#Levant Liberation Committee

[argyrocratie]

"How will people get healthcare?

(...)

During the Spanish Civil War, Barcelona’s Medical Syndicate, organized largely by anarchists, managed 18 hospitals (6 of which it had created), 17 sanatoria, 22 clinics, 6 psychiatric establishments, 3 nurseries, and one maternity hospital. Outpatient departments were set up in all the principal localities in Catalunya. Upon receiving a request, the Syndicate sent doctors to places in need. The doctor would have to give good reason for refusing the post, “for it was considered that medicine was at the service of the community, and not the other way round.”[40] Funds for outpatient clinics came from contributions from local municipalities. The anarchist Health Workers’ Union included 8,000 health workers, 1,020 of them doctors, and also 3,206 nurses, 133 dentists, 330 midwives, and 153 herbalists. The Union operated 36 health centers distributed throughout Catalunya to provide healthcare to everyone in the entire region. There was a central syndicate in each of nine zones, and in Barcelona a Control Committee composed of one delegate from each section met once a week to deal with common problems and implement a common plan. Every department was autonomous in its own sphere, but not isolated, as they supported one another. Beyond Catalunya, healthcare was provided for free in agrarian collectives throughout Aragon and the Levant.

Even in the nascent anarchist movement in the US today, anarchists are taking steps to learn about and provide healthcare. In some communities anarchists are learning alternative medicine and providing it for their communities. And at major protests, given the likelihood of police violence, anarchists organize networks of volunteer medics who set up first aid stations and organize roving medics to provide first aid for thousands of demonstrators. These medics, often self-trained, treat injuries from pepper spray, tear gas, clubs, tasers, rubber bullets, police horses, and more, as well as shock and trauma. The Boston Area Liberation Medic Squad (BALM Squad) is an example of a medic group that organizes on a permanent basis. Formed in 2001, they travel to major protests in other cities as well, and hold trainings for emergency first aid. They run a website, share information, and link to other initiatives, such as the Common Ground clinic described below. They are non-hierarchical and use consensus decision-making, as does the Bay Area Radical Health Collective, a similar group on the West Coast.

Between protests, a number of radical feminist groups throughout the US and Canada have formed Women’s Health Collectives, to address the needs of women. Some of these collectives teach female anatomy in empowering, positive ways, showing women how to give themselves gynecological exams, how to experience menstruation comfortably, and how to practice safe methods of birth control. The patriarchal Western medical establishment is generally ignorant of women’s health to the point of being degrading and harmful. An anti-establishment, do-it-yourself approach allows marginalized people to subvert a neglectful system by organizing to meet their own needs.

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, activist street medics joined a former Black Panther in setting up the Common Ground clinic in one of the neediest neighborhoods. They were soon assisted by hundreds of anarchists and other volunteers from across the country, mostly without experience. Funded by donations and run by volunteers, the Common Ground clinic provided treatment to tens of thousands of people.

The failure of the government’s “Emergency Management” experts during the crisis is widely recognized. But Common Ground was so well organized it also out-performed the Red Cross, despite the latter having a great deal more experience and resources.[41] In the process, they popularized the concept of mutual aid and made plain the failure of the government. At the time of this writing Common Ground has 40 full-time organizers and is pursuing health in a much broader sense, also making community gardens and fighting for housing rights so that those evicted by the storm will not be prevented from coming home by the gentrification plans of the government. They have helped gut and rebuild many houses in the poorest neighborhoods, which authorities wanted to bulldoze in order to win more living space for rich white people."

-Peter Gelderloos, "Anarchy Works" (2010)

[dailyanarchistposts]

Chapter 3. Economy

How will people get healthcare?

Capitalists and bureaucrats see healthcare as an industry — a way to extort money from people in need — and also as a way to appease the population and prevent rebellion. It’s no surprise that the quality of the healthcare often suffers. In the richest country in the world, millions have no access to healthcare, including this author, and every year hundreds of thousands of people die from preventable or treatable causes.

Since poisonous working and living conditions and lack of healthcare have always been major grievances within capitalism, providing healthcare is generally a chief goal of anti-capitalist revolutionaries. For example, unemployed piqueteros and neighborhood assemblies in Argentina commonly set up clinics or take over and fund existing hospitals left defunct by the state.

During the Spanish Civil War, Barcelona’s Medical Syndicate, organized largely by anarchists, managed 18 hospitals (6 of which it had created), 17 sanatoria, 22 clinics, 6 psychiatric establishments, 3 nurseries, and one maternity hospital. Outpatient departments were set up in all the principal localities in Catalunya. Upon receiving a request, the Syndicate sent doctors to places in need. The doctor would have to give good reason for refusing the post, “for it was considered that medicine was at the service of the community, and not the other way round.”[40] Funds for outpatient clinics came from contributions from local municipalities. The anarchist Health Workers’ Union included 8,000 health workers, 1,020 of them doctors, and also 3,206 nurses, 133 dentists, 330 midwives, and 153 herbalists. The Union operated 36 health centers distributed throughout Catalunya to provide healthcare to everyone in the entire region. There was a central syndicate in each of nine zones, and in Barcelona a Control Committee composed of one delegate from each section met once a week to deal with common problems and implement a common plan. Every department was autonomous in its own sphere, but not isolated, as they supported one another. Beyond Catalunya, healthcare was provided for free in agrarian collectives throughout Aragon and the Levant.

Even in the nascent anarchist movement in the US today, anarchists are taking steps to learn about and provide healthcare. In some communities anarchists are learning alternative medicine and providing it for their communities. And at major protests, given the likelihood of police violence, anarchists organize networks of volunteer medics who set up first aid stations and organize roving medics to provide first aid for thousands of demonstrators. These medics, often self-trained, treat injuries from pepper spray, tear gas, clubs, tasers, rubber bullets, police horses, and more, as well as shock and trauma. The Boston Area Liberation Medic Squad (BALM Squad) is an example of a medic group that organizes on a permanent basis. Formed in 2001, they travel to major protests in other cities as well, and hold trainings for emergency first aid. They run a website, share information, and link to other initiatives, such as the Common Ground clinic described below. They are non-hierarchical and use consensus decision-making, as does the Bay Area Radical Health Collective, a similar group on the West Coast.

Between protests, a number of radical feminist groups throughout the US and Canada have formed Women’s Health Collectives, to address the needs of women. Some of these collectives teach female anatomy in empowering, positive ways, showing women how to give themselves gynecological exams, how to experience menstruation comfortably, and how to practice safe methods of birth control. The patriarchal Western medical establishment is generally ignorant of women’s health to the point of being degrading and harmful. An anti-establishment, do-it-yourself approach allows marginalized people to subvert a neglectful system by organizing to meet their own needs.

