INTERNMENT AND RESETTLEMENT OPERATIONS—US ARMY FM 3-39.40

“Destroy by any method that will prevent disclosure of contents or reconstruction of the document.”

USArmy-InternmentResettlement

Civilian Internees

1-10. A CI is a civilian who is interned during armed conflict, occupation, or other military operation for security reasons, for protection, or because he or she committed an offense against the detaining power. (JP 3-63) CIs, unless they have committed acts for which they are considered unlawful combatants, generally qualify for protected status according to the GC, which also establishes procedures that must be observedwhen depriving such civilians of their liberty. CIs are to be accommodated separately from EPWs and persons deprived of liberty for any other reason.

Rise Up or Die

“It is time to build radical mass movements that defy all formal centers of power and make concessions to none. It is time to employ the harsh language of open rebellion and class warfare. It is time to march to the beat of our own drum…. Revolt will see us branded as criminals. Revolt will push us into the shadows. And yet, if we do not revolt we can no longer use the word “hope.”

By Chris Hedges (about the author)
OpEdNews

Illustration by Mr. Fish

Joe Sacco and I spent two years reporting from the poorest pockets of the United States for our book “Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt.” We went into our nation’s impoverished “sacrifice zones” — the first areas forced to kneel before the dictates of the marketplace — to show what happens when unfettered corporate capitalism and ceaseless economic expansion no longer have external impediments. We wanted to illustrate what unrestrained corporate exploitation does to families, communities and the natural world. We wanted to challenge the reigning ideology of globalization and laissez-faire capitalism to illustrate what life becomes when human beings and the ecosystem are ruthlessly turned into commodities to exploit until exhaustion or collapse. And we wanted to expose as impotent the formal liberal and governmental institutions that once made reform possible, institutions no longer equipped with enough authority to check the assault of corporate power.

What has taken place in these sacrifice zones — in post-industrial cities such as Camden, N.J., and Detroit, in coalfields of southern West Virginia where mining companies blast off mountaintops, in Indian reservations where the demented project of limitless economic expansion and exploitation worked some of its earliest evil, and in produce fields where laborers often endure conditions that replicate slavery — is now happening to much of the rest of the country. These sacrifice zones succumbed first. You and I are next.

Corporations write our legislation. They control our systems of information. They manage the political theater of electoral politics and impose our educational curriculum. They have turned the judiciary into one of their wholly owned subsidiaries. They have decimated labor unions and other independent mass organizations, as well as having bought off the Democratic Party, which once defended the rights of workers. With the evisceration of piecemeal and incremental reform–the primary role of liberal, democratic institutions–we are left defenseless against corporate power.

The Department of Justice seizure of two months of records of phone calls to and from editors and reporters at The Associated Press is the latest in a series of dramatic assaults against our civil liberties. The DOJ move is part of an effort to hunt down the government official or officials who leaked information to the AP about the foiling of a plot to blow up a passenger jet. Information concerning phones of Associated Press bureaus in New York, Washington, D.C., and Hartford, Conn., as well as the home and mobile phones of editors and reporters, was secretly confiscated. This, along with measures such as the use of the Espionage Act against whistle-blowers, will put a deep freeze on all independent investigations into abuses of government and corporate power.

Seizing the AP phone logs is part of the corporate state’s broader efforts to silence all voices that defy the official narrative, the state’s Newspeak, and hide from public view the inner workings, lies and crimes of empire. The person or persons who provided the classified information to the AP will, if arrested, most likely be prosecuted under the Espionage Act. That law was never intended when it was instituted in 1917 to silence whistle-blowers. And from 1917 until Barack Obama took office in 2009 it was employed against whistle-blowers only three times, the first time against Daniel Ellsberg for leaking the Pentagon Papers in 1971. The Espionage Act has been used six times by the Obama administration against government whistle-blowers, including Thomas Drake.

The government’s fierce persecution of the press — an attack pressed by many of the governmental agencies that are arrayed against WikiLeaks, Bradley Manning, Julian Assange and activists such as Jeremy Hammond — dovetails with the government’s use of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force to carry out the assassination of U.S. citizens; of the FISA Amendments Act, which retroactively makes legal what under our Constitution was once illegal — the warrantless wiretapping and monitoring of tens of millions of U.S. citizens; and of Section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act, which permits the government to have the military seize U.S. citizens, strip them of due process and hold them in indefinite detention. These measures, taken together, mean there are almost no civil liberties left.

A handful of corporate oligarchs around the globe have everything — wealth, power and privilege — and the rest of us struggle as part of a vast underclass, increasingly impoverished and ruthlessly repressed. There is one set of laws and regulations for us; there is another set of laws and regulations for a power elite that functions as a global mafia.

We stand helpless before the corporate onslaught. There is no way to vote against corporate power. Citizens have no way to bring about the prosecution of Wall Street bankers and financiers for fraud, military and intelligence officials for torture and war crimes, or security and surveillance officers for human rights abuses. The Federal Reserve is reduced to printing money for banks and financiers and lending it to them at almost zero percent interest; corporate officers then lend it to us at usurious rates as high as 30 percent. I do not know what to call this system. It is certainly not capitalism. Extortion might be a better word. The fossil fuel industry, meanwhile, relentlessly trashes the ecosystem for profit. The melting of 40 percent of the summer Arctic sea ice is, to corporations, a business opportunity. Companies rush to the Arctic and extract the last vestiges of oil, natural gas, minerals and fish stocks, indifferent to the death pangs of the planet. The same corporate forces that give us endless soap operas that pass for news, from the latest court proceedings surrounding O.J. Simpson to the tawdry details of the Jodi Arias murder trial, also give us atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide that surpass 400 parts per million. They entrance us with their electronic hallucinations as we waiver, as paralyzed with fear as Odysseus’ sailors, between Scylla and Charybdis.

There is nothing in 5,000 years of economic history to justify the belief that human societies should structure their behavior around the demands of the marketplace. This is an absurd, utopian ideology. The airy promises of the market economy have, by now, all been exposed as lies. The ability of corporations to migrate overseas has decimated our manufacturing base. It has driven down wages, impoverishing our working class and ravaging our middle class. It has forced huge segments of the population — including those burdened by student loans — into decades of debt peonage. It has also opened the way to massive tax shelters that allow companies such as General Electric to pay no income tax. Corporations employ virtual slave labor in Bangladesh and China, making obscene profits. As corporations suck the last resources from communities and the natural world, they leave behind, as Joe Sacco and I saw in the sacrifice zones we wrote about, horrific human suffering and dead landscapes. The greater the destruction, the greater the apparatus crushes dissent.

More than 100 million Americans — one-third of the population — live in poverty or a category called “near poverty.” Yet the stories of the poor and the near poor, the hardships they endure, are rarely told by a media that is owned by a handful of corporations — Viacom, General Electric, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., Clear Channel and Disney. The suffering of the underclass, like the crimes of the power elite, has been rendered invisible.

In the Lakota Indian reservation at Pine Ridge, S.D., in the United States’ second poorest county, the average life expectancy for a male is 48. This is the lowest in the Western Hemisphere outside of Haiti. About 60 percent of the Pine Ridge dwellings, many of which are sod huts, lack electricity, running water, adequate insulation or sewage systems. In the old coal camps of southern West Virginia, amid poisoned air, soil and water, cancer is an epidemic. There are few jobs. And the Appalachian Mountains, which provide the headwaters for much of the Eastern Seaboard, are dotted with enormous impoundment ponds filled with heavy metals and toxic sludge. In order to breathe, children go to school in southern West Virginia clutching inhalers. Residents trapped in the internal colonies of our blighted cities endure levels of poverty and violence, as well as mass incarceration, that leave them psychologically and emotionally shattered. And the nation’s agricultural workers, denied legal protection, are often forced to labor in conditions of unpaid bondage. This is the terrible algebra of corporate domination. This is where we are all headed. And in this accelerated race to the bottom we will end up as serfs or slaves.

Rebel. Even if you fail, even if we all fail, we will have asserted against the corporate forces of exploitation and death our ultimate dignity as human beings. We will have defended what is sacred. Rebellion means steadfast defiance. It means resisting just as have Bradley Manning and Julian Assange, just as has Mumia Abu-Jamal, the radical journalist whom Cornel West, James Cone                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   and I visited in prison last week in Frackville, Pa. It means refusing to succumb to fear. It means refusing to surrender, even if you find yourself, like Manning and Abu-Jamal, caged like an animal. It means saying no. To remain safe, to remain “innocent” in the eyes of the law in this moment in history is to be complicit in a monstrous evil. In his poem of resistance, “If We Must Die,” Claude McKay knew that the odds were stacked against African-Americans who resisted white supremacy. But he also knew that resistance to tyranny saves our souls. McKay wrote:

If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursèd lot.
If we must die, O let us nobly die
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
O kinsmen! We must meet the common foe!
Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one death blow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

It is time to build radical mass movements that defy all formal centers of power and make concessions to none. It is time to employ the harsh language of open rebellion and class warfare. It is time to march to the beat of our own drum. The law historically has been a very imperfect tool for justice, as African-Americans know, but now it is exclusively the handmaiden of our corporate oppressors; now it is a mechanism of injustice. It was our corporate overlords who launched this war. Not us. Revolt will see us branded as criminals. Revolt will push us into the shadows. And yet, if we do not revolt we can no longer use the word “hope.”

Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick” grasps the dark soul of global capitalism. We are all aboard the doomed ship Pequod, a name connected to an Indian tribe eradicated by genocide, and Ahab is in charge. “All my means are sane,” Ahab says, “my motive and my object mad.” We are sailing on a maniacal voyage of self-destruction, and no one in a position of authority, even if he or she sees what lies ahead, is willing or able to stop it. Those on the Pequod who had a conscience, including Starbuck, did not have the courage to defy Ahab. The ship and its crew were doomed by habit, cowardice and hubris. Melville’s warning must become ours. Rise up or die.

 

Chris Hedges spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent in Central America, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. He has reported from more than 50 countries and has worked for The Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio, The (more…)

World Opinion Turning Against Saudis/Qatar/American Sponsorship of International Terrorists Within Syria

UN General Assembly Vote Reflects Shift in Syrian Public Opinion

 

by FRANKLIN LAMB

 

Homs, Syria

It’s not hard to find critics of the Assad government in the Governorate (Muhafazat) of Homs or for that matter, to varying degrees in Syria’s other thirteen Governorates according to Syrian analysts interviewed by this observer and reports from human rights groups including lawyers representing dissidents in Syria. However, after nearly 27 months of turmoil, the public opinion pendulum is markedly shifting back in support of the current regime.

One international political result was registered at the United Nations this past week when a US-Qatari-Saudi drafted General Assembly Resolution that was designed to increase pressure on the Assad government stumbled badly and fell far short of what the Saudi Ambassador to the UN and other US allies predicted would be an overwhelming vote in favor.

Effect of shift in popular opinion in Syria

Over the past four or five months it has become increasingly clear that public opinion in Syria is shifting for reasons that include, but are not limited to the following:

While inflation at the grocery stores in probably the most common complaint heard from a cross-section of society here, the population is adapting somewhat to higher prices and it appears to credit the government for efforts, some successful, to soften the impact of the illegal US-led sanctions that target this same Syrian population for purely political reasons to achieve regime change.

While Syrians demand dignity and freedom from oppressive security forces and an end to corruption, as all people do in this region and beyond, they are witnessing a return to near normalcy with respect to supplies of electricity, benzene, mazout fuel oil, bus schedules, schools, and a host of public services such as garbage collection, street sweeping, park maintenance, and sympathetic traffic cops who are rather understanding of short-cuts taken by drivers and pedestrians due to “the situation”.

In addition, public service announcement and even text messages demonstrate that the government is aware of the degree of suffering among the population, accept partial blame, and are focusing on remedial measure and crucially, ending the crisis with its horrific bloodshed. One observes here a definite trend of the pulling together of a high percentage of Syrians who share a very unique history and culture and who are deeply connected to their country and who are increasingly repelled by the continuing killing from all sides including the recent barbarisms of body mutilations and summary executions videotaped and broadcast on Utube by jihadist elements. The latter who these days come from nearly three dozen countries, paid for and indoctrinated by enemies of Syria’s Arab nationalism and deep rooted pillar of resistance to the occupation of Palestine.

In addition, many among Syria’s 23 million citizens, who initially supported the uprising following government reaction to event in Deraa in March 2011, now have serious second thoughts about who exactly would replace the current government. Events in Syria are also making plain that the army is still loyal to the Assad government, and according to Jane’s Defense Weekly, is actually gaining experience and strength as well as the well-known fact that as western diplomats are admitting, the “opposition militias” are hopelessly fractured, turning one another, many essential mafia outfits, and beginning to resemble their fellow jihadists from Libya, Chechnya and in between.

Opinion in Damascus and surrounding areas visited this past week, confirms this observers experience the past five months of a sharp and fairly rapid shift in opinion that now strongly favors letting the Syrian people themselves decide, without outside interference, whether the Assad regime will stay, and indeed, whether, the Baathist party will continue to represent majority opinion, not through wanton violence but rather via next June’s election. Many express confidence in the run up to this critical vote, noting that the election will be closely monitored by the international community to assure fairness.

Perhaps aided by the current glorious May weather, a certain optimism, that was more scarce in the past, pervades many neighborhoods.

For different reasons, foreign powers, including the USA, Turkey, European Union, the UK Jordan and even the majority population of the six Gulf Cooperation Council family run countries, according to Pew Research, are shifting their earlier positions which were based in part of the US administration, NATO, and Israeli assurances that the Assad government would surely fall quickly, “A matter of days, not weeks” US President Obama promised. That was two years ago.

As noted above, this trend has accelerated since the UN General Assembly vote with last weeks which did not go as planned on the biased and politicized non-binding draft resolution on Syria.

The public reaction in Syria and across the Middle East is substantially that the “Friends of Syria” non-binding GA resolution contradicts the reality on the ground, backs terrorism in Syria and hinders the international efforts to help achieve a political solution to the crisis in this country. Only 107 states voted in favor of the resolution, 12 against while 59 countries, mostly from Africa and Latin America, abstained from voting.

One reason the vote fell short of the 130 favorable votes that the basically same resolution garnered the past two times is that it is widely viewed as ignoring the crimes and atrocities committed by the armed jihadist groups in Syria and the flow of thousands of international terrorists backed by the West, the Gulf states and Turkey who provide them with weapons and money. According to the Russian delegate, backed by several other speakers, “the resolutions ignores all the terrorists’ heinous crimes and denounces what it called the escalation of the attacks by the Syrian government”. Afterward one Latin American Permanent Representative told Inner City Press that the count would have been below 100 if not for some “last minute arm-twisting.” As it turned out, 15 countries didn’t vote at all, opting to “get coffee,” as one African Permanent Representative put it before the vote.

Syria’s Ambassador al-Jaafari exposes a hoax in the Gulf

Syria’s permanent Envoy to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari said his country regretted the adoption of a biased and unbalanced UN resolution, thanking the countries that rejected the resolution “for their responsible positions which support the UN principles and the international law articles”. He noted that the decrease in the number of countries that voted in favor and the increase of numbers of those who abstained from voting indicates the growing international understanding of the reality of what is happening in Syria due to the foreign interference, support of terrorism, the spread of extremism and incitement besides the refusal of dialogue.

“We rely on the UN and its member states to support Syria and its people against the culture of extremism and terrorism, and to encourage the comprehensive national dialogue to peacefully resolve the Syrian crisis.” he said. In a statement released after the vote on the UN draft resolution on Syria, al-Jaafari He said that the French delegation had foiled the issuance of a number of UN press releases to condemn the terrorist acts committed by al-Qaeda-linked armed groups in Syria which claimed the lives of thousands of Syrians as it foiled a UN release to condemn the attempt of assassination of the Syrian Premier.

After Qatar’s ambassador spoke in favor of the resolution his country drafted (and re-drafted several time), Ja’afari revealed that there existed an e-mail, from the representative of the Syrian opposition given to Syria’s embassy in Qatar, showing Qatar’s involvement in the kidnapping of UN peacekeepers by the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade. He read out a phone number from the e-mail as several Gulf diplomats grimaced or scowled, and three left the Chamber.

Visibly stunned, the UK Permanent Representative Lyall Grant called the whole matter “deeply confusing”. Another Permanent Representative, from a militia contributing country, said that if true, it’s “very problematic.” The reasons include the fact that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had just thanked Qatar for its roles in the release of the UN Peacekeepers the earlier kidnapping of whom the Qatari government may have planned, paid for and executed.

Meanwhile, Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky said he would not disclose any more about the “negotiations to free the peacekeepers or who was behind the crime.”

Score a major diplomatic victory for Syria’s UN Ambassador al-Jaafari as public opinion shifts in favor of the Assad government and both pressure as well as optimism build in the run-up to the Geneva II conference being organized by the White House and the Kremlin.

Franklin Lamb is doing research in Syria and Lebanon and can be reached c/o fplamb@gmail.com

Putin’s “Red-Line”–Defended With “Carrier-Killers” For Syria and A Dozen Russian Warships Permanently Stationed Along the Coast

[SEE:  Syria crisis: Russia 'sends sophisticated weapons']

“Russia has sent sophisticated anti-ship missiles to Syria, US media report.

The New York Times quotes unnamed US officials as saying the missiles could be used to counter any potential future foreign military intervention in Syria.”

  Russia signed the deal to supply Syria with Yakhont missiles in 2007

VIDEO FOOTAGE OF YAKHONT LAUNCH

[SEE: The Indian/Russian Mach 3 Carrier-Killer Missile]

VIDEO FOOTAGE OF BRAHMOS LAUNCH

Yakhont…   ..Brahmos

Russia Raises Stakes in Syria

Assad Ally Bolsters Warships in Region; U.S. Sees Warning

By ADAM ENTOUS and JULIAN E. BARNES in Washington and GREGORY L. WHITE in Moscow

Russia expands its naval presence near a key base in Syria in a build-up that U.S. and European officials say appears aimed at deterring intervention in the country’s increasingly bloody civil war. Photo: Getty Images.

Russia has sent a dozen or more warships to patrol waters near its naval base in Syria, a buildup that U.S. and European officials see as a newly aggressive stance meant partly to warn the West and Israel not to intervene in Syria’s bloody civil war.

Russia’s expanded presence in the eastern Mediterranean, which began attracting U.S. officials’ notice three months ago, represents one of its largest sustained naval deployments since the Cold War. While Western officials say they don’t fear an impending conflict with Russia’s aged fleet, the presence adds a new source of potential danger for miscalculation in an increasingly combustible region.

“It is a show of force. It’s muscle flexing,” a senior U.S. defense official said of the Russian deployments. “It is about demonstrating their commitment to their interests.”

The buildup is seen as Moscow’s way of trying to strengthen its hand in any talks over Syria’s future and buttress its influence in the Middle East. It also provides options for evacuating tens of thousands of Russians still in Syria.

