Militarily very little has happened in Libya this past week. The rebels are still on the outskirts of both Sirte and Bani Walid but have been unable to advance any further.
Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) though have been very busy in the skies above both Sirte and Bani Walid. Although I don't have access to the exact mission details there are multiple, credible reports that the reduction in bombing missions over the last couple of days has been caused by the RAF's stocks of missiles dropping to single figures forcing them to wait until extra supplies can be brought in from the United States and more can be delivered from the factory. That means that all the rebel's talk of negotiations and rumours of this Qaddafi son being spotted here and that Qaddafi son being killed there are just that. Misdirection to divert attention away from the fact that the rebels are still a long way away from being able to overthrow the Libyan government and are being forced to rely on Britain for help by bombing everything and everyone in Sirte and Bani Walid.
On the diplomatic front the rebel's Transitional National Council (TNC) used last Thursday's (1/9/11) Paris conference to unveil sketchy plans to hold democratic elections 20 months after the end of the conflict. The problem is that at the Paris conference there were also much more detailed plans circulating to have foreign oil companies back up to pre-conflict production levels 18 months after the end of the the conflict. So it looks like the Libyan people are going to get the sort of democracy that will allow them to decide everything except who gets their money.
On Sunday (4/9/11) the charity Human Rights Watch (HRW) uncovered documents revealing close links between Britain's MI6 and the Libyan departments for external and internal security. In Britain everyone has leapt onto the documents that show Britain was complicit in the extraordinary rendition and torture of Libya terrorist suspects including Abedel Hakim Bel Haj currently the rebel's military commander for the Tripoli region. The TNC have demanded a full investigation and apology and Britain is resisting those calls. So once again we have a huge spectacle designed to convince everyone that Britain's MI6 and the TNC aren't the same thing.
Amid all the drama everyone seems to have overlooked the fact that the documents also show a close and longstanding relationship between MI6 and the Libyan department of internal security that continued up to, during and after the February uprising. This is important because the atrocities that were committed in the east of the country were committed by the department of internal security and the evidence linking those atrocities to the Libyan government come from agents who later defected. So I think it's very important we know exactly when MI6 turned those agents otherwise it looks like MI6 were the ones ordering those atrocities.
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Grandmother News
I've been to see my grandmother. The only really thing to report is that the anti-psychotics and rest have been doing their job so she is now calm enough to remember that she's really depressed. I also took the unusual decision to photograph her drugs chart to prove what medications she's been on in case anyone gets any funny ideas about altering her medical records. Unfortunately those photographs are on my phone so I can't post them up yet.
Monday, 5 September 2011
It's Almost Too Depressing to Look At.
Since October 2010 Somalia has either been at the point of famine or in full blown famine and it's African neighbours; Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti have been at the point of famine. The scale of this catastrophe is so overwhelming that the bureaucracy that is needed to deal with produces thousands of fresh pages of documents every single day. So you'll excuse me if I'm not fully up to date.
Apart from the obvious problem of tens of thousands of deaths the famine has created a massive flow of refugees - some 2000 per day - out of Somalia and into Kenya and Ethiopia. This has completely overwhelmed refugee camps in the Dollo Ado region of Ethiopia and the Dadaab region of Kenya. With Kenya being the closest and therefore worst hit the Ifo1 refugee camp has seen it's population treble far exceeding it's capacity and forcing new arrivals to set up their own camps outside where death, rape, violence and disease are an every day part of life. Working through a Kenya government that is obviously worried about it's own people Britain saw this as a perfect opportunity to have a discussion about my current situation, especially the occupants of #50 Beechwood Avenue. After weeks of frantic discussion the Kenyan government - on Britain's behalf - finally admitted that they had an unused refugee camp (Ifo2) ready to take Ifo1's problem neighbours and set to work building a third camp (Ifo3). Even with most of the overflow transferred life in all three of the Ifo camps is still very grim with 5 deaths per day and orphaned infants being left to fend for themselves. In both the Dadaab and Dollo Ado camps there is major concern over an impending outbreak of diseases like measles, cholera and malaria all of which are normally fatal for people suffering from malnutrition. There have already been outbreaks or measles in the Dadaab camps and aid agencies led by the United Nations (UN) are frantically carrying out a vaccination program.
