Monday, May 31, 2021
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condemns police brutality on teachers in Peshawar
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that police
brutality against teachers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is highly condemnable. He said that on one hand KP government is cutting staff allowances and on the other, the government is claiming economic growth.
He said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf federal government has given less of its budget to the universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari demanded that more than 15 teachers sustained injuries while protesting for their rights by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police and should be given free medical treatment. He asked where is the justice in handcuffing 22 teachers including grade 21 Ph. D professors.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari demanded the immediate release of arrested staff of universities in the KP province. He said that on the one hand, the budget of KP universities has been reduced and on the other, students are being burdened by increasing university fees. He deplored the baton charge and tear gas shelling on respected teachers.
Pakistani talk show host Hamid Mir suspended after critical comments on the military
In response to the suspension today of Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, host of “Capital Talk” news program, by the Geo News network following Mir’s critical comments about the Pakistan military at a rally on Saturday, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:
“Forcing a popular news talk show host like Hamid Mir off the air after voicing criticism of Pakistan’s military—and support for a fellow journalist—only underscores the lack of true press freedom in Pakistan,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Critical comments about key state institutions are an important component of democracy, not a scourge to be eliminated.”
Mir’s suspension followed comments about the military at a rally outside the National Press Club in Islamabad in support of journalist Asad Ali Toor, according to news reports, video posted on Twitter, text messages from Mir to CPJ, and a statement issued by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, which was posted on Twitter. Toor was assaulted at his home last week, as CPJ documented.
A Geo News representative, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, told CPJ in a telephone conversation that Geo was in the process of drafting a statement for public release on Mir’s suspension.
Mir survived an attempt on his life in 2014, when he was hit by six bullets in Karachi, as CPJ reported at the time.
https://cpj.org/2021/05/pakistani-talk-show-host-hamid-mir-suspended-after-critical-comments-on-the-military/
Sunday, May 30, 2021
EDITORIAL - Working Less Is a Matter of Life and Death
Why are Arabs so powerless? Unlike Israel, they never valued brain over brawn
What makes Israel with nine million people — between one-half and one-third of Karachi’s population — a Goliath of biblical proportions? Equally, notwithstanding their fabulous oil wealth, why are 427m Arabs the pygmies of international politics? GCC Arabs can certainly control what happens in a few miskeen countries like Pakistan; their leaders can be summoned to Riyadh at a moment’s notice and sent back with sackfuls of rice as wages of obedience. But before Israel — which has almost zero natural resources — Arab kings and sheikhs must perforce bow their heads.Blame the West if you want and, in particular, America. Indeed, from 2000-2019 armaments supplied to Israel by the Western powers (US, UK, France, Spain, Germany) are documented at a hefty $9.6 billion. But within that 20-year period the same document shows this amount is dwarfed by arms sold by the same suppliers to Saudi Arabia ($29.3bn), UAE ($20.1bn), Egypt ($17.5bn), Iraq ($9.1bn), and Qatar ($6bn). And yet these expensive weapons will provide little protection if Israel ever chooses to attack Arab lands again. While the nine-country Saudi-led coalition has created a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, it is failing dismally against the rag-tag Iran-supported Houthi forces. Okay, so then let’s blame Palestine’s ill-fortune upon Arab disunity. There’s truth in this: Arabs are indeed bitterly divided. But when were they not? From about AD-634 to AD-750 is the only period in history when they stood together. Then, after Nasser won the Suez War against Britain, Arabs united again for a brief, euphoric moment. But this unity did nothing to avert their crushing defeat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, that which forever changed borders. And while friends and activists for Palestine — including myself — would love to see Fatah and Hamas patch up their differences, doing so will not change things fundamentally. The secret of Israel’s strength is not hidden in its weaponry. Instead this still-expanding and still-colonising apartheid settler state uses the same magic that enabled just a handful of 18th-century Englishmen to colonise the entire Indian subcontinent. Let’s recall that in ruling over 200m natives for 250 years, at no time did Britain have more than 50,000 white soldiers on Indian soil. Although better guns and cannons gave them an edge, in fact their real not-so-secret weapon was much bigger. That weapon was a system of organised thought based upon a rational and secular approach to life, a modern system of justice, and a new set of social relations. This was sustained and enhanced by Enlightenment-era education that de-emphasised rote learning of the scriptures, was this-worldly and future-oriented, and which focused upon problem-solving skills using systematic, scientific thinking. Having invented modern means of communication such as railways and telegraph, a mere island in the North Sea could boast of an empire over which the sun never sets.
