Posts by Jaime Ortega-Simo:
Musharraf is charged for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto
August 20th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
The dictator Pervez Musharraf has been charged with conspiracy and collaboration in the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007.
“He must be judged”, said the prosecutor Mohamed Azhar after a brief hearing in a court of Rawalpindi in which the charges were read.
The case against the military took power in a coup in 1999, after which he became the most powerful man in Pakistan. An unprecedented occurrence, in a country with nuclear weapons ruled by a large military on its 66 years of history.
The case has also broken an unwritten rule that military leaders are untouchable. Meanwhile, the country is trying to shake off the legacy of decades of military rule under the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Musharraf, who made public statements in his testimony, denied all charges against him. The journalists could not enter the courtroom for the hearing, which lasted nearly 20 minutes. The next hearing is set for August 27.
Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide attack after an election rally, weeks after her return to Pakistan from a self-imposed exile.
EU supplies military hardware to Egypt
August 18th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
Behind the United States and Russia, the European Union is a major arms supplier to Egypt, according to data from the International Institute for Peace Studies Stockholm (SIPRI).
That same Sunday, the EU have announced an urgent review of its relations with Egypt and take measures to promote the democratic process and to end the violence in the country, which considers “unjustifiable” blaming the interim government primarily responsible and the Army.
In 2011 Egypt received arms worth about 400 million euros (533 million dollars), three quarters of which come from Russia. The figures however vary greatly from year to year: in 2012 total sales were estimated by SIPRI in only 170 million euros.
The latest official report of the EU refers to 2011 and, as it approved export licenses for weapons and military equipment to the country EU worth 303 million euros. The majority (102 million) was spent on aircraft that are manufactured mainly by Spain and France.
The second category (65 million) was the vehicle, with Germany leading the way with 57.3 million euros.
Of the 303 million, Spain is the second country in the EU with licenses for a higher value of 79.6 million euros, almost exclusively for aircraft.
The first position is for France, with 107 million euros, divided mainly in electronic equipment (26 million), technology for development and production of weapons (25) fighter (22) and bombs and missiles (21). Germany is in third place with 74.2 million euros.
The EU adopted in 1998 a code of conduct for arms exports by establishing a series of regulations, such as the ban on arms sales “when there is a clear danger that can be used for internal repression” or when at home Target’s human rights violations. It is also not allowed for weapons sales that can “cause or lengthen” armed conflict.
Pro-Mursi supporters get killed in police raid
August 15th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
Egypt prepares for a new day of high tension after the bloody suppression of the camps and demonstrations in Cairo demanding the return of the now ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.
According to an official report, at least 278 people have died, while the Muslim Brotherhood listed the death toll in at least 2,200 deaths.
According to security forces after the entry into force of the curfew late on Wednesday afternoon calm reigned and peace returned to the streets of major most cities.
This calm, however, can only be temporary, as the Islamists have made a new appeal for supporters of Mursi to go back to the streets, while police have warned they will not accept any new camping after achieving control located on the square and also in Rabea Al Nahda in Cairo, where the Muslim Brotherhood have camped out for a month and a half.
After a day of bloody clashes, authorities declared a state of emergency and a curfew in half of the provinces, including Cairo and North Alexandria.
The state of emergency was enforced in Egypt on the pretext of combating terrorism from 1981 until May 2012, when he decided not to renew the “military junta” that ruled the country since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak (1981-2011) until the ascension of Mursi into power in June last year.
The Egyptian authorities reported that 235 civilians and 43 that policemen were killed across the country. But the figure is probably much higher. A journalist of the AFP agency counted at least 124 bodies in the square Rabea, where the Ministry of Health has reported only 61 deaths.
In turn, the Muslim Brotherhood has announced that the 17 year old daughter of one of its main leaders, Mohammed al-Beltagui, was also shot dead. In total, 2,200 Brothers talk about dead people and over 10,000 wounded.
There is confusing information on the alleged arrest of eight leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, as the vice president of the Freedom and Justice Party, the Brotherhood’s political arm, the Arian Esam; Safuat the Hegazy cleric and leader of the Brotherhood Mohamed el Beltagui have not been imputed to any serious allegations.
While security sources said they had been arrested in the Adauiya Rabea, Al Arian denied it on his Facebook page, though the sources did not rule out that someone has gotten into the account of the Islamist.
Meanwhile, the Nobel Peace Prize Mohamed ElBaradei has resigned from his position as vice president by refusing “to accept the consequences of decisions with which he disagreed.”
A decision in contrast to the statement by the Prime Minister appointed by the army, Hazem Beblawi, who has praised the police for their “great moderation.”
The international community, which had tried to mediate to avoid a dramatic end to the dispute between the pro-Mursi and the new power, has condemned the use of violence to disperse the two camps on thousands of Islamists who were children and women.
Beblawi has made a public appearance on the Egyptian television to ensure that “no self-respecting state would tolerate” such attack that lasted a month and a half, and that hindered the implementation process that should lead to elections in early 2014.
“The state has to be respected and it should prevent the rights of citizens to be attacked by others,” the prime minister added.”
In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry has urged conclude as soon as possible this election, and has described as “unfortunate” the bloodshed. For its part, the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, who had previously tried to mediate in Cairo, has called for the lifting of the state of emergency “as soon as possible”.
France has called for “the immediate cessation of repression”, while the UN has called for the “international position to take another urgently address” His secretary general, Ban Ki-moon has condemned “in the strongest terms the violence “.
Ankara, which opposed the progress of Mursi, along with Iran and Hamas, have claimed a “slaughter”.
Qatar, the pillar of the Muslim Brotherhood, has denounced “the method used against peaceful protesters,” while Berlin has called for calm in the country where violence between pro and anti Mousi and between pro-Morsi and forces caused more than 250 deaths in late June.
“The instructions were to use only tear gas, without weapons”, said the Minister of Interior. “However, when security forces arrived, they were surprised by the shooting of the Islamists,” he argued.
The repression with which the two plazas were evicted provoked the clashes spread to other parts of Cairo and other cities. In Alexandria, the second city of the country, a journalist reported exchange of fire with automatic weapons.
Moreover, at least four churches were attacked. Activists accuse the pro-Mursi of conducting “a war of retaliation” against Copts, whose patriarch, had also supported the Army’s decision to remove Morsi, currently under house arrest.
Faced with excessive violence, El Baradei, who supported Mursi’s output on 3 July, resigned, revealing deep divisions within the transitional authorities installed by the powerful army. Repeatedly, without any progress, it called for a political solution to the crisis, insisting that the Muslim Brotherhood would participate in the transition to power.
Ronald Pofalla signs spying agreement with the U.S.
August 13th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
The German government negotiated an agreement with the U.S. secret services that ensures a country will not engage in spying on the other, according to the Foreign Minister, Ronald Pofalla, after appearing before the supervisory committee of the federal parliament (Bundestag).
