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Kosovo Liberation Army Leader Hashim Thaçi on Trial for War Crimes
By , April 19, 2023
From the very outset those crimes against the people of Serbia and Kosovo were committed on behalf of …
The post Selected Articles: Kosovo Liberation Army Leader Hashim Thaçi on Trial for War Crimes appeared first on Global Research.
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The post US Espionage Within the UN Is a Story that Repeats Itself appeared first on Global Research.
This past weekend in Louisiana, three 19-year-old males were apprehended and accused of committing second-degree murder and first-degree feticide. It is alleged that they fired shots at Kerisha Johnson, a 36-year-old woman, as she was driving her car down North Carrollton Avenue. Johnson was nearing the end of her pregnancy term and was expected to deliver her baby within days of the tragic event.
Around 12:30 a.m. on April 16, Johnson was inside her car, on her way to fetch several people from a party in the North Carrollton area, when she was fired upon. Footage showed a vehicle parked across the street from the party with several people outside conversing; it was then that Johnson’s car was seen coming down the road, and the people crouched before they lifted handguns and started shooting at her. The alleged shooters then entered their car and fled the scene.
Marques Porch, Gregory Parker, and Derrick Curry have been identified as suspects in the shooting incident. The trio reportedly informed detectives that they thought Johnson’s car was the same one that had driven by the gathering earlier in the evening and shot off a couple of rounds.
Porch, an officer at the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, confessed to the authorities that he was the one who provided the weapons. As a result, he was immediately dismissed from his post with the Sheriff’s Office after his detainment. Moreover, Porch also owned the car that was used to help the suspects make their escape.
Johnson’s family and friends are in shock and disbelief over the unexpected death of Johnson and her unborn child. Deanna Williams, a childhood friend of Johnson, stated, “It was just senseless,” adding, “She was an innocent person.” Porch, Parker, and Curry were all booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison and brought before a judge on Monday who ordered them to remain in pretrial detention without bond.
The community is heartbroken and infuriated as Johnson’s life was taken due to a misidentified vehicle. Johnson was a victim of a senseless act of violence, and her family and friends will never be able to forget the tragedy that was so unfortunately caused. Now, the three suspects must face the repercussions of their actions, and justice will be served.
In a horrifying act of violence, a North Carolina family in Gastonia is left reeling after an angry neighbor opened fire on them on Tuesday night. It all began when 6-year-old Kinsley White and other kids were playing basketball, and the ball rolled into Robert Louis Singletary’s yard.
Witnesses reported that the suspect was driven into a violent rage and ran down the street, shooting his gun before returning and shooting at the family. The little girl suffered fragments of gunshot wounds to her face and had to be stitched up, while her father, William White, was shot in the back after shielding Kinsley from the bullets. Her mother, Ashley Hilderbrand, sustained a shallow bullet graze.
The North Carolina police department is urgently searching for Singletary, who is now wanted for four counts of first-degree attempt to commit murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, along with possessing a firearm as a felon. Gaston County Police Chief, Stephen Zill tells the community, “This sort of violence will not stand.”
Authorities are offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who might provide critical details that may lead to Singletary’s eventual arrest and conviction.
It’s disheartening to think of what has occurred and that a 6-year-old girl and her family had to endure such a wretched ordeal. It’s only right for justice to prevail in this case so that the North Carolina family can have closure.
The last four to six weeks have been witness to a flurry of high-level global diplomatic activity. U.S. President Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv on February 20 before conferring with Polish President Andrzej Duda on February 20-22. This occurred only two days after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi traveled to Germany to deliver a keynote address at the Munich Security Conference, followed by Wang’s visit on February 22 with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. On March 21, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made an unannounced trip to Ukraine to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, becoming the latest Group of 7 (G7) national leader to visit the country. This occurred one day after China’s Xi Jinping arrived for a three-day visit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
On March 29, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen began a carefully-choreographed ten-day trip with stopovers in New York City, Los Angeles, Belize, and Guatemala. Then on April 5, unsurprisingly, Putin welcomed Belarus counterpart Alexander Lukashenko to Moscow for two days of talks on “topical bilateral and international issues.” Lukashenko, who had allowed his country to serve as a launch pad for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, had visited Moscow only a month and a half previously. And the latest diplomacy, occurring in early April, featured a three-day visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Beijing, where he seeks to enlist the efforts of Xi to stop the war in Ukraine and limit Chinese support for the Russian war effort.
