Arise Syria the great from your shackles..

Despite the lack of a military will  by  the World powers more help is needed to stop the mass and habitual killing of protesters.
Syria will no doubt implode from the inside if the economy continues to slide. As one diplomat put it "When they are no longer capable of paying the salaries of bureaucrats, the army, the police and their Alawite militia this crisis will balloon and bring about the collapse of the regime,this is a train wreck waiting to happen." Signs of stretched resources and fraying loyalties are already apparent so let us hope that Russian reticence to a meaningful United Nations resolution condemning the regime remains only as that and no financial assistance is afforded to it so it can continue the brutality so far displayed. Recent statements from Moscow are a little more reassuring however not enough.
By allowing the slaughter of his own people for the preservation of himself and his inner circle  has he lost any semblance of legitimacy and should be tried for crimes against humanity. This regime can not be part of a reform process with so much blood on it's hands.  Due to this lack of a military will  and the political get out of jail cards offered by the International  community and the World powers more help is needed to stop the mass killing of protesters.
For Syria's allies in Lebanon, the first step to support Damascus has already been taken. After months of delay, Prime Minister Najib Mikati formed a new Lebanese government  dominated by pro-Syrian parties, including Hezbollah.
That followed five months of political vacuum after Hezbollah and its allies toppled Western-backed Saad al-Hariri's coalition in a dispute over a U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the killing in 2005 of statesman Rafik Hariri.
Hezbollah supported pro-democracy movements that toppled Western-backed leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, but officials say it will not stand idly by as international pressure mounts on Assad to yield to protesters. Hassan Nasrallah now sounded more like President Truman  who once famously said about the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza " he may be a bastard but he is our bastard" that he too did not care if Khamenei and Assad tortured and murdered their own people - so far as they kept him in business.
The fear for Israel is Asaad opens two fronts against Israel on the Golan and South Lebanon buying him more time to weave his deceit .
My gut feeling is despite international hesitation  there is growing real disassociation between his regional trading partners and military patrons.
Assad has become a liability to his partners and enemies and the extent of the evil his brother exhibited is an affront to humanity.
Aleppo rise up and make us proud, Damascus stand tall and show us the way don't lose thousands of yearsof noble history for four decades of misery. 

Syria responds

Yet again Syria has responded to anti government protests in the most brutal manner. Despite being given opportunity after opportunity to lead the reforms Bashar Al Asaad has chosen to take the path of repression.
Further sanctions by the European Union are more symbolic than effective and until his patrons in Russia apply more pressure this regime will continue to kill at will. Bashars regime no doubt will demand that Hizbollah open up a front with Israel and may even go as far as limited operations in the Golan to try to divert the momentum of anti government protesters and frighten an already tense region into believing that an all out war could ensue.
For a regime to encourage further misery for it's own preservation at the expense of it's citizens and regional neighbours is barbaric. 
Signs from Moscow earlier this week were a little more encouraging and may put further pressure on Asaad  if he thinks that Russia will find his replacement.
As the economy is getting shakier by the day the ability to continue to meet the salaries of the Army,bureaucrats  and regime loyalists becomes more difficult cracks will show.
The regime will crumble from within and if  the peoples of Aleppo and Damascus which so far have been relatively quite but have  shown signs of stirring, join the other anti regime protesters the regime is all but doomed and anything that Iran or Hizbollah could concoct would be futile.
Repression does not work and the Arab determination to be free from tyranny will not disappear. If Bashar and his bloodthirsty brother are not brought to account soon then more innocent lives will be sacrificed.

Thoughts at the end of the night.

Talking democracy.
I can't quite understand what people think democracy really  is. When Hamas won elections that did not meet western expectations suddenly they became pariahs. When the United Kingdom did not have a conclusive result you got a coalition of the sick effing the dead .Each culture in it's own way rebels against repression and in the transformation may become as repressive as it's predecessor. Change is inevitable, suffering optional .
Tonight I experienced a diversity of encounters all of them fascinating in their own way but also disturbing.
Disturbing in the fact that elitism, racism and ignorance were not only thriving but breeding as well. Now call me old fashioned but there were unwritten rules that were boundaries  for people to respect.
Today I for the first time felt shocked when comments like " I have black friends " ah " but Labradors don't count" were the mildest of offensive words that slipped off the tongues of supposedly intelligent people.
Once politics was discussed the conversations became even more animated . All is fair in love and war but unless economic considerations are accounted for then we are all going to be at each others neck. Life really is too short, let us try to achieve happiness which is a journey not a destination, otherwise the hardships of life will make us bitter not better.
We are living in an age where past brutal behaviour is no longer acceptable. When change is inevitable lay back and enjoy it and one should always remember that the universe has a way of correcting itself.
For me democracy is the right to self determination, the knowledge that one can criticise their leaders without fear of repercussion , the right to economic and political freedom without interference or intimidation.  Where meritocracy is acknowledged and mediocrity catered for. No one is intimidated or revered but all are appreciated for their part in the mechanics that make us live and thrive whether we are soldiers sailors tinkers or  tailors rich men or  poor men  beggars or thieves .
That is what is to be free to live in a multi plural environment that we can thrive in not just live.

