Category Archives: World News

Canada to cut off Rejected Refugee Claimants off Welfare

From: Maurice Oduor

Welfare is an financial allowance given to Canadian residents who have no jobs or deemed to be unemployable i.e. people mentally sick, very old or with no job and looking. It really just pays rent and buys food and not much else.

Right now, anyone who arrives here and claims a refugee status qualifies for Welfare until such a time that he/she gets a job or is removed from Canada for a failed application. One can apply and be rejected but as long as the appeal process is still on, one still collects Welfare. The government wants to cut off Welfare for those who have been rejected even if they are still appealing. That’s a problem because such a person is no longer allowed to work. Such a person can easily turn to crime to make ends meet.

Let’s read the story:

– – – – – – – – – – –

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/harper-government-slammed-cutting-welfare-failed-refugee-claimants-211036877.html

Harper government slammed for cutting welfare to failed refugee claimants still in Canada

By Andy Radia | Canada Politics – 23 hours ago

A pro-refugee rally in June 2013The Harper government is being slammed, once again, for its treatment of Canada’s refugees.

The Toronto Star is reporting that Ottawa is actively lobbying provincial authorities to cut refugees off welfare “as soon as the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) issued an ‘enforceable removal order’ against them.”

According to the provincial Ministry of Community and Social Services, there were 1,390 social assistance recipients terminated in Ontario between April 2004 and March 2013 with “unsuccessful refugee claimant” as the primary reason. By comparison, 502 recipients were cut off for the same reason in the first eight months of this year.

On the surface, it makes sense. If you’re not legally allowed to be in Canada, you shouldn’t be entitled to taxpayer funded benefits — right?

But critics argue that some of these refugee claimants — who are refused benefits — are still in Canada in the middle of appeal or other administrative procedures (ie: humanitarian applications or requesting of travel documents) and deserve due process.

In other words, they say, social assistance should only be cut when all appeal processes are exhausted and the refugee is physically removed from the country.

“The problem is that often the story for failed refugees does not end at the point of refusal. There are appeals and other applications under the law that are available to them. Some times, these applications and appeals are successful in the end,” Toronto-based immigration attorney Michael Niren told Yahoo Canada News.

“So, imagine a case where a refugee claimant was initially refused but then won on appeal. Does that mean that during the appeal process, the refugee should not be entitled to benefits? That seems very inconsistent because such claimants get social assistant pending their claims in the first place.”

Over the past couple of years, the Harper government has been criticized for its hard-line on ‘un-invited’ refugees.

They’ve placed restrictions on claimants from countries unlikely to produce legitimate refugees and, last year, restricted claimants’ health benefits leaving some refugees with only ‘urgent health care’ and others with care only if they have a disease that would be a risk to the public.

The government justified the changes citing reports that some applicants — primarily from Hungary and Mexico — come to Canada solely for the purpose of “exploiting” social assistance and health benefits.

Then-Immigration minister Jason Kenney offered up some statistics, saying that between Jan. 17 and Dec. 31, 2011, a total of 8,819 Mexicans racked up nearly $7 million in health care costs under the Interim Federal Health Program. To add insult to injury, 5,068 refugee applications from Mexico were either rejected, withdrawn or abandoned in 2011.

But Niren, suggests that a lot of the government’s decisions on refugee policy has been based on populist politics rather than on a sense of fairness and due process.

“Once again, the government is seeing this strictly as an enforcement issue which is politically appealing to voters,” he said.

And you have to imagine that policies like this are appealing to the vast majority of Canadians.

According to the Star, social assistance to all refugee claimants in Ontario cost taxpayers about $232 million.

Nationally, in 2011, there were 16,122 rejected claims.

Paying welfare benefits to those 16,122 people, who are deemed to be “unsuccessful refugee claimants” is not going to be palatable for most taxpayers.

For some, it will be a case of due process be damned.

(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

USA: They’re only hearing from haters

From: “Nita and Shaunna, UltraViolet”

Right-wing groups are trying to block an amazing, pro-woman lawyer from becoming a judge on an important court. Tell the Senate: confirm Nina Pillard!
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fact.weareultraviolet.org%2Fgo%2F1239%3Ft%3D2%26akid%3D664.6000.xKN5zy&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHvSOqKn3liKUkmWRFs0wJ2XmoK2g

Dear Readers:

This week is our last chance to get a pro-woman, pro-choice judge confirmed to one of the most important and influential courts in the country.

President Obama nominated a superhero–Nina Pillard–to be a judge on the DC Circuit Court. No really, she truly is a superhero, with a history of fighting injustices against women–and winning. She argued before the Supreme Court nine times, including upholding the Family and Medical Leave Act and ending the Virginia Military Institute’s exclusion of women. She’s been a lawyer for the Justice Department, ACLU, and NAACP.1

But right-wing groups like the Family Research Council are raising a ruckus, trying to get the Senate to block Pillard’s nomination because they don’t like her positions on abortion and abstinence-only sex ed.2 If their voices are the only ones senators hear, Pillard might not become a judge.

Senator Harry Reid is expected to call for a vote on Pillard’s nomination as early as Tuesday and some moderate Republican senators are on the fence about how they’ll vote.3 We have to show our support right away if we want her to be confirmed. Will you sign the petition asking the Senate to confirm Nina Pillard and put a great judge on an important court bench?

Sign the petition.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fact.weareultraviolet.org%2Fgo%2F1238%3Ft%3D3%26akid%3D664.6000.xKN5zy&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGkZXebau8s-aWIzyIUCjjRNOgtvg

In the fight for women’s rights, judges have a HUGE influence. Most recently, 3 female judges appointed by George W. Bush reinstated Texas’s sweeping abortion ban that’s closing clinics across the state.4 Judges who are more concerned with pushing an ideological agenda than good law are hurting women.

But it’s not just Texans who have to worry. Another George W. Bush-appointed judge on the DC Circuit Court–the very court Pillard is nominated for–authored an opinion saying religious employers can ignore federal birth control coverage rules. The judge has also called the New Deal a “socialist revolution” and likened Social Security to intergenerational cannibalism.5

Pillard’s nomination won’t just bring balance to the DC Circuit Court, it’s also critical for the court to function. There are currently 3 vacancies on the court which only has 11 seats.6 The DC Circuit hears cases on federal regulations–everything from environmental rules to labor policy. That’s why the DC Circuit Court is considered second in power only to the Supreme Court. Four of the current nine Supreme Court justices served on the DC Circuit Court.7

We can’t let ultra-conservative voices like the Family Research Council be the only ones senators hear from about Nina Pillard. It’s critical that we get such an amazing pro-woman, pro-choice superhero appointed as a judge if we want women’s rights to keep progressing. Will you sign the petition asking the Senate to stop the filibuster and confirm Pillard?

Add your name.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fact.weareultraviolet.org%2Fgo%2F1238%3Ft%3D4%26akid%3D664.6000.xKN5zy&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEmST_wT5valu-70_g5K-9MuBk_Ug

Thanks for all you do.

–Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Malinda, Adam, and Gabriela, the UltraViolet team

Sources:

1. Nina Pillard Nomination for D.C. Circuit Advances, Legal Times, September 19, 2013

Cry of the Republican Male Senator, Slate, July 25, 2013

2. Scary Feminist Nominated for Federal Judgeship; Conservatives Flip Out, Jezebel, July 24, 2013

3. Can You Be Openly Pro-Choice And A Federal Judge? We’ll Find Out Next Week, Think Progress, November 7, 2013

4. BREAKING: Three Bush-Appointed Judges Reinstate Texas’ Anti-Abortion Law, Think Progress, October 31, 2013

5. What You Need To Know About The Severely Conservative Judge Who Just Ruled Against Birth Control, Think Progress, November 1, 2013

6. Republicans Push Back On Obama's D.C. Court Nominees, NPR, September 19, 2013

7. Ibid.

Want to support our work? UltraViolet is funded by members like you, and our tiny staff ensures small contributions go a long way.
visit here
https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fweareultraviolet.actionkit.com%2Fdonate%2Fdonate%3Fakid%3D664.6000.xKN5zy&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFcRr8pTn5NMjxNw-xY5U878hGz4Q

ICC judge tells Germany that UHURU and RUTO cases were a big mistake – BENSOUDA should end the cases pronto.

From: maina ndiritu

Saturday November 9, 2013 – One of the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges has told a Berlin conference that the ICC made a big mistake when they indicted President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy, William Ruto.

Speaking during a conference about Presidents on Trial and the straining relations between the ICC and the African Union on Wednesday, Judge Hans-Peter Kaul, the German judge who dissented at the pre-trial stage, expressed his dissenting voice because the crimes committed during the 2007-08 post election violence were grave crimes against the laws of Kenya, but they were not crimes against humanity.

“I was and I remain convinced that these trials are a mistake.” Judge Kaul said.

He said former ICC prosecutor, Moreno Ocampo had initially confessed that he made a few mistakes on the Kenyan cases but his successor Fatou Bensouda instead of rectifying them, she made a big mistake which has now threatened the existence of the Hague based court.

Judge Peter Kaul said President Uhuru’s trial has been deferred to February 5 2014 and Fatou Bensouda has time to reflect and drop the case or keep going.

He said the two Kenyans cases may build or destroy the credibility of the court.

The forum was attended by German Minister for Justice.


Why should we not all live in peace and harmony ? we look up the same stars , we are fellow passengers on the same planet and dwell beneath the same sky , what matters it along which road each individual endeavours to reach the ultimate truth ? the riddle of existence is too great that there should be only one road leading us to an answer *
*
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QUINTUS AURELIUS SYMMACHUS
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USA: This is heartbreaking

From: “Nita and Shaunna, UltraViolet”

Senator Lindsey Graham is introducing an extremely cruel and inhumane abortion ban bill in the Senate. Sign the petition telling the Senate: no more attacks on women, block Graham’s bill!

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fact.weareultraviolet.org%2Fgo%2F945%3Ft%3D2%26akid%3D659.6000.Py1mA6&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFvrFcQg8zjVVObwLv0JvvlehEcXA

Dear Readers:

Extreme conservatives in the Senate are about to introduce a sweeping ban on abortion. Here’s one family who’s already been hurt by this type of law:

Danielle and Robb Deaver were “over the moon” about Danielle’s pregnancy until her water broke at 22 weeks. They were heartbroken to learn their baby would not develop further or survive, but that heartbreak was compounded when doctors told them they couldn’t end their nightmare and induce labor because their state bans abortion after 20 weeks. Doctors had to wait for Danielle to get sick or for the baby to die before they could do anything. When baby Elizabeth was finally born, she survived for only 15 minutes.1

Senator Lindsey Graham is planning to introduce a national bill this week that criminalizes abortions after 20 weeks.2 When politicians introduce these inhumane bans on abortions, they are tying the hands of doctors who want to help couples like the Deavers. Less than 2% of abortions occur after 20 weeks, and many of them are for heartbreaking reasons that no one should ever have to face.3

Texas, North Dakota, and Arkansas have all passed 20-week abortion bans this year, and so has the House in Congress.4 If we don’t make a stand against Sen. Graham’s bill in the Senate, more states will be emboldened to pass these inhumane laws. We have to make sure that conservatives everywhere know we won’t stand for this.

Tell the Senate: You have no right to legislate our medical decisions. Enough with the attacks on women. Block Graham’s inhumane and extreme abortion ban bill.

Add your name to the petition.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fact.weareultraviolet.org%2Fgo%2F945%3Ft%3D3%26akid%3D659.6000.Py1mA6&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEp6-MnkQw0fnHQmacGvX5_9bVRpg

Extreme attempts to criminalize abortion after 20 weeks aren’t new. Multiple states have already passed such laws, including Texas most recently. But Sen. Graham’s bill is unconstitutional, and it directly contradicts Roe v. Wade. A federal appeals court threw out Arizona’s ban in May. Courts have also overturned similar laws in Idaho and Georgia.5

What’s worse are the heartbreaking stories of women who needed to abort their much-wanted pregnancies after 20 weeks. We received some of these stories during the battle in Texas from UltraViolet members. There was Kathy, a military wife with 3 college degrees and already a mother of 2 wonderful boys. At the 20-week ultrasound for her 3rd baby, the doctors found a severe case of spina bifida, “the worst they had ever seen.” She and her husband chose to terminate for the sake of their family. Kathy wrote that she still grieves but knows it was the right choice.

Doctors are also speaking out against these extreme bills. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has resoundingly opposed such legislation and told politicians to get out of their exam rooms.6

These extreme bills are not about women’s health or the lives of healthy babies. They are not about good and safe medicine. They are about extreme politicians who think they know better than women and our doctors about what’s right for our families. We need to make a national stand against this inhumane extremism.

Tell the Senate: stop your attacks on women and our families; stop Graham’s extreme abortion ban bill.

