Samantha Power in Practice

Rebecca Hamilton | Samantha Power in Practice | Foreign Affairs.

Try as you may and must, you still cannot sugarcoat betrayal and hypocrisy. Samantha Powers agreed to join the ranks of an administration that was clearly dead-set on betraying the very ideals which she preached, and she did so with her eyes wide open. Now she and her her supporters are trying to find ways to distance her from the mess. But not even a trip to the Moon will put enough distance at the stage. She might still remain politically viable, (after all if Assad can why can’t she?), but in the realm of ideals she advocated, chalk her as a hypocrite, with little possibility for self-redemption, if any.

Zarif Messages to the US on Syria in Munich

Zarif Messages to the US on Syria in Munich « LobeLog.com.

Farideh Farhi says: “If Iran is influential in sustaining the Assad regime, then turning it into a stakeholder in the political process makes eminent sense — but not behind closed doors or on a seat in the back of the room.” … In other words, supporting genocide earns a seat in the front rows and full light of day. Why not? It worked for Russia. The message to all in the world is this: the willingness to perpetrate heinous crimes and mass murders against your own people is the key to making yourself politically relevant and will get you international legitimacy, recognition and often even respect. This is the foundation of the New World Order, which makes it no different than the Old Order. Humanity has taken a major leap backwards, and has thus earned the shame and pains of the chaos and turmoil that lies ahead.

BBC One: UK and the Syrian Refugees

Halla Diyab on BBC One This Week – YouTube.

Bullocks! What cultural shock? Neither British nor Syrian culture is homogenous. There are almost 2.5 million British citizens who believe in the same value system that most Syrian refugees have. They are known as practicing Muslims, and although most of them come from a non-Arab background, there be enough citizens of Arab background, enough Syrian with dual nationality and enough cultural similarities between all practicing Muslims to make most Syrian refugees able to find communities where the cultural shock is manageable for all involved. There is also bound to be a certain social segment among the refugees that will find much comfort in the basic freedoms available to them in British society, and who will seek to maintain cordial human interaction with all around them irrespective of their confessional background. In all cases, and considering that the UK will be admitting a few thousands refugees at most, and that most of them will be busy for years to come trying to make a normal life for themselves in their new country, the possibility for any trouble-making is pretty minimal.