Archives: Articles

By Herman Daly

29 November, 2012

@ The Daly News

Under the heading, “Oil nations asked to consider carbon tax on exports,” John Vidal writes in The Guardian:

The Ecuadorean president, Rafael Correa, proposed a carbon tax at a summit of Arab and South American countries in October in Peru which included the heads of state and energy ministers of nine of Opec’s 12 countries. The Guardian understands the proposal was taken seriously and not dismissed out of hand. The idea was first mooted in 2001 by former World Bank senior economist Herman Daly — leading it to be dubbed the “Daly-Correa tax” — and will be further discussed by Opec countries at the UN climate talks which open on Monday in Doha.

Whether or not it will be discussed at Doha, I think it is worthwhile to explain the idea as it was presented to an OPEC Conference in Vienna in 2001. It elicited little interest on that occasion, but in 2007 was in large part adopted by President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, after being presented to him and his minister of planning, Fander Falconi, by ecological economist Professor Joan Martinez-Alier. Below is the relevant part of my speech at the OPEC conference.*

How might OPEC fit into the emerging vision of sustainable development? Permit me to speculate.

Sources of petroleum throughput derive from private or public (national) property; sinks are in an open access regime and treated as a free good. Therefore, rents are collected on source scarcity, but not on sink scarcity. Different countries or jurisdictions collect scarcity rents in different ways. In the U.S., for example, Alaska has a social collection and sharing of source rents, institutionalized in the Alaska Permanent Fund whose annual earnings are distributed equally to all citizens of Alaska. Other states in the U.S. allow private ownership of sources and private appropriation of source rents.

New institutions are being designed to take the sink function out of the open access regime and recognize its scarcity (Kyoto). Tradable rights to emit carbon dioxide, requiring first the collective fixing of scale and distribution of total emission rights, are actively being discussed. Ownership of the new scarce asset (emission rights) could be distributed in the first instance to the state, which would then redistribute the asset by gift or auctioned lease.

Ideally sink capacity would be defined as a separate asset with its own market. This would require a big change in institutions. Assuming it were done, the source and sink markets for petroleum throughput, though separate, would be highly interdependent. Sink limits would certainly reduce the demand for the source, and vice versa. The distribution of total scarcity rent on the petroleum throughput between source and sink functions would seem to be determined by the relative scarcity of these two functions, even with separate markets. Alternatively, sink scarcity rent could also be captured by a monopoly on the source side, or source scarcity rent could also be captured by a monopoly on the sink side.

To give an analogy, municipal governments, in charging for water, frequently price the source function (water supply) separately from the sink function (sewerage), thus charging different prices for inflow and outflow services related to the same throughput of water. In deciding their water usage, consumers take both prices into account. To them it is as if there were one price for water, the sum of the input and output charges. Likewise the petroleum throughput charge would be the sum of the price of a barrel of crude oil input from the source and the price of carbon dioxide output to the sink from burning a barrel of petroleum. One could consolidate the two charges and levy them at either end, since they are but two ends of the same throughput. This would be a matter of convenience. Since depletion of sources is a much more spatially concentrated activity than pollution of sinks, it would seem that the advantage lies with levying the total source and sink charge at the source end. This is especially so since the sink has traditionally been treated as an open access free good, and changing that requires larger institutional rearrangements than would a sink-based surcharge on the source price. OPEC, given sufficient monopoly power over the source, would be well positioned to function as an efficient collector of sink rents for the world community.

Could it also serve as a global fiduciary for ethically distributing those rents in the interests of sustainable development, especially for the poor? OPEC, assuming it could increase its degree of monopoly of the source, may be in a position to preempt the function of the failing Kyoto accord by incorporating sink rents (and even externalities) into prices at the source end of the petroleum throughput.

Of course OPEC does not have a monopoly on petroleum, much less on fossil fuels. It does not, even indirectly, control non-petroleum sources of carbon dioxide. So it would be easy to overestimate OPEC’s monopoly power, and the scheme suggested here does require an increase in its monopoly power. However, modern mass consumption nations such as the U.S. apparently do not have the discipline to internalize either externalities or scarcity rents into the price of petroleum. Exclusion of developing countries from the Kyoto accord, while understandable on grounds of historical fairness, undermines the prospects for accomplishing the goal of the treaty, namely limitation of global greenhouse gas emissions to a sustainable level. OPEC, assuming it had sufficient monopoly power, might be able to provide this discipline for both North and South.

The South, as well as the North, would have to face the discipline of higher petroleum prices in the name of efficiency, but would, in the name of fairness receive a disproportionate share of the sink rents. There would be a net flow of sink rents from North to South. The size of those rents would depend on OPEC’s degree of monopoly power. The distribution of the rents would be in large part decided by OPEC — a large ethical responsibility which many would be unwilling to cede to OPEC, and which OPEC itself may not want. The obvious alternative to such a global fiduciary authority, however, has already failed. The inability to reach an agreement on international distribution of carbon dioxide emission rights was the rock on which Kyoto foundered. It is hard to see how such an agreement could be reached, either as a first step toward emissions trading, or as a fixed non-tradable allocation.

It is in OPEC’s self-interest to preempt the emergence of a separate market for sink capacity, which could surely lower source demand and prices. While this gives OPEC a motivation, it also calls into question the legitimacy of the motivation as pure monopolistic exploitation. A legitimating compromise, as indicated above, would be for OPEC to behave as a self-interested monopolist on the source side, but as a global fiduciary on the sink side — that is, as an efficient collector and ethical distributor of scarcity rents from pricing the sink function. OPEC countries own petroleum deposits, but not the atmosphere. OPEC has a right to its source rents, but no exclusive right to sink rents. However, it may well have the power to charge and redistribute sink rents as a global fiduciary — exactly what Kyoto wants to do, but lacks the power to do. In addition to effecting this transfer, the expanded role of OPEC as global fiduciary might increase the willingness of other petroleum producers (e.g., Norway) to join OPEC, thus increasing its monopoly power and ability to function as here envisioned. In addition, the fiduciary role might provide ethical reasons for OPEC members to adhere to the cartel, when tempted by short-term profit opportunities to cheat.

Actually the existing OPEC Development Fund is already a step in this direction. Expansion of this fund into a global fiduciary institution for collecting and distributing sink rents, as well as the existing source rent contributions generously made by OPEC countries, is what is envisaged in this suggestion.

Just how total rents are determined and divided between source scarcity and sink scarcity is a technical problem that economists have not tackled because they have not framed the problem this way. Economists have focused on capturing source rents through property rights, and then internalizing the external sink costs of pollution through taxes. Only recently has there emerged a theoretical discussion of property rights in atmospheric sink capacity — whether these should be public or private, the extent to which trade in such rights should be allowed, and so on. As an initial rule of thumb we might assume that, since the sink side is now the more limiting function, it should be accorded half or more of the total throughput scarcity rents. In other words, sink rents should be at least as much as source rents.

Sink rents would go to an expanded OPEC Development Fund dedicated entirely to global sustainable development in poor countries (especially investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency). Source rents would continue to accrue to the country that owns the deposits, and presumably be devoted to national sustainable development. The focus here is on a new public service function for OPEC of efficiently collecting and ethically distributing sink rents in the interest of global sustainable development. Where Kyoto has failed, OPEC might succeed as a stronger power base on which to build the fiduciary role — a power base that sidesteps the inability of nations to agree on the distribution of carbon dioxide emission rights among themselves.

Although any exercise of monopoly power is frequently lamented by economists, the early American economist John Ise had a different view in the case of natural resources: “Preposterous as it may seem at first blush, it is probably true that, even if all the timber in the United States, or all the oil, or gas, or anthracite, were owned by an absolute monopoly, entirely free of public control, prices to consumers would be fixed lower than the long-run interests of the public would justify.” Ise was referring only to the source function. The emerging scarcity of the sinks adds strength to his view. The reasonableness of Ise’s view is enhanced when we remember that for a market to reflect the true price, all interested parties must be allowed to bid. In the case of natural resources the largest interested party, future generations, cannot bid. Neither can our fellow non-human creatures, with whom we also share God’s creation, now and in the future, bid in markets to preserve their habitats. Therefore resource prices are almost certainly going to be too low, and anything that would raise the price, including monopoly, can claim some justification. Nor did Ise believe that the resource monopolist had a right to keep the entire rent, even though the rent should be charged in the interest of the future.

The measurement of the two different rents presents conceptual problems. The source rents are in the nature of user cost — the opportunity cost of non-availability in the future of a non-renewable resource used up today. Assuming that atmospheric absorptive capacity is a renewable resource, the sink rent would be the price of the previously free service when the supply of that service is limited to a sustainable level. If we assume separate markets in both source and sink functions we would theoretically have a market price determined for each function. Since the functions are related as the two ends of the same throughput, the source and sink markets would be quite closely interdependent. The separate markets could be competitive or monopolistic, and differing market power would largely determine the division of total throughput rent between the source and sink functions. For example, if, following a Kyoto agreement, the total supply of sink permits were to be determined by a global monopoly, that monopoly would be in a stronger position to capture total throughput rent on petroleum than would a weak cartel that controls the source. OPEC is surely aware of this.

What might the WTO and the World Bank think of such a suggestion? Since these two institutions are well represented at this conference, this question is more than just rhetorical. So far the WTO and the World Bank have been dedicated to the ideology of globalization — free trade, free capital mobility, and maximum cheapness of resources in the interest of GDP growth for the world as a whole, including mass-consumption societies. In their view maximum competition among oil-exporting countries resulting in a low price for petroleum is the goal. Trickle down from growth for the rich will, it is hoped, someday reach the poor. I suspect the free-trading globalizers consider themselves morally superior to the OPEC monopolists. But which alternative is worse:

Price- and standards-lowering competition in the interest of maximizing mass consumption by oil-importing countries by minimizing the internalization of environmental and social costs with consequent destruction of the atmosphere, and ruination of local self-reliance by a cheap-energy transport subsidy to the forces of global economic integration, or Monopoly restraints on the global overuse of both a basic resource and a basic life-support service of the environment, with automatic protection of local production and self-reliance provided by higher (full-cost) energy and transport prices, and with sink rents redistributed to the poor?

Monopoly restraint results not only in conservation and reduced pollution, but also in a price incentive to develop new petroleum-saving, and sink-enhancing, technologies, as well as renewable energy substitutes. Unfortunately there would also be an incentive to use non-petroleum fossil fuels such as coal, which would be a very negative effect from the point of view of controlling carbon dioxide. Independent national legislation limiting emissions from coal (and natural gas) may well be a necessary complement.

Ideally most of us would prefer a genuine international agreement to limit fossil fuel throughput, rather than a monopoly-based restriction imposed as a discipline by a minority of countries only on petroleum. But the Western high consumers, especially the U.S. as resoundingly reconfirmed in its recent election, have conclusively demonstrated their inability to accept any restrictions that might reduce their GDP growth rates, even in the likely event that GDP growth has itself become uneconomic. The conceptual clarity and moral resources are simply lacking in the leadership of these countries. Perhaps the leadership reflects the citizenry. But perhaps not. The global corporate “growth forever” ideology is pushed by the corporate-owned media, and rehearsed by corporate-financed candidates in quadrennial television-dominated elections.

A lack of moral clarity and leadership in the mass-consumption societies does not necessarily imply the presence of these virtues in the OPEC countries. Do there exist sufficient clarity, morality, restraint, and leadership in the OPEC countries to undertake this fiduciary function of being an efficient collector and an ethical distributor of sink scarcity rents? As argued above, there is surely an element of self-interest for OPEC, but to gain general support OPEC would have to take on a fiduciary trusteeship role that would go far beyond its interests as a profit-maximizing cartel. But a strong moral position might be just what OPEC needs to gain the legitimacy necessary to increase and solidify its power as a cartel. Could such a plan, put forward by OPEC, provide a stronger power base for the goals that Kyoto tried and failed to institutionalize? Might the WTO and World Bank recognize that sustainable development is a more basic value than free trade, and lend their support? I do not know. Maybe the whole idea is just a utopian speculation. But given the post-Kyoto state of disarray and the paucity of policy suggestions, I do believe that it is worth initiating a discussion of this possibility.