Sign the petition.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fact.weareultraviolet.org%2Fgo%2F945%3Ft%3D4%26akid%3D659.6000.Py1mA6&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFPpcEJMFxLkke5GeMj3gkhnPpnDA

Thanks for speaking out.

–Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Malinda, Adam, and Gabriela, the UltraViolet team

Sources:

1. Danielle and Robb's Story, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland YouTube, March 5, 2011

2. Lindsey Graham Will Put 20-Week Abortion Ban Before Senate: Report, Huffington Post, November 1, 2013

3. Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States, Guttmacher Institute, August 2011

Who Has an Abortion After 20 Weeks?, Slate, July 11, 2013

4. Restricts Abortion After Specific Gestational Age, Guttmacher Institute, October 1, 2013

5. House Republican Calls Nationwide Abortion Ban Vote ‘Staggering Stupidity’, Think Progress, June 13, 2013

6. Ob-Gyns Denounce Texas Abortion Legislation, The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, July 2, 2013

Want to support our work? UltraViolet is funded by members like you, and our tiny staff ensures small contributions go a long way.
visit here
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Chinese Embassy Requests its Citizens in Tanzania to Strictly Abide by Chinese and Tanzanian Laws on Ivory or Other Smugglings.

From: Abdalah Hamis

On November 3, 2013, The Guardian Newspaper reported that Dar es Salaam City police arrested 3 Chinese citizens in the city, and confiscated large amount of tusks on the spot.

The Embassy of People’s Republic of China in the United Republic of Tanzania felt shocked at this report that 3 Chinese citizens suspected of smuggling ivory were arrested by the police and is now in contact with the Tanzania side on this issue. The Chinese government has always attached great importance to the protection of wildlife, promulgated a series of laws and regulations, and set up a National Inter-Agency CITES Enforcement Collaboration Group (NICECG) mechanism.

Chinese State Forestry Administration has set up a special armed anti-poaching team. China leads the world on severe punishment in cases of wild animal protection violation including ivory smuggling and its products. It has also actively participated in international law enforcement cooperation to crack down criminal activities on smuggling and trade of ivory and its products. In February this year, the Chinese government carried out successfully Operation COBRA, a cross-continent joint special operation to combat illegal wildlife trade together with 22 countries in Asia and Africa.

H.E. LU Youqing, Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, and the Chinese Embassy strongly condemn criminal acts of killing elephants and smuggling ivory, firmly support the Tanzania government action to fight ivory smuggling by law, and are willing to actively provide help. The Chinese government and police are ready to work together with their Tanzania counterparts to crack down on criminals according to law.

Majority Chinese citizens are able to abide by local laws in Tanzania and take part in legitimate businesses. China’s national image has been severely undermined by illegal or bad behavior of quite few Chinese. Chinese Embassy in Tanzania will, as always, require all Chinese in Tanzania, and those coming to Tanzania either for tourism or on business, to strictly abide by local laws and regulations, never involve themselves in illegal activities like the ivory smuggling, make joint efforts to safeguard the good image of Chinese in Tanzania and promote the China-Tanzania friendship and cooperation.

Canadian Government uses Public Polling to set some Policies

From: Maurice Oduor

Some government policies made with help of public polling. Good or bad idea?

POLL

Should bike helmets be mandatory across Canada?
http://ca.yahoo.com/_ylt=Ar_ws0GRBQPog23eQ7xNansy17V_/RV=1/RE=1384840740/RH=Y2EueWFob28uY29t/RO=2/RU=aHR0cDovL2NhLm5ld3MueWFob28uY29tL2Jsb2dzL3B1bHNlb2ZjYW5hZGEvYmlrZS1oZWxtZXRzLW1hbmRhdG9yeS1hY3Jvc3MtY2FuYWRhLTE1MjI0MTI3Ny5odG1s/RS=%5EADAyEyRcc8lEpriP6A.n6srdilT52E-

Yes, it’s a matter of safety

63%

No, it’s an adult’s choice
37%

Thank you for voting.

36,329 votes

Canadian Pediatric Society wants mandatory helmets for cyclists »
http://ca.yahoo.com/_ylt=AkoTT7R.uZoCUCSk6HThbmIy17V_/RV=1/RE=1384840740/RH=Y2EueWFob28uY29t/RO=2/RU=aHR0cDovL2NhLm5ld3MueWFob28uY29tL2Jsb2dzL3B1bHNlb2ZjYW5hZGEvYmlrZS1oZWxtZXRzLW1hbmRhdG9yeS1hY3Jvc3MtY2FuYWRhLTE1MjI0MTI3Ny5odG1s/RS=%5EADAyEyRcc8lEpriP6A.n6srdilT52E-

All Eyes on ! 5th International African Festival Tubingen 2014,Germany, !Open Call For Artists and Exhibitors

From: African Community in Germany

Open Call For Artists and Exhibitors

Wilkammen – Welcome – Bienvenu – Karibu – Hosgeidn – bienvenido –

5th International Africa Festival
17 – 20 July 2014 – Festplatz Tubingen – Germany

www.afrikafestival.net – Hotline +4915210610374

Tübingen will once again host the International Africa festival 2014. The 5th Edition will bring you the best in African diversity, culture, music from the continent and beyond. Save this date now, and join us in Tübingen for world-class performances, unbeatable atmosphere, meet and make new friends. We welcome you to the African Village in Tübingen – 4days non-stop, spice up your life and be amongst the thousands of people that will celebrate the 5th anniversay of Tübingen Africa Festival. Stay online for more details www.afrikafestival.net

Call for Artist 2014

Are you interested in performing next year at the 5th International African Festival in Tübingen – Stuttgart – South of Germany?

Are you a band on tour, looking for festivals to promote and sell your CDS?

Are you interested in supporting the aims and objectives of our festival with a free concerts?

Are you musicians or a band that support the spirit of freedom, love and non descrimination?

Our festival is open to all nationalities, denominations, age groups, poor and rich , simple and uncomplicated! We believe that no amount of money can compensate freedom, love and peace.

Applications are now open to all bands, artist, traders, interested to perform at the 5th Edition of International Africa Festival Tübingen- Stuttgart, south of Germany. Our festival features live as well as soundsystem music, traditional dance and music groups, acrobatic shows, theater, comedy and more.

Note that we receive lots of applications every year and not all applications shall be considered. All artists have to complete and send recordings to reach us before 15 May 2014. Selected acts will be informed per mail.

Call for Sponsors & Donors

Daily solidarity entry fee for the 5th International African festival is 2Euros. To help keep it this way we rely on support from donors and sponsors. We have ingenious ways your organisation can be seen as part of the Festival’s success. If you are interested in sponsoring the festival Email: kontakt@afrikafestival.net

Call for festival / Eventsmanagement Internship

The International African Festival Tübingen is founded and developed on the principles of being a family oriented event where the surrounding communities could gather for socializing, entertainment, education and friendly competitions. These principles have continued to play an integral role in the festival’s purpose throughout the past three years. Without the dedication of the founders, board members, staff, exhibitors, sympathizers, activist and patrons, it won’t be where it is now.

A Festival with exciting opportunities for experiences, network and fun

If you´re seeking for an outstanding internship within diversed departments, so as to broaden your know-how and

build experience in the domain of Festival / Eventmanagement with a focus on sub -Saharan Africa in the following areas…

• Social Media Marketing

• Sponsorships

• Commercial Vendor Accounting

• Entertainment Attraction Marketing

• Client Services

• Advertising

then contact us.

The ideal candidate will enjoy working on a variety of tasks and should bring along an exhibit of work ethics, be detail-oriented, display a professional demeanor, and have the ability to multi-task when needed. The Festival/Event Management interns will have a measurable impact on the success of the 5th International African Festival Tübingen 2014.

Interested applicants should submit cover letter, resume and availability to kontakt@afrikafestival.net, we’ll keep you informed about the procedure.

Call for Volunteers 2014

The International African festival depends on a large team of talented and dedicated volunteers who take part in all aspects of the Festival. Volunteer opportunities range from working with the Festival’s operations team to ushering, administration, and special events. We invite you to lend your time and talents and be a part of the incredible experience of the Festival.

Email: kontakt@afrikafestival.net

Sincerely yours
Susan Tatah – Founder & CEO
Tel: +49 152-106-10374

WHY POPE FRANCIS MAY BE NIGHTMARE TO CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICS

from: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2013

Nancy from Bahati, Nakuru, Kenya writes: “Fr Beste I like your homily on Zacchaeus tax collectors who repented to Jesus and returned back the money he stole from the people. Since we lose a lot of money like this through revenues, how does Kenya make its annual budget?

Fr I used to like your homilies with mwalimu Rurinja from Njoro on Radio Citizen every Sunday. I don’t hear you nowadays what happened, though I still hear mwalimu. You really know how to connect your homilies with current events”.

Willie from Nairobi writes: “Omolo Beste I read on your Facebook timeline that Pope Francis may make a woman cardinal how can this happen when women have been viewed negatively by the Catholic Church?”

This second question of Nancy has been asked by many people who used to tune to my homilies every Sunday evening on radio Citizen with mwalimu Simon Rurinja from Njoro. I used to give homilies when I was still in Nairobi working with People for Peace in Africa in conjunction with Blessed John Paul II evangelizing parish team. Since then I have been reassigned new responsibilities outside Nairobi.

Nancy it is very unfortunate that every financial year Kenya makes it budget on deficit due to massive corruption which is systematically tearing Kenyan economy apart. Currently the Government intends to raise more revenue to plug the budget deficit, estimated to be Sh356 billion.

And because cost of Kenya’s debt has increased by 14 percent due to corruption, domestic borrowing has doubled in the revised 2012/13 Budget to Sh164.9 billion from the previous financial year’s level of Sh83.4 billion. It means that much of Kenyan money is used to pay debts and borrowing at the same time.

Corruption is not only on Kenya revenues, it is in all sectors including transport where untrained and untested drivers who prefer to buy road licences rather than take a driving test have led to deadly accidents on our roads daily.

The majority of drivers on our roads hardly attended any driving school. For Sh7, 000 you can buy a driver’s licence from Times Tower brokers and be on the road the same day.

As Pope Francis also mentioned it in his Angelus message to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square, despite the oddity of Zaccheus’ action, it serves as a model for sinners who may feel far away from Jesus. Kenya can only improve economically if corruption is curbed completely.

Zaccheus was “despised” by the people of Jericho because of his occupation as a tax collector, and yet after he climbs a tree to see Jesus, the Lord “calls him by name and he is converted.

Willie you are absolutely right that is why Pope Francis may be a nightmare to conservative Catholics. Already an Irish feminist is causing a stir in the Catholic world as rumours are rife the married 49-year-old could be set to join the world’s ‘most exclusive’ club of cardinals.

Linda Hogan is being tipped as a contender to become the Vatican’s first female cardinal, a title which has never been held by a woman in history of the Catholic Church according to historians.

A former Brazilian priest, Juan Arias, was the man who first put forward the prospect of an imminent appointment of a female cardinal, when he wrote the idea was ‘not a joke’, in the Spanish newspaper El Pais in September.

He quoted an unnamed priest as saying: ‘Knowing this Pope, he wouldn’t hesitate before appointing a woman cardinal. ‘And he would indeed enjoy being the first Pope to allow women to participate in the selection of a new pontiff’.

Pope Francis is expected to name at least 14 new cardinals ahead of his first consistory – a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals – in February. The conclave currently consists of 100 elderly males, criticised in recent years for their mismanagement of child abuse scandals.

Hogan, who was a founding member of the International Association for Catholic Social Thought, is one of nine potential female cardinals listed by friend James Keenan, professor of theology at the Jesuit Boston College, on his Facebook page.

Along with Professor Hogan, two candidates are from Brazil, three are African, one is Australian, another German and the ninth is from the Philippines.

Pope Francis met with experts on women’s issue in Rome, affirming that the Church must continue to work for a more profound understanding of women and their roles. Conservative Catholics have struggled with all this, especially when he washed the feet of women on Holy Thursday.

Two young women were among 12 people whose feet Pope Francis washed and kissed at a traditional ceremony in a Rome youth prison, the first time a pontiff has included females in the rite.

The move has come under fire from Catholic traditionalists who say that the rite is a re-enactment of Jesus washing the feet of the 12 apostles before his death, and thus should be limited only to men. Traditionally, popes have washed the feet of 12 priests.Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.comFacebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

Kenya: Who pays the hefty costs for Uhuru and Ruto’s ICC cases?

From: Joseph Nyaringo

By Joseph Lister Nyaringo

Atlanta, Georgia

For any questionable expenditure malpractices in the government, we have a right as Kenyan citizens and tax payers to voice our concerns because in the long run, if we fail, it will affect the larger spectrum of our country’s economic growth.

Therefore, knowing the way the government spends our taxes is not a preserve for those in government but a responsibility for every citizen.

