Notice Of Absence
While I had some nice family time, one of the kids presented me unwittingly with a not so nice gift. A full blown influenza showing any nasty symptom one might think of including the ability to do so. It seems therefore necessary to take some sick leave from the blog and to stay in bed for the rest of the year.Please drop important news and views in the comments. Thanks for behaving.
Posted by b on December 28, 2012 at 15:44 UTC | Permalink
next page »Sorry to hear B. Don't forget the age old wisdom "feed a cold, starve a flu" hopefully it will pass in time for New Years.
Posted by: Colm O' Toole | Dec 28 2012 15:55 utc | 2
b
u just relax n chew some raw onions
we'd try our best to take up the slack here
*************************************************
*Cambodian and Laotian desires to distance themselves from the big bully of Asia, the PRC*
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NL22Ad03.html
u judge a man by how he treats the weak, in this respect, china has a sterling record unmatched by any other country in the world, never mind asia.
in a sane world , the ccp should get a peace prize hands down , but i forget, we'r living in a bizzaro world !! [3]
are we to believe that china, which deferred to all the tiny countries in previous border delimitations [ 2] , now choose to *bully* military heavy weight japan, an amerikan cat paw, er, ally,
no less, plus other us sponsored patsies
n wait a min..... it choose to *escalate the disputes* just when the merikans are *pivoting* back to asia in a big way ?
are they smoking some strong stuff in beijing ?
but all indications so far suggest china isnt run by crazies, unlike murika [1]
this *bully* meme actually contradicts ur earlier observation !
*This state affairs was misleadingly if predictably spun in the Western press as "assertive China exacerbates regional
tensions", while a more accurate reading was probably "China's rivals exacerbate regional tensions in order to stoke fears of assertive China."
typical fukus m.o.
provoke an anticipated reaction, demonise the response as *aggression*
*Create the crises and offer the remedy*
works like a charm...since 1898
while china is literally facing an *eight nations alliance invasion* mark II....with half of asia in tow
what'r the anglophone press telling us ?.... *china = 1930's japan* !!!
u just cant make this up !
but then fukus has a lo........ng time to practice on the tool of its *trade*...all 300 yrs of it !!
[ 1]
*it isn’t happening now because the crazies have taken over in Beijing. It’s happening because the decision-makers in Beijing think that the crazies have taken over in Washington, and are trying to draw most of Asia into an anti-Chinese alliance. There is a good deal of evidence to suggest that they are right*
http://tinyurl.com/crtdujy
[ 2]
Afghanistan - 0%
Tajikistan - 4%
Nepal - 6%
Burma - 18%
Kazakhstan - 22%
Mongolia - 29%
Kyrgyzstan - 32%
North Korea - 40%
Laos - 50%
Vietnam - 50%
Russia - 50%
Pakistan - 54%
http://indiaschinablog.blogspot.sg/2010/03/you-scratch-my-back
-but-i-wont-scratch.html
[3] http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/21603/
p.s.
banned by atimes since 2000
Posted by: denk | Dec 28 2012 16:38 utc | 4
They're baa-aaack. The ubiquitous U.S. officials have been heard from again on Syrian missiles. No evidence, of course, and the "officials" can't be identified because they're nobodiesof the sensitive nature of the information. (But not sensitive enough to keep out of the headlines.)
CNN, Dec 28
U.S. officials: Syria using more accurate Iranian-made missiles
The Syrian regime this week fired at least two Iranian-made, short-range ballistic missiles in what appears to be an effort to more precisely target Syrian rebels, two U.S. military officials tell CNN. The Fateh A-110 missiles are more accurate than the older Scud variants that Syrian government forces have used in recent weeks. The U.S. military officials declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the information. The Iranian government has not commented on the issue.
The Iranian government is looking for some anonymous officials to make a comment say anonymous Syrian officials.
Posted by: dh | Dec 28 2012 18:25 utc | 6
For an excellent look at the utter futility of the US-supported terrorists' efforts in Syria, and their lack of a follow-up plan (where have we seen that before), go here. The title "Syrian rebels sidetracked by scramble for spoils of war" sums it up.
@dh #5
Yes. Actually for Iran it is a sensitive matter, because while the US can support terrorists other countries shouldn't support the Syria government, the story goes, oddly enough. It's COIN flipped over to -- PRIN? Pro-insurgency? That's only in the West -- the rest of the world doesn't buy it unless it involves an all-expense trip to Morocco in the winter (to bless the new coalition).
b
Sorry you're under the weather. I find a nice big bowl of this:
And a bottle (or three) of one of these:
http://www.genx40.com/images/beerblog/lambics3.jpg
Cures all (once I'm able to hold anything down).
Posted by: вот так | Dec 28 2012 18:34 utc | 9
@7 The Syrians, Iranians (and the Russians?) may well have decided it doesn't much matter what kind of comment they make. It gets twisted around anyway.
Posted by: dh | Dec 28 2012 18:41 utc | 10
Surprised no one's mentioned P. Escobar's latest myth-debunking piece up on Counterpunch re Syria. The Russians are the good guys. They're trying to cooperate but are held back by the self-same morals the Reptilians and the ghouls in their thrall never cease protesting to the heavens.
Posted by: ruralito | Dec 28 2012 23:00 utc | 11
Q: Thanks for behaving.
R: WTF, did I miss the 'Kindergarten' sign @ the entrance?
Posted by: Daniel Rich | Dec 28 2012 23:14 utc | 12
Some links:
AIPAC:
http://original.antiwar.com/smith-grant/2012/09/23/aipac-drafted-us-aid-to-israel-illegal/
A-BOMBS:
TORTURE:
http://news.antiwar.com/2012/11/09/appeals-court-tortured-us-whistleblowers-cant-sue/
ISRAEL:
http://www.redressonline.com/2012/12/bbc-starts-the-week-with-an-israeli-stooge/
http://www.redressonline.com/2012/11/the-zionist-devils-advocate/
Posted by: Daniel Rich | Dec 28 2012 23:20 utc | 13
Only a future Tacitus will do justice to these times and that won't happen until after A Great Calamity like the fall of the Claudians, only, this time, world-wide. I can't imagine another way.
Posted by: ruralito | Dec 28 2012 23:31 utc | 14
Watch out -- here comes the
Free Syria Navy, Dec 11
Support Needed and Lebanon
The people of Syria still need the support of the world, whether money, arms, or voiced support. Though the United States still will not aide our stubble for freedom, we will not give up. We are currently trying to recruit fisherman from Lebanon as well and any boatsmen or boat owners willing to arm themselves and help secure the coast are needed. In other news, a new commander has been added to the ranks and will be important in doing organizing and translating for the Free Syrian Navy. We will create an organized and strong naval force for securing the coasts and landing troops for sea assault!
It seems the tone of the WWII '6 million' figure is finally corrected and put into [some sort of] perspective It is estimated that about 300,000 Jews who lived in the ghetto either died from hunger or disease or were sent to their deaths in concentration camps under the Nazi rule. Previously hunger and sickness [Cyclon B/Zyklon B to delouse 'inmates' and fight bugs] were unheard of en even considered to be a mutation of the omnipotent species 'anti-semitism. Too bad you can't discuss this any longer without [the threat of] being thrown in jail [Germany, for starters]. The truth doesn't need any laws. It never did and it never will. Knowledge is the best fertilizer to prosper as a species I can think of [therefore I am - not Will].
