Before telling them they can change the world teach them to master themselves

In 2013 the suicide rate in the United States was 13 per 100,000 people, the highest recorded rate in 28 years. The U.S. suicide rate also rose 24% over the 15 previous years (1999-2014), [Wikipedia]

Half of British young people have so many 'emotional problems' they cannot focus at school, study finds

... Half of young people said they feel the pressures of getting a job are greater than they were a year ago and more than a third said they did not feel in control of their job prospects.

The eighth Index, based on a survey of 2,215 young people aged 16 to 25, revealed many feel their circumstances are trapping them.

Dame Martina Milburn, chief executive at the Prince’s Trust said: “This report paints a deeply concerning picture of a generation who feel their ability to shape their own future is slipping away from them. ..."  [Telegraph, January 2017]  

Below is a YouTube video of Vietnamese martial arts Grand Master Huỳnh Tuấn Kiệt teaching students at his school, Nam Huỳnh Đạo, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.(1) He is also a qigong ("chi") master. 

Study his effortless evasive move starting at the 7:16 mark, although it happens so fast you'll have to freeze the tape to actually study it.  He then immediately does a variation of the move for students who blinked the first time, and adds a flamenco flourish for fun. 
     
           

He executes a similar evasive move at the 9:14 - 9:18 minute mark in this YouTube video, Kung Fu Master - Very Special Technique of Martial Arts, which is bound to make the student feel he's trying to land a kick on a playful ghost. 

Here are a few more YouTube videos of him teaching, all of them short:
   
Vietnamese Kungfu master shows defense-counter moves

CÔNG PHU NAM HUỲNH ĐẠO - KỸ NĂNG CHIẾN ĐẤU (1)

CÔNG PHU NAM HUỲNH ĐẠO - KỸ NĂNG CHIẾN ĐẤU (2)

There are also videos of his students going through their paces, giving exhibitions, and even one of an exam for the students, which is as impressive as it is entertaining to watch. The school also accepts females and children.

Here is the link to the school's web page.  

From what's shown on YouTube, what I find to be the most striking feature of the training is that it leaves absolutely nothing to the student's guesses.  

In this I see a marked difference between the teaching approaches of Grand Master Huỳnh and Steven Seagal and Bruce Lee. The latter two were also advanced practitioners. They attracted students who wanted to learn a particular martial arts discipline -- Aikido in Seagal's case, and Lee's Jeet Kune Do. But without basic mastery, that's putting the cart before the horse. Students who didn't have the basics mastered could get pretty banged up while studying under those two teachers, and they could get 'lost.'  

I think it was the American film actor James Coburn, who studied with Bruce Lee, who once said that he understood Jeet Kune Do but only when he was in Bruce's presence.   

And what are the basics? Before the student tries to master a particular fighting style, he must first be taught how to master himself.  You can see this in the video about the exam at Nam Huỳnh Đạo. There are young adults and children alike waving their hands to demonstrate to the examiner that they have mastered limber wrists.    

This observation should apply across the board, to all disciplines, all endeavors. But because it doesn't apply in the modern era, children are expected to perform well as adults without first being taught a mastery over themselves, which is the key to adulthood.

Instead, they're told to be the best they can be, that they have great potential, and to make their mark on the world. They're being exhorted to climb to the summit of Mt Everest without ever being taught how to climb to base camp.

The upshot is an almost existential lack of self confidence that shows up in widespread drug addiction, mental and 'behavioral' disorders, and suicides.  

Adults can't keep pointing out to children a very amorphous path to adulthood, then telling them to excel as adults -- and more than excel, to help make the world a better place. Children must first be taught how to develop a sense of self mastery that school activities are obviously not providing many of them.

Even a century ago in America there was a route to self mastery because many boys could still learn a trade from working alongside their fathers and in this way gain basic mastery of the work they'd be doing to support their own family when they married.  And girls worked alongside their mothers and learned mastery of how to be a mother and homemaker.   

It's sidestepping the issue to say that many parents today can't bring their children with them to work and that the work is so specialized the children can't be expected to learn the job. 

So what to do? Mastery of limber wrists, anyone?

1)  There are only very short biographies of the Grand Master and his school available in English on the internet, but here are the three I found, with some overlapping information and -- regarding the date of the school's opening -- contradictory information:

From a visitor's guide to Ho Chi Minh City:

PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY DOJO

Price:
VND 250,000/ 12 classes
VND 300,000/ 24 classes

This centre teaches Nam Huỳnh Đạo, a traditional martial art. There are three specialties: An Dương Vương, Trần Quang Khải and Hoa Phượng. Prices depend on the equipment needed to prepare the students.

The founder of Nam Huỳnh Đạo is grand master Huỳnh Tuấn Kiệt, the seventh generation descendant of warrior general Nguyễn Huỳnh Đức under the Nguyễn dynasty (1748-1819). 

General Nguyễn was both a nobleman and a kung fu master; he played a significant role in founding and developing Gia Định, the southern province of Vietnam. General Nguyễn was the originator of the Huỳnh martial art style.

