Simon Wood - Open Letter to Supporters of Syria Airstrike

ꕤ Article SOURCE Simon Wood  http://99998271.blogspot.jp/2015/12/open-letter-to-supporters-of-syria.html Open Letter to Supporters of Syria Airstrike “They were so determined to take down Assad and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens, thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad — except that the people who were being supplied were al Nusra and al Qaeda and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world." - US Vice President Joe Biden in a 2014 speech at Harvard University CONTINUE http://99998271.blogspot.jp/2015/12/open-letter-to-supporters-of-syria.html ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- ꕤ

Western Energy Vultures Hover Over Syria - Cameron's Deceit re Syria & Criminal Negligence - Russia Reveails ISIS-Turkey Oil Smuggling

ꕤ Article SOURCE as marked Western firms plan to cash in on Syria’s oil and gas ‘frontier’ by Nafeez Ahmed US, British, French, Israeli and other energy interests could be prime beneficiaries of military operations in Iraq and Syria designed to rollback the power of the ‘Islamic State’ (ISIS) and, potentially, the Bashar al-Assad regime. A study for a global oil services company backed by the French government and linked to Britain’s Tory-led administration, published during the height of the Arab Spring, hailed the significant “hydrocarbon potential” of Syria’s offshore resources. The 2011 study was printed in GeoArabia, a petroleum industry journal published by a Bahrain-based consultancy, GulfPetroLink, which is sponsored by some of the world’s biggest oil companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Saudi Aramco, Shell, Total, and BP. CONTINUED https://medium.com/insurge-intelligence/western-firms-plan-to-cash-in-on-syria-s-oil-and-gas-frontier-6c5fa4a72a92#.48jn1q8wq 'Britain is on the verge of entering into a long war in Syria based on wishful thinking and poor information...' Patrick Cockburn was invited by Jeremy Corbyn to brief MPs on the facts about today’s Common’s vote on air strikes in Syria. This is his briefing to you     Patrick Cockburn     @indyworld     31 minutes  ago Britain is on the verge of entering a conflict in Syria in which its political and military strategy is based on wishful thinking and poor information. British air strikes in Syria will be too few to make much difference to Isis, but are important because they signal Britain’s entry into what may be a long war. In one crucial respect, David Cameron’s approach is similar to that which saw Britain fight two small but unsuccessful wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003, in both cases without an effective local partner on the ground. Similarly in Syria, Britain will be at the mercy of events which are being shaped by the numerous other players in the conflict, all of whom have their own highly contradictory agendas. Much of the debate around the feasibility of the British strategy has focused on Mr Cameron’s statement that we do indeed have a partner, of whose existence few were previously aware. He said that there are 70,000 “Syrian opposition fighters on the ground who do not belong to extremist groups”. The impression given is that there is a “third force” in Syria which will provide a powerful ally for the US, France and Britain. This would be very convenient but, unfortunately, its existence is very debatable. “The notion that there are 70,000 moderate fighters is an attempt to show that you can fight Isis and [President Bashar al] Assad at the same time,” says Professor Joshua Landis, the director of the Centre for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and an expert on Syrian politics. But he is dismissive of the idea that such a potential army exists, though he says there might be 70,000 Syrians with a gun who are fighting for their local clan, tribe, warlord or village. “The problem is that they hate the village down the road just as much they hate Isis and Assad,” he said. The armed opposition to President Assad is dominated by Isis, the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra and the ideologically similar Ahrar al-Sham. Some of the smaller groups, once estimated by the CIA to number 1,500, might be labelled as moderate, but only operate under license from the extreme jihadists. Aymenn al-Tamimi, a fellow at the Middle East Forum and an authority on the Syrian armed opposition, says that these groups commonly exaggerate their numbers, are very fragmented and have failed to unite, despite years of war. He recalls that one group he met during a recent visit to Latakia province in north-west Syria claimed to have 2,000 fighters, but probably numbered only 500. He warns that they pretend to the outside world that they are more moderate than they really are, speaking of “the equality of all Syrians before the law” when they are outside Syria or communicating with people who have never been to the country, but express “hatred for Shia and Allawites” on all other occasions.  Mr Tamimi says that the smaller armed groups, which sometimes have good weapons supplied by the Americans, had acted as auxiliaries to Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham when they captured Idlib City in fierce fighting with the Syrian army in May. Even if such groups are not extreme Islamists, they do not have the strength to refuse to cooperate. This will make any ceasefire very difficult to arrange because such moderate fighters as there are who might be willing to accept a truce, are intermingled with powerful Nusra forces which will not do so. Moreover, radical Islamic ideology has been gaining ground in all parts of the Syrian opposition. James Harkin, the author of Hunting Season about the kidnapping of foreigners in Syria and a frequent visitor to opposition-held areas, says that it is important to grasp that “none of these people [the armed opposition inside Syria] like us”. They see the US, Britain and France as enemies. This  includes the non-jihadists, whom the West hopes to enlist, who suspect they will be used as cannon fodder and then discarded. The one group that has some claim to be non-sectarian, secular and a powerful