text:
/**
 * NonRuleBasedFirstPartyAudienceSegment.java
 *
 * This file was auto-generated from WSDL
 * by the Apache Axis 1.4 Mar 02, 2009 (07:08:06 PST) WSDL2Java emitter.
 */

package com.google.api.ads.dfp.axis.v201505;

/**
 * A {@link NonRuleBasedFirstPartyAudienceSegment} is a {@link FirstPartyAudienceSegment}
 * owned by
 *             the publisher network. It doesn't contain a rule. Cookies
 * are usually added to this segment via
 *             cookie upload.
 *
 *             <p>These segments are created by data management platforms
 * or Google Analytics. They cannot be
 *             created using the DFP API.
 */
public class NonRuleBasedFirstPartyAudienceSegment  extends com.google.api.ads.dfp.axis.v201505.FirstPartyAudienceSegment  implements java.io.Serializable {
    /* Specifies the number of days after which a user's cookie will
     * be removed from the audience
     *                     segment due to inactivity. This attribute is required
     * and can be between 1 and 540. */
    private java.lang.Integer membershipExpirationDays;

    public NonRuleBasedFirstPartyAudienceSegment() {
    }

    public NonRuleBasedFirstPartyAudienceSegment(
           java.lang.Long id,
           java.lang.String name,
           long[] categoryIds,
           java.lang.String description,
           com.google.api.ads.dfp.axis.v201505.AudienceSegmentStatus status,
           java.lang.Long size,
           com.google.api.ads.dfp.axis.v201505.AudienceSegmentDataProvider dataProvider,
           com.google.api.ads.dfp.axis.v201505.AudienceSegmentAudienceSegmentType type,
           java.lang.Integer membershipExpirationDays) {
        super(
            id,
            name,
            categoryIds,
            description,
            status,
            size,
            dataProvider,
            type);
        this.membershipExpirationDays = membershipExpirationDays;
    }

    /**
     * Gets the membershipExpirationDays value for this NonRuleBasedFirstPartyAudienceSegment.
     *
     * @return membershipExpirationDays   * Specifies the number of days after which a user's cookie will
     * be removed from the audience
     *                     segment due to inactivity. This attribute is required
     * and can be between 1 and 540.
     */
    public java.lang.Integer getMembershipExpirationDays() {
        return membershipExpirationDays;
    }

    /**
     * Sets the membershipExpirationDays value for this NonRuleBasedFirstPartyAudienceSegment.
     *
     * @param membershipExpirationDays   * Specifies the number of days after which a user's cookie will
     * be removed from the audience
     *                     segment due to inactivity. This attribute is required
     * and can be between 1 and 540.
     */
    public void setMembershipExpirationDays(java.lang.Integer membershipExpirationDays) {
        this.membershipExpirationDays = membershipExpirationDays;
    }

    private java.lang.Object __equalsCalc = null;
    public synchronized boolean equals(java.lang.Object obj) {
        if (!(obj instanceof NonRuleBasedFirstPartyAudienceSegment)) return false;
        NonRuleBasedFirstPartyAudienceSegment other = (NonRuleBasedFirstPartyAudienceSegment) obj;
        if (obj == null) return false;
        if (this == obj) return true;
        if (__equalsCalc != null) {
            return (__equalsCalc == obj);
        }
        __equalsCalc = obj;
        boolean _equals;
        _equals = super.equals(obj) &&
            ((this.membershipExpirationDays==null && other.getMembershipExpirationDays()==null) ||
             (this.membershipExpirationDays!=null &&
              this.membershipExpirationDays.equals(other.getMembershipExpirationDays())));
        __equalsCalc = null;
        return _equals;
    }

    private boolean __hashCodeCalc = false;
    public synchronized int hashCode() {
        if (__hashCodeCalc) {
            return 0;
        }
        __hashCodeCalc = true;
        int _hashCode = super.hashCode();
        if (getMembershipExpirationDays() != null) {
            _hashCode += getMembershipExpirationDays().hashCode();
        }
        __hashCodeCalc = false;
        return _hashCode;
    }

    // Type metadata
    private static org.apache.axis.description.TypeDesc typeDesc =
        new org.apache.axis.description.TypeDesc(NonRuleBasedFirstPartyAudienceSegment.class, true);

    static {
        typeDesc.setXmlType(new javax.xml.namespace.QName("https://www.google.com/apis/ads/publisher/v201505", "NonRuleBasedFirstPartyAudienceSegment"));
        org.apache.axis.description.ElementDesc elemField = new org.apache.axis.description.ElementDesc();
        elemField.setFieldName("membershipExpirationDays");
        elemField.setXmlName(new javax.xml.namespace.QName("https://www.google.com/apis/ads/publisher/v201505", "membershipExpirationDays"));
        elemField.setXmlType(new javax.xml.namespace.QName("http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema", "int"));
        elemField.setMinOccurs(0);
        elemField.setNillable(false);
        typeDesc.addFieldDesc(elemField);
    }

