The real reasons behind the United Nations' Libya vote

By Andrew Murray
National Chair, Stop the War Coalition
18 March 2011

Lindsey German, national convenor of Stop the War, makes the case against Western military intervention on the BBC's Jeremy Vine Show.
A new war has been declared in the Middle East. With the bloody and failing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan still in place, the USA, Britain and France are now committed to an escalating armed intervention in Libya.

The decision to attack Libya and impose regime change – for that is what the UN resolution means – may have been authorised by the Security Council. But it was instigated by the despots of the Arab League, desperate to secure deeper western involvement in the region to save them from their own peoples. And it will be implemented by the same powers which have wreaked such mayhem throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds over the last ten years and longer.

The imposition of a “no-fly zone”, air attacks on Libyan defences and Gaddaffi’s troops, and naval bombardments will not bring peace to Libya nor a resolution to the conflict there.

They will, however, cost more civilian lives and they will set Britain and the world on an escalator of military intervention which risks ending up with an occupation of at least part of Libya.

While few people are admirers of the Gaadaffi regime, the experience of Iraq underlines the dangerous futility of trying to impose “regime change” from without. It also reminds us that genuine democracy and freedom cannot grow from aerial bombardment and foreign occupation.

Attacking Libya and sponsoring the Gulf oligarchies’ invasion of Bahrain to prop up the threatened monarchy there – under the noses of the US fifth fleet - are of a piece. They represent a concerted effort by the western powers to first control and then bring to a halt the Arab revolutions, leaving the essentials of imperial power in the Middle East in place.

David Cameron’s decision to place Britain in the vanguard of efforts to topple the Gaddafi regime is dictated by the same considerations which led Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to embrace that same regime – a desire to maintain BP’s profitable access to Libyan oil.

Stop the War believes that there should be no external military intervention in Libya. In supporting the Arab revolutions, we believe that these will be strangled, not supported, by western military action.
We call on the British government to keep its hands off the Middle East and demand that it refrain from all involvement in military action in Libya or elsewhere in the region. We urge the anti-war movement to campaign throughout the country to arrest and reverse this slide to war and British participation in it.

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The Invasion of Bahrain

Reposted from http://craigmurray.org.uk/about-craig-murray/
Most recently, Craig Murray was British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004.

A senior diplomat in a western mission to the UN in New York, who I have known over ten years and trust, has told me for sure that Hillary Clinton agreed to the cross-border use of troops to crush democracy in the Gulf, as a quid pro quo for the Arab League calling for Western intervention in Libya.

The hideous King of Bahrain has called in troops from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait to attack pro-democracy protestors in Bahrain.

Can you imagine the outrage if Gadaffi now called in the armies of Chad. Mali and Burkina Faso to attack the rebels in Ben Ghazi?

But do you think that those in power, who rightly condemn Gadaffi’s apparent use of foreign mercenaries, will condemn this use of foreign military power by oil sheiks to crush majority protestors in Bahrain? Of course they won’t. We just had Sky News rationalising it by telling us that the Gulf Cooperation Council have a military alliance that a state can call in help if attacked. But that does not mean attacked by its own, incidentally unarmed, people. NATO is a military alliance. It does not mean Cameron could call in US troops to gun down tuition fees protestors in Parliament Square.

This dreadful outrage by the Arab sheikhs will be swallowed silently by the West because they are “our” bastards, they host our troops and they buy our weapons.

I do hope this latest development will open the eyes of those duped into supporting western intervention in Libya, who believe those who control the western armies are motivated by humanitarian concern. Bahrain already had foreign forces in it – notably the US fifth fleet. Do you think that Clinton and Obama will threaten that they will intervene if foreign armies are let loose on pro-democracy demonstrators? No they won’t.

Whether this will have any effect on the railroading of public opinion behind military intervention in Libya remains to be seen. I am fascinated to hear, for example, whether Ming Campbell and Phillippe Sands, who wrote of Our Duty To Protect The Libyan People , also believe we have a duty to pro-democracy demonstrators in Bahrain to protect them from attack by foreign forces.

