Iran and Syria - Stepping Up the Conflict

Latest Update on February 24

Above: Iranian warship passing the Suez canal on a mission of
"peace and friendship" (Iranian admiral / photo from archives).

Iran has sent two warships to the Mediterranean that are now docking in Tartus, Syria. Background for the unusual mission is a treaty on naval cooperation with Syria which was signed the year before.

The Obama administration in Washington is on the alert as Israel already announced its intention to launch a pre-emptive strike at Iran. Tensions between Iran and Israel have culminated after the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist and recently reported attacks against Israeli diplomats in India, Thailand and Georgia. U.S. President Obama's security adviser Tom Donolan is in Jerusalem to discuss latest developments with Israeli government members. He is expected to insist on Israel to refrain from any pre-emptive military action.

Below: Deadly clashes in the center of Damascus, "near the presidential palace and in streets where there are ministries" (CNN reporter).


A conflict of interest between different international forces is now emerging while the Syrian government is increasing military pressure on its citizens. At the same time, the Assad regime is threatening Britain and France with a cutting off from Syrian oil exports. Competitors like China might already be waiting for their chance.

Additional Facts and Evaluation:

While international sources are speaking of 5.000 civilians having perished in Syrian uprisings, Syrian opposition groups counted about 8.500 victims.

On February 24 we learnt that former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was accepted as a mediator between the struggling parties in Syria after earlier success in that role in Zimbabwe. This development has been welcomed by, both, Russia and China who are steadily pushing for talks instead of military action by international forces.


As to the recent killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist, Tehran is considering Israel rather than the U.S. being behind the plot because Israeli agents are known to have used U.S. identities in similar actions before, probably without knowledge of allied U.S. agencies. According to some sources this point has already troubled Israeli-U.S. relations in the past under the administration of Bush junior.

When it comes to recent attacks on Israeli diplomats, Tehran is denying any involvement, saying instead that Israeli Mossad has staged these attacks in order to increase tensions. As Iranian sources pointed out, there have been almost no remarkable Israeli casualties (India) or car bombs have been discovered before they exploded (Georgia). Professional attacks would have looked otherwise.

Comment by Ulysses: I would like to mention that Israeli diplomats are usually well shielded from possible attack by a high security level. Having experienced the bunker-like structure of Israel's embassy in Bonn, Germany, and security guards in front of the building awaiting embassy staff every morning, I would rule out any professional attack staged by a third party because of the high risk of failure being involved.

National Consequences of Sanctions Against Iran:

PAKISTAN and SRI LANKA

Pakistan is defying U.S. demands to close the gas pipeline passing through their country and connecting Iran with India. As Iranian crude oil exports are already reduced due to sanctions inflicted on Iran, countries like Sri Lanka are now suffering from extremely high prices for oil products (picture below). Sri Lanka's only oil refinery in Colombo, a 45-year-old installation, is known to be best working with Iranian crude oil.
[Source: Al-Jazeera on February 2012]


Above: Development of prices for oil products in Sri Lanka after sanctions against Iran took effect.

INDONESIA

The Iranian moves to halt oil sales to Europe makes Indonesian government reconsider its state budget (APBN) as the oil price exceeds its previous assumption by + 10%. The Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs also expects to curb the inflation caused by the recent situation.
[Source: Republika, Jakarta, on February 21, 2012]

INDIA and CHINA

India Drops the Dollar and Pays for Iranian Oil in Gold

Media reports suggest that India has agreed to pay the price of its crude oil imports from Iran in gold, which makes it the first country to drop the US dollar for purchasing the Iranian oil.
...
According to a "Times of India" article, India has decided to explore payment options for oil imports from Tehran and will only abide by U.N. sanctions and not those imposed by any other bloc of countries.
...
India, which is highly dependent on imports to meet its crude oil consumption needs, is Iran's second-largest oil customer after China and purchases around $12 billion worth of Iranian crude every year, about 12 percent of its consumption.
...
India and China take about one million barrels per day (bpd), or 40 percent of Iran's total exports of 2.5 million bpd — and both India and China have huge reserves of gold.

[Source: MetalMiner - largest metals-related U.S. media site on February 4, 2012]

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Below: Al-Jazeera evening news on February 19.



A summary of developing news on February 20 can be found in an extensive news report from People's Network, Beijing, published on February 21. Here is a shortcut of that report including the most important facts:

美国劝以色列暂缓对伊朗动武
欧盟部分成员国已停止进口伊朗石油
America urges Israel to delay the use of force against Iran.
Some member states of the European Community already stopped their import of Iranian oil.

正在以色列访问的美国总统国家安全顾问托马斯·多尼伦2月20日与以总理内塔尼亚胡和国防部长巴拉克会谈，以色列媒体报道说，多尼伦劝以色列“暂缓对伊朗动武”。
Thomas Donolan, security advisor of the U.S. president, is just visiting Israel for talks with Israel's prime minister Netanyahu and defence minister Barak on
February 20. Israel's media are reporting that Donolan is urging Israel to "postpone using force against Iran".

同一天，由国际原子能机构副总干事赫尔曼·纳克茨率领的代表团抵达德黑兰，并在伊朗做两天停留，这是该代表团本月第二次来到伊朗。而欧盟发言人20日称，目前比利时、捷克、荷兰等欧盟成员国已经停止从伊朗进口石油。
On the same day, Herman [Nakeci], the deputy secretary general of the international agency for nuclear energy, arrived in Tehran as head of a delegation for a two days' stop. It is for the second time this month that his delegation came to Iran. On February 20 as well, a spokesman of the European Community named Belgium, Czechia and the Netherlands as such member states of the European Community that, at present, already stopped their oil imports from Iran.

Below:
UN IAEA inspectors return on February 22 after their fruitless visit to Iran where they had been denied access to a nuclear facility south of Tehran.


Headlines of Al-Arabiya on February 23:

الدبلوماسية الإيرانية تنتكس في الغرب الإفريقي
عقب تورط طهران في تسليح متمردين بجنوب السنغال
Iranian diplomacy returning to West Africa.
Tehran again engaging in the arming of rebels in Southern Sahel.

