Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was born April 28, 1937 and died December 30, 2006. He was the fifth President of Iraq, holding that position from July 16, 1979 until 9 April 2003. He was one of the leading members of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, and afterward, the Baghdad-based Ba’ath Party and its regional organization Ba’ath Party, Iraq Region, which advocated ba’athism, an ideological marriage of Arab nationalism with Arab socialism. (Patricia Ramos, july 2013)

"The national security of America and the security of the world could be attained if the American leaders [..] become rational, if America disengages itself from its evil alliance with Zionism, which has been scheming to exploit the world and plunge it in blood and darkness, by using America and some Western countries.
What the American peoples need mostly is someone who tells them the truth, courageously and honestly as it is.
They don’t need fanfares and cheerleaders, if they want to take a lesson from the (sept. 11) event so as to reach a real awakening, in spite of the enormity of the event that hit America.
But the world, including the rulers of America, should say all this to the American peoples, so as to have the courage to tell the truth and act according to what is right and not what to is wrong and unjust, to undertake their responsibilities in fairness and justice, and by recourse to reason..."

Saddam Hussein, INA 15-9-2002

"The despot thinks he is just as God... What a nadir and mean fate!
The despot, as represented in this age, in our day, imagines he can enslave the people..
But they were born free. They were freed by God’s will through prophets and messengers, to be slaves only to Him and not to anyone of the people." Saddam Hussein, Iraq Daily 4-3-2003

A person with a God Complex may refuse to admit the possibility of their error or failure, even in the face of irrefutable evidence, intractable problems or difficult or impossible tasks.
The person is also highly dogmatic in their views, meaning the person speaks of their personal opinions as though they are unquestionably correct.
Someone with a god complex may exhibit no regard for the conventions and demands of society, and may request special consideration or privileges.

"That is the issue that will continue in this country... It is the eternal struggle between these two principles -- right and wrong -- throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time, and will ever continue to struggle.
The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings." Abraham Lincoln (October 15, 1858 Debate at Alton, Illinois)

"Happy day, when, all appetites controlled, all poisons subdued, all matter subjected, mind, all conquering mind, shall live and move the monarch of the world. Glorious consummation! Hail fall of Fury! Reign of Reason, all hail!" Abraham Lincoln (February 22, 1842 Temperance Address)

"...To be a human being among human beings, and remain one forever, no matter what misfortunes befall, not to become depressed, and not to falter - this is what life is, herein lies its task." Fyodor Dostoevsky (to his brother Mikhail, Dec. 22, 1849)

“All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action.
Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly.
“Do not therefore do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will meet Allah and answer your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone." Prophet Muhammad, Last Sermon

“Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you can not retain.” Saadi Shirazi (Persian poet & humanist, born in Shiraz, Iran, c. 1210)

"Holism is the most fundamental discovery of 20th century science. It is a discovery of every science from astrophysics to quantum physics to environmental science to psychology to anthropology.
It is the discovery that the entire universe is an integral whole, and that the basic organizational principle of the universe is the field principle: the universe consists of fields within fields, levels of wholeness and integration that mirror in fundamental ways, and integrate with, the ultimate, cosmic whole...."
"For many thinkers and religious teachers throughout this history, holism was the dominant thought, and the harmony that it implies has most often been understood to encompass cosmic, civilizational, and personal dimensions. Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Lord Krishna, Lao Tzu, and Confucius all give us visions of transformative harmony, a transformative harmony that derives from a deep relation to the holism of the cosmos."

About political holism

Political holism is based on the recognition that "we" are all members of a single whole. There's no "they," even though "we" are not all alike. Because "we" are all part of the whole, and therefore interdependent, we benefit from cooperating with each other. Political holism is a way of thinking about human cultures and nations as interdependent.
Political holists search for solutions other than war to settle international disagreements. Their model of the world is one in which cooperation and negotiation, even with the enemy, even with the weak, promotes political stability more than warfare.
In an overpopulated world with planet-wide environmental problems, the development of weapons of mass destruction has rendered war obsolete as an effective means to resolve disputes.

Political dualists consider political holists unpatriotic for questioning the necessity to defeat "them." In times of impending war, political dualists tend to measure patriotism by the intensity of one's hostility to the country's immediate enemy.
Naturally, they would view as disloyalty any suggestion that the enemy is not evil, any call for cooperation with the enemy, any criticism of one's own country.
To political dualists, cooperation with the enemy means capitulation, relinquishment of the nation's position of dominance.

At its extreme, political dualism is essentially tribalism. (Betty Craige, 16-8-1997)

"The West creates enemies; in the past it was the communism then it became Islam, and then it became Saddam Hussein for a different reason. Now, they want to create a new enemy represented by Bashar. That's why they say that the problem is the president so he has to leave. That is why we have to focus of the real problem, not to waste our time listening to what they say." (Bashar al-Assad, 9-11-2012)

The policy should be to help peace in the region, to fight terrorism, to promote secularism, to support this area economically, to help upgrade the mind and society like you did in your country. That is the supposed mission of the United States, not to launch wars. Launching war doesn’t make you a great power." (Bashar Al-Assad, 26-1-2015)

Baghdad again considered the worst place to live.
Reuters|Al-Arabiya, 14 March 2017

What have we learned? "We learned a lot. We learned that while life is not fair, death is even less fair - it takes the good people. Even in death you can be unlucky. Lucky ones die a ‘normal’ death… A familiar death of cancer, or a heart-attack, or stroke. Unlucky ones have to be collected in bits and pieces. Their families trying to bury what can be salvaged and scraped off of streets that have seen so much blood, it is a wonder they are not red... We learned that you can be floating on a sea of oil, but your people can be destitute. Your city can be an open sewer; your women and children can be eating out of trash dumps and begging for money in foreign lands." riverbendblog, 9-4-2013

Vienna, Austria's grand capital on the Danube river, has topped a list of cities offering the highest quality of life for the eighth year in a row, while Baghdad is again considered the worst place to live. The survey of 231 cities helps companies and organizations determine compensation and hardship allowances for international staff. It uses dozens of criteria such as political stability, health care, education, crime, recreation and transport. Global centers London, Paris, Tokyo and New York City did not even make the top 30, lagging behind most big German, Scandinavian, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian cities. Singapore was the highest ranked Asian city, at 25 while 29th-placed San Francisco was the United States' highest entry. Top of the list in Africa was South Africa's Durban at 87. Vienna's 1.8 million inhabitants benefit from the city's cafe culture and museums, theatres and operas. Rents and public transport costs in the city, whose architecture is marked by its past as the centre of the Habsburg empire, are cheap compared with other western capitals. Switzerland's Zurich, New Zealand's Auckland, Germany's Munich and Canada's Vancouver followed Vienna in the top five of most pleasant cities to live in. Baghdad was again ranked lowest in the world. Waves of sectarian violence have swept through the Iraqi capital since the US-led invasion in 2003. Six years into Syria's bloody war, Damascus was ranked seventh from bottom, with Bangui in the Central African Republic, Yemeni capital Sanaa, Haiti's Port-au-Prince, Sudan's Khartoum and Chad's N'Djamena filling out the end of the list.

New round of Syria peace talks opens in Astana
without armed opposition (Islamist rebels)
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey, 14-3-2017

A third round of Russian and Turkey-backed talks on the Syrian war opened in the Kazakh capital Astana on March 14 without armed rebel groups, leaving little hope for a breakthrough in ending the six-year conflict. The talks, sponsored by regime allies Russia and Iran and rebel-backer Turkey, come as other diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed have proved fruitless.
The talks were derailed as rebels boycotted the new round of meetings in Astana and the Kremlin indicated there were international divisions over the process.
Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s most powerful ally, said the rebels’ reasons for staying away were unconvincing and their decision came as a surprise. Describing the rebels as Turkish proxies, the Syrian government envoy said Ankara had broken “its commitments” to the Astana process.
The rebels said they would not attend the talks, scheduled for March 14 and March 15, because of what they called Russia’s unwillingness to end air strikes on rebel-held areas and its failure to get the Syrian army and Iranian-backed militia to abide by a cease-fire.

