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January 29, 2014
US pivot chafes at vital Asian ties
By Francesco Sisci
Jan 29, '14
SINOGRAPH
US pivot chafes at vital Asian ties
By Francesco Sisci
BEIJING - Beijing and Taipei this week announced the beginning of their first ever government-to-government talks. It is to some extent a mutual recognition of each other's standing, and as well as a sure-footed step in the process of reunification - so important for the People's Republic of China - it sets an important precedent for any future government in Taiwan.
Even if the opposition Democratic Party of Taiwan were to come to power at the next presidential election, the new president could hardly dismiss the continuation of these talks even as the party wants to proclaim a unilateral independence of island, which is de facto already independent but de jure part of one China. In fact, although the talks are a step in the process of re-unification, they are also the biggest diplomatic achievement ever wrested by a Taiwanese force from Beijing. This will be the historic legacy of the current nationalist president, Ma Ying-jiu, both for the goal of a united China and for the purpose of securing Taiwanese interests.
In the same days, the main South Korean news agency, Yonhap, reported that about 100 relatives of former North Korean second in command Jang Song-thaek, including women and children, were killed on the orders of North Korean leader Kim Jong-eun. Kim, a nephew of Jang and not yet 30, had already executed Jang and some of his closest associates in the largest, most senseless and most blood-curdling political purge since the end of the Cold War. The purge bodes ill for North Korean intentions about South Korea. If young Kim can slaughter so easily some his closest kin, including his mentor, one can only imagine what he could do to a patently sworn enemy. Yet Seoul failed to react.
The gesture with Jang was domestic but carries important foreign implications. Jang was somewhat close to China, a country which had initially also opposed Kim's promotion as supreme leader in Pyongyang.
US pivot chafes at vital Asian ties
http://atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-01-290114.htmlUS pivot chafes at vital Asian ties
By Francesco Sisci
Jan 29, '14
SINOGRAPH
US pivot chafes at vital Asian ties
By Francesco Sisci
BEIJING - Beijing and Taipei this week announced the beginning of their first ever government-to-government talks. It is to some extent a mutual recognition of each other's standing, and as well as a sure-footed step in the process of reunification - so important for the People's Republic of China - it sets an important precedent for any future government in Taiwan.
Even if the opposition Democratic Party of Taiwan were to come to power at the next presidential election, the new president could hardly dismiss the continuation of these talks even as the party wants to proclaim a unilateral independence of island, which is de facto already independent but de jure part of one China. In fact, although the talks are a step in the process of re-unification, they are also the biggest diplomatic achievement ever wrested by a Taiwanese force from Beijing. This will be the historic legacy of the current nationalist president, Ma Ying-jiu, both for the goal of a united China and for the purpose of securing Taiwanese interests.
In the same days, the main South Korean news agency, Yonhap, reported that about 100 relatives of former North Korean second in command Jang Song-thaek, including women and children, were killed on the orders of North Korean leader Kim Jong-eun. Kim, a nephew of Jang and not yet 30, had already executed Jang and some of his closest associates in the largest, most senseless and most blood-curdling political purge since the end of the Cold War. The purge bodes ill for North Korean intentions about South Korea. If young Kim can slaughter so easily some his closest kin, including his mentor, one can only imagine what he could do to a patently sworn enemy. Yet Seoul failed to react.
The gesture with Jang was domestic but carries important foreign implications. Jang was somewhat close to China, a country which had initially also opposed Kim's promotion as supreme leader in Pyongyang.
January 29, 2014
Don’t Break up Syria: WW I-Style Imperial Divide & Rule is a Failure
By Juan Cole | Jan. 29, 2014
(By Christopher Dekki)
Since the beginning of this terrible conflict in Syria, I have been closely listening to people’s reactions to the violence and devastation occurring there. What is astonishing is how quickly Syria transformed from a place of relative obscurity to a topic of constant discussion among so many.
Even more astonishing, the solutions often offered to stem the violence prove that westerners have simply learned nothing from the lessons of history. These “solutions” tend to follow the same, tired formulae of a colonial mindset that helped put the Levant in this mess in the first place.
Some of the most passionate calls for “humanitarian” intervention and instant, western-led regime change have come from people who, ironically, are still disillusioned by the disastrous Bush Administration lies that led the United States into the heinous Iraq invasion of 2003.