fighting force is the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) who claim to number 50,000, but probably total half that. It has been the most effective anti-Isis ground force and, heavily supported by US air strikes, its territory now stretches across northern Syria between the Tigris and Euphrates. It claims to be non-sectarian and that it does not persecute Sunni Arabs, but sectarian fear and hatred is today so deep in Syria – partly but not entirely because of the atrocities of Isis – that people flee the attack of every other sectarian or ethnic group different from themselves. The Sunni population in Raqqa, Isis’s Syrian capital, or in Mosul in Iraq, may dislike Isis, but they are even more terrified of the Kurds or the Shia militias. Britain is entering a war against the self-declared “Islamic State”, probably the most dangerous and violent organisation in the world, but without a realistic policy to win that war. Mr Cameron stresses the limited nature of the engagement, but Britain will be fighting a state that is also a ferocious sect, does not negotiate and may well retaliate with some atrocity similar to Paris. This is not an argument for rejecting military action against Isis, but it is one for thinking very carefully what we are doing because the only exit strategy will be military victory. It is not only in Syria that Britain lacks a powerful local partner. In Iraq, its ally will be the Iraqi government and army, neither of which has recovered from their defeats by Isis over the past two years. “Syria is a nightmare and Iraq is becoming a nightmare,” said the Iraqi political scientist and activist Ghassan al-Attiyah. If the present government of Haider al-Abadi falls it is likely to be replaced by one closer to the Iranian-backed Shia militias that are more numerous and better armed than the Iraqi army. The US-led air campaign has already launched around 8,300 air strikes against Isis which have slowed up its advance, but without bringing it to its knees. Professor Landis says that the difficulty is that the three powers in Syria capable of winning the war are Isis, a Jabhat al-Nusra led alliance or Mr Assad but “the US doesn’t want any of these to win”. He cites three attempts by the US to create a moderate armed opposition which have humiliatingly failed and, on each occasion, extreme jihadists have captured quantities of modern American weapons. The British Government has shared in a widespread but ill-founded belief over the past four years that the Assad government was about to collapse. But of the 22 million Syrian population, 4 million have fled abroad and are refugees, and about 12 million are in government-controlled areas. Though exhausted and after suffering heavy casualties, including 47,000 dead, the Syrian army is still the largest military force in the country. It now has the support of the Russian air force and is not going to lose the war, though it is not strong enough to win it. This is the terrible conflict in which Britain is about to engage, but with only limited understanding of the dangers that lie ahead. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/britain-is-on-the-verge-of-entering-into-a-long-war-in-syria-based-on-wishful-thinking-and-poor-a6756476.html PETER FORD Former UK ambassador to Syria David Cameron Syria spin described as deceitful & promoting a course amounting to criminal negligence  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh1BbvbMOp4  Russian Military Reveals ISIS-Turkey Oil Smuggling Details https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMA4B2ZnQ2o&feature=youtu.be ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- Mass media briefing “Russian Federation Armed Forces fighting against international terrorism. New data” http://eng.syria.mil.ru/en/index/syria/news/more.htm?id=12070726@cmsArticle ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT US  isn't bombing ISIS; it's dropping weapons. I had no idea that there were so many killed in Syria -- 47k dead. It's frustrating seeing this happening and being unable to do anything but watch what happens next. What the West has done is disgusting.  A functioning state has been overrun by terrorists armed and backed by the West, a country has been ripped to bits, 47,000 people are dead -- and it looks like the Shia and Allawite populations will be slaughtered if Assad and Russia don't prevail. The West doesn't care what happens.  The more destruction the more profitable it will be rebuilding the place and they probably figure that whoever eventually prevails will be desperate and ready to cooperate with Western interests. This is unbelievable.  --------------- It took me forever doing my own lame notes about the video.   Tired so I kind of zoned out here and there. It's funny how I didn't really connect the oil with the terrorism.  I think it was mentioned in the news, but it didn't mean anything to me.  It was just like, yeah, that's what they do.   But it's mind-blowing knowing that Turkey, Syria's neighbour, is actually responsible for financing terrorism and that the European Union (who would be aware of Turkey's terrorist sponsoring activities, seeing both the US and Germany spy on Turkey) has given Turkey $3.2 billion to supposedly keep Middle Eastern invasion/immigration at bay. So what's going on here?  Why not walls and military response instead?  Is the EU laundering money via Turkey to fund Middle Eastern terrorism? Although I'm forever looking at news, until Turkey shot the Russian bomber down, I wasn't aware how messed up Turkey is.  I thought their messed up is limited to imprisoning journalists (wholesale), and killing Kurds.   Turkey: imprisons journalists oppresses Kurdish minority bombs Kurds (who are fighting ISIS) likely killed Serena Shim, journalist shot down Russia bomber & killed Russian pilot has armed, trained & supported jihadists in Syria  has trained the chemical attackers in Ghouta, Syria buys stolen oil finances international terrorism (via buying stolen oil) is rewarded by the EU @ $3.2-billion PS -  I was inclined to believe ISIS was fake (Hollywood, US-CIA production), until the Russians confirmed they're real & terrorism is real. ꕤ

