Child Soldiers Okay in Sudan, Yemen, Chad, Congo: Obama Funds Child Soldiers

U.S. law stipulates that we will not extend aid to any country utilizing "child soldiers." At least it was the law until Obama exempted Sudan, Yemen, Chad and the Congo. They use children for solidiers...we send money anyway. Barack Obama deemed it so. Congress wants to know why.

Child Soldiers

State Department spokesman, P.J. Crowley explained that these four countries "need more time" to implement the policies we object to, and to keep stability in these areas. We will break our own laws, because in The Time of Obama, the Rule of Law means nothing. 

The law requires the State Department to list governments that recruit and use child soldiers in the annual “Trafficking in Persons Report.” Governments appearing on the list are prohibited from receiving military assistance or buying arms from the United States unless the president grants an exemption on grounds of "national interest."

Republican Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (Neb) says the waiver is an "affront to our principles," and is a "most serious human rights violation...." He is awaiting a memo of "waiver justification" from the White House, due in 45 days.

Think about these four egregious countries: the Sudan, Yemen, Chad and the Congo. None have the slightest penchant for human rights, especially for women and children. Children are routinely raped in each. There is no governmental stability in any of the four countries. Who will these children be fighting against? What are we thinking when we break our own laws designed to protect children? Do we consider that in each of these countries, Muslims are at the heart of the problem? Can't wait for Obama's "justification" memo.

Sarkozy Demands UN Reform: Islamic Countries Defend Iran's Human Rights: UN Protects Islam

French President Nicolas Sarkozy told the UN it desperately needed reform, and the organization would get nowhere by requiring "consensus" on the very issues that plague it. The unspoken message is you can't demand human rights from Islamic countries, unless you accept that sharia law will be the norm, and as a consequence, there will be no human rights as recognized by any Western population. While Sarkozy was speaking out, the UN was conducting their every-4-year review of all member countries and their human rights, and there is barely a peep from the U.S.

Reject the U.N.

Of the United Nations member states, 88 countries are fully free - only 46%, out of 192 member states. Of U.N. action against Human Rights, the council has taken action against Israel 96 times. The next highest actions have gone to the Sudan with 46 actions. Iran has had fewer human rights actions than the United States of America.

The U.N.'s own "expert on torture" Manfred Nowak, an Austrian human rights attorney, says human rights are in more peril now than ever before, with the the U.N. supposedly watching over them. A report detailing secret detentions and secret prisons around the globe included 66 countries. The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and African states postponed the release of the report. Nowak said the report is not being taken seriously.

The Human Rights Council is subverted though bloc voting. The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) members vote in a bloc to further Islam within the U.N. In other words, they always vote with each other. With this control, there will be no such thing as real human rights championed with the United Nations.

The U.N.'s universal periodic review process, conducted every four years, is once again trying to determine which countries might be abusing the human rights of their own people. Iran submitted a 31-page report supporting their benevolence to the Iranian people. There was "interactive dialogue," with about 60 states weighing in on Iran.

Nicaragua sees Iran, along with themselves, as the victims of Western imperialism, and cautioned that the international community should not impose their own ideals, principles and cultural values of others. According to Nicaragua, we must accept that Islamic countries are obliged to respect sharia law.

Venezuela praised Iran despite the inequities imposed on the country by the West.

Cuba echoed Venezuela.

Pakistan encourage Iran to protect their citizens and said "no country in the world can claim a blemish-free human rights records."

Algeria criticized the universal review process for the  lack of objectivity and singling out Iran.

The head of the High Council for Human Rights, Mohammed Larijani, declared that no Iranians were being held for their political views (but fails to mention those dead over the last year for protesting the regime's brutality and election fraud).

A delegation member said "the implementation of certain sentences may seem unpleasant at first sight," but Iranian "social conditions" required them.

Iranian Human Rights

Three countries, Senegal, Mexico and Pakistan will now prepare a report - and 4 years from now Iran will go through the process again, and the Human Rights Commission will have done nothing to protect the Human Rights of the people of Iran.

