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As the hidden hand moves forward in attempting to establish America as the seat of the new world order, education will no longer be a choice, especially for the less than wealthy. The cost of student  loans will double July 1 from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, more than what the big banks pay on their loans – 0.75 percent; the same culprits responsible for plunging the economy into a recession a few short years ago. The federal government has made drastic cuts in funding higher education, while raising the cost of burdensome student loans. Only a select few will be able to attend a college or university.

State colleges and universities have serviced the middle to low income students in their pursuit of a higher education after high school; these institutions have had a significant role in the dynamism that has long made America distinctive. The very same institutions are the target of federal government cuts, with an approval of a loan rate hike that American families will have to bear the brunt of the burden, making the price of education unaffordable for a certain socioeconomic group.

State and local spending for public university students dropped to a 25-year-low in 2011. Tuition and fees at public four-year colleges have jumped by more than 70 percent on average over the last decade. Costs increased to $8,240 in 2011-12, up from $4,790 in 2001-02, according to The College Board. Between 2008 and 2010 costs climbed by 15 percent due to state budget cuts, according to the data released in June by the Department of Education.

Some of the biggest cuts have come since the 2007-2009 recession. In order to compensate, some of the state colleges and universities have begun to aggressively recruit wealthy out-of-state and foreign students, creating another challenge for middle to lower income students – competition for admission.

It is reported the Obama administration is forecast to turn a record $51 billion profit this year from student loan borrowers, a sum greater than the earnings of the nation's most profitable companies and roughly equal to the combined net income of the four largest U.S. banks by assets.

The increase on the cost of student loans will not only wedge out a certain economic group from continuing their education, there is potential to create havoc on the economy. Regulators and officials at agencies that include the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Reserve Bank of New York have all warned that student borrowing may pose a threat to financial stability.

Middle to low income college students facing rising costs and having to compete against the wealthy have taken on more and more debt in pursuit of higher education, at the same time becoming disenfranchised. Very soon attending college will be priced unaffordable.

Dr. Alejandro Centurion, who specializes in neurology, is one of the doctors behind a White House petition that seeks to end forced organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners in China, said the United States needs to act on the large body of evidence that has emerged in the past five years.

It is well known that China harvests the organs of prisoners who are executed. But in 2006, it was first reported that adherents of Falun Gong—a type of meditation practice that gained popularity in China before the Communist Party launched a persecution against it in 1999—are being killed solely for their organs, constituting a crime against humanity. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are believed to have been killed for their organs, which were later sold.

“The main piece of evidence is simply the disparity between the number of transplanted organs in China and the number of organs that are available,” Dr.Centurion,told New Tang Dynasty Television.

Centurion said this factor and other evidence “have convinced me and many other medical professionals that these crimes are truly taking place.”

Elaborating further, he said that upon request, transplant tourists in China are promised an organ within weeks–or sometimes even days. However, it takes years to get an organ in other countries.

 Centurion said that officials in the United States likely have information about organ harvesting in China. The White House “We the People” petition that Centurion launched Dec. 2 asks President Barack Obama to make these records public.

“As a world leader in protecting human rights,” the petition reads, “the United States has a moral obligation to expose these crimes, stop them, and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.”

Dr. Alejandro Centurion, who specializes in neurology, is one of the doctors behind a White House petition that seeks to end forced organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners in China, said the United States needs to act on the large body of evidence that has emerged in the past five years.

It is well known that China harvests the organs of prisoners who are executed. But in 2006, it was first reported that adherents of Falun Gong—a type of meditation practice that gained popularity in China before the Communist Party launched a persecution against it in 1999—are being killed solely for their organs, constituting a crime against humanity. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are believed to have been killed for their organs, which were later sold.

“The main piece of evidence is simply the disparity between the number of transplanted organs in China and the number of organs that are available,” Dr.Centurion,told New Tang Dynasty Television.

Centurion said this factor and other evidence “have convinced me and many other medical professionals that these crimes are truly taking place.”

Elaborating further, he said that upon request, transplant tourists in China are promised an organ within weeks–or sometimes even days. However, it takes years to get an organ in other countries.

 Centurion said that officials in the United States likely have information about organ harvesting in China. The White House “We the People” petition that Centurion launched Dec. 2 asks President Barack Obama to make these records public.

