VIDEO — Syrian army continues mop-up operation in Qusayr
Press TV
May 23, 2013
These Syrian soldiers are entering the unknown, walking into the edge of the northern quarter of Qusair city, this unit is carrying out a limited mission as part of the second stage of the Syrian military operation in Al-Qusair.
The second phase involves a variety of tactics to minimize human losses among Syrian soldiers according a Syrian military source. The Syrian command doesn’t want to push everything it has into the battle right now so while some attack, others wait.
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U.S. Military Base In Uzbekistan Would Destabilize Region
Stop NATO…Opposition to global militarism
May 23, 2013
Daily Times
May 22, 2013
Uzbek quest for US weapons could dent Central Asia
Farooq Yousaf
image: Uzbek President Islam Karimov and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
2014 is approaching, and so is the deadline for the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Afghanistan. Leon Panetta, the then-US Defense Secretary, in 2012 announced that by the end of 2014 coalition forces would cease any combat operations and would be limited to normal military duties in the country. Moreover, [Afghan President] Hamid Karzai, in a recent interview, gave approval to allowing nine US military bases even after the pullout.
With the United States wary of transporting heavy weaponry out of Afghanistan, offers have been made by the Central Asian states, such as Uzbekistan, in return for some of the latest arms and equipment that they lack. According to a report by The New York Times, policy makers in Washington took Uzbekistan’s offer so seriously that the United States has partially lifted a set of arms sales restrictions that has been in place for about a decade.
Last year, in June, reports started to surface that Uzbekistan that faces international arms embargoes due to widespread human rights violations, started negotiations for a possible arms-transit and military base deal with the USA, that would help the coalition forces take its equipment out of Afghanistan, whereas Tashkent would benefit by acquiring the state-of-the-art weaponry. Kazakhstan’s newspaper Liter, on August 15 last year, predicted that a possible deal for a US base in Uzbekistan could be reached when US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake visited Tashkent.
Uzbekistan, for long has been indicating shifting its alliances and partners. One of such indications was its withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military cooperation initiative between Russia and Central Asian states [as well as Armenia and Belarus]. It would have been difficult for Tashkent to enter into military negotiations with the United States if it were a member of the CSTO, but abandoning the CSTO freed it from coming under any pressure.
In terms of geostrategic importance, the most feasible gateway for cargo withdrawal is Pakistan, yet it seems that the coalition forces want as many alternatives as possible, such as Uzbekistan, in case Islamabad decides to go against its deals with NATO and close the NATO supply line, or even ask for more money.
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Such a move by Uzbekistan would mean it wants to turn its back on Russia, a neighbour that supports much of the Uzbek workforce. Russia, even after the Soviet disintegration, has maintained a substantial influence over some of the Central Asian states, but this influence has mostly been in the form of mutual cooperation and better relations.
In another move, NATO’s representative for Central Asia James Appathurai held meetings with Uzbek ministers in March this year, in what seemed to be a move to gain Uzbek support against Russia.
image: James Appathurai, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy and NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, in Uzbekistan on March 27, 2013
If the United States is successful in establishing a military base in Uzbekistan, it would entail bad political consequences, and hence play a role in destabilising not only Central Asia, but also South Asia, as the anti-US sentiment and motivation for radical Islamists could fuel a wave of militancy that could also spill over into Russia, one of the most important states in the region. Such concerns were raised by a Russian military expert, Lt Gen Leonid Sazhin¸ saying, “Although Americans claims that they are fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan today, it will be them who, by deploying their facility in Uzbekistan, will lead Taliban members there.”
A base in Uzbekistan, that neighbours Afghanistan, could also be used for surgical strikes, and even drone attacks, into neighbouring Afghanistan, that could also raise major human rights concerns and sour relations with Kabul.
If the United States is successful in establishing a fully operational base in Uzbekistan, this would also worry China, another regional power, as it has already shown concerns over the bases surrounding it, known as the ‘ring of fire’. In any case, Uzbekistan needs to decide whether such a venture would be beneficial for the country and the region or will bring chaos in the long run.
The writer is a Programme consultant and Content Editor at the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Islamabad, belonging to Frontier Region of Pakistan. He is currently pursuing his higher Studies in Public Policy and Conflict Management in Germany. He tweets as @faruqyusaf and can be reached at farooq@crss.pk
Student jailed for three weeks awaiting trial over Facebook posts
End the Lie – Independent News
May 23, 2013
image: Cameron B. D’Ambrosio
A Boston-area teenager remains in custody on $1 million bond nearly one month after being arrested over what he said on the Internet.
