Yemen: The Forgotten Conflict

Since Yemen’s civil war began in 2015, the Saudi-led coalition has regularly conducted lethal air strikes throughout the country, killing thousands of innocent Yemenis. Further, Saudi Arabia has implemented a blockade of basic supplies against Yemen, including drinkable water, resulting in rampant cholera, leading to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The Saudi-led coalition was initially created seeking to support the deposed President, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, after the Houthi rebels had taken key positions all across the country, including the capital Sana’a and his Presidential palace, forcing him to flee to Saudi Arabia.

Since then, Saudi Arabia has justified its lethal attacks on civilians by accusing the Houthis, without any evidence, of being endorsed by its arch-enemies, Iran and Hezbollah.

According to the UN, the Saudi-led coalition regularly kills innocent people, including children. For example, a Saudi air strike killed 140 people and injured some 600 mourners at a funeral in Sana’a last October.

The United Nations’ World Health Organization has reported that the outbreak of cholera in Yemen caused by the Saudi blockade of drinking water has already infected more than 300,000 Yemenis; killed 1,500 people, 55% of them children.

The Red Cross has predicted that one out 45 people in Yemen will contract cholera. More than 600,000 people are expected to contract the disease before the end of the year. Some worrying reports show that a child dies in Yemen every 10 minutes from preventable causes like diarrhea, respiratory infections and malnutrition.

According to the UN, since March 2015, 3.2 million Yemenis have been displaced; 13,000 civilians have been casualties; 2 million children cannot attend schools;  and nearly 15 million people have no access to basic medical care. Out of 27 million people in Yemen, 20 million are starving, including 400,000 children, and some 2.2 million are in need of urgent care.

“In the last two years, more children have died from preventable diseases than those killed in the violence. This is why vaccination campaigns are so crucial to save the lives of Yemen’s children and to secure their future,” said Dr. Meritxell Relaño, UNICEF Representative in Yemen.

“Children are dying because the conflict is preventing them from getting the health care and nutrition they urgently need. Their immune systems are weak from months of hunger,” said Dr. Relaño.”

Saudi Arabia has also imposed a strict journalist embargo on Yemen, seeking to hide its acts of barbarism. It only grants sporadic access to the country to a few journalists from the mainstream Western media. On many occasions, they are indirectly endorsed by the Saudi-led coalition.

Despite the embargo, some independent journalists have risked their lives to enter the country covertly. They regularly show the Western world what the mainstream media refuses, the Saudi atrocities in Yemen.

The mainstream Western media regularly ignores the Yemeni conflict by ensuring that it is not attractive enough for the Western audience, which supposedly prefers those in Iraq and Syria because there are more parties involved.

Nothing is expected to change soon; the Saudi-led coalition will still commit atrocities across Yemen. The Houthis and the official Yemeni government will repress and kill thousands of innocent people, worsening the living conditions of innocent Yemenis. In addition, Al-Qaeda and ISIS are expected to increase their influence by taking key positions across Yemen, leading to a possible further American military intervention in the country.

Republicans and Democrats: The Hypocritical Team

Since its beginnings, Wikileaks has aroused both hatred and veneration among its followers and detractors as much as any other worldwide organization. However, what is most striking is that a large number of these people, including Donald Trump and the U.S. Democratic Party, have changed their opinions about Wikileaks several times over the last few years, revealing a high degree of hypocrisy.

In 2010, after Wikileaks published hundreds of thousands of classified documents and videos provided by Chelsea Manning, President Trump said:

“WikiLeaks is disgraceful, there should be like the death penalty or something.”

At the time of the above statement, Trump was often criticizing Wikileaks and its staffers. However, during the last Presidential campaign, Trump changed his mind, and started to praise Wikileaks’ work while encouraging the group to continue disclosing secrets related to John Podesta and Hillary Clinton. He also suggested that Wikileaks was the most reliable media organization in the world.

On Tuesday, Wikileaks disclosed the largest leak of classified CIA documents to date, exposing that the CIA had been hacking electronic devices for surveillance in mass, even abroad  (including the techniques used to break said electronic devices).

On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said:

“While I don’t want to get into confirming or denying this particular thing, I think it is interesting that — how different subjects are approached. People immediately began rushing to question this, and expressed that there should be a lot more coverage going on.This alleged leak should concern every single American in terms of the impact it has on our national security.”

“It’s interesting how there’s sort of a double standard with when the leaks occur, how much outrage there is,” Spicer observed, referring to internal leaks which have plagued the Trump campaign in the media.

“The idea that we are having these ongoing disclosures of national security and classified information should be something that everybody is outraged over in this country,” he added.

About the specific WikiLeaks accusations, he said: “You know all of these occurred under the last administration. That is important. All of these alleged issues.”

“There’s a big difference between disclosing John Podesta’s Gmail accounts, about a back and forth and his undermining of Hillary Clinton, and his thoughts of her on a personal nature and the leaking of classified information.”

Spicer also suggested that the U.S. will prosecute all those who are behind the latest disclosures, including any Wikileaks staffers. He added that Trump’s concerns likely stem from the threats that the information could pose to national security.

