Chris Hedges and Paul Jay discuss President Obama‘s statement that he has decided to attack Syria and seek authorization from Congress … Even though he says he doesn‘t need it.
Daily Archives: 1. September 2013
Only ‘diplomatic support’: UK Foreign Secretary says Syria military action ruled out
William Hague, the UK’s foreign secretary, has ruled out military intervention in Syria stating Britain will only be offering diplomatic support in the light of PM Cameron’s defeat on the parliament vote. The UK Chancellor slammed Labour “opportunists.”
Philadelphia: Banjospielerin und Irakkriegsveteranin verhaftet
Mindestens acht Polizisten der Federal Parks Police griffen die Frau nach einigen Minuten Diskussion an, legten ihr Handschellen an und schleppten sie ein Stück weiter. Auf den Videos ist zu sehen, wie mehrere Polizisten die am Boden liegenden Frau festhalten.
Kriegsschiffe Ihrer Majestät zerstören sich bei freundlichem Nahkampf
“Hohe Verluste”: Mehr als nur ein Blechschaden für das Commonwealth
Das kanadische Verteidigungsministerium meldete am 31.August 2013 den Zusammenstoss zweier Kriegsschiffe der Royal Canadian Navy am Freitag.
Shamus Cooke – Die Lüge von einem ‚begrenzten’ Krieg gegen Syrien
Die Ratten verlassen das Schiff. Obamas engste Alliierte halten den Gestank der Lügen nicht mehr aus, die die Grundlage für den Krieg gegen Syrien bilden. Sogar England, dessen gesamte Aussenpolitik sich auf die Frage „wie hoch?“ beschränkt, wenn die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika sagen „spring!“ entschied sich dafür, angesichts Obamas Aufforderung zum Krieg auf dem Boden zu bleiben.
Syria: the US public faces a grim reality TV choice
Obama is asking a jury of safe spectators to press the yes or no button for military strikes. Will they vote for an end to empire?
Our Westminster elite isn‘t up to dealing with Syria‘s crisis
The lesson from the Syria vote is that Britons are fed up with Blair-style messianic leadership. It should be binned
Saudis back international intervention against Assad
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal told foreign ministers meeting in Cairo that condemnation of Syria over the poison gas attack, which U.S. officials say killed 1,429 people, was not enough. He said opposing international action on the grounds that it was „foreign intervention“ was no longer acceptable.
Italy upside down
Italy’s GDP has fallen by -0.2% in the second quarter of 2013 as compared to -0.6% in the first quarter. It was enough to have a slowing down in the degrowth to hear the proclamation of a recovery coming from the Letta government with the promise of the end of the crisis that in fact is a long way off.
War on Syria will inflame whole region: Iranian official
„We think that any military aggression against Syria would spread and expand out of the Syrian borders to all of the Middle East, which would be set on fire,“ he stressed.
White House hiding Rice role in Syria outreach?
Why not highlight Rice’s role in the efforts to craft a coalition to support intervention in the Syrian conflict? Or does the White House worry that the Benghazi debacle that they hung around her neck is a liability to their credibility
Alexander concerned about consequences of striking Syria
“I’m concerned about the consequences of a military strike in Syria, and what happens with step two, three, and four after that. There may be a variety of ways, some military and some not, to show our disgust with the Syrian government’s apparent use of chemical weapons against its own people. Since the president’s proposed action appears not to be for the purpose of overthrowing the Assad government, during the congressional debate I will assess whether a military strike would do more harm than good by setting off a chain of consequences that could involve American fighting men and women in another long-term Middle Eastern conflict.”
Steigende Mieten – wer profitiert?
Dienstag, 3.September 2013, 18 Uhr
in der Mediengalerie ver.di, Dudenstraße 10, Kreuzberg
mit Vertretern der Initiative 100% Tempelhofer Feld, des MieterEcho, der Landesarbeitsgemeinschaft Wohnen der Linkspartei und der Initiative Ideenwerkstatt Freudenberg-Areal.
Eine Diskussionsveranstaltung der Antikapitalistischen Linken (AKL) Berlin und des MieterEchos (Zeitschrift der Berliner Mietergemeinschaft)
Kerry Becomes Chief Advocate for U.S. Attack
(30.08.) Comparing Kerry and Obama on Syria: As President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry made the case for United States military action against the Syrian government on Friday, each carried his arguments with a different tone.
