Archives: Articles

By David Freed

@ Los Angeles Times

25 December 12

How long should we as a nation continue to sacrifice blood and treasure for what is clearly a losing proposition?

My soldier son called last month to wish his mother and me a happy Thanksgiving. My iPhone buzzed and there he was, sitting in a gun tower, his smiling face bathed in gauzy infrared light, an M249 machine gun propped at the ready behind him. For security reasons, we didn’t talk about his location. It could’ve been Afghanistan, Iraq or Kuwait. He’s spent the better part of this year serving in all three.

His infantry company will soon be rotated back to the United States after a one-year deployment. Because he’s an officer, he’ll probably be among those on the last plane out. We’re hoping it’ll be by Christmas. My son would like to be home for the holidays, of course, but his biggest concern is getting back before the start of postseason play in the NFL. He’s warned me, however, that the mysteries of Army upper management may mean we are both disappointed about the timing of his return. And so the clock ticks. Slowly.

During my son’s tour of duty – his first overseas assignment – the number of U.S. dead in Afghanistan climbed past 2,000, while the total wounded surpassed 18,000. That’s about 500 fewer Americans killed and nearly three times the number wounded during the Vietnam War’s Tet Offensive in 1968. Certainly, Vietnam was a much different engagement than the one in Afghanistan, which has gone on for more than 11 years, but the casualty figures from both, in my estimation, raise the same question:

How long should we as a nation continue to sacrifice blood and treasure for what is clearly a losing proposition?

While Tet was by no means a victory for North Vietnam, the offensive demonstrated to the American public that the communist forces were still capable of waging war on a broad scale, contrary to Pentagon assurances that the enemy had been nearly beaten into surrender. Tet disabused many Americans of the notion that the war was winnable and helped spur the eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces from Southeast Asia five years later.

In Afghanistan, as in Vietnam, the Pentagon routinely claims that American-led combat power has measurably degraded the enemy’s capacity to fight. Still, that enemy continues to wage war effectively. Witness the rising phenomenon of what the Defense Department refers to as “green on blue” shootings – Taliban sympathizers within the Afghan military and police turning their weapons on NATO military trainers. In 2007, there were two such insider attacks, resulting in two deaths. This year, 58 of the nearly 400 coalition military personnel who died in Afghanistan, including 35 Americans, were felled in such attacks.

These incidents don’t often make the daily news cycle anymore. But they are far more important than lurid insights into the extramarital dalliances of generals. There are still about 67,000 U.S. soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines deployed in Afghanistan, alongside 37,000 military personnel from other coalition member nations. The White House has said it intends to keep thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan more or less indefinitely, both to help train Afghan forces and to carry out counter-terrorism operations, long after NATO’s mission in Afghanistan formally concludes at the end of 2014.

But what is to be gained by stationing so many troops in Afghanistan after 2014? In fact, why not leave now?

In 2001, American forces invaded Afghanistan with the goal of hunting down 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden and toppling the Taliban government, which had allowed Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terrorist network safe haven. Bin Laden is now fish food, courtesy of SEAL Team 6, and what remains of his inner circle is on the run, thanks chiefly to CIA and Air Force drone strikes in the remote tribal regions of neighboring Pakistan. Logic suggests that ground forces should be stationed there instead of in Afghanistan, but that won’t happen any time soon. Pakistan, our “ally” in the fight against international terrorism, wouldn’t allow it.

Washington’s goal from the start has been to train Afghans to the point that they can stand up alone against the Taliban. No question, some units among the 337,000 soldiers and police who compose Afghanistan’s National Security Forces are up to the task. But, after more than a decade of intense drilling, many other units remain woefully, almost comically, unprepared. At what point does the problem become Afghanistan’s and not ours?

It’s hard to see how the United States can help much in the current climate. Joint operations have had to be significantly curtailed because of the rise in green-on-blue shootings. Indeed, Americans stationed at bases that also house Afghan military or paramilitary are now required to carry their weapons with them at all times; at night, they sleep under the watchful guard of other, fully armed Americans.

Realistically, objectively, what future is there in a partnership like that?

About five years ago, I read a book by an Islamic scholar, Rory Stewart, who decided he’d become the first tourist to walk across a post-Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Relying on his wits, knowledge of Muslim customs and the kindnesses of strangers, Stewart trekked for a month from village to village. His “The Places in Between” proved a remarkable travelogue, if for no other reason than it underscored just how primitive and disconnected much of Afghanistan really is. Loyalties rarely extend beyond the village, the tribe and Allah.

Given those realities, the idea of instilling in the Afghan people anything resembling American-style, flag-waving, defend-the-homeland nationalism is almost laughable. It would be laughable were it not for the fact that more than 2,000 brave Americans have died trying to change things. How many more have to die before enough is enough?

I want my son home. I want to watch him eat a barbecued tri-tip burrito with guacamole from his favorite restaurant, the kind he’s been craving for nearly a year, the kind you can’t get in an Army MRE packet. I want to see him open holiday presents. I want to watch football with him. Most of all, I don’t want to lie awake anymore, staring at the ceiling, wondering if he’s still alive.

I don’t want him to go back to Afghanistan. I don’t want anyone’s son or daughter to have to go back.

It’s no longer worth it.

By Michael Moore

@ Open Mike Blog

24 December 12

After watching the deranged, delusional National Rifle Association press conference on Friday, it was clear that the Mayan prophecy had come true. Except the only world that was ending was the NRA’s. Their bullying power to set gun policy in this country is over. The nation is repulsed by the massacre in Connecticut, and the signs are everywhere: a basketball coach at a post-game press conference; the Republican Joe Scarborough; a pawn shop owner in Florida; a gun buy-back program in New Jersey; a singing contest show on TV, and the conservative gun-owning judge who sentenced Jared Loughner.

So here’s my little bit of holiday cheer for you:

These gun massacres aren’t going to end any time soon.

I’m sorry to say this. But deep down we both know it’s true. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep pushing forward – after all, the momentum is on our side. I know all of us – including me – would love to see the president and Congress enact stronger gun laws. We need a ban on automatic AND semiautomatic weapons and magazine clips that hold more than 7 bullets. We need better background checks and more mental health services. We need to regulate the ammo, too.

But, friends, I would like to propose that while all of the above will certainly reduce gun deaths (ask Mayor Bloomberg – it is virtually impossible to buy a handgun in New York City and the result is the number of murders per year has gone from 2,200 to under 400), it won’t really bring about an end to these mass slayings and it will not address the core problem we have. Connecticut had one of the strongest gun laws in the country. That did nothing to prevent the murders of 20 small children on December 14th.

In fact, let’s be clear about Newtown: the killer had no criminal record so he would never have shown up on a background check. All of the guns he used were legally purchased. None fit the legal description of an “assault” weapon. The killer seemed to have mental problems and his mother had him seek help, but that was worthless. As for security measures, the Sandy Hook school was locked down and buttoned up BEFORE the killer showed up that morning. Drills had been held for just such an incident. A lot of good that did.

And here’s the dirty little fact none of us liberals want to discuss: The killer only ceased his slaughter when he saw that cops were swarming onto the school grounds – i.e, the men with the guns. When he saw the guns a-coming, he stopped the bloodshed and killed himself. Guns on police officers prevented another 20 or 40 or 100 deaths from happening. Guns sometimes work. (Then again, there was an armed deputy sheriff at Columbine High School the day of that massacre and he couldn’t/didn’t stop it.)

 

I am sorry to offer this reality check on our much-needed march toward a bunch of well-intended, necessary – but ultimately, mostly cosmetic – changes to our gun laws. The sad facts are these: Other countries that have guns (like Canada, which has 7 million guns – mostly hunting guns – in their 12 million households) have a low murder rate. Kids in Japan watch the same violent movies and kids in Australia play the same violent video games (Grand Theft Auto was created by a British company; the UK had 58 gun murders last year in a nation of 63 million people). They simply don’t kill each other at the rate that we do. Why is that? THAT is the question we should be exploring while we are banning and restricting guns: Who are we?

I’d like to try to answer that question.

We are a country whose leaders officially sanction and carry out acts of violence as a means to often an immoral end. We invade countries who didn’t attack us. We’re currently using drones in a half-dozen countries, often killing civilians.

This probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to us as we are a nation founded on genocide and built on the backs of slaves. We slaughtered 600,000 of each other in a civil war. We “tamed the Wild West with a six-shooter,” and we rape and beat and kill our women without mercy and at a staggering rate: every three hours a women is murdered in the USA (half the time by an ex or a current); every three minutes a woman is raped in the USA; and every 15 seconds a woman is beaten in the USA.

We belong to an illustrious group of nations that still have the death penalty (North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran). We think nothing of letting tens of thousands of our own citizens die each year because they are uninsured and thus don’t see a doctor until it’s too late.

Why do we do this? One theory is simply “because we can.” There is a level of arrogance in the otherwise friendly American spirit, conning ourselves into believing there’s something exceptional about us that separates us from all those “other” countries (there are indeed many good things about us; the same could also be said of Belgium, New Zealand, France, Germany, etc.). We think we’re #1 in everything when the truth is our students are 17th in science and 25th in math, and we’re 35th in life expectancy. We believe we have the greatest democracy but we have the lowest voting turnout of any western democracy. We’re biggest and the bestest at everything and we demand and take what we want.

