“The modern liberal state … often uses deception to gain its ends — not so much deception of the foreign enemy, but of its own citizens,who have been taught to trust their leaders.” – Howard Zinn
In all my years of blogging, my sole regret is my inability to piece together more than two paragraphs, in any literary fashion, like most are able to…!
So, please allow me the luxury to blend together some of my old scribblings with some of the latest ‘News’ out of the MENA…
“When informed about the Israeli decision, Obama, who has a famously contentious relationship with the prime minister, didn’t even bother getting angry,” Goldberg writes. “He told several people that this sort of behavior on Netanyahu’s part is what he has come to expect, and he suggested that he has become inured to what he sees as self-defeating policies of his Israeli counterpart.”
…It now is clear that the article from Warrick was meant to prepare the ground for the unveiling, one week later, of David Albright’s new working group developed precisely for the purpose of furthering the neocon position on Iran sanctions. By taking on additional policy members in this working group, Albright is now branching out from his usual area of commentary on technical issues (where Moon of Alabama has dubbed his Institute for Science and International Security the “Institute for Scary Iran Stories“) all the way into policy and now promotes the full neocon position that Iran is dangerously close to having a nuclear weapon and therefore sanctions must be ratcheted up further.
That 5 minute clip is dated from 2010, which I’d featured on this old post of mine… Bribing Israel will not help…! So that data is rather dated, with many more; checkpoints, ‘home’ demolitions, and, subsequent settlement expansions, to add to that map…! Now, just try to visualize Bibi’s proposed,‘expedited’ +3K E-1 settlement expansion plans…! Along with an additional… 4,200 apartments in Ramat Shlomo and Givat Hamatos…! Please, allow me to descend into prior, ‘flights of fantasy’, of which, I’d succumbed to back during those heady days of the ‘Direct Peace’ talks farce…! Obama’s Pathetic Pursuit Of Peace…! And, The Freeze Farce is over…! Funny, how that worked out, eh…?
Remember folks, as a History Major, I’ve always strived to cite the ‘first person’, directly…!
Well, folks, it seems that Bibi has truly ‘lost it’… Seriously…!
…“This forum and its coordinated work of which during Operation Pillar of Defense are an important component in our national resilience. I think that this operation proved the importance of public diplomacy,” Netanyahu said.
“What was the war about? The war was about our very existence. We left areas that we captured in the Six Day War, like the Gaza Strip, and they fire missiles at us.
“Therefore, our top public diplomacy mission is to explain that the root of this conflict is not territorial,” said Netanyahu. “It is over our very existence in any borders whatsoever.
“From 1967 until today, for 45 years, day in, day out, and hour by hour, they have been preaching the complete opposite. So certainly the lie has taken root, and there is no way to fight a lie except with the truth. We must tell the truth; it is the only thing that we can do and we must certainly do so.
“We must constantly repeat that the root of the conflict is the very existence of the State of Israel, the refusal to recognize the State of Israel in any borders whatsoever.
“The second thing is their methods, mainly their desire to intentionally attack civilians.
“There is a link between the first and second points. Whoever uses such methods is beyond the pale internationally, morally and legally. He does not want peace.
“The root of the conflict is not the settlements; it is the very existence of the State of Israel and the desire to wipe it off the face of the earth. We can anticipate many developments and changes in this evolving Middle East that we face, and some of them are very, very disturbing.”…
…“The European move is essentially an American move,” one official said, according to Ynet News. “The Brits asked the Americans how to act.” {…}
…“The Europeans got the green light to respond with extreme measures and the US in the meantime decided not to impose economic sanctions on the Palestinians in response to their UN bid,” the anonymous official claims. “The Americans decided to bolster Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) and push for a resumption of peace talks.”
The White House has denied these accusations, however, with National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor telling POLITICO it “isn’t accurate.”
Three demonstrators died in clashes between opponents and supporters of Egyptian head of state Mohamed Morsi around the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt’s top rescue official said early Thursday.
Mohamed Soltan told journalists that the three were shot dead, while nearly 350 others were wounded.
It was the worst violence in Egypt since Morsi became the country’s first Islamist president in June.
He drew the wrath of the opposition and many in the magistrature by assuming exceptional powers under a November 22 decree.
Allies and foes of Morsi lobbed fire bombs and rocks at each other in the plush Heliopolis neighbourhood in a Cairo suburb as shots rang out early Thursday…
And, the Cairo branch of the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ was reportedly hit today, too… so stay tuned…
Moving along to Syria and Iran…
The hidden secret behind the Patriot ‘ADA’ system is it’s ‘surface-to-surface’ capabilities…!
Now, besides Russia’s harsh words, to NATO’s ill-advised decision to send Patriot Batteries to Turkey, The Chinese were none-too-thrilled, either…
…NATO’s decision to deploy Patriot missile batteries in Turkey is “inconducive to peace, security and stability” in the region, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.
