Tag Archives: u.s.

International, U.S.

World War 3: South America united against British Empire! UNASUR 7 point resolution demands U.K. obey international laws, hopes for peaceful settlement

Declaration of Guayaquil
IN SUPPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR
THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF UNASUR

The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of UNASUR extraordinary meeting in the city of Guayaquil, on August 19, 2012, considering:

That the Minister of Foreign Trade and Integration of Ecuador, informed the Council that the citizen Julian Assange, requested on 19 June 2012, political asylum in the Embassy of Ecuador in London, a matter on which the Governments of Ecuador, the U.K. and Sweden, have been holding diplomatic talks about the demands for the extradition of Mr. Assange and the request for asylum;

That Ecuador was considering the request for asylum in accordance with the principles of protection of human rights and international law;

On 15 August, the Government of the Republic of Ecuador was notified in a U.K. memorandum a threat to “take action to arrest Mr. Assange in the current facilities of the Embassy” by invoking its national law on facilities diplomatic and Consular of 1987 (diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987);

That pursuant to Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, of which the U.K. is a signatory, “premises of the mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them without the consent of the Head of Mission” and that “the premises of the mission, their furnishings and other property thereon and the means of transport of the mission may not be immune from search, requisition, attachment or execution”;

That according to the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, states must refrain from the threat or use of force or to act in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations in international relations, and solve their differences peacefully.

That the Security Council of the United Nations, in SC/10463 press release of November 29, 2011, condemned in the strongest terms violations of diplomatic immunity and recalled the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic missions states consular receptors in relation to the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

UNASUR declaration:

1. Express its solidarity and support to the Government of the Republic of Ecuador to the threat of violation of local diplomatic mission.

2. Reaffirm the sovereign right of states to grant asylum.

3.  Strongly condemn the threat of use of force between states and to reiterate the full observance of the principles enshrined in international law, respect for sovereignty and the faithful observance of international treaties.

4. To reaffirm the fundamental principle of the inviolability of the premises of diplomatic missions and consular offices and the obligation of the receiving states, in relation to the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

5. Reaffirm the principle of international law under which no law can be invoked for failure to complete an international obligation, as well is reflected in Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969.

6.  Reiterate the relevance of institutions of asylum and refuge to protect the human rights of people who believe that their life or limb is threatened.

7.  Urge the parties to continue dialogue and direct negotiations in search of a mutually acceptable settlement under international law.

Guayaquil, August 19, 2012, 21:30 hours

Union of South American Nations are: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela

International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: South America gettin’ riled ’bout Julian Assange. Bradley Manning international hero!

“Inside this embassy in the dark, I could hear teams of police swarming up into the building through its internal fire escape……. If the U.K. did not throw away the Vienna Conventions the other night, it is because the world was watching.”-Julian Assange, 19 August 2012 statement from Ecuadorian embassy in London

“We are continuing to seek a diplomatic solution. We remain ready to continue the conversations we have had, but that is now a question for the Ecuadorians.”-British government statement

“We warn the government of the United Kingdom that it will face grave consequences around the world if it directly breaches the territorial integrity of the embassy of the Republic of Ecuador in London!”-Bolivian Alliance for the People of Our America

“I ask President Obama to do the right thing. The United States must renounce its witch hunt against WikiLeaks. The United States must dissolve its FBI investigation. The United States must vow that it will not seek to prosecute our staff or our supporters. The United States must pledge, before the world, that it will not pursue journalists for shining a light on the secret crimes of the powerful!”-Julian Assange, 19 August statement from Ecuadorian embassy in London

“We believe this is a bilateral issue between Ecuador and the United Kingdom and that the OAS [U.S. created Organization of American States] has no role to play in this matter.”-U.S. State Department statement

“They’re [United Kingdom] out of touch. Who do they think they’re dealing with? Can’t they see that this is a dignified and sovereign government which will not kneel down before anyone?”-Rafael Correa, President of Ecuador

“And to the [U.S.] Army private who remains in military prison in Ft Leavenworth, Kansas, who was found by the United Nations to have endured months of tortuous detention in Quantico, Virginia, and who has yet, after two years in prison, to see a trial, he must be released.  Bradley Manning must be released!  If Bradley Manning did as he was accused, he is a hero and an example to all of us, and one of the World’s foremost political prisoners.  Bradley Manning must be released! On Wednesday Bradley Manning spent his 815th day on detention without trial. The legal maximum is 120 days!”–-Julian Assange, 19 August statement from Ecuadorian embassy in London

