 |
| Alan Kyeremanteng, NPP Flagbearer contender |
By Ekow Mensah.
Predicting who wins the race for the national leadership of
the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is proving to be a very difficult task especially
as the main and real contestants are hiding in the background.
Indeed, NPP watchers say that whoever is elected into
national leadership positions would indicate who would emerge as Presidential
candidate of the party.
The problem is that
some candidates believed to be sponsored by or sympathetic to either Nana Akufo
Addo or Alan Kyeremateng will lose heavily at the Tamale Congress.
Party insiders say that the race for the national
chairmanship has been reduced to a two house race between Stephen Ntim and Paul
Afoko.
Incumbent Jake Obetsebi – Lamptey is not likely to be
re-elected.
Broadly, this would be seen as a major defeat for the Nana
Akufo addo-Camp which closely identified Itself with the incumbent National
Chairman.
Both Stephen Ntim and Paul Afoko claim to be neutral in the
contest between Nana Akufo Addo and Alan Kyeremateng but their histories tell a
different story.
The two heavyweights
in the past supported the presidential candidature of Mr Alan Kyeremateng.
For the position of
General Secretary, party sources say that is a straight fight between Kwadwo Owusu
Afriyie alias Sir John and Kwabna Agyapong.
Kwabena Agyapong had been coasting to victory until about
three weeks ago when Sir John bounced back.
The race for the General Secretary of the NPP is said to be
a neck and neck affair.
If Sir John wins, it will be a credit to Nana Akufo- Addo
because he has openly said that Nana is his candidate for president and it is
widely held that he is entrenched in that camp.
Even though Kwabena Agyapong has persistently said that he
is neither for Nana nor Alan Kyeremateng, the word on the ground is that some
elements in the Nana camp are not comfortable with his candidature.
With regards to the position of National Organiser, the
Deputy Director of Communications of the party, John Boadu is expected to win
easily.
He also claims to be an independent but a list apparently
being circulated by the Nana Akufo Addo camp supports Hopeson Adorye’s candidature against Boadu.
Nana Akufo Addo’s Candidate for Women’s Organiser is clearly
Otiko Djaba, the incumbent who has not hidden her support for Nana.
Mawusi Awitty is expected to give Otiko Dgaba some very
tough competition.
Tina Mensah , another
contestant for the position of women’s organiser is seen widely as a mature
woman who goes back to the very beginning of the NPP.
Sammy Awuku is seen
as an Akufo Addo “boy” and there is some speculation that he is being sponsored
by the Nana camp.
Awuku is hotly
challenged by Michael Ampong who has not received the endorsement of the Nana
group.
The position of
National Treasurer would easily be won by Esther Ofori, the incumbent who also
claims to be an independent.
Freddie Blay, the defector from the CPP is expected to win
the position of Vice Chairman easily.
Other’s contesting for the position includes Hajia Fati,
Amadu, Serwah Akoto, Fred Safo, Sheik T. B Damba, Sammy Crabbe and F.F Auto.
Editorial
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ACROBATICS
The truth is that Ghana inherited a dependant national
economy at dependence and the Nkrumah Government had to take very important
steps to free the country from the yoke of foreign domination and exploitation.
Amongst those steps was the introduction of a national
currency- the cedi- the only legal tender in Ghana.
The establishment of more than 400 factories to reduce
Ghana’s dependance on imports and the acceleration of educational projects to
deal with the manpower needs of the country.
Ghana began producing more energy than it needed and
agriculture received a big boost.
Unfortunately, some reactionary anti- people politicians and
security personnel teamed up with the Central Intelligence Agency of the USA to
topple the Nkrumah Government.
After that all of the projects which were designed to move
Ghana out of the gambling house of neo-colonialism were either destroyed or
discontinued.
Today, Ghana’s economic crisis is the direct result of the
imperialist intervention of February 24, 1966.
Strangely, those agents of imperialism are shouting the
loudest about the current state of affairs especially in the realm of the
economy.
The political and economic acrobatics of the bare faced
agents of imperialism will not alter our history.
Imperialism and its agents have destroyed Ghana’s economy
and we need to move out of the gambling house of neo-colonialism.
GMO-free bioscience to feed Africa's farming families
By Howard-Yana Shapiro
For 600 million rural people across Africa, the food they
grow is the food they eat. A new plant breeding academy in Kenya is using
advanced genomic technologies to produce more robust and nutritious crops,
writes Howard-Yana Shapiro.
While advanced genomic techniques will be employed,
including marker-assisted selection for crop improvement, genetic modification
is not part of the package.
