Yemeni Forces Create Heat Wave In Saudi Arabia
The rich U.S. military has long dreamed of and tried to influence the weather. No practical results have been achieved.
Now the Yemen Armed Forces, under constant bombardment due to the U.S-Saudi war on Yemen and with meager resources, have accomplished the feat. They created a night-time heat wave in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi refinery operations not affected by transformer fire
Reuters, Khobar Sunday, 23 July 2017The Saudi Aramco Mobile Refinery (SAMREF) at Yanbu is operating normally after a fire hit a power transformer at the gate of the facility on Saturday, a spokesman for a Saudi government body was quoted as saying on the state news agency.
Operations are ongoing and have not been affected by the incident, which happened due to hot weather, Abdulrahman Al-Abdulqader, the spokesman for the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, which manages and operates industrial cities in Saudi Arabia. The fire broke out at 21:22 local time, according to the spokesman.
Here is (vid) how the Yemeni forces created the "hot weather" .
@BaFana3 - 7:21 PM - 22 Jul 2017Now by #Yemen armed forces: "New ballistic missile "Burkan 2H" launched. Target : #Saudi Aramco Yanbu oil refinery. Range : ≈1,300km."
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By Ahmed Jahaf - bigger
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@Lee_Saks - 9:00 PM - 22 Jul 2017#SaudiArabia | transformer fire at Yanbu refinery due to hot weather. [Houthi rebels claimed to hit refinery with ballistic missile]. #OOTT
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The Yemeni weather service predicts that another heat wave will soon reach the United Arab Emirates.
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@BaFana3 - 9:59 PM - 23 Jul 2017#Yemen army spox: "Ballistic missile Burkan-H2 hit #Saudi oil refinery in Yanbu. This missile has the range to hit Dubai."
Posted by b on July 24, 2017 at 20:02 UTC | Permalink
Funny how al Queada and ISIS and other takfiris never think to damage the vulnerable oil infrastructure of the Gulf Emirate.Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Or attack targets in Israel.
Posted by: gepay | Jul 24 2017 21:07 utc | 2
Saudi's will have to try and flog off Aramco before more hot weather arrives:)
Posted by: Peter AU | Jul 24 2017 22:22 utc | 3
The Russian MOD has produced a status report for Syria to 24/07/17. The are several maps showing detailed action around Raqqa, Ghouta, al Tanf, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Iv36uxExB8
This is their overview with the 4 de-escalation zones numbered 1 to 4 from north to south, 4 being close to the Jordan border.
https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/colonelcassad/19281164/1221128/1221128_900.jpg
The really interesting one is the Russian map of the Golan area and its relation to Israel, around de-escalation zone 4. Jordan is to the south and Israel barely gets a peek in to the left.
https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/colonelcassad/19281164/1221115/1221115_900.jpg
I suspect Nuttyahu would be spitting bullets if he saw that.
Posted by: Anonymous | Jul 24 2017 22:41 utc | 4
Refineries make excellent targets for Houthis; damage to them hurts the Royals since they don't really care how many of their subjects or mercenaries die. Personally, I think it high time the House of Saud sinks into the Arabian sands never to be seen again outside of wherever they stashed their ill-gotten billions. I wonder if the Houthis want the place?
Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 24 2017 22:44 utc | 5
The Red Cross is saying that there could be 600,000 cholera cases in Yemen by year's end. All thanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its solicitous patron the United States.
Posted by: Mike Maloney | Jul 24 2017 23:06 utc | 6
This is scarcely believable. Yanbu is the other side of Jeddah from Yemen. It is at a distance of almost 800km from the Yemeni border. It will really scare the Saudi leadership. They will have to start negotiating a climb-down. :)
Posted by: Alfred | Jul 24 2017 23:38 utc | 7
James #1
Yemen, like Somalia is at a pinch point of marine transport. Do you believe that it's accidental that the PRC's first overseas military base is situated in Djibouti? Look at a map.
Posted by: Cortes | Jul 25 2017 0:04 utc | 8
As per #8
https://www.rt.com/news/396090-china-djibouti-base-troops/
Posted by: Cortes | Jul 25 2017 0:11 utc | 9
It'd be interesting to see how a rain of these type of missiles hitting Dubai/ Abu Dhabi would impact on the expats there.
It's a quiet thread so here is a link to Fisk's latest piece...
Secret Russian-Kurdish-Syrian military cooperation is happening in Syria’s eastern desert
Posted by: Temporarily Sane | Jul 25 2017 2:36 utc | 11
James @ 1:
Yemen is at the south end of the Red Sea just north of Djibouti and Ethiopia. Any country that controls Yemen can control shipping access to the Red Sea (and then into the Mediterranean Sea) from the Indian Ocean.
