Saturday 25 July 2015

Press TV-Tony Blair Is Blamed for Labour defeat

A senior British politician has blamed former prime minister Tony Blair’s decision to invade Iraq as a major reason stopping people from voting for the Labour Party.

John Prescott, who served as Blair's deputy prime minister for 10 years, called on his former boss to accept his own responsibility for the fall in support for the Labour Party.

His comments came shortly after Tony Blair warned of what he called “electoral suicide” if Jeremy Corbyn is elected as the new leader of Labour Party.

Blair has warned that the Labour Party would lose two more elections if it chose the "old-fashioned leftist platform" of Jeremy Corbyn. (AFP image)

“Even if I thought it was the route to victory, I wouldn’t take it,” the former prime minister was quoted as saying.

However, Prescott lashed out at his former boss and urged him to “think about the reasons” why the support for the party had plunged.

"Tony, on the doorstep it was Iraq that stopped a lot of people voting for us… I found that absolutely staggering. To use that kind of language is just abuse. The Labour Party is about the heart as well as the head,” he was quoted as saying by the British media.

Many critics say Blair is responsible for the deaths of countless Iraqi people as well as many British soldiers killed in the unpopular US-led invasion of Iraq.

The US and Britain invaded Iraq in violation of international law back in 2003 under the pretext of finding weapons of mass destruction (WMD) allegedly stockpiled by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. No WMDs, however, were ever discovered in Iraq.

Meanwhile, a London-based political commentator believes that Britons have already learned the lesson and will not play into the hands of warmongering politicians like Blair any longer.

“It is very clear that British public is tired of these Zionist wars. It is tired of fake left and fake Labour. And the success of Jeremy Corbyn is probably the most positive sign we see in British politics for decades. It means that there is a support for genuine call for equality, for proper working class politics,” Gilad Atzmon told Press TV’s UK Desk on Friday.

source: http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/07/24/421682/UK-IRAQ-WAR-LABOUR-PARTY-BLAIR

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Great Book Review - A to Zion: The Definitive Israeli Lexicon

A to Zion: The Definitive Israeli Lexicon, by Gilad Atzmon and Enzo Apicella: Books

A good book should hold within its covers a range of ingredients including a bit of poignancy, a touch of irony, a few shockers, a good dose of truth and a smattering of education. It should also entertain. A good book will contain all of this and take around two days to read, if you really get involved. A to Zion: The Definitive Israeli Lexicon offers all of the above, and will only take between 5-10 minutes to read.
Two maverick minds came together to produce it: Gilad Atzmon is well known as a saxophone player, composer and sometimes-controversial writer and speaker. Enzo Apicella is a cartoonist and interior designer based in London but originally from Naples. He has always been known as pushing boundaries, going a bit further and speaking his mind through his drawings.


A to Zion: The Definitive Israeli Lexicon (Fanfare) makes for an interesting read. It is written with Gilad Atzmon’s mischievous tongue firmly in his cheek yet also carries within it some messages which become clear even to the reader who is completely unconnected with politics, yet alone understands them — like me. It is also, whether intentional or not, a real insight into the workings of the mind of an author who does not live in Isreal yet has an abiding love for his country and for most people he meets. He is also blessed with a quirky sense of humor, and a devilish delight in getting reaction.
As a lexicon, the book goes from A-Z (or “A to Zion,” as the title reminds) and offers often more than one definition of Isreali sayings and idioms. Sometimes, the definitions are shocking, but they are meant to be. This is in part, Gilad Atzmon playing with you, enjoying misconceptions and getting a reaction but it is also a way of conveying more serious messages.
Along the way, A to Zion: The Definitive Israeli Lexicon gives some insights for the reader who may be unfamiliar with some sayings of their Jewish friends. For example, Mel Gibson is described as a Goy and the reader immediately wonders what a Goy is. Well, look further and Goy is explained: an ordinary human as opposed to a chosen one. Other examples include Bah Mitzvah, the time when a boy has to accept his foreskin is not going to grow back; Kippa (skull cap, yarmulke), the Jewish cure for baldness; and Klezmer, gypsy music played so badly it became a new genre.
Of course, it would not be Gilad Atzmon without a few — or a lot — of controversial definitions. (Look at the one for G spot; why is that in there?) But actually, little of it is offensive or shocking after the first flip through.
In the end, however, A to Zion: The Definitive Israeli Lexicon is slightly unsure of its message. In fact, is there one? Is it more a humorous look at the misconceptions of understanding? If there are any political messages in the book, they are already in the mind of the reader before they read it, perhaps.
The cartoons are great and enhance the definitions. Some are almost child-like in their simplicity, the picture a direct derivation of the words on the page, whilst others are more subtle and take a bit of looking at before their meaning sinks in. They are clearly drawn, however, by a cartoonist with a whip-sharp mind and a pencil of steel.
Entertaining and clever in places, A to Zion: The Definitive Israeli Lexicon has a good pinch of everything you would expect to find in a good book. The bonus here is that, if you like it, you can spend hours reading it and wondering at the workings of Gilad Atzmon’s inner mind. And if you don’t like it? You can be done in 10 minutes. Either way, it’s a win-win.

