Donnerstag, 15. Dezember 2011

India: Food Inflation: Groping In The Dark

By Devinder Sharma
14 November, 2011

Although Prime Minister Manmohan Singh considers rising food inflation to be a sign of growing prosperity, the reality is very harsh and painful. Rising food inflation, which continues for the 4th successive year now, has hit the aam aadmi like never before. Adding fuel to fire is the frequent raise in petrol prices.

Every time food inflation crosses the double-digit barrier, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, have been quick to set a deadline some three to six months ahead during which period they promise to bring down the prices. While the failure to stem the price rise is written large, what is more worrying is the complete inability of the government to comprehend the reasons behind it. Economists and policy makers appear clueless and therefore continue to grope in the dark.

For over 4 years now, in every media discussion that I am invited to, I am appalled at the economic ignorance that prevails. They go on harping again and again on what the economic textbooks would prescribe as the plausible reasons behind any runaway inflation. Whether it is any member of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council or the Planning Commission or one of the senior officials of the Reserve Bank of India, the answers you get are all the same: food inflation is because of low production; with rising incomes there is a shift in demand towards nutritious foods thereby increasing the prices of fruits, vegetables and milk products; and because the farmers are being paid a higher procurement price, the consumers have to pay more.

Now let us look at the each of the argument separately. The common refrain that one hears is that food prices are on an upswing because production is unable to match the growing demand. For several months now, you have watched with concern news reports of foodgrains rotting in godowns. While lakhs of tonnes of wheat and paddy are allowed to rot, we are being told that there is a need to increase crop production. Ever since the TV channels began highlighting the grain wastage, except for lip-sympathy, the government has not made any significant allocation for creating additional storage space. In such a depressing scenario, how will more production help? Where will the government store the additional produce? Will it too not go waste?

Every year, as per official figures more than 16 lakh tonnes of foodgrains rot in godowns. The quantity of wheat and rice that becomes sub-standard and unfit for human consumption and which has to be sold for manufacturing alcohol and goes as cattle feed is several times more. When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh equated inflation with prosperity, he was trying to say that with more income in hand people have shifted to nutritious diets. The demand for fruits, vegetables and milk products has shot up as a result. This too is untrue, and has no scientific basis. Since this is a frequently asked question, I did some computation of the production estimates. The per capita daily availability of fruits and vegetables is 480 grams. The per capita requirement for a balanced diet is roughly 80 grams, against which the actual consumption is much low. Therefore it becomes apparent that there is at least six times more availability of fruits and vegetables in this country than what is required. So where is the shortfall? Why are the prices of fruits and vegetables sky-rocketing when the availability is in abundance?

In any case, the argument that with rising incomes the intake of nutritious food products in the food basket expands is also not based on any empirical evidence. The 2007 National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) tells us that cereal consumption has been on a steady decline, with no corresponding increase in the intake of more nutritious eggs, vegetables, fruits and milk. It means hunger has been on a rise and is now more widespread and well-entrenched. The feeling was that with the changing food habits, people have shifted from cereals to nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables and milk.

This assumption too does not hold true anymore. The decline in cereal consumption has more or less followed a steady pattern in the rural and urban areas, of course much faster in the rural areas. Per capita cereal consumption per month in the rural areas across the country has fallen from 13.4 kg in 1993-94 to 11.7 kg in 2006-07. The decline has been sharper between the period 2004 and 2007 when just in three years, cereals consumption fell from 12.1 kg to 11.7 kg. In the urban centres the decline was from 10.6 kg in 1993-94 to 9.6 kg in 2006-07. In a largely vegetarian society, cereals constitute the single important source of nutrition and therefore its importance in the Indian context is well established.

Moreover, if it was true, India’s ranking in the 2010 Global Hunger Index prepared by the International Food Policy Research Institute should have improved. India continues to rank 67th among 81 countries, faring much lower then Pakistan, Sudan and Rwanda. If people had started eating more, I see no reason why India should be ranked so low in the hunger index.

And finally how true is the argument that food prices are going up because farmers have been paid a higher procurement price. Wheat, rice and sugarcane are essentially the three major crops where farmers have received a higher procurement price. Interestingly, wheat and rice are not the crops where food inflation is hurting the poor. In case of sugarcane, after a hike in prices in 2009, sugar prices have stabilised even though the growers are getting a higher price. It is in case of fruits and vegetables, which do not receive any benefit of procurement prices, where the market prices have made a hole in the pocket of average consumers.

Economists need to understand that it is not the farmer who gains from food inflation. He never gets a high price for his produce even when market prices touch the roof. For sake of illustration, let us look at a banana grower. All he earns is between Rs 8-9 per dozen where as the prevailing market price hovers between Rs 50-60. The real problem therefore lies in the mandis. It is the wholesale and retail trade, which in the absence of any tough regulation, is exploiting the consumers by raising the prices by anything between 100 to 300 per cent. In the absence of any crackdown, the trade is having a free run. The government doesn’t want to check the traders because as the Prime Minister said the other day he wants more and more commodity prices to be deregulated. He wants market to decide the final price of the farm produce. In other words, we are paying through our nose to keep alive market reforms Devinder Sharma is a food and agriculture policy analyst. His writings focus on the links between biotechnology, intellectual property rights, food trade and poverty. His blog is Ground Reality

Source

Mittwoch, 14. Dezember 2011

Pakistan says U.S. drones in its air space will be shot down

It was really high time that the army spoke out. That has certainly been accelerated after in November Memogate exploded in the face of president Asif Ali Zardari - Obamas running dog. The documents showed that Zardari did a deal with the USA to oust Pakistan's leadership. A clear case of high treason as also the opposition stated (see here). December 15th Zardari should be heard before the apex court. But then he preferred to evade quickly to Dubai (see here). Then his son took over the reins of government.


By NBC News December 11, 2011
Foto: Pakistani security personnel examine a crashed US surveillance drone inside Pakistan in August.
Pakistan will shoot down any U.S. drone that intrudes its air space per new directives, a senior Pakistani official told NBC News on Saturday. According to the new Pakistani defense policy, "Any object entering into our air space, including U.S. drones, will be treated as hostile and be shot down," a senior Pakistani military official told NBC News.
The policy change comes just weeks after a deadly NATO attack on Pakistani military checkpoints accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, prompting Pakistani officials to order all U.S. personnel out of a remote airfield in Pakistan. Pakistan told the U.S. to vacate Shamsi Air Base by December 11.

A senior military official from Quetta, Pakistan, confirmed to NBC News on Saturday that the evacuation of the base, used for staging classified drone flights directed against militants, "will be completed tomorrow," according to NBC’s Fakhar ur Rehman.
Pakistan's Frontier Corps security forces took control of the base Saturday evening after most U.S. military personnel left, Xinhua news agency reported. Civil aviation officials also moved in Saturday, Xinhua said. Pakistani Military Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani had issued multiple directives since the Nov. 26 NATO attack, which included orders to shoot down U.S. drones, senior military officials confirmed to NBC News on Saturday. It was unclear Saturday whether orders to fire upon incoming U.S. drones was part of the initial orders.
The Pakistani airbase had been used by U.S. forces, including the CIA, to stage elements of a clandestine U.S. counter-terrorism operation to attack militants linked to al-Qaida, the Taliban and Pakistan's home-grown Haqqani network, using unmanned drone aircraft armed with missiles. President Barack Obama stepped up the drone campaign after he took office. U.S. officials say it has produced major successes in decimating the central leadership of al-Qaida and putting associated militant groups on the defensive.
Since 2004, U.S. drones have carried out more than 300 attacks inside Pakistan. Pakistani authorities started threatening U.S. personnel with eviction from the Shamsi base in the wake of the raid last May in which U.S. commandos killed Osama bin Laden at his hide-out near Islamabad without notifying Pakistani officials in advance. NBC News' Fakhar ur Rehman, msnbc.com's Sevil Omer and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source

Dienstag, 6. Dezember 2011

Libyan Liberation Continues with Algerian Tribes Entering War.