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Other Subjects - Featured Article of the Day:

Al-Qaeda Rule in Southern Yemen

China - Central Bank Reducing Bank Deposits

央行货币政策专题：
Special Topics of the Central Bank's Currency Policy:

中国人民银行决定，从2012年2月24日起，下调存款类金融机构人民币存款准备金率0.5个百分点。
The People's Central Bank of China decided to adjust bank deposits of its financial system. Starting on February 24, 2012, there is going to happen a reduction of the Renminbi [Yuan] deposit rate by 0.5 percent points.

存款准备金率下调对股市投资者利好
The planned reduction of the deposit rate should benefit stock market investors.

存准率下调 不说明楼市调控放松
Decrease of deposit rate [should not necessarily be understood as] a regulation to get the slackening real estate market under control.

Editor's Note: 楼市 = 房地产行业
Source of News: People's Network, Beijing, on February 18, 2012.

---

Year of Water Dragon:
See You Later Alligator !

Bahrain - U.S. Between the Fronts

New uprisings in Bahrain on the anniversary of a bloody crackdown on protesters when some 30 Bahrainies were killed in February / March 2011.

U.S. say being committed to human rights and are trying to influence the Sunni-dominated royal government which can refer to a traditional basis of dominance over the Shia-majority of Bahrain's people since the 18th century.

After the U.S. signed a defence agreement with Bahrain in 1991 at the end of the Gulf war, the country became headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in 1995 and was added to the list of major non-Nato allies in 2002. The U.S. and Bahrain government are since related to each other by extensive arms deals.

The following video is demonstrating U.S State Department's position in the conflict of Bahrain:

China - New Strongman Meeting Obama

Yesterday, PR China's Vice-President Xi JinPing arrived in Washington where he is expected to meet with President Obama. As Xi is considered to become the new strongman of China in a near future, it is worth to leave some notes on that personality.

Below: Presentation of Xi JinPing on the occasion of the
17th Congress of the Communist Party's Representatives.

Xi was born in June 1953 in a rural area of China's Shaanxi Province. In January 1974 he became a member of the Communist Party and a student of Marxist theory at Qing Hua University's institute of sociology where he graduated as a specialist of "ideological political education" and finished his studies with a doctor's degree in law. Nowadays, Xi is considered as a rather moderate politician by Chinese standards.

The full text of an interview on Chinese-U.S. relations granted to the Washington Post is provided on two screenshots I registered from the original website of semi-official China Daily which I found heavily contaminated with malware.



UPDATE on February 14:
U.S. President Obama and Vice-President Biden meeting with Xi JinPing. In the following talks, Obama once more stated the U.S. position towards China's veto on the Syria draft resolution in United Nations' Security Council.

Antarctica - Geological Discovery of the Century ?

Ice-buried Lake Vostok now open to research.
After 20 million years: Access to pre-human life ?

Excerpts from today's publication of Daily Mail (February 9, 2012, published by Associated Newspapers Ltd, London):

After more than two decades of drilling in Antarctica, Russian scientists have confirmed that they reached the surface of a gigantic freshwater lake hidden under miles of ice for some 20 million years. The scientists returned 40 litres of water to the surface - water isolated from earthly life forms since before Man existed. The scientists will later remove the frozen sample for analysis in December when the next Antarctic summer comes. They have now left the site.

The scientists rebuffed claims that their drilling could have contaminated the lake, a body of water which has been in isolation for 20 million years. The Russian researchers have insisted the bore would only slightly touch the lake's surface and that a surge in pressure will send the water rushing up the shaft where it will freeze, immediately sealing out the toxic chemicals used in the process.


'It's like exploring another planet, except this one is ours,' said Columbia University glaciologist Robin Bell.

Valery Lukin, the head of Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), which is in charge of the mission, said in Wednesday's statement that his team reached the lake's surface on Sunday. Lukin has previously compared the Lake Vostok effort to the moon race that the Soviet Union lost to the United States, telling the Russian media he was proud that Russia will be the first this time. Although far from being the world's deepest lake, the severe weather of Antarctica and the location's remoteness made the project challenging.

'There is no other place on Earth that has been in isolation for more than 20 million years,' said Lev Savatyugin, a researcher with the AARI. 'It's a meeting with the unknown.' Savatyugin said scientists hope to find primeval bacteria that could expand the human knowledge of the origins of life. 'We need to see what we have here before we send missions to ice-crusted moons, like Jupiter's moon Europa,' he said.

Lake Vostok is 160 miles long and 30 miles across at its widest point, similar in area to Lake Ontario. It lies about 2.4 miles beneath the surface and is the largest in a web of nearly 400 known subglacial lakes in Antarctica. The lake is warmed underneath by geothermal energy.

The drilling in the area began in 1989 and dragged on slowly due to funding shortages, equipment breakdowns, environmental concerns and severe cold.

While temperatures on the Vostok Station on the surface above have registered the coldest ever recorded on Earth, reaching minus 89 degrees Celsius (minus 128 degrees Fahrenheit), the water in the lake is warmed by the giant pressure of the ice crust and geothermal energy underneath.

[ Comment by Ulysses: I think it's the giant pressure that keeps water liquid at temperatures below 0 °C. The pressure doesn't keep it "warm". Even though they registered a geothermal energy source at the bottom of Lake Vostok, its overall temperature should not be much higher than that of the neighbouring ice cap. The picture below is showing the phase diagram of water.]



The Russian team reached the lake just before they had to leave at the end of the Antarctic summer season.

Scientists believe that microbial life may exist in the dark depths of the lake despite its high pressure and constant cold - conditions similar to those expected to be found under the ice crust on Mars, Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus.

'In the simplest sense, it can transform the way we think about life,' NASA's chief scientist Waleed Abdalati told the AP by email.

Scientists in other nations hope to follow up this discovery with similar projects. American and British teams are drilling to reach their own subglacial Antarctic lakes, but Bell said those lakes are smaller and younger than Vostok, which is the big scientific prize. Some scientists hope that studies of Lake Vostok and other subglacial lakes will advance knowledge of Earth's own climate and help predict its changes.

