From a recent Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Iraq and Syria picked up by Micah Zenko:
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ): I take it from your answer that we are now recruiting these young men to go and fight in Syria against ISIL, but if they’re attacked by Bashar Assad, we’re not gonna help them?
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE CHUCK HAGEL: They will defend themselves, Senator.
MCCAIN: Will we help them against Assad’s air…
HAGEL: We will help them and we will support them, as we have trained them.
MCCAIN: How will we help them—will we repel Bashar Assad’s air assets that will be attacking them?
HAGEL: Any attack on those that we have trained and who are supporting us, we will help ‘em.
This policy and the lunatic alliances it is based on will break apart. Has there ever been a coalition with such discrepancies that has held throughout the ups and downs of a war? I do not know where, when and how the breaking up will occur but such a mess is simply not sustainable.
The main pillar of support for the notion that humans are causing a dangerous warming of the climate has been the notion of “settled science.” That notion has long been questioned by skeptic scientists. The secondary pillar of support for the alarmist global warming theory has been the notion that industry-corrupted skeptics are unworthy of public consideration. This accusation could easily have been investigated and refuted long ago. That never happened, because of the third pillar: Journalists should not give equal time to skeptic scientists.
In his remarks to the UN General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov savages Western institutions such as NATO, the EU, and the US for „distorting the truth and hiding the facts“ about Ukraine.
27.09.2014 - 19:45 [ Robert Fisk / Times of Oman ]
John Kerry is becoming more and more like William McGonagall, the „worst poet in the world“ whose horror at the 1879 Tay Bridge railway disaster yielded the imperishable observation that it „will be remembered for a very long time“.
National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice met at the White House yesterday with a delegation from the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) led by SOC President Hadi al-Bahra and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to supporting Syria’s moderate opposition.
Libya on Saturday asked the world either to give it more weapons and other support to help restore security and rebuild its institutions or to declare outright that the conflict-torn North African state „must face terrorism alone.“
An Israeli settler deliberately ran over a Palestinian child in the occupied east Jerusalem town of Silwan on Thursday, according to Wadi Hilweh Information Center. A source at the center told WAFA that a settler’s armored vehicle ran over a 10-year-old child in a deliberate hit and run assault while passing near the settlement outpost of ‘Beit Yehonatan’ (Jonathan’s House), built illegally on Silwan’s land. The child, Adam al-Risheq, reportedly sustained fractures in his hands and was transferred to hospital for treatment; his condition was described as “moderate”.
In early September, I accompanied an Iraqi friend to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Amman, Jordan to help register him officially as a refugee. It was a bittersweet day: my friend had reached safety, but he was now registering as a stateless person. I trusted in the United Nations, particularly because of its solid stance against the occupation of Palestine and other human rights abuses, to protect the basic rights of my friend, a journalist, and his family: his young wife and their two delightful children.
Irakische und kurdischen Milizen begehen Verbrechen welche sich kaum von denen der IS unterscheiden. Dazu gehört Folter, Mord, Leichenschändung bis zum Kopfabschneiden.
Dies habe ich in vielen 10 000 den von Videos bei syrischen Soldaten, syrischen NDF-Volksmilizen oder auch bei der Hisbollah nicht gesehen.
Ein paar Beispiele von kurdischen Twittern, FB-Seiten,…welche stolz zeiegen, das was die IS-Terror-Organisation drauf hat können wir auch.
27.09.2014 - 16:06 [ Dr. Cyril Broderick, Professor of Plant Pathology / Liberian Observer ]
Horowitz (1998) was deliberate and unambiguous when he explained the threat of new diseases in his text, Emerging Viruses: AIDS and Ebola – Nature, Accident or Intentional. In his interview with Dr. Robert Strecker in Chapter 7, the discussion, in the early 1970s, made it obvious that the war was between countries that hosted the KGB and the CIA, and the ‘manufacture’ of ‘AIDS-Like Viruses’ was clearly directed at the other. In passing during the Interview, mention was made of Fort Detrick, “the Ebola Building,” and ‘a lot of problems with strange illnesses’ in “Frederick [Maryland].” By Chapter 12 in his text, he had confirmed the existence of an American Military-Medical-Industry that conducts biological weapons tests under the guise of administering vaccinations to control diseases and improve the health of “black Africans overseas.” The book is an excellent text, and all leaders plus anyone who has interest in science, health, people, and intrigue should study it. I am amazed that African leaders are making no acknowledgements or reference to these documents.
