Just one day after most U.S. military personnel left Iraq, an arrest warrant has been issued for the Iraqi Vice President, Tariq al-Hashemi.
The Iraqi courts also released what they call video confessions from al-Hashemi’s body guards, stating he ordered them to plant bombs around Baghdad.
Hashemi’s supporters say the warrant is politically motivated because he is Sunni Muslim, and his political rival, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is Shia Muslim.
“I don’t think there actually has been a revolution yet. I think that what’s happened is that the figurehead of the military regime has been deposed very dramatically. Certainly that was a hugely significant event, it was an earthquake….Until then I think the two sides are stuck in their current positions, fighting it out through a range of ways. And one of these ways is street battles between the military security forces and the people.”-Yaakov Lappin, Jerusalem Post
On December 17, Egyptians protesting the pro-U.S. military government of Egypt, set the Shura Council building on fire. Unfortunately the fire spread next door, to the oldest science library in Cairo.
Egyptian Scientific Institute burned, destroying more than 150,000 books going back to the late 1700s. It was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798, and first called L’Institut d’Egypte.
Among the books, maps and charts destroyed is the first edition of the Description de l’Egypte, started under Napoleon Bonaparte by French scientists. Egyptian officials say they still have two other editions located at two separate libraries.
Egyptians have been protesting the U.S. backed military government, mainly because of the thousands of people who’ve been rushed through military court trials, something the protestors were against from the beginning. The military court trials convinced many Egyptians that they were not getting a new government, but just more of the same after the resignation of U.S. backed Hosni Mubarak.
1. “The war in Iraq is finally over after nine years.”
Rothkopf notes the U.S. has been militarily engaged in Iraq since the early 1990 and this will likely be just the end of another installment in the long running series of U.S. warmongering policies in the region.
2. “America’s mission in Iraq was a success.”
He expresses astonishment at such a claim while Iraq is divided, undemocratic, corrupt, and the U.S. invasion has cost U.S.$1 trillion, thousands of U.S. lives, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, and its national reputation. U.S. war in Iraq bears greater semblance to a full-scale “fiasco”, he says.
3. “We are winning in Afghanistan.”
Rothkopf describes this one as a hot from the oven “howler” by the U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. Washington has strengthened the region’s extremists and the threat of instability in nuclear Pakistan is now actually higher than it was when U.S. went in, he says.
4. Tie: “Pakistan is America’s ally” and “Afghanistan is America’s partner.”
Neither Pakistan nor Afghanistan can by any “credible definition” be called a U.S. ally. This is attested to by the animosity of Islamabad towards Washington and Kabul’s belittling of the U.S. on the world stage, Rothkopf says.
5. “America is unthreatened by China’s growth.”
A “prayer” by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rothkopf says. “It should be true. But it’s not,” he adds.
6. Tie: “Republicans are the problem” and “Democrats are the problem.”
Rothkopf dubs this one as “the great lie of American politics.” He says the problem with U.S. politics is not the parties, but the money. “The system is so resolutely corrupt that recent scandals have only resulted in more money flowing into the system and past reforms being undone,” he notes.
7. “Cutting the taxes of millionaires helps create U.S. jobs.”
There is not even one single solitary shred of evidence to support this “idiotic” suggestion, Rothkopf notes.
8. “This next summit of European leaders will be decisive …”
Rothkopf says despite the fact that this claim has been made every few weeks for the past months, the “supposedly sophisticated financial markets” of the United States continue to fall for it.
9. “The Obama administration is committed to serious financial services reform.”
The U.S. financial system is still plagued by all the threats that instigated the 2008 recession. “Not an inch of progress,” Rothkopf says.
10. “Only nine percent of Americans approve of Congress.”
“This can’t possibly be true. There can’t possibly be that many,” Rothkopf says in a stinging sarcastic tone.
11. “The operation in Libya will be over in a matter of days or weeks.”
Rothkopf says the operation was wrong to begin with, “and then wrong and then wrong again for months.”
12. “I love Israel.”
Even though everyone in U.S. politics makes such an assertion, nobody really means it, Rothkopf notes. What the politicians really mean, however, is that “I want American Jews to think I love Israel enough to vote for me and give me money,” he says.
“Those are just a few of a bumper year for duplicity, mendacity, and craven misstatements.”-David J. Rothkopf, Foreign Policy
On 16 December 2011 the Japanese government declared the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant in “Cold Shut Down”. On 18 December, the governor of Fukushima challenged that claim.
