Saturday 18 July 2020

Is America Up for a Naval War With China?

Is America Up for a Naval War with China? | RealClearPolitics
July 18, 2020
Is the U.S., preoccupied with a pandemic and a depression that medical crisis created, prepared for a collision with China over Beijing’s claims to the rocks, reefs and resources of the South China Sea?
For that is what Mike Pompeo appeared to threaten this week.
“The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire,” thundered the secretary of state.
“America stands with our Southeast Asian allies and partners in protecting their sovereign rights to offshore resources … and (we) reject any push to impose ‘might makes right’ in the South China Sea.”
Thus did Pompeo put Beijing on notice that the U.S. does not recognize its claim to 90% of the South China Sea or to any exclusive Chinese right to its fishing grounds or oil and gas resources.
Rather, in a policy shift, the U.S. now recognizes the rival claims of Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines.
To signal the seriousness of Pompeo’s stand, the U.S. sent the USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz carrier battle groups through the South China Sea. And, this week, the guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson sailed close by the Spratly Islands.
But what do Mike Pompeo’s tough words truly mean?
While we have recognized the claims of the other littoral states of the South China Sea, does Pompeo mean America will use its naval power to defend their claims should China use force against the vessels of those five nations?
Does it mean that if Manila, our lone treaty ally in these disputes, uses force to reclaim what we see as its lawful rights in the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy will fight the Chinese navy to validate Manila’s claims?
Has Pompeo drawn a red line, which Beijing has been told not to cross at risk of war with the United States?
If so, does anyone in Washington think the Chinese are going to give up their claims to the entire South China Sea or retreat from reasserting those claims because the U.S. now rejects them?
Consider what happened to the people of Hong Kong when they thought they had the world’s democracies at their back.
For a year, they marched and protested for greater political freedom with some believing they might win independence.
But when Beijing had had enough, it trashed the Basic Law under which Hong Kong had been ceded back to China and began a crackdown.
The democracies protested and imposed economic sanctions. But the bottom line is that Hong Kong’s people not only failed to enlarge the sphere of freedom they had, but also they are losing much of what they had.
The Americans, seeing Hong Kong being absorbed into China, are now canceling the special economic privileges we had accorded the city, as the British offer millions of visas to Hong Kong’s dissidents who fear what Beijing has in store for them.
In June, Pompeo also charged Beijing with human rights atrocities in Xinjiang: “The world received disturbing reports today that the Chinese Communist Party is using forced sterilization, forced abortion, and coercive family planning against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang, as part of a continuing campaign of repression.”
These reports, said Pompeo, “are sadly consistent with decades of CCP practices that demonstrate an utter disregard for the sanctity of human life and basic human dignity.”
China has rejected U.S. protests of its treatment of Uighurs and Kazakhs and of its handling of Hong Kong as interference in its internal affairs and none of America’s business.
As for the South China Sea, China dismissively replied, the U.S. seems to be “throwing its weight around in every sea of the world.”
These American warnings, and Beijing’s response, call to mind the darker days of the Cold War.
So, again, the question: Is America prepared for a naval clash in the South China Sea if Beijing continues to occupy and fortify islets and reefs she claims as her own? Are we prepared for a Cold War II — with China?
While China lacks the strategic arsenal the USSR had in the latter years of the Cold War, economically, technologically and industrially, China is a far greater power than Soviet Russia ever was. And China’s population is four times as large.
Can we, should we, begin to assemble a system of alliances similar to what we had during the Cold War — with NATO in Europe and Asian security pacts with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand? Should we adopt a policy of containment of Communist China, which, says Pompeo, is an expansionist and “imperialist” power?
Should we start issuing war guarantees to China’s neighbors? Should we start putting down red lines China will not be allowed to cross?
Before we plunged into our half dozen Middle East wars, we didn’t think through where those would end. Have we considered where all our belated bellicosity toward Beijing must invariably lead, and how this all ends?
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مخاوف أبو الغيط تخيف!





أحمد بن راشد بن سعيّد on Twitter: "عشية العدوان الصهيوني على #غزة ...





حذر الأمين العام لجامعة الدول العربية​ أحمد أبو الغيط، من أن «الوضع في ​لبنان​ خطير للغاية، ويتجاوز كونه مجرد أزمة اقتصادية أو تضخم»، مشيراً إلى أنها «أزمة شاملة لها تبعات اجتماعية وسياسية خطيرة، ويمكن للأسف أن تنزلق لما هو أكثر خطراً»، معرباً عن خشيته من أن «يتهدد ​السلم الأهلي​ في البلاد بسبب الضغوط الاقتصادية والاجتماعية الهائلة التي يتعرض لها ​اللبنانيون​«.
أبو الغيط ليس من الذين يتحدث تاريخ مسؤوليتهم في الجامعة العربية عن حرص من عدم انزلاق الأمور نحو الأسوأ، فهو عراب ترجمة القرارات التي رسمت مسار الحروب التدميريّة لكل من ليبيا وسورية، بمواقف صدرت عن الجامعة العربية لتمهّد لهذه الحروب وتوفر لها التغطية.



