United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea.
In 1905 W.E.B. Dubois led the Niagara Movement (a black civil rights organization). And in 1909 he founded the NAACP. Echoing the focus of Du Bois' Niagara Movement, the NAACP's stated goal was to secure for all people the rights guaranteed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution, which promised an end to slavery, the equal protection of the law, and universal adult male suffrage, respectively. The NAACP's principal objective is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority group citizens of United States and eliminate race prejudice. The NAACP seeks to remove all barriers of racial discrimination through the democratic processes.
Du Bois was made director of publications and research and in 1910 established the official journal of the NAACP, The http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_org_naacp.html Crisis. Du Bois founded The Crisis magazine as the premier crusading voice for civil rights. Today, The Crisis, one of the oldest black periodicals in America, continues this mission.
Note also that in 1961 W.E.B Dubois began work as director of the Encyclopedia Africana.
7.9.09 MNBC'S Carlos Watson talks with Benjamin Jealous, pres. of the NAACP, about what should be on the agenda for the group's annual meeting, which Pres. Obama will address.
Canada is a constitutional monarchy, with The Crown acting as a symbolic or ceremonial executive. The Crown consists of Queen Elizabeth II (legal head of state) and her appointed viceroys, the Governor General (acting head of state) and provincial Lieutenant-Governors, who perform most of the monarch's ceremonial roles.
Barack on Iran in the first Presidential debate on 9/26/08
The United States has had tortuous relations with Tehran since the Islamic revolution in 1979, but Pres. Obama's message speaks of "new beginnings" with the promise of a new year.
Pres. Obama’s message was released on YouTube by BBC News and the White House Web site on 3.20.09 with Persian-language subtitles on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian new year and start of an annual two-week long spring holiday . It comes almost 30 years after the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Iran, when militant students empowered by the Iranian revolution took over the American Embassy in Tehran and held more than 50 people hostage for 444 days.
Pres. Obama warned Iran’s leaders that their country’s access to what he called its “rightful place in the community of nations” would not be advanced by threats or by “terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions.”
"We have serious differences that have grown over time. My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community. This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek, instead, engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect." - Pres. Obama
Mr. Ahmedinejad's press advisor Ali-Akbar Javanfekr noted that Iran "welcomes" President Obama's call for better relations, but tempered his remarks with criticism of past U.S. policies towards Iran, in addition to calling for "concrete" actions from Mr. Obama.
"Mr. Obama has talked of change, but has taken no practical measures to redress America's past mistakes in Iran. If Mr. Obama takes a concrete action and makes fundamental changes to U.S. foreign policy towards other nations, including Iran, the Iranian government and people will not turn their back on him. Mr. Obama has referred to differences between Iran and the US. We believe that those differences stem from Washington's hostile policy towards Iran. Minor changes will not end the differences."
* In Genesis, God promised the "land of Canaan" to the Jews - Abraham and Sarah's seed:
18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river [d] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates- 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites." [Genesis 15:18-21]
Genesis 17:4-8: 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram [Abram means exalted father] ; your name will be Abraham, [Abraham means father of many] for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."
Genesis 17:19-21: 19 Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. [Isaac means he laughs ] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year."
Genesis 18:10,11: 10 Then the LORD [Hebrew Then he ] said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.
* While wandering in the desert of Beersheba [today it's a city in southern Israel], the Angel of the LORD said to Hagar about her son Ishmael in Genesis 16:11-12:The angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, [Ishmael means God hears] for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility [public or private enemy; unfriendliness; animosity. attacks of an enemy. animosity; enmity; opposition; violence; aggression; contention; warfare. violent action that is hostile and usually unprovoked. a state of deep-seated ill-will. the state of being hostile; antagonism or enmity. acts of war] toward [Or live to the east / of] all his brothers."
22 If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. 23 My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. [Exodus 23:22,23 ]
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Command the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance will have these boundaries... [Numbers 34:1,2]
* Israel has a right to exist as a Nation with its own land because God gave the land of Israel to the descendents of Isaac. Israel became a State in 1948.
Israel is the world's only predominantly Jewish state with a population of about 7.4 million people, of which approximately 5.57 million are Jewish. The largest ethnic minority group is the segment denominated as Arab citizens of Israel, while minority religious groups include Muslims, Christians, Druze, Samaritans and others, most of which are found within the Arab segment.
The capital is Jerusalem. The official languages are Hebrew and Arabic. The Defense Minister is Ehud Barak and the Foreign Minister is Avigdor Lieberman.
Mr. Ariel Sharon, a controversial military commander who rose to hold many of his nation’s top positions, suffered a stroke after shaking up Israeli politics at the height of his power.
