Photo: KIGALI, RWANDA - APRIL 07: A woman consoles Bizimana Emmanuel, 22, during the 20th anniversary commemoration of the 1994 genocide at Amahoro Stadium April 7, 2014 in Kigali, Rwanda. Thousands of Rwandans and global leaders, past and present, joined together at the stadium to remember the country's 1994 genocide, when more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsi and moderate Hutus were slaughtered over a 100 day period. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Declassified U.S. documents show the Clinton administration refused to label the 1994 mass killings in Rwanda as a genocide. One State Department document read: "Be careful … Genocide finding could commit U.S.G. to actually 'do something.'" At a press briefing in 1994, Reuters correspondent Alan Elsner asked: "How many acts of genocide does it take to make genocide?" State Department spokesperson Christine Shelly responded, "Alan, that’s just not a question that I’m in a position to answer." Samantha Power, who is now the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, described the U.S. inaction in her 2001 article, "Bystanders to Genocide." She wrote, "The United States did much more than fail to send troops. It led a successful effort to remove most of the UN peacekeepers who were already in Rwanda. It aggressively worked to block the subsequent authorization of UN reinforcements." We speak to Emily Willard of the National Security Archive, and University of Wisconsin, Madison, Professor Scott Straus, author of "The Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War in Rwanda."

● Since Russian troops first entered the Crimean peninsula in early March, a series of media polling outlets have asked Americans how they want the U.S. to respond to the ongoing situation. Although two-thirds of Americans have reported following the situation at least “somewhat closely,” most Americans actually know very little about events on the ground — or even where the ground is. ● On March 28-31, 2014, we asked a national sample of 2,066 Americans (fielded via Survey Sampling International Inc. (SSI), what action they wanted the U.S. to take in Ukraine, but with a twist: In addition to measuring standard demographic characteristics and general foreign policy attitudes, we also asked our survey respondents to locate Ukraine on a map as part of a larger, ongoing project to study foreign policy knowledge. We wanted to see where Americans think Ukraine is and to learn if this knowledge (or lack thereof) is related to their foreign policy views. We found that only one out of six Americans can find Ukraine on a map, and that this lack of knowledge is related to preferences: The farther their guesses were from Ukraine’s actual location, the more they wanted the U.S. to intervene with military force.

People in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv have declared independence from Kiev following a same move by pro-Russians in Donetsk. ● Protesters announced on Monday the formation of the Independent People’s Republic of Kharkiv outside the regional administration building. They also held their own election of what they call national lawmakers. Moreover, the demonstrators clashed with pro-Ukraine groups in front of the building. Police tried to separate the two groups as they were throwing sticks and stones at each other. Some 50 percent of the region's inhabitants are ethnic Russians that believe Ukraine's acting authorities are nationalists who will repress Russians. Earlier in the day, people in the eastern city of Donetsk declared their independence and formation of the People’s Republic of Donetsk. They demanded a referendum on joining Russia to be held by May 11.

US sends warship to Black Sea amid tensions with RussiaUS issues fresh warning to Russia over Ukraine
Jason Ditz: Protesters Declare Republic of Donetsk in Eastern Ukraine
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Kopp Online: Moskau warnt Kiew vor dem Einsatz von Militär und Söldnern im Südosten der Ukraine
Johannes Stern: Pro-Russian protesters in eastern Ukraine demand Crimean-style referendum
Stephen Lendman: Eastern Ukrainian Resistance

Independent Science News has decided to reprint in full the March 7th testimony of Edward Snowden to the European Parliament. Snowden’s testimony is vitally important for every citizen in every country to understand, yet it has barely been covered by the commercial or (non-commercial) global media. At stake is the possibility of individuals and organizations (not just the media) to function as checks on executive power. It also demonstrates the ability of a secret agency to become an executive power, able even to control the spy services of foreign countries. Publication here will enable ISN readers to hear from Snowden himself about what he considers the scope and significance of ‘suspicionless surveillance’ and its implications for democratic rights and free-speech. What Snowden shows is that surveillance is both a breach of our personal rights but it also imperils our ability to collectively enforce all of our rights.

Syrian rebels allegedly have recently obtained high-powered anti-tank weaponry that they could only get abroad. Presumably, the missiles were supplied by the US with the support of the US administration and Pentagon. ● The story was originally reported by the Israeli website DEBKAfile, an independent a Mossad Internet resource that provides intelligence and security news services. DEBKAfile’s military sources said that in the last several days two militant groups, the Free Syrian Army and Syrian Revolutionary Front, received heavy anti-tank, optically-tracked, wire-guided rockets - BGM-71 TOW missiles. This type of weaponry can pierce 50mm thick tank armor and fortifications at a range of 4 kilometers. Both militias are considered to be moderate by the US. The Obama administration remains committed to assisting rebels in their fight against President Bashar Al-Assad that has lasted for three years. However, the United Stated always underlines that it does not support radical factions in Syria. The anti-tank weapons are shipped through Turkey and Saudi Arabia. To be specific, they are delivered through two routes: the town of Diyarbakir and Saudi King Faisal Air Base at Tabuk.

