Nuclear Agreement With Iran Is There More To This Deal Than Meets The Eye? The Southern Caucasus-Iran-The Caspian Sea-and the Unintended Consequences To 'Peace In Our Time'

Nuclear Agreement With Iran

Is There More To This Deal Than Meets The Eye?

The Southern Caucasus-Iran-The Caspian Sea-and the Unintended Consequences To

'Peace In Our Time'

In a historic development,The European Union and The United States have reached agreement with Iran with regard to it's right to develop nuclear technology and enrich uranium.
Is this a historic mistake which the world will pay a very heavy penalty for or is it a step on the road towards permanent peace in the region and beyond?
What I want to do in this article is to look beyond the Middle East-into the next area of conflict-the Southern Caucasus and to show how this peace deal with Iran has, ironically, brought conflict in the Southern Caucasus one step closer-an unintended consequence of the historic peace.    Lets look at the players:
Nagorno-Karabakh
There is one particular conflict which is a real and immediate threat to international security-and this recent deal will 'free' Iran in the near future to intensify insurgency in this area.
We have seen both Shia and Sunni (Salafist) international brigades fighting alongside local volunteers in areas which are predominantly Shia by tradition.
The Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) War between Azerbaijan and Armenia-where Iran is seeking to extend it's influence-is a historical dispute, a resources conflict, and a desperate scramble by the superpowers to control the vast wealth of the Caspian Sea region.  Increased terrorism and conflicts are likely to become major flashpoints in this area in the near future Let me explain why.
Moving circular from West to North to South, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran  all border an area called the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea itself is a major transit route for oil and gas pipelines.
''The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) places the potential of the Caspian Sea at 48 billion bbls of oil and 292 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas.  Most of the offshore oil reserves lie in the northern part of the Caspian Sea while most of the offshore natural gas lies in the southern parts of the Caspian Sea.''
''The U.S. Geological Survey (USGC) also estimated that another 20 billion bbls of oil and 243 tcf of natural gas are undiscovered at this time. Most of these undiscovered reserves lie in the South Caspian area where territorial disputes between the countries bordering it have posed a significant barrier to exploration and growth.''¹
Chechnya and Dagestan
You may recall a very ferocious war in Chechnya - a Russian Province bordering Dagestan, another Russian Republic which itself adjoins the Caspian Sea (in that circular west area.) What was fueling this conflict was the prospect of breaking off Chechnya and Dagestan as independent countries so that they could negotiate access to the oil and gas reserves in parts of the Caspian Sea independent of Russia.
(While Chechnya does not border the Caspian, linked to a similar independent Dagestan, it could provide a vital safe transit corridor for oil and gas pipelines - reaching the safety of a NATO 'umbrella' in Georgia, then on out to the Mediterranean into the European Union, independent of the existing Turkish trans-Asia oil and gas 'corridor'.)
 Because of the vital strategic nature of this critical region for Russia, independence was unthinkable - hence proxy wars were (and are, to a lesser extent) still being fought over access and control of huge mineral resources in this area. So the nuclear 'deal' with Iran is, in my opinion, not just about nuclear weapons but is also about the future of the Caspian Sea region for the foreseeable future.
Giving Iran a measured  'free hand' to support insurgency groups in this region will most certainly alarm Moscow as the likelihood is that the U.S. will now provide logistical support more openly than ever to rebel groups in Chechnya - via Iran.  (Iran has also, historically, sought to extend it's influence north through Azerbaijan - the Baku oilfields - across the borders to Chechnya.)
So even though Azerbaijan is off limits to Iran - because of NATO presence - Chechnya and the disputed border area of  Nagorno-Karabakh to the North of Iran, between Armenia and Azerbaijan, will become major flashpoints of conflict in the very near future.
As we have seen in Lebanon, Syria and North Africa, no mercy will be shown to protecting Christian communities when it comes to choosing between them and vital strategic resources - by either side.
What you must bear in mind is that these are resources wars in huge oil, gas, gold, precious and rare earth mineral - rich regions -and not what the politicians and the general media (CNN, Fox,  MSNBC) will attempt to portray.   The conflicts are fueled in the knowledge that oil and gas in the Middle East is running out (maybe not tomorrow-but soon) and that the Caspian Sea, the Asian gateway to oil and gas wealth for the European Union and the United States, will be the new 'El Dorado' of tomorrow.

Russian Forces in Armenia-How Will They Respond To An Attack by Azerbaijan?
Armenia, with the tacit (unofficial) support of Russia, by military force, successfully gained control over Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other Azeri provinces twenty years ago. Armenia claims these provinces are historically part of Armenia - and that it is simply retaking lands which were unjustly separated during respective periods of Persian and Ottoman conquests. There are dialects of ancient Armenian spoken in all 7 provinces and, historically, Armenia's claim is justified.   In the world of realpolitik however, where oil and liquid gold are thicker than blood, it's claims have not been internationally recognized.
Some 20 years ago, when Armenia seized the 7 provinces from Azerbaijan, it had a well-funded, well-equipped and highly trained armed forces vastly superior to those of the Azeris.
Today the situation is radically different.   Huge oil, gas and mineral reserves and their economic development have made Azerbaijan a phenomenally wealthy country (at least for those in control.)
It's President, Ilham Aliyev,  is a strongman - not dissimilar to the late Colonel Gadhafi - and rules the country with an iron fist (in a velvet glove.)  With the support of NATO, Azerbaijan has modernized it's armed forces and is outspending Armenia on the purchase of defensive, and more notably, from the United States, weapons with offensive capabilities.
To counterbalance this, Russian military forces have been upgraded in Armenia as an imminent threat of war in Russian South Caucasus security area (the soft underbelly) looms closer.

“If Azerbaijan decides to restore jurisdiction over Nagorno-Karabakh by force the [Russian] military base may join in the armed conflict in accordance with the Russian Federation’s obligations within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO),” Ruzinsky ¹²
told the Russian Defense Ministry’s “Krasnaya Zvezda” newspaper in a recent interview.
(Colonel Andrey Ruzinsky is the Senior Commander of 102nd military base, Russian Armed Forces in Armenia.)  Defense Minister of Russia, Sergey Shoygu, said recently, at an urgently requested meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Zakir Hasanov, in Moscow, that the media misquoted  the interview given by the Commander of [Russian] 102 military base in Armenia,  to the [Russian] Military newspaper, Krasnaya Zvezda.   Shoygu said that the misquote was ''probably a mistake'' (!)

In the last few months, The Russian base in Armenia, which numbers between 4,000 and 5,000 soldiers, has been upgraded with modern weaponry, reportedly including Iskander-M tactical ballistic missiles.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that Russia has already deployed combat helicopters. The Russian Air Force unit in Armenia currently has 16 MiG-29 fighter jets.   [Deleted reference to Antonov An-225.
An-225 is not operated in Armenia but only used for logistical transport of civilian cargo worldwide.]

Freeing up Iran as a 'non-player' part of this anticipated conflict, is more critical to the long term economic, political and military security of the West than any misgivings the Israelis may have about doing deals with it's sworn enemy. When it comes to global politics, Israel is not a major player-if the issues do not specifically involve the interests and security of the Jewish State.   (Israel does have a modest international humanitarian program.)    Superpowers, on the other hand, have global responsibilities for world security which transcend emotional attachments to any one country.
So long as Iran does nothing irrational in rhetoric or actions - which is highly unlikely - the nuclear deal
with the West will provide the necessary breathing spaces for all involved.
As to 'fallout' unintended consequences for The South Caucasus-Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea region - the Road to Hell is usually paved with good intentions.


Patrick Emek
November 2013



1.http://www.valuewalk.com/2013/09/caspian-sea-asian-gateway-to-oil-wealth/
2.http://asbarez.com/115675/russian-troops-in-gyumri-will-retaliate-if-azerbaijan-attacks/
3.http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49111.htm
4.http://nisa.az/content/view/36/62/lang,en/
5.http://en.trend.az/news/politics/2189989.html
6.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Nagorno-Karabakh
7.http://www.maps-world.net/central-asia.htm
8.https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&channel=np&q=russia+chechnya&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x4051d57c9d13b971:0x7faadc5dead7e13b,Chechnya,+Russia&gl=uk&ei=sTmUUpO1Oc2ThQe94oHYDg&ved=0CKgBELYD
9.https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&channel=np&q=dagestan&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x
10.http://worldwideconflicts.wordpress.com/tag/shia/
11.http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Behistun_Inscription.html
12(a)http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67712

12(b) http://www.redstar.ru/index.php/news-menu/v-armiyakh-sng/armenia/item/12045-yuzhnyj-forpost-rossii: Южный форпост России [Russia's Southern Flank]

12(b).''The military base is a mixed facility in permanent alert for immediate use . Its composition represents  major combat units and 17 units of comprehensive support . Such volume forces are at a high state of readiness  to successfully meet its mandated tasks. I should add that the fighting strength of the HDR feature in Armenia is antiaircraft missile battalion equipped air defense system " S-300B " anti-aircraft missile battalion armed with SAM which stands BUK -M1-2 , rocket artillery battery "Tornado" and the air base with a squadron of combat MiG-29 aircraft . The entire amount of forces and assets based in two dozen cantonments two garrisons.''

