Laith Marouf: “Syria: For 1st time since Vietnam a ‘3rd world country’ withstands Imperial invasion”


“What happened in Syria is actually saving the rest of the world. The Syrian government, and the Syrian army, and the Syrian people resisting. For the first time since Vietnam, a supposed 3rd world country withstands an Imperial invasion. This is a huge thing for, not only for the Syrian people but for the whole world.
Venezeula hopefully will also teach a lesson to the Imperialists.”

-Laith Marouf

This is a fascinating interview with Beirut-based political analyst/media producer Laith Marouf, which I conducted a few days ago while passing through Beirut before returning to Syria.

He provides historical, cultural and political context to a number of issues, from Syria to ethnic cleansings, to the brutal rule of colonial powers around the world, to the current Saudi and alliance’s war on Yemen.

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US-Led Efforts to Overthrow Maduro Spurred by Business Interests, Not Democracy

“Maduro is not a dictator. He is the elected head of a government confronting a genuine national emergency engineered by hostile foreign powers. Measures taken by the government to defend its citizens against the determination of the United States to impose on Venezuela policies which cater to the interests of corporate America at Venezuelans’ expense are wholly legitimate; they represent the actions of a democracy against a US-led international tyranny.

It is important to remember that Maduro’s government, like Chavez’s, has sought to put the interests of ordinary Venezuelans ahead of those of US investors. As a result, it has provoked Washington’s enmity.”

what's left

January 24, 2019

By Stephen Gowans

The US-led and coordinated intervention to overthrow Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro by recognizing Juan Guaidó, the leader of Venezuela’s National Assembly as the interim president, has nothing whatever to do with restoring democracy in Venezuela (which was never overturned) and everything to do with promoting US business interests.

Washington’s imperial arrogance in effectively appointing Guaidó as president, attempting to go over the heads of Venezuelans—who alone have the right to decide who their leaders are—is motivated by the same concerns that have motivated other US interventions around the world: toppling governments that put their citizens’ interests above those of US investors.

That Washington has a propensity to engage in destabilization operations against leftwing governments is hardly a secret. From 1898 to 2004, the US government undertook 41 successful regime change interventions in Latin America, an average of one every two-and-a-half years. And that…

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Video Updates From Syria, Where Peace Reigns Nearly Fully Again

 

New Year’s Eve 2018 in Syria

Throughout the evening, I walked around Damascus neighbourhoods,  watching Syrians celebrate and talking with people, some of which I  caught on camera.

This is a compilation of scenes from New Year’s Eve in Syria, where the  pulse of life was stronger than I’ve ever seen over the years.

May 2019 bring full peace back to this beautiful country and its  wonderful people.

Damascus Late 2018 Festive Atmosphere Without Terrorists’ Bombings

Some clips from al-Qassaa, Damascus, and Dweila, just before New Year’s Eve. Notice at the end, the photos of martyrs who died defending Syria. The martyrs are always present, around Syria. May their souls rest in peace and their loved ones be consoled by their heroism.

Mortars Which Terrorized Damascus Residents Fall No More

Reflecting on the terrorism Syrians faced for years, until the liberation of eastern Ghouta earlier this year, and how that liberation enabled Syrians to walk freely and celebrate without fear of being killed or maimed by terrorists’ mortars. As I noted on Twitter, in Dec 2015 I was in Syria. Syrians braved the streets in spite of risk terrorist mortars killing them. According to Dr Zaher Hajo, head of forensics, as of early 2018, terrorists had already killed over 10,000 civilians in Damascus alone (later # higher).
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Organ theft, staged attacks: UN panel details White Helmets’ criminal activities, media yawns

December 25, 2018, RT.com

Utter silence. That is the sound of Western corporate media days after a more than one-hour-long panel on the White Helmets at the United Nations on December 20.

Journalists were present, so the silence isn’t due to lack of access. And in any case it was live streamed on the UNTV channel, and remains available on Youtube for keen observers to watch.

More likely, the silence is due to the irrefutable documentation presented on the faux-rescue group’s involvement in criminal activities, which include organ theft, working with terrorists — including as snipers — staging fake rescues, thieving from civilians, and other non-rescuer behaviour.

On the panel was one of corporate media’s favourite targets to smear, British journalist Vanessa Beeley, who gave a fact-based lecture on her years of research into the founding, funding and nefarious activities of the White Helmets, research which includes numerous visits to White Helmets centers, countless testimonies from Syrian civilians, and even an interview with a White Helmets leader in Dara’a al-Balad, Syria.

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Syrian American Doctor on The Propaganda, Criminal Sanctions, and War Crimes, In The War on Syria


I spoke with a US-based Syrian doctor, educated and trained in Syria but living in the United States about a variety of issues related to war propaganda on Syria since the start in 2011, as well as the draconian effects of the criminal western sanctions on Syria.

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Dr Husam al-Samman on Syrian Health Care System, Criminal Western Sanctions, War on Syria

In early December, I spoke with Dr. Husam al-Samman, a Syrian doctor living in the United States, about issues pertaining to the health care system in Syria; about the early days in Syria–when corporate media claimed the protests were peaceful–and about the criminal western sanctions on Syria, which prevent even the delivery of critically-needed medicines, including Dr. al-Samman’s attempt to deliver medicines for cancer remission patients to Syria and being literally blocked from doing so, in spite of his tireless and heroic efforts, by the United States.
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Media Ignores the Plight of Kirill Vyshinsky: A Russian Journalist Imprisoned Without Trial in Ukraine
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The 2018 Person of the Year issue features four covers depicting Philippines-based editor Maria Ressa, jailed Burmese journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, the staff of the Capital Gazette, and the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in October at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. But jailed Ukrainian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky wasn’t included. Share this with those whom are unaware of Kirill’s plight. http://bit.ly/2UCZ0nb
Sign the petition to help release imprisoned journalist Kirill Vyshinsky 👉👉👉 http://bit.ly/FreeKirill

Eva Bartlett speaks with journalist Vladimir Rodzianko on the detention of Kirill Vyshinsky by Ukraine since May 2018. Ukrainian authorities accuse Vyshinsky of “treason” and have delayed his trials twice.

by Eva Bartlett
Nov 12, 2018, Mint Press News

The case of Russian-Ukranian journalist, Kirill Vyshinsky, imprisoned without fair trail in Ukraine since mid-May is yet another in a long list of attacks on journalists by NATO-aligned countries that never make the headlines.

A petition for Vyshinsky’s release reads:

On May 15, 2018, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) carried out a massive operation against journalists, having forcefully searched the Ukrainian-based RIA Novosti’s central office in Kiev, including its correspondents’ homes, and arrest of it’s editor-in-chief, Kirill Vyshinsky.

On July 11, the court in Kherson, Ukraine extended Kirill’s imprisonment by 60 days without bail, and is currently being held captive, as his health is rapidly deteriorating.

As of November 1, the Kherson city court has extended the arrest of Kirill until December 28, without a legitimate trial and without right to bail.”

The journalist, if finally tried, could face up to 15 years in prison, although he was fulfilling his role as a journalist. While in prison, his health has deteriorated to the point that his lawyer had to request urgent medical treatment, Sputnik reported.
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