Libya Today More Democratic than Bibi's Israel?
Independence for Palestine ... Free 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 🇵🇸
Colonial Occupation Crimes Against Humanity
Remembering Omar Al-Mukhtar (20 August 1862 - 16 September 1931)
From my diary ...
To Intervene or Not to Intervene
Mussolini, the General and Revival of Colonialism
How little has changed in one hundred years ...
Briefly watched a film yesterday -- quite an exception for me -- but it quickly caught my attention ... it could have played out today ... fascist colonial expansion by other means. Massive inequality in firing power to slaughter Bedouins fighting for freedom and their land ... some good actors, however I couldn't watch or stomach the bloodshed. Nothing left to the imagination ...
Omar Mukhtar: Lion of the Desert
This desert epic about a Libyan hero who helped his nation fend off an Italian invasion in 1929. Anthony Quinn stars as Omar Mukhtar, who organizes Libyan forces to hold off the encroaching Italian troops under General Rodolfo Graziana?
Israel's FM Cohen met Libyan counterpart Mangoush to discuss joint cooperation | TOI |
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with his Libyan counterpart, Najla Mangoush, last week in Italy, the Foreign Ministry announced, marking the first-ever official meeting between the countries' top diplomats.
The two met to discuss the possibility of cooperation and the preservation of Jewish heritage sites in Libya. Israeli humanitarian aid and help with agriculture, water management and other topics were also brought up in the meeting, the ministry said.
Cohen called the meeting "historic" and a "first step" in the creation of ties between the countries.
"The size and strategic location of Libya provides enormous importance and enormous potential for the State of Israel to establish ties with it," he added. "I spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for our countries with such ties, as well as the importance of preserving the heritage of Libyan Jewry, including renovating synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in the country."
There was a sizable Jewish community in Libya until most of its members left in the period surrounding the establishment of the State of Israel. No Jews are believed to be living in Libya today.
Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country split in the chaos that followed, with rival administrations in the east and west backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.
Mangoush represents the UN-recognized government based in Tripoli.
While Israel and Libya have never had ties, there have long been reported contacts between Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam and Israeli officials.
[...]
In response to news of the meeting, Libyan presidential candidate Suleiman al-Bayoudi, who is running for the post in the UN-backed government, harshly critized the encounter.
Al-Bayoudi accused Prime Minister Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibeh of promoting normalization with Israel to curry American favor, and said Dbeibeh has "nothing but Israel's card to throw in the face of his opponents, after playing all his other cards to continue to remain in power... Israel is the last straw to which he is holding on before he drowns."
[Update-1] Consequences of the US-UK-NATO Military Intervention for regime change in Tripoli, Libya in April 2011 …
YEAR 2012
Tuareg Declare Independent State in Mali (Gaddafi Mercenaries) | Apr. 6, 2012 |
YEAR 2013
Obama Stance On Syria | Feb. 8, 2013 |
I have been most critical of the developments in Syria and the choices made by Hillary Clinton on urgent foreign policy issues in the Middle East. Clinton is a hardliner siding with policies set out by the Neocons, hired Dennis Ross and was not able to accept that after Libya, China and Russia wouldn’t be fooled again. [R2P trick for regime change with risk of WW III in Kosovo.] There was no option available in Syria without a UN Security Council resolution. Clinton allies Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia wanted to enforce a no-fly zone in Northern Syria and follow the Libya or Kosovo playbook to go in without a UN resolution. See earlier Bush, B. Clinton and Blair. President Obama could not accept an illegal military action on a sovereign nation. Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice did everything to foil any path towards a political solution as the Syrian civil war became more ugly with suicide bombings in Aleppo and Damascus (foreign Sunni jihadists) and mass summary executions from both sides.
YEAR 2015
North Africa, Sahel and Maghreb – Chaos after Western (Military) Intervention | June 27, 2015 |
Tunisians represent a major fighting force (3000 men) in Syria to overthrow Assad from the early days of the Arab Spring. Perhaps the event should be renamed for what it really was: revolutionaries or extremists from the Sunni religion who had been brain-washed for years by Imams in madrassas and mosques funded by the rich Arabs and charities from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Emirates. Qatar supported the extremists from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Libya and Syria. Both elements fought side by side to overthrow the Assad regime in Syria, but were unable to unite in the Geneva negotiations under leadership of Hillary Clinton. Western nations from Europe (France and Britain) and the US were confident to ignite the warfare in the Middle East as they have done for decades before in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. They could not manage the end game as nation after nation slid into chaos, killing fields and millions of displaced persons and refugees seeking safety in Europe. Just to recall the optimism by president Obama to intervene in Libya to stop Gaddafi and bloodshed in Benghazi– March 2011. And more …
Today, after the Tunisian terrorist attack killing tourists on the beach of Sousse, the PM warns all 80 mosques not under government control and preaching extremist military jihad (Salafists) will be closed down. One year ago the same threat was issued, nothing must have changed, waiting for the next attack to happen. Flushing out terrorists is what the US has tried with little success. Not selling or providing weapons on immense scale and not seeking the military option in the Middle East could have been to seek a diplomatic solution to regional crisis. This recent article illustrating the art of diplomacy and how to end conflict by a peace settlement, is quite telling of the moral crisis of the leading world power.