Based in Nairobi. the new African Plant Breeding Academy
will begin by training some 250 scientists and technicians over a five year
period to sequence, assemble and annotate the genomes of Africa's 'orphan
crops'.
These are plant varieties that grow in farm gardens all over
the continent and are crucial to Africans' nutrition - but have been ignored by
science, because they play no role in international trade.
101 crucial crops
And with the scientists trained, the next stage of the
Academy's mission can surge ahead: the improvement of the 101 traditional
African food crops so far been identified as crucial to Africa's future.
This will lead to the creation of improved planting
materials that will then be offered to smallholder farmers throughout Africa -
seeds and tubers that are more resilient to adverse conditions, including those
brought about by climate change; more resistant to pests; more nutritious; and higher-yielding.
But while advanced genomic techniques will be employed,
including marker-assisted selection for crop improvement, genetic modification
is not part of the package. Nor is patenting or other forms of intellectual
property protection.
The data will be freely
available
Instead the data derived from this collaborative effort will
be made publicly available - with the endorsement of the African Union -
through a process managed by the Public Intellectual Property Resource for
Agriculture.
The first 'orphan crop' to be worked on at the Academy will
be Baobab, Adansonia digitata, which can be used as a dried fruit powder for
many products. Baobab is called "the wonder tree" in Africa - and
with good reason.
Its fruit has 10 times the antioxidant level of oranges,
twice the amount of calcium as spinach, three times the vitamin C of oranges
and four times more potassium than banana. It also has antiviral properties, is
gluten-free ... and much more.
Giving Africa a chance
Backing the initiative is the African Orphan Crops
Consortium (AOCC), a uncommon grouping of government agencies, scientific
bodies, companies and non-governmental organizations from three continents -
Africa, North America and Europe.
Among the AOCC members is ICRAF, the World Agroforestry
Centre, which is also hosting the Academy in Nairobi. Professor Tony Simons,
Director General of ICRAF, says:
"For the continent that is the most
malnourished, the poorest, the most rural and the least forested, the AOCC
gives Africa a chance through new science and its application to address many
of its perennial problems of development."
In 2010, I learned for the first time that malnutrition and
chronic hunger are causing stunting in children across Africa. Stunted children
do not reach their full potential - physically or mentally or even financially.
Adults who were malnourished as children earn at least 20%
less on average than those who weren't. It was shocking to try and grasp the
scale of this tragedy, with more than 35% of the children in Africa affected.
Life in a handful of greens
If caught early the condition can be reversed, often by the
inclusion in the diet of toddlers and mothers-to-be of a few handfuls of leafy
greens.
But often parents do not know, or those leafy greens are
simply not available. I still find it horrifying to think of the human
potential that is going to waste, for lack of something so simple.
I'm in no doubt that improving these orphan crop varieties
can greatly improve the diets of Africa's children, helping to eliminate hunger
and malnutrition. However, there is another specter slouching into Africa.
The 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change warned that by 2020, climate change will have halved the harvests of
rainfed crops in many African countries. And some 96% of all African crops are
rainfed, as opposed to irrigated.
No governments or organizations are seriously planning for
this threat, which could result in one of the greatest human catastrophes of
all time.
First cacao ...
I work for Mars Incorporated, itself a member of the
Consortium. We previously led a similar uncommon collaboration that sequenced,
assembled and annotated the cacao (cocoa) genome and, in 2010, published our
data on the Internet.
We did it because cacao is beset by many different diseases
and pests, and we wanted a lot of scientists working, fast, on these threats.
After all our whole business depends on having a reliable supply of high
quality cocoa beans.
Now we want to put our experience and expertise to an even
better use. With African foodcrops the urgency is obviously higher and the
stakes greater. What will happen to Africa's children when harvests fail due to
a changing climate?
Training a new
generation of African scientists
African Plant Breeding Academy has another, even longer term
purpose. As we train more and more scientists, we will be placing the science
and technologies that can help in fighting chronic hunger and malnutrition in
the hands of many more practitioners. And who knows what they will be able to
achieve in the future?
But I am sure that it will be seen as a huge leap forward
for the diversity and sustainability of African agriculture - and the start of
a very different future for people all over Africa, both rural and urban.
So far AOCC has raised about $50 million in in-kind
contributions from its partners. Life Technologies developed and donated the
advanced sequencers that are being used in the program.
BGI - formerly Beijing Genomics Institute - will make its
sequencing and bioinformatics expertise available for scientists and
researchers in Africa, particularly at the Academy. UC Davis' Seed
Biotechnology Center developed the Academy's curriculum.
