Global Research

On March 25, House Rep. Mike Pompeo (R. KS) introduced HR 1599: Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015. 

It seeks “(t)o amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to food produced from, containing, or consisting of a bioengineered organism, the labeling of natural foods, and for other purposes.”

Critics call the measure the Denying Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act. It blocks state and local efforts to require GMO labeling.

Current Vermont, Connecticut and Maine laws requiring labels on GMO foods and ingredients would be null and void.

The FDA would be prevented from establishing a national mandatory standard. Current agency policy lets companies voluntarily label GMO foods. No major company does so.

DARK Act legislation lets the industry-controlled FDA approve foods for sale under a system requiring companies merely to notify the agency about products “substantially equivalent” to non-GMOs.

Labeling genetically modified foods and ingredients “natural” is willful deception. DARK legislation lets federal regulators define the term to include harmful to health GMOs.

It would block states from prohibiting “natural” labeling for GMO foods.

The DARK Act’s latest version includes a section instructing the USDA to set legal rules for non-GMO labels – a provision able to establish weaker standards than already.

DARK Act legislation is a Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) initiative. It aims to keep consumers more uninformed about what they eat than already – including about the hazards of harmful to health GMO foods and ingredients.

GMA and its member companies lobby Congress intensively to block GMO labeling – plus efforts against labeling ballot initiatives in California, Washington, Oregon and Colorado.

Enacting HR 1599 would let food producers continue to use dangerous GMOs while denying consumers the right to know what they’re eating.

In February, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D. OR) introduced HR 913: Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act – “to require that genetically engineered food and foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients be labeled accordingly.”

Barbara Boxer (D. CA) introduced a comparable Senate version. They require labeling GMO foods and ingredients.

Given industry opposition, odds for passage are virtually nil. Mass consumer outrage is needed.

Over 90% of Americans support GMO labeling. Congress won’t mandate it without sustained popular pressure.

The Institute for Responsible Technology lists 10 reasons to avoid GMOs.

1. Independent studies show they harm human health. They cause organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, accelerated aging, infertility, and other longterm problems.

2. GMO soil contamination is permanent – threatening the health of future generations.

3. GMOs require increased herbicide use, increasing health hazards.

4. Gene mixing from unrelated species risk dangerous unpredictable side effects – “new toxins, allergens, carcinogens and nutritional deficiencies.”

5. Government oversight protecting consumers is virtually nonexistent. Industry executives control federal agencies. Rules they mandate serve bottom line interests, not consumer health and welfare.

6. Monsanto and other biotech giants promoted agent orange, PCBs and DDT safety. Now they’re using the same phony research claiming GMOs are safe to eat.

7. Independent research revealing GMO health hazards is suppressed. Scientists discovering serious problems are “attacked, gagged, fired, threatened and denied funding.”

8. GMOs cause irreparable environmental damage. They “harm birds, insects, amphibians, marine ecosystems and soil organisms. They reduce bio-diversity, pollute water resources and are unsustainable.”

9. GMOs don’t increase crop yields as fraudulently touted. In some cases, yields decline.

10. Avoiding GMOs is the only way to help eliminate them altogether. What industry can’t sell, it won’t produce.

You are what you eat. The phrase has been around a lot time. It hits home hard today given the harm to human health caused by GMOs and other toxins contaminating the typical Western diet.

With the help of the local revolutionaries and ethnic terrorists, the West is trying to destabilize Macedonia in order to overthrow the democratically elected government and to withdraw the country from the Balkan (Turkish) Stream.

There is a clear and present danger that the US agents would try to initiate street violence during today’s manifestations in Skopje under false flag, as it was the case with snipers in Kiev. In the interview with the major Macedonian news agency Netpress Andrew Korybko argues that besides economic and political, there are ideological reasons for the aggression of the West against Macedonia, aimed to destroy conservative traditional values in the local society using SDSM [opposition Social-democratic Union of Macedonia) and a number of NGOs on the Soros payroll as a tool of destabilization.

The latest announcement of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the terrorist attack in Macedonia is saying that the opposition and the NGOs in the country, inspired by the West, are trying to make a so-called color revolution. So now it is more than clear that all this that has been happening these last months, the failed coup, the publishing of the illegally wiretapped phone records, the protests, and the terrorist attack is a strategy created and supported by the opposition, the Soros NGO`s, and some western powers in order for Macedonia to withdraw from Turkish Stream Russian pipeline. What are the details from the dark scenario that they had in mind?

The main strategy is to overthrow the government using a Color Revolution, but if that doesn’t work, then they plan on introducing an Unconventional War modeled off of the Syrian template. We already see the beginning of the second strategy with the terrorist attack in Kumanovo, which they staged in order to try to instigate the Albanians to break away from the democratically elected and legitimate government. They hope to stain the Albanians’ reputation by affiliating them with this terrorism in order to incite ethnic and religious tensions on both sides. If the combination of Color Revolution and Unconventional War doesn’t succeed in overthrowing the government, then they hope that the resultant chaos can create a pretext for a formal military intervention by NATO. This could see Albania occupy the ethnic Albanian areas of Western Macedonia under a false ‘humanitarian intervention’/’responsibility to protect’/’anti-terrorism’ guise or a more unified NATO intervention between both Albania and Bulgaria, the latter of which have sent troops to the border ostensibly to deal with ‘refugees’. The end game of this entire destabilization is to remove Macedonia’s patriotic and internationally recognized government, change the constitutional name of the country, possibly federalize or partition the state (maybe even between both Albania and Bulgaria, with the EU/NATO supporting Sofia’s occupation as a ‘reward’ for rejecting South Stream), and ultimately sabotage Russia’s Balkan Stream pipeline plans.

But obviously, something in Macedonia is not working out for them. Besides the timely and decisive moves from the top state officials, it seems that they are also failing mostly thanks to the wisdom of the citizens, both Macedonian and Albanian, who realized what kind of scenario is going on, who the directors are, who is telling the truth, and who is telling lies. Yet, it is naive to think they will give up like that and open the way for the Turkish stream. What can we expect next?

Macedonia can certainly expect more violent provocations since the US will not give up its plans that easily. I commend all Macedonians for their calm and peaceful reaction to the existing provocations, and especially extend my respect to the Albanian population for thus far avoiding the externally directed temptation of Greater Albania. But, I do see the West increasing their pressure on all Macedonians, especially ethnic Albanians, in order to try to split society. We already see international (Western) diplomatic interventions through the biased statements by the EU, NATO, and the joint statement of the US, EU, France, UK, and Italy, essentially laying equal blame to the security forces for the terrorist attack! The method behind their madness is to create a pretext for sanctions against the people of Macedonia that are designed to decrease their living standards and economic growth (which was stronger than the Eurozone’s last year) so that they feel pressured to join the Color Revolutionaries or ethnic terrorists.

However, I’m very worried that the US will initiate false-flag violence in Skopje like they did with the snipers in Kiev in order to accelerate the country’s destabilization. Everything comes down to 17 May and the forthcoming Color Revolution/coup attempt. I feel that this day is setting itself up to go down in Macedonian history either as the day the destabilizers were defeated or the day Macedonia was thrown into full chaos. There is just too much Western media coverage on the upcoming event right now for Washington to not throw all of its resources into making it a regime change ‘success’, although I predict that the majority of Macedonians will continue to resist the external war being waged on their country with the same devotion and heroism as their Syrian counterparts.

A map representing territorial ambitions of the Albanian nationalists.

The situation in Macedonia is obviously raising the red alarm in Greece also, since the both are going to be transit countries for the gas, together with Serbia. We know that in the past during the negotiations for the South stream project, the Greek prime minster Kostas Karamanlis was facing an assassination because Greece agreed to take part in the project while in the same time all the phone conversations of the top state officials were wiretapped. This whole strategy was being conducted by a spy network from few allied secret services and least 20 Greeks, and many believe that this network was behind the violent riots and clashes during the mandate of Karamanlis. Should the Greek government expect some similar pressure now or this time they are planning to go after all the transit countries by using the ISIL fighters and the story of Great Albania?

I think it’s certainly possible and I wouldn’t discount that scenario, but I feel that it’s more likely that the US will first try to use internal pressure against Syriza before it resorts to external means like in Macedonia. They want to split the party’s base and lead to its dismissal in early elections, hoping that this could be a more cost-effective and easier way to sabotage Balkan Stream in Greece. Other means they may employ could be offering Greece generous financial deals in exchange for reneging or delaying Balkan Stream, as well as paying some of the German World War II reparations that are currently being discussed. Such payments would only be a form of bribery to Syriza in this case, as Germany has no motivation to provide any money to Greece without political strings attached. Finally, the US diplomatic push in Greek affairs and sphere of influence is obviously purposed as some type ‘grand deal’ that Washington wants to make with Athens. This explains why John Kerry and Amos Holstein are lobbying for the TAP [Trans-Adriatic] pipeline over Balkan Stream, even though it’s in Greece’s best interests to have both pipelines transiting its territory. It’s also telling that Russia doesn’t object to this at all, and that it’s the US that wants to force Greece to make a choice. In order to ‘sweeten the deal’, Washington is now proposing a federalization model for Cyprus in order to resolve the long-standing conflict there. It would be foolish for one to think that these two diplomatic pushes aren’t connected, since it’s obvious that the US hopes to lobby Greece against Balkan Stream by all of a sudden pretending that it’s pursuing its interests in Cyprus.

Let’s talk about the foreign media propaganda. It is almost funny to see how some of the pro- western media have absolute bias in their reports, pointing fingers, publishing statements or interviews only from the opposition and Soros activists and making cheap and pathetic spins. Is it coincidence that most of this media seem to be coming from the US, Germany and Britain, and a few from the region that are financed by Soros?

No, it’s not a coincidence because these are the same political forces fighting against Macedonia. I’d like to emphasize the hostile political nature of these entities because their economic interests are naturally aligned to Balkan Stream, as is the case with Germany and the entire EU as a whole, for example. However, the US-controlled political forces oppose Balkan Stream due to Washington’s pressure in the New Cold War, and if they want to retain power and not be ousted via their own manipulated ‘wiretapping scandal’, political putsch, or Color Revolution, then they must abide by whatever the US says. And one more thing – these Western actors are supports of hyper liberalism and have tried to destroy the same religious-conservative values in their own country that Prime Minister Gruevski and VMRO are trying to reinforce and promote in Macedonia, so they also have ideological reasons for their information aggression as well. Zaev is cut from the same cloth as these Western politicians and aims to enforce a hyper liberal model on Macedonia that would do away with all of the values-based successes of the past decade.

More or less, all the transit countries are and will be facing pressure on many ways and levels, but why it seems that so far Macedonia is facing the hardest pressure? Was one of the reasons maybe because they couldn`t find better allies as the ones they find in Macedonia? Do you think that the leader of the biggest Serbian or Greek opposition party would accept to go with this dark scenario, the way SDSM and Zoran Zaev did?

I think that Color Revolutions and their evolving political tactics are always possible and remain a threat to every country that resists the unipolar world, but Macedonia was targeted specifically because its demographics make it an ideal ‘laboratory’ setting. Allow me to explain. There are only a little more than 2 million people in the country, thereby making it relatively easier for foreign intelligence services to spy on a larger percentage of the population than in larger states. This also means that the country has a smaller media market which can easily be penetrated by Color Revolutionary influence and external information pressure. Additionally, there’s around a 25% Albanian minority according to some statistics and they live mostly along the Albanian-“Kosovo” border, thereby making them exceptionally vulnerable to the temptation of Greater Albania.

Finally, the ‘opposition’ was already boycotting the Parliament as it was, thereby creating the perfect social situation for a Color Revolution to took root and be ‘convincingly’ broadcast to outside audiences. All of these factors came together to create a situation that the West couldn’t’ resist destabilizing, if only for the fact that its demographics provide it with easily controllable variables to that make for a perfect Color Revolution test scenario. The destabilizing lessons being refined in Macedonia are designed for export elsewhere afterwards (perhaps to Serbia once more), but at the same time, the resistance of the Macedonian people (inspired by their Syrian counterparts) can serve as an exported example as well to help counter these mechanisms in future theaters.

We are witnessing major shifts on the global power map. It seems that more and more countries are turning towards Russia, or to be more concrete, more and more leaders are facing lots of pressure from Brussels and Washington simply because they are nurturing good and friendly relations with Putin and are also willing to corporate in different ways. At the same time, we see that the crisis in Macedonia was developing really fast and the creators are pushing it real aggressively, so is this aggressiveness the result of them losing global power and being unveiled on the global scene, and are you optimistic that the Balkan Stream will soon be pumping Russian gas?

I think that the harsh reaction is definitely due to the fear that Russian influence in the Balkans can serve as the backdoor to soft influence over the rest of Europe. In reality, however, the completion of Balkan Stream would at the very least be a continuation of the existing state of affairs where Russia provides around 30% of the EU’s energy needs. Balkan Stream is basically a replacement for South Stream, which for its own part would have been a replacement for the Ukrainian-bypassing pipelines that will be phased out by 2019. The discomfiting fact that EU policy makers try to forget is that they can’t survive without Russian gas – it’s impossible. The EU and Russia are natural partners by virtue of their geography and history, and the completion of Balkan Stream will reinvigorate their positive bilateral relations.

The conflict, however, is that the US absolutely does not want this to happen since it understands that it would lessen its control over Europe, and consequently Eurasia. One needs only to reference former National Security Advisor and noted Polish-American geostrategic Zbigniew Brzezinski’s ‘The Grand Chessboard’ to see this explicitly stated. Therefore, the US wants to use its proxy EU elites to enforce pressure on whichever leader or country wants to build pragmatic relations with Russia, hence the current externally driven destabilization in Macedonia. The future of the Balkans runs through Macedonia, and the country is now the latest flashpoint of the New Cold War.

Be that as it may, I have full faith in Macedonians that they will bravely resist this aggression and fight for their sovereignty and security, and I don’t expect them to capitulate like the divided Ukrainians did so early in the game. Instead, I see them embodying the spirit of Syrians in pushing back against this external offensive and protecting their cherished country. All in all, it might take a bit more time than initially expected, but I do predict that Balkan Stream will eventually be created and that Russian gas will continue being pumped through the region.

Andrew Korybko is the political analyst and journalist for Sputnik who currently lives and studies in Moscow. The English translation of the source interview is exclusive for ORIENTAL REVIEW.

Sessions Reads the TPP and Exposes Its Contents, Other Elected Officials Should Do the Same

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) is one of the few members of Congress who has taken the time to jump through the hoops and read the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). But, he has gone a step farther than other members – he told members of Congress what he read. He told the truth about what the TPP says and why Congress should oppose it in a five page letter to his colleagues.

Sessions’ action flies in the face of the threats made by the US Trade Representative to prosecute elected officials who tell people what is in the trade agreement. Others should follow his example and get out the truth about the TPP.

The debate in the Senate begins on Tuesday, May 19. This is an opportunity for Senators to tell their colleagues the truth about what is in the TPP.  Sessions’ “Dear Colleague” letter was leaked and reported in Breitbart.  Senators from both parties may want to take a similar approach. Even better, during the debate on the Senate floor there will be an opportunity for amendments that expose problems with the TPP. Senators can tell their colleagues and, through C-SPAN, their constituents the truth about what is in the TPP.

How Senator Sessions Exposed the Truth about TPP

Breitbart has written two articles on Sessions’ revelations. In “Critical Alert: Jeff Sessions Warns America Against Potentially Disastrous Obama Trade Deal,” they report:

“’Congress has the responsibility to ensure that any international trade agreement entered into by the United States must serve the national interest, not merely the interests of those crafting the proposal in secret,’ Sessions’ team writes in a document that lays out the top five concerns with the Obama trade deal. ‘It must improve the quality of life, the earnings, and the per-capita wealth of everyday working Americans. The sustained long-term loss of middle class jobs and incomes should compel all lawmakers to apply added scrutiny to a ‘fast-track’ procedure wherein Congress would yield its legislative powers and allow the White House to implement one of largest global financial agreements in our history—comprising at least 12 nations and nearly 40 percent of the world’s GDP.’ . . .

“The Sessions document then goes point-by-point for five full pages through the TPA trade deal, laying out why it wouldn’t help Americans—rather, it would likely hurt American workers—and why the deal doesn’t in fact provide Congress with more power over trade despite talking points from the Obama trade deal’s proponents . . .”

The second article in Breitbart, “Only Two Republicans Admit They Have Actually Read Secret Obama Trade Deal – Both Unsupportive” reports on a survey they did of Senate Republicans where they asked three questions: (1) Have you read the TPP, specifically the ‘living agreement’ in the trade deal that allows the deal to be changed and countries added without congressional review? (2) Does the Senator agree with Sen. Sessions’ call to make the TPP available to the public? And, (3) Will the Senator vote for fast track Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) if the TPP hasn’t been stripped of the ‘living agreement’ section that would allow countries to amend the deal without Congressional approval, and to even add countries (like China, if they wanted to) to the deal without Congressional approval?

Breitbart reports that one additional Senator, James Lankford (R-OK) was scheduled to read the TPP on Friday, May 16.  Interestingly, the Oklahoma legislature recently passed a resolution urging their federal representatives to vote against fast track trade authority.

While the US Trade Representative has threatened members of Congress with criminal prosecution for telling others what is in the TPP, they have made no threat to Senator Sessions. No doubt if they did so, fast track and the TPP would be dead because the years of work by the Obama administration to move this forward in secret would be over, and as the first trade representative in the Obama administration, Ambassador Ron Kirk, told the media “if the American people knew what was in this agreement it would never become law.”

The Truth About Trade is Needed Right Now

We are in the critical phase of debate about the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other rigged corporate trade agreements.  While Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH) has promised to publish all bills before they are voted on, he has not even read the TPP and definitely has not required it be made public.  While the fast track bill can be read, the TPP is different; elected officials have limited access to it and they are not allowed to discuss what they read.  So, the Congress is tying its hands on the TPP and other deals, without knowing what is in them and thereby shirking their constitutional responsibility under the Commerce Clause which directs Congress “To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations.”

Now, it becomes even more important because President Obama has repeatedly chided members of Congress for being inaccurate about what is in the TPP, even comparing Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to Sarah Palin talking about death panels.  He makes the claim that Congress does not know what it is talking about while keeping the agreement secret and difficult for elected officials and their staff to read. On top of that Obama and his administration consistently put out false and misleading statements about the agreement.  One wonders, and I hope the media begins to ask him, whether President Obama has read the agreement? As Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) said in response: “We know exactly what we’re talking about. My concern is that he does not understand what’s in it.”

Obama criticized Warren for claiming that the TPP would undermine federal regulation of banks. If the language of the TPP were released we could see if he is accurate. But, after their argument on this issue, Canadian Finance Minister, Joe Oliver, bolstered Warren’s position by claiming that banking regulation that requires banks to invest with only their own money violates NAFTA.

The president has claimed that his deals are the most progressive trade agreements ever and fix the problems of NAFTA “by making labor and environmental provisions actually enforceable.” Yet, a leak of the environmental chapter actually shows the opposite – there is no environmental enforcement and the protections are weaker than agreements during the George W. Bush era.

The president also makes the claim that “no trade agreement is going to force us to change our laws.” This is an outrageous claim because all previous trade agreements have required the US to harmonize its laws with the agreement.  How can they not? The TPP, according to leaks, changes laws around patents and trademarks. How can the TPP say one thing about intellectual property and US law say another? They must be harmonized. Elected officials who have read the text can explain differences between US law and the TPP – what laws will have to change? For example will popular laws favoring buying American products survive the TPP? The Finance Committee refused to approve an amendment that would protect Buy America.

Certainly President Obama knows that his Organizing For America is being completely misleading when in an email: “argued that the term ‘fast track’ for TPA was a misnomer because TPA would have to go through Congress like any other bill.” OFA and Obama know the debate is not whether fast track has to go through Congress in the normal fashion but whether trade agreements will be fast tracked.  Why would the president and OFA be so obviously misleading? Are they desperate?

Ralph Nader has suggested that President Obama debate Senator Warren on the TPP. This would be one way to get to the truth, hear both sides debate in public so we can all decide for ourselves whether this is an agreement that should be fast tracked through Congress outside of the traditional congressional process. But a president that has worked for his entire tenure in office to keep the TPP and other rigged agreements out of the public dialogue will certainly not take up this suggestion.

Congress Is In Position to Expose the TPP

Now, at this key moment in the debate, members of Congress who have taken the time to view the TPP are in a position to get out the truth.

The debate in the Senate with its open amendment process is an opportunity to tell the truth about all the issues in the TPP so there can finally be a public debate about trade agreements that will impact every aspect of our lives.

In the House, Republicans should be sharing the comments of Senator Sessions for a solid Republican critique of fast track for the TPP and other agreements. Democrats should be highlighting key senate amendments to their caucus to highlight shortcomings.  And those who have read the TPP should share what they learned in order to strengthen opposition to fast track in the face of what will be a massive Obama effort to change their minds.

Those who oppose the TPP have the tools needed to win this debate, stop fast track and stop the TPP and other rigged agreements. If we succeed, we will have the opportunity to rethink global trade in light of two decades of experience with a failed model. It will be an opportunity to develop trade so that it protects the planet and raises the standard of living for people around the world. To achieve that opportunity, the first task is to expose the truth of what is before us.

Kevin Zeese is co-director of Popular Resistance.

by Phil Butler

One year into the Ukrainian crisis, Washington reveals a desire to jump on the bandwagon of the Minsk peace accords – brokered by France and Germany. Not bad news, after all, but when it comes from Victoria Nuland…

News that US Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Sochi to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and President Putin came as only a small surprise this week. In the wake of the most impressive Victory Day celebration ever across Russia, most experts agreed that the Russia people’s vigilance held a fairly massive sway over world public opinion afterwards. Western media was not oblivious to this either.

However much of a positive this trend may be, news that the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland and sidekick Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt are on the loose again tends to quell hopes of peace.

On Saturday Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland told reporters she (and the United States of America) wanted to play a more significant role in the Minsk accords upcoming. To be honest, everyone I mention this to seems to come down with the shivers, whether they’re from western or eastern Europe. Given the US bureaucrat’s past tenor, and her “F” bomb flubs the United States could NOT do worse in belaying either Russian or rebels’ fears.

For those unfamiliar with the Minsk II situation: The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany agreed on February 11 to a package of measures aimed at alleviating the crisis in war torn east Ukraine. The deal, overseen by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), revived the failed protocol agreed to on September 5, 2014.

From the onset of both these efforts, Nuland and her Tonto conspirator Geoffrey Pyatt have been part of the problem in Ukraine, rather than part of the peaceful solution.

Thus, Pyatt seems to think his Twitter account is judge and jury of all regional international conflict. The ambassador tweets quasi-evidence of Russian invasions of Ukraine every time the wind blows. His latest imagery supposedly caught red handed Russian mobile artillery in eastern Ukraine, which turned out to be a two-year-old picture of an air defense system from an air show near Moscow. I think the American taxpayers should ask for a refund on this.

Long before the eve of the Euromaidan protests that led to the Ukraine coup d’etat Washington called democratic reformation [today], Victoria Nuland was an instigator in Iraq under then Vice President Dick Cheney. Nuland was a “democracy promotion” officer back then too, one so adept at making liberty happen she was later promoted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, first to State Department spokesperson, then later to her current position as Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs.

In hindsight, there’s no wonder Moscow raised eyebrows when Nuland appeared in Maidan Square sharing loaves and fishes with protesters there. The veteran State Department operative is virulently anti-Russia, despite proclaiming her love for the country. Between Nuland and NATO Commander General Philip Breedlove it’s hard to figure who has been more in favor of the US arming Kiev. As for her “killer instinct” in spreading democratic ideals, Nuland is a cagey operator. On the first day of the recent Munich Security Conference Nuland and Breedlove held a meeting of delegates behind closed doors to discuss a strategy for getting Europe to agree to arm Ukraine. Nuland was credited with saying:

“While talking to the Europeans this weekend, you need to make the case that Russia is putting in more and more offensive stuff while we want to help the Ukrainians defend against these systems.”

Now, she is also coming to Russia to hold talks with Lavrov deputies, Sergey Ryabkov and Grigory Karasin. The talks are expected to focus on Ukraine – and Minsk Accords.

If the Kerry visit to Sochi could be seen as an olive branch to President Putin, then choosing an alternative voice for direct connecting the so-called Normandy Four and America would have been advisable here. Speaking after talks on Saturday with Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, Nuland attempted to put herself and the United States diplomatic mission at the forefront of negotiations Washington tried to scuttle from the beginning. Nuland stressed:

“The United States deepens our engagement in the Minsk implementation process in lockstep with our European allies and partners, with the EU and particularly with the Normandy powers.”

Outside “deepening” a Washington engagement that has at every turn been adversarial toward Russia and the rebels, Nuland gave the Obama administration’s “insistence” on a ceasefire on the borders of the Donbass. Now that a peace accord and a reversal of EU-US-Russia sanctions madness seems at hand, the very instigators of chaos want a place at the peace table. If ever there were an American peace saboteur running about, Victoria Nuland is she. Legendary investigative reporter Robert Parry frames that argument here.

Meanwhile back in Washington the daily press briefing at the State Department after Nuland’s Kiev comments returned to hard line posturing. Press Office Director, Jeff Rathke returned to the Kerry State Department hyperbole we’ve come to expect after every visit with Vladimir Putin. Speaking of Nuland’s talk with Avakov and Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko on US commitments, Rathke added this:

“We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine and reiterate our deep commitment to a single Ukrainian nation, including Crimea, and all the other regions of Ukraine.”

So Kerry, with Nuland in tow, go into Russia’s back door to lay a wreath at the feet of heroes Obama and most of the west forgot. Then hours later the same bozo team tries to ramrod the Minsk peace show upcoming. One has to wonder if Lavrov and Putin did not acquiesce to Kerry (for Obama) begging and allow the US officials to save some face for those waiting back home along the Potomac. The images from Sochi bear out that Vladmir Putin seemed amused (maybe disgusted?).

Russian President Vladimir Putin (second left) meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry (second right) at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in Sochi, May 12, 2015.(RIA Novosti / Aleksey Nikolskyi)

To conclude, as we witness the hawkish Nuland mutating into the great white dove of European peace in Kiev, her NeoCon husband, Brookings think tank fellow Robert Kagan gesticulates on more military spending on the Washington Post. For this Washington think tank thinker it’s hard to decide which member of the family is a less likely peacemaker for great nations. Since we mentioned Pyatt and Twitter viability, here’s a bit of United States of America social media proof, there’s a big fat hawk with a Raytheon emblem flying over the peace process in Minsk. As an American citizen this whole US involvement in Ukraine is simply an embarrassment for me.

Finally, what serves as proof for the US State Department, should be verifiable proof for everyone, no?

Phil Butler for RT.

Phil Butler is journalist and editor, and a partner at the digital marketing firm, Pamil Visions PR. Phil contributes to the Huffington Post, The Epoch Times, Japan Today, and many others. He’s also a policy and public relations analyst for Russia Today, as well as other international media. You can find Phil’s blog at http://www.phillip-butler.com.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

In 2011 the aviation of France and Great Britain bombed Libya. Muammar Gaddafi, the leader of the country, was brutally murdered. Now Europe is considering plans to intervene in Libya again. On May 13, the Guardian published an article devoted to a European plan for a military campaign to smash the migrant smuggling networks operating out of Libya. The scenario envisages the use of ground forces. 

The 19-page strategy paper for the mission, obtained by the Guardian, focuses on an air and naval campaign in the Mediterranean and in Libyan territorial waters. But it adds that ground operations in Libya may also be needed to destroy the smugglers’ vessels and assets, such as fuel dumps. Federica Mogherini, the EU’s chief foreign and security policy coordinator, reiterated that position on May 13.

«We are not planning in any possible way a military intervention in Libya,» she said. According to her, establishing control over the territorial waters of Libya is enough to destroy the smugglers’ infrastructure. But the assurances that there will be no boots on the ground sound unconvincing. It’s clear that the West is serious about what it plans to do. For instance, Great Britain is going to send amphibious transport dock HMS Bulwark, the flagship of Royal Navy, to fight small smuggler’s boats. Air and naval forces are to bear the brunt of the mission. The operations conducted ashore by special operations forces teams are not excluded, no matter the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy says otherwise. Media outlets started to examine the public opinion.

The plan obtained by the Guardian says ground operations in Libya may be needed. EU governments have still to discuss and decide on the planning document. A joint session of EU foreign and defence ministers is to decide on the mission on May 18, followed the next day by a meeting of defence chiefs from European Union countries. The military package would then need to be given a green light by heads of government at an EU summit slated for June. Ten European Union members have already expressed their approval, including Great Britain, France, Spain and Italy. According to Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya’s United Nations ambassador, his government has been left out of the urgent international discussion of the migrant crisis. This is the legacy of colonial past. Europeans still view Libya as a colony.

Federica Mogherini has already visited New York to discuss prospects for a UN Security Council resolution allowing the use of force against the smugglers. The Guardian reports that that the UK has prepared a draft document on behalf of the EU «that is believed to call for the ‘use of all means to destroy the business model of the traffickers’. Mogherini sounded optimistic about adoption of UN Security Council resolution allowing the use of force against the smugglers, but also made plain that if that proved impossible, the EU would still mount a military mission in the Mediterranean outside of Libyan territorial waters and airspace.

A question pops up. Creating obstacles on the way of flows of unfortunate people leaving Libya for Europe – is it the only goal pursued by the planned military operation in the Mediterranean Sea? The Libya’s shoreline is some 1,100 miles (1,800 km) in length. A large naval force is needed to control it. The chances for destroying the smugglers’ infrastructure are slim. Too many people are involved in this business. After the overthrow and murder of Muammar Gaddafi Libya has plunged into the quagmire of chaos. It has joined the list of most unstable countries in the world which are primarily located in Africa. The political turmoil inside the country is kind of free for all – different groups are fighting each other. One government rules the country in Tripoli. Another government functions in Tobruk. There are other «governments» spread around the country. Under the conditions, Libya cannot be called a state in the full meaning of the word.

Under Gaddafi Libya boasted high living standards. From point of view of people’s wealth it was a leader in the Arab world. Today the country has spiraled towards total disorder. There is no whatsoever control on the part of government. Large chunks of national territory have fallen under the control of the Islamic State and other extremist groups. Libya is an oil rich country but the production is low with numerous criminal gangs thwarting the process. Cyrenaica, the oil rich eastern coastal region of Libya, demands autonomy. The country if falling to pieces. The Libya we once knew is no more.

Flows of refugees from Arab and Black Africa transit through Libya on the way to Europe. There is little Europe could do under the circumstances but use military force to stop the flows. Brussels has made all of the European Union members to partner up on policies such as EU immigration. Poland is situated far from Africa but it has to host 1200 refugees. Latvia is to provide shelter to 220 fugitives, Estonia is to host 326 of them. 207 evacuees are to be taken care of by Lithuania. But this policy does not offer a solution to the problem.

In 2015 Libya expects 135 thousand people to be born on its soil, but the population of the country will not increase due to the fact that about the same number of people leave the country. Libya is a transit country for refugees from Algeria, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Senegal, Ghana and Eritrea going to Europe. The sources in Rome say a surge of immigrants will flood Europe soon. As many as 5,000 migrants a week could arrive in Italy by sea from North African ports in the next five months unless something is done about it, according to an interior ministry projection. The figures, published on April 23 by the Rome newspaper Il Messaggero and confirmed by a ministry source, estimated that as many as 200,000 could arrive by the end of this year.

There should harbor no illusions. One can hardly imagine the West admit responsibility for dire results of the policy aimed at «democratization» of Libya.

An Iranian cargo vessel, carrying 2,500 tons of humanitarian supplies to war-torn Yemen, has now entered the Gulf of Aden.

A Press TV correspondent on board the ship reported on Sunday that the vessel is currently sailing through a very busy international corridor, which is internationally protected against piracy.

The ship, dubbed Nejat (Rescue), is scheduled to arrive in the western Yemeni port city of Hudaydah on May 21.

It set sail from Iran’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas on May 11.

International activists, volunteer doctors and media personnel are also on board the ship. Iran has coordinated the mission of the ship with the United Nations.

Riyadh has blocked earlier Iranian aid deliveries to Yemen. Last month, it prevented two Iranian civilian planes from delivering medical aid and foodstuff to the impoverished people.

Saudi Arabia started its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 – without a UN mandate – in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which currently controls the capital, Sana’a, and major provinces, and to restore power to Yemen’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Riyadh.

Riyadh has even failed to abide by the so-called ceasefire it announced on May 12, repeatedly carrying out deadly air raids against Yemen after the “truce” went into effect.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Johannes Van der Klaauw said on Friday that over 1,600 people have been killed and more than 6,200 injured in Yemen since conflict intensified there in late March.

He added that some 450,000 people have been displaced as a result of the continuing violence.

DB/MKA/HJL

Thousands have been marching in Okinawa and across Japan in protest against the planned relocation of a US military base in Okinawa. The protesters criticized the Japanese government, who appear to be turning a deaf ear to the locals.

The protests began on Friday with about 1,200 people in Okinawa, as the island marked the 43rd anniversary of its reversion to Japanese sovereignty, and continued into Sunday gathering thousands of people.

“Even after our reversion, the problems of the bases remain unchanged,” Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga said at the protest, adding reversion of sovereignty had failed to bring Okinawans what they wanted.

The activists said the island had seen decades of injustice from US and Japan.

Hyogo Okinawa association of people origination from the same prefecture! pic.twitter.com/8PB9d8wzqu

— mamimoe1 (@mamimoe1) May 17, 2015

“We’ve long suffered from the bases, and I’m angered by the outrageousness of both the US and Japanese governments in insisting a new base be built in Henoko,” Fujiko Matsuda, who heads a local citizens’ group, told the Japan Times.

“It is wrong to proceed with the Henoko relocation without listening to the voices of the Okinawans,”said another Okinawa resident, Atsuko Ikeda. “If we don’t prevent it, there is no future for Japan as a democratic nation.”

The activists shouted slogans, such as: “Oppose enhanced Japan-US defense ties”, “Bring back an Okinawa without US bases”, “The United States has to respect Okinawa people’s will”.

Hyogo Okinawa association of people originating from the same prefecture! pic.twitter.com/41lZR33NPl

— moejunko (@moejunko) May 17, 2015

In the northeastern town of Henoko, hundreds of protesters scuffled with police outside new ‘Camp Schwab’. Several demonstrators were detained following the clashes.