For Pofalla, the first contacts leading to a positive direction have already taken place at the level of experts, including the German Intelligence Service BND-or foreign espionage, and the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States.
The Foreign Minister, responsible for the coordination of the German secret services and their cooperation with their foreign counterparts, said there is not the slightest indication that there have been “massive spying actions” by the NSA in Germany .
He also said that by the United States and the United Kingdom have given assurances “in writing” to Germany’s espionage operations in both countries have adhered at all times “to German law.”
Pofalla appeared before the parliamentary oversight committee, whose meetings are always closed and under confidentiality agreement, and amid opposition allegations to collusion between the BND and the NSA agencies.
The Foreign Ministry insisted in this regard, that the current memorandum of cooperation between the two countries’ espionage services was signed under the Social Democrat-Green government of Gerhard Schröder.
“Please understand: I myself had signed the memorandum, correct from all points of view and practices appropriate to the secret services between allied countries,” said Pofalla, in relation to the agreement, in 2002, by the then head of the Chancellery , Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The session of the commission, the third Pofalla attended since the scandal broke of alleged massive U.S. intelligence, took place at the behest of the opposition Social Democrats, Green and Left.
The chair of the parliamentary estate is Social Thomas Oppermann, for whom there is founded suspicion that the U.S. takes massive spying activities in Germany.
Oppermann has repeatedly urged Pofalla to clarify the extent to which it wascollected data of German citizens and if there has been mass transfer, and if so to what extent, including mobile phone numbers between the intelligence services of both countries.
Gibraltar tensions worry Rajoy and Cameron
August 10th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has telephoned the prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, to express his “deep concern” over the incidents that are happening in recent days in relation to Gibraltar.
“I have made clear my concerns about Gibraltar and that our position on (British) sovereignty would not change,” Cameron said in his Twitter account shortly after the phone call that transcend British Prime Minister described as “constructive”.
For his part, Mariano Rajoy has moved to the British Prime Minister that relations between the two countries and conflicts be settled by “honesty” and has stated that unilateral actions on Gibraltar to be “unacceptable”.
In the conversation, which lasted ten minutes, Rajoy has argued that “the unilateral act of installing cement blocks in the Bay of Algeciras was unacceptable.”
The communication was requested 24 hours ago by the British and accepted by the Spanish to take place today at the scheduled time for the Prime Minister, as reported Moncloa.
Rajoy stressed that Spain and the United Kingdom are “partners, friends and allies,” so that “disputes arising between them would have to be managed with honesty and transparency in bilateral dialogue framed in compliance with international law , European and national.”
The Prime Minister reiterated Cameron, according to a statement from the Executive, their willingness to seek an early solution to the current situation caused by the Gibraltar authorities and has produced in Spain “deep unease and great concern. ”
Both leaders also agreed that the foreign ministers of Spain and Britain engage “immediately” to address differences in dialogue.
Also, Rajoy has explained to his British counterpart that controls developments at the gate, obey to fulfill its obligation to control to prevent illegal trafficking in the area.
The Prime Minister has reminded that the measures taken are suited “perfectly” the Schengen Borders Code, guided only by the principles of randomness, proportionality and non-discrimination.
However, according to Downing Street, in the telephone conversation, Rajoy promised to reduce border controls that have caused tension in recent days, after the launch of the sea Gibraltarians 70 concrete blocks that hinder the work of Spanish fishermen .
“The prime minister made clear that our position on the sovereignty of Gibraltar and its surrounding waters will not change. Also reiterated, as the prime minister and Rajoy were prior agreement that the matter should not damage our bilateral relations,” said a spokeswoman for Downing Street.
“However, there is a real risk that this will happen unless the border situation improves. Rajoy agreed he did not want the matter to be transformed into an obstacle in bilateral relations and the need to find ways to defuse the issue, “the spokesman added.
According to the British source, the next step should be a conversation between the British Foreign Minister, William Hague, with his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel García-Margallo.
The president of the Spanish Government “is committed to reducing border measures. The two leaders agreed that there should be a solution to the dispute over fishing,” said the British spokesman.
The Washington Post lost its soul
August 10th, 2013By Jaime Ortega.
The Daily Journalist is sad about the recent acquisition of The Washington Post, now owned by Amazon, which might pose a terrible blow for the integrity of its future journalism.
The Graham family that was once in control of the editorial side, might have sold its soul, to satisfy the needs of the business side.
Less than 24 hours after the Post’s $250m sale to the Amazon founder was announced, the newspaper showed its teeth with a 1.400 word examination of the issues focusing on Jeff Bezos’s mind.
“Amazon has grown steadily more comfortable with throwing its weight around Capitol Hill over the years,” the Post wrote, noting that it had spent $4.7m on lobbying in the last congressional session.
The main reason why the Post was sold was because of the revenue losses it suffered and the immediate decline in the print industry, which forced the newspaper to accommodate a new strategy to survive inside a competitive media world.
The consequences could have a negative effect on its reporting since it might bias information related with government outcast. And Amazon is known as a big lobbyist spender and government affiliate.
The Post is one of the only newspapers that has rarely never endorsed a political candidate except back in 00’s. The Post has got criticism from both Republicans and Democrats for its in-depth investigative reports that have questioned the reputation of the Intelligence Community. Most other print networks backed one way or another, political candidates and got paid an incentive for their services to promote media campaigns.
The buyout comes after Edward Snowden’s document leakage to the Post’s editorial, which was later followed with a lawsuit by the U.S. Government for publishing classified content from the NSA’s monitoring programs.
Its not in the benefit of the public sphere that a major newspaper like the Post, has been purchased by Amazon. It could transform the Washington Post into a business, rather than a newspaper. The Post was a great newspaper reporting sneaky-government endeavors.
Another Horizon.
Within the PRISM program run by the NSA, we find that corporate giants like Google, Facebook, Apple, Skype, Verizon and many others have forcefully participated with the U.S. Government under the scrutiny of the PATRIOT Act.
But the worrisome part is that one of the biggest information data collector providers for the Intelligence Community is Amazon, and somehow it has effectively avoided the main “information providers” lists.
Amazon also owns Alexa Internet, a web analyst engine, that since was it was purchased by Amazon in 1999, they underwent through structural changes to allow features that included visitor demographics, clicks-streams and search traffic statistics.
These sort of features are the ones that would perfectly synergize with collective statistical data used to monitor terrorism and spy on citizens under the Intelligence Community permission. So it would be no surprise that under the first PATRIOT Act, Alexa was allowing the government to collect data for surveillance porpoises.
Amazon is also more than likely an InfraGard member. An affiliate partner of the IC, and a quasi-governmental organization that collects suspicious information to allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation conduct investigations about possible threats that might suppose a threat to National Security. IngraGard is been under a lot of controversy for its ‘police supervisory’ role, kind of a corporate ‘Block Watch’.