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, activist street medics joined a former Black Panther in setting up the Common Ground clinic in one of the neediest neighborhoods. They were soon assisted by hundreds of anarchists and other volunteers from across the country, mostly without experience. Funded by donations and run by volunteers, the Common Ground clinic provided treatment to tens of thousands of people. The failure of the government’s “Emergency Management” experts during the crisis is widely recognized. But Common Ground was so well organized it also out-performed the Red Cross, despite the latter having a great deal more experience and resources.[41] In the process, they popularized the concept of mutual aid and made plain the failure of the government. At the time of this writing Common Ground has 40 full-time organizers and is pursuing health in a much broader sense, also making community gardens and fighting for housing rights so that those evicted by the storm will not be prevented from coming home by the gentrification plans of the government. They have helped gut and rebuild many houses in the poorest neighborhoods, which authorities wanted to bulldoze in order to win more living space for rich white people.

[dwa340]

Backgrounder: Diplomatic Response to Syria, 2012 - 2015

The origins of the Syrian civil war can be traced to the Arab Spring, when the wave of pro-democracy sentiment sweeping the region prompted a series of protests against the regime of Bashar al-Assad in March 2011. The Syrian government responded with a violent crackdown, and the conflict soon escalated into civil war as several anti-government rebel groups took up arms against Syrian forces. The resulting conflict killed some 400,000 people and displaced another 7.6 million. Parties to the conflict can generally be characterized as the following: 

Pro-Government Forces: composed of pro-Assad Syrian troops, the National Defense Force (NDF), and Shabiha self-defense groups; backed by Russia & Iran 

Opposition Forces: any array of anti-regime militias, including the Syrian National Council (SNC), the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the Syrian Liberation Front (SLF), and more; backed by the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Jordan 

The range of actors involved in the conflict contributed to an incredibly complex diplomatic environment. Armed groups were involved in 3 overlapping campaigns: US-led coalition efforts targeting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, fighting between the Syrian government and opposition troops, and military operations against Syrian Kurds by Turkish troops. At the UN, Russia’s status as a permanent member meant the Security Council was effectively in gridlock regarding the Syrian conflict. These tensions came to a head in August 2013, when intelligence services confirmed Assad had employed chemical weapons against civilian populations. The question of Security-Council authorized military intervention on humanitarian grounds was now unavoidable. 

The following is a basic timeline of events relevant to diplomatic efforts in Syria: 

July 2011: the Free Syrian Army (FSA) is formed, organized insurgency efforts begin in response to government repression. 

April 2012: UN peace plan efforts are initiated. A cease-fire begins on April 12, but collapses by June. The UN mission to Syria is withdrawn. 

June 30, 2012: The UN-led Action Group for Syria convenes in Geneva. The Geneva Communique is produced, condemning human rights abuses in Syria and calling for a Syrian-led political solution. 

Mid-July 2012: Both the UN Head of Peacekeeping and the International Committee of the Red Cross declare that Syria is in a state of civil war.

 August 21, 2013: A chemical attack is carried out by Syrian forces against the rebel-held region of Ghouta. UN investigators are permitted to visit the scene and confirm clear evidence of rocket-deployed sarin gas. Several hundred civilian deaths ensue. US intelligence also confirms these reports. 

July 14, 2014: The UN Security Council adopts Resolution 2165. The resolution condemns human rights violations, recognizes that previous provisions have not been met by the Syrian government, reiterates the commitment to the political process laid out in the Geneva Communique, and determines that the humanitarian situation in Syria constitutes a threat to regional peace and security. 

September 2014: first US-led airstrikes are carried out against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria. Partner nations include Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Jordan. The House also approves a $500 million plain to train and equip Syrian rebel forces.  

March 2015: Resolution 2209 is adopted. It condemns the use of chemical weapons in Syria and decides that Chapter VII measures will be employed if non-compliance ensues. 

December 2015: Resolution 2254 is adopted. It reaffirms the commitment to a Syrian-led political transition and requests parties convene to commence this process. 

September 2015: Russian forces began airstrikes against ISIL and the FSA at the request of the Syrian government. 

Sources & Further Reading: 

Conflict in Syria - CFR Global Conflict Tracker

The Diplomatic Dimensions of the Syrian Conflict - Faith Olenrewaju & Segun Joshua 

Obama's Syria Legacy: Measured Diplomacy, Strategic Explosion - Barbara Plett Usher (BBC)

[diarrheaworldstarhiphop]

(IMPORTANT: PRAT SUMMARIZES IDLIB PROVINCE AND THE REBEL THREESOME LOL)

Four Rebel Factions (JTS; Suqour al-Sham, Jaish al-Ahrar, Jaish al-Azza) Preparing To Merge in Idlib as part of Turkish efforts to extend influence in the last major rebel territory in Syria

body of the text via google translate:

Four military factions operating in the Idlib province are preparing to integrate into a new military body, days after the formation of the National Liberation Front.

A military source said early Wednesday (June 6th) that the "Syrian Liberation Front" is preparing to merge with factions, "the Hawks," "Free Army" and "Army of pride."

The source added to the grapes of my country that the expected integration parallel to the integration of factions, "the Free Army," noting that all factions "free" that did not join the "National Front" will be part of the new formation.

According to the source, did not oppose the Turkish side of the efforts of the factions mentioned integration, stressing his knowledge but did not support him.

The talk about the formation expected after a week from the declaration of the factions "free army" in Idlib for the formation of the "National Liberation Front" led by the faction, "the Levant" backed by Turkey.

The "liberation of Syria" includes the "Ahrar al-Sham" movement and the "Nur al-Din al-Zanki movement", and was engaged in military confrontations against the "Sham Liberation Organization" ended with a complete cease-fire agreement between the two parties.

Idlib is awaiting what it expects after the deployment of the monitoring points under the "easing tension" agreement, and the subsequent developments, most notably the internal military movements by the factions operating there.

And depends on Turkey in Idlib to organize the next phase of the province, especially the service reality and civil life and military structure, the same scenario applied in areas of the "Euphrates Shield" in the northern suburbs of Aleppo.

Turkey had the largest role in forming the National Liberation Front (FNL), which receives substantial military and financial support, and is trying to start a new military structure for Idlib.

Earlier, my country had received information that the "liberation of Syria" had received additional support from Turkey after its formation and that new steps had been taken with regard to the organization and numbers of fighters.

The movements of the factions in Idlib coincide with the security situation in the province, which killed dozens of civilians and military in the past days.

It did not specify the main source behind the chaos, but "liberation of the Sham" has confirmed repeated periods of cells to organize the "Islamic state" and behind.

First thing i wanna mention, Nur al-Din al-Zenki, one of the mentioned groups, is the faction that infamously recorded themselves beheading a 12 year old child for allegedly sympathizing with the Assad government

Zenki, like many members of this upcoming merger, are what remains of the surrender negotiation green bus population/fighter transfer to Idlib from previous rebel hold outs like Aleppo, Damascus and Hama.

