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China Attacker stabbed 22 children
Posted on December 21, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Source Asia Pacific News
A nurse attends to a girl after she was stabbed during a knife attack on December 14 at a primary school in Guangshan county, China’s Henan province. (AFP)
BEIJING: Chinese police have released surveillance video footage of a knife-wielding attacker who stabbed 22 students at a primary school last week, after the assault was given limited prominence in national media.
The grainy video shows a male attacker pursuing a group of children through a school gate and slashing one child with a knife, causing her to fall to the ground.
Panicked children then stream out of the school gates to escape the attacker, identified by local police as 36-year-old Min Yongjun, before adults enter equipped with straw brooms, chasing out Min.
No guards are visible close to the school’s gate.
No-one was killed but 22 children were injured in the attack at a school in the central Chinese province of Henan on Friday, the same day that 20 children were shot dead at a primary school in Newtown, Connecticut in the US.
Despite the severity and scale of the US attack Chinese social media users complained that the Henan incident should have been given more coverage in the country.
“The headlines are still dominated by the American attack, I haven’t seen reports about the attack in Henan which happened on the same day,” wrote one user of Sina Weibo — a website similar to Twitter.
“Aren’t Chinese children’s lives also important? It’s a tragedy.”
According to instructions obtained by the China Digital Times website the government’s central propaganda department told Chinese media to downplay the Henan attack.
It quoted officials as telling media not to put the news on the front page or lure readers to it, and not to produce reports or comment on it other than those provided by Xinhua, the state-run news agency.
Local authorities said that Min had been “influenced by rumours of the end of the world”, which some in China believe is due to occur on Friday, in line with supposed Mayan prophecies.
Six local officials including the school principal were removed from their positions, according to reports.
Published on Dec 20, 2012
Chenpeng, China – Friday 21 December 2012
Police in China have released footage of last week’s knife attack on a primary school — a frenzied assault that left 22 children injured that was carried out by a man described by police as influenced by “rumours that the world would end”.
The grainy surveillance camera footage was taken from just inside the grounds of the school in the central Chinese province of Henan where the attacker, Min Yongjun, 36, struck last Friday.
6 local officials have been fired after the incident, but new CCTV footage suggests that many staff at the school acted heroically, running after the attacker and perhaps preventing more violence.
His attack was carried out the same day that a gunman in the United States killed 26 children and teachers at a primary school in Newtown
“Horror as school knife attack revealed on CCTV ”
“Moment crazed Doomsday knifeman Min Yongjun who stabbed 23 children attacks schoolgirl with machete”
On the same day, tragedies descended upon both a Chinese and an American elementary schools. Chinese news media, like their American counterparts, blanketed their front pages and prime-time news programs with coverage of the Connecticut shooting on December 16, while playing down or even clamming up in the face of the stabbings in China’s Henan province. Such drastically different attitudes that the Chinese press adopted toward the two school rampages have prompted Chinese netizens to express their utter disappointment with and madness at their country’s fourth estate. “Sadness: Chinese media only cry for American kids…”, they opined on the Internet.
Front pages of major Chinese metropolitan newspapers on December 16. “America is heart-broken”, “America is crying”…Many headlines read.
On the morning of December 14, Min Yingjun, 36, broke into a 84-year-old man’s home and slashed him with a knife found at in the old man’s kitchen before he burst into an elementary school nearby and used the same knife to stab 22 children. He was finally subdued by school teachers, villagers and policemen arriving on the scene. The old man and seven children were seriously injured and put under intensive care. Other children were hospitalized. Most children were left behind by parents who are migrant workers in other cities and cared for by grandparents. The scene was so bloody and so horrific that many grandparents fainted.
Almost all Chinese mainstream media, including state broadcaster China Central Television, South Metropolis Daily, Beijing Youth and major metropolitan papers in the country, gave extensive coverage to the shooting in the United States while grudging words on the mass stabbing in Henan. Xinyang Daily, a newspaper circulating in the city of Xinyang, which administers Guangshan County, where the mass stabbing took place, even kept singing praises of the local government while remaining silent on the subject on the next day. “Guangshan Strives to Provide Education that Satisfies the People” was the headline of a story on its front page published on December 17.
“CCTV of China school knife attack”
Indonesia to get $400 millions arms credit from Russia
Posted on December 21, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Russia’s Vnesheconom bank (VEB) will provide Indonesia a total of $399.5 million in credit to finance purchases of aircraft and related equipment from Russia’s state-run arms export company Rosoboron export.
Su-30MK2 Flanker Multirole Fighter
The credit will be provided for a seven-year term, Rosoborone xport said. This is the second credit agreement between VEB and Indonesia’s finance ministry in the past two years.
Earlier, VEB’s deputy chief Alexander Ivanov said the group won the Indonesian finance ministry’s tender to finance the purchase of six Russian-made Su-30MK2 Flanker multirole fighter aircraft.
The Sukhoi Su-30MKK (NATO codename: Flanker) is the two-seat, twin-engine multirole fighter aircraft developed from the Su-27 fighter. The aircraft was developed by Russian Sukhoi Design Bureau and built by KnAAPO in Komsomolsk-na-Amur. The PLA Air Force (PLAAF) acquired two batches totalling 76 Su-30MKKs between 2000 and 2003. The third batch, which consisted of 24 examples of the upgraded Su-30MKK2 variant, was delivered to the PLA Naval Air Force (PLANAF) in August 2004. The Su-30MKK series is the most capable combat aircraft in service with the PLA.
The Su-30MKK is PLA’s first ‘true’ multirole fighter with both ‘beyond-visual-range’ air-to-air and precision strike capabilities. The aircraft can deliver a range of precision-guided munitions such as the Kh-29 and Kh-59 air-to-surface missiles, Kh-31P anti-radiation missile, and the TV-guided bombs. For air-to-air combat, the aircraft is equipped with Russia’s latest Vympel R-77 (NATO codename: AA-12 Adder) active radar-homing medium-range air-to-air missile (MRAAM). Additionally, the aircraft is also fitted with sophisticated electronic countermeasures (ECM) and C4ISR suites for target acquisitions and weapon guidance.
Back in 2007 Indonesia signed a $1 billion arms package to update its crumbling military. The agreement with Russia includes contracts for two submarines and contains an option to purchase up to eight more over the next 15 years. As Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta, that plan is raising concerns among other Pacific nations.
Under the turbid waters of the Western Pacific, a quiet arms race is threatening to upset the fragile balance of power between nations.
Chine accused of fueling Pacific Arms Race – A dramatic increase in the number of submarines being built in southeast Asia has sparked claims that a new arms race is under way beneath the waves in the Western Pacific.
Dozens of hunter-killers, armed with missiles and intelligence-gathering equipment, are being built, fanning fears of potential conflict in a volatile corner of the world and threatening to alter the global balance of military power.
In Nov. 1946, a draft agreement on forming a Netherlands-Indonesian Union was reached, but differences in interpretation resulted in more fighting between Dutch and nationalist forces. Following a bitter war for independence, leaders on both sides agreed to terms of a union on Nov. 2, 1949. The transfer of sovereignty took place in Amsterdam on Dec. 27, 1949. In Feb. 1956, Indonesia abrogated the union and began seizing Dutch property in the islands.
In 1963, Netherlands New Guinea (the Dutch portion of the island of New Guinea) was transferred to Indonesia and renamed West Irian, which became Irian Jaya in 1973 and West Papua in 2000. Hatta and Sukarno, the cofathers of Indonesian independence, split over Sukarno’s concept of “guided democracy,” and under Sukarno’s rule the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) steadily increased its influence.
Military analysts say Indonesia’s deal with Russia last week, which included two of Russia’s famously stealthy Kilo-class submarines, is the latest development in an ongoing underwater arms race across the region.
Andrew Davies is the author of The Enemy Below, a report published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank.
He predicts increasing underwater traffic could lead to a serious international incident.
“When you have submarine operations, especially if people go and operate in other people’s sovereign waters, you have one little accident, you know a submarine bumps into a ship or something like that – and these things do happen; even US submarines bump into ships occasionally, you’re setting yourself up for a very significant diplomatic issue, especially if the two countries happen to not like one another,” he noted.
Japan has asked Indonesia to explain why it needs so much firepower under the sea.
The Indonesian government has announced that it wants to build 12 submarines by 2024 to patrol the strategically vital waters around its 17,000 islands. Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, Bangladesh and -Pakistan are all buying -submarines “off the shelf”.
There are at least three key determinants in Indonesia’s future rise. The first is the vision of Indonesia’s future president after 2014, whoever that may be, which will determine the next phase of Indonesia’s foreign policy. Secondly, domestic sentiments on certain issues are also important in terms of their impact on Indonesia’s foreign policy. Islamic nuances in foreign policy are already evident as a consequence of domestic pressures, for example concerns about the plight of the Rohingya community in Myanmar; advocating an anti-blasphemy law in the UN; and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa’s recent call for nations to review diplomatic ties with Israel and to boycott its products in solidarity with Palestine.
Indonesia, however, is confronted with a security dilemma given the current uncertainty in politics in the Asia-Pacific region; geopolitical turbulence in disputed waters; and the emergence of new sources of conflict involving resources.
Against this backdrop, Indonesia’s quest to improve its military capability, if realised, will influence the regional balance. In previous years, Indonesia was never able to meet its defence budget. In 2008 only 28 per cent of the overall budget was fulfilled by the government. Economic growth should help Indonesia to build up its military. Indonesia has recently passed a Defence Industry Law, demonstrating a political will to increase its military capability. But as the regional power balance shifts, it could potentially stimulate a reaction from Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, especially over border issues, such as the unresolved dispute over Ambalat with Malaysia. The Nation
How America the world’s most violent country slaughters children at home and abroad
Posted on December 21, 2012 by Akashma Online News
By Jerry Kroth
Counterpunch
17 December 2012
UPDATED
America is the only country in the world perpetually at war: in 2011-2012 alone, the United States was killing people in nine different countries, from Afghanistan to Yemen.
Children Killed in Pakistan by US Drone
EACH TIME there is an outbreak of homicidal mania, whether Columbine, Virginia Tech, or Adam Lanza’s slaughter of twenty eight innocents in Connecticut, the media directs us to stories about gun control and the need for better policing of individuals with mental illnesses.
The larger context—that America is a society brimming over with violence—is entirely lost in the discussion.
There are 192 million firearms owned by Americans, more than any other society in the world. Our rate of death from firearms is three times that of France and Canada, fourteen times greater than Ireland, and two hundred and fifty times greater than Japan, where firearms are aggressively controlled.
The U.S. has more prisoners, per capita, than any country on earth—three times more than Cuba, seven times more than Germany—and, indeed, we house twenty-five percent of all the prisoners in the world.
As for media violence, by the time the average American child leaves elementary school, they will have witnessed 8,000 murders and over 100,000 other acts of violence, and, to rub more salt into these open wounds, the U.S. also leads the world in the sale and rental of violent video games.
That litany of statistics comes to us compliments of our gratuitous interpretations of the First and Second Amendments.
But the forest we are talking grows ever larger.
Since World War II, the United States engaged in over fifty military operations abroad killing some four million people (Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Iraq, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Grenada, Panama, the list goes on). If you add in to that total massacres by proxies and surrogates, the number flirts with five million (Indonesia, Chile, Guatemala, and elsewhere).
We are the only country in the world seemingly perpetually at war. In 2011-2012 alone, the United States was killing people in nine different countries: Iraq and Afghanistan with troops, Libya with rockets, Somalia, Pakistan, and Yemen with drones, Honduras with raids against drug cartels, the Philippines with air support against insurgents, and most recently in Kenya as 150 Special forces started their operations. No other country in the world can boast of so many military involvements.
To remedy the horrors we saw in Connecticut should not be limited to screening mentally ill individuals from purchasing Glocks—which is about as far as our craven mainstream media wishes to venture. Instead we need to recognize the massacres of Jonestown, Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Connecticut are merely symptoms of a much more ubiquitous cancer.
To finally address this problem is to begin a long and arduous process of cultivating a culture of peace. Such collective psychotherapy begins by treating the patient on many fronts and in a multi-dimensional way: To forbid the sale of handguns, nationwide; to ration the sale of ammunition; to prohibit the sale of violent toys to children (Greece already does), to aggressively control the sale and access of violent video games to children (Australia, Venezuela, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and Brazil already do), and to prohibit the broadcast of violent scenes, explicit or implicit, on network television during family viewing hours, a practice already in effect in many European countries
And, who knows, we might even take it one step further and retreat from our aspirations of empire and global hegemony, close down our military operations, and bring our vast armies and armadas home —over 400,000 Americans at last count stationed in almost 1,000 overseas military bases.
Russia has ten overseas military bases. China none.
So much room to grow!
Imagine our progressive President, instead of limiting his compassion to the shedding of a tear at a press conference, actually proposed comprehensive and revolutionary changes and legislation that focussed not on the symptoms but, at long last, finally started to address the disease itself.
The Woes of an American Drone Operator
Bryant saw a flash on the screen: the explosion. Parts of the building collapsed. The child had disappeared. Bryant had a sick feeling in his stomach.“Did we just kill a kid?” he asked the man sitting next to him.
“Yeah, I guess that was a kid,” the pilot replied.
US drones kill up to 80% civilians – Pakistan Interior Minister
There are no exact statistics on the number of people killed in drone strikes in Pakistan. Estimates vary from about 2,500 to over 3,000 victims. As many as 174 of them were reportedly children.
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December 14, 2012
I m still researching on the the two events. The 2th Amendment come to my mind very clearly. All the crisis that is exciting the people around the world it is something to get worry about it, and our government will subject Americans to more control. It will force Americans to surrender their guns.
Instead of the government to go home to home and confiscated the arms, American will be fearful enough to relinquish their own constitutional rights.
The occupy movement is not death, and the Middle East, and Europe is getting in fire. I m scare that the emotions get high in the US and there will be some kind of chaos looming close to home.
The economy is really bad, farmers lost their lands to the banks, homeowner lost their homes to the banks.
The number published are fake to keep the public’s “peace of mind”. The underemployment is raising. There are more homeless in the streets that never before.
The information bellow is important to tie some ends to the two stories.
Brzezinski: “Its easier to kill a million people…than it is to control them”
In a country where there almost as many guns as citizens, the odds are against the government. I really doubt that the US government will be able to control 300 million American going into the streets like Egyptian Tahir Square did it, specially if those American are taking their legally owned guns with them to protest the actions of the government.
Colorado Shooting and Connecticut Shooting. Plus the video . Please be objective and think little bit on conspiracies.
Conneticut Shooting – (3 combined shooters) Police Audio and Witness Video Testimonies
“The father of Newtown Connecticut school shooter Adam Lanza is Peter Lanza who is a VP and Tax Director at GE Financial.
The father of Aurora Colorado movie theater shooter James Holmes is Robert Holmes, the lead scientist for the credit score company FICO.
Both men were to testify before the US Senate in the ongoing LIBOR scandal. The London Interbank Offered Rate, known as Libor, is the average interest rate at which banks can borrow from each other. 16 international banks have been implicated in this ongoing scandal, accused of rigging contracts worth trillions of dollars. HSBC has already been fined $1.9 billion and three of their low level traders arrested.” Libor Scandal
Down to -50C: Russians freeze to death as strongest-in-decades winter hits (PHOTOS)
Posted on December 20, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Published on Dec/19/2012 by RT
RIA Novosti / Yakov Andreev
Russia is enduring its harshest winter in over 70 years, with temperatures plunging as low as -50 degrees Celsius. Dozens of people have already died, and almost 150 have been hospitalized.
The country has not witnessed such a long cold spell since 1938, meteorologists said, with temperatures 10 to 15 degrees lower than the seasonal norm all over Russia.
Across the country, 45 people have died due to the cold, and 266 have been taken to hospitals. In total, 542 people were injured due to the freezing temperatures, RIA Novosti reported.
The Moscow region saw temperatures of -17 to -18 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, and the record cold temperatures are expected to linger for at least three more days. Thermometers in Siberia touched -50 degrees Celsius, which is also abnormal for December.
RIA Novosti / Aleksey Malgavko
The Emergency Ministry has issued warnings in 15 regions, which have been put on high alert over possible disruptions of communication and power.
Across the country, heat pipelines have broken down due to the cold. In southeastern Russia’s Samara, the cold has broken down many heat pipelines, leaving hundreds of homes without heating, including an orphanage and a rest house. Many schools and kindergartens have been closed for almost a week.
The cold spell, along with snowfalls, has disrupted flights all over the country, and led to huge traffic jams. In the southern city of Rostov-on-Don some highways were closed due to snowfalls over the past two days, triggering a traffic collapse.
RIA Novosti / Aleksey Malgavko
More cold in the capital
Over the weekend, meteorologists predict temperatures will plunge even lower in the Moscow region, hitting -25. The Russian capital is also expected to be swept with snow, RIA Novosti reported.
Temperatures have been 7 degrees lower than the norm for five days already, which is considered an anomaly, according to the Meteonovosti.ru website. The cold spell in the Moscow region is expected to continue for at least three more days.
Due to the high humidity, these freezing temperatures will feel even colder than they actually are, meteorologists explained.
Lowest temperatures in history
Blizzard of 1888, 14th St. between 5th and 6th Avenues looking West, March 1888 Read more: The Blizzard of 1888 — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/blizzard1.html#ixzz2Fbqazu6w
The most famous snowstorm in American history, the Blizzard of 1888, has acquired an almost legendary status. Although there have been many heavier snowfalls as well as significantly lower temperatures, the blizzard’s combination of inclement conditions has been unmatched in more than a century.
The U.S. Weather Service defines a blizzard as a storm with winds of more than 35 miles an hour and snow that limits visibility to 500 feet or less. A severe blizzard is defined as having winds exceeding 45 miles an hour, visibility of a quarter mile or less, and temperatures of 10 degrees F or lower.
Major Blizzards in the U.S.
- 1888
- Jan. 12, Dakota and Montana territories, Minn., Nebr., Kans., and Tex.: “Schoolchildren’s Blizzard” resulted in 235 deaths, many of which were children on their way home from school.
- March 11–14, East Coast: “Blizzard of 1888” resulted in 400 deaths and as much as 5 ft of snow. Damage was estimated at $20 million.
- 1949
- Jan. 2–4, Nebr., Wyo., S.D., Utah, Colo., and Nev.: Actually one of a series of winter storms between Jan. 1 and Feb. 22. Although only 1 ft to 30 in. of snow fell, fierce winds of up to 72 mph created drifts as high as 30 ft. Tens of thousands of cattle and sheep perished.
- 1950
- Nov. 25–27, eastern U.S.: “Storm of the Century” generated heavy snow and hurricane-force winds across 22 states and claimed 383 lives. Damages estimated at $70 million.
- 1977
- Jan. 28–29, Buffalo, N.Y.: “Blizzard of 1977” dumped about 7 in. of new snow on top of 30–35 in. already on the ground. With winds gusting to 70 mph, drifts were as high as 30 ft. Death toll reached 29, and seven western N.Y. counties were declared a national disaster area.
- 1978
- Feb. 6–8, eastern U.S.: “Blizzard of 1978” battered the East Coast, particularly the Northeast; claimed 54 lives and caused $1 billion in damage. Snowfall ranged from 2–4 ft in New England, plus nearly 2 ft of snow already on the ground from an earlier storm.
- 1993
- March 12–14, eastern U.S.: “Superstorm” paralyzed the eastern seaboard, causing the deaths of some 270 people. Record snowfalls (with rates of 2–3 in. per hour) and high winds caused $3 billion to $6 billion in damage.
- 1996
- Jan. 6–8, eastern U.S.: heavy snow paralyzed the Appalachians, the mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast; 187 were killed in the blizzard and in the floods that resulted after a sudden warm-up. Damages reached $3 billion.
- 1999
- Jan. 1–3, Midwest U.S.: major blizzard and sub-zero temperatures wreak havoc in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio; 73 were killed in the blizzard and transportation systems in the region were paralyzed. Damages reached about $500 million.
Iraq urged to end executions amid ratification of death sentences
Posted On December 20, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Source Amnesty International/Huff Post
Death sentences are being flung out after grossly unfair trials relying on ‘confessions’ obtained under torture.
Iraq must impose an immediate moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolition Amnesty International said, amid yesterday’s reported ratification of further death sentences.
Iraq has executed nearly 100 people so far this year, a big increase over previous years that has intensified concern about whether defendants are receiving fair trials in a country where the United States has spent billions of dollars trying to reform the judicial system after decades of dictatorship.
The executions in 2012 of at least 128 people, all by hanging, amount to more than a quarter of all convicts who have been put to death in the last eight tumultuous years under leaders who struggled to stabilize a country at war after Saddam Hussein was ousted after US invaded Iraq.
Christof Heyns, the U.N. investigator on arbitrary executions, described the government-sanctioned executions as “arbitrary killing” that is “committed behind a smokescreen of flawed legal processes.” He warned that the ” continued lack of transparency about the implementation of the death penalty in Iraq, and the country’s recent record, raise serious concerns about the question of what to expect in the future.”
He made the remarks in a statement in August after more than two dozen people were executed in one week.
Death sentences for 28 people accused of terrorism-related offenses were reportedly ratified on 17 December by one of the vice-Presidents, the last step in the judicial process. They are at risk of imminent execution.
Earlier this month it has been reported that about 40 death row prisoners were transferred to al-Kadhemiya Prison in Baghdad where executions are carried out.
Iraq has executed at least 129 people in 2012, the highest number since 2005. As in previous years, hundreds were estimated to have been sentenced to death, or had death sentences upheld by the courts.
“Death sentences are being flung out after grossly unfair trials relying on ‘confessions’ obtained under torture,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme’s Deputy Director.
“Instead of carrying out executions, the Iraqi authorities should prioritize fixing its deeply flawed criminal justice system.”
On 16 December, Iraqi vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi and his son-in-law were sentenced to death in absentia for the fifth time in a highly politicized trial by the Central Criminal Court, for possession and use of weapons. They have received four other death sentences on terrorism-related offences.
.
Since the death penalty was reintroduced in Iraq in 2004, the death sentence and executions are being imposed and carried out extensively, after procedures that violate human rights standards.
Many trials of those sentenced to death failed to meet international standards for fair trials, including by using “confessions” obtained under torture or other ill-treatment as evidence against the defendants.
Some Iraqi television stations continue to broadcast self-incriminating testimonies of detainees even before the opening of a trial, undermining the fundamental right of defendants to be considered innocent until proven guilty.
Amnesty International last week urged the Iraqi authorities to quash death sentences against four men sentenced on 3 December in Anbar province, western Iraq, following the broadcast of ‘confessions’ given while reportedly being tortured in pre-trial detention.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
More than two-thirds of the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in law or practice.
Jerusalem-born thinker Meron Benvenisti has a message for Israelis: Stop whining
Posted on December 20, 2012 by Akashma Online News
The notion of a Jewish-democratic state is an oxymoron and the two-state solution will never work. ‘This country is a shared land, a single homeland,’ he says.
Originally Posted on October 11, 2012 in Haaretz Daily Newspaper
By Ari Shavit
Meron Benvenisti (b:1934) was born in Palestine in to a Sephardic father (from Salonika) and an Ashkenazi mother (Suvalki on the border of Prussia, Lithuania and Poland). Meron Benvenisti is a former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem (from 1971 to 1978) and the author of numerous books
Meron Benvenisti was my first editor. At the beginning of the 1980s, Ariel Sharon established more than 100 settlements in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. At the beginning of the 1980s, Meron Benvenisti founded a Jerusalem-based information center to monitor the settlements Sharon established. At the beginning of the 1980s, I was a very young, very enthusiastic young volunteer in Peace Now, which thought (rightly) that the settlements Sharon was establishing and that Benvenisti was monitoring were going to lead Israel to perdition. Thus I found myself working for the tempestuous Meron.
In a small apartment on the edge of Jerusalem’s Rehavia neighborhood, he would roar in a booming voice while I documented every new settlement in the territories, every new road in the territories, every industrial zone. He would shout and rant while I noted a land expropriation and another land expropriation and yet another land expropriation. The country’s leading journalists came and went. And the leading American journalists came and went and foreign embassies requested information, whose compilation was funded (barely) by foreign foundations. But after the melee subsided, I cast my gaze on the man who caused a media storm by claiming that the occupation was irreversible. An overgrown boy, I said to myself. An overgrown − and delightful − boy.
He was born in 1934 in Jerusalem, went to a kibbutz (Rosh Hanikra) for self-fulfillment and left the kibbutz. He studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (history of the Crusades), and left the Hebrew University. He joined Teddy Kollek (Tourism Ministry, Jerusalem Municipality), and left Teddy Kollek. After he ceased to be deputy mayor of the city and after failing to enter the Knesset, he went to Harvard and earned a Ph.D. in conflict management and founded the West Bank Data Base Project in Jerusalem, to document the establishment of the settlements. Betwixt and between, Benvenisti wrote books about the Crusaders, about Jerusalem, about the conflict and about cemeteries. For 18 years he wrote a column in this newspaper. He now divides his time between Caesarea and the city in which he was born, where he will be buried and for which he grieves.
I plead guilty to having a weakness for Meron. I love his volcanic temperament and I love his authenticity and his unbearability. I love his sabra quality and his earthiness, and I love the intensity of his tragic romanticism. Benvenisti is not only an out-of-the-box person; he is an out-of-the-system, out-of-the-mold, out-of-every-convention person. Being irresponsible, immature and unrestrained, he does not feel a commitment to any solution or any stream of thought. Being all chutzpah and provocation and quarrelsomeness, he does not belong to any group. But it’s precisely that lone-wolf intellectual wildness that makes him so fascinating. Serious and not serious, logical and illogical, Meron Benvenisti contains within him all the contradictions and all the vicissitudes and all the irreconcilables of the land with which he is engaged in a relentless wrestling match.
It has been 10 years since we last met. The man who opens the door for me is older and less healthy than the man I knew. After two major heart operations, he is thinner, softer and a bit more conciliatory. When I enter, he does not tell me what he thinks about my articles and my path and my worldview. Instead, he gives me a gift: a short letter written in a refined hand that my mother’s aunt wrote to his father in the village of Zichron Yaakov 92 years ago. Surprisingly, this delicate letter is what opens the subversive autobiography (“The Dream of the White Sabra,” 2012, Hebrew) of the subversive Zionist I have come to listen to. Because, when all is said and done, what’s important for this subversive Zionist to say is that he is from here. From within. From this land. From the guts of the story against which he rails.
***
What is it you are saying, Meron? That we are South Africa? That we are white settlers like the Boers and are suppressing the natives like the Boers and that we are doomed to collapse like the Boers?
The comparison to South Africa is wrongheaded, simplistic and dangerous. There was something there which does not exist here: biological racism. The whites there were only 17 percent, and the blacks 83 percent. But on the other hand, the whites and the blacks shared the same religion and lived with one another and the blacks were not expelled. So, I do not accept the allegation that Israel is an apartheid state. Even what is happening in the territories is not exactly apartheid. But what is taking shape here is no less grave. This is a master-nation democracy; in German, a “Herrenvolk democracy.” We are a country that behaves like a full-blooded democracy, but we have a group of serfs − the Arabs − to whom we do not apply democracy. The result is a situation of extreme inequality.
