Police: DNA evidence shows missing 10-year-old girl is dead

(CNN) -- The search for a freckle-faced 10-year-old North Carolina girl is over, with police announcing Friday that they had found her remains.

"We have recovered enough physical evidence to believe we have found Zahra (Baker)," said Hickory, North Carolina, police Chief Tom Adkins. "Today, our community mourns, our state mourns, our nation mourns, and the world mourns."

Adkins said that DNA from a bone dug up off Christie Road in Caldwell County -- the same place Zahra Baker's prosthetic leg was recovered late last month -- was consistent with that taken from the girl's personal items in her Hickory home, about 15 miles away.

Meanwhile, investigators are working to confirm that more human remains found earlier this week on Dudley Shoals Road in Caldwell County -- five miles from the Christie Road discovery -- also belonged to Zahra.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation will create a complete DNA profile of Zahra, using samples taken from her biological father and mother, to confirm they match the Caldwell County remains, according to Adkins. While there will be no confirmation until those tests are completed, Adkins said Friday that medical examiner's staff at the Dudley Shoals Road site said the remains found there "were consistent with a child."

"Investigators, agents, officers and staff who have worked on this case are devastated that they were not able to find Zahra alive and bring her home safely," Adkins said.

The girl's stepmother, Elisa Baker, reported Zahra missing on October 9. Elisa Baker was arrested the next day, after police said that she admitted writing a fake ransom note found at the family's home in Hickory. But no one other than a relative had seen Zahra since September 25, according to authorities, when a woman said she saw the girl at a furniture store.

In mid-October, police announced they were treating Zahra's disappearance as a homicide.

The disappearance of Zahra made international news. The girl, whose biological parents were both from Australia, lost part of her left leg at age 5 and lost hearing in both ears while being treated for cancer.

The girl's father, Adam Troy Baker, was arrested late last month in nearby Catawba County on eight charges: five counts of writing bad checks and three counts of failing to appear in court. Authorities said that the charges were unrelated to Zahra's disappearance, and he was later released on bail.

His wife, Elisa Baker, remains in jail. Besides an obstruction of justice charge for the ransom note, she was accused of writing worthless checks. Police said that she has been cooperating with investigators, including going with them to the Dudley Shoals search site.

Elisa Baker's sister, Carrie Fairchild, spoke on HLN's "Nancy Grace" soon after police reported they had found Zahra's remains.

"Most of the family's reaction is we're heartbroken and dealing with probably a lot of anger, too," said Fairchild. "She's made her way into everyone's heart. She was a special girl and she will definitely be missed."

Friday's announcement is the most significant, but not the first major development in the search for Zahra's remains. On October 27, investigators announced they had found the 10-year-old's prosthetic leg in a brushy area off Christie Road. And earlier this month, authorities reported finding the bone that Adkins said Friday belonged to Zahra.

Zahra's biological mother, Emily Dietrich, who has not seen her daughter since she was an infant, arrived in North Carolina on Thursday. Dietrich was emotional as she kneeled outside a makeshift memorial at the Baker home, CNN affiliate WCNC reported.

At Friday's news conference, Adkins stressed that "this is still a developing case" and that investigators would continue to gather evidence. No one has been charged with a crime directly related to Zahra's disappearance and death.

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Kyrgyz army took part in ethnic violence of June

Human Rights Watch makes accusation after hundreds of eyewitness accounts, photos and even videos from the satellite. Armoured army vehicles swept away the Uzbek barricades and left open the field for attack. The demand for an international inquiry.

Bishkek (AsiaNews / HRW) – Some army forces facilitated the massacre of ethnic Uzbeks, when violence erupted in June 2010 in southern Kyrgyzstan, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has denounced in a report published this week. The group also accuses the government of not having carried out detailed investigations on the responsibility for the violence. The report gathered more than 200 eyewitness accounts, statements of pro-rights and law enforcement groups, images and photographs taken by satellites, pictures and video footage.

HRW said the violence erupted on June 10 when a large group of ethnic Uzbeks gathered as a result of small clashes between the two ethnic groups. During the night there were several violent attacks and burning of houses of ethnic Kyrgyz in Osh and nearby villages. From early morning of June 11 until June 14 Kyrgyz attacked and burnt shops and houses in Uzbek districts of Osh, Jalalabad Bazar-Kurgan and other southern cities, in some cases levelling entire neighbourhoods. The official toll speaks of at least 371 deaths and thousands of homes destroyed, but many believe that the dead number more than 1000.

According to testimonies gathered by HRW, armoured military vehicles with camouflaged army men removed the barricades erected by ethnic Uzbeks, so that the mob was able to penetrate the Uzbek neighbourhoods. Other witnesses saw armed men following the armoured vehicles and firing against those who resisted, only to then step aside while a mob attacked and burned the houses. In other cases, there is evidence that the army disarmed the ethnic Uzbeks, while protecting the Kyrgyz assault.

This evidence contrasts with statements of authorities that ethnic Kyrgyz had stolen some armoured vehicles. Now HRW is calling on the Government to make more detailed investigations into those tragic days and the army’s role, which does not appear to have protected the neighbourhoods of ethnic Uzbeks from aggression.

