Uday:
Qusay:
Friday, July 25, 2003
Thursday, July 24, 2003
MONEY
Heise: Konflikte sind vorprogrammiert
Der neueste Index der sozialen Entwicklung zeigt, dass sich die Lebensqualität weltweit dramatisch verschlechtert
Probleme haben in aller Regel den Nachteil, dass sie sich nicht von selbst lösen. Und wenn man sie zu lange unbeaufsichtigt lässt, werden sie meist noch größer und schließen sich mit anderen Problemen zusammen. Die soziale Entwicklung auf unserem Planeten illustriert diese simple Beobachtung sehr eindrucksvoll, sofern ihr katastrophaler Gesamtzustand denn überhaupt noch mit dem Begriff "Problem" beschreib- und definierbar ist.
"Doch auch in den wohlhabenden Ländern ist längst nicht alles Gold, was glänzt. Viele Staaten haben ihren sozialen Standard in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten bestenfalls gehalten und erscheinen nur im Vergleich zu den ärmsten Regionen der Welt in positivem Licht. Die Vereinigten Staaten verharren beispielsweise auf dem Entwicklungsstand von 1980 und befinden sich derzeit auf dem gleichen Niveau wie Polen oder Slowenien"
check dazu: Der neoliberale Weg in den Abgrund von Egbert Scheunemann
Marktradikalismus, Lohndrückerei und Kürzungen der Sozialausgaben als Ursachen der Massenarbeitslosigkeit
"Hail Capitalism"
Heise: Konflikte sind vorprogrammiert
Der neueste Index der sozialen Entwicklung zeigt, dass sich die Lebensqualität weltweit dramatisch verschlechtert
Probleme haben in aller Regel den Nachteil, dass sie sich nicht von selbst lösen. Und wenn man sie zu lange unbeaufsichtigt lässt, werden sie meist noch größer und schließen sich mit anderen Problemen zusammen. Die soziale Entwicklung auf unserem Planeten illustriert diese simple Beobachtung sehr eindrucksvoll, sofern ihr katastrophaler Gesamtzustand denn überhaupt noch mit dem Begriff "Problem" beschreib- und definierbar ist.
"Doch auch in den wohlhabenden Ländern ist längst nicht alles Gold, was glänzt. Viele Staaten haben ihren sozialen Standard in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten bestenfalls gehalten und erscheinen nur im Vergleich zu den ärmsten Regionen der Welt in positivem Licht. Die Vereinigten Staaten verharren beispielsweise auf dem Entwicklungsstand von 1980 und befinden sich derzeit auf dem gleichen Niveau wie Polen oder Slowenien"
check dazu: Der neoliberale Weg in den Abgrund von Egbert Scheunemann
Marktradikalismus, Lohndrückerei und Kürzungen der Sozialausgaben als Ursachen der Massenarbeitslosigkeit
"Hail Capitalism"
USA: CALIFORNIA
NY Times: A Recall Vote Seems Certain for California
July 23 — Almost a century after Californians gained the right to force a recall election against a sitting governor, the state today appeared on the verge of using the power for the first time and authorizing a vote on whether to oust Gov. Gray Davis.
California's counties had submitted to the state more than 1.3 million valid ballot petition signatures needed to secure the recall question a spot on a fall special election ballot, state and local officials said. The number of signatures was nearly a fifth of the 6 million state residents who voted in the election last year.
NY Times: A Recall Vote Seems Certain for California
July 23 — Almost a century after Californians gained the right to force a recall election against a sitting governor, the state today appeared on the verge of using the power for the first time and authorizing a vote on whether to oust Gov. Gray Davis.
California's counties had submitted to the state more than 1.3 million valid ballot petition signatures needed to secure the recall question a spot on a fall special election ballot, state and local officials said. The number of signatures was nearly a fifth of the 6 million state residents who voted in the election last year.
IRAQ
Daily News: Camp Cropper by Robert Fisk
Now here's a story to shame us all. It's about America's shameful prison camps in Iraq. It's about the beating of prisoners during interrogation.
"Sources" may be a dubious word in journalism right now, but the sources for the beatings in Iraq are impeccable and any US military intelligence officers who want to call me a liar can explain how three of their prisoners in the Bagram camp in Afghanistan were murdered during interrogation.
This story is also about the gunning down of three prisoners in Baghdad, two of them "while trying to escape". But most of all, it's about Qais Mohamed al-Salman.
"CHECK IT"
Daily News: Camp Cropper by Robert Fisk
Now here's a story to shame us all. It's about America's shameful prison camps in Iraq. It's about the beating of prisoners during interrogation.
"Sources" may be a dubious word in journalism right now, but the sources for the beatings in Iraq are impeccable and any US military intelligence officers who want to call me a liar can explain how three of their prisoners in the Bagram camp in Afghanistan were murdered during interrogation.
This story is also about the gunning down of three prisoners in Baghdad, two of them "while trying to escape". But most of all, it's about Qais Mohamed al-Salman.
"CHECK IT"
UK: DAVID KELLY SUICIDE?
The New Scientist: Editorial: The death of David Kelly
Journalist or scientist, if you wanted to know about Iraq's past chemical and biological weapons programmes or their future potential there was only one man in Britain to ask: David Kelly.
He had been a hands-on microbiologist, a senior player at Britain's Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, led a team of weapons inspectors in Iraq, and advised Hans Blix as he set up the latest inspection regime, UNMOVIC. But last week Kelly apparently killed himself after becoming embroiled in a sordid intrigue at the heart of Tony Blair's government. So extraordinary are the events surrounding his death, and so high the stakes, that the episode is now the subject of a judicial inquiry led by Lord Hutton.
The New Scientist: Editorial: The death of David Kelly
Journalist or scientist, if you wanted to know about Iraq's past chemical and biological weapons programmes or their future potential there was only one man in Britain to ask: David Kelly.
He had been a hands-on microbiologist, a senior player at Britain's Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, led a team of weapons inspectors in Iraq, and advised Hans Blix as he set up the latest inspection regime, UNMOVIC. But last week Kelly apparently killed himself after becoming embroiled in a sordid intrigue at the heart of Tony Blair's government. So extraordinary are the events surrounding his death, and so high the stakes, that the episode is now the subject of a judicial inquiry led by Lord Hutton.
NORTH KOREA
PlanetArk.org: N Korea Sees September 9 As Deadline For US Action
TOKYO -- North Korea is prepared to declare itself a nuclear state unless the United States responds positively to its proposals for resolving a row over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions by Sept. 9 -- the anniversary of the communist country's founding, diplomatic sources in Tokyo said.
One source with close ties to Pyongyang told Reuters that the North was ready to declare itself officially a member of the nuclear club, opening the way for possible nuclear tests and increased production of weapons. "North Korea will move on to possess nuclear weapons and declare itself a nuclear state if the United States fails to respond to its proposals before September 9," he said.
PlanetArk.org: N Korea Sees September 9 As Deadline For US Action
TOKYO -- North Korea is prepared to declare itself a nuclear state unless the United States responds positively to its proposals for resolving a row over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions by Sept. 9 -- the anniversary of the communist country's founding, diplomatic sources in Tokyo said.
One source with close ties to Pyongyang told Reuters that the North was ready to declare itself officially a member of the nuclear club, opening the way for possible nuclear tests and increased production of weapons. "North Korea will move on to possess nuclear weapons and declare itself a nuclear state if the United States fails to respond to its proposals before September 9," he said.
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Reuters: 3 US Soldiers Killed Near Where Saddam Sons Died
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Three U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division operating in northern Iraq were killed in a rifle and grenade attack Thursday, a U.S. military spokesman said.
Soldiers from the 101st, based in Mosul, killed Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay in a raid on a house in the city Tuesday. At least one shadowy group has vowed to avenge their deaths.
Reuters: 3 US Soldiers Killed Near Where Saddam Sons Died
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Three U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division operating in northern Iraq were killed in a rifle and grenade attack Thursday, a U.S. military spokesman said.
Soldiers from the 101st, based in Mosul, killed Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay in a raid on a house in the city Tuesday. At least one shadowy group has vowed to avenge their deaths.
USA
independent.org: Bush Administration Deception on Iraq:Only the Tip of the Iceberg
After recently moving out of Washington after more than 22 years there, I realize now more than ever how divorced from reality (and the ethics of the rest of the country) the nation’s capital has become. What is regarded as deception and even lying everywhere else is just good clean fun on the banks of the Potomac. A case in point is the administration’s admission that President Bush’s State of the Union reference to Iraq’s alleged quest to buy uranium from Africa should not have been inserted in the speech.
The media and Democrats are rushing to thrust, with a twist, the verbal dagger into the Bush administration over the “gotcha” in the speech. The administration so richly deserves acerbic criticism over its bellicose invasion of a sovereign Iraq and its subsequent botched attempt at nation-building there. But the real question is why it took so long for the criticism of administration duplicity to be exposed and debated. This question goes to the heart of culture of the nation’s capital.
independent.org: Bush Administration Deception on Iraq:Only the Tip of the Iceberg
After recently moving out of Washington after more than 22 years there, I realize now more than ever how divorced from reality (and the ethics of the rest of the country) the nation’s capital has become. What is regarded as deception and even lying everywhere else is just good clean fun on the banks of the Potomac. A case in point is the administration’s admission that President Bush’s State of the Union reference to Iraq’s alleged quest to buy uranium from Africa should not have been inserted in the speech.
The media and Democrats are rushing to thrust, with a twist, the verbal dagger into the Bush administration over the “gotcha” in the speech. The administration so richly deserves acerbic criticism over its bellicose invasion of a sovereign Iraq and its subsequent botched attempt at nation-building there. But the real question is why it took so long for the criticism of administration duplicity to be exposed and debated. This question goes to the heart of culture of the nation’s capital.
IRAQ
Counterpunch: Bad Guy/Good Guy
You help me find the bad guy or we come back with our tanks and run over
your fields and break down your house." -- US soldier to a northern Iraqi
villager, July 17, 2003, CNN news
The soldiers face sniping resistance and are attempting to root out the
fighters who blend into the Iraqi village population. So they're coercing
information from the neighbors through the threat of ravage. This tactic is
not exactly the same as the Israeli practice of destroying the land and
homes of Palestinian suicide bombers' families. That is deliberately
punitive revenge and it's also rationalized as deterrence. Our soldiers'
tactic is simply brutal coercion, guerilla warfare, extortion.
Should 'good guys' get 'bad guys' by coercing and ravaging neutral guys?
