http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=unemployment Wed, 22 May 2013 03:14:57 -0400 Liveleak http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/u/u/ll2/logo.gif http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=unemployment Mon, 20 May 2013 16:46:46 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=439_1369082749 Pakistani Canada bashed by China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia, Iran, North Korea, at UN rights Canadian FM Lawrence Cannon at UN UN Rights Watch: April 26, 2013 GENEVA, April 26, 2013 - Today's UN quadrennial review of Canada's human rights record quickly turned into a spectacle of hypocrisy and farce when the North Korean regime of Kim Jong-un took the floor to accuse the country of "torture and other ill-treatment," China, Cuba and Pakistan bewailed Canada's "racism," and Russia deplored "torture and cruelty against peaceful protestors." (See full quotes below). Human rights groups said the outbursts harmed the credibility of the UN. "The UN squandered a golden opportunity to contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights in Canada," said Hillel Neuer, a Canadian-born lawyer who directs the non-governmental human rights organization UN Watch. "The continued subversion of the UN human rights system-whereby thugs, murderers and rapists purport to judge the human rights record of a liberal democracy-undermines the founding principles and credibility of the United Nations," said Neuer. "It's the foxes guarding the chickens, with the world's worst tyrannies abusing a legitimate process to satisfy narrow-minded political agendas, and to attack a leading Western democracy in order to deflect attention from their own sordid practices." Neuer commended the minority of democracies who engaged constructively by making genuine recommendations for concrete improvements. Quotes from today's UN Human Rights Council Review of Canada Iran: We are "concerned on violations of human rights by Canadian government... particularly with regard to child sexual exploitation and trafficking, the right to food, discriminatory law and regulation against indigenous people and minority groups including Muslim and African communities." China: "We are concerned by the wide-spread racial discrimination in Canada." Cuba: There is "racism and xenophobia" in Canada. North Korea: "We have serious concerns about continued violation of the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, torture and other ill-treatment, racism and xenophobia." Egypt: "We are alarmed by several instances of racial profiling in law-enforcement action and racial discrimination in employment." Pakistan: "The increased poverty and unemployment rate among immigrant communities is a manifestation of racial discrimination." Russia: "Human rights defenders are alarmed by police actions of torture and cruelty against peaceful demonstrators." UN Watch is a Geneva-based human rights organization founded in 1993 to monitor UN compliance with the principles of its Charter. It is accredited as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and as an Associate NGO to the UN Department of Public Information (DPI). http://www.defence.pk/forums/world-affairs/252929-canada-bashed-china-pakistan-russia-iran-nk-un-rights-review.html http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/54774 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=439_1369082749 Pakistani Canada bashed by China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia, Iran, North Korea, at UN rights Canada bashed by China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia, Iran, North Korea, at UN rights Mon, 20 May 2013 02:46:30 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bff_1369032049 Abdul Ruff Colachal USA against Denuclearization and Disarmament By DR. ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL Affairs ,Former university Teacher; Editor:INTERNATIONAL OPINION; Editor: FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES; Palestine Times: RANDOM THOUGHTS; ( http://abdulrubb.wordpress.com ); website: http://abdulruff.wordpress.com / mail: abdulruff_jnu@yahoo.com ] __________________________________ Humanity seeks a secured world free from nukes and wars. But big powers and their traditonal military n and space rivalries dney the pople of globe real chances for safety and security. Although it criticizes Iran and North Korea on their legitimate nuke projects, USA is not at all serious about denuclearization and disarmament. Washington stalls al serious attempts by global nations to create a world free of nukes. American opposition and lack of commitment to various international disarmament conventions are obstacles to advancing the issue of global disarmament. To put it aptly, the US opposition to the protocol to the Biological Weapons Convention, its non-adherence to its commitments under the Chemical Weapons Convention to eliminate its arsenal by 2012, and efforts to prevent global denuclearization as well as a nuclear-free Middle East are all part of Washington's black record of non-compliance with international obligations and disrespect for international mechanisms on global disarmament and security. The USA has, for all practical purposes, taken the UN Disarmament Conference hostage and is hindering its effective performance in advancing international peace and security. For years now, the USA is opposed to bringing up the issue of disarmament in the UN Disarmament Conference Refusal by USA to denuclearize Israel clearly shows its own mindset to retain have nuke regime intact. But the efforts by USA-Israel twins to project Iran as a rogue state are motivated and hence do hold water. Iran is among the first founders of the UN Disarmament Conference and, Iran says, has always played an instrumental and constructive role in advancing the objectives of the conference, in particular that of nuclear disarmament. Iran has also played a key role in negotiations on international treaties, including the Chemical Weapons Convention. Iran proposed the idea of a nuke-free Middle East and is among the flag-bearers of nuclear disarmament. Describing Iran as a victim of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), the Iranian spokesman said the Islamic Republic of Iran along with other peace-loving nations of the world will continue to tap into all national and international potential to contribute to the creation of a WMD-free world. The recent remarks by US President B Obama and UK Premier David Cameron about continuing pressure on Iran are discouraging and indicate the lack of a realistic view and the right understanding of reality by those who advocate these pressures. Iran said the policy of pressure had never been effective, adding that purposeful negotiations made with goodwill were the only way to achieve a solution to the Western standoff over Tehran's nuclear energy program. Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned Canada regime for joining anti-Iran rogue states bandwagon led by USA-Israel twins and also condemned the recent remarks by Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird and the holding of an anti-Iran conference in Canada as flagrant interference in the Islamic Republic of Iran's internal affairs. Canada's blame-game in the foreign policy arena, particularly with respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran, will not be able to divert public attention either inside or outside Canada from issues such as the election fraud known as the Robocalls scandal, which brought the current Canadian government to power, or the blatant and systematic violation of human rights in Canada. People around the world have learned about the massive racial discrimination, child trafficking and sex abuse, biased regulations for aborigines and minorities, growing poverty and unemployment among immigrants, racism and xenophobia in Canada, which were all reported by the UN official sources as well as Canada's non-government organizations. The international community is concerned about democracy and the human rights situation in Canada The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman further welcomed Egypt's proposal on forming a quartet on Syria and voiced the Islamic Republic's readiness to help resolve the crisis in the Arab country. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bff_1369032049 Abdul Ruff Colachal USA against Denuclearization and Disarmament USA against De-Nuclearization and Disarmament Wed, 15 May 2013 18:44:29 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=609_1368657708 th1sf8te Unemployment has increased by 15,000 to 2.52 million, while total pay growth has fallen to its lowest level in four years. It is the third quarterly increase in a row in the jobless total. The number of people in work fell by 43,000 in the latest quarter to March, to 29.7 million, the biggest fall since autumn 2011. Today's data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that annual wage growth for the three-month period was 0.4 per cent, a fall of 0.4 per cent on the previous quarter, and lagging well behind inflation. The figure for March alone showed a fall in pay of 0.4 per cent, the first negative since March 2009. Meanwhile, average earnings excluding bonuses rose by 0.8 per cent, the lowest rise since records began in 2001. The figures also revealed that 902,000 people had been out of work for more than a year, a 23,000 increase on the three months to December. The number of unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds fell by 17,000 to 958,000. The number of people classed as economically inactive, including students, people on long-term sick leave and those who have given up looking for work, rose by 47,000 to nine million. Despite today's increase in unemployment, the total is 92,000 lower than a year ago. Minister for Employment Mark Hoban said: "We are seeing continuing falls in the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance which is positive. Whilst there has been a disappointing increase in the headline rate of unemployment, we shouldn't forget the progress we are making. "We are not complacent. To win the global race we need to do all that we can to help people achieve their aspiration to look after themselves and their families." But Martin Beck, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "Following recent positive news on the economy, today's UK labour market data provides something of a reality check. "There was a triple whammy of bad news, with employment in the three months to March down by 43,000 and unemployment up by 15,000. Meanwhile, the squeeze on real earnings has intensified. "At least there was one piece of good news, with unemployment on the claimant count measure seeing a further drop in April, down by 7,300. "But with further significant public sector job losses in the pipeline and firms likely to seek to restore productivity by shedding workers, it may not be long before even this narrower measure of unemployment starts to rise too." Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight, said it was a "mixed" picture, adding that he expected unemployment to rise modestly over the year. He said: "Earnings growth remains extremely weak, which is hitting consumers' purchasing power appreciably especially as consumer price inflation has moved back up to 2.8 per cent. "While the economy has recently shown welcome signs of improvement, a serious concern for growth prospects is that consumer spending will be held back by low earnings and softer employment." Liam Byrne, Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary, said: "We now have definitive proof the Government has simply failed to get Britain back to work." He said the Government had done nothing in the Queen's Speech to help solve the "jobs crisis" and instead Tory MPs were bickering over Europe. "Families struggling for work will be asking quite simply, what planet are these people on?" TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "These jobs figures are troubling. There are now more people out of work today than when the coalition took office three years ago. "Those in work are taking a hammering in their pay packets with wage growth down to just 0.4 per cent, while prices rise far more quickly. "It's no wonder the economy is struggling when people in work are getting poorer every month." She called on the Government to tackle the "economic stagnation" with a programme of investment. Neil Carberry, director of employment and skills for the CBI, said: "Given the challenging economic conditions at the end of last year, it's unsurprising that we're now seeing fewer people in work. "What's encouraging, however, is that economic conditions seem to be improving and that full-time jobs are still being created. "With these figures showing the highest number of vacancies since 2008, this reflects businesses' more positive view of the year ahead." Regional unemployment between January and March (tabulate under region, total unemployed, change on quarter and unemployment rate) North East, 127,000, plus 1,000, 9.8 per cent North West, 277,000, minus 18,000, 8.0 per cent Yorkshire and The Humber, 250,000, plus 4,000, 9.0 per cent East Midlands, 177,000, no change, 7.8 per cent West Midlands, 253,000, plus 16,000, 9.2 per cent East of England, 210,000, minus 2,000, 6.8 per cent London, 368,000, plus 5,000, 8.5 per cent South East , 299,000, plus 3,000, 6.6 per cent South West, 166,000, plus 17,000, 6.1 per cent Wales, 121,000, minus 6,000, 8.2 per cent Scotland, 199,000, minus 7,000, 7.3 per cent Northern Ireland, 70,000, plus 2,000, 8.1 per cent PA http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-jobless-total-rises-again--up-15000-to-252m-8616821.html http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=609_1368657708 th1sf8te UK jobless total rises again - up 15,000 to 2.52m UK jobless total rises again - up 15,000 to 2.52m Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:22:41 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0b0_1366921021 gemini Published on 25 Apr 2013 Euronews Spain's new record level of unemployment - 27.2 percent - has put the focus on a generation growing accustomed to life without work. Six million Spaniards are now jobless, more than the entire population of Denmark. The rate is the highest since records began in the 1970s and puts Spain on a par with Greece. Joaquin lost his job as a fishmonger in the Canary Islands five months ago. "You have no expectations, nothing, you just try to survive day by day," he says. In nearly two million Spanish homes every adult is jobless. In Barcelona Rafael has been out of work for three years. His wife Nati recently lost her job too. For now they have to get by on 420 euros a month in benefits for the couple and their young daughter. "We were preparing all the papers needed but they say we won't get any help at least until June or July," says Nati. "It's not enough to live on, it's impossible," adds her husband. The latest figures will refuel the debate over whether austerity policies should be ditched. Last year the government imposed drastic spending cuts and tax rises to bring Spain's huge deficit under control, but the belt-tightening has aggravated the economy's problems. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is due to announce further spending cuts on Friday. But thousands in Madrid have been making their feelings clear on Thursday evening with an anti-austerity rally outside parliament. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0b0_1366921021 gemini Spain's record <span class="highlight">unemployment</span> rate highlights plight of jobless generation austerity Sun, 12 May 2013 05:45:02 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b95_1368351158 AntiPropagaanda Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism and the Spread of Sunni Theofascism Amb. Curtin Winsor, Ph.D. The United States has largely eliminated the infrastructure and operational leadership of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network over the past five years. However, its ideological offspring continue to proliferate across the globe. American efforts to combat this contagion are hamstrung by the fact that its ideological and financial epicenter is Saudi Arabia, where an ostensibly pro-Western royal family governs through a centuries-old alliance with the fanatical Wahhabi Islamic sect. In addition to indoctrinating its own citizens with this extremist creed, the Saudi government has lavishly financed the propagation of Wahhabism throughout the world, sweeping away moderate interpretations of Islam even within the borders of the United States itself. The Bush administration has done little to halt this ideological onslaught beyond quietly (and unsuccessfully) urging the Saudi royal family to desist. This lack of resolve is rooted in American dependence on Saudi oil production, fears of instability in the kingdom, wishful thinking about democracy promotion as an antidote to religious extremism, and preoccupation with confronting Iran. Background Wahhabism is derived from the teachings of Muhammad ibn abd al-Wahhab, an eighteenth century religious zealot from the Arabian interior. Like most Sunni Islamic fundamentalist movements, the Wahhabis advocated the fusion of state power and religion through the reestablishment of the Caliphate, the form of government adopted by the Prophet Muhammad's