Pathological Deception0.0911
Tag Archive: art
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The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (福島第一原子力発電所事故 Fukushima Dai-ichi ( pronunciation: genshiryoku hatsudensho jiko) was an energy accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima Prefecture, initiated primarily by the tsunami following the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011.
Stark Networks AG Innovation – Property Investment Technology Matrix
The research continues at break-neck speed, but will we have time to save planet Earth and humanity from the path being forged by the Cryptoborgs?
Immediately after the earthquake, the active reactors automatically shut down their sustained fission reactions. However, the tsunami disabled the emergency generators that would have provided power to control and operate the pumps necessary to cool the reactors. The insufficient cooling led to three nuclear meltdowns, hydrogen-air explosions, and the release of radioactive material in Units 1, 2 and 3 from 12 March to 15 March. Loss of cooling also raised concerns over the recently loaded spent fuel pool of Reactor 4, which increased in temperature on 15 March due to the decay heat from the freshly added spent fuel rods but did not boil down to exposure.
Enter the Cryptoborgs, laboratory and field tested and expendable. Advanced computer systems with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and radiation resistant materials. Things went quiet, the world was seemingly left in the dark, media and associated press advised readers to wait whilst officials worked to complete assessments of the causes and extent of damage to the nuclear facility. From an observers perspective, it was obvious a humanitarian disaster had occurred, and even more obvious that a lot was being covered up, twisted and manipulated to ulterior agendas.
On 5 July 2012, not surprisingly, the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC) found that the causes of the accident had been foreseeable, and that the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), had failed to meet basic safety requirements such as risk assessment, preparing for containing collateral damage, and developing evacuation plans.
On 12 October 2012, TEPCO admitted for the first time that it had failed to take necessary measures for fear of inviting lawsuits or protests against its nuclear plants. But, was there some other more sinister reason things went the way they did? As economies have been under pressure, growth rates at close to zero, have others been concocting new ways involving technological innovation in order to seek profits?
It is not coincidental, the emergence of superior machines has produced these AI organisms that have both organic “natural” and cybernetic “machine” parts. In other words, when people become cyborgs, they’re part human and part machine. The initial challenge was to overcome the radiation and make the contaminated real estate encapsulating the destroyed nuclear power plant valuable again. Discussions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have created a certain amount of unease in the local communities surrounding the disaster site, and by those who fear it will quickly evolve from being a benefit to human society to taking over. Even Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk have warned of AI’s threats.
Scientists have now created biological computers inside living cells. They’ve developed a biological computer that controls how cells behave,” says Alexander Green, an engineer at Arizona State University, who developed the technology with colleagues at Harvard University. “The cells go about their normal business, replicating and sensing what’s going on in their environments, but they’ve also got this computational machinery in them that we’ve instructed them to synthesise,” he says, and the new biological circuit works just like a digital one, it receives an input and makes a logic-based decision, using AND, OR, and NOT operations, but instead of the inputs and outputs being voltage signals, they are the presence or absence of specific chemicals or proteins. The process begins with the design of a DNA strand that codes for all the logic the system will need. The researchers then inserted the synthesised DNA into E. coli bacteria as part of a plasmid, which is a ring of DNA that can replicate itself as it floats around in the cell, that served as a template for the biological computer’s machinery. The cell’s molecular machinery then translated the DNA into RNA, essentially copying the DNA code onto a different molecule, which could then be used by the cell.
Engineering and expert mining companies were employed swiftly in the aftermath and technological solutions were called for as more and more people were diagnosed with radiation sickness. Advanced machines were required to dive into leaking and contaminated wreckage, involving complex assessment of parameters, a matrix of time, heat and pressure, that all needs to be contained, paid for and generate future revenues for sustainability.
It was only a few years prior that Bitcoin was born, supposedly by a Japanese man, but who knows him personally? Bitcoin was invented by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, perhaps a first generation Cryptoborg? The cryptocurrency was released as open-source software in 2009. In the years since other cryptocurrencies have emerged into the world, with Chinese, Japanese and Korean mining operations emerging as leading proponents in the field. Originally just viewed as a geeky magic internet money for nerds, and one may recall someone ordering a pizza with 10,000 BTC in 2010 and the thought may have been fleetingly whimsical? Of course that was then, and a couple of tech geeks would use their magic internet money to have a pizza delivered.
But we are now in 2018 and the world has leapt forward dramatically, and it is almost as if few few really see what’s happening? Crypto currencies have evolved since then into a full-fledged blockchain ecosystem. Projects are innovating at the protocol level allowing for immutable, permissionless, transparent, censorship resistant transactions, while doing away with the need for trusted intermediaries.
