20 September - News Mixup

Gwadar - West Bay (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Baloch shepherd, from a 1900 photo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Russia Demands U.S. End Support of Democracy Groups Russia has ordered the United States to end its financial support for a wide range of pro-democracy, public health and other civil society programs here, in an aggressive step by the Kremlin to halt what it views as American meddling in its internal affairs.  ...a new law requiring any organization receiving aid from abroad to register with the justice manager as “acting as a foreign agent.” Russia also increased the penalties for libel and slander American officials, who were informed of the decision earlier this month, quickly pledged to maneuver around the Kremlin. Russia is not alone in its resentment of United States-led demockracy building efforts. Those have become a sore point for a number of countries in recent years, including allies like Egypt and Pakistan, which have objected to outside groups telling them how to run their affairs. The aid agency’s cold war history of providing a front for American intelligence agencies is still fresh in the memories of foreign officials Mr. Putin, facing large-scale dissent at home for the first time, has said unrest is being stoked by the State Department, working covertly through nonprofit organizations.   Mr. Melkonyants of Golos said he could not understand why American aid agency’s work rankled the Kremlin so. “Free elections are not an American goal — that is absurd,” he said. “They are a Russian goal.” Putting the 'jab' in 'hijab': Girls beat up Iran cleric when he tells them to cover up   California Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Bill Signed Into Law California Gov. Jerry Brown Monday signed into law Assembly Bill 472, the "911 Good Samaritan Bill," aimed at reducing fatal drug overdoses by removing the threat of criminal prosecution for people who seek assistance for people suffering from them. California becomes the 10th state to enact such a law since New Mexico led the way back in 2007. fatal drug overdose (wikimedia.org) Sponsored by Rep. Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), the bill received bipartisan support in the legislature and was cosponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance, the ACLU of California, and the Health Officers Association of California.	Sinai Bedouin fight human traffickers CNN revisits the remote region of Al Mehdia in the Sinai and finds Bedouins tackling the trafficking taking place on their doorstep. Kim Jong Il's chef returns after fleeing September 19, 2012 -- Updated 1026 GMT (1826 HKT) After fleeing to Japan in 2001 for fear of his life, Kenji Fujimoto, former sushi chief to Kim Jong Il, has now been invited to return to North Korea. Bringing toilets to India's poor September 18, 2012 -- Updated 0313 GMT (1113 HKT) So few Indians have access to a lavatory that one official has described the country's vast railways system as "the world's biggest open toilet." Italian Supreme Court upholds guilty verdict against 23 Americans  The trial was the first to deal with a practice that human rights groups call "extraordinary rendition." Prosecutors said he was nabbed by a CIA team working with Italian intelligence officials. "Today's ruling highlights the lack of accountability in the U.S. courts for serious crimes committed by government officials in the name of national security, such as kidnapping and torture," said Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU Human Rights Program. "U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks showed that Washington tried to derail the Italian investigation instead of supporting the interests of justice. 18.09, 16:13 58 comments '#HandsOffYT': YouTube may be blocked in Russia over anti-Islam film Russia could officially block access to YouTube while it hosts the infamous movie “Innocence of Muslims”, Communications Minister Nikolay Nikiforov has warned. 19.09, 12:05 22 comments Anti-US protests rage on, Clinton pledges ‘aggressive steps’ to protect embassies (PHOTOS, VIDEO) Palestinians and Pakistanis voiced their fury in the latest wave of violent protests against an infamous anti-Muslim film. In response to the rising tensions Hillary Clinton promised aggressive steps to ensure the safety of US embassies. Supreme Court to rule on legality of wiretapping through FISA The fight to stop the government's sweeping surveillance of emails and phone calls will go all the way to the Supreme Court. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit challenging the warrantless wiretapping provisions included under the FISA Amendment Acts. Retroactive Stop Loss Service members and veterans whose military service was involuntarily extended under the “Stop Loss” program from 9/11 through Sept. 30, 2009, now have until Oct. 21, 2012, to apply for special retroactive pay, Pentagon officials have announced.  Japanese man who served his genitals to guests charged with indecent exposure Maine Army National Guard MPs train for Afghan duties Sgt. 1st Class Derek Wilcox, the unit’s guard force commander, said this will be the first time the company has been shipped out since it began flying its own flag about four years ago. The 488th was previously part of the Maine Army National Guard’s 169th Military Police Company, Wilcox said. The 169th last deployed about five years ago. Vermont ANG duo are first Americans to graduate Spanish mountain-warfare school Sep 17, 2012   Aerial pesticide spray to fight West Nile causes fear in cities Several state and city governments across the US say that the aerial spraying of pesticides has decimated the threat of West Nile Virus in certain locales. Experts, on the other hand, say these efforts are exaggerated, fabricated and even impossible. Is Pakistan heading for disaster in Balochistan?
Pakistan must end its policy of killings and kidnappings of Baloch people and recognise the importance of the region. .....Malik, who has been a professional journalist all his life, has recently been given political asylum in the United States. Various threats and messages convinced him his life was in danger. He talks passionately and movingly of the hundreds of Baloch who have been brutally killed by the security agencies. The policy of "kill and dump" is causing fear and terror among the Baloch. "One chilling message engraved with a knife on the chest of a corpse said, 'Eid gift for Baloch'." He claims there is a systematic policy to eliminate the "cream of the Baloch professionals". He lists names and professions with depressing accuracy - professors of medicine, scholars of Baloch history and, of course, numerous journalists. "At least eight of my Baloch journalist friends have been killed over the past year," he said. Some had disappeared - until their mutilated, bullet-riddled bodies were found. Cultural onslaught The Baloch are angry not only at the killing of their intellectual and professional elite, but at what appears to be a wider, deliberate cultural onslaught. Security personnel, invariably non-Baloch, insult the Baloch at checkpoints by cutting off the shalwar, or baggy pants. More worryingly, Baloch corpses of those who have mysteriously disappeared are routinely found mutilated and desecrated. One chilling message engraved with a knife on the chest of a corpse said, "Eid gift for Baloch."  ( Remember the deaths of university professors, teachers, doctors of medicine and more in Iraq ? What would you do if you realized your culture was being replaced by a killers' chimera with a Walt Disney cartoon face ? Maybe that should be...what have you done ? Do the cheers of USA USA sound like TSA TSA  ) RussiaToday3 days  rated a video: Amateur video: Shocked Costa Concordia passengers escape sinking linerDramatic amateur video of resque operation from sinking luxury cruise ship emerged.  Voices are heard of scared passengers being evacuated from Costa Concordia cruise liner to the . At least three people have been confirmed dead after a cruise ship carrying over 4-thousand passengers ran aground off Italy's north-west coast. 69 are still unaccounted for. Most of those on board the Costa Concordia were evacuated on lifeboats or swam ashore. The vessel hit a sandbar near the island of Giglio late on Friday. AlJazeeraEnglish3 days  uploaded a video: Midnight classes for ambitious AmericansIn the competitive United States job market some people are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to improve their employment prospects. One community college in the state of Maryland is catering to full-time workers looking for a boost to their chances with an eye-opening endeavour: offering overnight classes. Al Jazeera's Monica Villamizar reports from Baltimore....more

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