From the YouTube page accompanying one of the videos; uploaded to YouTube on Mar 13, 2009 by KungFu NamHuynhDao:

Explore the Secrets of Vietnamese Martial Arts

Nam Huỳnh Đạo Martial Arts school officially opened starting on November 24th, 2001. Up to date, the kungfu school has gathered thousands of students, built a staff of experienced, moral and well-respected fellows, and equipped kungfu training halls modernly and professionally.

The founder of Nam Huỳnh Đạo is grand master Huỳnh Tuấn Kiệt, a 7th generation descendant of Warrior General Nguyễn Huỳnh Đức. General Nguyen was both a noble and a kungfu master, and played a significant role in founding and developing Southern of Gia Dinh. It is General Nguyen the origin of the Huynh's martial arts. Temple of General has been recognized as national heritage. It is located in Long An province, [in the] south of Vietnam.

The Master originated from a family whose many generations devoted to Medicine and Martial. He inherited kungfu and medicinal knowledge from his grandfather and father, who were well-known as kungfu and medicinal masters in Long An province. 

Master's father is also the translator and editor of the reference book "Hoàng Hán Y Học", which is one of the valuable works in ancient traditional medicine. Nam Huỳnh Đạo Martial Arts is officially founded to fulfill our ambition to promote Vietnam authentic cultures and traditions.

From the school's website, which shows the school's address, email address (gmail) and phone number:

INTRODUCTION

Nam Huỳnh Đạo Kung Fu school was officially started on September 16th, 1991. Up to date, the kung fu school has gathered thousands of students, built a staff of experienced, moral and well-respected fellows, and equipped the kung fu training centers modernly and professionally. 

The founder of Nam Huỳnh Đạo is Grand master Huỳnh Tuấn Kiệt, the 7th generation descendant of Warrior General Nguyễn Huỳnh Đức under the Nguyen dynasty (1748 – 1819) . General Nguyen was both a noble and a kung fu master, and played a significant role in founding and developing Gia Dinh, the Southern province of Viet Nam. General Nguyen was the originator of the Huỳnh’s Martial art style. 

The Master originated from a family who devoted themselves for many generations to traditional medicine and martial art. He inherited kung fu and medical knowledge from his grandfather and father, who were well-known as kungfu and traditional medical masters in Long An province. 

Master’s father is also the translator and editor of the valued reference book “Hoàng Hán Y Học”, which is one of the valuable works in ancient traditional medicine. 

Based on the foundation of the Huỳnh’s kung fu, in combination with instructional principles from Y Gia, Thái Gia, Phật Gia, and Ancient Traditional Vietnamese Martial Arts, Nam Huỳnh Đạo Kung Fu was officially founded to fulfill our ambition: to promote Vietnamese authentic culture and traditions through the medium of martial arts. 

By doing the cultural exchanges, many martial art associations of both domestic and abroad have visited Nam Huynh Dao. They all are amazed when realizing the genuine values of Vietnamese martial art cultures. Besides, the school has received a great number of invitations to exchange cultures as well as to teach practitioners in many countries.
KUNG FU TYPICAL TECHNIQUES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqMp9BopRlQ

[END INTRODUCTION]

Finally, in answer to question at an internet forum "Is there Vietnamese quigong?"' the answer was yes, and there was this explanation by one poster:

Most Vietnamese martial arts are Chinese Styles which were brought across the border into Viet Nam by Chinese immigrants. However, some are indigenous Vietnamese Styles much influenced by Chinese Kung-Fu Styles, both Buddhist Temple Styles and Taoist Styles, as well as a number of 'family' styles.

Virtually all of these methods include the practice of chi-kung methods, some of which may be common to a number of different schools, and others which are unique to a particular school due to having been created and formulated by a previous Master of that school.

Listed below are a few links to sites which describe the history, training methods, and techniques of individual Vietnamese styles. Check 'em out!

Sifu Stier

http://sevenmountainskungfu.com/htmls/aboutphan.html

http://cclib.nsu.ru/projects/satbi/satbi-e/martart/vietnam.html

http://hong-gia.org/

http://www.arpnet.it/~vodao/ewelcome.htm - 

[END Sifu's entry]

********

Consuming too much copper in common salad ingredients

Certain foods like shellfish, leafy greens, cashews, and chickpeas are naturally high in copper. “These are wonderful things to have as part of our diet, but if somebody is consuming excess they could certainly be at risk” ...

This business of eating excess copper is like that story on cooking oil I featured earlier today. The human body is incredibly resilient but eating high amounts daily of something over time that's not healthy in large amounts can cause problems. 

And it's the old story of the devil in the details. If you're feeling a little out of sorts, then is the time to review everything -- in your personal environment, and everything you're eating and drinking. Granted, that's not easy. But someday it will be common medical practice to give patients a very comprehensive questionnaire and then let the computer do the sorting out.      

     

Feeling Out Of Sorts? It Might Be Something In Your Salad

January 10, 2017

CBS Local New York 

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Kale, coconuts, and avocados could be bad for you.

Experts say there’s something metallic lurking in those foods, in our water, and elsewhere that could be making us feel miserable.

Anxiety, trouble focusing, exhaustion, and an all around mental funk are familiar symptoms for a lot of people.

“People will come in with very non-specific symptoms; they feel moody, have depression, difficulty falling asleep,” Dr. Svetlana Kogan explained.

