KLM to invest millions in Kenya Airways

RNW, 31 March 2012

KLM has announced it is investing 48 million euros in partner airlines Kenya Airways, which is offering shares worth nearly 187 million euros.

Photo:Wikipedia

With the investment KLM says it maintains the 26 percent stake it has had in Kenya Airways since 1995. Kenya Airways says it intends to use the funds it raises in the shares issue to buy better aircraft and expand its routes. KLM and its sister company Air France say the number of destinations to Kenya available from Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airports will grow as a result. Since 2010 Kenya Airways has been part of the SkyTeam consortium, which comprises Air France-KLM among other airlines.

Whereas KLM has frozen its investments in many other regions, in Europe in particular, investments are going ahead in Africa, which KLM head Peter Hartman says is “a continent growing at full speed.” KLM is consequently expanding its African destinations This week, KLM launched its flights to the Angolan capital Luanda. In May it expects to add Zambian capital Lusaka to its African network.

Malian junta unveils constitution

BBC News, 28 March 2012

Related Stories 

• Mali suspended by regional bloc
• Mali coup leader promises polls
• World condemns army coup in Mali

Protesters in Bamako rallied in
support  of the coup and against
"foreign interference"

The leaders of a military coup in Mali have unveiled constitution, a week after seizing power.

They have also announced elections in which those who took part in the coup would be barred from standing, but have not set a date for them.

Several thousand people rallied in the capital Bamako on Wednesday in support of the new military leaders.

The coup was led by soldiers unhappy with the previous government's handling of a Tuareg insurgency in the north.

Appearing on state television, an army lieutenant read out the text of 69 articles that the new rulers said were intended to restore rule of law to the country.

Throughout the transition, it said, coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo would be head of state and would appoint a government.

The new constitution provides for a transitional committee composed of 26 members of the security forces and 15 civilians to take power.

Those who serve on the committee will be given immunity from prosecution.

Some of the document is similar to Mali's current constitution, including guarantees of freedom of speech, thought and movement.

Supporters rally

Meanwhile, several thousand people gathered in Bamako in support of the coup, and to protest against "foreign interference" in Mali.

"They [the coup leaders] should stay to resolve the problems in the north, corruption and education. That is more important than elections," one protester, Khalifa Sogo, told Reuters news agency.

"We, the youth, can live without the international community. We have been living with our eyes closed but now we are waking up," said another protester, Oumar Diara.

The coup has been heavily criticised by Mali's neighbours in the regional bloc Ecowas, from which Mali has been suspended, and by Western countries.

Ecowas has announced that it had put regional troops on standby in case military intervention becomes necessary.

A delegation of several Ecowas heads of state is due to go to Mali to press the coup leaders to restore democracy.

Burkinabe Foreign Minister Djibril Bassole told French radio that Ecowas leaders were pushing for a transitional government led by the speaker of Mali's parliament, Agence France Presse reports.

The king and i: Swaziland plans social media lese-majesty law

Africa's last absolute monarchy to ban Facebook and Twitter users from insulting King Mswati III

guardian.co.uk, David Smith in Johannesburg, Monday 26 March 2012

King Mswati III is facing growing protests over his undemocratic regime.
Photograph: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images

Swaziland is planning a censorship law that will ban Facebook and Twitter users from criticising its autocratic ruler, King Mswati III.

Africa's last absolute monarch is facing growing protests over his undemocratic regime, which has pushed the tiny mountain kingdom to the brink of bankruptcy.

But Mswati's justice minister, Mgwagwa Gamedze, told the Swazi senate: "We will be tough on those who write bad things about the king on Twitter and Facebook. We want to set an example."

The government was finalising a law that will make it illegal to insult the king on social networks, Gamedze said.

The move follows comments last week by the Swazi senator Thuli Msane over how online activism was spiralling out of control and threatening the king's reputation. "It's like, the moment Swazi people cross the border to neighbouring countries they begin to go on a campaign to disrespect their own country and king," she said. "Surely there is something that must be done with them. There must be a law that can take them to task."

Although internet penetration is low among Swaziland's 1.2 million people, networks such as Facebook and Twitter have been used to organise public protests, including a student demonstration on Monday against cutbacks in higher education.