Other partners include WWF; the African Union - New
Partnership for Africa's Development; iPlant Collaborative, and Biosciences
eastern and central Africa - International Livestock Research Institute (BecA -
ILRI Hub).
And as Professor Jian Wang, President of BGI, said at the
Academy's launch in late 2013,
"We are confident that the
combination of capabilities, experience and resources within AOCC will yield
great scientific breakthroughs in African crops research and bring advancement
to develop improved crop varieties, thus to contribute to the wellbeing of
local society."
Howard-Yana Shapiro is Chief Agricultural Officer at Mars, Incorporated; Senior Fellow at
the Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis; and
Distinguished Fellow at the World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi, Kenya.
Howard has been involved with sustainable
agricultural and agroforestry systems, pattern recognition, plant breeding,
molecular biology and genetics for over 40 years releasing hundreds of
cultivars into the public domain. He has worked with indigenous communities,
NGO's, governmental agencies and the private sector around the world.
In 2009 he was named recipient of The
Award of Distinction from The College of agriculture and Environmental
Sciences, UC Davis. He led the global effort sequencing, assembling and
annotating the Theobroma cacao genome and is part of the leadership team for
the Arachis genome global effort.
Two plant breeding academies are being set
up to train senior scientists and technicians on the methods of Marker Assisted
Selection / Breeding to speed new cultivars to the African rural population.
He also collects and restores classic
American, modern Japanese and Italian motorcycles. He recently became a member
of the 200 Mile Per Hour Club on an unrestricted 1999 Suzuki Hayabusa -
averaging 201.386 mph.
FRAFRAHA, NEW LEGON, NEW
ASHIYIE, COMMANDO’S RESIDENTS ASSOCIATIONS SPEAKS
We the residents of Fafraha, New Ashiyie, New Legon, and Commandos have
been alarmed by the recent demolishing of about 50 houses by Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)/ Animal Research Institute without
any court order. Coupled with this is the media declaration by the Minister of
Lands and Natural Resource, Alhaji Inusah Fuseni which seeks to appraise
demolishing as a punitive measure for those who break the law with impunity
during his interview on JOY FM. "One should also question whether we
should allow impunity and indiscipline to prevail in this country".
Our purpose for embarking on the demonstration is to bring to the notice of
the general public, civil society organizations, the media and the
international community an action that can be catastrophic and a threat to
national security in the Adentan municipality in particular and the nation at
large. Several efforts by the residents and the Member of Parliament, Honorable
Emmanuel Nii Ashie Moore to atone tenancy and compensate the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)/Animal Research Institute have proven
futile.
What is worrying is the recent alleged involvement of government to sell
the land to private foreign investors. Also the government has retained the
Director of CSRI Dr. Abduli Salifu who is due for retirement to demolish the
building as part of his exit performance requirement. These moves have come as
a shock to the residents who looked up to government to intervene on their
behalf. We want to bring to the notice of the president that, a lot of people are
using his name to perpetuate this evil against the fore mentioned communities
and urge him to make statement to clear the air of these uncertainties.
Again, several petitions have been written to a number of stakeholders
including the president, His Excellency John Mahama, the Speaker of Parliament,
Honourable Doe Adjaho, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources,Alhaji Inusah Fuseni, Honourable
Joe OtengAgyei,Minister of Science Technology and Innovation, the secretary to
cabinet, the
Municipal Chief Executive Adenta,the Director of CSRI Dr. Abduli Salifu and
the National
Security Coordinator, Lt Col. Gbevlo Lartey. All these petitions have not
yielded any positive results. We feel all stakeholders have turned deaf ears to
our plea to regularize our stay for the sake of the number of buildings and the
people involved.
The residents on the said land numbering over ten thousand (10,000) have
over two thousand (2,000) completed houses, which are occupied by people of all
walks of life including, lawyers, doctors, engineers, social workers, civil and
public servants, teachers, Pastors/Imams students, farmers and some workers of
the Animal Research Institute.
The backdrop of the issue is that, these residents purchased the lands from
the chiefs of
Adenta, Fafraha, Ashiyie and Katamanso. "The chiefs made us to believe
that the land in
question has been released to them from the then Former President Kufour's
Administration since the acquired land had not been utilized for the intended
purpose and was lying fallow.
The chiefs made us to believe that they were also working on the white
paper which would make the land to be released to them completely. The chiefs
also made us believe that they were the
grantors and the allodia owners of the land on which the Animal Research
is located".
The chiefs of Fafraha, Ashiyie, Adenta and Katamanso made us to believe
that Government never paid any compensation to them for the land they had
acquired. Based on this they
decided to sell the land which they hold to be their property because they
have not been
compensated.