On Sunday, about 35,000 people turned out to protest in the prefecture.

“No matter how long it might take, we will never give up our fight until the government gives it up,” said Keiichi Takara, director of the Confederation of Trade Unions Okinawa. “Through the rally, we will reaffirm our resolved commitment.”

再び3万人の決意！「私たちは屈しない」#沖縄県民大会 #沖縄 #辺野古 #savethedugongs http://t.co/bAyPMysEEY pic.twitter.com/A2rJmYu4Ij

— Greenpeace Japan (@gpjTweet) May 17, 2015

According to mayor of Nago, Susumu Inamine, who opposes US military bases in Okinawa, “the government is thrusting their responsibility on us.”

“The government says we are to blame that the issue has stalled for 19 years and they tell us to find an alternative place (for the base). That’s outrageous,” he shouted into the crowd of protesters.

#沖縄　#５・１７沖縄県民大会 #セルラースタジアム　#Okinawa ①http://t.co/Cn8V884TAb ⇒ガンバロー pic.twitter.com/FczPeuSbWk

— mikiya itou (@mickey228) May 17, 2015

Marine biologist Katherine Musik said the rally “is absolutely tremendous.” “Tens of thousands of voices, right now, shouting together, ‘NO’, in perfect harmony! ‘NO’ to the US military presence, how powerful! Let’s all shout, ‘Yes’ to the blue corals, red sea fans, orange clownfish, ‘Yes’ to the endangered dugongs in the sea, the endangered birds in the forest!”

PRAY for JAPAN from OKINAWA is out! http://t.co/qH4mg52uT7 Stories via @miyakoshinpo @twi_churatter @eqinfo — PRAY for JAPAN@沖縄 (@okinawa_shien) May 17, 2015

  The US Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station in heavily populated Ginowan city has been a cause of tension between American troops and local residents for years. Okinawa, home to about 1 percent of Japan’s population, hosts nearly half of the 47,000 US troops based in Japan. Tokyo authorities want to shut the base down and open a new one in the more remote town of Henoko, in the center of the southern Japanese island. But the majority of the locals, as well as Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga, want the construction of the replacement base to be scrapped.

県民大会 pic.twitter.com/3xc2X8eQH9 — 沖縄野菜 かねこ (@okinawa_yasai) May 17, 2015

In March, Onaga demanded the underwater survey needed to build an offshore airstrip for the new base be stopped, citing environmental damage.

He met Defense Minister General Nakatani in May for the first time to discuss the relocation plan. They failed, however, to resolve their differences.

all okinawa!! no more base, n i just hope the world peace 🙂 pic.twitter.com/33Y9EvDIR5

— chikichiki (@kochikichiki) May 17, 2015

There is a long history of incidents and alleged crimes committed by US soldiers in Okinawa. The current wave of anti-base sentiment on the island was sparked by a 1995 case, when three US marines were reported to have kidnapped and brutally raped a 12-year-old schoolgirl.

There were also less-publicized sex crime cases involving underage victims reported in 2001 and 2005, the fatal running over of a female high school student by a drunken US marine in 1998, and other crimes.

Thousands have been marching in Okinawa and across Japan in protest against the planned relocation of a US military base in Okinawa. The protesters criticized the Japanese government, who appear to be turning a deaf ear to the locals.

The protests began on Friday with about 1,200 people in Okinawa, as the island marked the 43rd anniversary of its reversion to Japanese sovereignty, and continued into Sunday gathering thousands of people.

“Even after our reversion, the problems of the bases remain unchanged,” Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga said at the protest, adding reversion of sovereignty had failed to bring Okinawans what they wanted.

The activists said the island had seen decades of injustice from US and Japan.

Hyogo Okinawa association of people origination from the same prefecture! pic.twitter.com/8PB9d8wzqu

— mamimoe1 (@mamimoe1) May 17, 2015

“We’ve long suffered from the bases, and I’m angered by the outrageousness of both the US and Japanese governments in insisting a new base be built in Henoko,” Fujiko Matsuda, who heads a local citizens’ group, told the Japan Times.

“It is wrong to proceed with the Henoko relocation without listening to the voices of the Okinawans,”said another Okinawa resident, Atsuko Ikeda. “If we don’t prevent it, there is no future for Japan as a democratic nation.”

The activists shouted slogans, such as: “Oppose enhanced Japan-US defense ties”, “Bring back an Okinawa without US bases”, “The United States has to respect Okinawa people’s will”.

Hyogo Okinawa association of people originating from the same prefecture! pic.twitter.com/41lZR33NPl

— moejunko (@moejunko) May 17, 2015

In the northeastern town of Henoko, hundreds of protesters scuffled with police outside new ‘Camp Schwab’. Several demonstrators were detained following the clashes.

On Sunday, about 35,000 people turned out to protest in the prefecture.

“No matter how long it might take, we will never give up our fight until the government gives it up,” said Keiichi Takara, director of the Confederation of Trade Unions Okinawa. “Through the rally, we will reaffirm our resolved commitment.”

再び3万人の決意！「私たちは屈しない」#沖縄県民大会 #沖縄 #辺野古 #savethedugongs http://t.co/bAyPMysEEY pic.twitter.com/A2rJmYu4Ij

— Greenpeace Japan (@gpjTweet) May 17, 2015

According to mayor of Nago, Susumu Inamine, who opposes US military bases in Okinawa, “the government is thrusting their responsibility on us.”

“The government says we are to blame that the issue has stalled for 19 years and they tell us to find an alternative place (for the base). That’s outrageous,” he shouted into the crowd of protesters.

#沖縄　#５・１７沖縄県民大会 #セルラースタジアム　#Okinawa ①http://t.co/Cn8V884TAb ⇒ガンバロー pic.twitter.com/FczPeuSbWk

— mikiya itou (@mickey228) May 17, 2015

Marine biologist Katherine Musik said the rally “is absolutely tremendous.” “Tens of thousands of voices, right now, shouting together, ‘NO’, in perfect harmony! ‘NO’ to the US military presence, how powerful! Let’s all shout, ‘Yes’ to the blue corals, red sea fans, orange clownfish, ‘Yes’ to the endangered dugongs in the sea, the endangered birds in the forest!”

PRAY for JAPAN from OKINAWA is out! http://t.co/qH4mg52uT7 Stories via @miyakoshinpo @twi_churatter @eqinfo — PRAY for JAPAN@沖縄 (@okinawa_shien) May 17, 2015

  The US Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station in heavily populated Ginowan city has been a cause of tension between American troops and local residents for years. Okinawa, home to about 1 percent of Japan’s population, hosts nearly half of the 47,000 US troops based in Japan. Tokyo authorities want to shut the base down and open a new one in the more remote town of Henoko, in the center of the southern Japanese island. But the majority of the locals, as well as Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga, want the construction of the replacement base to be scrapped.

県民大会 pic.twitter.com/3xc2X8eQH9 — 沖縄野菜 かねこ (@okinawa_yasai) May 17, 2015

In March, Onaga demanded the underwater survey needed to build an offshore airstrip for the new base be stopped, citing environmental damage.

He met Defense Minister General Nakatani in May for the first time to discuss the relocation plan. They failed, however, to resolve their differences.

all okinawa!! no more base, n i just hope the world peace 🙂 pic.twitter.com/33Y9EvDIR5

— chikichiki (@kochikichiki) May 17, 2015

There is a long history of incidents and alleged crimes committed by US soldiers in Okinawa. The current wave of anti-base sentiment on the island was sparked by a 1995 case, when three US marines were reported to have kidnapped and brutally raped a 12-year-old schoolgirl.

There were also less-publicized sex crime cases involving underage victims reported in 2001 and 2005, the fatal running over of a female high school student by a drunken US marine in 1998, and other crimes.

by Alice Gray

As Palestinian farmers harvest their cereal crops, a military exercise using live ammunition staged by the Israeli army is starting fires that are destroying thousands of dunums of farmland.

The Jordan Valley is a sea of gold: following the best winter rains the region has seen in decades, fields of wheat and barley ripple in the breeze, their heads heavy with grain that will sustain pastoralist communities and their animals through the long heat of the summer to come.

It is a bumper harvest this year, and the farmers are busy.

On the hillsides, tractors are at work harvesting the grain and cutting the straw. Some of the produce they keep for themselves and the rest they sell at market: an important source of cash income.

But not all crops make it to the storage barns or the market. In the past week alone, fires have been raging out of control across the region, burning up produce worth hundreds of thousands of shekels.

Palestinian farmers and activists say these fires were caused by the shells and munitions fired by the Israeli army in its training exercises, which began on May 3. The scale of this year’s “exercises” are unprecedented, involving hundreds of military vehicles, helicopters and tanks and approximately 2,000 military personnel.

“They could have had this training at any time — they could have done it when the wheat was green,” says Rashed Sawaftah, coordinator of the Jordan Valley Solidarity group (JVS).

“But they chose to do it now, when everything is ready to burn. Five communities have been told to evacuate their land, and there are fires starting all over the place.”

Ali Abu Khreish of Herbaiet al-Homra community said he was forced to leave farmland unprotected.

“They came at six in the morning and told us to get out,” he told al-Araby al-Jadeed. “We couldn’t return to our home until six in the evening, and we couldn’t send our children to school. We spent the whole day on the mountain by al-Hadidiya, in the sun and the wind. When we returned, our neighbour’s land had been burned.”

The sounds of explosions and the rattle of gunfire can be heard throughout the area, while helicopters whir overhead and heavy lorries rattle by, delivering tanks to Israeli military bases.

The Israeli army spokesperson says the families were evacuated for their own safety — and that the army has enlisted a special fire extinguishing squad to participate in the drill.

Yet the hillsides around Herbaiet al-Homra are scorched black where both crops and scrub have burned.

“It’s not just the crops that are important,” says Rashed Sawaftah. “If the scrublands burn, the farmers will have nowhere to graze their animals.”

Military presence and occupation

The Jordan Valley covers 30 percent of the land area of the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967. The area spans the length of the West Bank from north to south and comprises its entire border with Jordan.

Today there are more than 20 Israeli military bases in the Jordan Valley and 37 percent of the land is designated as “military training areas”.

Israel’s Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has vowed that the Israeli army will remain in the Jordan Valley, regardless of any future agreement with the Palestinian Authority. Furthermore, he has stated that he regards the entire area as a “defined military zone”.

Depopulation and colonisation

Israel’s presence in the Jordan Valley does not end with its military bases.

An estimated 86 percent of the area is now controlled by 37 illegal settlements, which are home to around 10,000 Israeli settlers. The main economic activity of these colonies is agriculture, with much of their produce being exported — a multi-million dollar industry.

At the same time, Palestinian farmers in the area face enormous restrictions, including lack of access to water or electricity networks — either for their farms or for their homes; and the near-blanket denial of planning permission for building any kind of permanent structures (such as houses or rainwater harvesting cisterns), and attendant demolitions.

A total of 94 percent of applications for permission to build have been declined in recent years, according to the British charity Oxfam, while the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that 246 Palestinian structures were demolished in the Jordan Valley in 2014, leading to the displacement of 510 people.

It is imperative that the Rohingya issue be addressed as soon as possible.

The plight faced by these persecuted people has been thrust into the headlines of international news recently, following cases of thousands of boat people stranded at sea as well as reports of slave labour camps and mass graves.

These Rohingya immigrants who sought to escape persecution from a country that has long eroded their cultural identity and civil rights, entrusted themselves to opportunistic and deceitful human traffickers who see their plight not as a humanitarian issue, but as nothing more than a lucrative opportunity. This has resulted in extreme cases where people were allegedly thrown overboard, or whole ships left abandoned, its passengers left to fend for themselves against the harsh elements of the sea, many suffering and succumbing to malnutrition.

At least 30 graves mass graves have been discovered at the identified slave camps near the south of Thailand in the Songkla province.  Survivors of such camps report of the deplorable conditions they have been forced to live in as well as the alleged use of coercion and violence to extort more money from the Rohingya families.

As Malaysia shares the borders close to where this incident has happened, it is feared that such camps may exist within Malaysia’s boundaries and perhaps Malaysia has unknowingly facilitated the trafficking and abuse of the Rohingya people.

However while the responses have been mainly aimed towards the human traffickers, with military action being considered, there is a far greater crime being played out that demands justice for these people who have to suffer so much unnecessary hardships.

The Myanmar government is equally, if not wholly responsible, for the sorry state of affairs the Rohingyas find themselves in.

As noted by the report published by the Equal Rights Trust, the Rohingyas trace their ancestral roots in the Rakhine region several centuries back, long before the creation of modern day Myanmar. The term is derived from the word Rohang which is the name of the Rakhine state.

This claim to historical ancestry is rejected on many levels in Myanmar. The Myanmar government claims that the Rohingyas are in fact migrants from Bangladesh and have no rights to indigenous identity in Myanmar. The term “ Rohingya” is not recognized by the government and the Rohingya people — in spite of their protest and rejection — are referred to as Bengali.

The result of this unwillingness to recognize that the Rohingyas are part of the Myanmar demographic landscape, coupled with their contentious religious relationship with the majority Buddhist populace which denies much of the historical Muslim influences upon Rakhine state, have led to the purposeful and systematic deprivation of the civil rights of the Rohingya community.

The Rohingyas are prevented from using the term in official documentation including identity cards, passports and were even disqualified from the country’s census of March 2014 unless they agreed to the term Bengali.

The consequence of this can be seen now as many Rohingyas, who possess no legal documentation, have become stateless and have been forced to flee Myanmar in order to escape persecution in a country that has become — as some have described it — an open-air prison.

The Rohingyas have no other alternatives than to procure the services of smugglers, who they pay a significant amount of money in order to obtain passage to another country. The problem then morphs into human trafficking. These refugees are unknowingly trading one prison for another.

It is therefore not enough to address the issue of human trafficking by bringing the traffickers themselves to justice. It is necessary to make the Myanmar government accountable for this travesty, addressing the problem of ethnic persecution within the country itself and ensuring that the civil rights of the Rohingyas are restored, or, at the very least, their basic human rights respected.

The only significant hindrance would be the strict adherence to the non-interference policy which ASEAN governments have maintained. Malaysia and Indonesia have turned away many of the boats opting to send these refugees back to the country that does not recognize their basic humanity. The Malaysian and Indonesian governments do not want to be inundated with illegal immigrants that they just cannot cope with.

There is a distinction that needs to be made between refugees and illegal immigrants, as the current discourse  labels the Rohingyas mainly as the latter, when in fact given the mentioned historical and political context, it would be  more appropriate to term the Rohingyas as political refugees.

With the increasing outflow of these refugees from Myanmar, the ASEAN policy of non-interference has proven to be untenable, given the humanitarian crisis which has gotten far worse over the years.

The Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai governments should apply diplomatic pressure immediately upon the Myanmar government to address the root problem which is the persecution of the Rohingyas. Once the persecution stops, the massive exodus of refugees through land and sea will also come to an end.

Hassanal Noor Rashid, Program Coordinator, International Movement for a Just World

Notes:

1 Equal Right Trust (2014) Equal Only in Name: The Human Rights of Stateless Rohingya in Thailand

It is imperative that the Rohingya issue be addressed as soon as possible.

The plight faced by these persecuted people has been thrust into the headlines of international news recently, following cases of thousands of boat people stranded at sea as well as reports of slave labour camps and mass graves.

These Rohingya immigrants who sought to escape persecution from a country that has long eroded their cultural identity and civil rights, entrusted themselves to opportunistic and deceitful human traffickers who see their plight not as a humanitarian issue, but as nothing more than a lucrative opportunity. This has resulted in extreme cases where people were allegedly thrown overboard, or whole ships left abandoned, its passengers left to fend for themselves against the harsh elements of the sea, many suffering and succumbing to malnutrition.

At least 30 graves mass graves have been discovered at the identified slave camps near the south of Thailand in the Songkla province.  Survivors of such camps report of the deplorable conditions they have been forced to live in as well as the alleged use of coercion and violence to extort more money from the Rohingya families.

As Malaysia shares the borders close to where this incident has happened, it is feared that such camps may exist within Malaysia’s boundaries and perhaps Malaysia has unknowingly facilitated the trafficking and abuse of the Rohingya people.

However while the responses have been mainly aimed towards the human traffickers, with military action being considered, there is a far greater crime being played out that demands justice for these people who have to suffer so much unnecessary hardships.

The Myanmar government is equally, if not wholly responsible, for the sorry state of affairs the Rohingyas find themselves in.

As noted by the report published by the Equal Rights Trust, the Rohingyas trace their ancestral roots in the Rakhine region several centuries back, long before the creation of modern day Myanmar. The term is derived from the word Rohang which is the name of the Rakhine state.

This claim to historical ancestry is rejected on many levels in Myanmar. The Myanmar government claims that the Rohingyas are in fact migrants from Bangladesh and have no rights to indigenous identity in Myanmar. The term “ Rohingya” is not recognized by the government and the Rohingya people — in spite of their protest and rejection — are referred to as Bengali.

The result of this unwillingness to recognize that the Rohingyas are part of the Myanmar demographic landscape, coupled with their contentious religious relationship with the majority Buddhist populace which denies much of the historical Muslim influences upon Rakhine state, have led to the purposeful and systematic deprivation of the civil rights of the Rohingya community.

The Rohingyas are prevented from using the term in official documentation including identity cards, passports and were even disqualified from the country’s census of March 2014 unless they agreed to the term Bengali.

The consequence of this can be seen now as many Rohingyas, who possess no legal documentation, have become stateless and have been forced to flee Myanmar in order to escape persecution in a country that has become — as some have described it — an open-air prison.

The Rohingyas have no other alternatives than to procure the services of smugglers, who they pay a significant amount of money in order to obtain passage to another country. The problem then morphs into human trafficking. These refugees are unknowingly trading one prison for another.

It is therefore not enough to address the issue of human trafficking by bringing the traffickers themselves to justice. It is necessary to make the Myanmar government accountable for this travesty, addressing the problem of ethnic persecution within the country itself and ensuring that the civil rights of the Rohingyas are restored, or, at the very least, their basic human rights respected.

The only significant hindrance would be the strict adherence to the non-interference policy which ASEAN governments have maintained. Malaysia and Indonesia have turned away many of the boats opting to send these refugees back to the country that does not recognize their basic humanity. The Malaysian and Indonesian governments do not want to be inundated with illegal immigrants that they just cannot cope with.

There is a distinction that needs to be made between refugees and illegal immigrants, as the current discourse  labels the Rohingyas mainly as the latter, when in fact given the mentioned historical and political context, it would be  more appropriate to term the Rohingyas as political refugees.

With the increasing outflow of these refugees from Myanmar, the ASEAN policy of non-interference has proven to be untenable, given the humanitarian crisis which has gotten far worse over the years.

The Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai governments should apply diplomatic pressure immediately upon the Myanmar government to address the root problem which is the persecution of the Rohingyas. Once the persecution stops, the massive exodus of refugees through land and sea will also come to an end.

Hassanal Noor Rashid, Program Coordinator, International Movement for a Just World

Notes:

1 Equal Right Trust (2014) Equal Only in Name: The Human Rights of Stateless Rohingya in Thailand

Según medios de comunicación de Canadá, las leyes contra la propaganda de odio podrían ser aplicadas a los grupos de este país que se unen al movimiento global de boicot contra la ocupación y apartheid israelí.

From a perspective of continually searching for knowledge and relationships, for synthesizing information into a larger paradigm I have reached a point where the world – the human world and its cultural and physical geography – is reaching certain tipping or turning points.  Several genres of interest – financial, military, and environmental – appear to be at a stage where whatever I could say, whatever I have said, will have no further impact and I can only observe events until some resolution is reached by whatever means.

These broad topics are deeply related, and the resolution of one will have strong ramifications for the others.  They are not separate categories except as an organizer for the academic and political minds of today.  Information gleaned from many books, the western mainstream media (MSM), alternate media (being for the most part various websites), and from other sources in Asia and Europe provides a broad base from which to formulate a perspective on current events.

There are some broad trends that should be obvious.  Financially, the ‘western’ world is operating as a debt laden consumer society, competing with the rising strengths of China and Russia as co-leaders in an at best multi-polar world.  Militarily, the U.S. and its allied NATO countries remain dominant, but that dominance is reckoned on the threats of a failed “full spectrum dominance” military, backed by an official first strike nuclear capability and policy.

As for the environment – the consumer society run by corporations with zero environmental concerns, and the military fighting for control of resources and for control of the financial world are dominant topics in the MSM, leaving the environment to change almost unheralded.  These changes would be seriously aggravated by a larger war and /or significant financial changes.

There are two main ways to examine these faultlines.  It can be done region by region, highlighting the impacts on the populations of defined areas.  There are, however, no isolated regions, as one bleeds (literally) into another, with the global context quickly encroaching into any discussion of one country or region.  Another examination could be approached from the genres mentioned above, in which an attempt to precis the global aspects of each would again bleed (literally, financially, and metaphorically!) one into the other.  A third approach would take an even less well defined train of thought approach, following the bleeding as it encircles the world.

Good-bye Palestine

Palestine is the best place to start as it is the topic on which I had my first article posted online many years ago, at Palestine Chronicle.  Without detailing the current events around then until now, it leads to the proposition that perhaps Netanyahu has achieved what he wants – a one state solution.

It is not a pretty one state solution, as it carries horrible complications.  But the Palestinian people appear to have been effectively divided and controlled (the word conquered cannot be used yet, and hopefully never will be).  Abbas and the Palestinian Authority seem to be fully complicit with the Israeli military occupation, guarding their own little sphere of influence and power.

Talk of a two state solution is just that – talk.  The ‘wall’ encloses many of the settlements along with much prime Palestinian land (with many other settlements remaining in the West Bank).  It serves not so much for a two state solution but as a manner to control the many bantustan style enclaves restricting the movement and freedoms of  the Palestinian people.  More talk simply provides more time to build more settlements while destroying more Palestinian settlements and encroaching upon more Palestinian land.

The only country that could currently affect change is the United States.  It is very inconvenient for the U.S. to do anything because of the large influence AIPAC has on Congress and the various neocon/right wing think tanks spread throughout the country.  Obama and Netanyahu have their differences, but the U.S. remains financially and militarily committed to Israel.

This is where it gets tricky, going beyond the current paradigm into the changing global situation.  Israel is more or less allied with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in its rhetoric against Iran, and in its military actions from the annexed Golan Heights.  The Arab states are where Israel wants them to be – at war with each other, impoverished, divided, and ineffective domestically.  Israel is apparently aiding ISIL/al-Qaeda against Assad while controlling their own border in Syria’s Golan Heights, cooperating with the Saudis in their manic fear of Iran, arguing then making good with Turkey and Egypt,  and – this is even trickier to decipher – turning its trade and financial outlook towards Asia.

Gaza

All that goes without even touching Gaza.  Is this to be a part of Netanyahu’s one state?  It would be dangerous to count it fully in from the Jewish perspective as the 1.5 million Palestinians imprisoned there would tip the demographic balance into uncertain territory if its population were included within Israel proper.  Egypt does not want them, not for the financial burden nor for the political burden of a defiant people.  The elimination of the population by violent means is not sufferable even for the Israelis under current conditions, nor is their any place for them to be removed to.

A free Gaza is not likely in the works, and it would be high conjecture to explore the various implications and ramifications were that feasible.

Perhaps though, Gaza is convenient.  It is convenient like the talks for a two state solution, providing a distraction while more West Bank settlements are built.  Convenient in that it carries the rhetoric of violent Islam, allowing the ongoing dogma against Iran, and in general providing a significant fear factor, a significant, different, and outlawed ‘other’ to be a domestic source of unity.  It is convenient as well for carrying that fear factor abroad to harvest support from its western admirers.  It might also prove to be convenient for Israel’s exploration and extraction of carbon resources under the Mediterranean.

It would seem then, that Israel is comfortable in its miserable neighbourhood.  But that neighbourhood has changed and will change significantly more.  The U.S.’ military entanglements and its increasingly violent actions in the Middle East are for the most part its attempts to assert its global dominance financially.

Asia Rising

Many years ago, the New York Times Thomas Friedman mentioned the “hidden fist” of the military that kept the U.S. economy going.  That ‘fist’ has long been visible, increasingly so in the Twenty-first Century.  Its most dangerous and threatening turn has been its recent overthrow of the Ukrainian government and its replacement with a corrupt (same old same old!) neonazi government.  Now with NATO encroaching onto Russia’s borders and the U.S. moving military and black ops personnel into Ukraine, the U.S. is setting itself up to create a scenario that would help lead to the breakup of Russia itself.  That takes the presentation from one of analyzing a particular region or country to examining the overarching military and financial paradigms.

Back to Israel, momentarily.  Israel along with several other significant western countries and against U.S. wishes, has signed up for membership in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) set up to remove the influence of the U.S. controlled/sponsored Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and other Washington consensus institutions.  The largest part of Israeli trade is now with Asia and not the western countries.  And perhaps not insignificantly, Israel is not selling drones to Ukraine, but they are to Russia.

Follow the money…why would Israel, along with Germany, France, the U.K., and many other countries (significantly, Russia), sign up for a Chinese dominated bank against the wishes of its long time sponsor, the U.S.?  What do they see occurring that is not presented to the world in the MSM?  What is China doing that is so attractive financially to many other countries without any military threat obvious or implied?  What is the “carrot” without the “stick”?

U.S. declining

It is impossible to separate China/Asia/Russia rising and the U.S. declining as they are highly intertwined financially.  It is worth it to try and look at the U.S.’ financial situation first, as that has huge ramifications for what is happening in Asia, Eurasia, and China and Russia in particular.

Essentially, the U.S. is broke.  The value of the U.S. dollar over the last century has dropped to near worthlessness in its comparative purchasing power.  Fortunately for the U.S., and unfortunately for the rest of the world, the U.S. can ‘print’ as much money as it needs without fully debasing the currency as it is currently the world’s “reserve” currency, the one that up to now everyone needed in order to have international financial transactions.

Without getting into the details of how the Federal Reserve Bank (a private bank, not a government bank) and the Treasury Department work together rather incestuously, the end result is a massive U.S. debt load that will never be able to be repaid – unless hyperinflation sets in a la Zimbabwe, or the dollar is revalued (devalued) unilaterally, or a gold standard is re-established with its value being rather astronomical in order to support the size of the debt/dollar.

Beyond that huge debt load, the economy is not recovering.  The statistical figures are all manipulated and the markets are all manipulated, providing a thin veneer of financial respectability over an enormous black hole of debt.  The employment participation rate (as compared to the unemployment figure) is the lowest it has been in decades – many fewer people are working.  New job creation is mainly for lower paid service work.  The rate of home ownership has been declining.  Net worth for the middle class is declining and the income disparity between those in control and the rest of the population is increasingly very large.

The stock market continues its positive run, supported by trillions of dollars of government ‘printed’ dollars at zero or near zero interest rates borrowed and leveraged for various financialized schemes, including a lot of companies buying back their own stocks in order to inflate their value and pay them larger dividends and bonuses.  The Baltic Dry Index (a measure of demand for shipping capacity) has declined precipitously after the 2007-08 recession.

China owns a lot of the debt.  China has its own financial problems within its domestic and  global economies but it is the U.S.’ main creditor and carries 21 per cent of U.S. foreign owned debt, or ten per cent of all U.S. debt.  Should China decide at any time to sell its U.S. reserves, it could simply put the dollar into shock, creating a quick and immediate devaluation to the point of making it worthless.

But the Chinese are operating much more carefully than this.  They have openly stated that the world needs another reserve currency, or a basket of currencies, and it is working towards eliminating the stranglehold that the US$ has on international commerce and finance.

Russia –  neither collapsing, nor isolated.

Russia enters into the picture as both military and financial roles.  Both China and Russia are within the U.S.’ military containment policy under the idea of global hegemony as expressed by the likes of Zbigniew Brzezinski, Robert Kagan (spouse of Victoria Nuland), and the other neocon elites.

Russia is obviously reluctant to surrender to U.S. dictates and has been very effective in deflecting its military and economic attempts at destabilization.  After suffering the economic depredations from the west during the Yeltsin era, then watching the aggressive military actions of the U.S. from Yugoslavia through Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya (among others), Russia balked at supporting U.S. efforts to overthrow Assad in Syria.

Next up was the U.S. created (see Kagan, Nuland, above) neonazi takeover of the Ukrainian government and the currently frozen military front lines in Luhansk and Donetsk after a successful rebellion against the Kiev right sector/nazi forces. NATO has approached Russia’s border.  Western sanctions have been applied however ineffectively.  A raid on the ruble and the devaluation of oil prices have coincided with the military aggression and trade sanctions.

Russia is doing well, not in spite of the sanctions, but because of the sanctions.  The ruble suffered a large depreciation at first, but since has recovered and stabilized, with the current interest rate set at 12.5 per cent (I well remember when I carried a set mortgage at 12 per cent, while the official rate rose to over 20 per cent).  Russia’s debt load is very small in relation to its foreign reserves/gold reserves and in relation to the GDP.

It is forecast that Russian GDP will fall two or three per cent over the year, but that has two caveats. First is that the GDP is probably one of the worst and most easily manipulable statistics available; secondly, by comparison, if the U.S.GDP was measured accurately and without using manipulated statistics such as the consumer price index (inflation), it would be showing declines year over year since 2008.

In other areas, the Russian economy is doing well.  Sanctions have forced Russia to repatriate its manufacturing, and many businesses are improving technologically and financially because of this.  Agriculture, always a difficult area for financial survival, has been reinvigorated by Russia’s counter-sanctions against various western agricultural producers.

Ironically, the U.S. is not stopping trade with Russia in three important areas.  First is the space station, reliant on Russian rocket power for supplies and access.  Next, the U.S. purchases about twenty per cent of its uranium from Russia – more US$ to support Russia’s favorable trade balance and foreign reserves!  To top it off, U.S. oil imports include eight per cent of its total imported from Russia.

Isolation is not a problem for Russia.  China has become a major industrial, military, and financial partner, along with the other BRIC nations.  Much of Latin America, most of Asia, and many African countries, independently and through their Chinese connections, are working with Russia.  Importantly, Egypt is working with Russia for trade, and the triangle of Iran-Russia-China is strengthening.

Several European countries are expressing a distaste for sanctions and several are having lower level officials attending Moscow’s May 09 Victory Day parade, along with many other global leaders outside the EU, most importantly, China’s president Xi Jinping.  The Chinese leader intends to visit Crimea during his visit.  The visit coincides with two Chinese warships showing the flag in the Black Sea alongside Russian ships.  That isolated feeling is certainly not the reality.

The World Island – and the New Silk Road.

Eurasia as a whole  – the  World Island – is a natural economic unit.  It is entirely sustainable through its various geographic regions for all resource materials –  agriculture, mining, forestry, fishing, natural gas, oil, coal, water.  These may not all be distributed equally, but given the land mass and the possibilities for trade and transportation, that only creates the natural idea of a New Silk Road to incorporate trade throughout all regions.

Both China and Russia have large industrial sectors, large technological sectors, and trained and well educated work forces. India has a large and technologically savvy work force.  Iran has many resources and a strong technological base.  Germany – well, that is where  Eurasia finds a dividing line, the artificial boundary of the New Cold War as manipulated by the U.S.

Europe is a natural trade partner with other elements of the World Island.  Unfortunately its sycophantic puppet leaders of the EU/NATO have been sucked into the two main artificial fears created by the U.S. –  fear of terror/Islam and fear of Russia.  What it truly amounts to is the U.S. fear of losing its dominant global position should Europe, or even part of Europe, align itself with the rest of the World Island by joining in the infrastructure development being initiated by China and Russia.

The leaders of France, Germany, and the U.K. in particular appear to be only interested in maintaining their own power and control among the world elite.  Their wilful ignorance – or natural stupidity – allows the U.S. to continue to dictate to them what their foreign – and indeed domestic – policies should be.  But cracks in European/NATO unity are apparent.

One of the  major faultlines is the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Originating with China, this new bank has received applications for participation from many countries around the world.  Significantly, most of the G7 countries (not Canada!) have signed on, as has Israel as mentioned above.  Huge sums of money are to be spent/earned by supporting infrastructure development throughout Asia and Europe: high speed rail lines, highways, internet connections, pipelines, bridges, seaports, mines, airports, tech centres, schools, hospitals, and a host of supporting structures required for a growing wealthier society.

The U.S. fear of losing its dominance is well grounded, not militarily but financially.  Should the US$ be slowly sidelined as the hegemonic fiat currency – or perhaps rapidly sidelined due to the weight of its own domestic ‘house of cards’ weaknesses – the New World Order will not be quite what the U.S. neocons envisioned in their original concept of the idea.  The neocon wars serve several purposes:  the destabilization of any organized opposition, especially in the Middle East vis a vis Israel and resources; the support of domestic military industries, about the only industries growing in the U.S. today; and along with the latter, control of other regions to bolster the use of the US$ as the reigning global fiat currency.

Thus the two are intertwined – war and finances.  Their uses/abuses by the U.S. are its waning attempts to prevent the rise of a multipolar world – which already it truly is – or worse for the U.S. – a singular world order peacefully trading within itself without using the US$.

Last as always – the environment

Burdened with an enormous and growing consumer oriented human population the earth’s environment is changing.  How adaptable it all is only time will tell.  Pollutants are dispersed throughout all parts of the world, Antarctic to Arctic, from the depths of the oceans to the summits of it land masses.  Along with concerns about environmental changes many chemical pollutants enter our environment from the procurement of resources (e.g. mining, fracking, transportation), and their refinement into consumer products.  These pollutants are widespread, including among others DU  weapons, chemical sprays used militarily and in agriculture, and the unstable wastes from nuclear reactors.

Until something happens to the economy or to human health in general to require human behaviour to alter, not much will be accomplished beyond a lot of greenwashing and a few technological fixes while the last profits are squeezed out of the industrial-military complex.

The worst scenario comes back to the military.  It is one of the largest consumers of oil based energy and its use of depleted uranium weapons and the threat of nuclear weapons and the latent threat of damaged nuclear power plants makes war the dirtiest of industries.  The current face off between the U.S. and Russia, instigated by the U.S. Maidan coup that ousted a legal democratically elected (if corrupt) government, presents the ultimate threat of nuclear war.