This powerful combination of technologies has given idealists and supporters of freedom a new hope across the entire globe. However, the proliferation of ICO (initial coin offerings) hype has enabled some company founders to pen a quick white paper setting out the details of their fundraising for a quick money grab and investors to find the next flip. People want to make money, after all.
Binance just launched their crypto-fiat Uganda Exchange on June 28th. You might ask why Uganda? The revenue will be much higher in established markets. Binance’s mission is to spread the adoption of crypto to the masses. CZ, Founder and CEO of Binance says, “Uganda is a much less developed financial economy. To get crypto adopted in a country where only 11% of the population has a bank account will take years of painstaking drive. You have to educate users, build the economy, and essentially build everything from scratch.”
Meanwhile, the vast energy requirements in running mining operations have driven many mining operations to seek opportunities in cost effective locations. Japan’s contaminated wasteland and other areas have become hot spots for economic “off-the-grid” mining operations. An example, nestled right between the Sea of Japan and the Ryohaku Mountains, the city of Fukui is not necessarily a tourist hotspot. But Fukui has started to become known across the world for another reason. Cheap rental prices and inexpensive electricity have driven cryptocurrency miners to the seaside city. Some residents are hoping more will come set up shop. A former lace factory in the city of roughly 250,000 people is now home to a bustling virtual currency mine. A Tokyo-based company called Alt Design is in charge of operating the 500 servers that should theoretically churn out about 200 Ethereum coins per month.
Looping back to reiterate the research continues at break-neck speed, but will we have time to save planet Earth and humanity from the path being forged by the Cryptoborgs?
The SIG 1 :: #SIGARI, Stark Networks HK and affiliated companies have developed the world’s first luxury premium hand-rolled cigar product, labeled as SIG 1, containing a proprietary RFID Blockchain smart chip storing a wide array of data. The hand-crafted 24 karat gold leaf premium cigar is packaged in a custom designed Viennese glass tube containing its own built-in humification control system.
The new line is anticipated to commence marketing directly to private clients in early 2018. Design work on a downloadable SIG smartphone application was expected to be completed by March 2018 allowing owners of their luxury products to trade products via a blockchain secured app on their smartphones and other wireless devices, interacting with the blockchain technology contained in the smart chip of each SIGAR product. SIG 1 luxury products are made in a variety of sizes, blends and tastes to test the market reaction. The initial limited world premiere of the products will be available in Churchill, Torpedo and Toro sizes. The SIGAR team is also working on a number of other sizes, including a special gold leaf panatella designed for ladies and gentlemen.
SIG 1 Churchill
Ring Gauge: 48 Length: 6 3/4″
Filler: Dom. Rep., Binder: Dom. Rep., Wrapper: US Connecticut Shade, 24 karat Gold leaf
SIG 1 Torpedo
Ring Gauge: 52, Length: 6 1/4″
Filler: Brazil, Dominican, Nicaragua, Binder: Dom. Rep., Wrapper: Brazilian Sun Grown, 24 karat Gold leaf
SIG 1 Toro
Ring Gauge: 52, Length: 6″
Filler: Honduras, Dom. Rep., Binder: Brazil, Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf, 24 karat Gold leaf
In 2018 the SIGAR team began testing and developing a range of new blends at production facilities in the Dominican Republic. The creative journey of SIGAR started in 2016 when James, a long time cigar aficionado, approached Peter Mai with the idea of a new cigar business.
Earlier in 2011, Peter had walked off the street in Bangkok, right into a private Members Only cigar club in Thailand, where he met James, one of the founding lifetime members. As a Vienna based artist behind the idea and launch of the world’s first gold leaf cigar at the 2008 Millionaire Fair held in Munich, Germany, Peter encouraged James to dig deeper and explore the possibilities of synergies and possible collaboration. By late 2016, the two had decided to focus on creating an entirely new luxury brand and associated products, and thus was born the idea to produce a product far superior to anything done before. Vienna was chosen on the recommendation of Peter, hence the initial focus of SIGAR GmbH was on the design and packaging aspects of the luxury products range. As a long time resident of Thailand, James and his wife relocated to Austria to focus on building the new business. The premium hand-rolled cigars are produced in Latin America and the first RFID smart chips were produced in Thailand.