And now, in what may plant further seeds of mistrust and suspicion, a major Liberian newspaper, the Daily Observer, has published an article by a Liberian-born faculty member of a U.S. university implying the epidemic is the result of bioterrorism experiments conducted by the United States Department of Defense, among others.
And while some commenting on the article were critical, the number who praised it was telling. “They are using” Ebola, wrote one, “for culling the world population mainly Africa for the…purpose of gaining control of the Africans resources criminally.”
Jetzt enthüllten die Occupy-Aktivisten mit ihrer Schuldenerlass-Initiative “Dept Collective”, wie schnell Geld vernichtet werden kann – aber dieses Mal eben zum Vorteil einfacher Kreditnehmer. Für die Studentenkredite haben die Aktivisten 3 Cent pro Dollar bezahlt, insgesamt 106,709.48 Dollar. Das Geld wurde über Spenden gesammelt.
Ruslana Lyschytschko, bekannt als Gewinnerin des Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul, ist eine ukrainische Sängerin die auch politisch sich engagiert und als Symbolfigur der orangen Revolution im Jahr 2004 und während des Euromaidan 2013/2014 sich hervorgetan hat. Von den westlichen Medien und Politikern wird sie als Heldin des Aufstandes gegen die Regierung Janukowitsch gefeiert.
Der Anführer der ukrainischen Separatisten hat erklärt, das an den russischen Präsidenten Wladimir Putin gerichtete Begehren, das von den Separatisten gehaltene Territorium in Russland einzugliedern, sei von der russischen Regierung zurückgewiesen worden. Er fügte hinzu:“ Deshalb werden wir unseren eigenen Staat aufbauen.“ [Diese wichtige Erklärung, die Rebellenführer Andrei Purgin am Mittwoch, dem 17. September, abgegeben hat, wurde in einer Meldung der US-Presseagentur The Associated Press / AP über „Verluste in der Ostukraine“ mehr versteckt als verbreitet. Es ist typisch für die propagandistische Berichterstattung der US-Medien; wichtige Meldungen, die nicht in die Propaganda der US-Regierung passen, unter anderen Nachrichten zu verstecken und keinesfalls durch Schlagzeilen hervorzuheben. Das ist auch mit dieser Erklärung geschehen.]
So, due to humanitarian reasons and also to the mounting international pressure, Ankara decided to open its borders. However the main reason was the ongoing peace process. Both the Peoples’ Democratic’ Party (HDP) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) accuse Turkey of not having aided the Syrian Kurds in Kobani. They even interpret Ankara’s silence as amounting to support for the ISIL attack. Their recent statements reveal that the peace process is on the brink of a critical breaking point.
(8. September) The jihadi group surging through Iraq and Syria is using large captured US-made weapons and has access to anti-tank rockets supplied by Saudi Arabia to a moderate rebel group, according to a report published on Monday.
The study by the London-based Conflict Armament Research consultancy found that Islamic State (Isis) militants had access to large numbers of US weapons, which they were shifting to key battlefields.
CBS’ Norah O’Donnell asked former Saudi ambassador to the US Turki al-Faisal bluntly whether his country would consider sending ground troops into Syria. “Look, we sent in our aircraft,” Faisal replied nonchalantly. “I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t send in our ground troops.” Faisal expressed hope that Barack Obama would see it the same way “if the need for it arises”:
„The logic that assumes Turkey would not take a position militarily is wrong,“ Erdogan said in an interview with the Hurriyet newspaper on his way back from New York, where he attended the United Nations General Assembly meetings.
Erdogan said negotiations are underway to determine how and by which countries the air strikes and a potential ground operation would be undertaken and that Turkey is ready to take part.
