Thursday, October 25, 2012
US Stingers In Syria: Afghanistan de ja voo
A top director of the new elite command is Al-Mahdi al-Harati, born 1973, an Irish national who lived the last 22 yeas of his life in Ireland before leading the Benghazi armed overthrow of the Libyan regime. Al-Harati is recognized as the new ‘Osama’,- trained, funded and aided to lead covert successful militant campaigns of terror and destabilization in troubled Arab and African nations, that are not in the Wests good books.
Al-Mahdi al-Harati was actively recruited sometime in 2011 and fully funded by the CIA, according to heaping evidence, to lead much of the military Benghazi campaign against Libya’s leadership. Though it is generally understood that he has long been a CIA agent, in active duty and training.
Al-Harati’s CIA employ was verified by intelligence experts, when he was robbed of ‘€200,000 CIA money’ in 2011. It must be noted that these destabilization and overthrow efforts are highly funded and cash based. Mercenaries are hired to fight these wars – made to appear as though the people are fighting, and they are paid tall sums, in hundreds to thousands of dollars per day of fight, on average $500-800/day. Read more: http://newsrescue.com/cia-hired-global-mercenary-commandos-al-harati-libya-syria-next/#ixzz2AK4SVvWd
The government of Syria continues to survive all the ratlines being thrown at this independent nation http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/headlinenewsd.php?hnewsid=3883
Despite public claims on behalf of the White House that no weapons are being sent to the rebels, reports that the CIA has been doing precisely that have been circulating for months, including a recent story about CIA spies smuggling 14 stinger missiles into Syria so rebels could defend themselves with ground to air technology.
The New York Times admitted in a June 21 report that the CIA was "steering" arms to Syrian rebels from the Turkish border, but claimed the weapons were paid for by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The New York Times' decision to alter the wording of the article is another example of how NATO-aligned media outlets are concerned about overemphasizing western support for the rebels given their involvement in terrorist attacks and other acts of brutality.
Last week, the BBC removed a video clip which documented how FSA rebels were committing war crimes by using prisoners as unwitting suicide bombers.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/10806
Syria has become a magnet for the world’s jihadis.
It has been attracting them since the start of the crisis, lured by what many believe to be a divine promise that jihad in Bilad al-Sham, Greater Syria, will set the stage for the emergence of the true Islamic state.
With victory and the downfall of the regime thus pre-ordained, jihadis from far and wide have been heeding the call. According to jihadi sources, the fighters currently operating in Syria include Jordanians, Iraqis, Palestinians, Kuwaitis, Tunisians, Libyans, Saudis and Yemenis, as well as Muslims from non-Arab countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The biggest single contingent of foreign fighters is said to be composed of Lebanese, Jordanian, Iraqi and Palestinians who had previously fought against US forces in Iraq.
http://www.sundayworld.com/columnists/index.php?aid=9335
A GANG of Irish traveller thieves are in the middle of a holy war - after liberating €200,000 cash destined for Libyan rebels.
In a tale worthy of the John le Carre thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, the scam artists from Rathkeale in Co Limerick hit the jackpot when they robbed a home in Dublin's Firhouse. As well as a haul of family jewels, they stumbled upon €200,000 in €500 bills hidden in the hot press.
But the homeowner was well-known Irish Libyan freedom fighter Mahdi al-Harati, who was one of the leaders of the bloody revolt against Gaddafi. He has told cops that the cash was a gift from US secret agents to aid the war effort in Libya. Now the money trail has led to the traveller strongholds in Rathkeale, where €500 notes have been popping up all over the place.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
America's Black Flag
You have to hand it to Dennis Kucinich, he stated clearly what many know, but won't tell 'We The people.' That the US created 'The Base,' aka al Qaeda, and we cannot control the monster we gave birth to. It has just bit us badly in Bengazi.
Warning Signs Were Covered Up, Not Ignore
While the Western press glossed over stories covering the hoisting of Al Qaeda flags described by Ambassador Stevens in his cables, the development was covered across the alternative media, including in, “John McCain: Founding Father of the Terrorist Emirate of Benghazi,” where the full implications and genesis of these prevailing extremists forces were examined in detail. Alternative analysis was quickly dismissed as “conspiracy theories,” even as Ambassador Stevens was sending his cables to Washington conveying exactly the same information.
The West did not “ignore” these warnings. It covered them up intentionally through a concerted campaign of deceit, cognitive infiltration, and ridicule. The intelligence services of Washington and London had been supplying weapons and aid to the terrorists of Benghazi for 30 years, fought along side them in Afghanistan against the Soviets in the 1980′s, armed and unleashed them in Kosovo in the 1990′s, and willfully bolstered their numbers, armament, and operational capacity in 2011 in order to overthrow the Libyan government
.