If sustainability is to be more than an empty word we have to evolve mechanisms for constraining throughput flows within environmental source and sink capacities. Petroleum is the logical place to begin. And OPEC is the major institution in a position to influence the global throughput of petroleum.

* “Sustainable Development and OPEC,” Chapter 15 in Herman E. Daly, Ecological Economics and Sustainable Development, Edward Elgar Publishers, Cheltenham, UK, 2007.

Herman Daly is an American ecological economist and professor at the School of Public Policy of University of Maryland, College Park in the United States. He was Senior Economist in the Environment Department of the World Bank, where he helped to develop policy guidelines related to sustainable development. He is closely associated with theories of a Steady state economy. He is a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award and the NCSE Lifetime Achievement Award

Message from President al-Assad to Venezuelan Counterpart, Conveyed by Mikdad

Nov 29, 2012

CARACAS, (SANA) – President Bashar al-Assad sent a letter to President of Venezuela Hugo Chafez, conveyed by Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Dr. Fayssal Mikdad.

Vice-President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro Moros relayed salutation from President Chafez and hopes that President al-Assad will overcome the terrorist campaign against Syria.

Moros stressed that the stances of Venezuela regarding the events in Syria are firm and clear, and that Caracas is confident that the conspiracy will be foiled, affirming that Syria’s victory is a victory to all countries that fight for preserving their sovereignty and independence.

He highlighted Venezuela’s resolve to enhance cooperation with Syria in all domains as to enable Damascus to overcome the effects of the imperialistic western aggression.

Moros said that the leadership and people of Venezuela are watching the steadfastness of the Syrian people and consider it a heroic struggle representing the conscience of free peoples that defend their countries’ independence and sovereignty.

He also expressed rejection of foreign interference in Syria’s internal affairs and voiced condemnation of the media campaign which aims at undermining Syria and its ability to confront the imperialistic schemes in the region.

For his part, Dr. Mikdad talked about the situation in Syria and the western aggression which aims at weakening its stances that oppose the western and Israeli schemes which aim at imposing the US and Israeli control on the region in cooperation with their tools in the Arab Gulf and in Turkey who fund, harbor and arm terrorist groups responsible for massacres against innocent Syrians.

Dr. Mikdad valued highly Venezuela’s stances in support to Syria in the political and economic fields and in international forums and organizations, stressing the importance of coordination between the two countries and the powers that support the rights of peoples to defend their independence and sovereignty.

The meeting was attended by Venezuela’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Temer Porras, and Syria’s Ambassador in Venezuela, Dr. Ghassan Abbas.

Earlier, Dr. Mikdad met with members of the parliament and members of the Syrian-Venezuelan Friendship Committee.

Dr. Mikdad also held a meeting with reporters from Venezuelan public and private media outlets and agencies and answered questions on the situation in Syria and the region.

Dr. Mikdad also met with members of the Syrian community in Venezuela and briefed them on the situation in Syria.

Thirty-Four Martyrs, Remnants in 10 Medical Covers and Scores of Injured People in Two Car Bomb Blasts in Jaramana

Nov 28, 2012

DAMASCUS COUNTRYSIDE, (SANA)- Terrorists on Wednesday blew up two car bombs loaded with large amounts of explosives in the Main Square in Jaramana city in Damascus Countryside, killing a number of citizens and injuring others and causing huge material damage to the residential buildings and shops.

A source at the Interior Ministry told SANA reporter that the death toll of the two car bomb blasts reached 34 martyrs and remnants in 10 medical covers.

The source added that the bombings also resulted in injuring 83 people and caused heavy damage to 6 residential buildings and tens of cars parking in the explosion site.

Meanwhile, a source at al-Muwasat Hospital that the bodies of 33 martyrs were received, in addition to 20 injured people, including women, some in critical situation.

A source at Damascus Hospital pointed out that 41 injured people, including women, were admitted to the hospital to be treated.

SANA reporter in al-Radi and Jaramana hospitals said tens of wounded people were received and given first aid, while serious injuries were transferred to al-Muwasat and Damascus hospitals.

SANA reporter said the two terrorist bombings coincided with the detonation of two explosive devices by terrorists in al-Nahda and al-Qerayyat neighborhoods in the city.

The explosive device blasts resulted in minor material damage.

Visiting the injured in al-Muwasat Hospital, Minister of Higher Education, Mohammad Yehya Moalla, stressed that the timing of the terrorist bombings was intended to cause harm to the largest number of citizens, describing them as “heinous and inhuman”.

He indicated the readiness of all educational hospitals, particularly al-Muwasat, to receive all citizens and provide them with necessary medical services, hailing the efforts of its nursing, medical and administrative staffs in shouldering their responsibilities to ensure the best healthcare services.

On the other hand, Governor of Damascus Countryside, Hussein Makhlouf, described Jaramana terrorist bombings as “the most horrible crimes” against innocent citizens while they were heading to their workplaces, schools and universities.

He added that those who are behind the bombings made use of the Syrian’s good will who rushed to help the injured to carry out the second bombing and cause more victims.

Touring Jaramana and al-Muwasat hospitals, Makhlouf said that targeting Jaramana by the armed terrorist groups for many times reflect these terrorist groups’ hatred and grudge on its residents who rejected extremism and the involvement on the conspiracy against their country.

A Number of the Martyrs Escorted to Final Resting Place

In a solemn procession, a number of Jaramana terrorist bombings martyrs were escorted to their final resting place with wide official and popular participation.

Thousands of locals participated in the funeral ceremony held for the martyrs who fell in the two terrorist bombings which hit the main square in Jaramana city in Damascus Countryside.

Speeches delivered at the funeral ceremony hailed the glory of martyrdom and the Syrian people’s sacrifices to defend the homeland’s sovereignty and independence.

The participants’ speeches stressed that terrorists’ targeting of children and residential areas will not undermine the Syrians’ determination to combat and eliminate terrorism.

They added that the scheme to dominate Syria and undermine its national unity will fail, indicating that all spectrums of the Syrian people will stand steadfast against all attempts to destroy their unity.

Families of the martyrs held the U.S., France and their agents in the region who supply terrorists with money and arms responsible for the blood of their sons.

They affirmed that the repeated terrorist attacks against Jaramana city and residents will not prevent them from standing side by side with their state and the Syrian army in the face of extremism and terrorism which the homeland’s enemies try to justify under fake slogans that call for freedom and democracy.

Al-Qaeda-linked Terrorists Killed, Their Vehicles and Weapons Destroyed in Several Areas

Nov 28, 2012

PROVINCES, (SANA) – The Armed Forces on Wednesday eliminated tens of terrorists belonging to al-Qaeda and destroyed their vehicles in qualitative operations in Aleppo and its countryside.

An official source told SANA reporter that a unit of the Armed Forces eliminated scores of terrorists in a qualitative operation in al-Mislmyeh, adding that terrorist Omar al-Abdullah, of the Libyan nationality and a member of al-Qaeda, was identified among the dead.

Another army unit clashed with terrorists in Daret Izza and destroyed two terrorists’ hideouts and 5 cars transporting weapons and terrorists.

The army also destroyed 4 cars with loaded with terrorists and weapons on the road between Kafar Hamra and al-Lairamon areas and targeted terrorists’ gatherings in al-Mintar, Azzan and Ain Jara, inflicting heavy losses upon the terrorists.

In Aleppo city, the Armed Forces arrested 17 terrorists who tried to infiltrate to al-Lairamon area and seized an armored vehicle used by terrorists to transfer weapons and munitions.

Dozens of terrorists were killed in the area, among them was terrorist Medhat Eid.

Another army unit clashed with terrorists in Bustan al-Basha, al-Salheen and Masaken Hanano, inflicting heavy losses upon them.

The army also targeted terrorists’ gatherings in al-Tananeer Square and Karm al-Jizmani in old Aleppo, killing and wounding scores of the terrorists.

The army ambushed a terrorist group in al-Lairamon Roundabout in Aleppo, killing the leader of the group, terrorist Mahmoud Hamada and all members of the group and seizing large amounts of weapons, including machineguns, rifles and RPG launchers.

Armed Forces Restore SYP 100 Million worth Medicines Seized at Terrorist Dens in Aleppo

A unit of the Armed Forces gave Aleppo Governorate an amount of medicines seized at dens of armed terrorist groups.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the medicines worth about SYP 100 million, adding that the armed terrorist groups stole these medicines from Aleppo hospitals and healthcare centers.

Armed Forces Inflict Heavy Losses upon Terrorists in Damascus Countryside

Units of the Armed Forces continued pursuing terrorists from al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra in Daraya, Hejjeira, al-Dhiyabiyeh and al-Bowaida areas in Damascus Countryside.

An official source told SANA reporter that a unit of the Armed Forces destroyed terrorists’ gatherings, hideouts and equipment in Daraya city.

The source added that scores of terrorists were killed near al-Forn and al-Zaiyton roundabouts in the city, indicating that the Armed Forces seized their weapons and ammunition.

The source said that the army restored security to al-Basel Roundabout area in Daraya after killing scores of the mercenary terrorists.

The source added that the Armed Forces killed and wounded all members of a terrorist group affiliated to al-Qaeda linked Jabhet al-Nusra in the area, adding that the leader of the group, nicknamed Abu Huzayfah, was identified among the dead.

The Armed Forces also carried out several operations against terrorists in Hejjeira, al-Bowaida and al-Dhiyabiyeh, destroying a mortar launcher and killing a number of terrorists.

Terrorists Khaled Salloum and Mohammad Kheir Eddin were identified among the dead.

The source said that all members of an armed terrorist group were killed at Fayez Mansour Street, including terrorists Yaser al-Sabbagh, Maher Shadid, Fatehi Hammoudeh, Ammar Abdul-Razaq and the Iraqi terrorist Samer al-Basrawi.

In Zamalka and Erbeen in the eastern Ghouta, units of the Armed Forces pursued the terrorists groups which attack citizens and commit criminal acts.

Jordanian Security Forces Arrest Terrorist Group Heading for Syria

A Jordanian security source said that the security forces arrested 5 terrorist gunmen while trying to infiltrate to Syria.

In a statement to UPI agency, the source added that the arrested terrorists had large amounts of weapons and ammunition, noting that one of the terrorists, who is a salafi, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2007 and released in 2012 after a special amnesty was granted to him.

Two citizens Martyred, many others wounded by Suicide Terrorist Explosion in Bosra, Daraa

A suicide terrorist  blew up a booby-trapped pickup, loaded with vegetables in the west neighborhood in Bosra, Daraa,  claiming the lives of a number of martyrs and injuring many others.

An official source told SANA reporter that the terrorist explosion led to the martyrdom of two citizens and injuring 7 others as well as causing grave material losses.

The source added that the suicide terrorist blew himself inside the car which was loaded with vegetables when the families and citizens were approaching him.

8 Terrorists Killed, 13 Others Injured while Filling a Car with Explosives in Hejjeira

Meanwhile, eight terrorists were killed while 13 others injured in a blast of a car they were filling the car with explosives at al-AKshak Street in Hejjeira.

Terrorist Mohammad Shahin was identified among the dead.

Armed Terrorist Groups’ Leaders Killed, Several Inflitration Attempts from Lebanon Foiled in Homs

The Armed Forces destroyed terrorist dens belonging to Jabhat al-Nusra which is affiliated with al-Qaeda in al-Khalidiyeh and Bab Hud neighborhoods in Homs city.

An official source told SANA that the Armed Forces eliminated a number of terrorists, including leaders of armed terrorist groups.

The Armed Forces pursued terrorists from al-Qaeda linked Jabhet al-Nusra in al-Houla area in Homs countryside and eliminated scores of them and destroyed many vehicles and a communication center.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the army eliminated all the members of a terrorist group in al-Houla, adding that “among the killed terrorists were Abu Mansour al-Shirqawi, of the Saudi nationality, Mahmoud Kreijan, Radwan Shlash and Thaer al-Hanash.”

The source added that a factory to manufacture missiles and explosive devices in addition to 6 machinegun-equipped vehicles were destroyed.