Posted by: Daniel Rich | Dec 29 2012 0:10 utc | 17
Think Syria is a new ballgame? Man, history is littered with that sorta 'crap.'
The War against Nabis, or the Laconian War, of 195 BC was fought between the Greek city-state of Sparta under their ruler Nabis (depicted) and a coalition composed of Rome, the Achean League, Pergamum, Rhodes, and Macedon. During the Second Macedonian War (200–196 BC), Macedon had given Sparta control over Argos, an important city on the Aegean coast. Sparta's continued occupation of Argos thereafter was used as a pretext for Rome and its allies to declare war. The anti-Spartan coalition laid siege to Argos, captured the Spartan naval base at Gythium, and invested and besieged Sparta itself. Negotiations led to peace on Rome's terms, under which Argos and the coastal towns of Laconia were separated from Sparta and the Spartans were compelled to pay a war indemnity to Rome for eight years. Argos joined the Achaean League, and the Laconian towns were placed under Achaean protection. As a result of the war, Sparta lost its position as a major power in Greece. All consequent Spartan attempts to recover the losses failed and Nabis, the last sovereign ruler, was eventually murdered. Soon after, Sparta was forcibly made a member of the Achaean League, ending several centuries of fierce political independence.
Should we learn something from it?
Posted by: Daniel Rich | Dec 29 2012 0:16 utc | 18
#12
"A-Bombs..."
Decent article that sums up a lot of the info out about those war crimes. Most of what Americans have been spoon fed about WW@, especially the American role in it, is total BS.
Posted by: вот так | Dec 29 2012 0:35 utc | 19
Interesting interview:
Oliver Stone to RT: ‘US has become an Orwellian state’
http://rt.com/news/oliver-stone-us-orwellian-022/
"Americans are living in an Orwellian state argue Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone and historian Peter Kuznick, as they sit down with RT to discuss US foreign policy and the Obama administration’s disregard for the rule of law.
Both argue that Obama is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and that people have forgiven him a lot because of the “nightmare of the Bush presidency that preceded him.”
“He has taken all the Bush changes he basically put them into the establishment, he has codified them,” Stone told RT. “It is an Orwellian state. It might not be oppressive on the surface, but there is no place to hide. Some part of you is going to end up in the database somewhere.”
According to Kuznick, American citizens live in a fish tank where their government intercepts more than 1.7 billion messages a day. “That is email, telephone calls, other forms of communication.”
RT’s Abby Martin in the program Breaking the Set discusses the Showtime film series and book titled The Untold History of the United States co-authored by Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick."
And right on cue to confirm that Orwellian state synopsis, the fascist (especially ziofascist) war criminals occupying the U.S. Senate went ahead with another step in converting the USA into an Orwellian police state:
Senate extends warrantless wiretapping under FISA
http://rt.com/usa/news/senate-spying-intelligence-foreign-025/
Posted by: вот так | Dec 29 2012 0:42 utc | 20
A weekly summation in the works, hopefully.
Under the Radar-2: The US Embassy in Benghazi was not an embassy
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_12_28/Under-the-Radar-2-The-US-Embassy-in-Benghazi-was-not-an-embassy/
"The Benghazi “US Embassy” was not an embassy at all. Clinton continues to avoid testifying and Stevens was not a diplomat but a CIA agent. These are just some of the news items that are currently "Under the Radar".
Every week hundreds of important events occur that are important to all of us but which do not get enough media attention, either because they are over-shadowed by other major news or because they do not fit the pre-planned message that many of the world’s media are trying to promote, there is a journalistic responsibility to tell the whole story which we always attempt to do. Although we keep our eyes on the world this week’s most pressing issues that have been suppressed come from the US....
...Dear Reader,
You may be of assistance in compiling this weekly feature, keep your eyes open and send in your tips and we will add them to the weekly summary. I can be reached at [email protected].
Thanks,
John"
Posted by: вот так | Dec 29 2012 0:56 utc | 21
@ BOT TAK,
I think, as a person, it is very important to obtain as much information as is humanly possible. MoA members do a good job at providing info/links to ever more input/views/angles and thus enhance the process of helping to slow down the erosion of that lil' gem aka 'truth.'
Onward to more dire needed action:
Petition(s) to oust Feinstien back to Isreal
Posted by: Daniel Rich | Dec 29 2012 1:11 utc | 22
Once Oliver Stone [Stone = Stein = Jewish - or how do I back paddle to keep the tribe happy?] tackles the Palestinian travesty, I'll listen to what he has to say.
Posted by: Daniel Rich | Dec 29 2012 1:19 utc | 23
Some of grandmas remedy would do the trick. But being off for a few days is nice, so return full of vim and vigor. In the meantime, Mobile is digging out after two waves of tornado's in three weeks.
From the link in 22:
"Hitler was a Frankenstein but there was also a Dr Frankenstein," Stone said (via The Telegraph). "German industrialists, the Americans and the British. He had a lot of support...
"Hitler did far more damage to the Russians than [to] the Jewish people, 25 or 30 [million killed]."
The reason few people know this, according to Stone?
"The Jewish domination of the media," he said. "There's a major lobby in the United States. They are hard workers. They stay on top of every comment, the most powerful lobby in Washington. Israel has f***** up United States foreign policy for years."
That's true, though there is more to it. It's not just "Jewish" influence, but fascists Jews allied to other fascists. Likewise, those other fascists had a huge stake in demonising the USSR, so they didn't want what Hitler did to the people of the USSR becoming common knowledge (these fascists also got busy using ex-nazis to attack the USSR and anybody else remotely refusing American and/or fascist control right after the war ended). With the end of WW2, western fascists (this includes those Jews who created Israel) went back on the offensive against the left and those places they still did not control. As the USSR was still associated as leftwing, sympathy for the people of the USSR was seen as detrimental to American dominance. One cant allow sympathy for "the devil" and expect their BS to wash. Knowledge of the suffering of the people of the USSR at the hands of nazi Germany would continue the war time sympathy the people of the west felt for the USSR during the war and prevent the fascist's cold war taking root. Propagandising the nazi atrocities into an assault essentially only on "the Jews", completely ignoring the suffering of the people of the USSR, solved this in a manner satisfactory to both the Jewish fascists and non-Jewish fascists who hold power in the west.
As for Stone's backtracking, that was probably for career reasons, or fear of violent retribution by the Jewish mafia against his family. Nobody associated with the media or the entertainment industry in the USA survives criticism of the fascist elements of America if they also include the Jewish side of it, as well. We've seen what happened publicly to a few who chanced it, but what happened behind the scenes, that was not made public is a whole lot worse and never publicised.
Posted by: вот так | Dec 29 2012 3:38 utc | 25
Posted by: Daniel Rich | Dec 28, 2012 7:10:49 PM | 16
Man you need to read some history. German extermination policy was not restricted to the Warsaw Ghetto. At the height of World War II Germany had integrated Austria and occupied the Netherlands, Belgium, France, some part of Scandinavia and the largest part of Eastern Europe including a large chunk of the Soviet Union cooperating with right wing fascist movements in these countries. Occupation authorities continued the extermination process they had used in Germany in the occupied countries.
The number quoted means European Jews, the most respected historian in this field estimates 5 million.
A lot of people died in World War II for all kinds of reasons. Wikipedia quotes numbers from 50 to 70 million.
