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Trump Contending With And Defeating Deep State Mainstream Media – OpEd

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President Donald Trump has single-handedly restored the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by slamming and challenging the long-stagnant, establishment Deep State mainstream media, while supporting and championing the alternative media in the United States of America.

President Donald Trump has now successfully won over much of the major mainstream media, and the ones that he hasn’t, are struggling against the ropes, defending their entire existence as mouthpieces for the Deep State with their “fake news.”

The sheer tenacity, power, and positive attitude of President Trump, as a seasoned New York City businessman, are indeed serving him well.

He has also helped to launch and facilitate the alternative media, which is also now rapidly becoming the “new” mainstream media, with these outlets now enjoying 1000s of times more viewers and consumers than their decades-long stagnant mainstream media competition.

In this vein, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is in full swing, where the honest and open “alternative media,” once stifled and sabotaged by the mainstream media in decades past, has now been given “legs” and support from the White House like at no other time in U.S. history.

And his enemies in the mainstream media are literally running for cover at the “America-First” titan that they have unwittingly unleashed.

This is the essence of a free press – where one or two dedicated journalists, not being blessed with any bank loans or cash from wealthy cronies, but just simply having passion for the media and free speech, can literally launch an alternative non-mainstream media outlet and actually enjoy a full, rewarding, and strong career, rather than one eked out in the shadows, under the heavy thumb and antagonism of the established mainstream media outlets.

Additionally, various alternatives to the major search engines and social media sites, having already been proven to have been openly supported, funded, and allied with the Deep State, are also beginning to emerge, manned and gunned by some of the brightest and most innovative minds and imaginations of our nation’s best and brightest.

Anyone who falsely pontificates that President Donald Trump is at “war” with the media is sorely misinformed – if anything, President Donald Trump may have saved the First Amendment and media in the United States as we know it, by injecting new life, competition, alternative viewpoints, love and respect for the U.S. Constitution and the Rule of Law, as well as a deep and abiding love for the United States of America.


Pakistan: Monsoon Politics – Analysis

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By Osama Rizvi*

The winds blowing from the Indian Ocean towards sub-continent brings along the southwest monsoon season in Pakistan. Now-a-days, dark clouds gather all of a sudden on the horizon, giving an impression that a storm is coming. But hitherto there only have been pleasant showers. However, on the political horizon things are different.

The clouds are darker and bear a grim impression. The storm is underway with no signs of abating. The winds are strong. Masqueraders have been exposed as the masks were thrown away by gales of evidences. The politicians taken aback, bedazzled by the thunder of accusations. The masses surprisingly still divided and confused. This might be self-created confusion; a sort of indirect denial. But all that is happening has a tinge of optimism, a promising note for the future.

For the optimists a new Pakistan is in the making.

April 2016, the world witnessed the level of adroitness (read: cunningness) of the global politicians, call it financial management! One by one many incumbent/former premiers and government officials were exposed of having off-shore companies and monetary counterfeiting. Few resigned, many apologized but some, obstinately in clear denial, refused to accept the claims, decrying them as propaganda (propaganda all the way from Panama, only for our government?). What followed was unexpected. Because after the first decision was aired we then realized that nothing new was going to happen. However, something has. The Joint Investigation Team, formed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which was to form an investigation report after 60 days, did a commendable job.

The interpretations, the inferences of the report’s finding range from “they’ll get out of it” to a clear “game over”, of-course the political affiliations are responsible for fogging the minds of those analyzing it. We can observe three tiers here, who are involved directly or indirectly in the ongoing political soap-opera. The government and that they are unwilling to admit any allegation is all but natural but not at all necessary. The lawyer’s fraternity has a huge arsenal of constitutional weapons and an infantry of laws that they hurl at each other but both sides more or less maintain their ground. The third level is of the common man is not for the weak hearted as it has all kinds of negligent and emotional soldiers. What makes them more dangerous is their lack of knowledge and bent toward one party. They won’t listen to you, not even the most logical of arguments. May be it is not the logic that they want. They are concerned not with what is true or what is false; right or wrong. The vox populi is a tricky thing, indeed.

The economic picture is not so promising as well. Pakistan Stock Market (PSX), that gave a staggering 46percent return last year, has shed 10,000 points, plummeting from dizzying heights of 53,000 points. Not to mention billion of rupees drained out in terms of losses. After 1st June, 2017, as our market segued from Frontier markets to Emerging Market, hundreds of thousands of foreign investment was envisaged. Unfortunately that event superimposed with this political turmoil and hence during the first half this year foreigners sold stocks of $333 million compared to $41 million during last year. Exports are down, reserves as well. The circular debt is inflated to a dangerous level. Take them as cost to purge the country.

But, the big question: whether the government is staying or going is still subject to discussion. Maryam Hayat, a friend from the afore-said lawyer’s fraternity, a Barrister here in Pakistan, has a very positive view of the overall proceedings, she says that without taking into account the “winner-loser” approach we should be happy that we are witnessing a precedent here: “The report of the JIT consists of factual content only and is not reflective of the final verdict in the Panama Case papers. It will now be on the Supreme Court to determine the merits of the report. I am sure that the court will decide the case on merits with neutrality and objectivity and continue to exercise its powers under Article 190 of the Constitution. Nonetheless, the eventual precedent will leave a positive impact on the country. This landmark case has set a precedent that even a sitting Prime Minster in a country like Pakistan can be held accountable for alleged charges of corruption. It has set a brand new trend of accountability and transparency for all government functionaries. Let us hope that we will enter into a new era of accountability and curb the menace of corruption, once and for all.”

So, yes, let’s hope that in future, when the thought of corruption tempts the leader, the tantalizing unfair means of making fortunes lure them; they are, then, able to recall that the country has now changed. That the institutions now work and that they are and will be held accountable. There something bigger than win-lose here. It’s about a change in the mindsets. The origin from where everything else flows.

Again, advice for those who relish a sanguine mind: Consider these proceedings one of the stepping stones on which a New Pakistan will be raised.

*Osama Rizvi, Independent economic analyst, Writer and Editor

ASEAN-India: Forging Physical Connectivity – Analysis

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by Jemimah Joanne C. Villaruel

“Connectivity is the pathway to shared prosperity.” These words were stated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 13th ASEAN-India Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2015.

As ASEAN strives to achieve its goal of establishing a single market and become a fully integrated ASEAN Community, it is clear that connectivity is a crucial factor as demonstrated by the adoption of the revised Master Plan on Connectivity (MPAC) 2025, which seeks to comprehensively connect ASEAN Member states, along with its regional and sub-regional partners, through its physical, institutional and people-to-people linkages. While MPAC is centered on developing connectivity among ASEAN member states, it also gives due importance to connectivity with ASEAN’s dialogue and strategic partners, particularly China, India, Japan, and Korea.

In fact, during the consultation between the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee (ACCC) and its Dialogue Partners on 19 October 2016, H.E. Ambassador Latsamy Keomany, Permanent Representative of Lao PDR to ASEAN and ACCC Chair, emphasized that “MPAC 2025 will require partnerships with our Dialogue Partners and other external partners for effective implementation. We need an inclusive process that helps in defining the needs of ASEAN and the opportunities for our peoples and partners.”

With ASEAN-India trade amounting to USD75 billion in 2015 and projected to reach approximately USD200 billion by 2022, connectivity is all the more vital to facilitate and increase cross-border trade and investment between ASEAN and India. According to a study by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), an enhanced ASEAN-India connectivity could result in cumulative gains of over five percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, and gains of over two percent of GDP for India.

Forging physical connections

Many modes of connectivity bind ASEAN and India. Foremost among these are national and regional connectivity projects being developed to facilitate and enhance trade and investment and boost the untapped economic potential of both regions. Three of the most significant regional connectivity projects between ASEAN and India are the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP), and the Myanmar-India Economic Corridor (MIEC).

Myanmar, in particular, plays an integral role in India’s Act East policy and has served as a catalyst for closer bilateral relations between the two states, being the only land bridge between India and Southeast Asia, as well as due to its increasing democratization and opening up to greater political and economic engagement. The aforementioned regional connectivity projects encompass the construction and development of roads, railways, and bridges connecting the Mekong region with India. However, structural and procedural barriers have hampered the full implementation and progress of these projects because of the difficulty of integrating and harmonizing physical infrastructures between and among states. These barriers include lack of capacity, poor infrastructure, and significant domestic challenges that curtail the execution of projects, not to mention the perceived unequal benefit of such massive infrastructure projects for states in the region.

In the case of the Trilateral Highway, immigration and customs issues are also major concerns, which is why the signing of the Motor Vehicle Agreement is imperative for the smooth and continuous movement of passenger and cargo vehicles between India, Myanmar, and Thailand. Despite these hurdles, there are plans to extend the Trilateral Highway to Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam for phase two of its construction. This development illustrates the significance of this project in opening up trade and investment between India and the Mekong region and transforming it into a vibrant economic corridor.

Apart from land infrastructure projects, air and maritime connectivity are also crucial in deepening linkages between ASEAN and India. The long-awaited conclusion of the ASEAN-India Air Transport Agreement (AIATA) based on “open skies” principles that cover both air freight and passenger services is a major step towards aviation cooperation, notably in light of the establishment of the ASEAN Single Aviation Market. For the Philippines, an enhanced air connectivity with India, particularly through the establishment of direct flights, promises increased trade and tourism between the two countries.

But India’s maritime connectivity with ASEAN is still in its initial stage, although it already has a strong maritime security engagement with many ASEAN member states, as shown by its numerous joint naval cooperation to enhance maritime domain awareness in the region. In addition, the Maritime Transport Cooperation Agreement with ASEAN is being negotiated in order to strengthen maritime connectivity. With 95 percent of India’s trade volume moving by sea, enhancing maritime connectivity with India is not only prudent but also necessary if ASEAN wants to maximize its trade potential with India by developing its maritime infrastructure and enacting policies that will support the efficient movement of goods and services between land and sea borders.

Reaping the benefits of connectivity

As ASEAN approaches its 50th founding anniversary, it is faced with the daunting task of achieving regional cohesiveness whilst also confronting transboundary issues and an unpredictable political-security climate. The resolution of political-security differences in the region may take time; however, economic interests are a constant in the development equation.

Thus, connectivity is essential to bring about regional integration, as well as to promote trade through the seamless flow of goods and services. An enhanced and well-developed connectivity between states aids in the reduction of transaction costs and facilitates investment. ASEAN-India connectivity encompasses the physical, digital, and institutional realms. It is without a doubt, however, that physical connectivity will remain a crucial element: the development of land, air, and maritime infrastructure enhances the logistics and supply chain for production and consumption, which serve as key drivers of economic development.

