PEAK OIL/PEAK GAS
Reuters: El Paso Trims Proven Reserves 41 Pct
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Energy company El Paso Corp. said on Tuesday it had cut its proven natural gas reserves estimate by 41 percent and would take a $1 billion pretax charge in the fourth quarter.
In reducing its proven reserves estimates, the Houston-based company joined oil major Royal Dutch/Shell Group, which shocked investors last month by cutting its reserves estimates by 20 percent
Proven reserves are quantities of oil or gas that a company expects to be commercially recoverable from known fields from a given date.
The company, which is the largest U.S. natural gas pipeline operator, also warned investors it expected more write-down charges in 2004 as natural gas prices weakened.
Friday, February 20, 2004
Thursday, February 19, 2004
USA: ELECTIONS
Alternet: The Assassination Of Howard Dean
"In the end, Dean threatened a troika of powerful institutions. He was a threat to the political parties (because he attacked Democrats' centrist drift), to media (because he criticized their cowardly reporting) and to big business (because he would roll back chummy tax-benefits for corporations). All three institutions responded with venom and destroyed Dean's candidacy."
Two months ago, Howard Dean was the man to beat for the Democratic nomination. Then his campaign fell over a cliff, limping in as a distant second, third and even fourth, in the primaries. On Wednesday Dean officially ended his bid for the White House, telling supporters, "I am no longer actively purusing the presidency."
Alternet: The Assassination Of Howard Dean
"In the end, Dean threatened a troika of powerful institutions. He was a threat to the political parties (because he attacked Democrats' centrist drift), to media (because he criticized their cowardly reporting) and to big business (because he would roll back chummy tax-benefits for corporations). All three institutions responded with venom and destroyed Dean's candidacy."
Two months ago, Howard Dean was the man to beat for the Democratic nomination. Then his campaign fell over a cliff, limping in as a distant second, third and even fourth, in the primaries. On Wednesday Dean officially ended his bid for the White House, telling supporters, "I am no longer actively purusing the presidency."
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
VENEZUELA
SF Gate: Venezuela's Chavez says U.S. was behind 2002 coup and seeks to overthrow him again
President Hugo Chavez angrily accused the United States on Tuesday of backing a coup in 2002 and of helping Venezuela's opposition stage another attempt to overthrow him.
Chavez also accused the Bush administration of spreading lies about his government to justify its demise, saying it used similar tactics in Iraq, and of falsely charging Venezuela with supporting Colombian rebels.
He said the United States was providing hundreds of thousands of dollars to Venezuelan groups that organized a petition for a recall referendum on his rule -- and to groups that are plotting his ouster.
"The government of Washington is using the money of its people to support -- not only opposition activities -- but acts of conspiracy," Chavez said in a speech to small business owners.
"The government of the United States is attacking the Venezuelan people again, just like they attacked the people of Iraq," he added.
He said he had evidence that Washington was involved in an April 2002 coup that ousted him for two days. He said the Bush administration "had a responsibility in the massacre" that helped trigger the coup, and that U.S. military personnel were involved alongside rebel Venezuelan military.
SF Gate: Venezuela's Chavez says U.S. was behind 2002 coup and seeks to overthrow him again
President Hugo Chavez angrily accused the United States on Tuesday of backing a coup in 2002 and of helping Venezuela's opposition stage another attempt to overthrow him.
Chavez also accused the Bush administration of spreading lies about his government to justify its demise, saying it used similar tactics in Iraq, and of falsely charging Venezuela with supporting Colombian rebels.
He said the United States was providing hundreds of thousands of dollars to Venezuelan groups that organized a petition for a recall referendum on his rule -- and to groups that are plotting his ouster.
"The government of Washington is using the money of its people to support -- not only opposition activities -- but acts of conspiracy," Chavez said in a speech to small business owners.
"The government of the United States is attacking the Venezuelan people again, just like they attacked the people of Iraq," he added.
He said he had evidence that Washington was involved in an April 2002 coup that ousted him for two days. He said the Bush administration "had a responsibility in the massacre" that helped trigger the coup, and that U.S. military personnel were involved alongside rebel Venezuelan military.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Haaretz: Area In Hebron 'Being Cleansed Of Palestinians'
"The activity of the settlers and the army in the H-2 area of Hebron is creating an irreversible situation. In a sense, cleansing is being carried out. In other words, if the situation continues for another few years, the result will be that no Palestinians will remain there. It is a miracle they have managed to remain there until now."
