Friday, November 4, 2011 at 7:39AM Gilad Atzmon
It does not take a genius to gather that the Israeli aggression towards Iran would endanger every living species on this planet. Devastatingly enough, our Western governments do nothing to stop the Jewish State. That should not take us by surprise: our politicians are largely funded and vetted by Israeli lobbies that openly support attack on Iran.
Here in Britain Defence Secretary Liam Fox had to resign two weeks ago when it became clear that he was ‘breaching ministerial laws’. The British press went out of its way to reduce the issue of his resignation into just another ‘gay-ish mini scandal’. But we actually have strong reason to believe that Fox was working intensively for Israel.
He was enthusiastically advocating Israeli interests such as an attack on Iran. Together with his ‘best friend’ Adam Werritty, he was also funded by the Israeli lobby. We know also that Fox and his ‘flat mate’ Werritty were in direct contact with Mossad, and were even warned by MI6 about it.
But Fox was not alone: with 80% of our leading party’s MP’s being Conservative Friends Of Israel’s (CFI) members, we have good reason to believe that treachery is now institutional amongst UK elected politicians.
As we brace ourselves while learning from the Israeli press about the IAF’s final preparations ahead for an attack on Iran’s nuclear plants, I would like to share with you a short passage from The Wandering Who.
In the following extract, I explore the exact genocidal scenario that Israeli pilots are now training to accomplish, in these very days. As much as it is clear that our treacherous elected puppets will fail to restrain Israel, it is equally and tragically obvious that Israel lacks the means to restrain its own madness.
“…I will try to elucidate this idea through a simple and hypothetical yet horrifying war scenario. We, for instance, can envisage a horrific situation in which an Israeli so-called ‘pre-emptive’ attack on Iran escalates into a disastrous nuclear war, in which tens of millions of people perish. I guess that amongst the survivors of such a nightmare scenario, some may be bold enough to argue that ‘Hitler might had been right after all.’
The above is obviously a fictional scenario, and by no means a wishful one, yet such a vision of a ‘possible’ horrific development should restrain Israeli or Zionist aggression towards Iran. As we know, Israeli officials threaten to flatten Iran rather too often. In practice, pre-TSD[1] Israelis make this devastating scenario into a possible reality.
Seemingly, Israelis and Zionist politicians fail to see their own actions in the light of history. They fail to look at their actions in terms of their consequences. From an ethical perspective, the above ‘imaginary’ scenario is there to prevent Israel from attacking Iran. Yet, as we all know, Israel and its lobbies are desperate to dismantle the so-called ‘Iranian threat’. My explanation is simple. The Jewish state and the Jewish discourse in general are completely foreign to the notion of temporality. Israel is blinded to the consequences of its actions, it only thinks of its actions in terms of short-term pragmatism. Instead of temporality, Israel thinks in terms of an extended present.” (The Wandering Who pg. 179)
The Jewish State and its lobbies are the greatest threat to world peace. If we want to save ourselves, there is no other way of doing so than looking closely into Jewish, Israeli and Zionist culture, identity and ideology. There is no other way of doing so than scrutinising Israel’s unique and relentless attitude towards lobbying.
The issues we are dealing with here are not solely political they are actually deeply philosophical, psychological and sociological — and it is also about life and death.
You can now order The Wandering Who on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
[1] Pre TSD Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder-Within the condition of the Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the stress is the outcome of a phantasmic event, an imaginary episode set in the future; an event that has never taken place.
Innovations in technology are changing the tactics of modern-day conflict, turning the cyberworld into a new frontline.
Al Jazeera World Last Modified: 02 Nov 2011 14:10
click on link for video
It has been called the ‘fifth dimension of warfare’. Along with land, sea, air and space – the cyberworld is increasingly becoming a new frontline.
Innovations in technology are changing the tactics of modern-day conflict. There are new tools in today’s arsenal of weapons. Helped by advances in electro-magnetics and modern information and communications technology, a new form of electronic warfare has been created. It is called cyberwar and is increasingly recognised by governments and the military as posing a potentially grave threat.
| “If you have a few smart people and a good computer, then you can do a lot. You don’t need an aircraft, you don’t need tanks, you don’t need an army. You can penetrate another country, create huge damage without even leaving your armchair.”Alon Ben David, military analyst for Israel’s Channel 10 |
And it is not just cyberwar that is a growing phenomenon. The internet has empowered cyberactivism, allowing people to share information and mobilise support to take direct action – both online and on the streets.
Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have been at the forefront of this new wave of cyberactivism, helping to galvanise the protests that have recently spread across the Arab world.
The so-called Arab Spring has been described as an electronic revolution. Protesters were turned into citizen journalists – taking frontline images on their mobile phones and uploading them via their computers for the world to see. The regimes may have jammed the signals of satellite news channels and banned international reporters from entering their country, but they were unable to prevent citizens from becoming reporters in their own right.
From cyberactivism to cyberwar
Using the internet as a platform for political action is one thing. But infiltrating and disrupting computer networks and databases takes cyberwar to another level. American security experts have warned that a cyber-attack could cripple key governmental and financial systems and it is a threat the US is taking seriously.
| “Cyberspace is real. And so are the risks that come with it. From now on, our digital infrastructure, the networks and computers we depend on every day, will be treated as they should be, as a strategic national asset.”Barack Obama, the US president |
In recent years a cyberwar has been brewing between China and the US, with both countries accusing each other of running an ‘army of hackers’.
A key battlefield in this war has been the case of Google.
The US internet company partially withdrew from China in 2010 after a tussle with the government over censorship and government-backed hacking.
China accuses the US of using Google to spy on the country, while Google accuses China of hacking into the email accounts of some of its members.
| “We must differentiate between independent hackers and those of the state. We must understand that in some countries the authorities hire hackers with excellent technical knowledge to serve their interests. Everything is possible and states shouldn’t accuse each other since all options are open in this war.”Han, a Chinese internet hacker |
The US also appears to be engaged in a cyberwar with another erstwhile enemy: Iran.
It appeared to begin in 2009 following Iranian anti-government protests – sparked by the disputed presidential elections which saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad win another term in office.
Seeking to deprive the opposition of its main means of mobilising the masses, the Iranian authorities sought to choke off internet access.
But the protestors continued to use sites such as YouTube and Twitter and when Twitter planned some routine maintenance that would have taken it offline for a few hours, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, asked the site to stay up and running while the protests continued.
Electronic eyes and ears
In the Middle East, Israel has set up a cyber command to secure the country against hacking attacks on its key networks.
Israel’s immediate neighbourhood is the place where it puts into use much of its technical know-how. Along its northern border with Lebanon, Israel deploys a large network of electronic eyes and ears.
And in the ongoing intelligence war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, increasingly sophisticated electronic equipment is being used.
In February 2010, Lebanon arrested a man who reportedly confessed to being a Mossad agent. It was claimed that he had used sophisticated surveillance equipment that sent signals to his Israeli handlers via a mobile phone and computer located in a hidden compartment inside his car.
It may all sound like science fiction, but a global spying network does exist that can eavesdrop on every single phone call and email on the planet.
Eavesdropping on phone calls and text messages has become increasing easy for those with the right equipment, especially with the development of GSM networks – the technology used on the vast majority of mobile phone networks around the world.
| “Give me your mobile phone for 30 seconds, give me 30 seconds alone with your mobile phone and I can install software that would make your mobile phone a travelling microphone. From that moment on, even if it is shut down, your mobile phone will broadcast everything that goes on around you, through a number that I determine.”Alon Ben David, military analyst for Israel’s Channel 10 |
A brave new world?
Many analysts are amazed at how internet users voluntarily hand over vast amounts of personal data to social media sites.
And planting software into a person’s phone or computer to steal data has become a new tactic of warfare in the fifth dimension.
| “Our entire life is now on the internet: personal information, emails, credit cards. We give all this information on the internet to sites like Facebook, Google and Amazon. Governments impose pressure on these sites as they know how much information they have. These governments have asked for personal information from these sites, and they gave them what they needed.”Marwan Taher, IT specialist |
We live in a brave new world of information and communication technology. The possibilities seem infinite, endless … and uncertain.
Fighting in the Fifth Dimension can be seen from Tuesday, November 1, at the following times GMT: Tuesday: 2000; Wednesday: 1200; Thursday: 0100; Friday: 0600; Saturday: 2000; Sunday: 1200; Monday: 0100. |
Some interesting developments on the international front with regards to Syria. The Arab League has a working paper that is being examined by the Syrian regime. Allegedly the regime has accepted it, and on face value that means they will withdraw their killing machines from the streets of Syria’s cities and towns. In reality I don’t think much will change and most people I speak with are very sceptical. Of course the Syrian regime and its supporters still speak about ‘armed gangs’ roaming the country, and after eight months of security services torturing and killing people there now are some.
