF values and principles”, just as the US military claimed to be true when pictures from Abu Ghraib were made public, it is well known that this kind of abusive behavior is standard procedure, and that it comes down from the top. In fact, it’s a lieutenant colonel who is seen holding Rahma’s arm in the film as the lower-ranking soldier takes aim and fires.

July 19th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Lebanon celebrated Wednesday as it exchanged the bodies of two Israeli soldiers for five living Lebanese prisoners and the bodies of almost 200 Lebanese and Palestinian fighters. Though it came at a heavy cost, Hezbollah’s victory over Israel is undeniable. It is a victory for all resistance. It is a victory for us.

July 16th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Judging from the Bush administration’s change in policy, it would appear as though Iran’s missile tests were successful in more ways than one.

The United States does not invade countries which can defend themselves. We invade countries like Iraq and Grenada because they pose a potential economic opportunity and NO potential military threat. If Iran were really the most dangerous nation in the world, as the administration has irresponsibly stated over and over again, then any military option would be completely off the table. Only after the Iranians have shown that they do in fact have the ability to put up a fight have we decided to attend talks to avoid one.

An envoy from the US will attend weekend talks with Iran and other major powers over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

The announcement on Tuesday that William Burns, the US under-secretary of state, is to attend a meeting in Geneva with Saeed Jalili, Iranian nuclear negotiator, is a switch in position for the US.

Burns will join Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, and envoys from China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany, at the meeting, due on Saturday.

They will discuss Iran’s response to an offer made by world powers last month to give up nuclear work that the West believes is aimed at building an atomic bomb and Tehran says is for peaceful power-generation purposes.

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July 10th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

In light of recent reports which have revealed that the US is conducting illegal terrorist operations inside Iran to destabilize the government and is intent on attacking before the elections, somehow an Iranian missile test has become the real threat. Somehow Iran has become the agitator in this scenario, even though it’s still well within its rights.

US troops are currently occupying Iran’s neighbor illegally and a nuclear Israel has been running bombing drills for months. Imagine if a heavily-armed group of murderous thieves killed your neighbor, took up residence in their house, and made it very clear that you’d be next. Would you then be in the wrong for buying a weapon for protection? Would you be the threat? The fact that Iran can defend itself, if only slightly, is really only a threat to nations like ours who are intent on attacking it.

July 9th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

The motivation behind the resistance in Iraq is the same now as it was when the war started, and the only way to end it is to end the military and corporate occupation. It really is that simple. We have no right as aggressors to determine our future role in a foreign country when the government of Iraq has clearly stated that we’re not welcome. Haven’t we killed enough innocent people? Haven’t we destroyed enough nations? Haven’t we been robbed enough ourselves by Washington?

Barack has failed to deliver. Those of us who actually listened to the debates from the beginning knew he was a Clintonian clone. Fuck him. He never was and never will be an agent for change. If you actually do desire change, and you’re pissed enough to finally do something about it, then show a little backbone and hold your vote as leverage above the Democrats.

June 27th, 2008 by evmonk

Global Voices, a unique blogging project started by Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, is holding their yearly conference in Budapest for the next two days. Today the conference panels are focused on the censorship and freedom of expression online. Tomorrow there will be a number of panels on citizen media and the use of web2.0 to improve the political process, build community, and bridge the language barrier. The entire even is being streamed and liveblogged, and archived video of every panel is available here. If you’re interested in this stuff, there are some great speakers and discussions. But remember that these are bloggers and technophiles, so their presentations aren’t always the most entertaining.

If you haven’t heard of Global Voices, check them out. They aggregate and review blogs from around the world and then organize the best posts by region and topic, in addition to having a general feed.