Buy it now before it is banned!!!

 Order online in the USA: 
Order online UK & Europe:

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Turkey, US agree on no-fly zone over Syria: Turkish Hurriyet daily

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C-L) talking to his US counterpart Barack Obama (file photo)

An agreement reached between Turkey and the United States on what they call cooperation against the ISIL terrorist group also includes establishing a no-fly zone over the Arab country, a Turkish newspaper says.

Turkey’s leaders had on Friday confirmed that a deal had been reached, and said it would enable the US to use the key Turkish Incirlik Air Base, which is located near Syria.

However, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet said that the agreement also outlines a 90-kilometer (56 mile) no-fly zone between the Syrian towns of Marea and Jarabulus.

An aerial view of the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey (file photo)

Hurriyet said the no-fly zone would shield a planned safe zone on the ground that would extend up to 50 kilometers (31 miles) inside Syria.

“US planes equipped with bombs and missiles will be able to use the Incirlik Air Base,” and Turkey could back up their air raids with artillery, the newspaper wrote.

Syrian warplanes would be targeted should they enter the no-fly zone, according to the report.

Turkey itself carried out aerial attacks using three F-16 fighter jets against what were said to be ISIL targets inside Syria.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the Turkish warplanes were “100 percent” successful in their strikes inside Syria, noting, “The operation against IS (ISIL) reached its target and will not stop.”

The pledge to confront ISIL Takfiris comes despite Turkey’s longtime support for the militancy against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with reports showing that Ankara actively trains and arms the Takfiri extremists operating in Syria, and also facilitates the safe passage of foreign terrorists into the Arab country.

Ankara and Washington previously signed a deal to train and arm the anti-Damascus Takfiris. The program, which officially started earlier this month, is aimed at training over 15,000 militants in three years. Over 120 US soldiers are reportedly in Turkey to train the militants.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

The Jewish Left Is Duplicitous to the core




 MK Aiman Ouda - "A small segment within the Right calls for 'death to the Arabs,' but it is the Left that inflicts death on us"
 MK Aiman Ouda - "A small segment within the Right calls for 'death to the Arabs,' but it is the Left that inflicts death on us"

Along the conference MK Ouda asked the Arabs in the room to stand up. Out of hundreds of Israeli peace supporters only two were arabs. True, his this is slightly more diverse than JVP's board that is purely Jewish.

The Jewish Left is there to convey an imaginary notion of Jewish ethics.  It is, in practice, duplicitous to the core.