“Highlighting military factors and strengthening military existence are inconducive to the resolution of contradictions and disputes, and inconducive to the peace, security and stability in the whole region,” spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a regular press conference, when asked to comment on the NATO decision…
…To be clear, I’m not saying that means Petraeus’ resignation was about Benghazi. I think it’s possible, but some reporters I trust insist it’s not.
But consider how different this passage from the NYT reads when you understand that Petraeus had already learned the FBI had discovered his former mistress may have been snooping through his emails–not to mention months of his emailed pleas to her to get back together.
Mr. Petraeus’s future has inevitably been the subject of rumors: that he would be Mitt Romney’s running mate, or, more plausibly, that he was interested in the presidency of Princeton. In a statement in late September, he did not rule that out for the future, but said that for the time being he was “living the dream here at C.I.A.” That was before the recriminations this week over Benghazi.
In late September–after Benghazi, mind you, but before he realized this affair had been exposed–Petraeus was still thinking about leading Princeton. But then “recriminations” jeopardized that hope.
The CIA blitz was certainly an attempt to minimize Petraeus’ and CIA’s role in getting an Ambassador killed. But it also reads, now, like an effort to preempt the damage from this.
One more note: the timing appears to be that the affair lasted for some of the period when Petraeus was in Afghanistan–so June 2010 to June 2011. It’s unclear whether the affair continued after Petraeus started at CIA in June 2011–though he did keep emailing Broadwell to try to get her to get back together. The NYT says the investigation started only several months ago…
Now, I don’t exactly see the same ‘rosy scenario’ that Robert Parry paints, in regards to Betrayus’ boot, but, he does raise some compelling points…
The messy departure of CIA Director David Petraeus over an extramarital affair removes the last high-ranking neoconservative holdover from George W. Bush’s administration and gives the reelected President Barack Obama more maneuvering room to negotiate a settlement over Iran’s nuclear program. {…}
Suspect Loyalties
Petraeus’s ideological alignment with the neocons threatened to undercut the administration’s unity behind Obama’s peace initiative. Thus, according to the person familiar with the administration’s thinking, some key figures close to the President wanted Petraeus out and there was no sadness that his personal indiscretions contributed to his departure.
Regarding the facts behind Petraeus’s sudden resignation, the New York Times reported that the FBI had begun an investigation into a “potential criminal matter” several months ago that was not focused on Petraeus. It was in the course of an their inquiry into whether a computer used by Petraeus had been compromised that agents discovered evidence of the relationship as well as other security concerns. About two weeks ago, FBI agents met with Petraeus to discuss the investigation, the Times reported.
According to the Times, one congressional official who was briefed on the matter said Petraeus had been encouraged “to get out in front of the issue” and resign, and that he agreed. {…}
Obama’s decision to entrust a position as crucial as CIA director to Petraeus, an ambitious man with strong ties to the neocons, was always a risk. While Obama may have been thinking that he was keeping Petraeus out of a possible run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, the President put Petraeus in a spot where he could manipulate the intelligence that drives government policies.
Finally, as Obama heads into a second term, he appears to be clearing the decks so he can move ahead more aggressively with his own foreign policy. Robert Gates departed in mid-2011; David Petraeus has now resigned in ignominy; and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who often sided with Gates and Petraeus in taking neocon-style policy positions, is expected to step down soon…
One can only hope, but, I’m certainly not holding my breath that the neo/ziocons are indeed being purged…!
If Ray McGovern’s suggestions are heeded, I might see some light from Obama’s ‘Nobelist’ intentions…
If, by now, you get the idea that I think David Petraeus is a charlatan (and I am not referring to sexual escapades), you would be correct. The next question, however, is his replacement and whether the policies will change.
Mr. President, with the mandate you have just won, you have a golden chance to reverse the March of Folly in Afghanistan. You can select a person with a proven record of integrity and courage to speak truth, without fear or favor, and with savvy and experience in matters of State and Defense.
There are still some very good people with integrity and courage around – former Ambassador Chas Freeman would be an excellent candidate. Go ahead, Mr. President. Show that you can stand up to the Israel lobby that succeeded in getting Freeman ousted on March 10, 2009, after just six hours on the job as Director of the National Intelligence Council.
And there are still some genuine experts around to help you enlist Afghanistan’s neighbors in an effort to ease U.S. troop withdrawal well before the 2014 deadline. The faux experts – the neocon specialists at Brookings, AEI and elsewhere – have had their chance. For God’s sake, take away their White House visiting badges at once.
Create White House badges for genuine experts like former National Intelligence Officer for the Near East Paul Pillar, former State Department Chief of Staff Lawrence Wilkerson, and military historian and practitioner Andrew Bacevich (Lt. Col., USA, ret.). These are straight-shooters; they have no interest in “long wars”; they will tell you the truth; all you need do is listen.
