Are Japanese Bonds Signaling Trouble?

Are Japanese Bonds Signaling Trouble?

by Stephen Lendman

A previous article discussed the disconnect between soaring markets and troubled economies. Liquidity driven markets only skyrocket so long.

What can't go on forever, won't. No one's sure when. Eventually the music stops. When that happens, watch out. Signals provide clues.

Fed governors hint at slowing QE. Some analysts think by yearend or sooner. Bond prices affect other markets. Spiking Japanese sovereign yields (JGB) suggest trouble.

On May 18, The Japan Times headlined "JGB yield spikes raise alarm bells," saying:

"Is it a sign of a full-fledged economic recovery or a looming catastrophe in the monetary making?"

On April 5, the benchmark 10-year JGB perhaps bottomed at 0.315%. From there it surged. On May 17, it hit 0.92%. It pulled back. It resumed rising. On May 21, its yield was 0.88%.

At the same time, demand for 40-year debt waned. Yields closed at 1.955%. It's their highest level in almost a year. Bad auction results suggests hirer levels ahead.

According to Sri-Kumar Global Strategies Inc., Japan's debt is so large it threatens to undermine its bond market. Doing so has a global effect. More on that below.

Rising levels means higher debt-servicing costs. According to Sumitomo Trust Bank, a 1% interest rate rise increases it by 10 trillion yen by 2020.

On May 14, the Financial Times headlined " 'Spiking' Japanese bond yields recall days of 2003," saying:

"The 10-year yield has now almost doubled from last month's low, similar to the initial rise from an almost identical low a decade ago."

A new Bank of Japan governor then vastly increased bond purchases. Ministers first reacted by a record currency intervention. Public spending replaced it.

"If the parallels continue, bondholders will suffer a lot more pain." In 2003, rising yields lasted one month. They stayed flat until commodities soared. They did so in 2007.

"The big difference this time is that the yen has collapsed, falling yesterday to its weakest in five years against the dollar, below Y102."

Domestic bondholders lost only 1% since December. Dollar-based ones are down about 20%. The good news perhaps is defeating deflation. The bad news may undermine doing so.

On May 10, Market Ticker's Karl Denninger headlined "Japan's Ticking Fiscal Bomb."

Prime Minister Sinzo Abe and Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda may get more than they bargained for.

The yen collapsed against the dollar. It dropped nearly one-third in value. Doing so sent the Nikkei "screaming higher." Doing so's not like what it looks.

Currency devaluation to generate inflation has a price. "The 'bad news' came in the bond market." It went limit down on yield.

"Since the government is massively in debt, it will be unable on a cash basis to pay its bills, as they will not be able to roll over the existing debt when it matures and pay the (new) coupon."  

"If (it tries) then (it's) forced to continue to print even more yen to fund the interest payments, which in turn causes the value of the bonds emitted to go down further - a monetary equivalent of a flat spin - and is unrecoverable."

Import prices already soared 30%. Japan's heavily dependent on foreign oil. Many of its other industrial requirements are imported.

In mid-April, former George Soros advisor on Japanese investments, Takeshi Fujimaki, tripled down on warnings.

He believes massive QE won't stimulate growth. It promises trouble.

"By expanding the monetary base to 270 trillion yen, the BOJ is making a huge bet which I think it will ultimately lose."

"Kuroda’s QE announcement is declaring double suicide with the government. The BOJ will have to share the country’s fate and default together."

"The volatility in the JGB market as well as the fact that there is large selling represent fear among investors."

"They are early signs of a larger selloff and we should continue to monitor the moves in the long-term bonds."

"Japan's finance is sinking into the ocean. There's no escape from a market crash in the future when you have such enormous debt."

He sold almost all his Japanese equity holdings some time ago.

In early April, Bank of Japan governor Kuroda announced pedal-to-the metal QE. He plans to double Japan's monetary base. He'll do so in less than two years.

Any significant rise in JGB yields defeats his strategy. Japan’s government bond market stands at 240% of GDP. It’s the highest debt burden among developed countries. 

Debt monetization doesn't produce growth. Doing what never worked before won't now. Previous Japanese grand plans failed.

In the late 1980s, BOJ policy escalated asset and property prices. It did so to unprecedented levels. Market crashes, rolling recessions, weak recoveries, malaise, deflation, and dangerous deficits followed. 

Japan's in unchartered waters. Money printing madness fueled the latest rally in global equities.

On May 20, market analyst Graham Summers signaled trouble. Kuroda's announced $1.2 trillion QE policy hammered the yen. At the same time, it fueled over a 70% Nikkei rally in six months.

"This has been the fundamental driver of this latest risk on rally." Fed governors suggest reduced QE by yearend or sooner. "So it’s the Bank of Japan who’s in the driver’s seat for asset prices today."

What's good for stocks is bad for the yen. "(I)t's been an absolute disaster for Japanese bonds." Since announcing new BOJ policy, JGBs "triggered circuit breaks no less than four times due to increased volatility."

Late last week, they violated their multi-year trend line. They did so briefly. Doing so suggests again. Perhaps they'll breach it sharply. It matters.

Japan's bond market is the world's second largest. If sovereign debt keeps falling, rates rise. Higher levels affect global finance.

Greece impacted it earlier. It's bond market is miniscule. It's less than 3% of Japan's.