And sometimes we have to be violent m*****f*****s to get it. But if one of us goes off-message and shows the utterly psychotic nature and brutal results of violence in a Newtown or an Aurora or a Virginia Tech, then we get all “sad” and “our hearts go out to the families” and presidents promise to take “meaningful action.” Well, maybe this president means it this time. He’d better. An angry mob of millions is not going to let this drop.

While we are discussing and demanding what to do, may I respectfully ask that we stop and take a look at what I believe are the three extenuating factors that may answer the question of why we Americans have more violence than most anyone else:

1. POVERTY. If there’s one thing that separates us from the rest of the developed world, it’s this. 50 million of our people live in poverty. One in five Americans goes hungry at some point during the year. The majority of those who aren’t poor are living from paycheck to paycheck. There’s no doubt this creates more crime. Middle class jobs prevent crime and violence. (If you don’t believe that, ask yourself this: If your neighbor has a job and is making $50,000/year, what are the chances he’s going to break into your home, shoot you and take your TV? Nil.)

2. FEAR/RACISM. We’re an awfully fearful country considering that, unlike most nations, we’ve never been invaded. (No, 1812 wasn’t an invasion. We started it.) Why on earth would we need 300 million guns in our homes? I get why the Russians might be a little spooked (over 20 million of them died in World War II). But what’s our excuse? Worried that the Indians from the casino may go on the warpath? Concerned that the Canadians seem to be amassing too many Tim Horton’s donut shops on both sides of the border?

No. It’s because too many white people are afraid of black people. Period. The vast majority of the guns in the U.S. are sold to white people who live in the suburbs or the country. When we fantasize about being mugged or home invaded, what’s the image of the perpetrator in our heads? Is it the freckled-face kid from down the street – or is it someone who is, if not black, at least poor?

I think it would be worth it to a) do our best to eradicate poverty and re-create the middle class we used to have, and b) stop promoting the image of the black man as the boogeyman out to hurt you. Calm down, white people, and put away your guns.

3. THE “ME” SOCIETY. I think it’s the every-man-for-himself ethos of this country that has put us in this mess and I believe it’s been our undoing. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps! You’re not my problem! This is mine!

Clearly, we are no longer our brother’s and sister’s keeper. You get sick and can’t afford the operation? Not my problem. The bank has foreclosed on your home? Not my problem. Can’t afford to go to college? Not my problem.

And yet, it all sooner or later becomes our problem, doesn’t it? Take away too many safety nets and everyone starts to feel the impact. Do you want to live in that kind of society, one where you will then have a legitimate reason to be in fear? I don’t.

I’m not saying it’s perfect anywhere else, but I have noticed, in my travels, that other civilized countries see a national benefit to taking care of each other. Free medical care, free or low-cost college, mental health help. And I wonder – why can’t we do that? I think it’s because in many other countries people see each other not as separate and alone but rather together, on the path of life, with each person existing as an integral part of the whole. And you help them when they’re in need, not punish them because they’ve had some misfortune or bad break. I have to believe one of the reasons gun murders in other countries are so rare is because there’s less of the lone wolf mentality amongst their citizens. Most are raised with a sense of connection, if not outright solidarity. And that makes it harder to kill one another.

Well, there’s some food for thought as we head home for the holidays. Don’t forget to say hi to your conservative brother-in-law for me. Even he will tell you that, if you can’t nail a deer in three shots – and claim you need a clip of 30 rounds – you’re not a hunter my friend, and you have no business owning a gun.

Have a wonderful Christmas or a beautiful December 25th!

 

President al-Assad Issues Law Specifying 2013 General State Budget with SYP 1383 Billion

Dec 24, 2012

DAMASCUS, SANA_ President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday issued law No. 35 specifying the general state budget for the fiscal year 2013 with SYP 1383 billion.

According to the Law, the revenues of the general state budget for the fiscal year 2013 are estimated at SYP 1383 billion.

The budgets of the public bodies which have economic and constructional nature will be issued according to a decision by the Minister of Finance after the issuance of this Law.

Presidential Decree on Establishing 2nd Architectural Engineering Faculty at Al-Baath University in Salamieh City

President al-Assad also issued decree No. 481 stipulating for the establishment of the Second Architectural Engineering Faculty in Salamiyeh, Hama. The faculty is affiliated to al-Baath University.

Information Minister: Syria is Moving Towards Overcoming Crisis and Defeating Aggression

Dec 23, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi affirmed that Syria as a country, state and people is moving towards overcoming the crisis and defeating the aggressions against it, stressing that most of what is being said in the unprecedented media escalation campaign against Syria is baseless and untrue.

In an open meeting with representatives and correspondents of Arab and foreign mass media and news agencies accredited in Syria on Sunday, al-Zoubi said that Syria will be victorious over its enemies, noting that the national scene in Syria is witnessing considerable political activity among national forces, hoping that this will be productive and positive.

He pointed out that there are terrorist groups and armed gangs that fall under the banner of Jabhet an-Nusra and its affiliates, all of them being a part of Al Qaeda and are trained and prepared by well-known sides that financed, instigated, established training camps, and put various tools at the service of terrorists.

Al-Zoubi said that Russia’s position towards Syria is firm and based on a series of rules including respecting Syria’s sovereignty, and that Russia isn’t talking about anyone leaving or ballots; rather it works to reach a political solution through dialogue and a purely-Syrian democratic and national political process.

He stressed that Russia’s position hasn’t changed, and any bets on such a change are mere dreams.

Al-Zoubi affirmed that neither Russia nor any one put pressure on Syria and the Syrian political resolution regarding all political matters is a pure sovereign decision.

Regarding the plan of UN Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Ibrahimi which is a modified version of the Geneva statement which stipulates for a transitional government approved by the government and the opposition, the Minister said that judgment shouldn’t be passed on the results of his visit in advance, pointing out that there are some questions the Syrian government raised about the statement and are awaiting clarification.

Al-Zoubi added that national dialogue is a dialogue among the Syrians and with those who believe in dialogue as a prelude to a political process, while those who rejected dialogue and called for taking up arms are in fact afraid of the results of this dialogue.

He stressed that if the Doha coalition or any other such group were brave to enter an open political process without elimination and if they had confidence in possessing a share of the ballots, then they wouldn’t have refrained from dialogue.

The Minister said that the Syrians who throw down their weapons and put themselves at the disposal of the law will be treated in a specific way because they’re Syrians, while the foreign gunmen and those belonging to Jabhet al-Nusra and its other Al Qaeda affiliates and those who committed acts leading to the death of Syrians or the destruction of infrastructure will be punished according to the laws if arrested.

Al-Zoubi went on to stress that the Syrian Arab Army will continue to confront these terrorists across the country as per its constitutional, national and political authorities, and that the Syrians support it in the fight against terrorism, adding that is no such thing as positive or negative, acceptable of unacceptable terrorism, and whoever commits a terrorist act is a terrorist, regardless of his nationality, identity, religions, sect or party affiliation.

He stressed that the Syrian Arab Army is not a side in the confrontation; rather it represents the homeland and people and is confronting terrorism as per the international laws and resolution issued after 9/11, according to which certain governments and figures in neighboring countries should be held accountable by the Security Council according to Resolution No. 1373 which considers anyone who finances, conspires, facilitates or harbors terrorists subject to counter-terrorism laws.

On the government’s position towards the opposition that doesn’t call for forign military intervention, al-Zoubi said that the minimum of patriotism requires the rejection of foreign military intervention, with the maximum being the martyrs who are sacrificing their lives, stressing that patriotism demands rejecting outside dictations and all forms of interference, and denouncing terrorism.

The Minister said that the Syrian identity is a whole that cannot be claimed by anyone as being their exclusive property then ask to be made a hero and a political leader, adding that those who reject foreign intervention must tell the Arab League which they meet to lift the sanctions imposed on Syrians and tell Qatar, Turkey, France and others to cease sending weapons and stop training terrorists and smuggle them into Syria.

He stressed that while some guests may attend national dialogue as ambassadors, but the dialogue itself will be among Syrians only, reiterating that all decisions will be made by the Syrians themselves and that no-one will be allowed to interfere in it, but if they have ideas or suggestions then they’re welcome to propose them.

Al-Zoubi addressed those the government and political forces and government that reject dialogue, telling them that time is growing short and that they should move to political action and forget about military action and dreams of toppling the government, the abdication of the president, and occupying the capital and any such talk, adding that those who promote such ideas are misleading.

Regarding the Iranian proposition to resolve the crisis, the Minister said that all Syria’s friends  be they Iranians, Russians or Chinese – have a right and a duty to present suggestions and initiatives, and that their positions towards Syria are most welcome.

On claims by some opposition groups and media sources that gunmen seized large areas, al-Zoubi said that the terrorists and Jabhet al-Nusra operate using guerilla tactics and cannot hold on to any location they attack, so any talks of controlling areas is untrue, adding that if such claims were true, why don’t the Istanbul council or the Doha coalition come and establish their projects in the areas they claim to control?

He cited an alleged attack by terrorists on a regiment in Yabroud which actually targeted an empty location used in summer, while another regiment which they claimed to attack in Shebaa in Damascus countryside was just a military point measuring 200 square meters which they attacked for around two hours and is now under the military’s control, which shows that the media victories they claim are illusory.