Eighteen-year-old Cameron B. D’Ambrosio of Methuen, Massachusetts was arrested on May 1 after police were alerted to “disturbing verbiage” on his personal Facebook page discovered by a fellow student at Methuen High School. D’Ambrosio allegedly posted original rap lyrics that prompted authorities to charge him with terrorism, and now he faces a potential 20 years in prison.
“He posted a threat in the form of rap where he mentioned the White House, the Boston Marathon bombing and said, ‘everybody you will see what I am going to do, kill people,” Methuen Police Chief Joe Solomon told the Valley Patriot earlier this month.
Three weeks after being surprised by police at his Methuen home, D’Ambrosio remains locked up.
“A kid is in prison. Away from his family. All for something he posted on Facebook” reads a support page for the high school student established this week by the Center for Rights and Fight for the Future. In 48 hours, the website received more than 500,000 views, and on Thursday the administrators said 1.2 million people had visited the page by the time D’Ambrosio went before a judge that morning for a scheduled bail hearing. The justice differed deciding at this time if D’Ambrosio should be released from custody.
“Cam’s attorney made arguments that he should be released to his family and that all evidence (including testimony from the police) suggested that he was not a threat to anyone. He also noted that Cam was two weeks away from graduation, and Methuen High School had decided to grant him a diploma,” Fight for the Future wrote early Thursday. “We expect a decision within a few days and sincerely hope that Cam will be home safe with is family soon.”
Meanwhile, though, D’Ambrosio remains locked up if and until a judge decides he isn’t a hazard to the community.
At the time of his arrest, school officials and law enforcement alike applauded the speedy response and celebrate D’Ambrosio’s arrest as a victory against terrorism only a few days — and a few miles — from where two brothers allegedly detonated explosives at the Boston Marathon, killing three in the biggest act of terror in years on American soil. But nearly one month after being detained, authorities have not announced any proof that D’Ambrosio intended to act out the lyrics he left on his Facebook page.
“A search of Cam’s house found no explosives, weapons, or ANY evidence that he was planning anything other than becoming the next Eminem,” his supporters write.
Among the Facebook content that alerted authorities was a song that was considered a warning of things to come.
“So when u see me (expletive) go insane and make the news, the paper, and the (expletive) federal house of horror known as the white house, Don’t (expletive) cry or be worried because all YOU people (expletive) caused this (expletive),” reads a redacted version of one post made available to the Boston Herald.
Fox News quoted another song, in which the amateur rapper wrote “(expletive) the Boston bombing, wait til you see what I do. I’m going to be famous.”
On his support page, it’s noted that a key word was dropped from the line when it was reported by Fox. In actuality, D’Ambrosio wrote, “I’ma be famous rapping.”
“Suddenly something that sounds like a threat of violence is clearly just bragging about how good Cammy Dee is going to be in the rap game. Last we checked, teenage dreams of grandeur were not a crime,” the website claims.
Source: RT
VIDEO — Canadians demand full separation from Britain
Press TV
May 22, 2013
Victoria Day in Canada is a federal public holiday in honor of British Queen Victoria’s birthday. As the day is celebrated in the North American country, many Canadians renew their call for full separation from Britain.
Press TV’s Ashantai Hathaway reports from Montreal.
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Studies Show Marijuana Consumption Not Associated With Dangerous Driving
The Weed Blog
May 22, 2013
Anyone who consumes cannabis on a regular basis knows that it doesn’t make you a dangerous drive. To many people, it makes them a safer, more focused driver that’s more aware of their surroundings and the dangers associated with controlling tons of gasoline-filled metal. Not only has this been an anecdotal truth for as long as cars and cannabis have been paired, science has also been clear that consuming marijuana doesn’t make you a dangerous driver, and may in fact make some people safer drivers. More research is needed, but it’s hard to deny that of the research we have, marijuana hasn’t been found to increase a person’s risk of an accident.
To back this claim up, here’s a list of studies and research conducted on this very topic, some of which were funded by national governments in hopes of different results. (Sources are hyperlinked).