Didn't we disparage Saddam's inhumanity by pointing out that he terrorized
his own people in a reign of fear and retribution? Or does war suppress
humanitarian questions and radicalize everyone into good guys who are with
us and bad guys who are against us? The soldiers who mistakenly kill
civilians they think are hostile are excused because fear is seen as a
reasonable excuse. Alan Dershowitz, sometime defender of civil rights,
thinks even torture is allowable. Everybody knows people do these things.
Warrior types sneer at liberal squeamishness. Ann Coulter swashbuckles that
we should ravage and kill and convert the Muslims. As Yeats puts it: "The
best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate
intensity."
Counterpunch: Bad Guy/Good Guy
You help me find the bad guy or we come back with our tanks and run over
your fields and break down your house." -- US soldier to a northern Iraqi
villager, July 17, 2003, CNN news
The soldiers face sniping resistance and are attempting to root out the
fighters who blend into the Iraqi village population. So they're coercing
information from the neighbors through the threat of ravage. This tactic is
not exactly the same as the Israeli practice of destroying the land and
homes of Palestinian suicide bombers' families. That is deliberately
punitive revenge and it's also rationalized as deterrence. Our soldiers'
tactic is simply brutal coercion, guerilla warfare, extortion.
Should 'good guys' get 'bad guys' by coercing and ravaging neutral guys?
Didn't we disparage Saddam's inhumanity by pointing out that he terrorized
his own people in a reign of fear and retribution? Or does war suppress
humanitarian questions and radicalize everyone into good guys who are with
us and bad guys who are against us? The soldiers who mistakenly kill
civilians they think are hostile are excused because fear is seen as a
reasonable excuse. Alan Dershowitz, sometime defender of civil rights,
thinks even torture is allowable. Everybody knows people do these things.
Warrior types sneer at liberal squeamishness. Ann Coulter swashbuckles that
we should ravage and kill and convert the Muslims. As Yeats puts it: "The
best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate
intensity."
USA
Msnbc: White House Striking Back?
WASHINGTON - They were just 16 words in the State of the Union address -
words that we now know were misleading. And this man, retired career
diplomat Joe Wilson tried to warn the administration of just that nearly a
year before the speech. Now in an NBC News exclusive, Wilson says his
family is the subject of a smear campaign. Wilson tells NBC News the White
House deliberately leaked his wife's identity as a covert CIA operative,
damaging her future career and compromising past missions after he
criticized the administration on "Meet the Press" and in the New York
Times. He told me, "It's a shot across the bow to those who might step
forward, those unnamed analysts who said they were pressured by the White
House for example would think twice about having their own families names
being dragged through this particular mud."
Pakistan Dawn:
Ex-US envoy says govt targeting him
WASHINGTON, July 22: A former US ambassador who earlier this month alleged
the US government exaggerated the nuclear threat posed by Iraq, accused the
White House on Tuesday of trying to punish and discredit him for his
outspoken remarks. In an interview with NBC television, former ambassador
Joseph Wilson alleged that press leaks from the White House have attempted
to malign him in an effort to dissuade others from speaking out.
Msnbc: White House Striking Back?
WASHINGTON - They were just 16 words in the State of the Union address -
words that we now know were misleading. And this man, retired career
diplomat Joe Wilson tried to warn the administration of just that nearly a
year before the speech. Now in an NBC News exclusive, Wilson says his
family is the subject of a smear campaign. Wilson tells NBC News the White
House deliberately leaked his wife's identity as a covert CIA operative,
damaging her future career and compromising past missions after he
criticized the administration on "Meet the Press" and in the New York
Times. He told me, "It's a shot across the bow to those who might step
forward, those unnamed analysts who said they were pressured by the White
House for example would think twice about having their own families names
being dragged through this particular mud."
Pakistan Dawn:
Ex-US envoy says govt targeting him
WASHINGTON, July 22: A former US ambassador who earlier this month alleged
the US government exaggerated the nuclear threat posed by Iraq, accused the
White House on Tuesday of trying to punish and discredit him for his
outspoken remarks. In an interview with NBC television, former ambassador
Joseph Wilson alleged that press leaks from the White House have attempted
to malign him in an effort to dissuade others from speaking out.
IRAQ
Counterpunch: Plugging Iraq into Globalization
early April, during the initial assault on Baghdad, soldiers set up forward bases named Camp Shell and Camp Exxon until Pentagon PR realized that didn't look very good and ordered them renamed. Those soldiers knew the score. Several months and dozens of lives later, Bechtel, Halliburton, and a host of oil companies are ensuring that the fledgling "free market" in Iraq will be particularly free for US corporations.
The ultimate prize in Iraq, of course, is oil, and the Bush/Cheney gang has uncoiled a vastly underreported legal and financial cord that plugs U.S corporate control into these resources at least through the year 2007. The basic wiring has two prongs and is already complete. The first part, created by the UN under US pressure is the Development Fund for Iraq which is to be controlled by the US and advised by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Unsurprisingly, this is looking more and more like a slush fund for corporate welfare. The second is a recent Bush executive order that provides absolute legal protection for U.S. interests in Iraqi oil. And a third and final prong is being crafted to ground the whole system and get as much profit as possible out of it.
By promising the United Nations a threadbare role in the reconstruction of Iraq, and giving the World Bank and International Monetary Fund accounting oversight, the U.S. managed to buy the world's largest multilateral institutions into an incredible deal for private U.S. interests.
Counterpunch: Plugging Iraq into Globalization
early April, during the initial assault on Baghdad, soldiers set up forward bases named Camp Shell and Camp Exxon until Pentagon PR realized that didn't look very good and ordered them renamed. Those soldiers knew the score. Several months and dozens of lives later, Bechtel, Halliburton, and a host of oil companies are ensuring that the fledgling "free market" in Iraq will be particularly free for US corporations.
The ultimate prize in Iraq, of course, is oil, and the Bush/Cheney gang has uncoiled a vastly underreported legal and financial cord that plugs U.S corporate control into these resources at least through the year 2007. The basic wiring has two prongs and is already complete. The first part, created by the UN under US pressure is the Development Fund for Iraq which is to be controlled by the US and advised by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Unsurprisingly, this is looking more and more like a slush fund for corporate welfare. The second is a recent Bush executive order that provides absolute legal protection for U.S. interests in Iraqi oil. And a third and final prong is being crafted to ground the whole system and get as much profit as possible out of it.
By promising the United Nations a threadbare role in the reconstruction of Iraq, and giving the World Bank and International Monetary Fund accounting oversight, the U.S. managed to buy the world's largest multilateral institutions into an incredible deal for private U.S. interests.
USA
Reuters: 400,000 Letters to Congress Seek War Evidence Probe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 400,000 letters have been sent to members
of the U.S. Congress backing a call for an independent investigation into
intelligence used by the Bush administration to justify the Iraq war,
organizers of an online campaign said on Tuesday. The campaign, being run
by the advocacy group Moveon.org http://www.moveon.org, is trying to
pressure lawmakers to back a bill introduced by Rep. Henry Waxman, a
California Democrat, that would create a nonpartisan commission to probe
the intelligence.
Reuters: 400,000 Letters to Congress Seek War Evidence Probe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 400,000 letters have been sent to members
of the U.S. Congress backing a call for an independent investigation into
intelligence used by the Bush administration to justify the Iraq war,
organizers of an online campaign said on Tuesday. The campaign, being run
by the advocacy group Moveon.org http://www.moveon.org, is trying to
pressure lawmakers to back a bill introduced by Rep. Henry Waxman, a
California Democrat, that would create a nonpartisan commission to probe
the intelligence.
USA
Spiegel: Abgeordneter von Widersacher erschossen
Bei einer Schießerei im Rathaus von New York wurde ein Abgeordneter von einem politischer Gegner erschossen. Dieser wurde anschließend von einem Zivilbeamten getötet. Es handele sich nicht um einen Anschlag, teilte Bürgermeister Michael Bloomberg mit, der unverletzt blieb.
Spiegel: Abgeordneter von Widersacher erschossen
Bei einer Schießerei im Rathaus von New York wurde ein Abgeordneter von einem politischer Gegner erschossen. Dieser wurde anschließend von einem Zivilbeamten getötet. Es handele sich nicht um einen Anschlag, teilte Bürgermeister Michael Bloomberg mit, der unverletzt blieb.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
ADVERTISMENT
Wooster:
Earlier this week in our 'hood (and we're assuming also in cities across the country) a series of posters suddenly went up that, at first glance, looks a lot like someone has painted and wheat pasted street art images over them. But upon a closer look, it becomes obvious that the paint and wheat paste is fake, and that the poster itself is an advert for a new electric car from Nissan.
FUCK NISSAN
Wooster:
Earlier this week in our 'hood (and we're assuming also in cities across the country) a series of posters suddenly went up that, at first glance, looks a lot like someone has painted and wheat pasted street art images over them. But upon a closer look, it becomes obvious that the paint and wheat paste is fake, and that the poster itself is an advert for a new electric car from Nissan.
FUCK NISSAN
BUSH
Salon: A "darn good" quote that almost nobody quoted
We gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in."
George W. Bush uttered that amazing sentence yesterday to justify the war in Iraq, according to the Washington Post
For the moment, however, let's just assume reality does exist. What possessed the president to make an assertion that everyone on the planet knows to be untrue? And who is going to take the responsibility for this one? Did George Tenet vet Bush's statement? Do the British have a secret dossier proving that Saddam never actually admitted Hans Blix and the UNMOVIC teams? Will Condi Rice or Donald Rumsfeld show up on Fox News next weekend to explain why Bush's statement is "technically accurate," even though he shouldn't have said it?
Salon: A "darn good" quote that almost nobody quoted
We gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in."
George W. Bush uttered that amazing sentence yesterday to justify the war in Iraq, according to the Washington Post
For the moment, however, let's just assume reality does exist. What possessed the president to make an assertion that everyone on the planet knows to be untrue? And who is going to take the responsibility for this one? Did George Tenet vet Bush's statement? Do the British have a secret dossier proving that Saddam never actually admitted Hans Blix and the UNMOVIC teams? Will Condi Rice or Donald Rumsfeld show up on Fox News next weekend to explain why Bush's statement is "technically accurate," even though he shouldn't have said it?
MEDIA WATCH
editor&publisher: Media Underplays U.S. Death Toll in Iraq
Soldiers Dead Since May Is 3 Times Official Count
Any way you look at it, the news is bad enough. According to Thursday's press and television reports, 33 U.S. soldiers have now died in combat since President Bush declared an end to the major fighting in the war on May 2. This, of course, is a tragedy for the men killed and their families, and a problem for the White House.
But actually the numbers are much worse -- and rarely reported by the media.