Spicer’s statements revealed that President Trump has changed his opinion about Wikileaks again, demonstrating that the President only considers his personal interest. When Wikileaks was revealing secrets favorable to his campaign, it was the best journalistic organization ever, but when it does the same to governmental institutions during his term, the group suddenly turns into a criminal organization.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Democratic Party and its supporters have gone through the same mental gymnastics. During Manning’s disclosures, most liberals and Democrats officials supported Wikileaks amidst Manning’s leaks, because they saw the organization as one exposing the truth of government corruption. However, during the last presidential campaign, most of the Democrats decided to change their opinion about Wikileaks and its founder, alleging that they were colluding with Russia to help Trump win the election.

As if that were not enough, after the last Wikileaks disclosure, a large number of Democrats (including those who suggested that Wikileaks was colluding with Russia) have changed their minds again and now think that Wikileaks is a reliable and honorable organization.

These extreme changes expose how a large number of people easily change their minds in relation to their own interests. Most of them lack critical thinking and are susceptible to being manipulated by both political parties and the media, though the end is the same: none of them are able to stand by either their convictions or their words.

The truth is that Wikileaks has published several countries’ governmental secrets for a decade. During all this time, it has never changed its editorial staff (most of the editors have been working at the organization for years), and it operates in the same exact way.

Wikileaks has allowed people from all over the world to know about governmental corruption, and that the CIA has conducted surveillance programs to spy on everyone all the worldwide. Thanks to that, people now have the opportunity to act in order to protect their privacy against these governmental threats. 

Wikileaks is not the real problem in our society; governments and politicians who manipulate their citizens on a regular basis are. In addition, the American political system is completely obsolete and should change to make it harder for politicians to adopt megalomaniac behaviors. The system should allow organizations such as Wikileaks to freely operate because it just exposes the truth about governmental corruption. Those who are not corrupt do not have to fear anything from Wikileaks.

The lack of critical thinking in a global society is troubling since it makes it harder for people to know what is real or not. Instead, it pushes them to blindly believe what their governments say to them. For that reason, we can observe sudden changes in people’s minds in short periods of time. In order to prevent this, the education system should change by teaching students how to think critically.

When people try to change the education system to develop critical thinking skills, both Republicans and Democrats will strongly oppose it to continue manipulating their citizens, which guarantees the continued  misconduct and political corruption in all layers of government.

Wikileaks Revelations Expose How the CIA Wants to Destroy Everyone’s Privacy

On Tuesday, Wikileaks published 8,761 documents revealing how the CIA hacks Samsung TVs, computers, phones and cars to spy on civilians all over the world. A CIA team created a new program capable of infecting the above-mentioned devices, turning them into microphones ready to collect information on their owners, even when the devices are apparently off.

Once the device is infected, the CIA can bypass the encryption on apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal by using phones programmed with Google’s Android and IOS platforms to collect audio and message traffic before encryption is applied. Further, infected devices to the controlling agent the user’s current(geographic) location, audio and text communications as well as discreetly operate the phone’s camera and microphone.”

According to Wikileaks, each technique the CIA has created ‘forms a “fingerprint” that can be used by forensic investigators to attribute multiple different attacks to the same entity’.

A troubling piece of information is that, According to Wikileaks, the aforementioned cyber weapons were compromised and the tools are likely to be in the hands of criminals and foreign intelligence agencies.

As if that weren’t enough, the release also suggests that the U.S. consulate in Germany is in fact a secret American base. Apparently, most of the workers at the Consulate are undercover hackers that regularly collect information on Europeans, Africans, and Middle Easterners. It suggests that there could be many other secret hacking bases in unsuspected places worldwide.

A curious discovery from the disclosure is that the CIA had hidden its operations trying to appear as if they were Russian hackers.Moreover, when it has often been suggested that the Russian government interfered in the last election to help Trump win, this suggests that CIA agents might have fabricated part of that story.

Experts who have started to analyze Wikileaks revelations said they appeared legitimate. They added that the release was the biggest in the CIA’s history.

Wikileaks has a long history of publishing authentic documents that have been leaked from government agencies, corporations, and powerful individuals.

When asked, a CIA spokesperson said:

“We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents.”

Wikileaks announced that this is the first in a series of documents to be published which will cover the CIA’s full suite of hacking tools.

“We need to know if the CIA lost control of its hacking tools, who may have those tools, and how do we now protect the privacy of Americans… The potential privacy concerns are mind-boggling,” he said.

With this disclosure, Wikileaks has exposed how vulnerable we all are. Snowden’s disclosure exposed that the CIA had the capability to monitor and record conversations on the Internet and by phone. It also exposed the collaboration between the CIA and the biggest phone and computing companies by sharing data to spy on civilians. However, yesterday’s disclosure goes beyond this collaboration; the CIA can now spy on anyone through a broad spectrum of electronic devices. This disclosure indicates that, in the current technological era, there are few options to prevent such an espionage, removing any sort of privacy from people’s lives.