Zenki merged with local hardline islamist group, Ahrar al-sham, to form JTS. Ahrar al-sham was at one point the second largest rebel faction against Assad after the FSA early in the revolution, 2013. It is Ahrar al-sham that pundits and observers of the war would primarily point to in highlighting that the revolution was not “moderate”

The sudden influx of rebel factions to the area from other parts of the country has destabilized it greatly (more than it ever was when it was al nusra/jabhat fatah al sham versus the FSA and Ahrar al-sham), where a new “Tahrir” titled faction sprouts up every other month and some even fight over it, as was the case between HTS (Tahrir al-Sham) and JTS (Jabhat Tahrir Suriya) when they began hostilities in February 2018 the day after the formation of JTS, lasting until late April. Al Zenki was especially called out by HTS, saying Zenki a little bitch betrayer of the revolution who wouldnt come to sharia court for a laundry list of shit like sending YPG recruits against HTS and killing HTS leaders. JTS in response produced a slur for the HTS akin to the one produced for the Islamic State, Daesh. The JTS now calls the HTS “Hitish”

Oh look, a map of that conflict last february:

The Al Qaeda dominated salafist HTS (Tahrir al-Sham, Syrian/Levant Liberation Front) exerts the most influence in Idlib besides the JTS (Jabhat Tahrir Suriya, Syrian Liberation Front), who are second in power and influence.

Anyway, back to the article topic, this recent announcement of the growth of JTS into a new faction includes FSA factions like Jaish Al-Izzah (Army of Glory) who online mujahideen and rebel fanboys saw as being treacherous for not joining other perpetually disorganized FSA groups in their 11 group merger late last month into Jabhat al-Wataniya lil-Tahrir (National Front for Liberation) aka NFL, lol

This is notable because NFL is squarely a Turkish coordinated effort to bang much of the remaining FSA brigades together into a proxy army. The NFL includes Faylaq al-sham, which is an extremely close proxy of Turkey as it not only participated in the “Euphrates Shield” operation to capture Al Bab from the Islamic State, but also the Turkish invasion of Afrin as one of the frontline FSA proxies in the offensive there to conquer YPG held afrin canton. What’s more, Faylaq al-sham’s leader, Colonel Fadlallah al-Haji, is now the overall commander of the newly formed NFL, meaning that the primary FSA faction in Idlib is squarely in the pocket of Turkey

So with that in mind, here’s the situation in Idlib:

Each one of these observation posts looks something like this:

So, if it isn’t clear yet, Turkey is intent on asserting it’s influence over Idlib. Most of these observation posts rest on JTS or FSA/NFL held territory. As the article states, Turkey is entering the next phase of forming the “service reality, civil life and military structure” of Idlib province. Turkey gives support to JTS but NFL is wholly their project as part of a grander vision to coordinate the rebellion akin to how they ran shit in the Euphrates Shield and Afrin operations.

All in all, the absolute state of Idlib is as follows, ranked by strength:

1. Tahrir al-Sham, aka HTS

The independent al qaeda affiliate which is the recent amalgamation with lesser groups from previous iterations such as Jabhat Fateh al-sham, Jabhat al Nusra before it and indeed, al Qaeda in Iraq. Important perennial note: AQI split into al nusra and ISIS, the islamic state, so we can say that HTS is the radical islam faction in Idlib. There is a reason why JTS, an islamist salafist organization in their own right, calls HTS “criminal” and derisively as “HITISH” as Syrian rebels previously called ISIS “DAESH”

2. Jabhat Tahrir Suriya, aka JTS

The gulf state supported JTS is a formation of the successful salafi islamist factions of the revolution who split from the free syrian army early on, like 2013. They include the various forces who were dumped into Idlib over the last year and a half by syrian government green buses after the SAA managed to kick their barrel bomb wounded asses out of urban centres like Aleppo and Damascus. As such, JTS was bolstered with veterans of acute urban warfare against the elite Tiger Forces and Hezbollah. This is partly why JTS made immediate gains against HTS when hostilities erupted last february.

3. Jabhat al-Wataniya lil-Tahrir, aka NFL

This is the most recent merger, third smallest coalition in Idlib and wholly Turkish coordinated Free Syrian Army proxy. There ain’t much left to say besides that they have many conventionally named free syrian army components like 1st Infantry Division, 1st coastal division, 23rd Division and other cutesy AHHH SOUNDS MODERATE ENOUGH TO ME titles to a western listener even though many of them have committed war crimes such as the looting and selling of civliian property to Turkish black markets, the indiscriminate shelling of civilians within Aleppo particularly in Sheikh Maqsoud, an isolated Kurdish suburb of the city under neutral YPG control. In spite of this, many parts of the NFL pledge a moderate form of ideology such as “Islamic Democracy” or even “Syrian nationalism” as is the case with the Free Idlib Army. The 1st coastal division is officially vetted by the United Nations formed “Friends of Syria Group,” so at least within the NFL there are elements that are generally “moderate.”

 ------

So in conclusion, Idlib is now shared between the HTS, JTS and NFL with each respectively being radical al qaeda islamism, salafist islamist and moderate islamism to secularism.

But in real terms, that means that Idlib is split between an independent radical islam rebel group known as Al Qaeda in the Levant with hostility for rivals that nobody outside of their group likes and two groups allied with Turkey. With turkish aspirations in the area, it is possible for JTS and NFL to merge, as is likely the goal for Turkey in forming what they have signaled is their personal spit of Syrian land. this will inevitably put Turkey, JTS and NFL on a collision course with HTS to decide who controls Idlib.

There will be blood.

[supernulperfection]

