THEY HATE US BECAUSE OF OUR FREEDOMS

Salon: The Abu Ghraib files
279 photographs and 19 videos from the Army's internal investigation record a harrowing three months of detainee abuse inside the notorious prison -- and make clear that many of those responsible have yet to be held accountable.

Editor's note: The 10 galleries of photo and video evidence appear chronologically in the left column, followed by an additional Salon report on prosecutions for abuse and an overview of Pentagon investigations and other resources. The nine essays accompanying the photo galleries were reported and written by Michael Scherer and Mark Benjamin. Photo and video captions were compiled by Page Rockwell. Additional research, reporting and writing for "The Abu Ghraib Files" were contributed by Jeanne Carstensen, Mark Follman, Page Rockwell and Tracy Clark-Flory.

"How much does it take for the american people to wake up and realize what is done in their name. The german people claimed that they didn't see it coming...here you can see it in plain sight"

MIDDLE EAST

ABC Australia: Fisk Paints Middle East in Crisis

Robert Fisk says that in his three decades of reporting from the Middle East for British newspapers, he's never seen it more dangerous, and that he's certain another major crisis, possibly even another September 11, is coming.

IRAQ

Juan Cole: Kurds, Sunnis Attempting to Dump Jaafari

The Kurdistan Alliance and the Sunni fundamentalist Iraqi Accord Front are attempting to block Ibrahim Jaafari from becoming prime minister. The United Iraqi Alliance, the largest bloc in parliament, has the right to nominate the PM, and an internal party vote resulted in Jaafari's victory. Jaafari is, however, unacceptable to the United States because of his close ties to Iran and his socialist tendencies (he recently expressed admiration for Noam Chomsky and wondered if Noam would come visit Baghdad). The US appears to be working with the Kurds and the Sunnis behind the scenes to make Jaafari's candidacy collapse

USA: KATRINA

AP: Bush 'was warned about impact of Katrina'

President George W Bush was warned a day before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could swamp New Orleans, it was claimed last night.Leaked video footage and transcripts of top-level briefings in the six days before the storm showed federal officials telling Mr Bush the storm could breach levees and overwhelm rescuers.

IRAQ: CIVIL WAR

ICH: Robert Fisk: Somebody is trying to provoke a civil war in Iraq

The real question I ask myself is: who are these people who are trying to provoke the civil war?

Now the Americans will say it's Al Qaeda, it's the Sunni insurgents. It is the death squads.
Many of the death squads work for the Ministry of Interior. Who runs the Ministry of Interior in Baghdad? Who pays the Ministry of the Interior? Who pays the militia men who make up the death squads?

We do, the occupation authorities.

MOVIE

You can now watch the Flash Movie EPIC 2015 in german too.

An Update to George Orwells 1984

English Version

German Version

you need the Flash Player plugin to watch the Movie

The prequel to 2015 EPIC 2014 can be watched here

IMPEACH BUSH

Harpers: The Case for Impeachment

Why we can no longer afford George W. Bush

A country is not only what it does—it is also what it puts up with, what it tolerates. —Kurt Tucholsky

On December 18 of last year, Congressman John Conyers Jr. (D., Mich.) introduced into the House of Representatives a resolution inviting it to form “a select committee to investigate the Administration's intent to go to war before congressional authorization, manipulation of pre-war intelligence, encouraging and countenancing torture, retaliating against critics, and to make recommendations regarding grounds for possible impeachment.”

IRAN

ICH: Iran And "The International Community

Here we go again! Now it’s Iran. Bush, again mumbling something about Iran’s being a threat to the world, the same crap as about Iraq. But this time, the west European countries (the ”traditional” allies) are at it, too.

Isn’t it strange how all these countries, the USA, Israel, England, France, Germany…with all their weapons of mass destruction, feel so easily threatened?

These idiots are the cause of nuclear proliferation. If they are so concerned about the safety of the world they should lead by example and dismantle their nuclear weapons.

IRAQ

Independent: Defeat is victory. Death is life by Robert Fisk

Everyone in the Middle East rewrites history, but never before have we had a US administration so wilfully, dishonestly and ruthlessly reinterpreting tragedy as success, defeat as victory, death as life - helped, I have to add, by the compliant American press. I'm reminded not so much of Vietnam as of the British and French commanders of the First World War who repeatedly lied about military victory over the Kaiser as they pushed hundreds of thousands of their men through the butchers' shops of the Somme, Verdun and Gallipoli. The only difference now is that we are pushing hundreds of thousands of Arabs though the butchers' shops - and don't even care.

WEAPONS

Defenstech: Air Force Plan: Hack Your Nervous System

"Controlled Effects" is one of the Air Force’s ambitious long-term challenges. It starts with better and more accurate bombs, but moves on to discuss devices that "make selected adversaries think or act according to our needs... By studying and modeling the human brain and nervous system, the ability to mentally influence or confuse personnel is also possible."

NEOCON

The Guardian: Neoconservatism has evolved into something I can no longer support
by Francis Fukuyama

As we approach the third anniversary of the onset of the Iraq war, it seems unlikely that history will judge the intervention or the ideas animating it kindly. More than any other group, it was the neoconservatives inside and outside the Bush administration who pushed for democratising Iraq and the Middle East. They are widely credited (or blamed) for being the decisive voices promoting regime change in Iraq, and yet it is their idealistic agenda that, in the coming months and years, will be the most directly threatened.

IRAQ: SHRINE BLAST

Mercurynews: Shiite leader cites U.S. in shrine blast

Shiite political leader said Wednesday that U.S. Zalmay Khalilzad shares some of the responsibility for the bombing of a major Shiite shrine because of his criticism of Shiite-led security forces.


Juan Cole: An apocalyptic day in Iraq
Iran Blames Bush - Sunni Shiite Clashes

Shiites came out in the thousands all over the Shiite south on Wednesday to protest the bombing of the Askariiyah shrine in Samarra.
A Sunni mosque was set afire. and a Sunni clergyman was assassinated.
The hardline Shiite Mahdi Army has come out of Sadr City and is all over Baghdad.
They are clashing with Sunnis in Basra.
Sunni leader Tariq al- Hashimi threatened reprisals for reprisal killings.
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim blamed the US for holding back the Badr Corps.
Grand Ayatollah Sistani called for nonviolent street protests that he must know won't be nonviolent.
Iran is blaming Bush.The threat of terrorism and attacks on Americans just went way up.

IHT: Shiite fury explodes in Iraq; scores are killed

FREEDOM OF SPEECH?

Telegraph: Appeal Filed To LengthenIrving's Prison Sentence

Austria's state prosecutor has filed an appeal to increase the jail sentence that the British historian David Irving must serve for denying the Holocaust during a lecture tour of Austria in 1989.

Irving yesterday received a three-year prison sentence for the claims. He immediately filed an appeal to reduce his sentence, arguing that he had changed his mind after further research and now agreed that Nazi Germany had killed millions of Jews.

Guardian: David Irving Jailed For Holocaust Denial

The British revisionist historian and Nazi apologist David Irving was today sentenced to three years in prison after he admitted denying the Holocaust.

An eight-member jury at a court in Vienna convicted Irving, 68, a few hours after it began its deliberations on the first day of his trial.

"To make it clear by no way i agree with David Irvings views. But i don't like the idea that the a nation State issues beliefs about selective Historical Events. Nobody goes to jails because he denies the genocid on 3mio armenians by the Turks.
It should be possible to discuss such things openly. If you dont like his views ignore them. If you don't like cartoons about Mohammed ignore them. The Danger for Democracy does not come from the David Irvings of the World but from Democratic elected Leaders who curb our Freedoms at Home and attack helpless Countries Abroad in the name of fighting Terrorism."

