For Sama - More Syrian War Propaganda?

There’s a documentary called ‘For Sama’, that airs on UK Channel 4 tonight, about the battle of Aleppo in Syria, where the ‘rebels’ had taken over the eastern part of the city, and were eventually defeated by the Russian and Syrian forces.

Some info:

The ‘rebels’ in Syria have been dominated by sectarian extremists since the beginning of this conflict, according to a Pentagon report from 2012, (and according to Syrians who’ve lived through this hell). The US, along with NATO, and their Gulf allies, supported these jihadist 'rebels' anyway. (According to the Pentagon report, some in the US were actually keen on the idea of of creating a ‘Salafist principality’, aka ISIS). Most of the Islamist groups sent in by Turkey the other week to attack the Kurds, had previously been backed by the US.

For Sama is directed by Syrian filmmaker Walid Al Katib, along with British director, Edward Lucas. Al Katib’s husband, Hamza, who features in the documentary, has been pictured alongside a Syrian ‘rebel’ who subsequently beheaded a 12 year old boy.

Edward Lucas has retweeted a guy called Charles Lister, who is endorsing the film. Lister works for the Middle East Institute, which is funded by arms/oil companies, banks, tyrannical Gulf states like UAE and Saudi, etc. (i.e all those who profit from war and were keen on regime change in Syria). He has a long history of doing PR for the various extremist ‘rebel’ groups.

The documentary alleges that Russian and Syrian forces purposely targeted in-use hospitals and schools. If true, this is horrific, obviously, but remember that the entire area was under the control of extremists, including the hospitals and schools. And it seems that the extremists were using human shields.

The US has spent $billions on their regime change effort in Syria, much of that being spent on propaganda.

And finally - it is a war. War is brutal. Of course there is horrific suffering, on all sides. I’m sure the immense suffering depicted in the film is genuine. And it is fair to criticize the war tactics of Putin and Assad.

But it is vital to note how Syria ended up like this - the west and their allies in the Gulf gave $billions of support to an opposition that they knew was sectarian in nature - the very kind of people whom they ostensibly set out to defeat following 9/11.

A small nation in the Middle East has been resisting the might of the US Empire. If they hadn't resisted this regime change effort, and if they hadn’t asked for Russia’s assistance, the whole country would have been taken over by a rabid array of extremist groups, who would’ve wrought havoc, persecuting/ethnic cleansing non-Salafi Syrians, destroying a proudly secular nation that is one of the most progressive societies in the region, for women’s rights etc.

And note that there is no documentary about the US-led bombardment of Mosul, where 9000+ civilians were killed, and undoubtably would have involved the bombing of hospitals and schools. Note that there is no documentary about NATO bombardment in Libya, which destroyed that country and resulted in ethnic cleansing and slavery. Where is the film about US slaughter in Fallujah; about NATO’s radioactive bombing of Yugoslavia which led to thousands of cancer deaths and birth defects? Etc. Where is the film that explains how all of these interventions are about oil and profit?

If you decide to watch For Sama, please take all of this into account!

The climate crisis to be tackled by those who created the crisis?

This billionaire, who Tony Blair (when did he become a climate expert?!) is now ‘advising on climate change’, (and being paid £700k a year to do so), tried to takeover a public beach in California.

These are the kind of people we’re going to entrust to save the planet from the climate/environmental crisis?! Billionaires who want to prevent people from using public spaces, and war criminals like Blair who wage environmentally devastating wars?!

Insane!

It is billionaires who created the crisis, with their greed, their exploitative business practices, their corruption of government, etc. And it is the politicians like Blair - those whom they corrupt - who advance their interests, via profitable wars, exploitative trade deals, etc. THAT is why this billionaire has hired Blair.

