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Thursday, 23 April 2015




Migration From Africa:
The New Boat People

As the numbers of  migrant Africans, Iraqis, Syrians, Afghans and others desperate to enter Europe by boats, home-made rafts, barrels, dinghies and any other water- floating device-enabled contraptions surge to levels never seen before, is there a solution to these exoduses of historic proportions?

The first thing which most commentators fail to point out is that nobody wants to be a refugee or migrant  in flight from their mother country or fatherland.   It's something which is forced upon them.   People pack their bags (or what little they possess) and their families (or those fit and young and healthy enough to survive the journey) because they have no choice.
If they stay behind they and their children will be butchered by the insanity of religious zealots, primitive beliefs, political madmen and tyrants, or starved to death because of war, famine, pestilence, disease or because as minorities (ethnic, religious, gay, lesbian) they are being persecuted and terrorised by governments or communities where civil society, as we understand it, has collapsed.
The image of a confused terrified and bewildered child clutching a precious toy or elderly people crying because everything they knew and loved has been destroyed all around them and they are being abandoned to fend for themselves, or human carcasses lying in the streets being eaten by packs of scavenging animals, once loving and loved family pets, now desperate for food as the world they knew disappeared, inexplicably and in an instant. The loving individuals and children they cared for - and who doted - on them - either blown apart, limb by limb now only as rotting corpses. For any pet this schizophrenic Kafkaesque-like new world must be as traumatic and terror-filled as it is for those humans fleeing in the wake of such horrors.
Don't be confused or let the media confuse you between the terms 'economic' migrants and refugees.  If people have become economic migrants, thye may have been forced to do so because they are religious or ethnic minorities with no opportunity for advancement in their country of birth.  
They may have been 'terrorised' into flight  through modern day 'pogroms' be it in Asia, Africa or elsewhere.
But you won't be reading this type of story in your mainstream media outlet where the emphasis will be on 'let them all die at sea' 'burn all their (immigrants) boats on the shores of North Africa so they can't get here.'  What statements like these do echo however are the fears and frustrations at what seems to be an insoluble and unsolvable problem.  I say 'insoluble' because, for example, I don't want to welcome immigrants who hate Gay and Lesbian people because they are Gay and Lesbian people and will not respect their fellow-citizens rights 'to be different' in their new secular society home in The United States or Europe.

The Netherlands – Almost From Mediaeval Times, A Sanctuary For Dissidents
The Netherlands and Denmark were two of the most liberal countries in Europe who opened their doors to Muslim refugees and migrant workers – only to find that those very same people they welcomed, when 'settled' (but never integrated) were contemptuous of the 'liberal' values of their host countries and, other than for public relations, prefer the comfort of listening to hate preachers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, rail against Christianity and it's immorality and satanic values and such hate preachers openly calling for the murder of fellow-citizens in all countries who do not conform to their twisted version of Islamic values and therefore, are apostates.

Common Observations You Will Hear
''I do not want to see streets lined with coffee shops and me looked at as if I am some sort of monster or outcast if I ask can I get a bottle of beer.''
''I have nothing against immigrants opening any business – indeed such is always to be commended as it is enterprising and such is the spirity of our communities – but don't ask me to live as if we were in Turkey, or Morocco, or Saudi Arabia or some other Middle Eastern or North African Muslim country where Islam and it's mediaeval tenets are more important than my rights and tolerance of all minorities within communities.''
''I don't want to be looked at (or spoken to) with contempt should my daughters be wearing short skirts or short pants or dressed as they feel they want to in summertime or told that I should 'keep them under control' and that they should 'dress modestly' according to Islamic values in Europe.''
Yes there is a place for modesty – but according to our civil institutions or private establishments or when visiting churches, mosques, synagogues or temples where protocol dictates the dress code – but in Christendom the church is subject to civil law code in the same manner as any private citizen and church doctrines do not supercede the civil and criminal laws.
''Don't tell me to 'chastise' my wife or children because of a book written 1400 years ago or books written thousands of years ago outside Christendom says so – and I, a Christian, must conform to this or die.''   ''Don't tell me  that my wife and daughters are like baggage or chattels to be bought and sold at will.''
''Don't ask me to flog or crucify or murder Gay or Lesbian individuals because that's what happened thousands of years ago or happens today in Saudi Arabia or regions of Africa where cannibalism continues to be practiced (I am here sepcifically referring to the cannibalism of Albino individuals by locals across East Africa this very day1) and not much has progressed in human thought on the dignity and rights in plural secular societies, so it's perfectly OK to burn alive or murder those who are 'different' to this today.''
These are not my communities.  These are not the Europeans with more recent (and visible) African heritage I know – but if you have good friends who are African and have known them for a long time, they will honestly tell you about these 'traditional' 'primitive' practices in the lands of their ancestors.  They will also honestly tell you that ignorance and superstition are at the root of such beliefs to this very day.
So this is my dilemma.   I don't have any problem welcoming anyone from any part of the world. Many people have issues of racism - against Black people, poor people, against refugees with absolutely nothing but the clothes on their backs, hidden within their very spiteful and hateful remarks about the 'dirty filthy immigrants'.  Perhaps if those very same people would give the 'dirty filthy immigrants' the dignity of a job and somewhere decent, safe and secure to live and be more focused on how to welcome and integrate such people and their children into their new home and community with the emphasis on respect for our secular values in Christendom and loyalty to our democratic values, the separation of church and state (rather than to a remote  land which gave them little except a book of prayer and certainly did not open its doors when they were fleeing for their lives seeking shelter and protection) then they would have less to fear rather than leaving such helpless individuals as lepers destitute and begging for sustenance and criminal - only to survive - on the streets throughout Europe.

