Should This Surprise Anyone (Syria/U.N.)

Again, security council being held hostage by China and Russia.  They are fighting more sanctions on Syria's Assad regime because it would make their own crackdowns on civil rights illegitimate in their eyes and may make the world pressure them more for changes.  This is why the security council needs to be disbanded and a general vote on the floor of the main assembly with 50% + 1 vote wins.  It is the only real democratic way to do things and would put more pressure on the non democratic states to reform or be sanctioned themselves.

Russia, China resist U.N. Syria sanctions push: envoys

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS | Fri Aug 26, 2011 12:48pm EDT

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.S. and European push to impose U.N. Security Council sanctions on Syria for its bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators is meeting fierce resistance from Russia and China, U.N. diplomats said.

The United States, Britain, France, Germany and Portugal circulated a draft resolution that calls for sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, influential members of his family and close associates. They said they wanted to put the draft to a vote as soon as possible.

The measures are not as severe as U.S. sanctions in place and a proposed expansion of European Union steps against Damascus that would forbid the import of Syrian oil.

Diplomats said there are no plans for a vote yet.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin has hinted that Moscow would use its veto power to knock down the draft if it was put to a vote at the present time. Western diplomats said that Russia and China were refusing to discuss the draft.

"The Russians say they have no instructions," a diplomat told Reuters on Friday on condition of anonymity.

As a result, Western diplomats in New York said their capitals would have to get involved to persuade Moscow and Beijing to join negotiations on the draft resolution to reach a consensus among the 15 Security Council members.

"Clearly we need this to be unlocked at the capital level because there is very strong resistance from Russia and China," a diplomat said.

Brazil, India and South Africa have also been reluctant to sanction -- or even condemn -- Syria, whose five-month crackdown on demonstrators has killed at 2,200, according to U.N. figures from earlier this week.

But one diplomat said that the three powerful developing countries, all three of which aspire to one day become permanent members of an expanded Security Council, were now "constructively engaging on the text."

EMPTY CHAIRS

The council had scheduled an informal closed-door meeting of ambassadors on the draft sanctions resolution on Thursday afternoon, but the Chinese and Russian envoys boycotted the meeting, diplomats said.

"You see two permanent members of the Security Council who deliberately leave an empty chair," a diplomat said. "We hope that they will engage constructively."

Earlier this week Russian Ambassador Churkin told reporters that it was not the time to sanction Syria. After months of helping block any council action on Syria, Russia and China had backed an August 3 statement by the Security Council that condemned the government's crackdown and called for it to end.

Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa have repeatedly complained that the NATO intervention in Libya has gone far beyond the U.N. mandate to protect civilians from violence by the government the council approved in March. They say they do not want the same thing to happen in Syria.

Russia has long had close ties to Syria and is one of its main arms suppliers. One of the proposed sanctions is an arms embargo that would make it illegal for Russian firms to sell weapons to Damascus.

The sanctions would impose a travel ban on 22 of Assad's family and associates and an asset freeze on 23 Syrians, including Assad. Envoys said President Assad was excluded from the travel ban in order to give him an escape route.

"We want him to leave the country," a diplomat said.

The United States and EU have urged Assad to step down.

Gadhafi Done In Yet?

Libyan rebels ready knockout punch for Gadhafi

 

 

BY MISSY RYAN AND ULF LAESSING, REUTERS AUGUST 25, 2011 7:48 AM

 

 

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A Libyan rebel fighter helps his comrade who was injured by a sniper's bullet while fighting for the final push to flush out Maammar Gadhafi's forces in the Abu Slim area in Tripoli August 25, 2011.

Photograph by: Zohra Bensemra, Reuters

TRIPOLI - Hardened fighters streamed Thursday into Tripoli as Libya's rebels sought to deliver a knockout punch to Moammar Gadhafi's diehards and, backed by NATO, to flush out the elusive strongman.

Rebel commanders said they were also readying fresh attempts to advance against Gadhafi's forces defending his hometown Sirte, 360 kilometres east of Tripoli and to break a siege of Zuwarah, a town to the west.

They were being supported in their hunt for the wily Gadhafi by NATO, which according to Britain's Defence Minister Liam Fox is contributing intelligence and reconnaissance equipment.