"It is an important milestone that has been completed and a major achievement for the Russians because they've been working on this for years," Professor Martin Siegert, a leading scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, which is trying to reach another Antarctic subglacial lake, Lake Ellsworth.

"The Russian team share our mission to understand subglacial lake environments and we look forward to developing collaborations with their scientists and also those from the U.S. and other nations, as we all embark on a quest to comprehend these pristine, extreme environments," he said in an email.

In the future, Russian researchers plan to explore the lake using an underwater robot equipped with video cameras that would collect water samples and sediments from the bottom of the lake, a project still awaiting the approval of the Antarctic Treaty organization.

The prospect of lakes hidden under Antarctic ice was first put forward by Russian scientist and anarchist revolutionary, Prince Pyotr Kropotkin at the end of the 19th century. Russian geographer Andrei Kapitsa pointed at the likely location of the lake and named it following Soviet Antarctic missions in the 1950s and 1960s, but it wasn't until 1994 that its existence was proven by Russian and British scientists.

Earlier this week state-run news agency in Russia claimed that an extraordinary cache of Hitler's archives may be buried in a secret Nazi ice bunker near the spot where yesterday's breakthrough was made. ‘It is thought that towards the end of the Second World War, the Nazis moved to the South Pole and started constructing a base at Lake Vostok,’ claimed RIA Novosti, the Russian state news agency. It cited Admiral Karl Doenitz in 1943 saying ‘Germany's submarine fleet is proud that it created an unassailable fortress for the Fuehrer on the other end of the world’, in Antarctica.


According to German naval archives, months after the Nazis surrendered to the Allies in April 1945, a U-530 submarine arrived at the South Pole from the Port of Kiel. The crew are rumoured to have constructed a still undiscovered ice cave ‘and supposedly stored several boxes of relics from the Third Reich, including Hitler's secret files’. A later claim was that a U-977 submarine delivered remains of Hitler and Eva Braun to Antarctica in the hope they could be cloned from their DNA. The submariners then went to Argentina to surrender, it was claimed.

[ Comment by Ulysses: As to all these stories about the Third Reich and its attempt to explore the south pole region, there seems to be some truth in it. It is true that Germany undertook many efforts to explore Antarctica since 1873 when Dallmann discovered the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Islands on behalf of the newly founded German Society of Polar Research. Regarding the historic development of German polar research during the following decades, it seems to be most probable that an assumed "Antarctic Base 211" was really established in the 1940s. As to the mysterious story of both German submarines, U-530 and U-977, that surrendered to Argentine in late 1945, there are still many open questions related to U-530 which was under the command of Otto Wermuth at that time. In his interrogation by U.S. intelligence officers he kept silent to all questions regarding his original orders and the routes he followed almost two months before reaching Argentine. After having dumped his log and other secret books he had surrendered in Mar del Plata without the slightest treacherous evidence left on board. A polar mission could therefore not be excluded. As to U-977 that left Howaldt's Yard in Hamburg on March 31, 1945, after overhaul and fitting of schnorchel, things are quite different as has been documented in another U.S. intelligence report. It could be assumed that U-977 was destined for providing the escape of high-ranking Nazis to South-America. This could be supported by a story my father told me years ago. During most of World War II he was working at Howaldt's submarine construction facility in Hamburg. It was in early 1945 and when they decided to give up the construction of new submarines that he was mobilized and sent to a military facility in Northern Germany. Having arrived at his destination, there was a new order making him return to Hamburg, as there were still some U-boats to be completed or overhauled. According to my father, these submarines were usually referred to as "escape submarines for the big shots" by the Howaldt community. U-977 must have been one of those vessels. While facing all those hair-raising stories published about Nazi presence in Antarctica in 1945 and even later, it would be wise to remember that the end of the Third Reich was in many aspects less spectacular than human imagination and wishful thinking might suggest. ]

Now back to the Daily Mail article on Lake Vostok:
Microbiologists say that the lake could offer a glimpse of unique life forms. The project has been closely watched by both NASA and the Russian Space Agency. One hope is that it will give a glimpse of conditions on Jupiter's moon Europa where water is also believed to exist under a thick ice cover.

‘The discovery of microorganisms in Lake Vostok may mean that, perhaps, the first meeting with extraterrestrial life could happen on Europa,’ said Dr Vladimir Kotlyakov, Director of the Geography Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Specialists at the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute will now test a sample of water that has been sucked from the lake, and frozen.

Last year, the expedition stopped 10 to 50 metres short of the lake after the weather closed in and the scientists were forced to abandon the expedition.

[Comment by Ulysses: Before reaching Lake Vostok in the actual drilling period, researchers already provided ice samples from the neighbouring ice cap for microbiological research. From these samples some kind of microorganisms could be extracted which nourishes hope to find some kind of life even in Lake Vostok itself. Related images can be found on another blogspot of mine.]

Academics say they have found ‘the only giant super-clean water system on the planet’. They forecast the extraordinary 5,400 cubic kilometres of pristine water will be ‘twice cleaner than double-distilled water’, and any life will have developed in total isolation.

Background - China's Veto on Syria Draft Resolution

The following article I found in today's edition of People's Network, Beijing. Here is my translation of the essential points:

中国国际问题研究所所长曲星做客强国论坛，就安理会否决叙利亚问题决议草案等相关话题与网友在线交流。曲星表示，联合国安理会在表决叙利亚问题决议草案时，中国投反对票并不一定是要保护或是反对什么人。

The director of China's Institute for the Research of International Issues, Qu Xing, was guest in the "Powerful Nation Forum", right after the Security Council's veto of a draft resolution on the Syria item, awaiting this to have a bearing on the topic of conversation in an online exchange [of opinion] with friends of the web. Qu Xing made clear that, while the United Nations Security Council voted for the draft resolution on the Syria item, China cast a negative vote not necessarily in order to protect or to oppose anybody.

只要人民作出了选择，中国尊重该国人民的选择，不会有任何困难。冷战结束后，中国外交的实践以及去年西亚北非动荡后中国外交的实践已经多次证明了这一点。
.....
All that is needed would be the realization of an election by the people. As to China, it would respect an election of that country's people. It's not likely there would be any difficulty. China's international practice after the end of the Cold War as well as China's international practice after last year's unrest in Western Asia and North Africa have already proven that [position] many times.