Pius Vilakati, spokesman for the Swaziland Solidarity Network, condemned the planned crackdown. "The government is desperate right now. They are trying anything to stop people talking to each other," he said. It would be difficult for them, because people will always talk and continue to talk."

Vilakati predicted chaos if the law was enforced: "I don't think Swazis will take it lying down."

He said even so-called independent newspapers in Swaziland were heavily censored by the government. "They say there is free speech in Swaziland. But if people are not allowed to criticise the leadership, there is no free speech."

Last month, the sacked editor of the Swazi Observer newspaper reportedly fled the countryin fear for his life.

Educated at Sherborne school, in the UK, Mswati has 13 wives and hosts an annual reed dance at which he can choose a new bride from tens of thousands of bare-breasted virgins. Opposition parties are outlawed and political activists are routinely detained or assaulted.

The king's fortune is estimated at about $100m (£64m). There was anger last month when the royal family and military received extra money from the national budget. Swaziland, a former British protectorate, has the highest HIV rate in the world, and two-thirds of the population live in poverty.

Mswati has endured unprecedented protests because of a deepening financial crisis. Last year, thousands of students and activists took to the streets, prompting a forceful response from police. More protests are planned in coming weeks.

Swaziland's crackdown follows similar measures in Zimbabwe, where a man was arrested last year over an allegedly subversive message he posted on Facebook. He was later cleared of all charges.

Related Article:

Will the cult of Swazi King Mswati ever end?


Swaziland's vibrant tourist industry masks a hunger for democracy

Zimbabweans appeal over convictions for watching Arab spring videos

Six activists were given suspended sentences for conspiring to commit violence after watching footage of Arab uprisings

guardian.co.uk, Associated Press in Harare, Monday 26 March 2012

Egyptians celebrate after Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power. Six
Zimbabweans were convicted after watching videos of Arab uprisings.
Photograph: Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images

Lawyers for six Zimbabwean activists convicted of conspiring to commit violence for watching videos of Arab uprisings say they are appealing against their conviction and sentences.

The lawyer Alec Muchadehama said on Monday he had filed appeal papers arguing that if the group did plot violence at their February 2011 meeting, as the court found, they should have been prosecuted for treason, a charge that carries a possible death sentence. The group says the court's ruling is "misguided".

Muchadehama says he is applying for the fines, suspended jail sentences and community service handed to the group to be set aside. The court ruling was also based on evidence of a "dishonest witness" who lied about his true identity as a police officer when he infiltrated the group, he said.

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Senegal hopes for reform under Macky Sall

Deutsche Welle, 26 March 2012

President Abdoulaye Wade has been resoundingly beaten by his former protege Macky Sall in Sunday’s peaceful presidential run-off. Now Senegalese are looking to see what 50-year-old Sall has to offer.

Cheers and jubilations resounded through towns and cities across Senegal, after state television confirmed that incumbent president Wade had called Macky Sall to congratulate him on his election victory.

Though official results are not expected until later, it was plain that Sall would be the next Senegalese president after results showed him leading Wade in most polling stations.

Wade was even beaten by Sall in his home turf, signaling the voters' rejection of the 85-year-old president. In the first round of voting on February 26, President Wade had to be whisked away by his bodyguards after being booed by an angry crowd as he cast his vote at a local polling station.

Macky Sall will be Senegal's fourth
president since independence in 1960

A new era

After 12 years in power, President Wade's decision to concede defeat, along with his promise to peacefully hand over power, has surprised many. Prior to the run-off election, Senegal's capital Dakar had witnessed daily clashes between security officials and demonstrators. 

They were protesting Wade's bid for a third presidential term, even though the country's constitution only allowed two terms.

Incoming president Macky Sall has hinted that he intends to give the West African country "new vitality" by slashing government spending. Sall had criticized Wade for wasteful expenditures.

"The policies of the (current) president are based on squandering public funds to construct a statue that cost tens of millions of francs and to maintain excessive government ministries," he said.

After his victory became obvious, Sall said his win was a win for the entire country.

The opposition leader's resounding victory can be attributed to three main factors. Most Senegalese were fed up with Abdoulaye Wade and his government. To make matters worse, many believed Wade was simply grooming his unpopular son, Karim, to succeed him. In addition, Sall had the unified support of the 12 opposition candidates who had lost in the first round of the presidential election. Their backing meant Wade didn't stand a chance. 