According to official military records, the number of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq since May 2 is actually 85. This includes a staggering number of non-combat deaths. Even if killed in a non-hostile action, these soldiers are no less dead, their families no less aggrieved. And it's safe to say that nearly all of these people would still be alive if they were still back in the States.
editor&publisher: Media Underplays U.S. Death Toll in Iraq
Soldiers Dead Since May Is 3 Times Official Count
Any way you look at it, the news is bad enough. According to Thursday's press and television reports, 33 U.S. soldiers have now died in combat since President Bush declared an end to the major fighting in the war on May 2. This, of course, is a tragedy for the men killed and their families, and a problem for the White House.
But actually the numbers are much worse -- and rarely reported by the media.
According to official military records, the number of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq since May 2 is actually 85. This includes a staggering number of non-combat deaths. Even if killed in a non-hostile action, these soldiers are no less dead, their families no less aggrieved. And it's safe to say that nearly all of these people would still be alive if they were still back in the States.
ISRAEL
MSNBC: Israel says Iran's nuclear ambition a global threat
Israel said on Monday Iran was ''trying to do everything'' to build a nuclear weapon and would pose a threat to the whole world unless it was stopped. Iran rejected the charge, saying it viewed weapons of mass destruction as a serious threat to its own security. It repeated that its nuclear programme was aimed at meeting the enormous energy demands of its rapidly developing economy.
"Israel besitzt illegal Nuklearwaffen und gibt es bis Heute nicht zu. Laut Schätzungen besitzt Israel neben Russland, den USA und England die grösste Anzahl solcher Waffen. Iran ist Unterzeichner des nicht-verbreitungs-Vertrages, Israel nicht. Ich frage mich von wem uns wirklich Gefahr droht. Der einzige Staat der bis jetzt Atomwaffen eingesetzt hat war eine Demokratie"
MSNBC: Israel says Iran's nuclear ambition a global threat
Israel said on Monday Iran was ''trying to do everything'' to build a nuclear weapon and would pose a threat to the whole world unless it was stopped. Iran rejected the charge, saying it viewed weapons of mass destruction as a serious threat to its own security. It repeated that its nuclear programme was aimed at meeting the enormous energy demands of its rapidly developing economy.
"Israel besitzt illegal Nuklearwaffen und gibt es bis Heute nicht zu. Laut Schätzungen besitzt Israel neben Russland, den USA und England die grösste Anzahl solcher Waffen. Iran ist Unterzeichner des nicht-verbreitungs-Vertrages, Israel nicht. Ich frage mich von wem uns wirklich Gefahr droht. Der einzige Staat der bis jetzt Atomwaffen eingesetzt hat war eine Demokratie"
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Islamonline: 4 U.S. Soldiers Killed, Iraqi Group Vows Resistance
BAGHDAD, July 22 (IslamOnine.net & News Agencies) – Four U.S. soldiers
were reportedly killed and two others injured Tuesday, July22 , in two
separate attacks in northern and central Iraq, a day after an Iraqi
resistance group called for Jihad against the U.S.-led occupation,
threatening the occupation troops and their Iraqi collaborators with
relentless attacks.
One U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded when their vehicle came
under attack by a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire in an
ambush
on the road between Balad and Ramadi, 100 kilometers ( 60miles) west of
Baghdad, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted the U.S. Central Command as
saying. The soldiers from the U.S. Army's3 rd Armored Cavalry Regiment
were
evacuated to the28 th Combat Support Hospital , Centcom said. Aljazeera
satellite channel further reported that three U.S. soldiers were killed
and
another wounded in al-Falah district in the northern Iraqi city of
Mosul on
Tuesday.
Islamonline: 4 U.S. Soldiers Killed, Iraqi Group Vows Resistance
BAGHDAD, July 22 (IslamOnine.net & News Agencies) – Four U.S. soldiers
were reportedly killed and two others injured Tuesday, July22 , in two
separate attacks in northern and central Iraq, a day after an Iraqi
resistance group called for Jihad against the U.S.-led occupation,
threatening the occupation troops and their Iraqi collaborators with
relentless attacks.
One U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded when their vehicle came
under attack by a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire in an
ambush
on the road between Balad and Ramadi, 100 kilometers ( 60miles) west of
Baghdad, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted the U.S. Central Command as
saying. The soldiers from the U.S. Army's3 rd Armored Cavalry Regiment
were
evacuated to the28 th Combat Support Hospital , Centcom said. Aljazeera
satellite channel further reported that three U.S. soldiers were killed
and
another wounded in al-Falah district in the northern Iraqi city of
Mosul on
Tuesday.
IRAQ
Asiatimes: The consequences of invasion
Even given that there may have been considerable justification for removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq because he was a notorious despot and a vicious murderer, it is probably time to step back and attempt to take a clear look at the strategic implications of what America has got itself into with its invasion of Iraq.
Pro and anti-Bush partisans in the United States are making it increasingly hard to break through the static. But it is imperative that before it is too late, American policymakers, both in the administration and the Congress, put aside their partisan squabbling to examine the possibility that the US is trapped as it was trapped in Vietnam 30 years ago, or as the Russians are today in Chechnya.
Asiatimes: The consequences of invasion
Even given that there may have been considerable justification for removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq because he was a notorious despot and a vicious murderer, it is probably time to step back and attempt to take a clear look at the strategic implications of what America has got itself into with its invasion of Iraq.
Pro and anti-Bush partisans in the United States are making it increasingly hard to break through the static. But it is imperative that before it is too late, American policymakers, both in the administration and the Congress, put aside their partisan squabbling to examine the possibility that the US is trapped as it was trapped in Vietnam 30 years ago, or as the Russians are today in Chechnya.
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Sidneymorningherald: After a war half won, the peace is deadly
The Pentagon doesn't want to admit it, but this is guerilla war. Debate in the US is preoccupied with the risk of repeating the Vietnam experience - a gruelling foreign engagement for a huge American force which cannot be won. Paul McGeough reports from Iraq.
Sidneymorningherald: After a war half won, the peace is deadly
The Pentagon doesn't want to admit it, but this is guerilla war. Debate in the US is preoccupied with the risk of repeating the Vietnam experience - a gruelling foreign engagement for a huge American force which cannot be won. Paul McGeough reports from Iraq.
USA
Taipeitimes/NY Times: The real US, awash in red ink and blues
Across the US, state and local leaders have been forced to slash more than US$100 billion in spending, laying off thousands of employees, cutting off health insurance for roughly 1 million people, and lowering America's standard of living. Washington is not just aloof from the pain out here in real America, but is making matters worse.
People across America will pay the price for Washington's indifference in lower-quality schools, fewer chances to go to college, less police protection and diminished medical care. The unlucky ones among us, like Douglas Schmidt, will never recover. A 37-year-old epileptic, he depended on drugs that cost US$13 a day and were paid for by the state. State budget cuts meant he lost that benefit, and he ran out of pills in late February.
Taipeitimes/NY Times: The real US, awash in red ink and blues
Across the US, state and local leaders have been forced to slash more than US$100 billion in spending, laying off thousands of employees, cutting off health insurance for roughly 1 million people, and lowering America's standard of living. Washington is not just aloof from the pain out here in real America, but is making matters worse.
People across America will pay the price for Washington's indifference in lower-quality schools, fewer chances to go to college, less police protection and diminished medical care. The unlucky ones among us, like Douglas Schmidt, will never recover. A 37-year-old epileptic, he depended on drugs that cost US$13 a day and were paid for by the state. State budget cuts meant he lost that benefit, and he ran out of pills in late February.
IRAQ
Independent: Robert Fisk: His sons are dead but Saddam lives
So they are dead. Or are they? Even Baghdad exploded in celebratory, deafening automatic rifle fire at the news.
The burned, bullet-splashed villa in Mosul, the four bullet-ridden corpses, America's hopes - however vain - that the death of Saddam Hussein's two sons, Uday and Qusay, will break the guerrilla resistance to Iraq's US occupation troops, all conspired to produce an illusion last night: that the unidentified bodies found after a four-hour gun battle between Iraqi gunmen and US forces must be those of the former dictator's sons - because the world wants them to be.
Of course, they might be dead. The two men are said to bear an impressive resemblance to the brothers. A 14-year-old child killed by the Americans - one of the four dead - might be one of Saddam's grandsons. The house was owned by Mohamed el-Zidani, a tribal ally of the Husseins
"CHECK IT CHECK IT CHECK IT"
Independent: Robert Fisk: His sons are dead but Saddam lives
So they are dead. Or are they? Even Baghdad exploded in celebratory, deafening automatic rifle fire at the news.
The burned, bullet-splashed villa in Mosul, the four bullet-ridden corpses, America's hopes - however vain - that the death of Saddam Hussein's two sons, Uday and Qusay, will break the guerrilla resistance to Iraq's US occupation troops, all conspired to produce an illusion last night: that the unidentified bodies found after a four-hour gun battle between Iraqi gunmen and US forces must be those of the former dictator's sons - because the world wants them to be.
Of course, they might be dead. The two men are said to bear an impressive resemblance to the brothers. A 14-year-old child killed by the Americans - one of the four dead - might be one of Saddam's grandsons. The house was owned by Mohamed el-Zidani, a tribal ally of the Husseins
"CHECK IT CHECK IT CHECK IT"
IRAQ: UDAY KUSSEI KILLED
Spiegel: "Sie können keinen Schatten des Hasses mehr werfen"
George W. Bush und Tony Blair sind überglücklich. Nachdem die Ex-Kriegsherrn in Sachen Irak immer mehr in Erklärungsnöte geraten, gibt es wieder positive Nachrichten für die beiden: Udai und Kussei, die Söhne Saddam Husseins, sind tot. Die Iraker reagierten mit Freudenschüssen. Bleibt die Frage: Wo ist Saddam?
"Die Iraker reagierten mit Freudenschüssen" hat jemand bemerkt das die freudigen Iraker mit Leuchtspurmunition in den Himmel geschossen hatten? Schiessen die die ganze Zeit mit Leuchtspurmunition oder nur damit man es auf CNN auch gut sieht?" Gibt es unabhängige Stelle die den Tod der beiden Söhne bestätigen könnten?
Independet: Saddam's sons slain in gun battle
US forces kill Uday and Qusay after tip-off; Allies score biggest coup since victory
Ny Times: Hussein's 2 Sons Dead in Shootout, U.S. Says
Iraq, July 22 — Acting on a tip from an Iraqi that Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, were holed up in a palatial residence in the northern city of Mosul, United States troops surrounded the house today and killed the two men in a ferocious shootout that gradually shredded the walls providing them cover.
