Barack Obama

LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEADERS REACT TO GUILTY VERDICTS IN DEREK CHAUVIN TRIAL FOR KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD

By Miriam Raftery

Updated with reactions from the President and Vice President

Photo, left: Screenshot via CNN, Derek Chauvin is remanded into custody after verdict
 
April 20, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – Local social justice advocates voiced gratitude for today’s jury verdict in Minneapolis, where a jury found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three counts (second degree murder, third degree murder, and manslaughter) in the death of George Floyd. But activists also cautioned that more action is needed to bring about reforms in policing to prevent future injustices.
 
After video of Floyd’s death under the knee of officer Chauvin on May 25, 2020 went viral on social media, protests erupted nationwide including La Mesa, Santee and El Cajon in San Diego’s East County.
 
Francine Maxwell, President of the NAACP San Diego branch, called the verdict “a step in the right direction.” In her statement, she adds, “This has taught my son today what hope looks like, that when police don’t obey the law, this is what justice looks like. This police officer, who joined a noble profession, he was not noble. He operated under the color of the law.”

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THE ELIXIR OF LIFE IS A BUBBLING STREAM OF LAUGHTER!

 

This Day In Comedy: The Ethnic Encyclopedia Of Laughter, by Darryl Littleton and Frank Holder (Trineday, Walterville. Oregon, 2019, 491 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

“The elixir of life is a bubbling stream of laughter.”

  • Richelle E. Goodrich, Slaying Dragons

December 7, 2019 (San Diego)-Darryl Littleton and Frank Holder, two aficionados of humor and comedy, has written the quintessential book on comedy; This Day in Comedy: The Ethnic Encyclopedia of Laughter. They actually set the framework for this groundbreaking and insightful book in the preface, as they state: “I’ve always wanted to see comedy argued in a barber shop the same as sports is discussed.” After reading this informative and iconic book, they just may get their wish.


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FROM THE SOUTHSIDE OF CHICAGO TO THE WHITE HOUSE

 

Michelle Obama: A Life, by Peter Slevin (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, 2015, 418 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

“A deeply informed portrait of the first lady and her native Chicago…. Her larger story, told so powerfully in Slevin’s biography, which suggests she will forever be a force with which to be reckoned.” – Chicago Tribune

March 11, 2019 (San Diego) - Peter Slevin, who has written extensively about Barack and Michelle Obama, from his vantage point of being on the staff of The Washington Post, before joining Northwestern University’s School of Journalism, where he is currently an associate professor, has written a uniquely American story of a woman from the Southside of Chicago that changed the course of prior inhabitants of the White House; Michelle Obama: A Life.


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FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ENDORSES AMMAR CAMPA-NAJJAR IN 50TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

 

East County News Service

August 5, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) – Ammar Campa-Najjar has picked up a high-level endorsement for his bid to unseat Congressman Duncan D. Hunter in the hotly contested 50th Congressional district race. Former President Barack Obama this week announced his endorsement of 81 candidates, including Campa-Najjar, boosting the local contender into the national spotlight.


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LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON - LOUIS AND EMMETT TILL

 

Writing to Save a Life: THE LOUIS TILL FILE, by John Edgar Wideman (Scribner, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc, New York, NY, 2016, 193 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

“Unclassifiable and harrowing. The path through the very specific ‘American darkness that disconnects colored fathers from sons’ is found and lost and found again through prose that jumps and shimmers, punches and croons. This is one of those books virtually impossible to write…yet it has been written. And by a great American writer.”

  • JOY WILLIAMS, author of Ninety-Nine Stories of God and The Visiting Privilege

May 3, 2017 (San Diego) - John Edgar Wideman, has written an insightful and provocative book that is full of ironies; Writing to Save a Life: THE LOUIS TILL FILE. It is the story of Louis Till, the father of Emmett Till, the young boy from Chicago who was lynched in Mississippi allegedly for whistling at a white woman. Wideman’s book is the untold story of Louis Till, a man of color who suffered a miscarriage of racial justice a full decade before the infamous lynching of his son, Emmett. This really is about a cruel twist of fate and circumstance that is painful to envision.