They also partner with law enforcement agencies and other private corporations, so that they share intelligence information with each other.
As of December 2009, there were over 34,000 corporations and government agencies who were members. And their ultimate goal is to protect a very shaky term used as “The critical infrastructure” which has no clear definition to this day.
Privileges
The Post is now under the control of a company that receives more government grants, that it actually pays in taxes. In the UK, this seems to be the case with Amazon.
If the U.S. Government is facilitating help to Amazon for their loyalty, Amazon as a result could ban controversial investigations in the Post targeted to show misbehavior from the government, that could put a halt for investigative reporters to publish important stories that pose critical content.
Not only that, but if the Post remains silent about certain issues, it could very well be that just alike the lack of effort shown from the Criminal Division to prosecute major Wall Street bankers, Amazon could also bypass ‘other prosecutions’ in exchange to not publish information that could harm the reputation of the U.S. Government. (Sounds like conspiracy, but don’t shut yourself to the point were belief exceeds proven logic. Hint: WMD’s were not real)
The add-on of a corporate side running the editorials of the Post, plus the affiliations of government and homeland security services, could affect or weaken the status of the newspaper which is known for its exclusive reporting.
That could be very sad for journalism, as the Post was one of the few pioneers that provided good journalism in a mainstream media full of grade C, news.
Bezo is an All-Star successful business man, and it would be unfair for any journalist to believe a business man that is hungry for government grants. Unfortunately, good stories normally make less money because they carry a negative effect on giants that invest money on programs under investigation. The Post was a great government ‘Watch Dog’ that could very well end up inside the Media shelter.
Sad news.
300 people die as South Sudan tensions rise
August 9th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
More than 300 people have died and thousands of locals have fled to the jungle in the two weeks of fighting between the South Sudanese army rebels and rival tribes in the east of the country last month, as reported by local authorities.
The army faces a rebellion led by politician David Yau Yau in the Jonglei state. Furthermore, the conflict between the Lou Nuer tribes and Muerle has flared up again leading to numerous confrontations. More than 1,600 people have died in a cycle of tribal violence in Jonglei since it took place on the disintegration of Africa’s largest country.
Western powers fear that violence will lead to a civil war, undermining the stability of the young African country. South Sudan is currently in a state where the number of weapons has increased considerably after decades of conflict with the Khartoum region, which led to the split of the state in 2011.
A team of local chiefs, who travel around Pibor County in Jonglei, had reported the death of 328 people, all members of Murle, among whom were women and children, as indicated by Jodi Jonglei Boyoris, representative of the staff.
The number of dead and wounded in Lou Nuer remains unknown.
Boyoris announced he expects the death toll to rise even though the fighting has stopped this month.
State spokesman said that the fight ended almost three weeks ago, but so far, local officials have failed to count the total amount of death tolls and injuries as people had not returned to their homes.
United Nations has said that thousands of people are hiding in the forest outside the town of Pibor, in Jonglei, to avoid conflict between the army and Yau Yau. These justify their behavior by saying that they fight corruption abuses of the army gainst the only political party that exists in South Sudan.
United Nations estimates that 100,000 people have been affected by the conflict.
Snowden Case hardens U.S. Russian tensions
August 7th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
Foreign ministers and the U.S. Defense will meet in Washington on Friday with their Russian counterparts in a climate of growing tension over the Snowden case, whom Russia has granted asylum.
The meeting, which at first was set in doubt, between John Kerry and Chuck Hagel representing the U.S., and Sergei Shoigu and Sergei Lavrov from the Russian side will take place at the State Department.
The appointment comes at a time when the relations are very delicate between the two countries as the U.S. president Barack Obama, held in the air a public participation in a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier in September.
All for Moscow’s decision to grant asylum to the former consultant Edward Snowden, who leaked surveillance program of the U.S. government.
A U.S. defense official, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke to AFP but did not specify the issues on the agenda of this meeting. However, Russian diplomats now expect “a very intense debate, especially since there are a number of controversial and difficult issues to discuss.”
The reunion of the Obama-Putin summit before the G20 summit in St. Petersburg in June was canceled, although Washington has not yet given a definite no, pending any developments in the Snowden case.
The White House spokesman, Jay Carney, said he is still “studying the usefulness of a summit” and promised to communicate the decision “in the coming days.”
For the Russian Deputy of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Ryabkov has raised doubts about the usefulness of Washington on this “supposed important summit” as is an “absolute distortion of reality.”
“The U.S. government questioned a bilateral meeting at the highest level. I found it to look like the world of a distorted mirror,” he said.
Russia has insisted that it had nothing to do with Snowden until arrival at Moscow’Sheremetyevo airport, on June 23. “And even after that try to avoid any rotation which added to the situation something that exceeds the humanitarian aspect,” Ryabkov said.
Postures found
“We obviously and strongly disagree with the Russians in their decision about Mr. Snowden. And we disagree with them on many issues, including Syria,” Carney added. Another contentious issue is Iran and its nuclear program. Russia has recently denounced the U.S. decision to impose further sanctions on Tehran.
On the military side, the issues in dispute are numerous, especially on the issue of nuclear arms a reduction desired by President Obama and Russian opposition directed to the missile defense programs of the United States.
The Ergenekon case pilling in Turkey
August 5th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
An Istanbul court verdict announced today the controversial ‘Ergenekon case’, who charged nearly three hundred people, including a former army chief, professors and journalists for planning a coup to overthrow the moderate Islamist government.
The case began in June 2007, with a police record in a house close to a suburb of Istanbul, where they found 27 hand grenades, and from that discovery the alleged plot against the government began to grow with further research.
In the “macro trial” the most important in the last decades, which began in October 2008, there are 278 people indicted, 66 are in custody and for which the prosecution requested a life sentence for coup, including many high-ranking retired military and a former chief of staff, like General Ilker Basbug.
In the 2,500 pages of court indictment they were alleged coup plans to try to overthrow the government of the ruling Justice and Development (AKP) led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Former Chief of Staff Basbug, who worked with Erdogan during his tenure in the Army (2008-2010), is defined as the “leader of a terrorist organization”.
Prosecutors accuse the alleged plot to plan assassinations and bombings against govermment civilians to cause unrest and pave the way for a military coup.
Protests and demonstrations
A reading of the verdict, for which there is no set time, will proceed in the high-security Turkish prison in Silivri, about 70 kilometers west of Istanbul.
For security reasons, the verdict can only follow the deputies, lawyers, defendants and members of the press, which has sparked protests from bar associations and the opposition party, as it goes against the principle of public court hearings.
During the past weekend, police arrested 20 people in multiple zones in Istanbul against minor parties and NGOs that had organized demonstrations against the ruling, but the security forces have denied that their operation was linked to the reading of the verdict.
The secular opposition and some activist groups defending pro-rights believe the trial is politicized and is being used to court to purge the armed forces of those who disagree with the government.