In Somalia itself the situation is much more complicated with western nations led by Britain, USA and France still treating the crisis as an opportunity to overthrow al-Shabab and impose the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). As a result the UN is still banned from the country. However the reality of life on the ground in Somalia depends on which particular person you're talking too in a particular area on a particular day. So working through local charities and community groups the UN is gradually getting more and more food aid in and getting a clearer picture of the scale of the problem. What they are seeing is not pretty. With the Bay region added to the list today (5/9/11) all six of Somalia's six regions south of the upper Shabelle region are in famine with an average of ten death per hundred thousand per day - double the threshold for famine. The regions between upper Shabelle and Nugal sometimes known as Puntland are in a phase 4 food crisis and are approaching famine (phase 5). Even the relatively more stable regions sometimes known as Somaliland are in a phase 3 crisis and are approaching phase 4. As al-Shabab withdrew from the capital Mogadishu in early August large numbers of Somalis followed them worsening the situation in the famine hit southern regions although this problem seems to be settling now. The people who remain in the makeshift camps in the capital are facing serious shortages on both food and food aid and have to contend with outbreaks of cholera, a disease for which there is no vaccine or real treatment.
The increased access to Somalia has created tensions between charities like the one's funded by Britain's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and the UN. The charities are happy to sit in the refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia and give out aid there because it's safer, logistically simpler and easier for them to take lots of photographs of the good work they're doing to send to their donors. What the UN want is for those charities to either go into Somalia or share their resources with charities already in Somalia so the problem can be tackled at source. This is because large movements of refugees destabilise both the country they've come from and the country they've gone too making the whole problem much worse. It can also become de-facto ethnic cleansing.
The crisis has also exacerbated an already ongoing dispute over Cash versus Vouchers. Put simply beyond food aid and medication refugees also need everyday things like blankets, cooking pots, clothes etc. Although aid agencies will happily pay for all these things it's long been agreed that it is best if the refugees buy them themselves from local merchants to avoid totally destroying the local economy. The only argument is over the best way to do this; either by giving the refugees local currency or by giving them vouchers that the local merchants can exchange for cash with the charities. Normally I'm all for cash because vouchers make the local merchants dependent on the charities and the local economy still gets destroyed. However given the severity of the current crisis in this instance vouchers will be better in the short term because flooding a disaster area with huge volumes of cash leads to violence, crime and corruption. There should definitely be a switch back to cash though just as soon as the crisis phase has passed.
Speaking of cash the UN's main problem is that they've only received 59% of the US$2.4bn that it needs. So if you have any spare cash feel free to donate it too;
Unicef; http://www.supportunicef.org/site/pp.asp?c=9fLEJSOALpE&b=7542627
The UN's World Food Program; https://www.wfp.org/donate/fillthecup?icn=homepage-donate-cup&ici=big-button-link
However I would warn against any Somali's living abroad - especially in Britain, USA, France - using wire transfer services like Western Union to send cash directly to Somalia. This method allows the intelligence services in the host nation to gather huge amounts of information about social groups and funding mechanisms. This is how Britain helped Sri Lanka to destroy the Tamils.
Of course if you are a high net worth individual or represent a company you should first read through this leaflet; http://ochanet.unocha.org/p/Documents/Horn%20of%20Africa%20-%20How%20to%20Help,%203Aug2011.pdf
and then contact the UN directly because they will be able to advise you how to get the most bang for your buck.