Al-Zoubi stressed that the Syrian Arab Army is there to fight terrorists who attack electricity networks and cause blackouts, and those who target hospitals, schools, fuel supplies and agricultural and industrial facilities and rob them, smuggling the stolen materials to Turkey where they sell them under the watch of the Turkish customs, affirming that these people cannot provide electricity, medicine, what or schools for people.

On the statements of Vice-President Farouq al-Shara, the Minister said that the Vice President is one of 23 million Syrians who has his own personal opinion, stressing that Syria is a state that is ruled by institutions and leaderships which have the final say.

He explained that when the Syrian Arab Army defends the country, it doesn’t think about a final military resolution nor the scope of sacrifices or the consequences of the battle, adding that a resolution in a battle is eventually dictated by the battle circumstances, and that the armed opposition and Jabhet al-Nusra should realize that their victories are delusions, adding that the political leadership in Syria was first to propose a political solution through national dialogue since day one, and took several steps to this end but some chose to bear arms despite that.

Regarding the proposed scenario for emerging from the crisis and if they’re a possible timetable, al-Zoubi stressed the need to use accurate terms, and that there are no timetables as matters haven’t entered the stage of political steps, but work is ongoing.

On whether the appointment of John Kerry as State Secretary will herald a new stage in Syrian-US relations, the al-Zoubi said it’s not a concern for the government who is appointed in the US, but rather the US policies, adding that we should wait and see how the administration will act and whether the US will commit to its decision to designate Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist organization or rather persevere in backing it.

Regarding the constant western accusation of using chemical weapons and SCUD missiles, the Minister reiterated that even if Syria had chemical weapons, it would never use it against its people nor within or outside Syria, since the use of chemical weapons is against Syria’s national, religious and moral culture, adding that there’s a video showing terrorists experimenting in a lab in Gaziantep in Turkey and that letters were sent to the UN Secretary-General and the Chairman of the Security Council to inform them of this video.

On the situation in al-Yarmouk Camp, the Minister said that the Syrian Arab army did not interfere in al-Yarmouk Camp at all, and that the terrorists’ entry into it were facilitated by sides from within the camps, adding that they withdrew after reaching agreements with Palestinian popular committees and figures from the camp.

He said that Syria informed the UN that what happened in the Camp was unacceptable and that terrorist groups and Jabhet al-Nusra must be pressured to leave it, stressing the need to avoid involving the Palestinian camps in the crisis, adding that Palestine will remain at the core of the conflict and the central cause for Syria, and the Palestinian people in Syria and outside will remain part of Syria’s cause, identity and future, stressing that betting on anything to the contrary is a losing bet.

On allegations that Syria is arming the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PPK), al-Zoubi said that Syria is not arming the PKK and does not allow anyone to launch an aggressive action against any country across its borders, adding that if anyone has documents or evidence, then let them submit it

He affirmed that the age of media exaggeration has come to an end, and that talk must be backed with documents and evidence, noting that the Syrian government possesses evidence of the Turkish involvement in supporting terrorism in Syria.

The Information Minister went on to say that Iraq is a brotherly country and that Syria cares for its security and stability and opposes interference in its affairs, stressing the need for foreign powers to stop their interference in the Iraqi affairs, particularly Turkey and the Arab Gulf countries.

Al-Zoubi concluded by saying that the Syrian state, army, government, people and establishment are present and standing, and that any talk to the contrary by officials or satellite channels or political analysts is untrue and contradictory for reality, calling upon all the figures or governments that had bet on armaments to abandon that and begin political work.

General Command of Army and Armed Forces: Armed Groups’ Hopelessness Pushed them to Intensify  Attacks on Infrastructure

Dec 23, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – The General Command of The Army and The Armed Forces stressed that the terrorist groups have hysterically intensified lately their attacks on the economic institutions and infrastructure with the aim of sabotaging the achievements established throughout decades, in a hopeless attempt to suppress the Syrian people and dissuade them from their national stance in rejecting terrorism and rallying around the Syrian Arab Army in confronting the aggression that targets Syria’s role and stance.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Command said that these attacks are a manifestation of a state of helplessness and bankruptcy of the terrorist groups, and those behind them, due to the blows directed by the Syrian Arab Army.

The Command warned of the consequences of such criminal acts, as it stressed at the same time its determination to pursue the terrorists, crush their remnants and strike with an iron fist all those who attempt to tamper with the economic capacities or the security and stability of the homeland.

Terrorists Attack Popular Rally Demanding their Departure in Aleppo, Terrorists Killed in Qualtiative Operations

Dec 23, 2012

PROVINCES, SANA_ Terrorists attacked a popular rally that took to the streets in al-Jalloum neighborhood in Aleppo demanding the departure of the armed terrorist groups from Aleppo city and countryside, causing the injury of several citizens.

SANA reporter said that the terrorists opened fire randomly at the rally as the protestors were chanting anti-terrorism slogans.

An official source told SANA reporter that the Armed Forces targeted terrorists in the area of Rasm Abboud in Aleppo countryside, killing scores of them and destroying 6 cars loaded with ammunition.

The source added that the army also targeted terrorists’ hideouts in the towns of Arbeed, al-Kouthar, al-Sfeira, Andan and al-Mansoura, inflicting heavy losses upon them and destroying their hideouts and weapons.

In Aleppo city, an army unit targeted terrorists’ hideouts in the areas of Bustan al-Basha, masaken hanano, Bani Zaid, al-Naqareen and al-Lairamon, killing and injuring scores of the terrorists and destroying their weapons.

Clashes erupted between two terrorist groups in Hreitan area in Aleppo countryside after disputes on distributing stolen items.

Several terrorists were killed in the clash, among them was Khaled Oaso, the leader of the so-called ‘Bani Zaid’ terrorist group.

Terrorists Attack Hilfaya in Hama Countryside, Commit Murders Against Citizens

An armed terrorist groups attacked Hilfaya town in Hama countryside and committed crimes against its people, resulted in the martyrdom of several persons including children and women, before making footages accusing the Syrian army of the crimes.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that residents from Hilfaya said that the terrorist group committed crimes and attacked public institutions, including the town’s dispensary and municipality.

Hilfaya people said that they called upon the Syrian army to intervene, adding that the army engaged with the terrorists and eliminated large numbers of them.

Terrorists Eliminated, 50-kg IED Dismantled in Damascus Countryside

The Armed Forces foiled the terrorists’ attempt to detonate a 50-kilo explosive device inside al-Nahda Hospital in Daraya city in Damascus Countryside.

An official source told SANA reporter that a military unit discovered a field hospital that was made by the armed terrorist groups at the private school of al-Ebaa al-Arabi, where they found stolen medical equipment and drugs during the operations to restore stability to the city.

The source added that the terrorists transformed the school into a den for them after destroying large parts of it, as they also stored stolen medicines to treat the injured of the mercenary terrorists who fall under the blows of the Syrian Arab Army members.

The army units also found several tunnels which were used for moving and transferring weapons and ammunition in Daraya.

An official source told SANA reporter that the tunnels discovered expand between Saad Bin Moaz Mosque, and al-Rudwan Hospital and al-Ebaa School.

Terrorists Killed in Daraya, Aqraba, Beit Sahm, Douma and Harasta in Damascus Countryside

Armed Forces untis continued pursuing terrorist groups in Daraya, Damascus Countryside, eliminating a number of terrorists including Khaled Herkel, Talal Abu Sara, Abd al-Imam, Mohammad Kokash, Omar Taleb and Zuhair Othman.

Another unit eliminated a number of terrorists in the towns of Aqraba and Beit Sahm, including Sami Shammameh who was a leader of a terrorist group, in addition to Mahmoud al-Sayyed, Farid al-Samadi, Mazen Hasaballah, and Hussam Della.

In the farms of Douma and Harasta, another unit eliminated a number of terrorists including Wisam al-Mudallal who was a leader of a terrorist group, Abdelrahman Nasrallah, Salah al-Kouki, and Alaa Safaya.

A terrorist hideout was destroyed along with the equipment in it which included PKC machineguns, homemade rockets, and munitions, in addition to a number of cars which were used to transport terrorists, weapons and munitions.

Two Terrorist Groups Clash Over Stolen Funds and Items in Douma, Damascus Countryside

In the farms of Douma in Damascus Countryside, two terrorist groups, one called “Liwa’a al-Islam” and the other called “Liwa’a Dera’a al-Ghouta” clashed due to disputes over splitting funds and items stolen from public and private properties, resulting in the death of many terrorists.

Armed Forces Confront Terrorists in Homs Countryside

Armed Forces units confronted terrorist groups which had attacked locals in the areas of al-Ghanto, al-Zaafaraneh, and al-Buwaydah al-Sharqiya in Homs countryside.

This resulted in the death of a number of terrorists and the destruction of their weapons and munitions.

Terrorists Killed in Idleb Countryside

Armed forces units carries out a series of qualitative operations against armed terrorist groups in Maarshourin, Maarshamshah, Taftanaz and Kherbet Martin in Idleb countryside.

SANA quoted a source in the province as saying that the operation left several terrorists killed and others injured. Cars equipped with heavy machineguns that the terrorists were using were also destroyed in the operation.

Armed forces units carries out a series of qualitative operations against armed terrorist groups in Maarshourin, Maarshamshah, Taftanaz and Kherbet Martin in Idleb countryside.

