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02 Mar 2011 10:43

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World: David Cameron steps up British efforts to help out in Libya

  • last week The British government faced criticism over the speed in which it got its own people out of a very volatile situation in Libya. Rescue planes only came to oil fields days after the crisis started.
  • this week As a sign in contrasts, David Cameron is now planning on evacuating 6,000 Egyptians from the border of Libya and Tunisia. The decision caught British officials off guard with its speed. source

23 Feb 2011 10:58

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World: Gaddafi’s loosening grip: More Libyan cities out of his control

  • In some Libyan cities, Muammar Gaddafi’s security forces are nowhere to be seen. Al Jazeera is reporting that many Libyan cities, especially in the Eastern part of the country, protesters are in control. “All along the border,” said correspondent Hoda Abdel-Hamid, “we didn’t see one policeman, we didn’t see one soldier and people here told us they [security forces] have all fled or are in hiding and that the people are now in charge, meaning all the way from the border, Tobruk, and then all the way up to Benghazi.” Gaddafi still plans to quash this uprising, however, but based on reports it’ll be an uphill battle at best. source

22 Feb 2011 22:21

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World: European Union: Libya’s humanitarian aid network very limited

  • bad The violence in Libya has been extremely severe over the past few days, with hundreds dead and many more wounded. It’s a nation that seriously needs help.
  • worse Unfortunately, organizations like the European and the Libyan Red Crescent Society say that there’s a limited aid network to help the wounded. Sigh. source

21 Jun 2010 10:53

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U.S.: Can U.S. humanitarian groups offer aid to terror-tied groups?

  • NO the Supreme Court said that was prohibited source

01 Jun 2010 10:10

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World: Israelis upset because Israel effed up more than anything

  • It’s the military failure combined with the international damage. Most people could live with that if it had been done successful. It’s not that people are angry that people in Gaza are hungry. It was an operation that was ill-conceived and didn’t go well enough. They hate when things go wrong.
  • Israeli historian Tom Segev • Regarding Israel’s response to the military failure of the flotilla mission. Some feel like the activists pushed Israel into a trap that the military stepped in. Others feel that, due to this mission, the country lost the moral high ground they once had. As a result, while there’s lots of criticism on the international stage, there are completely different kinds of criticism in Israel itself. Oh, and now the Gaza situation is back in the world spotlight, meaning the criticism of Israel’s gonna last a while. source

31 May 2010 11:52

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Politics: Haaretz: This Gaza flotilla incident is Israel’s Vietnam. Ouch

  • Here in Israel, we have still yet to learn the lesson: We are no longer defending Israel. We are now defending the siege. The siege itself is becoming Israel’s Vietnam.
  • Haaretz columnist Bradley Burston • Regarding what this whole mess with Hamas and the humanitarian ship shows. Simply put, Israel is blundering its way into a massive mess. As Burston puts it, “In going to war in Gaza in late 2008, Israeli military and political leaders hoped to teach Hamas a lesson. They succeeded. Hamas learned that the best way to fight Israel is to let Israel do what it has begun to do naturally: bluster, blunder, stonewall, and fume.” Ouch. He also criticizes the country’s toxic political situation that makes things like this happen. This is an Israeli newspaper trashing Israel’s policies unforgivably. That says a lot. source

23 Feb 2010 21:08

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U.S.: The Supreme Court stuck between rock and hard place on terror

  • The government has spent a decade arguing that our clients cannot advocate for peace, cannot inform about international human rights.
  • Georgetown law professor David D. Cole • Arguing in favor of the Humanitarian Law Project, which wants to provide support to peaceful efforts made by organizations the U.S. classifies as terrorist groups. This is a tough one, as moderate justice Antony Kennedy noted, and it ought to make things fun for the Supreme Court, which has to decide the case. Solicitor General Elena Kagan noted that the law was in place as a deterrent: “What Congress decided was when you help Hezbollah build homes, you are also helping Hezbollah build bombs. That’s the entire theory behind this statute, and it’s a reasonable theory.” source
 

26 Apr 2009 11:38

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World: Tamil Tigers: We want a cease-fire. Sri Lanka: No.

  • In response to a severely weakened position as well as for humanitarian reasons, the Tamil Tigers have asked for a unilateral cease-fire. “We are in full agreement that the humanitarian crisis can only be overcome by declaration of an immediate cease- fire,” the group said. source
  • Despite thousands of people suffering and criticism from the UN, the Sri Lankan military says the Tigers must surrender. “They were not fighting with us; they were running from us,” Sri Lankan defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said, calling the cease-fire offer a “joke.” source