This view of the situation in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron comes from Jan Kristensen, the former head of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), who completed his one-year term of office last week. Kristensen, 58, is a former lieutenant colonel in the Norwegian army and has also held various positions in UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon).
H-2, the 4.3 square kilometers of Hebron assigned to Israeli control by the Hebron Agreement, contains all of the city's Jewish settlers. When the intifada began, it had 35,000 Palestinian residents. Kristensen had no exact figures for how many Palestinians have since left but he said, "more and more people are leaving the area and it is effectively being emptied. The settlers' activities, which are aimed at causing the Palestinians to leave, and the army's activities, which impose severe restrictions, create an irreversible reality. Anyone whose economic situation permits him to do so, leaves.
Haaretz: Area In Hebron 'Being Cleansed Of Palestinians'
"The activity of the settlers and the army in the H-2 area of Hebron is creating an irreversible situation. In a sense, cleansing is being carried out. In other words, if the situation continues for another few years, the result will be that no Palestinians will remain there. It is a miracle they have managed to remain there until now."
This view of the situation in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron comes from Jan Kristensen, the former head of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), who completed his one-year term of office last week. Kristensen, 58, is a former lieutenant colonel in the Norwegian army and has also held various positions in UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon).
H-2, the 4.3 square kilometers of Hebron assigned to Israeli control by the Hebron Agreement, contains all of the city's Jewish settlers. When the intifada began, it had 35,000 Palestinian residents. Kristensen had no exact figures for how many Palestinians have since left but he said, "more and more people are leaving the area and it is effectively being emptied. The settlers' activities, which are aimed at causing the Palestinians to leave, and the army's activities, which impose severe restrictions, create an irreversible reality. Anyone whose economic situation permits him to do so, leaves.
USA: PROPAGANDA WATCH
Independent: Lies, Damned Lies & Photography
How The Camera Can Distort The Truth
Everyone knows the saying that the camera never lies. What is less well-known is that the man who coined the phrase, almost a century ago, added a rider. "While photographs may not lie," the great American documentary photographer Lewis Hine said, "liars may photograph".
They have been at work ever since, as was seen this week with the fake snap of John Kerry which caused a stir in the United States. It purported to show him associating in the 1970s with the film star Jane Fonda, who is still widely reviled in the US for her visit to the enemy capital, Hanoi, during the Vietnam war. Many still see it as the act of a traitor.
This was not the kind of publicity the Democrats' leading presidential candidate needed. It was, we now know, doctored. But it fooled many US citizens and some British newspapers.
They should, it is easy to say with hindsight, have known better. For the black art of photographic manipulation has been with us for a long time
Independent: Lies, Damned Lies & Photography
How The Camera Can Distort The Truth
Everyone knows the saying that the camera never lies. What is less well-known is that the man who coined the phrase, almost a century ago, added a rider. "While photographs may not lie," the great American documentary photographer Lewis Hine said, "liars may photograph".
They have been at work ever since, as was seen this week with the fake snap of John Kerry which caused a stir in the United States. It purported to show him associating in the 1970s with the film star Jane Fonda, who is still widely reviled in the US for her visit to the enemy capital, Hanoi, during the Vietnam war. Many still see it as the act of a traitor.
This was not the kind of publicity the Democrats' leading presidential candidate needed. It was, we now know, doctored. But it fooled many US citizens and some British newspapers.
They should, it is easy to say with hindsight, have known better. For the black art of photographic manipulation has been with us for a long time
IRAQ WMD
The Herald: Australian troops told Saddam could not use WMDs
AUSTRALIAN troops preparing for the invasion of Iraq were told that Saddam Hussein did not have the means of launching weapons of mass destruction against its neighbours, it emerged yesterday.
The assurance – which further undermines the justification for the Iraq war – was given in an official briefing days before by Roger Hill, Australia's most experienced weapons inspector.
The Herald: Australian troops told Saddam could not use WMDs
AUSTRALIAN troops preparing for the invasion of Iraq were told that Saddam Hussein did not have the means of launching weapons of mass destruction against its neighbours, it emerged yesterday.