Look at this map and you'll see:
https://www.mapsofworld.com/indexmaps/yemen-map.jpg
In addition Yemen also has sovereignty over Socotra island. There is already a US airforce base on the island and the Americans also want to build a naval base there. Whoever controls Yemen will also control Socotra island and be able to intercept shipping from southwest Asia and the Indian subcontinent to Europe and Africa.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/yemen-and-the-militarization-of-strategic-waterways/17460
Posted by: Jen | Jul 25 2017 4:17 utc | 12
Unbelievable respect for the people of Yemen starving to death and fighting off the Saudi / US death machine. I look to the future when the Saudi people will rise up and expel their barbaric ruling feudal lords. The Syrian army's struggle is just as impressive to humans everywhere. I'm hoping to see the day when the military of our country wakes up and refuses to fight on the side of fascist mid-evil dictators and Salafist psychopathic blood cults; Al Qaeda , ISIS, Saudi royal family, Israel.
Posted by: Jason | Jul 25 2017 5:28 utc | 13
@8 cortez and @12 jen.. thanks both of you.. yes, i get that... i must be thick to imagine there had to be a better reason then that.. i guess not..
@13 jason... yes to all of that too. thanks..
Posted by: james | Jul 25 2017 6:05 utc | 14
re 14
Come on, James, you know perfectly well that Yemen is not about the Bab al-Mandeb, but about the Shi'a, whom the Saudis have said they want to eliminate from the world. That one was Bandar, but he was only reflecting a general sentiment among the princes.
Posted by: Laguerre | Jul 25 2017 7:48 utc | 15
Your crazed interpretation of events offered great comedy times b. Keep on keeping on with the "German narrative" b! You are doing much better job than your ancestor Prince!
Posted by: pnac | Jul 25 2017 8:57 utc | 16
Yemen:
https://www.mapsofworld.com/indexmaps/yemen-map.jpg
Yemen-Socotra:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/yemen-and-the-militarization-of-strategic-waterways/17460
Aaaaaand...wait for it....Fisk's latest piece!
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/syria-isis-russia-kurdish-ypg-happening-in-secret-a7857471.html
Posted by: Peter AU. | Jul 25 2017 9:24 utc | 17
@17:
Have you ever found a link to something on your own accord or are you just happy copying & pasting?
Posted by: fonz | Jul 25 2017 9:32 utc | 18
Can anyone explain where and how they get weapons such as these. They seem to control a relatively small coast line and that could be easily blockaded.
Posted by: Tomv | Jul 25 2017 12:42 utc | 19
19
that kind of weapons grows in orchards all over the ME
Posted by: CarlD | Jul 25 2017 15:22 utc | 20
@15 laguerre.. well that shite/sunni conflict is a load of bullshit as i see it... sure the wahabbi nutjobs have become a lot more insecure and fanatical, and the idiot kid prince is still on the loose.. i guess that is part of it... idiot kid prince is running ragged over yemen to improve his idiot status.. okay.. i guess that works.. someone needs to take him out, but i don't think that is going to end it.. well, maybe saudi arabia is in way deeper doo doo then i realize.. i sure hope so!
Posted by: james | Jul 25 2017 16:47 utc | 21
Some observations about Yanbu:
This is the only other port for Saudi Arabia to export oil/refined products if the Persian Gulf were closed. The East-West Pipeline serving Yanbu can deliver 5 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d) of crude if needed.
Saudi Arabia's total oil exports (Yanbu/Gulf) dropped to under 7 mmbbl/d this spring - not sure about current.
Yanbu is a crude export port, but also houses a large ARAMCO refinery capable of 250,000 bbl/day of products. ARAMCO plans on adding 400,000 bbl/day with an additional refinery there. There are many petrochemical plants there, so Yanbu is best described as a petrochemical complex (vs. port or refinery).
The Yanbu petrochemical complex and Yanbu city are served by a large oil-fired power plant at the southeast end. Power is distributed to the complex through a switchyard/transformers at the northeast corner of the complex here (zoom out for perspective). Power lines from the switchyard and smaller, downstream distribution transformers are probably underground or in buildings.
"Transformer fire" is the usual doublespeak to explain a power outage and fire. It's a possibility that either the power plant or switchyard was actually hit (I have no idea - just saying).
If you want to shut down a petrochemical park, then you either take out the crude pipeline or hit the power station/switchyard or (in Yanbu's case) the water desalination plant. If the Yemenis wanted to send the Saudis a 'message' without slaughtering hundreds of civilians, they would probably target the switchyard assuming they had that accuracy.
Supposed statement (translated) of the Yemeni Missile Forces:
The statement pointed that the missile forces Yemeni army and popular committees announced that the launch of the missile of Burkan-2H comes in response to the crime of slaughtering at the Mouzah region of Taiz.The statement goes that the Missile forces of Yemeni army and popular committees warned the alliance of aggression of US-Saudi for undermining the dignity and honor of our prisoners and that these missile operations will continue to rise in response to continued aggression and siege.
