Author: yreape

The death of Jacques Chirac, former prime minister and president of France occurred yesterday. He will be remembered internationally for his plea to UK contingents, which was televised, not to go to war with Iraq. The war was cited illegal by French jurisprudence but was approved by the un in retrospect.
Jacques Chirac has been described as a republican. He studied at Harvard and is reported to have been inspired by Charles de Gaulle who established the constitution known as the Fifth Republic.
The Fifth Republic is a 1958 constitution. It has since been modified seventeen times, most recently in July 2008 when the French congress, which is a combination of the two chambers of parliament, approved by one vote, constitutional ammendments put forward by President Sarkozy.
The head of state and the head of legislation in France is said to be the president which is different from other western countries. In the UK, for instance the queen is reported to be head of state and the prime minister to be head of the executive.
The two chambers of the French constitution consist of the lower house, known as the national assembly, which is lead by the prime minister who is democratically elected; and the senate, the members of which are appointed.
Since the spring of 2017 France has been governed by Les républicains en marche. LREM is said to comprise of former members of Les républicains plus a majority of new members. The president of the senate is currently Emmanuel Macron who is the youngest president since Napolean.
Jacques Chirac is remembered for acknowledging France’s role concerning the treatment of Jewish people during the second world war.

RIP

According to the charter of the united nations, only the un security council has a mandate by the international community to apply sanctions ( article 41). International sanctions are instigated by her majesty’s treasury (UK); the office of foreign assets control (OFAC) of the US treasury department or the eu.
According to reports, eu sanctions continue to be in place in very poor countries who have been deprived of their assets, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic.
Current sanctions against Syria and Iran are reported to be extremely comprehensive. Documents containing HM treasury notices relating to Syria are listed but not readable. Documents concerning US sanctions of both Syria and Iran include an alert to the possibility of the incurring of sanctions to any parties involved in petroleum shipments. This includes insurers, shipping companies and financial institutions.
In May of this year the eu extended sanctions against Syria until June 2020, but have resisted calls to reimpose sanctions on Iran.
The un has imposed comprehensive sanctions on Iran. An estimated 12 billion US dollars in Iranian assets have been frozen since 1979 when king Mohammad Reza Shah was overthrown. According to history he was a western delegate, but not by choice.
Yemen-related sanctions are reported to take place via executive orders from both the president and congress and are related to blocking assets. There are reports of the torture of political prisoners by US and Saudi forces on the ground.
According to media reports, the un have complained about the latest US sanctions targeting Venezuela. Bolivarianism in Venezuela extolls political and economic sovereignty and the equitable distribution of its vast resources.
According to charities the population of Syria is in need of humanitarian assistance. Protein foods and a clean water supply are a necessity.

According to news, an impeachment enquiry against Donald Trump was launched on Tuesday and some say this will make the drama that followed the nomination of Brett Kavanagh to the Supreme Court, insignificant. Trump has been accused of bribing the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenski. The Ukraine are reported to have received military aid from the US but not recently, and with no explanation as to why the aid didn’t materialise. According to reports, on July 25th, Donald Trump asked the Ukraine President to investigate circumstances involving Joe Biden and his son, Robert.

Joe Biden, the democratic party candidate is Trump’s political rival for the Presidency in the 2020 elections. Robert Hunter Biden, his second son has been involved with Barisma Holdings, an oil and gas company in the Ukraine, since 2014.

Joe Biden, according to reports, called for the dismissal of the prosecutor who was investigation Burisma Holdings following complaints that they were selling Iraqi oil. He threatened to withhold US financial sponsorship. This is said to be part of a wider effort involving western allies, the world bank and the International monetary fund.

The world bank historically has given loans to third world countries. The International monetary fund is said to facilitate international trade and oversee exchange rates. Both were formed as a un innitiative in 1944. In 2010, according to official documents the mandate was expanded to include government of the world’s economy. This includes the rights to surveillance, the giving of cautionery advice and the constructing of regulatory policies and structural reforms. Trump has criticised global economies in favour of nationalism.

The Lisbon treaty of 2008 resulted in a change of structure in the eu. The referendum in Ireland in June of 2008 rejected the treaty by a slim margin. This democratic decision by the Irish people was not accepted by bureaucracy which resulted in a second referendum in 2009, where 68% of voters are reported to have voted for the treaty.
The Lisbon treaty has resulted in a change of legislation. One being a plan for human rights to be replaced by what is termed ethics. This places victims of human rights abuses under scrutiny on the basis of ethics. Often, the perpetrator of human rights violations instigates this process.

