Kerry Having ‘Additional Evaluation’ Done to Decide if Slaughter of Mideast Christians is Genocide

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(CNSNews.com) - Secretary of State John Kerry told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of State and Foreign Assistance today that he is having an “additional evaluation” done to help him determine whether the systematic murder of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East—at the hands of the Islamic State and others—should be declared “genocide.”
“I will make a decision on it as soon as I have that additional evaluation and we will proceed forward from there,” Kerry said.
Kerry was responding to a question put to him by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R.-Neb.), who is the sponsor of a resolution that would declare on behalf of Congress that it is in fact genocide.
The resolution expresses “the sense of Congress that those who commit or support atrocities against Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities, including Yezidis, Turkmen, Sabea-Mandeans, Kaka‘e, and Kurds, and who target them specifically for ethnic or religious reasons, are committing, and are hereby declared to be committing, ‘war crimes,’ ‘crimes against humanity,’ and ‘genocide.’”
As a preface to his question, Fortenberry told Kerry about a young Syrian man who had been murdered by jihadists after refusing to renounce his Christian faith.
“I had the extraordinary privilege of being in the room with Pope Francis when he, in a very powerful moment, was given a small cross, a Christian crucifix,” said Fortenberry. “That crucifix had belonged to a young Syrian man who had been captured by the jihadists, and he was told to choose: Convert or die. And he chose his ancient faith tradition. He chose Christ, and he was beheaded.”
“His mother was able to recover the body, recover this cross, and bury him,” said Fortenberry. “She fled to Austria, which set the stage for this moment which I witnessed.”
“Mr. Secretary, this is repeating itself over and over and over again against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities in the region,” said Fortenberry.
“What I’m urging here today,” said Fortenberry, “is that you use the authority and power of your office to call this genocide, to help restore the rich tapestry of the ancient faith traditions in the Middle East, to stop this assault on human dignity and civilization itself.”
Kerry said he is now considering declaring the targeting of Middle East Christians and other religious minorities in the region a genocide.
But, Kerry said, he has asked for “further evalution” to be done before he makes a final decision.
“I share just a huge sense of revulsion over these acts, obviously,” Kerry said. “None of us have ever seen anything like it in our lifetimes. Although, obviously, if you go back to the Holocaust, the world has seen it.
“We are currently doing what I have to do, which is review very carefully the legal standards and precedents for whatever judgment is made,” he said.
“I can tell you we are doing that,” he said. “I have had some initial recommendations made to me. I have asked for some further evaluation. And I will make a decision on this. And I will make a decision on it as soon as I have that additional evaluation and we will proceed forward from there.”
Here is the transcript of the exchange between Fortenberry and Kerry:
Fortenberry: Mr. Secretary, I had the extraordinary privilege of being in the room with Pope Francis when he, in a very powerful moment, was given a small cross, a Christian crucifix. That crucifix had belonged to a young Syrian man who had been captured by the jihadists, and he was told to choose: Convert or die. And he chose his ancient faith tradition. He chose Christ, and he was beheaded.
His mother was able to recover the body, recover this cross, and bury him. And she fled to Austria, which set the stage for this moment which I witnessed.
Mr. Secretary, this is repeating itself over and over and over again against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities in the region. In 2004, Colin Powell, when he was secretary of state, came before Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and I believe you served on that committee at that point, and declared what was happening in Darfur to be a genocide.
There are 200 members of Congress in a bi-partisan fashion, we’ve put our names on a resolution that is forthcoming that declares this genocide. There is a growing international consensus in this regard. The European Parliament has passed something similar. The U.S. Catholic Bishops, Pope Francis has spoken out, Hillary Clinton has called it such, Marco Rubio, the international association of genocide scholars.
I want a note as well a word of thanks to you and President Obama for the quick action on Mount Sinjar that actually saved the lives of women and children, countless persons who would have been wiped out and victimized.
So, what I’m urging here today is that you use the authority and power of your office to call this genocide, to help restore the rich tapestry of the ancient faith traditions in the Middle East, to stop this assault on human dignity and civilization itself. And to set potentially the conditions that we are all hoping and praying for that re-establishes stability and reintegration of these ancient faith traditions into the fabric of the communities in the Middle East entirely.
I think the stability, the future stability, of the entire region depends upon this.
Kerry: Well again Congressman thank you for a very moving and eloquent description of the problem. And I appreciate, you were lucky to be in that room to witness that, and I certainly appreciate your reactions to it. And I share just a huge sense of revulsion over these acts, obviously. None of us have ever seen anything like it in our lifetimes. Although, obviously, if you go back to the Holocaust, the world has seen it.
We are currently doing what I have to do, which is review very carefully the legal standards and precedents for whatever judgment is made. I can tell you we are doing that. I have had some initial recommendations made to me. I have asked for some further evaluation. And I will make a decision on this. And I will make a decision on it as soon as I have that additional evaluation and we will proceed forward from there.
I understand how compelling it is. Christians have been moved in many parts now of the Middle East, I might add. This is not just in Syria, but in other places there has been an increased forced evacuation and displacement, which is equally disturbing, though it’s not—you know, they aren’t killing them in that case, but it’s a removal, and a cleansing ethnically and religiously, which is deeply disturbing. So we are very much focused on this. And, as I say, I will make a judgement soon.
Fortenberry: They have taken the conditions for life as well as life away from Christians, Yazidis, and religious minorities. And I bring up the declaration by former Secretary of State Colin Powell to demonstrate the power that the declaration actually has, because in doing so he helped put a stop to that grim reality there in Darfur.
I know you share deep sympathies in this regard. I just urge you, and plead with you, partner with us. There is a growing consensus that this is not only true and real but I think, again, it sets the condition for whatever the future settlement we have to have.  

