Tag Archives: General Assembly

News, Politics, Government

Mandela Day celebrations around the world

Leave a comment

The world is celebrating Nelson Mandela Day with acts of community service and messages of goodwill to the former South African president who remains hospitalized on his 95th birthday. Here are some of the international events:

UNITED NATIONS: The U.N. hosted an informal General Assembly in honor of Mandela with former United States President Bill Clinton and co-prisoner and Mandela friend Andrew Mlangeni scheduled to speak. U.N. staff also helped to rebuild homes in Long Island destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

WASHINGTON: The Congressional Black Caucus celebrated the life and legacy of Mandela at the Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. House Speaker John Boehner and South Africa’s ambassador to the United States Ebrahim Rasool were among guests slated to speak at the ceremony.

NEW YORK: The Tribeca Film Institute partnered with the Nelson Mandela Foundation to commemorate Mandela Day with a video display in Times Square and a meeting in Duffy Square. A picture of a Mandela portrait by South African artist Paul Blomkamp with the words “Happy 95th Birthday Madiba!” was featured on a Times Square monitor throughout the day.

TORONTO: A community celebration featuring live music and family activities was at the Nelson Mandela Park Public School.

PARIS: The South African embassy in Paris hosts its annual Nelson Mandela Day drive to collect clothes, toys and non-perishable food items for charity. The embassy accepts donations until Aug. 31. The Hotel de Ville hosts a free exhibition, “Nelson Mandela: from Prisoner to President,” where visitors can learn about Mandela’s journey through films, photographs and sculptures. The exhibition will run through July 6.

ROME: An exhibit about Mandela’s life at an anti-racism center was visited by South Africa’s ambassador to Italy, Nomatemba Tambo.

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: Three astronauts from the International Space Station honored Mandela in a video message that included words from Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama and Bill and Hillary Clinton, among others.

“Nelson Mandela is the symbol of what humankind must strive for: Peace, brotherhood and a common goal to better every life on this planet. Our work here on the International Space Station mirrors exactly what Mr. Mandela spent his life trying to accomplish,” astronaut Karen Nyberg said for the group.

___

Wandoo Makurdi …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Palestinian official threatens war crime charge over Israel construction in Jerusalem

Leave a comment

Israel is moving forward with plans for two major settlement projects in east Jerusalem, a spokeswoman said Tuesday, even as a senior Palestinian official warned that his government could pursue war crimes charges if Israel doesn’t halt such construction.

International anger over Israeli settlement construction has snowballed in recent days, following last week’s U.N. recognition of a state of Palestine — in lands Israel occupied in 1967 — as a non-member observer in the General Assembly.

Israel retaliated for U.N. recognition of Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem by announcing plans to build 3,000 homes for Jews in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as preparations for construction of an especially sensitive project near Jerusalem, known as E-1.

The Israeli reprisal has prompted the country’s strongest Western allies to take an unusually strong line with the Jewish state.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague warned Tuesday that the latest Israeli building plans would make the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, “almost inconceivable.”

Hague told the British parliament that he “didn’t think there was enthusiasm” among EU member states for economic sanctions against Israel, but said there would be further diplomatic steps — with the exception of cutting ties — if settlement building continues.

Australia and Brazil summoned the local Israeli ambassadors Tuesday to protest the settlement plans, Israel‘s Foreign Ministry said, a day after five European countries, including Britain, took the same step.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev defended the recent Israeli decisions, saying that “from our perspective, Israel is responding in a very measured way to a series of Palestinian provocations.”

U.N. recognition could enable the Palestinians to gain access to the International Criminal Court and seek war crimes charges against Israel for its construction of settlements on occupied lands.

Last week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that he’s not going to turn to the ICC “unless we were attacked” and that he informed many countries, including the United States, of this position. Abbas spoke before Israel announced its latest settlement plans.

A senior Abbas aide, Nabil Shaath, said late Monday that “by continuing these war crimes of settlement activities on our lands and stealing our money, Israel is pushing and forcing us to go to the ICC.”

Israel also said it is withholding some $100 million in tax rebates and other fees it collects on behalf of the Palestinians. The monthly transfer of the funds is vital for keeping afloat Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, the self-rule government in the West Bank.

Shaath’s comments marked the most pronounced Palestinian threat yet of turning to the ICC, though officials suggested that appealing to the international court is a step of last resort.

