…from beneath the crooked bough, witness 230 years of brutal tyranny by the al Khalifas come to an end

WHO monitoring SARS-like virus in 2 men who had traveled in Saudi Arabia; 1 has died
By Associated Press – 24 September, 2012

LONDON — Global health officials are closely following a new respiratory virus related to SARS that is believed to have killed at least one person in Saudi Arabia and left another person in critical condition in Britain.

The germ is a coronavirus, from a family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as SARS, the severe acute respiratory syndrome that killed some 800 people, mostly in Asia, in a 2003 epidemic.

In the latest case, British officials alerted the World Health Organization on Saturday of the new virus in a man who transferred from Qatar to be treated in London. He had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia and is now being treated in an intensive care unit after suffering kidney failure.

Health officials don’t know yet whether the virus could spread as rapidly as SARS did or if it might kill as many people.

“It’s still (in the) very early days,” said Gregory Hartl, a WHO spokesman. “At the moment, we have two sporadic cases and there are still a lot of holes to be filled in.”

Hartl said it was unclear how the virus spreads. Coronaviruses are typically spread in the air but Hartl said scientists were considering the possibility that the patients were infected directly by animals. He said there was no evidence yet of any human-to-human transmission.

“All possible avenues of infection are being explored right now,” he said.

So far there is no connection between the cases except for a history of travel in Saudi Arabia. SARS was first spread to humans from civet cats in China.

Hartl said no other countries have so far reported any similar cases to WHO.

Other experts said it was unclear how dangerous the virus is.

“We don’t know if this is going to turn into another SARS or if it will disappear into nothing,” said Michael Osterholm, a flu expert at the University of Minnesota. He said it was crucial to determine the ratio of severe to mild cases.

SARS hit more than 30 countries worldwide after spreading from Hong Kong. Osterholm said it was worrying that at least one person with the disease had died. “You don’t die from the common cold,” he said. “This gives us reason to think it might be more like SARS,” which killed about 10 percent of the people it infected. …more

* Dozens arrested after protest outside Qassim prison
* Protesters, including women and children, held in desert overnight
* Second small protest takes place in Riyadh on Monday

Dozens arrested after Saudi prison protest outside Qassim prison
By Asma Alsharif – 24 September, 2012 – Reuters

JEDDAH, Sept 24 (Reuters) – Security forces on Monday detained dozens of men who had staged a protest near a prison in central Saudi Arabia to press for the release of relatives, demonstrators and a rights activist said.

The arrests were made after police had confined the protesters, who included women and small children, to a desert area outside the prison where they were kept without food or water for nearly a day, protesters and activists said.

It was a rare demonstration in the world’s biggest oil exporter, where protests are banned.

Saudi Arabia, which has been a target for al Qaeda attacks, say the protesters’ relatives are all being held on security grounds. But activists say some are also held for purely political activity and have never been charged.

An Interior Ministry spokesman said those accused of “terrorism-related” crimes were undergoing fair judicial process.

“As for the the gathering of a limited number of relatives of the detained people at a prison, they have been stopped according to legal procedures and will be dealt with if they are found in violation of the laws,” the spokesman said.

Activists said police with shields and batons persuaded the protesters at the prison to go home, telling them their message had been heard and their demands would be looked into.

“When we left the ‘Emergency Forces’ followed our cars. They chased us and stopped us to detain the men,” said Reema al-Juraish, a protesters whose husband is in the prison.

“I saw them grab five and when I tried to intervene they pushed me and hit me with a baton.”

She said up to 60 men where arrested and taken to an unknown location.

More than 100 people, including women and children, had staged a one-day protest in the desert around Tarfiya prison in the Qassim province but were surrounded by police. They said they had been kept without food or water for almost a full day.

Police set up checkpoints on the two roads leading to the area and deployed patrols in the desert around it, they said.

UNREST THWARTED

The kingdom, which has almost no elected bodies, avoided the kind of unrest that toppled leaders across the Arab world last year after it introduced generous social spending packages and issued a religious edict banning public demonstrations.

King Abdullah has pushed through some economic and social reforms, including cautious moves to improve the position of women and religious minorities, but he has left the political system untouched.

The world’s top oil exporter is an important ally of Western countries in battling al Qaeda, which carried out a campaign of attacks in the kingdom from 2003-06.

Last year the Interior Ministry said it had put on trial 5,080 of nearly 5,700 people it had detained on security grounds.

In April, a court in Riyadh sentenced rights campaigner Mohammed al-Bajadi to four years in prison after he was accused of forming a human rights association, tarnishing Saudi Arabia’s reputation, questioning the independence of the judiciary, and owning illegal books, activists said. …more

Libya attack a “catastrophic intelligence loss” for Amercia
24 September, 2012 – Al Akhbar

The attack that killed the US ambassador to Libya dealt a huge blow to US intelligence operations because CIA agents and contractors were among the Americans evacuated afterward, the New York Times reported late Sunday.

The CIA’s intelligence targets in unstable Libya included an Islamist militia that some have blamed for the September 11 attack in the eastern city of Benghazi and suspected members of al-Qaeda’s North African affiliate, the paper said.

More than two dozen Americans were rushed out of Libya after the attack that killed ambassador Chris Stevens, three other Americans and 10 Libyan security officers.

They included about a dozen CIA operatives and contractors monitoring a variety of armed groups in the city, the paper reported.

“It is a catastrophic intelligence loss,” it quoted an American official who has served in Libya as saying. “We got our eyes poked out.”

However, the paper quoted another official as saying the United States was still collecting information via other techniques such as informants, intercepting mobile phone conversations and use of satellite images.

“The United States isn’t close to being blind in Benghazi and eastern Libya,” the second official said.

