The problem with the Geneva Communique from the first Geneva round on Syria is that the government of Syria never subscribed to it. It was jointly chaired by the League of Arab States for Syria, whatever that may mean. Another problem is that it is, as so many diplomatic documents are, highly ambiguous. It plainly advocates a power sharing executive formed by some of the current government plus the opposition to oversee a transition to democracy. But it does not state which elements of the current government, and it does not mention which elements of the opposition, nor does it make plain if President Assad himself is eligible to be part of, or to head, the power-sharing executive, and whether he is eligible to be a candidate in future democratic elections.
Doubtless the British, for example, would argue that the term transition implies that he will go. The Russians will argue there is no such implication and the text does not exclude anybody from the process. Doubtless also diplomats on all sides were fully aware of these differing interpretations and the ambiguity is quite deliberate to enable an agreed text. I would say that the text tends much more to the “western” side, and that this reflects the apparently weak military position of the Assad regime at that time and the then extant threat of western military intervention. There has been a radical shift in those factors against the western side in the interim. Expect Russian interpretations now to get more hardline.
Given the extreme ambiguity of the text, Iran has, as it frequently does, shot itself in the foot diplomatically by refusing to accept the communique as the basis of talks and thus getting excluded from Geneva. Iran should have accepted the communique, and then at Geneva issued its own interpretation of it.
But that is a minor point. The farcical thing about the Geneva conference is that it is attempting to promote into power-sharing in Syria “opposition” members who have no democratic credentials and represent a scarcely significant portion of those actually fighting the Assad regime in Syria. What the West are trying to achieve is what the CIA and Mossad have now achieved in Egypt; replacing the head of the Mubarak regime while keeping all its power structures in place. The West don’t really want democracy in Syria, they just want a less pro-Russian leader of the power structures.
The inability of the British left to understand the Middle East is pathetic. I recall arguing with commenters on this blog who supported the overthrow of the elected President of Egypt Morsi on the grounds that his overthrow was supporting secularism, judicial independence (missing the entirely obvious fact the Egyptian judiciary are almost all puppets of the military) and would lead to a left wing revolutionary outcome. Similarly the demonstrations against Erdogan in Istanbul, orchestrated by very similar pro-military forces to those now in charge in Egypt, were also hailed by commenters here. The word “secularist” seems to obviate all sins when it comes to the Middle East.
Qatar will be present at Geneva, and Qatar has just launched a pre-emptive media offensive by launching a dossier on torture and murder of detainees by the Assad regime, which is being given first headline treatment by the BBC all morning
There would be a good dossier to be issued on torture in detention in Qatar, and the lives of slave workers there, but that is another question.
I do not doubt at all that atrocities have been committed and are being committed by the Assad regime. It is a very unpleasant regime indeed. The fact that atrocities are also being committed by various rebel groups does not make Syrian government atrocities any better.
But whether 11,000 people really were murdered in a single detainee camp I am unsure. What I do know is that the BBC presentation of today’s report has been a disgrace. The report was commissioned by the government of Qatar who commissioned Carter Ruck to do it. Both those organisations are infamous suppressors of free speech. What is reprehensible is that the BBC are presenting the report as though it were produced by neutral experts, whereas the opposite is the case. It is produced not by anti torture campaigners or by human rights activists, but by lawyers who are doing it purely and simply because they are being paid to do it.
The BBC are showing enormous deference to Sir Desmond De Silva, who is introduced as a former UN war crimes prosecutor. He is indeed that, but it is not the capacity in which he is now acting. He is acting as a barrister in private practice. Before he was a UN prosecutor, he was for decades a criminal defence lawyer and has defended many murderers. He has since acted to suppress the truth being published about many celebrities, including John Terry.
If the Assad regime and not the government of Qatar had instructed him and paid him, he would now be on our screens arguing the opposite case to that he is putting. That is his job. He probably regards that as not reprehensible. What is reprehensible is that the BBC do not make it plain, but introduce him as a UN war crimes prosecutor as though he were acting in that capacity or out of concern for human rights. I can find no evidence of his having an especial love for human rights in the abstract, when he is not being paid for it. He produced an official UK government report into the murder of Pat Finucane, a murder organised by British authorities, which Pat Finucane’s widow described as a “sham”. He was also put in charge of quietly sweeping the Israeli murders on the Gaza flotilla under the carpet at the UN.