Posted on by nsnbc

Southern Libya is firmly under control of Libyan and Allied Forces. Fighting continues in Tripoli, North Eastern and North Western Libya. Algerian Tribes have entered what Algerian Tribal Leaders call “The War for the Liberation of Northern Africa“. The Western Corporate Media continue their media blackout while NATO reports of having flown 40 Strike Sorties.         
by Dr. Christof Lehmann


Nsnbc is trying to bring it´s readers a balanced reporting on the Libyan war, containing both in depth analysis and day to day reports. Yesterday nsnbc received an e-mail from a Libyan expatriate family in Europe, thanking nsnbc for delivering day to day updates about the situation on the ground in Libya. With communication between Europe and Libya being problematic in the best, and rudimentary or non existent in the worst case, our daily reports are often all information families have available that can give at least some indication of the situation of their loved ones. We promised to convey this thank´s to all the other independent media that are covering the conflict.


Xavier Driencourt
After yesterdays reports of NATO preparations to expand military operations into Algeria, and confirmation that NATO special operations teams have been on the ground in Algeria for considerable time; and after yesterdays reports that French Ambassador to Algeria Xavier Driencourt is preparing for emergency evacuation within a week; nsnbc received confirmed reports that tribes from Algeria have entered the war.

Desert Foxes
According to reliable sources a series of secret meetings between tribal leaders from Zintan, Libya and Algeria resulted tonight in an agreement that a unified front of tribal militia will enter the war which the call “The War for the Liberation of Northern Africa”. According to the same sources this alliance of tribes is backed by a unified North African Front, including Moroccan Tribes as well as Polisario who is fighting against the Moroccan administration of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Many members of Sahrawi´s provisional government and Polisario fighters are living in exile in Algeria. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was officially recognized by Libya in 1980, and is recognized by a wide range of countries, non of which is a NATO member state.

Khamis Ghadafi
Ever since international military support against the NATO led aggression began to manifest and the subsequent adaptation of strategy and tactics by Khamis Ghadafi and the military leadership of the Libyan Armed Forces the situation on the ground has, in spite of heaviest fighting and losses on both sides yielded so positive results that an estimated 95 % of Southern Libya are under the legitimate Libyan Governments control, enjoying overwhelming popular support.
An overview over last nights military situation up to the morning today. In Derna a large contingent of TNC fighters fled the city taking heavy casualties when being heavily pursued by Libyan Military, Tribal and Popular Resistance. Heavy fighting in Al-Baida resulted early this morning in about 50% of the city being liberated. At six o clock this morning we received reports of heavy street to street, house to house and room to room fighting in Bengazi with heavy casualties on both sides. An estimated 50% of the city is reported to be liberated.  The main resistance from TNC forces is entrenched in the center of Bengazi. A contingent of TNC fighters from Tobruk that was detached to relief the encircled TNC fighters in Bengazi City was literally wiped out when intelligence from inside TNC cadres in Tobruk made it possible to prepare an ambush by Libyan Forces.

Izzat Ibrahim
The utter chaos in military planning among TNC strategists becomes obvious when considering that a detachment of TNC fighters had left Bengazi earlier the same night to prepare an attack on Ghat, which was met with heavy resistance, resulting in 30 TNC casualties. In Zawiah the green flag is hoisted over a liberated city. After meetings of representatives from cities and villages around Zliten, yesterday and tonight, the representatives of the TNC in Zliten were this morning approached by representatives of Zliten delivering the ultimatum that the local TNC representatives, together with their foreign mercenaries should leave by Friday, or face a situation of “being thrown out” by the people.
Even though the psychological strategists of Pentagon and NATO had succeeded in deceiving a substantial part of the Libyan population into believing that they needed a breath of fresh air and reforms, after the brute awakening to what the Anglo American Empires represents, and how it is represented by imported Al Qaeda, Afghan and other opportunistic mercenaries, an estimated 97 % of the Libyan population stands firmly behind Muammar Ghadafi and the legitimate government of Libya. 97 % should tell any military expert that the situation is considerably worse for US ambitions than it was in Vietnam.


How the US controls "civil society" throughout Africa Enemy-sponsored organisations threaten nation