    /**
     * Return type metadata object
     */
    public static org.apache.axis.description.TypeDesc getTypeDesc() {
        return typeDesc;
    }

    /**
     * Get Custom Serializer
     */
    public static org.apache.axis.encoding.Serializer getSerializer(
           java.lang.String mechType,
           java.lang.Class _javaType,
           javax.xml.namespace.QName _xmlType) {
        return
          new  org.apache.axis.encoding.ser.BeanSerializer(
            _javaType, _xmlType, typeDesc);
    }

    /**
     * Get Custom Deserializer
     */
    public static org.apache.axis.encoding.Deserializer getDeserializer(
           java.lang.String mechType,
           java.lang.Class _javaType,
           javax.xml.namespace.QName _xmlType) {
        return
          new  org.apache.axis.encoding.ser.BeanDeserializer(
            _javaType, _xmlType, typeDesc);
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Contemporary artist Ahmed Farid adds social value to art
Marina Gamil
Tue, 29 Aug 2017 - 03:04 GMT
Contemporary artist Ahmed Farid - Official Website
CAIRO – 29 August 2017: Humanity faces many critical problems in all contemporary societies nowadays like the gap among the social classes pushing many contemporary artists including the Egyptian contemporary artist Ahmed Farid to tackle them through their paintings. Egypt Today sheds light on one of the successful Egyptian contemporary artists as he introduces new values to the scene.
Farid was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1950 where he currently lives and works as a business man, he thinks of art as a valued hobby.
Because of his extensive travels in early 1970s to different places, he began to discover his eagerness towards art. Consequently, he was self-taught art through spending several hours training at studios belonging to famous artists.
He traveled to different places around the world such as Italy, France and England in search for different techniques he could use while painting till he encountered the abstract paintings of New York art school, well-known in 20th century, Farid explained to Egypt Today on Tuesday.
As a result of his aspiring journey, most of his paintings are a blend of American paintings and Egyptian aspects, defining artistic creation of Farid unique approach in the contemporary scene. The ambitious artist follows the technique of New York art school in which he focuses on certain Egyptian social issues
"I am influenced greatly by Willem de Kooning, Gazebia Sirry and Nicholas de Steal in their way of painting," Farid told Egypt Today as he was stating his inspirations.
His dynamic and fully colorful paintings usually display abstract slim images of distant shadows and shy characters as he wants to focus on the reality rather than features of people. In efforts to implement this aspiring notion, he followed the techniques of New York art school that matched his artistic goals.
For example, in his first exhibition named 'Urbanization', he wanted to introduce the contrast between the rich and the poor as means of promoting a famous social issue in Egypt, and hence he drew the shadow characters and used many colors and motion to present the contrast among social classes, highlighted Farid.
"The paintings are understandable and abstract in which each person could understand it differently whenever he/she looks at it," Farid emphasized.
Urbanization painting – Official Website
His painting Metropolis Magic painted in 2016 was auctioned at the Christie's Auctions in May 2017where it reached $18,750.
Metropolis Magic – Official Website
ahmed farid
American paintings

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


There are two ways of dealing with pregnancy.
1. Spending nine months treating your body as a sacred vessel and as such only filling it with healthy things, like kale and whatever the hell quinoa is.
2. Spending nine months daydreaming of the time when you were free to slowly destroy your body with ingredients that technically should never be ingested by a living thing. And occasionally choking down a stupid carrot.
I, believe it or not, am of the latter persuasion.
(Also, this just in, the Pope is indeed Catholic).
…that is, until my doctor called me fat.
Yep, that did it. He's gone.
*She may have said that last part using more sophisticated medical terms, but remember people, it's all about reading between the lines here.
Translation: She thinks I'm getting too fat.
Which hey, I know she's just doing her job and it's much healthier for both mom and baby if the pregnancy weight gain is kept under control. But I couldn't help but feeling like I should get a free pass on this one. I mean, for starters, I wasn't overweight before I got pregnant. But more importantly, those cigarettes and that evening bottle glass of wine and the daily coffee intake of 40,000 mg of caffeine had to be replaced with something.
And all I had left was food.
And yeah, sure, "technically" that food didn't have to include quite so many cheeseburgers but while everyone seems more than happy to talk about what pregnant women should or shouldn't do, no one seems to talk about pregnancy being an extremely stressful time. Especially if you're a first-timer.
You are now intensely aware that everything you do, every single day, has a potential impact on a tiny little human. If you don't exercise enough, it could affect the baby. But don't make yourself too tired, or it could affect the baby. If you eat too much, or eat too little, it could affect the baby. If something goes wrong with your teeth, it could affect your baby. If you get too hot, it could affect the baby. You need to eat fish so the baby's brain doesn't grow in crooked or whatever. But not too much fish and not certain kinds of fish or the mercury will make an arm grow out your baby's forehead. Don't be around too much secondhand smoke or too much pollution. Stay away from microwaves. Diet drinks will, in fact, affect your baby. As will fruit you didn't clean well enough. And whatever you do, DO NOT STRESS OUT ABOUT ALL THIS BECAUSE IT COULD AFFECT THE BABY.
So when you have to give up all your former stress coping mechanisms, sometimes a girl just needs a steak the size of small-to-medium country to cope.
A few extra pounds be damned.