SANA quoted a source in the province as saying that the operation left several terrorists killed and others injured. Cars equipped with heavy machineguns that the terrorists were using were also destroyed in the operation.

Armed forces units carries out a series of qualitative operations against armed terrorist groups in Maarshourin, Maarshamshah, Taftanaz and Kherbet Martin in Idleb countryside.

SANA quoted a source in the province as saying that the operation left several terrorists killed and others injured. Cars equipped with heavy machineguns that the terrorists were using were also destroyed in the operation.

Armed forces units carries out a series of qualitative operations against armed terrorist groups in Maarshourin, Maarshamshah, Taftanaz and Kherbet Martin in Idleb countryside.

SANA quoted a source in the province as saying that the operation left several terrorists killed and others injured. Cars equipped with heavy machineguns that the terrorists were using were also destroyed in the operation.

Armed forces units carries out a series of qualitative operations against armed terrorist groups in Maarshourin, Maarshamshah, Taftanaz and Kherbet Martin in Idleb countryside.

SANA quoted a source in the province as saying that the operation left several terrorists killed and others injured. Cars equipped with heavy machineguns that the terrorists were using were also destroyed in the operation.

Armed forces units carries out a series of qualitative operations against armed terrorist groups in Maarshourin, Maarshamshah, Taftanaz and Kherbet Martin in Idleb countryside.

SANA quoted a source in the province as saying that the operation left several terrorists killed and others injured. Cars equipped with heavy machineguns that the terrorists were using were also destroyed in the operation.

Armed forces units carries out a series of qualitative operations against armed terrorist groups in Maarshourin, Maarshamshah, Taftanaz and Kherbet Martin in Idleb countryside.

SANA quoted a source in the province as saying that the operation left several terrorists killed and others injured. Cars equipped with heavy machineguns that the terrorists were using were also destroyed in the operation.

Armed forces units carries out a series of qualitative operations against armed terrorist groups in Maarshourin, Maarshamshah, Taftanaz and Kherbet Martin in Idleb countryside.

SANA quoted a source in the province as saying that the operation left several terrorists killed and others injured. Cars equipped with heavy machineguns that the terrorists were using were also destroyed in the operation.

Terrorists Killed, Their  Vehicles Destroyed in Hama Countryside

Armed Forces on Sunday clashed with an armed terrorist group that tried to attack citizens and law enforcement members near al-Zallaqiyat village in Muharda countryside, killing many terrorists and injuring others.

A source in the province told SANA reporter that the terrorist Wael Khaled al-Halabiyeh, a leader of the so-called “Sawt al-Haq” terrorist group was injured, as four cars and several motorcycles that were used to transfer the terrorists and their weapons were destroyed.

The bodies of the terrorists Mohammad Saleh al-Darwish, Mohammad Zayyat Nour al-Shamiyeh, Bara’ al-Omari, Hussein Suleiman Hamada, Ahmad Ali al-Hamada and Ikrima Saleh al-Bakkour were identified among the dead.

Premier al-Halqi: Construction Process Moves Forwards Along with Confronting the Enemies of the Homeland

Dec 23, 2012

DAMASCUS COUNTRYSIDE, (SANA)- Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi on Sunday stressed that the construction process is going forwards to build the renewable Syria along with confronting the enemies of the homeland who want to undermine its potentials and capabilities.

Marking the Tree Day at al-Sabboura area in Damascus Countryside, Premier al-Halqi pointed out that the government’s top priority is paying big attention to the agricultural sector and ensuring the requirements of the agricultural production through offering soft loans to the farmers, caring for the fruitful and forest trees .

Al-Halqi said that “we planted the tree of cordiality, life, giving and national reconciliation”, calling on all the Syrian citizens to plant the tree of cordiality and enhance the spirit of unity and national reconciliation.

Prime Minister Reviews with FAO Representative in Syria Mutual Cooperation

Prime Minister Dr. Wael al-Halqi and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in Syria, Dr. Abdullah Tahir bin Yehia, reviewed mutual cooperation in exchanging agricultural and scientific research and expertise.

During their meeting on Sunday on the occasion of bin Yehia’s end of mission, al-Halqi and bin Yehia also discussed cooperation in livestock development, introducing new crops with high productivity such as dry rice planting, in addition to forest management and dry areas development projects.

Al-Halqi hailed the efforts of bin Yehia in bolstering mutual cooperation and implementation of several development projects, and the Organization’s contribution to offering humanitarian aid especially under the current conditions in Syria.

For his part, bin Yehia lauded the support of the Syrian government to the Organization, highlighting the significance of the Syrian capacities and agricultural and natural resources that ensure self-sufficiency and food security for its people.

Agriculture Minister Discusses with FAO Representative FAO-Funded Projects in Syria

Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Subhi al-Abdulla discussed with Dr. Abdullah Tahir bin Yehia the projects funded by FAO and the urgent aid offered by the organization to the affected areas.

Al-Abdullah hailed FAO support to the agricultural sector and its role in offering urgent aid to the Syrian people, as well as bin Yehia’s fruitful efforts in this regard during his term in Syria.

For his part, bin Yehia underlined the attention that FAO accords to its projects in Syria, expressing appreciation for the Agriculture Ministry’s cooperation for making these projects a success and facilitating the access of aid to the affected families.

 

Patriarch Yazigi: The Dark Cloud Passing Over Our Country Will Dissipate Thanks to the Awareness of Syrians

Dec 23, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, John X Yazigi, on Sunday headed mass at the Mariamite Cathedral in Damascus. During the mass, Patriarch Yazigi said that “thanks to the awareness of Syria’s people, the dark cloud passing over the sky of our beloved country will dissipate, and security and stability will return. “His Beatitude stressed that the Antioch Church has known coexistence throughout history, giving to and taking from other Christians and Muslims, because it’s an Eastern church that respects pluralism and respects and loves others.

He affirmed that the Church will work to develop relations among Christians and relations with Muslims.

Patriarch Yazigi said that Jesus Christ had two cradles; one was a physical cradle in Jerusalem where Christianity was born, and the other in Antioch where Christianity spread to the entire world, with the then nascent Christianity facing its greatest challenge in Antioch when it decided to become a universal and encompassing religion.

His Beatitude concluded the mass by praying to God to preserve Syria and its people, for Christmas to bring good things and blessings to Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq, and for peace to reign in the region.

Social Affairs Minister: Enhancing Cooperation with Civil Societies to Improve Conditions of Temporary housing Centers

Dec 23, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Dr. Jassim Zakarya on Sunday stressed the need to enhance cooperation between the Ministry and the civil societies working in the humanitarian aid field.

In a meeting with representatives of 11 social care sides, Minister Zakaraya stressed the Ministry’s keenness on empowering the civil societies in this stage.

He noted that the work plan for the next stage will focus on cooperation with the aim of administrating the temporary housing centers, adding that the Ministry will form a constitutional council for the societies and that it has already formed a committee of humanitarian intervention with its decisions considered as ministerial decisions binding for all societies.

Earlier in December, the Ministry announced that it will provide financial payments of SYP 500,000 to 1 million to every civil society working in the field of aid in Syria.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Stresses Importance of Not Allowing USA and West to Meddle in region’s Issues

Dec 23, 2012

TEHRAN, (SANA) – The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, stressed the importance of not allowing the USA and the western countries to meddle in the regional issues.

” The crisis will not be restricted only to Syria if the western countries interfered in it and if the battles get more aggravated.” Mehmanparast said during a press statement in the Turkish city of Erzurum, answering a question on an Iranian response in case of a military interference by Turkey and the NATO against Syria.

“Those who say that a military intervention in Syria will lead to a third world war want to warn the others of the critical conditions in which the region is going through, so they caution of the consequences of the expansion of the battle to other countries if it get aggravated,” he said.

Mehmanparast pointed to the western support to the armed terrorist groups in Syria, stressing that a military intervention is not a right choice to solve the crisis, noting that the western countries and the armed terrorist groups in Syria object making free elections because they know that they will not get of the majority of the Syrian people’s support.

The Iranian official mocked the US allegations promoting to justify its stance and interference in Syria, wondering about how the USA has turn out to be supportive to people’s rights while it had previously supported authoritarian regimes such as Pahlavi regime that existed prior to the Iranian revolution.

Firouzabadi: Washington has to Shift Position on Syria

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi said that the US administration has to shift its position in supporting al-Qaeda terrorists in Syria, because the reports that arrive to the US President Barack Obama on the latest developments in Syria are incorrect.

Firouzabadi underlined the necessity that the US corrects its rash stance regarding the developments in Syria and deal with Syria in light of objective information.

He added that the majority of the Syrian people want security and stability in their country, adding that the Syrian state is in control on the ground.

He saw that al-Qaeda terrorists and their activities in Syria are weaker than circulated by media, adding that terrorists emerge every now and then through claiming responsibility for horrendous crimes against people and random bombings.

Firouzabadi advised Islamic and Arab states to abandon the approach of killing against the Syrian people and adherence to Islamic unity.

Borujerdi: Dialogue the Sole Way to Solve Crisis in Syria

Chairman of the Iranian National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Alaa Eddin Borujerdi said that the dialogue is the only way out of the crisis in Syria.

The remarks came during his meeting with the Iraqi Former Petroleum Minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Oloum on Sunday.

For his part, Bahr al-Oloum stressed the need for the region’s countries to cooperate as to prevent the crisis in Syria from spreading to the region’s countries.

