Precisely why Russian action against Saudi Arabia’s proxy militias of fanatics is against western interests is something which nobody in the western elite seems to believe it is necessary to explain. That Russia is bad and evil and must be opposed is another one of those axiomatic beliefs of the governing elite, which they can’t bring themselves to believe the public do not wholeheartedly share. Equally they cannot quite understand why we the people do not see the necessity of backing the Saudi regime.
I am a stern critic of Russia’s democratic deficit, human rights record, and gangster dominated economy and government. But on all these counts it is still a thousand times better than Saudi Arabia, and I am quite certain that 99% of Europeans would be happier living in St Petersburg than Riyadh.
If the Russians turn back CIA and Saudi-backed rebels I for one shall be delighted.
Russian activity in Syria is nothing whatsoever to do with NATO. The Syrian rebels under attack by Russia are not members of NATO. Russia is not attacking Turkey and there is no chance whatsoever that Russia would deliberately attack Turkey. So the suggestion of NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg that NATO will send forces to protect Southern Turkey is absolute madness. In the Iraq War, two of the United States “pinpoint accurate” cruise missiles aimed at Baghdad actually hit Syria. At some stage Russia is going to accidentally hit something in Turkey, it is the nature of war. It is like playing football in the garden – it is inevitable the ball will go over the neighbours’ fence at some stage, however careful you are.
Increasing the amount of military hardware in Turkey – which is already extremely militarised and already full of US forces – just increases the political temperature and chances of something going disastrously wrong, with no possible gain except making the stupid western countries who messed up the Middle East feel less envious of Putin.
NATO countries have caused the crisis in the Middle East through their disastrous and criminal invasions. Russia is not and could never be strong enough to launch an actual attack on western Europe even if Russia wanted to – which Russia most certainly does not. Just like Trident missiles, NATO was no use to the United States on 9/11 and is no use against any actual challenge we face in the world. It exists to perpetuate the dominance of a neo-con elite and ensure massive income to the arms industry.
NATO’s attempts to build up forces around Syria and around the Baltic show that NATO’s over-activity poses the only viable threat of a disastrous world war. Ask yourself this question. Why does the USA, a country which faces no risk of invasion from anybody, account for 44% of the military spending of the whole world? NATO exists solely for client states to assist the projection of US military power abroad. Every decent European should be campaigning for their country to leave NATO.
If it’s “true” that Russian life expectancy is 70 (I use the inverted commas because there is no “true” figure for life expectancy at birth, any more than one can talk about the “true” probability of Tottenham Hotspur winning their next home game), then actually there must have been a lot of progress (on the average) over the last 10-20 years, because the stated figure used to be a LOT lower.
(Link.)
Stated figures are now 64 male, 76 female. I think in the early noughties the male figure was in the 50s. It dropped fast in the mid-90s, at a rate of about one year per year.
Average figures for life expectancy are of little use, given that the differential in life expectancy between rich and poor areas of the same city in an “advanced” country – whether in Russia or Britain – is probably considerably more than 20 years.
But these graphs for the male and female figures in Russia are probably quite “accurate”.
—-
[ Mod: This poster has variously posted as “N_”, “John T”, and “You must be joking about Tommy Sheridan”
Kindly choose one ID, and stick to it if you wish to continue posting here. ]
Good article. In Syria Obama is playing a losing game.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/10/09/in-syria-obama-is-playing-a-losing-game/
Ashton is just another barely functioning useless NeoCon puppet blowhard eejit they throw up there to gush more drivel at us.
Just ignore the cardboard cutout fuckwit.
He’s laughable in his confused servitude.
Also ‘Crazed and Dangerous’. The IDF.
‘They shoot women, don’t they?’ to paraphrase that film title.
Video: Israelis Shoot Motionless Arab Woman
by Jonathan Cook / October 9th, 2015
In the age of phone cameras, we have become increasingly used to photos and videos of Palestinians in the West Bank being shot by soldiers in unjustifiable circumstances.
Think of 18-year-old Hadeel Hashlamon, who was killed late last month at a checkpoint in Hebron. A series of photos of her suggest, in the words of Amnesty International, that she was “executed” by the soldiers there. She was shot multiple times and left to bleed to death.