The assurance – which further undermines the justification for the Iraq war – was given in an official briefing days before by Roger Hill, Australia's most experienced weapons inspector.
BUSINESS
Corporatepredators.org: Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the Decade
Every year, the major business magazines put out their annual surveys of big business in America.
You have the Fortune 500, the Forbes 400, the Forbes Platinum 100, the International 800 -- among others.
These lists rank big corporations by sales, assets, profits and market share. The point of these surveys is simple -- to identify and glorify the biggest and most profitable corporations.
The point of the list contained in this report, The Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the Decade -- is to focus public attention on a wave of corporate criminality that has swamped prosecutors offices around the country.
1) F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.
Type of Crime: Antitrust
Criminal Fine: $500 million
12 Corporate Crime Reporter 21(1), May 24, 1999
2) Daiwa Bank Ltd.
Type of Crime: Financial
Criminal Fine: $340 million
10 Corporate Crime Reporter 9(3), March 4, 1996
3) BASF Aktiengesellschaft
Type of Crime: Antitrust
Criminal Fine: $225 million
12 Corporate Crime Reporter 21(1), May 24, 1999
4) SGL Carbon Aktiengesellschaft (SGL AG)
Type of Crime: Antitrust
Criminal Fine: $135 million
12 Corporate Crime Reporter 19(4), May 10, 1999
5) Exxon Corporation and Exxon Shipping
Type of Crime: Environmental
Criminal Fine: $125 million
5 Corporate Crime Reporter 11(3), March 18, 1991
Corporatepredators.org: Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the Decade
Every year, the major business magazines put out their annual surveys of big business in America.
You have the Fortune 500, the Forbes 400, the Forbes Platinum 100, the International 800 -- among others.
These lists rank big corporations by sales, assets, profits and market share. The point of these surveys is simple -- to identify and glorify the biggest and most profitable corporations.
The point of the list contained in this report, The Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the Decade -- is to focus public attention on a wave of corporate criminality that has swamped prosecutors offices around the country.
1) F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.
Type of Crime: Antitrust
Criminal Fine: $500 million
12 Corporate Crime Reporter 21(1), May 24, 1999
2) Daiwa Bank Ltd.
Type of Crime: Financial
Criminal Fine: $340 million
10 Corporate Crime Reporter 9(3), March 4, 1996
3) BASF Aktiengesellschaft
Type of Crime: Antitrust
Criminal Fine: $225 million
12 Corporate Crime Reporter 21(1), May 24, 1999
4) SGL Carbon Aktiengesellschaft (SGL AG)
Type of Crime: Antitrust
Criminal Fine: $135 million
12 Corporate Crime Reporter 19(4), May 10, 1999
5) Exxon Corporation and Exxon Shipping
Type of Crime: Environmental
Criminal Fine: $125 million
5 Corporate Crime Reporter 11(3), March 18, 1991
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
USA
Rense: Detective Story by John Kaminski
How The 911 Investigation Should Really Be Conducted
If we had a real Attorney General in the United States, instead of a glossolalia-gagged demagogue who takes payoffs from industrialists to advance his religious pathologies, we would have solved the tragic riddle of 9/11 by now.
If we had a real Attorney General who championed the rights of all Americans instead of merely protecting the rich patricians he so obnoxiously serves, we would undoubtedly have hundreds of people - including the top leaders of our country - already indicted and awaiting trials for their roles in the treasonous tragedy of 9/11.
But we don't have such an Attorney General. And we don't have real law enforcement in this country, despite all this cynical blather about Homeland Security. And no one has been apprehended and charged in the most serious crime in American history.
The investigation has been bungled from the start. And the continuing coverup begins with President George W. Bush, who from day one has covered up the true facts of that dark day, and continues to do so to this very moment.
The official story of 9/11 posits that 19 Arab terrorists hijacked four planes and crashed three of them into well-known American landmarks, costing more than three thousand Americans their lives. Yet no conclusive evidence has ever connected these alleged Arab terrorists to the actual crime. Only a campaign of media hysteria centered around vague and unproved aspersions from Washington has swayed the American people like some drunken lynch mob into accepting government's story, which amounts to a massive hate crime against Muslims.