An architect of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, he stunned the world and his own constituents with a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005. He abandoned the Likud Party he led as prime minister to form the centrist Kadima Party, and he was believed to be preparing for further territorial concessions to establish a Palestinian state when he became ill. Source: nytimes.com .
Sharon’s unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip in August 2005 was perhaps his biggest political gamble in a life of brash moves, which included joining the Jewish underground at 14 and building the security fence that separates Israel and the West Bank today. Formerly a zealous supporter of Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories, Sharon had once urged Israelis to “run and grab as many hilltops as they can to enlarge the settlements because everything we take now will stay ours.” But in 2005, as prime minister, he ordered Israeli soldiers to forcibly evict some 8,000 Jewish settlers from two dozen communities in the Gaza Strip, ending the Israeli civilian and military presence inside the coastal enclave that Israel wrestled from Egypt in the 1967 war.
The ramifications of the Israeli withdrawal are still debated and felt. Source: washingtonpost.com.
Palestinians seek a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital. In 2005, Israel pulled its troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip, now run by Hamas Islamists whom are opposed to the peace talks. Source: reuters.com.
He has been in a vegetative state,comatose for nearly eight years, since he suffered a stroke. Source: nytimes.com . Ariel Sharon, the Israeli warrior and former prime minister as famous for his ferocity in battling Arabs as for his turnaround decision to evacuate settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip, died 1.11.14. He was 85. Source: bloomberg.com.
Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region that was earlier called Canaan, which spreads between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.
5.28.09 Speaking to reporters with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after their meeting, President Obama said he would "assume the best" about Israel's position on a two-state solution for Middle East peace.
6.5.09 American officials hope that by getting Israel to freeze settlement building on land where the Palestinians expect to build their future state, they can then press Saudi Arabia and other regional powers to offer Israel concessions like low-level trade or tourism. In addition, stopping the construction would remove a major concern of the Palestinians that their land is slowly disappearing under settler housing. In his Cairo speech, the president again called for an end to the settlement building.
3.7.10 VP Joe Biden in Israel to restart peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
Israel again angered the Palestinians by announcing the construction of more than 10 new apartments inside the West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit. Israeli leaders declared a partial, temporary freeze on new construction last year. Officials said their decision Monday was an exception, due to what they described as safety and infrastructure issues.
Israeli commentators are calling Biden's visit significant. He is perceived here as a powerful figure within the Obama administration, one who is well-acquainted with Middle East politics, having known every Israeli prime minister for the past four decades. Biden highlights U.S.-Israel ties and he promises U.S. commitment to Israel's security
The vice president, who will be the most senior American official to visit Israel since Obama came to office in January 2009, faces a tough sell, Israeli officials and analysts say.
Many Israelis are distrustful of Obama's outreach to the Muslim world, a priority he highlighted with high-profile visits to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and, later this month, to Indonesia.
"If Israel is supposed to make sacrifices for a peace deal, the Israeli public has to be convinced it is receiving sufficient support from the United States," an Israeli official said, calling Biden's visit the beginning of that process.
U.S.-Israeli tensions flared over Obama's early push for a complete Jewish settlement freeze, although his administration has at least temporarily backed off, embracing a more limited, 10-month moratorium on new building announced in November.
Obama began his term with a push for Mideast peace, prodding Israel to freeze its construction of West Bank settlements that swallow up land the Palestinians want for a future state. But that call came just as Netanyahu took over in Israel, and though the Israeli leader scaled back settlement construction, he would not accept a full freeze.
Obama's insistence on a total settlement freeze is seen by many in the region to have backfired by encouraging Palestinians to stake out a position that was politically untenable for Israel's hawkish government.
The Palestinians are still saying they will not talk directly to Israel unless it freezes settlement building completely.
But hours after Biden's arrival Monday, the U.S. announced the sides would begin indirect peace negotiations. The fact that the discussions will be held through a U.S. mediator attests to the estrangement between the Israelis and Palestinians, who have been speaking to each other directly, on and off, since the early 1990s.
Vice President Joe Biden said the United States condemns Israel's decision to build 1,600 housing units in a Jerusalem neighborhood.
3.9.10 PM Benjamin Netanyahu and VP Joe Biden's Joint Press Conference
Also, Biden in the Middle East speaking with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at Ramallah and speaking at Tel Aviv University in Israel.
NOTE: The international community considers East Jerusalem occupied territory. Building on occupied land is illegal under international law, but Israel regards East Jerusalem - which it annexed in 1967 - as its territory. Palestinians claim the area as a future capital. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital.