On whichever side of the war in Ukraine nations find themselves, one thing is unmistakably clear: nations are aware that the war’s outcome will have drastic implications for the international order. Contrary to the recent disappointingly shallow remarks by a certain Florida governor, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is no mere “territorial dispute.”
In late January, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine “are now impossible” since “there are no conditions for them either de facto or de jure.” Speaking on April 5th on Russian state radio, Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov declared present U.S. Russian relations to have gone beyond the “Cold War” stage and to be in “hot conflict,” reiterating statements made in early February that those relations were in a state of “unprecedented crisis.” Addressing members of the Duma – the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia – in mid-February, Foreign Minister Lavrov blamed the U.S. and its Western allies for pushing ties with Moscow to the “point of no return” by supporting Ukrainian efforts to resist the Kremlin’s ongoing invasion. The West, Lavrov told lawmakers, has had a policy of “many years of containment of Russia” alongside “the transformation of fraternal Ukraine into [an] anti-Russia . . . [and] Russophobic military stronghold.” And Putin’s own latest reminder to the world that the U.S. is to blame for the war in Ukraine occurred on April 5th, at a ceremony in Moscow for newly appointed ambassadors, with the new U.S. ambassador, Lynne Tracy, present.
Again, let us be sure not to miss the point: the U.S. is to blame for Russia’s invasion. An invasion whose toll in human lives has been estimated in toto by one source at about 300,000 dead or injured (200,000 Russian, 100,000 Ukrainian). An invasion that has produced millions of refugees on several continents. An invasion whose infrastructural damage to Ukraine has been recently assessed by the United Nations and the World Bank to be over $10 billion. An invasion whose unspeakable war crimes – which include mass murder, torture, rape, as well as the forced deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russian territory – have caused the International Criminal Court to designate Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal” and issue a warrant for his arrest. Even so, the U.S. is purportedly to blame for the war’s tragedies and atrocities.
A full generation removed from the “Cold War” of which Foreign Minister Ryabkov speaks, most Americans and Europeans, asleep in their neo-isolationism, are doubtless made anxious – if not fooled – by the totalitarian bluster of our times. Some of us, however, are old enough to remember “Cold War” rhetoric that was a regular feature of Soviet and Communist “diplomacy.” Threats of “escalation” and nuclear blackmail were a normal part of the totalitarian repertoire. And when a generation ago many in the West were fearful of – and intimidated by – Communist tyrannical rhetoric, there were some leaders, notably Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, who were constrained morally to respond in a forceful way. They understood what many leaders either fail to grasp or are unwilling to acknowledge: namely, that totalitarianism has always respected strength, just as it has always exploited weakness and appeasement. It is as the law of gravity, and this “law” is what makes politics so consequential.
In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed piece, Robert Kaplan argues that Putin invaded Ukraine less because of NATO’s expansion than because of his demonic dreams of Russian imperialism. While Kaplan is correct to point to Putin’s delusions of grandeur – for example, one senior Russian diplomat identifies Putin’s three advisors as Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, and Catherine the Great – he is wrong to limit Putin’s motivation merely to the Russian imperialist spirit, important as that is. There are essentially three factors that account for Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, one of which Kaplan identifies. The other two need our attention as well.
One is Putin’s paranoia over NATO’s expansion into central and eastern Europe; the other is the U.S.’s dishonorable withdrawal from Afghanistan. It is the former that accounts for continued condemnation by Putin and Lavrov of the U.S. role in “destabilizing” foreign policy; after all, the Soviet empire lost to NATO Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, as well as the three Baltic states (with Finland now joining). It is the latter factor that accounts, most immediately, for Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine in February of 2022 – a decision that was reinforced by the West’s passivity and non-resistance in 2014 as Putin “annexed” eastern regions of Ukraine.
