{"id":112843,"date":"2014-04-14T19:53:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-14T19:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?guid=aa8c33f6023805f4260305fa3c360a4d"},"modified":"2014-04-14T19:53:00","modified_gmt":"2014-04-14T19:53:00","slug":"navi-pillay-us-imperial-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/editorials\/navi-pillay-us-imperial-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"Navi Pillay: US Imperial Tool"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\"><b>Navi Pillay: US Imperial Tool<\/b><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">by Stephen Lendman<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">On April 14, her <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/EN\/NewsEvents\/Pages\/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14507&amp;LangID=E\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\">latest report<\/span><\/a> looked like earlier ones. She lies for power. She condemned &#8220;rampant use of torture in detention in Syria.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">She duplicitously blames Assad largely. More on what she said below.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Syria condemned earlier fabricated torture reports. On January 22, its Justice Ministry dismissed a UK Carter-Ruck law firm <a href=\"http:\/\/sana.sy\/eng\/21\/2014\/01\/22\/523729.htm\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\">politicized report<\/span><\/a>. It called it baseless.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It lacked &#8220;objectivity and professionalism,&#8221; it said. Carter-Ruck is linked to Syrian opposition groups. Its report was malicious propaganda. It buried truth.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It had no credibility whatever. Its aim was discrediting Syria. It tried subverting peaceful conflict resolution efforts.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">The Syrian Lawyers Syndicate called its report fabricated. Allegations were pure fantasy. Fake photo evidence was used. Truth was systematically suppressed.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">In May 2013, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2013\/05\/16\/syria-visit-reveals-torture-chambers\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\">Human Rights Watch<\/span><\/a> published fabricated accusations. It wasn&#8217;t the first time. It won&#8217;t be the last. Its Middle East director Nadim Houry said:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;The documents, prison cells, interrogation rooms, and torture devices we saw in the government&#8217;s security facilities are consistent with the torture former detainees have described to us since the beginning of the uprising in Syria.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">HRW lied saying it &#8220;repeatedly documented widespread violations by Syrian government security forces and officials, including enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary and incommunicado detentions of peaceful protesters, activists, humanitarian assistance providers, and doctors.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Most often it downplays repeated horrific opposition group atrocities. Assad is wrongfully blamed for their crimes.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Media scoundrels regurgitate Big Lies demanding condemnation. Assad has been mercilessly vilified throughout more than three years of conflict.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">False accusations persist. Washington makes plenty of its own. Rogue partners regurgitate its Big Lies. Syria bashing persists.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Navi Pillay is a longtime imperial tool. She long ago fell from grace. Perhaps she never had any.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">She&#8217;s undeserving. She disgraces the UN High Commission for Human Rights post she holds.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It&#8217;ll be six years this September 1. Throughout her tenure, she ignored Western and Israeli crimes.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">She&#8217;s a former South African High Court judge. She served on the International Tribunal for Rwanda (ICRT). From 1999 &#8211; 2003, she was president.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">ICRT lacked credibility. It served imperial interests. It pointed fingers the wrong way. Guilty parties were absolved. Victims were prosecuted. While president, Pillay bore full responsibility.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">She serves Washington&#8217;s imperial agenda. She did so on the International Criminal Court (ICC). She served from 2003 &#8211; 2008.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">ICC targets victims. Washington and rogue Western powers want them charged with crimes of war, against humanity and genocide. Responsible major powers are absolved. Victims are guilty by accusation.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Pillay went along. Doing so advanced her career. She&#8217;s at it again. She&#8217;s waging war on Syria. She targets victims. Guilty parties on the ground are largely ignored. Western ones and regional partners entirely.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">She wrongfully blames Assad for their crimes. She wants him toppled. She ignores his overwhelming popularity. Mass rallies support him publicly. Media scoundrels turn a blind eye. So does Pillay.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Syrians value the protection he provides. They&#8217;d be defenseless without him. Don&#8217;t expect Pillay to explain.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Big Lies filled her <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/EN\/NewsEvents\/Pages\/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14507&amp;LangID=E\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\">latest report<\/span><\/a>. She &#8220;condemned the rampant use of torture in detention facilities across Syria by Government forces and some armed opposition groups\u2026&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">She claimed &#8220;a broad pattern of torture and ill-treatment against individuals in Government facilities\u2026&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">She gave short shrift to horrific opposition use of torture and other forms of abuse. She ignored their repeated atrocities.