After the General Assembly vote on Palestine, Israel‘s government decided to authorize construction of 3,000 additional homes in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Regev, the Israeli spokesman, said Tuesday that this meant final permission was being granted for projects that had been in various stages of planning. He said this includes new homes in settlements in east Jerusalem, such as Gilo and Pisgat Zeev, as well as in the West Bank settlement of Ariel and the Gush Etzion bloc south of Jerusalem.

Israel‘s government also said it would move forward with the so-called E-1 project, which would include at least 3,500 homes east of Jerusalem. E-1, which would be built next to another large West Bank settlement, Maaleh Adumim, would effectively cut off east Jerusalem, the Palestinians’ intended capital, from the West Bank.

Successive U.S. governments have pressured Israel to freeze the plan because it would threaten chances of setting up a viable Palestinian state.

Regev said Tuesday that the government authorized preliminary planning and zoning work in E-1, but that the government has not decided yet whether to authorize construction.

Separately, Israel is moving two major east Jerusalem building projects forward in the planning pipeline.

In the next two weeks, an Interior Ministry planning committee is holding deliberations on these projects, known as Ramat Shlomo and Givat Hamatos, said ministry spokeswoman Efrat Orbach.

Ramat Shlomo is a 1,600-apartment development, while Givat Hamatos would eventually consist of some 2,600 apartments.

The Ramat Shlomo project touched off a diplomatic crisis with the U.S. in 2010 when the ministry gave it preliminary approval during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden, who was broadsided by the news.

Givat Hamatos, on the southern edge of Jerusalem, would cut off east Jerusalem from the nearest Palestinian town, biblical Bethlehem, and change the future borders between Israel and a Palestinian state.

Orbach said the meetings on the projects were scheduled before the U.N. vote and that it could take months, if not years, for actual construction to begin.

Israeli settlement construction lies at the heart of a four-year breakdown in peace talks, and was a major factor behind the Palestinians’ U.N. statehood bid. Since 1967, half a million Israelis have settled in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Israel withdrew settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, but continues to restrict access to the territory. It says the fate of settlements should be decided in negotiations and notes that previous rounds of talks continued while construction went on.

Abbas was to meet later Tuesday with senior officials in the Palestine Liberation Organization and his Fatah movement to discuss how to leverage the Palestinians’ upgraded status on the world stage.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior PLO official, said the Palestinians were encouraged by the recent diplomatic sanctions against Israel, but that the international community must go further.

Among other steps, she said the European Union should reconsider its association agreement with Israel that grants the Jewish state considerable trade benefits. She said the EU should also take harsher measures against products from Israeli settlements.

“We have to move to concrete steps so Israel knows it has something to lose and will be held accountable, in accordance with international law,” Ashrawi said.
Source: Fox World News  

News, Politics, Government

Women In Tech: We're Init(Together)

Leave a comment

By Tara Tiger Brown, Contributor

Recently I had the pleasure of connecting with other women in tech across Southern California: young women just starting to think about their careers and women who are looking to make a change. After all the negativity related to women in tech in the media lately it was refreshing to see both new and familiar faces and everyone in high spirits. I led the class at General Assembly, “Women in Tech: Intro to LA Startup Community” and delivered the opening Keynote at the init(together) conference in addition to participating on the Startup panel. There was a lot of overlap between the two groups including their backgrounds and types of questions which made me realize a few things: 1) the idea of creating a tech startup is still very much a new concept to many people and they aren’t sure where to begin or find the right resources 2) we aren’t doing a good enough job supporting women who want to make a career change into the tech industry 3) we are in desperate need of great mentors.

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tarabrown/2013/04/16/women-in-tech-were-inittogether/

News, Politics, Government

US, Canada, Jordan, boycott UN meeting on justice

Leave a comment

Barred from speaking at a U.N. meeting on international criminal justice, Bosnian activist Munira Subasic, who lost 22 close family members in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, said she felt powerless as she listened to Serbia‘s ultranationalist president attack the U.N. war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia as politically biased.

Subasic said Wednesday that she believed that Serbian President Tomslav Nikolic was also denying the genocide at Srebrenica by Bosnian Serbs that killed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys, including her husband and beloved youngest son, Nermin. It was Europe‘s worst massacre of civilians since World War II.