The question any decent journalist should be asking him is “Sir Desmond De Silva, how much did the government of Qatar pay you for your part in preparing this report? How much did it pay the other experts? Does your fee from the Government of Qatar include this TV interview, or are you charging separately for your time in giving this interview? In short how much are you being paid to say this?”
That is what any decent journalist would ask. Which is why you will never hear those questions on the BBC.
A Node @ 5:57
I share your frustration. Is scroll-a-pest actual software? There are programs which hide all usernames and comments having no genuine usefulness. But unless the majority see fit to ignore, rather than behave like hopeful romantics, it makes the thread rather cryptic as you will see the responder’s comments in vitro.
Writeon right on. Having discussed Bagram earlier there was a fairly balanced report tonight on BBC News Channel where a reporter had visited the prison there, and the men imprisoned were getting wholesome food, and exercise “better than other prisons in Afghanistan”, forgive me if I’m paraphrasing. I have seen propaganda footage of Guantanamo too which tries to make it appear better than it is. These prisons have certainly improved because they could not be much worse than they were at the beginning, but people are still dying there, and still being held there for no reason as the report portrayed. It was interesting to note that now the US troops are leaving President Kharzai is releasing the men who he says have mostly committed no crime. The US tells a different story, saying that there was evidence of explosives on some of the men’s hands. You can make up your own decision who you believe.
A story that the BBC or any other news outlet as far as I can establish has totally ignored is the unrest in Bosnia Herzegovina. Binoy Kampmark’s latest article claims Bosnia Herzegovina is in a state of unrest due to privatization of public companies followed by downsizing of the work-force though he puts it rather more eloquently.
http://newsjunkiepost.com/2014/02/11/bosnias-violent-protests-he-who-sows-hunger-reaps-anger/
Irish butter, it’s wetware not software.
Very interesting Mike. I notice the range of the graph is 1360 to 1361.8.
Do you have any data on how increasing the radiant energy hitting the earth by 1.8 W/m2, or 0.13% would affect surface temperature?
“it’s wetware not software.”
Heh. That’s the image I keep getting. Now if we could get them to mop-up with tissues.
Mary
February 7, 2014
http://www.silverdoctors.com/banker-source-on-wall-street-suicides-big-things-are-going-down/
The Bankers deaths could be due to conscience, and that would explain why only four have done the deed. If there really are hit teams to tie up loose ends, it’s gonna be another Holocaust.
‘Fraid not, Fred. Maybe the same people have it? As I said, I’m undecided on this one, and I’m no scientist, so perhaps I’m wrong to give this sun angle any credence. But it looks interesting, to say the least.
“The Tanks Are Rolling In Post-Devaluation Kazakhstan”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-13/tanks-are-rolling-post-devaluation-kazahkstan
“Despite “Absolute Calm” Claim, Venezuela Appears Just A Little Out Of Control”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-13/despite-absolute-calm-claim-venezuela-appears-just-little-out-control
@ “Irish Butter”
Nice handle, Ben. But you’re not Kerrygold quality. More like Marlon Brand.
This is a strange new tie up. Unilever and the Guardian in a seven figure deal to set up Guardian Labs, its ‘branded content division’. Is that nuspeak for an advertorial department? What a load of toffee. I suppose the £1m plus will come in handy.
Unilever inks deal with The Guardian
13 February 2014
Unilever has signed a “seven figure” partnership with Guardian News & Media centred on sustainable living, as the publisher officially launches its branded content division, Guardian Labs.
http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/1230956
Guardian Labs officially launches with Unilever sustainable living partnership
http://www.theguardian.com/gnm-press-office/guardian-launches-guardian-labs-with-unilever-partnership
Camel bones forge truth extracting fact from fiction and consign stories of Yahweh, Isaac, the ‘Promised Land’ and ‘Chosen People’ to the refuse bin of tall stories and illusion.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2014/feb/13/old-testament-camels-zionism-genesis
Heh. Camel bones. Nice catch.
Mark; There is a Christian Scripture, I can’t recall in which Jesus says ‘It is more difficult for a man to get into Heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle’
I wonder how many who can dismiss the first camel reference (yours) can also dismiss the second?