The complete insanity of that seems to escape the proponents of the Wolfowitz Doctrine who uphold the strategy of a winnable nuclear war.  Depleted uranium weapons are bad enough, but the use of nuclear weapons would be devastating for many if not most life forms on earth.  Beyond the initial destruction from the weapons and the associated radiation poisoning, the 400 plus nuclear plants in the world  would either have been destroyed initially or would self-destruct as local infrastructures and services failed in the war’s aftermath.  The result would be 400 Chernobyl/Three Mile Island/Fukushima’s to radiate the planet for hundreds of years to come.

Outcomes unknown

Unfortunately, many humans are terribly short-sighted and intent on ‘winning’ at whatever cost.  Hopefully the balancing power of Russia, China, India and other countries not aligned with the U.S. will be able to moderate the craziness that is widespread in the U.S./NATO today.  Russia is doing its best to not become involved with U.S. instigated wars whether in Syria, Ukraine, or anywhere else in the world.  China is supporting Russia as the Chinese are well aware that the U.S. views them as another threat to their global hegemony.

The U.S. fiat currency will collapse – all fiat currencies have.  The U.S. is lashing out violently at the world trying to support its near hegemonic control of international finance.  The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Bank of International Settlements (based in Basel), national central banks, and other powerhouses of the current financialized world market are now having to deal with the new AIIB, the Latin American Bank of the South, and the BRICS Development Bank.

John Kerry’s recent trip to Sochi indicates a slight ratcheting down of U.S. hubris.  Kerry also remonstrated Poroshenko for his idiotic statements abouty retaking the airport at Donetsk.  Ironically, even the suggestion of a New Cold War indicates that there is no longer a unipolar world tipped in favour of the U.S.

Which way events of today will turn is obviously an unknown.  There are too many possible scenarios from the calm settlement of rational ideas overcoming military lunacy to its obverse, a world destroyed by that military lunacy.

The broad trends working through our societies today – the interplay of a financialized world, the militarization of domestic and foreign policies, and the understated importance of global climate change – are in a period of dramatic change.

I offer no solutions.  That is out of my abilities, out of my range of influence, as events are turning now on their own energies, propelled by the actions of the powerful state actors of the world.  I do not believe that anything I can do will have much bearing on the outcomes….yet at the same time while many other people suffer in so many significant ways beyond my experience, it behooves me to continue to observe and to try and synthesize the various sets of information as best as possible into a coherent whole.  Interesting times, with big changes already in process.

None whatever exists. Guilt by accusation suffices for anyone Washington wants convicted.

Innocence is no defense. Juries are pressured to convict. Evidence when absent is invented. Lack of proof doesn’t matter.

Thousands of political prisoners languish in America’s gulag – at home and abroad. Thousands more are imprisoned for misdemeanors too minor to matter – ones for which just societies wouldn’t tolerate incarceration.

Wrongful convictions are longstanding US practice – including numerous victims sentenced to capital punishment for crimes they didn’t commit.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is the latest example – wrongfully convicted on 30 counts, 17 subject to possible capital punishment.

His kangaroo court trial mocked judicial fairness. It wreaked of inconsistencies, distortions, contrived claims and Big Lies.

His conviction was almost entirely based on convoluted testimony from one dubious witness unable get his account of events straight – plus photos showing the Tsarnaev brothers present near the Boston marathon finish line. So were hundreds of others charged with no crime.

On Friday, Dzhokhr was sentenced to death despite no evidence proving guilt. Ironically, he was the first post-9/11 federal capital punishment victim.

Lead prosecuting attorney Carmen Ortiz praised what she called “a fair and just verdict.”

“Even in the wake of horror and tragedy, we are not intimidated by acts of terror or radical ideals,” she said. 

“On the contrary, the trial of this case has showcased an important American ideal that even the worst of the worst deserve a fair trial and due process of law.”

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch called capital punishment for Tsarnaev “a fitting punishment.”

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he hoped the verdict “provides a small amount of closure” for survivors.

Tsarnaev’s father, Anzor, said he intends to “fight (the verdict) until the end.” 

Dzhokhar is the latest homeland war on terror victim – unjustly charged, wrongfully convicted.

Post-9/11, numerous other Muslims were persecuted, arrested, falsely charged, prosecuted and convicted for alleged crimes they didn’t commit.

It’s the wrong time to be Muslim in America. Automatic guilt follows terrorism accusations. Washington’s rogue agenda needs enemies. Fear-mongering is used to justify its phony war on terror.

Muslims are America’s target of choice. They’re vilified for praying to the wrong God – for their race and ethnicity, for opposing Washington’s war on Islam.

They’re stereotypically portrayed as culturally inferior, dirty, lecherous, untrustworthy, religiously fanatical and violent – compared to Western high-minded moral superiority.

Media war on Islam makes it easy to convict victims like Tsarnaev. Judicial lynching follows vilification in the court of public opinion.

US Criminal justice requires following rule of law standards. Guilt must be PROVED BASED ON CREDIBLE EVIDENCE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT.

At the same time, jurors aren’t given reasonable doubt guidance. Prosecutors take full advantage. America’s system is inherently unfair. Nothing is done to change things.

Evidence suggests the Boston bombing was state-sponsored terrorism – a false flag black operation.

Craft International (a Blackwater USA type firm) operatives dressed in military-style attire were near the marathon’s finish line.

So were FBI agents – before the incident occurred. Media scoundrels ignored what was vital to report. Doing so would have compromised the official story. Older brother Tamerlan might be alive today. Dzhokhar might never have been convicted.

Fear-mongering replaced truth and full disclosure. Dzhokhar and Tamerlan were used as convenient patsies.

Police murdered Tamerlan in cold blood. Dzhokhar’s turn awaits – victimized by criminal injustice.

He pleaded innocent to all 30 charges. It bears repeating. Not a shred of evidence suggested guilt.

Shockingly, his lead defense lawyer, Judy Clark, conceded guilt in her closing arguments. She blamed Tamerlan for coercing Dzhokhar to go along with what no evidence proved either brother committed.

She called only four witnesses on his behalf – compared to 92 for federal prosecutors. Guilt on all counts didn’t surprise, nor capital punishment sentencing.

Dzhokhar never had a chance. Court of public opinion lynching combined with prosecutorial distortions, misinformation and Big Lies assured conviction.

An innocent young man will die for a crime he didn’t commit. He’ll languish on death row until state-sponsored murder takes him.

His life ended before it barely began. In April 2013, he was 19 years old when the incident occurred.

He was an honors student, a Greater Boston League all-star wrestler, a city of Cambridge scholarship winner.

What motive could he possibly have to commit terrorism, or brother Tamerlan?

His father calls him a “true angel.” He insists both brothers were “set up.” They “killed my older son Tamerlan,” he said.

by Sajai Jose

As Greenpeace India struggles to stay afloat, the real reason why the government wants to shut down the global environmental NGO hasn’t got much attention: Coal, the single biggest source of primary energy in India, is at the heart of the Narendra Modi government’s ambitious plans to ramp up industrial production in the country.

Source: World Resources Institute

A total of 1,199 new coal-based thermal power plants with a total installed capacity of more than 1.4 million MW proposed worldwide, the lion’s share—455 plants—are in India, according to data from the World Resources Institute.

India is overwhelmingly dependent on fossil fuels—coal, oil and gas—which meet more than three fourths of the country’s energy needs, despite Modi’s plans to promotealternative energy sources.

Of the fossil fuels, oil and gas account for just about 30% of India’s energy needs, the bulk imported (80% in the case of crude oil). India has abundant reserves of coal, the fourth-largest in the world.

Source: PwC

Coal meets 54.5% of India’s energy needs, and 61.5% of the installed power generation capacity, and plays a key role in industries like steel and cement.

India is set to more than double its coal consumption by 2035 and become the world’s largest coal importer by around 2020, according to the International Energy Agency.

The cheapest of fossil fuels, coal is also the most polluting in terms of carbon emissions. Coal-burning power plants are the single biggest cause of climate change, way ahead of the burning of petroleum in transportation.

Greenpeace has been at the forefront of a global campaign against coal mining and burning, and its Indian wing has mounted several high-visibility campaigns against coal-burning thermal power plants and coal mining in forest areas.

Coal India and Adani in the spotlight

Especially irksome to the government must have been Greenpeace’s targeting of two domestic entities that are also major global players in coal—public-sector company Coal India, India’s 5^th most valuable company by market capitalisation at $35.9 billion (Rs 2.3 lakh crore) and the Gujarat-based Adani Group, whose promoter Gautam Adani is known to have a close relationship with Modi.

Source: Fossil-Free Indexes

Coal India is number one, and the Adani Group number three on the list of the top 200 coal companies globally ranked by the potential carbon emissions content of their reported reserves, according to Fossil Free Indexes, a stock market index that promotes ethical investing.

Greenpeace has campaigned against both companies, exposing their claims on reserves and financial health, and documenting environmental and other violations.  Greenpeace’s Australia chapter has opposed Adani’s plans to develop the world’s largest coal deposit, the Carmichael mine in Queensland, which it acquired for 16.5 billion dollars.

Breakneck industrialisation, Chinese style

Companies like Coal India and Adani are expected to play a vital role in the Modi government’s grand plan for India to take over from China as the new ‘factory of the world’.

With GDP growth dipping to 7% for the first quarter of 2015 (the lowest since 2009), China is clearly slowing down. India seems intent on capitalising on this slowdown and the new-found limits on growth imposed by environmental and health concerns in China.

The first signs that the Modi government is pushing for a Chinese-style industrialisation project came when it announced a clutch of mega projects under the Make-In-India initiative. Work is under way on the most ambitious of these projects, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, across six states, to be built at an estimated cost of $100 billion.

For the government, one of the chief obstacles in this path is land acquisition, which is being tackled through amendments to the existing legislation. The other big hurdle is energy, in which coal will continue to play the biggest part–and this is at the core of its grouse with organisations such as Greenpeace.

Coal and Climate Change–an existential threat

The burning of fossil fuels—coal, oil and gas, in that order—releases massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, and has been proven to be the biggest culprit behind climate change.

Source: Nature

With carbon-dioxide levels at record highs—as IndiaSpend reported—only a fraction of the known extractable fossil fuel reserves, least of all, coal, can be burned without endangering the world’s future, the reason why campaigners like Greenpeace are dead set against the fuel.

But for the Modi government, and India’s elites and middle classes in general, this would amount to the big prize being snatched away from sniffing distance. That’s why the shots fired against Greenpeace may be only the first in the long, bruising battle ahead.

Sajai Jose is a freelance media professional based in Bangalore)

Image Credit: Wikimedia/Akkida

Copyright Sajai Jose, India Spend, 2015

by Sajai Jose

As Greenpeace India struggles to stay afloat, the real reason why the government wants to shut down the global environmental NGO hasn’t got much attention: Coal, the single biggest source of primary energy in India, is at the heart of the Narendra Modi government’s ambitious plans to ramp up industrial production in the country.

Source: World Resources Institute

A total of 1,199 new coal-based thermal power plants with a total installed capacity of more than 1.4 million MW proposed worldwide, the lion’s share—455 plants—are in India, according to data from the World Resources Institute.

India is overwhelmingly dependent on fossil fuels—coal, oil and gas—which meet more than three fourths of the country’s energy needs, despite Modi’s plans to promotealternative energy sources.

Of the fossil fuels, oil and gas account for just about 30% of India’s energy needs, the bulk imported (80% in the case of crude oil). India has abundant reserves of coal, the fourth-largest in the world.

Source: PwC

Coal meets 54.5% of India’s energy needs, and 61.5% of the installed power generation capacity, and plays a key role in industries like steel and cement.

India is set to more than double its coal consumption by 2035 and become the world’s largest coal importer by around 2020, according to the International Energy Agency.

The cheapest of fossil fuels, coal is also the most polluting in terms of carbon emissions. Coal-burning power plants are the single biggest cause of climate change, way ahead of the burning of petroleum in transportation.

Greenpeace has been at the forefront of a global campaign against coal mining and burning, and its Indian wing has mounted several high-visibility campaigns against coal-burning thermal power plants and coal mining in forest areas.

Coal India and Adani in the spotlight

Especially irksome to the government must have been Greenpeace’s targeting of two domestic entities that are also major global players in coal—public-sector company Coal India, India’s 5^th most valuable company by market capitalisation at $35.9 billion (Rs 2.3 lakh crore) and the Gujarat-based Adani Group, whose promoter Gautam Adani is known to have a close relationship with Modi.

Source: Fossil-Free Indexes

Coal India is number one, and the Adani Group number three on the list of the top 200 coal companies globally ranked by the potential carbon emissions content of their reported reserves, according to Fossil Free Indexes, a stock market index that promotes ethical investing.

Greenpeace has campaigned against both companies, exposing their claims on reserves and financial health, and documenting environmental and other violations.  Greenpeace’s Australia chapter has opposed Adani’s plans to develop the world’s largest coal deposit, the Carmichael mine in Queensland, which it acquired for 16.5 billion dollars.

Breakneck industrialisation, Chinese style

Companies like Coal India and Adani are expected to play a vital role in the Modi government’s grand plan for India to take over from China as the new ‘factory of the world’.

With GDP growth dipping to 7% for the first quarter of 2015 (the lowest since 2009), China is clearly slowing down. India seems intent on capitalising on this slowdown and the new-found limits on growth imposed by environmental and health concerns in China.

The first signs that the Modi government is pushing for a Chinese-style industrialisation project came when it announced a clutch of mega projects under the Make-In-India initiative. Work is under way on the most ambitious of these projects, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, across six states, to be built at an estimated cost of $100 billion.

For the government, one of the chief obstacles in this path is land acquisition, which is being tackled through amendments to the existing legislation. The other big hurdle is energy, in which coal will continue to play the biggest part–and this is at the core of its grouse with organisations such as Greenpeace.

Coal and Climate Change–an existential threat

The burning of fossil fuels—coal, oil and gas, in that order—releases massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, and has been proven to be the biggest culprit behind climate change.

Source: Nature

With carbon-dioxide levels at record highs—as IndiaSpend reported—only a fraction of the known extractable fossil fuel reserves, least of all, coal, can be burned without endangering the world’s future, the reason why campaigners like Greenpeace are dead set against the fuel.

But for the Modi government, and India’s elites and middle classes in general, this would amount to the big prize being snatched away from sniffing distance. That’s why the shots fired against Greenpeace may be only the first in the long, bruising battle ahead.

Sajai Jose is a freelance media professional based in Bangalore)

Image Credit: Wikimedia/Akkida

Copyright Sajai Jose, India Spend, 2015

Police in Baku arrested Nizami Piriyev, a high-profile Azerbaijani businessman closely associated with President Ilham Aliyev.

Mr Piriyev, media reported, was charged with various financial crimes. He is in prison ahead of a trial in what appears to be a spectacular public fall.

One of Azerbaijan’s richest men, Mr Piriyev was the official owner of the Azerbaijan Methanol Company, a large and high-profile operation on the outskirts of Baku.

He paid for former British PM Tony Blair to fly to Baku in 2009 to open the plant. Mr Blair, criticised for taking cash from governments with dubious human rights records since he left office in 2007, was photographed at a press conference in Baku sitting between Mr Piriyev and his son, Nasib.

Mr Piriyev’s holding company PNN Group also owned franchise rights to a number of Western brands in Azerbaijan and across the former Soviet Union. It’s website said that this included the British high street news agent WHSmith and US fast food chain KFC. A spokesman for WHSmith, though, said that Mr Piriyev did not hold its franchise in Azerbaijan.

Mr Piriyev used to work in Russia for Gazprom and had businesses stretching across Central Asia.

It’s unclear what triggered his arrest and whether he has been associated with Azerbaijan’s increasingly marginalised opposition or if he had fallen out with President Aliyev. The United States and Europe have been increasingly critical of Mr Aliyev for cracking down on opposition.

This story was first published in issue 231 of the weekly newspaper The Conway Bulletin on May 13, 2015.

Copyright the Conway Bulletin, 2015

The life of brilliant journalist, intellectual, revolutionary, and political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal is in great danger. Pennsylvania set two execution dates for Mumia in the ’90’s despite his innocence. Only the international movement stayed the hands of the executioner.

Kiev’s regime is a US-installed, illegitimate, lawless, Nazi infested, fascist police state in Europe’s heartland – waging naked aggression on its own people, risking regional peace and stability. Russians, Jews and others are vilified. Rule by intimidation is official policy.

In April, a “decommunization” process began – banning communist and Soviet era symbols and values, including longstanding statues and street names.

Communist Party members face police state persecution – including fabricated civil and criminal charges.

Poroshenko declared Ukraine a “unitary state” – code language opposing any person or group against its police state practices.

New legislation honors Nazi era ultranationalists as “freedom fighters” – including militant groups like the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), and other extremist ones operating in Soviet Russia from 1917 – 1991.

An explanatory legislative note states:

“The law provides for state recognition of the struggle for Ukrainian independence in the twentieth century and defines the legal status of participants in the struggle for Ukrainian independence in the twentieth century.”

Crimes against peace these groups committed are considered lawful – claiming they’re in compliance with the UN Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other fundamental international laws.

Historians blame OUN and UPA for at least one million Russian and Polish deaths, including many Jews.

They continued fighting Soviet Russia after WW II ended. Intellectuals and government officials were targeted.

Fascist elements have operated openly in Ukraine since Washington’s 2004 Orange Revolution.

Democratically elected Viktor Yanukovoych was ousted. Viktor Yushchenko replaced him.

Yushchenko’s last presidential act was naming Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera a Hero of Ukraine – the nation’s highest honor, given for “personal heroism and great labor achievements.”

Following months of European Parliament, Russian, Polish and Jewish organization, the award was rescinded.

In November 2014, Russia’s Supreme Court designated Ukrainian insurgent extremists terrorists – banning their activity on Russian territory.

Ukraine’s new law equates communism with Nazism.  Poroshenko signed it on Friday.

It blatantly contravenes fundamental international law. It’s part of Kiev’s thinly veiled scheme to ban regime opposition.

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“Omar Khadr at the age of fifteen was abandoned by his father and dropped into this compund with Taliban warriors. He had no choice to do whatever they wanted him to do. I recall asking Omar, “Why didn’t you run away?” And he said, “Run away to where? And I would have been killed!”…So what choice did he have? He was a child soldier in that circumstance.” –Dennis Edney

“What these comparisons convey is that Al Qaeda fighters and their senior Pakistani advisers were “saved” on the orders of Donald Rumsfeld. Meanwhile, also on the orders of the Secretary of Defense, innocent civilians who had no relationship whatsoever to the war theater were categorized as “enemy combatants”, kidnapped, interrogated and sent to Guantanamo.” [1] -Professor Michel Chossudovsky

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At long last, Omar Khadr has had a taste of freedom.

Bail was granted on April 24 by an Alberta Court. The release was granted pending the outcome of an appeal of the war crimes conviction levelled against Khadr in the US.

Omar Khadr was captured in July 2002 after the compound at which the fifteen year old was residing engaged in a firefight with US Forces. He was accused of throwing the hand grenade which fatally wounded US Army combat medic Christopher Speer.

The young Khadr was relocated to Guantanamo three months later where he was apparently tortured and interrogated. He would reside at that facility for a decade before being released based on a plea bargain, and repatriated to Canada.

The Canadian government at every step of the way has attempted to block justice for Khadr. Unlike other Western countries, Canada did not negotiate for the repatriation of one of its nationals from the notorious prison facility. Most recently, Stephen Harper’s government launched an appeal of the decision to release Khadr on bail.

Omar Khadr’s lawyer Dennis Edney appears in the first half hour of the program with facts to foil the Harper government’s character assassination attempt on his client and friend.

And while speculation abounds of the Harper government’s use of Khadr as a propaganda instrument in advance of this October’s federal election, questions have been raised about the Guantanamo facility itself. In a 2004 article, Professor Michel Chossudovsky evoked a report by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh about the evacuation of hard core Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters to Northwest Pakistan at the same time that innocent civilians were being “kidnapped, interrogated and sent to Guantanamo.”

Chossudovsky suggests that Guantanamo’s true function is not protection from evil terrorists. Guantanamo, and in fact the broader “War on Terrorism” is about manipulating public opinion into supporting a military agenda serving other diabolical aims. Professor Chossudovsky explains his position in the second half hour.

 Dennis Edney is recipient of the 2008 National Pro Bono Award and of the 2009 Human Rights Medal awarded by the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia for work that “has helped to promote and further human rights”.

Professor Michel Chossudovsky is an award-winning author, Professor of Economics (emeritus) at the University of Ottawa, Founder and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) and Editor of Global Research. He is the author of eleven books including The Globalization of Poverty and The New World Order (2003), America’s “War on Terrorism” (2005), and his most recent, The Globalization of War, America’s Long War against Humanity (2015).

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The Global Research News Hour airs every Friday at 1pm CT on CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg. The programme is also podcast at globalresearch.ca .

The  show can be heard on the Progressive Radio Network at prn.fm. Listen in every Monday at 3pm ET.

Community Radio Stations carrying the Global Research News Hour:

CFUV 101. 9 FM in Victoria. Airing Sundays from 7-8am PT.

CHLY 101.7 FM in Nanaimo, B.C – Thursdays at 1pm PT

Boston College Radio WZBC 90.3FM NEWTONS  during the Truth and Justice Radio Programming slot -Sundays at 7am ET.

Port Perry Radio in Port Perry, Ontario – Thursdays at 1pm ET

Burnaby Radio Station CJSF out of Simon Fraser University. 90.1FM to most of Greater Vancouver, from Langley to Point Grey and from the North Shore to the US Border. It is also available on 93.9 FM cable in the communities of SFU, Burnaby, New Westminister, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Surrey and Delta, in British Columbia Canada. – Tune in every Saturday at 6am.

Note:

1) Michel Chossudovsky (March 18, 2004), “Kidnapping and deporting Civilians to Guantanamo, providing a Safe-haven to Al Qaeda Fighters”; original 2004 posting at  http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO403D.html

It’s one of the world’s most repressive states – a blight on humanity, a cancer in a part of the world known for despotic regimes. 

Its human rights record is horrific by any standard. Fundamental rights don’t exist.

State terror is official policy. Democracy is strictly prohibited. Torture and physical abuse are commonplace. So are public whippings, beheadings and hangings.

Due process and judicial fairness don’t exist. Thousands of political prisoners languish in its gulag under deplorable conditions.

Abuse of power is extreme. So is massive corruption and lack of transparency. Inequality is institutionalized. Independent media don’t exist. Nor do labor rights.

Islam is the state religion. No other is tolerated. All Saudis are required by law to be Muslims. Failure to comply is considered apostasy – a capital offense.

Capital punishment is standard practice for non-violent crimes – including adultery, armed robbery, drug smuggling, kidnapping, witchcraft, sorcery, and apostasy.

Absolute monarchal rule tolerates no criticism or opposition. It’s despotic, lawless and brutal – a police state by any standard.

Riyadh is Washington’s main Arab regional ally.

The UN Human Rights Council includes 47 Member States. Many comprise a rogue’s gallery of major human rights abusers – including Saudi Arabia, America, Algeria, Ethiopia, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

Membership is apportioned regionally as follows:

African nations – 13 seats

Asia/Pacific: 13 seats

Latin America and Caribbean – 8 seats

Western Europe and other states – 7 seats

Eastern Europe – 6 seats.

Members serve for three years. They’re not eligible for immediate reelection after serving two consecutive terms.

General Assembly Res. 60/251 (April 2006) states:

“(T)he Council shall be responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind and in a fair and equal manner…”

“(T)he Council should address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations, and make recommendations thereon…”

Most often HRC mocks what it’s mandated to support. It functions as a US imperial tool – notably siding with Washington-backed takfiri terrorists waging war on sovereign Syria. Failing to condemn US-orchestrated/Saudi-led terror-bombing of Yemen.

Reports indicate Riyadh wants to chair the UN Human Rights Council (HRC). One human rights group called letting Riyadh head the HRC an “abomination, and cynical by a nation that beheads people in public squares.”

It’s like letting a serial killer become police chief or a pyromaniac being appointed fire commissioner.

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom criticized Riyadh’s human rights record – including its treatment of blogger Raif Badawi.

He was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, 10 years imprisonment and possible capital punishment –  for freely expressing his views.

Wallstrom said “(o)ne must protest against what are (punitive) medieval methods.”

Riyadh responded by refusing to issue business visas to Swedish nationals or renew current ones. It tolerates no criticism of its horrific practices – even from a high-ranking diplomat like Wallstrom.

In January she tweeted: Riyadh’s “cruel attempt to silence modern forms of expression has to be stopped.”

Independent human rights groups condemn Riyadh’s record as one of the world’s most egregious for good reason.

Human rights in the Kingdom don’t exist. Saudi Arabia is included in HRC’s Asian group. One of its member states is next in line for HRC’s chairmanship.

Reports indicate Riyadh is lobbying intensively to get it. Washington is supportive. US pressure may get other Asian nations to back what demands rejection.

Appointing it head of the human rights group would make the organization a laughing stock. Don’t bet against it happening.

ECHO readers vote ‘yes’ to joining up with Scotland

The results are in… almost three in four ECHO readers have backed Merseyside’s move to ‘New Scotland’ in our poll.

Some 73% said they would vote for Merseyside leave England to join Scotland – after we told how a petition had been launched making the extraordinary demand.

More than 12,000 people have signed the petition – on the change.org website – calling for the north of England to break free and join an independent Scotland.

‘New Scotland’ would see Liverpool, Manchester Leeds, Newcastle and every other northern community ruled from Edinburgh instead of London.

The petition – ‘Allow the north of England to secede from the UK and join Scotland’ – states: “The deliberations in Westminster are becoming increasingly irrelevant to the north of England. The northern cities feel far greater affinity with their Scottish counterparts such as Glasgow and Edinburgh than with the ideologies of the London-centric south.

“The needs and challenges of the north cannot be understood by the endless parade of old Etonions lining the front benches of the House of Commons. The north of England should join the newly independent Scotland and regain control over its own destiny.

“We, the people of the north, demand that in the event that Scotland becomes independent the border between England and the New Scotland be drawn along a line that runs between the River Dee and the mouth of The Humber.”

The petition comes against a backdrop of increased pressure for more devolution for cities in the north and an ongoing debate over the constitutional impact of the SNP winning 56 of 59 seats in Scotland in the General Election.

Copyright Liverpool Echo 2015

As a direct consequence of the international failure over many years to force Israel to declare its nuclear arsenal and to comply with the essential oversight of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – we can expect the GCC states of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as Turkey, Iran and possibly Egypt and also South Africa to now seek to acquire nuclear weapon capability from either the West or the East – from France or the U.S., or from Pakistan or Russia.

Negotiations have, in some cases, already begun. Soon our children can expect to live in a world in which they could be incinerated at any second of any day – because they will be living in a world that will no longer have the future that we enjoyed. That is the terrible consequence of Political Zionism’s mantra of ‘nuclear ambiguity’ in which successive U.S. administrations have colluded ever since Israel deliberately deceived President John F Kennedy, in 1963, in regard to its real nuclear intentions.

That is the stark reality of our world today. However, if you think that this is unnecessarily alarmist – then spend just 15 minutes researching the subject in the pages of some of the most authoritative and respected publications: the NY Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the FT, Foreign Affairs or even Wikipedia.

This information is public domain knowledge that’s far easier to ignore than to accept. Because to live in a world of imminent nuclear proliferation and the inevitable conflagration, at some point, is the stuff of nightmares except that it’s absolute reality. No point, or purpose, in buying life assurance policies if there’ll likely be no opportunity to spend the money – in a stark, irradiated, lifeless landscape. But, I admit, it’s easier not to think about a world in which any one of, say, twenty assorted democracies, dictatorships regimes and governments have nuclear weapons that can destroy us all, whoever we are and wherever we live. That is why current world leaders such as Obama, Putin, Merkel, Hollande and Xi Jinping avoid the subject – whilst covertly increasing, of course, their own nuclear stockpiles.

To categorise it as MAD, is certainly correct. There is only one possible remedy to ensure our safety and that would be to declare the entire Middle East –including both Israel and Iran – to be a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone and to ensure its strict compliance.

But the U.S. Congress in concert with AIPAC will never allow that – which is why the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act was so enthusiastically passed by the U.S. Senate last week.

Notes:

http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/50/ares50-73.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/14/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-promises-to-match-iran-in-nuclear-capability.html?_r=0

http://fas.org/news/egypt/981125-egypt.htm

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee announced his plans to run for president on Tuesday, May 5. During his speech, the Republican attempted to criticize current president Barack Obama and squandered hope of gaining Native American support in the 2016 election.

“When I hear our current president say he wants Christians to get off their high horse so we can make nice with radical jihadists, I wonder if he can watch a western from the ’50s and be able to figure out who the good guys and the bad guys really are,” stated the politician, who was once a Southern Baptist pastor.

This absurd comment came in reference to a speech made by Obama at this year’s National Prayer Breakfast. Whilst speaking about Islamic terrorism, the president reminded the audience that most, if not all, religions have dark aspects of their history.

“And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.”

Huckabee seems to feel that Obama’s acknowledgement of the atrocities that founded our country is unpatriotic, as evidenced by his stance on outdated cowboy and Indian movies. This disjointed statement stands out as especially ridiculous in light of criticism these tropes have garnered recently in response to Adam Sandler’s disrespectful film script.

The conservative politician went on to say, “I commit this to you today, I will never, ever apologize for America–ever.”

Sometimes, an apology on the part of powerful entities such as the United States is in order. Clearly, this presidential candidate’s pride prevents him from admitting to past and present American faults.

At least a dozen individuals have come forward as Republican candidates for 2016’s presidential election, and Huckabee is not the first to make discriminatory propositions towards the Native population.

Senator Rand Paul pushed for the abolishment of the Bureau of Indian Affairs when he took office in 2011, but has yet to speak out about taking such action if he becomes president.

“Sadly, this is what people have come to expect from GOP candidates who constantly push policies and views that are harmful to Americans. Mike Huckabee’s offensive, outdated, and divisive social views have no place in the 21st century,” commented Democratic National Committee spokesperson Eric Walker to Indian Country Today Media Network.

No politician of any party affiliation is perfect, but candidates who take blatant discriminatory jabs at entire demographics while expressing a desire to represent the country as a whole must be considered carefully. While we have yet to reach the thick of the campaign trail, it is vital to take note of these biases now.

The Lakota People’s Law Project is appalled by this display of ignorance from Mike Huckabee. As a non-profit organization, we do not endorse or discredit any political candidate. As we have been working to stand behind Native Americans and their sovereignty, we hope they will be considered appropriately in the political arena.

Copyright Lakota Law Project, 2015

Two days ago there was some rejoicing and much surprise when the “Warren-faction” of Senate liberals turned against Obama, and failed to vote for a fast-track approval of the TPP. That surprise lasted for about 48 hours when moments ago, in a 65-33 vote, the Senate finally advanced a measure allowing Obama to expedite approval of trade agreements, a bill with bipartisan support in that chamber which however according to Bloomberg may run into strong opposition from House Democrats.

The vote followed separate votes sought by Democrats to pass proposals curbing currency manipulation and boosting imports from sub-Saharan Africa. The Senate plans to consider amendments to the fast-track trade proposal next week.

As previously reported, a rebellion Tuesday among Senate Democrats seeking the currency provision previews what may be fiercer battle ahead between Democrats and House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican.

“There’s a broad feeling we have to do something against China” on currency manipulation, New York Senator Charles Schumer, the chamber’s third-ranking Democrat, told reporters before the vote on advancing the trade bill. He called the currency measure “a shot across China’s bow that we’re not going to just sit there and do nothing.”

Bloomberg reports that the fast-track bill would allow Obama to submit trade agreements to Congress for an up-or-down vote without amendments. He hopes to complete a 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership and send it for fast-track approval.

On Tuesday, Democrats blocked Republicans from advancing the fast-track bill without also voting on the currency measure. Many Democrats remain stung by the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, which is blamed by labor unions for a decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs.

The trade bill, H.R. 1314, would give Obama and the next president fast-track powers for six years.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said Thursday the agreement to separate the two measures from the broader trade bill was a sensible plan.

“I’d like to thank the president too,” McConnell said. “No, you’re not hearing things. President Obama has done his country a service by taking on his base and pushing back on some of the more ridiculous rhetoric we’ve heard.

And in other news, just as the TPP fast-track news hit, perpetual warmonger and neocon John McCain announced that as part of a $613.2 billion Defense Authorization Bill, approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee, the US just added funds for 12 more F/A-18 fighter jets. More importantly the Bill authorizes sending arms to Ukraine.

More details from Bloomberg:

Bill has $523b in base funding, $90.2b in war funds, Reed says.

Reed says he voted against bill on “off-budget gimmick” in which Republicans transferred extra funds from base budget to overseas contingency operations to avoid budget controls.

Amendment to eliminate war funding account rejected, cmte Chairman John McCain says.

Bill would preserve A-10 close-air combat plane; authorizes arms to Ukraine, McCain says.

Cmte approves more for F-35, F-18 fighters, McCain says; bill authorizes adding 6 F-35B fighters.

Bill requires approval of Guantanamo closing plan, he says. Presidential veto of bill would be “very serious step”: McCain.

In other words, since the Fed can’t print trade, either the world will trade with the US voluntarily… or it will be forced to do so. And if that fails, there is always the Ukraine war escalation option.

Poroshenko awaits Obama’s OK to launch it. 

“We will fight to the last drop of blood,” he blustered.

Ukraine is a US-installed fascist police state. Fundamental democratic rights are prohibited – including a free and open media.

On Thursday, Ukrainian security forces shut down Odessa’s Timer independent online news service. Its editor-in-chief, Yuri Tkachov, three journalists and web site administrator were arrested.

They’ll likely be charged with “conspiracy to encroach on Ukraine’s territorial integrity and inviolability” for reporting hard truths Kiev wants suppressed.

Daily provocations against Donbass continue. Donetsk People’s Republic military spokesman Eduard Basurin said they’re more frequent than any time since Minsk II in February.

In the last 24 hours alone, Kiev forces committed 43 ceasefire violations, he said.

Tanks, artillery, mortars and other weapons targeted Donetsk airport, Volvo center, Oktyabrskaya mine, Oktyabrskiy settlement, Shirokino, Gorlovka, Spartak, Zhabichevo, Saichenko, Kalinovka, Krasnyi Oktyabr, Zheleznaya Balka, Novaya Maryevka and Grirorovka.

