Britian Refused to Play By Own Rules -- 112,000 Petition Calling for Arrest of Netanyahu for War Crimes - Not Debated In Parliament

ꕤ Article SOURCE PRESS TV http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/09/18/429735/UK-Parliament-Netanyahu-Arrest-Petition UK parliament under fire for declining Netanyahu arrest petition Fri Sep 18, 2015 2:46PM The British Parliament has come under increasing fire over its decision to skip a debate on a petition calling for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “It’s quite disappointing that the Parliament has refused to play by its own rules. The fact is that it’s a particular issue which receives over 100,000 signatures that ultimately allows to be debated on the floor of the House. The fact that it has been declined, gives rise to many questions,” said Anas al-Tikriti, chief executive of the Cordoba Foundation.     “It seems to me that the Parliament has failed in its duty. It seems to me that this is the continuation of the pro-Israel lobby in its attempt to sweep under the carpet the crimes committed by Israel,” he told Press TV’s UK Desk on Friday. ‘Important petition’ Al-Tikriti described the petition as an important bid, which shows the British people want an end to their government’s support for the Israeli regime. “I think that 112,000 signatures means that there is a quite tremendous disgust in British government’s continuous relationship with Israel… It demonstrates that there is a huge gap between what the British public feels and wants and how the British government and its politicians behave,…” he underscored. Earlier this week, the British parliament announced that it will not debate the petition calling for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over war crimes. The petition has already received over 112,000 signatures, well above 100,000 signatures necessary to qualify the motion for a debate in parliament. It was uploaded on the UK Parliament’s official website on August 7. Those signing the petition wanted Netanyahu to be brought to justice for the crimes committed against Palestinian people during Israel’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip last year. However, the House of Commons’ Petitions Committee announced Wednesday that it is not possible, neither under the international law, nor the UK law, to take action against the Israeli prime minister over Tel Aviv’s war crimes against the people of Gaza. ‘Staunch support for Israel’ The British government, which is seen as one of the staunch supporters of the Israeli regime, had already rejected the bid. “Under UK and international law, visiting heads of foreign governments, such as Prime Minister Netanyahu, have immunity from legal process, and cannot be arrested or detained,” the government said on the petition website. Earlier this month, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that his country “remains staunch" in its "defense of Israel". Cameron made the pledge while meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 10 Downing Street in London on September 10.   Anti-Israel sentiments Netanyahu’s two-day visit to London provoked anger among many Britons with a number of them gathering outside Downing Street on to demand his arrest for war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Last year, Tel Aviv launched a 50-day war on the besieged coastal territory, killing nearly 22-hundred people, most of them civilians. Thousands more were injured and some 100-thousand houses were damaged during the indiscriminate attacks. The war drew global condemnation and prompted many people across the world to join campaigns against the Israeli regime, including BDS Movement (boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel). http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/09/18/429735/UK-Parliament-Netanyahu-Arrest-Petition ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT "... announced Wednesday that it is not possible, neither under the international law, nor the UK law, to take action ..." It must depend on who's doing the bombing. If it was Serbia, I'm sure the Brits would oblige -- swiftly. But I guess US-NATO doesn't need Gaza for a Middle Eastern military base, as Israel has that strategic market cornered. So, the post WWII international laws were never intended to be respected by the US and its allies. It was just some humanitarian / international 'super-league' farce, passing a  fantasy benchmark of military propriety, intended to be imposed on minor players and targets only. PressTV Needs to upload audio to YouTube.  Found their audio difficult listening.  Constant stop-start.  Gave up. ꕤ

i ❤ twitter | David Cameron #PigGate

ꕤ i ❤ twitter ❤ #PigGate 'Call Me Dave' ... Depraved David Cameron Prime Minister United Kingdom ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. FUNNY GIF - Below https://twitter.com/Aidan_Kerr1/status/645935836123504641 ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- ꕤ