In reference to BooMan’s front page story – Declare the War on Terror Over. I replied with my analysis …
As the U.S. with Hillary Clinton and the Monarchs of Qatar and Saudi Arabia were busy arming and funding the phony Syrian Freedom Movement, the Libyan Freedom has come at great expense. Armed militant factions have resumed fighting and the Tuareg fighters have returned with heavy arms to Mali. In a few weeks’ time, the Malian army chose a coup d’état and the MNLA fighters have now occupied northern Mali, the size of the state of Texas.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia Financing Salafist Extremists in Mali and Sahel | Jan 21, 2013 |
Is Qatar Fueling the Crisis in North Mali? | France24 – Jan. 21, 2011 |
Oil-rich gulf state Qatar has a vested interest in the outcome of the north Mali crisis, according to various reports that have been picked up by French MPs, amid suspicion that Doha may be siding with the rebels to extend its regional influence.
Map terror activities in Mali
CIA Memorandum from November 1978 .. long before the Neocon warmongers advocated regime change in the Middle East on behalf of the Jewish State of Israel …
President Hafiz al-Assad has ruled Syria longer than anyone else since independence was achieved in 1946. He has brought an unprecedented degree of stability to Syria since he seized power in 1970, and is the first Syrian leader to participate in the Middle East peace process.
END OP UPDATE
Hossein Amirabdollahian, the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs met with his Libyan counterpart, Najla Mangoush
.... to discuss and exchange views on issues of mutual interest.
While expressing his satisfaction with the establishment of security and stability in Libya, the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed Tehran's readiness to expand relations with the friendly country, Libya, and help in the reconstruction of the country.
Amirabdollahian further touched upon the actual status of women in Iran and criticized the West's double standards and politicization of women's rights.
He further condemned the insulting action of Sweden and Denmark regarding the Holy Quran. He described as very important the solidarity and unity of Islamic countries worldwide in the face of such incidents.
For her part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Libya expressed her satisfaction with the visit to Tehran, which took place after almost 17 years after the visit of a high-ranking Libyan official to the Islamic Republic. She said: "The visit is indicative of the two countries' resolve to expand bilateral relations."
During the meeting, the two top diplomats agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in various sectors. This includes the establishment of a Joint High Commission, the formation of a political consultation committee, the strengthening of economic and trade ties, scientific and technological collaboration, as well as organizing special exhibitions.
The foreign ministers of Iran and Libya expressed their contentment with the recent progress in bilateral relations. Notably, they highlighted the elevation of Libya's diplomatic mission in Tehran to ambassadorial status, the reopening of Iran's embassy in Tripoli and the resumption of shipping services between the two countries.
Will Denmark ban the burning of the Quran? | Al Jazeera - Inside Story |
The Quran Burning is an incident of Islamophobia and xenophobia, a racist act that falls into the category of hate speech, a limitation on freedom of speech in even the most "free" of countries. How countries voted in UN Human Rights Council.
Quran Burning and UN Free Speech or Hate Speech?
UN rights council approves resolution on religious hatred after Qur'an burning | The Guardian - July, 2023 |
Western countries had strongly opposed resolution, arguing it conflicted with laws on free speech
The resolution was strongly opposed by the US, EU and other western countries, which argued that it conflicted with laws on free speech. On Wednesday, the resolution was passed, with 28 countries voting in favour, 12 voting against and seven abstaining.
Last month, an Iraqi-born protester caused outrage across the Muslim world after tearing pages from the Qur'an, wiping his shoes with some of them and burning others outside a mosque in Stockholm during the Eid al-Adha holiday.
The Swedish embassy in Baghdad was briefly stormed, Iran held off from sending a new ambassador to Stockholm and the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned Sweden's authorities and asked the Geneva-based UN human rights council to debate the issue.
Turkey also expressed its anger, citing "vile protests against the holy book" in Sweden as one of its reasons for withholding approval of the Scandinavian country's application to join Nato. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had agreed to set aside his veto and support the application.
Throwing a bit of Muslim weight around in global affairs and politics ... all 1.4 billion in numbers.
Saudi Prince Salman meeting Jake Sullivan Abraham Accords
Film review: The Good Shepard | The Guardian |
Scripted by Eric Roth, whose credits include Michael Mann's The Insider and Steven Spielberg's Munich, the film is a serious, subtle, well-researched and occasionally ponderous fictional study of the creation of America's first integrated intelligence organisation, the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) on the eve of the country's entry into the Second World War and of its successor, the infinitely more powerful CIA, at the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.
The central character is Edward Wilson (a convincingly grey and serious Matt Damon), a literary scholar from a distinguished WASP family, who becomes a member of the world's most exclusive secret society, Skull and Bones<, while a student at Yale. Based in part on the famed superspook and counterintelligence expert James Jesus Angleton (though much saner), Wilson is recruited for the newly formed OSS by Roosevelt's intelligence adviser, Bill Sullivan (a lightly disguised version of Major General 'Wild Bill' Donovan, played by De Niro).
Sullivan explains that the organisation is to be run by members of the WASP establishment. No Jews, blacks or Catholics, except for himself, though a few people from the lower orders might be engaged to do the dirty work - torturing suspects or killing troublesome folk. Indeed, we see such tasks carried out by an Italian-American sergeant (John Turturro) assigned to be Wilson's assistant in London.
The film unfolds in flashback from the time of the CIA-engineered Bay of Pigs disaster in 1961, and we see Wilson, involved in one form of ruling-class secrecy and confident supremacy at college, moving easily into another in the service of his country during the Second World War.
Deception and deceit become forms of truth in the espionage business, and suspicion eventually develops into paranoia as the war against the Nazis is replaced by the Cold War and the CIA's tentacles reach everywhere. Among his tutors in field craft are two Englishmen from MI5, Dr Fredericks (Michael Gambon), an indiscreet old queen posing as a literary professor, and the suave, Cambridge-educated Arch Cummings (Billy Crudup), a stand-in for Kim Philby.
h/t a prolific writer here @EuroTrib
Rapallo - art, treason, conspiracy and affirmation | by Ted Welch on May 19th, 2009 |