Governor of Fukushima Prefecture, Sato Yuhei, met three national government Cabinet members. He asked them how they could make such a declaration when no one at the national level talked to anyone living around the nuclear plant, or even made an inspection tour.
The Minister for Nuclear Crisis Compensation, Edano Yukio, said the contamination zones will be redefined, and the national government will considering local governments’ requests.
The three Cabinet members also said that areas with radiation levels of 20 millisieverts per year or higher, will require former residents to continue living elsewhere, and, those people from areas with readings of over 50 millisieverts per year should expect not to be able to return for a long long time.
“We have no intention of acting for the moment …We should not engage in war when it is not necessary, but there may come a time or another when we are forced to face tests…Our position has not changed on three points: a nuclear Iran is unacceptable, we are determined to stop that and all options are on the table.”– Ehud Barak, Defense Minister of Israel
Israel has formed a new commando unit called Depth Corps. “Depth” refers to commando raids that will be carried out over long distances: “The primary task of the corps will be to extend joint Israeli army operations into the strategic depth.”-Israeli military statement
Unnamed sources inside Israel’s military say the Depth Corps is also known as Iran Special Operations Command.
“We are dealing with fabrications whereby a war agenda, which has been on the Pentagon’s drawing board for many years, is now seeking justification to go live, and we’ve seen the drone attacks, we’ve seen the sanctions.”-Michel Chossudovsky, Center for Research on Globalization
On December 15, a lawsuit supposedly brought by victims of the September 11th, 2001 attacks, won a default judgment (default means the accused didn’t show up). The problem is that it blames Iran and Lebanon for the World Trade Center attacks! Analysts believe the leaders of the United States could claim this court case as ‘proof’ that Iran is part of anti-Shia/pro-Wahhabi al Qaeda (Iran is majority Shia Muslim).
“There is absolutely no evidence that Iran aided the 9/11 attacks. There is ample evidence after collection that there was conspiracy and the complicity of the U.S. government…There is absolutely no evidence that al Qaeda or the Taliban were involved in the 9/11 attacks. In fact, if there is anyone behind al Qaeda, it was the Central Intelligence Agency, going back to the Soviet Afghan war!”-Michel Chossudovsky, Center for Research on Globalization
Analysts say the U.S. government is setting the stage, just like they did prior to invading Iraq: “What we are seeing now is this strange self-fulfilling prophecy process. This is exactly what we saw with Iraq. This is a campaign to go to war.”–Jamal Abdi, National Iranian American Council
Iran even helped the U.S. topple the Taliban (who had executed Iranian diplomats): “Immediately afterwards Iran condemned the attacks. There were candlelit vigils on the streets of Tehran in solidarity with the Americans who lost their lives. You saw Iran cooperating with the United States in helping to topple the Taliban, the enemy of Iran.”–Jamal Abdi, National Iranian American Council
Here’s the real reason the U.S., and the United Kingdom, want to attack Iran: “…Iran has 10 per cent of the world’s oil reserves, four or five times the amount of the United States; it’s in a crucial region, it doesn’t accept U.S. hegemony and it’s an ally of Russia and China.”-Michel Chossudovsky, Center for Research on Globalization
“100%. They are 100% responsible for what they did to my husband. They killed my husband.”-Rondha Gibson, blaming the Veterans Administration for her husband’s death because they took him off his PTSD meds and cancelled his benefits
On December 12 Las Vegas police shot and killed a 1991 Persian Gulf War veteran. They shot him seven times in the back of the head as he sat in his car.
According to newly released police report, cops responded to claims of an attempted burglary. Apartment residents said two men tried to break into an apartment, failed and then took off in a white Cadillac. As the cops were writing down the info, a white Cadillac pulled into the apartment parking lot.
The cops surrounded the car, the driver apparently panicked a tried to get away but ran into a parked police car. For 30 minutes the cops yelled at him to get out of the car. They decided to shoot a bean bag to break a window, and then spray riot control gas into the car. For some reason another cop grabbed a semi-automatic AR-15 assault rifle. When the one cop fired the bean bag round, the cop with the AR-15 fired also. The reason has yet to be revealed.
The cop with the AR-15 fired seven times into the back of the war veteran’s head. The AR-15 is a semi-automatic version of the automatic military M16. What that means is that the cop had to pull the trigger seven times to fire seven rounds!
Police officials are investigating why the cop with the AR-15 fired seven rounds off, when that was obviously not part of the plan to get the veteran out of his car.