After some investigation Dr. Kogan — an internist — said she found that copper is increasingly the culprit.

“Copper is an essential element,” she explained.

Like iron, our bodies need copper for normal growth and health, Dr. Kogan said.

Certain foods like shellfish, leafy greens, cashews, and chickpeas are naturally high in copper.

“These are wonderful things to have as part of our diet, but if somebody is consuming excess they could certainly be at risk,” she said.

At risk for a condition known as ‘copper toxicity.’

“If you had six cups of coffee and you’re feeling jittery, that’s the feeling to describe copper toxicity,” she explained.

An increase in vegetable based diets may also be contributing to copper overload, Kogan said.

Environmental exposure to things like copper water pipes may also be a factor.

“We always recommend to have your water tested,” plumber Rod Zadotti said.

Zadotti, with Gold Medal Plumbing, said if the PH of your water is not within a safe range it will start to deteriorate the lining of your copper pipes.

While you might not be able to taste the copper in your water, there are other telltale signs it’s there.

“Bluish stains or greenish stains on their tubs,” Mike Jackson explained.

Jackson is a technical field supervisor at Gold Medal, he recommended a water filtration system.

As for treating copper toxicity, Kogan prescribed an infrared sauna.

“Patient is literally sweating out the toxins,” she said.

More importantly — as she outlines in her book "Diet Slave No More" — Kogan said it’s important to eat foods that are balanced.

“Full of rainbow colored vegetables and fruits, and avoid focusing on one group,” she said.

Prolonged use of estrogen medications such as birth control pulls may also contribute to an increased level of copper in the body.

Several studies have shows that daily exposure to copper can lead to Alzheimer’s Disease and other former of dementia.

[END REPORT]

********

Good prospect for end to Damascus water crisis

Syrian Army, jihadist rebels reach temporary deal in Wadi Barada
By Leith Fadel
11 January 2017

AMN

BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:45 P.M.) - The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and jihadist rebels have reached a temporary deal in the Wadi Barada area of rural Damascus that will allow government workers to repair the Al-Fijah Spring.

Once the Al-Fijah Spring is repaired, water will be restored to the estimated 5 million people living in the capital city and Greater Damascus area.

In exchange for allowing the workers to repair the Al-Fijah Spring, the government will allow for locals in Wadi Barada to have their cases settled by a amnesty committee and the non-locals to be transported to the Idlib Governorate.

If this deal holds between the government and jihadist rebels, then the almost three-week long water crisis should finally end.

[END REPORT]

********

The surprising health risk with highly heated cooking oils. "At the bottom of the list were the Chinese"

The author of the following report recommends using olive oil, which can't be heated to a high temperature.  

Too much heat in the kitchen may increase your risk of heart disease

By Meera Senthilingam
November 5, 2016

CNN

[...]

... we all know to steer clear of deep-fried and oily foods because the extra oil is bad for our hearts (as well as our waistlines). But this new study, published Wednesday in the journal Nutrition, shows that it may be the temperature we're cooking our food at that's the real problem, not the amount of oil we're using.

"When food is heated up to a high temperature, new compounds are created, and some of them are known to be harmful to health," said Raj Bhopal, professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, who led the research. "This is not to do with frying. ... it's more to do with the cooking process, with the temperature."

When foods are cooked at high temperatures, they release chemicals known as neo-formed contaminants, or NFCs. This group includes trans-fatty acids -- or trans fats -- that are known to increase the risk of heart disease. "When the temperature is high, (trans fats) are produced at a very high rate," Bhopal said.

The researchers believe cuisines that typically involve cooking food in hot oils at high temperatures may explain why higher rates of heart disease are seen in certain populations, such as among people of South Asian descent.

South Asians -- including residents of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka -- have a four times greater risk of heart disease than the general population.

Bhopal's own research has investigated this rise in risk among people living in Scotland.

"In Scotland, the highest rates of heart attack are in the Pakistani population," he said, referring to one of his earlier studies. "The next group are Indians."

At the bottom of the list were the Chinese.

"(They) were way down at the bottom," Bhopal said, adding that he was surprised, as all three communities had long been settled in Scotland and lived reasonably similar lifestyles. "The explanation had to be around food."

To find out, Bhopal and his team reviewed all of the available evidence on NFCs and the burden of these chemicals among South Asian and Chinese populations. They also looked at any links between these chemicals and heart disease, combined with a comparison of typical South Asian foods and their preparation methods against that of their Chinese counterparts.

Avoiding the byproducts

"In the Chinese snacks, there are virtually no trans-fatty acids, less than 1% (in some cases)," Bhopal said. "In the Indian snacks, there's a vast amount." The Indian treat jalebi -- fried batter soaked in sugar syrup -- was found to average 17% trans fats and samosas 3.3%.

Bhopal believes the difference comes down to Chinese meals including more boiled foods, lightly fried items and stir-fries, whereas Indian cooking entails longer, deeper frying of foods and the use of pressure cookers. "The emphasis is on the temperature," he stressed.

Even more accurately, the emphasis is on the temperature of your oils.

"This study shows that by heating and frying, you can change what appear to be perfectly healthy oils and make them unhealthy," said Michael Miller, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center, who was not involved in the research. By unhealthy, he means the creation of these chemical byproducts, such as trans fats. "Heart disease can manifest if you (then) reuse oils that have been boiled," Miller added.