Spiegel: "Sie können keinen Schatten des Hasses mehr werfen"
George W. Bush und Tony Blair sind überglücklich. Nachdem die Ex-Kriegsherrn in Sachen Irak immer mehr in Erklärungsnöte geraten, gibt es wieder positive Nachrichten für die beiden: Udai und Kussei, die Söhne Saddam Husseins, sind tot. Die Iraker reagierten mit Freudenschüssen. Bleibt die Frage: Wo ist Saddam?
"Die Iraker reagierten mit Freudenschüssen" hat jemand bemerkt das die freudigen Iraker mit Leuchtspurmunition in den Himmel geschossen hatten? Schiessen die die ganze Zeit mit Leuchtspurmunition oder nur damit man es auf CNN auch gut sieht?" Gibt es unabhängige Stelle die den Tod der beiden Söhne bestätigen könnten?
Independet: Saddam's sons slain in gun battle
US forces kill Uday and Qusay after tip-off; Allies score biggest coup since victory
Ny Times: Hussein's 2 Sons Dead in Shootout, U.S. Says
Iraq, July 22 — Acting on a tip from an Iraqi that Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, were holed up in a palatial residence in the northern city of Mosul, United States troops surrounded the house today and killed the two men in a ferocious shootout that gradually shredded the walls providing them cover.
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
ESSAY
Zmag: Media: The Lying Machine by Satya Sagar
I have finally managed to do it ! Quit the habit ! The horrible, horrible habit of reading the newspaper and watching news on television EVERY DAY !
Let me quickly tell you the results of giving up my addiction. In just two months of ignoring the daily news I breathe better, sleep better, eat better and can think clearly for the first time in many years. Kicking the daily media dose, I can assure you, is like getting over the mother of all modern bad habits.
Of course the disgusting mainstream media coverage of the invasion of Iraq with its (ahem!) bedded journalists, hype and lies has got a lot to do with my decision to quit the habit. But that is not the complete story.
"CHECK IT"
Zmag: Media: The Lying Machine by Satya Sagar
I have finally managed to do it ! Quit the habit ! The horrible, horrible habit of reading the newspaper and watching news on television EVERY DAY !
Let me quickly tell you the results of giving up my addiction. In just two months of ignoring the daily news I breathe better, sleep better, eat better and can think clearly for the first time in many years. Kicking the daily media dose, I can assure you, is like getting over the mother of all modern bad habits.
Of course the disgusting mainstream media coverage of the invasion of Iraq with its (ahem!) bedded journalists, hype and lies has got a lot to do with my decision to quit the habit. But that is not the complete story.
"CHECK IT"
ESSAY
Zmag: Bomb Before You Buy
An Interview With Naomi Klein
The military occupation of Iraq has not gone according to the plan made in Washington long before the war was launched against Saddam Hussein's government. Since President Bush declared major hostilities over in Iraq on May 1, more than 30 U.S. and British troops have been killed in an intensifying series of guerrilla attacks. With an average 13 engagements each day between U.S. soldiers and armed Iraqis hostile to the occupation, American military leaders are still reluctant to characterize the resistance as an organized effort. Instead, Pentagon and Bush administration officials maintain that groups attacking U.S. forces are remnants of Saddam's Baathist party or terrorists sympathetic to al Qaeda
Naomi Klein is author of "Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Globalization Debate" published by Flamingo. Her previous bestselling book, "No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies" is published by Picador. Visit her website at NOLOGO.org
Zmag: Bomb Before You Buy
An Interview With Naomi Klein
The military occupation of Iraq has not gone according to the plan made in Washington long before the war was launched against Saddam Hussein's government. Since President Bush declared major hostilities over in Iraq on May 1, more than 30 U.S. and British troops have been killed in an intensifying series of guerrilla attacks. With an average 13 engagements each day between U.S. soldiers and armed Iraqis hostile to the occupation, American military leaders are still reluctant to characterize the resistance as an organized effort. Instead, Pentagon and Bush administration officials maintain that groups attacking U.S. forces are remnants of Saddam's Baathist party or terrorists sympathetic to al Qaeda
Naomi Klein is author of "Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Globalization Debate" published by Flamingo. Her previous bestselling book, "No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies" is published by Picador. Visit her website at NOLOGO.org
QUOTES
Zitat aus Harper's Weekly:
"[Bush] told a group of surprised reporters that Saddam Hussein
had refused to permit weapons inspectors to return to Iraq:
'And we gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he
wouldn't let them in. And therefore, after a reasonable request, we
decided to remove him from power.' A White House official
noted that the president 'is not a fact checker.'"
"provided by Pedro"
Zitat aus Harper's Weekly:
"[Bush] told a group of surprised reporters that Saddam Hussein
had refused to permit weapons inspectors to return to Iraq:
'And we gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he
wouldn't let them in. And therefore, after a reasonable request, we
decided to remove him from power.' A White House official
noted that the president 'is not a fact checker.'"
"provided by Pedro"
IRAQ
Harpers: COOL WAR
Economic sanctions as a weapon of mass destruction by Joy Gordon
In searching for evidence of the potential danger posed by Iraq, the Bush Administration need have looked no further than the well-kept record of U.S. manipulation of the sanctions program since 1991. If any international act in the last decade is sure to generate enduring bitterness toward the United States, it is the epidemic suffering needlessly visited on Iraqis via U.S. fiat inside the United Nations Security Council. Within that body, the United States has consistently thwarted Iraq from satisfying its most basic humanitarian needs, using sanctions as nothing less than a deadly weapon, and, despite recent reforms, continuing to do so. Invoking security concerns -- including those not corroborated by U.N. weapons inspectors -- U.S. policymakers have effectively turned a program of international governance into a legitimized act of mass slaughter.
"CHECK IT"
"link provided by Pedro"
Harpers: COOL WAR
Economic sanctions as a weapon of mass destruction by Joy Gordon
In searching for evidence of the potential danger posed by Iraq, the Bush Administration need have looked no further than the well-kept record of U.S. manipulation of the sanctions program since 1991. If any international act in the last decade is sure to generate enduring bitterness toward the United States, it is the epidemic suffering needlessly visited on Iraqis via U.S. fiat inside the United Nations Security Council. Within that body, the United States has consistently thwarted Iraq from satisfying its most basic humanitarian needs, using sanctions as nothing less than a deadly weapon, and, despite recent reforms, continuing to do so. Invoking security concerns -- including those not corroborated by U.N. weapons inspectors -- U.S. policymakers have effectively turned a program of international governance into a legitimized act of mass slaughter.
"CHECK IT"
"link provided by Pedro"
SCIENCE: TESLA
Rense: Scalar Energy - A Completely
New World Is Possible
The greatest scientific discovery in the history of the world has happened over the last few decades and it has gone largely unnoticed because of the great secrecy with which it has been held by all who know of it. It is the discovery of a completely new kind of electomagnetic waves which exist only in the vacuum of empty space, the empty space between the atoms of our bodies as well as the empty space we see in sky at night. All of empty space.
This discovery will completely change our understanding of physical and "non-physical" reality. And it could lead to heaven, and it could lead to hell, because the incredible powers of these new longitudinal waves can, and already HAVE BEEN harnessed in the creation of the most stupendous weapons the world has ever seen. The least of them, the longitudinal interferometer or "Tesla howitzer," could bring down, in a single shot, a huge building the size, say, the World Trade Center towers, and is being used daily to engineer and change the weather over North America. The Russians are probably the most advanced in the development of these kinds of weapons, but the Chinese are catching up as well. Once you have the know-how building a Tesla howitzer is relatively cheap, the key is in the know-how, knowing how to manipulate, modulate and intersect the longitudinal waves at-a-distance. You can be anywhere in the world and deliver a shot to anywhere else in the world with a Tesla howitzer. All nations now developing these new electromagnetic weapons do so in great secrecy, so mankind at large remains unaware of the danger into which it has fallen.
For more information on scalar electromagnetics see:
Cheniere.org
Rense: Scalar Energy - A Completely
New World Is Possible
The greatest scientific discovery in the history of the world has happened over the last few decades and it has gone largely unnoticed because of the great secrecy with which it has been held by all who know of it. It is the discovery of a completely new kind of electomagnetic waves which exist only in the vacuum of empty space, the empty space between the atoms of our bodies as well as the empty space we see in sky at night. All of empty space.
This discovery will completely change our understanding of physical and "non-physical" reality. And it could lead to heaven, and it could lead to hell, because the incredible powers of these new longitudinal waves can, and already HAVE BEEN harnessed in the creation of the most stupendous weapons the world has ever seen. The least of them, the longitudinal interferometer or "Tesla howitzer," could bring down, in a single shot, a huge building the size, say, the World Trade Center towers, and is being used daily to engineer and change the weather over North America. The Russians are probably the most advanced in the development of these kinds of weapons, but the Chinese are catching up as well. Once you have the know-how building a Tesla howitzer is relatively cheap, the key is in the know-how, knowing how to manipulate, modulate and intersect the longitudinal waves at-a-distance. You can be anywhere in the world and deliver a shot to anywhere else in the world with a Tesla howitzer. All nations now developing these new electromagnetic weapons do so in great secrecy, so mankind at large remains unaware of the danger into which it has fallen.
For more information on scalar electromagnetics see:
Cheniere.org
DAVID KELLY SUICIDE?
Rense: The Mystery Of The Dead Scientists
It is a story worthy of a major conspiracy theory, the script for a James Bond movie, or a blueprint for a contrived episode of "The X Files". Except the facts surrounding this story are just that. Facts. The Truth. At least twelve, and perhaps as many as twenty eminent scientists, leaders in their particular field of scientific research, dead in the last few months, and a bizarre connection between one of the scientists and the mystery surrounding the death by Anthrax inhalation of a sixty one year old female hospital worker in New York. Sounds far fetched? Read on.
"?ber die merkwürdige H?ufung von Unf?llen und Selbstmorden bei Top-Biologen habe ich schon früher Sachen gepostet....leider kann ich nicht mehr alles finden abver checkt:
Fromthewilderness: A Career In Microbiology Can Be Harmful To Your Health
Feb. 28, 2002 -- In the four-month period from Nov. 12 through Feb. 11, seven world-class microbiologists in different parts of the world were reported dead. Six died of "unnatural" causes, while the cause of the seventh's death is questionable. Also on Nov. 12, DynCorp, a major government contractor for data processing, military operations and intelligence work, was awarded a $322 million contract to develop, produce and store vaccines for the Department of Defense. DynCorp and Hadron, both defense contractors connected to classified research programs on communicable diseases, have also been linked to a software program known as PROMIS, which may have helped identify and target the victims.