successors during the age of Muslim expansion. What sets Wahhabism apart from other Sunni Islamist movements is its historical obsession with purging Sufis, Shiites, and other Muslims who do not conform to its twisted interpretation of Islamic scripture. In 1744, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab forged an historic alliance with the Al-Saud clan and sanctified its drive to vanquish its rivals. In return, the Al-Saud supported campaigns by Wahhabi zealots to cleanse the land of "unbelievers." In 1801, Saudi-Wahhabi warriors crossed into present day Iraq and sacked the Shiite holy city of Karbala, killing over 4,000 people. After the Saudis conquered Mecca and Medina in the 1920s, they destroyed such "idolatrous" shrines as the Jannat al-Baqi cemetary, where four of the twelve Shiite imams were buried (on the grounds that grave markers are bida'a, or objectionable innovations). In return for endorsing the royal family's authority in political, security, and economic spheres after the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, Wahhabi clerics were granted control over state religious and educational institutions and allowed to enforce their rigid interpretation of sharia (Islamic law). Wahhabism was largely confined to the Arabian peninsula until the 1960s, when the Saudi monarchy gave refuge to radical members of the Muslim Brotherhood fleeing persecution in Nasser's Egypt. A cross-fertilization of sorts occurred between the atavistic but isolated Wahhabi creed of the Saudi religious establishment and the Salafi jihadist teachings of Sayyid Qutb, who denounced secular Arab rulers as unbelievers and legitimate targets of holy war ( jihad ). "It was the synthesis of the twain-Wahhabi social and cultural conservatism, and Qutbist political radicalism- that produced the militant variety of Wahhabist political Islam that eventually (produced) al-Qaeda." The terms Islamofascism and theofascism have been frequently misused by Westerners to refer to virtually all forms of radical Islamism, but they are fitting appellations for Wahhabism today. The sect's rejection of individual liberties, disparagement and reduction of women's rights and status, disregard for the intrinsic value of human life, and encouragement of violence against unbelievers, are unparalleled among Islamic fundamentalist movements. Former CIA Director R. James Woolsey has used the term "Sunni theocratic totalitarianism," a term that highlights both the movement's "will to power" over the most minute aspects of Muslim daily life and its global ambitions. He also notes that its adherents do not raise the banner of Islam in pursuit of specific national, political, or territorial gains. Al-Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri has sharply rebuked the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood for participating in national elections. During the 1970s, Wahhabi clerics encouraged the spread of this revolutionary and atavistic ideological synthesis into Saudi universities and mosques, because it was seen as a barrier to the threat of cultural Westernization and spread of corruption that accompanied the 1970s oil boom. Consequently, the royal family and their religious establishment looked for a cause with which to deflect the growing zealotry from Wahhabist theofascism, a danger highlighted by the seizure of the Grand Mosque at Mecca by heavily armed Islamic Studies students in 1979. The diversion that the royal family seized upon was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Saudis financed a large-scale program of assistance to the Afghan mujahideen , in coordination with the Pakistan's Inter Service Intelligence agency (ISI) and the CIA, while funding radicalized madrassas to disseminate neo-Wahhabi ideology and literature in the sprawling Afghan refugee camps of Pakistan. They also dispatched thousands of volunteer jihadis from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to fight alongside the mujahideen. These so-called "Arab Afghans" dispersed to far-flung areas of the world after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1988. They pursued further victories against "unbelievers" in the name of Islam, and they were accompanied by militant Wahhabi preachers. These elements would form the backbone of al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda was initially headquartered in Sudan, but returned to Afghanistan in 1996, following the seizure of Kabul by the Taliban. This was a new Afghan force, recruited in Wahhabi madrassas and, trained by the Pakistanis. Its goal was the establishment of a model Wahhabi state in Afghanistan. The Saudi royal family revoked bin Laden's Saudi citizenship (in response to heavy American pressure), but did little to interfere with Wahhabi "charities" in the Kingdom and abroad. These entities raised money for al-Qaeda, while the religious onslaught of Wahhabism continued to receive government sponsorship and funding. Osama bin Laden is widely believed to have reached an agreement with Prince Turki al-Faisal, then-chief of Saudi National Security and Intelligence in the mid 1990s, whereby al-Qaeda would not target the Kingdom, and the Kingdom would not interfere with al-Qaeda's fundraising or seek bin Laden's extradition. In fact, Al-Qaeda abstained completely from attacks on Saudi targets within the Kingdom prior to 9/11. Terrorist attacks and clashes between Saudi police and Islamist militants have erupted erupting periodically since May 2003, after the Saudi Government began cracking down on underground cells in the Kingdom (under pressure from Washington). However, it appears that most Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups still respect this quid pro quo Hundreds of members of the Saudi royal family jet around the world without fear of assassination. The country's vulnerable petroleum industry has only once been targeted by terrorists, and then in a less that serious manner. In return, and notwithstanding its limited cooperation with Washington in restricting terrorist financing, the Saudi monarchy has maintained its commitment to propagating Wahhabism at home and abroad, providing the terrorist underground with a growing flood of eager recruits. Wahhabi Indoctrination "Man . . . requires proper instruction and a fortunate nature, and then of all animals he becomes the most divine and most civilized; but if he be insufficiently or ill educated, he is the most savage of earthly creatures." Plato It is estimated that well over one-third of Saudi Arabia's public school curriculum is devoted to Wahhabi teachings. Passages from Saudi textbooks quoted in the American media after 9/11 generated much controversy. One textbook, for example, informed ninth grade students that Judgment Day will not come "until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them," while another stated that it is "compulsory" for Muslims "to consider the infidels their enemy." Embarrassed by the revelations, the Saudi government purported to launch a comprehensive review of its educational curricula and pledged that all such references would be removed. Last year, however, Freedom House published an exhaustive report on the new curriculum, concluding that it "continues to propagate an ideology of hate toward the 'unbeliever,' which include Christians, Jews, Shiites, Sufis, Sunni Muslims who do not follow Wahhabi doctrine, Hindus, atheists and others." Some analysts dismiss the relevance of this indoctrination on the grounds that "conforming to an ultra-conservative, anti-pluralistic faith does not necessarily make you a violent individual," but this reasoning is fallacious. If only one percent of the 5 million Saudi students exposed to these teachings resort to violence, this would produce 50,000 jihadis. Not surprisingly, bin Laden himself denounced foreign interference in Saudi school curricula in an April 2006 audiotape. Moreover, these teachings are reinforced by Wahhabi clerics in Saudi Arabia, who advocate jihad against enemies of "true" Islam - outside the kingdom." Incitement to violence against Shiites is particularly common. In December 2006, a high-ranking cleric close to the Saudi royal family, Abdul Rahman al-Barak, denounced Shiites as an "evil sect . . . more dangerous than Jews and Christians." In November of 2004, twenty-six clerics, most of whom held positions as lecturers of Islamic studies at various Saudi state-funded universities, issued a call for jihad against American forces in Iraq. Two Saudi officials denounced the fatwa in interviews with the Western media, but no retraction was made in Arabic to local media outlets. Months later, a Saudi dissident group released a videotape showing the Chief Justice of Saudi