The source said that an advanced communication center used by the terrorists to coordinate their terrorist acts was also destroyed.

In a relevant cotext, a unit of the Armed Forces repelled terrorists’ infiltration attempt from Lebanon into Syrian territories at al-Armouta area in the countryside of Talkalakh in Homs.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the infiltration attempt coincided with heavy fire on border guards’ centers.

It added that the Armed Forces responded to the sources of fire, killing a number of terrorists and injuring others while the rest fled into the Lebanese territories.

SANA reporter said that other units of the Armed Forces confronted members of another terrorist group which attempted to infiltrate into Syria after opening fire from inside the Lebanese territories, adding that the Armed Forces forced terrorists to run away inside the Lebanese territories.

The Armed Forces foiled a third infiltration attempt by terrorists riding motorcycles through the same border crossing, killing and injuring many of them.

Terrorists Killed, 15 Explosive Devices Dismantled in Idleb

A source in the province told SANA reporter that a unit of the Armed Forces destroyed two vehicles equipped with DShK machineguns in Harem city.

A number of terrorists from the so-called “Shuhadaa Idleb Brigade” were killed, including Mais Saqer, Anwar al-Muhajer and Abu Ali Janem.

Other units of the Armed Forces destroyed gatherings for terrorists in Bensiya town in the countryside of Harem, killing an injuring many of them.Terrorists Omar Bakro and Nader Salim were identified among the dead.

The armed forces pursued terrorist groups in Ein al-Hamra and Jannet al-Qoura villages in the countryside of Jisr al-Shughour, killing all of their members.

Meanwhile, the engineering units dismantled 15 explosive devices, weighed between 75 to 100 kg, which were ready for remote detonation.

The dismantled explosive devices were planted by terrorists on Jisr al-Shughour – Muhammbel road in the countryside of Idleb.

On the other hand, units of the Armed Forces pursued last night armed terrorist groups in Idleb countryside and inflicted heavy losses upon the terrorists.

A source in Idleb province told SANA reporter that the Armed Forces destroyed terrorist hideouts in Filon, Kafar Rohin, Binnish, Bikaflon and Korin towns and eliminated several terrorists and inured others.

A Number of Terrorists Killed in Hama

A unit of the Armed Forces clashed with terrorists who were cutting off roads and terrifying citizens in a town in the countryside of Hama province and seized their weapons.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the clashes resulted in the killing of a number of terrorists.

Terrorist Khaled Mohammad Ali Khleif from “Khaled bin al-Walid Brigade” was identified among the dead.

Authorities Seize Large Amounts of Munitions and Weapons in Lattakia

The authorities in Lattakia Province seized a large amount of munitions, weapons and sniper rifles inside a den of an armed terrorist group in al-Tabiat neighborhood in Lattakia city.

An official source in the province told SANA reporter that the seized weapons included 7 rifles, 5 M16 rifles, 3 NATO sniper rifles, in addition to Polish sniper rifles, pump-action shotguns and anti-tank mines.

The source added that 11 grenades, 10,000 bullets, 50 ammunition magazines, 3 night binoculars and a number of mortar rounds were also seized.

Terrorists from al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra Killed, 16 Explosive Devices Dismantled in Daraa

A unit of the Armed Forces clashed with terrorists from al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra in Tafas town in the countryside of Daraa province, inflicting heavy losses upon them.

SANA reporter quoted a source in the province as saying that the clashes resulted in the killing of many terrorists and the injury of others, in addition to seizing their weapons.

The source added that the engineering units dismantled 16 explosive devices of different weights planted by terrorists around the town and at its entrances.

Al-Jaafari: The Syrian People Want a Syrian-led Democracy but Not an Imposed One through Blood

Nov 28, 2012

NEW YORK, (SANA)- Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari, stressed that the Syrian people want to build a Syrian-made democracy based on a Syrian experience that meets the Syrians’ needs and is led by them, but not a bloody, sectarian and salafi democracy that is imposed from abroad through armed violence.

Al-Jaafari was speaking during a session of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee discussing a draft resolution on Syria in the framework of item 69 of the agenda titled ‘The Promotion and Protection of Human Rights’.

The Syrian Ambassador stressed that the draft resolution doesn’t lie in the framework of goodwill and has nothing to do with transparency of the care for human rights in Syria as it holds the Syrian government responsible for all what happened in Syria without addressing any condemnation to the armed terrorist groups and the countries manipulating them.

He expressed regret that some delegations exploit the Third Committee’s work to impose their political and interventional goals which violate the provisions of the UN Charter, the principles of the international law and the international humanitarian law.

Al-Jaafari said that what is taking place today is considered a regrettable precedent that endangers the future of the international collective action in the field of promoting and protecting human rights.

He slammed the stances of the some member states of the Arab League (AL) as they accepted to be used as the ‘Horse of Troy’ by the western group through submitting in their name a draft resolution claiming care for human rights in Syria which was submitted last year by western delegations that are overtly interfering in Syria’s internal affairs.

He said this maneuver has unveiled that some Arab countries have turned into a destructive tool of the joint Arab action in the service of condemned interventional western agendas.

The Syrian Ambassador added that by submitting this draft resolution against Syria, the Arab countries, including Qatar, made Israel an invaluable favor in its aggression on Gaza at the same day when the Israeli warplanes were bombarding the Strip.

Al-Jaafari underscored that the Syrian people want to build a society where justice and equality prevail away from the foreign interference of some countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia which know nothing of human rights.

He highlighted how the rule in these two countries is monopolized by one family and how they lack the simplest rights of equality between genders and between the citizens and the non-citizens, in addition to the absence of parliament and the smothering of the opposition by the authorities of the two countries.

Al-Jaafari also referred to the fact that Qatar and the Saudi Arabia are not yet part of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which has become an international reference since 1976, nor are they part of many international agreements related to the issues of the promotion and protection of human rights, whereas Syria has joined the Covenant since 1969 before Qatar gained its independence from the British occupation.

He expressed great astonishment over justifying the crime and massacres committed by the armed terrorist groups against the Syrian people in the statement of the countries which submitted the draft resolution as “few separate violations”.

“Are homicide, cutting off dead bodies, decapitation, displacing inhabitants on sectarian bases and killing entire families according to sectarian affiliations considered, according to those who submitted the draft resolution, minor violations that are not worth even reference?” asked al-Jaafari.

He added that “Does this mean that there is a legitimate terrorism that is represented by the acts of the armed terrorist groups holding wahhabi, takfiri and salafi thinking…with Qatari, Saudi and Libyan funding and direct Turkish involvement and French and British sponsoring?”

Al-Jaafari wondered how the claim about protecting human rights in Syria goes in line with the imposition of packages of unilateral coercive economic and financial sanctions against the Syrian people by those who endorsed the draft resolution.

He expressed regret that the member countries of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation were among the first to impose such inhumane sanctions transgressing against the rights of the Syrian citizens.

“It’s a shame that many of the financially rich countries in those two organizations have not offered a single dollar to help the Syrian people, while they are giving hundreds of millions of dollars to the mercenary terrorists and al-Qaeda members to shed blood in Syria and destroy the infrastructure of the Syrian state,” he added.

The Syrian Ambassador exposed the flagrant political hypocrisy of some countries in terms of adopting a Security Council resolution condemning the acts of the takfiri and ‘jihadi’ trends in Mali, while rushing to provide funds to send similar takfiri, wahhabi and ‘jihadi’ groups to practice terrorism in Syria.

He blasted the preparers of the draft resolution on Syria not only for being biased and non-transparent but also for neither calling even in one paragraph for the need to halt the violence and disarm the terrorist groups, nor hinting at the necessity of sitting around the national dialogue table to resolve the crisis according to the basics of peaceful solution based on Kofi Annan’s six-point plan, Geneva statement and the mission of the UN envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi.

He reminded those countries of hundreds of international and press reports which confirm that foreign terrorists are fighting in Syria, referring particularly to the report of the Head of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Paulo Pinheiro, which indicated the presence of foreign fighters in Syria and considered those gunmen as a dangerous element in increasing extremism.

He cited a statement by Pinheiro as saying in a press conference in New York last October that those foreign mercenary gunmen are operating in Syria having their own motives and not necessarily to build a democratic state and that they come from 11 countries and not only from the neighboring countries.

Al-Jaafari noted that few days ago he circulated on behalf of the Syrian government an official letter to the Security Council members, the UN Secretary General and the Head of the UN General Assembly which included the names of 143 foreign terrorists who had been killed in battles in Aleppo, among them were Libyans, Tunisians, Saudis and Qataris.

He stressed that the reform in Syria should be national and not in the form of draft resolutions of political brokerage, affirming that the optimal way to help Syria in the reform process is for some of the countries which adopted the draft resolution to halt funding, arming and sheltering the armed terrorist groups and smuggling them across the border, particularly across Turkey.

Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN called on the member countries to show their respect to human rights by relying on facts away from intimidation, conspiring and politicization and through realizing that what the Syrian government is doing aims only to go ahead with the reform process and secure a decent life for the Syrian people in light of uncompromised sovereignty and political independence.

Lavrov Renews Russia’s Rejection of  Intervention in Syria, Technical Military cooperation Contributes to Region’s stability

Nov 28, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA) – Russian Foreign Minister , Sergei Lavrov, renewed his country’s stance in rejection of foreign intervention in Syria, stressing that Russia is exerting great efforts to end violence in Syria and support resorting to dialogue, through which the Syrians should reach an agreement based on the structure and the future of their country.

In an interview with Argumenty i Fakty Russian Newspaper, Lavrov said that the cooperation between Russia and Syria in the technical military domain contributes to supporting the stability in the Middle East, adding that the material technical supply point of the Russian naval fleet in Tartous works normally.”

He stressed that there is no possibility of dragging Russia into the armed conflict taking place in Syria, pointing out to the importance of applying Geneva Statement to solve the crisis in Syria, as Russia works closely with the Syrian government and all parties for its implementation.

Lavrov pointed out to the necessity that all foreign sides and those who have influence on the ‘the Syrian opposition’ play their role to fulfill the approach agreed on in Geneva.

He warned that the continuation of violence in Syria would lead to the aggravation of the situation which may erupt in the region, stressing the presence of a lot of foreign extremists, mercenaries and terrorists linked to al-Qaeda among the armed opposition. He also expressed worry over the transition of the conflict to the neighboring countries.

Moscow Strongly Condemns terrorist Bombings in Jaramana, Damascus Countryside

The Russian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the terrorist explosions which hit Jaramana in Damascus countryside, indicating that these bombings bear the imprints of al-Qaeda.

“Such acts represent familiar methods of the international terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda which aim to ruin any effort  to restore stability to Syria and resolve the crisis peacefully,” a statement for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The statement added ” we vehemently condemn the terrorist crimes which can’t be justified.”

Deployment of Patriot Missiles along Turkish-Syrian Borders Creates More Problems rather than Solve Them

Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister, Andrey Denisov, stressed that the deployment of Patriot missile systems at the Turkish-Syrian border would rather create more problems than solve them, as it implies hidden threats behind.

Denisov told a news conference following a security conference in Berlin “We don’t like this idea because we see hidden threats in it,” Denisov noted.

“If these hidden threats are justified or if our partners provide clear explanations of the real meaning of the decision to deploy these missiles, it will contribute to peace efforts,” he added.

Denisov pointed out that the deployment of Patriot missile systems along the border with Syria might stem from plans to establish the so-called no-fly zones, which have not been made available to Moscow. “It might well be wrong, but as long as we know nothing we need more information,” he stressed.

“If it implies restrictive measures against Syria, such measures must be sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council,” Denisov stressed.

The Russian diplomat said that from the technical point of view and in terms of maintenance, the Patriot system is complex whose personnel undergoes long training and can enjoy high professional skills, adding “It is a serious weapon and it must be targeted against serious challenges… That is why we have such questions as what kind of challenges it is aimed at and who threatens who and from where?”

Denisov went on saying “All the answers we have been receiving are reduced to soothing statements, but as far as military political problems are concerned, we want clear and exhaustive explanations: where ‘a threat comes from’, for what purposes, for what term and why.”