For many decades, Japanese bonds were considered "risk free." Investors bought them at very low yields. Doing so helped Japan's economically. It grew marginally. Absent foreign investors, it would have fared worse.

If Japanese bonds begin imploding, said Graham, expect trouble. Doing so means:

"The second largest bond market in the world is entering a bear market (along with commensurate liquidations and redemptions by institutional investors around the globe)."

"The second largest economy in the world will collapse (along with the impact on global exports)."

Worse still, global central bank efforts to hold international finance together "will have proven a failure."

Japan is a major central bank "progressive and accommodating policy" leader. For nearly two decades, BOJ kept interest rates near zero.

It launched nine QE plans. They equaled nearly 25% of Japan's GDP. Thus far, it's done so "with minimal consequences."

Other central banks believed they could replicate BOJ policy. If Japan's bond market craters, "then it's Game. Set. Match." 

The greatest monetary experiment ever will have failed. "(W)hat follows will make Lehman look like a joke."

Global finance is flashing red. It's sending "major warnings." No one's sure what's coming or when. 

Economies are troubled. Monetary stimulus failed. This time won't be different. All bubbles pop. Harder times loom.

Growth requires job creation. Unemployment's much too high. Eurozone joblessness hit another record. America's real rate is 23%.

Dropping money on bank balance sheets doesn't work. Main Street's beset with austerity. Dire conditions there matter most. 

People can only borrow so much. They can't spend what they don't have. Bad policies beget bad results. Economies already are troubled. 

They're heading for potential disaster. It may be worse than  expected on arrival. Forewarned is forearmed.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

Reinventing Guatemalan History

Reinventing Guatemalan History

by Stephen Lendman

History reinventors support despots. Social democrats are vilified. Crimes of war, against humanity and genocide are sanitized. They're whitewashed. They disappear in plain sight.

Wall Street Journal columnist Mary O'Grady tried reinventing Guatemalan history. She failed. More on that below.

Washington tolerates no independent governments. Left of center democratic ones are most vulnerable. 

In 1953, the CIA's first coup deposed Iran's Mohammad Mosaddegh. At the time, The New York Times called him "the most popular politician in the country." Reza Shah Pahlavi replaced him. A generation-long reign of terror followed.

In 1954, Washington ousted Guatemala's Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. In 1952, Truman authorized CIA action. Eisenhower followed through. 

Paramilitary subversion and psychological warfare forced him out. Carlos Castillo Armas replaced him. Death squad justice followed. So did decades of genocide. More on that below.

On May 10, a three-judge Guatemalan panel found former dictator/General Efrain Rios Montt guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. 

From March 23, 1982 - August 8, 1983, he was Guatemala's president. He seized power the old-fashioned way. Coup d'etat force installed him. 

Less than 17 months later, Oscar Humberto Mejia Victores replaced him. He did it the same way. In 2003 presidential elections, Montt ran unsuccessfully. In 2007, he returned to public office in Congress.

Until January 14, 2012, he remained immune from prosecution. Eight days later, he was indicted for genocide and crimes against humanity. His record is well documented. It's indisputable. More on that below.

He's now aged 86. Judge Yasmin Barrios said "(w)e are completely convinced of the intent to destroy the Ixil ethnic groups."

He was sentenced to 80 years imprisonment. His co-defendant, Jose Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez, served as intelligence chief during his tenure. He was acquitted on the same charges.

The trial lasted five weeks. Over 100 witnesses testified. They included psychologists, military experts, and Maya Ixil Indian survivors. They explained Montt's scorched earth policy. He slaughtered tens of thousands. He destroyed hundreds of villages. More on that below.

Mary O'Grady is Wall Street Journal Americas columnist. She's an editorial board member. Her commentaries reinvent history. Fiction substitutes for indisputable facts.

On May 20, she headlined "The Left's Cold War Revenge in Guatemala: The history behind an absurd court ruling that Gen. Rios Montt is guilty of genocide."

Convicting him for genocide "is not supported by the facts," she claimed. Doing so "is more a score-settling exercise by the international left than a search for truth and justice."

She called indigenous areas "havens from which terrorists planned, prepared and executed attacks on the rest of the country."

She admitted that some army units committed massacres. "But it was 'in no way' " state policy. A convoluted version of history followed. It's standard O'Grady practice. It falls short of bad fiction.

She claimed testimonies of survivors and prosecution experts didn't prove genocide. "The absurdity of this has not been lost on many Guatemalans," she said.

"Ixil people and others from the region…view…Montt as a hero," she claimed.

Some hero! Over 70,000 corpses on his watch prove otherwise. So do around 200,000 throughout decades of conflict.

In 1996, Guatemala's 34-year genocidal war ended. In February 1999, a detailed report followed. The Historical Clarification Commission (aka truth and justice reconciliation commission) headlined "Guatemala, Memory of Silence."

It documented decades of genocide, torture and other atrocities. Most victims were indigenous Mayans. Guatemalan and US officials bore full responsibility.

Around 9,200 witnesses on all sides of the conflict provided evidence. The commission concluded that Guatemala's military, security forces, and paramilitary units were responsible for 93% of human rights abuses and deaths.

Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union guerrillas were involved in only 3%. In another 4% of cases, responsibility couldn't be determined.