“This is a sort of declaration of war. The U.S. has degenerated into a rogue state. What the U.S. wants, the U.S. gets from its allies, regardless of if it’s legal or if it’s ethical or in breach of human or legal rights. We’re all lackeys.”-Christine Assange, mother of Julian Assange

“This is not a bilateral dispute between two countries, it is about respect for international law, respect for humanitarian law and respect for embassies and diplomatic corps!”-Nicolás Maduro, Chancellor of Venezuela

“This Friday, there will be an emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of Latin America, in Washington DC, to address this very situation.”-Julian Assange, 19 August statement from Ecuadorian embassy in London

“Britain….is wrong. The threat is not only an aggression to Ecuador, it’s against Bolivia, it’s against South America, against the whole of Latin America!”-Evo Morales, President of Bolivia

“To my family, and to my children who have been denied their father: Forgive me, we will be reunited soon.”-Julian Assange, 19 August statement from Ecuadorian embassy in London  (see video of speech here)

International, U.S.

World War 3: South America’s ALBA issue declaration against United Kingdom, in support of Julian Assange

IX Declaration of the ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) Political Council

1. We reject intimidation threats uttered by government spokesmen in the U.K. of Great Britain for violating the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, and the principles of international law.

2. Categorically reaffirm our support for the sovereign right of the Government of Ecuador to grant diplomatic asylum to citizen Julian Assange.

3. We express our opposition to the U.K.’s position of trying to resolve in a manner contrary to international law, disputes with the nations of the world, particularly Latin America and the Caribbean.

4. We support the request for the invitation of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to discuss the hostile position of the Government of the United Kingdom against the Government of the Republic of Ecuador, and set a clear position of support for Ecuador.

5. We believe in promoting relevant United Nations a broad debate about the inviolability of diplomatic premises and full respect by all States of the principles of international law.

6. We warn the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain about the serious consequences that would be triggered worldwide, in case of a direct attack on the territorial integrity of the Republic of Ecuador in London.

7. We call on all governments in the world, Social Movements, the intelligentsia, to oppose this new claim of the British Government to impose by force its will on sovereign nations of the World.

8. We promise to do our best to give the widest publicity with this declaration.

Members of ALBA: Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Dominica, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Antigua & Barbuda.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

LIBOR: Japan orders investigation

17 August 2012, the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) ordered an investigation into TIBOR, or Tokyo Inter-Bank Offered Rate.

It’s a system similar to Britain’s LIBOR, and tries to regulate interest and currency rates.

18 financial institutions in Japan have been ordered to reveal their TIBOR operations. Specifically the FSA is looking for evidence that bank employees unfairly manipulated rates.  FSA is concerned about the credibility of the TIBOR system.

The Japanese Bankers Association gave an immediate response to the order, saying their were no TIBOR irregularities, despite the European and U.S. investigations into TIBOR.

U.S.

West Nile update, 17 August 2012: 80% of those infected don’t know they have it! Bees dying by the thousands! Union Pacific worker gets nearly $1 million! Drought to blame

“The higher the heat and the higher the humidity then the longer this will go.”-Phil Smith, Bucks County

More cases of West Nile virus being reported in the United States.

17 August, Bucks County, Pennsylvania reports first case for 2012.

17 August, New Haven, Connecticut reports first case for 2012.

17 August, Alabama officials reveal that at least six people have West Nile.

More mosquitoes were found infected with West Nile in Massachusetts.  Spraying to kill the blood suckers will begin in North Leominster on 20 August.

Health officials in Virginia are warning that as many as 80% of those infected don’t know it, and that: “20% have West Nile fever. About 10% of that 20% will have West Nile virus encephalitis and this can be very very life threatening.”-Jorge Arias, Fairfax County Health Department

In Texas, a Union Pacific (UP) railway employee was awarded $980,000 USD, for getting infected with West Nile virus while on the job.  The jury decided UP was 80% responsible because they made employees work in a swampy area with no insect repellant.

Bee keepers in Texas are reporting that spraying to kill mosquitoes is killing thousands of honey bees: “They will share their food and within 24 or 48 hours, 80% of those bees have shared that and they will be gone like the ones that we have witnessed.”-Susan Pollard, The Texas Honeybee Guild

The Texas cities of Grapevine, Colleyville and Southlake all reported human cases of West Nile virus.  The city of Southlake is providing free larvicide on a first come first served basis.

Horses are also becoming infected: “The horse will become unsteady on his feet, maybe stumbling, acting weak on the feet, laying down and not able to get up, sometimes depressed at first, and not interested in their food.”-Will Hadden, Gresham Veterinary Hospital

Dogs can get infected as well, but there is no vaccine for dogs.