On the strength of this information the residents became convinced and went
ahead to purchase the land from the chiefs, waiting for the white paper to
enable us regularize our
documents.
We want to state here that we are just victims of circumstances because we
made several checks on the chiefs to acquire the white paper from government to
enable us register our
lands only to hear from the media that our houses are going to be
demolished by the CSIR-
ARI.
We want again to state that the area in question is about one third of the
Adentan Municipal/Constituency and already very developed with social amenities
such as electricity, hotels, schools, churches, mosques, markets well laid out
roads and even public transport system that commutes people to and fro. We call
on all persons who are interested in this matter to come to the community to
witness for themselves and not rely on the half-truth published by the CSIR-ARl
in the media to make the community look like a slum and calling us squatters, rogues etc.
As far as we are concerned when development started in the area over
16years ago, CSIR-
ARI never cautioned us or served us any notice which purported that they
did not want us to develop the community. They neither served us any injunction
notice which will have prompted us to go back to the chiefs we bought the land
from and dispute their assertion that the land had been released to them by the
chiefs to sell for development. We want to inform all and sundry that some of
our members have been living here for the past 16 years without any
confrontation from the CSIR-ARl.
We the residents having seen what happened to the residents of Aviation
Adenta, Agyei Kojo and Lashibi recently are alarmed and we are asking the
government to intervene so we can settle the issue amicably. We are ready to
contribute to the relocation of the CSIR-ARI so there will be a win-win
settlement. We are appealing to the government to forestall any act of
demolition from the CSIR-ARI.
As we all can see, the land has already been developed such that it may not
be worth using for agricultural purposes. Considering the housing deficit in
Ghana now, it would not be prudent enough pulling down over 2,000 houses. If
government is planning to sell the land as alleged, then we appeal to be given
the first offer to purchase since we have properties on it.
We are appealing to all well-meaning Ghanaians, NGOs, Stake holders,
Director of CSIR MCE, MP, Regional Minister, the Chief Imam, Peace Council,
Christian Council, Minister of Lands and the Government to come to our aid. We
want to dialogue with Government and CSlR-ARI and correct some of the frivolous
and unfounded stories just to make the public develop disaffection for the residents.
DATE FOR DEMONSTRATION: 13TH FEBRUARY, 2014.
TIME: 9 AM PROMPT.
STARTING POINT: OBRA SPORT, KWAME NKRUMAH CIRCLE, ACCRA THROUGH PRINCIPAL
STREETS OF ACCRA TO HEARTS PARK, ACCRA.
For more information and interview on the issue please contact the
following persons:
Kwasi Owusu Poku: 0544313284
Fred Adjei: 024466& 191
Frank Opoku Addo: 0246942169
Yaw Boabeng: 0244637785
Email: IIresidents@gmail.com
Iraq: 935 Lies, A Tyrant with “Weapons of Mass
Destruction”
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| Blair (L) Bush (Rifght) wanted criminals |
“The greatest crime since World War II has been U.S. foreign
policy.”
(Former US Attorney General, Ramsey Clark, b 1927.)
As outlined by Felicity Arbuthnot in this incisive
historical review, the US is now providing weapons to the Maliki government to
fight Al Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant (AQIL). In a bitter irony, they are also
supplying AQIL with weapons to fight the US puppet regime.
This article carefully documents the role of war crimes in
feeding the military industrial complex. “War is Good for Business” and
so are war crimes. Russia is tacitly complicit in selling weapons to the Iraqi
“government” which constitutes a US proxy regime.
The not so hidden objective is twofold: to feed multibillion
dollar contracts to the US weapons producers while also contributing to the
ongoing destruction of Iraq as a nation state. (GR Editor. M.Ch.)
Iraq War Preparations Behind Closed Door
On February 10th 2003, German Green MP Joschka Fischer, then
Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor, stunned an international security
conference, in Munich’s opulent 19th century Bayerischer Hof hotel discussing
the proposed invasion of Iraq, by banging on the table, switching to English to
guarantee Donald Rumsfeld understood and shouted of the US arguments for war: ”
… I am not convinced.” As he spoke, he gazed at the then US Defence Secretary
over his silver, half framed spectacles, concluding: “That is my problem, I
cannot go to the public and say, ‘these are the reasons’, because I don’t
believe in them.”
The astute Herr Fischer recognized a pack of lies when he
heard them and saved Germany from enjoining a war of aggression – Nuremberg’s
“supreme international crime” – against a country which posed no threat and had
no way of defending itself against the world’s most devastating and destructive
weapons, whose poisonous residual
pollution will continue to maim and kill generations to come for all time.