In a nutshell, imperialist conquests showed that brains would rule over brawn — a stark truth that got still starker with time. But where are brains produced? Obviously in the womb but it is in schools, colleges and universities where minds are shaped and sharpened. Hence, these days everyone and their uncle rush to one single conclusion: fix education and this will level the playing field, greatly diminishing or perhaps ending the inequalities of power.Ah! That’s so much easier said than done. To have buildings and classrooms with teachers is one thing but to coax the potential out of a student is altogether different. With their vast wealth, Arab countries have built impressive university campuses with well-equipped laboratories and well-stocked libraries. They have even imported professors from America and Europe. Yet, the needle has barely flickered so far. That’s because attitudes towards learning take forever to change — and only if they are somehow forced to change. Ditto for Pakistan which follows the Arab model as best as it can, together with abayas and jubbas. No university here has a bookshop, a centre for students that hums with open debate and discussion, or a theatre where classic movies are screened. Looking for a philosopher or a high-grade pure mathematician will be in vain. For 20 years, papers and PhDs have been churned out at a frantic rate. But I suspect that many of Pakistan’s decorated “distinguished national professors” with hundreds of research publications would be judged unfit to teach in a high-end Israeli high school for lack of scholarship.
The problem is not genetics — Arabs have a brilliant past and are probably just as smart as Ashkenazi Israelis. But the two groups have different attitudes towards success and different role models. The Ashkenazi child wants to be Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, John von Neumann, George Wald, Paul Samuelson, Gertrude Elion, Ralph Lauren, George Soros, or a thousand other such names that fill textbooks on physics, philosophy, technology, medicine, and business. Compare this with the Arab boy who wants to be Salahuddin Ayubi and the Pakistani lad who dreams of becoming Ertugrul Ghazi on horseback. He does not know about Abdus Salam, our discarded Nobelist.
We live in a cruel world which, of course, we must try our best to make less cruel and more humane. But making a socially just world requires much more than condemning the oppressors and crying with the oppressed. Instead, the weak must be made stronger. That strength does not derive from oil or nuclear bombs. Instead, it springs from the human brain, but only when that superb gift of nature is appropriately tutored and trained within a system of secular values that cherishes and rewards logical thinking, questioning and creativity.
#Pakistan - Jahangir Khan Tareen - Power politics
Jahangir Khan Tareen, who faces corruption charges, has galvanised the support of 40 lawmakers
Throughout Pakistan’s political history, ‘forward blocs’ in the parliamentary parties have been used for various purposes.
Some of the blocs have succeeded in achieving their targets but others have failed, ending political careers of many a turncoat. The latest occurrence of a forward bloc has sown discord in Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) ranks and emboldened the opposition. The ruling party now faces undesirable grouping both in the National Assembly and the Punjab Provincial Assembly.
Despite Jahangir Khan Tareen’s claims to the contrary, the new groups are forward blocs according to every canon.
Another bloc, led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz dissident Jalil Sharqpuri, has existed in the Punjab Assembly in the recent past. Its main objective was to prop up the PTI government at the expense of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The group has outlived its utility and is now defunct.
Tareen, who has been barred from elected office and is facing corruption charges, has galvanised a group of nearly 40 MNAs and MPAs. Given their strength, these lawmakers cannot be taken lightly, especially in the Punjab where the PTI majority is particularly slim. The Tareen-led group poses a serious threat to the PTI in both assemblies. However, it seems that the PTI forward bloc is in no mood yet to topple the prime minister or the Punjab chief minister. Statements by some members of the bloc indicate that some of their targets have already been achieved and that they are satisfied with the progress.
Dr Mehdi Hasan, the political analyst, says: “It appears that Tareen and his group got some guarantees and assurances from Prime Minister Khan. Tareen will try to maintain his strength to keep his political relevance alive, but not go against the government for now.”
The forward bloc emerged after Tareen was accused of masterminding the sugar crisis. He and some members of his family were also accused of misusing public funds for personal businesses. Tareen and his son, Ali, have appeared before courts and shown a resolve to face the cases filed against them. They say the cases are politically motivated.