WikiLeaks - The New York Times - US Government Mediated News & Other 'Free Press' Shockers

ꕤ Media Selling Unicorns❄ Corporate-Serving Media In Service of Aggressive Neoliberal Foreign Policy |  Manufacturing Consent Bias.  Compliance.  Censorship. Disinformation.  Distraction.  Diversion.  Suppression.  Smear. censorship & disinformation is denial of informed consent Dishonourable Mentions The New York Times The New Yorker The Washington Post LINK to other Media Bad Boys | here WikiLeaks The New York Times more WikiLeaks The New York Times  US government mediates its WikiLeaks redacted stories freedom of information documents show Source | WikiLeaks | here USG FOI | Emails PDF |  here other The New York Times published military “expert” C.J. Chivers report purportedly based on rocket trajectories etc & asserting gas shells could only have been fired by Syrian army positions --> Ghouta attack "became the pretext for a warmongering campaign by the White House and the US and European media" --> Obama "threatened immediate air strikes" “Obama’s change of mind had its origins at Porton Down, the defence laboratory in Wiltshire ... sample of the sarin used in the 21 August attack and analysis demonstrated that the gas used didn’t match the batches known to exist in the Syrian army’s chemical weapons arsenal." *** "US military leadership also knew that White House claims that there could be no other source for the sarin gas than the Syrian army were false" https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/04/07/syri-a07.html American Media Refusals to publish Journalist Seymour Hersh The New Yorker The Washington Post refused to publish Seymour Hersh first report on Ghouta gas attack US press largely silent re Hersh report US press as at July 2014 "blacked out latest exposure" https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/04/07/syri-a07.html The Washington Post The New Yorker Refused to Publish an Article on Obama Admin Syria Lies Michael Krieger | Posted Monday Dec 9, 2013 at 11:00 am https://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2013/12/09/how-the-washington-post-and-the-new-yorker-refused-to-publish-article-on-obama-admin-syria-lies/ LINK to other Media Bad Boys | here ꕤ

