World Politics

[Alphabet]

What's happened, Ferminal?

 

[blutto]

The Dutch intelligence services, after reviewing what they were shown by the US, have informed the government that they see no convincing or conclusive evidence to link the poison to Assad.

...ouch...

Cheers

 

[thrawn]

Poor Malcolm, they sent the wrong PDF out

I call BS on that. They withdrew it as they realised it could only cost them a few seats. According to - http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...nd-immediately-backs-down-20130905-2t7nb.html

Turnbull apparently only read the policy the afternoon as it was released? Feel sorry for the guy, being blindsided by Abbott and his merry bunch of conservatives with such a disgraceful policy.

 

[darwin553]

I call BS on that. They withdrew it as they realised it could only cost them a few seats.

Lol - sure it would

 

[Echoes]

Salafists from Al-Nosra conquered the town of Maaloula, with the support of atheists like Hitch.

http://www.egaliteetreconciliation....habitants-parlent-encore-la-langue-19967.html


This is one of the the few places on earth where Aramean is still spoken. Disastrous news !


Three Russian ships crossed the Bosphorus, heading towards Syria.
http://www.romandie.com/news/n/_Tro...e_vers_la_Syrie_RP_050920131646-17-397008.asp

Forza Putin !

 

[python]

Kudos to brazilian lady president for cancelling her summit with obama for refusing to apologize the us spying on her. this royal snub is particularly significant because it came at the time when both leaders are facing each other at the g20 in russia.

Clearly, she is not the president that would tolerate hijacking her presidential plane as the us did recently or who is willing to bow to the neocolonist policies of the us.

The sad thing is, that virtually no main-stream media covered the event in depth.

We now have 2 summits cancelled due to snowden and in both cases america looks small.

 

[ToreBear]

The Dutch intelligence services, after reviewing what they were shown by the US, have informed the government that they see no convincing or conclusive evidence to link the poison to Assad.

Did they see all the secret stuff or just the declassified stuff?

The Germans and French seem convinced, but they also have their own intelligence capability.

Salafists from Al-Nosra conquered the town of Maaloula, with the support of atheists like Hitch.

http://www.egaliteetreconciliation....habitants-parlent-encore-la-langue-19967.html


This is one of the the few places on earth where Aramean is still spoken. Disastrous news !


Three Russian ships crossed the Bosphorus, heading towards Syria.
http://www.romandie.com/news/n/_Tro...e_vers_la_Syrie_RP_050920131646-17-397008.asp

Forza Putin !

Oh scary. I hope the weather is good in the Mediterranean. The one I saw looked pretty tired.

 

[ToreBear]

Searching for the truth in Syria

http://www.dw.de/searching-for-the-truth-in-syria/a-17066051

I don't think he realises that these weapons are a strategic asset to the regime. They are according to the French under the control of vetted members of his own sect. They wouldn't leave them lying around for somebody to take control.

Also the attack as I have understood it was not just one mortar bomb, it was dozens of rockets into several areas in a short time span.

In my mind that is not something any of the rebel groups could pull off even if they by an act of divine intervention cooperated fully with each other.

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

Ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern weighs in.

Should We Fall Again for ‘Trust Me’?
http://consortiumnews.com/2013/09/03/should-we-fall-again-for-trust-me/

 

[python]

Syria and the Israeli Way of War
(the author , by what I was able to glean, has been writing for several 'traditional' conservative - by american standards - publications and institutions)
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/syria-the-israeli-way-war-8998?page=1

The article provides an explanation as to why the obama syria strategy vexed for 2 years until it suddenly acquired the direction the israeli lobby in Washington told it to acquire.

This swing is due less to John Kerry's passionate “Munich moment” exhortations than to the fact that the Israel lobby has entered the fray, openly and explicitly, in favor of intervention. AIPAC made it official on Tuesday.

does the United States want to follow its powerful and privileged Israeli client on a path that not only brushes aside international law, international organization, and the peaceful pursuit of international objectives but also entails perpetual warfare, much isolation, and all of the costs and risks that go with that? The current Israeli government has chosen that path for itself; why would the United States want to take the same path?

 

[Amsterhammer]

Did they see all the secret stuff or just the declassified stuff?

The Germans and French seem convinced, but they also have their own intelligence capability.

I really have no idea how much/little the insignificant Dutch were shown. It was a literal translation of what I read.

 

[Ferminal]

I call BS on that. They withdrew it as they realised it could only cost them a few seats. According to - http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...nd-immediately-backs-down-20130905-2t7nb.html

Turnbull apparently only read the policy the afternoon as it was released? Feel sorry for the guy, being blindsided by Abbott and his merry bunch of conservatives with such a disgraceful policy.

Ok I didn't listen to Hack. Is the new "opt-in" one going to be forcefully installed on hardware like Malcolm described or not?

 

[ToreBear]

Syria and the Israeli Way of War
(the author , by what I was able to glean, has been writing for several 'traditional' conservative - by american standards - publications and institutions)
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/syria-the-israeli-way-war-8998?page=1

The article provides an explanation as to why the obama syria strategy vexed for 2 years until it suddenly acquired the direction the israeli lobby in Washington told it to acquire.

I don't think the Israel lobby was crucial in Obamas wish to do something, but their ability to influence congress, likely made Obamas choice to go to congress easier.

I really have no idea how much/little the insignificant Dutch were shown. It was a literal translation of what I read.

