3482-ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? | View Thread

(UR) Ohio — Glyphosate, the main ingredient found in Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide, RoundUp, has poisoned Lake Erie.

Scientists from Ohio Northern University (ONU) in the U.S. have discovered that glyphosate is largely responsible for an increase in harmful algae blooms that contaminate lake water and kill off life dependent upon this habitat.

Namely, dissolved reactive phosphorous (DRP) has been contaminating Lake Erie and the Maumee watershed. This DRP comes from surrounding farms that rely on Monsanto’s weedkiller to grow their crops. The runoff ends up in the lakes, killing fish and contaminating the water.

Though Lake Erie’s trouble with phosphorous is not new, there has been an alarming increase in DRP, which caused scientists to question its probable origins.

Christopher Spiese, a chemist at Ohio Northern University suggests that an increase in the use of glyphosate is causing the problem. DRP loads in Lake Erie have been increasing since the early 1990s — the same time that RoundUp was being sold to farmers across the U.S.

RoundUp was first introduced commercially in 1974, but it was in the 90s that farmers started to spray it copiously on genetically modified crops. RoundUp is currently Monsanto’s biggestprofit-maker, accounting for a whopping one-third of its total sales in recent years.

Despite its worldwide use, members of the E.U. Parliament addressed the “European Commission, Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, and responsible Ministers of the Member States” to try to ban glyphosate across Europe. Traces of it were found in the urine of almost every member of parliament who tested for it.

Ohio Northern researchers have confirmed that glyphosate is causing the harmful algae blooms in Lake Erie, but Drs. R. Michael McKay and George Bullerjahn of Bowling Green State University have been studying this likelihood since 2012. They suspected that the growing ‘dead zones’ in the Great Lakes were caused by this herbicide, killing millions of fish and polluting drinking water every year.

McKay explained:

“Our research is finding that Roundup is getting into the watershed at peak farming application times, particularly in the spring.”

Bullerjahn explained further:

“It turns out that many cyanobacteria present in Lake Erie have the genes allowing the uptake of phosphonates, and these cyanobacteria can grow using glyphosate and other phosphonates as a sole source of phosphorus.”

ONU research also attests that the delicate balance of Mother Nature is further disturbed by RoundUp. Spiese states:

“These crops that are able to grow in the presence of glyphosate have really kind of started to take over, to the point where we’re washed in Roundup.”

Spiese figured out that for every acre of GM soy planted with the use of RoundUp, you can count on one-third of a pound of phosphorous being dumped into the Maumee. He argues:

“The P in glyphosate is what we call phosphonate, a phosphorus-carbon bond. A phosphorus-carbon bond is extraordinarily stable. It’s very difficult to break. We don’t expect this to contribute one bit to the DRP.”

But it did. Add one more disaster to Monsanto’s growing list of environmental misdeeds.

This article (Researchers Find RoundUp Responsible for Harmful Algae Blooms In Great Lakes) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Christina Sarich and UndergroundReporter.org. If you spot a typo, please email the error and the name of the article to undergroundreporter2016@gmail.com. Image credit: Flickr/NOAA

ISIS claims that its fighters have downed a Syrian jet

Dominic Evans, Reuters

Screenshot via Reuters

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters brought down a Syrian jet near the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Thursday, a monitoring group and an agency linked to the radical militant group said.

Amaq agency released video footage showing the flaming wreckage of a plane scattered across a stretch of barren rocky ground, as well as parts of a corpse in military uniform and a white helmet, hung out for display on a street. It said the body was that of the pilot.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based organization which monitors Syria's war through a network of sources inside the country, said Islamic State had targeted and brought down the plane in the Thardah hills, about 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Deir al-Zor military airport.

Islamic State controls most of the eastern province of Deir al-Zor, though forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad hold the airport and part of Deir al-Zor city on the Euphrates river.

It was not immediately clear how the militants downed the jet, which the Observatory said was the second jet to be brought down over Islamic State territory since April. It said Islamic State had also brought down two helicopters in recent months.

(Reporting by Dominic Evans; Editing by Toby Chopra)

U.S. Endorses Expansion Of Military Force Used By U.N. Peacekeepers In Combat Zones

JULY 14, 2016

By Brandon Turbeville

In yet another step towards the establishment of a world military force that seeks peace through the absence of dissent, the United States announced its support in May for a set of principles that will allow the United Nations’ peacekeeping troops and UN police to use force in order to “protect civilians” in combat zones and areas of armed conflict.