Russia has sought to revive diplomacy over Syria since its air force helped government forces defeat rebel groups in eastern Aleppo in December last year, Assad’s biggest victory of the war.
The cooperation of Turkey, one of the main backers of rebel groups fighting in northern Syria, has been crucial to the Russian diplomatic effort, helping to broker a cease-fire in December after the rebels’ Aleppo defeat.
Two previous rounds of Astana talks have sought to consolidate that cease-fire, reflecting an improvement in Russian-Turkish ties that had been strained to breaking point by the Syrian war.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Russian Defence Ministry was in touch with Syrian rebel leaders who boycotted the talks, the Interfax news agency reported. He said Russia was dealing with the situation.

Syria’s UN envoy: "Turkey should explain why militants missed peace talks"
By Paul Antonopoulos, Al-Masdar News, 14/03/2017

BEIRUT, LEBANON – Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari, said that Turkey should be questioned over the absence of armed opposition groups from the latest round of Syria peace talks in Astana on Tuesday:
“We are extremely interested in Astana being successful, and for the negotiations to be safely completed, for the sake of the Syrian people. Whether or not there are representatives from armed groups here or not. I believe that this position is shared by the majority of participants in the Astana talks.”
Jaafari went on to explain that the presence of the opposition did not matter: “As a delegation from the Syrian Arab Republic, we did not primarily come here to meet with a delegation of armed opposition groups. We came here to meet two guarantors – Russia and Iran – who are our allies. And to demonstrate our serious intentions, the seriousness of the intentions of the Syrian government to participate in the Astana process. The issue of their presence or absence does not directly concern us,” he explained.
“The absence of a delegation from armed groups at the Astana talks tells us that the Syrian government’s point of view is correct and also reveals the real political vulnerabilities of these armed groups – that they aren’t actually independent. In other words, it’s not the groups that decide whether they will be present or not, but those who use them.
Thus, this issue is political and it concerns the three guarantors. If one of these three guarantors violates its obligations – I mean Turkey – then it is Turkey that should be questioned about why some groups are not present at the current round of negotiations,” he continued.

Arab tribes (backed by Qatar & Saudi Arabia)
form army against PYD/PKK, Daesh & Assad in Syria
Daily Sabah, Turkey, 14-3-2017

Adel al-Jubeir: "Don't forget Iran!

Arab tribe leaders, whose lands were invaded by the PYD/PKK and Daesh terror organizations, gathered in Turkey's southeastern province of Şanlıurfa to discuss military and political cooperation between the tribes.
The meeting was held at Harran Hotel, and a total of 50 tribe leaders coming from Syria's Raqqa, Al-Hasakah and Deir Ezzor regions agreed to form "The Army of Al Jazira and Euphrates tribes" to put an end to the invasion of their lands by Daesh and the PYD.
Mudar Hamad Al-Essaad, spokesperson for the High Council of Syrian Tribes, signed a written statement expressing the purpose of the tribal army to clear the area from terror organizations.
The army is planned to be led by Free Syrian Army (FSA) commanders, the statement elaborated.
Tribe leader Sheikh Rafi er-Raco Ukla, who made the opening speech at the meeting, stated that the United States was supporting the PYD, adding that the terror group was no different than Daesh.
"The PYD has displaced numerous families and forced Arabs in more than 50 villages to emigrate," Ukla said.
Ukla also called for the international community to help them clear the Euphrates and Al Jazira regions of Syria of the spread of terrorism by Daesh, the PYD and the Assad regime.
The leaders also thanked Turkey for accepting three million refugees into the country, and Qatar and Saudi Arabia for their support

Saudi deputy crown prince &
"The danger of Iran's regional expansionist activities"
Reuters, 14-3-2017

Saudi Arabia hailed a "historical turning point" in U.S.-Saudi relations after a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman highlighted the two leaders' shared view that Iran posed a regional security threat.
"The meeting today restored issues to their right path and form a big change in relations between both countries in political, military, security and economic issues," a senior adviser to Prince Mohammed said in a statement>
Saudi Arabia had viewed with unease the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, whom they felt considered Riyadh's alliance with Washington less important than negotiating the Iran nuclear deal.
Riyadh and other Gulf allies see in Trump a strong president who will shore up Washington’s role as their main strategic partner and help contain Riyadh's adversary Iran.
The deputy crown prince viewed the nuclear deal as "very dangerous", the senior adviser said, adding that both leaders had identical views on "the danger of Iran's regional expansionist activities". The White House has said the deal was not in the best interest of the United States.
Iran denies interference in Arab countries.

Bahram Qasemi : Iran’s regional influence not based on militarism
IRNA - Tehran, March 3, 2017

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said that Iran's influence in the region is not a hardware one and has not been based on militarism. Qasemi made the remarks when asked to comment about the recent reports by certain media and voices of concern by some regional officials about Iran's growing influence in the region.
Iran’s influence is spiritual, cultural and inherent which cannot be achieved with money, weapons and propaganda, the spokesman said.
Iran’s influence is not a hardware one necessarily based on militarism, Qasemi said, adding that one can simply figure out this reality with a comparison between the costs made by Iran and other military indicators of Iran with those of other regional and world powers.
He said that Tehran’s influence is based on respect for sovereignty and independence of other countries and refusing to intervene in domestic affairs of regional states.

saudi-based salafist al-ahrour - saudi-backed ahrar-al-sham - ahrour supporting islamic-front-leader alloush

“Any country has its own means. Isn’t it true that Saudi Arabia is pursuing Wahhabism and Salafism by the means of money, weapons, al-Qaeda, Daesh and al-Nusra?”
Regional influence of Islamic Republic of Iran is not a threat to any regional country and Iran’s essential goal in the region is good neighborliness, the spokesman said.

Trump & Saudi Arabia
By Juan Cole | March 15, 2017

Trump is meeting this week with Muhammad bin Salman, the deputy heir apparent of the Saudi Arabian throne and the minister of defense. He had lunch with him at the White House on Tuesday, and will have more extended talks on Thursday, according to white House spokesman Sean Spicer. Here are some of the main disputes between Trump and Saudi Arabia.

1. Syria. - Syria is the most important dispute, and the one Trump is least likely to give way on. Trump has repeatedly expressed support for Bashar al-Assad and for the Russian intervention in Syria, at one point suggesting that if Russian president Vladimir Putin wishes to deal with radicalism in Syria, we should let him.
Trump’s positions on Syria are diametrically opposite from what the Saudi elite want. They have a proxy group among the rebels, the Army of Islam, made up of Salafis or fundamentalists with an extreme anti-Shiite ideology. This group is now leading the rebel side in Russian-sponsored negotiations with the regime.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry admitted that the US views the Army of Islam as a terrorist group only one step removed from al-Qaeda.

2. Yemen. - Muhammad b. Salman is credited with pushing for the Saudi-led coalition’s air war on Yemen in an attempt to unseat the Helpers of God party-militia, popularly known as the Houthis.
Yemen was ruled by a Zaydi Shiite theocratic leader, or Imam, in the mid-twentieth century, but he was unseated by a revolution led by Arab nationalist officers in the 1960s. During the civil war, the Saudi royal family supported the Imam and the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser supported the young Arab nationalists. In 1978 one of the nationalist officers, Ali Abdullah Saleh, came to power, and ruled as a president for life until early 2012.
Saleh was overthrown by the 2011-2012 revolution. He was succeeded via national referendum by his vice president, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. In September of 2014 the rural Zaydi revolutionaries, the Houthis, marched into the capital of Sanaa and took over, in stealth cooperation with Saleh and his loyalists.
By spring 2015 Muhammad B. Salman had decided to intervene to put Mansour Hadi back in power and to push the Houthis back to their rural northern homeland. The Saudi bombings have hit hospitals, schools, weddings and created a huge refugee crisis, and have caused millions to go to bed hungry.