The deployments come at a time of heightened tensions. U.S. officials said Thursday that another round of Israeli airstrikes could target a new transfer of advanced missiles, anti-ship weapons known as Yakhont missiles, in the near future. Israeli and Western intelligence services believe the missiles, which have been sold by Russia to Syria in recent years, could be transferred to the militant Hezbollah group within days. Russia has strongly protested previous Israeli strikes in Syria.

Yakhont missiles are an offensive system. Moscow has told Western diplomats it will supply only defensive weaponry to the Syrian regime. But U.S. and Israeli officials have long been worried about Syria’s existing stocks of the weapon. If transferred to Hezbollah or other militant groups, they could provide a serious threat to both Israeli and U.S. warships in the region.

Russian Navy and foreign ministry officials didn’t respond to requests for comment about the deployments of the warships.

Russia supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the U.S. has called for his removal. Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled this week that he is pushing ahead with the sale of an advanced air-defense system to Syria, according to U.S. intelligence reports, over Israeli and U.S. objections.

Hezbollah and its chief sponsor, Iran, also have rallied around Mr. Assad, sharing Russia’s interest in keeping the regime in place. Recent Israeli airstrikes inside Syria have targeted missiles believed to be bound from Tehran to Hezbollah, Western intelligence officials have alleged.

Moscow and Washington have worked publicly in recent days to assemble an international conference involving Damascus. But expectations are low that the meeting could lead to a political transition, as tensions have heightened around the region, and with the U.S. and Russia backing opposing camps.

Amid the strategic turmoil, U.S. and European defense officials say Russia appears to be trying to project power to deter outside intervention in Syria, which it sees as its foothold in the Middle East.

U.S. and European officials believe Mr. Putin wants to prevent the West from contemplating a Libya-style military operation inside Syria. President Barack Obama doesn’t want to intervene militarily, but he has said the calculation could be changed by suspected use of chemical weapons by Mr. Assad’s forces. Likewise, the Pentagon has stepped up military contingency planning in the event of spillover of fighting into neighboring Turkey and Jordan, both close U.S. allies.

Moscow’s deployments appeared designed to show that Russia intends to keep Tartus, its only remaining military outpost outside the former Soviet Union, senior U.S. officials said. Though spare by Western military standards—it consists of a pair of piers staffed by about 50 people, according to Russian data—the base provides a toehold in the region that has grown in strategic and symbolic importance for Moscow.

“It’s not really a base,” said Andrei Frolov, an analyst at CAST, a Moscow military think tank. “It’s more like a service station” that can do limited resupply and very modest repairs.

U.S. officials say, however, that Russia has drawn up plans to expand the base, which it negotiated with Mr. Assad.

Washington’s interest in the base has likewise grown—not because the U.S. sees it as a threat, but because U.S. officials believe that by assuring Russia that the base will remain under Moscow’s control in a post-Assad Syria, the U.S. has a better chance of convincing Mr. Putin to break with Mr. Assad.

Mr. Obama held out some hope Thursday that the coming conference with Russia would help the major powers reach a consensus on how to end the bloodshed in Syria.

“There’s no magic formula for dealing with an extraordinarily violent and difficult situation like Syria’s,” Mr. Obama said at a news conference in Washington with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “I do think that the prospect of talks in Geneva involving the Russians…may yield results.”

Moscow’s diplomacy notwithstanding, U.S. officials believe that in addition to the naval deployments, Russia is moving more quickly than previously thought to deliver S-300 surface-to-air defense systems to Syria.

U.S. officials say the S-300 system, which is capable of shooting down guided missiles and could make it more risky for any warplanes to enter Syrian airspace, could leave Russia for the port of Tartus by the end of May.

Russia’s delivery of such missiles could create a new dilemma for Israel, which has carried out what Western intelligence officials say are at least three airstrikes inside Syria in recent months against suspected weapons shipments to Hezbollah. Israel has yet to target Syrian forces directly, seeking to avoid direct conflict with Mr. Assad, say U.S. and Israeli officials.

Russian officials first announced the navy was deploying ships to the eastern Mediterranean near Syria starting in late 2012, but few details about the deployments have been made public.

In January, the Russian navy used these and other ships to conduct what it billed as some of the largest exercises in recent years in the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea for a force that has had relatively low international presence since the Cold War. State media reported that as many as 21 ships and three submarines were involved, as well as planes and other forces.

Before the start of the Syrian civil war, Russian ships stopped at the port only irregularly. But in the last three months, 10 to 15 Russian ships have been near the Syrian port at any one time, U.S. and European officials say. They say Russia currently has 11 ships in the eastern Mediterranean, organized into three task forces, that include destroyers, frigates, support vessels and intelligence-collecting ships. Another three-ship group of amphibious vessels is headed to the region. But U.S. officials said they expect that group to replace one of the groups currently in the region.

“You have more and more warships” concentrated between Cyprus, Lebanon and Turkey, a senior European defense official said, adding that Russia is protecting its sphere of influence in the Middle East and “staking its claim” to Tartus.

Many of the Russian ships in the eastern Mediterranean have stopped in Syria, conducted exercises, port visits or training in the area, and then moved on to the Gulf of Aden to conduct counterpiracy missions, U.S. and European officials said. Others in the aging fleet have returned to Black Sea ports for repairs and resupply in recent weeks, Russian state media reported.

The stops in Syria, according to a U.S. official, signal that Russia wants to show it remains a naval power, even though its strength is diminished from the Soviet era and no longer matches Western capabilities.

“They are stretching their legs,” the official said. “They are very much interested in letting people know they are a blue-water navy.”

The Soviets had ships in the Mediterranean during the Cold War whose mission was to counter the U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet. The Russians ended that mission in 1992. But in the last few months, the Russian navy has talked about reviving a similar mission to signal Russia’s influence in the region.

For now, senior U.S. officials said the Russian buildup “is not seen as threatening” to the U.S. Navy, which has two destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean and an aircraft carrier battle group in the Persian Gulf.

“Nobody is forecasting the battle of Midway in the eastern Med,” the senior defense official said.

Write to Adam Entous at adam.entous@wsj.com, Julian E. Barnes at julian.barnes@wsj.com and Gregory L. White at greg.white@wsj.com

Scowling Faces of the Defeated Fake “Islamists” That Should Make Normal Pakistanis Very Proud Today

Fazl rejects PTI mandate in KP

PESHAWAR: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) has accused Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf of poll rigging in Mardan, Kohat, Peshawar and Fata and demanded re-election in the areas.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman warned of protests across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa if his demand was not accepted.

He said his party did not accept the PTI’s victory in Mardan, Kohat, Peshawar and Fata obtained through massive rigging.

He alleged that results had been changed in the areas and asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take notice of irregularities and order re-election.

Raising doubts over the credibility of elections held across the country, he said the ECP’s failure to stop rigging had made the entire exercise controversial.

People, he said, had expected that the commission would conduct free, fair and impartial polls but they were disappointed.

Replying to a question, he said the JUI-F was in touch with the PML-N, Qaumi Watan Party, Jamaat-i-Islami and independents to explore the possibility of forming a coalition government in KP.

PTI’s response

Responding to the allegations, Asad Qaisar, president of the provincial chapter of PTI, has urged the JUI-F to respect the people’s mandate and sit in the opposition, instead of raising a hue and cry.

He said in a statement that Maulana Fazl had used the name of Islam only to grab power but he was rejected by the people who were aware of his motive.

He said the PTI had emerged as the party of the people under the dynamic leadership of Imran Khan.

He accused Maulana Fazl of accumulating wealth “in the name of Islam”, but the days of corrupt politicians were numbered. “Now people’s true representatives will rule the province.”

The Maulana, he said, cried foul whenever his party was rejected by people in an election.

The JUI-I chief had been baffled by the huge mandate of the PTI, he said, adding that party would form government in the province and serve the masses with dedication.

S-300 Air Defense Systems To Be Delivered To Syria “For Sure”—Putin

 

Russia digs in heels over Syria despite diplomatic push

AFP 

(Russia and the United States agreed to work to convene an international peace conference on Syria, a move UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi described as “the first hopeful news” from Syria in a long time.)

MOSCOW: Despite a flurry of diplomatic activity aiming to end a war that has claimed more than 80,000 lives, Russia still shows no signs of abandoning its support for the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, British Prime Minister David Cameron and now Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have all found time to meet President Vladimir Putin in the last few days in a new effort to find an international consensus.

Russia and the United States agreed to work to convene an international peace conference on Syria, a move UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi described as “the first hopeful news” from Syria in a long time.

But in a sign of its refusal to line up with the West against Assad’s regime, Moscow has defied international calls to pledge to halt deliveries of advanced S-300 missile batteries to Syria.

Meanwhile it is far from certain that the conference, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said should ideally take place by the end of the month, can take place swiftly.

“If they don’t agree on the conference, its format and the time Assad should go, the casualties will carry on growing in huge numbers,” said Vladimir Akhmedov, a Middle East expert at the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“They would have to have Assad and his opponents at the negotiating table and they so far do not want to talk to him. There are lots of snags,” added Viktor Kremenyuk, deputy head of the Institute of USA and Canada.

Further complicating matters is the fact that the proposed conference would aim to build on an agreement reached by world powers in Geneva last June, which was never implemented, analysts said.

The agreement called for a cessation of violence and the establishment of a transitional government without ever spelling out Assad’s fate.

“It will be based on an idea that has failed. I doubt that the second conference will be more successful than the previous one,” said Akhmedov.

Russia and the West have been deeply divided over the war in Syria since its beginning in 2011.

Even though Moscow has stressed it does not support Assad personally, it maintains he has to be part of any negotiations over future of the country. In contrast, the West wants Assad out.

But recent claims of the use of chemical weapons by both sides, Israeli airstrikes on Syria and the multiplying casualty toll have spurred the uneasy partners into action.

In a bid to make another joint push for peace, Putin met Kerry for two and a half hours at the Kremlin on Tuesday and hosted Cameron for rare talks at his Black Sea vacation residence on Friday.

The next high-profile guest to call on Putin in Sochi is Netanyahu who will visit him Tuesday.

Netanyahu is widely expected to discuss supplies of weapons to Syria such as S-300 surface-to-air-missiles, amid concerns such a delivery would embolden the Damascus regime.

The sophisticated systems can defend against multiple aircraft and missiles and will complicate any foreign intervention.

While military analysts say it remains unclear whether the Kremlin will make good on its promise to deliver the arms, some suggest it is using the supplies as a bargaining chip in its talks with the West.

Opposition weekly The New Times, citing a source in London, said Monday the Russians had insisted in talks with Kerry that Moscow would fulfil its arms contracts with Syria.

The Kremlin will only revisit its decision if the West drops any plans it may have to “dismember Syria” by creating a buffer zone, the magazine said.

The Kommersant daily said Putin had told Cameron during talks that the S-300 systems would be delivered to Syria “for sure,” adding the contract in question was signed in 2010.

Britain and France have been leading a push to have the European Union’s embargo on supplying arms to Syria lifted, a move that could tip the balance of power in favour of rebels.

“Moscow is seeing that the West is getting fed up with the crisis and that it is determined to put an end to the Syrian mess,” said Kremenyuk.

Zbig Admits That Global Political Awakening Is Roadblock To Elite Domination

The more that the people “awaken” to the fact that a small segment of the human race considers the rest of us as their “cattle,” the faster that their power over us erodes.  Brzezenski is not sounding a prophetic message of hope to the world’s masses, he is warning the elite that their window of opportunity is slipping away.  That is the great part of True Democracy–the righteous, self-igniting outrage which is a natural bi-product of learning about grievous injustice or the intentional, institutional abuse of our rights or those of our fellow man.  The more we learn, the more dangerous we become to the elite. 

[If they hope to survive their great social experiment involving all of our lives, then they will move against us while they still can.--Peter]

Jordanian Press Claims That Hezbollah To Receive SA-22 Real “Game-Changer”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SA-22 (pantsir S1)

Hezbollah’s balance-shifting weapon

AMMONNEWS – Exclusive – It will be undoubtedly the first time that Lebanon’s Hezbollah receives a qualitatively sophisticated anti-aircraft weapon able to destroy any aircraft within its effective range.

Hezbollah practically has three types of heat-guided missiles and two types of radar guided missiles, the maximum effective range of which is 8 km and 4 km vertically while the new weapon has a range of 20 km and 15 km vertically, respectively.

This system is SA-22 (pantsir S1) it has two radars one for detection and the other for guidance. It also includes optical detection and a guidance system, with four 30-mm cannons and 12 missiles all mounted on truck.

The system is the latest in the Russian arsenal and is owned by – or under order – for the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Iran, Algeria and Jordan.

Hezbollah’s possession of this type of weaponry allows it to initiate any pre-emptive strike towards Israel, the Zionist entity. It gives Hezbollah the ability to neutralize the Israeli Air Force power, even for short periods within the effective range of the weapon, forcing Israeli air force to bomb from very far distances and high altitudes, aside from the fact that Israeli helicopters will not appear in the field.

The question remains, what number of platforms will be sent to Hezbollah? These numbers will up the stakes in any conflict, considering that the total platforms bought by Syria reached 40.

The reason for sending such weapons to Hezbollah owes to the size and force of the air strike that bombarded Syria last week, where about 20 – 36 Israeli aircrafts took part with the use of BLU-109 and GBU-28 bombs for the first time, causing massive destruction in the targeted sites.

Weapon Specifications: Each platform has 12 missiles with a maximum range of 20 km and a maximum altitude of up to 15 km. It also has four 30 mm cannon with 1400 shells with maximum range of 4 km.

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah had announced last Thursday that his party will support any Syrian effort to reclaim the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel, days after Israeli strikes bombarded Damascus, under the pretext of bombing Syrian weapons being transported to Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Hezbollah said that Syria will send it new “game changing” weapons, stressing on Thursday that shipment of advanced weapons would serve as Syria’s reaction to Israeli air raids.

In a televised address, Nasrallah said that his group is ready to receive such weapons, stressing “The resistance [against Israel] is prepared to accept any sophisticated weaponry even if it was to break the equilibrium [in the region].”

Syria to equip Hezbollah with game-changing arms: Nasrallah

Hezbollah had these Iranian Zelzal-1/Zelzal-2 Rockets (range 200 km) since 2006 Zionist invasion

By Dana Khraiche, Thomas El-Basha

BEIRUT: Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said Thursday Syria would supply Hezbollah with game-changing weapons in response to recent Israeli air raids near Damascus and that his party stands ready to assist resistance groups seeking to liberate the occupied Golan Heights.

“The Syrian response to Israel’s air strikes was to tell Israel that if your goal is to prevent boosting the capabilities of the resistance then take note … [Syria] will give [Hezbollah] arms,” he said.

“And [Syria] will provide [Hezbollah] with sophisticated weapons that the resistance has never obtained before,” he added.

He spoke during a televised speech commemorating the 25th anniversary of Hezbollah’s An-Nour radio station.

Nasrallah said his group was ready to use such strategic weapons in its fight against the Jewish state.

“The Lebanese resistance announces that it is ready to receive any sophisticated arms even if it is a game changer and we are ready to obtain and safeguard such weaponry and use it to defend our people and country,” he added.

Last week, Israel carried out air raids on targets in Syria, bringing the total number of strikes by the Jewish state in Syria this year to three.

Western media, quoting Israeli sources, said the Israeli warplanes targeted Iranian-made missiles headed for Hezbollah. Damascus said a Syrian military research center was the target.

Israel has repeatedly warned that it will prevent Hezbollah from obtaining game-changing arms, voicing its concern that Syria’s stockpile of sophisticated weaponry could fall in the hands of its enemies.

Nasrallah denied media reports that 300 Syrian soldiers were killed in the attacks on the military facility, saying “according to my information only three or four martyrs from the Syrian military were killed.”

He said the Jewish state had sought to achieve two objectives through its air strikes: neutralize Syria in terms of the Israeli-Arab conflict and prevent the Lebanese resistance group from building up its arsenal.

Nasrallah, who hinted last week President Bashar Assad’s allies Iran and Russia would intervene militarily to prevent the fall of the embattled Syrian leader, also said Syria’s response to the Israeli assault was to activate its front with Israel – the occupied Golan Heights.

“The secod response [by Damascus] is that it opened the Golan front and by that it transformed the threat [against it] into an opportunity,” he said. “So whoever wanted a war on Syria, the response was to open the Golan front for any popular resistance groups,” he added.

“The third response is to prepare rocket launchers and give orders to implement without referring to the leadership and that frightened Israel which began sending messages [to Syria] of calm,” he said.

Nasrallah also vowed to assist, back and support resistance groups seeking to liberate the occupied Golan Heights.

“Just as Syria stood in support of the resistance to defend and liberate the south [of Lebanon], we announce that we are with the Syrian popular resistance groups to cooperate, coordinate and liberate the occupied Syrian Golan,” he said.

Such a response to Israel, Nasrallah said, pointed the Assad’s careful approach to dealing with the crisis.

“Everything that is happening today indicates that Syria has a strong leadership that is managing the battles with the enemy in a wise, calm and courageous manner which will achieve victory in the future, God willing,” Nasrallah said.

While he reiterated that the only solution to the crisis in Syria was through a compromise between the regime and the opposition, Nasrallah slammed Arab countries for not acting to end the bloody conflict.

“It is shameful that the U.S. be the one seeking Syria’s interests while the Arabs appear as if they’re the ones destroying Syria which is something that falls in the interests of the enemy,” he said.

Turning to domestic issues, including the process of forming a new Cabinet and the drafting of a new electoral law for the upcoming elections, Nasrallah reiterated his party’s demand that the next Cabinet be made up of political parties according to their clout in Parliament.

“Given the domestic and regional circumstances, as well as the recent Israeli strikes on Syria and its continuous daily aggression on Lebanon, in addition to regional tensions, there should be a government of true national partnership,” he said.

“We didn’t ask for a government that represents the actual clout of parties [in terms of popular support] but their [representation] at the parliament level and this government will administer not only the elections but will have other responsibilities even if it lasts for one week,” Nasrallah added.

He also called for a swift formation of the new government.

Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam has said he is wants a government whose ministers are not running in the upcoming elections. The primary task of the new government, according to Salam, should be to administer the general elections with the needed transparency.

The March 14 coalition, particularly the Future Movement, has supported Salam’s Cabinet vision and has asked the Beirut lawmaker to rotate the ministerial portfolios between the various political parties.

Nasrallah also reiterated that his party’s lawmakers would vote in favor of the controversial Orthodox Gathering electoral law if it is put up for a vote during Parliament’s May 15 session.

“Hezbollah will vote on the Orthodox Gathering law because we have already given our word on that and we were clear,” he said.

“But our group has not yet reached an agreement on an alternative law but we are ready to negotiate based on the outcomes of the May 15 talks,” he said, referring to the legislative session called for by Speaker Nabih Berri to discuss and approve a new electoral law.

“It Is Our Right, It Is Our Duty” To Abolish Despotic Government–WE MIGHT NEED OUR GUNS

 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness….But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”–The Declaration of Independence.

Nearly A Third Of Americans Think Armed Revolution Might Be Necessary

 

Underpinning some concerns about new gun control legislation, a new poll found nearly a third of registered voters in the U.S. think an armed revolution might be necessary in the next few years in order to protect personal liberties.

The poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind showed that 29 percent of voters think an armed revolution might be necessary, while another five percent are unsure.

Among those that think an armed revolution might be necessary, only 38 percent support additional gun control legislation, compared with 62 percent of those who don’t think an armed revolt will be needed.

Dan Cassino, a professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson, said, “The differences in views of gun legislation are really a function of differences in what people believe guns are for.”

“If you truly believe an armed revolution is possible in the near future, you need weapons and you’re going to be wary about government efforts to take them away,” he added.

The poll found that just 18 percent of Democrats think an armed revolution may be necessary, compared to 44 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of independents.

Overall, fifty percent of registered voters, including 73 percent of Democrats, support new gun control laws, while 39 percent, including 65 percent of Republicans, are opposed to new laws.

 

The US Government War Against the People–ALL People

[It is not often that I find myself in agreement with VA editor Gordon Duff, but in the following article from PressTV,  he nails the dire issues we face squarely on the head.  It really takes a military man to understand the criminal activity associated with his everyday job.  He understands that the Pentagon/CIA mission is no longer to "protect freedom," but to destroy all remaining human freedom.  This should be becoming obvious to every serious observer of world events, because of America's new foreign policy of fomenting civil wars (Gordon's topic).  How could the Pentagon seriously claim to be the protector of our freedom, when they have weaponized religion itself, perhaps our most treasured human freedom?  The "Gangsters" who run this big show have promoted religious civil war from N. Africa to Pakistan, using their networks of private contractors.  This has been accomplished through multiple , false flag terror attacks upon Shia, hoping to ignite Shiite vendettas.  Wherever there is division within a targeted population, of any kind, then the CIA super-sleuths have ferreted it out, in order to exacerbate it.  What else should we expect in an "intelligence-driven war"? 

Kudos to Duff.]

America’s unspoken civil war

Over the past decades, America has planned and executed civil wars across the globe, turning nation after nation into a cesspool of blood, as “tool of foreign policy.” Now the cabal that has kept the world aflame for a lifetime or longer has now turned inward, targeting America.

Far from “conspiracy theory,” the highest levels of America’s military and intelligence are, not just aware, aided by privatization of key security functions now “outsourced” to what can only be described as America’s real enemies.

The term those assigned the hopeless task of protecting America from the vast criminal empire that has seized “the high ground” in every aspect of society and culture use to describe what may well have already destroyed America is “bifurcation.”

Deep divisions within the military, intelligence and law enforcement organizations, divisions that now extent into the hundreds of “contractor” groups run by retirees, is now nearing open warfare.

The treasonous group, calling themselves “right wing patriots,” a bizarre combination of adherents to the “Dominionist” apocalypse death cult, “middle management” of the drug cartels and Bolshevik “Neocons” totalitarians, have proven themselves willing and capable of any outrage.

Turning away from freedom

Since the appointment of Bush (43) by the Supreme Court, a move increasingly accepted as a coup de etat by legal experts, a “nation within a nation” was established, answerable to no laws, domestic or international, no controls, no regulations, a government that faces no elections, no limitations on power, a “criminal gang” capable of waging war, controlling currencies and crashing economies.

The “Bifurcated Government of the United States,” a conglomeration of political extremists, secret societies and corporate criminals, has now turned “inward” after a decade of staging terror attacks, waging wars, looting economies and murdering millions.

Gangster rule

When president Obama, last week at the White House Correspondents Dinner, spoke of Sheldon Adelson’s $100,000,000 personal “contributions” meant to buy the American presidential election, it was an admission of the “bifurcation” threat.

Who “they” can’t buy, they smear or bankrupt or imprison or murder. With control of several special operations commands and most military and “intelligence” (read “narcotics smuggling”) contractors, murders, packaged as suicides, illnesses, accidents or “street crimes,” have become commonplace.

America’s second government

Even the drones America has used to keep Afghanistan aflame as a cover for its $100 billion narcotics empire, stretching from Kabul to Bagdad to Dubai to Baku to Tel Aviv to Kosovo to Zurich, have now been brought home, armed and operating over America.

While the pop-culture media, very much a part of the mechanism of entropy, is tasked with its smears and deceptions, very real conspiracies, many highly classified, are now “on the radar” as a “clear and present danger” to America’s security.

Today’s story on Syria, another hoax claiming the US has announced plans for military intervention, is “business as usual” for America’s “not so secret” criminal masters.
Even when the American government refuses to accepted falsified intelligence or to be bullied or blackmailed into treason, the controlled media plants hoax articles too often used as “open source intelligence” by world leaders whose “handlers” are blind to internal struggles in the US.

The recognized threats

From the list of “official” threats that can never be spoken of:

1. Five acts of terrorism against America are officially recognized, under highest security classification, as “false flag.” Among these are Oklahoma City, 9/11, Sandy Hook and Boston.
2. The United States Supreme Court is controlled, a combination of bribery, blackmail and mental instability, allowing, not just the Bush 943) coup but the suspension of all constitutional rights and full control of America’s electoral process by drug cartels. (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 -2010)
3. A Bush policy of forced integration of defense and intelligence firms with partner companies in Israel has created a “superhighway” for espionage, placing America’s most sensitive military “tech” on the world market.
4. Erosion of individual rights and a dramatic increase in unrestricted private data-mining, not just Google, but literal control of America’s communications infrastructure by foreign corporations tied to intelligence services, has quietly brought the long feared Orwellian threat to full fruition, shielded by its control of all information that would expose its capabilities and dire purpose.
5. Key defense mechanisms, originally seized by the Bush/Cheney administration and moved outside accountability have allowed extremist political groups inside the US to wage war using government resources. Most notable was the 2007 Barksdale/Minot nuclear incident where a religious cult seized a B-52 bomber armed with nine thermonuclear missiles, some of which are unaccounted.
6. Under the guise of a secret protocol with Mexico to protect both nations from powerful drug cartels, heavily armed drones have been deployed up to 1000 miles inside the US. These missions are both unauthorized by any constituted authority and quite likely represent a form of “piracy.”“Bifurcation” groups working with cartels can, at will, use these lethal systems to simulate disasters, terror plots or eliminate potential opposition.
7. Due to, not just massive political bribery through “Citizens United” but illegal redistricting called “Gerrymandering,” the US House of Representatives has been fully compromised, using its legislative role to war against America on behalf of criminal groups that now control all leadership positions in that legislative body. Their role has been to paralyze the American government, protecting the interests of the criminal elements thatare, at times, themselves shocked and sickened at the excesses of American politicians whose moral and ethical standards would leave even Roman Emperor Caligula uneasy.

Background

During the 1930s, Marine General Smedley Butler, spoke out against the use of America’s military might by organized crime. In 1934, a treasonous cabal from the American Legion (a veterans groups tied to Italy’s Mussolini), Dupont Corporation and Merrill Lynch, tried to hire Butler to lead an insurrection, arresting the president and establishing a police state under Wall Street control.

No student of American history is ever taught of this. Even the internet has been cleansed of any mention of it, any mention that resembles the truth, that is.

Butler is unique in that he is the first and only military leader, a two time Medal of Honor winner, to speak out openly against, not just “gangsterism,” but the control Wall Street has had over the American military and, through the service academies, the officer corps, typically feudal, typically resentful of America’s dwindling freedoms.

From 1933, Smedley butler:

“I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country’s most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.

I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”

Clearly, Butler foresaw the current state of affairs. America’s military had been used at home many times, to rout veteran “bonus marchers,” to wage war on workers seeking unionization and a living wage and today, a “bifurcated” America, with key elements of taxpayer funded agencies and private “contractors” tirelessly waging a treasonous war on America’s people and their last remaining freedoms.

GF/JR

 

 

Gordon Duff is a Marine Vietnam veteran, a combat infantryman, and Senior Editor at Veterans Today. His career has included extensive experience in international banking along with such diverse areas as consulting on counter insurgency, defense technologies or acting as diplomatic representative for UN humanitarian and economic development efforts. Gordon Duff has traveled to over 80 nations. His articles are published around the world and translated into a number of languages. He is regularly on TV and radio, a popular and sometimes controversial guest. More Press TV articles by Gordon Duff

 

Bolivia announces expulsion of CIA (USAID)

Bolivia announces expulsion of USAID

President Evo Morales announced the expulsion of USAID from Bolivia, accusing the US development agency of meddling in the country’s internal affairs.

• Bolivian President Evo Morales speaks with the press at the Palacio Quemado presidential palace in La Paz. Morales announced the expulsion of USAID representatives from Bolivia, accusing the US development agency of meddling in the country’s internal affairs. (AFP/Aizar Raldes)

LA PAZ: President Evo Morales on Wednesday announced the expulsion of USAID from Bolivia, accusing the US development agency of meddling in the country’s internal affairs.

The United States quickly dismissed the allegations as baseless, and said Bolivia’s action showed it did not want good ties with Washington.

In a fiery speech to workers on May Day, the leftist president of South America’s poorest country said the US Agency for International Development was in Bolivia “for political purposes, not social ones.”

“No more USAID, which manipulates and uses our leaders,” Morales said in the address in La Paz’s Plaza de Armas.

He did not specify exactly how he felt the US agency was interfering in Bolivian affairs. USAID has operated in the Andean nation since 1964.

Morales, a populist and Bolivia’s first indigenous president, has been in power since 2006 and has followed a sometimes nationalist agenda hostile to Western governments and companies.

In 2008 he expelled the US ambassador and agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, accusing them of meddling in Bolivia’s internal affairs.

Bolivia is a major producer of coca leaves, the raw material of cocaine.

During this previous crisis, the United States responded by expelling the Bolivian ambassador and ending trade privileges that it had granted Bolivia.

After a long period of frosty ties, the two countries in 2011 signed a framework agreement to normalize relations and exchange ambassadors again. but tensions remained.

“With the government of the United States we have profound differences of an ideological, cultural and, especially, policy-related nature,” Morales told the La Paz diplomatic corps last year.

“I hope that with the new framework agreement we can improve things, but I doubt it,” he said.

US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Wednesday that all USAID had done in Bolivia was simply to try to help people live better. Washington deeply regrets the decision by Bolivia, he said.

“We deny the baseless allegations made by the Bolivian government,” he added.

After five years of efforts to normalize relations after the 2008 crisis, he said, “this action is a further demonstration that the Bolivian government is not interested in that vision.”

The new US Secretary of State John Kerry had encouraged improved relations with Bolivia.

But bilateral ties suffered another blow recently when Morales said the United States was conspiring against the new government that has taken over Venezuela after the death of his ally Hugo Chavez.

And in early April, the United States announced it was ending the financial and logistical support it had given to Bolivia’s struggle against drug traffickers, although it did donate several aircraft.

In his speech Wednesday Morales said Bolivia was offended by recent Kerry comments to the effect that Latin America was the United States’ backyard.

The United States, he said, “probably thinks that here it can still manipulate politically and economically. That is a thing of the past.”

Morales instructed Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca to inform the US embassy of the expulsion of USAID, “that tool which still has a mentality of domination.”

In Bolivia, USAID has worked to help Bolivia improve its health care system and also runs a sustainable development and environmental program.

Specific goals include boosting farm productivity and food security, expanding access to social services and enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium sized companies, according to the USAID web site.

During Wednesday’s speech, Morales also announced several laws to benefit workers and recalled the seventh anniversary of his nationalization of the hydrocarbon sector, which affected nearly a dozen foreign oil companies.

- AFP/ac

Putin on Boston bombings: World faces terrorists never referred to as such by West

The deadly bombing of the Boston Marathon lends credence to Russia’s position that terrorism is a shared global threat that must never be exploited for political gain, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Putin made the remarks in Moscow during his annual Q&A session, referring to the torrent of public comments and speculation in the US blaming Russia, the suspects’ birthplace, for the attacks.

“Common folk in the US are not to be blamed, they don’t understand what is happening. Here I am addressing them and our citizens to say that Russia is a victim of international terrorism too,” he said.

He also lashed out at what he called double standards in media and political portrayals of terrorism. “I was always appalled when our Western partners and the Western media called the terrorist, who did bloody crimes in our country, ‘insurgents,’ and almost never ‘terrorists,’” Putin explained.

“They [the terrorists] were receiving help, informational, financial and political support. Sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly. And we were saying that we must do the job and not be content with declarations proclaiming terrorism a common threat. Those two have proved our position all too well,” he added.

Putin criticized the idea voiced by some Republican politicians – including Senators Lindsey Graham, John McCain and Kelly Ayotte, and Representative Peter King – to declare the surviving Boston bomber an enemy combatant. They want “to declare this criminal a prisoner of war. Are they out of their mind? What kind of a PoW is he? Do they fight the Civil War between the North and the South again?” he said.

The Tsarnaev brothers (Johannes Hirn/AFP/FBI)

By declaring the man an enemy combatant like many ‘War on Terror’ detainees, the US would be able to prosecute him in a military tribunal and deny him some of his basic rights as a US citizen. The White House has rejected this suggestion.

Putin said that Chechnya’s painful common history with Russia should not be grounds for speculation, and does not justify branding all Chechens as terrorists: “It’s not about nationality or religion. It’s about the extremist mindset of those men.”

“I’m saying all this not to put the blame, but to call on bringing ourselves closer together in resisting our common threats, of which terrorism is one and more dangerous. If we truly join our efforts, we will not allow these strikes and suffer such losses,” he said.

The Thursday remarks were Putin’s first public comment on the deadliest terror bombing on US soil since the 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center.

The twin bomb explosions at the Boston Marathon on April 15 killed three people, including a child, and injured 282 others. An FBI investigation revealed that the perpetrators were ethnic Chechens: Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother Dzhokhar.

Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with Boston police days later after the duo killed an officer on the MIT campus. Dzhokhar was arrested hours later in a massive manhunt, and is now being treated for gunshot wounds in a hospital.

Obama Keeps Resisting Zionist “Red Lines,” Tripwires, Forcing His Hand On Syria

[Both Zionist Central in London and that shitty little Zionist cesspool in the Middle East urge Obama to accept whatever "evidence" that they produce of any chemical weapons's use within Syria as proof that the "red lines" have been crossed, even if the lines were violated by the terrorist rebels, instead of by Assad (SEE:  'Growing evidence' of chemical weapons use in Syria - UK).  They have managed to recreate the same scenario within Syria that they almost pulled-off in Iran, with the help of different terrorist friends of America, the anti-Shia MEK/Jundullah.  Just as he refused to cave-in to previous Zionist pressure to launch an airborne aggression against Iran, he is apparently resisting pressure to cross the line which he has drawn in the sand with his own hand.  This doesn't mean to imply that he is secretly a good guy, but that he does not like it when other people try to force him to take unpleasant, ill-advised actions.  Don't read this as hope on my part that Obama will choose to do the right thing when the time comes, because I still firmly believe that he will not hesitate to push the "big red button" when the time comes, probably with a big smile on his lips.  He will be smiling  when he follows his master's order to unleash Armegeddon, pleased with himself for having ignored the hyped screams of the Apocalyptic cheerleaders like McCain, Cameron and Netanyahu.  Mistakes have been made by all of the team players who have misjudged the resiliency of Assad and the core strengths of the Lebanese resistance forces, but jumping the gun on WWIII will not improve the Empire's chances of success.  The time for the Greater Middle East War has passed, since the momentum for that war has been missed by both Bush and Obama.  Bush missed it on several occasions, after Afghanistan, after Iraq and after Israel failed in Lebanon in 2006, failing yet one more time, after the failed Georgian tangent in 2008.  Obama's big failure was in his hesitation in the early days of the anti-Syrian war.   Failure to jump on the war wagon there gave Russia time to turn the tables.  Odds are, the American/world economies will be fully depleted before Obama can organize another attempt, meaning that nothing has changed except for the American ability to control the flow of future events.  World War III will probably happen by accident, the way it should all go down.  Taking steps to avoid such an extinction-level event should by the number one priority with all earthly governments.]

White House: Obama’s red line not crossed on Syria chemical weapons

(CBS News) For the first time, the White House says chemical weapons have been used in Syria’s civil war. The Obama administration said it believes President Bashar Al-Assad used sarin gas on people last month. That report is leading some to ask if the U.S. is ready to consider military action.

The White House said the evidence of Syrian chemical weapons attacks is still too thin and President Obama’s red line has not been crossed, and that means military intervention by the United States in the Syrian civil war is not imminent and not guaranteed but more study and investigation is needed.

Syria has likely used chemical weapons on a “small scale,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday.Hagel was the first to confirm the startling news. He read from a prepared statement: “The Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin.”

But Hagel, consistent with administration policy, laced his announcement with carefully crafted caveats. Hagel said, “We still have uncertainties about what was used, what kind of chemicals was used, where it was used, who used it.”

Secretary of State John Kerry told lawmakers that Syria used chemical weapons twice last month, once near Damascus and once in Aleppo. Victims appeared to have been gassed.

Mr. Obama has repeatedly said Syrian use of chemical weapons would cross a red line and could move the U.S. closer to military intervention in the Syrian civil war.

Mr. Obama said on Aug. 20, 2012, “A red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus.”

But top White House advisers insist the red line has not been crossed. In letters to Congress, the administration said it needs more proof — in its words, “credible and corroborated facts.”

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has continuously pressed Mr. Obama to intervene, said the president is ducking his own standard. “The president of the United States said that this would be a red line if they used chemical weapons. The president of the United States has now told us that they used chemical weapons,” McCain said. “We must give the opposition the capability to drive out Bashar Assad once and for all.”

U.S. intelligence says it has “varying degrees of confidence” Syria used chemical weapons. But the U.S. isn’t the only nation hedging its bets. British intelligence says it has “persuasive information chemical weapons were used.” French intelligence says it has clues but no proof. However, CBS News’ Major Garrett reported, “Definitive proof may be very hard to find amid the raging Syrian civil war.”

© 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Lebanese Borders Being Defended Against Syrian Sunni Terrorist Invasion–Hezbollah Argues

A man walks past blood stain on a street in the border town of al-Qasr in Hermel following artillery shell fire. Photographer: -/AFP/Getty Images

Lebanon Defense a Duty After Army Failure, Hezbollah Says

By Donna Abu-Nasr & Nicole Gaouette

Lebanon’s government has failed to protect villages along the Syrian-Lebanese border and Hezbollah has a “national and moral” duty to defend residents there, one of its leaders said.

Nabil Qawooq’s remarks were reported a day after the Shiite border town of Hermel in Lebanon’s northeast came under rocket fire from Syria. Seven 107mm rockets landed in Hermel and villages around it yesterday without causing casualties, the Lebanese Army said in a statement yesterday.

Prior to the attack, residents in the nearby village of al- Qasr received text messages warning that the Free Syria Army, which is fighting to unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, would bombard the two communities, the Daily Star reported. Hezbollah backs the Assad government.

“Are we expected to leave our people in the border villages subject to murder, abduction, slaughter and displacement?” Qawooq said at a memorial for a Hezbollah fighter, according to the official National News Agency.