Apart from the obvious problem of tens of thousands of deaths the famine has created a massive flow of refugees - some 2000 per day - out of Somalia and into Kenya and Ethiopia. This has completely overwhelmed refugee camps in the Dollo Ado region of Ethiopia and the Dadaab region of Kenya. With Kenya being the closest and therefore worst hit the Ifo1 refugee camp has seen it's population treble far exceeding it's capacity and forcing new arrivals to set up their own camps outside where death, rape, violence and disease are an every day part of life. Working through a Kenya government that is obviously worried about it's own people Britain saw this as a perfect opportunity to have a discussion about my current situation, especially the occupants of #50 Beechwood Avenue. After weeks of frantic discussion the Kenyan government - on Britain's behalf - finally admitted that they had an unused refugee camp (Ifo2) ready to take Ifo1's problem neighbours and set to work building a third camp (Ifo3). Even with most of the overflow transferred life in all three of the Ifo camps is still very grim with 5 deaths per day and orphaned infants being left to fend for themselves. In both the Dadaab and Dollo Ado camps there is major concern over an impending outbreak of diseases like measles, cholera and malaria all of which are normally fatal for people suffering from malnutrition. There have already been outbreaks or measles in the Dadaab camps and aid agencies led by the United Nations (UN) are frantically carrying out a vaccination program.
In Somalia itself the situation is much more complicated with western nations led by Britain, USA and France still treating the crisis as an opportunity to overthrow al-Shabab and impose the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). As a result the UN is still banned from the country. However the reality of life on the ground in Somalia depends on which particular person you're talking too in a particular area on a particular day. So working through local charities and community groups the UN is gradually getting more and more food aid in and getting a clearer picture of the scale of the problem. What they are seeing is not pretty. With the Bay region added to the list today (5/9/11) all six of Somalia's six regions south of the upper Shabelle region are in famine with an average of ten death per hundred thousand per day - double the threshold for famine. The regions between upper Shabelle and Nugal sometimes known as Puntland are in a phase 4 food crisis and are approaching famine (phase 5). Even the relatively more stable regions sometimes known as Somaliland are in a phase 3 crisis and are approaching phase 4. As al-Shabab withdrew from the capital Mogadishu in early August large numbers of Somalis followed them worsening the situation in the famine hit southern regions although this problem seems to be settling now. The people who remain in the makeshift camps in the capital are facing serious shortages on both food and food aid and have to contend with outbreaks of cholera, a disease for which there is no vaccine or real treatment.
The increased access to Somalia has created tensions between charities like the one's funded by Britain's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and the UN. The charities are happy to sit in the refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia and give out aid there because it's safer, logistically simpler and easier for them to take lots of photographs of the good work they're doing to send to their donors. What the UN want is for those charities to either go into Somalia or share their resources with charities already in Somalia so the problem can be tackled at source. This is because large movements of refugees destabilise both the country they've come from and the country they've gone too making the whole problem much worse. It can also become de-facto ethnic cleansing.
The crisis has also exacerbated an already ongoing dispute over Cash versus Vouchers. Put simply beyond food aid and medication refugees also need everyday things like blankets, cooking pots, clothes etc. Although aid agencies will happily pay for all these things it's long been agreed that it is best if the refugees buy them themselves from local merchants to avoid totally destroying the local economy. The only argument is over the best way to do this; either by giving the refugees local currency or by giving them vouchers that the local merchants can exchange for cash with the charities. Normally I'm all for cash because vouchers make the local merchants dependent on the charities and the local economy still gets destroyed. However given the severity of the current crisis in this instance vouchers will be better in the short term because flooding a disaster area with huge volumes of cash leads to violence, crime and corruption. There should definitely be a switch back to cash though just as soon as the crisis phase has passed.
Speaking of cash the UN's main problem is that they've only received 59% of the US$2.4bn that it needs. So if you have any spare cash feel free to donate it too;
Unicef; http://www.supportunicef.org/site/pp.asp?c=9fLEJSOALpE&b=7542627
The UN's World Food Program; https://www.wfp.org/donate/fillthecup?icn=homepage-donate-cup&ici=big-button-link
However I would warn against any Somali's living abroad - especially in Britain, USA, France - using wire transfer services like Western Union to send cash directly to Somalia. This method allows the intelligence services in the host nation to gather huge amounts of information about social groups and funding mechanisms. This is how Britain helped Sri Lanka to destroy the Tamils.
Of course if you are a high net worth individual or represent a company you should first read through this leaflet; http://ochanet.unocha.org/p/Documents/Horn%20of%20Africa%20-%20How%20to%20Help,%203Aug2011.pdf
and then contact the UN directly because they will be able to advise you how to get the most bang for your buck.
