Code Pink totally Rawks…!

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. – Mahatma Gandhi

Fresh from Davos …

The Vulnerabilties of The Elite: Geopolitical Risk in 2013

The Challenge

…The vulnerability of elites cuts across emerging markets and advanced economies, democracies and authoritarian states, public and private institutions, and a wide array of issues. This is the challenge: as their legitimacy gets called into question, political actors struggle to react to instability, crises and opportunities in the most effective manner. Whether it is the growing disparity of wealth, or the evolving flow of information, several factors are facilitating pushback against existing policies and institutions and making both governments and some private actors across the globe look increasingly fragile.

First, the ‘Occupy’ movement may have run out of steam, but the slogan “we are the 99%” has put an end to the people’s “peaceful coexistence with inequality.” While the richest have come out on top from the economic crisis, middle classes are experiencing reversals in their standards of living even in the developed world. In many developed and emerging countries, youth unemployment rates are
scandalously high. A ‘lost’ generation of young people feel they have no stake in the existing system. And this development is occurring in a world where inequality is visible on a daily basis, both within and between societies.

The lack of economic prospects has eroded people’s trust in, and
support for, their political leaders, whose actions are rarely understood, let alone approved. The result is a “legitimacy deficit” and a sense that we might nearly be better off without rulers. Leaders no longer have a story to rally their followers around. The few who do fare better than others. We’re seeing this trend across countries of vastly different stages of development.

Second, people are less willing to tolerate corruption, crime, cronyism and other forms of inappropriate behaviourby leaders. Most societies lack a clear moral compass in the form of religion, ideology or established values. The media are quick to fill this vacuum with instant moral outrage about the latest scandal—and the news cycle is short-sighted at the expense of longer-term problems that are more pressing…

Wtf…? Are the Elite finally getting a clue…?

Apparently not…!

From our newest Bilderberger Sec. of State…

‘Reap the Whirlwind’

Kerry had met in the past with Syrian President Bashar al- Assad in an effort to encourage an opening by the Syrian regime toward the West. Now, Kerry said, Assad has made “reprehensible” decisions and he predicted Assad is “not long for remaining” as Syria’s leader.

…“We are sowing the wind in Syria and we’re going to reap the whirlwind,” he said, referring to Islamic radical groups involved in the fighting there.

Kerry said relations with Russia have “slid backward a little bit in the last couple of years,” citing Russia’s halt to U.S. adoptions as one example. Still, he said Russia is cooperating on a number of issues such as Iran and nuclear arms reductions.

On China, Kerry highlighted the competition for resources. “China is all over Africa — I mean, all over Africa — and they’re buying up long-term contracts on minerals,” he said. “And there’re some places where we’re not in the game, folks.”

‘Economic Statecraft’

…In his opening remarks, Kerry urged lawmakers to address domestic economic issues such as the deficit, saying a strong economy undergirds strength overseas. Kerry said the U.S. is seeking, as President Barack Obama said in his inaugural address, to move beyond the decade of war.

“President Obama and every one of us here knows that American foreign policy is not defined by drones and deployments alone,” Kerry said. “We cannot allow the extraordinary good we do to save and change lives to be eclipsed entirely by the role we have had to play since September 11th, a role that was thrust upon us.”

American foreign policy is also defined by food security and energy security, humanitarian assistance, the fight against disease and the push for development “as much as it is by any single counterterrorism initiative,” he said.

Meanwhile, back at Davos…

…Israeli officials said Thursday that military action against Iran needed to stay on the table, as former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger warned of a crisis over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in the “very foreseeable future”.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Defence Minister Ehud Barak said the threat of military action was vital to efforts against Iran’s nuclear programme.

“There will be more attempts to try and negotiate, but there will always be in the horizon a military option, because if the Iranians think it’s only economic and political, they won’t pay attention,” Peres told global political and business leaders at the annual gathering in the Swiss ski resort.

Israel and Western powers accuse Iran of seeking to acquire a weapons capability under the guise of its nuclear energy programme but Iran denies the charge, saying its work is for peaceful purposes only…

…In a wide-ranging talk on foreign affairs, Kissinger said he expected the Iranian nuclear issue to soon come to a head.

