PFLP Prison Branch urges support for Palestinian prisoners

PFLP Prison Branch urges action and unity to support Palestinian prisoners engaged in the battle for dignity
Apr 16 2017

Palestinian Prisoners’ Day is a day of challenge and confrontation, emphasizing the issue of prisoners
On the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, we salute every prisoner, the heroes and heroines of the battles of will and steadfastness, to every flower and cub, to the sick prisoners, administrative detainees and imprisoned leaders, led by the imprisoned General Secretary, Comrade Ahmad Sa’adat, Marwan Barghouthi, Hassan Salameh, Wajdi Jawdat, Anas Jaradat, Bassam Kandaji and the long line of leaders who represent the national struggle and the prisoners’ cause.

On this occasion, we make a particular salute to the martyrs of the prisoners movement and to all of those engaged in confrontation and the struggle for victory. We are firmly committed to see each battle of confrontation with the Prison Service and its instruments of repression and intelligence agencies as a collective battle. Every action initiated by any faction is all of our battle.

We also congratulate the longest-serving woman prisoner, Lena Jarbouni, on this occasion of her freedom after 15 years in Israeli jails.

In this context, we affirm that we stand hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder in any struggle waged by the prisoners, and we consider the decision to engage in the battle of dignity and honor against the jailer, beginning on Monday, April 17, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day 2017, to be one which we support and which we are part of. This comes in two ways, both through the decisions and guidelines for the comrades to engage in the battle, and through approving a program of support for the strike in all prisons and among our comrades outside.

In this context of high appreciation and support for this battle and all the heroic prisoners who will engage in it, we affirm our continued struggle for the unity of the prisoners’ movement and the escalation of confrontation against the prison administration.

Thus, we call on all the Palestinian people and their supporters and friends around the world to stand side by side with the prisoners in their continuing battles inside the prisons, escalating the mass movement to support the battle of wills, challenge and confrontation, and to once again reaffirm the centrality of the cause of the prisoners.

We also call upon all human rights, humanitarian and media institutions to support our prisoners in order to develop a unified national program at all levels for more effective results.

We call upon the leaders of the Palestinian people to make unremitting efforts to uphold their responsibility for the prisoners and the martyrs and do everything possible to defend them and support their steadfastness until victory in the ongoing battles against the prison service, through all forms of action for their liberation.

On this occasion, we urge all to close ranks in the field of national unity and urge our Front, all of the national and Islamic forces and factions and the masses of our people to devote
their efforts and time in service of the cause of the prisoners.

We hope that the culmination of all of these battles waged by the prisoners inside the prisons, with the popular support inside and outside Palestine, will be to unify the prisoners’ movement, in light of the traditions and norms established by the prisoners’ movement for over 50 years, of prisons as revolutionary schools which unite all forces behind revolutionary national ideals.

We urge all actions and intensified work in the Palestinian, Arab and international arenas, everyhere in the world in support of the prisoners’ cause.

Salutes of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day – Glory to the martyrs – Freedom for the prisoners of freedom

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Prison Branch
April 16, 2017

கழக மறியல் போராட்டம் 10 பெண் தோழர் உட்பட 65 போராளிகள் கைது

சமரன்: கழக மறியல் போராட்டம் 10 பெண் தோழர் உட்பட 65 போராளி...

 

The “Terrorism of Money” and the Global War On Cash: Target India Part one

The “Terrorism of Money” and the Global War On Cash: Target India

Part I
By Shelley Kasli

Global Research, April 14, 2017

''The big bankers of the world, who practice the terrorism of money, are more powerful than kings and field marshals, even more than the Pope of Rome himself. They never dirty their hands. They kill no-one: they limit themselves to applauding the show. Their officials, international technocrats, rule our countries: they are neither presidents nor ministers, they have not been elected, but they decide the level of salaries and public expenditure, investments and divestments, prices, taxes, interest rates, subsidies, when the sun rises and how frequently it rains. However, they don’t concern themselves with the prisons or torture chambers or concentration camps or extermination centers, although these house the inevitable consequences of their acts. The technocrats claim the privilege of irresponsibility: ‘We’re neutral’ they say''.

Galeano (1991) Professional Life/3 p. 108; As cited in: Paul Farmer (2005) Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor.. p. 10

The above quote by Eduardo Hughes Galeano, an Uruguayan literary giant aptly captures the mood in regards to the recent decision to demonetize Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes and introduce Rs 2000 notes. While there were many questions raised, analyses made, theories put forward and allegations leveled in the ensuing confusion, almost all stuck to the domain of financial economics. None were able to examine the geopolitical forces that shaped the situation under which the decision was made. Geopolitics is a field alien to financial economics. Thus when economists need to step outside the frame of finance theory to consider larger implications they are confronted with the messier world of geopolitics; the world that operates on a totally different set of rules than financial economics. In this report we explore these geopolitical forces and provide an insight into the chain of events that led us to this juncture.