Egypt cleric: Qaradawi acting as a mufti of Pentagon
Sheikh Reza accused the 87-year-old leader of setting the stage for US-led attacks on Iraq and Libya through his speeches.
The outspoken cleric said Qaradawi is now beating the drums for another war in the Muslim world by supporting Western military action against Syria.
Al-Azhar condemns intended American strike against Syria
Al-Azhar, which is considered the largest Islamic institution in the Sunni Muslim world, expressed in a statement on Sunday its strong rejection and condemnation of American President Barack Obama’s decision to carry out a military strike against Syria, surpassing all international norms.
The Administration’s Proposed Syria AUMF Is Very Broad
(2) Does the proposed AUMF authorize the President to use force against Iran or Hezbollah, in Iran or Lebanon? Again, yes, as long as the President determines that Iran or Hezbollah has a (mere) a connection to the use of WMD in the Syrian civil war, and the use of force against Iran or Hezbollah would prevent or deter the use or proliferation of WMD within, or to and from, Syria, or protect the U.S. or its allies (e.g. Israel) against the (mere) threat posed by those weapons. Again, very easy to imagine.
Text of draft legislation submitted by Obama to Congress
(a) Authorization. — The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in connection with the use of chemical weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in the conflict in Syria in order to —
(1) prevent or deter the use or proliferation (including the transfer to terrorist groups or other state or non-state actors), within, to or from Syria, of any weapons of mass destruction, including chemical or biological weapons or components of or materials used in such weapons; or
(2) protect the United States and its allies and partners against the threat posed by such weapons.
What Will A Proposed Authorization for Military Force in Syria Authorize?
After 9/11 there was some debate over the substance of the eventual Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF). The Bush administration wanted maximum executive power, including a specific provision authorizing the president to order military force within the United States itself. (…)
Whatever limits Congress tries to place on the president’s authority, we can be sure that the president will insist that he has the authority as the nation’s executive and as the Commander-in-Chief to take whatever action he thinks needs to be taken in the national interest.
Sarah Palin: ‘We’re bombing Syria … and I’m the idiot?’
“So we’re bombing Syria because Syria is bombing Syria? And I’m the idiot?” Mrs. Palin asked on Friday. “President Obama wants America involved in Syria’s civil war pitting the antagonistic Assad regime against equally antagonistic Al Qaeda affiliated rebels. But he’s not quite sure which side is doing what, what the ultimate end game is, or even whose side we should be on.”
Three-week wait for UN‘s Syria analysis
„The evidence collected by the team will now undergo laboratory analysis and technical evaluation,“ said the group based in The Hague where the team arrived yesterday.
„These procedures may take up to three weeks for completion in a systematic, orderly and objective manner.“
Obama surprised staff with decision on Syria
aides said Obama, who as a candidate for the White House criticized President George W. Bush‘s for rushing to war in Iraq, saw formal consultation with Congress as a central part of his desired legacy to take the United States off a permanent war footing.
Saudi Arabia says it backs U.S. strikes if Syrian people do
Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it was time for the world to do everything it could to prevent aggression against the Syrian people, and that it would back a U.S. strike on Syria if the Syrian people did.
Obama ‚has the right‘ to strike Syria regardless of Congress vote, says Kerry
President Obama „has the right to do this no matter what Congress does“, said secretary of state John Kerry, one of the leading advocates of a military assault on dictator Bashar al-Assad
An Appeal to General Dempsey on Syria
Clearly, there is an important Constitutional issue here. The question is whether you will again choose to be silent, or whether you will give Secretary Chuck Hagel and the President notice that your oath to support and defend the Constitution precludes complicity in end-running Congress on Syria.
If, Resign
We do not understand why the White House has so far been unwilling to await the results of the UN inspection in Damascus, but we are all too familiar with what happens once the juggernaut starts rolling to war. However, if despite Thursday’s vote in the British Parliament and the increased opposition in Congress to war without the authorization of Congress, the President decides to order an attack on Syria, we urge you to act in accordance with your solemn oath to support and defend the Constitution, as well as your own conscience.
In such circumstances, we believe strongly that you should resign and explain your reasons at once to the American people.