Do NOT listen this time to the likes of your counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, a former CIA functionary who was staff director for CIA Director George “slam-dunk” Tenet. Brennan will probably push for you to nominate Petraeus’s deputy and now Acting CIA Director Michael Morell, who did the same dirty work for Tenet that Brennan did.
Morell is even more likely to take his cues from Brennan and tell you what he and Brennan want you to hear. At best, Morell is likely to let things drift until you move on Petraeus’s replacement. And this is no time for drift.
There is absolutely no reason to prolong the agony in Afghanistan until the end of 2014. Doubling down on Afghanistan might have seemed a smart political move at the time, but you now should face the fact that it was a major blunder. Troops out now!
Don’t cry over this guy. He has had a hell of a run. IMO someone “dropped a dime” on him with the FBI. Once that happened an investigation into the limits of his lover’s access to classified information through her relationship with him was inevitable. The FBI has the power to investigate anyone in the US Government, including the director of the CIA, and they relish the responsibility. {…}
He was never much liked in the Army. “Clever” is a term of art in the Army for someone “foxy,” slippery and politically adroit. He was always clever…
He has a terrible reputation in the Army for egomania smoothly concealed beneath the appearance of the warrior scholar. He can and has charmed all, or almost all. His fluency in the English language and his ability to interact with congressmen and the press are superb…
His success” in Iraq led to sending him to Afghanistan to apply the supposedly victorious doctrine of COIN there as well. We see the reult.
As I said, don’t grieve for him. He had a long run and will now make a lot of money somehow. He is clever. pl
…Both Bloomberg and Netanyahu heaped praise on Obama for his hard-line speech before the United Nations Tuesday against a potentially nuclear Iran.
“I thought President Obama gave an excellent speech in the UN, and he was absolutely right to say that Iran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons,” Bloomberg said before meeting with Netanyahu at Gracie Mansion.
The Israeli prime minister said Obama was on the right track.
“We’re in close consultations with the United States about this issue, about how to practically prevent Iran from moving ahead, how to make them abandon their nuclear weapons ambitions,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister had hoped to meet with Obama during the United Nations gathering this week, but the President, citing campaign commitments, did not hold any one-on-one sitdowns with foreign leaders.
Instead, Secretary of State Clinton planned to meet with Netanyahu, with Obama planning to follow up by phone.
The Gracie Mansion meeting was a win for both leaders, pundits said…
Mere moments after Bibi had finished delivering his UN address,Israel’s Lawyer and our newly appointed, Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, just had to shoot off his mouth in Tel Aviv…
…Shapiro also said the US had made “the necessary preparations” for a resort to force against Iran if that were to prove necessary.
“We’re totally focused on the same goal, which is preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. We’re in the closest possible consultations at the highest levels of our government,” Shapiro said in the brief interview, at the United Nations, minutes after Netanyahu concluded his address. “We’re absolutely focused on achieving that goal together. And we’ve been very well coordinated until now and I think we will remain very well coordinated.” {…}
…Shapiro said there were no tangible differences between Jerusalem and the White House.
“What both speeches and the constant dialogue of the two governments demonstrate is that we’re absolutely committed to the same goal: We recognize the threat that’s posed by an Iran with nuclear weapons — to Israel and its existence, to US interests and security and stability throughout the Middle East and that’s why we’re determined to prevent it,” he said. He also said there was an “overlap” in the two speeches, which showed that it was possible to work together to reach the goal of preventing a nuclear-armed Iran…
Now, the very next morning, Oily Bomber, came a-calling…
President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke today as part of their regular consultations, and to follow up on Secretary Clinton’s meeting with the Prime Minister. The two leaders discussed a range of security issues, and the President reaffirmed his and our country’s unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security. The two leaders underscored that they are in full agreement on the shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The Prime Minister welcomed President Obama’s commitment before the United Nations General Assembly to do what we must to achieve that goal. The two leaders took note of the close cooperation and coordination between the Governments of the United States and Israel regarding the threat posed by Iran – its nuclear program, proliferation, and support for terrorism – and agreed to continue their regular consultations on this issue going forward.
…A few hours later, Republican nominee Mitt Romney spoke by phone with Netanyahu, his one-time consulting colleague and a friend since the 1970s. After the call, Romney said that he does not believe military force will have to be used to stop Iran’s uranium enrichment program. {…}
Asked Friday whether he endorsed the timeline Netanyahu spelled out at the United Nations, Romney said, “We did not go into enough, into the kind of detail, that would define precisely where that red line would be.” He described the phone call as largely personal in nature rather than a detailed policy discussion.
Romney did describe Iran’s nuclear program as the “greatest national security threat that we face” and said he would explore military options “in the event they were necessary.”
“I do not believe that in the final analysis we will have to use military action,” Romney told reporters traveling with him. “I certainly hope we don’t have to. I can’t take that option off the table. It must be something which is known by the Iranians as a possible tool to be employed to prevent them from becoming nuclear. But I certainly hope that we can prevent any military action from having to be taken.”