In the six weeks prior to Nov. 12, two additional foreign microbiologists were reported dead. Some believe there were as many as five more microbiologists killed during the period, bringing the total as high as 14. These two to seven additional deaths, however, are not the focus of this story. This same period also saw the deaths of three persons involved in medical research or public health
Rense: The Mystery Of The Dead Scientists
It is a story worthy of a major conspiracy theory, the script for a James Bond movie, or a blueprint for a contrived episode of "The X Files". Except the facts surrounding this story are just that. Facts. The Truth. At least twelve, and perhaps as many as twenty eminent scientists, leaders in their particular field of scientific research, dead in the last few months, and a bizarre connection between one of the scientists and the mystery surrounding the death by Anthrax inhalation of a sixty one year old female hospital worker in New York. Sounds far fetched? Read on.
"?ber die merkwürdige H?ufung von Unf?llen und Selbstmorden bei Top-Biologen habe ich schon früher Sachen gepostet....leider kann ich nicht mehr alles finden abver checkt:
Fromthewilderness: A Career In Microbiology Can Be Harmful To Your Health
Feb. 28, 2002 -- In the four-month period from Nov. 12 through Feb. 11, seven world-class microbiologists in different parts of the world were reported dead. Six died of "unnatural" causes, while the cause of the seventh's death is questionable. Also on Nov. 12, DynCorp, a major government contractor for data processing, military operations and intelligence work, was awarded a $322 million contract to develop, produce and store vaccines for the Department of Defense. DynCorp and Hadron, both defense contractors connected to classified research programs on communicable diseases, have also been linked to a software program known as PROMIS, which may have helped identify and target the victims.
In the six weeks prior to Nov. 12, two additional foreign microbiologists were reported dead. Some believe there were as many as five more microbiologists killed during the period, bringing the total as high as 14. These two to seven additional deaths, however, are not the focus of this story. This same period also saw the deaths of three persons involved in medical research or public health
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Guardian: Palestinians Reduced To Begging
Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have been "reduced to begging"
by Israeli military action, and Israel is breaching international law by
failing to provide much-needed aid, a UN expert said yesterday. "There
is a permanent, grave violation of the right to food by the occupying
forces.
There is a catastrophic humanitarian situation," said Jean Ziegler, UN
special expert on the right to food. Palestinian villages are encircled
by troops, preventing food being delivered and farmers reaching their
fields, he said. Many villages had to buy their water because sources had been
cut off. Mr Ziegler also cited the destruction or confiscation of fertile
Palestinian land for military zones or Jewish colonies. "We saw
thousands of olive trees destroyed by bulldozers," he said. . . According to the
World Bank, almost one child in 10 in Gaza and the West Bank is
suffering from severe malnutrition.
Guardian: Palestinians Reduced To Begging
Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have been "reduced to begging"
by Israeli military action, and Israel is breaching international law by
failing to provide much-needed aid, a UN expert said yesterday. "There
is a permanent, grave violation of the right to food by the occupying
forces.
There is a catastrophic humanitarian situation," said Jean Ziegler, UN
special expert on the right to food. Palestinian villages are encircled
by troops, preventing food being delivered and farmers reaching their
fields, he said. Many villages had to buy their water because sources had been
cut off. Mr Ziegler also cited the destruction or confiscation of fertile
Palestinian land for military zones or Jewish colonies. "We saw
thousands of olive trees destroyed by bulldozers," he said. . . According to the
World Bank, almost one child in 10 in Gaza and the West Bank is
suffering from severe malnutrition.
AFGHANISTAN
Daily Times Pakistan: 16 US troops killed in Taliban attack
* Three marines wounded by landmine blast in Kunar
* Rocket attack on US base set up inside Mulla Omar’s home
CHAMAN: Sixteen US troops and several Afghan militiamen were killed in two separate encounters near Spin Buldak and Urzagan on Friday night.
Reports reaching from across the border said, Taliban and Hizb-e-Islami fighters in a joint operation in Urzagan area ambushed a US convoy and killed 12 US troops and four Afghan soldiers. A Taliban commander was also injured seriously.
The Taliban also killed four US soldiers in Spin Boldak during another ambush, reports said. The attackers managed to escape.
Meanwhile, a man was killed and another wounded when they set off a landmine while digging a well in a war-battered area of the Afghan capital on Saturday, police said.
Daily Times Pakistan: 16 US troops killed in Taliban attack
* Three marines wounded by landmine blast in Kunar
* Rocket attack on US base set up inside Mulla Omar’s home
CHAMAN: Sixteen US troops and several Afghan militiamen were killed in two separate encounters near Spin Buldak and Urzagan on Friday night.
Reports reaching from across the border said, Taliban and Hizb-e-Islami fighters in a joint operation in Urzagan area ambushed a US convoy and killed 12 US troops and four Afghan soldiers. A Taliban commander was also injured seriously.
The Taliban also killed four US soldiers in Spin Boldak during another ambush, reports said. The attackers managed to escape.
Meanwhile, a man was killed and another wounded when they set off a landmine while digging a well in a war-battered area of the Afghan capital on Saturday, police said.
AFGHANISTAN
Daily Telegraph: Taliban fighters return to ambush coalition forces
Hundreds of Taliban fighters have crossed into Afghanistan from
Pakistan and are claiming large swathes of the country, the American commander
of coalition forces in Kabul said yesterday. As the Taliban intensified
their attacks on American and Afghan forces over the weekend, Gen F L
"Buster" Hagenbeck said the Taliban and its allies have regrouped in Pakistan,
recruiting fighters from religious schools in the city of Quetta in a
campaign funded by drug trafficking. Groups of fighters have crossed
the porous border and divided eastern Afghanistan into three zones for
launching attacks, he said.
Daily Telegraph: Taliban fighters return to ambush coalition forces
Hundreds of Taliban fighters have crossed into Afghanistan from
Pakistan and are claiming large swathes of the country, the American commander
of coalition forces in Kabul said yesterday. As the Taliban intensified
their attacks on American and Afghan forces over the weekend, Gen F L
"Buster" Hagenbeck said the Taliban and its allies have regrouped in Pakistan,
recruiting fighters from religious schools in the city of Quetta in a
campaign funded by drug trafficking. Groups of fighters have crossed
the porous border and divided eastern Afghanistan into three zones for
launching attacks, he said.
UK: DAVID KELLY
Scoop: Dr Kelly's Final Hours Did Not Indicate Suicide
In the 48 hours since the death of UK WMD scientist David Kelly several key pieces of evidence concerning his final hours and frame of mind have now come to light. These are extracted from key articles and linked below.
Notably they do not point to a seemingly suicidal or internally tortured end for the scientist who has taken to the grave the truth about his relationship with the UK PM's office and the alleged "sexing up" of Iraqi WMD intelligence.
In the wake of some reports that the death has been "confirmed as suicide" it is important for news consumers to realise that legally neither the police, nor the media, have any power to make such a determination.
The cause of death will ultimately be determined legally by a coroner's inquest and that will probably be several weeks if not months away.
It is also important to realise that while the evidence that has been released about the death is consistent with suicide, it is also consistent with a murder made to look like suicide.
Scoop: Dr Kelly's Final Hours Did Not Indicate Suicide
In the 48 hours since the death of UK WMD scientist David Kelly several key pieces of evidence concerning his final hours and frame of mind have now come to light. These are extracted from key articles and linked below.
Notably they do not point to a seemingly suicidal or internally tortured end for the scientist who has taken to the grave the truth about his relationship with the UK PM's office and the alleged "sexing up" of Iraqi WMD intelligence.
In the wake of some reports that the death has been "confirmed as suicide" it is important for news consumers to realise that legally neither the police, nor the media, have any power to make such a determination.
The cause of death will ultimately be determined legally by a coroner's inquest and that will probably be several weeks if not months away.
It is also important to realise that while the evidence that has been released about the death is consistent with suicide, it is also consistent with a murder made to look like suicide.
IRAQ
Reuters: U.S. Troops Fix Bayonets Against Iraqi Crowd
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. Marines fixed bayonets on Sunday to disperse an angry crowd of 10,000 Iraqi Shi'ites in the holy city of Najaf after tempers flared over rumors of U.S. harassment of a radical cleric.
Marchers dispersed after two hours but some of the Shi'ite cleric's supporters warned of an "uprising" in the city if the Americans failed to pull out within three days.
"If they don't leave, they will face a popular uprising," said Sayed Razak al-Moussawi, an aide to the anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Reuters: U.S. Troops Fix Bayonets Against Iraqi Crowd
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. Marines fixed bayonets on Sunday to disperse an angry crowd of 10,000 Iraqi Shi'ites in the holy city of Najaf after tempers flared over rumors of U.S. harassment of a radical cleric.
Marchers dispersed after two hours but some of the Shi'ite cleric's supporters warned of an "uprising" in the city if the Americans failed to pull out within three days.
"If they don't leave, they will face a popular uprising," said Sayed Razak al-Moussawi, an aide to the anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
IRAQ
Ipsnews: Calls Multiply for U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 19 (IPS) - The United States military debacle in Iraq is triggering calls for a withdrawal of U.S. troops, who are dying at an average of about one soldier per day in what has turned out to be a growing urban guerrilla war.
"A bitter pill for many people in the United States is that the U.S. government had no legitimate right to invade Iraq," says Norman Solomon, executive director of the Washington-based Institute for Public Accuracy.
Solomon, who is co-author of the recently-published 'Target Iraq', says the proper course of action remains the same, regardless of how many U.S. soldiers are dying in Iraq. "The United States should immediately withdraw all of its troops from Iraq," he told IPS.
Ipsnews: Calls Multiply for U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 19 (IPS) - The United States military debacle in Iraq is triggering calls for a withdrawal of U.S. troops, who are dying at an average of about one soldier per day in what has turned out to be a growing urban guerrilla war.
"A bitter pill for many people in the United States is that the U.S. government had no legitimate right to invade Iraq," says Norman Solomon, executive director of the Washington-based Institute for Public Accuracy.
Solomon, who is co-author of the recently-published 'Target Iraq', says the proper course of action remains the same, regardless of how many U.S. soldiers are dying in Iraq. "The United States should immediately withdraw all of its troops from Iraq," he told IPS.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis
of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the
hidden forces of economic laws on the side of destruction, and does it
in a manner which not one in a million is able to diagnose.”
-- John Mayard Keynes
“There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis
of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the
hidden forces of economic laws on the side of destruction, and does it
in a manner which not one in a million is able to diagnose.”
-- John Mayard Keynes
P2P
Spiegel: Kampf um Köpfe und Kunden
Die Zeiten, in denen man sorgenfrei Musik downloaden konnte, sind vorbei. Die Industrie kämpft mit Werbekampagnen und Klagen für und gegen ihre Kunden. Die P2P-Lobby hält dagegen und mahnt eine neue Zeit an. Sie will keine Einigung mit der Industrie, sie will sie verändern.