Head in my hands, heart feeling as though it had been ripped from my chest, I wondered how this could have happened. How could a normal, healthy pregnancy result in an unexpected, premature birth? For mommas that have been in this same situation, you know too well the pain and heartache I felt.
Our son was born eight weeks early via emergency c-section. And it felt as though we had been pushed out a plane without any rhyme or reason, frantically grasping for a parachute cord that wasn't there.
My husband and I were excited to experience the joy of welcoming our son into the world, side by side for what we hoped would be a natural birth. Instead, I was rushed into emergency surgery, put under anesthesia and my husband sat in a private room alone, thinking the worst.
In the days that followed we moved into my father-in-law's house to be closer to the NICU and began our lives as parents, fumbling with tiny diapers and maneuvering wires around our preemie son just to briefly hold him.
I felt robbed of an experience that I so desperately wanted to have. I was a heart broken mama that had to say goodbye to her little boy each night. I couldn't breastfeed him right away, I had time limits on how long I could hold him, and another baby, family or nurse was never far away. It was difficult to bond with my son, let alone even feel like his mother.
Even though we faced these challenges side by side, I had never felt more alone than when my son was in the NICU. My husband was grateful that his wife and son had survived and more easily moved forward. For me it felt like learning to walk again, like something foreign and out of place that I wasn't prepared for. I was grieving, I was sad, and I needed his comfort and support more than anything. Yet, he couldn't relate to my feelings and didn't know what to do for me. And it created a void between us.
Men like to fix things. We tell them about a problem and they immediately want to find a way to make it better. It's how they are made.
But sometimes things can't be fixed. Sometimes the broken pieces just need to be held together with love for a while before true healing can begin.
That's what I needed. I didn't know how to tell him, and he didn't know how to understand. And it drove us further apart than we had ever been.
Adding to that was the stress of finances, insurance, our jobs to consider and a home to check up on.
I wish I could say that my husband and I handled this all gracefully. That we drew closer together and stepped up to this challenge as a team. But we did not. My pain and sadness confused him and made him feel helpless. His lack of understanding felt like he was pulling away from me and was like another stab to my heart. As the days dragged on, each of us feeling terrible but completely unaware of how to cope ourselves or with each other, we began to grow frustrated with one another.
As men and women, we see the world differently. It can make marriage, or any relationship, difficult when we don't respond the same way to things, especially during hard times. It can be easy to misunderstand and become frustrated with one another.
During our NICU experience I wish we had had more guidance from someone experienced enough to help us understand not only our own feelings, but what each other was feeling, as well.
Don't be afraid to reach out for help. Your NICU may be a wonderful place to start and can connect you with experienced professionals, a support group or other outside resources.
You might be grieving. And it's okay. As I scrambled for resources that would help me navigate those first days in the NICU, I came to understand that what I was experiencing was grief. I was grieving the loss of a full-term pregnancy and witnessing the birth of my baby. Understanding that I was going through a natural process gave me a sense of peace and normalcy.
Seek out advice from someone that's been there. This is important for both spouses, but especially so for dads. Moms will likely be able to find a plethora of advice, support and comfort from nurses, friends and other women that may have experienced similar circumstances. A quick internet search will bring up blogs, articles and videos from other moms that have walked in your shoes. However, it's just as important for dad to be given an opportunity to hear from another dad that what he's going through is normal and to be expected, given the circumstances. Giving dad an outlet and an opportunity to ask questions may give him the understanding and comfort that he needs to then support and comfort mom.
While the scars of the NICU are forever etched on our hearts, over time and in the light of a new day, away from the hospital, we were able to greet each other with understanding, empathy and love. We grew from the experience in ways we never could have imagined.
We've learned more details about one another than we ever dreamed we would during the birth of our first child. It's brought us closer together, a stronger team and even more in love than we were on our wedding day.
It certainly wasn't easy from the days when I wanted to scream at him for dismissing my feelings to today, where my husband feels like my truest partner in life, my biggest fan and my strongest shoulder to lean on, as it should be.
The NICU can surely put stress on any relationship. But with love, patience, resources and time, I do believe that healing can take place and a stronger bond than before can emerge.


