New Wave of Anti-American Protests in the Middle East and North Africa

[riposte]

You left out Australia.

[Sam Lord]

Yeah ...... and they had allies in Benghazi too ....... lol !! The trendy lefties and the CIA were both taken in....... "wata mistka te maka." ..... lol !!

What on earth are you talking about. The "left" almost universally opposed the NATO intervention and many actually supported the dictator to their everlasting shame. The "trendy lefty" position was exactly the same as the one you adopted.

[C. Flower]

This is the only briefing given so far by the State Department on the events in Benghazi. The people giving the briefing advised that it may not be 100% correct and that investigation may change the picture.
Stevens was believed/said to have been taken to hospital and his body taken out of the country by the US.

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/po...hazi_consulate

After that, the State Department said it did not want to be asked any more questions until its investigation was finished.

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/po...enghazi_attack

Obama attended a "transfer of remains ceremony" for those who died in Benghazi (unnamed)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stateph...7631537308251/

The Senate Homeland Security Committee is asking questions about the security at the Embassy in Benghazi.

Lieberman and Collins also want to know if it's true that the Libyan government told the U.S. government to move or increase security at the Benghazi consulate before the attacks, as Libyan Deputy Minister of the Interior Wasif al-Sharif reportedly said, whether the State Department beefed up security after a bomb exploded near the consulate in May, and how State vetted the local security forces, who may have been complicit in the attacks.
"The media has reported that one of the Foreign Service Officers killed in the attack, Sean Smith, may have expressed concern about the security provided by the local security forces hours before his death. Minister al-Sharif reportedly told media outlets that local security forces pointed extremists towards the annex site after U.S. personnel managed to escape the main compound," the senators wrote.
Lastly, the senators want the State Department to investigate the operational security procedures around Stevens and determine who might have known that he would be in the consulate at that time and why he didn't have more protection.

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/po...urity_failures

[riposte]

What on earth are you talking about. The "left" almost universally opposed the NATO intervention and many actually supported the dictator to their everlasting shame. The "trendy lefty" position was exactly the same as the one you adopted.

Sam could you show me any left wing press release opposing the invasion of Libya by the United Nations and their al-Qaeda allies.

[Sam Lord]

Sam could you show me any left wing press release opposing the invasion of Libya by the United Nations and their al-Qaeda allies.

Well here are 58 parties for a small start. I could provide you with links to thousands of statements but I couldn't be bothered because I'm not entirely convinced that you are well.

Statement of 58 Communist and Workers' Parties against Imperialist Aggression in Libya

The imperialist killers headed by the USA, France, Britain and NATO as a whole and with the approval of the UN started a new imperialist war. This time in Libya.

Their allegedly humanitarian pretexts are completely misleading! They throw dust into peoples' eyes! Their real goals are the hydrocarbons in Libya.

We, the Communist and Workers' parties, condemn the military imperialist intervention. The people of Libya must determine their future on their own, without foreign imperialist interventions.

We call on the peoples to react and demand the immediate cessation of the bombings and of the imperialist intervention!


1. Algerian Party for Democracy and Socialism, PADS
2. Communist Party of Armenia
3. Communist Party of Australia
4. Communist Party of Azerbaijan
5. Communist Party of Bangladesh
6. Workers' Party of Bangladesh
7. Communist Party of Belarus
8. Workers' Party of Belgium
9. Brazilian Communist Party
10.Communist Party of Brazil
11.Communist Party of Britain
12.New Communist Party of Britain
13.Party of the Bulgarian Communists
14.Communist Party of Canada
15.Communist Party of Chile
16.Socialist Worker's Party of Croatia
17.Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
18.Communist Party in Denmark
19.Communist Party of Denmark
20.Communist Party of Estonia
21.Communist Party of Finland
22.Hungarian Communist Workers' Party
23.Unified Communist Party of Georgia
24.Communist Party of Greece
25.Communist Party of India
26.Communist Party of India [Marxist]
27.Tudeh Party of Iran
28.Communist Party of Ireland
29.Workers' Party of Ireland
30.Party of the Italian Communists
31.Communist Party of Kazakhstan
32.Socialist Party of Latvia
33.Lebanese Communist Party
34.Communist Party of Luxembourg
35.Communist Party of Malta
36.Communist Party of Mexico
37.Popular Socialist Party of Mexico
38.New Communist Party of Netherlands
39.Communist Party of Norway
40.Communist Party of Pakistan
41.Communist Party of Poland
42.Portuguese Communist Party
43.Communist Party of Russian Federation
44.Communist Workers' Party of Russia – Revolutionary Party of Communists
45.UCP- CPSU
46.Communist Party of Soviet Union
47.New Communist Party of Yugoslavia
48.Party of the Communists of Serbia
49.Communist Party of Slovakia
50.Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain
51.Communist Party of Sri-Lanka
52.Syrian Communist Party
53.Communist Party of Sweden
54.Communist Party of Turkey
55.Labour Party,(EMEP),Turkey
56.Communist Party of Ukraine
57.Union of the Communists of Ukraine
58.Communist Party of Venezuela

[eamo]

Michael Finnegan, President of the Workers’ Party, stated: “The current massive military assault on Libya is illegal, immoral, and profoundly anti-democratic".

