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Friday, January 10, 2003
GRAFFITI
There's a new site out there feat. mostly Trains and Moas stuff. There's also an interview with Basels Sice. Check out REBELART.CH
There's a new site out there feat. mostly Trains and Moas stuff. There's also an interview with Basels Sice. Check out REBELART.CH
PR WATCH
Christian Science Monitor: INVENTING A TERRORIST STORY
Prompted in part by reports that a leaders of the Hezbollah has
urged Palestinians to step up their suicide bombings, the Canadian
government has banned the Lebanese group. Only problem is, the
alleged statement from Hezbollah was probably invented by
Washington Times reporter Paul Martin, who has a history of
fabricating news about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Christian Science Monitor: INVENTING A TERRORIST STORY
Prompted in part by reports that a leaders of the Hezbollah has
urged Palestinians to step up their suicide bombings, the Canadian
government has banned the Lebanese group. Only problem is, the
alleged statement from Hezbollah was probably invented by
Washington Times reporter Paul Martin, who has a history of
fabricating news about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
IRAK
Independent: SHH...DON'T MENTION WHERE SADDAM GOT WEAPONS
"The United States edited out more than 8,000 crucial pages of
Iraq's 11,800-page dossier on weapons, before passing on a
sanitized version to the 10 non-permanent members of the United
Nations security council," reports the UK's Sunday Herald.
Apparently the report includes embarrassing evidence of U.S. and
European culpability in aiding the Iraqi weapons programs, dating
back to before the Gulf War, but covering the period of Saddam
Hussein's rise and his worst crimes. The list of companies that
allegedly supplied Iraq with nuclear, chemical, biological, and
missile technology includes Honeywell, UNISYS, Sperry Corp.,
Rockwell, Hewlett Packard, Dupont, Eastman Kodak and Bechtel.
SOURCE: The Independent (UK), December 18, 2002
Independent: SHH...DON'T MENTION WHERE SADDAM GOT WEAPONS
"The United States edited out more than 8,000 crucial pages of
Iraq's 11,800-page dossier on weapons, before passing on a
sanitized version to the 10 non-permanent members of the United
Nations security council," reports the UK's Sunday Herald.
Apparently the report includes embarrassing evidence of U.S. and
European culpability in aiding the Iraqi weapons programs, dating
back to before the Gulf War, but covering the period of Saddam
Hussein's rise and his worst crimes. The list of companies that
allegedly supplied Iraq with nuclear, chemical, biological, and
missile technology includes Honeywell, UNISYS, Sperry Corp.,
Rockwell, Hewlett Packard, Dupont, Eastman Kodak and Bechtel.
SOURCE: The Independent (UK), December 18, 2002
1984
New York Times: Many Tools of Big Brother Are Up and Running
In Orwell's 1984, people loved Big Brother. Today, we've already
embraced Big Brother technology. "In the Pentagon research effort
to detect terrorism by electronically monitoring the civilian
population, the most remarkable detail may be this: Most of the
pieces of the system are already in place. Because of the inroads
the Internet and other digital network technologies have made into
everyday life over the last decade, it is increasingly possible to
amass Big Brother-like surveillance powers through Little Brother
means. The basic components include everyday digital technologies
like e-mail, online shopping and travel booking, A.T.M. systems,
cellphone networks, electronic toll-collection systems and
credit-card payment terminals. In essence, the Pentagon's main job
would be to spin strands of software technology that would weave
these sources of data into a vast electronic dragnet. ... The
civilian population, in other words, has willingly embraced the
technical prerequisites for a national surveillance system that
Pentagon planners are calling Total Information Awareness."
New York Times: Many Tools of Big Brother Are Up and Running
In Orwell's 1984, people loved Big Brother. Today, we've already
embraced Big Brother technology. "In the Pentagon research effort
to detect terrorism by electronically monitoring the civilian
population, the most remarkable detail may be this: Most of the
pieces of the system are already in place. Because of the inroads
the Internet and other digital network technologies have made into
everyday life over the last decade, it is increasingly possible to
amass Big Brother-like surveillance powers through Little Brother
means. The basic components include everyday digital technologies
like e-mail, online shopping and travel booking, A.T.M. systems,
cellphone networks, electronic toll-collection systems and
credit-card payment terminals. In essence, the Pentagon's main job
would be to spin strands of software technology that would weave
these sources of data into a vast electronic dragnet. ... The
civilian population, in other words, has willingly embraced the
technical prerequisites for a national surveillance system that
Pentagon planners are calling Total Information Awareness."