“We believe that the decision of deploying missiles is creating more problems than it might solve,” he said. “This is why Moscow showed restrained attitude towards this idea,” the Russian official concluded.

People’s Assembly Discusses Situation of Electricity in the Country

Nov 28, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Committee of Budget at the People’s Assembly on Wednesday discussed with Minister of Electricity Eng. Imad Khamis the Ministry’s report on the 2013 state budget.

Minister Khamis said that 28,31 billion SYP was allocated for the General Establishment of Electricity Generating in the 2013 state budget, adding that the sum will be used to create new electricity-generation stations, expand the current stations and improve their work.

Khamis noted that the 2013 state budget allotted 7,407 billion SYP for the General Establishment of Transportation and SYP 7 billion for the General Establishment of Distribution.

” 500 million SYP was allocated to the National Center of Energy Researches to build two photovoltaic power plants with 10 megawatts capacity each” funded by China”, in addition to 10-megawatts photovoltaic plant and wind plants with 50-100 megawatts capacity,” Khamis said.

He highlighted that 1-3 main high voltage cables, out of 82 one, are being attacked and sabotaged by terrorists per day, adding that there are currently 30 main high voltage cables out of service.

He stressed that the electricity sector in Syria is still the best in the region despite all the terrorist attacks and sabotage acts committed by the terrorists against its infrastructure, adding that the readiness of the power plants in Syria is 98%.

The state budget allocated approbations by 43,222 billion SYP to the Ministry of Electricity for the year 2013.

Minister of Health: Scale of Damage Caused by Terrorist Attacks to Health Sector Estimated at SYP 7 Billion

Nov 28, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Minister of Health, Saad al-Nayef, estimated the scale of damage cause by the terrorist groups’ attacks to the health sector at SYP 7 billion, adding that the national health sector is facing great challenges under current circumstances.

The Minister was speaking in front of the Budget Committee at the People’s Assembly which discussed the report presented by the Ministry of Health on its plans for 2013.

The minister said that 25 hospitals, 105 health centers and 150 ambulances went out of service due to the armed terrorist groups’ attacks. The minister said that these challenges and difficulties delayed the implementation of a large number of projects, stressing that the medical staffs and equipment art hospitals and health centers helped the sector to face all circumstances, adding that the locally-manufactured medicines cover 93% of needs.

He said that the Ministry is providing its needs of medicine for cancer and other chronic diseases and vaccines through grants, loans or direct purchase from other countries such as Iran, Korea and Russia, adding that there is a factory for manufacturing cancer drugs already in service while another factory will begin operation in the beginning of the next year.

He added that the Ministry’s priorities in the current stage focus on the emergency sector and providing vaccines and medicines for chronic diseases, in addition to providing best healthcare services to citizens at the temporary makeshift centers to prevent the spread of epidemics.

Regarding pharmaceutical industries, al-Nayef said that 10 out of 67 pharmaceutical factories went out of service because of the armed terrorist groups’ transgressions, stressing that all medicine are available and the main problem lies in means of delivering them.

Larijani: Western Behavior Regarding Crisis in Syria incorrect

Nov 28, 2012

Tehran, (SANA)-Speaker of the Iranian Shura council Ali Larijani underlined that the western behavior regarding the crisis in Syria is wrong, saying that the desire to shift to democracy through weapon lead to the escalation of terrorism.

At a press conference with Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi in Baghdad, Larijani said that intervention should be in the interest of the peoples, and the western countries have to adopt peaceful intervention, away from desire to change into democracy through weapon.

For his part, al-Nujaifi affirmed that since the beginning, Iraq has announced its stance towards the crisis in Syria and the Syrian people’s right in self-determination without any foreign intervention or any gathering for the terrorist groups.

Earlier, Larijani affirmed that Tehran seeks to resolve the crisis in Syria according to better conditions, but the intervention of some countries create difficulties in front of the Syrian people.

Larijani comments came during a meeting with the Iraqi scholar Ayatollah Mohammad Said al-Hakim in the Iraqi city of al-Najaf.

Al-Hakim , for his part, considered that the continued violence in Syria leads to moving tension into other countries which will affect all, adding “The achievement of calm and stability in Syria depends on the internal sides and international politicians.”

Abdullahian: All Should Support the Will of the Syrian People

Meanwhile, Hussein Amir Abdullahian, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for the Arab and African Affairs said that the international organizations and world countries have to support the collective will of the Syrian people to boost the national dialogue in order to realize reforms on a democratic ground in the country.

Meeting representatives of international organizations, ambassadors and Heads of political missions accredited in Tehran, Abdullahian added that the latest meeting of the Syrian National Dialogue which was held in Tehran aimed at offering help to restore peace and calm to Syria through an Iranian initiative.

Venezuela fully Supports Syria in its War against Terrorism

Nov 27, 2012

CARACAS, (SANA)-Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad on Tuesday discussed with Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Temir Parras the political developments in the Middle East and Latin America.

During the meeting, the two sides described as deep the strategic relations between the two countries and peoples, founded by Leaders of the two countries, Presidents Bashar al-Assad and Hugo Chavez, expressing satisfaction over the implementation of agreements and programs which were signed in Damascus and Caracas.

The Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister expressed his country’s full support to Syria as leadership and people in the face of foreign conspiracy which seeks to deviate Syria’s attention from the main conflict in the region, the Arab-Israeli conflict.

He condemned the terrorist acts carried out by armed groups supported by external countries which pose a threat to the security, safety and stability of Syria, calling for stopping the support of terrorism, funding it or hosting those who perpetrate criminal acts.

For his part, Mikdad expressed Syria’s appreciation for the true support of Venezuela to Syria in all fields, indicating to the targets and dimensions of the attack of the western countries, particularly the US, France and Britain in cooperation with Turkey, some Gulf states and Libya and their support to the terrorists, proving them with fatal equipment to weaken Syria and divide its national unity and foil its stances against the Israeli occupation.

The Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister affirmed inevitability of Syria’s victory in its war against the terrorism and the foreign intervention in its affairs, this victory which will be considered as a victory for all powers which defend their countries’ independence and sovereignty.

By Scott Dodd, On Earth

29 November 12

@readersupportednews.org

Susan Rice, the candidate believed to be favored by President Obama to become the next Secretary of State, holds significant investments in more than a dozen Canadian oil companies and banks that would stand to benefit from expansion of the North American tar sands industry and construction of the proposed $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline. If confirmed by the Senate, one of Rice’s first duties likely would be consideration, and potentially approval, of the controversial mega-project.

Rice’s financial holdings could raise questions about her status as a neutral decision maker. The current U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Rice owns stock valued between $300,000 and $600,000 in TransCanada, the company seeking a federal permit to transport tar sands crude 1,700 miles to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast, crossing fragile Midwest ecosystems and the largest freshwater aquifer in North America.

Beyond that, according to financial disclosure reports, about a third of Rice’s personal net worth is tied up in oil producers, pipeline operators, and related energy industries north of the 49th parallel — including companies with poor environmental and safety records on both U.S. and Canadian soil. Rice and her husband own at least $1.25 million worth of stock in four of Canada’s eight leading oil producers, as ranked by Forbes magazine. That includes Enbridge, which spilled more than a million gallons of toxic bitumen into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River in 2010 — the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history.

Rice also has smaller stakes in several other big Canadian energy firms, as well as the country’s transportation companies and coal-fired utilities. Another 20 percent or so of her personal wealth is derived from investments in five Canadian banks. These are some of the institutions that provide loans and financial backing to TransCanada and its competitors for tar sands extraction and major infrastructure projects, such as Keystone XL and Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, which would stretch 700 miles from Alberta to the Canadian coast.

In 2010, for instance, when Rice and her husband held at least $1.5 million in Royal Bank of Canada, the institution was labeled Canada’s most environmentally irresponsible company by the Rainforest Action Network for its support of tar sands development. Public pressure from environmentalists and Canada’s First Nations tribes convinced the bank to stop funding tar sands projects earlier this year.

“It’s really amazing that they’re considering someone for Secretary of State who has millions invested in these companies,” said Bill McKibben, a writer and founder of the activist groups 350.org and Tar Sands Action, which have organized protests against the Keystone XL project. “The State Department has been rife with collusion with the Canadian pipeline builders, and it’s really distressing to have any sense that that might continue to go on.” Emails obtained by an environmental group last year show what critics call a “cozy and complicitous relationship” between State Department officials and a lobbyist for TransCanada, who was also a former deputy campaign director for current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s failed 2008 presidential bid. The agency also assigned an environmental impact review of the Keystone project to a company with financial ties to TransCanada.

As ambassador to the United Nations, Rice has not been directly involved in the State Department’s Keystone XL review, which came to a head at the end of 2011. After initially indicating it would likely approve TransCanada’s application, the State Department ordered a review of alternate routes to avoid putting critical water sources in Nebraska at risk. The move, which officials said would likely push the approval process back to the first three months of 2013, was an attempt to spare the Obama administration a politically risky decision just before an election year.

Greenlighting the pipeline would have hurt the president with environmental advocates — more than 1,200 people were arrested in anti-Keystone protests led by McKibben at the White House in Summer 2011. But denying it outright would have given Republicans an election year attack line, saying Obama had cost the nation much-needed jobs (although independent studies have shown that TransCanada’s job creation claims for the pipeline are greatly exaggerated). As it was, the president still received significant heat, and Mitt Romney pledged to approve the pipeline on Day 1 if he had won the election.

Were she to become Secretary of State, Rice would be in charge of the new environmental review process and would be in a position to decide whether to issue TransCanada a permit for sections of Keystone XL stretching from Oklahoma to the Canadian border. (The pipeline’s southernmost leg has already been approved and is under construction in Texas — with protesters perching in trees and chaining themselves to construction equipment in an attempt to stop it.)

Rice is reportedly Obama’s favorite to take the helm at the State Department next year. Clinton has said repeatedly that she plans to step down shortly after Obama’s second inauguration in January. In addition to Rice, reportedly the president’s lead candidate for the job, U.S. Senator John Kerry had also reportedly made it onto the president’s short list. Kerry, whose net worth of at least $232 million makes him far wealthier than Rice, does not own shares of TransCanada or Enbridge, the major tar sands pipeline companies, although he does have stock in some other Canadian energy interests.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Rice’s net worth sat somewhere between $23.5 million and $43.5 million in 2009, the latest year for which the center has done a full analysis of her finances. That makes her either the wealthiest person currently serving in the executive branch or a close second to Clinton. (The uncertainty surrounding these figures is due to the way officials are required to disclose their investments; instead of declaring the specific amount of stock they own, they are required by law only to declare a range.)

Other public officials have been criticized for pushing for the Keystone XL project while standing to benefit financially. The nonprofit Sunlight Foundation watchdog group reported in December 2011 that four members of Congress who own shares in TransCanada had pressed for the pipeline’s approval — either by supporting bills that would have forced the State Department to issue a permit or by writing to Clinton or Obama, urging them to give the go-ahead. Rice’s ownership of TransCanada stock was noted by the Sunlight Foundation but not considered a conflict of interest at the time, because she had no direct role in the approval process.

Neither Rice’s office nor the White House returned OnEarth’s calls for comment about her financial holdings.

It’s unclear when Rice began investing in Canadian energy and banks, but the Stanford University graduate and Rhodes Scholar worked for the prestigious McKinsey & Company consulting firm’s Toronto office from 1990 to 1993, marrying Canadian-born TV producer Ian Cameron in 1992. She then joined the National Security Council under President Bill Clinton. (Financial disclosure forms aren’t available for Rice’s security council tenure; by law, they’re destroyed after six years.) Rice later became President Clinton’s assistant secretary of state for African affairs, then joined the nonprofit Brookings Institution think tank during the George W. Bush administration. She advised both the Kerry and Obama presidential campaigns on foreign policy.

