Monthly Archives: September 2013

Saudi Arabian women call new day of defiance against driving ban

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“‘I will drive on October 26,’ activist Nasima al-Sada told AFP on Sunday, saying that some 20 women are going to take part in the campaign in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.  ‘Many women are enthusiastic about learning to drive, or to teach other’ women how to drive, she said, as many Saudi women have obtained abroad the driving licences they are denied in their homeland.  ‘There is not a single text in the Sharia Islamic law that prevents us (from driving). Any pretexts used to do that are based on inherited customs,’ said the online petition.  The last day of of defiance against the ban was on June 17, 2011.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/22/saudi-arabian-women-call-new-day-of-defiance-against-driving-ban/

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Investigation to record victims of US drone attacks in Pakistan

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“The objective, said TBIJ deputy editor Rachel Oldroyd, is to take these deaths out of obscurity and make it easier to test statements about the nature and use of drones. US authorities have been reluctant to acknowledge any civilian deaths caused by the drone operations, which have been going on since 2006. The CIA has claimed a high rate of killings of militants, saying that strikes since May 2010 have killed more than 600 militants but no civilians. This claim is contested by experts, journalists and researchers on the ground.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/22/journalists-website-breaks-silence-victims-drone

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Egyptian farmer arrested for naming donkey after top general

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“An Egyptian farmer has been arrested for putting the name of the country’s military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and an army cap on his donkey, state media said Saturday. Omar Abu al-Magd Ali al-Saghir, 31, was arrested late on Friday in the central province of Qena for allegedly insulting the general, state news agency MENA reported.  The farmer was arrested after he rode the donkey through his home village in an act deemed ‘directly insulting’ to the army, MENA said.  Sisi, who ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on July 3, is vice prime minister and defence minister as well as army chief.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/21/egyptian-farmer-arrested-for-naming-donkey-after-top-general/

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Thousands march in Edinburgh to support Scottish independence

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“Thousands of people marched through the Scottish capital Edinburgh on Saturday calling for independence, a year ahead of Scotland’s historic referendum on whether to break away from the United Kingdom.  The pro-independence campaign ‘Yes Scotland’ estimated that 20,000 supporters joined the march, turning the city centre into a sea of blue and white as they waved thousands of Scottish flags. Some of the men were clad in traditional Scottish kilts as they marched up Calton Hill, overlooking the city, to the sound of bagpipes.  The ‘no’ campaign — backed by British Prime Minister David Cameron’s government — claims Scotland is stronger as part of the larger United Kingdom.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/21/thousands-march-in-edinburgh-to-support-scottish-independence/

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With its leaders facing trial, Kenya quits International Criminal Court

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“Yesterday Kenya’s parliament voted to pull out of the ICC – the first African country to do so. That decision comes shortly before the ICC starts trials of Kenya’s president and vice president. So far both men have said they will appear at The Hague, but speculation has begun that the vote may be the first step toward cutting off cooperation.  President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice President William Ruto were indicted for mass violence and deaths after the 2007 elections. This summer ICC officials hinted that they might allow parts of Ruto’s trial to take place in Kenya or Tanzania. But today, less than 24 hours after Kenyan lawmakers in a raucous session voted to leave the ICC, the possibility was ended.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2013/0906/With-its-leaders-facing-trial-Kenya-quits-International-Criminal-Court

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Somali militants claim ‘blowback’ motivation for Nairobi mall attack

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“At least 39 people were killed when masked gunmen stormed an upscale Nairobi mall, Kenya’s president said on Saturday. Al Shabaab militants said the attack was retaliation for Kenya’s involvement fighting Islamists in neighbouring Somalia.  Masked gunmen killed 39 people when they stormed an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a televised address on Saturday, adding that he lost family members in the attack claimed by Somalia’s al Qaeda-inspired al Shabaab rebels.
The Islamist rebels said the massacre was in direct retaliation for Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia, where African Union troops are battling the Islamists.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/21/at-least-39-dead-in-nairobi-mall-attack-al-qaeda-linked-al-shabaab-somali-militants-claim-responsibility/

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Twelve years after 9/11, we still have no idea how to fight terrorism.

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“The seven studies include among them 86 findings about the effectiveness of counterterrorism programs, and those findings are startling. Lum, Kennedy and Sherley report that the average effect of the programs examined was negative. That is, the intervention was found to increase terrorist incidents rather than reduce them. The results varied by the type of intervention, but not in a way that should give us any comfort about our strategy.   It’s scandalous that we spend billions every year on counterterrorism but barely spend any effort on evaluating whether what we’re doing works.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/11/twelve-years-after-911-we-still-have-no-idea-how-to-fight-terrorism-2/

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You’re Much More Likely to Be Killed By Lightning than by a Terrorist

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“The U.S. Department of State reports that only 17 U.S. citizens were killed worldwide as a result of terrorism in 2011. That figure includes deaths in Afghanistan, Iraq and all other theaters of war. Wikipedia notes that obesity is a a contributing factor in 100,000–400,000 deaths in the United States per year. That makes obesity 5,882 to times 23,528 more likely to kill you than a terrorist. The annual number of deaths in the U.S. due to avoidable medical errors is as high as 100,000.  The CDC stated in 2011 that – in the majority of states – your prescription meds are more likely to kill you than any other source of injury. So your meds are thousands of times more likely to kill you than Al Qaeda.”

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/09/youre-68-times-more-likely-to-be-hit-and-killed-by-lightning-than-murdered-by-a-terrorist.html

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Just Say the Magic Word

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“When your government starts arbitrarily seizing skyscrapers, the time to start thinking about and devising an internationalization strategy was yesterday.  If you have not already started, I’d suggest that it is high time to get going. This goes double for libertarians and anyone else who could one day become the government’s next enemy du jour.  All the government has to do is say the magic T-word, and poof: your rights, your assets, and even your life can be taken from you in an instant, without due process, and the vast majority of people will approve of it.”

http://www.internationalman.com/78-global-perspectives/1008-just-say-the-magic-word

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Pawn Shops Boom as Consumer Retail Banking Retreats

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“The industry association estimates there were 10,000 pawnshops in early 2012, the latest figures available, compared with about 6,400 in 2007. That expansion is, in part, fed by the rising number of Americans whose tarnished credit effectively bars them from the mainstream financial system. The growth has attracted the attention of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a recently formed regulator that has been scrutinizing pawnshops, along with other nonbank lenders like payday loan operators. EZCorp, a publicly traded operator of pawnshops, reported that total loan balances swelled 22 percent to $44 million in its most recent quarter.”

http://www.volokh.com/2013/08/30/pawn-shops-boom-consumer-retail-banking-retreats/

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