West's militarization of protest may be crux of humanitarian crises

[caption id="attachment_22433" align="alignleft" width="336"] Syrian refugee in Turkey[/caption]

Carol Forsloff---"Now again, we don’t have independent confirmation of the reports. His view is also that it further highlights the need to move forward with a political solution, because there’s no military solution to what’s happening on the ground. And he also felt that he still believes that we are on the same page as the Russians in terms of the purpose of the Syria conference, in terms of the goals at hand, the desire to bring an end to the suffering and put in place a process for a transitional government,"Jean Peseki said when asked in recent years about evidence that Russia provided arms and supplies to the Assad government.

At a press briefing with Jean Peseki, representative from Secretary of State John Kerry's office, the information from Reuters about Russia's involvement was provided, as reporters gathered for the regular updates on various situations around the world at the time.  These updates are given daily on various policy issues.

Russia, it was reported, stepped up giving military supplies to the regime of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, even as State Department officials were questioned about America's potential response to this issue, specifically as the agonies of the civilian population have been widely reported.

Yet there were also reports of the Western intervention in the civilian protests in Syria and the increased militarization of these protests that have accelerated and exacerbated the humanitarian crisis that presently is seen by international aid agencies as among the worst the world has ever witnessed.

The Center for Global Research wrotes that when the US added the al-Nusra Front to the list of terrorist organizations, the backlash created more fuel for a war within a war  with The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Da’āsh) pitted against all others in the insurgency, including al-Nusra Front.

The Center proclaims that this "end result was further exacerbation of the Syrian humanitarian crisis, for which the United States & partner “friends” could not be absolved of responsibility and should be held accountable.

The responsibility of the insurgency, which is politically sponsored, financed, armed and logistically facilitated by them, is now unfolding to uncover the fact that the militarization of the early legitimate peaceful protests has created the largest humanitarian crisis in the world today by the military tactics the insurgents used."

So as the United States has been angry with Russia for arming Assad, the pattern of US involvement in militarizing groups whose agendas themselves have increased the overall civilian strife, have brought death and destruction in Syria and other parts of the globe, the Center has said.

Journalists increasingly face death, danger, occupational hazards

Carol Forsloff —While many people debate the ethics, policies, and reporting of journalists worldwide, an increasing number are killed or seriously wounded as part of an occupational hazard to report the news.

Richard Engel, one of the world's top journalists, was released by his captors, said to be Syrian troops loyal to the government.  There has been a news blackout from major networks during the six days he was in captivity, as part of an agreement to protect his safety and allow negotiations and investigations to take place. Engel is known for his high profile stories of Middle East conflicts, most recently his work during the protests in Egypt.

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports 2012 to be the year of the highest number of journalists killed in combat situations since the organization began keeping records in 1992. The organization tells us that murder is the leading cause of journalists' deaths around the world.

In some situations, journalists are captured and held for either ransom or prisoner exchange, as is reported to have been the case with Richard Engel. In other places, they are targeted for reporting on criminal activities involved in the drug wars in places like Mexico. In August, the Huffington Post wrote the Mexican government put the number of Mexican journalists killed by drug cartels at 67 by July of 2012. The article points out the obvious reason, that journalists have the occupational hazard of reporting things people don't want reported.

Some of the stories about the killing of journalists reveal that journalists are often killed in terrifying ways.  In May 2012, Reuters reported police finding the body of Marco Antonio Avila, who had been kidnapped by gunmen at a car wash near the town of Ciudad Obregon. He had been tortured before being killed, and a threatening note was left on the body, which police say is typical of drug gangs. Avila had been reporting on drug-related violence in Mexico.

In the United States and other places in the world people the media is criticized for its reporting of troublesome and violent events. Following the recent school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, many people accused the media of sensationalizing the news and presenting wrong information about the identity of the shooter before the authorities had a chance to complete their initial investigations of the killer of the 26 adults and children. So journalists face severe public criticism during times when they are reporting news about violence in sometimes  tragic circumstances where information can be difficult to obtain and details confused.

The risks to journalists physically and emotionally continue to increase in combat areas, targeted crime areas and in situations where extreme violence occurs. The hazards remind us that journalism has its heroes and detractors and is therefore not a job for the fearful or the ill informed.