Multi-Faith and Multi-Ethnic Communities Have Worked For Thousands Of Years - Until Religion or Politics Have Torn Them Apart
The problem I have is that I do not want to see my community which consists of White, Black, Brown and 'Mediterranean' tanned peoples who are straight, gay, lesbian, libertarians, conservatives and ultra-conservatives, all living together in the absence of bloodshed (but not without prejudices and differences) in civilized open-society communities, torn apart through bigotry and intolerance.  I would prefer to live in a community or communities where the values of individual liberty and personal freedom are more important than what any politician, religious extremist cleric or monk or priest or rabbi or imam will damn with the words taken from a book or books (and there are far too many different such 'religious' books in this world) which have caused more suffering, death and destruction, than all the diseases known to have killed populations throughout the course of human history.

The New York Precinct – Some Local History18
For example, little Ireland, little Italy, little Odessa. little Africa (Manhattan) all in the New York precinct, are the remains of thriving exclusively immigrant Irish, Italian African and Jewish communities who arrived in an alien land fleeing religious persecution, starvation, pogroms and tyranny, all seeking a better future for themselves and their families.  But this was in an age before instant communication.  It could take weeks (or months) for a letter from New York to arrive at a small Ukrainian or Polish or Irish village two hundred years ago.  Now, we have the capability to be aware of what is happening on planet earth almost in an instant.  In my opinion, this requires also a change in how we perceive and manage migration, immigration and emigration, worldwide.  It must be a proactive change to meet the new challenges.   What I am saying here is that modern communications and technologies have outpaced our abilities to foresee the legislation and actions in local municipalities required to meet the challenges of this new digital age in the context of how to respond to the phenomena of, for example, incitement to hatred being broadcast by ISIS or radical extremists to create civil unrest, murder and revolution – because they have a clear agenda and target audience whilst we do not have anything concrete in place to challenge their hateful and divisive propaganda, all designed to undermine civil democratic secular societies.

Problems Seeking Solutions
In conclusion I do not have an answer to the catastrophe of people in their millions throughout the world fleeing for their lives and the safety of their loved ones.   Better you ask the politicians and so-called 'men of god' who have created most of this chaos, causing societies in North Africa, The Middle East and elsewhere to collapse into anarchy – hence creating domino effects – than to ask me.
They did not ask for my permission to go to war and when they asked for my vote they told me nothing in advance of their global plans to replace fledgling secular despots in North Africa and elsewhere with religious zealots creating chaos and anarchy resulting in human displacement on a scale not seen since World War II – then these same politicians blame the helpless refugees for causing 'immigration' crises.
If they had asked my opinion I would have said nobody wants to live like a refugee – a castaway on some inhospitable shore - as practiced in Australia towards it's 'Boat Refugees'.
If such individuals fleeing for their lives had personal safety, industries, jobs, schools, libraries, kindergartens, hospitals, security, a future and stable societies back home – everything we take for granted by the way – few would desire uprooting to alien lands and none to have the humiliation of being treated and kicked around from pillar to post like human garbage.

So next time you see someone who might 'fit' the above description just ask youself for one second 'What would I do If I lost everything I had and everyone I loved in an instant, through no fault of my own?'  What would you do if every evening you came back with no food for your starving family because the land is so inhospitable that nothing will grow?; or you fear even going outside because you are a religious or ethnic or social outcast minority, murdered, or, as an Albino in East Africa, you are likely to be cannibalised or chopped up as human meat for sale in the market?
What would you do? What would you do? What would you do?
What would you do? What would you do? What would you do?
What would you do? What would you do? What would you do?
What would you do? What would you do? What would you do?
What would you do? What would you do?
What would you do?


©Patrick Emek, 2015

(amended version)



References
Genocide Against Albinos In East Africa – The White House and The Vatican Stay Silent Because Albinos Have No Voice In the World

The Fight To Stop Tanzanians Killing And Eating Albinos:

Kabale Albinos Living in Fear Due to Increased Demand of Body Parts in Rwanda and Tanzania




http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCoQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D9F6UpuJIFaY&ei=2rA4VcjVEcziap-GgPAC&usg=AFQjCNGJmUgngVsoWXIHekz-YlWhkw0RTg


Albino Toddler Murdered For 'Lucky' Body Parts:http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/albino-toddler-murdered-for-lucky-body-parts/ar-BBhLtY6

  http://www.albinism.org.uk/albinism_life.php

 https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Albino+Magazine&newwindow=1&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=VNc4VaCqO4LUauyggZgB&ved=0CCgQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=868

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Albino+Community+Worldwide&newwindow=1&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=PdY4Va_SKYqvaYztgbAL&ved=0CCEQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=868 

What Is A Pogrom?

http://history1800s.about.com/od/1800sglossary/g/Pogrom-def.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogrom

Australia Islamic school 'bans running' over virginity fears



Welcome to WikiIslam,
the online resource on Islam that anyone can edit.

Islamic Witch Hunts (Saudi Arabia)

Will Saudi Arabia Execute Guest Workers for 'Witchcraft'?

Indonesian guest workers are on trial in Saudi Arabia for “witchcraft.” But the charges are cover for cultural misunderstandings, sexual assaults, and withheld wages.

Beheading of a poor Indonesian maid in Saudi Arabia. Islam, the Barbaric Religion.