13(a). Aryan Armenians:
(Please note that the word 'Aryan' has been misappropriated by European civilization and used
for evil purposes.  It's origin is, in fact, Sanskrit (India).  Aryan (ārya) in ancient Sanskrit, it's native origin,
means 'one who does noble deeds'.)
The name 'Armenia' appears on ancient Persian Behistun rock inscription as 'Armina'.
In native Armenian it is also known as 'Hayk'.    Patrick Emek 2013 )

13(b). Historical Reference:
History to 114 AD:
The ancestors of the present Armenians (who call themselves Chaik'h, i.e. Pati-s, "Lords") may have settled in the country in the 8th century BC, when Sargon mentions a king of part of Armenia who bore the Aryan name Bagadatti (= Theodore). They came from Phrygia (Herod. vii.73), used the Phrygian dress and armor (Dion. of Halicarnassus; Eudoxius; Herod.) and spoke the same language (Herod. i.171). In the Bible they are called the "House of Togarmah" (Genesis 10:3; 1 Chronicles 1:6; Ezekiel 27:14; 38:6) and "Ashkenaz" (Genesis 10:3; 1 Chronicles 1:6; Jeremiah 51:27; the Assyrian Ashguza), as by their own writers of later times. Xenophon in the Cyropedia mentions a Median conquest of Armenia, Strabo their Median attire; yet Armenian girls could not understand Xenophon's Persian interpreter (Anab. iv.5). Three of the four Armenians mentioned by Darius have Aryan names. The Armenians joined the Median noble Fravartish in his revolt against Darius I (519 BC). Much of the consequent fighting took place in Armenia, which was with difficulty subdued (517). It formed part of Darius' thirteenth Nome, and afterward two satrapies (apparently Armenia Major and Minor). The government (of Armenia Major) was made hereditary in the family of Vidarna (Hydarnes) for helping to put down Fravartish. Xenophon's interesting description of the country and people and the severity of its winters is well known.
Herodotus tells of Armenians in skin and wicker-work coracles bringing wine, etc., to Babylon. Xenophon says they and the Chaldeans traded with India. Strabo mentions their caravan trade across central Asia. The satrap of Armenia had to present 20,000 young horses annually to the king of Persia at the great annual festival of Mithra. A large body of Armenian soldiers served in Xerxes' invasion of Greece. At the battle of Arbela (331 BC), 40,000 of their infantry and 7,000 cavalry took part. Armenia then became a portion of Alexander's empire, and later of that of Seleucus (301 BC), under a native satrap, Artavasdes. Armenia revolted after Antiochus' defeat at Magnesia (190 BC), and the Romans encouraged the two satraps to declare themselves kings. Artaxias, king of Armenia Major, used Hannibal's aid in fortifying his capital Artaxata (189 BC). Artaxias was overthrown by Antiochus Epiphanes in 165, but was restored on swearing allegiance. Civil confusion ensued. The nobles called in the Parthians under Mithridates I (150 BC), who became master of the whole Persian empire. He made his brother Valarsaces king of Armenia. Thus the Arsacide dynasty was established in that country and lasted till the fall of the Parthian empire (226 AD), the Armenian kings very generally recognizing the Parthian monarchs as their suzerains.
The greatest Armenian king was Tigranes I. (96-55 BC), a warrior who raised Armenia for a time to the foremost position in Asia. He humbled the Parthians, joined Mithridates VI in war with Rome, ruled Syria for over 14 years, built near Mardin as his capital Tigranocerta, and assumed the Assyrio-Persian title of "King of Kings." Lucullus defeated Tigranes and destroyed Tigranocerta in 69 BC. Tigranes surrendered to Pompey near Artaxata (66 BC), paid 6,000 talents, and retained only Armenia. Under him Greek art and literature flourished in the country. Armenia as a subjectally of Rome became a "buffer state" between the Roman and Parthian empires. Tigranes' son and successor Artevasdes joined in the Parthian invasion of Syria after Crassus' overthrow at Sinnaca 53 BC. He treacherously caused great loss to Antony's army in 36 BC. Antony carried him in chains to Egypt, where Cleopatra put him to death in 32 BC. After this, Armenia long remained subject to the Romans whenever not strong enough to join the Parthians, suffering much from intrigues and the jealousy of both powers. There is no proof of the later Armenian story that Armenia was subject to Abgarus, king of Edessa, in our Lord's time, and that the gospel was preached there by Thaddaeus, though the latter point is possible. In 66 AD, Tiridates, elder brother of the Parthian king Vologeses, having defeated the Romans under Paetus and established himself on the throne of Armenia, went by land to Rome and received investiture from Nero. Peace between Rome and Parthia ensued, and Armenia remained closely united to Parthia till Trajan's expedition in 114 AD.
_LITERATURE._
Spiegel, Altpers. Keilinschriften; Herodotus; Xenophon; Arrian; Tacitus; Velleius Patroculus; Livy; Polybius; Ammianus Marcellinus.
W. St. Clair Tisdall
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography Information
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'ARMENIA'". "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". 1915.

 14.http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-road-to-hell-is-paved-with-good-intentions.html

                 The TransPacific Partnership (TPP) - New BRICS On The Block?

What Is The Trans-Pacific Partnership?

(And Why Have I Not Heard About It Before Now?)

The Partners:

*The United States*Australia*Canada*New Zealand*Japan*

*Mexico*Peru*Chile*Singapore*Malaysia*Vietnam*Brunei*

Global Transnational Trading Blocks Of The Future-TTIP*TPP*BRICS*

The first thing to state is where I have heard about it from.

I read about it in an excellent article by By Richard Chirgwin  published in an  investigative journal which, like myself, has only a handful of readers worldwide-probably mainly in the Anglo-Saxon world.  I say sadly because I believe that legislation of this international proportion will affect India,Africa,Asia to a profound extent that it is a tragedy we have few fellow-readers (and fellow-traveler participants for discussion)  in these regions-as yet.
It is a new trade agreement negotiated in total secrecy with an estimated 550-600 U.S. corporate lobbyists, completely anonymous, covertly working to bring TPP legislation into effect which will give transnational corporations an equal if not-preeminent footing superseding local (national) and even United Nations convention agreements and laws-effectively driving a coach and horses through disputed UN legislation and sidelining this organization in favor of partisan trade blocks,where legislation favoring major corporations can challenge Governments for loss (or anticipated) of revenues should member countries fail to protect the enshrined status of a corporate product or service.  This failure to protect can be very wide ranging from lack of stringent enforcement by government agencies and departments to simply failing to adequately 'police'
copyright and patent infringement on the internet by closing down or blocking servers and with huge fines as deterrents to internet providers or producers of any goods or services in any way deemed competitive, similar and objectionable even on grounds of suspected infringement of any aspect of  existing copyright by the transnational holder-thereby freezing all such products until a  TPP corporate-agreed (perhaps Government sub-contracted) body investigates and rules on the matter-with huge costs involved to would-be-innovators.

Secondly, this TPP agreement cannot be seen in isolation to new emerging trade blocks-such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (a rival to the TPP for economic and political influence in Asia and The South China Seas which specifically includes China and specifically excludes The United States) RCEP members will include the existing ASEAN member-countries plus

six (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.) which have free-trade agreements with ASEAN.

The TPP is preceding the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership)-yet another regional trading block-this one between the US and the European Union.

(A further block exists in the oil and mineral-rich ' Muslim Stans' of Central Asia-Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,Tajikistan,Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, with China ,Russia, Europe the United States and Japan vying for control and influence.)

The objective of the 2 main blocks (TTIP and TPP) are to extend economic influence of member-countries in advance of BRICS (yet another economic trading block with Russia and India in the driving seats) coming into prominence in the near future. Of these 3 blocks, BRICS is likely to be the one with the highest growth potential as it will be incorporating countries in regions which have traditionally been underdeveloped but with vast mineral-rich potentials. Many countries in Africa may well,if invited, opt for BRICS membership or association rather than the legal shackles (and penalties) imposed by the other two blocks and which are likely to further hamper growth and development of fledgling industries and home-based companies servicing local markets in these underdeveloped countries.

