Will Hollande finally free Africa from French interests.

Published on May 30, 2012 by iraniam100 ; The head of the African Union, Boni Yayi, met with Francois Hollande as hundreds of millions hope that the new French president will honor his promise to end the neo-colonial empire known as Françafrique.

Nicolas Sarkozy made essentially the same pledge, only to produce the same scandals and military interventions which have defined France's Africa policy for the last 50 years.

A good place for Hollande to start would be to stop giving French recognition to leaders who win disputed elections, such as in Gabon or Ivory Coast. These beholden heads of state privilege French interests and corporations, which easily overwhelm local start-ups.

Fiscal transparency is another area of need, to answer long-standing questions on bribery, money laundering and to explain why many African leaders own millions in Parisian properties despite running poor countries. French soldiers are already stationed in Ivory Coast, Chad, Gabon, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic and Djibouti, but Hollande told Yayi that France will not intervene in Mali's civil war. For so many decades France's politicians have paved the way for the economic exploitation of Africa, but the question now is: Will Hollande be any different? Many say they are hopeful, but not naïve.

Obama Expands Secret Wars Across the Globe

It is only on Obama's watch that secret warriors have reached the pinnacle of the U.S. military's prestige hierarchy.

  

Photo Credit: Michal Ninger via Shutterstock.com   

As he campaigns for reelection, President Obama periodically reminds audiences of his success in terminating the deeply unpopular Iraq War.  With fingers crossed for luck, he vows to do the same with the equally unpopular war in Afghanistan.  If not exactly a peacemaker, our Nobel Peace Prize-winning president can (with some justification) at least claim credit for being a war-ender. 

Yet when it comes to military policy, the Obama administration’s success in shutting down wars conducted in plain sight tells only half the story, and the lesser half at that.  More significant has been this president’s enthusiasm for instigating or expanding secret wars, those conducted out of sight and by commandos.


President Franklin Roosevelt may not have invented the airplane, but during World War II he transformed strategic bombing into one of the principal emblems of the reigning American way of war.  General Dwight D. Eisenhower had nothing to do with the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb.  Yet, as president, Ike’s strategy of Massive Retaliation made nukes the centerpiece of U.S. national security policy.


So, too, with Barack Obama and special operations forces.  The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) with its constituent operating forces -- Green Berets, Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, and the like -- predated his presidency by decades.  Yet it is only on Obama’s watch that these secret warriors have reached the pinnacle of the U.S. military’s prestige hierarchy.

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No authenticity No truth!

Slaughter Slant: Houla massacre sparks media blame-game

Published on May 29, 2012 by RussiaToday ; The most gruesome episode in Syria's uprising is quickly turning into a PR battle, as each side, and their allies, portion blame for the slaughter in Houla. Just four days after the murders of over a hundred men, women and children - the media has been flooded with images furthering one, or the other agenda.

Commenting on the BBC's blunder with the Iraq picture, journalist and human rights investigator Keith Harmon Snow says there's simply no way it could have been posted by mistake. manufacturing consent?

Pan-African parliament choses new president

Published on May 29, 2012 by presstvmobile



MORE NEWS : Pan-African Parliament (PAP) Elects New President and Vice Presidents

Trip Report by Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to Egypt, May 21-28, 2012

May 29, 2012

Having witnessed the parliamentary elections in January, I returned to Cairo with Rosalynn, John Hardman, David Carroll, and Avery Davis-Roberts for the election of a president. Our Carter Center team, including Field Office Director Sanne van den Bergh, has been present since November and will be here until the president is inaugurated and a new constitution approved. Compared to our previous 89 election missions, our role has been limited by late issuing of credentials and by other restraints that prevent our access to the news media, restrict time we can spend in each polling station, etc. As a result our mission covered only the voting and counting process, and could not assess the electoral process as a whole. We objected strongly but finally decided to participate because of the importance and complexity of this historic effort to establish a democratic government in Egypt.

The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and Salafists together hold an overwhelming majority in the parliament, while the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) still retains great authority, and the courts comprise a third strong role in making decisions in the unpredictable and fluid political arena.

After some prominent candidates had been disqualified by the PEC, there were 13 men remaining in the contest as of 5/21, including former Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa and former senior MB member Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh who were considered the leaders, while MB's Freedom and Justice Party head Mohammad Morsi and Mubarak's last prime minister Ahmed Shafiq had been gaining strength. Four other viable candidates were Hamdeen Sabahi, Khalid Ali, Hisham Bastawisi, and Abul-Ezz El-Hariri. Fragmented polls indicated an unpredictable result.