IRAQ: ON SALE

Uruknet: Who Will Possess Iraq’s Oilfields?

A friend wrote recently from Occupied Iraq that with the December elections over Iraq had truly been stolen. I thought perhaps they were referring to the stamp of legitimacy elections would give Iraq’s American-approved government, but they were actually talking about the final pieces falling in to place for those who’ve long coveted Iraq’s oilfields.

The "how" begins with Iraq’s new constitution; written largely behind closed doors and with tremendous US influence, it was voted into place during October’s referendum. Cleverly, it gives the impression that Iraq’s oil will remain in the hands of its people by guaranteeing "oil and gas is the property of all the Iraqi people" and that revenues from "current fields" will be fairly distributed across the provinces. The key phrase is "current fields;" in the following section the document then requires all future exploration use "the most modern techniques of market principles and encouraging investment." The modern investment model being promoted in Iraq during these secret meetings is production sharing agreements, or PSAs.

Mostly political in nature, PSAs maintain the technicality—and just as importantly, the appearance—of keeping oil ownership in government hands, yet the majority of profits goes to private companies. These agreements are generally used in countries where oil is either hard to extract and therefore expensive, or where reserves are small enough that companies may be unwilling to invest. PSAs guarantee a high profit margin, providing an enticement to otherwise uninterested oil companies. In Iraq, where extracting oil is not technologically challenging and reserves are huge, PSAs don’t make sense—unless they are intended to benefit someone other than Iraqis.

IRAQ: NEW TORTURE PICTURES RELEASED

ICH: Horrific New Torture Pictures Released

MORE photographs have been leaked of Iraqi citizens tortured by US soldiers at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad.

CURRENCY WAR

AP: Syria switches from dollars to euros

DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria has switched the primary hard currency it uses for foreign goods and services from the U.S. dollar to the euro in a bid to make it less vulnerable to pressure from Washington.
The decree signed by Syrian Prime Minister Naji al-Otari on Monday ordered government bodies and public-sector companies to use euros to pay for foreign transactions, including payment for exports.

IRAN: ROAD TO WAR

Oxford Research Group: IRAN:CONSEQUENCES OF A WAR

This briefing paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the likely nature of US or Israeli military action that would be intended to disable Iran’s nuclear capabilities. It outlines both the immediate consequences in terms of loss of human life, facilities and infrastructure, and also the likely Iranian responses, which would be extensive.

An attack on Iranian nuclear infrastructure would signal the start of a protracted military confrontation that would probably grow to involve Iraq, Israel and Lebanon, as well as the USA and Iran. The report concludes that a military response to the current crisis in relations with Iran is a particularly dangerous option and should not be considered further. Alternative approaches must be sought, however difficult these may be.

Download printable Version (PDF)

USA: WAR ON THE INTERNET

ICH: The Pentagon’s War on the Internet

The Pentagon has developed a comprehensive strategy for taking over the internet and controlling the free flow of information. The plan appears in a recently declassified document, “The Information Operations Roadmap”, which was provided under the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and revealed in an article by the BBC. The Pentagon sees the internet in terms of a military adversary that poses a vital threat to its stated mission of global domination. This explains the confrontational language in the document which speaks of “fighting the net”; implying that the internet is the equivalent of “an enemy weapons system."

USA: GUANTANAMO

Telegraph: UN inquiry demands immediate closure of Guantanamo

A United Nations inquiry has called for the immediate closure of America's Guantanamo Bay detention centre and the prosecution of officers and politicians "up to the highest level" who are accused of torturing detainees.The UN Human Rights Commission report, due to be published this week, concludes that Washington should put the 520 detainees on trial or release them.

IRAN: ROAD TO WAR

The Telegraph: '10,000 would die' in A-plant attack on Iran

A major American attack on Iran's nuclear sites would kill up to 10,000 people and lead to war in the Middle East, a report says today.Hundreds of scientists and technicians would be targets in the opening salvos as the attacks focused on eliminating further nuclear development, the Oxford Research Group says in Iran: Consequences of a War.The research coincides with reports that strategists at the Pentagon are drawing up plans for "a last resort" strike if diplomacy fails. Plans for an assault have taken on "greater urgency" in recent months, The Sunday Telegraph said.

USA: CHENEY SHOOTS MAN

Editor and Publisher: More Questions Raised About Delay in Reporting Cheney Misfire

The more than 18-hour delay in news emerging that the Vice President of the United States had shot a man, sending him to an intensive care unit with his wounds, grew even more curious late Sunday. E&P has learned that the official confirmation of the shooting came about only after a local reporter in Corpus Christi, Texas, received a tip from the owner of the property where the shooting occured and called Vice President Cheney's office for confirmation.

VENEZUELA

PWW: U.S. threats to Venezuela’s revolution escalate

Aggressive maneuvers against Venezuela from the Bush government have reached new heights. Here are some indicators. That a coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was under way when opposition parties opted out of Venezuela’s December parliamentary elections was not obvious. But at the time Vice President José Vicente Rangel alleged that the U.S. Embassy was “extremely active” behind the scenes.

Rumsfeld on Feb. 2 compared Hugo Chávez to Hitler, declaring, “We’ve got Chávez in Venezuela. … He’s a person who was elected legally, just as Adolf Hitler was elected legally. ... He is working closely with Fidel Castro and Mr. Morales and others. It concerns me

"How many Hitlers do we have these Days? Saddam was "like Hitler", Kim Jong II "like Hitler", Ahmadinejad "like Hitler", Chavez is "like Hitler"...Can the real Hitler please stand up"

IRAN: ROAD TO WAR

Times of India: Russia confirms missile defence contract with Iran

MOSCOW: Amid the escalating crisis around Iran's nuclear programme, Russia said on Thursday that it will still arm Tehran with missiles that can secure nuclear facilities from attacks.


Reuters: ANALYSIS-U.S. shield blunts Israeli military option on Iran

JERUSALEM, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Israel has long pursued a policy of preemptive attack as its preferred form of defence.
But when it comes to tackling arch-foe Iran, that option may have been put on hold under a protective "umbrella" on offer from the United States.


Middle East Online: Iran poised to retaliate against UN referral

Iran said Wednesday it was poised to retaliate against the reporting of its disputed nuclear programme to the Security Council by kick-starting sensitive fuel work and blocking UN inspections.


Daily Star: Iran dismisses US threat over nukes

Iran dismissed as "tough words" the United States' refusal to rule out using military force against the Islamic republic over its controversial nuclear programme.
"We are not afraid of attacks by the United States or by other countries on Iran's nuclear installations because we have nothing to hide, we have no installations to produce nuclear weapons," Iranian Vice President Esfandyar Rahim Mashaee said here after meeting with his Indonesian counterpart.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said this week Washington would not rule out using military force against Iran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons.

IRAN: ROAD TO WAR

ICH: Iran: the next war by John Pilger

Bush and Blair are gearing up for it, and they are preparing us, too - just as they did before attacking Iraq. But where is the threat?

THE END OF THE INTERNET

The Nation: The End of the Internet?

The nation's largest telephone and cable companies are crafting an alarming set of strategies that would transform the free, open and nondiscriminatory Internet of today to a privately run and branded service that would charge a fee for virtually everything we do online.

IRAN: ROAD TO WAR

ICH: Annexing Khuzestan; battle-plans for Iran
By Mike Whitney

In less than 24 hours the Bush administration has won impressive victories on both domestic and foreign policy fronts. At home, the far-right Federalist Society alum, Sam Alito, has overcome the feeble resistance from Democratic senators; ensuring his confirmation to the Supreme Court. Equally astonishing, the administration has coerced both Russia and China into bringing Iran before the United Nations Security Council although (as Mohamed ElBaradei says) “There’s no evidence of a nuclear weapons program.” The surprising capitulation of Russia and China has forced Iran to abandon its efforts for further negotiations; cutting off dialogue that might diffuse the volatile situation.