From Spring to Summer

As the Western hemisphere officially celebrates the the first day of summer Syria braces itself for what could be a decisive and bloody Friday . The Arab spring is now the Arab Summer.
After a  weak speech  by Bashar Al Asaad that signaled that the regime was unable and unwilling to reform despite international calls for him to implement change and caused thousands to pour onto the streets to show their disappointment, it has become self evident that his rule is in it's dying throes.
With the economy in shambles and the population no longer appeased by his vague references for a national dialogue and blaming saboteurs,foreign conspirators and germs as the cause of the Syrians people's desire for freedom after more than four decades of autocratic rule, it is time for more pressure to be applied by the international community.
Despite the lack of a military will  by  the World powers more help is needed to stop the mass and habitual killing of protesters.
Syria will no doubt implode from the inside if the economy continues to slide. As one diplomat put it "When they are no longer capable of paying the salaries of bureaucrats, the army, the police and their Alawite militia this crisis will balloon and bring about the collapse of the regime,this is a train wreck waiting to happen." Signs of stretched resources and fraying loyalties are already apparent so let us hope that Russian reticence to a meaningful United Nations resolution condemning the regime remains only as that and no financial assistance is afforded to it so it can continue the brutality so far displayed.
By allowing the slaughter of his own people for the preservation of himself and his inner circle  has he lost any semblance of legitimacy and should be tried for crimes against humanity. This regime can not be part of a reform process with so much blood on it's hands.

The silence of the lambs

In only his third address since the uprising began in March, Bashar Al Assad managed to talk without saying anything of significance. Blaming the current unrest on conspirators he looked confused as he waffled on to a handpicked audience.
The International Community 's reticence about regime change given the fiasco in Libya has meant that the embattled President will continue to slaughter his civilians with impunity.Whilst there are calls for Turkey to apply more regional pressure the Russian resistance for any meaningful United Nations resolution in effect gives this homicidal regime a carte blanch for mass murder.
Instead of using this opportunity for significant reform and to curtail his psychopathic brother Maher's growing blood lust, the Good Doctor like many dictators have done lays the blame squarely on others. With a pro Assad government in Lebanon he might buy himself a little more time but that is all.
This regime has proved itself to be past its sell by date. His legitimacy has expired. Let us hope that internal squabbles in Moscow do not continue to hamper efforts to properly sanction the crimes this regime perpetuates on a daily basis against it's citizens and that the Lebanese do the right thing instead of being a pawn in this megalomaniacs arsenal.
This is the real silence of the lambs.

Russia Syria and Iran

A tragedy of significant proportions is unfolding before our eyes in the continuation of the monstrous  crimes against humanity being committed by the Assad regime. As Russia's last important sphere of influence in the Arab Middle East, Moscow is hampering any  significant action by the United Nations security council critical of Syria.
With growing signs of defection amongst the Army not wishing to shoot its civilians Bashars  bloodthirsty and homicidal brother Maher who heads up both the Republican Guard and the 4th Army Division, of whom the 120  soldiers who were killed defected from, has relied on Iranian mercenaries to continue the slaughter.
Reports from Syrians fleeing to Turkey confirm their presence.
This regime will never reform and will always use torture and slaughter as a mainstay of their power.
The Russians have a huge role to play if they don't want Syria out of it's orbit. The killings can not continue and those  responsible for the barbaric genocides including but not limited to Bashar , Maher and their brother in law  General Assef Shawqat have to be tried at the Hague.
The International Community have to find a reforming successor quick and if Russia want to remain influential and have a possibility of a Mediterranean naval base and a good geopolitical ally they should pave the way.
With Moscow having a good working relationship with Tehran , Farsi mercenaries are not the answer and Moscow must make it clear to the Iranians.
Russia has found Iran a useful ally in a host of political hot spots. In Chechnya, despite the use by the Chechen rebels of Islamic themes in their conflict with Russia, Iran kept a very low profile. In Tajikistan, Iran helped Russia achieve a political settlement, albeit a shaky one. In Afghanistan, Russia and Iran stood together against Taliban efforts to seize control over the country. They work together in relation to Azerbaijan, which neither Iran (with a sizable Azeri population) nor Russia wishes to see emerge as a significant power. In particular, the two states have worked to limit the development of Caspian Sea-area hydrocarbons by Azerbaijan, Kazakstan and Turkmenistan. In addition, as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expands eastward and Turkish influence in the Caucasus and Central Asia increases, many Russian nationalists see close Russian-Iranian relations as a counterbalance.Syria has to be saved from this blood thirsty regime.
So they should find an alternative  leader who will remain sympathetic to their empire mentality and desires but acknowledges the Syrians aspirations to be free from tyranny and fear and the right to choose their destiny.
Otherwise they will lose any remaining credibility in the geopolitical outcome and become irrelevant as Asaad will no longer be tolerated by the world at large. 

