Iraq pullout a "signature failure" for Obama: Romney (Reuters)

LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) ? Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Thursday attacked U.S. President Barack Obama for a "signature failure" to keep some troops in Iraq to prevent the country falling back into sectarian conflict.

Just days after U.S. troops left Iraq, a wave of bombings killed at least 72 people in Baghdad on Thursday. The Shi'ite-led government is engulfed in a crisis that risks fracturing Iraq along sectarian and ethnic fault lines.

A consistent front-runner in polls of Republicans, Romney said he feared leaving Iraq without a stabilization force could put the hard-earned successes and victories there at risk.

"I hope that risk is not realized. I hope that we're able to see stability there but the president's failure to secure an agreement and maintain 10,000 to 30,000 troops in Iraq has to be one of his signature failures," he told Reuters.

Romney was speaking in an interview on his campaign bus in New Hampshire. The former governor of Massachusetts is among the top two candidates to win the Republican nomination to take on Obama in November, 2012.

In widespread comments on foreign policy, Romney rejected the transfer of Taliban prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison into Afghan government custody as part of a secret dialogue to end the Afghan war.

He also accused Obama's of falling far short in his handling of the economy despite some signs of strength such as a drop in the unemployment rate to 8.6 percent from 9 percent.

Republicans will use Iraq against Obama in the election campaign if the country descends into violence again after the recent U.S. withdrawal. Thursday's attacks there are the first sign of rising violence since Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki moved to sideline Sunni rivals.

The White House expressed solidarity with Iraq after the bombings. "Attempts such as this to derail Iraq's continued progress will fail," spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.

White House negotiations with Iraq over a follow-on troop presence fell apart over a Pentagon demand that Iraq provide U.S. troops with immunity against prosecution in Iraq for any crimes committed there. Iraq's government was unwilling to meet that demand, and its political elite were divided over a post-2011 U.S. military presence.

CHINA, NORTH KOREA

Romney, a multi-millionaire businessman who has little foreign policy experience, showed a fair grasp of global affairs in the interview. Romney was relaxed and casual on his bus with wife Ann and senior aides.

He urged China to exert its influence to help North Korea to move to a more open society and rein in its nuclear arsenal after leader Kim Jong-il's death.

"China has by far the greatest influence and this is an occasion for China to exert its influence in a way to move towards a more open society, and to encourage the regime to avoid the promotion of nuclear technology to other parts of the world," Romney said.

"China has to recognize that North Korea's participation in nuclear proliferation cannot be tolerated forever," he said.

He continued his drumbeat of criticism of China's trade policies that the United States says amounts to manipulation of its currency.

"I think China has to recognize that currency manipulation and in particular theft of intellectual property and hacking into computer is something which a society is not going to endure without a response," he said.

Romney was sharply critical of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is working to regain the presidency over the protests of thousands of Russians who have led peaceful demonstrations.

He said Putin has "returned to some of the more heated rhetoric of the past" and added, "I think he endangers the stability and peacefulness of the globe."

He commented on a Reuters exclusive story this week that revealed secret talks with the Taliban had focused on the possible transfer of several Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo Bay to Afghan custody.

"I don't believe in releasing prisoners as part of a terrorist negotiation. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. The Taliban are terrorists, they are our enemy and I do not believe in a prisoner release exchange," he said.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Jim Gaines; editing by Alistair Bell and Anthony Boadle)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111222/ts_nm/us_usa_campaign_romney

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NATO official says mistakes led to border attack (AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan ? A NATO official says an investigation has concluded that a combination of mistrust and bad maps led to a Nov. 26 coalition attack near the Afghan border that killed 24 Pakistani troops.

The official said Thursday that mistakes were made both by NATO and Pakistani forces.

The official said a company-sized U.S.-Afghan commando unit operating on the Afghan side of the border in eastern Kunar province came under fire from the direction of Pakistan.

The official said mistakes were made when they attempted to determine whether there were any Pakistani positions in the vicinity in order to safely return fire.

Different mapping systems then led to mistakes and airstrikes on two Pakistani outposts.

The official could not be named because the report has not yet been made public.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan_pakistan

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Contested Indigeneity: The Development of an Indigenous Discourse on the Bedouin of the Negev, Israel

Seth J. Frantzman, Seth J., Havatzelet Yahel, and Ruth Kark. "Contested Indigeneity: The Development of an Indigenous Discourse on the Bedouin of the Negev, Israel."?Israel Studies, Volume 17, Number 1, Spring 2012, 78-104.?

[Abstract]

The article examines the history of the development of a discourse that regards the Bedouin of the Negev desert in Southern Israel as an indigenous people of Israel. This movement has generated a great deal of activity in recent years, particularly the submission of a petition to the U.N. by activists asking for the Bedouin to be recognized as having indigenous communal rights in 2005. The subject is examined in the context of the worldwide recognition of indigenous rights that culminated in the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was adopted on the 13th of September 2007. The article takes account of the processes and activities of individuals who have helped lead and craft a narrative of an indigenous Bedouin identity. It also explores the rise of an indigenous consciousness movement as reflected in states, academic institutions, NGOs, and individuals across the world, with a focus on some of the implications for Israel and the region of the current struggle for recognition for indigenous rights.