An AFP reporter, meanwhile, discovered that French and British operatives are working with Libyan rebels as they press towards Sirte, amid reports British special forces SAS members were sent to Libya several weeks ago.

Leading the army of reinforcements into Tripoli were seasoned combatants from the city of Misrata, whose fellow fighters spearheaded the weekend assault that saw the Libyan capital swiftly overrun and Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound captured by Tuesday.

Rebel commanders said that while they control most of Tripoli, hot spots remain where sniper fire, rocket explosions and heavy weaponry make life dangerous.

The rebels are also hellbent on finding Gadhafi, so they can proclaim final victory in an uprising that began six months ago and was all but crushed by Gadhafi's forces before NATO warplanes gave crucial air support to the rebels.

Rebel leaders say they want to put Gadhafi on trial in Libya even though he also faces charges of crimes against humanity along with his son Seif al-Islam and spymaster Abdullah al-Senussi at the International Criminal Court.

The rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) on Wednesday offered a $1.7 million reward for the capture of the elusive strongman, dead or alive.

"The NTC supports the initiative of businessmen who are offering two million dinars for the capture of Moamer Gadhafi, dead or alive," NTC chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil said in the rebel capital Benghazi.

Jalil also offered amnesty to "members of (Gadhafi's) close circle who kill him or capture him."

The 69-year-old Gadhafi has not been seen in public for weeks and despite losing control of the oil-rich North African country he ruled with an iron first for 42 years is still managing to broadcast messages urging Libyans to drive out the "rats" — as he disparagingly calls the rebels.

He also claimed on Wednesday to have walked incognito on the streets of Tripoli without being recognized.

In the oil refinery town of Zuwaytina, the new eastern front about 150 kilometres southwest of the opposition's capital Benghazi, an AFP reporter saw French and British operatives working with Libyan rebels .

They are equipped with telecommunications equipment and housed in two shipping containers, within walking distance of the headquarters of Fawzi Bukatif, commander of the eastern front.

Britain's Defence Minister Liam Fox told Sky news on Thursday that NATO is providing "intelligence and reconnaissance assets to the NTC to help them track down Colonel Gadhafi and other remnants of the regime."

Fox however declined to comment on reports that Britain's SAS special forces were working with the Libyan rebels to track down Gadhafi.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper, quoting defence sources, said SAS members were sent to Libya several weeks ago and played a key role in co-ordinating the battle for Tripoli, which fell into rebel hands on Sunday.

In Tripoli's souk Al-Jumaa, the arrival of at least 60 Misrata rebels on Wednesday sparked joy among residents.

"We are very happy. Misrata's soldiers can win anything," said Taha Abu Zeid. "They could even win Afghanistan."

They were joined by rebels from as far west as the Nafusa mountains and as far east as Benghazi, as field commanders vowed to bring the capital under full rebel control.

Fighting is concentrated along the perimeters of Bab al-Aziziya and the neighbouring Abu Slim district, where Gadhafi reportedly released, armed and paid former prisoners to fight for his regime, although the streets were quiet Thursday after heavy fighting in the area the previous day.

Rebel commanders said Gadhafi forces were pounding insurgents holding the centre of Zuwarah, west of Tripoli, adding that they needed reinforcements to help them break the siege.

Rebels advancing towards Sirte were also blocked Wednesday in the town of Bin Jawad as loyalists kept up stiff resistance.

"Gadhafi's forces are still fighting, we are surprised. We thought they would surrender with the fall of Tripoli," rebel commander Fawzi Bukatif said.

Four Italian journalists kidnapped in Libya on Wednesday by forces loyal to Moamer Gadhafi, have been freed, the foreign ministry said in Rome.

The four were liberated around 9:30 a.m. GMT on Thursday, according to a ministry spokesman, who said the journalists "are now in a hotel with other Italian journalists" and "are well."

The NTC's number two leader, Mahmud Jibril, meanwhile called for "urgent" financial help at a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Milan on Thursday.

"This is an urgent call upon our friends," Jibril said , adding the "biggest disabling element" for the NTC "would be the failure to deliver services and salaries" in the post-Gadhafi period.

The NTC had in Doha on Wednesday sought five billion dollars in emergency aid from frozen assets at a meeting with foreign representatives from the Libya contact group.