Rense: Detective Story by John Kaminski
How The 911 Investigation Should Really Be Conducted
If we had a real Attorney General in the United States, instead of a glossolalia-gagged demagogue who takes payoffs from industrialists to advance his religious pathologies, we would have solved the tragic riddle of 9/11 by now.
If we had a real Attorney General who championed the rights of all Americans instead of merely protecting the rich patricians he so obnoxiously serves, we would undoubtedly have hundreds of people - including the top leaders of our country - already indicted and awaiting trials for their roles in the treasonous tragedy of 9/11.
But we don't have such an Attorney General. And we don't have real law enforcement in this country, despite all this cynical blather about Homeland Security. And no one has been apprehended and charged in the most serious crime in American history.
The investigation has been bungled from the start. And the continuing coverup begins with President George W. Bush, who from day one has covered up the true facts of that dark day, and continues to do so to this very moment.
The official story of 9/11 posits that 19 Arab terrorists hijacked four planes and crashed three of them into well-known American landmarks, costing more than three thousand Americans their lives. Yet no conclusive evidence has ever connected these alleged Arab terrorists to the actual crime. Only a campaign of media hysteria centered around vague and unproved aspersions from Washington has swayed the American people like some drunken lynch mob into accepting government's story, which amounts to a massive hate crime against Muslims.
KOSOVO: NATION BUILDING
Heise: Der vergessene Krieg
Der humanitäre Krieg und das bislang gescheiterte Nation-Building: Erinnert sich noch jemand an den Kosovo?
Mit unseren modernen Kommunikationssystemen Radio, Fernsehen und Internet neigen wir dazu, viele wichtige Dinge zu vergessen, selbst wenn es um so Wichtiges wie Krieg und Frieden geht. Bei den Meisten verschwindet gerade Afghanistan aus dem Blick oder dies wäre geschehen, wenn nicht gerade bei den letzten Angriffen ein kanadischer, ein britischer und sieben amerikanische Soldaten getötet worden wären, was Anlass zur Ankündigung einer Frühjahrsoffensive gegen die "Taliban-Rebellion" war. Die Taliban? Wurden sie nicht schon lange besiegt, während ein neues Afghanistan aus der Asche aufersteht?
Der "befreite" Kosovo wurde zur Brutstätte des organisierten Verbrechens und der ethnischen Gewalt
Doch der Kosovo ist alles andere als der glückliche und gedeihende Ort, der er sein soll. Auch der Frieden ist nicht in die Region gebracht worden. Verbrechen, Terror. Ethnische Säuberung und Schmuggel sind allgegenwärtig: dieses Mal unter der Schirmherrschaft der UN und nicht von Belgrad.
Vier Jahre, nachdem der Kosovo durch die Bombardierung der Nato "befreit" wurde ( Exakte Zahlen wird man nie erfahren), hat er sich in eine Brutstätte des organisierten Verbrechens, der ethnischen Gewalt und sogar von al-Qaida-Sympathisanten verwandelt. Diese südliche Provinz von Serbien, die sich nominell noch unter UN-Kontrolle befindet, wird heute von einem Triumvirat von albanischen Paramilitärs, Mafiabanden und Terroristen beherrscht. Sie kontrollieren eine ganze Reihe von Schmuggelgeschäften und führen aus, was Beobachter als brutale ethnische Säuberung von Minderheiten, vor allem von Serben, Roma und Juden, bezeichnen. Das alles geschieht, obgleich eine 18.000 Mann starke Friedenstruppe unter der Leitung der Nato und eine internationale Polizeieinheit mit mehr als 4.000 Mitgliedern im Land ist.