“I complimented him on his address,” the Republican presidential nominee told reporters. “I suggested that his graphic was not up to the usual Boston Consulting Group standards.” (Both men previously worked for the management consulting firm.) Romney paused, then added, “No, I didn’t actually do that.” He just thought about doing it, he said…
Well, the Real Experts weren’t amused at all by Bibi’s cartoonish antics, from The Arms Control Association…
…Prime Minister Netanyahu’s proposed “redline” for military action against Iran is overly alarmist. It makes a number of worst-case assumptions, ignores other relevant considerations, and would serve as a tripwire for a war that would likely prompt Iran to openly pursue the bomb.
-It assumes no further conversion of 20 percent enriched uranium into metallic fuel plates, something which has already reduced a significant share of the stockpile to date that could be easily enriched further to weapons grade.
-Netanyahu’s timeline would require Iran to expel inspectors well before it could convert the material to weapons grade and field a useable nuclear weapon.
-It assumes Iran would take this provocative action at the point when it could provide only enough nuclear material for one bomb. Yet one weapon does not constitute an effective and deliverable nuclear arsenal.
-Iran would need more time, to amass the material for several bombs, weaponize it, and probably test the design– a process that would take years, not months.
-Netanyahu’s approach is out of step with the United States and the other five powers negotiating with Iran who agree that Iran has not made a strategic decision to build nuclear weapons, does not yet have the necessary ingredients for an effective nuclear arsenal, and who believe correctly that there is time to use diplomacy to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.
-Resort to a preventive military attack would, as the new Iran Project Report of 33 former senior national security officials and diplomats assessed, only temporarily set back Iran’s nuclear program and prompt Tehran to openly pursue the bomb.
There is time for diplomacy, but the time available must not be wasted.
The goal for U.S. negotiators must be to restrict Iran’s enrichment to normal reactor-grade levels and limit its stockpiles to actual nuclear power needs, while allowing more intrusive IAEA inspections to ensure that Iran has halted all weapons-related work.
A revised proposal calling for a halt to Iran’s accumulation of 20 percent-enriched uranium, which is closer to weapons grade, in exchange for relaxing some of the international oil and financial sanctions imposed on Iran, could buy time and build momentum.
With more creative, U.S.-led diplomacy, and co-operation from Tehran, a deal that guards against a nuclear-armed Iran is still within reach.
Resolution on Iran nuclear program hailed by US, but lacks teeth
The US lauds the ‘unified message‘ sent by the UN’s nuclear watchdog expressing ‘deep and increasing concern‘ over the Iran nuclear program. But the resolution lays no groundwork for action…
…In comments following adoption of the resolution, Clinton suggested the international community is now expressing unprecedented concern about Iran’s activities. “I think we’ve done a pretty good job bringing the international community to a place that it had never come to before,” she told NBC in an interview.
But she also suggested the reality that any action based on the resolution might be limited to the US and the European Union. “When it comes to sanctions,” she told NBC, “there are more steps that the United States and Europe are probably willing to take than others at this time.”…
…The resolution said it was “essential for Iran and the Agency to intensify their dialogue” and calls on Tehran “to comply fully and without delay with its obligations under relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.”
A total of 32 countries on the 35-nation IAEA board of governors voted in favour, with Indonesia abstaining and Cuba and Ecuador voting against, diplomats said.
To assuage Chinese and Russian misgivings, the resolution has no timeframe for Iran to comply, calling instead for IAEA head Yukiya Amano to report to the board in March on Tehran’s “implementation of this resolution.”
It should be a real wake up call to Western leaders, especially when the Wall Street Journal, and, Haaretz point out how far the MOTUs have truly fallen…
UN nuclear watchdog to soften Iran resolution, as gesture to China and Russia
IAEA to issue more moderate condemnation, despite recent report revealing that Iran is working toward developing nuclear weapons…
Basically, Russia and China aren’t buying the recycled tripe…!
U.S. Plans New Sanctions Against Iran’s Oil Industry
The Obama administration plans to impose a new round of sanctions against Iran’s petrochemical industry, a Western official briefed on the plans said Friday, less than two weeks after a United Nations report published evidence that the Iranian government was working on a nuclear weapon.
The sanctions, expected to be announced on Monday, build on existing measures against Iran’s oil and gas industry, which aim to curb foreign investment in refineries or other facilities. European nations are expected to announce similar measures when their leaders meet later in the week, the official said…
Well, No D’uh…! Here’s another Grey Lady op-ed penned by a PNAC Reichwinger, Reuel Marc Gerecht… Don’t Give Up on Sanctions…!
It should also be noted that it’s truly a Bipartisan push to punish Iran…
Proponents of additional sanctions recognize the sever humanitarian costs, but argue human suffering in Iran is necessary
…One of the bill’s top supporters, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), said, “Critics [of the sanctions] argued that these measures will hurt the Iranian people. Quite frankly, we need to do just that.”