"ist es nicht arm wie die Musikindustrie, die in den 90ern jedes Jahr ihre Gewinne steigerte, nun weint und strampelt weil die bösen bösen kiddies nicht mehr bereit sind 30.- für irgendeinen billig produzierten scheiss auszugeben auf dem 2 gute songs und sonst nix als Füllmaterial zu finden sind? Darüberhinaus hat eine Umfrage der Agentur Nielson ergeben das P2P-Nutzer im Durchschnitt viel mehr Cd's kaufen als solche die nichts runterladen"
Spiegel: Kampf um Köpfe und Kunden
Die Zeiten, in denen man sorgenfrei Musik downloaden konnte, sind vorbei. Die Industrie kämpft mit Werbekampagnen und Klagen für und gegen ihre Kunden. Die P2P-Lobby hält dagegen und mahnt eine neue Zeit an. Sie will keine Einigung mit der Industrie, sie will sie verändern.
"ist es nicht arm wie die Musikindustrie, die in den 90ern jedes Jahr ihre Gewinne steigerte, nun weint und strampelt weil die bösen bösen kiddies nicht mehr bereit sind 30.- für irgendeinen billig produzierten scheiss auszugeben auf dem 2 gute songs und sonst nix als Füllmaterial zu finden sind? Darüberhinaus hat eine Umfrage der Agentur Nielson ergeben das P2P-Nutzer im Durchschnitt viel mehr Cd's kaufen als solche die nichts runterladen"
SPANIEN
Spiegel: Bomben in Hotels - mindestens acht Verletzte
In zwei Hotels an der spanischen Ostküste Costa Blanca sind durch Bombenanschläge mindestens acht Menschen verletzt worden. Die Terrororganisation Eta hatte kurz zuvor vor den Attentate gewarnt.
Alicante/Benidorm - Vor einem Hotel im Zentrum von Alicante detonierte nach Polizeiangaben eine Autobombe. Dabei wurden vier Bewohner eines Nachbargebäudes verletzt. Der zweite Sprengsatz ging kurz darauf in einem Hotel im nahe gelegenen Benidorm hoch. Dort wurden vier Polizisten verletzt.
Spiegel: Bomben in Hotels - mindestens acht Verletzte
In zwei Hotels an der spanischen Ostküste Costa Blanca sind durch Bombenanschläge mindestens acht Menschen verletzt worden. Die Terrororganisation Eta hatte kurz zuvor vor den Attentate gewarnt.
Alicante/Benidorm - Vor einem Hotel im Zentrum von Alicante detonierte nach Polizeiangaben eine Autobombe. Dabei wurden vier Bewohner eines Nachbargebäudes verletzt. Der zweite Sprengsatz ging kurz darauf in einem Hotel im nahe gelegenen Benidorm hoch. Dort wurden vier Polizisten verletzt.
BRD: TERROR
Spiegel: Ein Ticket von Frankfurt nach Guantanamo?
Mit einer List lockte der CIA im Januar zwei vermeintliche Terror-Unterstützer nach Frankfurt. Nun sollen sie in die USA abgeschoben werden, obwohl den deutschen Beh?rden keinerlei Beweise gegen sie vorliegen. Die Anw?lte wollen das Bundesverfassungsgericht anrufen. Die Politik steht vor einer schweren Entscheidung.
"Bisher aber fehlen für die Beschuldigungen die Beweise - zumindest haben die USA sie trotz mehrmaliger Bitte nicht nach Deutschland geschickt"
"Auch bei einer peniblen Durchsicht der Akten aus den USA blieben wohl viele Fragen offen. Die SPIEGEL ONLINE vorliegenden Dokumente der US-Fahnder umfassen lediglich zwei eidesstattliche Erkl?rungen, eine von einem FBI-Agenten und eine weitere von einer stellvertretenden US-Bundesrichterin. Darin schildern die beiden US-Beamten recht knapp die Verdachtsmomente gegen den Scheich und wie sie ihn nach Deutschland lockten. Anonyme V-Leute werden zitiert, die von den angeblichen Verbindungen zu al-Qaida berichten. Jegliche Form von einem Beweis gegen die beiden festgenommenen M?nner fehlt. Auch aus den Abh?rma?nahmen in Deutschland geht kein zwingender Tatverdacht gegen den Scheich hervor. "
"Schlie?lich steht die Ministerin vor einer heiklen Entscheidung: Soll sie die Jemeniten in ein Land abschieben, dass fast alle rechtsstaatlichen Schutzbarrieren bei dem Vorwurf Terror abgeschafft hat und noch immer Hunderte von Verd?chtigen in Guantanamo Bay und dutzenden anderer geheimer Basen schmoren l?sst? Oder soll sie die Abschiebung verhindern und damit das gerade wieder gekittete deutsch-amerikanische Verh?ltnis belasten, indem sie den USA fehlende Rechtsstaatlichkeit attestiert? "
Spiegel: Ein Ticket von Frankfurt nach Guantanamo?
Mit einer List lockte der CIA im Januar zwei vermeintliche Terror-Unterstützer nach Frankfurt. Nun sollen sie in die USA abgeschoben werden, obwohl den deutschen Beh?rden keinerlei Beweise gegen sie vorliegen. Die Anw?lte wollen das Bundesverfassungsgericht anrufen. Die Politik steht vor einer schweren Entscheidung.
"Bisher aber fehlen für die Beschuldigungen die Beweise - zumindest haben die USA sie trotz mehrmaliger Bitte nicht nach Deutschland geschickt"
"Auch bei einer peniblen Durchsicht der Akten aus den USA blieben wohl viele Fragen offen. Die SPIEGEL ONLINE vorliegenden Dokumente der US-Fahnder umfassen lediglich zwei eidesstattliche Erkl?rungen, eine von einem FBI-Agenten und eine weitere von einer stellvertretenden US-Bundesrichterin. Darin schildern die beiden US-Beamten recht knapp die Verdachtsmomente gegen den Scheich und wie sie ihn nach Deutschland lockten. Anonyme V-Leute werden zitiert, die von den angeblichen Verbindungen zu al-Qaida berichten. Jegliche Form von einem Beweis gegen die beiden festgenommenen M?nner fehlt. Auch aus den Abh?rma?nahmen in Deutschland geht kein zwingender Tatverdacht gegen den Scheich hervor. "
"Schlie?lich steht die Ministerin vor einer heiklen Entscheidung: Soll sie die Jemeniten in ein Land abschieben, dass fast alle rechtsstaatlichen Schutzbarrieren bei dem Vorwurf Terror abgeschafft hat und noch immer Hunderte von Verd?chtigen in Guantanamo Bay und dutzenden anderer geheimer Basen schmoren l?sst? Oder soll sie die Abschiebung verhindern und damit das gerade wieder gekittete deutsch-amerikanische Verh?ltnis belasten, indem sie den USA fehlende Rechtsstaatlichkeit attestiert? "
LIBERIA
Unvorstellbare Grausamkeiten in Monrovia
Schockierende Bilder aus Monrovia: Kindersoldaten hacken Rebellen die Köpfe ab und tragen sie stolz durch die Straßen. Nach offiziellen Angaben wurden bei der Schlacht um Liberias Hauptstadt in den vergangenen Tagen mehr als 600 Zivilisten getötet.
Auch die internationale Hilfsorganisation Oxfam rief Washington auf, das Warten zu beenden. Sprecher Sam Nagbe erklärte in Monrovia, solange die Kämpfe andauerten, könne man keine Hilfe leisten: "Wir brauchen die internationalen Friedenstruppen jetzt, nicht erst in ein oder zwei Monaten".
Unvorstellbare Grausamkeiten in Monrovia
Schockierende Bilder aus Monrovia: Kindersoldaten hacken Rebellen die Köpfe ab und tragen sie stolz durch die Straßen. Nach offiziellen Angaben wurden bei der Schlacht um Liberias Hauptstadt in den vergangenen Tagen mehr als 600 Zivilisten getötet.
Auch die internationale Hilfsorganisation Oxfam rief Washington auf, das Warten zu beenden. Sprecher Sam Nagbe erklärte in Monrovia, solange die Kämpfe andauerten, könne man keine Hilfe leisten: "Wir brauchen die internationalen Friedenstruppen jetzt, nicht erst in ein oder zwei Monaten".
Monday, July 21, 2003
IRAQ
Globeandmail: Broken promise: Why I quit Iraq
America's approach to governing Baghdad has failed to involve Iraqis, says ISAM al-KHAFAJI, who returned home to help rebuild his country
On July 9, with deep sorrow, I respectfully submitted my resignation as a member of the Iraqi Reconstruction and Development Council to U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz.
I did this with great sadness but, in doing so, I was able to leave Iraq with a clear conscience. If I stayed any longer, I might not be able to say that. I feared my role with the reconstruction council was sliding from what I had originally envisioned -- working with allies in a democratic fashion -- to collaborating with occupying forces.
"link provided by Pedro"
Globeandmail: Broken promise: Why I quit Iraq
America's approach to governing Baghdad has failed to involve Iraqis, says ISAM al-KHAFAJI, who returned home to help rebuild his country
On July 9, with deep sorrow, I respectfully submitted my resignation as a member of the Iraqi Reconstruction and Development Council to U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz.
I did this with great sadness but, in doing so, I was able to leave Iraq with a clear conscience. If I stayed any longer, I might not be able to say that. I feared my role with the reconstruction council was sliding from what I had originally envisioned -- working with allies in a democratic fashion -- to collaborating with occupying forces.
"link provided by Pedro"
EURO VS DOLLAR
Spiegel: Die neue Unbefangenheit
Rechnen die Russen ihre Ölexporte künftig in Euro statt in Dollar ab? Europa spannt die Muskeln - und die Amerikaner wundern sich.
Romano Prodi krönte das Mittagsmahl, zu dem er die 25 Brüsseler Botschafter der erweiterten Europäischen Union Anfang Juli eingeladen hatte, mit einem politischen Leckerbissen. Dank seiner guten Kontakte in Moskau, so der Kommissionspräsident bei Tisch, gehe er davon aus, dass Russland demnächst seinen gesamten Erdöl- und Gasexport in die EU nicht mehr in US-Dollar abrechnen wolle, sondern in Euro. Putin wolle die Anbindung an die EU drastisch ausbauen.
Das wäre ein Triumph für die Europäer und ein herber Schlag für die USA. Gründet sich doch deren Macht auch auf die bislang unangefochtene Herrschaft ihres Dollar als Leitwährung im globalen Energiegeschäft.
Spiegel: Die neue Unbefangenheit
Rechnen die Russen ihre Ölexporte künftig in Euro statt in Dollar ab? Europa spannt die Muskeln - und die Amerikaner wundern sich.