Privacy is important because it allows us to think as we please without any external manipulation. Without it, no one can develop critical thinking mind, which is central to becoming the owner of their life. People are all at risk of falling into a “vegetative state” in which people will passively accept everything told by their governments. One wants to believe that this phase is still far away, but if these surveillance methods are not phased out soon, we will reach a point of no return.

It is a fact that there is already a wide spectrum of journalists and citizens who are influenced by third parties. The way they investigate; act, or use the Internet is determined by the fear of being under surveillance. 

When critics thought that “1984” by George Orwell was just a fantasy novel, they were wrong. It is true that our society is not yet in the situation depicted therein, but no one can deny that there are many parallels and unless the CIA indefinitely suspends its surveillance programs, within a decade or two, everyone will be very tightly controlled by their government in all circumstances, even in those places without any electronic devices.

While we wait for the second part of the Wikileaks revelations, we should all think about what kind of world we want to build for future generations and start thinking about how to fight back to better protect their privacy.

Trump and his Dirty Relations with Saudi Arabia

Over the last few months, President Trump has declared himself the person who will lead the international community in eliminating Islamic terrorism. However, his cabinet, led by CIA director Mike Pompeo, has started to strengthen its collaboration with Saudi Arabia (a state sponsor of terrorism).

On Sunday, the director of the CIA, Mike Pompeo awarded Prince Mohammed, 57, with the George Tenet medal “for his counter-terrorism work.”

“excellent intelligence performance in the domain of counter-terrorism and his unbound contribution to realising world security and peace,” Pompeo said.

“The US and Saudi Arabia…have extensive ties. We have extensive challenges that we’re working on in counter-terrorism, in security, maritime security, and the whole gamut of issues,” Pompeo said.

Apparently, hypocrisy is rampant in the White House, President Trump himself once suggested that he believed that Saudi Arabia was a state sponsor of terrorism. He added:

“We are prepared to stop buying oil from Saudi Arabia unless the kingdom provides ground troops to fight Islamic State.”

Trump’s administration has also reported that they are preparing a $300m (£240m) package for precision-guided weapons technology for Riyadh (Saudi Arabia, a state sponsor of terrorism). At this point, the central question is how will Trump eradicate Islamic terrorism if he is arming those who sponsor and fund terrorism?

By collaborating with the Saudi government, Trump is indirectly funding terrorism and betraying millions of citizens who elected him to fight terrorism. Trump’s actions not only affect Americans, but also represent a global threat, particularly for Western countries.

Saudi Arabia governs based on an extreme interpretation of Sharia law (Islamic law widely compared to ISIL). The Saudi regime has also spent over $100 billion on exporting and implementing Sharia law worldwide. To succeed, it uses charitable organisations which work in refugees camps and poor communities where uneducated and oppressed people are more susceptible to become radicalised. Besides, Saudi’s elites and business community are funding terrorism through organisations such as the International Islamic Relief, an institution created to hide the illegitimate funding of terrorism from the international community. Wikileaks reported:

“…donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide.”

The Saudi government has shut down several charitable organisations which fund terrorism. However, the United Nations (UN) has reported several times that the Saudi government has not closed down those institutions listed by the international community as terrorists.

The U.S. intelligence services have always been aware that the Saudi regime has been collaborating with terrorist groups. In addition, it suggested that the Saudi Arabian government could have indirectly funded 9/11 (mostly perpetrated by Saudi Arabian citizens).

In conclusion, President Trump fully acknowledges that Saudi Arabia is exporting and funding terrorism worldwide. However, he is not taking any steps towards halting it. Instead, he has decided to strengthen the relationship between the U.S. and the Saudi regime by keeping several businesses in operation and providing them with arms. When President Trump was elected, he said:

“I am going to unite the civilised world to fight and eliminate Islamic terrorism”

Trump had a tremendous opportunity to take a step forward in seeking the elimination of Islamic terrorism. However, he has decided to prioritise his businesses with the Saudi regime before the security of millions of citizens. After this decision, the question is: How can Trump retain his legitimacy as President?

The fight against Islamic terrorism was Trump’s central promise during the last presidential campaign. It is evident that while Saudi Arabia funds terrorism, organisations such as ISIL and Al-Qaida will continue expanding their operational capacity. While this happens any collaboration with the Saudi regime will help terrorism and, the U.S. is collaborating with them.

There are still millions of people who, regardless Trump’s political orientation, still think that he is honest because he is fulfilling all his promises. However, the facts expose the contrary and politicians should be entitled to their words. Trump won the election as the person who would change the rule of law to fight against corruption, lies and terrorism.

So far, in just three weeks Trump has divided the country to levels not seen since the 60s, kept ties with his previous businesses directly or indirectly, and he has betrayed millions of American citizens by boosting terrorism.

For now, Trump will continue making controversial and unproductive decisions while millions of citizens will try to convince him to reverse them. For that reason, it is maybe time to ask oneself: if in just three weeks Trump has made unpardonable wrong decisions, what could happen after three or four years?

