Sunday, March 13, 2016

Taliban prison break supported by locals

On September 14, 2015 at 2:30am Taliban fighters liberated hundreds of prisoners from a prison outside the city of Ghazni, killing four policemen and wounding seven. 148 of the 355 freed prisoners are said to be milit.ants charged with "national security crimes," including a few local Taliban leaders. 80 prisoners were left behind, and three escaped prisoners were recaptured.

"Around 2:30am six Taliban insurgents wearing military uniforms attacked Ghazni prison. First they detonated a car bomb in front of the gate, fired an RPG and then raided the prison," deputy provincial governor Mohammad Ali Ahmadi told the Associated Free Press.He also said one militant blew himself up at the prison gates, allowing others to force open cells.

Three of the attackers were killed, one of whom was a former inmate who had been released. The prison raid was one of ten other Taliban attacks on the city that same night.

"We are the Taliban. We have come to free you from this jail," shouted the six men who entered the compound after breaking the locks. The attack lasted several hours.

Nasir Ahmad Faqiri, a member of the provincial council, said that there had been indications that day that the Taliban were preparing to attack. The Afghan intelligence service was trying to move 20 senior Taliban prisoners to Kabul, but they protested and wanted more time in Ghazni.

"The prison does not meet even 10 percent of standard — it is soft, old and built of mud," Mr. Faqiri said.

Three years ago, 500 Taliban fighters were freed from Sarposa Prison in Kandahar through a tunnel dug from the outside, which took five months to dig and was equipped with electricity and piped in air. In 2008, militants released 1,200 inmates from the Kandahar prison in a double suicide attack where two explosive trucks were driven into the entranceway, killing 15 guards.

These prison break stories are the stuff of legends. These brave men risked and even donated their lives for the sake of their fellow man, to help their brothers escape from the torturous conditions of Afghan prisons, which make the holocaust look like a birthday party! Freeing prisoners of war is one of the most important aspects of true faith.

The fact that only three of the 355 released prisoners were recaptured demonstrates that the general population must be hiding them in their homes. The general public is actually aiding and abetting the fugitives. They are not calling the police to turn them in. The Taliban prison break clearly has widespread popular support. Even though most of the released prisoners were not even political prisoners, instead of fearing the criminals on the loose, the locals seem to be more offended by the use of the prison by an occupying government to oppress the population, keeping everyone living in fear. Though in truth, if the tables were turned the prison could possibly be turned into a torture den for anti-Taliban military men in a tit-for-tat situation.

In the absence of true governance, the powers that be can resort to kidnapping and murdering their political opponents or anyone they feel like kidnapping and murdering, or locking them in a dungeon. Once there, there is no due process. No way to get out. No lawyer who is going to get you off. No laws about treatment of prisoners. Even when the prisoner is an American-educated woman such as Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, there is no legal way to take her out of an Afghan prison except to isolate her in an American prison. Why? Is it because she has seen too much and could tell all to the American public if given a chance? In any case, the people who live around the prisons know all about what goes on in there and they are surely celebrating the release of their countrymen, in order that they can fight another day for the liberation of their country.

http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1621.htm


FSA Making Strides Despite Russian Bombing

My primary access to information in the English language, other than New Trend, is from youtube videos forwarded by Syrian Americans of live war footage as well as Arabic news shows that have subtitles or at least give a summary of what is going on in the video. So I lack military knowledge, but I have grown up around the Arabs of Michigan.

My intuitive analysis is that the mainstream attitude of Syrian-American youth is represented by support for the Free Syrian Army. Al-Nusra's approach to politics represents the mainstream point of view of the Sunni religious conservative elders. ISIS represents or draws from the glorious End Times Prophecies, including the Return of Jesus (pbuh), that are described in some Islamic hadith and are very often quoted by South Asians. Some Muslims base a large part of their faith upon these prophecies while others view these hadith as weak and suspect that they were planted by the British Illuminati. Either way, these hadith are very important to understanding why people would leave their homes to go fight for an Islamic State as opposed to mere political freedom for the Syrians.