The terror emirate of Benghazi that consumed Ambassador Stevens is a monster of the West’s own willful, premeditated creation – the West fully cognizant of the implications – and a monster the West is currently still arming, funding, and supporting, this time along the Turkish-Syrian border.
http://everythinglubbock.com/fulltext?nxd_id=127632
The audio feed of the attack was being monitored in real time in Washington by diplomatic security official Charlene Lamb.
The Chinese have a saying...
The Tail Become So Large It Cannot Be Wagged
Folks, it isn't that the MSM 'never' covers this story, its just that they casually mention it, and it becomes lost in the Twitter driven news cycle. http://www.globalresearch.ca/benghazi-us-nato-sponsored-base-of-operations-for-al-qaeda/5309017 Benghazi, US-NATO Sponsored Base of Operations for Al Qaeda Late US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens documented the transformation of Benghazi into overt base of operations for Al Qaeda.
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The Libya timeline that REALLY matters:
June 6, 2012: Al Qaeda attacks the Benghazi consulate, blowing huge hole in the perimeter.
August 14, 2012: The Obama administration withdraws the special forces Site Security Team led by Lt. Col. Andrew Wood, over the objections of Ambassador Chris Stevens
September 11, 2012: Al Qaeda attacks again, and without security protection the consulate is overrun and four Americans are killed.
The West Point Study
http://tarpley.net/2011/03/24/the-cia%E2%80%99s-libya-rebels-the-same-terrorists-who-killed-us-nato-troops-in-iraq/
Leads from the West Point Study: An Appeal to Scholars The West Point study, as noted, was conducted on the basis of almost 700 Al Qaeda personnel files captured by coalition forces in Iraq.33 The authors of the study have promised to keep available online the documentary basis of this investigation, both in the form of the raw Arabic language al Qaeda personnel files34, and also of the same file cards in English translation.35 Assuming that this material remains available, it might be possible for researchers and reporters, and especially those with capabilities in Arabic not possessed by the present writer, to investigate the Libyan fighters who went into Iraq with a view to determining whether any of them are family members, neighbors, or even political associates of the known members of the Benghazi rebel council or of other anti-Qaddafi forces. Such a procedure could contribute to allowing the European and American public as well as others around the world to better understand the nature of the military adventure currently unfolding in Libya by gaining a more specific knowledge of who the Libyan rebels actually are, as distinct from the hollow panegyrics purveyed by the controlled Western media.
Like other governments in the region, Libya appears concerned about the possibility of jihadi violence within its borders. In May 2007, the Libyan government arrested several Libyans on the grounds that they were planning a car bomb attack similar to an April attack in Algeria.17 And in July 2007, a group calling itself al-Qaeda in Eastern Libya announced a suicide attack in Darnah.18 Libya’s leader Muammar Qaddafi has taken measures to mitigate the threat from such groups, and has reportedly released over 80 Muslim Brotherhood activists in the hope that they will moderate the views of more violent Islamist activists.
If LIFG is funneling Libyans into Iraq, it may exacerbate rumored tensions between LIFG elements over whether or not to concentrate on militant activity within Libya’s borders.20 Such debates are common among national jihadi movements shifting focus to global issues. This sort of debate disrupted both Egyptian Islamic Jihad and the Egyptian Islamic Group in the 1990s.21 Reports suggesting that LIFG’s decision to join al-Qaeda was controversial may be exaggerated, but they probably reflect a contentious debate over LIFG’s future.22 LIFG’s support for al-Qaeda’s Iraqi affiliate has probably increased its stature in al-Qaeda’s leadership, but complicated its internal dynamics. Recent political developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the prevalence of Libyan fighters in Iraq, and evidence of a well?established smuggling route for Libyans through Egypt, suggests that Libyan factions (primarily the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group) are increasingly important in al-Qaeda.
