health: Lincoln Tribune

الخميس، 19 يناير 2012

Lincoln Tribune

UN names new adviser in Khmer Rouge trials
Oldest Republican Presidential Candidate Energizes Young US Voters
Severed head, other body parts found near Hollywood sign
Opposition leader Suu Kyi registers to run in Myanmar by-election
Israeli airstrike kills Palestinians ‘planting explosive’ in Gaza

UN names new adviser in Khmer Rouge trials

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 07:08 PM PST

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday designated David Scheffer of the United States as Special Expert to advise on the UN Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials (UNAKRT).

In a statement, the UN said Scheffer will be providing expert advice on UNAKRT during the critical phase for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts Cambodia (ECCC), which is set up under an agreement signed in 2003 by the UN and the Government.

The ECCC is tasked with trying those deemed most responsible for crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge regime, which ruled Cambodia from April 1975 to January 1979 and is thought to be responsible for the deaths of as many as two million people.

Scheffer, who the UN described as 'very well qualified,' is replacing Clint Williamson, whose term of office expired on September 30, 2011. His designation is for an initial period of six months.

The new Special Expert was involved in the establishment of the ECCC, the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). He served as the U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues from 1997 to 2001.

In late November, 80-year-old Khieu Samphan, former Cambodian head of State during the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s, claimed that the genocide trial he is facing is based on guesses, generalizations and bias. He said he was merely a nominal head of State with no real powers.

Case 002, as the current trial is being referred to, is considered one of the most significant in international criminal justice due to the magnitude of the crimes and its complexity. The trial includes the April 17, 1975, mass evacuation of the capital Phnom Penh, the torture and executions at security prisons around the country and genocide against the Cham Muslims and the ethnic Vietnamese.

But local media in Cambodia have underlined that the abuse and violations suffered by many victims under the Khmer Rouge regime may never be heard in court.

Samphan is one of three co-defendants in Case 002. The two others are Nuon Chea, the former second-in-command of the Khmer Rouge, and Ieng Sary, the former foreign minister and deputy prime minister.

It is estimated that at least 1.7 million Cambodians died during the Khmer Rouge's reign. The regime came to an end in 1979 when a civil war erupted.

Oldest Republican Presidential Candidate Energizes Young US Voters

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 07:00 PM PST

Young Americans have long favored the Democratic Party. This helped drive President Barack Obama to victory in 2008. But thousands of young voters on the opposite side of the political spectrum have become a force for one 2012 Republican presidential hopeful, Ron Paul. .

Twenty-three-year-old Brian Parker is like many other young Washingtonians. He is a college-educated, professional interested in politics.

But his political views differ from the majority of young voters these days. He leads a group of Ron Paul supporters. Like his candidate, Parker is a Libertarian, or someone who favors individual freedom and very limited government.

"I like Ron Paul because he is the only candidate that seems to really know what he talking about and has the best interest of our nation at heart," Parker said.

Paul, at 76, is the oldest presidential candidate, but he got the largest share of the youth vote in the early Republican presidential nominating contests. And in a national Gallup Poll, nearly a quarter of Republican voters ages 18-34 support him. "It's growing by leaps and bounds. And it's going to continue to grow by leaps and bounds. And we will restore freedom to this country," Paul said.

For English teacher Christine Austen and other Paul supporters, his message of personal freedom resonates.

"Ron Paul is the person who stands for freedom and speaks about it. Our party, as a Republican party, has gone so far from that point that he is the only one talking about it anymore," Austin said.

They also like his anti-war and anti-tax ideas. So who are these young supporters who might not have paid attention to Paul's presidential run in 2008?

"Well, a lot of people ask that question and I am not sure that we researchers actually know that for sure," said Gallup Poll editor-in-chief Frank Newport.

He says one characteristic of young people could explain Paul's popularity. "So one overarching kind of reason is that young people have always kind of liked a rebel, someone who is against the system and I think that may be part of his appeal."

But Parker says these Paul supporters know what they are voting for. "None of them are just going to come up and say they love liberty and freedom, and they don't really know what they are talking about. These are people that have done their research," Parker said.