The sum was twice that announced on Tuesday by Jibril.

But at the United Nations South Africa refused to lift a block on the United States unfreezing $1.5 billion of Libyan assets to buy humanitarian aid, setting up a diplomatic showdown at the Security Council.

South Africa insisted the council wait for the African Union to decide whether to recognize the NTC at a summit Thursday before approving the move.

© Copyright (c) AFP

Read more:http://www.leaderpost.com/news/Libyan+rebels+ready+knockout+punch+Gadhafi/5304563/story.html#ixzz1W3Wo7JvA

Just What is Going On In The World?

We have riots in the streets of London, Al Shabaab fighting to keep western aid from reaching millions of starving people in Africa, stock markets around the world on a roller coaster ride from hell, mass killing going on in Syria and an American president who has failed his people on the economy, just to name a few.

It is a world in turmoil, the likes we probably have not seen since the second world war and it doesn't look like it will get better any time soon.  Which begs the question, what can we do to fix things?  My common sense solutions below.

Our world for the most part has been living life like socialists for far too long. Even the right side of the political spectrum has been giving free hand outs far too often.  We need to get back to our roots, where people were not afraid to put in an honest days work, raise a family, and expect nothing from government unless it is an unforeseen circumstance such as drought, hurricanes, earthquakes and the like.  Far too often we look to government to step in when times are tough, instead of rolling up our sleeves and getting to work like our forefathers did.  If we truly want change we have to look inside ourselves and decide that change has to start from within.  We are the ones who need to change, we need to stop with the handouts, dig deep and get things done!

Solution for anarchy in London and everywhere else.  Make the people pay for their actions!  Too long have we allowed this kind of stuff to go on without serious consequences.  Sure, have your peaceful demonstrations but if you get out of line you are going to jail, it is that simple.  How many of these people would be out doing what they do if they knew that they would get much, much more than a slap on the wrist?  If the justice system actually enforced the law these people would be looking at years in jail.  It is time to make the justice system work the way it is supposed too and stop pandering to the far left.  This will bring people back down to earth and make them accountable for their actions.  The use of rubber bullets, tear gas, and other methods should be allowed as soon as the police see actions like this ongoing.  These anarchists will soon fall in line, or at least learn how to have a peaceful demonstration.

Starvation in Africa.  This can be called a man made disaster, yes the drought is out of our hands but the price of food has also played a very large roll in this.  The price of food is being driven by the countries such as China and India as well as others.  But also adding to this is the use of food products being used to produce fuels.  This action, especially in the U.S. and Canada has made grains much more expensive which in turn boosts costs of feeding livestock and other meats.  What needs to be done, especially in the States is a move to a more efficient product such as switchgrass.  This stuff can be grown anywhere and does not consume as much energy to produce biofuels.  The energy needs of the U.S. can also be alleviated by drilling for fuels at home.  There has been too much of this "not in my backyard" B.S. and for generations the U.S. has not allowed energy companies to drill some very large economical areas that would dramatically decrease the country's dependence on Middle Eastern oil.  This would mean jobs, taxes and much much more for the U.S. economy, something they dearly need.  But first the left need to get the hell out of the way and let the people who actually want to help the country do their job!  There is enough natural gas in the U.S. to last generations, which will buy them enough time to develop other means of energy that are currently under development.  It is a band aid on the problem but one that could tie them over until these new energy strategies come to fruition.

The U.S. economy and it's affect on the world as a whole.  The powers that be in Washington need to start working for the people and not for their own political agendas.  There needs to be serious cuts to spending, not this piece of junk that they tabled last week which does nothing to cut their debt.  It in fact allows the debt to grow to 20 trillion dollars by the year 2020.  20 Trillion Bucks!!!  You think things are bad now, just think what their debt rating will be like by 2020!  Everything needs to be cut, the people just need to wake up and realize that they will have to do with less.  Less government handouts, less entitlement spending, less government employment opportunities and yes, less unions and their constant drag on a nations ability to compete on the international stage.  But this goes back to the change we need to find within ourselves, it starts at home and then you can hold your politicians accountable.  The Nancy Pelosi's of the world need to be run out of politics and vote in someone who will make the tough decisions, not the easy ones that will garner a lot of votes.  It is this way of thinking that has gotten us into this mess and it needs to change or the mess will just keep piling up.  The people in the U.S. need to also get over the "I don't pay tax" way of thinking.  In order to get this debt paid down a national tax on consumption is a must.  Everyone pays it on goods and services, not just the rich, and middle class.  The nice thing about a consumption tax is that it is a fair system that will tax the rich way more because they obviously would consume much more than the lower classes.  The national consumption tax would bring in un-foretold amounts of income to the federal government and help them get their great country back on track.  Tea Party, GOP, DEMS, it doesn't matter who you are, get your act together and do what is right for the country!