The arrests of senior retired generals and active officers were unthinkable a few years ago in Turkey, where the army had enjoyed an untouchable status as a bastion of secularism in the country.
The Italian justice finally runs Silvio out of credit
August 2nd, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
Silvio Berlusconi finally reached a null point of no return with the Italian Justice after 20 years or never ending problems.
In the past, the former prime minister of Italy has been accused and investigated thirty times starting yesterday, August 1, with the confirmation of the sentence to four years in prison for tax evasion by the Mediaset case by the Supreme Court of Italy.
After two marathon hearings, the High Court decided to refer to a second instance the case for reconsidering the terms of disqualification, which momentarily gives temporally breath to Berlusconi and the Italian government coalition.
Berlusconi’s judicial history has filed 13 investigations, while in the rest of the trials was acquitted and other offenses prescribed. Currently, Berlusconi has outstanding four processes:
The appeal by the ‘Ruby case’, in which he has been sentenced to seven years of imprisonment and perpetual disqualification for the exercise of public office on charges of abuse of power and incitement to prostitution.
“You should also start the appeal for the sentence to one year in jail for the crime of violation of the summary with the publication of wiretaps in the newspaper” said “Il Giornale”, owned by his brother Paolo.
Besides being held to a preliminary hearing trial for the alleged purchase in 2007 of Senator Sergio de Gregorio to bring down the government of Romano Prodi. And also the appeal is pending for divorce from his second wife, Veronica Lario.
In the past, Berlusconi has always managed to emerge unscathed from the charges, starting with the most recent case, when in May 2012 he was acquitted by the ‘Mediatrade case’, in which he was accused of tax fraud and misappropriation.
In 2001 he was acquitted of the crime of falsifying balance sheets to the All Iberian society, belonging to the Fininvest group, in a case that dates back to the early of the year 90.
For the same case, and in relation to the illegal financing of the Socialist Party Bettino Craxi, Berlusconi was acquitted in 2005 after his Executive sentences changed over falsehood.
In 2001 also was acquitted of the crime of bribery to the Finance Guard (Italian financial police) not allowing to investigate the accounts of some of its businesses.
Another acquittal came in 2001 for the crime of falsification of balance in the acquisition of the film company ‘Medusa’ which at first had been sentenced to 16 months in prison in December 1997. Also the 2007 Supreme acquitted of the crime of corruption of judges to prevent the purchase of the public food company SME in 1985 by industrialist Carlo de Benedetti.
That same year, Spain was acquitted by the Telecinco case in which he was accused of falsifying balance sheets and violation of antitrust laws.
Among the most talked prescriptions highlights the Mills case, when after almost seven years of proceedings, in February 2012, pleaded the statute of limitations for corruption in the judicial act he was charged.
The Mills case, named after British lawyer David Mills, deemed the alleged payment of 600,000 dollars from Berlusconi’s lawyer in exchange for favorable testimony on two previous trials
FBI raids biggest operation against child prostitution
July 30th, 2013By Jaime Ortega.
The U.S. federal authorities released this weekend 105 minors under a network of sexual exploitation, as announced by the deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Washington.
This is the biggest operation against child prostitution developed by the agency so far and was carried out for 72 hours in 76 cities, where they arrested a total of 150 people.
“Sexual exploitation is a threat to all children of our country,” acknowledged the FBI Deputy Director, Ron Hosko, on monday during a press conference in the capital. “We’re talking about one of the most persistent crimes on the streets of our cities.”
The FBI initiative named “Lost Innocense”, is to investigate the disappearance of children in the U.S. and bring their captors to justice, as they have released more than 2,700 children since its founding a decade ago.
According to data provided by Rosko, 1,300 people have been sentenced to prison for child trafficking and sexual exploitation in all this time, with sentences ranging from 15 to 50 years in prison and 10 death sentences.
U.S. officials say that most vulnerable children are between 13 and 16 years and fit the definition of “child with a vacuum” as they called the experts. “The kidnapper identifies that void in his victim and tries to fill it with different strategies,” said Hosko. “Once the child has fallen through the net, then start sexual exploitation.”
60% also fled or disappeared when they were with host families, which further hinders their finding.
According to the deputy director of the FBI, most victims released this weekend were between 13 and 17 years-of-age, but have come to retrieve less than nine years old. “This is one of the biggest challenges we face in this country,” said Hosko.
The FBI is working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the identification and recovery of child victims of prostitution. “Operators are sold at truck stops on highways or through child pornography websites,” said the center’s director, John Ryan. “It is a problem present in all cities.”
The authorities revealed that the operation “Cross Country VII” identified among other places the selling of minors in key points on several cities, road stops, motels, casinos and various websites and social networks. Among the cities where the raids took place, according to the list shared by the FBI, are Detroit, Michigan, Denver, Colorado, and San Francisco and San Diego, in the State of California.
Those responsible for the operation argue that one of the biggest problems when children find is that a large majority of them have no family members who have denounced their absence. 60% also fled or disappeared when they were with host families, which further hinders their find.
“We are talking about young people without family or whose family structure is broken, in most cases had no complaints about their disappearance,” Ryan lamented. According to the director, some of the victims fall into prostitution when they turn 18, when they must leave the shelters. “Some of the networks identified victims from the day they enter the social service system to be taken to foster homes, so our monitoring methods still have much to improve,” he said.
The head of FBI operations against child prostitution acknowledged Monday that they have managed to increase the level of public awareness regarding the risks of missing children in both rural and large cities, particularly through advertising campaigns in large sporting events, but there is still work to do. “We still have many children to recover from operating networks and likewise bring their captors to justice,” said Hosko
Mali holds presidential election within crisis
July 28th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
Mali held this Sunday presidential elections to legitimize the political transition that aims to end an adverse year to a possibly uprising for independence and a coup that pushed the country to the brink of a revolution.
They’re twenty seven candidates. Among them the former prime ministers Modibo Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Sidibé, former Economy Minister Cissé and Dramane Dembelé Sumaila, Adema major party candidate, presented a few programs focused on removing double and territorial political crisis, and in reconciliation, fight corruption and improving the deteriorated economy.
The last obstacle to the holding of the elections was passed on June 18 in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, when the Malian government and Tuareg rebels who control the northern part of Kidal signed an agreement to cease the fire.
The agreement, signed with the mediation of the President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaoré, also established a return to Kidals Civil Administration and the Army. A point materialized on day 5 with the establishment of a group of 150 soldiers legacies of Bamako.
In contrast to this presence, supervised and by the United Nations Mission for Stabilization in Mali (MINUSMA) and mission of France (Serval), the authorities have undertaken to organize a dialogue after the election to determine the administrative status of Azawad (the name is known to the northern region of Mali).
Similarly, a European Union mission, composed of 90 observers to short and long term, ensures the proper organization of the electoral process, which many consider a hasty date due to lack of resources and time for commissioning.