As Chair of ASEAN in 2017, the Philippines has a vital role to play in strengthening relations between ASEAN and its external partners. 2017 is a milestone in ASEAN-India relations since it commemorates 25 years of Dialogue Partnership, 15 years of Summit Level interaction, and five years of Strategic Partnership. As Chair of ASEAN, the Philippines should take the lead to reexamine the modalities and nuances of ASEAN-India relations, take stock of its accomplishments, and undertake steps to propel the relations forward.

With various connectivity projects underway, it is clear that both ASEAN and India are committed and eager to realize the immense economic potential brought about by enhanced physical linkages. While structural and administrative hurdles persist, the completion of these projects will nonetheless bring about tremendous advantages and opportunities for mutual development.

About the author:
*Jemimah Joanne C. Villaruel
is a Foreign Affairs Research Specialist with the Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies of the Foreign Service Institute. Ms. Villaruel can be reached at jcvillaruel@fsi.gov.ph. The views expressed in this publication are of the authors alone and do not reflect the official position of the Foreign Service Institute, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Government of the Philippines.

Source:
This article was published by FSI. CIRSS Commentaries is a regular short publication of the Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies (CIRSS) of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) focusing on the latest regional and global developments and issues.

Philippines: A Demonstration Of Resolve In Pag-Asa Island – Analysis

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By Mary Fides A. Quintos*

Following President Duterte’s orders to construct more facilities and rehabilitate its runway, the April 2017 visit of Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in the Philippine-occupied Pag-Asa Island in the Spratlys marked the start of the government’s preparations for the improvement of the Island. This move is legal, long overdue, and necessary despite any opposition of other parties.

The Philippines’ Pag-Asa Island

Pag-Asa Island is the largest feature in the Spratlys next to Taiwan-occupied Itu Aba. It is the largest of the nine features occupied by the Philippines since the 1970s, and the only one with a civilian population in the area. The Municipal Government of Kalayaan’s official website declares that 12 percent (44, 170.175 square meters) of Pag-Asa Island’s total land area is covered with forest. Its 1.3-kilometer unpaved runway, built in the 1970s, is mostly covered by grass and allows access only to military aircraft and chartered planes from Palawan and Manila. Inclement weather makes the runway effectively unusable; thus causing postponed visits or supply missions to the Island. The Island can be reached through other means of transportation such as a navy vessel or privately chartered vessel, but without a harbor, ships have to dock two kilometers away from the shore. The Island also has a fish handling facility, single telecommunications service provider, municipal health center capable of housing five patients at a time, and transient house for guests of military officials. As indicated in the West Philippine Sea Primer published by the UP Asian Center, other structures in Pag-Asa Island include a weather station built in 1979, lighthouse erected in 1993, town hall, police station, and local election building. The latest improvement in the Island was the installation of water filtration and solar panels in 2004.

The odd man out

Pag-Asa Island is severely underdeveloped compared to the smaller features occupied by other claimant parties in the Spratlys. Malaysian-occupied Swallow Reef, for instance, has been turned into a high-end dive resort with a naval base for security. Many of Vietnam’s occupied features such as Ladd Reef, Pearson Reef, London Reef, and Discovery Great Reef, also have concrete structures, gun emplacements, solar panels and piers, and light posts. Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative reported in May 2016 that Vietnam has reclaimed over 120 acres of land by mostly expanding pre-existing islets in the Spratly Island, Southwest Cay, Sin Cowe Island, and West Reef. It extended its runway in Spratly Island from less than 760 meters to more than one kilometer to accommodate most planes in the Vietnamese air force.

China used to occupy the smallest features in the Spratlys, but its reclamation work on seven reefs has created more than 3,200 acres of new land since 2013. According to Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, China currently has the most advanced naval, air, radar, and defense facilities in the area. Its runway in Fiery Cross Reef is the longest of any claimants’ in the Spratlys, with the ability to accommodate fighter jets and bomber aircraft. China installed high-frequency radar facilities that bolster its ability to monitor surface and air traffic in the South China Sea. It constructed missile shelters with retractable roofs in Subi, Mischief, and Fiery Cross Reefs, consequently heightening the assumption that China may also deploy HQ-9 surface-to-air missile (SAM) platforms in these features, similar to the Woody Island in Paracels.

Itu Aba hosts facilities that include a hospital, weather station, satellite communication facilities, radar surveillance equipment, five public telephones, and internet connectivity. It has a 1,200-meter long runway that was constructed in 2007. Taiwan completed several development projects in Itu Aba in 2015, among them the construction of two new piers and access roads.

The Philippines’ turn

In contrast to the features occupied by other claimants in the Spratlys, where development and upgrade of structures are continuously being undertaken, the majority of the facilities in Pag-Asa Island have not been refurbished since their construction almost four decades ago. The condition of the runway reflects the urgent need for repairs and improvement of many of these facilities.

The development of Pag-Asa Island is long overdue. Plans for rehabilitation are longstanding but have been repeatedly delayed to avoid contributing further tension to the region amid a series of actions and counter-actions by some parties in the South China Sea dispute to assert their respective claims and enforce jurisdiction. The political reality in the region in the previous years made movement by Philippine forces to any of its occupied features in the Spratlys too dangerous. The Philippines wanted to prevent a situation where untoward encounters at sea among disputing parties could escalate into conflict.

Spratly islands map showing occupied features marked with the flags of countries occupying them. Source: Wikipedia Commons
Spratly islands map showing occupied features marked with the flags of countries occupying them. Source: Wikipedia Commons

The recent improvement of relations among parties in the South China Sea dispute and the restoration of more friendly and open dialogue at the highest level of government can help avoid misunderstanding on the intention of future actions. It is in the interest of all parties to maintain this positive momentum and continue creating favorable conditions where maritime issues can be dealt with peacefully. Mutual trust, stability, and development remain shared aspirations of all countries in the region.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs stated that any activity in Pag-Asa Island is in fulfillment of the “Constitutional mandate of the government to improve the safety, welfare, livelihood, and personal security of Filipinos in the Palawan Municipality of Kalayaan.” Aside from the improvement and repair of the runway, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana explained that other construction activities planned by the government include barracks for the soldiers deployed at Pag-Asa Island, desalination facilities, sewage disposal system, conventional and renewable power generators, lighthouses, and shelters for fishermen. Improving the transportation and communications system in the Island would allow the government to deliver goods and services more efficiently while building facilities would promote self-sufficiency. These small and necessary improvements are all for civilian and peaceful purposes aimed at providing basic social services, raising the standard of living, and improving the quality of life of Filipino citizens at Pag-Asa Island. It intends neither to provoke conflict nor to diminish the security of the nationals of other claimants stationed in nearby features.

Also, the rehabilitation of Pag-Asa Island will not cause an adverse impact on the marine environment, as it will not involve dredging or reclamation activities. The government will only be building additional structures on top of the preexisting natural feature; it will not create an entirely new land where there used to be none. This move remains consistent with the Philippines’ advocacy to protect the marine environment and preserve its use for future generations.

Residents of Pag-Asa Island have long endured their current living conditions consequential of being in an island remote from the Philippine mainland and situated in the middle of the disputed South China Sea. Given the political will of the government and cooperative atmosphere in the region, the Philippine government can finally execute the mandated and necessary development that its people in Pag-Asa Island deserve. It is a demonstration of the government’s resolve that Pag-Asa Island is a Philippine territory – isolated, but not forgotten.

**The use of “Island” in this commentary is with reference to the official name of Pag-Asa Island, and not to its legal maritime entitlements under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea .

About the author:
*Mary Fides A. Quintos
is a Senior Foreign Affairs Research Specialist with the Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies of the Foreign Service Institute. Ms. Quintos can be reached at maquintos@fsi.gov.ph. The views expressed in this publication are of the authors alone and do not reflect the official position of the Foreign Service Institute, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Government of the Philippines.

Source:
This article was published by FSI. CIRSS Commentaries is a regular short publication of the Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies (CIRSS) of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) focusing on the latest regional and global developments and issues.

Significance Of Strategic Restraint Regime In South Asia – OpEd

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The egional competitive environment of South Asia has fueled strategic tension and security anxieties between India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan share a history of hostile relations, and bilateral relations of both nuclear states have been strained by a number of historical and political issues.

Both states have fought number of wars and limited conflicts since partition. Due to prioritization of security concerns of regional states, South Asia is undergoing nuclear and conventional arms modernization. However, the inception of nuclear weapons in South Asia has not only maintained the deterrence stability in the region, but at the same time instigated a nuclear and missile arms race. Thus under such circumstances, in the aftermath of Indian and Pakistan’s nuclear tests in 1998, Pakistan proposed the establishment of Strategic Restraint Regime (SRR) to India for a durable peace in South Asia. But unfortunately India’s Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpyee rejected Pakistan’s proposal for a Strategic Restraint Regime.

In February 2016, in response to India’s growing conventional and strategic weapons development in the region, Pakistan’s officials re-emphasized the desire for establishing the Strategic Restraint Regime (SRR) in South Asia. So question arises why is SRR imperative in region?

The Strategic Restraint Regime is significant due to its three inter-connecting elements: First, nuclear restraint to maintain deterrence stability; second, conventional arms balance; third, for conflict prevention and conflict resolution.

The primary objective of the Strategic Restraint Regime was to prevent a nuclear arms race in the region as India-Pakistan relations have been dominated by a action-reaction syndrome. A Strategic Restraint Regime would be helpful in maintaining strategic and deterrence stability and accelerating the peace process in the region. It could be employed to build trust between India and Pakistan, and resultantly avert the chances of conflict escalation. It may include any sign of peace initiative towards a treaty. By effective implementation of strategic restraints, both states will be able to make their decisions more confidently in a less hostile and more stable environment.

it is unfortunate that, despite the Pakistan’s efforts of the establishment of a Strategic Restraints arrangement, India has emerged as the largest arms importer in the world in 2017. According to a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report of 2016, with 14% global arms imports India is world’s largest arms importer. Therefore, the objective of SRR has not been achieved due to two factors: First: India’s intention to emerge as regional power. Second: Due to the role of external powers like United States and Russia. India’s co-operation in conventional and nuclear fields with United States and Russia,  especially the India-US civil nuclear deal and 2008 waiver for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), has undermined the objectives of SRR, as well as disturbed the balance of power (BOP) in region.