Sheldon Wolin - Inverted Totalitarianism - Corporate State

ꕤ Article SOURCE http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/02/sheldon-wolin-and-inverted-totalitarianism Article by Chris Hedges Summary Sheldon Wolin US political theorist / academic d. 2015 America:  'Inverted totalitarianism' + other More  Sheldon Wolin US  political theorist Prof. politics Princeton (1973 to 1987) + other posts - 40 years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Wolin Wolin books: >> 'Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy & the Spectre of Inverted Totalitarianism' >> 'Politics & Vision' Wolin discusses: 1. Bankrupt democracy. 2. Decline US Empire. 3. Rise: corporate power  -- ie “inverted totalitarianism” Ahead of his time: Sheldon Wolin / theorising: heavy statism forging --> neoliberalism / centralized govt control re economic planning &  policy Wolin: statism --> neoliberalism -->  fusions of economic with political power -->  poisoning democracy at its root Wolin last book: 'Democracy Incorporated' -- details American peculiar form of corporate totalitarianism. Wolin: “Democracy Incorporated” / US corp. totalitarianism No USA  institutions can be accurately be described as democratic Wolin #USA undemocratic: --> highly managed national institutions --> money-saturated elections Wolin #USA undemocratic: -> lobby-infested Congress -> imperial presidency -> class-biased judicial + penal system -> media Sheldon Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' -->  is different from classical forms of totalitarianism. Sheldon Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' = within:   faceless anonymity of corporate state NO demagogue or charismatic leader Wolin: American 'Inverted totalitarianism' effectively seized all mechanisms of power to render citizen impotent 1/3 Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' seized all mechanisms of power: outward façade of: electoral politics Constitution 2/3 'Inverted totalitarianism' seized mech. power: civil liberties freedom of press independence of judiciary iconography 3/3 Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' seized all mechanisms of power --> traditions language of US patriotism Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' Corporates --> effectively seized all mechanisms of power -->  to render citizen impotent Hitler's NSDAP (Nazi) govt -> life uncertain for wealthy + privileged -> providing social programs for working class & poor 1/ Unlike NSDAP (Nazi), inverted totalitarianism exploits the poor  ... 2 2/3 Unlike NSDAP (Nazi) totalitarianism, inverted totalitarianism reduces or weakens health programs + social services 3/4 Unlike NSDAP (Nazi) totalitarianism, inverted totalitarianism regiments mass education for insecure workforce 3/4 Unlike NSDAP (Nazi) totalitarianism, inverted totalitarianism *threatens working class --> importation of low-wage workers Sheldon Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' working in high-tech, volatile & globalised economy as precarious as the Depression Sheldon Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' projects power upwards --> antithesis of constitutional power Sheldon Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' projects power upwards to create instability =  citizenry off balance & passive Sheldon Wolin: 'Inverted totalitarianism' rational system economy of fear / feeds uncertainty Wolin: 'inverted totalitarianism' --> perpetuates politics all time endless extravagant show elections politics w/out politics Wolin: 'inverted totalitarianism' 'Citizen' is NOT participating in power --> is invited to have ‘opinions’ Wolin: 'inverted totalitarianism' 'Citizen' opinions: --> are measurable responses to questions pre-designed to elicit them. Wolin: 'inverted totalitarianism' political campaigns rarely re real issues --> focus political personalities, empty rhetoric, PR Wolin: 'inverted totalitarianism' Money has effectively replaced the vote --> citizen of US Empire irrelevant spectator. Wolin: 'inverted totalitarianism' IMPOTENT CITIZEN --> permitted empty vote & forgotten once election carnival over. Wolin inverted totalitarianism elections serve up pliant legislators for lobbyists to shape misrepresentative or clientry govt Wolin: inverted totalitarianism