For purposes of fiscal accountability and effective management of our taxes by the government, those tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that all is well in the exchequer need to conduct an audit to divulge how the costs incurred on the ongoing ICC case of the deputy President William Ruto, and the shuttle diplomacy for deferral are paid off.

Kenyans need to know who incurred the costs for the recent delegation to the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, whose purpose was not the good of Kenya but to rally the AU for the deferral of the cases facing President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy at The Hague.

Secondly, the current delegation in New York which encompasses our national diplomats and several others from other African nations supporting Kenya for the deferral like Rwanda and Ethiopia is a costly affair. We need to know if Uhuru and Ruto are meeting these expenses and not Kenyan tax payers.

Besides, its note worthy that our two leaders are engaging the most expensive lawyers in the world in their cases. Kenyans will want to know who is meeting the hefty legal fees since not many people can afford to hire Stephen Kay, who is also the Queen’s Counsel and the combative Karim Khan for Uhuru and Ruto respectively.

Lastly, the travel and accommodation expenses for MPs who have been accompanying the Deputy President to the Netherlands, is now in a tune of millions. We also need to know who is footing the heavy bill since we all know that, life in Europe is extremely expensive which is often characterized by their strong currency- the Euro.

I’m not trying to imply that our two leaders cannot afford the said expenses but as a nation moving towards high levels of transparency and accountability in the way we conduct our national affairs, it’s better for the tax payers to know who is responsible for the high costs related to the current predicaments facing the President and his deputy.

Uhuru and Ruto are among the few billionaires we have in Kenya, but if they get a loophole to use our taxes for their cases, they may not touch their wallets. This is solid reality if the hustler’s jet scandal which cost Kenya taxpayers a whooping 25 million shillings for Ruto, is something to go by.

Since the ICC is a personal problem to the President and his deputy as they told the nation during the campaigns, wananchi don’t need to pay a penny for the delegation currently in New York and the recent one in Ethiopia. We therefore can’t pay for their personal cases when we are paying for their salaries and heavy benefits.

As taxpayers, we risk losing billions before the end of the ICC cases thus, the need not to assume that all is well, when a stitch in time saves nine.

Finally, as a concerned Kenyan, I evoke the Parliamentary Budget and Appropriations Committee, the Public Accounts Committee and the Auditor General to tell the nation the truth on the above. May they effectively monitor government spending lest we end up crying.

This is not an accusation and I do not have any evidence to conclude that our leaders have used state resources in their ICC cases.

USA: Hillary running….away from Obama

From: Judy Miriga

Good People,

I dont think Hillary did any good to Foreign Diplomacy more specifically to Africa. During Bill Clinton and Bush Administration, there was seen the worse growing situation of Pirating, mushrooming of Militia Groups, Foreign Currency Laundering and trafficking, Drug and child prostitution trafficking, Serious irregular Proliferation of Arm, Forced evictions for Land Grabbing, massacres, atrocities and genocide in Africa………and the same was seen evidently gaining momentum during Hilary Clinton’s time in office. Show-Cases are seen in the Liberia-Taylor’s genocide massacre and the Video of “Butt-Naked” explains it all the pain of human destruction ………the same with M23 and Al-Shabaab networking rooting in East Africa and doing the unthinkables with Kagame and Museveni who are friends of family and home of Clinton’s Foundations.

It is sad that the Clintons have said and done nothing to-date about M23 and Congo massacre.

Since John Kerry took over, atleast, the Milita groups from Somalia and M23 from Rwanda but holed up in Congo Land is close to be decimated and wiped out completely, and Al-Shabaab are on their heels. Results of John Kerry’s work with that of Hillary Clinton in comparisons sees that, atleast the work of John Kerry is bearing fruits. It is also sad that, the Clintons did not make any effort to recognize or honor the struggle of Mama Winnie Mandela to bring change and have her husband Nelson Mandela to be released from Jail and save South Africa from Apartheid rule.

This woman, Winnie Mandela is the face and pride of struggle to free Africans from oppression and extinct. If other people who have done the unthinkable have been left scott free like Kagame and Museveni genocide with atrocities of their people with pains and sufferings of Congo People, why marginalize and segregate Winnie Mandela who fought and struggled to free Nelson Mandela and the freedom which the whole of South Africa Africans now enjoy? What is so discriminative about the gains of her struggle for Africa’s justice………???

I dont understand why Hillary is now on heat and is in a hurry to take position back in Obama Administration to replace Joe Biden.

In my wildest dreams, President Obama is better off with less troubles having Joe Biden than with Hillary Clinton and it is because, I don’t think Hillary likes Obama. Her running away from Obama was noticeable way back, long before she was still in the office and it is the reason why, since leaving the White House, she has been tied to the lingering controversy over Benghazi which she was not able to provide satisfying report. She should let Obama finish his term at peace with dignity to save the disadvantaged of America people and put America on the pillar to save the world from destroying each other.

Quote:

Less than a year removed from her old job, Hillary Clinton’s popularity has fallen from its once-lofty heights, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll out this week. In that recent poll, 46 percent of adults expressed a favorable opinion of Clinton, while 33 percent viewed her unfavorably. All told, that means Clinton’s net favorability had fallen an astounding 18 points since the start of the year.

America is the pinnacle power of the world where Africa is the central value for wealth supply resource which the world urgently need for its Technology transfer and innovation and which is the reason for the scramble for Land in the Emerging World Markets……..but organization to regulate the same resource supply is essentially fundamental; where security, peace and unity for common good of all is guaranteed so all people have opportunity to survive and provide for their livelihood in a shared dignified manner.

We all want good life and it is essential and basic to appreciate each other in existence and to be fair sharing in love the gifts of God and in the exchange of our engagement in diversity…..”Give and Take” under mutual respect and honor……..This is because, Unity in Harmony shall be guaranteed for all our happiness ………

It Can Be Done People…..!!!

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com/

– – – – – – – – – –

The Cannibal Warlords of Liberia (Full Length Documentary)

Published on Jun 13, 2012
VICE travels to West Africa to rummage through the messy remains of a country ravaged by 14 years of civil war. Despite the United Nation’s eventual intervention, most of Liberia’s young people continue to live in abject poverty, surrounded by filth, drug addiction, and teenage prostitution. The former child soldiers who were forced into war have been left to fend for themselves, the murderous warlords who once led them in cannibalistic rampages have taken up as so-called community leaders, and new militias are lying in wait for the opportunity to reclaim their country from a government they rightly mistrust.
Replace Biden with Hillary Clinton? No way, White House says

By Olivier Knox, Yahoo News November 1, 2013 3:25 PM

[image
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) stands with President Barack Obama as he announces Jeh Johnson to be …]

Did President Barack Obama’s top re-election campaign officials consider replacing Vice President Joe Biden with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? Not seriously, the White House insisted on Friday.

“What I can tell you without a doubt is that the president never considered that, and had anyone brought that idea to him he would have laughed it out of the room,” press secretary Jay Carney told reporters.

The Clinton-for-Biden swap talk is one of the more eye-popping claims in the campaign-centered “Double Down: Game Change 2012.” The book contends that senior strategists for the president’s re-election campaign conducted extensive focus-group tests and polling on the matter in late 2011 when it seemed the president risked losing his bid for a second term.

“Campaigns, and pollsters as part of campaigns, test a lot of things,” Carney insisted. “I mean, they poll and focus-group on what you have for breakfast.”

Carney, a former spokesman for the vice president, said Biden “has been an asset to this president in two campaigns and throughout five years of this administration.”

“Whether it was handling the implementation of the Recovery Act, handling the very sensitive and important portfolio of Iraq in the first term or his key role in working with Congress on some very important negotiations, Joe Biden has been an excellent partner, in the president’s view,” Carney said.

The Obama team also leaned on Biden as a key political surrogate. During both the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, Biden was often deployed to swing states to speak to white working-class voters who were less receptive to Obama himself.

“And then as a candidate, I think if you look at the role he played in 2012 and you look at the job he did in his debate, I think there is little doubt that he was an enormous asset to the entire cause and enterprise,” Carney added. “If you look back at 2012 and you look at that moment in the campaign when the vice president had his debate, it was a key moment. And Joe Biden delivered of the ticket. I think there’s no question about that.”

And then, perhaps because the White House doesn’t want to be seen as playing favorites ahead of the 2016 presidential race, Carney lavishly praised Clinton.

“You all know that he believes that Hillary Clinton did a magnificent job as secretary of state. He believes he made the right choice in running mate. He made the right choice in secretary of state,” the spokesman said.

So did Biden know about the focus groups and the polling?

“I’m not aware that he was aware of it,” Carney said.

================================
Hillary running….away from Obama
Published: Friday, 1 Nov 2013 | 1:41 PM ET
By: Ben White | POLITICO’s Chief Economic Correspondent and CNBC Contributor

[image Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Hillary Clinton speaks at the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative in New York.
]

President Barack Obama’s approval rating hit a new low this week as fallout from the disastrous health care rollout mounted.

The plummeting job rating could limit the president’s ability to get much done the last three years of his term. But it has even bigger ramifications for the most prominent Democrat who hopes to succeed him in 2016: Hillary Clinton.

Clinton is clearly aware of this problem and taking early steps to run not as Obama’s successor but as his antidote, a pragmatic, business friendly moderate who will ease the constant partisan strife in Washington and focus all her energy on creating jobs and growing the economy.

The signs of her early efforts to move away from Obama are subtle but unmistakable. As Philip Rucker noted in The Washington Post this week, Clinton’s recent speeches, along with those of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, tend to roast everyone in Washington for creating a climate corrosive to economic expansion.

Both Clintons train most of their rhetorical fire on Republicans. But their message extends to the entirety of the Washington power structure, which tacitly includes Obama.

“We are careening from crisis to crisis instead of having a plan, bringing people to that plan, focusing on common-sense solutions and being relentless in driving toward them,” Hillary Clinton said at the Center for American Progress last week in a speech that could easily have come from a corporate CEO.

The movement away from Obama is also clear in Clinton’s relationship with financial industry leaders in New York.

Obama still turns up in Manhattan for fundraising events he detests. But Wall Street long ago gave up on the idea of having any real relationship with or influence on the president, who spent a good bit of time ripping financial executives as “fat cats” standing in the way of reform. Obama has also shown more interest in what elite opinion columnists have to say than he has in listening to corporate executives.

Day 1 of Obamacare: Only 6 enrollments

CNBC’s Eamon Javers reports the low Obamacare enrollment numbers due to CMS failures.

Clinton, for her part, gave not one but two speeches at Goldman Sachs events in the last two weeks. She was well-paid for her time but showing up at all suggests she will not run away from the financial sector, or corporate America more broadly, in 2016.

Talk to anyone on Wall Street—even Republicans who strongly supported Mitt Romney—and there is a palpable hunger for the kind of message Clinton is now delivering.

And she obviously drew lessons from her own disastrous attempts at health-care reform in 1993 and 1994 and has jettisoned her more progressive instincts for a cooler pragmatic approach.

There is certainly a chance that Obama is only suffering a temporary decline following weeks of bad headlines on Syria, NSA leaks and now the health care problems, which include the incontrovertible fact that the president said people could keep their plans and now millions cannot.

The president has the benefit that Republicans are currently held in even lower regard than he is following the government shutdown and debt ceiling crisis. And there is a long time between now and when the Democratic primary process begins in late 2015.

But the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed an intense public disregard for everyone in Washington, and there is little to suggest things will improve much in the next couple years assuming divided government continues after the 2014 midterm elections.

So Hillary Clinton may wind up moving away from Obama in 2016 and doing what Al Gore refused to do in 2000: run for Bill Clinton’s third term.

—By Ben White, POLITICO’s chief economic correspondent and a CNBC contributor. White also authors the daily tip sheet POLITICO Morning Money [politico.com/morningmoney]
===============================

Hillary hired alleged fly-by-night firm for Benghazi consulate security

November 2, 2013
The U.S. Department of State’s former Secretary Hillary Clinton hired an inexperienced and virtually unknown foreign company to protect the U.S. mission in Benghazi with a force of nearly 50,000 guards, according to documents obtained by an “Inside the Beltway” public interest organization and released on Friday.

According to Judicial Watch, a group that investigates and exposes government corruption, the cost for the security firm’s services cost U.S. taxpayers only $794,264.

Several U.S. media outlets have reported an estimated amount of between $783,000 and $783,284 based on “miscellaneous” federal contract data, but the exact figure had not been disclosed until Judicial Watch revealed the true cost.

In fact, the Benghazi security deal was not listed as part of the large master State Department contract that covers protection for overseas embassies, according to Reuters.

“What surprises me is the fact that the contract was out-sourced to a foreign company without a peep from the media, but then again it’s not that surprising since the news business is so corrupt when it comes to aiding and abetting Obama’s cover-ups,” said former police lieutenant Anthony Borellino, who is now an operations director for a security firm in the U.S.