Saudi Arabia flogs blogger in public for "insulting Islam"

personal experience of having lived so far under the barbaric Islamic shariah law



18
Little Ireland, New York
Little Italy, New York:
Little Odessa, New York:
Little Senegal, New York
Little Africa, New York
I have just taken some small examples of 'unknown' NY.
[Use the references above to discover hamlets you never knew existed within the NY precincts]













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Saturday, 18 April 2015

This Year Marks The 100th Anniversary Of The Armenian Genocide1 (or Medz Yeghern)

Many races have suffered their own particular 'holocaust' over the millennia.   Some you have heard of but most you have not.
Most races want to  move on and to  try to put the past behind - with an emphasis on the present and future for themselves, their children and grandchildren.  Few want to be permanently 'locked' (or trapped) in a 'time tunnel' of accusation, guilt, blame, and reparations, which is understandable, as the past cannot be undone but the future awaits solutions (or disasters) from today.   There were genuine beliefs that we could learn from past human mistakes - by educating future generations so as to warn them about the potential dangers of human frailty and the human condition.    Those individuals were (and are today) well meaning and I salute and acknowledge their efforts.    Sadly, I believe that, as a species, this one will never learn from its mistakes and is always to be doomed to repeat the past.    But this should never mean that you just give up and do not try to educate the uninformed (and the ignorant.)   As an individual, your own persistent efforts could determine whether your community, village, town, city, country or indeed the world will survive into a  future 'golden age' or just go down the biowarfare, computer viral, molecular, or nuclear toilets.

 As a tribute to all holocaust survivors worldwide, during this year, I am, from time to time, selecting articles from across the globe, which, if anything, teach us, sadly, that we never learn from history.

 ©Patrick Emek, 2015

          The Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day is 24th April



1.http://armenianweekly.com/2013/05/15/the-exact-translation-how-medz-yeghern-means-genocide/

 2.http://armenianweekly.com/

3.http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDkQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genocide-museum.am%2Feng%2Fremembrance_day.php&ei=eBQzVausCsbpaJL7gNAD&usg=AFQjCNGbJFrBtcS1oU_vDNyJvJxKVs7h7A 
or
http://www.genocide-museum.am/eng/remembrance_day.php

4.''Turkish PM’s Armenian Advisor Steps Down following ‘Genocide’ Remarks''    http://armenianweekly.com/2015/04/16/mahcupyan-steps-down/



5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide

 

6.http://www.genocide1915.org/index.html




http://armenianweekly.com

For details about Armenia today and the Armenian Genocide please subscribe to 'The Armenian Weekly' which can be found at the above website.



background reference for the story below:

Mizrahi Nation: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizrahi_Jews

http://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2014/06/mizrahi-nation/

 

''The use of the term Mizrahi can be somewhat controversial. Before the establishment of the state of Israel, Mizrahi Jews did not identify themselves as a separate ethnic subgroup. Instead, Mizrahi Jews generally characterized themselves as Sephardi, because they follow the traditions of Sephardic Judaism (although with some differences among the minhagim of the particular communities). This has resulted in a conflation of terms, particularly in Israel, and in religious usage, where "Sephardi" is used in a broad sense to include Mizrahi Jews and Maghrebi Jews as well as Sephardim proper. Indeed, from the point of view of the official Israeli rabbinate, any rabbis of Mizrahi origin in Israel are under the jurisdiction of the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel.''
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizrahi_Jews]



In the story below, you will find it (and much more) at the +972 Blog

By +972 Blog

Published March 26, 2015

Stop blaming Mizrahim for everything wrong in Israel

Despite what many commentators would have you think, Israeli elections were not decided by racism among Israel’s Mizrahi population.
By Leeor Ohayon




Jewish nationalist activists from anti-miscegenation group Lehava protest in Rishon Lezion, August 17, 2014. (Activestills.org)
Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election is largely credited to votes from the Mizrahi periphery, but to credit the Mizrahi periphery alone would be naïve. The Likud party, after all, is an Ashkenazi one at heart, with Ashkenazi supporters. The magnitude of Netanyahu’s win, as a result of his “gevalt campaign,” (a desperation blitz) actually came from the Ashkenazi Right — Jewish Home voters sacrificed their party to save Netanyahu.
In a recent article, Larry Derfner condemned “poor” Mizrahi Israelis for Netanyahu’s victory. Did “poor” refer to the working class? If so, does working class equate being “poor?” Is poor synonymous with being uneducated? Can one be educated and poor? When an Ashkenazi Israeli voted for Likud or Jewish Home, did that mean he was “poor” and thus uneducated? Or just uneducated? While Derfner sought to present a post-race, post-classist argument for ending the “infantilization” of the Mizrahi working class, it effectively perpetuated the very idea that the Ashkenazi Left is aloof and alienating.
Related stories
Asserting that “the Mizrahi poor hate weakness, worse than the average Israeli,” is akin to the rightist statement that the “Arabs only understand dictatorships.” The idea that poor Mizrahi Jews worship fearless leaders is orientalist at its core; it plays on an age-old concept of oriental populations as an uncivilized, hot tempered and dangerous lot in need of iron-fisted rule. The idea that this hate is worse than that of the average Israeli, further implies that the poor Mizrahi is not really Israeli. For if hatred for the weak is an exclusively “poor Mizrahi” feature, where does that place Naftali Bennett and his election slogan of “not apologizing?”
Assigning Mizrahim collective features is dangerous, not least because stereotypes breed intolerance. It is dangerous because we are talking about an umbrella identity patched together by a 67-year-old shared narrative in Israel as the Jewish “ethnic other.” Mizrahim come from a geographically, culturally and linguistic diverse area that spans from Morocco to Iran.
The Ashkenazi Left’s wasted opportunity for new governance continues to snap at the Mizrahim of the geographic periphery, as the unruly apes that ruined the party for everyone in Tel Aviv. It is that exact historical psyche that guides the Ashkenazi Left in assuming the role of the “chosen” people for the chosen people, which views the Mizrahi savage in need of re-education and guidance. It is the same patronizing racism that provided a historical pretext for the cultural suppression of Mizrahi Jews, the wide-scale theft of Yemenite new-borns and infants, the segregation of housing, discrimination in employment, the erasure of cultural identity, the theft of goods and historical relics.
Mizrahi distrust of the Left runs a lot deeper than hatred of weakness. It also runs deeper than just the transit camps of the 1950s; to simplify it to that one event in history, as Derfner does, is to disregard the Mizrahi story in its entirety. The transit camp serves as a collective symbol no different to the historic symbols of slavery for African-Americans and the Holocaust for Ashkenazi Jews. The transit camp stands testimony to the lasting inequalities vis-a-vis Mizrahi representation in academia, politics and income.