Anmerkung: Aus "The Grand Chessboard - Das große Schachbrett"
Zitate (in deutscher Übersetzung) aus dem Buch des
US-"Sicherheitsstrategen" Zbigniew Brzezinski von 1997 (Deutsche
Ausgabe 1999: "Die einzige Weltmacht - Amerikas Strategie der
Vorherrschaft") "Viel wichtiger aber ist der eurasische Balkan, weil er sich zu einem
ökonomischen Filetstück entwickeln könnte, konzentrieren sich in
dieser Region doch ungeheure Erdgas- und Erdölvorkommen, von
wichtigen Mineralien einschließlich Gold ganz zu schweigen. (S.182)
Amerikas primäres Interesse muß folglich sein, mit dafür zu sorgen,
daß keine einzelne Macht die Kontrolle über dieses Gebiet erlangt und
daß die Weltgemeinschaft ungehinderten finanziellen und
wirtschaftlichen Zugang zu ihr hat. Geopolitischer Pluralismus wird nur dann zu einer dauerhaften
Realität werden, wenn ein Netz von Pipeline- und Transportwegen die
Region direkt mit den großen Wirtschaftsknotenpunkten der Welt
durchzieht... (S.215/216)"
Heise: Der vergessene Krieg
Der humanitäre Krieg und das bislang gescheiterte Nation-Building: Erinnert sich noch jemand an den Kosovo?
Mit unseren modernen Kommunikationssystemen Radio, Fernsehen und Internet neigen wir dazu, viele wichtige Dinge zu vergessen, selbst wenn es um so Wichtiges wie Krieg und Frieden geht. Bei den Meisten verschwindet gerade Afghanistan aus dem Blick oder dies wäre geschehen, wenn nicht gerade bei den letzten Angriffen ein kanadischer, ein britischer und sieben amerikanische Soldaten getötet worden wären, was Anlass zur Ankündigung einer Frühjahrsoffensive gegen die "Taliban-Rebellion" war. Die Taliban? Wurden sie nicht schon lange besiegt, während ein neues Afghanistan aus der Asche aufersteht?
Der "befreite" Kosovo wurde zur Brutstätte des organisierten Verbrechens und der ethnischen Gewalt
Doch der Kosovo ist alles andere als der glückliche und gedeihende Ort, der er sein soll. Auch der Frieden ist nicht in die Region gebracht worden. Verbrechen, Terror. Ethnische Säuberung und Schmuggel sind allgegenwärtig: dieses Mal unter der Schirmherrschaft der UN und nicht von Belgrad.
Vier Jahre, nachdem der Kosovo durch die Bombardierung der Nato "befreit" wurde ( Exakte Zahlen wird man nie erfahren), hat er sich in eine Brutstätte des organisierten Verbrechens, der ethnischen Gewalt und sogar von al-Qaida-Sympathisanten verwandelt. Diese südliche Provinz von Serbien, die sich nominell noch unter UN-Kontrolle befindet, wird heute von einem Triumvirat von albanischen Paramilitärs, Mafiabanden und Terroristen beherrscht. Sie kontrollieren eine ganze Reihe von Schmuggelgeschäften und führen aus, was Beobachter als brutale ethnische Säuberung von Minderheiten, vor allem von Serben, Roma und Juden, bezeichnen. Das alles geschieht, obgleich eine 18.000 Mann starke Friedenstruppe unter der Leitung der Nato und eine internationale Polizeieinheit mit mehr als 4.000 Mitgliedern im Land ist.
Anmerkung: Aus "The Grand Chessboard - Das große Schachbrett"
Zitate (in deutscher Übersetzung) aus dem Buch des
US-"Sicherheitsstrategen" Zbigniew Brzezinski von 1997 (Deutsche
Ausgabe 1999: "Die einzige Weltmacht - Amerikas Strategie der
Vorherrschaft") "Viel wichtiger aber ist der eurasische Balkan, weil er sich zu einem
ökonomischen Filetstück entwickeln könnte, konzentrieren sich in
dieser Region doch ungeheure Erdgas- und Erdölvorkommen, von
wichtigen Mineralien einschließlich Gold ganz zu schweigen. (S.182)
Amerikas primäres Interesse muß folglich sein, mit dafür zu sorgen,
daß keine einzelne Macht die Kontrolle über dieses Gebiet erlangt und
daß die Weltgemeinschaft ungehinderten finanziellen und
wirtschaftlichen Zugang zu ihr hat. Geopolitischer Pluralismus wird nur dann zu einer dauerhaften
Realität werden, wenn ein Netz von Pipeline- und Transportwegen die
Region direkt mit den großen Wirtschaftsknotenpunkten der Welt
durchzieht... (S.215/216)"
MEDIA WATCH
Heise: Die adoptierten Medienhuren
Watchblogger verfolgen gnadenlos jede Spur ihres Opfers
Sie nennen sich "Watchers" (Beobachter) und sie verfolgen jede nachsp?rbare Aktivit?t ihrer Opfer. Ihre Operationen laufen unter geheimnisvollen Namen wie Enduring Friedman oder What a Pickler!. Sie wollen Gutes tun. Aber sie adoptieren kein Patenkind aus der Dritten Welt, sondern einen US-amerikanischen Journalisten, manchmal sogar zwei.
