Syrians Fleeing Homs Accuse Troops of Atrocities

People fleeing the central Syrian city of Homs have told the BBC that security forces are committing atrocities there. One woman on the outskirts of Homs  said that soldiers had slit the throat of her 12-year-old son on Friday - a day after rebel fighters withdrew from the Baba Amr district. She said 35 other men and boys from her area had also been detained and killed.

The government has denied the Red Cross access to Baba Amr for four consecutive days, citing security concerns. Activists have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe. Electricity, water and communications have been cut off, and in recent days temperatures have plummeted and snow has fallen. Food supplies are said to be dangerously low.

On Thursday, government troops backed by tanks entered Baba Amr after the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) announced a "tactical withdrawal". A terrible fear has seized people here about what the government forces are doing now that they are back in control.

In a house a  BBC correspondant sat with six women and their 17 children. They had arrived that day. There were no men.

"We were walking out altogether until we reached the checkpoint," said one of the women. "Then they separated us from the men. They put hoods on their heads and took them away."

"Where do you think they are now", the correspondant asked? The women replied all at once: "They will be slaughtered."

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and its Syrian Red Crescent partners have been told they cannot enter the district because of the risk of booby-traps and mines, although state TV reported it had been "sanitized" of "armed terrorist groups".

Opposition and human rights activists have said security forces and pro-government militia have been rounding up men and boys over the age of 14 who are still in Baba Amr, and then torturing and killing them. The claims cannot be substantiated, but people fleeing Homs also told the BBC  correspondent that security forces had been committing atrocities, including summary executions and cutting the throats of prisoners. One woman, who had walked for three days to escape, said that on Friday troops had taken 36 men and boys from one area and killed them. "My son's throat was cut," she said. "He was 12."
Her husband said he was hiding about 50m away and saw one soldier hold down their son's head with his boot while another killed him. "I could hear his screams," he added.
Another woman said: "They took our husbands. They took them at a checkpoint. They will slaughter them like sheep."

"We were told in this operation: 'You shoot anything that moves. Civilian or military - you shoot at it” End Quote: Syrian army defector .....(Several men who said they had defected from an elite army unit last week told correspondents that civilians were being targeted by security forces and prisoners were being killed.)

 Correspondents say the people of Baba Amr defied the government and now they are scattered, their uprising crushed. The UK's Channel 4 News broadcast secretly shot footage on Monday that it said shows hospital patients in Homs being tortured by medical staff.  Pictures showed wards full of wounded men, shackled to their beds and blindfolded and some showing the marks of severe beatings. The authorities have not commented and the video cannot be independently verified.

The UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told journalists that the images accorded with other evidence gathered by a UN-backed commission of inquiry of torture in Syrian hospitals, particularly military hospitals. She said there was evidence of similar occurrences in hospitals in Hama and Deraa. The independent commission of inquiry said in February that Syrian security forces had "committed widespread, systematic and gross human rights violations, amounting to crimes against humanity, with the apparent knowledge and consent of the highest levels of the state".

 Russia is the Syrian Regime's ally and supplies them with arms.

The EU has said it will document alleged war crimes to set the stage for a "day of reckoning" for Syria's leaders. But Russia and China have vetoed two UN Security Council resolutions critical of the government.
UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said on Monday that Syria had approved her visit to the country and she planned to travel there on Wednesday "to urge all parties to allow unhindered access for humanitarian aid". Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is also due to visit Syria at the weekend as joint special envoy for the UN and the Arab League.

Diplomatic pressure appeared to be growing on Russia on Monday to drop its support for President Bashar al-Assad. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said he hoped Moscow would "see that it stands on the wrong side of history" in regard to Syria.

Meanwhile, the body of US journalist Marie Colvin is due to be flown back to New York on Tuesday morning. Colvin, who worked for the Sunday Times, died in a rocket attack in Baba Amr on 22 February with French photographer Remi Ochlik.

World War II - Propaganda Cartoons

During WWII the Germans were not the only ones using propaganda. Cartoons were a sure way to get a propaganda message across and foster hate; masquerading as entertainment. They were shown in every theater between features and every average family in the western world went to the movies. On Saturday afternoon kids went to the matinees and absorbed this stuff. An early example of the  power of mass media on the public awareness and  how it was used to it's maximum potential at the time.

 

Sunspot and Solar Flares

UPDATE---FLARE: Earth orbiting satellites have just detected an X1-class solar flare from sunspot AR1429. The flare peaked at 0413 UTC on March 5th. Stay tuned for more updates.