The 49 m high monument built by Wade
cost 21 million euro ($27 million)

Protegee who stood his ground

Sall, a trained engineer, originally belonged to Wade's camp, becoming a minister in his government in 2001. In 2004, Sall was appointed prime minister and eventually he was voted to the position of president of the National Assembly.

Sall then fell out with his former mentor after he summoned the president's son to a parliamentary hearing on an overblown budget for an Islamic world conference. The president's inner circle objected to Sall's actions, later dismissing him as the head of the National Assembly.

Sall subsequently founded his own party, Alliance for the Republic (APR).

Mamadou Badji, a political representative from Sall's coalition, said the results showed that Senegal had finally come to its senses.

"One can simply say that the power of truth has triumphed over the power of money," he said.

Author: Dirke Köpp / cm

Editor: Greg Wiser

Related Article:

Macky Sall Senegal election win 'example for Africa'

Assad family blacklisted by EU

Syria president Assad's wife, sister and sister-in-law have had their assets frozen and are banned from travelling into EU

guardian.co.uk, Ian Traynor in Brussels, Friday 23 March 2012

Asma al-Assad has been banned from the EU but may be able to travel
into the UK on her British passport. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters

The European Union has sought to punish the family of Syria's president, Basharal-Assad, blacklisting his wife, mother, sister, and sister-in-law and freezing their assets.

But it was unclear how the symbolic move aimed at curbing the luxury lifestyle of the Assad dynasty would affect Asma al-Assad, the president's wife and until recently an international style icon.

The EU travel ban placed on the four women, to be made official on Saturday, means they cannot enter the EU. But Assad is partially exempted from that overall ban since she is a British national and may still travel to the UK, though not to the rest of the EU.

Under the EU visa regime, the overall travel ban does not stop the holder of a passport of an EU country from continuing to travel to that country.

British officials confirmed that Assad still has a valid UK passport and that she would be able to visit Britain, where she was born and grew up. Her parents live in London.

"She can still enter the UK. There's nothing legal we can do about it without good reason," said a British official.

Also, the curbs on her ability to shop in London for luxury and designer goods may be less comprehensive than previously thought.

The assets freeze means her bank accounts and credit cards should be frozen. But British officials said that under Home Office rules, those blacklisted would be barred from purchasing "basic goods" but would still be able to shop for "luxury items". The criteria distinguishing basic from luxury goods was not clear.

The confusion surrounding the impact of the sanctions on the Assad family left open the possibility that blacklisting Asma al-Assad could turn out to be relatively toothless.

It appeared that there would no attempt to strip her of her British nationality.

"It is important to note that sanctions are imposed on individuals to encourage them to change their behaviour," said a British government source. "The imposition of sanctions would not lead to automatic arrest or action to deprive someone of their nationality."

Asma al-Assad's assets held in the UK will, however, be frozen, the sources said, adding that she will be allowed to use her London home, but would not be able to sell it or have access to rental income.

"Any money or other asset that is held in the UK will be frozen and can only be unfrozen under a licence from the Treasury," the sources said.

President Assad has been under EU sanctions for almost a year, with little appreciable effect on his policies and the bloody crackdown he has implemented against Syrian revolutionaries and civilians.

Ahmet Davutoğlu, the foreign minister of Turkey, which has a 900kmborder with Syria and home to 17,000 refugees with 1,000 more arriving daily, said Assad had to be stopped quickly, but that he constantly played for time in order to crack down ever more ruthlessly.

"I compare Homs with Sarajevo [in the 1990s]," Davutoğlu told the Guardian in Brussels. "No one can justify attacking urban areas indiscriminately. Now they are attacking urban areas with heavy weapons. We have to act quickly … This massacre must be stopped."

In addition to the Assad family members, another eight figures in the regime and two oil companies were blacklisted and had their assets frozen.

Israel Loves Iran (Video)

A video I made, saying NO to war and YES to peace and love.

Related Article:

'Israel Loves Iran' initiative takes off on Facebook

An image from a poster on the
'Israel Loves Iran' Facebook
page.Pushpin Mehina 

'Israel Loves Iran' initiative takes off on Facebook

Online posters sending messages of love and peace draw widespread attention and support; Iranian citizens send messages of thanks and praise.

Haaretz, by Oded Yaron, 18 March 2012

An online call for peace initiated by an Israeli couple has managed to achieve the support of 1,000 Israelis and Iranians. And it all began with two posters.