There is a society here of settlers who dispossess others by seizing their place and pushing them out and creating a unilateral power system of migrant rule. That system cannot survive. Ultimately, the good Israelis will not be able to sustain the tension between their liberal values and the brutality of the reality amid which they live. They will leave. They are already starting to leave. Therefore, what’s needed is a transition to a different paradigm. The Jewish nation-state is doomed. It will implode. In the end, the only way to live here will be to create an equality of respect between us and the Palestinians. To recognize the fact that there are two national communities here which love this land and whose obligation is to channel the unavoidable conflict between them into a process of dialogue for life together.
Just a minute. You are saying more than I can take in. I have no argument with you about the settlements and the settlers. But that is exactly why the solution of two states for two nations was devised. That is exactly the reason that the majority of Israelis are ready for a partition solution. It will take time, it will be hard, but in the end we will have a Jewish-democratic nation-state here and they will have a Palestinian nation-state there. That is the way, it is the only way.
It is time for you and your friends in Tel Aviv to understand: it is impossible to divide this land. Impossible. You cannot tell the Arabs to forget about Jaffa and Acre. They will not forget. And you cannot get any Palestinian to sign off on “the end of the conflict.” They will not sign. And the Green Line, which was the great alibi of the left, no longer exists. The Green Line is dead. The separation fence: that is truly apartheid. Separation is apartheid. Tel Avivans don’t want to understand this, but the Land of Israel is whole. It is a single geopolitical unit. It follows that the partition of the land is impossible. It is as impossible geographically and physically as it is psychologically. What’s impossible is the solution you are proposing. Even in Spain and Canada and Belgium, the binational structures are breaking up and falling apart. So, do you expect that in the Middle East, of all places, the Jewish fanatics and the Palestinian fanatics will be able to live under one roof?
You’re dreaming, Meron. You are more divorced from reality than any Tel Aviv leftie.
First of all, I am not proposing solutions. That is not my job. I am saying that the dominant paradigm is a lie, and I am fighting it. I am proposing an alternative paradigm of equality with honor. I am bringing a different terminology and a different way of looking at reality; because the “villa in the jungle” approach won’t work. If you bring about a coerced and unjust division, you will end up with a Palestinian state that is crippled, hurting and angry, which will turn violent. The right wing is correct about that. You saw what happened in Gaza. The disengagement solved nothing and brought Hamas to power. And in the future, you are liable to get something worse than Hamas in the West Bank. That is why division is not a solution to the problem − it is an exacerbation of the problem. It’s true that the Middle East is not a comfortable place. But you came to live in the Middle East. So, what will you say now: “Sorry, it was a mistake, so pack your bags and leave”?
I am not about to pack my bags and leave. I do not have a foreign passport and I will not have one. I am a native son. I am native-born. I am from here. That is why I know that two national communities emerged in this land, both of which are an integral part of it. There are two national communities here that live together in the same place, one within the other. In this situation, partition is not an option. There was a time when it was possible, but no longer. This country is a shared land, a single homeland.
Fine, I get it. Now let’s go back. To the bedrock. Was Zionism born in sin?
Zionism was not born in sin, but in illusion. The illusion was that we are coming to a land in which there are no Arabs. And when we figured it out, we pulverized the country’s Arabs into five different groups: the Arabs of Israel, the Arabs of Gaza, the Arabs of the West Bank, the Arabs of Jerusalem and the refugee Arabs. We succeeded in creating a divide-and-rule system that made it possible for us to rule them and to preserve hegemonic power between the Mediterranean and the Jordan.
I do not want to say that Zionism is racist, but a constellation of traits developed here that is generally identified with racism, albeit without the biological element. We are imbued with a combination of hatred for the goy, which we inherited from our forebears, and hatred for the other whom we encountered here. The result is what we see today. Among a large segment of the public, there is an element of racism vis-a-vis the Arabs, but I would not categorize us all as racists. I would say that what characterizes us collectively is ethnic hatred, ethnic recoil, ethnic contempt and ethnic patronizing. Instead of progress, Zionism brought reaction. It became a movement of dispossession based on nonuniversal, non-egalitarian values.
When did this deviation by Zionism occur − in 1967 or in 1948?
In June 1948. How so? Because that was when state institutions were created here that were supposed to operate according to universal values. That was the moment at which the Zionist revolution was supposed to stop behaving by means of revolutionary force and bring into being a normal Western state. But [David] Ben-Gurion, who until that moment was the head of an ethnic group, did not internalize the fact that he was no longer the head of an ethnic group. He transformed the nascent state into the continuer of the ethnic struggle. Thus, the Arabs who remained within the boundaries of the state were immediately subjected to ethnic discrimination. Discrimination was institutionalized by means of the Military Government, land expropriations, budgetary inequality and the continued existence of organizations such as the Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Agency, which served only Jews.
But in 1967, that distorted situation, which was implicit in the state, underwent a quantum leap. Now it was no longer the Judaization of Galilee but the implementation of a wild policy of dispossession across the Green Line. Seizure of land, settlements, bypass roads: the creation of a declared situation of one law for Jews and another law for Palestinians. Oslo was a purported attempt to stop the rampant situation. There was mutual recognition between the nations, which is important. But in practice, it turned out that it was not Yossi Beilin who shaped the process but those who saw in Oslo an opportunity to continue the occupation indirectly and conveniently. Thus, a neocolonialist situation was created in the territories. We enjoy maintaining a captive market there which enriches us all.
At present we are talking about 350,000 settlers; or, if you also take Jerusalem into account, 550,000 settlers. So, everyone now understands what I said 30 years ago: it is irreversible. Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni can say whatever they like − it is irreversible. There is no way out of this mess.
Zionism, which did not undergo a metamorphosis in 1948 and did not desist in 1967, became a kind of revolution-in-progress and thereby became like the other revolutions-in-progress of the 20th century. It forged a situation that a liberal democrat cannot live with and cannot accept. This is a situation that cannot endure indefinitely.
I will tell you where you differ from the Zionist left. For most of us, the key concept is the “State of Israel.” As we see it, the Zionist enterprise was intended to bring into being a place where the Jewish people would constitute the majority and enjoy sovereignty. If there is no majority, there is no sovereignty and no democratic-Jewish state; there is no point to all this. It’s more convenient to live as a minority in Manhattan. But for you the basic concept is the “Land of Israel.” In that sense, you resemble the right wing and the Palestinians. You have a soil fetish. You come from the soil and you live the soil and you speak in the name of the soil.
It’s true that I live the story of the soil. I live the whole land and I am mindful of all the people who live here. That is how I know that the land cannot tolerate partition. And I know the land is hurting. The land is angry. After all, what two great monuments have we built here in the past decade? One is the separation fence and the other is [architect Moshe] Safdie’s terminal at Ben-Gurion Airport. The two monuments have something in common: they are intended to allow us to live here as though we are not here. They were built so that we would not see the land and not see the Palestinians, and live as though we are connected to the tail end of Italy. But I see all the fruit groves that were demolished in order to build the fence. I hear the hills that were sliced in two in order to build the fence. The heart weeps. The heart weeps in the name of the soil. For me, the soil is a living being. And I see how this conflict has tortured the soil, the homeland. I grieve for the torments of the homeland.
For years, we built against the Arabs. We dried the Hula Valley and we wrecked Jerusalem and we tore apart Judea and Samaria. But afterward, the Arabs started to build against us. They are no better than we are. We raped the soil and they raped the soil, and now the soil is violated. But I know that in the end it will be the soil that laughs at us: because we cannot exist without it and it cannot exist without us.
In the past, there were so many nations that thought they had succeeded in wresting control of the land. None of those nations was willing to share the land; they wanted the land for themselves and tried to seize it the way you seize a mare. But that noble untamed stallion shook them all off. The point is that if you want to live here, you cannot live alone and you cannot live without listening to the soil. You need to know that the soil breathes and the soil remembers. If you do not understand that, you are not truly a native son. Not truly a native. Your place is not here.
Now we have reached the heart of the matter: nativism. You have a nativist obsession, Meron. And I must tell you that there is something dangerous about your worship of the soil and your admiration for the natives, something undemocratic and illiberal and unenlightened. Why this contempt for migrants? What is the justification for rejecting those who seek a haven here? I discern in you a hidden preference for the Palestinian story over the Israeli story because you are enthralled by the fact that the Palestinians are natives here.
I am drawn to the Arabs. I love their culture, their language, their approach to the land. Our love of the land is an acquired love. Look at the heritage project of [Education Minister] Gideon Sa’ar and [cabinet secretary] Zvika Hauser: it is kitsch. First we defined some sort of theoretical Land of Israel and then we fell in love with the concept, and then we destroyed everything that did not fit the concept. We destroyed the Palestinian landscape, dug to find the remnants of Herod and King David in order to justify our existence, and we came up with a landscape of asphalt and malls that even we do not like. “Man is a tree in the field” − that is not us. Our love of the land is a love that we imposed on the land and foisted on the land. With the Arabs, it is the opposite. Their love for the land truly sprang from the soil. Love of the fig, of the tree, of the house.
It’s true that we have managed to mess them up, too. They are doing terrible things in Ramallah. But I love their love of the homeland. I love what [Palestinian national poet] Mahmoud Darwish writes about it and what [Israeli writer] S. Yizhar writes about it. I see a great closeness between Darwish and Yizhar. And I believe in a future in which the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Darwish and Yizhar live together. Because, as Yizhar wrote: Deep down, the soil does not forget. Only those who are capable of listening to the unforgetting silence of this tormented soil, from which everyone begins and to which everyone returns, Jews and Arabs, has the right to call it homeland. I believe in that with all my heart. In my perception, anyone who does not believe it is not a Zionist.
After everything you have said here, about the masters and the dispossessors and the suppressors, do you still consider yourself a Zionist? Is there such a thing as a Zionist who is against the Jewish nation-state? Is there such a thing as a Zionist who is in favor of a binational state?
Look, despite everything, Zionism is a success. It created a Jewish national community here that is alive and kicking. It forged a Jewish-Israeli nation that was not here. That’s why everyone wants to be a Zionist − to be part of the success. And I will not give all kinds of Revisionists and Likudniks the pleasure of saying that they are Zionists and I am not. In my view, the Revisionists and the Likudniks are good only in verbiage. They’re all talk. Look at this prime minister: All he knows how to do is spout verbiage. To go to the United Nations and speak excellent English and show some ridiculous drawing. In this matter he is totally his father’s son. With them it’s all verbiage. With them there is no coping with real life. And it disturbs me deeply that these Likudniks were able to transform the tremendous project of the working Land of Israel into something flawed. Because, despite all my criticism, I am very proud of my kibbutz past. I am very proud of the United Kibbutz Movement and of socialism, and of everything we succeeded in doing. I am thrilled to hear the “Internationale” and to sing the “Internationale.” What were the Revisionists, after all? A few thousand breakaways who purport to claim that they expelled the British. The only thing they were good at is talk. Only talk.
And it’s the same with the Mizrahim [Jews of Middle Eastern or North African descent]. I do not accept all this Mizrahi whining. Because, what would the Mizrahim have done if we had not been here to take them in? What would they be worth? What would have happened to them if we had not created the Israeliness to which they connected and turned into some sort of cartoon? If it had not been for us, the Mizrahim would have remained a potpourri of migrant cultures. True, we made plenty of mistakes. But we made a heroic decision to take them all in. And by that decision we effectively committed suicide. Our Hebrew-Israeli culture dissolved under the flood of immigration. That is why we now have Likud governments and constantly hear Mizrahi whining. But I do not accept either the one or the other. I am proud of being a white sabra. And I will not allow anyone to expel me from the Zionist camp. I am one of the founders of this place. I am from the Zionist Mayflower. I will not allow anyone to treat me as a non-Zionist.
So, on the one hand you are a Zionist, but on the other hand you want full justice and full equality for the Palestinians. How does that work in the real world? Do you evacuate settlements or not? Do you take in refugees or not? Do you accept the right of return or reject it?
The settlements are of no interest to me. Lawbreakers should be expelled. The rule that should be applied in Judea and Samaria is full equality between the Jewish settlers and the Palestinians. After 45 years it is no longer possible to hide behind the term “military occupation.” There is no such thing as military occupation that is not temporary. But in the same degree that the settlers live there, the Arabs have to return to their villages here. There are 140 Palestinian villages inside the State of Israel on which no communities were built but were turned into nature reserves and national parks. Some of them, at least, can be rebuilt. The people of Ikrit and [Kafr] Bir’im [in Upper Galilee] have to be allowed to return to their lands. There is no justification for Kibbutz Baram to occupy so much pastureland. The Palestinians have to be allowed to pray in the abandoned mosques. And every time people make billions from lands that belonged to Arabs, a certain percentage should go for the refugees. The Palestinians should be given a share of the profits that are raked in when all those huge malls are built on lands of kibbutzim and moshavim [cooperative villages]. And certainly the quarter of a million “present absentees” who live in Israel should be given their rights: to build a home, be hooked up to the power grid, not to have to live in “unrecognized villages.”
Don’t be so frightened of the Palestinian villages and mosques that I am talking about. There is no cause for the demographic fear. Most of the refugees don’t even want to return. We need to break down the highly charged question of the right of return into a series of acts of conciliation that address the trauma and move toward some sort of more equitable arrangement. I do not believe that it will be possible to live in one state according to the principle of one person-one vote. If so, the side that gets a majority will exploit its majority to seize the power centers and suppress the other side. We need to find a structure that will not be either a Jewish nation-state or a Palestinian nation-state, but a shared framework in which the two nations will go on squabbling − but on a foundation of equality. A foundation that consists of my acknowledgment of their story and their acknowledgment of my story, with an attempt to find some sort of reasonable balance between the two.
When did all this happen to you? After all, your father was one of the first of the Zionist educators who taught local geography [in Hebrew: “knowledge of the land”] and preached love of the land. You were a student leader of Mapai, the ruling party at the time and the forerunner of today’s Labor Party. The deputy of Teddy Kollek and one of the unifiers of Jerusalem. When did you suddenly cut yourself off from the umbilical cord of the Zionist establishment and become an anomalous figure who promotes weird ideas that infuriate both the right and the left?
The subtitle of my book is “An autobiography of disillusionment.” And that is exactly what it is. I went through an interesting process. My father wanted me to be one of the cornerstones of this country. He wanted the small soles of the feet of his son to touch this soil and no other. He tried to forge in me − and in many thousands of others whom he taught − a feeling of absolute belonging to the Land of Israel. And he succeeded. That is why I went to Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra in the 1950s and experienced the transcendent feeling of working in the banana groves − without noticing that in order to plant the banana trees, I was uprooting olive trees, thousands of years old, of a Palestinian village. That is why in the 1960s I bribed Arabs to remove hundreds of graves from the Muslim cemetery on the Tel Aviv shore so that it would be possible to clear the land on which the Hilton now stands. After the Six-Day War, I was with Teddy [Kollek] and “Chich” [Maj. Gen. Shlomo Lahat, afterward mayor of Tel Aviv] when we decided together to remove the 106 families of the Mughrabi neighborhood to create the large plaza of the Western Wall. I remember to this day the bulldozers and the clouds of dust that rose into the air and the old woman who was buried under one of the houses.
In all those cases and during that whole period I was a go-getter. I did not understand the meaning of what I was doing. But when I started to deal with the Arabs of East Jerusalem, I began to understand. I saw that the problem is not only the individual rights of the Palestinians but also their collective rights. And when I monitored what Arik Sharon was doing when he established 120 settlements in the West Bank, I suddenly realized that it’s irreversible. Finished. The Green Line is finished and the hope of a Jewish state here is finished. After all, the notion of a “Jewish-democratic state” is an oxymoron, and the two-state solution is no solution. And the terms the left uses − “peace,” “occupation,” “Green Line” − are lying, stock phrases. Their only purpose is to give Israeli liberals the good feeling that they are not responsible for the injustice and the dispossession and the terrible deeds their country is doing. I decided that I was no longer going to take part in that fraud. I would not take part in the left’s conceptual [population] transfer. I am not David Grossman of “The Yellow Wind,” who went to describe the occupation in the West Bank like some Captain Cook describing the life of the natives in some remote country. I am not Ze’ev Sternhell, who is constantly waiting for the arrival of some deus ex machina by the name of Barack Obama to force on Israel a peace that will not happen.
The fact is that, in the end, because my father so much wanted me to be a native, I am truly a native. And as a native, I see all the natives who live here − both the Israeli natives and the Palestinian natives. I am not afraid of them and do not flinch from them and do not patronize them. I believe that there is a possibility that they will find some imperfect way to live in the one common homeland.
Strangely, you are less pessimistic than many of the left-wing veterans. You, of all people, are not saying that the country is finished and all is lost. Do you feel that your generation succeeded or failed?
My generation both succeeded and failed. Mostly failed. Look, I belong to the population group that was here in 1948 − people who were 6 years old or more before the state’s establishment, and who were therefore shaped by prestate Zionism. Now I am an extinct species. But when you look back, you see that we played a tremendous part in forging this society and this national community. At the same time, you see that we lost all the wars we fought. We lost the war of creating a new person and creating a new culture and creating a new society. All in all, it came out pretty crappy for us. Everything was debased. And we, because of our bourgeois way of life, let the other forces take over in Israel and vanquish us. And the reason they vanquished us is that they were more steadfast in their goal and we were more pampered.
Living in Jerusalem today, I live in a bubble. Jerusalem outside my bubble is a city that has disintegrated completely. It is on its last legs. It does not exist. And it is too painful for me to see that. When I travel around the country today, I don’t understand exactly what is happening. Everything is different. Not what we wanted it to be; not something I can understand.
But all of that pales in the face of our huge achievement in establishing a Jewish-Israeli national community here which, despite everything, is alive and kicking. That is why I do not accept the whining of the Mizrahim and I also do not accept the white whining of the veteran Israelis.
It was not by chance that I titled my autobiography “The Dream of the White Sabra.” As the white sabra, I am not ashamed of anything. I made mistakes and I admit the mistakes, but in the end I am proud to be a son of the founding fathers. I of all people feel myself to be a Zionist. Sometimes it even seems to me that I am the last Zionist.
Books and Article written by Meron Benvenisti
- Benvenisti, Meron (1970): The Crusaders in the Holy Land, New York [1]
- Benvenisti, Meron (1976): Jerusalem, the Torn City, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, ISBN 0-8166-0795-8)
- Benvenisti, Meron (1984): West Bank Data Project: A Survey of Israel’s Policies, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, ISBN 0-8447-3544-2 [2]
- Benvenisti, Meron (1988): Conflicts and Contradictions, Villard, ISBN 0-394-53647-9 [3]
- Benvenisti, Meron (1995): Intimate Enemies: Jews and Arabs in a Shared Land University of California Press ISBN 0-520-08567-1 [4]
- Benvenisti, Meron (1996): City of Stone: The Hidden History of Jerusalem University of California Press ISBN 0-520-20521-9 [5]
- Benvenisti, Meron (2002): Sacred Landscape: Buried History of the Holy Land Since 1948. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23422-7 [6]
- Benvenisti, Meron (2007): Sons of the Cypresses: Memories, Reflections and Regrets from a Political Life. University of California Press [7]
- Benvenisti, Meron (2012), The Dream of the White Sabra(Hebrew)
Articles
- Either a Zionist or a terrorist, 2 January 2002 Haaretz,
- Systematically burying ourselves, 17 January 2002, Haaretz,
- The homeland purified of Arabs, 26 September 2002 Haaretz, (about Sataf)
- Loving `the homeland’, 10 October 2002, Haaretz,
- The binational option, 8 November 2002, Haaretz,
- The never-ending enterprise, 21 November 2002, Haaretz,
- A tank under the Christmas tree, 19 December 2002, Haaretz,
- Prime minister of what?, 13 March 2003, Haaretz,
- The true test of the imperial pretension, 10 April 2003, Haaretz,
- The capital nobody wants to lead, 24 April 2003, Haaretz,
- The High Court and fear of return, 3 July 2003, Haaretz, (about Ikrit)
- When will Israel become a homeland?, 31 July 2003, Haaretz,
- : Cry, the beloved two-state solution (Part 2), 8 August 2003, Haaretz,
- A wall against fear, 28 August 2003, Haaretz,
- Defensive walls of self-righteousness, 6 November 2003, Haaretz,
- Which kind of binational state?, 20 November 2003, Haaretz,
- Bantustan Plan for an Apartheid IsraelThe Guardian April 26, 2004.
- The hypocrisy of tolerance, 9 February 2006, Haaretz, (about the Museum of Tolerance, Jerusalem)
- A lull of no return, 29 May 2008, Haaretz, (on the possible/probable de facto long-term political division between Gaza and the West Bank and its effects on both Israel and the Palestinians)
Syria’s National Coordination Committee Visit Russia
Posted on December 17, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Source The voice of Russia
Yelena Suponina Original Posting Nov 30, 2012 21:23 Moscow Time
“We want Russian troops to stay in Tartus”: head of Syria’s National Coordination Committee.
Hassan Abdel-Azim Representatives of the Syrian opposition Photo: AFP
Representatives of the Syrian opposition traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The National Coordination Committee is one of most moderate opposition groups which are ready for talks with the government. However, now its members fear arrest on their arrival in Damascus and are seeking Russia’s protection.
The head of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) of Syria says the “internal” opposition strongly opposes foreign interference in the affairs of the country.
Hassan Abdel-Azim, the head of the Coordination Committee and Syria’s delegation to Moscow, told the Voice of Russia about the Moscow talks and further plans of the opposition.
Upon arrival in Moscow for the NCC delegation’s talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Hassan Abdel Azim said the committee wants to radically change the situation in Syria to build a democracy.
Deputy Coordinator Aref Dalila, in turn, said that the opposition was ready to negotiate with the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
During the meeting with Russia’s Minister the Syrians hope to hear Moscow’s assessment of events unfolding in their country, and shall offer their views on how to stop the violence and what should be done by “external players” in order to facilitate this.
Have you noticed any changes in Russia’s stance when meeting with Sergey Lavrov?
Not a single change. We had extremely frank talks and Moscow perfectly realizes that Syria is now following the most dangerous possible scenario. When we came to Moscow last April, we warned of this possibility and our fears came true – the more Syrian government resorted to force, the more violence they saw from the opposition. Syria now has jihadists from the Arab and the neighboring countries.
Minister Lavrov told us that he had forwarded a warning letter to Syria’s government against using military hardware and jets in the conflict. This was a right move. I wish this letter had been sent earlier, taking into account that all these tanks and warplanes are Russian-made. When people are hit by shells and rockets, it certainly affects their attitude to the country.
What else was on the agenda?
We all agreed that the conflict can be solved only through joint efforts of the global community. We need the UN Security Council members to be unanimous and agree on the ways to end the conflict. We also need Iran, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia on the one side and the Arab countries on the other to act together.
What can become the common ground?
For example, the Geneva resolutions adopted this summer.
Lakhdar Brahimi’s mission in the country should also carry on with its work and we need a transitional government as well as a new constitution. The amendments adopted in early 2012 didn’t take into account the opposition at all. And we really need to stop the bloodshed.
What can the global community do?
Syria needs the resumption of international peacekeeping mission and it should be expanded – not some hundred of troops we had before.
We need observers in every province, especially in the border regions to stop weapon supplies and smuggling. We already spoke about this with Lakhdar Brahimi. We also don’t mind a peacekeeping contingent comprising Arabs and other nationalities.
Have you discussed Russia’s Mediterranean naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartus?
Yes we have, and we think that Russia has a right to stay there even when Syria becomes a real democracy. The talks made us feel that we are trusted, as we had always opposed foreign interference in Syrian affairs and backed maintaining close ties with our former partners. We need a balanced foreign policy and ties with all countries except Israel, which still occupies the Golan Heights. They should be freed and here we’ll need Russia’s help.
Egypt’s New Pharaoh And The Useful Idiots
Posted on December 17, 2012 by Akashma Online News
By Chris Hedges
When Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 14 years in exile on Feb. 1, 1979, he set out to destroy the secular opposition forces, including the Communist Party of Iran, which had been instrumental in bringing down the shah. Khomeini’s declaration of an Islamic government, supported by referendum, saw him rewrite the constitution, close opposition newspapers and ban opposition groups including the National Democratic Front and the Muslim People’s Republican Party. Dissidents who had spent years inside Iran’s notoriously brutal prison system under the shah were incarcerated once again by the new regime. Some returned to their cells to be greeted by their old jailers, who had offered their services to the new regime.
This is what is under way in Egypt. It is the story of most revolutions. The moderates, who are crucial to winning the support of the masses and many outside the country, become an impediment to the consolidation of autocratic power. Liberal democrats, intellectuals, the middle class, secularists and religious minorities including Coptic Christians were always seen by President Mohamed Morsi and his Freedom and Justice Party—Egypt’s de facto political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood—as “useful idiots.” These forces were essential to building a broad movement to topple the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. They permitted Western journalists to paint the opposition in their own image. But now they are a hindrance to single-party rule and are being crushed.
The first of two days of voting on a new constitution was held Saturday. According to reports Sunday, the document is being approved. The second round of voting, next Saturday, includes rural districts that provide much of the Brotherhood’s base of support, and it is expected to end in the constitution being ratified by the required 50 percent or more of Egypt’s 51 million voters. Opposition forces charge that the first round was marred by polling irregularities including bribery, intimidation, erratic polling hours and polling officials who instructed voters how to cast ballots. A large number of the 13,000 polling stations will have had no independent monitors; many judges, in protest over the drafting process, have refused to oversee the voting.
The referendum masks the real center of power, which is in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood. The party has no intention of diluting or giving up that power. For example, when it appeared that the Supreme Constitutional Court would dissolve the panel—stacked with party members—that was drafting the new constitution, the Brotherhood locked the judges out of the court building. Three dozen members of the panel, including secularists, Coptic Christians, liberals and journalists, quit in protest. The remaining Islamists, in defiance of the judges, held an all-night session Nov. 29 and officially approved the 63-page document.
The draft constitution is filled with disturbingly vague language about democratic rights, civil liberties, the duties of women and the role of the press. It gives Islamic religious authorities control over the legislative process and many aspects of daily and personal life. One reason the constitution is expected to pass, apart from voting fraud, is because many liberals, secularists and Copts have walked away in disgust from electoral participation.
The Brotherhood, ironically, was not part of the vanguard that led the 18 days of protests in February 2011 that brought down Mubarak. It was reluctant, after decades of being severely repressed, to throw its weight behind the protesters clogging Tahrir Square. It said at first that it would not compete in the presidential election or run a full slate of parliamentary candidates. But once it saw the chaos, squabbling and disarray among its secular opponents, who ran three competing presidential candidates, it seized the opportunity.
Passages in the proposed constitution such as “The state is keen to preserve the genuine character of the Egyptian family” and the state guarantees freedom of the press except “in times of war or public mobilization” are vague enough to allow the Muslim Brotherhood to severely curtail women’s rights and ruthlessly silence press criticism. Morsi’s imperial presidential declaration of Nov. 22, until he rescinded it last week after street protests, effectively placed him above the law. Rescission of the decree will not, however, prevent the party from attaining dictatorial power.