Tony and George W.
Both Tony “I’d do it again” Blair and George W. Bush face a
citizen’s arrest whenever they appear in public, with Blair also reiterating
with others responsible for bombing Iraq back to a pre-industrial age (again)
that the country is a better place without Saddam, “a tyrant who killed his own
people.”
In fact the Western trumpeted mass graves found in Iraq were
from the 1991 war and subsequent US encouraged uprising and it’s predictably
violent suppression.
In Kurdistan, where the people in the Iran border are were
terribly caught in the crossfire from the weapons used by both devastated sides
(and sold to both sides by the US) Saddam Hussein was firmly in the firing line
for the terrible deaths at Halabja. However a meticulous 1990 US War College
Report threw doubt on the facts of even that horror, stating: “Iraq was blamed
for the Halabja attack, even though it was subsequently brought out that Iran
too had used chemicals in this operation, and it seemed likely that it was the
Iranian bombardment that had actually killed the Kurds.” (i)
Further, according to a 2008 study (ii) George W. Bush: “and
seven top officials – including Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of
State Colin Powell and then National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, made 935 false statements about Iraq”
during the two years following 11th September 2001.
However, the US and UK are seemingly remarkably selective
when it comes to tyrants who “kill their own people”, and not only have failed
to censure their tyrannical Iraqi puppet, Nuri al-Maliki, but are arming him to
the teeth with the same weapons which are linked to the horrific birth defects,
and cancers throughout Iraq, which he is now using on “his own people.”
Moreover, if allegations from very well informed sources that he holds an
Iranian passport are correct, to say that US-UK’s despot of choice appears in a
whole new political light would be to massively understate.
“Counterterrorism” is “Good for Business”
To facilitate Al-Maliki’s assault on Iraq’s citizens, the US
“rushed” seventy five Hellfire missiles to Baghdad in mid-December. On 23rd
January Iraq requested a further five hundred Hellfires, costing $82 million –
small change compared to the $14 Billion in weapons provided by America since
2005.
The AGM-114R Hellfire II (image below), nauseatingly named
“Romeo”, clocked in at: $94,000 each – in 2012. Such spending on weaponry in a
country where electricity, clean water, education and health services have all
but collapsed since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Last week an “American cargo jet loaded with weapons”
including 2,400 rockets to arm Iraqi attack helicopters also arrived in
Baghdad.(iii)
This week a contract was agreed to sell a further twenty
four AH-64E attack helicopters (image below) to Iraq “along with spare parts
and maintenance, in a massive $6.2 Billion deal.” With them comes the
reinvasion of Iraq, with: “hundreds of Americans” to be shipped out “to oversee
the training and fielding of equipment”, some are “US government employees”,
read military, plus a plethora of “contractors”, read mercenaries. (iv)
According to Jane’s Defence Weekly, on November 15th 2013
Iraq also took delivery of: ” its first shipment of highly advanced Mi-35
attack helicopters as part of a $4.3 Billion arms purchase from Russia”, of an
order of: “about 40 Mi-35 and 40 Mi-28 Havoc attack helicopters.”
“Defeating Al Qaeda”, “Saving the Lives of
Civilians”
The all to “attack his own people” in the guise of defeating
“Al Qaeda” in Anbar province and elsewhere where the people have been
peacefully protesting a near one man regime of torture, sectarianism, kangaroo
courts which sentence victims who have also had confessions extracted under
torture.
The chilling death penalty regime, lead the UN Commissioner
for Human Rights, Navi Pillay to comment, with considerable understatement:
“Weaknesses in the criminal justice system means that the death sentence is
often handed down under questionable circumstances in Iraq.”
On 22nd January it was reported that thirty eight people had
been executed in the previous four days.(v) In 2013 Iraq had the third highest
executions in the world, according to Amnesty International.
So now Al-Maliki is to unleash weapons of mass destruction
on any who oppose his reign of terror. Hellfire missiles, also used by the US
forces in Fallujah are described as “Thermobaric Hellfire Missiles”(vi) “Their
effective performance in Fallujah led to major production contracts in 2005.”
“Thermobaric weapons use high temperature/high pressure
explosives as anti-personnel incendiary weapons. They char or vaporise victims
in the immediate target location, or suffocate and collapse internal organs
with their extended blast/vacuum effects.”
“These weapons use a new generation of reactive metal
explosives, some of which are suspected of using Uranium for the high
temperature and increased kinetic blast effects. If Uranium enhanced warheads
were used in Fallujah these may have contained between ten and one hundred kgs
of Uranium per warhead, depending on weapon type.” Ongoing.