Lest one imagine this discourse to be the product of the delirium of an isolated retrograde journalist, we have only to quote then Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, who described the Sephardi immigrants as lacking even "the most elementary knowledge" and "without a trace of Jewish or human education." Ben Gurion repeatedly expressed contempt for the culture of the Oriental Jews: "We do not want Israelis to become Arabs. We are in duty bound to fight against the spirit of the Levant, which corrupts individuals and societies, and preserve the authentic Jewish values as they crystallized in the Diaspora." Over the years Israeli leaders constantly reinforced and legitimized these prejudices, which encompassed both Arabs and Oriental Jews. For Abba Eban, the "object should be to infuse [the Sephardim] with an Occidental spirit, rather than allow them to drag us into an unnatural Orientalism." Or again: "One of the great apprehensions which afflict us . . . is the danger lest the predominance of immigrants of Oriental origin force Israel to equalize its cultural level with that of the neighboring world." Golda Meir projected the Sephardim, in typical colonialist fashion, as coming from another, less developed time, for her, the sixteenth century (and for others, a vaguely defined "Middle Ages"): "Shall we be able," she asked, "to elevate these immigrants to a suitable level of civilization?" Ben Gurion, who called the Moroccan Jews "savages" at a session of a Knesset Committee, and who compared Sephardim, pejoratively (and revealingly), to the Blacks brought to the United States as slaves, at times went so far as to question the spiritual capacity and even the Jewishness of the Sephardim. In an article entitled "The Glory of Israel," published in the Government's Annual, the Prime Minister lamented that "the divine presence has disappeared from the Oriental Jewish ethnic groups," while he praised European Jews for having "led our people in both quantitative and qualitative terms." Zionist writings and speeches frequently advance the historiographically suspect idea that Jews of the Orient, prior to their "ingathering" into Israel, were somehow "outside of' history, thus ironically echoing 19th-century assessments, such as those of Hegel, that Jews, like Blacks, lived outside of the progress of Western Civilization. European Zionists in this sense resemble Fanon's colonizer who always "makes history"; whose life is "an epoch", "an Odyssey" against which the natives form an "almost inorganic background." Again in the early fifties, some of Israel's most celebrated intellectuals from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem wrote essays addressing the "ethnic problem." "We have to recognize," wrote Karl Frankenstein, "the primitive mentality of many of the immigrants from backward countries," suggesting that this mentality might be profitably compared to "the primitive expression of children, the retarded, or the mentally disturbed." Another scholar, Yosef Gross, saw the immigrants as suffering from "mental regression" and a "lack of development of the ego." The extended symposium concerning the "Sephardi problem" was framed as a debate concerning the "essence of primitivism." Only a strong infusion of European cultural values, the scholars concluded,would rescue the Arab Jews from their "backwardness." And in 1964, Kalman Katznelson published his frankly racist The Ashkenazi Revolution, where he protested the dangerous admission into Israel of large numbers of Oriental Jews, and where he argued the essential, irreversible genetic inferiority of the Sephardim, fearing the tainting of the Ashkenazi race by mixed-marriage and calling for the Ashkenazim to protect their interests in the face of a burgeoning Sephardi majority. Such attitudes have not disappeared; they are still prevalent, expressed by European Jews of the most diverse political orientations. The "liberal" Shulamit Aloni, head of the Citizen's Rights Party and a member of the Knesset, in 1983 denounced Sephardi demonstrators as "barbarous tribal forces" that were "driven like a flock with tom-toms" and chanting like "a savage tribe." The implicit trope comparing Sephardim to Black Africans recalls, ironically, one of the favored topic of European anti-Semitism, that of the "Black Jew." (In European-Jewish conversations, Sephardim are sometimes referred to as "schwartze-chaies" or "black animals"). Amnon Dankner, a columnist for the "liberal" daily Ha'aretz, favored by Ashkenazi intellectuals and known for its presumably high journalistic standards, meanwhile, excoriated Sephardi traits as linked to an Islamic culture clearly inferior to the Western culture "we are trying to adopt here." Presenting himself as the anguished victim of an alleged official "tolerance," the journalist bemoans his forced co-habitation with Oriental sub-humans.

Zionism from the Standpoint of its Jewish Victims by Ella Shohat

[mideastsoccer]

Turkey signals sweeping regional ambitions

By James M. Dorsey

A nationalist Turkish television station with close ties to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dug up a 12-year-old map that projects Turkey’s sphere of influence in 2050 as stretching from South-eastern Europe on the northern coast of the Mediterranean and Libya on its southern shore across North Africa, the Gulf and the Levant into the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Buoyed by last year’s Azerbaijani defeat of Armenia, TGRT, a subsidiary of Ihlas Holding, a media and construction conglomerate that has won major government tenders, used the map to advance a policy that has long constituted the agenda of some of Mr. Erdogan’s closest advisors.

The broadcasting of the map, first published in a book authored by George Freidman, the founder of Stratfor, an influential American corporate intelligence group, followed calls by pan-Turkic daily Turkiye, Ihlas’ daily newspaper that has the fourth-largest circulation in Turkey, to leverage the Azerbaijani victory to create a military alliance of Turkic states.

In a country that ranks only second to China as the world’s foremost jailer of journalists, Ihlas Holding media would not be pushing a pan-Turkic, Islam-laced Turkish regional policy without tacit government approval at the very least.

The media group’s push reflects Turkish efforts to capitalize on the fact that Turkey’s latest geopolitical triumph with Azerbaijan’s Turkish-backed victory is already producing tangible results. The military victory has positioned Azerbaijan, and by extension Turkey, as an alternative transportation route westwards that would allow Central Asian nations to bypass corridors dominated by either Russia or Iran.

Turkmenistan, recognizing the changing geopolitical map, rushed in January to end a long-standing dispute with Azerbaijan and agree on the joint exploitation of Caspian Sea oil deposits. The agreement came on the heels of a deal in December for the purchase from ENI Turkmenistan of up to 40,000 tonnes of petroleum a month by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).

The agreement could boost the completion of a Trans-Caspian natural gas pipeline (TPC) that would feed into the recently operational Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), bypass Russia and Iran, and supply Greece and Bulgaria via the former Soviet republic.

Last month, Azerbaijan agreed with Turkmenistan and Afghanistan to develop the Lapis Lazuli transport corridor that would link the war-ravaged country to Turkey. At about the same time, Kazakhstan began exporting copper cathodes to Turkey via Azerbaijan in a first step intended to capitalize on the Caucasian nation’s position as a transit hub.

Azerbaijan and Turkey’s newly found advantage has rung alarm bells among Russian and Iranian analysts with close ties to their respective governments even though the TGRT broadcast may have been primarily intended to whip up nationalist fervour at home and test regional responses.

Russian and Iranian politicians and analysts appeared to take the broadcast in that vein. Nonetheless, they were quick to note that Friedman’s projection includes Russia’s soft underbelly in the northern Caucasus as well as Crimea while Iranians took stock of the fact that the Turkish sphere of influence would border on Iran to the north, south and west.

Turkey and Ukraine have in recent months agreed to cooperate in the development of technologies with military applications related to engines, avionics, drones, anti-ship and cruise missiles, radar and surveillance systems, robotics, space, and satellites. Turkey has refused to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea, home to Crimean Tartars, and criticized Russian support for Ukrainian rebels.

Most Russian commentators sought to downplay the significance of the map, leaving Andrei Krasov, deputy chairman of the defence committee of the Russian parliament’s lower house to warn that “if they (the Turks) want to test the strength of the Russian spirit and our weapons, let them try.”

With Iran excluded from TGRT and Stratfor’s projection of Turkey’s emerging sphere of influence, Iranian officials and analysts have largely not responded to the revival of the map.

Yet, Iran’s actions on the ground suggest that the Islamic republic has long anticipated Turkish moves even though it was caught off guard by last year’s Azerbaijani-Armenian war.

For one, Iran has in the past year sought to bolster its military presence in the Caspian Sea and forge close naval ties with the basin’s other littoral states - Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan.

Viewed from Tehran, TGRT’s broadcasting of the Stratfor map was the latest in a series of provocative Turkish moves.

They include Mr. Erdogan’s recital of a nationalist poem while attending a military parade in Azerbaijan that calls for reuniting two Iranian ethnic Azeri provinces with the former Soviet republic and publication by state-run Turkish Radio and Television’s Arabic service of a map on Instagram, depicting Iran’s oil-rich province of Khuzestan with its large population of ethnic Arabs as separate from Iran.