We know from Iraq and Afghanistan, Serbia, Lebanon and Gaza that the “collateral damage” from the initial bombing of Libyan air defences will kill more people than are dying already in the terrible situation in Libya. While a no-fly zone would help rebel morale, most of the actual damage rebels are sustaining is from heavy artillery; without a no tank, no artillery and no gunboat zone, a no-fly zone will not in itself tip the military balance.

It appears that getting rid of Gadaffi may be a longer slog than we would like, but an attempt at a quick fix will lead to another Iraq, and give him an undeserved patriotic mantle. It was former UK Ambassador to Libya, Oliver Miles who said western military intervention in Libya should be avoided above all because of the law of unintended consequences. One consequence has happened already, unintended by the liberals who fell in behind the calls for military attacks on Gadaffi. They helped cause the foreign military suppression of democracy in Bahrain. For Clinton and Obama, it is a win-win forwarding US foreign policy on both Libya and the Gulf, where they don’t want democracy.

People of good heart should weep.

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For a Peaceful Political Solution to the Conflict. Keep Canadian Military at Home.

MARCH 19 2011
CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
COMMUNIST PARTY OF CANADA

On Thursday of this week, the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 1973, authorizing the imposition of a “no-fly zone” on Libya and the use of “all necessary measures” short of an invasion – including naval blockades, bombardment and air strikes – against Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s forces in order “to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas” in the rebel-held Eastern part of Libya. The resolution also imposes a ban on all air travel (including civilian flights) in Libyan airspace, toughens the arms embargo, and widens the freeze of offshore Libyan assets.


In reality, the UN decision hands the U.S. and its NATO allies a carte blanche to launch a full-scale onslaught against Tripoli and other government-held areas. Res. 1973 goes far beyond the “no-fly zone” concept to include attacks on Libyan military units and equipment which “threaten” the population, essentially expanding the scope of potential military action to include virtually every conceivable form of attack. Such a military assault will further enflame the internal conflict which has already exacted a heavy toll amongst the Libyan population, and will put “civilians and civilian-populated areas” at greater, rather than lesser risk.


The Communist Party of Canada condemns this Security Council action which was bullied through by the U.S., Britain and France, passing by a vote of 10-0 with 5 abstentions (China, Russia, Brazil, India and Germany), under the dangerous and thoroughly hypocritical doctrine of “humanitarian interventionism”. This doctrine is dangerous because it provides a convenient pretext to override one of the most central and fundamental principles of the U.N. Charter – namely, respect for the national and territorial sovereignty of all member-states – thus providing official sanction for wars of aggression and occupation by the imperialist powers under the cover of ‘international humanitarian relief’.


Its invocation by Washington and its imperialist allies is also outrageously hypocritical, when US/NATO forces have inflicted thousands of casualties on innocent civilians in wars of occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq, and continue to do so up to the present day. Where is this burning concern “to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas” in Pakistan, where the U.S. has repeatedly launched unmanned drone attacks causing hundreds additional deaths among unarmed civilians?


Or take what is happening right now in Bahrain and Yemen, where reactionary and dictatorial governments are slaughtering unarmed civilian protestors in broad daylight – protestors whose only ‘crime’ is that they have peacefully taken to the streets to demand democratic change. Or the repeated Israeli massacres of Palestinians in Gaza and the other occupied territories – surely the most outrageous case of imperialist double standards. Why have Washington, London and Paris remained so conspicuously silent in the face of these outrageous atrocities?


The answer is very simple: because these are ‘US-friendly’ client states which faithfully serve imperialist interests in the region. In Libya, on the other hand, the imperialist powers want a ‘regime change’ to replace Gaddafi with a more ‘predictable’ and pliant puppet government, and to strengthen their hegemony in North Africa & the Middle East where their ‘influence’ (a.k.a. their economic interests centred on control of the region’s vital oil resources) is increasingly threatened by the rising tide of democratic upsurge throughout the Arab world.


In response to the passage of the UN resolution, the Libyan government has announced an immediate cessation of military action and is calling for an “open dialogue” to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. Tripoli has also invited the United Nations and other international organizations such as the African Union to send fact-finding missions to the country to confirm the ceasefire decision, and to pave the way to a negotiated settlement.