They also contain a fuel air explosive (fae) of which:
“The (blast) kill mechanism against living targets is unique
and unpleasant … What kills
is the pressure wave, and more importantly, the subsequent rarefaction (vacuum)
which ruptures the lungs ... If the fuel deflagrates but does
not detonate, victims will
be severely burned and will probably also inhale the burning
fuel. Since the most common fae fuels, ethylene oxide and propylene oxide are
highly toxic, undetonated fae
should prove as lethal to personnel caught within the cloud as most chemical
agents”, according to the US Defence Intelligence Agency. Syria
watchers please note. (Emphasis mine.)
The temperature within the detonation can reach 4,500 to
5,400 °F (2,500 to 3,000 °C). Outside the cloud, the blast wave travels at over
two miles per second (3.2 km/s) – 7200 mph.
There are also reports of white phosphorous or napalm having
being used by Maliki’s forces in Falluja. Certainly if one two minute video is
authentic, as it appears to be, a tell tale inflammatory weapon which cannot be
extinquished is well apparent. (vii – in Arabic, but the visual speaks for
itself.)
On 28th January World Bulletin recorded: “Some 650 people
have been killed or injured and 140,000 displaced by indiscriminate army
shelling in Iraq’s western city of Fallujah” according to Iraqi Parliament
Speaker Osama Nujaifi.
The people of Samarra, whose eye wateringly beautiful,
golden domed Al-Askari Mosque was blown up in 2006, offered their homes and
hospitality to the people fleeing Fallujah and Anbar province, but Maliki’s
security warned Samarra residents not to accept any displaced Fallujah and
Anbar families. They were given twenty four hours to leave Samarra, writes a
friend in Iraq, adding: “Can you believe such criminality? Forcing the kicking
out the refugees who left their houses due to heavy bombing by Maliki’s
criminal forces?”
On Thursday 30th January a source with contacts in Fallujah
gave the names behind the statistics of just a few of the injured arriving at
Fallujah General Hospital:
Iman Mohammed Abdul Razzaq 40 years old (female)
Isaac Saleh Mohammed 4 years (Male)
Abeer Mohammed Saleh 18 years old (female)
Shorooq Borhan Ali 7 years (female)
Ashoaq Mohammed Jassim, 25 years old (female)
Sarah Mohammed Odeh, 13 years old (female)
Fatima Mohammed Odeh, 15 years old (female)
Saleh Mohammed Abdul Razzaq 45 years old (male)
Nobel Peace Laureate Obama and Prime Minister David
Cameron’s regimes are as culpable for their continuing support and facilitating
of Al-Maliki’s crimes against humanity as were Bush and Blair in the lies that
delivered Iraq’s ongoing death and destruction.
But they would do well to note that the escalation of the
unrest in Fallujah began on the 30th of December, the anniversary of Saddam
Hussein’s execution – by a man who was also called Al-Maliki.
The puppet Iraqi Prime Minister further enraged a
justifiably angry population last week with a speech on TV talking of the
interference of other countries and their support for terrorist groups. The
response was to point out his apparent amnesia over the fact that he entered
Iraq on the back of the American tanks in an illegal invasion – and there is
still the question of that alleged Iranian passport.
Given the Iraqi’s record of running out of patience with
imposed despots, he should watch out. The last imposed Prime Minister called
Nuri (al-Said) who ignored, as Wiki puts it: “poverty and social injustice,
became a symbol of a regime that failed to address these issues, choosing a
course of repression, to protect the privileged”, met a very unpleasant end.
As mentioned before, Iraq’s history repeats in uncanny ways.
Notes
vi. http://www.conflictandhealth.com/content/5/1/15 vii. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sd9NsHgxHU …
IRAN-GHANA RELATIONS
A Speech Read By The
Iranian Ambassador To Ghana On Iran’s National Day
 |
| Iranian President Hassan Rohani |
Your Excellency Mr.
Alhaji Rashid Pelpuo Honorable Minister of state in the office of the president
in charge of public and private partnership and The Representative of the
Government of Ghana, Honorable Ministers, Deputy Ministers and other officials,
Respected Ambassadors and Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Honorable Members of
Parliament, Iranian community,
Ladies and Gentlemen
First of all, I would
like to thank you all for being present here to join us for the 35th
anniversary of the victory of Islamic Revolution of Iran.
In 1979, the uprising
of the Iranian Nation, headed by late Imam Khomeini, led to the overthrow of a
tyrannical ruler over Iran and the Islamic Republic political system was
established with 98% in a popular votes cast by the Iranian nation in a free
referendum. On the 35th anniversary of its establishment, the Islamic Republic
of Iran has been able to gain valuable achievements in political, social,
scientific and economic fields.