In contrast to the morally confused thinking that characterizes Western nations (including the U.S.) in the face of the totalitarian threat, two Asian leaders – in the news recently – grasp the moral and political meaning of Ukraine. One is the aforementioned Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, the other Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. Last month Kishida became the first Japanese head of state to visit a foreign war-torn region of the world since World War II. He minced no words in decrying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – an invasion that was condemned by the United Nations by a vote of 141 to 7, with 32 nations abstaining (the seven dissenting nations being Russia itself, Belarus, North Korea, Mali, Eritrea, Nicaraugua, and Syria). Russia’s invasion, Kishida insisted, is a “disgrace that undermines the foundations of the international order.” Who among Western leaders, we might ask, has dared to use this sort of language?
Building on Kishida’s clearsightedeness and realism about the international order, Taiwan’s President Tsai had this to say in her West Coast visit with House Majority leader Kevin McCarthy:
“The peace that we have maintained and the democracy which we have worked hard to build are facing unprecedented challenges. We once again find ourselves in a world where democracy is under threat.”
Prior to Tsai’s visit U.S. visit, Beijing warned that the U.S. was “playing with fire.” Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of China’s State Council, reiterated the threat: “It will be another provocation. We firmly oppose this and will take resolute countermeasures to fight back.” And Chinese Foreign Minister Wang, reacting to news of Tsai’s visit, said that his nation strongly opposes any contact between the U.S. and Taiwan’s government and that it had already made “stern representations” to Washington about any visits. China has accused the U.S. of colluding with Taiwan to challenge Beijing by giving support to those who want the island to declare formal independence. “We again warn the Taiwan authorities that there is no way out for Taiwan independence, and any illusions about attempts to collude with external forces to seek independence and provocation is doomed to fail,” Wang warned. This, of course, follows on the heels of the Chinese “weather-monitoring” balloon incident in early February, which resulted in the cancellation of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China. The U.S. reaction, in turn, led Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang to warn that “there will surely be conflict and confrontation” unless the U.S. changes course.
This, of course, is language straight out of the Cold War. Notice the similarities here between Russian and Chinese totalitarian threats. Neither the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine – affirmed in 1994 by Russia, Ukraine, the U.S. and the U.K. on the basis of the Budapest Memorandum – nor that of Taiwan – attested to by democratic presidential elections (occurring since 1996) – is permitted to be acknowledged. This is the evil of the totalitarian menace: embracing tyranny and oppression, it is committed absolutely to the obliteration of any human freedoms – personally, socially, or politically – that might challenge that tyranny.
In his opening remarks at the Munich Security Conference, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had this to say about the war in Ukraine:
Some worry that our support to Ukraine risks triggering escalation. Let me be clear. There are no risk-free options. But the biggest risk of all is if Putin wins. If Putin wins in Ukraine, the message to him and other authoritarian leaders will be that they can use force to get what they want. This will make the world more dangerous. And us more vulnerable. So supporting Ukraine is not only the morally right thing to do. It is also in our own security interest. . . I do know this. Even if the war ends tomorrow, our security environment has changed for the long-term. There is no going back. [The] Kremlin wants a different Europe. One where Russia controls neighbors.
But that is not all. Stoltenberg proceeded to draw global implications of the war.
We also know that Beijing is watching closely. To see the price Russia pays. Or the reward it receives for its aggression. What is happening in Europe today could happen in Asia tomorrow. So the war in Ukraine demonstrates that security is not regional, it is global. In this new and more contested world, we can no longer afford to treat defence as optional. It is a necessity.
Stoltenberg, Kishida, and Tsai grasp what many of us do not: the fate of Asia is directly related to the war in Ukraine and European security more generally. Given Russian and Chinese aggression, along with contributions to tyranny from rogue nations such as North Korea and Iran, the U.S. will need to demonstrate courageous leadership while depending on and encouraging her allies. Globally, we live at a time in which a new “axis of evil” is emerging, a time in which human freedoms seem to be vanishing.
The issues reduce very simply to tyranny versus freedom and U.S. stewardship in global matters. To whom much has been given, much will be required. Either the U.S. will inspire confidence through its leadership or cause chaos in the international order.
The post <strong>The Global Stakes of the War in Ukraine</strong> appeared first on Providence.