By getting some 40 parliamentarians to publicly endorse his stance and pledge support, Tareen has surprised not only the PTI but also other political parties and the media. He initially claimed that his supporters had decided to form a separate group in the Punjab Assembly to raise their demands. Later, he tried to say that the perception about there being a forward bloc was incorrect. “We were, we are and we will remain a part of the PTI,” he said.
Saeed Akbar Khan Niwani, a veteran legislator in the Punjab Assembly, has been assigned the role of the group’s chief negotiator. Some politicians in other parties, notably Rana Sanaullah of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, have also raised their voices in his favour. This, seemed to have further unnerved the PTI leadership.
Prime Minister Imran Khan then assigned Barrister Ali Zafar to investigate the charges against Tareen. Zafar has now submitted his report to the prime minister. According to party sources, he has stated in the report that the charges levelled against Tareen and his family are not made out by the available evidence.
After the submission of the report, statements issued by the Tareen group have become more conciliatory.
Talking to The News on Sunday, Niwani said, “We met Prime Minister Khan, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and several senior leaders of the PTI. The Prime Minister clearly told us that he would not let anyone victimise anybody in his name. He also said would not allow any group to blackmail him. The PM sounded positive. We trust him.”
“It appears as if Tareen and his group got some guarantees and assurances from Prime Minister Khan. Tareen will try to maintain his strength to keep his political relevance alive, but will not go against the government for now,” says Dr Mehdi Hasan
“How can someone like Tareen, who pays the highest amount of taxes annually and holds a clean business record, be accused of corruption? We trust the PM’s assurance that nobody will be victimised.” He said that his group had several grievances but the matters were internal to the party.
To a question about the group’s strategy in case of a no confidence motion being brought in the National Assembly or the Punjab Assembly, he said: “A no-confidence move against the PTI is out of the question. We will oppose such a motion and will stand with our leaders. We believe that Chief Minister Buzdar will remain in office as long as he enjoys the party’s support. He will quit voluntarily the moment the party tells him to quit.”
Requesting anonymity, another stalwart of the Tareen group said, “Not all dissidents support Tareen. Some are trying to settle their own scores. Everybody in the Tareen group has grievances against the top leaders. They were not being heard for quite some time. They had remained silent earlier because they were on a weak footing. When Tareen raised his voice, they found support. This really worked as everybody started giving them importance.”
Apparently, issues between the PTI’s top-guns and the dissidents have been settled However, our political history shows that the politics of forward blocs is a tricky business.
For Tareen, this is not the first time he has organised such a group. He had formed his first forward bloc in Pakistan Muslim League-Functional. He had won a National Assembly seat on a PML-F ticket in 2008 and later formed a forward bloc. In 2011, he resigned from the National Assembly, announcing that he would form a party of ‘clean’ politicians. Later, he joined the PTI along with several comrades.
In 2009, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid suffered a huge setback in the Punjab Assembly where it had had more than 80 seats after more than half of its legislators, led by Najaf Abbas Sial, formed a forward bloc in support of the PML-N. The PML-N, which had 178 members in Punjab Assembly, was already ruling the Punjab with the support of the PPP. The PML-N leaders feared that they might be in trouble if the PML-Q joined hands with the PPP. The fears led to the creation of the forward bloc in the PML-Q. The PPP tried to topple the Punjab government by imposing the governor’s rule but the attempt was foiled by the Lahore High Court. Many of the PML-Q forward bloc later leaders joined either the PML-N or the PTI. During these manoeuvres, fears of the PML-N leaders were substantiated when the PML-Q joined hands with the PPP in the National Assembly and replaced the PML-N in the ruling coalition at the Centre.
Another forward bloc had appeared in the PPP after the 2002 election when the PML-Q, the Farooq Leghari-led National Alliance, the PPP-Sherpao, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and others were unable to put together the numbers needed to elect Mir Zafarullah Jamali as prime minister. The PML-Q had 78 seats in the National Assembly, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal 45 and the PML-N 15. Before the prime minister’s election, it appeared that the PML-Q needed more votes. The PPP and the PML-N appeared more willing to join hands with the MMA led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman. However, no agreement was reached.