Many may question whether Gaddafi’s ceasefire offer is genuine. Unfortunately, the western powers are already dismissing this initiative without even bothering to confirm the intentions of the Libyan regime, and are preparing to launch military action, clearly revealing their true intent to impose regime change through military aggression.


However bad the current situation, it will be much worse with a foreign invasion. The Communist Party urges all Canadians who oppose war and aggression to speak out to demand that our government withdraw our troops and warships now, and to demand that the imperialist powers, including Canada, refrain from military aggression against Libya and instead support a peaceful resolution to this crisis. Let the Libyan people settle matters themselves with a political solution. “Hands off Libya!”

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15,000 youth on the march

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BC Fed welcomes minimum wage increase, disappointed by new tip wage

from BC Federation of Labour: www.bcfed.ca

March 16, 2011

Vancouver-The BC Federation of Labour welcomes today's announcement of a minimum wage increase by Premier Christy Clark, but is disappointed Clark is considering an abusive tip wage.

"$8.75 is a poor start," stated Jim Sinclair president of the BC Federation of Labour. "BC will still have the lowest minimum wage in Canada, but we're hopeful that the Premier will keep her promise to reach $10.25 by next May."

"A minimum wage increase is long overdue, and it's unfortunate BC's lowest paid workers had to wait 10 years for any increase."

Sinclair thanked the tens of thousands of low wage workers, students, union members, church groups and municipal politicians who have stayed active in the Federation's $10 Now campaign. "With their help we've seen unprecedented levels of support for a minimum wage increase; together we have finally forced the BC Liberals to act."

However, the Federation expressed disappointment that the BC Liberals were introducing a tip wage for liquor servers. Workers who earn tips are routinely asked to pay for items like theft and breakage, including "dine and dash," along with forced sharing of tips sometimes including with management.

"With no oversight from the Ministry of Labour, and additional cuts in this year's budget this puts servers at risk of abuse. If the BC Liberals want to introduce a tip wage they should first enforce Employment Standards, poor as they are."

For more information: Jessie Uppal, Office: 604-430-1421 or Cell: 604-220-0739.

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Get a life, Ignatieff

Our freedom of speech does not stop at mention of apartheid

Queen’s Uni. rector Day should not be punished for standing up to Ignatieff

MATHEW POWES

Published on March 17, 2011

On March 9, Queen’s University Student Rector Nick Day responded in a letter to Michael Ignatieff’s recent comments regarding Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW). Specifically, the letter was aimed at challenging Ignatieff’s statements about the event, namely that it “is a dangerous cocktail of ignorance and intolerance,” and that the event “targets Jewish and Israeli students for abuse on our university campuses … the organizers and supports of Israeli Apartheid Week tarnish our freedom of speech.” In response, Day said, “If I ever used the influence of my office and the power of my public voice, as you have, to insulate from criticism the perpetrator of a mass-slaughter, I would have a very difficult time sleeping at night.”

According to many students at Queen’s, Day went too far, and a number of Facebook groups have emerged in opposition to the fact that he claims to hold these views on behalf of the 20,000 graduate and undergraduate students of Queen’s. In addition, he has also been criticized for earlier statements made this past Remembrance Day, in which he took the opportunity to speak on a diverse range of civil rights topics which many felt were neither germane nor respectful.

The thing that strikes one immediately is the sophistry of the demand Day resign, or be impeached, and I would like to take the opportunity here to both come out in support of Day and to criticize his detractors. Their argument goes like this: Day claims to speak on behalf of all Queen’s students in professing his (controversial) opinion, but he in fact does not, and should therefore be removed. Is it actually possible to speak on behalf of all the students of Queen’s, or of any university? If you cannot speak on behalf of someone without their consent, then Day would have to have the implicit or explicit consent of 20,000 people in order to make any kind of utterance. It’s clear that nobody could reasonably expect this of him. We could say that he needed a certain percentage of the student body’s support in order to speak, but that raises a host of problems: what percentage? Who determines how to calculate this percentage? Must he have consent for everything he says, or just some of the things? Et cetera, et cetera. Day is either free to speak his mind as Student Rector or he isn’t: the middle ground is intractably mired. What this impossible-to-fulfill demand reveals is the hidden premise of the above argument: that Day spoke about something he wasn’t supposed to speak about and, what’s worse, in a way he wasn’t supposed to.

