02/05/2015
By Uri Avnery*
2 May 2015
THERE ARE two different opinions about Binyamin Netanyahu. It is difficult to believe that they concern the same person.
Uri Avnery
One is that Netanyahu is a shallow politician, devoid of ideas and convictions, who is led solely by his obsession to remain in power.
This Netanyahu has a good voice and a talent for making shallow speeches on television, speeches devoid of any intellectual content – and that’s all.
This Netanyahu is highly “pressurable” (a Hebrew word invented almost solely for him), a man who will change his views according to political expediency, disclaiming in the evening what he has said in the morning. None of his words should be trusted. He will lie and cheat anytime to assure his survival.
The other Netanyahu is almost the exact opposite. A principled patriot, a serious thinker, a statesman who sees danger beyond the horizon. This Netanyahu is a gifted orator, able to move the US Congress and the UN plenum, admired by the great mass of Israelis.
So which of these descriptions is true?
Neither.
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Posted in Middle East, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords |
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02/05/2015
In a new report, UNODC warns that the smuggling of migrants poses a significant threat to Asia, generating an annual value of $2 billion for criminal groups and leading to deaths and human rights abuses.
UNODC
The report, entitled Migrant Smuggling in Asia: Current Trends and Related Challenges, analyzes the smuggling of migrants in 28 states from the Middle East to the Pacific and finds that criminal networks are creatively exploiting gaps between demand and regular migration, with smuggling fees to get to some destinations now reported as high as $50,000.*
The report also stresses that a significant number of migrants use smugglers to cross borders in order to seek a better life, but end up in human trafficking situations. Far away from home and working illegally, smuggled migrants have little ability to assert basic rights and become vulnerable to abuse, trafficking and exploitation.
Southeast Asia continues to serve as an important source, transit and destination for migrant smuggling, with the majority of smuggling taking place within the region but with routes also reaching countries as far as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.
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Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords |
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02/05/2015
New York, 2 May 2015 (IRIN)* – An aggressive strategy by the United States to deter thousands of people fleeing violence in Mexico and Central America includes keeping women and children in detention for months while they await asylum hearings.
**Photo: Centre for Immigration Studies | Women and children detained at a border patrol station in Texas
Following a peak in arrivals last year of children and families, mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, President Barack Obama’s administration was under pressure to introduce tough measures to stem the flow.
As well as beefing up border controls and expediting deportations, the response has included expanding the use of family detention.
Figures from the last six months showing that the number of people caught at the border has fallen 28 percent compared to the same period last year suggest these strategies are working, even if there is no indication that the domestic and gang-related violence spurring people to flee has abated.
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Posted in Market Lords, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples |
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02/05/2015
By Nick Beams*
2 May 2015 (WSWS)* – The advanced stage of discussions in US foreign policy circles over the pursuit of an ever-more aggressive policy toward China has been revealed by the recent release of a chilling report under the auspices of the influential Council on Foreign Relations.
**(US) Army Rangers take part in a raid during operation in Nahr-e Saraj, Afghanistan Author: DVIDSHUB | Wikimedia Commons
Entitled “Revising US Grand Strategy Toward China,” the report is nothing less than an agenda for war. It is authored by Robert D. Blackwill and Ashley J. Tellis, both of whom have close connections to the US State Department and various American foreign policy think tanks.
The report cites a publication produced during World War II defining “grand strategy” as one that “so integrates the policies and armaments of a nation that the resort to war is either rendered unnecessary or is undertaken with the maximum chance of victory.” This is not merely a concept of war but “an inherent element of statecraft at all times.”
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Posted in Africa, Asia, Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords |
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