Armed Group Assassinates Syrian TV Cameramen Haidar al-Smoudi in Damascus

Dec 22, 2012

DAMASCUS, (SANA)-An armed terrorist group Friday evening assassinated Syrian TV cameraman, colleague Haidar al-Smoudi in front of his house in Kafer Sousseh, Damascus while he was heading for his work at the News Center in the Syrian TV.

Martyr al-Smoudi was born in Damascus, 1967. He graduated from the Media Training Institute and worked as a cameraman in al-Thawra Daily then he joined the Syrian TV in 1998.

Earlier, the armed terrorist groups assassinated colleagues Naji Assad, Ali Abbas, shukri Abu al-Burghul, Basel Yousef, Mohammad al-Ashram, Maya Naser, Cameramen Ihsan al-Buni and Hatem Abu Yahya.

Lavrov: Armed Groups in Syria Violate International Law and Practice Terrorism and the West Deals with Double-Standards

Dec 22, 2012

MOSCOW, (SANA) – Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, criticized the western double-standard stance on terrorism, considering that “it is disappointing that our western partners at the Security Council reject condemning the terrorist attacks in Syria,” and tend to divide terrorists into bad and acceptable terrorists, which would lead to putting the world in a very dangerous situation.

In an interview with Russia Today channel, which is to be broadcast next Monday, Lavrov expressed regret over the stances announced by many external players on Syria “which still do not reflect a sincere interest in halting violence, rather they aim to achieve internal points.”

“What brings shame is that some partners get themselves occupied in directing guidance and acting like the guardians of human rights in Syria, while what is required from them is to say enough to all those who kill and try to achieve victory at the expense of human rights,” said Lavrov.

He pointed out that the armed terrorist groups in Syria are responsible for violating the international law through taking hostages and practicing terrorism.

The Russian Foreign Minister added that if the priority is to halt the violence, then a large number of international observers should be deployed in Syria and both sides should be forced to start dialogue without any preconditions, stressing that “Russia does not change regimes in the world, therefore, it will not convey the western proposals to Syria as they should be the ones to do so by themselves.”

Lavrov warned that the west is interested in changing the regime more than saving the lives of civilians.

He expressed his belief that the western countries are not resolved or insistent on military intervention in Syria, saying that “no one in the West is ready for intervention in Syria, which is why they wish that Russia and China veto UNSC resolutions contrary to what they say.”

Lavrov stressed that “it is not allowed for the Security Council, after the shameful act of our partners regarding the decision on Libya, to take decisions that have double meanings.”

Austrian TV Website: Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra Responsible for Terrorist Bombings in Syria

Dec 22, 2012

VIENNA, (SANA) – The Austrian TV website stressed that thousands of al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra gunmen are involved in tens of bombings which took place in Syria recently.

In a news report, the website pointed out that the terrorist Jabhat al-Nusra organization is seeking to establish “an Islamic state”  in Syria similar to that of Taliban in Afghanistan, adding that the majority of the Syrians from all sects are worried about that.

The report clarified that the basic approach of Jabhat al-Nusra stipulates for hitting all those who do not support it, adding that it receives money and weapons from al-Qaeda.

The report noted out that al-Qaeda and Jabhat al-Nusra have carried out over 500 terorist bombings in Iraq and Syria.

By Noam Chomsky, Stuart A. Brown, Chris Gilson

@ European Politics and Policy

23 December 12

What do you think the use of technocratic governments in Europe says about European democracy?

There are two problems with it. First of all it shouldn’t happen, at least if anybody believes in democracy. Secondly, the policies that they’re following are just driving Europe into deeper and deeper problems. The idea of imposing austerity during a recession makes no sense whatsoever. There are problems, especially in the southern European countries, but in Greece the problems are not alleviated by compelling the country to reduce its growth because the debt relative to GDP simply increases, and that’s what the policies have been doing. In the case of Spain, which is a different case, the country was actually doing quite well up until the crash: it had a budget surplus. There were problems, but they were problems caused by banks, not by the government, including German banks, who were lending in the style of their US counterparts (subprime mortgages). So the financial system crashed and then austerity was imposed on Spain, which is the worst policy. It increases unemployment, it reduces growth; it does bail out banks and investors, but that shouldn’t be the prime concern.

Europe needs stimulus – even the IMF is coming around to that position – and there’s plenty of capacity for stimulus. Europe’s a rich place, there are plenty of reserves available to the European Central Bank. The Bundesbank doesn’t like it, investors don’t like it, banks don’t like it, but those are the policies which should be pursued. Even writers in the US business press agree with that. If Europe doesn’t change policy, they’re just going to go into a deeper recession. The European Commission just released its report on expectations for next year, which are for very low growth and increasing unemployment, which is the main problem. It’s a very serious problem: unemployment is destroying a generation, which is not a trivial matter. It’s also economically outlandish. If people are forced into unemployment then that’s not only extremely harmful from a human point of view – to individuals – but even from an economic point of view. It means there are unused resources, which could be used to grow and develop.

Europe’s policies make sense only on one assumption: that the goal is to try and undermine and unravel the welfare state. And that’s almost been said. Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, had an interview with the Wall Street Journal where he said that the social contract in Europe is dead. He wasn’t advocating it, he was describing it, but that’s essentially what the policies lead to. Perhaps not ‘dead’, that’s an exaggeration, but under attack.

Is the rise of the far-right in countries like Greece and France simply another symptom of the eurozone crisis?

There can’t be any doubt. I mean in Greece it’s obvious, though in France it’s been going on for a while. It’s based on anti-Islamic, anti-Muslim racism. Actually it goes beyond that in France. There are things which, amazingly to me, aren’t being discussed. Suppose that France today began expelling Jews from the country and driving them to a place where they would be attacked, repressed, and driven into poverty and misery. You can’t even describe the uproar that would follow, but that’s exactly what France is doing: not to the Jews, but to the Roma, who were treated pretty much the same by the Nazis as the Jews were. They were Holocaust victims. They’re being forced out to Romania and Hungary where they’ve got a miserable future ahead of them and there’s barely a word being said about this. And that’s not the far-right, that’s across the spectrum, which is pretty remarkable I think.

But the developments of the far-right are frightening in Europe. Germany is also experiencing something similar. For example there are neo-Nazi groups in Germany, though they don’t call themselves ‘neo-Nazi’, which are now organising to condemn the bombing of Dresden, claiming that 250,000 people were killed: ten times the actual number. Well, I think the bombing of Dresden was indeed a crime – a major crime – but not the way that neo-Nazi groups are using it. If you go a little farther east, say to Hungary, just last week a legislator, Zsolt Barath from the far-right Jobbik party, made a scandalous speech in which he was denouncing the presence of Jews in decision-making positions: “we’ve got to make a list of them, identify them, get rid of this cancer” and so on. You know, I’m old enough to remember that personally from the 1930s, but we all know what it means. That’s happening in large parts of Europe – mostly through anti-Muslim racism – and it’s a frightening phenomenon.

In the short-term, can you see Europe resolving its crisis?

Right now the eurozone is just putting off its problems – what’s called ‘kicking the can down the road’ – it’s not addressing them. There are serious problems. The eurozone, in my view, is a positive development in general, but it’s being handled in a way that is undermining the promise it should have. I think it’s widely agreed that there has to be more political union. You can’t have a system in which countries cannot control their own currencies and have austerity imposed on them, when they can’t carry out the measures that any other country would carry out if it were in economic crisis. That’s just an impossible situation and it has to be dealt with.

It should also be recognised that Europe is suffering to an extent from its relative humanity. If you compare Europe with North America, the single currency was agreed upon approximately when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was established, but they were done in very different ways. Before poorer states were brought into the project in Europe there were significant efforts made to raise their standards in many ways, using reforms, subsidies and other measures. This was done so that they wouldn’t undermine the employment and living standards of workers in more developed European countries. That’s a relatively humane way of moving towards integration. In the United States, something quite similar was proposed by the US labour movement and even by the US Congress research bureau, but it was dismissed without comment. Instead Mexico was integrated, in a fashion, in a way that was quite harmful to Mexicans and also to American and Canadian workers. Europe is suffering from that.

By Ralph Nader

@ Reader Supported News

23 December 12

Family is the foundation of our American society. In many ways, the family unit is one of the last bastions of decency holding out against encroaching corporate commoditization — the corporations can sell food, medicine, clothing, entertainment, even child and elder care, but they can’t provide the love, selflessness and generosity that close family members can provide one another. But if there was a way to commercialize all those generational, biological bonds, you can be sure that profit-hungry companies and clever marketers would discover it. In the holiday season, thoughts about family abound. But the advertisements that dominate all forms of commercial media aren’t about the benefits of family life, about how parents shape the character and personality of their children, about how turning off the screens and engaging in conversation is the cornerstone of human development. Advertisements aimed at children are meant to tantalize and sell the latest toys, gadgets and video games — many of which serve as electronic babysitters that feature violence and undermine parental authority.