The missile force confirmed that the oil refineries became a military target, advised foreign companies operating in the aggression alliance to pack their bags and leave their places. The enemy’s missile force predicted that the heat of the weather it was talking would be met in the middle of the winter.
Last week, Oilprice.com reported a foiled plot by Saudi spies to gather information for an attack on the Saudi East-West Pipeline (blames on Iran). Not suggesting a connection, but related to Yanbu:
Saudi Men On Trial For Allegedly Plotting Oil Pipeline Attack
The Yemeni Burkan-2H flight time would have been minutes. It would have traveled through the Saudi's expensive Lockheed/Martin AN/FPS-117 Air Search Radar area of coverage. The same early-warning radar that supposedly protects the U.S. and Canada via the North Warning System.
Saudi Air Defense also includes an older version of the Patriot missile defense system and I would guess (I don't know for certain) that Yanbu is covered. Yanbu is also the Saudi Naval Port for the Red Sea, so there's that to protect as well as the port/complex.
Since the Saudis are not even admitting a missile strike, they are sure as heck not going to say why their air defenses failed - if, in fact, the Yemenis did successfully hit it with a Burkan-2H.
The Yemenis always claim they make their missiles, but they are probably cobbled together and modified from the old North Korean and/or Iranian missiles they got a decade or so ago. It's unlikely that they are somehow getting new ones smuggled in from either N. Korea or Iran. The Saudis/Evil Orb Coalition have blockaded all the ports - nothing gets in by sea unless it fits in a rowboat.
As much as I root for the Houthis, they have little to do directly with missiles. The old Yemeni army units that are now Saleh loyalists are firing the missiles they had and operated for years. There are probably some Houtis in those units, but they have to wear boots (no flip-flops).
Posted by: PavewayIV | Jul 25 2017 17:55 utc | 22
james #1 Not many people remember this, caught as it is between ageing memory and recent history, but Port Aden was often spoken in the same breath as Singapore and Gibraltar. Three all-controlling choke points in international shipping. (Before Suez and during those years when Suez was closed, Good Hope was there.)
That is what is at the root of Yemen crisis now. With China getting a toe hold in Djibouti or Eritrea and USA feeling a little uncertain about Djibouti (their African Bondsteel), Aden is looking more interesting again. Particularly with Hormuz so vulnerable. And Gwadar looming as yet another China strength. It is also one of the reasons the USA is getting up to no good in Socotra, and building up in Diego Garcia (as if it could get any worse there).
Posted by: Petra | Jul 25 2017 18:21 utc | 23
Btw, anyone notice how interesting DG looks on G Maps?
Posted by: Petra | Jul 25 2017 18:31 utc | 25
….b’s post relates to one of my all-time beefs. In studies / discussions of the breakdown of ‘human’ causes of global warming, war is never mentioned.
Endless studies papers concerning use of fossil fuels exist (transport, industry, electricity production…); agriculture, mining; other greenhouse gases besides CO2, e.g. methane (cows!), deforestation, desertification, and ALL the feedback loops, etc. etc., more and more.
It is always taken for granted that all the human activity and doings are somehow ‘benevolent’ or ‘to effect a legitimately desired purpose’ even if from a hyper green pov they can be judged as misguided at best and nefarious and criminal at worst, e.g. MacMansions, cutting down prime forests, eating meat every day, having 7 children, driving about to no purpose, moon rockets, plastic bags, subsidising extraction, consumption, und so weiter..
WAR: Massacres, bombing, …and all the use of energy > pollution, the production of military materiel, and the setting off of explosives, etc. etc.
— Sidebar — The first thing to do would be to make a sort of classificatory chart, including all kinds of stuff, like the open burning pits in Iraq.. that list would be painful and long…sickening.. who is up for it?
My occasional posts at The Oil Drum were either ignored or well received, except on this one topic, which attracted ire. My response was, the studies use, set up, categories like ‘transport’, ‘industry’, ‘artisanat’, ‘housing infrastr.’ (in EU), etc. etc. but never War, so what is up with that? The categories are partly contructed on aim (e.g. to grow enough carb staples to feed x million ppl thru the Green (agri) Revolution), why can’t the intent to kill x million ppl be taken into account? Apparently that was out of the question, though I received some interesting e-mail, etc.
We are doomed, I tell you, doomed! Time to party like there is no tomorrow. ;) Avoid motoring in France or flying to Thailand ... :)
http://www.theoildrum.com (archives worth visiting on several topics)
Posted by: Noirette | Jul 25 2017 19:12 utc | 26
@21 james and previous comments on the Gulf of Aden / Red Sea point,
I doubt that strategic control of this region is really an issue. Every major interest on the planet wants to keep that open, the EU, China, NATO, US Navy, etc. Recall how the whole crackdown on Somali piracy happened? (I think it was the capture of a Saudi oil tanker that really kicked it into high gear)
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2017-06/end-piracy-gulf-aden
So, alternate guess: House of Saud (and UAE monarchies) fears establisment of a independent Yemen state with a parliamentary democracy, as that might encourage their own overthrow.