What Is The TPP?

Rather than precise Richard Chirgwin's excellent article, I would just like to generally spread the news about what the TPP actually does, then pick up on specific issues close to my heart.

In essence the TPP is a set of business regulatory standards which it's members agree to enforce.

It specifically excludes India and China with the hope that they will eventually opt for inclusion when

bitter rivals are seen over time to be gaining an upper economic competitive advantage.

(I do not know whether they were initially invited but declined joining on the basis of the anti-competitive nature of TPP or they were just ignored.)

At this point, when joining at a future date, countries such as India and China will be opting to join a club as 'the poor relatives'-with little rights to amend and an obligation as signatories to accept legislation already agreed amongst initial TPP member countries.

But in actual effect many of these regulatory issues agreed amongst founder TPP-member countries are likely to affect the ability of, say an independent free-range non-GMO farmer in Nebraska or Idaho or an African or Asian farmer to bring a new herbal product to the local (national) and international market without undergoing such rigorous appraisal-not testing for public health & safety but bench-mark legal standards for copyright infringement set by the TPP member-nation's global multinational or transnational corporation, for the infringement, in any way, even by a small percentage,of existing copyright or patent,held by that (transnational corporation) existing TPP member-which more likely than not, some aspect of the product inevitably will. In other words, herbal medicine, a life-saving part of the developing world, will be ultimately virtually outlawed-unless it (the herb) is already under an umbrella transnational corporation-which will more likely already be headquartered in a TPP-member country. (Yes OK, it may be headquartered 'offshore' but in reality it's base is a TPP-member nation.)

Are you with me so far?;or has the matter become so complicated that I am already losing your interest? Don't worry, it's not you! It's just that this TPP draft regulatory framework is very complex and if you are not a widely-read individual (or a lawyer) it might just send you to sleep-whereas the opposite is very necessary for your survival beyond TPP!

Non-GMO Free-Range Produce (As An Alternative To Monsanto - Enshrined in TPP Legislation )

For example, if I am a Utah free-range (non-GMO) farmer - or indeed a similar farmer in India or Africa - and I grow a herb (most pharmaceuticals are herb-based, then synthesized to mask this origin, now today further genetically engineered to mask even further-and patented at all 3 stages to prevent others following-effectively destroying free-market enterprise innovation in the process) which I want to market,as,say, for example as a 'natural' mosquito/insect repellant, the first thing I will now have to do is submit it to rigorous testing-not under Federal Safety Regulations but under TPP regulations before sale and distribution in a TPP-member country. So TPP legislation will supercede national law. These oversights will be sub-contracted to the legal representatives of the global transnationals (TPP-member countries) whose only function will be to get this Utah farmer's product into a 'kangaroo' testing laboratory with the sole objective of finding some infringement for patent rights in one of the 3 stages of processing I have already mentioned above. Are you beginning to get the picture? So the ability to innovate is being concentrated in the hands of a very few highly technologically-developed countries-with a number of TPP Third-World/Developing countries, as clients, included as window dressing. Of course the objective is not initially the small farmer in Idaho, Alaska, Utah or Nebraska but to stymie the fast-developing innovative pharmaceutical and herbal product innovators in non-member countries such as India and China -which are eating into (existing) global transnational corporations dominance of the patent and copyright markets and against which they simply cannot compete with in price. (There are genuine issues of quality and safety with regard to 'cloned' (generic) products which should not be ignored but in a truly free-market world, inferior health products will tank in favor of superior quality and safer products-as they rightly should.)

So How Should I Respond To Trading Blocks I Have No influence Over? I am helpless!

The answer is to get local-go back to basics-but unlike the Taliban and Saudi Arabia-embrace modernity and opportunity offered by modern communications and the potential for community cooperatives infrastructures.

On a planet which, far from moving towards economic global unity, is defining itself through economic and military 'strength in numbers' competing trading and mutually exclusive blocks, the objective of the independent non-GMO-enslaved Nebraska or Rust Belt (independent) farmer should be to ensure the dissemination of support-infrastructures at local and regional levels so there are alternative local, non-GMO farmer market and available produce in all major towns and US cities. Given real free choice, most consumers would abandon factory-farmed chickens held in pens the size of your computer monitor by the tens and GMO produce in favor of healthier alternatives-if they were available at a cheaper price. Taking advantage of community-owned and community-shared or cooperative transport to ferry produce across the country will both keep the profits amongst member-producer-consumers and sideline the expensive alternatives.

So there are practical things which individuals can do to provide consumers with real alternatives to the global transnational blocks-at local community level.

What Percentage of World Trade Is Located Within Trade Blocks?

So legislation which is designed to divide the world into trading blocks whether encompassing

26% of the World's GDP and 20% of the World's Trade (The European Union) or emerging

60% of global GDP and 33% of world trade(the TPP) or

30% of GDP and 40% of world trade (RCEP)

and BRICS (25% of world GDP and 15% of world trade) can work for the benefit of local people-if they simply opt for more local and community-based produce(!); this means that local communities need to get back into the hot seat to produce locally sourced organic produce-and consumers will also have to sacrifice glossy-packaged and presented goods in favor of more basic labeling of produce.  Domestic Vegetable and Community Vegetable Gardens and EcoArks (my coinage or phrase for mixed vegetable,plant,goats and chicken free-range cultivation)  and allotments by independent farmers -either on a barter or a chargeable basis-are also options forward for town and city community farming projects.
In a world more polarized than ever, drifting further apart with formation blocks designed to curtail true free trade, one response at a local level could be an intensification of peer-to-peer
cooperative bartering and farming,peer-to-peer delivery of produce-from producer to consumer
leaving out the middlemen and chain supermarkets.  A myriad of services could be contemplated
utilizing peer-to-peer access and skills exchange for goods and services and vice versa.

There is not a single consumer produce in the world which could not be grown in some part of the United States-in a non-GMO environment for national consumption. What hinders such development are barriers inside the United States to the free-market-spreading of fear about any enterprises which enable groups of individuals to share equally all of the profits (as with cooperatives) are scare-mongered and legislated out of existence similar to the hysteria about 'socialized' medicine- thereby ensuring consumers never have a chance to examine alternatives to work and profit-sharing than those already existing for corporate America. Other barriers are inertia to change and the power of hundreds of years of consumer advertising. I am sure, as day follows night, that when Community America is up and running, Europe then the rest of the world will follow. To misquote The Reverend Dr Martin Luther King (but hopefully within the spirit he would graciously consent to approve) I can say that '' I've been to the top of the mountain and I have seen the non-GMO-legislated promised land!''...and we will all get there....together.....someday...

I had finished my article, but for the paragraph below, when I read a very moving article about the life of St. Patrick, who was taken into slavery as a young boy and, as the story or legend goes, herded goats on Sliabh Mish during enforced childhood captivity.  I was particularly struck by his last remark that "whatever situation you find yourself in today, even if it is not what you had planned, God can use you there to do something amazing."  (http://cliffmarshall.blogspot.co.uk/?expref=next-blog)

If you want to see how the forthcoming TPP will affect your ability to innovate-or indeed how copyright and patent legislation will be policed and enforced-be it with regard to internet activities, file sharing,selling goods and products via the internet please refer to the references below.  (You can assume that TPP 'rivals' will have similar policies in place!)