During the first development meetings of 2017 James Wearing-Smith, CEO of SIGAR GmbH approached Jason Ho, founder and Chairman of D8: D8ii Limited with the blockchain security concept for the luxury cigar products. Over a series of meetings Jason took up the challenge of designing the custom modelled smart-chip that is used in the SIG 1. Another member of the SIGAR team is film producer and actor Cameron Pearson, who worked alongside James With and Sylvester Stallone as missionaries in RAMBO (2008). Cameron supported the idea from the start and relocated to Vienna from Los Angeles to become a more active participant of the SIGAR team.
The SIGAR team believes the products will become special collectors items and could appreciate considerably in value over time if maintained correctly. Maintaining a SIG 1product is made all that easier with the help of the custom designed glass container and humidification system containing specially engineered crystals. The small crystal beads are designed to maintain a stable 70% RH level for a period of 5 years and is Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for direct and indirect contact and complies toward cGMP practices. When the glass container is opened the crystals can be easily replaced. The RFID blockchain security smart chip can maintain a precise data record of each SIG 1 product. Information can be stored in smart contracts to include manufacturing data, client to client transfer data, and global tracking data.
With the recent frenzy over Bitcoin, the first decentralized digital currency it appeared that the development, implementation and timing of the SIG 1 had been coordinated perfectly. The world premiere release in 2018 was eagerly anticipated. Private clients will have the chance to experience their luxury products, and the idea is that they will be using either fiat currency or blockchain secured cryptocurrencies to make purchases in the future.
The SIGAR team created the SIG 1 brand and it embodies the desire to fulfil a vision; one built on family values, knowledge, integrity, discreet diligence and the essence of a luxury lifestyle. “Silence is Golden” is the motto representing the SIG 1 brand.
SIG 1 :: Golden Opportunities
Updated: 18th January 2019
The creators of this product have spent considerable time during 2018 determining the growth and direction for the enterprise. Just like the Great Tea Race of 1866, the winds and seas of change are utilised to navigate through the environment of economic change. It’s a bit like the great shipping stories in centuries past, and time and patience are virtues bestowed on men of the cloth, textiles, and commodities trading, including selecting the best premium materials from the tobacco industry.
Tobaccos grown with love and caring attention to each and every plant, harvested and then stored carefully in warehouses, waiting for the right blend for each and every stick, and for those special clientele of luxury products. The journey of development and testing of products continues, and perfecting the products is of paramount importance to the creators.
The Great Tea Race of 1866
Stay tuned for more on this exciting journey… #WITHLOVE 💞
#SIG1 #SIGAR #cigars #luxury #SilenceIsGolden #lifestyle #products #gold
A blank expression, try, pod, raise a canvas, ink blot, coin, phrase, draw some lines… then cross them, cover them up, add a few more chemicals and what emerges? Is it History, Art or the Art of War History?
Russia, Iran Warn U.S. They Will “Respond With Force” If Syria “Red Lines” Crossed Again
Competing Gas Pipelines Are Fueling The Syrian War & Migrant Crisis
by Tyler Durden published September 10th 2015 2:42 PM
Don’t let anyone fool you: As we have detailed since 2013, sectarian strife in Syria has been engineered to provide cover for a war for access to oil and gas, and the power and money that come along with it.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect recent Wikileaks revelations of US State Department leaks that show plans to destabilize Syria and overthrow the Syrian government as early as 2006. The leaks reveal that these plans were given to the US directly from the Israeli government and would be formalized through instigating civil strife and sectarianism through partnership with nations like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and even Egypt to break down the power structue in Syria to essentially to weaken Iran and Hezbolla. The leaks also reveal Israeli plans to use this crisis to expand it’s occupation of the Golan Heights for additional oil exploration and military expansion.
Images of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy who washed up dead on Mediterranean shores in his family’s attempt to flee war-torn Syria, have grabbed the attention of people around the world, sparking outrage about the true costs of war.
The heart-wrenching refugee crisis unfolding across the Middle East and at European borders has ignited a much needed conversation on the ongoing strife and instability that’s driving people from their homes in countries like Syria, Libya and Iraq. It’s brought international attention to the inhumane treatment these refugees are receiving if — and it is a major “if” — they arrive at Europe’s door.
In Syria, for example, foreign powers have sunk the nation into a nightmare combination of civil war, foreign invasion and terrorism. Syrians are in the impossible position of having to choose between living in a warzone, being targeted by groups like ISIS and the Syrian government’s brutal crackdown, or faring dangerous waters with minimal safety equipment only to be denied food, water and safety by European governments if they reach shore.
