World View: Syrian Defector Confirms Stories of 'Al-Qaeda in Iraq'

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Madonna faces legal action for using Swastika on Marine Le Pen’s head
• Foreclosed properties ‘shadow inventory’ shows housing crash far from over
• Libor investigations expand to other banks
• Japan recalls ambassador to China
• China frigate runs aground near Philippines, but gets refloated
• Syrian defector confirms stories about ‘Al-Qaeda in Iraq’
• International Red Cross lays groundwork for war crimes charges against Syria’s Assad

Madonna faces legal action for using Swastika on Marine Le Pen’s head

Madonna’s image of Marine Le Pen with Nazi Swastika on her forehead

Madonna is facing criminal prosecution in France after depicting, inher sell-out concert in Paris on Saturday, Marine Le Pen, leader ofthe far right National Front party, with a Nazi Swastika on herforehead. Marine Le Pen is the daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, who ledthe National Front party until last year, when Marine took over.Jean-Marie is a Holocaust denier and a convicted racist andanti-Semite, but was nonetheless very popular in the 2002 presidentialelection. Marine has toned down the party’s extremist views, but stillpledges to limit Muslim immigration. Madonna is currently datingBrahim Zaibat, a Frenchman with North African Muslim immigrantancestry. Daily Mail (London)

Foreclosed properties ‘shadow inventory’ shows housing crash far from over

Anyone who watches television knows that financial pundits have beenannouncing the bottom of the real estate bust every month since 2007,when the housing bubble burst. Now, according to reports by twoanalytic firms, RealtyTrac and CoreLogic, real estate prices have muchfarther to fall because banks have been holding 90% of foreclosedproperties off the market. Even worse, banks holding these propertiesare committing financial fraud, since their financial statements valuethese homes at their housing bubble prices, rather than their currentvalues. This huge “shadow inventory” of houses is going to depresshousing prices for years to come. Furthermore, with hundreds ofthousands of homeowners delinquent in their mortgage payments, thisshadow inventory may grow significantly. In case of a panic, many ofthese houses may be dumped on the market at the same time. AOL Real Estate and Naked Capitalism

Libor investigations expand to other banks

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, UBS AG, Lloyds Banking Group Plcand Deutsche Bank AG are among the lenders regulators inEurope, Asia and the U.S. are investigating in the Liborscandal. Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) is abenchmark interest rate for financial products valued at$360 trillion (over 1/3 of $1 quadrillion) worldwide. BarclaysBank has already settled, paying a fine of $448 million, which istiny compared to the possible consequences. Bloomberg

Japan recalls ambassador to China

Map showing locations of disputed islands (AFP)

There’s a conflict in the South China Sea that pits China againstVietnam, the Philippines, and other countries, and there’s a conflictin the East China Sea that pits China against Japan in a dispute overthe group of islands known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu inChinese. Japan last week lodged two separate complaints againstChina, after Chinese vessels approached the islands, but Japan issaying the recall is for consultations only, and not related to thecomplaints. AFP

China frigate runs aground near Philippines, but gets refloated

A Chinese frigate ran aground on the Half Moon Shoal in Philippinewaters, prompting Manila to send two vessels and reconnaissanceaircraft to the area. There could have been a major standoff, butChina sent a rescue team and refloated the boat, sending it home.Reuters

Syrian defector confirms stories about ‘Al-Qaeda in Iraq’

During the Iraq war, airheads in the loony left like Nancy Pelosi andthe staff of the New York Times were claiming that there was no suchthing as “Al-Qaeda in Iraq,” when in fact anybody who bothered tolearn even the most basic things about what was going on knew thatAl-Qaeda in Iraq not only existed, but was responsible for triggeringmost of the sectarian violence. From 2007: “Iraqi Sunnis are turning against al-Qaeda in Iraq”Now Nawaf al-Fares, Syria’s ambassador to Iraq who defected two daysago, is confirming how the regime of Bashar al-Assad worked closelywith al-Qaeda in Iraq:

“The Syrian regime felt threatened and felt that it,too, might fall. So they had an agreement with al Qaeda to keepthe road open to Iraq. The militants started coming from all overthe world through Syria, under the eyes of the Syrian secretpolice, which are directly responsible for the killing ofthousands of Iraqis in Iraq as well as Americans and coalitionforces.

The secret police were encouraging enthusiastic young people inSyria to go for jihad in Iraq and join al Qaeda. Bashar al-Assadand his security forces are directly responsible for the killingof thousands and thousands of Iraqis and coalition forces, becausehe gave al Qaeda everything it needed. He trained and providedshelter and he built safe havens for them to hidein.”

So Bashar al-Assad was working with al-Qaeda to do everything in hispower to bring about the defeat and humiliation of the United Statesin Iraq. In that sense, Bashar al-Assad was no different fromAmerican organizations like the New York Times and NBC News, whichwere ALSO doing everything in their power to bring about the defeatand humiliation of the United States in Iraq. This continues to thepresent time, as illustrated by the fact that the New York Timesrecently revealed the U.S. participation in the development ofStuxnet. In my opinion, the actions of organizations like the NYTimes and NBC News have been on the edge of treason. CNN

International Red Cross lays groundwork for war crimes charges against Syria’s Assad

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) made a symbolicchange in classification by declaring that the war in Syria is ameans that people who order or commit attacks on civilians includingmurder, torture and rape, or use disproportionate force againstcivilian areas, can be charged with war crimes in violation ofinternational humanitarian law. Reuters

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