The group also looked at other byproducts of heating oils to high temperatures, called advanced glycogen end-products. These are also known to increase the likelihood of heart disease.

Bhopal used the example of cooking a chicken to highlight the vast differences in how much of these byproducts are produced. When a chicken is boiled, this cooking process releases an average of 1,000 glycogen end-products, whereas roasting and frying produce 4,000 and 9,000, respectively. "Different forms of cooking are leading to vastly different results," he said.

"The focus traditionally has looked at the foods themselves, but not the fact you can take relatively healthy food and then make them unhealthy," Miller said. But he also noted that Bhopal's research is hypothetical at this point and needs further investigation.

The researchers haven't "actually tested a population," he said. "But this is a good background story that I agree with."

How to cool down

The team now hopes to explore heart rates in comparison to cooking methods among a population.

In the meantime, however, both Bhopal and Miller suggest reducing the heat in the kitchen -- and in your takeout box.

"It makes sense to avoid snacks that are cooked in high-temperature oils," said Bhopal, who himself has now switched to cooking olive oil. "Olive oil does not heat up to a very high temperature," he said.

Miller agreed. "Try not to boil oils ... and it's best to avoid fried foods," he said.

But both note that people can't avoid these types of food and cooking methods at all times and, as with anything, suggest the need for moderation.

"Eating one meal is not going to do it, but it's doing it day in, day out, on a daily basis," Miller said.

[END REPORT]

********

Swedish Monkey See Monkey Do

Flickr/Sunny Ripert

Sweden Claims Sputnik to Influence Their Elections, Presents Evidence-Free Report
13:03 11.01.2017 (updated 13:25 11.01.2017)
Sputnik

"UI is the Swedish Armed Forces' informal press department and should be taken with a grain of salt. However, it's hardly surprising that a body that habitually fences off half of the Stockholm Archipelago to hunt non-existent Russian submarines also produces reports on Russian psy-ops that don't exist either," Widar Nord told Swedish news outlet Nyheter Idag.

sigh.

*********

Stratfor's backgrounder on FATA and Islamabad's attempt to bring 'order' there

In Pakistan, a Region Struggles to Resist Its History
Geopolitical Diary JANUARY 11, 2017 | 01:44 GMT

Stratfor

********

Disappearance of 4 Pakistani human rights bloggers: government hand feared

Photo: AFP via BBC

"[Pakistani] law includes provisions that allow the government to censor online content, criminalize internet user activity, and access internet users’ data without judicial review." - HRW (see report below)

"Both Saeed and Goraya help run the Mochi Facebook page critical of Pakistan’s powerful military. The page has recently criticised the army’s heavy-handed crackdown on political groups in Karachi, alleged corruption amongst senior officers and accused the military of interfering in national politics." - The Guardian

"Many [Pakistanis] believe the civilian government is feigning ignorance about the men's whereabouts, and see that as all the more reason to believe that military intelligence operatives are involved. While pro-democracy activists have gone missing, the mosque-madrassah jihadi networks continue to occupy vast spaces in public discourse and social media in Pakistan." - BBC


Pakistan: Bloggers Feared Abducted

January 10, 2017
Human Rights Watch

(New York) – The Pakistani government should urgently investigate the apparent abductions of four activists who campaign for human rights and religious freedom, Human Rights Watch said today. The four men, Salman Haider, a well-known poet and academic, and bloggers Waqas Goraya, Aasim Saeed, and Ahmad Raza Naseer, went missing or were taken away from different cities between January 4 and January 7, 2017.

All four men were vocal critics of militant religious groups and Pakistan’s military establishment, and used the internet to disseminate their views. Their near simultaneous disappearance and the government’s shutting down of their websites and blogs raises grave concerns of government involvement. 

While the Pakistani interior minister, Nisar Ali Khan, directed the police on January 7 to speed up efforts to locate Haider, whom the government says it is not holding, a broader effort is needed to uncover the whereabouts and well-being of all four men.

“The Pakistani government has an immediate obligation to locate the four missing human rights activists and act to ensure their safety,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “The nature of these apparent abductions puts the Nawaz Sharif government on notice that it can either be part of the solution or it will be held responsible for its role in the problem.”

Goraya, an anthropologist who blogged on issues of religious freedom, and Saeed, a blogger and an administrator of a Facebook page hosting progressive views critical of religious extremists and Pakistan’s security policies, were reported missing from Wapda Town, Lahore, on January 4.

Haider, a poet and professor at Fatima Jinnah Women University, went missing on the evening of January 6. His wife received a text message telling her to pick Salman’s car from Koral Chowk, Islamabad. The family has not heard from Salman or the abductors since.

On January 7, unidentified men took away Naseer, a blogger running a Facebook page broadcasting secular, progressive views, from his family’s shop in Sheikhupura, Punjab.

The government’s failure to provide information on the fate or whereabouts of a person taken into custody amounts to an enforced disappearance, which is a serious violation of international human rights law. “Disappearances” place individuals outside the protection of the law and make them more vulnerable to torture and other abuses.

After the four activists went missing, messages on social media have accused them of blasphemy and other crimes, heightening concerns for their safety.