text:
I refuse to be silenced. Between darkness and hope, I choose hope.
11 years on from Anna's murder, 2017 Anna Politkovskaya Award winner, GULALAI ISMAIL, publishes today a personal Letter to Anna on the anniversary of her murder:
"Dear Anna,
A few days ago I received the news of receiving the award named after you, after your courage and your commitment to speaking truth to power. I am incredibly honoured, this award included me on the list of those brave women who are changing history by exposing themselves to threats by speaking truth to power, by protecting the human rights of the most vulnerable, by countering religious extremism and by making this world a better peaceful place.
I have been working for the rights of young women and for countering violent religious extremism in my community for the last 15 years. In these 15 years, I have learnt incredible things happen when we speak out. I have learnt voices are more powerful than weapons. Therefore, if wars and conflicts have to be prevented we need more voices, not more weapons.
Through my own life experiences, I have learnt what it takes to indoctrinate a young mind, what it takes to make a young person want to be a Jihadist and I have learnt what it takes to prevent young people from radicalization. While terrorist Organizations are recruiting young people as militants, in Pakistan I am recruiting young people as peace activists, preventing them from joining militant organizations, and helping them unleash their potential. I believe that if every young person was presented with the opportunities I was presented with, that our work offers, then they – like me – can make different choices.
Anna, the world may seem dark with hundreds of conflicts happening all over the world and people like us being persecuted. Mashal Khan was a young boy from my village, he had bright ideas. His father would often tell him that he shouldn't share his ideas because people won't understand it. But he called himself a humanist, he was an ambassador of tolerance. On 13th April, 2017 he was killed by a mob of young people in his own University after being accused of blasphemy. His two sisters cannot go back to School now, because it is not safe for them.
How heartbreaking it is that people have to choose between their right to speak out and their right to life. No one should be choosing between the two. However, Anna, I want to tell you that if there is darkness, there is hope too. Strong young voices are emerging from the darkest conflict zones. Jamalida Begum who is a brave Rohingya Survivor of rape by Myanmar Security forces spoke out about her own rape and rape of other women in her village. Despite the threat to her life, she spoke out and thus drew the world's attention to the grave human rights violation happening against the Rohingya population, including their ethnic cleansing. Jamalida has become a testimony to the power of speaking out.
We are not alone, our voices are becoming the voices of many and this will change the world. Anna, I pledge to you that we won't leave the Earth in this shape, we will make it a better and peaceful place. Soon, the power of love will overcome the love of power.
Amalida Begum, a brave Rohingya survivor of rape by Myanmar security forces, currently a refugee in Bangladesh, who, in 2016, spoke out about her own rape and that of three other women in her village and continued to denounce their treatment publicly, at severe personal risk. In so doing, Jamalida Begum played a significant role in drawing the world's attention to the grave human rights violations being committed against the Rohingya population, including sexual violence committed against Rohingya women and girls, in Myanmar. She is a Brave Voice Refusing To Be Silenced.
Dear Anna, I refuse to be silenced. Between darkness and hope, I choose hope.
Gulalai Ismail "
Go to Gulalai's award page for more information


A SKIPTON man has been jailed for more than six months for his 'appalling record of offending'.
Craig Boyd, 32, was sentenced for assault, criminal damage, a public order offence, and re-offending while subject to conditional discharges, at York Magistrates Court on Friday.
The court heard Boyd caused more than £600 damage to a town council owned fence in a public park in Shortbank Close on May 18, last year.
On February 10 this year, he assaulted a security guard by spitting at him at an address in Keighley Road, and a week later, on February, 15, he damaged an internal door and a light switch at the same address.
Boyd was convicted at the York court earlier this month and remanded in custody before being sentenced last week.
Magistrates told Boyd no sentence other than a custodial one was appropriate due to the seriousness of the offences, and his "appalling record for offending".
He was jailed for a total of 26 weeks for the offences, as well as criminal damage on November 16, last year, and a public order offence on January 18, for which he was originally given conditional discharges.
The court heard Boyd had also breached conditional discharges for public order offences at Skipton Bus Station and Harrogate Police Station.
Boyd, of Keighley Road, was also ordered to pay £100 compensation to the victim of the assault, and £300 to Skipton Town Council for damaging the fence.