Syrian opposition groups and Lebanese political figures opposed to Hezbollah have accused the group of fighting alongside Assad, an Alawite, whose religion is an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Syria’s insurgents are mostly Sunni. Hezbollah is considered a terrorist group by the U.S. and Israel.

Hezbollah Denial

The Syrian National Coalition, the main political opposition group, has called on the Lebanese government to take the necessary steps to end Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria.

Hezbollah has denied it’s fighting in Syria and has said it’s helping Lebanese Shiites living in Syrian border towns and villages to defend themselves against rebel assaults. Syrian government forces have attacked suspected rebel supply routes inside Lebanon with artillery and warplanes.

Human Rights Watch said in a statement today that all parties to the conflict in Syria should stop indiscriminate cross-border attacks on inhabited areas in Lebanon.

“Even if fighters are present in Lebanon, there is no excuse for any warring party to conduct indiscriminate strikes on residential areas,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “All sides need to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians.” Rebels should halt the use of indiscriminate weapons, like rockets, the group said.

The uprising against Assad, which began in March 2011, has killed “well over” 70,000 people, according to a United Nations estimate last month.

Suburb Killings

At least 69 people died during six days of clashes between rebel forces and Assad’s troops in the Damascus suburb of Jdaidet Al-Fadel, including six women and three people under 18, Rami Abdel Rahman, founder of the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said in an interview from Coventry, England.

Abdel Rahman said the Observatory is seeking to identify 11 more bodies. The casualties occurred as government troops sought to drive rebels out of the suburb of Jdaidet Al-Fadel, Abdel Rahman said.

Syria’s official SANA news agency said today the troops have carried out several “operations against terrorists and their dens” in Jdaidet Al-Fadel and Darayya, inflicting losses and destroying their weapons. The opposition Local Coordination Committees said yesterday that government forces killed more than 450 people in Jdaidet Al-Fadel, mostly women and children. Reporters cannot reach the area, making it impossible to reconcile or check the casualty figures.

Aid Doubled

The U.S. will double its non-lethal aid to anti-Assad rebels, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced at a Friends of Syria conference in Turkey yesterday.

The new $123 million in aid “underscores the United States’ firm support for a political solution to the crisis in Syria and for the opposition’s advancement of an inclusive, tolerant vision” for a post-Assad Syria, according to the announcement. Kerry also announced about $25 million in additional food assistance.

Some portion of the non-lethal aid will be used to provide the military opposition with equipment that could include night- vision goggles, radios, military vehicles and body armor.

To contact the reporters on this story: Donna Abu-Nasr in Beirut at dabunasr@bloomberg.net; Nicole Gaouette in Washington at ngaouette@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net

Get Prepared EXPO–(This Weekend In Lebanon MO, Apr. 6-7)

Get Prepared EXPO – April 6-7, 2013 – The Largest Survival and Preparedness EXPO in the USA

 

Schedule of Events – Version 7 – 04/05/13

 

Get Prepared EXPO – Largest Survival and Preparedness EXPO in the USA

 

80 Full One-Hour Seminars and 100 Exhibits

 

April 5, 6, 7, and 8, 2013

 

Cowan Civic Center, 500 E. Elm Street, Lebanon, MO 65536

 

Tickets On-line $8 per day – $15 for the Full weekend – CLICK HERE

 

Apply to be on TV’s Doomsday Preppers – Meet and have dinner with the casting Director

 

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USAPrepares.com – Schedule of Events:

 

Friday April 5, 2013 10AM – 5PM– Exhibitor Setup

 

6PM Networking Dinner – Instructors, Exhibitors, Guests

 

Dowds Catfish and BBQ, 1760 West Elm St., Lebanon,

 

MO 65536 – 417-532-1777- $8.99 up

 

—————————————————————————————————————————Saturday April 6, 2013 8AM – Exhibitor Setup

 

Saturday April 6, 2013 9AM – 6PM – EXPO Hall Open for Guests

 

Saturday – Seminar Rooms A, B, C, Entry Lobby, Theater, and Second Floor Mezzanine

 

10-11

 

Theater – Dr. Richard Allen Miller– Mind Control- Learn to Think Like a Navy SEAL .

 

Room A – Nicole Trujillo, Doterra – Medicine Cabinet Makeover – Essential Oils

 

Room B – Judy Dollarhite – USAPrepares.com – Water Filtration at Home or On-The-Go

 

Room C – Ken Hurley, Kyani – Lower High Blood Pressure, Increase Endurance – Naturally

 

Entry Lobby – Edward Campbell – Nobel Mint – Purchasing Gold in Small Amounts

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – Bob Gaskin – Bug-in or Bug-out? Which one? And Why?

 

11-12

 

Theater – James Wesley, Rawles – Part -1of 2 – via Teleseminar with Vincent Finelli -Survival

 

Room A- Carl Rickard, CC Silver – What is Colloidal Silver? How it is beneficial to your

 

Room B – Roy Birdsong, Choose Your Own Wireless – Cell Phone Calling Plans – $8 per Month

 

Room C – Nathan Jones, Power Source Solar – Alternative Energy from the Sun – Solar Life

 

Entry Lobby – Bill Whaley – Living off Junk, Creative and Useful Applications discarded Items – Also see special all-day seminar on Monday, April 8

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – Eric Vought – Start Your Own Sheriff’s Auxiliary – your first line of defense

 

12-1

 

Theater – James Wesley, Rawles -Part 2 of 2 – via Teleseminar with Vincent Finelli -Survival

 

Room A – Dr Dan Junker – Oxygen Cures – The Underground Cancer Doctor

 

Room B – Alan Busiek (of Doomsday Preppers) Preparedness for Beginners – how to begin

 

Room C – Robb Clopfill – Salad Master: Demonstration – Learn to cook to preserve nutrition – Enjoy sample foods…

 

Entry Lobby – John Dollarhite, DollarValue Computers. EMPs – Preventing Computer Failure

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – Stephen Heuer – Synergistic Nutrition - Learn The 5 Factors That Stop Your Body from operating at 100%

 

1-2

 

Theater – Joyce Riley – The Power Hour – When There is no Doctor

 

Room A – Brooklyn Bagwell – Doomsday Preppers – Casting Call – Do you have the preps to be on TV?

 

Room B – Len Pense, Gardening Revolution – Survival High Yield Gardening. Learn how to build your raised bed garden.

 

Room C – John Moore – Violent Climate Change. You can feel the climate changing – Should you relocate?

 

AMP-3 Booth – David Pruett, MD, AMP-3 – Hands-on Suture Seminar Part-1 of 2 by our Emergency Room Doctor – Suture a pigs foot, and take home spare suture kit. For educational purposes only – we are not training you for surgery – Cost $65 – Watch for Free (Class size limited to 20) purchase ticket at the Store Tab at http://www.USAPrepares.com

 

Entry Lobby – Dough Dougherty – Author, Survive USA – Beyond Food and Water – then what?

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – Dragon Heaters – Cindy Mathieu – Fire Science: Wood Stoves, Masonry Heaters, and Rocket Heater

 

2-3

 

Theater – Dr. Joel Wallach, DVM – Youngevity – Restore Your Health – Dead Doctors Don’t Lie

 

Room A – Joel Johnson, Kodiak Survival – MacGyver 101. Invisible inventions

 

Room B – Marjory Wildcraft, Grow Your Own Groceries in Your Backyard – Living off the land

 

Room C – Paulette Wohnoutka, Millstreet Market – Build Your Own Bucket of Food. You can

 

AMP-3 Booth – David Pruett, MD, AMP-3 – Hands-on Suture Seminar Part-2 of 2 by our Emergency Room Doctor – Suture a pigs foot, and take home spare suture kit. For educational purposes only – we are not training you for surgery – Cost $65 – Watch for Free (Class size limited to 20)

 

Entry Lobby – Mike Mah – Negotiate for Your Life. Learn the lifestyle of making friends easily

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – Dr Cass Ingram – Dr Oregano (Talk Show Host) – The All-purpose Cure and Prevention Herb

 

3-4

 

Theater – Larry Pratt, Teleseminar – Larry Pratt (with Vincent Finelli) – Executive Director of Gun Owners of America – The Second Amendment is in Danger

 

Room A – Mike Nocks, White Harvest Seed – Seeds Planting, Gardening and Saving – what to do right now!

 

Room B – Dr. James Hubbard – Wound Care – Burn Care

 

Room C – Dr. Julie Penick, Penick Health Care – Sea of Toxins. Overweight? Tired? Irritable?

 

Entry Lobby – Caleb Arthur, Missouri Sun Solar – Living With Solar Power

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – Dr Bones and Nurse Amy – Survival Medicine

 

4-5

 

Theater – Mat Stein – EMPs and Solar Flares – Fact Fiction and Survival Strategies. Buy your autographed books.

 

Room A – David Pruett, MD, AMP-3 – First Aid Kits Developed by an Emergency Room Doctor – Build yours and take it with you.

 

Room B – Craig Douglas, Forbidden Knowledge – Radiation Detection – Can you detect

 

Room C – John Ragan USAF Officer (Ret) – Author – The Financial State of the Union

 

Entry Lobby – Jeff Olms – Selecting Your First Defense Firearm

 

5-6

 

Theater – Dr Cass Ingram – Dr Oregano (Talk Show Host) – The All-purpose Cure and Prevention Herb

 

Room A – Dr Bones and Nurse Amy – Survival Medicine

 

Room B – Johnny Delerious, Monolithic Dome – Concrete Dome Structures. If you are willing

 

Room C – Lucinda Bailey, Texas Ready – Heirloom Seeds. Grow a 2,000 pound Garden

 

Entry Lobby – Scott Peterson – Down To Earth Seeds – Our Current Food Supply, and Dangers

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – Dr Richard Alan Miller – Ask the Doctor – the questions you want answered

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday April 6, 2013 6PM – 8PM– Banquet Dinner – $6, $7 Tickets Required

 

Networking Dinner – Instructors, Exhibitors, Guests

 

Seminar Rooms A, B, and C

 

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10-11

 

Theater- Dr. Joel Wallach, DVM – Youngevity – Restore Your Health – Dead Doctors Don’t Lie

 

Room A – Stephen Heuer – Synergistic Nutrition - Learn The 5 Factors That Stop Your Body from operating at 100%

 

Room B – Eddie Allen – American Open Currency Standard – Gold, Silver, and Copper barter

 

Room C – Judy Dollarhite – Raising Rabbits and Chickens – In the City – And Her New Book – about her $6 Million USDA Fine

 

Entry Lobby – Mike Mah, No StressMike.com, Hoy Chi, The Ancient Art of Chinese Medicine.

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – Ken Hurley, Kyani – Lower High Blood Pressure, Increase Endurance – Naturally

 

11-12

 

Theater – Dr. James Hubbard – The Survival Doctor – Wound Care – Burn Care

 

Room A – Paulette Wohnoutka, Millstreet Market – Build Your Own Bucket of Food. You can

 

Room B – Joyce Riley – The Power Hour – The Truth about Military Experiments

 

Room C – Lucinda Bailey, Texas Ready – Heirloom Seeds. Double Your Tomato Yield

 

Entry Lobby – Dr. Richard Alan Miller – Who Knows – It really doesn’t Matter

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – David Klotz – – The Wal-Mart Takeover of America

 

12-1

 

Theater – John Moore – Violent Climate Change. You can feel the climate changing – do you need to relocate?

 

Room A – Joel Johnson, Kodiak Survival – MacGyver 101. Invisible inventions – that is what

 

Room B – Eric Lancaster, Teraganix – High Yield Gardening on Steroids – Let Microorganisms do the hard work.

 

Room C – Glenn Meder, Survival Still – Emergency Water Distillation – What do you do when there is no clean drinking water?

 

AMP-3 Booth – David Pruett, MD, AMP-3 – Learn how to vacuum pack foods for long term storage.

 

Entry Lobby – Dr Bones and Nurse Amy – Survival Medicine

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – Aaron Tarlow -Southern Armory – Buy Your First Survival Firearm – Beginners

 

1-2

 

Theater – Marjory Wildcraft, (Doomsday Preppers Expert), Grow Your Own Groceries – Bugs, the final and last choice for

 

Room A – Valerie Earhart – ABC Books – EMP Proof Information that You Need – We have

 

Room B – Casey Mustion, Hewitt Messenger – Well Drilling and Water Treatment.

 

Room C – Dr. Howard Shayne, DDS, Fox Grape Dentistry – Emergency Dentistry

 

Entry Lobby – Ray Cooley, Solar Labs – Solar Power for Your Home and Business

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – Jeff Olms – Selecting Your First Defense Firearm

 

2-3

 

Theater – Sheriff Richard Mack (America’s Sheriff) – The Second Amendment – Our Greatest Threat to Liberty

 

Room A- Bill Whaley – Live Off Junk – Creative and useful applications for items in the trash

 

Room B – Bruce Hough – Buy Your First Farm

 

Room C – Bob Gaskin – What to do When the Lights Go Out – Serious Survival Strategies

 

Entry Lobby – Wes McCollum – VacuCanner – Simple and Effective Process for Food Storage

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – Chief Cloudpiler – Native American Medicine – Do you want to be a Medicine Man/Woman – Natural Healing

 

 

 

3-4

 

Theater – David Pruett, MD, AMP-3 – Every Day Carry – The essential Supplies that you must carry with you.

 

Room A – Len Pense, Gardening Revolution – Survival High Yield Gardening. Learn how to…

 

Room B – Ozark Beekeepers Association – Beekeeping for Food Production. It is simple.

 

Room C – Dr Dan Junker – Oxygen Cures – The Underground Cancer Doctor

 

Entry Lobby – Julia Schopick – Author – Honest Medicine – Teleseminar with Vincent Finelli

 

Second Floor Mezzanine – Louis Krudo – Krudo Knives – Knife Fighting – Devense

 

 

 

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Sunday April 7, 2013 – 4PM – Exhibitor Close Down

 

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Monday, April 8, 2013 8AM – 5PM – Special Optional Seminars for Guests

 

8 – 5

 

Seminar Room A – Dr. Richard Alan Miller – Critical Decision Making Power Tools – Learn to Think Like a Navy SEAL – by the man who developed the technology. Limited seating. Cost $35 per person, $50 per couple. On-Line Registration – USAPrepares.com, Store Tab. Dinner at Dowd’s Catfish and BBQ – Optional and on your own

 

 

 

Monday, April 8, 2013 8AM – 5PM – Special Optional Seminars for Guests

 

8 – 5

 

Seminar Room B – MacGyver meets the Junk Man – Presented by the Authors and Developers of “Invisible Inventions” (a.k.a. “MacGyver 101″) and “How to Live on Junk”

 

BASIC / INTERMEDIATE WORKSHOP In this hands-on workshop, Joel Johnson, (“The Real MacGyver”) and Bill Whaley (“The Junkman”) train you to take another man’s trash and turn it into fuel, tools, and weapons essential for emergency survival, to economize, and to think, see, and perform like MacGyver. Cost $35 per person, $50 per household. On-Line Registration – USAPrepares.com, Store Tab. Dinner at Dowd’s Catfish and BBQ – Optional and on your own

The Bloodsucking Barbaric Saudis Given Special “Fast Pass” Around Customs Intended for Civilized Nations

[Obama and Napolitano will not be satisfied until they bring enough of their "Islamists" into this country to warrant the same use of US military force against them here that they currently only enjoy overseas.  Wahhabism is Islamist terrorism in its most basic form, that of uneducated degenerate "preachers" whose only purpose is to set the mobs loose against the alleged "infidels."  "Infidels," or "kfir," so defined, are anyone who refuses to accept murder in the name of God.]

Special Travel Benefit for Saudis a “Slap in the Face”

IPT News

Saudi Arabia, the nation which produced 15 of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 attacks, is about to become one of a handful of countries whose travelers can bypass normal passport controls at major U.S. airports. Sources tell the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) that this will mark the first time that the Saudi government will have a direct role in vetting who is eligible for getting fast-tracked for entry into the United States.

An agreement to accept Saudi Arabian applicants into the Global Entry trusted traveler program drew little notice when it was announced in January. Now, some officials question why the country merits such a benefit – which is similar to a theme park “fast pass” to avoid long lines – when other allies like Germany and France are not yet included. A program for Israeli travelers was reached last May but has not been implemented.

Travelers approved for the program can skip the normal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lines starting next year and enter the country after providing their passports and fingerprints at a kiosk. Only Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the Netherlands currently enjoy the benefit, although pilot programs could expand it to a handful of others.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the agreement in January after meeting with Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. It “marks another major step forward in our partnership,” Napolitano said at the time. “By enhancing collaboration with the Government of Saudi Arabia, we reaffirm our commitment to more effectively secure our two countries against evolving threats while facilitating legitimate trade and travel.”

Details about how the plan will work with the Saudis have not been released. Nayef’s ministry, however, will be responsible for screening which applicants will be considered when the pilot program begins next year. It’s not known whether the Saudi ministry will share its raw intelligence about applicants with its American counterparts. What is known, based on information provided by a Homeland Security source, is that each individual who makes it into the program will have been vetted by both the CPB and by the Saudi Interior Ministry against various databases.

The Department of Homeland Security declined to make anyone available to answer questions about Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in the Global Entry program after repeated requests throughout last week, and after indicating someone would provide more details.

That is cause for concern, given lingering questions about possible Saudi support for some of the 9/11 hijackers and given the Ministry of Interior (MOI)’s inconsistent record on sharing its intelligence on suspected terrorists and terror financiers. Additionally, recent studies by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified significant problems in the way DHS components use computer systems and process intelligence for posting watch list lookouts and overseas screening of foreign nationals.

Once accepted into Global Entry, travelers can enjoy the faster border entry for five years.

A memo obtained by the Investigative Project on Terrorism said Saudi applicants “must meet the individual vetting criteria of both CBP and the MOI, and successfully complete vetting by each side against information available in various law enforcement, customs, immigration, criminal, intelligence, and terrorist databases.”

That doesn’t bring confidence to those who have investigated Saudi Arabian connections to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., whose district lost more than 70 people during the attack on the Pentagon, called the pact a bad idea. He also stated that he had not previously heard about the deal.

“I think you have radical Wahhabism in certain elements in Saudi Arabia, and I think to be more lenient there than in other places would be a mistake,” Wolf said. “There were 15 [hijackers] from that country, and there is a lot taking place in that region.

“Some of the people who went back to Saudi Arabia through Guantanamo – we find that they are in battlefields in Afghanistan or some other place, so I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Saudis have long been known for withholding information from their American counterparts. Wolf recalls that the Saudis obstructed former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s effort to investigate the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing by refusing to share information.

“I think there has been a history of not cooperating,” Wolf said.

The Saudis paved the way for 9/11 by funding the madrassas along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, which adds to Wolf’s concern.

Unseen Information, Unanswered Questions

“Adding KSA to the program before a full vetting of the Kingdom’s involvement in 9/11 is very unwise,” said Sharon Premoli, a 9/11 survivor who has sued the Saudis for allegedly helping finance the attacks.