The paper also said that contrary to initial accounts, a consulate annex that was also attacked was never meant to be a “safe house” for the CIA.

Last week Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced an official review of security at the US mission in Libya.

President Barack Obama’s administration initially said it believed extremists had not really planned the attack in Libya but simply taken advantage of a spontaneous protest over an anti-Islamic trailer to mix in and attack.

The White House for the first time Thursday described the assault as a “terrorist attack” and said it could have links to al-Qaeda.

But a Republican lawmaker, Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, cast doubt Sunday over whether the protests even happened.
…source

Bahrainis demand release of political prisoners
24 ShiaPost – 24 September, 2012

Anti-regime protesters have held new demonstrations across Bahrain to express their solidarity with political prisoners and demand the downfall of the Al Khalifa regime, Press TV reports.

Chanting anti-regime slogans, demonstrators took to the streets in several villages and cities, including Sitra near the capital, Manama, on Sunday.

The protesters expressed solidarity with political prisoners in Bahrain, female political detainees in particular, and demanded that they be freed immediately.

Scores of people have been killed and many others arrested by regime forces since the revolution started in Bahrain last year.

The protests have been continuing since then despite the heavy-handed crackdown by the regime. Saudi Arabia has also been helping the Manama regime crush the popular uprising.

The protesters hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the death of demonstrators during the uprising. …source

Rafsanjani returns to Iran from exile
24 September, 2012 – Al Alkhbar

The son of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani returned to Iran from exile to answer charges of inciting unrest after a disputed election in 2009, fuelling speculation that Rafsanjani’s influence in Tehran may once again be growing.

Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani arrived in Tehran late on Sunday, Fars news agency reported, having spent three years in the United Kingdom following his alleged involvement in the widespread protests that followed the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mehdi Rafsanjani had spent several days in Dubai and been expected to return to Iran on Sunday, an independent source told Reuters.

Analysts say his return indicates a deal has been agreed with authorities to resolve the charges he faces, and suggests his father’s political fortunes may be reviving.

Akbar Rafsanjani played a central role in the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran last month, being photographed walking alongside Iran’s most powerful authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and sat next to UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon.

As oil sanctions continue to bite and with a presidential election set for next year, some are tipping the pragmatic yet conservative Rafsanjani as a surprise candidate.

The Rafsanjanis have faced heightened pressure from hardliners since the 2009 vote, which set off the deepest political crisis and worst unrest in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The former president is one of the founding figures of the Islamic Republic and a close aide to the revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

But his backing of opposition candidates in 2009 and sympathy for opposition demonstrators incurred the anger of conservatives and led to a decline in his influence.

Mehdi Rafsanjani’s return comes 24 hours after another member of the powerful and wealthy Rafsanjani family, his sister Faezeh, began a six-month jail sentence for “spreading anti-state propaganda”.

Her conviction at the start of this year is believed to be over an interview she gave to an opposition news site in which she criticized human rights violations and economic policy in Iran. …source

Iran blocks access to Gmail
24 September, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Iran blocked access to Google’s popular and relatively secure Gmail service Monday amid first steps by the Islamic republic to establish a walled-off national intranet separate from the worldwide Internet.

Access to Google’s search page was also restricted to its unsecured version, web users in Iran found.

Attempts to access it using a secure protocol (https) were also blocked.

The curbs were announced in a mobile phone text message quoting Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, an adviser to Iran’s public prosecutor’s office and the secretary of an official group tasked with detecting Internet content deemed illegal.

“Due to the repeated demands of the people, Google and Gmail will be filtered nationwide. They will remain filtered until further notice,” the message read.

Google’s own website tracking country-by-country access to its services did not immediately reflect the blocks.

But several residents in Tehran told AFP they were unable to get into their Gmail accounts unless they used VPN (virtual private network) software.

VPNs are commonly used by tech-savvy Iranians to get around extensive online censorship, though bandwidth of connections through the software is routinely strangled and occasionally even cut entirely.

Gmail is used by many Iranian businessmen to communicate and exchange documents with foreign companies. Iran’s economy is suffering under Western sanctions that have cut oil exports and made trade more difficult.

Iranian authorities previously and temporarily cut access to Google and Gmail in February, ahead of March parliamentary elections. …more

Salafist Group Begs Funds for ‘Syrian Revolution’ via Bahraini Martyr Photo
Local Editor – 24 September, 2012

Egyptian salafist group posterAl-Dawa Egyptian salafist group has published a picture of the Bahraini martyr Ahmad Farhan on one of its posters to urge donors to support what it called the “Syrian revolution”.

The group has chosen the picture of martyr Farhan while he was carried by one of the demonstrators to be at the top ads of its media campaign, titled “the one Ummah campaign for the relief of our brothers in Syria.”

Farhan was killed in the island of Sitra, south of the capital Manama, a day after Peninsula Shield Forces entered the country in March 2011.

The slogans of “Syria never bows down,” and “we accept alms for the poor of Syria,” have been also written on the poster.

Martyr Ahmad Farhan, 30, was killed by the Peninsula Shield forces in March by a live bullet which blew his head. Al-Khalifa security forces also arrested the citizen who then brought him to the hospital. …source

His Excellency Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs wins coveted Crooked Bough Horseshit Award and Gag Me award.

UN Human Rights Council Accepts Bahrain Universal Periodic Review

By Kingdom of Bahrain – 19 September, 2012

MANAMA, Bahrain, Sept. 19, 2012 — PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — After Bahrain fully accepted 145, and partially accepted 13, recommendations outlined in the U.N. Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the Human Rights Council accepted Bahrain’s report this morning in Geneva.

