CINA

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While Jews especially in Europe are still confronted with (partly increasing) anti-semitism, Arabs(i.e. Muslim, Christian & Druze Palestinians/25% of the Israeli population), migrant workers(aprox. 180,000) and refugees in Israel are confronted with a massive wave of racism.

Israel's top Reform rabbi declared y'day:

Israeli society falling into deep pit of racism

The head of Israel's Reform Judaism movement on Tuesday harshly criticized a letter by 30 rabbis' wives calling on Jewish girls not to date Arabs, work with them or perform national service in the same places where they work.

"Israeli society is falling into a deep, dark pit of racism and xenophobia," said Rabbi Gilad Kariv, who two weeks ago also vocally condemned a move by a number of leading rabbis who signed on a ruling to forbid the rental of homes to Arabs

Just weeks after several dozen state-employed rabbis ignited a major controversy by issuing a letter calling on Israeli Jews not to rent or sell their homes to non-Jews, and some days after an anti-Arab demonstrations in Bat Yam and Tel Aviv Israel sees more and more incidents in the rising tide of hatred and racism that appears to be sweeping the country...

Here just some examples ('highlights') from the past ten days:

☞ School principal prohibits students from speaking Arabic (12.29)
☞ Rabbis' wives: Don't date Arabs (12.28)
☞ Arabs flee home due to racist threats (12.23)
☞ ...racism ...take the streets against Arabs, migrant workers (12.22)
☞ Bat Yam: Death to Jewish women who date Arabs (12.21)
☞ Hundreds in Tel Aviv call for deportation of migrant workers, refugees (12.21)
☞ Bat Yam rally: 'Arabs dating our sisters' (12.19)


 

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At least the "war of words" between S. and N. Korea is continuing...

And y'day it was - once again - MB's turn to give proof that he's a "trigger-happy agitator", according to the following Yonhap(via K. Herald) news report:

Lee says S. Korea not afraid of war with North Korea

President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that South Koreans should not fear war with North Korea although his government is eager to keep peace on the peninsula.

“If (we) are afraid of war, we can never prevent war,” Lee said in his biweekly radio address, the last of this year.

His remarks represent Seoul’s firm stance to deal resolutely with the communist neighbor’s provocations down the road.

The conservative Lee administration came under harsh public criticism for being too feeble and passive in handling the North’s deadly artillery attack on the Yellow Sea border island of Yeonpyeong last month. It was the North’s second major unprovoked attack on South Korea this year following the torpedoing of a naval ship in March that killed 46 sailors.

“North Korea committed the provocations without reluctance, misjudging our patience and desire for peace,” Lee said. “We have clearly realized the fact that only strong counteractions to military provocations are able to deter war and safeguard peace.”

He said the South had tolerated the North’s belligerence in hopes of maintaining peace on the peninsula, but he stressed that his military should cope with any future attacks without mercy.

Lee also reiterated calls for the South Korean people to boost unity in dealing with the North, a longstanding source of ideological rifts.

“There can’t be ‘you’ and ‘me’ separately when it comes to national security with our life and the country’s fate at stake,”

Lee said, adding the North’s goal is to split public opinion here.

“If our people become one and show united power, North Korea can’t dare to challenge us,” he said. “We learned valuable lessons from the Yeonpyeong incident.”

Concluding his speech, the president said South Korea aspires to reunify with the North peacefully.

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101227000746

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Well, usually there're not many funny stories about/from North Korea, but the following is definitely one of them (even if it's possibly only a rumor...)!

Headline in today's (German) Spiegel (magazine):

Sabotage Against Kim Jong-un's "Birthday Train"

Reuters reported the following:

Train carrying gifts for N.Korea heir derailed

A train packed with birthday gifts for North Korea's leader-in-waiting Kim Jong-un derailed this month in a possible act of sabotage, a Seoul-based radio station which broadcasts across the border reported on Monday.

Open Radio for North Korea, a non-profit station which often cites sources in the reclusive, impoverished North, said the train laden with gifts including televisions and watches came off the rails on Dec. 11 near North Korea's border with China.

