RT’s Paula Slier looked into the fate of Israel’s most famous conscientious objector, Natan Blanc, who already broke the country’s record for the number of times being re-arrested and tried. He was released earlier this month after serving almost half a year in jail for refusing to pick up a gun and join the army. “Natan was supposed to be inducted into the army in November, he went there and refused to serve. Then he was sentenced to ten days and since then each time he is released from prison he goes back and again refuses to serve,” David Blanc, objector’s father, said. The IDF tried to use Blanc as a warning to others, who consider following in his footsteps. But his refusal to serve put the army in a delicate position. By releasing him they risk setting a precedent, but keeping the 20-year-old locked up also threatens to turn his private protest into a public relations debacle over the occupation of Palestine. Watch Paula Slier’s report to learn more about Natan Blanc’s struggle. … Read More
Somalia in deadlock over Jubaland
http://www.youtube.com/v/AROit_EeIXY?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Read More: Somalia in deadlock over Jubaland
Al-Nakba debate
http://www.youtube.com/v/Q6b-18B37O8?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Source article: Al-Nakba debate
California family suing police for ‘abuse of power’ after son’s killing
The surviving family of the late Jorge I. Ramirez filed suit against Stanislaus County in Central California, alleging Ramirez was no threat to the officer during the incident. Jorge Ramirez, the victim’s father, told the Modesto Bee he called police on April 16, 2012 seeking help for his son’s depression but stressed he did not tell the operator a crime or family dispute was in progress. Deputy Art Parra Jr. responded to the call, whereupon he immediately asked Ramirez’s parents where their son was. The suit claims Parra rustled Ramirez, 32, from the couch and demanded he place his hands behind his back. When Ramirez protested, demanding to know what was going on, Parra allegedly used his Taser on Ramirez without warning. When Ramirez regained his footing, Parra warned that he would shoot him. “At this time, and without providing any warning, Parra withdrew his firearm from his holster and shot four bullets at Ramirez,” the suit claims, as quoted by Courthouse News. “Parra was approximately eight feet away at the time he fired four shots at Ramirez, and three bullets struck Ramirez.” The suit does not mention Parra’s claim that Ramirez tried to grab the deputy’s Taser during a physical struggle. The sheriff’s department claimed Deputy Parra was responding to a family fight, although the senior Ramirez has maintained that Parra was overly aggressive. “He wouldn’t listen to us,” he told the KCRA, the local NBC affiliate. “He told us to get away. He summoned other officers – and another officer went in there and pointed a gun at my wife and I for no reason. Absolutely no reason.This is very unjust.” When the case first made headlines Ramirez said the family only wanted help for their son, who had threatened suicide, and that Parra’s actions were an “abuse of power.” District Attorney Birgit Fladager told the Modesto Bee Wednesday that her office completed an investigation and concluded that Parra was guilty of no wrongdoing. The officer has been placed on administrative leave, per department policy. The federal suit seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory, special, and punitive damages. … Read More
Mexican Worker-Run Tire Factory a Success
Union wins years long struggle against vulture capitalists and now helms one of Mexico’s most successful tire factories … Read More
Chechnya connections build picture of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
Boston Marathon bombing suspects never lived in Chechnya but republic’s struggle played a central role in their lives Fuzzy CCTV footage taken from the sidelines of the Boston Marathon shows them standing side by side, two brothers peering over the heads of the crowd before the two bomb…
Pick of the week: Terrence Malick’s rapturous, religious love story
Terrence Malick has followed the six-year creative struggle of his universe-spanning, would-be masterpiece “The Tree of Life” with a period of unprecedented, unexpected and indeed unexplained productivity. For whatever set of reasons, the famously reclusive director who had made five feature films in the previous 38 years has apparently completed four more since 2011. The first of these to reach the public is an abstract and perhaps allegorical story of love and heartbreak called “To the Wonder,” and even in beginning to speak about it I run the risk of leading you down the wrong path. Ben Affleck and Olga Kurylenko are in the movie, as a man and woman who meet in Paris, fall in love and move to America, and then drift apart, for reasons we (and they) only partly understand.Continue Reading… … Read More
