Zelaya

Reuters: U.N. envoy slams U.S. for unanswered drone questions

http://www.reuters.com/article/gc05/idUSTRE59Q51220091027

By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States must demonstrate that it is not randomly killing people in violation of international law through its use of unmanned drones on the Afghan border, a U.N. rights investigator said on Tuesday.

Philip Alston, a U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, also said the U.S. refusal to respond to U.N. concerns that the use of pilotless drones might result in illegal executions was an "untenable" position.

Alston, who is appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council, said his concern over drones, or predators, had grown in the past few months as the U.S. military prominently used the weapons in the rugged border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan where fighting against insurgents has been heavy.

"What we need is for the United States to be more up front and say, 'OK we're prepared to discuss some aspects of this program,'" the Australian law professor told reporters.

"Otherwise you have the really problematic bottom line, which is that the Central Intelligence Agency is running a program that is killing significant numbers of people and there is absolutely no accountability in terms of the relevant international laws," he said.

Critics say attacks using drones have resulted in unnecessary civilian deaths.

The killing of civilians, especially during operations by foreign forces, have infuriated Afghans and increased hostility toward the presence of international troops nearly eight years after the Taliban's fall in Afghanistan.

During a speech to the U.N. General Assembly earlier on Tuesday, Alston stepped up pressure for Washington to answer questions he first raised in June about the drones. He said the United States could well be using the drones legally, but the country needed to be more open about the program.

The United States told the Human Rights Council in June that it has an extensive legal framework to respond to unlawful killings. It also objected to Alston's criticism, saying the U.N. investigator did not have the mandate to cover military and intelligence.

Alston wants to know the legal basis on which the United States is operating the drones, precautions it is taking to ensure these weapons are used strictly for purposes consistent with international humanitarian law, and what mechanisms are in place to review the use of the weapons.

"The response of the United States is simply untenable," Alston said.

"And that (U.S. response) is that the Human Rights Council, and the General Assembly by definition, have no role in relation to killings that take place in relation to an armed conflict," he said. "That would remove a great majority of issues that come before (the United Nations) right now."


© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Dr. Weil Threatened by FDA Over Immune-Boosting Supplements

Dr. Weil Threatened by FDA Over Immune-Boosting Supplements
FDA, FTC threaten Dr. Weil over immune-boosting supplements for H1N1 swine flu
By Mike Adams
Natural News, October 22, 2009
Straight to the Source


In working to protect the business interests of vaccine manufactures, both the FDA and FTC have declared all-out war against any products that might offer consumers options other than vaccines. This week, that war against natural remedies reached the shores of Dr. Andrew Weil, who is perhaps the best-known alternative medicine doctor in America. In an intimidating, threatening letter jointly issued by the FTC and the FDA, these rogue government agencies threatened Dr. Weil with criminal prosecution for making true statements about his immune-boosting formula such as, "Astragalus ... is ... used traditionally to ward off colds and flu, and has demonstrated both antiviral and immune-boosting effects in scientific investigation."

This statement, although scientifically valid and true, is a threat to the profits of the vaccine industry, and so Dr. Weil's company is being targeted by the FTC / FDA vaccine racket tag-team for termination.

You can review the FTC threats against Dr. Weil on the FTC's own website: http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetter...

Planting of industrial hemp seed at DEA headquarters (700 Army Navy Dr, Arlington, VA). Vote Hemp - October 13, 2009

http://www.votehemp.com/DEAhempplanting.html

Hospital Raided By Honduran Renegade Government

CIRIBOYA'S HOSPITAL GARIFUNA IS CLOSED 
 

Yesterday at five in the morning, the Hospital Garífuna de
Ciriboya was invaded, by elements of the national police and
soldiers that broke in through a window. In the first
operation ,approximately fifteen soldiers and police
participated, which alleged to be participating in an
anti-narcotics operation.

This action on the part of coup
government of the Ministry of security and Defense, serves to
add itself to the persecution that is occurring in our country
against the national resistance to the coup d'etat. Days before
the Ministry of Health disqualified the hospital turning it
into a simple center of health, to the detriment of the
population garífuna and mestiza of the Municipality of Iriona.