Remember to be reflective and honest with yourself when seeking an answer. Until then, you may try to convince your government to stop collaborating with Saudi Arabia and therefore indirectly with terrorism. There is still light at the end of the tunnel, however, it is gradually fading. You may consider taking (peaceful) strong actions before it is too late.

-Any sort of terrorism regardless of its political orientation should be eradicated as soon as possible-

By Josep.

 

President Trump: Persecution of Refugees, Muslims, and Reactions.

Since President Trump and his entourage of advisors started their personal crusade against Muslims from SYRIA, IRAQ, IRAN, LIBYA, SOMALIA, SUDAN and YEMEN, there have been hundreds of peaceful refugees detained at airports from all across the U.S. (including green card holders)

Trump’s executive order suspending the entry of refugees into the U.S. constitutes a violation of international law and numerous human rights. According to the Geneva agreement:

“The core principle is non refoulement, which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. This is now considered a rule of customary international law.”

As if that were not enough, Trump said in an interview:

“it has been “impossible, or at least very tough” for Syrian Christians to enter the United States.If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair — everybody was persecuted, in all fairness — but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them.”

Such a statement implies a violation of the first amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom. However, President Trump said:

“This is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe.”

Since Trump signed the executive order, numerous elected republicans and democrats have also criticized Trump’s decision to persecute the Islamic community. So far, the elected republicans who have criticized the executive order are:

-Charlie Dent

-Jeff Flake

-Justin Amash

-Ben Sasse

-Susan Collins

-Barbara Comstock

-Rob Portman

-Orrin Hatch

-Dean Heller

-Brian Fitzpatrick

-Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

-Elise Stefanik

-Cory Gardner

-Will Hurd

-Leonard Lance

-Steve Stivers

-McCain

-Graham’s

McCain and Graham’s both released the following statement:

“Our government has a responsibility to defend our borders, but we must do so in a way that makes us safer and upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation.

“It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trump’s executive order was not properly vetted. We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security.

“Such a hasty process risks harmful results. We should not stop green-card holders from returning to the country they call home. We should not stop those who have served as interpreters for our military and diplomats from seeking refuge in the country they risked their lives to help. And we should not turn our backs on those refugees who have been shown through extensive vetting to pose no demonstrable threat to our nation, and who have suffered unspeakable horrors, most of them women and children.

“Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism. At this very moment, American troops are fighting side-by-side with our Iraqi partners to defeat ISIL. But this executive order bans Iraqi pilots from coming to military bases in Arizona to fight our common enemies. Our most important allies in the fight against ISIL are the vast majority of Muslims who reject its apocalyptic ideology of hatred. This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improving our security.”

In response Trump tweeted:

The Democratic party has announced numerous protests and legal challenges over Trump’s executive order:

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Democrats will introduce legislation to stop President Trump’s actions of temporarily banning refugees and arrivals from certain Muslim countries.

“This executive order was mean-spirited and un-American,”

“It must be reversed immediately,” said Schumer.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said House Democrats are exploring legal options.

Hillary Clinton, who is the main person responsible for the rise of Trump has also criticized Trump’s action. However, her resignation as presidential candidate during the last campaign would have facilitated another government.

The international community has also criticised Trump’s executive order to persecute Muslims. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said:

“It’s not the time to build walls between nations.” “They have forgotten that the Berlin Wall collapsed many years ago,” “Even if there are walls between nations, they must be removed.”

In response, Rohani banned American citizens from entering Iran until President Trump steps back in his decision.

“The reception of refugees fleeing the war, fleeing oppression, is part of our duties,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said.

“In an unstable and uncertain world, turning inward would be a dead end,” Hollande said he told Mr Trump in their first phone conversation since the president took office last week.

Trudeau, in a tweet, said Canada would welcome those fleeing “persecution, terror and war. Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith.”

Prime minister Theresa May, who is applying double standards with President Trump, decided to keep silent over the Muslim Ban by alleging that it is an American domestic issue. Her failure to condemn the persecution of refugees and Muslims has caused a wave of indignation in British society. In response, more than one million people have already signed a petition to demand that Theresa May cancels her invitation to Trump to visit the UK.

The leader of the major party of the opposition Jeremy Corbin said:

“President Trump’s executive order against refugees and Muslims should shock and appal us all. “Theresa May should have stood up for Britain and our values by condemning his actions. It should sadden our country that she chose not to. After Trump’s hideous actions and May’s weak failure to condemn them, it’s more important than ever for us to say to refugees seeking a place of safety, that they will always be welcome in Britain.”

So far the only ally who has supported the Muslim Ban has been Australia. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said:

“I’m confident that the Australian government and the U.S. government will continue to support each other in ensuring that we can implement our strong immigration and border protection policies,” Ms Bishop said in Los Angeles.

“The Australian government is working very closely with the administration and the US officials and we want to ensure that Australians continue to have access to the United States, as they have in the past, and people from the United States have access to Australia.”

Treasurer Scott Morrison also jumped to Mr Trump’s defence, reasoning that the newly-elected president was simply fulfilling an election promise.