The Instagram posting came days after the disclosure that Habib Chaab, a leader of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz, or ASMLA, had been kidnapped in Istanbul by an Iraqi Kurdish drug baron in cooperation with Iranian intelligence and transported to Iran. Mr. Chaab had been lured to Istanbul in October from his exile in Sweden.

While senior Iranian officials talked down the Turkish provocations, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency left little doubt about what Iran’s true sentiments were.

“Those who have greedy eyes on the territories this side of the Aras River had better study history and see that Azerbaijan, specifically the people of Tabriz, have always pioneered in defending Iran. If Iran had not helped you on the night of the coup, you would have had a fate like that of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi,’ protesters chanted in front of the Turkish consulate in Tabriz, the capital of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.

The protesters were responding to Mr. Erdogan’s poem recital and referring to the failed military coup against him in 2016 as well as the toppling of Mr. Morsi in 2013 in a takeover by the Egyptian armed forces.

A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts, Tumblr, Podbean, Audecibel, Patreon and Castbox.

Dr. James M. Dorsey is an award-winning journalist and a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute.

[mystlnewsonline]

BEIRUT | Explosion in north Syria targets al-Qaida gunmen, kills 11

BEIRUT | Explosion in north Syria targets al-Qaida gunmen, kills 11

BEIRUT—Jan 18, 2019— An explosion outside an office belonging to an al-Qaida-linked group in the country’s northwestern on Friday killed at least 11 people and wounded several others, opposition activists said.

The blast comes a week after members of the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee, or HTS, took over control of wide parts of Idlib province and the…

[ordonewsworld]

Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (#FSA) ready to enter Syria's NE Idlib province The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) will enter Syria's northwestern province of Idlib by the end of September along with Turkish forces, reported Xinhua on Sunday citing an activists.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.13

1174 – William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173–74, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Henry II of England. 1249 – Coronation of Alexander III as King of Scots. 1260 – The Livonian Order suffers its greatest defeat in the 13th century in the Battle of Durbe against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1558 – Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul de Thermes at Gravelines. 1573 – Eighty Years' War: The Siege of Haarlem ends after seven months. 1586 – Anglo–Spanish War: A convoy of English ships from the Levant Company manage to repel a fleet of eleven Spanish and Maltese galleys off the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria. 1643 – English Civil War: Battle of Roundway Down: In England, Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester, commanding the Royalist forces, heavily defeats the Parliamentarian forces led by Sir William Waller. 1787 – The Congress of the Confederation enacts the Northwest Ordinance establishing governing rules for the Northwest Territory. It also establishes procedures for the admission of new states and limits the expansion of slavery. 1793 – Journalist and French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat is assassinated in his bathtub by Charlotte Corday, a member of the opposing political faction. 1794 – The Battle of Trippstadt between French forces and those of Prussia and Austria begins. 1814 – The Carabinieri, the national gendarmerie of Italy, is established. 1830 – The General Assembly's Institution, now the Scottish Church College, one of the pioneering institutions that ushered the Bengali Renaissance, is founded by Alexander Duff and Raja Ram Mohan Roy, in Calcutta, India. 1831 – Regulamentul Organic, a quasi-constitutional organic law is adopted in Wallachia, one of the two Danubian Principalities that were to become the basis of Romania. 1854 – In the Battle of Guaymas, Mexico, General José María Yáñez stops the French invasion led by Count Gaston de Raousset-Boulbon. 1863 – New York City draft riots: In New York City, opponents of conscription begin three days of rioting which will be later regarded as the worst in United States history. 1878 – Treaty of Berlin: The European powers redraw the map of the Balkans. Serbia, Montenegro and Romania become completely independent of the Ottoman Empire. 1919 – The British airship R34 lands in Norfolk, England, completing the first airship return journey across the Atlantic in 182 hours of flight. 1930 – The inaugural FIFA World Cup begins in Uruguay. 1941 – World War II: Montenegrins begin the Trinaestojulski ustanak (Thirteenth Uprising), a popular revolt against the Axis powers. 1956 – The Dartmouth workshop is the first conference on artificial intelligence. 1962 – In an unprecedented action, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismisses seven members of his Cabinet, marking the effective end of the National Liberals as a distinct force within British politics. 1973 – Watergate scandal: Alexander Butterfield reveals the existence of a secret Oval Office taping system to investigators for the Senate Watergate Committee. 1977 – Somalia declares war on Ethiopia, starting the Ogaden War. 1977 – New York City: Amidst a period of financial and social turmoil experiences an electrical blackout lasting nearly 24 hours that leads to widespread fires and looting. 1985 – The Live Aid benefit concert takes place in London and Philadelphia, as well as other venues such as Moscow and Sydney. 1985 – Vice President George H. W. Bush becomes the Acting President for the day when President Ronald Reagan undergoes surgery to remove polyps from his colon. 1990 – Lenin Peak disaster: a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan triggers an avalanche on Lenin Peak, killing 43 climbers in the deadliest mountaineering disaster in history. 2003 – French DGSE personnel abort an operation to rescue Íngrid Betancourt from FARC rebels in Colombia, causing a political scandal when details are leaked to the press. 2008 – Battle of Wanat begins when Taliban and al-Qaeda guerrillas attack US Army and Afghan National Army troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. deaths were, at that time, the most in a single battle since the beginning of operations in 2001. 2011 – Mumbai is rocked by three bomb blasts during the evening rush hour, killing 26 and injuring 130. 2011 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 1999 is adopted, which admits South Sudan to member status of United Nations. 2013 – Typhoon Soulik kills at least nine people and affects more than 160 million in East China and Taiwan. 2016 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron resigns, and is succeeded by Theresa May. 2020 – After a five-day search, the body of American actress and singer Naya Rivera is recovered from Lake Piru, where she drowned in California.

[tatauini-blog]

what i'm interested according to facebook ads topics

Feb 19th

i’ve downloaded my facebook data today and it was very interesting to kind of go back in time while looking at things i’ve done on my digital/social life since i’ve created an account (nov 2006).