U.S. Ambassador the U.N. and notorious warmonger against Libya and Syria, Samantha Power stated that the Kigali Principles would “make peacekeeping missions more effective, improve security and save lives.”

“The Kigali Principles are designed to make sure that civilians are not abandoned by the international community again,” said Power.

The Kigali Principles call for countries who contribute troops to UN missions to give UN Peacekeeping Commanders the authority to use military force against “armed actors with clear hostile intent to harm civilians” without waiting for approval from the United Nations and its member states.

“If a commander has to wait hours and hours for guidance from capital, it may mean not being able to react in time to repel a fast-approaching attack on a nearby village,” Power added.

The Kigali initiative was introduced by the United States, the Netherlands, and Rwanda in 2015.

According to a report from the Military Times, U.N. peacekeeping forces from the 29 countries signing on to the principles are now required to act if civilians are in danger.

Twenty-nine countries represents less than a third ofUnited Nations members and include:

Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, Djibouti, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Ghana, Guinea, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malawi, Montenegro, Netherlands, Niger, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Togo, Ukraine, Uganda, United States, Uruguay and Zambia

Notably absent from the list of signatories is Russia, China, Iran, and Lebanon as well as a number of other “anti” NATO countries.

The possibility of United Nations’ forces being used as a wider and seemingly more “official” and credible invading force is very real, especially in places like Syria where, despite all evidence to the contrary, the United States, GCC, the West in general and the United Nations continually harp about “Assad’s crimes against humanity and civilians” while ignoring the crimes of the Western-backed terrorists who have run rampant across the country, displaying a clear institutional bias against states like Syria who operate outside of the totally control of the Anglo-European, Anglo-American banking axis.

Likewise, many civilians may be as worried about the U.N. peacekeepers as they are of their own despotic governments and warlords after a trail of sexual abuse, rapes, assaults, and murders have been left in the U.N’s wake in places like Haiti, Congo, Ivory Coast, Libya, Mali, Sudan, andCentral African Republic.

Many are concerned about the growing power of U.N. in domestic national matters, particularly after reports of recent sightings of U.N. vehicles being carried on flatbed trucks began making their rounds on the Internet and alternative media networks. While many “skeptic” organization like Snopes tried to debunk the sightings as mere transport of American-manufactured vehicles to coastal ports (manufactured by BAE), World Net Daily contacted BAE and Aplineco, who denied that the vehicles belonged to their company.

The Kigali Principles are as follows:

We, the troop and police contributing countries, following the International Conference on the Protection of Civilians held in Kigali, from 28-29 May 2015 under the theme “Protection of Civilians through Peacekeeping: From Mandates Design to Implementation”; bringing together the top 30 troop and police contributing countries, the top ten financial contributing countries and other stakeholders; and after deliberations on how to effectively implement the Protection of Civilians mandates in peacekeeping operations, pledge the following:

1. To train all of our troops on the protection of civilians prior to their deployment to missions.

2. To ensure that our sector and contingent-commanders, as well as our nominees for mission leadership positions, have a high level of training and preparedness on peacekeeping operations and, in particular, the protection of civilians.

3. To be prepared to use force to protect civilians, as necessary and consistent with the mandate. Such action encompasses making a show of force as a deterrent; inter-positioning our forces between armed actors and civilians; and taking direct military action against armed actors with clear hostile intent to harm civilians.

4. Not to stipulate caveats or other restrictions that prevent us from fulfilling our responsibility to protect civilians in accordance with the mandate.

5. To identify and communicate to the UN any resource and capability gaps that inhibit our ability to protect civilians.

6. To strive, within our capabilities, to contribute the enabling capabilities (e.g. helicopters) to peacekeeping operations that facilitate improved civilian protection.

7. To avoid undue delay in protecting civilians, by investing our contingent commander with the authority to use force to protect civilians in urgent situations without the need for further consultations with capital.

8. Not to hesitate to take action to protect civilians, in accordance with the rules of engagement, in the absence of an effective host government response or demonstrated willingness to carry out its responsibilities to protect civilians.

9. To demand clarity from the UN and mission leadership on our rules of engagement, including under which circumstances the use of force is appropriate.