Arabia's Supreme Judicial Council, Saleh bin Muhammad al-Luhaidan, advising young Saudis at a government mosque on how to infiltrate Iraq and fight US troops, as well as assuring them that Saudi security forces would not punish them after their return. While Luhaidan publicly retracted his statements, videotapes of prominent Saudi clerics exhorting the public to wage jihad in Iraq and elsewhere continue to surface. Exporting Hatred While Saudi citizens remain the vanguard of Islamic theofascism around the world, the growth potential for this ideology lies outside the Kingdom. The Saudis have spent at least $87 billion propagating Wahhabism abroad during the past two decades, and the scale of financing is believed to have increased in the past two years as oil prices have skyrocketed. The bulk of this funding goes to the construction and operating expenses of mosques, madrassas, and other religious institutions that preach Wahhabism. It also supports the training of imams; domination of mass media and publishing outlets; distribution of Wahhabi textbooks and other literature; and endowments to universities (in exchange for influence over the appointment of Islamic scholars). By comparison, the Communist Party of the USSR and its Comintern spent just over $7 billion propagating its ideology worldwide between 1921 and 1991. Wahhabism has made less headway in the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia, despite the fact that decades of Communist rule had weakened their traditional Islamic institutions. Several successor governments, especially the Uzbekis, have cracked down harshly on militant Islamist groups, while encouraging educational systems in the Hanafi tradition that promote tolerant and peaceful Islam. Africa is also a critical area of Wahhabi expansion, as it offers a multitude of "failed states" and communal cleavages ripe for exploitation, most notably in the Sudan and Nigeria. In all of these areas, the central dynamic is the same - it is the overwhelming wealth of Saudi Arabia that enables the Wahhabi sect to proselytize on a global scale, not the intrinsic appeal of its teachings. Throughout the world, moderates echo the assessment of Somali journalist Bashir Gothar, who writes that his country's tolerant Sufi-infused Islamic culture has been: "swept aside by a new brand of Islam that is being pushed down the throat of our people - Wahhabism. Anywhere one looks, one finds that alien, perverted version of Islam." Wahhabism in the West Wahhabi proselytizing is not limited to the Islamic world. The Saudis have financed the growth of thousands of Wahhabi mosques, madrassas, and other religious institutions in Western countries that have fast-growing Muslim minorities during the past three decades. Wahhabi penetration is deepest in the social welfare states of Western Europe, where chronically high unemployment has created large pools of able-bodied young Muslim men who have "become permanent wards of the state at the cost of their basic human dignity." This is a perfect storm of alienation and idleness, ripe for terrorist recruitment. The perpetrators of the 2005 London subway attacks were native-born Britons of Pakistani descent, recruited locally and trained in the use of explosives during visits to Pakistan. The Dutch Moroccan who murdered Dutch filmmaker Theodor Van Gogh in 2004 (for producing a film critical of Islam) was also a product of Wahhabi indoctrination. The Wahhabis have had less traction in the United States, which lacks the masses of unassimilated young people that exist in Europe. US welfare laws no longer allow able-bodied young men to have indefinite periods of government subsidized unemployment and immigrants (both Muslim and non-Muslim) tend to find a more stable niche in American society. Nevertheless, Wahhabi penetration of US mainstream Islamic institutions is substantial. A 2005 Freedom House Report examined over 200 books and other publications distributed in 15 prominent Saudi-funded American mosques. One such publication, bearing the imprint of the Saudi embassy and distributed by the King Fahd Mosque in Los Angeles, contained the following injunctions for Muslims living in America: Be dissociated from the infidels, hate them for their religion, leave them, never rely on them for support, do not admire them, and always oppose them in every way according to Islamic law. hoever helps unbelievers against Muslims, regardless of what type of support he lends to them, he is an unbeliever himself. Never greet the Christian or Jew first. Never congratulate the infidel on his holiday. Never befriend an infidel unless it is to convert him. Never imitate the infidel. Never work for an infidel. Do not wear a graduation gown because this imitates the infidel. Although Saudi-funded religious institutions have been careful not to incite or explicitly endorse violence since 9/11, they unapologetically promote distrust toward non-Muslims and self-segregation. In effect, they are trying to reproduce in America the kind of social conditions that have fueled radicalization and terrorist recruitment in Europe. While the Saudi ambassador in Washington said last year that his government was undertaking a "very intense review" of all missionary activities in the United States, it is clear that the Saudis are concerned primarily with avoiding bad publicity, not abandoning their drive to dominate Islamic institutions in America. Causes of American Inaction The Bush administration has been reluctant to put serious pressure on the Saudis to stop propagating Wahhabism, despite the enormous threat to American security posed by Sunni theofascism. There are several reasons for this. The first is American dependence on the kingdom's abundant oil reserves, which enable to the Saudis to maintain roughly 3 million b/d in spare production capacity. This spare capacity has been called the "energy equivalent of nuclear weapons," because it puts the Saudis in a unique position to compensate for disruptions in supplies from other producers and discourage price gouging - a service provided to the United States (and other industrialized nations) in exchange for protection. However, the argument that a firm public stance against Saudi propagation of religious hatred might lead the kingdom to retaliate economically is spurious. Saudi Arabia's use of the oil weapon would alienate the entire industrialized world, while threatening the relative economic prosperity that preserves stability in the kingdom. Some politicians and writers have voiced concern that pushing the Saudi royal family to curtail the Wahhabis could lead to terrorist attacks on the country's vulnerable petroleum infrastructure or lead to the collapse of the monarchy, which would produce an even worse outcome - a Saudi state controlled exclusively by religious fanatics. While these are serious risks, it must be borne in mind that most Wahhabi radicals view the monarchy (and its oil fields) as a golden goose. It is only by disguising Saudi Arabia as a 'friendly nation' that they have been able to go as far as they have in spreading their atavistic perversion of Islam. Such concerns reveal a tendency to imagine or spin the Saudi royal family as fundamentally pro-Western. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who served as ambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005, has played an important role in masking Saudi - Wahhabi realities. His personal charm, Washington Post journalist David Ignatius writes, "many American leaders and even presidents to forget that he represented a secretive, repressive Muslim kingdom that survived because it had made a pact with 'puritanical' Wahhabi clerics who despised America." Bandar was also instrumental in the growth of what Daniel Pipes has called a "culture of corruption" that renders the executive branch of the American government "incapable of dealing with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the farsighted and disinterested manner that US foreign policy requires." Pipes points to a "revolving door syndrome" afflicting senior diplomats and policymakers who deal with the Saudis in their official capacities. Very often, they have enjoyed lucrative post-government careers working as consultants for Saudi businessmen and companies, or running Saudi-financed nongovernmental organizations. "If the reputation then builds that the Saudis take care of friends when they leave office," Bandar once reportedly told a close associate: "you'd be surprised how much better friends you have who are just coming into office." Unable or unwilling to combat the spread of Sunni theofascism at its main source (Saudi Arabia), the Bush administration launched a democracy promotion campaign intended