And Parker and his fellow supporters believe Paul is the only Republican candidate who will truly bring change to the White House.

Severed head, other body parts found near Hollywood sign

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 06:20 PM PST

LOS ANGELES (BNO NEWS) -- Detectives in Los Angeles were looking for clues on Wednesday after a human head and several other body parts were found below the Hollywood sign, police said.

The first body part was found at around 2:30 p.m. local time when two women were walking with nine dogs in the Hollywood Hills area, close to the famous sign. "Two of the dogs started playing with an object in a bag," police said. "When they looked at the object, they realized it was a human head."

On Wednesday, about a dozen detectives conducting a grid search of the area discovered two human hands and two feet. "The head appears to be that of a male victim that did not appear to have been there long," police said, adding that the victim is likely between 40 and 60 years old.

Investigators said the cause of death is still unknown, but the head appeared to have been severed just below the chin. There were no signs of significant decomposition, a spokesperson said.

On Wednesday, police were knocking on doors, hoping to find potential witnesses. One resident on Canyon Drive said police were interested in whether body parts might have been dumped in trash cans along the road, the Los Angeles Times said.

Opposition leader Suu Kyi registers to run in Myanmar by-election

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 03:12 PM PST

YANGON (BNO NEWS) -- Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday registered to run for a parliamentary seat in Myanmar's upcoming by-election, a Burmese news organization in exile reported.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner officially filed to run for the near-rural constituency of Kawhmu, on the outskirts of Rangoon, during the April 1 by-election. Hundreds of supporters of the 66-year-old democracy icon's National League for Democracy party gathered outside of the commission office, Mizzima News reported.

Observers believe Suu Kyi might be offered a position in health, education of the ethnic affairs area, Mizzima noted. The famed politician spent 15 of the last 21 years under house arrest until her release in November 2010.

Suu Kyi's political party, the newly-reformed National League for Democracy, will seek seats in up to 48 constituencies throughout the country at various levels of government.

In December, Suu Kyi, responding to fears that her image and reputation would be lessened as a member of Parliament, said: "Some people worry about my reputation if I contest the by-elections. We shouldn't do politics for our reputation. We have to do what we think we should do. If I think I should, I will compete in the election."

Myanmar held its first elections in 20 years in November 2010, paving the way for the end of 49 years of military rule. The country has undergone a rapid number of political changes in the past year, including the loosening of press laws, legalizing the right to demonstrate and organize as workers, the release of leading political prisoners, and ethnic cease-fire agreements.

Last week, the government signed a cease-fire agreement with Karen rebels in Hpaan, the capital of the eastern Karen state. However, in the past, the Karen National Union (KNU) has signed six cease-fire agreements with the government, all of which have been broken.

The Karen civil war has been ongoing for more than six decades, forcing generations of Karen to flee to the jungle in fear of their lives. Since the internal conflict began in 1948, an estimated 500,000 people have been killed.

Israeli airstrike kills Palestinians ‘planting explosive’ in Gaza

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 02:46 PM PST

GAZA CITY (BNO NEWS) -- Two Palestinians were killed and three others were injured on Wednesday when the Israeli Air Force carried out an airstrike close to the border fence in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian and Israeli officials said.

The airstrike targeted areas east of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed a 'terrorist squad' was planing an explosive device near the security fence. "Hits were confirmed," an IDF spokesperson said.

"An explosion was identified, originating from the explosive device the terrorists attempted to plant near the security fence with the intention of harming IDF soldiers," the spokesperson added. It was the second such incident so far this year.

According to the Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA), a 23-year-old man was killed at the scene while a 17-year-old was injured and later died of his injuries. Three others were also injured. Ambulances had trouble to reach the scene due to what WAFA described as heavy Israeli shelling.

"The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers, and will operate against anyone who uses terror against the State of Israel," the IDF spokesperson said. "The Hamas terror organization is solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza strip."

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الخميس، 19 يناير 2012

Lincoln Tribune

Lincoln Tribune

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