PR WATCH
Reuters: TELLING STORIES TO SELL WAR
"Earlier this month, the State Dept.'s International Information Programs put out a pamphlet featuring essays written by 15 well-known authors, including Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ford.
The "Writers on America" publication won't be seen at bookstores in this country, since federal law forbids the dissemination of government-sponsored information domestically. The law was enacted in the late 1940s to shield Americans from U.S. propaganda."
"At a press briefing Dec. 18, State Dept. public diplomacy chief
Charlotte Beers announced that her division has asked author Ken
Pollack to interrupt a book tour and travel overseas to talk about
his book 'The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq.' Turns
out the State Dept. also has been courting foreign journalists over
the past year. 'We set up many more responsive facilities than
we've had in the past for the foreign press at the president's
ranch in Texas, at the White House and in our own State foreign
press centers, which are Washington, New York and Los Angeles,'
Beers said. A former Madison Ave. executive, Beers extolled the
importance of 'storytelling' in convincing overseas audiences that
the U.S. is only trying to do good. 'And that's something that we
really have to get better at. This is an emotionally laden universe
now. It's not just the facts that are operating in the world now,'
Beers said. Hence, the State Dept. has just published the book
'Iraq: From Fear to Freedom.' Beers made sure to point out a
passage by President Bush: 'I hope the good people of Iraq will
remember our history. America has never sought to dominate, never
sought to conquer. We have, in fact, sought to liberate and free.
Our desire is to help Iraqi citizens find the blessings of liberty
within their own culture and their own traditions.' In the middle
of Beers' briefing at the National Press Club in downtown
Washington, several protesters stood up and began shouting, 'You're
selling war and we're not buying.' "
Reuters: TELLING STORIES TO SELL WAR
"Earlier this month, the State Dept.'s International Information Programs put out a pamphlet featuring essays written by 15 well-known authors, including Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ford.
The "Writers on America" publication won't be seen at bookstores in this country, since federal law forbids the dissemination of government-sponsored information domestically. The law was enacted in the late 1940s to shield Americans from U.S. propaganda."
"At a press briefing Dec. 18, State Dept. public diplomacy chief
Charlotte Beers announced that her division has asked author Ken
Pollack to interrupt a book tour and travel overseas to talk about
his book 'The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq.' Turns
out the State Dept. also has been courting foreign journalists over
the past year. 'We set up many more responsive facilities than
we've had in the past for the foreign press at the president's
ranch in Texas, at the White House and in our own State foreign
press centers, which are Washington, New York and Los Angeles,'
Beers said. A former Madison Ave. executive, Beers extolled the
importance of 'storytelling' in convincing overseas audiences that
the U.S. is only trying to do good. 'And that's something that we
really have to get better at. This is an emotionally laden universe
now. It's not just the facts that are operating in the world now,'
Beers said. Hence, the State Dept. has just published the book
'Iraq: From Fear to Freedom.' Beers made sure to point out a
passage by President Bush: 'I hope the good people of Iraq will
remember our history. America has never sought to dominate, never
sought to conquer. We have, in fact, sought to liberate and free.
Our desire is to help Iraqi citizens find the blessings of liberty
within their own culture and their own traditions.' In the middle
of Beers' briefing at the National Press Club in downtown
Washington, several protesters stood up and began shouting, 'You're
selling war and we're not buying.' "
NORD KOREA
Tagesanzeiger: Weltweite Kritik an Nordkorea
Die Ankündigung Nordkoreas, aus dem Atomwaffensperrvertrag auszusteigen, stösst auf Unverständnis. Das kommunistische Land wird von allen Seiten aufgefordert, die Aufkündigung zu überdenken.
Tagesanzeiger: Weltweite Kritik an Nordkorea
Die Ankündigung Nordkoreas, aus dem Atomwaffensperrvertrag auszusteigen, stösst auf Unverständnis. Das kommunistische Land wird von allen Seiten aufgefordert, die Aufkündigung zu überdenken.
IRAK
Tagesanzeiger: Blix hat viele offene Fragen, aber keine Beweise
Trotz intensiver Suche von über 100 Inspektoren hat die Uno bisher keine Beweise dafür, dass Irak über Massenvernichtungswaffen verfügt. Das bestätigten die Chefs der Inspektionen, Hans Blix und Mohammed el Baradei, vor dem Sicherheitsrat
Tagesanzeiger: Blix hat viele offene Fragen, aber keine Beweise
Trotz intensiver Suche von über 100 Inspektoren hat die Uno bisher keine Beweise dafür, dass Irak über Massenvernichtungswaffen verfügt. Das bestätigten die Chefs der Inspektionen, Hans Blix und Mohammed el Baradei, vor dem Sicherheitsrat
USA
Observer: Bush accused of civil rights clampdown
"President George Bush is presiding over the most secretive administration in 'living memory', according to American civil rights groups and congressmen.