https://staticv3.972mag.com/wp-content/uploads//2015/03/yemen-immigrants-rosh-haayin.jpg




Derfner further argues that working class Mizrahim hate African asylum seekers and Arabs. And yes, like any other socio-ethnic group, Mizrahim do have a racism issue, and like any sector of society, those issues should be tackled by members of that group — not by those who make up Israel’s de-facto privileged caste. Just like a white feminist cannot speak on behalf of the issues that black women face, Ashkenazi leftists cannot dictate the need to fix the racism of the poor Mizrahim.
Any hatred of African refugees and asylum seekers cannot be confined to the poor Mizrahi Israelis. No race or class is exempt when the mainstream Israeli media continues to refer to the refugees as “infiltrators,” drawing a (sub)conscious connection to the Palestinian fedayeen fighters of the 1950s. It is that imagery which creates nationwide hostility, borne of government policy and media coverage that casts the refugees as yet another threat to Jewish statehood. Racism toward African refugees isn’t a Mizrahi problem — it’s an Israeli problem, full stop.
Likewise, to lay racism toward Arabs on the shoulders of Mizrahim is to ignore the history of Israel. Ben-Gurion long emphasized the need to fight the “Levantine spirit” of the Mizrahi Jews, a mentality he believed was beneath the Ashkenazi foundations of the new Israeli identity. It was the Left that ensured Mizrahim became ashamed of their roots, that “Arabness” would leave a bad taste in their mouths. To deplore poor Mizrahim as being full of hate for those below them is to dismiss all the elements of the Mizrahi story.
If the poor Mizrahim hate Arabs, it is in also in part due to their own historical baggage with the Arab world as the indigenous sons of this region, having been punished for the Nakba, the Ashkenazi Left’s expulsion of the Palestinians in 1948. If the Mizrahim hate Arabs, it is because of the segregated housing policies that put poor Mizrahim on the Israeli-Arab front lines, absorbing the brunt of the Ashkenazi Left’s historical conflict with the Arabs. Poor Mizrahim worry that an Ashkenazi left-wing government will destroy any progress that they have made within Israeli society.
If Israeli society wasn’t built on a complex ethnic racial hierarchy, then perhaps the Ashkenazi Left could denounce the working class Mizrahi voter and his racist tendencies. But the reality remains that Mizrahi Jews, both rich and poor, remain inferior to the Ashkenazi population, socially, economically and historically. As long as racist inequality remains, then there is no need for the Ashkenazi Left to re-educate a subordinate, indigenous part of the population.
When the day after tomorrow comes, when the party ends and white flight causes the privileged to exit en masse with their EU passports, it will be the Mizrahim, rich and poor, with nowhere to go, who will clean up the mess alongside the Palestinians. Because only they will know how to live alongside their Arab counterparts, as they have done for two millennia.

 Leeor Ohayon is a documentary photographer from London currently in Israel focusing his photographic work on Mizrahi Jewry.


Leeor Ohayon is a documentary photographer from London currently in Israel focusing his photographic work on Mizrahi Jewry.
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Thursday, 2 April 2015

    Historic Nuclear Deal With Iran
      [Part I]

    I have read a lot of scaremongering and genuine concerns about a nuclear deal with Iran. There is nobody better placed to outline this agreement than the incumbent President Barack Obama. Not too long ago an unprecedented diplomatic snub was afforded to the Office of the President of the most loyal supporter of Israel, the United States. It was evident at that time that firm leadership from America was urgently required if the whole region of the Middle East and the Gulf was not to go completely to the dogs.
There was a period when I too was adamant a deal with Iran was not possible without endangering the State of Israel. This, coincidentally, was the policy position of the United States for several years. A number of factors have altered the situation. Some are best left to Middle East specialists within the Department of Defense, the State Department and independent analysts viewing trends in the region and the myriad of new threats which a very belligerent Israeli Prime Minister appears, in his blind obstinacy, unable to fathom.  Indeed I have it from one source that unless the analysis 'fits' Prime Minister Netanyahu's political objectives, you are pretty much fired from your job (in Israel's Civil Service-especially those Departments servicing Right-Wing and Religious Parties) being perceived as 'disloyal' and untrustworthy.  It's against a background of ever increasing dangers in the entire region and with a view to renewing trust, friendship and economic cooperation across the Arab world, that President Obama has acted. Some of these dangers are quite apparent.   Others are spin-offs from regional instability and extreme radicalization – which are greater threats to Israel than a nuclear deal with Iran could ever pose.    I do not claim to be a Middle East specialist but I know a few individuals who are and it is their views I am articulating here.   If sanity ever returns to the art of diplomacy and politicians ever begin to act again like politicians not vocal fishmongers in the town market and statesmen again like statesmen and stateswomen not rabid political party or corporate 'hacks' then history will start to judge this agreement for what it really is, the voice of sanity in an insane region where hate of Arab or Jew is schooled from Kindergarten to the grave.   It's an unworkable situation which will only lead to future bloodshed and violence on as yet unborn generations of Israelis and Arabs – and someone has to speak out for them as they are not necessarily born into this world to die because of ignorance and intolerance.    With all this hatred in mind, someone like President Obama, has to attempt a different approach.  
There used to be a phrase 'blessed are the peacemakers' - but don't use it in Washington these days within Republican circles or you will be crucified on the cross of intolerance, racism, ignorance and bigotry.   You will fare just a little better within Democratic circles.
[On a lighter note, I was recently told I was 'unwelcome' at an Israeli Embassy Reception in a European Capitol city if I raised any 'awkward questions' which might 'embarrass' the Ambassador.   So Israel is now attempting to silence even vocal supporters whose only objective is the search for a permanent peace in the region (the Middle East) between Arab and Jew.   Just for the record, I politely declined the 'invitation' on the basis that my own diary was 'too busy' to 'fit' the Ambassador's kind invitation into my very busy schedule for that particular day.   This was relayed not direct to the Embassy but to the group afforded the marvellous photo opportunity event for all participating.  The one thing I did miss was the Carmel wine – some of which would be worldwide hits if grown in more 'tolerable' climates without stigma.]