The renewed push for additional sanctions against Iran comes after excessive government and media hype over the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report inflating concerns about a covert Iranian nuclear weapons program, although little evidence was put forth…
It’s always been about the Oil, the Iranian Oil Bourse, and, ultimately, Regime Change…! Not the Nuclear asperations of the Iranians, that the West and Israel are so concerned about…!
…Anonymous U.S. intelligence officials told The Daily Beast that and Israeli attack “would go far beyond airstrikes from F-15 and F-16 fighter planes and likely include electronic warfare against Iran’s electric grid, Internet, cellphone network, and emergency frequencies for firemen and police officers.”
Such an attack could cause serious human suffering and might constitute a deliberate violation of international law, which prohibits targeting civilian infrastructure for attack…
I will guarantee ya that the small island of Kish in the Straits of Hormuz will be the very first target and not Natanz or Bushehr…! Any takers…?
The Palestinian leadership in Ramallah showed inflexibility over Israel’s settlement program and will have to make compromises for the sake of peace, the Obama administration’s former Mideast envoy has said.
George Mitchell, who resigned in May as US President Barack Obama’s special envoy for the Middle East peace process, said Tuesday at the University of Maine that the Palestinian side placed too much emphasis on settlements.
“I personally went to 13 countries and in almost every single one I was told that Palestinians … should not enter into negotiations unless there was full freeze on Israeli settlement activity,” Mitchell said, according to US news reports.
“We negotiated that and the Israeli leaders agreed to halt new housing in the West Bank for 10 months. It was much less than what we asked for but more than anyone else had done,” the Freepress Online quoted him as saying.
“The Palestinians rejected it as worse than useless. They were strongly opposed to it.”
Can anyone be more oblivious than George Mitchell, besides Tony Blair…?
The Settlements are the problem, Period…! Well, the illegal Occupation too…
Unfortunately, Foggy Bottom just doesn’t get it either…
The US may sanction the Palestinian Authority if Fatah and Hamas implement a reconciliation deal signed in May, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday.
Israel HaYom reported that US deputy secretary of state Bill Burns was in the region to relay a sharp message from the US president, Barak Obama, warning of serious consequences for the Palestinians.
Burns will tell President Mahmoud Abbas that if he intends to form a unity government, Hamas must renounce violence, recognize Israel, and agree to abide by previous agreements, the daily reported…
What is wrong with our Ship of State…? Does it really want to founder on those perilous shoals…?
*snort* Obama’s native home eh, AP…? Are you sure about that…?
Anyways, after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Obama hopped on Air Force One and is headed to the APEC conference, here in the Isles…! Believe it or not, it really is huge deal… Consider the fact that Hillary is already here, and, Obama is also meeting individually with the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Russian President Dimitry Medvedev, and, Chinese President Hu Jintao… ! Quite the Luau, eh…?
…Media reports describe the trip as symbolic of today’s outlook on the global economy.
The AFP: “A two-week interlude of foreign policy in Obama’s increasingly domestically focused administration offers a symbolic contrast between struggling Europe, where America has its historic roots, and Asia which may define its future.”
Additionally, the tour is intended to assert that the US is a “Pacific power” that wants to help build economic success in the developing regions – and China in particular – amid recent aggressive diplomatic and military moves by the country that has worried its Asian neighbors, the Washington Post reported.
“This isn’t a trip to the far-flung corners of Asia,” Daniel Russel, Obama’s senior director for Asian affairs, told the Associated Press. “This is a trip to the Asia-Pacific. The U.S. is very much an Asia-Pacific nation. We’re a resident power.”
…“The U.S. exports to this region are essential to the president’s goal of doubling U.S. exports in the next several years,” Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, told reporters in a briefing Wednesday. “In fact, nearly all of the efforts that we’re going to be making towards that export goal take place in this part of the world.”
The 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum account for 55% of the world’s gross domestic product, 43% of world trade and 58% of U.S. exports, according to the group.
“So I think when the American people see the president traveling in the Asia-Pacific, they will see him advocating for U.S. jobs and U.S. businesses,” Rhodes said. “He will be trying to open new markets, and he will be trying to achieve new export initiatives, and he will be trying to foster a trade agreement through the, for instance, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, that takes us beyond the Korea Free Trade Agreement towards a multilateral agreement that, again, has very high standards to ensure that our interests are being protected.”
The Obama administration is pushing for the expanded trade agreement to help boost reduce barriers to U.S. exports, boost trade and create jobs…
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is a “free trade” currently under negotiation between NZ and 8 other countries, including the U.S. The countries want to complete negotiation by the end of 2011.