Critics accuse him of orchestrating an unprecedented clampdown on freedom of information and the press. This has resulted in a dramatic increase in documents and proceedings being classified secret and an overall shutdown of the free flow of information over the government's political and legal conduct. They are also concerned over what they see as alarming restrictions on the Freedom of Information Act.
Democrat Senator Patrick Leahy, first elected in 1974, said: 'Since I have been here, I have never known an administration that it has been more difficult to get information from.' "
Observer: Bush accused of civil rights clampdown
"President George Bush is presiding over the most secretive administration in 'living memory', according to American civil rights groups and congressmen.
Critics accuse him of orchestrating an unprecedented clampdown on freedom of information and the press. This has resulted in a dramatic increase in documents and proceedings being classified secret and an overall shutdown of the free flow of information over the government's political and legal conduct. They are also concerned over what they see as alarming restrictions on the Freedom of Information Act.
Democrat Senator Patrick Leahy, first elected in 1974, said: 'Since I have been here, I have never known an administration that it has been more difficult to get information from.' "
CONSPIRACY
Alternet.org: Top Ten Conspiracy Theories of 2002
For about thirty minutes after his chief of staff told him that America was under attack, George W. Bush continued to sit in an elementary school classroom listening to a second-grader tell a story about a pet goat. He did a marvelous job of looking completely unsurprised. Meanwhile, four hijacked jumbo jets were able to fly off-course across several states without encountering any opposition from the most powerful and responsive air force in the world.
"...3. The Magic Passport Theory.
We can now add Mohamed Atta's reality-defying passport to the Arlen Specter Gallery of Improbable Projectiles. This incriminating item was thrown intact from a cataclysmic fireball and miraculously plucked from 1.6 million tons of debris in a matter of hours. The corporate media rarely mention the unlikelihood of this"
Alternet.org: Top Ten Conspiracy Theories of 2002
For about thirty minutes after his chief of staff told him that America was under attack, George W. Bush continued to sit in an elementary school classroom listening to a second-grader tell a story about a pet goat. He did a marvelous job of looking completely unsurprised. Meanwhile, four hijacked jumbo jets were able to fly off-course across several states without encountering any opposition from the most powerful and responsive air force in the world.
"...3. The Magic Passport Theory.
We can now add Mohamed Atta's reality-defying passport to the Arlen Specter Gallery of Improbable Projectiles. This incriminating item was thrown intact from a cataclysmic fireball and miraculously plucked from 1.6 million tons of debris in a matter of hours. The corporate media rarely mention the unlikelihood of this"
ISRAEL
Financial Review: Israel wants more than total US foreign aid budget
A delegation from Israel, the largest recipient of US foreign aid, has sought $US12 billion ($21 billion) in assistance at a meeting with State Department and White House officials, Israeli officials said.
The request, covering the next three to five years, exceeds the total $US11.6 billion budgeted last year by the US for all countries.
"Die Aufrechterhaltung des Status Quo hat seinen Preis. 12 Milliarden Dollar für die Untrerdrückung eines Volkes. Why do they hate us? Probably thats why"
Financial Review: Israel wants more than total US foreign aid budget
A delegation from Israel, the largest recipient of US foreign aid, has sought $US12 billion ($21 billion) in assistance at a meeting with State Department and White House officials, Israeli officials said.
The request, covering the next three to five years, exceeds the total $US11.6 billion budgeted last year by the US for all countries.
"Die Aufrechterhaltung des Status Quo hat seinen Preis. 12 Milliarden Dollar für die Untrerdrückung eines Volkes. Why do they hate us? Probably thats why"
VENZUELA
Counterpunch: Venezuela: Chomsky's Tropical Nightmare
"To suffer in your own flesh and blood what Noam Chomsky writes about the ideological power of Media is very different from reading it. We have enjoyed reading his articles about the media that helped us understand its enormous influence in contemporary societies. However, living in Venezuela during the last three years has allowed us to suffer directly that power."
Counterpunch: Venezuela: Chomsky's Tropical Nightmare
"To suffer in your own flesh and blood what Noam Chomsky writes about the ideological power of Media is very different from reading it. We have enjoyed reading his articles about the media that helped us understand its enormous influence in contemporary societies. However, living in Venezuela during the last three years has allowed us to suffer directly that power."
Thursday, January 09, 2003
AFGHANISTAN
Asia Times: Afghanistan: Back to bad opium habits
As another winter arrives in Afghanistan, opium seeds are already in the soil for next year's crop, and there is little evidence that the tide of heroin's deadly cycle will be stopped any time soon.
