Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (16 – 22 February 2012):

Shooting: In the West Bank, IOF wounded 11 protesters, including an Israeli peace activist. Seven of the Palestinians wounded in the West Bank were wounded in peaceful protests to the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities while 4 Palestinians were wounded in peaceful demonstrations organized in support of Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan. In the Gaza Strip, 14 Palestinians, including 2 women and 3 children, sustained bruises and wounds by shrapnel wounds in airstrikes implemented by IOF warplanes. In the West Bank, during the reporting period, IOF used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to Israeli settlement activities and the construction of the annexation wall in the West Bank. As a result, 11 protesters, including an Israeli peace activist, were wounded. Seven of the wounded were wounded in peaceful demonstration organized in protest to settlement activities and the construction of the annexation wall, including 2 of them wounded in the weakly protest in al-Nabi Saleh on 17 February 2012, and 5 wounded in the weakly protest in Kafr Qaddoum also on 17 February. Additionally, dozens of protesters suffered from tear gas inhalation. IOF also used excessive force against peaceful demonstrations organized in support of Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan. As a result, 4 Palestinians sustained wounds. [...]

PIC: Palestinian liberated woman go on hunger strike to protest her re-arrest
PIC: Israeli Occupation Soldiers arrest liberated prisoner, his wife and daughter

Stephen Lendman: Khader Adnan's Struggle Continues
Jason Ditz: Israel Faces New Hunger Striker After Reneging on Prisoner Swap

David Cameron may want to copy Sweden’s ample child care benefits to get more women into top jobs, but that wouldn’t work in Britain. - Earlier this month, David Cameron posed on the edge of the Baltic Sea in wintry Stockholm and wondered what Britain could learn from countries like Sweden to promote the number of British women in top jobs. As an expat on my second maternity leave in Sweden, I admire Cameron’s ambitions but question whether Britain is ready for the huge cultural changes this would entail. Certainly, Swedish society does a great deal to support women at work and at home. Affordable (state-funded) child care makes it possible for many mothers to return to work, and the parental leave system encourages fathers to play an important role in raising their children. But would Mr Cameron be prepared to take on the eye‑wateringly high costs involved in implementing a Swedish-style system?

Canada's international reputation came under fire in Geneva on Wednesday as a UN expert panel delivered scathing criticisms over the government's treatment of First Nations and recent changes to the country's immigration system. - Members on the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, all of them human-rights experts from around the world, questioned why headway has not been made in resolving the disparities between First Nations communities and the rest of the country.

"This problem should not continue the same way as it has in the past," said Noureddine Amir, vice-chairman of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. "How long will this be ongoing?"

The treatment of natives jumped back onto the federal political agenda after the Red Cross delivered humanitarian aid to the First Nations community of Attawapiskat in northern Ontario late last year. Since then, opposition parties and aboriginal groups have called on the Conservative government to provide more funding for education, better infrastructure and a move toward self-determination. There are also concerns that the government's omnibus crime bill will have a disproportionate impact on natives.

A Dongria boy stands in front of Niyamgiri, where
the tribe will hold its festival. (L. Davids/Survival)

Security forces are cracking down on the Dongria Kondh tribe as they prepare for a religious festival this weekend at the top of India’s most contentious mountain.

Hundreds are determined to attend the Niyamraja ritual in the sacred Niyamgiri Hills, which are at the center of a controversial mining project involving UK company Vedanta Resources.

During the worship, the Dongria will take an oath pledging never to leave the mountain, which faces renewed threats as companies eye its valuable resources.

The Dongria have fought hard to resist such advances, but speaking out against proposed mining continues to be dangerous.

Survival has received reports of arrests and beatings, and in the last week alone, police have shut down six meetings where food supplies were being organized for this weekend’s festival.

Giridhari Patra from the Niyamgiri Protection Committee said, ‘Intimidating and threatening the Dongria before one of their most important festivals is unforgivable. The mountain is the seat of their god and the basis of their identity. We will never give it up to Vedanta.’