- “20 years of study has concluded that marijuana smokers may actually have fewer accidents than other drivers.” – 4AutoInsuranceQuote.com; Reasons why marijuana users are safe drivers, 2012
- “States that legalize medical marijuana see fewer fatal car accidents, according to a new study, in part because people may be substituting marijuana smoking for drinking alcohol.” Time Magazine; Why Medical Marijuana Laws Reduce Traffic Deaths, 2011
- “No differences were found during the baseline driving segment (and the) collision avoidance scenarios,” – Research published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2010
- “Although cognitive studies suggest that cannabis use may lead to unsafe driving, experimental studies have suggested that it can have the opposite effect.” – U.S. National Library of Medicine; The Effect Of Cannabis Compared With Alcohol On Driving, 2009
- “The evidence to suggest an involvement of cannabis in road crashes is scientifically unproven.” – Research paper; Cannabis and Cannabinoids: Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutic Potential, 2002
- “Cannabis alone, particularly in low doses, has little effect on the skills involved in automobile driving.” – Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs;Cannabis: Summary Report: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy, 2002
- “There is no evidence that consumption of cannabis alone increases the risk of culpability for traffic crash fatalities or injuries for which hospitalization occurs, and may reduce those risks.” – Research paper published in Epidemiologic Reviews; Role of cannabis in motor vehicle crashes, 1999
- “Evidence from the present and previous studies strongly suggests that alcohol encourages risky driving whereas THC encourages greater caution” – University of Adelaide study; Marijuana’s effects on actual driving performance, 1995
- “Drivers under the influence of marijuana retain insight in their performance and will compensate when they can, for example, by slowing down or increasing effort. As a consequence, THC’s adverse effects on driving performance appear relatively small.” – U.S. Department of Transportation study; Marijuana and actual driving performance, 1993
Source: The Joint Blog
TV Ontario interview on electricity distribution and smart grid
Canadian Liberty
May 11, 2013
The Agenda with Steve Paikin: David McFadden: Electricity’s Smart Future
TVO | May 1, 2013
David J. McFadden, co-author of the “Renewing Ontario’s Electricity Distribution Sector” report, discusses Ontario’s uniquely complex and inefficient electricity system, and what needs to change so that it can support the province’s economic future.
The guest is talking about reducing the number of power distribution systems to a much smaller number. Would this require seizing control over them by a centralized government-empowered monopoly? He hopes it can be done voluntarily. I guess the corporatocracy can do whatever it wants – eventually.
This whole discussion is about smart meters and smart grid. The most stomach-churning part of the interview is when he paints smart meters as a way of providing more choice to consumers. But of course it is an invasion of privacy and is going to allow remote interference and monitoring of our power use.
Please note: He expects everyone to have electric cars in the future – for some reason – actually because our society is centrally planned more than ever. And every night when we plug in our car, it might disrupt the old-style power grid. This is one of his explanations for why we need the smart grid.
Talk about collectivism! You’d think by now we could all have our own independent power source! But everything is moving in the opposite direction. Isn’t it amazing?
If you plug your car in, you might disrupt the network, or we might need to drain off some of your power, so therefore you must have the smart grid. Don’t you want to live in a utopia?
So we’re talking about massive centralization of our electricity system, as well as electronic surveillance and control over our energy use.
In my opinion, this is actually just getting us ready for not having enough energy – or enough money to pay for more expensive energy. And one reason for centralization and the smart grid is to “efficiently” manage an artificially created scarcity of electricity – caused by shutting down coal plants for instance.
And all of this is going to be sold to us as “choice” – as if we have a choice – with never-ending streams of propaganda telling us how empowered we are.
‘Canadians express anger at govt. on Twitter’
Wikimedia Image: source
PressTV
May 24, 2013
Thousands of Canadians have turned to Twitter to express their anger with the shortcomings of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government and called on him to resign, Press TV reports.
Canadian Twitter users have texted the message “#PMHarperMustResign” for shortcomings of the government, including the ruling Conservative Party’s election fraud, abuse of aboriginal peoples, and senate expense scandals.
However, the main reason behind the anger seems to be Chief of Staff Nigel Wright’s admission that he cut a check for $90,000 to repay the fraudulent expense claims of a Conservative senator.
”Quite frankly I think the only thing that really … do justice to the situation we have right now is for Harper to be arrested and put on trial for high treason against Canada. That’s the only think that will justify, that’s the only thing that’ll bring true justice to the situation. He is guilty of high treasons against this country,” said Thomas Stone, journalist and political analyst.”
The Canadians Twitter users have also criticized the Harper government for its one-sided support for Israel.
Twitter users have blamed the prime minister “For putting the interests of Israel before those of Canada” and have accused him of “showing total disregard to Palestinian’s rights and freedoms and supporting Israel’s Human rights abuses.”
IA/HN
PN 