Blind, deaf and dumb, pathetic ..

... politics that has a system where regimes that suppress its people are allowed to condone the genocide of the Syria people by applying a veto on civilization.

... student Zaher Shehab has watched, helpless, as the uprising in Syria has torn his country apart. Then came news of a devastating attack on his family, writes Laura Pitel for today's Times

It was a Friday afternoon at the end of term. He should have been working in the university lab. Instead Zaher Shehab was standing in a corridor of the pharmacy faculty, following his mother’s funeral on his mobile phone. He had just lost seven members of his family in a single attack in Syria. His mother, Mayssa, his younger brother, two uncles, one aunt and two cousins had all been killed. They were working in their fields in a suburb of Damascus when they were hit. Two thousand miles away, the Bath University student could do nothing but try to absorb the news, powerless to help. “I can’t remember what I felt because really at that moment I couldn’t feel anything,” he says, his voice calm. “My brain stopped thinking. I couldn’t imagine what had happened. All of them together: my mother, my brother. Everything changed on that day.”

The polite, gently spoken 28-year-old arrived in Britain in 2010 to study for a PhD in pharmacy practice. A top-class student, he came on a scholarship paid for by the Syrian government, and was planning to return to Damascus to teach. But in November, Syrian intelligence snooped on his online exchanges and found anti-regime messages to friends. His funding was withdrawn. The university hardship fund and the Wellcome Trust stepped in. Without them he would have been forced to drop out.

His last trip home was shortly after the start of the uprising, which erupted in Syria last March on the back of turmoil across the Arab world. It was a surprise visit that delighted his parents, particularly his beloved mother. But a brush with the security forces, when he came close to being arrested, has left him unable to go back. Instead he found himself following developments in Syria from the incongruous setting of a West Country spa town.


While fellow students worried about deadlines and grades, over the past year and a half he has watched his country descend into violence. As the movement against President Assad has accelerated, he has seen protests sweep through his town, Daraya, and friends and neighbours killed. As the turmoil has dragged on the bloodshed has grown, with children massacred, whole districts destroyed and the estimated death toll topping 17,000.

Then, on July 6, the conf lict knocked on his family’s front door. He had just that is to blame. “We don’t know the kind of rocket or shelling — if it came from tank fire or helicopters,” he says. “No one could tell me if the rockets came from this side or that side. But for sure, 100 per cent we know that it is the Assad regime that owns these rockets and these tanks.”

Were they targeted deliberately or unlucky victims of random fire? It’s a question he will probably never be able to answer. The family were not politically active — they spent all their time working on the farm where they lived a simple life, growing tomatoes, aubergines and salads. “But in Syria there is no grey, only black and white,” he says. “If you are not with the government, they consider you against them.”

Friends and colleagues have been supportive and kind, putting him up in their homes so that he does not sleep alone. But they cannot compensate for being so far from Syria. “It is a hard time,” he says. “I can’t say anything else. It’s hard because I’m here, far away. I couldn’t do anything to support them. It’s difficult when one person dies ............

I guess we have to send a big thank you to Russia and China ......

...... and a big sigh of hopelessness when we see the antics of our world politicians unable or unwilling to say NO to the tyrants, thanks to the rump of civilization, UK, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, India, Australia .... et al.

 

Ali Ferzat on ...

... President Assad of Syria

Britain and Syria so different yesterday ...

... when in Hyde Park "King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery" fired a 41 gun salute to mark the start of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee .....

..... whilst in Syria ...

Assad's troops send to the people a deadly offering of death and destruction ...

... and mass funerals of men, women and children.

... can you imagine living in ...

... a city like Homs, in a country where the government sends its artillery to fire on your home.  Could you imagine sitting on Caerphilly mountain overlooking Cardiff watching plumes of smoke rising from Splott, or people fleeing from St. Mellons through the fields towards Caerphilly being shot at by snipers.

Over the top?  Ridiculous? ... well that is what is happening in Syria.

What about the opposition?  That would be the Syrian National Council in Turkey:

• Coalition of seven opposition factions, united against Assad regime
• Includes Kurds, tribal leaders, Islamists, democracy activists
• Formed last November after months of talks in Turkey
• Stated aim is to support the revolution and overthrow Assad

And here lies the problem, both Russia and China have applied their veto because this group wishes to replace the hereditary dictatorship that Assad leads in Syria.  If Russia and China had supported the resolution, how could they continue to suppress opposition groups in their respective countries, they needed the UN resolution to condemn both sides in this conflict !

In Britain we have a hereditary Head of State, she has been with us for 60 years, Mr Cameron praised the "magnificent service" given by the Queen and called her a "source of wisdom and continuity".