虽然经过这么多天的讨论里，西方已经把要求巴沙尔在预定期限内交权的直接措词从决议的文字里拿掉。但是，它保留了“坚决支持”阿盟框架方案的内容，而阿盟框架方案里面就包括了巴沙尔一定要下台。所以，实际上在这个实质问题上西方没有作出让步。如果安理会通过一个决议，要求哪个国家的什么人下台，这就超越了安理会的权限，也完全不符合联合国的宪章相关规定，也不符合国际关系的基本准则。所以，对这种违背联合国宪章的基本原则的内容放进安理会决议，中国没有办法赞同。

Though, during so many days full of discussion, the West has already urged Bashir [Assad] to hand over power before a prefixed deadline in a wiping out style using a resolution's direct wording. But then they retained "firmly support" out of the Arab League's frame plan [as far as that] frame plan really includes a definite demand for Bashir's stepping down from power. In fact, that's why the West did not reach a concession in the essential question. If the Security Council passed a resolution, demanding whatever country's [strongman] to step down from power, the Security Council's deadline being surpassed, this would as well mean insufficient compliance with what the United Nations Charter conjointly provided. And this would neither comply with the basic norms of international relationship. Therefore, facing such violation of the basic principles of the United Nations Charter invading the contents of a Security Council's resolution, China can by no means grant its approval.

第二，现在对叙利亚的外交努力还在进行。2月7日俄罗斯外长直接访问叙利亚，将会会见巴沙尔总统。为推进政治进程，在做努力。应该给这个政治努力留出空间，如果在这个时候通过决议，实际上就关闭了俄罗斯继续进行外交努力的这种时间大门。

Second: Actual diplomatic efforts towards Syria are underway. On February 7, the foreign minister of Russia is going to pay a direct visit to Syria and will meet with President Bashir [Assad]. He will give impetus to the political process in which he is concentrating all of his efforts. These political efforts should be granted some [developing] space. If a resolution was being passed during that time, that would actually close the time gate for Russia continuously pushing forward [its] diplomatic efforts.

第三，决议草案里面规定的内容主要是对双方中的一方施加压力，并不是一个平衡的要求各方都停止暴力冲突，开启政治进程的内容。...
Third: The crucial point of the draft resolution's fixed content is a one-sided use of pressure between two parties. At the same time there is no balanced claim that each side should stop violent clashes which would be the substance to open a political process. ...

Above: Director Qu Xing at the "Powerful Nation Forum"

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Another article from the same day (People's Network on February 6) is giving a summary of the Chinese position in the Syrian question in only a few words:

怎样做才是真正对叙利亚人民负责（国际论坛）

What kind of action is truly responsible with regard to the Syrian people ?
(International Forum)

只要有百分之一的和平希望，就必须付出百分之百的努力。国际社会需要给和平更多的机会。这样做才最真正对叙利亚人民负责。

It only needs 1 percent of hope for peace for feeling obliged to invest 100 percent of effort. The international community wants to give peace even more chances. Such is responsible action, most appropriate towards the people of Syria.

باراك أوباما بشأن الايران

قال الرئيس الامريكي باراك أوباما بشأن الايران في استجواب
أنـبيـسي: ليس درّب عسكري من اسرائيل او امريكي - تترجّى
امريكي تسوية دبلوماسية

اسرائيل "ليست مزمع" على الهجوم ضد الايران و أوباما يجمّد
الحسابات الايرانية في الولايات المتحدة الامريكية

Syria - Day of UN Resolution

Latest UPDATE further down !


ناشطون سوريون: قصف مدفعي في اقتحام مدينتي الزبداني و مضايا بريف دمشق خلال الليل
According to Syrian activists [there is] artillery shooting in a [violent] urban attack and which was advancing to the outskirts of Damascus during the night.

Poster held in the above picture:
مظاهرة نعرة لي الخالدية
"A demonstration of chauvinism for eternity."

[Source: Al-Jazeera, Arabic TV, February 4]
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According to PR China's "Eastern Midday News" 200 have been killed during the cannonade of Homs.


[Source: People's Network, February 4]
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الثورة الشعب تصادف الحقيقة
La révolution du peuple rencontre la réalité.
The people's revolution meeting with reality.

Graphic art by © "Ulysses" / W.W., 2012.
Original size of calligraphy: 30cm x 40cm.
Click to the image for a better resolution !
.........................................................

Today, UN Security Council should decide over the draft of a resolution urging Syrian president Assad to stop killing his people. That draft could be vetoed by Russia and China like another draft that already failed before.


روسيا تقترح تعديلات على مشروع القرار تنص على مطالبة المعارضة السورية بأن تنأى بنفسها عن الجماعات المسلحة
Russia has suggested modifications to the plan of a resolution which should fix the demand of the Syrian opposition that armed troups must keep away from them.

[Source: Al-Jazeera, Arabic TV, February 4]
..........................................................

Latest News of the Day:

As expected, China and Russia vetoed the Syria UN resolution which was based on a draft essentially provided by the Arab League and that had the backing of most of the Security Council.

[Source: Sky News Australia (skynews.com.au), o5:57
on Feb. 5 in Australia which is still Feb. 4 in New York.]


Headline of Al-Arabiya TV, online edition:
Russia and China thwarting the Security Council's resolution directed against Assad's regime.

German Chancellor in China

German chancellor Angela Merkel received much attention on her fifth visit to China (February 2-4, 2012). Chinese media reported abundantly about her meeting with president Hu JinTao and prime minister Wen JiaBao, and there are lots of photos being taken during her visit. People's Network even provided a separate website with all kind of information.

This being a sign of high esteem for Germany as a longstanding partner in trade, it should be specially noted.

Nevertheless, actual differences between both countries could not be solved by a simple visit during the Spring Festival when every Chinese is at high spirits. As soon as it comes to sanctions against Iran and Syria and that are being supported or even incited by the Merkel government, the actual Chinese position could not be expected to change so easily because of China's economic and security demands.