The Brotherhood does not shrink from the use of deadly force. The violent street clashes between thousands of pro- and anti-government demonstrators outside the presidential palace last week left 10 dead and about 700 wounded. Some anti-government protesters said they were beaten in a makeshift detention and torture center that the Brotherhood set up close to the palace. Morsi showed no remorse. He announced in a nationally televised broadcast that anti-government demonstrators had confessed to being “paid thugs.” And the new government, to curb further street protests, including those that took place in Alexandria this weekend, has authorized the military to arrest civilians.
The Muslim Brotherhood, like all revolutionary parties that replace an ancien régime, has inhabited the traditional structures of power. Government ministers and cabinets have been appointed. Parliamentarians have been elected. Judges have been named. But actual power is held, as in most post-revolutionary societies, by parallel party organizations. There are two systems of authority. One is public and ceremonial. The other is secret and unassailable. It is this realization—that the formal positions of power no longer mean anything—that led to the withdrawal of 30 percent of the Constituent Assembly, including several presidential advisers. Public figures in official roles are window dressing.
Successful revolutionaries, as Crane Brinton wrote, “combine, in varying degrees, very high ideals and a complete contempt for the inhibitions and principles which serve other men as ideals. They present a strange variant of Plato’s pleasant scheme: they are not philosopher-kings but philosopher-killers. They have the realistic, the practical touch very few of the moderate leaders had, and yet they have also enough of the prophet’s fire to hold followers who expect the New Jerusalem around the corner. They are practical men unfettered by common sense, Machiavellians in the service of the Beautiful and the Good.”
Read more…
Iran warns Turkey over NATO defense missile system
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visits Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in Tehran. (Photo: AA)
The remarks by army chief of staff Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi were carried on state TV the day after the Pentagon announced it will send two batteries of Patriot missiles and 400 troops to Turkey as part of a larger NATO force to protect Turkish territory from potential Syrian missile attacks.
Firouzabadi said the Patriot deployment was aimed at protecting Israel from Iranian missile attacks and inhibit a potential Russian military defense of Syria.
“The wise and the elite in Europe, U.S. and Turkey should dismantle the Patriots and take them away from the region before a fire breaks out,” Firouzabadi was quoted as saying. “We are a friend of Turkey, we want security with Turkey, not Turkey being attacked through Syria so that they would want to deploy Patriots there.”
“Patriot missiles are a defense line for the Zionists and a result of (the West’s) concerns over Iran’s missiles and Russia’s presence to defend Syria,” he said. “Western countries approve the deployment of Patriots on the Syria-Turkey border as they design a world war,” he said in a separate quote carried by state TV’s website.
Iran and Russia are two of Damascus’ key allies. Tehran has provided Assad with military and political backing for years, and has kept up its strong support for the regime since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011.
On Thursday, a top Russian diplomat said Syrian President Bashar Assad is losing control of his country. But on Friday, the Foreign Ministry issued a convoluted denial, saying its top envoy for Syria was merely characterizing the opinion of the Syrian opposition rather than stating Russia’s view.
A number of Syrian shells have landed in Turkish territory since the conflict in the Arab state began in March 2011. Turkey has condemned Assad’s regime, supported Syrian rebels and provided shelter to Syrian refugees. Ankara is particularly worried that Assad may get desperate enough to use chemical weapons.
In addition to the American Patriot deployment, Germany and the Netherlands also agreed to provide two batteries of the U.S.-built defense systems and send up to 400 German and 360 Dutch troops to man them, bringing the total number of Patriot batteries slated for Turkey to six.
Also Saturday, Iran’s foreign minister said his country won’t allow Assad’s regime in Syria to fall.
Cameco Sk-Canada is the major supplier of Uranium for Nuclear Weapons
Follow Fallujah Aftermath
“We’re the Major Supplier of Uranium for Nuclear Weapons” Cameco
A horrific example of the birth defects suffered by babies in Fallujah
Originally Published 2008
UPDATED
Canada is violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
An Interview with Professor Jim Harding
While the U.S. appears to be on the verge of attacking Iran just for having a nuclear reactor, Washington and its allies continue to be the biggest nuclear proliferators in the world. Chief among these nuclear allies is Canada, which provides up to 40% of the world’s uranium, the largest amount. Eighty percent of Canadian uranium is exported, with 76% going to the U.S.
Canada has long been the main source of uranium for the U.S. nuclear arsenal, globally the largest and deadliest at 10,000 warheads and bombs. Washington has a first-strike nuclear policy and is actively preparing for nuclear war. It is also the only country that has actually used nuclear weapons–not once, but twice, on Japan in 1945.
We recently spoke to Professor Jim Harding about Canada’s contribution to U.S. nuclear aggression. A nuclear war could, of course, wipe out all human life. Harding is a retired professor of environmental and justice studies at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan. He is author of the recent book, Canada’s Deadly Secret: Saskatchewan Uranium and the Global Nuclear System.
A study recently published in the Environmental Contamination and Toxicology bulletin, found that the weapons and ammunition used by the US and its Imperial apparatus – NATO – in the illegal destruction and occupation of Iraq have led to significant rise in birth defects and unexplainable illnesses. In fact, there has been a five-fold increase in birth defects since the occupation began.
Before the invasion of Iraq just 2 per cent of babies were born with a defect. Between 2007 and 2010 the study found more than half of all babies were born with a defect. Just to repeat that, every other baby born has a congenital birth defect. In addition, during that period 45% of pregnancies ended in miscarriages. In young infants, the toxic metals mercury and lead were found to be at levels 5 times higher than normal Sott.net
Q: Tell us about Canada’s role in the creation of the Western nuclear system.
Harding: We were involved at the very front end of the Manhattan Project that created the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The uranium that was used in the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima was refined at the uranium conversion plant at Port Hope, Ontario, and the two sources were probably some from the Belgian Congo and some from the Port Radium mine that was reopened.
But the early work with the CANDU reactor in Montreal at McGill University, and then at Chalk River, also played a role with the production of plutonium for the bomb that was used in Nagasaki, because they were trying two different ways to create nuclear weapons.
The CANDU design that is now in 18 reactors in Ontario was actually created because of its capacity to produce weapons-grade plutonium. So that was shipped out of Chalk River into the U.S., I believe, into the 1960s. And the U.K.’s weapons program was also based on research at McGill and the prototype reactor that ended up as the CANDU. So Canada is right smack at the beginning of both the U.S. and U.K.’s nuclear weapons programs, and the history of nuclear weapons begins with these. We can’t seem to get it through our consciousness that we are not just used by the Anglo-American imperial system; we were willing compatriots in the creation of nuclear weapons.
Q: How did Canada help build the U.S. nuclear arsenal?
Harding: The arms race is already in place by 1946, a year after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs are dropped. The U.S. has the Strategic Air Command system in place, with the strategy of carrying atomic weapons towards Russia as a supposed deterrent, but of course Russia doesn’t have the atomic bomb at this point. And when the USSR actually develops the atomic bomb by 1949, the U.S. moves to the H-bomb and the whole thing escalates.
Canada is at the centre of that, because we are one of the main sources of uranium, both at Elliot Lake and Uranium City, for the U.S. arms race escalation from about 1953 on. So every speck of uranium that was mined out of northern Ontario and northern Saskatchewan went into nuclear weapons, mostly the U.S. ones, although a few contracts also went to Britain. That went on till 1966, and in some cases those contracts carried to the end of the 1960s. So, for that whole period, the 1950s and the 1960s, Canada is a major uranium fuel source for the escalation of the nuclear arms race.
Q: How is Canada violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?
Harding: Canada signed this treaty in 1970 and claimed that it would not be using uranium for weapons production. We now know that uranium out of Saskatchewan has been diverted through the depleted uranium (DU) system and has been fuelling the weapons stream. The public, I think, is largely unaware that we are still complicit directly in the weapons stream. It’s a tricky thing to track, but it goes something like this: After refining the uranium at Port Hope, we send it to the enriching system in the U.S. This system integrates both the military and the industrial uses of nuclear power. The U.S. Department of Energy and the Pentagon both take uranium from this system.
The uranium that is to be used in electrical generating nuclear reactors is concentrated to about 5%. This is uranium-235. About nine-tenths of the mass of what’s left after enrichment is called depleted uranium. This is then available to the Pentagon to use for weapons. And it’s not really depleted. That’s a misnomer. It’s still uranium. It’s primarily uranium-238, which can be put into Pentagon reactors to create plutonium. All the Pentagon needs to do is bombard the depleted uranium with neutrons and it can create a plutonium stream for weapons. Also, the depleted uranium is the packing on the H-Bomb. What makes the H-Bomb the mega-bomb is the amount of packing of the depleted uranium around the plutonium trigger.
Then the various weapons-producing companies such as Aerojet and ATK take this uranium and make the conventional depleted uranium weapons that are now contaminating probably the last four war zones in the Middle East and Southern Europe. Uranium out of Canada that’s got into the depleted uranium stream has already been dropped on Iraq during the U.S. invasion. So the weapons connection got obscured when the Non-Proliferation Treaty came, because technically the uranium is shipped to the U.S. for their reactors, but in fact the depleted uranium that’s left is then in the control of those countries. So it fundamentally abrogates the intentions of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, but not technically.
Q: What are the implications of Canada’s continuing support for U.S. nuclear militarism?
Harding: It’s frightening stuff to think about. We’re really talking madness here in terms of the capacity. How few of these mega-bombs it would take to create a catastrophe that makes climate change look insignificant! The U.S. had 37,000 nuclear weapons during the 1980s, armed and ready to go. And we’re talking about using a very small number of those and having disastrous global implications.
When you dig below the surface, the complicity issue is always there. It was there in Vietnam, in terms of companies in Canada exporting armaments and even chemicals that were used in the napalm bombing. And in Canada we’re still doing that around depleted uranium. It just tends to be hidden behind the public statements of us being a non-nuclear power and having made the decision to focus on exporting medical isotopes and not nuclear weapons. This is an effective PR and propaganda system, but it just doesn’t happen to be true.
Q: What are the effects of depleted uranium on humans when it is used in conventional weapons, aside from immediate death and injury?
Harding: The number of cancers and death by cancer are significantly greater (than if the depleted uranium were not present), as are permanent sterility, birth deformations, and death from birth deformation. Depleted uranium affects the whole embryonic development, as well as increasing the risks of thyroid leukemia and other childhood cancers. They are seeing increases in a number of cancers in Basra and in other areas where they know there were high levels of depleted uranium weaponry used.
Q: Does Canada’s involvement in nuclear weapons production go beyond providing uranium to the U.S.?
Harding: There’s a story under this, not just about the diversion of uranium into DU weapons, but possible complicity recently in the actual production of the weapons metal. The uranium that’s going into the U.S. for enriching becomes part of the depleted uranium stockpile, and that’s accessible for weapons, but the Inter-Church Uranium Committee had an invoice leaked to it showing that uranium that went from the Key Lake mine in Saskatchewan to the U.S. then went back to the Port Hope uranium conversion plant which is run by the Canadian mining company Cameco (which also runs the Key Lake mine). From Port Hope, this uranium then went to Aerojet for depleted uranium uses. So as late as the early 1990s, there is some evidence that not only are we sending the uranium that ends up in the depleted uranium stockpile but we’ve also actually been involved in some processing of the depleted uranium in Canada. At that point, Cameco was licensed to refine uranium, but not licensed to work with depleted or enriched uranium.
Right now, Cameco has a license to do some slightly enriched production at Port Hope, and that is a contentious issue, but back then, when depleted uranium was coming to Port Hope, they had no license to work with DU, which did go to Aerojet, which is a munitions company.
Q: Does Canada supply any other nuclear power with uranium?
Harding: We’re also the major source of uranium for the French nuclear system, and that’s their 58 reactors, but likely their weapons program as well, because they don’t have another major source.
Q: Which Canadian companies are involved in uranium extraction?
Harding: Cameco is the big company in Saskatoon. It was started by an NDP government as a public enterprise and is now the largest uranium mining company on the planet. It’s a private company. It came out of the Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation, the Crown corporation that developed the mines. This was privatized in 1988 under Mulroney when Grant Devine was the Conservative Premier of Saskatchewan. Denison is another Canadian company in uranium exploration. There are a hundred [junior] companies that are prospecting; they’ll sell to a bigger company if they find anything.
Q: What is the role of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and NAFTA in Canada’s uranium exports?
Harding: In the U.S., under the FTA, the depleted uranium is actually defined as being of domestic origin. So once the FTA and NAFTA came into effect, the U.S. shut down its uranium industry because it had security of supply from Canada.
Asad Ismi is the CCPA Monitor’s international affairs correspondent. Kristin Schwartz is a journalist and radio producer in Toronto. This interview was recorded for Asad and Kristin’s radio documentary Path of Destruction: Canadian Mining Companies Around the World, scheduled for release this month. For Asad’s publications, visit http://www.asadismi.ws
According to information from Cameco Inc., the last shipment of depleted uranium for use in arms manufacture occurred
in 1988, when the company was known as Eldorado. Apparently “thousands of tons” of depleted uranium have been
exported to the U.S. for this purpose, in accordance with the federal government’s export policies and permits, which do
not consider the uses to which Canadian exports to the U.S. may be put.
This depleted uranium would have been used as shielding for bombs,bullets, tanks, guns, etc., and would have penetrated brick or cement walls used to protect civilians in bomb shelters, basements, etc. in the Gulf War and in Yugoslavia, causing thousands of civilian deaths, contrary to the Geneva Conventions and every other international agreement designed to protect humans and their rights. The radioactive fragments from such exploded bombs and artillery would then remain in the environment, poisoning water supplies and food crops. Depleted uranium in the environment was almost certainly responsible (in part) for the Gulf War Syndrome which ruined the lives of hundreds of servicemen, including Canadians. Activistmagazine
http://activistmagazine.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=259
Kenya Bans All GMO’s
Posted on December 10, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Nairobi is the capital city of Kenya and East Africa’s most populous city (3.5 million).
The ministry of health has undertaken to commission a study to determine whether or not genetically modified foods are harmful to human beings. The ministry was tasked by the cabinet about two weeks ago to provide scientific proof over the safety of GMOs. Speaking at a press briefing at Afya House , the minister for public health and sanitation Beth Mugo said that the ban on importation of GMOs remains until conclusive studies are complete.
In a surprising act of courage , Public Health Minister Beth Mugo of the Kenyan government has announced on National Television that Kenya has completely banned the importation of all genetically modified (GMO) food into the country, until exhaustive tests on health effects are complete.
This study does not include Animal feed which it is Genetically Modified. And does not include the GMO’s produced in Kenya.
Will this mean that Monsanto Kenya is out of business?
According to Monsanto Kenya 2011 report: “In 2011, we made great progress to our goals around sustainability, engaging with many stakeholders and working in partnership with organizations around the world. I’m pleased to present you with Monsanto’s 2011 Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Report which outlines recent work in this area” Really nothing in concrete can be seen on the country where poverty and starvation is one of the highest in Africa.
“As the population continues to increase, so does the demand for valuable resources. Monsanto is working for a better tomorrow by putting the right tools in the hands of farmers today. By equipping growers with better seeds, we can help protect our natural resources, fight hunger, improve nutrition and provide economic benefits to everyone involved in an improved system of agriculture.” Monsanto 2110 Report
What we are talking about here is that Monsanto measure Kenya agriculture growth solely on its sales of Modified Seeds, and their biotechnology which acording to the New Law in Kenya will be banned immediately. Well not so fast, this Law is clear on announcing the “All imports of GMO’s are banned”. This is double mirror news, because most of the GMO’s are not imported to Kenya, they are produced in Kenya. Monsanto Kenya is responsible for the production of Millions of Genetically Modified Seeds that will produce tons of GMO’s in the country.
Monsanto goes on to say in their report that part of thier continuous journey is also exemplified through their commitment to the UN Global Compact and The Ten Principles relating to the areas of human rights, labor practices, environmental protection and combating corruption. According to their 2011 report that includes the second installment of their actions supporting the Global Compact and a special update on their human rights activities. But then we the Poverty.org assuring us that Kenya is child labor it is a social problem.
Child labor – Obstacle to education
Child labor was introduced in Kenya during the colonial era. Too many issues currently fuel child labor to solve it overnight: poverty in rural areas and city slums; HIV/AIDS, which orphaned over 1 million children; conflicts; domestic violence; and traditional practices such as sending children to herd cattle or to be married at an early age.
Not to mention the kids who are forced by adults to either break into houses or smuggle illegal goods. Or those who are simply forced into prostitution.
Raising awareness about child poverty in Kenya
It’s only recently that people have become more aware of the importance of sending children to school as a long term investment. This is true for the media, policy makers, parents and … children themselves!
For the past 20 years successive governments have been implementing national policies and economic measures to tackle child labor via reducing poverty in Kenya and especially adult unemployment.
The current government has also created a system of grants and development funds in order to support children from poor families. This will nonetheless depend on how well the country does economically in the years to come if it is to sustain such public expenses. Poverty. org
Monsanto operates in 444 facilities in 66 countries. Not only Kenya has a Monsanto facility, but Kenya headquarters Monsanto Africa.
Monsanto Kenya
Tuskys head office complex
Mombasa Road
P.O. Box 47686, 00100 Nairobi
Tel: +254 20 2060922/44, 020 3574301-4
Fax: +254 20 823086
Cell: +254 722 205294/529, +254 733 600 468/629 414
Monsanto Vegetable Seeds Division
P.O. Box 47686, 00100
Nairobi, Kenya
T. +254 20 2060922/44 3574301-4
So what is it in reality what the Minister of Health banned?
Here is a list of crops Monsanto invests in day after day in Africa and around the world.
- Alfalfa: Genuity® Roundup Ready® Alfalfa provides in-plant tolerance to Roundup® agricultural herbicide. Fewer weeds means it provides high-quality forage and hay.
- Canola: Genuity offers the Roundup Ready® trait in both spring and winter canola. This trait is a tool for farmers to help manage weeds and increase yield potential, creating a win-win on their farm.
- Corn: For farmers today, it’s all about getting the most yield out of every acre of corn, while using as few inputs as possible. Monsanto’s corn traits help farmers do this by providing cutting-edge technology that protects the plant’s yield.
- Cotton: Today, cotton growers are benefiting from second-generation and stacked trait technologies, which provide more levels of protection. Genuity® Bollgard II® with Roundup Ready® Flex represents Monsanto’s newest wave of innovation with two second-generation traits stacked into one seed.
- Sorghum: Sorghum is an efficient crop in the conversion of solar energy and more drought-tolerant than other crops such as corn and soybeans. Monsanto continues to research and develop new hybrids to fit growers’ needs.
- Soybeans: Whether it’s a higher yielding soybean that provides a broad spectrum of weed control with the Roundup Ready® system or a soybean plant that helps reduce trans-fatty acids, Monsanto has a lot to offer soybean farmers.
- Sugarbeets: Fewer herbicide applications, increased yields and more sugar content all make Genuity Roundup Ready® sugarbeets attractive to many farmers.
- Wheat: Since acquiring the WestBred brand in 2009, Monsanto has initiated an intensive effort to incorporate breakthrough breeding technologies – developed and deployed with notable success in other row crops – in wheat.
There is another side of the story developing in Kenya Feed The Future it is a US Organization under the umbrella of US Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative that help local farmers to increase their yield.
“Through a five-year project under Feed the Future, the company helps smallholder farmers access improved varieties of crops, increase their use of fertilizer, and learn improved soil and water management techniques” Feed the Future
How will the US government help the farmers to access “improved varieties of crops”?, there is only one way, thru the use of Genetically Modified Seeds obtained under the license of Monsanto. So if the US government has the ability to deliver Seeds to Kenya under the guise of Aids, it means also that the import of GMO’s will enter Kenya regardless of the Ban.
The US government is not an entity but a conglomerate of individuals working for their own agendas. Why will congress will allocate millions of dollars into a foreign programs? Unless these foreign programs are funded by corporations operating in those countries that will be benefit by the infusion of capital.
Take for example World Bank that it is associated with policies that work against the well being of the citizens of the country that will take the loan. Loans usually attached to conditions well beyond the control of the third world country government once the loan is taken.
If a third world country is forced to buy grains as a conditions to get the loan, it is because the Agribusiness in the US are behind the policies that will lead to the Aid to this country. It does not takes a genius to figure out the outcome of this condition. US agribusiness are giants subsidized by the Federal Government producing tons of grains per harvest, versus third world countries yielding small crops.
Another important aspect to take in consideration in Kenya is the level of government corruption. Politicians in Kenya are among the highest paid on earth, despite the fact that many of their constituents are poor, unemployed and undernourished. Corruption is one of the country’s most serious problems, with both taxes and international aid often lining private pockets instead of filling public coffers. If the importers of GMO’s are big Traders with big packets, there is little chance that this Ban will be successful.
We have to see the positive side of the News. This Ban is the culmination of the effort of concerned citizens seeking accountability from Monsanto practices. We could expect that this Ban follow other studies on GMO. Food is just one tiny aspect of Monsanto business. Soil Modification, Water treatment, Fertilizers, Herbicides are just few of Monsanto intrusive technology.
Read More on Monsanto…..
Monsanto have been modifying genes for 30 years, that we know. There is a short list known to the scientific community, and to the governmental agencies in charge of controlling its activities. But really Monsanto have been honest to the world? Does it planned since the beginning the seize of life on Earth. Did it do it with all premeditation and advantage to control and monopoly the seeds production and/or the food supply?
This are not easy questions to answer without being being puzzled by worry and grieve for our future. The farmers that have suffered already the unfair practices of Monsanto and the controversial rulings of the courts around the world, know better. Monsanto more dangerous than war itself
There is more that United Nations Control, the World Bank and the International Monetary fund, two weapons of war that makes the poorer countries pry of the Rich Global Corporations that in agreement with the United Nations get their pawns into the national resources of the countries and manage their internal sociology-economical and political policies, keeping the entire population subject to poverty and addicted to public welfare that it is at the same time another Corporate strategy to control the population.
For over 50 years The Men Behind the curtain or Elite, have been working diligently to establish a One Central Office of Power where they can manage the Affairs of Earth.
For years the use of the New World Order wording was sounding more like conspiracy theory than any other thing, because the propaganda machine that controls whats gets out to the people had the Project Under Wraps. By now the Centralized Office of the United Nations is at full control of Earth and little can be say that is have not being said before regarding their aims for the human race. Centralized Government
Gaza in the Spotlight – Hamas 25 Anniversay
Posted on December 09, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Hamas leader hits out at Israel
Palestinians attend the 25th anniversary of the creation of Hamas
(Reuters) – Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, in an uncompromising speech during his first ever visit to Gaza after decades of exile, told a mass rally on Saturday he would never recognize Israel and pledged to “free the land of Palestine inch by inch”.
A sea of flag-waving supporters filled wasteland in Gaza city to hear his fiery speech at an event marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of his group, which has ruled Gaza – a small splinter of coastal land – since 2007.
“Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the south to the north. There will be no concession on an inch of the land,” he told the crowds, saying he wanted the Palestinians to have all the territory that makes up modern-day Israel.
“We will never recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation and therefore there is no legitimacy for Israel, no matter how long it will take,” he said.
Hamas said 500,000 attended the four-hour rally, held under a leaden winter sky. There was no independent crowd estimate.
“Oh dear Meshaal, your army struck Tel Aviv,” supporters chanted, referring to the recent war in which Hamas’s Qassam military brigade fired missiles for the first time at Israel’s largest city, 70 km (40 miles) up the coast, and also at Jerusalem.
“Oh Qassam, do it again, hit Haifa next time,” the crowds said, referring to a port city north of Tel Aviv.
Hamas said it won the short conflagration, which killed some 170 Palestinians and six Israelis, mostly civilians. Israel disputes this, saying it not only killed Hamas’s top military commander but also destroyed much of the group’s arms stockpile.
HAMAS MAKES PRIME TIME
Once treated as a pariah organization by its neighbors, Hamas has seen its standing in the region rise on the back of Arab Spring uprisings that have ushered in several sympathetic Islamist governments sharing much of its own ideology.
Underlining its improved status, delegations from Qatar, Malaysia, Turkey, Egypt and Bahrain all attended the rally.
Meshaal picked out neighboring Egypt for particular praise, calling it “our backer”. By contrast, he appeared to take a swipe at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has led a deadly crackdown against a nationwide rebellion in his country.
“Hamas does not support any regime or state that launches a bloody battle against its people,” said Meshaal, who quit his home in Syria earlier this year after falling out with Assad.
Meshaal is viewed as more moderate than many other Hamas officials, and although he stuck to the group’s hard line on Israel, he held out the chance of reconciliation with the rival Palestinian faction Fatah, which holds sway in the West Bank.
“After the Gaza victory, it is time now for ending this chapter of division and build Palestinian unity,” he said. Hamas kicked Fatah out of the Mediterranean enclave after a brief civil war and all attempts to reconcile the two groups have failed so far.
HAMAS OPEN TO LONG-TERM TRUCE
While Hamas rejects dialogue with Israel, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party say they want a negotiated deal based on the lines that existed before the 1967 war, when Israel took the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
Israel unilaterally left Gaza in 2005, but still imposes a land and sea blockade that it says is necessary to prevent arms smuggling. It continues to occupy the West Bank and has annexed East Jerusalem – a move not recognised internationally.
Hamas’s charter calls for the destruction of Israel but its leaders have at times indicated a willingness to negotiate a prolonged truce in return for a return to 1967 lines – something Meshaal made no mention of at Saturday’s event.
Israel tried and failed to assassinate Meshaal in 1997 and has largely ignored his visit to Gaza. However, Israeli officials ridiculed the anniversary commemoration.
“Hamas celebrates 25 years of murdering Israelis by rockets and suicide bombings as well as executing Fatah members and violating … human rights,” Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Twitter.
In another shot across Israel’s bows, Meshaal promised to free Palestinians jailed in the Jewish state, indicating Hamas would try to kidnap Israeli soldiers to use as bargaining chips.
Israel last year released 1,027 Palestinians from its jails in return for the liberation of Gilad Shalit, a conscript soldier who was seized by Palestinian guerrillas in 2006 and hidden away for more than five years in Gaza.
Thousands of Palestinians remain in Israeli jails, many held on terrorism charges. Hamas says they are freedom fighters.
“We will not rest until we liberate the prisoners. The way we freed some of the prisoners in the past is the way we will use to free the remaining prisoners,” Meshaal said to loud cheers.
TOY GUNS, MODEL ROCKET
Meshaal, born in the West Bank in 1956, left with his family for exile in 1967 after Israel captured the territory.
He now spends his time between Cairo and Qatar, and was expected to cross back into Egypt on Sunday or Monday to resume his position as Hamas’s key point person with foreign donors.
Saturday’s rally was staged against the backdrop of a gigantic, panoramic picture of Jerusalem, including the golden-domed al-Aqsa mosque, which is one of Hamas’s symbols.
A massive model of a Gaza-manufactured rocket dominated the set and small boys in army fatigues holding toy guns trooped onto the platform to be embraced by Meshaal.
Speaking before him, a man identified only as a senior leader of the Qassam armed wing, his face covered by a checkered keffiyeh, said Hamas had used just a 10th of its capabilities in the November conflict with Israel.
“This is evidence that the time of the occupation is over, your time Zionists is over. Your Frankenstein state is collapsing,” he said.