The Middle East uprising has been a missed opportunity for the west to show that we are behind our fellow brothers and sisters.  Our politicians are too slow to react and typically the reaction is not strong enough to prove solidarity.  We need actions, not just words.  Add in the U.N. which is being run like a kangaroo court and needs to make wholesale changes in order for it to be legit once again.  The security council laws need to change to make it majority rule instead of giving the permanent members the ability to quash anything that they disagree with.  It is either that or do away with the security council and let the vote happen between all member nations of the U.N. where 50% plus one means action.  This ability by Russia and China to hand tie the security council from recommending action is ridiculous and has made the U.N. the laughing stock of the world.  It no longer is legitimate and unless changes happen it will remain this way.  For far too long the U.S. and it's allies have had to police the world at it's expense.  If any action is needed in the world it should be international law that all expenses are shared by those who are part of the U.N. and then all money recouped by the country that has needed the help.  Then the trillions of dollars the U.S. spends in taking action would come back the the U.S. people, sounds fair doesn't it?  It has cost the U.S. a trillion dollars or more going into Iraq and Iran to liberate them, should this money not be paid back over time?

These are just some common sense solutions to a few of the world's problems, there are many more problems of course but these are the major ones right now and if these changes are made the world's economy would have a chance at stabilizing and the markets would return to normal.  Again, it is time to hold our politicians accountable and right the ship before it gets consumed by the wave of socialism.

Just What is Going on at the United Nations?

CaMPBELL CLARK

OTTAWA— Globe and Mail Update

Posted on Monday, July 11, 2011 2:49PM EDT

Boycotting North Korean Term, John Baird Vows To Seek Reform Of UN Arms Panel

CAMPBELL CLARK

OTTAWA— Globe and Mail Update

Posted on Monday, July 11, 2011 2:49PM EDT

Canada will push for reforms to the UN’s disarmament agency, believing its problems go deeper than a rotating presidency that allows international pariah North Korea to serve as its chair, John Baird says.

The Harper government has decided to boycott the United Nations Conference on Disarmament for a month because it’s North Korea’s turn to take the helm.

But in a conference call with reporters Monday, the Foreign Affairs Minister said the UN agency – the forum for negotiating international arms-control treaties – has been so bogged down by efforts to reach unanimous consensus that it’s struggling to move forward.

“This group, in the past, has done a lot,” he said. “They have been successful on a number of important treaties. The CoD and its predecessors have negotiated major multi-multi-lateral arms limitations.”

The body did have a good work programme in 2009, but failed to implement it, he added.

“I think recently, they’ve struggled with the notion of requiring a consensus,” Mr. Baird said. “That means one country can prevent consensus on even the establishment of a work plan, let alone it being implemented.”

With its boycott, Canada is “seeking to try to reform the group so that it can be more successful in fulfilling its main mandate.”

Canadian representatives will return after Aug. 19, when North Korea cedes the chairmanship, with a proposal to change rules that see the chair rotate between each of the 65 members, Mr. Baird said.

North Korea, a repressive dictatorship, has developed nuclear weapons and is persistently cited as one of the world’s worst violators of human rights.

The Harper government has in the past occasionally chosen to make very public statements with boycotts at the UN, like walking out on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech to the General Assembly in 2009 or staying away from the UN-sponsored world conference on racism, which Ottawa called anti-semitic.

Mr. Baird said that in this instance failing to speak up would allow the UN’s credibility to be eroded. And he hinted the same problem might recur later this year when Iran becomes the chair.

Quitting the Conference on Disarmament appears, however, to have been a snap decision to make a show, rather than a planned policy.