Pakistan has been concerned with India’s arms agreements, Nuclear Submarine, Ballistic Missile Development (BMD) system and Missile development as these capabilities are leading India towards higher war-fighting capabilities from its minimum deterrence posture. These capabilities will increase the instability in the region and forces the regional states to acquire these capabilities to maintain deterrence and a Balance of Power in region.

Additionally, Indian missile developments have dangerous implications. According to reports, India has the fastest growing missile program in the world, with India having the ability to produce 90 to 110 nuclear warheads and its fissile material production stock is increasing rapidly.  Indian nuclear and nuclear related developments have direct implications on Pakistan and regional states because these developments are considered as a threat to their security, regional stability and peace.  Therefore in response to India’s nuclear and missile developments, Pakistan is forced to limit its resources of national building and human development to maintain strategic balance with India.

Such factors are fueling the arms race in region, the arms race is world-wide phenomena that instigate the Security dilemma and disturb the Balance of Power. It posesa  negative impact on security and strategic calculus of state and influences the political, economic progress, human development and other elements of state. Impacts of arms race are dangerous as it affects the state’s security as well as pose the serious threats to human security of states as high military expenditures are resulting in fewer budgets for social development.

To address the regional security issues and negative impacts of arms race, Pakistan is demanding for nuclear and conventional restraints. In this regard: India’s acceptance of Pakistan’s proposal, Nuclear Confidence Building Measures (NCBMs), economic progress and continued effective diplomacy can open the ways to a strategic restraint arrangements between India and Pakistan to maintain deterrence stability in the region.

*Asma Khalid, Writer is Research Associate at strategic Vision Institute Islamabad.

Iran: Concerns More Arrests Are Allegedly Linked To Islamic State

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An official with Mashhad Judiciary in Iran says that the recent arrests of 27 individual in Iran are linked to “ISIS terrorists”.

Hussein Heidari, the deputy prosecutor of city of Mashhad has told local media on 9 July, that initially 21 individuals were arrested but the number of arrests is now 27 mostly Afghan nationals.

Heidari characterized the arrests as “massive clampdown” on terror cells in the province of Khorasan-e Razavi by the intelligence forces. There are also Iranian citizens among those arrested.

Heidari linked the arrests to the June 7th twin terrorist attack on Iran’s parliament and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. Rights groups working on Iran are concerned that arrests post June 7th are backlashes against Iranian Sunnis and now Afghan refugees.

Human Rights activists are concerned that the recent attacks claimed by ISIS is rippling into intensified crackdown on members of Iran’s minority Sunnis. Especially during the whole of month of Ramadan, Iran security forces raided four Sunni mosques in cities of Bukan and Mahabad in the Kurdish regions arresting at least 25 individuals.

After the June 7th attacks Iran Human Rights Organization issued a statement condemning the attacks in the Iranian capital yet warning against “illegal actions such as torture, coerced confessions and executions” triggered by them. This human rights group says have received news of “systematic and arbitrary abuse directed toward the various Sunni groups in the country”.

For the 27 individuals arrested in Mashhad, the prosecutor’s office was quick to link them to ISIS. Heidari told local media: “we traced the suspects and found out that some of them arrived in Iran illegally after undergoing training courses on terrorist attacks.”

Most Afghan refugees who arrive in the northeastern province of Khorasan, do so illegally and they do not have proper legal representation when arrested.

Scores of people have been reportedly arrested in the past weeks in various regions of the country such as Kurdistan, Kermanshah and Western Azerbaijan.

Habibollah Sarbazi, a Baluchi activists reports that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have been arbitrarily stopping people in ad hoc check points and harassing them.

Sarbazi adds that ISIS has no base among the Baluchis of Iran and hence there is no justification for the state’s described treatment of people of Baluchistan in the past days. The south eastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan also has a large Sunni population.

Post the June 7th attack on Iranian capital, a video was released showing scenes from the attacks with assailants speaking Kurdish. After this ISIS claimed responsibility with another video of the assailants reading their manifesto in both Arabic and Kurdish, accepting responsibility for the attacks.

This is the first time ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack in Iran. Human rights activists are concerned that the attacks will now be used as an excuse to further justify the Iranian government’s longstanding aggressive stance against Iranian-Kurds many of whom are among Iran’s Sunni minorities.

After the attacks, Iran’s Kurdish MPs issued a statement condemning the attacks by ISIS and stressing that no ethnic group should be linked and consequently penalized for the ISIS attacks adding that all Iranian people, including all its ethnic and religious minorities stand against ISIS. “Kurds have been in the forefront of the fight against ISIS and many have fallen in these ongoing fights in Syria and Iraq,” the MPs state.

Iran’s Writer’s Association also issued a statement stating that ISIS attacks “not only pose a threat to people’s lives but also provide governments with an excuse to further restricts social and civil liberties and the freedom of speech” . it goes on to urge the Iranian government to avoid such reactions.

Iran Human Rights Organization stresses that “indiscriminate executions and illicit crackdown in ethnic regions of the country by state security forces will only lead to further growth of violence and extremism”.

Many Iranian rights groups in the past weeks have called for an open trial of the suspects charged with terrorism in fair proceedings.

On June 7, individuals later linked to ISIS carried out two armed attacks on the Iranian parliament and the Mausoleum of Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Seventeen people were killed in the two attacks and 53 were injured.

Let Memorial For Dead Chinese Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo Be Built Elsewhere – OpEd

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To the “relief” of the Chinese government and its leadership, Chinese Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo has passed away. With characteristic ruthlessness that the present government of China is known for, the Nobel laureate was given a sea burial, probably to ensure that there would be nothing for the world to remember about him. Even his wife Liu Xia could not participate in the funeral and see the coffin containing Liu’s body. She was said to be very unwell, but no one really knows.

The Chinese government has been angry with Liu Xiaobo, since he was daring enough to show his courage of conviction and love for a free China, by writing a petition known as “Charter 08” that called for sweeping political reforms in China and liberty and freedom to the people. The petition was signed by 350 Chinese intellectuals and Liu was accused of being the prime mover. One is not clear as to what is the fate of the other Chinese intellectuals who signed the petition.

Liu was jailed in 2009, when the Chinese government accused him of “inciting subversion of state’s power” , which was a charge that only dictatorial leadership would make. He remained in jail for 11 years until his death. Obviously, the Chinese government waited for his death, as it was not bold enough to cause his death in any other way , fearing adverse global opinion and due to it’s anxiety to protect its “ forward looking image”. When the Nobel laureate was suffering from liver cancer and multiple organ failure, he was given a medical parole, but he was not freed in spite of his severe health conditions. This indicates more than anything else the extent to which the Chinese leadership would go to suppress the dissidents and opposition.

Not only Liu had to suffer for holding on to his view on need for liberty and freedom in China, but his wife has been under an effective house arrest since 2010, though she was not charged with any crime.

It is sad that even as China has achieved spectacular growth in economic, industrial and scientific advancements, such developments have not been matched by the development of civilized attitude and progressive outlook. This makes one conclude that economic growth and prosperity need not go hand in hand with cultural and social progress.

The first glimpse of China’s aggressive and unethical attitude was seen when it ruthlessly occupied the helpless Tibet, drove out hundreds of Tibetans out of Tibet, suppressed freedom and destroyed Tibetan traditions to a considerable extent. Even after several decades, the torch of liberty for Tibet is yet to be seen, as it remains under ruthless Chinese government.

It is ironical that USA and several countries in Western Europe who pride themselves as vibrant democracies and claim that they value and cherish freedom of expression, did nothing to make China see reason and release the Nobel laureate. They were more concerned about the economic and trade opportunities with China and therefore, readily ignored the repressive jail term for Liu. Their double standards are crystal clear.

There should be thousands of citizens in China who feel extremely sad about the death of Liu Xiaobo but do not have the freedom to pay tribute to him eulogizing his call for rule of law, democracy and freedom of expression in China.

It is gratifying that there have been some protests in Hong Kong, when several thousand people were reported to have held an evening vigil for Liu and went for a silent march, hailing Liu as people’s hero.

One can be sure that governments in USA and other countries will not take any steps to honor Liu and make the world remember him by building a memorial for him. They know that Chinese government would not like this and they would not like to displease Chinese government , so long as it remains as an attractive place for trade and investment.

Certainly , they must be millions of people around the world who want the memory of Liu to be kept alive and his call for freedom and liberty in China remembered for all time to come. Such people should join together and organize a forum to construct a memorial for Liu Xiaobo in any part of the world that would remain as a Memorial for Liberty.

The Statue of Liberty in USA has not been adequate enough to persuade the US government to effectively render it’s voice for the cause of freedom that Xiaobo stood for. One hopes that the Memorial for Liberty built for Liu would ensure that the aspiration for freedom for people around the world would remain in focus for all time to come.

The Chinese government is bound to learn lessons sooner or later and perhaps, sooner than later. The Memorial for Liu would ensure that this would happen.

US Sen. John McCain Undergoes Surgery To Remove Blood Clot

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Following a routine annual physical, US Sen. John McCain underwent a procedure to remove a blood clot from above his left eye on Friday, July 14, at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, according to a press statement released on the Senator’s website.

According to the statement, surgeons successfully removed the 5-cm blood clot during a minimally invasive craniotomy with an eyebrow incision. Tissue pathology reports are pending within the next several days.

“The Senator is resting comfortably at home and is in good condition. His Mayo Clinic doctors report that the surgery went ‘very well’ and he is in good spirits. Once the pathology information is available, further care will be discussed between doctors and the family. In the meantime, his Mayo Clinic care team will not be conducting interviews,” continued the statement.

The office of Senator McCain also released the following statement:

“Senator McCain received excellent treatment at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, and appreciates the tremendous professionalism and care by its doctors and staff. He is in good spirits and recovering comfortably at home with his family. On the advice of his doctors, Senator McCain will be recovering in Arizona next week.”


Over 200 Companies Strengthen Ties Between Spain And UK

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Over 300 Spanish and British business leaders representing over 200 companies met in London on Thursday within the framework of the State visit by the King and Queen of Spain to the United Kingdom. At the official opening of the event, King Felipe VI highlighted the importance of trade exchanges between the two countries, which amount to over 30 billion euros.

He added that the strength in trade exchanges and investment demonstrates the sound judgement by the two countries in their firm commitment to economic openness. The United Kingdom, he said, launched an extensive deregulation programme and Spain has joined that open market and deregulation initiative in recent decades, leading to considerable progress and increased well-being.

In his speech, King Felipe VI considered that Spain is a healthy environment for British companies and highlighted some of the main strengths, such as transport infrastructures, the quality of human capital and the cutting-edge developments in such sectors as renewable energies, biotechnology, health and smart cities, where Spanish companies are leading the world.