According to Basurin, “(t)he Ukrainian side continues to scale up heavy weapons and munitions in the zone of the so-called anti-terrorist operation (against Donbass democrats).”

“DPR reconnaissance has reported movement of Uragan and Grad multiple rocket launch systems, infantry combat vehicles, self-propelled artillery units towards the engagement line.”

“Also, we have information about Ukraine’s deployment of additional field depots, which, according to our estimates, are holding more than 2,000 tons of munitions.”

On Wednesday, State Department Jeff Rathke lied blaming freedom fighters for multiple daily Kiev Minsk violations, saying:

“(S)eparatists on a daily basis continue to breach the Minsk agreement through their attacks.”

Blaming victims is longstanding US policy. So is serial lying.

On May 15, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland arrived in Kiev – officially “to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues.”

In fact, to review plans for renewed aggression on Donbass. She was Obama’s point person in  replacing Ukraine’s democratically elected government with overt Nazis assuming high regime positions.

A Final Comment

The 1985 song “We Are the World” was written, recorded and sung to raise funds for starving Africans.

On May 13, NATO foreign ministers disgracefully sang it at an Alliance meeting in Turkey – an alarming PR stunt, suggesting imperial aggression is morally right.

Ukrainian troops have set up field depots holding up to 2,000 tons of munitions along the line of engagement with the DPR.

Moreover, DPR reconnaissance has reported movement of Uragan and Grad multiple rocket launch systems, infantry combat vehicles, self-propelled artillery units towards the engagement line, therefore Kiev’s side continues to scale up heavy weapons and munitions in the zone of conflict.

.

More provocations from Ukrainian troops are being reported around the Donetsk airport after Ukrainian Self-styled President Petro Poroshenko announced plans to seize the Donetsk airport, Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the defense ministry of the DPR said on Thursday. “Following Poroshenko’s pronouncements, provocations have become more frequent, shelling of Gorlovka resumed after a lull since February. Poroshenko’s words are meant to continue escalation,” Basurin stated. On May 11, Kiev’s president Petro announced plans to take the Donetsk airport under Kiev’s control. The question arises: has he ever heard about Minsk agreements?

Western donors are in no hurry to help residents of Donetsk and Lugansk regions while their efforts in other areas are much more efficacious, Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy for the supremacy of law and human rights said on Thursday at a session of a committee for public support to the population of southeastern Ukraine that was hosted by the Federation Council, the upper house of Russian parliament. “Frankly speaking, Western donors’ efforts are much more productive along other geographic azimuths,” he emphasized.

Russian battle robots armed with machine-guns, cannons and anti-tank missile launchers have undergone successful field trials, destroying all designated targets – including armored vehicles – at a maximum range, according to military sources. As compared to previous trials which tested robots individually, this time remotely controlled robots operated together as a military unit. The exercise included engineering reconnaissance and long-rage firing tests of machine guns and automatic cannons installed on a robotic chassis of Uran family. Last year the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed its commitment to developing remote controlled and robotic military systems which by 2025 could replace up to a third of all military hardware.

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Serious concerns have been raised by experts and environmentalists over the ‘shocking’ way spent nuclear fuel is being stored at Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, just 200km away from the front line in Donbass.

More than 3,000 spent nuclear fuel rods are being stored in the open air in mental casks close to the perimeter fence at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in conditions that have shocked environmentalists, The Guardian reports.

Nuclear experts say the waste should have another secondary containment structure, such as a building with a roof.

“With a war around the corner, it is shocking that the spent fuel rod containers are standing under the open sky, with just a metal gate and some security guards waltzing up and down for protection. It is unheard of when, in Germany, interim storage operators have been ordered by the court to terror-proof their casks with roofs and reinforced walls,” Patricia Lorenz, a Friends of the Earth nuclear spokeswoman who visited the plant on a fact-finding mission, told the paper.

Although the front line is for now too far away from the nuclear plant to be at any risk, the potential consequences of the conflict engulfing the power station is major worry to locals.

The memory of the Chernobyl explosion in the north of Ukraine 30 years ago, which poisoned vast tracts of land, is still fresh in many people’s minds.

“Given the current state of warfare, I cannot say what could be done to completely protect installations from attack, except to build them on Mars,” said Sergiy Bozhko , the chairman of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU).

The current Zaporizhia nuclear fuel storage unit was built to a US design and did involve testing to withstand a terrorist attack.

However a dry storage container with a bomb resilient roof and contained ventilation system would offer much greater protection.

However this would be impossible to build on the current site and it would have to be constructed somewhere else nearby and then all the nuclear casks would have to be moved inside at even greater expense.

“It is obvious that if you do not have an array of dry cast [interim] stores with secondary containment around it, then that will have a greater risk of release of radioactive material,”said Antony Froggatt, a senior research fellow and European nuclear specialist at Chatham House, London.

Although sources at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) told The Guardian that any request for funding for such a structure would be seriously considered. The bank has already made 300 million euros available to extend the lifespan of Ukraine’s ageing nuclear plants.

Since the conflict in Donbass has severely limited the supply of Russian gas, Ukraine’s reliance on its 15 Soviet-era reactors has increased by 10 percent; the country now gets 60 percent of its energy from nuclear power.

Nuclear energy is one area where Ukraine and Russia still cooperate, and Ukraine still depends almost entirely on Russia’s Rosatom for enriched uranium.

But in the long term Ukraine aims to diversify its nuclear fuel contract between the US company Westinghouse and European companies as well as Rosatom.

But deals with Westinghouse and the French company Areva are still sketchy and market diversification will be slow.

It’s the most extremist in Israel’s history. It’s not a legitimate government of, by and for all Israelis equitably. It’s polar opposite.

Netanyahu coalition members were sworn in Thursday night – barely after a raucous, chaotic Knesset session by a vote of 61 – 59.

His second in command in Likud, MK Gilad Erdan, refused a cabinet post as public security minister. He demanded the foreign ministry.

MK Avi Dichter refused to become deputy defense minister in charge of home front security. Thursday’s session featured constant heckling.

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog called the new regime “a circus.” He turned down the foreign ministry portfolio as enticement to join a coalition he wanted no part of. He ranted against Netanyahu, saying:

“This is not the government the people wanted,” he said. “Your partners swindled you. What you created was a circus.”

“Your way is not my way…No decent leader would join your circus.”

“This is a government without vision, without a working plan, without hope.”

Netanyahu assumed the foreign ministry portfolio himself – wanting it a bargaining chip to attract another coalition member, so far no takers.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely will run the ministry Netanyahu formally heads. Both fundamentally oppose Palestinian statehood.

Netanyahu ludicrously said his new regime would pursue peace. Opposition MKs jeered him in response.

Palestinian MKs played a tape of Netanyahu complaining about the Arab electoral turnout. They heckled him and were expelled from the session. Free expression is not an Israeli long suit – even for parliamentarians.

Joint (Arab) List leader Ayman Odeh said “(a) black flag of racism flies over this government.” He called it disastrous for Palestinians.

Coalition ministers include Netanyahu as prime minister as well as foreign affairs and communications minister.

Likud’s Moshe Ya’alon remains defense minister. Kulanu party’s Moshe Kahlon is new finance minister.

Jewish Home party’s Naftali Bennett becomes education minister. Earlier he was Netanyahu’s economy minister.

Jewish Home’s Ayelet Shaked is new justice minister. A previous article called her one of many extremist lunatics influencing Israeli policy.

She openly supports mass slaughtering Palestinians – declaring them all state enemies. She believes genocidal Israeli wars are morally right. Other coalition members share her extremism.

Likud’s Yisrael Katz is new intelligence minister. Earlier he was transportation minister.

Likud’s Silvan becomes interior minister and deputy prime minister. He’s a former finance and foreign minister.

United Torah Judaism’s Yaakov Litzman is new health minister. Kulanu’s Yoav Galant is construction and housing minister. He’s a retired high-ranking IDF general.

Shas’ Aryeh Deri is new economy minister and development of the Negev minister. Earlier he was imprisoned for corruption and breach of trust charges.

Likud’s Yuval Steinitz becomes energy and infrastructures minister. He’s a former finance minister.

Likud’s Ze’eve Elkin is absorption minister and strategic affairs minister. He’s a former deputy foreign minister.

Likud’s Danny Danon is new science and technology minister. He’s a former deputy defense minister.

Jewish Home’s Uri Ariel becomes agriculture minister. He’s an ultranationalist former construction and housing minister.

Kulanu’s Avi Gabai is environmental protection minister. He’s a former corporate CEO.

Likud’s Miri Regev is new culture and sports minister. She’s a former chief military censor.

Likud’s Gila Gamliel is gender equality, minorities and senior citizens minister. She’s a former deputy Knesset speaker.

Shas’ David Azoulay is new religious affairs minister. He’s a former deputy interior minister.

Likud’s Benny Begin (Irgun terrorist/Likud founder Menachem Begin’s son) becomes minister without portfolio.

Likud’s Haim Katz is welfare minister. Likud’s Yariv Levin becomes public security and tourism minister. Likud’s Ofir Akunis is minister without portfolio.

Netanyahu’s ruling coalition includes a rogue’s gallery hate-mongering racist extremists, militant fascists, and religious fundamentalist zealots.

Haaretz editors blasted it saying it’s “devoid” of anything “positive…We can only hope the new government will not last long.”

Last month Islamist insurgents including al Qaeda’s wing in Syria, Nusra Front, captured the town of Jisr al-Shughour in Syria’s Idlib province, edging closer to the government-held heartland of Latakia along the coast. In turn, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said army setbacks were part of normal warfare. Battles have been raging around the hospital on the southwestern outskirts of Jisr al-Shughour, where army forces and allied fighters have been holed up since the extremists’ offensive began. Government forces have endured a series of setbacks on the battlefield and Islamist fighters have edged closer to Assad’s stronghold in the coastal areas.

–

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is actively supporting a hardline coalition of Islamist rebels against Bashar al-Assad’s regime that includes al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria. The country is focusing its backing on the combined Jaish al-Fatah, or the Army of Conquest, a command structure for the jihadist groups in Syria that includes Jabhat al-Nusra, an extremist rival to Islamict State which shares many of its aspirations for a fundamentalist caliphate. It threatens to trump Washington’s own attempt to train so-called “pro-Western opposition fighters”, announced by President Barack Obama a year ago but finally launched only last week. The number of fighters involved is small and, crucially, the State Department insists that they would take the field against Isis and not against the regime. However, official Washington’s attitude has to be examined apart from its real interests. Many refer arising of terroristic entities such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State with US’s activity in the region.

The Army of Conquest is the coalition, whose formation was announced in March, comprises a range of mostly jihadist and Islamist groups including Al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, Jund al-Aqsa and the powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham. Its command center is established in Idlib, northern Syria. Turkish officials admit giving logistical and intelligence support to the command headquarters. Although they deny giving direct help to al-Nusra, they acknowledge that the group would be beneficiaries. Turkish officials claim that bolstering Ahrar al-Sham will weaken the influence of al-Nusra. Material support – arms and money – have been coming from the Saudis, say rebels and officials.

Syria will face greater instability and control by extremist groups as soon as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s momentum in fighting off rebel groups is decreased. U.S. security officials attribute the gains of militants in part to their wide battleground experience and ability to use advanced tactics. There are also marks that extremists have become more coherent in their organization. The U.S. is continuing to argue that it supports only moderate rebels. Meanwhile, U.S. officials pointed out that they still had trouble identifying moderate partners, while al Qaeda affiliate al Nusra and Islamic State were tried to take advantage of any cracks in the government’s control. In account of these facts, question arises. If US has troubles with identifying ‘moderate rebel groups’ and its training of “pro-Western opposition fighters” is failed, which entities is U.S. supporting now?

The Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov met his U.S. counterpart John Kerry, on Tuesday, in the Russian city of Sochi. Addressing the media after the talks, both diplomats stressed that they were on common ground with regards to many issues, including the situation in Syria and the threat of Islamic State terrorists in the region, as well as the Iranian nuclear deal. They also discussed the developing conflict in Yemen. The Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak added that the discussion between the ministers and President Putin will help define priorities and outline a future course in the relations between the two countries.

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Britain’s Royal Air Force carried out 301 Reaper drone missions over Iraq between the start of UK operations against Isis last September and the end of March, firing a total of 102 Hellfire missiles on 87 separate occasions, according to new Ministry of Defence figures.

The numbers were obtained by the Drone Wars UK organisation, which also reveals today that RAF Tornados carried out 115 strikes in Iraq during the same period.

The figures suggest most drone missions have been for reconnaissance flights – gathering intelligence about ISIS positions in Iraq. Of the 184 Reaper missions that took place in Iraq between January and March this year, only 32, or 17%, involved drones firing weapons. On those missions the drones fired two missiles on average.

Britain joined the US-led international coalition against ISIS after a vote in Parliament at the end of last September. RAF drones fired their first weapon over Iraq just weeks later in October.

The MoD does not reveal any further details about these missions, including who or what may have been targeted or casualty rates.

The RAF has long maintained that it uses Reaper drones primarily for reconnaissance and surveillance, and that it fires weapons only rarely. In total the RAF fired weapons from Tornado bombers and Reaper drones on 202 occasions between September and March. Of those, drones were responsible for 43% of the attacks, or 87. Tornados struck 115 times.

The UK is one of nine countries bombing Iraq. The others are the US, France, Belgium, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Jordan and the Netherlands. In total this coalition carried out approximately 2,154 air strikes between September and April, according to the website Air Wars which is tracking the bombing campaign.

The MoD figures obtained by Drone Wars UK today also show how many RAF drone missions have flown over sovereign Syrian airspace as part of the fight against ISIS.

All of these sorties have been purely for reconnaissance, according to the MoD, because the RAF does not have Parliamentary permission to engage its weapons in Syria.

The release of the figures came just days after Drone Wars’s Chris Cole reflected on six months of UK drone strikes against ISIS in a recording of the Bureau’s latest podcast.

Speaking to Owen Bennett-Jones before the MoD data release, Cole’s assessment that there had been around 100 UK drone strikes in Iraq by early May tallied with the total arrived at using the official figures. He said both Tornados and Reapers have been hitting the same targets: ISIS positions, vehicles and checkpoints.

There is not enough information available to determine how many, if any, of the 350-400 civilians estimated to have been killed in airstrikes in Iraq and Syria were the result of British strikes, he added.

The Reapers have also flown 50 missions over Syria. The MoD has said that intelligence and surveillance from the Reaper missions is being passed on to the military coalition to undertake strikes, Cole said. He described the Government’s claim that these missions did not amount to military action as “nonsense.”

Cole also noted that since UK forces withdrew from Afghanistan last October, the MoD has appeared more willing to disclose information about British drone strikes there. Overall the MoD claims that there were only four civilian deaths in the roughly 400 drone strikes it carried out there, a casualty rate Cole described as “possible of course but… extremely unlikely.”

Follow our drones team Owen Bennett-Jones, Abigail Fielding-Smith and Jack Serle on Twitter.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft flew by the dwarf planet Ceres this week. Located between Mars and Jupiter,  Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt.

Dawn took some stunning pictures.  NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory made an animation from the images:

Then ZLD zeroed in on the bright spots so we could get a good look:

Scientists are still trying to figure out what’s causing the bright spots … theories being floated are ice, salt, etc.

What do you think the bright spots are: Ice? Salt? Alien disco party? Death Star being powered up?

Update: The new flyby images are making scientists lean towards plain old water ice (as opposed to nastier frozen substances which have been found on other planets).

Article originally appeared on WhoWhatWhy

Every four years the corporate media stages a bells-and-whistles circus around the Presidential election. We are told that choosing the “most powerful person in the world” is a solemn duty of every citizen. But aside from major speeches and photo ops, the day-to-day actions of the President in between elections attract little attention.

This is especially true when it comes to those dry-sounding but often immensely important documents known as Executive Orders.

Take President Obama’s recent signing of Executive Order 13691—“Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade.” The title certainly sounds impressive and unobjectionable: Who could be against “sustainability”? The Order does indeed call for environmentally-sound energy and water use, which is all to the good. And it calls for the purchase of sustainable electronics, which also sounds good.

But buried in its language is a serious weakening of efforts to ensure that the federal government buys electronic gadgets—computers, printers, cell phones and the like—that do minimal damage to the environment. In watering down this mandate, President Obama has apparently bowed to industry demands, despite a long-standing commitment to the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program, established in 1993.

A tool used to adhere to the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program is the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). Developed by the nonprofit Green Electronics Council with a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPEAT has been relied on since 2006. It uses a global green-rating system, and has been used by buyers for the federal agencies and state governments, as well as environmentally conscious universities, hospitals and many private companies.

Obama’s recent Order dumps the previous requirement that 95 percent of all electronics purchased by federal agencies be registered and rated by EPEAT; a classic example of Washington undermining its own program.

Who stands to gain from this anti-sustainability action? Look no further than that “must-have” gadget in your pocket.

The electronics industry is “one of the least sustainable sectors on the planet,” according to theElectronics TakeBack Coalition. Manufacturing computers and cell phones gobble up enormous quantities of energy, minerals, water and hazardous chemicals.

And by constantly exhorting consumers to replace their “old” gadgets with an endless stream of updated versions, “manufacturers guarantee an astonishing churn of resources unlike any other sector,” the coalition said.

“The decision to drop the EPEAT requirement was an extremely unfortunate decision,” Barbara Kyle, national coordinator of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, told WhoWhatWhy. “Dropping a strong green electronic standard that has been supported by the government, industry and conservationists is exactly the wrong direction to go.”

In a letter written to Federal Environmental Executive Kate Brandt, the coalition has specifically asked that the EPEAT program be revived.

Representatives of the Electronic Take Back Coalition have also met face to face with Brandt and aides. “They listened to us, but it’s not clear what they’re going to do,” said Kyle.

Brandt’s key concern, said Kyle, was that the government should use government standards. Under the President’s Order, agencies can use “eco standards” developed by the Environmental Protection Agency or the far less demanding “voluntary consensus” guidelines recommended by Brandt’s own umbrella organization, the Office of Management and Budget, which sustainability activists fear are heavily influenced by industry.

With the stroke of a pen, Obama revoked nearly 10 years of federal commitment to use environmentally-rated electronics. Photo credit: The White House

EPEAT’s ratings are far more sophisticated than either EPA or OMB standards, because EPEAT takes into account 52 different criteria, including the energy efficiency of a product, use of hazardous chemicals in the product, and design for recyclability.

Other future standards or recommendations may include “social” issues by taking into account labor practices and worker health and safety. These factors are particularly pertinent in an industry that outsources much of its work to developing nations, where employees are subjected to long hours working with hazardous chemicals.

The Green Electronics Council hopes that federal buyers will continue to follow its stricter standards even though they’re no longer required to do so. Order 13691 “in no way precludes federal purchasers from using EPEAT to identify environmentally preferable electronics,” Robert Frisbee, CEO of the council, pointed out to WhoWhatWhy.

Nevertheless, dropping the EPEAT mandate clearly threatens the momentum of the federal sustainability effort that the President’s Executive Order claims to promote.

Is there something wrong with this (electronic) picture? It will be interesting to see what federal purchasers do in the future—voluntarily.

Panorama attribution: nejohnson2 / Flickr / baselactionnetwork / Fickr / China: baselactionnetwork / Fickr

On March 26, US-orchestrated/Saudi-led terror-bombing began – supplemented by imported takfiri death squad attacks.

Civilians are prime targets. Obama is systematically destroying Yemen – the way Washington ravaged Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria.

Deliberately targeted were civilian neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, power facilities, refugee camps, food depositories, vital infrastructure and other nonmilitary targets.

Riyadh’s so-called 5-day ceasefire (beginning Tuesday) continues being punctuated by terror-bombings and ground attacks.

According to Shiite News, Houthi Ansarullah Brig. General Sharaf Luqman warned against further violations. Saying they’ll be met with strong “determination.”

“We the armed forces, and the popular committees, and Ansarullah, announce our commitment to this ceasefire,” Luqman stressed.

Minutes after it began, “acts of aggression after aggression” followed.

“Right now you (can hear) the anti-aircraft firing and the Saudi firing in the sky over the capital (Sanaa) and in all of the provinces,” Luqman explained.

On Thursday, a Saudi helicopter gunship struck a truck in northern Yemen, killing nine people.

Riyadh, complicit with Washington, willfully breached ceasefire terms. Ansarullah fighters are blamed for their crimes.

In normal times, Yemenis endure enormous hardships. Now they’re catastrophic.

On orders from Washington, Yemen is being terror-bombed to rubble. It’s economy is being systematically destroyed.

The Middle East Eye (MEE) is a UK-based independent online news service. It calls its agenda “led by events, not political leanings.”

It published a new report on Yemeni crisis conditions titled “Paint thinner and donkey carts: Resource scarcity in war-torn Yemen.”

Saying Yemenis seek alternative ways to survive. They’re “(u)sing phone lines to power lamps, paint-thinner to run motorbikes, and donkey carts” for transportation.

Power cuts, food and water shortages, as well as lack of fuel and medical supplies create horrific conditions.

Survival depends on improvising any way possible. “Majed al-Sharjabi, a 42-year-old doctor, had been using petrol to run a generator in his home until the coalition’s naval blockade, which prevents fuel ships from docking, sent petrol prices soaring,” said MEE.

He switched to propane until its price tripled. He gave up his generator and bought a Chinese-made solar panel.

It’s “not the best but it works for me,” he said. “I can charge my computer and the cell phones of my neighbors.”

“If it’s a bright day, I can power the television for an hour and find out about how much of my country has been destroyed.”

Nasri Abobaker uses a 1.5 volt battery to charge his phone. It cost $1. He built an adapter, he said. “Now I can power one lamp from it and it’s free.”

Ayman al-Dhobhani earns $9 a day transporting people around Sanaa. He can’t afford fuel. He uses paint thinner instead.

In the last week, the price of 1.5 liters of paint thinner quadrupled – from $2 to $8.

Cooking gas is unavailable. Um Naif, a mother of three, uses cardboard and firewood – “foraged from trees and garbage around her house.”

“Time has toughened us,” she said. Life is hard for all Yemenis. Hani Bakhtan can’t afford propane.

She uses an improvised stove metal bucket “crammed with sawdust and overlaid with clay.” One bottle of sawdust cost $5 and lasts a week, she said.

Aid organizations use donkeys to distribute supplies. National center for freedoms and development manager Salah al-Homaidi said “(w)e’re going back a century” – maybe two before Obama’s aggression ends.

With the jury’s verdict now in sentencing an innocent man to death, the US justice system is sinking ever lower in its moral decay. So many giant holes in the prosecution’s case were simply ignored. Photos of the shredded backpacks allegedly containing the bombs never matched the backpacks of the Tsarnaev brothers. But the fact that they did match a number of Kraft International private security contractors photographed at the scene meant nothing.

When evidence of a staged “realistic” enacted event complete with role actors and stagehand direction, fake bombs and fake blood, pre-marathon announcements of a “bomb drill” confirmed by a public notice in the Boston Globe, and no real evidence that either Tsarnaev brother committed a crime as much as admitted by the feds, there is absolutely no justice left in America today! 

The very actors seen on video walking around uninjured immediately after the fake bombs detonated are seen many months later showing up at court as fake witnesses brandishing fake injuries. If this innocent US citizen can be framed, found guilty prior to even the fake show trial and then be put to death by a fascist totalitarian police state government, then the stage is being set for any of us US citizens to be next. Below is the original article detailing this gross travesty of justice posted on GR on April 12th, 2015.

Despite Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleading not guilty to the 30 counts (17 carrying the death penalty) he was charged within a week after the April 15^th bombings last year, his lead defense attorney Judy Clark several days ago conceded to the jury that her client was guilty in her closing argument. Apparently blaming the dead brother whose due process was denied became Dzhokhar’s only defense strategy. The defense team insisted that he was coerced and bullied by his older brother into committing alleged acts of terrorism. Considering no real solid proof other than photos placing Dzhokhar and older brother Tamerlan both wearing backpacks at the scene of the crime where the two bombs exploded was even presented at the trial, no justice for either the Tsarnaevs nor the many victims can possibly come from this guilty verdict.

If the purpose of the US judicial system in criminal trials is to ensure that all factual evidence surrounding an alleged crime or crimes be accurately and fairly presented so that the jurors can properly assess the best semblance of the truth as presented by both prosecution and defense in order for the jury to adjudicate and decide a defendant’s true guilt or innocence, this trial was a complete travesty of justice.

And if a basic tenet of the justice system in the United States holds that a defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty, then again this verdict outcome is an obscene farce and a shameful joke exposing America’s justice system for its gross injustice. Just as the 9/11 commission failed to adequately address and answer dozens of questions that its official narrative failed to deliver, and years earlier the Warren Commission failed JFK and America, so does the prosecution’s case of evidence of Tsarnaev’s guilt fail to be convincing, much less provide definitive and unequivocal proof that the 21-year old Chechen American with his brother committed the Boston Marathon crimes.

And the prime reason why is that so much of the testimony and so called evidence was based on the FBI and local law enforcement’s dishonest versions of events that were based near exclusively on the government’s one star witness’s faulty, changeable, non-credible accounting of events. The identity of this sole witness that even through the trial was never revealed, testified in court by his fake name “Danny.” Later it was learned that Danny’s real name was Dun Meng. A Chinese national finishing his masters at Northeastern University in engineering, during his alleged carjacking, Meng claimed that the deceased brother Tamerlan confessed that he and his younger brother were responsible for both the Marathon bombings as well as the murder of the MIT campus policeman.

Throughout his trial testimony, the key witness maintained constant eye contact with what seemed almost like his handler, Northeastern University criminology professor James Fox. Fox clearly acted as Meng’s coach and gatekeeper ensuring that Fox would be present in a tentative interview with WhoWhatWhy journalist Russ Baker though it turned out Fox made sure it never happened.

In a television interview with the immigrant gas station attendant that Meng ran to when he escaped, it was Fox once again guarding his henhouse, making sure the attendant stayed on script, an odd role for a criminology professor. But in a case where the entire story was badly scripted by the feds, necessitating absolute control over all outgoing information to the public, Professor Fox was merely playing his part. And that part also included state propagandist. Samplings from articles he wrote for the Boston Globe, starting with his response to the difficulty of finding a cemetery that would accept Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s body, he wrote:

I truly understand and appreciate why many folks want nothing to do with the corpse of a man who apparently hated America and our way of life… If and when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were scheduled to die, his name and image would be plastered all over the news, further increasing his undeserved celebrity in the minds of those on the political fringe who view our government as evil and corrupt… The bombing seems to have been an attack against American life, not specifically American lives. Those killed and injured were unfortunate surrogates of the intended target: America and the freedoms we enjoy.

When the strength of the state’s evidence to convict and execute a man relies solely on one incognito witness whose tightly controlled testimony repeatedly kept changing depending on whom he talked to, how can a guilty verdict be considered legitimate or fair? Virtually the entire guilt or innocence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev rested on what this one alleged witness claimed, yet he kept changing his story on numerous occasions despite his gatekeeper’s best intentions.

The other so called incriminating evidence used against Dzhokhar was a bogus, totally unbelievable written confession that he is purported to have written in the dark on the inside wall of the boat he was hiding out in. Dzhokhar was supposedly laying there nearly bleeding to death from the alleged gunshot exchange with police a few hours earlier. Yet on video footage the young man is seen emerging unassisted from the boat appearing bloodless and uninjured only to be admitted minutes later to the emergency hospital room in critical condition suffering from a deeply sliced neck wound that prevented him from speaking for weeks. How did that happen while in police custody? And that came after a swarm of police shot a slew of bullet holes into the boat while Tsarnaev supposedly lay there gravely injured.

Just as the French authorities made sure that no prisoners were allowed to be taken alive in the alleged Hebdo Paris crime spree in January, nor in Osama bin Laden’s alleged execution in Pakistan in 2011, nor in the JFK assassination, that barrage of gunfire into that boat by FBI and/or local police was also intended to kill the only suspect. That way the government’s complicity, criminal involvement and subsequent cover-up would have conveniently been eliminated – wiped clean of any messy complications in the form of a suspect trial and the truth inadvertently leaking out. So the US government proceeds with a pseudo-trial that kept the defendant silent and unable to ever present his side of the story. In effect, he may as well have been silenced by the bullets intended to kill him.

Another of the dozens of discrepancies in this case is over how and when older brother Tamerlan actually died. A series of photos of a naked and handcuffed Tamerlan were taken as the police placed him into custody and inside a patrol car. Both CNN and the Boston Globe reported that Tamerlan was alive in police custody. Yet the feds’ official line was that after the brothers robbed a 7-Eleven, Tamerlan was killed in the Watertown shootout with the police while Dzhokhar backed the car over him as he made his temporary getaway. It can only be one or the other. The photos don’t lie. Cops do.

For so many incredulous inconsistencies to actually be accepted as convincing “evidence” while so many discrepant facts directly contradict state evidence, and then the “no questions asked” defense and mainstream media throughout the trial passively swallowing it hook, line and sinker in its rush to convict Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (trial being over in less than a month with 95 witnesses) is utterly preposterous and again, a complete and total miscarriage of justice. For nearly two years all the potential defense witnesses were constantly harassed, deported, jailed, and even killed, thus, virtually silencing any chance of a fair defense for Dzhokhar.

But then the propaganda lies built into this case from the start were designed to convict the brothers as the patsy fall guys all along. Going back to the JFK assassination and Lee Harvey Oswald, every false flag operation has its unwitting stooges who are used by the feds as props to take the sole blame. From President Obama to the FBI to their propagandist presstitutes, they were all publicly weighing in their guilty verdicts no sooner than the release of the photos that within days of the bombings identified the two brothers as the only prime suspects, thus prejudicing the entire case, effectively swaying Americans into believing that the one suspect still alive was guilty long before his trial ever began.

And we know based on both Obama and the FBI’s track records that they both are constantly lying through their teeth and obviously cannot be trusted.  The overwhelming majority of American citizens per last August’s CNN poll, an all-time high of 87%, of Americans simply do not trust their own government, knowing that they are constantly being lied to every day. And with so many blatant holes in the state’s case, anyone half aware and informed of what’s been allowed to go down in the Boston Marathon bombings case would be near 100% certain that the government is once again producing an over-the-top false narrative designed to hide its own criminality. But then the US federal government’s become a militarized dictatorship, part of an international crime cabal that uses state propaganda as effectively as the Nazis ever did.

All kinds of unexplained anomalies are rampant throughout this case. A number of paid mercenaries from Craft International, a paramilitary private security contractor out of Texas (not unlike notorious Blackwater/aka Xe/aka Academi) were also spotted in photos wearing those same black colored government-issued-like backpacks. The question of whether any of them laid their backpack and its contents on the ground never quite came up in the trial.

Apparently these guys were part of a Homeland Security training exercise that just happened to be training at the exact same time and place as the so called terrorists on that Boston Marathon day. Think about those odds, kind of like America’s entire national air defense on 9/11 conveniently being absent, purposely diverted to training exercises in the Atlantic just so the 9/11 false flag could be executed as planned. In Boston the unmistakable heavy presence of the military and special ops personnel assembled en-masse instantly on the scene after the marathon explosions is yet another giveaway indicating that the feds had something if not everything to do with this tragedy.

Clearly it was a training exercise alright, Bostonians was used as a guinea pig litmus test for assessing how a large US urban population of over a million people would react to a first practice, simulation dry-run of martial law in America, conveniently prepping us for what’s to come. The 2012 National Defense Authorization Act upheld by the US Supreme Court a year ago now permits the US military to invade our homes without warrant, arrest us without charges, and imprison us indefinitely without trial, legal representation or due process. After the marathon bombings the feds’ stand down order issued over an expansive, densely populated metropolitan area to remain in their homes while a massive police state-army dressed and armed for war against its own people without warrants entered thousands of homes with automatic weapons drawn in the largest, monster-scale manhunt in US history searching for one teenager from a family with whom the feds were already very familiar.

Perhaps the most respected independent news team that’s been diligently investigating the Boston Marathon bombings the last two years – WhoWhatWhy – has asserted that older brother Tamerlan was most likely an FBI informant. Through court motions last year Dzhokhar’s defense team submitted evidence that the FBI had approached the older Tsarnaev brother in an effort to recruit him to spy on his fellow Boston Chechen and Muslim community. The US intel community has a verifiably long history both here and around the globe of seeking out troubled youth and young people like the Tsarnaevs as informants in its worldwide clandestine operations.

The FBI and CIA’s common misuse of paying informants to entrap others globally into joining plots of terrorism was well documented in researcher-author Trevor Aaronson’s book The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI’s Manufactured War on Terrorism. Between 9/11 and 2011 he confirmed that 508 defendants were recruited by informants paid up to $100,000 in multiple sting operations. In fact, in all but only three high profile cases were the FBI and their informants not involved. Again, this demonstrates that the US government’s calling card around the world reads “Terrorism-R-US,” just another M.O. for squandering hard earned taxpayer dollars to keep its invented “war on terror” very much ongoing and alive forever.

What seems most probable are efforts by the FBI to recruit Tamerlan to become a snitch in the neocons’ self-serving war on terror. Yet this piece of crucial evidence has been purposely withheld from all court proceedings and MSM’s dubious, half-ass coverage. 26-year old Tamerlin was a down on his luck, unemployed boxer whose dream of Olympic gold had been shattered, married to a nurse’s aide working 60 hours a week to make ends meet. Yet WhoWhatWhy states that just two days prior to the bombings, Tamerlan could afford sending his mother in Russia $900 cash along with paying for the backpacks (or were they government issued?), ammunition and bomb-making materials. Yet this critical piece of information was also prohibited from further inquiry during the trial.

Of course the FBI predictably denied any Tsarnaev solicitation to become an informant. Prior to last month’s trial, the US Circuit Court judge presiding over the case explicitly ordered that the brother’s involvement with FBI not be allowed to enter his courtroom during the trial. It remains to be seen if Judge George A. O’Toole will permit the defense to present this critical information during the upcoming sentencing phase. Because the government has so much to hide and has failed to address so many discrepancies in the case for obvious high stakes reasons, it probably won’t be included, which of course only reinforces what many of us already know, that this trial is but a sham for police state propaganda and truth suppression.