[..]
Israa Abed, a 30-year-old mother of three from Nazareth, was shot today at the central bus station in Afula, close to Nazareth. She was surrounded by many soldiers, police and what appear to be armed Israeli civilians. The soldiers there are probably passengers on the many buses that pass through Afula.
The Israeli media initially reported that she was shot while trying to stab a security guard. The video (below) shows that to be definitively not the case. She is shot after long moments of standing apparently terrified in the bus station, in what looks like a state of all-consuming panic, as more and more people point their guns at her.’
/..
http://dissidentvoice.org/2015/10/video-israelis-shoot-motionless-arab-woman/
and
‘Palestinian medical sources said the six Palestinians were shot dead and many others wounded in two separate incidents in Gaza on Friday when Israeli troops opened fire.
The Palestinians had been protesting in solidarity with Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The Israeli military said more than 1,000 rioters had massed at the border fence, throwing a grenade and rocks, and rolling burning tyres at Israeli forces.
After firing warning shots, troops fired towards the “main instigators” to disperse the riot, a military statement said.
In Israel on Friday, police reported an apparently “nationalistic” attack by an Israeli, who they say stabbed two Israeli Bedouins and two Palestinians.
The attack in the southern city of Dimona was apparently in retaliation for stabbing attacks on Israeli Jews this week. The suspect was arrested.’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34493674
The increasingly violent situation stems mainly from Israeli provocation at Al Aqsa. Many instances reported here.
https://electronicintifada.net/search/site/AL%20aqsa
Fred
9 Oct, 2015 – 9:48 pm
[By the looks of it, Russia is hammering IS’ war-fighting abilities.]
“No they aren’t. Russia is claiming to be attacking ISIS but their bombs and missiles are actually falling on the Free Syrian Army.”
……………………………………………………………
Who told you that Fred?
Do you only read Murdoch’s headlines?
10.10.2015 Author: Jim Dean
US and NATO Launch Disinformation Terror War
Column: Politics
Region: Middle East
Country: Syria
8833352543764“If the United States is pushed out of the Middle East, it is not going to survive“…Zbigniew Brzezinski, CNN interview with daughter Mica
It has been quite a show watching panic set in at the Pentagon, White House and NATO, as the modest Russian air campaign began tearing up the terrorist infrastructure in northern Syria. Forty percent is claimed to have been destroyed the first week in preparation for a Syrian ground offensive, which has now started.
As Russia has fully complied with all international legalities, which the Western coalition has ignored, it left the West with only more lies and deceptions to protect its terror brigades inside of Syria.
/..
http://journal-neo.org/2015/10/10/us-and-nato-launch-disinformation-terror-war/
I have not come across this website before. It has a Moscow address.
http://journal-neo.org/about/
Good analysis;
http://journal-neo.org/2015/10/10/us-and-nato-launch-disinformation-terror-war/
Snap Mary ! 🙂
“I have not come across this website before. It has a Moscow address.”
I assume you posted it for it’s content regardless of where the Site is hosted !
I said that to save the trolls bothering to say it. 🙂
I picked it up from Medialens. http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/thread/1444454402.html
Some good news from a major corporation and for a change reported in the corporate media:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/09/m-and-s-hand-out-thousands-tonnes-food-waste-neighbourly
“M&S moves to hand out thousands of tonnes of food waste” 😉
@Mary, they seem to be rather absent lately, probably due to their blinkered world view being shattered as the “ungrateful” Iraqis & Afghans cosy up to the “evil” Russians ! 😀
M&S moves to hand out thousands of tonnes of food waste
http://.www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/09/m-and-s-hand-out-thousands-tonnes-food-waste-neighbourly
Some goodness of a corporate, by a corporate
Somebody has upset Aa.
‘David Aaronovitch @DAaronovitch · 49 minutes ago
“Assad is supported by a good 40% of the people, more than voted for David Cameron”. Former ambassador backs Russia. Ugh. @bbcr4today ‘
Must have been ex Ambassador Peter Ford speaking to Justin Webb who first spoke to a fellow USUKIsNATO Stooge John Simpson.
0832
Further analysis on US talks with Russia on Syria
John Simpson is World Affairs Editor.