10. To seek to identify, as early as possible, potential threats to civilians and proactively take steps to mitigate such threats and otherwise reduce the vulnerability of the civilian population.

11. To seek to enhance the arrangements for rapid deployment, including by supporting a full review of the UN’s standby arrangements, exploring a system in which earmarked units from troop and police contributing countries could be placed in readiness in order to ensure rapid troop deployment, and encouraging the utilisation of partnerships with regional organisations such as the African Union and its RECs.

12. To be vigilant in monitoring and reporting any human rights abuses or signs of impending violence in the areas in which our personnel serve.

13. To take disciplinary action against our own personnel if and when they fail to act to protect civilians when circumstances warrant such action.

14. To undertake our own review, in parallel to any after-action review, in the event that our personnel are unable to protect civilians, and identify and share key lessons for avoiding such failures in the future.

15. To hold our own personnel to the highest standard of conduct, and to vigorously investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute any incidents of abuse.

16. To better implement protection of civilians mandates and deliver on our responsibilities, we request better, regular and more extensive consultations on the mandating of peacekeeping missions. When mandates of peacekeeping missions are under review and may change, it should also be mandatory for the Security Council to consult all troop and police contributing countries deployed to the mission. We commit to bring our own ideas and solutions to these consultations that can strengthen the implementation of protection of civilians mandates.

17. To urge the Security Council to ensure that mandates are matched with the requisite resources, and to commit to support a process that addresses the current critical resource gaps in several missions. We support a more phased mandating process that can ensure a better alignment of resources and mandates.

18. Noting that any well-planned mandate implementation may be undermined by inefficient mobility, logistics or support; To call for effective support of all military plans, including contingency plans; and to commit to work with the Secretariat to review the current support arrangements, including possible transfer of authority over more of the logistical capability to the military component, where appropriate.

Recommend that these principles be endorsed on a voluntary basis and that the signatories meet once each year to discuss how to further improve the implementation of the Protection of Civilians mandate in UN peacekeeping operations.

This article may be freely shared in part or in full with author attribution and source link.

Image Credit: American Intelligence Report

(activistpost.com)