Trade is only a minor part of the agreement. That’s just a clever branding exercise. A TPPA would be an agreement that guarantees special rights to foreign investors. If these negotiations succeed they will create a mega-treaty across 9 countries that will put a straight jacket around what policies and laws our governments can adopt for the next century – think GM labelling, foreign investment laws, price of medicines, regulating dodgy finance firms, NZ content on TV …
It seems that the TPPA may have been ‘delayed’ by some of the APEC signatories themselves…
“The APEC meeting in Hawaii was meant to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, a new free trade deal between the US, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. But the deal has been delayed because of controversial proposals tabled by the US, and negotiations will continue into 2012,” Dr Patricia Ranald, Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network of 60 community groups (AFTINET), said today…
Tabled by the US because nobody else in the Pacific Basin wanted to see higher Drug Prices…! Fancy that…!
Leaked Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement Texts Reveal U.S. Pushing Extreme Pharmaceutical Corporation Demands that Would Undermine Consumers’ Access to Affordable Medicine
Leaks of U.S. proposals for the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement (FTA) reveal that the Obama administration has reversed reforms designed to enhance access to affordable medicines made during the George W. Bush administration and is instead demanding new rights for pharmaceutical firms to challenge pricing and other drug formulary policies used by many developed countries to keep down prices. The leaked draft text raises multiple concerns…
I don’t know about you, but, I’m mighty sick and tired about ‘Free Trade’, how’s about some ‘Fair Trade’ for a change…?
“The idea that they would attempt to go to a Mexican drug cartel to solicit murder-for-hire to kill the Saudi ambassador, nobody could make that up, right?”–Hillary Clinton
I’ve been looking around the toobz to determine why the Oily Bomber is trying to ‘wag the dog’ on Iran…! The usual suspects like Israel and the House of Saud came to mind, but, it didn’t seem quite right…
The first shipment of Iranian crude oil has been sold on Iran’s international oil bourse on the Persian Gulf island of Kish, an Iranian official says…
…Mohammad Reza Khajenasiri, the chief supervisor of bourses and markets in Iran’s Bourse Organization, said that a shipment of 500,000 barrels of heavy crude oil were offered at the Kish Commodity Exchange on Thursday (Aug. 18) and were traded at USD 105.49 per barrel, Mehr News Agency reported.
The crude consignment was traded ‘without any discount or additional premium,’ he stressed. [...]
Iran is the Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s second-largest oil producer.
The Iranian oil bourse is intended as an oil exchange for petroleum, petrochemicals and gas in various currencies other than the U.S. dollar, primarily the euro and Iranian rial and a basket of other major (non-U.S.) currencies.
Western analysts said that at a time when the U.S. dollar is as vulnerable as it has ever been, Iran is piling on the pressure with their oil exchange. The thing that will kill the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency faster than the U.S. debt default is if oil producers and consumers trade oil in other currencies.
They said, if the main oil consuming and producing nations in the world unite to trade oil over an open exchange, similar to Iran’s oil bourse, and price the oil in currencies other than or as well as the U.S. dollar, then the world is likely to be economically more stable.
Well, Lah di dah…!
While the Iranian oil bourse has been in operation for several years now, they had never been able to sell any of Iran’s Crude Oil in bulk, it’s always been the distillates and other petroleum products that they’ve exchanged, until now…!
While Iran’s nuclear program has become a major focus of the international media, there are many who strongly believe that the program is only a cover for the U.S. government’s true motive in a possible attack against Iran.
What some analysts posit is the real concern for the United States is Iran’s plan to open its own oil exchange — the Iranian Oil Bourse (IOB) — with the alleged goal of becoming the dominant center of the Middle East’s oil trade.
What makes the IOB the subject of such interest by the American government? According to rumors, which first vaulted the issue into the spotlight, the financial exchange in the aforementioned bourse will trade for oil in euros instead of the U.S. dollar. The dollar has long been the dominant currency for international oil trade. [...]
Of course, the effectiveness of the IOB will depend on whether the big international oil trading companies decide to accept deals in euros or not. However, the potential financial impact on the U.S. economy remains more than just idle speculation.
“The weapon of oil in the hands of Iran’s regime is more dangerous than any other weapon,” said a recently published article in Italy’s Panorama newsmagazine. [...]
There is speculation that the IOB represents Iran’s plan to escape any possible future economic sanctions spearheaded by the U.S. However, some postulate that the plan could also endanger the continued existence of Iran’s regime. William Clark, an American security expert, predicted that if Iran threatened the hegemony of the U.S. dollar in the international oil market, the White House would immediately order a military attack against it…
Executive Summary
• After improving with the election of Barack Obama in 2008, U.S. favorable ratings across the Arab world have plummeted. In most countries they are lower than at the end of the Bush Administration, and lower than Iran’s favorable ratings (except in Saudi Arabia).
• The continuing occupation of Palestinian lands and U.S. interference in the Arab world are held to be the greatest obstacles to peace and stability in the Middle East.
• While many Arabs were hopeful that the election of Barack Obama would improve U.S.-Arab relations, that hope has evaporated. Today, President Obama’s favorable ratings across the Arab world are 10% or less.
• Obama’s performance ratings are lowest on the two issues to which he has devoted the most energy: Palestine and engagement with the Muslim world.