Judicial Watch obtained these latest files as part of an ongoing investigation into the Benghazi terrorist attack and subsequent cover-up by the Obama administration. On September 11, 2012 Islamic jihadists raided the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, the first diplomat to be killed overseas in decades, and three other Americans were murdered in the violent incident.

According to an Examiner news story, during the long-anticipated testimony by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Banghazi, Libya, Senate Democrats repeatedly referred to a report that blames the FBI, CIA and other intelligence agencies — but not the White House — for the misinformation allegedly contained in talking points that explained the details of the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate diplomatic in Benghazi, Libya.

“The Obama administration has worked hard to keep details of the attack—and the negligence that led to it—from the American public, but JW has gone to court and filed a number of public records requests to expose the truth. JW has also published two in-depth special reports on Benghazi, the last one on the first anniversary of the terrorist attack,” said Judicial Watch analysts in their report.

These latest documents obtained by Judicial Watch includes the actual security services contract between the Obama State Department and the untested, but cut-rate, British firm, Blue Mountain Group. The deal was for only one year and the contract called for specific requirements such as security officers performing foot patrols, package inspections, contingency and mobilization planning.

The total consulate security force consisted of 45,880, with an additional 1,376 guards for “emergency services,” according to the contract. The contract also included payment for one security vehicle and 12 radio networks.

The security officers were responsible for protecting U.S. government personnel, facilities and equipment from damage or loss, the contract states.

“The local guard force shall prevent unauthorized access; protect life; maintain order; deter criminal attacks against employees; dependents and property terrorist acts against all U.S. assets and prevent damage to government property,” stated the U.S.-Blue Mountain agreement.

“Clearly the firm failed miserably to fulfill its contractual obligation,” stated Judicial Watch staff.

Why would the Obama administration hire this obscure and unproven British firm to protect American interests in a dangerous North African country long known to be infested with terrorists? British government sources cited in a national news story revealed that even they were unfamiliar with Blue Mountain and in fact the British government uses a different—certainly more competent—security company to provide protection at their own diplomatic mission in Libya.

It’s not like the State Department wasn’t aware of the eminent dangers in Benghazi. In fact, a scathing report recently issued by an independent panel of security and intelligence experts discloses that the State Department has long known that weak security at American embassies and consulates worldwide could result in a tragedy like Benghazi yet senior officials did nothing to correct security deficiencies.

“Benghazi was simply the latest in a long string of security failures that date back more than a decade,” according to Judicial Watch.

“What I find hard to believe is the news media’s love affair with this female ’empty suit.’ What has Hillary Clinton done in her career that warrants serious consideration for the presidency? Can someone please give the American people just one real achievement — not long-winded speeches — something substantial that Mrs. Clinton did during her years as a senator and secretary of state?” asks political consultant Michael Baker.

Hillary Clinton Excited To Call Clinton Foundation ‘My Home’

By KEN THOMAS 06/13/13 11:43 PM ET EDT

CHICAGO — As she considers another White House bid, Hillary Rodham Clinton intends to work in the nonprofit world on issues like improving early childhood education, promoting the rights of women and girls, and finding ways to improve the economy – a set of priorities that could inform a 2016 presidential campaign.

The former secretary of state offered her most extensive description of her post-Obama administration agenda on Thursday since leaving her role as the nation’s top diplomat, basking in loud applause from admirers at a Clinton Global Initiative meeting in Chicago. The former first lady, a longtime advocate for women and children, said the foundation would serve as “my home” on a set of public policy initiatives close to her heart.

“What I think we have to be about is working together, overcoming the lines that divide us, this partisan, cultural, geographic (divide). Building on what we know works, we can take on any challenge we confront,” Clinton said. Reflecting the entire family’s involvement, the foundation has been renamed the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation.

Clinton’s speech at the start of a two-day annual conference touched on themes that could be part of a future Democratic presidential campaign, with the former New York senator stressing the need for private and public partnerships to tackle issues like economic and educational inequality. She said climate change, “financial contagion” and nuclear proliferation were “too complex and cross-cutting” for any one government to solve alone.

“This can’t just be a conversation about Washington. We all need to do our part,” she said.

As secretary of state, Clinton avoided delving too deeply into domestic policy but signaled a desire to become re-engaged in pocketbook issues important to Americans. Pointing to efforts by a teachers’ union and others to improve conditions in rural West Virginia, she said economic inequality was “not limited to one county in West Virginia. There are too many places in our own country where community institutions are crumbling, social and public health indicators are cratering and jobs are coming apart and communities face the consequences.”

Clinton has emphasized similar issues in the past. In her 1996 book “It Takes a Village,” she discussed the importance of collaboration between families and community groups to help children thrive. As a presidential candidate, she was popular with many blue-collar workers whose wages had remained stagnant even as the economy flourished for many Americans.

As secretary of state under President Barack Obama, she promoted a number of initiatives to improve the standing of women and girls in developing nations. She said that work would continue at the foundation, both here and abroad.

Clinton capped off the day by offering criticism of the so-called sequester, telling supporters of a nonprofit organization that funds epilepsy research that the forced spending cuts would lead to $1.7 billion in reductions to the National Institutes of Health budget, meaning fewer researcher grants and jobs for scientists. She urged “citizen action” to raise awareness about the effects of the cuts but did not direct the criticism at Obama or congressional Republicans.

Democrats said Clinton had supported many of these social and political issues in the past and cautioned not to read too much into her priorities. “I’d imagine she’ll work on them till the day she retires, if she ever does retire. Whether she’ll try to do this work from 1600 Pennsylvania, who knows?” said Jill Alper, a Michigan-based Democratic strategist.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, a longtime friend of the Clintons, said at the conference that he was sure she would “figure out what she wants to do in the future and we all look forward to hearing about it.”

Clinton noted that as secretary of state she visited 112 nations – “I’m still jet-lagged,” she joked – and had learned several lessons during her travels. Regardless of someone’s circumstances or homeland, “what people wanted was a good job,” she said. Her time abroad taught her that the United States’ greatest advantage was its “freedom, equality and opportunity,” and said she learned that the U.S. could overcome any challenges and divisions.

She did not address recent criticism from Republicans over her handling of the deadly attack on Americans in Benghazi, Libya, last September. She did not address a recent report that said misconduct complaints against American diplomats were improperly halted by senior State Department officials while she was at the State Department. The State Department’s internal watchdog has asked outside law enforcement experts to review the cases.

Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, said he was glad that she was joining him at the foundation. He credited her for teaching him about the work of nongovernmental organizations, pointing to the early years of her career at the Children’s Defense Fund.

The conference included sessions led by the former president; the couple’s daughter, Chelsea; Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and actress Eva Longoria. New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie, a potential 2016 White House contender, was joining the former president on stage Friday for a session titled “Cooperation and Collaboration: A Conversation on Leadership,” a nod to Christie’s embrace of a bipartisan mantle as he seeks re-election in his Democratic-leaning home state this year.

For the former first lady, who grew up in suburban Chicago, the speech served as one of her most public forays since departing the administration. She has delivered a number of private speeches around the country and is writing a book about her time at the State Department but offered little indication on whether she’ll run for president again. She remains the heavy favorite within the party to succeed Obama, and Republicans have begun dissecting her record.

It also brought supporters of both the Clintons and the Obama teams together in the president’s hometown, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, longtime Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and Lew, who served as Obama’s chief of staff and also served in the Clinton White House.

Mrs. Clinton was honored Thursday night at a dinner on Chicago’s Navy Pier sponsored by a nonprofit organization founded by former Obama senior adviser David Axelrod and his wife, Susan, and other parents to promote research into epilepsy.

As first lady, Clinton helped organize a White House conference on epilepsy in 1999. She urged the audience, which included many of Obama’s top donors, to continue to push hard to find a cure to the disease.

Foreigners gave millions to Clinton foundation

Donor list heavy with international business leaders and billionaires
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28295539/ns/politics/t/foreigners-gave-millions-clinton-foundation/

updated 12/18/2008 3:44:09 PM ET2008-12-18T20:44:09

WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton’s foundation has raised at least $46 million from Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments that his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton may end up negotiating with as the next secretary of state.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gave $10 million to $25 million to the William J. Clinton Foundation, a nonprofit created by the former president to finance his library in Little Rock, Ark., and charitable efforts to reduce poverty and treat AIDS. Other foreign government givers include Norway, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Italy and Jamaica. The Dutch national lottery gave $5 million to $10 million.

The Blackwater Training Center donated $10,001 to $25,000. The State Department — to be led by Hillary Clinton if she is confirmed — will have to decide next year whether to renew Blackwater Worldwide’s contract to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. Five Blackwater guards have been indicted by a U.S. grand jury on manslaughter and weapons charges stemming from a September 2007 firefight in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square in which 17 Iraqis died.

The foundation disclosed the names of its 205,000 donors on a Web site Thursday, ending a decade of resistance to identifying the sources of its money. While the list is heavy with international business leaders and billionaires, some 12,000 donors gave $10 or less.

Clinton agreed to release the information after concerns emerged that his extensive international fundraising and business deals could conflict with America’s interests if his wife became Obama’s top diplomat. The foundation has insisted for years that it was under no legal obligation to identify its contributors, contending that many expected confidentiality when they donated.

The list also underscores ties between the Clintons and India, a connection that could complicate diplomatic perceptions of whether Hillary Clinton can be a neutral broker between India and neighbor Pakistan in a region where President-elect Barack Obama will face an early test of his foreign policy leadership.

Video: Vetting Bill Clinton The former president did not release specific totals for each donor, providing only ranges of giving. Nor did he identify individual contributors’ occupations or countries of residence.

Donors gave Clinton’s foundation at least $492 million from its inception in 1997 through last year, according to the most recent figures available.

After negotiations with Obama’s transition team, Clinton promised to reveal the contributors, submit future foundation activities and paid speeches to an ethics review, step away from the day-to-day operation of his annual charitable conference and inform the State Department about new sources of income and speeches.

Representatives of the foundation, including CEO Bruce Lindsay and attorney Cheryl Mills, and aides to Hillary Clinton met privately Wednesday with staff of incoming Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry of Massachusetts and ranking Republican Dick Lugar of Indiana to discuss the foundation’s activities and review a memorandum of understanding drawn up by the Clinton and Obama teams.

Video: Vetting the Clintons The Foreign Relations Committee will hold hearings and vote on Hillary Clinton’s nomination before sending it to the full Senate. Shortly after Obama tapped Clinton, Lugar said he would support her, though he said there would still be “legitimate questions” raised about the former president’s extensive international involvement.

Other political news of note

Getty Images
Gingrich: ‘Hope’ key to progress for GOP
Updated 12 minutes ago 8/14/2013 9:35:58 PM +00:00

Newt Gingrich has a message for Republicans: Stop being so negative, and start talking about ideas – including alternatives to President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

“I don’t know how, given all of our ethics standards now, anyone quite measures up to this — who has such cosmic ties,” Lugar said.

Some of the donors have extensive ties to Indian interests that could prove troubling to Pakistan. Tensions between the two nuclear nations are high since last month’s deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Amar Singh, a donor in the $1 million to $5 million category, is an Indian politician who played host to Bill Clinton on a visit to India in 2005 and met Hillary Clinton in New York in September to discuss an India-U.S. civil nuclear agreement.

Also in that giving category was Suzlon Energy Ltd. of Amsterdam, a leading supplier of wind turbines. Its chairman is Tulsi R. Tanti, one of India’s wealthiest executives. Tanti announced plans at Clinton’s Global Initiative meeting earlier this year for a $5 billion project to develop environmentally friendly power generation in India and China.

Two other Indian interests gave between $500,000 and $1 million each:

The Confederation of Indian Industry, an industrial trade association.

Dave Katragadda, an Indian capital manager with holdings in media and entertainment, technology, health care and financial services.

Other foreign governments also contributed heavily to the foundation.

AUSAID, the Australian government’s overseas aid program, and COPRESIDA-Secretariado Tecnico, a Dominican Republic government agency formed to fight AIDS, each gave $10 million to $25 million.

Norway gave $5 million to $10 million.
Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei and Oman gave $1 million to $5 million each.

The government of Jamaica and Italy’s Ministry for Environment and Territory gave $50,000 to $100,000 each.

The biggest donations — more than $25 million each — came from two donors.

They are the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, a London-based philanthropic organization founded by hedge fund manager Chris Hohn and his wife Jamie Cooper-Hohn and dedicated to helping children, primarily in Africa and India; and UNITAID, an international drug purchase organization formed by Brazil, France, Chile, Norway and Britain to help provide care for HIV-AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis patients in countries with high disease rates.

The foundation’s donor list is heavy with overseas business interests.