In his first two weeks as president, Trump has:

1. Divided American society.

2.Violated international law.

3. Violated the first amendment of the U.S constitution.

4.Violated human rights of refugees and Muslims.

5. Made numerous enemies from all over the world.

6. Helped terrorist groups to recruit thousands of new members.

7. Endangered U.S. troops in the Middle East.

8. Endangered U.S. travellers.

Trump’s actions are already isolating the U.S. from the international community. Furthermore, the lack of critical thinking in society will make citizens from all over the world think that the vast majority of Americans approve Trump’s unethical policies. It will cause serious problems to millions of American travellers, who will be judged for something that they did not choose.

Fortunately, the protests against Trump’s executive order to persecute Islamic society shows that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If Trump continues violating the law and American society continues holding mass protests, President Trump may then be impeached by the congress. If it ever happens, Pence who is politically smarter than Trump and is backed by most of Republicans elected would try to implement a catholic- evangelical system based on reforming the education system and denigrating women.

American society will have to be very attentive with the upcoming events. History shows that protests are useful, but unless something really shocking happens they will not have any real impact. In 2008, when the global financial crisis started, there were millions of citizens who held protests for years in countries such as Spain. However, the Spanish authoritarian government reacted by oppressing all the protesters without contemplations on a regular basis. Finally, this movement turned into a political organisation, which is strong, but was created too late. For that reason, if American society really wants to change the existing situation, aside from holding protests against the government, it should also create an alternative to replace the two major parties in the U.S.

The Republican and Democrat parties have been alternating the U.S. presidency for decades, which means that the corruption is already instilled in all layers of both organisations.

The upcoming turbulent times will determine whether global society can protect their human rights or not. Every single person from all over the world has the responsibility to resist any government attack against other human beings regardless of political and religious orientation.

Resisting against those who abolish human rights and violate the law on a regular basis is not bad, rather, it is everyone’s obligation for the sake of our children.

Be attentive, defend your neighbours, and never keep silent over injustices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Trump Has Started His Personal Crusade Against the Islamic Community and Refugees

Yesterday, President Trump started his personal crusade against the world’s Islamic community by signing an order for extreme vetting action to “keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States.” The U.S. will now halt the entrance of refugees from SYRIA, IRAQ, IRAN, LIBYA, SOMALIA, SUDAN and YEMEN.

“We want to ensure that we are not letting into our country the very threats that our soldiers are fighting overseas,” We’re going to have extreme vetting for people coming into our country and if we think there’s a problem, it’s not going to be so easy for people to come in anymore,”Trump said.

Numerous experts and the international community have warned Trump that this order does not represent American values.

“It is a cruel measure that represents a stark departure from America’s core values,” former Secretary of State Madeline Albright said Thursday

“We should not be excluding any religion or nationality from the U.S. refugee resettlement program,” said Michelle Brané, a director at the Women’s Refugee Commission.

Thousands of refugees who have been going through a strict process based on background checks and personal conditions for years will now have to choose another destination.

Earlier today, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and International Organisation for Migration called on the new President’s administration to continue offering asylum to people fleeing war and persecution, a right protected by international law.

“The needs of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater and the US resettlement program is one of the most important in the world,” the two agencies said in a joint statement.

“The longstanding US policy of welcoming refugees has created a win-win situation: it has saved the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world who have in turn enriched and strengthened their new societies.”

In his inauguration speech, President Trump said:

“I want to unite the civilised world to fight and eradicate Islamic terrorism”

However, Trump’s decision will help terrorist organisations such as ISIS or Al-Qaeda to maintain their anti-western rhetoric and recruit thousands of new members from among the refugees to attack western countries. It might soon be catastrophic by causing thousand of deaths. President Trump also said:

“Starting today, the government has been returned to its citizens. You will tell politicians what to do.”

It was applauded by a large number of fanatics. However, Trump’s decision to refuse refugees from the Middle East was made against the opinion of the vast majority of Americans. They consider America a country of immigrants, which hosts and protects refugees from warring countries.

The ban of Muslims will also encourage racist organisations from the U.S. to persecute and denigrate refugees who are already settled in the U.S. Since Trump was elected president, there has been a great increase in racists actions against immigrants. These actions are often fueled by Trump and his advisors.

In this context, countries such as China or Russia will soon increase their influence in the world. It will soon leave the U.S. without any influence over important issues. Apparently, with Trump as president, the U.S. will be condemned to international isolation.

Although it is unthinkable, if Trump continues turning the U.S. into an authoritarian state, at some point, the international community might then decide to ban the admittance of American citizens into numerous countries. If that ever happens it would be devastating.

The criminalisation of refugees is absurd and hypocritical. The vast majority of them are fleeing war zones to be safe. They did not choose to be refugees. This status was imposed on them due to conflicts often started by the U.S. and its allies. They deserve more respect from the international community. They have already suffered a lot!

Terrorism should be eradicated from the world as soon as possible, but never by criminalising innocents. Yes, let’s unite to fight terrorism more efficiently, but never ever by persecuting innocents!

Let’s walk together!