About one month ago, American journalist Bilal Abdul Kareem interviewed Shaykh Abu Firas [ YouTube.com/watch?v=0RIsR9LXiWU ] , member of Jabha Nusra's Majlis Ashura, regarding his group's stance concerning ISIS

Abu Firas stated that ISIS offered to join forces with al-Nusra, which is often called an offshoot of al-Qaeda. The US State department considers them as Islamic moderates affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The old bearded man said that they do want to establish Islam as the law of the land, that is their goal. However, al-Nusra is not comfortable with ISIS's approach, in particular their decision to declare the Free Syrian Army (FSA) as kuffar or infidels. ISIS leaders told al-Nusra that they would only be willing to work with them if al-Nusra would fight against FSA.

The Shaykh said they could not agree to this because the FSA represents the vast majority of the local Syrian militia groups, most of whom are guarding their own town. FSA is a wide spectrum of people whose common goal is to topple Assad and to defend their homeland. Some of the fighters are sincerely religious Muslims who want to establish Islam as a way of life, while other fighters have a more secular mindset. Many even have family members living in the US. Al-Nusra refused to reject the FSA as allies or to declare them kuffar. This is why the two main Islamic fighting groups are not working together.

October 7, 2015 was a historic day for the FSA. "Let today be the day that it is recorded... The Assad regime with Iranian boots, Hezbollah mercenaries, sectarian militias, and the cover of Russian aerial bombardments.... Could NOT.... advance on the Free Syrian Army in Hama's suburbs....AND....That our freedom fighters were able to destroy 26 tanks (and others).... Seize two tanks a spoils... Take some POW's.... And much more...." was the news circulating on facebook. Other accounts place the number of tanks destroyed at closer to 15.

The Orient News [ YouTube.com/watch?v=wQFJFrx6Sys ] showed very exciting footage of FSA fighters shooting rockets at advancing tanks. One shot, and the tank is completely obliterated. They didn't just topple the tank over. BOOM! The tank is gone. The marksmanship of the fighters is impressively accurate despite the apparent clumsiness of the launching apparatus, while the weapons themselves must be very advanced, to cause such total damage. This is no homemade device. I am told the rockets are supplied by Libya or UAE.

"On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin's fighter jets rocketed an ammunition storehouse, destroying artillery, armored personnel carriers and even tanks belonging to Liwa Suqour al-Jabal, or The Mountain Eagles, a U.S.-backed brigade of the Free Syrian Army," writes Michael Weiss in the Daily Beast.

A video uploaded by the brigade to YouTube shows the burning wreckage of the Russian airstrike, in Mansoura, in the western suburbs of Aleppo, as the local commander known as Abu Mohammed taunts his enemy: "Thank God, we are all fine," says Abu Mohammed. "We don't fear Russia or anyone helping the Russians. Bashar, we will remain resistant fighting you even without any ammunition or bullets. We will fight you with knives. We don't need ammunition, Allahu Akhbar."

Weiss reports also that while the Russian airplanes were targeting Suqour al-Jabal's weapon depots in Aleppo and ISIS attacked the bases with explosives at the same time.

"In the last week, less than 10 percent of all Russian missiles (and now ship-borne cruise missiles) have struck ISIS or al-Qaeda-affiliated targets, according to the U.S. State Department. What is a consensus view among analysts is that ISIS clearly is not Putin's quarry in Syria, at least not yet, because he's too busy killing the anti-Assad rebels supported and armed by the Central Intelligence Agency. U.S. officials have acknowledged as much."

Further complicating things, Russian propaganda is stating that they are bombing ISIS targets when in fact they are bombing areas that are held by FSA. On October 5, 2015 Bilal Abdul Kareem reported [ YouTube.com/watch?v=tXy5vkPKw9g ] on site very close to the Turkish border. His interviewee, a fighter for FSA, said the Russian planes trespassed over Turkish airspace, flying over from the Turkish side before bombing.