IRAN: OIL BOURSE

Daily Times: VIEW: Iran’s real crime?

If Iran starts its own euro-denominated oil bourse and it takes off, the US dollar — already an ailing currency due to huge deficits in the US economy — will be marginalised as the global currency. Iran is taking a calculated risk

Iran proposes to set up by March 2006 an “oil/energy bourse” for trading based on the euro, rather than the US dollar. While it may seem innocuous, this represents a grave threat to the continued global hegemony of the United States and as such its ailing economy.

IRAN

Guardian: Iran's message to the west: back off or we retaliate

Iran's foreign minister yesterday threatened immediate retaliation over a move to refer its nuclear weapons activities to the United Nations security council in comments which deepen his country's confrontation with the international community.In an interview with the Guardian - his first with western media - Manouchehr Mottaki accused the US of manufacturing the crisis and insisted there was still time to avoid a collision. But he warned that any military action by the US or Israel against Iran would have "severe consequences" and would be countered "by all means" at Iran's disposal.


AP: Text of IAEA's draft resolution on Iran

The text of the draft resolution on Iran submitted to the 35-nation board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Wednesday, the eve of a key meeting on the nuclear standoff with Tehran

IRAN

Asia Times: Why the West will attack Iran

Iran needs nuclear weapons, I believe, not to attack Israel, but to support imperial expansion by conventional military means.

Iran's oil exports will shrink to zero in 20 years, just at the demographic inflection point when the costs of maintaining an aged population will crush its state finances, as I reported in Demographics and Iran's imperial design (September 13, 2005).

Just outside Iran's present frontiers lie the oil resources of Iraq, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, and not far away are the oil concentrations of eastern Saudi Arabia. Its neighbors are quite as alarmed as Washington about the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran, and privately quite happy for Washington to wipe out this capability.

PROPAGANDA WATCH: IRAN

Asia Times: Covert ops and disinformation aimed at Iran

Recent reports in the Turkish and German media of the US asking the Turkish government to support a possible attack on Iran and alerting allied countries of preparations for such an attack appear to be part of a strategy to pressure the Iranian regime rather than the result of a new policy to strike the country

IRAN: OIL BOURSE

ICH: Beating Around the Bush By the Bourse

Only the uninformed believed Bush when he said it was WMD's that made him attack, invade, occupy and massacre Iraq. Most of us thought it was to steal Iraq's oil, but we were only partly right. What totally terrorized the tyrannical Texan tycoon was when Saddam played the oil bourse card in November, 2000. When Saddam started selling Iraqi oil in euro's, he jeopardized the U.S. dollar's hegemony as the world's supreme foreign exchange transaction currency. If this brilliant idea catches on, it will trigger the total collapse of the USA economy. The oil grab is a sideshow. The main feature is the oil bourse.

OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

Guardian: Hamas will make a deal

If Israel withdraws from the territories it occupied in 1967, the movement will end armed resistance

A so-called expert was asked on the BBC's Arabic service last week what he thought Hamas should do now it is likely to be the government in the Palestinian territories. Hamas would have to change, he said, because the Palestinian people would want a government that recognises Israel, is willing to resume peace negotiations and will be acceptable to the United States.

If this is truly what the Palestinian people want they might as well have settled for Fatah and not elected Hamas. They gave Hamas their trust precisely because it is not what the expert was suggesting: it does not recognise the state of Israel, is not willing to pursue a humiliating peace and is more interested in being accepted by the Palestinians than by the US or anyone else.

The fact that Hamas does not, and will not, recognise the legitimacy of the state of Israel does not mean that Hamas is not capable of negotiating a peace deal that would end the bloodshed. Hamas is prepared to negotiate a settlement based on the concept of a hudnah (truce). As far as Hamas is concerned - and that is the position of the majority of Palestinians inside as well as outside Palestine - Israel has been built on land stolen from the Palestinian people.

The creation of the state was a solution to a European problem and the Palestinians are under no obligation to be the scapegoats for Europe's failure to recognise the Jews as human beings entitled to inalienable rights. Hamas, like all Palestinians, refuses to be made to pay for the criminals who perpetrated the Holocaust.

However, Israel is a reality and that is why Hamas is willing to deal with that reality in a manner that is compatible with its principles.

CURRENCY WAR

ICH: Interview With William R. Clark, Author
"Petrodollar Warfare: Oil, Iraq and the Future of the Dollar"

The notion that Iraq was invaded to prevent the development of weapons of mass destruction, or to combat terrorism, has long been discredited. But a growing consensus believes that Iraq's oil was surely a prime reason for US actions. However, author William Clark argues convincingly in Petrodollar Warfare that the rationale for intervening was not just for control of the oil fields, but also for control of the means by which oil is traded in global markets

IRAN

ICH: Rank Ignorance Reigns by Paul C. Roberts

In keeping with its established role as purveyor of disinformation, Fox "News" talking head Brit Hume misreported Fox’s own poll. On "Special Report" (January 26) Hume said that 51% of Americans "would now support" air strikes on Iran. What the poll found is that if diplomacy fails, 51% would support air strikes.

Can we be optimistic and assume that the American public would not regard an orchestrated failure by the Bush administration as a true diplomatic failure? Alas, we cannot expect too much from a population in thrall to disinformation.

The "evidence" that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons consists of mere assertion by members of the Bush administration and the neoconservative media. Iran says it is not pursuing nuclear weapons, and the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have found no evidence of a weapons program.

ENONOMIC WAR

ICH: Video: Confessions of an Economic Hit ManJohn Perkins

Since world war two we've managed to create history's first truly global empire. This has been done by the corporatocracy, which are a few men and women who run our major corporations and in doing so also run the U.S. government and many other governments around the world.

I've read the Book "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins which is really interesting. I recommend it.
You can Buy it here: Amazon

IRAN

Energie Bulletin: Petrodollar Warfare: Dollars, Euros and the Upcoming Iranian Oil Bourse

“This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous...Having said that, all options are on the table.”
– President George W. Bush, February

2005Contemporary warfare has traditionally involved underlying conflicts regarding economics and resources. Today these intertwined conflicts also involve international currencies, and thus increased complexity. Current geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran extend beyond the publicly stated concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear intentions, and likely include a proposed Iranian “petroeuro” system for oil trade.

OCCUPIED TERRITORIES: HAMAS WINS

Independent: Hamas scores stunning win - but what happens now?

The militant Islamic faction Hamas sent shock waves through Israel, Western capitals and its own ranks yesterday by sweeping to an overall parliamentary majority, making it the pivotal force in Palestinian politics.
Securing 76 of the 132 seats in the parliament whose existence it opposed for almost a decade, Hamas's unexpectedly overwhelming victory challenged almost every assumption about the Middle East and plunged the Israel-Palestinian conflict into another period of unpredictability.


Guardian: Hamas shock victory poses new Middle East challenge

Hamas won a crushing victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections as results yesterday showed it had swept away Fatah's 40-year monopoly of power, presenting a challenge to western policy towards "terrorist organisations".


Guardian: After the Hamas earthquake

Democrats will rightly applaud the 78% turnout in Wednesday's elections to the Palestinian parliament, which were remarkably fair, free and peaceful

The only problem is the result: preliminary figures show a stunning victory for the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, long shunned as a terrorist organisation not only by Israel but also by the US, Europe and Russia.


