The 14th anniversary of the attack on the former Republic of Srpska Krajina (RSK) in Croatia and in 13 municipalities of Bosnia-Herzegovina during which Croatian and Muslim forces killed about 2,650 and exiled about 340,000 Serbs will be marked in Serbia today. During the military operation Storm in the RSK region, about 2,000 Serb civilians were murdered or missing, while about 220,000 Serbs were exiled, while during the same operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BIH), the Croatian and Muslim armed forces killed another 655 and exiled about 125,000 Serbs. The RSK, whose territory was under the protection of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), with the population of 230,000 Serbs, was attacked on August 4, 1995 by about 138,500 members of the Croatian armed forces and Croatian Defense Council (HVO) from the neighboring BIH, with the assistance of 15,000 troops of the BIH Muslim Army. According to the report of the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, the Croatian troops carried out non-selective shelling of civilian settlements in which no military targets were located, looted and destroyed the Serb property in four days. The Muslim army blocked the roads for the rivers of Serb refugees trying to reach Serbia, while Croatian troops killed about 400 civilians trying to escape by cars or tractors. Croatia used its aviation in the attacks on civilians. There were 534 women, of whom two thirds were older than 60, were among the civilian casualties. Nineteen minors, including nine children under the age of 14 were also killed. As a result of the operation, 1,772 children remained orphans. According to the reports of U.N. military observers, 22,000 Serb-owned houses, were burnt to the ground. Croats had no mercy for churches, historic and cultural monuments. According to the census carried out by the International Committee of the Red Cross, after the operation Storm fewer than 8,500 Serbs, mainly elderly and sick, remained in the territory of the RSK.
House Democrats have narrowly pushed Obama’s Healthcare bill through a key congressional committee this past Friday. The bill passed through the House Energy and Commerce Committee with a contentious 31-28 vote. The official vote should be sometime in September, leaving little time for representatives and Americans to learn what the bill is really about. Here is a start: Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure. Page 29: Health care will be rationed. Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process) Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None. Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services. Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard. Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer. Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN). Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange. Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans). Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens. Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan. Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter. Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed. Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages. Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives. Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families. Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll. Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll. Page 167: Any individual who doesn’t have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income. Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them). Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records. Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it really says that. Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected." Page 241: Doctors: no matter what speciality you have, you'll all be paid the same. Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc. Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries. Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs. Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing! Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions. Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government. Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies! Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval. Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on "community" input. Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing. Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc. Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals. Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone). Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia. Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time. Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death. Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends. Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT. Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life. Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services. Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations. Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage. Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and rationing those services.
Executive Director of FRONTEX Ilkka Laitinen will pay an official visit to Cyprus on August 5 and 6, during which he will hold a series of meetings, focusing on illegal immigration and measures to tackle the problem. FRONTEX is the European agency for the management of operational cooperation at the external borders of the EU member states. The agency’s delegation will meet the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chief of Police and the Head of the Aliens and Immigration Department. It will also visit Larnaca and Paphos airports, as well as the Ledra Palace checkpoint, near the UN-controlled buffer zone, which separates the northern Turkish-occupied areas of the island from the southern government-controlled part of the country. The Cypriot authorities have repeatedly said that most of the illegal immigrants arrive in the government-controlled areas from the northern occupied part of the country, where the legal government of the Republic is prevented from exercising its jurisdiction as a result of the continuing presence of the Turkish military.
The Municipality of Famagusta, under Turkish occupation since 1974, is embarking on yet another enlightenment campaign to inform world public opinion and decision-making centres about the plight of the town. The Municipality calls on its citizens to mark on a map the location of their house - with ``the flag of return`` - thus claiming their right to return to their occupied city, fenced off since the 1974 Turkish invasion. According to a press release, the map will be posted at specific locations in the southern government-controlled part of Cyprus (Limassol, Larnaca, Nicosia, and the Famagusta Cultural Centre in Dherynia) from early August to mid September. The Municipality of Famagusta appeals to its citizens to support this global campaign to highlight the need for respect of UN resolutions that call for the return of Famagusta to its lawful inhabitants. UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers “any attempts to settle any part of Varosha (the fenced off area of Famagusta) by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN.” The Municipality had, in the past, collected thousands of signatures from its citizens, who demanded the right to return to their hometown. The list was communicated to various decision-making bodies in Europe and elsewhere. Famagusta was captured by the advancing Turkish troops during the second phase of the Turkish invasion, in mid August, 1974. Ever since it has remained sealed off, under the control of the Turkish military.