As her hurt and anger rose, Subasic said she put on a T-shirt which she had brought as a gift for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, saying “Srebrenica” on which she had added the words “Justice Is Slow But It’s Reachable.” Next to her, she said, was a banner highlighting the genocide in the Serb-controlled half of Bosnia, Republika Srpska.

“All of a sudden I was surrounded by security … and in a very curt manner they told me that I have to leave the room,” Subasic told reporters.

She blamed U.N. General Assembly President Vuk Jeremic, a former Serb foreign minister, who organized the meeting and had banned her organization, the Mothers of Srebrenica, from making a five-minute statement. His spokesman Nikola Jovanovic said Jeremic has no personal security and doesn’t give instructions to U.N. security and speculated she was removed because of the T-shirt and banner.

Subasic’s expulsion followed a boycott of the meeting by the United States, Canada and Jordan because it didn’t include Bosnia’s war victims and gave Serbian officials a platform to attack the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal instead of focusing on the broader announced theme, the “Role of International Criminal Justice in Reconciliation.”

To protest the victims’ exclusion, Jordan‘s U.N. Ambassador Prince Zeid al Hussein and Liechtenstein’s U.N. Ambassador Christian Wenewaser hosted a press conference for the Mothers of Srebrenica and the Association of Witnesses and Survivors of Genocide.

Zeid, who was a U.N. peacekeeper in Bosnia and served from 2002 to 2005 as the first president of the Assembly of States Parties for the International Criminal Court, encouraged other countries in the 193-nation General Assembly to boycott the meeting.

But it was impossible to say whether any did because Jeremic moved the meeting from the main General Assembly chamber, where all countries have

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

UN meeting on justice sparks Jordan boycott

Leave a comment

Jordan‘s U.N. ambassador says he is boycotting a controversial meeting on international criminal justice organized by the president of the General Assembly because it won’t include victims of the Bosnian war and will likely attack the U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Prince Zeid al Hussein said that while assembly president Vuk Jeremic, a former foreign minister of Serbia, is presiding over Wednesday’s assembly meeting, he and Liechtenstein’s U.N. ambassador will be hosting a press conference for two victims groups including the Mothers of Srebrenica.

Among the main speakers at the high-level assembly session is Serbia‘s President Tomislav Nikolic, an ultranationalist and disciple of Vojislav Seselj, a firebrand right-wing politician whose trial is under way at the Yugoslav tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

Articles of Interest

Prospects For Arms Treaty All But Dead In Senate

Leave a comment

By Breaking News

WASHINGTON — Senate opponents of a treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade said Wednesday they have the votes to block ratification of the pact, which is also opposed by the outlaw regimes of North Korea, Syria and Iran.

One day after the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the treaty, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said it was “deeply flawed” and became the 35th senator to endorse a resolution of opposition. The Constitution requires two-thirds of the Senate — 67 votes — to ratify a treaty.

“I have great concerns that this treaty can be used to violate the second amendment rights of American citizens, and do not believe we should sign any treaty that infringes on the sovereignty of our country,” Lee said in a statement that reflected the strong objections of gun rights advocates.

The United States joined 153 nations in backing the treaty that proponents argue will keep weapons out of the hands of terrorists and human rights abusers. Iran, North Korea and Syria, which face international arms embargoes, voted against the pact.

The treaty prohibits countries that ratify it from exporting conventional weapons if they violate arms embargoes, or if they promote acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, or if they could be used in attacks against civilians or schools and hospitals.

Read More at OfficialWire . By Donna Cassata.

Related posts:

  1. Obama Urges Quick Adoption Of Arms Trade Treaty By UN General Assembly Despite failing to be adopted by consensus vote on last…
  2. Final UN Arms Trade Treaty Disarms America With Clinton’s Signature The UN International Arms Trade Treaty Conference (ATT) is wrapping…

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism

News, Politics, Government

Prospects for arm treaty all but dead in Senate

Leave a comment

Senate opponents of a treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade say they have enough votes to block its ratification.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said Wednesday that the treaty overwhelmingly approved by the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday was deeply flawed.

Lee became the 35th senator to back a resolution by Republican Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas saying the Senate should not ratify the treaty if it undermines Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms.

The Constitution requires two-thirds of the Senate — 67 votes — to ratify a treaty.

The National Rifle Association backs Moran’s resolution which has the support of 33 Republicans and two Democrats — Max Baucus of Montana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

UN adopts treaty to regulate global arms trade

Leave a comment

The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the first U.N. treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar international arms trade Tuesday, a goal sought for over a decade to try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters and organized crime.

