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Pakistan: Taliban Peace Talks, How to Make Sense, Out of Nonsense?
Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja
Secretive peace talks between PM Nawaz Sharif Government and Taharak Taliban Pakistan (TTP) groups overflowing conspicuous media headlines hardly tell the truth full of hatred and fear of the unknown. Both represent willing suspicion of disbelief that talks could render peace which none have to offer? After political fanfare, Sharif appeared vulnerable to credibility gimmick lingering to his past corruption and missing leadership. Talibans are ruthless convergent groups of unknown changing loyalties to all directions of political and economic maneuverability for their interests and survival. Who will stand on a solid ground for the reality check? There is no formal agenda for talks, no publicly engaged representatives directly at the table and no peace talks as such except rudimentary symbolic gestures carved out of the nowhere to ensure mutual distrust and time killing exercises to protect individualistic interests of the few warlords on both sides of aisle. Pakistani Taliban as media calls them owe their superfluous existence to the emergence of Taliban movement in Afghanistan that previously fought against the occupation of the former Soviet Union and now fighting against the US led NATO occupation of Afghanistan.
US-Stoked Violence Rocks Ukraine
by Stephen Lendman
Washington bears full responsibility for three months of street protest violence. At issue is toppling Ukraine's democratically elected government. More on this below.
On Sunday, Ukraine offered amnesty to anti-government protesters. It did so provided they vacated occupied public buildings. An official statement said:
Amnesty "comes into force from February 17, 2014 and stipulates that charges against the people having committed offenses will be dropped."
It took effect after protesters met authorities half-way. They left some occupied Kiev buildings. They evacuated others in Lvov, Ivano-Frankovsk and Ternopol.
Ukrainian authorities agreed to let OSCE ambassadors control the buildings. Unblocking Grushevsky Street began. Traffic was partly restored.
Municipal services began removing debris. Under amnesty agreed on terms, 268 people arrested from December 27 - February 2 were scheduled for release.
Britain Harasses Human Rights Lawyer
by Stephen Lendman
Snowden attorney Jesselyn Radack interrogated at
Heathrow Airport
Britain, America and Israel are likeminded. They're rogue states. They're axis of evil partners.
They operate ruthlessly. They mock democratic values. They trash rule of law principles. They tolerate no one challenging their lawlessness.
They vilify them. They imprison some. They do so to threaten others. Most often they harass. They do it no-holds-barred.
The Government Accountability Project (GAP) calls itself "the nation's leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization."
Jesselyn Radack is a prominent human rights lawyer/whistleblower. She's GAP's National Security & Human Rights director.
She's involved mainly with national security and intelligence community whistleblowers. She focuses on torture, lawless surveillance, secrecy and political discrimination. She represented former senior NSA official Thomas Drake. He won awards for truth-telling and intelligence integrity. On April 15, 2010, he was wrongfully indicted. Obama prosecutors did so under the 1917 Espionage Act.
He faced multiple charges. They included willful retention of classified information, obstruction of justice and making false statements.
Iran Nuclear Talks Resume in Vienna
by Stephen Lendman
On November 24, 2013, Iran and P5 + 1 countries agreed on Joint Plan of Action (JPA) terms. A previous article said hold the cheers. It asked if it matters.
Longstanding hardline US/Israeli policy won't change. Anti-Iranian AIPAC pressure is relentless.
Obama twice breached JPA terms. He did so unilaterally. On February 18, talks resumed. Focus is on agreeing on a comprehensive "permanent resolution." Prospects aren't encouraging.
Longstanding US policy calls for regime change. Iran's nuclear program is entirely peaceful. No evidence suggests otherwise.
It doesn't matter. "My goal is to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon," says Obama. "All options are on the table."
Obama's Multiple Regime Change Fronts
by Stephen Lendman
Previous articles discussed Obama's rogue agenda in detail. His destructive pattern continues unabated. Throughout his tenure, he did what supporters thought impossible.
He exceeded the worst of George Bush. His policies replicate Republican hardliners. Neocons infest his administration.
He's waging war on humanity. He's doing at home and abroad.
He wrecked America's economy. He looted the nation's wealth. He handed Wall Street crooks multi-trillions of dollars. He gave trillions more to war profiteers.
Other corporate favorites benefitted hugely. So did super-rich elites. Ordinary Americans struggle through protracted Depression level conditions.
Hard times keep getting harder. They persist. They show no signs of ending. Growing millions face impoverishment without jobs or futures.
