LISTEN: HOW WE ARE POLLUTING THE SOLAR SYSTEM WITH EARTH’S UGLY AUDIO:

WITH DOCUMENTARY VOICES IN DUBAI
IS IRAN NEXT?
HOMEOWNERS WANT SOLUTIONS, NOT SPEECHES

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: If Karl Rove lived here, he might be deported if its true, as David Swanson reports, that the President Bush’s former Machiavellian has given the “finger” to Chairman John Conyers and the House Judiciary Committee’s invitation to testify. A new law here in Dubai, the jewel of the Middle East and new home of Haliburton, mandates deportation for such offensive behavior.

After freezing in the Johnnesburg winter, I am now sweltering in the Arabian summer. I am here as part of the Documentary Voices Festival bringing together filmmakers from the US, the Arab world, and Iran. The event organized by Anisa Medhi with Pamela Cohn and Mahshid Zamani has an ambitious agenda as explained in the letter of invitation:

”Filmmakers, you have been handpicked by an international jury and by our core staff because you represent the myriad voices that contribute to a global artistic dialogue through cinema. We hope that in meeting one another and spending this time together, you will forge new alliances, partnerships, and friendships across cultural and national lines in the spirit of the brother- and sisterhood you already demonstrate.

Over the course of our four days together, every single one of us will be both artist and audience. We will explore and listen to what our documentary voices are telling us about the world we inhabit. We’ll pull focus on the dreams we share and the nightmares we fear; to the visions of the future we hope to realize, and to the humanity we seek. We ask that you come to this symposium with a sense of adventure, exploration and openness.

We have purposely brought together a group with a mix of storytelling styles. The juxtaposition of your work will be as important as the films themselves. You are established artists, emerging filmmakers, and first-time filmmakers. We’ve carefully curated and planned a program that we hope will make you joyous, angry, hopeful, inspired, and more committed to your craft than ever before”

I am here to show my WMD:WEAPONS of MAS DECEPTION. To my delight the film has been seen in 40 countries and a TV outlet in Spain just bought it. That’s the good news. The bad news is we have still not recouped our costs but that’s another story,

I have now spent several hours watching films of horror. The stories and images we rarely see—of Iraqis on the roads after the war began, innocent people wandering aimlessly with children and carpets on their heads, of other Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan, part of millions—l0 percent of the population—forced out by the war with little help from the US, the occupying power and then tales of Palestinians adrift for 60 years in “gatherings” in Lebanon, prevented from even replacing the corrugated roofs on their homes by barbaric rules, and the, finally a powerful film on Israeli attacks on civilians and villages in the South of Lebanon—not Hezbollah but villagers. You wanted to cry, not only at the injustices but the fact that so many in the country I come from have no idea that this is happening, little empathy for the people in distress and even less of an opportunity to see these well made films. Our media of course looks the other way. The filmmaker who documented the civilians in flight in Iraq told me that CNN was only interested in running one piece—an interview from a woman who said that the Iraqi military had moved into the cities to resist the invasion. She was later, he said, killed.

WHATS THE REAL STORY?

We all saw the release of the French-Columbian politicians and other hostages held by the FAC guerillas in Columbia. The story given had the Columbian military pulling off a coup by tricking her captors. Presidents Bush and Sarkozy beamed with a sense of accomplishment. The world was enchanted by her grace and joy at being back with her family. The guerillas looked foolish; the West triumphant.

But then other versions of the story soon came out. One charged that it was US troops who really stage-managed the rescue while giving the Columbians, who we finance, credit to bolster their credibility in a country in conflict. The next, dug out by Swiss Radio is that the whole James Bond style spectacle was just a front for public consumption and that $20 million was paid as a ransom for their release by countries who insist we will never deal with terrorists.

Talk about weapons of mass deception!

BEHIND THE FOOD CRISIS

Guardian story titled “Secret report: biofuel caused food crisis”:

Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian.

The damning unpublished assessment is based on the most detailed analysis of the crisis so far, carried out by an internationally-respected economist at global financial body.

The figure emphatically contradicts the US government’s claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises. It will add to pressure on governments in Washington and across Europe, which have turned to plant-derived fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce their dependence on imported oil.

IS AN ATTACK ON IRAN STILL ON?

Will the US attack Iran? The press seems to be going back and forth on this. First the disclosures and leaks of active preparations and then the denials and insistence we are promoting diplomatic options including opening a US interest section in Tehran/ I spoke wto some Iranian filmmakers who fear that an attack will punge thr region into war. Iran has already vowed to retraliate.