These are the ads topics that i’m interested in according to my facebook data:

Youth Lagoon

Athletics at the Summer Olympics

Aventura

Home video game console

Hour

Solidarity

Escape pod

McSweeney's

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Public broadcasting

60 metres

Vivo (telecommunications)

Guto Requena

Parsons School of Design

Artnet

Joan Cornellà

Table tennis at the Summer Olympics

Amazon Student

Vitis

Hammer throw

d3

Exame (magazine)

Humanities

Monologue

TV5Monde

AIESEC in Brazil

ClickBus

jerome jarre

A Mighty Girl

Baroque pop

Fernanda Lima

mofilm

Trama (mycology)

Simon & Garfunkel discography

Miles Davis

Observatório da Imprensa

Kelis

Badminton

Antônio Carlos Jobim

Tiny Furniture

Morgan Library & Museum

Weta Workshop

Motherboard

Torta

Goethe-Institut

Organism

Bamboo

BoA

Le Lis Blanc

Frank Ocean

Amy Poehler's Smart Girls

Quartz

Moringa

Latitude

Sketchbooks

Cutty Sark (whisky)

Flea

Totem

StreetArtGlobe

Independent record label

scarface

Funhouse

Republic

Panda (band)

Aion (Japanese band)

Road

Lisbon

Jinx (DC Comics)

Artforum

Hugo Weaving

The Creators Project

Brilliant.org

Degustation

Hostel (2005 film)

Mystery film

Livery

Planá (Tachov District)

Consortium

Simon & Garfunkel

Launch vehicle

Secret NYC

Exame

Nerds (candy)

childish gambino

Braun (company)

Deception Point

médicos sem fronteiras

H2 (TV network)

Tropicália

Workers' Party (Brazil)

Tisch School of the Arts

Zine

Governors Ball Music Festival

Printed Matter, Inc

WeWork

HuffPost Women

Andre (band)

Smot (chanting)

Decriminalization

Vine (service)

Garance Doré

Meta, Campania

MIT Media Lab

Taste of Cinema

New York University School of Law

Pole vault

Anthology film

Coconut Records (musician)

Frequency

Levant

Sensacionalista

Special effect

Artist-in-residence

Navigation

Bananal, São Paulo

States of Brazil

1900 Summer Olympics

Steering wheel

IEEE Standards Association

revista piauí

Pro Evolution Soccer

romantic comedies

D-A-D

the cool hunter

Flux

Getty Images

HuffPost Brasil

René Aubry

Kizomba

Knot (unit)

Palestine Liberation Organization

King Krule

Room

New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA)

Thread (computing)

Kite

News magazine

Rozendaal

Lincoln Center

SOS

Sigur Rós

Urbanus

Steeplechase (athletics)

Romário

Shaivism

Gilberto Gil

Museum of the Moving Image (New York City)

Olympic medal

Sochi

Formigueiro

2016 Summer Olympics

Landform

Tijuca

Arte

Dream pop

Opala .

Orquestra Voadora

Forum for Urban Design

Móveis Coloniais de Acaju

Fair

History of Europe

800 metres

Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger

Illuminated manuscript

Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência

Financial Times Global 500

Moog Music Inc.

The Intercept

Democratic Labour Party (Brazil)

Bossa nova

Western Europe

Rio, I Love You

Rama

Freak folk

Epic film

Protest

Psychedelic pop

New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science

Extremis

guardian

Mediterranean Sea

Operating system

El Hormiguero

Swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics

Araucaria angustifolia

Shot put

Helianthus

Dr. Martens

Extended play

Nectar

Ariel Pink

do bem™

Breakfast at Tiffany's (film)

Plastic

Blake Edwards

2020 Summer Olympics

Laurus nobilis

London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games

Queremos

Carl Linnaeus

Selectism

Megaforce Records

Nike Soccer

Giorgio Moroder

Moog synthesizer

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

400 metres hurdles

Portmanteau

Dance-punk

Prix Ars Electronica

enlace

The Awl

CreativeApplications.Net

DOS

Glossary of musical terminology

Jout Jout Prazer

Sensationalism

Rosin

100 metres

República

Marshmallow

void

Rodrigo Hilbert

Tank (magazine)

Deborah Colker

Fundação Estudar

Música popular brasileira

IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society

AIESEC

Rio (2011 film)

Casablanca

Quentin Tarantino Movies

Cactus

CRESCER E VIVER

Brooklyn Museum

100 metres at the Olympics

Lego The Lord of the Rings (video game)

Beach House (album)

Helianthus annuus

Noisey

Infinitum

Nova (TV series)

Common quail

NOO

Woody Allen

Hudson River

Award

Samba-enredo

fear

The Week

The Proud Family

Bubblegum pop

Drive-through

110 metres hurdles

Guarda, Portugal

2010 Winter Olympics

ARTE Concert

W

The Party (film)

Mare

Ben Gibbard

AD Parla

Christopher Lee

International System of Units

Darcy Ribeiro

Sport Club Internacional

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Psychosis

GBK

Frank Ocean discography

Mini (marque)

It's Nice That

Study in Germany

Orient

IEEE Communications Society

Victoria Harbour

Acne Studios

Sea of Shoes

eMAG

Pagode

Réunion

Oboe

Fernando Gabeira

Quartz (publication)

Jornal Meia Hora

Líbano, Tolima

Kings of Convenience

NewYorker

EF Brasil - Intercâmbio

Residency Unlimited

Grass

Samba-canção

Sagmeister & Walsh

Araucária

Vertigo

BAMcinématek

Hyperallergic

Academy Award for Best Costume Design

Nowness

Hyperbole

The Tallest Man on Earth

Wednesday

Bachelor of Fine Arts

Dark wave

2014 Winter Olympics

Olaria Atlético Clube

Cachaça

Smaller Earth

Kingston upon Hull

Plastic bag

Space Shuttle

Hyphen

One Million Voices Against FARC

Muda (Japanese term)

Lightning strike

Eunápolis

Sketchbook

Guillermo del Toro

Brazilian science and technology

Phonebloks

Silent film

John Mayer Trio

Paste (food)

Ralph Bakshi

Chevrolet Opala

vox

A&E Networks

Hunna

Levante UD

Brownie (folklore)

Mad Decent Block Party

Etapes

best vines

Hurdling

Piracy

Beautiful/Decay Magazine

Anima Mundi (event)

Trip hop

Long jump

Street

Perestroika

Winter Olympic Games

The Dodos

VFX Solidarity International

Green Party (Brazil)

Mobile, Alabama

Pali

Roman Forum

Party (role-playing games)

List of Sonic the Hedgehog characters

Moog Music

MUBI

Discus throw

Gold medal

Frontier

Ema (Shinto)

Xcaret Park

Sliced bread

Post-punk

Sambass

ClickBus

gus

Xcaret

Death Cab for Cutie

breakfast at tiffanys

Catcher In The Rye

Vuze

D3 road (Croatia)

Buga, Valle del Cauca

Loungerie Intimates

Cut, copy, and paste

Binders full of women

Carnival block

Social class

Médecins Sans Frontières

Local Natives

Maxxie Oliver

The Last King of Scotland (film)

End Homophobia

Dazed & Confused (magazine)

graduate

Individual Olympic Athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics

Samba

Svetlana Kuznetsova

Toda Criança Pode Aprender

Little Joy

Girls Who Code

Pes

Munchies (film)

Robert Moog

Partido alto

Pictoplasma

New Art Dealers Alliance

Alto

Bois de Boulogne

Control key

Bus

uber

Cereal Magazine

Diego Ribas da Cunha

Dia Art Foundation

Bolt (2008 film)

Agência Pública

MOODs

Human Development Index

Z (Aion album)

MIMO

Power station

Marcelo Freixo

The Antlers (band)

Shiva

spicy food

Rhythm

(Le) Poisson Rouge

Boiler Room

Unidentified flying object

200 metres

Girls (comics)