His Excellency Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, delivered the opening statement Wednesday highlighting Bahrain’s achievement in applying the council’s recommendations. He noted, “We all agree on the fundamental principles, which are free speech and fair treatment of those accused and convicted of crimes.” H.E. Shaikh Khalid affirmed, “The rule of law is the essential condition of a society that respects human rights,” stressing that “all segments of society need to play a constructive role” in upholding human rights concerns.

In his remarks, His Excellency the Minister noted that Bahrain’s commitment to implement UPR recommendations focused primarily concerned “criminal justice issues, prevention of torture, rights of women, protection of children and minorities, ratification of international treaties, preventing human trafficking, and fully implementing the recommendations outlined in the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI).”

In her response, the President of the UN Human Rights Council, Ms. Laura Dupuy Lasserre, expressed her gratitude that the Kingdom assented to voluntarily provide an interim report to the Council prior to the next UPR.

SOURCE Kingdom of Bahrain

Revisiting Bin Ahmed’s Royal lies from May, 2011

Howard Hawk’s film “To Have and Have Not”, based upon the novel of the same name by Ernest Hemingway, features the actor Dan Seymour playing the character of Vichy France’s Gestapo police chief Captain M. Renard during WWII on the Caribbean island of Martinique. Capt. Renard is a sinister, corrupt, and abusive brute who gets his comeuppance at the end of the film when Humphrey Bogart’s character, Harry ‘Steve’ Morgan, pistol whips him into arranging a safe escape off the island for Harry et al. An example of Capt. Renard’s methods is witnessed in the following bribe offered to Harry, of paying him $500 plus the $825 that Renard confiscated earlier, to betray two French Resistance fighters:

What is striking is the resemblance (in temperament, personae, as well as in physicality) between the character of Capt. Renard and the Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa

Bahrain’s Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa as Captain Renard – Creepy!!!

bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, maybe better suited for role as Ahmed, the Doorman in Casablanca

Silencing Dissent: A Policy of Systematic Repression
19 September, 2012 – FIDH

On the eve of the UN Human Rights Council 21st session where the Bahraini government is expected to respond to the recommendations of the Council made on the 21st of May 2012, FIDH releases its report entitled “Silencing Dissent: A Policy of Systematic Repression”.

The report is the result of an investigation on the situation of human rights in Bahrain, a year and a half after the government’s violent response to the protest movement that started on 14 February 2011. It focuses in particular on the gap between the recommendations made by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) [1] and their implementation by the government of Bahrain. Nearly a year after the release of the BICI report, one cannot but notice the reluctances of the government to definitely end with human rights violations. Despite the King’s promises, the reforms remain widely insufficient.

FIDH’s report takes into account both official declarations and actions, and accounts from the local civil society, notably reports of FIDH’s two member organizations in Bahrain, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS). Many of the accounts received were substantiated on the occasion of a field mission to Bahrain, which was conducted between April 1 to 5, 2012 [2] . The mission met with victims of human rights violations, human rights defenders, civil society organizations, lawyers, medical workers, teachers, university students, families of individuals killed and injured, journalists, political opposition members, the Minister of Justice, the Public Prosecutor, the Deputy Minister of Human Rights and Social Development, and the ambassadors of the United States and France to Bahrain as well as representatives of the United Kingdom. The mission also observed three court hearings for the cases of the twenty medical workers, the Bahraini Teachers Association (BTA) and the case of Abdulhadi Al Khawaja and twenty other human rights defenders and political opponents.

“While certain efforts have been made by Bahraini authorities to address many of the BICI recommendations, the report concludes that the government continues to deny a majority of Bahraini’s fundamental rights on a daily basis and uses governmental structures to attack or control the population rather than protect it, creating an atmosphere of mistrust and fear among the population.” declared Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President. As an example, since 14 February 2011, 80 people have been killed; 34 of them have died after the release of the BICI report on 23 November 2011.

“As the government of Bahrain will attempt to convey to the Council its actions for democratic reforms tomorrow, we must remind the international community that human rights defenders such as Nabeel Rajab and Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, remain in prison today solely for exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of expression and assembly” said Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH president.

Nabeel Rajab, FIDH Deputy Secretary-General, president of BCHR and former president of the Gulf Center for Human Rights, is currently imprisoned after he was sentenced to three years imprisonment on August 16th for his participation in peaceful protests [3].

“We call on the international community to support the establishment of an international monitoring mechanism to be set-up, through a resolution of the UN Human Rights Council, to monitor the implementation of the BICI recommendations and the overall resolution of the human rights crisis in Bahrain” added Belhassen.

Furthermore, FIDH calls upon the Bahraini authorities to immediately and unconditionally put an end to the ongoing repression against human rights defenders and for the immediate and unconditional release of all those imprisoned for exercising their fundamental rights. …source

CIA sued over drone killings
Russia Times – 19 September, 2012

The American Civil Liberties Union is taking the CIA to court for the agency’s refusal to comply with a FOIA request to hand over documents about the Obama administration’s “targeted killing” drone program.

The CIA claims its drone program is “secret,” even though President Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and senior government officials have publicly spoken about the program. In May, the New York Times found that President Obama personally oversees a drone “kill list,” using the weapon to target and kill terrorists abroad and often cause fatalities to bystanders near the target. But the CIA considers all military-age males killed in a strike zone to be “combatants,” the Times found.

The ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in January 2010 asking the government to disclose “its use of predator drones to conduct ‘targeted killings’ overseas,” but the CIA refused to confirm or deny any information regarding the drones.

“The CIA cannot deny the existence of the government’s targeted killing program and refuse to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests about the program while officials continue to make public statements about it,” the ACLU wrote in a press release.

On Thursday, the ACLU will demand details of the program in the federal appeals court, attempting to acquire documents about the scope of the drone program and how it is used. The ACLU says it “seeks to find out when, where and against whom drone strikes can be authorized, and how the United States ensures compliance with international laws relating to extrajudicial killings.” At least 10 members of Congress have already asked for a memorandum justifying the legal basis for these targeted killings.