Sinjar Records offer some evidence that Libyans began surging into Iraq in larger numbers beginning in May 2007. Most of the Libyan recruits came from cities in North?East Libya, an area long known for jihadi?linked militancy. Libyan fighters were much more likely than other nationalities to be listed as suicide bombers (85% for Libyans, 56% for all others). The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group’s unification with al-Qaeda and its apparent decision to prioritize providing logistical support to the Islamic State of Iraq is likely controversial within the organization. It is likely that some LIFG factions still want to prioritize the fight against the Libyan regime, rather than the fight in Iraq. It may be possible to exacerbate schisms within LIFG, and between LIFG’s leaders and al-Qaeda’s traditional Egyptian and Saudi power?base. (End Report http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/03/17/libyan-rebellion-has-radical-islamist-fervor-benghazi-link-islamic-militancyus-milit
Obama Faces More Pressure Over Libya
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2220933/Christopher-Stevens-Ambassador-pleaded-extra-security-Libya-hours-killed.html
The letter claims that Obama had a political motivation in rejecting Stevens' security requests, since the president was eager to show improving conditions in Libya after the U.S.-led international operation that toppled Libya dictator Moamar Gadhafi.
On August 2, six weeks before Stevens was killed, he requested 'protective detail bodyguard' positions, calling the security situation in Libya 'unpredictable, volatile and violent.'
A month earlier, he requested that the State Department extend his tour of duty personnel, which is a 16-man temporary security team trained in combating terrorism. The request was denied and the security team left 8 August. Stevens had asked for the security team to stay through mid-September. Colonel Andrew Wood, the leader of the security team that left Libya in the weeks before the terror attack, told CBS News that Stevens fought hard against losing the team. 'It was quite a degree of frustration on their part,' he said. 'They were -- I guess you could say -- clenched-fist over the whole issue.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE89N02C20121024?irpc=932
MISSIVES FROM LIBYA
The records obtained by Reuters consist of three emails dispatched by the State Department's Operations Center to multiple government offices, including addresses at the White House, Pentagon, intelligence community and FBI, on the afternoon of September 11.
The first email, timed at 4:05 p.m. Washington time - or 10:05 p.m. Benghazi time, 20-30 minutes after the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission allegedly began - carried the subject line "U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi Under Attack" and the notation "SBU", meaning "Sensitive But Unclassified."
The text said the State Department's regional security office had reported that the diplomatic mission in Benghazi was "under attack. Embassy in Tripoli reports approximately 20 armed people fired shots; explosions have been heard as well."
The message continued: "Ambassador Stevens, who is currently in Benghazi, and four ... personnel are in the compound safe haven. The 17th of February militia is providing security support."
A second email, headed "Update 1: U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi" and timed 4:54 p.m. Washington time, said that the Embassy in Tripoli had reported that "the firing at the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi had stopped and the compound had been cleared." It said a "response team" was at the site attempting to locate missing personnel.
A third email, also marked SBU and sent at 6:07 p.m. Washington time, carried the subject line: "Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack."
The message reported: "Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli."
While some information identifying recipients of this message was redacted from copies of the messages obtained by Reuters, a government source said that one of the addresses to which the message was sent was the White House Situation Room, the president's secure command post.
Other addressees included intelligence and military units as well as one used by the FBI command center, the source said.
............................
Sitting in Italy, was an armed relief team, only an hour away, and which was NOT sent to rescue our Navy Seals and Ambassador.
The Letter
Dear Member of Congress,
We write to you as Christian leaders representing U.S. churches and religious organizations committed to seeking a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Our organizations have been deeply involved in this pursuit for decades, inspired by the call and promise of Jesus Christ who said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
In response to our Christian call to be peacemakers, we have worked for decades to support both Israelis and Palestinians in their desire to live in peace and well-being. We have worked alongside our Palestinian Christian sisters and brothers to help build a peaceful and resilient Palestinian civil society by supporting hospitals, schools, clinics, and social service agencies. These ministries include cooperative efforts with Israelis and Palestinians as well as with Jews, Muslims, and other neighbors here in the United States. Through our presence in the region, and regular visits to our partners there, we see first-hand the impacts of the conflict on both Palestinians and Israelis and hear from them directly about the reality of their lives.
Through this direct experience we have witnessed the pain and suffering of Israelis as a result of Palestinian actions and of Palestinians as a result of Israeli actions. In addition to the horror and loss of life from rocket attacks from Gaza and past suicide bombings, we have witnessed the broad impact that a sense of insecurity and fear has had on Israeli society.
We have also witnessed widespread Israeli human rights violations committed against Palestinians, including killing of civilians, home demolitions and forced displacement, and restrictions on Palestinian movement, among others. We recognize that each party—Israeli and Palestinian—bears responsibilities for its actions and we therefore continue to stand against all violence regardless of its source. Our stand against violence is complemented by our commitment to the rights of all Israelis, as well as all Palestinians, to live in peace and security.
It is this experience and these commitments that lead us to write to you today to express our grave concern about the deteriorating conditions in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories which threaten to lead the region further away from the realization of a just peace.