Your Excellencies,
With respect to its
foreign policy, the Islamic Republic of Iran as a Non-Aligned Movement Chairman
has always been attaching high importance to observance of good coexistence and
expansion of peaceful relations at bilateral, regional and international levels
with its neighbors and other Countries.
One of the main tasks
in today' s world is to fight against terrorism. The Islamic Republic of Iran
is one of the main victims of terrorism given the fact that since the Islamic
revolution it has been getting targeted by numerous internal and external
terrorist acts as a result of which many of its citizens, scientists, officials
and Diplomats have lost their lives. The elimination of this type of crime in
all its forms by tackling its root causes, irrespective of selective approaches
is important towards maintaining the world's comprehensive security.
The last year
proposed resolution of Iranian President to confront extremism and violence
with overwhelming vote of 190 members of the General Assembly of the United
Nations will assist us to keep peace and tranquility in the World.
Distinguished Guests,
On the nuclear issue,
the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the use of nuclear energy for peaceful
purposes is the undisputable right of all nations and this energy shall not be
monopolized by those Countries who wish to impose their hegemony over others.
In the same context,
Tehran has always been intending to use this type of energy for peaceful
purposes under supervision of the sole competent authority from scientific as
well as legal point of view namely IAEA.
Based on the sublime
teachings of Islam and the religious decree of the Supreme Leader, Islamic
Republic of Iran basically opposes massacre of people and use of weapons of
mass destruction and all types of nuclear weapons have no place in its military
and defense doctrine.
In this context the
recent meetings and primary agreement reached between the Islamic Republic of
Iran and 5+ 1 countries will help to prove that nuclear program of Iran is
peaceful.
Honorable Ministers,
Respected Audience,
Islamic Republic of
Iran presently has cordial relations with all African Countries with more than
27 active Embassies established here.
On bilateral and
cordial relation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Ghana
I should indicate that Iran is doing its best to be part of development process
of Ghana through O.D.A assistance and it's educational, medical and
agricultural activities, Iranian Investment companies and other registered
institutions. The two Countries had 4 rounds of comprehensive joint commissions
and the fifth one will be held in May this year in Tehran.
Last year's state
visit of former President of Islamic Republic of Iran to Accra, the official
visit of former Iranian Foreign Minister to Ghana, the official visit of the
Vice President of the Republic of Ghana to Tehran in August 2013, the official
visit of Ghana's Speaker of Parliament to Tehran in October 2013 and the
signing of more than 5 M. O . Us by officials and other 5 contracts signed by
private sectors of the two Countries are the solid proof of cordial relations
between the two Countries. Now our important task is the State visit of H.E.
John Dramani Mahama the esteemed President of the Republic of Ghana to Tehran
in 2014. There are various issues of bilateral and multilateral co-operations
between the two Countries such as: promoting the spirit on Non-Aligned
Movement, South- South Co-operation, international decision makings, import and
export of cocoa beans, petrochemical and oil products, cement, bitumen etc.
Also it is important
to notice that the private Sectors of both Countries are very active and very
soon a big delegation from the Ghana Private Sector will visit Iran.
In conclusion I pray
to the Almighty God for the success of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama
President of the Republic of Ghana and pray to Almighty for the welfare and
prosperity of the Government and Noble Nation of Ghana.
Long live the
Republic of Ghana
Long live the Islamic
Republic of Iran
Long live the
friendly ties and bonds between the two
Countries.
Russia needs Snowden to create cybertroops
 |
| Edward Snowden |
By Lyuba Lulko
Valery Malevanniy, a famous writer, historian of the Russian
special services, retired Major General was a guest of a live broadcast of Pravda.Ru.
In the interview, Valery touched on topics such as the Snowden case, the
collapse of the Soviet Union, participation of foreign NGOs, prevention of
terrorist attacks and UFO programs.
The collapse of the Soviet Union is a special operation of the CIA where the Senate was recommended to "allow" the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, said Valery Malevanniy. The plan was simple. Its main goal was economic devastation of the USSR. The Soviet Union was spending $5 million a day In Afghanistan.
In 1986, Saudi Arabia at the request of the United States
has reduced the price of oil. As a result, Mikhail Gorbachev who took office in
the beginning of perestroika faced an empty treasury. "If in 1980 the gold
reserves of the USSR amounted to 3.5 thousand tons, by 1985 it was 200 tons.