Change or be changed.

As Britain and France push for a United Nations resolution condemning Syria that is acceptable to Russia more troops and tanks are gathering around the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour, near the Turkish border.
Led by the Good Doctor's  feared evil and cruel brother Maher " the Butcher "another massacre is in the making as the one hundred and twenty soldiers that were killed recently were most probably executed for refusing to fire on civilians. This could show signs that the edifice of Bashar 's regime is finally crumbling if dissension in the Army becomes widespread. 
If the Army is prepared to side with the people as they did in Egypt we could see rapid regime change.
Eager to blame everything on armed gangs and Al Qaida the Syrian regime has tried to depict them as "trained to use weapons, commit massacres, mutilate bodies and steal military uniforms and equipment, but are also trained to participate in the media misdirection against Syria, making the satellite channels that broadcast such videos accomplices in the crimes and massacres committed by armed terrorist groups against civilians, policemen and security and army personnel".
Joshua Landis - a US Syrian-watcher who tends to be sympathetic towards  The regime  told the New York Times "Bashar al-Assad has modern tanks and helicopters, a well-trained army, and lots of firepower. The opposition has Facebook."
However as more  Army and Security personnel defect to the side of decency it will only be a matter of time before regime change takes place.
Massacres as in the past are no longer acceptable and the Hague awaits this evil regime for the crimes against humanity that they have perpetuated and in the words of that other war criminal Tony Blair "change or be changed ". A warning to all dictators in the region I think.

Lies spies and a poisonous divorce

Spies, lies – and a poisonous divorce battle
June 7, 2011
She accused her estranged husband of stealing Ikos’s software trading secrets
in order to set up a rival hedge fund in Monaco, where he lives with his
24-year-old Brazilian girlfriend.

And as she sought to prove her suspicion by allegedly having one of their
former marital homes, in Steyning, bugged – along with his Aston Martin
sports car – the story had all the ingredients of a blockbusting Hollywood
thriller.

Until, that is, one of the world’s leading detective agencies allegedly
bungled its role in the operation so spectacularly that the slick Brad Pitt
and Angelina Jolie nail-biter degenerated into an Ealing Comedy with
Alastair Sim.

For, according to court documents, as the private investigators at detective
firm Kroll – motto: “When you need to know, call Kroll” – installed covert
listening and filming devices on behalf of the hedge-fund tycoon, they were
said to have made the schoolboy error of leaving behind a home movie of
their actions. Their movements and conversation were allegedly captured on
the very equipment they were hiding, which was triggered by infrared motion
monitors. This was discovered by the private investigators called in by
Coward (enter burly men in suits with flashlights) to sweep the house for
just such devices.

A similar sweep of the garage was said to have uncovered a GPS tracking device
on Coward’s car. Now his team has filed legal papers to find out the full
extent of the spying activities.

“The whole legal issue of installing CCTV in a property is a grey one,” says
Tony Smith of Insight Investigations, which has offices all over Britain.
“As long as the client has some right of ownership over a property you can
go ahead, but if it’s someone else’s property it’s a tricky route to go down
– although that sort of thing does go on.”

Smith says that this case is bound to see a rise in the number of people
asking to sweep their home for bugging devices.

“People are a bit paranoid about bugs, without much justification. For every
20 homes we sweep, there might be one that had surveillance equipment.”

Concern over sexual rather than financial fidelity is the foremost reason why
clients approach detective agencies. But agencies have their own rules.