To overcome the vote deficiency, a forward bloc, comprising 18 National Assembly members, was created in the PPP. Rao Sikandar Iqbal (a classmate of Musharraf), Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat, Chaudhry Noraiz Shakoor and Sardar Khalid Khan Lund led the group. During the division of the house for the election of the prime minister, the 18 PPP MNAs voted for Jamali instead of their very own leader, Makhdoom Amin Fahim. Later, the forward bloc was registered as the PPP-Patriots. The Patriots achieved their mission but most of them lost in the next elections.
In 1989, the purpose of Operation Midnight Jackal was to create a forward bloc in the PPP to oust Benazir Bhutto, then prime minister. Two PPP MNAs, Arif Awan and Rasheed Bhatti were recruited for this purpose. However, the plan failed.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/841248-power-politics
#Pakistan - PDM parties seem to be confused, says Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari
- Bilawal says PDM parties seem to be confused, adding that he does not wish any Opposition party to be confused in the parliament at least.
- Says there did not seem to be a clear-cut strategy in the PDM's meeting yesterday.
- Says political parties which are clear about their stance are in a better position to give tough time to govt.
- PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday said that the parties of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) seem to be in a state of confusion.
He said that the idea of forming the PDM was put forward by the PPP, however, neither the PPP nor the ANP attended the meeting of the PDM a day ago.
Bilawal was speaking to the media after visiting Wali Bagh in Charsadda along with Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to offer condolences over the death of Begum Naseem Wali Khan.
"It seemed like the parties of the PDM are confused," said Bilawal. "Opposition parties should at least not get confused in the parliament."
He added that all those political parties which are clear about their political stance are in a better position to give a tough time to the PTI-led government.
https://www.geo.tv/latest/352628-pdm-parties-seem-to-be-confused-says-bilawal-bhutto
Saturday, May 29, 2021
Syrians filled the polling stations to defend their sovereignty and now fill the streets to celebrate the result
The irony of media outlets and pundits from America tweeting about what they view as the failure to hold free and fair elections in Syria was not lost on some. I wrote yesterday of the jubilation I saw in eastern Ghouta, where Syrians were celebrating the arrival of election day and proudly voting. I also noted that people “in eastern Ghouta were put through a hell that most of us, living safely far from war, cannot begin to fathom.” Back in 2018, I had seen their tortured faces shortly after their liberation. That made seeing them this week smiling incredibly moving.
Just ahead of the vote, I predicted there would be Western cynicism if President Assad won again, which would mean the West had failed in its regime-change project. I was right.
Syrian analyst Kevork Almassian, of Syriana Analysis, tweeted a thread about the mass celebrations around Syria, including in Homs, once dubbed the “capital of the revolution” by the delusional crowd, and Aleppo, the city the Western media said “fell” when it was liberated of the terorists who reportedly murdered up to 11,000 civilians via their bombings and snipings.
He also noted that the media’s claims of Sunni Muslims hating Assad had no basis in reality (never mind the fact that the First Lady is Sunni, as are many in top leadership positions), tweeting photos of masses of Sunnis voting.
The Guardian, guilty of some of the filthiest war propaganda against Syrians, and usually reporting from Istanbul, deemed the 2021 elections “fake” and a “sham”. But the Guardian has never liked to give voice to the vast majority of Syrians in Syria, preferring instead to quote al-Qaeda-linked “media activists” and “unnamed sources”. So, it’s hardly surprising it would denigrate the event that Syrians are currently celebrating around the country.
Likewise, the BBC, another contender for the most outstanding war propaganda on Syria, unsurprisingly cited the “opposition” as calling the elections a “farce”.
The Western media likewise bleated “farce” when Syria provided 17 witnesses to testify at the Hague against the claims that Syria had used a chemical agent in Douma – a narrative that has been thoroughly debunked. And they’re still lying after all these years.
Speaking to Syrian media yesterday in Douma, Assad said of the West’s derision of the elections: “The best response to colonialist countries with histories of genocide and occupations was the mass turnout of the people for the vote.”
And, regarding what the West thinks of the legitimacy of those elections, he concluded: “Your opinions are worth zero, and you are worth 10 zeros.”
Amen to that.
On Wednesday, the government extended the time in which people could vote by an additional five hours, as they did back in 2014, due to the high turnout. It even had to provide more voting boxes. In fact, in 2014, in Lebanon, which hosts the largest per capita population of Syrian refugees in the world, voting was extended not merely by five hours, but by an entire day.