Nevertheless, of all the “solutions” that I hear bandied about by those who truly believe they are in the know concerning these grave geopolitical issues, the most idiotic and truly outdated is balkanization, or as I like to call it in the context of Syria, Sykes-Picot II.
Don’t Break up Syria: WW I-Style Imperial Divide & Rule is a Failure
http://www.juancole.com/2014/01/imperial-divide-failure.htmlDon’t Break up Syria: WW I-Style Imperial Divide & Rule is a Failure
By Juan Cole | Jan. 29, 2014
(By Christopher Dekki)
Since the beginning of this terrible conflict in Syria, I have been closely listening to people’s reactions to the violence and devastation occurring there. What is astonishing is how quickly Syria transformed from a place of relative obscurity to a topic of constant discussion among so many.
Even more astonishing, the solutions often offered to stem the violence prove that westerners have simply learned nothing from the lessons of history. These “solutions” tend to follow the same, tired formulae of a colonial mindset that helped put the Levant in this mess in the first place.
Some of the most passionate calls for “humanitarian” intervention and instant, western-led regime change have come from people who, ironically, are still disillusioned by the disastrous Bush Administration lies that led the United States into the heinous Iraq invasion of 2003.
Nevertheless, of all the “solutions” that I hear bandied about by those who truly believe they are in the know concerning these grave geopolitical issues, the most idiotic and truly outdated is balkanization, or as I like to call it in the context of Syria, Sykes-Picot II.
January 29, 2014
Dovish SOTU: Obama will Veto AIPAC Iran Sanctions, Pledges Afghanistan Wind-Down
By Juan Cole | Jan. 29, 2014
~snip~
Opinion polls show that US public support for the Afghanistan War, which began 12 and a half years ago, has fallen to 17 percent. Americans want out of that country. Obama pointed out that “When I took office, nearly 180,000 Americans were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.” He observed that all US troops are out of Iraq now, and he has brought 60,000 troops home from Afghanistan. (What he didn’t say was that he had sent 60,000 extra ones there early in his first term, so unlike with Iraq he is now drawing down his own war). There are still 39,000 or so US military personnel in Afghanistan.
About Afghanistan, Obama said, “Together with our allies, we will complete our mission there by the end of this year, and America’s longest war will finally be over.” This way of putting it is a little disingenuous. What the president means is that US forces won’t be doing active war-fighting and taking the lead in it after December.
He went on to clarify that “If the Afghan government signs a security agreement that we have negotiated, a small force of Americans could remain in Afghanistan with NATO allies to carry out two narrow missions: training and assisting Afghan forces, and counterterrorism operations to pursue any remnants of al Qaeda.”
This paragraph is like an iceberg, with 90% of the meaning not visible. First of all, Obama is implicitly acknowledging that Afghanistan may not sign a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the US. The current president, Hamid Karzai, is declining to sign the agreement. His successor may not be elected, after run-offs, until summer of 2014. By the time a new president gets settled and studies the issue, the point may be moot. The US military will have to assume it is not staying, and initiate a vast movement of human beings and materiel out of the country. The US may end up with no troops in Afghanistan just because no one could get around to finalizing a SOFA before the clock ran out.
Dovish SOTU: Obama will Veto AIPAC Iran Sanctions, Pledges Afghanistan Wind-Down
http://www.juancole.com/2014/01/threatens-sanctions-afghanistan.htmlDovish SOTU: Obama will Veto AIPAC Iran Sanctions, Pledges Afghanistan Wind-Down
By Juan Cole | Jan. 29, 2014
~snip~
Opinion polls show that US public support for the Afghanistan War, which began 12 and a half years ago, has fallen to 17 percent. Americans want out of that country. Obama pointed out that “When I took office, nearly 180,000 Americans were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.” He observed that all US troops are out of Iraq now, and he has brought 60,000 troops home from Afghanistan. (What he didn’t say was that he had sent 60,000 extra ones there early in his first term, so unlike with Iraq he is now drawing down his own war). There are still 39,000 or so US military personnel in Afghanistan.
About Afghanistan, Obama said, “Together with our allies, we will complete our mission there by the end of this year, and America’s longest war will finally be over.” This way of putting it is a little disingenuous. What the president means is that US forces won’t be doing active war-fighting and taking the lead in it after December.
He went on to clarify that “If the Afghan government signs a security agreement that we have negotiated, a small force of Americans could remain in Afghanistan with NATO allies to carry out two narrow missions: training and assisting Afghan forces, and counterterrorism operations to pursue any remnants of al Qaeda.”