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 7/15/2016 12:44:26 AM
	Researchers Find Roundup Responsible for Harmful Algae Blooms In Great Lakes Thu, 07/14/2016 - 07:50 by Christina Sarich, Underground Reporter (UR) Ohio — Glyphosate, the main ingredient found in Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide, RoundUp, has poisoned Lake Erie. Scientists from Ohio Northern University (ONU) in the U.S. have discovered that glyphosate is largely responsible for an increase in harmful algae blooms that contaminate lake water and kill off life dependent upon this habitat. Namely, dissolved reactive phosphorous (DRP) has been contaminating Lake Erie and the Maumee watershed. This DRP comes from surrounding farms that rely on Monsanto’s weedkiller to grow their crops. The runoff ends up in the lakes, killing fish and contaminating the water. Though Lake Erie’s trouble with phosphorous is not new, there has been an alarming increase in DRP, which caused scientists to question its probable origins. Christopher Spiese, a chemist at Ohio Northern University suggests that an increase in the use of glyphosate is causing the problem. DRP loads in Lake Erie have been increasing since the early 1990s — the same time that RoundUp was being sold to farmers across the U.S. RoundUp was first introduced commercially in 1974, but it was in the 90s that farmers started to spray it copiously on genetically modified crops. RoundUp is currently Monsanto’s biggestprofit-maker, accounting for a whopping one-third of its total sales in recent years. Despite its worldwide use, members of the E.U. Parliament addressed the “European Commission, Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, and responsible Ministers of the Member States” to try to ban glyphosate across Europe. Traces of it were found in the urine of almost every member of parliament who tested for it. Ohio Northern researchers have confirmed that glyphosate is causing the harmful algae blooms in Lake Erie, but Drs. R. Michael McKay and George Bullerjahn of Bowling Green State University have been studying this likelihood since 2012. They suspected that the growing ‘dead zones’ in the Great Lakes were caused by this herbicide, killing millions of fish and polluting drinking water every year. McKay explained: “Our research is finding that Roundup is getting into the watershed at peak farming application times, particularly in the spring.” Bullerjahn explained further: “It turns out that many cyanobacteria present in Lake Erie have the genes allowing the uptake of phosphonates, and these cyanobacteria can grow using glyphosate and other phosphonates as a sole source of phosphorus.” ONU research also attests that the delicate balance of Mother Nature is further disturbed by RoundUp. Spiese states: “These crops that are able to grow in the presence of glyphosate have really kind of started to take over, to the point where we’re washed in Roundup.” Spiese figured out that for every acre of GM soy planted with the use of RoundUp, you can count on one-third of a pound of phosphorous being dumped into the Maumee. He argues: “The P in glyphosate is what we call phosphonate, a phosphorus-carbon bond. A phosphorus-carbon bond is extraordinarily stable. It’s very difficult to break. We don’t expect this to contribute one bit to the DRP.” But it did. Add one more disaster to Monsanto’s growing list of environmental misdeeds. This article (Researchers Find RoundUp Responsible for Harmful Algae Blooms In Great Lakes) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Christina Sarich and UndergroundReporter.org. If you spot a typo, please email the error and the name of the article to undergroundreporter2016@gmail.com. Image credit: Flickr/NOAA (undergroundreporter.org)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 7/15/2016 10:02:43 AM
	At least 84 dead in 'terrorist' Nice truck attack Catherine Marciano with Fran Blandy in ParisJuly 15, 2016 Forensic police were still swarming the promenade as the sun rose over the French Riviera town of Nice (AFP Photo/Anne-Christine Poujoulat) Nice (France) (AFP) - A gunman smashed a truck into a crowd of revellers celebrating Bastille Day in the French Riviera city of Nice, killing at least 84 people in what President Francois Hollande on Friday called a "terrorist" attack. Police shot the driver dead after he drove the truck two kilometres (1.3 miles) through a crowd that had been enjoying a fireworks display on France's July 14 national holiday. The palm-lined Promenade des Anglais was left strewn with bodies as hundreds fled in terror. Authorities said they found identity papers belonging to a 31-year-old French-Tunisian citizen in the 19-tonne truck, and that the driver had fired a gun several times before police shot him dead. The man was known to police, authorities said. Hollande said in a televised national address that the attack was of an "undeniable terrorist nature" and he confirmed that several children were among the dead. "France was struck on its national day ... the symbol of freedom," said Hollande. Interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said 84 people were killed and scores injured, including 18 in "critical condition". Bastille Day is a celebration of everything France holds dear -- its secular republic and the values of "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite" (Freedom, Equality, Fraternity). Earlier Thursday, onlookers had enjoyed a day of military pomp and ceremony in Paris -- where armed forces, tanks and fighter jets swooped down the Champs Elysees avenue -- and spectacular firework displays. - 'Holding cold hands' - In a video viewed over 4,500 times on Facebook, a trembling Tarubi Wahid Mosta recounted the horror on the promenade, where he took photos of an abandoned doll and pushchair and came home with a victim's Yorkshire terrier. "I almost stepped on a corpse, it was horrible. It looked like a battlefield," he said. In a series of posts, he described the sense of helplessness faced with the carnage. "All these bodies and their families ... they spent hours on the ground holding the cold hands of bodies dismembered by the truck. You can't even speak to them or comfort them." Forensic police