Why Jews stand out is a)German fascist's choice and definition of German Jews as a target was so stupid, racist, random and plain criminal, this policy was later extended to the occupied countries b)especially in Eastern Europe but in Germany and Austria, too, it was the end of a culture.
Posted by: somebody | Dec 29 2012 7:56 utc | 26
@21 'I think, as a person, it is very important to obtain as much information as is humanly possible.'
Here's some information: It's spelled Feinstein. And everyone knows what a greedy little shit she is. Linking to crap just turns off intelligent otherwise sympathetic readers.
Man, am I sick of all the fascist-this and jewish-that name-calling. It's a drag to wade through this tripe to get to the worthwhile comments.
Posted by: biklett | Dec 29 2012 8:11 utc | 27
24,вот так, sure, there was a conscious cold war propaganda effort talking of the "good" victims of WW2 only.
Posted by: somebody | Dec 29 2012 8:23 utc | 28
US President Barack Obama has enacted a legislation aimed at countering Iran’s growing relations with the Latin American countries.
The law also incorporates a multiagency action plan in the Latin American countries in an attempt to isolate the Islamic Republic and its allies.The US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs subcommittee on terrorism had endorsed the legislation earlier in March.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/29/280661/us-enacts-law-against-iranlatam-ties/
Posted by: hans | Dec 29 2012 9:28 utc | 29
@ somebody [#25]
Don't paint one-dimensional sides of a very complex matter, my friend, that is not history, but a meager hologram. The history, as we mostly know it, is bent, blunted and in most cases based on blatant lies. Have you watched the BBC series 'Behind Closed Doors?' It's about WWII and largely based on documents that became available after the old USSR ceased to exist. I'd highly recommend it.
@ biklett [#26]
Then skip the tripe.
Posted by: Daniel Rich | Dec 29 2012 10:56 utc | 30
@29) "The history, as we mostly know it, is bent, blunted and in most cases based on blatant lies."
No, just the theory of relativity applies - things look different from whereever you stand.
Posted by: somebody | Dec 29 2012 11:47 utc | 32
@ somebody [#31]
Q: No, just the theory of relativity applies - things look different from whereever you stand.
R: So, that's how you present history to me?
Posted by: Daniel Rich | Dec 29 2012 13:33 utc | 33
32) how do you propose to escape subjectivity and selective perception?
Posted by: somebody | Dec 29 2012 14:37 utc | 34
32/33 also consider this list of perceptive biases
I am especially fond of this one - curse of knowledge
Posted by: somebody | Dec 29 2012 14:43 utc | 35
And my favorite:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/SEMANTICS
Get well soon b!
Posted by: ben | Dec 29 2012 15:25 utc | 36
Read history? The men and ladies who advise the State Dept have PhD's in history. They've published Great Books! It doesn't prevent them from being murderous swine.
Posted by: ruralito | Dec 29 2012 15:54 utc | 37
36
"The men and ladies who advise the State Dept have PhD's in history. They've published Great Books! It doesn't prevent them from being murderous swine."
Or being full of BS. These folk get where they are in the establishment because they say what the higher-ups want to hear. They are the sort of "historians" Orwell described in 1984. To them, history serves the purpose of reinforcing the establishment propaganda of the day.
29
"Don't paint one-dimensional sides of a very complex matter...Have you watched the BBC series...I'd highly recommend it."
Kind of inconsistent there. The BBC regularly corrupts their programing with bias - usually the establishment bias, and have been shown to actually alter materials to reinforce their propaganda messages. That holds true for whether it is something of the past or present. I've seen quite a few BBC specials over the years, and compared with the usual heavy handed rubbish produced in the USA, BBC's works can look like the work of impartiality. They are not. The BBC serves the same role as Fox does, they're just a little more clever at disguising the bias and BS. A general rule: if it is something on television, there is little chance of it being accurate and every likelihood of it being propaganda or a disguised infomercial sales pitch.
Posted by: вот так | Dec 29 2012 18:16 utc | 38
26
"Man, am I sick of all the fascist-this and jewish-that name-calling. It's a drag to wade through this tripe to get to the worthwhile comments."
One of the main reasons the world is so messed up today is people are repressed through censorship. They are deliberately kept in ignorance. People like you filter the information they are allowed to pursue, the things they are allowed to talk about and ultimately, what they are allowed to think. Fascism works best when the public is repressed not through fear, but through keeping them happy in their ignorance. The latter then actively, and often enthusiastically help, in maintaining their repression then. Your sort of censorship is designed to shut down the flow of information. It adds nothing useful and is a form of hostile web trolling.
Posted by: вот так | Dec 29 2012 18:32 utc | 39
Bolivia nationalizes Spanish-owned electrical utilities
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/29/280764/bolivia-nationalizes-spanish-utilities/
"Following a decree by the Bolivian President Evo Morales, the South American country has nationalized two electrical utilities owned by Iberdrola SA (IBE), Spain’s largest electrical utility company."
So will Bolivia get the "color revolution" treatment, an insurgency lead by terrorists or a full fledged Israeli-American invasion?
Posted by: вот так | Dec 29 2012 18:47 utc | 40
Argentina links union officials to riots
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/27/280453/argentina-links-union-officials-to-riots/
"Argentinean President Christina Kirchner’s government has blamed two top officials from the country’s trade unions for organizing a wave of protests, which has resulted in the deaths of four people and injured some 100 others, says a Press TV report.
A day before the violent incidents last week, General Confederation of Labor (CGT) Secretary-General, Hugo Moyano, and Pablo Micheli, the head of a fraction of Argentine Workers' Central Union (CTA), backed anti-government protests.
The CTA General Secretary Hugo Yasky said, “Vandalism is an excuse for right-wing groups” to “tell the world that Argentina” is against the people.
“I don’t think unions were directly involved in the incident, but I do think groups that had ties with them took part in the events,” Yasky added."
There is a long history of the CIA corrupting the labour orgs in Latin America. The Late Phillip Agee wrote about what he knew of these ops when he went public.
CIA Diary
Inside the Company
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA/CIA_Diary_Agee.html
"PP programmes are to be found in almost every CIA station and emphasis on the kinds of PP operations will depend very much on local conditions. Psychological warfare includes propaganda (also known simply as 'media'), work in youth and student organizations, work in labour organizations (trade unions, etc.), work in professional and cultural groups and in political parties. Paramilitary operations include infiltration into denied areas, sabotage, economic warfare, personal harassment, air and maritime support, weaponry, training and support for small armies."
The Israelis now also maintain extensive connections in Latin America, both in coordination with those of the Americans and Europeans, and on their own.
Posted by: вот так | Dec 29 2012 19:01 utc | 41
Not very familiar with O. Stone.
I did watch episode 1 (ww2) of The Untold History of the US. (The link is youtube maybe there are better ways to watch it.)
I was interested to see what is being presented to US audiences, and thought there might be some new pictures, footage. I don’t recommend it. It is the history I was taught in school, and none of the pix. are new / interesting (imho), the dramatization is superficial and boring. Other critiques can of course be made - mostly omissions, some slant, as it is only 1 hour long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DxGzWenm20
As for US has become an Orwellian State - Stone and Kuznick make good points about Obama, his take - over and formalization of Bush policies. Descriptive, and not interpretative or explanatory.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/oliver-stone-us-has-become-an-orwellian-state/5317244
Surveillance, living in a fish bowl, jingoism, love of the military, neglect of morality, etc. Quite so. Invasions abroad. American Exceptionalism. Yes.