Dave Cameron's Bullsh*t Letter to NATO - Propagada & Censorship

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 article ORIGINAL SOURCE New York Daily propaganda http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/britain-prime-minister-warns-nato-allies-prepare-conflict-russia-article-1.1890088 Check out Dave Cameron's absolute bullsh*t 'letter to NATO' Original Post "PROPAGANDA 101 - DAVID CAMERON - WRITE A LETTER TO NATO ..." Link |  here . Re Photo The original post referred to this NYDN source article and to a photograph -- among those used in the article -- which was included in my original post, and has since been censored from this blog. Whoever has had Google remove this image has done so contrary to Copyright fair use provisions (see Universal Music - 9th Circuit Court decision Sept. 2015). Particulars Subject:  Ukraine Photographer:  SERGEI KARPUKHIN Agency:  REUTERS Google censorship of image, contrary to copyright fair use provisions (see decision USA 9th Circuit ruling Sept. 2015) New York Daily propaganda photo caption:  "Armed pro-Russian separatists walk near the site where the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed." Re Article NYDN US-British propaganda article is 100% bullsh*t ...  It was obvious when it was published and it's clear as day, today. Article's dated August 2014 and Russia hasn't attacked, but the US and its NATO allies have been busy encroaching on Russia's borders. New York Daily propaganda associated article title: "Britain's prime minister warns NATO allies to prepare for conflict with Russia" Anti-Russia & pro-NATO spending scare: Courtesy of:   Dave Cameron Ummm, this is the same Dave Cameron ...   who is conducting drone assassinations of British subjects in Syria, and has conducted drone attacks in Syria, in secret, despite Parliamentary veto ...  psychopath. Britain's slick, used car salesman psychopath quoted in New York Daily propaganda 3 August, 2014: "Britain's prime minister is warning NATO allies to prepare for conflict because he says Russia sees the alliance as an enemy." ""Russia has ripped up the rulebook ..." David Cameron wrote in a letter to NATO Saturday." Published:  Sunday, August 3, 2014, 12:23 AM COMMENT I'm doubly pissed off here. First of all that the photograph has been censored unfairly in an earlier post. Even though my original post wasn't earth shattering political commentary, that's not the point ... and it's in violation of the copyright fair use provisions, as well as the spirit of a free internet. ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. I'm also pissed off seeing Dave Cameron's Russian scare garbage is influencing millions around the world ...  while Dave's droning away and engaged in oil/gas wars that are causing the displacement of millions in the Middle East, and consequently straining both social fabric and budgets of a number of European nations that are inundated by immigration unprecedented since WWII ... ...  while Dave Cameron visits Lebanon for a photo op with refugees, pretending it has nothing to do with his government's aggressive policies (and support of sectarian violence) in the region. "Ripped up the rule book" -- Dave Cameron ... from a country that invaded Iraq illegally. Staged.  Photo op.  Exploiting refugees.  Exploiting women.  Exploiting children. Psychopath. ꕤ

David Cameron - Hypocite

ꕤ i ❤ twitter ❤ David Cameron aka   'Dishface' ...  'Plateface' Prime Minister Britain Conservatives #Hypocrisy #DavidCameron West FUND & SUPPORT Middle East WAR for OIL & promote Sectarian TERRORIST Violence source  |  here ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. ꕤ COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- ꕤ

Parmenides' Fallacy

---------------------- ꕤ ----------------------  Parmenides' Fallacy COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research.