(Additional reporting by Marwa Awad; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Attack on Syria: Le Point, France prepares aggression
Posted on December 09, 2012 by Akashma Online News
By Jean Guisnel
Le Point Magazine
Translate Rosetta Stone
Discreetly, the French are preparing to intervene militarily in Syria . According to our information, only special forces are involved at this stage. The prevailing pattern consist of a relatively small French intervention integrated with a multinational coalition. This organization prepares the model which was set up during the war against Libya Gaddafi.
So it count at least U.S. , the UK and France, among other NATO members, including Turkey probably that would be associated Jordan and perhaps other Arab countries. There is no question of a ground invasion or massive air and / or sustainable, but rather a series of raids firmly supported by planes and helicopters, for putting the hand on the stock of chemical weapons .
Haunting Western leaders
About the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs are explicit. According to its deputy spokesman Vincent Floreani, “any use of these chemical weapons Assad would be unacceptable.” He added: “The leaders of Damascus should know that the international community is watching and will not remain without reaction if he were to use his weapons.” This is what was said on Monday U.S. President Barack Obama, saying: “The use of chemical weapons and would be totally unacceptable.” These comments illustrate millimiters conditions that would trigger military intervention in case the regime would use its arsenal toxic.
This reaction takes the form of strikes on targets “L” (for leadership) by cruise missiles, concomitant with a takeover of chemical stockpiles before their security and transfer. Because the obsession of Western leaders is not only on the use of poisonous weapons by the regime. They do not want more than opponents, including jihadists can get their hands on and use. Where the little phrase spokesman, who should not be taken lightly, when he speaks the international will “prevent the use of these weapons if the temptation is just to plan is to others.” Note that the Quai d’Orsay does not speak here of use, but of “temptation.” That changes a lot.
Preventive intervention looms
In reality, it is a preventive intervention looming. Is it realistic to imagine that the great capitals leave Assad act using such weapons, as they are convinced that the bully is going to do? Of course not … In this case released today to the thickness, the special forces of the countries forming a coalition “ad hoc”, that is to say, not subject to NATO would launch raids from Jordan and Turkey to seize weapons where they are, before any “temptation” to use has been a beginning of realization.
About the Public Washington indicate that U.S. officials were informed by their intelligence capabilities – or those of their allies – the implementation of preparatory measures for the use of these weapons. Soon followed by Paris, which is not late in this case, Americans have somehow started a final warning to Assad. They have their finger on the trigger. Preparing a preventive operation is not a mystery, to name a few, the French special forces have been set up discreetly in Jordan for this purpose. Both involve themselves in such an intervention, to help their counterparts in Jordan. We did an echo in here last September .
Political conditions
As political conditions of an intervention, they are at the discretion of François Hollande, leader of armies. At the conference of ambassadors on August 27, he had made it clear that France would respond militarily if the regime of Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons: “I say this with the solemnity appropriate: we are very careful with our allies to prevent the use of chemical weapons by the regime, the international community would be a legitimate cause of direct intervention. ”
The Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius drove the nail a few days later . Since the end of the summer, things have changed and the formation of a coalition led by Representative Moaz Ahmad al-Khatib will trigger a response to its request. Bashar al-Assad has warned.
Weapon Manufactures business booming
Nexter (Giat Industries)
Nexter (formerly known as GIAT Industries or Groupement des Industries de l’Armée de Terre, Army’s Industries Group) is a French Government-owned corporation weapon manufacturer.
Hugo Chavez Named his Succesor
Posted on December 09, 2012 by Akashma Online News
IAN JAMES AP
Published Saturday, Dec. 08 2012, 10:16 PM EST
Last updated Saturday, Dec. 08 2012, 11:48 PM EST
Hugo Chavez Venezuelan President named his successor after announcing that his cancer had returned.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that his cancer has returned and that he will undergo another surgery in Cuba.
Mr. Chavez, who won re-election on Oct. 7, also said on Saturday night for the first time that if his health were to worsen, his successor would be Vice President Nicolas Maduro.
“We should guarantee the advance of the Bolivarian Revolution,” Mr. Chavez said on television, seated at the presidential palace with Mr. Maduro and other aides.
The president said that tests had shown a return of “some malignant cells” in the same area where tumors were previously removed.
“I need to return to Havana tomorrow,” Mr. Chavez said, adding that he would undergo surgery in the coming days.
Mr. Chavez just came back from Havana early Friday, and his quick trip home appeared to allow him to send a clear directive to his inner circle that Mr. Maduro would be his chosen successor. He called for his allies to pull together, saying: “Unity, unity, unity.”
Mr. Chavez named Mr. Maduro, his longtime foreign minister, as his choice for vice president three days after winning re-election. Mr. Maduro, a burly former bus driver, has shown unflagging loyalty and become a leading spokesman for Venezuela’s socialist leader in recent years.
The vice president’s expression was solemn as Mr. Chavez said that Mr. Maduro should become president if any complication were to prevent him from finishing his current term, which concludes in early January. Mr. Chavez said that if new elections are held, his movement’s candidate should be Mr. Maduro.
“You all elect Nicolas Maduro as president,” Mr. Chavez said.
The Venezuelan constitution says that if a president-elect dies before taking office, a new election should be held within 30 days and that in the meantime the president of the National Assembly is to be in charge of the government.
While he spoke, Mr. Chavez was seated at a table flanked by both Mr. Maduro and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello.
Mr. Chavez is scheduled to be sworn in for a new six-year term Jan. 10, and he called his relapse a “new battle.”
He is to undergo his third operation to remove cancerous tissue in about a year and a half.
The 58-year-old president first underwent cancer surgery for an unspecified type of pelvic cancer in Cuba in June 2011, after an operation for a pelvic abscess earlier in the month found the cancer. He had another cancer surgery last February after a tumor appeared in the same area. He has also undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Mr. Chavez said tests immediately after his re-election win had shown no sign of cancer. But he said he had swelling and pain, which he thought was due to “the effort of the campaign and the radiation therapy treatment.”
“It’s a very sensitive area, so we started to pay a lot of attention to that,” he said, adding that he had reduced his public appearances.
Mr. Chavez made his most recent trip to Cuba on the night of Nov. 27, saying he would receive hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Such treatment is regularly used to help heal tissues damaged by radiation treatment.
Mr. Chavez said that he has been coping with pain and that while he was in Cuba thorough exams detected the recurrence of cancer.
He arrived back in Caracas on Friday after 10 days of medical treatment in Cuba, but until Saturday night had not referred to his health. His unexplained decision to skip a summit of regional leaders in Brazil on Friday had raised suspicions among many Venezuelans that his health had taken a turn for the worse.
Mr. Chavez said that he was requesting permission from lawmakers to travel to Havana.
“I hope to give you all good news in the coming days,” said Mr. Chavez, who held up a crucifix and expressed faith.
Dr. Carlos Castro, scientific director of the League Against Cancer in neighboring Colombia, told The Associated Press that he expects the operation will likely be followed by more chemotherapy.
“It’s behaving like a sarcoma, and sarcoma doesn’t forgive,” Dr. Castro said, adding that he wouldn’t be surprised if the cancer had also spread to the lungs or other areas.
“We knew this was going to happen,” he said. “This isn’t good.”
Throughout his treatment, Mr. Chavez has kept secret various details about his illness, including the precise location of the tumors and the type of cancer. He has said he travels to Cuba for treatment because his cancer was diagnosed by doctors there.
Nigeria, US relationship is beyond oil – US Consul General
Posted on December 09, 2012 by Akashma Online News
source Vanguard
Hawkins, who was accompanied by the Public Affairs Officer in the Consulate, Mrs. Dehab Ghebreab and Information Specialist Broadcast Media, Mrs. Joke Omotunde, said there were strong ties between Nigeria and the US especially in areas of security, education, cultural exchanges, military training and collaboration in regional and continental conflict resolution.
He said: “Nigeria is a huge country and you do not fully understand the country until you are inside it. The country has enormous energy which is found in the diversity of its people, who are very humorous.
The country has vast landmass and each area has something unique about it. We recognize Nigeria as the giant of Africa because of the size of the country in population, economy, the media and sustenance of democracy.”
Death, oil and religion: the origins of conflict in Nigeria run deep
The north of the country has been torn apart by terrorist attacks that saw police stations bombed, cars torched and the streets littered with bodies. More than 200 people have died so far in January alone.
How could a nation so rich in resources descend into such turmoil? The answer lies in a history of ethnic, religious and political fault-lines that go back centuries. The Conversation
He said the US recognized Nigeria’s leadership role in Africa, adding that the country was equally a strong player in global affairs.
According to the envoy, foreigners to Nigeria tended to see more of the positive sides than the areas of irritations that Nigerians complained of.
Hawkins said his visit to Vanguard was part of his familiarization tour of the Nigerian media landscape, to understand the working of the media in Nigeria and the challenges of implementing the Freedom of Information Act.
Largely, Nigeria’s poor image does not arise from government’s irresponsible behavior but from those of Nigerians! It is the ordinary Nigerian who litters the streets with trash. It is the ordinary Nigerian taxi or bus driver who gives out twenty naira to policemen instead of getting all his vehicle papers right. It is the ordinary Nigerian who shunts queues at filling stations, banks, or wherever order is required. to the consternation of the rest of us. It is the ordinary Nigerian who vandalizes NEPA property, NNPC pipeline or other public property, thus disrupting the meagre services the rest of us should receive from these sources. Yet it is the ordinary Nigerian who blames government most for all his woes. It is the ordinary Nigerian who creates bad publicity for this country, but it is the government that takes the blame. I am sad at this irony. Nigeria Media-Nigeria’s Image
The US team was received by the Editor, Mr. Mdeno Bayagbon; Deputy Editor, Mr. Eze Anaba; Foreign Affairs Editor, Mr. Hugo Odiogor; Business Editor, Mr. Omoh Gabriel; Political Editor, Emmanuel Aziken; and Corporate Affairs Manager, Mr. Victor Omoregie.
In his welcome remarks, Bayabgon told the envoy that Vanguard as a newspaper had been very supportive of the activities of the US mission in Nigeria. He commended the Consulate for finding positive lights with which to promote social and economic relations between the two countries.
According to the Editor, it is worth commending that the US ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Terrance McCaulley, was presently on a four-city tour in US to educate Americans on the process of “Doing Business in Nigeria.”
He said that is a measure of the confidence that the US mission has in Nigeria, regardless of the security challenges facing the country now.
Nigeria is currently our 23rd largest goods trading partner with $38.6 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2011. Goods exports totaled $4.8 billion; Goods imports totaled $33.7 billion. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Nigeria was $28.9 billion in 2011. Office of the US Trade
Nigeria booming illegal Oil Refineries – BBC Special
Oil spill on an illegal Oil Refinery in Nigeria
“Almost 400 people work here and every night we produce around 11,000 litres of diesel,” said 32-year-old Edward, adding that his elder brothers had learnt all about the business in Bakassi, near the Cameroonian border with Nigeria.
“For us we lose somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 barrels a day to crude theft and this is only what is lost in the metered sections of our pipeline. The large proportion we think ends up in refineries around the world.”
The oil companies’ hands are tied, as they do not have the power to arrest anyone or to intervene.
They have to rely on the military response, which is clearly ineffective.
I think this is the closest the regular citizen can get to take advantage of the wealth of their country. The Foreign Oil companies and the leaders of Nigeria had always been the big winners in this Oil Business. The Theft of the oil from the Official pipe lines are done without regard of the environment.
End drawing close for Syria’s Assad
Posted on December 09, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Reuters/Berlin
AP/Moscow
UPDATED
Associated Press/Manu Brabo – Syrian women stand amid the ruins of their farm, destroyed by Syrian Army jets, in Al-Hafriyeh village, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)
While news from Berlin seem catastrophic for Syria, other news are coming from Russia indicating that Syrian President Bashar Assad is good to stay. While Russia holds the political and economical power in Europe and Asia there is not much the US/Israel alliance can do to bring Syria Government down.
According to “A German Spy”, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government is its final stages and will be unable to survive as more parts of the country slip from his control, the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency (BND) said.
“Armed rebels are coordinating better, which is making their fight against Assad more effective,” Gerhard Schindler told the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung newspaper, in an interview made public on Saturday.
“Assad’s regime will not survive.”
Rebels fighting to topple Assad declared Damascus International Airport a battle zone on Friday, while Moscow and Washington both sounded downbeat about the prospects of a diplomatic push to end the conflict after talks.
Syrian rebel commanders have elected a new 30-member leadership council and a chief of staff, a senior rebel said Saturday in a major step toward unifying the opposition that is fighting to oust President Bashar Assad. The Supreme Military Council, which was chosen Friday during a meeting in Turkey, will work with the political leadership that was chosen last month in Qatar.
Fighting around the capital city has intensified over the past week, and Western officials have begun speaking about faster change on the ground in a 20-month-old conflict that has killed 40,000 people.
“Evidence is mounting that the regime in Damascus is now in its final phase,” Schindler said.
Although neither Assad nor the rebels had been able to take the upper hand, Assad was losing control of more and more parts of the country, and was focusing his energy on defending Damascus, key military sites and airports, Schindler added.
Schindler’s comments echoed remarks made yesterday by U.S. ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, who was withdrawn last year.
Russian and U.S. diplomats are meeting Sunday with U.N. peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi for more talks on the civil war in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding that the Americans were wrong to see Moscow as softening its position.
Russia agreed to take part in the talks in Geneva, he said, on the condition there would be no demand for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down.
“We are not conducting any negotiations on the fate of Assad,” Lavrov said Sunday. “All attempts to portray things differently are unscrupulous, even for diplomats of those countries which are known to try to distort the facts in their favor.”
Lavrov met last week with Brahimi and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Dublin. Afterward, Clinton said the United States and Russia were committed to trying again to get both sides in the Syrian conflict to talk about a political transition. Clinton stressed that the U.S. would continue to insist that Assad’s departure be a key part of that transition.
Russia and the United States have argued bitterly over how to address the conflict, which began with peaceful protests against Assad in March 2011 and escalated into a civil war. The U.S. has criticized Russia for shielding its closest ally in the Middle East, while Moscow has accused Washington of encouraging the rebels and being intent on regime change.
Russia’s foreign minister said Sunday that after he agreed to a U.S. proposal to have his and Clinton’s deputies “brainstorm” on Syria, the Americans began to suggest that Russia was softening its position.
“No such thing,” Lavrov said. “We have not changed our position.”
Germany weighed in Sunday on the future of Assad’s regime, with Federal Intelligence Service chief Gerhard Schindler saying it would not survive, although it was impossible to say how long it would hang on.
“Signs are increasing that the regime in Damascus is in its final phase,” he was quoted as telling the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
While Russia and Washington blame each other for the no resolution of Syria conflict, Syria is being destroyed. Whole cities are but a shadow of what they were just last year.
Total Syrian refugees registered or awaiting registration
The total number of registered refugees and individuals awaiting registration is 490,104 as of 5 December. This includes 11,740 Syrians registered with UNHCR in North Africa.
Damascus the Beautiful
Damascus has it history to keep the hopes alive for centuries to come.
“No recorded event has occurred in the world but Damascus was in existence to receive the news of it,” wrote Mark Twain after visiting Syria’s capital — known colloquially as al-Sham — in the 1860s. “She has looked upon the dry bones of a thousand empires, and will see the tombs of a thousand more before she dies.”
Over the centuries, Damascus has been conquered by a string of foreign invaders that extends from King David of Israel — chronicled in the Old Testament — straight through to the French, who occupied the city until 1945. In between, Damascus fell to a list of conquerors that includes the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Romans, Umayyads, Egyptian Mamluks, and Ottoman Turks. But now, roiled by the Arab Spring, the invasions are internal, with Syrian tanks and troops rolling into restive cities.
After the Umayyad conquest of Damascus in the seventh century, the Umayyad Mosque (seen above, circa 1900) was constructed on the site where a Byzantine church, a Roman temple, and before that an Aramean temple to the god of thunder and rain once stood.
___
Geir Moulson contributed from Berlin.
(Reporting by Alexandra Hudson; editing by Jason Webb)
Nelson Mandela Admitted to Pretoria Hospital
Posted on December 09, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Sources: AP-Sky News-iol News
UPDATED
South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela was admitted to a military hospital Saturday for medical tests, though the nation’s president told the public there was “no cause for alarm” over the 94-year-old icon’s health.
The Boy From the Transkei
The rolling green hills of the rural Transkei (see map) is the place Mandela thinks of as home; it is there he has built his retirement house. Growing up in the royal kraal of the Madiba clan, Mandela was groomed to be advisor to the King of Thembus.
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”~Nelson Mandela
The rest of the world knows him as Nelson Mandela. We, as South Africans, choose to call him Madiba, his Xhosa clan name.
The statement issued by President Jacob Zuma’s spokesman said that Mandela was doing well and was receiving medical care “which is consistent for his age.” The statement offered no other details.
Former president Nelson Mandela‘s hospitalization has left many of his associates in the dark, it was reported on Sunday.Nelson Mandela Foundation spokesman Sello Hatang told City Press he was unaware of Mandela’s admission to a hospital in Pretoria for tests on Saturday.
“They have issued a press release?” he asked.
Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, was also not made been aware of the hospitalisation, United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa told the newspaper. They had attended a soccer match together.Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe was to have visited Mandela in Qunu, in the Eastern Cape, but the visit was cancelled at the last minute.
“City Press further understands that the airplane that was supposed to carry Motlanthe to Qunu was reassigned to fly medical personnel to attend to Mandela,” the newspaper wrote.
An SA National Defence Force (SANDF) aircraft crashed in the Drakensberg in bad weather last week.
According to Beeld newspaper, the flight had gone ahead despite the weather, because it was carrying medicine for Mandela.
The SA Air Force has denied the claims.
The presidency said on Sunday it would issue periodic updates on Mandela’s condition. – Sapa
Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule, became South Africa’s first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. He later retired from public life to live in his village of Qunu, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.
“We wish Madiba all the best,” Zuma said in the statement, using Mandela’s clan name. “The medical team is assured of our support as they look after and ensure the comfort of our beloved founding president of a free and democratic South Africa.”
While the government sought to reassure South Africans about Mandela’s health, he remains viewed as a father figure to many in this nation of 50 million people. Each hospital trip raises the same worries about the increasingly frail former leader of the African National Congress — that the man who helped bring the nation together is slowly fading away.
In February, Mandela spent a night in a hospital for a minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, however, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later.
Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his years in prison. He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985.
While Zuma’s statement offered no further details about who would provide medical attention for Mandela, the nation’s military has taken over caring for the aging leader since the 2011 respiratory infection. At 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria on Saturday night, the facility that previously cared for Mandela in February, everything appeared calm, without any additional security present.
Mac Maharaj, a presidential spokesman, declined to say whether Mandela had been flown by the military from Qunu to Pretoria. He also declined to say what the tests were for.
“It’s quite normal at his age to be going through those tests,” Maharaj told The Associated Press.
Mandela’s hospitalization comes just days after the crash of a military aircraft flying on an unknown mission near Mandela’s rural home in which all 11 onboard were killed.
The plane was flying to a military air base in Mthatha, which is about 30 kilometers (17 miles) north of Qunu. Military officials declined to say whether those on board had any part in caring for Mandela.
___
Associated Press writers Thomas Phakane in Pretoria, South Africa, and Andrew Meldrum in Johannesburg contributed to this report.
Visit to Gaza: UN Press Release
Posted on December 08, 2012 by Akashma Online News
by Richard Falk
(I recently completed a mission to the Gaza Strip, entering by way of Egypt at the Rafah Crossing; as I am now in Doha attending the final days of the UN Climate Change negotiations, I have had no chance to write a post describing the moving and difficult circumstances that confront the people of Gaza, and the hopes and disappointments that followed the ceasefire that followed the Israeli onslaught; there are concerns about whether it will be fully implemented in accordance with expectations, and if not, whether events will move toward renewed cross-border violence. There are new hopes and complexities on two further fronts: the aftermath of Palestinian success in being confirmed as a non-member state by the General Assembly on November 29, and the new priority being accorded to reconciliation between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. More than ever since Hamas assumed governing authority in June 2007, foreign leaders have been visiting Gaza, according Hamas an upgraded diplomatic status)
Israel must abide by cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip
CAIRO (5 December 2012) – Concluding his week-long mission to the region, Mr. Richard Falk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967, called on Israel to abide by and fully implement the cease fire agreement that ended the recent crisis with Gaza.
“The initial purpose of my visit was to assess the overall impact of Israel’s prolonged occupation and blockade against the Gaza Strip, which is an integral part of Palestine,” Mr. Falk explained, “however there arose an urgent need to investigate Israel’s seemingly deliberate attacks against seemingly civilian targets during recent hostilities. We visited the sites of attacks and spoke with surviving family members. It is clear that some attacks killed and harmed civilians in a grossly disproportionate manner and thus clearly appear to violate international law.”
The Special Rapporteur continued, “There is a widespread feeling among Palestinians that Israel is above the law, and that Israel is likely to continue to have the benefits of impunity even when it flagrantly violates international humanitarian law. Experience has shown that Israel fails to meet its international obligation to promptly and impartially investigate its own actions. Experience has also shown that Israel is not likely to carry out its obligations under the cease fire agreement; indeed during our visit we heard Israeli warplanes flying directly overhead and received reports of Israeli military incursions into the Gaza Strip.”
For the Special Rapporteur, “Sustained pressure from the international community, including both Governments and civil society, is essential to secure Israel’s the full implementation of the cease fire agreement, without which it is extremely unlikely to hold. Worldwide support for the recent General Assembly resolution that made Palestine a non-Member observer State should serve as a starting point for the more concerted international protection of Palestinian rights.”
The Special Rapporteur stressed that talks to clarify how certain aspects of the cease fire agreement will be implemented, in particular with regard to access to maritime and agricultural resources, must be swiftly concluded. “Every day Palestinian fishermen and farmers risk being shot at or detained by Israeli forces. Already since the agreement was reached, Israel has detained 13 fishermen, confiscated 4 fishing boats and sank another fishing boat. Such actions signal an Israeli intention to maintain the continuity of its coercive style of occupation rather than explore whether implementing the ceasefire, agreement might not lead toward a more relaxed atmosphere and a more hopeful future.”
“At the same time, Palestinians and the international community are confronted with huge challenges to address underlying problems that have been severely aggravated by Israel’s occupation and blockade.” The Special Rapporteur pointed to the urgent need for access to clean water and sanitation, productive agricultural land, and new infrastructure. “We received extensive briefs on what could be done if sufficient resources and political will are made available. One example is the construction of a desalinization plant to meet urgent water and agricultural needs, but in many such cases funding is not forthcoming as donors are reluctant to invest in infrastructure projects that Israel is likely to bomb in one of its periodic large-scale attacks against Gaza.”
According to Mr. Falk, “Unless these underlying problems are addressed soon, it appears that Gaza will be uninhabitable by 2020, as predicted by a recent United Nations report. Some of the experts with whom we spoke actually believe that 2016 is a more reasonable assessment. This indicates the gravity of the human rights crisis in the Gaza Strip.”
The Special Rapporteur noted that his visit to the region consisted of meetings in Cairo and the Gaza Strip, with Governmental, inter-governmental and civil society representatives, as well as victims and witnesses. He received helpful briefings from UNRWA and other United Nations agencies, which provided an in-depth picture of the magnitude of the challenges in Gaza and the difficulties of addressing such challenges in a situation of occupation and blockade. He expressed his special appreciation to the people of Gaza and those international civil servants with whom he spoke for their support and engagement.
Mr. Falk’s next report to the Human Rights Council, which he intends to present in June 2013, will fully address the many concerns that were raised during the mission.
In 2008, the UN Human Rights Council designated Richard Falk (United States of America) as the fifth Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights on Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. The mandate was originally established in 1993 by the UN Commission on Human Rights. Learn more, log on to: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/countries/ps/mandate/index.htm
OHCHR Country Page – Occupied Palestinian Territory: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/MENARegion/Pages/PSIndex.aspx
OHCHR Country Page – Israel: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/MENARegion/Pages/ILIndex.aspx
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council:
Special procedures is the general name given to the mechanisms established by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Currently, there are 36 thematic and 12 country mandates. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights provides these mechanisms with personnel, policy, research and logistical support for the discharge of their mandates. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/special/index.htm
Thematic mandates: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/special/themes.htm
Country mandates: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/special/countries.htm
For further information and media requests, please contact Kevin Turner (+41 79 201 0122 kturner@ohchr.org)
For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)
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Israel threatened to cancel ceasefire over Mashaal visit
Posted on December 08, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Source Ma’an
Khaled Meshal Leader of Hamas visits Gaza for first time
Israel threatened to cancel the ceasefire agreement brokered by Egypt if Hamas’ chief in exile and his delegation visited the Gaza Strip for the movement’s 25th anniversary, says senior Hamas leader Izzat al-Rishiq.
In an interview with the Hamas-affiliated al-Aqsa TV Saturday, al-Rishiq said, “We received real threats that occupation could cancel the ceasefire agreement or do anything.”
Al-Rishiq highlighted that Mashaal decided to visit the Gaza Strip even at personal risk.
Describing the “historic” visit by Hamas’ leaders in exile to Gaza, he said, “This is a great view, and we are happy to set foot on the pure land of Gaza and met from the very beginning with our people.”
He added: “Our people should be more assured about resistance. Hamas is a resistance movement, and without resistance there will be no Hamas.”
On Thursday Islamic Jihad officials said Israel threatened to assassinate the leader of Islamic Jihad if he entered the Gaza Strip, causing the party to reconsider.
Egyptian authorities told Islamic Jihad that Israel rejected the visit and would target leader Ramadan Shalah and his deputy Ziad Nakhla if they went into Gaza, sources close to the discussions told Ma’an.
Islamic Jihad leaders were considering whether to cancel the visit Thursday.
Israel launched an 8-day assault on Gaza that ended Nov. 21 with a ceasefire agreement mediated by Egypt.
Israel done it again DIME and Depleted Uranium in Gaza
Posted on December 06, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Israel Used Depleted Uranium Munitions During Gaza Offensive
by Richard Silverstein on December 6, 2012 ·
Hassan Doghmosh suffers severe burns after his Gaza City neighborhood was bombed last month.(Anne Paq / ActiveStills)
I’m beginning to read reports from Gaza that indicate that the IDF may have used depleted uranium munitions during its recent assault. A local journalist writes in Electronic Intifada about the grotesque forms of some of the victims’ wounds. He (incorrectly, I believe) associates them with chemical weapons like white phosphorus:
Among those receiving treatment in Nasser hospital in Khan Younis is a man who was hit by an Israeli drone that struck a farm owned by his family in southern Gaza. A friend of his was killed in the attack. “I was hit directly in my abdomen and two legs,” said the man, who is in his thirties and asked not to be named.
Baker al-Derdy, the head nurse in Nasser hospital, said that when this man was first admitted, there was “a strange smell, almost chemical” from him. Al-Derdy pointed to other indications that Israel may have used chemical weapons during its offensive.
“Some of the symptoms we have seen are abnormal,” al-Derdy added. “The type of burns that appear on the bodies suggest that the weapons employed were not conventional. The burns go deep into the skin and the skin itself turns blue. And I can tell you that the burns hit even the third layer of the skin.”
…Ashraf al-Qedra, a spokesperson for the health ministry in Gaza…acknowledged that some of the burns witnessed were deeper than those associated with conventional weapons.