By Tafataona Mahoso

24 th of July 2011

The "great democracies" of the West have been the most consistent and most persistent enemy of the African: during slavery, during the scramble for Africa after the Berlin Conference, during colonialism, during apartheid and now during the current effort to recolonise Africa, which we see in Libya and Cote d'Ivoire and the current illegal sanctions against Simbabwe. 
  • Americans, the British and their European cousins have discouraged and even outlawed as dangerous to their own people are the very same qualities and habits they seek to impose, promote, fund and otherwise reward among our children and within our societies in Africa. 
  • "We tend to look to (those we think are) the experts, the well-educated, thoroughly trained and richly resourced Western journalists for a lead. When they dismiss African leadership with a few worn-out clichés, we follow suit. In the process we reduce our own politics, economics and situation in history into the juvenile language of (Western) tabloids." 
  • Running parallel to the "civil society" network or superstructure is the series of military and intelligence co-operation programmes which Africom is supposed to consolidate. Once Africom is in place, the recolonisation process will have been completed. 
July 17, 2011 "Bulawayo24" -- Pan African thinkers may wish to ask themselves this question: "If South Africa were at war with Canada and in the process of bombing Canadian cities back to the Stone Age, would US President Barack Obama allow Mrs Zuma (the wife of the South African President) to come and have tea and talk charity with Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter (former US Presidents) in Washington DC?" 
For anyone who knows what North Americans call the "American creed" or the Monroe Doctrine (which became the "Reagan Doctrine" in the 1980s), both US citizens and politicians would never allow such an affront. The first lady of a country at war with Canada would never be welcomed to tea by a former US President in Washington DC while the bombing was going on. 
So, why was it that two weeks ago, while the US and Nato were bombing Libya and ridiculing African Union resolutions on the same war, Barack Obama had the temerity to send his wife to South Africa and the wife had expectations to meet both the President and First Lady of South Africa and felt snubbed when she was welcomed by President Jacob Zuma's wife and by former South African President Cde Nelson Mandela?
Tutored in governance matters by our enemies 
Readers should not get me wrong. The problem is not with the North Americans and Nato as such.
The problem is with us Africans and how we have allowed ourselves to be tutored in governance matters by people who are our declared enemies or by organisations and individuals funded and managed by our declared enemies. Now, how did Africans respond when Michelle Obama was welcomed by the third wife of President Zuma and allowed to meet Cde Nelson Mandela? Too many Africans felt that it was Africa (and South Africa in particular) who had snubbed and insulted the US. Too many papers in South Africa and in our region even complained on behalf of the very same imperialists bombing Libya and recolonising Cote d'Ivoire. 
Now, this willingness to apologise against our own dignity and interests while upholding the arrogance of the enemy is not natural. It has been cultivated over several centuries. 
In 1957 a US citizen called Russell Kirk published a book called The American Cause in response to how the US had fared in the Korean War and how the rest of US society had responded to the war. 
The book identified general as well as specific weaknesses among US soldiers and US citizens in the face of their "enemies" who were identified as the Chinese "communists".
So, although the war was fought over Korea, the "enemy" was identified as Chinese "communists". 
The first general weakness the book identified was elaborated by John Dos Passos, who wrote the foreword to the book: 
"Neglect of history has long been an American failing. When that blind spot is coupled with ignorance of the special nature of our own institutions the result is a sort of vacuum in the political part of the brain. 
"Any high-sounding (alien) notion fashionable at the moment is (therefore) accepted without question. The victim is ready to be herded along any path of delusion the opinion-moulders choose."
This observation is most interesting because the US has literally turned its own problems inside-out and up-side-down. The US sponsors political parties, NGOs and religious organisations to create among societies they wish to destabilise the very same problems, the very same weaknesses which Russell Kirk and John Dos Passos identified and sought to overcome among their own security forces and within their own society. 
Almost all the political parties and NGOs sponsored in Simbabwe by the US, Britain, the European Union, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand are engaged in activities and teachings which seek to erase or confuse the history of the African's struggle for freedom, independence, self-determination and autonomy. 
The whole doctrine of human rights and democracy is intended to make Africans feel and believe that they are only thankful receivers of freedom and human rights conceived, programmed, taught and funded by the West. 
Our history, dangerous to imperialists 
Why is our history dangerous to the Rhodies, the British, the US, and the European Union?
That history defines the perennial enemy of Africa and Africans. The "great democracies" of the West have been the most consistent and most persistent enemy of the African: during slavery, during the scramble for Africa after the Berlin Conference, during colonialism, during apartheid and now during the current effort to recolonise Africa, which we see in Libya and Cote d'Ivoire and the current illegal sanctions against Simbabwe.
The following books, for instance, reveal the truth that the Western democracies have been the most consistent and persistent enemies of the African: Race and the construction of the disposable other, by Professor Bernard Magubane; The United States and the war against Simbabwe, 1965-1980, by Professor Gerald Horne; Automating Apartheid: US Computer Exports to South Africa and the Arms Embargo, by the American Friends Service Committee; Apartheid Terrorism, by Phylis Johnson and David Martin; Destructive Engagement, by David Martin and Phylis Johnson; and Red Rubber, by E. D. Morel. 
These books represent a tiny sample of the evidence which presents white Western governments as enemies of the African. 
But what are the values and qualities which Western governments despise if exhibited by their own citizens but which the same governments teach, promote, sponsor and finance among the Africans through sponsored political parties, sponsored NGOs, sponsored churches and other agencies?
According to the American Cause, the following were the qualities or characteristics which the US government should have discouraged especially among those citizens who joined the security and defence forces to protect "US interests": 
  • Weak loyalties to family and community; 
  • Weak loyalties to country, religion and colleagues; 
  • A hazy concept of right and wrong; 
  • Opportunism; 
  • and Underrating or under-estimation of one's own worth and so on. 
Kirk quoted a Chinese military intelligence report on the Korean War which said " . . . even among United States university graduates" there was little knowledge or understanding "of American political history or philosophy .  ."
The university graduate "is exceedingly insular and provincial, with little or no idea of the problems and aims of what he contemptuously describes as foreigners and their countries".
Above all, Russel Kirk felt that the generation of the late 1950s in the US had moved away from what he considered to be the best of North American "pragmatism", by which he meant the ability to integrate abstract concepts with practical applications and solutions in real-life situations. Kirk wanted to avoid raising a generation which could easily get lost in the world and die: 
"In the prison camps (of the war in Korea), our men died by the thousands — not from physical mistreatment, except in a few instances, but principally from despair, bewilderment, and lack of faith." 
He then turned to what he believed were the best characteristics of the founders of his country which he wanted adapted for the education and grooming of new generations. 
"Even the more radical among the founders . . . looked steadily to the past for guidance . . . They were not closet-philosophers, vainly pursuing the vision of a perfect society independent of (day-to-day) human experience . . . "
They knew political philosophy as well as history and law. They had read, many of them, Plato and Aristotle, Cicero and Seneca, St Augustine and Dante, Sir Edward Coke and Richard Hooker, John Locke and Edmund Burke . . . But they were not bookish . . . They did not divorce theory from practice. In their own careers they had united the authority of social custom with the authority of great books. They respected the wisdom of their ancestors." 
"Democratic reforms" inolving reinstalling white Rhodesians in strategic positions.
But these are the qualities the West and its stooges among us denounce daily here. What they have sponsored here as "democratic reforms" instead involves reinstalling white Rhodesians in strategic positions and institutions for the purpose of overthrowing our liberation heroes and ethos as well as reversing the gains of our independence. 
On 24 September 2009 the one major question CNN's Christiane Amanpor asked President Mugabe was why the President had not appointed Roy Leslie Bennett Deputy Minister of Agriculture as demanded by the Rhodesian lobby. 
And after MDC-T's spokesperson Nelson Chamisa described Bennett as their party's angel, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai made a major statement in which he made the following claims on behalf of Mr Bennett: 
"Mr Mugabe has gone back on his word [to appoint Bennett]. He confirmed to me and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara on Monday that he has no intention of ever swearing in Roy. The matter of Roy Bennett has now become a personal vendetta and part of a racist agenda." 
This means Anglo-American imperialism has sponsored its Rhodesian kith and kin to retake the Simbabwe economy and the MDC formations have gladly taken up the cause in the name of democratic reform! 
We can add that these founders of North America did not rely on donors or donor-funded NGOs for guidance. We can add that the qualities and habits which the North Americans, the British and their European cousins have discouraged and even outlawed as dangerous to their own people are the very same qualities and habits they seek to impose, promote, fund and otherwise reward among our children and within our societies in Africa.
If one looks at the donor-funded advertisements preceding the launch of the Medium Term Plan (MTP) on July 7 2011, the whole thing has become even more removed from the economic conditions of the people and even more abstract than the IMF-World Bank-imposed Economic Structural Adjustment Programme ever was. 
The jargon, the clichés and sound bites are all culled from glossy donor-funded brochures and project proposals whose purpose is to hide the realities of the devastation of people's lives by illegal sanctions imposed only by white governments. The same governments are sponsoring the adverts. As the February 1998 issue of African Business pointed out, African teachers and opinion makers have to become original in order to stop selling out.
"Leaders who have grown up from their native soils cannot be put in the same category (as foreign-sponsored puppets). Many of them suffered great tribulations and made enormous sacrifices for (and with) their people . . . The challenges they faced (and continue to face) have been far more daunting than anything any Western leader has to confront since the World War . . . The issue of African leadership is a complex one and it needs substantial study." 
Unfortunately, most of us in Africa, particularly poorly qualified and badly paid journalists, just do not have the analytical tools to work through leadership issues. 
"We tend to look to (those we think are) the experts, the well-educated, thoroughly trained and richly resourced Western journalists for a lead. When they dismiss African leadership with a few worn-out clichés, we follow suit. In the process we reduce our own politics, economics and situation in history into the juvenile language of (Western) tabloids."
The problem which the editor of African Business referred to here is the removal of history and context from media stories. 
It is no coincidence that the Pastoral Letter of the Simbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference issued January 2011 focused on ownership of Simbabwe's liberation history. 
The bishops' conference is part of a long lineage of intercessors, interveners and mediators between African leaders and African communities, between African nations and white imperialism.
This long lineage to which the Catholic Church belongs is responsible for the stubbornness of the white template through which even the mass media owned by Africans themselves continue to misrepresent African leadership. 
How the US controls "civil society" throughout Africa 
Because of the disastrous effects of neoliberal economic structural adjustment and (in Simbabwe) because of the effects of illegal sanctions as well, the number of foreign-funded NGOs has increased more than 10 times since the late 1980s. 
Moreover, this aid is not limited to the civilian NGO sector. It is also military and strategic.
Africa is opening itself to much worse manipulations if it allows the US Africom project to grow and spread on African soil. 
The Anglo-Saxon powers, led by the US, already control a continental network and superstructure of "civil society" throughout Africa. It ranges from individual activists and NGOs at the village level to national headquarters of the same NGOs operating on a nation-wide basis; it ranges from donor-funded, quasi-judicial human rights commissions to regional bodies such as the Sadc Tribunal, all the way to the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR.) 
Running parallel to the "civil society" network or superstructure is the series of military and intelligence co-operation programmes which Africom is supposed to consolidate. Once Africom is in place, the recolonisation process will have been completed. Newman Chiadzwa and Farai Muguwu would then have their military counterparts right in our midst. 
And there would be no end to co-ordinated manipulations such as what was recently attempted against Simbabwe in Tel Aviv during the fourth week of June 2010 at the Kimberley Process Certification meeting. 
In a recent paper, Professor Issa Shivji of the University of Dar es Salaam's School of Law quoted Amilcar Cabral, Archie Mafeje and Frantz Fanon to demonstrate that African leaders must rise in a world and context where the ground has been undercut and paved over by imperialism.
They therefore have to reclaim African ground by unpaving the Cape to Cairo tarmac left by Cecil Rhodes and his descendants.
According to Professor Shivji: "Cabral also makes the point that ‘so long as imperialism is in existence, an independent African state must be a liberation movement in power, or it will not be independent'. 
These are profound insights. "First (African) nationalism is constituted by the struggle of the people against imperialism, thus anti-imperialism defines African nationalism. 
"Second, nationalism, as an expression of (African) struggle, continues so long as imperialism exists. 
"Third, the (African) National Question in Africa, whose expression is nationalism (and which makes African leadership necessary), remains unresolved as long as there is imperialist domination." 
This nationalism and Pan-Africanism is what the white empire and its sponsored stooges and mouthpieces attack every day here. 
You can find the original article here.