Other Syrians fleeing the chaos at home have turned to neighboring Arab Muslim countries. Jordan alone has absorbed over half a million Syrian refugees; Lebanon has accepted nearly 1.5 million; and Iraq and Egypt have taken in several hundred thousand.
Although it’s not an Arab nation or even part of the Middle East, Iran sent 150 tons of humanitarian goods, including 3,000 tents and 10,000 blankets, to the Red Crescents of Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon via land routes to be distributed among the Syrian refugees residing in the three countries last year.
Turkey has taken in nearly 2 million refugees to date. Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Erdogan made international headlines for opening his nation’s arms to migrants, positioning himself as a kind of savior in the process.
Meanwhile, Gulf Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have provided refuge to zero Syrian refugees.
While there’s certainly a conversation taking place about refugees — who they are, where they’re going, who’s helping them, and who isn’t — what’s absent is a discussion on how to prevent these wars from starting in the first place. Media outlets and political talking heads have found many opportunities to point fingers in the blame game, but not one media organization has accurately broken down what’s driving the chaos: control over gas, oil and resources.
Indeed, it’s worth asking: How did demonstrations held by “hundreds” of protesters demanding economic change in Syria four years ago devolve into a deadly sectarian civil war, fanning the flames of extremism haunting the world today and creating the world’s second largest refugee crisis?
While the media points its finger to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s barrel bombs and political analysts call for more airstrikes against ISIS and harsher sanctions against Syria, we’re four years into the crisis and most people have no idea how this war even got started.
This “civil war” is not about religion
Citing a lack of access on the ground, the United Nations stopped regularly updating its numbers of casualties in the Syrian civil war in January 2014. Estimates put the death toll between 140,200 and 330,380, with as many as 6 million Syrians displaced, according to the U.N.
While there is no question that the Syrian government is responsible for many of the casualties resulting from its brutal crackdown, this is not just a Syrian problem.
Foreign meddling in Syria began several years before the Syrian revolt erupted. Wikieaks released leaked US State Department cables from 2006 revealing US plans to overthrow the Syrian government through instigating civil strife, and receiving these very orders straight from Tel Aviv. The leaks reveal the United State’s partnership with nations like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and even Egypt to use sectarianism to divide Syria through the Sunni and Shiite divide to destabilize the nation to weaken Iran and Hezbolla. Israel is also revealed to attempt to use this crisis to expand it’s occupation of the Golan Heights for additional oil exploration.
According to major media outlets like the BBC and the Associated Press, the demonstrations that supposedly swept Syria were comprised of only hundreds of people, but additional Wikileaks cables reveal CIA involvement on the ground in Syria to instigate these very demonstrations as early as March 2011.
Just a few months into the demonstrations which now consisted of hundreds of armed protesters with CIA ties, demonstrations grew larger, armed non-Syrian rebel groups swarmed into Syria, and a severe government crackdown swept through the country to deter this foreign meddling. It became evident that the United States, United Kingdom, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey would be jumping on the opportunity to organize, arm and finance rebels to form the Free Syrian Army as outlined in the State Department plans to destabilize Syria. (Just a few months ago, WikiLeaks confirmed this when it released Saudi intelligence that revealed Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia had been working hand in hand to arm and finance rebels to overthrow the Syrian government since 2012.)
These foreign nations created a pact in 2012 called “The Group of Friends of the Syrian People,” a name that couldn’t be further from the truth. Their agenda was to divide and conquer in order to wreak havoc across Syria in view of overthrowing Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The true agenda to hijack Syria’s revolt quickly became evident, with talking heads inserting Syria’s alliance with Iran as a threat to the security and interests of the United States and its allies in the region. It’s no secret that Syria’s government is a major arms, oil and gas, and weapons ally of Iran and Lebanon’s resistance political group Hezbollah.
But it’s important to note the timing: This coalition and meddling in Syria came about immediately on the heels of discussions of an Iran-Iraq-Syria gas pipeline that was to be built between 2014 and 2016 from Iran’s giant South Pars field through Iraq and Syria. With a possible extension to Lebanon, it would eventually reach Europe, the target export market.
Perhaps the most accurate description of the current crisis over gas, oil and pipelines that is raging in Syria has been described by Dmitry Minin, writing for the Strategic Cultural Foundation in May 2013:
“A battle is raging over whether pipelines will go toward Europe from east to west, from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean coast of Syria, or take a more northbound route from Qatar and Saudi Arabia via Syria and Turkey. Having realized that the stalled Nabucco pipeline, and indeed the entire Southern Corridor, are backed up only by Azerbaijan’s reserves and can never equal Russian supplies to Europe or thwart the construction of the South Stream, the West is in a hurry to replace them with resources from the Persian Gulf. Syria ends up being a key link in this chain, and it leans in favor of Iran and Russia; thus it was decided in the Western capitals that its regime needs to change.
