Al-Jazeera: Hospital hit as fighting rages in Falluja
Warplanes have bombed a government clinic in the centre of Falluja as US ground forces engaged in pitched battles with fighters defending the city.
Residents said the one-storey Popular Clinic which had been receiving wounded anti-US fighters and civilians was hit overnight as US-led forces pressed into the city.
The residents said on Tuesday it was impossible to reach the clinic because of heavy bombing and US tanks in the area.
The clinic's telephones were no longer working.
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
IRAQ: FALLUJAH RESISTANCE
Reuters: US Chopper Shot Down In Falluja - Witness
A U.S. helicopter was shot down over Falluja on Tuesday as U.S.-led forces were pressing home an offensive on the rebel-held city.
"I saw the helicopter collide with a rocket. It turned into a ball of fire and fell to the ground," said Reuters reporter Fadel al-Badrani. "There was smoke everywhere."
A U.S. helicopter was shot down over Falluja on Tuesday as U.S.-led forces were pressing home an offensive on the rebel-held city.
"I saw the helicopter collide with a rocket. It turned into a ball of fire and fell to the ground," said Reuters reporter Fadel al-Badrani. "There was smoke everywhere."
IRAQ
Rense: American Options In Iraq by William R. Polk
Iraq is in a terrible condition, its society has been torn apart, scores of thousands have been killed and even more wounded, its infrastructure has been shattered, dreadful hatreds have been generated. Today, there are no good options -- only better or worse -- alternatives. Three appear possible:
The first option has been called "staying the course." In practice that means continued fighting. France 'stayed the course' in Algeria in the 1950s as America did in Vietnam in the 1960s and as the Israelis are now doing in occupied Palestine. It has never worked anywhere. In Algeria, the French employed over three times as many troops, nearly half a million, to fight roughly the same number of insurgents as America is now fighting in Iraq. They lost. America had half a million soldiers in Vietnam and gave up. After forty years of warfare against the Palestinians, the Israelis have achieved neither peace nor security.
The author is a former Member of the U.S. State Department's Policy Planning Council, responsible for the Middle East, he was Professor of History at the University of Chicago and Founding-Director of its Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
Iraq is in a terrible condition, its society has been torn apart, scores of thousands have been killed and even more wounded, its infrastructure has been shattered, dreadful hatreds have been generated. Today, there are no good options -- only better or worse -- alternatives. Three appear possible:
The first option has been called "staying the course." In practice that means continued fighting. France 'stayed the course' in Algeria in the 1950s as America did in Vietnam in the 1960s and as the Israelis are now doing in occupied Palestine. It has never worked anywhere. In Algeria, the French employed over three times as many troops, nearly half a million, to fight roughly the same number of insurgents as America is now fighting in Iraq. They lost. America had half a million soldiers in Vietnam and gave up. After forty years of warfare against the Palestinians, the Israelis have achieved neither peace nor security.
The author is a former Member of the U.S. State Department's Policy Planning Council, responsible for the Middle East, he was Professor of History at the University of Chicago and Founding-Director of its Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
Monday, November 08, 2004
USA: THE APOCALYPSE IS COMING
Check: Rapture Ready Index
The Purpose For This Index
The Rapture Index has two functions: one is to factor together a number of related end time components into a cohesive indicator, and the other is to standardize those components to eliminate the wide variance that currently exists with prophecy reporting.
The Rapture Index is by no means meant to predict the rapture, however, the index is designed to measure the type of activity that could act as a precursor to the rapture.
You could say the Rapture index is a Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, but I think it would be better if you viewed it as prophetic speedometer. The higher the number, the faster we're moving towards the occurrence of pre-tribulation rapture.
The Purpose For This Index
The Rapture Index has two functions: one is to factor together a number of related end time components into a cohesive indicator, and the other is to standardize those components to eliminate the wide variance that currently exists with prophecy reporting.
The Rapture Index is by no means meant to predict the rapture, however, the index is designed to measure the type of activity that could act as a precursor to the rapture.
You could say the Rapture index is a Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, but I think it would be better if you viewed it as prophetic speedometer. The higher the number, the faster we're moving towards the occurrence of pre-tribulation rapture.
VENUZELA
Heise: USA finanzieren "demokratische Bestrebungen" nach Intervention und Putsch
Weitere US-Einflussnahmen in Venezuela: Finanzierung und Unterstützung aus dem Norden für die Opposition
Die Strategie der Opposition, die sich in Venezuela selbst wenig Hoffnungen auf eine breite Unterstützung machen kann, zielt darauf Entscheidungen der Regierung als Willkür einer Diktatur zu präsentieren und durch Rücktritte, die Behinderung verwaltungstechnischer Vorgänge und das Anstacheln von gewalttätigen Zusammenstößen auf den Straßen, ein Bild weitgehender Instabilität und Unregierbarkeit zu präsentieren, um so den internationalen Druck auf Venezuela zu erhöhen. Die führenden Sektoren der Opposition hoffen dadurch einen erneuten Militärputsch oder eine US-Intervention zu hervorzurufen. Dafür demonstrierten sie auch vor der US-Botschaft in Caracas mit Schildern wie "1. Hussein; 2. Aristide; 3. Chávez".