The past is Prologue (Stone, from that vid.)
But all this skirts :
Corporate Power, Banks, the grip of Finance, State murder, cruelty at home (prison industry for ex.), the giving up of the common good (e.g. health insurance - higher education and jobs reserved for the rich few - poisoning the environment), the lack of founding characteristics of ‘fair’ limping along states, such as access to an independent, functioning judiciary. And much more.
Imho the appeal to History as being relevant to today, as promoting understanding or providing lenses that illuminate or explain has completely missed the boat. Rather, it serves to muddle and divert attention and alarm or polarize towards relatively surface aspects. (I only saw the two linked pieces.)
Posted by: Noirette | Dec 29 2012 19:45 utc | 42
@вот так , my point is that they know what to leave out. Not simply that they lie.
Posted by: ruralito | Dec 29 2012 19:46 utc | 43
Agee, now there's project for a future Hollywood. Earnest, well-meaning agent of a great imperial power, escapes the clutches of the ruthless intelligence agency that employs him and dies on a blessed isle after a full and eventful life. Yeah, that'll happen.
Posted by: ruralito | Dec 29 2012 20:00 utc | 44
Syria - Another prediction about the Regimes (allgedly) imminent fall:
"Loay Mokdad, a spokesman for the rebel force, said the trip took four days and involved the use of motorcycles and horses, as well as a long trek through the mountains between the two countries.
“We welcome all defections and are ready to help, because there is no reason to be afraid of regime retaliation anymore,” Mokdad said, adding that the regime will “end in a few weeks.”"
Posted by: KerKaraje | Dec 29 2012 20:10 utc | 45
@41, well, it was a short interview on another subject. Doesn't qualify as "skirting" to this netizen.
Posted by: ruralito | Dec 29 2012 20:16 utc | 46
This should be a very important book for everyone to read:
http://www.amazon.com/Going-Tehran-United-Islamic-Republic/dp/0805094199
Posted by: Amar | Dec 29 2012 20:21 utc | 47
While Bolivia is nationalizing its natural and service industry. Spain has privatized health care!
http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/12/27/inenglish/1356637286_141578.html
Spain as a country haven't reached far off since demise of Caudillo. Joining the EU and NATO has sent the country in its past - Inquisition, this time the subjects are own citizens.
Sad, this is a fate of countries with limited, or no sovereignty.
Posted by: neretva'43 | Dec 29 2012 20:22 utc | 48
Q: 32) how do you propose to escape subjectivity and selective perception?
R: ... by preserving anyone's freedom of speech. You've noticed how the thought police rolls out and deems some comments to be tripe and such. I'd rather make a fool out of myself by spouting idiocies and stand corrected, than to be silenced by faceless 'know-it-alls.' Always keep Sun Tzu in mind, for without inner concepts there's no outward, constructive dialogue. Look at how BOT TAK operates. Does s/he call me names? No, s/he does not. S/he serves his/her thoughts on a bed of reasoning and personal impressions based upon [I guess] his/her life's experience/s. That's what discussing is all about. Not to stifle debate, not to silence voices, but to be heard, with an own voice of reason and imperative willingness to learn.
Posted by: Danil Rich | Dec 29 2012 21:12 utc | 49
Nice quote I found..
“There are many who do not know they are fascists but will find it out when the time comes.”
― Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls
Posted by: Uncle $cam | Dec 29 2012 23:10 utc | 50
On Syria:
Sergei Lavrov said on 4 Apr 2012: It is crystal clear that the opposition would not defeat Syrian Army even if the opposition were armed to the teeth. http://www.sana-syria.com/eng/22/2012/04/04/410469.htm
Sergei Lavrov said on 29 Dec 2012: The Syrian Opposition Coalition's rejection of dialogue and its demand for the departure of the regime is futile. It leads to a blocked path. http://sana-syria.com/eng/22/2012/12/29/459460.htm
I agree with comrade Sergei.
During the past twelve months, most of the Syrian opposition factions were afraid to compete against the government's party in the free and fair elections that took place on 12 Dec 2011, 26 Feb 2012 and 7 May 2012. Afraid, because they expected they'd be beaten heavily at the ballot box. And the parts of the opposition that did try to compete in the elections were in fact heavily beaten by the government's party. For the foreseeable future the opposition cannot win by the ballot box route, and it cannot win by the armed rebellion route either.
@ Parvizy [#50/#51],
If MSM'S redundant cackle was something to go by, there's peace now in Syria...
Posted by: Danil Rich | Dec 30 2012 1:36 utc | 53
Stone's interview with RT:
http://rt.com/news/oliver-stone-us-orwellian-022/
Haven't seen all the series, but it will be interesting to hear how it deals with the 1948 screwing of the people of Palestine.
Posted by: ben | Dec 30 2012 5:45 utc | 55
Fuck me dead one moment rich is telling other people what they should think, informing germans that he knows more of their history than they do and the next he's claiming that there is some innate right to 'freedom of speech' presumably just his speech judging by the weak assed bullying tone he tries when anyone calls his perverted world view into question.
Oliver Stone is just another jewboy since he hasn't been heard on Israel don't matter he's spoken up over lots of other issues and there is no way Rich can possibly know if Stone has ever mentioned israel.
The worst thing about that is his lame nazi style stone =stein=jew claim. I got no idea what Stone's heritage is but I do know that the majority of wasps in amerika have a german heritage and plenty of non-jewish germans got called stein - in Rich's twisted little world that would be the germans who were blacksmiths not the jews who were gold smiths. Its like the lamers who actually think the rothschilds are still the seat of all evil. This stuff helps the zionists because it is so palpably ridiculous - like the world never moves on. If that is the case shouldn't we be fighting the papists or the normans or the moors? Why stop the clock at 1890 it is possible to go back much further to find bogeymen
The thing that really gets me about these new age nazis is their total lack of insight into their own hypocrisy.
One moment they are decrying big government and denouncing the state the next they are waving their pissy little stars n stripes, sweating over some sorta 'UN hit squad' taking over their precious 'better than any of the others' square of dirt they claim is 'their' nation.
Can't have it both ways either countries and the societies that support em (including all the humans in em) are good things or every man is an individual and nations/societies don't mean shit.
Can't be one for one argument and the other for a different one - that is called being a hypocrite.
Daniel Rich is just another weak assed troll probably paid by the very corporate entities he claims to oppose. None of his information is original or even unknown here. How many times over the years have we discussed Truman's 'big swinging dick' act towards Uncle Joe after he blew a million unwhites to smithereens at Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
I lost count, most peeps get the picture. My guess is that Rich is tryin to 'strut his lameness cause he knows b is busy elsewhere so Rich is doing his best to tar the accurate commentators here with a neo-nazi brush. That way those who explain the evils of the amerikan imperialist co-option of zionism without resorting to racism, can be discounted by Rich's paymasters as coming from a 'anti-semite' neo-nazi site.
Posted by: Debs is dead | Dec 30 2012 10:47 utc | 56
Yarmouk residents dying over camp’s siege
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/30/280921/yarmouk-residents-dying-gradual-deaths/
"In a message to international institutions, Yarmouk residents said many people, including children, are dying on a daily basis since the camp came under siege as a result of clashes between foreign-backed militants and members of the Palestinian revolutionary committees.
They said medical equipment, including oxygen supplies, are not allowed into the camp and that a number of patients have suffocated to death as a result.