The Workers’ Party condemns in the strongest possible terms the ongoing attacks on Libya, currently under the command and control of NATO. These attacks have no legitimacy, no humanitarian objective, and are solely linked to the overarching desire of the major Western powers to totally control, either directly or by proxy, oil production in North Africa and the Middle East.

Michael Finnegan, President of the Workers’ Party, stated: “The current massive military assault is illegal, immoral, and profoundly anti-democratic.

The world cannot be fooled by the existence of UN Security Council Resolution 1973. This is a motion concocted by the three leading imperialist powers of the USA, the UK and France and endorsed by a mere 10 nations out of a total UN membership of almost 200 members. The passive support of Russia and China, both veto-holding states on the UNSC, along with the abstentions of India, Brazil and Germany in the UN SC visibly demonstrates the solidarity of international capitalism.

Once again there has been a clear demonstration of the lack of democracy at the heart of the UN, a clear demonstration of the need for the General Assembly to become the decision making body within the UN, and the need to immediately abolish permanent veto-holding membership of the Security Council.

This attack follows a clear pattern first perfected in the murderous and illegal bombardment of Yugoslavia, and particularly Belgrade, which started exactly 12 years ago. This pattern was copied in the later assaults and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. Any country which stands in the path of US / EU hegemony is first demonised, then isolated, and finally attacked with overwhelming force on whatever pretext will sell best on the evening television news.

The Workers Party, and the Irish people in general, offer no support or succour to Gaddafi or to his regime. We are well aware of his suppression of all Left, progressive and democratic forces. We are also aware of his malign historical role in supporting terrorism in this country. We are equally aware that the countries bombarding Libya from air and sea also have no respect for democracy, for human rights, or the rights of workers. For decades the axis of the US, UK and France have installed, buttressed, and supported with all their resources the most corrupt and brutal regimes throughout the world. From Chile, Paraguay, Honduras to the apartheid regimes in Southern Africa and the dictatorships of Malaysia, Indonesia the Western Imperialist powers have always stood on the side of reaction and against the mass of the people.

The breathtaking hypocrisy of the Western action against Libya can be gauged by their reaction to other events in North Africa and the Middle East at the present time. The West offer no help to the popular uprisings in Tunisia or Egypt and in fact in Egypt tried to parachute their own man from long-term exile in London into a leadership position of the uprising. They have ensured the physical safety of the outgoing elites in Tunisia and Egypt and most pointedly did not impose an asset freeze on either of those most corrupt ruling families.

The situation in Yemen and Bahrain is even more blatant. There the West is actively standing on the side of the ruling elite against the mass of the people and providing weaponry, training, and logistical support to the police and army death squads of these regimes. Bahrain has, in effect, been occupied by the armed forces of Saudi Arabia one of the most autocratic, corrupt and undemocratic countries on earth. It is also one of the most loyal and trusted allies of the USA. Can we shortly expect Hilary Clinton to appear on our television screens telling us that Saudi Arabia is now exporting democracy to the region?

However the true extent of Western hypocrisy can only be measured by placing the actions of the Western military powers in relation to Libya in contrast to their actions in relation to Israel. Israel is a rogue nuclear state; Israel is in illegal occupation of Palestinian lands; Israel is in multiple breach of international law and UN resolutions. Yet, not only does the West not act against Israel, the exact opposite is the case. Israel receives the overwhelming military, diplomatic and financial support of the West, particularly the US. In return for this support Israel has been a loyal ally of the US and has acted as a proxy for the US in many regional conflicts.

The Workers Party therefore calls on all the progressive forces across the world to unite and oppose this Western aggression and to allow all the people of North Africa and the Middle East to achieve peace, freedom and democracy without any further outside interference".

Source:
http://www.workerspartyireland.net/id587.html

[C. Flower]

Sam could you show me any left wing press release opposing the invasion of Libya by the United Nations and their al-Qaeda allies.