The so-called Free Syrian Army is also claiming responsibility for attacks against government targets, and it seems that the level of defections continues at a steady trickle.
Anyway, you can read the string of events taking place on the news, but what’s really trigged my curiosity is the rising temperature that the entire region is experiencing. The ballistic missile test that the Israelis have carried out is a clear challenge to Iran, and an article on the Guardian’s website today speaks about the United Kingdom updating its contingency plans for attacks on Iran. Sometimes I think that the speed with which things are developing this year is almost breakneck, and when everything comes to its culmination it will happen so quickly that we won’t know about it till it’s well and truly underway. Everybody knows that a showdown with Iran has been in the cards since 2006.
What surprises me is that at no time in the number of years that I have been following this story has the region ever been closer to a complete explosion of war. For the first time ever, I find myself hoping that neither side wins. In a region of bad guys, the only losers are the people.
SGID is the acronym for Some Guy in Damascus
The first part of my post will discuss my latest trip to Damascus, and the second part is a response to a question asked by Dr. Haytham Khoury about developing sectarianism and radicalism we are witnessing( most of all on syria comment). I also believe this part will be relevant to OTW’s most recent post on his blog.
Damascus
Ali Ferzat describing with his brush what SGID confirms with his words. Today Ali Ferzat’s site was hacked by the electronic thugs of Mr. Al-Assad. The hacking seems stupid (re-direct). And in defiance of these Jerks 7ee6an will be posting more and more of this freedom loving real Syrian artist.My last visit to Damascus only lasted for 2 days (20th and 21st of October). Just a few days prior to my arrival the regime “successfully” held a massive demonstration in the capital’s saba’a bahrat square( which hosts the nation’s central bank) . Transportation, advanced recording, food, drink, entertainment and most important of all SECURITY is provided to the pro-government demonstrators. The appropriate setting is given. A friend of mine who works for one of Rami Makhlouf’s multiple enterprises told me that he was forced to go, despite having a pro-revolution stance on the whole situation. Employees are threatened with dismissals from their jobs if they do not participate. Although the highly esteemed Robert Fisk was a witness to these one of these demonstrations ( the one held on the 26th in the Omayad square), his story that they are purely authentic is far from reality. The regime has done its homework and knows how to conceal its foul play.
That being said, the demonstrations have intensified in Damascus in limited ways, for example Midan, Barzeh, Rikn al Deen and Kafar Suseh are having daily demonstrations. Kadisya, The old quarter of Shaghoor have taken their demonstrations up a notch, furthermore the Muhajereen district has seen some sporadic demonstrations. I would like you to take note that these daily demonstrations cant be compared to the the demonstrations held in Homs. They are played along 2 tactics and it usually the first one: مظاهرة طيارة, literally meaning “flying demonstration” in which the demonstrators gather , chant and disperse in a swift manner , it is useful since it shows opposition to the regime and breaks the ” social order”. And the second tactic is the tactic seen in Homs, a regular and massive demonstration. This tactic doesn’t work well since the “security services” can overwhelm the demonstrators. Contrary to popular belief, the demonstrators in Damascus ARE NOT ARMED. Damascus country side is another story.
Sectarianism and Extremism
Syria has been witnessing a limited Extremist shift during the last decade, and it would be inaccurate to say that such a radical base does not exist., furthermore This fact played well into the regime’s propaganda. I will attempt to assess how this radical base came to be, and how to prevent it, I resorted to the expertise of a sociology professor. The links I provide will show you what progress the regime has done to counter radicalization.
What are the causes of Radicalization? :
1. Reaction to modernization.
it is noted that as societies “evolve”, many will incline to cling to their sects. One form of modernization is bureaucracy; the one in Syria is among the worst. Doing simple papers will send you to various locations for multiple signatures and stamps, there’s also the usual bribe. Another form of modernization is globalization, however I cannot relate this particular factor to the radicalization issue in Syria .
2. Societies become strict.
It is not secret that the Syrian regime is one of the strictest and most authoritarian states in the world, as a result many people have turned to religion as an everlasting solution. The inability to come up with solutions with the state has forced a sort of retreat to religion . here is a study conducted a by Freedom house .