were still swarming the promenade as the sun rose over the picturesque bay, which has drawn sun-seekers and the jet-set since the 19th century. The truck was still in the position where it had ground to a halt, its front badly damaged and riddled with bullet holes and its tyres burst. A police source said the vehicle had been rented in the region "a few days ago". Robert Holloway, an AFP reporter who witnessed the white truck driving at speed into the crowd, described scenes of "absolute chaos". "We saw people hit and bits of debris flying around. I had to protect my face from flying debris," he said. While officials made an urgent call for blood donors, dozens took to Twitter with desperate pleas from for news of loved ones. Pictures of a young girl with braces or a teenager pulling a funny face were among those posted. - 'Horrific terrorist attack' - World leaders rushed to condemn the carnage, with US President Barack Obama blasting "what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack". The attack was the third major strike against France in less than 18 months and prosecutors said anti-terrorist investigators were handling the probe. It comes eight months after Islamic State attacks on bars, restaurants, a concert hall and the national stadium in Paris left 130 people dead. Hollande announced he would extend France's state of emergency for three months in the wake of this latest attack and "step up" the government's action against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq. "We will continue striking those who attack us on our own soil," he said. He also called up army reservists to bolster security services that are stretched to the limit. France has been under a state of emergency ever since the November 13 Paris carnage, which came after 17 were killed in another attack in January at various sites including the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket. IS has repeatedly singled out France as a prime target for its military action against the group in Iraq and Syria, and hundreds of jihadists have left France to go and fight in its ranks. - 'He crushed a lot of people' - A witness named Nader told BFM television he had seen the whole attack from start to finish, and had initially thought the driver had "lost control". "He stopped just in front of me after he (crushed) a lot of people. I saw a guy in the street, we were trying to speak to the driver to get him to stop. "He looked nervous. There was a girl under the car, he smashed her. The guy next to me pulled her out," he said in broken English. Nader said he saw the driver pull out a gun and start shooting at police. "They killed him and his head was out the window." A source close to the investigation said an "inactive" grenade was found inside the truck, as well as "several fake rifles". Over the past week, France had been breathing a sigh of relief after successfully hosting the month-long Euro 2016 football championship, which passed off without incident despite fears of attacks. The tournament brought an all-too-brief burst of joy to a gloomy France, bogged down after the two attacks in 2015, violent anti-government protests, strikes and floods. (Yahoo News)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 7/15/2016 10:23:45 AM
	ISIS claims that its fighters have downed a Syrian jet Dominic Evans, Reuters 21h Screenshot via Reuters BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters brought down a Syrian jet near the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Thursday, a monitoring group and an agency linked to the radical militant group said. Amaq agency released video footage showing the flaming wreckage of a plane scattered across a stretch of barren rocky ground, as well as parts of a corpse in military uniform and a white helmet, hung out for display on a street. It said the body was that of the pilot. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based organization which monitors Syria's war through a network of sources inside the country, said Islamic State had targeted and brought down the plane in the Thardah hills, about 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Deir al-Zor military airport. Islamic State controls most of the eastern province of Deir al-Zor, though forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad hold the airport and part of Deir al-Zor city on the Euphrates river. It was not immediately clear how the militants downed the jet, which the Observatory said was the second jet to be brought down over Islamic State territory since April. It said Islamic State had also brought down two helicopters in recent months. (Reporting by Dominic Evans; Editing by Toby Chopra) Read the original article on Reuters. Copyright 2016. Follow Reuters on Twitter.
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 7/15/2016 10:33:09 AM
	U.S. Endorses Expansion Of Military Force Used By U.N. Peacekeepers In Combat Zones JULY 14, 2016 By Brandon Turbeville In yet another step towards the establishment of a world military force that seeks peace through the absence of dissent, the United States announced its support in May for a set of principles that will allow the United Nations’ peacekeeping troops and UN police to use force in order to “protect civilians” in combat zones and areas of armed conflict. U.S. Ambassador the U.N. and notorious warmonger against Libya and Syria, Samantha Power stated that the Kigali Principles would “make peacekeeping missions more effective, improve security and save lives.” “The Kigali Principles are designed to make sure that civilians are not abandoned by the international community again,” said Power. The Kigali Principles call for countries who contribute troops to UN missions to give UN Peacekeeping Commanders the authority to use military force against “armed actors with clear hostile intent to harm civilians” without waiting for approval from the United Nations and its member states. “If a commander has to wait hours and hours for guidance from capital, it may mean not being able to react in time to repel a fast-approaching attack on a nearby village,” Power added. The Kigali initiative was introduced by the United States, the Netherlands, and Rwanda in 