According to the reports she filed in May 2012, Rice and her husband have a wide-ranging portfolio that includes more than 100 securities, such as IBM, Monsanto, Apple, BP, and McDonald’s. Dan Auble, a researcher at the Center for Responsive Politics who studies the personal finances of public officials, said it’s not unusual to see energy investments play a significant role in their financial portfolios, as they do with Rice and her husband. (Auble said the holdings of a public official’s spouse are included in financial disclosure reports because they have the same potential to create a conflict of interest.) In their case, however, nine of the 14 holdings they claimed that top $500,000 are Canadian energy interests or banks.

If Rice does get the Secretary of State job, federal ethics officials could recommend that she sell her stock in TransCanada and related companies before deciding on Keystone XL, Auble said. But that’s not a sure thing.

Leading Keystone opponents say they wouldn’t necessarily oppose Rice’s nomination — but they would want someone else in charge of deciding the pipeline’s fate. “It would be one of the first decisions she would make, and she’s not qualified to make an unbiased decision,” said Jane Kleeb, the executive director of Bold Nebraska, a group that has fought to block the Keystone XL pipeline.

“It’s one more clear sign that the State Department should not be handling this,” added McKibben (who is also an OnEarth contributing editor). Both advocates believe the Environmental Protection Agency or the White House Council on Environmental Quality would be more qualified to assess the environmental impacts of Keystone XL. But an executive order issued by President George W. Bush in April 2004 makes the Secretary of State responsible for approving pipelines that cross the U.S. border. Kleeb suggested that Obama could change that order to shift the decision-making responsibility elsewhere.

Environmental advocates (including the Natural Resources Defense Council, which publishes OnEarth) have sought to block the Keystone XL pipeline and further development of the Alberta tar sands fields due to their climate impact and potential for pollution and dangerous oil spills. Extracting bitumen — a heavy, viscous black oil — requires intensive open-pit mining in the heart of Canada’s boreal forest. More dirty and corrosive than conventional crude, bitumen requires extensive refining to become useable fuel. The entire process uses vast amounts of energy and water and creates three times the global warming pollution of conventional fuel, while shipping the bitumen through pipelines means an additional risk of corrosion and leaks.

Despite the environmental risks, tar sands development has become a major focus of the Canadian government and pillar of the country’s economy, championed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose administration has denounced environmental advocates and First Nations tribes opposed to pipeline construction as extremists. Alberta’s tar sands contain the world’s third largest proven oil reserve, but they’re landlocked and remote — hence the desire for more pipelines to provide Canadian energy companies with access to ports and refineries.

According to her most recent financial disclosure reports, along with her TransCanada investments, Rice and her husband own at least $1.5 million worth of stock in Enbridge (Canada’s No. 3 oil producer, according to Forbes), Cenovus (No. 7), and Encana (No. 8), as well as at least $1.25 million in Imperial (No. 2), $50,000 to $100,000 in Suncor (No. 1), and $15,000 to $50,000 in Canadian Natural (No. 6). (TransCanada is ranked at No. 5 by Forbes.) The couple has at least $1.25 million invested in Transalta, Alberta’s largest coal-fired electricity power producer, and at least $1.5 million in Canadian Pacific Railway, which transports coal, oil, and gas and has been a major financial beneficiary of the North American energy boom.

On the banking side, Rice has investments totaling at least $5 million and up to $11.25 million in Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada, and Toronto Dominion. A report by the Dutch consulting firm Profundo Economic Research says several of these same banks are largely responsible for underwriting the expansion of Canada’s tar sands industry. “Investment in tar sands infrastructure now surpasses that of manufacturing across all of Canada,” according to the report.

Which means that regardless of Keystone XL’s fate, Canadian companies will continue to seek ways to pump bitumen from northern Canada to coastal refineries and ports, where it can be shipped to Europe, China, and other overseas markets. NRDC and other environmental groups have presented evidence that Enbridge is making plans to reverse a pipeline that currently carries regular crude from the New England coast to Montreal, and use it to ship tar sands oil in the other direction instead.

Since it crosses the U.S.-Canadian border, that plan would also require State Department approval.

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

29 November, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

Today we remember former Prime Minister V.P.Singh, who passed away unknown on this date in 2008. Singh was epitome of honesty and simplicity in public life and yet the caste Hindus made a villain of him. His government was a short tenure one yet its decisions were far reaching and have changed the Indian politics completely. the hegemony of congress is gone and it is limping back to regain composure. It was V.P who launched struggle against Reliance and other corrupted corporate in 1986 and was shunted from finance ministry to Defence Ministry by Rajiv Gandhi. Tragically, he is not remembered for his work on fighting against corruption. When he tried to implement his government’s election manifesto on Mandal report, there was street violence in north India. The forces of kamandal hit the street and ignited the violence. His government fell to save a constitutional promise of protecting the Babari Mosque.

V.P.Singh was a man of ideas and real statesman in today’s time. He is missed for his articulation on the current economic policies and the fight for the rights of the marginalised. Today, when our political leaders are corrupted easily by the lure of power and money, he remained an oasis in the desert of corrupt practices. It is strange that those who claim to fight against corruption never ever thought to mention his name. it is because, India’s biggest corruption is caste system and VP singh touched that chord and decided to provide 27% quota for OBCs. it is during his period that this leadership gained ground yet unfortunately compromised everywhere. V.P.Singh died alone. Very few came to bid him adieu which shows that in India people who try to do something honestly and challenging their own communities will never be respected and remembered. There are numerous others who work leaving their communities and become villain in their own communities which feel that their act is challenge to supremacy of the community while the communities for whom the person die never accept him or her because they are not born in their community. This exist everywhere and at the end help the fascist communal forces to gain ground among them and crate farcical leadership which suits their identity interests. it is time the shudra leadership learn a few lessons and do not compromise with communal caste forces to deny Dalits their rights.

In the current set up when all the political parties have accepted the current corporate interest and rarely speak for people’s right, time to learn a few lessons from VP’s political understanding. At the end of the day it is the people who will decide and if we remain uncorrupted only then we would be able to challenge the hegemony of the caste forces. Do we have such leaders are personal uncorrupted in today’s system. If there were no cases against our leaders, Congress or BJP would not have blackmailed them to support their policies and they would not be opposing everything which is being done for their welfare. An OBC leadership would not speak against Dalit interest and vice versa. It is on these occasion, we remember V.P.Singh and his statesmanship which helped the most marginalised communities of India. Unlike his close associate, he rarely compromised with communal forces ( except during the period he was PM where he preferred to resign but not allowed Babari masjid to be raged) and believed in close association of Dalit, Bahujan, Muslim communities in india. It is only they who can dethrone the Hindutva hegemony but unfortunately business and other caste interest groups made serious inroads among these leadership and today these forces have become part of ‘social justice’ brigade and slogan of social justice has been forgotten and simply serving interest of a few individual leaders.

India is passing through a difficult phase when the corporate communal forces have joined hand. They have used the shudra politics to push their agenda. If Mulayam Singh and his party are promoting Reliance and opposing reservation of Dalits and Aadivasis that show how corporate and Hindutva lobby has succeeded in completely converting Mulayam Singh a leader who feel Dalits are his biggest threat. A constitutional promulgation of Dalits can not be denied in petty politics. It is on these matter that we miss V P Singh who could have played a greater role in bringing these different sections to one platform so that they can fight against those forces who are hell-bent to break unity of Dalits-OBC-Muslims and Aadivasis.

Vidya Bhushan Rawat is a social and human rights activist. He blogs at www.manukhsi.blogspot.com twitter : freetohumanity skype : vbrawat Facebook : Vidya Bhushan Rawat vbrawat@gmail.com

Editorial comment

The UK’s dubious role in the Palestine UN bid

True to its colours, the UK has attempted to stifle human rights and accountability to international law when it demanded that President Abbas should pledge “not to pursue Israeli war criminals through the International Criminal Court.”

That alone is an admission that within the ranks of Israel’s political leadership exist umpteen war criminals whose actions are liable for punitive action by the International Criminal Court. The UK must not forget that a large part of the current disorder in the region stems from its own actions when it ruled as the colonizing power. Lord Balfour prompted some of the worst that ever happened to the Palestinians. Since then, the UK has supported the racist apartheid state of Israel to the hilt. Now it wants to mask its crimes using political coercion. In public the UK is into make-believe that is forms part of civilized society even though its colonial history and recent war ventures show it in much the same light as how dictators have behaved. There is one difference. The UK’s cruel and vindictiveness have been largely reserved for strikes outside its borders. Needless to say its treatment of its own minorities is murky and quantum leaps in Islamaphoebia are taking hold.

The UK’s voting record in the UN on issues pertaining to Palestine is pathetic. It symbolizes a dismal disregard for human rights, international law, and poor standards of respect for humanitarian practices.

The sun has set on the British Empire decades ago. All that remains of it are threads by which it hangs on to as a rich country. That edifice is crumbling under its own weight. For after all, the UK’s wealth was built around a colonial enterprise that plundered and looted from the countries it once ruled without any moral authority. Anything built on morally erroneous and illegal foundations will decay sooner or later unless it can see the error of its ways and make good its wrongs.

The UK has clearly learned nothing from history. The threat to the Palestinian President is a disgraceful attempt to distort a democratic vote at the United Nations. It will fail and so will the UK.

Stuart Littlewood, a marketing specialist turned writer-photographer in the UK, has written this damning indictment of what the UK tried to extract from the Palestinian leadership. His articles are published widely on the web. He is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation.

The article “Did Britain try blackmail to cripple Palestine UN bid? YES!” is a must-read for those who care about justice. (Reproduced below)

In solidarity,

Ranjan Solomon

By Stuart Littlewood

@ Palestine Update

“Promise not to prosecute Israeli war criminals, not to go for full UN membership, not to seek justice but submit to rigged talks, and we’ll support you” Britain’s Foreign Office, on its website, states loudly and clearly:

“The UK is committed to upholding international justice and all of our international obligations. Our core principle is clear. Those guilty of war crimes must be brought to justice whether they are Israeli or any other nationality. We are also committed to ensuring that UK systems are robust in meeting its international law obligations.”

Yet ugly rumours are flying that the British government twisted the arm of President Abbas and told him the UK would only support Palestine’s modest upgrade to ‘observer state’ at the UN (to be decided tomorrow, Thursday) if he pledged not to pursue Israeli war criminals through the International Criminal Court.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Palestinian Mission in London, Ambassador Hassassian says: “It was reported recently in several media outlets that in exchange for its  – the British government’s – support of the Palestinian UN bid it wants guarantees from Abbas including: (1) That the Palestinians will not bring cases against Israeli officials to the ICC or other UN agencies…(2) That the Palestinians will not use UN observer status as a basis for a renewed appeal to the UN Security Council for full membership to the UN…(3) That Abbas will commit to renewing peace talks with Israel without preconditions.

“Such steps would undermine the Palestinian leadership and its credibility with its own constituents. The British government is once again putting conditions for its support to the Palestinian people instead of shouldering its historic responsibility towards them… I urge the British government to fulfil its responsibility and stand at the right side of history by recognizing the state ofPalestine and voting in favour of an enhanced Palestinian status at the UN.”

This morning the Palestinian embassy in London was unable to verify that any such pressure was put on Abbas. But that is not to say it didn’t happen and numerous media sources got it wrong. The conversation was likely to have taken place in Ramallah, and Ramallah is not noted for its responsiveness to media questions.

A last-minute message from the PLO communications office reads:

“I can confirm that there has been British pressure to deprive of our right to ratify an international treaty. I can also ratify that we have been very clear in telling the UK that we are not going to compromise on our sovereignty. The resolution haven’t been and will not be modified to adequate any objection to our right to self determination and protection of our people.”

What exactly that means I don’t know. And they still won’t say who put the squeeze on Abbas.

If nothing else, this episode demonstrates once again the deplorable state of the PLO/PA’s media skills.

If indeed any attempt were made by the UK government to deprive the Palestinians of the status, privileges and freedoms enjoyed by their neighbours it would be a deep disgrace on the people of Britain.

Solemn and binding obligations to pursue war criminals… do they mean nothing?

It was established at Nuremberg after World War 2 that crimes against the peace, crimes against humanity and war crimes are also offences against the whole of international society.