“For 15 years, the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have declared that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable, but it has been approaching,” he said.

“People who have advanced their view will have to come to a determination about how to react or about the consequences of non-reaction,” he said.

“I believe this point will be reached within a very foreseeable future.”

Kissinger said negotiations with Iran needed to be given “a real chance” and that “unilateral action by Israel would be a desperate last resort.”

He said he expected “Iran to be high on the agenda” of US President Barack Obama’s new administration, and said failure to deal with the question could lead to a spread of nuclear weapons in the region.

“That would be a turning point in human history,” Kissinger warned…

Honestly, folks, here’s some truly sober analysis of our failed FP…

Obama and the (Mis)management of Imperial Decline

…In his second inaugural, President Obama recalled this vision, reminding Americans that they are “heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war; who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends…We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully—not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.”

But now his words fall flat in much of the world. For his administration never understood that, to be effective, “engagement” had to mean more than simply reiterating longstanding U.S. demands while not just continuing to reject other parties’ interests and concerns, but acting even more assertively against them…

…The world is increasingly giving up on the proposition that the United States can act in any manner other than that of an imperial power—even as more and more important players in global affairs are coming to see it as an imperial power in decline. Obama’s second inaugural displayed no appreciation for this reality. And that does not augur well for any meaningful recovery of America’s international standing during Obama’s second term…

Btw, It’s not Iran’s purported pursuit of a Nuke despite everybody’s best effort to make it so… …The viral campaign to set a “red line”

It’s all about the Oil… To be sure…US weaves nuclear fairy tale on Iran…!…

Iran all set to finance IP gas pipeline project: envoy…!

Jews DO control the media… Maybe…?

*gah*

Get a load of this crapola… Israel could send Iran ‘back to the stone age’ with electromagnetic bomb…

Detonation would disrupt all the enemy’s technological devices, Sunday Times reports…

Israel could destroy Iran’s electric network with a specially designed electromagnetic bomb in the event of a military conflict between the countries, The Sunday Times reported on Sunday.

An electromagnetic bomb of this sort would be detonated above the ground, creating an electromagnetic pulse that would “disrupt all the technological devices working on the ground,” an American expert was quoted as saying to the London paper.

The use of the new technology by Israel was brought up in discussions regarding a possible attack on Tehran’s nuclear facilities, the report claimed. Such a move would send Iran “back to the stone age,” the British paper said.

This kind of bomb would operate based on the nonlethal technology of gamma rays, the report explained. The outburst of energy would “fry” electric devices and currents around the source of the explosion.

First of all, the Electromagnetic Pulse necessary to ‘knock Iran into the stone age’ would require a nuclear device detonated hundreds of kilometers above Iran, considering that there are no other means of delivering such a blow…! So, in essence, Bibi will preemptively Nuke Iran, so Israel won’t be Nuked some time down the line…?

Now, I do like the fact that there is indeed some Western pushback surfacing…

In secret visit to Israel, U.K. officials warn Netanyahu against unilateral attack on Iran

A high-ranking visitor delivered a stern message from British PM David Cameron against an uncoordinated Israeli strike on Iran at this time.

Even Shrillary and her spokespuppet, Victoria Nuland, had rebuffed Bibi’s latest buffoonery…

Israel Presses U.S. Over Setting ‘Red Lines’ for Iran

The U.S. and Israel are disagreeing publicly over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s push to set “red lines” and deadlines for dealing with Iran’s nuclear activities.

An Israeli government official said yesterday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comment in an interview Sept. 9 with Bloomberg Radio that the U.S. is “not setting deadlines” for Iran won’t help deter its nuclear program, and may even put the Iranians at ease. {…}

…In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said yesterday that it’s “not useful” to be setting deadlines for negotiations or red lines. President Barack Obama previously has said that Iran won’t be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, she said, declining to elaborate.

Clinton said in the interview that economic sanctions are building pressure on Iran, and the U.S. still considers negotiations as “by far the best approach” to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons.