The tribe’s victory in 2010 over the mining giant, which wanted to dig an open-pit mine to reach the mountain’s aluminum-ore deposits, was historic.

The desecration of the Holy Qur’an by the US troops at the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan points to their psychological issues, an analyst tells Press TV. - I agree with much of what the last caller had to say but there is one extreme inconsistency here we are ignoring- that these Qur’ans supposedly were taken from Taliban prisoners. The problem we have is that at Bagram air force base Afghan citizens have been tortured for the last ten years including Doctor Aafia from Pakistan.

♣ ♣ ♣

At Veterans Today we have an afghan study group we have been running since 2003 which includes Khalil Nouri, who hopes to be a candidate for president of Afghanistan. Imran khan, who is the leading candidate for president of Pakistan, Colonel Eugene Khrushchev, former first secretary of the Soviet and Russian embassies, General Hamed Gul former head of the ISI. None of the people in our group agree with one another about anything but around this we have, it is an old American thing; we are ignoring the elephant in the room. The pipe line or oil whatever or gas in Afghanistan or their tremendous Gem wealth has not been what’s keeping the US there for 10, 11, 12 years. It is eighty billion dollars worth of Heroin used to be opium paste the Taliban had eliminated this, its processed to Heroin it is being distributed. Anyone who doesn’t think it has been distributed by the central intelligence agency [CIA] with funds being shared by governments across the Middle east, including Israel, Switzerland and Islamic governments are sharing in this and they are allowing this war to continue there is no rationale for this.

A new and sweeping security project to lock down gateways to the U.S. Capitol is being planned, aimed at targeting gang assaults and lone wolf attackers like the alleged al Qaeda suicide bomber FBI agents seized earlier this month. - Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers told Washington Secrets that the plan is to spend $7.8 million to secure House and Senate garages “very quickly” should an attacker try bust in. “It’s the ability to kind of secure our garages from entry in a very fast manner,” he said after briefly describing the funding request to a congressional committee. Ayers said the targets are “car bombs or groups of people or whatever the threat may be.” [In a false-flag operation] the FBI last week arrested a Morrocan man in his 30s who they claim was on a suicide mission to blow up the Capitol. The FBI, who had the man under surveillance for months, said the suspect thought the undercover agents he was working with were associates of al Qaeda.

National Organization of Women president Terry O’Neill said Wednesday that laws requiring women to view an ultrasound before terminating their pregnancy were “ritual humiliation laws.” Lawmakers in Virginia on Wednesday approved a controversial bill requiring women to undergo an ultrasound prior to an abortion. Similar legislation, which requires women to view an ultrasound of the fetus or sign a statement documenting the reasons for her refusal, will soon be considered by the Illinois House of Representatives. O’Neill said on MSNBC’s The Ed Show that the intent of the bills was to “humiliate and shame women.”

The People's Voice/AWIP: Virginia is for Misogynists
Raw Story: Virginia approves "toned-down" abortion ultrasound bill

At least eight people were killed and 27 others wounded as protests over alleged burning of the Quran by US troops at the Bagram Airbase continued across Afghanistan for a second day on Wednesday, officials and witnesses said.

Six men were killed and a dozen others wounded when an anti-US demonstration turned violent in the central province of Parwan. In the Shinwari district, furious protestors stormed the district headquarters building and clashed with police, the district chief said.

Saifullah Baidar told Pajhwok Afghan News police opened fire on the protestors to stop them from entering the office complex. Six passers-by were wounded when the demonstrators, who were initially peaceful but turned violent after police fire, hurled stones at them, a witness said.

One person was killed and three others wounded during a protest in the Baraki Barak district of central Logar province, where some militants opened fire on district headquarters. Syed Wakil, the district’s administrative chief, said police returned fire in an effort to disperse the angry mob.