Pakistani journalists and activists face an increasingly hostile climate due to harassment, threats, and violence from both state security forces and militant groups. 

In August 2016, the Pakistani government enacted a vague and overbroad cybercrimes law that threatens rights of privacy and freedom of expression. The law includes provisions that allow the government to censor online content, criminalize internet user activity, and access internet users’ data without judicial review.

Pakistan’s security establishment has a long history of intimidating critics. Pakistani and international human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have extensively documented the intimidation, torture, enforced disappearances, and killings of activists and journalists. The Taliban and other armed groups have also threatened media outlets and targeted journalists and activists for their work.

In April 2015, prominent rights activist Sabeen Mahmud was killed by militants. The principal planner of her assassination later said that he killed her because, “she was generally promoting liberal, secular values.”

In May 2014, Rashid Rehman, a human rights activist and lawyer, was assassinated by militants in an apparent reprisal for his willingness to represent people charged under Pakistan’s blasphemy law.

In April 2014, unidentified gunmen attacked Hamid Mir, one of Pakistan’s most prominent television anchors in Karachi. Mir survived the attack, and Jang/Geo – his employer and the country’s largest media conglomerate – accused the director general of the government’s powerful Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) agency of involvement in the incident.

Saleem Shahzad, a reporter for the Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online and for Adnkronos International, the Italian news agency, disappeared from central Islamabad on the evening of May 29, 2011. Shahzad’s body, bearing visible signs of torture, was discovered two days later near Mandi Bahauddin, 80 miles southeast of the capital.

“The government needs to reduce the insecurity faced by journalists and activists, which has a severe chilling effect on their work,” Adams said. “This requires the government holding responsible the militants – and its own security agencies – that threaten and attack them.”

[END REPORT]

*********

Brief review ahead of Syrian peace talks in Astana on Jan 23

28 Dec 2016 

Hundreds of families return to snow-covered E. Aleppo

Russian Fleet Leaving Mediterranean Sea Ready to Return to Syria's Waters in Case of Emergency

10 Jan 2017, FARS

Qatar claims responsibility for war against Syria

2 Dec 2016, Voltaire Network

Turkey seems to have turned against Daesh

28 Dec 2016, Voltaire Network


Syrian Army seizes Turkish weapons supply destined for jihadist rebels in Hama

10 Jan 2017, AMN

The Syrian cease-fire documents (complete)

1 Jan 2017, Voltaire Network

Why Saudi Arabia and Qatar are not Part of Syrian Ceasefire Deal
2 Jan 2017, Sputnik

Who appointed Sen. McCain the viceroy of Syria?
John McCain: We have a stake in Syria, yet we have done nothing

22 Dec 2016, The Washington Post

Who appointed Chancellor Merkel the viceroy of Syria?
Berlin Calls for Discussion of Assad's Future at Astana Talks on Syria

2 Jan 2017, Sputnik

Turkey’s about-face

3 Jan 2017, Voltaire Network

"President Vladimir Putin has announced that he has concluded a cease-fire agreement for Syria, with Turkey, which until now has been the main operational support for the jihadists. How may we explain this astonishing turn of events? ..."

Pro-British Groups hostile to intra-Syrian negotiations over Astana

3 Jan 2017, Voltaire Network

Uninvited Saudis, Qatar Behind Syrian Rebel Groups Boycotting Peace Talks

4 Jan 2017, Sputnik

Life After War: Syria's First Steps Toward Peace

5 Jan 2017, Sputnik

What Mainstream Media Won't Show You: Life in 'Fallen' Aleppo Returns to Normal

4 Jan 2017, Sputnik

Thousands Return to Now Peaceful Aleppo But You Won’t See It on CNN
5 Jan 2017, Sputnik

SYRIAN WAR REPORT – JANUARY 5, 2017: CONFLICT IS HEADING TO ITS TURNING POINT

SouthFront

The awful toll of the Syrian war grinds on 

UP TO 60 KILLED AS RESULT OF CAR BOMB ATTACK IN SYRIAN BORDER TOWN OF AZAZ

Jan 7, 2017, SouthFront

UN: Water shortage in Damascus is a war crime;

6 Jan 2017, AMN

A 'Humanitarian NGO' [White Helmets] deprives 5.6 million civilians of water

7 Jan 2017, Voltaire Network

British Intelligence Agency behind White Helmets' Lies in Syria

22 Dec 2016, FARS

EXCLUSIVE: Sputnik Reports From Terrorist Chemical Factory in Aleppo (VIDEO)
29 Dec 2016, Sputnik

How ISIS Ended Up Stocked with American Weapons

18 Aug 2014, Alternet

********

Is Obama helping Islamic State and al Qaeda destroy Syria's public utilities? (UPDATED 7:20am EST)

(The update is a postscript at the end of this post.)  

"b" at Moon of Alabama clearly thinks so. From his January 9 post, ISIS, Al-Qaeda and U.S. Air Force Wage War On Syria's Public Utilities:

[...]