to eradicate political conditions receptive to its global spread. However, rather than building stable and less oppressive systems resistant to religious extremism in Afghanistan and Iraq, the accumulating shortfalls of American intervention in both countries have made them magnets for jihadist recruitment. The Question of Iran The Bush Administration's reluctance to challenge the Saudis after 9/11 initially encountered impassioned objections from conservative and liberal commentators alike, but the outrage has tapered off as attention has became increasingly focused on Shiite Iran and its nuclear program which is hipped by Israel. In the view of the administration, the Iranian threat to American national security not only supercedes the threat of Sunni theofascism, but supercedes it to such a degree that a more accommodating policy toward Saudi Arabia is warranted. However, while the prospect of militant Shiite clerics in possession of nuclear weapons is understandably disconcerting to many Americans, the Iranian threat is mitigated by several important factors. For all of the shrill and unsettling words of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his government's foreign policy is driven more by Iranian nationalism than Shiite Islamism (this is evident, for example, in Tehran's support for the predominantly Christian nation of Armenia in its dispute with Shiite Azerbaijan). This is not surprising, as Iran (known as Persia prior to the twentieth century) has existed in one form or another since biblical times, while it embraced Shiite Islam just 500 years ago. While Ahmadinejad exploits Iranian nationalism to win public support in his confrontation with the West, it can easily turn against him if he were to embark on a global adventure. Wahhabi clerics may support the Saudi royal family as a necessary evil in order to protect their global proselytizing mission, but they recognize no Saudi Arabian "nation" whose interests take precedence over their agenda. Such is not the case in Iran. Furthermore, Shiite Islamism does not exhibit theofascist tendencies. Radical clerics in Iran have been responsible for horrendous abuses of power, but they do not regard non-Shiite Muslims as "unbelievers" who must be systematically purged. Basically in Islam Christians and Jews are considered as belivers and in Quran are referred to as "the people of book". Even within the Shiite world, there is no prospect of a Wahhabi-style Iranian takeover of religious discourse because unlike the Sunnis, Shiite Islam is rigidly hierarchical. Iraqi and Lebanese Shiites gladly accept Iranian financial and military support, but they are fiercely loyal to their own clerical establishments. An even greater fallacy is the widespread belief in Washington that a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia is an asset in confronting Iran. On the contrary, coddling the Saudis makes it more difficult for the United States to deal with Iran. The Bush administration's refusal to hold Saudi leaders accountable for their incitement of Wahhabi jihadists (who have murdered far more Shiites than Americans, mostly in Iraq and Pakistan) is a source of deep resentment in the Shiite world. It is no surprise that the only two major public demonstrations against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic world after the 9/11 attacks were both organized by Shiites (in Tehran and Karachi, Pakistan). It is interesting to note that the recent escalation of US - Iranian tensions has made the Saudis less accommodating about Iraq than ever before. Reports that the Saudi Government is threatening to openly fund and arm Sunni insurgent groups if American forces withdraw from Iraq are a case in point. In effect, the Saudis are signaling to the Bush administration that they will thwart any American plan to cede control of Iraq to its Shiite-dominated, democratically-elected government, while signaling to the Sunni insurgents in Iraq that they can reject American efforts to broker a political settlement and not be left to face the consequences alone. Iran has no history of direct aggression against its neighbors, and unlike Saddam's Sunni-dominated Iraq, they have never used weapons of mass destruction during invasions of neighbors or against their own people. The strongest argument for this approach lies with the extent that Iran craves recognition of its actual status as the historically authentic nation state in the Middle East. Iran has long aspired to be and probably will be the region's predominant Islamic regional power. On the other hand Iranians are the most pro American and pro west people in the middle-east, although the recent Israeli pushed American forced sanctions are damaging this view. The Road Ahead Washington will eventually have to face the reality that derailing Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons (and, more broadly, its emergence as the predominant Islamic regional power) may be impossible over the long-term, and possible in the short term only at the expense of fatally undermining efforts to contain the spread of Sunni theofascism. The United States would do better to find a mutually acceptable means of working with this reality, rather sustaining a deadlocked confrontation by conditioning its willingness to normalize relations with Tehran on the abandonment of its nuclear aspirations. US - Iranian engagement will greatly enhance American leverage over the Saudis, as well as check the threat of Sunni theofascist terrorism in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, Afghanistan. Saudi officials have urged the Bush administration not to talk with Iran because they know that a reduction in US - Iranian tensions will draw more attention to their unbridled export of Wahhabism. Reducing American dependence on Saudi oil must also be part of any comprehensive strategy for addressing the threat of Sunni theofascism. Although President Bush has expressed commitment to developing alternative energy sources, the surplus production capacity of the Saudis enables them to lower prices as necessary to ensure that this will not be cost effective for a long time. Barring radical breakthroughs in fuel technologies, an optimistic forecast would have bio fuels (ethanol, synthetic diesel and bio oil) making up to 30% of US petroleum equivalent needs by 2030. For the short to medium term future, only conservation can significantly alter American petroleum dependency. Without the billions of dollars in Saudi funds, the ideological, political, and psychological edifice of Wahhabi theofascism will begin to crumble, particularly if a concerted effort is made by the Bush administration to promote moderate Islamic institutions (a recent study by the RAND Corporation offers some insightful recommendations). Ultimately, the devil is not in the details - it is the administration's broad lack of resolve in confronting the threat of theofascism, not the lack of viable methods of combating it, that imperils American security. REFERENCES See Mohammed Ayoob, "Political Islam: Image and Reality," World Policy Journal, Vol. 11, No. 3, Fall 2004. Fascism is "a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victim-hood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion." See Robert Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004), p. 218. Saudi police 'stopped' fire rescue, BBC, 15 March 2002. Wahhabi religious police (mutaween) prevented Saudi schoolgirls from fleeing a burning school because they were not properly veiled, leaving fifteen of them to die inside in 2002, an outrage equaled only by the Taliban's rein of terror against women in Afghanistan. R. James Woolsey, "The Elephant in The Middle East Living Room: Watching Wahhabis," The National Review, 14 December 2005. Zawahiri declared in a December 2006 videotape, "How could they not demand an Islamic constitution before entering these elections? Are they not an Islamic movement?" See: "Al Qaeda Warns U.S. on Fighting in Muslim Lands," The New York Times, 21 December 2006. Zawahiri accused it of being "duped, provoked and used" by the United States after it participated in the 2005 legislative elections. See "Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader praises U.S. hints of troop reduction in Iraq," The Associated Press, 6 January 2006. In his 2003 book, Why America Slept, Gerald Posner cites two unidentified senior Bush administration officials as saying that captured Al-Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah revealed details of a Saudi-Pakistani-Bin Laden triangle. See Gerald Posner, Why America Slept: The Failure to Prevent 9/11, (New York: Random House, 2003). "Inside the Kingdom," Time, 7 September 2003. Nina