20 July 2013 — Strategic Culture Foundation
US, EU Pose as Honest Brokers While Backing Egypt’s Military Assault on Democracy
20.07.2013 | 00:00 | Finian CUNNINGHAM
Egypt’s political turmoil took on surreal dimensions this week with the swearing in of the military-backed interim civilian government. The procedure was shown «live» on national television, as if to lend an image of «transparency» and «accountability». The central figure in the cabinet photo-op, dressed in khaki military uniform, was the head of the Egyptian armed forces, General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. He was the man who led the military arrest of former president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July, and in turn, ushered in his replacement, Adli Mansour, the country’s top judge, who had served under the ancien regime of Hosni Mubarak…
Watergate – Snowdengate: Differences and Similarities. 40 years of walking in desert in search of democracy
20.07.2013 | 00:00 | Dmitry MININ
It happened 40 years ago – in 1973. There was a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington D.C. to install tapping devices so that Republican President Richard Nixon could monitor communications of Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern… The main difference between Snowdengate and Watergate is that back then it was one political party conducting subversive actions against the rival, now the two are together violating people’s privacy worldwide. The snooping takes place no matter who is in power, it has flourished during the Obama’s tenure matching well with and becoming an element of his «soft power» strategy. It has intensified to larger extent in comparison with the time there was less talk about democracy. Hypocrisy and duplicity have dominated the scene, something Snowden could not stand anymore…
Snowden – Evil Doer or Raising Alarm Kind of Paul Revere?
19.07.2013 | 00:00 | Andrei AKULOV
Actually the revelations related to government power abuse and human rights violations may come only from within, there is nowhere else such information may come from. It’s the government who is a wrongdoer and the whistleblowers in such cases should be protected from legal reprisals and disciplinary action the same way key witnesses for criminal prosecution are protected by special police programs… Snowden has revealed the information without pursuing any personal gains. No damage to US military posture, no names of residents and operatives working undercover abroad are given away. He has not done it, so the Espionage Act is no legal ground for putting forward charges against him…
A «Nobler» Route to the Prize
19.07.2013 | 00:00 | Rafe MAIR
International lessons are hard learned. When powerful countries mess about in other lands sooner or later it backfires… The situation in the Middle East has been simmering for a long time and it is indeed hard to tell the players without a program. There are, however, two realities the United States must understand – forms of government cannot be forced upon unwilling countries and that the real issue is not the USA’s perception of democracy but a combination of pride and reluctance to «lose face»…
Egypt: The First Defeat of Political Islam Since the Start of the «Arab Spring»
18.07.2013 | 00:00 | Boris DOLGOV
The defeat of the Islamists in Egypt has great international significance and changes the balance of power in the Middle East. The position of political Islam in the Arab spring zone and among the forces supporting the Islamists has been seriously shaken… And while Islamism which makes use of terror will continue to operate, its revenge, even with the support of the West, is unlikely…
Snowden: Up in Arms Against Established Order
18.07.2013 | 00:00 | Konstantin GORDEEV
Edward Snowden, a young American, grabbed the world attention in the wink of an eye making the revelations on US global surveillance come into the open. The world telecommunications are under constant surveillance carried out by the watchful eye of US special services. The snooping is ubiquitous encompassing US citizens and people in other countries of the world. It’s really complete, there is no exaggeration here, it spreads on bums and presidents, bitterest enemies and bosom friends – all of them watched at any given moment… No surprise, many in America think Snowden is a «traitor» and a «spy». But there is something else that is important: according to polls, over 40% of US citizens say no to the persecution of Snowden, they approve his actions and think he is the one who has revealed the illegal activities of US special services…
Snowden and Latin America Expose Washington’s Impotence in a Changing World
17.07.2013 | 00:00 | Finian CUNNINGHAM