Drone For Passengers Hands Free Flying

Chinese firm reveals self flying MEGADRONE taxi

www.dailymail.co.uk

The all-electric vehicle has four arms with eight propellers at the end allowing it to travel up to 60mphEhang says the 184 is autonomous, so all the passenger has to do is enter their final destination into an appFAA regulators have not approved the drone for human use in the US, but Ehang is hopeful they will do soonCost is yet to be revealed and the company claims a commercial version of the craft will be available this year

A Chinese drone maker has revealed a giant quadcopter big enough to fit a passenger.

EHang claims to be building the world's first 'Autonomous Aerial Vehicle' for transporting people.

Unveiled at CES in Las Vegas and called the 184, the all-electric vehicle has four arms with a total of eight propellers at the end.

'You know how it feels to sit in a Ferrari? This is 10 times better,' George Yan, co-founder of Ehang said in an interview with DailyMail.com.

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EHang is building the world's first 'Autonomous Aerial Vehicle' for transporting people. Unveiled at CES in Las Veges, the 184 flies itself

The company says the 184 is autonomous, so all the passenger has to do is enter in their destination in the smartphone app, sit back, and let the drone take over. 

There's no option to take control of the 184 remotely. The cockpit is empty, apart from a stand to place a smartphone or tablet and a cup holder.

'I think in all of us there is that little kid in all of us that says I want to fly,' said Yan. 'I don’t want to get a pilot license after five or 10 hours of flying, I want to do it right away. We’re making that dream happen.' 

'Everything is calculated in the backend to pick the most optimal route for you, so there is no collision with the other drones flying,' said Yan.

'On the drone itself we have built pretty sophisticated back up services so if another system fails then another will take over.'

In the event of an emergency, passengers can also elect to halt flight and simply hover in the air.

The EHang 184, which was named for ‘one’ passenger, ‘eight’ propellers, and ‘four’ arms. When it's not in use, it can be folded up so that it can be stored away more easily.

EHang said the vehicle is primarily designed for traveling short-to-medium distances — around 10 miles — and will fly at around 60 miles per hour. 