The Human Rights Council Advisory Committee is led by Jean Ziegler, who only 4 months about Pan Am flight 103 blew-up in the skies over Lockerbee, Scotland, announced an "annual" Muammar Qaddafi Human Rights Prize in Tripoli and declared that the United States is an "imperialistic dictatorship" committing "genocide" (and Barack Obama wasn't even in office yet).

The uniting of nations now has Libya as the U.N. General Assembly president, the Sudan, China and Russia are vice-presidents. Algeria chairs the Legal Committee and Iran serves as vice-chair.

Of Sarkozy's lament about an ineffectual U.N., Heritage Foundation writer Brett Schaefer says the French has stepped up, and the U.S. under Barack Obama has stepped down.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno is Muslim Model in Malaysia: Kartika Shukarno, Lubna Hussein Lashes

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno is a Muslim model in Malaysia. She drank some beer in a hotel lobby and, under Muslim law, she will be caned. See update below. See 4-1-10 update below.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno

Ms. Shukarno is sentenced to 6 lashes with a rattan cane. Amnesty International tried to rescue her from the lashings but Kartika says:

I want to respect the law.

She is 32 years old and the mother of two. She wants her caning in public.

...Miss Shukarno has even asked for the caning to be carried out in public to send a clear message to Muslims that they should shun alcohol.

The prosecutor said that consuming alcohol is a very serious offense. Her "cane" will be lighter than a cane used for men, and the prosecutor says the lashes are intended to "educate," not "punish."

Caning, administered on the buttocks, breaks the skin and leaves permanent scars. Kartika said earlier that she wanted authorities to cane her as soon as possible so she can resume her life with her husband and children.

Two-thirds of the Malaysian population are said to be Muslim., but beer and alcohol being present in the country is not against the law. Perhaps this form of "evil" brings in big revenue through taxes, as it does in the U.S. or perhaps non-Muslims drink a lot.

In some reporting I see a comparison between Ms. Shukarno's case and that of the Sudanese female journalist, Lubna Hussein, who is sentenced to 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public. Let us not make that mistake. Both women live under Shariah law. Kartrika respects the law and wants others to respect it also. She believes her sentence is justice. Ms. Hussein views her sentence inhumane and against all religions.

Lubna Hussein

Hussein, reportedly a Christian, and "an enemy of public morals, insisted that she be lashed publicly and she sent a very strong message when she wore the same trousers to her trial. She has no respect for Shariah Law, and she intends to use her sentence to highlight the plight of Sudanese women. Lubna Hussein, a widow in her 30's was among 13 women arrested July 3 in a raid by members of the public order police force on a popular Khartoum cafe for wearing trousers, considered indecent by the strict interpretation of Islamic law adopted by Sudan's Islamic regime. All but three of the women were flogged at a police station two days later. Hussein is out on bail.

But Hussein and two other women decided they wanted to go to trial and Hussein invited human rights workers, western diplomats and fellow journalists to Wednesday's hearing.
Some of her women friends showed up in court Wednesday wearing trousers in a show of support.
"This is not a case about me wearing pants," said Hussein, who works in the media department of the U.N. Mission in Sudan and contributes opinion pieces to a left-leaning Khartoum newspaper.
"This is a case about annulling the article that addresses women's dress code, under the title of indecent acts. This is my battle. This article is against the constitution and even against Islamic law itself," she said after the hearing.

Ms. Hussein worked for the UN as a public information officer, and was forced to quit her job for her decision to go to trial. Lubna is a journalist and has learned that her name is on a "blacklist," and she cannot leave the country. Women forcing a trial under Shariah Law...very unusual. There must be some Muslim men in a fuss over this. Her trial on August 4th brought out women and men in support of Lubna and police brought out the tear gas to disperse the crowd.

"We are here to protest against this law that oppresses women and debases them,” said Amal Habani, another journalist, who was also arrested last month for writing a column in support of Ms Hussein.

The judge adjourned the trial until September 7th, saying that he needed to investigate, or in his words, "seek clarity" on whether or not she is immune from prosecution due to her employment with the UN. Protesters were waving banners, "No Return to the Dark Ages." This report says that Ms. Hussein's attorney was beaten by police during the protests. Lubna Hussein does not want immunity. She wants the world to see what happens when a woman decides to choose her own clothing:

They want to check with the UN whether I have immunity from prosecution,” she said outside the courtroom. “I don’t know why, because I have already resigned from the United Nations. I think they just want to delay the case.” Before the hearing, another of Ms Hussein’s lawyers said that his client would take her case to the Constitutional Court if necessary.

