Iran ( Several wounded in Iran explosion in Bandar Imam Khomeini )

Several Wounded in Iran Explosion

Several people were wounded Sunday in an explosion in Bandar Imam Khomeini, a port city in Iran, but few details have been released.

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By Chana Ya'ar

First Publish: 3/10/2013, 4:55 PM

Satellite image of Persian Gulf

NASA

Several people were wounded Sunday in an explosion in Bandar Imam Khomeini, a port city in Iran, but few details have been released.
The city is located some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) southwest of Tehran, in the oil-rich Khuzestan province.
Members of Iran’s Arabic-speaking minority have occasionally held demonstrations in recent years in the area, demanding more rights.
The Arvand and Ghadir Petrochemical Companies are both located at the port, which is northeast of Kuwait City, and on the banks of the northwestern end of the Persian Gulf.
Several cars were damaged and windows in nearby buildings were shattered, including those at a hotel, according to the report late Saturday by the semi-official Iranian news agency ILNA.
There were no details offered about the cause of the blast.
In the past, Iran has blamed such explosions on intelligence agents from Israel or Western nations such as the United States or Britain.

Bahrain ( International women's day - Police beat woman and use mace on her )

International Women's Day: Bahraini Women imprisoned, tortured, killed, stripped from nationality, .. and impunity for abusers

7 Mar 2013
On the International Women's Day, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its grave concern and condemnation over the continued violations of women's rights in Bahrain. With Bahraini women's important role in the Bahraini uprising, calling for democracy and political reform, they have been violently targeted by the authorities. At least 13 women were victims of extra-juridical killing. Many were detained, tortured and sentenced to years in prison. Today there are several women in prison over politicized and false charges for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, illegal gathering and helping injured.
It is important to note that the cases presented in this report are just a sample of hundreds of other cases in regards to arrests, harassment, sackings, beatings and torture of women in Bahrain.

Extra-Judicial Killings

At least 13 women died as a result of authorities’ use of excessive force, teargas and intimidations since Feb 14, 2011. No one has been held accountable for any of these deaths. Teargas is the number one cause of death amongst women, 70% died due to authorities’ excessive use of teargas on a daily basis and the targeting of homes of citizens.

India New Delhi ( Top police dog gets to retire with Honors ) Doberman 11 yrs old

In her heyday, her sharp olfactory senses helped nab many hardened criminals and curb narcotics smuggling in the city. With age and instincts failing her, the oldest female canine in the Delhi Police dog squad is being retired at the ripe age of 11.
Bought for Rs. 5,000 from a local dog breeder in 2002 when she was just seven months old, she was fondly named Anu for being the “most friendly” canine. She will be relieved of her duties by the end of March after serving the police force for over 10 years.
“She is the only dog who can roam around freely, be it the training ground or the office. Not even the senior officers mind this…she is loved by all,” a police officer told IANS, requesting anonymity.
The only female Doberman in the head unit of the city’s dog squad in Model Town in north Delhi which has 14 more dogs – all Labradors – the veteran canine also assisted in the training of several other dogs before their induction.

Representational image: Reuters

“Handlers took her help in training the new dogs as she was so experienced… but sadly she is not in her prime physical shape due to her age,” said Constable Vidyasagar, Anu’s handler.
He added that an NGO would be adopting her after her retirement.
According to many other handlers, Anu was the star of several dog shows when she was young and had won many awards for her intelligence and agility. While age has slowed her down, it has failed to affect the winner in her.
“Recently, she won a bronze medal in the All-India Police Duty Meet competition held in Haryana,” the handler added.
According to Sub-Inspector Digvijay, in charge of the Model Town dog squad unit, the canines are inducted when they are eight months old and normally remain in service till they turn eight.
“The dogs are very important as they help us detect explosives, seize drugs and track criminals,” Digvijay told IANS.
According to Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat, a Labrador would be replacing Anu and will be purchased from the Indian Army.
“We have already written to them for purchasing two dogs,” Bhagat told IANS.
At present, 59 dogs of four different breeds are in the dog squad of Delhi Police’s Crime Bbranch located in Chanakyapuri and R.K. Puram in south Delhi, Kalyanpuri in east Delhi and Janakpuri in west Delhi, apart from the main unit in Model Town.
Of the 59 dogs, 45 are Labradors, five are Dobermans, seven are Cocker Spaniels and two are German Shepherds.
Most of the dogs were bought from the Indian Army’s Remount Veterinary Corps based in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.
A puppy aged around eight months costs between Rs 20,000 and Rs 35,000 while an older canine trained by the army would cost around Rs 2.5 lakh, a police officer said.