?

Source: http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/contested_indigeneity_the_development_of_an_indigenous_discourse_on_the_bedouin_of_the_negev_israel

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Churches turn to Facebook, Twitter to help tell Gospel story

God used angels more than 2,000 years ago to announce the birth of Jesus.

Today, churches are using Facebook, Twitter and other modern technology to help spread the Gospel message.

Though the message is the same ? God loves everyone so much he sent his only son to save them ? the way that message is delivered has changed over the centuries.

?We definitely see social media as one of the languages of the culture (now),? said Josh Isenhardt, 30, social media pastor at NorthRidge Church in Plymouth Township. This generation considers Facebook a modern-day town square. ?Why wouldn't we have a presence there??

NorthRidge, Bell Creek Community Church in Livonia and Grace Chapel in Farmington Hills are among the local churches that are implementing some of the latest technologies.

Virtual campus

NorthRidge added a virtual campus this year. It has a brick and mortar campus in Plymouth Township, and meets in schools in Saline and Howell.

In the virtual campus, members from around the country and world simultaneously visit the church's website (northridgechurch.com) at 7 p.m. Sunday to watch a rebroadcast of the weekend service and participate in a live-time chat room, even praying for each other.

?Church online is for those people who are not ready to step into the physical location,? Isenhardt said.

Bell Creek Community Church, which meets at Franklin High School in Livonia, used Twitter for the first time this year to remind people to pray during the week. The church tweeted the word ?pray? to those who had signed up to be reminded during a series the church held on prayer.

?We found that it was very effective, and it's something we're going to keep doing,? said pastor Fred Wright, 43. ?It was amazing how many of our folks signed up.?

Twitter a witnessing tool

Grace Chapel started using Twitter as a witnessing tool this summer during a mission trip to Kentucky, said Daniel Rose, 35, assistant pastor.

Members were tweeting on their personal accounts about their experiences renovating three homes and holding a literacy, math and science camp, he said. That sparked conversations with others about what they were doing and why.

Now the church will use Twitter to let people know about its Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, blasting out tweets and then depending on members to re-tweet them to their followers.

?It's a very easy way to get a large number of eyes on a small bit of information,? Rose said.

Twitter has also helped build interest in CoffeeDoubt, a group for Christians, atheists, agnostics, theists and others that meets twice weekly in coffee shops to discuss spiritual issues, Rose said.

?We've seen a few people come join us because of conversations over Twitter,? he said.

Grace Chapel has Facebook pages for the church as a whole, the youth ministry and CoffeeDoubt.

Rose said Facebook links people who already know each other, while Twitter links people who don't know each other.

The church's website (graceepc.org), he said, connects people who don't know about the church to the church, often through Google or another search engine. The website includes podcasts of each week's sermon that people can listen to on their computer or download to their iPhone.

Spiritual formation

At NorthRidge, Facebook raises awareness of what God is doing through the church, builds community and gives people a place to share their burdens, Isenhardt said.

But, the next step is using it for spiritual formation. ?Ultimately, we want to see people grow to be more like Christ,? Isenhardt said.

To that end, the church posts two or three questions a week based on the weekend's message. ?We keep bringing it up to the forefront of their minds,? Isenhardt said. ?We want them to carry the truth from the weekend through the rest of the week.?

Wright said the church's website (bellcreek.org) is still its most effective technological tool because it connects people looking for a nondenominational church in the Livonia area to Bell Creek. He said the church has worked hard to make it easy for people to find and navigate the website, where they can learn about the church's beliefs, listen to a sermon and submit a prayer request. The next step, he said, is ramping up the content to include articles on topics like raising children as a single parent and strengthening marriage. ?The website is designed to deliver good content,? Wright said.

Website gets most results

Rose said Grace Chapel's website is better than Facebook and Twitter for getting people into the church on Sunday morning, but, he said, they are just scratching the surface with what technology can do. For example, the youth's Facebook page has an e-vite component so youth can easily invite their friends to church events. ?A lot of the high school students use Facebook almost as a planner,? he said.

The next step, he said, is using Facebook more interactively as an extension of the Sunday sermon or Sunday school.

Garden City Presbyterian (gardencitypresbyterian.org) is using Facebook to promote its monthly Christian concert series and other special events, said Herschel Ele, pastor/head of staff. It hasn't yet started using Twitter.

However, the church's new electronic sign on Middlebelt just south of Ford Road has been more effective than any other technology in getting people in the doors, he said. That's probably because people have to intentionally connect to Facebook or the church's website to get information about events instead of just happening to be driving by, he said.

?If people are intentionally connecting, they've probably already decided they're going to come to whatever is going on here anyway,? said Ele, 64.

Other ways area churches are using modern technology include e-giving, where people can have their tithes directly taken out of their bank accounts, and Google calendar, where people can easily add events to their iPhones or Smartphones.