Soviet republics asked Gorbachev for money, but he had nothing to give them,
and then they started breaking off. At the time Western agents - NGOs were
already hard at work," said the expert. After the events in Lithuania the
process has become unmanageable, and soon, "foreign agents were even in
the Kremlin, leading our economy."
Soon NATO intelligence agencies have achieved the collapse of both the Soviet Union and the country's security services, the most important of them the State Security Committee (KGB), continued Malevanniy. "Gorbachev tried to recreate the services of political special forces "Berkut," but it did not help." The collapse of the security services, in turn, led to losses in the economy and the financial sector. The country's might started melting before our own our eyes. "Voucher privatization" imposed on Russia by the Western secret services was implemented.
Soon NATO intelligence agencies have achieved the collapse of both the Soviet Union and the country's security services, the most important of them the State Security Committee (KGB), continued Malevanniy. "Gorbachev tried to recreate the services of political special forces "Berkut," but it did not help." The collapse of the security services, in turn, led to losses in the economy and the financial sector. The country's might started melting before our own our eyes. "Voucher privatization" imposed on Russia by the Western secret services was implemented.
"Chubais employed eight security agents who implemented privatization. As a result, 70 percent of the people's wealth fell into the wrong hands," said the expert. Then NATO disarmed Russia, and the uranium that Russia had been accumulating for decades was taken out of the country. Strategic deterrent was damaged, and many defense plants were shut down. "Our ships, planes, submarines were not on duty due to the lack of diesel fuel." Facilitation of the implementation of this complex of problems is the responsibility of the security services that help the state to restrain not only a terrorist threat, but a threat of economic and financial collapse.
We must understand that "the security services are the
backbone of the political power of any country. Only thanks to Putin, in the
last 10 years, the Russian special services have been restored," said the
expert. For example, credit goes to him for the fight against offshore
companies. According to Malevanniy, today FSB is a force capable of solving problems
equal in scale to the problems solved by Western intelligence agencies. For
example, in 2012, the FSB has prevented 369 terrorist attacks, arrested 147
foreign intelligence officers, including 42 professional intelligence officers
working under cover of diplomatic immunity.
Of course, major miscalculations happen, Malevanniy noted. For example, a betrayal in 2010 by Foreign Intelligence colonel Poteev who has gone to the West and gave up the entire illegal network in the U.S., ten people led by General Mikhail Vlasenkov.
Terrorist attacks in Volgograd are also an error of counterintelligence, Malevanniy believes. "We have to contain the active underground. This includes wiretapping and surveillance. At some point a terrorist (we are talking about the first terrorist attack that occurred on October 21) was simply lost. Perhaps, a substitution took place," said Malevanniy.
Answering the question about his attitude toward Edward Snowden, the expert said that he was a traitor of his country and provocateur. "Russia needs Snowden for the establishment of strategic cyber troops, Russia is 20 years behind in this area. In the United States cyber troops are a part of the NSA, this is wiretapping of everything and everyone." In 2012 the U.S. held joint exercises with China, and it made our leadership think. As a result, in January of 2013 an order was issued on the formation of such forces in Russia. "I admit that this is precisely what we need Snowden for," said the historian.
According to him, Snowden began working for the Chinese
intelligence services because Chinese cyber troops are considered second in
power after the U.S. "No wonder he was in Hong Kong for two months. But
after he gave them all he had, he flew to Russia. While he was sitting at Sheremetyevo
airport, our intelligence services did not know what to do with him, but then
decided that they needed him," Malevanniy concluded.
The expert also told Pravda. Ru that all intelligence agencies of the
world have departments dealing with UFOs, including the FSB and the FBI that
have three research institutes and Base 51. Malevanniy said that contact is
established through the specially trained psychics to obtain nanotechnology.
"In the Soviet Union there was a military unit 10003 under General Savin where
military psychics used to work. The unit trained military space operators, and
there is evidence that they were in contact with UFO; and Savin talks about it
in his memoirs." The abandonment by the Americans of their lunar program
confirms the existence of alien civilizations. "They were warned that the
place was occupied," said the historian.
Speaking about the work of the FSB against
terrorism, the expert stressed that wiretapping was necessary and was conducted
by court order. He believes that wiretapping has to be total, like in the U.S.
"Cyber troops are created for the informational security. America created
its own system and can listen to Australia and Angela Merkel, why can't Russia
do it? Russian intelligence agencies should also deal with the national
security, including anti-terrorist security. We are on the brink of a threat.
Wiretapping really prevents terrorist attacks, so does the control over social
networks. The Americans and Chinese have long understood this, it's time for
Russia to understand it as well," a writer, historian of the secret
services, retired Major General Valery Malevanniy said a live broadcast
"Viewpoint."
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