“We don’t know if what they tell us is correct. Why should we trust them?” she said in an interview Thursday. She points to a 1998 agreement Saudi Arabia struck with bin Laden and the Taliban prior to 9/11. A 2011 Vanity Fair article described it this way:

In sworn statements after 9/11, former Taliban intelligence chief Mohammed Khaksar said that in 1998 Prince Turki, chief of Saudi Arabia’s General Intelligence Department (G.I.D.), sealed a deal under which bin Laden agreed not to attack Saudi targets. In return, Saudi Arabia would provide funds and material assistance to the Taliban, not demand bin Laden’s extradition, and not bring pressure to close down al-Qaeda training camps. Saudi businesses, meanwhile, would ensure that money also flowed directly to bin Laden.

“They didn’t tell us that,” Premoli said in the interview. “They haven’t been forthcoming on anything.”

Saudi officials deny that deal existed. The only way to find out is to continue investigating, Premoli said. She’s perplexed that the brutal murder of 3,000 Americans even requires an effort to trigger additional investigation.

“Let’s vet them properly. Let’s really declassify. Let’s look at all of it. Until it is done, it’s an open wound. It’s an unanswered question.”

The Global Entry deal comes three years after U.S. officials briefly placed Saudi Arabia on a list of 14 countries whose travelers would face enhanced scrutiny when entering the United States. It followed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab‘s failed attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day 2009.

A cable sent from the American embassy to the State Department that was published by Wikileaks reported that Saudi government officials expressed “shock to be included on the list” and threatened to “to re-evaluate areas of cooperation, including counter-terrorism cooperation” if it was not rescinded.

The policy was dropped three months later, replaced with a new program designed to use threat assessments and intelligence of traveler’s behavioral traits and travel patterns.

To Premoli, who is pushing legislation to strip sovereign immunity protection from governments tied to terrorist acts, both the removal of Saudi Arabia from that list and its addition to Global Entry show the country enjoys “favored nation status. It’s so extraordinary that they are so protected.”

She was critical of the Bush administration for its warm relations with the Saudi royal family and is equally critical of the Obama administration for being “a continuation of the Bush administration.” When the plaintiffs suing Saudi Arabia sought to appeal a decision absolving the Saudis to the Supreme Court, then-Solicitor General Elena Kagan filed an amicus brief siding with the Saudis.

Saudi Arabian officials say all the investigations into the 9/11 attacks exonerated them of any involvement. But two former U.S. senators who led inquiries into the attacks say that’s just not so.

In affidavits submitted last year for plaintiffs suing the Saudis – including Premoli – former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey and former Florida Sen. Bob Graham wrote that the book on Saudi Arabia’s 9/11 connections should not be closed.

The 9/11 Commission on which he served lacked the time and resources “to pursue all potentially relevant evidence” involving Saudi Arabia, Kerrey wrote.

“Significant questions remain unanswered concerning the possible involvement of Saudi government institutions and actors in the financing and sponsorship of al Qaeda, and evidence relating to the plausible involvement of possible Saudi government agents in the September 11^th Attacks has never been fully pursued,” Kerrey wrote.

Graham, who was chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time of the attacks, was co-chairman of a joint congressional inquiry. He has spent years arguing that a 28-page chapter from that inquiry would cast things in a different light if it ever is declassified.

“Based on my experiences as the Co-Chair of the Joint Inquiry, and the evidence collected by the Joint Inquiry during the course of its investigation into the events of September 11, 2001, the information contained in the Final Report of the 9/11 Commission, and reports and published material I have reviewed, I am convinced that there was a direct line between at least some of the terrorists who carried out the September 11th attacks and the government of Saudi Arabia,” Graham wrote in his affidavit.

Hijackers and Their Helpers

That line may have come in the form of Omar al Bayoumi, a Saudi who befriended hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar. While the 9/11 Commission Report describes Bayoumi as “an unlikely candidate for clandestine involvement with Islamist extremists,” Graham believes he was a Saudi government agent.

Al-Bayoumi first met the hijackers in 2000, helped them find an apartment and “fronted the initial payments for that apartment” along with other financial help, Graham noted.

“During the period that he assisted the hijackers, al-Bayoumi’s allowances from a ghost job with a Saudi private firm and contractor with ties to the Saudi government increased eightfold. During that same period, Al-Bayoumi had an unusual number of telephone conversations with Saudi government officials in both Los Angeles and Washington.”

All this convinces him al-Bayoumi was a Saudi agent. “To this date, this evidence has not been fully explored and pursued, to the considerable detriment of the American public.”

In a column co-written with Premoli last fall, Graham said the classified chapter from the congressional inquiry focuses on the hijacker’s financial support while they were in the United States. “Sadly,” Graham and Premoli wrote, “those 28 pages represent only a fraction of the evidence of Saudi complicity that our government continues to shield from the public, under a flawed classification program which appears to be part of a systematic effort to protect Saudi Arabia from any real accountability for its actions.”

Abdulaziz al-Hijji, an executive with the Saudi government oil company Aramco, lived in Sarasota until just before the 9/11 attacks when he is reported to have suddenly left the U.S. Al-Hijji now lives in London. Recent media reports indicate al-Hijji met with 9/11 terror leader Mohamed Atta and current al-Qaida fugitive Adnan el-Shukrijumah while he lived in Sarasota. Graham has also looked into the al-Hijji matter and reportedly met with the FBI deputy director in November of 2011 and the deputy director refused to discuss the al-Hijji matter. Graham said, “I think that in the period immediately after 9/11 the FBI was under instructions from the Bush White House not to discuss anything that could be embarrassing to the Saudis.”

Saudi Arabia sends thousands of travelers into the United States each month, and more than 92 percent of Saudis who seek entry visas receive them, Asharq al-Awsat reported. In 2012, 20,677 student visas were granted to Saudi citizens.

The United States and Saudi Arabia do about $60 billion in business each year, most of which is Saudi oil exports.

The ambiguity of Saudi Ministry of Interior’s role is of particular concern, especially when it comes to who qualifies as a “low-risk traveler.” Although individuals with defined al-Qaida ties likely would not get a pass, worries arise particularly when it comes to those who support Hamas or Hizballah.

“I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them,” Jim Phillips, senior research fellow for Middle Eastern affairs at the Heritage Foundation, said regarding the Saudi Interior Ministry.

Although the Saudi Interior Ministry has largely decimated al-Qaida’s infrastructure in the kingdom since 2003 in the wake of a series of bombings and killings of Westerners in the kingdom, Phillips says the ministry’s reliability as a partner remains an open question.

In an interview Tuesday, Graham reserved judgment on the program until more details are released on its implementation. He noted that the United States “went out of its way to placate the Saudis” after 9/11, arranging flights out of the country for Saudi nationals when all other air traffic was grounded, and waging “an effort to keep from public view the role of Saudis” in the 9/11 attacks.

Including Saudi travelers in Global Entry may be “a continuation” of an American policy of deference toward Saudi Arabia. “The question is what was the first step in approving a country to be involved in this? What are the requirements?” Graham asked. “This is not a theoretical. This really happened that 15 Saudis came into the country, I think all by aviation … It would seem there would be some red flags.”

Wolf suggested that the House Homeland Security Committee should examine the terms of the agreement to learn how it happened and it will work.

“It’s a slap in the face,” Premoli said. “Whatever they ask for, they get. There’s nothing they can’t have.”

Arab League denies seat to Syrian opposition

The secretary general of the Arab League (AL) Nabil al-Arabi on Wednesday (07) denied a post in the regional bloc to the so-called Coalition forces and the National Revolution of Syrian opposition (CNFROS).
According to the Iranian news channel in Arabic, Al-Alam, they have refused to recognize the Syrian opposition as the country’s representative in court and said that it could only be represented when forming an interim government in Syria.

Referring to the current wave of violence in Syria, Al-Arabi said CNFROS said they do not deserve to be the representative of Syria within the Pan-Arab organization.

At the meeting of ministers of the Arab League on Wednesday in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, the secretary general of the Arab bloc emphasized a peaceful solution to resolve the Syrian crisis. The statements of Nabil al-Arabi were released after they surfaced on Wednesday about the decision of the Arab League about the Syrian opposition taking a seat on the organization. The information led to a reaction by the Damascus government who said in a statement that it rejected any involvement of the Arab League in international efforts to resolve the Syrian conflict, and accused them of continuing to violate its statutes and its principles.

The Lebanese Foreign Minister, Adnan Mansour, demanded that the Arab League reactivate the participation of Syria in the organization, with the aim of promoting a political solution to the crisis.

The Arab Foreign Ministers took the decision to suspend Syria on November 12, 2011 from Syrian participation in all meetings of the Arab League, under the allegation that Damascus was behind the disturbances that hit the country.

And since March 2011, Syrian citizens are witnessing the bloodshed of their countrymen because of the violence generated by armed groups that are supported by foreigners in order to pave the way for foreign military intervention.

Translated from the Portuguese version by:

Lisa Karpova
Pravda.Ru

Hamid Karzai says US, Taliban are colluding

[Karzai says that Taliban are zeroed-in on the alleged 2014 date, executing bombings with the intent of convincing the Afghan govt. that Western forces will be needed into the indefinite future, collaborating with the Pentagon for common purpose.  Karzai is calling-out the Americans for staging a bloody, fake terror war with the Taliban's help.  He has accused the Americans with the same charge that he has been levelling at the Pakistanis, of working with or supporting the Afghan Taliban.  Pakistan and the US have been working together in Pakistan to stage a phony terror war, now Karzai points-out that the same thing has been happening in his country.  US Special Forces have been given until today to get out of Maidan Wardak.  If Karzai is seriously trying to expose the entire criminal "simulated war" and to put it to an end, then the new Sec. Defense Hagel will be wasting his breath and really getting an earful at his meeting with Karzai today.]

Afghan leader Hamid Karzai says US, Taliban are colluding

Associated Press in Kabul

Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks at a gathering of women to mark International Women’s Day, in Kabul. Photo: AFP

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday accused the Taliban and the US of working in concert to convince Afghans that violence will worsen if most foreign troops leave as planned by the end of next year.

Karzai said two suicide bombings that killed 19 people on Saturday — one outside the Afghan Defence Ministry and the other near a police checkpoint in eastern Khost province — show the insurgent group is conducting attacks to help show that international forces will still be needed to keep the peace after their current combat mission ends next year.

“The explosions in Kabul and Khost yesterday showed that they are at the service of America and at the service of this phrase: next year. They are trying to frighten us into thinking that if the foreigners are not in Afghanistan, we would be facing these sorts of incidents,” he said during a nationally televised speech about the state of Afghan women.

There was no immediate response from the US-led military coalition, which is gradually handing over responsibility for securing the country to Afghan forces.

They are trying to frighten us into thinking that if the foreigners are not in Afghanistan, we would be facing these sorts of incidents

Afghan president hamid karzai

Karzai is known for making incendiary comments in his public speeches, a move that is often attributed to him trying to appeal to those who sympathise with the Taliban or as a way to gain leverage when he feels his international allies are ignoring his country’s sovereignty. In previous speeches he has threatened to join the Taliban and called his Nato allies occupiers who want to plunder Afghanistan’s resources.

His latest remarks come as his government is negotiating a pact with the US for the long-term presence of American forces in Afghanistan and just days after an agreement to transfer the US prison outside of Kabul to Afghan authority fell through. His comments also came while US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel is making his first visit to Afghanistan since becoming the Pentagon chief.

Karzai said in his speech that any foreign powers that want to keep troops in Afghanistan need to do so under conditions set forward by Afghanistan.

“We will tell them where we need them, and under which conditions. They must respect our laws. They must respect the national sovereignty of our country and must respect all our customs,” Karzai said.

Karzai offered no proof of coordination, but said the Taliban and the United States were in “daily negotiations” in various foreign countries and noted that the United States has said that it no longer considers the insurgent group its enemy. The US continues to fight against the Taliban and other militant groups, but has expressed its backing for formal peace talks with the Taliban to find a political resolution to the war.

Karzai said he did not believe the Taliban’s claim that they launched Saturday’s attacks to show they are still a potent force fighting the United States. “Yesterday’s explosions, which the Taliban claimed, show that in reality they are saying they want the presence of foreigners in Afghanistan,” Karzai said.

Damascus University Resists US Civilian Targeting Sanctions

Franklin Lamb

Damascus
Graphics by Alex

Students everywhere are special people and this observer has discovered that Syrian students are among the very best.

Meeting and interviewing students again this past week, before and following, a frank and enlightening discussion with Dr. Mohammad Amer Al-Mardini, the indefatigable President of Damascus University, about the situation of the students and current instruction at the University, one cannot ,even as a foreigner, fail to feel pride in Syrian students.

Good meeting places, among others on campus, include “outdoor cafes” – a ‘street student union’ of sorts- consisting of a few chairs and portable tables. They are scattered among the dozens of vendor stalls that line “DU Boulevard” outside the main DU campus in central Damascus. Here students can buy everything from school supplies to mobile phones, to snacks, and it’s a perfect place to meet and chat with students.

One learns from them about the many effects on the education system in Syria of the US-led sanctions. Some argue that the Obama administration actually fuels the current crisis with its sanctions and achieves the opposite result of what the White House and its allies claim they are seeking. These freewheeling discussions leave a foreigner with a reminder why this university and its student body ranks among the best in the World.

More than 200,000 full-time and‘open-learning’ students at Damascus University, the 6^th largest in the World and founded in 1929, are feeling some effects of the harsh Obama Administration’s civilian targeting sanctions. Iran’s millions of students are also increasingly in the cross-hairs of the “humanitarian sanctions which Washington and Brussels claim “exempt food, medicines and medical supplies” and therefore “should be considered humane.”

Among DU Faculties most severely affected by the US-led sanctions are the Science Departments and the Medical and Nursing schools according to administration and student sources. Chemicals used in various science classes, medicines and medical equipment cannot be found as before and if some are brought in from Europe or elsewhere, the University often has to pay four times the normal price.

 Utah’s Brigham Young University gained the respect and appreciation of many in Syria for its shipments to DU’s nursing school of medicines and equipment and even “model doll babies” which in Syria use in baby care classes. All are now banned by the US sanctions which claim to exempt medical equipment and medicines.

Damascus University, with its 43 specialized faculties is no banking-hours institution and its proven commitment is to give the highest quality education to as many students as possible. Syria’s largest university, it is now open for classes 365 days a year minus a few holidays—partly due to increased number of students arriving from across Syria, as the Administration and faculty work with colleges in war zones to guarantee students can continue their studies without missing key exams required for semester advancement. Still, about 18% of college level students are unable to attend due to transportation and displacement problems.

One direct and predictable severe impact of the US-led civilian targeting sanctions in Syria is that the sanctions have essentially stranded approximately 700 Syrian students in Europe and half a dozen in the US, forcing some to drop out and find a job to survive. This is because, as well known among the US Treasury Department “craftsmen” who devise the sanctions, these students are no longer able to receive funds to pay for their foreign tuition or living expenses because the banking system has been essentially shut down.

If families can scrape together some money for their children studying abroad and do manage to send it via Western Union, for example, a new “sanctions surcharge” of 7 euros for every 1,000 euros sent, is demanded by WU and other money transfer agencies, suggesting another form of war profiteering. To make things even more difficult for the students, foreign Universities who might consider lending their stranded Syrian students tuition money or might even consider aiding them with scholarships or a grant have been “chilled” and are backing-off because these institutions do not want to be accused of‘sanction-busting’ by the US Treasury hound dogs.

Few food or medicine suppliers, given the sanction regulations language and uncertain legal meanings-even for their lawyers, some of whom have declared that the language is incomprehensible, want to risk the wrath of the US Treasury Department and be slapped with severe penalties including, but not limited to, very expensive fines by dealing with anyone in Syria concerning food and medicine.

One of the US Treasury ‘hound dogs’noted above, is David Cohen, Under -Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Mr. Cohen made a trip to the region late last month to brief allies and businesses as well as NGO’s, including discussions in Israel, “to be sure the sanctions were biting hard” to use a favorite phase of UN Ambassador Susan Rice. The Obama administration, reportedly frustrated by the fact that its multi-tiered sanctions have failed to topple the governments of Syria and Iran, has been attempting to find and plug sanction loopholes and are intensifying warnings to the international community, in no uncertain terms, not to mess with the US Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) or the Office of Financial Assets Control (OFAC) by getting all wobbly-kneed and going soft on full sanction and complete enforcement.

Meanwhile, Syria’s Department of Education is joining the struggle to shield Syria’s education institutions and is being joined by various student associations. To date, the Ministry has not cut its substantial disbursements to colleges. Tuition remains among the lowest in the world at Damascus University, which also provides housing for 15,000 students. The DU administration is currently under pressure to find more dormitory space for those needing housing. Still, despite the conflict, even in Deraa near the Jordanian border where the current crisis started, DU’s campus continues to function.

Terrorism affects the education sector .. 2362 sabotaged  ..

Many DU students are also volunteering with assisting Syrian primary schools which urgently need their help. According to a December 2012 UNICEF education assessment of primary schools in Syria– at least 2,400 schools have been damaged or destroyed, including 772 in Idlib (50 per cent of the total), 300 in Aleppo and another 300 in Deraa.

 

Aleppo Univirsity

Over 1,500 schools are being used as shelters for displaced persons. The Damascus University community has also taken on the humanitarian challenge of assisting sister educational institutions that have been affected by the current crisis including campuses in Homs and Aleppo, among others. This observer has met several Damascus University students among the 9,000 volunteers, including Palestinian refugees, who are donating their time working with the Syria Red Crescent Society (SARCS). Many DU students are also volunteering with assisting primary schools.

The grim reality of Syrian families, hospitals and health care facilities across the country, and now its Universities, students and educational institutions, experiencing the claimed “humanitarian sanctions” which emphasize” exemptions for food, medicine and medical equipment exemptions, once again exposes Obama administration claimed humanitarian values to ridicule here and around the world.

Rather than target Syria’s future leaders, the White House would do well to cancel its student targeting sanctions and send Secretary Kerrey to Damascus to meet face-to-face with the Syrian people and government and demonstrate a real American interest in stopping the bloodshed. Armored vehicles and assorted “non-lethal aid”to one side in this conflict will only prolong the killing, as any student here will attest.

Franklin Lamb is doing research in Syria and can be reached c/o fplamb@gmail.com

He is the author of The Price We Pay: A Quarter-Century of Israel’s Use of American Weapons Against Civilians in Lebanon. He contribute to Uprooted Palestinians Blog
Please Sign http://www.petitiononline.com/ssfpcrc/petition.html

Protesters in Tokyo demand end to nuclear power

A protester holds an anti-nuclear power plant sign at a rally in Tokyo on Saturday. AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye

TOKYO —

By YURI KAGEYAMA

Thousands of people rallied in a Tokyo park Saturday, demanding an end to atomic power and vowing never to give up the fight, despite two years of little change after the nuclear disaster in northeastern Japan.

Gathering two days ahead of the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that sent the Fukushima Daiichi plant into multiple meltdowns, demonstrators said they would never forget the nuclear catastrophe, and expressed alarm over the government’s eagerness to restart reactors.