Personal invites best of all

Yet with all the modern technology available to churches today, nothing will take the place of people personally talking to their family and friends about Jesus and inviting them to go to church with them, Rose said. ?At the end of the day there's one best way (to spread the Gospel message) and that's being involved in the life of your neighbors.?

Nor can people live the Christian life in isolation, Isenhardt said. They need to be in the physical presence of other believers, encouraging, praying with and hugging each other.

In those ways, the church hasn't changed since Christ's birth more than 2,000 years ago.

ksmith@hometownlife.com (313) 222-2098

Source: http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20111222/NEWS03/112220466/1001/rss01

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The Economy in Iowa Isn't Too Bad (But Don't Forget the Big Picture)! (Prospect)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/177052361?client_source=feed&format=rss

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ICC dismisses charges against Rwandan suspect (AP)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands ? International Criminal Court judges dismissed charges Friday against a Rwandan rebel accused of involvement in the murder, rape and torture of Congolese villagers by a Hutu militia in 2009.

The judges ordered the release of Callixte Mbarushimana, saying there is not enough evidence to support the charges against him.

Prosecutors said they would send the case to appeals judges and quickly filed a request to halt Mbarushimana's release pending the outcome of the appeal. If judges reject the request, the court has to find a country willing to accept Mbarushimana before he can be released and it is not clear how long that could take.

Prosecutors had accused Mbarushimana of being a senior member of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, known by its French acronym the FDLR. The group is accused of unleashing savage attacks on civilians in the North and South Kivu provinces of Congo as a "bargaining tool" to win power.

If he is freed, Mbarushimana would be the first suspect released from ICC custody since the court's inception in 2002.

In February 2010, judges refused to confirm charges against a Darfur rebel accused of attacking African Union peacekeepers, but unlike Mbarushimana the rebel, Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, was never taken into custody.

In an unusual case at the court, prosecutors accused Mbarushimana of contributing to crimes from a Paris apartment "by orchestrating an international campaign of propaganda and extortion" to force Rwanda to accept the return of the rebels who had fled the country after its 1994 genocide.

In a majority decision, a three judge panel said evidence presented at a preliminary hearing in September was not strong enough to merit sending the case to trial.

The evidence was "not sufficient to establish substantial grounds to believe that the Suspect encouraged the troops' morale through his press releases and radio messages, and, therefore, he could have not provided ... a significant contribution to the commission of crimes," two judges wrote in their decision. The presiding judge at the September hearing, disagreed, saying Mbarushimana should have been sent to trial.

Nick Kaufman, the lawyer who represented Mbarushimana at the preliminary hearing, praised the decision.

"We welcome this brave decision which is a moment of truth and vindication for Callixte Mbarushimana," Kaufman told The Associated Press in an email.

Mbarushimana was arrested in Paris in October, 2010, and transferred to the court in The Hague.

He faced 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity but always maintained his innocence.

The FDLR was established by former guerrillas accused of genocide in Rwanda's 1994 ethnic slaughter. After moving to Congo, the FDLR launched attacks on Rwanda aimed at ousting the government in Kigali.

Knowing they could not win a conventional military campaign, the rebels retreated to the dense forests of eastern Congo and from there went on a yearlong killing spree that left hundreds dead and forced thousands from their homes.

FDLR fighters "killed, raped and tortured civilians in this region. They carried out pillaging and burned down entire villages," deputy prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told judges in September. Women were raped, often repeatedly and by several attackers in turn, she added.

After the Rwanda genocide, Mbarushimana went to work as a software programmer for the United Nations in Angola and then Kosovo.

He was arrested in Kosovo at the request of Rwanda but released in 2001 because Rwanda failed to properly prepare his indictment. He was later indicted by the Rwanda war crimes tribunal, set up by the U.N. in Tanzania. But his case was dropped.

Gregory Alex, a senior U.N. official who has worked in Rwanda and Congo and has long wanted to see Mbarushimana face trial, told the AP he was disappointed by the decision.

"He should be arrested and tried for his crimes. There should be loud criticism of this," he said.

Alex said the order to release Mbarushimana comes at a time when authorities have been making headway in efforts to dismantle the FDLR.

"We've been making good progress," he said, adding that 169 FDLR fighters surrendered in November.

____

Associated Press writer Rukmini Callimachi contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_re_eu/eu_international_court_congo

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Oscar academy plans outdoor theater in Hollywood (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? The overseers of the Academy Awards are building an outdoor theater and event space on a piece of land in Hollywood that had been intended for a film museum.

The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences plans to open the 17,000-square-foot amphitheater next May as a venue to show classic films.

The academy bought the land in 2005 with plans to build a world-class film museum there. Planners abandoned that idea after the economy went sour, making it impossible to raise the funds needed to build a whole new facility.

In October, the academy announced plans to lease a former May Co. department store now owned by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and put the movie museum there.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111218/ap_en_mo/us_oscars_academy_theater

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