Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Catherina

Catherina's Journal
Catherina's Journal
September 6, 2013

Video Excerpt. With that tie

September 5, 2013

Syria: Nobel Peace Laureate Tells Her Account of What She Witnessed

Syria: Nobel Peace Laureate Tells Her Account of What She Witnessed


Published on Jul 9, 2013
Nobel Peace Prize laurete, Mairead Maguire tells her account of her visit to Syria. While Maguire was in Syria she discovered that the people the U.S. are funding are violent groups and do not want peace in Syria. Her her view is that Syria is being used as a proxy war by the U.S., Great Britain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.


40,000 well-funded, well-armed foreign Jihadists attached to Al-Qaeda raping, torturing, murdering. Being funded and armed by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Britain, the USA. "Arming terrorists".


September 5, 2013

Syria: An Epic Tornado of Bullshit Assumptions

12:14 p.m. September 5, 2013

Syria: An Epic Tornado of Bullshit Assumptions

By David Sirota

...

Not surprisingly, an aversion to constitutional fact and historical context defined this latest spectacle from the moment President Obama announced his desire to start yet another military campaign in the Middle East. As Washington quickly hooked the drums of war back up to the media's assembled amplifiers, few seemed to even notice the oxymoron of such an announcement coming a mere 72 hours after the same president pledged his loyalty to the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King - aka the man who self-righteously derided the U.S. government as "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world."

Even fewer seemed to notice the inadvertent comedy in Obama's decision to request Congressional authorization for an attack on Syria. Despite that being a crystal clear constitutional requirement, our self-congratulatory president deemed it a "pretty big idea" - as if he sincerely believes it is a radical notion to simply follow the law.

All of that, of course, was just the beginning. As the drums now thrum louder, so many history-averse assertions and fact-free presuppositions are now swirling through the discourse that it is probably inaccurate to call the back-and-forth over Syria a "debate." This is an epic tornado of Bullshit Assumptions carrying Dorothy, Toto and the rest of us away to a militaristic Land of Oz.

....

Bullshit Assumption #1: The United States and its Western allies are vehemently opposed to chemical weapons, so when Syria used chemical weapons, it crossed the West's sacrosanct "red line."


...

Bullshit Assumption #2:...
...

https://www.nsfwcorp.com/dispatch/syria-bullshit-tornado/f4f7bd1ae409bd4e9ecd024cd0bb81471a33a869/

September 5, 2013

Arab countries (meaning Qatar & Saudi) are going to pick up the tab. We're renting out our military

Secretary of State John Kerry said at Wednesday’s hearing that Arab counties have offered to pay for the entirety of unseating President Bashar al-Assad if the United States took the lead militarily.

“With respect to Arab countries offering to bear costs and to assess, the answer is profoundly yes,” Kerry said. “They have. That offer is on the table.”

Asked by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) about how much those countries would contribute, Kerry said they have offered to pay for all of a full invasion.

“In fact, some of them have said that if the United States is prepared to go do the whole thing the way we’ve done it previously in other places, they’ll carry that cost,” Kerry said. “That’s how dedicated they are at this. That’s not in the cards, and nobody’s talking about it, but they’re talking in serious ways about getting this done.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics-live/liveblog/the-houses-syria-hearing-live-updates/#e68f139f-e012-476c-876e-2467ba30e5e3


The US Military turned into mercenaries for Arab dictators.

September 5, 2013

Pope urges G20 leaders to seek Syria peace talks / Pope's Letter to Vladimir Putin about Syria

Pope urges G20 leaders to seek Syria peace talks

Francis urges leaders to abandon 'futile pursuit' of military solution and work instead for dialogue

Lizzy Davies in Milan
The Guardian, Thursday 5 September 2013 13.23 BST
Pope urges G20 leaders to seek Syria peace talks
Francis urges leaders to abandon 'futile pursuit' of military solution and work instead for dialogue

Lizzy Davies in Milan
The Guardian, Thursday 5 September 2013 13.23 BST


Pope Francis will host a peace vigil in St Peter’s Square on Saturday. Photograph: Rex Features

Pope Francis has urged world leaders meeting at the G20 summit in St Petersburg to overcome their differences on Syria and agree to abandon "the futile pursuit of a military solution".

In a letter addressed to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics reiterated his strong opposition to any military intervention in the country, writing that "armed conflicts … create profound divisions and deep wounds which require many years to heal".

Francis was understood to have written to Putin – one of the Damascus regime's key allies – in his capacity as head of state of the nation currently holding the presidency of the G20.

...

In the latest salvo in a growing anti-war movement within the Vatican, Francis called on world leaders to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis.

...

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/pope-g20-syria-peace-talks

[hr]
Letter of Pope Francis to Vladimir Putin dealing with Syria

To His Excellency
Mr Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation

In the course of this year, you have the honour and the responsibility of presiding over the Group of the twenty largest economies in the world. I am aware that the Russian Federation has participated in this group from the moment of its inception and has always had a positive role to play in the promotion of good governance of the world’s finances, which have been deeply affected by the crisis of 2008.

In today’s highly interdependent context, a global financial framework with its own just and clear rules is required in order to achieve a more equitable and fraternal world, in which it is possible to overcome hunger, ensure decent employment and housing for all, as well as essential healthcare. Your presidency of the G20 this year has committed itself to consolidating the reform of the international financial organizations and to achieving a consensus on financial standards suited to today’s circumstances. However, the world economy will only develop if it allows a dignified way of life for all human beings, from the eldest to the unborn child, not just for citizens of the G20 member states but for every inhabitant of the earth, even those in extreme social situations or in the remotest places.