An image from a poster on the 'Israel Loves Iran' Facebook
page.Pushpin Mehina 

Ronny Edry and his wife Michal Tamir, together with "Pushpin Mehina", a small preparatory school for graphic design students, uploaded posters to Facebook depicting images of themselves with their children alongside the words, "Iranians, we will never bomb your country, we [heart] you."

Attached to each poster was the caption, "To the Iranian people, To all the fathers, mothers, children, brothers and sisters, For there to be a war between us, first we must be afraid of each other, we must hate. I'm not afraid of you, I don't hate you. I don t even know you. No Iranian ever did me no harm."

"I'm not an official representative of my country. I m [sic] a father and a teacher", wrote Edry, adding that he wishes to send a message on behalf of his neighbors, family, students and friends. "[W]e love you. We mean you no harm", he wrote. "On the contrary, we want to meet, have some coffee and talk about sports."

In a conversation with Haaretz, Edry explained that he hoped his initiative would reach the Iranian citizens, but admitted that he never believed it would gain so much momentum. "On my Facebook page I have left-wing friends who always speak of these things; they all agree with me. Every so often a right-winger answers me saying what we're on about is rubbish, but I've never spoken to an Iranian."

"I thought that when you're constantly surrounded by talk of threats and war, you are so stressed and afraid that you crawl into a sort of shell and think to yourself how lucky we are to also have bombs and how lucky we are that we'll clean them out first," he said. "So I thought, 'Why not try to reach the other side; to bypass the generals and see if they [Iranians] really hate me?'"

An image on the Facebook page of the 'Israel Loves Iran' blog.
(Photo by: Pushpin Mehina) 

             

More on Haaretz.com: 

• Hamas chief: Israel using Gaza as 'guinea pig' for military testing 
• A.B. Yehoshua: Americans, unlike Israelis, are only partial Jews 
• Israel: Palestinian economy not stable enough for independent state

At first, the posters were castigated, said Edry. "After the first poster people started criticizing me, saying I'm an idiot, that I’m naïve. 'Why are you telling them you love them? Why are you giving up before the war has even started?'" But very quickly the posters became a hit: the first image gained hundreds of "Likes" and "Shares," and numerous people asked to join the initiative.

It was not long before reactions from Iranians began trickling through. "I never imagined that within 48 hours I would be speaking to the other side," said Edry, who explained that most of the Iranians' messages had been coming through in private, but that there had been some who invited him to be their Facebook friend.

In a conversation that took place on Saturday evening, after a full day spent in front of the computer chatting to Israelis and Iranians, Edry was buzzing with excitement. "Something insane is going on here," said Edry. "I was just having a conversation with a few Iranians, trying to convince them to send me photos of themselves, and they told me that we [Israelis] might be able to publish photos, but they risk going to jail over such a thing." In the meanwhile, they conversed via private messages, with their identities concealed.

However, by Sunday morning, Edry began receiving the first signs of reactions from the other side.

"We also love you. Your words are reaching us despite the censorship," wrote one Facebook user from Iran. "The Iranian people, apart from the regime, do not hold a grudge nor animosity against anyone, especially not the Israelis… We never saw Israelis as our enemies. As such, the regime cannot gain public support for war."

"The hatred was invented by the propaganda of the regime, which will die soon", continued the Iranian Facebook user. "The ayatollah will die soon. [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad will disappear. He is nothing more than an opportunist, and more than anything – an idiot. Everyone hates him. We love you, love, peace. And thanks for your message."

By Sunday afternoon, faceless posters prepared by Iranians, sharing a similar message of thanks and love, were posted onto the Pushpin Mehina Facebook page and the "Israel Loves Iran" blog.

Read this article in Hebrew.

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"The End of History" – Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

(Subjects: Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Muhammad, Jesus, God, Jews, Arabs, EU, US, Israel, Iran, Russia, Africa, South America, Global Unity,..... etc.) (Text version)

"If an Arab and a Jew can look at one another and see the Akashic lineage and see the one family, there is hope. If they can see that their differences no longer require that they kill one another, then there is a beginning of a change in history. And that's what is happening now. All of humanity, no matter what the spiritual belief, has been guilty of falling into the historic trap of separating instead of unifying. Now it's starting to change. There's a shift happening."