John Glaser: Afghan Soldier Kills 2 US Troops at Quran-Burning Protest

U.S. troops helping in the fight against a brutal rebel group called the Lord's Resistance Army are now deployed in four Central African countries, the top U.S. special operations commander for Africa said Wednesday. - The U.S. announced in October it was sending about 100 U.S. troops - mostly special operations forces - to Central Africa to advise in the fight against the LRA and its leader Joseph Kony, a bush fighter wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Many of the U.S. forces are stationed in Uganda. Others are based in Obo, Central African Republic; Dungu, Congo; and in Nzara, South Sudan, Losey said. Each of those locations had established bases where troops from partner countries have been based.

Exposing The Israeli-Mossad False Flag Terror Attacks In New Delhi, Tbilisi And Bangkok. - The terror attacks in New Delhi & in Tbilisi (Georgia), Baku (Azerbaijan) & Bangkok (Thailand) are another round of false-flag terror (http://mailstar.net/ostrovsky.html) being waged by the Israeli Mossad to achieve its strategic objectives by targeting Iran & the Hezbollah, which is a resistance movement. The timing of the false-flag terror attack is very interesting. It comes at the precise moment when India has refused to enforce the US-Israeli-EU sanctions against Iran & when Indo-Iran ties are witnessing a new strategic rethink in Delhi, where Pranab Mukherjee in a visit to the US, refused to abide by the sanctions. Also both India & Iran have agreed on a Rupee Trade & barter system, thus avoiding the use of the USD regime. Also the Tbilisi, Georgia bombings though not of a serious nature, are making international headlines, with Iran & Hezbollah being mentioned by PM Netanyahu. Georgia & Azerbaijan are both US-Israeli satellite states, with a strong presence of CIA-Mossad operatives & security advisers present in both the nations. The riddle of Bangkok, where Iranians have been injured in the blasts, needs to be understood & it is a very simple matter to comprehend. The Mujahedeen Khalq (MKO/MEK), is a terrorist organization comprising of disgruntled Iranians who are now working for the CIA & the Mossad. The MKO-MEK , is openly supported by the US-Israel as their strategic allies & they are the ones who are responsible for the assassinations of the Iranian nuclear scientists & terror attacks within Iran. Time & again the Chabad Lubavitch members & houses are involved with acts of terror & drug smuggling operations. Chabad Houses, under the guise of religious centres are also dens of espionage & used by Mossad operatives the world over. Thus the Chabad Lubavitch centres across the country need to be probed by the government agencies, as they certainly pose a grave security threat.

AWIP: Thai Religious Leader Says Anti-Iran Terrorists Behind Car Bombs

From the Ottawa Citizen, "Iran threatens Israel over plans to bomb nuclear sites" by Adrian Blomfield (my emphasis in red):

"Iran threatened a pre-emptive attack against Israel Tuesday in the event of an attack on its nuclear facilities."

I can remember a time when it was a requirement of being a newspaper writer in English Canada to be fluent in the English language. To be charitable, I'm going to assume that Adrian Blomfield's native tongue is Hebrew. It appears that the Head Jew has ordered his journalistic minions to publish the same misleading story all around the world. The (probably mistranslated) words of Mohammed Hejazi which form the basis of this nonsense conclude with "We enjoy the ability to show them all types of confrontation in case of a foolish act by the Zionist regime.''

About 35 percent of British adults sleep with teddy bears, according to a Travelodge survey.

The hotel chain polled about 6,000 people after trying to track down the rightful owners of 75,000 displaced stuffed animals found in 452 hotels in the past year, United Press International reports. Ten percent of women polled said they treated their teddy bear as a good friend, while 25 percent of males said they bring their teddy bears on business trips, according to the report.

Respondents said they snuggled with the toys for comfort and a better night's sleep, and one expert said the reasoning makes perfect sense. "Cuddling a teddy bear is an important part of our national psyche as it evokes a sense of peace, security and comfort," Psychologist Corrine Sweet said in a Travelodge press release obtained by Yahoo! Finance.