Print on demand

That '70s Show (Official)

Sociedade Esportiva do Gama

Ondina

Colossal

Mae

Psychological thriller

Artsy

Escola Nacional de Belas Artes

Music Photographers

design-dautore.com

MTV Europe Music Awards

Vuze Bittorrent Client

Biographical film

Poorly Drawn Lines

Piauí (magazine)

Mac DeMarco

Non-governmental organization

Propaganda

StreetArtGlobe

Olympic Games ceremony

Vila-seca

Tijuca Forest

Sarah

Pedro (footballer, born July 1987)

Inhotim

Praia da Vitória

MyFrenchFilmFestival.com

Mandrake the Magician

Vector space

Convenience store

The Beach (film)

Indie folk

Multi-sport event

São Paulo

New York (magazine)

OZY

Midfielder

Action Bronson

Jerry Mouse

Philippines at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Vinicius de Moraes

npr music

Link (knot theory)

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

British rock

Gaia (mythology)

I-D

Fountain

Italo disco

Skins (UK TV series)

James Blake (musician)

Nord (French department)

Token ring

Comparison of BitTorrent clients

Kinescope

Courage

Nõo

Helianthus annuus

e-flux

Cave

Seed

High jump

Cultural diversity

2000 Summer Olympics

Instituto Moreira Salles

2012 Summer Olympics

Alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics

Belgium

Designtaxi

Anima mundi

Academic journal

Military dictatorship

Dumont, New Jersey

Wilfred

Adaptations of The Lord of the Rings

Glass House

Somos tão Jovens

Domestic worker

Units of measurement

Porvir

Ars Electronica Center

Bubble wrap

Summer Olympic Games

Atlantic Records

Bon Iver discography

CCBB Rio de Janeiro

Sovereign state

Oriente (Ecuador)

Ministry of Education (Brazil)

Sigur Rós discography

Condé Nast

Nanotechnology

Emporium (antiquity)

CPI

Céu

Mark magazine

Thought Catalog

Spaceflight

Sanskrit

The City of the Sun

Sense

Temple

Student exchange program

Ciência sem Fronteiras

Grammatical mood

Comic strip

Third Man Records

Collection catalog

Devendra Banhart

Mammal

Tictail

Cell nucleus

Blue-eyed soul

Facebook Lite

Carona, Ticino

Celina, Ohio

Residency (medicine)

MGMT (album)

Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro

Cronus

Heima

La Blogothèque

Public library

Help Kids with Cancer

Russia

Trem Desportivo Clube

Cooper Union

Professional wrestling promotion

Opening ceremony

binders full women

Bar da Praia

República (Nepalese newspaper)

Bento

Ethnic groups

The New School

Chico Buarque

Smile (band)

Institution

The Cure (The Cure album)

List of Girls episodes

Associação Quatro Patinhas

MyFonts

IEEE 1541-2002

Gus Van Sant

Fictional film

400 metres

MIT Technology Review

International Olympic Committee

Port

Computing

Fuerza Bruta Wayra

awl

Design Milk

Studio

Earth, Wind & Fire

Ian Holm

Pingu

Middle-distance running

Foster the People discography

European Union

Parque Lage

Mixcloud

Jah Wobble

Vox (blogging platform)

John Mayer discography

Videos

Hue

Unbreakable

Tempo

Piauí

Archive

Middle Ages

Skill

Academic publishing

Incendies

Nice

Air (French band)

Grizzly bear

Somos Tão Jovens - O Filme

Deckdisc

Urban area

Caetano Veloso

Dirty Projectors

Triple jump

Musical film

Astronaut

Chameleon

Salário digno aos PROFESSORES do Brasil

Code Club

1996 Summer Olympics

O Terno

Ear

Konbini

Rockland County, New York

Apartamento

Public university

FIBA Americas League

Land use

Jinx

Penny

Nothing

Sukha

Bronze medal

Video hosting service

[diarrheaworldstarhiphop]

undefined

One of the cities in Idlib Province recently seized by rebel infighting by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham aka Levant Liberation Committee aka Al Qaeda in Syria has had a local uprising, seeing the expulsion of the brigade.

[scottbcrowley2]

Al-Qaida set to gain as Islamic State disintegrates - Wed, 18 Oct 2017 PST

While the U.S.-led coalition and Russian-backed Syrian troops have been focused on driving the Islamic State from Syria, an al-Qaida-linked insurgent coalition known as the Levant Liberation Committee has consolidated ... Al-Qaida set to gain as Islamic State disintegrates - Wed, 18 Oct 2017 PST

[android-for-life]

"Honoring Pride, in solidarity"

In August 1966, trans women, drag queens, and other members of the LGBTQ+ community fought for their rights and fair treatment outside Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. Three years later on June 28, 1969, the LGBTQ+ community, once again, rose up against inequitable treatment and police misconduct at the Stonewall Inn. For both of these historic moments, LGBTQ+ people of color—and in particular Black trans women and trans women of color—helped lead the fight against hate and injustice. In many respects, the modern-day LGBTQ+ movement for equality was born from these rebellious acts and the many events preceding them. 

Pride should still be a protest. For those within the Black+ and LGBTQ+ community—especially Black+ trans women—the injustices we're seeing today are a reminder of of past and present struggles for equity, justice, and equality under the law. We believe communities must show up for one another, and we stand in solidarity with the Black+ community across the world, honoring the longstanding Pride tradition of unity. 

We’re focusing on helping local organizations that create change for LGBTQ+ people of color, trans and non-binary communities, LGBTQ+ families, and many more. We’re also expanding access to mental health resources and bringing people together virtually. 

Local love: $1.2 million for LGBTQ+ organizations worldwide 

COVID-19 has shown us that vulnerable communities, including LGBTQ+, too often bear the brunt of any crisis. This means that local LGBTQ+ organizations are serving as a critical safety net for those in need, whether they're helping someone find a bed in a shelter, offering healthcare services, or advocating for more inclusive and equitable policies. Lives depend on these organizations. 

However, LGBTQ+ organizations are now figuring out how to do their work virtually—with increased demand and strapped financing—which is why Google.org is donating $1.2 million to over 70 organizations around the world. These organizations improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people in the cities where they operate. As the 2020 Pride Committee—a group of LGBTQ+ Googlers from all backgrounds and identities—we’re proud to support organizations in Googlers' hometowns, many of which have influenced our lives or our colleagues’ lives in some way.

An additional $1.2 million for The Trevor Project

In a physically distant world, grappling with inequities, isolation, and challenging situations at home can have devastating effects on LGBTQ+ people, especially those of color. Every year, an estimated 1.8 million LGBTQ+ youth seriously consider suicide in the U.S., and the lifeline, text, and chat crisis services at The Trevor Project—a Google.org grantee—are experiencing their highest demand in 22 years. While Black LGBTQ+ youth have similar mental health disparities compared with all LGBTQ+ youth, they’re significantly less likely to receive professional mental health care, and Black children die by suicide at nearly twice the rate of their white peers. The Trevor Project’s continued targeted outreach to LGBTQ+ Black youth is incredibly important, and the organization offers resources to help allies be more supportive. 