NY Times: Hamas Routs Ruling Faction, Casting Pall on Peace Process

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 26 — The radical Islamic party Hamas scored an overwhelming victory in Wednesday's Palestinian legislative elections, taking 76 out of 132 seats, deposing the former governing Fatah party, which won only 43 seats.

Haaretz: Olmert: Israel, world will ignore Hamas-led gov't

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Thursday evening that a Palestinian Authority led by Hamas is "not a partner" in peace."If a government led by Hamas or in which Hamas is a coalition partner is established, the Palestinian Authority will be turned into an authority that supports terror. Israel and the world will ignore it and make it irrelevant," Olmert said.

IRAN

'However, I don't believe nontransparent regimes that threaten the security of the world should be allowed to gain the technologies necessary to make a weapon. And the Iranians have said, 'We want a weapon'.'
George W. Bush - Quote taken from Reuters

Does anybody have an idea where he heard the Iranians say that they want to build a Nuclear Weapon? I do not and i think that would be frontpage news.

IRAN: ROAD TO WAR

Reuters: Iran scorns EU trio's draft nuclear resolution

European powers began circulating a draft resolution on Wednesday that asks the U.N. nuclear watchdog to report Iran to the Security Council, drawing a scornful response from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.


Reuters: China, Russia would fight Iran oil sanctions: experts

U.N. Security Council heavyweights China and Russia have too much riding on Iran's energy sector to let the West slap sanctions on Tehran to punish its nuclear ambitions, experts say.


Mosnews: Moscow Will Not Follow West’s Cue on Iran

Moscow has signaled a change in its stance toward Tehran. In recent days, officials including Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov have indicated they would not block a Security Council referral, although they would likely still oppose sanctions

Guardian: The west has picked a fight with Iran that it cannot win

Iran is a serious country, not another two-bit post-imperial rogue waiting to be slapped about the head by a white man. It is the fourth largest oil producer in the world. Its population is heading towards 80 million by 2010. Its capital, Tehran, is a mighty metropolis half as big again as London.


ICH: Avoiding a War with Iran

The toppling of Iran’s theocratic regime would consolidate dwindling resources under the stars and stripes and guarantee continued supremacy of US financial institutions, American energy giants, and the faltering greenback. Additionally, it would defang a potential rival to an emergent Israel, which sees itself as the prevailing power in the region.

USA: GOODBYE CONSTITUTION

Truth Out: US Constitution in Grave Danger By Albert Gore Jr.

Congressman Barr and I have disagreed many times over the years, but we have joined together today with thousands of our fellow citizens - Democrats and Republicans alike - to express our shared concern that America's Constitution is in grave danger.

In spite of our differences over ideology and politics, we are in strong agreement that the American values we hold most dear have been placed at serious risk by the unprecedented claims of the Administration to a truly breathtaking expansion of executive power.

As we begin this new year, the Executive Branch of our government has been caught eavesdropping on huge numbers of American citizens and has brazenly declared that it has the unilateral right to continue without regard to the established law enacted by Congress to prevent such abuses.

It is imperative that respect for the rule of law be restored.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Knight Ridder: America's Weather WentWild In 2005

Get Ready For 2006

WASHINGTON - It's not just your imagination. America's weather went wild this year.

It began with a record downpour in the Nevada desert and record warmth in Alaska, and it's ending with floods in California and wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma that have killed four people and consumed 37,795 acres.

Along the way, at least 214 climate records were smashed or tied, thanks to a slew of hurricanes, 21 straight days of 100-degree-plus temperatures in Fresno, Calif., and wildfires that have burned 8.64 million acres, nearly a quarter-million more than the previous record, set in 2000.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Independent: Environment In Crisis - 'We Are Past The Point Of No Return'

Thirty years ago, the scientist James Lovelock worked out that the Earth possessed a planetary-scale control system which kept the environment fit for life. He called it Gaia, and the theory has become widely accepted. Now, he believes mankind's abuse of the environment is making that mechanism work against us. His astonishing conclusion - that climate change is already insoluble, and life on Earth will never be the same again.

The world has already passed the point of no return for climate change, and civilisation as we know it is now unlikely to survive, according to James Lovelock, the scientist and green guru who conceived the idea of Gaia - the Earth which keeps itself fit for life.

CHOMSKY

AlterNet: Chomsky: 'There Is No War On Terror'

The acclaimed critic of U.S. foreign policy analyzes Bush's current political troubles, the war on Iraq, and what's really behind the global 'war on terror.

IRAN

Hamilton Spectater: No need to panic over Iranian nukes

When the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed last Tuesday that Iran had broken the seals on its nuclear research facility at Natanz, many people reacted as if the very next step was the testing of an Iranian nuclear weapon.In the ensuing media panic, we were repeatedly reminded that Iran's radical new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared just months ago that Israel should be "wiped off the map." How could such a lethally dangerous regime be allowed to proceed with its nuclear plans?


ICH: More Lies about Iran

There’s been a lot of rubbish written about Iran’s “removing the seals” from its uranium enrichment equipment. The fear-mongering western media have exploited the expression for all its worth. Even those who are normally skeptical of the Bush-propaganda machine are taken aback by this ominous-sounding phrase. What gibberish! How else does one make nuclear fuel for electric power plants if the fuel-producing mechanism is under lock and key? The fear-engendering description provided in the news would have the reader believe that “diabolical” Iranians are ripping off the seals with crowbars so they can quickly assemble their secret nuclear stockpile to bomb Tel Aviv. This is the worse type of demagoguery.

RUSSIA

Times of India: Russia's SS-27 Makes Bush's Missile Defense A Fantasy

On November 2, a rather staid little story appeared on a ticker powered by Itar-Tass, a Russian News Agency. The tone was decidedly Russian-matter-of-fact and shorn of all hyperbole. It reported the test launch of a ballistic missile called the Topol RS 12 at 8:10 pm Moscow time. After taking off from the Kapustny Yar test range in the Astrakhan region, it hit the intended target at Balkhash in Kazakhstan at 8:34-24 minutes later.

For anything to travel from Kapustny to Balkash in 24 minutes, it had to fly at a speed of three miles a second. That's 180 miles a minute or 10,800 miles an hour.

SHARON

LA Times: The whitewashing of Ariel Sharon

AS ARIEL SHARON'S career comes to an end, the whitewashing is already underway. Literally overnight he was being hailed as "a man of courage and peace" who had generated "hopes for a far-reaching accord" with an electoral campaign promising "to end conflict with the Palestinians."

But even if end-of-career assessments often stretch the truth, and even if far too many people fall for the old saw about the gruff old warrior miraculously turning into a man of peace, the reality is that miracles don't happen, and only rarely have words and realities been separated by such a yawning abyss.

USA: ABRAMOFF

Juan Cole: Abramoff and al-Arian: Lobbyist's "Charity" a Front for Terrorism

The guilty plea of fabulously wealthy and highly corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff raised the question of whether he would roll over on congressmen involved in illegal fundraising and other crimes with him. Some twenty Republicans on Capitol Hill are said to be in danger.

Abramoff's dense network of illicit finances and phony charities might end some political careers in the United States. But the investigation into his activities by the FBI also shed light on the ways in which rightwing American Jews have often been involved in funding what are essentially terrorist activities by armed land thieves in Palestinian territory.

SECRET CIA PRISONS IN EUROPE

Sonntagsblick: US-Folter-Camps: Der Beweis! (German)

Swissinfo: Swiss may have known about secret CIA prisons

he Swiss intelligence community has allegedly been aware of secret CIA prisons in eastern Europe for nearly two months according to leaked documents.