Parmenides a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher born in Italy; held the metaphysical view that being is the basic substance and ultimate reality of which all things are composed; said that motion and change are sensory illusions (5th century BC) SOURCE | ABOVE http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Parmenides ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- SOURCE | BELOW Forbes Margie Warrell Contributor Book:  Stop Playing Safe http://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2013/03/19/the-parmenides-fallacy-are-you-ignoring-the-cost-of-inaction/  EXTRACTS / SUMMARY Bad situation indecision = stuck with status quo hoping things get better (but they get worse) Human beings are neurologically wired to: over-estimate the size of risks under-estimate our ability to handle them downplay the costs of inaction "... by choosing not to make a change or take a chance ... you can wind up incurring steep costs, in ways you can’t possibly foresee from where you are right now" [ REFERS TO ] "Professor Philip Bobbit from the University of Texas has even given a name to the human tendency to assume the present situation will remain the same. He calls it ‘Parmenides Fallacy,’ after the misguided Greek philosopher who argued that the world was static and that all change was an illusion." result:  "drives us to stick with the status quo – even one we dislike" "Parmenides Fallacy serves as a reminder to not to kid ourselves; choosing to do nothing..." SOURCE | ABOVE Forbes Margie Warrell Contributor Book:  Stop Playing Safe http://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2013/03/19/the-parmenides-fallacy-are-you-ignoring-the-cost-of-inaction/  Margie Warrell Error 404 - page not found http://margiewarrell.com/stopplayinsafe Margie Warrell "an international thought leader in human potential" "professional background in Fortune 500 business, psychology, and coaching" "Her clients include NASA, British Telecom, Oracle, Body Shop, PWC and the Australian Federal Police." "bestselling author, Forbes Columnist  ..." " ... sought out by leading media outlets such as The Today Show, FOX News, CNBC and Al Jazeera, Psychology Today and Wall Street Journal. She is also a regular contributor on Australia’s ABC News Breakfast and Sunrise.    ...  international media outlets from the Wall Street Journal to The Today Show. She is also regular commentator on Australia’s Sunrise and ABC News Breakfast." http://margiewarrell.com/ ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- SOURCE - BELOW Aakash "I am a speck of dust in this universe, who is going to create a whole new universe someday." http://logically-illogical.blogspot.com/2008/02/parmenides-fallacy.html Parmenides' Fallacy All our decisions are generally based upon the measurement of the future benefits that can be drawn by making that decision. How will it make us better of than what we presently are. This is the fundamental clause in the decision making of most of the managers while making any investment. But what is interesting to note is that the things in the normal circumstances will constantly deteriorate in their own. So, if we don't take any decision then we might be worse off in future than what we are now. So, if the investment is made then it might be that we would be worse off than now but better off than we would have been without it.  [ ... ] SOURCE - ABOVE Aakash "I am a speck of dust in this universe, who is going to create a whole new universe someday." http://logically-illogical.blogspot.com/2008/02/parmenides-fallacy.html ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- SOURCE - BELOW Opinion, NYT Today's War Is Against Tomorrow's Iraq By PHILIP BOBBITT Philip Bobbitt, a law professor at the University of Texas Published: March 10, 2003 http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/10/opinion/10BOBB.html EXTRACTS ONLY President Bush has again made his case for war against Iraq, and again his primary argument is the threat that Saddam Hussein poses to America. The president's critics are quick to point out that the Central Intelligence Agency and other experts feel that, for the moment, Saddam Hussein is unlikely to conduct terrorist attacks against America. However, they warn us, if an invasion threatens his regime, his agents or his extremist sympathizers might well attack us — possibly even using weapons of mass destruction. So is it really a good idea to press ahead with regime change? Aren't we better off now than we would be if we invade Iraq and risk setting off a dreadful response? These are natural questions, but they are neither logical nor helpful. They are a prime example in our public discourse of what might be called "Parmenides' Fallacy" — named after the Greek philosopher who held that all change was illusion. This fallacy occurs when one tries to assess a future state of affairs by measuring it against the present, as opposed to comparing it to other possible futures. Let me give a famous example of