Looking into Yemen, up through the Arab Spring it was really a client state of the House of Saud. From a 2009 Cablegate leak, for example, here's your standard Third World client state kleptocratic intrigue:
SUMMARY: The Republic of Yemen Government, led by presidential son Ahmed Ali Saleh, has shifted responsibility for selling Yemen's crude oil production share away from the Ministry of Oil and towards an interagency committee, sparking a behind-the-scenes business rivalry between tribal leaders and government officials who serve as local agents for international oil trading companies. The new oil marketing policy has attracted additional bidders to the monthly oil tenders, eroding tribal leader Hamid al-Ahmar's longstanding monopoly over the process and increasing the ROYG's oil revenues due to more competitive pricing. Despite these gains, the story of Yemen's latest reform effort illustrates the challenges posed by Yemen's web of tribal rivalries and presidential patronage networks.
The main Saudi agent there seems to have been this Hamid Al-Ahmar, who has since fled the country c. 2014:
(S/NF) Ahmar, who splits his time between Jeddah and a palatial estate in Sana'a, is intimately involved in the everyday dealings of the disparate subsidiaries and affiliates of the business conglomerate he chairs -- the Ahmar Group. Post estimates that the majority of his official revenue stream comes from earnings at his telecom company Sabafon, the Saba Islamic Bank, various import-export companies, and his partnership with Siemens in the power sector. To a lesser extent, he also derives income from serving as the local agent for the London-based commodity trading company Arcadia Petroleum, which regularly buys most of the ROYG's monthly crude oil share, and from owning a string of Western fast-food restaurants. . .Ahmar, like his late father, receives generous cash payoffs from the Saudi Government, which he collects in Jeddah rather than through the Saudi Embassy in Sana'a.
So Ahmar flees Yemen in 2014; Saudi Arabia is faced with loss of control, and the possible establishment of some kind of parliamentary democracy in Yemen. This seems to be the House of Saud's biggest fear, the establishment of any kind of democratic system anywhere on their borders. This would give their own repressed population bad ideas, of the French Revolution sort. But this can't be said directly, being bad PR, so they trot out the "Iranian threat" line to justify bombing the Yemenis back to the stone age, with UAE and US support.
Also, looking into the Yemen and Arcadia Petroleum deal turns up this murkiness.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-arcadia-wiki-i...
"Exclusive: Arcadia may have rigged Yemen exports (2011)"
You'd think that we'd be supporting the regional democracy movement, given the American history of revolution against British monarchy rule, and that's likely why our corporate media refuses to give any coverage to the Yemeni freedom fighters, because that's what they'd have to call them.
Posted by: nonsense factory | Jul 25 2017 19:25 utc | 27
Petra, could you give us a tip about what to read on how the hell France got to let the US in Djibouti?
Posted by: Mina | Jul 25 2017 19:52 utc | 28
NO time to read but some here will probably appreciate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamid_al-Ahmar
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/951
https://www.yemenpeaceproject.org/blog-x/blogpost/politics-religion/yemens-other-islamists
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20140409-fight-the-brotherhood-first-saudi-refuses-to-intervene-in-yemen-citing-qatar-mb-support/
Posted by: Mina | Jul 25 2017 20:01 utc | 29
@17 peter au.. thanks for fisks article..
@23 /24 petra... thanks petra.. i appreciate it.
@27 nonsense factory.. yes, i think that makes more sense, to quote you "House of Saud (and UAE monarchies) fears establisment of a independent Yemen state with a parliamentary democracy, as that might encourage their own overthrow." funny how the usa- israel also seem disturbed by this possibility too... i guess israel doesn't want to have to share the role of being the 'only democracy' in the mid east, lol... oh, i forgot - it is all about that big bad monster iran, lol...
@28 / 29 mina.. good question and interesting reading material. thanks..
Posted by: james | Jul 25 2017 20:49 utc | 30
Some corrections/clarifications to my post at @22:
"...Yanbu is also the Saudi Naval Port for the Red Sea..."
Jeddah is actually the main KSA naval port on that coast - there is no facility at Yanbu. The flight path of the missile would have taken it very nearly over Jeddah and the Navy base, so there's still questions about the apparent lack of interception considering the radar/Patriots. There's also a possibility that the missile was intercepted near Yanbu and the fire was a result of the wreckage hitting something. There was virtually no coverage of the strike in western press, and only the mention of 'transformer fire' in oil industry news.
"...The Saudis/Evil Orb Coalition have blockaded all the ports - nothing gets in by sea unless it fits in a rowboat..."
