US Muslim group asks Pentagon officials to resign for botched Kabul strike

Council on American-Islamic Relations demands resignation of defence chief Lloyd Austin and "any military officials who had a direct role in approving the drone strike that killed 10 civilians" in August 2021.

Aimal Ahmadi, 32, lost his three-year-old daughter Malika and nine other relatives in the August 29 US strike. (AFP)

Any Pentagon official directly involved in a botched air strike in Afghanistan last year should resign, including US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a Muslim-American advocacy group has demanded.

The US-based Muslim body Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also called for the resignation of "any military officials who had a direct role in approving the drone strike that killed 10 civilians" in August.

CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said the video shows "the Pentagon launched a reckless attack that was guaranteed to kill innocent people in a densely-packed neighbourhood."

"This attack was not simply an honest mistake or a rare occurrence; it was the latest in a long line of reckless drone strikes that have killed innocent people at homes, weddings and funerals in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and elsewhere," said Mitchell.

READ MORE: 'My kids split in half': Afghans seek answer after US strike kill civilians

Pentagon releases video

The demand came a day after the Pentagon released a video of the attack.

The New York Times obtained the footage through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against US Central Command, which then posted the imagery to its website on Thursday.

It marks the first public release of video footage of the August 29 strike, which the Pentagon initially defended but later called a tragic mistake.

The videos include about 25 minutes of footage from what the Times reported were two MQ-9 Reaper drones.

The footage shows the scene of the strike prior to, during and after a missile struck a civilian car in a courtyard on a residential street.

Indistinct images show individuals moving in or near the attack zone.

READ MORE: 'Families of Afghan drone attack victims ask US to admit to 'war crime'

"Any Pentagon leaders who played a direct role in approving the horrific massacre of these innocent people – including seven children – should take responsibility by stepping down. If secretary Austin was directly involved in approving the strike, he should resign," Mitchell added.

The US Defense Department has ruled out any punishment to US soldiers involved in the drone strike, which triggered global condemnation.

The August 29 drone attack was one of the last strikes when the US military was still in the war-torn country before it pulled out along with all foreign forces in August.

GOP lawmaker introduces measure for New Hampshire to secede: 'Our state's sovereignty has been stolen'
Matthew Chapman
January 20, 2022

New Hampshire state Rep. Mike Sylvia (Twitter).

On Thursday, WMUR's Adam Sexton reported that New Hampshire Republican state Rep. Mike Sylvia has introduced a constitutional amendment to allow New Hampshire to secede from the United States.

"Some believe that the question of independence has been settled," said Sylvia at a House hearing. "If so, then our state's sovereignty has been stolen."

CTHULHU IS CATHOLIC!
New Hampshire state lawmakers have been embattled in a series of controversies over the past several months. In October, state Rep. Ken Weyler stepped down as chair of the House Finance Committee after claiming that the COVID-19 vaccines are a Satanic plot by the Catholic Church and contain tentacled creatures and 5G mind control technology.

The party's conspiracy theories have grown so bizarre that one Republican member of the New Hampshire House, Bill Marsh, defected to the Democratic Party in protest.

Why Hasn't President Biden Moved On Net Neutrality?

By Tyler Adkisson
January 20, 2022

Net neutrality is the principle that internet providers should treat all traffic going through their systems equally.

The Biden Administration has been steadfast in its efforts to bring back net neutrality — a kind of leveling of the internet.

In a July 2021 executive order, President Biden urged the Federal Communications Commission to do it, but progress toward reinstating net neutrality has been driven to a near-halt even though it’s supported by 80% of Americans.

So what’s the hold up?

First, what exactly is net neutrality? At its core, net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers like Comcast or Verizon should treat all traffic going through their systems equally. With net neutrality rules in place, providers would be prohibited from intentionally slowing the speed of access to websites, or outright blocking that access.

The biggest issue impeding net neutrality is that the FCC hasn’t been operating with a full commission and has been deadlocked along party lines. President Biden’s nominee, Gigi Sohn, has not been confirmed yet, but reports indicate she could be as early as the week of Jan. 24.

"The two-two split has stalled a lot of action at the FCC — only one of which is net neutrality," said Chris Lewis, president and CEO of Public Knowledge.

The sooner that there's a five-person commission, the sooner net neutrality rules can be restored.

Lewis told Newsy that shutdowns during the pandemic have accentuated the need for reliable broadband internet backed by net neutrality rules. Currently, without those rules, the FCC can’t step in during an emergency, like the pandemic, to make sure people aren't cut off from broadband.

"There are currently examples of practices that broadband providers have conducted that would have been tested and challenged under the net neutrality rules, as we had them before, where they've blocked or throttled traffic over the past few years," Lewis said.

