Peace and Justice Post

By Vilani Peiris, wsws.org, Aug 11, 2010

With monsoonal rains continuing, the worst flooding in Pakistan in 80 years is still spreading. Pakistani relief organisations and government agencies are stretched to the limit. Yet despite urgent appeals from the UN and other aid organisations, the level of international aid is pitiful, even measured against the limited assistance donated in other recent disasters.

According to the UN, more than 14 million people, including 6 million children, have been affected by flooding which has ravaged parts of all four provinces in Pakistan. In appealing for further international aid, UN officials pointed out that the number of people affected exceeds the combined total for the 2004 Asian tsunami, the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir and this year’s earthquake in Haiti.

The death toll at nearly 1,700 is still comparatively low. However, many deaths are likely to be unrecorded. Large areas of the country have been cut off by landslides, washed away road and bridges and flooding. The Swat Valley in the worst affected province—Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (formerly the North West Frontier Province)—is cut off, trapping an estimated 500,000 people. Most have received no relief supplies, except small quantities being transported into the areas by foot or donkey.

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Listen to Ron Paul deliver these remarks here.

Last week the National Bureau of Economic Research published a report on the effect of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq that confirmed what critics of our foreign policy have been saying for years:  the killing of civilians, although unintentional, angers other civilians and prompts them to seek revenge.  This should be self-evident.

The Central Intelligence Agency has long acknowledged and analyzed the concept of blowback in our foreign policy.  It still amazes me that so many think that attacks against our soldiers occupying hostile foreign lands are motivated by hatred toward our system of government at home or by the religion of the attackers.  In fact, most of the anger towards us is rooted in reactions towards seeing their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and other loved ones being killed by a foreign army.  No matter our intentions, the violence of our militarism in foreign lands causes those residents to seek revenge if innocents are killed.  One does not have to be Muslim to react this way, just human.

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Nazir Abbasi was a courageous, intrepid student leader who was killed on August 9, 1989 during Zia-ul-Haq’s regime while under custody. According to Abbasi’s family, he was being held by secret agencies and it was a certain Colonel Imtiaz Ahmed who tortured him to death. Since then Sindhi youth and political activists have been observing his death anniversary each year in remembrance of the hardships Abbasi faced throughout his life and for the kind of inspiring leader he was.

Although Pakistan has witnessed democratic as well as military dictatorships, the investigations into Abbasi’s death have never taken off. Benzair Bhutto’s first government initiated the investigation into the death but till today, remains incomplete.

Abbasi was born in Tando Allahyar and joined politics of the Left during college. He used to work as a munshi (clerk) at the Tando Allahyar municipality at night while he studied and continued with political activism during the day.

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See also Nazir Abbasi – A legendary hero of Sindh

Saturday August 07, 2010 13:45 by Saed Bannoura – IMEMC News

A committee of the US Congress designated $217.2 million of US tax money to a joint military venture between the US and Israel – this is in addition to the annual $3 billion in direct aid and $3 billion in indirect aid provided by the US to the Israeli government.

Israeli missile defense system (photo from Defence Talk)

The Defense Appropriations Subcommittee of the US House of Representatives approved the measure earlier this week, which provides support for a joint U.S.-Israeli missile defense system known as ‘The Arrow’ and David’s Sling’. The missile defense systems are allegedly meant to repel potential Iranian missile attacks on Israel, though their effectiveness as defense systems has been questioned by military experts, some of whom say the project is destined for failure.

The amount designated by the US Congress for the project is $95.7 million more than the amount requested by US President Barack Obama for the project, and indicates the extreme support for Israel within the US Congress, that even at a time of budget cuts for health, education and welfare, the Congress would see fit to donate a record amount to military support for Israel.

Congressman Steve Rothman of New Jersey, who helped push the funding through, told reporters, “This is only the latest example that when it comes to defense, military, and intelligence cooperation

By Akhila Raman, ZNet,  August 09, 2010

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Akhila Raman’s ZSpace Page

“Go India, Go Back”
“We’ll take bullets on our heads but we’ll not give up.”
– Tens of thousands of Kashmiris chanting slogans at a rally August

Kashmir Valley has been in turmoil over the past two months with tens of thousands taking to the streets in protest against killings of civilians by the Indian State which is seen as an occupying power by many of the people in Kashmir valley. Since the recent unrest started, at least 32 civilians have been killed and several hundreds injured, many of them due to Indian security forces firing into the unarmed crowd of civilian protestors. This review article examines the recent unrest and the historical roots of the present turmoil and argues that there is a genuine freedom struggle going on against the repressive Indian State by the Kashmiris who are alienated equally with India, Pakistan and the militants and whose grievances have their historical roots in the events of 1947.

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