The blockade of shipping to rebel ports in N. Yemen two years ago began with KSA/Orb of Evil bombing the main (to the north) Red Sea port of Hodeidah, resulting in destruction of it's cargo cranes. The port is still usable/open, but cannot handle standard commercial cargo unloading. Small ships can still be manually unloaded if they make it through the blockade, but this is impractical for anything large/heavy. There is only one other Houthi-held old/small port to the south in Mocha, mostly in ruins today.
This makes aid delivery to Houthi-held areas difficult, even if KSA/Orb of Evil permitted it. The UN has called for a neutral military presence at the port and rebuilding of the cargo cranes so bulk aid can be delivered. KSA/Orb of Evil isn't too fond of the idea of starving Houthis eating, so that's probably out. Talks about the port fell apart after the Houthis said the negotiations were biased. It sounded like the 'solution' offered was essentially to give control of the port to KSA/Orb of Evil who promised to be unbiased. Also at issue are the health workers in the north who have not been paid for a year or more. There was going to be some kind of import duties levied at the port by the UN, which would then be distributed directly to health workers.
The battle for Hodeidah is probably the next most significant event everyone is expecting. The Orb of Evil crew plans to attack and invade it, cutting off whatever trickle of supplies actually make it to the north. If they can't take it, they will completely level it to make it completely unusable. The UN condemns the Houthi rebellion, but is concerned that this will just contribute to the humanitarian
crisis in Yemen today. The Houthis will fight fiercely to remain in control of Hodeidah.
Good two-page report summarizing current state of affairs in Yemen:
July 2017 Monthly Forecast:Yemen published by an organization called Security Council Report
Posted by: PavewayIV | Jul 26 2017 15:34 utc | 31
@22/ 31 paveway... thanks.. thanks for the link as well.. it seems they are another think tank type organization funded by some foundations and countries that can be seen on the about page found here.. ford foundation is at the top of the list of sponsors...
when they describe it this way, it comes across as biased.. "The war pits the Houthis, a Zaydi Shiite rebel group, and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against the Yemeni government and the Saudi Arabia-led coalition." what do you think?
Posted by: james | Jul 26 2017 16:23 utc | 32
This reminds me of the explanation given to Seymour Hersh over the 39% hit rate during the cruise missile attack on the Syrian airbase. After official sources claimed a much higher hit rate, Hersh's source admitted a much lower hit rate and tried to explain it away by the smoke from previous hits interfering with the guidance systems. Wow, smoke not only affects laser guidance systems but also the TFR or GPS guidance systems on cruise missiles and makes them fall in coastal areas hundreds of kms away!
Posted by: Thirdeye | Jul 26 2017 17:29 utc | 33
james@32 - I'm not really sure you can characterize them as the usual 'think tank type' organization, James. They report and analyze UN Security Council activity and issues - it's a far better condensed version than the actual UN Security Council (or the UN itself) publishes. They use the language that the UN Security Council uses, so the descriptions used for either side in the Yemeni conflict are how the UN Security Council describes them. On the same note, they consistently describe the government of Syria as such, and don't use 'Syrian regime' or assign all Syrian actions exclusively to Assad.
Now I have my own opinions about bias in the Security Council itself and their actions, but I don't feel like the Security Council Report tries to advocate for or justify them. The SCR's bias could show up in the background material or additional information they choose to use in their analysis. For instance, they don't use pejorative terms for the Syrian government, but you can sense a markedly pro-US sentiment in their equivalent Syria: July 2017 Monthly Forecast with little mention of Syrian or Russian efforts against ISIS.
Overall, I thought the Yemeni report was balanced in context - considering the UN Security Council itself mostly ignores the parties responsible for causing of the humanitarian crises there. The UN Security Council's view on Yemen is that the rebels should lay down their arms and cease hostilities because Hadi's government is kind-of recognized by the UN as the legitimate one.
I guess I can at least appreciate the fact that the SCR is far less biased source than the MSM, but I certainly wouldn't call them totally unbiased. They do report both sides of issues if discussed by the Security Council. It IS a great resource for analyzing MSM coverage of the Security Council decisions because the MSM cherry-picking pro-narrative 'facts' becomes obvious.
Posted by: PavewayIV | Jul 26 2017 17:56 utc | 34
@34 paveway... thanks paveway.. i hear what you are saying and i agree with you.. it is hard to find info on yemen, and finding fully balanced info is probably impossible.. i don't see how this is going to end.. it seems like saudi arabia and coalition would like to bomb any opposition back into the medieval era which would put them right about where their wahabbi ideology resides... maybe that is the concept.. that the usa/uk/israel and the west allow this is despicable.. the un really make an ass of themselves for glad handling it all..
Posted by: james | Jul 26 2017 18:08 utc | 35
Good job! Damascus: Syrian Army Seizes US, French Arms Cargo en Route to Terrorist-Held Regions
Related, but equally important.