“I can’t see what lies ahead. It looks hopeless, but if I give up now, it’s over,” said Akihiro Nakata, a 47-year-old owner of a construction company, who had a drum slung around his shoulder. “I’d rather die moving forward.”

Only two of Japan’s 50 working nuclear reactors have been put back online since the disaster, partly because of continuous protests like Saturday’s, the first time such demonstrations have popped up in this nation since the 1960s movement against the Vietnam War.

People have thronged Tokyo parks on national holidays, and have gathered outside the parliament building every Friday evening. The demonstrations have drawn people previously unseen at political rallies, such as commuter “salarymen” and housewives. Organizers said Saturday’s demonstration drew 13,000 people.

Two years after the disaster, 160,000 people have left their homes around the plant, entire sections of nearby communities are still ghost towns, and fears grow about cancer and other sicknesses the spewing radiation might bring.

Fukushima Waste waiting disposal.

But the new prime minister elected late last year, Shinzo Abe, hailing from a conservative party that fostered the pro-nuclear policies of modernizing Japan, wants to restart the reactors, and maybe even build new ones.

The protesters said they were shocked by how the government was ignoring them.

“I am going to fight against those who act as though Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Fukushima never happened,” Nobel Prize-winning writer Kenzaburo Oe told the crowd, referring to the atomic bombings preceding the end of World War II. “I am going to fight to prevent any more reactors from being restarted.”

The demonstrators applauded, waving signs and lanterns that read, “Let’s save the children” and “No nukes.” Some were handing out leaflets, pleading to save animals abandoned in the no-go zone.

Kazuko Nihei, 36, was selling trinkets and soap that mothers, like her, who had fled Fukushima had made, hoping to raise funds for children’s health check-ups and their new lives in Tokyo.

“When the government talks about recovery, they are talking about infrastructure. When we talk about recovery, we are talking about the future of our children,” she said.

Another big Tokyo rally was planned for Sunday. A concert Saturday evening featured Oscar and Grammy-winning musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, one of the most vocal opponents of nuclear power. Commemorative services will be held Monday throughout the nation to remember the nearly 19,000 people who died in the disaster.

Less under the spotlight Monday will be a class-action lawsuit being filed against the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co, the utility that operates Fukushima Daiichi, demanding all land, the natural environment and homes be restored to their state before March 11, 2011.

The lawsuit in Fukushima District Court is unusual in drawing people from all walks of life, including farmers, fishermen and housewives, because of the wording of the damage demand.

It has drawn 800 plaintiffs so far, a remarkable number in a conformist culture that frowns upon any challenge to the status quo, especially lawsuits. That number may grow as people join the lawsuit in coming months. A verdict is not expected for more than a year.

“We can’t believe the government is thinking about restarting the reactors after the horrendous damage and human pain the accident has caused,” Izutaro Managi, one of the lawyers, said by telephone. “It is tantamount to victimizing the victims one more time.”

Kazuko Ishige, a 66-year-old apartment manager who was at the rally with a friend from Fukushima, said she was sick of the government’s lies about the safety of nuclear plants.

“I am really angry,” she said. “I am going to have to keep at it until I die.”

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Waking up in Waziristan

[Pakistan and Afghanistan have begun to deal with each other as if the US and NATO were already long gone.  That will include the opening of new strategic corridors between the two countries, compliments of their friends in the UAE and in USAID, and the commerce which that development will bring.  But, there is little chance that these roads will benefit the US or NATO, since they all pass through hostile territory in Miramshah and in Wana.  This is undoubtedly the reason that the US is so adamant that Pakistan launch an "operation in North Waziristan." The Wana route would be the shortest route from Kabul to Karachi, but can Pakistan wring a cease-fire out of the Wazir militias before the 2014 cut-off, in order to facilitate the withdrawal of NATO?  Will President Karzai's stopping of American warfare by proxy (using elements of the TTP against Pakistan), persuade the Pak Army to halt further support to the Afghan Taliban?  If this is an actual opening to bring peace to Afghanistan, then that does not neccessarily mean that it will benefit the NATO withdrawal mission.  The fact that Karzai has taken his actions against the Pentagon and their surrogates in Eastern Afghanistan (SEE: Afghan Nat. Security Council Meeting Evicts Spec. Forces from Wardak and Logar for Employing Criminal Gangs ) indicates that this is a somewhat hostile move by Karzai.  If Pakistan is looking for some sort of revenge against the US for sabotaging their efforts to rehabilitate their local militants (SEE: India/Pakistani Detente' Went Into the Ground with Mullah Nazir) then there can be little doubt that there will be no NATO convoys getting by the forces of Mullah Nazir Group in either Afghanistan or South Waziristan.  After the State Dept. designation of the Mullah Nazir Group as terrorists (SEE: Terrorist Designations of the Commander Nazir Group and Malang Wazir),look for a major escalation of the drone war upon the group, eventually a resumption of special forces raids, unless other assets like Blackwater and the Mehsud Taliban take-on the Wazirs for Obama.  Will Obama crash Karzai's party?  Only time will tell.]

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Pak-Afghan talks for new trade corridor get boost

Baqir Sajjad Syed

A Pashtun man passes a road sign while pulling supplies towards the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing. – File photo by Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan for opening a third trade corridor through Waziristan got a fresh impetus during the visit of Afghan Defence Minister Gen Bismillah Mohammadi when the two countries narrowed their longstanding strategic differences.

The high-ranking Afghan defence ministry delegation departed on Thursday after completing a five-day visit during which they held meetings with civilian and political leadership and inspected a number of Army’s training facilities.

During his several interactions, Gen Bismillah is said to have stressed the need for finalisation of the agreement on third trade corridor, which will not only reduce the travel time and distance between Karachi and Kabul, but will also contribute to development of border areas of both countries.

“Afghans have recognised the centrality of Pakistan for peace and stability in their country not only in terms of kinetic military operations, but also with regard to socio-economic development of conflict zones,” an official said.

The third route has been under discussion since 2003, but deep-running mistrust between the two neighbours had prevented its materialisation. The Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA 2010) had provided for a third entry-exit point on the Pak-Afghan border in addition to the two existing points — Chaman and Torkham, but had deferred its operationalisation till a “mutually- acceptable date”.

The proposed third trade corridor is a three branched route originating from Karachi and ending in Kabul. Once made functional the distance between Karachi and Kabul would be reduced by some 400 kilometres. The traffic on the new trade corridor would pass through less frequently used roads and join the Indus Highway. After crossing the Indus River the route would divide into three branches entering Afghanistan in three different provinces.

The three routes will be Route-1: D.I. Khan-Tank-Makeen-Miran Shah-Ghulam Khan, and onward to Afghanistan; Route-2: D.I. Khan-Tank-Wana-Angoor Adda, and onward to Afghanistan; and Route-3: Bannu-Miramshah-Ghulam Khan, and onward to Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, the traffic would come into the newly-constructed Afghanistan Ring Road.

“The third trade corridor is set to become a reality because of the construction of 2200-kilometre-long Afghanistan Ring Road which connects major Afghan cities and development of road network in Fata by FWO as part of the counter-insurgency operations,” an official said.

He further said: “The biggest spin-off will be the livelihood revolution and economic prosperity that this corridor will bring in the region.
However, in order to draw its true dividend, security situation has to improve.”

TRAINING OF AFGHAN TROOPS: The six-member Afghan defence delegation visited various military education and training institutions, including the National Defence University, Command and Staff College, Quetta, School of Infantry and Tactics, Quetta, Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul, National University of Modern Language (NUML) and National University of Science and Technology to witness training activities.

During their visits to these centres full spectrum of training from low intensity conflict to conventional warfare, and from tactical to higher defence training was exhibited.

The Afghan delegation showed keen interest in getting their troops trained in Pakistan.

Pakistan had long been offering training facilities to Afghans, but the offers were not considered because of differences between the two countries.

The new-found Afghan interest in training in Pakistan is being seen as a major progress in relations.

The visiting delegation reportedly acknowledged benefits of training in Pakistan, including the similarity of operational environment in two countries and a better option for training of female soldiers who have been reluctant to train in other countries.

Waking up in Waziristan

By:Jennifer McKay

Meet the warm, friendly side of Pakistan

South Waziristan was not exactly where I expected to wake upon my birthday in 2012. It is, after all, not yet at the top of everyone’s ‘must visit’ holiday places. To be honest, most friends had been somewhat horrified that I was making this trip, raising the spectre of all sorts of terrible things that could happen, though the more adventurous ones were envious because it’s a place of mystery that few get to visit. But despite the concern, it was peaceful, exciting and remarkably beautiful. South Waziristan is waking up and coming to life again after truly terrible times.

I visited the areas around Jandola, Chagmalai, Spinkai, Kotkai, Janata and Sararaogha in November to talk with the people who have returned after the military operations against the insurgents, and to see what’s happening in the reconstruction and rehabilitation activities. As a consultant who works across the civil-military divide and who regularly evaluates aid and development projects, I am able to assess the quality and outcomes of such projects.

The first thing I noticed was that the locals were warm, welcoming and they weren’t carrying guns. Nobody is allowed to move in these areas with a weapon. The long tradition of carrying weapons has undergone an enforced but important change. The second thing was that all women were not wearing burqas, were out and many were working in the fields. So, that quickly dispelled two well-worn perceptions.

South Waziristan has extraordinary scenery with mountains and cliffs rising sharply against the skyline with a river meandering through beautiful valleys. However, the spectacularly stark terrain makes it a hard place to conduct operations and it is easy to see why the losses were so heavy in subduing the insurgency.

Although casualties have reduced since 2010, peace building will be a long-term challenge given the external influences at play in the region. But much has already been done to restore a peaceful environment for the local people to return to the area to rebuild their lives and it is already making a difference.

For the rehabilitation and reconstruction of South Waziristan, the government of Pakistan is working in tandem with Pakistan Army, and a very small number of international donors, UN agencies and local NGOs. The government has enhanced its footprint. As the security situation further stabilises, more agencies will be able to work in the area. Electricity services for 35 villages have been restored. An impressive new 117km road with excellent bridges transverses the area. This road will join up with a similar road through Wana, to connect with the Indus Highway to form a third trade corridor between the Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics. This will contribute significantly to the economy of the South Waziristan and stimulate development and job opportunities.

Health and education facilities are undergoing reconstruction with 12 health care facilities already completed while some 45 schools for both boys and girls are being rebuilt, many of which are already operating and more are underway.

Although most families have been eager to return, it has been tough for most. Many have returned to damaged or destroyed homes and a complete loss of their livelihoods. UNHCR is building one-room shelters for the more vulnerable returnees such as widows but to date, progress is slow and the shelters are not culturally appropriate as they are mostly built in the open, not with the traditional compound walls. A Pakistani NGO, Resettling the Indus, is building, more culturally, appropriate houses, working with the local communities, and undertaking planning for a number of villages soon to be re-settled.

As part of the resettlement package, families receive food support for a period of six months provided by the World Food Programme and their donors. However, after that, it can be hard as there are still very few jobs and many have to live on whatever savings they have until they can get work or set up a micro-business. Water systems have been restored in 35 areas. Markets have been built in 30 places to help locals re-establish businesses and are handed over at no cost, provided they are used for the purpose agreed. Agricultural practices are being improved to make the small amount of arable land more productive.

Sports stadia have been constructed and are very popular for the favourite pastimes of cricket and football. The sports fields and a new community centre are also venues for festivals and Eid celebrations to bring the communities and those working there together. Discussions with the locals about what life was like in the shadow of the militants, their time away in IDP camps and with host families in other parts of Pakistan, and returning home, were revealing and deeply touching. As a woman, and a foreigner, I wasn’t sure that the men would be particularly comfortable with me. However, they extended their hands warmly to mine, talked freely and laughed with me and were entirely comfortable with me, mingling amongst them to take photographs. It turned out to be rather fun. Many spoke freely but others, still perhaps afraid of repercussions from any lingering militant sympathisers amongst them, were understandably uncomfortable in talking of the past. The terrible atrocities, they underwent at the hands of the militants, are still all too fresh in their minds.

The achievements of the Pakistan Army in South Waziristan are in stark contrast to the experience in Afghanistan of NATO/ISAF with the donor-supported reconstruction through the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). Despite billions of donor dollars pouring in to PRTs, they have not been able to achieve their goals. Lack of ability to stabilise areas, sub-standard materials provided by contractors, plus a frequent lack of cultural understanding have been some of the main inhibitors. But the story is very different in South Waziristan. Unlike the NATO/ISAF troops in Afghanistan, the Pakistan Army is of the same country, the same people, and although it is still challenging, acceptance and cultural understanding is greater. Also, as the army directly controls the reconstruction process on the ground, working closely with and for the government, donors and humanitarian agencies, there is full transparency and accountability.

South Waziristan was a real surprise not only for me but the many people I’ve spoken to since. There is so little awareness of life there. Unfortunately, good news stories do not attract the same attention as the negative. Yes, there will be many big challenges ahead but people’s resolve is greater. Let’s hope that the goal of long-term stability can be fully realised and the people of South Waziristan can prosper in true peace and harmony.

The writer is a disaster management and civil-military relations consultant, based in Islamabad where she consults for government and UN agencies. She has also worked with ERRA and NDMA. She can be contacted at: jennifer.mckay@gmail.com

Afghan Nat. Security Council Meeting Evicts Spec. Forces from Wardak and Logar for Employing Criminal Gangs

[THIS POST HAS BEEN DISAPPEARED---NOT BY ME.]

[The criminal policies of the American Special Forces are finally being called to account in Wardak and LogarProvinces of Afghanistan.  SOCOM's highly illegal practices of fronting criminal gangs, who operate exactly like "terrorists," are the reason for their expulsion in two weeks.  Pentagon strategy consists of training and deploying proxy gangs and warlords to carry-out the most controversial Spec Op tactics, such as  cutting throats, taking heads, torturing, abducting and disappearing people from their beds in the middle of the night, so that Special Forces can  create the impression that their hands are clean.  By "contracting-out" these most extreme actions to locals and private terror outfits like Blackwater, Special Forces are able to manage perceptions, creating the illusion that American hands are clean, just as long as government officials were willing to look the other way.  Evidently, Hamid Karzai is no longer willing to overlook state-sponsored terrorism, even when it is committed by the United States.  In addition to removing American support for terror-gangs in two provinces, Karzai has just arrested Maulvi Faqir of the Pakistani Taliban near Nangarhar, one of two TTP terrorists who were given sanctuary from Army operations in Waziristan in Eastern Afghanistan by Gen. McChrystal, before his early forcedd retirement (SEE:the Militants Floodgate Into Waziristan ).

Karzai is effectively, single-handedly, undoing American counter-terror/counter-insurgency policies in his homeland.  If he can withstand the tsunami of pressure that the Pentagon is surely unleashing about now, and make his decisions hold, then it will be a small matter to also block any Western troops after 2014.  Did Gen. Kayani manage to arrange a deal for all of this in retaliation for the American sabotaging of all Pakistani tribal strategies with the drone-murder of Mullah Nazir (SEE:India/Pakistani Detente’ Went Into the Ground with Mullah Nazir ).]

National Security Council Meeting Discusses Situation in Wardak and Logar Provinces

    Feb 24, 2013

February 24, 2013 – The meeting of the National Security Council chaired by President Hamid Karzai on Sunday discussed as per agenda the security situation in the provinces of Logar and Maidan Wardak, the presence of the international forces beyond 2014 and the issue of land seizures in Afghanistan.

The meeting began by hearing briefings by the Minister of Interior, Director General for the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG), chairman of the Transition Commission, Chief of Army Staff and the respective governors on the security situation as well as on the findings by a delegation that had been assigned to investigate the causes of insecurity in the two provinces.

After a thorough discussion, it became clear that armed individuals named as US special force stationed in Wardak province engage in harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people. A recent example in the province is an incident in which nine people were disappeared in an operation by this suspicious force and in a separate incident a student was taken away at night from his home, whose tortured body with throat cut was found two days later under a bridge. However, Americans reject having conducted any such operation and any involvement of their special force.

The meeting strongly noted that such actions have caused local public resentment and hatred.

In view of the above situation, the meeting made the following decisions:

1.    The Ministry of Defense was assigned to make sure all US special forces are out of the province within two weeks;

2.    All the Afghan national security forces are duty bound to protect the life and property of people in Maidan Wardak province by effectively stopping and bringing to justice any groups that enter peoples’ homes in the name of special force and who engage in annoying, harassing and murdering innocent people; and

3.    Effective from February 24, 2013 onward, the ISAF has to stop all its special force operations in Maidan Wardak province;

The Meeting also called on the local people to cooperate with the governor and security forces in identifying such groups and inform local authorities. The Wardak governor was also tasked to form community councils to engage people in preventing such destructive actions by irresponsible armed groups.

The meeting then heard and endorsed a security operational plan presented by Logar governor for the province.

Also on agenda for the meeting was the issue of land seizure in various provinces in Afghanistan.  The meeting directed the Ministry of Interior, the Attorney General Office as well as the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) to develop an orderly plan to handle the issue of the land seizure and restitute the lands illegally grabbed by powerful individuals by misuse of authority and official position.
The meeting also held an in-depth discussion on the military presence some countries are seeking beyond 2014 in Afghanistan.

The meeting decided that any military presence any country may be seeking to retain under the international coalition after 2014 may be allowed only after Afghan government’s formal agreement and discretion, to be achieved bilaterally.
The meeting underlined that the number, location, scope and the nature of operations of such troops, if agreed, would be determined through direct negotiations with Afghan government.

Bahrain Revolutionaries Try Their Hand At Bombmaking, Again

[This latest Bahraini attempt to build an effective IED was preempted.  Their last try was sort of amateurish (SEE:  Bahrain police injured in bomb attack).  Doesn't a lack of progress in revolutionary bombmaking skills sort of prove that the Iranians are playing no part in the Bahrain revolution, other than spiritual support?  Is it hard to understand just how easy it would be to smuggle someone into Bahrain with bomb-building expertise, equivalent to that level which we taught to "al-Qaeda"?   All that they would need would be someone like Ramsi Yousef, who could make powerful devices from common chemicals.  Why doesn't some good patriotic American veteran, who fits this description, find his way to Manama, Bahrain?]

Bahrain police find bomb on causeway to Saudi Arabia

A Bahraini protester flashes the sign for victory as he holds up a scarf during an anti-government rally to demand political reforms on February 15, 2013, in the village of Shakhurah, west of the Bahraini capital Manama. AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH

ABU DHABI: Bahrain police found a bomb planted on a busy causeway linking the island to Saudi Arabia, and four officers were shot and wounded in a village, officials said in the latest violence to hit the kingdom on the second anniversary of its uprising.

The 2 kg bomb, discovered on Thursday near a mosque on the Bahraini end of the route used by thousands of people a day, was safely defused, said the Information Authority in the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state.

Late on Friday, four officers were hit by birdshot pellets in the Shi’ite Muslim village of Karzakan, the authority added, quoting the island’s chief of public security Major-General Tariq Hassan al-Hassan.

The announcements came as thousands were expected to take to the streets of the capital on Saturday for the funeral of a teenager the opposition said was killed in clashes between police and activists earlier this week.