Currently a campaign is waged by the Takfiri forces opposing the Syrian government and by the U.S. to deprive the people under its protection of all public utilities - water, gas and electricity. After the start of the current blocking of the water supplies to Damascus and its 5.6 million inhabitants we noted:

This shut-down is part of a wider, seemingly coordinated strategy to deprive all government held areas of utility supplies. Two days ago the Islamic State shut down a major water intake for Aleppo from the Euphrates. High voltage electricity masts on lines feeding Damascus have been destroyed and repair teams, unlike before, denied access. Gas supplies to parts of Damascus are also cut.

This campaign against basic infrastructure has since continued. U.S. supported "rebel" groups take part in it. Al-Qaeda in Syria, aka Jabhat al Nusra, does its share in Wadi Barada. The U.S. military just bombed another Syrian power station. In 2015 it had already waged a campaign against such installations, creating huge material damages.

Since three days Deir Ezzor and surroundings have no electricity at all.

Yesterday ISIS again joined the campaign and blew up a huge gas processing facility in Hayyan in east Homs. Hayyan is the largest such station in Syria and provided electricity, heating gas and cooking gas for all of south Syria including the capital Damascus.

This is a systematic, wide-ranging campaign against Syrian infrastructure designed to deprive the people living under government protection of the basic necessities.

If you asked the U.S. government it would of course say that such a campaign does not exist and is totally not coordinated by the U.S. and its Gulf proxies. [The government would say it] is just coincidence that U.S. supported "rebels", al-Qaeda, ISIS and the U.S. air force all hit the same category of targets in Syria at the very same moment in their war against the Syrian people.

[...]

Okay, but consider what Thierry Meyssan at Voltaire Network dug up and published on January 7, and which involves the White Helmets:

A «Humanitarian NGO» deprives 5.6 million civilians of water

The Jihadists, who since 24 December 2016 have been polluting the sources of Barada -- the river which provides the water supply for the inhabitants (now totalling more than 7 million) of Damascus and the region -- and that have exploded its canalization, have published a declaration [above] laying down their conditions.

Currently, 5.6 million civilians have been completely cut off from running water for more than two weeks. The authorities have managed to harness lorries with tanks to supply the population, once or twice a fortnight, with non-potable water, at the rate of 50 litres per family. In addition to the containers that they could fill for washing themselves and their washing up, the inhabitants have to buy mineral water to consume drinking water.

Under the «Declaration of Barada», the jihadists will not allow engineers to clean and restore the sources of Barada unless the Arab Syrian Army and the Hezbollah stop fighting (that is, if the Arab Syrian Republic surrenders).

In a letter addressed to the Security Council, Syria has denounced the planning of this operation by the powers that support and arm the jihadists. 

The Document features seven jihadist signatory groups and one of these is the « White Helmets », called « the Syrian Civil Defense ». This « humanitarian NGO » (sic) has been created and is led by an MI6 officer, James Le Mesurier, who had been elevated by Queen Elizabeth, in 2016, to the position of Officer of the British Empire. This organization floods the media with shocking images meant to prove “the crimes of the regime”. It has often been demonstrated that the images are no more than the acting out of pure propaganda.

Testimony has been delivered on the participation of this « Humanitarian NGO ». The Russian Minister of Defense has described it as« close to Al-Qaeda ».

The White Helmets are funded by Germany, Denmark, the United States, France, Japan, Holland and the United Kingdom.

On 19 October, the President of the French Republic, François Hollande, his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Marc Ayrault, and the President of Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly, Elisabeth Guigou received at the Elysee, a delegation of White Helmets including the Chair of the “Civil” committee of Aleppo (sic) the self-proclaimed «Mayor of Aleppo» (re-sic), Hagi Hasan Brita.

France had presented to no avail, the candidature of the White Helmets for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In international law, depriving civilians of water is considered a war crime.

[The only person I recognize in the photo is Hollande]

Translation Anoosha Boralessa
[END REPORT]

I wish Thierry had named all the "jihadi" signatories to the document, which could provide more clues about who ordered the strikes against the utilities.  

But for now, I don't consider the Gulf Arab governments to be U.S. "proxies," as b termed them. And I can't see Al Thani or Al Saud taking orders from President Obama with regard to Syria. 

I do see the British and possibly also the French government taking orders from Al Saud when it comes to the campaign in Syria. And when I consider the Saudi campaign in Yemen, which has consistently targeted civilians and critical civilian infrastructure, the concerted attack on Syria's public utilities is something I can easily imagine the Saudis ordering.

Add to this the White Helmets, who while funded by a variety of governments was clearly the brainchild of the British government. Given that line of reasoning, I'd assume that they take their orders from MI6.  

So when I put it all together, I'd want to know whether b is certain that it was a U.S. jet(s) that bombed a power station, or a jet that is part of the U.S.-led coalition operating in Syria. Such as a British or French jet.  (Confusion about the identity of a jet in the coalition has happened before during the Syria campaign.)

This isn't to let the U.S. government off the hook. But if my reasoning is in the ballpark, then the accusation should be broadened to include governments in the coalition that have bomber planes operating in Syria. 

And I note that from Thierry's description of the letter of protest sent by Syria's government to the UN Security Council, the Syrians seem to believe more than one foreign government is involved in ordering attacks on the utilities.

As Thierry notes, depriving civilians of water is a war crime. This returns me to the copy of the document that Thierry posted, and the question about the other signatories. If most or all take their orders from Al Saud/Thani, I think that should raise a red flag about which government(s) ordered the attacks on the public utilities.

