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.
Clark
“Anyway, I asked for your take on global warming ages back over at Squonk, and now the subject has come up here. My earlier comments (2:26 am and 1:26 pm) are something I only thought of last night. That 4°C figure the governments talk about has certainly got me alarmed. What do you reckon?”
______________
I don’t remember that, Clark! I must admit that I’ve never boned up on the arguments for and against human-caused global warming – that’s remiss of me, I do admit – and so I’m ill-qualified to say anything – although my instincts tell me that the phenomenon exists. An instinct fortified, I must say, when I listen to Lord Lawson prattling on in denial…
I agree it has been a pleasant day here but then from 4.21pm – 4.30pm we have three in a row designed to inflame and or aggravate.
PS Why does he deliberately spell Doug’s name Scourgie. It is Scorgie after all.
I think I should have also posted about the heart warming heroics of the two princes passing a few token sandbags along a line at Datchet. CameraOn must be giving them instructions on media appearances.
I have the sound turned up on the TV to drown out the noise of the wind buffeting down the chimney and roof.
Ref Valentine’s Day.
Ogden Nash
I claim there ain’t
Another Saint
As great as Valentine!
O. Nash addressed Valentine’s Day more than once, Mary.
‘Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.’
“BREAKING NEWS:Investigators say police helicopter which crashed on busy Glasgow pub suffered failure of both engines ”
That’s a technical term for ran out of fuel.
Greetings Dave – A real pleasure. Clark I too am sorry for your great loss. John great summary and perspective. It raised some hairs which is a good sign…
“Bill Gates’ Energy Co. Files For Bankruptcy”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-14/bill-gates-energy-co-files-bankruptcy
I’d like to give credit to Gates for the effort, but I suspect many of his business ventures exist merely for the write-off.
http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Bill-Gates-Backs-Renewable-Battery-Startup.html
If he really wants to do something about clean energy, he needs to innovate beyond the ancient lead-acid battery.
We need a Manhattan Project for efficient storage, not reinventing the same old wheel.
They never give up.
http://fukushimaupdate.com/hokkaido-city-filing-suit-to-stop-construction-of-nuclear-plant-in-aomori/
“It will be the first lawsuit by a local government seeking the suspension of nuclear power plant construction.
Hakodate Mayor Toshiki Kudo announced the legal measure on Feb. 12.
Kudo was elected a month after the Fukushima nuclear accident started in March 2011 on promises to demand a permanent freeze on the construction of the Oma nuclear plant.
Tokyo-based Electric Power Development Co. (J-Power) is expected to submit an application for safety clearance for its single-reactor Oma nuclear power plant with the Nuclear Regulation Authority this spring.”
My post 5:59pm above has been blocked at a number of social media outlets with this message:
‘Your message couldn’t be sent because it includes content that other people have reported as abusive.’
Good feed-back!! The ‘sitops’ behind the coup in Ukraine has been kept dark – so link out please folks if you are able.
“We need a Manhattan Project for efficient storage, not reinventing the same old wheel.”
Like this?
http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2013/10/11/joint-center-energy-storage-research-drive-battery-and-energy-storage-technology
Thanks Fred. I was unaware that such an impressive collaboration was under way. The article I link was written in 2000, and says magnesium is ‘safe’. I was not under that impression.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v407/n6805/abs/407724a0.html
“My post 5:59pm above has been blocked at a number of social media outlets with this message:”
Facebook? They even allow abusive ‘selfies’ without flinching, Mark. Did you go dark on your comments? 🙂
Thanks Ben – That question must of course be directed by ‘I’. lol
Mark G. I’m expecting as much, Russia’s use of the security council to stop the warmongers is most likely one of reasons, and the past. Sochi is a really good indicator as it shows up some countries as dumb arses.
“My husband received a permit to enter Israel only once, on our wedding day, only until ten o’clock in the evening.”
Leem*
In July 2003 the Israeli Knesset passed the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (temporary order), which prohibits Palestinian spouses of Israeli citizens from gaining residency or citizenship in Israel. The law is up for renewal in the Knesset this April!
The VP team, photographers and star-crossed lovers from around the world have gotten together to produce a video for Palestinian lovers this Valentine’s Day. It is our collective way of expressing solidarity with Palestinians separated by Israeli laws.
The video marks the launch of Visualizing Palestine’s campaign Segregated by Color, which sheds light on the Israeli-controlled system of colored ID cards, responsible for separating families from their loved ones. We have joined forces with groups working on the issue like Adalah, Love in the Time of Apartheid, and Love Under Apartheid so that the renewal of the law does not go unnoticed.