The resolution adopting the landmark treaty was approved by a vote of 154 to 3 with 23 abstentions. As the numbers appeared on the electronic board, loud cheers filled the assembly chamber.

A group of treaty supporters sought a vote in the 193-member world body after Iran, North Korea and Syria blocked its adoption by consensus at a negotiating conference last Thursday. The three countries voted “no” on Tuesday’s resolution.

Many countries, including the United States, control arms exports. But there has never been an international treaty regulating the estimated $60 billion global arms trade.

The treaty will not control the domestic use of weapons in any country, but it will require all countries to establish national regulations to control the transfer of conventional arms, parts and components and to regulate arms brokers.

It covers battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large-caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers, and small arms and light weapons.

For more than a decade, activists and some governments have been pushing for international rules to regulating the arms trade.

Hopes of reaching agreement at a U.N. negotiating conference were dashed in July when the U.S. said it needed more time to consider the proposed accord — a move quickly backed by Russia and China. In December, the U.N. General Assembly decided to hold a final negotiating conference to agree on a treaty and set last Thursday as the deadline.

After two weeks of intensive negotiations, there was growing optimism as the deadline approached that all 193 member states would approve the final draft treaty by consensus — a requirement set by the United States. This time, the U.S. was prepared to support the final draft treaty. But Iran, North Korea and Syria objected.

Iran said the treaty had many “loopholes,” is “hugely susceptible to politicization and discrimination,” and ignores the “legitimate demand” to prohibit the transfer of arms to those who commit aggression. Syria cited seven objections, including the treaty’s failure to include an embargo on delivering weapons “to terrorist …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

UN adopts pact to regulate multibillion-dollar global arms trade

Leave a comment

The U.N. General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved the first U.N. treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar international arms trade.

The resolution adopting the landmark treaty was approved by a vote of 154 to 3 with 23 abstentions.

The 193-member world body voted after Iran, North Korea and Syria blocked its adoption by consensus at a negotiating conference last Thursday. The three countries voted “no” on the resolution.

The vote capped a more than decade-long campaign by activists and some governments to regulate the $60 billion global arms trade and try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters and organized crime.

It will not control the domestic use of weapons in any country, but it will require countries to establish national regulations to control arms transfers.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

UN to vote Tuesday on treaty regulating arms trade

Leave a comment

The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote Tuesday on what would be the first U.N. treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar international arms trade after Iran, North Korea and Syria blocked its adoption by consensus.

Assembly spokesman Nikola Jovanovic told The Associated Press on Monday that the resolution to adopt the treaty requires support from a majority of the 193 U.N. member states. Since the treaty had strong support when it was brought before U.N. members last Thursday, its approval is virtually certain — unless there are attempts to amend it before the vote.

Many countries, including the United States, control arms exports. But there has never been an international treaty regulating the estimated $60 billion global arms trade. For more than a decade, activists and some governments have been pushing for international rules to try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters and organized crime.

Hopes of reaching agreement at a U.N. negotiating conference were dashed in July when the U.S. said it needed more time to consider the proposed accord — a move quickly backed by Russia and China. In December, the U.N. General Assembly decided to hold a final negotiating conference to agree on a treaty and set last Thursday as the deadline.

After two weeks of intensive negotiations, there was growing optimism as the deadline approached that all 193 member states would approve the final draft treaty by consensus — a requirement set by the United States. This time, the U.S. was prepared to support the final draft treaty. But Iran, North Korea and Syria objected.

Iran said the treaty had many “loopholes,” is “hugely susceptible to politicization and discrimination,” and ignores the “legitimate demand” to prohibit the transfer of arms to those who commit aggression. Syria cited seven objections, including the treaty’s failure to include an embargo on delivering weapons “to terrorist armed groups and to non-state actors.” And North Korea said the treaty favors arms exporters who can restrict arms to importers that have a right to legitimate self-defense and the arms trade.

Both Iran and North Korea are under U.N. arms embargoes over their nuclear programs, while Syria is in the third year of a conflict that has escalated to civil war and is under U.S. and European Union sanctions. Amnesty International said all three countries “have abysmal human rights records — having even used arms against their own citizens.”