As there is an opinion forum included on the Chinese Merkel site, I have marked one entry that seems to be related to a private person who possibly speaks for any other Chinese of his age, even though one might suspect that young man being a member of the Communist Youth League. Here is what he says:

"The actual Merkel visit to China serves two purposes: First, dragging China to support the Euro zone passing the European debt crisis. Second, persuading China to join the ranks of Western imperialism in punishing Iran. The first mentioned item [succeeds] without saying, the latter item is impossible to [succeed]."



Rare view: German flag at Beijing's Tian An Men square, just at the entrance to the Forbidden City and facing an idealized portrait of Mao Tse Tung.

Discovery - "Super-Earth" Possibly Habitable

Scientists at Göttingen University, Germany, and Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, U.S.A., have detected a possibly habitable planet about 22 light years away from Earth. The planet named GJ 667Cc has got 4,5 times of the Earth mass and is performing a full orbit around its sun, a class M dwarf, in 28,15 days.

This kind of "Super Earth" is receiving from its sun only 90% of the sunlight our Earth is receiving from our Sun. As much of the sunlight reaching GJ 667Cc belongs to the infrared spectum, that planet should nonetheless be able to absorb as much energy as our Earth.

There is much hope that liquid water might exist on GJ 667Cc which is a prerequisite for the existence of earthlike life. According to Dr. Guillem Anglada-Escudé, the project leader in Göttingen, it is now obvious that habitable planets could exist in more different environments than estimated before. This would have an impact on future research for further habitable planets in outer space.

[Source: "Welt der Physik" (World of Physics)]

Additional information:
The sun Gliese 667C of which its planet GJ 667 Cc is being considered belongs to a triple-star system in the constellation of Scorpius. While Gliese 667 A and G 667 B are orange dwarf stars of similar mass (75% and 65% of our Sun mass), G 667 C is much smaller (38% of our Sun mass) and as a red dwarf star much colder as well. An artistic approach of planet GJ 667 Cb and that is orbiting the G 667 C star like its "little brother" GJ 667 Cc shows the neighbouring suns G 667 A and B in the distance. Both planets, GJ 667 Cb and GJ 667 Cc are being considered as possible candidates for supporting earthlike life.

Syria - Beginning of the End ?

لجان التنسيق المحلية: 100 قتيل برصاص الأمن اليوم معظمهم في حمص و ريف دمشق
Local organization committees say: Today, 100 died from bullets fired by security forces, most of them in Homs and the [outskirts] of Damascus.


Report from Homs via Skype:
A poster announcing the end of Assad's government in Damascus:
دمشق - بداية النهاية
Damascus - The Beginning of the End

Israel - Joke of the Week

Israel digging another Blaumilchkanal ?

مشروع إسرائيلي ينافس قناة السويس
المشروع ينتظر أن يربط بين مدينة إيلات (البحر الأحمر) وتل أبيب (البحر المتوسط) برحلة ساعتين

Israeli project rivals with the Suez Canal.
The project is expected to connect the town of Eilat (Red Sea) with Tel Aviv (Mediterranean Sea) in a two hours journey.
[Source: Al-Jazeera Online, Arabic service, January 29, 2012]

Note: "Blaumilchkanal" or "Big Dig" is the title of another funny story written by Israel's famous humorist Ephraim Kishon. Below are two scene photos from the film. The map is showing the densely populated area of central Israel between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as well as the desert between Beer Sheba and Eilat. The Suez Canal should be located some 150 km west of Eilat.

Syria - The Art of Revolution and Reality

الثورة الشعب تصادف الحقيقة
La révolution du peuple rencontre la réalité.
The people's revolution meeting with reality.

Graphic art by © "Ulysses" / W.W., 2012.
Original size of calligraphy: 30cm x 40cm.
...............................................................................

Art and Reality - News of the Day from Syria

China - Youth of the Dragon

The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) is a mass organization of advanced youth under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The basic tasks of the CYLC at the current stage are to unite and lead youths to focus on economic construction and, during the great practice of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, to temper themselves as successors who are well educated and have lofty ideals, moral integrity and high sense of discipline. The current first secretary of the Secretariat of the CYLC Central Committee is Zhou Qiang. The CYLC now has more than 69.86 million members and is trying to attract only "the best of the best" of China's educated youth in order to prepare them for their future leading task in society.

The CYLC is located under the roof of the All-China Youth Federation (ACYF), a federative body of Chinese youth organizations and excellent youth nationwide. Through its 52 member organizations and over 77,000 individual members at all levels, the ACYF reaches over 300 million young people across China.


There are, as well, some institutions for students under the roof of the main organization ACYF, providing support even for students decided to study abroad. Here's an announcement I found on one of their websites:

2010年北美留学最新趋势主题讲座通知
"Announcement of some lectures on the subject of latest trends for Beijing students intending to study in America in 2010."

The lectures were held in autumn 2009 by a Canadian citizen of Chinese extraction who had been working at the University of Vancouver as kind of an assistant and at the University of Nebraska as a visiting researcher. All kinds of items including personal problems had been dealt with in these lectures.

Above: "Hu Jintao and his Whispering Dragon" (treated photo)

In 2010, Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China, Secretary General of China's Communist Party and Supreme Leader of the People's Liberation Army, was considered to be the most powerful man in the world according to Forbes Magazine. He even outranked U.S. President Barack Obama who received that evaluation in 2009.

YEAR OF THE DRAGON

Here is what a Chinese source from Taiwan is saying about the fabulous Chinese Dragon:

The Celestial Chinese Dragon is comparable as the symbol of the Chinese race itself. Chinese around the world, proudly proclaim themselves "Descendents of the Dragon".

The Dragon brings upon the essence of life, in the form of its celestial breath, known to many as sheng chi. He yields life and bestows its power in the form of the seasons, bringing water from rain, warmth from the sunshine, wind from the seas and soil from the earth. The Dragon is the ultimate representation of the forces of Mother Nature. The greatest divine force on Earth.

What an amazing coincidence: A solar eruption of unusual strength
takes place at the very beginning of the Dragon's Year.


As there are five types of dragon, a dragon's year can express five different types of character.