A simple test will suffice to show that this is true. Suppose Day had taken the opportunity instead to speak prescriptively “on behalf” of the Queen’s student body about something relatively uncontroversial, say, that same-sex marriage ought to be legal. Although he would have used his position to present an opinion of his own (the detractors’ main issue), we would not expect it to cause uproar at a large Canadian research university, the kind of which we see reflected in such Facebook groups as “Get Your Head Out of Your Rector! Remove Nick Day as Queen’s Rector.”

The simple fact seems to be that the students of Queen’s feel unduly threatened by Day’s (in my view) courageous statements in response to Ignatieff’s, and are using the thinnest pretense of policy to veil their discomfort. What is it exactly that is causing them so much concern in regards to Day’s comments? The word “apartheid,” is my guess. The word is instantly recognizable as a signifier of state racism in South Africa, and is both a familiar buzzword and a damning indictment. The word comes from the Dutch “apart” + “heid” (-hood), literally, aparthood, and refers to a “policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. To see whether the word applies to the situation in Israel, one need only take a look at the facts: evidence of systemic discrimination against Arab Israelis and Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank and the occupied territories is overwhelming. The “aparthood” of the occupied Palestinians could not be declared more succinctly than in the erection of the eight-metre tall concrete wall that separates them from their occupiers.

So, a week in protest of this obvious case of apartheid should be supported, insofar as one is against apartheid wherever it occurs. Ignatieff’s statements regarding the event (IAW) come off in this light exactly as Day reports them: “deeply unethical,” and betraying “a deep lack of intellectual integrity” on Ignatieff’s part. Day should be applauded for having the courage to speak boldly on a topic about which many lack the courage to speak at all. After all, then, it seems that the outraged students’ real gripe is with the characterization of Israel as an apartheid state by IAW. They have the right to voice their opinion, however un-, mis-, or malinformed – but it is “deeply unethical” of them to deny Day, and the students who elected him, theirs.

–

Mathew Powes is a U1 Philosophy student. He can be reached at mathew.powes@mail.mcgill.ca.

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Petition: Reallocate Canadian Military Spending

Petition Overview: If you're concerned about the Canadian federal governments plan to purchase new fighter jets (i.e. 65 F-35 Lightning II) at a cost of $16 - $29.3 billion dollars over 20-years, please go to the following link, read and sign the petition: GO TO: http://www.petitiononline.com/CMSP1/petition.html E-MAIL FAR AND WIDE!!! Thanks for your concern and support! Sincerely, Seek The Alternatives (STA) - Community-Based Organization Contact: stalternatives@gmail.com “Just as wars begin in the minds of men, peace also begins in our minds. The same species who invented war is capable of inventing peace. The responsibility lies with each of us” (UNESCO, 1986, p.01).

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THE DISASTERS THREATENING THE WORLD

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

THE DISASTERS THREATENING THE WORLD

If the speed of light would not exist; if the star closest to our sun would not be four light years from the Earth, the only inhabited planet in our system; if ETs really existed; the imaginary visitors to the planet would continue their voyage without understanding all that our humankind is suffering.

Just a few centuries ago in the millennial history of Man, nobody knew what was happening on the other side of the globe. Today, we can find out what’s happening right away and sometimes they are hugely transcendental events that affect all the peoples of the world.

Without more preamble, I shall limit myself to the most important news during the last two days.

“TeleSUR, March13, 2011

“Volcano eruption in Japan triggers new alarm

“The Japanese Meteorological Agency informs that the volcano Shimoedake, located on the island of Kyushu to the south-east of Japan, spewed ash and stones this Sunday to a height of four thousand metres, after two week of relative calm and two days after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that lashed the country.”

“…it became active last January for the first time in 52 years…”

“According to a BBC report, buildings in a radius of 4 kilometres were damaged and hundreds of persons fled from the vicinity, panic-stricken.”