The Hospital of Ciriboya is part of the project Luagu Hatuadi
Waduhenu, first popular hospital garífuna, which is a model
of medical attention in Honduras, taken care of by doctors
trained and graduated from ELAM (Latin American
Medicine School) in Cuba. The social function they are
fulfilling (the graduates of ELAM) in Honduras contrasts
sharply with the the majority of the Honduran trained
doctors, who have been reluctant to serve in the countryside
and remote areas of the country.

The Hospital of Ciriboya was
constructed with the support of unions of California and our
own efforts of the people of the garífuna villages, through the
leadership of Dr. Luther Castillo, who at present has been
one the organizers in the defense of the democracy and the
construction of a participatory government of our country for
all, which includes a constituent assembly .



The isolation in
which the garífunas communities live in Iriona and
Walumugu has been a favorite place used by the narcotics
traffickers in conspiracy with the elite, they are able to use
local people and the desolated areas to make their landings,
having logistical support of gangs associated to the national
elite. The complex phenomenon of the drug trafficking in
Honduras, on the North coast especially, has been going on
for several decades, without ,to this date, the determining
measures to change the course of the situation.

IT is public
knowledge who these people are, and of their untouchable
nature and their ties to the illicit business, those that persist
in using pseudo-clandestine plantations of African palm and
airports, but their economic power acquits them of any
crime. The closing of the hospital is a clear message sent to the
garífuna people, by their participation - especially of Dr.
Castillo and the personnel of the Hospital - in the resistance to
the coup d'etat.


For the OFRANEH the punitive action against the Hospital,
is one more of a sample of racism that prevails between the
followers of the coup participants, those that see the medical
support of the Cubans, as exemplary campaigns of
alphabetization which have been realized in some parts of the
country, and medicine with a social vision seems to threaten
the prevailing feudal regime in the country.

We ask ourselves
if there certainly exists " intelligentsia" between the security
forces, like those coming to search the hospital, with the
pretext that the day before an airplane had landed supposedly
unloaded drugs in the surrounding communities. For our
garífuna people, the closing of the Hospital of Ciriboya, is one
more aggression that demonstrates one of the fundamental
objectives of the government de facto is to destroy the
communitarian vision and to promote the violence.

It is
incredible that one of the best examples of communitarian
health on the the continent, is attacked by a government
conformed by a handful of mercenaries in the service of the
South command and the banana, telephone and oil companies
that want to preserve the Status Quo in Honduras.


IN La Ceiba, 7 of October of the 2009. Honduran Black
Brotherly organization, OFRANEH


ALLANADO HOSPITAL GARIFUNA DE CIRIBOYA



El día de ayer a las cinco de la mañana, fue allanado el Hospital Garífuna de Ciriboya, por elementos de la policía Preventiva y soldados los que irrumpieron al recinto a través de una ventana. En el operativo participaron aproximadamente quince elementos, los cuales adujeron estar participando en un operativo antinarcóticos.


Esta acción por parte de elementos del Ministerio de seguridad y de Defensa, viene a añadirse a la persecución que se está dando en nuestro país en contra de la resistencia nacional al golpe de Estado. Días antes el Ministerio de Salud descalificó al hospital convirtiéndole en un simple centro de salud, en detrimento de la población garífuna y mestiza del Municipio de Iriona.

El Hospital de Ciriboya es la sede del proyecto Luagu Hatuadi Waduhenu, primer hospital popular garífuna, el cual es un modelo de atención médica en Honduras, atendidos por médicos egresados de la ELAM (Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina) con sede en Cuba.

La función social que ha venido cumpliendo los egresados de la ELAM en Honduras contrasta con la visión capitalista de la mayoría de los médicos Hondureños, los que han sido renuentes a prestar sus servicios en las zonas rurales del país.