text:
Attorney Jobs in Public Interest
Get daily email updates for your search: "".
Housing Attorney
Blue Ridge Legal Services, Inc...
Blue Ridge Legal Services, the legal aid society serving the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia (see www.brls.org), is seeking to fill a new staff attorney position in our Winchester office, with a primary focus on eviction defense. Admission to Virginia bar required, and demonstrated interest in poverty law desired. Ability to speak Spanish a plus. Starting salary is $57,886, DOE with excellent fringe benefits. BRLS is an EEO/affirmative action employer. To apply, send letter o... read more
Blue Ridge Legal Services, the legal aid society serving the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia (see www.brls.org), is seeking to fill a new temporary staff attorney position in our Harrisonburg office, with a primary focus on eviction defense. Part-time is a possibility. Admission to Virginia bar required, and demonstrated interest in poverty law desired. Ability to speak Spanish a plus. Starting salary is $57,886, DOE with excellent fringe benefits. BRLS is an EEO/affirmative... read more
VOCA Staff Attorney
South Carolina Legal Services
Job Summary This position provides a wide range of civil legal representation and advocacy to victims of domestic violence, sexual trauma and stalking under the VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grant, primarily in the areas of domestic violence, consumer, education, housing, and family law, though the attorney may work in other priority areas of law depending on client needs. Litigation experience in these areas, plus experience with a broad range of other advocacy tools an... read more
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Family Law Attorney in Milwaukee, WI
Staff Attorney The candidate work for Family Court Guardian ad Litem Division. Represents the best interests of children in custody and placement disputes between parents, paternity adjudications, marital presumption cases, and in child abuse injunction proceedings. Should have strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to conduct interviews and investigations, and engage in a daily motion hearing and trial practice. Must have exceptional organizational skills, inc... read more
Litigation - General/Commercial Attorney in Rockford, IL
Staff Attorney Duties: Interview applicants for legal services and assess their legal issues with a focus on those issues that have an immediate impact on their basic human needs; Provide legal services including legal research and factual investigation, counsel and advice, brief services and document preparation, dispute resolution, and representation of clients in administrative and judicial proceedings; Develop and maintain networking relationships with local bar associ... read more
Real Estate Attorney in Washington, DC
Housing Attorney Duties: 1) providing direct client representation to tenants in eviction actions in the Landlord Tenant Branch of the D.C. Superior Court; 2) conducting client intake interviews and providing advice and brief legal services at D.C. Superior Court a minimum of two days per week; 3) coordinating with court based and other legal services providers to streamline referrals and promote cooperation on systemic issues; 4) engaging in outreach and community educati... read more
Attorney in Chicago, IL
Graduate Fellowship Program The Fellowship Program places new associates from law firms at public interest law agencies in Illinois, where they are typically paid by their hiring firm to work for 300 hours between graduation and joining the firm. The Fellow will work on a wide and diverse range of issues depending on the agency where they serve. Will also work on transactional matters such as policy development and analysis, advocacy, impact litigation and more. Fellows wi... read more
Graduate Fellowship Program The Fellowship Program places new associates from law firms at public interest law agencies in Illinois, where they are typically paid by their hiring firm to work for 300 hours between graduation and joining the firm. The Fellow will work on a wide and diverse range of issues depending on the agency where they serve. Will also work on transactional matters such as policy development and analysis, advocacy, impact litigation and more. Will work ... read more
Out of all the other job boards I have used, LawCrossing was definitely the most impressive. I have received many job interviews from jobs I applied to on your site.
Mark Herskovitz Los Angeles, CA
Graduate Fellowship Program The Fellowship Program places new associates from law firms at public interest law agencies in Illinois, where they are typically paid by their hiring firm to work for 300 hours between graduation and joining the firm. The Fellow will work on a wide and diverse range of issues depending on the agency where they serve. Will also work on transactional matters such as policy development and analysis, advocacy, impact litigation and more. In additio... read more
Graduate Fellowship Program The Fellowship Program places new associates from law firms at public interest law agencies in Illinois, where they are typically paid by their hiring firm to work for 300 hours between graduation and joining the firm. The Fellow will work on a wide and diverse range of issues depending on the agency where they serve. Will also work on transactional matters such as policy development and analysis, advocacy, impact litigation and more. Fellows ca... read more
Attorney in Highland Park, IL
Graduate Fellowship Program The Fellowship Program places new associates from law firms at public interest law agencies in Illinois, where they are typically paid by their hiring firm to work for 300 hours between graduation and joining the firm. The Fellow will work on a wide and diverse range of issues depending on the agency where they serve. Will also work on transactional matters such as policy development and analysis, advocacy, impact litigation and more. Fellows wo... read more