Patrick Emek November 2013

Update (02.11.2015)
 additional information has now provided greater detail to the TPP agreements.
Please reference this more recent addition first:
 https://www.eff.org/issues/tpp

Original References:

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/The_EU_in_the_world_-_economy_and_finance

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R42344.pdf

http://www.americasquarterly.org/next-big-thing-trans-pacific-partnership

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/21/world/asia/southeast-asian-nations-announce-trade-bloc-to-rival-us-effort.html

https://wikileaks.org/tpp/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/13/wikileaks_posts_tpp_text/

The Jimmy Kimmel Affair

On a show recently hosted by ABC presenter,Jimmy Kimmel, a youngster was heard to say that one way to solve all of America's debt problems might be to kill all Chinese-in China.
The fact that this statement was made on a show well-known for political incorrectness - offending in joke -and was uttered by a humor-excited six-year old cut no ice with China. The backlash was inevitable-hundreds of people flooded the switchboards of ABC offices demanding Kimmel be fired. This was to be expected after such comments. The offensive remarks have now been edited out of the show. What was not expected was that all of the protesters are Chinese-not a single non-Chinese supporting the protests outside ABC's main studio in Los Angeles. If this had been any other ethnic group there would have been universal support in condemnation. Why then are the general public reluctant to get involved?  The answer may lie in the fact that the Chinese community itself does little to involve itself in the social, welfare, charitable life of multifaith and multiethnic (multiracial) America.  It is a highly insular group which focuses on the accumulation of financial wealth-a product of a society (China) where financial self-sufficiency (with no social welfare networks) is a priority for every citizen as the only recourse is impoverishment or reliance on handouts from contemptuous relatives (contemptuous about the fact that they have to support a 'weak' 'lazy' family member who has not had the foresight nor wisdom to provide for the future for himself or herself and his or her family.) So the cultural and mental divides between China and the U.S. are huge. Well-to-do Chinese, unlike their Anglo-Saxon,Jewish,Italian,Hispanic,Irish,African-American.German,Norwegian,Swedish counterparts see no need to support charitable causes-which most privately regard as 'welfare bums' or 'scroungers'. So there is a world of difference in how insular China and the other communities in the United States regard their responsibilities to those less fortunate financially, than themselves. It doesn't stop there. Our whole Judeo-Christian philosophy, in my opinion, is rooted in conscience and responsibility, not just for ourselves but in the mentoring through example of several tenets-some of which are those of giving,of guidance and the wish to be remembered as 'someone who did good' or tried to do good for those less fortunate, from whatever racial background, through some selfless bountiful acts which are all philosophically, part of the same holistic approach as to how the Judeo-Christian world perceives it's relationship to it's fellow man and woman and to the Creator. I believe such concepts have no place in Confucianism which essentially teaches that all foreigners (non-Chinese) are to be treated with suspicion,if not contempt, that China is special and the rest of the world, barbarians.  (That was why, incidentally, the Great Wall was built ,with the dead bones of the millions of slaves labored, who died  of exhaustion in the construction,ground into the mortar, so as to ensure no wastage. )   It should never be forgotten that some of the greatest atrocities in world history have taken place when one ethnic group has dehumanized another or others.  Confucianism has been one of the greatest driving forces in the perception of itself (ethnocentrically) and the rest of the world by China (certainly Han China) for centuries-in much the same way as The Holy Roman Empire held sway of all religious and philosophical directions throughout Christendom for centuries. It's not that the Chinese people don't give, but they cannot understand why 'giving' should be institutionalized-as it is 'non-productive'.  To selectively (and mutually exclusively) support the Chinese community in the United States is productive-because it is cost-effective and cost-efficient.  Let me just be clear,all patrons (wealthy individuals or donors) will be prejudiced towards supporting their own community (or ethnic group) first-but many do not do so to the total exclusion of all others,as a matter of  exclusive (ethnocentric) belief and policy.
Likewise individuals when asked to support a charitable cause may give exclusively to charities which, for example,provide services for the Armenian community-but you will find few to say it is wrong for their ethnic group, as individuals, to give to other similar worthy causes on grounds of culture, tradition and racial identity.  When you understand this frame of thought it becomes easier to appreciate why, other than the fact that the Chinese Embassy in Washington got (informally) involved and the issue has turned into a 'diplomatic incident', the general public are noticeably muted and lacking in luster to come out in their millions to support the call for Jimmy Kimmel's 'head on a platter'.  It was an unfortunate remark-but not by Jimmy Kimmel himself. It has now been edited out-as it should be.   Jokes about the Irish Famine (1845-48),The Holocaust of the Jews in Nazi Germany,Slavery of African Americans would receive similar treatment.
What it has done is highlight the cultural and ideological divide in perceptions between East and West and, I hope, something positive may be generated from the heated debates in the aftermath.
Probably both the Chinese community and ourselves ought to take hard looks in our respective mirrors. Neither should be entirely happy with what is reflected back.


Patrick Emek
November 2013

Egypt in Turmoil (Part I)

                                  Egypt in Turmoil (Part I)

      Kangaroo Court Tries Donkey,Hyenas and Jackals

                  For Crimes Against Humanity

 

  Once Upon A Time:
The Donkey's Tale

Once Upon A Time there was a Donkey.

He heard voices which told him to establish

a Kingdom where all the other creatures in the land thought

the same, looked the same, prayed to the same God and worshiped

him as the Supreme Donkey.

The voices told him that only when all the other creatures

were forced to worship the same God would there be peace and

happiness forever in the country.

In his vision, he saw a land of milk and honey.

In reality he was looking at recent piles of hot smoking horse manure and cow shit.

But he was a Donkey-and to him a pile of hot manure smelt like

roses and exquisite bunches in abundance.

He troddled the length and breadth of the country, preaching the good news and trying to persuade all the other creatures, big and small to buy into his vision.

They were all horrified when he took them to where the

apparition had first occurred.

All they could see were piles of decaying

horseshit and cow dung. When he pointed to the piles and said in

ecstasy 'cast your eyes on this wonderful future I have in store and planned for you!', they all ran and flew away as fast as their little and big legs could carry them-elephants, monkeys, leopards, gazelles, gorillas, crocodiles, alligators, tortoises,ants, camels, eagles, hawks.

Birds,Geese and Flamingos flew away in their millions. There was a stampede to get as far away from the smell as was possible. All departed, except the hyenas and jackals.

The Hyenas and Jackals are scavengers. They saw great promise in a land where the Grim Reaper would provide an abundance of pickings for both of them – and the Donkey could lead the way.

And so it came to pass that turmoil abounded the length and breadth

of the land-bird sanctuaries were destroyed, wells were poisoned,

elephants were ambushed by the Armies of thousands of hyenas.

Every creature in the land was hunted by the hyena Armies without mercy.

Even the King of the Jungle feared for the life of his family-so his fierce roar was no longer heard throughout the land.

The jackals and hyenas were delighted.

With the spoils provided, they had enough eyes and flesh to gouge out and eat upon for a long long time. Indeed so many carcasses were piling up they held a special meeting to brainstorm how they could preserve the precious raw meat so that it would not rot too quickly.

Donkey had a new vision.

In it the Divine Creator told him that he wanted

all the creatures in the land to live in paradise.

Donkey told the hyenas and jackals to devise a plan so that

all the creatures could live in paradise.

''Well dear Leader, they said, all we need do is continue with your beautiful plan and all the creatures in this land will for sure be living in paradise!''

Donkey was elated.

The King of The Jungle is not called 'King' for no reason.

After his initial shock, he mustered up the courage to call

a meeting of all the surviving frightened

creatures and animals

in the land to unite them against this madness of the Donkey.

In the meanwhile, the Jackals and Hyenas took the Donkey on an inspection of their trophies.

'See how our actions are bringing your visions closer!', they exclaimed.

The Donkey was delighted.

Where there were rivers of blood from decaying and trampled-to-death bodies

Donkey only saw flowing streams of clear aquamarine and turquoise waters.

Where their were gouged out eyes and body parts

Donkey saw sparkling diamonds and endless fields of blooming

and scented flowers.

Where animals, their young and even unborn children were ripped from mothers' wombs and torn apart by the fanatical blood-soaked teeth of

hyenas in a blood-lust frenzy, Donkey only

saw smiles of joy

and cries of pleasure and delight.

And Donkey proclaimed:

''This is a wonderful gift you are giving me!

The Day of my Kingdom draws closer!

I can see it! I can feel it!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

How Can I ever repay you?''

The Jackals and Hyenas thought carefully for a minute and then said softly:

''You need do nothing O wonderful Leader but

continue to inspire us with more of your visions

of the promised land to come!

For without your wisdom, vision and

guidance, this land of milk and honey will never

exist.''

Now I have started this story children, I am leaving the ending for all of you out there to finish for yourselves as you see fit.

The Rules are, you cannot alter anything to date and you must continue the story on the path of life it has taken to it's

inevitable, ultimate and final destination, wherever that might be.

Patrick Emek

November 2013

 

Michael  Shrimpton:Conspiracy Theorist or Harbinger?
'Spyhunter' (The Secret History of German Intelligence) by Michael Shrimpton, 2014
A draft of one of the most controversial intelligence books recently written popped through my mailbox several months ago.   It was from an old colleague, Michael Shrimpton.  Some will argue that it is not an intelligence book at all but a jumbled collection of conspiracy theories woven into faction.
Spyhunter is essentially about a fabled German spy network which was never dismantled after World War II, the DVD.   If I am to be really precise, we first talked about this book 3 years ago and, with Michael's agreement, I pulled a review just before it went to print.   What I don't want to do is to fall either into the conspiracist nor into the 'Whodunnit?' trap.  Conspiracists will agree with Michael's analysis - as it fits several other patterns they have already revealed.   The problem here is, just because you don't agree with conspiracists that doesn't mean that there is absolutely no truth in everything they allege (!)
Edward Heath,British Prime Minister

Firstly, Ted Heath made a lot of enemies when he took Britain into Europe.   Many in the Tory Party believed he had 'sold out' and this was unforgivable.  Indeed the argument about Europe and Britain's place in it rages on today within the rank and file membership so it continues to remain a highly divisive issue.