Unfortunately, unconditional U.S. military assistance to Israel has contributed to this deterioration, sustaining the conflict and undermining the long-term security interests of both Israelis and Palestinians. This is made clear in the most recent 2011 State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices covering Israel and the Occupied Territories, which details widespread Israeli human rights violations committed against Palestinian civilians, many of which involve the misuse of U.S.-supplied weapons.
(Weapons in this instance include “crowd control” items such as tear gas. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112-74) which is included in the US Foreign Military Financing regulations stipulates that “not later than 90 days after enactment of this act and 6 months thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations detailing any crowd control items, including tear gas, made available with appropriated funds or through export licenses to foreign security forces that the Secretary of State has credible information have repeatedly used excessive force to repress peaceful, lawful, and organized dissent.” )
Accordingly, we urge an immediate investigation into possible violations by Israel of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and the U.S. Arms Export Control Act which respectively prohibit assistance to any country which engages in a consistent pattern of human rights violations and limit the use of U.S. weapons to “internal security” or “legitimate self-defense.”
(While this letter focuses on US-Israel relations and the Israel-Palestine conflict, these are laws that we believe should be enforced in all instances regardless of location. All allegations regarding the misuse of US supplied arms should be investigated.)
More broadly, we urge Congress to undertake careful scrutiny to ensure that our aid is not supporting actions by the government of Israel that undermine prospects for peace. We urge Congress to hold hearings to examine Israel’s compliance, and we request regular reporting on compliance and the withholding of military aid for non-compliance.
In addition to specific rights violations, we see a troubling and consistent pattern of disregard by the government of Israel for U.S. policies that support a just and lasting peace. Specifically, repeated demands by the U.S. government that Israel halt all settlement activity have been ignored. Since 1967, every U.S. administration has decried Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as obstacles to peace. Despite this stance, Israel continues to expand its settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, claiming territory that under international law and U.S. policy should belong to a future Palestinian state. The Oslo peace process, which began in 1993, was publicly promoted as leading Israelis and Palestinians to a just peace based on a two-state solution. Instead, since 1993, the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has more than doubled. Rights violations resulting from Israeli settlement activity include separate and unequal legal systems for Palestinians and settlers, confiscation of Palestinian land and natural resources for the benefit of settlers, and violence by settlers against Palestinians.
According to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there has been a dramatic rise in settler attacks against Palestinians this year. They report that these attacks are often intended to drive Palestinians from areas the settlers wish to take over, and that Israeli authorities have failed to take significant action to stop the violence or hold the perpetrators accountable. We believe that these actions directly undermine peace efforts and threaten, rather than support, Israel’s long-term security interests.
We want to be clear that we recognize that Israel faces real security threats and that it has both a right and a duty to protect both the state and its citizens. However, the measures that it uses to protect itself and its citizens, as in the case with any other nation, must conform to international humanitarian and human rights law.
As Christian leaders in the United States, it is our moral responsibility to question the continuation of unconditional U.S. financial assistance to the government of Israel. Realizing a just and lasting peace will require this accountability, as continued U.S. military assistance to Israel -- offered without conditions or accountability -- will only serve to sustain the status quo and Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian territories.
We request, therefore, that Congress hold Israel accountable to these standards by making the disbursement of U.S. military assistance to Israel contingent on the Israeli government’s compliance with applicable U.S. laws and policies.
As Israel is the single largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid since World War II, it is especially critical for Israel to comply with the specific U.S. laws that regulate the use of U.S.-supplied weapons. We also encourage Congress to support inclusive, comprehensive, and robust regional diplomacy to secure a just and lasting peace that will benefit Israelis, Palestinians, and all the peoples of the region, and the world.
With respect and gratitude, we offer you our prayers.
Signers of the letter include Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons.
The signers say they “have worked for decades to support both Israelis and Palestinians in their desire to live in peace and well-being” and “have witnessed the pain and suffering of Israelis as a result of Palestinian actions and of Palestinians as a result of Israeli actions.”
Also, Diane Randall, executive secretary of the Friends Committee on Legislation; American Baptist Churches General Secretary A. Roy Medley; United Church of Christ General Minister and President Geoffrey A. Black; the Rev. Sharon Watkins, general minister and president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); the Rev. Julia Brown Karimu, president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Division of Overseas Ministries; the Rev. James A. Moos, executive minister for the United Church of Christ’s Wider Church Ministries; Eli S. McCarthy, justice and peace director for the Conference of Major Superiors of Men; and Kathy McKneely, acting director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns.
http://www.pcusa.org/news/2012/10/5/religious-leaders-ask-congress-condition-israel-mi/
The Pushback:
The Jewish leaders responded to the action as a momentous betrayal and announced their withdrawal from a regularly scheduled Jewish-Christian dialogue meeting planned for Monday. In a statement, the Jewish leaders called the letter by the Christian groups “a step too far” and an indication of “the vicious anti-Zionism that has gone virtually unchecked in several of these denominations.”