7 Reasons to Support Israel
3.22.10 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speak at the AIPAC @ the Washington Convention Center.
3.25.10: Netanyahu ends U.S. visit without resolving settlement dispute. On 4.22.10 the president's special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, states Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that "there will be no freeze" on construction opposed by Palestinians and the United States. Israel seized East Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six Day War in 1967 and considers it part of it's sovereign capital - a claim not recognized by the international community. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the future capital of their state.
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west and southwest, Zambia to the northwest, and Mozambique to the east and northeast.
The Capital and largest city is Harare.
Zimbabwe has 16 official languages,with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most commonly used.
The president was Robert Mugabe from 1987 to 2017. On November 15, 2017, in the wake of over a year of protests against his government, as well as Zimbabwe's rapidly declining economy, Mugabe was placed under house arrest by the country's national army in a coup d'état.
Wednesday,11.15.17: Zimbabwe is under military control after the army seizes power from Mugabe. Zimbabwe's military leaders have seized control of the impoverished southern African nation, placing longtime leader Robert Mugabe under house arrest and deploying armored vehicles to the streets of the capital, Harare.
Mugabe, 93, the world's oldest living leader, was unable to leave his home, according to Jacob Zuma, the President of neighboring South Africa. Troops were reportedly stationed at Zimbabwe's Parliament and the presidential palace.
President Robert Mugabe and his family are "safe and sound," according to Zimbabwe's military — but his decades in power are seemingly at an end, after Mugabe, 93, was forcefully pushed aside. Both the ruling party and the military insist there was no coup.
"We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice," the Zimbabwe Defense Forces said on Wednesday, adding, "As soon as we have accomplished our mission we expect that the situation will return to normalcy."
But it will be a new normal for Zimbabwe, which has been led by Mugabe since the 1980s.
11.16.17 Update: Mugabe's exit is 'a done deal' but Zimbabwe is still in limbo. He died 9.6.2019 at the age of 95.
The Hejazi region, where the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina are located, is the destination of the Ḥajj pilgrimage, and often deemed to be the cradle of Islam.
Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia and its law requires that all citizens be Muslims. Neither Saudi citizens nor guest workers have the right of freedom of religion.
Women's rights : Saudi Arabia is well known as one of the world's most gender-segregated nations. Under Saudi law women are the property of men. It's called the "guardianship system," under which a male family member must grant permission for a woman to study abroad, travel and other activities, remains in place.
* The population estimated to be about 27.6 million.
* Saudi Arabia is known as the birthplace of Islam. They enforce strict Islamic law (sharia) and occasionally metes out punishments based on the ancient legal code of an eye-for-an-eye.
* Most Saudis are ethnically Arab. Some are of mixed ethnic origin and are descended from Turks, Iranians, Indonesians, Indians, Africans, etc.
GOVERNMENT:
* The central institution of Saudi Arabian Government is the monarchy. The Basic Law adopted in 1992 declared that Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the sons and grandsons of King Abd Al Aziz Al Saud, and that the Holy Qur'an is the constitution of the country, which is governed on the basis of Islamic law (Shari'a).
The House of Al Saud traces its origins to the 18th century emir, Muhammad ibn Saud, whose family ruled large parts of the Arabian Peninsula for over three hundred years. The modern House of Saud was established in 1932, when Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud, a direct descendent of the 18th-century ruler, established the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with himself as absolute monarch. Today, only his descendents are considered part of the "royal" family line and eligible to ascend the throne.
ECONOMY:
* Saudi oil reserves are the largest in the world, and Saudi Arabia is the world's leading oil producer and exporter. This oil-derived wealth allowed the country to provide free health care and education while not collecting any taxes from its people.
FOREIGN RELATIONS:
* Saudi foreign policy objectives are to maintain its security and its paramount position on the Arabian Peninsula, defend general Arab and Islamic interests, promote solidarity among Islamic governments, and maintain cooperative relations with other oil-producing and major oil-consuming countries.
U.S.-SAUDI ARABIAN RELATIONS:
* The United States and Saudi Arabia share a common concern about regional security, oil exports and imports, and sustainable development. Close consultations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have developed on international, economic, and development issues such as the Middle East peace process and shared interests in the Gulf. The continued availability of reliable sources of oil, particularly from Saudi Arabia, remains important to the prosperity of the United States as well as to Europe and Japan. Saudi Arabia is one of the leading sources of imported oil for the United States, providing more than one million barrels/day of oil to the U.S. The U.S. is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner, and Saudi Arabia is the largest U.S. export market in the Middle East.