Some providers resist net neutrality, rejecting government intervention as bad for business and innovation. They tout consumer choice in offering faster service at a premium and allowing companies a way to get better placement.

Still, even without net neutrality rules in place, internet speeds have drastically risen for most U.S. citizens, and demand is rising.

In 2021, national average internet speeds doubled over 2020 to nearly 100 megabits per second.

It's a mixture of faster speeds now available due to emerging technologies like 5G and fiber and also just the fact that more people are working from home, leading more people to recognize it as a necessity.

Kang Kyung-wha to run for ILO secretary-general

Updated: 2022-01-21 

Former South Korean Foreign Minister, Kang Kyung-wha, who's running for the top job at the International Labor Organization, has expressed her ambition to "make the world a better place again."
Speaking at the ILO headquarters in Geneva on Thursday, Kang said the world is experiencing deepening inequality and weakening solidarity that was brought on by a crisis caused by a number of global issues, including the pandemic.
She added she'll support a job-oriented economic recovery and work to strengthen social security systems.
Kang is up against four other candidates from Australia, Togo, France and South Africa.
The victorious candidate will be announced on March 25th.

Reporter : seungjae86@gmail.com

North Korea launched cyberattack against Russia - media

One employee’s account was allegedly compromised

By Jonny Tickle

© Getty Images / Issaro Prakalung / EyeEm

The North Korean hacker group APT37 attacked the Russian Foreign Ministry and its employees in late 2021 and subsequently compromised the account of a government employee, US information security experts have reported.

According to researchers at US cybersecurity companies Cluster25 and Black Lotus Labs, and later reported by Moscow daily Kommersant, a phishing campaign was targeted at the Ministry back in October. The researchers claim that some employees were sent archives of documents and asked to provide vaccination details, while others were fed with links to malware disguised as software the Russian government uses to collect Covid vaccination statuses. As a result, one account was compromised.

From the compromised address, hackers managed to send a phishing email to Russian Deputy Minister Sergey Ryabkov on December 20 and also targeted the Russian Embassy in Indonesia.

APT37 is well-known for using software called Konni, a remote administration tool. It has been reportedly used to target South Korea, as well as political organizations in Japan, India, and China, among other countries. According to Kommersant, the group has been around since at least 2017.

This latest accusation isn’t the first time that North Korea has been blamed for attempted phishing attacks on Russia. In November last year, Kommersant reported that another hacker group, Kimsuky, sent phishing emails written on behalf of well-known Russian experts, scientists, and NGOs to experts on Korea in an attempt to obtain online login credentials.

Last week, Russian security services arrested a notorious group of hackers following information provided by US authorities. The Federal Security Service (FSB) detained people in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Lipetsk Region who were allegedly members of REvil, a notorious ransomware group known for receiving millions in ransom payments.

Afghanistan: Taliban Deprive Women Of Livelihoods, Identity

 January 19, 2022  

By Eurasia Review

Taliban rule has had a devastating impact on Afghan women and girls, new research shows, Human Rights Watch and the Human Rights Institute at San Jose State University (SJSU) said. The organizations looked at the conditions for women since the Taliban took control in Ghazni province, in southeastern Afghanistan.

Since taking control of the city of Ghazni on August 12, 2021, days before entering Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, the Taliban have imposed rights-violating policies that have created huge barriers to women’s and girls’ health and education, curtailed freedom of movement, expression, and association, and deprived many of earned income. Afghanistan’s rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis exacerbates these abuses. Following the Taliban takeover, millions of dollars in lost income, spiking prices, aid cut-offs, a liquidity crisis, and cash shortages triggered by former donor countries, especially the United States, have deprived much of the population of access to food, water, shelter, and health care.

“Afghan women and girls are facing both the collapse of their rights and dreams and risks to their basic survival,” said Halima Kazem-Stojanovic, a core faculty member of SJSU’s Human Rights Institute and a scholar on Afghanistan. “They are caught between Taliban abuses and actions by the international community that are pushing Afghans further into desperation every day.”

Human Rights Watch and SJSU remotely interviewed 10 women currently or recently in Ghazni province, including those who had worked in education, health care, social services, and business, and former students.

They described spiraling prices for food staples, transportation, and schoolbooks, coupled with an abrupt and often total income loss. Many had been the sole or primary wage earner for their family, but most lost their employment due to Taliban policies restricting women’s access to work. Only those working in primary education or health care were still able to work, and most were not being paid due to the financial crisis.

The Taliban have banned women and girls from secondary and higher education, and altered curricula to focus more on religious studies. They dictate what women must wear, how they should travel, workplace segregation by sex, and even what kind of cell phones women should have. They enforce these rules through intimidation and inspections.