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">She turned a blind eye to ongoing mass murder, hostage taking and other high crimes.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">She said nothing about Western-enlisted death squad invaders. They&#8217;re not homegrown.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Their recruited from dozens of countries. They&#8217;re smuggled in cross-border. Turkey, Israel and Jordan are involved. So is Saudi money.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Syria is Obama&#8217;s war. He bears fully responsibility for ravaging and destroying a sovereign independent state.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It&#8217;s not his first high crime. It won&#8217;t be the last. He has lots more death and destruction in mind. He&#8217;s got nearly three years left in office for much more.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Pillay wrongfully blames Assad. Her accusations wore thin long ago.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Upon arrival at a detention facility, detainees are routinely beaten and humiliated for several hours by the guards in what has come to be known as the &#8216;reception party,&#8217; &#8221; she said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Men, women and children have been routinely picked up from the street, their homes and workplaces, or arrested at Government-manned checkpoints,&#8221; she claims.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Many are activists &#8211; often students &#8211; as well as lawyers, medical personnel and humanitarian workers, and some just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Her accusations have no credibility whatever. Lies substitute for truth.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">She tried having things both ways on opposition groups responsible for torture and other forms of abuse.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">She said they &#8220;appear to be on the rise since 2013.&#8221; Verifiable evidence shows they&#8217;ve been horrific throughout over three years of conflict.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Pillay didn&#8217;t explain. She claimed documenting opposition groups &#8220;allegations (is) particularly challenging due to constantly evolving alliances and changes in memberships, power structures and areas under their control.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Nonsense! Independent groups provide tons of credible evidence. Pillay ignores it. Bashing Assad alone matters.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;(T)estimony collected from victims suggests that those most at risk of being detained and tortured by some armed opposition groups are activists attempting to document human rights violations and individuals perceived to be pro-Government or affiliated with other armed opposition groups,&#8221; she added.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Rubbish! Alawites and other Assad loyalists are targeted. Noncombatant men, women, children, infants, the elderly and infirm are vulnerable.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">They&#8217;re brutalized. They&#8217;re murdered in cold blood. Some are taken hostage. Babies are killed like adults. Pillay turned a blind eye.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It bears repeating. Assad is consistently blamed for insurgent crimes. Lies substitute for truth.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Former detainees described abhorrent conditions in Government detention centres,&#8221; she claims. They&#8217;re not named.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Insurgent victim survivors are ignored. Their pain and suffering don&#8217;t matter. Nor Western high crimes.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Syria enjoyed peace and stability until Obama intervened. Pillay didn&#8217;t explain. Bashing Assad is prioritized. So is toppling a leader most Syrians support.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Despots are vilified, not admired. Obama increasingly is despised. So are other Western leaders.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">At 18%, President Francois Hollande&#8217;s approval rating is lowest in modern French history. Anti-austerity protests rage across Paris.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Rome demonstrators clashed with police. It&#8217;s over Mateo Renzi&#8217;s war on workers. Greek ones are enraged. Unemployment approaches 30%. Youth unemployment tops 60%.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Social benefits are being eviscerated and destroyed. Paying bankers come first. In late March, hundreds of thousands of Spanish workers and unemployed rallied for social justice.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;No more cuts,&#8221; they demanded. Visceral anger across Europe and elsewhere is visible. In places it&#8217;s sub-surface. Expect it sooner or later to boil over.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Growing rage against repression combined with neoliberal harshness persists.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Eastern Ukrainians may be the canary in the coal mine. They reject junta power. They demand democracy. Perhaps revolutionary fervor is growing. People take only so much before rebelling.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Beleaguered Syrians are polar opposite. They overwhelmingly support Assad. They rally publicly doing so.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Despots aren&#8217;t admired this way. It bears repeating. They value vital protection he provides. They&#8217;d be defenseless without it. Don&#8217;t expect Pillay to explain.