Ok, I'ts a difficult issue. On the one hand they need to share intel with their NATO partners due to the event happening close to the Nato border. On the other, the US might want to limit the access to intelligence to avoid leaks. I have no idea really. I doubt the US was expecting the dutch to take part in any operation, since the dutch haven't seemed very interested in out of area operations these last few years. Then again they have the capability to be of assistance, and the US might want to convince NATO to be involved.

I guess time will show.

 

[movingtarget]

Ok I didn't listen to Hack. Is the new "opt-in" one going to be forcefully installed on hardware like Malcolm described or not?

Seems like it's not going to happen at all. Someone got their wires crossed.

 

[thrawn]

Seems like it's not going to happen at all. Someone got their wires crossed.

True. The policy was only intended to be announced after the election, not before it.

 

[darwin553]

True. The policy was only intended to be announced after the election, not before it.

I still believe you

Meanwhile, shadow communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull says the government’s announcement to axe its internet filter ambitions are a major backflip.

"This was always a bad idea. It was bad for freedom, it was bad for freedom of speech," Mr Turnbull said.

"But above all it was going to create a sense of false security among parents

http://www.businessspectator.com.au...t-filter-missed-point-online-safety-coalition

 

[del1962]

Anyway even Assad can't convince Putin

http://www.theonion.com/articles/assad-unable-to-convince-putin-that-he-used-chemic,33731/

The onion spot on in their parody of Putin

I am not in favour of air strikes against Syrian, but Putin is a real tool with his Assad's **** licking

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

Syria crisis: US orders non-emergency personnel out of Lebanon
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23992642

A "humanitarian" intervention is likely to escalate the confilct. I think they are preparing for a war with Hezbollah.

Syria and Hezbollah Will Hit Israel if US Strikes

Informed insiders have confirmed that Syria and Hezbollah plan to retaliate against Israel in the event of an American-led military attack on Syria. Says one: “if even one US missile hits Syria, we will take this battle to Israel.”

An official who spoke to me on the condition that neither his name or affiliation is published, says the decision to retaliate against Israel “has been taken at the highest levels within the Syrian state and Hezbollah.”

Why attack Israel after a US strike?

“Israel has been itching for a fight since their 2006 defeat by Hezbollah,” explains an observer close to the Lebanese resistance group. “They have led this campaign to draw the US into a confrontation with Syria because they are worried about being left alone in the region to face Iran. This has become an existential issue for them and they are now ‘leading’ from behind America’s skirts.”

The "Resistance Axis" which consists of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and a smattering of other groups, has long viewed attacks on one of their members as an effort to target them all.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/sandbox/yes-syria-and-hezbollah-will-hit-israel-if-us-strikes

To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has coöperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.

Walid Jumblatt, who is the leader of the Druze minority in Lebanon... told me that he had met with Vice-President Cheney in Washington last fall to discuss, among other issues, the possibility of undermining Assad. He and his colleagues advised Cheney that, if the United States does try to move against Syria, members of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood would be “the ones to talk to,” Jumblatt said.

The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, a branch of a radical Sunni movement founded in Egypt in 1928, engaged in more than a decade of violent opposition to the regime of Hafez Assad, Bashir’s father. In 1982, the Brotherhood took control of the city of Hama; Assad bombarded the city for a week, killing between six thousand and twenty thousand people. Membership in the Brotherhood is punishable by death in Syria. The Brotherhood is also an avowed enemy of the U.S. and of Israel. Nevertheless, Jumblatt said, “We told Cheney that the basic link between Iran and Lebanon is Syria—and to weaken Iran you need to open the door to effective Syrian opposition.”

Jumblatt said he understood that the issue was a sensitive one for the White House. “I told Cheney that some people in the Arab world, mainly the Egyptians”—whose moderate Sunni leadership has been fighting the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood for decades—“won’t like it if the United States helps the Brotherhood. But if you don’t take on Syria we will be face to face in Lebanon with Hezbollah in a long fight, and one we might not win.”

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/03/05/070305fa_fact_hersh?currentPage=all

 

[Alphabet]

Got my votes in.

ACF what's my prize for voting Liberal in the House of Reps.?

 

[Ferminal]

CUTS CUTS CUTS, job losses, no healthcare, no education, pandemonium.

 

[movingtarget]

CUTS CUTS CUTS, job losses, no healthcare, no education, pandemonium.

How will we cope without "new way of doing things" Kevin ? If I was an ACT public servant I would have some concerns but most other people probably won't notice much difference initially.

 

[Alphabet]

My vote wouldn't have made a difference, Ferm. Hughes is a very safe Liberal seat (bizarrely, as it's surrounded by stacks of safe Labor seats and is primarily a working class area) and has been in their hands for nearly 20 years now. In the last election, the Liberal candidate won with a majority of 55%, and I highly doubt there'll be a swing away from him because he's done pretty well for the electorate.

 

[Ferminal]

My vote wouldn't have made a difference, Ferm. Hughes is a very safe Liberal seat (bizarrely, as it's surrounded by stacks of safe Labor seats and is primarily a working class area) and has been in their hands for nearly 20 years now. In the last election, the Liberal candidate won with a majority of 55%, and I highly doubt there'll be a swing away from him because he's done pretty well for the electorate.

Same, although the swing will be ON here with my shift from informal.

 

[thrawn]

Same, although the swing will be ON here with my shift from informal.

Last election the biggest swing was to the informal vote (close to 4%). Be interesting to see if the informal vote increases again.

 

[thrawn]

Prediction: Coalition to win 90-95 seats. Jaymes Diaz to still remain unseen.