"The security service has been in an emergency situation because a train departing Sinuiju and headed for Pyongyang derailed on Dec. 11," the radio station quoted a source in the security service in North Phyongan province as saying.

The city of Sinuiju is a North Korean trading gateway.

"The tracks and rail beds are so old it is possible there was decay in the wood or nails that secured the tracks could have been dislodged but the extent of damage to the tracks and the timing of the incident points to a chance that someone intentionally damaged the tracks," the source said.

"It's highly likely that it was someone who is opposed to succession to Kim Jong-un," the source said, according to the radio station...

http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-53794420101227

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"X-mass Season" in N. Korea, the "Paradise of the Working Class"

KCNA 'reported' the following about events, incl. a booze-up(*), happened Dec. 24, aka the "Christmas Eve":
  
Dancing parties of youth and students took place here and in various provinces, cities and county seats of the country on Friday. They were to celebrate the 19th anniversary of General Secretary Kim Jong Il as supreme commander of the Korean People's Army and the 93rd birth anniversary of anti-Japanese war hero Kim Jong Suk.

As song "Please Receive Our Salute" reverberated far and wide, youth and students presented merry dances, extending profound thanks to Kim Jong Il who has developed the KPA into invincible revolutionary armed forces of Mt. Paektu and brought about a great change in building a rich and powerful country.

They also presented graceful dances to the tune of songs "The Tuman River Full of Memories" and "Triumphant War Song in Forest," looking back with deep emotion on Kim Jong Suk's noble revolutionary career and undying feats.

Dancing parties held in various parts of the country successfully represented the will of the youth and students to devotedly defend Kim Jong Il and give steady continuity to the tradition of Juche.

http://175.45.179.68/eng/i_news.php?lang=eng&year=2010&kk=8036

* For more please read the following KCNA 'news reports':

☞ Banquet Given by Central Military Commission of WPK and NDC of DPRK
☞ Kim Jong Il Enjoys Art Performance

But in reality millions of 'ordinary' N. Koreans (the inhabitants of the "Paradise of the Working Class"!!^^) are struggling only for survival, as the following example describes the current situation in the 'DPR'K:

The residents of Hamheung city in South Hamgyong Province are complaining about not being able to sleep because of the bone-chilling cold temperature as cold weather continues as falling temperatures plummet below freezing point.

Although officials and the wealthy can stock up plenty of coal and firewood at home, the ordinary citizens can only obtain them as needed.

They try to get firewood when they are unable to obtain coal and collect leaves and twigs when firewood is not available. On the days when none of those are available they cannot even dream of heating, so they use fuel only for cooking rice only for a minute.

The children who are not mature enough to understand the situation whine about being cold, and old people groan in pain instead of complaining verbally.

It is so cold that frost and water droplets can be seen along the inner walls of the house, and white steam out of your breath is visible even inside a room as you wake in the morning and talk. People sleep with their clothes on because of the cold temperature.

For that reason many people keep the same clothes on throughout the day and night. They keep the outdoor clothing while living in the house during the day and then go to bed wearing the same clothes because the temperature inside and outside is not that much different.

People would be able to stand the cold weather if they can fill their stomach a little bit, but the days of cold and hunger are continuing because there is not enough food...

Source: NK Today ("Good Friends/좋은벗들")

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Holy shit!!! Synchronized to the "Christmas season" Pyongyang threatens with...

NUCLEAR JIHAD!

Yesterday's Guardian (UK) about the current situation on the Korean Peninsula:

Tensions on the Korean Pensinsula were at their most dangerous level since the 1950-53 war today when North Korea threatened to use nuclear weapons in a "holy war" (*) against its neighbour after South Korean tanks, jets and artillery carried out one of the largest live-fire drills in history close to the border...

While LMB claimed y'day "Counterattacks neccessary for peace" (But of course! What else?^^), on the same day North Korea's armed forces minister, Kim Yong-chun, also lifted the pitch of the sabre-rattling: "To counter the enemy's intentional drive to push the situation to the brink of war, our revolutionary forces are making preparations to begin a holy war at any moment necessary based on nuclear deterrent"...