Jonathan Cook: Seymour Hersh unearths more lies on Syria
Patrick Martin: New exposé by Seymour Hersh: Turkey staged gas attack to provoke US war on Syria
Patrick Martin: Media blacks out Seymour Hersh exposé of US lies on Syrian gas attack

The media has been overwhelmed by talk of Crimea joining Russia, but all are ignoring the fact that the 'Five Eyes' intelligence alliance, principally the US, has annexed the whole world through their spying, said WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. ● Speaking at the WHD.global conference on Wednesday, Assange – who has been living under asylum in Ecuador's embassy in London since 2012 – pointed out that there is a need for independent internet infrastructure for countries to maintain sovereignty to resist US control over the majority of communications. The annual conference is dedicated to global surveillance and privacy matters. “To a degree this is a matter of national sovereignty. The news is all flush with talk about how Russia has annexed the Crimea, but the reality is, the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, principally the United States, have annexed the whole world as a result of annexing the computer systems and communications technology that is used to run the modern world,” Assange said.

French officials are pushing ahead with their attempts to suppress a website that reveals cases of police brutality, Press TV reports. Political analysts say the new French Prime Minister Manuel Valls is trying to silence whistleblowers who aim to disclose French police’s brutality. After the death of his brother by the police, Amal Bentounsi started the website, so that people can share their stories of police violence. The site is opposed by the strict code of silence among the police and politicians all the way up the political ladder. They contend that the site is guilty of defamation, as it alleges criminal wrongdoing that can only be proved in a court of law.

VICTIMES DE LA POLICE

Paul Craig Roberts ■ Another Fraudulent Jobs Report || The BLS payroll jobs report claims 57,000 jobs in “professional and business services.” Are these jobs for lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers, and managers? No. The combined new jobs for these middle class professional skills totaled 10,400. Employment services accounted for 42,000 of the jobs in “professional and business services” of which temporary help accounted for 28,500. “Education and health services” accounted for 34,000 jobs or which ambulatory and home health care services accounted for 28,000 of the jobs. The other old standby, waitresses and bartenders, accounted for 30,400 jobs. The number of Americans dependent on food stamps who cannot afford to go out to eat or to purchase a six-pack of beer has almost doubled, but the demand for restaurant meals and bar drinks keeps rising. There you have it. This is America’s “New Economy.” It the jobs exist at all, they consist of lowly paid, largely part-time employment that fails to produce enough income to prevent the food stamp rolls from doubling.

Michael Snyder ■ This Is What Employment In America Really Looks Like…The level of employment in the United States has been declining since the year 2000. There have been moments when things have appeared to have been getting better for a short period of time, and then the decline has resumed. Thanks to the offshoring of millions of jobs, the replacement of millions of workers with technology and the overall weakness of the U.S. economy, the percentage of Americans that are actually working is significantly lower than it was when this century began. And even though things have stabilized at a reduced level over the past few years, it is only a matter of time until the next major wave of the economic collapse strikes and the employment level goes even lower. And the truth is that more good jobs are being lost every single day in America. For example, as you will read about below, Warren Buffett is shutting down a Fruit of the Loom factory in Kentucky and moving it to Honduras just so that he can make a little bit more money. We see this kind of betrayal over and over again, and it is absolutely ripping the middle class of America to shreds.

John Watanabe ■ Writing in Diplomatic Courier last August, Joshua Archer of the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) admitted that “regional powers will view the new Aegis-equipped destroyers as a part of the US missile defense infrastructure as much as they will perceive them to be Japanese.” He added that “the Chinese government will view the expansion of Japan’s Aegis-equipped fleet as a countermeasure to its own missiles.” Archer’s comments highlight the fact that the US and Japan are hypocritically using the current North Korean missile launches—which were provoked by the US and of which Japan was politely informed beforehand—as a pretext to accelerate the re-militarisation of Japan, whose real target is not North Korea’s rudimentary missile program, but China and Russia. The US is actively encouraging an aggressive military posture by Japan as part of Washington’s “pivot to Asia,” a comprehensive effort aimed at militarily, diplomatically and economically isolating and undermining China.

James Cogan ■ US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel used his weekend visit to Japan, ahead of his first official visit to China which began yesterday, to threaten the Beijing regime over its territorial disputes with Tokyo and with the Philippines. Hagel’s visits are part of a broader diplomatic offensive by Washington and its allies to blaze the trail for Barack Obama’s tour of Asia, which starts on April 22 and will take him to Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia. The aim of the diplomacy is to underscore US determination to press ahead with its so-called “pivot” or “rebalance” to the region, which is focussed on undermining China’s influence and militarily encircling it. Hagel’s language toward China was menacing and provocative.

A woman became the subject of an investigation when she was observed shopping for indoor gardening supplies at a hydroponics store. Police and federal agents began staking out the woman’s home, sifting through her garbage, and monitoring her electricity usage. The investigation prompted gun-wielding agents to show up in her bedroom in the middle of the night. The subject of this investigation was Angela Kirking, a 46-year-old artist who does face-painting for children at local fairs. She enjoys indoor gardening and grows a hibiscus plant for her consumption. She shops for fertilizer and supplies at a local shop called Midwest Hydroganics.