Parmenides' Fallacy in operation. [...] So, as we look to the future, we must stop debating whether invading Iraq will result in our being worse down the line than we are right now. We do not have the option of holding time still — which exposes the biggest flaw in the "Why Rush to War?" argument. The urgency lies in the fact that every day Saddam Hussein stays in power he grows richer, the global terrorist network to which he has access plans further atrocities and (international inspections notwithstanding) the chance of his acquiring nuclear, chemical and biological weapons grows. To avoid Parmenides' Fallacy, the question we must ask is: Will we be better off in the future if we invade Iraq or if we do not invade? [ ... ] We should also consider the future of the Iraqi civilians. Yes, they would suffer the horrors of war in the near term, which for a time would be even worse than life under the sanctions now. But if an American-led intervention succeeded, the country's oil revenues could once again enrich its people, as well as its schools, hospitals and financial institutions. The Iraqis would be much better off after an invasion than they would be living indefinitely chained to Saddam Hussein. For us, though we live in relative tranquillity at present, we will at least be far less badly off in the future if we act now. Parmenides' Fallacy must not paralyze our imaginations, or our will. SOURCE - ABOVE Opinion, NYT Today's War Is Against Tomorrow's Iraq By PHILIP BOBBITT Philip Bobbitt, a law professor at the University of Texas Published: March 10, 2003 http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/10/opinion/10BOBB.html ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- SOURCE - BELOW https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Bobbitt EXTRACTS |  SUMMARY Philip Bobbitt b. Texas, USA distinguished pedigree author, academic, lawyer, and public servant lectured in the United Kingdom best known for work on military strategy & constitutional law and theory Attended: Princeton University Yale Law School Oxford University graduated with an A.B. in philosophy | Princeton University in 1971 president of the Ivy Club and Chairman of the Nassau Lit. 1975 J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was Article Editor of the Yale Law Journal and taught at Yale College at Yale that he met Charles L. Black (1915–2001), who became a mentor to Bobbitt received his M.A & Ph.D. (Modern History) | University of Oxford in 1983 J.D. =  three-year law degree, Doctor Jurisprudence "... word jurisprudence derives from the Latin term juris prudentia, which means "the study, knowledge, or science of law." In the United States jurisprudence commonly means the philosophy of law." [Cornell Uni - example] Charles Black (professor) American scholar of constitutional law  role in the historic Brown v. Board of Education *landmark USA 1954 case* US Supreme Court declared establishment of "separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional." Impeachment: A Handbook  analysis of the law of impeachment during the Watergate scandal. served in the Army Air Corps as a teacher an associate at Davis, Polk, Wardwell, Sunderland & Kiendl  (now Davis, Polk & Wardwell) professor of law at the Columbia University Law School "... He had the moral courage to go against his race, his class, his social circle." "Black also co-authored The Law of Admiralty with Grant Gilmore .. ... constitutional legal scholar ... "The Law of Admiralty" is one of the most influential law books ever written in a practical area of law. Admiralty is the law of the sea, of shipping and shipping contracts, and is a functional, practical area of international law, in which uniformity of the application of law in ports throughout the world is important, and as a result it has evolved somewhat differently from other areas of federal law. "Gilmore and Black," ... so influential that it is one of the few treatises that federal admiralty and international courts cite almost as though ... a primary source of law ..."  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Black_%28professor%29 ---------------------- ꕤ  ----------------------  Consitutional Law - Philip Bobbit "... believes that the Constitution's durability rests, in part, in the flexible manner in which it can be and has been interpreted since its creation. ... Bobbitt asserts that all branches of government have a duty to assess the constitutionality of their actions. 