“The public has a right to decide for itself whether or not the program is lawful or moral,” Jameel Jaffer, the deputy legal director of the ACLU, said. If the CIA is effectively and lawful using the targeted-killing program, then there should be no reason to hide the documents, Jaffer said.

The drone strike program has been used in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia to kill suspected terrorists. The US government claims attacks are highly accurate and at no risk to American forces, but they often kill civilians around the scene of the attack. Since 2002, the CIA has administered 344 drone hits in Pakistan alone, killing up to 3,325 people, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Although the targeted-killing program has been widely discussed in the political sphere, the CIA has still refused to confirm the existence of it. …more

Another Shia Man Martyred by the Brutal Crackdown of Saudi Backed Bahraini forces
20 September, 2012 – Jafria News

JNN 20 Sept 2012 Manama : Bahraini people have held a massive funeral south of the capital Manama for a 59-year-old man, the latest victim of the regime’s brutal crackdown on peaceful protests.

The funeral for Haji Hassan Abdullah Ali was held in the town of Sitra on Wednesday, one day after he died of inhaling toxic gas during an attack by Saudi-backed regime forces on his home.

The mourners chanted slogans calling for the downfall of the ruling Al Khalifa family.

Bahraini protesters have been holding anti-regime demonstrations since February 2011 and they hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the deaths of demonstrators during the uprising.

The protesters say they will continue holding street protests until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met.

Meanwhile, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has stated that the Manama regime has failed to make good on a promise to implement political reforms in the country.

According to the report, some 80 people have been killed since the beginning of the popular uprising and at least 34 people have died since the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry released its findings last November. …source

Bahrain: Serious injuries among protesters due to continued use of excessive force by riot police
21 September, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its grave concern over the security forces’ excessive use of force continuously since the past year in response to peaceful pro-democracy protests. This has resulted to more than a 100 deaths and several hundreds of injuries.

In a recent case on September 4 2012, Sayed Hadi Sayed Alawi (24 year old) lost one of his kidneys by a direct shot of a sonic grenade from a very close range , following an attack by Bahraini security forces on a protest in the area of Karranah where he resides. According to a family member, Sayed Hadi was shot at from a very close range while trying to enter the house. He was provided with first aid at first but due to the severity of his injury he was taken to the emergency room at Salmaniya Medical Complex where he had an urgent surgery.

Security forces prevented his family members from seeing him at the hospital except for his father, who later found out from one of the doctors that Sayed Hadi’s kidney was removed. Also, his liver and a number of his ribs were damaged. He was also informed that his son will need another surgery in the next two days to check on the condition of the bleeding[1] . On Saturday September 15, his family reported that Sayed Hadi’s health condition was deteriorating and that he was to be moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). His family expressed concern over the fact that he is still under anaesthesia for over a week and they were not informed of the reason behind this. …more

…more Friday Photos HERE

Protesters, police clash in Bahrain’s capital
21 September, 2102 – AP

Witnesses in Bahrain say riot police have clashed with anti-government protesters seeking to shift their demonstrations to the heart of the Gulf kingdom’s capital.

Security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades in street battles near the historic markets and narrow streets in the center of Manama.

The clashes Friday mark the second such violence in Manama in the past month as Shiite-led protesters try to rattle the Sunni monarchy by bringing rallies back into the capital. Most clashes in recent months have occurred in outlying areas.

More than 50 people have been killed in unrest since February 2011 between Bahrain’s Western-backed rulers and majority Shiites seeking a greater political voice. …source

The West Conspires Against Bahrain While Exploiting Syria
Ali Mushaima – 21 September, 2012 – Al Akhbar

“If you need something done, then do it yourself.” This saying best describes what many of the oppressed and downtrodden are doing in the region by rising up against their repressive regimes.

These people lived through many years of humiliation, deprivation and discrimination, as well as being subjected to torture and abuse by their tyrannical rulers, who often enjoyed the support and protection of major world powers. Muammar Gaddafi became a close friend to Western leaders and Hosni Mubarak as seen as a wise ruler.

But as soon as this changed – thanks to the revolution and the strong will of the people – “those who were followed disowned those who followed them, then they saw the torment, and all their relations were cut off from them,” as the Quran says.

The very same world powers now portray themselves as sponsors and backers of the right to self-determination and democracy, providing men and material for these noble goals, while continuing in their old ways by supporting some of the most reactionary and obscurantist regimes in the world – the Saudi and Bahraini ruling families.

World powers now portray themselves as sponsors and backers of the right to self-determination and democracy while continuing in their old ways by supporting some of the most reactionary and obscurantist regimes in the world.
The events unfolding in Syrian are proof of this fact. If an observer examines the Western position on the Syrian crisis from the perspective of a Bahraini, they would see with their own eyes how Western attitudes differ under one roof – acting here, while remaining silent over there.

Below are six important facts to consider regarding the Western position on Syria and Bahrain, and the future of the peoples and regimes of both countries – amid Western duplicity and double standards.

Firstly, in Syria, Western governments are putting pressure on the Syrian regime at all levels, in support of democracy and the oppressed, as they purport. The Syrian regime thus finds itself caught in a confrontation with the international community, which repeats slogans about freedom and human rights, ad nauseam.

In Bahrain, meanwhile, the same international powers are battling the people, instead of the regime. Their political leaders rarely condemn, denounce or reject the practices of the house of Khalifa against the people of Bahrain. By contrast, it is all too often said that the Khalifa regime is a strategic ally that must be protected at any cost.

