Brave New Arab World

As demonstrations sweep across the Arab world, Western governments are supporting the call for change. However, is it a call for change or is it actually a call for regimes they want in power? The protestors across the Arab world hoping to topple dictators in the quest for democracy may find that their choice may not be as free as they had hoped for, with a meddling hand from afar still pulling the strings. The situation in Libya is much different than that in Tunisia or Egypt. The rebels (peaceful protesters), who include mutinous army forces, are armed with tanks, machine guns and anti-aircraft guns. The only advantage Gadhafi has is his air force. International pressure to end the crackdown has escalated dramatically in the past few days. The U.S. moved naval and air forces closer to Libya on Monday and said all options were open, including patrols of the North African nation's skies to protect its citizens from their ruler. France said it would fly aid to the opposition-controlled eastern half of the country. The European Union imposed an arms embargo and other sanctions, following the lead of the U.S. and the U.N. The EU was also considering the creation of a no-fly zone over Libya. And the U.S. and Europe were freezing billions in Libya's foreign assets. "Gadhafi has lost the legitimacy to govern, and it is time for him to go without further violence or delay," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said. "Would anyone leave his homeland? Why would I leave Libya?" Gadhafi replied. He invited the United Nations and any other organization to come to Libya and do a "fact finding mission" and questioned how they could freeze assets, impose sanctions and an arms embargo, and implement a travel ban based purely on media reports alone. Regarding reports that aerial bombardments had been used against protesters, Gadhafi (aka Ghadafi / Gaddafi / Khaddafy) said they did not happen and that they had only bombed military and ammunition depots. Gadhafi blamed Al-Qaeda for encouraging young people to seize arms from military installations. He said the people who have taken over Benghazi in eastern Libya are terrorists and Al-Qaeda operatives. He doesn't believe people are demonstrating against him anywhere in Libya, and repeated the charge that those who are have been given hallucinogenic drugs, a claim he first made in his televised speech broadcast last week. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned Western countries against attempts of meddling in the Arab world to try to impose democracy. “Today, we say we're concerned about things happening in Libya. But the North African cell of Al-Qaeda is also concerned about what is happening in Libya. Do you think this is a coincidence?” the Russian PM asked. The influence of Al-Qaeda and jihadist networks all over the Muslim world should not be underestimated. Now when we have revolutions rolling over the Arab world, one country after another, some of those countries are pretty rich in mineral resources, oil and gas and of course have cash . These recourses can easily be used by terrorists to stage attacks of an unprecedented scale. It is really hard to determine whether the ongoing crisis in the Arab world is actually democratization. There is a big dilemma for the West regarding North African and Middle Eastern unrest, as on the one hand they want democracy to be established there, but on the other, they also want a state that will be friendly to the Western powers. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez claims U.S. criticism of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has a clear aim: military invasion. "Let's not get carried away by the drums of war, because the United States, I am sure that they are exaggerating and distorting things to justify an invasion," Chavez said Monday. "Instead of sending Marines and tanks and planes, why don't we send a goodwill commission to try to help so that they do not continue killing in Libya? They are our brothers," he said in a speech televised on the government-run network....

Just a week ago 29 peaceful demonstrators were killed in Iraq by a government propped up by thousands of US troops there. In Bahrain, demonstrators have been rioting for weeks, and authorities are firing tear gas and shooting on protestors. The US has not come out and said anything in either case, probably because of its troops in Iraq and the huge Navy base for its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. Just a few weeks ago hundreds of peaceful demonstrators in Egypt were killed by police forces and the response from Washington was a call for restraint on both sides, without any mention of international intervention. Today, when forces loyal to Muammar Ghadafi have to deal with protestors armed with Kalashnikovs, RPGs and highjacked tanks, the international community intellectualizes on “stopping Ghadafi firing at his people”. To conclude why would USA be funding revolutions all over the world? To destabilise the former governments and then to usher in new one’s and all under the guise of a “people’s” revolution. The truth being what is happening now in North Africa and the Middle East is not a genuine revolution by the people, one the face of it is, they are being used as pawns to destabilise the governments in region so that new “pro Islamic” Muslim brotherhood governments can be formed in order to create an Islamic revival and to form the next big “enemy” for the west. Stage then would be set for military intervention and securing strategic recourses such as oil. Any NATO operation in Africa would be also a major step toward becoming an "international security guarantor". It must be noted that NATO’s Secretary General has repeatedly stressed that NATO would not interfere in the situation in Libya unless the UN adopts a resolution to do so. Getting such a document, however, looks like an impossible task because Russia and China have already vehemently opposed any kind of outside interference in Libya and say the resolution will definitely be vetoed.
Western politicians are also playing a “weapons of mass destruction” card, saying the Libyan regime might have stockpiles of chemical weapons, despite the fact that Libya officially refused to continue the development of chemical weapons and signed international treaties accordingly. In any case, possible external military interference in Libya might seriously damage the relationship between the Arab world and the West.