“We in Gaza and health bodies in the West Bank do not have laboratories where we could properly examine what types of weapons have been used in Israeli attacks,” al-Qedra said. “But according to what we have seen so far, it appears that Israel used some explosive weapons or ammunition that caused burns and deep wounds. In most cases of those killed, we have seen that bodies were either torn apart or completely burnt out. Also, many of those injured have had their lower or upper limbs amputated.”
DIME weapons were first used against Gaza by Israeli drones in the summer of 2006, when Palestinian medical personnel reported that it significantly increased the fatality rate among victims. Shortly after the DIME weapons were also trialled during the first week of the war in Lebanon in July 2006.
Making clear that I’m neither a doctor nor a weapons specialist, the general description of these savage wounds reminds me much more of the DIME munition developed by the U.S. and used by the IDF in Gaza in 2006.
There are reports that Israel is using a new weapon in the Gaza strip. More specifically, the claim is that Israel is using something called a DIME weapon. Say what? Yes, DIME weapons are real, it stands for Dense Inert Metal Explosive. In a nutshell a DIME weapon is a bomb or missile that detonates with powerful and lethal explosive power confined to a small area. The idea being to minimize “collateral damage” when using military weapons in urban areas. Yes, this is a humane killing device, science marches on!DIME-Dense Inert Metal Explosive
I posted several times about this horrific weapon. The Gaza Interior Ministry, in the midst of the fighting, released a statement claiming it had recorded high rates of radioactivity at bombing sites, claiming that unconventional weapons were used against a civilian population:
Major Hazem Abu Murad, assistant director of explosives engineering and member of the Committee to document war crimes, revealed that the occupation used radioactive materials in the explosives with which it had bombed the Gaza Strip.
Abu Murad told the Interior Ministry that the weapons with which Israel targeted Gaza contain heavy elements, including the Uranium, tungsten, aluminum and nickel”, and pointed out that these materials raise the temperature in the center of the explosion to 7 thousand degrees Celsius, and boost the destructive ability of the shell.
He also pointed to the types of weapons used by the occupation during the recent aggression on the Gaza Strip, noting that among those weapons there are three types of ammunition which have been used for the first time.
If true, and I have no way of knowing whether Hamas’ claim was based on scientific testing, tungsten would be indicative of the use of DIME. The presence of uranium might lead in a different direction, as the IDF has weapons that contain depleted uranium. Here are some of its characteristics:
Depleted uranium is very dense…Thus a given mass of it has a smaller diameter than an equivalent lead projectile, with less aerodynamic drag and deeper penetration due to a higher pressure at point of impact. DU projectile ordnance is often incendiary because of its pyrophoric property.
…Depleted uranium is favored…because it is self-sharpening and pyrophoric. On impact with a hard target…the nose of the rod fractures in such a way that it remains sharp. The impact and subsequent release of heat energy causes it to disintegrate to dust and burn when it reaches air…When a DU penetrator reaches the interior of an armored vehicle, it catches fire, often igniting ammunition and fuel.
Further support for the thesis of its use by the IDF is a report to me from an Israeli source confirming the IDF used depleted uranium in Gaza. My source cannot confirm whether DIME was used or not.
The UN Human Rights Commission has asked member states to curb the use of such weapons and a paper prepared for the body argued that they may contravene numerous international treaties. The European Parliament called for a ban on DU munitions.
Here are some of their health effects:
Normal functioning of the kidney, brain, liver, heart, and numerous other systems can be affected by uranium exposure, because in addition to being weakly radioactive, uranium is a toxic metal. DU is less toxic than other heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury.[65] It is weakly radioactive but remains radioactive because of its long half-life.
…British Army doctors warned the British…Ministry of Defence that exposure to depleted uranium increased the risk of developing lung, lymph and brain cancer, and recommended a series of safety precautions.
This seems perfectly in synch with the typical practice of the IDF to exploit whatever weapons appear convenient and effective, no matter how controversial or even illegal their use might be, especially against a largely civilian population. This holds true for cluster bombs, white phosphorus and DIME, all of which Israel has employed during attacks on civilian areas of Lebanon and Gaza.
By the way, I’ve read several mainstream journalists claim that less than half those killed in Gaza were civilians. This is not true. Gaza human rights groups have counted 183 fatalities of whom 103 were civilian.
Under the Bombs and Under Attack still Gaza, Palestine – More allegations were brought to the light of the world when According to a Norwegian MD who was working at a Palestinian hospital in Gaza during the recent 2009 Cast Lead war the type of injuries that were inflicted on war casualties ,during this campaign, were different than anything that he has seen before in a war theater and he has seen quite a few conflagrations over the past thirty years. Another Norwegian doctor named DR. Gilbert told the Oslo Gardermoen that “there is a strong suspicion that Gaza is now being used as a test laboratory for new weapons.”
Pakistani enhanced economic cooperation with Iran
We need to learn Geography to understand the strategic alliances between the countries.
Posted on Akashma Online News
Source IRNA
Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that Pakistan and Iran enjoy close and brotherly relations which are rooted in historical, cultural and religious commonalities.
At the same time Closer Pakistan-Iran military ties proposed.
The Senate Defense Committee, which has broken taboos in the realm of national security by opening up debates on defense budget, counter-terrorism policies, civil-military relations, had this time invited a delegation of Iranian parliament led by Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman, National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Majlis-i-Shura, for security dialogue.
The Prime Minister expressed these views in a meeting with Iranian Parliamentary delegation led by Chairman Standing Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy of Majlis, Alaeddin Broujeri at the PM’s House on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister noted with satisfaction that cooperation between the two countries is on a positive trajectory. He underscored the importance of constant and extended contact between parliamentarians and public representatives of the two countries to further cement the existing warm relations.
The Prime Minister said that the close economic ties between the two countries are reflected in the cooperation on the gas pipeline project, electricity and infrastructure projects, a statement from the PM office said.
On Afghanistan, the Prime Minister said that Iran and Pakistan have shared objectives and both the countries have to work in tandem for peace and reconciliation. He said that a peaceful, prosperous and stable Afghanistan is in the interest of not only Pakistan but the entire region. He said that terrorism and extremism are our common enemies and we must join hands to defeat these, he stressed.
Mr. Alaeddin Broujeri said that Iran is keen to expand and strengthen its relations with Pakistan. In this connection, agriculture is one area where both countries can cooperate more intensely, he added.
Mr. Alaeddin Broujeri thanked the Prime Minister who asked him to convey his best wishes to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Other members of the delegation included Mr. Mohammad Esmaeili and Mr. Ali Reza Ayyari.
Mr. Rehman Malik, Minister for Interior, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed and other senior government officials were also present during the meeting.
Turkey strengthen ties with Iran
Posted on December 04, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Source IRNA
UPDATED
by Marivel Guzman
Ankara, Turkey Dec 5, – Head of Iranˈs Islamic Culture and Relations Organization Mohammad Baqer Khorramshad on Wednesday called for expansion of cultural cooperation with Turkey.
He made the remarks in a meeting with Turkish Ambassador to Tehran Umit Yardim.
Khorramshad highlighted the cultural affinity between Iran and Turkey and said that the common grounds in the field of culture serves as longstanding heritage for the two nations to bring them closer and bolster their friendship.
He said that ICRO is willing to work with Turkish cultural organizations to help develop multilateral ties.
He called for implementing the cultural agreement signed between Iran and Turkey last year and forming a cultural expert group to follow up the agreement.
Khorramshad and Yardim agreed to implement the articles 11, 13 and 15 of the existing cultural agreement to repair late Imam Khomeiniˈs old house in Bussan, Turkey.
He invited the head of the Turkish Language Academy to pay a visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Mohammad Javad Khorramshad, who was speaking in the inauguration ceremony for Iran’s sacred defense film festival in Ankara, said he was conveying this message that there is no limitation for expansion of bilateral ties between Iran and Turkey. Referring to visits of officials from both countries in different levels, Khorramshad said that senior officials of the two countries have always underlined expansion of relations and now in the section of cinema and theater we are witnessing the process. He stressed that OCIC is ready to develop its relations in different sectors with related organizations and ministries in Turkey.
Turkey-Iran relations goes way back in the history of the two countries. Regardless of the regional conflicts they both faced, their relations had been steady with its ups and downs. When the news broke out that Turkey will be hosting the defense missiles system and missiles tracker Iran discouraged and made clear to Turkey that this could jeopardize their relations.
Turkey had asked guarantee to the US that this system should not be shared with Israel, with this Turkey is looking to apace Iran and at the same time to become an intermediary between Iran and the West.
Reza Shah visiting Turkey June 2 1934
Reza Shah took off on his only travel to a foreign country Turkey on June, 2, 1934. He was accompanied by 17 people, mostly high ranking military officers.
A brief background of Iran-Turkey Relations : Reza Shah was the first person to congratulated Ataturk after foundation of the Republic of Turkey
in 1923, sending him asword and a Quran as gift. On Apr, 22, 1926, a treaty of friendship and security was signed between the two countries. Although some incidents in the Kurdish region and foreign meddling prevented the two countries from approaching further, the leaders of these two neighboring countries tried to resolve border disputes and signed a new treaty in Ankara on Nov, 5, 1932
Reza Shah’s trip to Turkey marked the beginning of a new era in Iran-Turkey relationship. After short stops in Tabriz, Khoy and Maku, the Iranian mission entered Turkey on June, 11. They were accompanied by Turkish authorities through Kars, Erzurum, Trabzon, Samsun and arrived in Ankara on June, 16, 1934. They stayed in Turkey for 38 days and visited military, historical and other installations before returning to Tehran On July, 11.
Among other things, Reza Shah was very much impressed by modernization in Turkey and believed that Iran lacked participation of women in the society in order to develop. He founded many modern educational and public institutions and passed regulations that practically banned veil and changed the way Iranians were to dress on Dec, 23, 1935.
Turkey Iran relation
On April 22, 1926 the First “Treaty of Friendship” between Iran and Turkey was signed in Tehran.
On January 23, 1932 the first definitive frontier treaty between Turkey and Iran was signed in Tehran. It should be mentioned that the border between Turkey and Iran is one of the oldest in the world and has stayed more or less the same since the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514.
On July 8, 1937 a Treaty of Non-aggression was signed between Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. This treaty would become known as the Treaty of Saadabad. The purpose of this agreement was to ensure security and peace in the Middle East.
In August 1955 CENTO (Central Treaty Organization), a mutual security-pact between Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan and Britain was established.
In July 1964 the RCD (Regional Cooperation for Development), aimed at joint economic projects between Turkey, Iran and Pakistan was established.
A period of coldness passed after the 1979 Iranian Revolution which caused major changes in Iran and the Middle Eastern status quo. Today Iran and Turkey cooperate in a wide variety of fields that range from fighting terrorism, drug trafficking, and promoting stability in Iraq and Central Asia.
Britain and France may recall ambassadors to protest Israel’s settlement construction
Posted on December 03, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Original Excerpts published By Barak Ravid
UPDATED by Marivel Guzman
Moves against Israel will be made in the next few days following Netanyahu’s decision to move ahead on planning in E1 and build 3,000 housing units in the settlement blocs, and in East Jerusalem, say senior European diplomats.
Britain and France are poised to take action − possibly including the unprecedented step of recalling their ambassadors, according to senior European diplomats − in protest at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to move settlement construction ahead in the area known as E1, between Ma’aleh Adumim and Jerusalem.
“This time it won’t just be a condemnation, there will be real action taken against Israel,” a senior European diplomat said.
ILC Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind (1991)Article 22(2)(b) of the 1991 ILC Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind considers “the establishment of settlers in an occupied territory and changes to the demographic composition of an occupied territory” as an “exceptionally serious war crime”. Customary international humanitarian law.
Netanyahu’s decision Friday to move ahead on planning in E1 and to build 3,000 housing units in the settlement blocs and in East Jerusalem, has apparently shocked the foreign ministries and the leaders in London and Paris. Not only do Britain and France view construction in E1 as a “red line,” they are reportedly angry because they view Israel as having responded ungratefully to the support the two countries gave it during the recent Gaza operation.
“London is furious about the E1 decision,” a European diplomat told Haaretz.
According to three senior diplomats from various EU countries, Britain and France were coordinating their moves against Israel, which they will reportedly implement over the next few days, and have discussed the extraordinary step of recalling their ambassadors from Tel Aviv for consultations. This step has never been taken before by these countries toward Israel. It would be so extreme that Britain and France may not take such action at this point but, rather, could invoke it in the case of further escalation of Israeli actions against the Palestinians. A final decision in the matter will be made today by the British and the French foreign ministers.
Geneva Convention IVArticle 49, sixth paragraph, of the 1949 Geneva Convention IV provides: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.This amount to war crimes. This amount to War Crimes
A source in the Prime Minister’s Bureau said Israel was planning more steps against the Palestinian Authority. “The Palestinians will soon realize they made a mistake in taking unilateral steps that breached agreements with Israel,” the source said.
Israel’s decision to approve 3,000 new homes on occupied territory drew sharp condemnation from European allies on Monday, with at least three governments summoning ambassadors to express their disapproval of an action they say undermines an already troubled peace process.
The Israeli envoy to Paris was called to a meeting late Monday morning, according to a statement from the French foreign ministry spokesman, Philippe Lalliot. France, which was the first major European country to announce support for the Palestinian effort to win recognition at the U.N., also sent a letter to the Israeli government, calling the settlement decision “a considerable obstacle to the two-state solution.” Israel feel heat from Europe over constructions of settlements
ICC StatuteUnder Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the 1998 ICC Statute, “[t]he transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies” constitutes a war crime in international armed conflicts. Customary Practice Relating to Rule 130. Transfer of Own Civilian Population into Occupied Territory
Britain, France, and Sweden summoned the Israeli ambassadors to their countries on Monday to express their condemnation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to move settlement construction ahead in the area known as E1, between Ma’aleh Adumim and Jerusalem.
Last July Netanyahu Vows To Continue Settlement Construction, was the headlines on the Huff Post.
Article 49, sixth paragraph, of the 1949 Geneva Convention IV provides: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”
Article 85(4)(a) of the 1977 Additional Protocol I provides that “the transfer by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies” is a grave breach of the Protocol
Under Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the 1998 ICC Statute, “[t]he transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies” constitutes a war crime in international armed conflicts. Customary Practice Relating to Rule 130. Transfer of Own Civilian Population into Occupied Territory
Rohingya humanitarian mission returned safely Prince Club
Posted on October 21, 2012 by Akashma Online News
by MOHAMED HIEKAL
Translated by Google
Hundreds from the Rohingya refugee community turned up to support a humanitarian mission by the Putera 1Malaysia Club to help their ethnic group. They were led by chairman of the Union of World Rohingya Organisation, Rashed Osman.
Club volunteers entourage Putra 1 Malaysia (KP1M) safely returned home Thursday night after performing humanitarian mission to help the Rohingya in the restive region around Sittwe in Myanmar.
They arrive at LCCT, Sepang from Yangon 11 night from the mission where they have helped many discordant addictive than 580 tons of the people of Malaysia.
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While there they visited eight camps and two villages.
Speaking to journalists on arrival KP1M president Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim grateful mission went smoothly with the result of close kerjasaam given by the Government of Myanmar.
“We have about 56 volunteers who go in groups until the earliest and the last group, all have returned safely at night,” he said.
Azeez said obviously Rohingya people in Myanmar are in need of help and they are very grateful to the contributions from the people of Malaysia.
He said there also trigger mood awareness and gratitude among the volunteers how they can live in peace with Malaysia.-11/10/2012 – BY MOHAMED HIEKAL
Sad and melancholy in the Rohingya refugee camps
Eyes heavy … heavier shoulder memikul.Suasananya was wistful and sad when Putra 1Malaysia Club humanitarian mission (KP1M) arrived in the Rohingya refugee camps not far from the city of Sittwe pm Monday.
Face reflected in the hundreds of thanksgiving Muslim Rohingya refugees in camps and camp Thekebyin Dhu Baw Baw Village Pa and Pha Dhu when 100 tons of food aid delivered.
They immediately swarmed the aid delegation led by President KP1M, Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim.
MV Wan Shwe Thu carry 500 tons of food and needs brought from Malaysia docked at the Port of Sittwe 1 pm Myanmar time.
Most interesting Rakhine Chief Minister U Hla Maung current team participated in the camp presented Thekebyin assistance.
This is recognition of the efforts KP1M mission.
Azeez rate this as a sign of closer ties between Malaysia and Myanmar.
Earlier in the morning, in close consultation was held by the authorities Rakhine Azeez affair deliver aid.
At Tuesday’s mission will continue to channel aid to the refugee camps, including those occupied by Buddhists. – 10.08.2012 – BY MOHAMED MOHD Hilmi HIEKAL JOHNSON
Latest pictures of Prince Club mission Rohingya in Myanmar
So far it seems all went well in managing humanitarian missions Prince Club 1 Malaysia (KP1M) to help the suffering of the Rohingya community in Myanmar.
The main mission of the delegation headed by Datuk Azeez Abdul Rahim, who arrived in Yangon Saturday night on Sunday afternoon departure to the city of Sittwe local commercial boarding kilomiter 495 distance across the restive province.
Journalist Mohamed Hiekal Agendadaily accompanied by photographer Hilmi Mohd Jaafar reports the arrival Azeez and his entourage were greeted by the Chief Minister of Rakhine, Hla Maung Tin at the airport itself.
Their entourage were joined by Myanmar Border Affairs Minister, Major General Zaw Winn and Malaysia’s ambassador to Myanmar, Dr Ahmad Faisal Muhamad.
Having to hotel accommodation, caravans accompanied by Azeez, Chief Minister of Rakhine and Myanmar border affairs minister, Ambassador of Malaysia, Malaysia Buddhist Monk Chief Datuk K. Sri Dhammarathana from Malaysia and eight media representatives from Malaysia go to Temple Lawka Nandar.
In the largest temple in Sittwe district they have an audience with the Buddhist monks Sittwe district, Badanda Pentita.
The purpose of this meeting is to inform about the purpose of humanitarian aid missions Prince 1Malaysia Club.
Chief Buddhist Monk Malaysia told me that Malaysia is a multiracial country rife and living in a harmony in the spirit of unity.
Representative of this group is also visited this temple afterwards. The temples are grateful for the presence of this mission.
Tomorrow, Monday, the mission will begin work attributable bantuan.Mengikut assistance plan will be distributed to the two Muslim Rohingya refugee camp and two refugee camps inhabited by those who are Buddhists.
Relatively slow internet connection while limited communication links in Sittwe.
The atmosphere around town was calm.
Yet Myanmar army looks roadblocks in some areas.
The curfew was imposed from 6 pm to 7 am. – 07.10.2012 – BY MOHAMED HIEKAL
Myanmar’s military will Rohingya humanitarian mission accompanied Prince Club
Myanmar troops will accompany the Rohingya Humanitarian Aid Prince Club Malaysia (KP1M) to ensure the safety of this group while in the camps later.
Journalist Mohamed Hiekal Agenda daily who arrived in Yangon Saturday night with the main group of 31 people led KPIM Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim told they will leave the largest city that is Sittwe in Arakan Rohingya area this afternoon (Sunday).
Joining him is photographer Agenda daily Hiekal Hilmi Mohd Jaafar.
Entourage will board a local flight service.
Before the arrival of the airport in Yangon from Kuala Lumpur with Air Asia’s aircraft did not face any problems.
The local media came to cover the delegation arrived and interviewed Azeez.
Immigration process went smoothly and the airport has provided special access to members of the mission.
Seurus arrived all they brought to the bus bus to the Malaysian Embassy in Pyidaungsu Yeiktha Road.
There, they were greeted by the Ambassador of Malaysia, Dr Faizal Mohammed. The members of the media specifically briefed on the situation when going to work in the refugee camps in the future. Azeez also give a little speech afterwards.
The first group of 14 members respectively mission who arrived in Yangon earlier departed for Sittwe today (Saturday).
They led by Mohd Farid Hassan.
Most likely report on activities during the mission in Arakan sent quite complicated because internet access was slow and telecommunications systems terhad.-6/10/2012 – BY MOHAMED HIEKAL
Prince Team 1Malaysia Club humanitarian aid left for Myanmar
Humanitarian mission team Myanmar Prince 1Malaysia Club (KP1M) headed by Club president Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim left the country Saturday.
The team, which included 35 other consist of volunteers from different races and religions as well as media personnel depart from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang about 5pm.
According to Abdul Azeez, Burma is the 27th country visited KP1M in humanitarian aid missions and it is considered one of the countries that are difficult to access.
However, they finally got permission assisted in after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on the close relationship between the two countries, he told reporters before departing.
The group released Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.
About 500 metric tons of food aid, medical and other relevant materials brought into the country using 40 containers by ships.
Azeez said KP1M humanitarian mission to Syria next is expected on 19 October
Humanitarian mission also includes singer Datuk Irwan Shah Abdullah or DJ Dave representing Artists Foundation 1Malaysia first time the mission help out negara.-6/10/2012
The Palestinian Solidarity Movement Stronger than Ever
The Union Make the Force – The people united will never be defeated
I was responding to a note posted on my tagline on facebook, and I though that was better to respond on a Note because long comments are tedious and I decided to complete my response with photos and links to the appropriate sites that are redundant to the article, so I do not have to write the same material.
Sorry Anna OLeary I have to do it this way to comment on the article you tagged me few days ago. I always write what I feel and what I understand, and this is my feeling and understanding of the issues at hand.
Anna O’Leary, I finished reading the article, I found to contains the same Greta Berlin issue that was played over and over on the internet while the Estelle was sailing toward Gaza.
I have insisted that Greta Berlin did not have nothing to apologize to no one.
I insisted that every one was giving too much importance to the Twitt that if left alone at the first instigation from National Post article by Tristan Hopper will dilute
When Ali Abuminah wrote his article on October 6, we saw it as an attempt to quiet Israel hurt sensitivities, to me the twitt and the video did not have importance at all, if all Palestinian activists should had ignored as an ignorant piece of journalism, and no less than that everything would have been fine. Because on all truth, there was nothing wrong with posting a video and a tag on a group or personal wall. We still have freedom of expression and if some people did not like it, that was their problem.
Some people in the Palestinian Solidarity Movement was acting as if they were to be more sensitive for Israel sensitives than for Palestinians Plight.
The apology of Greta Berlin or statement that she made public it made the things worse, because she was telling the world that she was wrong, when in reality she did nothing wrong.
The video of Erasmus Mullins, and the Title “Nazi Zionist Alliance (NA+ZI) to Create Israel Through Holocaust” are not Anti Semitic in nature. Israel in its history has re draw history to its convenience and every Scholar in the world that taught history has gone alone with the deception, except for few brave that resist to teach lies.
“Zionists are not the Jewish People, but a group using Zionism as a shield. The facade is to make you blame the Jews.
This video is NOT anti-Jewish. Please do not Flag out of ignorance”
You have to go beyond the Authorized Israel history to entertain other plausible possibilities, other buried stories, we should know that data was destroyed during the fall of Germany. The huge Anti German propaganda to win the war. We must put into perspective all those ingredients in the story, then we can have a more understanding of what the Video of Erasmus Mullins want to give us.
I have been writing about this issue since it came out on facebook, I have been posting in every ones wall, and all seems to ignore my opinion, Oh well!. You are tagging me on your Note and I take the liberty to express my opinion.
I wrote a long letter to Gilad Atzmon dressed as a comment and was ignored. I hope that I m not giving myself too much importance and thinking that he has to read what I have to say, he probably it is too busy to even read comments. Well I do not know, but I giving my opinion on the matter any way. He is my friend in facebook after all, so that give me the freedom to write in his wall when he post material that it is public.
This article that you are bringing here is just repetition of the same material already posted by Gilad and other sites, which I believe has made the matter worse for Greta Berlin or maybe she got to be in the News and the book Sailors sold more copies, and if that was the case I will say …well done, but for the Anti Semitic rhetoric, we all know is not truth…
Myself agree with much of the video, I do not blame “The Jews”, I blame the Zionists bankers, so I will never have to apologize for something I do believe could had happened.
Now regarding Trade Not Aid, I agree 100 percent on it, I doubts that will be successful, when we think about it, while Israel control the whole region surrounding Palestine, what assure us that the Trade will be permitted. Well unless is done thru the tunnels. I support Ken O’keefe with his Trade Not Aid for Gaza and spoke about it with him and I understand perfectly his idea. But the only way to know if will work, we have to try first. So I support Ken on that.
Regarding Anne Wright uninviting, I think due to the controversy on every Palestinian News, facebook wall, and Israel supporters outlet at the end I thought that The Estelle distancing from now from The Free Gaza Movement was a good political move, because after all The Free Gaza Movement which Greta Berlin Co- founded also published an Apology and distanced themselves also from Greta Berlin issue, so I think it was just a good move. Read the opinion of
Off course would have been good that none of this had happened, and that Anne Wright would have been in the Estelle, but it happened this way and there is nothing we can do to change the fact, except that we know more about the people involved in the Palestinian Movement.
This is my feeling and my opinion on the matter. There was no mistake from Greta Berlin, I do not see why we have to play into the “diplomatic” card with Israel. They deserve no respect, no apology.
Jews around the world by now, I hope they understand the farce play on their shoulders, they were victims of a twisted joke to create an entity that could be used as the center power of the world, using the Bible as a tool for the promise land.
And to end I will say that the Palestinian Solidarity movement is stronger than ever. Few people as important as they are, they are only part of the Palestinian Solidarity Movement but they are not all the Movement.
We are thousands around the world, maybe millions supporting Palestine in one way or another. If we are not in the cameras does not make us less important and subject to omission.
I do not think that the Palestine Movement is divided. But I think that some persons in the Movement are dividing the solidarity movement with their public statements. Those publications are indeed trying to force us to take sides, and that is the problem.
We all are important as long as we work for the Palestinian cause, for Justice, for Truth and Peace, but the moment that we as persons take the center stage then something is wrong with us, not with the Palestinian movement.
We need to put Palestine First, we are not important in this movement, we are just part of the Palestinian Solidarity Movement.
Rosa Schiano Stay Human, from Italy moved to Gaza to be witness of Israel atrocities.
Thousands of Palestinians supporters by now had been in West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza and are living witnesses for history regarding Israel occupation.
Nora Fernandez from Argentine right now in Gaza supporting the effort of Internationals to bring awareness to the world.
Rachel Corrie RIP was part of the International Solidarity Movement, and she put the cause first even in risk of her life.
Vittorio Arrigoni RIP was part of the Palestine Solidarity Movement and move to Gaza to fight for the cause .
Ken O’keefe moved to Gaza to be part help raise awareness of Gaza situation to the world.
Every day thousands of Palestinians and internationals risk their lives in front of IDF protesting the Wall, protecting the farmers, protecting the fishermen of Gaza, walking children to school.
Please no body tell me that the Palestinian Solidarity Movement is divided and weak.
I Think the Palestinian Solidarity Movement is stronger than ever.
Palestinian Activists
Palestinian Activists
With Palestinian Supporters and Activists
I chose this article because analyses all point of view, I invite you to read it first, then read the other articles if you deem pertinent to do so, this way you do not prejudge none of the activists.