“Something is deeply broken, badly broken,” said Ethan Felson, vice president and general counsel of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, an umbrella group that helped to convene the meeting. “We’re certainly not getting anywhere now.”
The Jewish groups have called for the Christian churches to send their top officials to a “summit” meeting to discuss the situation, an invitation the Christian leaders say they are considering.
The Christian leaders involved are mostly from the historically mainline Protestant churches. Many of these same churches have taken up contentious resolutions to divest their stock holdings from companies that sell military and security equipment to Israel. Meanwhile, successive Israeli governments have found stalwart support in conservative evangelical American churches.
The breach is all the more bitter because it involves Jewish groups known for cultivating strong interfaith relationships, including the Reform and Conservative movements, the American Jewish Committee and B’nai B’rith International
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/us/church-appeal-on-israel-angers-jewish-groups.html?_r=0And from TAM we have....
http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/israel-lobby-wants-congressional-investigation-of-churches-calling-for-rest/0019440
Israel lobby wants Congressional Investigation of Churches calling for restricting U.S. military aid
by Sheila Musaji
Jordan Has A King Like Syria?
Here is a major story not covered by Western MSM....
A Jordanian member of parliament has pulled a gun on one of his critics during a heated debate on live television. Mohammed Shawabka was discussing Jordan's policies toward Syria on a television show on Friday with political activist Mansour Sayf al-Din Murad, the Times of Israel reports. When the discussion became heated, both men began hurling insults, including working for the Israeli Mossad Intelligence Agency. "You're a Mossad agent," one of the men said. "You're a big crook," said the other. The show's host Mohammed Habashneh, who was seated between the two men, desperately told them to "calm down". But the MP pulled off his shoe and aimed it at his critic, who ducked underneath the desk and knocked it over. Mr Shawabka then pulled out a silver gun before pointing it at the critic who was walking towards him. The host tried to break up the fight by stepping between the two men, but the brawl reportedly continued for some time before the show's producer started to roll the credits. But I can assure you that the coming of the Arab Spring to Jordan has the full attention of Israel, and the Palestineans in the West Bank and Gaza. And here we have the British view... Government change fails to calm Jordan's political crisis AMMAN, Jordan — A decision just over a week ago by Jordanian King Abdullah II to dismiss the government has done little to calm growing public discontent at home that threatens to deepen a political crisis.Abdullah has appointed five governments since the eruption of the Arab Spring uprisings, which have forced him to make democratic reforms.The new prime minister, Abdullah Ensour, is a reformist politician and opposition lawmaker who voted to withhold confidence from the previous four governments."This selection aimed to send a message to the public and the opposition that decision-makers are listening to their demands and dissatisfaction," said Hussein Rawashdeh, Jordanian political observer.Despite enjoying relative popularity, analysts say a lack of authority is likely to undermine Ensour's attempts to revive the country's lagging reform process.His first task is to salvage an upcoming parliamentary election by convincing Islamist-led opposition to reverse its decision to boycott the vote.The opposition says a new electoral system favors regime loyalists, who hail mainly from Bedouin tribes. Loyalists fear that democratic reforms would undermine their influence in the country where the majority of the population of 7 million is of Palestinian origin."If the decision on the elections law is not in his hands, how can the prime minister even dream of encouraging the opposition to take part?" said columnist and political analyst Maher Abu Tayer.Despite good relations with the Muslim Brotherhood, analysts say an atmosphere of distrust will prevent Ensour from diffusing growing tensions between the state and Jordan's largest political force."After each of the last four governments failed to live up to their reform promises, the Brotherhood has given up on listening to the government," said Rawashdeh. "They know that the prime minister is not the decision-maker."Islamist leaders reportedly walked out of their first meeting with Ensour, held less than 24 hours after his appointment, saying that their former political ally was unable to carry out democratic reforms."The question is not whether the prime minister is for democratic reforms, the question is whether he has the power to implement them," said Zaki Bani Rshied, deputy head of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood."If the government does not have full control over the state, how can it negotiate in the name of the state?" said Bani Rshied remarked.Ensour's appointment has also done little to calm pro-democracy protests."No matter who the King selects, we do not support a government that is not chosen by the people, for the people," said Muath Btoush of the Karak Popular Youth Movement, one of hundreds of protest groups that have sprouted across the country since early 2011.The government is also under pressure to trim over $2.8 billion in fuel and electricity subsidies."Although it would be politically wise to delay any lifting of subsidies until after the elections, financially the country just can't afford it," said Musa Shteiwi, director of the University of Jordan Centre for Strategic Studies.Jordan also faces a record $5 billion budget deficit. It has received less than half the $460 million in budgetary assistance promised by donor states. Experts say this means Jordan has no choice but to press ahead with unpopular austerity measures."It doesn't matter who is prime minister, these decisions are going to hurt a lot of Jordanian citizens and they won't stay quiet," said Jordanian columnist and political observer Bassem Shakhija.Abu Tayer said: "Before the Arab Spring, a change in government was enough to silence the Jordanian street. Now it is only encouraging it to speak louder." Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/10/13/2727599/government-change-fails-to-calm.html#storylink=cpy http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/10/13/2727599/government-change-fails-to-calm.html