According to the report:

"The massacres that eliminated entire Mayan villages are neither perfidious allegations nor figments of the imagination, but an authentic chapter in Guatemala's history."

"The majority of human rights violations occurred with the knowledge or by order of the highest authorities of the state." 

"The responsibility for a large part of these violations, with respect to the chain of military command as well as the political and administrative responsibility, reaches the highest levels of the army and successive governments."

Massacres were politically motivated. "Believing that the ends justified everything, the military and state security forces blindly pursued the anti-Communist struggle, without respect for any legal principles or the most elemental ethical and religious values, and in this way completely lost any semblance of human morals."

The worst atrocities occurred on Montt's watch. In 1982, he launched Operation Sofia. Military and security forces committed hundreds of massacres. 

Around 600 Mayan villages were destroyed. Systematic genocide was policy. During his short tenure, around 70,000 civilians were murdered or disappeared. Hundreds of thousands were internally displaced.

Over half of those slaughtered were in El Quiche. Ixil Mayans lost from 70 - 90% of their villages. Washington provided generous support. Reagan was president. General Alexander Haig was Secretary of State.

From 1981 - 1983, International/European Law Professor Emeritus Christian Tomuschat called Guatemalan policy "acts of genocide against groups of the Mayan people."

For over two decades, Washington supported it. "Up until the mid-1980s, there was strong pressure from the US government and US companies to maintain the country's archaic and unjust economic structure," he said.

US administrations knew about genocide, torture and other atrocities. They encouraged them. 

During the 1960s, Washington equipped and trained Guatemalan security forces. Declassified US intelligence documents revealed CIA and Pentagon involvement. Montt was trained at the School of the Americas (SOA). 

Instruction then and now includes ways to kill, maim, torture, oppress, exterminate poor and indigenous people, overthrow democratically elected governments, assassinate targeted leaders, suppress popular resistance, and solidify hard-right rule cooperatively with Washington.

Throughout the 1980s, close US-Guatemalan ties remained. Scorched earth dirty war targeted indigenous Mayan, resistance guerrillas, and suspected allies.

The region was embroiled in conflict. Death squad justice was policy. Washington-backed Contras battled Nicaragua's Sandinista government. El Salvadoran fascists were supported.

Throughout the decade, weapons, munitions, training, and destabilizing covert operations supported despots over freedom. Resistance fighters and indigenous populations were targeted.

Guatemala's conflict lasted longest. Washington fueled and supported it. All US administrations have blood on their hands. It reflects imperialism's dark side. 

State-sponsored terror is policy. It's war without mercy. It's longstanding. It rages globally. It targets humanity. It takes no prisoners. 

It threatens everyone. It's worse than ever now. Mass extinction is possible. Who can disagree!

A Final Comment

On May 20, Guatemala's Constitutional Court (its high court) overturned Montt's conviction. It did so by a three - two majority. Montt will return to house arrest.

What follows is unclear. Trial proceedings weren't invalidated. The court ordered them rolled back to April 19. At that time, a brief suspension followed another judge's decision. Disarray and confusion resulted.

By April 19, the entire prosecution's case was presented. So was most for the defense. Those proceedings still stand. Everything following is invalidated.

What's next remains to be seen. A new judicial panel may be appointed. Guatemala's attorney general may appeal. 

Heavy pressure preceded the high court ruling. Business interests wanted Montt's conviction overturned. Perhaps Washington did also. It supported the worst of Montt's crimes.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

http://www.dailycensored.com/reinventing-guatemalan-history/

Supreme Court Colludes with Monsanto

Supreme Court Colludes with Monsanto

by Stephen Lendman

It's no surprise. Michael Parenti calls America's High Court its "autocratic branch." 

It's notoriously pro-business. It's longstanding. In Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railway (1886), it granted corporations legal personhood.

More recently, in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes et al (June 2011), it denied longstanding sexual discrimination class action redress. It overruled a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision doing so.

In AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion (April 2011), it did so two months earlier. It blocked class action redress claiming fraud. The company's wireless subsidiary charged sales tax on cellphones it advertised as free. Two California courts rules for plaintiffs. The High Court overruled them.

In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled for money power over democratic governance. One dollar = one vote. 

Corporations and PACs can spend all they want. Doing so more than ever lets them control US elections. Voters are effectively disenfranchised. They have no say whatever.

Numerous other rulings show America’s High Court is supremely pro-business. The Roberts Court is more so than previous ones. Even The New York Times noticed.

On May 4, it headlined "Corporations Find a Friend in the Supreme Court." It rejected an anti-trust class action suit against Comcast. Subscribers sought to prove unfair competition and overcharges. Wrongdoing was dismissed 5 - 4. It didn’t surprise. It’s consistently pro-business. Doing so facilitates corporate empowerment, discriminatory practices, willful fraud, and products harming human health.

Bowman v. Monsanto again showed where America's High Court stands. Justice again was denied. Corporate interests alone matter. In 2007, Monsanto sued Vernon Bowman. He's an Indiana farmer. At issue was alleged patent infringement.

He bought mixed soybean seeds. He did so from a grain elevator. He planted them a second time. He supplemented them with soybeans bought from the same source. 

Monsanto's licensing agreement forbids second plantings. It wants seeds sold used only once. It wants farmers to pay each time they plant.