A BRITISH VIEW: America Softens Stance on Iran’s Nuclear Program - David Blair

America and its allies have quietly watered down their stance on Iran’s nuclear program, pledging no more economic sanctions if Tehran keeps its enrichment of uranium at present levels. America’s position had been that Iran must completely stop enriching uranium or face steadily increasing pressure. Four UN resolutions, three of which impose economic sanctions on Tehran, make this demand. Yet the latest offer to Iran softens this stance. When a delegation of diplomats from Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China traveled to Tehran last month, they offered economic and technical help if Iran completely stopped enriching uranium. Crucially, they also said that if Iran merely froze enrichment at present levels, no new sanctions would be imposed.

The “freeze for freeze” offer - with its acceptance that Iran can operate 3,000 centrifuges without incurring more sanctions - may be interpreted as the first sign that America is becoming reconciled to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. At present, Iran’s plans provide for the installation of as many as 48,000 centrifuges. (Telegraph-UK)

JOE DUNPHY ON SAM GARDINER’S FORECAST OF WAR PLANS VS IRAN

I saw Gen. Gardiner’s comments, all of which are plausible, and have a couple of footnotes to add. The slow-motion withdrawal of the British from the Basra area has gone without much mention in the press recently, and there has been very little criticism of the Brit’s strategic botching of neighborhood relations in the Basra area. A quick glance at the topography near Basra shows that it serves as a nice avenue (staging area) towards Iran, and the fact that the Brits have alienated the locals in the same fashion, and with the same methods, as they have towards the Catholic community in Northern Ireland. Hence, any ability of special force operators to glean useable intelligence has been greatly dampened. So the failure to generate enough fluent speakers in the native languages has been a big, and continued strategic mistake.

Worse, the shortage of fluent speakers in many languages is intensifying in the special branches, and the armed forces in general. Proposals to expand the special forces are being met with calls from within to point out that there are not enough fluent speakers as is for the conflicts the US is already involved in. One only has to hunt around on official websites a little bit to see that the armed forces are very overextended on the language front, which is an essential component of “information warfare.” Generating a causus belli written in English would only make the iron fist even more transparent. And internally, no one in the mainstream press seems to be raising the issue of whether or not it is prudent for the US to be putting so much emphasis on Special Forces. At some point, sheer numbers renders performance as less than special. I’m making the argument that, if they don’t have the language skills, and the whole idea behind SOF was being able to arm and train native partisan forces, then why the Sam Hill are they being given the designation SOF? Without the language skills, you’re basically looking at a $1 million/copy highly trained and motivated infantryman whose specialty is operating as scouts or covering force for withdrawals. It won’t be a popular opinion, but it contains a bitter pill that needs to be swallowed before the lessons of the past few conflicts can be learned.

ON IRAQI REFUGEES: Kathy Kelly | Istiklal

“The city of Amman, Jordan, is awash with numerous colorful signs that proclaim independence, ‘Istiklal.’ The word is found on posters and placards in store windows. It names a major thoroughfare, a hospital and a shopping center. Appreciation for independence is palpable, and this could be said for numerous cities and towns throughout the region, including Iraq, where past struggles for independence are commemorated by naming buildings and streets ‘Istiklal.’ It reflects the love of independence and the longing for it. But independence is elusive in a region suffering multiple wars and occupations. Particularly in Iraq, it’s hard to imagine an independent society growing up amid the violent wreckage of economic sanctions, US bombardment and staggering corruption.”

WORLD ECONOMY: STAGFLATIONARY SHOCKS TO COME

According to Economist Nouriel Roubini, the U.S. and global economy is facing the worst of the “stagflationary” shocks that led to the recessions of 1974-75 and 1980-82 together with the shocks (asset/credit booms gone bust) that led to the recessions of 1990-91 and 2001. Read: “A deadly cocktail mix: the 1973 & 1979 “Stagflation” meets the 1990 and 2001 “Asset/Credit Bust” with the result being an ugly U.S. recession and sharp global slowdown”. He also argues that the recent financial market developments suggest that the hope that the worst was behind us in terms of the financial crisis was not warranted: as the economy contracts more and credit losses mount the financial crisis will get worse; and indeed now even equity markets are reflecting these concerns by heading back into bearish territory. Read:” The delusional complacency that the “worst is behind us” is rapidly melting away…and the risk of another run against systemically important broker dealers” .

Posted in Daily Dissections by: Danny
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Posted in Daily Dissections by: Danny
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Posted in Daily Dissections by: Danny
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