elections --> produce lobbyists' puppets = depoliticisation of citizenry = antidemocracy system Wolin inverted totalitarianism: --> public is DENIED use of state power trivialization discourse = corp. power - UNCHALLENGED Wolin inverted totalitarianism: trivialization discourse =  tactic: fragmentation, emotions, antagonism --> corp. unchallenged Wolin inverted totalitarianism: Cultural Wars --> NOT strong political involvements Cultural Wars = SUBSTITUTE Wolin inverted totalitarianism: Cultural Wars --> POLITICS OF THE INCONSEQUENTIAL / substitute exploited by MEDIA & politics Wolin inverted totalitarianism: Cultural Wars --> DISTRACTS ATTENTION trivialization discourse --> corp. unchallenged Wolin inverted totalitarianism: Ruling groups --> tools to UNDERMINE PUBLIC COHESIVENESS =  public POLITICALLY INEFFECTIVE Wolin classic totalitarianism: economics subordinate to politics / inverted totalitarianism: ECONOMICS DOMINATES POLITICS Wolin inverted totalitarianism: POLITICS DOMINATED BY ECONOMICS --> in varying forms of ruthlessness Wolin inverted totalitarianism: POLITICS DOMINATED BY ECONOMICS -> USA showcase of MANAGED democracy (suppression not visible) Wolin inverted totalitarianism: corporate state --> legitimated by elections it controls Wolin inverted totalitarianism: corporate state Extinguishes democracy rewriting & distorting laws (once supported democracy) Wolin inverted totalitarianism: corporate state --> basic rights REVOKED --> by judicial & legislative fiat (sanction) corporate state Courts & legislative bodies, in the service of corporate power Wolin inverted totalitarianism: COURTS --> interpret laws to strengthen corporate control & abolish corporate oversight Wolin (Nazis negated constitution) BUT inverted totalitarianism: exploit porosity & legitimate power --> by law interpretation Wolin inverted totalitarianism eg. EXPLOITATION law --> HUGE contributions protected under 1st Amendment (speech) Wolin inverted totalitarianism HIJACKS 1st Amendment to treat HEAVILY FINANCED LOBBIES & CORPS. like PERSON petition govt. Wolin inverted totalitarianism harsh & violent control measures avoided AS LONG AS:  dissent remains ineffectual Wolin inverted totalitarianism elites -- especially ** intellectual class ** HAVE BEEN  BOUGHT OFF --> various methods - list Wolin inverted totalitarianism / intellectual class OWNED: *govt contracts *foundation funds *joint projects: uni. + corp. Wolin intellectual class OWNED: joint projects w/ wealthy donors intellectuals -->seamelessly integrated into corp. system Wolin inverted totalitarianism will become as brutal and violent as past totalitarian states if RIGHTS / privacy etc eroded Wolin inverted totalitarianism 'War on Terror' - pre-emptive / released re restraint --> PRESUMES STATE POWER CAN TURN INWARDS Wolin inverted totalitarianism -- claimed power domestically --  projected powers abroad --> measure NOT by CONSTITUTION Wolin inverted totalitarianism POWERS claimed not by measure of Constitution but by OFFICIALLY DEFINED 'terrorism' Wolin inverted totalitarianism = corporate state 'legally' harass & kill citizens with impunity --> eg police VIOLENCE / poor Wolin inverted totalitarianism *militarized police *wholesale surveillance *extra-judicial police killings for underclass Wolin inverted totalitarianism reality for underclass will BE reality for US ALL IF we begin to RESIST FUNNEL OF POWER UPWARD Wolin inverted totalitarianism / We are tolerated as citizens ONLY as we PARTICIPATE IN ILLUSION of PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY Wolin Corporate State inverted totalitarianism --> will eventually look like classic totalitarianism Wolin -- on African-American prison pop criminal justice -->strategy of political neutralisation + channel of instinctive racism Wolin Corp. monochromatic media pundits set agenda & parameters --> those changing context dismissed or labelled 'extremist' Wolin Corporate State inverted totalitarianism illusions disseminated  --> myth dominates decisions -->  DISASTER ON EMPIRE Wolin Myth cannot govern decisions in real world: ambiguity + stubborn facts abound --> disconnect between actors & reality ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT Really enjoyed this article. Sheldon Wolin sounds like he was an interesting guy (died 2015). ꕤ