This paragraph is like an iceberg, with 90% of the meaning not visible. First of all, Obama is implicitly acknowledging that Afghanistan may not sign a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the US. The current president, Hamid Karzai, is declining to sign the agreement. His successor may not be elected, after run-offs, until summer of 2014. By the time a new president gets settled and studies the issue, the point may be moot. The US military will have to assume it is not staying, and initiate a vast movement of human beings and materiel out of the country. The US may end up with no troops in Afghanistan just because no one could get around to finalizing a SOFA before the clock ran out.
January 29, 2014
US Pivot to Asia Should Deploy Soft Power, not the Marines
By Juan Cole | Jan. 29, 2014
(By John Feffer)
In a future update of The Devil’s Dictionary, the famed Ambrose Bierce dissection of the linguistic hypocrisies of modern life, a single word will accompany the entry for “Pacific pivot”: retreat.
It might seem a strange way to characterize the Obama administration’s energetic attempt to reorient its foreign and military policy toward Asia. After all, the president’s team has insisted that the Pacific pivot will be a forceful reassertion of American power in a strategic part of the world and a deliberate reassurance to our allies that we have their backs vis-à-vis China.
Indeed, sometimes the pivot seems like little less than a panacea for all that ails U.S. foreign policy. Upset about the fiascos in Iraq and Afghanistan? Then just light out for more pacific waters. Worried that our adversaries are all melting away and the Pentagon has lost its raison d’être? Then how about going toe to toe with China, the only conceivable future superpower on the horizon these days. And if you’re concerned about the state of the U.S. economy, then the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the regional free-trade deal Washington is trying to negotiate, might be just the shot in the arm that U.S. corporations crave.
In reality, however, the “strategic rebalancing” the Obama administration has been promoting as a mid-course correction to its foreign policy remains strong on rhetoric and remarkably weak on content. Think of it as a clever fiction for whose promotion many audiences are willing to suspend their disbelief. After all, in the upcoming era of Pentagon belt-tightening and domestic public backlash, Washington is likely to find it difficult to move any significant extra resources into Asia. Even the TPP is an acknowledgment of how much economic ground in the region has been lost to China.
US Pivot to Asia Should Deploy Soft Power, not the Marines
http://www.juancole.com/2014/01/should-deploy-marines.htmlUS Pivot to Asia Should Deploy Soft Power, not the Marines
By Juan Cole | Jan. 29, 2014
(By John Feffer)
In a future update of The Devil’s Dictionary, the famed Ambrose Bierce dissection of the linguistic hypocrisies of modern life, a single word will accompany the entry for “Pacific pivot”: retreat.
It might seem a strange way to characterize the Obama administration’s energetic attempt to reorient its foreign and military policy toward Asia. After all, the president’s team has insisted that the Pacific pivot will be a forceful reassertion of American power in a strategic part of the world and a deliberate reassurance to our allies that we have their backs vis-à-vis China.
Indeed, sometimes the pivot seems like little less than a panacea for all that ails U.S. foreign policy. Upset about the fiascos in Iraq and Afghanistan? Then just light out for more pacific waters. Worried that our adversaries are all melting away and the Pentagon has lost its raison d’être? Then how about going toe to toe with China, the only conceivable future superpower on the horizon these days. And if you’re concerned about the state of the U.S. economy, then the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the regional free-trade deal Washington is trying to negotiate, might be just the shot in the arm that U.S. corporations crave.
In reality, however, the “strategic rebalancing” the Obama administration has been promoting as a mid-course correction to its foreign policy remains strong on rhetoric and remarkably weak on content. Think of it as a clever fiction for whose promotion many audiences are willing to suspend their disbelief. After all, in the upcoming era of Pentagon belt-tightening and domestic public backlash, Washington is likely to find it difficult to move any significant extra resources into Asia. Even the TPP is an acknowledgment of how much economic ground in the region has been lost to China.
January 29, 2014
Photos released last week show that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad tortures, starves and murders its prisoners. The images provide grisly evidence to support what witnesses have been telling SPIEGEL for months.