“As a world leader in protecting human rights,” the petition reads, “the United States has a moral obligation to expose these crimes, stop them, and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.”

Whenever anyone sees blood they are frightened because this usually signals something serious is happening. One rarely thinks of blood, unless it is seen.

The blood pumping through the veins is the lifeline. It distributes oxygen, nutrients, and hormones throughout the body, while removing waste and toxins from the system.

It is in the blood where the body’s main immune system defenses – the protection from illness and infection– are located.

Blood is vital to the body, and to good health.

Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, has created the body to purify itself. The kidneys, liver, and lymphatic system work tirelessly to cleanse the blood of unwanted toxins and impurities.

However, sometimes the work load is just too much and these toxins begin to build up in muscle tissue and blood. This leads to aches, pains, stiff joints, headaches, pimples, boils, nervousness, drowsiness or even discolored skin. These are all symptoms of impure blood.

What Causes Toxin Buildup?

Poor diet, fast food, alcohol (in any form), medication, and environmental toxicity all contribute to the excessive amount of toxins in the body and as a result, modern-day living requires detoxification once in a while to help rejuvenate the system, improve liver function and restore health.

There are many things that contribute to impure blood. Impure water, constipation, or sleeping in rooms with poor ventilation are all factors. Lack of exercise, worries, fear, and unhappiness also cause the blood to be impure.

The brain is ninety percent (90%) water and when the majority of beverages are other than water this is also a contributor to polluted blood.

However, with all of these examples of how blood can become polluted, there is still another one. It has been hidden for a while and is a major factor in many illnesses of today. Many cities are being sprayed with chemical pesticides daily, not just in the United States, but all over the world.

American scientists and laymen have been investigating and analyzing the plants and dirt after these daily diffusions, and have come to the conclusion that they are harmful to the blood. Fabric-like fibers and silicon are what appear to be precipitating or settling; though both are very fine, traces are showing up in blood tests.

Many people are complaining of oozing sores, unexplained rashes on the skin, excess fungus, parasites, and bacterial infections. There have been thousands of people affected, but the average person is not aware of the cause. The disease is called Morgellons, and it is harmful to all. There are reports that numerous people have full blown episodes of this illness.

Some of the symptoms are: lumps in the head, brain fog, hair loss, substances on the eyeball surface, nostrils develop very sore pimples, hacking cough, loose teeth, and a crawling feeling on the skin.

Allah, The Glorified and Exalted, is always present; therefore, continue reciting Darood,  –which are peace and blessings on the Holy Last Messenger– and faithfully reading Holy Qur’an each day. Remember: prayer changes things. Start the day with organic apple cider vinegar to cleanse and flush toxins out of the body. Here are a few suggestions for cleansing the blood:

1. Avoid foods packaged in plastic and aluminum.

2. Eat organic as much as possible. Include 100% organic coconut oil into the diet as it has anti-fungal properties.

3. Create a less acidic diet.

5. Use borax for cleaning clothing and washing dishes.

6. Throw away microwaves.

7. Eat as much organic garlic as possible every day.

8. Herbs that are helpful are: alfalfa, dandelion, milk thistle, fennel, burdock, black walnut powder, lemons.

9. Cut back on sugar and artificial additives.

10. Drink 8 glasses of every day.

11. Grow food in personal gardens.

12. Decrease stress levels – 90% of all diseases are caused or complicated by stress.

13. Beets, pomegranate, carrots and green vegetables are all good blood cleansers. They also oxygenate the blood.

There is no substitute for healthy blood. As much as possible, remain conscious of what is put on the skin, what is ingested and other factors that work against health. Take precautions and remain aware that God, the Most High, is in control of all affairs.

Whenever anyone sees blood they are frightened because this usually signals something serious is happening. One rarely thinks of blood, unless it is seen.

The blood pumping through the veins is the lifeline. It distributes oxygen, nutrients, and hormones throughout the body, while removing waste and toxins from the system.

It is in the blood where the body’s main immune system defenses – the protection from illness and infection– are located.

Blood is vital to the body, and to good health.

Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, has created the body to purify itself. The kidneys, liver, and lymphatic system work tirelessly to cleanse the blood of unwanted toxins and impurities.