Romano Prodi krönte das Mittagsmahl, zu dem er die 25 Brüsseler Botschafter der erweiterten Europäischen Union Anfang Juli eingeladen hatte, mit einem politischen Leckerbissen. Dank seiner guten Kontakte in Moskau, so der Kommissionspräsident bei Tisch, gehe er davon aus, dass Russland demnächst seinen gesamten Erdöl- und Gasexport in die EU nicht mehr in US-Dollar abrechnen wolle, sondern in Euro. Putin wolle die Anbindung an die EU drastisch ausbauen.
Das wäre ein Triumph für die Europäer und ein herber Schlag für die USA. Gründet sich doch deren Macht auch auf die bislang unangefochtene Herrschaft ihres Dollar als Leitwährung im globalen Energiegeschäft.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Palestinechronicle: Deconstructing the Roadmap
By Dr. Hanan Ashrawi
Poverty of spirit and moral obtuseness are the salient characteristics of current Israeli policy vis-à-vis the Palestinians in the context of the road map.
Why else would the government stage a big show of “dismantling” or “evacuating” settlement outposts (that are largely vacant and makeshift), then look the other way when more outposts are established on nearby hilltops?
Why else would Sharon urge his partners in land-theft to continue settlement construction and expansion, but to do so in silence and in secrecy?
Why else would the hundreds of checkposts, permanent and ad hoc, continue to besiege our towns and villages like a burning necklace stealthily stealing all our life force, freedom, and vitality?
Why else would the notorious apartheid wall snake its way among our villages and farms in the north, sucking up all our water, uprooting ancient olive trees, razing homes to the ground, and spewing out a particularly long-lasting venom in the belly of the earth as well as in the minds of people?
Palestinechronicle: Deconstructing the Roadmap
By Dr. Hanan Ashrawi
Poverty of spirit and moral obtuseness are the salient characteristics of current Israeli policy vis-à-vis the Palestinians in the context of the road map.
Why else would the government stage a big show of “dismantling” or “evacuating” settlement outposts (that are largely vacant and makeshift), then look the other way when more outposts are established on nearby hilltops?
Why else would Sharon urge his partners in land-theft to continue settlement construction and expansion, but to do so in silence and in secrecy?
Why else would the hundreds of checkposts, permanent and ad hoc, continue to besiege our towns and villages like a burning necklace stealthily stealing all our life force, freedom, and vitality?
Why else would the notorious apartheid wall snake its way among our villages and farms in the north, sucking up all our water, uprooting ancient olive trees, razing homes to the ground, and spewing out a particularly long-lasting venom in the belly of the earth as well as in the minds of people?
SAUDI ARABIA
Opednews: So Who's Protecting the Saudis?
"The main obstacles to investigate Islamic terrorism were US oil corporate interests and the role played by Saudi Arabia in it. All the answers, everything needed to dismantle Osama bin Laden's organization, can be found in Saudi Arabia."- John P. O'Neill, Former FBI Counterterrorism expert who died at the World Trade Center on 9-11.
So how is it that Saudi Arabia gets a pass while we bomb the hell out of Afghanistan and Iraq? I think we can surmise from John P. O'Neill's quote above that US oil corporate interests are more important to the Bush administration than the true administration of justice.
Since we now know that references to Saudi Arabia's role in 9-11 have been deleted from the upcoming 9-11 Congressional Joint Inquiry report, I'd like to shed some light on a little known group of Americans who have been toiling hard behind the scenes to protect the Saudis.
The people I'm talking about are loyal Bush supporters who work for powerful law and public relations firms that have been retained by the Saudis to protect their interests.
In Sleeping With the Devil, How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude, by Former CIA Counterterrorism Operative Robert Baer which was published just this past Tuesday, Baer exposes the firm of Loeffler, Jonas and Tuggey as actively representing Saudi interests.
Opednews: So Who's Protecting the Saudis?
"The main obstacles to investigate Islamic terrorism were US oil corporate interests and the role played by Saudi Arabia in it. All the answers, everything needed to dismantle Osama bin Laden's organization, can be found in Saudi Arabia."- John P. O'Neill, Former FBI Counterterrorism expert who died at the World Trade Center on 9-11.
So how is it that Saudi Arabia gets a pass while we bomb the hell out of Afghanistan and Iraq? I think we can surmise from John P. O'Neill's quote above that US oil corporate interests are more important to the Bush administration than the true administration of justice.
Since we now know that references to Saudi Arabia's role in 9-11 have been deleted from the upcoming 9-11 Congressional Joint Inquiry report, I'd like to shed some light on a little known group of Americans who have been toiling hard behind the scenes to protect the Saudis.
The people I'm talking about are loyal Bush supporters who work for powerful law and public relations firms that have been retained by the Saudis to protect their interests.
In Sleeping With the Devil, How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude, by Former CIA Counterterrorism Operative Robert Baer which was published just this past Tuesday, Baer exposes the firm of Loeffler, Jonas and Tuggey as actively representing Saudi interests.
IRAQ
Independent: Pentagon seeking private security firm to police Iraq
With large parts of Iraq still gripped by lawlessness and guerrilla warfare, the Pentagon is planning to hire a private security firm to arm and train thousands of former Iraqi soldiers to guard government buildings, pipelines and other important installations.
The Pentagon has been in talks with the private security firm Kroll to train the former soldiers to take over duties at spots now guarded by US soldiers. The guards would carry small-arms and be responsible for security at up to 2,000 sites.
"Wie nennt man das? Privat-Imperialismus?"
Independent: Pentagon seeking private security firm to police Iraq
With large parts of Iraq still gripped by lawlessness and guerrilla warfare, the Pentagon is planning to hire a private security firm to arm and train thousands of former Iraqi soldiers to guard government buildings, pipelines and other important installations.
The Pentagon has been in talks with the private security firm Kroll to train the former soldiers to take over duties at spots now guarded by US soldiers. The guards would carry small-arms and be responsible for security at up to 2,000 sites.
"Wie nennt man das? Privat-Imperialismus?"
ISRAEL WMD
Palestine Chronicle: Blair Declines to Raise Israel's Nuclear Arms with Sharon
"Blair's comments were seen in stark contrast to the recent threats of
sanctions he has made against Iran, which unlike Israel, is a signatory
to the NPT and is subjected to regular IAEA tests .." LONDON - British
Prime Minister Tony Blair avoided raising any concern over Israel's illegal
arsenal of nuclear weapons during his meetings this week with Ariel
Sharon in London, it has been revealed in parliament.
Palestine Chronicle: Blair Declines to Raise Israel's Nuclear Arms with Sharon
"Blair's comments were seen in stark contrast to the recent threats of
sanctions he has made against Iran, which unlike Israel, is a signatory
to the NPT and is subjected to regular IAEA tests .." LONDON - British
Prime Minister Tony Blair avoided raising any concern over Israel's illegal
arsenal of nuclear weapons during his meetings this week with Ariel
Sharon in London, it has been revealed in parliament.
USA
Asia Times: Will the UN bail out Bush?
WASHINGTON - Make no mistake: US President George W Bush is in big trouble.
Whereas a week ago, Americans were talking about the dread "V" word - for Vietnam - this week the dreaded "W" word - for Watergate - was back in vogue, even as the "V" word was still in use. Watergate plus Vietnam is about the worst combination for a sitting president that anyone could possibly imagine.
And the almost daily announcement on the news that another US soldier has been killed in an attack in Iraq, bringing to 32, 33, 34, the number of troops killed since Bush declared an end to major hostilities in the war, recalls nothing so much as the daily reminders on the evening news 23 years ago that killed the presidency of Jimmy Carter: "Day 385 of the American hostage crisis in Iran."
Asia Times: Will the UN bail out Bush?
WASHINGTON - Make no mistake: US President George W Bush is in big trouble.
Whereas a week ago, Americans were talking about the dread "V" word - for Vietnam - this week the dreaded "W" word - for Watergate - was back in vogue, even as the "V" word was still in use. Watergate plus Vietnam is about the worst combination for a sitting president that anyone could possibly imagine.
And the almost daily announcement on the news that another US soldier has been killed in an attack in Iraq, bringing to 32, 33, 34, the number of troops killed since Bush declared an end to major hostilities in the war, recalls nothing so much as the daily reminders on the evening news 23 years ago that killed the presidency of Jimmy Carter: "Day 385 of the American hostage crisis in Iran."
USA VS NORTH KOREA
Usanews: Upping the ante for Kim Jong Il
Pentagon Plan 5030, a new blueprint for facing down North Korea
Within the past two months, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has ordered U.S. military commanders to devise a new war plan for a possible conflict with North Korea. Elements of the draft, known as Operations Plan 5030, are so aggressive that they could provoke a war, some senior Bush administration officials tell U.S. News.
"But does war become more likely?"
America's allies in the region--South Korea and Japan--think so. They, along with China, worry that if the Bush administration puts too much pressure on North Korea, Pyongyang could strike back in unpredictable ways. "Once we push them too hard against the wall," says a Japanese official, "we do not know what kind of reaction Kim Jong Il will have."
Usanews: Upping the ante for Kim Jong Il
Pentagon Plan 5030, a new blueprint for facing down North Korea
Within the past two months, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has ordered U.S. military commanders to devise a new war plan for a possible conflict with North Korea. Elements of the draft, known as Operations Plan 5030, are so aggressive that they could provoke a war, some senior Bush administration officials tell U.S. News.
"But does war become more likely?"
America's allies in the region--South Korea and Japan--think so. They, along with China, worry that if the Bush administration puts too much pressure on North Korea, Pyongyang could strike back in unpredictable ways. "Once we push them too hard against the wall," says a Japanese official, "we do not know what kind of reaction Kim Jong Il will have."
IRAQ
Washington Post: Iraq Council Fails to Choose President
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's American-backed administration failed in its first week to choose a president, abandoning that mission in favor of a weak, three-man rotating leadership. The top U.S. official in Iraq - who hand-picked the Governing Council - returned to Washington while an insurgency killed another American soldier Saturday.
Washington Post: Iraq Council Fails to Choose President
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's American-backed administration failed in its first week to choose a president, abandoning that mission in favor of a weak, three-man rotating leadership. The top U.S. official in Iraq - who hand-picked the Governing Council - returned to Washington while an insurgency killed another American soldier Saturday.
ENVIRONMENT
Independent: Bush ready to wreck ozone layer treaty
US slips in demand to drop ban on harmful pesticide
President George Bush is targeting the international treaty to save the ozone layer which protects all life on earth from deadly radiation, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
New US demands - tabled at a little-noticed meeting in Montreal earlier this month - threaten to unravel one of the greatest environmental success stories of the past few decades, causing millions of deaths from cancer.