In Arkansas, officials expect West Nile cases to grow.  They have a new theory as to why, the country wide drought: “One possible explanation could be with water sources drying up, the sources that are where not only mosquitoes are concentrated but also birds are concentrated. It puts the vectors in closer contact with one another.”-Susan Weinstein, state public health veterinarian

Oregon health officials reporting that mosquitoes in Jackson and Malheur counties tested positive for West Nile.

The Minnesota Department of Health reports 18 human cases so far.

Caddo Parish, in Louisiana, reporting second highest number of West Nile cases in the state. Human infections in Louisiana now at 92.

North Dakota reports 14 human cases, five people hospitalized.  Horses and birds also infected (birds are actually the source for West Nile virus).  Officials are puzzled because the state is in a drought: “Normally, you would think in years when it’s wetter, like last year with all the flooding there would be more West Nile cases, because mosquitoes require water to breed.”-Alicia Lepp, North Dakota Department of Health

Michigan has reported their first death from the virus, they blame the drought: “The unusually hot and dry summer has favored the mosquitoes that transmit WNV. These same conditions have led to a reduction in the number of nuisance mosquitoes which are more abundant during wet summers, giving citizens a false sense of security.”-Corinne Miller, Michigan Department of Community Health

Indiana reported its first death due to the virus. A survivor describes what the symptoms are like: “It feels like somebody has lodged an axe in my brain. Just about the time I think I’m out of the woods, then something else comes along, and we have to fight that, too.”-Katharyn DeVille

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Ecuador to pursue legal action against Britain, over Julian Assange asylum

17 August 2012, Ecuadorian presidential staff adviser, Alexis Mera, announced: “We are open to discuss with Britain the solution to this problem, and if there is no diplomatic solution, we may resort to the International Court of Justice.”

Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patino, also said that the Swedish sex crimes trial is just a ruse, that Assange would be handed over to the United States as soon as he arrived in Sweden. This qualifies Assange for protection under the “fair trial” clause of the internationally accepted (excepted for the United Kingdom) asylum rules.

“They have to comply with diplomatic and legal obligations under the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and respect the sovereignty of a country that has granted asylum.”-Baltasar Garzon, Assange legal team

Fukushima

One Year Later: Japan to create Temp Towns to house victims of Fukushima Daiichi

17 August 2012, people forced to flee their homes, because of the General Electric designed nuclear disaster reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, have been living in temporary prefab homes.  Now the Japanese government wants to know if they will accept living in ‘temporary’ towns as well.

A year ago the ignorant Japanese government told nuclear evacuees that they’d be returning home in a few weeks or months.  It’s finally become clear to the exalted leaders that radiation contamination could last years. Some areas will exceed 20 millisieverts per year for at least a decade!

The Japanese government admits they are now considering the wishes of the evacuees for the first time!  At least 15,000 people can never go back to their homes, and the government says it is willing to build new villages for the victims.

 

Idaho, Opinion, U.S.

Government Incompetence: U.S. Army suicide rate doubles in July! Suicide now kills more troops than combat!!!

16 August 2012, the United States Army says the suicide rate for active duty, reserve and National Guard troops has now surpassed the 2011 high. July 2012 suffered 38 suicides, double from the month of June 2012!  That’s more than one soldier per day!!!

The monthly average is now at 29 suicides.  2011 ended with an average of 23 suicides per month.

The majority of suicides are those troops with combat experience. July was also a record high for active duty troop suicides.

In June dumb ass Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said: “That is an epidemic, something’s wrong.”

No shit Sherlock!  It’s called unjustified War on Terror, police stateism, economy down the toilet!

Things are so bad that earlier in the year the Idaho National Guard demanded that the state re-open a closed suicide hot line (the patriotic Republican state leaders closed it down claiming a lack of funding)!

General Lloyd J. Austin III gave the same bull shit comment I’ve always heard about preventing suicide: “To combat it effectively will require sophisticated solutions aimed at helping individuals to build resiliency and strengthen their life coping skills.”

I’ve heard that rhetoric since the 1980s!  What they really want are troops that are like the compliant monkeys of Japan: Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.

But the more our leaders (Republicans, Democrats, religious & unAmerican Corporate America) betray our Constitution, screw over the families of troops by destroying the economy, ship jobs overseas, use prison labor instead of law abiding workers, religious hypocrisy, etc, the more those who join the military to supposedly fight for the American Dream are going to become disillusioned and turn to suicide, or something else (remember Bronze Star awardee Timothy McVeigh?)!