Audi businessman Nasser Al-Rashid gave $1 million to $5 million.

Friends of Saudi Arabia and the Dubai Foundation each gave $1 million to $5 million, as did the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office.

The Swedish Postcode Lottery gave $500,000 to $1 million.

China Overseas Real Estate Development and the U.S. Islamic World Conference gave $250,000 to $500,000 apiece.

The No. 4 person on the Forbes billionaire list, Lakshmi Mittal, the chief executive of international steel company ArcelorMittal, gave $1 million to $5 million. Mittal is a member of the Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan, Goldman Sachs’ board of directors and the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, according to the biography on his corporate Web site.

Among other $1 million to $5 million donors:

Video: What about Bill? Harold Snyder, director for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the largest drug company in Israel. His son, Jay T. Snyder, serves on the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, which oversees State Department activities, and served as a senior U.S. adviser to the United Nations, where he worked on international trade and poverty. Jay Snyder donated between $100,000 and $250,000 to the foundation.

No. 97 on the Forbes billionaire list, Ethiopian-Saudi business tycoon Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi.

Issam Fares, a former deputy prime minister of Lebanon.

Mala Gaonkar Haarman, a partner and managing director at the private investment partnership Lone Pine Capital.

Lukas Lundin, chairman of oil, gas and mining businesses including Tanganyika Oil Company Ltd., an international oil and gas exploration and production company with interests in Syria, and Vostok Nafta Investment Ltd., an investment company that focuses on Russia and other former Soviet republics.

Victor Pinchuk, son-in-law of the former president of Ukraine. Clinton spoke in 2007 at an annual meeting of Yalta European Strategy, a group Pinchuk founded to promote Ukraine joining the European Union.

Video: Bill Clinton bounces back The top ranks of Clinton’s donor list are heavy with longtime Democratic givers, including some who are notable for their staunch support of Israel.

TV producer Haim Saban and his family foundation, who donated between $5 million and $10 million, splits his time between homes in Israel and California. “I’m a one-issue guy and my issue is Israel,” he told The New York Times in 2004.

Slim-Fast diet foods tycoon S. Daniel Abraham, a donor of between $1 million and $5 million, has been a board member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which promotes Israel’s interests before the U.S. government.

The American Jewish Committee and the United Nations Foundation donated $100,000 to $250,000.

Clinton thanked his donors in a statement for being “steadfast partners in our work to impact the lives of so many around the world in measurable and meaningful ways.”

According to the memorandum negotiated by the foundation and top Obama advisers, Bill Clinton agreed to publish the names of all past and future contributors to his foundation during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.

Video: Clintons smooth way to Obama Cabinet The former president also agreed to step away from direct involvement in the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual charitable conference where businesses and many foreign governments pledge donations to help ameliorate AIDS, poverty and other social ills. He will continue serving as CGI’s founding chairman but will not solicit money or sponsorships. The CGI will cease accepting foreign contributions and will not host events outside the United States.

Clinton started raising money for his library before leaving the White House. Over the years, the Clintons repeatedly refused to identify all the foundation donors, and continued to do so during Hillary Clinton’s 2007-08 presidential campaign.

Names surfaced nonetheless. Several news organizations unearthed foreign-government donors, and in 2001, Bill Clinton turned over a list of 150 top foundation donors to a House committee investigating his pardon of fugitive businessman Marc Rich, whose ex-wife, Denise Rich, gave the library foundation at least $450,000.

USA: Don’t let JPMorgan stick taxpayers with a $4.5 billion tab

From: James Dubick

Dear MoveOn member,

I’m James Dubick of the organization U.S. PIRG, and I started a petition to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, which says:

As you negotiate what is likely to be the largest bank settlement for wrongdoing in U.S. history, please don’t let JPMorgan deduct the settlement from their taxes. If they are allowed to do so, it could stick American taxpayers with a $4.5 billion tab.
Sign James Dubick’s petition

JPMorgan is currently negotiatng a $13 billion settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) for mortgage lending abuses they allegedly committed during the housing crisis. However, taxpayers could end up underwriting more than $4.5 billion of that settlement.

That’s because JPMorgan is likely to claim the settlement as a tax deduction. Even though settlements like these are thought of as punishment for corporate wrongdoing, companies claim their settlement costs as tax write-offs all the time. They treat them as just another business expense.

We can’t let that happen. The financial crisis caused by banks’ irresponsible practices landed us in a recession that we’re still struggling to recover from. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay any more for JPMorgan’s bad actions.

Tell the Department of Justice not to let JPMorgan take the settlement as a tax write-off.
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=294569&id=77088-21095459-3Oq4cbx&t=2

The Department of Justice has the power to include a provision in JPMorgan’s settlement that prohibits them from taking the settlement as a tax write-off. We just need to convince the DOJ to do the right thing. They’ve done it before, including with one of BP’s settlements for the Gulf oil spill.

The DOJ will be negotiating the final settlement deal with JPMorgan over the next few days, so we must move quickly to make sure the public doesn’t get stuck footing a $4.5 billion tab.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=294569&id=77088-21095459-3Oq4cbx&t=3

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ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM WON’T STOP RIGGING IN KENYA

from: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2013

This is credible. I have never received many e-mails and Facebook like-as I have received following my dispatch of yesterday entitled: “Our turn to eat that exclude other tribes in Uhuru’s eating camp”. This demonstrates how Kenyans are fed up of democracy based on numbers and tribal favour.

Alex from Awasi, Kisumu County was very practical. He writes: “Father I am a Kalenjin and I do agree with you that after 10 years Uhuru’s people will not allow Ruto to succeed him, just like what late John Michuki said that Kenyans don’t need new constitution because what they wanted was to remove Moi so that the presidency goes back to the house of Mumbi.

My question Father is why did Ruto accept to be used when he would have known the trick best? And Father do- you think if constitution is amended so that we follow American voting system of college vote it will stop rigging in Kenya? Otherwise I indeed like your blog because it an eye opener to blind Kenyans”.

Alex William Ruto knows about these tricks very well than you do. The only reason he settled on Uhuru Kenyatta is not because they have a confluence of vision for Kenya but because of ICC paranoia.

The term paranoia is a thought process heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself.

So this paranoia is an important move by Uhuru and Ruto in confronting ICC charges. They use Kenyans as their shield to protect and defend themselves from charges. This exactly what is happening now, they want Kenyans and African Union to defer the case.

Alex even if constitution is amended for president to be declared a winner, not by numbers but popular vote just like what they do in America those who want to stick to power will always find their ways in how to rig themselves in.

In the United States, a system called the Electoral College periodically allows a candidate who receives fewer popular votes to win an election. Electoral votes are based on congressional representation — the sum of senators and representatives. The total is 538, and 270 votes are needed to be elected.

Should there be an electoral vote tie (such as 269-to-269) or no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes (such as 268-267-3), then the U.S. House of Representatives must go into session immediately to select the President.

The U.S. Constitution limits the House to selecting from the top three Presidential candidates. A candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes (26) to become the President-elect.

If no candidate for Vice President receives an absolute majority of electoral votes, then the Senate must elect a Vice President. The U.S. Constitution limits the Senate to selecting from the top two Vice Presidential candidates. At least two-thirds of the Senate must be present for balloting to take place.

That system cannot work here in Kenya where the IEBC Servers and the IEBC vote tallying computer system disc-space are completely made to malfunction and collapse failing to respond in correct downtime.

Like in March 4 presidential elections foreign players particularly the West, were accused of crashing the IEBC computer system by deploying the virus through the VPN infrastructure by Safaricom from abroad.

The number of rejected votes when the IEBC was using the electronic tallying system was nearly 300,000 at the 5million total votes cast mark, a very significant number that makes a case in the total vote cast.

When IEBC took up the manual tallying system the total number of rejected votes was 39000 at the 4.6million total votes cast mark, this is a disturbing significant decline in the electronic figures compared to the manual figures.

Deployment of viruses from secure computers to network servers was reported by Strategic Intelligence where Western spy agents deployed Red-October to mine vital data from government computer systems and data bases.

Viruses/computer bugs are used to mine and manipulate data from computer networks, servers, and computer memory facilities including data-centers, hence can mine crucial data including emails, conversations, and files.

The Petition filed at the Supreme Court of Kenya by Raila Odinga’s lawyers gives a glimpse of how rigging the presidential vote was executed. It alleges that TNA and IEBC outsourced ICT services from Kencall EPZ Limited- specifically web hosting for transmission of vote results from polling centres to their respective national tallying centres at Gatanga road and Bomas of Kenya.Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.comFacebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

Germany, France united in anger over U.S. spying accusations

From: Abdalah Hamis

German and French accusations that the United States has run spying operations in their countries, including possibly bugging Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone, are likely to dominate a meeting of EU leaders starting on Thursday.

The two-day Brussels summit, called to tackle a range of social and economic issues, will now be overshadowed by debate on how to respond to the alleged espionage by Washington against two of its closest European Union allies.

For Germany the issue is particularly sensitive. Not only does the government say it has evidence the chancellor’s personal phone was monitored, but the very idea of bugging dredges up memories of eavesdropping by the Stasi secret police in the former East Germany, where Merkel grew up.

Following leaks by data analyst Edward Snowden, which revealed the reach of the U.S. National Security Agency’s vast data-monitoring programs, Washington finds itself at odds with a host of important allies, from Brazil to Saudi Arabia.

In an unusually strongly worded statement on Wednesday evening, Merkel’s spokesman said the chancellor had spoken to President Barack Obama to seek clarity on the spying charges.

“She made clear that she views such practices, if proven true, as completely unacceptable and condemns them unequivocally,” the statement read.

White House spokesman Jan Carney said Obama had assured Merkel that the United States “is not monitoring and will not monitor” the chancellor’s communications, leaving open the possibility that it had happened in the past.

A White House official declined to say whether Merkel’s phone had previously been bugged. “I’m not in a position to comment publicly on every specific alleged intelligence activity,” the official said.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has summoned the U.S. ambassador to Berlin to discuss the issue.

Germany’s frustration follows outrage in France since Le Monde newspaper reported the NSA had collected tens of thousands of French phone records between December 2012 and January 2013.

President Francois Hollande has made clear he plans to put the spying issue on the summit agenda, although it is not clear what that will ultimately achieve.

While Berlin and Paris are likely to find sympathy among many of the EU’s 28 member states, domestic security issues are not a competence of the European Union. The best that may be hoped for is an expression of support from leaders and calls for a full explanation from the United States.

“Between friends, there must be trust. It has been shaken. We expect answers from Americans quickly,” European commissioner for financial regulation Michel Barnier, a Frenchman, said in a message on Twitter.

DATA PRIVACY RULES

The furor over the alleged espionage could encourage member states to back tougher data privacy rules currently being drafted by the European Union. The European Parliament this week approved an amended package of legislation that would overhaul EU data protection rules that date from 1995.

The new rules would restrict how data collected in Europe by firms such as Google and Facebook is shared with non-EU countries, introduce the right of EU citizens to request that their digital traces be erased, and impose fines of 100 million euros ($138 million) or more on rule breakers.

The United States is concerned that the regulations, if they enter into law, will raise the cost of doing business and handling data in Europe. Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and others have lobbied hard against the proposals.

Given the spying accusations, France and Germany – the two most influential countries in EU policy – may succeed in getting member states to push ahead on negotiations with the parliament to complete the data regulations and make them tougher.

That could mean an agreement is reached early next year, with the laws possibly coming into force in 2015. For the United States, this could substantially change how data privacy rules are implemented globally.

It may also complicate relations between the United States and the EU over an agreement to share a large amount of data collected via Swift, the international system used for transferring money electronically, which is based in Europe.

Among the revelations from Snowden’s leaks is that the United States may have violated the Swift agreement, accessing more data than it was allowed to.

The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to suspended Swift and the spying accusations may make EU member states support a firm line, complicating the United States’ ability to collect data it says is critical in combating terrorism.

Despite the outrage in Paris and Berlin, the former head of France’s secret services said the issue was being blown out of proportion and no one should be surprised by U.S. spying.

“I’m bewildered by such worrying naivite. You’d think the politicians don’t read the reports they’re sent – there shouldn’t be any surprise,” Bernard Squarcini told Le Figaro.

“The agencies know perfectly well that every country, even when they cooperate on anti-terrorism, spies on its allies. The Americans spy on us on the commercial and industrial level like we spy on them, because it’s in the national interest to defend our businesses. No one is fooled.”

(Writing by Luke Baker; additional reporting by Madeline Chambers and Noah Barkin in Berlin and Alexandria Sage in Paris; editing by David Stamp)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/24/us-eu-summit-idUSBRE99N0BJ20131024

OBAMA differs with RAILA – UHURU/ RUTO were democratically elected on – US will support ICC deferral.