Online Journalism Review: 'Watchblogs' Put the Political Press Under the Microscope
Bloggers mount an "adopt a journalist" campaign to track election coverage. Along with CJR's nonpartisan Campaign Desk, the effort puts some of the nation's top political reporters under intense public scrutiny.
You write the story. Your editor checks it. Your copy editor checks it. The story runs. Then your "watcher" reads it and writes a scathing critique on her Weblog. Welcome to the new workflow for prominent political reporters, as citizen bloggers and the Columbia Journalism Review's Campaign Desk Weblog have created another layer of oversight for the Fourth Estate.
The so-called "watchblogs" are generally anonymous bloggers who have taken it upon themselves to read each report from a particular presidential campaign reporter and then critique it for factual errors or bias. If they gain traction, watchblogs represent another step in the evolution of reader feedback and media criticism, and they have the potential to improve the work of journalists.
Friedman Watch Blog NY Times
Nedah Pickler Watch Blog AP
Heise: Die adoptierten Medienhuren
Watchblogger verfolgen gnadenlos jede Spur ihres Opfers
Sie nennen sich "Watchers" (Beobachter) und sie verfolgen jede nachsp?rbare Aktivit?t ihrer Opfer. Ihre Operationen laufen unter geheimnisvollen Namen wie Enduring Friedman oder What a Pickler!. Sie wollen Gutes tun. Aber sie adoptieren kein Patenkind aus der Dritten Welt, sondern einen US-amerikanischen Journalisten, manchmal sogar zwei.
Online Journalism Review: 'Watchblogs' Put the Political Press Under the Microscope
Bloggers mount an "adopt a journalist" campaign to track election coverage. Along with CJR's nonpartisan Campaign Desk, the effort puts some of the nation's top political reporters under intense public scrutiny.
You write the story. Your editor checks it. Your copy editor checks it. The story runs. Then your "watcher" reads it and writes a scathing critique on her Weblog. Welcome to the new workflow for prominent political reporters, as citizen bloggers and the Columbia Journalism Review's Campaign Desk Weblog have created another layer of oversight for the Fourth Estate.
The so-called "watchblogs" are generally anonymous bloggers who have taken it upon themselves to read each report from a particular presidential campaign reporter and then critique it for factual errors or bias. If they gain traction, watchblogs represent another step in the evolution of reader feedback and media criticism, and they have the potential to improve the work of journalists.
Friedman Watch Blog NY Times
Nedah Pickler Watch Blog AP
IRAQ
Spiegel: INTERVIEW MIT KURDENFÜHRER TALABANI
"Es wird eine Föderation im Irak geben"
Durchbruch im Irak: Der Anführer der Patriotischen Union Kurdistans, Dschalal Talabani, rechnet mit freien Wahlen im Irak binnen acht Monaten. Sein bisheriger Gegner, Schiitenführer Sistani, habe ihm volle Unterstützung für eine Autonomie der Kurden zugesichert, sagt Talabani im SPIEGEL-ONLINE-Interview.
Spiegel: INTERVIEW MIT KURDENFÜHRER TALABANI
"Es wird eine Föderation im Irak geben"
Durchbruch im Irak: Der Anführer der Patriotischen Union Kurdistans, Dschalal Talabani, rechnet mit freien Wahlen im Irak binnen acht Monaten. Sein bisheriger Gegner, Schiitenführer Sistani, habe ihm volle Unterstützung für eine Autonomie der Kurden zugesichert, sagt Talabani im SPIEGEL-ONLINE-Interview.
Monday, February 16, 2004
MIDDLE EAST
Hipakistan: The fantasy of democracy - By Robert Fisk
For democracy, read fantasy. Iraq is getting so nasty for our great leaders these days that anything - and anyone - is going to be thrown to the dogs to save them.