By the way, the reason why the veteran pulled into the apartment parking lot was because he lived there! He and his wife moved in after losing their house! There are plenty of white Cadillacs in Las Vegas, dumb cops!
It turns out the Gulf War veteran, Stanley Gibson, had lost his Veterans benefits, was taken off his PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) meds, and then lost his house! A social worker who works with veterans blames the Veterans Administration for what happened: “They’re just trying to get away with the minimal that they can, and if they dance you around the block enough you’ll go away.”-Marsha Oritt, social worker
Gibson and his wife had fought the gradual reductions in his benefits for years, but the VA won out. Rhonda Gibson says the VA totally blew them off: “If they had just listened to the man, listened to me and stopped canceling his appointments and make sure he had his medications on time, we would have been ok.”
Social worker Marsha Oritt says the VA has made the Gibson’s life a living hell: “It was just a constant nightmare for them both. Lots of tears. Lots of frustration. Lots of upset.”
“Hopefully, we can work with the Russians who, for the first time, at least are recognizing that this is a matter that needs to go to the Security Council. It is just that we have differences in how they are approaching it, but we hope to be able to work with them.”-Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State
“We made no secret of the fact and it is reflected in the text that we call on violence to be stopped from all sides. We are concerned about weapons smuggling, the armed groups operating in Syria. As you know from the outset our assessment of the situation is that various violent groups there are taking advantage of peaceful demonstrators in order to pursue their agenda.”-Vitaly Churkin, Russian envoy to the UN
In a surprise move Russia announced they will propose Security Council resolution concerning Syria. Russian officials refuse to reveal the details until they make the official presentation.
Back in October, Russia and China vetoed a resolution presented by western European countries.
Syria’s Vice-President Farouk al-Sharaa, is in Moscow right now discussing the issue with Russian leaders.
“It is not possible to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program without targeting its nuclear program as a whole, because there is no safe dividing line between those activities and facilities that are purely peaceful and those which are military related.”-Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, U.S. Representative for Florida
By using that argument then any country can justify destroying the nuclear power industry in the United States, especially since the U.S. has thousands of nuclear weapons.
The statement by U.S. Representative Ros-Lehtinen was used to justify the passage of HR 2105; the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Reform and Modernization Act of 2011. It passed the House almost unanimously on December 14 (418 for, 2 against and 13 abstaining).
HR 2105 was passed the same day that HR 1905 and HR 1540 was passed.
HR 2105 supports sanctions against Iran, Syria and North Korea using Executive Order 12938 , by repealing the old Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation act.
This new Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Reform and Modernization Act of 2011 also targets Russia, by cancelling all previously agreed upon U.S. payments made to support the International Space Station, the Russian Aviation & Space Agency and any other Russian agency.
The bill states that Russia must come over to the dark side and join the U.S. in sanctioning Iran, Syria and North Korea.
The U.S. Senate will now debate their own version of HR 2105.
On December 14, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Iran Threat Reduction Act of 2011. It passed with an overwhelming majority; 410 for, 11 against and 12 abstaining.
The U.S. Senate is now debating their version.
Basically HR 1905 continues the same old sanctions, but with some interesting exemptions and additions:
(1) the procurement of certain defense articles or services; [this implies that the U.S. Defense Department, or U.S. military industrial complex is doing business with Iran?]
(2) eligible products to designated countries or instrumentalities; [“instrumentalities” must mean ‘tools’, or patsies of the United States]
(3) products, technology, or services under contracts entered into before the date on which the President publishes in the Federal Register the name of the person on which the sanctions are to be imposed; [in other words some individuals and organizations will be ‘grandfathered’, and not subject to sanctions]
(4) spare or component parts, or information and technology that are essential to U.S. products or production, and related servicing and maintenance; or [again more evidence that the U.S. is doing business with Iran]
(5) medicines, medical supplies, or other humanitarian items.
Here’s some more interesting statements from the HR 1905:
“The bill would state that a determination to impose sanctions under this Act shall not be reviewable in any court.” [so much for the ‘rule of law’]
“The bill would also authorize the President to provide financial and political assistance to certain foreign and domestic type individuals, organizations, and entities that support democracy in Iran.” [code for creating a situation like Libya, or Syria, and of course that’s your taxpayer dollars at work]
“The bill would also impose specified sanctions on a person that knowingly assisted in the exportation of petroleum, oil, or natural gas produced by the IRGC or its affiliates.” [notice this specifically mentions Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), it does not ban all oil from Iran as the mainstream media leads us to believe. Also, the IRGC is not heavily involved with oil production in Iran, they are a military organization first and foremost, so how effective is this sanction?]