Off-Topic - Poltergeist & Rajma

---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- Had a freaky 'kitchen poltergeist' experience while rinsing rice. Something dark fell into the sink and scared the #$@!! out of me. Turned out to be my hair tie ... but my hair was firmly tied back (or I thought it was). Hair's shedding like crazy, so it's a must.  Like maybe 2 years of shedding, or something like that.  It never stops.  I'll have to wear a headscarf if it doesn't stop soon.  Don't fancy the bald or the scarf options,   so I saw a doctor a while back, but he didn't think there was anything to be concerned about. So that's that.  I'll probably slowly go bald and maybe tattoo exotic flowers my head.  lol  Guess my hair wasn't properly tied, and the tie sort of slid off onto my clothing.  Probably didn't notice because I'm really tired; been keeping insane hours again. Yep.  I'm going with that.  lol Prepared another bean curry.  I never tire of beans or curries.  Yum. Rajma / Red kidney Bean Curry Link | here Tend to adjust things to suit me and how I want to do things. I threw some finely diced carrots (you don't want hard bits of carrot in there) in with the onions to fry. Did something like: 2-3 tsp garam masala 2.0 tsp coriander 1.0 tsp chilli powder 3/4 tsp tumeric 1.0 tsp sugar x2 garlic cloves crushed (love garlic) 1.0 tsp fresh ginger (organic jar ginger tastes fine to me) 1.0 onion fresh coriander x2 beans cans x2 tomato cans abt. 2  tins water (or thereabouts / go by feel) Did the thing where you throw in the tinned tomato (once the onion, garlic & ginger (and carrots, in this case) are cooked off) and you then throw in the spice mix and let the whole thing cook down until it totally thickens, before throwing in water and the beans (+ coriander). As it cooks down, you mush up some of the beans, with spatula or whatever you're using,  for an extra thick, creamy sauce. Adding more water and cooking it right down works, but I couldn't be bothered waiting.  Tastes good.   Works really well.  Very nice. It's so quick and easy and it makes a really yummy meal, with very few ingredients and just one pot (which is a bonus). Recipe's probably much like the last rajma I cooked. Cooking is pretty much the same formula and pattern for given dishes, so it's mostly the same deal once you understand the formula (with little variations, as desired). The coriander was from the other day.  I trim off what I don't want (eg unusable hydro roots), rinse the whole lot, use what I need at the time, and let rest drain before wrapping in paper towel & storing in freezer bag in refrigerator.  It helps fresh herbs keep, I find.  Don't know how long for.  Maybe 3 or 4 days so far? That was my probably not-so-spooky kitchen adventure. ꕤ

Corporate State Capture - Inverted Totalitarianism

ꕤ Article SOURCE as marked Years ago when Congressman Otis Pike investigated the CIA he concluded that it was an obedient arm of the executive branch. And yes, accounts of a “rogue agency” are occasionally dusted off when the President needs plausible deniability but in general the spies in Langley do what they’re told. Pike concluded that it wasn’t just one or two bad apples in the barrel. He decided the whole barrel was bad. This no doubt explains why the government classified his report. In a nutshell, then, the United States executive branch is being driven by corporate forces that transitively dictate the long-term strategic goals of the intelligence services.  Activists like William Blum have spent their lives investigating and carefully recording this reality. For additional illumination check out the War and Peace Studies performed by the Council on Foreign Relations during World War II on behalf of the State Department. It’s a flat out recipe for neoliberal hegemony. As Canadian filmmaker Scott Noble demonstrated in his movie “Counter-Intelligence,” the United States is part of a corporate empire and the intelligence services are the Praetorian Guard of this empire. So Glenn, does this mean that addressing mass surveillance, and the mass subversion which enables it, will entail tackling the related problem of corporate state capture? Or, as Sheldon Wolin refers to it, the specter of inverted totalitarianism? http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/06/19/an-open-letter-to-glenn-greenwald/ Sheldon Wolin Writer "American political theorist and writer on contemporary politics. One of the most original and influential American political theorists of the past fifty years ..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Wolin ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT No time to check this out properly. I just think it's cool that there's a name for usurping government:  'corporate state capture' &  'inverted totalitarianism'. So when I'm throwing around 'totalitarianism', it's good to know I'm not crazy.  lol ꕤ