Gal-On continued and said that Abbas‘s speech reflects the sentiment among the Palestinians that peace is far-off, especially with Netanyahu in power. She then accused Netanyahu of „continuing to manage the conflict instead of solve the conflict.“
„Meretz supports the international efforts of Abbas to bring an end the the occupation and to win recognition in the UN for Palestine,“ she said.
27.09.2014 - 14:46 [ Mahmoud Abbas / Allgemeine Versammlung der Vereinten Nationen ]
Mr. President,
At the outset, I wish to extend our sincere congratulations upon your election as President of the United Nations General Assembly this session and to express our gratitude and appreciation to H.E. Mr. John Ashe for his able leadership ofthe past session.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In this year, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Israel has chosen to make it a year of a new war
of genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian people.
27.09.2014 - 14:37 [ Syria Solidarity Movement / Luftpost ]
Die US-Regierung hat ihren seit drei Jahren mit dem Ziel eines Regimewechsels in Syrien geführten (verdeckten Krieg) durch Luftangriffe auf „ISIL-Stellungen“ eskaliert, die weder von der syrischen Regierung, noch vom UN-Sicherheitsrat autorisiert sind; außerdem hat sie die Mittel für die Finanzierung und Ausbildung „gemäßigter Rebellen“ in Syrien auf 500 Millionen Dollar erhöht und mit anderen Staaten eine neue „Koalition der Willigen“ gebildet, um ihr schmutziges Werk zu vollenden. Die Syria Solidarity Movement / SSM glaubt, dass mit dieser Verstärkung der kriegerischen Aktivitäten der Regimewechsel in Syrien durch die Hintertür doch noch durchgesetzt werden soll. Wir vermuten, dass die US-Regierung in Wirklichkeit Einrichtungen (und Truppen) der syrische Regierung bombardieren wird. Deshalb fordert die SSM die friedliebenden Menschen aller Staaten auf, alles ihnen Mögliche zu tun, um über die verstärkte Aggression gegen die Menschen in Syrien und im Irak zu informieren und sie zu stoppen.
And three and a half years on from the revolution, the families of protesters who lost their lives are sceptical that Mubarak and his men will be brought to justice.
„What happened today was the introduction for an acquittal,” said Ali Hassan, whose son, Muhab, was killed on January 28th 2011. „There is no change in this country.”
“And here we are again today….full of grief, regret, bitterness. The difference today is that the scale of this genocidal crime is larger, and that the list of martyrs, especially children, is longer,” Mr. Abbas told world leaders.
This last war against Gaza was a series of absolute war crimes carried out before the eyes and ears of the entire world, moment by moment, in a manner that makes it inconceivable that anyone today can claim that they did not realize the magnitude and horror of the crime. And, it is inconceivable that some are unable to characterize this situation in real terms and that they suffice with simply declaring their support for Israel’s right to self-defense without regard for the fate of the thousands of victims of our people, ignoring a simple fact that we remind them of today: that the life of a Palestinian is as precious as the life of any other human being.
Frieden, Demokratie, Gleichheit, Humanismus – sind keine leeren und veralteten Slogans. Verbunden mit Respekt für jüdische (und arabische) Traditionen und der Weisheit der Alten, sowohl für die einzigartigen Beiträge jeder der verschiedenen Sektoren als auch für das allgemein Gute könnten sie eine aufregende neue Mischung sei.
Besonders scheinheilig erscheint mir allerdings, dass sich der Zentralratspräsident der Juden, Dieter (Sie wissen schon!) Graumann, der es nicht für nötig gehalten hatte, zur unnötigsten Demonstration des Jahres in Berlin am 14. September einen muslimischen Vertreter als Redner einzuladen, sich jetzt mit diesem Aktionstag solidarisierte. Ayman Mayzek hätte als oberster Vertreter des Zentralrats der Muslime nämlich sehr gern auf dieser Demo gegen Judenhass in Berlin eine Rede gehalten, bekam diese Chance allerdings nicht! Die bekamen nur Glaubensvertreter der “Christlich-Jüdischen Wertegemeinschaft” wie EKD-Präses Schneider und Kardinal Marx! Mir ist noch nie aufgefallen, dass diese sich von Extremisten in den eigenen Reihen distanziert hätten!