بالصور .. ابتسامات ليفني تلاحق أبوالغيط وتشعل تويتر - قناة العالم ...

كلام أبو الغيط يُخيف ليس لأنه يتنبأ بمصادر قلق بل لأنه يمهد لها، والأخطر في كل كلامه هو التبشير بتهديد السلم الأهلي، بل هو تهديد بهز السلم الأهلي ما لم يتم القبول بالعروض التي تستهدف موقع لبنان في مواجهة الأطماع والمشاريع التي يقف وراءها كيان الاحتلال، وعلى رأسها إسقاط حق العودة للاجئين الفلسطينيين وتوطينهم، وتمكين الكيان من ثروات لبنان في الغاز والنفط، وإضعاف قدرته على صد الاعتداءات بإضعاف مقاومته ومحاولة تطويقها بدعوات سياسية داخلية وخارجية تربط الخلاص الاقتصادي بتراجع دور المقاومة تحت مسمّيات مختلفة، مرة تتهمها بحماية النظام وفساده، ومرة تتهمها بالسيطرة على الحكومة والحياة السياسية، ومرة بتوريط لبنان بنزاعات وراء الحدود، والهدف واحد معادلة بسيطة، إضعاف المقاومة لحساب كيان الاحتلال، وإلا هزّ السلم الأهلي لما نفهمه من تحذيرات أبو الغيط.




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Returning to ‘highly likely’ tactics: Russia rejects UK’s ‘unsubstantiated’ claims of hacking & election meddling

Source
16 Jul, 2020 17:21
Returning to ‘highly likely’ tactics: Russia rejects UK’s ‘unsubstantiated’ claims of hacking & election meddling 
Moscow didn’t interfere in the UK election last year, and has no idea who tried to hack British pharma companies for Covid-19 vaccine data, the Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.  
“We have no information on who could’ve hacked the pharma companies and research centers in the UK. We can only say one thing – Russia has nothing to do with those attempts,” Peskov said.
“We reject these kind of accusations,” he added, referring to both the hacking and election meddling claims as “unsubstantiated.”
On Thursday, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre said that hackers, who were allegedly backed by the Russian government, were trying to obtain Covid-19 vaccine data from academic and pharmaceutical institutions in the UK and around the globe.
Earlier in the day British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab claimed that “it is almost certain that Russian actors sought to interfere in the 2019 General Election through the online amplification of illicitly acquired and leaked Government documents.” 
The leaked documents  that surfaced online ahead of the December vote showed several rounds of trade talks between British and American representatives, during which the US side supposedly pushed for access to the National Health Service for high-priced American pharmaceutical companies, and to lower health and safety standards in the British food industry.
Raab didn’t mention any proof of how Russians were involved in spreading the word about the leak that embarrassed the government at the time, but he acknowledged that “there is no evidence of a broad-spectrum Russian campaign against the General Election.” 
Contradictions in the words of the UK’s top diplomat were pointed out by the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova. Raab’s statement “was so ambiguous and inconsistent that it was practically impossible to understand,” she said.
With London confirming that it has no proof against Russia, but still threatening retaliatory measures, “there’s a feeling that we have a new loop of the ‘highly likely’ tactics.”
“Highly likely” was the phrase used by then-UK Prime Minister Theresa May to blame Russia for the chemical poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury back in 2018. Two years later, London hasn’t provided any convincing evidence to back the claim.
Raab’s “almost certain” will apparently become the new go-to formula for the UK authorities, but the tactics of blaming Russia for internal problems in Britain will remain the same, Zakharova said.
The Russian Embassy in London called it a purely propagandist step, noting that it never received any notes of protest from the British parties regarding the hacking claims. As for Raab’s threats of retaliation, an embassy spokesman said that “any unfriendly steps towards Russia won’t be left without a proper and adequate response.”
The hacking claims were an attempt to “tarnish the reputation of the Russian vaccine” against the coronavirus, CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said. Those behind the slur are “scared of [the vaccine’s] success because the Russian vaccine could potentially be the first on the market and it potentially could be the most effective,” he explained.
It’s no coincidence that those accusations were made just after the announcement that the state regulators will be approving the Russian vaccine in August, Dmitriev added. Besides, stealing data from the UK would have made no sense for Moscow, as a Russian firm, R-Pharm, will be producing the British vaccine made by Oxford-based AstraZeneca.
“No secrets are needed. Everything is already given to R-Pharm,” Dmitriev said.
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The Rabbi…