OPCW Whistleblower Panel

This is being ignored by the west’s media. Which is unsurprising, because if it’s true that the chemical attack in Syria did not happen as we were told - and anyone with half a brain cell knows that this is indeed true - then the US/UK/France regimes would all need to be prosecuted for war crimes. It will make their already illegal bombing of Syria completely impossible to justify, even with the best efforts of the media.‬

(And here’s why Wikileaks is so vital. Actual journalism! As a result, Assange has been targeted, imprisoned and psychologically tortured by western governments, with help from their partners/useful idiots in the media).

Bolivia latest target of US Empire?

Under the leadership of Evo Morales, Bolivia rejected neoliberal economics, which the US has long been violently imposing around the world, via regime change wars, covert interventions, and sanctions - starting with the regime change operation in Chile in the 1970s that brought the neoliberal fascist, Pinochet, to power.

Instead of mass privatizations and IMF loans (debt enslavement), Evo's government nationalized the oil, thus ensuring sovereignty over their resources, and, via significant state intervention in the economy, focussed on empowering indigenous people and the working class, reducing poverty, on investing in projects to tackle climate change, etc. As a result, Bolivia is one of the fastest growing economies in the region.

Evo has just narrowly won a fourth term as President, and anti-Evo protests - led by neoliberal opposition leader Carlos Mesa - are kicking off. So be prepared for anti-Evo propaganda in the neoliberal western media.

As they do in all countries that reject western neoliberal domination, the US has been meddling in Bolvian affairs since Evo came to power. They want to stir up protest, and bring the neoliberal opposition back to power.

The capitalist west wants Evo's government toppled just as they want the socialistic government in Venezuela toppled. They want the resources re-privatised and the people exploited by multi-national corporations, for the benefit of elites. They do not want the world seeing what a bit of socialism can achieve, especially in Latin America - the US's 'backyard', where they've a long history of all kinds of monstrous interventions.

Evo is also loudly anti-American imperialism on the world stage. Here's a video of him slamming Trump at the UN.

Western media will likely now try and exploit any faults in his leadership, along with the upper class discontent, to manufacture consent for further regime change operations, in the hope that a neoliberal can come to power and be a loyal servant of western capital. Just be aware!

............

Update 11/09

Protests have gotten worse - earlier today protestors broke into the presidential palace.

Predictably, western/neoliberal countries are demanding recounts or new elections. But Evo has the support of leftists governments of Mexico, Argentina, and Venezuela and Cuba, and I imagine, much of the rest of the world bar US Empire!

BBC Demonization of China

The demonization of China is in full swing over at the BBC.

In 2016, they said China had a serious problem with jihadist extremism. In 2019, they say this is just 'China's narrative'.

BBC, 2016: ‘jihadist extremist groups across the western border are promoting bloody conflict in China's vast Muslim region of Xinjiang'.

BBC, 2019: ‘This is China’s narrative’.

Err, it was your narrative too just a couple of years ago.

NB: I’m not trying to excuse what China is doing to Uighur Muslims. They’re responding in an over-the-top, authoritarian manner to terrorism. Though it’s nowhere near as bad as what the west did following terror attacks - we invaded several countries, killed a million+ people, looted the oil, etc!

Catalan leaders imprisoned - where are the EU sanctions?

Spain has just imprisoned Catalan pro-independence leaders.

I presume the pro-democracy, freedom-loving EU will be kicking Spain out of the union and implementing sanctions against its authoritarian regime imminently?

Ah no, the EU only does this against regimes that resist western capitalism.

8 years of war propaganda exposed - the myth of 'moderate rebels'

As Turkey sent in their ‘rebel’ mercenaries to attack the Kurds, it suddenly became impossible for the media to hide the true nature of these ‘rebel groups’.

How sad that it is only acknowledged now because it is a western ally under attack. For 8 years these jihadist ‘rebels’, backed by the US, Turkey and others, have committed all kinds of atrocities against Syrians in government-held Syria, and the media hasn’t cared. Instead, it has done PR for them, calling them 'moderate rebels', whilst smearing all who tried to speak the truth.