Iran’s Protesters Chanting “death to England”, (Why)

Iran’s Protesters Chanting “death to England”, (Why)

British embassy staff leave Iran following ransacking of diplomatic offices,

British embassy staff are being pulled out of Iran after two British diplomatic compounds in Tehran were ransacked, the Foreign Office has announced and this is something that the foreign should have done months ago, and it was only a matter of time this was going to happen?

Britain’s relations with the country were plunged into their worst crisis if that possible in decades after two embassy blocks were targeted, forcing diplomatic staff to seek refuge in secure rooms.

An FCO spokesman said: "The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have made clear that ensuring the safety of our staff and their families is our immediate priority. In light of yesterday's events and to ensure the on-going safety, some staff are leaving Tehran."

When asked how many staff were leaving or if the embassy was going to remain open, he added: "We do not comment on our contingency plans and we will make any announcement about our embassy and staff at the appropriate time."

It follows extraordinary scenes yesterday at the British embassy near Tehran’s central bazaar, where riot police simply stood by as demonstrators broke into the main building and tore down pictures of The Queen, looted sensitive documents, smashed windows and even threw petrol bombs.

Chanting “death to England”, the protesters - many of them organised by a student branch of the pro-regime Basiji militia - burned the British flag and set a car on fire in protest at sanctions imposed last week on the Iranian banking system. (Why is it? That it’s always the English that get the blame for whatever the British government does? England has no say on what the British government does, it has no voice in the British government or its parliament, and do you always notice! That it is always only men at these so called protest you never see the women?)

Of course The United States condemns this in the strongest terms the storming of the British Embassy in Tehran. Iran has a responsibility to protect the diplomatic missions present in its country and the personnel stationed at them. We urge Iran to fully respect its international obligations, to condemn the incident, to prosecute the offenders, and to ensure that no further such incidents take place either at the British Embassy or any other mission in Iran. Our State Department is in close contact with the British government and we stand ready to support our allies at this difficult time.

Prosecute offenders that’s not going to happen? Respect international obligations that’s not going to happen either?

1953 – Britain and the United States help orchestrate the overthrow of popular Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and restore Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi to power looking back was that such a good idea? Its seems whenever the British and the US governments interfere with the internal politics of other countries nothing really become of it somewhere down the times line it always backs fires?

Syrian forces are torturing and killing children in ethnic cleansing

Syrian forces are torturing and killing children in ethnic cleansing, how long is the rest of the world going to allow this to continue?

Beirut a U.N. investigation has concluded that Syrian forces committed crimes against humanity by killing and torturing hundreds of children, including a 2-year-old girl reportedly shot to death so she wouldn't grow up to be a demonstrator.

The results of the inquiry, released on Monday, added to mounting international pressure on President Bashar Assad, a day after the Arab League approved sweeping sanctions to push his embattled regime to end the violence. Syria's foreign minister called the Arab move "a declaration of economic war" and warned of retaliation.

The report by a U.N. Human Rights Council panel found that at least 256 children were killed by government forces between mid-March and early November, some of them tortured to death.

"Torture was applied equally to adults and children," said the assessment, released in Geneva. "Numerous testimonies indicated that boys were subjected to sexual torture in places of detention in front of adult men."

The U.N. defines a child as anyone under the age of 18. The report was compiled by a panel of independent experts who were not allowed into Syria. However, the commission interviewed 223 victims and witnesses, including defectors from Syria's military and security forces.

The panel said government forces were given "shoot to kill" orders to crush demonstrations. Some troops "shot indiscriminately at unarmed protesters," while snipers targeted others in the upper body or head, it said.

It quoted one former soldier who said he decided to defect after witnessing an officer shoot a 2-year-old girl in Latakia, then claim he killed her so she wouldn't grow up to be a demonstrator.

The list of alleged crimes committed by Syrian forces "include murder, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence," said the panel's chairman, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a Brazilian professor. "We have a very solid body of evidence."