Several historical insights can be drawn from the Snowden affair, accentuated by the latest revelations and tensions over Latin America. Foremost is that the illegal global spying network set up by Washington over the past decade can be seen as having nothing to do with fighting terrorism. Indeed, it can be inferred from Washington’s secret criminality against a host of neutral and friendly states that the «War on Terror» is a risible charade that not even the US government believes in. The real purpose for Washington’s violations of international law and the sovereignty of other nations is to do with maximizing political and economic advantages, or in a word – imperialism. Needless to say such misconduct is reprehensible and unacceptable. This is clearly the case when it comes to the countries of Latin America, which have never posed a security threat to the US…
Snowden and the world’s no-fly zones
17.07.2013 | 00:00 | Hannes HOFBAUER
It took three weeks, till a high-ranked official of the United Nations, the commissary of human rights, Navi Pillay, made a commentary on the flight of Edward Snowden and his long-term seeking for asylum. She noticed publically that systematic violation of international law and human rights, how it was and persistently still is done by the USA in surveying and controlling most of the world’s communication, could not be accepted as a pretext to persecute the messenger of these crimes. The whistleblower Snowden should be protected, not prosecuted, she said…
Edward Snowden: Human Rights Advocate and His Secret Mission
16.07.2013 | 00:00 | Nil NIKANDROV
Italy, France, Spain and Portugal have resorted to pirate-like actions to make the plane of Evo Morales, the President of Bolivia, land and be inspected… There is no doubt about who is behind the manhunt for the Latin American President, an Indian by origin… Paris, Rome, Madrid and Lisbon have proven they enjoy no independence while taking decision on international issues. The stance of Spain and Portugal is especially shameful; they have undermined their privileged relations with the Latin American states for a long time to come…
World Under Eagle Eye of US Government and Banks
16.07.2013 | 00:00 | Valentin KATASONOV
…The creation of enormous detailed consolidated information base of the US Treasury Department is nearing the final phase. It will use the information from US banks, insurance companies, pension funds and other financial organizations. By the beginning of 2003 media reported that all the US special services, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency and others would get access to this data base to protect security and national interests. The accelerated pace of creating the information database to serve the US banksters and special services make other countries look for protection from the obtrusive control exercised by the Big Brother…
Snowden: Human Rights and Global Information Security
15.07.2013 | 00:00 | Alexander MEZYAEV
On July 12 fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden held a meeting with human rights representatives in the transit area of Moscow airport. Snowden told a small group of activists that he was reinstating a claim for asylum in Russia and asked for their support. In order to be guaranteed safety in Russia, the only way for him to go is to file a formal asylum plea… The US persecutes Snowden for the efforts to attract the world public attention to the fact of mass human rights violations that is social and political activities and convictions… Even if Snowden’s application is refused, Russia won’t be able to extradite him to the United States, especially against the background of mounting accusations of his complicity in more serious crimes… Legally Russia cannot extradite him to the country which practices death sentence because it complies with the European Convention on Human Rights…
Selective Jihad
15.07.2013 | 00:00 | Leonid SAVIN
86-year old Islamic theologian Yusuf al-Qaradawi from Qatar, who spent a long time living in the US and was a trustee of the Islamic Society of Boston, is playing a major role in fuelling the conflict between Sunni and Shi’ite… A characteristic detail: in 2009, al-Qaradawi published a book entitled Fiqh of Jihad in which he refused to recognise the duty of Muslims to wage jihad in Palestine, which is being occupied by Israel, as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are being subjected to American occupation. At the same time, however, he is calling for a “holy war” in Syria against Bashar al-Assad’s government!..
What the Eurasian Union is about
14.07.2013 | 00:00 | Andrei AKULOV
In 2011 the Presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed an agreement to create a Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and have it fully functioning by 2015. The issue is in the focus of media and experts community. Some are somewhat skeptical about the idea, especially in the USA, where the plans are met with open hostility and the government is called upon to effectively counter the initiative… Is the project likely to succeed? Is it not hypocritical to oppose the process of regional integration in Eurasia while supporting it elsewhere? It’s worth to have a look at what the project is about, while setting aside for the time being mantra-like repeated accusations of imperialism just because one of the would-be members has a larger GDP than others (like if it could be otherwise)…
Republishing is welcomed with reference to Strategic Culture Foundation on-line journal www.strategic-culture.org.
The New Dark Age 