However, sometimes the work load is just too much and these toxins begin to build up in muscle tissue and blood. This leads to aches, pains, stiff joints, headaches, pimples, boils, nervousness, drowsiness or even discolored skin. These are all symptoms of impure blood.

What Causes Toxin Buildup?

Poor diet, fast food, alcohol (in any form), medication, and environmental toxicity all contribute to the excessive amount of toxins in the body and as a result, modern-day living requires detoxification once in a while to help rejuvenate the system, improve liver function and restore health.

There are many things that contribute to impure blood. Impure water, constipation, or sleeping in rooms with poor ventilation are all factors. Lack of exercise, worries, fear, and unhappiness also cause the blood to be impure.

The brain is ninety percent (90%) water and when the majority of beverages are other than water this is also a contributor to polluted blood.

However, with all of these examples of how blood can become polluted, there is still another one. It has been hidden for a while and is a major factor in many illnesses of today. Many cities are being sprayed with chemical pesticides daily, not just in the United States, but all over the world.

American scientists and laymen have been investigating and analyzing the plants and dirt after these daily diffusions, and have come to the conclusion that they are harmful to the blood. Fabric-like fibers and silicon are what appear to be precipitating or settling; though both are very fine, traces are showing up in blood tests.

Many people are complaining of oozing sores, unexplained rashes on the skin, excess fungus, parasites, and bacterial infections. There have been thousands of people affected, but the average person is not aware of the cause. The disease is called Morgellons, and it is harmful to all. There are reports that numerous people have full blown episodes of this illness.

Some of the symptoms are: lumps in the head, brain fog, hair loss, substances on the eyeball surface, nostrils develop very sore pimples, hacking cough, loose teeth, and a crawling feeling on the skin.

Allah, The Glorified and Exalted, is always present; therefore, continue reciting Darood,  –which are peace and blessings on the Holy Last Messenger– and faithfully reading Holy Qur’an each day. Remember: prayer changes things. Start the day with organic apple cider vinegar to cleanse and flush toxins out of the body. Here are a few suggestions for cleansing the blood:

1. Avoid foods packaged in plastic and aluminum.

2. Eat organic as much as possible. Include 100% organic coconut oil into the diet as it has anti-fungal properties.

3. Create a less acidic diet.

5. Use borax for cleaning clothing and washing dishes.

6. Throw away microwaves.

7. Eat as much organic garlic as possible every day.

8. Herbs that are helpful are: alfalfa, dandelion, milk thistle, fennel, burdock, black walnut powder, lemons.

9. Cut back on sugar and artificial additives.

10. Drink 8 glasses of every day.

11. Grow food in personal gardens.

12. Decrease stress levels – 90% of all diseases are caused or complicated by stress.

13. Beets, pomegranate, carrots and green vegetables are all good blood cleansers. They also oxygenate the blood.

There is no substitute for healthy blood. As much as possible, remain conscious of what is put on the skin, what is ingested and other factors that work against health. Take precautions and remain aware that God, the Most High, is in control of all affairs.

As the largest non-familial shareholder of News Corp, the parent company of Fox News, Saudi Arabian Prince, Alwaleed bin Talal has been exhorting News Corp media mogul Rupert Murdoch -who owns the fifth largest media conglomeration that also includes Century Fox, TV Guide and the New York Post- to pass on the corporate news dynasty to his son, James Murdoch.

"If he [Rupert Murdoch] doesn't appoint him, I'll be the first one to nominate him to be the successor of Mr Rupert Murdoch, God forbid if something happens to him," said Bin Talal on the Charlie Rose Show recently.

Money talks.

One could say the Prince's riyals are influential.

According to Arabian Business, Bin Talal is "the world’s richest Arab and the Middle East’s most high-profile businessman," having "assumed an iconic status" and "garnered a fortune that was at one point worth as much as $28bn."

This is a man who travels to business meetings in a "Flying Palace;" but not surprisingly as, in the words of El Sheikh Syed Mubarik Ali Shah Gilani Hashmi, the royal family has made off with the wealth "of the entire Muslim Ummah."