Secondly, for Western political leaders, everything is justifiable for the sake of imposing democracy in Syria. For this reason, armed insurrection is fully sanctioned to attain this goal, and logistical support is readily provided for this aim, with efforts to impose a no-fly zone or even intervene militarily in order to assist the Syrian people. …more

Saudi demonstrators condemn US, Israel, France over anti-Islam moves
21 September, 2012 – Shia Post

Saudi protesters have held a demonstration in the oil-rich Eastern Province to condemn the United States, the Israeli regime and France over anti-Islam moves.

On Thursday, the demonstrators took to the streets in the Qatif region of Eastern Province, chanting anti-US and anti-Israel slogans.

The protesters deplored the production of an anti-Islam film in the United States and the recent publication of insulting cartoons of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) by a French magazine.

The demonstration came despite a ban imposed by the Saudi regime on any protest in condemnation of the recent anti-Islam moves.

Outrage is growing across the Muslim world over the $5-million movie, named Innocence of Muslims, which was reportedly financed by more than 100 Zionist Jews.

The US-made anti-Islam movie triggered days of huge demonstrations across Iran, Turkey, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, India, Iraq, Morocco, Syria, Kuwait, Nigeria, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Australia, Britain, the United States, France, Belgium, Australia and some other countries.

On September 11, the US consulate building in the Libyan city of Benghazi was attacked, and US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three staff members were killed in the incident. …more

Western missions in MENA brace for major protests
21 September, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Tunisia banned all demonstrations on Friday and Western missions across the Arab world went on high alert amid fears of new violence over a US-made film mocking Islam, called “Innocence of Muslims,” and cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a French magazine.

France closed its missions, schools and cultural centers in 20 countries for the day. Schools in Tunisia were ordered shut from Wednesday, those in Egypt from Thursday.

Islamist groups were organizing planned rallies in several countries but security forces were on alert across the region for spontaneous demonstrations after the main weekly Muslim prayers at noon — a traditional focal point for protest.

In Libya’s second city Benghazi, where US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were murdered last week in what Washington has called a terrorist attack, rival demonstrations were planned and there were fears clashes could break out.

The hardline Salafi group Ansar al-Sharia, which denied any role in the Stevens killing, called for supporters to rally around al-Kish Square, a key battleground in the uprising that overthrew dictator Muammar Gaddafi last year.

The demonstration was set for 3:00pm GMT, the same time as a “Save Benghazi” march organized by militia opponents was due to head for the square.

Demonstrations were also planned among both Sunni and Shia Muslims in Lebanon, and among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

On Monday, in a rare public appearance, the leader of Lebanon’s powerful resistance movement Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, told a massive gathering the film was the “worst attack ever on Islam.”

“O Prophet, we die for you, my soul and my blood are for you,” he shouted to tens of thousands of delirious supporters, urging them to repeat the words for the whole world to hear.

The Tunisian interior ministry said it was invoking emergency law powers to impose the nationwide demonstration ban following tip-offs of preparations for violence by hardliners.

“The interior ministry, using its powers under the state of emergency and in order to maintain public order, announces that it is outlawing any form of demonstration anywhere in Tunisian territory on Friday,” it said.

“The ministry notes that it has received information suggesting the protests would be exploited for the purpose of committing acts of violence and causing unrest.”

Calls for Friday protests were circulating on social networks following the publication by French weekly Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday of cartoons featuring obscene images of the founder of Islam.

The interior ministry called on “all Tunisians and civil society to demonstrate understanding” and “urge (people) not to follow the call” to protest. …more

No military intervention in Syria, says top NATO general
21 September, 2012 – Agence France Presse

BRUSSELS: NATO does not believe that military intervention in Syria would bring any improvement in the security situation there, a senior alliance official said Friday.

Germany’s Manfred Lange, Chief of Staff of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), said the military was telling leaders that there was no good case for military action and the political process had to be pursued.

“The military advice is (that) there are not sufficient visible signs at the moment that a military intervention could lead to an improvement of the security situation,” Lange said.

“The political process has to be pushed forward, sanctions need to take effect. At the moment, this situation cannot be solved by the military in a responsible way,” he told a briefing.

He added that with little prospect of action at the United Nations “it is clear that the Alliance doesn’t have any military plans on Syria.”

NATO concluded a seven-month air campaign in Libya last year which helped rebels oust veteran leader Moamer Gadhafi and there has been speculation such an operation could be repeated in Syria if U.N. approval was obtained.

Permanent U.N. Security Council members Russia and China oppose any such intervention even as the death toll mounts steadily in Syria where rebels are trying to topple President Bashar Assad.
…more

It is no accident US directed War Games in the Gulf coincide with the frenzy of Western Media badgering of Muslims. A new ‘uprising’ has become a ‘full on’ assault against the icons of a belligerent America conducting its clandestine operations of torture, domination and control through it Spooks who line the halls of so called ‘diplomatic missions’ and secret black-ops ‘rendition centers’ across MENA.

In the depraved mind of Secretary Clinton and she imagines the US to be the rescuer of those Nations it has bombed or imploded in its schemes to secure a few more decades of oil, weapons sales and billions of dollars in opportunities for mercenaries, construction, public relations firms, media moguls and financial institutions. Imperialism respects no God but that of power and obscene wealth as it extracts even the marrow of those who would retain an equitable portion of their birthright in their bid for self-determination and liberty.

The throwback policy to US doctrine of ‘Manifest Destiny’ is simply code for the misery it brings as ‘Manifest Hopelessness’ to those it attempts to subjugate. Slave master as self-described liberator, tyranny as reform and prescribed choice as democracy. Where hopelessness is the tool, hope abounds. When hope abounds, by its nature it subverts the systems used to oppress it. Phlipn – hopeful.

Massive minesweeping exercise begins off Bahrain
By Chis Lawrence – CNN – 21 September, 2012

Reporting from the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea (CNN) — More than three dozen nations have converged on the seas around Bahrain for a massive military minesweeping excercise.