Libyan rebels have conceded ground since bombing began

von Kim Sengupta

vom 27th of July 2011

Fresh diplomatic efforts are under way to try to end Libya's bloody civil war, with the UN special envoy flying to Tripoli to hold talks after Britain followed France in accepting that Muammar Gaddafi cannot be bombed into exile. The change of stance by the two most active countries in the international coalition is an acceptance of realities on the ground. Despite more than four months of sustained air strikes by Nato, the rebels have failed to secure any military advantage. Colonel Gaddafi has survived what observers perceive as attempts to eliminate him and, despite the defection of a number of senior commanders, there is no sign that he will be dethroned in a palace coup. The regime controls around 20 per cent more territory than it did in the immediate aftermath of the uprising on 17 February. Related articles The main obstacle to a ceasefire, so far, has been the insistence of the opposition and their Western backers that Colonel Gaddafi and his family must leave Libya. But earlier this month Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the leader of the Transitional National Council, stated that the dictator can remain in the country if he gives up the reins of power. The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, had wanted to declare victory in a Bastille Day speech on 14 July. Soon after this date, the country's Defence and Foreign Ministers pressed the case for a negotiated settlement. The UK, which appeared to have been taken by surprise at the French volte-face, tried to maintain a tough line. But that has also changed in the last 48 hours, with first Downing Street and then the Foreign Secretary William Hague saying that Colonel Gaddafi may after all be allowed to remain in his homeland. Mr Hague said the UK would support whatever agreement was reached by the two sides in Libya. Many senior British military officers have been less than enthusiastic about the Libyan mission, questioning its direction, and privately complaining that it is a distraction from unfinished business in Afghanistan. David Cameron's attempts to censure commanders who have raised concerns about fighting two wars while resources are being cut back has also led to growing dissatisfaction. The UN envoy to Libya, Abdul Elah al-Khatib, had met opposition leaders in Benghazi before flying to Tripoli. Meanwhile, the Libyan regime, which had offered an unconditional ceasefire a month ago, with senior members indicating that Colonel Gaddafi would be eased out, appears to have hardened its position, with officials maintaining that Nato bombing must stop before any talks can be held and demanding the release of Libyan assets frozen by the international community. It remains unclear how a peace deal would be policed. Nato countries are adamant that they do not want to put boots on the ground, while Alain Le Roy, the UN's head of peacekeeping operations, has stated that the organisation only has limited manpower. The rebel administration is wary of involving African Union forces, holding that many of the governments of member states were clients of the Gaddafi regime.
* The Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was released from prison in Scotland almost two years ago in the expectation that he would die within three months, has attended a pro-Gaddafi rally in Libya. Megrahi was seen in a wheelchair in Libyan state television footage said to have been broadcast live. A presenter introduced him and said the conviction for blowing Pan Am Flight 103 out of the sky over Lockerbie in 1988 was a "conspiracy". He served eight years of a 27-year sentence for the attack, which killed 270 people.

am 29. Juli 2011 eingesellt
Das Original im Independent findet sich hier.

Crocodile Tears As Food Aid Blockade Continues In Horn of Africa

This article is written 2011-07-19 by Thomas C. Mountain based in Eritrea, the only Western non-embedded journalist:

map of Ethiopia with Ogaden; Omaria lies around
Dolo Odo

As predicted crocodile tears have begun to run down the faces of the likes of Anthony Lake, CIA director nominee turned Executive Director of UNICEF, as some 15 million people starve in the Horn of Africa. Tony Lake appeals to the world for tens, no, hundreds of millions of dollars to save the starving people of Ethiopia and Somalia, never once telling you that the majority, some 10 million, are in the Ogaden and Oromia regions and being subjected to a western funded food aid blockade by the Ethiopian military.

Another five million people, maybe more, are starving in Somalia. The heads of the western food agencies are loath to admit that a million or more of those starving are refugees created by the UN funded Ethiopian and AU armies invading and occupying Somali since 2006. The very same refugees who had their minimum survival rations cut by 70% by the likes of Tony Lake due to “funding shortfalls” before all the crocodile tears began to flow.

Refugee camp

Since 2008 and the defeat and withdrawal of the Ethiopian army which invaded Somalia in 2006, the UN and its military wing in the African Union have intervened directly in the “war on terror” in Somalia in the form of some 10,000 troops, mostly from Uganda.

In the past 3 years the UN/AU army has laid waste to over half of Somalia’s former capital of Mogadishu. Some 30 square miles of Mogadishu have been pretty much obliterated by heavy artillery, mortars, tanks and helicopter gun ships operated by the Ugandan army. In the last 3 years some 500,000 or more Somali residents of Mogadishu have had to flee for their lives due to the relentless UN/AU offensive, joining the half a million refugees created by the Ethiopian invasion.

destruction in Mogadishu

The drought ravaging the Horn of Africa is already four years old and has developed into the worst drought to hit the region in 60 years. With the onset of drought in 2007 came the onset of a major counterinsurgency in the Ogaden region by the Ethiopian military, marked paid in full by the western aid and financial institutions. And with the counterinsurgency came the need to cover up this crime and so the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders were expelled. Out of sight, out of mind is the slogan today for most of the international media with no camera crews, no journalists, no news at all if they can help it about the 10 million facing forced starvation in south east and south west Ethiopia, the Ogaden and Oromia.

The last journalists who tried to get into the Ogaden, two Swedes, were sold out by the Somali Puntland warlords, ambushed by the Ethiopian para-militaries, their escorts slaughtered, with both journalists wounded and thrown into an Ethiopian dungeon, a message to all and wide to mind your own business when it comes to genocide in the Horn of Africa.

So the crocodile tears will flow and hundreds of millions of dollars supposedly meant to feed millions of starving people in the Horn of Africa will once again end up paying for the Ethiopian military’s latest arms purchase or in the western bank accounts of Ethiopian P.M. Meles Zenawi and his cohorts. And for a while the international media will churn out stories filled with heartbreaking images of starving children in the Horn of Africa and never once tell you how some 10 million of these people are suffering from a western funded food aid blockade.
 
The original link is here. 
Thomas C. Mountain can be reached under 
thomascmountain at yahoo dot com
 

A Libyan Girl's Message to Obama and NATO on Their Aggression on Libya

20th of July 2011

5 Million Demonstrated so Far Against NATO and its Rebels attacks, Killing Thousands of Libyan Men, Women & Children, and Still Intent on Stealing Their Free Spirit and Wealth. The Libyan People Are the Only Legitimate People to Decide Who Represents Them and to Determine Their Own Future.


The original  link is here.

Comments on Petras/Abayas harsh critic on the US/EU war against Libya

First of all I would like to strongly recommend this article by James Petras and Robin E. Abaya The Euro-US War on Libya: Official Lies and Misconceptions of Critics. The link is here.

I want to make two supplementary  points:

1) Oil is also a 'military' weapon. Some days ago I reminded the Tlaxcala community of the fact that it was the USA that de facto declared war on Japan by cutting all oil support lines. So Pearl Harbor was only an answer which the Japanese were in their full right to give. But it's not often spoken about.
Naturally the US don't and can't use all the oil they control for themselves. If they now get the Libyan oil too the Yankees get an even more stronger grip at the throat of the Europeans. So they will oblige even more rapidly than usual. This those stupid guys like Sarkozy, Camaron etc. from their point of view in the ass of the beast can't see. 

So the US-strategy has been now for a long time to control the oil from the well over the pipelines, the shipping routes to the port of destiny and the consumer. Naturally this makes sense for a superpower.

2) The authors give as the main reason for attacking Libya that Gaddafi
was not fighting with them side by side. This is quite a weak argument I would say. Some squads from a little country like Libya will not make a big difference. I think there is another point jumping in the eye and maybe therefore it's not seen. Look - the US was in trouble; their fantastic CIA, FBI and all the rest fed with billions of dollars had not the slightest idea of what was going on in the Arab world - so the US was taken by surprise. In a hurry they tried to fence in the fires but it didn't really work - the fire spread to the Gulf, to Jemen, even to Saudi Arabia. Now God send a sign - some guys in Libya also tried an uprising (certainly there were some sincere democrats but they were a far cry from the movements in Tunisia, Egypt etc) and the full power of the media was brought in - supported by - surprise, surprise - Al Jazeera and the 'LEFT'. A real gift from above. Now the focus shifted nearly 100% to Libya and all the rest was forgotton.
And the Yankees loved it - they love when the 'Left', the 'Humanitarians' cry for help. Now the could show that they are really the good guys. And so it went as it went.
It's exactly the same thing that Jan Myrdal describes in his new book 'RED STAR OVER INDIA'. The Indians were fighting the Naxalites for forty years without a mayor success. So they begged the Americans to come and help against the 'terrorists'. Oh, with pleasure. If the biggest 'Democracy on Earth' is begging for help then we are on the right side. And as Jan Myrdal points out the Indians will get help from the Western 'Left' too. The Indian Government has only to tell them: "We want to develop the country! We want to bring progress to the backward Adivasis and Dalits (the indigines and untouchables), development, education, but they don't know their own best. And the Maoists - those terrorists you know - are agitating them against us." So naturally the 'Left' will take the side of the 'progressive' Indian democracy. And to hell with these indigenes, these barbarians who kill innocent people (=soldiers) and burn schools (which the government rarely built).
But in the end the Americans will prevail. The Indians believe they are making a good deal. They are stupid because of their racism. They don't know what the Americans are thinking of them - the same what they themselves think about their people - mofussil. pack, idiots, blackies.