The …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Confederate flag at old NC Capitol raises ire

Leave a comment

A Confederate battle flag hung inside the old North Carolina State Capitol to mark the sesquicentennial of the Civil War is raising concern with civil rights leaders.

State Historic Sites Director Keith Hardison says the flag raised last week inside the House chamber is part of a historical display replicating how the antebellum building appeared in 1863. Hardison says the flag should be viewed in its historical context and shouldn’t be offensive.

North Carolina NAACP president Rev. William Barber disagreed. He says that flag represents Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan and lynchings.

Sessions of the General Assembly moved to a newer building 50 years ago, but the old capitol still hosts official events. Gov. Pat McCrory has an office on the first floor.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

Chair suspends UN meeting after Iran, North Korea object to arms trade treaty

Leave a comment

The chair has suspended a U.N. meeting after Iran and North Korea said they would block adoption of a treaty that would regulate the multimillion-dollar international arms trade.

To be approved, the draft treaty needed support from all 193 U.N. member states.

Australian Ambassador Peter Woolcott, the meeting chair, called the suspension after Iran and North Korea raised their nameplates refusing to join consensus following speeches outlining their objections to the treaty.

Supporters of the treaty said that if the treaty was not adopted they would go to the General Assembly and put the draft to a vote where they expect overwhelming approval.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Optimism in UN on global arms trade treaty

Leave a comment

Supporters of a strong treaty to regulate the multibillion-dollar global arms trade were optimistic that a final draft circulated a day before Thursday’s deadline will reach consensus.

U.N. diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations have been private, said Wednesday the United States was virtually certain to go along with the latest text.

Hopes of reaching agreement on what would be a landmark treaty were dashed last July when the U.S. said it needed more time to consider the proposed accord — a move quickly backed by Russia and China. In December, the U.N. General Assembly decided to hold a final conference and set Thursday as the deadline for reaching agreement.

“We need a treaty,” China‘s U.N. Ambassador Li Baodong told The Associated Press. “We hope for consensus.”

Questions remain on whether Iran, Egypt, India and several other countries that had serious concerns about the text would go along with the draft, which requires agreement of all 193 U.N. member states for adoption.

There has never been an international treaty regulating the estimated $60 billion global arms trade. For more than a decade, activists and some governments have been pushing for international rules to try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters and organized crime.

“It’s important for each and every country in the world that we have a regulation of the international arms trade,” Germany’s U.N. Ambassador Peter Wittig told the AP. “There are still some divergencies of views, but I trust we can overcome them.”

The draft treaty does not control the domestic use of weapons in any country, but it would require all countries to establish national regulations to control the transfer of conventional arms, parts and components and to regulate arms brokers. It would prohibit states that ratify the treaty from transferring conventional weapons if they would violate arms embargoes or if they would promote acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.

The final draft makes this human rights provision even stronger, adding that the export of conventional arms should be prohibited if they could be used in the commission of attacks on civilians or civilian buildings such as schools and hospitals.

In considering whether to authorize the export of arms, the draft says a country must evaluate whether the …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Supporters: UN Arms Trade Treaty must be tougher

Leave a comment

Supporters of a strong U.N. treaty to regulate the multibillion-dollar global arms trade on Monday criticized the latest draft for not being tough enough to halt the trade in illicit weapons, which fuel wars and kills thousands of innocent civilians.

Hopes of reaching agreement on what would be a landmark treaty were dashed last July when the United States said it needed more time to consider the proposed accord — a move quickly backed by Russia and China. In December, the U.N. General Assembly decided to hold a final conference and set Thursday as the deadline for reaching agreement on a treaty.

Whether the 193 U.N. member states will be able to reach consensus on a text in the coming days remains to be seen. If not, supporters could go to the General Assembly and put forward a resolution on proposed treaty, which would almost certainly be adopted. But the key would be whether it had the support of the major arms exporters led by the U.S., China, Russia, Britain and France.

Britain’s chief negotiator, Ambassador Jo Adamson, said Monday the current draft still needs improvement but “I think we continue to move in the right direction in terms of substance and process.”

The Control Arms coalition, which represents about 100 organizations worldwide campaigning for a strong treaty, urged Australian Ambassador Peter Woolcott, who is chairing the negotiations, not to cave in to demands from India and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members, who are also major arms exporters.