3. ISIL - Trump complained during the presidential campaign that Saudi Arabia was not doing anything special to combat Daesh (ISIS, ISIL). Trump is correct that defeating Daesh has been a very, very low priority for Riyadh. Arguably, they’d have done the world a favor if they had bombed Daesh intensively and left Yemen alone.

4. Iran - Riyadh is distressed that international economic pressure on Iran has been dramatically lessened and that Iran is free to continue to seek spheres of influence in the neighborhood. Iran has beaten Saudi Arabia in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and in Western Afghanistan. Prince Muhammad will impress upon Trump the desirability of continuing the US unilateral sanctions against Iran, and the need to contain it.
It does not now appear that Trump will in fact tear up the nuclear deal. He can be depended to take a hard line with Iran, and to continue the Treasury Department sanctions on Tehran. But he is with Russia in Syria, which means he is willy nilly with Iran in Syria. So it is hard to see what the prince can get from Trump with regard to Iran except some tough talk.

Head of UN's ESCWA forced to withdraw report on 'apartheid' Israel
Daily Sabah (Turkey), 17-3-2016

“Wherever they may be, Palestinians have suffered from the discriminatory policies pursued by successive Israeli Governments. Attempts by one ethnic or religious group to dominate another are inherently no different from the apartheid regime that the world thought had been eradicated in South Africa in the 1990s.” Rima Khalaf, Palestine day, 5-12-2016

UN official Rima Khalaf announced her resignation Friday, saying the secretary general had asked her to withdraw a report in which she accused Israel of being an "apartheid state".
Khalaf, under-secretary general and executive secretary at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), told a news conference: "The secretary general asked me yesterday morning to withdraw (the report). I asked him to rethink his decision, he insisted, so I submitted my resignation from the UN."
"We expected of course that Israel and its allies would put huge pressure on the secretary general of the UN so that he would disavow the report, and that they would ask him to withdraw it," she added.
On Wednesday,the United States demanded that Secretary General Antonio Guterres withdraw an ESCWA report accusing Israel of imposing apartheid on the Palestinians.
Guterres had distanced himself from the report entitled "Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid". The report concluded that "available evidence established beyond a reasonable doubt that Israel is guilty of policies and practices that constitute the crime of apartheid".

ESCWA , based in Beirut, is comprised of 18 Arab countries according to its website, which lists the state of Palestine as a full member.
Member states: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, The Sudan, The Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, The United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
The Economic Commission for Western Asia (ECWA) was established on 9 August 1973. Its purpose was to stimulate economic activity in member countries, strengthen cooperation between them promote development.

Objectives: To support economic and social development in member countries. To promote interaction and cooperation between member countries. To encourage the exchange of experience, best practice and lessons learned. To achieve regional integration and ensure interaction between Western Asia and other regions. To raise global awareness of the circumstances and needs of member countries.

Read also: Juan Cole, 17-3-2017
Why the UN branded Israel an Apartheid state

Thousands stage anti-militia protests in Libya's capital
Rami Musa, Associated Press, March 17, 2017

Thousands of Libyans have staged mass demonstrations in a rare show of defiance against powerful militias encroaching into Libya's capital, Tripoli, after days of clashes that have effectively chopped the city into warring fiefdoms.
Pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft weapons attacked the Friday protests, forcing many to flee, according to TV network Libya Channel.
Protesters chanted slogans against the militias and called for a unified army and police.
Some voiced support for the eastern-based army commander Khalifa Haftar, who is opposed by his Tripoli-based rivals which include the U.N.-brokered government and militias in the capital.
"We won't go home until our demands are met," said 27-year-old protester Mohamed Zein. "We ask for all militias that have come from outside of Tripoli to leave immediately."

The LNA (Libyan National Army) and its leader Khalifa Haftar say they are working to rid Libya of Islamist extremism and militia rule. They have gradually extended their control over most parts of eastern Libya.

Evacuation begins in last neighborhood held by opposition in Syria’s Homs
Daily Sabah (Turkey), 18-3-2017

Residents and fighters began leaving an opposition-held district in the central Syrian city of Homs, around a week after a ceasefire agreement was reached with the regime, state media and a monitoring group reported.
More than 1,500 people are expected to be evacuated from the neighborhood of al-Waer on Saturday, including around 500 rebels, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Homs governor Talal Barazi told Reuters 400 to 500 fighters would evacuate on Saturday, along with their family members.
The convoy will take them to the city of Jarablus, near the border to Turkey. Jarablus is controlled by the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), dubbed Euphrates Shield, the Observatory added.
The state-run SANA news agency reported that the evacuation is supervised by the Syrian Red Crescent as well as Russian and Syrian troops. The deal had been negotiated between a Russian team and rebels, stipulating that around 12,000 people will leave al-Waer area, among them 2,500 fighters.
Al-Waer is the only neighborhood still under opposition-control in Homs after regime troops took over the city in 2014. It has been besieged by regime forces for about five months. An estimated 50,000 people are believed to be living in al-Waer, down from about 300,000 before the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011.

Turkey: "Transfer Raqqa to the 'new Syrian' administration"
Antalya meet fails to convince US, Russia on Turkish role in Raqqa
Murat Yetkin, Hurriyet Daily News (Turkey) 18-3-2017

Turkey failed to convince the United States and Russia to allow it to assume active participation in retaking the Syria town of Raqqa from the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), or DAESH, on the condition of stopping collaboration with the People’s Protection Units (YPG), diplomatic sources in Ankara have told the Hürriyet Daily News.
The sources also said that, even though none of them are yet at the implementation stage officially, the current scenarios to take Raqqa from ISIL have no active place for Turkey.

The Turkish plan for Raqqa was presented by Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar to U.S. Chairman of Joint Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford and Russian Chief of Armed Forces Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov during two days of meetings in the Turkish Mediterranean resort of Antalya on March 7-8.
The Turkish plan basically said the U.S. should drop the YPG as a partner, remove the Arab elements from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and combine the elements with the Turkey-backed Free Syria Army (FSA) rebels.
Then, with the help of the Turkish and U.S. armies, they would clear Raqqa of ISIL and establish a system under the “moderate opposition” there and transfer the city to the “new Syrian” (FSA) administration.

Flashback: "Economic Terrorism: Destroying Syria’s Industry, Turkey Stealing and Looting Aleppo’s Factories"
Global Research, 18-1-2013

The State Department said they were considering continuing with the YPG and that they do not consider the YPG a terrorist organization, unlike the PKK. And CENTCOM said they deployed an artillery unit with 400 soldiers to Syria as the first batch of heavy weaponry there, possibly as a message to Turkey that they do not need its help in bringing in heavy weapons which are necessary for the Raqqa operation.

Iranians celebrating oil industry nationalization on March 19
By Hamid Shamlou, Tehran, March 19, IRNA

The oil industry was nationalized on a day like today 67 years ago during the premiership of late Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh.

The colonial powers used to extract and benefit from Iran’s oil industry before nationalization of oil industry in the country.
During the 1890s, research and reports were being published that Iran had great oil potential. Some advisors of British tycoon William Knox D'Arcy made D'Arcy aware of these reports and promised him wealth if he invested in this venture. D'Arcy agreed and sent out representatives to Tehran to win a concession that would give him the exclusive rights to prospect for oil in Iran.
In 1901, William Knox D'Arcy and Mozzafar al-Din Shah of Iran signed an oil contract which was later named D'Arcy Concession. D’Arcy Concession was a petroleum oil concession which gave D'Arcy the exclusive rights to prospect for oil in Iran..
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company took over the concession in 1909.
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) was a British company founded in 1908 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Iran. It was the first company to extract petroleum from Iran.
In 1935 APOC was renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) and in 1954 it became the British Petroleum Company (BP), one of the antecedents of the modern BP public limited company.
In September 1941, the laborers of Iran’s South Oil company grouped in Khuzestan Oil Workers Syndicate to struggle against Britain’s colonial role in Iran’s oil industry.
Later in March 1951, the Iranian parliament voted to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) and its holdings, and shortly thereafter the Iranian public elected a champion of nationalization, Mohammad Mossadegh, Prime Minister.
The nationalization of oil industry is celebrated ever since in Iran every year.

