Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Arab Spring !!! Western Media & Governments Tow Official Line That :Bahrain's Popular Uprising Erroneously Characterized As " A Made In Iran Shia Take Over "

UPDATE: May 12, 2011 3:20PM

CULTURAL GENOCIDE IN INTERNATIONAL LAW
GENOCIDE IS A DENIAL OF THE RIGHT OF EXISTENCE OF ENTIRE HUMAN GROUPS, AS HOMICIDE IS THE DENIAL OF THE RIGHT TO LIVE OF INDIVIDUAL HUMAN BEINGS; SUCH DENIAL OF THE RIGHT OF EXISTENCE SHOCKS THE CONSCIENCE OF MANKIND, RESULTS IN GREAT LOSSES TO HUMANITY IN THE FORM OF CULTURAL AND OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS REPRESENTED BY THESE HUMAN GROUPS, AND IS CONTRARY TO MORAL LAW AND TO THE SPIRIT AND AIMS OF THE UNITED NATIONS. SOURCE: UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY GENOCIDE RESOLUTION, 1946 96 (I)

Above quote from header at: Cultural Genocide Research Blog TUESDAY, 22 FEBRUARY 2011 Presentation at the 2011 War Crimes Conference - University of London Time to re-think genocide when the “crime of crimes” depends on the color of a star

also see on Ethnocide: at Genocide Encyclopedia

Ethnocide concerns policies and processes designed to destroy the separate identity of a group, with or without the physical destruction of its members. This concept was developed by Raphael Lemkin as part of the definition of genocide:

Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aimed at the destruction of the essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. The objectives of such a plan would be a disintegration of political and social institutions—of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups. Genocide is directed at the national group as an entity, and the actions involved are directed at individuals, not in their individual capacity, but as members of the national group (1944, p. 79).

also see in PDF file:

This has little or not truth to it but we do see that Shia in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan etc. have been protesting in their respective countries to show their support for the Shia in Bahrain as we saw other Muslims and non-Muslims holding rallies and demonstrations in various countries not just in the Middle East or Gulf region but also around the world in support of the uprisings in Syria, Yemen, Morocco, Egypt ,Tunisia, Algeria and so forth.

(NOTE: It should be noted that meanwhile it appears that the Libyan uprising which is an armed uprising is not totally or exclusively a home grown uprising but that the USA and others have been supporting opposition groups within Libya for years . So they have been getting not just moral support but also financial support along with weapons and possibly some training and creation of their own Public Relations campaign. Should we compare them to other groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Tamil Tigers or the former IRA or to for instance the Patriot/ Nativist Militia groups at work in the USA-

The question then becomes if this is true will Libya see a mere changing of the guard from a repressive leftist regime to a pro-capitalist pro-American pro-Israel repressive regime which will do little or nothing as America now does to help the underclass or the lower classes and will this new government be just as afraid of criticism even when justified as was the Qaddafi Regime.

If necessary as the Americans did in Iraq will they implement a form of the notorious Salvador solution -ie repression or declaring a state of emergency and the setting up of death squads as the Americans did in Iraq and now are also doing in Afghanistan where anyone looking for social and economic justice for all is seen as an evil subversive.)

This is as it were the official view on Bahrain as dictated to much of Mainstream Media in the West by the Saudis and their American and UK allies .

So president Obama and other Western Leaders are all implicated along with the media in their attempt to drown out any real reporting on what is actually going on in Bahrain.

What is further troubling is that a similar sort of process is taking place now in Egypt where after the government of Hosni Mubarak had supposedly been defeated to be replaced by a more reform minded government instead the military in Egypt is once again shutting down and intimidating any reporters or networks reporting on any negative or less than flattering stories about the Egyptian military and its supporters. So there is less optimism about the chances of substantive reforms in Egypt beyond a mere changing of the guard as it were.

Bahrain: Below the radar The Arab uprising that has failed to capture the international media's attention. April 23, 2011

AlJazeera on lack of coverage on Bahrain Protests & the government's Brutal Crackdown, April 23, 2011



On this week's show: Bahrain - a small kingdom cracking down on the media in a big way. Plus, a look at state media in post-revolution Egypt.

Along with other Arab nations in the region, Bahrain has been facing a period of momentous political upheaval. However, in terms of global news coverage, the story there has received comparatively less media exposure than events in Libya and Syria have in recent weeks and months. One reason is that the Bahraini authorities have learnt from the events in Tunisia and Egypt, reacting quickly to quash any dissent in local media and shutting out many international news organisations.

As the ruling Al-Khalifa family continues its campaign of repression and intimidation against local journalists, global news outlets continue to struggle to cover an uprising on an island that plays an important strategic role in the region. In our News Divide this week, we take a closer look at the draconian media environment imposed by the Bahraini authorities and the challenges and perils of covering an uprising that has literally divided the region along intra-religious lines.

Quick hits from the media world: Two photojournalists become the latest media workers to be killed whilst covering the Libyan uprising; three of the Al Jazeera camera crew detained in Libya have been released but one remains in custody, his whereabouts unknown; US diplomatic cables obtained by Wikileaks reveal that the state department has been funding a Syrian political opposition group and a TV station it runs; journalists covering the elections in Nigeria face intimidation and harassment despite promises of a safe reporting environment; and the Pentagon finds no wrongdoing on the part of former US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal in the wake of Rolling Stone's expose.