“The […] seismic movement with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter Scale, according to the Meteorological Agency of Japan, has already had repercussions on other volcanoes…”

“Japan crushed by the quake, tsunami and explosions at nuclear plants

“SENDAI, Japan, Mar.14, 2011 (AFP) – A double explosion on Monday in Reactor No. 3 at the Fukushima 1 nuclear plant fed the rumour of an atomic disaster in Japan, a country already overwhelmed by a quake and a tsunami that may have left more than 10,000 dead.

“Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), operator of Fukushima 1 (250 km to the north-east of Tokyo), also admitted the possibility that the fuel of Reactor 2 had entered into fusion because of damage to the cooling circuit. The government, for its part, minimized the possibility that an important explosion should be produced in that reactor.



“Rescue teams found approximately 2,000 corpses on the coast of Miyagi Prefecture (north-east), while millions of Japanese were attempting to survive without water, electricity, fuel or sufficient food and hundreds of thousands were forced to take shelter at emergency centres because of the tsunami that destroyed their homes.”

Aid workers from around the world arrived in the archipelago to collaborate with more than 100,000 soldiers that are trying to give aid in a country that continues to be shaken by earthquake after-shocks and lives in permanent fear of false alarms about new tsunamis.”



“Fear of a nuclear disaster was being added to the agony caused by the devastation. The quake, the tsunami and the explosions at the plants place the country into its “most serious crisis (...) since the end of WW II”, stated Prime Minister Naoto Kan.”

“An explosion had occurred on Saturday in Reactor No. 1, taking the life of one technician and injuring eleven.

“Fusion is produced on account of the reheating of the bars of fuel that start to melt just like candles.”

“Authorities declared a state of emergency at a second nuclear plant, the Onagawa Plant in the north-east...”

“Another nuclear plant, Tokai, suffered damages to its cooling system...”

“An 8.9-magnitude earthquake, and the following tsunami with a height of 10 metres, ripped through the north-eastern coast of the Japanese archipelago on Friday.”

“More than 10,000 persons may have lost their lives in the coastal prefecture of Miyagi (north-eastern Japan)…”

“At least 5.6 million homes are still without electrical power…”

“DATA- What’s happening in the Japanese nuclear reactors?

“March 14 (Reuters) – A second explosion shook the Japanese nuclear plant damaged by an earthquake, where authorities are working desperately to prevent nuclear fusion in the reactors.”

“The nucleus of a reactor consists of a series of tubes or metal zircon bars that contain pellets of uranium fuel stored in what the engineers call the fuel equipment.”

“Back-up refrigeration had problems several times during the last three days in Reactors 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima plant.”

“However, natural degradation of radioactive materials in the reactor’s nucleus continues to produce heat, called residual heat, falling to a quarter of its original level during the first hour and then disappearing more slowly.”

“Usually that heat is eliminated by refrigeration pumps that, in the Fukushima Plant, lost its emergency energy supply due to the earthquake, tsunami or both.”

“It was that hydrogen gas that caused the two explosions in the Fukushima Plant, in Unit 1 on Saturday and in Reactor 3 on Monday, according to experts and officials.”

“If a steel dome should break inside a reactor, the radiation levels will rise. But at this point now the heat is not enough to destroy them, experts say.”

“The risk is still there that the nucleus could melt and that could make removal of the fuel really difficult, or even impossible; that’s what happened on Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979.”

“EFE March 14th

“US moves its vessels further from the Japanese coast after detecting radioactivity in 17 soldiers”

“The Pentagon informed today that 17 soldiers who are participating in assistance work in Japan registered “low levels” of radioactivity and it ordered its Seventh Fleet vessels based in the Japanese city of Yokosuka to be temporarily repositioned.”

“The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier was 160 kilometres to the north-east of the plant at the time of the escape after the tsunami following the quake with a magnitude of nine points on the Richter Scale that shook Japan.”

“Fighting to cool down Fukushima Reactors 2 and 3 and number of dead grows”

“International News, Mar 14 (EFE).- Those in charge of Reactor 2 at the Fukushima Plant in Japan are trying to cool it down, after it may have suffered partial fusion as a result of over-heating; they are also cooling down Reactor 3 where there was an explosion that did not cause any radioactivity to escape.”

“While authorities struggle to control the nuclear risk, the number of dead increases as a result of the earthquake that has caused the worst tragedy in Japan since WW II.”