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HOLIDAY MESSAGE FROM THE OBAMAS

 

East County News Service

December 24, 2016 (Washington D.C.) -- President Obama and the First Lady just gave their annual holiday message from the White House for the last time. They talked about the values that bring Americans together over the holiday season:


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LOVE IS BLIND

 

Update:   Hear our interview with Amanda Matti, author of A Foreign Affair, (originally aired on KNSJ radio) by clicking the audio link here.

 

A Foreign Affair, by Amanda Matti (W & B Publishers, Kernersville, NC, 2016, 343 pages).

Book Review by Dennis Moore

December 1, 2016 (San Diego) - Amanda Matti, an El Cajon (San Diego) resident who served six years in the United States Navy, including a 2005 deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, has written a riveting true story of romance and war; A Foreign Affair. Matti provides graphic details of her experience in a war that many in this country felt never should have been.


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PRESIDENT OBAMA URGES AMERICANS TO REJECT FEAR AND CYNICISM, ELECT CLINTON

 

“I’m asking you to join me – to reject cynicism, reject fear, to summon what’s best in us; to elect Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States, and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation.”—President Barack Obama  (View video ; read full text.)

Other speakers included victims of gun violence, a  retired admiral and ex-CIA director

By Miriam Raftery

July 28, 2016 (Philadelphia) – President Barack Obama delivered a rousing speech to cap off day three of the Democratic National Convention, citing accomplishments of his administration, praising Hillary Clinton as the most qualified candidate for the presidency, and criticizing Republican nominee Donald Trump as unqualified, lacking plans to solve America’s problems, and a dangerous demagogue who would jeopardize international relations and national security.


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OBAMA MAKES A HISTORIC TRIP

 

“We have known the agony of war. Let us now find the courage, together, to spread peace, and pursue a world without nuclear weapons.” - President Barack Obama

By Chisato Iversen

On Friday, May 27th,  President Barack Obama made a historic trip to Hiroshima, Japan. Obama became the first president to visit Hiroshima , site of the atomic bombing 71 years ago.

Obama neither apologized nor had he blamed the Japanese for the attack on Pearl Harbor. He simply came to mourn the loss of the victims.


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BOXER, COLLEAGUES URGE PRESIDENT OBAMA TO PUSH FOR A QUALIFIED WOMAN TO SERVE AS NEXT UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL

 

There has never been a female Secretary-General in the more than 70-year history of the UN

East County News Service

March 3, 2016 (Washington D.C.) -- U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) today sent a letter to President Obama in advance of the United Nation's upcoming election for Secretary-General, urging the United States to "reaffirm the UN's founding principle of equality by encouraging the strong consideration of candidates for the first female Secretary-General."


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CONGRESSWOMAN DAVIS APPLAUDS PRESIDENT OBAMA’S PLAN TO CLOSE GUANTANAMO

 

East County News Service

February 25, 2016 (San Diego) — Following President Barack Obama’s announcement calling on Congress to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, San Diego Congresswoman Susan Davis, a Democrat and senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued this statement:


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FDA COMMISSIONER’S APPOINTMENT IN LIMBO OVER BIG PHARMA TIES

 

By Miriam Raftery

February 2, 2016 (Washington D.C.) - A battle is looming on Capitol Hill over who will be the next commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA.


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OBAMA LOOKS TO FUTURE IN FINAL STATE OF UNION ADDRESS, CALLS FOR END TO DIVISIVE POLITICS

 

Gov. Haley's official Republican response also faults scapegoating based on race or religion, supports "stopping immigration" -- while Spanish translation hints at amnesty Haley never mentioned

By Miriam Raftery

January 14, 2016 (Washington D.C.)—In his final State of the Union address, President Barack Obama cited his administrations achievements and goals for his final term.  But he spent most of his speech focusing on “the next five years, ten years and beyond”, urging an end to divisive partisan politics.