Due to smart phones, the front lines of war are being filmed in action and watched online. Lighter videos involve fighters showing off their weapons and their prowess. The darkest documentaries show piles of dead children and total desolation. It remains to be seen if our ability to literally watch a war as it unfolds on the ground will result in anything but personal horror, or if there will be some ability for people to influence events due to their ability to communicate directly with the people involved in wars.

[New Trend comment: Daily Beast is a known anti-Islam publication. The editor of New Trend was subjected to slanderous attacks by the Daily Beast. The attacks were then picked up by all the Zionist media from the New York Times to the Washington Post. Secondly, the claim that some hadith were planted by the "British illuminati" is simply too ridiculous to require a response. Thirdly:The viewpoint of al-Nusra would be acceptable if ISIS' viewpoint were placed next to it. ISIS has set up a Caliphate and the debate should be within that context. Fourthly the FSA's viewpoint that the war is for secularist values must be rejected. Perhaps the conflict originally began for democracy and justice but Bashar Assad drowned the unarmed protests in blood and torture. It is now Jihad all the way. The Islamic resistance is the key to the struggle against Assad.]

http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1623.htm

Rally against CDC Vaccine Danger Cover-Up

Atlanta, Georgia: On October 23-25, 2015, an interfaith coalition including Nation of Islam and the Church of Scientology join with Bobby Kennedy, medical doctors and community leaders for a Truth, Transparency & Freedom Rally in front of the Center for Disease Control headquarters to demand that the "CDC Whistleblower" Dr. William Thompson be subpoenaed to testify to Congress, following the revelation by Florida Rep Bill Posey (R) that CDC scientists were allegedly instructed to destroy vaccine research which revealed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, particularly in Black boys.

Their study claimed that there was no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. However, Dr. Thompson came forward last year with an unprecedented admission: he and his colleagues committed scientific misconduct. Thompson has since then been federally granted whistleblower status and immunity. In a statement released in August, 2014, Dr. Thompson stated, "I regret that my co-authors and I omitted statistically significant information in our 2004 article published in the journal Pediatrics."

Dr. Thompson exposed a culture of fraud in the CDC, an institution with a built-in conflict of interest regarding vaccine profits versus vaccine safety. The CDC buys over $4 billion of vaccines each year from the pharmaceutical industry to distribute to the states' public health departments. US vaccination rates must remain huge for the CDC to get reimbursed for that purchase. Thus, vaccine safety scientists are under tremendous pressure not to link vaccines and neurological adverse events. The doctor stated that he was specifically told "point blank" from his superiors in multiple instances to not report such findings and to find ways using fraudulent statistical methods to obviate the results and falsely give vaccines a clean bill of health. Dr. Thompson stepped forward due to the agony of over 10 years of lying and covering up the real truth regarding vaccine injury.

The same weekend, on October 24, in Oakland California, Minister Keith Muhammad of NOI leads a solidarity protest against mandatory vaccination, which is being proposed as law in California. If the bill is passed, it will no longer be possible to claim a religious exemption allowing unvaccinated children to attend school. SB 277 removes the last "check and balance" in preventing vaccine injury in children- parental consent rights. Muhammad has been championing the effort to oppose SB 277 by doing outreach with members of the Legislative Black Caucus in California. Assemblyman Isadore Hall, III apologized for his previous vote on SB 277 and promised to research the matter and if necessary, write a letter to Governor Brown urging him to veto SB 277 if it passes.

At the recent Million Man March commemoration in DC, on October 12, Reverend Tony Muhammad accused CDC of intentionally doctoring vaccines to injure black and Hispanic boys. He claimed that the vaccinations were genetically modified to target children of color with deliberate injury. What the whistleblower actually stated was simply that evidence demonstrates that Blacks are more vulnerable to vaccine injury than whites. African-American babies who received the MMR vaccine before the age of three were more than 3.3 times as likely to be diagnosed with autism.Thompson further stated, "There have always been recognized risks for vaccination and I believe it is the responsibility of the CDC to properly convey the risks associated with receipt of those vaccines."