Mittwoch, 30. November 2011

Den egyptiska revolutionens andra våg

Den här lägesrapporten fick jag av min vän Hesham Bahari från Kairo den 26 november 2011där han berättar om det fruktansvärda våldet mot demonstranterna och användningen av gifter blandat med tårgas som redan krävde flera döds-offer.

Mona Tahhawi är en ung egyptisk journalist som gjort sig ett namn redan under Mubaraks tid som oppositionell. Hon har även amerikanskt medborgarskap och bjuds ofta för att hålla föreläsningar och delta i konferenser utomlands. När novemberupproret blossade upp befann hon sig i Marocko. Hon flög snabbt tillbaka till Kairo för att inte missa händelserna och vara med på Tahrir-torget. Väl där tog hon sig fram till frontlinjerna i sammandrabbningarna mellan de unga och polisen för att kunna rapportera övergreppen. Detta ledde till att hon arresterats av fem civilklädda poliser. Hon slogs ner på marken. Man bröt hennes högra arm och vänstra hand och utsatte henne för sexuella trakasserier. Men hon lyckades undgå att bli våldtagen. Istället fördes hon till inrikesministeriets lokaler i närheten där hon fick sitta i 5 timmar med svullen arm och hand utan att vare sig bli förhörd eller anklagad för något särskilt. Att vifta med amerikanskt medborgarskap hjälpte henne. En annan egyptiska hade nog blivit våldtagen och kanske dödad. Tre läkare kom in i rummet där hon satt. De letade efter en kamrat som blivit arresterad tidigare från Tahrir-torget och förd till okänd ort. Hon fick lite bedövningsspray på armen och handen av läkarna och de lovade återkomma för att hjälpa henne. De varken hittade sin kamrat eller kunde återkomma. Efter många långa timmar i väntan fördes Mona med bindel för ögonen till en annan förhörslokal på andra sidan stan. Där visste man inte vad hennes fall handlade om. Förvirringen var total, men hon fick fortfarande ingen läkarvård. Efter 12 olidliga timmar släpptes hon till slut.

Detta berättar hon från ONTV-studion i Kairo, intervjuad av den legendariske Yusri Foda. Hon är stadig på rösten. Hennes ena arm och handen på den andra ligger i gips, men hon kan röra fingrarna. Hon skulle ut från Studion för att ansluta sig igen till Tahrir-torget trots hennes skador. ”Det som hänt mig”, säger hon utan att darra på rösten, ”är ingenting mot det som egyptiska folket får stå ut med år efter år.” ”Ahmad” (fingerat namn) är en ung nyutexaminerad tandläkare. Han hade dock inte samma tur som Mona. Han deltog i revolutionen den 25 januari mot Mubaraks regim och demonstrerade på Tahrir-torget. Han blev av med ena ögat. Tio månader senare gick ”Ahmad” ut igen för att demonstrera, denna gång mot militären. Han blev av med det andra ögat och är nu helt blind på båda ögonen. ”Ahmad” är bara en av 1 400 (ettusenfyrahundra) människor som blivit av med synen under den egyptiska revolutionen.

Anledningen till att så många blivit blinda är att polisen använder en ammunition som inte dödar utan lämnar offret med hundratals små metallbitar över hela kroppen. Offren får genomgå en mängd operationer för att bli av med dessa metallbitar, och ofta lyckas läkarna inte ta bort alla. Då får man ta med sig en röntgen från sjukhuset om man tänker flyga någonstans, för detektorerna på flygplatsen lär pipa en hel del när man går igenom dem. ”Zeina” (fingerat namn) var en ung nyutexaminerad läkare. Hon bestämde sig för att hjälpa till på fältsjukhusen på Tahrir-torget och ta hand om de tusentals sårade som bars i skytteltrafik mellan gatorna runt Tahrir och själva torget.

”Zeina” hamnade mitt i ett moln av tårgas på väg dit och dog av att inandas den giftiga gasen. För tårgasen som använts nu i november är annorlunda än den som använts i januari. Polisen har fått nya färska leveranser under sommaren… från USA. Det står ”made in Pennsylvania” på de insamlade hylsorna. Hylsorna innehöll tydligen mer än tårgas och har analyserats av experter på hälsodepartementet. Att döma av de spasmer och kramper som offren lider av innehåller detta vapen någon sorts nervgas som går under namnet CR och som använts flitigt i Europa och USA på 60-talet men som förbjöds därefter p g a dess cancerogena innehåll. Hela innerstan i Kairo ligger insvept i ett moln av dessa förbjudna ämnen och det finns rapporter t.o.m. om småbarn som dött inne i lägenheterna.

Vad är det som får alla dessa unga människor att åsidosätta sin framtid och riskera livet gång på gång? Egyptierna, i likhet med samtliga andra araber, lever under polisiära regimer där människovärdet är lika med noll (inte turisternas förstås, bara de egna). Det vet de unga som har vuxit upp i skräck för repressiva apparater, som inte skyr några medel för att underkuva folket. Den egyptiska polisens grymhet blev för uppenbar sommaren 2010 då Khaled Said, en 28-årig programmerare, dödades bestialiskt av två civilklädda poliser mitt på dagen och framför en massa vittnen i Alexandria. Hans brott var att avslöja poliskorruption på youtube. Khaled Said var varken det första eller sista offret för dessa bödlar, vars enda jobb är att skydda regimerna mot folket. Men hans död blev droppen.

Tusentals unga människor startade en facebook-sida som kallats ”Alla är vi Khaled Said”, samma grupp på 70 000 ungdomar som organiserade och ledde revolutionen den 25 januari 2011. Dessa unga revolutionärer, ofta utan någon partitillhörighet, betalar hellre med sina liv idag än finner sig i den repression som utmärkte Mubaraks tid och som inte avtog med militärens ”tillfälliga” övertag i väntan på val och en demokratisk utveckling. I oktober i år körde militären över 27 demonstranter framför tevehuset i Kairo med sina pansarbilar när de skulle demonstrera mot militärens förhalningar som utmärkte dessa tio månader sedan Mubaraks fall. Bilder på likdelar från bårhuset spreds på internet. De flesta av offren var kristna egyptier (kopter).

Senare fängslades Ala Abd al-Fattah, en av Egyptens främsta bloggare och en av eldsjälarna bakom 25 januari-revolutionen, anklagad för ”hets mot armén och vapenstöld”. Som enda bevis hade man ett vittnesmål av en regimvänlig ”journalist” som säger sig ha sett Ala stjäla vapen från en av polisbilarna. Alas enda vapen är hans dator, och det vet alla i Egypten. Det blev igen droppen för de unga som tröttnat på alla politiska partier och allt käbbel om ”valet eller konstitutionen först”, på arméns vaga löften och på oviljan att reformera polisen, då många av de värsta bödlarna blev befordrade istället för att hamna bakom galler. Under det ännu pågående november-upproret stängdes Tahrir-torget för de politiska partiernas representanter. De unga hängde upp stora banderoller vid ingångarna till torget där det stod: ”Politiska partier ej välkomna!” Politiska och religiösa rörelser fick gärna närvara men inte framträda med mikrofoner som de brukar.