However, the head of the Directorate General for the organization of elections, General Siaka Sangare, said that thanks to this agreement they were normally able to deliver voting cards in Kidal, where 35,000 of the nearly seven million Malians voted.
Despite the “hiccups” when drawing up the lists and distributing voting cards, as recognized by several officials, the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, Mamadou Diamountenin, stated that, “Although the alarm has sounded in several occasions, they have launched the necessary corrective measures. “
All agree that this Sunday is key to take a giant step towards national reconciliation among the various political forces, all divided since the coup of March 22 last year, and between the Government of Bamako and Tuareg a few separatists who took up arms in January 2012.
According to the Ouagadougou agreement signed between the authorities and the Tuareg, 60 days after the conclusion of the elections will begin talks in addition to defining the administrative status of Azawad that should draw a strategy for the development of this desert region of 850,000 square kilometers.
The independence of the Tuareg uprising in northern Mali, representing 7% of the population, show the unrest sparked by many military leaders, who have not seen with good eyes how the then president, Amado Toumani Touré, handled the crisis .
This upset several protesters actions until, on March 22, as a group of soldiers led by Captain Amado Hague Sanogo staged a coup.
The coup marked the outbreak of a new political crisis and, far from slowing the advance Tuareg grew wings. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) achieved in just one week to gain control of the north and proclaimed April 6 Azawad state.
Meanwhile, the military, under pressure from the international community and in particular by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed to restore the old constitutional order through a transition in which, they have not given up.
During the remainder of 2012, while in Azawad radical Islamic groups Ansar al Din and Monotheism and Jihad in West Africa (myao) were imposed to MNLA democratic transition in Bamako, it suddenly clogged again and again.
The French military intervention in January, which led to the flight of radical Islamic groups and favored the return of MNLA north of the country, also opened the doors to these choices that are intended to seal both crises and move toward economic recovery and social development.
Obama ask the president of Vietnam to respect human rights
July 26th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
The U.S. president, Barack Obama, received Thursday at the White House his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang, in amid intense pressure from Congress, unions and civil rights groups that the president addressed in their meeting after the human rights repression exerted by the Hanoi government.
“We still have differences on this issue,” Obama acknowledged after the meeting, when asked about the status of civil liberties in China. “U.S. defends and has respect for freedom of expression, religion and assembly,” said the U.S. president.
Last month, members of the Department of State said in a hearing before Congress concerns over the number of political prisoners in Vietnamese prisons and increasing restrictions on access to the Internet.
Sang told Obama that his country was willing to sign the United Nations Convention against Torture later this year and invited in 2014 a special envoy to matters such as religion and faith.
Sang’s visit, is the second of a Vietnamese president to ever visit the White House since the two countries normalized relations in 1995-in 2007.
His predecessor, Nguyen Minh Triet, was invited to the U.S. by George W. Bush and shows that Asia has become a priority for the Obama Administration that seeks active to strengthen partnerships with the countries of the region to counter the political, economic and military problems of the area.
Although the concern for human rights has been on the agenda, the meeting between the two leaders had focused almost entirely on economic issues.
Trade between the U.S. and Vietnam reached 25,000 million in 2012, compared with 400 million recorded 10 years earlier. In their meeting, Obama and Sang have discussed the Trans Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP, its acronym in English), an initiative that, if carried out, would become the largest free trade zone in the world.
Vietnam, meanwhile, seeks to strengthen the alliance with his former enemy to safeguard its interests in the South China Sea where it has a conflict with Beijing over the ownership of islands controlled by China after the war that both countries held in 1974.
Hanoi seeks the lifting of the arms embargo established by the U.S. in 1984, an issue that the U.S. Administration is studying but does not expect to be resolved in the short or medium term.
U.S. and Vietnam seek closer trade ties, knowing that the first economic future lies in Asia and is the second of the strategic importance within that relationship. The war has left behind and demonstrations on Wednesday happened during lunch with Sang who was imprisoned at the beginning of the 70s in a jail in South Vietnam, Secretary of State, John Kerry.
“55 years ago, hundreds of thousands of Americans were fighting in the fields and rivers of Vietnam. Today, hundreds of thousands of us visited their markets and historic sites, “said Kerry, lieutenant in charge of a patrol river in Cam Rahn Bay during 1968 and 1969 in China.
However, in the meeting between the two leaders, the specter of war was also present. Obama has gifted a copy of the letter sent to Ho Chi Minh Harold Truman 67 years ago. “Ho always spoke to cooperate with the U.S. and 67 years later we are reaching that goal,” said the president of Vietnam.
But the economic importance of the meeting could not ignore the concern about the growing number of human rights violations perpetrated by the Government of Hanoi and have increased, according to reports from civil rights groups, since Sang came to power in 2011.
Human Rights Watch has reported that in the first five months of 2013 there has been convictions of political crimes with more casualties than throughout last year.
Relatives of 35 prisoners, including human rights activists and bloggers, asked in a letter to Obama to “fight for the people of Vietnam” and Sang has pressed to release political prisoners.
The signers asked to continue with the Hanoi regime adding the same strategy as in Myanmar, subordinating any economic concessions for respect of civil liberties. A lawsuit also was sent to several members of the House of Representatives, Democrats and Republicans representing districts in California with a large colony Vietnamese-who have warned the president that they will oppose the TPP without ensuring that Vietnam respects all human rights.
Pedro Passos Coelho restructures Portugal’s government
July 23rd, 2013By Jaime Ortega.
The Social Democratic Prime Minister of Portugal, Pedro Passos Coelho, has made changes in his government, in order to rest aside the political crisis and avoid early elections. During the changes, the Democratic Party, second in the game of the conservative coalition, has won more weight within the Executive branch.
Democrat leader Paulo Portas has ceased to be foreign minister, and has become the deputy prime minister, also responsible for economic policy and its reforms. As a result, the head of the Ministry of Economy, has changed, which leaves the technocrat Alvaro Santos Pereira incharge, replaced by António Pires de Lima, national leader of the CDS and Portas henchman.
The Ministry of Economy is no longer a “mega ministry”, and loses the area of Employment, which will now be encompassed by the Ministry of Social Security Ministry, occupied by fellow Democrat Pedro Mota Soares.
Other changes have occurred in the other “mega ministries” like the one run by Passos Coelho, ministry of Agriculture, from which comes the Environment, which will now handle number 2 Jorge Moreira da Silva from the Social Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, Passos Coelho has submitted the remodeling plans to Anibal Cavaco Silva, who believes the restructuring will prove beneficial. With it, the Portuguese president expects no more crisis within the conservative coalition.
On Sunday, the portuguese chief of state addressed in television and asked the two parties that satisfy the foreign aid program, that ends in June next year, that its intended to carry out new elections. Cavaco Silva chose not to call early elections because he believed that would hurt Portugal more and could force the need for a second bailout.