The at-sea maneuvers will involve a series of techniques and involve surface ships, aircraft, and underwater “explosive ordnance disposal” diving teams during the nearly two weeks of International Mine Countermeasure Exercise.

Remote piloted submersibles, known as unmanned underwater vehicles, or UUVs, will get their most sustained test yet in combination with regular forces.

The U.S. military says these exercises are strictly “defensive,” but the show of force in light of Iran’s threats to mine the Strait of Hormuz is hard to ignore.

In a typical week, officials say more than 500 ships will sail through the Strait, carrying everything from oil to natural gas.

The United States has been promoting the fact that more than 30 nations are participating in the exercises.

But CNN has learned that so far, two thirds of those nations do not want to have their participation made public. And only half a dozen or so will send actual ships to the exercise.

The situation suggests that in any real minesweeping scenario, or conflict with Iran, the U.S. military would bear the brunt of the fight.

The United States has a lot of naval power in the region. But the American military is careful not to unnecessarily provoke Iran, especially with tensions so high after toughened economic sanctions and much talk in the U.S. and Israel about whether Iran’s progress in developing nuclear capabilities will warrant military action to stop it.

“Any action can instantly trigger a disproportionate reaction, and we have to be aware of that,” Vice Adm. Ted Carter told CNN. The U.S. military is trying to strike a balance between protecting the free transit of the waterway, while avoiding an inadvertent conflict with Iran.

In an indication of how sensitive the waterway has become, some U.S. Navy ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz are equipping their guns with cameras.

The gargantuan aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, on its last cruise, has made eight trips through the Strait on its current deployment. Crew members showed CNN where they strap small cameras to each gun when nearing certain ports or passing by certain areas in the Strait. …more

Teen Arrested in Chicago Car-Bomb Plot, Authorities Say
By SUSAN CAREY – 16 September, 2012 – WSJ

An 18-year old Muslim-American from a Chicago suburb was arrested Friday night after attempting to detonate what he believed to be a car bomb outside a crowded bar in downtown Chicago, federal authorities said.

The bomb was a dud supplied by an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who had the alleged perpetrator under surveillance since earlier this summer, and no one was injured.

Adel Daoud, a U.S. citizen allegedly bent on a jihad mission to kill “hundreds” of people, was formally charged Saturday with two federal criminal counts: attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy a building with an explosive, according to an FBI affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

An FBI spokesman on Sunday said Mr. Daoud is being held without bond in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, a federal facility. He is scheduled to appear again in federal court on Monday afternoon, at which time he could seek to be released on bond and likely will be represented by a court-appointed attorney or his own lawyer, the FBI spokesman said.

A woman who answered the phone Sunday of a Daoud family in Hillside, Ill., where the defendant lives, said she had no comment. The defendant couldn’t be reached for comment.

According to the FBI affidavit, Mr. Daoud allegedly began using an email account to obtain and distribute information about jihad and the killing of Americans in the fall of 2011. In May of 2012, two undercover FBI agents contacted him online and engaged in electronic conversation about his plans to carry out terrorist attacks.

Another FBI undercover agent entered the scene in July and met with Mr. Daoud a total of six times as the young man planned the attack and looked for locations in Chicago. The choices included shopping malls, concert venues, tourist attractions, movie theaters and bars, the FBI affidavit said. The undercover agent on Sept. 13 showed Mr. Daoud a purported explosive device housed in a green Jeep Cherokee parked in a storage unit. The device, constructed by an FBI bomb technician, was inert.

The defendant allegedly asked the undercover agent to tell the agent’s mosque leader to announce that the attack had been on behalf of al Qaeda. On Friday evening, the two met in the suburbs, drove to downtown Chicago and picked up the Jeep. They then drove to the targeted bar, the location of which the FBI won’t disclose. Mr. Daoud allegedly got out of the jeep, walked about a block away and attempted to denote the car bomb. He was immediately arrested.

“I wanted something that’s… massive,” Mr. Daoud allegedly told the undercover agent, according to the affidavit. “I want something that’s gonna make it in the news like tonight.” …source

Hasan Mushaima is an opposition leader in Bahrain and the secretary-general of the Haq Movement, an important opposition party in Bahrain. He is campaigning for more democratic rights in Bahrain. Before forming Haq, he was a founding member of Al Wefaq and a leading figure in the 1994 uprising in Bahrain.

The Bahraini government has placed Mushaima under arrest several times, twice arresting him during the 1994 uprising. He was later jailed from March 1995 to September 1995 and again from January 1996 till February 2001. Mushaima was re-arrested in February 2007 and jailed for one day, and then was arrested and imprisoned again from January 2009 to April 2009.

In 2010 Mushaima traveled to Great Britain to be treated for lung cancer.

Mushaima announced plans to return to Bahrain during the protests in February 2011, but authorities detained him in Lebanon while en route, possibly at the request of the Bahraini government. Mushaima finally did return to Bahrain on Saturday, February 26, 2011. On that day, he was described by the Associated Press as being “welcomed like a rock star,” by protestors in Pearl Square. On 7th March, 2011, Mushaima alongside with Abdulwahab Hussain, the leader of Wafa movement and Saeed Alshehabi the leader of the Bahrain Freedom Movement, formed the ” Alliance for the Republic “, because of their belief that the Bahraini regime lost legitimacy after the harsh crackdown on protesters using heavy weapons.

One month after protests, the Gulf Cooperation Council sent 1,500+ PSF troops (1,000 Saudi, some Qatari troops and 500 Emirati policemen) to crush the popular uprising there and also sent the Kuwaiti Navy to stop any aid to the protesters by sea. After the protesters were kicked from the Pearl Roundabout, many known rights activists operating in Bahrain were arrested, including Mushaima.