Jack the cat loses gamble in Las Vegas in saga of lost and found

[caption id="attachment_9451" align="alignleft" width="297" caption="Jack Dandy - Forsloff Photo"][/caption]

Carol Forsloff - Jack isn’t alone among the cats of the world who venture out for a lark and find themselves among the missing, with the more hopeful stories showing how cats return home to their owners even after years have passed or how owners seek unusual means to find them. The Forsloff cat Jack’s casino adventure falls right in with the best.

Recent news on the cat scene tells of a Colorado cat named Willow who was found in New York after five years of being missing, creating quite a sensation both for the cat’s wandering ways and raising speculation about how the cat managed to travel the 1800 miles between these two states.  In another story, a cat owner hired a pet detective on September 2 to find a cat that became missing in the American Airlines baggage area.  Both of these stories have been carried by major media, including Reuters and the Daily Beast. Those happy travelers are among the numbers of pets that end up as stowaways on airplanes, boats, trucks, and other modes of transportation, in that “curiosity killed the cat” fashion those friends of felines use to excuse the behavior.

Now Jack Dandy Forsloff’s story hasn’t been reported to date. But the recent good news about Willow revealed just how special cats are. Jack made his way down a center hallway at  the Longhorn Super 8 Casino in Las Vegas, landing right on the lap of a gambler, proving once again to his owners that Jack is as much a person as a cat after all.

[caption id="attachment_9453" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Longhorn Casino in Las Vegas - Forsloff photo"][/caption]

On a recent trip across the country from Louisiana to Oregon. Jack, and his traveling cat companion Mandy, had been doing what most cats do when caged in cars for hours: sleeping the days away. But both of them look for opportunities to escape confinement as soon as they are able to run around in a room.

Jack, now the Dandy of the family and hence the name, was adopted from a veterinary clinic in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He had been found by a barking dog as the last of a litter under a vacant house. The mother and all other kittens were dead. Jack layed murmuring near death until neighbors, after following the dog’s continuing alerts, found the small kitten and took it to the nearest clinic where it was nursed to health over the next six weeks.

Having no mother cat, Jack learned his loving, almost human ways, from the veterinarian’s wife who reported having fed him from a bottle and who even paced the floor with him during those early days when Jack was frightened and very ill. By the time the Forsloff family arrived to pick up Mandy, their four-year-old tabby who had been bunking at the veterinary clinic while her family was on a short trip, Jack was running around the office hallways, at home in a world of people coming and going and greeting the playful creature who instantly related to strangers as if they were all just cat friends.

It was Jack at his finest the veterinarian related would fit very well with the Forsloffs, Jack being an orange-colored tabby who looked very much like a brother to Mandy and who embraced the family with a kiss on the lips for them all. That human embrace came from weeks of close love and attention that Jack adopted as his own way of showing affection. He also learned other behaviors that people maintain are as human-like as any other cat they have met. He sleeps on his back for hours, sits attentively when given commands, and falls asleep when rocked with a lullaby, even now that he is two years old.

So it wasn’t surprising when Jack made his move, just as the rest of the family did not see him at the back corner near the door to the room when it was opened to get luggage that had been left just outside for a moment. Those moments were all Jack needed to dart down the long hallway into the casino and into the lap of a surprised customer sitting at a slot machine waiting to make the next play.

Now Jack knows just how to entice strangers using those same loving ways he has learned, so as the Forsloffs watched and coaxed from the sidelines, Jack was making the right moves. Both of Jack’s arms swung up on the stranger’s shoulders for a resounding kiss on the mouth. As the dish of tokens on the stranger’s lap hit the floor, Jack was on all fours, looking for some that had fallen all around, just waiting for the fortunate feline to snatch one up and join the gambling group. But the foray was interrupted by the Forsloff folk instead, as Jack left the casino, not one bit richer, but perhaps wiser for his adventure of the day.

[caption id="attachment_9452" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Super 8 Longhorn Casino, Las Vegas - Forsloff photo"][/caption]

Every day a cat is listed as lost somewhere in the world, with the hopeful wishing for a happy return. Whether it’s a news story prompted by the Lost and Found departments of animal care agencies  or a flyer on a post, finding a lost pet is important. It’s especially important to find one that looks like a cat but behaves like a person instead, since who knows how much a clever cat might win if not caught early on at a gambling table in Atlantic City after using his winnings in Vegas to get there.