Immigration Staff Attorney
Jewish Family Service of San D...
Immigration Staff Attorney Responsibilities: Provide direct emergency and non-emergency removal defense and removal enforcement representation for the SDRRN, including representation for migrants, noncitizens, and newcomers before Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Border Patrol (BP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the San Diego Immigration Court, the Otay Mesa Immigration Court, other Immigration Courts across the country when required, and before the USCIS... read more
Senior Counsel - Healthcare
Senior Counsel - Healthcare Duties: Provides legal advice and counsel as requested to Physicians, Executives, Managers, Administrators and other internal constituents concerning general and specific health care, business and corporate issues, as well as on a variety of other legal issues. Independently handles a variety of complex legal matters. Is able to identify, anticipate, and develop strategies to mitigate legal risks. Develops and presents legal advice and opinions... read more
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2020-2022 Litigation Law Fellow The Fellow would work primarily on property rights issues created by the abuse of eminent domain by oil and gas pipeline companies, and other public interest litigation. Will report to senior staff attorney and chief counsel. With the supervision and guidance of senior staff, will assume substantial responsibilities, including: Developing and litigating complex federal cases challenging the abuse of eminent domain by oil and gas pipeline co... read more
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text:
Rouhani backs Russia's initiative on Syria
Created on Friday, 13 September 2013 09:59 | Published Date | | Hits: 489
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani praised the statement made by Syria on joining the Chemical Weapons Convention and backed Russia's initiatives in this sphere, according to Voice of Russia, Interfax.
"Being the largest victim of the use of chemical weapons, Iran is against the production, storage, and use of such weapons and supports the disposal of all types of weapons of mass destruction," Rouhani said at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek.
For this reason, "we consider Russia's initiative and the statement made by Syria on joining the Chemical Weapons Convention a good start for achieving this goal," he said.
Rouhani opposed to threats of military action in Syria
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for a political settlement to the crisis in Syria and said that any attempt to resolve this conflict by force must be neutralized.
"Every possible effort should be taken to attain a political solution of this problem. Any threats to use force must be condemned and held in check," Rouhani said at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Bishkek summit.
M.D
Category: Don't Miss
Russia hails Syrian statement on chemical weapons as important step towards settling crisis - Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the Syrian decision to become a full member of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction as an important step towards settling the crisis in Syria,according to Voice of Russia, ITAR-TASS.
"The Syrian representative to the UN has just said that Syria will become a full member of the Convention today. I think we should welcome this decision of the Syrian administration," Putin said at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek.
"I'd like to think that this will be a very significant step towards settling the crisis in Syria," the Russian president said.
"This is a confirmation of the sincere intention of the Syrian government to follow this path," Putin noted.
It's important to promote idea of establishing int'l control over Syrian chemical weapons - Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin again said a military intervention in Syria is unacceptable and pointed out the need to promote the initiative to establish international control over chemical weapons in Syria.
"Syria is the focus of our attention now. We consider external military intervention in this country without a sanction from the UN Security Council unacceptable," Putin said at a meeting of the Council of the Heads of State of the SCO member-countries in Bishkek.
"The recent diplomatic efforts have helped reduce the immediate threat of a military operation," Putin said. "A large role in this context was played by the promotion of the initiative to establish an international team to monitor chemical weapons in Syria," he said.
Saudi Arabia Sends Inmates to Fight in Syria
Created on Thursday, 12 September 2013 12:51 | Published Date | | Hits: 736
TEHRAN - A top secret memo revealed that the Saudi Kingdom sent death-row inmates, sentenced to execution by decapitation, to Syria to fight against the Syrian government in exchange for commuting their sentences, according to FNA.
According to the memo, written by the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia dated on April 17, 2012, the Saudi Kingdom negotiated with a total of 1239 inmates, offering them a full pardon and a monthly salary for their families in exchange for their training in order to send them to fight in Syria.
The memo was signed by Abdullah bin Ali al-Rmezan, the "Director of follow up in Ministry of Interior", the Assyrian International News Agency reported.
According to the memo, there have been the nationals of Yemenis, Palestinians, Saudis, Sudanese, Syrians, Jordanians, Somalis, Afghanis, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Iraqis, and Kuwaitis among the inmates.