Bowman claimed no patent infringement. It expired on what he first bought. He supplemented with commodity soybeans. They're usually used for feed. 

He said they naturally "self-replicate or sprout unless stored in a controlled manner." In other words, he planted soybeans, not new seeds. He violated no law. 

Justice Elena Kagan delivered the court opinion. She didn't surprise. She and other justices spurn judicial fairness. They do so in defense of privilege. She rejected what she called "that blame-the-bean defense."

Bowman had no chance. He was no match against Monsanto. He was ordered to pay nearly $85,000 in damages. He's a small farmer. Doing so may bankrupt him. Longstanding agribusiness plans call for greater consolidation at the expense of small competitors.

Bowman lost at the district, appellate and High Court levels. They ruled one way. They claimed patent exhaustion doesn't permit farmers to replant seeds and harvest them without patent holder's permission.

Generic drug companies freely do it. The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act permits it. Once patents expire, holders no longer have exclusive rights.

In 2014, the last of Monsanto's Roundup Ready US patents will expire. Monsanto's supposed to lose exclusivity. At issue is will or won't it happen? 

Expect Monsanto to press hard to keep it. Earlier it said it wants international regulatory Roundup Ready soybeans support until 2021. It's unclear if other companies will be able to sell generic versions. Monsanto won't make it easy to do so.

On May 13, Food Democracy Now (FDN) denounced the Supreme Court ruling. Executive director Dave Murphy accused Washington of complicity in permitting the "corporate takeover of (America's) food supply."

"Today," he said, "the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the corporate takeover of our food supply, in a huge win for Monsanto, and a major loss for America’s farmers and consumers."  

"Monsanto has long engaged in an effort to subvert family farmers that do not use their genetically-engineered seeds, and the Court has now handed corporations even more control over what our families eat."

"Currently, Food Democracy Now! is a co-plaintiff in a lawsuit in the District Court of Appeals, Organic Seed Associations et Al. v Monsanto to protect America’s farmers from unwanted contamination of their crops by Monsanto’s patented genetically-engineered plants." 

"Our nation’s family farmers grow our food on farms where cross-pollination between organic, non-GMO crops and Monsanto's genetically-engineered patented crops is regular and naturally-occurring process." 

"The Court’s decision to give Monsanto the power to control the future harvest of America’s family farmers and our county’s food supply is deeply troubling, immoral and a very bad sign for the future of our nation’s food."

In March 2013, Obama signed the Monsanto Protection Act. It's the Farmer Assurance Provision rider in HR 933: Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013. Monsanto lawyers wrote it.

It permits circumventing judicial decisions. If courts rule GMOs unsafe, Monsanto's free to ignore them. So can the Secretary of Agriculture. 

He's free to ignore food safety. He can let hazardous GMOs poison America's food supply. Obama's complicit with giant corporate interests. He's their man in Washington. He's beholden to monied interests. They own him.

He's waging global hot wars. He's enforcing homeland tyranny. He lets Wall Street wage financial wars. He permits institutionalized fraud. He let BP get away with contaminating America's Gulf. 

He has longstanding nuclear industry ties. He wants new US commercial reactor construction jump-started. He's committing billions of dollars in loan guarantees to do so. He's mindless of the risks.

He's waging war on human health and welfare. Polls show over 90% of America want GMO products and ingredients labeled. 

In 2007, candidate Obama promised to "let folks know when their food is genetically modified, because Americans have a right to know what they're buying."

He lied. He's a serial liar. He broke every major promise made. He supports Monsanto's right to proliferate what harms human health. 

It's no surprise. He's waging global wars on humanity. It may not survive his onslaught.

A Final Comment

Throughout its history, Monsanto produced harmful products. Some eventually were banned. Its recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) increased milk production in cows.

It caused painful mastitis, infections and reproductive problems. Large amounts of puss and blood were found in rBGH milk. Potential linkage to cancer was discovered. 

EU nations and Canada banned it. It's still sold in America. Monsanto lobby power permits it.

Monsanto's polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) was extremely toxic. It caused cancer and other diseases. Many products contained it. It was dumped in rivers and streams nationwide. 

Harmful environmental damage followed. Concentrated areas created health crises. In 1976, Congress banned it.

Monsanto's DDT inspired Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring."

 She exposed aldrin, chlordane, dieldrin, and other dangerously toxic chemicals She inspired environmental justice advocacy groups. 

America banned DDT. So did other countries. It's still used in tropical countries. It's done to control malaria.

Monsanto's legacy includes Agent Orange. It contains dioxin. It's one of the most deadly substances known. It's a potent carcinogenic human immune system suppressant. 

Minute amounts cause serious health problems and death. Exposure results in congenital disorders and birth defects. 

It causes cancer, type two diabetes, and numerous other diseases. Its widespread Southeast Asian use produced horrific consequences. Millions were affected. Many died. Living victims still suffer. Many Vietnam vets and US citizens in theater were affected.

Proliferating hazardous GMOs may be worst of all. Widespread food contamination poses enormous threats. Sanctioning Monsanto's use makes Washington complicit. 

People have a right to know what they're eating. Failure to prohibit substances harming human health violates the Constitution's "general welfare" clause. Article I, Section 8 states:

"The Congress shall have power to….provide for (the) general welfare of the United States."

It means "We the People." It includes everyone equitably. It means what never was, isn't now, or won't ever be under a system favoring privilege, not fairness.