Dec.22/23: KIJ and LMB on 'PEACE MISSION'(^^), resp. preparing the next showdown:

Related articles:

☞ N. Korea 'may conduct' nuclear test (Al-Jazeera, 12.24)
☞ 'North Korea capable of hitting Seoul with nukes' (K. Times, 12.24)

* N. Korea should apply for admission in the 'Global Jihad Network' (aka AL-QAIDA)!!!

Anyway, please enjoy a nice weekend/peaceful "Christmas"(^^)

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Well, there was no counter-attack from the North Korean military (thankfully!!) to Monday's resumption of the S. Korean artillery exercises on Yeonpyeong...

KPA's chief of staff explained: "This was nothing but a childish play with fire of cowards... The revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK did not feel any need to retaliate against every despicable military provocation like one taking revenge after facing a blow." (^^)

So the crisis of a large-scale armed clash between South Korea and North Korea appears to have been avoided for the time being...

But, dear audience, please stay tuned!(*)

Related articles:

☞ The day the guns were silent (Asia Times, 12.21)
☞ N. Korea doesn’t respond militarily... (Hankyoreh, 12.21)
☞ KPA Supreme Command: World Should Know Who Is Provoker (KCNA, 12.20)

* Because it might well be that the coming "holiday season" is/will be a f*cking great opportunity to initiate large-scale armed clash, resp. to declare war!! Yesterday's K. Times: "S. Korea ready for surprise attack ahead of Christmas"...

S.K. armed forces were put on the highest alert around Aegibong, a mountain peak located just three kilometers from the DMZ, as S.K. Christian maniacs, supported by the gov't and backed my the military, held a ceremony last night to turn on Christmas lights:

Looks like a superb target for N.K.'s short-range artillery...(^^)

Related "news report":

☞ S. Korea lights up Christmas tree on border with N. Korea (Yonhap, 12.21)

PS: It seems that the S. Korean armed forces - like their "colleagues" in the North - are already geared up for the "final battle", i.e. the forcibly reunification...

Written on the S. Korean soldiers' headbands: “Tongil”(통일) means “unification” and

“Myeolgong”(멸공) means “eradicate the communists.” The (f*cking stupid) message

being, “Let’s unify Korea by eradicating the communists!”

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The organizers and participants of yesterday's migrant workers rally (to mark the "Int'l Migrants Day") in Seoul adopted the following "2010 Declaration of the Human Rights of Migrants":

Towards a New World without Discrimination and Exploitation!

 
① In this country we have been given the name 'migrant'. This word has many meanings, which we did not choose ourselves. In addition to signifying someone who lived in another place and then migrated to South Korea, 'migrant' refers to someone who is the object of repression and exploitation in the workplace and discrimination and rejection in everyday life. Even worse, 'migrant' connotes a latent criminal and the target of policing, control and expulsion in the eyes of the South Korean government. In the past, we fought against these chains that bind us with our whole bodies and spirits. The more we looked for the key to unlock the lock on the chains, however, the deeper the key ring grasped in the hand of our oppressor became hidden in a maze.

20 years laced with discrimination and exploitation have now passed. After all of our resistance we have realized something. That only we, and no one else, can achieve our own freedom. That the key that can unlock the chains that bind us is not in the oppressors hand but in ours. That we can rewrite the meaning that Korean society has given to the name 'migrant'. This means that we can rewrite 'migrant' as beautiful.

 
② We firmly reject the idea that we must endure repression and exploitation. We reject the Employment Permit System (EPS), which gives power to the government and employers to grant us jobs but refuses us the rights to association, bargaining and collective action that in fact belong to all workers. As members of the Korean working class who know the value of our sweat and our labor, we declare our right to live as workers who freely choose their jobs. Short-term rotation policies, like the EPS, fail to take into account that migrants are people and are the origins of discrimination and human rights abuses. These policies treat migrants as tools of profit but denied us the right to live as human beings. The EPS is a barometer that reflects the perspective and atmosphere of South Korean society. We are already living in this land. The EPS, which denies this fact while also denying justice and the needs of Korean society must be abolished immediately.