Although Prince Alwaleed donates a few million a year to charitable causes, according to all of the legal schools of thought within the professed religion of the kingdom that is known inaccurately as ultra-orthodox, hundreds of millions a year should be paid to genuinely poor people from this one member of the entire royal family.

And here lies the fault. If the shariah code of two and a half percent were to be given from the excess wealth -that which is beyond necessity- of the all members of the royal family, civilian victims in war torn areas in Gaza, Pakistan and Afghanistan and even the hundreds of thousands of refugees that have fled Somalia and Iraq could be much better off.

Also, in further contradiction to the strict interpretation of Islam that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is said to have, Bin Talal's five percent stake in Citigroup is nowhere near Islamic, as interest based loans -the foundation of the current banking system- are a great sin in Islam and one of the first things to have been forbidden.

The contradictions of the royal Saudi family, who head the government of the "kingdom" are innumerable, especially when considering the hadith of the Holy Last Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) in which he states, "There is no kingship in Islam." But when a "prince" claiming to be Muslim visits the chief of Fox News --which leads the corporate media pack in routinely insulting and slandering Muslims-- in order to discuss a “future potential alliance with News Corp,” while praising Fox as "skyrocketing" and its parent company as "moving on all fronts," it makes it clear that money, not faith, is the Kingdom's priority.

Perhaps, therefore, it is better, spiritually, that the Muslims have no share in this wealth.

Cell phone companies reported that US government bodies, including federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and courts, made at least 1.3 million demands for subscriber information in 2011.

According to a report in the New York Times, telecommunications companies routinely hand over thousands of pieces of information every day about their customers, including the contents of text messages and caller locations. One of the largest carriers, AT&T, responds to more than 700 government requests for information each day, while another major cell phone company, Sprint, reported that it had received an average of 1,500 government requests each day last year.

Nine telecom companies reported evidence of this pervasive state surveillance of their customers in response to an inquiry from a congressional committee investigating the increased use of phone tapping and other forms of data mining. The Times reports that because of incomplete record-keeping, the actual number of government demands for cell phone users’ private information was almost certainly far higher than the 1.3 million figure reported to Congress.

The cell phone companies reported that government agencies have increased their requests for subscriber information at a rate of 12 percent to 16 percent per year over the past five years. Many of the demands for cell phone information are not accompanied by court orders or legal subpoenas, meaning that even the nominal safeguards against warrantless invasions of privacy are now routinely flouted.

State surveillance of cell phone use is now so pervasive that there was actually a fall in the number of police requests for wiretapping warrants made to US courts last year.

The level of US government spying of cell phone use would be the envy of any police state, and marks the American population as one of the most surveilled in the world.

“Whether they realize it or not, Americans are carrying tracking devices with them wherever they go,” said American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] spokesman Christopher Calabrese in response to the revelations to Congress from the cell phone carriers. “The cell phone data of innocent Americans is almost certainly swept up in these requests,” he added.

The ACLU also reported findings from its own study of local law enforcement agencies’ use of cell records, finding that some police departments have invested in their own cell phone tracking technology, allowing them to bypass even the very limited safeguards maintained by the carriers. In addition, the civil liberties group found that some telecom companies maintained their own permanent records of all private cell phone use, giving them and the government a massive trove of data through which to trawl.

Such is the demand from US government bodies for cell phone users’ private details that carriers now maintain large teams of technicians and lawyers to process the round-the-clock deluge of requests. While most companies did not state to the congressional inquiry how many government requests for cell phone records were denied, one small carrier, C Spire Wireless, recorded that it had rejected only around 15 percent of the 12,500 law enforcement demands it received over the past five years.

Rep. Edward Markey (Democrat of Massachusetts), who released the results of the congressional inquiry to the Times, described the level of demand for cell phone information by law enforcement agencies as “startling.”

“We cannot allow privacy protections to be swept aside with the sweeping nature of these information requests,” the Democratic congressman stated. “Law enforcement agencies are looking for a needle, but what are they doing with the haystack?”

Despite such professions of concern, it is the Democratic Party that is leading the way in shredding the democratic rights of the US population. The Obama administration set a major precedent for the expansion of unwarranted state surveillance in the US when it worked to grant legal immunity to phone companies that had participated in the Bush-era program of illegal wiretapping carried out by the National Security Agency (NSA).