A Jordanian member of parliament has pulled a gun on one of his critics during a heated debate on live television. Mohammed Shawabka was discussing Jordan's policies toward Syria on a television show on Friday with political activist Mansour Sayf al-Din Murad, the Times of Israel reports. When the discussion became heated, both men began hurling insults, including working for the Israeli Mossad Intelligence Agency. "You're a Mossad agent," one of the men said. "You're a big crook," said the other. The show's host Mohammed Habashneh, who was seated between the two men, desperately told them to "calm down". But the MP pulled off his shoe and aimed it at his critic, who ducked underneath the desk and knocked it over. Mr Shawabka then pulled out a silver gun before pointing it at the critic who was walking towards him. The host tried to break up the fight by stepping between the two men, but the brawl reportedly continued for some time before the show's producer started to roll the credits. But I can assure you that the coming of the Arab Spring to Jordan has the full attention of Israel, and the Palestineans in the West Bank and Gaza. And here we have the British view... Government change fails to calm Jordan's political crisis AMMAN, Jordan — A decision just over a week ago by Jordanian King Abdullah II to dismiss the government has done little to calm growing public discontent at home that threatens to deepen a political crisis.Abdullah has appointed five governments since the eruption of the Arab Spring uprisings, which have forced him to make democratic reforms.The new prime minister, Abdullah Ensour, is a reformist politician and opposition lawmaker who voted to withhold confidence from the previous four governments."This selection aimed to send a message to the public and the opposition that decision-makers are listening to their demands and dissatisfaction," said Hussein Rawashdeh, Jordanian political observer.Despite enjoying relative popularity, analysts say a lack of authority is likely to undermine Ensour's attempts to revive the country's lagging reform process.His first task is to salvage an upcoming parliamentary election by convincing Islamist-led opposition to reverse its decision to boycott the vote.The opposition says a new electoral system favors regime loyalists, who hail mainly from Bedouin tribes. Loyalists fear that democratic reforms would undermine their influence in the country where the majority of the population of 7 million is of Palestinian origin."If the decision on the elections law is not in his hands, how can the prime minister even dream of encouraging the opposition to take part?" said columnist and political analyst Maher Abu Tayer.Despite good relations with the Muslim Brotherhood, analysts say an atmosphere of distrust will prevent Ensour from diffusing growing tensions between the state and Jordan's largest political force."After each of the last four governments failed to live up to their reform promises, the Brotherhood has given up on listening to the government," said Rawashdeh. "They know that the prime minister is not the decision-maker."Islamist leaders reportedly walked out of their first meeting with Ensour, held less than 24 hours after his appointment, saying that their former political ally was unable to carry out democratic reforms."The question is not whether the prime minister is for democratic reforms, the question is whether he has the power to implement them," said Zaki Bani Rshied, deputy head of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood."If the government does not have full control over the state, how can it negotiate in the name of the state?" said Bani Rshied remarked.Ensour's appointment has also done little to calm pro-democracy protests."No matter who the King selects, we do not support a government that is not chosen by the people, for the people," said Muath Btoush of the Karak Popular Youth Movement, one of hundreds of protest groups that have sprouted across the country since early 2011.The government is also under pressure to trim over $2.8 billion in fuel and electricity subsidies."Although it would be politically wise to delay any lifting of subsidies until after the elections, financially the country just can't afford it," said Musa Shteiwi, director of the University of Jordan Centre for Strategic Studies.Jordan also faces a record $5 billion budget deficit. It has received less than half the $460 million in budgetary assistance promised by donor states. Experts say this means Jordan has no choice but to press ahead with unpopular austerity measures."It doesn't matter who is prime minister, these decisions are going to hurt a lot of Jordanian citizens and they won't stay quiet," said Jordanian columnist and political observer Bassem Shakhija.Abu Tayer said: "Before the Arab Spring, a change in government was enough to silence the Jordanian street. Now it is only encouraging it to speak louder." Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/10/13/2727599/government-change-fails-to-calm.html#storylink=cpy http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/10/13/2727599/government-change-fails-to-calm.html
Amature Hour Comes To MSM?