Iran ( Declaration from a Female Human Rights reporter in prison ) Saba Vasefi

10 March 2013

"Hole"/ Saba Vasefi

Keywords : Women

Committee of Human Rights Reporters –

Translated by: Sanaz Fotouhi

 

Where on my body

are your eyes zigzagging?

I die for you!!

The hungry bludger gambling

With the lice in my empty pocket

and still hung over in the Zipper’s ducts

Where have muted body parts been penetrated by the drill

With shafts as thick as Imperialism

Whose begging is never ending, as the “Taleban” that you are?

Laughter is wounded,

And Samarkand, with a skirt full of pebbles

And a hole,

the forbidden commodity

of the black market.

Hole, hole!

Oh, so ruthless

Fascism has had no mercy

To the body, to the rectum, to the shoulder blade,

Even to the damp pants

So that even the moistest and deepest parts

Get the whooping coughs

From the soldiers’ hard boots.

I know that muteness

Makes me more adorable, but

Forgive me by your greatness, sir!

You who knows as much as a cow

I will sacrifice myself for you!!

You are a great Anarchist among dandruff

of a hairless scalp.

My dear mule, get lost.

Here, the penetration of a neck

Into a noose is a crime

This is not the Republic of executions

This is the festival of holes,

The quarantine of the gonorrheal tribe

Where no woman,

would even chop parsley

to the sound of the chopping knives.

California ( 36 Chihuahuas seized by Authorities ) Abuse Story

36 Chihuahuas Seized By Authorities From 2 Homes In California

03/08/13 11:49 PM ET EST

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WATSONVILLE, Calif. -- California officials are searching for new homes for three dozen Chihuahuas that were seized from two residences.
Officials with the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter say they removed 11 Chihuahuas, including six puppies, at a Watsonville apartment on Monday. Then they found 25 more, including 10 puppies, at a relative's house in the same town.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel (http://bit.ly/16fkp7h) reports the Chihuahuas are being housed at two shelter locations before they head to foster homes. But the shelter is looking for people who can adopt the dogs permanently.
Officials say the dogs were being hoarded in the homes and were allowed to breed indiscriminately.
Authorities are investigating to determine whether animal neglect charges should be filed.
The investigation began when the landlord of the apartment complex reported the Chihuahuas.

TUCSON Az ( The City of Tucson is ' UNDER MARTIAL LAW ' ) Per Mayor

TUCSON, ARIZONA QUIETLY PLACED UNDER MARTIAL LAW?

By Darren Weeks
March 8, 2013
NewsWithViews.com

Mayoral resolution approved by council gives power to military

Martial Law is defined by Random House dictionary as:

1. the law temporarily imposed upon an area by state or national military forces when civil authority has broken down or during wartime military operations.

2. the law imposed upon a defeated country or occupied territory by the military forces of the occupying power.

In my last article, I explored the Martial Law declaration that was issued in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and its devastation. I made the statement that I believe we are beginning to see the unfolding of a new norm. A trend seems to be evolving where local, state, or regional officials are using states of emergency or outright Martial Law declarations to deal with small-scale problems.

Since that time, we have seen three states — Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts — all issue emergency declarations, restricting travel, due to an anticipated snowstorm. One might ask how could it be that northern states might be so ill-prepared for a major snowstorm so as to warrant the suspension of thousands of individuals’ right to travel? Imagine... snow in the north! In the winter! Who would have thunk it?