2015. According to a report from the Military Times, U.N. peacekeeping forces from the 29 countries signing on to the principles are now required to act if civilians are in danger. Twenty-nine countries represents less than a third ofUnited Nations members and include: Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, Djibouti, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Ghana, Guinea, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malawi, Montenegro, Netherlands, Niger, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Togo, Ukraine, Uganda, United States, Uruguay and Zambia Notably absent from the list of signatories is Russia, China, Iran, and Lebanon as well as a number of other “anti” NATO countries. The possibility of United Nations’ forces being used as a wider and seemingly more “official” and credible invading force is very real, especially in places like Syria where, despite all evidence to the contrary, the United States, GCC, the West in general and the United Nations continually harp about “Assad’s crimes against humanity and civilians” while ignoring the crimes of the Western-backed terrorists who have run rampant across the country, displaying a clear institutional bias against states like Syria who operate outside of the totally control of the Anglo-European, Anglo-American banking axis. Likewise, many civilians may be as worried about the U.N. peacekeepers as they are of their own despotic governments and warlords after a trail of sexual abuse, rapes, assaults, and murders have been left in the U.N’s wake in places like Haiti, Congo, Ivory Coast, Libya, Mali, Sudan, andCentral African Republic. Many are concerned about the growing power of U.N. in domestic national matters, particularly after reports of recent sightings of U.N. vehicles being carried on flatbed trucks began making their rounds on the Internet and alternative media networks. While many “skeptic” organization like Snopes tried to debunk the sightings as mere transport of American-manufactured vehicles to coastal ports (manufactured by BAE), World Net Daily contacted BAE and Aplineco, who denied that the vehicles belonged to their company. The Kigali Principles are as follows: We, the troop and police contributing countries, following the International Conference on the Protection of Civilians held in Kigali, from 28-29 May 2015 under the theme “Protection of Civilians through Peacekeeping: From Mandates Design to Implementation”; bringing together the top 30 troop and police contributing countries, the top ten financial contributing countries and other stakeholders; and after deliberations on how to effectively implement the Protection of Civilians mandates in peacekeeping operations, pledge the following: 1. To train all of our troops on the protection of civilians prior to their deployment to missions. 2. To ensure that our sector and contingent-commanders, as well as our nominees for mission leadership positions, have a high level of training and preparedness on peacekeeping operations and, in particular, the protection of civilians. 3. To be prepared to use force to protect civilians, as necessary and consistent with the mandate. Such action encompasses making a show of force as a deterrent; inter-positioning our forces between armed actors and civilians; and taking direct military action against armed actors with clear hostile intent to harm civilians. 4. Not to stipulate caveats or other restrictions that prevent us from fulfilling our responsibility to protect civilians in accordance with the mandate. 5. To identify and communicate to the UN any resource and capability gaps that inhibit our ability to protect civilians. 6. To strive, within our capabilities, to contribute the enabling capabilities (e.g. helicopters) to peacekeeping operations that facilitate improved civilian protection. 7. To avoid undue delay in protecting civilians, by investing our contingent commander with the authority to use force to protect civilians in urgent situations without the need for further consultations with capital. 8. Not to hesitate to take action to protect civilians, in accordance with the rules of engagement, in the absence of an effective host government response or demonstrated willingness to carry out its responsibilities to protect civilians. 9. To demand clarity from the UN and mission leadership on our rules of engagement, including under which circumstances the use of force is appropriate. 10. To seek to identify, as early as possible, potential threats to civilians and proactively take steps to mitigate such threats and otherwise reduce the vulnerability of the civilian population. 11. To seek to enhance the arrangements for rapid deployment, including by supporting a full review of the UN’s standby arrangements, exploring a system in which earmarked units from troop and police contributing countries could be placed in readiness in order to ensure rapid troop deployment, and encouraging the utilisation of partnerships with regional organisations such as the African Union and its RECs. 12. To be vigilant in monitoring and reporting any human rights abuses or signs of impending violence in the areas in which our personnel serve. 13. To take disciplinary action against our own personnel if and when they fail to act to protect civilians when circumstances warrant such action. 14. To undertake our own review, in parallel to any after-action review, in the event that our personnel are unable to protect civilians, and identify and share key lessons for avoiding such failures in the future. 15. To hold our own personnel to the highest standard of conduct, and to vigorously investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute any incidents of abuse. 16. To better implement protection of civilians mandates and deliver on our responsibilities, we request better, regular and more extensive consultations on the mandating of peacekeeping missions. When mandates of peacekeeping missions are under review and may change, it should also be mandatory for the Security Council to consult all troop and police contributing countries deployed to the mission. We commit to bring our own ideas and solutions to these consultations that can strengthen the implementation of protection of civilians mandates. 