Together with the Democratic-controlled Congress, in 2009, newly elected President Obama upheld the previous administration’s effort to shield government agencies and telecom companies from private lawsuits that sought to uphold individual privacy against domestic spying. This culminated in the decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in January this year to dismiss 33 lawsuits against companies that had participated in warrantless electronic surveillance.

The New York Times played its own part in covering up the criminal operations of the US government when in 2003 it withheld a story for over one year about the Bush administration’s program of domestic spying. The editors of the US “newspaper of record” released their account of the NSA’s illegal wiretapping only after the 2004 elections in order to protect the Bush White House and minimize public discussion of the attacks on democratic rights.

Given this role, and its current efforts to downplay the erosion of democratic rights by both parties and at all levels of the state, one can only guess as to what other crimes the New York Times and its fellow media conglomerates are covering up.

There exists no significant constituency in the US bourgeoisie committed to the maintenance of democratic rights, such as the right to privacy clearly established within the US Constitution and extended under subsequent pieces of legislation such as the 1934 Communications Act and the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Communications Act.

The US ruling elite has responded to the growth of social inequality over the past three decades by building up the repressive apparatus of the state—police agencies, prisons, spying operations, etc.—while dismantling basic democratic protections. Now, divided from the vast majority of population by an unbridgeable social gulf, there is a distinct odor of dictatorship around America’s financial aristocracy and its two thoroughly bribed political parties.

The latest revelations about cell phone monitoring, when added to the long record of anti-democratic attacks carried out since the declaration of the “war on terror”—from the establishment of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp to the Obama administration’s assertion of the right to summarily execute anyone, including US citizens, anywhere in the world—provide chilling evidence of the real and growing threat of an American police state.

Canadian mining operations have faced fierce opposition from numerous Latin American countries and communities over the past decade continuing most recently in Guatemala and Costa Rica. In 2008 a Latin American independent report, Investing in Conflict- Public Money, Private Gain: Goldcorp in the Americas condemns the business practices of Canadian mining companies, focusing on the largest, Goldcorp Inc., and discusses the Canadian mining industry’s socially and environmentally destructive practices in the Americas. 

Even before this report, a Canadian mining operation met strong resistance in Costa Rica. In 2003 Canadian mining corporation Glencairn, started open pit mining in Miamar, Costa Rica, ignoring concerns by locals and scientists of the riskiness of the area for large-scale open-pit mining, and an impending ban on open-pit mining in the country. [Reported on http://www. earthworksaction.org] 

The company set up a mine using “cyanide heap leaching” at Bellavista, close to Miamar, which is a process where intensely toxic cyanide trickles through massive mounds of ore and removes the gold from the ore. 

In July 2007, earth movements caused by geological instability and rainfall cracked the mine’s leach pad liner, allegedly leaking cyanide and contaminating the groundwater near the community of Miramar. The Canadian company suspended its operations after the accident and press coverage caused Glencairn stocks to plummet 18%. Shortly thereafter, a major landslide destroyed the remaining infrastructure at the mine. 

On May 2nd 2013 , the Guatemalan government declared a state of emergency in the south eastern part of the country following protests over a Canadian run silver mine owned by Tahoe Resources Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia; protesters are complaining that the operation will drain their water supplies. 

The owners of the Escobal mines, said security guards responded with tear gas and rubber bullets when protesters with machetes “turned hostile.” A governmental action suspended constitutional rights of the residents of these communities for 30 days, declared by the president of Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina. 

Last month Costa Rica was threatened by a $1 billion lawsuit from Canadian mining company Infinito Gold. This started back in October 2008 when the Costa Rican Supreme Court ordered the Canadian mining company to halt construction of an open-pit gold mine when environmental organizations complained that the plan to cut down 208 hectares (514 acres) to move the project forward, would have a serious environmental impact in the region of which most is untouched forest. The current Costa Rican Laws prevent changing the use of forest land for commercial purposes but then President Oscar Arias declared the Crucitas a project of national interest. 

In April 2013, Infinto Gold issued a warning to Costa Rica that if the company is not permitted to resume work on the Crucitas mine within six months, they plan to sue the country for more than $1 billion USD for breaching its free trade agreement with Canada. 