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">His new book is titled &#8220;Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">http:\/\/www.claritypress.com\/LendmanII.html<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">http:\/\/www.progressiveradionetwork.com\/the-progressive-news-hour<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div><b>Navi Pillay: US Imperial Tool<\/b><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>by Stephen Lendman<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>On April 14, her <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/EN\/NewsEvents\/Pages\/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14507&amp;LangID=E\"><span>latest report<\/span><\/a> looked like earlier ones. She lies for power. She condemned &#8220;rampant use of torture in detention in Syria.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She duplicitously blames Assad largely. More on what she said below.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Syria condemned earlier fabricated torture reports. On January 22, its Justice Ministry dismissed a UK Carter-Ruck law firm <a href=\"http:\/\/sana.sy\/eng\/21\/2014\/01\/22\/523729.htm\"><span>politicized report<\/span><\/a>. It called it baseless.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It lacked &#8220;objectivity and professionalism,&#8221; it said. Carter-Ruck is linked to Syrian opposition groups. Its report was malicious propaganda. It buried truth.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It had no credibility whatever. Its aim was discrediting Syria. It tried subverting peaceful conflict resolution efforts.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The Syrian Lawyers Syndicate called its report fabricated. Allegations were pure fantasy. Fake photo evidence was used. Truth was systematically suppressed.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>In May 2013, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2013\/05\/16\/syria-visit-reveals-torture-chambers\"><span>Human Rights Watch<\/span><\/a> published fabricated accusations. It wasn&#8217;t the first time. It won&#8217;t be the last. Its Middle East director Nadim Houry said:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;The documents, prison cells, interrogation rooms, and torture devices we saw in the government&#8217;s security facilities are consistent with the torture former detainees have described to us since the beginning of the uprising in Syria.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>HRW lied saying it &#8220;repeatedly documented widespread violations by Syrian government security forces and officials, including enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary and incommunicado detentions of peaceful protesters, activists, humanitarian assistance providers, and doctors.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Most often it downplays repeated horrific opposition group atrocities. Assad is wrongfully blamed for their crimes.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Media scoundrels regurgitate Big Lies demanding condemnation. Assad has been mercilessly vilified throughout more than three years of conflict.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>False accusations persist. Washington makes plenty of its own. Rogue partners regurgitate its Big Lies. Syria bashing persists.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Navi Pillay is a longtime imperial tool. She long ago fell from grace. Perhaps she never had any.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She&#8217;s undeserving. She disgraces the UN High Commission for Human Rights post she holds.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It&#8217;ll be six years this September 1. Throughout her tenure, she ignored Western and Israeli crimes.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She&#8217;s a former South African High Court judge. She served on the International Tribunal for Rwanda (ICRT). From 1999 &#8211; 2003, she was president.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>ICRT lacked credibility. It served imperial interests. It pointed fingers the wrong way. Guilty parties were absolved. Victims were prosecuted. While president, Pillay bore full responsibility.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She serves Washington&#8217;s imperial agenda. She did so on the International Criminal Court (ICC). She served from 2003 &#8211; 2008.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>ICC targets victims. Washington and rogue Western powers want them charged with crimes of war, against humanity and genocide. Responsible major powers are absolved. Victims are guilty by accusation.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Pillay went along. Doing so advanced her career. She&#8217;s at it again. She&#8217;s waging war on Syria. She targets victims. Guilty parties on the ground are largely ignored. Western ones and regional partners entirely.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She wrongfully blames Assad for their crimes. She wants him toppled. She ignores his overwhelming popularity. Mass rallies support him publicly. Media scoundrels turn a blind eye. So does Pillay.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Syrians value the protection he provides. They&#8217;d be defenseless without him. Don&#8217;t expect Pillay to explain.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Big Lies filled her <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/EN\/NewsEvents\/Pages\/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14507&amp;LangID=E\"><span>latest report<\/span><\/a>. She &#8220;condemned the rampant use of torture in detention facilities across Syria by Government forces and some armed opposition groups&hellip;&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She claimed &#8220;a broad pattern of torture and ill-treatment against individuals in Government facilities&hellip;&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She gave short shrift to horrific opposition use of torture and other forms of abuse. She ignored their repeated atrocities.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She turned a blind eye to ongoing mass murder, hostage taking and other high crimes.