Category Archives: United Nations International Organizations

Arab League, Saudi Arabia, United Nations International Organizations

Arab Joke du Jour: Chutzpah! Arab League Blasts “Failed” UN…………

      

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“Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi Sunday backed Saudi Arabia’s rejection of a seat on the UN Security Council, saying the diplomatic body had failed in its responsibility towards the Arab world. Arabi told reporters that Saudi Arabia was right to object to the Security Council’s management methods and the fact that it failed in its responsibility to secure international peace, “which it is not doing at all.” He said Arab states, including Palestine and Syria, were the worst affected by the Security Council’s weakness in the last six decades. His remarks come a day after Arab nations urged Saudi Arabia to reverse its decision to reject a seat on the 15-nation Security Council. Arab ambassadors to the UN said it was crucial for Saudi Arabia to represent the Arab and Muslim world on the council “at this important and historical stage, specifically for the Middle East region.”…………….”


Talk about chutzpah: the Egyptian secretary general of the useless, ineffective, Saudi-owned Arab League calls the UN a “failure”.
It is almost funny, almost, this stance by Nabil al-Arabi, the Arab League’s top ineffective bureaucrat, a man effectively in the pay of the Al Saud princes.  He says the UN “had failed in its responsibility towards the Arab world”. As if the corrupt putrid Arab League of Absolute Kings, Princes, and other Despots and its bureaucracy are a glittering success. Truly a case of the kettle and the pot.
Cheers
mhg

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Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Nations International Organizations

WTF? Egypt Supports Saudi Rejection of UN Seat, Arabs Declare Unilateral Victory……

      

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Al Shourouk daily from Cairo reports that the Egyptian regime has declared its full support of the surprise Saudi decision to refuse taking a seat on the United Nations Security Council. It is likely general Al Sisi called the Saudi King, or whoever speaks for him these days, and congratulated him for his rejection. My Cairo source reports that it is not true that Interim semi-President Mr. Adly Mansour Al Zombie has asked if he can take the abandoned Saudi seat on the UN Security Council.

As a reaction, the King of Jordan is said to have made the “right noises”, the nature of which have not been divulged. Not to be outdone, the government of Bahrain has declared a three day holiday in celebration of the Saudi rejection of the UN SC seat. Other Arab potentates are sending messages of congratulation to Riyadh. One Lebanese journalist who writes in Saudi daily Asharq Alawsat is getting ready to call this Saudi move the “true Arab Spring”. Another Arab journalist, J Al-Khazin, who write for Saudi daily Al-Hayat is comparing this rejection to Anwar Sadat’s audacious visit to Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, and in that spirit of support, I have decided to declare my support for Turkish leader Erdogan for calling the President of France and asking him to get tougher on Syria, or was it Mali……….

Cheers
mhg

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Arab League, Arab Politics, GCC, Saudi Arabia, United Nations International Organizations, US Foreign Policy

Syrian Fallout: Saudi Tantrum over the Security Council………

      

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“Saudi Arabia on Friday rejected its freshly-acquired seat on the U.N. Security Council, saying the 15-member body is incapable of resolving world conflicts such as the Syrian civil war. The move came just hours after the kingdom was elected as one of the Council’s 10 nonpermanent members. In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, the Foreign Ministry said the Council has failed in its duties toward Syria. This, the ministry said, enabled Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime to perpetrate the killings of its people, including with chemical weapons, without facing any punishment. The kingdom, which has backed the Syrian rebels in their struggle to topple Assad, has in the past criticized the international community for failing to halt the civil war in Syria…………..”

This is a surprising and uncharacteristic public royal tantrum. Something has pissed off the Saudi princes. Or maybe now Prince Bandar has unbridled control over foreign policy. Earlier, they canceled their annual speech at the UN General Assembly meeting, not that anybody actually listens to it beside the flunkies. Now they refuse to take a seat at the Security Council.
It could be the frustration from the setbacks to their allies and proxies in Syria and Lebanon. It certainly can’t be the Security Council’s failure to react to their own invasion and continuing repression of Bahrain. It could be the failure of Mr. Obama to wage war in Syria and possibly Iran (all options still being on the table and all that). It could be the prospect of resolving the Iranian nuclear “issue” peacefully.
There is another possible angle here. A Security Council member will have to vote on issues, or abstain. Even abstention is a form of voting. Maybe the Saudis are going back to their old foreign policy mode of avoiding confrontation on sensitive issues.
The Saudis want no part of the Security Council until it is reformed to their liking. Which reminds me of the League of Arab States (Arab League), apparently now under Saudi financial control and quite reformed, thank you very much……….
And no, I would not be so crass as to suggest it is a form of royal PMS……….