Covered in this report:
◾Reaganomics
◾Global Liquidity Crisis
◾Global Crackdown on Black Money
◾India’s Informal Economy
◾Season of Bailouts
◾Crisis Comes Home
◾Crash Course in Demonetization
◾The Global War On Cash
◾The Great Indian Bailout
◾PARA – A Centralized Bad Bank
◾Once Upon A Time

Reaganomics

The seeds for the current economic situation in India were sown in the 80s by the 40th President of the United States of America Ronald Reagan. He implemented economic reforms on the belief that tax policies that benefit the wealthy will create a “trickle-down” effect to the poor, labeled by his critics as “trickle-down economics” or voodoo economics also known as Reaganomics. The fundamentals of Reaganomics were to cut back spending on the social sectors of the economy, prevent the working people from demanding higher wages even through trade union activity, scale back safety and health standards for workers, relax rules for environmental protection. These were strategies born of the Cold War and Reagan’s 1983 “Evil Empire” speech set the tone for a more aggressive US posture against the Soviet Union. The result was a series of top-secret national security decision directives (NSDDs).

NSDD-66 stated that it would be U.S. policy to disrupt the Soviet economy by attacking a “strategic triad” of critical resources–financial credits, high technology, and natural gas. The directive was tantamount to a “secret declaration of economic war on the Soviet Union.”

These policies when adopted by the Russians as what is known as Glasnost and Perestroika (liberalization and privatization) rang the death knell for the Soviet Union. Those policies have since been exported to the rest of the world and have been espoused by the political and economic elites of many countries. It destroyed every country where they were implemented. The scandals involving Harshad Mehta in India, the pyramid schemes in Albania, the BCCI collapse, the collapse of security houses in Japan, Britain and so on are products of these policies. However, like a double edged sword Reaganomics also destroyed the American middle class and the American Dream itself.

Global Liquidity Crisis

Reaganomics gave rise to a new type of banking now known as the Originate and Distribute (ORD) model. Historically, banks used deposits to fund loans that they then kept on their balance sheets until maturity. Under this new principle, the bank was no longer an institution focused on taking deposits and giving out loans. Instead it became a competitive financier seeking to maximize fee and commission income from its assets. Supposed old-style prudent banking was ridiculed as boring and conservative, while the risk takers were considered sophisticated, innovative and shrewd. With the use of such quasi-legal investment techniques and outright swindling, a trend of a Ponzi scheme prevailed. This paved the way for subprime lending (making loans below 0% interest rates to people who may have difficulty repaying it back) and securitization of debt (selling housing mortgages as bank-backed tradable stocks) first in Wall Street then everywhere in the world. This process is called derivative markets.

Only in 2008 when the German banks wanted to offload some of their US real-estate investment it was a revelation for the US regulator about the extent of fraud committed by the US banks, insurance companies and Wall Street brokerage firms; leading to what we know now as US Meltdown of 2008 and Eurozone Crisis of 2012 and if not prudent will be called the Indian Crisis of 2020.

As against world’s total GDP of $50 trillion a whopping $150 trillion derivative market came to life. As a result a global liquidity crisis set in. Liquidity crisis refers to an acute shortage or “drying up” of liquidity or in simple terms lack of cash flow. The crisis cost the US economy at least $12.8 trillion which is a very conservative estimate, other reports put it at $14 trillion – almost an entire year’s worth of US economic activity. Everything from the economy to housing, from health care to warfare, from energy to security; everything came in a state of “crisis”.

NASA’s $230 billion Constellation program designed to get humans to Mars saw a massive budget cut and suddenly Mars seemed too far and too expensive in comparison to our nearby friendly Moon. Unfortunately the entire project had to be scraped, to an extent that US has to hitch a ride on a Russian rocket to even get to the International Space Station. Even to spy on Russians the US needs Russian rocket engines. And with the launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), informally known as Mangalayaan at a cost 11% of NASA’s own Mars mission India has also entered this $5.4 billion satellite-launching industry with a bang.