Correction on 18th April:
The sentence should have read 'fired from Israel's Civil Service especially those Departments servicing the Knesset's Right-Wing and Religious parties' rather than 'from Israel'.
©Patrick Emek, 2015


[Part II]
So here's the deal, direct from the office of The President whose State Department Team, led by Secretary John Kerry, worked overtime to achieve:







''Today, the United States, together with our allies and partners, reached a historic understanding with Iran.
If fully implemented, this framework will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, making our nation, our allies, and our world safer.
For decades, Iran has been advancing its nuclear program. When I took office, Iran was operating thousands of centrifuges -- which can produce the materials for a nuclear bomb -- and was concealing a secret nuclear facility. I made it clear that the United States was prepared to find a diplomatic resolution, if Iran came to the table in a serious way.
But that didn't happen.
So we rallied the world to impose the toughest sanctions in history, profoundly impacting Iran's economy. Sanctions couldn't stop Iran's nuclear program on their own, but they helped bring Iran to the negotiating table.
And after many months of tough and principled diplomacy, the United States -- joined by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the European Union -- achieved the framework for a deal that will cut off every pathway Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon.
First, it stops Iran from pursuing a bomb using plutonium, because Iran will not develop weapons-grade plutonium. The core of its reactor at Arak will be dismantled and replaced. The spent fuel from that facility will be shipped out of Iran for the life of the reactor. Iran will not build a new heavy-water reactor. And Iran will never reprocess fuel from its existing reactors.
Second, it shuts down Iran's path to a bomb using enriched uranium. Iran has agreed to reduce its installed centrifuges by two-thirds. It will no longer enrich uranium at its Fordow facility, and it will not enrich uranium with its advanced centrifuges for at least the next 10 years. And the vast majority of its stockpile of enriched uranium will be neutralized.
Third, it provides the best possible defense against Iran's ability to pursue a nuclear weapon in secret. Iran has agreed to the most robust and intrusive inspections and transparency regime ever negotiated for any nuclear program in history. International inspectors will have unprecedented access not only to Iranian nuclear facilities, but to the entire supply chain that supports Iran's nuclear program -- from uranium mills that provide the raw materials, to the centrifuge production and storage facilities that support the program.
If Iran cheats, the world will know.
In return for Iran's actions, the international community has agreed to provide Iran with relief from certain sanctions -- our own sanctions, and international sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council. This relief will be tied to the steps Iran takes to adhere to the deal. And if Iran violates the deal, sanctions can be snapped back into place. Meanwhile, other American sanctions on Iran -- for its support of terrorism, its human rights abuses, and its ballistic missile program -- will be fully enforced.
Now, our work is not yet done. Negotiators will continue to work through the details of how this framework will be fully implemented, and those details matter. And let me be clear: If Iran backslides, and the verification and inspection mechanisms don't meet the specifications of our nuclear and security experts, there will be no deal.
But if we can get this done, and Iran follows through on the framework that our negotiators agreed to, we will be able to peacefully resolve one of the gravest threats to the security of our nation, our allies, and the world.
Learn more about today's historic deal and how it will make the United States, our allies, and our world safer:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/Iran-deal


Thank you,


President Barack Obama ''


The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111



Source:The White House Website
 Contact the White House




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Friday, 27 March 2015

Some Afterthoughts To The Airbus A320 Germanwings Co-Pilot Suicide
[With His Victims] In the French Alps



Andreas Lubitz
Far from hating Andreas Lubitz as the media would wish in their portrayal of this individual -a deranged 'monster' - for the world to 'buy into', we should feel as sorry for him as for his victims – the unsuspecting crew and passengers who were chanced to be flying with him that particular day, for whatever reason, he decided to end his torment.