Similarly, he underlined the interest from Spanish companies in the United Kingdom, a preferred destination for internationalisation processes thanks to the ease with which foreign companies can launch operations and the country’s legal certainty.

Also within the framework of this business meeting, the State Secretary for Trade, Marisa Poncela, reviewed the situation of the Spanish economy, which has experienced its worst economic crisis of the last 50 years but which, in the last three years, has grown faster than the largest EU countries and is creating jobs at a fast pace.

The foreign trade sector, explained the State Secretary, has made a significant contribution to the country’s recovery from the crisis and has increased its percentage in GDP significantly: from 25% before the crisis to 33% now, which makes Spain the second-most open economy of all the major EU countries. Furthermore, the growth in exports of Spanish goods and services is higher than the growth in global trade, which shows that Spain is gaining competitiveness.

The State Secretary also highlighted the strong recovery in the current account balance: from deficits of close on 10% of GDP before the crisis to a surplus of 2% of GDP in 2016. Spain has posted four straight years of surpluses and there will foreseeably be at least four more. The data show that Spain has a more balanced growth model today, with contributions from both domestic demand and exports.

For Spain, the United Kingdom is the fourth-largest purchaser of goods exports and the seventh-largest supplier of goods. For the United Kingdom, Spain is the tenth-largest purchaser of goods anywhere in the world and the ninth-largest supplier of goods.

In 2016, Spain exported goods to the United Kingdom worth 19.15 billion euros (up 5.1% on 2015), while imports amounted to 11.18 billion euros (down 11.1%). The trade balance was in Spain’s favour (for the tenth year in a row), with a surplus of 7.97 billion euros. It is the second-largest trade surplus for Spain with any country in the world, second only to France.

In the period January-April 2017, Spanish exports to the United Kingdom stood at 6.56 billion euros (down 0.7% on that period in 2016). Imports from the United Kingdom amounted to 4.01 billion euros (up 8.2%). The trade balance for the four-month period reflects a favourable balance for Spain of 2.55 billion euros.

Spanish exports to the UK are concentrated in the automotive sector (29.1%); the food, beverage and tobacco sector (19.4%); capital goods (17.7%); and chemical products (9.8%). The main imports are motor vehicles (18.7%), machines and mechanical apparatus (10%) and pharmaceutical products (7.4%).

Furthermore, in 2016, Spain exported services to the United Kingdom worth 5.66 billion euros (up 3.4% on 2015). The UK is the top destination for exported Spanish services, mainly due to tourism, and the United Kingdom is the main emitter of tourists to Spain. 18 million British tourists visited Spain in 2016, an increase of 12% on the previous year. Their spending accounts for 20.3% of Spanish revenue from tourists.

The main Spanish non-tourism service exports include: financial and insurance services; those related to tourism; the management of air infrastructure; booking management programs; telecommunications; energy and environmental services; and professional services.

Bilateral investment relations are also highly important. The United Kingdom is the leading destination for Spanish direct overseas investment. The value of investments made by Spanish companies in the United Kingdom to 2015 (stock) is higher than 82 billion euros, which accounts for 18.9% of all Spanish overseas investment.

In turn, the United Kingdom was the second-largest investor in Spain in 2015 (in terms of stock), with 44.62 billion euros, accounting for 12.8% of total overseas investment made in Spain.

Calls For Stripping Qatar Of World Cup Suggests Gulf Crisis At Stalemate – Analysis

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A Saudi-UAE-led alliance has tabled a long-expected demand that world soccer body FIFA strip Qatar of its 2022 World Cup hosting rights.

With little chance of FIFA acting on the demand any time soon, the move suggests that the alliance, struggling to figure a way forward amid mounting international pressure for a face-saving way out of the six-week-old Gulf crisis, needs to be seen to be acting on its hitherto unfulfilled promise to tighten the screws on Qatar.

Amid mounting international pressure for a negotiated solution to the crisis and calls for the lifting of the alliance’s diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and its allies have so far shied away from promises to tighten the noose around Qatar’s neck if it failed to cave in to their demands centred on accusations of Qatari funding of terrorism.

Six weeks into the boycott, Qatar has been able to absorb the boycott, which involves a cut-off of almost all land, sea and air links with the Gulf state. It also has succeeded in standing its ground in a struggle for the moral high ground with its detractors, whose demands have failed to garner a groundswell of international support.

While few in the international community give Qatar a clean bill of health on funding of militancy and political violence, many suggest that its detractors are tainted by the same brush. The alliance has moreover struggled to come up with a set of demands that many in the international community have said need to be reasonable and actionable.

The Saudi-UAE-led alliance initially put forward a set of 13 non-negotiable demands that included cutting ties to a host of Islamist and militant groups and individuals, closing a Turkish military base in Qatar, lowering its relations with Iran, shuttering Qatar-sponsored media such as the controversial Al Jazeera television network, and putting Qatar under guardianship.

Qatar’s rejection of the demands and the alliance’s realization that its quest was being perceived by many in the international community as an attempt to undermine Qatari sovereignty and curb freedom of the media, prompted the alliance to adopt six principles that repackaged the demands and removed some of the sharp edges.

Much like the original demands, those principles also failed to garner the kind of international support the alliance needs to push forward with a tightening of the screws on Qatar.

The alliance also appears to have backed down on at least one of its demands, the shuttering of Al Jazeera. In an interview with The Times, UAE minister for the federal national council Noura al-Kaabi said the Emirates sought “fundamental change and restructuring” rather than closure of Al Jazeera. The Saudi-UAE-led alliance accuses the network of being a platform for militant groups.

“We need a diplomatic solution. We are not looking for an escalation,” Ms. Al-Kaabi said, suggesting that the Saudi-UAE led alliance was looking for a face-saving end to a crisis in which parties have dug in their heels, reducing margins for a way out that would allow all to declare victory.

At the heart of the Gulf crisis, lies a fundamental divide in how Qatar and its main detractors, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, envision the future of the Middle East and North Africa. Central to the dispute is the international community’s inability to define what constitutes terrorism and who is a terrorist.

It is a difference that is likely to weaken the demand to deprive Qatar of its World Cup hosting rights. It is also a difference that has given the Gulf crisis a-pot-blaming-the-kettle character.

While Qatar sees the survival of its autocratic regime in the support of political change everywhere but at home in a naïve belief that it can exempt itself, Saudi Arabia and the UAE opted for maintenance of the status quo ante by rolling back the achievements of the 2011 popular Arab revolts that toppled the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen. A sub-text to the struggle is the existential battle between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The epic struggle has led to a military coup in Egypt that removed from office the country’s first and only democratically elected president, sparked devastating civil wars in Libya and Syria, aggravated conflict in Iraq, and prompted an ill-fated Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen that brought the country to the edge of the abyss.

With efforts to mediate a way out of the crisis in full swing, FIFA has little incentive to act on a letter by six of its members – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and Mauritania – demanding that Qatar be deprived of its hosting rights because it is a “base of terrorism.”

Speaking to a European news website, The Local, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said that “the countries warned FIFA of the risks threatening fan and player security in a country that is ‘the base and the castle of terrorism’.”

Mr. Infantino said the six countries had threatened to boycott the tournament should their request not be acted upon.

While the six countries are unlikely to be under the illusion that FIFA will simply accept their demand, tabling it allows the Saudi-UAE-led alliance to assert that it is not backing down in the Gulf crisis and is increasing pressure on Qatar. The alliance also hopes to exploit widespread criticism within the global soccer community of FIFA’s 2010 decision to award Qatar hosting rights.

Nevertheless, FIFA is unlikely to want to take sides in the crisis or weigh in on the debate on definitions of terrorism. Struggling to shake off multiple scandals that have severely tarnished the world soccer body’s image, FIFA is also unlikely to take a decision in a dispute in which all parties are tainted.

Moreover, FIFA is under no real pressure to act. The Qatar World Cup is more than five years away. The Gulf crisis is certain to be resolved long before that, one way or the other. In the meantime, the boycott does not stop Qatar from moving ahead with construction of World Cup-related infrastructure, albeit at a higher cost of construction materials.

Ultimately, FIFA will want to take a decision on the merits of Qatar’s ability to deliver a safe, secure and well managed World Cup rather than based on political arguments, many of which have yet to be substantiated.

The Neo-Pharaohs And Neo-Fascists Of Our Time – OpEd

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I don’t know where to begin. In many parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America, the regimes in power are acting like the Pharaohs of the time of Moses (Musa alayhis salam). They feel no accountability and have no remorse for their criminal activities. National wealth is abused and consumed as personal wealth. Their arrogance and criminality knows no bounds. They have enacted laws (often through kangaroo parliaments, and if need be, via kangaroo courts) to empower them so much that they have become the absolute winners where everyone else loses. Naturally, absolute power has corrupted them absolutely.

To remain in power, the criminal governments, irrespective of being either an illiberal democracy or an autocratic regime, need the full support of their stakeholders. And this they procure through a plethora of measures and incentives including passing on some benefits to the lower rung within the society who are induced into supporting the regime. A sufficient metaphor would be: while the ruling class gets the meat, the bones are left for the lower rung to chew upon! As a matter of fact, it is difficult in our time to rule without sharing some benefits – no matter how little, how small – with those being ruled.

With the uneven and unfair economic system that we have everywhere these days the rich 1% is getting filthy rich, owning or possessing nearly 90-99% wealth of the nation. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the people still remains a viable political force whose potential power to create chaos or disturb the Pharaonic system cannot be ignored. So, much government efforts are directed to keep these induced ‘silent’ majority in control from becoming either vocal or violent.

Media (including movies, radio and TV programs) that are run, dictated or supported by the regimes in power play a great role to keep the bottom 90% at bay. They are used as pawns to carry out regime’s agenda towards prolonging the life of the neo-Pharaonic regimes of our time. Fortunately, what these neo-Pharaohs often forget is that we are now living in the 21st century when information cannot be fully controlled. There would always be courageous individuals (like Snowden and Manning) to leak out the ugly truth, show the thuggery of the ruling class, and how it spent national wealth wantonly for vacationing (in places like Bali), or attending meetings (with plane full of sycophants: ‘buddies’ and ‘experts’) overseas. That is why they dislike the bold news media (like Al-Jazeera) that are free from such manipulation.

What bothers me most is the unfathomable, or more appropriately, stupid indifference of the rulers or the ruling class in the Muslim world to the concept of accountability, which is so central in the Qur’an and Hadith literature.