The Testimony of Hassan Mushaima, A Bahraini Prisoner Sentenced For Life of Imprisonment In Bahraini Court
19 September, 2012 – European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights [exceprt]

The last arrest came after the events that took place since February 14 2011, to make it the worst arrest that I ever encountered throughout my entire life. On the early morning of Thursday, 17 March 2011, and at around 2 o’clock am, the time the security forces choose to make their arrests in order to inflict more harm and terror to those asleep and terrorize and scare the children, and to leave the children and family with an eternal recollection of those horrific scenes and blatant violations.

I was asleep but my sons and daughters were awake, they heard loud and continuous ringing of the door bell, so they came to wake me up and tell me that the riot police are surrounding the house and that they are here to arrest me. I went to them and asked them the usual question if they had had a court order for my arrest or from the Public Prosecutor but they remained silent and entered my bedroom and searched it and took my laptop and my mobile phone, they then handcuffed me and took me, accompanied by a large number of riot police to “Safra” area. There and after the formal and quick examination they handcuffed me again and blindfolded me and put me in a vehicle I did not see for my welcome party to start, unlike all of my previous arrests, with beating, humiliation, insults and verbal abuse, for there was no law upheld or respected and no rights for the detainee, only bursts of hatred, revenge and vengeance. The first of those words were: “Mushaima – to hell with you and your sect”. This degrading treatment continued all the way until we reached “Al-Qareen” Prison, whose name I found out later, and in there I received another reception party of beating and punching all over my body and especially on my head and ears. They spat on me and pushed me until I fell and got injured. I was about to vomit from the intensity of the cold but they continued to curse, humiliate and insult me along with the beating until they took me to the solitary cell. There and to increase the humiliation I was given an old torn sponge bed to sleep on and dirty old blanket and a very old smelly pillow. As soon as I lay on the bed I was surprised by someone (a masked man) bringing cold water in the cold weather while the AC was on and started spilling it over me from head to toe and on the bed and blanket. I stayed shaking from the cold and unable to sleep although I was very exhausted.

Next night, and after the lights were turned off, another series of intimidation and harassment began. They hit the metal grid of the cell with hard objects that cause loud and disturbing sounds. In the middle of the night, other groups of masked men would come to threaten, humiliate, mock and beat. This degrading treatment continued, and the series of intimidation and torture continued on a daily basis, and especially at mid night. I stayed awake feeling restless, expecting them to come any moment at midnight, where the groups of masked men would continue with their foul methods of abuse, insult, beating and humiliation in various ways, such as standing for hours by the wall often raising my hand. I remember staying for 10 days with the same clothes without showering, until I was disgusted by my odor, so I once asked the masked policeman to allow me to shower but he did not respond. After an hour or so, another masked person wearing his civilian clothes walked into my cell and said shouting at the top of his lungs, “Get up… face the wall, didn’t you try showering in London on the street?” He then started pouring cold water over my entire body while I stood facing the wall, and then said, “Do not move”. I stayed like this for around 5 hours then another masked man came to say, “We forgot about you”. …more

US urges Bahrain to speed reforms
19 September, 2012 – Al Akhbar

The United States urged Bahrain on Wednesday to speed democratic reforms and hold meaningful talks with opposition groups to ensure stability in a strategic Gulf ally at a sensitive time.

Bahrain must halt the excessive use of force by police and prosecute security forces for alleged crimes linked to mass protests, including torture and deaths of detainees in custody, a senior US official said.

“A stable, democratic healthy Bahrain, one where human rights issues are dealt with appropriately, is a country that’s going to be a strong ally and we need that,” Michael Posner, US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, told reporters in Geneva.

Washington values the “strong security relationship” it has had for 60 years with Bahrain, home of the US Fifth Fleet, “particularly in light of things going on in the Gulf now”.

Posner did not elaborate.

Posner was to hold talks later in the day with Foreign Minister Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa who defended the kingdom’s record at the UN Human Rights Council.

“We welcome peaceful expressions of disagreement, but not incitements to hatred and violence which damage the social fabric of a nation,” Al Khalifa told the Geneva forum, pledging that his government would pursue “unprecedented reforms”.

But Posner said progress had slowed and there had been no successful prosecutions of anyone involved in cases of torture and deaths in custody. “The fact is that a number of people, police and others who committed violations last February and March have not been held accountable,” he said. …more

Nasrallah reminded the world that the problem with America is not confined to a specific security, political or current issue, but the battle extends to wherever the Americans are engaged in dirty deeds.

Re-focusing the Conflict with Washington
By: Ibrahim al-Amin – 19 September, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Amid all the reactions to the wretched American-Israeli film, what stood out for many was the behavior of Hezbollah and its secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah.

This is not because of the rallies. These have become customary in Lebanon, whether Nasrallah calls for them directly or the marchers themselves have an occasion to mark. There was nothing new about the calls for rallies. Even those who thought it was a show of force know that. The idea, rather, was to turn out these crowds within just a few hours. The party’s followers and the supporters of the resistance treated the demonstration as being about more than just the film.

Nobody, of course, expected Nasrallah to appear in person, nor to address the crowd directly, if briefly, rather than from behind a TV screen. But those who know Nasrallah appreciate that there would have been no meaning to his call to “sacrifice ourselves for the prophet” had he remained behind the screen to evade the assassination attempt against him which Israel, along with a host of Arab and Western intelligence agencies, have been readying for years. In so doing he said nothing new to his supporters, but reaffirmed his personal position to his many enemies, who know him, yet hope his behavior will change with time.