As I wrote recently, Western nations have closed Syrian embassies globally to prevent those eligible from voting. But interestingly, as I learned from political analyst Laith Marouf in our discussion this week, “Syrians in the US went to the embassy at the UN and voted. That was a direct challenge to American hegemony, since the Americans closed the Syrian embassy in DC. But there is still a Syrian embassy at the UN, and that they can’t touch, the Americans. So many people showed up at the UN headquarters, waving flags, and so on.”
According to Marouf, in Beirut, tens of thousands Syrians went to the Syrian embassy last week, but “members of the Lebanese Forces party cut the roads towards the embassy and attacked cars and buses carrying Syrian citizens,” allegedly killing one in front of his children and on national live television.
“The other two countries that host the majority of Syrian refugees or immigrant populations, Germany and Turkey, again blocked the Syrian votes from happening,” he said.
Marouf spoke of the candidates, noting there were three: a leader of the opposition, a former minister, and President Assad.
“They have been vetted through security, making sure that they stand for the sovereignty of Syria, given that Syria has been living under a global war of terrorism, led by the US.”
On the ground on election day
I wrote on election day of the vibrance and peace I witnessed in Douma, and tweeted about the celebrations, about the Syrians singing and dancing. One woman in Irbeen, a village in eastern Ghouta, told me, “Today is historic. He is writing victory, a renewed victory for Syria, the general and protector of Syria, Bashar al Assad. The people you see coming, do so by their free will.”
A side note: from the cross necklace she wore, I knew the woman was a Christian. The “rebel” terrorists the West supports and whose sadistic death cult they would have installed to govern Syria would have persecuted, even killed, women like her.
And that’s the crux of it: Syrians aren’t just celebrating the leader they overwhelmingly love and respect, they’re celebrating the defeat of this terrorism in their country and of the imperialists’ regime-change project in Syria.
A Syrian-American friend, Johnny Achi, flew to Syria expressly to vote in the elections. He told me: “I’m a Syrian citizen and have lived in the United States for about 30 years. I’m here in Damascus to exercise my rights and duties as a Syrian citizen, since the US chose to close our embassies. As long as the embassies are closed, we’re going to keep making the trip here, to exercise our duty and our democratic right.”
“I chose Douma, in eastern Ghouta, under the ‘rebels’ until 2018, to show that there is a big turnout here, that people are happy to be back in a government-controlled area. Everyone I talked to is so jubilant that they got rid of all of Jaysh al-Islam, Faylaq al-Rahman, and all those brigades that were making their lives miserable,” he said.
In Achi’s view, the US would not have accepted any of the candidates, no matter who won.
“They decided that this election was illegal. Their excuse this time is how can you have a democratic election when you have land under occupation? But the land is occupied by Turkey and the US. If they would leave us alone, we would have freed those three provinces and would have all 14 provinces under Syrian control,” he said. “But this vote will help us liberate those provinces still under occupation.”
The pundits will opine, the media will screech, but aside from addressing that, I don’t care, and Syrians don’t care because they’re too busy celebrating.
On Thursday, while the votes were still being counted, I passed through Umayyad Square, a massive roundabout in central Damascus, where a party was beginning. Later in the evening, I returned, staying until after the votes had been counted and Assad had been declared the winner. Electric doesn’t even begin to describe the mood of triumphant Syrians celebrating their victory.
I’ve been coming to Syria since 2014, making 15 visits in all, gathering many heartbreaking testimonies, being caught up in many dangerous encounters with mortars and terrorist sniper fire. I, too, celebrate the return of peace to Syria. But, moreover, I celebrate the Syrians’ shunning of Western diktats and for continuing to live their lives as they choose.
As I stood filming cheering Syrians, the results were announced. The crowd went wild and the party continued. Of course, Western media outlets won’t accept Assad’s 95.1% result, but those Syrians simply do not care. They know the West has lost the plot.
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/525037-syria-election-assad-celebration/
#Syria’s Victory Stuns NATO, Enemies
After a decade-long torment from terrorist mercenaries deployed covertly by the Western powers, as well as overt aggression from NATO military forces illegally attacking the country and from cruel economic sanctions warfare, the people of Syria remain defiant and independent.