OIL

Libya is not the only African nation in turmoil. Somalia’s drawn-out conflict has been called ‘a slow genocide’ and it is a similar story on the other side of the continent (Ivory Coast). But there’s little sign of US or European military input. Why? Because of oil. You think NATO would be in Iraq if the major export there was broccoli? Libya, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), holds the largest proven oil reserves in Africa, followed by Nigeria and Algeria. Libya has 63 years of oil reserves at current production rates if no new reserves were to be found. Libya is considered a highly attractive oil area due to its low cost of oil production (as low as $1 per barrel at some fields), and proximity to European markets. Libya's oil industry is run by the state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC). Rebels in eastern Libya said on Friday they now controlled most of the oil fields east of the town of Ras Lanuf, and said they would honour oil deals. Many of Libya's key oil producing areas and terminals are located in the east of the OPEC member state, large chunks of which have fallen to rebels seeking to oust veteran leader Muammar Ghadafi.

to be continued...

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Mistery of Puma Punku

Pumapunku, also called “Puma Pumku” or “Puma Puncu”, is part of a large temple complex or monument group that is part of the Tiwanaku Site near Tiwanaku, Bolivia. In Aymara, its name means, “The Door of the Cougar”. The processes and technologies involved in the creation of these temples are still not fully understood by modern scholars. Even today, with all the modern advances in engineering and mathematics, we could not fashion such a structure. Our current ideas of the Tiwanaku culture hold that they had no writing system and also that the invention of the wheel was most likely unknown to them. The architectural achievements seen at Pumapunku are striking in light of the presumed level of technological capability available during its construction. Due to the monumental proportions of the stones, the method by which they were transported to Pumapunku has been a topic of interest since the temple's discovery. The initial construction of the Pumapunku dates at AD 536–600. At its peak, Pumapunku is thought to have been “unimaginably wondrous,” adorned with polished metal plaques, brightly colored ceramic and fabric ornamentation, trafficked by costumed citizens, elaborately dressed priests and elites decked in exotic jewelry. The Tiwanaku civilization and the use of these temples appears to some to have peaked from around 700 AD to 1000 AD, by which point the temples and surrounding area may have been home to some 400,000 people. It is hard to imagine how the ruins of Pumapunku did not come to be known as one of the wonders of the world like the Great Pyramid. Spectacular in its own right, the Great Pyramid is, yet it pales in comparison to the ruins of Pumapunku in Tiahuanaco, in South America.

Even with modern day technology and information, these structures defy logic, and confound those who seek to solve the mysteries that lie within them. The ruins of Pumapunku are said to be the most fascinating, and most confusing of all. Several construction blocks at the site weigh between 100 and 150 tons, some even more. The quarry for these giant blocks was on the western shore of Titicaca, some ten miles away. There is no known technology in all the ancient world that could have transported stones of such massive weight and size up a steep incline from a quarry to the sacred mountain. Closer inspection shows that these stone blocks have been fabricated with a very advanced technology. Even more surprising is the technical design of these blocks. All blocks fit together like puzzle , forming load-bearing joints without the use of mortar. All pieces look like they were pre-fabricated. They "click" into each other just like modern pre-fabricated building blocks. Stacked and "clicked" into each other they form walls, some four levels high. Many of the joints are so precise that not even a razor blade will fit between the stones. The cuts on these stones are perfectly straight. The holes cored into these stones are perfect, and all of equal depth. Notable features at Pumapunku are I-shaped architectural cramps, which are composed of a unique copper-arsenic-nickel bronze alloy. Some blocks in Pumapunku are made up of granite, and diorite, and the only stone that is harder that those two, is the diamond. If the people who built this place cut these stones using stone cutting techniques, then they would had to have used diamond tools. Such a discovery flies directly in the face of all our concepts of the construction skills of the ancients. With no previous examples of masonry at such a sophisticated level, nor on such great scale leaves one to wonder at the confidence and skills of their designers and masons...