Syria's Bodies: 'The Stench Was Unfathomable'
By Christoph Reuter and Christoph Scheuermann
January 27, 2014 – 03:52 PM
He says he was never witness to executions, nor did he see torture taking place. That wasn't his job. His task was that of taking photos of the corpses afterwards. He would snap four or five images per body -- of the face and other parts of the person -- documenting the cause of death, insofar as it was possible to determine. He did so tens of thousands of times between March 2011 and August 2013 -- when he finally fled Syria, taking some 55,000 photos with him on a USB stick. The images are of starved, strangled and tortured men, primarily young and mostly naked. Some have no eyes. The defector, who has been cited under the alias "Caesar," worked for Syrian security, and says that he and his colleagues were called on up to 50 times a day to photograph corpses, each of which was given a number for documentation purposes.
Caesar provided his testimony and photographic evidence to lawyers and forensic experts at a British law firm. Together, says Sir Desmond de Silva, former chief prosecutor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, the defector's evidence shows the "industrial scale" of the killing perpetrated by the Syrian regime. In addition, the photos provide a horrifying explanation for what might have happened to the 50,000 or more missing people in Syria -- those who were abducted by the regime of the course of the past two years. They are not included in the casualty figures, which assume a total of some 130,000 killed in the civil war. But prior to last week, there had been no clear indication as to where they might be.
The British experts randomly chose 5,500 photos for analysis. More than half of them depicted emaciated corpses, many of them showing signs of torture. By extrapolation, the images that Caesar brought with him could document the murders of some 11,000 people. The three prominent attorneys involved believe both the testimony and the photographic evidence to be authentic. In a report, they said there is "clear evidence … of systematic torture and killing of detained persons." The report notes that "such evidence could also support findings of war crimes against the current Syrian regime."
The investigation and report undertaken by the British law firm was financed by Qatar, which likely explains the fact that it was made public concurrently with last week's Syria conference in Geneva. Qatar backs the Syrian rebels, but the country's stance does little to take away from the power of the images provided.
Syria's Bodies: 'The Stench Was Unfathomable' ***GRAPHIC ***
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/spiegel-reporting-supports-accounts-of-torture-and-execution-in-syria-a-945760.htmlPhotos released last week show that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad tortures, starves and murders its prisoners. The images provide grisly evidence to support what witnesses have been telling SPIEGEL for months.
Syria's Bodies: 'The Stench Was Unfathomable'
By Christoph Reuter and Christoph Scheuermann
January 27, 2014 – 03:52 PM
He says he was never witness to executions, nor did he see torture taking place. That wasn't his job. His task was that of taking photos of the corpses afterwards. He would snap four or five images per body -- of the face and other parts of the person -- documenting the cause of death, insofar as it was possible to determine. He did so tens of thousands of times between March 2011 and August 2013 -- when he finally fled Syria, taking some 55,000 photos with him on a USB stick. The images are of starved, strangled and tortured men, primarily young and mostly naked. Some have no eyes. The defector, who has been cited under the alias "Caesar," worked for Syrian security, and says that he and his colleagues were called on up to 50 times a day to photograph corpses, each of which was given a number for documentation purposes.
Caesar provided his testimony and photographic evidence to lawyers and forensic experts at a British law firm. Together, says Sir Desmond de Silva, former chief prosecutor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, the defector's evidence shows the "industrial scale" of the killing perpetrated by the Syrian regime. In addition, the photos provide a horrifying explanation for what might have happened to the 50,000 or more missing people in Syria -- those who were abducted by the regime of the course of the past two years. They are not included in the casualty figures, which assume a total of some 130,000 killed in the civil war. But prior to last week, there had been no clear indication as to where they might be.
The British experts randomly chose 5,500 photos for analysis. More than half of them depicted emaciated corpses, many of them showing signs of torture. By extrapolation, the images that Caesar brought with him could document the murders of some 11,000 people. The three prominent attorneys involved believe both the testimony and the photographic evidence to be authentic. In a report, they said there is "clear evidence … of systematic torture and killing of detained persons." The report notes that "such evidence could also support findings of war crimes against the current Syrian regime."
The investigation and report undertaken by the British law firm was financed by Qatar, which likely explains the fact that it was made public concurrently with last week's Syria conference in Geneva. Qatar backs the Syrian rebels, but the country's stance does little to take away from the power of the images provided.
January 29, 2014
Germany has been heavily criticized in recent years for not doing its share in hotspots around the world. New Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen says that it is time for Berlin to take more responsibility. She also dreams of a European army.