“If we install cameras, we never go beyond the bathroom door,” Smith
emphasises. “We also prefer not to go inside the bedroom. Clients will ask
to have a camera trained on the bed, but if a couple are recorded entering
the bedroom at 10am and not emerging until 4pm, it’s obvious what they’ve
been up to.”

But let the cameras cut back to Ambrosiadou. Relations with her spouse reached
a low point when he borrowed the private Cessna in order to fly from Nice to
Greece; on his return, he claimed he was stopped by police and forced to
hand over the keys after his wife alleged he was using it unlawfully.

Meanwhile, according to one ex-employee, before Ambrosiadou started monitoring
her husband, she mounted a large-scale surveillance campaign against her
former staff.

In court papers, Tobin “Sam” Gover, a former money manager at Ikos who was
employed by Coward and later sacked by Ambrosiadou, claims he was spied on
by Laura Maria Van Egmond, a glamorous undercover agent (close-up of pouting
Mata Hari) who moved into a flat in the seafront apartment block in
Limassol, Cyprus, where he lived with his wife.

The woman was, in fact, Laura Merts, a Dutch spy, who was trained in “unarmed
combat” and “counter-terrorism”. She “went out of her way” to befriend the
pair and became a trusted family friend, spending Christmas with them and
often looking after their young son.

According to the legal papers, Mr Gover says he discovered the campaign to
extract “confidential and private information” in November 2009 when he
found out, from an internet profile, that Merts had been “engaged in covert
close protection and undercover investigation” while she was in contact with
the couple.

The High Court gave a default judgment in favour of Gover after Ambrosiadou
filed no defence, and she then agreed to pay damages.

Now the action sweeps back to Britain, where Coward is suing Ambrosiadou for
spying and harassment. He claims his privacy has been breached, along with
his human rights. Court papers state that the bugs “recorded a long
conversation between the claimant and his mother in the study, in which they
discussed a number of highly private confidential and sensitive issues,
including issues concerning the claimant’s business plans, investments and
tax affairs”.

He also claims that another agency was hired by Ambrosiadou to spy on him in
(whoosh! jump-cut to) Monaco and while he was on (whoosh! back to) Cyprus.

According to Eamon Javers, a Washington correspondent for CNBC and author of
Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy: The Secret World of Corporate Espionage, London
is the global crossroads of the blue-chip espionage industry.

“When I was researching my book, I met a lot of ex-British Special Forces
operatives who had been in Iraq and Afghanistan and who were working in
surveillance for UK executives,” says Javers.

“There is so much money at stake that everyone is spying on everybody else. We
live in an information age where data is money. If you get more data than
the next guy, you have the edge.”

Technology, once the sole preserve of government intelligence agencies, is
considered a legitimate business tool by FTSE 100 companies fighting for
supremacy.

“Espionage doesn’t just happen in movies. It wouldn’t surprise me if the same
techniques spill over into executives’ private lives.”

And so our gaze returns to the conflict between Ambrosiadou and Coward. He has
made a series of damaging allegations about her stewardship of Ikos, giving
investors more than a touch of heartburn and resulting in a scenario
reminiscent of Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in The War of The Roses.
For its part, the investigation agency Kroll refuses to be drawn on its
alleged involvement.

“As a general policy, we do not disclose the identities of our clients or
comment on individual client matters,” it states crisply. “Nor do we comment
on matters which are subject to ongoing litigation.”

What the dramatic denouement will be remains to be seen. Ambrosiadou is
divorcing her husband, which will doubtless be a major production,
especially if the 300ft Maltese Falcon is subject to a tug-of-love custody
battle. So hang on to your popcorn; it will make for a gripping sequel.

Syria and the Russians.

Russia having already conceded Libya and abandoned Mad Mo and his cronies to NATO and the Wests decision for regime change  looks likely to resist losing Syria and it's bloodthirsty Leader.Though the Good Doctor has brandished his homicidal credentials with virtual impunity , the International Community has at last started to recognize that a hypocritical approach to diplomacy is no longer tenable . Arguments that Bashar Al Asaad was essentially a reformer have been silenced in the wake of the massacres and atrocities that regime have recently committed .
Israel a one time advocate that Assad should stay on the premise that they have been enjoying a cold peace can no longer credibly sustain that argument with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak acknowledging that Asaad has lost legitimacy. If Israel has to shoot and kill unarmed civilians as they did last week as they attempt to cross the border whatever sympathy they might still retain will vanish. That may be the game changer for Assads departure.
The internal power struggle between the Russian President Dimitry Medvedev and his predecessor Vladimir Putin  that made Russia abandon Gaddafi  may not come into play with Syria as the stakes are higher with  Russian navel ships based at the port of Tartus being a potential Mediterranean military base, the  loss of Syria from its sphere of influence would be a severe blow both  politically and militarily. However if they can guarantee who will succeed they will dump Asaad faster than you can say perestroika. He is no longer a bankable proposition as he ventures further into the depths of depravity that his father and uncle knew so well.  Given the loss of Libya, and in the past the loss of Egypt then Iraq and Yemen and the waning influence it has in Algeria, it would be unimaginable that they would not have a plan B, and if that doesn't work there are another twenty four letters in the alphabet.
What is certain is that Asaads days are numbered.
At this point confusion seems to be the order of the day with the Chinese so far being the only long term winners.