The flogging of this strong and vocal woman will not be looked upon kindly. The Sudenese government is already on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror. What will they do now? Let her wear her trousers? I don't think so, but she is giving these men who, according to Luba, distribute their law and punishment loosely and on a whim, a large dose of grief.

As for Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, the Muslim model in Maylasia, she will "remain" in prison where the caning is scheduled to be carried out. We'll see if she is successful in getting her bottom caned publicly, as she is requesting, all in the quest to keep her fellow Muslims from the evils of alcohol. Update 10-05-09: Ms. Shukarno's caning has not yet happened. She has been approached by filmmakers to portray herself in a movie, but said she make no decision until her sentence has been carried out. Here's a confusing report about Shukarno desire for publicity, or not.

Update 4-1-10:
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno will not be caned. Her sentence will be communted, according to her father, but she will serve a three-week community service stint at a children's home in Pahang beginning April 2nd, 2010.

Ms. Shukarno refused to appeal her sentence, and asked to be caned in public.

Three other Malaysian women WERE caned in February for adultrey.



 Photo credit for Lubna Hussein: GuardianUK and Observer

Sudan Liberation Movement Supports Relations with Israel

Cross posted from Monkey in the Middle To view the clip

Leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement Abd Al-Wahed Al-Nur Supports Relations with Israel: An Israeli Embassy in Khartoum Will Serve the Interests of the Sudanese People

"People from Darfur and Sudan Have Gone to Israel – And They Are There Now, Studying, Eating Israeli Food, and Living... We Will Open an Israeli Embassy in Khartoum"

Abd Al-Wahed Al-Nur: "There are two types of normalization. There is normalization between peoples, and this has already happened. People from Darfur and Sudan have gone to Israel, and they are there now, studying, eating Israeli food, and living among them. This has already happened. "As for political normalization, the Sudan Liberation Movement says loud and clear: If we come to power, we will open an Israeli Embassy in Khartoum and consulates next to the Palestinian Embassy and consulates, because we believe that people should resolve their problems by peaceful means. As for the war between Israel and the Palestinians, we are against the killing of civilians, whether in Israel or in Gaza..." Interviewer: "But Israel kills Palestinians, and you accept this by your presence there." Abd Al-Wahed Al-Nur: "Let me finish. We are against the killing of innocent civilians – whether in Israel or the Palestinian territories. But as I previously said, we would open an Israeli Embassy because this would serve the interests of the Sudanese people in terms of politics, industry, agriculture, and investments." [...]

"I Haven't Seen Any Israeli Who Killed a Sudanese... [But] Our Government Killed Its People by the Hundreds of Thousands"

Abd Al-Wahed Al-Nur: "Tell me, how can you compare Sudan to Israel? I haven't seen any Israeli who killed a Sudanese, or who interfered in Sudanese affairs. In Sudan we have a saying: 'You see an elephant, but you attack its shadow.' "Our government killed its people by the hundreds of thousands – sorry, by the millions. In the name of religion and race, it turned tens of thousands of families into refugees with its 'Public Interest' system, by means of the Islamic Front, and it killed people during Ramadhan. In the name of development, it drove hundreds of thousands out of their homes everywhere – and then it creates the smokescreen of hatred of Israel. "Resolve the problems of the Sudanese people first, and then talk about Israel. Start with yourself, and stay away from the problems of others."

With the Arrest Warrant for Al-Bashir, "The Rule Of Law Has Been Transferred From This Failing, Illegal Government To The ICC"

Interviewer: "Are you pleased about the issuing of the arrest warrant against the Sudanese president? As a Sudanese, do you feel that this is a political victory for you?" Abd Al-Wahed Al-Nur: "First of all, this is a legal matter, and as a lawyer, I am very pleased that Al-Bashir and his government now know that the world is no longer a jungle of wild beasts, and that it will not allow them to kill their people and remain at large. The issue of the warrant is purely a legal matter. Every nation in the world has the right to protect its citizens and bring them justice. "In Sudan, we have an outlaw government. Instead of protecting its citizens, it annihilates them. Therefore, the rule of law has been transferred from this failing, illegal government to the International Criminal Court."