When we arrived in Cairo we learned that SCAF leaders had decided not to meet with any foreign visitors, so we spent Monday receiving briefings from experts about political issues and recent changes, met with our long-term and short-term observers, and then with Head of Parliament Saad Al-Katatny. He was former Secretary-General of MB's Peace and Justice Party. In answering my questions, he minimized the authority of SCAF to make changes in the existing constitution re presidential authority, etc., but had accepted some of their recent decisions about cabinet changes to avoid a divisive confrontation...

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Muslims & FBIphobia!

Published on May 26, 2012 by RussiaToday ; Muslims in the US state of California say they're living in fear of prosecution by the government. They claim the FBI regards practicing Islam as a criminal offense. And while the government says it's just trying to prevent terrorist attacks, the Muslim community isn't convinced, as RT's Madina Kochenova discovered.

$2.6bn embezzlement case-Iran.

Published on May 26, 2012 by PressTVGlobalNews : The trial of trials, The lord of bribery in the docks The Aria Group case, blatant attack on financial security, The lord of bribery pleads not guilty,12,000 page report for 3 trillion tomans embezzlement case. 12,000 pages in 33 volumes compiled in just a few months a mountain of evidence for a scandal of gargantuan proportions. Until just recently a monstrous embezzlement operation was in full swing. Only 9 months ago was the lid blown off the scandal and its prime suspects dragged in for questioning. One mistake brought the stack of cards tumbling down about their ears. The case has left a gapping gash in Iran's economy, which will take a lot of stitching to close. The 33 volume indictment has finally been placed on the judge's desk -- what's certain is that the suspects behind the hefty report are no average Joes -- or maybe one of them is.

In the year 2005 Maha'farid amir Khosravi was the owner of a cattle farm. Seven years later his business had expanded considerably. He owned 38 major companies, the deeds to 38 factories, was in charge of 18 large scale projects, and when he was finally arrested in 2011, he was in the process of starting up a private bank called Aria. Mr. Amir Khosravi took seven reputable banks and some of the country's most recognized figures down with him. Mohammad Jahromi, the CEO of Saderat Bank, was forced to resign, Mahmoud Bahmani's the CEO of Iran's central Bank was accused of gross negligence, Mahmoud Kha'vari the CEO of Melli Bank fled to Canada becoming the suspect to generate the most media coverage, and Shamsedin Husseini, the Finance Minister, went to the brink of indictment.

America is protective of Dr. Shakil Afridi, why?

Published on May 25, 2012 by VOAvideo - Tensions rose higher between Pakistan and the United States this week after a tribal court gave a long prison term to a Pakistani doctor who tried to help U.S. forces gather information about Osama bin Laden. American forces later killed the terrorist, and the doctor's actions angered many Pakistanis. Some critics say the case of Dr. Shakil Afridi has some parallels to the plight of a U.S. citizen who sold U.S. secrets to Israel, and who is serving a life term in an American prison.

IAEA reports progress in Iran nuclear talks.

Voice of US State Dept reported:

Published on May 22, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish : The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran could soon sign a deal on the UN agency investigating suspected weapons activities connected to the country's nuclear programme.

Yukiya Amano, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, said on Tuesday that he reached an agreement with Iran's government after talks in Tehran, but failed to seal the deal because of "remaining, unspecified differences".

NATO the greatest threat to humanity?

Published on May 20, 2012 by presstvmobile : 'West conspires under NATO flag'

ISI full supports the US veterans return of medals!

US veterans to return medals as 1,000s of NATO protesters march in Chicago.

Attempted murder - Chicago Police van striking a protester

CHICAGO — Anti-war protesters from across the country will march on downtown Chicago on Sunday, hoisting signs, chanting slogans and observing veterans returning their war medals as world leaders open the NATO summit.

 

By Miranda Leitsinger, msnbc.com

“NATO is at the root of a lot of the problems that we’re seeing in the world and the imperialist agenda that they are enforcing is something that’s deeply wrong and it’s very important to me to take some kind of a stand,” said Abigail Parrish, a 23-year-old from Wichita, Kan., who took time off from her call center job to carpool with three others from her local Occupy group to Chicago. 