Now that 2012 is a year of the Water Dragon, you should know about the Water Dragon's character:
He is less selfish and opinionated than the other Dragons. He is more inhibited and less power-hungry. He can accept defeat without recriminations. He makes a good negotiator as he knows when, where, and how to apply pressure. On the other hand, he has a tendency to be over-optimistic and needs to learn how to relinquish what is unfeasible so that he can concentrate his energies on the most rewarding endeavors.

Some other sources are pointing out that the Dragon can be seen as a symbol of change that might even manifest in global politics.


A Chinese online publication is concentrating on a more prosaic view of the Dragon's influence. It's all about shareholder's value:

里昂第18次公布风水指数，指明年是水龙年，利水旺土，看好博彩及水泥股表现，又预测港股上、下半年表现各异，先低后高，最终能以上涨收官。
Li Ang's 18th proclamation of the Feng Shui index points out that the coming year is a Water Dragon's year, favourable for the water and flourishing for the earth and that will make us observe the manifestation of a plentiful variety and of solid [literally: cement] shares, as well as a predicted rising of Hongkong shares and remarkable surprises emerging in the second part of the year.
[Source: 腾讯财经 "Uprising Messages from Finance and Economics", January 19, 2012]

Translator's remark: I'm not really decided whether to buy "cement shares" of China's flourishing building industry or rather any shares on the market that are being regarded as "solid". At least, cement has something to do with water and earth, and the best time to buy would be in July 2012 ...
Below is an overview of Dragon Year's impact on shareholder's value. But no, I don't tell you what to buy when unless you pay me and take the full risk yourself.

Iran - Economy and Politics

Latest News (Jan.23):
- Allied warships passing the strait of Hormuz. Aircraft carrier "Abraham Lincoln" accompanied by British, French and U.S. vessels has entered the Persian Gulf. No Iranian reaction so far [CNN and Al-Arabiya TV this morning].
- EU imposes oil embargo on Iran [international media].

据“阿拉伯新闻网”17日报道，伊朗政府一位高级官员当天强调，伊朗丝毫不惧怕来自美国包括石油、金融等在内的制裁，伊朗与海湾地区国家有着良好的关系，会得到沙特阿拉伯等国家的支持和帮助。
Based on a report provided by the "Arabic News Network" on [Jan.] 17, a high-ranking official [on behalf of] the Iranian government underlined that Iran doesn't fear to the slightest degree any punishment originating from the United States, including those having a bearing on crude oil and finance. Iran and the nations of the [Persian] Gulf region are having excellent relationships with each other and are knowing to get support and help from Saudi Arabia.
[Source: People's Network, Bejing, January 18, 2012]

The following information on Iran's economy was taken from an official Chinese source. It gives an idea of Iran's economic development during the past years:
中华人民共和国驻德黑兰的大使馆在他们的网站出版了伊朗经济新闻。

伊朗去年石化产品出口达71亿美元
Last year [i.e. 2008], Iran's export of petrochemical products reached a volume of 7,1 Billion U.S.$.

《德黑兰时报》4月7日报道，伊朗2008年共出口了3，900万吨石化产品，主要是甲醇、聚乙烯、乙烯和液化天然气等产品，出口价值达71亿美元。
According to a "Tehran Times" report dating back to April 7 [2009], Iran's export of petrochemical products in 2008 reached an overall volume of 39 Million tons. Main products were methanole, polyethylene, ethylene and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The export value reached 7,1 Billion U.S.$.
..................................................

伊朗2009年度非石油产品出口预计达到250亿美元
In 2009, export of Iran's crude oil products reached an estimated value of 25 Billion U.S.$.

《伊朗新闻报》4月6日报道，伊朗商业部副部长Ghazanfari最近在接受伊朗媒体采访时称，伊朗虽受全球金融危机的冲击，今年的非石油产品出口增幅将比去年有所下降，但仍将比去年增长20%，预计出口达到250亿美元左右。伊朗的出口促进组织将与往年一样，继续帮助非石油产品生产企业向国际市场推销伊朗的产品出口。
"Iranian News" reported on April 6 [2010] what Iran's vice-minister of commerce Ghazanfari recently said in an interview with Iranian media: Despite being lashed by the global financial crisis and a limited decrease of growth for this year's export [i.e. 2009] of crude oil products in comparison with the year before, the [value] of exported goods is still lying 20% above past year's value [i.e. 2008] and is reaching a volume of 25 Billion U.S.$.

For more information on Iran's economy refer to:
Economy of Iran

---

Israel's Need for Energy

The situation of Israel's energy supply, regarded to be a main feature behind the actual conflict between Israel and Iran, can be highlighted by relevant information extracted from Wikipedia (or any other related source). In addition, I remember Iran's president Ahmadi Nejad urging Arab nations not to allow their oil being "stolen" by the West and their allies.

"As of 2009, Israel relied on external imports for meeting most of its energy needs, spending an amount equivalent to over 5% of its GDP per year on imports of energy products. The transportation sector relies mainly on gasoline and diesel fuel, while the majority of electricity production is generated using imported coal. The country possesses negligible reserves of crude oil but does have abundant domestic natural gas resources which were discovered in large quantities starting in 2009, after many decades of previously unsuccessful exploration. A 33-billion-cubic-metre (BCM), or 1,200-billion-cubic-foot, natural-gas field is located offshore of Ashkelon; however, as of 2009 it is approximately two-thirds exhausted. In 2009, a significant gas find with proven reserves of 188 BCM or 6.6×1012 cu ft (259 BCM probable) was located in deep water approximately 90 km (60 mi) west of Haifa, as well as a smaller 15 BCM (530×109 cu ft) field situated nearer the coastline. Furthermore, results of 3D seismic surveys and test drilling conducted in 2010 confirmed that a 480 BCM (17.00×1012 cu ft) natural-gas deposit exists in a large underwater geological formation nearby the large gas field already discovered in 2009. (For comparison purposes, the United Kingdom's total proven gas reserves as of 2009 are 343 BCM while Germany's consist of 176 BCM.) The large gas discoveries have confirmed that the Levant basin of the Eastern Mediterranean contains significant quantities of natural gas and, potentially, crude oil. Consequently, additional exploration for oil and gas off Israel's coastline is continuing."

