O/T:- Women protest at Muslims praying at Speakers Corner

[tarquinbeech]

Heehee! This is from the sad act who has relentlessly stalked me on the betting threads.

I think it's clear to everyone who looks the arsehole on those, and from a choice of two it certainly ain't me!

Three...I have a split personality, not me.....him

Remind us again how many winners you have backed.....real winners, not the ones you "pretend" bet once the results are in.

[AltyPie]

Well, slightly more important than our squabbles is that the US, UK & France have just started air strikes on Syria:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43763605

This whole lead up has seemed like a carbon copy of the demonization of Saddam to me:
WMD = Chemical Weapons
Bad Guy Saddam = Assad
Who fills the void if the regime collapses - ISIS, Al Qaeda, other Islamist groups.

Dodgy evidence such as children strategically placed in ambulances to be photographed, use of the same photos twice, a knowledge that ISIS have chemical weapons as well, but the blame put on Assad anyway. Also remember the ridiculous cartoon Al Qaeda mountain hideouts presented by Donald Rumsfeld to the world? And lies about a relationship between Saddam & Bin Laden.

There was a chemical weapons attack blamed on Assad about a year ago for which I presented about six possible explanations – was that just used to soften us up?

Lauding of the White Helmet group by Western media when there's plenty of evidence they are sympathetic to ISIS and Al Qaeda.
Assurances from our PM (this time May & Boris, last time Blair) that Assad has used chemical weapons. And Macron stating he has “proof”. And this so soon after a “Russian attempted assassination” using chemical weapons on UK soil (really??)

Western Govts using force against the wishes of their people - again.
Absolutely no talk of end game or what to do if the regime collapses.

Why should we believe any of the justification we’re told for these operations any more? Remember David Kelly conveniently “committing suicide”? Remember Robin Cook, huge critic of Blair’s Iraq adventure, and his suspicious death?
The groups loyal to Assad include Assyrian and Armenian Christian militias so some might say we’re on the wrong side of this conflict : https://www.irishtimes.com/news/worl...bels-1.1859569

And this is being done to benefit/protect who exactly? Iraq led to 10's of thousands of civilian deaths & refugee issues Europe is still trying to cope with to this day.

[MagpieTony]

There are a number of issues at play here. Syria is a geographically strategic Country within the Middle East to the Saudis, Iran, Russia and the West. It is one of the few remaining independent Muslim nations in the region. It has its own currency, no EMI debt, its own supply of resources, it has refused GMO seed. In other words, it is not a puppet state. This does not sit well with certain financiers and their allies. The plans to destabilise Syria have been afoot for years both in Western governments and Middle Eastern warmongers. They have chosen to use religious means to foster unrest. Although Syria is Muslim, it is not Muslim enough for the rebels who have been funded and backed by unscrupulous Western and Saudi backers who want to see the Assad regime toppled and Syria's independence broken so that they can control the region and have greater control of the region and its resources. The backers of the war care little for the Syrian people, already shown by the use of ISIS to achieve their goal. A big problem came when Trump was elected. Trump wants his troops out, as does Putin. Both announced this and then, hey presto, another chemical attack. The war was over, barring the remaining few rebels (funny how Obama in the years before had achieved very little. Coincidence?). Was this Assad? No evidence, no access to site. Reports from the White Helmets (jihadi connections with a history) and Open Society (Soros funded) are certainly not sources that you would take as reliable and certainly not go to war over. Assad, although not a saint, still has the support of the large majority of his people, a fact that is conveniently overlooked. We know that the rebels have access to chemical weapons (the West gave them to them) and we also know that the rebels record of human rights is far worse than Assad's. Yet it seems that we are ready to assume, in spite of no evidence, no access to the site, no proof and with full media bias to vilify Assad and the Russians and choose to align with ISIS. Interesting. I posted yesterday a first hand account written by someone who has actually spent years working in Syria's war zones. If you want a more realistic overall account of the situation give it a read. It's a long account, but very insightful if you are interested.

[tarquinbeech]

There are a number of issues at play here. Syria is a geographically strategic Country within the Middle East to the Saudis, Iran, Russia and the West. It is one of the few remaining independent Muslim nations in the region. It has its own currency, no EMI debt, its own supply of resources, it has refused GMO seed. In other words, it is not a puppet state. This does not sit well with certain financiers and their allies. The plans to destabilise Syria have been afoot for years both in Western governments and Middle Eastern warmongers. They have chosen to use religious means to foster unrest. Although Syria is Muslim, it is not Muslim enough for the rebels who have been funded and backed by unscrupulous Western and Saudi backers who want to see the Assad regime toppled and Syria's independence broken so that they can control the region and have greater control of the region and its resources. The backers of the war care little for the Syrian people, already shown by the use of ISIS to achieve their goal. A big problem came when Trump was elected. Trump wants his troops out, as does Putin. Both announced this and then, hey presto, another chemical attack. The war was over, barring the remaining few rebels (funny how Obama in the years before had achieved very little. Coincidence?). Was this Assad? No evidence, no access to site. Reports from the White Helmets (jihadi connections with a history) and Open Society (Soros funded) are certainly not sources that you would take as reliable and certainly not go to war over. Assad, although not a saint, still has the support of the large majority of his people, a fact that is conveniently overlooked. We know that the rebels have access to chemical weapons (the West gave them to them) and we also know that the rebels record of human rights is far worse than Assad's. Yet it seems that we are ready to assume, in spite of no evidence, no access to the site, no proof and with full media bias to vilify Assad and the Russians and choose to align with ISIS. Interesting. I posted yesterday a first hand account written by someone who has actually spent years working in Syria's war zones. If you want a more realistic overall account of the situation give it a read. It's a long account, but very insightful if you are interested.

....and here is a Reuters report from 2013 stating that investigators have found NO evidence of Syrian forces using Sarin.....ONLY the rebel forces....mmmm....someone does not want Assad to clear out the last of the rebels.

Quote....“Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated,” Del Ponte said in an interview with Swiss-Italian television.

“This was use on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities,” she added, speaking in Italian.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-s...94409Z20130505

[MagpieTony]

....and here is a Reuters report from 2013 stating that investigators have found NO evidence of Syrian forces using Sarin.....ONLY the rebel forces....mmmm....someone does not want Assad to clear out the last of the rebels.

Quote....“Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated,” Del Ponte said in an interview with Swiss-Italian television.

“This was use on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities,” she added, speaking in Italian.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-s...94409Z20130505

The whole situation is dodgy Tarkers fuelled by inaccurate and biased reporting of Western media. The more you investigate the more Assad, despite his erroneous past, looks like the victim here.