“Nearly 120 states called on Mr. Woolcott to deliver a robust treaty at the start of the conference, declaring that a weak treaty was worse than no treaty,” said Anna Macdonald, Oxfam’s head of arms control. “The new text is not good enough and fails to reflect the demands of the majority of the member states. … This is not going to save lives.”

She stressed that “this treaty must not be drawn by Syria,” an opponent of a strong treaty along with others including Iran, Sudan, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.

The draft treaty under consideration does not control the domestic use of weapons in any country, but it would require all countries to establish national regulations to control the transfer of conventional arms, parts and components and to regulate arms brokers. It would prohibit states that ratify the treaty from transferring conventional weapons if they would violate arms embargoes or if they would promote acts of …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

Articles of Interest

Silicon Valley’s New Doctor Could Transform Health Care

Leave a comment

By Breaking News

Doctor and Patient SC Silicon Valley’s New Doctor Could Transform Health Care

Silicon Valley companies have a new doctor, and he may be the future of health care. Dr. Jay Parkinson is founder of a digital primary care practice called Sherpaa, in which patients use email and phone tech to have their ills diagnosed from any distance:

Have a mysterious rash? Send a photo of it to Sherpaa, reply to a few e-mails (Are you sure it’s not a bruise? Do you have bed bugs?), and proceed to the nearest Duane Reade to pick up your prescription.

Started just last year, Sherpaa already has 500 customers from 30 different companies. Many of these clients and firms are attracted by the promise of lower costs. The company claims its clients can save up to $4,000 per year per employee compared to traditional primary care practices. In spirit and clientele, Sherpaa is well suited for tech oligeeks and Silicon Valley types:

This may seem like health care for the “OMG, I’m sick ” generation, but clients include high-tech players in New York like Tumblr, Skillshare, General Assembly and Hard Candy Shell. “We’re tech-savvy doctors,” [Parkinson] said, “for tech-savvy patients”….

Read More at the American Interest .

Photo Credit: caroline_1

Related posts:

  1. health-care-battle-but-win-the-health-care-war/’ rel=’bookmark’ title=’Did Republicans Lose The Health Care Battle But Win The Health Care War?’>Did Republicans Lose The Health Care Battle But Win The Health Care War? Thursday was a banner day for President Obama and congressional…

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism

News, Politics, Government

Md. poised to be 18th state to ban death penalty

Leave a comment

It’s been eight years since Maryland executed a convicted killer, but that could be the last time if the General Assembly, as expected, gives final passage this week to a bill to abolish capital punishment.

Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, has been pushing for the change since his first year in office. Now the Democratic-controlled legislature seems poised to make Maryland the 18th state in the nation to do away with the death penalty.

A repeal bill has already been approved by the state Senate and it was expected to win final passage from the House of Delegates on Friday.

The House advanced the legislation this week after delegates rejected nearly 20 amendments, mostly from Republicans, aimed at keeping capital punishment for the most heinous crimes.

If passed, life without the possibility of parole would be the most severe sentence in the state.

Supporters of repeal argue that the death penalty is costly, error-prone, racially biased and a poor deterrent of crime. But opponents say it is a necessary tool to punish lawbreakers who commit the most egregious crimes.

Passage would mark a major victory for O’Malley, who has long pushed for banning the death penalty.

Maryland has five men on death row. The measure would not apply to them retroactively, but the legislation makes clear that the governor can commute their sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The state’s last execution took place in 2005, during the administration of Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich. He resumed executions after a moratorium had been in place pending a 2003 University of Maryland study, which found significant racial and geographic disparity in how the death penalty was carried out.

Capital punishment was put on hold in Maryland after a December 2006 ruling by Maryland’s highest court that the state’s lethal injection protocols weren’t properly approved by a legislative committee. The committee, whose co-chairs oppose capital punishment, has yet to sign off on protocols.

O’Malley, a Catholic, expressed support for repeal legislation in 2007, but it stalled in a Senate committee.

Maryland has a large Catholic population, and the church opposes the death penalty.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

UN says Korean War armistice still in force

Leave a comment

The top U.N. spokesman says the armistice ending the Korean War is still valid and still in force, despite North Korea‘s claim that it has been nullified.

Martin Nesirky said Monday that the armistice agreement had been adopted by the U.N. General Assembly and neither North Korea nor South Korea could dissolve it unilaterally.

North Korea‘s Foreign Ministry last week said it was cancelling the 60-year-old armistice after the U.N. Security Council adopted new sanctions to punish Pyongyang for its latest nuclear test.