'Constitutional Fate' is a commonly used text in courses on constitutional law throughout the US." Government Service - Philip Bobbit extensively in government, for both Democratic and Republican administrations 1970s, he was Associate Counsel to President Carter  Senior director for Critical Infrastructure & senior director for Strategic Planning - Bill Clinton's presidency worked with Lloyd Cutler on the charter of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Lloyd Cutler Intelligence Commission served as White House Counsel during the Democratic administrations of Presidents Carter and Clinton Feb 2004 Lloyd Cutler  appointed to Iraq Intelligence Commission (IIC) IIC = independent panel tasked with investigating US intelligence surrounding the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the allegations that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction Counselor for International Law at State Dept during George H. W. Bush administration served at National Security Council as director for Intelligence Programs National Security Council (NSC) principal forum re national security & foreign policy US President, National Security Advisors, + Cabinet officials { = part of Executive Office of President of USA} Founded by Harry S Truman 1947 - by NATIONAL SECURITY ACT b/c "felt that the diplomacy of State Dept was no longer adequate to contain the USSR" - - - Intent:  coordination & agreement among: Navy Marine Corps Army Air Force Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)  {also created in the National Security Act, 1947}  & other instruments of national security policy Function: ASSIST ON NATIONAL SECURITY & FOREIGN POLICY The Shield of Achilles - Philip Bobbit " ... 900-page work that explicates a theory, verging on philosophy, of historical change in the modern era, and a history of the development of modern constitutional and international law." "...  patterns in the (mainly modern European) history of strategic innovations, major wars, peace conferences, international diplomacy, and constitutional standards for states. Bobbitt also suggests possible future scenarios and policies appropriate to them." "The Shield of Achilles generated much interest in the diplomatic and political community.  Public officials who follow Bobbitt's works include: the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair ... the former Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, who referred to Bobbit's book in a 2004 address to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute." Terror and Consent (2008) "... the Wars for the Twenty-first Century, which applied many of the ideas of The Shield of Achilles to the problems of wars on terror." " ... Senator John McCain praised the book as "the best book I’ve ever read on terrorism ..."  "... Henry Kissinger called Bobbitt, "perhaps the most important political philosopher today."  Tony Blair wrote of Terror and Consent:  "It may be written by an academic but it is actually required reading for political leaders."  David Cameron, the leader of the Tory party in the UK  put it on a list of summer reading for his parliamentary colleagues in 2008.  ---------------------- ꕤ  ----------------------  In Terror & Consent, Bobbitt argued that the only justification for warfare in the 21st century was to protect human rights ---------------------- ꕤ  ---------------------- The Garments of Court and Palace  " ... 2013, Bobbitt published a study of Niccolo Machiavelli entitled The Garments of Court and Palace: Machiavelli and the World That He Made. " "...  argues that only by understanding The Prince as one half of a constitutional treatise on the State (the other being Machiavelli's Discourses) can we reconcile the many otherwise contradictory elements of his work." [emphasises] " ... what he describes as Machiavelli’s reification [reification =error of treating something which is not concrete -eg an idea - as a concrete thing] of the state as an entity with its own reality that is not to be identified with the personal power of the prince. "... especially worth emphasizing in view of the fact that the term state is so often used ... as little more than a synonym for government." "... Bobbitt has already stressed in The Shield of Achilles how much is lost if we refuse to conceptualize the state as a distinct apparatus of power, and he now points to Machiavelli as the originator of this line of thought." "... 2004 Prospect Magazine named him One of Britain's Top 100 Public Intellectuals.  ... writes essays, typically on foreign policy, published in The New York Times, and The Guardian." SOURCE - ABOVE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Bobbitt ---------------------- ꕤ  ---------------------- ASIDE Davis, Polk & Wardwell founded in 1849 multiple name changes international law firm HQ NYC described as:  "Tiffany's of law firms" Revenue:  $975 million (2013) John W. Davis former US Solicitor General |  1924 Democratic presidential nominee US Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education represented South Carolina  |  in defence of racial segregation Davis developed close ties between the firm and: J.P. Morgan companies Guaranty Trust Company Associated Press International Paper firm represented numerous clients in the financial crisis of 2007-2008 lead counsel to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York {U.S. Treasury’s $250 billion bank capital purchase program} https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis_Polk_%26_Wardwell ---------------------- ꕤ  ---------------------- ꕤ