By Josep

Trump and Terrorism

IN HIS INAUGURATION SPEECH, President Donald Trump announced his plans to unite the civilised world to eradicate ISIL (Islamic State). It was applauded by the vast majority of the audience. However, numerous experts suggest that Trump’s inexperience and his close collaboration with the Israeli government might undermine any effort to defeat Islamic terrorism.

President Trump will soon have to make two major decisions that will determine his future success fighting terrorism: Move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and decide whether he cancels the Iran nuclear deal or not.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to convince Trump that cancelling the Iran nuclear deal would benefit the security in both the region and western countries. He alleges that the current deal will soon give Iran the capacity to produce multiple nuclear weapons that might potentially be used against Israel and western countries.

“In the coming decade, the deal will reward Iran, the terrorist regime in Tehran, with hundreds of billions of dollars. This cash bonanza will fuel Iran’s terrorism worldwide, its aggression in the region and its efforts to destroy Israel, which is ongoing.” Netanyahu said in a televised statement in English.

DURING THE LAST PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, President Trump promised to tear up the  Iran nuclear deal. However, he might now reconsider it after numerous advisors and the international community have warned him about the catastrophe that it may cause in the region. Here are some possible consequences of cancelling the Iran nuclear deal:

1.Iran nuclear program.

If the Iran nuclear deal is cancelled, Iran would restart its nuclear program to produce nuclear weapons. It would create an escalation of the regional conflict between Israel and Iran with unpredictable consequences. Israel believes that Iran wants to produce nuclear weapons to exterminate them and it might trigger a war between both countries. The international community and regional governments would not ignore a war close to their borders and they would soon take part in the conflict, which would cause a catastrophe at such a large scale that it would impact western countries.

2. Iran and terrorism.

Iran has a lot of influence over tribes, countries and terrorist groups such as Hezbollah in the region. The international community has acknowledged several times that without the collaboration of Iran, it is impossible to eradicate ISIL. If the Iran nuclear deal is ever cancelled, Iran might then start endorsing ISIL and other terrorist groups like Hezbollah and ALQAEDA by hosting training camps and providing weapons of the latest technology to them. It would be a real threat to the region and western countries because it would produce thousands of new potential terrorists a year. An undetermined number of them would cross our borders spreading chaos everywhere.

3.Destabilisation in the Middle East.

Israel might decide to launch a preventive attack on Iran, which would probably trigger a war between both countries. Due to the proximity of the conflict to numerous countries, it would force some of them to take part in it. The consequences would be catastrophic by causing hundred of thousands of deaths in the region. In addition, the U.S. might also be forced to take part in the conflict due to its defence agreements with Israel. As a result, numerous countries would start endorsing terrorism in the Middle East to attack the U.S. It might also cause thousands of deaths in the U.S.

4.The resurrection of Hezbollah.

In the last decade, Hezbollah has lost its influential capacity in the region and it may perceive to attack Israel as a useful manoeuvre to recover it. Iran could also start providing them weapons to attack Israelis. It would be perceived by the Israeli government as a declaration of war which may trigger a new regional conflict.

As we can see, Trump’s decision to cancel the Iran nuclear deal could potentially cause numerous regional and international problems. Without the Irani, collaboration ISIL can never be defeated and actually, it would grow to levels never seen before. As a result, the Middle East would produce hundreds of thousands of new potential terrorists and it would be a threat to western countries. For that reason, Trump’s upcoming decision about the Iran nuclear deal will determine whether it is or not possible to eradicate ISIL.

PRESIDEN TRUMP WILL SOON also have to decide whether he moves the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem or not. Over the last few days, Netanyahu has intensified his contact with the Trump administration to convince them to settle the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, Trump’s nominee ambassador, David Friedman, who has a long history of supporting aggressive Israeli settlement activity in Palestine, is now supporting Netanyahu’s policies. However, the international community and numerous advisors have warned President Trump that moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem would cause serious conflict in the region.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has suggested that if the U.S. ever moves its embassy to Jerusalem, his government will then no longer recognize the Israeli state. The Palestinian government might also decide to call on its citizens to prepare for war against Israel. As a result, it would cause a long and difficult conflict in the region.

ISIL and other terrorist organisations would see this as an opportunity to recruit thousands of Palestinians to commit terrorist attacks in western countries. Countries such as Egypt, which has have been very critical of the Israeli policies towards Palestine for years, may decide to take part in the conflict. This would isolate Israel from the international community and would trigger a new conflict involving numerous countries. In this context, the U.S. might be forced to take part in the conflict to fulfil its obligations to Israel.

There is a clear evidence that moving the U.S. embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem would be a catastrophe for American interests. It would also prevent Trump from eradicating ISIL. Instead, ISIL would grow stronger than ever and would increase its attacks against western countries.

President Trump’s upcoming decisions will determine his success fighting ISIL. He has a good opportunity to eradicate it. However, a wrong decision would cause a global catastrophe.