German Defense Minister: 'We Can't Look Away'
Interview by René Pfister and Gordon Repinski
January 28, 2014 – 01:45 PM
SPIEGEL: Germany would like to become more engaged in Mali and perhaps also join the European Union mission in the Central African Republic. What are Germany's interests in those conflicts?
Von der Leyen: It isn't about German interests; it's about European interests. Africa is our direct neighbor. At the Strait of Gibraltar, the two continents are only 14 kilometers from one another. Should a large part of Africa become destabilized, it could have grave consequences for us. Let me remind you of the terrible images of the drowned refugees off the coast of Lampedusa.
SPIEGEL: The Central African Republic is not in North Africa. The country is 5,300 kilometers away from Germany. Why should German soldiers be sent there?
Von der Leyen: From a purely humanitarian perspective, we can't look away when murder and rape are taking place daily. A bloody war is developing in Central Africa between Christians and Muslims. We can't allow the conflict to engulf the entire region. From a population perspective, Central Africa is small, but it is surrounded by countries with more than 150 million inhabitants. One billion live in Africa. In the next 30 years, that number will double. If this growth takes place within democratic structures, the continent represents an opportunity for Europe. Many African countries today have shown vast improvement and have demonstrated that stability and growth are possible. A booming Africa is an opportunity, particularly for a country like Germany with such strong exports.
German Defense Minister: 'We Can't Look Away'
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/interview-with-german-defense-minister-ursula-von-der-leyen-a-945818.htmlGermany has been heavily criticized in recent years for not doing its share in hotspots around the world. New Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen says that it is time for Berlin to take more responsibility. She also dreams of a European army.
German Defense Minister: 'We Can't Look Away'
Interview by René Pfister and Gordon Repinski
January 28, 2014 – 01:45 PM
SPIEGEL: Germany would like to become more engaged in Mali and perhaps also join the European Union mission in the Central African Republic. What are Germany's interests in those conflicts?
Von der Leyen: It isn't about German interests; it's about European interests. Africa is our direct neighbor. At the Strait of Gibraltar, the two continents are only 14 kilometers from one another. Should a large part of Africa become destabilized, it could have grave consequences for us. Let me remind you of the terrible images of the drowned refugees off the coast of Lampedusa.
SPIEGEL: The Central African Republic is not in North Africa. The country is 5,300 kilometers away from Germany. Why should German soldiers be sent there?
Von der Leyen: From a purely humanitarian perspective, we can't look away when murder and rape are taking place daily. A bloody war is developing in Central Africa between Christians and Muslims. We can't allow the conflict to engulf the entire region. From a population perspective, Central Africa is small, but it is surrounded by countries with more than 150 million inhabitants. One billion live in Africa. In the next 30 years, that number will double. If this growth takes place within democratic structures, the continent represents an opportunity for Europe. Many African countries today have shown vast improvement and have demonstrated that stability and growth are possible. A booming Africa is an opportunity, particularly for a country like Germany with such strong exports.
January 29, 2014
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen want Germany to assume a greater role in world affairs, including military missions abroad. Their stance marks a break with Angela Merkel's policy of restraint.
Foreign Policy Rethink: Germany Weighs Stronger Military Role
By Ralf Neukirch and Gordon Repinski
January 28, 2014 – 03:07 PM
Last Tuesday's meeting between German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius could hardly have been more harmonious. Dark-gray suits, white shirts, blue ties -- the two looked as if they had even coordinated their clothing as they faced the press. Steinmeier said he already felt at home after visiting the French Foreign Ministry for the third time in two weeks. Fabius politely praised his friendship with dear "Frank-Walter."
Relations between Berlin and Paris are better than they've been in a long time, and that's evident not just in the effusive exchanges of pleasantries. The French now want to follow the German example in economic policy, after two years of resisting it. Berlin in turn wants to provide Paris with stronger support in military missions in Africa in future. "Europe can't leave France on its own," said Steinmeier.
That's a big step not just for France, but for Germany as well. The new German government, inaugurated just a month ago, is charting a new course in foreign policy. The central question under Steinmeier's predecessor, Guido Westerwelle, was: "How can we keep out of armed conflicts?" Westerwelle favored a culture of military restraint, which meant leaving unpleasant tasks up to others.