Visit http://visualizingpalestine.org/ to learn more about the Segregated by Color campaign.
Help us share this visual http://vimeo.com/86664378 with everyone you love.
*Leem’s quote is taken from her testimony in Families Interrupted, an exhibition by Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.
The Visualizing Palestine Team
“Thanks Fred. I was unaware that such an impressive collaboration was under way. The article I link was written in 2000, and says magnesium is ‘safe’. I was not under that impression.”
Best use lithium batteries instead then.
LOL @ Fred. Exactly. Li batteries used to have an irritating tendency to catch fire by themselves (the latest big Boeing airliner had this problem) – don’t know if that’s been fixed. Mg’s a bit less reactive and doesn’t go up in the presence of a little water. And Mg’s MUCH more abundant – no wars will be fought to get our hands on limited deposits. Looks good.
There’s actually quite a lot of research going on worldwide in the not unrelated fields of CO2 capture and storage, and hydrogen storage aimed at fuel-cell-powered vehicles. Much of it Chinese-backed. Imagine if the Manhattan project had been conducted in peacetime with the collaboration of Russia, Germany and Japan…the bomb would have been bigger, better and quicker, no? That’s not far off what is happening at the moment in energy storage, informally.
Fortunately the arts graduates who do the media are wholly unaware of learned journals, and only interested in human-interest stories, so the researchers are left in peace to get on with it.
God is the broad canvas.
10 February 2014
“Why I want a microchip implant”
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140209-why-i-want-a-microchip-implant
Quick transcript from the yesterday’s Radio four Lawson, Hoskins Exchange…with some additional explanatory commentary
“For example, during the interview, the following exchange takes place”
Lord Lawson: Everything. First of all, even if there is warming – and there’s been no recorded warming over the past 15, 16, 17 years.
Justin Webb: Well, there is a lot of controversy about that.
Lord Lawson: No there’s not, that’s a fact. That is accepted even by the IPCC.
No, it’s not a fact (firstly fact is a poor word to use in scientific discussion, unless it is suitably qualified). Depending on the dataset used, the surface warming trend since 1998 is between 0.05oC per decade and 0.12oC per decade with a 2σ uncertainty of about 0.14oC per decade. That means it’s possible that there’s been no surface warming, but it’s much more likely that there has been surface warming. Therefore, it’s entirely incorrect to say there’s been no recorded warming. Additionally, this statement fails to mention that warming continues in other parts of the climate system.
The interview ends with the following exchange in which Brian Hoskins explains where most of the excess energy associated with the energy imbalance has been going for the last 10 – 15 years
Sir Brian Hoskins: Oh yes, it’s there in the oceans.
Lord Lawson: That is pure speculation.
Sir Brian Hoskins: No, it’s a measurement.
Lord Lawson: No, it’s not. It’s speculation.
No, it really isn’t speculation. There really are measurements. There are satellite measurements of sea level rise and Argo floats that have been measuring ocean temperatures down to a depth of 2000m. You may not trust the measurements, or like what they’re suggesting, or may think the uncertainties are too large (they’re not) but the measurements exist and stating that the suggestion that the energy is going into the ocean is speculation is simply wrong.
So, that’s my quick comment. Given that Lord Lawson seems to be appearing on the radio and TV quite regularly, it would be very good if he could start getting these things right. Of course, you would hope that an organisation like the Global Warming Policy Foundation would have – as one of its goals – to correctly present the science associated with global warming and climate change. I did have a look their mission statement, and couldn’t actually find any statement like that, so maybe they don’t. If so, they’re doing a remarkably good job of not representing the science properly. Personally, I’d prefer that they did represent it properly and accurately but, if not, maybe they could add the following to their mission statement :
I think The Writer might have meant add the ABOVE…But Comments are From –
For the moment, I’ve decided to remain anonymous. I don’t really know why. No particularly good reason and I certainly don’t intend to use my anonymity to attack those who are not. I am not a climate scientist, but am a professional and active scientist who teaches and carries out research at a university – regarded by some – as amongst the best in the world. The views I express here are my own and not those of my employer.
The Transcript, AND Anonymous… can be found @
http://andthentheresphysics.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/a-quick-science-lesson-for-lord-lawson/
MUST READ.
