What's going on here? Accident or intentional?
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Pakistan says NATO strike kills 20 soldiers

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A NATO air strike killed at least 20 Pakistan soldiers near the Afghan border on Saturday, prompting Islamabad to immediately stop NATO supplies from crossing into Afghanistan, officials said.

It was the deadliest NATO strike reported by Pakistan during the 10-year war in Afghanistan and was likely to destabilise already extremely tense US-Pakistani relations, just days after Pakistan forced its US envoy to resign.

The US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it was aware of an incident and seeking further information about what happened in Mohmand, part of Pakistan's lawless tribal belt branded an Al-Qaeda hub by Washington.

The Pakistan military condemned the pre-dawn attack on the border post in Baizai district as "unprovoked" and "indiscriminate".

"At least 20 troops have been killed, two of them were officers," a Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the casualty figures to the media.

Among the dead was a major. Officials in Mohmand warned that the toll could rise further.

Within hours of the strike, Pakistan stopped NATO supplies crossing the border into Afghanistan and state television reported that Pakistan's acting ambassador in Washington had lodged a formal protest with the State Department.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jAIDLCfutjM5ltT7NG4Y2sp0FtuA?...

Seems those "Made in USA" canisters had something pretty toxic in them:

Banned neuro-toxic nerve gas 'poisons' Tahrir



A banned chemical agent has reportedly been used by the Egyptian military as the brutal crackdown against tens of thousands of protesters has clouded prospects of a democratic transfer in the country.

Rashes, epileptic-type convulsions, temporary blindness and coughing up blood are among the symptoms being reported by Egyptian protesters who have fallen victim to a potentially lethal form of neuro-toxic nerve gas reportedly being deployed by security forces.

After almost a week of protests against the ruling military junta left some 41 people dead, several sources claim scores have died from gas asphyxiation, while thousands more have received medical treatment after possibly being exposed to an agent known as CR gas.



''It is some kind of neuro-toxic nerve gas,” doctor Mohamed Aden told , who usually works at the Cairo University hospitals, told the Australian daily, The Age. ''We are seeing people whose upper respiratory tract is in convulsion – we have to give them diazepam to relax the muscles to allow them to begin to breathe again.''
CR gas, which is up to 10 times more powerful than tear gas which is commonly used today, is no longer used by the United States due to its carcinogenic properties.  The US military has categorized it as a combat-class chemical agent.    

CR gas was used in the townships during anti-apartheid protests in South Africa in the 1980s, and Irish Republicans also claimed British security forces had used it against Republican detainees...



http://rt.com/news/nerve-gas-egypt-protest-199/

The Arab Spring.

Does this look like democracy?
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Revolution reality-check: West to reap fruit of Arab Spring

The epic fight for democracy which unfolded in Egypt in February has turned to major disillusionment. As the aspiring revolutionaries take a reality check, it seems a pattern is emerging among countries caught up in the Arab Spring.

Almost a year after Mubarak’s fall, Tahrir Square is again stained with blood as ordinary Egyptians struggle to oust the military junta which has been in power since February’s uprising.

“It’s about the dignity of the Egyptian people. We don’t want any more humiliation," says Helmi Hassan, a protester at Tahrir Square.

The situation carries echoes of Libya, whose ousted leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was killed last month. People there have been left with a country in ruins and a government they did not choose.

“I think there is a reign of terror going on against those who disagree with the Libyan government,” says anti-war activist Brian Becker.“It is not presented that way in the Western media, but it is a reign of terror. If you speak up right now against the new authorities in Libya, you are likely to go to jail or be executed, or disappear.”

In the meantime, Libya’s interim government – brought to power by NATO – is strengthening its grip on the country.

And it now looks as if Syria might be joining the club as the demands of NATO and some Arab states for regime change grow more vocal. Some say the louder they call, the more violent the opposition becomes.