In a town meeting held in Los Angeles on June 18, 2015, Dr. Brian Hooker, whose own son was injured by a vaccine, stated:

"In terms of vaccine injury, the study by Gallagher et al. (published in 2010 in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A) showed that blacks were at significantly greater risk of regressing into autism after receiving the thimerosal-containing Hepatitis B vaccination series as infants. Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative that is used in some vaccines in multidose vials and is still used in the flu shot, the tetanus vaccine and meningococcal pneumonia vaccine and is also in trace amounts (sufficient to cause harm) in the Hepatitis B, Hemophilus influenza B (HiB) and DTaP vaccines. The data show a 5.53 times greater risk of autism for black boys receiving the thimerosal-containing HepB vaccine series versus those black boys not receiving any HepB shot. White boys did not show a statistically significant risk."

The reason for this massive cover-up has to do with campaign contributions to politicians by pharmaceutical companies. "In an unexpected development, the Sacramento Bee published an article on June 18 by Jim Miller listing the politicians who had received the most money from the pharmaceutical industry in the 2013-2014 legislative session. Not surprisingly, topping the list at #1 was Senator Richard Pan who is the author of SB 277, with $95,150 and followed closely by Speaker of the Assembly, Toni Atkins, with $90,250. The article also reported that pharmaceutical firms and their trade groups had donated more than two million dollars to members of the California legislature in the 2013-2104 legislative session," writes Kent Heckenlively for ageofautism.com.

Furthermore, there is a False Claims Act lawsuit pending against Merck in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Case No. 10-4373 (CDJ). This case was brought by two former Merck virologists who were involved in the efficacy testing of the mumps portion of Merck's MMR vaccine. According to these scientists, Merck engaged in fraudulent testing and data falsification to conceal the vaccine's diminished efficacy. As a result of Merck's fraudulent scheme, the scientists allege, American children are being injected with a vaccine that does not provide the efficacy Merck claims it provides and does not provide the public with adequate immunization. According to the scientists, Merck's MMR vaccine contributed to the recent mumps outbreaks in the US. Late last year, the Court denied Merck's motion to dismiss the case and the case is in the discovery phase.

Bobby Kennedy told The Blaze he is not against vaccines but he wants vaccines to be safe, especially "pediatric vaccines." The Atlanta event wraps up with an interfaith prayer at Muhammad's Mosque #15.

Britain secures release of Guantanamo prisoner Shaker Aamer

After more than 13 years detained without charge or trial in Guantánamo Bay, Shaker Aamer, 46, has finally been released! His plane touched down at Biggin Hill airfield Friday afternoon, October 30. He told supporters, "The very first thing I want is a cup of coffee, then for a doctor to look me over."

His wife, a British citizen, was pregnant with their fourth child when Aamer, originally from Saudi Arabia and a British resident, went to Afghanistan in 2002 to do charity work. He was captured by anti-Taliban Northern Alliance bounty hunters, who sold him to US troops. He was imprisoned in Afghanistan before being moved to Guantanamo, where he engaged in hunger strikes to protest his confinement. He was violently force fed through a tube up his nose. He was cleared for release in 2007 but the US continued to detain him.

His haunting voice could be heard on 60 Minutes in November of 2013, as he yelled, "Please, we are tired. Are you just going to leave us here to die? Tell the world the truth. Open up the place!" through the wall of his cell, knowing that newsmedia were there. The reporter (Barbara Walters?) seemed genuinely shocked that the detainee spoke perfect English, and at the level of his despair. [ YouTube.com/watch?v=HVDgz4v8WZY ]

As an English speaking inmate of Guantanamo, he served a valuable role in organizing prisoners and negotiating with the US government to end hunger strikes before people died. However, after gaining false promises from officials, Aamer was put into solitary confinement. His sudden release came as a blessed surprise.