“The bill would block the U.S. property interests of foreign persons or their affiliates that have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of violence threatening the peace or economic stability of Iraq or Afghanistan.” [notice this statement is not directed against Iranians, but any “foreign persons” and concerns Iraq and Afghanistan]
“The bill would direct the President to develop a National Strategy to Counter Iran.” [code for war!!!]
“The bill would amend the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to require any person owned [!?] or controlled [!?] by a domestic financial institution to certify that such person is not engaged in corresponding relations or business activity with the IRGC.” [notice this statement admits that U.S. citizens are not free but are slaves to any U.S. bank, credit union or lending institution that they owe money to, or do business through!!!]
“The bill would require a report on the Central Bank of Iran’s activities to facilitate Iran’s efforts to acquire nuclear missile capacities and promote terrorism.” [really, and how is that information going to be acquired? Is the Bank of Iran going to present their financial transactions to the President of the United States? this statement also presumes guilt without evidence or conviction]
HR 1905 ends with a huge presumption of guilt, which guarantees war with Iran.
Lastly, the bill would terminate the provisions of the Act when Iran:
(1) has dismantled its efforts to develop or acquire nuclear, chemical and biological weapons;
(2) no longer provides support for acts of international terrorism; and
(3) poses no threat to U.S. national security, interests, or allies.
There is no way the Iranian government can disprove the final 3 requirements of HR 1905. It’s the same situation as when Bush Jr made his claims against Iraq, which turned out to be complete lies!!!
Update:
The U.S. Senate passed HR 1905 at the end of May 2012.
Link to PDF of Senate amendments to HR 1905.
MONEY FOR TALIBAN COMES FROM UNITED STATES?
March 2012: YET AGAIN, RECORD NUMBER OF PEOPLE RENOUNCE U.S. CITIZENSHIP. I-R-S BLAMES ELECTED OFFICIALS.
EVIDENCE THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND IS A DRUG DEALER; U.K. BANK REGULATOR SAYS SO!
MORE U.S. CITIZENS RENOUNCE THEIR CITIZENSHIP, IF YOU LEAVE YOU ARE NOW CONSIDERED A TERRORIST
February 2012: MORTGAGE SETTLEMENT MONEY TO BE USED TO DESTROY HOMES, NOT KEEP PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES!
IRAN SHUTS DOWN GLOBAL STEEL INDUSTRIES, BLAMES THE UNITED STATES
4,000 PEOPLE STRANDED WHEN AUSTRALIAN AIRLINE IS SUDDENLY DELEVERAGED BY TOO BIG TOO FAIL/JAIL BANKS
U.S. IMPOSES SANCTION AFTER SANCTION AGAINST IRAN, WHICH ARE ACTS OF WAR
January 2012: DE-LEVERAGING WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE ECONOMY IMPROVES, AND THAT MEANS YOU!
MORGAN STANLEY SAYS IF YOU’RE NOT A SHAREHOLDER, YOU ARE NOBODY!!!
September 2011: BANK OF AMERICA INCREASES HOME FORECLOSURES BY 200%
ARTIST BEING HARRASED BY Police BECAUSE OF HIS ANTI-BANK PAINTINGS
CORPORATIONS THAT USE PRISON LABOR, AND THE STATES THAT ARE INVOLVED
December 2011: U.K. PREPARES FOR COLLAPSE OF THE EURO, BELIEVES BRITAIN WILL BE FLOODED WITH ECONOMIC REFUGEES, SWIZTERLAND TAKING ACTION
AS MANY AS 28 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE U.S. REFUSE TO OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT
November 2011: NEW GREEK & ITALIAN PRIME MINISTERS PART OF ROCKEFELLER’S TRILATERAL COMMISSION’S PUSH FOR ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT
THE BIG THREE COUNTRIES U.S. TAXPAYERS ARE BEHOLDED TO
July 2011: IF YOU WANT A GOOD CREDIT RATING, DON’T LIVE IN IDAHO. WHERE YOU LIVE NOW AFFECTS YOUR CREDIT SCORE
May 2011: GERMAN BANK CONTINUES VIOLATING SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN
CORPORATE AMERICA IS BROKE, LYING ABOUT PROFITS
April 2011: JAPANESE BANK PRESIDENT RESIGNS, BECAUSE THEY WEREN’T PREPARED FOR 9.0 QUAKE/TSUNAMI
NEW YORK CITY DESPERATE TO SELL LAND TO CHINA