Washington's corporate occupied territory. Profits matter more than human life and welfare. Bipartisan complicity ignores the "general welfare." Things go from bad to worse. It's longstanding. It's the American way.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

http://www.dailycensored.com/supreme-court-colludes-with-monsanto/

America: A Modern-Day Sparta

America: A Modern-Day Sparta

by Stephen Lendman

Permanent war is longstanding policy. America deplores peace. Throughout its history, it's waged war annually at home and/or abroad. Today it does so globally.

Giving peace a chance is loathed. Direct or proxy wars rage in multiple countries. 

"Yes we can" reflects Obama's pro-war, pro-imperial, pro-ravage, plunder and dominate agenda. He prioritizes it. He abhors human rights,  equity, justice, and other democratic values. Rogue leaders operate that way.

Rule of law principles are spurned. Constitutional protections no longer apply. Any nation, organization or person designated a state enemy is targeted.

"Change you can believe in" is polar opposite of what most people expected. America's empire of bases is global. US special forces operate in over 120 countries. Proxy death squads supplement them. CIA agents and assets are everywhere.

Washington's Blog said America's waging 74 wars. It's "fighting or 'helping' some force in some proxy struggle that has been deemed beneficial by the nation's masters of war." 

At the same time, it's waging "many more covert wars." It bears repeating, the very notion of peace is abhorrent. Waging war is prioritized. 

Paul Craig Roberts calls America a "gangster state." He does so for good reason. Its domestic and foreign policies reflect it. No nation ever harmed more people in more ways globally. None ever spurned rule of law principles more egregiously.

Waging war on terror's a ruse. It's duplicitous subterfuge. America's had no enemies since Japan surrendered in August 1945. Manufactured ones substitute. 

They're easy to create. Media scoundrels convince people. Repeating Big Lies ad nauseam works. No terror threat whatever exists. 

Polls show the power of mind manipulation. In late April, a New York Times/CBS News poll showed an astonishing 90% of Americans believe they'll "always have to live with the risk of terrorism."

An equally astonishing 75% believe restricting civil liberties is OK. Over one-fourth said existing policy measures aren't enough. Another near 50% said they're about right. 

Only 20% said government went too far. Nearly 80% accept mass surveillance. People believe it reduces the threat of terrorism. 

No wonder America wages war on humanity easily. It does so at home and abroad. Domestic opposition barely exists. It bodes ill for what's likely coming. 

Most people are mindless of what threatens their security, welfare and futures. They're comfortable with what's destroying them in plain sight. They can't see the forest through the trees. 

They're oblivious to a clear, present and ominous danger. It may end up destroying them. Extrajudicial, unchecked, imperial carte blanche war on the world is policy. There's no place to hide. No one's immune. Peace doesn't stand a chance.

Bashar al-Assad understands. He's struggling to let Syria survive. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) published his interview with Argentina's Clarin newspaper and Telam news agency. His comments were candid and forthright.

He blamed "foreign interference" for Syria's conflict. Most Syrians "reject all forms of external intervention. For us, it is a matter of safeguarding Syria."

"(O)ur level of force relate to the types of weapons and terrorism techniques we are dealing with as well as our ultimate goal of protecting the lives of civilians and the country as a whole."

"Terrorism can never be the instrument to achieve reforms. What interest does an internationally listed terrorist from Chechnya or Afghanistan have with the internal political reform process in Syria?" 

"How is the legitimate demand for reform linked with terrorist activities adopted by radicalized foreign fighters?"

"Recent credible reports show that there are approximately 29 nationalities of foreign fighters engaged in terrorism activities within Syria's borders."

He stressed his commitment to political reforms. Many have been implemented, he said. 

"The essence of any political solution is the aspirations of the Syrian people, decided by the ballot boxes." Syrians alone must decide. No outside interference is justified. International law prohibits it.

Asked his view on the US/Russian proposed peace conference, he reiterated support for all ways to end violence diplomatically. A political settlement depends on it, he stressed.

At the same time, he's justifiably "skeptical of the genuine intentions of certain western administrations towards seeking a realistic political solution…."

"This caution is based on their continued support of terrorist groups in Syria. We are dedicated to pursuing a political solution, yet there are powers who are pressing for the failure of such a solution. This is a two-way process; it needs commitment from all sides."

"(F)oreign-based opposition elements (are) far from autonomous independent decision makers. Their policies are crafted by the countries that give them leverage."

They "survive on the aid given to them by their patron states, in essence manipulated by the nations that provide their flow of finance." 

"They live under the auspice and control of their intelligence agencies and thus submit to what is imposed upon them." 

"Therefore their decisions are not self-governing; most significantly, they lack a popular base in Syria."

"It's well-documented…that they have until last week clearly and repeatedly rejected political dialogue."

He stressed his commitment "to a comprehensive national dialogue (with) all who have a genuine desire to participate, with no exclusions."

He rejects doing so with terrorists. "There is no state that would ever negotiate with terrorists. However, we welcome those who lay down their weapons and engage in constructive political dialogue."

Peaceful conflict resolution's impossible when external forces support terrorism, he stressed. "Guns and dialogue are clearly incompatible."

"Our assumption is that these countries would not cease this policy as their main goal is to undermine and thus weaken the Syrian state."