Gay Politicians and Statesmen -When It Was Illegal To be Gay
We know that several world statesmen are Gay, but this does not mean that they are child molesters or murderers - which Michael alleges of one in his book. The problem here is that you can say anything about anybody - if they are dead - they have no comeback!
Chairman Mao and Paedophile Rings
Secondly we know that Chairman Mao used paedophile rings, gays and lesbians to blackmail political opponents - but so too did (do) many other intelligence agencies I can think of throughout the world.
The Cambridge Soviet Spies & The DVD
Cambridge is again dug up as a nest of Gay recruits to MI6 - but I have been reading about this since at least 10 years before the time I knew Anthony Verrier (Through The Looking Glass,1983) - we both served on the Editorial Board of The European Review.   So again, what's new Michael? Anthony Verrier's contacts were highly reliable and none were 'cookies'.  Sadly in this area, when individuals think you have a contact source in intelligence, a lot of fruitcakes want to either attach you to fruit and nut causes - or rope you in as a committee member.  I recently had to extract myself from one such situation (where a 'tutti frutti' -  nutcase/mentally unbalanced individual - had ensconced on a committee with the sole purpose of compromising me) and that took almost one year!  So this matter of the reliability of sources is of utmost importance where 'smoke and mirrors' are involved.
Princess Diana - Murder or a Tragic Accident?
Michael's revelations about the death of Princess Diana are likewise controversial - but again, other than blaming the DVD, there is little new information here.   Of course if you are German, you will most likely be either incensed or indeed delighted to know that almost everything in the world for the past 1300 years, indeed even the origin of Islam itself (!) can be attributed to German Intelligence!
The Hidden Sexual Proclivities of World Politicians
The hidden sex life of world politicians is always titillating - and it's so sad that Michael did not 'go to town' on this matter-as there are a lot of' 'hetero' scandals out there which would have given such added 'spice' to a book which became bogged slightly down in 'kiddie sex' politicians - to the point of boring the reader.  I won't rewrite Michael's book-but there are heirs and spares (even to Royal thrones) whose true lineage is just as interesting and the the general public would go ape (!) to know about such matters.

Deja Vu?

Michael's book becomes a read, almost of, 'read it all before, heard it all before, seen it all before - so what's new?'  However, I must not be too critical because to weave an intelligence book of 800 pages requires a wonderful talent in itself.   I have kept my ear to the ground over the years so perhaps have heard more 'backtalk' than that which many people would ever encounter.   The revelations in Spyhunter will most certainly amaze and stupify a whole new generation
Faction Sells Better Than Reality
Several months ago I was at a low-key reception for a very senior politician.  I met with someone and afterwards we exchanged emails.   I said to him that these days people don't want hard facts and a dull analysis of politics or history, they want everything to be 'jazzed up' - sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll will always keep them (readers) awake.   No 'dry' book about politics and political events will ever sell today as well as one with politicians caught with their 'trousers down' or 'skirts up' and 'in the act'.  If you add brothel scenes and orgies, murder of gay lovers and everything else in the stable, you are probably guaranteed to make enough to retire on your first book!    Shrimpton covers the field quite well - so it would not at all surprise me if Spyhunter is a runaway success.
What I am absolutely sure of is that no 18-23 year-old university undergraduate will fall asleep whilst reading Spyhunter - as they most certainly will with the rest of the 'stuffy' prescribed literature!   And they may actually be motivated to take a real interest in history as a subject; hopefully with a very critical eye.

Markus Wolf and Inga Haag

Michael mentions Markus Wolf - one of the last of the Old World's foremost (and greatest) Cold War spymasters.   But for many years I knew Inga Haag, Britain's foremost spy in Admiral Canaris' Office during World War II.    She showed me a lot of unknown and unpublished material from the days of the Third Reich - all of which is now in the hands of her biographer, a confidant, whom I will not name.   Indeed I was sworn to never reveal where Inga lived - and I knew someone 2 doors away, a socialite, who was quite angry with me when I told her after Inga's death, whom she had been living beside for many years.   Inga would never call herself 'German'.    All her life she remained a 'Prussian'.    The frown on her face and a cursory glance at her watch when I was seconds late reminded me she was still keeping Prussian time - and I dared not repeat the offence twice!   I often felt like a puppy being scolded and on such occasions (yes, unfortunately, there was more than one!) even though Inga did not say a word, I felt like finding some dark place in the corner of the reception room to hide away until her irritation subsided and I could crawl back to the table some seconds whilst her attention was diverted to other matters.   Don't misunderstand me, if you knew Inga well, you knew where she lived.    And she had many friends.    It was not a state secret.   Most people not within her circle, knew little about her background.   We never agreed on how to tackle social issues and, politically, I think , that I was something of a disappointment to Inga, but we agreed to differ.   Inga was highly respected and she also carried one of the first issued NATO passports I ever saw.    So I knew of Markus Wolf, in passing conversation, with Inga at her home.   I had read about the legendary Markus Wolf but never imagined I would have the privilege of discussing with one who knew him.     It's not often you can call someone a legend in their own lifetime but Wolf fits this bill.    Markus knew of Inga from the 'old days' of the Third Reich.    If they ever met before the War it could not have been after 1933 and may have been at a social or societal function when they were both quite young, but I do not know this to be fact.   That not being the case, there were many opportunities in the closing days of World War II when both the Allies and The Soviet Union were vying with each other for top Nazis and Anti-Nazis - with something to offer - and prepared to jump ship in exchange for a new life and anonymity behind the Iron Curtain or in The United States. 
Inga was part of the plot to assassinate Hitler at the Wolf's Lair and only through careful pre-planning and a little bit of luck did she herself avoid the firing squad or the meat hook.  Claus von Stauffenberg and many other co-conspirators were not so fortunate.
 An excellent article by Jason Hiller:'Shaken, not Stirred: Markus Wolf's Involvement in the Guillaume Affair and the Evolution of Foreign Espionage in the Former DDR', published in 'Voces Novae', Chapman University Historical Review,Vol 3, No.1, 2012; may throw some light on where they could have encountered each other, given the difficult circumstances Wolf and his family found themselves in after the Nazis came to power.    I only met Markus Wolf once, in London, whilst chaperoning Inga (who was now in failing mental health, a shadow of her former wonderful sharp-minded self) to a small gathering at a private club off Pall Mall.    Michael was present at this gathering and I introduced him, for the first time, to Inga.   I studied a video on You Tube ('The Secret Vault') in which Michael describes an encounter with Markus Wolf where he addresses him with formal military rank title.   I had initially thought this was during or after a formal intelligence debriefing but Michael assures me this was not the case.   Michael's description of Mr Wolf's reaction was reminiscent to me of an extract from a classic war movie 'Where Eagles Dare' (Story and Screenplay by Alistair MacLean) and I suspect Mr Wolf, as first a former East German Officer and Gentleman (!) reacted exactly how the situation required.  'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' (John le Carré, 1974) and 'The Puzzle Palace' ( James Bamford, 1982 ) are probably the nearest anyone might ever get to this frame of thinking where everything is just one great big puzzle waiting to be solved.   I grew up with German children as intimate friends for the better part of my childhood - the Braun Family as I recall - (I don't think any relation to Eva Braun - but I really don't know as they moved away when I was about 10 or 11 years of age) and who lived above a shop opposite Trinity College.  So I understand the mentality very well - just in case Michael will more likely say: 'ah yes but you know nothing about Jerry!' .   A further criticism is that Michael does not cover the best spy agencies in the world - those famed for their use of sex, drugs and everything else.   Michael might respond by saying 'well we wouldn't want to cover what the good guys and gals do!'; but that reduces your coverage to a very limited and narrow viewfinder making it impossible to paint a reliable picture of the contemporary world of espionage.   I suppose the subtitle 'The Secret History of German Intelligence' might preclude others - but, even if the DVD exist, they cannot operate in a vacuum.