Cheers
mhg

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construction, History, Islam, Saudi Arabia, United Nations International Organizations

Birthplace of Islam: Where Dogma and Greed Face History…………

         

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“The authorities in Saudi Arabia have begun dismantling some of the oldest sections of Islam’s most important mosque as part of a highly controversial multi-billion pound expansion. Photographs obtained by The Independent reveal how workers with drills and mechanical diggers have started demolishing some Ottoman and Abbasid sections on the eastern side of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. The building, which is also known as the Grand Mosque, is the holiest site in Islam because it contains the Kaaba – the point to which all Muslims face when praying. The columns are the last remaining sections of the mosque which date back more than a few hundred years and form the inner perimeter on the outskirts of the white marble floor surrounding the Kaaba. The new photos, taken over the last few weeks, have caused alarm among archaeologists…………….. Many senior Wahabis are vehemently against the preservation of historical Islamic sites that are linked to the prophet because they believe it encourages shirq – the sin of idol worshipping……………”

They have been at this for some years now. Nobody loudly criticizes them for it anymore. They have bought off the UNESCO and the British (Prince Chuck) and other Western governments: expensive arms deals and trade are more important than safeguarding ancient Islamic monuments.
I have posted on this, several times. It is not only the Wahhabi dogma against any historic sites, nay against history. It is also greed: properties in Mecca that are near the Kaaba are valuable. The tear them down to build expensive 5-star or 7-star hotels and apartments and shopping centers. Greed combines with Salafi dogma to doom the ancient monuments of early Islam. Homes and mosques of the Prophet and some of his early followers have been destroyed and built over with new ‘properties’. No sense repeating. I shall provide the following links to some earlier posts on this topic:

Saudi Culture: Bulldozing the Graves of Mohammed and Omar into Las Vegas

Buying the Soul of Britain, Raping the History of Islam, Sacking Mecca


Cement Shortages May not Save Mecca from its Las Vegas Future

Monuments in Wax: Salafis of Egypt and the Petroleum Pharaohs

Cheers
mhg

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Libya, Middle East Women, North Africa, United Nations International Organizations

Grand Mufti of Libya Orders Women to Relax and Enjoy Violence against women………

         

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“The Grand Mufti of Libya, Sheikh Sadeq Al-Ghariani has issued a fatwa against a UN report on violence against woman, calling on Muslim women around the world to protest against it. The 32-page report from the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) calls for greater action by governments to protect women and girls from violence as well as spread awareness of women’s rights and do more to challenge discrimination. The statement from the Grand Mufti read that it “strongly condemns the provisions of the charter….………….”

Liberated Libya is doing some things that Colonel Qaddafi would not have condoned. He would not have stood for this type of misogyny. The colonel did, reportedly, have his own form of misogyny and abuse of women. But like many Arab despots he did have pretensions of being progressive on some issues. I shall not bore you by mentioning a possible liberated Syria and what it might be like if…………..

Cheers
mhg

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Hezbollah, Lebanon, Syria, United Nations International Organizations

Shocking News: STL Hariri Tribunal is Still Alive, Barely!…………

         

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“The first shock came when a leading Lebanese newspaper published a confidential list of 17 witnesses who may testify in the murder trial of a former prime minister — showing their names, passport pictures, dates of birth and where they work. A spokesman for the United Nations-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon quickly condemned the publication, in January, as a serious breach of court rules that put the lives of those named at risk. But the response of the newspaper, Al Akhbar, which is close to the militant movement Hezbollah, was defiant. A few days later it published a second confidential list, splashing the names, pictures and personal details of another 15 possible witnesses across two pages. ………….”