 BY GILAD ATZMON
rabbi2.jpg
Hours after leaving the hospital, his wounded hands wrapped in blue bandages, Chabad Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who survived the Poway synagogue shooting, steeled himself to face the national media and delivered an emotional account of the attack.
In the days following the shooting, the whole of America empathised with the Rabbi, he ticked all the right boxes: a Jew, a victim, a survivor.  The American President invited him to the White House,  CNN let him speak his mind, the UN General Assembly  offered the  rabbi a platform so he could moan about the history of Jewish suffering. The Rabbi didn’t miss an opportunity to shout:  “Am Yisrael Chai, the nation of Israel is alive, do not fear and do not falter, Because God is protecting us and we will survive, we will grow and get stronger and stronger…” The Rabbi was correct, the nation of Israel is alive and kicking, but his message was hardly universal or inclusive. 
Our Chabad rebbe didn’t manage to maintain his reputation for long.  This week most  American news outlets reported that the  “Rabbi Shot in Poway Synagogue Attack pleaded guilty to federal charges of elaborate tax and wire fraud involving fake “donations” to the Chabad of Poway.”
Rabbi Goldstein pleaded guilty to a scheme involving the misuse of at least $6.2 million in contributions and donations to the synagogue. Of those millions, Goldstein admitted to keeping approximately $620,000 for himself.
The details of his fraudulent operation are alarming: Robert Brewer, United States Attorney for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, held a news briefing Tuesday in San Diego to detail what he called “an elaborate, long-term scheme” by Goldstein that “involved careful planning, attention to detail and significant deception all to give the appearance of legitimate donations to the Chabad and lawful deductions.”
The Jewish community leader wasn’t a lone operator. Goldstein pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme where donors (as many as 18 found so far), made large contributions to Chabad of Poway, but then secretly got most of their money back. Typically, Goldstein would keep a portion of the contribution — 10% — then funnel the rest of the funds back to the donor. 
The LA Times reports that “with help from an unnamed office administrator at the synagogue and others, Goldstein would generate charitable giving receipts on Chabad letterhead acknowledging the donors’ “generous tax deductible donation,” according to the court document.”  So someone who donated $100 would  receive in return $90 and a receipt for a charitable donation of $100. The missing $10 went to the rabbi.
 According to US Attorney Brewer, the investigation into Goldstein’s alleged tax fraud began in November 2016. The rabbi knew he was under federal investigation long before the Chabad of Poway shooting and, according to Brewer, had been preparing to plead guilty to tax and wire fraud since late 2018.
 The federal documents reveal that agents with the IRS and the FBI executed search warrants at Goldstein’s home and the synagogue on Oct. 17, 2018 – six months before the synagogue attack. This means that when Rabbi Goldstein was invited to the White House and the UN General Assembly and was presented as an ‘American hero,’ he was already suspected of a tax fraud operation. The FBI and the IRS suspected that the Chabad rabbi wasn’t exactly a righteous man. More troubling is the acknowledgment that when the Rabbi addressed the American people from a White House podium he already knew that he was suspected of stealing taxpayer money.
 America gives Israel about 4 billion dollars of its taxpayers’ money year after year. The actions of Zionist rabbi together with some members of his  congregation in defrauding the US tax authorities and stealing money from the state that scarifies its future and its young soldiers for Israel are really unthoughtful.  
But there is also good news here. Not many American news outlets failed to point at the ‘victim’ rabbi who fraudulently pocketed American taxpayers’ money. Maybe America’s tolerance is wearing out.  https://atz.giveforms.com/default-giveform-2

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Iraqi PMF leader: Operations on US forces to escalate day by day

Iraqi PMF leader: Operations on US forces to escalate day by day

Description:
Deputy Secretary General of the Al-Nujaba Movement, a faction of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), says that ‘resistance operations against U.S. occupation forces in Iraq will escalate day by day’.
In an interview with Al Mayadeen TV, Nasr al-Shimmari added that the country’s ‘resistance forces’ had previously given time for dialogue in order for American forces to leave Iraq, however, it was clear that the ‘US only understands the language of force’.


Source: Al-Alam TV (citing from Al Mayadeen TV)
Date: 16 July, 2020
(Important note: Please help us keep producing independent translations for you by contributing as little as $1/month here)
Transcript:
Iraq: Nasr al-Shimmari, Deputy Secretary General of the Al-Nujaba Movement:
– the Americans cannot change the equations in Iraq
– the Americans have no choice but to withdraw from Iraq or stay and endure the losses that will be inflicted on their forces
– we bless the operations targeting the Americans and the resistance is devising the appropriate methods that will force them to leave
–  the U.S. forces in Iraq are occupying forces and targeting them by the resistance will escalate day by day
– the operations of the resistance are characterized by secrecy, and there is a unified decision among the resistance forces (factions) to confront the American forces
– the government is an executive – and not a legislative – entity, and (thus) cannot prevent the resistance from targeting the American (forces)
– Iran is a friend of all the resistance forces, but the main (side) concerned with confronting the American obstinacy in Iraq are the Iraqis (themselves)
– Washington did not take the initiative to help Iraq confront ISIS by using the pretext that this is was an ‘internal matter’ and not an external attack
– the Americans and the British want to put their (military) forces in areas (of Iraq) where they think the resistance will not (be able to) target them
– Turkish forces invaded Iraqi territory and bombed positions in Iraq and we did not see any American action (in response)
– Neither the prime minister nor the government has the authority to bring foreign troops to Iraq, especially after the parliament’s decision
– We hope that the actions of Al-Kadhimi and his government will be in the interest of Iraq, and we affirm that the future of the country depends on (it attaining its) freedom
– The Americans only understand the language of force and resistance is the only weapon capable of getting them out of Iraq
– resistance had given way for (the path) of dialogue and the implementation of the parliament’s decision for U.S. forces to leave (but that failed)

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تكرار الحرائق الغامضة في منشآت حيويّة بين أميركا وإيران يثير أسئلة حول حرب أمنيّة



حرب في الظل بين إيران وأميركا!