From: maina ndiritu

Thursday October 24, 2013 – US President, Barrack Obama, on Wednesday differed with his “cousin”, Raila Odinga, by saying President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto were democratically elected during the March 4th elections.

Through statement dispatched by US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Linda Greenfield, on Wednesday, Obama said he is aware of Uhuru and Ruto’s case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) saying his government will support the deferral of the cases to allow the two leaders perform their constitutional duties to Kenyans.

“We are aware of the Kenyans’ concerns over the ICC issue and we are in talks with the Kenyan Government,” Greenfield said.

Greenfield said though the US wants justice for victims of the 2007-08 post election violence, Uhuru was voted in democratically in the March 4th general election presenting a rare scenario where a serving President was a suspect in a ICC trial.

The secretary said terrorists usually take advantage when there is a power vacuum and such a situation would not be allowed to befall on Kenya.

Obama’s statement is in total reversal of the hardline stance taken by former US Assistant Secretary of State, Johnnie Carson, who cautioned that the election of Uhuru and William Ruto on March 4th would bear “consequences”.

The US Head of State also differed with Raila Odinga who has been running all over the world saying Uhuru and Ruto were not democratically elected.


Why should we not all live in peace and harmony ? we look up the same stars , we are fellow passengers on the same planet and dwell beneath the same sky , what matters it along which road each individual endeavours to reach the ultimate truth ? the riddle of existence is too great that there should be only one road leading us to an answer *
*
*
QUINTUS AURELIUS SYMMACHUS
*


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IMPERIALISM AND ICC DEBATE THAT NEVER WAS

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

President Kenyatta used Mashujaa Day celebrations in Nairobi to hit out strongly at Western nations over the International Criminal Court indictments with his deputy, Mr William Ruto delivering a similar message at a gathering with Kenyans in Brussels, Belgium, where Kenyans in Europe met to mark the national holiday.

Mr Kenyatta called on Kenyans to reject all forms of domination and manipulation by foreign forces. If Uhuru was very serious then he should be the first to reject imperialist judge who represents him at The Hague.

It means that we cannot trust our own that is why his deputy Ruto has also opted for imperialist judge. That is why even in football we cannot trust our own coach but imperialist. Imperialists still have a big role to play in Kenya.

This is not to forget that even after independence Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was still the champion of western imperialism. It is his leadership that deflated the Mau Mau vision of ‘land and freedom’ when upon taking over power he changed, and like imperialists he grabbed the land.

That is why since 1963 Kenya has remained a neo-colony. Kenyan economy, from the agricultural, industrial to the service sectors, is more than seventy percent controlled by foreign capital. You cannot determine the price of your own Tea, Coffee name them, unless it is done by imperialist.

That is why peasant farmers in Migori and Meru, still grow tobacco that is owned by BAT and peasant tea and coffee farmers in Murang’a, Kisii, Meru or Mogogosiek produce tea for export with less than ten percent being sold at factory gates. We produce for Europe and consume from Europe and now China.

Our cases are to be heard by imperialists because of impunity which has in fact fuelled deep inequalities in Kenya. Inequalities, impunity and institutional capture of the state is what produces resentment and intolerance that is at the heart of the many conflicts and hate that is rife in Kenya today. It is the cause of tribalism and nepotism, so the abuse of power.

Even civil society in Kenya like the one I worked for the last 13 years cannot do without imperialists. Without their money you cannot walk on the street or carry pigs to the parliament buildings.

Should they stop their money FIDA will close its door the following day, so do other organizations which solely depend on imperialists for their movements and salaries. In other words, if Kenya was truly independent then it is first to pull out from NGOs as agents of imperialism.

Surprisingly, imperialism did not cause as much violence in Kenya as it is today. Kenya still has a lot of poverty as a result. When Westgate terror attack demolished this false sense of security in the country, imperialists had to come in.

It explains why the terrorists who lay siege on Westgate took advantage of the fact that the Kenyan state has been captured by liars, thieves, murderers, money launderers and druglords.

But even to pull out from Rome Statue Kenya is still to rely on imperialists. That is why the President dispatched Cabinet secretaries Amina Mohamed (Foreign Affairs), Najib Balala (Mining) and Fred Matiang’i (Information) to the Czech Republic, China and Russia respectively to lobby members of the UN Security Council who have veto powers to consider Kenya’s cases positively and defer his case.

The three Cabinet secretaries were sent on the diplomatic mission a few days after a special AU Summit in Ethiopia called on the UN Security Council to defer Mr Kenyatta’s trial.

Although the Council is expected to sit before his case opens on November 12, they have already hinted that this is not going to be possible because criminality does not favour anyone, whether you are the present or not.

It is again why Uhuru is in dilemma whether to attend the ICC cases even after the AU leaders have categorically asked him not to attend the case if the Council would not have given a position on the Kenya trials before November 12.

Yet still, after independence corruption is till rampant in Kenya. There is still bad governance, lack of political will, tribalism, faviouritism, nepotism and cronyism, weak or absence of management systems.

Misuse of discretionary power vested I individuals or offices, lack of professional integrity, lack of transparency and accountability, inefficient public sector and greed- Poor infrastructure, and increased cost of goods and services.

Shoddy work and stalled projects, poor medial services (e.g. lack of medicine and doctors), beds, running water, food- Unemployment, rise in crime rate and insecurity, delay denial and sale of justice in our public land, property and utilities.

Yet again, Kenya’s old guard associated with the culture of impunity continues to resist fundamental change in Kenya. This has hindered the efforts of reform. This is because most of the political and economic elite compose the vested interests that benefit from and support impunity and the lack of accountability with respect to governance, state resources, and the rule of law.

Against the background that bringing about implementation of the reform agenda poses a large challenge because doing so threatens the culture of impunity and the entrenched political class that has existed in Kenya since independence.

Those associated with the culture of impunity are working hard to limit the impact of steps taken so that they do not lead to truly fundamental reform that would threaten vested interests.

It will not be correct therefore to blame the colonial government that they stole the Kenyan people’s land, starved them and then blamed them for not feeding their children properly. Instead we should blame ourselves.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002

Looking to Draft a Constitution? Now You Can Google It

From: Yona Maro

The inspiration behind the recent launch of Constitute, a new application for lawmakers and those aspiring to draft their first constitution, are cases like Egypt, fresh from a revolution and still grappling with political unrest. It is a platform created by the Comparative Constitutions Project in partnership with Google Ideas and is a tool to “read, search and compare” constitutions from over 170 countries.

“Most people who are drafting constitutions have never done so before and hope to never have to do it again,” the project’s co-director, Tom Ginsburg, told Foreign Policy. “We seek to empower both potential constitutional drafters and their citizens, so as to better inform the choices they will have to make to establish and preserve lasting national constitutions. With Google’s help, we’ve been able to do just that.”

The website allows users to filter for constitutions by country and the 300+ topics, as well as utilize a search function that shows suggested topics while searching.

For example, a search for “abortion” turns up only two countries that have written it into their constitutions. The 2012 Somalian constitution only says that abortion “is contrary to Shari’ah and is prohibited except in cases of necessity, especially to save the life of the mother.” Swaziland’s 2005 constitution has a conflicted notion of abortion, decreeing it “unlawful but may be allowed.”

Link:
http://techpresident.com/news/wegov/24440/looking-draft-constitution-now-you-can-google-it

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The Global Slavery Index 2013

From: Yona Maro

This is the first edition of the Global Slavery Index. It is the first Index of its kind – providing an estimate, country by country, of the number of people living in modern slavery today.

Each year, Walk Free’s Global Slavery Index will produce the most detailed global picture of the numbers of enslaved people available. The Index will also identify factors that shed light on the risk of modern slavery in each country and examine the strength of government responses in tackling this issue.

Explore findings from the 2013 Report by navigating the interactive map. Browse regional and country-level research and statistics examining the risks of modern slavery, current levels of government response and a set of recommendations that can effectively tackle modern slavery.

Link:
http://d3mj66ag90b5fy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/GlobalSlaveryIndex_2013_Download_WEB1.pdf

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Kenya: Pursuing ICC Cases At The Hague Is Now Counter-Productive

From: Samuel Omwenga

In my Star column this weekend Pursuing ICC Cases At The Hague Is Counter-Productive, I continue to make the case why the ICC cases should be terminated or at least brought back home.

Excerpt

This is precisely where we are, namely, given the fast unraveling of the cases against the original Ocampo Six, given the unlikelihood of conviction for either Uhuru or Ruto going by the crumbling of these cases, given the prospect for finding a local solution, and especially given the need to maintain our dignity and stature as a sovereign state, it’s in the best interests for our country to either terminate or defer these cases to find a local solution.

Contrast with a scenario where the President ceases cooperating with the ICC and even has our country withdraw from the Rome Statute and we are made a pariah state as a consequence.

Those clamouring for this outcome hope it would be the undoing of the Uhuru presidency but they are mistaken.

Were Kenya to become a pariah state, it is not the President or his administration that would mostly suffer the consequences but ordinary Kenyans as well as foreign interests in the country neither of whom wish or would want to suffer such.

It’s for this reason it makes sense to either terminate these cases or defer them to allow a local solution for doing otherwise would in all likelihood result in far graver consequences for all.

Peace, Unity and Truth

Omwenga



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Conservative groups target U.S. Republicans who voted to end shutdown

From: Judy Miriga

People of the World,

The world is facing an extreme deadly poisonous Poverty situation in the near future……and it is not only possible, but engineered. Global extreme poverty is engineered starting from the Western Countries and is now headed to Africa. Health news in Germany shows massive resistance to genetically engineered (GE) foods both amongst politicians and the general public who got united against it which caused chemical giant BASF to close its Germans biotech division. Chemical companies are into big business without caring for the future of human life. European opponents of GE foods are jubilant to eradicate GMO organic of gene cross breed transfer. This explains why BASF Drug Company is moving its genetically modified (GM) plant science headquarters from Germany to Raleigh in North Carolina for example.

I am a very worried person, a very worried person in deed about livelihood and survival of Human existence on earth in the next coming few years. If I connect the dots and begin to think hard what I have gone through in recent experience where I was faced with serious circumstance of negativity to save an awkward situation six years ago, when I led a big demonstration to White House to protest on a deadly election stolen in Kenya 2007/8; I now can attest that, I see very clear the picture of that negative forces that pushed against all positive efforts I engaged to save Kenya against the mission forces that wanted Kenya to burn. I look back and critically dicected possible actors of the reason why, and I concluded that, there was a theorized conspiracy going on that politicians did not want it known to public or openly discussed for fear it could backfire adversly and no one wanted it to be heard loudly but undercurrent forces were in big deals and without Gods intervention, that short-changed and finally caused it to fail, it would be a different story in Kenya today.

The very people who ganged against me from pushing the election gone bad in 2007/8, fought very hard and they were led by none other than Prof. Anyang Nyongo teamed with Joe Nyangah and Raila’s advisor Salim Lone who made a good number of trips to USA beginning February of 2008. They met with Russ Feingold with whom they discussed and negotiated and the mission has now turned that GMO has still remain the unfinished business that demanded peoples humongous chunk of land for their Agri-business in Africa.

It was not going to come easy, but people were to be forcefully evicted from their homes and a conspiracy had to be hatched. That people must be vacated from their land in ways and means to pave way for large Drug Companies to illegally and unconstitutionally occupy public land. Although President Bush was able to act immediately who sent State Secretary Condoleezza Rice to go and negotiate for a truce to bring peace in Kenya, Russ Feingold quietly continued to meet privately with Prof. Nyongos group who knew what exactly was cooking in Kenya, and wanted to keep it that way; which is why, Russ Feingold totally and adamantly refused to meet with me even after I sent several requests through Senator Ben Cardin who was initially on chair for Foreign Affairs at the time before it was quickly handed over to Russ Feingold to handle Kenyan situation.I had a rough time but God was faithful and even though it was an upheld struggle, I ended up triumph against all odds that prevailed. I must also accept that, the good result come from my persistence engagement and pestering that brought and delivered good news to Kenya and where, Kofi Annan headrf an eminent team, loaded logistics that succeeded in bringing calm and establishment of peace with the formation of Coalition Government Reform Change that brought with it the New Constitutional order for Kenya.

It is clear now that Russ Feingold was truely after special interest take-over of Kenya and the deal was sealed that, bringing me to the picture was going to spoil for their plan. Shortly afterwards, Museveni who was the instigator, who initiated the ambush to wipe out the Luos from existence in the Luo Nyanza of the Great Lakes of East Africa, was rewarded with the illegal occupation of Migingo in a colourful ceremony where Museveni was adorned with Luo traditional costumes distinction of a King and was given a Luo cultural honorary stool for an elder as a gift.