“The Vampire Squid Strikes Again: The Mega Banks’ Most Devious Scam Yet”
http://m.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-vampire-squid-strikes-again-the-mega-banks-most-devious-scam-yet-20140212
Lithium? Might as well be librium. There’s nothing new under the Sun. I’m not so sure about these innovations. They’re a bit like cures for cancer. Too much is to be gained by NOT coming up with cures.
Some will think “I recognise the problem he’s describing, it is good that more people are hearing his message”
Some won’t think, they’ll scream “antisemitism”
Some will think “I recognise the problem he’s describing, it is bad that more people are hearing his message” and scream “antisemitism”
Dieudonné on Iranian TV :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3pvWdlOGK0&feature=c4-overview&list=UUjNKMHqfoVSuJF739U66_7g
Fred: Re. the “eye of a needle” parable.
You’re right, it was about a rich man. The point I heard, was that the “needle” in a town’s fortifications were built only high and wide enough for a camel to pass through. If the camel was loaded up with riches, then it would have to be unpacked before it could pass through.
So the parable suggests that a rich man can get into heaven, just like a camel can get through the eye of a needle, by unloading their riches first.
Clark wrote, “I wonder how much control the pilot had as the helicopter descended. In my opinion it is wrong to try to land a stricken aircraft on the roof of any building that could be occupied; the river Clyde, just a dozen metres away, would be a better alternative.
Quite agree about the choice of landing/crash site, but – how much visibility did the pilot have? Helicopters are not like light planes, which can be glided without power to a suitable crash site. They might hardly have been moving at all when power totally failed, and can do little but fall vertically.
It’s theoretically possible to make a helicopter that has lost power land at a survivable pace, using – as you said – reverse torque, employing the upthrust of air to spin the blades. That does depend on the nature of the actuators that tilt the blades though, if the drive mechanisms had lost power you’re sunk. It would spin like a top too – something not apparently observed.
Clark (again!) : “That 4°C figure the governments talk about has certainly got me alarmed.
Indeed it should. 4°C is absolutely disastrous. 6°C is catastrophic. You might like this :
Six Degrees: Our future on a hotter planet
It’s a bit old now (2007), but stands well. 2°C – the low end of what politicians are waffling about now, to start negotiations into something more realistic (like 4-6°C) – is itself ruinous.
We’re screwed, basically. We are collectively too stupid, meddling and most of all greedy to avoid causing our own destruction. If you have children or grandchildren, total denial is your best bet.
What a night but still standing!
14 February 2014
Catholic archbishop attacks welfare reform
The Archbishop of Westminster says there is a “real dramatic crisis”
Nichols ‘moved’ by Cardinal role
Archbishop highlights ‘injustices’
The leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has labelled the government’s social reform a “disgrace” for leaving people facing “destitution”.
Cardinal-designate Vincent Nichols said the “basic safety net” for the poorest families has been “torn apart”.
The Archbishop of Westminster claimed there was now a “real dramatic crisis”.
The government responded by saying welfare reforms will “transform the lives” of the poorest families.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Archbishop Nichols, the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in England and Wales, said the welfare state was becoming “more punitive”.
“I think what’s happening is two things”, he said.
“One is that the basic safety net, that was there to guarantee that people would not be left in hunger or in destitution has actually been torn apart. It it no longer exists, and that is a real real dramatic crisis.
“And the second is that, in this context, the administration of social assistance – I am told – has become more and more punitive.”
‘Meet basic needs’
“So, if applicants don’t get it right then they have to wait and they have to wait for 10 days, for two weeks – with nothing, with nothing. And that’s why the role of food banks has become so crucial for so many people in Britain today.
“And for a country of our affluence that quite frankly is a disgrace.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26200157
~~~
Not a peep from Welby lately other than on female bishops and on homosexuality.
Archbishop Nicholls becomes a Cardinal next week.
It would appear that Breivik is becoming more psychotic by the day. I fear that there will be no rehabilitation. He is certainly tormented and appears to have no contrition for the slaughter he carried out.
Breivik Wants Better Video Games In Jail ‘Hell’
The man who killed 77 people in Norway sent a list of 12 demands to prison authorities and is threatening to go on hunger strike.
http://news.sky.com/story/1211952/breivik-wants-better-video-games-in-jail-hell
‘”You’ve put me in hell … and I won’t manage to survive that long. You are killing me,” he wrote to authorities, threatening a hunger strike and further right-wing extremist violence.
He added: “If I die, all of Europe’s right-wing extremists will know exactly who it was that tortured me to death.’