Author: R J Adams

John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, says there is no doubt the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons against their own people. President Obama has made similar comments through his press secretary. David Cameron, British Prime Minister, has echoed the words of both men, as has President Francois Hollande of France. Vice President Joe Biden today condemned ‘Syria’s heinous act’. US Defense Secretary Hagel has told the world the US is ready to go to war again, as soon as the President gives the order.

There is still no direct evidence to link the recent chemical attacks with Assad’s regime. The US government says it has sufficient evidence of Assad’s involvement, even though the UN weapons inspector’s have produced no report, as yet.

There’s no evidence of CIA involvement, either, but neither was there over the unseating of Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadeq, in 1953; a coup that allowed the US-friendly Shah to return to power. It was carried out “as an act of US foreign policy” according to recently released CIA documents that provide a plethora of evidence – sixty years later.^[1]

No-one’s suggesting the CIA was responsible for the horrific use of chemical weapons in Syria, but given their record, it’s highly likely they’re covertly assisting the rebels against Assad’s regime.

US officials have stated that only the regime had the weapons and the rockets to deliver them to their targets, but isn’t it possible a rebel faction (of which there are many) has acquired some? A number of Assad’s high-up military personnel have defected to the other side. Some may have the knowledge and the ability to get their hands on these weapons.

Given US President Obama’s somewhat loud-mouthed boast at the beginning of the conflict, declaring US military involvement if Assad crossed the ‘red line’ and utilized chemical weapons, and knowing how desperate the rebel side is to drag the West into the war on their side, what better way than to gain control of some of these weapons and use them against opposing rebel factions?

It’s possible the regime was responsible for this dreadful act, but it must be considered unlikely, given that Assad presently has the upper hand in the conflict. Why would they risk the military wrath of the West by such senseless action?

There can be no doubt that America and the West desire the toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Equally, though, the last thing they want is an outright victory by the rebel factions, with the resultant nosedive into tribal and religious strife that, as in Iraq, could continue for decades and further inflame the Middle East.

Talking on the BBC’s ‘HardTalk’ program today, Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN-Arab League Envoy to Syria, appears to be the only one exhibiting a modicum of common sense.

Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN-Arab League Envoy to Syria, has called for continued political efforts, both inside the country and internationally, to end the conflict.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sarah Montague for the Hard Talk programme, he said there was no military solution, urging all parties to “work harder together” to find a political answer to the crisis.^[2]

The American media, and its politicians, are presently awash with virtuous and righteous indignation over the appalling images emanating from Syria. Cries of, “We must do something!” echo from every Washington office.

Sententious umbrage is all very well, but before one can stare back at the world from the high ground of moral righteousness it’s as well to remember how such lofty heights were achieved:

Remember Agent Orange, My Lai, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, No Gun Ri, the massacres at Canicatti and Dachau, Fallujah, Guantanamo Bay, the 140 (approx) innocent children slaughtered by US drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen^[3]…to name just a few of the many US war crimes gone unpunished?

It is a fact that the United States, with or without its Western allies, has failed to produce any satisfactory military solution anywhere in the world since World War II.

Syria is unlikely to be the first.

^{[1] “CIA documents acknowledge its role in Iran’s 1953 coup” BBC, August 20th 2013}

^{[2] “Syria conflict: ‘There is no military solution'” BBC, August 27th 2013}

^{[3] “names of kids killed by drones in Pakistan and Yemen” Smirking Chimp, January 21st 2013}

It happened back in April…in the courtyard of this apartment complex. Quanell X, who has been working with the family, says [nine year old] Ashley was among a group of children playing. That’s when a neighbor saw something and called the mother of a 4 year old boy who was also playing in the group. Ashley was accused of touching the child in his private area…

…Ashley, who was then 9 years old, was playing doctor with the other kids in that courtyard. She was accused of inappropriately touching the 4 year old boy. It was a game that landed the 10 year old at the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center in June…

That’s because the charges and arrest came two months after the initial complaint in April…

…Ashley’s Mother…says the Houston Police sex crimes investigator didn’t allow her to sit in on the questioning of her daughter. She says a 45 minute long interrogation that left her 10 year old in tears…

…Ashley and her mother could not talk about the facts of the case – it’s clear their claiming the young girl did nothing wrong. A girl who has to be consoled by her mother when she talks about being held in juvenile custody those four days.

Ashley says, “when my Mom came to see me I said I wanted to go home and then she said I couldn’t go home and she was like I know you want to go home.”

Ashley is expected to be in court in October on the sexual assault charge.^[1]

This girl was held in a detention center for FOUR days by Houston police.