It was expected that the Troika technicians returned to Portugal on July 15 to begin the eighth periodic evaluation, but the visit was postponed until the crisis is resolved. That assessment depends on delivering another 3,000 million euros and is on the table in the State Reform which includes cuts of close to 4,700 million euros.
Bomb blast rocks Baghdad
July 22nd, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
A wave of attacks inside and around Baghdad left 60 dead and over 190 injured, its shows the deadliest coordinated attack this month, as reported by medical and security sources.
Ten cars and an IED exploded in different neighborhoods, especially close to a Shiite majority, the capital, while a second explosion rocked Madain, about 20 kilometers south of Baghdad.
Most of the explosions were close to the popular streets in the capital markets were hundreds of people walk, ministry sources indicated. They also mentioned that among the most affected by the bomb blast were the neighborhoods of Al Tobyi, north of Baghdad, and Al Karrad, in the center.
In Al Tobyi, mainly a Shiite neighborhood, a vehicle exploded near a refreshment stand, which left five dead and 18 wounded, and a significant material of damage and carnage.
Four people died and 12 were injured in the attacks in Al Karrada next to a market where another car explosion left two dead and nine wounded.
A fourth car bomb exploded in a market on the Al Shurtah to Rabea, predominantly Shiite and located in the southwest of Baghdad and another vehicle exploded in a market on the Al Musalata, in western Baghdad.
The source has not ruled out increasing the number of victims and reported that security forces have been deployed in various parts of Baghdad to prevent further attacks.
This wave of attacks coincides with other attacks in the rest of the country, which caused another dozen dead, including three soldiers and a pro-government militia.
During the holy month of Ramadan, which began on July 10, there has been an increase on the terrorist attacks and sectarian violence in Iraq.
On Friday at least 25 people died and over 80 were injured by the explosion of a bomb at a Sunni mosque located near the city of Baquba.
The UN representative in Iraq, Martin Kobler, said this week at the headquarters of the international organization, that the past four months have been the bloodiest of the past five years, leaving some 3,000 dead and 7,000 wounded.
Is overthrowing the government a good idea?
July 22nd, 2013
Contributor opinion.
Roman Emperor Neron burns the city of Rome and soon after gets overthrown.
Catherine Haig.
“My question is Countries all over the world are suffering from the depression that took America by storm in 2008. We had a fiscal breakdown and now Arabic countries are rioting, Greece flooded their streets, Countries all over the world are fighting their governments because the people are unhappy with their elected officials.
My question to the rest of my writing staff and you would be – Why doesn’t America stand up and demand excellence from it’s Senate and House who is constantly at odds with our current President? What will it take for Americans to overthrow our own government?”
Responses:
Michael Callaghan.
“I have one answer. every person have a point to make and i do not think the overthrow of a government that is put in place by the voters would help anyone other than the ones that do not agree with freedom.
The freedom to vote the freedom to ask Q&A’s the freedom to be able to talk to others and the Freedom to disagree with your Government. you can only false change By the voting Box.”
Mich E. Kabay.
“We don’t riot in the streets because our situation is nowhere near as bad as in countries where the majorities are disenfranchised, oppressed, humiliated and even tortured and killed in numbers that are unthinkable in our country. We have alternatives to violence.”
One of the responses to the deadlock caused by right-wing fanatics who swore to make Obama a one-term president [1], is to ensure that the Republican Party goes down to a massive defeat in upcoming federal and state elections. Time is on our side: the Republicans are losing ground, increasingly appealing primarily to old white men.[2]
Are you disgusted by the obstructionist, racist misogynists in Congress? The sheltering the ultra-wealthy who have bribed them into supporting policies directed against the interests of the majority of the people in our country? Get active! Join the progressive movement actively: support Democracy for America[3], the ACLU[4], the HRC[5], the NAACP[6], NOW[7],CREDO Action[8], The Nation[9], The Progressive[10], MoveOn[11], Emily’s List[12], 21st Century Democrats[13],…. you get the idea.
Sign petitions that represent your views. Phone, email and write your congress critters on specific topics.[14] Don’t be passive. Don’t give up. Go to political meetings and ask tough questions. Go to the offices of your representatives in person and express your views clearly, politely and firmly. Don’t accept condescension and superiority: these people are supposed to work for US, not for the tiny minority that pay for their campaigns.[15]
On your Facebook page, SHARE updates from the organizations you support. If you have your own Website or blog, post links to the organizations that represent your political views. When you read a valuable article with political implications, post the link so your friends and readers can use it.
When you meet neo-fascists who spout the lies they have learned from FOX News[16], challenge them with facts. When you read lies and distortions in blogs, commentaries, newspapers, magazines — challenge them and include specific references to reliable sources that bring the errors into focus.
When you read about demonstrations, marches, parades that focus on your values, participate. Carry a US flag to stop the right from appropriating OUR flag as if it’s THEIR flag.
If you like bumper stickers, put some on your car. There are some wonderful ones around; my favorites include “QUESTION AUTHORITY,” “SUPPORT OUR TROOPS — STOP USELESS WARS,” “PROUD TO BE A FEMINST,” and “GAY MARRIAGE DOESN’T SCARE ME — NO HEALTH CARE DOES.”
Don’t sit back and let someone else change the government for you: let’s do it ourselves. Together. Now.”
David J. Merkel.
“Dumb question.”
Baldr Odinson.
“Thankfully we in the United States have a democratic government, and thus an “overthrow” isn’t necessary. Rather, every four years we have a chance to change our government through the legal election process.
The bigger question is when Americans will grow tired of the extreme partisanship and obstructionism that is happening, particularly at the federal level, but also at the state level.
The Republican party, in particular, has engaged in open obstructionism, even when the goals of the President and Democrats seem to match theirs (for instance, opposing parts of the Heath Care for America Act that had originally been proposed by their own party, which the GOP challenged over and over) or when the opinion of the vast majority of their own constituents match that of the President or Democrats (such as the recent bill for universal gun background checks, which was supported by 90% of Americans, that failed due to GOP threat of filibuster).
In many cases, the Republican party has even opposed plans that would benefit their core constituents (such as improvements to veterans benefits).An effective government requires the ability to compromise, debate, and cooperate. Ideological obstructionism is dangerous to the welfare of our nation.
The American people need to understand this, demand reason and compromise, and to vote out those who repeatably engage in extremist and obstructionist behavior.”
Claude Nougat.
“Yes and no. I hope Americans NEVER go in the street to overthrow their government, it would be a sign that democracy is kaput in America!
When Greeks go in the street, in fact, they are NOT throwing out their government, it’s not a revolution, it’s simply a protest.
When Egyptians invade Tahrir square by the hundreds of thousands and stay camping there for weeks, it’s something totally different. And much closer to a revolution.