Of all the receipts for typical everyday items purchased, the only receipts found in Tamerlan’s pockets were receipts for his self-incriminating bomb-making materials. That’s almost like finding the unblemished passport belonging to the lead 9/11 box-cutter a couple blocks from the towers’ ashes the day after, or the Hebdo gunman’s wallet with ID left carelessly on purpose in the cab so those terrorists could instantly be identified. This calling card pattern smacks of yet another inside job rendition with the same shabby, grubby fed fingerprints carelessly smudged all over it.

Another inconsistent weakness in the prosecution’s case was the sophistication required for making the “pressure-cooker” bombs used at the marathon. Supposedly Tamerlan learned off an al Qaeda internet website where the article’s authors mention the directions being beyond the scope of a novice. Throughout the trial, the prosecution team would go back and forth promoting the notion of the bombs’ complexity whenever it served their purpose. For example, as the reason used to justify the FBI interrogating Dzhokhar for two days straight without reading him his Miranda rights, the FBI suspected that others were also involved, partially based on the bombs seeming more than homemade-like. Yet whenever it would come up as a reason to mitigate seeking the death penalty, the notion of lone wolves would get drummed home every time.

The traces of bomb materials in Tamerlan’s apartment underwent the same flip floppy logic as a transparent prosecution ploy used to convict the younger brother. Three times the feds changed their tune on traces of the bomb material being found in the apartment and whether the brothers had outside help or not. These discrepancies consistently went unchallenged by the defense during the trial as if pre-scripted to let the shady government off the hook in its back and forth rendition of “truth,” protecting the feds’ cover-up lies of discrepancy in order to allow the US government to get away with its incriminating part.

The one thread of unfailing consistency throughout this entire two year story is the constant inconsistencies and the countless conspicuously avoided bottom line questions that smack of inside cover-up. Initially the Tsarnaevs were not the suspects. Apparently once the photos of the Tsarnaev brothers at the Boston Marathon were made public asking for help in identifying their names, overheard on a Boston police scanner and then scooped up immediately by social media network sources, the names Mike Mulugeta and Sunil Trapathi were erroneously identified as the suspects.

The fact that the FBI knew who the two men in those photos were because they had previous dealings with them enough to place them on a no fly list, the FBI willfully lied to America pretending it needed the public’s assistance to identify them. And then the police put out false names of innocent people as suspects. Mike Mulugeta reportedly was shot dead though any actual accounts confirming his death are completely absent. However, East Indian American and Brown University student Sunil Trapathi who had been reported missing since mid-March was found floating face down in pond water in Providence, Rhode Island about a week after the Marathon explosions. What little information about his suspicious death was released through his family and the question of whether the death resulted from foul play is still largely unknown.

More bogus, planted propaganda against the brothers shortly after they were identified as the prime suspects was the FBI claim linking them to the triple murder case in Waltham, Massachusetts that took place on September 11^th, 2011. Only during the trial did it come out that there existed absolutely no evidence that Tamerlan was involved. Yet the systematic damage of misinformation supporting the brothers’ guilt was already done, ensuring that in the court of public opinion the Tsarnaevs were guilty as charged right from the get-go.

Here the Tsarnaev brothers were supposedly on a no fly list acting as more evidence supporting prior contact with intelligence agencies, yet Tamerlan was permitted to fly to known terrorist hotbed Chechnya and neighboring Dagestan from January 21, 2012 to July 17, 2012. His family members insist he spent his entire time with family, among them a distant cousin who heads a non-violent organization critical of Western policies toward Islam. Yet his visit was used by prosecution as so called evidence that the older brother was “radicalized” there and came home an inspired terrorist seeking revenge on America.

A New York Times article dated April 20, 2013 suggests that Tamerlan was first approached by the FBI in January 2011 after a return trip from Russia. Russian intelligence services that monitored phone calls in Chechnya warned the FBI in March 2011 that Tamerlan was becoming a potential threat. Thus two plus years well in advance of the bombings, the FBI was already cognizant of Tamerlan’s extremist leaning activities. Yet the FBI allowed him to travel yet again to Russia despite being on a no fly list and less than nine months after his return from that final trip abroad, the Boston Marathon bombings occurred. This damning piece of government evidence makes the feds minimally guilty of criminal gross negligence if not actually a criminal accomplice.

Yet another despicable chapter to this tragic saga is the FBI’s murder of Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s friend in Florida. Within weeks after the Boston bombings, an unarmed Ibragim Todashev was shot by an FBI agent previously reprimanded for excessive force as an Oakland police officer. Initially the FBI lied about the circumstances, falsely claiming Todashev wielded a knife. The victim’s family is suing the FBI for $30 million. Even after admitting the lie about the victim brandishing a weapon, the Justice Department (overseeing the FBI) and a Florida prosecutor cleared the murdering FBI agent of any wrongdoing. The official government’s response that in effect supports such egregious acts of violence toward innocent civilians strongly indicates that the victim knew too much and the crime syndicate’s answer for people aware of the feds’ evildoing is to systematically assassinate those who might incriminate the federal government. Neutralizing perceived threats is standard operating procedure.

As an aside, the Tsarnaev brothers’ uncle who went public shortly after the bombings blasting his nephews as “losers” was married for several years in the 1990’s to the daughter of well-known CIA career officer Graham Fuller. Fuller is the CIA architect for creating the Mujahedeen movement that fought the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980’s, the same outfit whose leader Osama bin Laden emerged as the so called 9/11  al Qaeda mastermind.  Fuller was a committed advocate for using Islamic fundamentalists as US proxy war mercenaries. Another coincidence that the CIA VIP’s son-in-law and his nephews came from Chechnya, a hotspot for separatist Muslim terrorist activity?

Once again the United States government appears to be at least complicit in another state crime against its own citizens… and then applying a media blackout to any real investigative reporting that would ask the dozens of questions to get to the truth. Even the defendant’s legal representation abandoned Tsarnaev’s right to a fair trial, and by co-opting to act in accordance with the government’s “no questions asked” implicitly applied gag-rule, it too is complicit in this heinous crime for neither seeking the truth nor any real justice for either the defendants or the scores of victims. The US crime cabal and its fabricated “war on terror” is perpetuated globally, both on US soil and around the world as an ongoing crime against humanity. The truth behind 9/11 is in-our-face, and so is the truth behind these Boston bombings. The criminals in Washington must pay for their crimes.

Joachim Hagopian is a West Point graduate and former US Army officer. He has written a manuscript based on his unique military experience entitled “Don’t Let The Bastards Getcha Down.” It examines and focuses on US international relations, leadership and national security issues. After the military, Joachim earned a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and worked as a licensed therapist in the mental health field for more than a quarter century. He now concentrates on his writing and has a blog site at http://empireexposed. blogspot. com/. He is also a regular contributor to Global Research and a syndicated columnist at Veterans Today.

Photo : Maxppp, midilibre.fr

Le XXIième siècle. le siècle de l’eau.

L’un des enjeux majeurs entourant le devenir de l’humanité est la disponibilité de l’eau. C’est le fondement de la vie et c’est le vecteur par excellence des sédiments utiles au renouvellement des sols à l’intérieur des bassins de drainage. C’est aussi, dans les zones humides, un filtre efficace. Un peu partout dans le monde, l’eau se raréfie en raison des changements climatiques qui engendrent des périodes de sécheresse prolongées comme on peut l’observer cette année en Californie, puis par suite de la surutilisation de l’eau dans les zones semi-arides irriguées, de la surexploitation des nappes aquifères et de la gouvernance déficiente du patrimoine hydrique dans les zones d’abondance.

« Aujourd’hui encore, les contentieux à propos de l’eau sont nombreux à travers le monde, notamment au Nord et au Sud de l’Afrique, au Proche-Orient, en Amérique centrale, au Canada et dans l’Ouest des États-Unis. Au Proche-Orient, par exemple, une dizaine de foyers de tensions existent. Ainsi l’Égypte, entièrement tributaire du Nil pour ses ressources en eau, doit néanmoins partager celles-ci avec dix autres États du bassin du Nil : notamment avec l’Éthiopie où le Nil bleu prend sa source, et avec le Soudan où le fleuve serpente avant de déboucher sur le territoire égyptien. Quant à l’Irak et la Syrie, ils sont tous deux à la merci de la Turquie, où les deux fleuves qui les alimentent, le Tigre et l’Euphrate, prennent leur source. L’eau de l’Euphrate a d’ailleurs souvent servi d’arme brandie par la Turquie contre ses deux voisins : grâce aux nombreux barrages qu’elle a érigés sur le cours supérieur du fleuve et qui lui permettent d’en réguler à sa guise le débit en aval, la Turquie possède là, en effet, un puissant moyen de pression ».

« Avec l’essor démographique et l’accroissement des besoins, ces tensions pourraient se multiplier à l’avenir. C’est ce que prédisent certains experts pour le XXIe siècle. D’autres en revanche pensent que la gestion commune de l’eau peut être un facteur de pacification. Ils mettent en avant des exemples étonnants de coopération : le plus fameux est celui de l’Inde et du Pakistan qui, au plus fort de la guerre qui les opposait dans les années 1960, n’ont jamais interrompu le financement des travaux d’aménagement qu’ils menaient en commun sur le fleuve Indus » (cnrs.fr).

Nous présentons, dans cet essai, les enjeux géopolitiques du processus de raréfaction de l’eau. Comment les États qui se partagent les eaux d’un même bassin de réception vont-t-ils collaborer afin d’assurer un approvisionnement sécuritaire en eau? Quelle est l’ampleur des risques liés à la diminution de l’eau dans les zones déjà fragilisées par la baisse des nappes phréatiques? Est-ce que la demande accrue de l’eau dans les mégalopoles causera des conflits majeurs? Quelle serait l’approche à privilégier dans la gestion du patrimoine hydrique mondial?

Nous examinons, dans cette deuxième partie, la problématique de l’approvisionnement de l’eau dans trois régions dans lesquelles les États s’affrontent ou cherchent à coopérer dans le partage de l’eau disponible, soit Israël, la Jordanie, la Syrie, le Liban et les territoires palestiniens de Cisjordanie dans le bassin du Jourdain, l’Inde et le Pakistan dans le bassin de l’Indus et l’Égypte et les dix autres États qui se partagent les eaux du Nil. La problématique du partage de l’eau dans ces bassins a fait l’objet de multiples analyses. Ce que nous proposons, ici, c’est d’exposer l’état des enjeux politiques actuels et les résultats des efforts consentis dans la recherche de solutions aux conflits entre les États.

Selon Peter Gleick, du Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, un total de 48 conflits a affecté autant de pays entre 2000 et 2008 (worldwater.org).

Un examen de ces conflits révèle, entre autres, les éléments suivants :

–        Plusieurs conflits ont pris naissance à la suite d’une période de sécheresse prolongée. Des communautés se sont alors disputées pour le partage de l’eau encore disponible. Cela s’est produit, en 2000 et en 2001, en Éthiopie, en Afghanistan, en Chine et au Pakistan. Même s’il s’est agi ici d’incidents localisés ceux-ci ont révélé combien les tensions peuvent rapidement s’exacerber, l’eau étant vue comme un bien vital;

–        Les USA auraient bombardé, en 2001, le barrage de Kajaki dans la Province du Helmand, en Afghanistan, privant du même coup d’électricité la ville de Kandahar et, en 2003, en Irak, les installations de distribution d’eau pour la ville de Bagdad;

–        Des affrontements fréquents entre les utilisateurs de l’eau nécessaire à l’irrigation et, notamment, en 2002 à Garend au Cachemire, entre Karnataka et Tamil Nadu en Inde en 2002 et aussi au Mexique, en 2004, dans les environs de Pihuano (worldwater.org);

I.Le bassin du Jourdain – Syrie, Israël, Liban, Cisjordanie et Jordanie (figure 1)

Le Proche-Orient est une région fortement marquée par l’aridité et c’est dans ce contexte que se situe le bassin du Jourdain : « À part le Liban, qui ne manque pas d’eau douce, les autres pays riverains du Jourdain sont catégorisés comme étant des régions arides : 80% de la Jordanie, 60% de la Palestine-Israël et environ 65% de la Syrie » (R. Faraj, 2005).

Le Jourdain, d’une longueur de 360 km, draine une superficie de 18 300 kilomètres carrés (figure 2).

« Le bassin du Jourdain est partagé entre quatre pays : Israël, la Jordanie, la Syrie et le Liban, auxquels il faut ajouter les territoires palestiniens de Cisjordanie. Le Jourdain prend sa source dans le Mont Hermon, au Liban, qu’il parcourt sur 21 km. Il passe la frontière israélienne et arrive au lac Houleh (maintenant asséché), lieu de rencontre avec trois affluents (Hasbani, Banias, Dan). Ensuite, il parcourt 17 km de gorges étroites et arrive au lac de Tibériade, où la salinité est forte, d’autant plus que des cours d’eau douce s’y jetant ont été détournés. Le lac de Tibériade reçoit cependant les eaux des multiples petits cours d’eau traversant les hauteurs du Golan. Ensuite, le Jourdain rencontre la rivière Yarmouk (arrivant de Syrie), puis décrit des méandres sur 320 km (109 km à vol d’oiseau) pour atteindre la mer Morte. Ces 320 km sont occupés par une plaine humide (le zor humide), à la végétation subtropicale, dominée des deux côtés (cisjordanien et jordanien) par des terrasses sèches et ravinées » (figure 2).

(http://www.lesclesdumoyenorient.com/Eau-et-conflits-dans-le-bassin-du.html).

Figure 1. Le Proche-Orient

Source : http://djitiivan.centerblog.net/4667892-proche-orient

Figure 2. Le bassin versant du Jourdain

Source : http://www.lesclesdumoyenorient.com/Eau-et-conflits-dans-le-bassin-du.html

Figure 3. Rivière près du camp de réfugiés d’Al Faraa tarie l’été en raison du pompage excessif de ses eaux en amont par les colons israéliens

Source : http://www.ism-france.org/analyses/Le-role-de-l-eau-dans-la-politique-israelienne-d-occupation-de-la-Palestine-article-6585

L’eau dans le bassin du Jourdain : une ressource rare et convoitée (figures 2 et 3)

Selon Dubois (2012), « Le Proche-Orient, avec le bassin du Jourdain, figure comme l’une des principales zones de conflits liés à l’eau dans le monde, où trois États et la Palestine tentent de se partager une ressource rare. L’or bleu est-il alors source de conflits ou de paix? » (youphil.com).

« Israël, la Palestine, la Jordanie et la Syrie: un quatuor en pleine situation de stress hydrique. En d’autres termes, ces pays, situés dans une région dite aride, ont des besoins en eau supérieurs aux ressources existantes et disponibles. La forte pression démographique de ces dernières années et le changement climatique aggravent la situation. Le fleuve Jourdain constitue le principal réservoir d’eau de la région et dessine une frontière naturelle entre Israël et la Jordanie. Son débit représentait il y a encore quelques années près de 1,3 milliard de m3 par an, une fois jeté dans la mer Morte. On estime son débit à près de 20 à 30 millions par an. Son affluent, le Yarmouk, prend lui sa source en Syrie avant d’atteindre les terres jordaniennes. Le plateau du Golan, avec le lac de Tibériade, se situe en territoire syrien et constitue une zone stratégique: Israël l’a compris et l’a annexé en 1981. Enfin, les ressources aquifères souterraines assurent une large part de l’approvisionnement en eau du bassin ».

« La mauvaise gestion de l’eau, “on l’oublie souvent”, n’a fait qu’aggraver la situation déjà critique du bassin (déperdition de près de 50% de l’eau acheminée en Jordanie due au mauvais état des canalisations, etc.). Par conséquent, le niveau du Jourdain baisse dangereusement au fil des années. En 2010, le porte-parole de l’Autorité pour l’eau a indiqué que la simple consommation domestique d’eau potable en Israël s’élevait à 700 millions de m3. Face à ces faibles ressources en eau, les disparités régionales et dépendances se creusent et les pressions exercées par Israël compliquent la donne ».

Selon Rezeq Faraj (2005), brossant un tableau de la situation dans l’ensemble du bassin versant, « les ponctions excessives dans le Jourdain et le Yarmouk ainsi que le pompage par Israël du lac Tibériade ont transformé le Jourdain en une rivière qu’on traverse à pied. Il n’y a presque plus d’eau qui se déverse dans la mer Morte…Les ressources en eau du Jourdain sont surexploitées. Cette situation alarmante est due à l’augmentation de la population et aux besoins agricoles et industriels. De plus, la pollution a grandement détérioré la qualité de l’eau disponible dans le bassin fluvial. Le partage de l’eau entre les pays riverains n’est basé sur aucun accord, aucune négociation ni aucun principe d’équité » (R. Faraj, 2005).

Israël, gendarme de l’eau

« L’État hébreu domine le bassin sans disposer de réelles ressources en eau sur son territoire. Il détourne et puise ainsi illégalement et sans limites dans le fleuve Jourdain et les ressources aquifères souterraines, situées en territoires palestiniens (principalement en Cisjordanie). De plus, l’occupation du Sud-Liban jusqu’en 2000 lui a permis de prendre le contrôle de deux affluents du Jourdain. “L’opération portait même le nom du fleuve…”, rapporte Pierre Berthelot. C’est dire l’importance de l’eau dans le contexte géopolitique. “Israël veut être le gendarme de la question de l’eau dans la région”, au détriment des Palestiniens qui font face à un accès à l’eau restreint malgré l’accord d’Oslo II en 1995 qui reconnaît le droit à l’eau pour ces populations mais sans établir de ratio précis ».

« Au détriment également des Jordaniens. Un traité de paix a pourtant été adopté en 1994 entre Israël et la Jordanie, instaurant une coopération multilatérale notamment pour la répartition de l’eau provenant de sources communes. Pour Pierre Berthelot, “la Jordanie est à la fois alliée et otage d’Israël”, bloquée entre son accord avec Israël, son projet avorté (par Israël!) de barrage avec la Syrie sur le Yarmouk et ses relations tendues avec ses autres voisins (Irak, Arabie Saoudite). Pour pouvoir continuer son développement économique, la Jordanie a besoin d’eau et “dépend alors de la bonne volonté de son voisin” ».

« Le contrôle de la terre, pour des raisons politique ou encore sécuritaire, se révèle donc être aussi un contrôle de l’eau pour l’état hébreu. Son déficit hydrique se creuse toujours plus. “Israël considère qu’il est menacé à tous les niveaux dans la région (montée de l’islamisme, révolte en Syrie, attitude face à l’Iran…), des menaces réelles ou fantasmées d’ailleurs. Il utilise donc la carte de l’eau. Si l’on suit sa logique, un pays qui fait face à un tel flux de menaces a le droit de jouer cette carte.” Comment envisager de partager une ressource si rare avec ses voisins et risquer de se mettre soi-même en péril? »   (youphil.com).

Tensions, projets et paix?

« Une telle mainmise sur l’eau par Israël oblige ses pays voisins à détourner ces eaux. La Syrie tente ainsi de puiser dans le Yarmouk, en aval du lac de Tibériade, en construisant des puits. La surexploitation des nappes phréatiques entraîne, elle, une importante salinisation des eaux. Israël a alors développé un réseau d’usines de dessalement d’eau de mer afin de réduire sa dépendance au Jourdain ou encore aux ressources aquifères, dont les jours sont comptés.  Problème, “on agit sur l’offre. Il faudrait plutôt agir sur la demande et responsabiliser les populations”, commente Pierre Berthelot. De plus, ces usines sont “vulnérables” et pourrait être visées par des missiles ennemis. “On se met dans une position de dépendance dangereuse.”

« La question de l’eau est-elle alors déterminante pour parvenir à un accord de paix entre Israël et la Palestine? “Ce n’est, à mon sens, pas le point de blocage principal et il y a toujours des alternatives, des compromis à trouver.” La situation au Proche-Orient est préoccupante mais la guerre de l’eau n’est pas à craindre: “c’est le statu quo et nous ne sommes pas prêts d’en voir le bout”, conclut le chercheur » (youphil.com).

L’Accord de 2013. La nécessité de s’entendre. De l’eau de la Mer Rouge pour la Mer Morte

Des représentants d’Israël, de Jordanie et de l’Autorité palestinienne ont signé, le 9 décembre 2013, à Washington, un accord qualifié d’« historique » pour tenter de sauver la mer Morte et lutter contre la pénurie d’eau dans la région. Aux termes de l’accord obtenu après onze ans de négociations, un système de pompage va être mis en place dans le golfe d’Aqaba, à la pointe nord de la mer Rouge, afin de collecter quelque 200 millions de mètres3 d’eau par an. Une partie sera ensuite acheminée par l’intermédiaire de quatre conduits vers la mer Morte, une mer fermée ayant une très haute concentration en sel et qui risque de s’assécher d’ici à 2050 ».

« Cela offre une lueur d’espoir sur la possibilité de surmonter d’autres obstacles à l’avenir », a estimé le ministre israélien de l’eau et du développement, Sylvan Shalom, en paraphant l’accord au siège de la Banque mondiale, partenaire du projet. Nous avons montré que l’on pouvait travailler ensemble en dépit de nos problèmes politiques », a ajouté son homologue palestinien, Shaddad Attili, présent à la même tribune, à l’heure où Palestiniens et Israéliens tentent de relancer le processus de paix sous l’égide des Etats-Unis ».

Au-delà des problèmes politiques

Une autre partie de l’eau pompée dans la mer Rouge sera dessalée, et distribuée en Israël et en Jordanie afin de répondre à la pénurie d’eau qui frappe la région. L’Etat hébreu a également accepté de laisser s’écouler davantage d’eau du lac de Tibériade, situé sur son territoire, en direction de son voisin jordanien, a précisé la Banque mondiale dans un communiqué.

« Sans eau, il n’y aura pas de développement économique, pas d’emploi », a commenté le ministre jordanien de l’eau et de l’agriculture, Hazim El-Nasser, qui a lui aussi signé l’accord à Washington ».

« Israël a par ailleurs accepté de vendre à l’Autorité palestinienne entre « 20 à 30 millions de mètres cubes » par an d’eau dessalée fournie par l’entreprise publique israélienne de production d’eau potable, Mekorot. « En dépit de nos problèmes politiques, nous partageons les mêmes problèmes liés au manque d’eau », a relevé M. Attili.

Fragile écosystème de la Mer Morte

« Dans son communiqué, la Banque mondiale assure que la Cisjordanie…bénéficiera de ces nouveaux arrangements; mais lors de la conférence de presse, le ministre palestinien a assuré que la bande de Gaza…en profiterait également. Selon les trois parties, un appel d’offres international devrait être lancé pour l’ensemble du projet, en commençant par l’usine de dessalement d’Aqaba et l’installation du premier conduit. L’appel d’offres devrait être lancé dès 2014, selon le ministre israélien ».

« Partenaire de l’opération, la Banque mondiale a publié en 2012 une étude penchant vers la faisabilité du projet, mais plusieurs organisations de défense de l’environnement ont déjà mis en garde contre les possibles effets néfastes de l’arrivée d’eau de la mer Rouge sur le fragile écosystème de la mer Morte. Selon le communiqué de l’institution, le lancement du projet devrait permettre, « sous le contrôle des scientifiques », de mieux comprendre les conséquences d’un mélange des eaux de la mer Rouge avec celles de la mer Morte » (lemonde.fr).

La nécessité impérative de s’entendre

Selon l’Institut européen de recherche sur la coopération méditerannéenne et euro-arabe,  les divers conflits du Moyen-Orient sont sous-tendus et parfois exacerbés par un enjeu vital dans cette région aride: l’eau.

« Tous les pays arabes de la région sont confrontés à une pénurie qui est en passe de devenir extrêmement grave sous l’effet de trois facteurs: le taux de croissance démographique combiné à une forte urbanisation, la mise en oeuvre d’ambitieux projets de développement agricole nécessitant une importante irrigation et enfin la dégradation des ressources existantes (salinisation des nappes phréatiques, par exemple).

Le contrôle des ressources en eau est donc une nécessité vitale pour ces États et les a conduits à élaborer des stratégies visant à s’approprier les grands réservoirs d’eau aux dépens de leur(s) voisin(s). Cette raréfaction de l’eau et ses enjeux imposent une relecture des conflits de la région, notamment entre Israël et les États arabes.

Partant du nord de la zone moyen-orientale pour descendre jusqu’à l’Afrique orientale, citons: la dispute Irak/Syrie/Turquie à propos de l’Euphrate et, dans une moindre mesure, du Tigre; le détournement par Israël depuis 1982, sur le territoire libanais, des eaux du Litani; le litige entre Israël, la Syrie et la Jordanie à propos du Jourdain et de son principal affluent, le Yarmouk; l’enjeu du partage des nappes aquifères palestiniennes entre Israël et les Territoires palestiniens; la tension constante entre pays riverains du Nil, particulièrement l’Egypte, le Soudan et l’Ethiopie.

« Les divers projets – cet « aqueduc de la paix » proposé par la Turquie et l’idée d’un « canal de la paix » entre l’Egypte et Israël pour y amener l’eau du Nil – tendant à résoudre ce problème de la raréfaction des ressources hydrauliques dans ces différents pays prouvent combien cet élément naturel qu’est l’eau en a détrôné un autre, le pétrole, et combien cette pénurie croissante risque de provoquer une radicalisation des conflits existants et même d’en déclencher d’autres » (medea.be).

Le monopole de l’eau du Jourdain par Israel demeure toujours une réalité criante

Le problème de l’eau est l’un des facteurs les plus importants qui affectent le conflit entre Israël et la Palestine. L’Etat juif a besoin de contrôler les sources d’approvisionnement des eaux du Jourdain et les aquifères des villes de Gaza et de la Cisjordanie étant donné la faible pluviométrie dans la région. La politique de l’eau de ce pays est l’un des enjeux géostratégiques clés pour leur subsistance. En 1967, après l’occupation totale de la Cisjordanie et de la bande de Gaza, Israël a déclaré comme étant sa propriété toutes les ressources en eau. Les Palestiniens doivent obtenir un permis de l’armée israélienne avant de développer toute infrastructure liée à l’eau sur leurs terres (teinteresa.es).

II.Le bassin du Nil – L’Égypte et les États situés dans le cours supérieur du fleuve

Le bassin du Nil est le 3e plus grand bassin versant du monde, après ceux de l’Amazone et du Congo. Il couvre une superficie de 3 254 555 km², soit 10 % du continent africain. Il s’étend sur les pays suivants : Il draine la quasi-totalité du Burundi; il est le seul cours d’eau permanent d’Égypte; il traverse le sud-ouest de l’Érythrée et le sud-ouest et le tiers occidental de l’Éthiopie, quelques petites parties de l’ouest du Kenya et la totalité du territoire de l’Ouganda; en République démocratique du Congo il baigne une toute petite partie du pays, à l’est, autour des lacs Édouard et Albert, il couvre la quasi-totalité du Rwanda, du Soudan et du Sud-Soudan (figure 4).

Le Nil est formé par la confluence du Nil Bleu et du Nil Blanc à Khartoum. Après cette confluence, le seul affluent d’importance est l’Atbara. Le Nil parcourt ainsi la moitié de son cours sans affluent permanent, à travers le Sahara (wikipedia.org).

Figure 4. Carte politique du bassin versant du Nil

En ligne : http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/cartes/nil

Figure 5. Vue du Nil bleu

En ligne : http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/riviere-lac/le_Nil/135315

Larbi Bouguerra et Olivier Petitjean, dans un texte très bien élaboré publié en 2009, faisaient le point sur le contentieux entre les pays qui se partagent les eaux du Nil et, tout spécialement, entre l’Égypte, le Soudan et l’Éthiopie. Les projets de mise en valeur du fleuve pour des fins énergétiques et pour l’irrigation des terres ont eu tendance à se multiplier ces dernières années dans l’ensemble du bassin versant : « L’Éthiopie a annoncé des projets grandioses – principalement des barrages – pour augmenter ses zones irriguées et produire de l’énergie électrique. L’Ouganda cherche également à combler son manque d’électricité en construisant des centrales sur le fleuve. Le Soudan a lui aussi annoncé plusieurs projets de nouveaux barrages… Plus en amont, les pays riverains du lac Victoria (Ouganda, Tanzanie, Kenya), confrontés à la sécheresse, souhaitent obtenir l’accès à l’eau de cette vaste étendue d’eau douce, source du Nil Blanc, pour leurs projets agricoles et hydroélectriques. Pour ce faire, ils militent pour l’abrogation d’un traité datant de l’époque coloniale qui réserve le lac aux pêcheurs et aux baigneurs. Ce traité avait été imposé encore une fois par les Britanniques au bénéfice des Égyptiens. Ces derniers n’ont pas manqué de répliquer en soulignant le laisser-aller qui a toujours prévalu dans ces pays quant à la gestion des ressources en eau, de la pollution et des pêcheries. Kenya, Tanzanie et Ouganda ont créé la Commission tripartite du bassin du lac Victoria pour se prémunir contre les critiques de ce type ainsi que pour défendre leurs intérêts face aux pays d’aval » (partagedeseaux.info).

L’annonce de la mise en chantier du projet d’un grand barrage par l’Éthiopie allait provoquer, en Égypte, une vague d’inquiétudes en remettant en question le partage des eaux décidé par le Traité signé en 1959 entre l’Égypte et le Soudan dans le cadre des travaux du barrage d’Assouan : «D’ores et déjà, les besoins en eau de l’Égypte sont estimés à 73 milliards de mètres cubes par an, soit près de 20 milliards de plus que leur part théorique de l’eau du Nil. La nervosité du gouvernement égyptien est donc à la mesure de sa vulnérabilité. Toute annonce de projet lié au Nil dans un autre pays est dès lors considérée d’emblée comme un problème de sécurité nationale pour l’Égypte » (partagedeseaux.info).

Au cours des dernières années, les États du Nil ont continué de coopérer dans le cadre de nombreuses initiatives et de nombreux projets communs visant à « contrebalancer les désaccords et les motifs de conflit, reflétant une volonté constructive indéniable de la part des pays concernés…Les pays concernés sont d’ailleurs regroupés désormais au sein d’une instance coopérative de gestion du fleuve et de résolution des conflits, l’Initiative pour le bassin du Nil (Nile Basin Initiative, NBI), basée à Nairobi (Kenya) et à Kampala (Ouganda). L’Égypte, de son côté, ne fait pas preuve d’une mauvaise volonté absolue à l’égard des pays d’amont ; elle essaie au contraire de prendre les devants (tout en gardant le contrôle de la situation…) en lançant diverses initiatives de coopération. Elle a lancé une politique de coopération technique avec les pays d’amont, dite politique de l’Endugu (entente en swahili). Elle coopère aussi avec le Soudan sur le projet de barrage de Mérowé, à 350 kilomètres au Nord de Khartoum. Le projet du barrage de Bujagali en Ouganda, à la sortie du lac Victoria, est également soutenu par la NBI et donc par l’Égypte (il est en revanche très fortement critiqué par les environnementalistes). Selon certains observateurs, c’est là que réside la clé du problème : l’Égypte pourrait parvenir à un accord ne remettant pas en cause sa part du Nil en contre-patrie d’un accroissement de ses aides techniques et financières aux pays d’amont »  (partagedeseaux.info).  .

La poursuite des efforts de coopération ont donné leurs fruits. Le 23 mars dernier, après plusieurs années de tensions entre l’Égypte, le Soudan et l’Éthiopie, les trois pays africains ont finalement réussi à conclure un accord pour que le futur barrage éthiopien, le plus grand d’Afrique, n’affecte en rien le débit des eaux du fleuve. L’accord de principe qui autorise la construction du barrage « grande renaissance » (wikipedia.org) a été signé à Khartoum entre le président égyptien Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, son homologue soudanais Omar el-Béchir et le premier ministre éthiopien Hailemariam Desalegn. En signant cet accord, les trois pays tournent la page d’une longue série de tensions qui a débuté en mai 2013, date à laquelle le gouvernement éthiopien a commencé à détourner les eaux du Nil bleu pour construire ce barrage de plus de 6 000 mégawatts (sahel-intelligence.com).

III.Le bassin de l’Indus – Inde et Pakistan (figure 6)

« Trois grands bassins. L’Indus, le Gange et le Brahmapoutre. Les zones les plus densément peuplées du monde, un demi-milliard de personnes vivent autour du seul Gange. 70 % du milliard et demi de personnes qui vivent en Asie du Sud sont des familles qui tirent leurs revenus de l’agriculture et a fortiori, dépendent de ces bassins pour vivre. Ce chiffre augmente de 25 millions tous les ans. Depuis des générations, ces bassins ont irrigué les plaines du Pendjab, les champs de coton et les vergers du Sindh et les rizières du Bangladesh, faisant croître la productivité de la région plus rapidement qu’autre part. Mais les ressources en eau de l’Asie du Sud sont irrégulières, difficilement prédictibles. Entre moussons dévastatrices et inondations, puis sécheresses à répétition, la région a de plus en plus de mal à faire face à l’augmentation de la demande en eau. Quand l’eau des moussons s’avère être modérée, aucune infrastructure ne permet de la récupérer et de la conserver » (lorbleu.blog.youphil.com).

Le plus grand réseau d’irrigation du monde, qui avait été mis en place par l’administration britannique, a été brisé, en 1947, par le partage du Panjab, le pays des cinq fleuves, entre les deux éternels rivaux que sont l’Inde et le Pakistan.

Le climat de tensions intenses concernant le partage de l’eau du fleuve Indus est bien connu. Des confrontations entre les deux pays se sont produites à quatre reprises au cours du XXème siècle (1947, 1965, 1971, 1999) concernant cet enjeu primordial.

Selon Clemens, la signature du Traité des eaux de l’Indus (« l’Indus Waters Treaty ») en 1960 et la création de la Commission bilatérale pour les eaux de l’Indus, une distribution équitable des eaux a pu être rétablie entre les deux États. Selon cet auteur malgré de nombreuses frictions, aucune « guerre de l’eau » n’a éclaté jusqu’ici entre ces deux États »  (rural21.com).

Du Tibet à la Mer d’Oman (figures 6 et 7)

« La source de l’Indus se trouve au Tibet au mont Kailâs ou Gangri, en effet, il porte son nom à partir de la confluence des torrents Sengge et Gar descendant de l’Himalaya et drainant les chaînes du Nganglong Kangri et du Gangdise Shan. L’Indus passe ensuite au nord-ouest au travers du Cachemire au sud de la chaîne du Karakoram, puis graduellement se tourne vers le sud, quittant les collines entre Peshawar et Rawalpindi. Dans ce secteur un barrage forme le réservoir de Tarbela. À partir de sa confluence avec la rivière Kaboul, l’Indus devient navigable ».