The violence has cast a shadow over talks launched this week between mostly Shi’ite Muslim opposition groups and the Sunni Muslim-dominated government to try to end political deadlock in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

Bahrain has seen almost daily demonstrations in the run-up to the anniversary of the pro-democracy revolt, which has put the kingdom on the front line of a region-wide tussle for influence between Shi’ite Muslim Iran and Sunni Arab states such as Saudi Arabia.

Bahrain accuses Iran of stirring up trouble in the kingdom, which Tehran denies.

Mass protests that erupted in February 2011 at the height of the Arab Spring were crushed, but demonstrations demanding greater rights for Bahrain’s Shi’ite majority and an end to the absolute power of the Sunni ruling family have continued.

Thousands took to the streets again on Friday, leading opposition group al-Wefaq said on its website, with clashes breaking out with security forces in several villages and districts.

(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

Historic National Protests Against Obama Planned in 50 States on February 16

[SEE:  ABSOLUTE PROOF–People Power Stopped Infrared Surveillance Drone Deployment In Seattle!!!]

Historic National Protests Against Obama Planned in 50 States

on February 16

by

ALIPAC

Contact: Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC)
Press@alipac.us / (866) 703-0864

Americans who oppose the destructive policies of Barack Obama will converge on all 50 state capitals this coming weekend, Saturday, February 16, from 11am to 1pm. In each respective time zone, unprecedented picket style, friendly flash mob style protests will be conducted on public sidewalks outside of state capitol buildings.

Patriotic American protesters will put the American rights of free speech, freedom to assemble, and freedom to petition our government for redress of grievances to the test. Crowds will gather without permits to picket in motion for two hours on public sidewalks within sight of our state seats of government and onlooking vehicular traffic.

Protesters will simply march in a circuit carrying American and state flags, or carrying signs protesting Obama’s stance on a wide coalition of issues. All peaceful and racially inclusive organizations and American citizens who oppose Obama are welcome to attend.

A few of the issues protesters will address are Obama’s unconstitutional Amnesty for illegal aliens decree, support for Amnesty legislation, support for the NDAA, efforts to curtail gun rights, out of control spending and debt, Obamacare, the Fast and Furious Scandal, Benghazi Gate, and much more!

For a complete listing of protest locations in your state and historic protest updates please visit our Facebook event page at…
https://www.facebook.com/events/4653…ref=ts&fref=ts

Those that do not use Facebook, can sign up for updates at http://www.AgainstAmnesty.com

These national protests are being supported by many groups and leaders with the core organizing being done by William Gheen, President of the national organization widely known in the media as Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC).

“It is time for Americans to have an unfiltered and healthy expression of their dissatisfaction with Barack Obama, and to do so in a way that both exercises our diminishing freedoms while also educating citizens and lawmakers about our valid concerns about Obama’s destructive policies,” said William Gheen, President of ALIPAC.

For more information or to schedule interviews in advance of the protests, please visit www.ALIPAC.us

ABSOLUTE PROOF–People Power Stopped Infrared Surveillance Drone Deployment In Seattle!!!

Seattle grounds police drone program

Mayor Mike McGinn ordered the Seattle Police Department to abandon its plan to use drones after residents and privacy advocates protested.

By Christine Clarridge, Seattle Times staff reporter

ALAN BERNER / The Seattle Times

The Police Department had purchased two 3.5-pound Draganflyer X6 Helicopter Tech drones with money from a regional Homeland Security grant.

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Due to its’ past actions the SPD is no where near trustworthy enough to merit these… (February 8, 2013, by ghostly) MORE

About time! A heartfelt thank you to all of those that expressed their… (February 7, 2013, by Dual Processor) MORE

Saying police need to stay focused on “community building,” Mayor Mike McGinn has pulled the plug on the department’s controversial drone program even before it got off the ground.

In a brief statement Thursday, McGinn said he and police Chief John Diaz agreed that it was time to end the program so the Seattle Police Department “can focus its resources on public safety and the community building work that is the department’s priority.”

McGinn said the two drones purchased by the city with federal funds will be returned to their vendor.

When reached for comment, Seattle police referred questions to the mayor’s office. The mayor’s office declined to elaborate on McGinn’s statement.

The announcement came one day after the city held a public hearing on a proposed ordinance outlining restrictions for the department’s drone program, which drew vocal opposition from numerous citizens concerned with intrusions into their privacy. The ordinance was expected to come up for a vote later this month.

The Police Department is among dozens of law-enforcement agencies, academic institutions and other agencies that were given approval last year by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to train operators in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly known as drones. The FAA action came after President Obama signed a law that compelled the agency to plan for safe integration of civilian drones into U.S. airspace by 2015.

The Police Department purchased two 3.5-pound Draganflyer X6 Helicopter Tech drones with money from a regional Homeland Security grant, envisioning uses during hostage situations and search-and-rescue operations and after following natural disasters. One of the helicopters was expected to be used by the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Police said the unmanned systems would allow the city to have some of the public-safety benefits of a manned helicopter without the prohibitive costs.

But the proposed use of drones by police drew “tremendous, widespread concern among the general public,” according to Doug Honig, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Washington. When police introduced the program during a public presentation last fall, officers were shouted down by opponents who feared misuse.

Honig said Thursday the ACLU was pleased with McGinn’s action.

“It’s a wise decision,” he said. “Drones would have given police unprecedented abilities to engage in surveillance and intrude on people’s privacy and there was never a strong case made that Seattle needed the drones for public safety.”

But Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Council’s Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee, criticized McGinn for taking “the easy way out.”

“It’s harder to define a policy where, in rare circumstances, (drones) could be useful,” said Harrell, who is running for mayor against McGinn. “We could have been a model for other cities to follow.”

Harrell had sponsored the pending council legislation that he hoped would balance the usefulness of the technology with privacy concerns.

The proposed ordinance discussed Wednesday would have banned the use of drones for general surveillance or for flights over open-air assemblies. It also would have required police to obtain a warrant before using drones for all but emergency circumstances, such as situations involving hostages, search-and-rescue operations, the pursuit of armed felons, bomb threats and the detection of “hot spots” in fires, or for the collection of traffic data.

City Councilmember Tim Burgess, another mayoral candidate, said McGinn’s cancellation of the program provides the city with an opportunity to reassess the grant money given to the city for homeland security.

But he went further, questioning the Police Department’s recent installation of 30 surveillance cameras along the city’s shoreline, from Fauntleroy to Golden Gardens. The project is funded by a $5 million federal grant aimed at increasing security at the Port of Seattle and improving the city’s ability to respond to hazards and emergencies.

Police said the cameras, which could be operational by March 31, will provide them with a sweeping view of the port facilities, Elliott Bay and the shoreline.

“We should also assess the cameras at Alki,” Burgess said. “Unfortunately, there has not been the strong, decisive leadership from the mayor on public safety so these things just occur without the kind of oversight and policy discussions we should be having.”

McGinn’s mention of “community building” comes amid police community-outreach efforts following a Department of Justice investigation that found evidence of biased policing and routine use of unconstitutional force. That finding led to an agreement calling for mandated reforms within the department.

The debate in Seattle over drones echoes one taking place across the nation as law-enforcement agencies seek to utilize drone technology. Earlier this week, Charlottesville, Va., ordered a two-year moratorium on the citywide use of unmanned aircraft. It was the first city in the nation to do so, supporters say.

Honig, the ACLU spokesman, said the organization would like to see legislation placing restrictions on the acquisition and use of drones by all Washington state law-enforcement agencies. He also said the acquisition of such technology should be driven by policies and decisions made with public input, not simply by the availability of federal funds.

When King County Sheriff John Urquhart took office last year, he said he returned his department’s drone to Seattle police.

“I came in and said, ‘We’re not going to fly that.’ We hadn’t done our homework, and I don’t think the time is right,” he said Thursday. “What’s happening to Seattle is exactly what I hoped to avoid.”

Christine Clarridge: cclarridge@seattletimes.com or 206-464-8983.

Staff reporter Lynn Thompson contributed to this report.

The Greatest Speech by a Western Statesman This Century?

kenny’s sideshow

32 year old Belgiam MP Laurent Louis’s speech/video in the Belgian Parliament has been widely passed around but has not been seen by the tens of millions that need to hear these truths.

This courageous man makes the stooges and weasels in our Congress look to be exactly what they are…traitors.

Below is the translated transcript.

“Thank you, Mr President. Dear Ministers, dear Colleagues.

Belgium is indeed the land of surrealism.

This morning we learned from the media that the Belgian army is incapable of fighting some extremist soldiers having radical Islamist beliefs existing within its own ranks but who cannot be dismissed for lack of legal means.

However, at the same time, we decide to help France in its war against “Terror” by providing logistical support for its operation in Mali. What wouldn’t we do in order to fight against terrorism outside our borders? I just hope we took care not to send for this anti-terrorist operation, in Mali, these much talked about Belgian Islamists soldiers!

I seem to be joking, but what is going on in the world today does not make me laugh at all. It doesn’t make me laugh, because without any doubt, the leaders of our Western countries are taking the people for imbeciles with the help and support of the Media which are nothing more today than an organ of propaganda of the ruling powers.

Around the world, military actions and regime’s destabilization are becoming more and more frequent. Preventive war has become the rule.

And today, in the name of democracy and the fight against terrorism, our states grant themselves the right to violate the sovereignty of independent countries and to overthrow legitimate leaders.

There has been Iraq and Afghanistan, the wars of the American lie. Later, came Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, where thanks to your decisions, our country has been “first in line” to participate in crimes against humanity, in each case overthrowing progressive and moderate regimes and to replace them with Islamist regimes, and – isn’t it weird ? – Their first act was to impose Sharia law.

This is exactly what is currently happening in Syria where Belgium is shamefully funding the arming of the Islamist rebels who are trying to overthrow Bashar Al Assad. Thus, in the midst of economic crisis, as more and more Belgians can no longer house themselves, feed, heat and cure themselves – Yeah, I can hear what a filthy populist I am – well, the Minister of Foreign Affairs decided to offer the Syrian rebels nine million Euros!

Of course, they’ll try to make us believe that this money will be used for humanitarian purposes … one more lie! And as you can see, for months, our country is only participating to put in place, Islamic regimes in North Africa and the Middle East. So, when they come and pretend to go to war in order to fight against terrorism in Mali, well… I feel like laughing. It’s false!

Under the appearance of good actions, we only intervene to defend financial interests in a complete neo-colonialist agenda. It makes no sense to go to help France in Mali in the name of the fight against Islamic terrorism when – at the same time – we support the overthrow of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad by Islamist rebels who want to impose Sharia Law, as was done in Tunisia and in Libya.

It is about time to stop lying to us and treating people like imbeciles.

The time has come to tell the truth. Arming the Islamist Rebels, as Westerners have, in the past armed Bin Laden, that friend of the Americans before they turned against him, well, the western countries are taking the opportunity to place military bases in the newly conquered countries while favoring domestic companies.

Everything is therefore strategic. In Iraq, our American allies have put their hands on the country’s oil wealth. In Afghanistan, it was its opium and drugs always useful when it comes to make lots of money pretty quickly. In Libya, in Tunisia, in Egypt, or then again in Syria, the aim was – and is still today, to overthrow moderate powers, to replace them with Islamist powers who very quickly will become troublesome and who we will shamelessly attack pretending once again, to fight terrorism or protect Israel.

Thus, the next targets are already known. Within a few months, I bet that our eyes will turn to Algeria and eventually to Iran.

To go to war, to free people from an outside aggressor, is noble. But to go to war to defend the interests of the USA; To go to war to defend the interests of big companies such as AREVA; go to war to put our hands on gold mines, is not at all noble and reveals our counties to be attackers and thugs!

No one dares to speak, but I will not shut up! And if my battle makes me look like an enemy of this system that flaunts the Human Rights in the name of financial, geo-strategic and neo-colonialist interests, so be it!

Flaunting and exposing this regime is a duty and makes me proud. And honestly, I apology for my low class speech, but I say fuck you all, the so-called do-gooders, both left and right-wingers or from the center who are today licking the boots of our corrupted powers and who will be pleased to ridicule me.

I say fuck you all, leaders who are playing with your bombs as kids do in a playground! I say fuck you, you who pretend to be democrats while you are nothing more than low class criminals. 

I don’t have much respect neither for the journalists who have the audacity to label the opponents as mentally retarded while basically, they know very well that these opponents are right.

Finally, I despise, at the highest point, those who believe they are the kings of the world and who are dictating their laws, because I AM on the side of truth, the side of justice, the side of the innocent victims of looting at all cost. And it is for this reason that I have decided to clearly oppose this resolution that is sending our country to support France in its neo-colonialist operation.

Since the beginning of the French operation, the lie was established. We are told that France is only answering the call for help of a Malian president. We almost forget that this president has no legitimacy and that he was put in place to ensure the transition following the coup of March 2012. Who supported this coup d’état? Who started it? For whom is this president of transition actually working? This is the first lie!

The French president, François Hollande dares to pretend to wage this war to fight against the jihadists who threaten (ohhhh do you realize!) who threaten the French and European territory! But what an ugly lie! By taking this official argument, while taking the opportunity to frighten the population increasing the terror alert level, implementing the Vigipirate plan our leaders and media are demonstrating an unimaginable outrage!

How dare they use such a point while France and Belgium have not hesitated to arm and support Jihadists in Libya and that these same countries continue to support these jihadists in Syria.

This pretext is a coverup to strategic and economic purposes. Our countries are no longer in fear of appearing inconsistent because everything is done to hide it. But the inconsistency is apparent. It is not tomorrow that you’ll see a Malian citizen commit an act of terrorism in Europe. No! Not unless we suddenly create one so we can justify this military operation.

Haven’t we created September 11 after all, to justify the invasions, arbitrary arrest, torture and massacre of innocent populations? Thus, to create a Malian terrorist is no big deal!

It must not be very complicated for our bloodthirsty leaders.

Another pretext used these recent months to justify military operations, as the protection of human rights. Ah! This pretext is still used today to justify the war in Mali. But yes! We have to act, otherwise the evil Islamists will impose Sharia law in Mali, stoning women and cutting the thugs’ hands off.

Oh! The intention is truly noble. Noble and salutary for sure. But then why is it – Good Lord – why is it that our countries have contributed in Tunisia and Libya to the accession to power of Islamists who have decided to apply this Sharia Law in these countries which were, not so long ago, still regarded as modern and progressive? I invite you to ask the young Tunisians who have launched the revolution in Tunisia, if they are happy with their current situation? This is all hypocrisy.

The purpose of this war in Mali is very clear. And since no one talks about it, I WILL. The purpose is to fight against China and allow our American ally to maintain its presence in Africa and the Middle East. This is what guides these neo-colonialists operations.

And you will see, when the military operation will be over, France will, of course, keep its military bases in Mali. These bases will be a benefit to the Americans as well. And at the same time, as has always been the case, western corporations will put their hands on juicy contracts that will once again deprive re-colonized countries of their wealth and raw materials.

So let’s be clear, the primary beneficiaries of this military operation, will be the owners and shareholders of the French giant AREVA who has been trying for years to obtain a uranium mine in Falea, a town of 17,000 inhabitants located at 350 km from Bamako.

And I don’t know why, but my little finger is telling me that it won’t take long before AREVA will eventually exploit that mine!

I don’t know, it’s an impression I have. It is therefore out of question that I would take part to this mining colonialism, this modern times colonialism.

And for those who doubt about my arguments, I sincerely invite them to learn about the wealth of Mali.

Mali is a major producer of gold, but recently it has been recently designated as being a country that offers a world-class environment for the exploitation of uranium. How strange!

One step closer to a war against Iran, it is obvious.

For all these reasons and in order to not fall into the traps of lies they are tending us, I’ve decided not to give my support to that intervention in Mali.

Therefore, I will vote against it. And by doing so, I’m being consistent since, I never supported in the past our criminal interventions in Libya or in Syria, and so being the only MP in this country to defend the non-interference and the fight against obscure interests. I really think it is about time to put an end to our participation to the UN or NATO and get out of the EU if Europe, instead of providing peace, providing peace becomes a weapon of attack and destabilization of sovereign countries submissive to financial rather than human interests

Finally, I can only urge our government to remind the President Hollande the obligations resulting from the Geneva Conventions regarding the respect of prisoners of war.

Indeed, I was shocked to hear on television from the mouth of the French President that his intention was to “destroy” – I say “destroy” – Islamist terrorists.

So, I do not want the qualification to be used to name the opponents to the Malian regime – it is always convenient today to talk about Islamic terrorists- to be used to circumvent the obligations of any democratic state in terms of respecting the rights of prisoners of war.

We expect such a respect from the Fatherland of Human Rights. In conclusion, Let me emphasize how lightly we decide to go to war.

First, the government acts without any consent from the Parliament. It appears that it has the right to. It sends equipment, men to Mali. The Parliament subsequently reacts and when it responds, as today, well, this institution happens to be composed of only 1/3 of its members. Much less if we speak of the French speaking MP’s.

It is therefore a guilty lightness which does not really surprises me, coming from a Parliament of puppies, submitted to the dictates of political parties. Thank you.”

(Translation: Geraldine Feuillien)

Complete Transcript PDF

Belgian Parliament Member Blames 9/11 False Flag for Criminal Invasions of Sovereign Countries. 

Please tell everyone you know that there are a few in this world not afraid to take a stand against the world wide criminal syndicate. 

When Is It Time To Ally With “Al-Qaeda” and When Is It Time To Fight It?

[The following is an excellent analysis of the American "Islamist" ploy.  My only criticism of it is that it doesn't articulate the unavoidable conclusion--the "al-Qaeda" phenomenon is an illusion.  If there actually were an international terrorist organization, then its objectives and ideology would be the same wherever the group chose to stand and fight.  If there were an actual "terrorist international," then they could not possibly fight for the Zionist French in Syria and against them in Mali.  According to the French jurist quoted below, the only question for us is a matter of timing--Whether we fight for the same cause at this time.  In a world war against "al-Qaeda" terrorism, allying ourselves with "al-Qaeda"-linked terrorists, at any point, invalidates the entire justification for the war.  Exposing American alliances with al-Qaeda not only invalidates the war effort, it pulls back the curtain on the treachery of Western leaders.] 

“There are many young jihadists who have gone to the Turkish border in order to enter Syria to fight Bachar’s regime, but the only difference is that there France is not the enemy. Therefore we don’t look on that in the same way. To see young men who are at the moment fighting Bachar Al-Assad, they will be perhaps dangerous in the future but for the moment they are fighting Bachar Al-Assad and France is on their side. They will not attack us. Here (in Mali) the problem is that we are not on the same side.”–French “anti-terrorist” judge Marc Trévidic

Good Terrorist, Bad Terrorist

European authorities admit NATO and Al Qaeda are allies in Syria

by Gearóid Ó Colmáin

The chief of the Spanish police Enrique Baron told La Razon newspaper on January 24 that Spanish “jihadists” have left Spain for Syria where they are fighting in Japhat Al Nousra, the Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist group currently at war against the Al Assad government, while other Spaniards have gone to Mali to join the fighting against French forces there.