Every holiday season, the commercial media relentlessly hype the big products of the season with “Holiday Shopping Guides” and “Hot Lists.” These lists feature toys and gadgets that are, inevitably, in “extremely limited quantities,” forcing parents to battle it out at early morning store openings to get the latest and greatest items. These “hot item lists” are released by the retailers themselves, such as Toys-R-Us, Walmart and Target. It’s not clear why many of these items are “hot,” aside from the fact that the chain stores that sell them say so. At one time, the big Christmas item was “Cabbage Patch Kids,” and then it was “Tickle Me Elmo,” then “Furby,” and then the “Nintendo Wii”. In 2012, Furby is back — a furry, owl-like electronic doll that talks. It was popular back in 1998 and sold millions in the late 90’s. Hasbro, the manufacturers of Furby, assumed that they could replicate the same big holiday rush sales with the same toy and the same marketing hype. According to Yahoo! Shine’s Holiday Gift Guide for parents, “Desperate parents are turning to Amazon.com, where some versions of the $54 toy are selling for $80 or more, and to eBay, where less-popular colors are selling for about $75. The hottest colors come with the highest prices: $1,000 to $2,500 for a single Furby.” One of the new features of the 2012 Furby is that is can interact with iPods and iPads — another electronic gadget that advertisers tell children they need to be hip.

The Furby hype is, of course, a retail trick, designed to fuel children’s desires for a new product. This translates into children nagging parents to acquire a new toy.

 

Spreading “joy with toys” is a major part of what the holidays in America have become — selling directly to children, without respect to limits, boundaries or even common decency. The result is young children are spending more time absorbing corporate marketing, resulting in shorter attention spans, reduced vocabularies, and less understanding of their local communities.

The only defense against the onslaught of commercializing childhood is for parents to become more aware of the “corporate week” — that is, their children spending more than 40 hours a week interacting with corporate products. These activities often involve idly sitting and absorbing entertainment with little to no historical or educational value. Children are spending less time reading, writing, studying, and having conversations with friends and family. The “corporate week” does not inspire critical thinking at a level beyond quick, Pavlovian responses. The potential impact on the developing psyche of young children of heavy exposure to the violence and crass humor found in entertainment is disturbing.

While completely shielding a child from the excesses of rampant commercialization isn’t easy in our corporate society, there are still ways to protect the essential blessings of childhood. For starters, parents can demand that marketer’s respect their children’s privacy and set limits as to where and how marketers can direct advertise to young children. (Some action has recently been made in this area. Beginning July 1, 2013, the FTC will enact new privacy laws to protect children under 13 from having their information collected online. Read the details here.) And then it’s up to the parents to turn off the TV, the computer, the cell phones and the iPads, put away the Furbys and the video games, and spend quality time with their children. This means eating family meals together and organizing family outings and activities with real educational and civic values. Consider, for instance, how many children are aware of the public workings of their town? Where does their drinking water come from? How does the local justice system operate? What is made there? For children, the local community is a vast and untapped resource of new information, new understandings, and new perspectives. Many local papers have a listing of community activities suitable for the whole family, such as nature walks, 5K races, book clubs, poetry readings, arts and crafts programs, film festivals, and more. (For D.C. residents, every Friday the Washington Post offers a huge listing of weekend cultural events taking place in the city.) By taking advantage of this nearby resource, making learning fun, and being more alert to the horde of corporate marketers that drive to infiltrate the walled boundaries of our family units, parents can provide better guidance and more enriching experiences for their children.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.

By Ismail Salami

23 December, 2012

Countercurrents.org

It seems that the West is sloughing over its established definition of freedom of expression when the Iranian channels HispanTV and Press TV come under brutal censorship by the Israel-friendly satellite companies in Europe.

Evidently spearheaded by the Zionists, Spain’s satellite provider Hispasat has ordered Overon to take Press TV and Hispan TV off the air. No wonder, the illegal move created extreme joy in the Zionist organizations such as the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

“This is an important development in the worldwide effort to contain the defiant regime in Tehran, one we have been watching carefully for months and discussing with our friends in Spain,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris.

“Hispasat did the right thing,” Harris continued. “No satellite company in the Western world should enable the dissemination of propaganda from an Iranian government that denies human rights, supports terror organizations and is determined to achieve nuclear weapons capability. That Hispasat’s action triggered such an angry response in Tehran tells us all we need to know about its significance.”

Overon says as the EU has blacklisted the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Hispan TV and Press TV must be taken off the air. It should be noted that Hispan TV is officially registered in Spain and operates under the country’s media laws. Besides, the EU has confirmed to Press TV that its anti-Iran sanctions do not apply to the country’s media.

From a legal point of view, this move runs counter to the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). Article ten of the ACHR says, “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This Article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.”

Hispasat is partly owned by Eutelsat whose French-Israeli CEO is widely believed to be the architect of attacks on Iranian media in Europe.

Without even Michel de Rosen being the Zionist CEO of Eutelsat, the European media is so pathetically caught up in the claws of the Zionists that they would readily give in to their demands especially when they are directly aimed at dispelling the political sway of the Islamic Republic.

On the one hand, the Zionists keep depicting themselves in the light of a nation so viciously persecuted in the course of history at the hands of the Europeans, an excuse which they use as a way of emotional blackmail. This, the Europeans sadly buy and seek to make up for the ‘holocaust’, an inflated issue, a political ace in the hole for the Zionists.

On the other hand, Europe is infernally prone to smother any voice coming from Iran and that which is in defense of the Islamic Republic as the Europeans are fearful of alternative channels such as Press TV, Hispan TV and RT which deliver a truthful report of the public discontent in the European community. The fact is that Europe is crumbling from within and there is no economic salvation in sight and Europe prefers media blackout. Further to that, the Zionist lobby is so powerful in Europe that they prefer to cave to their wanton demands, ignore the very basis principles upon which the European Convention of Human Rights is built, and avoid withering criticism or political isolation from Washington.

In point of fact, Europe is plunging into financial abysm largely on account of its reliance on US imperialism and its support of the Zionist regime. The role these alternative channels play in raising intellectual awareness and political insight is an irrefutable reality which serves as a resounding slap in the face of Europe. To put it in better terms, these channels hold a mirror to the European audience wherein the reality is reflected as it should. And this is exactly what harrows Europe with fear and wonder.

What is currently happening to the Iranian media is not just limited to Iran or to the Iranian community. These channels and like news outlets are the inalienable rights of the world citizens who are entitled to have an alternative voice different from theirs and choose to hear.

In fact, depriving the international community from these channels is stripping the people across the globe of the choice to hear. It is not ‘kosher’ and amounts to an act of intellectual abacination.

Dr. Ismail Salami is an Iranian writer, Middle East expert, Iranologist and lexicographer. He writes extensively on the US and Middle East issues and his articles have been translated into a number of languages.

By Jim Taylor

23 December, 2012

Countercurrents.org

The Sandy Hook shooting should not have surprised you. It’s simply the most recent in a series of multiple murders. Since 1966, when Charles Whitman climbed into a tower on the University of Texas campus in Austin and started picking off random victims, the pattern has been depressingly familiar. The list of massacres rolls off the tongue like a litany: Columbine, Aurora, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Fort Hood, Nickel Mines, Oak Ridge, Sandy Hook…

Has no one set it to music yet?

It’s always the same – go to a place where people gather, where they think they’re safe – a school, a theatre, a place of worship, a shopping mall — and mow them down.

You call America “the land of the free, and the home of the brave.” Nonsense. Only the cowardly hide behind high-powered rifles, pumping bullets into helpless children. And where’s the freedom when elementary schools and hospitals have to practice lockdown procedures?

John Cory writes, “The unthinkable has become a normal occurrence for which we have to train our children and grandchildren…”

You let this happen. Because you were afraid of standing up to idiots who believe bullets work better than brains. For the sake of avoiding conflict, you didn’t confront neighbours, gun store owners, and politicians who grovel at the altar of the National Rifle Association.

Tell me, how many Americans have been killed by socialist conspiracies or communist cells? You don’t know, do you? Nor do I. But I know it isn’t 87 a day. That’s how many die by getting shot. Over 30,000 unnecessary deaths a year.

And the NRA defends this record. America already has one gun for every adult. Yet the NRA claims that increasing the number of guns will make Americans safer – they’ll be able to defend themselves.

You moderates, who haven’t sold your souls to the NRA, who occupy the vast middle ground of sensible people, you let this happen. Yes, you.

I submit that the National Rifle Association is the most dangerous organization in your country. It has 4.3 million members. That’s barely one per cent of your adult population. But you let them lead your country’s legislators around by the noses. Or perhaps by their wallets — $17 million of political payoffs last year alone.

And you let them use their favorite weapon – the Second Amendment. Without that clause about “the right of the people to keep and bear arms,” the NRA would be shooting blanks. They would have to defend the right of deranged gun owners to slaughter innocent children. Instead, they can take the moral high ground, defending idealized “constitutional rights.”

In all the rhetoric pumped out since the Sandy Hook tragedy, I have not heard one commentator – not even professional iconoclast Michael Moore – suggest that the Second Amendment should be scrapped.

Why not? If Amendments can be added, they can be removed.

The Second Amendment made sense when the States – all thirteen of them – feared seizure by European empires. The fledgling country needed an armed (and regulated) militia that could be called up instantly.

Does anyone seriously believe that James Madison intended to ensure Adam Lanza’s right to fire hundreds of rounds into huddled six- and seven-year-old schoolchildren?