From Monkey in the Middle: Refugees from Darfur and Sudan are fleeing their nation and finding a haven in Israel. The Egyptian government has shown not only contempt for these people, but has systematically robbed, raped and murdered them. The Western world gives lip service to the plight of these poor, unfortunate people and does nothing to help them. It is only Israel that these men, women and children have found a refuge, a safe harbor. This is the nation that the Muslim nations of the world calls the most hateful and vile nation on the planet. Yet these same Muslim nations give no aid to these fellow Muslims. The refugees from Darfur and Sudan, living in Israel have more than just food, shelter, and clothing. They gain freedoms that they cannot and never had in their own lands. Only recently did this happen:

Teen refugees win Tel Aviv race

Two young Eritreans who fled their country only six months ago win first and second place on national 10,000 meter road race this weekend. Now they dream of representing Israel in the Olympic Games. It was only six months ago that John Pasahi and Taspaldat Dasta, both 17-years old, fled the bloody civil war in their homeland of Eritrea, crossed through Sudan and Egypt to Sinai, and at the end of an exhausting and dangerous journey found refuge in Israel. "I escaped from Eritrea to Sudan because of the terrible war," recounted Pasahi, who won first place with a result of 33.47 minutes. "The journey took me several months, and after I crossed Sinai and arrived in Israel I was sent to study at the Kadoorie Youth Village in the Lower Galilee." Dasta, who won second place in the race with a result of 35.49 minutes, also arrived at Kadoorie after enduring the long journey from Eritrea. The principal at the youth village, Hillel Hillman said that "when they got here they told us horrific stories of parents who disappeared in the war, of hunger, plundering and a difficult, long journey through Egypt." Full Story

These aren't Jewish young men, but Muslim youths. Yet they are finding a place in the Jewish nation. And that may be the most telling of all. Israel welcoming those who will find no other place in the world from violence and death. It is the legacy of the Holocaust and a reminder to the World of its commitment to ALL refugees not just the Palestinian ones.

Israel's Mossad "all over Hezbollah"

News on the war against jihad Israel Security Foils Hezbollah Kidnap Attempt of Israelis In W. Africa by Holger Awakens This is big. It's big not because it showed the hand of Hezbollah plans as well as the fact that Israel's Mossad is all over Hezbollah operatives. Let's look first at the details from the story here at DEBKA:

The number of Israelis and Jews in jeopardy is counted in dozens. In five cases of late, the special Mossad outfit was able to foil active Hizballah plots to kidnap Israeli businessmen based in West Africa. DEBKAfile’s sources report that Israeli intelligence leaders were divided over whether or not to go public on these cases. The pro-publication advocates argued it would be a good thing for Hizballah to take into account that the Mossad was closely watching its operations in Africa and Latin America, and had structures in place for protecting likely victims, uncovering kidnap plots and identifying their prime movers.

The article details how Israeli security hasn't wanted to reveal that they have been watching these kidnapping plans but last week an Israeli businessman was kidnapped in Nigeria and although it wasn't done by Hezbollah, it was time the Mossad should alert the world to Hezbollah's activities and their own. This is all a result of a pledge by Hezbollah's asshat leader Nasrallah making threats that his terrorist group would go after Israelis worldwide in revenge for the killing of renowned terrorist Mughniyeh in Syria earlier this year. Nasrallah's warning was taken seriously and Israel is basically alerting Hezbollah to the fact they know their plans and they are watching. I've said it before, that Hezbollah feels they are ready for a new war with Israel and that they want to bait Israel into another invasion of Lebanon - the best way for Hezbollah to do that would be by capturing more Israeli soldiers but by capturing Israeli civilians outside of the Middle East and then via a vivid execution of those captives, might just bring Israel into Lebanon again. Read more at Holger Awakens Another Holger piece that you'll want to know about: Australian Military Under Fire From Muslims For Keeping Taliban Prisoners In 'dogpens'