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2011&country=8143
3. Unfulfilled hopes and dreams.
Poor management has cut off many Syrians from a prosperous life
http://www.ifad.org/operations/projects/regions/pn/factsheets/sy.pdf
How do we Prevent radicalization?
a) Building civic society : syndicates, unions, clubs and committees all of which are absolutely useless under the current regime. Basically giving professionals, groups and such the ability to be represented and taken seriously. For example: the taxi syndicate in Syria, is pretty much worthless. I cannot count the times the chauffeurs complain about paying the member ship but getting nothing out of it. Obviously the state is not willing to adhere to any one’s demands and it is absolutely expected that the victim would find some solitude in religion.
b) more freedoms.
par لجان التنسيق المحلية في سوريا, mercredi 2 novembre 2011, 07:05
More than eight months have passed on the Syrian Revolution. Entire towns and villages have moved against a state of despair and absence of hope, due to the rampant mishandling of public affairs by the Syrian regime on all levels, and in particular on the political level. Thousands of citizens demonstrate each day, as part of grassroots social movements, using all forms of peaceful demonstration. They claim rupture from the existing authoritarian and family-based system of government, and they aspire to lay the foundations for the values of freedom and dignity to all citizens in Syria. The Syrian regime has confronted this revolution of values with an insistence on unaccountability, an attempt to stir up strife among the various components of society, and the use of the most repulsive forms of repression.
Every day tens are killed by the Syrian regime’s security and military apparatus and by the regime’s thugs. Every day, hundreds are wounded, arrested and tortured, and similar numbers are deemed disappeared. Reports of the United Nations and other international human rights organizations have recorded various types of systematic violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, against peaceful demonstration. These include willful killing of demonstrators including children; imprisonment and other severe deprivation of physical liberty; torture and inhumane treatment; enforced disappearance of persons; and other inhuman acts intentionally causing great suffering to civilians, such as directing attacks against hospitals and the arrest, torture and killing of the wounded therein; and directing attacks against religious building and dwellings. Such reports have established that such acts are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against civilian populations in Syria, with knowledge of the attack, and that they may therefore amount to crimes against humanity.
Considering the grave and systematic violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, including through the violent repression of peaceful demonstrators, directly and indirectly by the Syrian authorities, with incitement by the regime’s media outlets, and the prohibition of independent and international press from working in the country, we set out our vision for the requirements of any international move to stop such violations:
- We affirm that respect of basic citizen rights is a defining attribute of sovereignty and statehood. Furthermore, respect of human rights is an essential element of a responsible sovereignty. The Syrian regime confronts the aspiration of the Syrian people to freedom and dignity with the commission of crimes against humanity. The Syrian regime has shot all doors on all inquiries into such violations, and on holding their perpetrators to account in an objective, fair and firm manner. Accordingly, such regime is not entitled to rely on the principle of Sovereignty to confront its own people. If it does so, it unsheathes yet another arm in the face of its own people, thereby exacerbating the bare condition of the Syrian people.
- We affirm the right of the Syrian people to freely determine, without external interference, the form of its political governance, and to pursue economic, social and cultural development of the Syrian society. The Syrian people has a right of self-determination, which is directly derived from Articles (1) and (55) of the United Nations Charter, when the ruling regime fails to meets its international responsibilities, and when it persists in its violations of individual rights and human dignity.
- As we insist, in the present very special circumstances, on the direct right of the Syrian people to affirm its right of self-determination before the international community, we assure that all calls based on the ground of “droit d’ingérance,” “devoir d’ingérance,” “humanitarian intervention” or “responsibility to protect” should not hinder the aspiration of the Syrian people to cause peaceful change by its own forces; or lead to dealing with the Syrian people as yet another sphere of influence in the game of nations. Every day, the demonstrators in Syrian towns and villages chant the motto “The People Wants…” The People Wants emancipation from authoritarian rule. It wants to take and hold the initiative in decision making in public affairs, in an independent and peaceful way, in order to determine all aspects of its public life freely and deliberatively. It also wants to maintain friendly relations among nations. The Syrian People does not want to substitute authoritarian rule by submission to foreign influence. The Syrian People extracted its independence and founded its modern State. It aspires to liberate all its lands and chiefly the Golan. It aspires to continue supporting the struggle of peoples for self-determination, and chiefly that of the Palestinian People. As the Syrian People is revolting against its oppressive rulers, it will not hesitate to revolt against all forms of foreign domination.