Being a life-long passionate student of comparative religion, I must state that I have not found a religion more explicit on this subject of accountability than Islam. There are numerous Qur’anic verses and hadiths regarding this pointing to the grievous punishment that awaits bad rulers for their failures to safeguard the interest of their subjects – Muslims and non-Muslims alike. [Consider, e.g., hadith in which Muhammad (S) mentions about the severe punishment that awaits the bad leaders and rulers of the community for violating their trust that he had witnessed during his Mi’raj journey.] And yet, some of the worst rulers in our time claim to be Muslims!

Are they reading a different Qur’an than what ordinary Muslims possess? Surely not! Islam has failed to awaken them, and they remain unmindful of their accountability before the creation in this world and before their Lord, God, in the Hereafter. What a loser!

In Hindu-majority India, with Narendra Modi and the BJP in power, under the name of Gau-Raksha (protection of the cow), beef-eaters like Muslims, Dalits and Christians are being lynched to death almost daily.

Barely a month after the 16-year-old Junaid Khan was lynched to death on board the Mathura-bound train when he and his brothers were returning home from Delhi, another incident of violence has surfaced the rounds. A Muslim family of 10 including women, children, elders and a handicapped teenager were assaulted and beaten with iron rods and sticks by a mob on Wednesday evening, reports Times Now.

According to the report, the incident took place on the Shikohabad-Kasganj passenger train when the family was on its way back from attending a marriage ceremony. The family was attacked by a mob of 30-35 people who broke down the emergency window of the train. They hurled abuses at them and screamed ‘Kill them. They are Muslims’.

The family members have also accused the mob of groping the women, tearing their blouses and salwars and snatching their jewelry.

In a separate incident, a  man was thrashed by locals in Nagpur’s Bharsingi area on suspicion of carrying beef on Wednesday. The man claimed that the meat he carried was mutton and not beef.  The meat sample has reportedly been sent for forensic analysis.

The attack comes barely two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned violence in the name of cow protection.  “Killing people in the name of ‘Gau Bhakti’ is not acceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve,” PM Modi had said during his speech to mark the centenary of the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on June 29.

The important question that begs an answer is what has Mr. Modi done to punish those Hindu terrorists who have been terrorizing minority Muslims in India? Nothing! His bland statement was hardly of any effect as just few hours after his speech two more Muslims were beaten to death in Jharkahnd. BJP president Amit Shah likes to whitewash such crimes by saying that lynching of minority Muslims is not a new phenomenon. He is right. However, how can he explain the data collected by IndiaSpend that shows that in the last 8 years (since 2010), 97 per cent of these attacks were reported after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government came to power in May 2014, and about half the cow-related violence — 32 of 63 cases –were from states governed by the BJP when the attacks were reported? How can he ignore what Uma Bharti said? In an interview that she gave after Modi’s 2014 victory, she said: “RSS ideology flows through every vein of Narendra-bhai Modi. He is the very embodiment of its ideals, the best vehicle to translate its vision into reality.” There lies the main problem: the RSS fascist ideology!

Empty words will not solve the lynching problem faced by the terrorized minorities, but actions would. Thus, it was no accident that recently Bajrang Dal activists dragged Haroon Kasni, a Muslim, out from a mosque in Hisar where he was praying and asked him to raise slogans like Jai Shri Ram and Jai Mata Ki. When he refused to utter such sacrilegious slogans, he was beaten up by the activists. If it had not been for the police presence, he would have been killed.

Remember July 11, 2016? Seven members of a Dalit family in Gujarat were beaten by gau raksha (cow protection) activists for skinning a dead cow on Monday. A part of the incident, where the victims were being attacked with iron rods and sticks, was recorded on video and has been widely shared on social media. So strong was the resolve of the worshippers of the holy cow that “after beating up the family in the village,” reports said, “the accused put four of the victims in a car and drove them to Una town. There, they stripped the four men, paraded them on the streets and hit them in full public view.”

Apoorvanand, a columnist writes, “The flogging and striping and parading of the members of the Sarvaiya family was a real act. Balu, his wife Kunvar, his sons Vasram and Ramesh, relatives Ashok and Bechar and Devarshi Banu are all real people. The attackers are all too real. The village Mota Samadhiyal is not an imagination of a Premchand. How did the nation of India receive this ‘news’? And how did it react?  In reading the response, we can see that we do not live on one nation as we would like to believe.  A large section of the so-called upper caste people read it as yet another ‘unfortunate’ incident, a small one though.”

He continues, “To be born a Dalit in this country [India] is in itself a curse even in the days when the ruling classes flaunt an unspeaking, smiling, sweet, cute Dalit as their prized possession for the topmost post of this country.”

Lest we forget Modi’s Presidential candidate is on record as saying Islam and Christianity are not part of Indian culture. What ignorance! [The fact is that the first encounter of India, esp. Kerala, with these two major religions dates back to the time of their founders.] Similarly, Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has said that the Taj Mahal has nothing to do with “Bharatiya sanskriti” [Indian culture], as he delicately puts it. His Hindu Yuva Vahini chants: “Gorakhpur mein rehna hai toh/ Yogi, Yogi kehna hai” [“If you want to live in Gorakhpur, you must chant Yogi, Yogi (who is a Hindu fascist)”]. Is this not a direct invitation to fascist violence?

What’s happening inside India is the obvious resurgence of Hindu fascist forces that feel empowered to change India irreversibly towards a Hindu Raj denying any rights to its minorities.

In the next-door Myanmar, the minority situation is even worse. There is no moral voice to condemn, let alone stop the genocidal crimes of the Buddhist majority against the unarmed religious minorities. Muslims there, esp., the Rohingyas are the most persecuted people in our planet. In the last few months alone, we have witnessed the burning of Rohingya villages, and heard reliable accounts of rape of their women, arbitrary arrests, harassment, detention and killings of their people to further terrorize this minority community that are already facing famine and starvation. They are denied food aid to reach them. Because of the latest genocidal pogroms, a quarter million Rohingyas remain homeless and many are forced to flee to nearby Bangladesh.

To the hard-core Buddhist leader Suu Kyi and her NLD government, however, such horrendous crimes perpetrated by her government security forces against the victims never happened; it was all fabrication. And, to her, the Rohingyas simply don’t exist. How convenient! With such Nazi-fascist-like denials, she wants to obliterate the history and existence of today’s Rohingya people whose forefathers have lived in the Arakan (today’s Rakhine state) since time immemorial. One can surely smell the rotten skunk hiding under her rug when she bars the UN team to investigate allegations of excess abuses against her security forces and to draw its own conclusions. Why such evasion and mendacity from Suu Kyi if not to stonewall serious accusations from numerous international organizations?

What a monstrosity, and what a denial from a pathological liar that has fooled the civilized world with her smiling face to be undeservedly bestowed with a Nobel Prize for peace!

It is not the terrorist Buddhist monks of Ma Ba Tha, long used by the military for its dirty jobs inside to foment racial and religious hatred against the non-Buddhists, alone that are the faces of Buddhist neo-fascism inside Myanmar today. The sad reality is genocidal crimes against the Muslims and in particular, the Rohingyas, have been a national project for several decades in this Buddhist majority country, which has transformed itself into a den of intolerance and hatred against religious minorities. The transformation is almost complete except that the poor Rohingyas – butchered, burned, maimed and raped – refuse to call it quits and disappear from their ancestral land!

Apparently, the noble teachings of Siddhartha Gautam Buddha have failed to humanize the Buddhists of Myanmar.

In recent months, Europe and the USA had their shares of hate crimes, or more properly terrorism. The latest victims is Bakari Henderson who wanted to snap a selfie with a waitress in Laganas, Greece last week. Minutes later, he was dead. The 22-year-old was enjoying his summer vacation after graduating from the University of Arizona. That trip ended in tragedy after a fight quickly escalated over the selfie request when up to fifteen men, all Serbs, ganged up on Henderson, beating him to death.

One may recall the savagery of the Serbs in their genocidal crimes against the Bosnian Muslims during the Balkan crisis of the early 1990s. The Serbs tarnished the secular image of Europe from which they probably never truly recovered fully, which is demonstrated in their repeated crimes against anyone different to them. The lynching of Bakari underscores that sad reality.

I am truly concerned about the future of our planet where extremist, fascist forces are becoming increasingly powerful and murderous. With their poisonous and non-inclusive ideology they are winning and running many governments in our world making the lives of most minorities unlivable who must emigrate if they want to survive.

When from a station master and his staffers to a nearby post-master, to vendors at the platform, and some 200 people who had gathered at platform number 4 and nobody appeared to have ‘seen anything’ at the Asaoti railway station in Faridabad, India where 16-year old Junaid Khan bled to death after being repeatedly stabbed aboard a local passenger train on Thursday evening of June 22 we have a serious problem that is brewing in India. It is surely not Gandhi’s secularism.

When not a single Buddhist inside Myanmar has the moral prowess to condemn the genocidal crimes of its government against the religious minorities there, we have a serious national problem that cannot be hidden under Suu Kyi’s dirty rug. It is crass Myanmarism. [Interested readers may like to read Dr. Shwe Lu Maung’s books – The Price Of Silence: Muslim-Buddhist War Of Bangladesh And Myanmar – A Social Darwinist’s Analysis, and The prima materia of Myanmar Buddhist culture: Laukathara of Rakhine Thu Mrat.]

Fortunately, not all is lost. History has taught us how we can defeat such divisive forces by starting with debunking their twisted ideologies that are utterly evil. Elections alone cannot defeat the neo-fascists; we have to drain the swamp from which they gather their bait.

Technical Failure That Could Clear The Oil Glut In A Matter Of Weeks – Analysis

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By Cyril Widdershoven

OPEC exports have come under pressure this week from technical threats to oil fields, with Saudi Arabia’s Manifa problems grabbing the headlines.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, while addressing the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, stated that the outlook for oil supplies is “increasingly worrying”, due to a loss of $1 trillion ($1000 billion) in investments last year. The skepticism shown by a majority of financial analysts and oil commentators about the real threat to global oil (and gas) production volumes was countered by the news that the production at Saudi Aramco’s main offshore oil field, Manifa, has been hit by technical problems. News sources reported that the output from Saudi Aramco’s massive Manifa oilfield has been hit by a technical problem. The impact of this possible technical mishap is not to be underestimated. Aramco’s Manifa is one of its biggest oilfields, with a targeted production capacity of around 900,000 bpd, to be brought onstream in two phases. At present, the main issue being reported on is that there has been corrosion of the water injection system, which is used to keep pressure in the reservoir. No facts have emerged about the total impact on the Manifa production capacity, but unnamed sources are already quoting ‘millions of dollars’ of losses. The current reports are not really worrying, as corrosion control in a water injection system is only a technical challenge. Maintenance of the field is expected, resulting in a shut-down of production – something that has been confirmed by Sadad Al Husseini, former VP Aramco. If the all production needs to be shut-down, Saudi Aramco’s overall production capacity will be cut by 900,000bpd.