It’s the oil, gas and pipelines, stupid!
Indeed, tensions were building between Russia, the U.S. and the European Union amid concerns that the European gas market would be held hostage to Russian gas giant Gazprom. The proposed Iran-Iraq-Syria gas pipeline would be essential to diversifying Europe’s energy supplies away from Russia.
Turkey is Gazprom’s second-largest customer. The entire Turkish energy security structure relies on gas from Russia and Iran. Plus, Turkey was harboring Ottoman-like ambitions of becoming a strategic crossroads for the export of Russian, Caspian-Central Asian, Iraqi and Iranian oil and even gas to Europe.
The Guardian reported in August 2013:
“Assad refused to sign a proposed agreement with Qatar and Turkey that would run a pipeline from the latter’s North field, contiguous with Iran’s South Pars field, through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and on to Turkey, with a view to supply European markets – albeit crucially bypassing Russia. Assad’s rationale was ‘to protect the interests of [his] Russian ally, which is Europe’s top supplier of natural gas.’”
Knowing Syria was a critical piece in its energy strategy, Turkey attempted to persuade Syrian President Bashar Assad to reform this Iranian pipeline and to work with the proposed Qatar-Turkey pipeline, which would ultimately satisfy Turkey and the Gulf Arab nations’ quest for dominance over gas supplies. But after Assad refused Turkey’s proposal, Turkey and its allies became the major architects of Syria’s “civil war.”
Much of the strategy currently at play was described back in a 2008 U.S. Army-funded RAND report, “Unfolding the Future of the Long War”:
“The geographic area of proven oil reserves coincides with the power base of much of the Salafi-jihadist network. This creates a linkage between oil supplies and the long war that is not easily broken or simply characterized. … For the foreseeable future, world oil production growth and total output will be dominated by Persian Gulf resources. … The region will therefore remain a strategic priority, and this priority will interact strongly with that of prosecuting the long war.”
In this context, the report identifies the divide and conquer strategy while exploiting the Sunni-Shiite divide to protect Gulf oil and gas supplies while maintaining a Gulf Arab state dominance over oil markets.
“Divide and Rule focuses on exploiting fault lines between the various Salafi-jihadist groups to turn them against each other and dissipate their energy on internal conflicts. This strategy relies heavily on covert action, information operations (IO), unconventional warfare, and support to indigenous security forces. … the United States and its local allies could use the nationalist jihadists to launch proxy IO campaigns to discredit the transnational jihadists in the eyes of the local populace. … U.S. leaders could also choose to capitalize on the ‘Sustained Shia-Sunni Conflict’ trajectory by taking the side of the conservative Sunni regimes against Shiite empowerment movements in the Muslim world…. possibly supporting authoritative Sunni governments against a continuingly hostile Iran.”
The report notes that another option would be “to take sides in the conflict, possibly supporting authoritative Sunni governments against a continuingly hostile Iran.”
This framework crafted an interesting axis: Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, U.S., Britain and France vs. Syria, Iran and Russia.
Divide and conquer: A path to regime change
With the U.S., France, Britain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — aka, the new “Friends of Syria” coalition — publicly calling for the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad between 2011 and 2012 after Assad’s refusal to sign onto the gas pipeline, the funds and arms flowing into Syria to feed the so-called “moderate” rebels were pushing Syria into a humanitarian crisis. Rebel groups were being organized left and right, many of which featured foreign fighters and many of which had allied with al-Qaida.
The Syrian government responded with a heavy hand, targeting rebel held areas and killing civilians in the process.
Since Syria is religiously diverse, the so-called “Friends of Syria” pushed sectarianism as their official “divide and conquer” strategy to oust Assad. Claiming that Alawites ruled over a majority Sunni nation, the call by the “moderate” U.S.-backed rebels became one about Sunni liberation.
Although the war is being sold to the public as a Sunni-Shiite conflict, so-called Sunni groups like ISIS, the Syrian al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra (the Nusra Front) and even the “moderate” Free Syrian Army have indiscriminately targeted Syria’s Sunnis, Shiites, Christians and Jews. At the same time, these same foreign nations supported and even armed the Bahraini government, which claims to be Sunni, in its violent crackdown on the majority Shiite pro-democracy demonstrations that swept the nation.