President Bashar al-Assad was re-elected for a fourth seven-year term after winning 95 percent of votes cast. The achievement is stunning. It completely refutes – indeed makes a mockery of – the Western narrative depicting Assad as a “tyrant”.
Despite all the grueling hardships, the Syrian people turned out in droves to vote on Thursday. The turnout was over 78 percent with more than 14 million votes cast out of an eligible 18 million electorate.
There is no way the Western governments and their servile corporate media can spin this epic demonstration of popular defiance to their nefarious intrigues for regime change in Syria. Hence, the total silence among Western media about the election result. That silence is at once hilarious and damning of Western guilt over the real nature of the war in Syria.
It was always a foreign war of criminal aggression. If there was any justice prevailing in this world, Western politicians by the dozens should be tried for war crimes.
Before the election this week, the United States, Britain, France, and other NATO powers tried to smear the Syrian democratic will, labeling the ballot as neither fair nor free.
Well, the sheer numbers of people turning out to vote and the subsequent scenes of jubilation across Syria tell another story, one that confounds the Western propaganda and exposes the criminality of the NATO powers and their toxic media.
The Syrian nation has refused to bow after years of NATO-backed terrorism in their country. They have chosen their president – again.
The same kind of shameful silence in Western media has been seen numerous times before when the Syrian army liberated towns and villages from Western-backed terrorists. When people came out to greet their Syrian army liberators, the Western media simply ignored the reality despite having told their consumers beforehand that the Syrian army and their Russian allies were committing slaughter against “rebels” and civilian populations.
Not one Western mainstream media outlet has followed up to report on how Syrians feel about being liberated and of having their peaceful lives restored. That’s because Syrians would praise the leadership of Assad, the courage of the army, and the crucial help of Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. In other words, the West’s lies would be demolished by the truth, and so their media are compelled to ignore and keep silent.
For everyone around the world who desires justice and peace and the defeat of imperialism, the victory from Syria’s election is a glorious day to celebrate. Congratulations are due to President Assad. But more so to the people of Syria who showed that it is possible to stand up to the real tyranny, that of the United States and its lawless NATO rogue allies who wanted to destroy Syria in order to install their own puppet regime. Despite unspeakable barbarities inflicted on the peace-loving people of Syria, they have remained steadfast in their unity and determination for independence, regardless of their different religions. The NATO ploy of trying to incite a sectarian war among Syrians failed because they knew all along who their real enemy was.
For those willing to see reality, Syria exposes the forces of evil in this world. The Western lying media tell us that Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela, and so on, are “bad” and are threatening global peace. The Americans and their NATO partners lecture and pontificate about “rules and order”. When it is they who are caught in the headlights of truth: they tried to destroy a country just like they have countless others. But that country – Syria – just showed its spectacular strength to overcome the evil designs of the United States and its minions in NATO.
Lamentably, Syria faces more trials and challenges from the continuing economic warfare being waged by US and European sanctions. Reconstruction from a decade of NATO aggression will not be easy. But with the help of Russia, China, Iran, and others, the Syrian people will win finally. They have just shown their invincible resilience beyond any doubt.
The views and opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.
With Love From China: US mired in its own Cultural Revolution and COVID-19 conspiracies
The conspiracy theory that COVID-19 began as a lab leak in Wuhan is again being placed under the spotlight of US mainstream media outlets. On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal published a report, "Intelligence on Sick Staff at Wuhan Lab Fuels Debate on COVID-19 Origin." The Washington Post has joined the hype, with articles such as "How the Wuhan lab-leak theory suddenly became credible" published on Tuesday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top US expert in public health, said last year that there is no scientific evidence to back the theory that the coronavirus was made in a Chinese laboratory, and he doesn't "entertain" the theory that the virus was leaked from a laboratory. However, the expert changed his tone recently, noting he is "not convinced" COVID-19 developed naturally and, "I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China."
The "lab leak" hype is almost the same with the round of sensational spin last year, with no new content or evidence. Why is the US playing it up all over again? The reason lies in US incompetence in handling its own problems. While witnessing its sluggish economic recovery, intensifying social contradictions, and the increasingly exposed weakness in governance, the US needs a scapegoat.
