Winter Patriot Community Blog

February 23, 2012 - For 30 years, Stewart worked tirelessly defending America's poor, underprivileged, and unwanted. They're never afforded due process and judicial fairness without an advocate like her. Where others wouldn't go, she did courageously, defending controversial figures like Weather Underground's David Gilbert, United Freedom Front's Richard Williams, Black Liberation Army members Sekou Odinga and Nasser Ahmed, and many more like them. She knew the risks, but took them fearlessly and courageously until wrongfully indicted for doing her job. Her case sent a chilling message to other lawyers that it's dangerous defending unpopular clients ruthless prosecutors want to convict...

February 23, 2012 - For 30 years, Stewart worked tirelessly defending America's poor, underprivileged, and unwanted. They're never afforded due process and judicial fairness without an advocate like her. Where others wouldn't go, she did courageously, defending controversial figures like Weather Underground's David Gilbert, United Freedom Front's Richard Williams, Black Liberation Army members Sekou Odinga and Nasser Ahmed, and many more like them. She knew the risks, but took them fearlessly and courageously until wrongfully indicted for doing her job. Her case sent a chilling message to other lawyers that it's dangerous defending unpopular clients ruthless prosecutors want to convict...

February 24, 2012 - ...Between Americans that support Asad under the table and claim the opposite after more than 7500 martyrs, Russians, Chinese, and Iranians that support Assad and declare it openly, and members of the SNC that have built an action program based on the sweet claims of US rhetoric while the former's conduct does nothing but prolong the life of the regime and sabotage the revolution, it is clear today that the Syrian revolutionaries are facing a criminal regime that confronts them with murder on a daily basis, and a revolutionary leadership that operates completely outside any real understanding of politics-irrespective of whether this is a result of good or bad intentions. It remains to be stated that the first step in revolutionary political action is acknowledgement of reality, no matter how harsh it is: today, the entire planet is against the Syrian revolution. Only after this admission can revolutionary political action begin.

February 24, 2012 - Palestinian Researcher, specialized in Detainees Affairs, Riyadh Al-Ashqar, stated that female detainee Hana' Yahia Ash-Shalaby, 28, declared hunger strike after Israel transferred her into Administrative Detention without charges for six months. Hana' was kidnapped by the army one week ago when the soldiers rearrested five of the detainees, including Hana', who were released under the Shalit Prisoner-Swap deal. Troops violently broke into her home and searched it terrifying the family and causing excessive damage to the property, and kidnapped her; they also confiscated cell phones and a computer from the home....

February 24, 2012 - Efforts to keep the Gaza Strip in the dark, including its many hospitals, homes and street lights, is immoral and inhumane and constitutes collective punishment against the Palestinians. It also shows complete casual disregard by the Israelis for the Arabs who can see this crime against their brothers taking place but can do nothing about it. This raises questions about the usefulness of the Arab League, which has been unable to bring about the changes necessary to lift the siege on Gaza, and adopted a project two years ago to connect electricity supplies in the Arab world to the exclusion of the Gaza Strip....

February 24, 2012 - Several Afghans were killed and wounded during protests in different parts of the country on Friday over the burning of the holy Quran at a US military base in central Parwan province, officials and witnesses said. Hundreds of furious residents, mostly youths carrying white and green flags, staged a demonstration in the Pul-i-Charkhi area of Kabul, torching police booths. Trying to enter the city, the men were dispersed by police, who fired into the air. "We are here to defend our religion, but policemen are firing at us," said one of the protestors, Siddiqullah, who claimed that four people were killed and eight others injured. The protest continued till 5pm....

February 24, 2012 -- Israeli warplanes fired on a Gaza City neighborhood early Friday, lightly injuring two Palestinian fighters. The airstrike on the Zeitoun neighborhood injured two militants who were evacuated to hospital, emergency services' spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said. Their identities and affiliations were not immediately identified. An Israeli army statement said the warplanes hit "two terror activity sites in the northern Gaza Strip...in response to the rockets fired at Israel"...

February 23, 2012 - 114 martyrs fell in another day of continuous gunfire of the security forces and Shabiha. There are 17 children among the martyrs and one media activist. 58 martyrs fell in the governorate of Idlib alone, 26 martyrs fell in Hama, 9 in Deir Ezzor, 7 fell in Daraa, 5 martyrs are from Quneitra, 4 fell in Homs, 2 martyrs fell in each of Raqqa and Damascus Suburbs (Daraya and Douma) and one martyr fell in Aleppo....

February 24, 2012 -- Leaders of Hamas turned publicly against their long-time ally President Bashar Assad of Syria on Friday, endorsing the revolt aimed at overthrowing his dynastic rule.... "I salute all the nations of the Arab Spring and I salute the heroic people of Syria who are striving for freedom, democracy and reform," Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, visiting Egypt from the Gaza Strip, told thousands of Friday worshipers at Cairo's al-Azhar mosque. "We are marching towards Syria, with millions of martyrs," chanted worshipers at al-Azhar, home to one of the Sunni world's highest seats of learning. "No Hezbollah and no Iran"...

February 23, 2012 - 114 martyrs fell in another day of continuous gunfire of the security forces and Shabiha. There are 17 children among the martyrs and one media activist. 58 martyrs fell in the governorate of Idlib alone, 26 martyrs fell in Hama, 9 in Deir Ezzor, 7 fell in Daraa, 5 martyrs are from Quneitra, 4 fell in Homs, 2 martyrs fell in each of Raqqa and Damascus Suburbs (Daraya and Douma) and one martyr fell in Aleppo....