The STL Hariri tribunal has undermined itself, nay discredited itself, several times over the past few years. Mainly through shoddy procedures and changing the parties that are suspect and leaking information. Not to mention its blatant politicization. Blaming the Syrian regime in leaks when relations with the West and its allies were bad, then shifting the blame away from Syria when relations with the West improved, then shifting it again, through leaks. Right now they have settled on some Hezbollah operatives, but they may change that again if a bigger “villain” materializes (but not on the Korean Peninsula). All subject to the political winds of the time. At one time there were even leaks that they were considering some top Iranian mullahs (some Gulf media once mentioned Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a possible suspect). Too bad the Gangnam-Style guy, Psy, is Korean and the guys who started La Macarena are Spaniards. I believe they both ought to be charged and punished.


It is a wonder this incompetent seemingly political tribunal is still standing, barely. Most Lebanese, except for March 14 supporters, gave up on it a long time ago. Most Arabs outside Riyadh don’t give a damn anymore.


No need to repeat the litany here. I’ll just add links to previous posts on the topic:

Lebanon: Wissam Al Hassan and the Absent Paoli of The Godfather

Hariri STL to Investigate Sabra and Shatila Massacre

UN Lebanon Hariri Tribunal to Extend its Probe to Sabra & Shatila Massacres?

Chasing Hezbollah: Desperation Time in Washington and Riyadh?

Hariri now Claims Syria Killed his Father, Will STL Drop Hezbollah Charges?

Oh Oh Lockerbie, and STL of Lebanon, and Tony Blair, and the Fab Four

Hariri now Claims Syria Killed his Father, Will STL Drop Hezbollah Charges?

Cheers
mhg

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Iran, MEK, Mossad, Mujahideen Khalq, United Nations International Organizations

Photo Epiphany: Ahmadinejad as a Mossad Mole?………….

   

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                   Neck of the woods                     No, its not Saddam……………..

What looks like Saddam Hussein supporters demonstrate in New York City against the visit of Iran’s Ahmadinejad to the UN. See all the photos of a grinning leader-for-life, Saddam with the regulation thick black dyed Baathist mustache these MEK fans are carrying?
They are protesting that he, Ahmadinejad, will leave office next July and they won’t have him to kick around anymore. Between next July and Next September when the UN general Assembly meets, they’ll have to hope for the new president of Iran to be at least as loud and outrageous as Ahmadinejad.
Otherwise they’ll have to protest against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, something that doesn’t exactly excite American media or public (or maybe even AIPAC for that matter). Khamenei hardly makes public pronouncements, and is not likely to want to allow the likes of Piers Morgan to question him about whatever titillates the American and British public.
I am beginning to suspect that if it were not for Ahmadinejad and his antics and loud mouth, the United States would have never removed the Mujahideen Khalq (MEK, MKO, WTF) from the terrorist list. No matter how much money they paid politicians of both Democrat and Republican parties. Which makes me suspect something really sinister, something I had never suspected before today.

Call it my epiphany: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may well be an MEK (or MKO or WTF) mole (aka agent, aka sleeper) in the heart of the Iranian government! Which also makes Ahmadinejad, by association an Israeli mole or agent in the heart of the Iranian government, since MEK is practically an arm of Mossad. All allegedly of course. Now that Saddam is dead (he was on trial when Mahmoud was elected in 2005).


Cheers
mhg
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Iran, Israel, United Nations International Organizations

New York New York: Ahmadinejad’s Last Hurrah in Seeb e Buzurg…………….

   

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                          Neck of the woods

“Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is preparing to make his final visit to the United Nations Headquarters in New York as president of Iran, where he is scheduled to speak at the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Mojtaba Hashemi-Samareh, the senior advisor of President Ahmadinejad, said on Wednesday, “As this is the last appearance for Mr. Ahmadinejad at the United Nations, he will present a summary of his visits and speeches over the past eight years.” As the current chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Ahmadinejad will also submit a report on the 16th NAM Summit, which was held in Tehran in August. This will be the eighth consecutive year that Ahmadinejad has attended the annual UN General Assembly session………..”