في المشهد الدولي تتحدث مصادر أمنية ذات خبرة في مراحل الحروب الباردة، عن حرب استخبارية متصاعدة بين طهران وواشنطن، تجد ترجمتها في الحرائق الغامضة المتنقلة في كل من إيران والولايات الأميركية، والتي كان أبرزها تفجير في منشأة نطنز النووية الإيرانية، وحريق البارجة الأميركية العملاقة في سان دييغو، وبعد تفجيرات غامضة في شمال طهران في منشأة صحيّة وفي منشأة لتعبئة الغاز، حريقان في ولايتين أميركيتين في معامل الطاقة في شيكاغو وأنديانا. وقالت المصادر إن أغلب الظن أن تكون هذه الأحداث المتلاحقة بصورة تنفي الصدقية للتفسيرات الطبيعية لأحداث مماثلة، تعبيراً عن تجاذب تفاوضيّ غير مباشر يجري حول قواعد اشتباك جديدة لإدارة النزاع في المنطقة لم تنضج بعد.
وقالت المصادر إنها تستبعد وضوح صورة التعامل الأميركي مع لبنان تحت أي سقف محدد قبل أن تتبلور الأطر التي ستحكم المواجهة بين طهران وواشنطن، فليس صحيحاً ما يعتقده الفرنسيون الذين وصل وزير خارجيتهم جان ايف لودريان إلى بيروت، من أن الأميركيين سلموا بنظريتهم بفصل تعافي لبنان عن المواجهة مع إيران، بل الأصح أن الأميركيين زادوا الربط بين الملفين، ولذلك فتحوا نافذة لتجميد يمكن لفرنسا الحضور خلاله، لأن مواصلة الضغط وفقاً للسقوف القديمة سيرتب نتائج سلبية كبيرة والسقوف الجديدة لم تتبلور بعد. وفي هذا الإطار وضعت المصادر، كل الكلام الصادر عن مسؤولي صندوق النقد الدولي حول مصاعب التوصل لتفاهم لمساعدة لبنان وإعلان البقاء في التفاوض، ومثله الكلام العربي عن الإيجابية والحاجة للدرس، ومثلهما ما تتوقعه المصادر من زيارة وزير خارجية فرنسا، تحت شعار لن نترككم وحدكم، لكن عليكم مساعدة أنفسكم كي نساعدكم.

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دعوات الراعي لم تكمل أسبوعها فتثير الانقسام الطائفيّ.. وتفشل بإقناع بعبدا / الكهرباء والدولار وكورونا ثلاثيّة الحكم الشعبيّ على الحكومة بعيداً عن السياسة

وتحت عنوان مساعدة اللبنانيين لأنفسهم رسمت بكركي ما تعتقد أنه ما يطلبه دعاة هذا الخطاب من اللبنانيين، أي إشهار ابتعادهم عن حزب الله ومطالبة الدولة ورموزها بالفعل نفسه، لإدراك عدم واقعية مطلب الحياد رغم كل ما يتمّ تسويقه من أسباب موجبة لا تقنع أصحابها فكيف ستقنع الآخرين. فالمشكلة كانت وستبقى حول ما تريده واشنطن من المنطقة التي يعيش لبنان في قلبها، وهل يقدر على تلبيتها، وفي المقدمة قضية توطين اللاجئين الفلسطينيين، والحدود البحرية للبنان وثروات الغاز والنفط، فهل يقدر صاحب دعوة الحياد على الحصول على ضمانات في هذين الملفين الوجوديين؟
قبل أن يمرّ أسبوع على دعوة البطريرك بشارة الراعي للحياد وتوضيحاته لمفهومه، تسببت الدعوة بتظهير الانقسام الطائفيّ حولها، بإعلان المجلس الإسلامي الشيعي الأعلى رفضها، بينما دأبت بكركي على التداول الهادئ بما تراه مناسباً في مواجهة الأزمات، قبل تظهيره علناً، وغالباً يتم التظهير العلني ببيان يصدر عن قمة روحية، ومن ثم عن موقف مساند لرئاسة الجمهورية بصفتها الموقع اللبناني والمسيحي الأول الذي تحرص بكركي على التناغم معه، بدا بعد توضيحات صدرت عن بعبدا أن الأمرين مستحيلان.