Video - TURKEY'S PIVOTAL ROLE IN SYRIA INSURGENCY - Serena Shim - Killed Turkey

ꕤ Video SOURCE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ND3CWaAmaA&feature=youtu.be Turkey's Pivotal Role in Syria's Insurgency: PressTV Report from Inside Turkey Reporter Serena Shim American national Lebanese descent Killed in Turkey 2 days after Turkish intelligence accused her of being a 'spy' feared for her life US refused to investigate ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- Incomplete Notes: TURKEY'S PIVOTAL ROLE IN SYRIA INSURGENCY 'In Focus' PressTV Serena Shim Turkey key player for Western powers in execution of plot against Bashar al-Assad / Syria Turkey opened its borders to Syria to anti-Assad militant groups collectively known in West as Free Syrian Army (FSA) Turkey - opened borders to militants - funded the militants - supplied arms & equipment to militants Syria 2011 conflict began between Syria government forces & foreign-backed militants (calling themselves Free Syrian Army (FSA)) Turkey -- critically, permitted its borders to be taken over by anti Assad forces -- thus, the only current legally controlled border by the Syrian army is **** -- Sounds like: Ledia [?] [possibly -  Latakia ??] SYRIA-TURKEY BORDER CROSSINGS Akçakale Al-Darbasiyah Kobanî Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing Ceylanpınar Cilvegözü Cizre Çobanbey İslahiye Karkamış Mürşitpınar Nusaybin Şenyurt Tell Abyad Yayladağı https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Syria%E2%80%93Turkey_border_crossings Syria Borders - Apr. 2015 Assad government controls only borders along Lebanon Turkey, Iraq, Jordan & occupied Golan Heights closed or under control of militant groups: Free Syrian Army Daesh al-Nusra Front Kurdish militants Syria-Jordan In Jordan, al-Nusra Front -- seize Nasib-Jaber (Deraa province, Syria) In Jordan, al-Nusra Front -- seize Ramtha (Derra province, Syria) -- in control of NF & opposition forces since Oct 2013 In Iraq Albu Kamal-al Qaem crossing -- control of Daesh / ISIS since capture Albu Kamal, Nov 2012 -- located Deir el-Zour province, Syria Yarbia- Rabea crossing -- located north-eastern pal-Hasakha province, Syria -- seized by Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces + Syrian Kurdish factions since oct 2014 In Iraq - only Assad Govt Border Al-Tanaf/Al-Walid -- only border crossing along Iraq border under control of Assad -- *no movement on this crossing* -- reason:  Daesh (ISIS) controls Iraq side of the crossing Turkey - 900km of border with Syria - abt 13 border crossings Turkey shut down Assad govt crossings Turkey shut-downs incl: -- Kasb crossing - northwestern province of Latakia -- al-Qamishli crossing - al-Hasakah province, northern Syria -- Tal Abyad, Raqqa province, Syria -- Garables, Aleppo province, Syria Crossings Western-backed Syrian opposition militant groups control on Syrian side of Turkish border - REMAIN OPEN: -- Bab al-Salama border crossing, Aleppo province, Syria -- Bab al-Hawa in Idlib province, Syria Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (presumably also Western backed) control: --  Tal Sheir crossing - Kobani, Syria --  Raas al-Ayn, al-Hasakah province, Syria Golan Heights - Syrian Side controlled by al-Nusra Front + other Western-backed militant groups incl. Free Syrian Army since Aug. 2014 Lebanon - Assad, Syrian Govt Control -- Al-Oreida -- Jadidat Yabous -- al-Dabbousiya -- Josiya -- al-Aboudiya -- Jesr al-Qmar http://www.worldbulletin.net/haber/157362/syria-assad-regime-losing-control-of-border-crossings ꕤ