A picture is gradually emerging which is becoming clearer as each new piece of information unravels his personality.
Here we have someone who had a passion for flying from the time he was a teenager- probably earlier.  But he was, more than likely, also most certainly aware that, even at this time, he had a very dark secret.   It seems that he was able to both conceal and tame the mental demons and torment between his childhood and his death (together with those he 'wanted' to be with him – the 149 other victims) some 15 years later in the French Alps.  Only very careful investigation will reveal exactly how he was able to pull off this remarkable deception – and had both the intellect and charisma to eventually make his way into the cockpit of an airbus A320, without detection.
[The procedural issues I have covered previously so here I will just focus on the character.]
An assumption would be made that a brother or sister or other family members can always shed light on such prior disorders.  This is sometimes a fallacy.  You take your brother or sister or other relative 'for granted' unless the behavior is so out of range as to require medical support or hospitalization [let me use the phrase 'well he/she always was a bit weird but we assumed it was just part of his/her personality.']
[An assumption I am making here is that whatever his state of mind, it was, for a very long time, manageable and therefore could be segregated or compartmentalized.]
Likewise for friends.  Coupled with the fact that, for all intensive purposes, this was, apparently, a sociable and likeable individual, probably of high intellect, you could almost be forgiven for saying 'well, his behavior probably goes with the territory.'
I am not justifying mass murder only saying that, in our arrogance, we often think we can reduce everything to a simplistic equation and when things just don't add up, in frustration and anger, we just pull out the label of psychopath' or 'monster' or something similar.
[It's a corollary to the court or justice systems which are designed, worldwide, not to punish and teach, but to exact retribution on behalf of an angry society - often with political motivations and electoral votes as backdrop.]
Let me now change the subject and give you just one example of a rapid personality deterioration.
Not too long ago I met someone I had not seen for sometime.  It was immediately obvious to me that the psychopathology of this individual had altered considerably.
I am not talking about someone elderly but someone in her early 20s.   The red flags were very evident.  Fortunately this individual does not have any remarkable responsibilities which could endanger the mass safety of individuals but is, quite clearly a 'danger' to someone somewhere out there.  The 'danger' I am talking about is, more likely, a dysfunctional relationship with a partner which (most certainly) will end in separation or divorce.   But it's none of my business.   I don't know the individual so her personal life or circumstances are of no concern to me whatsoever.  [I only thanked my lucky stars that I initially sensed that something was wrong, several years ago, and kept myself at an observational (but respectful!) distance.]  Again, we can all pull someone out of the rabbit hat who 'fits the profile' of 'unstable' – but none are likely responsible for the lives of hundreds or thousands of people at any one time and if we went on [yet another!] 'witch hunt' – this time against all individuals who are suffering from some or other form of mental illness or depression or severe shock or high anxiety, or bad divorce or separation or high stress of some sort - we might just as well lock up one third to a half of all the country at some time in their lives and retire a quarter (or more) of all the civilian pilots currently flying airlines worldwide (!)

Will This Ever Happen Again? Most Certainly Yes - But Just Hope And (if you are religious) Pray It's Not On Your Holiday Flight (!)
Some Consolation Might Be That Your Chances Of Winning 'Powerball' Before This Happens Are Probably Greater (!)
You never quite know when an individual will 'go off the deep end' and there is no guarantee that a tragedy like this suicide and ' intentional' [or collateral] mass murder  (however you view it) by a delusional individual, will not happen again whether or not, as the popular mass media are neighing for, you put a third person - even armed with an Uzi - in the cockpit of every airplane to constantly monitor the 'good behavior' of the pilot, co-pilot and another one or two (just for good measure) to monitor the 'good behavior' of all the passengers (and perhaps, several undercover individuals authorized to carry SIG-Sauer P228s, as overall 'oversight') - whilst the plane is in-flight.



Epilog
29th March, 15:57 Pacific Daylight Time, 2015:
I have one final question:
When The Captain got up to go to the toilet, and Mr Lubitz was left alone, did he think he was still in a dream and that, this time, by crashing the plane ( instead of the many times in his dreams he did not) he would awake 'reborn' and 'free' of his torments - having confronted and 'slayed' his demons - or was he fully conscious of his 'place' in 'reality'?

©Patrick Emek, 2015




Mental Demons: (The answer is probably somewhere within ... but you may not like what you find...)

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrBT8eCmxVV7i0AMQ5XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzcmRsMDM5BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDVklQNTYyXzEEc2VjA3Nj?p=Mental+Demons&fr=ytff1-

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrB8pGMxhVVvVIA8dyJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBsZ29xY3ZzBHNlYwNzZWFyY2gEc2xrA2J1dHRvbg--;_ylc=X1MDOTYwNjI4NTcEX3IDMgRiY2sDMGNkcW00ZDl1dGZrMCUyNmIlM0Q0JTI2ZCUzRDF0Ylo3UEJwWUVJV0g0VnVRaERwNmFqcUtFQlBYb2hnT2pBLSUyNnMlM0R2byUyNmklM0R6Z0h4NHdlT3h3eHlyWVZhdGxqRQRmcgN5dGZmMS0EZ3ByaWQDdG15YkNNSWhTSktFaXk0U2cxcjI2QQRtdGVzdGlkA251bGwEbl9zdWdnAzAEb3JpZ2luA2ltYWdlcy5zZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwMwBHBxc3RyAwRwcXN0cmwDBHFzdHJsAzQxBHF1ZXJ5A01lbnRhbCBEZW1vbnMgYW5kIG1lbnRhbCBJbGxuZXNzIFBpY3R1cmVzBHRfc3RtcAMxNDI3NDkwNTYyBHZ0ZXN0aWQDSU1HMDQ-?gprid=tmybCMIhSJKEiy4Sg1r26A&pvid=sv7hszY5LjEGN1YjU.6.gAvLMTA5LgAAAACE2f8i&p=Mental+Demons+and+mental+Illness+Pictures&fr=ytff1-&fr2=sb-top-images.search.yahoo.com&ei=UTF-8&n=60&x=wrt
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Tuesday, 24 March 2015


Airbus A320 Germanwings Flight From Barcelona to Dusseldorf Crashes In The French Alps:
A Tragic Accident?

Firstly sincere condolences to Germanwings and to the families of the victims of this disaster.
When tragedy strikes so suddenly it is almost incomprehensible for relatives and colleagues.