Now, two ministers from Chancellor Angela Merkel's new coalition, which pairs her conservatives with the center-left Social Democrats, have set about abandoning Westerwelle's legacy. Steinmeier and Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen believe that an economic powerhouse like Germany can't continue to stand on the sidelines. They want to show Germany's allies that the country can be relied upon. "We can't look away when murder and rape are taking place daily," von der Leyen told SPIEGEL in an interview.
Foreign Policy Rethink: Germany Weighs Stronger Military Role
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/germany-considers-increasing-role-in-foreign-military-missions-a-945771.htmlForeign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen want Germany to assume a greater role in world affairs, including military missions abroad. Their stance marks a break with Angela Merkel's policy of restraint.
Foreign Policy Rethink: Germany Weighs Stronger Military Role
By Ralf Neukirch and Gordon Repinski
January 28, 2014 – 03:07 PM
Last Tuesday's meeting between German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius could hardly have been more harmonious. Dark-gray suits, white shirts, blue ties -- the two looked as if they had even coordinated their clothing as they faced the press. Steinmeier said he already felt at home after visiting the French Foreign Ministry for the third time in two weeks. Fabius politely praised his friendship with dear "Frank-Walter."
Relations between Berlin and Paris are better than they've been in a long time, and that's evident not just in the effusive exchanges of pleasantries. The French now want to follow the German example in economic policy, after two years of resisting it. Berlin in turn wants to provide Paris with stronger support in military missions in Africa in future. "Europe can't leave France on its own," said Steinmeier.
That's a big step not just for France, but for Germany as well. The new German government, inaugurated just a month ago, is charting a new course in foreign policy. The central question under Steinmeier's predecessor, Guido Westerwelle, was: "How can we keep out of armed conflicts?" Westerwelle favored a culture of military restraint, which meant leaving unpleasant tasks up to others.
Now, two ministers from Chancellor Angela Merkel's new coalition, which pairs her conservatives with the center-left Social Democrats, have set about abandoning Westerwelle's legacy. Steinmeier and Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen believe that an economic powerhouse like Germany can't continue to stand on the sidelines. They want to show Germany's allies that the country can be relied upon. "We can't look away when murder and rape are taking place daily," von der Leyen told SPIEGEL in an interview.
January 29, 2014
Salvation Army in Australia accused of raping children with a garden hose and other abuses
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 10:10 EST
Children were sodomised with a garden hose, locked in outdoor cages and savagely beaten by Salvation Army majors in graphic cases of abuse detailed Tuesday to an Australian inquiry.
A Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in Australia began hearing evidence into allegations of abuse at four Salvation Army homes for children between 1966 and 1977, which counsel assisting the inquiry Simeon Beckett warned would be “shocking to many”.
“The abuse that is to be detailed before the Royal Commission in the course of this case study is likely to be disturbing and at the severe end of sexual abuse,” he said in his opening address.
The investigative commission was established by former prime minister Julia Gillard in response to a series of child sex abuse scandals involving paedophile priests, though she insisted the probe would be much broader than the Catholic Church.
Salvation Army in Australia accused of raping children with a garden hose and other abuses
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/28/salvation-army-in-australia-accused-of-raping-children-with-a-garden-hose-and-other-abuses/Salvation Army in Australia accused of raping children with a garden hose and other abuses
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 10:10 EST
Children were sodomised with a garden hose, locked in outdoor cages and savagely beaten by Salvation Army majors in graphic cases of abuse detailed Tuesday to an Australian inquiry.
A Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in Australia began hearing evidence into allegations of abuse at four Salvation Army homes for children between 1966 and 1977, which counsel assisting the inquiry Simeon Beckett warned would be “shocking to many”.
“The abuse that is to be detailed before the Royal Commission in the course of this case study is likely to be disturbing and at the severe end of sexual abuse,” he said in his opening address.
The investigative commission was established by former prime minister Julia Gillard in response to a series of child sex abuse scandals involving paedophile priests, though she insisted the probe would be much broader than the Catholic Church.
January 29, 2014
India’s Supreme Court refuses plea to review colonial-era ban on gay sex
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 11:27 EST
India’s top court Tuesday rejected a plea filed by the government and activist groups to review its shock ruling which reinstated a colonial-era ban on gay sex.
A Supreme Court bench dismissed petitions filed by the government and rights groups against a verdict last month that re-criminalised gay sex and made it an offence punishable by up to life imprisonment.
“We see no reason to interfere with the order impugned. The review petitions are dismissed,” Supreme Court Justices H.L. Dattu and S.J. Mukhopadhaya said in their decision.