“The tremor could be felt powerfully in Tokyo, the largest city in the world with more than 30 million inhabitants, where the mood is one of sadness and citizens are using alternate transportation such as bicycles in the face of fuel shortages.”

“The country’s Meteorological Agency has warned the Japanese about a week of after-shocks and of a 70 percent possibility of a 7-point earthquake in Japan by this Wednesday.”

“Germany cancels plans for nuclear extension for three months”

“Berlin, Mar 14 (dpa)”

“The accident recorded this weekend at the Japanese Fukushima Plant as a result of the earthquake and later tsunami that devastated the Asian country on Friday ‘has completely changed the global situation’, Merkel stated.”

“‘Accidents in Japan show that what we thought impossible is possible and the risks we thought were improbable are not so improbable’, she went on to specify...”

“AFP. Yemen: Three demonstrators dead, among them a 12-year-old boy”

03/12/11

“SANAH (AFP) – Three demonstrators died, among them a 12-year-old boy and hundreds were injured on Saturday in Yemen where the protesters accused the police of having used toxic gases to disperse them.”

“A demonstrator died and approximately 300 were injured or intoxicated by the gases...”

“According to the UN, 37 demonstrators and at least six police died since the unrest began in Yemen.”

“ABU DHABI, March 14 (Reuters)”

“The price increase for crude and the recent and sudden reduction of the existence of cereals in the world could indicate a supply crisis, FAO Director Jacques Diouf told Reuters…”.

“‘The high prices are worrying and we have a huge decrease in their existence’...”.

“LONDON (AP) — British-based defense contractor BAE Systems PLC bribed Saudi officials in return for lucrative arms deals in Saudi Arabia, according to a newly released secret U.S. diplomatic cable.”

“…BAE, Europe's largest defense contractor, paid more than 70 million pounds ($113 million) to a Saudi prince.”

“EFE. Ashton does not dismiss the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya

“In Cairo today, Catherine Ashton, in charge of EU Foreign Policy, does not dismiss the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya after meeting with Arab League Secretary General Amro Musa.”

“TRIPOLI, 14 (ANSA) – The forces of Muammar Kadafi today attacked Ajdabiya, in eastern Libya, and Zuwarah in the north-east, while the opposition National Council assured it would recover positions and said that it has international commitment to establish a no-fly zone.”

“The Council assured today that it obtained the commitment of the United States, Great Britain and France to set up a no-fly zone.”

“General Abd al Fattah Yunis, member of the rebel military council, assured that they would recover positions on the coast and in the country’s Eastern region…”

“‘We shall recover those cities and you will soon hear that our army advances towards Sidra and Tripoli’.”

“100 THOUSAND VOLUNTEERS HAVE JOINED GADDAFI FORCES

“TRIPOLI, 14 (ANSA) – Some 100 thousand volunteers have joined Libyan armed forces since the start of combat between troops backing Muammar Gaddafi and the rebel groups, government sources stated today.”

“Bahrain: opposition denounces “occupation” after the arrival of Saudi soldiers

“MANAMA, March 14, 2011 (AFP)”

“‘The people of Bahrain is facing a real danger: that of a war against the citizens of Bahrain with no declaration of war’, seven opposition members emphasized, including Wefaq chiita, in a report.

“‘We consider the entry of any soldier, any military vehicle, into the land, air or sea space of the Kingdom of Bahrain to be a flagrant occupation of the unarmed people of Bahrain and a violation of international treaties and agreements’, the opposition added.”

“MORE PROTESTS YEMEN, BAHRAIN AND MOROCCO

“MANAMA and ADEN, 13 (ANSA) – Protest demonstrations continue today in Yemen, where three people died, and in Bahrain and Morocco, against the governments of those countries, local sources informed today.”

“…in Saudi Arabia, dozens of persons met today in the vicinity of the Ministry of the Interior headquarters in Riyadh to demand the liberation of a group of activists being held by police.”

“MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters encircled one of the royal family's palaces Saturday, shouting calls for political freedom and the king's ouster a day after a similar march triggered a violent response from security forces.”

“Protests in Bahrain modeled on the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.”

