More on Pat Robertson’s blood diamonds

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New revelations in the dormant Pat-Roberton-used-to-mine-conflict-diamonds-with-Charles-Taylor scandal. It was already known that he had used religious funds for an illegal blood diamond mining operation in Liberia (after President Taylor was indicted by the UN for war crimes!), but there was less evidence regarding longstanding allegations about his operations in the DR Congo. Now humanitarian mission air pilots from the Rwanda mission are coming forward to confirm that he was diverting planes from Rwandan Genocide aid efforts to carry mining equipment into the Congo. To give credit where it’s due, as I noted in my 2010 piece linked above, local Virginia reporters had figured a lot of this out as early as 1999 but there wasn’t as much evidence to confirm they were on the right track and also no one pays attention to local news unfortunately. The new information from the pilots and others also tells us used a failed farm in the Congo as a cover for the donations he was raising and diverting into mining.

The State of Virginia continues to refuse to investigate because he has consistently made huge donations to GOP candidates for attorney general.

AFD 55 – College Costs

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Latest Episode:
“AFD 55 – College Costs”
Posted: Tues, 03 September 2013

Bill and Persephone critique President Obama’s proposed reforms to the cost of higher education. Then we discuss three military cases involving death penalty level crimes and the related issue of anti-Muslim attitudes in the U.S. Finally we look at the shocking number of squirrel-related power failures and what that says about America’s infrastructure.

Additional links referenced:

–http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/31/barack-obama-jay-leno-muslim-universal-rights

–http://www.theglobalist.com/passing-up-a-golden-opportunity/

–http://www.npr.org/2013/08/14/210620446/10-years-after-the-blackout-how-has-the-power-grid-changed

–http://www.theglobalist.com/doubling-down-on-wind-ireland-greens-its-grid-looks-to-export/

–http://energyblog.nationalgeographic.com/2013/07/09/as-u-s-plans-7-billion-effort-to-electrify-africa-it-faces-challenges-at-home/

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UK gov’t ok’d nerve gas ingredient export to Syria

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Nearly a year into the brutal Syrian Civil War, the British coalition government somehow decided to issue a license for a UK firm to export to Syria the chemical components used in sarin gas manufacturing. To a regime known to hold chemical weapons. In the middle of a civil war. The exports were only blocked by external, EU trade sanctions added 6 months later.

No.10 Downing Street (the office of the prime minister) says this was “the system working.”

What? You don’t authorize companies to send dual-use weaponizable chemicals to a dictator during a war. That’s just common sense. 

Syria vote a game-changer for UK?

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The British media is very worked up (Slate) over the failed vote for Syria military action in the British parliament, because it could alter the domestic balance of power permanently.

When your country doesn’t have a formal constitution and governance operates entirely on precedents and norms, any big reversals for the government are game-changing for the country. Unlike the US security state, the trend in Britain is often to take power away. For example, it will now be a matter of expectation that all future military action be authorized by parliament (except perhaps in emergency self-defense).

Surprise: UK parliament revolts on Syria

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Huge news from Britain as a massive parliamentary revolt blocks British intervention in Syria. David Cameron’s plans in shambles as his own party (even in the House of Lords) goes rogue and joins Labour rebels in unexpectedly voting down military action completely. Cameron already promised not to use force without Commons authorization, which he then failed to get.

White House delays Syria air strikes

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The U.S. White House is delaying the start of Western air strikes on Syria until the British parliament can vote on it during a special session this week, but it has no plans of asking for a special session of the U.S. Congress. So if I understand this correctly, major policy decisions affecting America get a vote in the British parliament but not here at home? Didn’t we stop that with the American Revolution?