China has opened its door toward WHO expert groups, twice. The latest probe found that a lab leak is "extremely unlikely." But the fact does not matter to the US, only its own political motivations do. As long as the WHO's conclusion has little to do with blaming China, Washington won't accept it. Washington wants to send its own expert team with a presumption of guilt to prove that China is sinful. Clearly, China won't allow it.
Internally, the US is confronting too many difficulties and too much pressure amid its virus management. This makes it feel the strong need to pin the blame on someone else. This will be a long-term reality China has to face. And Washington is also very skilled at manipulating public opinion. It often cites undisclosed documents and thus has the reason not to provide evidence. This is a convenient way to push simple and irresponsible conclusions.
The US has tasted the benefits of finding itself a scapegoat - some Americans do not blame the US government but blame China instead, and Washington gained some endorsement on the global stage. Therefore, the US is convinced the tactic works. It has only bad influence on the country's fight against coronavirus and domestic governance. Yet this is nothing for US politicians, who only care about their short-term interests.
There is a considerable amount of anti-intellectual people in the US, who can be easily affected by political manipulations. They can be easily brainwashed to become anti-China. As a result, be it COVID-19 or China, the Americans' thinking and perception has been going around circles without any progress.
It is no longer news that US mainstream media outlets are tools of American political propaganda. But now, even elite scientists like Dr. Fauci, a top expert in public health, are being kidnapped by politics. This is a dangerous tendency. In terms of COVID-19, Fauci had made some statements that contradicted former president Donald Trump. Because of these statements, he received death threats, and his daughters were harassed. Now that Fauci has overturned his previous statement on the enigma of COVID-19 origins, he is bowing to politics.
But once science is kidnapped by politics, the decision-making of a society will only become irrational. The US today is like China during the period of Cultural Revolution (1966-76), when all issues were highly politicized. This being the case, how can US society develop without the capability to come up with scientific decisions? This is a pressing problem for the US.
Against the backdrop of such a political environment, the US will keep hyping its conspiracy theories to pass the buck. Facts are the most convincing way to refute them. China can also promote investigation into origins of COVID-19 in the US with reasonable doubts. Why was the US biological lab at Fort Detrick suddenly closed in 2019? Why did a mysterious pneumonia, linked to vaping, break out in the US in the same year? We can also insist that the WHO group should visit the US for an investigation with Chinese scientists' participation.
China used to be too passive. We can act in a more high-profile way in this regard. The US has an ugly record of biological warfare in its history, and China has every reason to doubt it.
How Mitch McConnell killed the US Capitol attack commission
The story of how Republicans undermined the 6 January inquiry is informed by eight House and Senate aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Days before the Senate voted down the creation of a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol attack, the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, was adamant: he would oppose the bill, regardless of any amendments – and he expected his colleagues to follow suit.
The commission that would have likely found Donald Trump and some Republicans responsible for the insurrection posed an existential threat to the GOP ahead of the midterms, he said, and would complicate efforts to regain the majority in Congress.
McConnell’s sharp warning at a closed-door meeting had the desired effect on Friday, when Senate Republicans largely opted to stick with the Senate minority leader. All but six of them voted to block the commission and prevent a full accounting into the events of 6 January.
But it also underscored the alarm that gripped McConnell and Senate Republican leadership in the fraught political moments leading up to the vote, and how they exploited fears within the GOP of crossing a mercurial former president to galvanize opposition to the commission.
The story of how Republicans undermined an inquiry into one of the darkest days for American democracy – five people died as a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol and sought to hang Mike Pence – is informed by eight House and Senate aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The prospect of a commission unravels
Surrounded by shards of broken glass in the Capitol on the night of 6 January, and as House Democrats drew up draft articles of impeachment against Trump, Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, made her first outreach to canvas the prospect of a commission to investigate the attack.
In the immediate aftermath of the insurrection, Pelosi had reason to be hopeful. Spurred on by the threat felt by many Republicans to their personal safety, a swelling group of lawmakers had started to agitate for an inquiry to reveal how Trump did nothing to stop the riot.
But what was once heralded as a necessary step to “investigate and report” on the attack and interference in election proceedings unravelled soon after, with the commission swiftly reduced to an acrimonious point of partisan contention in a deeply divided Capitol.
The main objection from House and Senate Republicans, at first, centered on the lopsided structure of Pelosi’s initial proposal, that would have seen a majority of members appointed by Democrats, who would have also held unilateral subpoena power.