On April 19, 2023, a tragedy rocked Manhattan’s Financial District as a four-story parking garage, originally built in 1925, collapsed, leaving one person dead and five injured. Photos from the scene revealed a packed roof of now-destroyed cars and SUVs, estimated to be between 50 and 60 vehicles. Mayor Eric Adams confirmed this later, attributing it to the collapse.
The FDNY and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (DAO) are launching their investigations, with no leads yet as to whether there was any criminal intent or negligence. As of now, they theorize that the building’s advanced age and the weight of the vehicles were factors in the death of the man trapped inside.
The FDNY focus is now on removing the cars, using a backhoe shovel to clear out the garage before it can be demolished, with a controlled explosion understood to take place on Thursday, April 22. Commissioner Zach Iscol described the operation as “incredibly complex.”
When the collapse happened around 4:10 PM, slabs of concrete broke loose from the fourth floor and plummeted into the cellar, hitting four people among the garage’s visitors, who have been treated at a local hospital.
Now, it will be possible to piece together the tragedy’s cause. The FDNY and the DAO will investigate and hopefully, soon be able to explain more about the incident and its catalyst.
Critic questions why Religious Freedom Ambassador declined to call for mixed-gender prayer in Al Aqsa Mosque.
By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News
A senior member of the Biden administration called for Israel to implement the so-called Western Wall compromise, which would see the creation of an officially sanctioned mixed-gender prayer space at the holy site in Jerusalem.
“I visited the Western Wall for the first time today and met with Rabbi of the Wall Shmuel Rabinowitz,” wrote U.S. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain on Twitter this week.
“I reiterated U.S. support for implementation of the 2016 Western Wall agreement to expand the egalitarian space at the Wall.”
I visited the Western Wall for the first time today and met with Rabbi of the Wall Shmuel Rabinowitz. I reiterated U.S. support for implementation of the 2016 Western Wall agreement to expand the egalitarian space at the Wall. pic.twitter.com/BQXKrVlaTr
— U.S. Ambassador at Large Rashad Hussain (@IRF_Ambassador) April 16, 2023
Notably, Hussain did not mention the ongoing issue of Jews being denied freedom of worship at the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site.
“Anything about implementing greater access for Jews to the Temple Mount?” Arsen Ostrovsky, a legal scholar and founder of pro-Israel lawfare NGO, asked Hussain in a follow-up to the tweet.
Administered by the Jordanian Waqf organization, Jews are officially banned from praying at the compound and are restricted to visiting the site during limited hours, under the supervision of armed security forces.
“Since [Hussain] was in the Al Aqsa Mosque on Friday for Ramadan, I’m sure that during his visit he advocated for a mixed gender section for Islamic men and women to pray together,” Joel Petlin, a writer and the Superintendent of the Kiryas Joel School District, replied to the statement about the compromise. “But strangely enough, I didn’t see a Tweet about it.”
Currently, the Western Wall is under the control of the Israeli rabbinate, which means prayers at the site follow the standards of Orthodox Judaism. There is a partition (mechitzah) which separates men and women at the site.
In 2016, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a mixed-gender plaza at the Western Wall, which would be permitted to operate and hold prayer services not under the auspices of Israel’s Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) rabbinical authorities. However, due to pressure from his Haredi coalition partners, Netanyahu later shelved the agreement, while never officially canceling it.
It’s unclear what triggered Hussain’s comment pushing for the official implementation of the compromise.
While the compromise has been discussed by Reform and Conservative Diaspora Jewish groups and is an issue disputed between the rabbinical authorities and left-wing Jewish movements in Israel, Sunday’s tweet marked the first time that a Biden administration official had weighed in on the issue.
Representatives from the Biden administration, including U.S Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, have broken previous policy to avoid expressing opinions regarding internal Israeli politics and social issues.
The post Biden ‘religious freedom’ official pushes egalitarian Western Wall deal, silent on Temple Mount ban on Jews appeared first on World Israel News.
In the past two decades, historians have given us an increasingly complete picture of the intellectual pasts of black anti-colonialism. Including Robin D. G. Kelley’s recently reissued Freedom Dreams, Minkah Makalani’s In the Cause of Freedom, and Adom Getachew’s Worldmaking after Empire, this body of work has forged a deep understanding of the “Black Atlantic” […]