Asked if the Obama administration will lay out sharper “red lines” for Iran or state explicitly the consequences of failing to negotiate a deal with world powers by a certain date, Clinton said, “We’re not setting deadlines.” {…}

…Clinton has said that Iran, which depends on oil for more than half of its government revenue, is losing billions of dollars from lost oil sales due to sanctions. {…}

The U.S., European allies and Israel accuse Iran of seeking an atomic bomb capability. In its report last month, the IAEA said it “is unable to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran, and therefore to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.” The IAEA said it hadn’t detected any material being diverted from Iran’s 16 declared nuclear facilities.

Interestingly, despite the fact that the IAEA can’t verify the diversion of nuclear material, the Neo/Ziocons must press on…

Analysts press IAEA after nuke talks stall with Iran

The United Nations nuclear watchdog needs to admit that it cannot determine whether Iran is building an atomic weapon and that the U.N. Security Council must take stronger action, analysts say. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) board of governors’ meeting could result in escalating the conflict with Iran, said David Albright, an arms-control expert at the Institute for Science and International Security.

“The IAEA has a job to do, and they need to worry about their credibility as an institution,” Albright said. “So they have to move this forward and that means escalate it. And unfortunately that increases the risk of military action.”

Yukiya Amano, director general of the IAEA, expressed frustration with Iran on Monday, saying that months of delays have stymied inspectors’ efforts to visit the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran.

The IAEA believes Iran may have experimented there with blast tests used to trigger a nuclear charge. Meanwhile, Israel has said time is running out for diplomatic efforts to verify Iran’s nuclear intentions.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, such as energy production.

“We need to stop going around in circles,” Amano said of months-long fruitless talk between the IAEA and Iran. “This is frustrating.” {…}

…”The IAEA’s job is to warn the Security Council of threats to peace,” Jeffrey said. If the IAEA’s report “is strong and damning, the Security Council will be under pressure to implement actions or sanctions against Iran.”

“This is headed for another serious debate and another serious and agonizing negotiation in the Security Council about what further serious steps and sanctions to impose on Iran,” Jeffrey said.

Albright said there is little choice now but to move the matter to a higher level.

“The IAEA has done everything it can, and it should wash its hands of the whole thing,” Albright said.

Now, to say that Yukiya Amano and David Albright are acting in everybody’s best interests would be a stretch…!

All this bluster by Bibi is designed to distract from what’s really happening in the West Bank…

Palestinians Borrow Chant From Syria to Vent Rage at Their Leaders

During protests in the West Bank on Monday, Palestinians adapted a protest anthem made popular by their neighbors in Syria last year to call for their president and prime minister to step down.

The original song, “Yalla Erhal Ya Bashar,” or “Come on Bashar, Leave,” calling for the departure of President Bashar al-Assad, was written last year in Syria. At a protest in the West Bank on Monday, protesters changed the words of the tune, to focus on President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

As Yousef Munayyer, the director of The Palestine Center in Washington, observed on Twitter, the borrowing completed a circle in a way.

Palestinians have long taught other Arabs art of protest. W/ adaptation of #Syria protest chant, we’ve come full circle…

What’s funny is that Abu Mazen, who has long since been exposed as a corrupt Israeli tool, and most of Fatah for that matter, whom all are living on borrowed time, is starting to feel the sting…

Fatah officials angry at PA’s delay of statehood bid

Senior Fatah official says Abbas decision not to present UN membership request during GA “harmful” to PA credibility.

Why can’t Palestine be admitted as a ‘Nation-State’ at the UN…?

One final note on Iran, Flynt Leverett lays it out…

…If the United States insists on micromanaging Iran’s domestic politics to produce exactly the kind of interlocutor it wants to deal with, it will fail. In the process, Washington will continue to miss opportunities to do what it so manifestly needs to do, for America’s own interests—to come to terms with the Islamic Republic as it is, not as those radically disconnected from Iranian reality might wish it to be.

Amen, Flynt, Amen…!

Will Sanity ever prevail…?

*gah*