BIG SUNSPOT: A sunspot almost four times as wide as Earth itself is rotating onto the solar disk. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded its entrance on March 2nd and 3rd; click to view a 24-hour animation:

The sunspot has a 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong M-class solar flares. Indeed, it has already unleashed an M3-class eruption on March 2nd, that created mild waves of ionization in the atmosphere over Europe.

Earth-effects could become stronger as the sunspot turns toward our planet in the days ahead. NOAA forecasters estimate a 55% chance of additional M-class flares and a 5% chance of an X-flare during the next 24 hours.

Huge Solar Coronal Hole

A solar wind stream flowing from this coronal hole could reach Earth on March 5-6.

Really?

Is America Bending Under Israeli Pressure

When US President Barack Obama and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet on Monday, neither heads of state will have to worry too much about plotting their war on Iran. Pentagon officials are saying that those wheels are already in motion.

After wrapping up a speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) this weekend, President Obama will spend Monday meeting with PM Netanyahu, and there is little doubt that the duo will be disputing the whens, whats and hows of a joint strike on Iran. It’s been a matter of debate for months now as rumors continue to abound over an alleged nuclear warhead being developed at a secret Iranian facility. With that meeting marking perhaps the last time the two mega leaders will come together before an eventual and almost certain attack, officials from within the walls of the US Defense Department headquarters report that the blueprints for the battle are already in the works.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, Pentagon sources this week say that both Washington and Jerusalem defense officials have already begun discussions on how the countries will work in cooperation with one another should they follow through with an attack. Pentagon officials tell Israel’s Debka news outlet that US Defense Department Secretary Leon Panetta and his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak, met in Washington on Thursday of this week to discuss the dynamics between the two countries' militaries.

The US has been hesitant to formally endorse a strike on Iran, though has offered their support to Israel throughout the ordeal. Despite a long-lasting friendship between the two, Israel has in recent weeks condemned America over their hesitance, with Netanyahu reported to have called a top-ranking US general a “servant of Iran” last week. While the two nations have not been seeing exactly eye-to-eye as of late, Barak and Panetta are believed to be orchestrating plans that will put both nations officially in cahoots in terms of taking on Iran.

According to Pentagon sources speaking to Debka, both nations are currently considering military options that will begin in the not-so-distant future. Those plans, they report, will call for the US “providing refueling for Israeli planes and include attacking the pillars of the clerical regime,” which they add are comprised of “the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and its elite Qods Force, regular Iranian military bases and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.”

In spite of Obama's speech at the AIPAC conference this weekend, there are already talks that the United States’ commander-in-chief is considering giving in to Israeli pressure to align against Iran with force, fearing what repercussions could come on Election Day should he walk. Obama has been hesitant to throw his weight behind any actual endorsements of war so far — and much to the chagrin of Israel — but this week’s meeting between Barak and Panetta suggest that Obama may soon crack. While the Iranian issue will no doubt be discussed during Monday’s meeting with Netanyahu, the two will now have time beforehand to mull over details divulged between the two defense heads.

In an interview published Friday with The Atlantic, President Obama himself adds that he has never ruled out any war on Iran. Should the sanctions fail, the US will be ready to respond with force.

"I think that the Israeli government recognizes that, as president of the United States, I don't bluff," reveals Obama in his latest sit-down. "I also don't, as a matter of sound policy, go around advertising exactly what our intentions are. But (both) governments recognize that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say."

Obama Won't Hesitate to Use Force on Iran

The  President said his country will do everything it takes to defend national interests, and that a military attack to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is possible.

­Addressing the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee's policy conference, Obama quoted Roosevelt and said he would “speak softly, but carry a big stick”. At the same time, however, the President appealed to the powerful lobbying group, calling for more time to allow sanctions to further isolate the Islamic Republic.

Israeli president Shimon Peres,who spoke before Obama, said that a nuclear Iran would be a menace to the world, not just to Israel's security. The US leader echoed those statements – but still called for calm, saying "For the sake of Israel's security, America's security and the peace and security of the world, now is not the time for bluster. Now is the time to let our increased pressure sink in, and to sustain the broad international coalition that we have built.''

Obama's speech came a day before he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. According to the Telegraph, Netanyahu plans to demand a pledge from Barack Obama on Iran. The Israeli PM reportedly believes that the only way to prevent a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran is to pledge that the United States will attack the nuclear sites before the Islamic Republic can acquire a weapon.