'I think in all of us there is that little kid in all of us that says I want to fly,' said founder George Yan. 'I don’t want to get a pilot license after five or 10 hours of flying, I want to do it right away. We’re making that dream happen'

EHang claims to be building the world's first 'Autonomous Aerial Vehicle' for transporting people. 'You know how it feels to sit in a Ferrari? This is 10 times better,' said George Yan, co-founder of Ehang in an interview with DailyMail.com

EHang said the vehicle is primarily designed for traveling short-to-medium distances — around 10 miles — and will fly at 60 miles per hour

It takes off and lands vertically, subsequently eliminating the need for runways. 

'Mass-adoption of the 184 has the potential to streamline congested traffic and dramatically reduce the kinds of accidents associated with any human-operated vehicle,' the firm claims.

'It's been a lifetime goal of mine to make flight faster, easier and more convenient than ever. The 184 provides a viable solution to the many challenges the transportation industry faces in a safe and energy efficient way,' said EHang CEO Huazhi Hu. 

'I truly believe that EHang will make a global impact across dozens of industries beyond personal travel. 

'The 184 is evocative of a future we've always dreamed of and is primed to alter the very fundamentals of the way we get around.' 

The 184 has been in development for 2 and a half years, and the company is aiming to release a commercial version later this year, depending on safety tests and future drone regulations.  

As well as having to work in the confines of UAV laws, there is also the issue of trust. Would anyone ever trust a drone to fly them to a destination?

'If you roll the timeline back to 100 years you will see that when we went from horse and carriage to vehicles people had the same concerns of whether you could trust it to take you from A to B,' said Yan.

'If you look out the cars out there and unmanned vehicles, you can understand that we can make these technology breakthrough. 

You just have to start somewhere.' 

THE DRONE TAXI: WHAT FLYING  IN THE 184 WIL BE LIKE 

The fully ready-to-fly 184 is a manned drone capable of automatically carrying a passenger through the air, simply by entering a destination into its accompanying smartphone app.

The 184 uses multiple independent flight control systems to automatically navigate passengers from point A to point B. 

These systems combine real-time data collected from sensors throughout the flight and automatically plot the fastest and safest route to carry passengers to their destinations.

The EHang 184 has built in reinforcements for all flight systems, so that in the unlikely event that a component does fail, multiple backups are already in place to seamlessly take over. 

The fully ready-to-fly 184 is a manned drone capable of automatically carrying a passenger through the air, simply by entering a destination into its accompanying smartphone app

The 184 uses multiple independent flight control systems to automatically navigate passengers from point A to point B.

EHang’s independently developed Fail-Safe System ensures that if any components malfunction, or if there’s damage while the AAV is in-flight (i.e. from a bird), the aircraft will immediately begin taking the necessary precautions to ensure safety. 

The 184’s Fail-Safe System automatically evaluates the damage and determines whether the AAV will need to land to ensure its passenger’s safety.

The EHang 184 AAV flight control systems have multiple sets of sensors that provide the drone a constant stream of real-time data.

The 184’s communication system was also designed with a safety guarantee: every system is encrypted, and each AAV comes with an independent key.

In the event of an emergency, passengers can elect to halt flight and simply hover in the air with just one click. 

'The fully ready-to-fly 184 is a manned drone capable of automatically carrying a passenger through the air, simply by entering a destination into its accompanying smartphone app,' the firm says

EHang will also have a command center that employs people to make sure everything is safe — sort of like an air traffic controller at an airport. 

The command center will monitor every 184 in the air 24/7 and the company plans integrate with existing air traffic controller operations. 

The command center would, for example, make sure that a 184 doesn't take off in extreme weather conditions.

No official launch date has been set, but the company said commercialization will begin in a few months. EHang will first launch in the China and set up a command center there, where it will employ around 300 people, but the US isn't far behind. 

The company will begin working on getting a certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration soon. 

No official launch date has been set, but the company said commercialization will begin in a few months. EHang will first launch in the China and set up a command center there, where it will employ around 300 people, but the US isn't far behind

The EHang 184, was named for ‘one’ passenger, ‘eight’ propellers, and ‘four’ arms. When not in use, it can be folded up (right)

President/CEO Hu Huazhi of EHang unveils the 184 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle at CES Las Vegas from the Las Vegas Convention Center

 

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