« Le reste de son trajet vers la mer se déroule ensuite dans les plaines du Pendjab et du Sind, et le fleuve prend alors un cours très lent. Il traverse Hyderâbâd puis se jette dans la mer d’Oman par un grand delta aride de 7 770 km2 s’étendant sur 200 km de côte, au sud-est de Karâchi, maintenant considérée comme l’une des régions écologiques les plus importantes au monde » (http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus).

Figure 6. Bassin versant de l’Indus

Source : https://foeme.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/cooperating-over-water/map-of-the-indus-basin-source-us-senate-report/

Figure 7. L’Indus. Vue à partir de l’autoroute Karakouram

Source : http://www.waa.ox.ac.uk/XDB/tours/indus3.asp

Depuis mai 2012, l’enjeu stratégique autour de l’eau de la région Nord-est de l’Inde a redoublé de vigueur. Le ton est devenu si virulent que les experts les plus sérieux finissent par se demander si la prochaine guerre entre Islamabad et New Delhi…n’éclatera pas en raison des contentieux qui les opposent autour de l’Indus.

Selon le Pakistan, New Delhi tirerait partie de son atout géographique – l’Indus et cinq de ses affluents traversent l’Inde avant d’arriver au Pakistan – pour manipuler la ressource hydraulique à son avantage par le biais de barrages et de réservoirs. La question n’est pas nouvelle ; elle s’est posée dès l’indépendance des deux États. Mais jamais le Pakistan n’a autant haussé le ton alors que le traité de l’Indus de 1960, qui codifie le partage des eaux entre les deux pays, montre ses limites.

Le Pakistan agite la menace d’une guerre de l’eau

En mai 2012, lors d’une réunion du comité spécial du Parlement pakistanais sur la question du Cachemire, la question de l’eau et de sa gestion avec le voisin indien est revenue au  devant de la scène. Présidée par Maulana Fazhur Rahman, le leader de Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, un des partis islamistes de l’alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, les discours se sont montrés virulents à l’encontre de l’Inde. Le comité a accusé l’Inde de « terrorisme de l’eau » et a demandé à ce que l’on stoppe l’Inde dans ses démarches de construction de barrages, en cours et à venir.

« Toutes les solutions, y compris juridiques, doivent être envisagées pour que l’Inde cesse toute construction de barrages. Selon le Traité de partage de l’Indus, l’Inde ne peut pas voler l’eau de nos rivières » a-t-il déclaré. L’eau est déjà une cause reprise par les terroristes. Le chef présumé de l’attentat de 2008 à Mumbai, Hafiz Saeed, a souvent reproché à l’Inde d’agir tels des « terroristes de l’eau », menaçant le peuple indien « d’inondations, qu’elles soient d’eau ou de sang ». Lashkar-e-Taiba, le groupe terroriste impliqué dans ces mêmes attentats, a par ailleurs souvent menacé l’Inde de faire exploser les barrages et a condamné avec virulence la politique de l’eau menée par le gouvernement indien »   (lorbleu.blog.youphil.com)

En 2011, le journal pakistanais Nawa-i-Waqt a pressé le gouvernement d’agir : « Le Pakistan devrait faire comprendre à l’Inde qu’une guerre est possible sur le sujet de l’eau et que cette guerre sera nucléaire ». La plupart des experts s’accordent à faire d’un tel conflit quelque chose de peu probable, mais la pression augmentant, des disputes à petite échelle se répandront dans la région »   (lorbleu.blog.youphil.com).

Début mai 2011, c’était le groupe International Crisis Group (ICG) qui évaluait dans un rapport les conséquences de cette situation sur la paix mondiale et alarmait d’une possible aggravation de ces conflits. L’ICG attirait l’attention sur l’éventualité d’une guerre entre le Pakistan et l’Inde si cette dernière ne permettait pas à l’eau de s’écouler vers le Pakistan. Il attirait également l’attention sur un rapport publié l’an dernier par le Comité des Affaires étrangères du Sénat Américain, statuant que l’Inde était en train de construire trois nouveaux barrages sur le Chenab et le Sutlej, deux affluents de l’Indus qui, selon les termes du traité de l’Indus de 1960, reviennent au Pakistan (lorbleu.blog.youphil.com).

Le Traité de l’Indus insuffisant

Le conflit entre l’Inde et le Pakistan à propos de l’eau questionne un accord de partage des fleuves vieux de plusieurs décennies qui a été témoin de trois guerres, de conflits territoriaux constants, d’essais nucléaires et d’attaques terroristes. Le Traité de l’Indus, signé en 1960, donne le droit au Pakistan sur les fleuves situés à l’ouest de la vallée de l’Indus. L’Inde contrôle la partie est du bassin (lorbleu.blog.youphil.com).

 Conclusion

Les trois cas analysés dans cet exposé démontrent, dans les faits, la nécessité d’une coopération internationale dans le règlement des tensions et des conflits concernant le partage de l’eau. La raréfaction de la ressource dans le bassin du Jourdain rend cette coopération encore plus impérative. Le statu quo ne pourra pas durer très longtemps. L’accord signé en 2013 entre les Parties ne règle pas la problématique de la gestion de l’ensemble de ce complexe hydrique. Il faut absolument aller plus loin pour assurer un partage équitable et juste de la ressource.

Dans le bassin du Nil l’entente signée récemment permet d’envisager la poursuite de la collaboration entre l’Égypte, le Soudan et l’Éthiopie entre eux et aussi avec les autres États intéressés. Pour le bassin de l’Indus les tensions entre l’Inde et le Pakistan semblent s’intensifier par suite des actions posées par l’Inde dans le bassin de réception du fleuve. Il est à espérer que des négociations et beaucoup de diplomatie permettront d’éviter une guerre entre les deux pays.

Le droit à l’eau. Un droit fondamental

En sa Soixante-quatrième session et sa 108e séance plénière, le 8 juillet 2010, l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies a « reconnu », dans une résolution adoptée par 122 voix et 41 abstentions, le droit à une eau potable salubre et propre comme un droit fondamental, essentiel au plein exercice du droit à la vie et de tous les droits de l’homme…Cette résolution sur le droit fondamental à l’eau, « pétrole du siècle de la soif que sera le XXIe  siècle » selon les mots du représentant du Yémen, les explications de vote ont opposé les tenants de l’inexistence de ce droit à ceux qui le voient reconnu dans les instruments internationaux relatifs aux droits de l’homme dont le Pacte international relatif aux droits économiques, sociaux et culturels » (un.org).

Pour le partage de l’eau la coopération est impérative

La carte mondiale de l’eau douce montrant une distribution très inégale de cette ressource invite toutes les nations à collaborer à l’émergence d’un plan mondial de coopération pour le partage juste et équitable de cette richesse. Ainsi, le jour n’est pas loin ou l’on verra l’espace terrestre sillonné par des aqueducs à l’instar des couloirs pour le pétrole et le gaz. Ces ouvrages seront construits dans la perspective de rendre une eau de qualité disponible pour tous. Ils deviendront, nous l’espérons, un maillage de paix pour toutes les régions du Globe. Si des ententes ont été paraphées pour le partage de l’eau dans les bassins du Nil et de l’Indus il devrait prévaloir aussi dans le bassin du Jourdain. D’ailleurs, on ne pourrait pas concevoir la création d’un État palestinien viable sans cette ressource indispensable et vitale. Nous croyons, ici, que l’approvisionnement suffisant en eau douce de la Palestine ne doit pas faire l’objet de négociations, mais devrait être reconnu comme un droit inhérent de l’être humain et respecté comme tel.

L’avenir

“La planète est confrontée à un déficit de 40% de l’approvisionnement en eau d’ici 2030, à moins d’améliorer considérablement la gestion de esta ressource précieuse. Telle est la conclusion inévitable dans « The 2015 United Nations World Water Development », rapport, «L’eau pour un monde durable”, lancé à New Delhi en Inde le 20 mars 2015.

“Il y a déjà un consensus international à l’effet que l’eau et son assainissement sont essentiels à la réalisation de nombreux objectifs de développement durable. Ils sont inextricablement liés au changement climatique, à l’agriculture, à la sécurité alimentaire, à la santé, à l’énergie, à l’égalité, l’égalité homme-femme et à l’éducation. Maintenant, nous devons regarder vers l’avant à la mesurabilité, le suivi et la mise en œuvre », explique Michel Jarraud, président de l’ONU-Eau et Secrétaire général de l’Organisation météorologique mondiale” (http://www.unesco-ihe.org/sites/default/ fichiers / wwdr_2015.pdf).

« D’ici 2050, la demande en eau devrait augmenter de 55 %, non seulement sous la pression d’une population croissante (la Terre comptera alors 9,5 milliards de personnes), mais aussi parce que la consommation s’envole. Les besoins de l’industrie devraient exploser de 400 % d’ici-là. Quant au secteur agricole, ses prélèvements actuels ne sont pas soutenables, estiment les experts. Entre 1961 et 2009, les terres cultivées se sont étendues de 12 %, tandis que les superficies irriguées augmentaient de 117 % » (http://www.lemonde.fr/ressources-naturelles/article/2015/03/20/la-crise-de-l-eau-illustree-en-5-graphiques_4597592_1652731.html).

Selon les Nations Unies, l’eau pourrait causer huit conflits importants au cours des prochaines années:

1) Le bassin du Jourdain au cœur du conflit israélo-palestinien;

2) Le contrôle par la Turquie des bassins supérieurs du Tigre et de l’Euphrate pouvant porter de forts préjudices à l’Irak et à la Syrie;

3) Le partage de l’eau dans le bassin du Zambèze;

4) L’arbitrage nécessaire dans le bassin du Nil;

5) Des affrontements probables dans plusieurs bassins de l’Afrique de l’Ouest;

6) Le partage de l’eau dans l’ensemble du sous-continent indien;

7) Le contentieux entre la Bolivie et le Chili autour du rio Silala et la nécessaire coopération dans l’entreprise de conservation de l’aquifère Guarani entre l’Argentine, le Brésil, le Paraguay et l’Uruguay;

8) Deux situations potentiellement conflictuelles en Chine : Les trois rivières qui approvisionnent le sud de la Chine sont grandement polluées affectant la santé et limitant l’irrigation. De plus, le Nord du pays qui supporte les deux tiers des champs cultivés du pays, mais ne dispose que du cinquième des ressources hydriques. Au fur et à mesure que la demande augmente dans les villes, dans l’industrie et dans l’agriculture la terre s’assèche en réduisant le volume des nappes phréatiques (teinteresa.es). Par conséquent, deux cas que nous avons exposés ici se retrouvent dans cette liste dressée par les Nations Unies des zones à risques de conflits interétatiques entourant le partage de l’eau au cours des prochaines décennies.

Quand le réalisme l’emporte

Selon l’Unesco, « si les réserves et les infrastructures de l’eau ont souvent servi d’instruments ou de cibles militaires, aucun État n’est entré en guerre spécifiquement pour des ressources en eau depuis que les cités-états de Lagash et d’Umma s’affrontèrent dans le bassin du Tigre et de l’Euphrate en 2500 avant notre ère. Au contraire, selon la FAO, plus de 3 600 traités concernant l’eau ont été signés entre 805 et 1984. Bien que la plupart d’entre eux concernaient principalement la navigation, ils devinrent progressivement plus nombreux à traiter de la gestion de l’eau, notamment la lutte contre les inondations, les projets d’hydroélectricité ou la répartition des eaux dans les bassins internationaux. Depuis 1820, plus de 680 traités ou accords concernant l’eau ont été signés, dont plus de la moitié au cours des cinquante dernières années ».

« L’histoire montre que les litiges internationaux relatifs à l’eau trouvent, de facto, une solution même entre ennemis et même lorsque le conflit a éclaté pour d’autres raisons. Certains parmi les ennemis les plus véhéments du monde ont négocié des accords relatifs à l’eau ou s’emploient à le faire, et les organismes qu’ils ont créés se montrent souvent résilients, même lorsque les relations sont tendues » (unesco.org).

Jules Dufour

Première partie :

L’eau douce se raréfie : Un bilan hydrique mondial. Conflits ou coopération?

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PROGRAMME DES NATIONS POUR L’ENVIRONNEMENT (PNUE). 2012.  Global Environment Outlook-5. Environment for the future we want.  Printed and bound in Malta by Progress Press Ltd, Malta. PROGRESS PRESS LTD. 551 pages. En ligne : En ligne : http://www.unep.org/french/geo/geo5.asp

PROGRAMME DES NATIONS UNIES POUR L’ENVIRONNEMENT (PNUE). 2012. GEO-5. L’avenir de l’environnement mondial. Résumé à l’intention des décideurs. 20 pages. En ligne : http://www.unep.org/geo/pdfs/GEO5_SPM_French.pdf

SERRAT. Céline. 2015. L’ONU redoute une pénurie mondiale d’eau d’ici 15 ans. AFP-Paris, Montréal, Journal Le Devoir, le 22 mars 2015, p. A3.

VALO, Martine. 2015. La crise de l’eau illustrée en 5 graphiques. LeMonde.fr. Le 20 mars 2015. En ligne : http://www.lemonde.fr/ressources-naturelles/article/2015/03/20/la-crise-de-l-eau-illustree-en-5-graphiques_4597592_1652731.html

UNESCO. Aucun signe de futures « guerres de l’eau ». En ligne : http://www.unesco.org/new/fr/natural-sciences/resources/periodical/a-world-of-science/vol-11-n-1/in-focus-water-cooperation/water-wars/

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM (UNEP). 2005. One Planet. Many People. Atlas of Our Changing Environment. En ligne : http://na.unep.net/atlas/onePlanetManyPeople/images/chapters/Atlas_Introduction_Screen.pdf

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM (UNEP). 2007. Global Environment Outlook. GEO 4. environment for development. Valetta, Malta, Progress Press LTD. 540 pages.

UNWATER. Launch of the World Water Development Report. Le 20 mars 2015. En ligne : http://www.unwater.org/news-events/news-details/en/c/281167/

Le bassin du Jourdain

AMIOT, Hervé. 2013. L’eau au Moyen-Orient. Le 20 novembre 2013. En ligne : http://www.lesclesdumoyenorient.com/L-eau-au-Moyen-Orient.html

AMIOT, Hervé. 2013. Eau et conflits dans le bassin du Jourdain. Les Clés du Moyen-Orient. Le 12 décembre 2013. En ligne : http://www.lesclesdumoyenorient.com/Eau-et-conflits-dans-le-bassin-du.html

CHESNOT, Christian. 2002. La Bataille de l’eau au Proche-Orient : un état des lieux. Gaël Bordet, Sénégal, Proche Orient, Paris, 2002. En ligne : http://www.irenees.net/bdf_fiche-documentation-36_fr.html

DUBOIS, Caroline. 2012. Proche-Orient: une eau rare et des conflits. YOUPr1IL.com. Le 30 mars 2012. En ligne : http://www.youphil.com/fr/article/04992-guerres-eau-statu-quo-proche-orient-israel?ypcli=ano

FARAJ, Rezeq. 2005. Palestine. Le refus de disparaître. Lachine, Les Éditions de la Pleine Lune. 238 pages.

INSTITUT EUROPÉEN DE RECHERCHE SUR LA COOPÉRATION MÉDITÉRANÉENNE ET EURO-ARABE. Eau au Moyen-Orient. Enjeux et stratégies. En ligne : http://www.medea.be/fr/themes/geopolitique/eau-au-moyen-orient-enjeux-et-strategies/

LE MONDE.FR ET AFP. 2013. Accord sur l’eau entre Israël, la Jordanie et l’Autorité palestinienne. Le Monde.fr avec AFP. Le 10 décembre 2013. En ligne : http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2013/12/10/accord-sur-l-eau-entre-israel-la-jordanie-et-l-autorite-palestinienne_3528178_3218.html

MEJLISS. 2015. Le Moyen-Orient va manquer d’eau ! Mejliss. Le portail du monde musulman. Le 11 mai 2015. En ligne : http://mejliss.com/moyen-rient-va-manquer-deau

ROUSSEAU, André. 2007. Le rôle de l’eau dans la politique israélienne d’occupation de la Palestine. The International Solidarity Movement. 11 avril 2007. En ligne : http://www.ism-france.org/analyses/Le-role-de-l-eau-dans-la-politique-israelienne-d-occupation-de-la-Palestine-article-6585

WIKIPÉDIA. Jourdain. Dernière mise à jour : Le 20 mars 2015. En ligne : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jourdain

Le bassin du Nil

POWELTON, Frédéric. 2015. L’Égypte, le Soudan et l’Éthiopie s’accordent sur le partage des eaux du Nil. Sahel Intelligence. Le 24 mars 2015. En ligne : http://sahel-intelligence.com/6038-legypte-le-soudan-et-lethiopie-saccordent-sur-le-partage-des-eaux-du-nil.html

WIKIPÉDIA. 2014. Bassin du Nil. Dernière mise à jour le 9 septembre 2014. En ligne : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassin_du_Nil

WIKIPÉDIA. Barrrage de la Renaissance. Dernière mise à jour : Le 7 mai 2015. En ligne : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrage_de_la_Renaissance

Le bassin de l’Indus

ANONYME. 2012. Des barrages et des hommes: l’Inde et le Pakistan, la guerre froide. L’Or Bleu. Le 15 octobre 2012. En ligne : http://lorbleu.blog.youphil.com/archive/2012/10/15/des-barrages-et-des-hommes-l-inde-et-le-pakistan-s-echauffen.html

CLEMENTS, Jürgen. La paix au travers de la gestion transfrontalière de l’eau ? Le Traité des eaux de l’Indus entre l’Inde et le Pakistan. Institut pour l’Asie du Sud de l’Université Ruprecht-Karl de Heidelberg. En ligne : http://www.rural21.com/uploads/media/ELR_Le_Traite_des_eaux_de_l_Indus_0105.pdf

The Indus Waters Treaty 1960. 24 pages. En ligne : http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTSOUTHASIA/Resources/223497-1105737253588/IndusWatersTreaty1960.pdf

WIKIPÉDIA. Indus. Dernière mise à jour : 16 avril 2015. En ligne : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idus

WIKIPEDIA. Indus Waters Treaty. Dernière mis à jour : Le 9 décembre 2014. En ligne : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Waters_Treaty

Jules Dufour, Ph.D., C.Q.. Professeur émérite, géographe. Membre de la Commission mondiale des Aires protégées de  l’Union Internationale de la nature (UICN), Gland, Suisse. Consultant. Bureau International de la Paix (BIP), Genève. Membre, Cercle universel des Ambassadeurs de la Paix, Paris.

The real Masters of the Universe in the U.S. are no weathermen, but arguably they’re starting to feel which way the wind is blowing.

History may signal it all started with this week’s trip to Sochi, led by their paperboy, Secretary of State John Kerry, who met with Foreign Minister Lavrov and then with President Putin.

Arguably, a visual reminder clicked the bells for the real Masters of the Universe; the PLA marching in Red Square on Victory Day side by side with the Russian military. Even under the Stalin-Mao alliance Chinese troops did not march in Red Square.

As a screamer, that rivals the Russian S-500 missile systems. Adults in the Beltway may have done the math and concluded Moscow and Beijing may be on the verge of signing secret military protocols as in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. The new game of musical chairs is surely bound to leave Eurasian-obsessed Dr. Zbig “Grand Chessboard” Brzezinski apoplectic.

And suddenly, instead of relentless demonization and NATO spewing out “Russian aggression!” every ten seconds, we have Kerry saying that respecting Minsk-2 is the only way out in Ukraine, and that he would strongly caution vassal Poroshenko against his bragging on bombing Donetsk airport and environs back into Ukrainian “democracy”.

The ever level-headed Lavrov, for his part, described the meeting with Kerry as “wonderful,” and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the new U.S.-Russia entente as “extremely positive”.

So now the self-described “Don’t Do Stupid Stuff” Obama administration, at least apparently, seems to finally understand that this “isolating Russia” business is over – and that Moscow simply won’t back down from two red lines; no Ukraine in NATO, and no chance of popular republics of Donetsk and Lugansk being smashed, by Kiev, NATO or anybody else.

Thus what was really discussed – but not leaked – out of Sochi is how the Obama administration can get some sort of face-saving exit out of the Russian western borderland geopolitical mess it invited on itself in the first place.

About those missiles…

Ukraine is a failed state now fully converted into an IMF colony. The EU will never accept it as a member, or pay its astronomic bills. The real action, for both Washington and Moscow, is Iran. Not accidentally, the extremely dodgy Wendy Sherman — who has been the chief U.S. negotiator in the P5+1 nuclear talks — was part of Kerry’s entourage. A comprehensive deal with Iran cannot be clinched without Moscow’s essential collaboration on everything from the disposal of spent nuclear fuel to the swift end of UN sanctions.

Iran is a key node in the Chinese-led New Silk Road(s) project. So the real Masters of the Universe must have also — finally — seen this is all about Eurasia, which, inevitably, was the real star in the May 9 Victory Day parade. After his pregnant with meaning Moscow stop — where he signed 32 separate deals — Chinese President Xi Jinping went to do deals in Kazakhstan and Belarus.

So welcome to the New (Silk) World Order; from Beijing to Moscow on high-speed rail; from Shanghai to Almaty, Minsk and beyond; from Central Asia to Western Europe.

By now we all know how this high-speed trade/geopolitical journey is unstoppable — spanning the Beijing-led, Moscow-supported Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the BRICs Development Bank. Central Asia, Mongolia and Afghanistan — where NATO has just lost a war — are being inexorably pulled into this trade/geopolitical orbit covering all of central, northern, and eastern Eurasia.

What could be called Greater Asia is already shaping up — not only from Beijing to Moscow but also from business center Shanghai to gateway-to-Europe St. Petersburg. It’s the natural consequence of a complex process I have been examining for a while now — the marriage of the massive Beijing-led Silk Road Economic Belt with the Moscow-led Eurasia Economic Union (EEU). Putin described it as “a new level of partnership.”

The real Masters of the Universe may have also noted the very close discussions between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the deputy chairman of the Central Military Council of China, Gen. Fan Changlong. Russia and China will conduct naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Japan and will give top priority to their common position regarding U.S. global missile defense.

There’s the not-so-negligible matter of the Pentagon “discovering” China has up to 60 silo-based ICBMs – the CSS-4 – capable of targeting almost the whole U.S., except Florida.

And last but not least, there’s the Russian rollout of the ultra-sophisticated S-500 defensive missile system — which will conclusively protect Russia from a U.S. Prompt Global Strike (PGS). Each S-500 missile can intercept ten ICBMs at speeds up to 15,480 miles an hour, altitudes of 115 miles and horizontal range of 2,174 miles. Moscow insists the system will only be operational in 2017. If Russia is able to rollout 10,000 S-500 missiles, they can intercept 100,000 American ICBMs by the time the U.S. has a new White House tenant.

Once again, the real Masters of the Universe seem to have done the math. Can’t reduce Russia to ashes. Can’t win in the New (Silk) World Order. Might as well sit down and talk. But hold your (geopolitical) horses; they might still change their mind.

The real Masters of the Universe in the U.S. are no weathermen, but arguably they’re starting to feel which way the wind is blowing.

History may signal it all started with this week’s trip to Sochi, led by their paperboy, Secretary of State John Kerry, who met with Foreign Minister Lavrov and then with President Putin.

Arguably, a visual reminder clicked the bells for the real Masters of the Universe; the PLA marching in Red Square on Victory Day side by side with the Russian military. Even under the Stalin-Mao alliance Chinese troops did not march in Red Square.

As a screamer, that rivals the Russian S-500 missile systems. Adults in the Beltway may have done the math and concluded Moscow and Beijing may be on the verge of signing secret military protocols as in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. The new game of musical chairs is surely bound to leave Eurasian-obsessed Dr. Zbig “Grand Chessboard” Brzezinski apoplectic.

And suddenly, instead of relentless demonization and NATO spewing out “Russian aggression!” every ten seconds, we have Kerry saying that respecting Minsk-2 is the only way out in Ukraine, and that he would strongly caution vassal Poroshenko against his bragging on bombing Donetsk airport and environs back into Ukrainian “democracy”.

The ever level-headed Lavrov, for his part, described the meeting with Kerry as “wonderful,” and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the new U.S.-Russia entente as “extremely positive”.

So now the self-described “Don’t Do Stupid Stuff” Obama administration, at least apparently, seems to finally understand that this “isolating Russia” business is over – and that Moscow simply won’t back down from two red lines; no Ukraine in NATO, and no chance of popular republics of Donetsk and Lugansk being smashed, by Kiev, NATO or anybody else.

Thus what was really discussed – but not leaked – out of Sochi is how the Obama administration can get some sort of face-saving exit out of the Russian western borderland geopolitical mess it invited on itself in the first place.

About those missiles…

Ukraine is a failed state now fully converted into an IMF colony. The EU will never accept it as a member, or pay its astronomic bills. The real action, for both Washington and Moscow, is Iran. Not accidentally, the extremely dodgy Wendy Sherman — who has been the chief U.S. negotiator in the P5+1 nuclear talks — was part of Kerry’s entourage. A comprehensive deal with Iran cannot be clinched without Moscow’s essential collaboration on everything from the disposal of spent nuclear fuel to the swift end of UN sanctions.

Iran is a key node in the Chinese-led New Silk Road(s) project. So the real Masters of the Universe must have also — finally — seen this is all about Eurasia, which, inevitably, was the real star in the May 9 Victory Day parade. After his pregnant with meaning Moscow stop — where he signed 32 separate deals — Chinese President Xi Jinping went to do deals in Kazakhstan and Belarus.

So welcome to the New (Silk) World Order; from Beijing to Moscow on high-speed rail; from Shanghai to Almaty, Minsk and beyond; from Central Asia to Western Europe.

By now we all know how this high-speed trade/geopolitical journey is unstoppable — spanning the Beijing-led, Moscow-supported Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the BRICs Development Bank. Central Asia, Mongolia and Afghanistan — where NATO has just lost a war — are being inexorably pulled into this trade/geopolitical orbit covering all of central, northern, and eastern Eurasia.

What could be called Greater Asia is already shaping up — not only from Beijing to Moscow but also from business center Shanghai to gateway-to-Europe St. Petersburg. It’s the natural consequence of a complex process I have been examining for a while now — the marriage of the massive Beijing-led Silk Road Economic Belt with the Moscow-led Eurasia Economic Union (EEU). Putin described it as “a new level of partnership.”

The real Masters of the Universe may have also noted the very close discussions between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the deputy chairman of the Central Military Council of China, Gen. Fan Changlong. Russia and China will conduct naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Japan and will give top priority to their common position regarding U.S. global missile defense.

There’s the not-so-negligible matter of the Pentagon “discovering” China has up to 60 silo-based ICBMs – the CSS-4 – capable of targeting almost the whole U.S., except Florida.

And last but not least, there’s the Russian rollout of the ultra-sophisticated S-500 defensive missile system — which will conclusively protect Russia from a U.S. Prompt Global Strike (PGS). Each S-500 missile can intercept ten ICBMs at speeds up to 15,480 miles an hour, altitudes of 115 miles and horizontal range of 2,174 miles. Moscow insists the system will only be operational in 2017. If Russia is able to rollout 10,000 S-500 missiles, they can intercept 100,000 American ICBMs by the time the U.S. has a new White House tenant.

Once again, the real Masters of the Universe seem to have done the math. Can’t reduce Russia to ashes. Can’t win in the New (Silk) World Order. Might as well sit down and talk. But hold your (geopolitical) horses; they might still change their mind.

There is much speculation about US Secretary of State John Kerry’s rush visit to Russia in the wake of Russia’s successful Victory Day celebration on May 9.  On May 11, Kerry, who was snubbing Russia on the 9th, was on his way to Russia, and Putin consented to see him on May 12.

As time passes we will find out why Kerry was snubbing Putin on May 9 and 3 days later was criticizing Washington’s puppet regime in Ukraine.  For what is known at this time, a possible explanation is that Washington is coming to its senses.

If you watched the 1 hour 20 minute video of the Victory Day Parade, you are aware that the celebration sent a powerful message.  Russia is a first class military power, and Russia is backed by China and India, whose soldiers marched with Russia’s in the parade.

So, while the increasingly irrelevant West, absorbed in its own self-importance, snubbed the celebration of the victory that the Red Army gave them over Hitler, the three largest countries in the world were present united.  Russia has the largest land mass, and China and India, also large land masses, have the world’s largest populations.

The celebration in Moscow made it clear that Washington has failed miserably to isolate Russia.  What Washington has done is to make the BRICS more unified.

With the President of China sitting at the right hand of Putin, the celebration also made it completely clear even to the morons in the Obama regime that Washington is no longer the Uni-power.

Consider now the impact on Washington’s vassal states in Europe, the crux of the American Empire.  Europeans are aware that two of the most powerful military states in history did not survive their invasions of Russia. Napoleon lost the Grande Army in Russia, and Hitler lost the Wehrmacht in Russia. It has dawned on Europeans that they are being shoved into conflict with Russia in the interest of Washington’s claim to be the World Hegemon. Europeans are accustomed to obey Washington, but when it came to being forced into conflict with Russia, Europeans began to express dissent. Signs of an independent European foreign policy appeared with Merkel and Hollande’s meeting with Putin to resolve the Ukrainian crisis orchestrated by Washington.

Faced with the failure of its policy of isolating Russia and the emergence of an independent foreign policy in Europe, Washington sent Kerry as a supplicant to Putin to work out a way to de-escalate the Ukrainian crisis. Putin being a peacemaker will permit Washington to save face. But this will not please the neoconsevatives or the military/security complex. The former are invested heavily in claims of Amerika Uber Alles, and the latter are lusting for the abundant revenues from a new cold, or hot, war.

Obama, Kerry, and Cameron have to become magicians.  They have to transition from demonizing Putin to working with him.

Having failed with force against Russia, the West is now employing seduction.  If Western peoples hope to escape from the Police State that Washington has imposed on the entire Western World, we must pray that Putin does not fall for the seduction.

There is no world leadership in the West. There is only selfishness and hubris.  Western “leadership” is exploitative.  The West loots the non-West and is now turning on itself with its looting of Ireland and Greece, with Italy, Spain, and Portugal the next targets for looting. The American public itself has been looted of its jobs and career aspirations.

The Western model of “democratic capitalism” turns out to be neither democratic nor capitalist, but a form of fascism ruled by an oligarchy. The United States is where regime change is most badly needed.

The key vote, in the U.S. Senate, to transfer to international corporate panels America’s democratic national sovereignty over the laws and regulations on the environment, workers’ rights, consumers’ rights, and finance, was officially titled with the misleadingly unrelated phrase “Ensuring Tax Exempt Organizations the Right to Appeal Act,” and it passed the U.S. Senate as “H.R. 1314,” by 65 to 33 votes, at 1:55 in the afternoon of Thursday 14 May 2015.

That’s five votes more than the 60 votes that the measure needed in order to pass. This is the key congressional action among the many that are required in order for U.S. President Barack Obama’s international-‘trade’ treaties — TPP, TTIP, and TISA — to become law in the United States. It’s the ultimate decision-moment, concerning America’s future.

A “Nay” vote meant that the Senator opposed this transfer of democratic national sovereignty, away from elected representatives of the public, to international corporate panels, whose members will be appointed solely by executives chosen by the controlling stockholders in large international corporations. A “Yea” vote meant that the Senator favored this transfer of democratic national sovereignty over to international corporate panels.

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00180

Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of  They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of  CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity, and of  Feudalism, Fascism, Libertarianism and Economics.

Al-Toum still vividly recalls events, including the atrocities committed by Jewish terrorist gangs against the local Palestinian population – memories that still bring tears to his eyes.

Rajab al-Toum, a 126-year-old Palestinian man, says the history books fail to accurately describe the days that followed the Palestinian Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic), which coincided with the establishment of Israel on May 15, 1948.

Al-Toum still vividly recalls events, including the atrocities committed by Jewish terrorist gangs against the local Palestinian population – memories that still bring tears to his eyes.

“The massacres that took place at the time remain etched on my memory,” al-Toum told Anadolu Agency.

Already 59 years old when the Nakba occurred, al-Toum had been working on a farm in Beersheba (in what is now southern Israel) when violent Zionist gangs forced hundreds of thousands Palestinians to flee their homes and villages.

He remembers seeing Jewish soldiers dragging a young pregnant Palestinian woman away before killing her in front of her husband and children.

“I trembled in fear when I saw this,” al-Toum said. “I was afraid they would kill me too.”

After the soldiers slaughtered the pregnant woman, they withdrew, giving al-Toum – along with other Palestinians who were hiding in fear – some respite.

Later, however, al-Toum would discover – to his horror – that the pregnant woman was not the only Palestinian to be slaughtered by Jewish paramilitary groups.

Numerous other men, women and children, he later found out, were killed – often in front of their families – by armed Zionist groups like the Haganah and the notorious Stern Gang.

Many were slaughtered, al-Toum recalled, while others were simply shot and killed.

At the time, he said, most Palestinians failed to grasp the enormity of the catastrophe that was unfolding before them.

They began to understand the scope of the crisis when heavily-armed Jewish gangs stormed their villages on the backs of tanks.

News of the carnage spread like wildfire, said al-Toum, prompting Palestinian men, women and children to flee for their lives – most of them leaving all their property behind.

“Jewish gangs shelled Palestinian villages indiscriminately with the aim of terrorizing residents into fleeing,” the old man said.

Hundreds of Palestinians, he added, were buried under the rubble of their destroyed homes.

“The history books fail to adequately describe the horror of the massacres that took place,” al-Toum, who lives in the city of Beit Lahia in the Gaza Strip, said.

“They don’t do justice to the painful experiences of the Palestinian families who lost their homes,” he asserted.

He said he would never forget the scenes of Palestinian families fleeing their ancestral homes in terror.

“It was the most terrible thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” al-Toum said.

He went on to decry the role played by Great Britain – responsible for Palestine at the time under a League of Nations “mandate” – in allowing Jewish gangs to attack and destroy Palestinian villages.

Al-Toum also denounced Britain’s infamous 1917 “Balfour Declaration,” which had called for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”

Jewish immigration to Palestine rose considerably during the British mandate period, which lasted from 1922 to May 14, 1948.

Ultimately, some 700,000 Palestinians fled their homes – or were forcibly expelled by invading Jewish forces – while hundreds of Palestinian villages and cities were razed to the ground by the conquerors.