I also think b has presented enough information to make it a plausible argument that one or more governments in the U.S.-led coalition did indeed collude with acknowledged terror organizations to attack Syrian utilities.

Postscript

I think it's important to attempt to nail down whether governments other than the U.S. are involved with the terrorist attacks on the utilities because the Obama administration will be gone in a few days. And even if they could eventually be held accountable, the task is to get the attacks stopped quickly. 

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You'll never guess what my government has done now in Syria

Just settle right on in, make yourselves at home.    

US Military Helicopters Transfer Heavy Weapons to Key Region in Syria's Hasaka

9 January 2017

FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- Kurdish media sources disclosed that a large volume of heavy arms have been transferred by the US army helicopters to the Live Stone region along a road to Hasaka in Northeastern Syria.

Asia news quoted a source as saying that the Kurdish forces closed the road connecting al-Darbasiyeh to Hasaka and did not allow any vehicle to enter Live Stone region to secure deployment of the heavy weapons by the US helicopters.

Asia news further added that since the start of the second phase of the Euphrates Rage Operation in Raqqa, this is the first time that the US forces have transferred heavy weapons to Live Stone region near Hasaka city, meaning that the weapons won't be sent to Raqqa battlefields and will remain in the Kurdish regions in Hasaka.

According to reports, the weapons shipped to Live Stone region will likely be used in the third phase of the Euphrates Rage Operation.

The second phase of the Raqqa operation is nearing its end as the Kurdish fighters are reaching al-Tabaqa dam.

Informed sources disclosed in mid-November that the US forces intensified efforts to build a new military base in a region controlled by the Kurdish-led Democratic Union Party in Western Hasaka,

"The US forces have started to rapidly equip a military base in Jabal (mount) Abdul Aziz in the region under the control of the Democratic Union Party, an ally of Washington in Northern Syria," the sources said.

Sham Time quoted Zaman al-Wasl as saying that the Kurdish forces with the cooperation of the US soldiers cut hundreds of trees in the village of Maqloujeh near Jabal Abdul Aziz 30 kilometers to the West of Hasaka in order to build a landing platform for US army and US-led coalition forces' helicopters.

"The US forces started to equip the base after cutting the trees," the sources said.

"A group of US soldiers went to the village in military vehicles every day. But, they started to equip the base under the tight security measures of the Kurdish forces in Maqloujeh in recent days. The US forces have separated the base from the village by trenches and soil walls. They have tuned the base and its surrounding areas up to the Sakriyeh ancient citadel into a military zone," they added.

[END REPORT]

Did I mention that former British Army fighters --mercenaries -- have also decided to muck around in Syria, ostensibly to fight Islamic State? The British military has also decided to move in, of course without asking Syria's government.

Photo/UK Ministry of Defence

Britain Getting Ready to 'Rival Russia's Success' in Syria
27 Dec 2016
Sputnik

Commenting on reports in the British media that the UK is getting ready to "pivot" its focus from Iraq to Syria and "is preparing to mount a major offensive in Syria next year," Russian security expert Sergei Sokolov has explained to Radio Sputnik the real reason behind this move.

The UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) is "preparing to mount a major offensive in Syria next year as it takes the fight against ISIL (Daesh, Islamic State) to the "heart of the caliphate" in Raqqa," British national daily The Telegraph reported on Sunday.

t quoted senior military sources as saying that from next spring the RAF is "likely to 'pivot' its focus from Iraq to Syria as it seeks to bolster rebel forces fighting Syria."

The newspaper said that last year the RAF mounted just 60 air strikes in Syria compared to 347 in Iraq. However Britain hopes that Mosul will be "re-taken by spring of next year," which will enable "RAF Typhoons, Tornados and Reaper drones to mount a fresh offensive in Syria."

Commenting on the above reports, Russian expert from the Federal Information Center Analysis and Security Sergei Sokolov explained to Radio Sputnik that the UK simply wants to rival the successes of the Russian Aerospace Forces and Syrian government troops in Syria. "Neither the US nor the UK ask for any permission for such activities or support it with any international documents," he told Sputnik.

[END REPORT]

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Wow. Trump, Jack Ma discuss creating 1m small business jobs in USA

Jack Ma arrives at Trump Tower for meeting with Trump! 

Photo: Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images

Alibaba's Jack Ma says job creation will focus on small business
By Anita Balakrishnan

January 9, 2017 - 12:15 EST

CNBC

President-elect Donald Trump said he had a "great meeting" with Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma on Monday, when they were scheduled to discuss plans to create 1 million new U.S. jobs over the next five years.

Ma said that Alibaba's expansion would focus on products like garments, wine and fruits, especially in the Midwest.

"We're focused on small business," Ma told reporters. "We specifically talked about ... supporting 1 million small businesses, especially in the Midwest of America. Small businesses on the platform selling products — agriculture products and America services — to China and Asia."

The Monday meeting was planned to focus on the Chinese e-commerce company's U.S. expansion plans, according to spokespeople for both Alibaba and Trump.

[...]