"Der Putsch war nur ein Vorwand"
Germany not 'convinced' Gulen behind failed Turkey coup
Gulf Times (Qatar) March 18, 2017

Germany's intelligence chief on Saturday said that US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen was not the mastermind behind a failed July 15 coup aimed at ousting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"Turkey has tried on different levels to convince us of that fact, but they have not succeeded," foreign intelligence service chief Bruno Kahl told the German daily Der Spiegel.
Turkish authorities have blamed the attempted putsch that left 248 people dead on a rogue military group led by Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999. Gulen has strongly denied the accusations, but Ankara has repeatedly demanded his extradition.
"What we saw following the putsch would have happened regardless, maybe not on the same scale and with such radicalism," Kahl said. "The putsch was just a welcome pretext," he added, referring to the unprecedented wave of purges Turkey has initiated since last summer.
"Before July 15, a big purge by the government was already underway. That's why a part of the military thought they needed to quickly commit a coup before they were also affected (by the purges)," he said. "But it was too late and they too were also subject to purges."

Turkish authorities have arrested more than 41,000 people, and fired or suspended 100,000, since the attempted coup. Many are teachers, police, magistrates or journalists.
Last month, authorities ordered the dismissal of nearly 4,500 civil servants, including 2,585 employees of the education ministry, 893 members of the gendarmerie and 88 workers at the public television channel TRT. About 170 media outlets have also been closed and nearly 800 press cards cancelled, according to journalists' associations.

Kahl said Gulen's movement is "a civil association of continuing religious and secular education" which "for decades has cooperated" with Erdogan -- and not a terrorist movement, as Ankara claims.
The movement promotes moderate Islam and runs a network of private schools in Turkey and the US, as well as a range of businesses, media outlets and cultural centres.

Read more: Erdogan begins Purge of Judiciary, Army

Assad: The American policy is based on many standards
"What's the real intention of the whole plan"
TASS Russian News Agency, March 20, 2017

Syria’s authorities are ready to discuss the country’s new constitution but want to know who will take part in the Geneva talks, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Russian journalists on Monday.
"The problem is that we went to Astana recently, as you know, the other delegation, the delegation of the militants, didn't join that meeting, they didn't go to Astana, and we all believe that this is the negative influence of the Turks. So, how can we start something concrete if you don't have a partner?"
Assad stressed that any military operation in Syria without the approval of Damascus is illegal. "We all know that the coalition has never been serious about fighting ISIS or the terrorists, so we have to think about the real intention of the whole plan, if there's a plan to liberate al-Raqqa. To liberate it from who? From ISIS? To give it to who?

The level of military support for the country from Russia is "good and effective" and can be increased if necessary, he added. "We discussed in details the requirements to support the Syrian Army," he said. "For this stage, the Russian support by air raids was enough for the Syrian Army to advance on different fronts... the level of support is good and effective."
Assad said that "the American policy is based on many standards, not double; they have maybe ten standards because they don't base their policy on values or on international law; they base it on their own vision, their own interests, sometimes on the balance of different lobbies and powers within the American institutions. We all know that."

Russian lawmaker: Political issues of Syrian crisis can be solved in Astana
TASS, Russian Politics & Diplomacy, March 21, 2017

The Astana format can be used for solving both military and political issues of the Syrian crisis, head of Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament) Committee for Foreign Affairs Leonid Slutsky said.
While visiting the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the opposing sides in Syria, based at the Hmeimim Air Base, he reiterated that "in Astana, talks on a new Syrian constitution may be held with representatives of opposing groups."
Slutsky also said that mainly military experts took part in the Astana meetings. "The Astana talks particularly aim at ensuring an early reconciliation and encouraging the highest number of settlements to join the ceasefire," he noted. He pointed out that Russia, Turkey and Iran acted as guarantors at the Astana talks.
"However, Turkey insists that in Astana, it is necessary to focus on military issues particularly related to ensuring the ceasefire," the Russian senator said.
According to him, Moscow believes that the talks agenda can be expanded. "But taking into consideration Ankara’s position, the constitution process is mainly taking place at the Geneva talks," Slutsky added.
He also said that at the next round of the Geneva talks set to be launched on March 23, the proposal to set up a working group for the development of the constitutional process in Syria could be implemented.
On Monday, members of the Russian delegation discussed this idea with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Libya: Gharyan tribesmen release
Qaddafi commander after five years
By Jamie Prentis. Libya Herald, March 2017

A former Qaddafi colonel from Tarhuna, captured five years ago in Gharyan, has been released, following negotiations between tribal elders from the two towns. Sasi Al-Ghani Al-Tarhouni, who fought under Qaddafi during the 2011 revolution, was seen today in social media images being greeted by friends and family.
Meanwhile, a faction from the Gharyan tribe has announced its backing for Khalifa Hafter and House of Representatives leader Ageela Salah.

The group disowned controversial grand mufti Sheikh Sadiq Ghariani.
They said his inflammatory comments supporting Islamist militants had inflicted a great deal of suffering on the community from which his family originally springs.
Ghariani, resolutely anti-Hafter and anti-Serraj, has backed the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) currently fighting Hafter’s Libyan National Army. He also been frequently accused of inciting violence by backing IS and Ansar Al-Sharia terrorists.
The Gharyan group said the sheikh’s fatwas encouraged war and caused Libyans “to fight each other”.
They insisted he was an isolated figure and had no support in Gharyan. They also blamed Al-Nabaa TV and Tanasuh TV, the latter owned by Ghariani, for “misleading” the public.

Al-Gharyani is considered by some a hero of the revolution, since early on in the uprising against Gadhafi he issued a fatwa or religious edict permitting war against his regime.

flashback 2011: france, uk & mr. levy ('a friend of sarkozy'), supporting islamist rebels

British MP urges London’s support for the LNA and HoR
By Jamie Prentis, Libya Herald, 21 March 2017

Britain must “urgently engage” with Khalifa Hafter and the Libyan National Army (LNA), a report has recommended, following the visit of a delegation led by a British MP to east Libya earlier this month.
London should also reconsider its view of the Presidency Council’s (PC) Government of National Accord (GNA) “and acknowledge its limited capacity to deliver any kind of governance or security for Libya.”
Earlier this month, a mission led by Kwasi Kwarteng MP visited Hafter in Marj and House of Representatives’ (HoR) president Ageela Saleh in Tobruk. Although made up of members of the UK’s ruling Conservative Party, it was not an official British government group.

The delegation commented on the large degree of stability they saw in the east. They did however mention seeing the long queues for cash at banks.They concluded that the LNA had a role to play in combating the smuggling of migrants.
Meanwhile, the PC was described as reliant on Islamist militias and “not democratic”. They described Britain’s support for the PC as “baffling.” They said PC head Faiez Serraj is derided in the east as an “ineffectual figurehead.”
While the HoR was called a “flawed and somewhat disorganised body,” they believed that it nonetheless offered a “starting point for Libya’s democratic development...