What fashioned my thinking in this sequence to realize that Railas behavior iss like that of a chameleon changing color many times in a spar of moment is that, immediately after Kibaki announced from State House that he was the President, Instead of Raila going to negotiate with his 5 Pentagon members to find solution, he saw an opportunity to sneak and dash with his son to meet with Kibaki privately at Kibakis house to do monetory dealings leaving out Pentagon Members behind in the cold not knowing what to do in the circumstances. It is not the first time Raila sneaked to such negotiations for purposes of stay-relevant-in-power deals. He takes the money to build his power capacity and let other people hijack the opportunity of leadership. This is why he was so confident Kibaki will handover power to him. It was again seen when Jesse Jackson came forward to meet with Uhuru to seal Raila relevancy of stay-in-power to maintain and sustain the unfinished business of GMO with thieving of public land. This means he knew all along something about what was cooking in the business of creating a situation for sell-out to remain in the deal of sharing political power at whatever cost with the Status Quo while people are left fighting for him that he won, and others are killing and destroying one another. Railas secret for power is too costly for Kenya and the Luos in general. It is a costly political reality of confused political greediness with unscrupulous Special Interest Companies of the world that are in the wake of the Scramble to Africa land; to re-colonize Africa and make its people slaves in the New unconstitutional and illegal expansionist would be Land owners.

I see a replica of my situation where Ruto and Sang seem to be tied up under a conspiracy theory for a toasted goose………..and my question to provide an eye opener therefore is, did Raila have a hand on the demise of Ruto and Sang shared with Kibaki…..??? Is Raila therefore, edging closer to negotiate power with Uhuru??? Was Raila aware about the killings and slaughtering of the Luos in Luo Nyanza ??? Is Wastegate an organized trigger to cause confusion??? Why did Raila reward Museveni with Migingo??? Why did Raila do nothing significant to save Migingo when he was in Power with Kibaki…..??? Why was Prof. Anyang Nyongo and team kept sneaking to meet with Russ Feingold and push me out of the scene??? Why is Russ Feingold with UN special envoy Mary Robinson who featured prominently on GMO are today pressurizing for Congo Government to cave in to negotiate with a terrorist group of M23 supported by Kagame who has been slamed with embargo sanction for supporting M23??? Why should the Congo people allow their land to be taken by Militia Rebel of M23 that belongs to Rwanda and who invaded, terrorized, killed many Congolese and raped their women and children, are they not human beings and don’t they have Human Rights value, respect and dignity???

I am able to unravel the puzzle and clearly spell out and state that, there is spanner at work to destroy Africa and the world from seing sanity and applying reasonable justice that are fair to all. It is the greed of selfish few who conspire to illegal ambush acquisition of big chunks of Peoples’ land, wealth and resources that are being taken illegally and unconstitutionally from the Peoples Government Trust hold in the unacceptable occupation with pretense to feeding the world through GMO.

People of the world, wake up! This is a war against livelihood and survival and it is influenced by a few corporate special business interest who are against goodwill of Peoples Government fair to all but, take advantage of the same to lean on political patronage to influence special interest through a Government takeover and destroy both Africa and the world through pushing it to the third world war…………..

Congo Government is about to make the worse mistake to negotiate with M23 and people of Congo must stand up to protect their livelihood and survival. Kenya too must wake up and think outside the box to save Kenya from Museveni with his collaborative network of unscrupulous Special Business interest. Peoples lives and security comes first on top of all else.

Connect the dots people, where there is smoke, there is fire……..acts of patronage is against the law, it poke holes of disunity in the Government, and it conflict with public interest fighting inside the Government. This is he same reason for Peoples Government shut-down and why every time there is a Government shutdown, Raila must find a reason to come to USA to sneer, and I am not sure this is the advice from his advisors. On the same vein, Prof. Anyang Nyongo is taking two months leave on his way to Havard University for GMO without consulting with the people. Where is the Democratic Rule of Law??? Why did both Raila and Prof. Nyongos plan coincide with US peoples government shut down??? Was there theories had something they were to benefit from it???

When Peoples Government shuts down, it is the majority disadvantaged who suffer. In this thread, most private sectors got support from the Government to excel. If they got a booster from the Government, so individuals with capacity to start-up business and create jobs but have no means to access establishment facilities are in many ways gets a booster from the Government to succeed. It is wrong and narrow minded for theorists of “Government does not create jobs” to engage and benefit from Government insentives but block People from accessing the same opportunities. I believe these are anarchists who seeks to overturn the Government by violence and by all unconstituted means where they want to confuse the society and peoples government, with noproper regulatory established system of order but create confusion for their selfish gains. This type of politics have seen unscrupulous special interest punch loopholes to acquire, manipulate and control power in the use of Government finances, and benefit from the accumulative public wealth, public facilities and utilities to monopolize and concentrate to channel and grant favors to themselves in their circle of friends of the few unscrupulous special business interest with a pretense that, Government does not create jobs……whereas, it is the same place Private Sector gained power to build self. Ofcourse, Private Sector did not come from space, but built their foundation through political Government lobby and support which in reality is the creation of jobs where they were able to expand and grow from employing more people.

Narrowing the capacity of a Government to be overtaken by a single group of business interest is naive and it is not peoples public interest. This Private Sector theory cannot replace the Government or balance the wheel of commercial organized strategic system that operate economic excellence and success.

Again, allegations that Government should get out of the way for Business Interest to Create Jobs and run Politics is illogical, inconsequential and is insane and does not have any substance.

Life must be of meaning and caring and sharing for mutually common good of all must take a center stage for peace, safety, security and protection of Livelihood and survival where all remain happy and satisfied with all the goods of the earth has in store for us.

Where is the truth and justification, and where is the world headed to…………..??? Can we all begin to start doing something small positively in our own special ways persistently and unite towards saving this grave situation……………..??? If it is singing, get down to sign in market places and in public places, if it is teaching or preaching do it and reach out like you care to save life from perishing and God will Bless us all.

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

– – – – – – – – – – –

Congo rebels expect ‘major breakthroughs’ in peace talks
Saturday October 19 2013

Kinshasa (AFP) – Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said on Saturday they are heading toward “major breakthroughs” with the Kinshasa government in peace talks in Uganda, possibly within hours.

Under Uganda’s mediation, “major breakthroughs are about to be obtained in Kampala since the heavy involvement of the international community in the dialogue” between the two sides, the M23 movement said in a statement.

It referred to the “remarkable presence” of US special envoy to the Great Lakes Russ Feingold and the UN special envoy Mary Robinson as well as Martin Kobler, the head of the UN mission to the DRC, and representatives of the European Union and African Union.

During talks on Friday, “the M23 made major concessions on its political demands in order to make possible the signing of the peace agreement in Kampala in the coming hours,” the group said.

“By this act, our movement wishes to demonstrate its determination to contribute to the rapid establishment of a lasting peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” it said.

No DRC government negotiator was immediately available for comment on the statement.

The M23 controls an area of around 700 square kilometres (270 square miles) in the east of the DRC, bordering Rwanda and Uganda.

The M23 was founded by former Tutsi rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army under a 2009 peace deal.

Complaining the deal was never fully implemented, they mutinied in April 2012, turning their guns on their former comrades and launching the latest rebellion to ravage DR Congo’s mineral-rich and conflict-prone east.

The United Nations regularly accuses Rwanda and Uganda of supporting the M23, something both countries deny.

The negotiations in Kampala had reportedly stumbled over the question of an amnesty for the rebels and their reintegration in the army. Backed by the international community, the government in Kinshasa has said there will be no impunity for the main rebel leaders.

COMMENTS:
Dr. Jimmy 24 minutes ago
The CIA isn’t doing its job in the Congo but I bet the pressure is on. Wall Street has untapped resources there.
Special Representative for Global Food Security Jonathan Shrier (Acting) participates in Hunger, Nutrition and Climate Justice Conference in Dublin
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
April 16, 2013

On April 15 and16, Special Representative for Global Food Security Jonathan Shrier (Acting) participated in the “Hunger, Nutrition and Climate Justice” Conference, held at Dublin Castle and hosted by the Government of Ireland and the Mary Robinson Foundation.
The event brought together key policy makers and global leaders, civil society representatives, and people who face food insecurity and undernutrition to facilitate a dialogue with the goal of informing potential approaches to address the nexus of hunger, nutrition and climate change in the post-2015 Development Agenda.
President of Ireland H.E. Mr. Michael D. Higgins formally opened the conference, and speakers included former President of Ireland Mary Robinson and former Vice-President of the United States Al Gore. Special Representative Shrier (Acting) participated on the panel “From Learning to Leading – Informing the post-2015 Development Agenda,” where panelists offered different points of view on how the exchanges from the conference could be connected to the post-2015 agenda.
The U.S government works with partners to build the resilience of communities vulnerable to climate change, by helping partner countries develop strategies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, transition to low-carbon futures and better cope with climate impacts. Feed the Future, the U.S. Government hunger and food security initiative, supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sector to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty and undernutrition. These investments contribute to the health, stability, and resilience of developing countries, and support responsible management of natural resources in the face of a growing population and changing climate.
To learn more, please visit here.
PRN: 2013/0419

Monsanto should be tried for ‘ecocide, genocide’, says NGO
By Joycebabu on October 16, 2013 | From prokerala.com
Wed, Oct 16 2013 21:39 IST | 0 Views | Add your comment

Monsanto should be tried for “ecocide and genocide” as its genetically modified cotton seeds are responsible for the poor cotton crop yields, deterioration in soil quality and suicides by farmers in India, said NGO Navdanya slamming the World Food Prize conferred on the US multinational Wednesday. Monsanto has attracted criticism from activists worldwide for being conferred the top food award. Navdanya, an Indian-based non-governmental organization which promotes biodiversity conservation, biodiversity, organic farming and the rights of farmers, said: “Contrary to what Monsanto proclaims, GMOs (genetically modified organisms) have led to a decline in yields and an increase in pesticide use, soil deterioration and farmer indebtedness and suicides. In India, most of the 284,000 farmers’ suicides are in the cotton belt – Monsanto controls 95 percent of the cotton seeds.” “In a just world, Monsanto should be tried for ecocide and genocide,” it said in a statement. “Yet on Oct 16, with the full support of powers most responsible for the state of hunger in the world, Monsanto is giving itself the World Food Prize! “We condemn this self congratulatory accolade – the GMO emperor has no clothes… We will not allow our Seed and Food Democracies to be hijacked by the current outmoded, reductionistic mechanistic paradigm,” it said.

It said the award comes on Oct 16, World Food Day, “a day when people all over the world are reminded of the shameful fact that over one billion people in the world are hungry and another billion are malnourished – this despite the fact that government institutions and multinational seed and food conglomerates have repeatedly over the decades declared to have the solution – one based on industrial agriculture, chemicals, GMOs and monocultures”. “FAO tells us that more than 70 percent of food comes from small farms and small farmers. Only 10 percent of the GMO corn and soya grown by Monsanto is eaten directly. (And this is because that 10 percent is not labelled and would be 0 percent if people had labelling and food freedom). The other 90 percent goes to feed cars and animals,” it said. “Let us honour all the Real Food Heroes who bring us real food by defending our food freedom- small farmers and gardeners, mothers and chefs, honest and real scientists. Let us celebrate those who save and exchange seed, preserve biodiversity and enrich our soils, and who through their actions are building food security all over the world and in communities everywhere with vibrant alternatives based on seed reform and food freedom.

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Activists Destroy Genetically-Modified Papaya Trees in Hawaii: Awesome or Too Far?
By EcoSalon on October 10, 2013 | From ecosalon.com

Public outrage over genetically-modified foods is growing by the day. But is it OK to cross the line into vandalism? Recent actions by anti-GMO activists in Hawaii force us to decide.

A family farm in Puna, Hawaii, suffered from a recent act of eco-activism where over 100 genetically-modified papaya trees were cut down by machete during the night.

“It’s hard to imagine anybody putting that much effort into doing something like that. It means somebody has to have passionate reason,” said Delan Perry, vice president of the Hawaii Papaya Industry Association.

Genetically-modified (GM) papaya trees were introduced to the region to protect against ringspot virus. In 1992, the virus became widespread, infecting thousand of papaya trees by killing the plants leaves. As a result, the virus cost farmers millions of dollars in losses. The genetically-modified papayas, which are planted on the majority of farms in Puna, Hawaii, are resistant to the dangerous ringspot virus. And it’s estimated that the genetically-modified seed has saved Hawaii’s papaya industry over $11 million.

Puna is the center of Hawaii’s commercial papaya industry, and this incident of eco-activism wasn’t the first of its kind. In 2011, the same farm was attacked, with 3,000 genetically-modified papaya trees cut down over 10 acres. And only a year before 8,500 GM papaya trees were destroyed.

Should Genetically Modified Foods Be Destroyed?

There is a clear divide between consumers who support organic farming and those who support GMOs. Genetically-modified crops often tote reduced pesticide use, but reports show GMOs often require extra chemicals to combat weeds. Even more so, the untested effects of GMOs raise enormous concerns, and consumers are still fighting for the right to know through GMO labeling.