The current corrosion problem at Manifa is not new when looking at the overall situation of some giant fields in the Kingdom. Aramco has been fighting an uphill battle for years to counter existing corrosion threats to the Ghawar, Manifa and other fields. The problem is immense, as main production wells could be completely blocked if no solutions are found for corrosion and scaling issues. Until now, no real solutions have been found, except the traditional mitigation in place.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia’s export volumes have been hit by high local summer demand for crude oil and products. The Kingdom already stated that it will cut overall crude oil shipments by around 600,000 bpd in August to balance the rise in domestic consumption during the summer. Increased local demand is not only a growing problem for Saudi Arabia, but for most Persian Gulf producers. Saudi August crude exports could fall to around 6.6 million bpd. A majority of cuts will be made to export volumes to the U.S. and Asia. Saudi sources expect that Saudi crude volumes to the U.S. will be below 800,000 bpd, while exports to Asia will be around 3.5 million bpd (decrease of 200,000 bpd). Europe’s imports will be only down by 70,000 bpd, reaching a level of 520,000 bpd.

When looking at the Saudi situation, the need for new investments and increased technology development is clear. Saudi Aramco’s investment of $300 billion in the next 10 years will, in large part, be focusing on the new technology needed to keep existing projects running while opening up new volumes in the future. Its drive to increase overall gas production will also be based on a two-fold approach. One is to counter growing domestic demand for natural gas as a power generator. At the same time, with most focus on crude oil production, gas will need to be reinjected into the field to keep production at necessary levels. Both targets will only be possible to reach if the growing technical challenges in gas production in the Kingdom, due to sour gas issues, can be countered effectively.

The Saudi situation is not different from its neighbors. The Kingdom has the same challenges as its current main political adversary, Qatar. The latter’s national oil company, Qatar Petroleum, has only been able to maintain crude oil production on its main offshore oilfield Al Shaheen through heavy investments from its former joint-venture partner Maersk Oil. After the Danish concession, the operations are set to be led by French oil major Total. The Al Shaheen oil field is located in Qatari waters, 80 kilometers north of Ras Laffan, with facilities consisting of 33 platforms and close to 400 wells. Currently producing about 300,000 barrels of oil per day, Al Shaheen is Qatar’s largest offshore oil field and one of the largest offshore oil fields in the world. The production has been one of the main revenue generators for the Qatari government. To keep production up, QP and Total have already announced the need for a $3.5 billion investment plan for the exploration of the Al Shaheen field. This was reported during the launch of the North Oil Company (NOC), which was established a year ago as a partnership between a wholly owned affiliate of QP (70 percent) and a wholly owned affiliate of Total (30 percent).

The challenges for this field are still immense. Already in 2013 QP asked all foreign operators to come up with redevelopment plans to increase recovery rates and, if possible, production at its mature fields. Between 2012 and 2016, Maersk had been working on field development, slated to have cost $1.5 billion, to sustain output at current levels. Sources indicated at that time that excessive associated gas at Al-Shaheen could prevent it from increasing crude output. Other geological challenges at the field include thin and stretched reservoirs. More knowledge of these thin reservoirs and extended wells is still needed. The fact that the French oil major Total has now taken over is not a surprise, with its technical capabilities and financial strength needed to counter the current problems. Qatar’s remaining fields are experiencing similar threats.

Amin Nasser’s aim is to go beyond global oil markets. His assessments are based on regional (OPEC) developments, as production of oil and gas in the so-called cheap oil regions is also under threat. These technical challenges will need an increased amount of investments, which will be hard to come by in today’s market. If Saudi Aramco or QP are already experiencing production threats, the situation in other production regions, such as Nigeria, Libya or Mexico, could be even more dire. With increased demand for crude oil and petroleum products still shown in all international assessments, the market will need to react. A production shutdown due to technical issues is not as easy to counter as a weather or geopolitical issue. More money is needed, otherwise production fields will be closed down and international clients, including utilities or chemical companies, will bear the brunt of it. A shutdown of one or two giant fields will take the market from an oil glut to an oil shortage within weeks.

Assessments that a shutdown in the Middle East or a major OPEC producer can be covered by new production elsewhere is not entirely unrealistic. But the current production increases in Nigeria, Iraq and Libya, will most probably be temporary. Growing political instability in Libya, as the LNA is targeting control of the country, or the re-emergence of the Niger Delta insurgency, will put a cap on increases.

Source: http://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/The-Technical-Failure-That-Could-Clear-The-Oil-Glut-In-A-Matter-Of-Weeks.html

Debate Grows Over Whether Guam To Remain US Territory

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As Guam prepares to celebrate Liberation Day this week, political leaders on the Pacific island say it is time to decide whether to remain an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States.

Debate about independence has raged for decades but legal complications mean plans to take the issue to a vote have stalled several times.

Former senator Eddie Duenas said a self-rule plebiscite was long overdue and should be held during a gubernatorial election expected next year.

“We have been driving but we don’t know where we’re driving to and how far we will go,” he told a recent meeting of Guam’s decolonisation commission in the capital Hagatna.

“We just keep driving and driving. It’s annoying.”

Guam has been an unincorporated territory of the United States since 1898, meaning its 160,000 inhabitants are US citizens but have limited rights.

They cannot participate in US elections and Guam’s sole representative in the US Congress does not get to vote on legislation.

The United Nations lists Guam as one of only 17 remaining colonies worldwide, something Governor Eddie Calvo wants remedied.

Calvo has long campaigned for a referendum on self-determination that would give voters three options for the future – independence, becoming a US state, or remaining in “free association” with Washington.

All options have their advocates and Calvo says whatever the outcome, at least voters would have had a say in their future.

“Anything is better than the status quo,” he said earlier this month. “I would be happier if we became a state [but] if voters chose independence or free association I would be happier than I am right now.”

The independence question is complicated by Guam’s long and complex relationship with the US since becoming Washington’s colony in the wake of the Spanish-American War.

It endured brutal Japanese occupation during the second world war and was recaptured by US marines after a bloody month-long battle on July 21, 1944, a date celebrated as Liberation Day on the island.

It still hosts one of the largest US military contingents in the Asia-Pacific, often referred to as America’s “tip of the spear” in a region where tensions with China, North Korea and Russia are all too common.

In addition, many in Guam are heavily dependent on US welfare, with about 44,900 individuals and 15,650 households receiving food stamps and public health care benefits.

Federal grants and taxes on US service personnel in Guam also play a large role in meeting the island’s budget and infrastructure needs.

Marites Schwab, a resident of Agana Heights village, said she was concerned about whether Guam was politically mature enough to govern itself if it became a state.

Multinational sea drill intended to send message to China postponed after French landing craft runs aground on Guam

“What would they do in terms of continuing the services currently provided by the federal government?” she asked. “What are the concrete plans going forward? I need to see something practical and we can attain that by becoming a state.”

Adrian Cruz, an advocate for maintaining free association, said dependency on US funds made changing the status quo a difficult proposition.

“The US has got us into a Goldilocks zone where we don’t get too poor to revolt but we’re not too prosperous that we don’t need them any more,” he said.

The debate is academic anyhow, at least in the short-term, after the US Federal Court in March struck down plans to hold a self-rule plebiscite.

It ruled that limiting the vote to the indigenous Chamorro population, which numbers about 65,000 in the multi-ethnic territory, was race-based and therefore unconstitutional.

The decision is under appeal and the government has asked the United Nations to take up its cause.

Michael Bevacqua, a Chamorro culture expert at the University of Guam, said indigenous people should have a vote on their future after being denied basic rights under generations of colonial rule.

“A process of decolonisation that must follow the rules of the coloniser is not decolonisation, it is an extension of colonisation,” he said.

Testing A Soft Artificial Heart

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It looks like a real heart. And this is the goal of the first entirely soft artificial heart: to mimic its natural model as closely as possible. The silicone heart has been developed by Nicholas Cohrs, a doctoral student in the group led by Wendelin Stark, Professor of Functional Materials Engineering at ETH Zurich.

The reasoning why nature should be used as a model is clear. Currently used blood pumps have many disadvantages: their mechanical parts are susceptible to complications while the patient lacks a physiological pulse, which is assumed to have some consequences for the patient.

“Therefore, our goal is to develop an artificial heart that is roughly the same size as the patient’s own one and which imitates the human heart as closely as possible in form and function,” said Cohrs.

A well-functioning artificial heart is a real necessity: about 26 million people worldwide suffer from heart failure while there is a shortage of donor hearts. Artificial blood pumps help to bridge the waiting time until a patient receives a donor heart or their own heart recovers.

The soft artificial heart was created from silicone using a 3D-printing, lost-wax casting technique; it weighs 390 grams and has a volume of 679 cm3.

“It is a silicone monoblock with complex inner structure,” explained Cohrs.

This artificial heart has a right and a left ventricle, just like a real human heart, though they are not separated by a septum but by an additional chamber. This chamber is in- and deflated by pressurized air and is required to pump fluid from the blood chambers, thus replacing the muscle contraction of the human heart.

Thinking in a new direction

Anastasios Petrou, a doctoral student of the Product Development Group Zurich, led by Professor Mirko Meboldt evaluated the performance of this soft artificial heart. The young researchers have just published the results of the experiments in the scientific journal Artificial Organs.

They proved that the soft artificial heart fundamentally works and moves in a similar way to a human heart. However, it still has one problem: it currently lasts for about only 3,000 beats, which corresponds to a lifetime of half to three quarters of an hour. After that, the material can no longer withstand the strain.

Cohrs explained: “This was simply a feasibility test. Our goal was not to present a heart ready for implantation, but to think about a new direction for the development of artificial hearts.”

Of course, the tensile strength of the material and the performance would have to be enhanced significantly.

Zurich Heart brings researchers together

Cohrs and Petrou met in the Zurich Heart Project, a flagship project of University Medicine Zurich that brings together 20 research groups from various disciplines and institutions in Zurich and Berlin. Part of the research focuses on improvements on existing blood pumps, such as how to reduce blood damage induced from the mechanical parts of the pump, while others explore extremely elastic membranes or more biocompatible surfaces. This is done in close collaboration with the clinicians in Zurich and Berlin.