Cheers for the chuckle A node…. of near E.T intelligence – that Wetware device 🙂 –
HaHa…Nevermind – Tickled Pink… Hows the wee yin Btw.
Mary a bit more re you’re post at 5;29 am…13th
Every now and then we have a chance to peek through a tiny window to see how “diplomacy” is done behind closed doors. Last week the leaked conversation between US diplomats plotting the overthrow of Ukraine’s government was one such dramatic moment.
Another came yesterday, in an interview with Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, which appeared in the respected Lebanese Daily Star newspaper. In a sweeping interview, the Ambassador discussed the recent bombing of the Iranian embassy in Beirut and the regional threat of the growing number of jihadist groups in Syria.
Assad RallyThen he let loose with this bombshell. Roknabadi told the Daily Star that the Iranian government had been under pressure to convince Syrian president Bashar al-Assad not to run again for president. As Syria’s only regional ally, Iran presumably has a good deal of influence with the Assad government.
Ambassador Roknabadi:
[U.N. Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey] Feltman, during a visit to Iran last summer, asked officials to convince Assad not to run in the elections. The Iranian officials asked him: ‘What’s the problem if he runs,’ to which Feltman responded: ‘If he runs, he will win the elections.’
Feltman is not just any UN bureaucrat. In the revolving door between the UN and US government, he previously served as US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from August 2009 to June 2012 and as United States Ambassador to Lebanon from July 2004 to January 2008. Before that he served in post-”liberation” Iraq.
More recently, Feltman was an important cast member in the above-mentioned “Ukraine-gate” phone call between US undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland and US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt. In the Ukraine drama, his former State Department colleagues agreed that Feltman could be trusted to appoint a UN official to “glue” together the deal they were cooking up.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-un-fears-assad-win-in-free-syrian-election/5368624
Few of you know Michael McDonald, but his tenure with the Doobies and his stint as studio musician for Steely Dan were preceded by his Motown days which he honors with this piece.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oriUypWVcV8
“Joel Hay: What’s wrong with American hospitals?”
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/hospital-600886-care-year.html
Fred, Mike
I came across some stuff whilst looking up the future of the sun – towards red Giant stage…it’s very techy stuff but you may find some of it useful and interesting …there’s a table on page 9 that might be what you were asking about re Data for Radiant energy hitting the earth Fred
http://qihaoweng.net/refereed%20journal/IEEE%20JSTARS%202013%20Weng%20et%20al.%20final%20version.pdf
I wonder too Ben; lose perspective and the information that identifies each one of us turns ethereal, lacking order and strength to break the shackles of time in some profound way.
I myself believe the journey through a ‘singularity’ is the eye of a needle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj2XCKu3et4
@ mark golding 13 Feb, 2014 – 11:28 pm
Interesting piece, Mark. Of course every rational person already knew that the ‘Promised Land’ claim was never anything more than a cynical ploy to create a historical back story which would add legitimacy to the Zionist landgrab. Nonetheless it was an effective tool for manipulating the religious, and a fig leaf behind which murderous Israeli settlers could camouflage their greed for fervour.
Just last night BrianFujisan posted a harrowing documentary about an orchestrated Israeli army campaign to deliberately traumatize Palestinian children. It featured a strident woman who revealed that she had talked with Butcher Sharon many times and between them they had drawn up maps of future (now present) Jewish settlements whose purpose was to fragment Palestine and make a peace deal impossible. She swore that all Palestinians would have to leave their land or die because God had promised it to the Jews. Well, she’ll need to find another excuse now. What about “We sold our souls to Satan and he promised us Palestine in exchange”?
Hre’s the video documenting the Israeli army deliberately terrorising Palestinian children and proving it to be an official Israeli government policy:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/israelis-army-mistreatment-of-palestinian-children-australian-tv-dares-to-show-the-real-occupation/5368452
…and I’ll be keeping an eye on this page waiting for an update:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promised_Land
We are being deluged with anti-Sochi (toothpaste n all), anti-Russia and anti-Putin propaganda by the gay and jew alliance in the MSM. And very clearly the Hellen Boaden , Mark Urban crowd at the Beeb. The jews for Putins anti-bombing Syria stand directly against israeli interests, and gays for the Russian law against gay propaganda to children. Its sick ! No wonder Hitler was targeting bot devils.