Shea, Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance, Freedom House, 2006. John Esposito, quoted in Gary Leupp, On Terrorism, Methodism, Saudi 'Wahhabism' and the Censored 9-11 Report, Counterpunch, 8 August 2003. Ali al-Ahmed of the Washington Institute for Gulf Affairs makes this point. See Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance, CBN.org, 14 June 2006. "Top Saudi cleric issues religious edict declaring Shiites to be infidels," Associated Press, 29 December 2006. More Evidence of Saudi Double Talk?, MSNBC, 26 April 2005. In an April 2006 lecture, Saudi cleric Nasser bin Suleiman al-Omar cautioned his audience not to "get involved in things that are not jihad . . . divert the strife and calamity into the lands of the Muslims, instead of aiming them directly at the enemies." He continued, saying that: "there are places where jihad is proper - in Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, Chechnya, Kashmir, and the Philippines." See Saudi Cleric Nasser bin Suleiman Al-'Omar: 'America is Now Disappearing From the Hearts Within America Itself . . . MEMRI Special Dispatch #1154, 4 May 2006. Alex Alexiev, "Terrorism: Growing Wahhabi Influence in the United States", Testimony before the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security, 26 June 2003. Author interview with Evgueni Novokov, Ph.D., former colonel, senior staff officer for the Soviet Politburo and deputy director for Middle East Operations, in charge of Arabic Department, and relationships with CPSU Central Committee front organizations and friendly parties; advised Central Committee members on Islamic affairs, 1986 -1988. 22 October 2006. Author interview with Abdel Guzman, Grand Imam of Jolo, Jolo City, Sulu Province, The Philippines, 5 March 2004. Author's interview with Abdel Guzman, The Grand Imam of Jolo, Op. Cit. See Freedom House, The Talibanization of Nigeria: Radical Islam, Extremist Sharia Law, and Religious Freedom, March 2002. "Against the Saudization of Somaliland," Addis Tribune (Ethiopia), 21 November 2003. http://www.addistribune.com/Archives/2003/11/21-11-03/Against.htm In March 2002, the official Saudi magazine Ain al-Yaqeen estimated that the Saudi royal family in countries where Muslims were a minority has funded 210 Islamic centers, 1,500 mosques, 202 colleges, and 2,000 madrassas. The number of all Saudi Government and charitably funded institutions beyond Saudi Arabia is much higher. Cited in "Inside the Kingdom," Time, 7 September 2003. Alex Alexiev, "France at the Brink", The San Diego Union Tribune, 20 November 2005. See also: Alex Alexiev, Europe's Islamist Future is Now, The Center for Security Policy, 13 June 2005. Other publications examined include textbooks from the Saudi Ministry of Education and collections of religious edicts by state-sanctioned clerics in the kingdom. See Freedom House, Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Fill American Mosques, January 2005. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, "Wahhabism in the Big House: The Teaching of Jihad in American Penitentiaries," The Weekly Standard, 26 September 2005. "Terrorist Recruitment in Prisons and The Recent Arrests Related to Guantanamo Bay Detainees," Testimony of John S. Pistole, Assistant Director, Counterterrorism Division, FBI, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security, 14 October 2003. Testimony of Dr. J. Michael Waller before the US Senate Judiciary Committee's Terrorism Subcommittee, 14 October 2003. Frank Gaffney, A Troubling Influence, Front Page Magazine.com, 9 December 2003. Glenn Simpson, "Suspect Lessons: A Muslim School Used by Military Has Troubling Ties," The Wall Street Journal, 3 December 2003. "For Conservative Muslims, Goal of Isolation a Challenge; 9/11 Put Strict Adherents on the Defensive," The Washington Post, 5 September 2006. Edward L. Morse and James Richard, "The Battle for Energy Dominance," Foreign Affairs, March/April 2002. David Ignatius, "The Operator," The Washington Post, 5 November 2006, p.7. Daniel Pipes, "The Scandal of U.S.-Saudi Relations," The National Interest, Winter 2002/2003. "Oil for Security Fueled Close Ties; But Major Differences Led to Tensions," The Washington Post, 11 February 2002. In November 2006, Nawaf Obaid, a close advisor to Prince Turki, warned in a Washington Post op-ed that a phased American withdrawal from Iraq will result in "massive Saudi intervention," with options including "funding, arms and logistical support" to Sunni insurgents. "As the economic powerhouse of the Middle East, the birthplace of Islam and the de facto leader of the world's Sunni community (which comprises 85 percent of all Muslims), Saudi Arabia has both the means and the religious responsibility to intervene." See Nawaf Obaid, "Stepping Into Iraq: Saudi Arabia Will Protect Sunnis if the U.S. Leaves," The Washington Post, 29 November 2006. Outlook on Renewable Energy in America, Volume II: Joint Summary Report, American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), March 2007. The Rand Corporation, Building Moderate Muslim Networks, 2007. Curtin Winsor, Jr. is a former United States Ambassador to Costa Rica. He graduated from Brown University in 1961 with a degree in English literature, and then received a Masters in Latin American studies in 1964 and a Ph.D. in international studies in 1971 from the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. He worked as an adviser to President Ronald Reagan and Sen. Robert Dole, as well as for the U.S. Foreign Service. * This article had previously been published in the Mideast Monitor. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b95_1368351158 AntiPropagaanda Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism &quot;A Must Read&quot; al-Qaeda, Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, Terrorism, America, Israel, Sat, 11 May 2013 17:37:58 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=63b_1368308023 dcmfox Banned TED Talk: Nick Hanauer Business career After earning his philosophy degree from the University of Washington , Hanauer got his business start at the family-owned Pacific Coast Feather Company , where he continues to serve as co-chair and CEO. In the 1980s he co-founded Museum Quality Framing Company, a large West Coast franchise. In the 1990s Hanauer was one of the first investors in Amazon.com (where he served as adviser to the board until 2000). He founded gear.com (which eventually merged with Overstock.com) and Avenue A Media (which in 2007, under the new name aQuantive, was acquired by Microsoft for $6.4 billion). In 2000, Hanauer co-formed the Seattle-based venture capital company, Second Avenue Partners. The company advises and funds early stage companies such as HouseValues Qliance , and Newsvine. Civic activism Hanauer is co-founder of The True Patriot Network , a political action tank framed upon the ideas he and Eric Liu presented in their 2007 book, The True Patriot . Hanauer is active in the Seattle community and Washington 's public education system. He co-founded the League of Education Voters (LEV), a non-partisan political organization dedicated to improving the quality of public education in Washington . He also serves on the boards of Cascade Land Conservancy , The University of Washington Foundation, The University of Arizona 's Mount Lemmon Science Center and the Biosphere2 climate research project. citation needed ] 2012 TEDtalk controversy In May 2012, several online news outlets reported that a recent TEDtalk from Hanauer presented on March 1, had not been posted online and remained not accessible. In the short presentation he speaks about the rising income inequality in the US, and the problems that may cause to further business ventures, as he feels the middle class consumer is far more responsible for job creation than wealthy entrepreneurs like himself. Thus he proposed the necessity for higher median incomes rather than tax cuts for high incomes, stating that if cutting high income tax rates really worked &quot;we would be drowning in jobs&quot;, instead of unemployment being at current numbers. TED Curator Chris Anderson stated that he felt Hanauer's talk was &quot;explicitly partisan&quot; and included &quot;a number of arguments that were unconvincing&quot;. Huffington Post writer Jillian Berman expressed bewilderment since TED had previously issued talks by politicians such as Al Gore or David Cameron without hesitation. Hanauer partially defended Anderson's decision in an interview with Sam Seder, saying he could understand that the position he himself offered in his talk might be controversial to the business community and that Anderson might have received unproportional critique for his decision to hold back the talk. The original presentation that Hanauer gave has since been made available due to the amount of criticism. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=63b_1368308023 dcmfox &amp;quot;Rich people don't create jobs&amp;quot; banned, ted, talk, rich, people, don't create, jobs Tue, 07 May 2013 10:12:44 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=40d_1367935657 Detroit Iron Published: May 6, 2013 By TIM FLACH - tflach@thestate.com CHAPIN, SC - Lexington-Richland 5 paid former Chapin High teacher Scott Compton http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=40d_1367935657 Detroit Iron Chapin, S.C. teacher got $85,000 in flag stomping deal Chapin High teacher Scott Compton Mon, 06 May 2013 17:12:54 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=125_1367874228 The Prodigy *Please keep in mind the Dimona nuclear reactor of Israel is in the Negev Desert.BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israel approved a draft law on Monday to implement a plan which will displace thousands of Bedouins in the Negev desert, an Israeli rights group said. The Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved a bill which outlines a framework for implementing the Prawer-Begin plan, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said. "Today the government approved a plan that will cause the displacement and forced eviction of dozens of villages and tens of thousands of Bedouin residents," ACRI lawyer Rawia Aburabia said. "All of this while the government simultaneously promotes the establishment of new Jewish communities, some of which are even planned to be built on the fresh ruins of Bedouin villages," she added. The Israeli government approved the plan in 2011, in what it says was an attempt to address the problem of unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev desert of southern Israel. The 2011 proposal was formulated without any consultation with the Bedouin community and rights groups slammed it as a major blow to Bedouin rights. Bedouins protest The Regional Council of Unrecognized Arab Villages of Negev along with the High Steering Committee of the Arabs of Negev organized Monday a demonstration near office of Israeli prime minister in Jerusalem protesting approval of the recommendations. Knesset member Ibrahim Sarsour addressed the demonstrators confirming that his party, the United Arab List, rejected the recommendations. He expressed concern that the recommendations might be approved as a law and urged the Arab public to use legal means to try and prevent such a step. Talab Abu Arar, another lawmaker, echoed Sarsour's remarks but appealed to "the rational people on the Israeli side to treat the Arabs wisely giving them their rights, recognizing their unrecognized villages, and involving them in the planning process." He warned the Israelis against being driven by "racist and extremist blocs in the Knesset." "Approval of the Prawer committee recommendations means Judaisation of Negev. The main goal of these plans is to seize Arab lands and exterminate Arab roots," said head of the Regional Council of Unrecognized Arab Villages of Negev Atiyeh al-A'sam. According to ACRI, the plan will forcibly evict nearly 40,000 Bedouins and destroy their communal and social fabric, condemning them to a future of poverty and unemployment. Israel refuses to recognize 35 Bedouin villages in the Negev, which collectively house nearly 90,000 people. The Israeli state denies them access to basic services and infrastructure, such as electricity and running water, and refuses to place them under municipal jurisdiction. sources: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592835 http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-ministers-endorse-controversial-plan-to-relocate-bedouin.premium-1.519576?block=true https://alethonews.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/israel-lawmakers-approve-plan-to-displace-negev-bedouins/ http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=125_1367874228 The Prodigy Israel approves plan to displace Negev Bedouins Bedouin, rights, Negev, Dessert, Israel Sun, 05 May 2013 15:10:23 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=46c_1367780883 plokiju May 3, 2013 Oh, are we getting ripped off. And now we've got the data to prove it. From 2009 to 2011, the richest 8 million families (the top 7%) on average saw their wealth rise from $1.7 million to $2.5 million each. Meanwhile the rest of us -- the bottom 93% (that's 111 million families) -- suffered on average a decline of $6,000 each. Do the math and you'll discover that the top 7% gained a whopping $5.6 trillion in net worth (assets minus liabilities) while the rest of lost $669 billion. Their wealth went up by 28% while ours went down by 4 percent. It's as if the entire economic recovery is going into the pockets of the rich. And that's no accident. Here's why. 1. The bailouts went to Wall Street, not to Main Street. The federal government and Federal Reserve poured trillions of dollars into Wall Street through a wide variety of financial maneuvers, many of which were hidden from view until recently. When we add it all up, it's clear that most of the money floated right into Wall Street. (Fannie and Freddie were private institutions that also considered themselves part of the Wall Street elite.) 2. Wall Street is Washington, Washington is Wall Street. Those who shuttle back and forth between Washington and Wall Street designed the basic policies that both led to the crash and that responded to it. Hank Paulson, Bush's Secretary of the Treasury, served as chairman of Goldman Sachs before going to Washington. Timothy Geithner, Obama's Secretary of the Treasury, headed the regional Federal Reserve Board in New York (a board composed of Wall Street's Who's Who) before joining the Obama cabinet. Countless government officials and congressional staffers can't wait to leave public service for lucrative jobs on Wall Street. Their collective mindset is that the world can't function properly unless the richest of the rich get richer. Any and all policies should therefore protect our biggest banks, rather than hinder them. And, of course, both parties are in hot pursuit of Wall Street campaign cash. Little wonder the so-called "recovery" transferred wealth from us to them. 3. The Federal Reserve banks on trickledown. The Federal Reserve's ongoing stimulus policy comes down to this: The goal is to reduce interest rates on bonds of all kinds so that money flows into stocks. The more money that goes into the stock market, the higher go the stocks. Rising stock prices leads to what economists call the wealth effect -- those who see their stocks rise dramatically feel richer and spend more. That's supposed to trickle down to the rest of us: The rich spend more, businesses recover and then, maybe, hire more people. It's working beautifully for the super-rich but obviously not for the rest of us. 4. Washington fails to create enough jobs. Wall Street's gambling spree tore a gaping hole to our economy. In a matter of months more than 8 million workers lost their jobs due to no fault of their own. What these elite financiers did to us is unconscionable, and they haven't had to pay a dime for the damage they caused. Although the stimulus programs prevented the slide from deepening, it was far too small to put America back to work. So now we're facing the highest levels of sustained unemployment since the Great Depression. The biggest victims of Wall Street greed are the long-term unemployed. Continue reading: http://www.alternet.org/economy/rich-have-gained-56-trillion-recovery-while-rest-us-have-lost-669-billion http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=46c_1367780883 plokiju The Rich Have Gained $5.6 Trillion in the 'Recovery,' While the Rest of Us Have Lost $669 Billion Rich, Gained, $5.6, Trillion, Recovery, While, Rest, of, Us, Have, Lost, $669, Billion Sun, 05 May 2013 01:59:44 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=15a_1367733474 cathy winslow Afghan President Hamid Karzai has come back home from Europe. But, the visit was not the main topic of his press conference in his palace. It was the future of the US military presence in the war-torn country. Karzai publicly announced that the United States can keep its bases in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 withdrawal deadline. Other politicians strongly reacted. Fatana Ishaq Gailani is from a very well-known political family here. She is strongly opposed to the US war in her country. Fatana is calling for an immediate end to the conflict. And to her, the US future military involvement means more chaos. She says, no one can build this country, but Afghans themselves. The conflict in Afghanistan is considered as the longest war in the US history. Washington has reportedly spent over 517 billion dollars so far, with scores of American forces killed in the war. But 12 years on, attacks by Taliban militants still take heavy toll. Corruption is rampant. Over 50 percent of Afghans live below the poverty line. Unemployment is also forcing young people to leave their country. President Karzai expects the US to tackle all these problems in his country, if it wants long-term military bases here. Endurable peace is his number-one condition. Washington is also seeking legal immunity for American forces. So, talks are ongoing between the two sides. And if they reach a consensus, a security deal will be signed. However, they have not specified any deadline for signing it as of yet. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has come back home from Europe. But, the visit was not the main topic of his press conference in his palace. It was the future of the US military presence in the war-torn country. Karzai publicly announced that the United States can keep its bases in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 withdrawal deadline. Other politicians strongly reacted. Fatana Ishaq Gailani is from a very well-known political family here. She is strongly opposed to the US war in her country. Fatana is calling for an immediate end to the conflict. And to her, the US future military involvement means more chaos. She says, no one can build this country, but Afghans themselves. The conflict in Afghanistan is considered as the longest war in the US history. Washington has reportedly spent over 517 billion dollars so far, with scores of American forces killed in the war. But 12 years on, attacks by Taliban militants still take heavy toll. Corruption is rampant. Over 50 percent of Afghans live below the poverty line. Unemployment is also forcing young people to leave their country. President Karzai expects the US to tackle all these problems in his country, if it wants long-term military bases here. Endurable peace is his number-one condition. Washington is also seeking legal immunity for American forces. So, talks are ongoing between the two sides. And if they reach a consensus, a security deal will be signed. However, they have not specified any deadline for signing it as of yet. http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/05/04/301828/us-to-have-military-bases-in-afghanistan-after-2014/ http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=15a_1367733474 cathy winslow US to Stay in Afghanistan after 2014 Afghanistan,Kabul,Karzai,US,Military Fri, 03 May 2013 17:06:45 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9ec_1367615082 NYork54 Mac Slavo May 3rd, 2013 SHTFplan.com On the heels of a scathing assessment by Nigel Farage on the economic conditions in Europe which he says will ultimately lead to violent revolution, former US congressmanRon Paul and well known investor Jim Rogers weigh in on the discussion. Undeterred by those who fail to heed his warnings, Dr. Paul suggests that global economic conditions, spearheaded by out-of-control government policies in the United States, will continue to deteriorate until such time that the whole system comes unhinged. With financial markets hitting all-time highs, jubilation spreading throughout Wall Street, and average Mom &amp; Pop Americans wondering if it's time to plunge back in to stocks, Paul sees no reason for celebration. The economy worldwide, certainly in the States, is a lot weaker than they tell us. I believe that the unemployment rate in the United States is over 20%. I think there's still inflation with the dollar... Everybody knows that they're printing $85 billion a month... that could be considered inflation. You still have inflation, and that's distortion... you have malinvestment... so you still have the built in problems, and we have plenty. I would expect that there's going to be a lot more chaos yet to come. It will not be limited to Europe. I think it will be a worldwide phenomenon. That states won't escape it either because there are so many gross distortions throughout the world.... We disobeyed economic law... and you can't do that, no matter what Bernanke tells you. Sourced via Steve Quayle, Infowars, ZeroHedge Jim Rogers, also a featured speaker at the Sovereign Man offshore tactics workshop, joins forces with Ron Paul and suggests that those very policies implemented by Ben Bernanke and his global banking cohorts, are the problem, not the solution. Rogers cites a previous exchange between Ron Paul and Fed chief Ben Bernanke, in which Bernanke outright declared that gold is not money, further cementing his reputation as nothing more than a monetary charlatan: The present head of the central bank does not understand economics, he does not understand finance, he does not understand currencies. All he understands is printing money. His whole intellectual career has been devoted to the study of printing money. And, as you know, we have given him the printing presses. That strategy, of course, will be disastrous. It'll further impoverish Americans by reducing wages relative to rising prices for essential goods, while increasing the national debt to unmanageable levels. What comes next, according to Rogers and Paul, will take the majority of the population by surprise because most people simply can't fathom the possibility of such a thing ever happening in the Land of the Free: Rogers: They will take our retirement accounts. They will take our 401k's. They will say, 'you've all been having such a hard time earning money in your 401k's, so what we're going to do is we're going to save you.' Paul: I don't doubt it for a minute. They'll do what they think is necessary. and they'll use force, and they'll use intimidation, and they'll use guns. Because, you can't challenge the state and you can't challenge the State's so-called right to control the money... I think that's very possible at that time when things get a lot rockier than they are now. There are well informed students of economics, financial markets and history. They understand that global governments, especially in Europe and the United States, have bitten off more than they can chew. And they see a continuation of the same policies that have led to the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. Moreover, they understand, like many other concerned and informed Americans, that when the real crash comes it will be worse than anything we've ever experiencedbefore. Read more at http://investmentwatchblog.com/ron-paul-its-a-worldwide-phenomenon-a-lot-more-chaos-yet-to-come-video/#teje4C3ZIzB0T7hj.99 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9ec_1367615082 NYork54 Ron Paul: "It's A Worldwide Phenomenon; A Lot More Chaos Yet to Come" *Video* Ron Paul: "It's A Worldwide Phenomenon; A Lot More Chaos Yet to Come" *Video* Thu, 02 May 2013 11:40:24 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=63d_1367509038 Alexander Nomerkov Director of Adra Industrial City, Ziad Badour, said that the suitable investment environment of the city has led to increasing its productivity during the current year in comparison with the past two years.In a statement to SANA, Badour said that 2013 has witnessed an increase in the productivity of the city because of the facilitations granted to industrialists, particularly those whose institutions were affected by the current circumstances.He stressed that the facilitations granted to industrialists aim to increase investments and establish local industries based on local resources. Badour went on to say that the new investments "have absorbed unemployment and provided over 48,000 job opportunities." "The economic embargo imposed on Syria affected investments in the city as it created transportation difficulties and difficulties in bringing raw materials; however, addressing new markets in Latin America such as, Brazil and Argentina, in addition to India, Iran, China, Malaysia and Russia in Asia has eased these difficulties," he said.Badour explained that some 380 industrial institutions were operating in the city in 2012, whereas 500 institutions are now operating.There are four industrial cities in Syria, three of which were established by legislative decree No 57 for 2004. These cities are Adra in Damascus countryside province, Hasya in Homs province and al-Sheikh Najjar in Aleppo province. In 2007, a decree was issued to establish the fourth industrial city in Deir Ezzor province. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=63d_1367509038 Alexander Nomerkov Director of Adra Industrial City: New Investments Provide over 48,000 Job Opportunities syria adra industrial city job opportunities