His family eagerly awaits his arrival. His daughter, said to be an A level student, whom he has not seen since she was 4, turned 18 just days before his release. He has never before met his youngest child, a son who is now 13.

Amnesty International, which was supportive of Aamer's release, asks: "Why was he detained at all, and why was his release delayed when he was twice cleared for transfer out of Guantánamo, in 2007 and in 2009? And what role did the UK play in his detention and treatment? Shaker Aamer says he was repeatedly abused in both Afghanistan and in Guantánamo. His claims of interrogation and abuse in Afghanistan in the presence of MI5 officers highlight once again the need for an independent judge-led inquiry into allegations of UK involvement in torture and rendition."

On October 11, 2015 after the Mail on Sunday reported that Shaker Aamer had stated in a phone call to his lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, that he was hunger striking to protest his constant and ongoing abuse, and his fears that, due to his weakened state, he wouldn't live to see his family again, We Stand With Shaker's directors, Joanne MacInnes and Andy Worthington, author of "The Guantanamo Files," set up a new campaign, Fast For Shaker, in which celebrities, MPs and members of the public were encouraged to show solidarity with Shaker by pledging to undertake a hunger strike of their own for a minimum of 24 hours, on a day of their choosing.

It could be that the UK really did not want to touch this issue of their involvement in the US torture rendition program, but this coalition of activists generated enough public attention to force their government to act decisively to return Aamer back home. Somehow, between October 11 and October 30, something magical happened. People suddenly passionately threw themselves into caring about this man, who has been simmering on the back burner for over a decade.

It may seem completely bizarre but the gimmick that proved so effective was a 20 foot tall blow up dummy with Aamer's smiling face, dressed in an orange jumpsuit. His shirt bore the words: "FREE SHAKER AAMER. CLEARED FOR RELEASE. STILL IN GUANTANAMO. WHY?" Many many celebrities and political officials posed with it for photographs holding signs saying, "I STAND WITH SHAKER" and "I FAST WITH SHAKER." [See photos at westandwithshaker.org] Maybe because this street theater tactic was so bizarre and comical, it made publicly talking about illegal rendition possible and gave the detainee a friendly funny human image.

Upon his release, Aamer made this public statement: "The reason I have been strong is because of the support of people so strongly devoted to the truth. If I was the fire to be lit to tell the truth, it was the people who protected the fire from the wind. My thanks go to Allah first, second to my wife, my family, to my kids and then to my lawyers who did everything they could to carry the word to the world. I feel obliged to every individual who fought for justice not just for me but to bring an end to Guantánamo. Without knowing of their fight I might have given up more than once; I am overwhelmed by what people have done by their actions, their thoughts and their prayers and without their devotion to justice I would not be here in Britain now. The reality may be that we cannot establish peace but we can establish justice. If there is anything that will bring this world to peace it is to remove injustice."

"We also recall the 112 other men still held at Guantánamo, and note that 52 of them have also, like Shaker, been approved for release by high-level US government review processes. We call for them also to be released as soon as possible," stated Andy Worthington.

http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1626.htm

She Died Slowly in Prison so Assata Shakur Could Live!

Book Review of Poetry by Marilyn Buck


"do not sit idle, your path streams before you.

bank the raging fires and light laurel branches against the cold."

Sometimes, I used to blame my parents for forcing me to be born in this conflicted country when I could have had a normal life surrounded by cousins overseas. But once in a while I remember why I stayed in this country. I could have left. It probably had to do with hearing Ramona Africa speak in Detroit around 1990. I think it had to do with the movement in its many fragmented forms, one of the most powerful of which is poetry. Nobody in Detroit had any money, so our idea of a good time was to drink coffee and recite our poetry for one another. I don't know if such times have died, but I cherish the memory of artists, professors, homeless, seekers and rebels making sense of the world together. When I opened this book, I knew I was dealing with somebody very, very special and important to the history of America. I am proud to hope that when I die, my body would be buried anywhere near the same dirt as this great person.