The other point concerns the substance of what Nasrallah had to say the day before the march, when he explained the political and religious background and the behavior that prompted his stand, not toward the film itself, but toward the real sponsors of such material (though anyone seeing the dubbed portion of the film might be more outraged by the offense it causes to the intelligence and senses than the insult intended by its producers). A number of points are worthy of consideration here.

First, Nasrallah called on all Muslims – and what he clearly meant was Sunnis and Shias – to stand as they should against those who incessantly insult them and target everything they have: their sanctities, their countries, their freedom, their rights and their dignity. Here he could succeed where other Islamists failed. For Nasrallah has no favors traded with the Americans that oblige him to appease them, unlike the worldwide Muslim Brotherhood and the governments of various states that claim to rule in the name of Islam. That is why the protests that took place in several countries were not organized, resulting in acts of violence, for which there was no consensus, though some believe that Americans, citizens and officials, should be made to feel directly responsible for the evils inflicted on our world today. The “official” Islamists who rose to power on the backs of the Arab uprisings clearly showed that they are not interested in taking on the Americans or their followers. Hezbollah’s move thus flustered them, prompting some of their leaders to accuse Nasrallah of trying to commandeer the ship.

Secondly, Nasrallah reminded the world that the problem with America is not confined to a specific security, political or current issue, but the battle extends to wherever the Americans are engaged in dirty deeds. He had things to say on this in his speech on Sunday, including what he defined as higher and lower ceilings of demands. He then accompanied those demands, on Monday, with a warning signal that there would be serious consequences if the US takes its contempt for Arabs and Muslims further.

On the first point, there are no signs that the Arab and Islamist camp that colludes with the US and its Western allies is about to change its political plans. It will therefore continue using confessional and sectarian prejudices in its battle against the resistance axis (and who knows, perhaps the row with the Russians and Chinese will bring forth religious denunciations of Orthodox Christians and Buddhists too). This means, ultimately, that Hezbollah’s move will create a dissonance, which it hopes will have an effect on the general public.

On the second point, there is a new equation based on the principle of “re-focusing the conflict” with the US administration. The conflict itself is not new to anyone. But it has been renewed in light of the US’ greater involvement in denying Arab and Islamic peoples their freedom and rights, and its attempt to either contain the Arab uprisings to prevent real change as in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Libya, or assume control of them as in Syria, with the aim of turning the civil war of attrition into an open-ended conflict with no horizon for a political solution. It is therefore naive to think the US will be spared from paying a price for its actions.

In this regard, it seems abundantly clear, based on abundant evidence, that the US has decided to up the pace of activities aimed at isolating the countries and forces of the axis of resistance. It is spending tens of millions of dollars on programs aimed at turning collusion with itself, or even with Israel, into a normal activity, the mere exercise of a different point of view. That will never be the case, however much those who think otherwise lie and however low they stoop. Those who collaborate with the enemy, or have no problem with such collaboration, would do well to get the message before it is too late. …source

Bahrain: It is a duty on concerned institutions pressing UNESCO to protect mosques
19 September, 2012 – Bahrain Freedom Movement

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – In a meeting with representatives of religious institutions of the United Nations, and in the presence of an elite group of jurists as well as Bahraini activists, Dr Maytham al-Salman talked about certain characteristics of Bahrain notably kindness of its people and their openness to accept other thoughts.

He regarded Manama as an exemplary model with regards to religious tolerance where followers of great religions live by side for more than a century in an atmosphere saturated by respect and appreciation.

Dr al-Salman ruled out presence of a Shia-Sunni conflict in Bahrain. Instead, he argued that what is happening on the ground relates to democratic aspirations being met by an authoritarian rule.

Dr. al-Salman stressed that the people of Bahrain would reject and not remain silent in case of assault on a single church. Yet, the authorities in Bahrain had surprised the world by demolishing some 38 mosques and vandalizing other places of worship, in one of the worst sectarian crimes in modern era. He reminded the attendees of the crime of demolishing the historical (Berbaghi) mosque, which dates back to 1549.

Dr. al-Salman reiterated that it was a duty of concerned institutions to press UNESCO to offer protection to mosques and ancient buildings subjected to threats in Bahrain in order to ensure that these structures would no longer face official demolition and sabotage. He highlighted the threat when the Minister of Justice considered the demolished mosques as only 10% among the total unpermitted buildings that should be face the same. He, also, reminded the gathering that 9 of such buildings meet UNESCO’s requirements to be registered as historical structures.

Dr. al-Salman concluded his remarks by placing on emphasis on dialogue, civil equality, coexistence and democracy whilst rejecting violence, discrimination, extremism and dictatorship. …source

Bahraini regime forces attack houses of opposition leaders
19 September, 2012 – Bahrain Freedom Movement

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have stormed the houses of two leading opposition leaders as Al Khalifa regime continues its heavy-handed handling of critics in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.

Bahraini troops broke into houses of Shula and Bazzaz on Tuesday and searched both residences very thoroughly.

The incidents came as an international rights group says the Bahraini regime has failed to make good on a promise to implement political reforms in the country.

“Despite the King’s promises, the reforms remain widely insufficient,” the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said on Tuesday.

The report is based on more than a year of investigations into Bahraini regime’s behaviors and policies in the aftermath of the mass demonstrations that rocked the Persian Gulf state in February 2011.

FIDH urged Bahraini authorities to release all political prisoners and “to support the establishment of an international monitoring mechanism … to monitor the implementation of the recommendations” of the independent commission of inquiry.

Prominent Human rights figure, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, and opposition leader, Hassan Mushaimaa, are among those sentenced to life in prison.

The Bahraini revolution began in mid-February 2011, when the people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations.

The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring Persian Gulf states.

Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.

A report published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2011 found that the Al Khalifa regime had used excessive force in the crackdown and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.

The protesters say they will continue holding anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met.