I hope many people realize that preying on children is at the center of global evil satanic cabal's assualt on humanity. That Moloch worshiping scum when unleashing new conflicts, turmoils, riots, destabilization always plans to exploit affected children for sacrifice, human trafficing, perversions - that's been a HUGE story the lame-scream media has been purposefully silent about for decades.
I'm starting to like Assange. Calling Bono a fraud for what he's become serving the global empire after he sold his soul to "the devil" is a good shot at the enemy.
Zoe’s Ark And The Blurred Lines Between Humanitarian Aid And Exploitation
To get an idea of how relevant this issue currently is, Russia Today published an article yesterday revealing that more than 100 missing refugee children in Calais may have become victims of sex trafficking. Julian Assange has also questioned the legitimacy of Bono’s “One” foundation, calling it a “special ops match made in heaven.” Elizabeth Lee Beck, a Yale-educated litigator in the DNC Fraud Lawsuit, appeared in a bombshell interview with alternative media website Infowars, where she referenced issues that had come up in her research in regards to the death of Peter Smith, Beranton Whisenant and others. Given these developments, it is especially timely to take a closer look at scandals like Zoe’s Ark and ask why, after over a decade, the issues stemming from such cases have not been fully addressed.The 2007 Zoe’s Ark scandal was one of the first of a string of NGO related cases of misconduct which resulted in accusations from the President of Chad that the NGO had been intending to sell the children to human trafficking and organ trafficking networks. Despite the members of the charity receiving convictions on charges of child trafficking, and receiving sentences of eight years hard labor, the accused were repatriated to France after the intercession of Nicholas Sarkozy. Sarkozy personally persuaded Idriss Deby to give the offenders Presidential pardons. The group later faced related charges in France.
Posted by: ProPeace | Jul 26 2017 18:55 utc | 36
Where's the outrage of Western elites ?
Saudi Arabia set to execute 14 for exercising fundamental human rights
Posted by: ProPeace | Jul 26 2017 19:41 utc | 37
Interesting tidbit from VoltaireNet Le MI6 replie son dispositif du « Printemps arabe »
The MI6 folded its men after the failure of the "Arab Spring". This project, developed in 2004 by Sir James Craig, planned to duplicate the "Arab Revolt" that Lawrence of Arabia had organized against the Ottoman Empire.During the First World War, Lawrence promised the Arabs their unity and freedom if they succeeded in overthrowing the Ottoman colonizer. In the end, they had the British Empire.
The "Arab Spring" was designed against Iran this time. It was a matter of placing the Muslim Brotherhood, which would have been the transmission belt of Anglo-Saxon imperialism, in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood.
One of the main agents of the program, Angus McKee, was appointed United Kingdom Charge d'Affaires in Syria in December 2011. After the Damascus embassy closed, he continued his duties under the same cover, but From Beirut. In March 2012, he became a consul in Iraqi Kurdistan. It has just been recalled by the MI6 in London.
Posted by: ProPeace | Jul 26 2017 19:44 utc | 38
B, just to quibble, the US military has modified the weather. Operation Popeye and similar used mostly established and some experimental cloud seeding techniques to trigger a longer peroid of monsoon rains over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Popeye It went on for about 4 years and was moderately successful in causing more rain although not in achieving real tactical success.
Posted by: Pespi | Jul 27 2017 0:10 utc | 39
For me one of the most frustrating aspects of Saudi Arabia's Yemen butchery is that we well those of us who live in so-called western or developed societies and who know that this horror is being committed at the behest of our 'leadership' are seemingly 100% powerless to do anything about it.
This issue is not one that is likely to become a point of difference in any election campaign in any 'western democracy' - the reasons are typical most of our talking heads believe they can get away with an attitude of plausible deniability "we know nothing- ask the saudis" sort of thing which is why ksa has been employed to implement this odious act, when in fact usuk in particular will benefit hugely from removing any form of shia political expression from the peninsular.
In addition the destruction of Yemen is considered to be one of those 'inelastic political stances' which drive hack pols crazy. That is to say taking an obvious side on the issue especially one which stands up to the PTB won't garner many if any fresh votes but it will cost old votes - chiefly because of the msm campaign which would ensure for any pol who ran on such a platform.
Yet we aren't helpless, the successful action against ksa by indigenous Yemen forces attacked a Saudi Oil refinery an Aramco one to be sure, but a quick study of the ksa economy reveals that despite protestations to the contrary Aramco is not the sole major player in Saudi resources. The corporation which began as Anglo American oil then morphed into Standard Oil then now into ExxonMobil is still hugely dependent on Saudi oilfields for international supplies and ExxonMobil retains considerable influence over the Saudi political structure to this day.
Shit the cholera epidemic in Yemen has gotten so bad that even the deceitful BBC found themselves forced to run a piece about it on the 6 o'clock news last week. It wouldn't take much effort or co-ordination for those of us concerned about the slaughter to knock up a series of flyers featuring young children of Yemen who currently look more like escapees from a concentration camp than 21st century kids with the words "don't buy ExxonMobil they kill children" underneath.