The lively exchanges among the researchers also helped this Zurich Heart sub-project. Doctoral students of Product Development Group Zurich, who are working on new technologies for blood pumps, have developed a testing environment with which they can simulate the human cardiovascular system. The researchers of the silicone heart made use of this testing environment for their development process which also included the use of a fluid with comparable viscosity as human blood.

“Currently, our system is probably one of the best in the world,” said Petrou proudly.

Researching the heart is an appealing task, and Cohrs and Petrou would both like to remain in this research field.

“As a mechanical engineer, I would never have thought that I would ever hold a soft heart in my hands. I’m now so fascinated by this research that I would very much like to continue working on the development of artificial hearts,” said Petrou.

Trump Blasts Media For Coverage Of Son’s Russia Meeting

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By Ken Bredemeier

President Donald Trump lashed out at the U.S. media Sunday, accusing it of “DISTORTING DEMOCRACY” in its reports on his eldest son’s meeting last year with a Russian lawyer he thought would hand him incriminating information about Democrat Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2016 election.

In a string of Twitter comments from his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump defended Donald Trump Jr., who met with Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016 after being told by an intermediary that she was a Russian government attorney who would offer him information as part of Moscow’s support of Trump to defeat Clinton.

In one tweet, Trump said, “Hillary Clinton can illegally get the questions to the Debate & delete 33,000 emails but my son Don is being scorned by the Fake News Media?” Trump was referring to emails she deleted from her private computer server while she was secretary of state and to being given a question in advance of one debate she had with a Democratic opponent months before the November national election she lost to Trump.

“With all of its phony unnamed sources & highly slanted & even fraudulent reporting, #Fake News is DISTORTING DEMOCRACY in our country!” Trump claimed.

The White House Correspondents Association rejected Trump’s attack, saying, “A free and independent press actually is critical to democracy.”

The debate question involving Clinton only came to light because of the hacking of computer files at the Democratic National Committee in Washington, which the U.S. intelligence community has concluded was personally directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to help Trump.

WikiLeaks subsequently released thousands of emails in the weeks ahead of the election, with many of them showing embarrassing behind-the-scenes efforts by Democratic operatives to help Clinton win the Democratic presidential nomination. She has partly blamed her loss on the disclosure of the emails.

In another tweet, Trump thanked a former campaign adviser, Michael Caputo, for his testimony Friday before the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee. Trump said Caputo said “so powerfully” that he knew of no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government during his run for the White House.

Trump has been dismissive of numerous investigations into Russian meddling in the election, calling them a “witch hunt” and an excuse by Democrats to explain Clinton’s upset loss. One of Trump’s lawyers, Jay Sekulow, told ABC News on Sunday that he does not believe the probes will lead to Trump having to testify in the case even though Trump has said he would if necessary.

Last week, on a visit to France for its Bastille Day celebration, Trump at a news conference defended his son’s meeting with Veselnitskaya.

“It’s called opposition research or even research into your opponent,” Trump said. “That’s very standard in politics; politics is not the nicest business in the world but it’s very standard where they have information and you take the information.

“Nothing happened from the meeting, zero happened from the meeting, and honestly I think the press made a very big deal over something that really a lot of people will do,” he said. “As far as my son is concerned, my son is a wonderful young man. He took a meeting with a Russian lawyer, not a government lawyer, but a Russian lawyer. It was a short meeting, it was a meeting that went very, very quickly; very fast.”

The women’s U.S. golf championship is being contested this weekend at Trump’s New Jersey club and the president has watched part of the competition. He thanked “all of the supporters” who cheered him there, saying they “far out-numbered the protesters.”

Trump faces months of controversy over Russian interference in the election, with numerous congressional probes underway, as well as a criminal investigation headed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mueller is looking at possible collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign, as well as whether Trump obstructed justice by firing another FBI director, James Comey, who was heading the Russia probe before Mueller took over.


Iran Identifies Jailed American; US Demands Release

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(RFE/RL) — Iran has identified the U.S. national sentenced to 10 years for spying as Xiyue Wang, a 37-year-old researcher at Princeton University.

Mizanonline, the official news agency of Iran’s judiciary, on July 16 said Wang, who was born in China, was arrested on August 8, 2016, while trying to leave Iran.

The report said the man was part of “an infiltration project” to collect “highly confidential articles” for U.S. and British organizations, including Princeton, the U.S. State Department, Harvard University, and the British Institute for Persian Studies.

The State Department issued a statement confirming it was “aware of reports regarding Xiyue Wang, a U.S. citizen detained in Iran.”

“We continue to use all the means at our disposal to advocate for U.S. citizens who need our assistance overseas, especially for the release of any unjustly detained U.S. citizens held overseas,” the State Department said.

“We call for the immediate release of all U.S. citizens unjustly detained in Iran so they can return to their families,” it added.

The report by Mizanonline said Wang “was able to digitally archive 4,500 pages of the country’s documents, while under covert surveillance.”

It said the documents were taken from “research and cultural archives” and “the libraries of some state organizations.”

As “proof,” Mizanonline published a note in an annual report by the British Institute of Persian Studies in which Wang thanked a librarian for helping him make contact with academics in Iran.

Iran earlier said the man was a dual citizen of the United States and an unnamed country other than Iran. It was not immediately confirmed if Wang is also a citizen of China.

Several Iranian dual nationals from the United States and other Western countries have been detained in Iran over the past year and are being kept behind bars on charges, including espionage and collaborating with hostile governments.

In January, Tehran’s chief prosecutor said as many as 70 “spies” were serving sentences in Tehran prisons.

In October, U.S.-Iranian business consultant Siamak Namazi and his 80-year-old father, Baquer Namazi, a former UNICEF official, were sentenced to 10 years in prison for “espionage and collaboration with the American government.”

Tensions between the United States and Iran have heightened since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump has vowed to pull the United States out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that eased sanctions against Tehran in return for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Last month, the U.S. Senate supported further sanctions against Iran for its “continued support of terrorism.” The bill must still be passed by the House.

Iran threatened to respond with “reciprocal and adequate measures.”

Stylish Rama ‘Sending Message’ To Europe About Albania

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Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is using his colourful and daring fashion sense to send a distinct message about modern Albania to Europe, experts believe.

By Fatjona Mejdini

Sartorial imagination is a well-known trait of Albania’s Prime Minister, Edi Rama, who gained a reputation for stepping out in style after becoming Minister of Culture back in 1998.

Only a year after Albania had emerged from a traumatic period of unrest, Minister Rama – standing 6ft 6in [1.98m] tall – presented himself to the public in baggy pants and red and yellow socks.

Youngsters especially took an immediate interest in him, partly because of his unusual background as a painter and basketballer.

In his clothing, as well as on canvass, he liked to mix strong colours, creating a unique style that has undoubtedly helped to propel him up the political ladder.

As Mayor of Tirana for 11 years, his artistic persona had a strong impact on the changes he made to the city, whose buildings became famous around the world for makeovers in bright pastel colours.

Belina Budini, a scholar in political communications, called his style “neo-populist” in her 2009 book, “Edi Rama, a pop star politician”, saying it confirmed his leadership in the eyes of public opinion.

However, many suspected that, having been elected Prime Minister, Rama would have to tone down the colours and adopt a more modest clothing style.

Clearly, they were wrong, Instead, he just took it another level.

On Wednesday, for example, participating in the Western Balkan summit in Trieste, alongside with leaders from Balkan and EU, Rama combined his formal suit with white Addidas sneakers.

The striped sneakers were there again for a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and for meetings with other high members of EU institutions and European governments.

This was no one-off, either. On May 24, at a meeting of Balkan leaders with the Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, he was spotted wearing a stamped T-shirt and sporty pants and shoes.

Irena Myzeqari, a lecturer at the European University of Tirana, told BIRN that Rama sees traditional political attire as boring because it does not communicate anything new.

“Scholars and researchers into communications might share many criticisms against him, but when referring to creativity and a ‘natural’ sense of owning the place, Rama is incomparable to anyone else,” she said.

She believes that Rama is also sending a subtle political message with his attire, as he did during the campaign for the June 25 general election in Albania.

“Printed T-shirts with red roses and black trousers were used to deliver a simple message: I am casual, I am one of you, and we are in a family; a family where love and trust are already settled and there is no need for formal ties in black suits,” Myzeqari said.

She also said his use of casual attire in European halls of power is not a result of random selection, but a well-thought-out strategy designed to promote an image of Albanian confidence.

When it comes to EU membership, she opined, “we are in the waiting room, of course, but we are doing whatever it takes to be in the living room. And, in a living room, you can permit yourself to walk barefoot, or in a pair of slippers”.

Catholic Priest Wins Brewing’s Highest Honor

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Long blessed by Catholics as a “healthful drink for mankind,” one Texas priest has managed to take beer to new heights – winning the highest award in the United States for home-brewed beverages.

“It’s surreal,” Fr. Jeff Poirot told the Fort Worth Star- Telegram. “After we were done screaming from excitement when we won, it was hard to put it into words what winning the Ninkasi means to us.”

Yet, for the brewing priest, his hobby doesn’t detract from his vocation.

“This is a hobby, and it’s a hobby I’ve done all right with. So I would never want it to eclipse what I do … because my role as a priest takes precedence,” he told the newspaper.

“You can have a busy life. You can have commitments with family and work, but you can still do something you love.”

Fr. Poirot serves as pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in Fort Worth, and brews with his homebrewing partner Nick McCoy, who is also a Catholic. Together one of their beers has won the 2017 Ninkasi Award from the American Homebrewers Association, and is the highest award for the best drink judged in the annual National Homebrew Competition.

Together their beer was chosen as the best drink submitted among all 33 categories of beers, meads, and ciders submitted for the competition. Over 8,500 beers were submitted in the competition.

Submitting under then name “Draft Punk,” a play on the French Electronic duo Daft Punk, Fr. Poirot and McCoy’s brew club also won first place in the Specialty IPA and Trappist Ale and Strong Belgian categories at the National Homebrew Awards in Minneapolis. This was the third year Fr. Poirot and McCoy have entered beers into the competition.

The winning beer, a Belgian Quadrupel, drew its inspiration from the Trappist tradition.

Generally winners of the Ninkasi award go on to open their own shops or to write books, but the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Fr. Poirot and McCoy will be staying where they are.

“For me, I always want to balance [brewing] with being a priest, because being a priest is primary, first and foremost for me,” Poirot told the newspaper.

Does Minsk’s Call For Creation Of Popular Militia Presage Pro-Russian Separatism In Belarus? – OpEd

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Given that Belarus now has seven times as many police per 100,000 residents as it did in Soviet times, Natalya Radina says, it is far from clear why Interior Minister Igor Shunevich has called for creating a new popular militia to help the militia fight crime. Indeed, his words provoke concern such a force may be used for an entirely different purpose.