على مستوى الأداء الحكومي قال مرجع نيابي إنه بعيداً عن السياسة والحروب المعلنة والمضمرة، فإن التركة الثقيلة ومحاولات التعطيل لم تعد حججاً يقبلها المواطن اللبناني الذي يضع أمامه جداول ثلاثة أرقام، عدد إصابات كورونا، وسعر صرف الدولار، وعدد ساعات التقنين الكهربائي، ويضع للحكومة علامة نهاية اليوم على أساس جمع هذه الأرقام، فكلما انخفض الرقم نالت الحكومة شهادة النجاح وكلما زاد المجموع نالت الحكومة شهادة بالفشل. ودعا المرجع إلى وضع خطط عملية ثابتة وغير قابلة للتأرجح في مواجهة هذه التحديات الثلاثة لتحقيق تقدم مضطرد، ومراجعة التقدم يومياً من دون الحاجة للاجتماعات المطولة التي ليست، بعددها وطول مدتها، مؤشراً على الإنجاز بنظر المواطن العادي.
واستكمل البطريرك الماروني الكاردينال مار بشارة بطرس الراعي حملة التصعيد تحت عنوان «الحياد» عبر سلسلة نشاطات ومواقف سياسيّة تتماهى مع الضغوط الأميركيّة ضد حزب الله ولبنان، بحسب وصف مصادر مراقبة للشأن السياسي.
وأشار الراعي إلى أنه «يتألم بالعمق عندما يرى كيف يتألّم لبنان»، ورأى أن «لبنان بات بلداً منحازاً فأصبحنا معزولين عن العالم كله».
وأوضح الراعي في تصريح من وادي قنوبين أن «الحياد ليس فكرة منه ولا ترفاً منه إنما هو الكيان اللبناني»، وقال: «عندما كان لبنان محايداً مع الميثاق الوطني أعلن حياده تجاه الغرب وتجاه الشرق لذلك عاش كل اللبنانيين الازدهار والنمو والبحبوحة واليوم كلنا نعيش الفقر والحرمان»، وأضاف: «كلنا أصبحنا فقراء بلا كرامة شحاذين وهذا ليس لبنان وليست صورة لا المسلم ولا المسيحي»، وأكد أن «حياد لبنان يساعد الجميع وهو من أجل الجميع ولن نتراجع عن المطالبة به». ولفت إلى «أننا لسنا أمام مشهد سياسي إنما عودة إلى الجذور اللبنانية والحضارة اللبنانية ولن نتخلى يوماً عن حضارتنا وكياننا وهويتنا».
وفيما أبدت مصادر سياسية مسيحية عدة استغرابها للمواقف المستجدة التي تدلي بها بكركي المفترض أن تحافظ على موقع وسطي بين مختلف الأطياف اللبنانية لكونها صرحاً وطنياً جامعاً، أكدت مصادر مقربة من ​رئيس الجمهورية​ العماد ​ميشال عون​ أن تصريح ​الراعي​ «لا يمثل أجواء اللقاء الذي حصل بين الرئيس والراعي»، مشدّدة على أن «كلام الراعي لا يمكن أن يكون صرخة في وادي ويجب أن تترافق مع توافق أو مواكبة، ونحن حريصون على دوره وعدم استغلاله سياسياً».
ويزور رئيس الحكومة الدكتور حسان دياب الديمان اليوم، بحسب معلومات «البناء» في زيارة هي الأولى من نوعها، حيث يلتقي دياب الراعي ويتخلل اللقاء «استعراض للتطورات المحلية على كافة المستويات منذ تشكيل الحكومة العتيدة وواقع الازمات الاقتصادية والمالية والمعيشية والنقدية وتصدي الحكومة لها ضمن الامكانات المتاحة والصعوبات التي تواجهها، ومن المتوقع أن يدلي الرئيس دياب بسلسلة مواقف بعد لقائه الراعي».
في موازاة ذلك، تشد وطأة الأزمات الحياتية اليومية على المواطنين من تأرجح سعر صرف الدولار في السوق السوداء الى ارتفاع اسعار السلع الى التقنين القاسي للتيار الكهربائي في مختلف المناطق الى تفاقم أزمة البطالة والضائقة المعيشية ما يفترض بالحكومة والوزراء مضاعفة الجهود لإيجاد الحلول السريعة للتخفيف من معاناة المواطنين. وأشارت مصادر السراي الحكومية لـ»البناء» الى أن «الاجتماعات والجهود مستمرة حتى ايجاد الحلول رغم الامكانات المحدودة وشدة الازمات وتواطؤ بعض القوى السياسية والمالية والمصرفية الداخلية والضغوط الخارجية»، لافتة الى أن «الازمات صعبة ومتشعبة والحلول تصطدم بمقاومة أصحاب المصالح السياسية والمالية، لكن الحكومة مصمّمة على متابعة جهودها والازمات على طريق الحل لا سيما الكهرباء والغلاء وسعر الصرف»، داعية الى ترقب تطبيق اتفاق السلة الغذائية الذي سينعكس ايجاباً على سوق الاسعار والصرف». وجدد وزير الطاقة ريمون غجر تأكيد أن أزمة الكهرباء في طريقها الى الحل.
وفي مؤشر سلبي على الواقع الاقتصادي الذي تمر به البلاد، قررت ادارة مستشفى الجامعة الاميركية في بيروت صرف حوالي 800 موظف. على أن تصرف ايضاً آخرين من الجامعة الأميركية. وطلبت ادارة المستشفى دعم القوى الأمنية لتلاوة قرار صرف لمئات الموظفين. وأثار قرار الجامعة سخطاً شعبياً وتعاطفاً مع الموظفين المصروفين الذين عبروا عن غضبهم بالدموع. ورسم تساؤلات حول حقيقة الواقع المالي في الجامعة، ما يعزز الربط بين قرار الجامعة صرف مئات الموظفين وبين تصاعد الضغوط الاميركية الخارجية على الحكومة وعلى لبنان؟ فهل يمكن الربط ايضاً بين هذا القرار وبين كلام رئيس الجامعة الاميركية فضلو خوري منذ أيام بأن هذه الحكومة هي أسوأ حكومة… ووصفت مصادر القرار بالسياسي وليس قراراً مالياً ادارياً ما يطرح السؤال: هل اتخذت ادارة الجامعة الأوضاع الاقتصادية والمالية وأزمة الدولار ذريعة لصرف الموظفين كأداة ضغط على الحكومة ومواكبة الضغوط الاميركية على لبنان؟