"Even when we succeed in reaching a Syrian-led political agreement, certain countries such as Qatar, Turkey and others will continue to work to fuel violence and terrorism in Syria." 

"Therefore, our main precedence from an international conference is an immediate cessation of finance and weapons that are regularly streamed into Syria, placing emphasis on preventing the terrorists and fighters from being flooded into Syria principally through Turkey, with financial support primarily from Qatar and also from other Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia."

He understands "major international powers" are involved. So is Israel.

Asked if he'd step down, he said "Syrian people will decide whether I remain in office or not….Through the constitution and the presidential elections in 2014, the people will decide."

He rejects Obama, Kerry or other external figures interfering in Syria's internal affairs. They have no mandate to speak for Syrians.

"To be even more concise and clear, we are an independent state, we are a people who respect ourselves and our right to self-determination." 

"We do not accept for anyone to dictate to us how to act, whether it is the United States or any other country."

Syria's in crisis, he stressed. "Any abandonment of my duties now is an attempt to escape from responsibility and I'm not the type of person who runs away from his responsibilities."

He categorically denied repeated allegations that Syria used chemical weapons. They're "a clear pretext for military intervention….It is common knowledge that western administrations lie continuously and manufacture stories as a pretext for war."

Washington and other major powers "delegated Israel to commit its aggression in order to improve the morale of the terrorist groups."

They did so because Syrian forces "shift(ed) the balance of power on the ground. (They want) to prolong the violence and bloodshed (to) significantly weaken the Syrian state." He believes "military action" may be forthcoming.

"The primary aim of the West is to ensure that they have 'loyal' governments at their disposal, similar to those administrations that existed previously in Latin America, which facilitate the exploitation and consumption of a country's national resources."

"A country like Syria is not by any means a satellite state to the West. Syria is an independent state working for the interests of its people, rather than making the Syrian people work for the interests of the West." 

"It is only normal that they would not want us to play a role, preferring instead a puppet government serving their interests and creating projects that would benefit their peoples and economies." 

"Syria is strategically placed not just for oil and gas projects, but also to shift the balance of power between the major players."

Previous peace initiatives failed. Another won't fare better. Washington prioritizes failure. War is longstanding policy.

America's a worldwide belligerent. Unchallenged global dominance matters most. Independent governments aren't tolerated. 

All means are employed to oust them. Pro-Western satellite regimes are sought. Iran's America's principle regional target. War plans were readied years ago. 

Replacing Assad's government makes them easier to implement. So does eliminating Lebanon's Hezbollah. America's coalition partners include key NATO allies, Israel, and regional rogue states.

They're committed to war. They abhor peace. They menace humanity. They may end up destroying it. Their arsenals make it easy. Don't bet against their use full force.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

http://www.dailycensored.com/america-a-modern-day-sparta/

Guantanamo Force-Feeding Constitutes Torture

Guantanamo Force-Feeding Constitutes Torture

by Stephen Lendman

Guantanamo detention constitutes torture, abuse and ill-treatment. Long-term detention compounds it. 

Force-feeding increases unconscionable pain and suffering. Doing so violates core rule of law principles.

Around 130 of 166 Guantanamo detainees refuse food. They're hunger striking for justice. They began in February. They passed 100 days. They'd rather die than endure injustice. Their only escape route is death.

Pentagon officials at first maintained silence. Belatedly they admitted what's well-known. They consistently downplayed it. Now they admit 102 detainees refuse food. At least 130 are involved.

Obama dismissively said nothing. His belated acknowledgement reflected disdain for their pain and suffering.

Thirty or more hunger strikers are being force-fed. Doing so constitutes torture. A previous article explained.

Detainees are restrained in chairs. They're called "padded cells on wheels." 

Tubes are forced painfully through their noses and throats to their stomachs. It's done abrasively. It draws blood. 

Liquid nutrients are pumped into their stomachs. Doing so causes excruciating pain. No sedatives or anesthesia are given. Men are kept strapped under restraints up to two hours.

It's done to prevent purging. The procedure's repeated twice daily. Tubes are reused. They're covered in blood and stomach bile.

Reportedly they're passed from one inmate to another. Proper sanitation is non-existent. One detainee called the procedure "torture, torture, torture."

Those refusing force-feeding are brutally beaten. Injuries occur. Hospitalization at times follows.

The World Medical Association says force-feeding violates fundamental medical ethics. When accompanied by "threats, coercion, force, and use of physical restraints, (it's) considered inhuman and degrading treatment."

Al Jazeera obtained a 30 page Pentagon document. It's dated March 5, 2013. It's titled "Standard Operating Procedure (SOP): Medical Management of Detainees on Hunger Strike."

It explains updated force-feeding methods. Medical personnel are involved. Doing so violates core ethical standards and guidelines. 

Strikers are shackled in restraint chairs. They're held up to two hours. Masks cover their mouths. Tubes 61cm or longer snake through their nose and throat to their stomachs. 

The procedure continues until a chest x-ray or test dose of water confirms it's properly in place. The process is excruciatingly painful. 

When feeding ends, detainees are placed in "dry cells." No running water's permitted. Guards observe them up to an hour. They do so "for any indications of vomiting or attempts to induce vomiting."