All states that are party to the Geneva Conventions – and that includes the UK – are under a solemn and binding obligation to seek out those suspected of having committed grave breaches of the Conventions and bring them to justice. There should be no hiding place for those suspected of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The UN’s Goldstone report and the international law panel appointed after the Gaza flotilla incident raised the issue of Israel’s impunity and unaccountability.

But what we’re up against in the UK is a biased and unprincipled administration that wants to let ‘friendly’ war criminals off and protect them from arrest while they visit Britain. The government recently watered down UK law on universal jurisdiction arguing that foreign politicians they happen to like, no matter how thuggish, should never be made to feel unwelcome. The overriding principle that no-one, regardless of nationality, should feel able to commit war crimes with impunity, is sacrificed so that the likes of former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, with the blood of thousands of Palestinian dead and wounded on her hands, can go shopping in London.

Livni, the pin-up girl of the Knesset, is reported to be making a comeback in Israeli politics at the head of a new party in January’s elections. Seems our Foreign Office chaps are hopelessly smitten by her.

Meanwhile mountains of evidence of Israel’s war crimes are just waiting to be tested in the International Criminal Court.

The purpose of the ICC is “to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community”. The Court has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by nationals of a State Party or on the territory of a State Party since July 2002.

115 states have signed up. The UK is one of them, and so too is Afghanistan. But rogue states like the US, Israel and Saudi skulk in the outer darkness.

A further 34 countries, including Russia, have signed but not ratified. Three — Israel, Sudan and the United States — signed and then, presumably realising their conduct was not up to the standards expected and no doubt wishing to undermine its work whenever it suited them, ‘unsigned’.

Palestine declared its voluntary acceptance of the ICC’s jurisdiction in 2009, but whether it should be regarded as a ‘State’ as required by Article 12(3) of Rome Statute has been the subject of much debate. In April this year the ICC General Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the court would not accept a Palestinian demand to investigate alleged war crimes by Israel untilPalestine was recognize as a state by the UN General Assembly. “In order to proceed we need the General Assembly of the UN accepting Palestine as an observer state. As soon as this is done we can proceed.”

If the ICC does acquire jurisdiction, it will inherit a whole shed-full of damning evidence gathered not only by Goldstone but many other organisations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Arab League Fact Finding Committee.

Consequently Israel and its obedient friends America and Britain are getting edgy.

In the meantime the PLO Executive’s Hanan Ashrawi has announced that Palestine’s final resolution was submitted to the UN on Monday, so all this last-minute bickering and arm-twisting is academic. It has been too late to change the wording since last weekend.

Asked whether Palestine would file complaints with the International Criminal Court, Ashrawi said it would be for the Palestinian leadership to decide. She also said that the Palestinian Authority would not abandon any of the inalienable Palestinian rights guaranteed by international law.

Within Palestinian ranks there seems to be a measure of unity. Hamas’s chief-in-exile Khaled Meshaal and fellow political bureau member Izzat al-Rishq said on Monday that they supported Abbas in going before the United Nations, but warned that Palestinian “constants and rights” must not be compromised nor any inch of Palestinian land sacrificed.

Whether Hamas’s leaders-on-the-ground are quite so enthusiastic isn’t clear. However, prime minister Ismail Haniyeh said “nobody is against statehood, and (my government) supports any political move to establish a Palestinian state on the occupied Palestinian territory.”

Frank Olsen’s family claim CIA threw him from a hotel window and covered up his death after he witnessed torture by agency operatives in Europe

By Karen McVeigh in New York

29 November 2012

@ guardian.co.uk

CIA Headquarters, Langley, VA

The family of a US government scientist who fell to his death from a New York hotel window six decades ago have launched a lawsuit for damages against the CIA, alleging the agency was involved in his murder and a subsequent cover-up.

In one of the most notorious cases in the organisation’s history, bioweapons expert Frank Olson died in 1953, nine days after he was given LSD by agency officials without his knowledge.

In the lawsuit, filed in the US district court in Washington on Wednesday, Olson’s sons Eric and Nils claim their father was murdered after he witnessed extreme interrogations in which the CIA killed suspects using the biological agents he had developed.

The CIA has long denied any foul play, though it was forced to admit in 1975, more than 20 years after the death, that the scientist had been given LSD in a spiked glass of Cointreau. The agency, which originally told the family the death was a result of job-induced stress, has since maintained that it was a drug-induced suicide.

But in a statement on Wednesday, Eric Olson said: “The evidence shows that our father was killed in their custody. They have lied to us ever since, withholding documents and information, and changing their story when convenient.

“We were just little boys and they took away our lives – the CIA didn’t kill only our father, they killed our entire family again and again and again.”

The lawsuit alleges that even when the drug details emerged, the CIA embarked on a “multi-decade cover-up that continues to this day.”

Olson began work at the special operations division (SOP) of the army’s biological laboratory at Fort Detrick in Maryland in 1950. The CIA worked with the SOP researching biological agents and chemical weapons. In 1952 and 1953, he was focused on bioweapons that could be transmitted through the air, according to the lawsuit.

In the year of his death, Olson visited Porton Down, the UK’s biological and chemical warfare research centre in Wiltshire, as well as bases in Paris, Norway, and West Germany. During these trips, according to the family’s lawsuit, he “witnessed extreme interrogations in which the CIA committed murder using biological agents that Dr Olson had developed”.

The lawsuit gives no details of the deaths or where they occurred.

The family said Olson was disturbed by what he had seen and told his wife, Alice, he wanted to quit.

On 19 November 1953 he was taken to a secret meeting Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, where he was given the drink laced with LSD. On 24 November, according to the lawsuit, he told a colleague he wanted to resign.

But instead, on Thanksgiving weekend, he travelled to New York for a psychiatric evaluation and checked into the Statler Hotel. In the early hours of 28 November, he crashed through the window of the 13th-floor room he was sharing with a CIA doctor and plunged to his death in the street below.

The family lawsuit alleges that, immediately following his death, a person in Olson’s room made a phone call. The hotel operator overheard one party say “Well, he’s gone.” The person on the other end responded simply “That’s too bad.”

The role of LSD in the death only emerged in 1975 during a series of post-Watergate era disclosures about CIA abuses, which revealed programmes on brainwashing, mind control and other human experiments during the early days of the cold war. The Olson case became a symbol for reckless CIA behaviour and government secrecy.

Soon after the revelations, Gerald Ford apologised to the family for an experiment gone wrong, the CIA promised a “complete file” of documents into his death and they were awarded a financial settlement.

But his sons, who have spent much of their adult lives searching for answers in the case, say their questions have been met with cover-ups and lies ever since. Eric Olson said the CIA had refused to provide documents to the family as recently as last year.

Over the years, the Olson family has uncovered evidence they believe supports their theory. Olson’s body was exhumed in 1993 and a forensic scientist, James Starrs, concluded that he had probably been struck on the head and then thrown out of the window. Later, the New York district attorney conducted an investigation into his death which was inconclusive.

Scott Gilbert, lead counsel in the lawsuit, said: “It’s unfathomable that our own government could stand by as its agents, operating on United States soil, killed an American citizen in cold blood, destroyed his family, and then allowed those directly responsible to walk away without so much as a blemish on their personnel files. Instead of putting its energy and resources into doing what is right, the United States – including this administration – has sought to bury this and hide the truth.”

Jennifer Youngblood, a spokeswoman for the CIA, said the agency did not normally comment on pending court cases. However, she added: “Without commenting on this specific legal matter, CIA activities related to MK-Ultra [a behavioral engineering programme] have been thoroughly investigated over the years, and the agency co-operated with each of those investigations. MK-Ultra was investigated in 1975 by the Rockefeller commission and the Church committee, and in 1977 by the Senate select committee on intelligence and the Senate subcommittee on health and scientific research. In addition, tens of thousands of pages related to the programme have been declassified and released to the public.”

By Michelle Chen, In These Times

29 November 12

@readersupportednews.org

Perhaps the images no longer have the power to shock. Charred bodies and wailing families appear in the news with grim frequency, giving the numbing impression that industrial fires are simply a necessary toll for poor nations on the road to “development.” The latest factory inferno in South Asia should prompt us to ask why this keeps happening, but once again, challenges from local and international labor advocates are being dodged by the global apparel-manufacturing machine.

The fire this weekend at the Tazreen factory outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, which killed more than 110 of the 1,000-plus workers, bears the stamp of some of the world’s most iconic fashion labels. According to labor advocates, the Western brands linked to the factory included Disney, Sears, Dickies, Sean Combs’s Enyce and Walmart’s Faded Glory.

A Bangladeshi Army personnel walks through the rows of burnt sewing machines in the Tazreen factory, which caught fire Sunday, killing more than 110 workers. (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)

According to initial reports, the workplace was fraught with fire-safety issues, including the lack of a viable road for rescue workers to approach the facility and a lack of safety exits. Before workers could flee, some managers reportedly “stopped them running to safety after the fire alarm had gone off.”

Just about everyone who could be held responsible has a story to deflect the blame, and some are even implicating workers.

Amid international outcry and local street protests in response to the fire, Bangladeshi authorities suggested that the incident was not a product of an industrial accident such as faulty wiring, but sabotage, pointing to another investigation of fires reportedly started by workers in a nearby factory. (Notably, Bangladesh’s garment industry is a bulwark of the country’s low-wage economy, employing about 3 million people.) Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina argued the Tazreen fire also appears to be the result of arson, perhaps tied to local political conflicts—a claim echoed by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. According to Hasina, the disaster “was not an accident, (it was) planned. The incident takes place when it is the time for buyers to come and sign contracts.”

Activists are wary that authorities are seeking a smokescreen to conceal deeper safety issues. Scott Nova of the anti-sweatshop group Worker Rights Consortium tells Working In These Times that the investigations should focus on “unsafe buildings” and workplace hazards underlying the tragedy:

This is a kind of political misdirection that we’ve seen before from the industry in Bangaldesh and its political allies. … But because the Bangladesh government and industry cannot admit that workers are dying because of lax regulation and unsafe working conditions in the industry in Bangladesh, they need some kind of scapegoat. And so they make up stories about saboteurs and arsonists whose goal somehow is to destroy the Bangladesh apparel industry.

The debate over the origins of the fire misses systemic issues that were an open secret long before Tazreen burst into flames, according to the Associated Press: an egregious lack of protections that left workers unable to use fire extinguishers; workers locked tightly inside so that windows had to double as fire exits, with cell phone lights pointing the way. Nor does it account for why managers ordered workers to return to their work stations as the building blazed.

The website of the factory’s parent company suggests that it has been approved by the certification body Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production, but the organization insists it did not inspect the factory.

Liana Foxvog of the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) tells Working ITT via email that a full investigation should be conducted, but that some facts are already certain:

Putting aside the question of the cause of the fire, it is evident from worker reports that Tazreen Fashions failed to uphold fire safety precautions and the magnitude of the tragedy would have been far less would have been far less had the brands paid fair prices to help ensure building compliance with fire-safety code and required sufficient, accessible exits and adequate emergency evacuation training. … All told, the situation amounted to a death trap when fire erupted.

Yet the safety violations are mere symptoms of the deep lack of accountability ingrained in the structure of the global apparel supply chain. The incident has shed light on the murky connections among various buyers and brands from Hong Kong to the United States, and it exposes the ease with which multinationals have been able to duck responsibility for labor- and human-rights violations by diffusing the manufacturing process across various countries.

Walmart claims to have been unaware that its clothes were still produced in Tazreen, saying that it had previously cut off business with the factory and it was not an unauthorized producer. But the main evidence that has emerged to support this claim is an internal “ethical sourcing” audit from mid-2011, posted online, which indicates that “high risk” conditions or violations could be dropped if it got three such ratings over a two-year period. The ultimate outcome of Tazreen audit is unclear, but in any case, the standard procedure for dropping an unscrupulous supplier might apparently last as long as two years—far too long for workers who risk their lives every workday.

In response to Walmart’s claim that Tazreen was dropped before the fire, Nova of the Worker Rights Consortium says, “Unless Walmart is willing to supply proof of that, I don’t see why anyone should believe it. And even if they can prove it, it doesn’t change the fact that they allowed their stuff to be made there, whether by omission or commission, and are responsible for protecting those workers.”