The intelligence services refuse to comment on the affair, revealed by the Sonntagsblick tabloid, while Swiss senator Dick Marty who is investigating the prison claims for the Council of Europe, remains cautious.

The Sonntagsblick based its story on a document leaked from the Swiss military intelligence. The complete contents of the report are classified "secret."

Defence ministry Jean-Blaise Defago told swissinfo the authorities did not know how the journalists got hold of the document, but refused to comment on its contents. He added that defence minister Samuel Schmid has ordered an inquiry and legal steps were being considered.

SHARON

Independent: Ariel Sharon by Robert Fisk

Israel's Prime Minister was a ruthless military commander responsible for one of the most shocking war crimes of the 20th century, argues Robert Fisk. President George Bush acclaims Ariel Sharon as 'a man of peace', yet the blood that was shed at Sabra and Chatila remains a stain on the conscience of the Zionist nation. As Sharon lies stricken in his hospital bed, his political career over, how will history judge him?

IRAN/ISRAEL

Truthout: Axis of Fanatics: Netanyahu and Ahmadinejad

With Ariel Sharon out of the picture, Benjamin Netanyahu has a better chance to become prime minister of Israel.

He's media savvy. He knows how to spin on American television. And he's very dangerous.

CURRENCY WAR: IRAN

Muckracker Report: The Approaching War with Iran

January 4, 2006 – On November 10th 2005, the Muckraker Report published an article that described one of the unspoken reasons why the United States had to invade Iraq; to liberate the U.S. dollar in Iraq so that Iraqi oil could once again be purchased with the petrodollar. See The liberation of the U.S. Dollar in Iraq

In November 2000, Iraq stopped accepting U.S. dollars for their oil. Counted as a purely political move, Saddam Hussein switched the currency required to purchase Iraqi oil to the euro. Selling oil through the U.N. Oil for Food Program, Iraq converted all of its U.S. dollars in its U.N. account to the euro. Shortly thereafter, Iraq converted $10 billion in their U.N. reserve fund to the euro. By the end of 2000, Iraq had abandoned the U.S. dollar completely.

Two months after the United States invaded Iraq, the Oil for Food Program was ended, the country’s accounts were switch back to dollars, and oil began to be sold once again for U.S. dollars. No longer could the world buy oil from Iraq with the euro. Universal global dollar supremacy was restored. It is interesting to note that the latest recession that the United States endured began and ended within the same timeframe as when Iraq was trading oil for euros. Whether this is a coincidence or related, the American people may never know.

In March 2006, Iran will take Iraq’s switch to the petroeuro to new heights by launching a third oil exchange. The Iranians have developed a petroeuro system for oil trade, which when enacted, will once again threaten U.S. dollar supremacy far greater than Iraq’s euro conversion. Called the Iran Oil Bourse, an exchange that only accepts the euro for oil sales would mean that the entire world could begin purchasing oil from any oil-producing nation with euros instead of dollars. The Iranian plan isn’t limited to purchasing one oil-producing country’s oil with euros. Their plan will create a global alternative to the U.S. dollar. Come March 2006, the Iran Oil Bourse will further the momentum of OPEC to create an alternate currency for oil purchases worldwide. China, Russia, and the European Union are evaluating the Iranian plan to exchange oil for euros, and giving the plan serious consideration.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Who controls the Food supply controls the People;
Who controls the Energy can control whole Continents;
Who controls Money can control the World"

-Henry Kissinger

FREEDOM

ICH: The Quiet Death of Freedom by John Pilger

Bush has carried out the recommendations of a Messianic conspiracy theory called the "Project for a New American Century". Written by his ideological sponsors shortly before he came to power, it foresaw his administration as a military dictatorship behind a democratic façade: "the cavalry on a new American frontier" guided by a blend of paranoia and megalomania

SHARON: DEATH?

Israel Insider: CONFIRMED: PM ARIEL SHARON IS (AT LEAST CLINICALLY) DEAD

Reliable sources indicate to Israel Insider that PM Ariel Sharon died at 11 am. Israeli media channels still report his condition is "very grave." Director of Hadassah Hospital Shlomo Mor-Yosef officially denies "rumors" of death and says Sharon's condition is "serious but stable." Channel 10 reports those closest to Sharon as saying he has suffered "brain damage." A likely explanation to reconcile the two reports is that Sharon has suffered brain death -- the lack of cerebral activity -- but that his heart continues beating, while he remains anesthetized and respirated.

SHARON

Haaretz: Sharon still in grave condition but vital signs 'in order' after surgery

Ariel Sharon emerged from hours of surgery Thursday morning with vital signs showing proper levels, but the prime minister's condition remained grave, said Professor Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem. Neurosurgeons had fought to stabilize Sharon's condition and stop new bleeding detected in his brain Thursday morning, more than eight hours after the prime minister was rushed into emergency surgery having suffered a "far-reaching" stroke and a massive brain hemorrhage.

Haaretz: Sharon's illness draws mixed response in Arab world

Pan-Arab satellite television broadcasters beamed out largely straightforward, nonstop live coverage early Thursday from outside the Jerusalem hospital where Prime Minister Ariel Sharon struggled for his life.While the Palestinian militant groups expressed satisfaction at Sharon's declining health, some Arab commentators praised him for last summer's disengagement from Gaza.

Officials from the Palestinian Authority voiced concern for the future of the peace process in Sharon's possible absence. "On a purely humanitarian level we feel sorry for Mr Sharon," said Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Shaath.

AP: Israeli Leader Suffers 'Significant' Stroke

Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke Wednesday and was on a respirator after falling ill at his ranch. Doctors operated to drain excess blood from his brain.

Powers were transferred to his deputy, Vice Premier Ehud Olmert.

IRAN

UPI: German media: U.S. prepares Iran strike

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The Bush administration is preparing its NATO allies for a possible military strike against suspected nuclear sites in Iran in the New Year, according to German media reports, reinforcing similar earlier suggestions in the Turkish media.
The Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel this week quoted "NATO intelligence sources" who claimed that the NATO allies had been informed that the United States is currently investigating all possibilities of bringing the mullah-led regime into line, including military options. This "all options are open" line has been President George W Bush's publicly stated policy throughout the past 18 months.

IRAN

Wayne Madsen: Intelligence Indications And Warnings Abound On Bush Iran Military Strike

Intelligence and military sources in the United States and abroad are reporting on various factors that indicate a U.S. military hit on Iranian nuclear and military installations, that may involve tactical nuclear weapons, is in the final stages of preparation.

IRAQ

Knight Ridder: Kurds In Iraqi Army Proclaim Loyalty To Militia

Iraq - Kurdish leaders have inserted more than 10,000 of their militia members into Iraqi army divisions in northern Iraq to lay the groundwork to swarm south, seize the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and possibly half of Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, and secure the borders of an independent Kurdistan.

Five days of interviews with Kurdish leaders and troops in the region suggest that U.S. plans to bring unity to Iraq before withdrawing American troops by training and equipping a national army aren't gaining traction. Instead, some troops that are formally under U.S. and Iraqi national command are preparing to protect territory and ethnic and religious interests in the event of Iraq's fragmentation, which many of them think is inevitable.

PROPAGANDA WATCH

Washington Post: IRAQ INFORMATION OPERATIONS INCREASE

The military has paid money to try to place favorable coverage on
television stations in three Iraqi cities."
The military gave one station "about $35,000 in equipment," is "building a new facility for $300,000," and pays $1000 to $2400 a month "for a weekly program that focuses positively on U.S. efforts."

An Army National Guard commander confirmed his officers "suggest" stories for the weekly program and review it, before it is aired. The payments are not disclosed to viewers. At least two bloggers have been embedded with U.S. military units; Michael Yon with the Army in Mosul and Bill Roggio (who was credentialed by the American Enterprise Institute)
with the Marines in Anbar province.