Idaho, Technology

Idaho Wildfires 16 August 2012: MAFFS C-130s return to Pocatello airport, Idaho National Guard joins battle! Amazed residents just now noticing the smoke! Idaho & California have the most fires!

Image

“We’re ready to go. We’ve gotten the clearance from the governor. We’ve got the state disaster emergency declaration done. Now, it’s just a matter of getting a mission assignment from the Bureau of Homeland Security.”-Colonel Tim Marsano, Idaho National Guard

Can you believe that? Even Homeland Security is calling the shots for firefighters!

16 August 2012, in eastern Idaho the new human caused Fox Hill Fire, close to Wyoming, has burned at least 250 acres (101 hectares).  Fire officials say buildings are threatened, but they don’t expect to have any containment until 18:00 hours on 17 August.

Click pics (by AAron B. Hutchins) to make bigger:

Click here to see pics of the last time MAFFS C-130s were at the Pocatello Airport.

On 15 August, the human caused Gun Range Fire, near Idaho Falls, burned about 588 acres (237.9 hectares) before being contained.

Fires are so numerous in Idaho that the Idaho National Guard is being called into battle. According to the Boise based National Interagency Fire Center, there are at least 12 fires in Idaho (NBC news says 9, but they’re wrong), and only one is contained (yesterday’s Gun Range Fire)!

The only other state with as many wildfires is California. Altogether, at least 60 wildfires are currently burning in the United States.

It looks like this year will beat last year’s number of wildfires, already the acreage burned this year is 1.5 million more than last year (currently 6.3 million acres or 2 million hectares have burned)!

I have been amazed by the number of people here in southeastern Idaho, who are just now noticing the smoke.  Some don’t notice it until I point it out to them, like “Hey, didn’t you notice you can’t see the mountains anymore?”.  The response was “Well now that you mention it…”

While coming out of the Fred Meyer yesterday I overheard two people commenting about how smokey the sky was.  Hello! It’s been that way for more than a week now!  Oh well, just reminded me of the days when I lived in southern California and was amazed how many people there couldn’t seem to tell the difference between a smoggy day and a clear day!

Besides Idaho and California, the other states dealing with wildfires are:  Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

TWO NEW WILDFIRES IN EASTERN IDAHO

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. occupation of Afghanistan; 15 Aug – 16 Aug. Black Hawk down, 11 dead! First Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of attcking them, now they blame Iran! NATO says most military contractors are corrupt!

16 August 2012

ISAF said: “An ISAF helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan today. The crash resulted in the deaths of four International Security Assistance Force service members, three United States Forces-Afghanistan service members, three members of the Afghan National Security Forces, and one Afghan civilian interpreter.”

Mujahideen stated: “Our Mujahideen shot down an ISAF helicopter in Chenarto area of Shah Wali Kot district in Kandahar province at around 11:00 am (0630 GMT).”

In Faryab Province, a firefight broke out between villagers and local police.  Two of the villagers are accused of raping an eight year old girl. The police were trying to arrest them. The villagers are also begging the Mujahideen not to execute the two men accused of rape.

In Maidan Wardak Province, a senior security official was killed while trying to defuse a bomb.

In Baghlan Province, seven Afghan government soldiers were killed, two wounded, when they drove over a mine.

The Afghan parliament is now blaming Iran for coordinated suicide attacks in Nimroz Province.

15 August 2012

ISAF stated: “A U.S. Forces-Afghanistan service member died following an improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan today.”

ISAF also stated: “An International Security Assistance Force service member died following an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan.“

In Herat Province, a bicycle bomb exploded, wounding at least 20 people.

A report by U.S. led NATO says most military contractors are corrupt. General Ricky Waddell revealed that dozens of contractors are under investigation, and some are already facing prosecution.  The cases involve both Afghan contractors, and contractors from other countries.

The presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan stated they will work with each other to find out who is responsible for ongoing artillery attacks, being launched from Pakistan into Afghanistan.

In Kunduz Province, an alleged suicide bomber was killed by U.S. troops.  Local government officials claim the suicide bomber was targeting a bus full of cops.

In Badakhshan Province, Mujahideen ambushed an Afghan government border patrol.  Two top border patrol commanders were killed, along with two other border patrol troops. Three border patrol troops were wounded.

In Kabul Province, a fire destroyed a warehouse with $2 million USD worth of electrical equipment.  Local government officials say the fire was caused by a wildfire.

In Khost Province, Mujahideen claim they attacked a U.S. base. ISAF has not confirmed.