If it occurs, the detainee's returned to a restraint chair. The process repeats. The updated SOP replaces 2003 policy. In 2005, it was revised. With redactions, it was declassified.

On March 5, the new unredacted policy took effect. It was one month after hunger striking began. It was implemented to handle mass striking.

According to the Pentagon's document:

"Just as battlefield tactics must change throughout the course of a conflict, the medical responses to GTMO detainees who hunger strike has evolved with time." 

"A mass hunger strike was successfully dealt with in (2005) by utilizing procedures adopted from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the approach delineated in this SOP."

"However, the composition of the detainee population, camp infrastructure, and policies has all undergone significant change since the initial version of this SOP."

"Much of the original instruction has been retained in the form of enclosures. In the event of a mass hunger strike, these enclosures can be utilized as they have proven efficacy under mass hunger strike conditions."

"(I)n the event of a mass hunger strike, isolating hunger striking patients from each other is vital to prevent them from achieving solidarity."

On April 13, guards implemented a pre-dawn raid. Over 100 prisoners were isolated. Doing so tried to break their morale. It didn't work.

Leonard Rubenstein's a human rights and medical ethics advocate lawyer. He's a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School for Public Health visiting scholar. He serves at its Center for Public Health and Human Rights and Center for a Livable Future.

He reviewed the Pentagon document. He called it troubling. It prohibits medical professionals from acting responsibly. They're "adjuncts of the security apparatus."

It's "very frightening," he said. "The clinical judgment of a doctor or a nurse is basically trumped by this policy and protocol." 

"Doctors are not acting with (ethical) professional medical independence. It's clear that, notwithstanding references to preservation of detainee health in the policy, the first interest is in ending the protests."

Detainee needs and welfare aren't addressed. Ways to treat mental health problems are ignored.

Guantanamo's commander alone decides who's force-fed. Medical personnel have no say. They're told to follow orders. 

According to the document:

"In the event a detainee refrains from eating or drinking to the point where it is determined by the medical assessment that continued fasting will result in a threat to life or seriously jeopardize health, and involuntary feeding is required, no direct action will be taken without the knowledge and written approval of the Commander."

With or without consent, "medical procedures that are indicated to preserve health and life shall be implemented…"

According to the Constitution Project's Task Force on Detainee Treatment:

"(A)t least some federal prisons handle hunger strikes very differently, and far less coercively, than at Guantanamo."

"The written federal guidelines for force-feeding make no mention of restraints, and include several safeguards that are not in place in Guantanamo." 

"Prison guidelines require the warden to notify a sentencing judge of involuntary feeding, with an explanation of the background of and reasons for involuntary feeding, as well as videotaping of force-feeding." 

"BOP requires that 'treatment is to be given in accordance with accepted medical practice.' " 

It "requires an individualized assessment of the patient's situation that appears to be absent at Guantanamo. It also requires individualized counseling of the detainee…"

"(T)he BOP's written policy on the use of restraints also conflicts with the restraint-chair protocol at Guantanamo."

"Federal prisons are known to use restraint chairs for inmates who are physically dangerous to themselves, other inmates, or guards - but at most federal prisons, the chairs are apparently not used for forced feeding."

At times, several attempts are needed to assure correct force-feeding tube placement. Once down a detainee's throat, breathing difficulties may occur.

Prisoners get a choice at mealtime. "Eat a hot meal, drink the nutrient, or receive an enteral feed."

On May 4, The Lancet headlined "Guantanamo: hunger strikes and a doctor's duty," saying:

" 'It can't go on like this' is a common response to a desperate situation: yet too often it can, and it does."

"Military doctors asked to force-feed individuals on hunger strike will experience divided loyalties." 

"The demands of the state may clash with the politically neutral opinion of the international medical community."

"(F)orce-feed(ing) infringes the principle of patient autonomy." Standards of humanity and dignity are violated.

On April 24, American Medical Association (AMA) president Jeremy Lazarus wrote Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. 

He stated AMA's longstanding position. Physician participation in force-feeding violates core medical professional ethics.

"Every competent patient has the right to refuse medical intervention, including life-sustaining interventions," he stressed. 

"We urge you to ensure that this matter receives prompt and thorough attention and to address any situation in which a physician may be asked to violate the ethical standards of his or her profession."

Physicians for Human Rights senior medical advisor Vincent Iacopino has extensive knowledge of Guantanamo detainees' abuse. He examined them. He testified in court on their behalf.

"Hunger strikes shouldn't be confused with the intent to commit suicide," he said. "Hunger strikes are a form of protest, an attempt to shame detainee authorities into action by individuals who are desperate to have some control over their lives."

Confrontational responses fuel protests, he added. "There's no therapeutic relationships between (detainees) and medical personnel and doctors." Mitigating hunger strikes requires having a clinician who will respect your autonomy. That doesn't exist at Guantanamo."

The Center for Constitutional Rights applauded the AMA's condemnation. In response, Executive Director Vincent Warren said:

"In reaffirming its long-standing opposition to force feeding Guantanamo prisoners, the country’s most prominent medical association has delivered a stinging rebuke to the Obama administration’s wholly inadequate response to the hunger strike."  

"The AMA’s condemnation comes on the heels of reports that the Department of Defense has ordered additional military doctors to report to Guantanamo to deal with the hunger strike - presumably to facilitate a practice that the AMA considers contrary to established medical ethical standards."  