Scott Hardy, an Arizona businessman, told ABC News he often travels with a stuffed dog in his suitcase. His wife gave him the toy while they were dating. "I've had some friends who are like, 'What's with the stuffed animal?'" Hardy told ABC after a similar Travelodge survey was released in 2010. "It's just a reminder of my beautiful bride."

According to Travelodge, Britons have a preference when it comes to their favorite bears. The classic teddy bear tops the list as the most popular, followed by Winnie the Pooh and Paddington Bear.

UPI.com: 35 percent of British adults sleep with bear

It appears that the faster-than-light neutrino results, announced last September by the OPERA collaboration in Italy, was due to a mistake after all. A bad connection between a GPS unit and a computer may be to blame. - Physicists had detected neutrinos travelling from the CERN laboratory in Geneva to the Gran Sasso laboratory near L'Aquila that appeared to make the trip in about 60 nanoseconds less than light speed. Many other physicists suspected that the result was due to some kind of error, given that it seems at odds with Einstein's special theory of relativity, which says nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. That theory has been vindicated by many experiments over the decades. According to sources familiar with the experiment, the 60 nanoseconds discrepancy appears to come from a bad connection between a fiber optic cable that connects to the GPS receiver used to correct the timing of the neutrinos' flight and an electronic card in a computer. After tightening the connection and then measuring the time it takes data to travel the length of the fiber, researchers found that the data arrive 60 nanoseconds earlier than assumed. Since this time is subtracted from the overall time of flight, it appears to explain the early arrival of the neutrinos. New data, however, will be needed to confirm this hypothesis.

US-led airstrikes have hit a religious girls school in eastern Afghanistan, leaving at least 10 students and the school’s janitor injured, Press TV reports. - Afghan officials told Press TV that US-led NATO helicopters carried out the aerial attacks against the girls religious school in Nangarhar province on Wednesday as the students were studying. NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed the attack, saying it has launched an investigation into the air raids. On February 8, US-led airstrikes killed eight Afghan children in the Nejrab district of Kapisa province as the victims were herding sheep in heavy snow. Hundreds of civilians have lost their lives in US-led airstrikes and ground operations in various parts of Afghanistan, with Afghans becoming more and more outraged over the seemingly endless number of deadly assaults. Afghan authorities have repeatedly warned NATO forces to avoid killing civilians during military operations.

The Virginia legislature is about to enact a law that requires a transvaginal ultrasound procedure for all women who have abortions (except in the case of a medical emergency). Apparently, the legislators are unaware that the law violates existing sexual assault code or that Virginians oppose the law by a wide margin. Here's the procedure:

"You will lie down on a table with your knees bent and feet in holders called stirrups. The health care provider will place a probe, called a transducer, into the vagina. The probe is covered with a condom and a gel. … The health care provider will move the probe within the area to see the pelvic organs."

Amine Derkaoui, a 21-year-old Moroccan man, is pissed at Facebook. Last year he spent a few weeks training to screen illicit Facebook content through an outsourcing firm, for which he was paid a measly $1 an hour. He's still fuming over it. - Facebook has turned the stuff its millions of users post into gold. But perhaps just as important as the vacation albums and shared articles is the content it keeps out of user's timelines: porn, gore, racism, cyberbullying, and so on. Facebook has fashioned itself the clean, well-lit alternative to the scary open Internet for both users and advertisers, thanks to the work of a small army of human content moderators like Derkaoui. But walking the line between keeping Facebook clean and excessively censoring its content is tricky, and Facebook's zealousness in scrubbing users' content has led to a series of uproars.