The crash of Germanwings plane 4U 9525 with the loss of 150 souls - including 6 crew - is yet another air tragedy in Europe which has also come during a period of severe economic recession and cutbacks by many companies in Europe to save on time and costs. I will look at one particular aspect of such cutbacks, with regard to historical relevance, later on in this blog.

It should be remembered that the low-cost airlines are subject to the same rigorous safety checks as the scheduled airlines so in this regard, there is no difference.

Answers, however, must be found – and quickly – to re-assure the traveling public in Europe and beyond.

Suspicious
It is highly suspicious that maximum (or optimal) cruising altitude had just been achieved when the plane 'fell' from the sky. This suggests, to me, rapid depressurization.
If such has been the case it will be quickly identified by forensic examination of the remains of the victims prior to and independent of the black box data being analyzed. Such conclusions can at least be quickly passed on to other carriers worldwide to ensure awareness of any potential issues in general.

I want, in this particular case, to speculate on what could cause such a catastrophe.
The first thing which comes to mind is a door being opened – or not having been sealed properly.
Secondly is depressurization caused by a failure of seals protecting against such a catastrophe.
Thirdly a failure of composite materials (structural failure.)
There is the possibility of a computer failure or 'data reboot'.
There is the possibility of the deliberate crashing of the plane by the pilot or co-pilot.
Finally there is the possibility of terrorism.
I am discounting both terrorism and pilot suicide for the following reasons:
Lufthansa's reputation in this regard is second to none.
The last place a terrorist would want to crash a plane would be in an inaccessibe region remote from public relations (world media) accessibility.
While we certainly do not know the circumstances of the pilot nor co-pilot I am also ruling out pilot error or suicide.
This leave the one option I am highly suspicious about.
A plane reaching optimal cruising altitude and immediately falling from the sky suggests to myself rapid depressurization caused either by a failure of seals designed to prevent such a thing from happening or, alternatively, a door not having been closed properly.
The other possibility is something in the cargo hold – such as pressurized material or canisters.
There have been cases in the past where supposedly 'empty' cylinders were in fact not completely empty or where a change in pressure in sealed environments caused such or similar items to 'burst' – with a 'force' similar to a mini-bomb or high speed bullet being released causing a rupture in the cargo hold area – thereby affecting the structural integrity of the plane.
[I had thought that all such issues had long ago been resolved through the strengtening of such hold areas and also with very strict procedures in place to prevent such occurrences or indeed in the event of such a catastrophe, that the damage would be minimized by the procedural packing and placement of such items.]

Materials Integrity Failure
There is always the possibility of composite failure or lack of proper maintenance. Again I trust European and German technology as I would American or British more than most others worldwide because of the very rigorous emphasis on safety and procedures - with oversight systems constantly monitored and updated where and when critical issues or potential problems become apparent.
By this I also mean that the design technology is unlikely to have been the cause of the disaster.
All the major indigenous Airlines I can think of – whether in Africa, The Middle East, Asia, Europe or the Americas have excellent maintenance and pilot safety records so again the likelihood of pilot error becomes as highly remote as maintenance failure.
There is, however, the classic prior accidents scenario whereby 'replacement parts' for airlines were not to a fit standard or were, through a bizarre chain of events, not calibrated or fault tested or even failed on the production line but such integrity issues were never picked up through fault analysis so sucvh went on to be then inserted as support or parts into an airline structure, and, after some period of time, failed – thereby causing the sections they were supporting to tear apart or break loose.

Lessons To Be Learnt
The one fact that this tragedy does again remind us of – and I have said this before – is the need tio get rid of this archaic 'black box' system and opt for real time tracking and systems monitoring.
I will not repeat what I have said before (in earlier blogs at this site) other than to add that with each tragic loss of life, as happened here, this will hopefully focus carriers (the airline industry) minds more urgently on this particular 'upgrade'.

Update at 19:47 March 25, Pacific Daylight Time:

Don't Completely Rule Out Suicide:
There is a News Report that either the pilot or co-pilot found himself locked out of the cockpit.
This itself is confusing for several reasons.  The first is because both are trained to fly the plane and unless both found themselves locked out of the cockpit (which would be a horrendous situation apart from a breach of every rule in the book of civil aviation where only the Captain and Co-pilot are in-house) this, in itself, is not a full-scale emergency, unfortunate as it may be.  Secondly there is a further report that rapid depressurization was not involved - which rules out failed seals on windows, doors or other catastrophic failures which would cause such to occur.
[This does not rule out other catastrophic failures causing the structural integrity to become unstable.]
Then there are now (if any credibility exists in this recent speculation) other issues to look at such as food poisoning or other unforseen in-flight illness - but even as such by putting the plane on autopilot as it was at optimal cruising height - there should have been more than time to issue a distress call.  This in itself is not a full-scale emergency - as distressing as it may be.  Again it is difficult to imagine that both the pilot and co-pilot would both have left their posts (or have taken ill) simultaneously for such reasons then to find themselves both locked out of the cockpit whilst being attended to.
It's not inconceivable that someone was taken seriously ill, being attended outside the cockpit and the second, unthinking, went to see how his colleague was coping, both to find themselves unable to get back inside.  If this eventually turns out to be the case then a major review of procedures and access will be required.