PR WATCH

Wallstreet Journal: A CANCER RISK CONVENIENTLY LOST IN TRANSLATION

A groundbreaking public health study by Chinese doctor Zhang
JianDong in 1987 was used by U.S. regulatory agencies "as evidence
that a form of" the chemical chromium "might cause cancer."

Tenyears later, "a 'clarification and further analysis' published under
his name in a U.S. medical journal said there was no cancer link to
chromium."

But "Dr. Zhang didn't write the clarification" - it was
"conceived, drafted, edited and submitted to medical journals by"
ChemRisk, a firm hired by PG&E, "a utility company being sued for
alleged chromium pollution" by California residents. ChemRisk was
previously paid $7 million to help "save industry hundreds of
millions of dollars in cleanup costs for chromium pollution in New
Jersey."

ChemRisk claims Dr. Zhang signed off on the
"clarification," but records show the final version was not
translated into Chinese for his review. Dr. Zhang died in 1999, but
his son said, "It's impossible that he would have overthrown" his
earlier work linking chromium and cancer.

PROPGANDA WATCH

Businessweek: FAKE OP/EDS: THINK TANKS AND PIGGY BANKS

Two opinion columnists and fellows at conservative think tanks have
admitted to taking money from indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff to
write favorable columns about his clients. The Cato Institute's Doug
Bandow, who had a syndicated column with Copley News Service,
"accepted money from Abramoff for writing between 12 and 24 articles
over a period of years, beginning in the mid '90s." Bandow resigned
from Cato, and his column has been suspended. The Institute for
Policy Innovation's Peter Ferrara also wrote "pay for play" columns
for Abramoff, but, unlike Bandow, he isn't remorseful. "I've done it
in the past, and I'll do it in the future," Ferrara said. Ferrara's
boss also says the arrangement isn't "wrong or unethical." None of
the columns contained any disclosure. BusinessWeek noted that the
columns "provided a seemingly independent validation of the
arguments the Abramoff team were using to try to sway Congressional
action."

PROPAGANDA WATCH

LA Times: CUTOUTS SPEAK OUT

"U.S. military officials in Iraq were fully aware that a Pentagon
contractor regularly paid Iraqi newspapers to publish positive
stories about the war, and made it clear that none of the stories
should be traced to the United States, according to several current
and former employees of Lincoln Group," report Mark Mazzetti and
Kevin Sack. Military officials have claimed that they didn't know
what the Lincoln Group was up to, but leaked documents and company
employees say otherwise. "In clandestine parlance, Lincoln Group was
a 'cutout' - a third party - that would provide the military with
plausible deniability," said a former Lincoln Group employee. "To
attribute products to [the military] would defeat the entire
purpose. Hence, no product by Lincoln Group ever said 'Made in the
U.S.A.'" Another employee said that Lincoln's $20 million, two-month
contract in Iraq had them doing work that was largely ineffective.
"It's a total waste of money," said another former Lincoln employee.
"Every Iraqi can read right through it."

IRAQ: ELECTION FRAUD?

Guardian: Rise in poll complaints troubles Iraq vote monitors

Suspected polling violations on voting day last week far exceeded the number in Iraq's first election in January, local and international monitors said yesterday.

On the deadline for filing complaints, the number of alleged violations which could swing results in the 275-seat parliament was "well into double figures", an accredited international election observer, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

In January there were only five of these "red" complaints, the observer added. Red complaints are alleged breaches serious enough to potentially hand a seat to a party or election bloc unfairly. The election commission has declined to say how many such complaints it has received, but several parties handed in dossiers listing breaches allegedly seen by their monitors.

ISRAEL

Reuters: Sharon recovering after minor stroke

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's condition improved on Monday after he was hospitalised overnight for a minor stroke that raised questions about how long he could dominate Israeli politics.

The hefty 77-year-old former general, battling for re-election after pulling Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and remaking Israel's political landscape, was rushed to hospital on Sunday and stayed overnight for tests.

"I am fine. I guess I should have taken a few days off," Sharon told Israeli media overnight after his stroke. "There are people who are already interested in a replacement? Well, maybe it's too soon. I'm still here, no?"

IRAQ: ELECTIONS

Juan Cole: High Turnout Expected as Iraqis go to Polls

The guerrillas got off some mortars as voting began Thursday in Iraq, one striking the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad where the government offices are. A mortar was also fired in Mosul at a polling station but appears to have missed. A huge bomb was found and disarmed in Fallujah. On the Jan. 30 elections there were numerous attacks that left dozens wounded or dead, but they did not deter a big turnout.

From all accounts,the voter turnout is likely to be good, given that more Sunni Arabs are going to the polls this time than last. Still, a lot of polling stations could not open in Anbar Province, a severe problem for the legitimacy of the voting outcome. (Aboveboard elections of a sort that can be internationally certified require that security permit people throughout the country to vote if they want to.)

IRAQ WAR

Reuters: Bush defends Iraq invasion, preemptive war doctrine

WASHINGTON (AFP) - One day before Iraq's historic parliamentary elections, US President George W. Bush defended his decision to invade that country and reserved the right to preemptive war in the future.

"In an age of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, if we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long," he said in a speech aimed at shoring up flagging US support for the conflict.

VIDEO: KIDNAP AND TORTURE

UK-Channel4: Kidnap and Torture American Style

Kidnap and Torture American Style follows the stories of terror suspects. Some of them are British residents, who have been snatched from streets and airports throughout the world before being flown to the Middle-East and Africa. In countries such as Syria and Egypt, they undergo agonising ordeals before being incarcerated, without ever facing an open trial.

Testimonies from those suspects allege that Britain has a key role in these shady operations from supplying intelligence information on which interrogations are based, to ordering their arrest and detention.

ONLINE VIDEO

TERROR

Independent: Enemies of the state? Police fail even to question men held as a terror threat

Suspected of plotting terror, a group of men have been held for four years but never charged. Now, in their first testimonies, they reveal the authorities have not even questioned them since their arrests

PR WATCH

Paulgraham.com: The Submarine

"One of the most surprising things I discovered during my brief
business career was the existence of the PR industry, lurking like a
huge, quiet submarine beneath the news," writes computer programmer
and author Paul Graham. Graham discusses how to detect PR-generated
"buzz." For example, a spate of stories - in the New York Times,
Boston Globe, and U.S. News & World Report, among others - declared
that men's business suits are making a fashion comeback. "If you
search for the obvious phrases, you turn up several efforts over the
years to place stories about the return of the suit," Graham says.
"Trend articles like this are almost always the work of PR firms.
Once you know how to read them, it's straightforward to figure out
who the client is. With trend stories, PR firms usually line up one
or more 'experts' to talk about the industry. ... When you get to
the end of the experts, look for the client. And bingo, there it is:
The Men's Wearhouse."

PROPAGANDA WATCH

USA Today: Pentagon rolls out stealth PR

A $300 million Pentagon psychological warfare operation includes plans for placing pro-American messages in foreign media outlets without disclosing the U.S. government as the source, one of the military officials in charge of the program says.

IRAN: AHMADINEJAD

Asia Times: A dust storm over the Holocaust

An entire panorama of issues unexpectedly comes into view in the international reaction to recent remarks by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, implying that European powers should have salved their historical sense of guilt, if any, over their persecution of Jews by sanctioning a homeland for them on European soil itself.

What is most striking is that the hue and cry of the "international community" has been mainly restricted to the Christian world (European and Slavic), apart from Israel, of course.

In the Muslim world itself, there was a deafening silence.