The Chinese on the other hand are increasingly buying in on stakes of European and U.S. businesses, including industrial enterprises that are available at a low price due to the global recession; acquiring natural-resource deals across the world, securing supplies of oil and minerals. The biggest American companies are now owned by the Chinese. One such is Legendary Pictures, the studio that gave us the Batman Series and Interstellar that soon would be releasing its new production The Great Wall. The Chinese are also changing the European football scene with its acquisition of A.C. Milan one of the wealthiest and most valuable football club in the world. There are now more than 100 state-run Confucius Institutes promoting Chinese culture across Europe. Such soft power come in handy for instance teaching Chinese to French workers at the Chinese telecoms company ZTE in Poitiers. These are just pieces of the giant Chinese jigsaw called the New Silk Route or the One Belt, One Road Initiative. Experts have termed it the Chinese Century.

Western-European economies are still reeling under the pressure of this financial crisis and the Chinese together with the Russians are pushing them further into recession. As recently as in January this year the global elite met at the World Economic Forum in Davos expressing their fears about the global liquidity crunch and the implications it may have on their economies. What they fear is that the meltdown may spell the end of the supremacy of the banking houses of London and New York as financial centers.

It is here that India comes into picture.

Shelley Kasli is the Founder & Editor of GreatGameIndia – India’s only quarterly journal on Geopolitics & International Affairs. He can be reached at shelley.kasli@greatgameindia.com

Russia vetoes UN draft resolution on Syria gas attack probe

ENB Poster

Russia vetoes UN draft resolution on Syria gas attack probe

Russia has vetoed a UN resolution condemning the reported use of chemical weapons in Syria and urging a speedy investigation.

The resolution, which aimed to bolster support for international inquiries into a deadly toxic gas attack in Khan Sheikhoun last week, was being pushed by the US, Britain and France.
While 10 nations voted in favour, Russia and Bolivia vetoed the resolution, while China, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia abstained.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he was “dismayed” at Russia's decision to veto the resolution, saying it put the country on the "wrong side of the argument".

It comes after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that trust between Moscow and Washington had plunged to a “low level” amid rising tensions over the war in Syria.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meanwhile said trust had eroded between the two countries since Donald Trump became president, after the new US leader fired missiles at Syria to punish Moscow's ally for its suspected use of poison gas.

Mr Tillerson met Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov for talks on Wednesday, during which Mr Lavrov reportedly said Russia was willing to reinstate an air safety agreement put on hold last week aimed at preventing accidents between US and Russian jets in the skies above Syria.

Russia’s top diplomat said after the talks that the pair had agreed to continue discussions aimed at securing a peaceful solution to the Syrian civil war, but warned of attempts by groups to sabotage relations with the US.

சமரன்: கழகம்: லாரி உரிமையாளர்கள் போராட்டம் வெல்க!

சமரன்: கழகம்: லாரி உரிமையாளர்கள் போராட்டம் வெல்க!: லாரி உரிமையாளர்கள் போராட்டம் வெல்க!   • மத்திய மாநில அரசுகளே!   பெட்ரோல், டீசல், விலை உயர்வுக்குக் காரணமான வாட், ஜி.எஸ்.டி வரி வித...

``அரபாத் இல்லாத பாலஸ்தீனம், பிரபா - மாத்தையா இல்லாத ஈழம்``!

Trinco oil tanks to be leased out to India

After deliberations involving President Maithripala Sirisena and Indian High Commissioner Taranjith Singh Sandhu, the government has decided to lease out the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm for development jointly with India, a Minister said yesterday.

In the lower farm, there are 14 tanks currently being used by Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC). However, there are 84 tanks in the Upper Tank Farm that are not being used at the moment.

Petroleum and Petroleum Gas Minister Chandima Weerakkody told the Daily Mirror that ten of these tanks would be retained by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), and the rest would be developed jointly with LIOC under a joint venture.

He said the government decided on this after a series of meetings involving President Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe , the Indian High Commissioner and him.

The initial move was to hand over all the tanks to the Indian authorities. However, the Minister said President insisted that at least ten tanks should be vested with the Sri Lankan side.

(Kelum Bandara)

See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Trinco-oil-tanks-to-be-leased-out-to-India-126944.html#sthash.bPBbja11.dpuf

US came close to clash with Russia -Medvedev

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev

----------------
US strikes on Syria came close to clash with Russia -Medvedev

U.S. cruise missile strikes on a Syrian air base were one step away from clashing with the Russian military, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev charged on Friday, underscoring the risks in U.S. President Donald Trump's first major foray into the Syrian civil war.

U.S. officials informed Russian forces ahead of the strikes, which were intended to punish the Syrian government for what they said was a chemical weapons attack, and avoided hitting Russian personnel.

In the biggest foreign policy decision of his presidency, Trump ordered a step his predecessor Barack Obama never took: targeting the Syrian military. Washington says Syrian government forces carried out a poison gas attack in northern Syria this week that killed at least 70 people.