"With experience, dignity and quiet authority she has guided and united our nation and the Commonwealth over six varied decades," he said.

 A bitter-sweet day for the Queen, the anniversary of the death of her father and her ascending the throne.

If Syria had such a Head of State there would be no smoke hovering over the city of Homs, no funerals during the night because daytime is too dangerous because of snipers.

Sad world .........

... why did they ?

............. It's china and Russia, why did they veto the UN resolution condemning Syria's crackdown against anti-government protesters.

Well today it is reported that a further (estimated) 200 people were murdered by government forces in Syria ....................... and Russia says nothing.

Human rights groups and activists say more than 7,000 people have been killed by Syrian security forces since the uprising began in March 2011 ...................... yet China says nothing.

......... the sad world of autocratic governments.

Michael Caine said education is cheaper than prison ...

... when talking to Chris Evans this morning; he was talking about the kids of London's Elephant & Castle, they had asked him how he got out of the Elephant.  My thoughts turned to our devolved administration and education, and policing, and justice, and the voices of the also ran who are calling for further devolution of these powers to solve the very issue MC spoke about

Unfortunately in Wales the very communities who need the education leg-up are failed, there exists an imbalance of resources, money is denied to the very people who need additional resources, squeezed by the middle class resource hungry parents who in turn have been manipulated by politicians with an agenda beyond the ken of the electorate.


There exists in Wales a voice disproportionate to reality, Plaid Cymru, it has influenced policy in a way that creates division and denies fair allocation of resources to our children.  Try the blogger MH, his is a voice that discriminates against those starved of good education, his peddled nationalism is undermining when considered in the context of the fair governance of Wales, particularly towards education policies.

... just as blithe Spirit haunted  Noël Coward's socialite and novelist Charles Condomine in the play by that name, so the Labour Party in Wales is haunted by the ghost of their annoying and temperamental first wife, my advice to Carwyn Jones is to turn your back on the Separatist Party of Wales and turn your attention to the people who need so much help.

Remember, for every young person entering prison there could be a family dispossessed of hope for the future, and how many neighbours of the young inmate are in a similar position.  Doing your duty towards the prisoner should create a better place to live and work for all, helping those at the bottom of the ladder lifts everyone.


Bad news from Syria, the regime is moving to punish its citizens for dissent, time for the democracies to act, there should be no room for barbarism in this world.

I feel lucky, when I get .....

... up in the morning, there is no sound of helicopters engaging military establishments or armed checkpoints.  Can you hear the sounds of thousands protesting against government atrocities, and the sniper fire in the distance, reports of dozens killed.  And it doesn't matter whether I belong to either the Shia or Sunni peoples in Bahrain, I know that I will not be abused by a secret police.

The FIA have stamped on the face of humanity by caving into the wants of the Bahrain government by re-scheduling this years race in the face of the suppression of the people of the country.  "This is welcome news for all of Bahrain," said Zayed Rashid Alzayani, he also said ""As a country we have faced a difficult time, but stability has returned ... ", he didn't mention the secret police attrocities.

... back home in the Caerphilly basin where I live, my Saturdays and Sundays will not include the sounds of Bernie Ecclestone's Formula 1, there are some things more important than two hours of sport ............. not being kidnapped during the night by Bahrain's secret police is one, freedom of association another, and the freedom to protest against injustice is so important to humanity.

Bernie Ecclestone, by re-scheduling the race sends a message to me that secret police kidnapping, preventing free association and preventing protest is OK by him, obviously we have different sets of ethics.

In Wales we have little to protest, soon there will be the official opening of the Assembly in Cardiff, our elected representatives will be there to welcome our Queen, except Leanne Wood the Plaid Cymru member; we have to ignore her behaviour she is allowed bad manners.  We demonstrate the the rest of the world that British democracy accommodates even those who would destroy our world.

Turn a blind eye ...

... seems to be the buzzword at Betsan's blog, the storm in a teacup at the assembly.

In my personal experience, if you turn a blind eye, it becomes impossible thereafter to apply the principle. 

Our police are inclined to turn a blind eye, though only where they are diverted to something deemed more urgent or serious, a resources issue, at the Assembly there is plenty of time, resources in abundance, hot air by the dirigible full.  It could or should use this episode to demonstrate the pursuit of Wales political excellence.

I wonder what might have changed in the world if we hadn't turned an international blind eye, would the Syrian dictator be murdering the people of Syria, would Gaddafi have bombed the people of Libya, would Apartheid have lasted so long in South Africa.