NSA/CIA Military Satellite Diverted In Hunt For The DVD

As to Michael having the influence to divert an NSA /CIA satellite (watch 'The Secret Vault' on You Tube)  for look down elsewhere, all I can say is I doubt that without recommendation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Director of the CIA, FBI, FDA ,the DEA, NSA or another Government Department or Agency or in preparation for a major covert operation, such an event can occur.    It's not an impossibility (reliable intelligence on the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden might be an occasion for such access/diversion request) but I would be very nervous if military satellites are indeed being diverted at the whims of private citizens (and non-U.S. nationals) to follow up their own free-range private intelligence operations or research.    Michael has told me that, because of the high grade nature of his contacts, it is never possible to compromise intelligence sources by revealing who and when it happened.   Only what, where and how events unfolded can be relayed.   As it stands therefore, we have to believe Michael in this matter on faith alone.  
In Central America, I once encountered a senior CIA operative, living in the safest place in town, and if someone had information which might have been useful, he did have the authority to make such a request, based on hard intelligence.   As it happened, I was not engaged in military intelligence harvesting and therefore had nothing to offer - but the point here is that maybe with the right contacts, something along the lines Michael describes just might be possible. 
The 'Execution' of Admiral Wilhelm Canaris

Quite rightly Michael has said that there is no first-hand account about this matter.  Intelligence Officers have not been unknown to make themselves invisible – forever after - and Canaris was one of the best.   If this were to be true, Soviet Intelligence (NKGB - possibly even involving the young Markus Wolf) or the OSS  and the CIA would have played no small part.  These 'ifs' are, however, speculation, as no hard evidence exists to suggest Canaris survived the failed plot.
Seal Team 6
I was hesitant whether to include anything about the fact that team  members which took out Bin Laden were killed when a Chinook crashed having been struck by Taliban fire while on another mission. I have my own theory, which, for security reasons, I will not elaborate.  What is more important is that many, including Michael Shrimpton, are convinced that the mission was betrayed.  Michael has very persuasive arguments as to why this was the case - and his revelations and conclusions are equally startling.

Madeleine McCann
Michael mentions the Madeleine McCann unsolved disappearance.  Good taste does not allow me to elaborate on his theories - which are also available at 'The Secret Vault' on You Tube, only to say that in our many discussions about aspects of Spyhunter (sometimes page by page or chapter by chapter) I did caution about the wisdom of such idle speculation, without any solid foundations nor evidence, knowing the hurt it will most likely cause her parents.   I have to say here I don't believe a word of Michael's theory - but many conspiracists will.    At the end of the day, it is his book and he is entitled to write it as he see's fit.
Spyhunter – Fact, Fiction, Faction or Conspiracist - Judge For Yourself
In conclusion, Spyhunter, when eventually released, will either be a monumental success or a monumental failure.    In a world of 'smoke and mirrors' you can say anything about anyone - no proof required - as sources can be deemed 'unattributable' - substituting for solid hard facts and evidence.    As to the historical relevance of Spyhunter; well, what exactly is history, if not a jumbled kaleidoscope of faction - spoils to the victor?

Spyhunter,The Secret History of German Intelligence, by Michael Shrimpton

additional references:
http://journals.chapman.edu/ojs/index.php/VocesNovae/article/view/324 
http://www.pubbiz.com/page/content/000049


© Patrick Emek  2013

                Edward Snowden IS Now A Spy

      NSA, World Leaders, and Eavesdropping

The latest  releases of data  have caused me to revise my opinion of Edward Snowden.  It is clear that he is intending to do maximum damage to the U.S. and it's international standing.  While it could be argued that some of the information he released could be deemed to be of public interest,clearly continuing to make available reams of information which only facilitate the ability of hostile intelligence agencies worldwide to subvert the U.S. and it's allies, is so damaging that, by default or intent he is making it impossible to ever return home to the United States without very serious charges of espionage being applied, without leniency.   Firewalling world communications is exactly the scenario which will facilitate. for example, analytics networks in (or controlled by) China and Russia to replace the United States. Russia has, for a long time, been unhappy with the dominance of U.S. communication networks and their monopoly on information.   This has been assessed as one of the reasons the Russian Federation has been unable to compete globally with the United States. (In actual fact the real reason, as I said about a week ago to a Ukrainian national, is because Russia has nothing to offer developing countries in Africa and Asia-apart from oil and gas, subservience, neocolonialism and racist imperialism on a scale far worse than that provided in the last century by Western Europe and which most African, Asian and Caribbean nations will simply reject when they see it for what it is.) There are no more opaque intelligence services than those of countries such as Russia and China-both of which are continually spying on their own people 24/7 -and the rest of the world- without a modicum of checks nor balances.  I often say to educated African and Asian citizens who criticize American 'imperialism' that they should go to Moscow or St. Petersburg sometime in the near future, try to set up a business and see how many days it will exist before being firebombed-as Jewish and other ethnic and religious minority businesses were during centuries of pogroms throughout Europe.   They should then try to set up a business in the Unites States and compare how their rights and liberties are protected under State and Federal law-and vigorously proactively upheld by all U.S. law enforcement authorities (the Police,FBI, The National Guard, The Armed Forces (as high as the Office of The President itself) and contrast that with the absence of protection of rights, at every level, for minorities in the Russian Federation.   How Mr Snowden could be so naive in this regard almost defies belief.   The only beneficiaries are quite clearly intelligence services which have not a shred of democratic accountability and which even resort to murder of their own citizens-worldwide. I refer to the French Intelligence Services (DGSE) sinking of the Greenpeace Ship, Rainbow Warrior, and murder of it's crew member, Fernando Pereira, as just one example.   The poisoning of  Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko - leaving a trail of polonium-210 across London-by persons (to date) unknown but suspected to be linked to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSS) was the first recorded case of an assassin(s) using a radioactive (nuclear) element to eliminate the enemy of a foreign State.   The world will most certainly become a more insecure place as China and Russia replace the U.S. as the chief monitoring agencies of global communications.   I would be very interested to know how China and Russia would react should Mr Snowden release such information about the working of their elaborate technological spy networks- satellite, electronic, digital and  'motherboard' short-circuits to fast-track intelligence routing.   I think that Mr Snowden already knows the answer to this question.  Having said the above, there must be avenues for internal disaffected individuals to take grievances on grounds of conscience to lawmakers without fear of punishment nor loss of income-other than reassignment to different roles and locations.   Until these matters can also be addressed, Mr Snowden  will not be the last to believe he can bring positive outcomes to world events through the release of divisive information which he had sworn to protect.

Patrick Emek

Murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Benghazi Libya

                      -White House Whitewash-

Lobby Your Congressman & Congresswoman To Support a Bipartisan Resolution:

H.Res.36 - Establishing a select committee to investigate and report on the attack on the United States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya

Sponsor:Congressman Frank Wolf  (R-VA 10th District)

Cosponsors:  177 (to date)

To view this Bipartisan Resolution go to: http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th/house-resolution/36

 

The House Armed Services Committee investigating the role of the military in the failure to rescue Ambassador Stevens and his team have concluded that the military are not to blame, the Ambassador could not have been saved during the eight hours he and his Staff fought off the butchers of Benghazi-Saudi-backed Jihadi Salafists - because military assets were 'poorly postured' and that if there is any blame for this, it lies with the Department of Defense and the then Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, and not with military commanders.

Like Judases, they are all washing their hands of the blood of Ambassador Stevens and his Staff as they move blame for the Ambassador and his Staff deaths and the terrible injuries sustained by his guards around the political table.

I believe that, thanks to Rep. Frank Wolf, the families of the victims of this butchery, people of America and the world, will eventually get to the truth about why Ambassador Stevens and his Staff were butchered whilst 'poorly postured' assets were repeatedly told to 'stand down'.

Do lobby your Congressman or Congresswoman to ensure they support Re. Frank Wolf's Bipartisan Resolution to bring closure for the victims of this massacre, those who survived with terrible injuries, their families, the citizens of the United States and, because of the international dimension to these events, the rest of the world.