Russia's FM, Sergey Lavrov, says that some Western countries and are openly recommending that the opposition to hold no talks with the Assad regime.

“It looks like political provocation on an international scale,” he said.

Civil war is brewing in Syria. The whole region seems to be plunging deeper into crisis. While people on the ground bear the brunt of the continuing wave of violence in the Middle East and North Africa, some observers say certain powers might be interested in keeping the trouble boiling.

Political analyst William Endgdahl believes that powerful interest outside the Middle East want to bring discontent and chaos to bear to pave the way for a NATO militarisation of the region so that“the oil resources of those oil-rich countries can be put directly into private hands,” he says.

It is clear to anyone with eyes to see that the so-called “transition to democracy” in the wake of the Arab Spring is faltering.

More blood is being shed. We are looking at an Arab Winter, and maybe another Arab Spring around the corner. As tensions rise and as certain global powers push for regime change in more Arab countries, it looks as if the wave of revolutions is set to turn into an ocean of chaos.

http://rt.com/news/arab-spring-revolution-falure-275/print/

Sir lastnail wrote on Nov 26^th, 2011 at 10:40am:


Considering that the USA remains the worlds largest manufacturer by quite a margin, that statement would appear to be rather incorrect.

falah wrote on Nov 27^th, 2011 at 9:32am:

YOU SUFFER FROM PURE PARANOIA YOU PIMPLE


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CR gas or dibenzoxazepine, chemically dibenz[b,f][1,4]oxazepine, is an incapacitating agent and a lachrymatory agent. CR was developed by the British Ministry of Defence as a riot control agent in the late 1950s and early 1960s
Physical properties
CR is a pale yellow crystalline solid with a pepper-like odor. It is slightly soluble in water and does not degrade in it. CR is usually presented as a microparticulate solid, in the form of suspension in a propylene glycol based liquid. Contrary to its common name, it is not actually a gas but is solid at room temperature.
The dibenz[b,f][1,4]oxazepine moiety is present in the typical antipsychotic drug loxapine, but unlike CR, loxapine is not reactive and is not an irritant. CR was first synthesised in 1962.[1]
These gases are usually fired in canisters (LACR) that heat up, producing an aerosol cloud at a steady rate.
Effects
CR gas is a lachrymatory agent (LA) exerting its effects through activation of the TRPA1 channel.[2] Its effects are approximately 6 to 10 times more powerful than those of CS gas. CR causes intense skin irritation, particularly around moist areas, blepharospasm causing temporary blindness, coughing and gasping for breath, and panic. It is capable of causing immediate incapacitation. It is a suspected carcinogen. It is toxic, but less so than CS gas, by ingestion and exposure. However, it can be lethal in large quantities. In a poorly ventilated space, an individual may inhale a lethal dose within minutes. Death is caused by asphyxiation and pulmonary edema.
The effect of CR is long-term and persistent. CR can persist on surfaces, especially porous ones, for up to 60 days.
Treatment
While CS can be decontaminated with a large amount of water, use of water may exacerbate the effects of CR. Skin contaminated with CR gas may become extremely painful in contact with water for up to 48 hours after contamination.[1]
Medical treatment is mostly palliative. The contaminated clothing has to be removed. The eyes and skin can be washed, the eye pain can be alleviated with medications.[3]
In the late 1980s, CR was used in the townships in South Africa. It caused some fatalities, particularly among children.[4][5]Republican groups in northern Ireland have alleged that British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary units used CR gas against Republican prisoners.[6]
Because of its alleged carcinogenic properties, the United States does not utilize CR for riot control.[7] The U.S. military classification for this chemical agent is combat class chemical weapon causing serious side effects for humans.

wikipedia.org/wiki/CR_gas

Bobby. wrote on Nov 27^th, 2011 at 12:05pm:



It wouldn't surprise me if they loaded the canisters with agent orange.

Quote:


These "cannisters" are being used for crowd control - not plant control.