The Palestinian diaspora has since become one of the largest in the world.

Until this day, Palestinian refugees remain scattered across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and other countries, while many have settled in refugee camps in the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip.

“Britain armed and protected the Jewish gangs,” al-Toum asserted, adding that many Palestinians who fled their homes had believed – mistakenly, as it turned out – that they would soon return.

Many of these Palestinians kept the keys of their homes; some snuck back to their fields at night to tend to their crops.

“Only gradually did they realize they would never return to their ancestral homes and farms,” the super-centenarian lamented.

Today, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been sentenced to death on some counts, including “the use of a weapon of mass destruction (pressure cooker bomb #2) resulting in death” and “destruction of property by means of an explosive (pressure cooker bomb #2), resulting in death,” The Guardian reports.

Global Research invites you to take a moment to look at some of the best articles published on the Boston Marathon Bombing and the Tsarnaev brothers, all of which reveal lies, anomalies and inconsistencies in the official story.

Probably the most disturbing aspect of Tsarnaev’s trial is that, although he pleaded not guilty, his attorney conceded that he in fact was guilty.

Joachim Hagopian explains:

Despite Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleading not guilty to the 30 counts (17 carrying the death penalty) he was charged within a week after the April 15th bombings last year, his lead defense attorney Judy Clark several days ago conceded to the jury that her client was guilty in her closing argument. Apparently blaming the dead brother whose due process was denied became Dzhokhar’s only defense strategy. The defense team insisted that he was coerced and bullied by his older brother into committing alleged acts of terrorism. Considering no real solid proof other than photos placing Dzhokhar and older brother Tamerlan both wearing backpacks at the scene of the crime where the two bombs exploded was even presented at the trial, no justice for either the Tsarnaevs nor the many victims can possibly come from this guilty verdict.

If the purpose of the US judicial system in criminal trials is to ensure that all factual evidence surrounding an alleged crime or crimes be accurately and fairly presented so that the jurors can properly assess the best semblance of the truth as presented by both prosecution and defense in order for the jury to adjudicate and decide a defendant’s true guilt or innocence, this trial was a complete travesty of justice. (Joachim Hagopian, Boston Marathon Bombings’ Guilty Verdict Exposed as a Gross Travesty of Justice, Global Research, April 12, 2014)

As stated in an article published by WhoWhatWhy in December 2014, we also learned during the trial that his late brother Tamerlan had been accused of a triple murder without any evidence to support the accusations. It was also suggested that Dzhokhar may have been involved.

For nearly any crime requiring a “Whodunnit” answer in Boston around the time of the April 15, 2013 Marathon bombing, the authorities answered: The Tsarnaev brothers.

One egregious crime pinned on them was a grisly Sept. 11, 2011, triple murder in Waltham, Mass.

Now, prosecutors in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have delivered a shocking reversal. They admit to having no evidence that his dead brother, Tamerlan, was involved in the slayings.

That wasn’t the case right after the bombing: law enforcement fingered Tamerlan as the perpetrator, and suggested Dzokhar may have been involved. Much of the media has presented it as fact ever since.” (James Henry, Boston Bombing: Feds Admit No Evidence Tsarnaev Brothers Involved in the Slayings, WhoWhatWhy, December 9, 2014)

In addition to inconsistencies and lies in the narrative, mysterious deaths surrounding this case involved the FBI. Two FBI agents who had been involved in Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s arrest  “were killed after falling from a helicopter into the water” and Ibragim Todashev, a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter believed to be a friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, “was shot and killed in his apartment by the FBI.”(JG Vibes, FBI Agents Killed in Virginia Were Investigating the Boston Bombing, intellihub.com and Global Research, May 25, 2013)

PilotOnLine.com reported:

“A law enforcement source told The Pilot the incident happened about 12 nautical miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. The official blamed bad weather for the incident and said the agents – members of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, based in Quantico – fell into the water. The official said he believed the agents died as a result of the impact rather than drowning.”

Tamerlan was also suspected to be a double agent for the FBI.

The selection of articles below reveals several other inconsistencies contained in the official version as well as many anomalies surrounding this affair.

SELECTED ARTICLES

Boston Marathon Bombings’ Guilty Verdict Exposed as a Gross Travesty of Justice, Joachim Hagopian,

With the official government narrative of the 9/11 attack filled with a plethora of lies that have since been subsequently exposed, the next biggest “war on terror” event on US soil that the feds failed to stop was the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

Boston Bombing: Feds Admit No Evidence Tsarnaev Brothers Involved in the Slayings, James Henry

The Boston Marathon bombing is much more important than has been acknowledged, principally because it is the defining domestic national security event since 9/11—and has played a major role in expanding the power of the security state.

The Boston Bombing Web of Lies, Julie Lévesque

According to the suspects’ mother, the FBI had been following them for years: The FBI originally feigned ignorance over the identity of the two Boston bombing suspects, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, as they appealed to an unwitting public to help them “identify” and “find” the suspects. […] Russia Today, in an article titled, “‘They were set up, FBI followed them for years’- Tsarnaevs’ mother to RT,” stated of the suspects’ mother.

The Boston Marathon Bombing’s Inflated Injury Tallies, Prof. James F. Tracy

In sum, the photos, videos, stories and figures comprising the mediated BMB do not add up and suggest elements of a manufactured event. The inflated injury count provided by the City of Boston is not readily supported by existing visual documentation of the two bombings, where at most several dozen individuals may have been seriously impacted.

The Boston Bombings and the CIA Connection. Graham Fuller and Uncle Ruslan Tsarnaev,  F. William Engdahl

Ruslan Tsarnaev, the outspoken uncle of the brothers was married to Samantha A. Fuller until 2004. Samantha’s father is Graham Fuller, the senior CIA person who was the architect the Afghan Islamic fundamentalist Mujahideen war against the Soviets. He is also involved in creating a global jihad network, presumably acting on behalf of CIA interests.

FBI Agents Killed in Virginia Were Investigating the Boston Bombing, JG Vibes

Two FBI agents died in a “fall” from a helicopter in Virginia this week. Days later it has emerged that these agents were involved in the arrest of  Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Five Key Questions That Were Not Asked During the Trial of “Boston Bomber” Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21st Century Wire

Was older brother Tamerlan working as an informant for the FBI? Why were Craft International mercenaries active at the finish line, and did one of them place a backpack on the ground just before the bomb went off?

Boston Bombings: Was Tamerlan Tsarnaev a Double Agent Recruited by the FBI?, Prof Peter Dale Scott

There is a strong possibility that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of the two brothers, was a double agent, perhaps recruited by the FBI.

If Tsarnaev was a double agent, he would be just one of thousands of young people coerced by the FBI, as the price for settling a minor legal problem, into a dangerous career as an informant.

See also:

Boston Marathon Bombing Timeline, Prof. James F. Tracy

In Defense of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev: The Real Smoking Gun in Boston, Kurt Haskell and Patrick Henningsen

Boston Bomber’s Deafening Silence: What Would Tsarnaev Reveal?,  Lara Turner

We invite you to search through our extensive database using key words:

Tsarnaev archive

Boston Bombing archive

The Ukrainian government has approved an approximate price tag for the construction of a so-called “wall” along its border with Russia: the newly-released cost estimate of $500 mln as of the end of 2014 has been slashed to approximately $200 mln; and the works will run faster – it will now take three years rather than four, as was claimed earlier.

Ukraine has reduced the estimated cost of the construction of a so-called “Wall” project along its border with much-feared Russia.

Construction work will now require 4 billion hryvnias (almost $200 million) and will run for three years. At the end of 2014, the government had claimed it would need four years and an estimated 8 billion hryvnias (at that time, the equivalent of $500 mln).

© AP PHOTO/ INNA VARENYTSIA

A Ukrainian national flag is attached to the fence on the Ukrainian-Russian border near Hoptivka, Kharkiv region, eastern Ukraine

According to the project, more than 2,000 kilometers of the country’s actual border with Russia will be protected with anti-tank (anti-transport) trenches measuring four meters wide and two meters deep as well as 17-meter tall metal watchtowers, observation posts, alarms, retaliatory weaponry and special border check-points.

The construction work along the border as well as in territories adjacent to the zone of the so-called anti-terrorist operation and Russia’s Republic of Crimea will be supervised by the state border guard service.

Out of the 4 billion hryvnias needed for the project, 1 billion ($48mln)  is slated to be spent by the end of 2015.

© SPUTNIK/ PAVEL PALAMARCHUK

International crossing point “Ugrinov-Dolgobichuv” at Ukrainian-Polish state border

Earlier in May, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko confirmed that the nation’s government still plans to build its so-called Great Wall of Ukraine but claimed that Ukraine will set aside 300 million hryvnias ($12.8 million) to begin engineering work on border defenses this year.

Ukrainian officials first proposed the Great Wall in Autumn, claiming it will prevent Russian tanks from crossing the border.

The project was called the “Wall”, but then-Prime Minister Yatsenyuk proposed to rename it the “European bulwark”.

North Korea may have executed this general with anti-aircraft guns. Or he may be alive and well. The Washington Post thought you might like to read some guesses about him.

The Washington Post (5/12/15) has a sensational story about North Korean Gen. Hyon Yong Chol:

North Korea’s equivalent of a defense minister has been executed by anti-aircraft gun for insubordination and treason—including for sleeping during a meeting where Kim Jong Un was speaking, South Korea’s intelligence agency said Wednesday.

Reporters Anna Fifield and Yoonjung Seo continue:

The report, if true, would starkly illustrate the brutal extent to which the young North Korean leader is going to consolidate power.

And if it isn’t true? I suppose it would starkly illustrate the low standards the Washington Post sets for itself when reporting about an official enemy.

Most of the information in the article is based on what “officials from the [South Korean] National Intelligence Service told local reporters at a briefing in Seoul”—local reporters, meaning not the Washington Post. What did the Post hear directly? “An NIS spokesman confirmed to the Post that it believed Hyon had been executed.”

So the sensational stuff in the article is what local South Korean journalists said they were told by South Korean intelligence about that country’s bitter rivals. But South Korean intelligence is a reliable source, right?

Well, no—not according to the Post. In the article’s eighth paragraph, the reporters note: “The NIS report could not be independently verified. NIS’s claims turn out to be wrong as often as they are right.”

Is it really the Washington Post‘s policy to base stories on claims that are “wrong as often as they are right”?

The Washington Post presents images of “some sort of targets” on a firing range as evidence that North Korea is executing prisoners with anti-aircraft guns.

In this case, presumably the Post felt confident betting on “right” rather than “wrong” because someone who blogs about North Korea said the report “rang true.” Isn’t this the kind of bizarre thing the North Koreans are always doing?

The Post also tried to shore up this highly speculative story by referring to another highly speculative story the paper recently published.  The new article noted:

A recent report from the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea contained satellite imagery apparently showing several people standing in front of anti-aircraft machine gunsat a military training area 13 miles north of Pyongyang in October last year.

The link in that passage goes to an article the Post published on May 1, with the lengthy headline, “Does North Korea Execute People With Anti-Aircraft Guns? New Satellite Images Suggest the Rumors May Be True.” The article reports that the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea released images that

appear to show several individuals standing in front of anti-aircraft machine guns at a military training area…. It appears, though it cannot be confirmed, that these people are being executed.

Actually, if you follow the Post‘s link to the report, the committee itself says that the images show “what appear to be some sort of targets” on a North Korean firing range–and then concludes, mainly because the firing range doesn’t look to be designed for high-caliber weapons, that “the most plausible explanation of the scene captured in the October 7th satellite image is a gruesome public execution.”

Maybe. Or maybe “what appear to be some sort of targets” on a firing range actually are targets. Or maybe they are people who are lining up not because they are about to be shot, but because they are engaged in military training, which frequently involves lining up.

But this is North Korea we’re talking about, so “maybe” is good enough to pin a story on.

h/t: Left I on the News

Messages can be sent to the Washington Post at [email protected], or via Twitter @washingtonpost. Please remember that respectful communication is the most effective.

A new group of leaders from the military industrial complex has formed seeking to pressure potential presidential candidates into supporting a ‘strong foreign policy’.

Americans for Peace, Prosperity, and Security (APPS) has been established by former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers. It wants to be the “premiere national security and foreign policy organization during the 2016 debate”, and to “help elect a president who supports American engagement and a strong foreign policy”.

Watch a video version of this report below:

The organization refuses to disclose its donors, but its list of supporters provides us with a who’s who of the military industrial complex.

Advisory Board Member John Coburn

• Chairman and CEO of VT Systems, a company delivering communications technology for the U.S. Defense Department.

Advisory Board Member Stephen Hadley

• Principal at consulting firm RiceHadleyGates and serves as a board member to defense contractor Raytheon, a position paying $228,007 annually.

New Hampshire Board Member Rich Ashooh

• Director of Strategy at BAE Systems.

New Hampshire Board Member James Bell

•  Chief executive of EPE Corporation, a manufacturing company that says it is a “premier supplier to the defense community.”

Advisory Board Member John Engler

• President of the Business Roundtable, lobbying group for major corporations, including defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, United Technologies and Northrop Grumman.

New Hampshire Board Member Ken Solinksy

•  Founder of Insight Technologies, a night vision and electro-optical systems firm acquired by L-3 Communications.

New Hampshire Chairman and Advisory Board Member Walt Havenstein

• Former chief executive of BAE Systems and SAIC, two of the largest defense contractors in America. Havenstein left SAIC in 2012 and was paid partially in company stock options.

We can safely say it is unwise to have those with a vested interest in war seeking to advise and influence the foreign policy direction of a hegemonic power like the United States.

APPS appears to be one of many recent outgrowths of the previous Neoconservative ‘think thank’ and pressure group known as the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) which openly advocated for military adventurism worldwide and whose founders included committed war hawks John Bolton, Robert Kagan, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney to name only a few.

In a short promotional video from APPS notice when Rogers says ‘the threat matrix facing America today has never been broader’, a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin is then flashed on screen (subliminal), but not mentioned in the narration. This follows a trend of certain figures and institutions looking to start a war with Russia; something that should definitely beavoided not subconsciously hinted at.

The group’s formation reveals the far-reaching extent to which the military industrial complex will collaborate in an attempt to direct policy. While APPS is looking for a President ‘who supports American engagement’, a massive 53% of Americans now see ‘American engagement’ in Iraq as a huge mistake. Pursuing such a policy in the 2016 race would amount to political suicide.

We also need further clarification on APPS’s second goal, of finding a President with ‘a strong foreign policy’. What exactly does this mean? We can assume that the military industrial complex is not content with merely supporting rebels groups in foreign civil wars, and would instead prefer more direct involvement.

A few months ago the British government sent a massive £280M into the arms of the military industrial complex view as a concession being sent to the sector to make up for the British government’s refusal to go to war in Syria.

This should serve as proof to those who refuse to acknowledge the dangers, and even existence of, an inflated and overly influential military industrial complex. A ‘strong foreign policy’ should not mean warfare as the primary means of conducting foreign policy. It is entirely possible to, instead, base a ‘strong foreign policy’ outlook on diplomacy and war-avoidance.

While it will always be in someone’s interest to go to war, it takes a far stronger leader to consider those other, diplomatic options. A real President would keep the military industrial complex under control, not be controlled by it.

Be very wary of any candidates publicly showing support for APPS in the future.

Follow me here: http://twitter.com/StuartJHooper

Georgia’s fugitive ex-president Mikhail Saakashvili and hawkish US Senator John McCain have been approved as members of the newly-formed International Advisory Group that will help Ukraine’s president in “conducting reforms.”

Saakashvili has been appointed as head of the new advisory group, says the statement on Ukraine’s presidential website.

The list of members included in the advisory group mostly includes current and former European politicians. Among them are the German member of the European Parliament and the current Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs Elmar Brok, Sweden’s former Prime and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister of Slovakia Mikulas Dzurinda, and Lithuania’s former Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius.

Back in February Saakashvili was appointed as a non-staff adviser to Poroshenko. The ex-Georgian president, who was in power from 2004 to 2013, faces numerous charges at home, including embezzlement of over $5 million, corruption and brutality against protesters during demonstrations in 2007. Georgia’s Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched proceedings to indict Saakashvili and place him on the international most wanted list, but Kiev refused to hand over the fugitive president, despite an existing extradition agreement between Ukraine and Georgia.

Saakashvili is known for his strong anti-Russian stance, which garnered heavy US support. In August 2008 during his term in office Georgia launched an offensive against South Ossetia, killing dozens of civilians and Russian peacekeepers stationed in the republic. Georgia’s shelling of Tskhinval prompted Russia to conduct a military operation to fend off the offensive. Despite Saakashvili’s claims that the conflict was “Russian aggression,” the 2010 EU Independent Fact Finding Mission Report ruled that Tbilisi was responsible for the attack.

Image from Facebook (Mikheil Saakashvili’s Page)

Meanwhile Senator John McCain, for years spearheading the anti-Russian and particularly anti-Putin crusade, said that while he “would love to do anything” to help Ukraine, he has not yet cleared his new appointment under the US Senate rules.

“I was asked to do it both by Ukraine and Saakashvili and I said I would be inclined to do it but I said I needed to look at all the nuances of it, whether it’s legal under our ethics and all that kind of stuff,” McCain told BuzzFeed.

At the onset of the Ukraine’s Maidan protests against former president Viktor Yanukovich, McCain appeared in Kiev to support the uprising that months later culminated in a coup.

“We … want to make it clear to Russia and Vladimir Putin that interference in the affairs of Ukraine is not acceptable to the United States,” the US Senator told a crowd of some 200,000 anti-government protesters in the central square of Ukraine’s capital.

Image from Facebook (Mikheil Saakashvili’s Page)

Following the new Kiev authorities’ attempt to suppress dissent in the east of the country and Crimea’s ascension into the Russian Federation, McCain became the main engine of lobbying for lethal arms supplies to Ukrainian forces to “defend themselves” and Europe from “Russian aggression.”

“The Ukrainian people don’t want US or Western troops to fight for them; they are simply asking for the right tools to defend themselves and their country,” he said late last month at a hearing on US security policy in Europe. “Russia’s invasion and dismemberment of Ukraine should remind everyone of the true nature of Putin’s ambitions and the fragility of peace in Europe.”

McCain’s statements following the Minsk II ceasefire agreement make it clear that peace in Ukraine is not something the hawkish politician supports. Despite the general agreement that Minsk Accords is the only way forward for a political resolution to the crisis, McCain rejected the agreement as “solidifying the gains of Russian aggression.”

McCain has also been hinting at starting a new nuclear arms race with Russia. “Negotiating further strategic nuclear reductions with Russia would be a dangerously naive non-starter with the US Senate. It simply defies common sense to negotiate nuclear reductions with Vladimir Putin,” he said last month following US administration’s call for further strategic nuclear reductions.

President Barack Obama Thursday played host to a collection of emirs, crown princes and senior ministers of the Persian Gulf Arab oil monarchies, a collection of dictatorial regimes that constitute Washington’s principal allies in the Arab world.

Appearing before the press with representatives of the six regimes that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council, Obama described them as among Washington’s “closest partners” and affirmed a US commitment to “stand by our GCC partners against external attack.”

The summit at Camp David was part of an increasingly clumsy balancing act by Washington as it attempts to conclude an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program and pursue the possibility of a rapprochement with Tehran. This policy is bitterly opposed by the sectarian Sunni monarchies, which view Iran as a threat in large measure because of their repression of their own Shia populations.

The presence of only two of the six crowned heads that make up the GCC—the emirs of Kuwait and Qatar—was widely viewed as a deliberate snub of the Obama administration by the oil monarchies, expressing their hostility to the negotiations with Iran and concern that US imperialism could be weakening its decades-old commitment to defend these regimes as bastions of reaction in the Arab world.

The most notable of the absentees was Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Salman, who assumed the throne just last January, is widely reported to suffer from both Alzheimer’s and dementia and may not have been able to play any role in the talks in Maryland. In any case, he sent the two most senior members of his regime, his nephew, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Together they hold the reins of Saudi Arabia’s security and military forces.

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa skipped the summit to join Britain’s Queen Elizabeth for a horse show at Windsor Castle.

Disappointment in the Obama administration’s failure to come through with a formal US-Japan-style mutual defense pact for the Gulf monarchies may have played a role in the no-shows. In discussions last week in Paris with GCC foreign ministers, US Secretary of State John Kerry made statements that were interpreted by some in the region as suggesting that such an agreement was in the offing.

Also expressing the Gulf regimes’ displeasure was a vow by a leading figure in the Saudi royal family, Prince Turki bin Faisal, the 70-year-old former Saudi intelligence chief, that Saudi Arabia would build up its own nuclear program. “Whatever the Iranians have, we will have, too,” he said on the eve of the summit. Iran has always denied that its nuclear program is intended for anything but peaceful purposes.

As part of US imperialism’s protracted drive to assert its hegemony over the energy-rich Middle East, successive American administrations have sworn to defend Saudi Arabia and the lesser oil monarchies. In proclaiming the Carter Doctrine in the immediate aftermath of the 1979 Iranian revolution, President Jimmy Carter declared that any attempt by an outside power to assert control of the Persian Gulf would be “regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.”

The fear among the Saudis and other oil monarchs is that rapprochement with Iran combined with Washington’s “pivot to Asia” could lead to a downgrading of the US military presence in the region, which these undemocratic and widely despised regimes regard as essential to their own survival.

In what appeared to be an indication of the absence of substantive progress in the Camp David talks, Obama said that he was going to “make sure this is not just a photo opportunity” by organizing a similar session next year.

The summit served mainly to underscore the bloody catastrophe that US imperialism has wrought in the region and to expose the gross hypocrisy and duplicity of the rationales used to justify Washington’s policies.

Obama declared that he and the oil emirs and princes had discussed close collaboration in the struggle against “terrorism,” in the process lumping Iran together with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In reality, ISIS and Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the Al Nusra Front, have become the principal fighting units in the bloody sectarian struggle for regime change in Syria, precisely because of the substantial financial and arms support lent by the Sunni oil monarchies, with Washington’s collaboration.

And for all of Obama’s talk of defending the countries of the region against outside aggression, his government is providing critical logistical and intelligence support along with the bombs and missiles that have been used to turn much of Yemen into rubble, in a criminal war of aggression that has killed over 1,400 Yemenis and wounded another 6,000, the vast majority of them civilians.

Obama said that in the course of the summit he had reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad commitment to the security of our Gulf partners.”

He said that this would take the form of increasing “already existing security operations” with more frequent military exercises and other measures aimed at building up the security forces in these dictatorial states. He said that this would include the promotion of “rapid reaction forces” for “peacekeeping” missions. The precedent for such operations was set when Saudi Arabia sent tanks rolling into Bahrain in 2011 to suppress protests by the oppressed Shia majority in that Sunni-ruled monarchy.

He also said his administration would “streamline and expedite” the massive flow of US weaponry into the region, promoting an integrated regional anti-missile system, which will spell massive profits for Lockheed Martin and other US arms merchants.

For all the talk of an Iranian threat, the Gulf monarchies spent some $100 billion on armaments last year, compared to $15 billion for Iran, which has three times as many citizens as all the GCC countries combined.

Keeping a straight face, Obama said he and the emirs and princes had also discussed the importance of “inclusive governance” and “human rights.” In virtually every one of these states, torture, the suppression of free speech and assembly, the imprisonment of political dissidents and brutal executions are the favored means of propping up their ruling royal families. Obama’s rhetoric notwithstanding, they do so with the close collaboration of the CIA and the Pentagon.

Fisherman return from the sea in front of the Tata Mundra plant. Photo: Joe Athialy. Used under Creative Commons license

An Indian fishing community is suing the World Bank in Washington DC over the environmental damage caused by a coal powered plant owned by Tata Power, the largest electricity company in India. The 4,150 megawatt plant is located in the port city of Mundra in Gujarat state.

Tata Power built the $4.14 billion coal plant with the help of a $450 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, that was granted in April 2008. The plant began producing power in March 2012 and was fully operational a year later.

The company claims that the plant is “arguably the most energy-efficient, coal-based thermal power plant in the country.”  But the Wagher, a Muslim minority community that lives in the shadow of Tata Mundra, says that the ash generated by the plant has created significant pollution problems and devastated the local fishing industry, their primary means of livelihood.

“People have respiratory problems now. The elderly are the worst affected,” said Sidik Kasam Jam, a local fisherman who is suing the World Bank, told Earth Rights International, a Washington non profit that helped bring the lawsuit. “You can see the dust on the fish we lay out to dry.”

“In the morning and at night, you can see steam coming off the outfall channel. It never  feels like winter anymore, it is always warm now,” said Budha Ismail Jam, another of the plaintiffs. “The fish catch has been declining since 2011. The last three years have been particularly bad. In one day, I used to catch three times as much fish as I have caught in the last 7 days.”

In June 2011, the Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan (Association for the Struggle for Fisherworkers’ Rights) filed a complaint against the IFC with the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO).

In an audit report issued in August 2013, the CAO agreed that the Wagher “were not adequately considered” and that a “lack of effective consultation with fishing communities early in the project cycle process resulted in missed opportunities to assess, avoid and reduce adverse potential adverse impacts of the project.”

The World Bank says that the plant is providing power to 16 million rural and urban-based domestic consumers in the western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra as well as in the northern states of Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan.

But Rick Herz, Earth Rights litigation coordinator, says that is no excuse for destroying the livelihood of the local community. “While the IFC purports to support this project in the name of poverty reduction and development, its impacts fall hardest on the poorest and most vulnerable communities,” Herz said in a press statement. “The IFC failed on all counts with the Tata Mundra project.”

The IFC claims that it is looking into the matters raised. “The company has commissioned model confirmation studies that will provide insights into any impacts on the marine environment and livelihoods of the fishing communities,” the IFC says in a “frequently asked questions” section of the World Bank’s website.

Meanwhile the Tata Mundra plant is not doing well financially. In February 1015, ICICI Securities financial analysts estimated that the project had lost Rs 3,817 crores in the last three years ($636 million) because of the increase in the costs of coal imported from Indonesia.

In 2013, the company asked the state governments to pay an extra 20 percent for electricity from Tata Mundra. Although the Indian Central Electricity Regulatory Commission initially approved an increase from Rs 2.26 per megawatt to Rs 2.73 ($0.0376 to $0.0455), the Supreme Court struck down the rate hike in August 2014.

“You have been awarded the contract because you were the lowest,” Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar told Tata Power. “Once you agree to it how can you ask for increase in prices now. It’s a contract which you had agreed to. Now you can’t claim that its a loss.”

Five major international banks are expected to plead guilty as soon as next week to criminal charges in the US related to their deliberate manipulation of global foreign exchange markets, which allowed them to rake in billions of dollars at the expense of retirees, university endowments and municipalities.

Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Barclays and UBS are expected to plead guilty to felony fraud and antitrust charges. They will pay fines totaling several billions of dollars, according to bank and regulatory officials who spoke anonymously with the New York Times, Bloomberg and Reuters.

The effect of the guilty pleas will be essentially zero, beyond the immediate costs of the fines levied on the institutions. As the Times put it, “life will go on, probably without much of a hiccup.”

In the years since the financial crisis, federal regulators avoided bringing criminal charges against banks and their executives, opting instead for either cash settlements and so-called deferred-prosecution agreements, in which charges are delayed on the basis of the banks’ compliance with certain conditions.

In 2012, it became clear that major global banks, including UBS and Barclays, were systematically engaged in manipulating LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate), the benchmark global interest rate on the basis of which hundreds of trillions of dollars of financial contracts are valued.

In June of that year, Barclays was fined $200 million by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and $160 million by the United States Department of Justice. This was followed by UBS’s agreement in December 2012 to pay regulators $1.5 billion in connection with the scandal and an agreement by Deutsche Bank in 2015 to pay $2.5 billion to regulators. Numerous other banks, including Citigroup and JPMorgan, were fined by European authorities.

UBS was offered a deferred-prosecution agreement in connection with the LIBOR scandal, but broke the terms of the agreement by manipulating the $5.3 trillion-a-day foreign exchange markets in the subsequent periods.

In late 2014, six banks—JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC—agreed to pay $4.3 billion to federal regulators to settle civil charges.

The investigation charges also had a criminal component, which the Justice Department is now seeking to settle with guilty pleas from the banks. Unlike some previous cases, however, these guilty pleas are expected to come not merely from the subsidiaries of the banks, but from bank holding companies themselves.

Financial regulators have released voluminous records in connection with the foreign exchange scandal, showing how brazenly and openly bank traders discussed rigging currency rates, even as they knew their employers were being investigated for similar activities with regard to LIBOR.

Despite the unprecedented character of the pleas, the actual impact of the admissions of criminal wrongdoing by the banks is expected to be next to nothing.

As the Times reports,

“Behind the scenes in Washington, the banks’ lawyers are also seeking assurances from federal regulators—including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Labor Department—that the banks will not be barred from certain business practices after the guilty pleas.”

In particular the banks are seeking waivers to retain their status as “well-known seasoned issuers,” allowing them to raise credit more easily, as well as the ability to operate mutual funds. The Times reports that “a majority of commissioners” of the SEC are in favor of granting such such waivers.

In fact, for the biggest corporations, being convicted of a felony is increasingly becoming legally irrelevant, and just one element of their normal operations. As the Times points out, the guilty pleas are merely “an exercise in stagecraft.”

One former Justice Department official told the Times that an “underlying assumption” of the Justice Department is that “the bank is not a criminal operation.” But the emergence of scandal after scandal, including the selling of toxic mortgage-backed securities that caused the financial crisis, the forging of foreclosure documents, widespread complicity in Bernard L. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, money laundering, and tax evasion by Wall Street testifies to the fact that the banks are, in fact, criminal outfits.

Since taking office shortly after the onset of the financial crisis, the Obama administration has sought not to hold the banks to account and prevent criminal wrongdoing, but rather to conceal their crimes and, when this becomes impossible, to issue wrist-slap punishments that allow the banks to go on largely as before.

In these cases, the fines levied by financial regulators remain a cost of doing business, and pale in comparison with the billions of dollars made by the major banks every year through criminal activities.

The guiding principle of the Obama administration, in the words of former Attorney General Eric Holder, is that the giant banks are “too big to jail.” As the Times article explained, prosecutors are “mindful that too harsh a penalty could imperil banks that are at the heart of the global economy.”

In exchange for their services, top financial regulators are almost universally provided with high-paying positions in Wall Street after their stints with the government.

Most notably, Ben Bernanke, the former Federal Reserve chairman who funneled trillions of dollars in government funds to Wall Street, announced last month that he has been hired by Chicago-based hedge fund Citadel LLC. This followed the announcement in November 2013 that former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner joined the hedge fund Warburg Pincus.

To this day, not a single executive at any major bank has been criminally prosecuted for helping to cause the financial crisis, or any of the crimes that followed.

Since protests broke out in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura in April 25^th  2015 against the decision of the  ruling party to nominate the country’s leader Pierre Nkurunziza for a third term as president, the international press has published reports suggesting that the country is on the verge of civil war, as president Nkurunziza, portrayed as a dictator attempting to hold on to power, is confronted with  an ever increasing movement of ‘peaceful protesters’, ‘human rights’ and ‘civil society’ activists who have an almost absolute monopoly on reportage concerning Burundi’s electoral controversy.

While the mainstream media continue to report on the activities of the ‘peaceful protesters’ who have lynched and murdered suspected members of the  imbonerakure, the youth wing of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy, the country’s ruling party,  the massive and entirely peaceful demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of government supporters have been completely ignored.  [1]

It seems a consensus has rapidly been reached concerning who the good and bad guys are in this conflict. But all is not what is seems. In fact, the East African nation is currently experiencing the culmination of a US/EU backed regime change programme which has been conducted as a low-intensity media and covert operations war since 2005. The objective of this war is to redraw the map of the resource-rich Great Lake’s region of Central Africa in accordance with Western corporate and geostrategic interests.

Who is Pierre Nkurunziza?

The current incumbent Pierre Nkurunziza joined the National Council for the Defense of Democracy, Forces for the Defense for Democracy (CNDD-FDD) after the brutal murder of left-wing president Melchior Ndadaye in 1993, the country’s first democratically elected leader who stemmed from the Hutu, ethnic majority in the former German and Belgian colony. Burundi was traditionally ruled by the Tutsi minority ethnic group, whose elites ruled the country in the interests of European colonialism.

Nkurunziza lost many members of his own family during the genocide of the Hutus by the Tutsi military regime which plunged the country into a decade long civil war causing the death of over 300,000 people.

Nkurunziza’s rebel movement signed an agreement with the Tutsi-dominated government of Burundi in Arusha, Tanzania in  August 2000, according to which a transition government of power-sharing between Hutus, Tutsis and Twa would be put in place.

Although in power since 2005, sensu strictu, the country only became a democracy during the election of 2010, where Nkurunziza’s CNDD  won a landslide victory.  It is on this basis that Burundi’s constitutional council, the supreme legal authority in the country, judged correctly that the incumbent has the right to be nominated for another electoral term.

Western backed opposition activists have admitted that the government has not violated the constitution, but insist instead that the constitutional council is corrupt as its members were nominated by the president. No one would claim, for example, that the French constitutional council is corrupt because its members are nominated by the President of the French Republic. But in the case of Africa, constitutional councils are regularly scoffed at by Western powers when their decisions do not conform to neo-colonial interests and neo-colonial interests, not disputes over interpretations of the country’s constitution, are the key issue in the current Burundian crisis.

Since coming to power in 2005, Pierre Nkurunziza has done a remarkable job in re-uniting and re-building a country ruined by internecine war. A fanatical supporter of football, the former physical sports teacher has been rewarded by many peace organizations throughout the world for his use of football as a means of bringing Hutu and Tutsi communities together.

Education has also been a key focus of the Nkurunziza administration.

Burundi has built more schools since 2007 than any previous government since independence almost 50 years ago. Nkurunziza wants to transform Burundi’s economy into a major exporter of fruit and has implemented an ambitious fruit tree plantation programme to this effect.

The Burundian president spends much of his time doing manual work with the peasants of Burundi. After coming to power, the Burundian government passed a law according to which citizens are required to preform community labour on Saturdays in order to expedite the construction of vital public infrastructure. A key role in this endeavour is played by the Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling CNDD party.