The Syrian government army itself is over 80 percent Sunni, which indicates that the true agenda has been politically — not religiously — motivated.
In addition to this, the Assad family is Alawite, an Islamic sect that the media has clumped in with Shiites, though most Shiites would agree that the two are unrelated. Further, the Assad family is described as secular and running a secular nation. Counting Alawites as Shiites was simply another way to push a sectarian framework for the conflict: It allowed for the premise that the Syria-Iran alliance was based on religion, when, in fact, it was an economic relationship.
This framework carefully crafted the Syrian conflict as a Sunni revolution to liberate itself from Shiite influence that Iran was supposedly spreading to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
But the truth is, Syria’s Sunni community is divided, and many defected to join groups like the Free Syrian Army, ISIS and al-Qaida. And as mentioned earlier, over 80 percent of Assad’s military is Sunni.
As early as 2012, additional rebels armed and financed by Arab Gulf nations and Turkey like al-Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood, declared all-out war against Shiites. They even threatened to attack Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraq’s government after they had overthrown the Assad government.
Soon after, the majority of the Muslim Brotherhood rebels became part of al-Qaida-affiliated groups. Together, they announced that they would destroy all shrines — not just those ones which hold particular importance to Shiites.
Hezbollah entered the scene in 2012 and allied itself with the Syrian government to fight al-Nusra and ISIS, which were officially being armed and financed by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. And all the arms were actively being sold to these nations by the United States. Thus, US arms were falling into the hands of the same terror group the US claims to be fighting in its broader War on Terror.
According to reports, Hezbollah was and has been been active in preventing rebel penetration from Syria to Lebanon, being one of the most active forces in the Syrian civil war spillover in Lebanon. Despite this, the U.S. sanctioned both the Syrian government and Hezbollah in 2012.
Also that year, Russia and Iran sent military advisers to assist the Syrian government in quelling the terror groups, but Iranian troops were not on the ground fighting during this time.
What was once a secular, diverse and peaceful nation, was looking more like it was on its way to becoming the next Afghanistan; its people living under Taliban-style rule as jihadists took over more land and conquered more cities.
Effects of foreign meddling outweigh self-determination
If you think that was hard to follow, you’re certainly not alone.
Most sectarian civil wars are purposely crafted to pit sides against one another to allow for a “divide and conquer” approach that breaks larger concentrations of power into smaller factions that have more difficulty linking up. It’s a colonial doctrine that the British Empire famously used, and what we see taking place in Syria is no different.
So, let’s get one thing straight: This is not about religion. It might be convenient to say that Arabs or Muslims kill each other, and it’s easy to frame these conflicts as sectarian to paint the region and its people as barbaric. But this Orientalist, overly simplistic view of conflict in the Middle East dehumanizes the victims of these wars to justify direct and indirect military action.
If the truth was presented to the public from the perspective that these wars are about economic interests, most people would not support any covert funding and arming of rebels or direct intervention. In fact, the majority of the public would protest against war. But when something is presented to the public as a matter of good versus evil, we are naturally inclined to side with the “good” and justify war to fight off the supposed “evil.”
The political rhetoric has been carefully crafted to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable. Ultimately, no matter the agendas, the alliances or instability brought on by foreign meddling, the calls for freedom, democracy and equality that erupted in 2011 were real then and they’re real today. And let’s not forget that the lack of freedom, democracy and equality have been brought on more by foreign meddling to prop up brutal dictators and arm terror groups than by self-determination.
The people in the Middle East once stood united and strong together against foreign meddling, exploitation and colonialism no matter their religious or cultural background. But today, the Middle East is being torn to shreds by manipulative plans to gain oil and gas access by pitting people against one another based on religion. The ensuing chaos provides ample cover to install a new regime that’s more amenable to opening up oil pipelines and ensuring favorable routes for the highest bidders.
And in this push for energy, it’s the people who suffer most. In Syria, they are fleeing en masse. They’re waking up, putting sneakers on their little boys and girls, and hopping on boats without life jackets, hoping just to make it to another shore. They’re risking their lives, knowing full well that they may never reach that other shore, because the hope of somewhere else is better than the reality at home.
***
Look at the bigger picture; do you think that the movements of troops and equipment in the Balkans, Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific, and elsewhere are unrelated? Everything is connected… connect the dots, the lines, the oils, the brushes, the strokes of the folks and the tools of trade.
jameswith 