Russian troops in the breakaway province of South Ossetia have been put on increased combat readiness amid rising tensions on the de facto border with Georgia, officials said Tuesday. Andrei Nesterenko, the spokesman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, said the move was taken in response to Georgian "provocations" and to prevent a further escalation of violence. "The most important thing now is to prevent escalation and not to allow skirmishes to grow into bigger clashes," Nesterenko said. The situation near South Ossetia has become increasingly tense as the first anniversary of the Russian-Georgian war approaches on Friday, with Georgia and Russia blaming each other for provocations and intentions to resume fighting. The war began when Georgia launched an offensive to regain control over Moscow-backed South Ossetia. South Ossetia's separatists and Georgian authorities have accused each other of firing gunshots and mortar rounds on several occasions over the past few days. In the latest incident Monday night, South Ossetia's separatist authorities said three mortar rounds were fired into South Ossetia from Georgian-controlled territory. Georgian authorities denied the claim and accused separatists of firing rocket-propelled grenades at a Georgian checkpoint near South Ossetia. No one was hurt. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said in an interview with France's RTL radio broadcast Tuesday that there is a risk of a new conflict because Russia was putting constant pressure on Georgia. He said that Georgia would not engage in conflict with Russia but would defend itself if necessary. Meanwhile, a senior Russian diplomat voiced concern about what he said were U.S. plans to provide military assistance to Georgia. "Washington is playing the key role in rearming the Georgian military machine," Grigory Karasin, a deputy foreign minister, said in comments carried Tuesday by the Interfax agency. "It would be in the interests of Georgian democracy ... to refuse to arm this country at all." Washington reacted coolly after Saakashvili told The Washington Post that Georgia was interested in acquiring heavy weapons for defensive purposes.
The Finnish director of “Die Hard 2” Renny Harlin will make a film based on last August’s dramatic events in South Ossetia, during which Georgia launched a military offensive against the republic. According to Variety, Harlin is getting ready to start shooting the film based on actual events in mid September in the region where the conflict took place. The Georgian attack lasted five days and resulted in numerous casualties. Shortly after the fighting ended, despite international criticism, Moscow recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Finnish filmmaker made a name for himself as the director of such action adventures as “The Long Kiss Goodnight”, “Deep Blue Sea” as well as “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master”. However, according to Variety, his new film’s budget will be far less than Harlin is accustomed to. While the plot is kept in secret, so far it has only been announced that the drama focuses on an American journalist who comes under fire with his cameraman in Georgia. There are only two questions on the agenda for both journalists: to stay alive and be objective. “When I got this script two weeks ago, it was exactly what I had been looking for, a great human story with tragic, serious overtones. I saw it as my opportunity to use my experience in action films to tell the story of a complex conflict that is impartial, but makes a strong antiwar statement,” Harlin told Variety.
On the outskirts of this beleaguered country's capital, Harare, is a free medical clinic run by a nurse midwife who provides what most people can't find in Zimbabwe today: a proper medical diagnosis. "Most people haven't been diagnosed yet and so they are just treating the symptoms," said Sister Nomhle Mtupha, who, with one aide's assistance, sees about 700 patients per month at Park Town Clinic. Park Town Clinic was built by Ariadne Psillos, the granddaughter of Greek immigrants who came to Zimbabwe (then "Rhodesia") at the turn of the century. "We've always tried to see where we can serve the community and we thought that [the clinic] was one of the options as a family," said Psillos who runs a chocolate factory. Soon, people from the surrounding communities flocked to the clinic to receive free medical care. Her family also built St. Nektarios Orthodox Church that is attached to the clinic. The construction of both projects was blessed by His Beatitude Patriarch Petros VII of Alexandria and all Africa. Today, the church and clinic operate under the direction of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Zimbabwe. IOCC recently delivered 200 boxes of medical supplies to Park Town. The shipment included antibiotics, intravenous fluids, over-the-counter drugs and supplies such as bandages, needles, gloves and thermometers. In January, IOCC delivered medical kits that treated 6,000 patients suffering from cholera. Since 2004, IOCC has been serving the health needs of Africans and strengthening the local Orthodox Churches to support their communities. IOCC is expanding its assistance to Zimbabwe and other sub-Saharan nations as part of its Africa Initiative.