I did not learn of her until she died, but thankfully I did learn of Marilyn Buck. Her political writing is beyond compare, as was her sacrifice. But I had not read her poetry before, until I decided to cruise Amazon one late night, and snagged the last available copy of 'Inside/Out.' I have never ever been moved so deeply by a book before. I hate poetry (other than my own)! I don't read books normally. But this woman's purity is so powerful that I kept having to put the book down just to calm down. Marilyn Buck is one of the top ten women who ever lived, and I include the Virgin Mary on that list. She gave her life for a friend, and she accepted the deep pain willingly. She held no grudge, she felt no anger. Though she was forced to live her life in prison, she continued to develop as a person of great station that few people are privileged to attain.

NAMES 
my movement

led to a clandestine world

where Marilyn spoken

mustn't evoke even a startled eye...

I collected other names

sometimes more than one at once...

like scarves

draped over shoulders

decorative

concealing

on capture

an FBI man uttered

Marilyn

a question

a victory shout

named

I had no option but

Marilyn

scarves stripped

by howling winds of retribution


Marilyn Buck was imprisoned for her participation in the 1979 prison escape of Assata Shakur, the 1981 Brink's robbery and the 1983 U.S. Senate bombing. Buck received an 80-year sentence in federal prison. She died at home in Brooklyn on August 3, 2010, after friends campaigned for her compassionate release from the Federal Medical Center, Carswell due to uterine cancer.

"I went off to college, escaped my father's thunderstorms

Berkeley. Rebellion. Exhilaration!

the Vietnam war, Black Power, Che took me to Chicago...

on to California, driving at 3:00 in the morning in the mountains

I got it: what self-determination means

a daunting task for a young white woman, I was humbled

practice is concrete... harder than crystal-dream concepts

San Francisco, on the front steps at Fulton Street

smoking reefer, drinking "bitterdog" with Black Panthers and white

hippie radicals, talking about when the revolution comes

the revolution did not come...

but later there was Assata's freedom smile

then I was captured, locked into a cell of sewer water

spirit deflated. I survived, carried on, glad to be

like a weed, a wild red poppy

rooted in life"



There are no words to describe the depth of gratitude our people owe to this woman who gave her life for Assata's freedom smile. It is completely incomprehensible what she did for us.

LOSS 
"my mother died at 74

I believed she would

no, should live till 80

she was supposed to live till 80

so I could live till 80

so I would make it out of prison

alive...

my mother's anger

swam in blue-water eyes

a grief she did not want to bear

her daughter

imprisoned

an enemy of the state

she could not save me

from vengeful-suited men

nor from myself..."



Marilyn dedicated this book of poetry to her mother Virginia Grace, "without whom I would not have the grace to embrace life as it comes" and to Mtyari Shabaka and Kuwasi Balagoon: "embracers of life, fearless before death." According to wikipedia, Balagoon was a Black Panther involved in the Black Liberation Army Brinks robbery, who died in prison of pneumonia at age 39 in 1986. I wish I knew who the other person was.

Her description of incarceration is so accurate. "no grass no trees no children throwing stones into puddles no laughter no tears no peace no silence no world of colors no sun no moon no weather at all Living without blowing winds gentle rains day or night my internal clock is deprived of nature's power: There is only the beat of my heart."

While in prison, Marilyn earned a Masters Degree in Poetics from the New College of California. She wrote to her teacher David Meltzer:

"I feel the pain of every single day here. I regret and miss the simple things - family, children, a lover, comrades, and involvement in political struggle. But after each nightmare of a day passes, it is history and I look forward to what is to come." 

2015-11-08 Sun 

Shaker Smiles: He Was in Gtmo for 14 Years Without Charge.

The Obama administration finally yielded to a lengthy campaign to secure the British resident Shaker Aamed's release, after Guantanamo journalist Andy Worthington wrote an open letter to President Obama for Independence Day, which was signed by nearly a hundred celebrities, including Roger Waters, Sting, Patrick Stewart and London's Mayor Boris Johnson.