At first, those of us who oppose genetically-modified foods might cheer at this valiant act of civil disobedience. Yet, it quickly becomes apparent that each act of vandalism negatively impacts farmers who are already struggling to hold on to their land. The most recent attack on the genetically-modified papaya farm in Puna cost the family over $3,000 in lost crops.

“These farmers are working really, really hard to support their families,” says regional property owner Peter Houle. “They’ve done nothing wrong and they feel violated.”

If papaya farmers are only protecting planting genetically-modified seeds against the ringspot virus by , should they be punished in this way?
Images: Hawaii News Now

Imagine – no extreme poverty. It’s possible by 2030, says report.

By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo News 8 hours ago

Two recent reports say that extreme poverty could be effectively eliminated by 2030 (AP)

More than a billion people around the world still exist in extreme poverty, which is defined by living on less than $1.25 a day. The good news is that number dropped by half from 1990 through 2010. And a new report says eliminating extreme poverty altogether is “within reach” by 2030.

The report was produced by the Brookings Institution, which says that a combination of increased shared consumption and improving global distribution of resources have dramatically reduced the poverty rate over the past 23 years but that “both factors are needed simultaneously,” to bring the total percentage of those living below the $1.25 rate to 3 percent or less.

The report gained prominence on Friday when Bill Gates tweeted about it in a message to his 13 million plus followers:

What are the prospects of ending extreme poverty? This interactive chart shows how far we’ve come since 1990: http://t.co/yeOPEtPv2s

— Bill Gates (@BillGates) October 18, 2013

“Over the past twenty years global poverty reduction was made possible by a consistently large mass of people lining up behind the poverty line each year, and sufficient consumption growth to carry many of these individuals across the threshold,” the report explains.

According to the report, there are more people living around the $1.25 mark “than at any other consumption level in the world.” Amongst the world’s billion people living in extreme poverty, a report released this month by the World Bank Group says that 400 million of them are children .

However, the World Bank Group report also had good news that aligns with the findings of Brookings, stating that 750 million less people live in extreme poverty today compared to 1981.

“We need to act urgently, and with a sharpened focus, to implement effective policies in places where poverty remains entrenched, particularly rural areas,” Jaime Saavedra, the World Bank Acting Vice President of Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, said in a statement. The Governors of the World Bank Group have also endorsed the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.

Perhaps not surprisingly, China and India have been at the forefront of extreme poverty reduction over the past two decades. The Brookings report says that China has now reduced the number of its citizens living in extreme poverty into the single digits and that going forward “the baton has been passed to India.”

From there, Brookings says sub-Saharan African faces the largest extreme poverty gap.

So, what stands in the way of fully eliminating this most extreme form of poverty?

Brookings says there are two major factors as they look ahead to 2030. First, that as countries like China make progress on poverty, they will become satisfied with the progress already made and will lack incentives to complete the job. And secondly, that in the most greatly affected regions of the world, populations of extreme poverty will begin to condense, making it all the more challenging to see economic improvements.

Poverty & Welfare
Society & Culture
extreme poverty

Conservative groups target U.S. Republicans who voted to end shutdown
By Gabriel Debenedetti
By Gabriel Debenedetti

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Groups aligned with the Tea Party movement are targeting two Republican U.S. senators who backed a bipartisan budget plan on Thursday, vowing to support their challengers in Republican primaries before congressional elections in 2014.

The plan to reopen the federal government and increase the nation’s borrowing authority ended a 16-day government shutdown that conservatives backed in an unsuccessful attempt to weaken Democratic President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul.

Hours after Congress passed the measure, the Club for Growth and the Senate Conservatives Fund endorsed Chris McDaniel, the Tea Party Republican from Mississippi who is running for the seat occupied by Senator Thad Cochran.

“Chris McDaniel is a constitutional conservative who will fight to stop Obamacare, balance the budget, and get America working again, the Senate Conservatives Fund statement said.

Cochran was among 27 Senate Republicans to support the plan to end the shutdown. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican who helped to craft the deal, faced a similar backlash on Friday.

McConnell’s primary opponent, Tea Party candidate Matt Bevin, was endorsed by the Senate Conservatives Fund, a group founded by former South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, a leading voice of the Tea Party.

The movement swept a wave of right wing lawmakers to Capitol Hill in 2010 and helped Republicans regain the House of Representatives. Groups like Club for Growth donated heavily to a slate of successful candidates during that election cycle.

Club for Growth – whose influence over dozens of the most conservative members of Congress is such that its pronouncements have effectively killed some budget proposals – already had targeted Republican Representative Mike Simpson, the only one of Idaho’s four members of Congress to vote for the bill that ended the shutdown.

Club for Growth is backing Tea Party Republican Bryan Smith as a more conservative alternative to Simpson. Smith also has been endorsed by FreedomWorks, a conservative group whose chief executive, Matt Kibbe, predicted on Friday that Tea Party conservatives’ frustration with moderate Republicans could lead a split of the Republican Party.

Taken together, the endorsements signal that the battle over Obamacare – and far-right conservatives’ push to put more of their candidates in Congress with an eye toward killing the Affordable Care Act – is far from over.

Club for Growth and the Senate Conservatives Fund are major contributors to the campaigns of several staunch conservatives. The Center for Responsive Politics says they are the two largest donors to Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican whose 21-hour floor speech in September helped set the stage for the shutdown fight over the health reform law.

Cochran, 75, has been in office since 1978 and has not officially announced that he is running for re-election in 2014.

In endorsing McDaniel, Club for Growth’s political action committee (PAC) said in a statement, “If Cochran runs for re-election, he will likely have the entire Republican establishment behind him – all the more reason that Senator McDaniel will need the strong support of the Club’s PAC.”

McCONNELL’s CHALLENGERS

McConnell, who has been in office since 1984 and has clashed with Cruz, will face a two-pronged challenge next year.

Well-funded Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky’s secretary of state, is running for McConnell’s seat. But before he can face her, McConnell has to defeat Bevin in the Republican primary.

In backing Bevin, the Senate Conservatives Fund cited various votes by McConnell to fund the government, which the group equated to funding Obama’s health care law.

McConnell’s campaign mocked the SCF’s endorsement of Bevin.

“Matt Bevin now has the dubious honor of standing with a self-serving D.C. fundraising group that made its name by recruiting and promoting unelectable candidates that ensured Barack Obama a majority in the Senate,” McConnell spokeswoman Allison Moore said in a statement.

“They clearly care less about Kentuckians than they do about their reputation for supporting laughably bad candidates,” Moore added.

DeMint, the Senate Conservative Fund’s founder, emphasized the ongoing efforts to pressure moderate Republicans on Friday with an editorial in the Wall Street Journal headlined, “We Won’t Back Down on Obamacare.”

In an interview on Thursday, Club for Growth president Chris Chocola, a former Indiana congressman, pledged to endorse more candidates, noting that the shutdown and surrounding debates “may have defined our opportunities a little bit better.”

Heritage Action spokesman Dan Holler also said his group would keep fighting the health reform law, in part by helping the opponents of Democrats in conservative states, such as Senators Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Kay Hagan of North Carolina.

(Editing by David Lindsey and Doina Chiacu)

MY HOMILY ON WORLD MISSION SUNDAY

From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2013

Today is the 87th World Mission Sunday. The day coincides with Mashujaa Day, also known as Heroes’ Day in Kenya. “mashujaa” is Swahili for “heroes”, is a national day in Kenya, which is observed on October 20 as a public holiday to collectively honour all those who contributed towards the struggle for Kenya’s independence.

The theme of this year’s Message is taken from the Motu proprio, Porta fidei with which Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed the Year of Faith: “called to radiate the word of truth that the Lord Jesus has left us.”

It is the first Mission Sunday since Pope Francis took over from Benedict. In his message Pope Francis stresses that it is necessary to proclaim the Gospel of Christ courageously and in every situation.

He wants us to proclaim the message of hope, reconciliation (and) communion, a proclamation of God’s closeness, his mercy, salvation and a proclamation that the power of God’s love is able to overcome the darkness of evil and guide us on the path of goodness.

His message emphasizes the obligation of all Christians to share the faith with others and do so with respect. He also points to the stifling damage done to the church by the failure to evangelize and the sacrifices made by many Christians around the world currently facing oppression or even persecution because of their faith.

Approximately 10 per cent of the 2 billion Christians in the world today suffer persecution. This means that some 200 million Christians suffer harsh repercussions because of their religion. Yet as the pope says in a message we should not impose our faith or religion on anyone.

The good news of Jesus Christ is to be proclaimed through word and deed with respect. This is because the church’s missionary spirit is not about proselytizing, but the testimony of a life that illuminates the path, which brings hope and love.

World Mission Sunday is celebrated on the third Sunday of October every year. It was created by Pope Pius XI in 1926 as the day of prayer and propaganda of missions. The word “mission” originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin missionem (nom. missio), meaning “act of sending” or mittere, meaning “to send”. Traditional Apostles of Jesus Missionaries use the day to commission the newly ordained priests in missions land.

The first reading is taken from Ex 17:8-13. In this reading the Israelites are attacked in their journey from Egypt to Canaan by the Amalek tribe who would have annihilated them were it not for Moses’s intercession with God.

In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel. Moses, therefore, said to Joshua, “Pick out certain men, and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle. I will be standing on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him: he engaged Amalek in battle after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur.

As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest, Amalek had the better of the fight. Moses’hands, however, grew tired; so they put a rock in place for him to sit on.

Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset. And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Second reading is from 2 Tm 3:14-4:2. Paul continues to exhort and encourage his disciple Timothy to be loyal to the Christian faith. Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent,
equipped for every good work.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.

The Gospel is from Lk 18:1-8. This reading poses a question as to why should whole nations of devout Christians suffer persecutions, a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being.

And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'”

The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Yet today, many missionaries risk being persecuted, killed, robbed or rejected- Just last month a Danish missionary was strangled to death in Kisumu County after four armed robbers suspected to be Administration Policemen raided his home.

The Danish, Kristensen Jan, 73, was among six people who in January 2000 met to consult over the construction of the first Jan’s Academy Group of Schools. The gang got into Jan’s compound at around 10 am and did not interfere with the watchman at the gate. As they entered, one of them, suspected to be Administration Police officer waited outside with a get-away car.

The three then proceeded to the old man’s house and ordered the workers to be silent as they wrestled the missionary on the floor.

Towards the end of 2009 the Church in Africa suffered severe attacks against missionaries. On December 6 at night, Fr. Louis Blondel, a member of the Missionaries of Africa was assassinated in his home by three men near Pretoria, South Africa.

Fr. Blondel, a French citizen was 70 years old and has been a missionary in South Africa for 22 years. Before his South African assignment he served for more than fifteen years in Tanzania.

In the South Kivu province, on December 6, 2009 around 2 am, Fr. Daniel Cizimya Nakamaga, 51, a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Bukavu was assassinated in his parish home in Kabare.

Unidentified men forced the door and shot him twice in the head after screaming at him in Lingala “ye wana” which means “this is the one”. Two other priests were in the house but were not hurt.

In less than 48 hours, on December 7, 2009 around 7:30 pm, Sister Dénise Kahambu was assassinated at the Monastery in Murhesa by men in military uniform. These were not the only attacks against the Archdiocese of Bukavu in recent months.

On October 2 around 8 pm, at Chiherano parish, a priest and a seminarian were taken hostages after their parish home was looted. They were released after a ransom was given.

On October 5, 2009, the Catholic School run by Marist Brothers was attacked and looted. Because of these events, Archbishop Francois-Xavier Maroy was forced to return home from Rome where he was taking part in the second Synod of African Bishops.

On Oct 12, 2009 in Kabare the Mukongola hospital was attacked and two doctors were seriously injured. The Catholic Church has always been the target because of its social justice role.

This diocese has experienced many losses since the war stated in 1996. The first victim was Archbishop Christophe Munzihirwa, killed by Rwanda troops the same day they captured the city of Bukavu on October 29, 1996.

Followed was the killing of Fr. Georges Kakuja, Fr. Claude Buhendwa and Sisters murdered in Kasika, Fr. Remis Pepe without counting the many lay people they served.

On December 12, 2009 in Kericho, 190 miles from the Kenyan capital Nairobi, Fr. Jeremiah Roche was killed by robbers. Fr. Roche was a Kiltegan Missionary (St. Patrick Missionaries). They broke in his home after cutting the metal grille of his window.

He was stripped naked, tied on a chair and then stabbed in the throat. The assassins took with them a DC player, two cell phones and his blood stained clothes which were later found. Fr. Jeremiah, a native of Ireland from the town of Limerick served as a missionary in Kenya for 41 years.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ
UN Disarmament
Conference, 2002