The report also found numerous violations of law by the army, which in the days after the massacres insulted and beat residents, made illegal arrests and searches in areas of ethnic Uzbeks. In the village of Nariman security forces wounded 39 people, with 2 deaths. HRW reports at least 60 cases of torture against detainees, particularly ethnic Uzbeks, to obtain "confessions", with at least one prisoner who died.

Ole Solvang, co-author of the HRW report says that "It’s clear that the massive ethnic violence posed colossal challenges for Kyrgyz security forces. Yet we found that some of the security forces became part of the problem rather than the solution”.

"Now - Solvang continues - national and international inquiries need to find out just what the government forces did and whether the authorities did everything they could to protect people. This is crucial both for justice and to learn lessons about how to respond to any new outbreaks”.

Meanwhile, HRW demands that " abuses against detainees immediately cease." " The June violence has left deep scars" - Solvang concludes - "For those scars to heal there needs to be justice for what happened and equal protection for all ethnic communities "

Source : www.asianews.it

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Who Killed Rachel Corrie?

Rachel Corrie, the Olympia, Wash., college student killed trying to protect a Palestinian house – a house, remember, not even a human being – against an Israeli bulldozer, will probably not merit a footnote in history books. That's too bad, because her life and death, the way she has been portrayed in some media, and the reactions of her college are powerful examples of an America with many morally confused individuals.

A Seattle Times columnist described her as a martyr. Her hometown paper, the Olympian, published numerous pictures of a sweet-looking woman from childhood on. It omitted the one photo of Rachel Corrie that USA Today, to its credit, published – Corrie screaming anti-American invective while burning an American flag in Gaza.

Anyone with a heart must extend the deepest condolences to Rachel Corrie's parents. But anyone with a conscience must regard Rachel Corrie's activities with contempt. One hopes that it is not asking too much of people to entertain simultaneously two conflicting emotions – grief for the parents and contempt for the daughter.

Rachel Corrie chose to side with a society that breeds some of the cruelest murderers of innocent people in the world. Rachel Corrie gave her life trying to protect people whose declared aim is to annihilate another country. In the name of saving children's lives, Rachel Corrie chose to defend a society that teaches its young children to blow themselves up and which deliberately targets children for death. And Rachel Corrie went to America's enemies to burn her country's flag.

She was one of the many fools our colleges annually produce. Evergreen State College is reputed to excel in such production. Is anyone aware of a single student or faculty member who repudiated her activities?

We are told repeatedly that Rachel was idealistic – as if that matters. Virtually every person who commits great evil – the Nazi, the communist, the Islamic terrorist – is idealistic. Idealism is morally neutral. It is good only when directed to good ends. But in young people, idealism is at least as likely to lead to bad as to good because few young people are wise – and idealism without wisdom is very dangerous.

We are told ad nauseam that Rachel Corrie was a "peace activist." So let it be said once and for all that most of these people are moral frauds. Why? Because "peace activists" routinely protest only against peaceful countries. Has there been one Evergreen State or other "peace activist" in Sudan during its Islamic government's slaughter and enslavement of millions of blacks? Are there any "peace activists" in Tibet to protect its unique culture from being eradicated by the Communist Chinese? Did you notice any "peace activists" trying to save the millions of North Koreans dying at the hands of their lunatic government? Of course not. Rachel Corrie and other "peace activists" only target peace-loving Israel and America.

Why do they do so?

Here is one answer.

The world is filled with evil, and young idealists like Rachel Corrie don't like it. Which is lovely. But they don't confront real evil because they know they will get hurt. That's one reason there are no "peace activists" or "human shields" confronting Islamic terror, North Korean totalitarianism, or Chinese Communist despotism.

So, what's an idealist to do if she refuses to confront real evil but wants to feel good about herself? Ironically, confront those who fight real evil. That's why Rachel Corrie and the millions marching to protect Saddam Hussein's Iraq have never uttered a peep against Palestinian terror, Iraqi totalitarianism or North Korean gulags. Instead, they focus their animosity at the countries that confront these evils – the United States and Israel.

So, Olympia, grieve for Rachel Corrie's parents, but spare us the hagiography. Rachel Corrie died fighting for the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian group dedicated – in its own words – to "armed struggle" against Israel. She ended up being a useful idiot for, and one more victim of, Palestinian terror.

This article from the Wall Street Journal says it all.
The Wall Street Journal - Mar 17, 2002
Terror Advocate Dies in Accident
By James Taranto

Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old terrorism advocate from Olympia, Wash., died in a bulldozer accident yesterday. Corrie was at fault in the accident, which occurred when she either stood or crouched in front of an Israeli Defense Forces bulldozer in Gaza.
The bulldozers were part of an IDF tunnel- and mine-clearing operation. The Rafah refugee camp borders Egypt, from which Palestinian terrorists smuggle in weapons and explosives. And according to interim peace accords, Israel has the right to operate in and secure the area.
Corrie not only backed anti-Israeli terrorism; she also hated America. An Associated Press photo shows Corrie, her face contorted with hate, burning a "mock U.S. flag" at a pro-Saddam rally last month. (Hat tip: Little Green Footballs.) Reuters reports on a "symbolic funeral" that drew some 1,000 Palestinian Arabs. One of them tells the "news" service: "We fly a U.S. flag today to show our support to all American peace lovers, those like Rachel." If she were still alive, no doubt she'd have burned the flag.
It's a shame that Rachel Corrie died the way she did. It's shameful that she lived the way she did.

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