What this senior adviser meant to say was that “this is the last chance for the Big Apple (seeb e buzurg سیب بزرگ in Persian; التفاحة الكبيرة in Arabic; Beeg Apple in some other tongue) to enjoy the company of Ahmadinejad. After that, they won’t have him to kick around anymore, to plagiarize a Nixon phrase. Unless the mayor loses it and decides to invite him for a private visit in the future.
I have been pondering this point (for about 3 minutes): the departure of Ahamdinejad. The end of an era. Will we, the world at large, miss him after he has to hand over the office next July? Who will Bibi Netanyahu have to accommodate him? I mean Hitler, Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, and Rosenberg are all dead, long gone. Without Ahmadinejad, he will have to find a new bête noire, a new alibi if he wants to stay in power and talk many American Jews out of their money.
It all depends on who is elected to replace Ahmadinejad. If it is a cleric, then Netanyahu will have plenty of fuel to play with. So will the Saudis, come to think of it. All they have to do is show a photo of a scowling new leader (unless he is a mirthful cleric). Ever notice how Ahmadinejad is always smiling? Yet he has managed to make himself quite a few enemies in the West; imagine what a scowling ayatollah can do.
Of one thing I am certain: his will be the only UN speech this year listened to by a large world audience and broadcast live by most news networks (especially in the USA).

Cheers
mhg
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Iran, nuclear Iran, U.S. Congress, U.S. Politics, United Nations International Organizations, US Foreign Policy, War on Iran

Obama Painted into a Corner on Iran: Why Hillary Clinton Should Leave State…..

    

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“L’Iran a appelé lundi les Occidentaux à envisager la levée des sanctions s’ils veulent parvenir à une solution de la crise liée à son programme nucléaire controversé, et laissé entendre qu’il pourrait discuter du niveau d’enrichissement de son uranium. «Si l’Occident veut construire (un climat de) confiance, il devrait commencer par les sanctions, car cela peut aider à accélérer les discussions pour parvenir à une solution», a déclaré le chef de la diplomatie iranienne Ali Akbar Salehi à l’agence de presse ISNA………..”

That is the dilemma of the Iran negotiations with P5+1. Even if the Iranians agree not to enrich uranium to the 20% level, the Western regimes are in no position to lift the sanctions. Provided they are really willing to provide the isotopes needed for research. The Obama administration has painted itself into a corner, where it cannot lift the sanctions in exchange for Iranian concessions. In this political year, the sanctions have been tightened more than ever before, mainly for domestic US political reasons, pressure by the Republican right and AIPAC and the likes of Joe Lieberman. There is no way Obama can lift any sanctions this year; he certainly can’t get the Congress to go along. There is also no way the Iranian will agree to yield on the enrichment issue without a lifting of the Western blockade. That would be tantamount to surrender.
In their eagerness to accommodate the American and Israeli right-wing, Obama and Hillary Clinton have made sure that there can be no deal this year. Not a very good job by the Clinton State Department. If Obama is reelected, he really should look for another secretary of state: the current one has not done a good job.
Cheers
mhg


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Iran, Iraq, Middle East Nuclear, United Nations International Organizations, US Foreign Policy

Appointment in Baghdad: Percentages of U-235, Netanyahu the Most Predictable………..

    

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“The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, has said that Tehran does not intend to stop producing uranium enriched to a purity level of 20 percent. Jalili, who is Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, made the remarks during a press conference in Istanbul on Saturday after two rounds of talks between representatives of Iran and the 5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany), which ended a 15-month hiatus in talks. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton represented the 5+1 group in the nuclear negotiations and Jalili headed the Iranian delegation………”

“MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi has said that the topic of lifting economic sanctions against Iran will be discussed during the next round of talks between Tehran and the major world powers, which is scheduled to be held in Baghdad on May 23. He also said that the issue of uranium enrichment is highly important to the Islamic Republic, adding that Iran has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes under the supervision of the International
Atomic Energy Agency…………”

Interesting take, or maybe spin, by Iranian officials, through a semi-official news agency. Enrichment of uranium to 20% (i.e. 20% weight fraction of U-235) is usually needed for medical isotopes, while enrichment to 5% is needed for power generation. Neither is sufficient for developing a nuclear weapons.
The Iranian official seems certain they will not give up on 20% enrichment needed for medical isotopes. They also seem certain there will be meeting in Baghdad next month. The two don’t seem compatible in view of previously-expressed official American opinion. Maybe the Iranians are also bluffing. We’ll have to wait the U.S. State Department comments this week, perhaps later today. Both sides seemed subdued this weekend, except for Netanyahu who is probably the most predictable politicians in the world. Netanyahu mouthed off his usual mantra, biding his time as he awaits the inauguration of Mitt Godot Romney.
(FYI: I am not a nuclear physicist, not anymore, or maybe not yet)
Cheers
mhg


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