Canada’s permanent representative to the UN’s office in Geneva, Marius Grinius, made remarks congratulating the North Koreans when they took over.

Mr. Baird rebuffed repeated questions about the ambassador’s statement, and why Mr. Grinius apparently didn’t know that Canada was about to drop out of the body for a month to protest Pyongyang’s chairmanship.

“Obviously I’m stating very clearly what the Canadian position is in this regard,” he said.

Separately, the Foreign Affairs Minister said it would be meaningless if the UN General Assembly recognized Palestinian statehood this fall.

He dismissed the Palestinian campaign to win recognition at the UN in a September vote as a public-relations move. Canada would be thrilled to welcome a new Palestinian state, Mr. Baird added, but only after peaceful negotiations with Israel.

Russia's Stance On Syria, "How Typical!"

Syria: Russia Opposes UN Bid To End Violence

4:16pm UK, Thursday June 09, 2011

Hannah Thomas-Peter, Sky News reporter, New York

Russia has said it is opposed to any UN Security Council resolution on Syria over President Assad's deadly crackdown on protesters.

Foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said the Damascus government must be allowed time to implement promised reforms.

He said: "We do not believe the Syrian issue is a subject for consideration by the Security Council, let alone the adoption of some kind of resolution.
"The situation in this country, in our view, does not present a threat to international peace and security."
The Moscow briefing comes on the second day of Security Council negotiations on a draft resolution, co-authored by the UK, France, Germany and Portugal.
The text condemns the Syrian government's crackdown on protesters, demands an immediate end to the violence, and calls on members to prevent the sale of arms to the country.
Speaking outside the Security Council on Wednesday, Britain's ambassador to the UN Sir Mark Lyall-Grant said: "We believe that the world should not stand silent in the face of the outrages that are happening.
"And we therefore hope that we'll be able to move to vote on the resolution in the coming days."

Syrian refugees wait to enter Turkey on the border

The US has said it strongly backs the resolution.
In order for it to be adopted, nine of the 15 members of the Security Council need to vote yes.
All five permanent members, (Britain, France, America, Russia and China), who each have the right to veto, must also agree.
Although Russia voted in favour of the Council's resolutions on Libya, the country has been deeply unhappy with the level of military intervention there.
The draft Syria resolution stops well short of sanctions, an arms embargo, and any involvement using foreign troops, but Russia is still fearful that it is the first step to Libya-style intervention.
One western diplomatic aide who is involved in the negotiations told Sky News Online the sponsors of the resolution were hoping for a formal vote by the end of the week.

Russia and its allies like India should be pressed on why they aren't support a non-binding resolution calling for restraint from all sides.

Western diplomatic aide

But on Russia, they were "hoping for the best, preparing for the worst", he claimed.
"Russia and its allies like India should be pressed on why they aren't support a non-binding resolution calling for restraint from all sides, a Syrian-led political reform process, and a non-binding call not to supply weapons to the whole of Syria, not just the regime," he said.
"Until now, they've blocked Security Council action on the grounds that it could make things worse.
"Well, things have got worse - last weekend saw the highest level of deaths yet, among both civilians and security forces.
"And there's certainly no political process emerging. Surely the Security Council should meet its minimum responsibilities by taking a position on this?"

Protesters want President Bashar Assad to step down

The aide indicated that countries like China, Brazil, and to some extent India were still sceptical of the draft text.
The diplomatic wrangling comes as human rights groups report the death toll in Syria has passed 1,100.
There are reports of over 1,500 people fleeing the country over the border into Turkey.
Residents in the northwestern Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughour have reportedly gone there, fearing a massacre of anti-regime protesters following an army mutiny.
Syrian state TV said 120 security personnel were killed by armed gangs. But locals claimed the men were killed after they refused to fire on civilians at a pro-democracy rally.
Activists said elite Syrian forces were heading for the town, while Turkey said it was preparing for a mass influx of refugees.
Syrian troops believed to be led by Assad's younger brother had almost surrounded the town, leaving open just one route to the border, according to activist Mustafa Osso.
A Turkish official said 1,000 Syrians crossed the border overnight, raising the number of refugees in the country to 1,600.
Because most independent media are banned from Syria, accounts and facts are very difficult to verify.