"Russian Forces Out - Victory for the Revolution"
Ikhwanweb: The Muslim Brotherhood Website, 17-3-2017

After his traitorous endeavors to serve his Zionist masters in Israel by displacing residents of Egypt's Sinai peninsula, the coup commander Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi intensifies his efforts against the Libyan revolution and the will of the Libyan people, by enlisting the help of the Russian military to support his Libya conspirators against the February 17 revolution there.
Sisi the putschist brought in Russian troops and allowed them to establish military bases in western Egypt, to be ready to intervene in Libya and destroy it, as they did in Syria. But hopefully Libya rebels are tougher warriors, and will not allow Sisi and the Russians to occupy Libyan sovereign territories and install a retired general to rule over them against their will.
In solidarity with the Libyan people and their revolution, the (Muslim Brotherhood) 'Anti-Coup Alliance' calls for a new revolutionary week entitled "Russian Forces Out".
We will not forget the Russians' crimes against the Syrian people and their revolution, nor their crimes against the Chechen people and their revolution.
Nor we will forget their support for Sisi's treasonous coup. We will not forget any crimes committed by the Russians against the Libyan people and their revolution.
Victory for the Revolution..

Lavrov notes militants stepping up activity in Syria to disrupt Geneva talks
TASS, Russian Politics & Diplomacy, March 22, 2017

The growing activities of militants in Syria aim at disrupting the Geneva talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
"As for the militants’ attempts to raise tensions in Syria by stepping up their military activities and carrying out more terrorist attacks, they are aimed at disrupting or complicating the Geneva talks, there can be no doubt about that," he said.
"The same thing happened before the recent Astana meeting (held on March 14-15) when some external forces did everything possible to prevent the opposition from going to Astana."
"They cited ceasefire violations," Lavrov pointed out. "Though the Astana platform was set up particularly to solve issues concerning the ceasefire and agree on a mechanism for responding to violations."
"So if someone is concerned over ceasefire violations, they should participate in the work aimed at making the necessary decisions," Lavrov said. He added that he expected that all those, who had been invited, would come to Geneva and all Syrian parties would have a meaningful conversation.

President al-Assad calls for adopting a collective pan-Arab project
Syrian Arab News Agency, 22 March 2017

President Bashar al-Assad met on Wednesday a delegation of the Popular Front for the Tunisian national parties.
During the meeting, the President stressed that one of the most dangerous manifestations of the terrorist war waged on Syria and the region is that it aims at undermining the Arab identity and culture and deforming the concept of affiliation to Arabism and the homeland through disseminating extremist mentality that is based on cancelling the other.

The President highlighted the important role political parties and popular organizations could play in confronting this intellectual and cultural war by means of looking into the reasons that have caused the decline of the Arab situation and working on adopting a collective progressive pan-Arab project through a deep party and social dialogue.

For their part, members of the Tunisian delegation stressed that Syria is being targeted in this ferocious and unprecedented way because it is the last gate of the Resistance against the Western and Zionist projects and because it has always been and will remain the upholder of the Arab nationalism.
They also expressed their solidarity with Syria and its people and their appreciation of the exceptional resilience the Syrians have shown in the face of the terrorist war they are being subjected to

Bashar al-Assad, speech 10-1-2012 The social structure of the Arab world, with its large diversity, is based on two strong and integrated pillars: Arabism and Islam. Both of them are great, rich and vital. Consequently, we cannot blame them for the wrong human practices. Furthermore, the Muslim and Christian diversity in our country is a major pillar of our Arabism and a foundation of our strength. We should always know that Arabism is an identity not a membership. Arabism is an identity given by history not a certificate given by an organization. Arabism is an honor that characterizes Arab peoples not a stigma carried by some pseudo-Arabs on the Arab or world political stage. ... The last thing in Arabism is race. Arabism is a question of civilization, a question of common interests, common will and common religions. It is about the things which bring about all the different nationalities which live in this place. The strength of this Arabism lies in its diversity not in its isolation and not in its one colordness. Arabism hasn’t been built by the Arabs. Arabism has been built by all those non-Arabs who contributed to building it and those who belong to this rich society in which we live. Its strength lies in its diversity. ... The strength of our Arabism lies in openness, diversity and in showing this diversity - not integrating it to look like one component. Arabism has been accused for decades of chauvinism. This is not true. If there are chauvinistic individuals, this doesn’t mean that Arabism is chauvinistic. It is a condition of civilization.

Kurdish-led SDF welcomes Syrian Army participation in coming Raqqa offensive
By Renato Velez - Al-Masdar News, 24/03/2017

A spokesperson from the Kurdish-led “Syrian Democratic Forces” (SDF) declared his organization welcomes the participation of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the coming operations to kick Islamic State (ISIS) forces out of their de-facto captial, Raqqa.
In declarations to the Syrian newspaper Al-Watan, Talal Silo claimed the SDF has always stated that the Syrian people have the right to liberate their areas, and that the Syrian Army is an essential part of the Syrian homeland and people.
The Syrian Army have the right to do what “others” shouldn’t do, he said, rejecting any kind of Turkish involvement in the coming operations.
Silo also claimed that, with US support, the SDF are now between 10 to 15 days ahead of reaching the borders of Raqqa city. He highlighted that any kind of SAA involvement in the Raqqa operation will be discussed with the main SDF partner, the US-led Coalition.
The Syrian Arab Army – spearheaded by their elite “Tiger Forces” – is currently engaging ISIS in the Maskanah Plains in eastern Aleppo; a potential offensive towards Raqqa by the SAA will advance from the Maskanah and the Itriyah axes.
Silo’s remarks came days after growing coordination and cooperation between Syrian and Kurdish forces, and their backers, the Russia and the US.
Weeks ago, Syrian and Russian forces were deployed in and around the city of Manbij in northern Aleppo, creating a buffer to prevent an impending Turkish offensive agains those areas; humanitarian and trade corridors were also established between Manbij and Aleppo city.

Talal Silo: Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other sides are preventing official recognition of us
Hawar News Agency, 10-10-2016

"Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and some of the Gulf states are influencing the international community which is consequently refusing to officially recognize us” during our meetings with the global coalition particularly US, we demanded them to recognize us officially, and they promised us but has not till now kept their promises clearly indicating that the Gulf states and Turkey are standing as an obstacle to this”.
The essence of their enmity to us is that we are fighting for the Syrian people, and they are clearly related to external agendas exploiting the bloodshed in Syria, for we have eliminated terrorism in most of our regions, another cause of our victory is the unity of Syrian components comprised under SDF”.
Silo went on saying: ”our forces are the true opposition, while those claiming it are not but affiliated to Istanbul or Riyadh and are serving their agendas in the region...
Talal Silo the official spokesperson of Syria Democratic Forces concluded saying: ”we offer our achievements and victories to families of the martyrs and wounded, and we salute martyrs with glory and honor for their precious sacrifices for the justice, freedom, security, and dignity of our people..."

Settler leader: Population growth is end of 2-state solution
Associated Press|YNet News 26.03.2017

The number of Israeli settlers living in the West Bank has soared by nearly one-quarter over the past five years to over 420,000 people, Yaakov Katz - a settler leader - said Sunday, presenting new population figures that he said put to rest the internationally backed idea of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
"We are talking about a situation that is unchangeable," he said Sunday. "It's very important to know the numbers, and the numbers are growing."
According to Katz, the settler population hit 420,899 on January 1, up 3.6 percent from 406,332 people a year earlier and a 23-percent increase from 342,414 at the beginning of 2012.
The figures are being published on a new website sponsored by Bet El Institutions, a settler organization that counts members of President Donald Trump's inner circle among its supporters.
"Whatever Angela Merkel or Trump or anybody else is thinking about, it belongs to the past, not to the future," he said.

Katz, widely known by his nickname "Ketzeleh," is one of the founders and most prominent figures in the West Bank settler movement. He is a former member of parliament and led a hard-line nationalist party. Bet El is a religious settlement north of Jerusalem.
Katz's organization sponsors a well-known Jewish seminary and "Arutz Sheva," a pro-settler news agency. Official US records show that its donors have included the family foundation of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and confidant; David Friedman, his new ambassador to Israel; and Trump himself.
Friedman, a former fund-raiser for the Bet El Institutions, was narrowly confirmed last week as ambassador after a tough battle that included fierce opposition from dovish Jewish American groups.
Katz expressed faith that Trump would remain supportive and described Friedman as a "great American patriot." "The American people will be very proud of him," he said.