The chief editor of the opposition Charter 97 portal says that one possibility is that these forces will be used not to defend Belarusians from crime but to spark pro-Moscow separatism much as such organizations were used by Russian forces in the early days of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine’s Donbass (charter97.org/ru/news/2017/7/15/256413/).

She says that recent comments by Aleksandr Petrulevich, the former head of Ukraine’s national security service in Luhansk oblast (gordonua.com/news/war/eks-glava-luganskoy-sbu-petrulevich-rossiya-aktivizirovala-spyashchuyu-agenturu-na-vostoke-ukrainy-v-yanvare-2014-go-do-pobedy-maydana-i-begstva-yanukovicha-197763.html) show this isn’t a far-fetched idea.

According to the Ukrainian security official, “under the form of ‘people’s militias,’ Russia activated its network of agents in eastern Ukraine at least as early as January 2014, a month before the victory of the EuroMaidan, the flight of president Viktor Yanukovich, and the invasion of Crimea.”

“Already on January 27, 2014,” Petrulevich says, a special session of the Luhansk oblast Soviet occurred at which was adopted a decision about the creation of so-called people’s militias, the formation of which was assigned to the local administration of the MVD and the SBU.” That means, he continues, that Russia “activated its ‘sleepers’ in the east of Ukraine” exactly then.

The Ukrainian security officer stresses, Radina says, that “Eldar Nadriashvili, an advisor to the head of the Luhansk oblast administration worked on the formation of the militias” and then later went over to the side of the militants of ‘the LNR.’” These units stored the Luhansk SBU headquarters when Russian forces intervened.

And Petrulevich says that precisely these “’people’s militias’” became the first “’armed forces of the LNR.’”

It is worth noting, the Belarusian editor continues, that “the Belarusian interior minister is a native of Luhansk oblast and clearly monitors local pro-Russian separatists” in his new country. But what is especially “strange,” she says, is that this initiative has surfaced just before the Zapad-2017 exercises that will bring massive numbers of Russian troops into the country.

And it is likely that the first to be included in such “people’s militias” will be “members of pro-Russian militarized organizations which have grown under the patronage of the Russian Orthodox church, ‘the Cossacks,’ and various military-sports clubs.” They could easily be ordered to so something other than fight crime.

The risk of that is especially great given that the author of this proposal is someone who “frequently has sent signals to Moscow” that he is on its side, Radina argues; and thus it is worth reflecting about this danger given that “as the Ukrainian case has shown, from ‘popular militias’ to pro-Russian separatism is a single step.”

There Is No Shortage Of Economic Policies, Just Creative People In Policymaking Positions – Speech

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The title of this session asks if we’ve run out of economic policies. This is a silly question, as can be shown with some clearer thinking on the economy. Debates on economic policy too often get reduced to narrow debates on tax and transfer policy. While tax and transfer policy is hugely important, this focus absurdly narrows the scope for economic policy. This narrowing is especially unfortunate in a country like France, where the use of the euro has sharply limited its ability to run budget deficits, or stimulate its economy through monetary or exchange rate policy. This means that its ability to do much at this point through tax and transfer policy is seriously constrained.

Nonetheless there are many areas in which the French government could implement policies that would both boost growth and reduce unemployment and inequality. In my book, Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer, I discuss five areas in which the market has been structured in ways that redistribute income upward.[1] I should caution that this book was written with the U.S. economy as the primary point of reference, however most of the points would apply to France as well, even if the upward redistribution in France has not been anywhere near as large as in the United States.

1) Macroeconomic policy. Fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policy largely determine the level of employment and unemployment. Institutional factors, like rules on overtime and vacation policy, can also affect employment levels by affecting the supply of labor.

2) Regulation of the financial sector. The financial sector enjoys a privileged position almost everywhere, being exempt from much taxation and relying on the government as a lender of last resort.

3) Corporate governance. In the United States, the process of corporate governance has become increasingly corrupted so that it is very difficult for shareholders to put a check on the pay of CEOs and other top managers. Top management has a large voice in selecting the directors who oversee them. Once selected, directors have little incentive to challenge CEO pay, since virtually all slated directors are re-elected. The result is CEO salaries that often reach into the tens of millions annually.

4) Protected professionals. In the United States, the most highly paid professionals, doctors and dentists in particular, are largely protected from both foreign and domestic competition. As a result, their pay is more than twice the average for other wealthy countries.

5) Intellectual property. Patent and copyright monopolies often raise the price of protected items by several thousand percent above the free market price. This is especially important in the case of prescription drugs where patent monopolies can make drugs that would be cheap in a free market extremely expensive. These protections not only threaten health care, they also are a big part of the story of upward redistribution.

I will focus my remarks on intellectual property since there is so much at stake and the issues involved are poorly understood.

The United States will spend more than $440 billion on drugs in 2017 that would sell in a free market, without patents or related protections, for less than $80 billion. The difference of more than $360 billion is almost 2 percent of GDP, or almost one-third of after-tax corporate profits. (The markups on drugs will be less in France, where prices are regulated.) There are also huge markups, typically in the range of 1000 percent or more, in medical equipment, pesticides, fertilizers, seed crops, software, recorded music and video material, and books.

In total, the gap between Intellectual Property (IP) protected prices and free market prices in the United States is likely to be more than 5 percent of GDP, or over $900 billion in the U.S. economy. This is a massive transfer of income from the bulk of the population to the people who are in a situation to benefit from IP protection. The beneficiaries are not only the shareholders of pharmaceutical companies, software makers, and other companies that directly benefit from these protections but also the highly skilled segment of the workforce, such as biochemists and software engineers, who see an increase in the demand for their skills as a result of these protections.

This point is important for two reasons. First, it is far from obvious that patents and copyrights are the best mechanisms for supporting innovation and creative work in the 21 st century. These are relics of the medieval guild system that have managed to survive through a combination of inertia and special interest lobbying.

The gap between the IP-protected price and the free market price leads to the same sort of economic waste and corruption that is the predicted result of trade tariffs. But in this case, instead of being 20 or 30 percent, the protection is equivalent to tariffs of 1000 percent or more. Most obviously, this means that many people who could afford drugs, medical equipment, or other items at the free market price, but not at the protected price, are denied access. This is a huge issue in the developing world, but even in the rich countries, there are many people who go without needed medicine because IP protection makes it too costly.

To take a dramatic example, the Hepatitis C drug Sovaldi carries a list price in the United States of $84,000 for a three-month course of treatment. High-quality generic versions are available in India for less than $300. [2] Many of the new cancer drugs carry list prices in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In almost all cases these drugs are cheap to produce; it is the patent monopoly that makes them expensive.

But this is just the beginning of the problems with patent protection in the case of prescription drugs. The huge markups encourage drug companies to push their drugs for conditions where it is not appropriate. There are many instances where they have made payoffs to doctors to promote their drugs in talks or articles for medical journals. They also misrepresent research findings, concealing evidence that their drugs may not be as effective as claimed or even harmful in some circumstances.

Patent protection also encourages secrecy in research, as companies want to maximize their own ability to profit rather than giving away information to potential competitors. And it leads to unnecessary duplicative research, as drug companies may seek to innovate around the patent of a major breakthrough drug in order to get a portion of the patent rents. While the increased competition may be desirable in a world of patent monopolies, if drugs were selling at their free market price it is unlikely that we would devote large amounts of resources to developing the second, third, and fourth drugs for a condition that can already be treated, as opposed to spending the money to develop a drug for a condition for which no treatment exists. [3]

There are alternative mechanisms to patent financing for prescription drug research, most obviously direct government funding. The United States is already spending more than $30 billion annually through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This compares to around $50 billion that the pharmaceutical industry claims to spend on research each year. The NIH funding is overwhelming focused on basic research, but there are instances where it has actually funded the development of drugs and paid for clinical trials.

There is no reason why public funding could not be expanded and focused on the later phases of research and clinical testing. The new drugs could then be sold at generic prices since the research has already been paid for. An alternative route is to establish a prize system under which patents for important drugs are purchased by the government and placed in the public domain so that they could then be sold as generics.

Under both these systems, the research findings and clinical test results could be made completely public. This would be a huge benefit to doctors, who would be able to make more informed decisions in prescribing drugs. Some drugs may be more effective for some groups of people than others, or have bad side effects when mixed with other drugs. Full disclosure of test results would make this information available to doctors.

The case of prescription drugs is worth highlighting because it is probably the most egregious example of the waste and corruption of the current IP system, but there are many other instances that could be cited. In the tech industry, for years Apple and Samsung were competing as much in the court system over competing patent claims as in the market for smartphones. Patent trolling, buying up rights to a patent and hoping to be able to get a suit against a major company into court, is a major form of livelihood for many lawyers.

In the case of copyright, the United States has made the monopolies ever longer (now 95 years) and the penalties for infringements ever greater. Here too there are alternatives. The U.S. system of a tax deduction for charitable contributions presents an obvious model. A tax credit could be allowed for contributions to support creative work, with the condition of receiving the money that the work is in the public domain.

The relative merits of alternatives to IP for supporting innovation and creative work can be debated. I mention these to point out that the IP system is a policy option and is not the only known mechanism for these purposes.

However, there is an even more basic point that must be recognized. The strength and length of IP rules are things directly determined by public policy in large part. There has been a conscious decision in the rich countries to make these rules stronger in the last four decades. This has benefited highly skilled workers and IP related industries at the expense of everyone else. In principle, there should be a payoff to society from stronger IP rules in the form of more rapid productivity growth. This is a very questionable proposition, especially given the extremely weak productivity growth we have seen over the last decade.

However, even if there were a dividend from stronger IP protection in the form of more rapid productivity growth, this should still be an explicit topic for public debate. In other words, we should be asking how much upward redistribution we are willing to tolerate in exchange for a predicted gain in productivity growth.

This debate has not taken place in the United States, France, or to my knowledge any other country in the world. The bottom line here is that it is clearly not true that it is just technology making some people very wealthy and making many others less well off. This outcome is the result of clear policy choices that unfortunately have been largely left out of public debate.

Remarks by Dean Baker, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), at Les Rencontres Économiques d’Aix-en-Provence.

Notes:

[1] See https://deanbaker.net/books/rigged.htm.

[2] See http://www.thebodypro.com/content/78658/1000-fold-mark-up-for-drug-prices-in-high-income-c.html.

[3] Having multiple drugs for a condition is desirable, since patients will respond differently to the same drug, but the question is the amount of resources that should be devoted to duplicative drugs.

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