Demonstrationen bara i Kairo lär ha samlat över 1 miljon människor fredagen den 25 november, under parollen ”Folket vill störta generalerna!” På Tahrir-torget kom alla de som motsätter sig arméns styre och politikernas korruption att samlas, medan de som vill ha armén kvar vid makten ”tills vidare”, som det heter, samlades i Abbasiyya, nära försvarsdepartementet. Man räknade uppemot några tiotusentals demonstranter för militären. Många egyptier vill idag helst glömma den repression som fick dem att leva som skrämda kaniner i över 30 år och ge armén en chans att rätta till situationen. Men man är också medveten om att arméns ledning är lika insyltad i korruptionen från Mubaraks tid som alla andra makthavare i landet. Revolutionärerna som kämpade mot polisen i januari måste idag kämpa mot både polisen och armén.

I Egypten talas det idag om en hemlig överenskommelse mellan USA, armén och Muslimska brödraskapet, där islamisterna får majoritet i parlamentet medan armén får de facto-styret och USA får behålla Camp David-avtalet oförändrat (vilket inkluderar den skamliga gasaffären där Israel får egyptisk gas nästan gratis). Armén har under Mubaraks tid haft ett enda krig att föra, och det var på börsen. Många blev rika under dessa 30 ”feta” år. Men armén består inte enbart av en ledning, vilket tvingat generalerna att åtminstone låtsas bry sig om folket och ge med sig inför trycket från det stora antalet demonstranter och de egna fotsoldaterna. Att ställa till med ett för stort blodbad på Tahrir-torget skulle frånta dem sista chansen att fortsätta styra landet enligt sina arbetsgivares anvisningar. Vi får inte glömma att samma dag revolutionen startade i januari flögs egyptiska generaler till Pentagon för att rådgöra med sina mästare. Man offrade Mubarak och hans söner helt enkelt för att kunna rädda den gamla regimen. Revolutionen skulle i smyg förvandlas till en palatskupp. Egypten håller andan inför det kommande valet som militärrådet bestämt sig för att hålla trots oroligheterna. Valet kommer att pågå under en hel vecka med början i måndag 28 november. Men resultatet verkar vara känt på förhand. Parlamentet kommer med stor sannolikhet att ha en islamistisk majoritet, men en som respekterar de ingångna avtalen med Israel samtidigt som den får fria händer att ”islamisera” landet, i saudisk stil. Den dagen man bestämmer sig för att ”beslöja” faraoniska statyer och stänga av templen (”för att inte fresta egyptierna att åter dyrka avgudar”, så som man föreslagit från vissa håll) lär bli ytterligare en droppe för en stor del av den trötta egyptiska befolkningen som fått nog av poliser, arméer, israeler, amerikaner och religiösa fanatiker av alla sorter.

Oavsett valets utgång kan ingen demokrati byggas med den poliskår landet har. Polisen har till sitt förfogande en milisstyrka på några hundratusen s k ”baltagiyya”. Dessa utför alla smutsiga uppdrag, infiltrerar demonstrationer, fungerar som spioner, angivare och torterare mm. De presenteras för medierna som ”huliganer” men i själva verket är de en disciplinerad styrka fullt kapabel att sprida skräck bland civilbefolkningen. Revolutionärerna på Tahrir har ställt ett flertal nödvändiga krav för att landet ska börja repa sig. Bland annat att ställa inför rätta alla som visat sig vara inblandade i massakrerna på demonstranter, att upphäva undantagstillståndet som varat i över 30 år och att upphäva militärdomstolarnas domar mot civila demonstranter och åter pröva deras fall inför civila domstolar. (Över 12 000 egyptier har ställts inför militärdomstol sedan januari 2011, och av dessa har över 4 000 blivit dömda till fängelse!) Men det viktigaste kravet är nog det som går ut på att fullständigt omstrukturera det korrupta och fascistoida polisväsendet.

Detta är utan tvivel det mest akuta kravet om demokratiseringen av samhället någonsin ska lyckas. Med en sådan människoföraktande poliskår spelar det föga roll vem som styr i Egypten. Denna åtgärd har fullständigt nonchalerats av det styrande militärrådet. Tio månader har gått till spillo, en dyrbar tid under vilken man hade kunnat vidta nödvändiga steg för en total reformering av polisen, men som istället gick åt till politisk positionering mellan religiösa och sekulära partier och skumma spel bakom lykta dörrar. De revolutionära krafterna i landet är fullt medvetna om detta krav och frågan ventileras ständigt i medierna, som visar en mognad och en medvetenhet som får västerländska medier att te sig som rena farsen.

Men folket kämpar mot ett monster som delvis har skapats av just dessa hycklande krafter i västerlandet. Under skrivande stund nås jag av nyheter om upptrappade konfrontationer mellan polis och demonstranter i Bahrain, 50 mördade i Syrien varav flera barn och kvinnor och en väpnad attack mot saudisk polis som lämnade 4 döda. Jemens president har nu lämnat landet och sökt asyl (”vård”, enligt officiella språkrör) i Saudiarabien, medan de unga i Benghazi demonstrerar mot den nya libyska regeringen som anklagas för att vara en importerad regering. Händelserna i Egypten måste ses mot en allarabisk bakgrund med tanke på landets betydelse i området. Västerlandet och Israel har alltid bekämpat demokratiseringsprocessen i arabvärlden och stött diktaturerna, både sekulära och teokratiska sådana.

Obamas hyllning av det egyptiska folket och deras revolution rimmar illa med USA:s export av internationellt förbjudna vapen till den egyptiska staten. Lyckas demokratiseringen i Egypten lär den spridas till övriga länder i området och särskilt saudierna kommer att ställas inför svåra påtryckningar, vilket inte gynnar västerlandets intressen. Detta förklarar USA:s flirtande med de saudiskstödda muslimska bröderna i Kairo. De arabiska massornas resning har drivit fram krav på etiska revolutioner över hela världen. Storfinansens bästa bundsförvant har varit mörka krafter som spridit religiös fanatism bland de fattiga med hjälp av oljepengar, samtidigt som de hållit repressionen av sina undersåtar med hjälp av vapen från väst. Alltfler araber har börjat förstå detta. Deras revolution är långt ifrån färdig. Den har knappt börjat.

Mona Tahhawi som nyligen arresterats och misshandlats i Kairo för att göra sitt jobb som journalist lyckades twittra om sin belägenhet från en lånad telefon på inrikesministeriet (hennes egen hade förstås stulits under sammandrabbningen med de tafsande poliserna som försökte klä av henne i gränden) och fick hela världen att veta var hon fanns och vad hon råkat ut för. Den tid då man kunde skilja mellan utvecklingen i väst och i resten av världen är förbi. Frågan är när massorna i väst kommer att inse implikationerna av sina regeringars stöd till dessa tyranniska regimer på den egna demokratins framtid. Hesham Bahari Bokförläggare / Alhambra Förlag 26 november 2011

Donnerstag, 10. November 2011

Forskare och läkemedel-företag genomför mänskliga experiment i Afrika


Farid Zakaria den 7 November 2011

En ny rapport kritiserade framträdande institutioner och läkemedel-företag som Pfizer, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University och Population Council för sin inblandning i oetiska och olagliga mänskliga experiment.

I rapporten, som kallas "icke-samtyckande forskning i Afrika: Outsourcing av Tuskegee" med avseende på Tuskegee, Alabama, där olagliga mänskliga experiment 1932-1972 med amerikanska Public Health Service (Public Health Service) utfördes. I detta experiment observerades 600 fattiga svarta amerikaner i en studie om utvecklingen av obehandlade syfilis. Några av männen blev avsiktligt infekterade med syfilis och nekades all healing. Tyvärr, säger rapporten, blev ingen för detta brott mot mänskligheten ställt inför rätta.

Den nya rapporten visar detaljerad mänskliga experiment, som genomfördes av amerikanska forskare och läkemedelsföretag med afrikaner, som vanligtvis inte hade någon utbildning var fattiga och omedvetna om sina rättigheter. De människor lämnas ofta i tron att de får medicinsk behandling från statliga myndigheter hälsa eller genom hälsoministeriet.

Dessa metoder påminner om de fasansfulla experiment som genomfördes av forskare från USA på 40-talet i Guatemala, där hundratals Guamalteker inficierades med könssjukdomar utan deras tillåtelse eller information. Förra året, bad Obama formellt om ursäkt till Guatemala för dessa experiment.
Mänskliga experiment regleras i USA av Office of Research Integrity och olika etiska forskningsinstitut. Många afrikanska länder har inga sådana institutioner. Och om de finns, då är inte oberoende och styrs av korrupta regeringstjänstemän.