Far from providing security against external invaders, the NRA has distorted the Second Amendment into the right to take up arms against America’s own government. The Constitution defines that as treason, not reason

Here’s William Rivers Pitt, writing for Truthout, “You’re going to defend yourself against a government that has nuclear weapons, stealth bombers, drones, SEALs and the United States Marine Corps with your piddly-ass AR-15? Good luck…”

I don’t like guns, but I cannot condemn them totally. As long as criminals carry guns, police will need them too. Park rangers may need guns to defend themselves against attacks by bears or enraged moose.

But no one needs an AK-47 to bring down a deer. Or a Bushmaster with a 100-round clip to chase off burglars. Or a 9mm Glock to blast marauding squirrels off the bird feeder.

I’m moved by the heroism of Sandy Hook teachers and administrators who put their own lives on the line to protect their students. But the effort to prevent Adam Lanza’s killing spree should have started long before he shot his way into the school.

An unholy alliance of literalist Christians and libertarians have wrapped bullets and the Bible in the American flag and called it patriotism. And you let them get away with it. You failed to challenge them to live the faith they claim to have received from Jesus – to turn the other cheek, to go the second mile, to love rather than hate….

Instead of risking your own lives for what you believed in, you risked your children’s lives.

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Jim Taylor is a Candian author and freelance journalist. He can be reached at jimt@quixotic.ca

By James Corbett

23 December 2012

Rejoice! The economy has been saved and the world is back in good financial stead!

What allows me to make this bold proclamation, you ask? Has there been some fundamental transformation in the global economy? Has the sovereign debt crisis been resolved by a giant debt jubilee? Have the central banksters finally been apprehended and shown to their rightful place behind bars? Have the people of the world finally seen through the debt-based fiat money delusion and, all at once, dropped their dependence on Federal Reserve Notes in favor of alternative currencies, self-issued credit, and local exchanges?

Of course not. No, I am referring to this headline from the Daily Mail: “The Hobbit smashes U.S. box office records to become biggest Christmas film of ALL TIME.” Sadly, all capitalization in that headline is exactly as it appears in the original.

Yes, once again erstwhile “news” sources are trumpeting the box office returns of the latest Hollywood blockbuster as if it were some important piece of information. Amidst the doom and gloom of depressing headlines about the continuing Euro debt crisis or the impending currency war that newly-elected Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is getting set to kick off comes this diversionary fluff piece about how great a sign it is that some over-bloated Hollywood fantasy flick is raking in the dough. Perhaps they’re hoping that people won’t remember that the heyday of Hollywood was back during the Great Depression, when people flocked to the theater in record numbers to immerse themselves in The Wizard of Oz or Gone With the Wind in the hopes of forgetting their troubles for an hour or two, and when the most identifiable face on the planet was that of Charlie Chaplin’s homeless, jobless, luckless Tramp.

This phenomenon of reporting box office returns as important business news is nothing new, of course. In recent decades there has been a growing obsession with the grosses of films that would be hard to explain on the surface. Surely there aren’t that many more producers or investors whose financial fortunes are dependent on the profitability of the latest Tom Cruise vehicle or the newest big budget sequel/prequel/remake/spinoff. So what is the media’s fascination with ranking the weekend intake of each movie as if they were reporting the latest sports results?

Well, for starters it’s the easiest story for an over-worked, under-staffed, under-funded “news” team in the increasingly penny-pinching offices of a dinosaur mainstream news outlet to report. More troublingly, though, it’s part of a longer-term trend in the dumbing down of basic economic literacy that allows the financial controllers to keep the public distracted by shiny baubles while they get to work looting and plundering the economy behind the scenes. In this new paradigm of mainstream “business” reporting, stories of almost no consequence whatsoever can be focused on as if they are bellwethers of the economy: if box office hauls are forever trending upward, after all, then how bad can the economy really be? The setting of box office record after record seems to be a rising economic indicator, if only in the minds of that section of the public whose greatest acquaintance with the economy is the weekly ranking of movie ticket returns.

Perhaps the saddest part of all of this is that even this utterly inconsequential number is itself based on basic three-card monte level sleights of hand and statistical fraud that even a grade schooler should be able to see through. Just as CPI is kept artificially low by excluding those things that people actually buy in favor of more obscure (and less obviously inflating) commodities, and just as unemployment figures of today are compared with unemployment figures of decades past without noting the complete changes in unemployment calculation that make such a side-by-side comparison meaningless, so too are box office intakes of modern Hollywood movies favorably compared to the ticket sales of years gone by without noting the complicating factors in such a comparison. Have you ever seen a list of “highest grossing films of all time” that failed to include information about whether or not the films were being ranked in inflation-adjusted terms? Or how rising ticket prices factor into these numbers? Or why these “records” aren’t measured in ticket sales instead of gross revenue? Never mind all that, BusinessInsider.com has a new angle on the tale of The Hobbit’s “record smashing” performance: “The Hobbit didn’t break $100 million” in its opening weekend. The horror.

If only this phenomenon of trivialization were limited to Hollyweird. Alas, this is not the case.

You’ve heard of the McDonaldization of the economy? George Ritzer uses the term to describe how both the labor market and the products they produce are increasingly being standardized in the name of efficiency. But there is a more literal level at which we can say the economy has been McDonaldized. It has long been discussed how McDonald’s has applied the concept of “artificial scarcity” to raise interest in (and sales of) the McRib, a sandwich consisting of “restructured meat product” that has been molded into the pattern of a slab of ribs. The description of the product’s creation is enough to turn one’s stomach (and as a hint, scalded stomach is one of the ingredients), but it has achieved cult-like status amongst some McDonald’s aficionados for its scarcity. So rare is its seemingly random appearance on the menu that there are entire websites devoted to tracking sightings of the sandwich at restaurants across America. (This despite the fact that it is available on the menu year-round in Germany.) What many don’t know is that its sudden appearance and disappearance from the menu in America may not be so random after all. Willy Stanley of The Awl makes a convincing case that the McRib is actually a study in pork price arbitrage. As Stanley demonstrates, nationwide reappearances of the sandwich coincide precisely with troughs in the US hog market. Every time the price of pork bottoms out, it seems, McDonald’s goes on a buying spree, reintroducing the McRib to the menu. In other words, they’re playing customers like fools, purposefully keeping alive the “mystique” (and keeping aloft the price) of a sandwich they could sell at any time, waiting for pork prices to hit bottom. As Stanley points out, this works because McDonald’s is such a market-moving force that “it’s more useful to think of it as a company trading in commodities than it is to think of it as a chain of restaurants.” McDonaldization indeed.

Or take Instagram. This is a popular photo-sharing service that allows users to take and share pictures on social media via their cell phones. As near as I can determine, its appeal comes from its ability to add digital filters to the pictures to make them look more artistic and to confine the photographs to a square shape that is more reminiscent of a Polaroid than a cell phone photo. For some reason, Facebook saw so much potential in this service that they purchased it for $1 billion, surely a staggering sum of money for a 13-employee operation that deals solely in helping people share photos. In this day and age of bloated tech valuations, few even bothered to bat an eyelid over the deal…until they discovered how Facebook might be planning to recoup its money. Earlier this week, Instagram issued a change to its Terms of Service that granted the company the right to sell users’ photos to third parties without notification or compensation. This set off a storm of controversy (with National Geographic notably suspending its own account in protest of the move), threatening to cause a mass exodus from the service. Instagram immediately issued a retraction and is currently rewording the update to remove the offensive clause. Why this move would come as a surprise to anyone familiar with Facebook’s own privacy controversies (with CEO Mark Zuckerberg having famously proclaimed in January 2010 that privacy is no longer a social norm) is as puzzling as why anyone would expect an online giant like Facebook to spend $1 billion on a photo-sharing service without expecting them to monetize the only product that service has: its users’ photos. Still, this is what passes for economic reasoning in our present-day economy.

It’s too harsh to simply blame the consumers for this sorry state of affairs, though. After all, the entire economy has been structured around things of no lasting significance for so long now that it’s hardly fair to blame today’s youth for mistaking these diversions for reality. Take the phenomenon of “YouTube celebrity.” Ever since Google took over YouTube and attempted to find ways of making it pay for itself, the site has been offering deals with popular content producers to receive a share of the advertising revenue their videos generate. So has this led to the rise of a thriving, independent video production industry? Not exactly. Instead, it wasn’t long before users found a way to game the system by leaving “reply videos” to the site’s most popular videos, guaranteeing them hundreds of thousands of views for videos that are often little more than a scantily clad woman confirming that she had indeed watched the popular video in question. The most popular of these “reply girls” was able to earn a living off of this scam until YouTube changed its algorithm, making users less likely to find her replies in the “related videos” of trending viral videos. Now, the various “reply girls” find themselves out of a job. Talk about boom and bust.

These are the trivialities upon which our economy increasingly turns: box office revenues; artificially withheld pork sandwiches; photo sharing services; reply videos. These are all further signs of an economy in decline, one that has gone from the manufacture of important products to one that is increasingly geared toward providing the public with ever more diversion and fluff. It often takes an economic crisis to shake a people out of their collective complacency, and to give them an opportunity to once again discover what a sound economy is really based on. Time will tell whether the current financial crisis will be that wake up call for the Instagram generation.

By Ernst Wolff & Alex Lantier

22 December, 2012

@ WSWS.org

On Thursday the United Nations Security Council authorized an intervention into the sub-Saharan country of Mali by foreign troops, under the pretext of freeing northern Mali from occupation by Al Qaeda-linked Islamists. The resolution was adopted unanimously.