PREVIOUS U.S. ADMINISTRATIONS already made serious mistakes fighting Islamic terrorism. Jimmy Carter and Donald Reagan endorsed Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan during the Cold War, by alleging that it was a legitimate organisation, which was protecting civilians. With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, it would change, but the monster was already created.

Al-Qaeda had never had the capacity to commit terrorist attacks such as September 11, 2001, without the previous U.S. endorsement based on training, money and weapons. Carter and Reagan’s decision helped Al-Qaeda to increase Its operational capacity overseas and planted the seed for the posterior creation of ISIL.

ISIL is a scission from Al-Qaeda, which at some point disagreed with the vision of the direction. Its founders wanted to implement more ferocious strategies to achieve their goals. However, without the previous U.S.endorsement of AlQaeda, it would have been an isolated and tiny organisation in Afganistan and ISIL had never been created.

We can conclude that the U.S. was determinant in the creation and posterior expansion of both ISIL and Al-Qaeda. However, it cannot be changed, so it is now time to take more effective action to eradicate them. For that to happen, President Trump will have to make the correct decision.

Regardless of one’s political orientation, the vast majority of people want President Trump to succeed by eradicating terrorism. Hopefully, Trump will understand that moving the U.S. embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem and cancelling the Iran nuclear deal would cause a global catastrophe.

All sorts of terrorism, including ISIL and Al Qaeda, are despicable, horrendous and should be eradicated as soon as possible. For that reason, let’s unite and fight terrorism more efficiently.

Let’s also make President Trump understand that a mistake now would be catastrophic for next generations.

Resist!

By Josep

Government Mass Surveillance Is Shaking the Fundamentals of Freedom

Government violation of human rights on a regular basis is representing a real threat to our society. It involves several governments, which are implementing new mass surveillance systems, apparently to protect civilians from terrorists. Nevertheless, it might be another government manoeuvre to distract citizens from the constant violation of our privacy.

Everyone agrees that surveillance systems must exist to prevent terrorist attacks. However, the U.S. and the Russian government in collaboration with some other countries have started to confuse civilians with terrorists, and it is terrifying. Paradoxically, these governments are at the same time, trying to convince their citizens about how wonderful it is to live in their countries where supposedly human rights and people’s freedoms are respected.

An indeterminate number of political representatives think that people are very stupid to believe such fantasies. The powerful propagandist government machinery, combined with the existing level of misinformation and manipulation makes people believe unrealistically.

Trump once said: “I may kill someone and people would still vote for me.” Why should people vote for someone, who kills people? The high level of manipulation is the only possible explanation.

Another example is when Snowden informed us that the U.S. government had been conducting mass surveillance on civilians for years. Back then, a large number of people acknowledged that the U.S. government was violating our rights, and after that some of them took action. However, there were still millions of people who refused to believe it was real even though there was clear evidence, and the government confirmed it.

Surveillance systems are designed to “kill” critical thinking of people, becoming a powerful manipulative tool.

Apparently, there are some countries where human rights are respected by their governments. But is that real or do you believe in it because someone has been telling you since your childhood?

Privacy allows us to think the way we want without any external manipulation. Without it, no one can develop a critically thinking mind, which is determinant in becoming the owner of your life.

In the case of thinking that privacy is important in your life, you may consider using software like Tails, Tor, Qubes and PGP. It helps to circumvent government surveillance. Initially, you may think that it is very complicated to use this software, but it is not at all. After you use it a couple of times, you will be able to use it without any problem on a regular basis.

I am not trying to convince you of anything. Instead, I am asking you to learn how to think critically. Do not believe in anything that other people say to you at first. Try to get some information from different sources and compare them. Then think about it and make your own conclusions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The Trump And Spencer Connection:The New Dictatorship”(Update + 700 Words)

Richard Spencer, the pathetic, perverse, tyrannical, obstinate, fascist, and authoritarian Nazi American leader has praised Trump “the Nazi noob‘s victory” with a ‘Heil Trump’!

Spencer, who is mentally impaired and delusional is not considered to be a real threat to society. Despite, leading these sorts of organisations for many years now, he has never been able to grow them to levels considered dangerous for society. So far, Mr. “Jester” Spencer has only been supported by delusional people with low self-esteem, who have until now felt unloved.

Of course, I think that this felonious organisation should be eliminated from our society since it spreads hatred all over the world. Even so, the only operational capacity that they possess is to arrange some meetings, picnics, and fights.

Trump’s victory has boosted fanaticism to levels not seen in decades. Combined with his delusional character and ideas said fanaticism could spread chaos around the world.However, the most worrying is the election of Stephen Bannon (a Nazi propagandistic advisor) and the possible connection with Spencer’s collective.Trump’s endorsement could boost Spencer’s felonious demographic to levels never seen before in America.

Here is how an obscure organisation could grow very fast and become a real threat to society. Spencer, who is nostalgic and already fantasising about becoming the second Hitler, is currently planning his future atrocities, acting under the Trump’s Presidency umbrella.

In such a scenario, America would have a totalitarian president (Trump), with Bannon as the new Joseph Goebbels and Mr Spencer the Delusional as the new Gestapo leader of the U.S. Though it may sound exaggerated, the combination of certain factors and the more than probable connection between Trump and far-right organizations may give rise to a new dictatorship.