The refugees also complained of lack of fuel and flour in the densely-populated camp. They have called for international humanitarian aids, including food and medicine, to save them from gradual death.
Some observers are likening Yarmouk to Gaza, and say while Palestinians there are being killed by Israel, those in Yarmouk are falling victim to attacks by al-Qaeda.
According to sources inside the camp, there are also deadly clashes between members of the terrorist Free Syrian Army and the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front inside Yarmouk and that armed men affiliated to the al-Nusra Front have executed a number of Palestinian civilians in the refugee camp.
Yarmouk and the districts surrounding it have borne the brunt of the turmoil in Syria over the past months. In September, at least 20 people were killed after mortar shells fired by militants landed in the Palestinian refugee camp."
From the sound of this, it seems while Syrian government forces withdrew from the camp as per the agreement reached, the Israeli-American terrorists did not. But as is with the Israeli's and American's usual routine, duplicitously used the withdrawal agreement to infiltrate more of their rubbish into the camp to continue terrorising the people there.
Posted by: вот так | Dec 30 2012 17:54 utc | 58
It doesn't take much imagination to figure out what this Israeli-American police state enhancement is really about:
Obama signs law countering Iranian sway in Latin America
http://rt.com/news/obama-iran-latin-america-091/
"US President Barack Obama enacted a law on Friday targeting Iran's alleged influence in Latin America. This comes as Washington already wages a “covert war” against Iran, according to researcher Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich.
The act also calls on the Department of Homeland Security to bolster surveillance at US borders with Canada and Mexico to “prevent operatives from Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, its Quds Force, Hezbollah or any other terrorist organization from entering the United States.”
Posted by: вот так | Dec 30 2012 18:00 utc | 59
Hidden US-Israeli Military Agenda: “Break Syria into Pieces”
http://www.globalresearch.ca/hidden-us-israeli-military-agenda-break-syria-into-pieces/31454
"A timely article in the Jerusalem Post in June brings to the forefront the unspoken objective of US foreign policy, namely the breaking up of Syria as a sovereign nation state –along ethnic and religious lines– into several separate and “independent” political entities. The article also confirms the role of Israel in the process of political destabilization of Syria. The JP article is titled: “Veteran Kurdish politician calls on Israel to support the break-up of Syria‘ (by Jonathan Spyer) (The Jerusalem Post (May 16, 2012)
The objective of the US sponsored armed insurgency is –with the help of Israel– to “Break Syria into Pieces”.
The “balkanisation of the Syrian Arab Republic” is to be carried out by fostering sectarian divisions, which will eventually lead to a “civil war” modelled on the former Yugoslavia. Last month, Syrian “opposition militants” were dispatched to Kosovo to organize training sessions using the “terrorist expertise” of the US sponsored Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in fighting the Yugoslav armed forces.
Sherkoh Abbas, President of the US based Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria (KNA) has “called on Israel to support the break-up of Syria into a series of federal structures based on the country’s various ethnicities.” (Ibid)
One possible ”break-up scenario” pertaining to Syria, which constitutes a secular multi-ethnic society, would be the formation of separate and “independent” Sunni, Alawite-Shiite, Kurdish and Druze states: “We need to break Syria into pieces,” Abbas said."
Posted by: вот так | Dec 30 2012 18:08 utc | 60
US Special Forces Accused of Raping Afghan Women During Raid
The commander of the US soldiers warned the people of the village that this crime will be repeated should they complain to the authorities
"US Special forces based in Afghanistan, raided a village in Chahar Bolak area of Balkh province at night, some days back (we apologize for not naming the village for certain reasons), and committed a horrendous crime. They raided houses of villagers and separated the men and women of 15 families living in this village. They then raped a number of these women.
The commander of the US soldiers warned the people of the village that this crime will be repeated should they complain to the authorities.
Since the occupation of our country by US forces in 2001, reports of the raping of Afghan women and girls by US soldiers has been reported by the media several times, but unfortunately no legal action has been taken by the government in any of the cases.
Some time back it was revealed that in several isolated provinces, forces under US supervision, mainly the US soldiers, took the money and belongings of the people without reason or explanation."
They did in S.E. Asia, they did it in Latin America. Because Israel-America was never brought to account for its previous war crimes, it continues committing every war crime imaginable.
Posted by: вот так | Dec 30 2012 18:15 utc | 61
Obsolete People: A Disposable Problem?
Memorandum: Internal (Confidential)
Problem: High-Surplus Labor Pool
Solution: Austerity (i.e., De Facto Classicide)
http://dissidentvoice.org/2012/12/obsolete-people-a-disposable-problem/
"A troubling problem that refuses to go away: what to do with our growing “surplus-population” (to paraphrase Scrooge by way of Malthus)? That is to say: in our 21st century post-industrial economy, tens of millions of people—i.e., human beings, right?—now have little or no “market-value.” Two factors are primarily responsible: hi-tech automation and offshoring (capital flight, “race to the bottom”). Their job-skills—such as they were—are now overpriced, redundant, outmoded, superannuated. They can neither be exploited as productive (but underpaid) workers nor as affluent (well-paid) consumers. They are idle, discontented, restless—and are liable to sudden spasms of rage and social unrest.
What to do? We’re talking of, say, up to 20% of the people living in the U.S. Within the ideological prism of late-capitalism—in which individual “worth” is reduced entirely to “market-value”—they’re “worthless.” (Remember: “there is no [civil] society”– Margaret Thatcher.) You can’t just… kill them—although that would be the easiest, most-efficient and cost-effective way of disposing of the problem. The elite 1% (or should we say, one-tenth of 1%) may still enjoy limited-liability for the crimes and reckless actions of the thousands of profit-squeezing machines they rely on, which we call Corporations. Still: there remains a residual, normative/legal constraint against premeditated murder. (The unmentionable if glaring exception: bombing and burning thousands of innocent people in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.)"
Posted by: вот так | Dec 30 2012 18:28 utc | 62
The American Book of the Dead: Sum of Us
http://dissidentvoice.org/2012/12/the-american-book-of-the-dead-sum-of-us/
"Her father and uncles; later, her brothers, cousins, husband; later still, her sons and grandsons spilled blood overseas (others’ and their own), to defend Our Way of Life.
Of course She had assumed hers was “our” way the shops, houses, gardens, luncheonettes; Spring parties, Summer picnics, Holiday parades – her town was Our town was Our Way of Life.
When finally Our Way of Life dropped dead, decades-old decrepit shops and “Mom & Pop” eateries were crushed, flattened, kaput. A Super Mall humming with chain stores, and a Factory to manufacture pills would sprout like bean-stalks from the ruins; the block where She was born and raised, and raised her kids, shall too be razed, the lot black-topped and lined, a carpet for cars of the new work force.
Oh Brave New World of jobs, growth, Free Parking and discount meds!
She told the reporter: “The Courts say we’re to receive ‘just compensation’ for our home. I’m eighty-two-years-old, yet I knew nothing of life’s worth until I saw the market value of the only home I’d ever known. The sum. Not a billion dollars, not a million dollars, not anything close. I had imagined…well, what’s a lifetime worth? The Developer, the one whose firm owns City Hall — I’m not stupid – said, and he plays hardball, I respect that, he said ‘It’s not like you’re twenty and we’re speculating on your future. This is compensation for lives lived. We’re actually paying you for time you and your hubby already pissed away. A used house and two used lives. That considered, this is a very reasonable offer…’”
You see, She’d been confused all those years listening and watching: radio, film, tabloid, television Celebrity News Advertise Celebrity Heartbreak Marriage News Indictment Freedom Ingénue Super-Star be Free…
Ever since She was a child, when they sent away the boys from her neighborhood she’d always assumed it was ‘Our way of life’ the boys, her boys were killing and dying for, when all along it had been THEIRS.