• The U.S. role in establishing a no-fly zone over Libya receives a positive rating only in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, but, as an issue, it is the lowest priority.
• The killing of bin Laden only worsened attitudes toward the U.S.
• A plurality says it is too early to tell whether the Arab Spring will have a positive impact on the region. In Egypt, the mood is mixed. Only in the Gulf States are optimism and satisfaction levels high.
Think about it, what O’bomber has devoted the most time and energy into: ‘Palestine’ and ‘engagement with the Muslim world,’ he received the lowest marks! That age-old axiom still holds true, talk is indeed cheap! One’s actions, and even inaction, speak far louder…!
The 44th anniversary of Naksa Day (6 June 1967) is fast approaching… As Wikipedia describes it… “…was the day of the Naksa (“setback”), the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinian Arabs during and after the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Syria.’ Wiki goes on to note it’s the second mass displacement after the Nakba Day (May 15, ’48)…
But of course, again, one’s ‘setback’ would be an other’s National holiday… Jerusalem Day… …”an Israeli national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in June 1967. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared Jerusalem Day a minor religious holiday to thank God for the 6-day victory and for answering the 2,000-year-old prayer of ‘Next Year in Jerusalem.’”
Well, as Bibi, flush from his recent victory lap through D.C., flatly stated today…
“We need to continue our actions, to continue the building [and to continue] the development,” the prime minister said in a speech ahead of Jerusalem Day at the yeshiva that has played a great role in the growth of religious Zionism.
Israel, Netanyahu said, “is in a great struggle but we have [made] significant accomplishments. Forty-four years ago, IDF soldiers realized the prophets’ vision and returned Jerusalem to its proper place.“
…Palestinians will march on Israel’s borders from neighbouring Arab states on Sunday to mark the 1967 Six Day War, a top Fatah commander said, calling on the United Nations to protect the protesters.
“We, who hope to return to our lands in Palestine, are planning a peaceful rally this Sunday”at the Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian borders with Israel as well as the Gaza Strip, Fatah commander in Lebanon Munir Maqdah said..
Maqdah urged Arab states and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, a 12,000-strong peacekeeping force stationed at Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, to “ensure the protection of this peaceful gathering.”
He said a committee joining Palestinian and Lebanese factions as well as civil society groups would issue a statement in the coming days detailing the plans for Sunday’s protests, which could include setting up tents at Israel’s borders. The 1967 Six Day War saw Israel defeat four Arab armies in six days, and saw it take over east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
…Israel’s army is gearing up for large protests, its chief of staff said Tuesday.
“There’s a new player in the Middle East – the street,” Benny Gantz said. “The IDF has drawn lessons from the Nakba Day events and knows it may find itself facing large-scale popular protests in the coming months.”
…The website “Third Palestinian Intifada” and its Facebook page, “Countdown to the Third Palestinian Intifada,” have posted detailed plans for marches on Israel’s borders with Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Gaza, as well as processions to Jerusalem’s Al- Aksa Mosque, on three separate dates before and during the war’s anniversary.
The group’s “plan of action” calls for mass rallies on June 3, 5 and 7 – the Friday leading up to the Six Day War anniversary, the date on which the war began and the date Israeli troops took Jerusalem, respectively. [...]
…Ofir Gendelman, the Prime Minister’s Office spokesman for Arabic media, said Israel is ready to use “any means necessary” to protect its borders.
“Activity on Facebook calling for people to march on the borders has grown in recent weeks, and there are pages telling people exactly where to go,” he said. “Of course we’re familiar with this activity both on Facebook and Twitter, and have been for some time. We’re prepared for any eventuality, whether by use of the police, army, security forces, Foreign Ministry and of course the Prime Minister’s Office, to provide a security response to attempts to enter into our territory.
“These people want 300 or 400 casualties in order to create a media and geopolitical tsunami to distract the world’s attention from what’s happening in Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority, and to direct it at Israel,” he said.
“We must remember that not all those who click ‘like’ on Facebook are going to board a bus and ride to the border. There’s a difference between clicking ‘like’ and taking the personal risk of trying to breach the border,” he said.
“I’m certain the other side will get the message – that we won’t let anyone in, whatever the price. They won’t get in.
The borders under our sovereignty will be maintained, whatever the price.”
*gah*
I pray that the casualty rate is drastically lower than “the 300 or 400 casualties in order to create a media and geopolitical tsunami…”
President Obama has shown himself to be weak in his dealings with the Middle East, says Robert Fisk, and the Arab world is turning its back with contempt. Its future will be shaped without American influence…
The ‘Arab Spring’ has indeed turned into the ‘Arab Summer’…
“No country can be expected to negotiate with a terrorist organization sworn to its destruction,” he told America’s powerful pro-Israel lobby as pointed to the recent Palestinian Fatah-Hamas unity agreement as “an enormous obstacle to peace.”