And only weeks after the riot, the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, was already advancing the complaint for his ultimate opposition: that the scope of the commission did not include unrelated far-left violence from last summer, a political priority that stalled talks.
With little progress three months after the Capitol attack, Pelosi made a renewed effort to establish a commission on 16 April, floating a revised proposal that mirrored the original 9/11 commission with the panel evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.
Pelosi briefed her leadership team that included the House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, the House majority whip, Jim Clyburn, the assistant speaker, Katherine Clark, and notably, the chair of the House homeland security committee, Bennie Thompson, about the proposal the following Monday.
During that meeting, Hoyer first raised the prospect of also extending equal subpoena power to Republicans – a concession that would allow Democrats to meet all of Republicans’ demands about the structure of the commission – which Pelosi adopted a few days later.
By the penultimate week of April, Pelosi had deputized Thompson to lead talks as she felt the homeland security committee was an appropriate venue, and because the top Republican on the committee, John Katko, was one of only three House GOP members to impeach Trump.
With the House on recess, Thompson made enough progress in negotiations to brief Pelosi and her leadership team on 8 May that he secured a tentative deal on the commission, though Katko wanted to wait on an announcement until Liz Cheney was ousted as GOP conference chair.
Tensions within the House Republican conference had reached new highs the previous week after Cheney continued her months-long criticism of Trump’s lies about a stolen election at a party retreat in Florida, and Katko was wary of injecting the commission into the charged moment.
“As soon as the vote on Liz Cheney is taken, he will be prepared to do a joint statement,” Thompson said in remarks first reported by CNN.
Minutes after House Republicans elevated Elise Stefanik to become the new GOP conference chair on 14 May, Thompson and Katko unveiled their proposal for a bipartisan 9/11-style commission.
McConnell cracks down on the bill
The ouster of Cheney solidified Tump’s outsize influence on the Republican party, and set the scene for the weeks to come.
McCarthy almost immediately sought to distance himself from the commission and was non-committal about offering his endorsement. Asked whether he had signed off on the deal, McCarthy was direct: “No, no, no,” he told reporters in the basement of the Capitol.
By the following Tuesday, top House Republicans were urging their colleagues to oppose the commission bill, with McCarthy positioned against an inquiry on the basis that its scope focused narrowly on the Capitol attack.
As Hoyer had anticipated when he suggested that Pelosi also offer equal subpoena power to Republicans, McCarthy struggled to demonize the commission, and several House Republicans told the Guardian that they found his complaints about the scope unconvincing.
The Senate minority leader, meanwhile, had until then denounced Trump, who he faulted for inciting the insurrection, and publicly seemed open to a commission. But as it became clear the scores of House Republicans would vote for the bill, his calculus quickly changed.
Two days after the Senate returned for votes on 17 May McConnell informed Senate Republicans at a private breakfast event that he was opposed to the commission as envisioned by the House, and made clear that he would embark on a concerted campaign to sink the bill.
Underpinning McConnell’s alarm was the fact that Democrats needed 10 Senate Republicans to vote in favor of the commission, and seven had already voted to impeach Trump during his second Senate trial – a far more controversial vote than supporting an inquiry into 6 January.
Cognizant that Senate Democrats may find three or four more allies in uncertain Republicans, McConnell cracked down.
After announcing at the breakfast event that he would oppose the commission, McConnell railed against the bill as being “slanted and unbalanced” on the Senate floor, in biting remarks that represented a clear warning as to his expectations.
He kept up the pressure all afternoon on that Wednesday, so that by the evening, McConnell had a major victory when Senator Richard Burr, who voted to impeach Trump only four months before, abruptly reversed course to say that he would reject the commission.
In the end, only six Senate Republicans – Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy, Rob Portman, Lisa Murkowski and Ben Sasse – voted to move forward on the commission.
As the final vote hurtled towards its expected finale, the Senate minority whip, John Thune, who also switched his position to side with McConnell, acknowledged McConnell’s arguments about a commission jeopardising Republican chances to retake majorities in the House and Senate.
Summarising his concerns, Thune said: “Anything that gets us rehashing the 2020 elections I think is a day lost on being able to draw a contrast between us and the Democrats’ very radical leftwing agenda.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/29/mitch-mcconnell-us-capitol-attack-commission-senate-republicans