There have been 23 Iraqi prisoners.
A former member of the Iraqi parliament, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the authenticity of the document and said most of the Iraqi prisoners in Saudi Arabia sent to Syria returned to Iraq and admitted that they had agreed to the deal offered by the Saudi Kingdom, and requested the Iraqi government to petition the Saudi government to release their families, who were being held hostage in Saudi Arabia.
Yemeni nationals who were sent to Syria also returned to Yemen and asked their government to secure the release of their families, according to the former Iraqi MP, who said there are many more documents in this regard.
Initially Saudi Arabia denied the existence of the program. But the testimony of the released prisoners forced the Saudi government to admit, in private circles, its existence.
Here is the translation of the memo:
This is a document issued by
Follow-up LOGO Number: 71466/J/H
Date: 25/5/1433 H. (April /17/2012 AD(
)Top Secret)
His Excellency General Suood Al-Thnayyan
The Classified (Secret) Office at the Ministry of Interior May Allah protect him
Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings
In reference to the Royal Court telegram No. 112, dated on 04/19/1433 H (March 3, 2012), referring to those held in the Kingdom jails accused with crimes to which Islamic Sharia law of execution by sword (decapitation) applies, we inform you that we are in dialogue with the accused criminals who have been convicted with smuggling drugs, murder, rape, from the following nationalities: 110 Yemenis, 21 Palestinians, 212 Saudis, 96 Sudanese, 254 Syrians, 82 Jordanians, 68 Somalis, 32 Afghanis, 94 Egyptians, 203 Pakistanis, 23 Iraqis, and 44 Kuwaitis.
We have reached an agreement with them that they will be exempted from the death sentence and given a monthly salary to their families and loved ones, who will be prevented from traveling outside Saudi Arabia in return for rehabilitation of the accused and their training in order to send them to Jihad in Syria.
Please accept my greetings.
)Signed(
Director of follow up in Ministry of Interior
Abdullah bin Ali al-Rmezan
Authority of enforcement of the common good and prevention of forbidden
Copy for general intelligence
R.S
"CIA Fabricated Evidence to Lure US into War with Syria": Ray McGovern
The intelligence gathered against Syria's government was manufactured by elements within the spy community in order to mislead the US President to take punitive action, Ray McGovern, a veteran CIA analyst, told RT.
McGovern was among the signatories to the letter from veteran intelligence professionals to Obama, warning the US president that Syrian government is not responsible for the chemical attack, and that "CIA Director John Brennan is perpetrating a pre-Iraq-War-type fraud on members of Congress, the media, [and] the public."
RT: You were one of the signatories to that letter to the US President. Do you think it will influence Obama?
Ray McGovern: Well, the problem of course is getting into what they call the mainstream media. The media is drumbeating for the war just as before Iraq. And they don't want to hear that the evidence is very very flimsy. They don't want to hear that people within the CIA – senior people, with great access to this information – assure us, the veterans, that there's no conclusive evidence that Syrian government ordered those chemical incidents on August 21. They don't want to hear that. They want to process beyond that and just deal with what we must do. Now, you don't assume those things – you need proof of them.
RT: In the letter, you cite evidence that the Syrian opposition and its allies carried out a chemical weapons provocation. Why do you think this has been ignored completely by Obama and Kerry?
RM: The reason that they don't adduce the evidence is because it wouldn't stand up not only in the court of law, it wouldn't bear close scrutiny. We've been down this road before. It happened before in Iraq. What the president needs to do is to release the intercepted message, on which most of this depends. And once he's done that, we could see what he's got. There's precedent for this – Ronald Reagan in 1986, when the Libyans bombed a discotheque in Berlin, killing two US servicemen and wounding hundreds. He hit [Muammar] Gaddafi's palace, killing his little daughter, 15 months old, and almost killing his son three years old. Now, the world said: 'You can't do that! What's your evidence that the Libyans did that?' And Reagan came to us and said: 'We have to release that intercepted message. And we said; 'No! No! No! You can't do that because you'll blow our source.' And he said: 'Do it anyway.' That was released and the world calmed down. I don't defend killing little children, but at least Reagan gained some credibility from the fact that he saw that the interests of the state, of the US, superseded protecting sources and methods. That's what Obama has to do now. We're very suspicious that if he's unwilling to do that, since he sends his Chief of Staff before the camera and says: 'Well, it wouldn't stand up in a court of law, but, hey, intelligence is intelligence – you got to trust this. But we're not going to trust him this time, especially when the head of the intelligence establishment is a self-admitted perjurer'.
RT: Why has it been so hard for Washington to sell to the world its case for intervention? Very few of their key allies explicitly support a military strike right now.