“We will continue to demand that Hamas accept the basic responsibilities of peace: recognizing Israel’s right to exist, rejecting violence and adhering to all existing agreements,” Obama said, to loud applause at the AIPAC Policy Conference.
President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that Israel and the US had misinterpreted the unity deal as ushering in a government of Hamas and Fatah figures, as the new body would solely include non-partisan technocrats. [...]
…But the president also reacted to recent comments by the US premier focusing on Hamas’ position towards Israel, saying the May deal between the movement and its rival Fatah had been misunderstood by Israel and the US as paving the way for both movements to dominate a new government.
“The government will be built of nonpartisan figures, and will not include affiliates of any Palestinian faction,” Abbas said. [...]
Israeli officials had slammed the unity agreement, with Netanyahu warning that Abbas must choose between “peace with Israel or peace with Hamas.”
But Abbas said Monday, “this is neither Hamas, nor Fatah government. It is my government and will follow my strategies,” he added.
…Yasser Abed Rabbo, a top official with the Palestine Liberation Organization, on Monday insisted the new alliance would help rather than harm attempts to revive peace talks with Israel.
“We have repeatedly said that this agreement is completely the opposite of this. It represents a significant step that could push the political process forward,” he told Voice of Palestine radio.
Under terms of the deal, the two parties would work together to set up a caretaker government of independents not allied to either faction to work towards holding elections within the next year.
The interim government would have nothing to do with peace negotiations, which would remain the mandate of the PLO, the official representative of the Palestinian people and which is headed by President Mahmoud Abbas.
“The United States and Israel do not need to deal with every Palestinian faction separately,” Abed Rabbo said.
“If we had to deal with each Israeli party that composes the current government coalition, we would not find any of them ready to talk with us.”
“The USA should deal with the PLO, which has not changed its stances and commitments,” he added. [...]
“To be honest, Hamas came over to our program,” said senior Fatah official Nabil Sha’ath, pointing to remarks by Mash’al after the deal was signed on May 3, in which he spoke of “a common national goal” of a state along the 1967 borders comprising the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. [...]
“I don’t think we need anything more from Hamas,” Sha’ath said, arguing it would be “ridiculous” to ask Hamas to recognise the state of Israel at this stage.
“What for? Will that be reciprocated by Israel recognizing Hamas or recognising the Palestinian state? It won’t.” he said.
Imagine if the Palestinians had to negotiate with the individual factions in the Knesset…
The Government of Israel flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan river.
The Palestinians can run their lives freely in the framework of self-rule, but not as an independent and sovereign state. Thus, for example, in matters of foreign affairs, security, immigration and ecology, their activity shall be limited in accordance with imperatives of Israel’s existence, security and national needs. [...]
The Jordan River as a Permanent Border
The Jordan Valley and the territories that dominate it shall be under Israeli sovereignty. The Jordan river will be the permanent eastern border of the State of Israel. The Kingdom of Jordan is a desirable partner in the permanent status arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians in matters that will be agreed upon.
Security Areas
The government succeeded in significantly reducing the extent of territory that the Palestinians expected to receive in the interim arrangement. The government will insist that security areas essential to Israel’s defense, including the western security area and the Jewish settlements, shall remain under Israeli rule.
Where’s the ‘recognition’ for the Palestinians’ right to even ‘exist’…?
Look at FM Lieberman’s recent remarks and even the Rightwingers in the Israeli Cabinet…
…Lieberman’s warm message, delivered in a statement to the press at the start of a meeting of his Yisrael Beiteinu faction, also contained an implied warning to Netanyahu not to move left in his speech to Congress today.
With regard to negotiations with the Palestinians, an issue Netanyahu is expected to address when he speaks to Congress, Lieberman said, “Israel is prepared to negotiate at any moment, but without preconditions.
“Whoever wants to negotiate with us, ahlan wasahlan,” he added, using the Arabic phrase for “welcome.”
However, the foreign minister stressed, Israel would remain adamant in its rejection of the Palestinians’ demand that the refugees be resettled in Israel. “Not even one refugee,” he said.
Netanyahu and his inner circle are reportedly pleased with the support the premier has garnered from his right flank following his response to U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech last Thursday. Yet the cabinet’s left flank, Defense Minister Ehud Barak (Atzmaut ), also sounded pleased yesterday, saying that Obama’s subsequent speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Sunday “gave us a way out of the main disagreements, a way to solve those that remain and move forward.”
Oh wait, that is whom the Palestinians have to ‘negotiate’ with…!
Here’s another great example of the Israeli obsession with ‘Security’ at the expense of the Palestinians…
…Israeli forces began to install a barbed-wire fence on Monday around a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank, saying it was meant to prevent stone throwing.
Residents of Izbat At-Tabib, located east of Qalqiliya, awoke to the sounds of construction, and were told that lands made inaccessible by the construction were being confiscated for the construction of a buffer area between the village and the settler road that passes to its north.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed the construction and said it was to deter stone throwers.
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