“The future looks dark,” said one woman who had worked in the government. “I had many dreams, wanted to continue studying and working. I was thinking of doing my master’s. At the moment, they [the Taliban] don’t even allow girls to finish high school.”

The women said they had acute feelings of insecurity because the Taliban have dismantled the formal police force and the Women’s Affairs Ministry, are extorting money and food from communities, and are targeting for intimidation women they see as enemies, such as those who worked for foreign organizations and the previous Afghan government. Most interviewees cited serious mental health consequences since the Taliban takeover, including fear, anxiety, hopelessness, insomnia, and a deep sense of loss and helplessness.

“The crisis for women and girls in Afghanistan is escalating with no end in sight,” said Heather Barr, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Taliban policies have rapidly turned many women and girls into virtual prisoners in their homes, depriving the country of one of its most precious resources, the skills and talents of the female half of the population.”

 

Ahead Of Trial, Finnish MP Facing Jail After Tweeting Bible Verse Says Case A Test Of Religious Freedom

 January 19, 2022 

By CNA

A former government minister facing jail after tweeting a Bible verse said that her trial next week will be a test of religious freedom.

Päivi Räsänen, a physician and mother of five, explained that she had a “calm mind” ahead of the criminal trial beginning on Jan. 24.

“I trust that we still live in a democracy, and we have our constitution and international agreements that guarantee our freedom of speech and religion,” said Räsänen, Finland’s interior minister from 2011 to 2015.

“If I win the case, I think that it is a very important step for freedom of speech and religion. I think it’s not only important for Finland but also in Europe and other countries.”

“If I’m convicted, I think that the worst consequence would not be the fine against me, or even the prison sentence, it would be the censorship.”

“So, now it is time to speak. Because the more we are silent, the narrower the space for freedom of speech and religion grows.”

According to ADF International, a Christian legal group that is supporting her, Räsänen could be given a two-year prison sentence for the tweet, after the Finnish Prosecutor General filed criminal charges against her on April 29, 2020.

The MP could also face additional jail time if convicted of two other alleged offenses relating to her comments in a 2004 pamphlet and on a 2018 television program, the group said.

The Prosecutor General charged Räsänen with incitement against a minority group, arguing that her statements were “likely to cause intolerance, contempt, and hatred towards homosexuals.”

ADF International noted that Räsänen’s comments did not violate Twitter’s policies or the rules of the national broadcaster that screened the 2018 program, which is why they remain available on their platforms.

Finland is a country with a population of 5.5 million people, bordering Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Around two-thirds of the population belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, one of the country’s two national churches, alongside the Finnish Orthodox Church.

The 62-year-old MP, who was chairwoman of the Christian Democrats party from 2004 to 2015, is an active member of the Finnish Lutheran Church. But she questioned her church’s sponsorship of an LGBT pride event in 2019.

On June 17, 2019, she asked in a Twitter post how the sponsorship was compatible with the Bible, linking to a photograph of a biblical passage, Romans 1:24-27, on Instagram. She also posted the text and image on Facebook.

“The purpose [of] my tweet was in no way to insult sexual minorities. My criticism was aimed at the leadership of the church,” she told the journal First Things in 2020.

Police began investigating Räsänen in 2019. She faced several police interviews and had to wait more than a year for the Prosecutor General’s decision.

Juhana Pohjola, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, was also charged for publishing Räsänen’s 2004 pamphlet “Male and Female He Created Them.”

The International Lutheran Council issued a statement in July 2020 describing the decision to prosecute Räsänen as “egregious.”

It said: “The vast majority of Christians in all nations, including Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, share these convictions. Would the Finnish Prosecutor General condemn us all? Moreover, shall the Finnish state risk governmental sanctions from other states based on the abuse of foundational human rights?”

Paul Coleman, ADF International’s executive director, said: “In a free society, everyone should be allowed to share their beliefs without fear of censorship. This is the foundation of every free and democratic society.”

“Criminalizing speech through so-called ‘hate speech’ laws shuts down important public debates and poses a grave threat to our democracies. These sorts of cases create a culture of fear and censorship and are becoming all too common throughout Europe.”

“We hope and trust the Helsinki District Court will uphold the fundamental right to freedom of speech and acquit Päivi Räsänen of these outrageous charges.”

CNA
The Catholic News Agency (CNA) has been, since 2004, one of the fastest growing Catholic news providers to the English speaking world. The Catholic News Agency takes much of its mission from its sister agency, ACI Prensa, which was founded in Lima, Peru, in 1980 by Fr. Adalbert Marie Mohm (†1986).