The Burundian government has made modest progress in reducing poverty, and has promised to increase economic growth from 4.5 percent to 8.5 percent from 2015 from investments made in nickel mining, fruit production and tourism.

Since 2005 gross domestic product levels have increased significantly. In 2012 Nkurunziza won the Pan-African prize for the fight against Malaria. [2]

Burundi’s success in the fight against malaria has been due to the construction of health centres throughout the country, the provision of free health care for children under five years old and pregnant mothers.

Deeply patriotic and highly popular, having fought a long battle for his country’s liberation, Nkurunziza has succeeded in creating a modest form of national voluntarism, nascent self-reliance and a sense of optimism about the country’s future.

He has increased ties with China, India and Brazil, while adroitly taking advantage of inter-imperialist rivalry for access to African markets by signing several important trade deals with Japan.

Indeed, due to the implacable hostility of the neocolonial powers and their press agencies, Burundi will now most likely have no choice but to increase its links with the BRICS powers.

Nkurunziza’s decision in 2010 to sign an agreement with Beijing that provides for closer Sino-Burundian military cooperation is of tremendous significance. Closer relations with China will enable Burundi to strengthen its defense forces from what Burundian patriots refer to as the BHBFC, the Burundi-Hima-Belgian-French Connection, that is to say, the incessant hostility of the neo-colonial powers and their local collaborators.

Who are the Burundian opposition?

The opposition party Movement for Solidary and Democracy (MSD), part of the umbrella organization, the Alliance for Democratic Change Ikibiri (ADC Ikibiri) is led by Alexis Sinduhije. He is a protégé of US ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power. In the general election of 2010 the The MSD withdrew from the electoral process after gaining a mer 4 percent of the popular vote.  They claimed the elections were unfair, in spite of the fact that international observers did not report any irregularities.

According to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada’s 2013 report, Sinduhije does not fear violence from the Burundian government but, on the contrary, the Burundian government does fear violence from Sinduhije and his armed bandits. [3]

Sinduhije has been accused of terrorism by the Burundi government after it was revealed that he was forcibly recruiting youths in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Eastern Kivu region for the formation of a rebel group with a view to seizing power in Bujumbura.

The MSD leader was arrested in Tanzania in January 2012 where he was accused of forming a terrorist group for the invasion of Burundi. He was subsequently released by the Tanzanian authorities and escaped to Europe,where human rights groups closely linked to the US State Department and Western intelligence agencies such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have hailed him as a champion of ‘human rights.’

Sinduhije has little popular support inside Burundi but he does have the support of the European Union and the United States, who never wanted the Hutu majority to rule Burundi, as imperial divide and rule policy dictates that post-colonial countries should remain internally divided on ethnic lines with a militarized minority constituting a neo-colonial comprador bourgeoisie eternally dependent on their foreign masters.

Francois Nyamoya is the secretary general of the Movement for Solidary and Democracy. He is also the son of Albin Nyamoya, one of the generals involved in the 1972 genocide of the Hutus under the Micombero regime.

A 2011 UN report on the situation in Eastern Congo identifies many of the so-called Burundian oppositionists as involved in smuggling of gold and terrorizing the inhabitants of Southern Kivu.

Notwithstanding the official criminal evidence against the Burundian ‘opposition’, however, the ‘international community’ chooses to present them as heroes attempting to free their country from ‘corruption’. [4]

None of these fake opposition parties should be confused with the 17 democratically elected deputies of the opposition party Uprona. As in the case of Syria, one must distinguish between the legally constituted opposition and the US and European sponsored gangster networks posing as oppositionists.

Ethnic Conflict in the Service of Neo-Colonialism

During the 1980s the Pentagon trained Rwandan Major General Paul Kagame at the US Army Command and Staff College (CGSC) Fortleavenworth, Kansas.

Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Forces invaded Rwanda from Uganda between 1990 and 1994, assassinating two Hutu leaders, President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi and President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda.

An impressive US  led propaganda campaign has  presented Paul Kagame as the man who put an end to the genocide in Rwanda, whereas in fact it was Kagame’ forces with full US and Israeli backing who perpetrated most of the mass killings Hutus, Tutsi and Twa blaming all of their crimes on the majority Hutu government.

In October 1996 Kagame’s forces invaded the Congo on the pretext of fighting Hutu rebels. The real objective, however, was to gain control over the mineral rich province of Eastern Congo in close collaboration with Western corporate mining interests. [5]

Kagame’s regime is one of the proxy-forces being used by the United States and the European Union to destabilize and overthrow the democratically elected government of Burundi.  Many researchers in Burundi suspect that the CIA may have been behind the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye in 1993, given the fact that they directed Kagame who ordered the murder of Ndadaye’s successor Cyprien Ntaramira a year later.

The US government is acutely aware that if the people of Burundi are to know the truth about the US-backed genocide of the Hutus in Rwanda and Burundi, it could jeopardize their foreign policy objectives in the region. Managing people’s perspectives and memory of their own suffering due to US imperialism is a key component of the Pentagon’s strategy in parts of the world it controls. That is why a suitable criminal to replace president Nkurunziza must be found and the CIA database of military intelligence assets is filling up with warlords and war criminals from the Congolese Armageddon, where several million people have been murdered since the US proxy invasion of 1996.

Imperialist geo-strategy: Terrorism and Colour Revolutions

Burundian democracy is currently threatened by two main instruments of Western imperial policy: terrorism and colour revolutions. One of the world’s poorest countries, Burundi could not possibly hope to compete with the barrage of media disinformation waged against it since the Nkurunziza’s election victory in 2010.

Almost every report about the country has been based on the statements of oppositionists and so-called ‘civil society’ activists. These activists are been generously funded by the US State Department think tank, the National Endowment For Democracy,(NED) which on the admission of its founder, functions as a front organization for the CIA. [6]

And as William Blum  has shown in his book ‘ Killing Hope: US military and CIA interventions since 1945’ the Boys from Langley’s job is not promote democracy but,  rather as he puts it ‘make the world safe for democracy by getting rid of democracy.’

Many activists and pseudo-journalists funded by the NED have been arrested by the Burundian authorities on charges of fomenting ethnic tension and promoting terrorist groups in collaboration with the enemies of the country, a crime prohibited by all internationally recognized nation-states.

Terrorist groups who have attacked Burundi in recent years have received extensive and positive coverage from the Francophone media.

For example, in a report entitled ‘Retour de la Rebellion’ French journalist Pauline Simonet reported on a ‘rebel’ group in Eastern Congo, who are hoping to invade and seize power in Burundi. The terrorist group was presented in a positive light, while the point of view of the Burundian government was dismissed. The message was clear: the ‘rebels’ have a just cause and are worthy of our sympathy.

The report also mentioned the massacre of Gatumba of the 18 and 19^th of September 2013 where several civilians were murdered outside the Burundian capital. The Burundian National Intelligence Service (SNR) blamed the attack on the Forces for National Liberation (FLN), a terrorist group based in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and headed by warlord Agathon Rwasa, whom UN investigators have accused of gold smuggling. The France 24 team seems to be unaware of official UN investigations.

Instead the French TV station suggested that the Gatumba Massacre might have been a false flag operation carried out by the Burundian Government to discredit the ‘opposition’, in spite of having no evidence to support this conspiracy theory. [7]

Rwasa is a former opposition candidate from the ACD-Ikibiri coalition and a full time criminal who ran against Nkununziza in 2010, lost miserably, declared the election to be false, fled to the Congo and returned to his specialization: terrorism.

Lucien Rukevya, a journalist with Radio France Internationale’s Swahili section was arrested on June 16^th 2013 while embedded with a Burundian terrorist group. He was charged with complicity in the promotion of terrorism against the Burundian state.  The French media and associated ‘human rights’ groups, did their best to justify this young man’s flagrant and criminal violation of journalistic professionalism, in order to accuse the Burundian government of cracking down on ‘free speech’.

In September 9^th 2013 ‘journalist’ Hassan Rovakuki was also arrested for complicity in terrorism. The charge of the Burundian government against these journalists is that they are spreading propaganda in favour of criminals who are attempting to declare war on the people of Burundi. This is in the context of a poor country whose existence is being constantly threatened by militia on its borders in the service of neo-colonial powers, who have not disguised their wish to implement ‘regime change’ in Bujumbura.

Any serious researcher who reads these press dispatches on the so-called Burundian ‘rebels’ operating from the DRC would have to agree that the reports are incontrovertibly biased against the government of Burundi.

All of the reports emphasize the arguments of the rebels while attempting to dismiss those of the government. This is in violation of the most basic rule in journalism: objectivity. Furthermore, such biased, mendacious and aggressive reporting by the agencies of the most powerful countries in the world against a defenseless developing nation constitutes nothing less than acts of psychological terrorism.

On March 8^th 2014 an armed insurrection was organized by the opposition in Bujumbura. Police were attacked and kidnapped in what was a clear attempt to seize power. The contrast between citizens throughout the country engaged in community labour in an attempt to rebuild a broken country and a group of fascist thugs attempting to plunge the country into chaos could not have been more poignant. Needless to say, the United States expressed ‘concern’ about the ‘brutal’ crackdown on their putschists.

On December 30^th 2014, Burundi’s Northern Province of Cibitoke, on the border with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo was invaded by a terrorist gang. It took the Burundian National Defense Forces four days to defeat the invasion. Many of the terrorists were captured and a spokesman for the army in a press conference after the incident assured reporters that they would be treated according to international humanitarian law.

Meanwhile the NED funded media outlets in the country were zealously spreading pro-rebel propaganda, even publishing photos of dead Shebaab rebels in Kenya, claiming they were  Burundian prisoners of war ‘massacred’ by the Burundian  military.

The European Union and the United States have shamelessly expressed ‘human rights’ concerns about the Burundian government’s defeat of the foreign-backed invasion, while showing no concern for their victims.

The international Francophone press was also vociferous in it condemnation of the arrest in January 2015 of Rob Rugurika, the director of Radio Publique Afrique, a privately-funded ‘opposition’ radio station, after he accused the government of ordering the massacre of three Italian nuns in Kamenge in 2014.

Rugurika, who has links with terrorist groups outside the country, has been accused by the Burundian judiciary of being part of a conspiracy to commit crimes and blame them on the government in a destabilization campaign backed by foreign powers.

In September 2014, 40 bodies were found floating on Lake Rweru between Rwanda and Burundi. Villagers upriver in Rwanda fled from French journalists when they attempted to investigate the crime. They told RFI that they had been warned by the Rwandan authorities not to speak to journalists about what they had seen. In spite of the fact that Burundian authorities could not have been behind the crime, US-funded opposition media inside Burundi continue to peddle all sorts of lies suggesting that the corpses might have been oppositionists murdered by the Burundian government.

The US-funded media disinformation campaign is part of the prelude to the mobilization of street protests against the government that can be presented to the world as a ‘popular uprising’against a ‘dictator’ who is ‘killing his own people’ It is a techinique that has been perfected by US ‘democracy’and ‘civil society’ NGOS.

The director of France’s Lazard Bank and proprietor of the French daily Le Monde, Mathieu Pigasse is on record expressing his adoration for the Arab Spring. He has also pointed out that Western policy makers are now focusing on spreading the techniques of the Arab Spring throughout Africa. The millionaire ‘revolutionist’ has made it clear that Western investors prefer to deal with ‘civil society’ organizations in Africa rather than governments. [8]

This phenomenon is what Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci referred to as the ‘takeover of politics by civil society’, that is to say, the destruction of the political sphere and the agora of human agency and social progress by the absolutism of corporate exploitation.

Since the US-backed people-power coups in North Africa in 2011, the US ‘youth industry’, this anti-politics of destruction, has spread its tentacles throughout the African continent, where, paradoxically, ‘anti-corruption’ and ‘down-with-the-dictator’ activism further entrenches imperialism by contriving a discourse on social discontent that obfuscates its material basis, thereby dis-empowering and corrupting the youth. We could call this phenomenon the stultification of dissent.

The aim of terrorism and people-power coups or colour revolutions is to render nations of the Global South powerless in the face of globalization.

It is a deeply cynical but nevertheless ingenious US foreign policy programme, which, due to the fact that so many critics of US foreign policy continue to believe that the Arab Spring was a genuinely ‘spontaneous uprising’ of the masses against US-backed dictators, attests to the sophistication and prescience of the US foreign-policy establishment.

A Neo-Colonial War on a free African nation.

The United States and the European Union are at war against the people of Burundi. Situated at the heart of the mineral rich Great Lakes region of Africa, the democratic government of Burundi is an obstacle to the depopulation programme currently being carried out  by US client dictator Paul Kagame of Rwanda and his partner Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, who are attempting to carve up Eastern Congo in order to create an independent  Republic of Kivu, bringing that region’s vast wealth into the possession of European and American corporate interests.

In October 2014 the Burundian military were forced to withdraw by the United Nations ‘peace-keeping’ force MONUSCO from Kiliba in Eastern Congo where they had been cracking down on terrorist groups.  Shortyly thereafter, the Burundian authorities arrested several NED funded activists ,who were busy spreading absurd lies about the Burundian military training pro-government Burundian youth( the imbonerakure) in the Congo for the purposes of terrorizing the Burundian population at home.

These lies were meant to incite fear and ethnic hatred among the population, in order to weaken the credibility of the government.

This withdrawal from the DRC will make it more difficult for the Burundian government to protect its borders from terrorism. Meanwhile, ‘peaceful protesters’ are attacking police and lynching pro-government civilians with the full backing of the international military-industrial-media-intelligence complex.

The protesters  in the streets are chanting ‘’down with the dictator’’ and an ‘’end to corruption’’ but in reality, Nkurunziza is being targeted for not serving the interests of the infinitely corrupt scoundrels currently running the United Nations, the potentates of the soi-disant ‘international community’.

The African Union has called on the Burundian government to postpone the elections. This is the same African Union which stood by and watched French forces bomb and invade the Ivory Coast in 2010, Libya in 2011, Mali in 2012, and the Central African Republic in 2013.

If the African Union is to gain a modicum of respect, it must stand up for the sovereignty of African nations and threaten to lead a coalition of military forces to defend any country attacked by US/European imperialism.

In the case of Burundi, the African Union should have denounced the diabolical terrorist and media disinformation campaign against a young democratic country which has just emerged from a civil war. The fact that they did not shows that they have sided with the enemies of Africa. It is hardly surprising that truly independent, post-colonial countries such as Eritrea will have nothing to do with the sham called the African Union.

If the Burundian authorities do not succeed in crushing the violent insurgency, the country could be facing more years of civil war and permanent foreign occupation by UN ‘peace-keepers’ after a ‘humanitarian intervention’ to ‘stop the massacres’. The script has been tried and tested in Haiti, the  Ivory Coast, Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic.

So, the key question  now is this: Can Burundi defy the Empire and protect its people from carpet bombing called ‘humanitarian intervention’, a terrorist invasion called ‘liberation’, a military coup called ‘transitional government’ and  a possible genocide where once again the victims will be blamed?

Notes 

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc9IMovrkow&feature=share

[2] http://burundi-agnews.org/le-politique/politique/?p=2113

[3] http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/264935/378756_en.html

[4] http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1533/egroup.shtml

[5] http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-us-was-behind-the-rwandan-genocide-installing-a-us-protectorate-in-central-africa/18540?print=1

[6] http://ned.org/where-we-work/africa/burundi

[7]  http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xmpaqd_burundi-le-retour-de-la-rebellion_news

[8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUk6QsEUXdg

Gearoid O Colmain is a political analyst based in Paris. He is a frequent contributor to Russia Today and Press TV and has published articles on Global Research, Dissident Voice and other independent media outlets. He has also appeared on Al Jazeera and has contributed to Venezuela’s Radio Del Sur.

In 1990 Amnesty International made a horrendous mistake in the midst of the media campaign leading up to Gulf War 1.  While U.S. military action was being debated and the public was significantly opposed, it was reported that Iraqi troops were stealing incubators from a Kuwaiti hospital and leaving babies to die on the floor. In dramatic testimony before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, a Kuwaiti teenage girl claimed she was a hospital volunteer and eye-witness. Congress members were in tears, the event received huge publicity and had significant influence in changing public opinion. The event was a fabrication conceived by a Washington PR firm and the girl was the Kuwaiti Ambassador’s daughter. There might have been more scrutiny and investigation but the story was corroborated by Amnesty International.

More recently, in early 2011, Amnesty International and other human rights groups were influential in spreading false or exaggerated information about conditions in Libya. It paved the way for a “No Fly Zone” which NATO converted into a mandate for “regime change”. The consequence has been a catastrophic loss of security and living standards for the citizens of Libya and an eruption of violence and sectarianism within and beyond the borders.

Currently we see a major media campaign for a “no fly zone” billed as a “safe zone” in opposition controlled northern Syria. In this context, Amnesty has just issued a report: “Death Everywhere: War Crimes and Human Rights Abuses in Aleppo, Syria“.  The 62 page report alleges the Syrian government is deliberately targeting civilians in opposition controlled parts of Aleppo, using barrel bombs to kill 3124 civilians versus only 35 fighters in the past 15 months. Amnesty accuses the Syrian government of committing war crimes and possible “crimes against humanity”. They recommend an arms embargo against the Syrian government.

Following are significant problems with the report.

1. Amnesty ignores external interference in Syria.

Article 2 of the United Nations Charter says “All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations”. It is public information that Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, USA, France and Britain are funding, supplying, weaponizing and promoting armed insurgents in Syria. Is this not a “use of force” against Syria?  The insurgents, both Syrian and foreign, are being paid salaries by one or another of the countries seeking overthrow of the Damascus government. Turkey is providing facilities and military support. The USA is providing training, communications equipment and coordination. Saudi Arabia, France and Qatar are providing weapons. Britain is providing training and other supplies.  Are these not violations of the U.N. Charter to which all these countries are signators? The Erdogan government in Turkey has openly advocated taking over northern Syria, imposing a “No Fly Zone” and basically enforcing this as a zone controlled by the NATO/Gulf sponsored opposition. This is a clear threat on Syrian territorial integrity. Why does Amnesty ignore this?

2. Amnesty approves the violation of international customary law.  

International customary law does not allow for supplying arms to “vetted” or “approved” insurgents.  Yet one of the Amnesty recommendations to the international community is that: “If considering supplying arms to non-state armed groups in Syria, first carry out a rigorous human rights risk assessment and establish a robust monitoring process …”.

This is an amazing statement, effectively sanctioning the supplying of arms to insurgents who agree to follow “humanitarian” rules of war. The implication is that it’s permissible to kill soldiers, police, government and security people in Syria if you avoid killing civilians. Would it be similarly permissible for Canada and Mexico to train and arm insurgents to come to the U.S. to kill soldiers, police and anyone else defending the security apparatus?

Somehow we can be sure that Amnesty would NOT accept or justify this invasion and violation of international law.  So why are they and others justifying this violation against Syria?

When the U.S. created the ‘Contras’ to sow mayhem and bloodshed in Nicaragua in the 1980s, the World Court at the Hague was clear. Their decision was that “by training, arming, equipping, financing and supplying the ‘Contra’ forces or otherwise encouraging, supporting and aiding military and paramilitary activities in and against Nicaragua” the United States was“in breach of its obligation under customary international law not to intervene in the affairs of another State.”

The situation today with Syria is very comparable. International customary law has not changed.  It is just being ignored. Amnesty should be challenging this violation, not approving it.

3. Amnesty relies on witnesses who are biased and possibly paid and coached.

The Amnesty report is based on interviews with “78 current or former residents of Aleppo and 29 professionals working in or on Aleppo “.  Amnesty established contact with witnesses through collaboration with the following groups:  Syrian Institute for Justice and Accountability, the Violations Documentation Center, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, and the Syria Research and Evaluation Organization.

Each of these collaborating groups is either based in, or receiving funds from, Turkey, USA or one of the other countries heavily involved in seeking overthrow of the Damascus government.

Two-thirds of the displaced persons in Syria live INSIDE Syria. To produce a more accurate and objective report, Amnesty could have obtained testimonies from people who fled Aleppo and are now living in Homs, Latakia, Damascus or in Aleppo under government control.  That would have entailed collaborating with other organizations that are not part of the foreign funded opposition supporting “human rights” groups, but would have given a more balanced picture.

The Amnesty report includes numerous references to testimony or interviews with members of the “Civil Defence”.  What they do not say is that “Syrian Civil Defence”, also known as “White Helmets”, are a creation of the US and UK. There may be some useful training but they are heavily used for propaganda purposes.

The recent exposure of the Richard Engel/NBC hoax confirms that the insurgents are keen to manipulate the media.  It is quite likely that witnesses provided to Amnesty were ‘vetted’ and/or coached in advance and some of them might have been paid. With no other testimonies, the result is a highly distorted picture of circumstances in Aleppo.

4. Amnesty relies on dubious data from a biased source.

The Amnesty analysis and conclusions rely substantially on data from theViolations Documentation Center (VDC).  This source is highly partisan. For example, they divide fatalities into two overall groups: “Martyrs” and “Regime Fatalities”.

“Martyrs” include ISIS fighters and foreign mercenaries killed by the Syrian Army/Militia or even by the U.S. airstrikes around Kobani. See the VDC screenshot photo 1 showing the ISIS “martyr” killed in Kobani. Photo 2 shows a young girl listed as “regime fatality”.

The data itself looks dubious. For example, we know there was much conflict and loss of life in the Idlib area during the past six weeks.  Both Idlib and Jisr al Shughour were captured by the armed opposition.  It is very probable that many Syrian soldiers and armed fighters were killed in the conflict. Many civilians fled the urban areas as the armed groups came in. However, the VDC site (photo 3) shows something startling and less than credible for Idlib Governate from March 1, 2015 through May 1, 2015:

“regime fatalities” (Syrian army, militia and supporting civilians)  = 12

“martyrs” (opposition fighters and supporting civilians) = 662.

There is little or no evidence provided regarding most of the alleged victims. Photographs and video evidence is provided for a small minority of the cases.

The spokesman and advocacy director for VDC is Bassam al Ahmad.  He is based in Istanbul and closely connected to the United States as shown in his recent participation in a “Leadership Conference” as shown in photograph #4 below.

In short, Amnesty’s report and conclusions are based on dubious data from a biased source closely aligned with foreign powers actively seeking “regime change” in Damascus.

5. Amnesty ignores important background information.

There is considerable evidence that armed groups which invaded Aleppo in summer 2012 quickly fell into disfavor and became unpopular. The unpopularity of the armed opposition was identified by American journalists James Foley and Stephen Sotloff in the Fall of 2012 and Winter 2012-2013.  Foley described how rebels invaded Aleppo in the summer of 2012. His article, written in October, was titled “Rebels losing support among civilians in Aleppo”.  A few months later Sotloff described civilian dislike of the rebels in an article titled “Bread lines and disenchantment with the FSA”.

According to the Syrian journalist known as Edward Dark, there was youthful enthusiasm for early protests  but it rapidly turned to regret as armed rebels invaded Aleppo, took over neighborhoods and engaged in widespread looting.  As Dark says in his article “How we lost the Syrian revolution“….

Never have I felt as sad as when, shortly after Aleppo was raided by the rebels, I received messages from some of those people I used to work with. One said, “How could we have been so stupid? We were betrayed!” and another said, “Tell your children someday that we once had a beautiful country, but we destroyed it because of our ignorance and hatred”.

Edward Dark may be naive regarding the extent of US and foreign involvement in the armed insurrection but his article seems to sincerely express the early dreams and subsequent regrets of idealistic protesters in Aleppo.  The Amnesty report completely ignores this important background and context.

6. Amnesty ignores important current information.

Readers of the Amnesty report on Aleppo may assume there have been large numbers of civilians living in the opposition controlled districts. In reality civilians began departing as soon as the armed insurgents invaded neighborhoods years ago.  Currently the most common description of an opposition controlled neighborhood is that it’s a “ghost town”.

Amnesty also fails to disclose the huge number of Syrian soldiers and militia killed by opposition snipers and bombs. Isn’t it relevant that, depending on the source, between 75 and 120 thousand Syrian soldiers and local militia defenders have been killed in Syria?

7. Amnesty echoes allegations which are unverified and probably false.

Opponents of the Syrian government allege that the Syrian Army uses chlorine gas weapons in violation of a recent U.N. Security Council resolution. The Amnesty report includes a graphic of a “barrel bomb” with a caption suggesting that chlorine was used in attacks on March 16, 2015. These claims are widespread but dubious. They ignore the following facts:

(a) Syrian military has no reason to use chlorine since it has more effective bomb explosives;

(b) Syrian military has strong motive to NOT use such a weapon since it has been explicitly sanctioned.

(c) The opposition has a strong motive to use such a weapon because they seek to draw foreign intervention; and,

(d) The opposition has the means and the opportunity to use chlorine gas weapons since they have ground projectiles and because the major chlorine gas producing factory in Syria was seized by Nusra rebels in 2012.

Instead of seriously examining chlorine allegations, the Amnesty report echoes the dubious charges.

8. Amnesty fails to recognize what keeps the conflict going.

As indicated above, the initial enthusiasm of idealistic protesters soon turned to despair as they came face to face with the reality of abusive and sectarian armed gangs. The general population was unhappy and largely departed with whatever they could take. This leaves the question: Why does the conflict continue?  The reason is because there is a continuing supply of money, weapons, foreign fighters and supplies coming through Turkey. Without that, the conflict would have ended long ago. Perhaps there could have been a reconciliation agreement as was done one year ago in Homs.  But because Aleppo is relatively close to the porous border with Turkey, and because wealthy external powers have not been willing to give up on plans for “regime change”, the conflict has continued. Generous salaries have continued to flow to foreign and domestic fighters; supplies and armaments have continued to flow. In recent months Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey have coordinated more closely to escalate the conflict, including collaboration with Jabhat al Nusra (al Queda). Fighters and heavy artillery recently poured across the Turkish border to invade Idlib then Jisr al Shugour.  There are also reports of large quantities of ammonium nitrate fertilizer going across the border from Turkey destined for exploding and killing Syrians not fertilizing the soil.

Conclusion

Amnesty is appropriately concerned with civilian deaths. But what keeps the war going, to the detriment of soldiers and civilians, is external powers continuing to funnel money, supplies, weapons and mercenaries into Syria. It seems the outside powers are willing to destroy Syria rather than give up their plan for regime change in Damascus.

Tragically there is “death everywhere” in Syria. In significant measure, it is the consequence of powerful countries trampling on international law.  Amnesty should be exposing this, not ignoring or approving it.

Photos:

“Martyr” (VDC)

“Regime fatality” (VDC)

Latest Martyr Idlib Fatalities (VDC)

Latest Regime Idlib Fatalities (VDC)

Bassam al Ahmad of VDC at U.S. Leadership Conference (VDC)

Map Aleppo / Turkey

Rick Sterling is active with the Syria Solidarity Movement and Mt Diablo Peace and Justice Center. He can be emailed at: [email protected].Read other articles by Rick.

by Chemical Concern

“Although corn and soybean go primarily into cattle and poultry feed, consumers increasingly want milk and food products to be free of GM ingredients”.

A Bloomberg report continues:

“A growing demand for organics, and the near-total reliance by U.S. farmers on genetically modified corn and soybeans, is driving a surge in imports from other nations where crops largely are free of bioengineering. Imports such as corn from Romania and soybeans from India are booming, according to an analysis of U.S. trade data released Wednesday by the Organic Trade Association and Pennsylvania State University.

“Sales of foods certified by the U.S. as free of synthetic chemicals or genetic engineering reached $35.9 billion in 2014, an 11% increase over 2013 and about 5.1% of U.S. grocery spending. The organic sector’s average annual growth of about 10% is triple that of overall food sales, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture and trade association data.

“According to trade data compiled by the US Organic Trade Association and the Pennsylvania State University, the rising demand for organic foods has pushed up the import bill for corn and soybean, the two most important GM crops being cultivated in America. Although corn and soybean go primarily into cattle and poultry feed, consumers are increasingly wanting milk and food products to be free of GM ingredients”.

Straws in the wind?

The New York Times also reported in January that Monsanto’s earnings fell 34% in the first fiscal quarter as South American farmers cut back on planting corn, reducing demand for the company’s biotech-enhanced seeds. The company said its business was also affected by reduced cotton planting in Australia and a shift in timing for its chemical business.

Analyst Devinder Sharma notes that: “US imports of organic soybean from India has more than doubled to $73.8 million in 2014. He called on the two pro-GM scientists to debate independent scientific findings as opposed to focussing only on industry funded research. His views were supported by two other spokesmen, one from Maharashtra, where open field crop trials of brinjal, maize, rice, chickpea and cotton are taking place and another from India’s Greenpeace:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klW7fD1wb7s

As US imports more organic foods on consumer preference, Indian biotech companies are ‘pushing for GM crops’

Sharma reports that public opinion as seen in grocery sales data indicates a gradual shifting to foods grown without the use of chemicals and GM. However, in India, four State Governments – Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Punjab – have allowed field trials of GM crops. He sees pressure mounting on other State Governments to fall in line. The biotech industry led by the Association of Biotec Led Enterprises (ABLE) has reportedly written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expedite the regulatory process for clearing the field trials.

Competing lobbies: the biotech industry v Soybean Processor Association

Resistance from the Soybean Processor Association of India (SOPA) led former Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh to oppose research trials of GM soybean. The industry claimed that importers preference for Indian soymeal would be lost once contamination from GM crops becomes obvious. India is at present the biggest exporter of rice; Sharma comments that allowing GM rice field trials, even if excluded from areas such as Orissa where it is believed to have originated, would risk contamination. He emphasises that utmost caution should be exercised before the country is opened up for field trials of GM crops which:

• have, in most cases, led to the doubling in the application of chemical herbicides like glyphosate; use has increased to over 283.5 million pounds in 2012;
• have led to the emergence of superweeds in some 60 million acres of crop land
• and, to date, have shown no increase in crop productivity.

Sharma notes that the annual increase in sales of foods free of synthetic chemicals and GM ingredients in the US indicate a rising preference for organically produced foods and that in the White House Michelle Obama grows only organic food in the sprawling gardens and is known to serve organic food to guests, ending:

The consumer preference for GM-free foods in the US is growing rapidly. We hope that this commercial imperative will eventually lead to the winding down of the industry’s drive to grow GM crops.

Copyright Chemical Concern 2015

Big Pharma sells Gardasil based on fear of cervical cancer.  But do the benefits outweigh the costs? Inform yourself, find your compass, so that you can be one less woman, wishing she had only known more.

The New Gardasil

I believe in living life with no regrets. When we make decisions from a place of authenticity, when we listen to our inner compass for guidance, check our fear, then we have done the best that we could have done. If it ends up being a mistake, then look at that as an opportunity, and own it. Move on. In fact, many times, our most tragic life events lead us somewhere expansively grand.

This untethered existence is challenged by a simple fact, these days: the Pharmaceutical industry has co-opted our maternal inner compass. They, in partnership with media, have grabbed onto our natural tendency to worry about the welfare of our children, and they have tempted us with a shiny apple. Visiting again and again until we relent.

And here we create fertile soil for regret. Every day, in my office, I have women expressing poignant remorse, shame, and rage because they trusted their Pharma-pushing doctor instead of trusting themselves, trusting in the inherent potential of the body to be well, to heal, to surmount seeming obstacles. No cohort of women are more lionized than those who have lost their daughters to a vaccine promoted to save them from a disease they were never going to get. The HPV vaccine.

This issue activates my primal feminism, my perception that I am here on this earth to help guard what is sacred about women and their children. It pulls at my heartstrings. I had tears streaming down my face, watching this 5 minute video.

But, we don’t have to recruit emotion to sound a blaring alarm about what is going on here.

Let’s just stick to the science, shall we?

The Fear They’re Selling: Cervical Cancer

What is your likelihood of developing cervical cancer? And if you do develop it, is it a death sentence?

In the marketing and licensure of the HPV vaccine, changes to cervical cells have been equated with death. This is called using a “surrogate marker” and in vaccine research, this is considered acceptable because we can’t otherwise prove a non-event is attributable to an intervention. There are leaps in logic and in science inherent in this practice, that render conclusions nothing more than false marketing.

In fact, none of the HPV vaccines have ever been proven to prevent a single case of cervical cancer. Don’t take my word for it, listen to what Diane Harper, one of the lead researchers for the vaccine, and a whistleblower, has to say:

“It is silly to mandate vaccination of 11- to 12-year-old girls There also is not enough evidence gathered on side effects to know that safety is not an issue. This vaccine has not been tested in little girls for efficacy. At 11, these girls don’t get cervical cancer – they won’t know for 25 years if they will get cervical cancer. …To mandate now is simply to Merck’s benefit, and only to Merck’s benefit.”

You can also consult her subsequent research that demonstrates no added protection above and beyond the Pap smear. Combined pap smear and HPV vaccination have not been demonstrated to improve outcomes above Pap screening alone, and a recent review states, “Pap screening will still be required in vaccinated women hence HPV vaccination programs are not cost-effective, and may do more harm than good, in countries where regular Pap screening and surgery has already reduced the burden of this disease.”

We already have something, with no side effects, that works.

The cervical cancer diagnosis rate in the United States is 7.9/100,000. Given that only 5% of HPV infections progress to neoplasia (CIN) and that 91% of early stage cases resolve spontaneously within 36 months, with 70% of CIN 1 and 54% of CIN 2 cases doing the same within 12 months, using these pathologies as surrogate markers for cancer incidence represents a scientific shortcoming.

Built on this house of cards, and defying pre-existing FDA criteria for fast-tracked approval, Gardasil was brought to market in 6 months and is now one of our great human experiments. Several countries including Japan, France, and India have banned and/or filed criminal lawsuits about Gardasil, but, as Americans, not only are the “one less” commercials still running, but the latest and greatest version of Gardasil is now available.

Dr. Brogan is boarded in Psychiatry/Psychosomatic Medicine/Reproductive Psychiatry and Integrative Holistic Medicine, and practices Functional Medicine, a root-cause approach to illness as a manifestation of multiple-interrelated systems. After studying Cognitive Neuroscience at M.I.T., and receiving her M.D. from Cornell University, she completed her residency and fellowship at Bellevue/NYU. She is one of the nation’s only physicians with perinatal psychiatric training who takes a holistic evidence-based approach in the care of patients with a focus on environmental medicine and nutrition. She is also a mom of two, and an active supporter of women’s birth experience. She is the Medical Director for Fearless Parent, and an advisory board member for GreenMedInfo.com.Visit her website.