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Republican-led House votes to allow military action against Iran.

The Republican-led House of Representatives approved Friday the use of US force against Iran if the Tehran regime threatens the United States and its allies with nuclear weapons.

According to a section of the National Defense Authorization Act, “it shall be the policy of the United States to take all necessary measures, including military action if required, to prevent Iran from threatening the United States, its allies or Iran’s neighbors with a nuclear weapon.”

Lawmakers by a vote of 299-120 passed the sweeping legislation, which sets out a total of $642.5 billion in military expenditures for the coming fiscal year.

The bill including the tough Iran language came just a day after a non-binding but sharply worded House resolution put pressure on President Barack Obama to prevent Tehran from pursuing its nuclear program and reject policy merely aimed at containing a nuclear weapons-capable Iran.

Friday’s measure would make the possible use of force a key plank in US policy to prevent Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb.

The bill would still need to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, where Obama’s allies are highly unlikely to pass the House version without substantial changes.

Obama has already threatened to veto the measure if it prevents his administration from carrying out its defense strategy.

The House legislation would require the US military to prepare a plan to boost the presence of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in the Middle East, and conduct military exercises“or other visible, concrete military readiness activities.”

Iran and the P5+1 powers — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany — are preparing to meet next week in Baghdad for crunch talks on Tehran’s contested nuclear program.

Western powers and Israel say Iran is masking an ambition to obtain nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian energy program, a charge Tehran vehemently denies.

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'NATO military arm of US imperialism'.

Published on May 19, 2012 by presstvmobile:

A closer look: The Israeli origins of Bush II's war

While the neoconservatives were the driving force behind the American invasion of Iraq and the consequent efforts to bring about regime change throughout the Middle East, the idea for such a war did not originate with American neocon thinkers but rather in Israel. An obvious linkage exists between the war position of the neocons and what has long been a strategy of the Israeli Right and, to a lesser extent, of the Israeli mainstream.

The idea of a Middle East war had been bandied about in Israel for many years as a means of enhancing Israeli security. War would serve two purposes. It would enhance Israel's external security by weakening and splintering Israel's neighbors. Moreover, such a war and the consequent weakening of Israel's external enemies could help resolve the internal Palestinian demographic problem, since the Palestinian resistance has derived material and moral support from Israel's neighboring states.

A brief look at the history of the Zionist movement and its goals will help to provide an understanding of this issue. The Zionist goal of creating an exclusive Jewish state in Palestine was complicated by the fundamental problem that the country was already settled with a mostly non-Jewish population. Despite public rhetoric to the contrary, the idea of expelling the indigenous Palestinian population (euphemistically referred to as a "transfer") was an integral part of the Zionist effort to found a Jewish national state in Palestine.

"The idea of transfer had accompanied the Zionist movement from its very beginnings, first appearing in Theodore Herzl's diary," Israeli historian Tom Segev observes. "In practice, the Zionists began executing a mini-transfer from the time they began purchasing the land and evacuating the Arab tenants.... 'Disappearing' the Arabs lay at the heart of the Zionist dream, and was also a necessary condition of its existence.... With few exceptions, none of the Zionists disputed the desirability of forced transfer — or its morality." However, the Zionist leaders learned not to publicly proclaim their goal of mass expulsion because "this would cause the Zionists to lose the world's sympathy." [1]

The challenge was to find an opportune time to initiate the mass-expulsion process when it would not incur the world's condemnation. In the late 1930s, Ben-Gurion wrote: "What is inconceivable in normal times is possible in revolutionary times; and if at this time the opportunity is missed and what is possible in such great hours is not carried out — a whole world is lost." [2] Those "revolutionary times" would come with the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948, when the Zionists were able to expel 750,000 Palestinians (more than 80 percent of the indigenous population) and thus achieve an overwhelmingly Jewish state, though the area did not include the entirety of Palestine, or the "Land of Israel," which Zionist leaders thought necessary for a viable country.

By : By STEPHEN J. SNIEGOSKI - full article

NATO & their Afghanistan withdrawal plan.

Published on May 16, 2012 by VOAvideo : The top leaders of the 28 countries in the NATO alliance meet in Chicago Sunday to put the finishing touches on their Afghanistan withdrawal plan, and to seek ways to ensure that the organization remains strong and relevant for the coming decades. VOA Europe Correspondent Al Pessin previews the upcoming NATO summit from London.