Here we have an interesting example of a Main Stream media outlet using 'amature' reporters to cover 'the news.' Let's compare this amature coverage with professional coverage by looking at what is happening in Syria...
Here is a broad overview of Syria
in a nutshell..
Please visit and peruse my previous post 'welcome to Syria...'
http://shoe08.blogspot.com/2012/02/welcome-to-syria.html
Here is a video by another MSM, although one might argue that the view from Russia is biased, one must also wonder who those masked 'amature' reporters on the situation in Syria really are...
China has taken a lead in support of a diplomacy and a peaceful end to the conflict in Syria. Xinhua has a whole page devoted to the Syrian 'situation.' Their media reports are quite understated, with every word filled with latent meaning.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-10/21/c_131920379.htm
Compare with these reports...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/21/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE88J0X720121021
By Marwan Makdesi
DAMASCUS | Sun Oct 21, 2012 8:53am EDT State news agency SANA said the president said Syria supported "any sincere effort to find a political solution to the crisis, based on respect for Syrian sovereignty and rejecting foreign intervention."
Any proposal "must be centered around the principle of halting the terrorism and ... commitment by the countries involved in supporting, arming and harboring the terrorists in Syria to stop these actions", SANA quoted Assad as saying.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20020323
(the view from Britan)
But only Anti war is covering Kofi Anan's
http://news.antiwar.com/2012/10/20/kofi-annan-im-dead-certain-military-intervention-in-syria-will-not-work/
Kofi Annan: ‘I’m Dead Certain’ Military Intervention in Syria ‘Will Not Work’
The former UN Secretary General and envoy to Syria also said Paul Ryan's argument against diplomacy was 'dead wrong'
by John Glaser, October 20, 2012
Former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan warned in an interview that will air on Sunday, that military intervention in Syria by the major powers will not work and “will make the situation much worse.”
“I’m dead certain it will not work,” Annan said. “It will make the situation much worse.”
“First of all, Libya – people refer to Libya as an example. Syria is not Libya. Syria is located in one of the most volatile regions of the world. Syria is next to Iraq, next to Lebanon, where we have had major problems. And in a region where you have all sorts of jihadist elements, and as we know they’ve been crossing into Syria. And because of the nature of Syrian society, which is a mosaic.”
Annan also derided the claims among some in the major powers that “something” or some kind of intervention must be done in order to stem the violence.
These are the same groups of people, he said, “that propagated the idea that any attempt to mediate gives Assad more time to kill.” This “is a piece of unmitigated nonsense,” adding that statements to this effect from GOP vice presidential contender Paul Ryan were “dead wrong.”
Annan has voiced these views before. All the way back in March, he warned not only against direct military intervention, but also against foreign meddling and arming of insurgent and rebel groups by various countries.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
What Are We Fighting For?
Dozens of police officers cleared the park where the Occupy movement was born six months ago and made several arrests after hundreds of protesters returned in an anniversary observance and defiantly resisted calls to clear out. (March 18)
With the stroke of a pen, President Obama signed bill HR 347 into law earlier this month. With that move, Obama made it a felony to express freedom of speech in America. The Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act that effortlessly passed the House and the Senate is a law that most Americans don't know about but could put them behind bars for up to 10 years. The law states it is a prosecutable offense to without lawful authority enter a building or grounds of a special event of national significance or enter a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting. David Seaman, journalist and host of the DL Show, joins us to talk about how, along with the NDAA, HR 347 is detrimental to the First Amendment.
In a pre-trial hearing the U.S. government has declared that Private Bradley Manning was aiding the enemy and stated that enemy was Al Qaeda. Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss the ridiculous hypocrisy of President Obama attacking this whistleblower.
A documentary on the commerce of war, and how the military industrial complex profits so much from war, that it must create wars to continue the growth of it's business.
............
Friday, March 16, 2012
Is The Arab Spring A Pentagon Strategy?