ALWAYS READ THE FULL PASSAGE FOR CONTEXT

Punishment of Idolaters.

18* The wrath* of God* is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickednessp of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

19For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them.q

20Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.r As a result, they have no excuse;

21for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened.s

22PAGANISMWhile claiming to be wise,t they became fools

23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.u

24WAIT, WHATTherefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts* for the mutual degradation of their bodies.v

25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.w

26IT'S GOD'S FAULTTherefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural,

27and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity.x

28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper.

29y They are filled with every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite. They are gossips

30GOD IS PETTY; HATES TEENAGERSand scandalmongers and they hate God. They are insolent, haughty, boastful, ingenious in their wickedness, and rebellious toward their parents.

31They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

32Although they know the just decree of God that all who practice such things deserve death, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.z
THIS IS THE PART THAT EXTOLS DEATH FOR RELIGIOUS AND SEXUAL MINORITIES MAKING IT HATE SPEECH
THIS IS PAULS TEXT NOT THE TEACHING OF JC IT IS PAULINE LIKE THE MAJORITY OF CHRISTIANS ARE

China launches campaign to plug greenhouse gas monitoring gap

Under the pilot programme, some of China's biggest greenhouse gas producers must draw up comprehensive new monitoring plans by the end of 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

BEIJING (REUTERS) - China will force key industrial sectors and regions to take action to measure greenhouse gas emissions as part of a new initiative to improve data quality and oversight, according to an environment ministry document reviewed by Reuters.

Under the pilot programme, some of China's biggest coal-fired power providers, steel mills and oil and gas producers must draw up comprehensive new greenhouse gas monitoring plans by the end of this year.

It comes as China, the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, needs to beef up its measurement of carbon emissions in line with its monitoring of air pollutants to meet a pledge by President Xi Jinping to become carbon neutral by around 2060, say experts and environmentalists.


"In contrast to air pollutants, there is a major gap in reporting on CO2 emissions - there is no regular reporting in place that would disclose the country's total emissions," said Mr Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst with the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

"Expanding the emission monitoring and disclosure that is currently in place for air pollutants to CO2 would be a huge step forward."

After some success in curbing the choking smog that envelops many of China's industrial cities over winter, the State Council, China's cabinet, has already promised to expand curbs on pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides and heavy metal waste.



This will require more real-time environmental monitoring stations and advanced technologies that can detect a wider range of emissions and catch companies trying to cheat, officials and environmentalists said.


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But the yawning coverage gap on carbon dioxide emissions could prove the biggest challenge. China up to now has relied largely on proxy indicators - including energy consumption - to measure CO2, falling behind countries in Europe.

According to the policy document, dated September 2021 and supplied to Reuters by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), the new monitoring programme aims to provide "statistical support" for the country's fight against climate change.

Cities like Tangshan and Hangzhou, along with regions like Inner Mongolia and Yunnan, have also been ordered to assess their ability to act as carbon sinks, including forest coverage rates and land use changes.


The pilot programme, scheduled to be completed in the first three months of 2023, is designed to assess best practices for measuring greenhouse gases. It will include the oil and gas, steel and thermal power sectors, as well as waste processing, and will cover key gases like methane as well as carbon dioxide.

State companies involved in the pilot programme - including the China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec), the China National Petroleum Corp and the Shandong Energy Corp - did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Real-time monitoring

Around 23,000 of China's major polluters are now plugged into a national real-time emissions monitoring system that measures air pollutants like sulphur dioxide or ammonia in water, though this is still a fraction of the millions of factories across the country that require monitoring.

An accurate measure of carbon emissions has also become increasingly important for China's plans to build out its national emissions trading system (ETS), which currently covers the power sector but will later be expanded to other sectors.

"When it comes to controlling emissions, and cap and trade, and all the other issues like carbon pricing - all of this needs to be based on accurate data, otherwise it will be meaningless,"said Mr Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), a non-government organisation focused on environmental monitoring.

The launch of the first phase of the ETS was repeatedly delayed partly because of data quality concerns.

Consultancy Frost & Sullivan estimated sales of environmental monitoring devices in China will surpass 102 billion yuan (S$22 billion) in 2023, four times the level in 2014.

But up to now there has been no legal requirement for firms to measure greenhouse gas.

IPE's Mr Ma said monitoring CO2 would be expensive for firms, but was vital to ensure the levels of compliance required green financing and carbon trading.

"When it comes to emissions trading you need to go extremely accurate," he said, noting companies needed to be able to determine precisely how many credits to buy.

"Any slight change in parameters or emission factors could mean a difference of hundreds of millions of yuan."