"Nach dem Fall der Taliban die den Heroinhandel nahezu unterbunden haben ist Afghanistan erneut Hauptproduzent und Quelle von 75% des weltweit konsumierten Heroins"
Asia Times: Afghanistan: Back to bad opium habits
As another winter arrives in Afghanistan, opium seeds are already in the soil for next year's crop, and there is little evidence that the tide of heroin's deadly cycle will be stopped any time soon.
"Nach dem Fall der Taliban die den Heroinhandel nahezu unterbunden haben ist Afghanistan erneut Hauptproduzent und Quelle von 75% des weltweit konsumierten Heroins"
INTERVIEW
ZMAG: Interview With Chomsky
"First of all I think we ought to be very cautious about using the phrase 'War on Terror'. There can't be a War on Terror. It's a logical impossibility. The US is one of the leading terrorist states in the world. The guys who are in charge right now were all condemned for terrorism by the World Court. They would have been condemned by the U.N. Security Council except they vetoed the resolution, with Britain abstaining of course. These guys can't be conducting a war on terror. It's just out of the question. They declared a war on terror 20 years ago and we know what they did. They destroyed Central America. They killed a million and a half people in southern Africa. We can go on through the list. So there's no 'War on Terror'. "
Chomsky erwähnt im Innterview die Studie global trends 2015 des "National Intelligence Council". Die Studie wurde auf der cia-homepage publiziert.
ZMAG: Interview With Chomsky
"First of all I think we ought to be very cautious about using the phrase 'War on Terror'. There can't be a War on Terror. It's a logical impossibility. The US is one of the leading terrorist states in the world. The guys who are in charge right now were all condemned for terrorism by the World Court. They would have been condemned by the U.N. Security Council except they vetoed the resolution, with Britain abstaining of course. These guys can't be conducting a war on terror. It's just out of the question. They declared a war on terror 20 years ago and we know what they did. They destroyed Central America. They killed a million and a half people in southern Africa. We can go on through the list. So there's no 'War on Terror'. "
Chomsky erwähnt im Innterview die Studie global trends 2015 des "National Intelligence Council". Die Studie wurde auf der cia-homepage publiziert.
WAR ON TERROR
Independent: Robert Fisk: The double standards, dubious morality and duplicity of this fight against terror
Meanwhile, we are ploughing on to war in Iraq, which has oil, but avoiding war in Korea, which does not have oil
"I think I'm getting the picture. North Korea breaks all its nuclear agreements with the United States, throws out UN inspectors and sets off to make a bomb a year, and President Bush says it's "a diplomatic issue". Iraq hands over a 12,000-page account of its weapons production and allows UN inspectors to roam all over the country, and – after they've found not a jam-jar of dangerous chemicals in 230 raids – President Bush announces that Iraq is a threat to America, has not disarmed and may have to be invaded. So that's it, then."
Independent: Robert Fisk: The double standards, dubious morality and duplicity of this fight against terror
Meanwhile, we are ploughing on to war in Iraq, which has oil, but avoiding war in Korea, which does not have oil
"I think I'm getting the picture. North Korea breaks all its nuclear agreements with the United States, throws out UN inspectors and sets off to make a bomb a year, and President Bush says it's "a diplomatic issue". Iraq hands over a 12,000-page account of its weapons production and allows UN inspectors to roam all over the country, and – after they've found not a jam-jar of dangerous chemicals in 230 raids – President Bush announces that Iraq is a threat to America, has not disarmed and may have to be invaded. So that's it, then."
WAR ON IRAK
Independent: Blix says UN has found no 'smoking guns' in Iraq
UN weapons inspectors have not found any smoking guns in Iraq during their search for weapons of mass destruction, the chief inspector said today.
Independent: Blix says UN has found no 'smoking guns' in Iraq
UN weapons inspectors have not found any smoking guns in Iraq during their search for weapons of mass destruction, the chief inspector said today.
PLANE CRASH
Spiegel: Fünf Menschen überleben Flugzeugabsturz Türkei
Spiegel: 21 Menschen sterben bei Absturz auf Hangar USA
Spiegel: Fünf Menschen überleben Flugzeugabsturz Türkei
Spiegel: 21 Menschen sterben bei Absturz auf Hangar USA
KASCHMIR
Spiegel: Indien testet atomwaffenfähige Rakete
Der Dauerkonflikt zwischen Indien und Pakistan geht in die nächste Runde: Indien testete eine Rakete, die mit nuklearen Sprengköpfen bestückt werden kann. Prompt drohten sich die Regierungen der verfeindeten Staaten gegenseitig mit dem Einsatz von Nuklearwaffen.