Dale Farm Eviction Date Set.
Although it's not been made official yet local sources have announced that later today (5/9/11) Basildon council will serve letters on the residents of Dale Farm informing them that their eviction will begin on September 19th (19/9/11). As I'm sure you're aware the United Nations have been very vocal in their criticism of Basildon council's plans and called on Britain's UN delegation to suspend what is widely viewed as an illegal act.
The 66th (2011) session of the United Nations General Assembly that will vote on the issue of Palestinian statehood will begin on September 13th (13/9/11) and run until September 27th (27/9/11). That means that the Dale Farm eviction will take place slap bang in the middle of the meeting and there is no chance that the Libya war will have ended by then.
So at the risk of making an already complicated situation worse may I suggest that any members who wish to see Britain expelled from the Security Council vote no on the issue of Palestinian statehood.
The 66th (2011) session of the United Nations General Assembly that will vote on the issue of Palestinian statehood will begin on September 13th (13/9/11) and run until September 27th (27/9/11). That means that the Dale Farm eviction will take place slap bang in the middle of the meeting and there is no chance that the Libya war will have ended by then.
So at the risk of making an already complicated situation worse may I suggest that any members who wish to see Britain expelled from the Security Council vote no on the issue of Palestinian statehood.
Sunday, 4 September 2011
The Cheek of It.
On Friday (2/9/11) the nurse at the centre of the Stepping Hill hospital murder investigation was sensationally released from prison. This was primarily to give Britain the opportunity to publicly apologise for the way it's been behaving towards News International. It now turns out that Rebecca Leighton, the nurse, intends to sue a number of British tabloid newspapers for damages. The News International title "The Sun" will no doubt be front and centre of that legal action.
So I think it's worth remembering that the actual Rebecca Leighton has not been cleared of any offence. All that's happened is that the charges against her have been rested because evidence that prosecutors thought would be made available to them has not been made available. So the charges can be restarted just as soon as that evidence becomes available.
I also think that the powers that be were very certain that a police investigation into Stepping Hill hospital would naturally lead to a red haired woman named Rebecca long before the investigation was allowed to begin.
So I think it's worth remembering that the actual Rebecca Leighton has not been cleared of any offence. All that's happened is that the charges against her have been rested because evidence that prosecutors thought would be made available to them has not been made available. So the charges can be restarted just as soon as that evidence becomes available.
I also think that the powers that be were very certain that a police investigation into Stepping Hill hospital would naturally lead to a red haired woman named Rebecca long before the investigation was allowed to begin.
Friday, 2 September 2011
I Nearly Forgot About That..
You may remember that at the time of my grandmother's first hospital admission (19/7/11) there were two dominant stories in the British news; The phone hacking scandal and Rebekah Brooks looming appearance in front of a Commons select committee. The massive police operation to find out who was killing patients by tampering with medication at the Stepping Hill hospital in Stockport.
The plan was to promote speculation about who was responsible for my grandmother's erratic and aggressive behaviour at home before the stories converged and the guilty party was revealed as a red haired woman named Rebbecca. Obviously the fact that halfway through my grandmother was admitted to a hospital where her care was monitored by and the sole responsibility of government licensed medical professionals derailed the plan somewhat. In fact forcing this story off the news agenda was one of the lesser reasons for Britain's attacks on Norway.
Today (2/9/11) the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped all charges against Rebbecca Leighton, the nurse at the centre of the Stepping Hill story. This was Britain being forced to retract it's ludicrous allegation over who is responsible for my grandmother's mis-treatment in the face of overwhelming evidence. So I think they'll be plenty of people in Croydon who will struggle to sleep soundly in their beds tonight because the Brits are fast running out of excuses not to prosecute.
The plan was to promote speculation about who was responsible for my grandmother's erratic and aggressive behaviour at home before the stories converged and the guilty party was revealed as a red haired woman named Rebbecca. Obviously the fact that halfway through my grandmother was admitted to a hospital where her care was monitored by and the sole responsibility of government licensed medical professionals derailed the plan somewhat. In fact forcing this story off the news agenda was one of the lesser reasons for Britain's attacks on Norway.