The Saudis are one of the U.S. most important Arab allies. They are sponsors of the only comprehensive peace plan for relations between the Arab world and Israel, although peace negotiations are at a standstill. - BBC News
HAJJ pilgrimage Tuesday December 9, 2008 - Stoning of the devil video or stoning of the jamarat (Arabic: ramy al-jamarāt ) is part of the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Muslim pilgrims.
What is stoning the devil : The stoning of the Devil ritual reenacts part of the story of Abraham and his sacrifice of his son. God told Abraham in a dream to slaughter his only son--Ishmael in Muslim belief--as a sacrifice to God. Abraham consulted Ishmael about this, and Ishamel told his father to comply immediately. On his way to sacrifice his son, the Devil appeared three times to Abraham to dissuade him from fulfilling his duty. Abraham stoned the Devil with seven stones each time he appeared to him. This ritual also has a spiritual significance. By stoning the pillars, pilgrims openly declare their enmity to the Devil. This ritual is particularly emotional for many pilgrims. The pillars actually become the Devil for many pilgrims, and people can be heard screaming, "Because of you, I did...".
Pres. Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia on 6.3.09. Interactive map of the 4-day trip to the Middle East and Europe.
Pres. Obama hopes to set a new tone which is designed to isolate extremists in the region and re-establish the understanding the U.S. gained after 9/11 and lost over Iraq, says Paul Reynolds from the BBC News website .
Not long after arriving in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Pres. Obama and King Abdullah went to the Saudi ruler's farm for a welcome reception, to be followed by a meeting between the two leaders. The President leaves late Wednesday for Cairo, Egypt, where he is to address a mostly Muslim audience Thursday (6 a.m. ET).
6.29.10 Pres. Obama and Saudi King agree on the need to press for Mideast Peace .
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz has died. President Barack Obama was among the world leaders paying tribute to Prince Sultan, referring to him as a "valued friend of the United States" and "a strong supporter of the deep and enduring partnership" between the two countries.
The family's close relationship with the United States, however, had its costs. Prince Sultan was key in allowing U.S. troops to launch the 1991 Gulf War on Iraq from Saudi territory. The presence of American troops in the home of the holiest shrines of Islam was a chief reason the terrorist group al-Qaida said it targeted the United States and Saudi Arabia.
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait under Saddam Hussein on August 2, 1990, put the Saudi kingdom and the House of Saud at risk, with Iraqi forces on the Saudi border and Saddam's appeal to pan-Arabism potentially inciting internal dissent. Bin Laden met with King Fahd, and Saudi Defense Minister Sultan, telling them not to depend on non-Muslim assistance from the United States and others, offering to help defend Saudi Arabia with his mujahideen. Bin Laden's offer was rebuffed, and after the Saudi monarchy invited the deployment of U.S. troops in Saudi territory, Bin Laden publicly denounced Saudi Arabia's dependence on the U.S. military.
Bin Laden believed the presence of foreign troops in the "land of the two mosques" (Mecca and Medina) profaned sacred soil. Bin Laden's criticism of the Saudi monarchy led that government to attempt to silence him. Shortly after Saudi Arabia invited U.S. troops into Saudi Arabia, bin Laden turned his attention to attacks on the West .
On November 8, 1990, the FBI raided the New Jersey home of El Sayyid Nosair, an associate of al-Qaeda operative Ali Mohamed, discovering copious evidence of terrorist plots, including plans to blow up New York City skyscrapers. This marked the earliest discovery of al-Qaeda terrorist plans outside of Muslim countries. Nosair was eventually convicted in connection to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and later admitted guilt for the murder of Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York on November 5, 1990. Bin Laden continued to speak publicly against the Saudi government for harboring American troops, for which the Saudis banished him. He went to live in exile in Sudan, in 1992, in a deal brokered by Ali Mohamed.
11.6.11 Millions in Mecca to start the Hajj pilgrimage.
Hajj, a five-day pilgrimage, consists of a series of detailed rituals in Mina, Muzdalifa, Arafat and Mecca. Muslims stone satan at Hajj.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is the King of Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the head of the House of Saud. He had been Minister of Defence since 2011, and was Governor of Riyadh Province from 1963 to 2011. Salman became king on 23 January 2015 following the death of his half brother, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud , at the age of 90, three weeks after being hospitalized for pneumonia, and was succeeded as king by his half-brother Salman of Saudi Arabia.
The Hejazi region, where the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina are located, is the destination of the Ḥajj pilgrimage, and often deemed to be the cradle of Islam.
Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia and its law requires that all citizens be Muslims. Neither Saudi citizens nor guest workers have the right of freedom of religion.