US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey made news over this week by calling an Israeli-led attack on Iran foolish if attempted anytime soon. Israeli officials aren’t impressed, however, and are responding with words of their own. - Gen. Dempsey denounced a strike on Iran in the near future as “destabilizing” and “not prudent” over the weekend while speaking to CNN in regards to America and Israel’s effort to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear warhead. Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has now addressed that statement himself, calling into question the US official’s intentions. Netanyahu is now suggesting that the US is adopting policies that will favor Iran, and not their historical ally: Israel. American intelligence believes that, if Iran is indeed developing a nuclear weapon as rumored, they do not stand to finish their research anytime soon. In the interim, the US hopes that diplomatic talks and negotiations will thwart that research before it matures. Israel, however, appears much more concerned and has condemned the US for not acting on the offensive already.

AWIP: US Gen. Dempsey: Iran rational actor, not after nukes

The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has endorsed the building of 500 new settlement units in Shilo settlement in the area between Ramallah and Nablus in the West Bank. - The Israeli government on Wednesday approved the plan to build the new houses and endorsed 200 other housing units, which were previously built without permit in another nearby settlement. Shilo, 30 kilometers to the south of Nablus, is inhabited by two thousand Jewish settlers while the other settlement is inhabited by 400 settlers.

PIC: "Israel" confiscates 30 dunums of Palestinian land in Yatta
Jason Ditz: Ignoring Court, Israeli Officials Bulldoze Palestinian Homes

The Israeli authorities’ decision to release a Palestinian detainee by mid-April is insufficient, Amnesty International said amid reports that he has agreed to end his 66-day hunger strike.

The organization has urged Israel to release Khader Adnan immediately to allow him to receive urgent medical treatment. The 33-year-old baker – allegedly affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement – is at immediate risk of death after more than 10 weeks on hunger strike.

“A deal which will see Khader Adnan released on 17 April unless significant new evidence emerges is insufficient when he needs urgent medical treatment to save his life now,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Interim Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Even if reports that Khader Adnan has agreed to end his hunger strike are true, this does not mean he is out of danger nor does it lessen the need for highly specialized medical care. “He cannot constitute a ‘security threat’ in his current condition and should be released from custody immediately. The Israeli authorities have revealed no evidence justifying his continued detention.” Khader Adnan was given a four-month administrative detention order on 10 January. Israeli military orders allow the Israeli authorities to detain Palestinians from the occupied West Bank without trial indefinitely if they are deemed to be a “security threat”.

The Israeli Supreme Court had been due to address Khader Adnan’s appeal on Tuesday, but the hearing was cancelled following a reported agreement between his lawyer and the Israeli authorities. Both the Palestinian Authority and Israeli governmental spokespeople have reported that Khader Adnan has agreed to end his hunger strike, something Amnesty International has not been able to verify independently.

In the war on terror America was happy to send suspects to Syria. Now the US cries torture. - In recent weeks, US officials have been falling over one another to denounce the brutality of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. President Obama has accused it of committing "outrageous bloodshed" and called for Assad to stand down; Hillary Clinton has referred to the Syrian leader as a "tyrant"; Elliot Abrams, deputy national security adviser under George W Bush, has called Syria a "vicious enemy". The evidence is overwhelming: in the months and years after 9/11, the US collaborated closely with Syria, which became an ally in the war on terror and a frequent destination for victims of extraordinary rendition. Syrian torturers worked hand in hand with US interrogators. These days, however, US politicians from across the spectrum piously condemn the Syrian regime for its crimes against humanity; two weeks ago, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a resolution condemning Assad for "gross human rights violations" and the use of "torture".

AhrahmOnline: US signals possibility of arming Syrian rebels
Russia Today: US to pump weapons into Syrian warzone?
Chicago Tribune: U.S. hints at possibility of arming Syrian rebels
[The US has been doing this for a long time already - the CIA has blood on its hands]
Jason Ditz: Clashes in Syria Focus on Rebel Supply Line to Turkey
Uruknet: Syria Protests February 21, 2012 : A Video Roundup

Stephen Lendman: Escalating Syrian Tensions- For nearly a year, externally generated violence wracked Syria. Dirty Western hands planned and implemented it. Rogue regional despots were enlisted for support. Replacing an independent regime with a pro-Western one and isolating Iran are planned. Russia and China thwarted two Security Council resolutions designed to facilitate intervention.