Obama voiced hope for bipartisan support to enact criminal justice reforms. He indicated he will keep pushing to fix a “broken” immigration system, protect kids from gun violence and help workers by raising the minimum wage and fighting for equal pay for equal work, despite opposition from the Republican-controlled Congress.

Then he spoke about changes that have occurred throughout our nation’s history—and changes yet to come.


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STATE GOVERNORS SPLIT ON ADMITTING SYRIAN REFUGEES IN U.S.

 

Refugees in Europe, most fleeing ISIS, risk death with winter approaching if not enough places will accept them. But fear of potential terrorism has led some nations to bar entry.

Photo: Refugees marching across Europe arrive in Slovenia; source: Slovenia Ministry of Defense.

By Miriam Raftery

November 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – After Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris, for which the Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his commitment to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees into the U.S. over the next year.

But governors in half of all states nationwide have reportedly said that they oppose taking any Syrian refugees in their states, or want to postpone admitting them until screen procedures are approved, according to reports by Associated Press, CNN and USA Today.


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OBAMA ADMINISTRATION REJECTS KEYSTONE PIPELINE

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

November 6, 2015 (Washington D.C.) --  Today, President Barack Obama announced that after six years of review,  the U.S. State Department has decided that the Keystone XL  Pipeline “would not serve the national interest of the United States.  I agree with that decision,” the President said.

Obama indicated that the pipeline would be “neither a silver bullet for the economy, as was promised by some, nor the express lane to climate disaster proclaimed by others.”  He then laid out key reasons why his administration has rejected the pipeline.

First, he indicated, “The pipeline would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy…What we should be doing is passing a bipartisan infrastructure plan that, in the short term, would create more than 30 times as many jobs per year as the pipeline would, and in the long run, would benefit our economy and our workers for decades to come.”


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CHRISTIANS EXECUTED BY ISIS; PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS URGED TO TAKE ACTION

October 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Militants with ISIS, the Islamic State, have released a video that appears to show executions of three Assyrian Christian hostages captured  in Syria in February, the Guardian reports. The terrorists are threatening to kill 200 more hostages, including women and children, unless hefty ransoms are paid for each prisoner, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Assyrian and Chaldean Christians have faced genocide at the hands of ISIS for refusing to convert to Islam. International leaders are urging President Barack Obama and Congress to take action, but thus far those please seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

Locally, Mark Arabo, a leader in the Chaldean community, issued this statement. “"It breaks my heart to see the continuous bloodshed, and the constant persecution of Christians by ISIS. Scholars, journalists, and the American public are in consensus that more must be done to end this genocide. Yet, our government continues to remain inactive. Every video is yet another reminder of the victims our government has left to rot in Iraq and Syria.”


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READER’S EDITORIAL: PRESIDENT OBAMA, IF TPP IS GOOD FOR HARD WORKING MEN AND WOMEN, WHY CAN’T WE READ IT?

 

By Mickey Kasparian, President, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 135

Mickey Kasparian, President of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 135 released the following statement after President Obama’s local news interview regarding Fast Track Authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

June 7, 2015 (San Diego) --Instead of talking into a satellite camera, President Obama should listen to the hard-working families of California who overwhelmingly oppose fast track. He says that the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is different than past trade agreements that failed a majority of Americans, but thanks to leaked drafts and a negotiation process that included 600 corporate lawyers, it’s apparent that this deal will be a disaster for everyone but the wealthiest corporations.

The level of secrecy that surrounds TPP is deeply troubling. If this deal is truly good for hard-working men and women, then why can’t we read it? If the President believes this is a great deal, why can’t he prove it to us? American workers deserve to see the uncensored truth of this agreement.


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OBAMA DELIVERS POWERFUL SPEECH ON VOTING RIGHTS AT 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF SELMA MARCH

 

View video: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/03/08/president-obama-marks-50th-anniversary-marches-selma-montgomery

East County News Service

This weekend marked the 50th anniversary of “bloody Sunday,” when marchers in Selma, Alabama were attacked and beaten back by police as they marched for voting rights.  The incident sparked national outrage and ultimately helped win passage of the Voting Rights Act.  Yet voting rights are once again under assault across the U.S., as bigotry and attempts to suppress African-American votes continue long after that fateful day in Selma.