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She said nothing about Western-enlisted death squad invaders. They&#8217;re not homegrown.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Their recruited from dozens of countries. They&#8217;re smuggled in cross-border. Turkey, Israel and Jordan are involved. So is Saudi money.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Syria is Obama&#8217;s war. He bears fully responsibility for ravaging and destroying a sovereign independent state.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It&#8217;s not his first high crime. It won&#8217;t be the last. He has lots more death and destruction in mind. He&#8217;s got nearly three years left in office for much more.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Pillay wrongfully blames Assad. Her accusations wore thin long ago.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Upon arrival at a detention facility, detainees are routinely beaten and humiliated for several hours by the guards in what has come to be known as the &#8216;reception party,&#8217; &#8221; she said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Men, women and children have been routinely picked up from the street, their homes and workplaces, or arrested at Government-manned checkpoints,&#8221; she claims.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Many are activists &#8211; often students &#8211; as well as lawyers, medical personnel and humanitarian workers, and some just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Her accusations have no credibility whatever. Lies substitute for truth.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She tried having things both ways on opposition groups responsible for torture and other forms of abuse.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She said they &#8220;appear to be on the rise since 2013.&#8221; Verifiable evidence shows they&#8217;ve been horrific throughout over three years of conflict.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Pillay didn&#8217;t explain. She claimed documenting opposition groups &#8220;allegations (is) particularly challenging due to constantly evolving alliances and changes in memberships, power structures and areas under their control.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Nonsense! Independent groups provide tons of credible evidence. Pillay ignores it. Bashing Assad alone matters.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;(T)estimony collected from victims suggests that those most at risk of being detained and tortured by some armed opposition groups are activists attempting to document human rights violations and individuals perceived to be pro-Government or affiliated with other armed opposition groups,&#8221; she added.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Rubbish! Alawites and other Assad loyalists are targeted. Noncombatant men, women, children, infants, the elderly and infirm are vulnerable.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>They&#8217;re brutalized. They&#8217;re murdered in cold blood. Some are taken hostage. Babies are killed like adults. Pillay turned a blind eye.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It bears repeating. Assad is consistently blamed for insurgent crimes. Lies substitute for truth.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Former detainees described abhorrent conditions in Government detention centres,&#8221; she claims. They&#8217;re not named.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Insurgent victim survivors are ignored. Their pain and suffering don&#8217;t matter. Nor Western high crimes.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Syria enjoyed peace and stability until Obama intervened. Pillay didn&#8217;t explain. Bashing Assad is prioritized. So is toppling a leader most Syrians support.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Despots are vilified, not admired. Obama increasingly is despised. So are other Western leaders.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>At 18%, President Francois Hollande&#8217;s approval rating is lowest in modern French history. Anti-austerity protests rage across Paris.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Rome demonstrators clashed with police. It&#8217;s over Mateo Renzi&#8217;s war on workers. Greek ones are enraged. Unemployment approaches 30%. Youth unemployment tops 60%.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Social benefits are being eviscerated and destroyed. Paying bankers come first. In late March, hundreds of thousands of Spanish workers and unemployed rallied for social justice.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;No more cuts,&#8221; they demanded. Visceral anger across Europe and elsewhere is visible. In places it&#8217;s sub-surface. Expect it sooner or later to boil over.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Growing rage against repression combined with neoliberal harshness persists.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Eastern Ukrainians may be the canary in the coal mine. They reject junta power. They demand democracy. Perhaps revolutionary fervor is growing. People take only so much before rebelling.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Beleaguered Syrians are polar opposite. They overwhelmingly support Assad. They rally publicly doing so.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Despots aren&#8217;t admired this way. It bears repeating. They value vital protection he provides. They&#8217;d be defenseless without it. Don&#8217;t expect Pillay to explain.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>His new book is titled &#8220;Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>http:\/\/www.claritypress.com\/LendmanII.html<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div>http:\/\/www.progressiveradionetwork.com\/the-progressive-news-hour<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1217,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[461],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-112843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorials"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112843\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}