February 23, 2012 - Chaos and violence continue, a wave of attacks hit Iraq, Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani again sees one of his clerics targeted, Iraqiya calls for the government to provide protection or resign, Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc lashes out at the United Nations over Camp Ashraft, and more... The wave of attacks were spread across ten locations. RT notes, "The violence started with a drive-by shooting in Baghdad and was followed by blasts inside and outside the capital." Salam Faraj and Mohamad Ali Harissi (AFP) count 16 car bombings and 8 roadside bombings and note Baghdad, Babil, Diyala, Slaheddin, Kirkuk and Nineveh were all hit. Rick Dewsbury (Daily Mail) notes, "The coordinated bombings and shootings unfolded over four hours in the capital Baghdad -- where most deaths were -- and 11 other cities. They struck government offices, restaurants and one in the town of Musayyib hit close to a primary school...

February 23, 2012 - The United States is finding the occupation of other nations more and more challenging. Witness the clueless US soldiers or contractors who burned a dozen Korans at the Bagram Air Force Base trash dump in Afghanistan. The uproar in response has only begun. Then there were the ace troopers who filmed themselves urinating on corpses. And let's not forget the perplexing US assault that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Plus a host of other disasters. We're failing at Occupation 101. Economic challenges at home only add to the difficulty...

February 23, 2012 - Hundreds of armed tribesmen on Thursday rallied against US drone attacks in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt, demanding compensation for damage and losses, witnesses said. Up to 2,000 tribesmen gathered in Miranshah bazaar shouting "Death to America" and "Stop drone attacks in Pakistan" at the rally organised by Pakistan's largest Islamic party, Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI), witnesses said....

February 23, 2012 - Just a day after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned of efforts to stoke sectarian strife, coordinated attacks against mostly Shi'ite targets took place across the country. At least 97 Iraqis were killed in the attacks, and another 348 were wounded. While some of the bloodshed is part of the background violence that still plagues Iraq, when major attacks occur, more of the base ones get reported. A member of parliament's Security and Defense Committee, Shuwan Mohammed Taha, blamed the government itself for the lapse in security. Tawa charged national security forces with an inability to protect Iraq because one party monopolizes the ranks and renders them unable to cooperate with other government agencies. The Interior Ministry, which is in charge of national security, simply blamed al-Qaeda....

February 23, 2012 - Speaking before students at Northern Virginia Community College on February 13, President Obama unveiled his 2013 budget request, in which he proposed "some difficult cuts that, frankly, I wouldn't normally make if they weren't absolutely necessary. But they are." These budget cuts are unavoidable, the President argued, because "the truth is we're going to have to make some tough choices in order to put this country back on a more sustainable fiscal path." In a sad commentary on the misplaced priorities of the Obama Administration, however, these "tough choices" will affect the delivery of basic services to U.S. citizens while the Israeli military hits the jackpot at taxpayer expense....

February 23, 2012 - I grew up under Israeli occupation, a brutal military occupation accompanied by "colonization" (land theft). My family suffered, though not as much as other Palestinian families. It is hard to describe how much the occupation invades every aspect of one's life here: from eating and drinking to education and from healthcare to travel, from economy to freedom of religion. The antithesis of all of this repression, violence, occupation, colonization and war is, of course, peace. I was thus captivated by peace as a concept, a dream, a hope. Sometimes I was thinking of peace in terms of a state of external calm and lack of disturbance. In other times, I thought peace was related to freedom from repression. Now, I think of peace as being an inner peace, that only comes from acting on what we believe and freeing our minds of the bondage acquired from external sources....

February 23, 2012 - Summary : Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (16 - 22 February 2012): Shooting: In the West Bank, IOF wounded 11 protesters, including an Israeli peace activist. Seven of the Palestinians wounded in the West Bank were wounded in peaceful protests to the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities while 4 Palestinians were wounded in peaceful demonstrations organized in support of Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan. In the Gaza Strip, 14 Palestinians, including 2 women and 3 children, sustained bruises and wounds by shrapnel wounds in airstrikes implemented by IOF warplanes...

February 23, 2012 - As the news spread, everyone went out to the streets. Students left their classrooms and rushed to the streets. Employees left their offices and rushed to the streets. Workers and farmers stopped working and rushed to the streets. Everyone left whatever they were doing and rushed to the streets. You could hear the anger in the chants that echoed in the streets of Nablus, Bethlehem, Acca, Um Il-Fahim and Gaza. You could smell the anger in the tens of burning tires that appeared out of nowhere in almost every street, at the entrance to every village, every town, every refugee camp and every city in occupied Palestine. You could see the anger in the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands that marched in the streets of Jenin, Yaffa, Ramallah, An-Nasreh and Rafah....

February 23, 2012 - Mansoor Ijaz, an American businessman, was allowed to give his evidence by videolink from London on Wednesday after he said his safety could not be guaranteed in Pakistan. He claims he was asked to deliver a memo to American military officers asking for their support in removing the head of the army and the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency in May last year. Mr Ijaz told a commission investigating the case that he wrote the explosive memo from notes dictated over the telephone by Husain Haqqani, the then Pakistani ambassador to Washington. He was told that President Asif Ali Zardari himself was behind the plan, he added...

February 23, 2012 - In the American mind, if Apple made weapons, they would undoubtedly be drones, those remotely piloted planes getting such great press here. They have generally been greeted as if they were the sleekest of iPhones armed with missiles. When the first American drone assassins burst onto the global stage early in the last decade, they caught most of us by surprise, especially because they seemed to come out of nowhere or from some wild sci-fi novel. Ever since, they've been touted in the media as the shiniest presents under the American Christmas tree of war, the perfect weapons to solve our problems when it comes to evildoers lurking in the global badlands...