RM: I have to say that if you look at the 'Cui Bono' – the classic question: 'who does this profit?'The only state, the only country that it profits is Israel. As long as, there's an unending… looks like it's going to be a 30-year war in Syria, not only in Syria, but in the whole Middle East area, now that Israel feels that the Arab forces aren't going to be turning their swords and their guns on Israel. It's that simple. Now, [US Secretary of State] John Kerry has amply demonstrated that he's under the influence of [Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin] Netanyahu. He made believe he was talking about Palestine in the last couple of months, but what he was really talking about was Syria and that shows in his behavior and even his demeanor. So, what we have here is a situation where Israel and the tough guys – and tough gals now – in the White House, advising Obama, say, 'you've got to do something', and the only country that would profit from this is the state of Israel.
RT: We heard John Kerry backtrack a little yesterday, by saying that Obama hasn't made a decision yet on Syria. The US President was much more certain about an attack on Syria a week ago. Why the softening of their stance?
RM: You know what happened a week ago. Last Friday, Kerry went before the cameras and said: 'We got to do this. And here's not the intelligence assessment, mind you – but the government's assessment.' Meaning the White House had a chance to massage it, edit it. It didn't hold up to scrutiny. Now, what happened? Apparently the military got to the president, and I see some evidence of this. Next thing we know the president changes his mind on Saturday afternoon, and the only thing that really intervened was that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, telling the president: "Look. It's going to be really hard to explain why we have to do it now. We could do it tomorrow, or next week, or next month. We don't really have to do it now." And the president said that in justifying this delay. What's more evidence? Lindsey Graham and John McCain the next day just took off after the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman in a very personal and vindictive way. Because they know the military leaders went to the president saying, "Look, we know you're being told this is going to be easy and limited and all that – but these guys and gals don't know a thing about war. We do. And we know that it's not going to be so easy, so if you're going to do this, you'd better gain wide support, because, otherwise, your presidency is over."
RT: And who do you think the Congressional vote is going to play out?
RM: You know… I'm not a domestic political analyst. So, my opinion isn't much better than anyone else's. In Washington, within the beltway and in all the TV shows, it's always "we've got to do something! We must protect the President!" The odd thing is that this time the Democrats have drunk the Kool Aid [an American expression in business and politics, meaning to follow blindly]. This time we have to protect the President, he's gone out on a limb here. He's drunk the Kool Aid, and I talked to a Congressman last night for five minutes… and it was every clear that he pledged the House leader that he would vote according to what the President says, because "we have to protect the President". Are you going to say the President is lying? We don't have to say [that]. What you do need to say, according to our information, is that the President is being given cooked-up intelligence because John Brennan, the head of the CIA, and James Clapper, the confessed perjurer, have thought it in their best interests to cater to the wishes of the White House, which have been very clear: 'this time, we want to strike Syria.' It's a terrible situation, it's a political sort of thing now, and we'll have to see how it plays out. I have more hope than this time last week that it will be turned down. And then I don't think the President would violate the constitution and the UN Charter both by starting a war.
Source: RT
B.N
Putin: Armed Groups in Syria Used Chemical Weapon to Provoke American Intervention
NEW YORK – Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed the armed terrorist groups in Syria are the party which used chemical weapons not the Syrian Arab army.
In an article, published in the Wednesday issue of "The New York Times", Putin said: "There is every reason to believe that poison gas was used not by the Syrian Army, but by armed groups, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists."
Putin warned that any US military intervention in Syria would unleash a new wave of terrorism and could destabilize the region and damage "an entire system of international law."
"A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism," Putin said, arguing that it could also undermine talks on Iran's nuclear program, and efforts to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The Russian President also warned of the repercussions of launching military operations in circumvention of the UN Security Council, pointing out that the United Nations may collapse if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorization.
Putin alarmed that along with mercenaries from Arab countries, people from Western countries and Russia are also fighting in Syria.
"Mercenaries from Arab countries fighting there, and hundreds of militants from Western countries and even Russia are an issue of our deep concern," Putin said.
"Might they not return to our countries with experience acquired in Syria? After all, after fighting in Libya, extremists moved on to Mali," Putin added.
"This threatens us all," Putin said. He pointed out that the US State Department has designated the so-called al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the armed opposition, as terrorist organizations.
"This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world," Putin said.
H. Mustafa
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Wide Support for the Russian Initiative on Syrian Chemicals


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