Their ways, Their lives, Their Eminence and Their Domain.
A life such as hers, or her husband’s, or her son’s or daughter’s or great-grand-daughter’s is but a “paltry thing,” a dirty napkin on the scale beside Their gold."
Posted by: вот так | Dec 30 2012 18:35 utc | 63
From the Lakota to Gaza
The Deep Wound of Wounded Knee
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/12/28/the-deep-wound-of-wounded-knee/
"Commissioner Morgan was not empathetic about the plight of the indigenous people. He was just stating facts. One year prior to the massacre, in Oct 1889, he issued a policy paper stating his convictions regarding the native population.
“The Indians must conform to “the white man’s ways,” peaceably if they will, forcibly if they must. They must adjust themselves to their environment, and conform their mode of living substantially to our civilization. This civilization may not be the best possible, but it is the best the Indians can get. They cannot escape it, and must either conform to it or be crushed by it. The tribal relations should be broken up, socialism destroyed, and the family and the autonomy of the individual substituted.”
(In other words, what Morgan is saying is the righwing world view must prevail over the leftwing world view.)
"Wounded Knee has not disappeared. The Lakota people remain. Gaza has not disappeared. The Palestinian people remain. In Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia people grieve for the loss of their children. The violence wrought upon them in our name continues. If we can take one step to save another child, we have an obligation to try."
Posted by: вот так | Dec 30 2012 18:46 utc | 64
Syrian Rebels - It seems they have some problems:
http://news.yahoo.com/assads-forces-seize-homs-district-rebels-activists-123924499.html
Extracts:
"There were unconfirmed reports that dozens of fighters had been killed in the battle for Deir Ba'alba, the director of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdelrahman, said."
"But an activist in Hama province said on Saturday that the army had reinforced its positions in the town of Morek, which lies on the main north-south highway linking Damascus to Aleppo, to push back rebels who were running low on ammunition."
"A rebel attack on the military base of Wadi Deif, further north on the same highway, had also slowed as rebels struggled to maintain supplies, the activist who used the name Ali al-Idlibi told Reuters by Skype."
So, why do the rebels suddenly have a supply problem?
2,5 months ago they claimed having cut off the landroute supply for the Wadi Deif base by capturing Maarat al Numan and putting a siege on the base. While a major army counter-attack was allegedly fended off, rebels claimed that the base is only getting supplies by helicopters, which due to the rebels anti-aircraft fire often miss the base and drop their packages on rebel held area.
In addition we are told that the rebels control "large swaths of land" in the Idlib province bordering Turkey.
So, how is the army holding ground in such a situation? And how is it that the rebels are short of supplies IF ALL THEY HAVE BEEN CLAIMING SINCE OCTOBER IS TRUE?
Posted by: KerKaraje | Dec 30 2012 20:01 utc | 65
KerKaraje, there is a huge elephant in the room nobody seems willing to talk about:
The US has designated Al Nusra Front as terrorist, whilst the "legitimate representative of the Syrian people in opposition to the Assad regime" declared Al Nusra Front to be an inclusive part and expressed their hope that the US would change their decision (declaring Al Nusra terrorist).
That means in usual US speak the "legitimate representative of the Syrian people in opposition to the Assad regime" supports terrorism which leads us where ...?
Posted by: somebody | Dec 30 2012 20:23 utc | 66
@somebody #64 -- KerKaraje, there is a huge elephant in the room nobody seems willing to talk about: The US has designated Al Nusra Front as terrorist, whilst the "legitimate representative of the Syrian people in opposition to the Assad regime" declared Al Nusra Front to be an inclusive part and expressed their hope that the US would change their decision (declaring Al Nusra terrorist).
False. It's a fully-recognized problem that Al-Khatib countered the US terrorist designation of al-Nusrah on the same day. Certainly Russia sees it. It's another sign of the impotency of the US in the Middle East, a situation in which some claim (falsely) that the US (or NATO) is somehow in control. So naturally the US isn't highlighting it.
@KerKaraje my friends tell me that Homs has been liberated. The SAA is clearing the remaining rats out but, by and large, the city is free.
@Don Bacon if the US-UK-France isn't in charge who is? They set this entire war into operation. Not sure what you mean by control? Perhaps you could elaborate? Thank you.
Posted by: revenire | Dec 30 2012 20:59 utc | 68
Currently the US news is concerned with a "fiscal cliff," a situation that a lot of us have trouble understanding. And beyond that, what has taxation got to do with fundamental American problems -- health care, education, corruption, and probably most importantly, jobs? Why aren't politicians working on real problems that affect common people?
It's a complex question, but one part of the answer is that, however the US arrived at it, politicians don't look after the common people. They focus on helping the people who financed them and who vote for them.
We know that corporations finance US politicians, particularly at the national level. What about voters, because there are elections, however flawed. Who votes?
There are only two major US political parties. Nothing to do with the Constitution, it's part of the self-supporting US political scene which pretends to offer democracy. Again, who votes?
Look at the last election when only 57.5% voted. The party bases voted, but a lot of people, the people losing out on all the major issues, voted with their feet. While the number of eligible voters increases since 2008 by eight million, five million fewer votes were cast.
According to the Bipartisan Policy Center:
39 percent of unmarried women who are eligible are not registered, representing 28 percent of all unregistered citizens
51 percent of young people between 18 and 29 who are eligible are not registered, representing 31 percent of all unregistered citizens
37 percent of African Americans who are eligible are not registered, representing 12 percent of all unregistered citizens
48 percent of Latinos who are eligible are not registered, representing 12 percent of all unregistered citizens.
Ninety-three million (93,000,000) eligible people did not vote in the last presidential. That is more than the total population of the top three populous states (CA, TX & NY). It is also more than the population of each of forty-six individual states.
The politicians know whom they have to answer to, and it ain’t you and me, generally speaking.
@ Don Bacon [#67],
America’s Deceptive 2012 Fiscal Cliff
+
Posted by: Daniel Rich | Dec 30 2012 21:17 utc | 70
67, Don Bacon, it is not complex, it is simple.
Inflation as taxation takes money from the rich.
Posted by: somebody | Dec 30 2012 21:26 utc | 71
@ revenire #66
Signs of US lack of control include:
-- Failure to overthrow the Syria government.
In March 2011 Hillary Clinton told “Face the Nation” viewers that the US would not interfere in Syria because Assad was a “reformer.” Then, starting on April 1 last year, Clinton began her oft-repeated demand that "Assad must go" and all this past summer "his days are numbered." In December 2011 the State Department point man on Syria, Frederic Hof, told Congress: "Our view is that this regime is the equivalent of dead man walking." The US has made Assad's departure an unconditional pre-condition of any "negotiations." Assaf has refused to go. Most recently, Russia's foreign minister said Saturday that Syrian President Bashar Assad has no intention of stepping down and it would be impossible to try to persuade him otherwise. Obviously the US has been impotent on this matter.
--Failure to form a capable, operational Syria government in absentia.