Fred and Mike, I’ve scaled the temp/CO2 plot and combined it onto the solar variation plot, in case that helps. I’ve uploaded it as a .png image and also as a gimp project, .xcf
(Note to others: don’t bother downloading the .xcf file unless you have gimp):
http://www.killick1.plus.com/odds/combined.png
http://www.killick1.plus.com/odds/combined.xcf
From one of my favourite books, The Black Cloud, 1957, by Fred Hoyle. Note that the temperatures are in Fahrenheit:
I love the one-liners of the Russian character Alexandrov. The whole book is available on-line (on a single web page!), here:
http://evolbiol.ru/cloud/cloud_eng.html
Russian readers: I’ve just noticed that the copy of Hoyle’s The Black Cloud that I linked to above is hosted on a Russian site, and all the sections about the character I mentioned, Alexandrov, are highlighted in blue. Can anyone read the site and tell me why?
http://evolbiol.ru/
A Happy Valentine’s Day to all mates and their mates.
http://home.bt.com/news/oddnews/valentine-treat-for-lovedup-lions-11363875778781
European Parliament kills call to protect Edward Snowden
By Bill Van Auken
13 February 2014
Under intense pressure from both the Obama administration and national governments in Europe, a committee of the European Parliament has killed a measure calling for asylum and protection for National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden should he leave his temporary haven in Russia for anywhere within the European Union.
Not only did the panel reject an amendment Wednesday that would have called on EU members to offer to protect Snowden from persecution at the hands of US authorities, it excised any mention of his name from a 60-page report that is based entirely on the secret documents that he made public. These documents have exposed a massive spying operation against hundreds of millions of people in Europe, the United States and internationally. The report is slated to be submitted to the full Parliament next month.
/..
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/02/13/snow-f13.html
If you read through, you see that various visits have been made to Brussels by American politicians. No mention though of Nuland, Slaughter or any of the other harpies.
Mary:
“Roknabadi told the Daily Star that the Iranian government had been under pressure to convince Syrian president Bashar al-Assad not to run again for president.”
Mr Roknabadi would do well as a CM blog troll. He infers a whopping lie that Assad has ever been part of a democratic process by concealing it under another whopping lie that Assad is popular in Syria.
If the political diplomatic class got off its backside from political chess and point scoring and uttered a piece of truth from time to time such as CM when he was in Uzbekistan, the world would be a far better place. It may be coincidental, but since CM’s revelations the open use of the tactic of torture for terror related information gathering has ceased as far as UKUSIS policy is concerned.
There is still torture for its own sake by the likes of Assad, but that of course is why he is so popular in Syria, because he is so clean and honest.
Guano There is some mistake. It was not my post ref Roknabadi.
Camel bones – well caught, Mark. Looking at the comments on the Guardian piece, it’s obvious that the critics didn’t read the original paper, which pre-empts their criticisms, and makes no unverifiable claims. Here it is –
http://archaeology.tau.ac.il/ben-yosef/pub/Pub_PDFs/Sapir-Hen&Ben-Yosef13_CamelAravah_TelAviv.pdf
More on the Babylonian myth gratefully adopted by the Jews in their search for cultural credibility –
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10574119/Noahs-Ark-the-facts-behind-the-Flood.html
A node thanks for re posting the video re Palestine Children.. anyone can’t be bothered with the full vid..please check out the last 5/6 mins Sums up the worst in child kidnap…and the evil words of the Bitch A Node mentions above Re her Planning With Sharon…
Moving on to Syria and Geneva …
Post-WW II, Geneva became Europe’s UN home. It’s a preferred diplomatic choice. It’s in neutral Switzerland. It’s an easy flight from Washington or Moscow.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is based there. Nineteenth century Geneva Conventions were drafted there.
So were post-WW II Geneva Conventions I through IV. Subsequent protocols supplemented them there. Common Articles 2 and 3 highlight details.
Geneva is the world’s top tough talks choice. It’s home to Syrian peace negotiations. It’s hosting Iranian nuclear ones.
It’s been tough going for both. More on Iran below. Syria prioritizes conflict resolution. It wants terrorism stopped. It wants human suffering ended. It wants equitable, lasting peace.
Obama launched war. He continues it. He could stop it by calling off his dogs. He shows no signs of doing it.