Time to move on, to call a spade a spade.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

ISIS could have been prevented – if it hadn’t been deliberately fostered

© Stringer / Reuters
© Stringer / Reuters
Jul 23, 2015, RT.com
In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, retiring US Chief of Staff Ray Odierno said that the US could have prevented the rise of ISIS. He is absolutely correct: but his reasoning is topsy-turvy. Whilst he blames the group’s rise on a lack of US military intervention, the truth is precisely the opposite.
“If we had stayed a little more engaged, I think maybe it might have been prevented,” he said, echoing a common view in neo-con circles that aims to pin the rise of ISIS on a supposed ‘lack of commitment’ to Iraq by the US under President Obama. He continues: “I go back to the work we did in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 and we got it to a place that was really good. Violence was low, the economy was growing, politics looked like it was heading in the right direction.”

What Odierno fails to note is that none of this actually served US strategic policy aims.
Odierno speaks as if the sole aim of the US military is to help impoverished and war-torn third world countries develop in peace. Nothing could be further from the truth; the ultimate purpose of the US military is to preserve not peace and stability, but rather US global domination. True, there was a time when there was a certain convergence of these goals. During, and immediately after, the Cold War, stability was a tool of domination; or at least the stability of capitalist states was. Ensuring such states remained stable was key both to ensuring the neo-colonial extraction of their resources and to preventing their falling into the Soviet ‘sphere of influence’.
Of course, destabilization was used, and often, against socialist, nationalist or Soviet-allied states. But, by and large, capitalist regimes could generally be relied on to side with the US, and the US, therefore, tended to desire their stability.
Fast-forward to 2011, however, and this is no longer the case. Stable states – of whatever ideological orientation – are increasingly a threat to continued US domination, rather than a tool of it. Nothing could illustrate this better than the case of post-invasion Iraq.
Two years ago, the US ‘think tank’ Jamestown Foundation published a fascinating analysis of China’s oil policy in Iraq. This report described, in detail, how China had become the main winner of oil contracts under the new Iraqi government, and had helped restore the battered industry back to impressive production levels. “China was able to secure the first major oil accord between the Iraqi government and a foreign entity since 2003,” the report notes, when “in 2008, China’s state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) concluded a $3.5 billion deal with Iraq’s North Oil Company (NOC) to develop the al-Ahdab oil field—a relatively small oil field by Iraqi standards—in the province of al-Wasit.”
While unlikely to prove a particularly lucrative investment in itself, its significance was as “an early foothold in the Iraqi oil sector that would lay the groundwork for future dealings on larger and more lucrative projects.” Indeed, this turned out to be the case, with a deal signed the following year giving a joint venture between BP and CNPC access to Iraq’s biggest oil field Rumalia. Further deals followed, including a 20-year agreement over the Missan oilfield in 2010, with the result that “at least one third of all future production of Iraqi oil will be derived from oil fields owned outright or co-owned by Chinese concerns.”
The report noted that half a million barrels of Iraqi oil per day were flowing to China, whilst a report by a Forbes blogger estimated that this number had tripled to 1.5 billion barrels per day less than eighteen months later. As Jamestown put it:“In light of the widely-touted opinion that the United States invaded Iraq, in large part, to dominate its energy reserves, it is important to highlight the tremendous inroads made by China in the Iraqi energy sector following the fall of Saddam Hussein. While U.S. and other Western oil majors have reaped substantial profits in Iraq, it would appear that China, for numerous reasons, was able to realize disproportionate gains in the Iraqi energy sector.”
The gradual re-emergence of a functioning Iraqi economy, then, was benefiting not the US, but rather the US’s number one strategic rival, China. Iraq’s peaceful development, in this context, was proving to be a direct threat to continued US domination.
Nor was this growing Iraqi-China co-operation solely economic. Jamestown’s report concluded that “the convergence of mutual interests between China and Iraq over the buying and selling of oil will serve to underpin a long-term strategic partnership.” A long-term strategic partnership between Iraq and China? Is this what the US spent $3 trillion to bring about?
It is important to note here, however, that the US itself does not actually need Iraqi oil. As Gordon Chang noted in Forbes, it is rapidly reducing its dependence on energy imports altogether: “The US overtook Russia as the world’s biggest natural gas producer in 2012 and is, after Saudi Arabia and Russia, the third biggest pumper of oil,” Chang said.“US energy imports have fallen in the last five years, natural gas by 32 percent and oil by 15 percent.” He concludes: “So a crisis [in Iraqi oil production] would put America in an even stronger position in the oil and gas markets.” Just to clarify that last point, the article repeated it: “Chang….noted that the United States would actually be in a stronger economic position with Iraqi oil off the market.”
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Shaaban at Int’l Media Conference warns of destructive role of media in current conflicts