“Bahrain holds particular importance to Washington as the host of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet…”

“United Arab Emirates to send troops to Bahrain

“DUBAI, March 14 2011 (AFP) – The United Arab Emirates announced on Monday they are going to send troops to Bahrain to contribute to “preserve order and stability” in that neighbouring country where the Saudis have already arrived with the same military purpose.”

“MANAMA, March 14 2011 (AFP) – The opposition in Bahrain stated on Monday that ‘any foreign military presence’ shall be considered to be ‘an occupation’, in their reaction to the arrival of Saudi troops in the Kingdom.”

“More than a thousand Saudi soldiers, part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) common forces, arrived in Bahrain, swept by a wave of demonstrations, according to statements to AFP by a Saudi in charge.”

“MEXICO (AFP) – The so-called US ‘Operation Fast and Furious’ that presumably allowed the deliberate entry into Mexico of almost 2,000 weapons, placed relations between the two countries into a delicate position, according to experts, and caused the unanimous irritation of Mexican legislators.”

“‘If the US acted without including any Mexican authority, we are dealing with totally unacceptable interference and a clear show of non-confidence’ by Washington in the Mexican police, former Ambassador to the US Jorge Montaño commented to AFP.”

“Mexico is facing unprecedented spiralling violence that has left almost 35,000 dead since December of 2006 in confrontations between drug traffickers and anti-drug police, as well as around a hundred victims caught in the cross-fire.”

“The Mexican senate described 'Fast and Furious' as an ‘aggressive and unilateral’ operation and an ‘insult to the sovereignty’ of Mexico.”

“IPS March 14 15:04”

“Tonight we were informed that Reactor No. 2 at the Fukushima 1 Plant was melting after emergency cooling systems failed, and this aggravated fears of radioactive contamination. On Saturday and this Monday there were explosions in Reactors 1 and 3.”

“Reactor No. 2 is functioning with a fuel known as Oxide Mix (MOX fuel) that contains plutonium, a particularly harmful substance for health.”

“ROME, 14 (ANSA) – There is a total of 442 active nuclear reactors in the world, concentrated in 29 countries and constructed by no more than ten companies.

“Europe, […] where governments today began to review their policy in the sector, has 148 active reactors in 16 countries.

“To those […] already active, we can add 65 that are under construction…”

“The world record for the number of functioning nuclear reactors is held by the United States with 104, followed by France with 58, Japan with 54...”

Last minute news just heard in Cuba informs that there was a third explosion at Fukushima:

“EFE March 15 20:13

“There is fear of radioactive leaks due to the nuclear fusion of a reactor at Fukushima

“Tokyo, March 15 (EFE).- The company operating the Fukushima Nuclear Plant (north-eastern Japan) today acknowledged that it fears radioactive leaks due to a possible fusion in the nucleus of Reactor No. 2 which this morning suffered an explosion.

“Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) admitted that radiation may have been released after the structure enclosing Reactor No. 2 was damaged while radioactive levels in the area registered 8.217 microsieverts per hour, as opposed to the allowed 500.”

We can observe the complex situation prevailing in the Arab world where a revolutionary wave has been unleashed by its peoples.

The Saudi King supports the NATO war in Libya; while in Bahrain, NATO supports the Saudi invasion. The blood of the Arab peoples will be spilt to benefit the great trans-nationals of the United States while oil prices reach unpredictable heights as wars are unleashed in the areas producing the most oil and nuclear disasters in Japan multiply the resistance of peoples to the proliferation of nuclear plants.

Wastage and the capitalist consumer societies in their neo-liberal and imperialist phase are taking the world into a blind alley, where climatic change and the growing cost of foods lead billions of people towards more acute poverty levels.


Fidel Castro Ruz

March 14, 2011

9:35 p.m.

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Two Earthquakes

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

Two Earthquakes

A strong 8.9 on the scale earthquake shook Japan today. The most worrying is that early news reports were talking about thousands dead and missing, figures really unheard of in a developed country where all constructions are quake-proof. They were even talking about a nuclear reactor that was out of control. Hours later, it was informed that four nuclear plants close to the most affected area were under control. There was also information about a tsunami 10 metres high that had the entire Pacific area on tidal wave alert.