Today (2/9/11) the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped all charges against Rebbecca Leighton, the nurse at the centre of the Stepping Hill story. This was Britain being forced to retract it's ludicrous allegation over who is responsible for my grandmother's mis-treatment in the face of overwhelming evidence. So I think they'll be plenty of people in Croydon who will struggle to sleep soundly in their beds tonight because the Brits are fast running out of excuses not to prosecute.
UN Flotilla Report Leaked.
On May 31st 2010 a flotilla of boats attempted to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza. The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) responded by boarding these boats outside of the blockade zone. On board one of these boats - the Turkish ferry the Mavi Marmara - Israeli commandos opened fire killing 8 Turkish nationals and 1 Turkish/US dual national. The office of the Secretary General of the United Nations responded by setting up a panel to examine the incident and publish a report.
That report was completed in July 2011 and both the Turkish and Israeli governments have had access to the report and the panel throughout the process. However both nations agreed to delay the publication of the report to allow them to negotiate compensation payments to the victim's families and avoid escalating the diplomatic situation ahead of the upcoming UN vote on Palestinian statehood. Yesterday (1/9/11) American newspaper The New York Times published a leaked copy of that report on their website; http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/world/Palmer-Committee-Final-report.pdf and it is explosive stuff. Although the report criticises Israel for using excessive force during the boarding and mistreating detainees afterwards it accepts the legality of the naval blockade and Israels use of force to maintain it. The report is widely seen as a vindication of Israel's actions.
The fact that the leak has made this report public has forced Turkey into responding strongly by expelling the Israeli ambassador and cutting off all military links with Israel. So it seems to me that the leaking of the report was an American attempt to increase anti-Israeli feeling ahead of the vote on Palestinian statehood in order to make sure the motion passes. Although America is officially against the idea and will abstain from the vote in secret both it and Israel want the motion to pass because it will remove the Palestinians right to return and the Israelis will simply ignore it in the same way it ignored most other UN resolutions.
Also both Turkey and Israel share land borders with Syria and both have played an important role in response to the recent unrest in the country. By breaking off diplomatic ties Turkey and Israel are now no longer able to co-ordinate their efforts and we could well see a shift away from a united diplomatic effort towards an Arab track and an Israeli track. Israel will stop at nothing to collapse the Syrian government in as chaotic way as possible because they want to use the chaos to attack Lebanon on the pre-text of destroying Hezbollah. So it looks like Israel's big summer war is evolving into Israel's big winter war.
That report was completed in July 2011 and both the Turkish and Israeli governments have had access to the report and the panel throughout the process. However both nations agreed to delay the publication of the report to allow them to negotiate compensation payments to the victim's families and avoid escalating the diplomatic situation ahead of the upcoming UN vote on Palestinian statehood. Yesterday (1/9/11) American newspaper The New York Times published a leaked copy of that report on their website; http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/world/Palmer-Committee-Final-report.pdf and it is explosive stuff. Although the report criticises Israel for using excessive force during the boarding and mistreating detainees afterwards it accepts the legality of the naval blockade and Israels use of force to maintain it. The report is widely seen as a vindication of Israel's actions.
The fact that the leak has made this report public has forced Turkey into responding strongly by expelling the Israeli ambassador and cutting off all military links with Israel. So it seems to me that the leaking of the report was an American attempt to increase anti-Israeli feeling ahead of the vote on Palestinian statehood in order to make sure the motion passes. Although America is officially against the idea and will abstain from the vote in secret both it and Israel want the motion to pass because it will remove the Palestinians right to return and the Israelis will simply ignore it in the same way it ignored most other UN resolutions.
Also both Turkey and Israel share land borders with Syria and both have played an important role in response to the recent unrest in the country. By breaking off diplomatic ties Turkey and Israel are now no longer able to co-ordinate their efforts and we could well see a shift away from a united diplomatic effort towards an Arab track and an Israeli track. Israel will stop at nothing to collapse the Syrian government in as chaotic way as possible because they want to use the chaos to attack Lebanon on the pre-text of destroying Hezbollah. So it looks like Israel's big summer war is evolving into Israel's big winter war.
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