Spiegel: Indien testet atomwaffenfähige Rakete
Der Dauerkonflikt zwischen Indien und Pakistan geht in die nächste Runde: Indien testete eine Rakete, die mit nuklearen Sprengköpfen bestückt werden kann. Prompt drohten sich die Regierungen der verfeindeten Staaten gegenseitig mit dem Einsatz von Nuklearwaffen.
WAR ON IRAK
Spiegel: Türkei setzt USA unter Druck
Die türkische Regierung rückt offenbar von ihrer früheren Zusage gegenüber den USA ab, einen Krieg im Irak zu unterstützen. Beunruhigt durch Meinungsumfragen in der Bevölkerung dämpft Ankara die Aussichten, im Fall des Falles eine nördliche Front gegen Präsident Saddam Hussein zu eröffnen.
"Mehr als sechs Monate nachdem die USA die Türkei um Erlaubnis gebeten haben, Militärbasen auf ihre mögliche Nutzung in einem Irak-Krieg zu überprüfen, gibt es laut "Washington Post" noch keine Antwort. Ein 150-Mann-Team des amerikanischen Militärs wartet weiterhin in Deutschland darauf, in die Türkei hineingelassen zu werden. Zudem hat die Regierung bislang noch nicht über eine US-Bitte entschieden, 80.000 Soldaten übergangsweise in der Türkei zu stationieren. "
Spiegel: Türkei setzt USA unter Druck
Die türkische Regierung rückt offenbar von ihrer früheren Zusage gegenüber den USA ab, einen Krieg im Irak zu unterstützen. Beunruhigt durch Meinungsumfragen in der Bevölkerung dämpft Ankara die Aussichten, im Fall des Falles eine nördliche Front gegen Präsident Saddam Hussein zu eröffnen.
"Mehr als sechs Monate nachdem die USA die Türkei um Erlaubnis gebeten haben, Militärbasen auf ihre mögliche Nutzung in einem Irak-Krieg zu überprüfen, gibt es laut "Washington Post" noch keine Antwort. Ein 150-Mann-Team des amerikanischen Militärs wartet weiterhin in Deutschland darauf, in die Türkei hineingelassen zu werden. Zudem hat die Regierung bislang noch nicht über eine US-Bitte entschieden, 80.000 Soldaten übergangsweise in der Türkei zu stationieren. "
WAR ON IRAK
Spiegel: Die Front bröckelt
Unwillige Deutsche, zaudernde Saudis, eine neue türkische Regierung, die Stationierungsanfragen der USA unbeantwortet lässt. Und nun auch noch Großbritannien, das einen möglichen Angriff auf den Irak um mehrere Monate verschieben will. Die möglich Kombattanten verweigern den Vereinigten Staaten zunehmend den Dienst.
"Der "Daily Telegraph" berichtet, britische Minister und führende Regierungsbeamte sähen derzeit keine Rechtsgrundlage, den Irak anzugreifen. Ein Massenaufmarsch durch britische und amerikanische Truppen am Golf sei kein hinreichender Kriegsgrund. "
Tages Anzeiger: London sucht Zeitgewinn in der Irak-Krise
Grossbritannien hat die USA nach einem britischen Zeitungsbericht um Aufschub eines Angriffs auf Irak um mehrere Monate gebeten. Damit solle den Uno-Inspektoren mehr Zeit für eine Überprüfung des irakischen Waffenprogramms gegeben werden.
Spiegel: Die Front bröckelt
Unwillige Deutsche, zaudernde Saudis, eine neue türkische Regierung, die Stationierungsanfragen der USA unbeantwortet lässt. Und nun auch noch Großbritannien, das einen möglichen Angriff auf den Irak um mehrere Monate verschieben will. Die möglich Kombattanten verweigern den Vereinigten Staaten zunehmend den Dienst.
"Der "Daily Telegraph" berichtet, britische Minister und führende Regierungsbeamte sähen derzeit keine Rechtsgrundlage, den Irak anzugreifen. Ein Massenaufmarsch durch britische und amerikanische Truppen am Golf sei kein hinreichender Kriegsgrund. "
Tages Anzeiger: London sucht Zeitgewinn in der Irak-Krise
Grossbritannien hat die USA nach einem britischen Zeitungsbericht um Aufschub eines Angriffs auf Irak um mehrere Monate gebeten. Damit solle den Uno-Inspektoren mehr Zeit für eine Überprüfung des irakischen Waffenprogramms gegeben werden.
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