The country’s main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported Monday that the armistice was nullified.

North Korea‘s mission to the U.N. did not respond to requests for comment.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Family begs Iran to release former US marine held for 555 days

Leave a comment

The family of a former U.S. Marine detained in Iran on espionage charges is begging for his freedom a year after his death sentence was overturned, saying Tuesday they only recently learned he went on a month-long hunger strike and was found unconscious.

Sarah Hekmati told The Associated Press that her family sent a letter to Iran‘s top leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for the release of her 29-year-old brother, Amir. Iran‘s Supreme Court ordered a retrial for him last March, but that hasn’t happened, and he’s now been detained for 555 days.

Iran accuses Amir Hekmati of spying for the CIA, but U.S. officials deny the claim and his family said he went to Iran in 2011 simply to visit his grandmothers. Amir Hekmati was born in Arizona and grew up in Michigan, where his parents and sister still live.

Sarah Hekmati said her brother “went through all the appropriate channels” in preparing for the trip, including disclosing to Iranian officials that he was a U.S. soldier.

She said the family recently learned he went on the hunger strike late last year to protest his solitary confinement.

“None of us knew about this until after the fact. He was found unconscious,” said Sarah Hekmati, who spoke to the AP by phone along with her husband, Ramy Kurdi. “We don’t know how much physical weight he’s lost. We don’t know if he passed out or what kind of impact there was … or what kind of medical attention he received.”

She said the letter, sent Tuesday, also begs for his release on humanitarian grounds, because their father is suffering from terminal brain cancer and their maternal grandmother was feeling incredible “stress and anguish.”

“She only got to enjoy his company for two weeks,” Sarah Hekmati said. “It’s very painful — the stress of the unknown is affecting her health.”

She added that she was “disheartened” when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he wasn’t familiar with her brother’s case during his visit last fall to New York to address the U.N. General Assembly.

Others also have campaigned and written letters to Iranian leaders on Hekmati’s behalf, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Family members held a silent demonstration in January outside Iran‘s U.N. mission in New York on the 500th day of his imprisonment.

Sarah Hekmati said she’s trying to remain hopeful, as she was last year when the Iranian high court ordered the retrial after a prosecutor said “shortcomings in the case” had been found. That was followed by the Persian New Year in late March, when Iran has previously released prisoners, she said.

“Now we’re a year later, dealing with the same anniversary date, the upcoming new year,” she said. “We really feel we’ve tried every avenue to raise awareness.”

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Displaced who stay in Syria get little aid

Leave a comment

Turki Abdel Qadir, a burly villager from the northern countryside, fled to this muddy camp amid olive groves three months ago after his 13-year-old daughter Haifa was wounded in the civil war.

Just yards from Syria‘s border with Turkey, the family lives in one of the camp’s typical tents. Eleven people sleep on pads on the floor, surrounding a wood-burning stove with a makeshift chimney. Other tents, no bigger than a small bedroom, hold 30.

Their diet is largely bread, supplemented by vegetables bought with the salary Abdel Qadir earns as a rebel fighter.

“It’s a little bit better than death,” he said of their living conditions.

The rebel-controlled Atmeh camp houses 16,000 people displaced by the civil war.

But the U.N., the organization best equipped to handle such a large-scale relief effort, is legally barred from operating there because the camp is inside Syrian territory.

That leaves the job to smaller organizations that can only provide a fraction of the residents’ needs.

The inability of aid agencies to do anything more for Atmeh, let alone for the hundreds of thousands of other Syrians living in even more dire conditions in less visible locations, has come to stand for the ineffectiveness of the international community in dealing with the Syrian crisis.

Nearly two years of fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad has left an estimated 3 million people displaced within Syria and. Hundreds of thousands more have fled the country to seek refuge in neighboring states.

U.N. resolutions prevent the UNHCR, the world’s main refugee agency, from delivering aid inside Syria.

Valerie Amos, the U.N.’s humanitarian chief, said in a news conference Tuesday that the group is bound by a 1991 General Assembly resolution that “makes it absolutely clear that in delivering humanitarian aid, you have to seek the consent of the affected country.”

“The government of Syria have made it very clear that they will not accept materials coming over from the border with Turkey. So without a separate Security Council resolution, the United Nations and its partners are not able to come across that border,” she said.

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News