In its December 11 ruling, the top court reversed a lower court verdict from 2009 which had set aside a 19th-century law drafted by India’s British colonial rulers outlawing “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”.
unhappycamper comment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_377_of_the_Indian_Penal_Code
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code
Chapter XVI, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code dating back to 1861,[1] introduced during the British rule of India, criminalises sexual activities "against the order of nature", including homosexual acts.
The section was declared unconstitutional with respect to sex between consenting adults by the High Court of Delhi on 2 July 2009. That judgement was overturned by the Supreme Court of India on 11 December 2013, with the Court holding that amending or repealing Section 377 should be a matter left to Parliament, not the judiciary.
153 years.
India’s Supreme Court refuses plea to review colonial-era ban on gay sex
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/28/indias-supreme-court-refuses-plea-to-review-colonial-era-ban-on-gay-sex/India’s Supreme Court refuses plea to review colonial-era ban on gay sex
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 11:27 EST
India’s top court Tuesday rejected a plea filed by the government and activist groups to review its shock ruling which reinstated a colonial-era ban on gay sex.
A Supreme Court bench dismissed petitions filed by the government and rights groups against a verdict last month that re-criminalised gay sex and made it an offence punishable by up to life imprisonment.
“We see no reason to interfere with the order impugned. The review petitions are dismissed,” Supreme Court Justices H.L. Dattu and S.J. Mukhopadhaya said in their decision.
In its December 11 ruling, the top court reversed a lower court verdict from 2009 which had set aside a 19th-century law drafted by India’s British colonial rulers outlawing “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”.
unhappycamper comment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_377_of_the_Indian_Penal_Code
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code
Chapter XVI, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code dating back to 1861,[1] introduced during the British rule of India, criminalises sexual activities "against the order of nature", including homosexual acts.
The section was declared unconstitutional with respect to sex between consenting adults by the High Court of Delhi on 2 July 2009. That judgement was overturned by the Supreme Court of India on 11 December 2013, with the Court holding that amending or repealing Section 377 should be a matter left to Parliament, not the judiciary.
153 years.
January 29, 2014
Surprise! Even some Christians support Satanist display at Oklahoma Capitol
By Travis Gettys
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 12:14 EST
The leader of a Satanic temple said he has been touched by the support his group has received for its proposal to place a monument next to the Ten Commandments at the Oklahoma State Capitol.
“It’s really encouraging. It’s really moving. We do get a lot of messages that start out with the caveat, ‘You know I am a Christian.’ However, and they explain that they appreciate what we’re doing,” Lucien Greaves, a spokesperson for the Satanic Temple, told KWTV.
The New York City-based group proposed a 7-foot, goat-headed Baphomet figure to be placed on a stone slab, flanked by two smiling children, on the capitol grounds after a Republican lawmaker and conservative Christians were permitted to erect the monument to the Mosaic laws.
“It’s not a call to war against one side or the other, it’s actually a call for reconciliation to have a plurality of voices,” Greaves said. “There is no singular voice of the Oklahoman, you need to embrace the diversity of your population and see that no single politician’s view represents the entirety of the law abiding citizenry in Oklahoma.”
Surprise! Even some Christians support Satanist display at Oklahoma Capitol
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/28/surprise-even-some-christians-support-satanist-display-at-oklahoma-capitol/Surprise! Even some Christians support Satanist display at Oklahoma Capitol
By Travis Gettys
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 12:14 EST
The leader of a Satanic temple said he has been touched by the support his group has received for its proposal to place a monument next to the Ten Commandments at the Oklahoma State Capitol.
“It’s really encouraging. It’s really moving. We do get a lot of messages that start out with the caveat, ‘You know I am a Christian.’ However, and they explain that they appreciate what we’re doing,” Lucien Greaves, a spokesperson for the Satanic Temple, told KWTV.
The New York City-based group proposed a 7-foot, goat-headed Baphomet figure to be placed on a stone slab, flanked by two smiling children, on the capitol grounds after a Republican lawmaker and conservative Christians were permitted to erect the monument to the Mosaic laws.
“It’s not a call to war against one side or the other, it’s actually a call for reconciliation to have a plurality of voices,” Greaves said. “There is no singular voice of the Oklahoman, you need to embrace the diversity of your population and see that no single politician’s view represents the entirety of the law abiding citizenry in Oklahoma.”
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