Patrick Martin: International tensions mount over Syria conflict - Unverified atrocity reports by US-backed opposition groups are being used to pave the way for imperialist military intervention, on the model of Libya—where the allegedly impending “bloodbath” in Benghazi became the pretext for the US-NATO bombing.

US-backed Bahraini troops have attacked hundreds of people mourning the death of an elderly man killed by the Al Khalifah regime forces over the weekend, Press TV reports.

The violence erupted in the eastern city of Sitra where people had come out to mourn the death of 85-year-old Mansour Salman who died after inhaling toxic tear gas in an anti-regime rally. The protesters who had taken out to the street also condemned the continuous crackdown on anti-regime demonstrators and called for the downfall of the regime. Similar incidents of violence have also been reported in the villages of Dair, Boory and several other locations across the country. Bahrain has been hit by a wave of anti-regime protests since February 2011. Dozens have been killed and hundreds wounded in the regime's brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators. Despite the ongoing crackdown, demonstrations have recently escalated in the kingdom.

Medea Benjamin: Police Chief Timoney, Meet Bahraini Mothers
Tighe Barry: Silence as Bahraini children are stabbed and gassed

Because here in New Zealand are a lot of people who could do with a little help from you too. Come to think of it dear Anonymous just wipe the global lot and let us all start afresh without the central banking system. Oh, and also could yo please wipe the surplus of the bank accounts of the 1% too. Thank you Anonymous!

Thailand’s Shia Leader Says MEK Behind Car Terrorism. - We’ve previously noted that there are real questions about who carried out the recent car bombs in India, Thailand and Georgia. We’ve also noted that both America and Israel support the terrorist group MEK, made up of Iranians trying to overthrow the Iranian government through terrorism and through forged documents. The Bangkok Post noted Sunday:

Four Iranians suspected of involvement in a botched bomb plot targeting Israeli diplomats in Bangkok were members of an exiled Iranian opposition group which wanted the incident to reflect badly on Teheran, Syedsulaiman Husaini, Shia leader of Thailand, said on Sunday. He claimed the f0our belonged to the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organisation (also known as MEK, MKO and the People’s Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran, or PMOI) which aims to overthrow the current Iranian government.

Iran is primarily a Shia nation, and so the Shia leader of Thailand may just be supporting the Iranian government. But given the fact that it makes no sense that Iran would attack its closest allies, it’s worth looking further, instead of rushing to war based upon incomplete evidence.

AWIP: Anti-Iran MKO behind Bangkok blasts: Thai cleric

Disclosures released today by the Obama campaign cite more prominent Jews among Obama’s top fundraisers. - Prominent additions in the latest quarterly report include American Council for World Jewry chair Jack Rosen and former chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Alan Solow. The Forward reported in December that Obama had lost no prominent Jewish fundraisers between 2008 and 2012. Today’s disclosure covers fundraising on behalf of the Obama campaign by individuals through the fourth quarter of 2011. Bundlers are grouped into broad categories by the amount they raised, with the highest grouping including those who have raised over half a million dollars. Rosen, who was not on the bundler list released following the third quarter of 2011, is now acknowledged to have raised over half a million dollars for the campaign. He hosted a fundraiser at his home for Obama in late November. Solow, who was also not on the previous list, is now listed as having raised between $200,000 and $500,000. Solow was among the hosts of a January Jewish community fundraiser at which Obama spoke, though funds raised at that event would not be covered in this report.

WikiLeaks: 445 days of banking blockade - no process
Assange: 442 days detainment - no charge
Manning: 639 days in jail - no trial

[Video] We are forced to put all our efforts into raising funds to ensure our economic survival. For almost a year we have been fighting an unlawful financial blockade. We cannot allow giant US finance companies to decide how the whole world votes with its pocket. Our battles are costly. We need your support to fight back. Please DONATE now.