We still have a long way to go as a nation, as President Barack Obama made clear in an speech delivered to a crowd on the bridge in Selma, Alabama on Sunday. The President celebrated the victories achieved since Selma, also urging that marchers symbolically continue.  calling for  voting rights for all Americans.


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PRESIDENT LAYS OUT POPULIST PLANS TO HELP MIDDLE CLASS IN STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

 

By Hayden Parsley

Note: Full text of the President's speech is posted below this story.

President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union Address this Tuesday. With the eyes of the nation on Washington, he focused on middle class economics. His main goals are child care, labor, education, and healthcare. President Obama called on Congress and the American people to advance these goals.

He also cited his administration’s accomplishments, including ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as implementing policies that he says resulted in “the fastest economic growth in over a decade, our deficits cut by two-thirds, a stock market that has doubled, and health care inflation at its lowest rate in 50 years.”

Still, he acknowledged that middle class families are struggling, and proposed solutions.


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IMMIGRANTS’ ADVOCATES VOICE JOY, THANKS FOR PRESIDENT’S ACTIONS ON IMMIGRATION AS CONSERVATIVES DENOUNCE THE CHANGES

 

 

 

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

 

 

November 23, 2014 (San Diego) – Families who no longer need to live in fear of separation or deportation have much to be thankful for following President Barack Obama’s immigration reforms announced last week. Locally, immigration activists are sharing their reactions, including Border Angels founder Enrique Morones, who was with President Obama during his historic executive action speech at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas.

“It was wonderful to join old friends that have fought and continue to be with us in the struggle for humane immigration policies, and as we discussed, we still have a long ways to go,” Morones wrote in a letter thanking supporters.  “As I told President Obama, `Gracias, this executive action is why many of us voted for you,” Morones added. “We have much more work to do, more to be included, Si Se Puede!’”


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PRESIDENT BACKS NET NETRALITY: FCC CONSUMER ADVISORY MEMBER ART NEILL FROM NEW MEDIA RIGHTS SPEAKS WITH ECM

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

 

 

Hear our interview on KNSJ radio with Art Neill, New Media Rights Executive Director and FCC Consumer Advisory Committee member: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...  (Sound file may take a minute to load.)

View video of President Barack Obama’s announcement on net neutrality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKcjQPVwfDk

November 22, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) –President Barack Obama issued a statement on video on November 10 urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reclassify the internet under Title II.

“In plain language, the President came out in support of real net neutrality, the principle that says Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should treat all internet traffic equally,” says Art Neill, executive director of New Media Rights in San Diego and a member of the FCC’s consumer advisory committee, co-chair of the broadband working group.

Audio: 


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PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES IMMIGRATION REFORMS

 

 

 

   

By Leon Thompson and Miriam Raftery

 

President Barack Obama last night announced immigration reforms, just as       Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush before him took unilateral actions to  expand  protections for immigrants after Congress failed to act. 

President Obama 's plan will offer temporary relief from deportation to the parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been in the country for more than five years, work and pay taxes. He will also extend a program that already allows undocumented migrants brought here as children to stay in the country.  The reforms are temporary, however, and could be undone by a future President and Congress.

Besides offering protections for a limited number of immigrants already in the U.S., the President also announced plans to strengthen enforcement at the border and prioritize enforcement resources to focus on deporting criminals who have convicted felonies, not families or working parents of U.S. citizens.


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SLAUGHTER AT SYNAGOGUE IN JERUSALEM: REACTIONS POUR IN

 

Photo, courtesy U.S. State Department: British Foreign Secretary Hammond Condemns Attack on Jerusalem synagogue before meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in London

By Miriam Raftery

November 18, 2014 (Jerusalem) – Two Palestinians armed with guns and butcher knives opened an attack inside the Kehilat Bnei Torah Synagogue  synagogue in Jerusalem early this morning, killing four rabbis and a police officer.  Three of the rabbis were American-Israeli citizens.