The deaths of the garment workers are the by-products of a rapid-fire manufacturing system that drives the fashion cycle and mass-produced inventories of Walmart and other chains. The production patterns that run on poverty wages and brutal work conditions in the Global South parallel exploitation at the upper end of the supply chain, resulting in low wages and precarious temporary work in Western warehouses and retail stores. In this way, the Black Friday Walmart protests throughout the U.S. and the Tazreen fire protests in the streets of Bangladesh are converging in a single labor struggle to hold global brands accountable.

Labor activists in Bangladesh have routinely been attacked and suppressed for challenging exploitative employers and calling attention to the country’s fatal dependence on cheap garment exports. Earlier this year, labor organizer Aminul Islam was found tortured and killed, and the case remains unresolved.

In the wake of industrial disasters, advocacy groups like the ILRF have made some strides in shaming companies into tightening standards. Uproar over a recent high-profile factory fire in Ashulia, Bangladesh spurred Tommy Hilfiger to initiate a safety reform program. But despite defiant grassroots protests, workers in Bangladesh lack a strong labor movement that could mobilize to protect them and advocate for better conditions before, not after, the next tragedy.

Incidents such as the Tazreen fire and an even more deadly blaze in Pakistan this September draw comparisons to the Triangle fire of the early 20th century in Manhattan, which led to public horror at the brutal deaths of young workers. But while the Triangle Fire lit the spark for significant labor reforms in the United States, no one knows how many more South Asian workers will perish until the lessons are learned. Of course, corporations have learned carefully over the years how to atomize the supply chain to minimize liability. They’re working hard to ensure that Triangle’s lessons for the labor struggle, of the need to empower workers to protect themselves, are quietly forgotten.

Al-Qaeda-linked Terrorists Eliminated, Hideouts Destroyed, Weapons Seized

Nov 27, 2012

PROVINCES, (SANA)- A unit of the Armed Forces on Tuesday killed members of an armed terrorist group who were looting oil and smuggling it to Turkey by tanks in Abu Khashab area in Deir Ezzor Countryside.

An official source in the province told SANA reporter that a number of terrorists were killed and others injured including leader of the group, terrorist Saddam Awwad al-Saho, nicknamed “al-Tair”.

Another unit of the Armed Forces targeted an armed terrorist group in al-Jbeileh neighborhood in Deir Ezzor city, killing a number of its members and injuring others.

The source added that terrorists Mohammad Jassem al-Ibrahim and Saaed Samir al-Ghadban were identified among the dead.

The source pointed out that leader of one of the armed terrorist groups, Ali Amin Khuder al-Hussein, who was injured in the clash, died later in Turkey.

Army Destroys Terrorists’ Cars, Continues Clearing al-Lairamoun in Aleppo

A unit of the Armed Forces destroyed two cars equipped with machineguns and another carrying terrorists, weapons and ammunition in Karm al-Jabal area in Aleppo.

In a relevant context, other army units killed and injured scores of al-Qaeda-linked mercenary terrorists near the fifth Industrial School and al-Salehin police station in the city.

The Armed Forces continued their operations to clear al-Maamel area in al-Lairamoun of terrorists, destroying their vehicles and equipment.

On the other hand, Police members in al-Zerbeh area in Aleppo clashed with terrorists who launched an attack with machienguns and sniper rifles, killing and injuring many of them.

Al-Qaeda-linked Terrorists Eliminated in Damascus Countryside

A unit of the Armed Forces clashed with al-Qaeda-linked terrorists at al-Bassel roundabout in Daraya  city in Damascus Countryside and killed and injured a number of them.

SANA reporter pointed out that some terrorists managed to flee and hide in the neighboring residential buildings and shops.

Earlier, an army unit killed a number of terrorists near al-Radwan Hospital in the city, while many terrorists were also killed near al-Ibaa private school, according to a source in the province.

The locals in the city said that an armed terrorist group attacked Othman Bin Affan Mosque and set fire to it.

A unit of the Armed Forces killed a number of al-Qaeda terrorists and destroyed their weapons and ammunition in al-Dhiyabiyeh town.

An official source told SANA reporter that an army unit destroyed a DShK machinegun which the terrorists set uo on the roof of a building in the area.

The source added that other units of the Armed Forces continued pursuing armed terrorist groups in al-Husainiyeh and Hejjeira towns, killing scores of terrorists and injuring many others.

In the same framework, an official source told SANA reporter that an army unit targeted a gathering for terrorists at the crossroads of the towns of al-Buwaideh, al-Hejjeira and al-Ziyabiyeh.

The source said that the operations resulted in killing a number of terrorists and destroying two 4WD cars, one of which equipped with a DShK machinegun, while the other was carrying terrorists, ammunition and weapons.

In Zamalka town, a unit of the Armed Forces carried out a qualitative operation against al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group.

An official source at the province told SANA reporter that the operation resulted in the killing of a number of terrorists, including Ahmad Khalil Idris, Bashir Kharban and Mohammad Nour Abboud, nicknamed Abu Khaddouj.

Members at  the Police station of Jubar town confronted an attack by a terrorist group, killing and injuring many terrorists while the rest fled away.

Training Camp Destroyed, Terrorists Killed, Explosive Devices Dismantled in Idelb

In a qualitative operation, a military unit destroyed a training camp where armed terrorist groups were centered in Kafar Takharim town in Idleb countyside.

An official source in the province told SANA reporter that several terrorists were killed in the operation, as many others were injured.

The source added that another military unit killed several terrorists and injured others who were horrifying people and perpetrating acts of robbery and theft in Jidar Bkafaloun.

In another context, military engineering units dismantled four explosive devices, planted by terrorists on Ariha-Muhambel road near Bsanqoul village, each weighs 100 kg, prepared to be detonated remotely.

Al-Qaeda-Linked terrorists Killed in al-Hassaka

Units of the armed forces today carried out qualitative operations against gatherings of terrorists at Aliya and Mabrouka in al-Hassaka countryside, destroying 10 cars, some of them equipped with DSHK machineguns.

A source in the province told SANA that the Army operations led to the killing and injuring of a number of terrorists from al-Qaeda.

Three children martyred by Explosive of terrorists in Home Countryside 

An explosive device was detonated today while terrorists were preparing it inside a house in al-Fayezeih village in Homs countryside, leading to the killing and injuring of all the terrorists in the hideout.

A source in the province told SANA that the explosion also caused the martyrdom of three children who were in the next door.

 Hideout for Jabhat al-Nusra Terrorists Stormed in Jisr al-Shughour

A unit of the Armed Forces stormed al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists hideout in Mhambel Town in Jisr al-Shughour countryside and destroyed the ammunitions and weapons inside it.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that four snipers were killed in addition to leader of a terrorist group, terrorist Abdul Majeed Khuder.

The source added that units of the Armed Forces killed a number of terrorists and injured others who attempted to attack a law-enforcement checkpoint in Maaret al-Numan city.

The source pointed out that the army seized the terrorists’ ammunitions and weapons, including RBG and mortar launchers, a 14,5 mm machinegun and automatic rifles in addition to sophisticated communication devices.

In Atmah in Harem countryside, a unit of the Armed Forces on Monday destroyed a terrorists’ headquarters and a warehouse, killing all the terrorists inside them belonging to the so-called Shuhadaa al-Atareb (al-Atareb Martyrs) brigade.

Meanwhile, 15 terrorists were killed in the explosion of an explosive device they were planting on Darkoush-Zarzour road in Idleb countryside.

10 Cars for Terrorists, Some Equipped with DShK Machineguns, Destroyed in Hama

A unit of the Armed Forces destroyed a number of cars, some equipped with machineguns, were used by terrorists to attack the citizens and loot their properties in Hama countryside.

SANA reporter quoted a source in the province as saying that the Armed Forces carried out two qualitative operations against terrorists in Asseileh village south of Hama city, killing a number of terrorists and injuring others.

The source added that the two operations resulted in destroying 10 cars, 3 of which are equipped with DShK machineguns.

Terrorist Gathering Targeted in Homs

A unit of the Armed Forces targeted a gathering for mercenary terrorists, killing many of them and injuring others in al-Shomariyeh in the countryside of al-Qseir in Homs.

SANA reporter quoted a source in the province as saying that terrorist Abdullah al-Waw was identified among the dead.

Policemen Clash with Terrorists in Raqqa

In al-Thawra area in Raqqa, policemen clashed with terrorists, killing and injuring many of them.

Cabinet Stresses Protection of Vital Facilities, Approves New Bills on Combating Corruption

Nov 27, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Prime Minister, Dr. Wael al-Halqi, on Tuesday reviewed the difficulties facing the health, services and electricity sectors, indicating to the role of the civil society in protecting the vital and industrial facilities and highways side by side with public authorities to ensure delivering its services to the citizens.

During the Cabinet’s weekly session, al-Halqi stressed the need for making use of public and civil capabilities and for citizens to shoulder their responsibilities in protecting the vital facilities, including cereal silos, oil and electricity facilities and dams, against the terrorist attacks.

He called upon all ministries to cooperate and coordinate with the Ministries of Oil and Electricity to help them perform their duties and guarantee the delivery of fuel to feed electricity generation plants.

The Cabinet approved drafts laws on establishing an independent committee for combating corruption and a control and inspection department, in addition to endorsing a bill on illicit gains.

The National Media Council’s decision on granting licenses to newspapers and magazines was also approved.

Talks during the meeting discussed the issue of providing job opportunities to families of the martyrs from the Armed Forces, Internal Security Forces and the civilian workers who were martyred while carrying out their national duties.

Deputy Prime Minister for Services Affairs, Minister of Local Administration, Omar Ghalawanji, briefed the ministers on the situation of services sector and the transgressions against its facilities which reflected negatively on the citizens’ livelihood.

He indicated that subcommittees were formed in the provinces to enhance protection procedures for vital economic and industrial facilities.

In turn, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection, Qadri Jamil, reviewed the government’s procedures to provide food materials and oil derivatives, stressing that the reserves and storage of local needs are sufficiently available for the next stages.

Minister of Electricity, Imad Khamis, said the terrorist attacks against power generation and distribution plants caused the continuation of the electricity rationing programs, adding that the Ministry is doing its best to repair damage and maintain the electrical systems  to reduce rationing hours.

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Said Hneidi, reviewed the challenges facing oil and gas sector due to the repeated terrorist attacks and the Ministry’s efforts to provide oil derivatives and resume oil and gas pumping operations.

In turn, Minister of State for National Reconciliation Affairs, Ali Haidar, briefed the cabinet on the Ministry’s efforts to solve citizens’ problems.

Transport Minister, Mahmoud Said, reviewed the Ministry’s procedures to support air and marine transport systems, in addition to maintaining railway networks.

The Cabinet also listened to a review from the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Jasem Zakarya, on the progress achieved in the Youth Employment Program.

Al-Lahham Stresses Necessity of Unifying Efforts to Overcome Negative Impacts of  Crisis on Development

Nov 27, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Speaker of People’s Assembly, Mohammad Jihad al-Lahham, stressed the importance of cooperation between civil and official institutions and encouraging individuals’ capabilities to overcome the obstacles hindering development process in Syria through restoring stability, rebuilding damaged areas and returning displaced people to their houses which is the government’s main priority in current stage.

Al-Lahham was speaking at the opening of a workshop titled “population and development under current circumstances” at al-Sham Hotel which was organized in cooperation between the People’s Assembly and the United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA) .

He said that the Syrian people are required to shoulder their responsibility in conveying the message of peace against the ferocious war targeting their unity, history, present and future.

The Speaker expressed confidence in the Syrians’ ability to overcome the current crisis and to cooperate with their state to pass the negative impacts of this war.

Al-Lahham said that reports on population and development indicated that Syria was making progress towards achieving the third millennium and the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) goals before the events.

He added that the current crisis overshadowed all economic and social aspects of the Syrians’ life and caused huge damage to the infrastructure, human resources and development.

Al-Lahham said that the international community did not commit to the recommendations adopted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) on supporting Syria and reducing the repercussions of current events on citizens.