Knowing that since the 2008 GFC the biggest corporations have been using the free money from zero or low interest loans to buy back their shares plus shares in allied groups, a quick research into Mobil Exxon will likely reveal that Aramco & Mobil Exxon likely own each other.
My local gas station - about the only one in town that isn't corporate owned is a Mobil franchise but I stopped using them in early 2016 when the extent of KSA's horror show became fully evident.
There are likely some zionist major shareholders but this corporation is definitely not israeli so AFAIK organising a boycott against them, even in amerika should be perfectly legal.
Individual economic sanctions is about the only string left in a citizen's bow and public dislike for oil corporations and ksa would make a boycott a damn easy sell.
An effective attack on EM's retail business would stop the pricks in their tracks. The saudi princes may even believe their own bulldust about 'apostates' but however much they claim to love islam they love money a whole lot more.
I'm interested to hear what others think.
Posted by: Debsisdead | Jul 27 2017 2:49 utc | 40
... when they describe it this way, it comes across as biased.. "The war pits the Houthis, a Zaydi Shiite rebel group, and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against the Yemeni government and the Saudi Arabia-led coalition." what do you think?
Posted by: james | Jul 26, 2017 12:23:38 PM | 32
I would say that this is accurate, the bias is in formulation and not the facts. There is a coalition of Yemeni forces against KSA+UAE+mercenaries. The invaders have few Yemeni stooges, and those that they have fight among themselves. Some are southern separatist (there was a separate state of Southern Yemen), some are radical Islamists, and there are "Hadi loyalists" that detest Hadi. Before the invasion, the civil war was a bit "inconclusive", but the reason was that southern separatists rejected the allegiance to the central government after the "revolution" (Ukraine comes to mind). Hadi himself seems to be a chameleon (he started as a Communist etc.), so he would have a natural base of support among fellow chameleons -- not the best material for troops.
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jul 27 2017 14:47 utc | 41
[Preventing repairs in the port that was partially destroyed] makes aid delivery to Houthi-held areas difficult, even if KSA/Orb of Evil permitted it. The UN has called for a neutral military presence at the port and rebuilding of the cargo cranes so bulk aid can be delivered. KSA/Orb of Evil isn't too fond of the idea of starving Houthis eating, so that's probably out.
Posted by: PavewayIV | Jul 26, 2017 11:34:40 AM | 31
"UN has called" probably refers to staff that makes reports. Decisions can be made be the Security Council, and I doubt that they are blocked by Russia and China, so starving "rebels" to submission is the official policy of the Western alliance of USA, UK and France. By the way, if you add together the western postulates about Ukraine: leaving all permission about the traffic of goods and people to "rebel territories" of Crimea and Donbass to Ukrainian government, the results would be starvation and death from cold/lack of fuel -- at least in the case of Crimea that lacks its own energy resources. Note that the Kievan regime stopped supplies of food, electricity and water to Crimea and Donbass in successive stages of escalation (and pension payments). Sovereign decisions, one can say, but with a shocking lack of concern for the welfare of "their own people".
Not that the Western alliance adheres to "Westfalian principles" in all cases (Kosovo, Libya, Syria to list their own actions, North Cyprus, Western Sahara and Israeli occupied territories+Gaza to list actions that they support).
Strangely enough, the support for starve+massacre policy seems to wane a bit within the establishment. Today NYT has an article on a massacre of Somalian refugees trying to flee Yemen to Somalia. However, no word of surprise that American Navy does not offer any comments about who could do it. Since Obama administration promised "targeting help" to KSA lead coalition, Navy presumably watches the traffic in the region, at least the traffic of the military vessels. Perhaps Americans pinpointed the massacred vessel as a target.
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jul 27 2017 15:12 utc | 42
@40 / 41 piotr.. thanks for your response and further comments.. it is really discouraging on the face of it..
Posted by: james | Jul 27 2017 16:14 utc | 43
oh i see that complete nut case mattis had a few comments on yemen too... all about how bad iran is.. jesus - how do complete ignoramus's get into power like that where they even get heard?
"
Right now, they’ve moved ballistic missiles down to Yemen that were shot into Saudi Arabia from Yemen. It’s going to be very hard to deal with them. What you have to do eventually is what then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did, which was to move sanctions, economic sanctions, against them and force them to the negotiating table because they want to stay in power.
I think too there’s a way to make certain that we don’t confuse this regime, which is a murderous regime, and remember it has killed a lot of Iranian people and locked up in jail a lot of young Iranians when they demonstrated against them in the Green Revolution a few years ago. You cannot confuse them with the regime. The Iranian people are not the problem. The Iranian people are definitely not the problem, it’s the regime that sends agents around to murder ambassadors in Pakistan or in Washington DC. It’s the regime that provides missiles to Lebanese Hezbollah or the Houthi in Yemen.