According to the report, three Spanish jihadists have already been killed in Syria. Baron expressed concerns that these terrorists could pose a future threat to Spanish national security. On March 11 2004, several trains were bombed in Madrid killing 191 people and wounding hundreds more. The barbaric attacks were blamed on Al Qaeda.

In December 2011, former Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar wrote an article for CNBC where he outlined the dangers presented by the Islamist direction of the Arab Spring and the war in Libya. He noted that the Libyan rebel military commander Abdul Hakim Belhadj was “one of the suspects involved in the Madrid bombing of March 2004.”

Belhadj was made “governor” of Tripoli by NATO during its conquest of Libya in 2011. The Libyan terrorist also enjoyed a brief stint as a columnist with Britain’s “left-wing” Guardian newspaper, where the Islamist claimed to promote “democratic” values.

As calls for president Assad to step down continue to be heard, a strange alliance between Western liberal democracies and Islamic terrorism is manifesting itself throughout Europe. The presence of jihadist fighters from Britain is also well documented. Yet the British government seems blithely indifferent.

Ireland has the distinction of having provided one of the most important jihadi psychopaths for the destruction of Libya in 2011 and the current war on Syria, a Dublin-based thug called Mehdi al-Herati.

Ireland, a country that fought colonialism for hundreds of years, is constitutionally a neutral country. During the War of Independence in 1919, the British government sent dozens of death squads, known as the Black and Tans into Ireland to terrorize the country into submission. This is precisely what NATO is doing to Syria today, yet the Irish Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore, joins his pals in NATO to blame the Syrian government for doing precisely what his forefathers did to protect the motherland against foreign aggression and colonialism.

According to German daily Die Welt, over one hundred European jihadists are now fighting for Al Qaeda in Syria, where they are preparing a base for operations against European citizens. Florian Flage and Clemens Werginwrite:

According to Western intelligence sources, Al Nousra commander Abu Mohammad Al-Dschulani is already planning to extend his operations base from Syria through Turkey into Europe. He is preparing for the day for the fall of Assad, in order to make Syria a centre for Jihadist activity in other countries.

Yet the German and EU governments continue to support these criminals in Syria while claiming to fight them in Mali. The hollow, mortifying chant of Western governments and corporate media that Assad is “killing his own people” is finally being exposed, as people in Europe wake up to the nightmare that they are being ruled by the mentally ill.

French jihadists are also fighting in Syria. Jacques Bérès, a doctor fromMédecins Sans Frontières, said last year that many of the patients he treated in a hospital in Aleppo were jihadists from Paris. Responding to the revelation that French terrorists were fighting the Assad government in Syria, French “anti-terrorist” judge Marc Trévidic smiled and said “they are our friends, how can we call them terrorists.” It is difficult to know if Trévidic’s smile was meant to indicate the unutterable absurdity of French foreign policy or rather an open admission that the French security state will decide who is a terrorist in accordance with its geopolitical interests.

In an interview with French state radio France Inter on January 5, Trévidicwarned that an unlawful system of incarceration similar to Guantanamo Bay could be put in place if France was to experience a wave of terrorist attacks. Yet this same judge openly admits that the French state is aiding Islamist terrorists in its war on Syria. In a normal society Trévidic would have been accused of condoning Islamist terrorism. But ours is not a normal society!

On January 11th Trévidic was interviewed again by France Inter where he was asked if the French jihadists fighting the Syrian government could present a danger to French national security, Trévidic declared that:

There are many young jihadists who have gone to the Turkish border in order to enter Syria to fight Bachar’s regime, but the only difference is that there France is not the enemy. Therefore we don’t look on that in the same way. To see young men who are at the moment fighting Bachar Al-Assad, they will be perhaps dangerous in the future but for the moment they are fighting Bachar Al-Assad and France is on their side. They will not attack us. Here (in Mali) the problem is that we are not on the same side.

Trévidic went on to warn that if the Assad regime does not fall, Assad could attempt to bomb Paris! Terrorists are ok as long as they serve our political interests. Assad and not Al Qaeda could bomb Paris. Reality is turned upside down!

He we have an open admission that the West is helping Islamist terrorists to destroy the Syrian nation while supposedly fighting Islamist terrorists in Mali from the mouth of France’s top anti-terrorist judge! In the same programme Jean-Pierre Filiu, a terrorism expert from Science Po university stated that the terrorists France is fighting in Mali are nothing more than drug trafficking criminals. But it is perfectly acceptable to fight alongside such people in Syria when NATO geopolitical interests seek to replace the government there with their own gang of neo-colonial puppets.

Independent media and geopolitical analysts alerted the world to NATO’s plan to recruit Mujahedeen terrorists to fight in Syria at the very start of the Levantine tragedy in 2011.

Now as many mainstream media sources and Western legal authorities themselves are admitting that this is the case, the infernal rhapsody of “Assad must go” and “Assad is killing his own people”, this sick, psychopathic cover story continues to block the voices of reason that occasionally punctuate the mainstream media matrix.

The infinite cynicism, hubris, absolute hypocrisy, and collective pathology of the Western ruling elite bode ill for the future of humanity.

Gearóid Ó Colmáin was born in Cork, Ireland, and is currently based in Paris. He is a former bilingual columnist with Metro Eireann. His interests include geopolitcs, globalisation, philosophy and the arts. He is a member of Pôle de renaissance communiste en France (PRCF) a political movement which advocates Marxism-Leninism and the formation of a revolutionary communist party in France. Read other articles by Gearóid, or visit Gearóid’s website.

Franklin Lamb Reporting On Western War Crimes In Syria

Barring Medicines in Syria…

US-led Sanctions Contribute to the Destruction of Syria’s Millenary History

by FRANKLIN LAMB

What a difference a week can make. The heaviest snow in Syria in a quarter-century, some claimed, last week’s storm closed for a time even the main highway from Damascus to Beirut.

But that was then and now its spring in Damascus, or so it feels to those of us used to New England Januarys. It’s nearly downright balmy here. Spring flowers are bursting out all over and the city parks are crowded with mothers pushing baby carriages, kids playing and young lovers cooing softly on the park benches. Park workers are raking the dead leaves and others trimming the palm trees and piling the branches neatly on flatbed trucks.

What “civil war”? What “crisis”? One is tempted to ask himself even though there continues to be intermittent “thuds” and a jet streaking overhead now and then en route apparently to one of the suburbs where clashes erupt intermittently.

It’s been a rough winter and perhaps we are just experiencing here a false spring. Yet one senses a palpable sigh of relief and even some optimism while talking to citizens, NGO staffers and some officials. It could be partly the wonderful weather but perhaps also a realization that a corner may have been turned, peace and security will be restored and the killing ended. Some refugees are to be seen returning to Damascus. Syrians and Palestinians from Lebanon — yet there are still traffic backups with cars piled high with personal belongings crossing over to Lebanon at the Masnaa border checkpoint. Meanwhile the Ministry of Interior in Damascus has pledged various forms of help to those who heed the governments call to “come back home to your people.”

Energized by the exhilarating park ambiance this observer decided to walk to UNESCO headquarters for an appointment. Plus it can be kind of tough at times to find a taxi these days.

Perhaps I should have remained in the park. Lord knows that this observer has experienced his share of irate women shouting at him over the years. Being raised by three older sisters and a no-nonsense German/Italian mother- all of them unmercifully wanting to correct my behavior was a mere harbinger of things to come. But, even with this “training”, I was ill prepared for what the lady at the UNESCO office here in central Damascus unleashed on me.

And I had not done the lady wrong.

Except, perhaps, that I happen to be an American and there is plenty of anger here among the Syrian public, the NGO’s, and increasingly the international legal community among others — not toward the American people but toward the US government — over the effects of its sanctions which are severely and illegally targeting the civilian population. At the same time they are directly contributing to prospects of irreparably damaging many of this millenary country’s historic sites.

According to archeological experts here, Syria, with its six UNESCO world heritage sites testifying to its deserved reputation as being one of the most archeologically well-preserved cradles of civilization, may soon to be the most wantonly destroyed in modern times (Iraq being the other). This frequently-predicted catastrophe is a result, not only of war in the usual sense, but war in its more subtle form of US-led sanctions aimed at political regime change.

Of particular concern to UNESCO, whose UN mandate includes registering and protecting World historical sites, is the preservation of the Ancient Cities of Damascus, Bosra, Palmyra, Aleppo, Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’ at Salah El-Din, as well as the ancient villages of Northern Syria.

This week, the Syrian Directorate of Antiquities and Museums has released its detailed report of acts of vandalism and illegal excavations by armed groups and foreign thieves across Syria. The Directorate has documented violations against archeological sites and Syrian museums, as well the emerging phenomenon of artifact forgery. In Aleppo, the Antiquities division reported that al-Diriya caves in Samaan Mountain suffered from acts of sabotage, adding that “terrorists have looted the equipment of excavations, wooden columns and timbers.”

Also, this week, Human Rights Watch issued a report that Saudi-Qatar-US backed militants destroyed religious locations following a four-day investigation in the provinces of Latakia and Idlib. According to HRW, a Husseiniyah (a congregation hall for Shia commemoration ceremonies) was destroyed by the militants in Idlib, while two Christian churches were looted in Latakia. The Middle East director at the Human Rights Watch, Sarah Leah Whitson claimed that Syria “will lose its rich cultural and religious diversity if armed groups do not respect places of worship.”

Against this backdrop, it is not totally surprising that my UNESCO hostess, less than half a minute after I entered her office, literally threw at me a statement in French from Director Irina Bokova of the UNESCO HQ in Paris. It read:

“I am deeply distressed by the daily news about the escalation of damage to cultural heritage throughout Syria. We saw damage to the Citadel in July and the souks ten days ago, and the Umayyad Mosque, heart of the religious life of the city, one of the most beautiful mosques in the Muslim world, is being severely endangered. In Northern Syria, the region of the Ancient Villages inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2011 is heavily struck and it seems that the invaluable Saint-Simeon Byzantine complex might have been torched.”

Before I could finish reading, the lady exclaimed: “These testimonials from the past!…” raising her voice and glaring at me while pointing to the posters of Syrian historical sites on her wall, “the destruction of this heritage for which your sanctions are partly responsible. Your government is responsible today and will be tomorrow, for the whole of humanity.” When I was eventually able to get a word in sideways, I explained that I had come to her office precisely because I have been studying the immoral, illegal and “un-American” sanctions and that I was spending my time in Syria learning first-hand about the sanctions’ utter disregard for the humanitarian concerns of the Syrian people — in contravention to what one hears repeatedly from US officials.

When I added, I don’t know any Americans who would condone what the Congress and our government have been doing, if they knew the facts on the ground, she did calm down a bit and said she understood what I was saying and more or less agreed. She then mentioned a national poll conducted on 13 January by the Better World Campaign, an organization that works to support U.S.-U.N. relations, that showed that 83 percent of US citizens believe it is important that their country provide funding to UNESCO and want the US to lift its sanctioning of UNESCO and pay its withheld budget contribution, which accounts for 22% of the UN specialized agency’s budget.

“Let me tell you something!” she exclaimed and launched into describing the dire effects of the current US-led sanctions on UNESCO’s work in preserving and protecting historical sites. In her view, the American assault on UNESCO and its work began when UNESCO committed a sin in March of 2011 by admitting Palestine as a full member.

She explained: “For months our offices had been warned by Israeli officials and then Americans, that there would be a big price-tag were we to admit Palestine.” And there was. In October 2011, the U.S. cut off funding to UNESCO as payback for admitting Palestine as a member and in November 2012, the United States was one of nine member states out of 193 in the General Assembly who, on behalf of the Zionist occupiers of Palestine, tried to unsuccessfully bar Palestine from gaining non-member observer state status at the UN.

UNESCO and some other NGO staff here claim that much of the damage here could have been prevented if there was a lifting of the US 2011 cut-off of UNESCO’s budget. As a direct result, UNESCO cannot even replace more than 400 staffers who left from normal attrition or even hire “neighborhood watch,” local volunteer personnel, to coordinate the guarding by of many archeological sites around Syria.

Regarding the other layers of US-led sanctions targeting the civilian population here, a survey by NGO’s on the impact of the fake “medicine and foods” exemptions will soon be released. Its indictment of the US-led sanctions is severe. Contrary to Washington and NATO mythology, the “medicine and foods” exemptions do not exist in reality because suppliers of both fear being accused of violating the great number of sanction details. Washington and Brussels are acutely aware of this fact.

Among the data that will be presented in the soon-to-be released analysis, are cases of cancer patients who need weekly medicines but are now only able to receive them twice a month, with the expected dire consequences. The same obtains for many other long term care patients who need specific medicines, even as generic as penicillin, which are no longer available as they were before the US-led sanctions.

Just as I was preparing to leave her office, she softened a bit and asked this observer. “See here, I generally like Americans who we come in contact with here but how can you explain these sanctions — or those in Iraq or Afghanistan that have killed so many?”

I tried to explain that we have a culture clash in America that means that many Americans overwhelmingly support UNESCO and the work of all sixteen of the UN Specialized Agencies but we also have politicians like Arizona Senator John McCain and South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham who never saw a war they did not like. The former just returned from another visit to the region and apparently learned nothing except that he still wants a military solution.

The latter, who is known for his jokes on Capitol Hill that as a “true southerner” he never got over the American Civil War or what it did to American society, has repeatedly expressed his view of US “economic” sanctions by declaring recently, “Sanctions are good but they need to be tougher! Cut the bastards off at the knees.”

Senator Graham also noted his agreement with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who made the repulsive statement that the deaths of 500,000 children in Iraq from a US “economic sanctions” regime that “exempted foods and medicine” but in reality was a starvation program “was worth the price.”

Ironically, it was the arch-nemesis of the Confederacy, Yankee General William Tecumseh Sherman, who might agree with Graham regarding sanctions against a civilian population. What has bothered Senator Graham since he first studied the Civil War in school, according to one Congressional source, is that the Yankee February 17, 1865 captured Graham’s state capital of Columbia, South Carolina. It was not pretty and most of the central city was destroyed. But the Yankee and the Confederate might just agree on targeting civilian populations with economic sanctions. Wrote Sherman, shortly before his March to the Sea which fatally cut the south in two:

“We are not fighting against enemy armies, but against an enemy people, young and old, rich and poor, and they must feel the iron hand of war in the same way as organized armies.”

I left the UNESCO office sort of crestfallen. Not because of the lady’s roughness with me, but rather because of the realization, yet once again, that our species quite simply does not learn much from history and apparently will repeat it until the end of times. May God protect the people, everywhere, from the politicians.

Franklin Lamb is doing research in Syria and can be reached c/o fplamb@gmail.com

South Carolina Bill Would Nullify all Presidential Executive Orders Against the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Posted by Kelli Sladick

 

Senator Davis has filed SB 224 which is a Joint Resolution to Nullify Executive Orders infringing upon the second amendment, and the right to keep and bear arms. This Joint Resolution has been referred to the Senate Committee of Judiciary.

SB 224 states, “Any federal executive order restricting, abridging, or otherwise infringing upon the free exercise of a citizen’s second amendment right to keep and bear arms is unconstitutional and shall not be enforced by any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency within South Carolina.”

Senator Davis referenced District of Columbia v. Heller. This Supreme Court held that, “the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess firearms and that the city’s total ban on handguns, as well as its requirement that firearms in the home be kept nonfunctional even when necessary for self-defense, violated that right.”

Also, Senator Davis hold that Executive Orders are not a way to skirt Congress and enact laws. The purpose of executive orders are “to direct and manage the operation of the executive branch of the federal government.”

The president has no constitutional authority to use an executive order to write laws. Congress is the only entity granted power to make laws.

Article 1 Section 8 states, “Congress shall have Power… To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.” Congress has that power. Not the president.

Senator Davis continues in SB 224 that, “executive orders issued by the President may not exceed his constitutional authority or stand in violation of any legislation passed by Congress, and Congress retains the power to overturn executive orders.”

SB224, if passed, would declare that any unconstitutional exeecutive orders to infringe on the right to keep and bear arms in the State of South Carolina are null and void, and “shall not be enforced by any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency within South Carolina.”

The Second Amendment was not created to give the right to bear arms to the people, but it was created to limit the trespass of the federal government on its citizens.

Robert Natelson writes in The Original Constitution “The Second Amendment served purposes besides buttressing the natural right of self-defense and the reserved power of armed resistance. By guaranteeing continuation of the state militias, it strengthened state power in the state-federal balance…By protecting the militia, the Amendment promoted citizen involvement in government military affairs.”

The threats of banning certain types of firearms to ammo or accessories still infringes on the second amendment just as in the Heller case. Robert Natelson writes, “The purpose of the Second Amendment suggests that the word “arms” should be interpreted rather broadly to include a range of military and self defense weapons.”

LEGISLATION AND TRACKING

If you would like to see model legislation to introduce in your state to nullify federal firearm laws, please see The Tenth Amendment Center’s Model Legislation: The 2nd Amendment Preservation Act.

Track the status of 2nd Amendment preservation legislation in states around the country HERE

ACTION ITEMS

In South Carolina? Join the new 2nd Amendment Preservation Group on facebook and get active to nullify federal gun laws: http://www.facebook.com/groups/2ndAmendmentSouthCarolina/

South Carolina residents can help pass this bill by contacting the South Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee.

Chair:
Senator Martin, District 2
Phone: (803) 212-6610

Members:
Senator Hutto, District 40
Phone: (803) 212-6140

Senator Sheheen, District 27
Phone: (803) 212-6032

Senator Massey, District 45
Phone: (803) 212-6024

Senator Coleman, District 17
Phone: (803) 212-6032

Senator Nicholson, District 10
Phone: (803) 212-6000

Senator Gregory, District 16
Phone: (803) 212-6024

Senator Bennett, District 38
Phone: (803) 212-6116

Senator Hembree, District 28
Phone: (803) 212-6016

Senator McElveen III, District 35
Phone: (803) 212-6132

Senator Thurmond, District 41
Phone: (803) 212-6172

Senator Young Jr, District 24
Phone: (803) 212-6124

Senator Rankin, District 33
Phone: (803) 212-6410

Senator Malloy, District 29
Phone: (803) 212-6172

Senator Campsen III, District 43
Phone: (803) 212-6340

Senator Bright, District 12
Phone: (803) 212-6008

Senator Martin, District 13
Phone: (803) 212-6100

Senator Scott Jr, District 19
Phone: (803) 212-6048

Senator Allen, District 7
Phone: (803) 212-6040

Senator Corbin, District 5
Phone: (803) 212-6100

Senator Johnson, District 36
Phone (803) 212-6108

Senator Shealy, District 23
Phone: (803) 212-6056

Senator Turner, District 8
Phone (803) 212-6148

If you are not a South Carolina Resident, you can help limit the federal government’s infringement on the second amendment by introducing bills like the 2nd Amendment Preservation Act from the Tenth Amendment Center’s Model Legislation website.

I’m originally from Ohio. I’m a veteran of the US Navy. I graduated from undergrad with two degrees and one in graduate school. My current home is Nashville, TN.

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