Freedoms are disappearing in plain sight. Police state ruthlessness targets dissent. Abuse of power is institutionalized.
Multiple regime change fronts target foreign leaders. Independent ones aren't tolerated. Obama wants Syria's Assad replaced.
He's waging proxy to oust him. He's responsible for three years of bloody conflict. Mass slaughter, destruction and unspeakable human misery define it.
Millions of internally and externally displaced Syrians attest to his ruthlessness. War rages without end.
Washington v. Chavismo
by Stephen Lendman
Destabilizing Venezuela is longstanding US policy. Chavez denounced it many times. President Nicolas Maduro does now.
After his April 2013 election, he accused opposition candidate Henrique Capriles of coup plotting against him.
"Preparations are under way for an attempt to de-recognize democratic institutions," he said.
Dark forces never quit. Washington prioritizes regime change. Venezuela is a prime target.
At the time, Maduro accused US embassy officials of plotting "acts of violence." He expelled two Obama military attaches.
He accused another embassy employee of plotting sabotage against Venezuela's electrical grid.
"I will use a hard hand against fascism and intolerance," he said. "I declare it. If they want to overthrow me, come and get me."
NYPD Shame Of New York: Drop The Charges Against Cecily McMillan
By Kevin Zeese
McMillan was sexually assaulted, beaten unconscious and into seizures by NY Police, but the city is charging her with felony assault over the incident.
Occupy participant Cecily McMillan is being prosecuted for felony police assault and may face up to 7 years in prison. In reality, it is the NYPD that should be on trial for their assault on McMillan. The trial has already been delayed because of the credibility of the arresting officer, however, New York City should review the case and drop all charges against McMillan.
On the Sixth anniversary of Occupy Wall Street Cecily McMillan arrived at midnight to Zuccotti Park to meet some friends and go out to celebrate her birthday. Instead, she would find herself unconscious, in seizures and badly bruised.
McMillan was not in Zuccotti to protest, but she arrived as the police began to violently break up the crowd. She felt someone grab her right breast she involuntarily swung her elbow around and hit the offender in the face. It turned out to be an undercover police officer, Grantley Bovell. She was violently arrested, knocked to the ground, unconscious and began suffering seizures while she was handcuffed. It would be 15 to 20 minutes before an ambulance arrived. Photos of McMillan show bruises from fingers that grabbed her breast, a swollen eye and other bruises.
Obama Plans Intervention Against Syria
by Stephen Lendman
Neocons infest his administration. They want Assad forcibly ousted. Manipulated to fail diplomacy may be pretext to do it.
Two rounds of Geneva talks deadlocked. Expect no change going forward. US strategy call for regime change. It's comin the old-fashioned way. Toppling Assad violently is planned.
On February 17, the Syrian Free Press Network (SFPN) headlined "RED ALERT: American, Israeli and British intelligences services in Jordan, NOW, are planning an attack, with (so-called) 'moderate' Takfiris, to create a mini-state in south Syria."
On Friday, so-called "interim government" defense minister Asaad Mustafa resigned. Allegedly it was over internal disputes.
As the same time, so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) head Salim Idris was fired. Abdel Alah al-Bashir replaced him.
Preordained Failure in Geneva
by Stephen Lendman
Washington manipulated Syrian peace talks deadlock. Obama abhors peace. He wants war. He didn't launch it to quit.
He wants Assad forcibly ousted. Ending conflict defeats his objective. It continues. Two rounds of peace talk pretense accomplished nothing. They ended as expected.
What's next remains to be seen. UN/Arab League Syrian intermediary Lakhdar Brahimi represents Washington.
He did little to prevent deadlock. His apology rang hollow, saying:
"I am very, very sorry, and I apologize to the Syrian people...(W)e haven't helped them very much."
Second round talks were "as laborious as all the meetings we have had, but we agreed on an agenda for the next round when it does take place."
US Press Freedom Threatened
by Stephen Lendman
First Amendment rights matter most. Without them all other freedoms are at risk. Post-9/11 policies threaten them.
Bush waged war against them. Obama escalated it. He promised transparency, accountability and reform. He called whistleblowing "acts of courage and patriotism." He said one thing. He did another.
Press freedoms are endangered. An October Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) report discussed Obama and the press.
Journalists say he's waging war on dissent. He exceeds the worst of George Bush. He's heading America on a fast track to tyranny.
He wants information people have a right to know suppressed. He evades press scrutiny. He aggressively targets leakers.
Anyone suspected of disclosing information he wants concealed is vulnerable. Press freedom is gravely threatened.
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