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick issued an executive order on February 8th, banning all civilian travel with certain very specific exceptions — mainly emergency services, the media, and those contributing to critical infrastructure and resources. Numerous media sources reported that violation of the Deval’s order would carry with it a potential $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail! What if your wife was pregnant and you needed to get her to the hospital? Guess you’re out of luck, huh? What if you have some other emergency? Too bad for you! Your exception to the rule wasn’t mentioned in Dictator Deval’s order.

Aside from the fact that there are countless legitimate reasons for people to be on the roadways during a major snowstorm — many of which couldn’t possibly be foreseen by an executive decree — this “Deval” governor has no business restricting the people’s right to travel. Yet, that is exactly what he did, which is completely unnecessary and should be considered unacceptable to the populace. He should be immediately recalled, and state legislative guidelines should be put into place, making it a criminal offense to use executive orders for purposes such as this. Encouraging people to stay off the roads is fine. Mandating it under threat of massive fines and imprisonment? Not in a free society.

On the heels of that outrage, we now learn that on February 20th, Tucson, Arizona Mayor Jonathan Rothschild — yes, that’s really his name — issued Resolution #22006 (pdf) which declares a state of emergency in the city of Tucson.

Section 1 “recognizes” the leadership of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base “to make the appropriate decisions when balancing National Security and community needs when it comes to their existing and future military mission and assignments.”

What “future military mission and assignments” might warrant the need for the military to make decisions and address community needs? What “National Security” crisis could be foreseen as to warrant a military base to operate independently of duly-elected government representatives? The resolution doesn’t say.

Section 2 specifies, “The various city officers are authorized and directed to perform all acts necessary or desirable to give effect to this Resolution.”

Presumably, this would mean that all city officers, including the local police chief and city police officers would now be under the ultimate authority of the military, who in turn answer to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces — the Oval Office usurper.

The Resolution further states in Section 3: “WHEREAS, it is necessary for the preservation of the peace, health and safety of the City of Tucson that this Resolution become immediately effective, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this Resolution shall be effective immediately upon its passage and adoption.” It then states that it was adopted by the mayor and council on February 20, 2013.

Prior to writing this article, this writer telephoned the Tucson mayor’s office to seek comment for this story. A lady answered the phone who said her name was Kimberly. When I questioned her about the purpose and intent of the resolution, she stated that she was “not at liberty to discuss” the matter.

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Further pressing her on the fact that the resolution actually declares a state of emergency for the city of Tucson, I inquired as to what the nature of the emergency was that would warrant such a declaration. She indicated that there was no real emergency and that she “had been told” that the language was “standard language” used in all of their resolutions.

I then asked, “you mean every time the mayor signs a resolution, he declares a state of emergency?”

She then replied, “no” and proceeded to offer to take my name and contact information down, so that her communications director could call me back to explain.

As we send this article to be published, we are still awaiting that call.

Pakistan ( Christian man insults Islam's Prophet Muhammad ) Neighborhood torched

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Hundreds of people in eastern Pakistan rampaged through a Christian neighborhood Saturday, torching dozens of homes after hearing reports that a Christian man had committed blasphemy against Islam's prophet.

Blasphemy is a serious crime in Pakistan that can carry the death penalty but sometimes outraged residents exact their own retribution for perceived insults of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Pakistan is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim and people of other faiths, including the nation's small Christian community, are often viewed with suspicion.

The incident started Friday when a young Muslim man accused a Christian man of committing blasphemy by making offensive comments about the prophet, according to Multan Khan, a senior police officer in Lahore.

A large crowd from a nearby mosque went to the Christian man's home on Friday night, said Khan. Police registered a blasphemy case against the man after the crowd gathered and demanded action, the officer said.
Fearing for their safety, hundreds of Christian families fled the area overnight.

Khan said the mob returned on Saturday and began ransacking Christian homes and setting them ablaze. He said no one in the Christian community was hurt, but several policemen were injured when they were hit with stones as they tried to keep the crowd from storming the area.