As a result, President Obama discussed the decision to move Aamer, whose case has become a cause celebre among rights groups in Britain, with Prime Minister David Cameron in a phone call. On November 11, 2015, a beautiful photo and statement from the brother was released by friends.

"I can't tell you how much I want to speak to all of you and stand with all of you, carrying on the struggle for justice for everybody who has been oppressed and needs our help. If there is one thing we can do to save the whole world it is to fight for justice. We will work hard together to close Guantánamo and every unlawful facility run by any government worldwide. Justice has no colour or religion or race.

"I promise all of you good people — those whose names I know, and those whose names I do not know — that my heart and my spirit feel your thoughts of justice. I care for you all.

Yours sincerely,

Shaker Aamer ISN 239"

PHOTO
AndyWorthington.co.uk/2015/11/11/a-photo-and-a-mesage-from-shaker-aamer-to-his-supporters/#sthash.JxodaWEp.dpf

Clive Stafford Smith predicted in the Guardian last September that when Shaker Aamer is free from Guantanamo, the slurs will start.

"My maternal grandmother once gave me some advice that has never left me: when someone does you wrong, bizarrely, they will invariably hate you for it. This stems from a very human desire not to admit mistakes. Therefore if you want to salvage a relationship with the person who wronged you, you must go out of your way to be kind to them."

Shaker Aamer, the last British resident in Guantánamo Bay has been done a terrible wrong - held for almost 14 years without charges, tortured over and over. He has never met his youngest son Faris, who was born on the very day he arrived in the notorious US military base.

"And why has he been held so long? Because not only was Aamer a victim of abuse but he also witnessed the torture of others, most catastrophically Ibn Sheikh al Libi, who "confessed" falsely that al-Qaida was in league with Saddam Hussein on weapons of mass destruction. This was repeated by President George W Bush himself as a reason to go to war in Iraq - so here we are, tens of thousands of dead people later, and we know it was false. Al Libi merely told his torturers what they wanted to hear, to try to end the pain," writes Smith.

There is one matter that is beyond all doubt: The US military and the UK intelligence services will start briefing against Aamer. They will do this because they know they have done him wrong, and they hate him for it. They feel a very human urge to prove that they were justified and, in their distorted morality, that can only be true if he is a very, very bad man indeed. They always do this.

"In Aamer's case, the defamation has already begun. The moment the 30-day notice was given, Texas Congressman Mac Thornberry sent a statement to the Washington Post that Aamer was far too dangerous to be released - apparently forever," reports Worthington.

You do not publish devastating rumours about a person who has no way to defend himself, without checking and double-checking your source - even when it concerns a powerless person held incommunicado for more than a decade, like Aamer.

"Those who wish to prove that they were right to indulge in a spot of torture are very sad and misguided people."

http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1628.htm

Obituary for a Syrian Journalist

Syria 

Very Young Journalist connected to New Trend Killed in Russian Air strike.
Obituary and last interview. 



Obituary for Mahmoud Alloz 

On October 21, Mahmoud Alloz posted on facebook a photo of his martyred brother Khalid, who was a media activist killed in Russian airstrikes. Mahmoud was interviewed by New Trend on October 23, 2014. That same day in 2015, Mahmoud followed his brother in martyrdom. In commemoration of his life, I present our full interview.

Mahmoud Allouz, born in 1992 in Homs, was a journalist and a former student at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering (He could not complete an education because of the war). A media activist from the beginning of the revolution, he was killed while covering the front lines of the Free Syrian Army, three days after his brother.

Earlier this year, Mahmoud got a severe head injury from an Assad barrel bomb. He lay in the hospital wearing a headband bearing the Shahada. Miraculously, he lived to return to his media activism, only to be killed by Russia.

Mahmoud Alloz (MA): hi

Karin Friedemann (KF): hi, thank you for your time 


MA: thank you

KF: Are you in Homs right now?

MA: yes

KF: what is the situation like there right now? First of all, is any of the city still standing with life going on, or is it all ruins with fighters running around?