Peter Ford is British ambassador to Bahrain from 1999-2003, and to Syria from 2003-2006, and adviser to the UN on Palestinian refugees until last year
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06gtbj1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Ford_(diplomat)
Actually you have a point Alcyone 9 Oct, 2015 – 5:26 pm in that Russia has been somewhat complacent, dependant too much on revenue from it’s energy resources. It must therefore diversify and update high tech manufacturing and in that respect will gain ingenuity from their consumers in Germany.
Macky and Mary, I have been following New Eastern Outlook for a while. I have also been following Veterans Today for whom Jim W. Dean, who wrote the article, is the editor. Veterans Today are ex-military personnel (largely) who do not want to kill people, certainly when the killing is the part of an unjust war. In other words they are independent thinkers.
“Who told you that Fred? ”
I just looked at a map of where Russia has bombed and who was controlling that bit of Syria at the time.
There is one here:
http://www.vox.com/2015/10/7/9471271/russia-syria-bombing-map
Russia is bombing the battle front between the Syrian government forces and the rebel armies.
^ Mark, you speak the Truth.
And the world will be a better place for it. For Russia being an even stronger player globally, not just because of its military prowess.
BRICS or some of its members could, for example, consider forming aa Airbus-style group. We need more cooperation across the world and not just from the existing major players.
“rebel armies.” is a bit different from *the* Free syrian Army. Change of tack Fred?
@Mary
Thx for the links to medialens and the Peter Ford interview on Today today.
Seems like change is definitely afoot.
Have to link to this remarkable presentation also：
http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/524729/U.S-And-Allied-Intervention-In-Syria/#vars!date=2015-11-12_14:44:13!
Or here:
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1444464100.html
Makes it clear that the US and the UK have been at war with Syria for a long time.
Thanks for the heads up on NEO. I know Veterans Today.
Mochyn69 Thanks too. I liked Tiki-Toki. I went back to
Obama adamant Assad must go
Sky News Australia reports that:
‘US President Barack Obama says that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad must go if the Islamic State group is to be defeated, as he rallied world leaders to revitalise the coalition campaign against the jihadists’.
How dare he!
How about ‘Assad adamant Obama must go’?
Love your last comment Mary. I think they will all be gone before Assad–Cameron, Obama, Erdogan and so on—-the whole terrorist supporting bunch.
““rebel armies.” is a bit different from *the* Free syrian Army. Change of tack Fred?”
No, the Free Syrian Army are the threat to Assad, they are the Syrian rebels, defected army and politicians and various allied smaller rebel groups. They are Assad’s opposition in the Syrian civil war aiming to overthrow his regime and set up a new government. ISIS are something completely different, mainly foreign fighters aiming to set up a separate Islamic state crossing the border with Iraq.
Mochyne69—-thanks for link to that presentation
“aiming to overthrow his regime and set up a new government. ISIS are something completely different, mainly foreign fighters aiming to set up a separate Islamic state crossing the border with Iraq.”
They have been aiming for 4 years and failed,Fred, just as the Saudi backed and Special forces trained All Quaeda, Al Nusrah, and the many brainwashed uninitiated young hotheads. This conflict is a business to the west, big business, the longer it continues the more arms we sell and we need to sell arms because thats what keeps our economy afloat.
For anybody to say that the SFA is legitimate whilst others are not I can only say that the whole melee is without UN resolution, the 7000 sorties flown are not backed by anything, no drone strike is condoned, wherever they originate.
Still no explanation as to what four fully armed Israeli F15were doing,. or going to do in Syrian airspace, but its only a matter of time before the real reasons will come to pass me thinks.
OK Fred, let’s try again; to be clearer.
Does “rebel armies” (plural I note) = the Free Syrian Army?
What is your *evidence* that the Free Syrian Army exists and in which territories?
Thanks.
“OK Fred, let’s try again; to be clearer.”
There are many different factions opposed to the Assad regime in Syria, the Free Syrian Army are the ones who would farm a new government if Assad were overthrown, the ones America would recognise as the new government and deal with, the ones America have been helping.
^None the clearer, Fred. Shan’t bang my head against a brick wall, since I remain sane, despite many of the commenters on this blog. Don’t mind if I cut my losses and disengage.