Under Trump’s presidency, the NSA, the FBI and the CIA will become a potential threat to society.

In my opinion, these three agencies have sometimes done great work, preventing terrorist attacks and numberless crimes. However, not everything behind these organisations is good.

Below I provide a quick review:

The NSA (National Security Agency):

Snowden’s disclosures exposed a terrifying scene where the NSA had been mass-collecting data from millions of U.S. citizens and people from all across the world in order to make/create profiles of journalists and activists to be used against them in future prosecutions. Back then, the NSA violated the law since it was forbidden to spy on American citizens without judicial authorization.

During all this time nothing has changed a lot, and the NSA is still conducting surveillance on everyone across the world.

The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation):

For decades, the FBI has been targeting journalists and activists in the U.S. to hide governmental atrocities from the public. In doing so, the FBI has constantly violated U.S. law since it is forbidden to spy on U.S. citizens without judicial authorization. It may change soon since a few days ago the U.S. Congress decided to authorise the FBI to conduct surveillance on U.S. citizens without judicial authorization.

The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency):

The CIA has targeted, tortured, and assassinated journalists, activists and political opponents from all across the world. These facts have been condemned by the UN (United Nations). I do not even want to think about what would happen if the CIA ever met Snowden or Julian Assange. The CIA has also done some good work preventing multiple terrorist attacks against the USA. Nevertheless, some of these groups were initially created and endorsed by the CIA. Fortunately for the public, it has repeatedly been acknowledged by some military staff.

All these violations of human rights have happened under different presidencies including the Bush and Obama administrations.

In my opinion, there are thousands of respectable people working for these agencies. Some of them have risked their lives to inform us about governmental “atrocities:”

Here are some of these heroes:

EX-NSA Agents:

Perry Fellwock
Russ Tice
Mark Klein
William Binney
Thomas Drake
Edward Snowden

EX-FBI Agents:

W. Mark Felt
Frederic Whitehurst
Sibel Edmonds
Coleen Rowley

EX-CIA Agents:

Frank Snepp
John Kiriakou

What these ex-agents have in common is their loyalty and responsibility to inform citizens about governmental atrocities. They are not criminals, the real criminals are the directors of the NSA, the CIA and the FBI, who have been ordering agents to violate human rights on a regular basis.

These three powerful agencies have an enormous infrastructure, which allows agents to conduct mass surveillance and assassinate enemies. Everything indicates that Trump will use it to oppress journalists, opponents, and the people. Combined with Spencer’s support it becomes a real threat to democracy.

Trump has sympathised with Spencer’s ideas many times, and it is terrible. Spencer is leading a Nazi organisation, which means that his pretensions are to spread fascism across the world in order to change the world order. With Trump as president, that day is closer.

Human rights organisations, journalists, and activists need to prepare to oppose the government’s violations of human rights. For that to happen, they need to be well-prepared to face potential prosecution and torture.

Before Trump became the president-elect, he threatened everyone who thought differently. It indicates that he could use these security agencies to conduct mass surveillance on everyone and order several human rights violations against activists and journalists.

Citizens should start masking their communications to circumvent government surveillance. For that to happen, it is essential to encrypt our messages via PGP, combined with software like Tails, Qubes or Tor.

In conclusion, it is very complicated to predict what will happen in the future. However, it is better to be well-prepared. It also is important to force Trump to renounce his ties with Spencer. may potentially become a new dictatorship.

I wish the best for U.S. citizens.

Surveillance:The Moral Obligation To Stand Up

Disgracefully, our governments conducting surveillance on us, with the intent of monitoring our movements in real time. In doing so, they deliberately violate our right to privacy. Nevertheless, it is inadvertently passing by many people, who cannot accept it because, apparently, governments do not monitor civilians.

Snowden’s revelations helped us to better understand that the NSA was amassing data from millions of users from across the world. After that, millions of people woke up and stood up to take their rights back again. However, there are still millions of people who foolishly believe in our rotten system. Sadly, they will never change it regardless of governmental behaviour since their exposure to manipulation has been for such a long time.

People must choose between standing up or losing their lives. Over the last few years, software engineers, concerned about our privacy, have designed/developed new software which enables us to circumvent the existing governmental surveillance.

Nowadays, there is a large amount of software operating and preserving our privacy from our governments like “TAILS” or “QUBES”. If you believe in your privacy, it is the time to take action to protect your communications because it is your right. In doing so, you will take back some control over your life and you will also be able to help others. Governments will suggest that it is only used by terrorists. Nevertheless, most of the users are journalists, activists and privacy advocates. If you care about your privacy then, you should stand up for your friends, family and future children.

Remember,  the more that people use this software, the stronger it will be. Therefore, it will be more challenging for our governments to monitor us in real time. I am not suggesting that you commit any crime or go against anyone since this software is mostly legal in all countries, with a few exceptions. We are not terrorists or criminals! We are just citizens of the world, who want to protect our rights.