Patrick Emek

Volgograd Bus Bombing

The recent terrorist bombing of a bus in Volgograd,Russia, should send alarm bells to all
cities in Europe and the United States. First I would like to express my sincere condolences to the victims and all of their families.  I do not know (nor probably will ever know nor meet)  the families of the victims, but I do feel their pain and suffering and my sincerest of condolences go out to them. At an earlier phase of my life, whilst in Sri Lanka, during a very bloody war between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan Army (SLA), I continually traveled on civilian buses which Sri Lanka military personnel were visibly using to get to and forth their destinations.  On many occasions there were more soldiers on the bus between Colombo and Kandy-Trincomalee/Batticaloa than there were civilian passengers-myself being the exception.  The Tamil Tigers were probably the most ruthless terrorist organization I had ever encountered.    The Irish Republican Army (IRA) were wrongly accused of setting off bombs on buses.  To the best of my knowledge the IRA never deliberately targeted civilians on buses.  They were 'unlucky' (their assessment) in that bombs in transit and destined for elsewhere prematurely exploded. and killed civilians.  The resulting carnage from such incidents caused this insurgency group to revise their strategies to attempt to target, what they regarded as 'military' targets.  From my recollection, the Army Council of the IRA always denied deliberately targeting civilians.  The CIA had penetrated the Republican Movement in Northern Ireland during the years of 'the troubles' to an extent little known as yet by the British public.   Rather bizarrely, the IRA were fully aware of this-and did little to deter it during the entire period of  the Northern Ireland conflict.  For these reasons, and also for reasons of historical background, it was never IRA policy to deliberately target non-political and non-security personnel, notwithstanding collateral damage.  With Islamic Jihadis,Al Qaeda and other Islamist groups, whether in Russia or elsewhere,we are talking about a religion which basically has been hijacked by fanatics who place little or no value on civilian life. They argue that all civilians are targets because they are brothers, sisters,uncles,aunts sons, children of the infidel or oppressor are unclean and therefore legitimate targets for murder-which of course Allah has told them he will reward them for the performance of this task as they are bringing nearer his Islamic Kingdom on Earth.  But the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka,as with Islamic Jihadi fanatics, deliberately targeted civilians as a matter of policy-on  buses and  at rail stations-at the height of the school, lunch and evening  rush hours-when children and parents with children were waiting for their buses-resulting in absolute carnage on a horrific scale I do not wish to remember nor relate.  What I will say is that the body parts of children and babies-heads and torsos-is not a sight to be easily erased from memory.  They did this for 'shock and awe' effects.  So I took the same risks as SLA troops on public transport throughout Eastern and Western and South Sri Lanka.  I was just lucky.  As in the UK, the effects of such bombings in Sri Lanka only increased the resilience of the local people to reject extremist violence and the resolve of the Government to reject acts of extreme terror and increased support for the government in it's fight against the terrorists. The reason such a terrorist attack in Volgograd  should trigger alarm in Western capital cities is because young Muslims are being encouraged to join Jihadi Salafist brigades in Syria, Somalia and Yemen. These are young, impressionable teenagers who are brainwashed into thinking that Islam is under attack or that what they will be doing is in the cause of a 'Holy War'. For some of those who survive and return, psychologically scarred, from Syria and elsewhere to Europe, their experiences of Jihad will be transferred into training and motivating others.  This in itself will pose a problem for authorities.  My concern however is for those who will advocate direct action in Europe as a means to influence Western European (EU) policy in the Middle East.   It is well known that Western Europeans have a high value for individual liberty,individual life and personal freedom of the individual.  This is perceived as a weakness ripe for exploitation by Jihadi fanatics.   One bomb in St. Petersburg or Moscow is worth 100 in Omsk or Talnakh.  The same can be said of one bomb in Oslo,Stockholm,Copenhagen,Amsterdam Brussels,Rome,Madrid,London and Paris.  It's increasingly becoming more difficult to identify volunteers who are traveling to war zones- as such are likely to change their passports when, say, in Sudan, Egypt,Saudi Arabia,and Turkey for other passports-more easily to obtain from 'sympathetic' elements within foreign ministries. I came across such facilitating the transit of Taliban fighters after 9/11 in late 2001 early 2002  from Afghanistan through Pakistan to other destinations-such as Indonesia.  Not long after the Nairobi (Kenya) terrorist attack on a Shopping Mall which also resulted in the tragic loss of innocent Kenyan and expatriate lives in a public environment, I met with individuals with close links to Israel.   As a recipient of such terrorism over many years, Israelis have developed elaborate security preventative measures to protect it's citizens.  We discussed how could the Kenyan authorities have been so lax in security to have allowed such an event to occur.  My response was that 100% security for everywhere all of the time is a physical impossibility and in a developing country like Kenya, even more difficult to achieve.   There are close links between Israel and Kenya on security transit and terror issues but even so, the nature of modern urban insurgency can never guarantee total success all of the time.   So how do intelligence services identify such individuals?   To answer this question would give potential terrorists a head start so I will just say is that by  increased vigilance and security it is becoming increasingly easier to identify such persons by profile characteristics-which even they are unaware of.   In addition to this a complete halt must be made to all Imams and preachers who have been trained in Saudi Arabia-and those already 'in situ' should be deported on grounds of national security-if they are non-nationals.   If they are nationals and have received training in Saudi Arabia,Somalia, or Iran or Yemen or Sudan or Algeria or Pakistan, their sermons must be carefully screened for public incitement content and if found to be inciting hatred, they should be immediately removed from all public and private sermon provisions with the sanction of hefty financial penalties and imprisonment for incitement to hatred or on 'hate crime'  charges,also carrying mandatory 15-20 year mandatory bans on further preaching, on the grounds of public safety.  So there are practical measures which Western countries can proactively take to prevent repeats of Volgograd and Nairobi.  It is not feasible nor practical to work on security anti-terrorist cooperation agreements with The Russian Federation as there are many parts of the Russian Federation where there are disputes with Europe and America about the validity of territorial claims-South Ossetia being just one example- may well result in a deluge of unjustified demands for the deportation from Western countries and the United States of political activists involved in legitimate democratic protest and activism of a non-violent nature and within the laws of their host countries.   The emergency services in Western Europe are well-prepared for emergency responses-given their previous experiences of terrorism.   What one can never predict is the asymmetric nature of the attack-often confounding preplanned anti-terrorist response models. Perhaps the one factor which is common to all preventative agencies is vigilance. Lets hope that the politicians will manage to resolve world conflicts in such a way so that such vigilance becomes a  relics of a bygone age and we can all again move about in a safer world.

Patrick Emek

Murder of  U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens by the Butchers of Benghazi-A Further Revelation

A further matter has now come to light which would appear to confirm that there is much more to the murder of Christopher Stevens and members of his team than just gun running to Islamic Jihadis.

CIA Director John Brennan has reportedly requested all survivors of the Benghazi Embassy carnage to voluntarily provide lawmakers (who have been asking him repeatedly, on behalf of the victims families) with all that they know about what took place.  This, Mr Brennan has said, is an entirely voluntary process and can be done without going through the usual internal CIA reporting administrative channels, if they so choose.  Something however does not square up.   All of these survivors have been subjected to internal lie detector tests every quarter, rather than the usual every 3-5 years.  This is unusual in itself and would appear to suggest that, even though Mr Brennan has said that they can contact and speak with lawmakers (Members of Congress) without going through official internal channels and in confidence, for those that take this course of action, there can be no confidentiality.  

This lends further credence to what exactly is being covered up is far more than just gun-running to the enemy.    There is a belief, as I have stated earlier, that advanced weapons have fallen into the hands of terrorists.  The exact circumstances as to how this occurred, are, at present, unclear.   Are we to wait until an El-Al civilian airliner is targeted on take-off or landing from afar?; or perhaps an aircraft carrying a Head of State or perhaps an aircraft carrying U.S. Senators or Representatives?   There is more than an urgency with which all the issues connected with the Benghazi siege and butchery need to be addressed.  It is better that the world knows now than wait until events unfold - with Islamic Jihadi terrorists calling the shots.   There is a way forward, and it's not through Congressional Intelligence Committees and Sub-Committees.       Mr Brennan and others must be subpoenaed to appear before a specially convened Congressional Committee.  Only through this course of action can the whole truth be revealed about how and why an Ambassador and his team were left abandoned to be butchered in Benghazi together with the other issues which not only affect national but also international security.   

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/aug/06/cia-chief-has-asked-benghazi-survivors-testify-att/


http://www.newsmax.com/MediaWire/benghazi-wolf-witnesses-truth/2013/08/19/id/521172

Patrick Emek

On The Motion to Concur With The Senate Amendments

     Capitol Hill,Washington,D.C.                                                      Wednesday,16th October,2013,22.25

        Children Vote to end School Shutdown:

Yea                       Nay                              Non Voting

285                       144                                      3

............................that is.....................until after the School Christmas Holidays on January 15th, 2014........................

 

 

                 Estimated Cost to The Nation:

             Anywhere between $24-55bn dollars

            

http://rt.com/business/us-government-shutdown-losses-256/

http://www.businessinsider.com/sp-cuts-us-growth-view-2013-10

     Estimated Cost In Human Misery:   Incalculable

Murder Of Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Benghazi Libya

What Are President Obama and The Speaker of The House of Representatives, John Boehner, Really Covering Up?