Environmental issues are not the only factors in these mining operations as studies also show a strong negative social impact to Latin American communities that surround these mining operations. Increased violence, alcoholism and prostitution are often associated with these operations and contrary to industry messaging, employment and economic benefits seem to fall short of projections.

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Sayyidina Anas (peace be upon him) reports that there was a person during the time of the Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) by the name of Alqamah (peace be upon him). He exerted himself greatly for the cause of Islam and gave a lot of charity.  It once happened that he fell seriously ill.  His wife summoned the Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) via another woman.

    The Holy Last Messenger  (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyidina Ali, Bilal, Salman Farsi and Ammar (peace and blessings be upon them) to examine the situation.  They found Alqama in the throes of death and, try as they may, they could not get him to recite the kalimah.  Sayyidina Bilal (peace  be upon him) reported the situation to the Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).

  The Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) asked whether his parents were alive, and was informed that his mother was alive, and that she was extremely old.  The Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyidina Bilal (peace be upon him) to request her to come to him; otherwise, he would go to her.

  When the old lady received the message, she said, “May my soul be sacrificed for the Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)! I shall go to him.” She then took the support of a stick and walked to meet the Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).  When she arrived in the presence of the Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), she greeted with salaam and sat down.

  The Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) replied to her greeting and told her, “Do reply truthfully to whatever I shall ask you. If you lie, I will be informed thereof by revelation.  Tell me, what kind of a person is Alqamah?” She replied, “He performs a lot of salah, fasts often and his spending in charity cannot even be estimated.”

  The Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) then asked her, “How is the relationship between the two of you?”  She replied, “ I am angry with him.” When the Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) asked her the reason for this, she said, “Because he gives preference to his wife over me.  He listens to her more than he listens to me and accepts what she has to say.” The Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The displeasure of his mother has prevented him from reciting the Kalimah.”  Turning to Sayyidina Bilal (peace be upon him), the Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Bilal! Gather some wood so that I may burn Alqamah.”  The old lady was startled and asked the Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), “Are you going to burn my son, the apple of my eye?  How can I tolerate this?”

  The Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) told her, “Allah’s punishment is more severe and eternal.  If you wish that Allah forgives your son, then be pleased with him.  By Allah!  His salah, fasting, etc can never be of avail without your pleasure.”  She immediately raised her hands and said, “Oh Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)! I call yourself and all those present here to witness that I am pleased with Alqamah!”

  The Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) then sent Sayyidina Bilal (peace be upon him) to see whether Alqamah (peace be upon him) could recite the kalimah.  He said, “it is just possible that she has declared her pleasure with Alqamah because of me, without being pleased with him from her heart.” As Sayyidina Bilal (peace be upon him) entered the door, he heard sayyidina Alqamah (peace be upon him) loudly reciting “La ilaha illAllah.”  Sayyidina Bilal (peace be upon him) told the people that the displeasure of Alqamah’s mother had kidnapped his tongue.

  Sayyidina Alqamah (peace be upon him) passed away the same day.  The Holy Last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the funeral (janazah) salah and then told the people, “Listen, O gathering of Muhajireen and Ansar!  Allah’s curse is on the person who prefers his wife to his mother.  Neither are his Faraidh (obligatory) nor his Nawafil (supererogatory) [acts of devotion for the Sake of Almighty God] accepted.”

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned Monday that further cuts in defense spending by European nations risk reducing the continent’s defense and security to “hot air,” turning the alliance into what he called a “global spectator” rather than a real force on the world stage.

“The only way to avoid this is by holding the line on defense spending and to start reinvesting in security as soon as our economies recover,” he told a meeting in Brussels of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Rasmussen said European nations should not become absorbed by their own domestic issues, including sluggish economies that have contributed to defense cuts, and instead develop a “truly global perspective” to respond to crises further away from home. “Having the right capabilities is important, but it is not enough,” he said. “We must also have the political will to use them, to deal with security challenges on Europe’s doorstep, to help manage crises further away that might affect us here at home, and to better share the security burden with our North American allies.”

Meanwhile, he said, European nations need to make better use of what they have – “to do more together as Europeans – within the European Union and within NATO – to deliver the critical defense capabilities that are too expensive for any individual country to deliver alone.”