"The administration cannot force feed its way out of this growing medical emergency. The only true solution is to resume transfers of prisoners and close Guantanamo."

Uncharged detainees should be freed. They should have been long ago. They never should have been detained and tortured in the first place. 

Appalling abuses continue. Doing so violates core international, constitutional, and US statute provisions. Obama bears full responsibility.

The ACLU condemned force-feeding. It called doing so "a brutal, degrading experience."

"Of course, the military should be doing far more than ending cruel, inhuman, and degrading force-feeding and any abuse of the men." 

"It should be working diligently and urgently to release Guantanamo prisoners, starting with the 86 men already long cleared to leave the prison. The ACLU will continue to press on all these matters until the rule of law is restored and ill-treatment in Guantanamo ends."

On May 13, 19 organizations wrote Chuck Hagel. They included:

The ACLU

Asylum and Human Rights Program, Boston University School of Law

Bill of Rights Defense Committee

Center for Constitutional Rights

Center on National Security at Fordham Law

Coalition for an Ethical Psychology

Council on American-Islamic Relations

Defending Dissent Foundation

Global Justice Clinic, NYU School of Law

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights First

International Justice Network

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights

Physicians for Human Rights

Psychologists for Social Responsibility

Reprieve

The Center for Victims of Torture

Washington State Religious Campaign Against Torture

Witness Against Torture

The letter states:

"We write to request that you intervene to end the force-feeding of competent hunger-striking prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, which constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment." 

"We also urge you to investigate and address recent allegations of the use of excessive force, isolation, temperature manipulation, and forced sleeplessness in Guantanamo, which could also constitute cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and which raise even greater concerns if applied in combination with force-feeding."

"At least 100 of the 166 men currently held at Guantanamo are on hunger strike, including many who have long been approved for release from the prison." 

"By all accounts, the root cause of the hunger strike is the prisoners’ belief that they will be indefinitely imprisoned and likely die in Guantanamo. At the most recent count, 29 of the men are being force-fed."

"The force-feeding process is inherently cruel, inhuman, and degrading. The prisoner is strapped into a chair with restraints on his legs, arms, body, and sometimes head, immobilizing him." 

"A tube is inserted up his nostril, and snaked down his throat into his stomach. A liquid nutritional supplement is then forced down the tube. The prisoner is restrained in the chair for upwards of two hours to prevent him from vomiting." 

"As Guantanamo hunger-striker Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel explained recently: 'I can’t describe how painful it is to be force-fed this way. As it was thrust in, it made me feel like throwing up. I wanted to vomit, but I couldn’t. There was agony in my chest, throat and stomach. I had never experienced such pain before.' " 

"Debilitating risks of force-feeding include major infections, pneumonia, collapsed lungs, heart failure, post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological trauma."

Because of force-feeding’s invasive nature, the World Medical Association (WMA), the preeminent international organization in the field of medical ethics and practice, has repeatedly condemned force-feeding of competent prisoners." 

"The WMA’s Tokyo Declaration, adopted in 1975, states that doctors shall respect a competent prisoner’s right to refuse artificial feeding." 

"And, in its Declaration of Malta on Hunger Strikers, adopted in 1991 and revised in 2006 in large part due to developments in Guantanamo, the WMA states that '(f)orcible feeding is never ethically acceptable.' " 

" 'Even if intended to benefit, feeding accompanied by threats, coercion, force or use of physical restraints is a form of inhuman and degrading treatment.' " 

"The American Medical Association, a member of the WMA, has endorsed these unequivocal principles, as evidenced by its April 25, 2013 letter to you." 

"The International Committee of the Red Cross has similarly stated: 'The ICRC is opposed to forced feeding or forced treatment; it is essential that the detainees’ choices be respected and their human dignity preserved.' "

"Force-feeding as used in Guantanamo violates Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, which bar cruel, humiliating and degrading treatment." 

"It also could violate the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, which prohibits the 'cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment' of prisoners 'regardless of nationality or physical location.' " 

"Indeed, a 2006 joint report submitted by five independent human rights experts of the United Nations Human Rights Council (formerly the UN Commission on Human Rights) found that the method of force-feeding then used in Guantanamo, and which appears to remain in effect today, amounted to torture as defined in Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which the United States ratified in 1994." 

"The report also asserted that doctors and other health professionals authorizing and participating in force-feeding prisoners were violating the right to health and other human rights, including those guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the United States ratified in 1992." 

"Those concerns were reiterated this month by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and three UN Special Rapporteurs."

"In light of the above, we urgently request that you order the immediate and permanent cessation of all force-feeding of Guantanamo prisoners who are competent and capable of forming a rational judgment as to the consequences of refusing food." 

"We request that you allow independent medical professionals to review and monitor the status of hunger-striking prisoners in a manner consistent with international ethical standards. We also request that you investigate and rectify any abusive conditions and treatment in addition to force-feeding."

Obama promised to close Guantanamo. He's done nothing to do so. No closure plan exists. Detainees are held indefinitely. Most or perhaps all committed no crimes. 

They're lawlessly held. Their only escape route is death. Obama bears full responsibility. He's unaccountable. He's guilty of multiple crimes of war and against humanity. Justice remains denied.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

http://www.dailycensored.com/guantanamo-force-feeding-constitutes-torture/