From this standpoint, it is clear that, for the world’s peoples, armed conflicts are always a deliberate negation of international harmony, and create profound divisions and deep wounds which require many years to heal. Wars are a concrete refusal to pursue the great economic and social goals that the international community has set itself, as seen, for example, in the Millennium Development Goals. Unfortunately, the many armed conflicts which continue to afflict the world today present us daily with dramatic images of misery, hunger, illness and death. Without peace, there can be no form of economic development. Violence never begets peace, the necessary condition for development.

The meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the twenty most powerful economies, with two-thirds of the world’s population and ninety per cent of global GDP, does not have international security as its principal purpose. Nevertheless, the meeting will surely not forget the situation in the Middle East and particularly in Syria. It is regrettable that, from the very beginning of the conflict in Syria, one-sided interests have prevailed and in fact hindered the search for a solution that would have avoided the senseless massacre now unfolding. The leaders of the G20 cannot remain indifferent to the dramatic situation of the beloved Syrian people which has lasted far too long, and even risks bringing greater suffering to a region bitterly tested by strife and needful of peace. To the leaders present, to each and every one, I make a heartfelt appeal for them to help find ways to overcome the conflicting positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution. Rather, let there be a renewed commitment to seek, with courage and determination, a peaceful solution through dialogue and negotiation of the parties, unanimously supported by the international community. Moreover, all governments have the moral duty to do everything possible to ensure humanitarian assistance to those suffering because of the conflict, both within and beyond the country’s borders.

Mr President, in the hope that these thoughts may be a valid spiritual contribution to your meeting, I pray for the successful outcome of the G20’s work on this occasion. I invoke an abundance of blessings upon the Summit in Saint Petersburg, upon the participants and the citizens of the member states, and upon the work and efforts of the 2013 Russian Presidency of the G20.

While requesting your prayers, I take this opportunity to assure you, Mr President, of my highest consideration.

Pope Francis

http://www.voltairenet.org/article180098.html
[hr]

Angelus by Pope Francis announcing September 7 as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria
by Pope Francis


September 5, 2013

Russia releasesfindings on chemical attack near Aleppo indicating similarity with rebel-made weapons

Russia releases key findings on chemical attack near Aleppo indicating similarity with rebel-made weapons
Published time: September 04, 2013 17:02

Probes from Khan al-Assal show chemicals used in the March 19 attack did not belong to standard Syrian army ammunition, and that the shell carrying the substance was similar to those made by a rebel fighter group, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.

A statement released by the ministry on Wednesday particularly drew attention to the “massive stove-piping of various information aimed at placing the responsibility for the alleged chemical weapons use in Syria on Damascus, even though the results of the UN investigation have not yet been revealed.”

...

But the samples taken at the site of the March 19 attack and analyzed by Russian experts indicate that a projectile carrying the deadly nerve agent sarin was most likely fired at Khan al-Assal by the rebels, the ministry statement suggests, outlining the 100-page report handed over to the UN by Russia.
...


• the shell used in the incident “does not belong to the standard ammunition of the Syrian army and was crudely according to type and parameters of the rocket-propelled unguided missiles manufactured in the north of Syria by the so-called Bashair al-Nasr brigade”;

• RDX, which is also known as hexogen or cyclonite, was used as the bursting charge for the shell, and it is “not used in standard chemical munitions”;

• soil and shell samples contain “the non-industrially synthesized nerve agent sarin and diisopropylfluorophosphate,” which was “used by Western states for producing chemical weapons during World War II.”

The findings of the report are “extremely specific,” as they mostly consist of scientific and technical data from probes’ analysis, the ministry stressed, adding that this data can “substantially aid” the UN investigation of the incident.

...

http://rt.com/news/chemical-aleppo-findings-russia-417/
September 4, 2013

Gawd, even the complicit MSM can't keep up with all the lies now

&feature=player_embedded
September 4, 2013

Or the ones who were sickened by the Western-backed rebles cannibalizing their victims?

and not only eating their hearts and liver on film but uploading it to youtube in a fit of self righteous glory?

Or slaughtering a 14 year old atheist for insulting the Prophet Mohammed? That's when the Western-backed rebels LOST any support they were trying for among the Syrian people. Sawing off priest's heads with knives guaranteed NO support from Syrians who value peace and human rights in their country.



Or lining up very young children, reading their *sins* to them and machine-gunning them down?

WARNING to protect my post from the war supporters whose fingers are glued to that alert button. This video is graphic by WarHawk Ostrich Censorship standards. I put GRAPHIC in bold so don't even fucking pretend this was thrust in anyone's innocent face.





Profile Information

Name: Catherina
Gender: Female
Member since: Mon Mar 3, 2008, 03:08 PM
Number of posts: 35,568

About Catherina

There are times that one wishes one was smarter than one is so that when one looks out at the world and sees the problems one wishes one knew the answers and I don\'t know the answers. I think sometimes one wishes one was dumber than one is so one doesn\'t have to look out into the world and see the pain that\'s out there and the horrible situations that are out there, and not know what to do - Bernie Sanders http://www.democraticunderground.com/128040277
Latest Discussions»Catherina's Journal