It was the latest in a series of warnings over the past several years by Rasmussen that further cuts by European governments in defense spending could put NATO’s viability at risk. In 2011, Rasmussen said the trend suggested the continent was headed toward getting out of the security business entirely, pointing out that European nations had cut their defense budgets by $45 billion – the equivalent of Germany’s entire annual defense budget – while U.S contributions to NATO had increased from about half of total alliance spending to close to 75 percent.

Those comments were followed by a blunt warning from then-U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who said NATO risked “irrelevance” and a “dismal future” if alliance members were not seen as “serious and capable partners in their own defense.”

Today, Rasmussen said soft power alone really is no power at all.“Without hard capabilities to back up its diplomacy, Europe will lack credibility and influence,” he added. “It will risk being a global spectator, rather than the powerful global actor that it can be and should be.”

Many first-time mothers have a limited awareness of the dangers involved in this method of birthing. There are possible long and short term harmful consequences for the mother. There are often unintended cuts, infection, blood clots, emergency hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), a challenging recovery, and unfortunately, often death. 

The costs of cesarean sections are also much higher than vaginal births. In New York State in 2010, the cost to have a cesarean section without complications was $14,583. If complications are involved, it escalates to over $20,000. Today the prices are even higher. 

Why are women having so many cesarean sections? This is a good question to ask. How can we stop these operations or at least slow them down? The solution is birthing centers. Midwife-led birthing centers provide safe and effective healthcare for women. A study was done which included 15,500 women who received care in 79 midwife-led birth centers in 33 US states from 2007 through 2010. They found that fewer than one in sixteen (6 percent) of the participants required a cesarean birth. This is compared to the nearly one in four (24 percent) similarly low-risk women cared for in a hospital setting. This birthing study proves the need for midwives and the effectiveness of the birthing centers. They can actually lower the cost of prenatal care and delivery in the healthcare system. If more women use these facilities, it can drastically lower healthcare costs. 

There are many organizations working together to inform the public of safer and more economical means of giving birth. The American Association of Birth Centers (AABC), American College of Nurse Mid-Midwives (ACNM), certified Nurse Midwives (CNW), Lay Midwives (not certified), licensed physicians, and obstetricians are all part of the ever-growing list of advocates and practitioners of natural childbirth procedures. ACNM President Dr. Holly Powell Kennedy, a professor of midwifery at Yale University School of Nursing said, “Midwives, who attended more than 335,000 births in 2010, worked collaboratively with a range of health care professionals, such as obstetricians and other physicians, to provide comprehensive care for women, resulting in safe, quality care. Their work as a team with pregnant women and their families ensures a personalized and nurturing birth center experience.” 

Birthing centers specialize in comfort of mother, child and family. They promote happiness and support the mother in her decision of natural birth. The interest of healthcare organizations, medical professionals and other healthcare providers are represented through various government bodies; however, the voice of the patient is rarely heard. More and more women are now choosing birthing centers because they are safe, economical, comfortable, reliable, and fill a much needed gap in the childbirth experience today. 

The US government is expanding its drone campaign on to the continent of Africa with drone presence in Djibouti, and flying unarmed drones from Ethiopia. Surveillance flights have been conducted over East Africa from Seychelles. 

Predator drones, which are designed to carry missiles, have been introduced into Niger that borders Mali. The administration believes Al Qaeda and such groups have established themselves in West Africa. Washington says the predator drones are unarmed, only gathering intel and conducting surveillance over Mali and Niger. Arming the drones has not been ruled out. 

Drone strikes were first used after the 9/11 attacks from bases in Pakistan and Uzbekistan, in combat missions inside Afghanistan and along the Pakistan border under the Bush administration and have continued with this administration. More than a decade later, having killed almost 5,000 people, mostly civilians including women and children, Washington has expanded the use of the remotely controlled aircraft into Yemen, Somalia and most of all in Pakistan. 

The 2011 Air Force Chief of Staff General T. Michael Moseley proudly proclaimed: “We’ve moved from using [drones] primarily in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance roles before Operation Iraqi Freedom, to a true hunter-killer role with the Reaper.” 