The Jewish Federation of San Diego issued a press release stating, “We are shocked and appalled by the horrific attack on innocent worshipers that took place in Jerusalem earlier today. As a community, we send our condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured. …The recent wave of terror attacks and acts of violence in Israel is outrageous and completely unacceptable, but today’s attack on innocent people praying in a synagogue is incomprehensible. We call on the entire global community to join us in condemning this attack in the strongest possible terms, immediately and unconditionally.”


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U.S. AND ARAB ALLIES LAUNCH AIR STRIKES AGAINST ISIL STRONGHOLD IN SYRIA

 

 

 

Photo: Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, right, and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel testify before Senate Armed Services Committee on the threat from ISIL

By Miriam Raftery

September 22, 2014 (Washington D.C.)--U.S. military & partner nation forces have begun striking ISIL targets in Syria using mix of fighters, bombers and Tomahawk missiles, Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon Press Secretary, confirmed Monday evening.  The U.S. has previously led over 150 air strikes in Iraq, before joining with allies to expand the assault on ISIL, or Islamic State, forces into Syria.

Residents of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed capital, have reported attacks on the city on social media sites.  An estimated two-thirds of ISIL forces are located in Syria.


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PRESIDENT OBAMA: “WE WILL DEGRADE AND ULTIMATELY DESTROY ISIL”

 

Watch on YouTube

Read the President's full address here.

By Miriam Raftery

September 10, 2014 (Washington D.C.)-- President Obama tonight spoke to the nation , laying out a comprehensive strategy to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) terrorist group that has declared an Islamic state across Iraq and Syria, massacring thousands of Iraqis and beheading two captured American journalists.

“Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions, so that we’re hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense.  Moreover, I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are,” the President said. “That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq.  This is a core principle of my presidency:  If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.”

The President made clear that the U.S. will lead an international effort to eradicate ISIL. He assured that unlike the past decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, this conflict will not include U.S. combat troops on the ground.  Instead, he laid out a four-part strategy. First, air strikes will target ISIL in Iraq, Syria and wherever else ISIL poses a threat.


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ISIS CAPTURES IRAQ'S LARGEST CHRISTIAN CITY: IRAQIS IN SAN DIEGO & MIDDLE EAST ISSUE WARNING FOR THE WORLD

 

"Your sufferings today are the prelude of those you, Europeans and Western Christians, will also suffer in the near future…You are in danger." -- Exiled Iraqi Archbishop Amel Shimoun Nona

By Miriam Raftery

August 25, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Qaraqosh, the largest Christian city in Iraq (photo, left), has been overrun by Islamic State terrorists (formerly known as ISIS, the Islamic Sate of Iraq and Syria), CNN reports.

Sean Malone from Crisis Relief International (CRI) sent a heart-wrenching text message stating, “We lost the city of Queragosh (Qaraqosh). It fell to ISIS and they are beheading children systematically.”


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PEACE MARCHERS IN EL CAJON ASK U.S. & UNITED NATIONS FOR AIRLIFTS, ASYLUM TO SAVE IRAQI CHRISTIANS

 

United Nations passes resolution for sanctions against ISIS backers; local Iraqis ask for airlifts to save lives

Hear our exclusive interview with Mark Arabo on progress at the United Nations to save Iraqi Christians, originally aired Aug. 20 on the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ 89.1 FM:

http://k007.kiwi6.com/hotlink/6scu4kz7x2/Arabo-UNresolutioninterviewfor8-20-14show-FINAlwithrallyclips.mp3

 

By Miriam Raftery

August 21, 2014 (El Cajon) – Chanting “Save Iraq, save humanity,” and “Save Iraqi Christians,” hundreds of Iraqi-Americans marched through the streets of El Cajon on Tuesday. Many are gravely concerned about family members trapped in Iraq or who have fled as refugees as terrorists now calling themselves the Islamic State have seized cities across Iraq, torturing , killing or kidnapping those who refuse to convert to Islam.  The community showed support, with many motorists honking horns and drawing cheers.