The Trevor Project’s work is life-saving, which is why we’re providing $1.2 million to build on our existing work with them. In addition, a new cohort of Google.org Fellows will help The Trevor Project use natural language processing to automate the moderation of crisis content on its online forums and instruct counselors through a virtual conversation simulator training.

Together, virtually

This year, Pride will feel different for many of us. We’re finding ways to bring people together virtually, including a toolkit that helps organizations host remote Pride events, a collection of apps, shows, movies, and books about LGBTQ+ stories, and a YouTube "spotlight" channel to elevate LGBTQ+ voices. On Google Arts & Culture, you can explore the history of Pride, including new exhibits on the birth of the Pride march, and critical leaders of the movement like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. 

Marsha P. Johnson at the First Christopher Street Liberation Day March

Marsha P. Johnson at the First Christopher Street Liberation Day March, 1970 - Leonard Fink

marsha.png

Marsha P. Johnson at the Second Christopher Street Liberation Day March, 1972  - Leonard Fink

firstchristopher.png

First Christopher Street Liberation Day March, 1970 - Leonard Fink

Gay Activists Alliance Protest of New York City Board of Education

Gay Activists Alliance Protest of New York City Board of Education, 1971 - Richard C. Wandel

Crowds gathered at the March on Albany

Crowds gathered at the March on Albany, 1971 - Richard C Wandel

bandeira.png

Levante a bandeira do orgulho LGBT [Raise the LGBT Pride flag], 2017 - Adriana de Maio

chiclete.png

Chiclete do Amor [Love Bubblegum], 2017 - Janaína Leão

gira.png

Deixa a gira do Orgulho LGBT+ girar [Let the LGBT+ Pride spin], 2017 - Adriana de Maio

beijo.png

Beijo sob o bandeirão [Kiss under the big flag], 2015 - Carla Carniel

cores.png

Todas as cores na Paulista [All colours in Paulista Avenue], 2015 - João Benz

While Pride is usually marked by jubilant marches and beautiful parade floats, it’s much more than that. For us, Pride is about the ongoing struggle for equity, visibility and acceptance. We’ll be spending Pride as allies to our Black+ community members, reflecting on the many LGBTQ+ people of color who started our liberation movement decades ago, and finding ways to remedy systemic injustices.

Source : The Official Google Blog via Source information

[charlesmartel732]

Lindsay Shepherd: NDP, Liberals echoed Twitter mob at Committee hearing | Ezra Levant

from Rebel Media https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9pwt5L9cUg via IFTTT

[islamicvoice-blog]

Russia Launches Airstrikes against Militants in Idlib, Syria Vows Liberation Op

New post https://is.gd/wcf63O

Russian Air force has a launch large-scale airstrikes on Tuesday against militants and terrorists in Syria’s Idlib province, ignoring US warnings. Al MasdarNews cited a military source as saying that at least ten Russian Sukhoi jets launched dozens of airstrikes over the southern and western parts of the Idlib province the last major stronghold of the foreign-backed terrorists in the war-torn country.

According to the Lebanon-based news portal, Russian Air Force specifically targeted the Jisr Al-Shughour District, including the towns of Al-Shughur, Mahambel, Basnqoul, Zayzooun, Ziyarah, Jadariyah, Kafrdeen, Al-Sahn, Saraseef, and dozen others.

A pro-militant Syrian war monitor also said Russian air strikes had resumed against insurgents in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province on Tuesday after several weeks.

The airstrikes come while, reports suggest Syrian army is making final preparations for a ground offensive to end terrorists’ control over Lattakia’s northeastern suburbs and the heights overlooking the Jisr Al-Shughur town in Idlib province

Idlib, located in the northwestern border with Turkey, was seized in May 2015 by an alliance of armed groups led by Jaysh al-Fatah, the Syrian affiliate of al-Qaeda terrorist group. The battleground equations changes have opened the hands of the Syrian Arab Army to prepare for a huge offensive against the terrorists’ last safe haven.

While the Syrian war is heading to its end as the central government, backed by its allies, has now retaken a majority of the territories from the terrorist groups, the anti-Damascus regional and international actors, who find their ambitious plans to redraw a new order in the West Asia region through splitting Syria into small regions fully failed, are desperately struggling to hamper Syrian army’s final push to uproot terrorist from the country.

US President Donald Trump on Monday warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Iran and Russia not to attack Idlib province, using humanitarian concerns as an excuse.

“The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Don’t let that happen!” Trump wrote in a tweet.

The Kremlin dismissed Trump’s warning to Syria, saying on Tuesday the area was a “nest of terrorists”.

“Just to speak out with some warnings, without taking into account the very dangerous, negative potential for the whole situation in Syria, is probably not a full, comprehensive approach,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Russia has repeatedly warned against Syrian militants false flag gas attack in Idlib, saying they are preparing a chemical attack that will be used to justify a Western strike against Syrian troops.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said last Tuesday that the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee is preparing the attack in the northern Idlib province, and that it would be filmed by first-responders known as the White Helmets, who Russia has accused of fabricating past attacks.

Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov also touched on recent statements by US National Security Advisor John Bolton – in which he threatened to bomb Syria – could be interpreted as an implicit confirmation of such airstrikes. On August 22, Bolton stated that “… if the Syrian regime uses chemical weapons, we will respond very strongly and they really ought to think about this a long time.”

In April, the US, UK and France unleashed a bombing campaign on Syria. The airstrikes were carried out in response to an alleged gas attack in Douma on April 7, which the West blamed on Bashar Assad’s government. The operation started hours before a team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was due to reach the city.

Back then, Syrian defenses were scrambled to repel some 103 cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles launched at civilian and military targets by the Western trio. It managed to intercept at least 71 of them, the Russian Defense Ministry said at the time.

US strikes won’t stop Idlib operation

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told US cannot bully Damascus to abdomen Idlib liberation operations by threatening the nation with airstrikes.

“The intended aggression won’t affect our people’s morale nor will it sway our military plans to liberate Idlib,” the Syrian top diplomat told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

“This is not the first time that the United States, Great Britain and France have cooked up a scheme for a chemical weapons incident. It happened earlier in the Damascus suburb of Douma, when these countries decided not to wait for the results of an international investigation and conducted a trilateral strike on Syria. However, the Syrian people manned up to and scoffed off that aggression. They celebrated as they watched Syrian rockets down missiles launched by the aggressors,” Muallem pointed out.

According to him, the entire international community is already aware of the flimsy excuse for the imminent aggression against Syria.

“They [the US and its allies] are providing the White Helmets with tools to stage a false flag chemical weapons incident and shoot it in a village in the Idlib province,” the Syrian top diplomat said, adding, “this video footage is planned to be used as an excuse for a future aggression.”