The Beit El settlement was established in 1977, near the grounds of an Israeli military base. A small group of settlers moved near the base and stayed, and Beit El grew slowly over the years. Today, it numbers 6,500 settlers. If you ask the settlers why they came here, many will reference biblical history and quote the Book of Genesis. According to the Bible, God promised Jacob the land of Israel in a dream. That dream occurred while Jacob was sleeping on a rock nearby; when Jacob awoke, he called the area Beit El (or Bethel).

Judaism: Old Testament, Covenant between God and Hebrew tribes
Tribalism (Moses - former Egyptian prince - is a central figure)
Christianity = New Testament, Covenant between God and humanity
Humanism (Jesus - the man from Galilee - is the mediator)

Campaign to ‘Bombard UN With Bibles’
By Tsivya Fox. Breaking Israel news, March 28, 2017

When the United Nations (UN), in October 2016, passed a contentious anti-Israel resolution denying the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount and Western Wall in Jerusalem, publisher of 'The Israel Bible' and founder of Israel365 Rabbi Tuly Weisz decided to go full-steam-ahead and “Bombard Them With Bibles”.
“Anyone who can disconnect the Jewish nation from Jerusalem has not read the Bible,” he explained to Breaking Israel News. “Therefore, we felt that the The Israel Bible, which delineates the connection between God, the Jews and the Land of Israel, must be accessible to the leaders of the nations.”
Rabbi Weisz visited United Nations headquarters in New York last week in order to personally deliver a copy of The Israel Bible....“

While at the UN, Rabbi Weisz presented a copy of The Israel Bible to Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon. Just a few weeks earlier, Ambassador Danon had responded to the Security Council’s condemnation of Israel and denial of Jewish sovereignty by raising up a Bible in his hand and stating, “This book holds 3,000 years of Jewish history in Israel and no one can dictate or change that fact!”
Rabbi Weisz expressed his appreciation to Ambassador Danon for his courage in bringing Biblical truth to the attention of world leaders despite their hostile reception, just as the Jewish people have been doing for thousands of years.
“I pray that our efforts bring about the day when the leaders of the world gather, not to deny God, but to unite together and recognize the One, True God of Israel."

Danny Danon: 'Ideological Alternative' to Netanyahu
UN elects Israeli Likudnik as committee chair

Jared Kushner to lead White House innovation office
"We should have excellence in government"
By Paulina Firozi - The Hill, 26-3-2017

President Donald Trump is reportedly creating a new White House innovation office that will be led by his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner.
The White House Office of American Innovation will be announced Monday, the Washington Post reported, and will report directly to the president. The idea is to help meet some of the goals President Trump pledged to accomplish during his campaign, such as working to help with veteran care and fight opioid addiction.
The new office, which is described in the Post report as a “SWAT team” to fix the federal bureaucracy, is working with tech giants such as Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.
It is expected to pull ideas from the business world and may consider privatizing some government functions. The team will include former business executives, according to the report.
“We should have excellence in government,” Kushner told the Post. “The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens.”

Science is the Great Giver
Bill Gates, 24 october 2016

The first promise of any good politician is to make people’s lives better, and scientific research leading to innovation is one of the best ways to honor that promise.
Until about 1700, there was basically no development. Almost everybody was poor, many were sick. One of every four children died. Average life expectancy was about 40 years, and 99 percent of people were illiterate. But then science came along and we started inventing—electricity, the steam engine, antibiotics, sanitation, vaccines, microprocessors, genetic medicine.

Science is the great giver—and we’re just at the beginning of what it can give.
Every country on earth will benefit when we have an Ebola vaccine, when microbicides are perfected, when malaria is eradicated—but there is a special gain to the countries doing the research.
First of all, when a country funds innovations that make life better for people around the world, it defines itself as a global leader.
Second, research and development brings a huge benefit to the countries doing the research because it creates high-paying jobs, encourages the growth of talent, and builds up the scientific capacity of the country that pays for it.
When a country builds its own scientific capacity, the benefits it gets are far beyond what it can imagine. That’s because some of the greatest discoveries of science are insights that came when looking for something else.
Scientists begin searching for the answer to one problem and discover the answer to many others. And once a country builds scientific talent, it can deploy it quickly to urgent areas.

I want to urge political leaders to take on our biggest problems through dramatic increases in scientific research — because we know that government-funded research can create jobs now, meet public needs soon, and lead to economic growth far into the future.
It’s clear enough by now that the key adaptive trait in human beings is our ability to discover and share new knowledge—to innovate. That’s why we’re here and Neanderthals aren’t.
Innovation is what helps us flourish. To slow down on innovation now by missing the chance to boost research is to turn our back on our greatest strength.

Arab League & The disintegration of Arab societies
By Dalal Saoud, Middle East Online, 27-3-2017

Deep divisions in the Arab world, stalemates in Syria, Yemen and Libya, the forgotten cause of the Palestinians, the fight against Islamic State (ISIS), expansionist policies of Russia, growing regional interference from Turkey and Iran and US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable policies are among the numerous challenges facing Arab leaders at their March 29th summit in Amman.
With such a broad range of challenges, the Arab League summit presents the leaders with another opportunity to set aside their disputes and join efforts to prevent their troubled region from further fragmenting.
However, Syrian President Bashar Assad will have to skip the summit again as he is still considered persona non-grata...

With more failed and failing states and no end in sight for wars in Syria, Yemen and Libya, the Arab region is open to more violence, chaos and unpredictability.
“We’re having more problems in the Arab world and see more impasses, more dangerous stalemates in the crises and more failed and failing states from Yemen to Libya with no serious, credible and collective Arab approach to address these issues,” Gamal Bayoumi, Egypt’s former assistant Foreign minister, told The Arab Weekly.
Fighting ISIS or Daesh, an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State, is as much of a priority as preventing the disintegration of Arab societies into singular identities, which could create an environment conducive to more “Daeshism”.
“If the Arabs get their act together, they could force themselves on the Astana (Syria) talks with new ideas to accompany the transition from a state of war into a state of peace, engage in peacebuilding and even promising reconstruction,” he said...
However, the main challenge for Arab leaders will be to turn their summit speeches into applicable strategy and to come up with concrete positions that amount to more than just ink-on-paper.

Does Europe see Turkey as its 'other'?
İbrahim Kalın, Daily Sabah, 28-3-2017

On March 25, Switzerland joined the anti-Turkey chorus by allowing an openly pro-terror rally in Bern.
Supporters of the outlawed PKK not only held a "no" rally against the constitutional referendum to be held in Turkey on April 16 but also displayed posters propagating terrorism.
One poster had a picture of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with a gun pointed at his head and with the words "kill Erdoğan."
Since when has it become normal in a European country to call for the murder of a president?
After a strong reaction from Turkey, which summoned the Swiss ambassador, they launched an investigation. We will follow this case very closely. But the larger problem remains: Is not a gun pointed at an elected president also a threat directed at European values?

Sadly, they see President Erdoğan and Turkey as an "other" through which to deflect their internal problems onto a distant and imaginary enemy.
They use the "Turkey question" to avoid looking at themselves in the mirror and reckon with their image.
They turn their distorted image of the Turks into "barbarians" so that they feel good about themselves and get away with such real problems as rising xenophobia, unemployment, inequality, domestic violence, crude individualism, racism, sexism, class struggle, multiculturalism and the overall weakening of Europe as an idea.
Demonizing Erdoğan might be used as a distraction from the deeper problems Europe is facing but cannot be a serious, rational approach.

