Archive for September 3rd, 2008
Georgia confirms it used cluster ammunition against military targets
Yesterday I wrote that Russia had used cluster ammunition against civilian targets. Yesterday Georgia announced it also used cluster ammunition though only military targets.
The Defense Ministery of Georgia confirmed today the use of cluster ammunition in the war against Russia, though enfasizing that it used them only against Russian military convoys and not against civilian population. “The system (of multiple lanzadera) GRADLAR was used against the Russian military convoys which were going through Roki’s tunnel and Zarski’s highway”, which goes from the separatist republic of South Osetia to the Russian republic of North Ossetia, according to the press release by the Georgian Ministery.
It also points out that “those weapons were never used against civilians, civilians’ targets or inhabited places or its surroundings durinng the conflict with Russia, in South Osetia or in other places“. It also denies the use of GRADLAR in Shindisi, where some reports have blamed Georgian army of its use.
Georgia confirma el uso de bombas de racimo en la guerra con Rusia
Eurotopics has a summary of newspapers about the EU answer to the conflict.
Angela Merkel has said that The E.U. shouldn’t cut ties with Moscow but must “speak clearly” following Russia’s military action in Georgia.
But there is more: Russia president has dismissed Saakashvili as a “political corpse” and has shown the real excuse for this conflict:
Asked whether the conflict was headed to a cold-war-type standoff, he cast Russia as the aggrieved party and referred pointedly to the Bush administration’s plan to place a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.
“I would like our respected partners to pay attention to the fact that we are not the ones broadening the borders of military presence, it’s NATO,” he said. “We are not the ones creating new bases, it’s NATO. We are not deploying the missile defense system, it’s NATO.”
“We were in constant dialogue” about the planned missile defense system, he said. “We asked why we needed it. But since the decision has been made, if the radar is going to be turned on, we have to respond to this. Because we got no reasonable explanation of why it was done.”
So in the end, it is about being fearful of losing its own influence area, once the defense missile system is put into effect.
Pirates seize French nationals off Somalia
This just came in. Worrying news indeed:
France’s Foreign Ministry says pirates off Somalia have seized a sailboat with two French citizens aboard.
The ministry has condemned the attack on the boat in the Gulf of Aden and has called for the release of the two French nationals. A ministry statement issued Wednesday says “discretion” was needed in such cases. Further details were not immediately available. It was not immediately clear whether any others in addition to the two French citizens were aboard. The ministry says more than 260 acts of piracy were recorded worldwide last year, including 30 off Somalia.
Pirates seize French nationals off Somalia – CNN.com
If you want to defend the rights of kidnapped hostages, you can join the Facebook group Pray for the hostages. It doesn’t matter what your religion is, just that you’re interested in praying for them.
Ahmadinejad loves rich bigamists
There is a growing sense of anger amongst Iranian women. Next week, a number of womens rights groups are planning to picket in front of the Majlis (parliament) to demonstrate against a new bill which, if passed, would allow Iranian men to take a second wife, without the permission of his first one.
Until now, consent of the first wife has been required by law. If the new bill is approved, this will be no more. All the man has to do is to prove that he can provide financially for his second wife, and he can legally marry her, no matter how vehemently his first wife objects. As Iranian law allows a man to have four wives, once this law is passed, all that stands in the way of anyone who wishes to be a bigamist is money.
(…) The new bill also endangers the welfare of Iranian men from poorer income brackets who wish to get married (for the first time). They may find it more difficult to find brides from their economic class, because women who want to escape poverty could now find it easier to become the second wife of a rich man. So instead of helping the poor, as he repeatedly promises, Ahmadinejad and his government are giving more power to the rich.
Pajamas Media » A Victory for Rich Iranian Bigamists
Why I am not surprised?
Attacks on Christians in India exemplify ‘Christianophobia,’ says Vatican official
Vatican foreign minister Archbishop Dominique Mamberti on Friday said the anti-Christian attacks in India and the decline of the Christian population in Iraq shows religious freedom is still a pressing matter. Decrying what he called Christianophobia, he called for anti-Christian violence to be combated as decisively as Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. At least 13 people have died in attacks against Christians in the eastern India state of Orissa. Thousands have sought shelter in government camps after a Hindu leaders murder by apparent Communists provoked mobs of Hindus to burn more than a dozen churches and attack Christians. Hindu groups often accuse Christians of bribing poor tribes and low-caste Hindus to convert to Christianity. Christians deny the accusations, saying such conversions are voluntary abandonments of Indias complex caste system.
Attacks on Christians in India exemplify ‘Christianophobia,’ says Vatican official
Appaling: a Hindu leader’s murder is considered the “job” of Communists and Catholics are attacked…
And meanwhile more girls disappear in India. But hey, no Christian can be blamed for that, can they? So then, there is no problem…
India: the Disappearing Daughters report (I).
India: the Disappearing Daughters report (II).
Italy has already told India that they are deeply concerned about ongoing violence, which has already killed 16 people in the east Indian state of Orissa, according to a local police chief.