Henry Norr calls the decision of the Estelle, the boat that is now making its way to Gaza to challenge the Israel siege, to disinvite Ann Wright, “sheer madness”, and “guilty by association”. This language is both wrong and false. I am not on or associated with the Estelle, and regardless of what I see as right, I support the autonomy of the people on the Estelle, given the nature of what they are doing, to refuse individual sail companions without having to justify it. Within reason and respect, we can speculate on or criticize their decisions and I will, but Norr’s article goes well outside of both reason and respect. To begin, howecer, some analysis of the fault lines on which people fall on this matter bear examinations. Estelle and the Freedom of Association by Gabriel Ash
On 30 September a tweet was made from the official Twitter account of the Free Gaza Movement (@freegazaorg) which stated “Zionists Ran the Holocaust and the Concentration Camps.”……Casting Doubt on Greta Berlin Statement
Last week, Ali Abunimah, editor of a blog called “Electronic Intafada” published a letter cosigned by a group of moderately to well known “activists” quite violently attacking Gilad Atzmon of Veterans Today. …..VT Exclusive: Atzmon-Palestinian Infighting Reveals Underbelly of Gutless Duplicity
And The Video that you must watch before you make any judgement to anything, and when you watch the video, you must go back in history and revise the official story of everything that was imprinted, because as we say, history is full of his-story, her-story, their-story, my- story and the truth.
I say there is a story behind history and we must find the truth. Official stories fit the establishment of the time.
All this article is for safe keeping, for my records only…
The following is the comments from persons on facebook.
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Alberto Smith Saravia shared -
Lynn Massyn Sharing with thanks Marivel. -
John Jones Marivel, you are correct in your comments about Greta Berlin having NO need to apologize. There was no reason. Everyone should know that she has more than proven herself as a sincere, dedicated and effective supporter of Palestine/Palestinians. You are correct, also, in your characterization of Ali Abunimah. Why is he so concerned about defending or protecting Zionazi Israel’s sensitivities??? What is the reasoning behind having to be respectful of or to an entity that has shown zero regard or respect for Palestinians (or for all non-Zionists for that matter). Abunimah may consider it politically correct (your term is the “political card”), but he doesn’t think or act for all supporters of Free Palestine. While it is, of course, possible to inadvertently damage a cause, I believe that sincere justice-seekers have no intentions to divide or harm efforts to help Palestinians. So, who the fuck is Abunimah to denigrate other legitimate activists?? His actions/comments against Greta (and demonstrated previously in his rally against Gilad Atzmon) are every bit as divisive and damaging as what he claims he opposes and what he complains about. Israel deserves no respect. Israel has it’s own trained army of apologists. No apologies need be given to Israel … or, for that matter, anyone who supports Israel. Every person that is concerned about the Palestinian struggle helps in their own way … even if it’s only to share a story or a bit of information that would be otherwise not presented in the Zionazi-controlled media. Please don’t tell Ali Abunimah that I say “Zionazis”, because he won’t like that I’m insulting or disrespecting Israel. -
Hani Siliman Salamah thank You Akashma Marivel Guzman for Amazing Article . shared ….I will inbox you as soon as possible -
Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsRacists and bigots do not belong in Palestinian solidarity, they taint it and destroy its credibility, making it no better than zionists. When will O’Keefe disendorse white supremacist David Duke? Berlin has been discredited by her own acts, as has Atzmon. Wake up folks. Palestinian leaders have said they want no racism or bigotry in their movement. -
Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friends122 leading Palestinians say “we call on people around the world to join us in a morally consistent stance that opposes racism and bigotry in all forms. An ethical struggle for justice and equal rights in any context entails zero tolerance for racial discrimination and racism anywhere.”
Get with the programme, and keep racist and bigoted opportunists away from Palestinian solidarity.
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Robby Martin Label’s are created to discredit, from conspiracy theorists to Anti-Semite. When people speak out or oppose the ruling elite they get “labelled” to discredit them so as their opinions seem unworthy. The lines of Anti-Semitism are becoming increasingly blurred with the ADL now defining Anti-Semitism as including criticizing Israel and zionism. The pro Palestinian movement should not allow itself fall into this trap. Israel is a state not a race, zionism is an ideology not a race so criticizing either is not racist never mind Anti-Semitic. -
Gail Baker great message Marivel ! in solidarity for Palestine! simple as that! -
Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsPeople who make racist or bigoted statements are racists or bigots. What’s so hard to understand?
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Akashma Marivel Guzman Sylvia Posadas Hi dear!, I agree with the Statement you citing from from Ali Abumininah article, about the 122 leading Palestinians signing on it, but I do not agree that article linking this statement to an event that has nothing to do with bigotry, racism. I have followed the whole argument from A to Z, since the twitte and the video were posted, and I find the Video very enlighten. It is a sign of wisdom to entertain ideas without accepting them.
In the Palestinians Solidarity Movement we are interested to bring Justice and Peace to Palestine. In this equation Israel is the guilty side of the story. They are the criminals that are using the Jews as a shield to commit their crimes with impunity in the name of “Jew victim hood” …
Ali Abuminah has no right to call on other activists to sign on “his view of the event”, …We all have the right to post what we want, without having to give explanations to Israel and its supporters.
I like Abu Abuminah and his electronic intifada as long as he use it for the Palestine cause, not to apace Israel and its supporters. -
Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsAntisemitic videos such as the one you like, Marivel, are unhelpful to the Palestinian cause. I’m defriending you now because you are taking the side of racists and bigots and not taking a firm stand in support of respected Palestinians.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman I care less for your friendship when you taking the side of people that are more worry for Israel than for Palestinians..
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsI’m taking Palestinians’ side, Marivel, not racists who pretend to be in solidarity with them.
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Karen MacRae · 27 mutual friendsWhat a giant wall of racist text. Who wrote this crap and why do they hate Palestinians? -
Akashma Marivel Guzman Well then you should revisit the whole Stupid twitt event…worthless piece of anything, that Ali Abuminah, make big big..siding with this with the zionists hasbaras that work for Israel..
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Akashma Marivel Guzman and regarding the Video, I have researched thousands of microfilms in the Digital Library, and read almost 100 books on the subject of the Video, and I agree in almost 99 % of what Eustace Mullins Said….just because Israel supporters said that he is Anti Semite does not make him one..
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Akashma Marivel Guzman Now days the people get sided with Other people without really searching on the matters themselves.. I for one do not side with people..I side with Palestine
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsNoting that Marivel is incapable of discerning Mullins’ antisemitism. No surprise.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman And who say so..You or Israel?…
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsIt’s you who are doing the zionists’ work for them, Marivel, by granting quarter to racism and bigotry.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman Are you repeating Israel rhetoric, or you read all the works of Eustace Mullins…and come to the conclusion that he is Anti Semite?…
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsI’m noting your familiarity with Mullins, Marivel, and your inability to deplore his bigotry.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman Is that what you think of me, then go away from my wall…and do not come back…..
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsIt’s not like Mullins is ashamed of his antisemitism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustace_Mullins
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Akashma Marivel Guzman WOW Sylvia Posadas.. You are finding your answers in Wikipedia?..My dear, that is a Zio School of Though…
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Akashma Marivel Guzman Here have some fun, read real information.. Not structured by Israel.
Section I. “The Constitution”
It has been urged that the expression “a national home for the Jewish people” offered a prospect that Palestine might in due course become a Jewish State or Commonwealth. His Majesty‘s Government do not wish to contest the view, which was expressed by the Royal Commission, that the Zionist leaders at the time of the issue of the Balfour Declaration recognized that an ultimate Jewish State was not precluded by the terms of the Declaration.
https://akashmanews.com/2012/07/27/british-white-paper-1939/akashmanews.com
The British White Paper aimed to bring a clear definition of the policy and obje…See More -
Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsWikipedia is zionist now. The antisemitic conspiracists never cease to amaze.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman “At the beginning of 1935, a passenger ship set sail from Bremerhaven, Germany, to Haifa in Palestine. The ship’s name—Tel Aviv—was painted in Hebrew letters on the starboard bow. Yet the flag fluttering over the vessel bore the Nazi swastika. There was a similar paradox regarding the ship’s
owners and its crew. The Tel Aviv’s owner was a German Jew, and a leading figure of Zionist movement in German lands. The captain, however, was a member of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party).
Decades later, one of the passengers on that voyage would interpret the situation as a “metaphysical absurdity.” Yet the Nazi-radical Zionist collaboration symbolized by the Tel Aviv was no contradiction. On the contrary, the ship was just one small example of a reality that writers of the official history have taken great pains to conceal from us.” Harun Yahya – The Violence of the Holocaust -
Akashma Marivel Guzman Look for yourself Sylvia in your own Wiki
In May 2007, Hasbara Fellowships (co-sponsored by the Israeli Foreign Ministry) called for volunteers to counter a “dangerous trend” of Wikipedia entries portraying Israel in a “negative light”. Interested readers were encouraged to consider “joining a team of Wikipedians to make sure Israel is presented fairly and accurately”.[7][8]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasbara_Fellowships
en.wikipedia.org
Hasbara Fellowshipsis an organization that brings students to Israel and trains …See More -
Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsThere’s a reasonable deconstruction of Mullins’ pathetic conspiracy theory on the Fed reserve here: http://www.publiceye.org/conspire/flaherty/flaherty5.html
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsOf course, O’Keefe shares this ridiculous conspiracist belief as well.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman Read the originals documents that lead him to write his books,..mostly from the Library of Congress, where was researcher…and from documents from the digital library of any main library……..He was hunt by the government (bankers) for his revelations…
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Akashma Marivel Guzman Read the British White paper that I m citing in Akashma..it is original document from 1939, there is also the British white paper of 1918…
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Akashma Marivel Guzman There is the book I just cite to you previous, with testimonies from witnesses of the time, where documents were cross checked…They called conspiracy when they challenge the “official” story…eventually all the conspiracies has been proven truth…almost all of them so far..,
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsMarivel, you can’t sanitise Mullins’ bigotry by referring to other sources. Do the Palestinians a favour and get a clue. Reject antisemitism, it belongs to the zionist side.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman Subscribe yourself to the library of congress, or too any University and you can also access most of the official documents that now are declassified, ..when he access those he had direct access because he was working there, he has friends..
What can I say, I have been researcher for few years now..once you start digging in history, you can not stop..you keep reading…
I m sorry, nobody is trying to make him Saint…I do not agree with some of the points of his works, Like blaming “Jews” as a group…and not just the Radical Political Zionism…but most of his works I agree with…..you get a clue…you belong to the Zionist Side…you do not even entertain the idea of finding the truth… -
Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friends‘Like blaming “Jews” as a group.’ – yeah, that’s classical antisemitism. Mullins belongs to the zionist side, with all the other conspiracy nuts.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman The only Anti Semitics are the Israeli and its supporters..
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Akashma Marivel Guzman and you insist on defending the other side of the story…Israel side of the story…..Eustace Millins was on the other side,,and So am I…and I do not care if people call me Anti Semitic because I read authors that Israel branded Anti Semitcs…….
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsActually, there’s a lot of useful idjits who claim to be in solidarity with Palestinians who are rabid antisemites as well, and hover round the cause because they hate jews. They do the zionists’ work for them.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman I know few of them…
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Akashma Marivel Guzman and I stay away from themm
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsMarivel, it isn’t just Israel who defines antisemitism. When people are grouped in boxes all the better to throw rocks at them, as Mullins does, we learn that white supremacists define antisemitism as well.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman I do not hate nobody….I do not care whose religion or race people is ….I do care for Palestine..and Justice ..and thats all..
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Akashma Marivel Guzman and I will fight my way, until my children can go freely to Palestine without being interrogated for 14 hours in a room..
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Akashma Marivel Guzman and It final Sylvia..My opinions matter to me..and I do not get to easy to them…..
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Akashma Marivel Guzman So please if you insist in calling me Zionist worker, please go away from my wall…I do not need people to come to tell me how I m going to activate for Palestine……
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsThe more people admit racism and bigotry into Palestinian solidarity, the more sustenance they give to the zionists, who use it to discredit the movement. Conspiracy thinking, racism and bigotry have no part to play in human rights movements.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman I really wish you have your own opinions and not Ali Abuminah wordings..
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsYou have a problem with people sharing the rational views of respected Palestinians, do you, Marivel? why is this so?
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Akashma Marivel Guzman Please go away, I do not want you to come back to my wall..I ask you politely..Please do not come to my wall…I m not racist, and bigotry belong to people that do not know what they are fighting for, today they support the Palestinian cause, tomorrow they support an Activist…..my problem is people like you…that insist on forcing your opinion…what you believe to be the truth…it is you..and only you..and you can not come to tell me that I have to change my opinion because you say so……
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Akashma Marivel Guzman Rational???? what you call rational respected Palestinians?…Respected Palestinians do not gang to attack others. like Ali is doing…I donot like his tactics..and you have no opinion on your own, but repeating what Ali Abuminah writes……..So please again, very politely ask you…Do not come back to my wall….Thanks for the conversation was very instructive >>>It is noted that you like baseless arguments as a defense….Good night Sylvia ..which by the way..it give me chills to see a Rat on my wall…….
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsIt seems to me, Marivel, that it is you who is rejecting the views of respected Palestinians and those who share their principled positions.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman Those are their views, not mine..I do not like their views..Actually I do not think those 122 Respected Palestinians knew what they were signing….Ali Abuminah..have problems with other activists, as I seen it too often…I do not like the his tactic…and for respected Palestinian views, I have my own view…and They are respected Palestinian views also…they are different..sorry big world..
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Akashma Marivel Guzman And I see you deleted me and you keep coming to my wall, that tells me that you like me…you like my conversation..OH well..nothing I can do…My wall is open for all opinions…ok..you can come back…
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Karen MacRae · 27 mutual friendsit is indeed a big world. But I have no idea why a big world means you have to excuse obvious racism. Or what that has to do with anything. Obviously Ali Abunimah knew what he was signing. What an absolute ludicrous statement. He’s not an illiterate and obviously can spot a racist a mile away. So sad most of the commenters here seem to struggle with a very basic concept.
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Karen MacRae · 27 mutual friendsAnyway, you just keep supporting this racist nonsense and when it’s all said and done, the history books won’t be good to you. And you’ll live with this the rest of your life as well as live with the public shame.
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friends“Actually I do not think those 122 Respected Palestinians knew what they were signing”
What an incredibly white supremacist, patronising point of view.
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Akashma Marivel Guzman OH Bravo Sylvia ..you brought cheer leaders! …what a wonderful conversation…follow the leader, leader.. ladies …I need to go sleep..but if you come back tomorrow, we can discuss more white supremacist point of views, and more Anti Semitic Rhetoric..now..if you allow me…I need to rest…Good night..Karen and Sylvia…
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Akashma Marivel Guzman And bring more people, we can make a party.
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Ursula Keller · Friends with Yani Haigh and 17 othersThe discussion should ONLY be about the best way to reach a mutual goal…..and NOT about the “intentions of others”, as these can only be assumed. The discussions about Gilad, Greta and Ken are ridiculous, as all of them have proven to support the palestinian cause in the most serious way.Even, if one might not always agree on the “best way to succeed”, to label them as bigots, antisemites is stupid , unintelligent and unjustified . The fear about “how to be perceived by others” obviously in some people is much stronger than the feeling of loyality and solidarity.May this be “induced” or simply a trait of personal insecurity….it is counterproductive at a moment where even more courage and solidarity would be needed. -
Brian Curdy · Friends with John Jones and 12 othersEnd the blockade. End the occupation and apartheid. Abolish or abandon the racialist (zionist) notion of a “Jewish” (ethnocentric) state. Demilitarize the region. Cut US military aid to the illegitimate zionist entity that has been outside of international law for over 60 years. Remove illegal nuclear weapons and stop zionist nuclear weapons production under the supervision of the IAEA (Vienna), Restore the right of return to Palestinian refugee populations. FREE PALESTINE NOW !! -
Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friends‘The discussions about Gilad, Greta and Ken are ridiculous’
Of course people who make excuses for racism and bigotry try to throw the discussion away from them. Sorry, no banana. People who embrace racism and bigotry have no part to play in human rights movements. No matter how their apologists whine and scream, they cannot sweep this simple fact under the carpet.
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Ursula Keller · Friends with Yani Haigh and 17 othersSylvia…you are claiming the monopoly for deciding about the “racist” character of a person ? You are not even willing to change arguments,to take the whole range of people’s activities , past statements/actions into account ?.The whole “history” doesn’t matter anymore, if you find something, which sounds suspicious ? I would rather say, people with such simple views of other human beings are no valuable representatives for human rights movements.
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsUrsula, are you saying you are unable to understand what is racist and bigoted about Eustace Mullins, David Duke and Atzmoan’s drivel? those who give these a free pass on the backs of the Palestinian solidarity movement are contemptible.
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Ursula Keller · Friends with Yani Haigh and 17 othersI cannot find any racism in Gilad’s publications (don’t know though, what drivel means ).His analysis is bright,totally logic and courageous. I deeply respect Greta for her long and effective engagement. ONE fault doesn’t change that…and it doesn’t make her a racist, or would it reveal any “long hidden racism” :)Concerning Ken, I would like to know more about HIS arguments…..so far…again,I cannot detect any racism in HIS work. One has to be careful, when judging others….and analyse with intellectual integrity.
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsSo, Ursula, you don’t find Atzmoan’s distaste for Jewishness as ‘racially supremacist’ problematic? you don’t find Greta’s embrace of Yani “jews suck” Haigh a problem either? and you don’t think Ken’s embrace of the white supremacist David Duke a problem?
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Ursula Keller · Friends with Yani Haigh and 17 othersSylvia…you may argue with Gilad about his book. Look at his analysis and his arguments….tell him, you think, they are not logic…and prove it to him via argument. It is NOT enough to NOT like the outcome of an analysis. Whom Greta and Ken are “embracing” that is their business, as long, as they do not act in a racist way themselves. One can critically discuss these things in a movement, which exists of many complex personalities, but has no right to dismiss somebody with a long history of brave engagement for these kind of accusations.
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsUrsula, perhaps you don’t realise that who one endorses taints oneself. Atzmon has touted Holocaust deniers. You don’t find his view of ‘Jewishness’ as ‘racially supremacist’ problematic, so I doubt you are capable of working out why his pseudo-philosophy is racist in the first place. His system of black box bigotry, which attempts to disguise his antisemitic views by claiming he’s only impugning ‘jewishness’ is pathetic. If one says one dislikes ‘blackness’ and not ‘blacks’ do we really take such an individual at their word? Ken O’Keefe has brazenly endorsed white supremacist David Duke and follows the Mullins antisemitic blaming of the world’s woes on Rothschilds and the Fed Reserve conspiracies. Greta has called Ali Abunimah racist names which along with her several changing stories in her desperate attempt to cover up her posting of racist vids is revolting. We also know that her behaviour is far from unusual in the the groups she frequents, and in particular due to Bekah Wolf’s and others’ direct observations. I myself have witnessed her tolerating antisemitism on her wall, when Yani ‘Jews suck’ Haigh made the post which delivered his now famous epithet. If people lie down with fleas, they get up with them.
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Gail Baker all this infighting, judging, attacking, is divisive and useless to the Palestinian cause. The whole post is about rising above divisions & differences of opinions. For my own part, I’m not going to judge any of these high profile people because I do not know for certain what the motives or intentions are. & at this point, it shouldn’t be the issue. Now more than ever it’s about support of Palestine, which at the pace Israel is going, will be wiped off the map soon. So focus on this. The movement & the cause is bigger than these few individuals named on the post.
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Sylvia Posadas · 134 mutual friendsGail, those who wish to be in solidarity with Palestinians should put the principles which leading Palestinians embrace before attempting to cover up for vile individuals who leach off them. If racism, bigotry and deceit are not called out, if individuals who practise these are accepted as worthy leaders of Palestinian solidarity, then frankly, the movement becomes no better than the racist zionists who are opposed. No hypocrisy. Demand accountability.
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Ursula Keller · Friends with Yani Haigh and 17 othersSylvia again…where some detect “racism, bigotry and deceit”…others don’t ….We here are not talking about the qualification for a political position, but simply about members of a broad movement, which contains the most different and complex personalities. And I honestly cannot see any qualification on your or Ali’s side to determine, who is “worth” to fight for the palestinian cause and who is not. Gail is 100% right, and I therefore will not discuss this any further.
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Marivel Guzman This is informational videos for Israel supporters, Wake UP. to the Palestinian supporters siding with activists and blinding attacking other activists with out even giving a thought on the information given. Wake UP..you are dividing the Movement, not doing a favor to Palestine or to the world for that matter.
Before you yell Anti-Semitic, and supremacist, please take an hour of your time and watch the video..do not come to conclusions without watching the video, cross checking references, checking peoples works and behavior…Please do not assume you know everything because you watch one video….This is just one of hundred worth watching.
The person being interview is death now (Eustace Mullins RIP), when he was young and stupid he was ignorant and made few statements regarding the Jews, regarding women, and he grew up and dedicated his life to truth and Justice.. To bring us the truth covered by our governments.
The people that he bring out of their dents scream “Anti Semitic”, “Supremacist” …”Racist”…and those three words are used against his work to discredit his long life as historical researcher and eye opener.
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And I m sorry any comment after this video will be deleted, so I ask my friend not to make comments. This is my wall and reserve the rights to delete posted on it. Of course this video for most of the part reflect my own opinions, you do not have to agree with me or the video.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nni9MIPTmfs&feature=related
The late Eustace Mullins and Randy Atkins with Daryl Bradford Smith, December 8, 2005. Dr. Henry Makow in ‘Illuminati, The Cult that Hijacked the World’ (p. …
Israel Pirate of the Sea Strikes again-The Estelle
Posted on October 20, 2012 by Akashma Online News
by Marivel Guzman
For the people of the world that have been following the Estelle with your heart in your hand. Let me tell you that The people of Gaza and the Solidarity Palestinian Movement of the world was one more time humiliated, cheated of our rights, and publicly scorned by the Criminal, Pirate, Racist, Apartheid State of Israel. Israel allowed the Estelle to sail closer to Gaza, while the world waited with hopes that maybe this time Israel was going to have a fiber of compassion and allow this mission to reach Gaza.

Israel knows that there are no arms, and no terrorists aboard, they know that this is a humanitarian mission. Why stage the event to make us hold false hopes?. Why wait so long to stop the Estelle? It is as if they were playing with the switch of hope, one minute we see Estelle sailing, and another minute there is silence and expectations.
We were heartbroken to see pictures of Palestinians in Gaza waiting on the beach for Estelle to show up, that was one of the moments that I felt so powerless, almost like a joke played by Israel on the people of Gaza. I was crying with hope and happiness minutes before I read the tragic news, and minutes later, I was crying with anger, this anger that we feel when we see injustice being committed.

It is ironic that when you see that picture of Gaza Beach with a very short horizon, it is double the pain. Even their horizon is limited. For days they waited for hopes to show up in the form of the Ship.
Estelle was the name this time for hope to arrive in Gaza. You can not deny the truth of what happens in Gaza. The situation in Gaza is unbearable and Israel is busy with her PR story to the world of deception.
The latest of Israel’s reports on how to maintain Palestinians are barely alive just made public. But Gaza people do not need to read reports, they feel every day the taunt of the occupation, they suffer the bombs and the shortest of food.

I wonder these simple questions why the leaders go along with the lies? why the leaders allow the carnage to go unpunished? why the leaders do not stop the aid to Israel? why the majority of the world do not see the truth, the simple truth as we see it? As I see, as is felt in Gaza, very raw, crude, almost grotesque. Why are there people who still support Israel, knowing all the crimes that it commits? Why the Arab Muslim leaders doing business with Israel?? Why is there no Justice in the world?? Why does the world stand in silence? Why?
When Israel sent their bunch of lies that excused her reason for keeping the illegal tactics against Palestinians to the United Nations, we did not hear the response from the United Nations. Israel was fast in publishing the letter sent to the UN Security Council, but did not bother to post anything later. The letter wanted to make clear to the UN Security Council that any actions that Israel would take regarding Estelle, were excusable. Even if they killed some activists like they did in May 2010, where Israel murdered at close range 9 unarmed activists. That was the letter about to have in print her official defense in case there is another Mavi Marmara. OH! these devilish men are cleaver, Machiavelli mentality, chauvinistic mentality, and heartless beings.

I keep looking for official statements on response of Ambassador Prosor’s letter, but nothing to be found on the United National Official Page and nothing on the Israeli Ministry of Defense, which leads us to conclude that the actions perpetrated by Israel to the International Humanitarian Civil unarmed Mission of the Estelle was once more a public disregard of International Law and an abuse of a civilian human rights, and the rights of individuals to sail on the sea to a desire destinations.
At the moment of this note 10:30 PT, Estelle is being dragged to Ashdod Port without the consent of the Captain, or the passengers.
I commend the people of the world for standing up for Gaza, Palestine, for the Estelle Crew, for you, for our world.
These actions when left unattended, and without complaint, will be repeated over and over.
Until we unite in one voice against the monsters of the Zionist Movement that seem to control the world. We can not advance in our endowment for peace.
And please do not go along with the Anti Semitic rhetoric that is the old school propaganda of the ADL, a Racist organization that is working to create Anti-Semitic sentiment in the world.
There is nothing more criminal than what Israel is doing to the Palestinian people.

Do you think that it is fair that Israel has the latest weapon technology to attack an unarmed population, then go to the world and say that they are killing terrorists? Do you read the news, at least they tell you sometimes numbers that you can put into perspective and balance the truth. More than 1500 people died on the winder of 2008-2009 by Israeli missiles, more than 600 were children, and the rest were woman, men, and the elderly. Israel killed most of the security forces in Gaza, attacked a police academy, and killed all the youth who were students, not terrorists. They could have been your sons, but the news reported that Israel killed jihadist, terrorists. What a blatant lie.
There is nothing more criminal than what the Zionist Lobby around the world is doing to undermine our governments.
And there is nothing more anti-Semitic than what Israel is doing to the Nation of Palestine.
The Genocide that the Indigenous of Palestine are victims, that is Anti Semitic. The rest is Israel Propaganda.
The well-propagated idea by Israel that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza is the worst cruel lie they spread in the news, the truth is simple and you just need to see the pictures continuously uploaded by Palestinians and from internationals that have moved to Palestine to record for history the horror that Israel is creating in Palestine, especially in Gaza which have been the victim of a Naval and land blockade since 1967 not 2007 as the world thinks.
None of the Big News was following Estelle, but once Israel attacked Estelle then all the Paid News was ready to make headlines.
This is ABC except from their news today regarding Estelle, ABC according to the world is one of the respected leading News outlets, but for us who know the truth, ABC is just another propaganda outlet.
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement praising the military for enforcing the blockade, said there “is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza” and accused the activists of trying to “to provoke and slander Israel’s name.” if ABC cares for the truth should have journalist in Gaza, reporting the truth to the world and not the parroted lies that Israel dictates.

This photo released by the Israel Defense Forces, shows the Swedish-owned, Finnish-flagged boat, Estelle as it is near the waters off the Gaza Strip on Saturday Oct 20, 2012. Israeli naval vessels thwarted the advance of a pro-Palestinian boat attempting to reach Gaza on Saturday in defiance of Israel’s blockade of the territory, the military said. (AP Photo/IDF)
“We have this blockade because there are constant smuggling attempts of weapons, and munitions that eventually reach the hands of terror organizations inside Gaza,” she said. How can “respected News Outlets” will be distributing lies and propaganda to deviate the attention of the world of a humanitarian horror developing in Gaza?