Flashback - Muslim Brotherhood 2012 "It Is an Obligation to Kill Bashar Al-Assad" It was no secret that while Nasser was aligned with the socialist camp, the MB served as a tool of the US and Gulf regime during the Cold War". Al-Akkbar march 2012 "The revolution is a gift from God" Ahram Online, 17 May 2012 [May 2012] Muslim Brotherhood's presidential hopeful Mohamed Morsi visited the governorates of Beni Suef and Fayoum. Morsi was accompanied on his tour by Salafist figures Sheikh Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud as well as Islamic scholar Safwat Hegazi and the Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie. Badie told the audience in Beni Suef that the revolution was a gift from God and the Egyptian people should pray and thank him for it. He also urged the Egyptian people to work hard and serve Egypt and choose a man who will apply Sharia Law like Morsi promised to do. Egyptian Clerics 1-3-2012 "It Is an Obligation to Kill Bashar Al-Assad" Safwat Hegazi (born 1963) is an Egyptian imam and television preacher who is on the list of "Individuals banned from the UK for stirring-up hatred". The government of the United Kingdom declared that he is "considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by glorifying terrorist violence." In 2009 he declared in a television interview that Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and the Baha'i Faith were not religions but were man-made. In 2012, Safwat Launched MB Candidate Muhammad Mursi's Campaign. Salah Abdel Maqsoud (Born: 1958) Minister of information, former Morsi presidential campaign spokesman. Has been a journalist since 1979, working on several Islamist magazines including Egyptian Dawa, al-Bashir (1985), The Banner of Islam (1987 and 1994), and Harvest of Thought (1992). In August 2012, Abdel Maqsoud was appointed minister of information, a move that riled non-Islamist journalists and supporters of press freedom. Political activist Hazem Abdel Azim called him a “Brotherhood fanatic” and “Ikhwani to the core,” and some suspected that his relationship with powerful MB deputy supreme guide Khairat al-Shater had played a key role in his appointment.

On 21 February 2011, al-Qaradawi talked about the protests in Libya and issued a fatwa against Muammar Gaddafi: ...To the officers and the soldiers who are able to kill Muammar Gaddafi, to whoever among them is able to shoot him with a bullet and to free the country and [God’s] servants from him, I issue this fatwa (uftî): Do it! That man wants to exterminate the people (sha‘b). As for me, I protect the people (sha‘b) and I issue this fatwa: Whoever among them is able to shoot him with a bullet and to free us from his evil, to free Libya and its great people from the evil of this man and from the danger of him, let him do so! It is not permissible (lâ yajûzu) to any officer, be he a officer pilot, or a ground forces officer, or an air forces officer, or any other, it is not permissible to obey this man within disobedience (ma‘siya) [to God], in evil (sharr), in injustice (zulm), in oppression (baghî ‘alâ) of [His] servants.

Christians must focus on Jesus
They commit all sorts of theological gymnastics
to rationalize doing the opposite of Jesus
By Stephen Mattson, Sojourners 24-3-2017

The Trial of Jesus The Jewish priests expected the Messiah to come in like a Lion with great fanfare and overwhelming military might for subduing the enemies of Israel. They did not expect the Messiah to be born in humble circumstances or to grow up as a common craftsman. Jesus threatened the authority and the lifestyle that the priests had grown accustomed to, as they grew very rich while helping the Roman authorities to maintain control over Israelite-controlles towns. It must have been difficult for the Jewish Priests to consider that the promised Messiah would come as a threat to themselves, God's representatives to His own people. They viewed him as being opposed to the established authority that controlled the Temple and the People, which would likely seem contrary to what they might expect from the long-awaited Messiah.

As we debate the many troubling policy proposals coming from our current administration, Christians must focus on Jesus [the New Testament] above everything else — even our government, leaders, and comforts.
When we approach Jesus in an honest and innocent way ('be like a child') it’s obvious what type of actions Christ would be for and against.
The [New Testament] tells us clearly what type of person he was, and gives us countless examples to solidify his loving character...
But we find creative ways to excuse ourselves from following Christ, because we often find that his actions contradict our vested interests — our lifestyle, political views, and self-preserving worldview.

The problem for many Christians is that instead of asking themselves, “What would Jesus do?” they ask, “What does 'the Bible' say is permissible?”
Instead of emulating Jesus they prefer to “follow the Bible,” and for the questions that were previously asked above, they would respond with verses and spiritual principles justifying their actions...
If this sounds familiar, it’s because we see this happening in the New Testament. The Pharisees — “experts” in their law and faith — constantly questioned Jesus about what was permissible:
Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? Teacher, which command in the law is the most important? Can you show us a miraculous sign from heaven to prove your authority?

Unfortunately, we can become so devoted to studying the Old Testament.., that we ignore Jesus [the New Testament].
The [New Testament] is pointing toward Christ.. So we should never make the mistake of valuing any verse over Christ.
Here is what Jesus tells us to do:
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
And he said to him: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt. 26: 36-40)
This is the foundation of our faith — to love God and love others.

Sojourners are Christians who follow Jesus, but who also sojourn with others in different faith traditions and all those who are on a spiritual journey. We are evangelicals, Catholics, Pentecostals and Protestants; progressives and conservatives; blacks, whites, Latinos, and Asians; women and men; young and old. We reach into traditional churches but also out to those who can't fit into them. Together we seek to discover the intersection of faith, politics, and culture.

Nikki Haley champions Israel's anti-BDS policy
Alex Kane, Middle East Eye, 30 March 2017

“Know that the United States has Israel’s back, and know that you now have a fighter and a friend in the UN to help you,” Haley told the audience of more than 2,000 pro-Israel activists, students and representatives of Jewish organizations.
“We should boycott North Korea, we should sanction Iran, we should divest from Syria, not Israel,” she said. “It makes absolutely no sense and it has no connection to any reasonable definition of justice.” Nikki Haley (Jerusalem Post)

NEW YORK, United States - Nikki Haley is the new pro-Israel rock star in the United States. At the sound of the UN ambassador’s name at a pro-Israel conference on Wednesday, the crowd broke into applause.
When Haley walked on to the General Assembly stage to address the “Ambassadors Against BDS” conference at the United Nations, attendees gave her a standing ovation.
“Winds of change are blowing even here, at UN Headquarters,” said Robert Singer, the CEO of the World Jewish Congress, a co-host of the conference. “In the few months that Ambassador Haley has been here, she has made clear she stands with Israel.”

Haley’s presence at a nakedly pro-Israel forum underscored how the Trump administration has strengthened the already close US-Israeli relations. And it was a signal that, as Israel pursues a crackdown on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the US will follow suit.
“The effort to delegitimize the state of Israel being waged on college campuses and the anti-Israel obsession at the UN are one in the same,” Haley told the pro-Israel confab. “They both seek to deny Israel’s right to exist. They are both efforts to intimidate her friends and embolden her enemies. They are both extensions of an ancient hatred.”
The “Ambassadors Against BDS” conference Haley spoke to was hosted by the Israeli Mission to the UN and sponsored by a range of pro-Israel groups.

In 2005, Palestinian civil society groups issued a call for boycotting, divesting from and sanctioning Israel over its human rights abuses. The movement’s demands are: an end to the Israeli occupation; full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel; and the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Since then, the initiative has spread around the world and found a home in the US among progressive groups, particularly on college campuses.

U.S. Envoy to U.N.: Removing Assad 'Not Our Priority'
by Naharnet Newsdesk, 30-3-2017

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday that Washington is no longer focused on ousting President Bashar Assad as it seeks ways to end Syria's civil war.
"You pick and choose your battles," Nikki Haley told reporters. "And when we're looking at this it's about changing up priorities and our priority is no longer to sit and focus on getting Assad out."
Haley was speaking after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had signalled a change in the U.S. stance by admitting that Assad's eventual fate was up to the Syrian people.
She said Washington will focus on the push for a political solution: "Our priority is to really look at how do we get things done? Who do we need to work with to really make a difference for the people in Syria," she said.
"We can't necessarily focus on Assad the way the previous administration maybe did. Do we think he's a hindrance? Yes," she said. "Are we going to sit there and focus on getting him out? No."
Haley said she would focus on ways to remove the influence of Assad's ally Iran, which has supported him in his civil war against rebel forces.