I suspect Egypt is still groping for a way to establish a democracy, they haven’t got there yet. Morsi was a huge disappointment, he didn’t realize he was supposed to be the President of ALL Egyptians, not a local chief to advance the power of the Moslem Brotherhood. What a pity. He really messed up a historic occasion to establish a real democracy in Egypt!”
John Stanton.
“The risk level for taking to the streets particularly for the middle classes–those with apparently steady jobs and some benefits is extraordinarily high. Further, as the attached shows, capital is so entrenched in every part of our lives that to protest/overthrow means throwing away a job.
The political leaders we have are just an extension of powerful economic interests–witness in the attached JP Morgan’s role in SNAP and how they got there and which politicians shares in JPM jump.
Then there is Sallie Mae. And don’t forget about groups like Equifax. The entire system we exist in is interlocked, interconnected and monitored, if need be, down to the individual. It is easy to call for revolt, but not so easy to get out in the street and do it I figure.”
Catherine Haig.
“I am beginning to think that our American history is a bunch of lies. What has happened to America’s independent spirit? The very same guts and glory type of attitude that prevailed when we, as a people and a country stood together against enemies from afar. These enemies include the tyranny of other powerful countries that we managed to escape their clutches; England, France, Germany. The list goes forward and forever for eternity.
So in World War 2 our fathers and uncles fought bravely and won the war. I had an uncle who was in every major conflict in that war. His travels included beating back the Japanese, the German’s and helping the French on the ground. He was a hero but he died an alcoholic and his life was a mess because he had seen hell and lived through it.
How did we get into WW2? No one wanted to participate in this war because it didn’t involve us. Only 30% of the people in the late 1930’s wanted to fight Hitler and the atrocities happening to the Jews and in fact no one wanted to fight Hitler at all…no one until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The President at that time, Roosevelt, was said to have intercepted a communication to Japanese subs that they were planning on this bombing. What he did was dare them to try, which they did and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 60% of our country enlisted in the war.
The same tactics were used to get America involved in “freeing Iraq” from the clutches of Dictator Saddam Hussein and then the murder of Kaddafi. President G W Bush, Jr. used the same tactics to involve us because he and his administration knew that if America was attacked on American soil, Americans would react and react violently.
What will it take for Americans to overthrow our government – Hell to freeze over because Americans are used to being lead. They vote now against the “angry white men” like Mitt Romney who would sit back and watch this America build companies whose workers live, work and sleep at the job. That’s Mitt’s America and no one wanted that.
So we voted for the “other guy” because the white was a mess and he was a contradiction for America. Obama made sense until he didn’t. Until we realized he was worse than the guy before with his drone attacks and allowing the NSA to spy on Americans for the good of America? Really? How does that work?
Whenever I am in NYC and I look up at a light that is stopping me from walking forward to the next block I see a camera. It moves with me, it scans the crowds of rushing commuters running on their way to jobs they hate and I wonder who is watching.
I know really and it’s some poor schmuck who could not get a job working elsewhere who is watching the rest of us American and tourists hoping we screw up. I mentally give these cameras my middle finger because this is NOT the America I grew up in. Or is it? Were we always torturing our captive prisoners? America was always this vindictive? Are we as petty as other countries when it comes to “our secrets” Are Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden traitors or are they heroes?
America was built on the blood of England’s poor and wretched prisoners; much like the country Australia but I think Australia is doing much better because they would never take the crap that the American Federal Government would dish out. They would stand against them and fight to the death to achieve their end which is freedom of speech, of life and liberty.
America in the 21st Century has no guts so there will be little glory and more taking of our freedoms squishing our constitution and making a mockery of the greatest country in the world. I often see US Flags flying at night, torn and ragged from years of flying outside in all kinds of weather. This is not a country anymore that is proud of themselves. We are not a United States; it is every man, woman and child for themselves. No one is safe. The terrorists live next door.
America is stuck between the very good people and the very bad and there will not be an overthrow of Federal, State or City governments unless there is a ZOMBIE APOCOLYPSE. ”
George Bailey.
“I don’t know what would push the American people to overthrow the government at this point. They seem perfectly content with the way things no matter what outrages are being committed.
We have excessive spying by the NSA; IRS audits of groups for purely political reasons; secret court proceedings (FISA) with secret warrants; Federal agents busting down doors without warrants and people being arrested for things that are not even crimes.
By now, our Founders would have already been shooting. Perhaps they are too satisfied with their bread and circuses.”
Jaime Ortega Simo. (Editor)
We’re definitely not suffering any of the severe turmoils of the Middle East. Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Bahrain, Syria… had long dictatorships and the hardship it brought for their population lasted for half a century.
These regimes fearing the preconditions of radical Islam cracked down without any “democratic measurements” the emergence of any type of Sharia-Law conditions presently observed in countries like Afghanistan.
What proves that ‘political turmoil’ between religious extremism and dictatorial regimes is Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein is that the whole country has become a religious and cultural warfare for control of the once sealed lid conducted by his infamous tyranny.
Another problem in comparing the U.S. with most Arab countries is that their citizens did not have the chance to vote for their dictators or rulers. They basically had to accept the rulers rule, yes or yes without any electoral process whatsoever! That makes a huge difference and shows another valuable point.
In the U.S. people had the choice to vote for Obama, Bush or any other president that ever stepped into the Oval Office. What I have observed is that almost all of the activist that openly protested in ‘Wall Street’ against the government do not want to admit ‘any fault or participation’ on ‘the victory of the representatives for whom they voted.’ Sounds hypocritical to me.
In fact, the real problem is that most adults of today’s generation are not realistically capable of actually understanding for what they are actually voting !
Why vote?
The danger surrounding the new generation’s role in choosing a candidate is that most vote considering popularity, friends, media pressure and nice rhetoric. The foundation of understanding the policies of the candidates they choose to elect is lacking.
And that itself is a cancer. Who blames them? Elections in today’s political spectrum are no different than a coin toss between the educated and the uneducated. But the uneducated in this country have the choice to learn, but most choose to live the credit life, and survive on a parent’s wealth. Many (not all), however, protest for equal opportunities.
Should the individual that studies an issue to understand politics have the same rights to vote as someone that votes for popularity and a nice smile without any knowledge or background? I don’t think it’s right. (Coin toss and this sounds like a Communist principle.)
The United States has a huge problem with corporate corruption and bypassing fundamental laws with lobbyists’ money. Lanny Breuer, the former U.S. Assistant General Attorney of the Criminal Division, proves such case to be true.
But it’s still a political and financial migraine, compared to the cancers most M.E. countries suffered in the Arab Spring. And it’s by no means the same situation.
Our generation is mostly to blame for this problem, not just the candidates for whom we “choose” to vote.
But okay, let’s say we now have successfully overthrown the Senate, the Executive office, the Justice Department! Now what? Are we going to allow the protesters in Wall Street to be responsible for our financial system, international relations, nuclear programs, intelligence .. ? We would go back to the “wild wild west” without Michael J. Fox.