At least 3,500 people have been killed since March in Syria, according to the U.N. - the bloodiest regime response against the Arab Spring protests sweeping the Middle East. Deaths in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen have numbered in the hundreds; while Libya's toll is unknown and likely higher, the conflict there differs from Syria's because it descended into outright civil war between two armed sides.

The U.N. investigation is the latest in a growing wave of international measures pressuring Damascus to end its crackdown, and comes on the heels of sweeping sanctions approved Sunday by the Arab League.

Syrian officials did not comment directly on the U.N. findings. However, the regime reacted sharply to the Arab sanctions, betraying a deep concern over the economic impact and warning that Syria could strike back.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem called the Arab League action "a declaration of economic war" and said Syria had withdrawn 95 per cent of its assets in Arab countries.

Economy Minister Mohammed Nidal al-Shaar said "sources of foreign currency would be affected" by the sanctions, reflecting concerns that Arab investment in Syria will fall off and transfers from Syrians living in other Arab countries will drop.

Al-Moallem said Syria had means to retaliate.

"Sanctions are a two-way street," he warned in a televised news conference.

"We don't want to threaten anyone, but we will defend the interests of our people," he added, suggesting Syria might use its position as a geographical keystone in the heart of the Middle East to disrupt trade between Arab countries.

Chaos in Syria could send unsettling ripples across the region.

Syria borders five countries with whom it shares religious and ethnic minorities. As they struggled with ways to respond to Assad's brutal crackdown, world leaders have been all too aware of the country's web of allegiances, which extend to Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement and Iran's Shiite theocracy.

The latest sanctions include cutting off transactions with Syria's central bank, and are expected to squeeze an ailing economy that already is under sanctions by the U.S. and the European Union. The net effect of the Arab sanctions could deal a crippling blow to Syria's economy.

"We've always said that global sanctions, without Arab sanctions, will not be as effective," said Said Hirsh, Mideast economist with Capital Economics in London.

Some 60 per cent of Syria's exports go to Arab countries, and analysts concede the sanctions' effectiveness will hinge largely on whether Arab countries enforce them.

Iraq and Lebanon, which abstained from the Arab League vote, may continue to be markets for Syrian goods, in defiance of the sanctions. Syria shares long borders with both countries and moving goods in and out would be easy.

Still, there is no question the uprising is eviscerating Syria's economy. Hirsh said forecasts indicate it will contract by 5 per cent this year and could shrink by another 10 per cent in 2012 if sanctions are enforced and the Assad regime stays in power.

The economic troubles threaten the business community and prosperous merchant classes that are key to propping up the regime. An influential bloc, the business leaders have long traded political freedoms for economic privileges.

The opposition has tried to rally these largely silent, but hugely important, sectors of society. But Assad's opponents have failed so far to galvanize support in Damascus and Aleppo - the two economic centres in Syria.

The Arab sanctions, however, could chip away at their resolve.

Since the revolt began, the Assad regime has blamed the bloodshed on terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy to divide and undermine Syria. Until recently, most deaths appeared to be caused by security forces firing on mainly peaceful protests. But lately, there have been growing reports of army defectors and armed civilians fighting Assad's forces - a development that some say plays into the regime's hands by giving government troops a pretext to crack down with overwhelming force.

The Assad regime has responded to the street protests by sheer brutal force while at the same time announcing reforms largely dismissed by the opposition as too little too late.

On Monday, a spokesman for a committee tasked with drawing up a new constitution said it would recommend the abolishment of Article 8 which states that the ruling Baath Party is the leader of the state and society.

The article's abolishment was once a key demand of the protest movement. However, such overtures are now unlikely to satisfy opposition leaders who say they will accept nothing more than the downfall of the regime.

The British government unveiled 30 billion building plans

The British government unveiled plans on Monday to tap pension funds for the lion's share of an investment of up to 30 billion pounds in big building projects to help to revitalise a stagnant economy forecast to slip back into recession next year. (What they should be doing is getting the housing market on the move and employment, building projects on their own will not get the economy moving out of recession)  

The measures are the latest in a drip feed of government announcements ahead of Chancellor George Osborne's autumn statement on Tuesday when growth forecasts will be cut as the EU’s euro zone crisis bites.