Steinitz to JPost: Iran’s traction in Syria a greater threat to Israel than ISIS
By Sharon Udasin, Jerusalem Post, March 30, 2017

As world powers focus on toppling ISIS, Iran is quietly gaining traction in Syria – posing a direct threat to Israel, eastern Mediterranean countries and the entire Arabian Peninsula, according to Minister Yuval Steinitz.
“It’s very easy and convenient to focus on ISIS,” he told The Jerusalem Post. “But we have two challenges in Syria: One is ISIS and one is Iran. The greater threat is coming from Iran...
The most immediate and urgent threat is the Iranian plan to transform Syria into some kind of extension of Iran.”
While Tehran has long been active near Israel through proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah, the Islamic Republic may be building a more direct presence in the neighborhood as Syria continues to crumble, the minister warned.
“The label will still be called Syria, but it will become some kind of extension of Iran,” he said. “Syria will also become an Iranian military base.”
“What will we get on our northern border?” he asked... “We don’t want to have a direct military border with Iran itself. Of course it’s a big, big threat also to Jordan and all the Arab Peninsula,” he said. “If this will happen, it is going to be a new Middle East and the entire Arab Peninsula will actually be encircled by Iranian forces.”
“Therefore, it’s high time for the international community in general and for the two superpowers, the US and Russia, in particular, to sit together and prevent this scenario,” he said.
Thus far, Steinitz said he finds “the new rhetoric” in Washington on the issue to be encouraging. “We have heard from [President Donald] Trump and his people that Iran should be contained..."

Idolatry and Blasphemy go hand in hand
American Humanist Association, posted by David, December 10, 2013

As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up and knelt before Him.
“Good Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call Me good? Jesus replied,
“No one is good except God alone." Mark 10:18

How do we define “idolatry”?
Webster defines it as “the worship of a physical object as a god”, and also “immoderate attachment or devotion to something”. In the Ten Commandments, idolatry is treated as the making and creating of a “graven image” (carved, sculpted, engraved, etc.)
This emphasizes that it is a thing made by man and given god-like characteristics.
Many Protestants accuse the Catholics of “worshipping” the statues of Mary and thus committing idolatry.
Catholics, in the “Catechism of the Catholic Church”, say that “Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. Man commits idolatry whenever he honours and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods, or demons, power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money etc.”

It is ironic that the Commandment against worshipping graven images was supposedly engraved in a stone tablet and carried by Moses down the mountain to the people of Israel as they were worshipping the golden calf idol that had just been made.
I propose that 'the holy scriptures' (deification of human-made scriptures) of any religion is really idolatry.
Whether it be the Bible for Christians, the Koran for Muslims, or the Old Testament or Pentateuch for the Jews, these are the idols of the religious.
While Christians say that they believe in a god, and worship a god, it is really the Bible they worship. If you take away the Bible, there is no god for them to believe in and worship
Without the Koran or the Old Testament, there is no god to worship. It is the “Word” or revelation of a god that is the basis of their faith and belief and that is what describes how they are to worship. The same may be said of the teaching of Mary Baker Eddy and other religious cults who revere a book as holy writ.

When a religious group claims that a certain action is blasphemous, we see that the object of this blasphemy is really an object of their idolatry. If one idolizes the Bible, then they will see blasphemy when someone speaks against the Bible, or the god as represented in the Bible. The same with the Koran and Muhammad.
Muslims do not like the appellation of Muhammadism as that indicates they worship Muhammad, which they deny. Yet the fact that muslims call certain acts blasphemous against the prophet Muhammad, shows that they deify this personage.
The fact that Christians will call certain acts “blasphemous” when done regarding Christ or the Bible or the teachings in the Bible also show that these are the objects of their worship and deification.

And so blasphemy and idolatry go hand in hand. One cannot have blasphemy without a man/woman or a man-made object being first deified and worshipped as an idol.
As Humanists, we believe that nothing, no man-made object or even another man/woman, is higher than our own human nature. Nothing is considered divine as all is considered secular.
So as a Humanist, I have no definition of blasphemy that is meaningful to me. And as a Humanist, any man or man-made object which is placed as being higher than one’s human nature in order to command or proscribe my beliefs and actions is idolatry.

And [remember] when I inspired the disciples,
"Believe in Me and in My messenger Jesus." They said, "We have believed,
so bear witness that indeed we are Muslims [in submission to God]." (Quran 5:111)

Britain, France and Germany on Friday all condemned Israel over the approval of a new community in [the occupied West-Bank].
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement that the construction “undermines” the two-state solution.
“The UK strongly condemns the Israeli government’s decision to found a new settlement deep in the West Bank; the first such government decision for over 25 years. I am also disappointed that Israel plans to expropriate additional West Bank territory as ‘state land’, and press forward with plans for almost 2,000 housing units in spite of significant international concern,” he said.
Similarly, the French Foreign Ministry also condemned the Israeli announcement, saying such decisions "threaten peace and may exacerbate tensions on the ground.” "France recalls that colonization is illegal under international law, in particular UNSCR 2334. It calls on Israel to respect its international obligations,” added the statement.
The German Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said the Israeli decision undermines Germany's faith in Israel's wish to reach a two-state solution. "Germany will not recognize any change in the 1967 lines, which has not been agreed between the parties."

In Egypt, ‘3000 extremist fatwas’ incite destruction of churches
Ashraf Abd al-Hameed, Al Arabiya, 1 April 2017

Egypt's official religious institution tasked with drafting edicts has found 3,000 fatwas (religious edicts) issued by extremists that incite the destruction of churches in the country, Egypt’s Grand Mufti, Dr. Shawki Allam, said on Friday.
Dr. Allam rejected the [validity] of these fatwas, saying: “human diversity is inevitable and divine … the oppression of religions is rejected by law because human relations are a divine formula to achieve coexistence and renounce discord.”
The extremist fatwas rejected coexistence between Muslims and Christians in Egypt.
The Mufti said that “all attempts aiming to divide between the Muslims and Christians of Egypt have failed.” He added: “Muslims had never destroyed any kind of heritage after their historic victories in foreign countries, in contrary to what ISIS and other extremists are doing now.”
He said that they have also found “fatwas inciting the demolition of Cairo and Giza heritage sites, in an explicit violation to the way Islam deals with heritage.”

Yildrim: Terrorists harm the people
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey, April 2, 2017

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said that it’s a crime against humanity to deny a language or a race, adding that no race is above the other.
“Who can say that a Kurd is superior to a Turk or a Laz is superior to a Circassian? Isn’t it to depreciate God’s creation to say that a race is superior? Isn’t it disrespectfulness against our prophet who said ‘I trampled on every type of racism and discrimination."
"We know that it’s a crime against humanity to denounce a race or a language....,” “a garden is a place where all colors, all types of flowers and all shades of green exist together.”

“Doesn’t one ask ‘Where are all the yellow ones?’ if a garden only consists of the color red? Can you call a garden with a single color a garden?
Everyone should know that we are Turks, Kurds, Zazas, Lazs, [the western province of] İzmir and Van. Kurdish, Turkish, Zaza language and Laz language belongs to us. We stand against those who separate the things God united. We just have to see the games being played,” he also said.
During his speech, Yıldırım said that plenty of businessmen “were forced to leave their investments and citizens were forced to migrate” due to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“Don’t forget...: the compassionate hand, help and support of the state will always be with you. However, its iron fist will hit terrorists and those who make your lives difficult.
Our security forces will chase the terrorists, who act as the hitman of foreign intelligence services, wherever they go and neutralize them whenever they find them,” he also said.

aleppo:- NO to flowerpeople - YES to hatefull, destructive people

Saying that terrorists [PKK] harmed the people Yıldırım noted that “while the government was constructing, they were destroying.” “Aren’t they those who burn schools in order to prevent children from receiving education? Aren’t they those who abduct and kill engineers and workers in order to prevent roads and tunnels from being built?”