These are the sailors on board Estelle:
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Member of Parliament Hagen Aksel Norway 10/04/1953
Member of Parliament Britton Sven Sweden 14/06/1938
Member of Parliament Kodelas Dimitrios Greece 02/01/1979
Member of Parliament Sixto Ricardo Spain 07/01/1967
Member of Parliament Diamantopoulos Evangelos Greece 20/04/1980
Former Member of Parliament Manly James Canada 29/10/1932
Opperdoes Joel Arvid Alexander Sweden 1983-06-20
Andreasson Charles Bertil Sweden 1965-03-10
Särner Daniel Karl-Erik Sweden 1985-12-16
Uddebrant Johan Lars OS Sweden 1981-06-28
Widell Anders Nils Olof Sweden 1986-07-11
Reksten Herman Elias Norway 1989-10-06
Elhanan Elazar Israel 1977-04-01
Sjøstrøm Nils Johan Norway 1963-11-10
Koivisto Velimati Finland 1968-03-01
Hammervold Jan Petter Norway 1944-27-03
Feiler Dror Sweden 1951-31-08
Svenberg Kristian Sweden 02-07-1947
Boethius Maria-Pia Sweden 09/04/1947
Mor Reut Israel 09/08/1982
Jämiä Mika Finland 1959-09-06
Arau Crusellas Laura Spain 02/05/1980
Ramazzotti Stockel Marco Italy 17-09-1947
Shapira Yonathan Israel 12-02-1972
Tiktopoulos Mikhalis Greece 24/12/1946
Zabale Gouzalet BegoÒa Spain 09/01/1950
Stamellos Loukas Greece 22/06/1979
Piassas Evangelos Greece 02/04/1947
Gardell Mattias Sweden 10/08/1959
Vinthagen Stellan Sweden 13/10/1964
Last moments sailing to Gaza, just 30 miles from Gaza shores, Estelle was intercepted by Israeli pirates. Intercepted in international waters. In contravention of the International Law.
“We are a Civilian Mission, disobey your leaders, they are making you look like pirates, you are acting against International Law” was shouted from the Estelle to the 2 masked speed Israeli boats approaching to assault the freedom boat.
On any given day I invite you to visit the page Marine Traffic a public where you can check the Port activity, Ashdod Port, and Haifa Port two of the busy ports of Israel. While Israel has an illegal blockade of Gaza, not allowing it to develop their Naval infrastructure and fishing industry at all, Israel enjoys of free trade from Oil, Arms, war technology, agricultural products, and industrial products, just name it Israel is a striving industry in all the aspect of the economy, and Palestine is left to the charity of the world. Where is the fairness in this? Why did the UN allow this atrocity to occur? Please wonder, please raise your voice.

This is the Croatia Cargo Vessel, one of hundreds that come and go from Israel ports. Who is inspecting those ships, whey could be trading illegal nuclear weapons for what we know? I wonder if the United Nations Nuclear Agency has inspectors in Haifa and Ashdod Ports checking for shipments of enriched and depleted uranium coming to Israel.
Israel Ambassador Prosor addresses UN on Middle East
Col Ann Wrigh Statement
Posted on October 17, 2012 by Akashma Online News
For those who don’t know Ann Wright, she served in the U.S. Army for 29 years, retiring as a Colonel, then put in 16 years in the U.S. diplomatic corps, until she resigned in 2003 to protest the war on Iraq. Since then she has been an indefatigable campaigner for peace and justice around the world.
Statement released by Col Ann Wright
Two days ago, on October 13, three hours before I was to board a flight to Europe to meet up with the Swedish boat to Gaza, the “Estelle,” the next boat to challenge the Israeli blockade, I was called by a board member of the Estelle who said that because of the furor around Greta Berlin’s posting and because I am a member of the new, 2 week old board of the Free Gaza Movement, I was no longer invited to be a passenger on the “Estelle.”The board representative acknowledged that the reason for their invitation to me to be on the “Estelle” was that I am a retired US Army Colonel and former US diplomat who resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the Iraq war, that I am a vocal critic of Israeli and United States policies on Palestinians and that I have been to Gaza 4 times in the past 3 years, assisted 7 groups to go to Gaza in 2009, helped organize the December, 2009 Gaza Freedom March, was a passenger on the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla, helped organize the 2011 US Boat to Gaza and am an organizer for one of the latest initiatives, Gaza’s Ark.
But, because I am a member of the new board of the Free Gaza movement, and despite the fact I, and Greta and all members of the new board have made public statements posted on the Free Gaza Movement’s website that neither Greta, nor members of the current or previous board are anti-Semitic, bigoted or racist, the fact that I am on the new Free Gaza board was the reason the board of the “Estelle” was withdrawing the invitation for me to sail on the Estelle due to allegations of anti-Semitism of the Swedish Boat to Gaza by pro-Israelis groups in Sweden.
I am saddened by the decision of the board to withdraw its invitation and I believe it is wrong. All of our projects that have challenged Israeli policies toward Palestinians have been called anti-Semitic by pro-Israeli groups. This is not a new tactic used to scare pro-Palestinian groups.
Phil Weiss and Adam Horowitz in an article posted on Mondoweiss said – “there is no room for racism in a movement working for equality, justice and freedom for all in Israel/Palestine”—and they are right, but at the same time, there is no room for throwing long-time international activists for Palestine “off the boat,” so to speak.
Greta Berlin is not an anti-Semite, a bigot or a racist, and neither am I.
I wish the passengers and crew on the “Estelle” a safe voyage in challenging the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and call for all who support Palestinians to keep their eyes on the prize—justice, dignity and freedom for Palestinians who are suffering under unjust Israeli policies and actions.
Peace to all and among us all,
Ann Wright
The last Passengers of the Estelle Freedom Boat arrived
Posted on October 16, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Source Rumb0 A Gaza UPDATED
The last passengers arrived to the Estelle Freedom Boat on slow boats from the Greek Isle today October 16, 2012, with destination to Gaza, Palestine.
Today the list get completed and the crew of civilian activists block constituted the group that materialized the hope of that of thousands of activists that had contributed to the dream to brake the Gaza Naval blockade imposed illegal by Israel in 2007.
The activists are expected to arrive in Palestinian waters en few days and with days close a chapter of desperation in Gaza. The residents of Gaza are preparing the arrival of the Estelle with joy and expectation.
The last passengers arrived to the Estelle. Photo Credit Ricardo Sixto
Congressmen from the Spaniard Parliament
The latest Palestinian activists are Parliament personnel from diverse countries:
– Ricardo Sixto, congresista en el parliament Spaniard
– Sven Britton, Parliament y físico Sweden
– Aksel Hagen, Parliament Norway
– Vangelis Diamandopoulos, Parliament Greek
– Dimistris Kodelas, Parlamentario Greek
– Jim Manly, ex congressman Canadian
From this passage, formed by citizens of Finland, Canada, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Italy, Greece and Israel, traveling a group of members of national parliaments to ask, not only in word, but in deed, to end the illegal and inhuman blockade subjected to inhumane conditions that almost two million Palestinian suffer, in what constitutes collective punishment with impunity in the eyes of the international community.
Having this representation is essential to give legal legitimacy and pressure on various governments and international bodies to support the passage of a vessel of civilians in a peaceful action demanding respect for human rights of the people of Gaza .
Until today October 17, 2012 time on the Mediterranean Sea, the Estelle is sailing freely, there is no speed boats or military boats close to the Estelle. We expect the governments of the activists pressure Israel to leave them arrive to Gaza. The group is comprise of official representatives of various Governments of Europe. They are un armed and have a humanitarian mission to fulfill. There is no intention to confront Israeli commandos, they are in strictly humanitarian mission.
The mission is missing one important passenger Ann Wright that was previously in the list of activists, but unfortunate recent events prevented her from being part of the crew.
For those who don’t know Ann Wright, she served in the U.S. Army for 29 years, retiring as a Colonel, then put in 16 years in the U.S. diplomatic corps, until she resigned in 2003 to protest the war on Iraq. Since then she has been an indefatigable campaigner for peace and justice around the world.
You can follow live the Estelle trajectory using the Live Ship Map, just refresh the page using CTRL F5 to update her position.
Journalist arrested by Israeli Soldiers
The local popular committee said in a statement that it held Israeli forces responsible for the journalist’s well-being, and it condemned a series of arrests and invasions of the village’s homes, in the last 3 years they have been more than 500 incidents, that have resulted in 64 arrests.
“All these policies aim to pressure the Palestinians and kill Palestinian resistance, but we will never stop. We will keep fighting and struggling against the occupation,” the statement said.According to a Palestinian media advocacy group, Israeli forces have committed 559 violations against media freedoms in the West Bank and Gaza in the last four years.
Look that beautiful Smile, we say; “Who does not own anything, should not fear anything” 🙂 Being arrested on January 23, 2011
“Since December 2009, when An Nabi Saleh began their non-violent protests against the continued stealing of their land by the illegal Israeli colony of Halamish, more than 13% of the village’s residents – 64 people – have been arrested and jailed as of 31 March 2011. All but three were tried for participating in the non-violent demonstrations. Of those imprisoned, 29 have been minors under the age of 18 years and 4 have been women” Read More on Nabi Saleh Solidarity and Resistance Committee in their Web Blogs,
The Activists of Palestine and the Hasbarist Machine
Posted on October 11, 2012 by Akashma Online News
The Mission is the Estelle Freedom Boat, sailing to Gaza! 🙂
Let me first tell you something that I have noticed in the world of activism, specially in facebook community.
There is jealousy, ego centrism, and love for audiences, specially the guys that are in the business of selling books, conferences and travels around the world activating for a cause.
In the case of Palestine, had been a fertile ground for writers and University Professors to make a name out of themselves discussing Palestine/Israeli Conflict. The aware knows that there is not about strategy, not about “Peace Talks”, we know the peace talks are conducted by the guilty party of the Conflict, and by the supporters of this Party, namely Israel.
The case of Finkelstain, Chomsky and others that are public figures, they are being using Palestine as trampoline, they may be sincere in their support for Palestine but lately I starting to doubt the end goal of this public support. I have to apology if I m wrong, specially in the case of Norman Finkelstain that it is known for 30 years to be a Palestinian supporter. Sometimes I think that these heavy weight Professors in their integrity as a humans being they have to support the cause because it is Just, but in their inner heart, the Noblezed idea of the chosen land for the Jews still permeates out and they can not really decide when it comes to radical positions in favor of Palestine. If they were put in the position to vote to dismantle Israel, would they be able to give that vote and walk away confident that they did the right thing? ..Sometimes I wonder the same for every Israeli Jew that support Palestine, but that came whose ancestry is from Europe or else where, Would they be able to vote for the dismantleling of Israel and go back to their original mother lands? I have asked myself these questions many times.
Now Palestinians; like Abu Abuminah, Omar Bargoutti and other important figures of the movement are being continuously attacked by other activists, and attacking each other as well. If they know that Unity is the key for a stronger movement, I asked them why do they engage in this back and forth attacking each other and dividing the International community with their arguments?…
Now, the latest controversy arises when Greta Berlin which it is a very respected activist, not only in the Palestinian Movement but also in other areas of peace, well she got publicly defended by Gilad Atmoz, which by the way it is kind of close supporter of Ken O’keefe, (which it is a key player in the Palestinian Solidarity) Movement.
Now let’s back up a little..Ali Abuminah wrote an article and got the support of almost hundreds schoolars and activists around the world against Gilad Atmoz..
Now…Gilad Atmoz has been activating for Palestine..but he has a flaw…his approach to the Jewish indentiry has created lots of revolt in the Zionist and Palestinian Movement…(controversial) I mot not sure if he is using that made up and purposely controversy to clime in the ranks of popularity and sell books and conferences , which it is very common these days..
On the other side Mr Atzmon also criticized Omar Bargoutti calling him Anti Semitic…By now I see that Mr Atmoz is being caught up in two instances of Palestinians Activist having to defend themselves instead to concentrating on the Palestinian issue..media attack, need to respond to media inquires, to make articles in response to the public attacks..
Also Mr Atzmon was in the need to ask media inquires, and make many articles defending his position when he was “attacked” by Ali Abuminah and the schoolars, that went to the extent to sign a letter of Disavowing Gilad Atzmon, which made headlines all over England and inside the Palestinian Solidarity Movement, which conveniently made Gilad Atzmon sell more books of his Title “The Wonderering Who” .
Now, we have 3 actors in scene, Gilad Atzmon, Ali Abuminah, Omar Bargoutti..
Then it came a heavy weight actor to the scene Prof Norman Finkelstain, making the argument that the BDS movement was a self cheer leading movements with shaky basis, using a no no go strategy that will have no support from the International organizations and Jews around the world.
At this point we have a mix of controversies all clashing each other..
So we have the enemies of the BDS against Omar Bargoutti, the supporters of Gilad Atzmon with internal conflict with Alu Abuminah supporters, Norman Finkelstain supporters against Omar Bargoutti supporters..so at this point we have a Chaos inside the Palestinian Solidarity Movement that have not help at all..Well good for the books writers that most probably saw their sales raised, and the Pubic speakers saw their conferences booked ..
Then we have this charismatic long time activist that is known to be integral part of the Palestinian Movement and more specially in the Gaza Flotillas Voyages, but here we have another controversy arising. Greta Berlin say few statements about Ken O’keefe when the Road to Hope got stranded in Libya for weeks and end up in the MV Strobes Greek boat kidnapped at sea.
Immediately the controversy started against Ken O’keefe, and the statements of Greta Berlin did not help at all, they made the rumors run wild in between the Palestinian activist community, not only her statements, there were other 2 statements, and a variety of rumors without facts that almost killed the mission.
So by now we have Gilad Atzmon, Ali Abuminah, Omar Bargoutti, Greta Berlin and Ken O’keefe all of them peace activists, some of them published authors, public speakers and Mr. O’keefe that have not published works but has been invited to dozens of TV and Radio shows to speak about Palestine-Israel Conflict..
Now, what happen last week it is unfortunately because again as it has been a trend now, every time that one of this controversies arises in the media, is when there is a Palestinian Mission in the making.
Now as I write this notes, The Estelle Freedom Boat is at sea in its mission to reach Gaza and break the illegal Israel Blockade..
So, how is this started, well nothing really important happened to start this show. But a video that has been controversial in nature is the center of this Media Frenzy.
Greta Berlin shared something in this lines that Zionist were to be blame for the holocaust in a tweeter, but in the National Post appears by Triten Hopper, “Gaza flotilla sponsor publishes tweet blaming Jews for Holocaust”, off course that was not what was tweeted that it is the “Catchy” Headlines that Mr Hopper used to make big fuzz and headlines and divert the attention of Greta Berlin’s Gaza Sailors Greta Berlin Talks About “Freedom Sailors” and the Story of the Free Gaza Movement and its tour promoting the book in Californian and her role behind the Gaza Flotillas, and the most important the Estella Freedom Boat Voyage.
WE know the hasbaras trick of the Israel Paid Media, they distorted anything that needs to be twisted to serve their propaganda..I saw it since the first article..but what made the thing worse at least in facebook was the article of Gilad Atzmon defending Greta Berlin, 3 days later Gilad Atzmon distributed his article “Abuminah Did It Again”, off course Gilad Atzmon enjoy of great readership in his blogs, and that was another started controversy that span wild in the internet. By now we have all the Israel Propaganda Machine making headlines of something without merit..The video that had so much horrorized the Israel supporters is ProffesorEustace Mullin RIP, a well respected Professor, journalist that dedicated his life
As far as Zionism is concerned, the founder of Zionism and apostate, Theodor Herzl, sought to intensify hatred of the Jew in order to enhance the cause of political Zionism and with this advance with the plan to transfer the great majority of Jew to Palestine. In essence this is what is stated in the video and that is not Anti semitic, but the uncover truth
Going back to Greta Berlin, according to Avi Mayer “discovery” on freegaza tweeter she saw this tweet: ““Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews,” read a Tweet posted Sunday to @freegazaorg, the official Twitter feed of the group, which includes Canadian author Naomi Klein and Bishop Desmond Tutu on its board of advisers.
WOW, the end of the world, the world Jew and Zionists in the same statement rang the bells of the internet filters and in no time the whole Israel hasbara propaganda machine raise their antennas and started working round the clock..
I do not understand why the Free Gaza Movement had to publish an apology for what Greta Berlin tweeted, I believe that the video it is worth to be analyzed, and raising issues that we think could be possible than have happened is not a crime or reason to call any one Anti Semitic, Besides we all know that this is the hasbara way to operate why give them time and space and with this making bigger something that is not…besides Greta Berlin did not blame jews for the holocaust as the Headline title of Tristan Hopper advertised “Gaza flotilla sponsor publishes tweet blaming Jews for Holocaust” , I m not even going to cite the source of his article, because he did it with the purpose to inflame the Jews Community, and that it is wrong. So I refuse to send one reader to his publication.
1933 connection between Jews and Zionists to transfer the Jews to Palestine…The transfer Agreement the book.Edwin Black Author.
Now, we have another person Greta Berlin, Pro Palestinian, and according to Gilad Atzmon article Ali Abuminah did it again “Is it really possible that not a single Palestinian or Palestinian solidarity activist would stand for Greta Berlin, one of the founders of the Free Gaza Movement and its spokesperson for the last several years? Is it possible that not a single peace activist would rush to defend the person who was directly and physically involved in every naval attempt to break the siege on Gaza? Gilat Atzmon in its vendetta with Ali Abuminah again bring the sour wound that Ali Abuminah opened with that letter…Ay Ay Ay! this look like a soup opera of activist fighting for ratings..
So as you see in this Note, we have Gilad Atmzon against Ali Abuminah, and Omar bargoutti and at the same time against the BDS movement.
We have Greta Berlin against Ken O’keefe, but we have Gilat Atzom in the middle because Gilat Atzmon wrote an article defending Greta Berlin of the Israel Mad Machine of Hasbarists and none of the Palestinians and Palestinians Activists are coming in her defense. Well he deserve merit for defending Greta but at the moments when the Estelle is sailing alone without any exposure from the Media and absent from facebook walls, and people in facebook posting only about Greta Berlin being slandered, he completely took the attention away from the Gaza Flotilla Mission, and in doing this way, Gilad make mention of Ali Abuminah it looks illogical, I do not want to discredit Gilad Atzmon but he chosen the wrong issue, at the wrong time to try to get even with Abuminah.
Then we have Greta Berlin endorsing Gilad Atzmon book, ‘The Wondering Who”, but we know by now that Ken O’keefe have some resentment with Greta Berlin for her statements regarding Ken O’keefe during some Gaza missions that they were part activists.
Now when Ken O’keefe was cleaning his name after being slandered by some activists, and some hasbarists, the old scars surface again on the social networks whole thing seems as being purposely scripted to derail the mission of the Samouni Project that again is being revived, the Estelle Mission and The publication of Gaza Sailors of Greta Berlin.
So what this left us?, A triangle of three loving and hardworking Peace activists divided by the support and nonsupport of each other..
On the other hand, he have Gilad Atzmon and Omar Bargoutti defending their opinion of the BDS, which by the way needs to defense because the BDS Movement is so gigantic and have moved so well that at this pace the Israel boycott will be total in few years, and with this the dismantlement of the Apartheid State. And make sure not to twist these words, I did not say the destruction of the State of Israel, NO! Israel will self destruct very soon, not by the BDS or the global Palestinian Solidarity Movement, or the Palestinian Resistance inside and outside of Palestine, but own Israel hands, her arrogance have no name, and the leaders will have no other but to cut ties with Israel, and Israel with no International support and no free money is nothing but I bunch of guys yelling “Anti Semitic” …
Well I think I have summarized what it is going on in the Activist Community of the Palestinian Solidarity Movement.
Please remember all the blood spilled in Palestine, the thousands of ancients olive tress uprooted, the destruction of ancients Palestinian homes, the millions of Palestinians exiles in other countries, the millions living in refugee camps, the Palestinian children tortured in Israel Jails, the thousands in Israel Jail, the hunger strikers, the Besiege Gaza, All the Palestinian Martyrs. Remember Palestine is still occupied.
It is not about me, about you, is not about Ken O’keefe, Gilad Atzmon, Omar Bargoutti, Ali Abuminah, Greta Berlin, Norman Finkelstain, is not about selling books, about popularity, facebook buddy support, is not about selling conferences, is not about making money blogging, or selling the stories to the Big Media, is not about being on TV or Radio…is about PALESTINE, is about Free Palestine, about Justice, Fairness, Truth, and above all and all is about PEACE, not just in Palestine but in the whole world, because by this time many have come to the conclusion that unless Israel be brought to justice and in the road to justice Israel be completely disarmed, and stop creating conflict around the world, not before all that happen there won’t be World Peace.
Now I leave you with The Video that have Israel hasbarists fuming in the Internet. Please take the time to watch it and make your own mind. At the End the readers are the opinion makers.
And this little excerpt of Eustace Mullins Ideas on Israel and the Federal Reserve
Many of Mullins’ writings show a preoccupation with the idea that the Jews of the world are in a state of war with Christianity and Western civilization, and that Communism, Zionism, and International finance were Jewish tools to subjugate gentile populations. He also believed that in general the interaction between Jews and gentiles was parasitic. He believed that the Rockefellers were also parasitic, but that ultimately the World Order was controlled by Jews and that the end goal of this Jewish oligarchy is “World Zionism.”
Mullins believed that the French Revolution and the Congress of Vienna were key events in which Jews, via conspiratorial machinations, overpowered Gentile governments. He believed that other key moments in the establishment of Jewish power were the creation of the Federal Reserve, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the establishment of the state of Israel.
Follow the Estelle Ship to Gaza
Posted on October 8, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Follow the Estelle Freedom Boat sailing now to Gaza. We call to all the leaders of the world to take a stand for justice, truth and peace. Israel has placed an illegal blockade in Gaza Palestine with the excuse to stop weapons to enter the besieged Gaza Port. We wonder who stop Israel from manufacturing weapons of all calibers even nuclear weapons. Who has an eye on Israel?, Why the UN stay silence on the issue of the illegality of the Blockade and why does not take measures to enforce the Resolutions against Israel.
Please Stand for what is right. Now is the time to take a stand for Justice. Palestine need the voices of all the world to end once and for all the Apartheid Entity that has ravaged the land and the lives of millions Palestinians.
Please activists of peace, all the people that belong to the Solidarity Movement do not forget the Mavi Marmara. More than 2 years and justice has not been brought to the victims of that massacre. Keep raising your voices, do not allow tricks, and minus controversies to take away your attention from Palestine. Every time that there is a mission in the making someone from somewhere start a rumor of no importance what so ever to derail the mission. All Palestinians supporters unite in one voice.
Remember Vittorio Arrigoni, Rachel Corrie and the Palestinian Martyrs every time you read the news and you see nothing about Israel crimes in Palestine, it is our moral duty to make the news for Palestine. Every computer it is weapon against the silence.
Hasbaras get paid to create rumors, don’t give attention to them. We already know those tactics, please do not follow it. If you are Palestinian lover, supporter of Justice and peace leave personal vendettas out of the movement.
Gaza situation is unsustainable and needs to be open to the world. Voluntarism is a moral duty that we all humans feel the necessity to express, we have no obligation but only the love for our fellow human family. From my part I send my gratitude and thanks to all the peace activists that leave the comfort of they everyday life to participate in this global effort to free Gaza.
On Sunday , 2012 The Estelle Ship sailed out from Naples to Gaza, Palestine destination. Against all the odds, that the Boat faces, the crew is optimist that this time, they will brake the illegal Israel blockade of Gaza, that has been in place since 2007 with the silence of the leaders of the world, and the grin of the UN block.
A demonstration that assembled several hundred participants marched through the central parts of the city and then collected in the port where Estelle loaded the last items and completed the last paperwork. An unparallelled atmosphere of festivity reigned, and people danced, sang and cheered uninterruptedly. When the Italian harbor board let us load the 300 footballs that had been stored in Athens for the last year the enthusiasm knew no bounds.
In spite of Israeli pressure to stop Estelle from leaving the port the Italian authorities remained unmovable.
On the previous days the Israel prime Minister trying to bully the Free Gaza voyagers issued an statement on their media.
Reports in the Israeli media refer to a statement from Israel’s Foreign Ministry that Israel has been in touch with the governments that have passengers on board the Estelle. It makes the point that no ship is going to be allowed to approach Gaza. The statement does not define what the word “approach” should be taken to mean. As the Estelle is currently in Italy, the statement can be interpreted as a threat to free movement within the EU. Ship to Gaza is protesting against that threat and is expecting the EU governments to do the same. Ship To Gaza
During the days in Naples the ship protected at all the times. The lessons from the other flotillas still fresh. No saboteurs had found their way to the schooner, but loads of enthusiastic sympathizers did. That Estelle now made out for the last stretch of the 5000 nautic miles from the start in the Baltic Sea does of course not mean that we have reached our goal. The blockade is still there. But the resistance is growing, every hour, every day, every week.
The Estelle crew is composed of people of different nationalities, Swedes, Norwegians, Finns and Israelis, had stated Dror Feiler on of the spokesmen of The Freedom Flotilla: “This is not an action against the Israeli people, but it is a complaint to the policies of their government”. Gold World Italy
“The entire crew focuses on the failure of the institutions and the international community, which have played an insignificant and marginal in an attempt to solve the problem, merely a “quiet diplomacy”. Dror Feiler said also, “how did this project and what caused them to react: “During and after the attacks on Gaza in 2008 and 2009, some people in Stockholm, speaking of these events in a small apartment, about six to eight people , decided it was time to stop signing petitions, and the protests in Sweden, it was time to give up writing articles and make the event, the time had come to act, and so we decided to start our project starting to Gaza. ” The crew is determined to complete his expedition, but will not respond to any kind of provocation, we are prepared to face any kind of situation only through the use of nonviolent methods.”
Naples was the last stop on the mainland before heading to the Gaza blockade. The ship left the port on Sunday afternoon while dozens of people greeted the crew and sang songs, while Dror Feiler, accompanied The Estelle farewell with his saxophone.
The Estelle is an old boat reconstructed ready to sail again thanks to donations from Palestinian’s lovers around the world.
attraverso l’uso di metodi nonviolenti.
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- Photo Credit Giulio Aprin
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- Photo Credit Giulio Aprin
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- Photo Credit Giulio Aprin
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- Photo Credit Giulio Aprin
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- Photo Credit Giulio Aprin
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- Photo Credit Giulio Aprin
Syrian Rebel Fighters to execute Iranians
Posted on October 6, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Syrian Rebel Army playing the wrong card, just think about their demands. They are demanding the Official Syrian Government to withdraw from areas of Damascus provinces. Damascus being the capital of Syria which make it of vital importance to control. The video shows a Rebel guy in army gear speaking with the suppose Iranian hostages behind him – See video under the article.
The Rebels insists that these are Iranian Soldier helping Bashar’s regime. The group of hostages look too old to be active soldiers, maybe one person in the group look younger than 50. Some sources that cited the article of the 48 Iranian hostages said that the Iranian Foreign Ministers had already said that some in between the 48 hostages are retired guards.
What type of Army is this Syrian Rebel Army? The seriousness of the issue involving nationals of a foreign country that has nothing to do with the internal conflict, it is a farce, undiplomatic, unreasonable, and irresponsible.