Damascus - Presidential Political and Media Advisor Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban saw that Takfiri terrorism that has roiled the region might be a last-ditch attempt by the West to forward its agenda.

Speaking at the second session of the International Media Conference Against Terrorism which was dedicated to discuss the role of media, Shaaban warned of its grave role in altering the Arab culture and civilization in an attempt to force a radical change in the region.

“The US seeks to re-mould the countries of the world according to its own image,” she added, pointing out that the Arabs are not averse to change as long as it suits “our values, ethics, religion and civilization.”
Highlighting the role of media in instigating conflicts, Shaaban said that the US controls 90 percent of the international media while the Saudi regime finances more than 80 per cent of the Arab media which, she said, makes for a dangerous role that media plays which attempts to fragment the Arab region.
The axis of resistance, she added, is faring well with the West realizing that it is unable to wage wars on the ground, but warning that it is attempting more dangerous wars without any boots on the ground or one dollar spent through a strategy outlined in 1997 by seven think-tanks whose stated aim is to control the region.
Shaaban said efforts to curb the role of hostile media in the current conflicts have so far come up short, hoping that the conference will be one step ahead in confronting this role which is “the toughest” during the current stage.
Shaaban struck an upbeat note saying that the “resistant world” is racking up significant victories, citing in particular the Iranian nuclear deal, the steadfastness of Syria, the courage of the Russian President and the developments on the international arena which she said augur well for the countries of the axis of resistance.
Participants in the event said that the current crisis proved that most of the media outlets are not neutral and they are actually an accomplice in bloodshed as they have been trying to reforge a reality that serves their agendas.
They stressed that the takfiri terrorists’ heavy dependence on media proves that they are part of a structure that had been built by intelligence agencies, citing that the ISIS has more than 90,000 accounts of Twitter and Facebook in addition to 19 media production companies and an army of skilled and professional photographers and journalists.
They also stressed the need to establish a global media alliance aimed at unmasking the true face of the Takfiri terrorists, highlighting the importance of the conference as it managed to bring together a large number of journalists from all corners of the world.
SANA

Related Videos

كلمة عبد الله قصير في المؤتمر الاعلامي الدولي لمواجهة الارهاب التكفيري

مداخلات الجلسة 2 للمؤتمر الاعلامي الدولي لمواجهة الارهاب 

المؤتمر الاعلامي الدولي لمحاربة الارهاب | ماجدي البسيوني ~ على يرال | سما




المرتمر الاعلامي الدولي لمواجهة الارهاب التكفيري | ثائر الخطيب | سما 




المؤتمر الاعلامي الدولي لمواجهة الارهاب التكفيري | سمر الحاج | تلاقي



River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Tribal Leaders Refuse US Help to Iraqi Forces in Fight against ISIL

Local Editor

Iraq: Tribal forcesAn Iraqi tribal leader announced that in the ongoing fight against the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group, the volunteer forces do not accept assistance from the US.

"The US only speaks and it has not helped Al-Anbar tribes (in their fight against the ISIL)," Sheikh Naeem al-Kaod, leader of Iraq's Bu Nimr tribe, told Al-Alam News Network on Friday.

He pointed to the US officials' remarks on arming al-Anbar province's tribes, and said, "It is for two years now that we hear such news, but no action has been taken in this regard thus far."
Sheikh al-Kaod reiterated that if al-Anbar's tribes had been armed they could have resisted the ISIL's attacks, but unfortunately they have not been helped so far.