Yemen Syria and the Chineese Victory

Lying in a Saudi military hospital Ali Abdullah Saleh seems unlikely to return to Yemen. For him it may have been a face saving strategy as he concludes a financial and political immunity deal and with most of his immediate family out it is up to his son who controls the Republican Guard or his brother who controls the Air force to ensure his ultimate deal.
Meanwhile in Syria the brutal regime continues to slaughter it's own unarmed civilians unchecked by the International Community. With estimates of over fifteen hundred slaughtered I am wondering how many more have to be killed before real action is taken?
With the death of young Hamza Alkhateeb , the thirteen year old boy who was tortured and mutilated prior to his death giving the Syrian uprising a second wind and with the opposition in exile having met in Turkey a more coordinated effort may result.
The Good Doctor who was preparing to declare victory after offering a political amnesty but now after having a taste of blood will wish to extract revenge on his citizens. If this is not a crime against humanity than what the hell is? His Iranian sponsors are going to have to work overtime.
The Saudis having given up on American reliability are a contemplating raising a Sunni Army to combat what they perceive to be a Shia threat emanating from Iran. No doubt their Oil reserves and financial capability will serve them well in creating more mayhem.
The UAE took the easier option of giving Eric Prince's Blackwater a six hundred million US dollar contract to put down any counterinsurgency.
In Libya Mad Mo has shown no signs of leaving despite continued NATO battering. Tripoli will soon feel the effects of food shortages and his grip of terror is loosening.
With Willie Hague turning up in Benghazi, albeit without his Defense Minister Liam Fox, the stalemate might be over. Mission creep seems to be working as there are more European troops actively coordinating the efforts. So much for boots on the ground, perhaps they were wearing sandals?
No doubt in years to come unless Wikileaks or similar give us a glimpse to the secret machinations of Foreign policy deals sooner it will emerge that the Europeans and Americans have agreed with the Russians at the last G8 meeting to regime change in Libya in exchange for letting Assad remain in Syria.
So much for supporting the legitimate aspirations of the Arabs !
As to Israel it seems that demography and intransigence is making a two state solution more and more unlikely and so like the rest of the Middle East it is their government that will be their ultimate downfall.
Arrogance and hypocrisy will keep the region embroiled for some time to come and while Obama and Cameron discuss their essential relationship their influence and relevance in the Middle East is waning fast. Their failing policies will be destined to go on the BBQ of history as bad plans badly executed.
At least China is happy with all this chaos keeping the West tied down from Libya to Iraq and Afghanistan, it can quietly evolve into the " super" market and super power it is destined to become.

We are all losers

When we get it in our heads, Political animals universally get themselves into trouble.
In France consenting liaisons  are part and parcel of power. Alfa males or Females are more liberal in their relationships.
Some like DSK have become under the spotlight, and if it was not by consent then he should pay the political price. He may have been set up , he may have believed she wanted him, only time will tell. Personally he made a misjudgment and punishment was served on him before he had a chance.
Politicians from all over the world have an ability to commit adultery and perversions just like their constituents. If it is consensual then let it be. They if married will be given their own hell at home.
Fidelity in the union of marriage is an aspiration not a fact.
So if a senator or congressman or minister transgressed that alone should not make him or her unworthy . Their stand of conscience on matters that affect and effect their citizens is far more important than their human frailty.
Wake up don't diss the good for their faults and don't glorify the bad for their closed mindedness.
This is a new and exiting time, there are international games that no one knows the outcome, China is frighteningly quiet on the Middle East, perhaps intelligently engaging the west in a fruitless pursuit. 
What we need is real leadership less hypocritical diplomacy and to get on with making the economic and political aspirations happen .
Otherwise it is chaos and carnage until we are all losers.