Closer to home, Alex Salmond has raised his corpulent head above the political parapet, this man of the Scots people has decreed today that post independence our nuclear submarines will no longer be welcome, though with his jowly arrogance he suggests that Faslane as a base would be retained in partnership with our British government.

There are 10,000 jobs related to our nuclear submarine base in Scotland, it is time to bite the bullet and transfer the base out of the reach of Salmond, I'm sure the Devonport skill-base would welcome the opportunity to look after our nuclear fleet.  Salmond feeds the fire of independence, it is time that plans are put in place to begin the disengagement as soon as possible, if Whitehall are under the impression that the Scottish question is going away, they are wide of the mark, bring the submarines south as soon as possible, and bring the jobs not the jobbers.

Why we need Wales politicians, not ...

Welsh politicians.  Simply because Wales is all the peoples that live in Wales, Welsh is perceived as linguistic by the peoples of Wales.

This coming week the Labour Party with exactly half the elected Assembly members have a mandate to govern through the Welsh Assembly Government, it should be the Wales Assembly Government, without entering into a coalition agreement with another party.  Besides there being no mandate from the electorate, good politics will out political spoilers, the message from the electorate is surely get on with it, sort out our priorities of Health and Education before you do anything else, after all,  it's not rocket science.

A humble message to the people of Syria, Libya and Egypt, democracy is worth the struggle, don't stop now (Persia might also like to look towards democracy but sort out your lines of communications), both leaders of Libya and Syria are now international criminals, don't hand them over to The Hague, prosecute them at home, that's how you achieve real justice, called revenge by some.

A not so humble message to the USA, the Yemen need time to remove the tyranny in their country, your drones will not help, get out, get out now and give democracy a chance, sometimes you can be short-sighted, so .....

This week I have been thinking of two ...

... people, my father who died aged 42 years and his sister who died last year, 90 years of age, they were twins, today is their birthday.  I wonder how they would make sense of the world today ...

... where the freedoms they fought for are being squandered by an apathetic electorate and politicians devoid of ideas to improve this country of ours .........

... and where, in the Middle East and North Africa tyrants of Syria and Libya who are murdering the citizens of their respective countries, the only crime these people have committed is to ask for the freedoms we take for granted.  In Syria the public expression that calls for democracy has erupted in 11 cities, the tyrannical response from bully boy Assad has been to callously murder people attending funerals of people previously killed by the security forces.  In Libya the current response is to use cluster bombs against women and children, has Gaddafi enough munitions to kill the whole population I wonder ?

The more brutal the regime, ...

... the more urgent the call for "freedom".

In Syria many thousands of anti-government protesters have protested against against Syria's brutal regime, no violence from the protesters, but their message must point the way to the cliff of oblivion for Assad and his despicable regime.  In the countries third largest city of "Homs", the protesters insist they will not leave until they bring down the country's leadership,

In response to the weekend protests by the people of Syria, President Bashar al-Assad interior ministry has said the unrest amounts to armed insurrection, unfortunately for the people the arms of Assad's brutal regime were turned on innocent people asking for "freedom", to be let loose from the chains of Syria's long-standing emergency laws (48 years of oppression and counting) and a call for the release of political prisoners.

Human rights groups say at least 200 protesters have been killed in the past four weeks by security forces propping up the dictatorship of Assad, for these 200 people the man needs a trial in Syria, and when found guilty of ordering the murder of those 200 people should be taken to a public gallows as an example to the rest of the world.



And in Wales there is the election having the flavour of gruel, where politicians debate issues that are outwith their political remit, it is easier to discuss UK wide taxation as opposed to the underfunding of out schoolchildren to the tune of £600 per pupil year ............... they had the money, where was it spent.

... and Gollum continues to eat fish in the political back alleys of Cardiff Bay ... whilst in Swansea Plaid are out in force playing out their nationalist confidence trick, elsewhere the politicians discuss things amongst themselves, it is dangerous to interact with the electorate and their families.

Spot the difference ....

.....

 

... the first is older, both murder the people they govern.

A story that places Wales democracy in doubt ...

... where civil servants are employed to prevent real change to the way we are governed ...

... and in Syria the craven dictator, hereditary President Bashar al-Assad, has spoken on the state run TV, he said of the government action  "This is a test for our unity", what he didn't say was "......  that hundreds of people chanting "freedom" had taken to the streets of Latakia," he didn't assure the supporters of his despotic regime that ".... troops had fired warning shots in an attempt to get them to disperse."