The BBC, the CIA, British intelligence - any journalist that dares to point out the lies that led us to war - get pelted with more lies. The moment we suggest that Iraq never was fertile soil for western democracy, we get accused of being racists. Do we think the Arabs are incapable of producing democracy, we are asked? Do we think they are subhuman?
This kind of tosh comes from the same family of abuse as that which labels all and every criticism of Israel anti-Semitic.
If we even remind the world that the cabal of neo-conservative, pro-Israeli proselytisers, Messers Perle, Wolfowitz, Feith, Kristol, et al, helped to propel President Bush and US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld into this war with grotesquely inaccurate prophecies of a new Middle East of democratic, pro-Israeli Arab states, we are told that we are racist even to mention their names.
So let's just remember what the neo-cons were advocating back in the golden autumn of 2002 when Tony was squaring up with George to destroy the Hitler of Baghdad.
"CHECK IT"
Hipakistan: The fantasy of democracy - By Robert Fisk
For democracy, read fantasy. Iraq is getting so nasty for our great leaders these days that anything - and anyone - is going to be thrown to the dogs to save them.
The BBC, the CIA, British intelligence - any journalist that dares to point out the lies that led us to war - get pelted with more lies. The moment we suggest that Iraq never was fertile soil for western democracy, we get accused of being racists. Do we think the Arabs are incapable of producing democracy, we are asked? Do we think they are subhuman?
This kind of tosh comes from the same family of abuse as that which labels all and every criticism of Israel anti-Semitic.
If we even remind the world that the cabal of neo-conservative, pro-Israeli proselytisers, Messers Perle, Wolfowitz, Feith, Kristol, et al, helped to propel President Bush and US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld into this war with grotesquely inaccurate prophecies of a new Middle East of democratic, pro-Israeli Arab states, we are told that we are racist even to mention their names.
So let's just remember what the neo-cons were advocating back in the golden autumn of 2002 when Tony was squaring up with George to destroy the Hitler of Baghdad.
"CHECK IT"
UK: KELLY MURDER
Cloak and Dagger: CLOAK EXCLUSIVE!
Major London paper sitting on firestorm, while insisting key Intel official allow use of his name. He confirms P.M. Tony Blair ordered assassination of MI-6 top scientist, Dr. David Kelly, about to finger Blair on phony data instigating Bush/Blair attack seizing Iraq oil.
Lord Hutton Inquiry, finding of Kelly "suicide" a fraud, Intel official also says.
Story release, Editor says, would oust Bush/Blair.
Cloak and Dagger: CLOAK EXCLUSIVE!
Major London paper sitting on firestorm, while insisting key Intel official allow use of his name. He confirms P.M. Tony Blair ordered assassination of MI-6 top scientist, Dr. David Kelly, about to finger Blair on phony data instigating Bush/Blair attack seizing Iraq oil.
Lord Hutton Inquiry, finding of Kelly "suicide" a fraud, Intel official also says.
Story release, Editor says, would oust Bush/Blair.
USA: ELECTIONS
Independent: Voting Chaos Looms For American Election
SEATTLE -- The electronic voting system designed for the forthcoming American election is fundamentally flawed and could undermine the trustworthines of the entire US democratic process, a scientist has told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Paper ballots can be scrutinised to ensure they have not been misread or tampered with but electronic votes recorded only as computer code cannot be checked to see the true intention of the voter, said David Dill, professor of computer science at Stanford University in California.
One in four voters in the US presidential election in November will use touch-sensitive machines rather than putting a cross on a ballot paper.
"The system is in crisis. A quarter of the American public are voting on machines where there's very little protection of their votes. I don't think there's any reason to trust these machines," he said.
Independent: Voting Chaos Looms For American Election
SEATTLE -- The electronic voting system designed for the forthcoming American election is fundamentally flawed and could undermine the trustworthines of the entire US democratic process, a scientist has told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Paper ballots can be scrutinised to ensure they have not been misread or tampered with but electronic votes recorded only as computer code cannot be checked to see the true intention of the voter, said David Dill, professor of computer science at Stanford University in California.
One in four voters in the US presidential election in November will use touch-sensitive machines rather than putting a cross on a ballot paper.
"The system is in crisis. A quarter of the American public are voting on machines where there's very little protection of their votes. I don't think there's any reason to trust these machines," he said.
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