Vid en HIV-experiment, som sponsrades av Gilead Sciences, Center for Disease Control och Bill och Melinda Gates Foundation och genomfördes av Family Health International, blev medborgare i Kamerun informerad om experimentet på engelska, även om många bara förstår franska och är analfabeter. Fem kvinnor inficierades med HIV, men fick inga antiretrovirala läkemedel.
I ett annat experiment i Nigeria, som genomfördes av Pfizer-läkarna fick barn sprutor med ett antibiotikum - Trovan kallad - under en Miningitis epidemi, utan medgivande från sina familjer och utan information om biverkningar och syftet med försöket. Elva barn dog och många blev förlamad.

I Sydafrika och Namibia blir HIV-positiva mödrar rutinmässigt steriliserad utan deras tillstånd. Länder som använder sådana metoder är kända för att ta emot pengar till och incitament i form av lån från USAID och andra hjälporganisationer. 

I rapporten sägs att amerikanska forskare och läkemedelsföretag bröt mot lagen och protokoll från Helsingforsdeklarationen (1964) och Belmont rapporten, som föreskriver etiska riktlinjerna för mänskliga experiment.
Dessutom blir resultaten av oetiska och bedrägliga experiment i USA och Europa "tvättad" genom systemet av kolleger-kontroll. Många av de "kollegor", som kontrollerar experimenten, är själva involverade i oetiska beteenden. Andra fruktar möjligheten av professionell alienation när de öppnar munnen.

Författarna gör flera förslag för att stoppa denna praxis. De omfattar kongress-utfrågningar, så att ärendet kommer att göras tillgängliga för allmänheten, liksom nya lagar för att se till att läkemedel inte blir godkända av FDA [för godkännande av läkemedel i USA. D. OB.] om inte forskningen uppfyller etiska principer.

Mittwoch, 9. November 2011

Peru stoppar GMO-grödor



Medan EU:s tjänstemän och politiker inte insett de stora miljö-och hälsoriskerna med GMO-grödor utan sitter och prövar nya godkännande har parlamentet i Peru förbjudit odling av GMO-grödor i 10 år.
Samtidigt har Limas stadsfullmäktige förklarat att huvudstaden (med 8 miljoner invånare) ska ”vara fri från genmodifierade grödor.” Borgmästaren Susanna Villarán kommer också att inleda en kampanj för att informera invånarna om vilken negativ påverkan genförändrade livsmedel har på hälsa och miljö.
I motsats till i Sverige där LRF och landsbygdsminister Eskil Erlandsson är positiva till GMO-grödor säger de peruanska bönderna nej.
Beslutet i Perus regering och i Lima är en ”hyllning till Perus bönder som förser landet med livsmedel från vår rika biologiska mångfald” säger ordföranden i Conveagro (LRF:s motsvarighet) När hörde vi ledande LRF-are tala om biologisk mångfald. Nej där härskar enfalden liksom i landsbygdsdepartementet och på Jordbruksverket i Jönköping.
Den peruanska journalisten Cecilia Remón berättar att det finns en bred uppslutning kring den peruanska kampen mot GMO. Inte bara småbönder, som i andra länder slås ut av genmodifierade grödor,utan även kockar, exportföretag, agronomer och läkare stöder kampen.
Bönderna har också gott stöd av den nyvalde presidenten Ollanta Humala som är indianättling. Det är också bland de indianska småbönderna som GMO-motståndet är som störst.
Hur kan det komma sig att de flesta storbönderna i LRF som många är både lantmästare och agronomer ändå inte inser de uppenbara riskerna med GMO? Det är funderar jag mycket över. Beslutet i Peru är mycket glädjande. Kanske går det ändå att stoppa GMO-galenskapen.
Rune Lanestrands artikel ligger här.

Dienstag, 8. November 2011

Dennis South Comments:

Libya’s Liberation Front Organizing in the Sahel
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Regarding the article by Franklin Lamb 'Libya’s Liberation Front Organizing in the Sahel'


The LLF would best be able to decided what route to take in Libya, of course. I just wonder about the route of elections. What does Al-Qaeda care about elections? What do the rats care about elections? What does the TNC's European and American masters care about elections? They don't even hold honest elections in their own countries. They use various tricks, including the computer-sabotage of voting machines, to steal elections from candidates that do not support the corporate agenda.

Elections? What international body will be respected by the rats and Al-Qaeda? How can any elections be held, when the rats will, no doubt, simply kill any "suspected" pro-Jamahiriya Libyan?

I understand, of course, that the rationale of the LLF entering candidates is so that it would not appear to be "un-democratic." But, the LLF had better listen to this: The masters of the TNC, i.e., Europe and America, are not going to stand for fair elections. They are going to do everything to assure that rats are elected.

They did everything to assure that the rats were imposed on Libya, including killing 90,000 Libyans, destroying all of the Libyan infrastructure, destroying Sirte, killing 30,000 blacks in Tawerga, raping women, dropping bombs for 8 months, non-stop. So now, are we to really believe that elections in Libya will be fair?

I wonder what "elections" Mao held. The Libyan people have to make their own decisions. But the Chinese won their liberation by physically pushing Chiang Kai-Shek out of China and to the Island of Taiwan. The Vietnamese won their liberation by pushing the U.S. out of Vietnam, militarily.

It is always extremely difficult to sit on the sidelines, in a comfortable chair, "running off at the mouth" about what the Libyan people should do. But I cannot help but register my opinion, based on the reality that we have seen for 8 months. Elections were already called for, many months ago, by the representatives of the Jamahiriya. Those calls for elections were ignored by the rats and by the northern countries, because elections are not the point for them. The only point for them is force. That's it. They control through force of arms, and nothing else.

God forgive me if I am wrong for issuing these cautions. But, Europe and the United States are headed by gangsters. Their governments are not legitimate governments at all. Their governments are criminal enterprises, led by thugs.

It is up to the LLF, of course. But, what happens if the LLF loses elections, based on fraud? President George Bush "won" an election based on pure fraud, and it is now common knowledge. If the U.S. government will perpetrate a fraud on 365,000,000 U.S. citizens, then what does the LLF think that the U.S. cares about 5 million or 6 million Libyans? Nothing.

It's time to dream, and it's time to make the dream come true, especially through the youth. There will be no safety for Libya until North Africa unites, despite tribal, philosophical, religious, racial, ethic, differences.

North African unity trumps so-called "elections" in a place where devils exist. I hope that Saharan unity is being discussed, within the LLF, as a political and military option.

The northern countries play hard. The northern countries do not give a shit about democracy. That has to be understood. Perhaps the only place on earth that cared about democracy was the Libyan Jamahiriya.

Long range goal? Unity. Short range goal? Unity. Total unity. There is no choice, and the formations need to begin now, and be maintained and strengthened to completion. I assume that they are beginning now.

The northern countries are making it clear what they are about. The notion of the "sovereignty" of North African countries has to be replaced by the notion of the sovereignty of the North African Union. The rule should be: If you jump on one, you jump on all. If you jump on Libya, you jump on Egypt, and Egypt will fight with Libya.

We all know how Muammar lambasted the Arabs for their back-stabbing disunity. But Muammar has not stopped hoping for that unity. This unity has to soon begin to be talked bout "in the streets" of North Africa; under the tents of North Africa. This must be the talk now: North African Unity and independence. Rely on each other; on Africa; on the socialist countries of South America. It is time--now!

Samstag, 5. November 2011

Libyen: rebellerna rensar befolknigen medan motståndet växer

Den här artikeln har vi mavera att tacka för.