(Religions – Zionism - March 1, 2012 - Matthew Channelled by Suzanne Ward)

9. It can be no other way—simply, this is the physics that governs life in this universe. As Earth continues apace into successively higher planes, nothing with low vibrations in any form—physical bodies, subversive plans, theft, dishonesty, unjust laws and imprisonment, bigotry, cruel customs and deeds—can survive.

10. Moving on, no, it will not be quite like religions being “totally discarded and replaced by universal laws in the Golden Age.” When the truths come forth that science and spirit are one and the same and that religious dogmas were originated by early leaders of church and state to control the masses, people whose consciousness has risen beyond the constraints of third density will adhere to the spiritual aspects of their respective religions and the devised, controlling aspects will fall by the wayside.

11. One of the truths to come forth is that Zionism, which by dark intent has been made synonymous with Judaism, actually is a bellicose political movement within the Illuminati, and its aim for more than six decades has been to create conflict and instability in the entire Middle East. Zionists, who have wielded powerful influence within and behind major governments and their military forces, do NOT represent the Jewish peoples in Israel or anywhere else. And, like all other Illuminati factions, they have been committed to that cabal’s goal of global domination.

12. Although Semites are of diverse national origins and religions, the Zionists have been successful in convincing many that “anti-Semitic” is exclusively prejudice against the Jewish peoples and opposition to Israel’s right to defend itself from its “enemies.” By means of that blatant distortion, they obtained not only world sympathy, but also massive defense funding from Israel’s allies, most especially the United States, all of which served to increase the Illuminati’s vast profits from their industrial-military machine.

13. In addition to controlling the masses through dogmatic teachings, religions have served the dark purpose of divisiveness to such an extent that it resulted in centuries of trauma and bloodshed. Witness the Crusades, wars between Catholics and Protestants, pogroms against Jews, executions of “blasphemous” individuals who refused to “recant.”  (Read More …)

"Matthew preparing us for the Golden Age." -  Jan 19, 2012 (Channelled by Suzy Ward)

Liberian anger over gay rights call

BBC News, by Jonathan Paye-Layleh, Monrovia, 19 March 2012

Archie Ponpon says he has faced a difficult time since founding Modegal 

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The creation of a group to campaign for gay rights in Liberia has led to a fierce backlash - a house rented by a mother of a campaigner has been burnt down and even the president - last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner - has waded in to say she will never support laws recognising homosexual rights.

Archie Ponpon and Abraham Kamara set up the Movement for the Defence of Gays and Lesbians in Liberia (Modegal) in January to defend the rights of homosexuals in Liberia which, like many countries across Africa, is socially conservative and outlaws homosexual acts.

The move became the talk of the town, dominating discussions on radio talk shows, street corner teashops and university campuses in the capital, Monrovia, especially their call for same-sex marriages to be recognised.

Leading Pentecostal leaders and other religious figures came out in condemnation of any attempts to liberalise anti-gay laws.

Even a priest officiating at a marriage at St Anthony's Catholic Church in the Gardnersville township of Monrovia commented on the debate.

"Man-to-man marriage will not hold," he said during the wedding service last month.

The congregation went wild in applause as he went on to refer to "the nonsense that we keep hearing on the radios".

And in a reference to overseas aid, which some Western leaders have linked to recognising gay rights, he added: "They can take their money; we will live; we have vast natural resources."

The two Modegal campaigners have been mobbed at least twice, causing them to seek safety at one point at the police headquarters.

When they attempted to hold a talk on gay rights at the campus of the University of Liberia a few weeks ago, they were chased away by angry students.

"They are silly," a sociology student said.

"Is it everything that is good for the West is good for us here? Nonsense," she shouted.

'In hiding'

Last month, the home of Mr Ponpon's mother was set alight - during the height of their campaign. 

President Ellen Sirleaf Johnson was
one of three people to win last year's 
Nobel Peace Prize 

He suspects it was an arson attack by people who do not support his stance.

"Since this incident, my mother has been in hiding," he says.

When the two activists tried to get their organisation officially registered by the government, Mr Ponpon says their "article of incorporation was denied".

"We wrote to the president complaining, but she has not responded," he says.

Such were the tensions over the topic that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was inaugurated for a second six-year term in January, came out to assure people that she would never sign a bill granting same-sex marriages or gay rights.