Anarchy would result into tribal warfare which is historically overcome by a unified army. Anarchy would make communism, radical Islam, and the oppressive Roman Catholic church look like an innocent child and would turn the world into Mad Max 2. Democracy does not exist; it is just the adaptive shadow of anarchism.
What we have is not perfect, and never will be (it will probably get worse). But it’s still realistically better than almost all other systems currently in practice. I believe certain forms of Socialism should be applied to strengthen some visible weaknesses observed Capitalism, because Socialism and Capitalism share a modern form of westernization which makes them compatible.
FARC to liberate a U.S. soldier for Colombia’s talk with Cuba
July 20th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
The FARC have claimed to have in their possession an alleged U.S. militant since June 20 and have offered the Colombian government his release as a “gesture” to peace recent talks underway in Cuba.
“Despite the law that assists us to keep soldier Kevin Scott as a prisoner of war, we have taken the political decision to release him as a gesture that is now part of the goodwill shown by the Colombian government dealing with the talks underway in Havana,” says a statement of the FARC posted on the website and signed by the guerrilla command.
For the release, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) requested a humanitarian form to the commissioner that is part of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the former senator Piedad Cordoba and a representative of “the community of Saint Egidio.”
The document adds that the “capture” of Scott Kevin Sutay took place June 20 in the municipality of El Retorno, the jungle of Guaviare. He added that the militant was born in New York, “according to the passport No. 488667176 issued on February 3, 2012, he had been stopped by guerrilla units”.
Kevin assured the he was a member of the U.S. Navy from November 17, 2009 until March 22, 2013. At that time, as the FARC said, Scott participated in the war in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2011, where he acted as anti-explosives expert, demining specialist, member of the company’s ST 541 54 TN engineering battalion.
They further argue that he entered Colombia on June 8, 2013, following the route Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Bogota, San Jose del Guaviare, “headquarters Barrancón military base, where time has shown that the U.S. military was present. ”
According to the FARC, “the capture of the soldier Kevin highlights the active participation in the field of U.S. mercenaries in military and counter-insurgency operations.” The government and the FARC carried out since last November peace talks in Havana with the intention of ending the armed conflict that has lasted over half a century.
Panama intercepts North Korean cargo full with weapons
July 18th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
The North Korean regime has defended with secrecy this Thursday the burden of “obsolete weapons” hidden in Cuba carried on his ship by the name of ‘Chong Chon Gang’, held on Monday in Panama, to ensure that the transport of weapons was carried under a “legal contract”.
In a statement released by the North Korean agency, KCNA, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said that it is an “unusual case”, and that the Panamanian authorities suspected the freighter could carry drugs.
“The Panamanian authorities raided and arrested abruptly the captain in charge of the ship and the crew of the boat, under the pretext that it was a search conducted to find drugs,” explained the report.
Under this pretense, the regime of Kim Jong-un considers that not finding what the Panamanian authorities wanted, the Canal authorities had to justify”Their violent act of seeking other cargo inside the ship,” he added.
In addition, the North Korean spokesman urged Panama to “immediately release” the crew retained, as it is a freighter with a “legitimate contract” for returning to Cuba obsolete weaponry that should be overhauled in China.
Since last Monday, the Panamanian authorities detained and kept the vessels and the weapons for further registration ‘Chong Chon Gang’, which were found hidden in containers under tonnes of sugar under arms, Havana yesterday said that the ship to be sent to North Korea be repaired and returned to the Caribbean island.
The discovery of military cargo, which allegedly included anti-aircraft missile batteries, military fighter jets and spare parts, has led the U.S. announced to assist Panama authorities to carry out the inspection, waiting for the UN to take charge to access and load the ship
London city bankers triple the wealth rate of rich bankers in the European Union
July 16th, 2013By Jaime Ortega.
Bankers in London seems to top have topped most bankers from other European Countries as shown by various financial reports including a few statistics shown by the International Monetary Fund.
The figures speak for themselves: a total of 3,175 bankers earn more than a million euros in the EU, and three quarters of them are in the UK, mainly in the City of London, that turned into the real bastion of culture of excess and ‘bonus’ deals.
A total of 2,436 bankers fall into the category of millionaires in Britain, compared to 739 in the rest of the EU. Germany, second on the list, just come to the 170, while in France they are about 160.
In Spain, the number of ‘high earners’ in the banking sector reached too 125, up from the 119 in Italy and in contrast to 14 in Sweden and 5 in Norway. Spain and then Italy will head out the annual average that is perceived to be set by millionaire bankers: a total of 2.4 million will head in 2011.
Also the most powerful banks in Spain, Banco Santander and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria seem to be the most solvent banks in the list.
According to data from the European Banking Authority, in eight EU countries no banker topped one million euros, although the countries most affected by the crisis has not escaped the trend, as evidenced by the 21 bankers millionaires that were “rescued” in Ireland or the 13 neighboring Portugal.
The data has left some data out but yet the gap between the City of London from the rest of the EU, hence the fierce resistance of politicians and British financiers for any attempt to regulate the culture of the ‘bonus’ bank.
“These numbers certainly illustrate the problems of the huge salaries of bankers in contrast to the big austerity that affects most people,” said Labour MP Pat McFadden, opposition spokesman on Treasury committee. “The problem is that the bonds will continue to pay regardless of the risks or the prospects of future results.”
In 2011, despite the problems of the British economy, the City bonus paid a total of 2,700 million euros, three times more than conventional wages paid.
Huge blast in Iraq kills 38 people
July 14th, 2013
By Jaime Ortega.
Iraq seems to be highly stressed once again with a new blast of suicide bombers.
At least 38 people died in a suicide attack on a cafe in Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, as confirmed by the local morgue doctor, Shakur Ahmed Ibrahim.
The attack, which also wounded 25 people, was carried out by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt. It took place at 22:30 am in the district of Wahd Hozeran when people thronged the streets at the end of the fasting day of Ramadan, according to police and medical sources.
Hundreds of people flocked to the morgue in search of missing relatives, while security forces cordoned off several streets in the city, said Dr. Ibrahim, head of the main morgue in Kirkuk, 240 kilometers north of Baghdad.
Iskah Nil-Han a witness of the attack said that the bomb shook the building and glass parts flew all over the sky.
“I was in my way to fasting when suddenly I heard a huge explosion,” Nil-Han said. “Glass particles started falling from the sky.”
Another witness, that owns a bread shop close to the blast, Muhamad El-Zori said he tried to help a few badly wounded.
“I saw a young man that lost his legs in the aftermath of the explosion,” said El-Zori. “I had to carry had to carry him out the smoke, and put a curtain to cover the loss of blood.”
Already more than 260 people killed in violence in Iraq since the beginning of the month.
Also during the day, nine people, including a police general, killed in attacks mainly directed at the security forces following the latest wave of violence that has killed more than fifty people in recent days, according to sources security and medical applications