26 Sep 2014 – Address by His Excellency Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine at the general debate of the 69th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (New York, 24-30 September 2014).
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN General Assembly Friday afternoon saying that Israel was planning another „Nakba“ and committed acts of genocide in Gaza, but stopped short of saying he will pursue war crime charges against it at the International Criminal Court.
Abbas vowed to seek war crimes prosecutions against Israel over what he called the 50-day „war of genocide“ in Gaza that killed 2,140 Palestinians, at least 70 percent of them civilians, and left the enclave in ruins.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Abbas said: „There is an occupation that must end now. There is a people that must be freed immediately.”
als Veranstalter: Initiative „Antikriegskonferenz Berlin2014“
als Förderorganisationen: ATTAC – Globalisierungskritisches Netzwerk / Koordinierungskreis und Wissenschaftlicher Beirat | Bremer Friedensforum | IPPNW – Deutsche Sektion der Internationalen Ärzte für die Verhütung des Atomkrieges, Ärzte in sozialer Verantwortung e. V.
als Unterstützer: Die AnStifter e. V. | IALANA – Deutsche Sektion der International Association Of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms / Juristen und Juristinnen gegen atomare, biologische und chemische Waffen, für gewaltfreie Friedensgestaltung e. V. | Internationale Liga für Menschenrechte e. V. | Gemeinnützige Dr. Heinz Umpfenbach und Wolfgang Hübner Friedens-Stiftung | Nahost-Forum Bremen | NatWiss – NaturwissenschaftlerInnen-Initiative e. V. Verantwortung für Friedens- und Zukunftsfähigkeit | Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein e. V. (RAV)
„…Wir haben schon unsere Flugzeuge dorthin geschickt. Ich sehe keinen Grund, weshalb wir nicht auch Bodentruppen einsetzen sollten“, so der Prinz.
Saudi-Arabien bemühe sich um den Schutz der syrischen Bürger, indem es Luftschläge im Rahmen der (internationalen) Koalition (gegen den IS) führe, sagte Turki al-Faisal in Beantwortung eines Vorwurfs des iranischen Präsidenten Hassan Rouhani.
Ankara has welcomed Spain‘s decision to send Patriot air defense missiles to Turkey to replace Dutch units which are pulling out under a NATO agreement, Anadolu agency reported.
Egyptian courts sentenced nearly 100 people to prison for up to 25 years Thursday after finding them guilty of violence during protests in support of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi, Al Arabiya reported.
Die Verlautbarung, Apple und Google würden künftig die Verschlüsselung in ihren mobilen Betriebssystemen erweitern, stößt bei FBI-Chef James Comey auf Unverständnis.
Seine Behörde sei bereits mit Apple und Google in Verbindung getreten, sagte der Chef der US-Bundespolizei James Comey zur Washington Post.
eheimdienste und IT-Branche sind in den USA eng miteinander verwoben. Während die CIA innovative Startups fördert, gründen immer mehr Ex-NSA-Mitarbeiter eigene Sicherheitsfirmen. Die Grenzen zwischen Staat und Wirtschaft sind oft kaum noch auszumachen.
While the NSA is gathering data on Americans (on purpose) as well as their communications (supposedly inadvertently), one thing it doesn‘t do is call up school district security staffers and tell them about threats being made on Facebook. The FBI may do that, as may local law enforcement (remember kids, public posts are public), but the NSA generally doesn‘t get involved in the policing of the nation‘s student body.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold meetings with the presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said on Sept.26.
“The meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is of great importance. Our contacts have been noticeable intensified. Baku has recently hosted the meeting of the intergovernmental commission,” Ushakov said.
Menschen werden als Abfall gehandelt – eine humanitäre Katastrophe einer reichen Industrienation, die völkerrechtliche Normen zum Asylrecht schamlos aushebelt
Am gestrigen Freitag gaben die Abgeordneten Martina Renner und Konstantin von Notz, zusammen mit ihrer Prozessbevollmächtigten Professorin Astrid Wallrabenstein, für die Parlamentsfraktionen Die Linke und Bündnis 90/Die Grünen bekannt, dass sie gegen Bundesregierung und N.S.A.-Untersuchungsausschuss Klage beim Bundesverfassungsgericht eingereicht haben. Erreicht werden sollen entsprechend Artikel 44 Grundgesetz, auch gegen den Willen der Regierung und ihrer Parteien, das Recht “in öffentlicher Verhandlung die erforderlichen Beweise” zu erheben und die zur “Rechts- und Amtshilfe” verpflichteten Verwaltungsbehörden dazu zu zwingen dies auch zu tun.