The US and western media have repeatedly stated that it has cooperation with Iraqi volunteer forces, a claim that has been strongly rejected by the popular troops.

In late June, a Bloomberg View column, citing two unidentified American administration officials, claimed that Popular Mobilization forces are sharing use of a military base with US troops.

In response, the Iraqi volunteer forces (dubbed in Arabic 'Hashd al-Shaabi') categorically rejected the Bloomberg report.

"There is no cooperation and coordination with the Americans to win back the regions controlled by the ISIL," Spokesman of Iraqi Volunteer Forces Karim al-Nouri said in reaction to news reports on Hashd al-Shaabi's cooperation with US forces.

Also in June, Secretary-General of the powerful Badr Organization Hadi al-Ameri underlined that the Iraqi forces have no need to the US assistance in their fight against the ISIL terrorist group.

Al-Ameri said that sending more American troops will damage the plan to free Iraqi cities and towns from ISIL control.

Source: Websites
24-07-2015 - 21:24 Last updated 24-07-2015 - 21:24 


Related Articles

Related Videos

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

ZABADAANI: TERRORISTS PLEADING FOR TRUCE AND AID; SYRIAN ARMY REJECTS ALL OFFERS


army

DAMASCUS: 

Al-Zabadaani:  A major brouhaha is brewing between Harakat Ahraar Al-Shaam and Nusra/Alqaeda.  You see, the Ahraar rats want to surrender on terms acceptable to their core leadership.  Nusra wants no part of any such delay in their plans to ride the Choo-Choo to Charon’s canoe.  Threats abound as Nusra has declared its willingness to eradicate the last Ahraar member inside the city – this, knowing there are only about 240 left to fight a force of SAA and HZB in the thousands.
Ahraar is negotiating to withdraw in the direction of Madhaayaa along with their weapons.  REJECTED!  Then, they received permission to offer a withdrawal without heavy weapons.  REJECTED!  As of now, Ahraar and Nusra are in the same boat, two allies linked together by a common destiny.   The only problem is they might start killing one another just to get a chance to leave Al-Zabadaani.  Their fortifications are dissolving under extremely heavy artillery and aerial bombardment.   So sad.
As of today, we can confirm the deaths of 12 Nusra/Alqaeda hyenas as the city center.  No names.

Zibdeen Farms to the north:  A motorcycle and a van were set ablaze by the SAA and PDC.  They all belonged to the Jaysh Al-Islam:
Naayil Rummaan
Muhammad Hassaan Al-Daalli
Muhammad Shakeeb ‘Ammaar
Fu`aad Al-Shamass
Nidhaal Jawhar
Mahmoud Ghuzayl
Jihaad Ghuzayl

Our congratulations to the Ghuzayl family on this prototypical contribution to Hell’s demography.  Good show.

معركة الزبداني تدخل مرحلة حاسمة.. الجيش يبدأ العد العكسي لإعلان السيطرة

Dayr Al-‘Asaafeer Road and the Royal Villas and Dayr Salmaan Farms:  The SAA killed these:
Usaamaa Al-Sha’aar
Lu`ayy Al-Nu’maan
Faadi Al-Kiswaani
Muhammad Al-Ruwwaas
Sameer Jazmaati
Ziyaad Halboon

Jawbar:  East of the tanneries, 3 rats were picked off by PDC snipers:
‘Imaad Nazheer Al-Bidhri
Faysal Al-Tahhaan
‘Abdul-Majeed (illegible)

URGENT: 100S OF NUSRA RATS KILLED TODAY IN DER’AH IN AN AMBITIOUS MULTI-PRONGED ASSAULT ON DER’AH CITY. COMPLETE FLOP.  MASSIVE DISASTER FOR THE BRITISH AND JORDANIAN IMBECILES AT THE GREAT “OPERATIONS ROOM” (YAWN).  Catch it all tomorrow.

Read more

Related Videos




الجيش العربي السوري ينفذ عمليات مكثفة تستهدف أوكار التنظيمات الإرهابية على امتداد الوطن



Related Articles


River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!