وفي هذا السياق، كشف مصدر ديبلوماسي واسع الاطلاع أنه يتم حالياً «التحضير للائحة عقوبات طويلة ستشمل لبنانيين ليس فقط من الذين يتماهون على المستوى السياسي مع النظام السوري بل شركات ورجال أعمال وجمعيات وسياسيين لديهم علاقات اقتصادية تجارية مع سورية».
وبدأت الفضائح المالية بالظهور في نتائج التدقيق الذي قامت به وزارة المالية بالحسابات من العام 1993 الى 2017 والذي أظهر مبالغ مجهولة المصير بأكثر من 27 مليار دولار أي ما يشكل ثلث الدين العام. ولفت مصدر نيابي لـ»البناء» الى أن «التدقيق في الحسابات في وزارة المال بدأ منذ فترة طويلة منذ تولي الوزير السابق علي حسن خليل وزارة المال وحتى مع الوزيرة السابقة ريا الحسن حيث تبين لديها أن هناك خللاً في المالية وهذا في عام 2010. وقالت الحسن هذا الأمر في اجتماع للجنة المال آنذاك وقالت أيضاً إن بعض الحسابات لا يوجد لها إلا قصاصات ورقية من دون أي توضيح وفي تفاصيل الكثير من الهبات والقروض، وبالتالي أمر طبيعي أن تصل الامور الى فضائح عندما يتم التدقيق والمتابعة، أضاف المصدر.
على صعيد مالي آخر، كشفت مصادر «البناء» أن اجتماعات السراي المالية أحرزت تقدّماً نوعياً حول الخطة الحكومية، وأشارت الى أن «البحث تركز في الاجتماعات على إعادة النظر بخطة الحكومة ببعض جوانبها والتوافق على الأرقام والخسائر وكيفية توزيعها وليس بالضرورة دمج الخطتين، بل سيصار الى اعتماد الخطة والأرقام الأقرب الى الواقع والتي يمكن تطبيقها على الورق لا نظرياً فقط وتوزع الخسائر بطريقة عادلة لا تلحق الضرر بقطاع او جهة على حساب أخرى».
ونقلت زوار رئيس المجلس النيابي نبيه بري عنه قوله لـ»البناء» تأكيده «أهمية وحدة الموقف الوطني لنكون قادرين على الانتصار في اي مواجهة على اي مستوى من المستويات لا سيما على الضغوط الخارجية والتهديدات الاسرائيلية والانقسام الداخلي حول بعض الملفات السياسية والمالية»، وأبدى بري ارتياحه للتقدم في النقاشات حول الخطة المالية والأرقام والخسائر، آملاً أن تقدم الحكومة رؤية موحدة لتكون منطلقاً لخرق جدار الجمود في المفاوضات مع صندوق النقد الدولي».
وتترقب الساحة الداخلية زيارة وزير الخارجية الفرنسية جان ايف لودريان الى بيروت الأربعاء المقبل وما ستحمله من مواقف لا سيما في ما خص حثّ الدولة على ترتيب امورها والاقلاع في الإصلاحات. ويجري لودريان سلسلة لقاءات مع الرؤساء الثلاثة في زيارة تستمر لأيام وذلك بعد جولته على دول عدة في المنطقة. ولفتت مصادر مطلعة لـ»البناء» الى أن «الزيارة تشكل جولة استطلاع وتحفيز الحكومة اللبنانية على اتخاذ خطوات مفترض ان نكون تجاوزناها تتعلق بالإصلاحات وخاصة الكهرباء كما سيذكر الضيف الفرنسي المسؤولين بشروط مؤتمر سيدر».
وأكد الرئيس ميشال عون ان «لبنان متمسك بعودة النازحين الى بلادهم، لا سيما الى المناطق السورية الآمنة، التي لم تعد تشهد قتالاً، خصوصاً أن الدولة السورية ترحب بهذه العودة، وتوفر للعائدين الدعم والرعاية الضروريين، ولم يحصل ان تعرض العائدون من لبنان لأي أذى بشهادة المنظمات الدولية التي تابعت هذه العودة».
وبعدما تراجع زخم الشارع في الأسابيع القليلة الماضية الى حد كبير لا سيما بعد زيارة السفيرة الاميركية الى السراي الحكومي، شهدت ساحة الشهداء تجمعاً شعبياً لمجموعة من العسكريين المتقاعدين وتجمع مواطنون ومواطنات في دولة رفضاً للواقع المرير والتعبير عن الرغبة بالتغيير وعدم اليأس وتخللته كلمات للنائب العميد شامل روكز والوزير السابق شربل نحاس.
على صعيد آخر، أعلنت وزارة الصحة العامة تسجيل 101 إصابة بـ«كورونا»، رفعت العدد التراكمي إلى 2700.
وأعلن وزير الصحة العامة حمد حسن أن «موضوع اصابات كورونا أخذ منحى جدياً وعلينا الالتزام بالكمامة ومن الاثنين سنتخذ إجراءات صارمة وكل مصاب سيُعزَل، بالإضافة إلى إجراءات جديدة في المطار». وفي حديث تلفزيوني كشف أنه « ابتداءً من يوم الإثنين مراكز الحجز الإلزامي ستبدأ باستقبال الحالات خصوصاً أن نصف الأسرّة في ​المستشفيات​ يشغلها مصابون بالفيروس».
وعن ارتفاع عدد الإصابات، أوضح أن «عدد ​الإصابات​ مرتفع لأنه منذ 1 تموز فتحنا البلد ومع هذا الأمر زادت الحالات، فقمنا بالإعتماد على ​الحجر المنزلي​ الإلزامي»، متأسفا لأن «البعض لم يلتزم». ولفت حسن إلى أنه «حصل نقاش في لجنة الادارة والعدل حول صلاحية وزير العدل تجاه النيابات العامة ولا يمكنني أن أحل محل النيابات العامة وهذه مسؤولية القضاة وأتمسك باستقلالية السلطة القضائية».
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River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Masks Are All About the Economy Not Safety!