 
③ We refuse to be the targets of policing and expulsion. We are not latent criminals. We are merely people seeking happiness for ourselves and our families. We have no intentions to cause harm to anyone. All human beings have the right to physical freedom and the right to defend that freedom. These rights must be protected. As such, we firmly reject the government's labeling of as us latent criminals. The government uses this label to justify its brutal crackdown against us, which it claims is necessary to maintain the safety of South Korean society and even to protect our human rights. We recognize, however, that these claims are simply a means to hide the fact that the government's actions are illegal and violate human rights. The indiscriminate, inhumane and life-threatening raids and deportations must stop immediately.

 
④ In the name of 3 million overseas Koreans we firmly reject discrimination against overseas Koreans from less-developed countries, which has become an absolute yardstick by which to measure South Korean. Some 350 thousand overseas Koreans from China and the countries of the former Soviet Union are living as migrants in South Korean society. Despite the fact that are all overseas Koreans, in South Korean society, the Act on Overseas Koreans applies fully to overseas Koreans from rich countries and only partially to those who come from poorer countries. The South Korean governments attempt to broaden the field of discrimination, which arises from its fixation on economic capacity, cannot but be an indicator of the state of society. As overseas Koreans and migrants we reject all efforts to keep us in field of discrimination and firmly demand our rights.

⑤ We demand our rights as workers and has women who have come to this country to live as members of families. We should not be denied rights as women and as workers because we are migrants. Women migrant workers must be allowed to reside safely in this country. Our rights must not be violated due to abuse of authority at the workplace or any other criminal designs. Protection of and redress for the violation of women migrant workers rights must be swift. The essential dignity of women who have migrated through marriage must be respected. We reject all attitudes that reduce women to a form of exchange value and reaffirm the fact that proper family life begins with respect for one's partner's culture. Marriage migrants have the right to respect and happiness based on true multiculturalism, not a false multiculturalism that means unilateral imposition of Korean culture.

We assert that all children in the country have equal rights. The government's attitude of singling out the children of multicultural families and refusing to recognize the children born of undocumented migrants equals discrimination against children. All children have the right to registration based on birth and to attain nationality, and these rights must not be violated simply because of the residence status of their parents. In fact, children should be given more protection and attention in the event that they lack a nationality. In particular, no child should be denied heath and education rights on the basis that he/she does not have a nationality. We also affirm that all children have the right to be raised in a healthy manner by their families, in particular their parents. All provisions that discrimination against children are illegal and must be abolished.

 
⑥ We demand that the government give immediate attention and protection to refugees and asylum seekers. We are concerned that applications for asylum are proceeded in a manner aimed at administrative ease rather than being based on rationality and fairness. The current system of reviewing applications is carried out in a manner overly dependent on international politics and the easy management of visas without consideration for human beings' basic right to life. We demand that the system be revised and ask that more visas be granted for humanitarian reasons. We wish to see South Korea become a place where individuals who flee persecution and discrimination can live with their rights respected. We also demand that the South Korean government ratify the International Convention on Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. We stress that equal protection of the rights of migrants and their families through the ratification of the Convention, which outlines concrete practices, is necessary if the advent of the age of muliculturalism is to be more than simply a noisy event.

We believe that our declaration is not only meaningful for us migrant workers, but will also help to make South Korean society more just, more fee and more beautiful. Our declaration is a dignified call to break the chains of discrimination and exploitation and build a new world through social solidarity.

  
● Stop discrimination against migrant workers and abolish restrictions on workplace transfers!

● Stop the crackdown and deportations and legalize all undocumented migrant workers

● Stop criminalization of migrant workers!

● Protect the rights of migrant women!

● Protect migrant children's health and education rights!

● Increase recognition of refugee status and protect refugees' rights!

● Fully implement the Act on Overseas Koreans and protect overseas Koreans' right to travel freely!

● Ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Migrants!

 
2010 International Migrants Day Assembly in S.Korea

http://migrant.nodong.net/?document_srl=68800#0

PS: How can it be that there is not even one word about the current situation of MTU, resp. the ongoing policy of repression - conducted by the S.K. gov't (MoL/MoJ) - against MTU? Where is the demand to recognize and legalize the MTU???