Boris Johnson has suggested Donald Trump broker a new nuclear deal with Iran. Why?
Sanctions against Iran are termed US sanctions but who instigated them?
Who gives orders to mobilise troops abroad? Is there someone ultimately in charge?
The threat of sanctions, and also the seizing of assets which must be illegal, can be used to corrupt the truth.
Is it time the EU, who have occasionally opposed sanctions, begin to make concrete trade deals with affected nations?

Russia and China have vetoed a un military innitiative in Idlib, Syria, which is situated 59 km south west of Aleppo. It is the largest city in Syria and reported to be the economic capital.
The un security council has ten non-permanent members. Equatorial Guiniea abstained.
Russia has vetoed un initiatives 12 times in the past. This is the seventh veto by China.
Air attacks on Syria have wreaked havoc. Bombardments of Idlib have been blamed on the Syrian government and Russia.
The un has warned of the worst humanitarian nightmares of the eight year conflict if the initiative does not go ahead. Russia and China have offered an alternative solution:
There have been many international oil companies in Syria which are documented. A newcomer is the UK’s Gulfsands Petroleum. In 2010 it took away 20,700 x 159 litre barrels per day.
Russia intervened in Syria’s long running conflict in support of Bashar al Assad in 2015.
Russia, now called the Russian Federation, is currently the subject of sanctions and asset freezes.

Irish security sources say there have been 70 recorded incidents of what is thought to be paramilitary attacks on Irish businessmen. The latest attack involved 50 year old father of 6, Mr Lunney who was abducted on Tuesday evening whilst on his way home from work. Mr Lunney who is Chief Operating Officer at Quinn Industrial Holdings had been warned in writing, along with other directors, in May.
Mr Quin was tortured for what is thought to be around two hours. After his ordeal, he was dumped on a quiet country road in Cornafean, County Cavan.
According to the Irish Indepedent, during the attack the abductees warned Mr Lunney that he and his four fellow directors, who were named, would be murdered unless they resigned their positions.
The kidnap and torture has been blamed on dissident republicans although this doesn’t make sense. However, the incident is said to be part of a paramilitary operation. There have been complaints about the lack of border control between north and south.
The abduction is thought to have been planned to coincide with a board meeting that was due to take place on Wednesday morning.

Saudi Arabia have been invited to officiate in the international atomic energy agency board of governors, a nuclear authority. Saudi, who have recently suffered an attack on their oil plants, are said to be searching for an allied response to the missile strike.
Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state is blaming Iran to the detriment of his credibility.
The truth is Houthis of Yemen have claimed responsibility. Yemen is reported to be under fire. Oil pipes have been constructed as a Saudi – US initiative. Yemenise who are fighting the coalition are termed Houthi rebels and described as a militant ethno-religious group.
The situation in Yemen, which climaxed in war in 2015, has been equated to Syria where war broke out in 2011. According to various charities the situation in both countries constitute humanitarian disasters, with reports of escalating starvation. Likewise Venezuela. Minimal aid is said to be getting through. Prime minister Bashar al Assad may be under extreme pressure to commit to a deal concerning Syria’s oil.

Boris Johnson is accused of advising the queen to prorogue or temporarily shutdown parliament according to reports. The supreme court hearing has been described as a defence of parliamentary sovereignty.
The hearing, whose verdict is expected early next week, is said to have been brought by Ms Gina Miller and various other parliamentarians. Gina Miller is Guyanise. Guyana became a republic in 1970. She was brought to the UK, along with her brother, around 1978 when she was ten years of age. Their parents were left behind according to reports.
Ms Miller’s lawyer, Lord Pannick has said, parliament would be silenced for an exceptional length of time in the critical period before 31st of October Brexit deadline.
So it’s all about Brexit and the people appear to be on the side of Boris Johnson, which is the side of democracy. According to news however, one major reason why England wanted to leave the EU in the first place, was the banking sector, who didn’t like rules that prevented the ceasing of assets and other extortions. A cause of deep concern for some. The British people voted for Brexit by a narrow margin of 52 versus 48%.

The next u.n. summit on climate change is Saturday 21 – Monday 23 September beginning with a youth rally. Global warming is thought to be caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the animal industry.
Why are authorities organising summits and protests about climate change? Governments could construct new environmental policies, such as facilitating alternatives; possibly through a taxation on fossil fuels and animal products, expanding the pine industry, exploring the potential for other fast growing trees; and facilitating farmers to grow a range of plant foods that will make heart disease a thing of the past.
Although protests about climate change are allowed, Julian Assange, and others have been imprisoned for protesting about war. The main issue is torture which is a tactic used by the UK and the United States. Torture may be psychological or physical but is often a combination of the two.
Israel, often criticised by the u.n., don’t have a policy of physical torture.