"The president is clear on this matter - she will not sign such a bill," Norris Tweh, a Liberian government spokesman, told the BBC.

Then the former first lady, Jewel Taylor, whose husband Charles Taylor is on trial for war crimes at an UN-backed court sitting in The Hague, entered the fray.

Now a senator for the opposition, she has launched a bid to toughen anti-gay laws.

Homosexual acts at the moment are punishable by one year in jail under the country's sodomy laws; she is proposing making it a felony for same-sex couples to be in a relationship, which would carry a 10-year sentence.

"Some media are reporting that I said anyone found guilty of involvement in same sex should face the death penalty, I did not say so, I am calling for a law that will make it a first degree felony," she told the BBC.

"We are only strengthening the existing law," she said.

'Daughter expelled'

A Senate Judicial Committee has been scrutinising her bill, after which parliamentarians are expected to consider it. 

However, some say the bill may never make it onto the statute book, as it has been with the committee for more than three weeks - a long time by Liberian standards.

Senator Abel Massaley says it may not go further as there are already "laws on the book against same-sex relationships, it is a deviant act".

Amid the controversy, a book about a gay Liberian man who died of Aids in the US at the age of 32 has become a bestseller in Monrovia, with all 150 copies delivered to the city selling out.

The memoir, Konkai: Living Between Two Worlds, by his sister Mardia Stone, reveals how his family dealt with his sexual orientation and illness.

"Some of us are still uncomfortable with Aids and our brother's homosexuality, even now, almost two decade after his death," Ms Stone told the BBC

The stigma he felt is something Modegal wants to fight against.

"What we are simply saying is that those who want to practice same-sex relationship should not be molested," Mr Ponpon says.

He admits the last few months have "not been easy".

He is worried about his mother and says even his church, the Abundance Life Ministries, situated in Liberia's largest residential slum of West Point in Monrovia "has asked me to stay away".

For Mr Kamara's family it has also been a difficult time - he says his daughter has been expelled from school "because she bears my last name".

But showing me around the debris of the seaside house where his mother once lived, Mr Ponpon said they would not give up.

"We will not relent; people will come to the realisation that in this day and age, individuals should be free to practice what they wish," he said.


Homosexuality and Africa 

• Same-sex activity is criminalised in 38 countries
• South Africa is the only country to allow same-sex marriages

Source: The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission

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Nobel peace prize winner defends law criminalising homosexuality in Liberia

About the Challenges of Being a Gay Man – Oct 23, 2010 (Saint Germain channelled by Alexandra Mahlimay and Dan Bennack)

“ ... You see, your Soul and Creator are not concerned with any perspective you have that contradicts the reality of your Divinity – whether this be your gender, your sexual preference, your nationality – or your race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or anything else.The only identity that has any fundamental or lasting relevance to your Soul is your Divinity. Any other way you may label or identify yourself is transitory. It changes from one incarnation to the next. ..."

"The Akashic System" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)

Zimbabweans found guilty of watching Arab Spring videos

CNN News, by the CNN Wire Staff, March 19, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The men face six to 10 years in prison or a $2,000 fine when sentenced Tuesday
• Forty six people were arrested for watching a video on Egypt and Tunisia protests
• Critics have called the charges politically motivated
• Robert Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980

(CNN) -- Six Zimbabweans arrested last year for watching footage of the Arab Spring protests were found guilty of conspiracy to commit public violence Monday, according to the wife of one of the men.

The men face six to 10 years in prison or a $2,000 fine when they are sentenced in a Harare court Tuesday, Shantha Bloemen said.

The six were among 46 people arrested on February 19, 2011, during an academic meeting where a video on the events in Tunisia and Egypt were shown.

Police eventually released 40 of the attendees, but charged the rest with treason or attempt to overthrow the government by unconstitutional means. Those charges were later altered to conspiracy to commit public violence.

The government has said the six were plotting an Egyptian-style uprising in the southern African country. Critics have called the charges politically motivated.

The defendants were allegedly watching video footage of protests that led to the ouster of presidents Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, 87, is not unlike the toppled leaders.

He has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 and has been accused of rigging elections and instituting repressive laws to tighten his grip on power.

The arrests may be an indication authorities are worried the winds of change sweeping across north Africa may inspire Zimbabweans to rise up.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, which is in a troubled unity government with Mugabe's ZANU-PF, has called the arrests "an abuse of state machinery by ZANU-PF to suppress the people's views."