Bundespressekonferenz zur „Vorstellung des Organstreits der Opposition gegen die Bundesregierung und den
NSA-Untersuchungsausschuss beim Bundesverfassungsgericht zur Vernehmung des Zeugen Edward Snowden in Berlin“ mit den Abgeordneten Konstantin von Notz (Grüne), Martina Renner (Die LINKE), André Hahn (Die LINKE), Hans-Christian Ströbele (Grüne) und Prof. Astrid Wallrabenstein (Uni Frankfurt/Main und Prozessbevollmächtigte).
Ira Glass: Hey there everybody, today we have secret recordings taped inside one of the most powerful institutions in this country. It’s a place we pretty much almost never get a
glimpse inside. And they’re revealing, and in lots of ways very disturbing. But to understand what they’re about and why they’re so interesting, you actually need a little context. So I need to take you back to the financial crisis.
After the financial meltdown in 2008, there was a lot of attention and a lot of blame heaped on the one institution that was in a position to notice the problems that led to the
meltdown and do something about them before disaster hit. That institution is the Federal Reserve –The Fed –and, in particular, its office in New York City, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It’s responsible for regulating the banks on Wall Street, which is to say some of the biggest banks in the world. It’s supposed to monitor what they do, it’s supposed to make sure they don’t break rules or take risks that could bring down the financial system.
Our financial regulatory system is obviously dysfunctional. But because the subject is so tedious, and the details so complicated, the public doesn‘t pay it much attention.
That may very well change today, for today — Friday, Sept. 26 — the radio program „This American Life“ will air a jaw-dropping story about Wall Street regulation, and the public will have no trouble at all understanding it.
The reporter, Jake Bernstein, has obtained 46 hours of tape recordings, made secretly by a Federal Reserve employee, of conversations within the Fed, and between the Fed and Goldman Sachs. The Ray Rice video for the financial sector has arrived.
Carmen Segarra joined the New York Fed in late 2011 as part of a new wave of bank examiners. Seven months later, she was fired amid differences about her negative examination of Goldman Sachs. A supervisor told her, “I‘m here to change the definition of what a good job is.”
– Carmen Segarra, 41, made recordings while working for the Fed at Goldman
– Says her tapes show a culture of ‚fear‘ and ‚deference‘ towards bankers
– Senior regulator heard gently bringing up a potential lapse in meeting then trailing off – despite previously calling the deal ‚shady‘
– In another meeting afterwards he congratulates himself and says bank will ‚think twice‘ before trying to do the same thing again
– Segarra was fired after seven months on the job – and lost lawsuit over it
– Claimed she was kicked out for refusing to back down over critical report
– Michael Lewis: ‚The Ray Rice video for the financial sector has arrived‘
27.09.2014 - 04:48 [ Christopher Soghoian / Twitter ]
We already wrote about how law enforcement was freaking out over the (good) news that Apple and Google were making encryption a default on both iOS and Android. Then we had a followup where a recently retired FBI guy insisted that such encryption would have meant a kidnap victim died… until everyone pointed out that the entire premise of that story was wrong and the Washington Post had to change the entire thing.
soundsRite, established in 2009, at the University of Western Sydney, Australia, publishes selected new media work which includes words or sound or both. The journal is online and open access, and contains creative work only. It features sound works created for digital embodiment, including generative, interactive and multi-channel pieces. Similarly, it showcases writing which is kinetic, generative or interactive. Work published on the site will be released in streaming forms and if appropriate in uncompressed downloadable forms. All works on the site contain sound or text, but we are particularly concerned with featuring pieces which combine text, sound and image. The soundsRite site also archives an earlier journal, infLect, founded and edited by Hazel Smith at the University of Canberra (2003-2007). The focus of infLect was new media writing.