CURRENCY WAR

Themarkettraders.com: The Meridian Report

A Global Perspective on Energy

We are about to see a radical new type of weapon unveiled on the global stage. This weapon will not rely on explosive technology or flying aircraft. This weapon will not kill enemy troops. This weapon will not see one army invading the territory of another. No, instead this weapon will simply rely on supply and demand, the basic concepts that underpin Economics 101. This new weapon will be a financial weapon. In fact this weapon will be so powerful it will be able to inflict serious harm on the financial stability of an entire adversarial nation. This weapon is the BOURSE. That’s right – the BOURSE. The dictionary defines BOURSE as follows:

TOOKIE

AP: Tookie Williams Executed By Lethal Injection

Crips co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams was executed Tuesday for four 1979 murders after appeals courts refused to reopen his case and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected the notion he had found redemption on death row.

Williams, 51, died around 12:35 a.m. by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison, as supporters and death penalty foes rallied outside the gates of the prison during the state's highest-profile execution in a generation.

CORPORATE WATCH

Independent: Glaxo Chief - 'Our Drugs Do Not Work On Most Patients'

A senior executive with Britain's biggest drugs company has admitted that most prescription medicines do not work on most people who take them.

Allen Roses, worldwide vice-president of genetics at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), said fewer than half of the patients prescribed some of the most expensive drugs actually derived any benefit from them.

It is an open secret within the drugs industry that most of its products are ineffective in most patients but this is the first time that such a senior drugs boss has gone public. His comments come days after it emerged that the NHS drugs bill has soared by nearly 50 per cent in three years, rising by £2.3bn a year to an annual cost to the taxpayer of £7.2bn. GSK announced last week that it had 20 or more new drugs under development that could each earn the company up to $1bn (£600m) a year.

PENTAGON SPYING ON US

MSNBC: Is the Pentagon spying on Americans?

Secret database obtained by NBC News tracks ‘suspicious’ domestic groups

WASHINGTON - A year ago, at a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Fla., a small group of activists met to plan a protest of military recruiting at local high schools. What they didn't know was that their meeting had come to the attention of the U.S. military.
A secret 400-page Defense Department document obtained by NBC News lists the Lake Worth meeting as a “threat” and one of more than 1,500 “suspicious incidents” across the country over a recent 10-month period.

BUSH

Capitolhill Blue: Bush - Constitution 'Just A GoddamnedPiece Of Paper'

I don't give a goddamn," Bush retorted. "I'm the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way."

"Mr. President," one aide in the meeting said. "There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution."

"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face," Bush screamed back. "It's just a goddamned piece of paper!"

I've talked to three people present for the meeting that day and they all confirm that the President of the United States called the Constitution "a goddamned piece of paper."

EXXON AGAINST HUMANITY

Independent: How America plotted to stop Kyoto deal

A detailed and disturbing strategy document has revealed an extraordinary American plan to destroy Europe's support for the Kyoto treaty on climate change.

The ambitious, behind-the-scenes plan was passed to The Independent this week, just as 189 countries are painfully trying to agree the second stage of Kyoto at the UN climate conference in Montreal. It was pitched to companies such as Ford Europe, Lufthansa and the German utility giant RWE.

Put together by a lobbyist who is a senior official at a group partly funded by ExxonMobil, the world's biggest oil company and a fierce opponent of anti-global warming measures, the plan seeks to draw together major international companies, academics, think-tanks, commentators, journalists and lobbyists from across Europe into a powerful grouping to destroy further EU support for the treaty.

USA: TORTURE

Mosow Times: Sacred Terror by Chris Floyd


The much-belated, poll-prompted outcry of a few U.S. elected officials against the widespread use of torture by the Bush administration -- following years of silent acquiescence in the face of incontrovertible evidence of deliberate atrocity -- is a welcome development, of course. But it has left an even more sinister aspect of Bushist policy untouched, one that likewise has been hidden in plain sight for years.

On Sept. 17, 2001, President George W. Bush signed an executive order authorizing the use of "lethal measures" against anyone in the world whom he or his minions designated an "enemy combatant." This order remains in force today. No judicial evidence, no hearing, no charges are required for these killings; no law, no border, no oversight restrains them. Bush has also given agents in the field carte blanche to designate "enemies" on their own initiative and kill them as they see fit.

ETH Zürich/ISN:Iraqi oil industry in crisis

Iraqi oil exports fell to their lowest level in two years in November 2005. Bad management of the reconstruction effort, widespread corruption among government figures, and sabotage by insurgents are the reasons for the decline. Experts say that the US strategy of military intervention in oil-rich regions can only diminish, rather than increase, the supply to world markets.

MEDIA WATCH

ICH: Keepers at the Gate by Manuel Venezuela

He Who Controls Television Controls the Masses

In this age of modernity and technology, where the television monitor has become the center of the average American household, from cradle to grave acting as surrogate parent, teacher, role model and as influencer of human thought, it should come as no surprise that entire populations can be controlled with such facility and efficiency, turning once thinking humans into grazing sheeple. For in today’s day and age, he who controls television controls the masses, and he who controls the masses controls the nation.

HAROLD PINTER

ICH: An Act of "Blatant state terrorism" By Harold Pinter

Video and text of his Nobel Prize acceptance speech

The 2,000 American dead are an embarrassment. They are transported to their graves in the dark. Funerals are unobtrusive, out of harm's way. The mutilated rot in their beds, some for the rest of their lives. So the dead and the mutilated both rot, in different kinds of graves

IRAN

Asia Times: Iran's strength in weakness

Once upon a time, an ex-soldier with no credentials but his belief in his own destiny joined a fanatic movement. Against all odds, he won an election, purged his opponents, and outfoxed the powers that surrounded his country. Western elites have not yet accepted that an Austrian corporal bested them, preferring to regard the events of 1933-1945 as an inexplicable aberration. What will they make of the blacksmith's son and Revolutionary Guard bully-boy Mahmud Ahmedinejad of Iran?

"a must read"

MEDIA WATCH

Asia Times: Media wars: Weapons of choice

With the Pentagon planting "good news" stories in the Iraqi media, and al-Qaeda launching a sophisticated CD, the adversaries share a keen desire to communicate their messages other than through the barrel of a gun.

The battle to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world has clearly entered a new phase.

USA: WAR CRIMES

Asia Times: War crimes made easy

How has the Bush administration gotten away with such apparently illegal acts as hiding intelligence reports from Congress, creating secret prisons, establishing death squads, kidnapping people and spiriting them across national borders, and planning unprovoked wars? Part of the answer lies in the administration's deliberate effort, initiated even before September 11, 2001, to tear down any existing legal and institutional means for preventing, exposing or punishing violations of national and international law by American officials.

IRAN

WorldTribune: US Army Report - Israel Can't Stop Iran Nukes

Geopolitical limitations render Israel's air force militarily incapable of halting Iran's nuclear weapons program according to a new report published the by U.S. Army War College.

The report asserts Israel lacks the military capability to locate and destroy Iranian nuclear assets. The report said the Israel Air Force cannot operate at such long distances from its bases.

"The Israeli Air Force has formidable capabilities and enjoys unchallenged supremacy vis-à-vis the other Middle East air powers, but Israel has no aircraft carriers and it cannot use airbases in other Middle East states," the report entitled "Getting Ready for a Nuclear-Ready Iran," said. "Therefore its operational capabilities are reduced when the targets are located far from its territory."

9/11

Team 8: Animation Showing Military Precision of 911 Flight Paths

VENEZUELA

AP: Venezuela: Oil Pipeline Blown Up By Foes

An explosion that damaged an oil pipeline supplying Venezuela's largest refinery was caused by government foes attempting to disrupt congressional elections, officials said.