In February of this year, President Obama signed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, a bill that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) described as containing requirements for integrating drones into the national airspace starting immediately. The FAA anticipates as many as 30,000 drones to be in the skies over America by the end of the decade; they are likely to begin flying by 2015. 

A Back Room Bargain to Kill 

An article in the New York Times, adapted from an excerpt of the Times national security correspondent Mark Mazzetti’s new book on the CIA drone campaign in Pakistan,“The Way of the Knife”, provides details on how the killing campaign started. With one targeted killing and at least three other simultaneous kills, including two boys, aged 10 and 16.

Selection from the Times: 

The target was not a top operative of Al Qaeda, but a Pakistani, allegedly an ally of the Taliban, who led a tribal rebellion that fought and humbled Pakistan’s army in the country’s western mountains, and was marked by then president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf’s government as an enemy of the state. In a secret deal, the CIA had agreed to kill him in exchange for access to airspace it had long sought so it could use drones to hunt down its own enemies. 

That back-room bargain, described in detail for the first time in interviews with more than a dozen officials in Pakistan and the United States, is critical to understanding the origins of a covert drone war that began under the Bush administration, was embraced and expanded by President Obama, and is now the subject of fierce debate. The deal, a month after a blistering internal report about abuses in the CIA’s network of secret prisons, paved the way for the CIA to change its focus from capturing terrorists to killing them, and helped transform an agency that began as a cold war espionage service into a paramilitary organization. 

The deal with Pakistan, struck in 2004, limited CIA drones to the tribal regions, along the Afghan borders, away from its own terror training camps. Since then, the CIA has conducted at least 366 strikes, killing at least 2,537 people, including 168 children. The CIA has conducted hundreds of drone strikes in Pakistan that have killed thousands of people. The Obama Administration’s proposed rules for the use of drones, brought up only after his entire first term had passed, exempts the CIA’s operations in Pakistan. 

Secrecy is Not An Option 

The April protests across the country and the consensus of Congress against the most secretive program of this administration is sending an unclouded message to the White House -- secrecy is not an option for this government to invoke when placing American citizens on kill lists, or the use of drones in the assassination of anyone off the battlefield without due process of the law. It is incongruous that the government would write clandestine laws justifying murder of its citizens and to justify trespassing on the sovereignty of a country to spy on and assassinate its citizens. 

Major milestones have been reached for the release of information on the Obama secretive killing program and the CIA’s knowledge of drones used by the government in targeted killings. The American people are holding the administration accountable to its word for transparency of government and for the protection of rules of law. 

In March Senator Rand Paul, Republican from Kentucky with a bipartisan backing took a posture to protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; along with the outrage of the American people, Congress has exercised its authority to provide checks and balances for the executive office and its most secretive killing program. As a result, the demand emerged for the White House to turn over to Congress and the American public its legal opinions justifying Obama’s vast killing program. 

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the ACLU for release of information on the secretive killing program was directed at the CIA, the administration’s partner in secrecy about the government’s use of drones in killing people away from the battlefield. The CIA’s typical response to inquiries about its knowledge of the government’s involvement in the use of drones as part of the secretive killing program – “cannot confirm or deny”. This ruling made two things very clear, the CIA is not exempt in its drone operations and the public has the right to understand and evaluate the government’s defense of the drone program with information that goes beyond what has been selectively leaked and disclosed. The CIA will have to change its vernacular and disposition when responding to requests for information about drones; refusal to explain its knowledge with “ cannot confirm or deny” on the issue of drones is not an option. 

The First State Laws on Drones 

Idaho Governor Butch Otter signed into law the first bill in the nation protecting individuals from unfettered surveillance by unmanned aerial vehicles. 

Virginia enacted the very first drones bill nationwide on April 3. Their bill imposes a two-year moratorium on law enforcement drone use, except in emergencies, in order to give the VA legislature time to put in place legal protections for domestic drone use. 

Idaho’s new law, which, like Virginia’s moratorium, will go into effect on July 1, prohibits law enforcement from using drones to conduct investigations absent a probable cause warrant, ensuring that the police can only use drones to watch Idahoans who are suspected of wrongdoing and can’t keep an eye on everyone in the Gem State just in case they do something wrong. 

–This article was prepared with information fromDemocracyNow, ACLU, Reason, Russia Today, October 2011, Answer Coalition