As a force that want to take the control of a country, using this low and cheap deal, talks of their character. More than an army they look like a bunch of bandits with tantrums unresolved.
The Rebel Group kidnapped 48 Iranian Nationals since last August, some Commander from the rebel group wants the Syrian Army out of Ghuta area, they gave 48 hours to comply with their demands or the hostages will be executed. So are they saying that Iranian civilians have to pay for their Rebel Army inability to fight the Government and win in a fair duel? and They have to resort to such cheap strategy. Are these rebels trying to bring Iran to the conflict, just like they tried with Turkey?…Not Wise
Most likely it is a move advice from “The Rebels Foreign Allies”, trying to test Iranian government, or better yet, they try to manipulate Syrian conflict to instigate Iran and its enemies to make Iran look weak and unable to resolve the hostage crisis.
“We are sure the Iranian men are helping the regime” of President Bashar al-Assad, Abul Wafa said.
I have been scrolling for hours Iranian Official News and can not find a suppose statement by Iranian Foreign Ministers, saying that some of the hostages are “Retired National Guard”, maybe he did say but no luck for me.
“Tehran has appealed for help to secure the release of the hostages who presumably are Iranian National retired guards, it says, they were visiting the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, a Shiite pilgrimage site on the southeastern outskirts of Damascus” according to the source -French News Agency in Beirut -cited in South China Monitor
Syrian opposition parties’ conference in Damascus commenced Sunday with presence of ambassadors of Iran, Russia and China. 15 opposition parties have arranged the meeting to hold talks and confer views over settlement of Syrian crisis.An informed source in Iran’s embassy in Damascus told ISNA these parties are against foreign interference, arming the insurgents and tribal warfare but demand reforms.
These opposition parties have held talks with Iran and their insistence on its participation in the conference show that they believe Iran plays an important role in ending the crisis, the informed source said. ISNA
Gaza Ark and The Estelle Freedom Boat
Posted on October 05, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Source: Press Agency Of Vancouver
A ship built in Gaza will sail next year carrying Palestinian exports to international customers, and to challenge Israel’s blockade from the inside out.
Gaza’s Ark will build a boat in Gaza using existing resources. A crew of internationals and Palestinians will sail it out of Gaza, the only Mediterranean port closed to shipping, carrying Palestinian products to fulfill trade deals with international buyers, to challenge the illegal and inhuman Israeli blockade.
Gaza’s Ark will be constructed in Gaza by Palestinian hands and expertise, with international assistance where requested.
Gaza’s Ark will help revitalize the dwindling ship building industry in Gaza and help ensure the transmission of this disappearing expertise (another effect of the blockade) to the younger generations.
Through Gaza’s Ark and trade deals secured between Palestinian producers in Gaza and international businesses and NGOs, a channel will be established to export Palestinian products from Gaza that are available despite the blockade. Gaza Ark
The Gaza’s Ark project was building a boat using existing resources in the tiny Palestinian enclave to carry Palestinian goods to the outside world, former Canadian member of parliament Jim Manly said.
Manly held a briefing on Wednesday at Vancouver airport before flying to Naples to join the Estelle, which is scheduled to sail from Italy this month carrying humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip in another challenge to the blockade. He said the Estelle, coordinated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, would carry an anchor for Gaza’s Ark paid for by Canadians.
The Estelle, to carry at least 17 activists from around the world, is the latest ship organized by the international pro-Palestinian coalition to try to break Israel’s blockade. Israel says the blockade is necessary to stop weapons from entering the territory, which is run by the Islamist movement Hamas. It has used force to stop previous attempts to run it. The old Israeli rhetoric does not convinced any more. Hamas was democratically elected on 2007 by Palestinians living in the Mediterranean enclave.
Nine Turkish nationals were killed in May 2010 when Israeli commandos boarded the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, the lead ship of a Gaza-bound flotilla. In November, 27 passengers and crew aboard two ships were intercepted by the Israeli navy trying to enter Gaza.
Israeli commandos boarded the Irish-flagged Saoirse (Freedom) and the Canadian ship Tahrir (Liberation) in international waters off Gaza before the navy escorted them to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
The last Freedom Flotilla to enter Gaza was “Dignity” that triumphantly entered the coast of Gaza on November 2009.
Canadian activist Irene MacInnes said that when the last flotilla was intercepted, activists in Canada, the US and Australia came up with the idea of building a ship in Gaza. She said a committee was working on the Gaza boat using paid local labour.
Gaza’s Ark will probably be used to ship olives, oil and local handicrafts in between other products.
It is a great honor to be able to accompany the Swedish sailing ship Estelle for a few days, from Barcelona to Ajaccio (Corsica), on its way towards Gaza to challenge the illegal and inhuman blockade which has lasted now for more than five years.
The Estelle in a 90 year-old three-masted schooner purchased from a Finnish fair-trade organization by Ship to Gaza Sweden in April and renovated for this sea voyage. She began a Swedish coastal tour in June, with solidarity and information events in communities to raise awareness about the blockade in Gaza.
Employment of nuclear weapons is illegal and “haram” – Sin
Posted on October 04, 2012 by Akashma Online News
How can a set of countries seating on thousands of nuclear weapons heads are barking at another Nation that wants to take advantage of the nuclear age discoveries. The word nuclear is not necessarily to be linked to “Nuclear Bomb”, all the applications of the Nuclear Technology: Energy generation, In Medicine to diagnosis to treatment, Food and Agriculture, Industry.
I know that Hiroshima and Nagasaki comes to your mind when you think nuclear, but remember not every Nation has the desire to control the world as US, UK, France and Israel do.
Think twice before supporting the mentality of war and empty strikes of US and Israel, the way they do their dealings with other Nations is wrong. Educate yourself on the possibilities of a world of peace without the bully in the block dictating global policies that benefit Corporations and not people.
Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a message to the international nuclear disarmament conference held in Tehran on April 17, 2010 said employment of nuclear weapons is illegal and “haram” (Arabic for Sin) but using nuclear energy was the right of all nations.
Although several countries have produced and stockpiled nuclear weapons that could lead to commission of a major nuclear crime and have seriously threatened world peace, only one government has committed the ultimate nuclear offense(Hiroshina and Nagasaki), the United States of America,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
“A careful study of the critical events leading up to 6 August 1945 offers many distinct explanations. Contemporary discussions on the subject matter introduce a host of theories but taken individually they are far from satisfying. To suggest that a single overriding factor dominated the decision calculus of American policymakers would be to miss the point entirely. Rather, President Harry Truman’s decision to drop the bomb on Japan was a culmination of military, political and social motivations used to promote the self-interests of the United States, whether it be in the number of American lives saved in a potential invasion of the island or in shaping the geopolitical structure of the postwar era. Given the magnitude of what transpired during the summer months”The deception to drop the Bomb
The full text of his message is as follows:
“In the name of God the most merciful, the most gracious”
I wish to welcome the honorable guests that have gathered here for this conference. It is a source of pleasure for the Islamic Republic of Iran to be the host for this international disarmament conference. I hope this occasion will be an opportunity to yield enduring and important results from your dialogues and discussions for the whole humanity.
Atomic and nuclear sciences are among the greatest achievement of humankind and must be at the service of welfare and advancement of all human societies. The application fields of nuclear science cover a wide spectrum of medical, energy and industrial uses, each being of essential importance. For this reason, we can rightly say that nuclear technology occupies a prominent position in our economic life and its importance will only rise as we move forward. As the needs of industry, the health and energy sectors grow, so do the efforts to make more use of nuclear energy. The nations of the Middle East, like other nations of the world, are thirsting for peace, security and progress. They have the right to ensure the economic position and prosperity of the future generations. Most likely, one of the reasons behind efforts to cast clouds of doubt on the peaceful nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran is to hold back the nations of the region from paying serious attention to this natural and important right of theirs.
The deceptive ploy by the sole nuclear offender that falsely claims to be advocating non-proliferation of nuclear arms, while doing nothing substantive for this cause, will never succeed. If the campaign by the United States were not fictitious, could the Zionist regime refrain from accepting the rules of international law, especially the non-proliferation regime, and turn the occupied land of Palestine into an arsenal with huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons?
The word “atom” implies as much the advancement of human knowledge, as it does remind us of the most appalling event in history, the most dreadful genocide, and the gravest exploitation of scientific achievements of humankind. Although several countries have produced and stockpiled nuclear weapons that could lead to commission of a major nuclear crime and have seriously threatened world peace, only one government has committed the ultimate nuclear offense, the United States of America. The innocent people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were attacked by atomic bombs in an unequal and cruel war.
From the time of the first explosion of an atomic weapon by the government of the United States in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that caused human catastrophe with colossal proportions, the security of the entire humankind has been threatened and there has been a global consensus on the need for complete elimination of these weapons. The use of nuclear weapon not only caused massive loss of lives and destruction, but was also totally indiscriminate toward military and civilian population, young and old, women and men. Its ruthless consequences crossed political and geographical boundary lines and even wreaked irreparable losses on the next generations. As a consequence of these devastating effects, any use of or even threat to use nuclear weapons is a serious and material violation of indisputable rules of humanitarian law and a cogent example of a war crime. After a few countries acquired these weapons, it has been proven beyond any doubt that there is no winner in a nuclear war and entering such a war is irrational and inhuman. Nevertheless, despite these simple moral, rational, humane and even military facts and justifications and emphatic and repeated desire of the international community for the total elimination of these weapons, a small number of governments that have built their illusion of security on the insecurity of others continue to ignore this global call.
The insistence of these governments on holding on and increasing the destructive powers of these weapons will have no use but to serve as a tool for collective intimidation and terror and to create a false sense of security based on deterrence resulting from assured destruction and perpetuation of the global nuclear nightmare. Colossal amounts of resources have been spent in this irrational arms race, so each superpower could have this illusion and power to imagine that it is able to destroy its rivals and other inhabitants of the planet Earth, even their own population, many times over. It is for good reason that the deterrent strategy based on “mutually assured destruction” is referred to as MAD.
Over the recent years some government have gone beyond the “mutually assured destruction” deterrence doctrine in facing other nuclear powers. They have gone so far that their nuclear strategy emphasizes on maintaining nuclear choice in countering conventional threats by violators of NPT, while the greatest violators of NPT are those powers that, in addition to violating their commitments under article 6 of NPT on nuclear disarmament have even taken over others in the race for vertical and horizontal proliferation. They have played a direct role in proliferating these weapons by helping to arm the Zionist regime with nuclear weapons and supporting the policies of this regime. This is contrary to their undertaking under article 1 of NPT, and poses a serious threat to the Middle East region and beyond. The bullying and aggressor regime of the United States is leading these efforts.
It behooves this international conference on disarmament to review and examine the perils resulting from production and stockpiling of nuclear weapons in the world, and to present sensible and practical ways and solutions to counter this threat against humanity so, serious steps could be taken toward protecting world peace and security.
We believe that other weapons of mass destruction, in addition to nuclear weapons, such as chemical and biological weapons, also pose a serious threat to humanity. The people of Iran were themselves victims of the use of chemical weapons and are better aware of the dangers of production and stockpiling of these weapons. We are prepared to make resources available to us to counter this threat.
We regard the use of these weapons to be illegal and haram, and it is incumbent on all to protect humankind from this grave disaster.
Iran Does not Have Nuclear Weapons – Headlines News
Posted on October 04, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Ahmadinejad then told delegates that Iran has a “global vision and welcomes any effort intended to provide and promote peace, stability and tranquility” in the world.
“Iran may still be years away from any nuclear armed missiles”, is Reuters headlines today from Vienna. Iran is the new kid in the block.
“I still think that we are talking about several years … before Iran could develop a nuclear weapon and certainly before they could have a deliverable nuclear weapon,” said Shannon Kile, head of the Nuclear Weapons Project of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a think-tank.” Huff Post
“Israel has already breached its own red line set by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by acquiring ‘dozens of nuclear warheads,’ Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi says.
‘If having the atomic bomb is passing the red line, the Zionist regime, that possesses dozens of nuclear warheads and weapons of mass destruction, has passed the red line years ago, and it has to be stopped,’ he said on Saturday, according to the ISNA news agency.” ISNA NEWS AGENCY
The Stream Media can report anything they want and the public avid for news will swallow it as if it is their red pill. But you do not have to believe everything you read, actually you shouldn’t believe anything you read. And what ever you read give it a deep thought, specially if your going to share the content.
The headlines run wild in every News Outlets that there is, but how much information is really truthful and informative. With the popularization of the blogs, the big News Outlets seen themselves competing with millions of blogs around the world, so they resort to “catchy” headlines and spicy pictures that can bring the attention of the readers back to their Editorials Headlines.
It is not easy any more for the “News Industry” to monopolize the events. Every citizen in the world equipped with a smart phone and youtube account can make the news any time and it cost absolutely nothing.
The mellow down of the headlines regarding Iran is worth an analysis, when for the past few months the rhetoric has been of an emergency to attack Iran to stop it from making nuclear weapons. Natayahu performance in the UN special session last week with his almost comic presentation of Iran nuclear weapons. Natayahu cartoonist graphics were as believable as Collin Powell Power Point presentation to the UN before the US decided to attack Iraq in 2003.
Really the major players don’t really care what we believe, they make their meetings at close doors and they decide what war to start today, or what conflict to fuel.
Back on 2003 Iraq was visited by the UN atomic agency Nuclear inspectors and they found nothing.
The Nuclear agency giving reports that the inspections found nothing, while Israel and US repeating in the Major News “Iraq has Nuclear Weapons”
January 24, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSBAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — U.N. nuclear experts praised Iraq for cooperating with an inspection completed Wednesday, but refused to say whether they had found any evidence Iraq was restarting banned weapons programs.
The visit came as Iraq prepared to sit down with the United Nations to determine whether broader monitoring of its nuclear and other weapons programs could resume, and as the new U.S. administration made clear it will take a hard line on Iraq
Who do we believe? – “Israel’s warning last week that Iran will be on the brink of developing a nuclear weapon by mid-2013 seemed to refer to when it could have a sufficient stock of higher-grade uranium to make a quick dash to produce a bomb’s worth of weapon-grade material.” Reuter
While the Media keep repeating “Iraq kick the inspectors on 1998, to start their nuclear program”. The facts were saying, the Inspectors left in 1998 before UK start bombing Iraqi Targets.
“Almost all of those inspections have been halted since 1998, when the U.N. inspection team pulled out of Iraq ahead of U.S.-British bombings” This was part of an article run on the New York Times under the headlines “Nuclear Inspectors Praise Iraq”, while the article was pulled down by the New York times it can still be found in this link Nuclear News
The wording on every statement was aimed to taint Iraq credibility, and all the Major News paper were being part of this conspiracy to sway the mood against Iraq, to prepare the world for Iraq invasion on the guise of destroying the Piles of Iraqui Nuclear Weapons. Well that did not went to well and they change the Headlines to Bring Democracy to Iraq. “God Bless America” was repeated millions of times by the main stream media, as if with this expression US and its collision will be expiated from the horrors they were committing in Iraq.
Remember the famous “Iraq No Fly Zone”, The US and UK divided Iraq as it was a cake with a lame excuse and “armed” with a “UN Resolution” (which did not authorize Fly Zone or anything similar of that matter) they keep Iraq cripple in his own country, unable to property govern their own provinces. While the UN sanctions pushed by the US and Israel were creating a terrible misery in Iraq the US and UK keept bombing targets in Iraq preparing the way for an invasion.
And the headlines keept filling the hungry and innocent mind of the readers that did not know any more who was the savior and who the aggressor.
Now Iran is the bad boy of the block, yesterday was Syria, last year was Libya, that is how Mainstream Media functions.
Who is next in this line of fire? The Media has picked the suspects and the headlines are rolling every day.
“Bashar al-Assad, a British-trained doctor who inherited Syria’s harsh dictatorship from his father, Hafez al-Assad, had at first wavered between force and hints of reform. But in April 2011, just days after lifting the country’s decades-old state of emergency, he set off the first of what became a series of withering crackdowns, sending tanks into restive cities as security forces opened fire on demonstrators. In retrospect, the attacks appeared calculated to turn peaceful protests violent, to justify an escalation of force.” New York Times
So let’s read again the above statement, which is an excerpt from the New York Times overview of Syria conflict.
How is that Syrian government forces turning peaceful protests violent is going to benefit Syria? It is true that Bashar Al Assad had announced reforms and the lifting of the state of emergency, aren’t these two events enough to quite down the protests inside Syria? Why will the government want to incite violence? makes no sense at all, right?, but if you see it printed on the News headlines you only see the overly coat of propaganda directed to your sub conscience and the machinations of the propaganda started to dent inside your mind. Next thing you will be looking for news that read “Violence in Syria”, “Crackdowns in Syria” at this point you have lost objectivity and you become part of the game of propaganda. The Main Stream Media makes money out of your readership, so it will keep feeding you the same stories to keep you hooked up to their “News/Game”. The last thing they care is for the truth, they are interested on selling, so they print what it sells.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has announced reform measures, including the creation of a committee to study the possibility of lifting the country’s emergency law.
Syria’s state-run news agency, SANA, said Thursday the committee will complete its study by April 25.
Lifting the emergency law has been a key demand of protesters carrying out anti-government rallies in recent weeks. Voice of America
So why will they occupy with giving you boring news if what the people is asking is blood, gossip, wars, “interesting stuff”, they go to the extent to create the news for you. Different that giving you the news!
Browsing the internet I found this interesting story from Syria, at first may be uninteresting stuff, but if you think about it, just little bit, you get to the conclusion that Syria is a dynamic country with roughly 26 million inhabitants and the News insist on portraying a Syria in flames. The situation is getting more chaotic by the minute, and the conflict is heading to be a regional conflict with the latest news of confrontations with Turkey, that is just on more ally of the US and active member of NATO with 26 NATO bases in its territory. That is the next headlines!. Let’s bring Turkey to the gossip to make it more interesting. After all Turkey won little bit of credibility when financed the Mavi Marmara that sail with destiny to Gaza. But that is another story.
So it seems as Syria run business as usual in its cities; read the next news from Syria News Outlets, dated just 2 months ago. You can not possibly find this news in Main Stream Media, why will they bother, has nothing to do with Blood, Chaos, Conflict or war, as as far as they concern, “This is not News material”
President al-Assad Issues Decree on Establishment of New Mechanical Engineering Faculty and Medicine Faculty
Jul 09, 2012
DAMASCUS, President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday issued the decree No. 241 for 2012 stipulating for the establishment of the 2nd Mechanical Engineering Faculty affiliated to Aleppo University based in the city of Idleb and Medicine Faculty affiliated to al-Baath University based in the city of Hama.
Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Mohammad Yehiya Moalla, said this decree came to stress the continuity of providing free higher education for students in light of the growing number of holders of high school diploma with its various branches.
He added that the establishment of the new faculties will contribute to solving the problem of distance which sometimes hinder students’ enrollment in the university specialization he/she wants to study particularly among female students, in addition to filling the shortage in the Mechanical Engineering and Medicine specializations in the two provinces.
Syria threaten to use Chemical Weapons if foreign force intervention. WOW! this is hug headlines. Imagine everybody running to buy Gas masks.
Why in hell they run this News as headlines, but who run this headlines News? The New York Times off course, with their own alarmist style.
Syrian officials warned Monday that they would deploy chemical weapons against any foreign intervention, a threat that appeared intended to ward off an attack by Western nations while also offering what officials in Washington called the most “direct confirmation” ever that Syria possesses a stockpile of unconventional armaments.
That meticulous thought statement; “direct confirmation” ever that Syria possesses a stockpile of unconventional armaments (chemical weapons). With this the News is sending antennas to the world, using the same tactics used when the “US and the collision of the willing” wanted to invade Iraq.
Turkey fires artillery at Syria after 5 civilians killed in Turkish border villagen!
Are you serious 5 civilian killed and the News want Turkey to declare war against Syria?
It is sickening the way the “NEWS” are giving you the events all wrap up in blood. Please people do not be victim of their News, their propaganda and made up conflicts.
Yes there is chaos in the world, but most of the chaos is structured directly from the offices on NATO, US, UK, UN and Israel.
There is no way back is they turn this in WWIII. This could be the end of the world
Turn the TV off and change your News Online Channel.
Turkey hits Syrian targets
Posted on October 03, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Source Xinhua
Ankara time 2012-10-04 03:51:53
Turkey on Wednesday attacked targets in Syria in response to the mortar shelling in southeastern Turkey from the Syrian side, a statement released by Turkish prime ministry said.
Turkey attacked the Syrian targets, after artillery shells from Syria fell in Turkey and killed five people in Akcakale, a border town in Turkey’ s Sanliurfa province.
“Our armed forces on border region have given the required response in line with the rule of engagements. Targets in Syria, which were detected by radar, were shot by shelling,” the written statement said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has contacted NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UN-Arab League joint special envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahim, according to the statement.
In this regards, NATO council would hold an emergency meeting, it added.
“Turkey will never remain unresponsive against these sorts of provocations of Syrian regime within the framework of rules of engagement and international law,” the statement added.
Sanliurfa Governor Celalettin Guvenc said that three or four Syrian artillery shells landed in Akcakale town in Sanliurfa province bordering Syria, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
One of the artillery shells hit a house at around 16:30 local time (1330 GMT), killing a mother and her four children inside. ” At the incident, 10 people were wounded, including police officers. Two of those wounded are in serious condition,” Guvenc said.
“We have evacuated 30 residences in the region close to the Turkish-Syrian border, and schools went on a recess as a precautionary measure,” Guvenc added.
The governor urged Turkish people to “act with restraint,” adding that “We have informed our prime minister about the developments. All necessary meetings in Ankara are being conducted. ”
“The explosions in Akcakale town from the Syrian side caused strong panic, and tight security measures have been taken in the town,” Akcakale Mayor Abdulhakim Ayhan was quoted by Anatolia as saying.
Ayhan said two separate explosions occurred in the town. “After the first blast, many homes and businesses were damaged. A second blast took place at the same location,” Ayhan added.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan received information about the explosions from Sanliurfa Governor Celalettin Guvenc, and held an urgent meeting of high-ranking officials, NTV said.
NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said on Wednesday that NATO was closely and anxiously monitoring the situation in southeastern Turkey.
Ankara has repeatedly complained about the spillover of Syrian artillery and gun fire into its territory. Last week, the Turkish government signaled that it would take action if mortar strikes were repeated on its territory from Syria.
Bloodshed continues in Syria as gov’t troops appear to gain upper hand
Posted on October 03, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Source (Xinhua)
13:02, October 03, 2012
Bloodshed continued in Syria Tuesday amid reports that the Syrian army has received reinforcements in the largest city of Aleppo and appears to have gained an upper hand in the prolonged clashes.
Government troops carried out “qualitative” operations in al-Qusair town near Homs in central Syria, killing 300 armed men and damaging 11 cars equipped with automatic machine guns, pro-government radio Sham FM reported.
Late in the day, a small blast rattled a military checkpoint in southwest Damascus, causing material damage, pro-government online media reported.
The situation in Aleppo also saw no improvement as a string of clashes that occured during the day turned the place into a flashpoint.
Government troops targeted an armed group on the airport highway at al-Ramouseh Bridge in Aleppo, killing all its members, state-run SANA news agency said.
In a seperate account, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said violent clashes have been taking place for hours in neighborhoods near the international airport of Aleppo as well as in a number of hotspots, killing at least 110 Syrians, including 66 unarmed civilians, 19 armed rebels and tens of government soldiers.
In a separate incident, dozens of “terrorists” were killed or injured near al-Jankiyeh orchard in al-Sheikh Khudr neighborhood of Aleppo when they were trying to rescue other gunmen in the area, SANA reported.
Meanwhile, a well-informed source told Xinhua on the conditioin of anonymity on Tuesday that the Syrian army has received reinforcements in Aleppo.
He said the troops managed to “isolate the countryside of Aleppo from the Turkish borders to cut off support lines of the armed rebels on ground,” adding that Aleppo is expected to be clean of rebels soon.
His claim echoed with the pro-government al-Watan newspaper, which said Tuesday that the shortage in the rebels’ ammunition and the cut-off of their funding channels “would eventually end the ongoing war in favor of the government,” citing military experts and observers.
The armed men have got tired and started to flee toward their cities and villages in Aleppo and other provinces, Al-Watan said.
The Syrian troops have received reinforcements in Aleppo, the paper said, adding that “it means that they are determined to purge the remnants in Aleppo, especially in the eastern part as soon as possible.”
However, the 19-month-long crisis might stretch longer than expected by the Syrian people, according to a high-ranking Syrian official.
The senior official was cited by the Lebanese al-Safir daily on Tuesday as saying that the crisis might drag on, noting that the Syrians have started “to cope with it and adapted themselves with its circumstances after realizing that the confrontation would be long and complicated.”
But he said the political leadership in Syria “still retains a lot of trump cards.”
The spiraling crisis has sparked wide concerns among Arab and South American leaders as they attended a bi-regional summit Tuesday in Peru’s capital Lima.
“The crisis in Syria represents the biggest challenge Arab countries face today,” said Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari who warned: “The crisis can be catastrophic not just for Syria, but for the entire region.”
Meanwhile, Deputy UN secretary-general Jan Eliasson said Tuesday the joint UN/Arab League representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, is going to be based in Cairo to promote his mediation of the Syrian crisis.
“Lakhdar Brahimi will work from Cairo from next week onward so that he is in proximity of the region and he will work very closely with his Egyptian colleagues,” he said when briefing the press on the just-concluded General Debate of the UN General Assembly.
Oboriginals In Australia Speaking Out
Posted on October 03, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Northern Territory: Australian Government Asked To Leave Aboriginal Community
Sarah Keenan, Critical Legal Thinking, 05 September 2012
Aboriginals burn Australian flag during protests in 2012.
[1] Northern Territory Emergency Response Act 2007 (Cth), s12.
[2] As above, s126.
[3] As above,Part 3.
[4] Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Other Legislation Amendment (Northern Territory Emergency Response and Other Measures) Act 2007 (Cth), Schedule 4.
[5] Northern Territory Emergency Response Act 2007 (Cth), Part 5, Division 4; Part 7.
[6] As above, ss90, 91.
[7] As above, Part 4, Division 1.
[8] James Anaya, ‘Observations on the Northern Territory Emergency Response in Australia’ United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people (2010).
[9] Barbara A. West and Frances T. Murphy, A Brief History of Australia (Infobase Publishing, New York 2010) 232; Housing Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, ‘Closing the Gap: Monitoring Report July — December 2010′ Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (2010). Section 6.7.
Mapuche Political Prisoners
Posted on October 03, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Chile: Mapuche Political Prisoners Continue Hunger Strike After 30 Days – Spokesperson Arrested
Spokesperson of the Wente Winkul Mapu Community Arrested
September 25th, 2012A group of Police arrested the spokesperson of the Wente Winkul Mapu community and the Mapuche Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike, Daniel Melinao. Up till now, there is no known cause for the aggression. The arrest took place at around 4pm in the area of Ercilla; there is no information about his current state at this time.
Initially, the detention was understood as a repressive move on behalf of the government for the demonstrations against the health Minister that is visiting the area.
This is a new attack against the Lof Chequenco Community, where four of its members are currently undergoing a hunger strike in Angol Prison, without any type of justification by Chilean officials.
Akashma Online News 