Very Respectfully,
For the Steering Group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
William Binney, Senior Scientist, NSA (ret.)
Thomas Drake, Senior Executive, NSA (former)
Dan Ellsberg, VIPS Member Emeritus
Philip Giraldi, CIA, Operations Officer (ret.)
Larry Johnson, CIA & State Department (ret.)
W. Patrick Lang, Senior Executive and Defense Intelligence Officer, DIA (ret.)
David MacMichael, National Intelligence Council (ret.)
Elizabeth Murray, Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Middle East (ret.)
Todd Pierce, US Army Judge Advocate General (ret.)
Coleen Rowley, Division Council & Special Agent, FBI (ret.)
Larry Wilkerson, Col., US Army (ret); Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell
Ann Wright, Col., US Army (ret); Foreign Service Officer (ret.)
Women told they need a permit for their sign
The two women, in their 50s, were quietly standing on the sidewalk at Wellington and Elgin streets, at the northeast side of the Langevin Block, where the prime minister’s office is situated. Broughton was balancing a Bristol-board sign with her foot. “Please don’t attack Syria,” it read. “Enough people have died.” Passing motorists and pedestrians could see the sign — aimed at Harper and other western leaders over the possibility of outside military intervention in the Middle East country.
The two had been standing there less than five minutes when a man, who later identified himself as an RCMP officer, got out of an idling black sedan backed up against the Langevin and asked to see their “permit.”
OBAMA‘S SPEECH — I AM SO SICK OF LIES!
The personal is political, the political personal. When you see the big picture, you see how everything is connected.
Erich Mühsam – Kindliche Fragen
Scharen von Männern, denen die Felle verwegen um die Schultern lagen, schritten vorbei, immer mehr, in endlosem Zuge, und die Keulen hingen ihnen schwer in den Händen.
»Wohin gehen die Männer?« fragte das Kind, aufgestützt auf die Knie der Urahne, die mit zitternden Fingern mürbes Laubwerk ins Feuer des Erdherdes streute.
Der Vater schnitt mit einem scharfen Stein ein Stück Baumrinde zur Sandale und maß die Breite an seiner Fußsohle ab. Er antwortete: »In den Krieg.«
Das Kind schaute zum Vater hinüber. »Was machen sie da?«
Der Vater lachte. »Sie schlagen die Feinde mit ihren Keulen tot.«
»Was haben ihnen die Feinde getan?«
»Sie wollen sie totschlagen.«
Wo bleibt der Widerstand? Fragen zur NSA-Affäre
Kennen Sie Edward Snowden noch? Wissen Sie, wer Glenn Greenwald ist? Sagen Ihnen Prism, Tempora und XKeyscore etwas? Wissen Sie, für was die Abkürzungen NSA, BND und GCHQ stehen? Ist Ihnen bewusst, dass wir aktuell den grössten Überwachungsskandal aller Zeiten erleben? Sind Sie sich des Ausmasses der Überwachung durch die Geheimdienste bewusst? Haben Sie deswegen schlaflose Nächte? Denken Sie ernsthaft, dass die Schweiz davon nicht betroffen ist?
Kerry takes case for Syria strike to the public
The Obama administration begins taking its case for a strike against Syria to the American people Sunday morning, with Secretary of State John Kerry making rounds on morning television news shows.
Washington sagt Telefonat Kerry-Lawrow im letzten Moment ab
Vor der Syrien-Rede von US-Präsident Barack Obama am Samstagabend hat Washington um ein Telefongespräch zwischen Außenamtschef John Kerry und Russlands Außenminister Sergej Lawrow gebeten. Unmittelbar vor dem vereinbarten Termin sagte aber die amerikanische Seite das Gespräch ab, erfuhr RIA Novosti aus einer diplomatischen Quelle in Moskau.
Erwartungen bestimmen Wahrnehmungen: Immer mehr hören Phantom-Anrufe
http://t.co/SgJDd0Ny5O
Kerry: Evidence shows Syria used sarin gas
„Blood and hair samples that have come to us through an appropriate chain of custody from east Damascus from first responders — it has tested positive for signatures of sarin,“ Kerry said.
The evidence — which was gathered independently of the United Nations — strengthens President Barack Obama‘s call for military action, he said.