“Some regional and western countries imposed economic sanctions against the Syrian people’s livelihood and supplied the terrorist gangs with weapons and facilitated smuggling mercenaries and takfiris into the Syrian territories to kill the Syrian people and undermine the state components,” Speaker of People’s Assembly said.

He called for finding appropriate means to overcome the economic and social consequences of the crisis.

He said that the national reconciliation committee will continue its work throughout the Syrian provinces, in cooperation with civil associations and the Ministry of State for the National Reconciliation Affairs to restore communication among all spectrums of the Syrian society.

In turn, Assistant Representative of the United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA) in Syria Omar Ballan, said that the Fund is coordinating with all governmental and non-governmental parties and the UN organizations to carry out the annual plans, including meeting the people’s needs, particularly those affected by current circumstances.

He added that the People’s Assembly can have a prominent role in specifying the needs and facilitating access to affected areas, in addition to following up and evaluating relevant programs.

Ballan indicated that the aid response plan, set up in coordination with the Syrian government in accordance with the UN General Assembly, aims at supporting the government’s efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to the affected people.

The participants in the workshop stressed the need that humanitarian aid reach the affected families in all areas and basic requirements be provided in all shelter centers.

Director of Planning and International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, Ali Belan, highlighted that the Higher Relief Committee was formed since months to mobilize and organize efforts targeting the affected families.

He explained that sub-committees were formed to follow up on the situation of the affected families basically through establishing a database for the affected persons inside and outside the shelter centers.

He also indicated the establishment of centers for registering the affected families outside the temporary shelters, underscoring the great support provided by the Ministry in terms of facilitations and financial aid, which amounted up to scores of SYP millions, to the NOGs that offer direct services to the affected people.

For her part, Huda Sheikh al-Shabab, Director of Planning Department at the Education Ministry, said that most of the displaced families due to the terrorist groups’ practices were provided shelter in schools, referring to the establishment of entertainment school clubs and prefabricated class rooms for affected students.

A number of the People’s Assembly members in addition to representatives of the Planning and International Cooperation Commission and the ministries of Local Administration, Social Affairs and Labor, Health, Education and NGOs and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent took part in the workshop.

Venezuela fully Supports Syria in its War against Terrorism

Nov 27, 2012

CARACAS, (SANA)-Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad on Tuesday discussed with Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Temir Parras the political developments in the Middle East and Latin America.

During the meeting, the two sides described as deep the strategic relations between the two countries and peoples, founded by Leaders of the two countries, Presidents Bashar al-Assad and Hugo Chavez, expressing satisfaction over the implementation of agreements and programs which were signed in Damascus and Caracas.

The Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister expressed his country’s full support to Syria as leadership and people in the face of foreign conspiracy which seeks to deviate Syria’s attention from the main conflict in the region, the Arab-Israeli conflict.

He condemned the terrorist acts carried out by armed groups supported by external countries which pose a threat to the security, safety and stability of Syria, calling for stopping the support of terrorism, funding it or hosting those who perpetrate criminal acts.

For his part, Mikdad expressed Syria’s appreciation for the true support of Venezuela to Syria in all fields, indicating to the targets and dimensions of the attack of the western countries, particularly the US, France and Britain in cooperation with Turkey, some Gulf states and Libya and their support to the terrorists, proving them with fatal equipment to weaken Syria and divide its national unity and foil its stances against the Israeli occupation.

The Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister affirmed inevitability of Syria’s victory in its war against the terrorism and the foreign intervention in its affairs, this victory which will be considered as a victory for all powers which defend their countries’ independence and sovereignty.

Armenian President Calls for Halting Violence and Finding Political Solution to Crisis in Syria

Nov 27, 2012

BEIRUT, (SANA)- The Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan, expressed his country’s concern over the events taking place in the Middle East region, calling for finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

Sargsyan was speaking during a lunch banquet held in his honor by Speaker of the to Lebanon Beirut, Ali Abdul-Karim.

He called for halting the violence in Syria, noting that the terrorist operations are totally unacceptable.

“I’m certain that the arising situation is the result of some countries trying to solve some issues of their own at the expense of the Syrian people’s blood,” said the Armenian President, adding that Armenia has always called for halting the violence and working to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

He called upon the Armenians in Syria to struggle for the sake of restoring peace as soon as possible to Syria which has welcomed them and become their second home.

For his part, the Lebanese Parliament Speaker reiterated that the only way to solve the crisis in Syria is through dialogue, warning that the entire region is threatened to be fragmented in light of the daily funding and smuggling of weapons and incitement to sedition and discord.

Medvedev: Crisis in Syria Should Be Settled by Syrians Themselves

Nov 27, 2012

MOSOCW, (SANA) – Russia’s Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, reiterated his country’s stance which calls for solving the crisis in Syrian by the Syrians themselves.

Russia Today website quoted Medvedev as saying in a press conference with his French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault, in Paris that Russia, unlike its foreign partners including France, believes that settling the conflict in Syria should be done by the Syrians themselves.

“We don’t consider that interference in the internal affairs of sovereign countries is a correct step even if we had questions about the observance of human rights,” added Medvedev, indicating that these questions should be directed to both the Syrian government and opposition.

He said that both sides are responsible for violence, noting that “Our mission is to persuade them to sit down around the dialogue table and reach agreement on the future of the Syrian people and not only the future of President Bashar al-Assad.”

Bogdanov: Necessity of Political settlement through National dialogue

The Special Envoy to the Russian President, Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Bogdanov discussed with the Syrian Ambassador in Moscow Riyad Haddad the latest developments and situation in Syria.

A statement for the Russian Foreign Ministry, quoted by Russia Today TV on Tuesday said that the two sides underlined the mutual understanding of the necessity for an immediate halt to the bloodshed in Syria and move the situation into the political settlement stream through peaceful negotiations and an internal comprehensive Syrian dialogue.

Bogdanov announced on Monday that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to meet representatives of the Syrian opposition at the National Coordination Committee next Thursday.

Mehmanparast: Dialogue Best Way for Crisis in Syria

Nov 27, 2012

TEHRAN, (SANA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, stressed that the best way for solving the crisis in Syria is through ending violence and adopting dialogue and elections.

In a televised interview broadcast by Iranian media on Tuesday Mehmanpawast said that the Western countries that reject dialogue, support gunmen and want foreign intervention in Syria are trying to fulfill hidden agendas and goals.

On the other hand, the Iranian official pointed out that the Palestinian resistance confused the Zionists in eight –day period, forcing them to look for truce and submit to the condition of the resistance, adding that many Zionist ministers including the Israeli war minister resigned in the wake of the resistance’s response to the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Larijani condemns sending arms to terrorists in Syria

Speaker of the Iranian Shura Council Ali Larijani strongly condemned sending shipments of arms by a number of states to the terrorist groups in Syria, considering that as ” a difficult problem for the Syrians.”

Larijani, following a meeting with Iraqi scholar Mohammad Bahr al-Ulom in al-Najaf, said “some countries’ intervention and sending arms to Syria represent a big problem for the Syrians.. Iran believes that implementing reforms in Syria should be done within an atmosphere of calm.”

Larijani’s visit to Iraq comes within a regional tour where he visited Syria, Lebanon and Turkey, concentrating on the crisis in Syria and means of resolving it.

Education Ministry Intensifies Response Plan Measures for Displaced Students 

Nov 27, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)- Director of Planning Department at the Education Ministry, Huda Sheikh al-Shabab, stressed that most of the families who were displaced due to the armed terrorist groups’ practices were provided shelter in schools in the various provinces.

Speaking at a workshop organized on Tuesday in cooperation between the People’s Assembly and the United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA) under the title ‘population and development under current circumstances’, Sheikh al-Shabab referred to the intensified measures taken in the context of a response plan set up by the Ministry to meet the needs of the affected students.

She explained that students of various grades, who were left with no official documents, have been tested and enrolled in suitable grade classes, indicating the distribution of thousands of school bags to students within the framework of the plan.

The Director stressed that the Ministry has established around 103 entertainment school clubs which targeted students in the provinces of Daraa, Damascus Countryside, Lattakia and Tartous, and is working on applying this activity in the rest of the provinces to reach 300 clubs.

Scores of prefabricated class rooms, Sheikh al-Shabab added, were set up in schools, mostly in Damascus, Tartous and Quneitra, which are crowded with students coming from affected areas to contribute to compensating missing lessons.

She also pointed out to the rehabilitation of 117 schools which were put back into service in the provinces of Damascus, Damascus Countryside, Homs, Daraa and Hasaka.

She highlighted the Ministry’s efforts in terms of organizing workshops for administrative and teaching cadres to train them on psychological support and first aid.

Ukrainian Marathon Swimmer Oleg Sofyanik  Visits Syria Thursday

Nov 26, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)-Ukrainian marathon swimmer Oleg Sofyanik arrives in Syria on Thursday to swim in its regional waters along with a team of Ukrainian swimmers in solidarity with Syria, its people and leadership in the face of the conspiracy to which it is exposed.

Head of the Ukrainian Swimming Union and a number of media staff will accompany Swimmer Sofyanik in his visit which was delayed due to personal circumstances.

Sofyanik program in Syria is to swim from Tartous to Arwad Island and vice versa, hold a press conference and meet a number of political, sport and popular activities.

On October 22nd, Sofyanik held a press conference in Kiev in which he stressed the need for the civilized world to support the Syrian people in their struggle against terrorism and the crimes of extremist groups supported by countries that claim to fight terrorism and extremism.

By Countercurrents.org

28 November 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

A joint Turkey-NATO team starts work to assess where to station Patriots, how many would be needed and the number of foreign troops that would be sent to operate those, said a statement. The army says those would be used only for defense [1]

Foreign soldiers assigned to operate the system in Turkey would be placed under the framework of a memorandum of understanding in accordance with Turkey’s status of forces agreement (SOFA) with NATO, the General Staff said.

The site survey is for the deployment of Patriot Air and Missile Defense Systems, the Turkish Armed Forces said while reiterating that the system is for defensive purposes.

NATO had previously been carrying out work for command and control, rules of engagement and integration of Patriot systems with Turkey’s air defense system, the statement also said.

“We are a NATO member and we believe that there is need for deployment of these [Patriot missiles]. As you know, there is a possibility of ballistic missiles [being used] by Syria,” Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesperson Bülent Arınç told reporters following a six-hour long Cabinet meeting.

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned last week that such a deployment could spark a “very serious armed conflict” involving NATO.

NATO chief Anders Rasmussen told Lavrov that any deployment “would in no way support a no-fly zone or any offensive operations,” according to a spokesman for the alliance.

Iran also said the deployment would add to the region’s problems.

NATO’s chief says the command of Patriots will be under the control of the alliance and hints that the decision will be taken within ‘days.’ Meanwhile, opposition parties slam the deployment decision. [2]

NATO General-Secretary Anders Rasmussen believes that NATO allies will respond positively to Turkey’s demand for Patriot missiles within “days” and that command of the system will be under NATO control. He also said the alliance would not avoid using further measures for Turkey’s defense.

Rasmussen made the comment in an interview with private Turkish broadcaster NTV.

“Russia has no right to intervene in this process. This is a NATO decision; third parties have nothing to say,” Rasmussen said about Russian objections to the deployment.

According Rasmussen, NATO finances would be used to fund the Patriot system and Turkey would also contribute as the host country.

The NATO chief was also questioned regarding the efficiency of Patriot missiles. “I suppose this deployment will dissuade potential aggression,” he said.

“Similar instruments were used in Turkey in 2003. NATO possesses sufficient instruments to provide for Turkey’s defense and will not avoid using them.” Rasmussen did not give a specific date for the deployment of the missiles, though he said it would take days, not weeks.

Source:

[1] Hürriyet Daily News, “Turkey, NATO in field near Syria for Patriots”, Nov. 27, 2012, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-nato-in-field-near-syria-for-patriots.aspx?PageID=238&NID=35524&NewsCatID=338

[2] Hürriyet Daily News, “NATO to control Patriots”, Nov. 28, 2012, http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/nato-to-control-patriots.aspx?pageID=238&nID=35632&NewsCatID=338