The Syrian National Council (SNC) was formed in 2011 with Burhan Ghalioun. Headquartered in Istanbul, at first it received full US cooperation. However last Spring it started to break apart because it was ineffective. SNC leader Burhan Ghalioun said his political opposition group had formed a military body to oversee and organize armed rebels within the country under a unified leadership. "The creation of the military council was agreed upon by all armed forces in Syria," he told a news conference in Paris on Thursday. "We will be like a defense ministry." But only a few hours later, Free Syrian Army (FSA) chief Colonel Riad al-Asaad said that he has not been involved in the formation of a military council. Then later this Spring Hillary Clinton snubbed the Syrian National Council during a visit to Turkey. The group is “on the verge of irrelevance”, says a Western diplomat. And it was. Recently a new group, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCSROF), or National Alliance, was formed. The new Coalition has ambassadors to Paris and London and has been recognized by several Gulf and Western governments, but not as a state. Syrian National Coalition member Khaled Khoja has said that we can "expect Syrian regime's fall before end of January." Don't hold your breath. Within Syria, the Kurds and many others don't support the Coalition.
--Failure to field and control a sucessful anti-Syria military force.
The Syria opposition has enjoyed some success but has been effective in seriously theaqtening the Syria government. It originated in the summer of 2011 as the Free Syria Army, headquartered in Turkey and financed by Saudi Arabia and the US. However currently the FSA has been eclipsed by al-Nushar terrorists allied with al-Qaeda and supported by Qatar. Al-Nusrah was recenly declared a terrorist organization by the US, and recognized by the Coalition on the same day. It has also been supported by the other anti-Assad gtroups including the FSA, but not the Kurds, who fight separately.
That's a start. Others may be able to add to it.
@ revenire #66
Signs of US lack of control include:
-- Failure to overthrow the Syria government.
In March 2011 Hillary Clinton told “Face the Nation” viewers that the US would not interfere in Syria because Assad was a “reformer.” Then, starting on April 1 last year, Clinton began her oft-repeated demand that "Assad must go" and all this past summer "his days are numbered." In December 2011 the State Department point man on Syria, Frederic Hof, told Congress: "Our view is that this regime is the equivalent of dead man walking." The US has made Assad's departure an unconditional pre-condition of any "negotiations." Assaf has refused to go. Most recently, Russia's foreign minister said Saturday that Syrian President Bashar Assad has no intention of stepping down and it would be impossible to try to persuade him otherwise. Obviously the US has been impotent on this matter. (cont.)
--Failure to form a capable, operational Syria government in absentia.
The Syrian National Council (SNC) was formed in 2011 with Burhan Ghalioun. Headquartered in Istanbul, at first it received full US cooperation. However last Spring it started to break apart because it was ineffective. SNC leader Burhan Ghalioun said his political opposition group had formed a military body to oversee and organize armed rebels within the country under a unified leadership. "The creation of the military council was agreed upon by all armed forces in Syria," he told a news conference in Paris on Thursday. "We will be like a defense ministry." But only a few hours later, Free Syrian Army (FSA) chief Colonel Riad al-Asaad said that he has not been involved in the formation of a military council. Then later this Spring Hillary Clinton snubbed the Syrian National Council during a visit to Turkey. The group is “on the verge of irrelevance”, says a Western diplomat. And it was. Recently a new group, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (NCSROF), or National Alliance, was formed. The new Coalition has ambassadors to Paris and London and has been recognized by several Gulf and Western governments, but not as a state. Syrian National Coalition member Khaled Khoja has said that we can "expect Syrian regime's fall before end of January." Don't hold your breath. Within Syria, the Kurds and many others don't support the Coalition. (cont.)
--Failure to field and control a successful anti-Syria military force.
The Syria opposition has enjoyed some success but has been effective in seriously threatening the Syria government. It originated in the summer of 2011 as the Free Syria Army, headquartered in Turkey and financed by Saudi Arabia and the US. However currently the FSA has been eclipsed by al-Nusrah terrorists allied with al-Qaeda and supported by Qatar. Al-Nusrah was recently declared a terrorist organization by the US, and recognized by the Coalition on the same day. It has also been supported by the other anti-Assad groups including the FSA, but not the Kurds, who fight separately.
That's a start. Others may be able to add to it.
Who says Russia doesn't do "strategic communications" AKA propaganda?
MOSCOW— A Russian warship carrying a unit of marines has left its Black Sea port for Syria amid preparations for a possible evacuation of nationals living and working in the strife-torn country, news reports said Dec. 30. The Novocherkassk landing ship is the third such craft dispatched since Dec. 28 to the Tartus port that Russia leases from its last Middle East ally, agencies cited an unnamed official in the general staff as saying. The reports said the Azov and Nikolai Filchenkov landing ships had also been sent to Syria from their Russian bases.
Just empty evacuation ships, sure.
Don Bacon
The terrorists attacking Syria are very much under Israeli-American control. To claim otherwise is not only ludicrous, it's also disingenuous.
The main reason Israel-America has not succeeded in overthrowing the Syrian government and instituted a quisling regime in its place is because China and Russia denied these fascists their no-fly regimen they need to do this. When attacking a country that still has an adequate military and population not demoralised and desperate to survive after the depravity of years of sanctions, there needs to be a full fledged air campaign in support of the ground assault. This goes for an assault by a real army, as well as one by terrorists and mercs, as are being used against Syria by Israel-America. It was that air support that made it possible for the Israel-Americans to carve off a chunk of Serbia in 1998, and it was air support that allowed a terrorist-merc force to destroy Libya. Without that air support, the terrorists Israel-America used against Libya would have been checked, just as they are now being checked in Syria. Without a no-fly zone over the region, Israel-America's armies and proxy terror groups can not win against an equipped and trained regular army.
As the Israeli-American planners understand another Iraq invasion style ground assault would be wildly unpopular with the American and European public (who would supply the cannon fodder). It would also convince more of the world of the total lawlessness of the Israeli-America corruption. Already 3/4 of them view Israel and America as the main problem facing the people of this planet. So right now, ground invasion is probably too chancy for these fascists, they have to rely upon proxy terrorism instead. And without an air campaign doing the heavy lifting for these criminals, they cant pull off a coup. As long as China and Russia keep doing what they are doing, Israel-America will not be able to conquer Syria just using their terrorists and mercs.
The real question in my mind is what comes next once Israel-America come to the conclusion they cant win at the rate they are going. Will they back off, or will they go all out, like they did against Iraq?
Posted by: вот так | Dec 31 2012 0:07 utc | 78
Iran MP: West behind terrorist attacks against Shias
"An Iranian lawmaker says the West is behind terrorist attacks against Shia Muslims, addressing a recent deadly bombing attack in southwestern Pakistan.
Javad Heravi made the remarks in an interview with ICANA, Majlis (the Iranian Parliament)'s official news agency, on Sunday.
He noted that, “Terrorist attacks and heinous crimes against Shias are planned by the West” as Shia principles are against those of the West.
Attacks against Shia Muslims in different parts of Pakistan have escalated in recent months. Since the beginning of 2012, hundreds of Shias have been killed in the country.
Last month, many Shia Muslims were killed in several attacks targeting processions held to commemorate the martyrdom of the third Shia Imam, Imam Hussein (PBUH).
Pakistani Shia leaders have called on the government to form a judicial commission to investigate the bloodshed."
It's been obvious for quite some time that hostility against Shias has been fomented by the west as part of their divide and conquer/rule policies.