Suicide - And It's Implications:
All other things considered, should this tragedy turn out to be either the result of human error or intentional murder (a suicide) it still leaves the issue of access procedures and  security wide open and would suggest (at least to myself) that more careful thought needs to be applied to cockpit access in an era of terrorism where the balance between safety, accessibility and security all need to be carefully balanced for confidence in air travel to be maintained at the high level it is today. 
Therefore, in the light of new information available, I am assuming that as part of the process of thorough investigation, the relevant authorities are looking carefully into the background of both the Captain and Co-pilot to see if there are any relevant motivating factors which could have caused one or the other to behave irrationally or just one or the other, having an exceptionally bad day.    It is now accepted that the initial report of the airplane 'falling from the sky' was inaccurate.  It apparently descended (under control) and flew, at full speed, right into the French Alps.     [So much for routine psychological profiling and spot tests!]





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Monday, 9 March 2015

Coup d'Etat in Nigeria?

Rumors are rife that the army in conjunction with corrupt Governors, Officials and the Business community are planning a military coup to prevent General Muhammadu Buhari from sweeping to power by popular democratic choice in this months forthcoming General Election.

Reasons for The Coup
Should this happen, do not believe a word of what your mainstream media will tell you.  Plans are already in place to say that it was because of the chaos caused by Boko Haram and the need for a firm military response that the country has been put under 'temporary' Martial Law.

The Real Reasons For The Coup - Should It Take Place
General Buhari is a widely respected politician.   Nigeria's equivalent of America's Eliot Ness (The G-Men) – Buhari is incorruptible and the only politician standing in this month's election untainted by scandal of one sort or another.  He is neither beholden to the Army nor to the business community – both of which have corruptly benefited enormously under President Goodluck Jonathan.
Jonathan himself is not seen as the real objective of the military coup – why should they oust someone who has not attempted to tackle corruption?; but more to the fact that it would be seen as a 'popular' move to 'depose' (and I use this word loosely) Jonathan, blame his administration for the corruption, political chaos and anarchy created by Boko Haram and send him into exile so that he can be 'out of the way' of public opprobrium.

The 'G-Man'
Buhari is very serious in tackling corruption and this is not going down well amongst the corrupt elite which have, almost without interruption - except during the Biafra War years and those of General Buhari as Leader of the Country – rifled Nigeria of it's wealth (oil and gas) and left it and it's people as a broken and empty shell.

The gap between wealth and poverty in Nigeria is probably on the same scale as the disenfranchisement of the African-Brazilian population. [Over 87% of Brazil's African-Brazilian population are totally disenfranchised from political, economic and social prosperity by a form of Apartheid which makes South Africa under Apartheid look benevolent in comparison.  But Brazil is not the objective of this blog so you should research this for yourself elsewhere.]

Military Coup? What Coup?
The Generals plotting the coup are mainly Northerners – but they have cross-party links with the Governors of States outside the North who will, at least, not speak out against the planned Coup – should it happen.
There will be some media-publicized moves to 'tackle corruption' – the usual window-dressing.  [A pig with lipstick is, however, still a pig with lipstick!)

'Temporary' Martial Law
Even President Jonathan 'knows' who the potential 'plotters' are.  He is, however, powerless to act – should they decide to sieze power – as the loyalty of all Senior Northern commanders is not guaranteed 'in stone' – but only on paper.

Objectives Of The Plotters
The objective of a military coup -should it kibosh the General Election - is simply to prevent Buhari from becoming President.   By the time Martial Law is lifted it is assumed that he willl be 'too old' and 'too ineffectual' to be a 'viable' Presidential candidate for selection nor for the Nigerian electorate.   President Jonathan has been so ineffectual that he is not a 'political threat' to anyone and will 'go quietly'.

Interests Of The West Are Guaranteed
As I understand it, there will be no change in Nigeria's policy with regard to oil and gas – so it's business as usual.
As I see it, the country could go on a more 'pro-Arab' path.   There has been increasing antiSemitism over the past decade – fueled in part by hate-mongers and in part by what is perceived as injustice to the Palestinians – fellow Muslim brothers 'suffering' under a system which many Nigerians - especially in the Muslim North - compare with the system of Apartheid in South Africa until it's visible dismantling (but the psychological scars left will probably take hundreds of years to eradicate.)  This is not my view but it is one publicly (and privately) shared by the majority of people in Nigeria – Africa's most populous country - and the new military leadership will lose no time 'capitalizing'' on this 'popular' sentiment to the fullest.   It will also be another convenient distraction from the more pressing problems – such as tackling widespread corruption and wealth redistribution to the disenfranchised who constitute 90% of Nigeria's population.
Nearly 60% of Nigeria's Youth population are without work and without hope for the future. Any distractions are better than having to tackle these issues.

Sadly the vast majority of Nigerians are not educated to understand that by disenfranchising their own population from education economic and social development, they are holding back the country's potential to compete globally – in much the same way that Muslim countries such as Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia by not empowering women are thus utilizing only a small fraction of the country's total potential in a globalized interconnected and interdependent world.


From the West's Perspective
Should a military coup take place, it will be a disappointment – especially in the United Kingdom, the former colonial power, which genuinely wants to see Nigeria develop and prosper for all it's citizens but has taken a back seat since the problems of tackling endemic corruption in the country are such as to make any vocal foreign statements into local Nigerian domestic politics, however benign, a lost, hopeless and a thankless cause.
I have met with former Colonial Officers who served in Nigeria and were very deeply attached to a country whose people they came to love and respect.   Most are now deceased but it broke their hearts to see the potential of what could have been a great country and beacon of development and prosperity for all on the African continent, squandered.
So Britain, The United States and Europe will express 'regret' - should such a scenario unfold.    But that is about all that will happen.   Life will continue as it always has for the impoverished and dispossessed and Nigeria will, yet again, through ignorance, have missed a golden opportunity to move into a new era of shared future prosperity and wealth redistribution, with a visionary leader taking it there, for yet another few decades or even longer.


©Patrick Emek, March 09,2015


References 



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