So somehow, you don’t want to unite the Iranian people with that unpopular regime because if you pressure them both then they will grow together. We’ve got to make certain that the Iranian people know that we don’t have any conflict with them. I’d start with that.
TEDDY: Is Iran the most dangerous country in the Middle East?
MATTIS: It’s certainly the country that is the only reason Assad has been able to stay in power. For example, for so long when Russia vetoed the United Nations so they couldn’t do anything about it, the only reason that Assad is still in power and has killed hundreds of thousands of his own people and allowed the terrorists a place to set up camp and millions, literally millions of people, forced out of their homes with nothing but what they could cram into a car or put on their back, it’s all because of Iran."
sounds like he is confusing iran with israel with regard to them knocking off people in others countries..
i guess the only reason saudi arabia and wahabbism is still in power is thanks the usa... funny how mattis would like to blame isis/al qaeda on assad... the guy is a couple of bricks way short of a load..
Posted by: james | Jul 27 2017 16:21 utc | 44
Piotr Berman@41 Re: "UN has called", specifically in regards to opening the port of Hudaydah - the Security Council can't force the Houthis (who hold the port) to give up control. They offered to broker a transfer to a 'neutral' third party. The Houthis know better than to trust the UN and probably don't want aid going to either Hadi-loyalist or AQAP held areas of starvation.
The UN Security Council issued a worthless President's Letter (or some similarly-named tripe) simply urging the belligerents to cooperate. But you will never see the UN saying that it will protect aid convoys with force traveling to or in the Port of Hudaydah. So diplomacy through starvation as usual via the "Let It Happen on Purpose" tactic.
Starving people in the territory of someone we don't like is humane because... well, the promise of Western freedom and democracy, I guess. That's what they told me on CNN and they seem to know a lot about this stuff. Best to leave the manufacture of humanitarian catastrophes to the experts.
I just saw a poll in Ukraine where 52% of the people under 30 years old want to permanently leave - emigrate with their families - from that Westernized democracy hellhole. I would hope Crimea has sturdy fences, but the people there seem nice. They would probably take the poor Ukrainian refugees in without hesitation.
Posted by: PavewayIV | Jul 27 2017 16:30 utc | 45
Why? Because of Yemen's strategic location, that's why! Remember that it used to be a colony of the UK and Aden (as the country was called then) was a major military base for the UK. Just look at at the map. Any force that occupies Aden/Yemen has the potential to control all sea traffic, not only north but also East toward Iran.
Posted by: William Bowles | Jul 27 2017 17:08 utc | 46
@44 paveway.. lol... the reality on the ground and what is conveyed in the msm are so far apart, it is outrageous..
Posted by: james | Jul 27 2017 18:47 utc | 47
Good news Houthi Forces Targets UAE Warship With Alleged Iranian Missile
The Naval forces of the Yemeni Army and Houthi forces claimed that they targeted an Emirati warship in the Red Sea off Al-Mukhaa coast in western Yemen.The director of the Naval College Brigadier General Mohammad Ali al-Qadri said that the UAE warship was coming from the Assab port and was carrying military equipment.
According to the Yemeni source, the warship was targeted by an “appropriate weapon”. The Houthi and the Naval Yemeni Forces had previously used Noor missiles – the Iranian version of the Chinese C-802 anti-ship missiles – Moreover, the Houthis have used unmanned Boats-improvised explosive device to attack Saudi warships.
The Houthis and the Yemeni Navy claim that they have so far targeted 11 warships and 10 patrol boats of the Saudi Alliance so far. The most famous operation of the Yemeni Navy was the targeting of the HSV-2 Swift ship on 1 October 2016. Although the ship didn’t sink, the latest reports indicated that the Greek company Seajets purchased the ship and may dismantle it instead of repairing it, as the ship was seen in a Greek port early this month.
Posted by: ProPeace | Jul 30 2017 17:24 utc | 48
rare and precious infos
https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/linvite-des-matins-dete-1ere-partie/yemen-la-guerre-oubliee
https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/linvite-des-matins-dete-2eme-partie/yemen-la-guerre-oubliee
Posted by: Mina | Jul 31 2017 12:18 utc | 49
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/274489/World/Region/,-to-leave-SyriaLebanon-border-zone-as-ceasefire-d.aspx
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/274505/World/Region/Iraqi-Shia-leader-Sadr-makes-rare-visit-to-Saudi-A.aspx
Posted by: Mina | Jul 31 2017 15:35 utc | 50
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thanks b... good pic their, lol... i don't get how this is even happening? why is yemen being targeted? who would want to be governed by some western puppet residing in some hotel in riyadh? surely the usa is selling more ammo, but is that it?
Posted by: james | Jul 24 2017 20:17 utc | 1