UK's Run By Psychopaths - Ignore Parliament Decisons, Hide Facts from Public | Airstrikes Syria

Today's most shocking story. SOURCE http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/british-pilots-flew-airstrikes-against-syria-1828462799 British pilots flew airstrikes against IS in Syria #SyriaWar British PM accused of contempt for democracy after revelations that pilots took part in bombing campaign without parliamentary sanction A British fighter jet returns to its base in Cyprus after a mission over Iraq last September (AFP) Simon Hooper's picture Friday 17 July 2015 12:14 UTC Last update: Friday 17 July 2015 15:19 UTC British military pilots carried out airstrikes in Syria while embedded with allied forces fighting the Islamic State group, the UK government has confirmed, despite parliamentary opposition to military involvement in the civil war-stricken country. Responding to a freedom of information request, the Ministry of Defence said that Royal Air Force pilots embedded with US and Canadian forces “operating in Syrian airspace” had flown “strike missions” against IS targets. British forces have been involved in the air campaign against IS in Iraq since last September but they have not formally participated in the wider coalition effort targeting territory held by the group and other Islamist factions in Syria. The British parliament voted against military action in Syria in 2013, and Michael Fallon, the British defence secretary, had earlier indicated that any expansion of the UK’s air campaign to Syria would be put before parliament. Critics on Friday accused David Cameron, the British prime minister, of displaying contempt for democracy and of keeping the public in the dark about the activities of the country’s armed forces. “Parliament voted against bombing Syria two years ago. Now we find that the government ignored this and allowed British pilots to bomb under US command,” Lindsey German, one of the founders of the Stop the War Coalition, told MEE. “This was a political and not a military decision and shows the contempt our prime minister has for democratic decisions. This should stop now and we should oppose all further attempts to bomb Syria.” 'Open and honest debate' The Ministry of Defence revealed details of British involvement in Syria in response to a freedom of information request submitted by Reprieve, a human rights organisation, which made the information public on Thursday. “It is alarming that parliament and the public have been kept in the dark about this for so long,” said Jennifer Gibson, staff attorney at Reprieve. “Yet more worrying is the fact that the UK seems to have turned over its personnel to the US wholesale, without the slightest idea as to what they are actually doing, and whether it is legal. “We need an open and honest debate about UK involvement in Iraq and Syria. We can’t have that, though, until the UK comes clean about what actions its personnel are already undertaking.” Responding to Reprieve, the Ministry of Defence said it did not have information on the specific number or location of airstrikes carried out by British pilots, and said that its personnel were subject to the chain of command of the forces with whom they were embedded. “UK military personnel embedded with the USA, French and Canadian armed forces have been authorised to deploy with their units to participate in coalition operations against ISIL. UK embeds operate as if they were the host nation’s personnel, under that nation’s chain of command,” it said. “These personnel include pilots flying ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] and strike missions against ISIL targets using the equipment of those units. Of these three nations only the USA and Canada are operating in Syrian airspace.” A Ministry of Defence spokesman told the UK’s Press Association news agency that there were currently no British pilots operating in Syria and said only “small numbers” had been involved in operations there as part of the embed programme. Fallon has argued for an extension of British military involvement in the international campaign against IS and suggested it is an “illogicality” to target the group in Iraq but not in Syria. British armed forces have committed about 1,000 personnel to the coalition, with most of them involved in airstrikes in Iraq launched from bases in Cyprus and others deployed in training and advisory roles with Iraqi and Kurdish forces. On Thursday Fallon announced plans to deploy a second RAF spy plane to the region later this year and said the UK was the only coalition member conducting “manned ISR” over Syria. 'Lack of leadership' Cameron has also suggested that the UK should consider joining the military effort in Syria after 30 British tourists died in an attack claimed by IS on a beach resort in Tunisia last month.  [What?  Nothing to do with Syria.] Earlier this week he invited several senior members of the opposition Labour Party to attend a meeting of the government's national security council in an effort to win cross-party support for potential attacks on targets in Syria. A spokesperson for Cameron said on Tuesday: "He has been clear he wants to approach this with consensus. He thinks it is important that people understand the nature of the threat." The Labour Party said it would call for the government to make a statement about the airstrikes in parliament on Monday. Jeremy Corbyn, one of four candidates currently running for the leadership of the party, said the government needed to be straight with the public and said there was no mandate for UK involvement in Syria. "It absolutely has no authority for British forces to be involved in Syria. The excuse that these individual pilots are embedded with other airforces seems to me a very difficult and