It should be noted that all significant gas reserves are located offshore and in international waters which makes their exploration not only more difficult but more vulnerable as well when seen in the frame of Israel's traditional conflicts with its Palestinian and Arab neighbours. Such conflicts are already surfacing in regular assaults on the natural gas pipeline between Egypt and Israel and are endangering one of Israel's most important lines of energy supply after the fall of Mubarak's regime in Egypt.

The CIA Factbook is offering additional information on Israel's economy and natural gas reserves:
Economy of Israel
Natural Gas - Proved Reserves

China's Internet - 500 Million Users

中国的网民规模突破5亿
互联网普及遇新挑战

China's Internet People: Population Topping 500 Million
The spreading internet is meeting with new challenges.

今天，中国互联网络信息中心（CNNIC）发布《第29次中国互联网络发展状况统计报告》。报告显示，截至2011年12月底，我国微博用户数达到2.5亿，成为网民重要的信息获取渠道。
Today, China's Internet Information Center (CNNIC) published its "29th Statistics Report on the State of China's Internet Development". The report displays: By the end of December 2011, the number of Chinese households using the web has increased to 250 Million. [The web] then became the most important medium of communication for its [users] when fetching news.

As to the extreme numbers mentioned in this report, I had some second thoughts like some of my visitors might have as well. Unfortunately, the meaning of that Chinese character 亿 used to express "100 Million" is not standardized. It might as well have the meaning of "extremely much" or "something about a million". Nevertheless, a closer look at the original statistics shows that such numbers are true (if the statistics are true at all). This can be concluded from the history of internet users' increase:
In July 2008 for example, the 22nd CNNIC report counted 253 Million internet users using a different Chinese character 万 for the description of that number and which has the traditional meaning of "10.000". Therefore, the 253 Million could be described as 25.300 times "10.000" (25.300万). And voilà, now everything is fitting perfectly. Quite ingenious those Chinese !

It must be added that an overall number of Chinese internet users of 5亿 or 500 Million should include even occasional users who are taking advantage of public computer installations (i.e. at university libraries or internet cafés) or who are working at private installations together with friends.

This goes together with 7,9 Million websites using the ".cn" domain in July 2011 which might hint at a certain restriction to users of the Chinese internet to freely build their personal homepages. Maybe, the ".com" or ".net" domains are being applied on a larger scale in China or subdomains like ".com.cn" are more extensive than expected. Unfortunately, there's no further information available.

The below picture is showing the concrete numbers of internet users and their development from 2004 to 2011. The latest number registered is 513,1 Million users which make up to 38,8% of China's population.


There's a related blogspot of mine that is providing further information:
Chinese Language Flooding the Web.

New U.S. Strategy - Chinese View

Latest UPDATE of this blogspot on January 16, 2012.

美国战略调整逼近中国
山姆大叔对华有三怕

Revised U.S. military strategy pressing on China.
Uncle Sam so much afraid of China.

美国怕我们什么？就怕中国强盛！于是千方百计干扰我们的发展。我们偏偏不为其所动，专心致志搞发展。美国还怕我们什么？怕我们有一个良好的外部环境。于是千方百计挑拨离间、拉帮结派，毒化我们的发展氛围。我们则要纵横捭阖，巧施外交，把朋友争取得越多越好，把对立面孤立得越少越好。

What does America fear from us ? They are afraid of China's power and prosperity ! As a result, they are obstructing our development by every possible means. Though we are not inclined to change each other's place [in the world], just being wholeheartedly devoted to carry on [our] development. What else does America fear from us ? They are afraid because we enjoy favorable external conditions. As a result, they are [steadily] sowing discord and are giving a helpful hand to the formation of bandit factions, thus poisoning the atmosphere of [our] development. Our rules [or: laws] need to cope with various political groupings and [we need to] skilfully handle [our] foreign affairs. Friends we have to win over, the more the better. The isolated [individuals or positions] we have to oppose, the fewer the better.

[Source: People's Network, Beijing, January 8, 2012]

This text has been translated by Ulysses who introduced all remarks in brackets in order to reach a better understanding of the Chinese source. "People's Network" can be considered as a semi-official publication of the People's Republic directed to its own people rather than "China Daily" which is being published in English for Western readers. The above comment should therefore be regarded as what it is : An unmasked piece of semi-official opinion from China. The translator recognizes some poisonous aspects in that comment which might be based on a profound misunderstanding between the American and Chinese positions. It could therefore be useful to "work" on that misunderstanding in order to avoid any further acceleration of an already existing conflict.

亚太国家心态复杂看美国新军事战略

Asia's great nations and their complex attitude
towards America's new military strategy

... is a related article published by People's Network on January 9, 2012. It is dealing with the presumed attitude of countries like Thailand and Australia towards the new goal that has been set for the armed forces by U.S. President Obama. Here some excerpts from that article:

美国政府强调了一年多的“重返亚洲”战略终于在1月5日公布的新军事报告中显露出了其锋芒所在。
It's just another year that America emphasized its war strategy of "returning to Asia", the spearhead of which became visible last time on January 5 in a new military report.

亚太地区的媒体普遍认为该报告中有两点值得重视：其一是亚太地区成为重点，其二是美国将进一步削减军费。一些学者更多地将关注点集中于第二点和有可能引发的问题。
Media reports of [all] great Asian countries generally consider two points worth to be taken seriously. One of them is [implying] that Asian regions become focal points [of that strategy]. The second point is America's intention to further cut down military expenditures. Some analysts [liter.: scholars] are even more paying attention rather to the second of these points and any questions it might probably raise.

......................................................

In January 2012, talks between ASEAN states and China should begin on what the U.S. call a "code of conduct" that would allow foreign ships to freely navigate the South China Sea which is, up to now, eagerly controlled by Chinese naval forces.


美媒：美欲推“南海行为准则”反制中国
According to U.S. media, America desires to promote a "code of
conduct for the South China Sea" that would put restrictions on China.