The dictators government is reported to be studying the liberalisation of laws on media and political parties as well as anti-corruption measures, the easing of restrictions on civil liberties and political freedom.  The operative word is studying, nothing new then, but from human rights activist Aktham Nuaisse he believes the country stood "at a crossroads".  he is reported as saying "Either the president takes immediate, drastic reform measures, or the country descends into one of several ugly scenarios. If he is willing to lead Syria into a real democratic transformation, he will be met halfway by the Syrian people."

The people of Syria should seize democracy not listen to this son of a dictator, look to other countries in the region, use these examples to topple Bashar, there is everything to play for, in the west we call it freedom.

In Wales our civil servants are trying to prevent the submission of the proposed amendment to the GOWA, it reads ....

We call upon the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to petition the UK government to modify the Government of Wales Act 2006 to include the following Legislative Recall and Referendum option.

Where a Bill has been passed by the Welsh Assembly, one-third of the members of the Welsh Assembly may, within five weekdays from the final passing of the Bill, request of the Plenary Chair that the Bill be submitted to a referendum. Such request shall be made in writing and signed by the members making the request.


At the referendum votes shall be cast for or against the Bill. For the Bill to be rejected, a majority of the electors who vote, and not less than thirty per cent of all persons who are entitled to vote, shall have voted against the Bill.


Finance Bills, Salaries and Pensions Bills, Taxation (Direct and Indirect) Bills, UK and European Union government Bills, as well as Bills for the purpose of discharging existing treaty obligations shall not be submitted to decision by referendum.

... it would make law making more inclusive, no-matter what flavour of politics, the government of the day would be obliged to consider everyone, not just reflect on party politics, good for democratic accountability, the death-knell of partisan politics.

Would you support such a bill, currently the "badger cull" bill might be the subject of the Legislative Recall and Referendum option I am proposing, as might the "presumed consent" for the organ transplant bill, but nothing is certain, Assembly politicians after due deliberation could pass the laws with such a majority that the laws could not be subjected to recall.

While I consider the importance of giving politicians tools to strengthen democracy, in Syria its dictator murders citizens .....

Libya is falling apart and Yemen is changing .... is Saudi listening to the winds of change blowing from the dunes ........

The wind of change is blowing ...

... in Syria, the tyranny of the despotic son of the despot has reached new heights of despicable behaviour, he has sent 20,000 troops to Deraa to quell the call for democracy, for greater freedoms, to put it into perspective the dictator of Syria sent 1 soldier for every 3 citizens of Deraa.

With a population of 24 million the "Hereditary Dictator", a craven son of a bitch, will need to super-size his half a million army to a massive 8 million, and then coerce it to murder or imprison every citizen, because that is the only way to suppress democracy ..........

Libya, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain et al ....... take note of the wind of change, people like to speak, I am a human being ...... and I have an opinion


............. once again from Naom Chomsky ...

... "make it a real functioning democracy where the people participate".

... whilst back in the ranch, the Assembly tried to prevent the petition, to be posted soon after the May election, they tried the "not in the remit of the Assembly Government", to bad I have read the GOWA ...

... GOWA 2006 section 62,  

Representations about matters affecting Wales

The Welsh Ministers, the First Minister and the Counsel General may make appropriate representations about any matter affecting Wales.

... democracy is difficult even in Britain ...................

Democracy ...

... or tyranny ................

... I'm glad I wasn't there, just to old to hate so much I guess, or is it just not my democracy .........

......... in Syria the police are shooting people who are asking for democracy, and elsewhere in this world we share.......

I'm still looking for the love song, ...

... the politics of Wales I wrote about earlier, but there is little friendship or amity in the corridors of Power at the Assembly.

Looking across the world through the reportage of news-hounds and bloggers there is little friendship anywhere, in Libya the president is searching for his opponents, apparently to destroy them completely, because .................. they asked for democracy.

I read that in Syria police opened fire on demonstrators in Deraa, killing one and wounding several others, its president might like to reconsider his position, when people ask for freedoms that are basic rights elsewhere in the world it is probably to late, democratic change will be taken by the people not drip fed by a despotic ruler.

Other nation states are in similar positions, Yemen President Saleh is treading water in a most uncomfortable sea of change, he was even deserted by his ambassador to the United Nations in protest at the violence perpetrated by this second despot, he is responsible for 40 deaths murdered by his snipers last Friday.

What of the other countries of the middle east, Iran where a person may be hanged because he is gay, Bahrain who is using Saudi Arabia troops to subdue the pro-democracy movement, Saudi Arabia is another candidate country where people are held in captivity because of political allegiances.

Then in Morocco King Mohammed has yet to fulfil his promise of democratic reform and to end government corruption, whilst back in Wales .........

............ Carl Sargeant has suspended democracy ............