The Compulsory wearing of masks Law is nothing to do with safety or science and everything do with cash and PR.
If it’s necessary to wear a mask now, then surely it was even more necessary back on March 12 when the Deputy chief medical officer, Dr Jenny Harries stated “For the average member of the public walking down a street, it is not a good idea… in fact, you can actually trap the virus in the mask and start breathing it in.”
This was the same date that she also said that the Cheltenham Festival and other sporting events could continue and we all know what happened as a result of that ‘scientific’ advice.
However, now suddenly, with death figures tumbling we are told that face coverings in shops will be mandatory from July 24th and that cops will issue spot fines of £100 if we do not comply.

It’s the Economy, Stupid

I wonder why? You don’t think it has anything to do with the economy being in free fall, do you?!
Of course, it has. This new policy is ‘all about the economy stupid’ and nowt to do with the safety of us. We are being used as Lab Rats again. Wear a mask to be ‘safe’ and spend, spend, spend.
Having scared the nation to death for months, Boris now wants us back out on the streets and in the pubs and shops spending like that thick lottery winner in Norwich, who ended up skint after blowing his fortune. He now delivers coal.
The whole policy is rubbish. If it’s so important to wear a mask why are we having to wait until July 24 to implement this new law? Boris has stated that a cloth face covering is all that’s necessary, so if the threat is so real we don’t need any preparation time, do we?
Meanwhile, Government Minister George ‘Useless’ Eustice was on TV this morning saying that we need two weeks to organise a face covering for ourselves!
Then up popped London Mayor Sadiq ‘Khant’ who said the law would be impossible to enforce in London as it lacks clarity.
So, we have to wear a mask in a shop but not in a pub? Boris opening swimming pools and gyms but they’re mask free? Why don’t you have to wear a mask in a cinema which last time I looked is a confined space?
I could go on but seeking clarity in this government’s inept handling and policy decisions during this pandemic is as fruitless as finding the Holy Grail.

Incompetent Mob

Boris was elected on a tide of optimism and a promise of taking back control but his government has morphed into an incompetent mob who want to control us.
Boris, please tell me, how the hell are the cops meant to enforce this law?
They weren’t even allowed by their political masters and their politically correct Chief Constables to stop the Black Lives Matter protests and counter-protests from happening during the pandemic a few weeks ago.
The mob ruled and the coppers were either too busy bending a knee or scared to intervene as Churchill’s statue was vandalised and the cenotaph desecrated. The only time they moved and got off their knees was when they ran away from whichever mob was chasing them. Pathetic.
But, I guess that there has been a calculation that shoppers are an easy nick, so you watch as thousands of people are made into criminals by Boris’ Barmy edict.
To be fair, Boris played a blinder in getting us all to self-isolate and stay home but that was because we are a tolerant lot and realised that it was the best thing to do at that time. However, many of us also wanted a swifter and more draconian lockdown which should have included masks then but instead he opted for the so-called libertarian approach, instead of learning from Italy.
He was slow off the blocks then and he is still lagging behind the rest of the runners in this race to defeat coronavirus.
He decided to treat us as children by not telling us all the facts and he refused to actually confess when he got things wrong as Macron did in France. No, instead he had to keep ramping up the fear factor to warp factor 11.
Boris has consistently said that he is following the science and the scientific advice but it’s clear that either the scientific advice was poor or even wrong, or he is spinning us a line to deflect criticism away from himself.