The state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., said Monday that the blast on Saturday night had not forced any reduction in output because the refinery has enough crude on hand to continue operations while the pipeline is being fixed and the oil field has capacity to store pumped crude.

DICK CHENEY

Rense: Yes, Dick, You Are a Liar

Vice President Dick Cheney spent the second half of November ranting against Administration critics who dare accuse him of lying the United States into a disastrous war with Iraq

The Vice President is a man with something to hide. The simple truth is: Cheney did lie, repeatedly, to bludgeon the U.S. Congress into approving an unnecessary and disastrous invasion and occupation of Iraq. According to several eyewitness accounts, Cheney personally lied to scores of members of the U.S. Senate, claiming that the White House had rock-solid proof that Saddam Hussein was close to building a nuclear bomb, and that war was the only option. No such evidence existed-and Cheney knew it.

MEDIA WATCH

LA Times: LINCOLN GROUP BOMBARDS IRAQ WITH FAKE NEWS

Fake news is being used in the Iraq propaganda war, reports the Los
Angeles Time.

"[T]he U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq. The
articles, written by U.S. military 'information operations' troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers. ... The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents and tout U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country. ... Records and interviews indicate that the U.S. has paid Iraqi newspapers to run dozens of such articles, with headlines such as 'Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism,' since the effort began this year. The operation is designed to mask any connection with the U.S. military. The Pentagon has a contract with ... Lincoln Group which helps translate and place the stories. The Lincoln Group's
Iraqi staff, or its subcontractors, sometimes pose as freelance reporters or advertising executives when they deliver the stories to Baghdad media outlets."

MASS MEDIA

Ted Rall: Public Enemy No. 1 ­ The Media!

"The media is the enemy!" This is the title of the introductory narrative of American Free Press.net. AFP offers: "In the old Soviet Union, the government controlled the media. Not a word of substance could be published without prior approval from the Bolshevik commissars. Today, in the United States, the situation is starkly similar. But most Americans don't even know it.

9/11

Rense: Commercial Pilot & Aeronautical Engineer Explains Why Official 911 Story About Pentagon Is Bogus

"Let's look at it plain and simple," said Sagadevan in an extended telephone conference this week from his home near San Diego. "The government wants us to believe that a person who couldn't even solo a small Cessna took over the controls of a Boeing 757 jetliner and performed complicated maneuvers even myself or other experienced pilots could have never performed.

"It's just not going to happen and, from my point of view, is impossible. If this was fabricated by the government so was the rest of the 9/11 story."

EUROPE: ISLAMOPHOBIA

New Statesman: The next holocaust

Islamophobia is not a uniquely British disease: across Europe, liberals openly express prejudice against Muslims. Do new pogroms beckon? Ziauddin Sardar reports from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

USA

Counterpunch: The Revolt of the Generals by Alexander Cockburn

The immense significance of Rep John Murtha's November 17 speech calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq is that it signals mutiny in the US senior officer corps, seeing the institution they lead as "broken, worn out" and "living hand to mouth", to use the biting words of their spokesman, John Murtha, as he reiterated on December his denunciation of Bush's destruction of the Army.

POWER

ICH: On the road to Damascus

Anybody who has read William Engdahl’s excellent book ‘A Century of War – Anglo-American oil politics and the New World Order’ (reviewed here), will not be surprised to learn that the convoluted machinations of those who rule empires, whether past or present, are intrinsic to the workings of the ruling class. History reveals that a mere handful relatively speaking of individuals are able to determine the fate of millions through the economic and political power they wield. The role of the political class that represents the interests of the owners of economic power is to maintain the rule of the owners of capital by making damn sure that opposition is neutralised and/or made to look ridiculous or ultimately ‘removed’. Hence the ‘loony left’, ‘fellow travellers’, ‘dinosaurs’ et al are but a few of the pejoratives the corporate/state-run media use to marginalise the views of those who oppose such power.

USA: CIA

Washington Post: Wrongful Imprisonment: Anatomy of a CIA Mistake

May 2004, the White House dispatched the U.S. ambassador in Germany to pay an unusual visit to that country's interior minister. Ambassador Daniel R. Coats carried instructions from the State Department transmitted via the CIA's Berlin station because they were too sensitive and highly classified for regular diplomatic channels, according to several people with knowledge of the conversation.

Coats informed the German minister that the CIA had wrongfully imprisoned one of its citizens, Khaled Masri, for five months, and would soon release him, the sources said. There was also a request: that the German government not disclose what it had been told even if Masri went public. The U.S. officials feared exposure of a covert action program designed to capture terrorism suspects abroad and transfer them among countries, and possible legal challenges to the CIA from Masri and others with similar allegations.

IRAN

Reuter: Iran buys Russian surface to air missiles: paper

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Iran has signed a deal to buy Russian tactical surface-to-air missile systems, a Russian newspaper reported on Friday.

Iran is to buy 29 TOR-M1 systems, designed to bring down aircraft and guided missiles at low altitudes, said the Vedomosti daily, citing Russian defense sources close the deal.

IRAQ: DAHR JAMAIL DISPATCH

Rense: 'Pacified' Fallujah

Lies cost lives in Iraq.

Remember the reasons given by the US military and puppet interim Iraqi government for Operation Phantom Fury against Fallujah? Just prior to the November, 2004 assault on that city, the primary reasons given for the massacre in Fallujah were: to provide "security and stability" for the upcoming January 30 "elections" and to rid Fallujah of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.

Let us judge the success or failure of this massacre by their own yardstick.

The "security and stability" generated for the elections on January 30, 2005 by the siege of Fallujah looked like roughly 40 dead Iraqi bodies and 200 wounded, on that day alone.

USA: SECRET PRISONS

Guardian: Rice rejects EU protests over secret terror prisons

America does not break international law, Secretary of State insists

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will inflame the transatlantic row over America's alleged torture of terror suspects in secret jails by telling Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and other European officials to 'back off'.

Rice, who arrives in Brussels tomorrow for a meeting with Nato foreign ministers, has been under pressure to respond to claims the US has been using covert prisons in Eastern Europe to interrogate Islamic militants. Human rights groups have alleged the CIA is flying terror suspects to secret jails in planes that have used airports throughout Europe, including Britain.

BIRD FLU

Worldnet Daily: Has feared mutation of avian flu arrived?

Officials in at least two nations now suspect the avian flu bug has mutated into a virus that is being transmitted from human to human – a development world health authorities have estimated could result in the deaths of tens of millions.

Thai health officials have expressed concern that the country's two latest confirmed victims may be the beginning of the much feared human-to-human transmission.

USA: PLAMEGATE

Truthout: Rove Running Out of Answers, Time

The attorney representing Karl Rove in the federal investigation into the leak of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson has made a desperate attempt to ensure President Bush's deputy chief of staff does not become the subject of a criminal indictment.

In doing so, Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, has turned the tables on the media, who ultimately fought a losing battle to protect Rove - their source - who revealed to some reporters Plame Wilson's identity and CIA status.

Now Luskin has fired back, revealing to Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that Viveca Novak - a reporter working for Time magazine who wrote several stories about the Plame case - inadvertently tipped him off last year that her colleague at the magazine would be forced to testify that Rove was his source who told him about Plame Wilson's CIA status, several people close to the case said this week.

The latest twist in the two-year-old investigation has all the elements of a Hollywood thriller. New details in the case seem to emerge on a daily basis. Selective leaks to a small handful of newspapers and cable news stations are aimed at portraying some of the key Bush administration officials involved in the case in a sympathetic light, while casting Fitzgerald as a partisan prosecutor.