The OECD forecast on Monday that England would suffer a modest recession next year, urging the Bank of England to expand its asset purchase programme designed at shoring up a faltering economy.

Adding to the gloom, Greedy British retail sales fell at their fastest pace in 2-1/2 years in November, a survey by business lobby the CBI showed.

The Conservative-led coalition has made it its priority to erase a budget deficit that peaked at 11 per cent of national output.

It is cutting spending by around a fifth across most government departments, but the domestic squeeze has coincided with plunging demand from continental European markets hit by the Eurozone crisis. (And what is should be doing is cutting back on all its EU aid and other aid areas and using this money to help offset deficits)

The unemployment level has hit a 15-year high and the British government will fail to hit a target of wiping out the structural deficit by 2015, when the next election must be held.

Responding to industry calls to help companies to access cash, Osborne announced measures on Sunday to underwrite 20 billion pounds of loans to smaller companies which are struggling to get credit, they should also go further on underwriting low income mortgages at 100% and not just on new builds as there isn’t enough new homes being built so all property’s should come under the scheme. (If you have three years or more references of paying rent privately and a tenant of good standing and on low incomes you should be guaranteed a 100% mortgage)  

Analysts backed the plans but said that they would take time to feed through into the economy.

"Measures to reprioritise capital spending and start the credit easing programme are welcome, but they are coming too late to do much about the impending recession in the UK," BNP Paribas economist David Tinsley said in a note.

"With the domestic demand in the UK already very weak heading into the crisis, it is hard to see where any growth next year will come from."

Treasury Minister Danny Alexander said that the government would reallocate 5 billion pounds of spending to capital projects by 2015 but crucially added that a deficit-cutting coalition would not borrow any more.

"Through working with English pension funds, we're identifying ways to unlock around 20 billion pounds of pension fund investment to go into privately funded infrastructure," Alexander told BBC Radio 4.

Osborne said the government could invest up to 30 billion pounds in schools, roads and rail projects, a much needed boost for the country's creaking infrastructure.

He got a boost on Monday when the head of China's sovereign wealth fund said the country was keen to invest in the ailing infrastructure of Western countries, especially Britain.

"Britain has got to get away from the quick-fix, debt solutions that got us into this mess," Osborne said.

"We've got to weather the current economic storm but we've got to lay the foundation for a stronger economic future."

Pension funds are looking to ensure better returns after yields on British government bonds or gilts fell following buying by the Bank of England and by investors seeking a haven from Eurozone turmoil.

Pension funds saw great potential in the scheme but again its effects would take time to work through.

"This could be a real win-win. The UK desperately needs to update its infrastructure, and pension funds are looking for inflation-linked, long-term investments," said Joanne Segars, chief executive of the National Association of Pension Funds.

"Pension funds hold over a trillion pounds in assets, but only around 2 per cent of that is invested in infrastructure. There's the potential for that to be much higher."

Analysts at Panmure Gordon said the additional investment would provide a boost to British construction and engineering firms including Balfour Beatty (BALF.L), WS Atkins (ATKW.L), Kier (KIE.L) and Costain (COSG.L).

Nick Clegg and his party are living in the past History

Nick Clegg and his party are living in the past History and try’s to strengthen Lib Dem team in Whitehall

Nick Clegg has moved to strengthen his central team in Whitehall as polls show the Liberal Democrats stuck in the doldrums of around 8-11 %, and facing a threat of falling behind the UK Independence party in wake of the growing publicity over the euro's travails.

Clegg has appointing half a dozen more delusional special advisers in an attempt to strengthen his party's clout in Whitehall, especially in the departments where the Lib Dems have only a junior minister or no minister.

Neil Sherlock, a partner in KPMG and well-known Lib Dem supporter, will be his director of external affairs, based in the Cabinet Office. Sherlock is being appointed as a special adviser, and will be taking a substantial pay cut.