The news comes at a particularly embarrassing time for the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who pressed the President in their talks in Washington last week to stop his attempts to sabotage the Kyoto Protocol which sets out to control global warming: one of the few international issues on which they differ.
Independent: Bush ready to wreck ozone layer treaty
US slips in demand to drop ban on harmful pesticide
President George Bush is targeting the international treaty to save the ozone layer which protects all life on earth from deadly radiation, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
New US demands - tabled at a little-noticed meeting in Montreal earlier this month - threaten to unravel one of the greatest environmental success stories of the past few decades, causing millions of deaths from cancer.
The news comes at a particularly embarrassing time for the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who pressed the President in their talks in Washington last week to stop his attempts to sabotage the Kyoto Protocol which sets out to control global warming: one of the few international issues on which they differ.
FOOD
Telegraph: Revealed: food companies knew products were addictive
Multinational food companies have known for years of research that suggests many of their products trigger chemical reactions in the brain which lead people to overeat, The Telegraph can reveal.
Scientists working for Nestle and Unilever have been quietly investigating how certain foods, such as chocolate biscuits, burgers and snacks, make people binge-eat, thereby fuelling obesity. The companies insist that there is no proof that the foods create bio-chemical reactions that make people eat too much. They are not yet prepared to issue consumer warnings or change the nature of the products.
However, scientists working for the industry have said manufacturers fear they have created foods that undermine the body's abilities to control intake and are battling to find a solution. "We have created a bio-chemical monster," one said.
Telegraph: Revealed: food companies knew products were addictive
Multinational food companies have known for years of research that suggests many of their products trigger chemical reactions in the brain which lead people to overeat, The Telegraph can reveal.
Scientists working for Nestle and Unilever have been quietly investigating how certain foods, such as chocolate biscuits, burgers and snacks, make people binge-eat, thereby fuelling obesity. The companies insist that there is no proof that the foods create bio-chemical reactions that make people eat too much. They are not yet prepared to issue consumer warnings or change the nature of the products.
However, scientists working for the industry have said manufacturers fear they have created foods that undermine the body's abilities to control intake and are battling to find a solution. "We have created a bio-chemical monster," one said.
IRAQ
Observer: Iraq row over fate of seized scientists
Red Cross urges US to clarify status of three dozen prisoners held in unknown conditions near Baghdad
American efforts at finding top Iraqi scientists who can attest to Saddam Hussein hiding weapons of mass destruction have turned out to be as fruitless as the search for the weapons themselves.
The continued detention of leading Iraqi scientists and other officials by US forces is swiftly turning into a major human rights row.
Washington officials hoped that, with Saddam's removal, the people who had intimate knowledge of Iraq's secret arms industry would give a different story from the denials given while he still held sway.
Observer: Iraq row over fate of seized scientists
Red Cross urges US to clarify status of three dozen prisoners held in unknown conditions near Baghdad
American efforts at finding top Iraqi scientists who can attest to Saddam Hussein hiding weapons of mass destruction have turned out to be as fruitless as the search for the weapons themselves.
The continued detention of leading Iraqi scientists and other officials by US forces is swiftly turning into a major human rights row.
Washington officials hoped that, with Saddam's removal, the people who had intimate knowledge of Iraq's secret arms industry would give a different story from the denials given while he still held sway.
ISRAEL
Haaretz: Rush order for 30 new villages inside Green Line
In what may turn out to be the largest settlement
effort inside the Green Line in the last 25 years,
the Prime Minister's Office is planning to
establish some 30 new towns, most in the Negev and
the Galilee. The project, which will be given top
priority, is expected to be completed in the
shortest possible period.
According to the adviser to
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on
settlement, Uzi Kern, Sharon
reached the conclusion that
following the enormous
investment in settling the
territories, it is now
necessary to settle the Galilee
and the Negev.
Haaretz: Rush order for 30 new villages inside Green Line
In what may turn out to be the largest settlement
effort inside the Green Line in the last 25 years,
the Prime Minister's Office is planning to
establish some 30 new towns, most in the Negev and
the Galilee. The project, which will be given top
priority, is expected to be completed in the
shortest possible period.
According to the adviser to
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on
settlement, Uzi Kern, Sharon
reached the conclusion that
following the enormous
investment in settling the
territories, it is now
necessary to settle the Galilee
and the Negev.
IRAQI RESISTANCE
BBC: US forces hit in northern Iraq
Two US soldiers have been killed and another injured in a Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq where attacks on American forces have been rare
Washington Post: Iraqi Shi'ites Stage Mass Anti-U.S Protest in Najaf
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - More than 10,000 angry Shi'ites marched on the local offices of Iraq's U.S.-led administration in the sacred city of Najaf Sunday to protest against alleged U.S. harassment of a prominent Shi'ite leader
BBC: US forces hit in northern Iraq
Two US soldiers have been killed and another injured in a Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq where attacks on American forces have been rare
Washington Post: Iraqi Shi'ites Stage Mass Anti-U.S Protest in Najaf
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - More than 10,000 angry Shi'ites marched on the local offices of Iraq's U.S.-led administration in the sacred city of Najaf Sunday to protest against alleged U.S. harassment of a prominent Shi'ite leader
UK: DAVID KELLY
BBC: BBC says Kelly was weapons source
The BBC has disclosed that Dr David Kelly was the source for its
controversial report claiming Downing Street had "sexed up" a dossier
outlining the threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The BBC's
director of news Richard Sambrook made the disclosure after speaking to
the
family of the Iraq weapons expert who was found dead on Friday.
Examiner: Kelly warned of 'dark actors playing games' - no sign of depression
Weapons expert Dr David Kelly told of "many dark actors playing games"
in an e-mail to a journalist hours before his suicide, it was reported
today. The words appeared to refer to officials at the Ministry of Defence and
UK intelligence agencies with whom he had sparred over interpretations of
weapons reports, according to the New York Times.
BBC: Gentle man with core of steel
Friends and colleagues have been paying tribute to Dr David Kelly.
Scott Ritter, who worked with him as part of the UN weapons inspections team
in Iraq, said he was a man of "integrity, character, and somebody who
cared deeply about his country".
Scoop: Examination Of Dr David Kelly July 15
Press Release: UK Government
Oral evidence
Taken before the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday 15 July 2003
Independet: No 10 and Ministry of Defence at odds over terms of inquiry
Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence were at loggerheads last
night over the terms of reference of the inquiry into the death of military
arms expert David Kelly.
Scotlandonsunday: Desperate Blair blames Hoon
DOWNING Street officials were last night fighting to save Tony Blair’s
premiership by attempting to pin blame for Dr David Kelly’s suicide on
the Ministry of Defence. In an effort to shift attention away from the
Prime Minister and on to Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, aides stressed
that the decision to name Kelly as the likely source of claims the
government "sexed up" its second Iraq dossier was "purely a Ministry of Defence
operation".
Spiegel: Über Blair kreisen die Geier
Der Selbstmord des Waffenexperten David Kelly erschüttert die Briten. Die BBC hat eingeräumt, dass der Mikrobiologe und Waffenexperte ihr Informant war. Stunden bevor er verschwand, machte Kelly dunkle Andeutungen. Ministerpräsident Tony Blair reist derweil durch den Fernen Osten und versucht sich in Schadensbegrenzung.
BBC: BBC says Kelly was weapons source
The BBC has disclosed that Dr David Kelly was the source for its
controversial report claiming Downing Street had "sexed up" a dossier
outlining the threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The BBC's
director of news Richard Sambrook made the disclosure after speaking to
the
family of the Iraq weapons expert who was found dead on Friday.
Examiner: Kelly warned of 'dark actors playing games' - no sign of depression
Weapons expert Dr David Kelly told of "many dark actors playing games"
in an e-mail to a journalist hours before his suicide, it was reported
today. The words appeared to refer to officials at the Ministry of Defence and
UK intelligence agencies with whom he had sparred over interpretations of
weapons reports, according to the New York Times.
BBC: Gentle man with core of steel
Friends and colleagues have been paying tribute to Dr David Kelly.
Scott Ritter, who worked with him as part of the UN weapons inspections team
in Iraq, said he was a man of "integrity, character, and somebody who
cared deeply about his country".
Scoop: Examination Of Dr David Kelly July 15
Press Release: UK Government
Oral evidence
Taken before the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday 15 July 2003
Independet: No 10 and Ministry of Defence at odds over terms of inquiry
Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence were at loggerheads last
night over the terms of reference of the inquiry into the death of military
arms expert David Kelly.
Scotlandonsunday: Desperate Blair blames Hoon
DOWNING Street officials were last night fighting to save Tony Blair’s
premiership by attempting to pin blame for Dr David Kelly’s suicide on
the Ministry of Defence. In an effort to shift attention away from the
Prime Minister and on to Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, aides stressed
that the decision to name Kelly as the likely source of claims the
government "sexed up" its second Iraq dossier was "purely a Ministry of Defence
operation".
Spiegel: Über Blair kreisen die Geier
Der Selbstmord des Waffenexperten David Kelly erschüttert die Briten. Die BBC hat eingeräumt, dass der Mikrobiologe und Waffenexperte ihr Informant war. Stunden bevor er verschwand, machte Kelly dunkle Andeutungen. Ministerpräsident Tony Blair reist derweil durch den Fernen Osten und versucht sich in Schadensbegrenzung.
Sunday, July 20, 2003
ISRAEL
Anfangs Jahr hat die Israelische Regierung die "Wexner Foundation", einen
konservative Think-Tank, damit beauftragt, eine Kommunikationsstrategie
fuer 2003 zu entwerfen. Hier der fertige Bericht:
Wexner Communications:
Israeli communication priorities 2003
link provided by pedro
"CHECK IT"
Anfangs Jahr hat die Israelische Regierung die "Wexner Foundation", einen
konservative Think-Tank, damit beauftragt, eine Kommunikationsstrategie
fuer 2003 zu entwerfen. Hier der fertige Bericht:
Wexner Communications:
Israeli communication priorities 2003
link provided by pedro
"CHECK IT"
ART
BANKSY INTERVIEW
Guardian: Something to spray
You may not have heard of him, but you've probably seen his work. From policemen with smiley faces to the Pulp Fiction killers firing bananas, Banksy's subversive images are daubed on walls everywhere - and now he's putting on an exhibition. Simon Hattenstone meets Britain's No 1 graffiti artist
BANKSY INTERVIEW
Guardian: Something to spray
You may not have heard of him, but you've probably seen his work. From policemen with smiley faces to the Pulp Fiction killers firing bananas, Banksy's subversive images are daubed on walls everywhere - and now he's putting on an exhibition. Simon Hattenstone meets Britain's No 1 graffiti artist
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