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Events in Turkey, Cyprus suggest prime reason for US "Russia Hacker" hoax

Here I'm going to disagree with No Quarter's Larry Johnson a little. In his opinion, "... there is a high probability that Obama and [DNI James] Clapper have conspired to try to discredit the Trump election by suggesting that the Russians tipped the scales in favor of Trump."  

That could be one reason for the hoax but I think Messrs. Obama and Clapper, and the CIA's John Brennan, have had bigger fish to fry. I think the prime target of the Russia hacker hoax is RT (Russia Today) television broadcasts in the USA. 

But why go to all that trouble just to attack a TV station with a small audience in this country? Here's how I call it: 

Since the inception of Nato, Washington has not had an American foreign policy; it's had a Nato policy, no matter which U.S. political party or president is in power.(1) To mask this fact and control the American electorate's responses to Nato initiatives, it's been paramount that it's informed as little as possible about political events in Europe (to include the U.K.) and Turkey. 

Even when a crisis in those regions makes it impossible to quash the news in the USA, information about the crisis is shaped to the NATO view of events by a complicit American mainstream mass media, notably television. 

Differences between U.S. TV outlets in their editorial views applies only to American domestic politics; with regard to European events, all the outlets are Natoist in their reporting. (2)  RT's English-language television programming for U.S. audiences provides Americans with a view of Nato (and EU) countries that is outside the Nato 'filter' of reportage.

In fact, RT's coverage of Europe is the only striking aspect of its news coverage for American audiences. Thus, complaints from the U.S. Congress that RT TV presents a negative view of the USA to American viewers ring hollow. RT's reporting on American domestic matters is virtually the same as can be found on American cable mainstream TV outlets. It is in the reporting on Europe (and Turkey) where there is a stark difference between U.S. and Russian television news.(3)

Reportedly it's the British government that has been the most upset about RT television's impact in Europe; the argument in the USA is that RT doesn't have that large an audience here to warrant Washington's concern. 

However, RT was the first news media outlet to meet the 1 billion viewer benchmark on YouTube; virtually all RT programming can be viewed there. 

And while I don't know about the rest of the USA, here in the Greater Washington, DC area, which comprises the District of Columbia and parts of Virginia and Maryland, RT was included in the basic viewer package for RCN cable TV. At least this was so until a few months ago, when RT was removed from the basic package.  

The point is that while RT TV doesn't have a large audience in the USA, it does have an audience. Given the remarkable difference between RT's reporting on Europe and that of US television, you may trust that many American TV viewers got an earful, for the first time in their lives, about doings in Europe. And this has been happening at a time when vast changes are occurring on the Continent, in Turkey, and in the United Kingdom -- all of which greatly impact Nato.

One doesn't need look further than today's headline at Sputnik about Turkey (Turkish Police Dispersing Protests Against Constitutional Changes in Ankara) or Voltaire Network's report on U.S. government machinations against Cyprus (Building Totalitarianism in Europe – The Last Coup of Victoria Nuland) to understand why Washington prefers that the less the American public knows about Nato matters, the better. If this means that RT, along with Sputnik, another Russian news outlet, must be designated as foreign agents and RT television banned in the USA, so be it.

Will RT be defended by free speech advocates in the USA? Protection of free speech has eroded in the United States, once the bastion of freedom of speech, over the course of Obama's presidency. 

And the verbal attacks on Americans who attempt to discuss Russia objectively are no longer limited to Americans writing at websites and in print media. Today anyone working even at a major American TV news outlet who'd defend RT's right to broadcast in the United States would risk being branded as an influence agent for the Russian government. 

Recently Fox TV host Tucker Carlson, an American, was publicly accused by a Member of Congress of being a Russian influence agent because he questioned the claim that the Kremlin cyber-hacked its way to influencing the American presidential election. 

Leveling such an accusation at Tucker is somewhat like saying President Ronald Reagan was a Soviet spy. Yet the politician went so far as to say that Tucker would be better off reporting for RT:     

In closing I note that the Russia hacking hysteria has spread to Europe. See the Financial Times, January 8, EU suffers jump in aggressive cyber attacks: Anxiety increases about potential Russian meddling in European politics.

(1) This explains why U.S. policy on Latin America and the Caribbean is perpetually fogbound despite the proximity to the USA of those regions: the NATO command has little interest in that world region although various EU countries that belong to NATO have large business interests in Latin America.  

(2) The exception is U.S. public TV broadcasting stations (PBS), which for more than a generation have been a conduit for the British government's views in their news reportage. 

Here I recall an American blogger who got so upset about post-9/11 reporting on the PBS NewsHour that she exclaimed she was going to turn to the BBC in hopes of getting more objective news reports than she could find on American TV.  

She didn't realize that all the video footage on foreign countries that was used by the NewsHour was from the BBC, and that the show's editorial viewpoint on international matters was taken from the BBC.  (This explains the endless re-runs of old British comedy shows on PBS; the shows are included free with the video news feeds that PBS buys from the BBC.)        

(3)   It's moot whether this filtering of European news was good or bad for Americans while the Soviet Union existed. While on balance it's better to have objective reporting on world regions, as long as Nato countries marched more or less in lockstep during the Cold War, no great harm was done to American interests by the filter. 

After the USSR dissolved, and with the rise of the European Union, that is why it has become increasingly important for Americans to be better informed about the doings of other Nato governments.  

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