This could be almost any kid in America…or, anywhere else where young kids are curious about other kid’s bits they’re normally not allowed to see.

I’ve never had much respect for Texas, or its populace. Their politics stink. Educationally, it must be one of the most backward states in America. If you doubt it, read the full version of this story by someone who dares to call themselves a reporter. Even the link address is misspelled.

What the hell are we becoming?

^{[1] “10 year old charged with sexual assault” Fox Houston, August 21st 2013.}

It’s your world now
Use well the time
Be part of something good
Leave something good behind
The curtain falls
I take my bow
That’s how it’s meant to be
It’s your world now.

(Glenn Frey & Jack Tempchin)

Remember the ‘Eagles’, one of the greatest American rock bands of all time? Formed in 1971, their music symbolized that great era when California was the only place to be; the Vietnam War was shortly to come to an end, and by the time it did the ‘Eagles’ were arguably the biggest band in America.

In those days, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Timothy B Schmit, and Joe Walsh were all kids in their twenties. Their music was aimed at us kids of similar age. We lapped up ‘Hotel California’, ‘Take It Easy’, ‘One Of Those Nights’, and other great tracks secure in the knowledge nothing was wrong with the world, and our elders (once Nixon was removed) were doing mostly everything right. Or, if they weren’t, we were too busy having fun to care.

It’s been one month and a day since my last post on Sparrow Chat. Partly, other priorities have resulted in the lack of posting, but mostly I’ve ceased to care. You see, there comes a point – somewhere around the age of sixty-seven – where what happens on this planet is no longer of concern. I guess it’s part of growing old.

Every day the news becomes worse. It’s not the chaos in Egypt, nor the indoctrinal attempts to bolster the Obama administration by pretending there may be the possibility of a peace settlement between the Palestinians and the Israelis – where obviously none can ever exist in the present climate.

It’s the news much closer to home – in America itself – that is truly disturbing. Americans just don’t seem to notice the meteorological catastrophe that is devastating their nation. The media headlines it every day, but in a way that says, “it’s mundane, nothing to be concerned about, just another ‘weather’ story”.

Is anybody looking back ten, twenty, fifty, years? Only the old people can state with certainty, “It weren’t like that when I were a lad/lass.” No, it wasn’t. Oh, yes, catastrophic floods, wildfires, tornadoes may have existed back then, but in such numbers and magnitude as is happening today? No, definitely not.

But, who the hell listens to old folk anymore? There was a time when the elders of the tribe were revered as wise, hearkened to, their wisdom acted upon. That’s not the way of the world today. Elders are crazy, nutty, their memories warped by age and senility. No-one listens to them anymore. After all, our president is a young man – barely fifty-two and looking ten years younger. Is he not the wisest man in the nation? Otherwise, how could he possibly be president?

The young have their smart phones, Ipads – technological wizardry never dreamed of when the ‘Eagles’ were singing ‘Tequila Sunrise’ – and maybe they’ve become so immersed in this communications revolution that they’ve truly forgotten how to communicate the things that really matter.

If I purchase a tube of toothpaste on Amazon today, I’m invited to declare my new purchase on FaceBook. I can’t believe that anyone of the six and a half billion humans on this planet would be interested to know about my toothpaste, so I never take up Amazon’s offer, but presumably sufficient people use the service to warrant making this function available?

Which all makes one wonder: “Is my toothpaste of more importance to humanity than the catastrophic, man-made, climate change that is already ravaging this nation and this planet?

Certainly, on the surface at least, it may well be. For who, apart from a few well-meaning folk, who bear comparison with anti-hunting campaigners or gun control freaks, even believes in the existence of man-made climate change? After all, it’s not affecting the performance of the Chicago Bears or the Miami Dolphins, so what’s the problem here?

And, hey, you know, at age sixty-seven it’s not my bloody problem anymore. At best, I’ll not manage more than thirty further years on this planet, and likely considerably less. Man-made climate change is not going to have any truly devastating effect on me.

In 2007, the ‘Eagles’ released their last album, “The Long Road Out Of Eden.” The band members were just short of sixty years old. The last track on that superb double album was entitled, “It’s Your World Now.”

It symbolizes exactly how I feel today. I’m not responsible for the state of the planet. I wasn’t running things this past fifty years. So, I have this message for those who are today at that age as were Frey, Walsh, Schmit, and Henley when they wrote and performed, ‘Hotel California’.

If you don’t care enough to save the planet for your future, then fuck you. Consider whether there’s any difference between burying your heads in the sand, or, into your tablets and smart phones.

“It’s Your World Now,” and, frankly, at my age, I no longer give a damn.