It is traditional in U.S. politics for the President to brief The Speaker in ultra-sensitive matters, regardless of colors.     It has always been accepted that National Security, defense and foreign policy transcend local politics, which, as we see at present, can get infantile.     For this reason, a sensitive operation to, say, supply America's foes in the Syria, through Turkey (the difficult to seal Kurdistan border region) or Saudi Arabia, with advanced weapons, would be a subject the President would not want Members to address in Congress.       One way to ensure this would be to fully keep Representative Boehner 'in the loop'.     Nobody could  anticipate that such an operation could have ended the way that it did.      The fact is that it resulted in carnage inside the Benghazi Embassy (I have always called it an Embassy because when The Ambassador is present in an official capacity and conducting affairs of State from within, it is no longer a Consulate.)      

There is no blame being ascribed to either The President or Representative Boehner but both need to come clean about exactly why, on several occasions, rescue teams from different locations were repeatedly told, in the ensuing hours while the Ambassador and his team bravely held out against the butchers of Benghazi (a Salafist Jihadi militia linked with Al Qaeda), to stand down.   

There is no evidence to suggest that such a rescue operation could have been successful.    Even the best planned operations - as we saw with the Iran hostage rescue attempt by President Jimmy Carter - can result in disaster through sheer unpredictable events.  There may well have been a whole series of miscalculations - that the Ambassador was being held as a hostage and that he and his Staff could be released through rational negotiations.  (One thing I have learned is that  when dealing with religious fanatics, rational negotiations should be the last option to consider.)     The fact that it was still unknown exactly who had taken Embassy Staff hostage may have added to the indecision.    Whatever the case, the American public, and the world, should be told the truth.  

Are there batches (not one or two but a batch or batches) of Stinger surface-to-air missiles in the hands of both Sunni and Shia militants in Syria and Iran respectively, and now active, having been reprogrammed?    Has control been lost of one or two or even an entire batch?     If so, how did this happen?  

Not long after 9/11 when discussing events with an individual, I said that civilian air transportation as we know it will come to an end on the day several airlines are brought down simultaneously and worldwide with surface-to-air missiles by terrorists.   (I repeated another similar scenario with regard to usage of  surface-to-surface missiles to a Staff member at the British Embassy in Berlin about eight years later when I was a transient guest with a visiting delegation, mindful of how just a rudimentary (surface-to surface) version had almost assassinated the (then) British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, at her Official Residence, 10 Downing Street.) 

The President and Speaker Boehner need to reassure a worried planet that U.S. foreign policy actions have not, knowingly or unwittingly, brought this day closer.    And if they have what steps are they taking to redress the situation?     A missile or batch originally supplied with intent for other purposes could well be used to bring down civilian airlines tomorrow if foreign policy decisions have resulted in arsenals being held at unknown locations by terrorists.         

 

Patrick Emek                                                          
 

Ali Zeidan, Libyan Prime Minister, Kidnapped-then Released-by Terrorists

                               - More Chaos In Libya -

It should come as no surprise that the ensuing chaos following the brutal murder of Colonel Gadhafi - which was publicly applauded by Western politicians - is continuing.   Our decision to renege on our responsibilities for bringing the murderers to justice culminated in the impunity with which another murderous faction then went on to brutally slay U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.  Again we see yet another murderous faction kidnap at will the country's Prime Minister, Ali Zeidan, from what was said to be the safest place in Tripoli -The Corinthia Hotel.   The fact that he was released hours later should give no security assurances to any foreigner doing business with one or another faction of the (so-called) Libyan 'government'.  Libya is the new base for Al Qaeda and all factions of Salafist jihadi militias in North Africa - thanks to our intervention into the chaotic internal political affairs of yet another brutal Arab regime.   When will our politicians get the message that there is nothing to be gained by overthrowing brutal dictators in the Arab world only to see them replaced with fanatical religious zealots - even more blood-thirsty than their predecessor tyrants?   There is not a single Arab country where recent intervention by the West (The European Union and The United States) has created stability.        But Libya is an exception.   Libyans have never known 'democracy' and it certainly will not be parachuted in on the backs of MacDonalds and Pizza Hut.  Like most Arab Middle East countries, in Libya we are talking tribal, ethnic, superstitious and uneducated masses which have been dragged kicking and screaming into the 20th and 21st centuries on the backs of petro-dollars -but whose perceptions of the world are rooted in the 7th-8th century-and Islam has taught the masses not to move very far beyond this frame of thinking for the conduct of their daily lives.   What secular Muslim societies that had a fledgling existence we (the West) have destroyed in favor of religious extremists.           We should not blame the uneducated masses in these countries for the chaos - it was created by external interventions to secure strategic resources.    We were unhappy with the 'deals' already on the table and thought that doing business with the religious extremists would ensure more favorable terms.

Foreign policy today is dictated by global multinationals which have not one iota of a clue how to govern a country - only how to extract it's resources.   So to them, the loss of lives - be they hundreds of thousands or millions - is totally irrelevant as it does not need to appear on the profit and loss balance sheets.  

 Libya presents a very clear and present danger to Southern Europe.  Gadhafi facilitated  the EU to halt the passage of  illegal migrants from all parts of Africa through Libya to Europe.  What happens if these Jihadi Militias use such (innocent) migrants as 'political' weapons?   Potentially they could flood, to the point of overwhelming the capabilities of the EU  countries to both prevent and detain such illegal migrations, across the Mediterranean.  So the next 'terror attack' could well be a concerted plan to overwhelm resources and facilities in Southern Europe with illegal migrants-literally forced out of Libya by Jihadi militias onto hundreds or even thousands of boats - at gunpoint with the sole aim of destroying the infrastructures of Southern European Union countries - already reeling and buckling from economic austerity brought about by the world recession.  

Having some understanding of the tactics of these very evil people, how are we to know that they would not deliberately sink hundreds of boats with tens of thousands of illegal migrants on board, in the middle of the Mediterranean, to cause maximum political impact in mainland Europe?  Indeed how are we to know that the planning of  'terrorist' attacks of this nature has not already begun, specifically in Libya?; which has no functioning central administration.

I do not blame these poor people who may well have paid smugglers from as far afield as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Central Africa, West Africa to get them into Europe.  They are no different than any other immigrants seeking  better lives for themselves and their families.  They are unfortunate to be choosing a time to emigrate illegally when Europe is in the depths of a major economic recession and also redefining itself as Judeo-Christian Europe.   In my opinion, at this present moment in time, they would be better off seeking a new life in fellow- Muslim countries where their traditions, cultural values and practices would be more accepted - and seeking sanctuary, refuge and economic opportunity in Muslim societies whose values they and their families would willingly be able to easily adapt to - rather than be faced with daily conflicts and challenges in Christian societies whose value systems they would most certainly reject, despise, and some may well find themselves in perpetual conflict with and ultimately either hate their host countries or, even worse, wish to impose their values on reluctant majority Christian populations.    It's a terrible dilemma and I do not profess to have an answer.   What I do know is that if we allow this chaos in Libya to continue it will permeate the whole of North Africa as Al Qaeda establishes itself in it's new base - just miles off the coastline of  Europe - that is, in anarchic Libya.   One solution might be to place Libya under a 'Protectorate' Muslim administration-perhaps initially that of Egypt - and then attempt to move the country toward normalcy and civil society over a period of 20-50 years. 

There are no easy solutions-and in the meanwhile only expect bad news from Libya for the foreseeable future.          

 

Patrick Emek

October 10th   2013                                                     

       The Day After Tomorrow

(Day 8: Terrorist Shutdown of the U.S. Federal Government)

President Obama explains the Shutdown:

"If you're in negotiations around buying somebody's house, you don't get to say, 'Well, let's talk about the price I'm going to pay, and if you don't give the price then I'm going to burn down your house.' That's not how negotiations work.... In the same way, members of Congress -- and the House Republicans in particular -- don't get to demand ransom in exchange for doing their jobs. And two of their very basic jobs are passing a budget and making sure that America is paying its bills."
(President Barack H. Obama)

If you want to see and read what the Media will not let you hear nor see in full about what The President has to say about the Federal Government Shutdown go to:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/heres-what-president-obama-said-week-about-government-shutdown?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=email244-text1&utm_campaign=shutdown

 

           Shutdown:Domestic Terrorism:Day 3:

 (Shutdown Of The U.S. Federal Government By Domestic Terrorists)

 Are You Considered A 'Non Essential' Federal Officer?

(This is the definition of your post by the people responsible for this Shutdown and not by myself)

                                           or

 Are you a Recipient of Federal Services Affected By This Shutdown and have access to the Internet?

        If you are then you may have some spare time at this moment.

You can still tell David Simas, Deputy Senior Advisor at The White House, how this shutdown has affected your life and that of your family:

 http://www.whitehouse.gov/shutdown-story?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=email243-text1&utm_campaign=shutdown#content_top 

 

Please refer to the previous post for other essential websites not shutdown