Did a search for "imperialist attack on Libya" and there were more than 4 million results. These are some from the first page.

https://www.google.ie/search?q=imper...ient=firefox-a

http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&...951Hk9ta8hFP1Q

http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&...h-xewUTvOX9aIg

http://www.solidnet.org/turkey-the-p...ed-immediately

http://basicsnews.ca/2011/03/no-to-c...tack-on-libya/

http://www.internationalist.org/defe...sault1103.html

[riposte]

Well here are 58 parties for a small start. I could provide you with links to thousands of statements but I couldn't be bothered because I'm not entirely convinced that you are well.

Funny ....... I didn't see that in the Sunday Independent.

[Count Bobulescu]

Google lists eight reasons on its “YouTube Community Guidelines” page for why it might take down a video. Inciting riots is not among them. But after the White House warned Tuesday that a crude anti-Muslim movie trailer had sparked lethal violence in the Middle East, Google acted.

Days later, controversy over the 14-minute clip from “The Innocence of Muslims” was still roiling the Islamic world, with access blocked in Egypt, Libya, India, Indonesia and Afghanistan — keeping it from easy viewing in countries where more than a quarter of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims live.

Legal experts and civil libertarians, meanwhile, said the controversy highlighted how Internet companies, most based in the United States, have become global arbiters of free speech, weighing complex issues that traditionally are the province of courts, judges, and occasionally, international treaty.

“

Notice that Google has more power over this than either the Egyptian or the U.S. government,” said Tim Wu, a Columbia University law professor. “Most free speech today has nothing to do with governments and everything to do with companies.”

But for the White House to ask Google to review a video that was causing trouble in a foreign land was an unusual step — and perhaps unprecedented. McLaughlin, the former Google and White House official, could think of no similar request in the past.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...y.html?hpid=z2

[Count Bobulescu]

More on Google/You Tube’s power/dilemma.

This week was a test for Google's commitment to that idea, and the company seems to have come up short. But that misstep is, paradoxically, a symptom of Google's admirable and hard-fought struggle to do right by its users when it comes to freedom online. Long ago, Google could have just said that it would not not, under any circumstance, remove any content. They wouldn't have had to make this choice, nor the thousands of others they have weighed over the years. Absolutism is easy.

But Google is trying to do something much harder, and much more thoughtful, than that. As it said in its statement outlining its approach to freedom of expression, "We recognize that there are limits. In some areas it's obvious where to draw the line. For example, we have an all-product ban on child pornography. But in other areas, like extremism, it gets complicated because our products are available in numerous countries with widely varying laws and cultures."

http://www.theatlantic.com/technolog...-movie/262395/

[C. Flower]

Turns out that the producer of the film trailer is on probation for fraud, and the director is a director of porn movies.

Neither sound like people with a religious mission. So who is behind this provocation ?

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.1160761

[Ephilant]

Meanwhile, Jomhoori Eslami, the conservative Iranian newspaper, reports that as a result of this "movie", an Iranian religious organiszation has raised the reward for executing the 1989 Fatwa on the poet/writer Salman Rushdie from 2.8 million $ to 3.3 million $.

[Count Bobulescu]

It has now been established from his various contacts that Nakoula, an Egyptian Copt, travelled widely in anti-Islamic circles.

Anti-Islam Filmmaker Could Be Headed Back to Jail

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man believed to be behind the anti-Islam movie that's sparked international outrage, may be on his way back to jail. He met with federal authorities late last night to review whether his participation in the movie violated his probation.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/natio...ck-jail/56891/

Director Behind 'Innocence of Muslims' Used to Make Softcore Porn

The man who sparked an international crisis has been confirmed to be Alan Roberts. You may (or may not) remember him as the director of such softcore porn as The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood and The Sexpert.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/globa...re-porn/56890/

Vandalism at Mosques

Ever since the first mosque opened in Harrisonburg, Va., 14 years ago, the immigrants from Pakistan, Iraq and other countries who worship there say they have felt welcomed in the rural college town. They participate in local food banks and shelter programs, have close relations with local churches and often receive non-Muslim visitors at their weekly prayer services.

So on Friday, worshipers were shocked when they arrived at the mosque to find graffiti scrawled on the building, including obscene and racial insults against “Irakis” and a warning: “This is America,” followed by another slur. Some speculated that the sudden harassment must have sprung from the anti-American violence that has swept the Middle East over a vulgar anti-Muslim video made in the United States.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...y.html?hpid=z3

[C. Flower]

Getting worse and worse, from the credibility point of view. Supposedly, Nakoula had a record of drug production and dealing as well as fraud. He was given a short sentence in return for snitching for the Feds. He supposedly wrote the film in prison.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/09/pcp/

[C. Flower]

It has now been established from his various contacts that Nakoula, an Egyptian Copt, travelled widely in anti-Islamic circles.

Where is that established ? I would have thought he was too busy with the drugs and fraud activities to worry about religion.