美国海军作战部长乔纳森·格林纳特10日在华盛顿表示，为应对中国经济军事能力增长可能发生对区域准入的限制，美国和亚太地区的盟友将共同推动一个国际行为规范准则，以确保在南中国海的航行自由。
On [January] 10 in Washington, Jonathan Greenert, the head of U.S. Navy's operative department [precisely: Naval Operations Admiral], showed [the need to] reply to the increase of possibilities occurring to China's economic and military abilities [by means of] establishing regional standards of restriction [... to China !]. America and their allies in the great regions of Asia are altogether pushing forward an international code of conduct as a regulation that firmly guarantees liberty of navigation in the South China Sea.
[People's Network citing a Western source, January 13, 2012]

The following, most recent article is showing how America and China are increasingly drifting apart on the subject of any free navigation in the South China Sea.
[People's Network, January 16, 2012]

在北京召开的会议上，中国与东盟10国高官及东盟秘书处官员就进一步推动《南海各方行为宣言》的落实交换了看法，对实施已经达成的一些合作项目达成了一系列共识。这次会议的召开表明，目前南海局势总体上是和平稳定的，各声索国也愿意通过协商谈判的途径来解决问题。
At the conference convened in Beijing, high-ranking officials from China and 10 nations of the Asian alliance [ASEAN] as well as high officials from the secretariat of that alliance, are stepping forward to promote a practical exchange of views for a "Declaration of Mutual Conduct in the South China Sea" [while realizing the] implementation of some items already [decided] in cooperation on the basis of common [considerations]. The realization of that conference indicates that a peaceful stabilization of the current situation is its ultimate goal.

相比之下，在美国召开的南海会议就没有那么多和平的气氛了。从美国媒体传出的有关信息看，华盛顿某些人眼看南海局势走稳而美国似乎要被排除在外，显露出急于有所作为的焦急心态。
In comparison with [that conference], the U.S. convened "South China Sea Conference" hasn't got much of a peaceful atmosphere. As can be seen from related information spread by U.S. media, certain persons in Washington are looking passively on the situation of the South China Sea and which is steadily developing [while] America seemingly wishes to be excluded [from that development], yet appearing eager to some extent to [demonstrate its] worried attitude.

Iran's Dilemma and Strategy

As recent naval exercises have shown, the Islamic Republic of Iran is still defiant, even though the Obama administration just confirmed the application of further sanctions. Here now excerpts of a comment on Iran's strategy for the limitation of damage. This evaluation has been published the day before by semi-official People's Network, Beijing:

伊朗在制裁尖刀下寻突围
Iran is seeking to escape the encirclement
with downheld dagger while being punished.

“穿越霍尔木兹海峡的美国航母不要返回波斯湾水域，否则伊朗的反应将不会仅仅停留在建议上”；“制裁不会让伊朗经济伤到一根头发”……最近几天，伊朗政府和军方接连向西方发炮，回击白宫年前出台的针对伊朗石油出口的制裁新措施。
"No U.S. [carrier ship] passing through the strait of Hormuz must return [through] Persian waters. Otherwise Iran's response could not merely restrict to recommendations." "Punishment cannot hurt a tiny bit of Iran's economy. [Lit.: cannot bent a single hair on the head of Iran's economy]" ... During the last days, both, Iranian government and military successively sent a cannonade [of stances] to the West, such striking back at the White House that delivered a stitch [of the needle] to Iran last year and in the frame of new steps against Iranian oil export.

向来嘴不饶人的伊朗，摆出一副无所畏惧的架势，对西方称为“严厉”的制裁轻描淡写地略过。然而外界分析认为，伊朗表面嘴硬，内心则担心制裁的严重后果。而眼下除了喷喷口水显示强硬外，伊朗也开始寻求破解压力的突围之策。
All along a bigmouthed Iran, [not sparing anybody and] assuming a fearless posture, is using the strategy of just occasionally mentioning what the West calls "severe" punishment. However, any foreign analysis is considering Iran's superficial stubbornness [as a sign of] deeply-rooted anxiety of severe consequences that might arise from punishment. Thus at present and in addition to a strong demonstration of gushing saliva directed at the outside, Iran has begun to look for a strategy to escape from the encircling pressure as well.

伊朗寻求斗而不破
Subtitle: Iran is seeking struggle but not rupture.

互摸底线不求战姿态强硬为选战
Subtitle: Trying to gain mutual knowledge of each other's intentions and political lines doesn't [go together with] striving for a state of warring capabilities that is [already] strongly inclined to war.

[来源：人民网>>军事，2012年01月06日]

Below: Location of nuclear facilities in Iran.


Below: Mahjoob Zweiri, Professor of Middle-Eastern politics at
Qatar University, says Iran is not willing to put the option of
talks from the table.


Below: Rear admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, Iranian senior navy commander.


Below: Satellite photo showing the Strait of Hormuz.


Latest News:
الجيش الأمريكي يواصل تعزيز وجوده بمنطقة الخليج
الولايات المتحدة "سترد" إذا سعت إيران إلى إغلاق مضيق هرمز

U.S. forces continue their reinforcement and [deployment] in the Golf region. - The United States "will repulse" in case Iran might close the strait of Hormuz.
[Source: Al-Arabiya TV, January 8, 2012]

Latin American News

Cuba:

Economic changes in Cuba during the last 15 months [Al-Jazeera]:
- 550.000 state workers planned to be laid off (September 2010).
- Self-employment in 178 small business areas allowed (September 2010).
- Buying and selling of cars now allowed (October 2011).
- Buying and selling of houses now allowed (Novemvber 2011).
- Bank loans now available for small businesses (November 2011).

Above: Peter Hakim, Inter-American Dialogue, on Cuban economics.

Further developments:
Cuba releasing 2.900 prisoners in December 2011. [CNN]

______________________________

Venezuela:

President Hugo Chavez, in shape again after cancer treatment in Cuba, announces the erection of 125.000 state-financed new dwellings (flats) for people in need. Such dwellings are equipped with electricity and water supply. [TElesur, Caracas]

_______________________________

Peru:

Conservative Peruvian media making front against president Ollanta Humala. In the frame of that campaign, the new president is critisized for his political association with president Chavez of Venezuela.


At the end of his first 100 days in office, president Humala has put social programs on the agenda. In 2012, he is decided to deal with fears and uncertainties of the indigenous communities. [Telesur, Caracas]