- We affirm that as the Syrian Revolution has been creative in its peaceful, incessant, and resilient movement, in the face of unparalleled repression, any international support, in light of the regime’s closure of any opportunities for national political solutions, must also be creative and unparalleled. It must be premised on the imperative of maintaining the unity of the Syrian soil, as well as the unity of Syrian society, in all its religious, sectarian and ethnic components.
- We consider that the objectives of international protection must be limited to ensuring the safety of peaceful assembly and demonstration, so as to enable the Syrian people to freely exercise self-determination, by its own peaceful forces, towards transition to a pluralistic, secular and democratic system of governance, based on public freedoms, as well as legal and political equality among all Syrians.
- We consider that the means for international protection, which must be approved by the Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, must be limited to the following:
- To ensure proper conditions for peaceful assembly in accordance with the various human rights instruments in which Syria is a party. These include:
- To request that all member States of the United Nations shall take the necessary measures to prevent the supply of arms and all related materials to the Syrian regime.
- To force the Syrian regime to immediately lift restrictions on all forms of media.
- To force the Syrian regime to ensure the safe passage of all United Nations humanitarian agencies to all Syrian towns and villages, in order to enable them to supervise an immediate halt of killing and violence, release of detainees, uncovering of the fate of disappeared persons, withdrawal of armed forces, and removal of checkpoints from towns, villages and roads, to operate an uninterrupted international monitoring of all peaceful assemblies, especially those organized against the Syrian regime, and to report on any violations in their respect.
- To ensure proper conditions to carry out an impartial and objective investigation into the acts which are believed to be crimes against humanity, committed on Syrian soil as from March 15, 2011, and to refer their perpetrators to a fair trial. These include:
- To force the Syrian regime to receive an independent international commission of inquiry with a mission to investigate all allegations of human rights and international humanitarian law, to establish the facts and circumstances of such violations and to identify their perpetrators.
- To request all member States of the Unites Nations to enforce a travel ban and an assets freeze on all persons who are believed to be implicated, directly or indirectly, by way of incitement, participation or financing, in the commission of crimes against humanity in Syria, without prejudice to the principle of presumption of innocence.
- To refer the situation in Syria since March 15, 2011 to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court; and to force the Syrian regime to cooperate fully with the Court and the Prosecutor, and to provide all necessary assistance to enable the Court and the Prosecutor to discharge their respective functions.
- To ensure proper conditions to embark upon a nation-wide political process, as shall be agreed between all political and social forces composing the Syrian people, which should lead to achieving the desired democratic transition. These include:
- To ensure proper political conditions that allow a deliberative process to take place among all components of the Syrian people in respect of the transitional period and its constitutive procedures.
- To ensure proper political conditions to enable the Syrian people to carry out voting by universal suffrage and transparent, fair and free elections at all levels, as shall be required in the transitional period to achieve the desired democratic transition.
- To provide training and capacity building assistance to the Syrian armed forces and security services to increase their awareness of human rights and international humanitarian law, and to effect a change in their doctrine from protection of the regime to protection of the country, without prejudice to the unity of the army.
- The recalcitrance of the Syrian regime to meet its international obligations in terms of respect of human rights and international humanitarian law, may require, in this particular moment, that the international action contemplated above be supported by the sending of a United Nations observers mission, to be approved by a resolution of the Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. The mandate of the observers mission must emphasize prevention and assistance in building appropriate political conditions to achieve a peaceful democratic transition in Syria. The observers mission must comprise civilian components holding nationalities of countries known historically for their neutrality, and under the direct supervision of the Secretary General of the United Nations, in cooperation with the League of Arab States. The observers mission’s staff members must be in such numbers as to allow them to be present in or reach any town or village at any time, to monitor and report to the United Nations Secretary General, on any violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, as well as on progress of the political process to achieve a peaceful democratic transition pursuant to appropriate constitutive procedures as shall be solely determined by the Syrian People.
- We affirm the priority of using dialogue and peaceful persuasion, including the use of non-coercive and non-violent measures. Yet we have no illusions as to the Syrian regime’ obstinate responses and its attempts to buy time. Experience has shown that the granting of time has not rendered the Syrian regime less resolute in committing yet further violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Such time costs the Syrian people more killing and destruction. Every day that passes means more people killed, and Syria finds itself even more remote from any possibility to find political solutions.
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Oct. 31 – The United States says it has stopped funding UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency, following its vote to grant the Palestinians full membership.
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