The vote came only ten days after the forced resignation of Malian Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra and his replacement by Django Cissoko. Diarra was an outspoken defender of a foreign military intervention, whereas Cissoko, who was installed by the military junta under Captain Amadou Sanogo, has so far abstained from any commentary on foreign intervention.

The United Nations’ decision, which does not contain a specific time-table for military action, comes as a clear warning—firstly to the military junta, but above all to the workers and oppressed masses of Mali—that the imperialist powers intend to control the fate of Mali.

Malian Foreign Minister Tieman Hubert Coulibaly called the resolution a “historic step,” adding that his government “commits itself fully” to fulfilling its obligations under the resolution.

To give itself a democratic touch, the resolution calls for “political reconciliation”, elections “as soon as technically possible,” and the restoration of constitutional order. It also asks UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to “confirm in advance the council’s satisfaction with the planned military offensive operation”. In reality, it is paving the way for another bloody war on African soil, setting the fuse for an explosion of the entire surrounding Sahel region.

Mali, one the world’s poorest countries, was shaken by a military coup in March. This was provoked largely by the occupation of northern Mali by heavily-armed Tuareg forces returning from the NATO war in Libya, where they had fought on Gaddafi’s side against NATO. Only months later, the Tuareg militias were forced out by Islamist fighters, who have ties to Al Qaeda and established rule by sharia law. They were joined by several thousand Islamists from North Africa and Asia, reportedly financed from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The UN resolution backs a decision by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to deploy 3,300 troops in Mali to fight the Islamists. The mission is to be led by Nigeria and has drawn criticism from Algeria, which historically has objected to foreign military deployments in the Sahel.

The imperialist powers are trying to hide their agenda behind their regional proxies. The resolution officially authorizes an African-led International Support Mission, known as AFISMA, for an initial period of one year without making any mention of its size. It “welcomes” ECOWAS troop contributions and calls on member states, including those in the Sahel, to contribute troops to the mission.

 

It also mentions providing “a voluntary and a United Nations-funded logistics support packages to AFISMA, including equipment and services for an initial period of one year”.

The resolution asks the secretary-general to provide support in critical areas to help the Malian government to “extend its authority during or following a military operation, including in the rule of law, removing land mines, and promoting national dialogue and regional cooperation”.

Although the UN Security Council resolution was unanimously adopted, it appears that the detailed planning of an intervention is still ongoing. This is due above all to considerable frictions between the United States and France, the former colonial power in Mali, over the tactics of an invasion.

French imperialism is heavily dependent on the Sahel for uranium for it nuclear industry. It is demanding immediate military action—with ECOWAS countries providing ground troops as cannon fodder for the war, while Washington and its European allies provide logistical, air, and intelligence support.

Sections of the American ruling class opposed such plans, objecting that ECOWAS troops would not be militarily able to defeat the Islamists, and that other regional powers, such as Algeria, should be involved. US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice recently dismissed France’s plan based on ECOWAS as “crap.”

An imperialist-led intervention in Mali as outlined by the UN and discussed by the United States and the European powers would be yet another reactionary war launched on the basis of lies. The claim that the NATO powers must intervene in Mali because they need to halt the spread of Al Qaeda’s influence is absurd.

NATO wars are in fact one of the main bases on which Al Qaeda’s influence develops. The fighting in Mali grew largely out of the Libyan war, in which NATO relied to a large extent on far-right Islamists, including forces of the Al Qaeda-linked Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. Today, the US-backed opposition in Syria includes the Al Nusra Front, which the US government itself acknowledges is a terrorist group tied to Al Qaeda.

While using Al Qaeda as a tool of its imperialist policies elsewhere, in Mali the NATO powers are citing the threat of Al Qaeda as a lever to organize intervention in Mali and deepen imperialist control over all of western Africa. Negotiations are continuing with the ECOWAS states as well as with Algeria on how to proceed with the intervention. (See also: French president promotes corporate interests, Mali war in Algeria visit )

There are widespread expectations that an invasion of northern Mali will rapidly spread fighting throughout the Sahel, as northern Mali shares long borders with Algeria, Niger, and Mauritania. Comparisons are now openly being made between the war in Mali and the NATO war in Afghanistan, which has since spilled over into Pakistan and other neighboring countries.

Thus Algiers University Professor Ahmed Adhimi wrote, “Now we face the Afghanization of the Sahel region. Military intervention means that all adventurers, terrorists, and all those who want to fight the Crusaders will come to northern Mali. Then Algeria would become the Pakistan of Africa, and it would be easy to drag the region’s countries into war… [This would] drag Algeria into a war with which it has nothing to do, its objective is to drain the country’s wealth.”

By Anitha S

22 December, 2012

@ Countercurrents.org

Anselvam was returning home, her hands laden with provisions brought from her usual shop in Koodankulam. Spices to dry and grind for the fish curry, rice and lentils for the month and some new clothes for X’mas. She stopped by, put her load down, smiled and said

” Why did you not come yesterday- you could have seen Xavierammal and Selvi who are out on bail.Sundari is still inside with newer and newer charges”

“What about the other women who were arrested along with the Trio who are now more famous?” asked my friend

“ They are all back. But we were worried about Roslin who has been very ill. She is now hospitalised in Madurai”

This was on 20th November 2012.

Xavierammal, Selvi and Sundari are now in Madurai on conditional bail. Speaking to them on Sundari’s phone, one could sense relief and joy, but a certain subtle kind of anxiety and fear too. Xavierammal’s mother held my hands tight and asked “ What do you think will happen to us? What decisions will be taken?”

I had to hastily look away without answering when Tamizh sitting next to her shouted “We will win. The KKNPP will be shut down”.

Two weeks later walking into the Samarapandal, one could see the women in various groups , some engaged in talking, some in beedi rolling and some dozing. I sat near the group talking. It surprises me no end that even on the 490th day (17th December, 2012), the women were focusing on various aspects of the struggle. That day many spoke about their men going fishing and the catch, the unreliable dates of opening being announced by the Government. Selvi’s mother spoke of her grandson in 10th Class and her anxiety about his health briefly before asking about the support from the world. Malar who had travelled to Bhopal to receive the Chingari award shared her pain on seeing the many differentially abled children there and the meticulous way in which care is being provided by the women. There were silent questions being raised in all of their minds about the impact of radiation on their bodies and the future generations.

Now on 21st December, the news comes that Roseyln is no more. She died after many days of suffering in Madurai General Hospital but could be in her home the last few days. In spite of her illness that had started many months ago, she joined the September 9-10 event with all the vigour and enthusiasm of the Porattam to stop the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant. She walked the hot and windy beach on that day with her friends and relatives forgetting the constant nausea and stomach pain that was ailing her frail body. She must have slept in the beach under the stars and sky, out in the open borrowing energy from the youngsters who were getting water and food for the people. She must have run, stumbled and fallen, watched Xavier ammal and many friends being pushed into the sea, seen Selvi being taken away by Police, felt the burning fumes of the outdated Tear gas shells before realizing that she has also been picked up. There was no special reason for her to be picked up that day except that she too participated in the struggle. Same as there was no specific reason for the 68 year old fisherman charged with the Goondas Act or the 7 young men who were taken by the Police when they went visiting the new Chicken farm enterprise of a friend nearby.

No special reason except for resisting the Nuclear Program of the country by demanding to shut down the Nuclear Power Plant at their door step. And be undeterred in their demand !

Roslin must have used all the energy in her weak body suffering under an undiagnosed pain to beg that she is ill and be spared the arrest. The strong and uncompromising hands of the Women Police must have held on to her bony arms hurting her more and more. In the unfamiliar jail with her other 6 women friends from Idinthakarai she must have felt the pain of being separated from her 3 children and her sparse bed where she could rest whenever she felt the fatigue overcoming her. After more than a month of confinement and constant shuttling to Valliyur and endless wait for some decision she was granted bail and released on Oct 30,2012. She must have been shocked to know the conditions. She had to sign in Madurai, more than 100 kms from her seaside home.

Unable to do the journey, her body pushed to the limits of endurance, Roslin must have heard that judgements like waging war against the Government and Sedition were upon her. Her mind and body longing for some rest and care in her small house with loved ones must have crumbled under the ominous weight of the charges. Yet she stood on.

When the disease growing inside her overpowered her, Roslin succumbed and had to be hospitalized. By then , the cancer like ailment had taken over. She must have dreamt of her home, her children, her childhood in between fits of consciousness. She must have certainly thought of the Porattam, the Saytagraha Pandal which has been their home for so many days and the one and only demand- to shut down the KKNPP. Not knowing the cruel ramifications of the charges put on her,Roslin must have dreamt of being free and healthy, of being able to go back to life, to being with her children and grandchildren, of waiting on the beach with her friends for the boats and fish catch, of cooking a tasty meen kozhambu ( Fish curry) for her family. If all of these dreams of a 63 year old woman has the likes of waging war against the Government and Sedition, Roslin’s failing heart would have pulsed a bit more in pride to be called so.

Instead yesterday it failed her, after months of improper neglect and lack of proper diagnosis and treatment even after it was in the records that she is ill.

Adieu, Roslin, Brave Heart….

After hearing the news that Roslin is no more and recounting snippets of conversations in Idinthakarai

Anitha.S , 22. 12. 2012