MA: Do you have enough info on the status of Homs ?

KF: I know that it has been a site for protests and that the Syrian government attacked the protesters, since then there was fighting, and the regime bombed a lot if not everything. I do not know the ins and outs of each group who they are what they believe.

MA: Do you have inform the geographical on the nature of Homs? I mean geographical situation and regions of the control of Assad regime and armed opposition and ongoing war?

KF: no, is there a map?

MA: Mediates the Syrian cities, Homs is the capital of the Syrian revolution. Strategic importance of the system is very large.

At the beginning of the revolution protests permeated the city of Homs and its countryside

for example, the campaign the first was on the neighborhood of baba amer even dominated after it was destroyed, and then a vigorous campaign on the Homs the old and the failure of the imposition of the siege which continued to nearly two years

And a military campaign on the southern countryside lasted for several months and got violent battles and dominated by the help of the Lebanese Hezbollah after it was destroyed

KF: thank you

MA: The countryside north of Homs are still under the control of the rebels.

There is Al waer densely populated area and besieged and subjected to daily shelling.

Gets the daily massacres

This is a summary of the situation in the field.

Do you have questions ?

HEZBOLLAH 

KF: Did Hezbollah retreat or are they still active on the ground?

MA: Still is on top of any military campaign

And also present in some areas

KF: they are being paid by Lebanon but answering orders of Assad?

MA: Sorry I did not understand your question

KF: who is paying the Hezbollah? or are they volunteers

MA: Hezbollah works on the orders of the party leadership

KF: why do they want to serve Assad instead of their own country?

MA: hTey want to service their project which is sectarian Shiite

They are Fighting and they brutally destroy and commit crimes

IRAN 

There are fighters from Iran also taking part in the ranks of the Assad regime

KF: why do shiite support alawite

MA: Sorry I did not understand your question

KF: Assad is not Shiite so what are they gaining?

also, do you know anything about opium fields on syria lebanon border? to what extent is the war about drugs, about oil, about land, or what other factors?

MA: Assad, Iran and Hezbollah interests are on one common list on a sectarian basis. Assad is a spoiled child with Iran and Hezbollah

The fall of the Assad regime is the demise of the interests of Iran and Hezbollah from Syria

HAMA 
MA: In the countryside of Hama, there are battles. But the city of Hama is under the control of the Assad regime, and there being many cases of arrests and violations.

[At this point the discussion switches to a photo of a rocket which hit Assad's death squads known as shabeeha near Homs]

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 Student in Homs Syria
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‎Student طالب جامعي‎

Lives in Homs, Syria

10/25/2014 7:01PM

KF: what is the story of this photo? [photo unknown]

10/25/2014 8:44PM

MA: Unfortunately not be aware of your question

I see a rocket. who is shooting the rocket at whom, and where 

The Grad missiles 'Corps Homs' launch on gatherings shabeeha in Homs in response to the massacres of the regime in the neighborhood of the forest

The Grad missiles 'Corps Homs' launch on gatherings shabeeha in Homs in response to the massacres of the regime in the neighborhood of the waer

missiles are launched by rebels?

what is the meaning of shabeeha 


Homs Corps is the largest faction of the Free Army in Homs

what are shabeeha gatherings? 

Shabeeha groups of mercenaries fighting in the ranks of the Assad regime, mostly of the Alawite sect, have committed several massacres in Syria and Homs

so they have a camp or where is the missile going to hit 

Rebels firing rockets at gatherings shabeeha in camps and neighborhoods in the occupied city of Homs

did they hit anyone 

What ??

did they destroy anyone or anything or it was just a cute rocket 

Yes, it is destroying the camps that are stationed where the thugs, and thugs fired all kinds of shells toward the neighborhood Al waer

did that stop them or invigorate them to retaliate? 

Shabeeha not stop bombing and criminality, but this is an attempt by the rebels to stop the bombing as much as possible and with available weapons 


http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1629.htm