Medan västvärlden försöker skapa en bild av ett ”nytt demokratiskt Libyen” i Benghazi frodas rasismen. Detta har blivit i princip en officiell ideologi bland extremister som numera styr landet. Myndigheter i Benghazi har utfärdat ett ultimatum till de svarta invånarna (främst riktas ultimatum till medborgare från Tchad) att lämna staden förre den 11 november 2011. Efter detta datum hotar myndigheterna att avrätta alla som inte gav sig av. Och detta är inte tomma ord. Rebellerna har visat redan vid väldigt många tillfällen hur de behandlar svarthyade människor.
I en kommuniké som släpptes nyligen av den Internationella organisationen för migration har 200 000 afrikaner från 19 länder flytt från Libyen. Dessa människor bodde och jobbade i Libyen före kriget. Experter tror att den verkliga siffran är ännu högre, eftersom rapporten hänvisar endast till registrerade av IOM personer. Svarta afrikaner har flytt och flyr från områden som kontrolleras av den nuvarande regimen i Libyen. Antalet flyktingar fortsätter att växa.
Afrikanska unionen protesterar mot förföljelsen av svarta som den ”demokratiska” regimen i Libyen utövar. Medan västvärlden låter allmänheten tro att allt är lugnt i det ”fria Libyen”.
avrättning av svarta i Tripoli

Samtidigt fortsätter motståndsrörelsen. Den leds idag av Muammar Gaddafis son Saif al Islam. Trots massivt förtryck av de olika militanta islamistiska grupper, i västra delen av Libyen växer det folkmotstånd. Underjordiska militära grupper bildar successivt en organ
isation och knyter kontakter sinsemellan. I Tripoli och dess förorter fungerar en stridsenhet ”Saif” som är uppdelad i mindre stridsförband.
Bild: Saif Gaddafi och tuareger
Källa: Algeria ISP

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Samstag, 29. Oktober 2011

Läkare och sjuksköterskor flyr från Fukushima

Originalet till den här artikeln från Rune Lanestrand är publiserat den 5 oktober 2011 här.

Den japanska sjukvården har drabbats av stora problem då hundratals läkare och sjuksköterskor säger upp sig och flyttar från Fukushima distriktet. Även i angränsande distrikt säger personal upp sig i rädsla för den radioaktiva strålningen från reaktorhaveriet i Fukushima. Det har visat sig att chefsläkarna är de som först säger upp sig och flyttar till säkrare områden.

Man litar helt enkelt inte på myndigheterna. Prov på cesiumhalt i jord som inte kontrollerats av myndigheterna visar en betydligt högre halt radioaktivitet än de officiella siffror som presenteras. Den japanska strålskyddsmyndigheten tycks, i likhet med den svenska, se som sin främsta uppgift att förringa riskerna med kärnkraften och att lugna folk.

Uppsägningarna har ställt till så stora problem att flera sjukhus har tvingats stänga akutmottagningar nattetid och minska öppettider på många vårdcentraler. Om personalflykten inom sjukvården fortsätter kommer staten troligen att använda den lag som tvingar folk att arbeta inom radioaktiva riskområden. Rädslan för tvångslagen gör att många överväger att lämna landet. En liknande lag finns också i Sverige.

Lagen användes från första stund efter reaktorhaveriet för att tvinga personalen att vara kvar för att arbeta i själva reaktorbyggnaden för att försöka minska utsläppen så mycket som möjligt. Fortfarande läcker ända stora mängder radioaktiva ämnen från Fukushima 1. Den lag som kan tvinga svenskar att arbeta vid en havererad reaktor kan också tvinga svenska medborgare till liknande arbete i ett annat land som drabbats av ett reaktorhaveri.

Finnarna som med bl a pengar från svenska storföretag ska bygga ytterligare ett kärnkraftverk på andra sidan Bottenviken borde tillsammans med kärnkraftskramande svenska politiker göra en gemensam studieresa till Fukushima. För att på ort och ställe konstatera hur hjälplösa myndigheter och företag är mot den lömska radioaktiva strålningen.

Där skulle de också få konstatera att det går en gräns när man inte längre kan köpa folk för pengar. Trots att Fukushima kommun anslagit 450 miljoner yen för rekryteringskampanjer och högre löner fortsätter personalflykten inom sjukvården. Och detta i områden där behovet av sjukvården ökar på grund av strålskador.

Kan bara konstatera; om personalflykten vid japanska sjukhus knappast en stavelse i svenska medier

Donnerstag, 27. Oktober 2011

Korrespondenterna i SVT är värda beröm

Jag tackar Rune Lanestrand för den här biten om vårt käraste dryck - kaffet.
Men för det mesta har vi ingen aning om hur människorna plågas och t o m förgiftas för att vi skall få det på vårt bord.
kaffeträden fordrar mycket jobb
Korrespondenternas har åter gjort ett bra inslag. Kvällens program Beska droppar om Kaffe visade hur farligt arbetarna lever på storböndernas kaffeplantager i Brasilien. Där man sprider farliga växtgifter från flygmaskin. Även när arbetarna vistas ute på fälten.

kaffeböner mogna ojämn
Heder åt Brasiliens småbönder som inte vill använda växtgifter, utan producerar på traditionellt sätt så vi kan köpa och ekologiskt kaffe i butiken.
De stora plantagerna använder Endosulfan ett växtgift som är förbjudet i nästan hela världen. Det är ett insektsgift, som kan ge cancer, utvecklingsstörningar, krampanfall, diaréer och andnöd.

Ingen som sett programmet Beska droppar tror jag kan köpa annat än ekologiskt kaffe i fortsättningen. För tro inte att Endosulfan inte är farligt i det färdigrostade kaffet.

Ekologiskt kaffe finns även med fair trade som är lite dyrare men går till småbrukarnas kooperativ som odlar ekologiskt. Tänk då på att det något högre priset inte bara är bra för din egen hälsa utan också för kaffearbetarna och för att deras miljö och deras jord inte ska förgiftas.

Ja det var ett riktigt intressant program som motvikt till allt strunt och våldsutbud som är allra värst i tv4. Glädjande var också att i kaffekooperativet i Rwanda kunde hutus och tutsis, folkmordet till trots, arbeta tillsammans.
Det kanske ändå finns hopp om mänskligheten trots allt.

Tack till Korrespondenterna i svt 2 som visar att det finns kunniga journalister som tar sitt viktiga yrke på allvar.
Missade du filmen kan du se den här.

Freitag, 21. Oktober 2011

Libyen: Gaddafis påstådda död är bluff

Instämmer helt och hallit med mavera och Stephen Lendman, den mycket renommerade amerikanska bloggaren. Naturligt är de alla - inte bara Clinton - krigsförbrytare: Obama, Sarkozy, Cameron, Merkel. Och alla de skitstövlar som fegt sitter i sina redaktionsfåtöljer jublande över det påstådda mordet av en stor man. Skam går på torra land.

Libyen: Gaddafis påstådda död är bluff

De officiella rapporter som kommer från västerländska massmedier är falska. Gaddafi lever. Om detta berättade Stephen Lendman (amerikansk radiopratare, författare och bloggare).
”Jag är mycket skeptisk till de så kallade officiella rapporter, åtminstone från Nato-länder som deltar i den libyska kampanjen bör misstros” sa han till RT.
Han tror inte heller de senaste nyheterna angående det att Mutassim Gaddafi är också liksom enligt uppgift har dödats just i Sirte.
”Rapporter från västerländsk massmedia är helt förfalskade. Sirte kontrolleras inte av NTC, inte heller Bani Walid och som i själva verket inte Tripoli heller” säger Stephen Lendman. Han beundrar regeringstrogna styrkor (Gaddafis sida) som efter sju månader av hårt motstånd visade världen mest avancerade militära färdigheter och som har förmågan att fortsätta kampen mot västerländska legosoldater och rebeller.
”Västerländska medier ljuger, de officiella rapporterna ljuger”, påstår han.
Lendman kommenterade det senaste uttalande, gjort av Hillary Clinton, om att Gaddafi ska fångas eller dödas. Han sa att för det offentliga uttalandet som den amerikanska utrikesministern gjorde, bör hon betraktas som en krigsförbrytare.


Dessa lögner är USA:s avledningsmanöver. När Gaddafis familj (en son och tre barnbarn) dödade den 30 april i år, har USA serverat världen en nyhet om ”dödandet” av Bin Ladin, som enligt flera källor har varit död redan i flera år.
Nu har USA och Nato släppt en till informationsbomb, för att dels avleda uppmärksamhet från verkligheten, del för att markera seger, två händerna och starta ett nytt krig någon annanstans.
Men det finns verkligen en man som blev verkligen dödad, vilket massmedia håller tyst om. Brutalt mördades i sitt hem (med 12 kulor) en stamledare Ali Ahval från stammen Warfalla. Han var också huvudsamordnare för stamledarna i staden Beni Walid. Han var en lugn och klok gammal man, som blev 80 år gammal. Han använde aldrig vapen. (Källa 1, Källa 2)
EU har högtidligt och officiellt förklarat slut på Muammar Gaddafis ”diktatur” i Libyen och början på en ny kolonisering av Afrika. Nu, enligt F.Reinfeldt, kan börja en ny världsordning.