Killing off the High Street

Now people are very concerned about going out again which is why pubs are not being besieged and are operating on at least 50 percent lower takings.
The same is happening on the High Street. Why would you go shopping in town when you have to queue to get into every shop and you’re treated like a leper by an assistant in a mask asking if you’ve hand-sanitized?
Then you can’t touch the clothes or even try the shoes on.
No wonder people are practising real social distancing and shopping from the safety of their own homes via the internet.
The high street and town centres were already dying before COVID but Boris’ mandatory face mask law will be the final death blow for our Town centres.
It will have the opposite effect to the one he intends; the shoppers will stay away and the economy will continue to collapse until he gets a grip, has realistic policies and most importantly a clear and consistent road map which we all understand and are willing to follow.

By Jon Gaunt
Source: Sputnik News

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Armenian-Azerbaijani Clashes And Shifting Balance Of Power In South Caucasus

The Armenian-Azerbaijani tensions have once again turned South Caucasus into a hot point increasing chances of a new regional war.
The key difference with previous military incidents between the two countries is that the point of confrontation shifted from the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic to the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border. Clashes first erupted on July 12 in the area of Tovuz and since then both sides have repeatedly accused each other of provoking the conflict, attacking civilians and declared defeats of the ‘enemy’.
According to the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan, the fighting started after Armenian forces opened fire on positions of Azerbaijani forces in the Tovuz district. The fighting which included the use of combat drones, artillery, mortars, and battle tanks continued over the following days, including July 17. The Azerbaijani military confirmed that at least 12 personnel, including Major General Gashimov Polad and Colonel Ilgar Mirzaev, were killed. In turn, Kerim Veliyev, Azerbaijan’s deputy defense minister, said that 100 Armenian soldiers were killed, several fortified positions were destroyed and that a UAV was shot down. Armenia, according to Veliyev, is hiding the real number of its casualties.
Azerbaijani media and top leadership describe the current situation as an act of Armenian aggression, and say that Azerbaijani forces are only responding to it. President Ilham Aliyev even called Armenia a “fascist state” adding that “Armenian forces could not enter Azerbaijan in one centimeter of soil and will never be able to do this”.
The Armenian version of events is quite different. According to it, the clashes started after a group of Azerbaijani soldiers violated the Armenian state border in an UAZ vehicle. The defense ministry press service claimed that after the warning from the Armenian side, “the enemy troops returned to their positions”. It added that later Azerbaijani forces attacked an Armenian checkpoint.
As of now, the Armenian military said that it had repelled two ‘offensives’ involving at least 100 soldiers supported by fire of several artillery battalions. These attacks were allegedly actively supported by combat and reconnaissance drones of Azerbaijan. A spokesperson for the Armenian Defense Ministry Artsrun Hovhannisyan said that Azerbaijan lost at least 20 soldiers, a battle tank and other equipment during the clashes. Armenia says that only 4 of its service members were killed.
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan claim that their forces are repelling an aggression of the enemy, which has been attacking it and killing civilians. However, despite the harsh rhetoric, the leadership of the both countries are sending signals that they are not interested in a larger military confrontation.
At the same time, years of war propaganda and historic tensions between the nations push the situation towards a further escalation. A unilateral move towards the cessation of hostilities by leaders of either country would be presented by the other one as a sign of weakness and promoted as an admission of defeat. Taking into account the complicated political and economic conditions in both countries, neither Armenian nor Azerbaijani leaders could afford such a public move. Therefore, de-escalation is possible only through international mechanisms.
The situation is further complicated by the complex diplomatic situation in the region of the South Caucasus. Armenia, alongside with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The CSTO expressed its concerns over the situation and called on the sides to commit to a ceasefire regime. Nonetheless, the Russia-led security bloc, and Russia itself, demonstrated that in the current situation they will focus on diplomatic measures.
Since the 2018 coup, when Nikol Pashinyan came to power in Armenia, the country has been consistently undermining its relations with the CSTO and Russia by persuing a quite weak, but apparent anti-Russian and pro-Western foreign policy course. The bright dream of the Pashinyan government is to sell its loyalty to the United States for some coins and commit itself to the way of the so-called ‘European integration’. The issue with this plan is that Washington and its partners need Armenia only as a tool of their geopolitical gains and are not interested in providing it with any kind of military protection or economic assistance. The Pashinyan government is forced to play a double game in an attempt to simultaneously please its ‘democratic’ masters and receive protection and assistance from Russia. This attitude is not a secret for Moscow.
On the other hand, in the event of a large-scale military confrontation, Azerbaijan will be supported by its main ally Turkey, which also has close bilateral ties with Russia. Ankara already declared that it fully supports Azerbaijan and condemned the supposed ‘Armenian aggression’. Thus, in the event of full-scale military confrontation, Armenia will immediately find itself in a very complicated situation, and direct military assistance from the CSTO and Russia will be unlikely until there is no threat to Armenian statehood.
So, the Armenian chances in a limited military conflict with Azerbaijan and Turkey is at least shaky. Turkey and Azerbaijan fully understand this. By undermining strategic relations with Moscow, and thus the balance of power in the region, Erevan put the entire South Caucasus on the brink of a new regional war.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!