17. To urge the Security Council to ensure that mandates are matched with the requisite resources, and to commit to support a process that addresses the current critical resource gaps in several missions. We support a more phased mandating process that can ensure a better alignment of resources and mandates. 18. Noting that any well-planned mandate implementation may be undermined by inefficient mobility, logistics or support; To call for effective support of all military plans, including contingency plans; and to commit to work with the Secretariat to review the current support arrangements, including possible transfer of authority over more of the logistical capability to the military component, where appropriate. Recommend that these principles be endorsed on a voluntary basis and that the signatories meet once each year to discuss how to further improve the implementation of the Protection of Civilians mandate in UN peacekeeping operations. This article may be freely shared in part or in full with author attribution and source link. Image Credit: American Intelligence Report (activistpost.com)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
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Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 7/15/2016 10:41:58 AM
	Log Cabin Republicans: GOP Platform the 'Most Anti-LGBT' in Party's History By DAVID CAPLAN20 hours ago Good Morning America Log Cabin Republicans: GOP Platform the 'Most Anti-LGBT' in Party's History (ABC News) The country's largest organization representingLGBT conservatives has slammed the GOP for its draft platform, which remains opposed to same-sex marriage and bathroom choice for transgender people. "There’s no way to sugarcoat this: I’m mad as h--- — and I know you are too," Gregory T. Angelo, the president of the Log Cabin Republicans, wrote in a fundraising email sent Tuesday evening. "Moments ago, the Republican Party passed the most anti-LGBT platform in the party’s 162-year history." He continued, "Opposition to marriage equality, nonsense about bathrooms, an endorsement of the debunked psychological practice of 'pray the gay away' — it's all in there." The GOP's current draft platform — prepared befor the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, kicking off July 18 — defines marriage "as the union of one man and one woman" and calls for a reversal of the 2015 Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Republicans who gathered Monday to shape their party platform refused to reverse their opposition to bathroom choice for transgender people. Emotional GOP Delegate Makes Plea for Neutrality on Same-Sex Marriage Donald Trump Says LGBT Voters Like Him 'Very, Very Much' Donald Trump's Newfound Love for LGBT Voters Faith in America, a nonprofit organization that says it is "dedicated to influencing media and faith community narratives on religion and sexuality," also harshly criticized the draft party platform. "The addition of conversion therapy in the GOP’s platform shows they’re far from finished fighting against the LGBT community," Faith in America executive director Eliel Cruz said in a statement. "Conversion therapy has been denounced by all leading medical organizations. The practice stems from a religious-based archaic understanding of sexuality that believes homosexuality is a choice and is sinful." The statement clarifies that "the language included in the platform does not specifically mention the words 'conversion therapy.' It mentions that parents should be allowed to seek whatever treatment or therapy they deem fit for their children. This language extends to 'physical and emotional' therapy as well." Rachel Hoff, an openly gay defense lobbyist for a center-right policy center, was among the GOP platform committee members who gathered Monday to shape the party's platform. She called for the GOP to take a neutral position on same-sex marriage. "We are your daughters," she said, choking back tears. "We are your sons, your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues, the couple that sits next to you in church." Hoff's proposal would have put the GOP on neutral ground on same-sex marriage, acknowledging "diverse and sincerely held views" in the Republican Party, encouraging the "stability of all families" and welcoming "a thoughtful conversation" around marriage. But the GOP platform panel swiftly rejected the proposal, after one member quickly called for a vote. Roughly 20 of the 112 members on the panel voted in favor of the change. And Giovanni Cicione, a Ted Cruz delegate from Rhode Island, proposed adding that LGBT individuals "in particular" have been targeted by jihadi terrorism. "If we’re going to be competitive in blue states, then we need to address these issues," he said, citing presumptive presidential candidate Donald Trump's poor poll numbers among young people. "We need to do something here." But opponents said that it was wrong for the platform to single out any groups, eventually rejecting the proposal and instead adopting a condemnation of violence on "all human beings." The party's draft platform is at odds somewhat with Trump, who has made overtures to the LGBT community. At a rally last month in Dallas, he said, the "LGBT community is starting to like Donald Trump very, very much lately." Angelo wrote in his email, "This isn’t my GOP, and I know it’s not yours either. Heck, it’s not even Donald Trump’s! When given a chance to follow the lead of our presumptive presidential nominee and reach out to the LGBT community in the wake of the awful terrorist massacre in Orlando on the gay nightclub Pulse, the platform committee said no." Delegates will adopt an updated Republican platform — the party's official positions on a range of issues — at the convention. The process of updating the 62-page document began this week. The Log Cabin Republicans are credentialed for the convention. ABC News' Ryan Struyk contributed to this report.
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
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Log Cabin Republicans: GOP Platform the 'Most Anti-LGBT' in Party's History

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