One of Sherlock's roles will be to oversee the work of the special advisers and to liaise with outside groups in business and elsewhere.

Clegg has had to repeatedly strengthen his Cabinet Office support since becoming deputy prime minister as Whitehall tries to come to terms with working with a coalition of two parties.

Clegg's civil service team has already been strengthened and his chief of staff Johnny Oates is now based in his office. Joanne Foster, former chief executive of the Welsh Lib Dems, has also been drafted in as deputy chief of staff.

Clegg has also appointed a special adviser to track developments in the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to assist Lord McNally, the senior Liberal Democrat in the Lords, who is also a justice minister. He has a vast job trying to track what happens in the department outside his brief. Similarly Lynne Featherstone, the Home Office minister for equalities, cannot track what else happens in her vast department. A damaging leak of a presentation made by the party's brand adviser to the parliamentary party last week revealed how much lost ground the party needs to make up.

The presentation, made by the party's marketing director Collette Dunkley, admitted that party had lost much of its public identity as a result of joining the coalition. The document called for more 'short-term political expediency' to boost the party's popularity and said the party should claim credit for momentous historic reforms in the past such as the abolition of slavery and the Great Reform Act. (And this is just were the Lib-Dems are living? In the past not England’s future)

Both episodes occurred before the Liberal party was formed, but the brand advisers appear to believe the Lib Dems can take credit for the work of the Whig party, one of the precursors of the Liberal party in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

The Liberal Democrat brand should, the advisers believe, be optimistic, caring and pioneering, its roots are freedom and equality of opportunity, and its aim is to create the most socially mobile and innovative society. It says the party needs to follow groups like Oxfam that have clear campaigning brands.

They suggested that once a "strategic, long-term brand model" for the party had been devised, MPs should discover "shorter-term themes, straplines and sound bites" to "support short-term political expediency". A presentation was illustrated by a diagram showing four different audiences, each of which should be given a different version of the "message'"

The latest Sunday Times YouGov poll published at the weekend shows Labour stretching its lead to nine points, with Labour on 43, the Conservatives 34 and the Lib Dems on 11, six points ahead of Ukip. This the largest Labour lead in a YouGov poll since August and is out of line with other You Gov polls showing Labour with a five-point lead.

Separate polling for Lord Ashcroft shows that Labour is still trailing the Conservatives on economic competence.

Pakistan has denied reports that it opened fire first provoking the Nato air strike

Pakistan has denied reports that it opened fire first provoking the Nato air strike which killed 24 troops at a checkpoint on the Afghan border.

It follows claims by Afghan officials that Nato forces were retaliating for gunfire from the Pakistani side of the volatile border region on Saturday.

On Sunday Pakistan's army chief led mourners as those killed in the strike were buried at military headquarters.

Nato has apologised, calling it a "tragic unintended incident".

But the attack has heightened already tense relations between Pakistan, the US and Nato.

Pakistan reacted angrily to the attack, which took place at two remote border posts in Pakistan's tribal district of Mohmand in the early hours of Saturday morning. Several protests against Nato's actions have been held across the country.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called it a "grave infringement of Pakistan's sovereignty" and officials responded by cutting key supply Pakistani lines to Nato in Afghanistan.

'Not true'

But unnamed Afghan officials quoted in The Wall Street Journal said that Saturday's attack was called in to shield Nato and Afghan forces who were under fire while targeting Taliban fighters. One official quoted in the paper says that Kabul believes the fire came from an army base.

"This is not true. They are making up excuses. What are their losses, casualties?" Pakistani army spokesman Maj-Gen Athar Abbas said in a text message in response to the allegations.

Maj Gen Abbas has also said that the raid went on for more than an hour and continued even after local commanders contacted Nato telling them to stop the strike, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Pakistani officials have consistently maintained that there had been no militant activity in the area, and most of the Pakistani soldiers were asleep. They also said Nato had the grid references of the posts and therefore should not have fired