The U.S. action catapulted Washington into confrontation with Russia, which has military advisers on the ground aiding its ally, President Bashar al-Assad.

Satellite imagery suggests the Shayrat air base that was struck by dozens of U.S. missiles is home to Russian special forces and military helicopters, part of the Kremlin's effort to help the Syrian government fight Islamic State and other militant groups.

Medvedev, on social media, said the strikes were illegal and had been "one step away from military clashes with Russia."

Trump has frequently called for improved relations with Russia which were strained under Obama, but the U.S. president said action had to be taken against Assad.

"Years of previous attempts at changing Assad’s behavior have all failed and failed very dramatically," Trump said as he announced the attack from his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, where he was meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack," he said, adding: "No child of God should ever suffer such horror."

Assad's office said Damascus would respond by striking its enemies harder.

The United Nations Security Council was to meet on Friday to discuss the U.S. cruise missile strikes, diplomats said. The meeting of the 15-member council will be public.

U.S. officials said the strike was a "one-off" intended to deter future chemical weapons attacks, and not an expansion of the U.S. role in the Syria war.

Tomahawk missiles fired from the USS Porter and USS Ross struck the airstrip, aircraft and fuel stations on the air base, which the Pentagon says was used to store chemical weapons.

President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago after the U.S. fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria Thursday night.© AP Photo/Alex Brandon President Donald Trump speaks at Mar-a-Lago after the U.S. fired a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria Thursday night.  The swift action is likely to be interpreted as a signal to Russia, as well as to countries such as North Korea, China and Iran where Trump has faced foreign policy tests early in his presidency, that he is willing to use force.

The strikes could cheer Assad's enemies, after months when Western powers appeared to grow increasingly resigned to his staying in power. But opposition figures said an isolated assault was far from the decisive intervention they have long sought.

The Syrian government and Moscow have denied that Syrian forces were behind the gas attack, but Western countries have dismissed their explanation that chemicals leaked from a rebel weapons depot after an air strike as not credible.

The Syrian army said the U.S. attack killed six people and called it "blatant aggression" which made the United States a partner of "terrorist groups" including Islamic State. There was no independent confirmation of civilian casualties.

RAISING STAKES IN THE SKIES

"President Putin views the U.S. strikes on Syria as aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law and on a made-up up pretext," said a Kremlin statement. "This step by Washington will inflict major damage on U.S.-Russia ties."

Moscow suspended communication with U.S. forces designed to stop planes colliding over Syria.
A Russian frigate carrying cruise missiles sailed through the Bosphorus Strait into the Mediterranean Sea, although there was no indication it was directly in response to U.S. action.

Several Western allies of the United States described the U.S. strikes as a proportionate response to Assad's suspected use of poison gas.

Iran, Assad's other main ally, denounced it.

Washington has long backed rebels fighting against Assad in a multi-sided civil war that has killed more than 400,000 people and driven half of Syrians from their homes since 2011.

The United States has been conducting air strikes against Islamic State militants who control territory in eastern and northern Syria, and a small number of U.S. troops are on the ground assisting anti-Islamic State militias.

Russia joined the war on Assad's behalf in 2015, action that decisively turned the momentum of the conflict in the Syrian government's favor. Although they support opposing sides in the war between Assad and rebels, Washington and Moscow both say they share a single main enemy, Islamic State.
Tuesday's attack was the first time since 2013 that Syria was accused of using sarin, a banned nerve agent it was meant to have given up under a Russian-brokered, U.N.-enforced deal that persuaded Obama to call off air strikes four years ago.

Video depicted limp bodies and children choking while rescuers tried to wash off the poison gas. Russian state television blamed rebels and did not show footage of victims.

(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Yara Bayoumy, Jonathan Landay, John Walcott, Lesley Wroughton, Patricia Zengerle, Roberta Rampton, David Brunnstrom and Matt Spetalnick in Washington, Megan Davies in New York and Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Writing by Peter Graff and Alistair Bell; Editing by Peter Millership and Giles Elgood)

Source:Routers
 

ENB Free KT Now Posters

Genocidal Colombo sentences 60-year-old Tamil activist to 20 years in prison

சமரன்: தமிழக விவசாயிகளின் டெல்கிப் போராட்டம் வெல்க!

சமரன்: தமிழக விவசாயிகளின் டெல்கிப் போராட்டம் வெல்க!: தமிழக விவசாயிகளின் டெல்கிப் போராட்டம் வெல்க! புதுடெல்லியில் ஜந்தர் மந்தர் பகுதியில் கடந்த 26-03-2017 முதல் 21 நாட்களாக (04 -04-2017), விவ...