Mugabe has called for new elections but his political rival and leader of the MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai, has threatened to boycott the poll if a referendum on a new constitution is not held.

Related Article:

Arab Spring blossoming in cinema

Festivals in Turkey were quick to pick up the trend, incorporating

 sections into their programs as well. The festivals showed many films

from Arab world and praise the Arab revolution in cinema. AFP photo

'Anti-Semitic' settlers game taken offline

RNW,15 March 2012, by Heleen Sittig     

(Photo: VPRO) 

Is it satirical or anti-Semitic? An online game on the site of Dutch public broadcaster VPRO has come under discussion. It’s based on the popular board game Settlers of Catan – only in this version the players have to establish colonies on the West Bank.

The VPRO has now taken the game offline because its “satirical aim is now overshadowed”.

The game

Players are required to assume the role of a Jewish settler. The aim of the game is to build as many settlements as possible on Palestinian territory.

'Anne Frank House cards' and 'Wailing Wall cards' can be used to acquire extra points. Players are also required to apply the stereotype 'traditional Jewish trading mentality' and trade in diamonds.

The game is not satirical but anti-Semitic, say both the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, a watchdog for anti-Semitism, and the Dutch-based pro-Israeli Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI).

Hate speech

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has written a letter about the matter to European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding, hoping she could put pressure on the Netherlands to make sure the game is taken offline.

According to Shimon Samuels from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the game is anti-Semitic and racist. As the VPRO is a public broadcaster, he claims the Dutch state is guilty of hate speech using public money.

It’s not as simple as that, says Dutch Minister of Culture Marja van Bijsterveldt, who doesn’t intend to interfere in the case. The VPRO is a public broadcaster but that doesn't mean the government has anything to do with the content.

Anti-Semitism

Chair of the CIDI Joël Serphos doesn’t think the game is merely satirical. In the Dutch press he said that “use is made of traditional anti-Semitic views”. According to him, they might just as well have been put on the extreme right website Stormfront.

The VPRO says that the game – which is the focus of discussion after being online for longer than a year – was intended as an ironic commentary on the Middle East conflict. The makers hadn’t really intended it as a game. “It should be considered a visual column. It’s oozing satire.”

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(Religions – Zionism - March 1, 2012 - Matthew Channelled by Suzanne Ward)

9. It can be no other way—simply, this is the physics that governs life in this universe. As Earth continues apace into successively higher planes, nothing with low vibrations in any form—physical bodies, subversive plans, theft, dishonesty, unjust laws and imprisonment, bigotry, cruel customs and deeds—can survive.

10. Moving on, no, it will not be quite like religions being “totally discarded and replaced by universal laws in the Golden Age.” When the truths come forth that science and spirit are one and the same and that religious dogmas were originated by early leaders of church and state to control the masses, people whose consciousness has risen beyond the constraints of third density will adhere to the spiritual aspects of their respective religions and the devised, controlling aspects will fall by the wayside.

11. One of the truths to come forth is that Zionism, which by dark intent has been made synonymous with Judaism, actually is a bellicose political movement within the Illuminati, and its aim for more than six decades has been to create conflict and instability in the entire Middle East. Zionists, who have wielded powerful influence within and behind major governments and their military forces, do NOT represent the Jewish peoples in Israel or anywhere else. And, like all other Illuminati factions, they have been committed to that cabal’s goal of global domination.

12. Although Semites are of diverse national origins and religions, the Zionists have been successful in convincing many that “anti-Semitic” is exclusively prejudice against the Jewish peoples and opposition to Israel’s right to defend itself from its “enemies.” By means of that blatant distortion, they obtained not only world sympathy, but also massive defense funding from Israel’s allies, most especially the United States, all of which served to increase the Illuminati’s vast profits from their industrial-military machine.

13. In addition to controlling the masses through dogmatic teachings, religions have served the dark purpose of divisiveness to such an extent that it resulted in centuries of trauma and bloodshed. Witness the Crusades, wars between Catholics and Protestants, pogroms against Jews, executions of “blasphemous” individuals who refused to “recant.”  (Read More …)

"Matthew preparing us for the Golden Age." -  Jan 19, 2012 (Channelled by Suzy Ward)