The earthquake originated at a depth of 24.4 kilometres and 100 kilometres from the coast. Had it happened at a lesser depth and distance, the consequences would have been more serious.

There was a shift in the earth’s axis. It was the third phenomenon of great intensity occurring in less than two years: Haiti, Chile and Japan. Man cannot be blamed for such tragedies. Every country, surely, will do everything it can to help the hard-working people who were the first to suffer an unnecessary and inhuman nuclear attack.

According to Spain’s Official College of Geologists, the energy released by the earthquake is equivalent to 200 million tons of dynamite.

The most recent information, from AFP, states that the Japanese electric Company, Tokyo Electric Power, informed that according to government instructions, they had released some of the vapour containing radioactive substances...

“We are following the situation. Until the present there is no problem...”

“They also indicated that there were breakdowns related to the cooling of three reactors in a second nearby plant, Fukushima 2.

“The government ordered the evacuation of surrounding areas for a radius of 10 km in the case of the first plant and 3 km in the case of the second one.”

Another earthquake, a political one and potentially more serious, is the one taking place around Libya, and it affects every country, one way or the other.

The drama that country is living through is in full swing and its outcome is still uncertain.

A great hubbub broke out yesterday in the US Senate when James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, stated before the Armed Services Committee that he didn’t believe Gaddafi had any intention of leaving; because of evidence at their disposal, it seems that he is “in this for the long haul”.

He added that Gaddafi has two brigades that “are very loyal”.

He pointed out that the air attacks carried out by the army loyal to Gaddafi “mainly” caused damages on buildings and infrastructure rather than civilian casualties.

Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess, Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency, at the same hearing before the Senate, said that it seemed Gaddafi had staying power unless some other dynamic changes at this time.

“The opportunity the rebels had at the start of the popular uprising has ‘begun to change’, he assured.

I have no doubt whatsoever that Gaddafi and the Libyan leaders committed an error in trusting Bush and NATO, as it can be inferred from what I wrote in my Reflection on the 9th.

Nor do I doubt the intentions of the United States and NATO to intervene militarily in Libya and abort the revolutionary wave shaking the Arab world.

Countries that are opposing NATO intervention and defending the idea of a political solution without foreign intervention harbour the conviction that the Libyan patriots shall defend their Homeland until their dying breath.

Fidel Castro Ruz

March 11, 2011

10:12 p.m.

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Letter of Condolences to the Victims of Natural Disaster in Japan

Letter of Condolences to the Victims of Natural Disaster in Japan

World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) would like to express its deepest condolences and sympathy to all those affected by the multiple earth quake following devastating Tsunami and nuclear reactor explosion happened from 10 march, 2011 in Japan.

This quake of 8.9 magnitudes is one of the biggest earthquakes in world. The earth quake was worst following with other major quakes and multiple aftershocks. Most heart-breaking phenomenon is sweeping of people and settlements with devastating seven meter high Tsunami. To add much worst case scenario is that the explosion of two nuclear power reactor killing and injuring many people and further putting into danger the life of thousands of inhabitants around the area of Fukisima. Still other four reactors are reported to be in critical position. More than 200000 people are already evacuated from this area.

Till now at least 1957 people are confirmed to lose their lives and more than 15000 people are still missing with incalculable loss of property and damage of infrastructure. As 9500 people are missing in only the city of Minamisanriku the loss of life could reach more than ten thousand. Damaged and collapsed houses could be seen everywhere with burnt fire in many places. Bad weather is adding more complication over rescue efforts.

At this time of grief of Japanese people, WFDY concerns that natural disaster so terrible and devastating should be the great concerns of common humanity to deal such tragedies.

We urge all internal communities and our member organization to stay with Japanese people to join all rescue efforts and all kind of logistic supports for those who are affected and threatened by natural and nuclear disaster in Japan. Water, food and fuel are now urgent need to be supplied.

We send our message of deepest sympathy to our member organizations, JLSY, KYLJ and DLYJ and affirm our moral supports and join their all efforts to support affected people in this hard time of disaster.

The CC Headquarter

World Federation of Democratic Youth

Budapest, Hungary

13 March 2011.

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