El Hospital de Ciriboya fue construido con el apoyo de sindicatos de California además de esfuerzos propios del pueblo garífuna, a través del tezón del Dr. Luther Castillo, el que en las actuales circunstancias ha sido uno los abanderados en la defensa de la democracia y la construcción de un proyecto de país para todos, que incluye el imperativo de una asamblea constituyente.

El aislamiento en que viven las comunidades garífunas de Iriona y Walumugu ha sido aprovechado por los narcotraficantes que en contubernio con la elite de poder local han utilizado lugares desolados para efectuar sus desembarcos, teniendo apoyo logístico de bandas asociadas a la elite de poder nacional.

El complejo fenómeno del narcotráfico en Honduras, en especial en la costa norte se viene dando desde hace varias décadas, sin que hasta la fecha existan las medidas determinantes para cambiar el derrotero de la situación. Es de conocimiento público quienes son muchas de los intocables vinculados al negocio ilícito, los que persisten en utilizar sus plantaciones de palma africana y aeropuertos pseudoclandestinos, pero el poder económico que poseen los absuelve de antemano de cualquier delito.

El allanamiento del hospital es un claro mensaje dirigido al pueblo garífuna por su participación - en especial del Dr. Castillo y el personal del Hospital - en la resistencia al golpe de Estado. Para la OFRANEH la acción punitiva en contra del Hospital, es una muestra más del racismo que prevalece entre las huestes golpistas, las que ven el apoyo médico de los cubanos, a las campañas de alfabetización ejemplares que se han realizado en algunas partes del país, y la medicina con una visión social como amenaza al régimen feudal imperante en el país.

Nos preguntamos si ciertamente existe "inteligencia" alguna entre las fuerzas de seguridad, como para proceder a allanar el hospital, con el pretexto que día antes había aterrizado un avión supuestamente cargando droga en las comunidades circunvecinas.



Para nuestro pueblo garífuna, el allanamiento al Hospital de Ciriboya, es una agresión más que demuestra como uno de los objetivos primordiales del gobierno de facto es destruir la visión comunitaria y promover la violencia. Es inaudito que una de los paradigmas en materia de salud comunitaria a nivel del continente, sea agredido por un gobierno conformado por una cúpula de mercenarios al servicio del comando Sur y de las compañías bananeras, telefónicas y petroleras que quieren preservar el Status Quo en Honduras.

La Ceiba, 7 de Octubre del 2009.
Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña, OFRANEH

Honduras: U.S. Diplomatic Floundering

American Indian Movement at UN: The Right to Speak

PRESS RELEASE
AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT
GRAND GOVERNING COUNCIL



September 24,2009
The Right to Speak

In President Obama’s speech to the United Nations on September 23, 2009, he spoke of a ‘new direction’. Two years ago, four solitary nations voted against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, they were Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States of America. The Australian government has since reversed its vote and now support the international human rights standard toward Indigenous people.

The American Indian Movement asks the question of the Obama Administration: Will his administration recognize and support the international standard approved by the vast majority of the world’s nations?

The United Nations 64th year brings world leaders together to our sacred homeland to discuss the effects of the world’s problems to humankind. The American Indian Movement respects the right of all world leaders to speak. We support the right of Moammar Al Gathafi, leader of Libya. We respect the right of Evo Moralas, President of Bolivia. We respect the right of Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela. We respect the right of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran. We respect the right to speak at the United Nations of all the world leaders visiting our homeland.

We often talk in terms of the first world, or the west; or the second world, the east; or the third world, or the non-aligned nations. Another important dimension to this concept is the fourth world of natural and Indigenous people. Peoples whose populations oftentimes go beyond geo-political boundaries. While these struggles have been going on for hundreds of years, the international community has, for the most part, ignored this reality.

One of the greatest crimes against humanity occurred right here in the United States of America. Support for the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People is a start to right this great wrong.

Clyde Bellecourt, co-founder American Indian Movement
612.251.5836
Bill Means, International Indian Treaty Council
612.386.4030
Chief Terrance Nelson, Vice Chairman American Indian Movement
204.782.4827