dodgy argument," Corbyn told Sky News television. Criticism of the role of British pilots in the skies over Syria also came on Friday from inside Cameron's governing Conservative Party, with one parliamentarian suggesting the government had displayed "an insensitivity to parliament's will". "I think this is a lack of, if anything, political leadership. We had a major vote. There should be sensitivity on this issue, and we should be very sensitive to the fact that we have military personnel participating, in effect, in military intervention," John Baron, a Conservative MP, told BBC Radio's Today Programme. "Those individuals should be withdrawn from the embedded programme whilst this vote holds sway, while it still has authority, until we vote again. This is at the end of the day what parliamentary democracy is all about, regardless of the pros and cons of military intervention." Members of parliament rejected a government motion seeking support for British military backing for a proposed US-led campaign against Syrian government forces in 2013 following a deadly chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus. The US subsequently ruled out taking unilateral military action against Bashar al-Assad's government. The US-led coalition against IS has conducted thousands of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since launching Operation Inherent Resolve last year. Coalition forces on Wednesday bombed 15 targets in Syria and 16 targets in Iraq, US Central Command said in its latest operational update. -Charles B. Anthony contributed to writing this report. SOURCE http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/british-pilots-flew-airstrikes-against-syria-1828462799 --------------------- COMMENT What a great way this is to palm off responsibility: "UK embeds operate as if they were the host nation’s personnel, under that nation’s chain of command" Ummm, I think this was the work of the US-backed 'moderate rebels': "deadly chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus" Earlier posts refer to articles about how this 'chemical attack' story was spun. Seeing the US perversely names operations as the exact opposite of true intent, Operation Inherent Resolve must be Op Don't Really Give A F*ck .. which would explain why crazy fundamentalists are overrunning the Middle East, despite these 'thousands of airstrikes' that somehow miss the convoys of barbarians that can probably be seen driving across barren desert, from as far as the moon. Don't know what's going on in the UK, apart from insanity. If UK government is going to go ahead and ignore parliament, doing whatever it wants regardless of parliamentary decisions, then the whole thing's a farce, really.  And if it's that much of a farce, does it really matter what happens in future (re meetings, debate etc), when you're still dealing with liars that do whatever they want?  It's not like they can ever be trusted to be straight. --------------------- As I understand it: The US, Gulf Arabs (incl. Saudi Arabia) & the West are trying to bring down the Assad govt. So they've sponsored and armed the 'moderate rebels' (who turn out to be some shade of ISIS or other), and all these 'rebels' slash religious zealots are running amok all over the Middle East, where the West has already engineered the destruction of the Libyan government & funnelled arms to the Syrian 'moderate opposition' slash jihadists.  And the end game is to undermine Iran and its allies in the region, in favour of fundamentalist Saudi dictatorship regional hegemony. However, the West has recently reached the Iran nukes deal.  But I imagine, the West would be just as keen to bring down Iran as it would Syria, so this is rather odd.  But the deal's done and there's talk of corporate investment in Iran.  Don't understand this development, unless the nukes deal is some kind of ruse and maybe Iran will be surprise attacked. Israel has pretty much said it doesn't care about the deal:  it will ignore the terms and attack Iran, if it sees fit.  But all of this will probably be smoothed over & sweetened by upping USA military aid to Israel ... & releasing Israeli spy, Jonathan Pollard, by the look of things. Among all of this, the West is making out like it's attacking ISIS ... but they're not really.  They're violating Syrian sovereignty and, from what I've read, backing regional (US-friendly) Kurds in the bid for control of territory. What's really disgusting is that the nations that wish to bring down the Syrian government, violate Syrian sovereignty rather than co-operate with Syria in tackling the ISIS threat. Likewise, I think there's also a gap in the co-operation with Iran, when it comes to co-ordinating defence in the region. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia gets a 'free' card and bombs Yemen to smithereens, but nobody's squawking in the UN about human rights and sanctions on the Saudis. [This is just my take from what little I've read.]

World Press Freedom Day

World Press Freedom Day "United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day (or just World Press Day) to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and marking the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in 1991." Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Press_Freedom_Day COMMENT So much for World Press Day and all those noble UN declarations when journalist and whistleblower publisher, Julian Assange of WikiLeaks, has been denied liberty for over 4 years without charge. FAQ FAQs - https://justice4assange.com/ UK siege of Assange ticking money-meter -  https://govwaste.co.uk/ ARTICLE The siege of Julian Assange is a farce - a special investigation http://johnpilger.com/articles/the-siege-of-julian-assange-is-a-farce-a-special-investigation