During the Egyptian revolution, the state media served as the mouthpiece for the ailing dictator and consistently offered Egyptians a distorted view of the protests around the country. But with Hosni Mubarak gone, what now for an industry he so tightly controlled? In our feature Listening Post's Simon Ostrovsky went to Cairo to see how the state media is developing and asks if it can live up to the democratic ideals that took down its former ruler.

As for Libya it is being alleged that its so-called popular uprising is not so popular after all and is not as home grown as we were told and that in fact the whole uprising was engineered by the USA & CIA and possibly other US allies. It is no accident that the uprising the US is supporting is against Qaddafi who happens to be one of Saudi Arabia's enemies.
and it appears that for a few years before the uprising in Syria the USA and its CIA et al have been involved in attempts to unseat the regime to spread discontent and encouraged insurgents ' activities in Syria.

So here's a clip from The Listening Post at AlJazeera on Egypt's on going struggle for real substantive reform. As is noted in the piece the Egyptian government run TV network was defending Hosni Mubarak and condemning the protesters in Tahrir Square up until the last days when Mubarak stepped down -unfortunately the piece does not mention that President Obama and Hilary Clinton et al up until the last day were also singing Hosni Mubarak and his brutal regime. For years the USA ignored the brutality of the Egyptian Regime as it has the regimes in Pakistan or Yemen or Uzbekistan or Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and so forth as long as they were of strategic value to the USA . The Bush and possibly the Obama regime as well had from time to time released "Terrorist Suspects " to these countries so they could be tortured without the USA getting its hands dirty.

Egyptian Media Reform?-Listening Post -AlJazeera





This raises another question and a conundrum for the Americans to answer to and resolve since they condemn Iran for actions it is alleged to have taken in Bahrain to destabilize the
Al-Khalifa Regime as being contrary to International Law and as downright "EVIL" yet when the USA does the same thing it's okay because America is superiour in its moral certitude as the Moral Arbitrator for the entire globe and the human race since only America is on a Divine Mission from God - it appears more and more that despite Obama's speech-making that he too believe this made in America BS.

Otherwise if Obama had any real integrity he would stand up and condemn the outrages being committed in Bahrain and the on going human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and Israel and by the puppet regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.


For more on Bahrain see:


'Bahrain follows Israel genocidal lead' PressTV April 24, 2011

Genocide in Bahrain Lunk Head at Daily Kos May 10, 2011

Bahrain's Secret Terror: 'Genocide' as Doctors Who Have Treated Injured Protesters are Rounded Up by Jeremy Laurance The Independent, via Common Dreams.org, April 21, 2011
...John Black, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: "These reports of harassment of medical staff in the ongoing unrest in Bahrain, including surgeons trained in the UK, are deeply disturbing. The protection and care of people wounded in conflict is a basic right guaranteed by the Geneva Convention and one that every doctor or medical institution should be free to fulfill."

Michael Wilks, vice-president of the British Medical Association and a former chair of the ethics committee, said: "The Geneva Convention and international medical ethical standards are absolutely clear – punishing doctors because they are perceived to be treating patients of whom the regime disapproves is completely unacceptable."

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton, has expressed concern about the killings and beatings in Bahrain, ahead of a visit there




A Genuine Tragedy Unfolds Bahrain and Saudi Arabia's Rulers Goose-Step to the Brink of the Abyss
By PETER LEE

April 05, 2011 "Counterpunch" ---- While we are diverted by the opera-bouffe spectacle of the civil war in Libya’s desert, a genuine tragedy—and potential geopolitical trainwreck—is unfolding in Bahrain.

Those plucky demonstrators we saw occupying the Pearl Square roundabout in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, have been swept away by government security forces—together with the 300 foot monument at the roundabout, which came to symbolize the aspirations of the protesters and was therefore demolished by the government in a representative display of heavy-handedness.

The Bahraini government received an important assist from Saudi Arabia, which dispatched troops and tanks under a mutual security pact of the Gulf Co-Operation Council called Peninsula Shield.

The government has gone to great and dangerous lengths to paint the democratic aspirations of the peaceful, largely Shi’a demonstrators for democracy as a sectarian assault on the emirate backed by that Gulf boogeyman, Iran.


U.N. rights boss urges Bahrain to rein in forces by Stephanie Nebehay March 17, 2011


(
Reuters) - Bahrain must rein in its security forces after allegations they had killed protesters and attacked medical workers, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said on Thursday.

Pillay voiced alarm at what she called the illegal "military takeover of hospitals" in the kingdom, where Bahraini forces used tanks and helicopters on Wednesday to drive protesters off the streets.

"There are reports of arbitrary arrests, killings, beatings of protesters and of medical personnel, and of the takeover of hospitals and medical centers by various security forces," she said in a statement. "This is shocking and illegal conduct."


Bahrain firms fire hundreds of strikers in crackdown by Frederik Richter via Reuters April 5, 2011

* Unions called strike during recent unrest

* Mass firings could cement sectarian divide

* Rumours swirl that hundreds more will be fired

MANAMA, April 5 (Reuters) - Bahraini firms have fired hundreds of mostly Shi'ite workers who went on strike to support pro-democracy protesters, part of a government crackdown, an opposition group said on Tuesday.



US-backed Bahrain Regime Tortures, Murders Critics By David Walsh via Information Clearing house

April 13, 2011 "WSWS" -- The regime of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Bahrain, which the Obama administration backs to the hilt, is continuing its violent repression of political opposition. The Khalifa regime imposed a state of emergency, after its security forces, backed by troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, violently cleared protesters from Pearl Square in Manama, the kingdom’s capital, on March 16.



and so it goes,
GORD.

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