Google following CIA’s path in confronting Iran

By Kourosh Ziabari

To Iranians, Persian Gulf is not simply a name referring to a geographical region on the world map. To Iranians, the name of Persian Gulf is interwoven with a sense of national dignity and honor which makes them a united and powerful troupe against the relentless attacks of the enemy. The name of Persian Gulf resembles a feeling of pride and decorum for them which cannot be replaced by any other gift or reward. It reminds them of the impressive days when the flag of ancient Persian Empire honorably fluttered and waved in the sky and there was no other competitor to supersede this mighty empire.

Of course Iranians’ attachment to Persian Gulf and the cultural heritage which it carries does not emanate from blind nationalistic sentiments. Iranians know well that today, they are the representative of a greater, broader union that is the Islamic Ummah. They know that it’s with the blessing of Islam that they can still take pride on being an unrivaled superpower in such a tumultuous and restless region as the Middle East. However, Iranians are extremely sensitive about those vicious, brutal powers who intend to undermine their national honor and solidarity by encroaching on their national belongings, including the Persian Gulf.

Aside from the naughty attempts by some Arab nations in the region for distorting the name of Persian Gulf, the American web giant Google has recently fueled an anti-Iranian campaign by removing the name of Persian Gulf from its online maps and Google Earth plans. No Google official was ready to give comments on this questionable move, and Iranians are still wondering what motives have caused the American company to take such a thoughtless action.

Albeit if we take a look at the documents and evidence which point to the fact that Google is in actuality a CIA subsidiary that takes orders from the White House and operates under the guise of a technology firm while serving the long-run interests of a circle of American policymakers, it will be no surprise that by removing the name of Persian Gulf from its maps, Google intends to contribute to the anti-Iranian agenda of the United States and Israel which are vehemently underway these days.

In a 2006 interview with “Alex Jones show,” Robert David Steele, a 20-year Marine Corps infantry and intelligence officer and a former clandestine services case officer with CIA said that he had credible information attesting to the fact that Google was assisted and funded by CIA. “Google took money from the CIA when it was poor and it was starting up and unfortunately our system right now floods money into spying and other illegal and largely unethical activities, and it doesn’t fund what I call the open source world,” said Steele, citing “trusted individuals” as his sources for the claim.

“Let me say very explicitly – their contact at the CIA is named Dr. Rick Steinheiser, he’s in the Office of Research and Development,” said Steele.

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How Has Iran Paralyzed the Sanctions?

Sayed Hadi Mousavi- Tehran

When the leaders of the European Union first considered the oil sanctions as their last weapon against Iran, they didn't think that Iran would welcome such a move. 

European Union pushed by the United States was planning to sanction the Iranian oil industry that largely depends on the European investment and technology so that they could put much pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. But Iran seemed well-prepared for the whole plan and the effects of this embargo was easily controlled and countered. 

Iran has been trying to develop plans for self-sufficiency. A huge amount of budget has been allocated to research and development of applied sciences. Thus, Iran has many achievements in this field, and has many different scientific and applied methods to counter the effects of sanctions. 

Having to cope with these sanctions, the country has been able to demonstrate its abilities on self-efficiency by inaugurating many projects and organizing different scientific and applied exhibitions on the field of oil industry. 

But the most important act by Iran was the anticipated embargo by Iran on oil exports to some European countries before they can plan for alternatives considering that they are experiencing economic problems. 

On this note, Iranian Oil Minister, Rostam Qassemi said "Despite one-sided sanctions by the West, the Iranian oil export hasn't fallen at all and has harmed the Western economies and oil consuming countries. If these countries put aside their hostile stance, Iran is ready to resume its oil export. We know that the decision made by Iran, that is, to stop the oil export to some European countries, has had negative effects on their economy." 

Reuters news agency confirms the Iranian Oil minister words. In its analysis, Reuters writes: "As Washington and its allies tighten the screws on Tehran over its nuclear program, Iran is coming up with new ways to sell its oil -offering special deals to allies China and India, delivering oil to clients and swapping it for gold and grain." 

The news agency adds: "Washington, London and Brussels are doing their best to put up obstacles, but Iran is market savvy, these traders said, describing a number of ways Iran can avoid sanctions and continue to get its oil to market." 

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