Posted by: вот так | Dec 31 2012 1:00 utc | 79
Azerbaijan no launch pad for Iran attack: Azeri FM
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/30/280896/azeri-soil-no-launch-pad-for-iran-attack/
"Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov says Baku will not allow its soil to be used as launch pad for an attack against Iran."
Hopefully that is an honest statement and not just another Israeli-American puppet telling lies.
Posted by: вот так | Dec 31 2012 1:06 utc | 80
Forgot to post the relevant link to the material posted in 76.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/30/280954/west-behind-attacks-against-shias/
Posted by: вот так | Dec 31 2012 1:21 utc | 82
@ Karma [#78]
It looks like the latter part of your comment has two typos: the first of the last two words need a 'y' [at the end] and the next needs an 'i' replacing the 'o' to be fully correct.
Posted by: Daniel Rich | Dec 31 2012 1:37 utc | 83
Poor you!
We had four at our Christmas gathering, and we all got a really nasty flu from it.
Hope you get better soon.
78
"Hillary Clinton hospitalized with a blood clot."
She is a blood clot.
Posted by: вот так | Dec 31 2012 2:08 utc | 85
news report: Obama signs law against Iran's influence in Latin America
I thought Iran was isolated?
Well it is and it isn't. See, it's easy to understand.
On the ODD days of the month Iran has undue influence in the world, even in the US back yard, enjoys being head of the 125-nation NonAligned Movement (NAM) and so Iran needs to be curbed by aggressive action in the US Congress.
On the EVEN days of the month Iran is deep in isolation, and has no friends. Slap some more sanctions on to make 'em suffer more, and forget about 'em.
It's a pattern thing. Joby Warrick of the Washington Post has it figured out.
Here's odd-day undue-influence Joby:
By Joby Warrick, January 01, 2012
Iran is quietly seeking to expand its ties with Latin America in what U.S. officials and regional experts say is an effort to circumvent economic sanctions and gain access to much-needed markets and raw materials. The new diplomatic offensive, which comes amid rising tensions with Washington and European powers, includes a four-nation swing through South and Central America this month by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His government has vowed to increase its economic, political and military influence in the United States’ back yard.
And here's even-day deeply-isolated Joby:
By Joby Warrick,October 14, 2012
As Iran sinks ever deeper into isolation and economic distress, its northern neighbor is sprinting in the opposite direction, building political and cultural ties to the West along with new pipelines connecting energy-hungry Europe with the country’s rich petroleum fields on the Caspian Sea.
news report: Obama signs law against Iran's influence in Latin America
I thought Iran was isolated?
Well it is and it isn't. See, it's easy to understand.
On the ODD days of the month Iran has undue influence in the world, even in the US back yard, enjoys being head of the 125-nation NonAligned Movement (NAM) and so Iran needs to be curbed by aggressive action in the US Congress.
On the EVEN days of the month Iran is deep in isolation, and has no friends. Slap some more sanctions on to make 'em suffer more, and forget about 'em.
It's a pattern thing. Joby Warrick of the Washington Post has it figured out.
Here's odd-day undue-influence Joby:
By Joby Warrick, January 01, 2012
Iran is quietly seeking to expand its ties with Latin America in what U.S. officials and regional experts say is an effort to circumvent economic sanctions and gain access to much-needed markets and raw materials. The new diplomatic offensive, which comes amid rising tensions with Washington and European powers, includes a four-nation swing through South and Central America this month by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His government has vowed to increase its economic, political and military influence in the United States’ back yard.
And here's even-day deeply-isolated Joby:
By Joby Warrick,October 14, 2012
As Iran sinks ever deeper into isolation and economic distress, its northern neighbor is sprinting in the opposite direction, building political and cultural ties to the West along with new pipelines connecting energy-hungry Europe with the country’s rich petroleum fields on the Caspian Sea.
miss you b. this feels like it's taking forever. i hope you feel better very soon.
Posted by: annie | Dec 31 2012 9:23 utc | 89
Does anybody know who is behind Mercator Fund and if German Stiftung Mercator is related in any way? The self representation in the internet of both "think tanks" is very opaque in a tax evasive way and they seem to be into policy making by funds in Europe - which is not really the political tradition here.
Anyway, they (their ICOSgroup) brought out a very complete paper dated December 2012 on the Syrian situation arguing for intervention - and the splitting of Syria into a federal state - which includes this gem:
"The broader problem then for Western strategy in the Arab World is how to find the middle road between aiding and abetting opposition movements in the name of freedom and democracy – but not necessary secular visions of progress ‐ and buttressing and supporting governments in the name of stability."
Posted by: somebody | Dec 31 2012 11:10 utc | 90
Hugo Chavez condition is turning for the worse, some new serious complications has occurred. May your thoughts be with him and hope he gets a speedy recovery. Viva Chavez, Viva Commandente!
Posted by: hans | Dec 31 2012 12:08 utc | 91
@ 87: Wish Chavez all the best, but, I'm sure the corporate lackeys in D.C. are dancing in the aisles over his illness.
Posted by: ben | Dec 31 2012 15:05 utc | 92
so long as Chavez is told by his doctors only orthdox methods can treat cancer and there are no alternatives , ths sooner his end comes
Posted by: brian | Dec 31 2012 21:55 utc | 93
@Karma: with any luck she'll die a painful death. Her POS husband likewise
Posted by: dan | Dec 31 2012 22:20 utc | 94
Chavezs cancer began when it was accidentally discovered while being treated for something else, his downfall was his faith in orthodox medicine.Until then he was fine, and the cancer caused no problems.His doctors will be the deat of him as they will ensure he is kept away from alternative methods
eg
http://radiowaveclinic.com/?gclid=CJfht5rXxbQCFURLpgodZ2UA1g
http://www.alternative-cancer-treatments.com/
Posted by: brian | Dec 31 2012 22:24 utc | 95
The answer to Syria's current problems is painfully simple: it needs 'gun free zones.'
Posted by: Daniel Rich | Dec 31 2012 22:48 utc | 96
@70 Thanks Don. Now I understand what you mean. I was thinking the US set this into motion and that was their control but you see their failure as lack of control. I agree with you on that point.
Posted by: revenire | Jan 1 2013 0:09 utc | 97
Russia 24 (Россия 24) is a 24-hour News channel owned by the Russian government. (It's part of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company). Here's a 35-minute documentary about Syria broadcast on Russia 24 within the past couple of months, with English subtitles added: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib4v7AY7ksE . It doesn't have any really new news, and some of its footage is rather old and stale, but it'll make clear to anyone who's interested that the narrative about Syria in Russia is very seriously different from what it is in the Western countries. Every Syrian who speaks in this documentary is pro-government (not counting a couple of captured rebels who confess to heinous murders).
http://www.tg4.ie/en/tg4-player/tg4-player.html
Watch this B, with an onion sandwich, best cure for a cold
Posted by: Cloned Poster | Jan 1 2013 2:08 utc | 99
it's 11:10 in calif. hello all you barflies out there. a happy big one to you. b,the gang..thinking of that night in hamburg....
round on the house. there's no place like the moon.
Posted by: annie | Jan 1 2013 7:15 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
"...stay in bed for the rest of the year." THATs a thought! You lucky one. Do you have a good laptop?
Stay warm, Jake in Tucson
Posted by: Jake | Dec 28 2012 15:49 utc | 1