Speakers, including former State Senator Wadie Deddeh, Chaldean-American leader Mark Arabo, and religious leaders also turned out to show solidarity with the persecuted minorities of Iraq.


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LOCAL KURDS RALLY TO PROTEST ISIS TERRORIST ATTACKS: HEAR OUR INTERVIEW WITH A LOCAL KURDISH-AMERICAN WITH FAMILY IN TURMOIL

 

 Hear our interview with  a local Kurdish-American woman whose family is caught up in the tragic actions unfolding in Kurdistan under the ISIS assault. Listen online now: (This interview originally aired on the East County Magazine Show on KNSJ  radio 89.1 FM)   https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

 

Anguish hits home for local Kurdish residents

By Miriam Raftery

August 15, 2014 (San Diego) – “This is a great humanitarian tragedy, and another genocide against the Kurdish nation,” Kurdish-American Amina (who asked that her last name be withheld) told East County Magazine.  She is horrified at news reports of beheadings, mass graves and the kidnapping of young girls as sex slaves by ISIS terrorists who have laid siege to the city of Shingal and trapped 100,000 refugees atop the Shingal Mountain. She is also frightened by what she is hearing from relatives in the region.

"No one feels safe there. People are hopeless,” she says.

Now the crisis has impacted her own family, like many of the 4,000 to 5,000 Kurdish people in the San Diego region and 15,000 Kurds in the U.S. overall. 

“The Kurdish people know that their dear Peshmarga do not have weapons to defend them from these barbarians, and this makes them live and die in fear. We hear that the Kurdish government is asking people (one of them being my brother) to find themselves weapons and join the Peshmarga,” she wrote in an e-mail to East County Magazine. “Sadly, most people do not have weapons, so if they go to war, they will go with bare hands.”

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PRESIDENT LAUNCHES AIR STRIKES AGAINST IRAQI TERRORISTS TO HALT “GENOCIDE”

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: President Obama meets with national security advisors on August 7 (WhiteHouse.gov)

August 8, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – U.S. fighter jets today dropped two 500-pound bombs on terrorists’ artillery that were being used to attack Kurdish forces in Irbil, the capitol of the Kurdish province in Iraq. In addition, U.S. planes dropped humanitarian relief to aid refugees stranded without food or water.

President Barack Obama last night authorized the use of force against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Al Qaeda splinter group that has renamed itself the Islamic State.  The President also authorized humanitarian aid for victims of ISIS forced to flee their homes or be killed, including persecuted Christians and other religious minorities. The President made clear however that he will not authorize ground troops in the conflict.

Locally the announcement drew praise from Mark Arabo, CEO of the Neighborhood Market Association and a national spokesman for Iraqi Christians.

​"​Our work that began seven weeks ago in Congressman Juan Vargas’ office has resulted in a crescendo of tears, smiles and joy throughout the ​entire Iraqi Christian community​," Arabo said, referring to a Congressional resolution authored by Vargas and drafted by Arabo calling for humanitarian aid. 


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WHITE HOUSE CONDEMNS ISIS ACTIONS AGAINST CHRISTIANS

 

East County News Service



August 2, 2014 (Washington D.C.)—The White House has issued its first official condemnation of the persecution and massacre of Iraqi Christians by ISIS terrorists.

Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Benjamin Rhodes met with Iraqi Chaldean and Assyrian leaders on July 31st to discuss the security situation in Iraq and its effect on Christian and other minority populations.

“Mr. Rhodes appreciated hearing the vital perspectives of these important communities regarding the difficulties facing Iraq’s Christians. He condemned the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIL) ongoing attacks on the Christian and minority communities in northern Iraq and the group’s systematic destruction of religious sites," a statement issued by the White House press secretary later in the day reads.   Rhodes further emphasized that "the United States continues to urge Iraq’s leaders to form an inclusive government that can address the rights and legitimate concerns of all of Iraq’s diverse communities, including Iraq’s Christians – only then can Iraq successfully and sustainably confront the security and humanitarian challenges all of its citizens face in the common fight against ISIL," the White House press secretary stated.


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