He wants Syrian sovereignty destroyed. He abhors diplomatic conflict resolution. He wants Assad ousted.
He wants his choice for Syria’s leader replacing him. He wants Syrians having no say….
“I always reserve the right to exercise military action on behalf of America’s national security interests,” he said.
Pursuing US interests involves naked aggression against one independent country after another. It’s about total war.
It’s about mass slaughter and destruction. It’s about bombing countries back to the stone age. It’s about creating unspeakable human misery.
It’s about resource control. It’s about unchallenged US dominance. It’s about replacing sovereign governments with pro-Western puppet ones.
It’s about crushing democracy. It’s about tolerating it nowhere. It’s about making the world safe for US corporate interests.
Obama calls the Syrian situation “fluid.” All options are being considered. Bet on total war being his top choice.
Peace talks are fake. They’re not about resolving conflict. Obama didn’t initiate it to quit. He’s waging proxy war for regime change……
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad wants terrorism discussed. He wants ending fighting addressed.
“Those who come out with statements far removed from what is happening in the meetings have rejected clearly and openly to include terrorism in the conference’s discussions, saying that there’s no terrorism in Syria, no Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, no Jabhet al-Nusra, and no Islamic Front, and this again proves that they live in an illusionary, unreal, deceptive and false world,” he said.
“We cannot accept bypassing the first item – which is the most important one – of the Geneva communique on counterterrorism.”
“Those who refuse to discuss this item seek to create and support terrorism to kill the Syrian people.”
Halting violence and terrorism come first. Nothing else matters otherwise. Mekdad called on all world countries for support. Save Syrian lives, he urged.
Syrian delegates prioritize discussing terrorism. They insist as long as talks continue. Odds favor them breaking down entirely.
Stopping violence and ending conflict matter most. Protecting Syrians depends on achieving what they want most.
It’s their country. It’s their choice. Government delegates represent them. Syrians have full faith in their mission. They deplore SNC stooges. They want no part of replacing Assad.
His political/media advisor Bouthaina Shaaban called political discussions impossible with ravaging nationwide terrorism.
Counterterrorism comes first. Transitional governance depends on what Syrians want. It bears repeating. Outside meddling won’t be tolerated.
Government delegates negotiate constructively, she said. They want bloodshed stopped. They want Syrian lives saved.
Daily massacres continue. On February 10, Jabhet al-Nusra terrorists targeted Maan village. It’s in Hama’s northern countryside.
They slaughtered 42 women, children and elderly victims. They did so in cold blood. Mainstream media ignored it.
A General Command statement said takfiri armed terrorists attacked Maan. They used Western-supplied weapons. Israel supplies its own.
They pillaged homes. They burned them. They demolished others. They displaced village occupants.
They did so during fake peace talks. “What can we (call) what happened in Maan,” said Shaaban? Who slaughtered innocent civilians? Who commits outrageous massacres?
Who talks peace while committing crimes of war and against humanity? SNC delegates ignore stopping bloodshed. Peace talks are a sham. They want power.
They want what benefits them. They’re mindless of Syrian suffering. Claiming “transitional government can fight terrorism means they’re linked to (it) and the flow of arms” they’re receiving, said Shaaban.
They support what they claim to oppose. They “encourage terrorism.” They threaten Syria’s survival. Obama does most of all.
He wants war. He deplores peace. He’s arming, funding, training and directing terrorists. He’s doing so while pretending to seek peace.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/duplicitous-geneva-diplomacy/5368691
Clark, not really sure what you mean regarding the blue text. The Russian text is all in Russian apart from when Alexander speaks which is recorded in English by a hyperlink in the Russian version. Therefore:
“But why should the Cloud behave in such a darned fashion?” asked Weichart.
“Because bastard inside, maybe,” suggested Alexandrov.
becomes:
— Но почему Облако ведет себя таким чертовски странным образом? — спросил Вейхарт.
If you click on (which is in blue) it brings up in English:
“Because bastard inside, maybe,” suggested Alexandrov.
I don’t know why the translators have done it like that, I’m not familiar with the novel and don’t have time to read it even in English. However, if you really want to find out there is a note that it was translated by a bureau of foreign translators in Kiev called Transgalaxy.
[email protected]
I’m sure they can answer any questions better than me.