The Cruelty Of Wars, a slide show from China
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2012-03/17/c_131472874.htm
Engdahl's newest book is reviewed below.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=14046
Titled "Full Sprectrum Dominance: Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order," it discusses America's grand strategy, first revealed in the 1998 US Space Command document - Vision for 2020. Later released in 2000 as DOD Joint Vision 2020, it called for "full spectrum dominance" over all land, surface and sub-surface sea, air, space, electromagnetic spectrum and information systems with enough overwhelming power to fight and win global wars against any adversary, including with nuclear weapons preemptively.
Other means as well, including propaganda, NGOs and Color Revolutions for regime change, expanding NATO eastward, and "a vast array of psychological and economic warfare techniques" as part of a "Revolution in Military Affairs" discussed below.
September 11, 2001 served as pretext to consolidate power, destroy civil liberties and human rights, and wage permanent wars against invented enemies for global dominance over world markets, resources, and cheap labor - at the expense of democratic freedoms and social justice. Engdahl's book presents a frightening view of the future, arriving much sooner than most think.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11239.htm
But this 'policy' was by no means restricted to Central America. It was conducted throughout the world. It was never-ending. And it is as if it never happened.
The United States supported and in many cases engendered every right wing military dictatorship in the world after the end of the Second World War. I refer to Indonesia, Greece, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Haiti, Turkey, the Philippines, Guatemala, El Salvador, and, of course, Chile. The horror the United States inflicted upon Chile in 1973 can never be purged and can never be forgiven.
Hundreds of thousands of deaths took place throughout these countries. Did they take place? And are they in all cases attributable to US foreign policy? The answer is yes they did take place and they are attributable to American foreign policy. But you wouldn't know it.
............
The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law. The invasion was an arbitrary military action inspired by a series of lies upon lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore of the public; an act intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the Middle East masquerading – as a last resort – all other justifications having failed to justify themselves – as liberation. A formidable assertion of military force responsible for the death and mutilation of thousands and thousands of innocent people.
We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it 'bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East'.
.............
US Staff Sgt massacres 16, Afghans in the middle of the night, including 9 little children.
Slide show, Karzai meets with relatives of victims
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2012-03/17/c_131472669.htm
US Troops destroy Afghan village
Libya After NATO removed Gaddafy
US implicated in overthrow of Mubarak
...............
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2012-03/17/c_131472874.htm
Engdahl's newest book is reviewed below.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=14046
Titled "Full Sprectrum Dominance: Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order," it discusses America's grand strategy, first revealed in the 1998 US Space Command document - Vision for 2020. Later released in 2000 as DOD Joint Vision 2020, it called for "full spectrum dominance" over all land, surface and sub-surface sea, air, space, electromagnetic spectrum and information systems with enough overwhelming power to fight and win global wars against any adversary, including with nuclear weapons preemptively.
Other means as well, including propaganda, NGOs and Color Revolutions for regime change, expanding NATO eastward, and "a vast array of psychological and economic warfare techniques" as part of a "Revolution in Military Affairs" discussed below.
September 11, 2001 served as pretext to consolidate power, destroy civil liberties and human rights, and wage permanent wars against invented enemies for global dominance over world markets, resources, and cheap labor - at the expense of democratic freedoms and social justice. Engdahl's book presents a frightening view of the future, arriving much sooner than most think.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11239.htm
But this 'policy' was by no means restricted to Central America. It was conducted throughout the world. It was never-ending. And it is as if it never happened.
The United States supported and in many cases engendered every right wing military dictatorship in the world after the end of the Second World War. I refer to Indonesia, Greece, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Haiti, Turkey, the Philippines, Guatemala, El Salvador, and, of course, Chile. The horror the United States inflicted upon Chile in 1973 can never be purged and can never be forgiven.
Hundreds of thousands of deaths took place throughout these countries. Did they take place? And are they in all cases attributable to US foreign policy? The answer is yes they did take place and they are attributable to American foreign policy. But you wouldn't know it.
............
The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law. The invasion was an arbitrary military action inspired by a series of lies upon lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore of the public; an act intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the Middle East masquerading – as a last resort – all other justifications having failed to justify themselves – as liberation. A formidable assertion of military force responsible for the death and mutilation of thousands and thousands of innocent people.
We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it 'bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East'.
.............
US Staff Sgt massacres 16, Afghans in the middle of the night, including 9 little children.
Slide show, Karzai meets with relatives of victims
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2012-03/17/c_131472669.htm
US Troops destroy Afghan village
Libya After NATO removed Gaddafy
US implicated in overthrow of Mubarak
...............
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