Weitere US-Einflussnahmen in Venezuela: Finanzierung und Unterstützung aus dem Norden für die Opposition
Die Strategie der Opposition, die sich in Venezuela selbst wenig Hoffnungen auf eine breite Unterstützung machen kann, zielt darauf Entscheidungen der Regierung als Willkür einer Diktatur zu präsentieren und durch Rücktritte, die Behinderung verwaltungstechnischer Vorgänge und das Anstacheln von gewalttätigen Zusammenstößen auf den Straßen, ein Bild weitgehender Instabilität und Unregierbarkeit zu präsentieren, um so den internationalen Druck auf Venezuela zu erhöhen. Die führenden Sektoren der Opposition hoffen dadurch einen erneuten Militärputsch oder eine US-Intervention zu hervorzurufen. Dafür demonstrierten sie auch vor der US-Botschaft in Caracas mit Schildern wie "1. Hussein; 2. Aristide; 3. Chávez".
IRAQ: FALLUJAH WAR CRIMES
Al Jazeera: Battle of Falluja under way
Fierce fighting is raging in Falluja after interim PM Iyad Allawi gave US-led forces the go-ahead for a full-scale attack on the besieged Iraqi city
Allawi: "I gave my authority to the multinational forces, Iraqi forces. We are determined to clean Falluja from the terrorists."
"Puppet Allawi doesn't hold any authority"
Iraqi special forces stormed the hospital at about 2am (2300 GMT Sunday) without firing a shot, blindfolding and dragging people into halls and kicking down doors.
All the hospital staff and doctors have been arrested," said a doctor at the hospital Dr Ahmad Ghanim.
"We are now in a very small and poorly-equipped alternative clinic. We are only 4-5 doctors with 5 assistants. " Ghanim said.
The doctor added that US forces had grounded all ambulances and fired on and disabled the hospital's only car. Doctors were also running short of medicines.
The hospital director said earlier that the facility was surrounded. "They are telling us over loud speakers that if we leave the building we will be shot at," Dr Salih al-Isawi said, adding that an ambulance that tried to exit the facility was fired upon.
"It seems that the americans went to the israeli warcrime school"
Fierce fighting is raging in Falluja after interim PM Iyad Allawi gave US-led forces the go-ahead for a full-scale attack on the besieged Iraqi city
Allawi: "I gave my authority to the multinational forces, Iraqi forces. We are determined to clean Falluja from the terrorists."
"Puppet Allawi doesn't hold any authority"
Iraqi special forces stormed the hospital at about 2am (2300 GMT Sunday) without firing a shot, blindfolding and dragging people into halls and kicking down doors.
All the hospital staff and doctors have been arrested," said a doctor at the hospital Dr Ahmad Ghanim.
"We are now in a very small and poorly-equipped alternative clinic. We are only 4-5 doctors with 5 assistants. " Ghanim said.
The doctor added that US forces had grounded all ambulances and fired on and disabled the hospital's only car. Doctors were also running short of medicines.
The hospital director said earlier that the facility was surrounded. "They are telling us over loud speakers that if we leave the building we will be shot at," Dr Salih al-Isawi said, adding that an ambulance that tried to exit the facility was fired upon.
"It seems that the americans went to the israeli warcrime school"
IRAQ: FALLUJAH WAR CRIMES
BBC: US strikes raze Falluja hospital
A hospital has been razed to the ground in one of the heaviest US air raids in the Iraqi city of Falluja
A hospital has been razed to the ground in one of the heaviest US air raids in the Iraqi city of Falluja
MIDDLE EAST: ARAFAT POISONED?
Jerusalem Post: Aide alleges Israel poisoned Arafat
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat was poisoned by Israel, one of his advisers said Sunday.
The option is being seriously considered by the PA, which has sent blood samples to the US and Germany to confirm or rule out the option, he said.
Arafat suffers symptoms similar to those of former PFLP military leader Wadi'a Hadad, he said.
Hadad was poisoned in the late 1970s by a close aide who was allegedly recruited by the Mossad, the adviser said, although the official reason for his death was cancer.
"It took Hadad eight weeks to die... he also entered a coma", he said, "Unless they find an antidote, Arafat will die," he added.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat was poisoned by Israel, one of his advisers said Sunday.
The option is being seriously considered by the PA, which has sent blood samples to the US and Germany to confirm or rule out the option, he said.
Arafat suffers symptoms similar to those of former PFLP military leader Wadi'a Hadad, he said.
Hadad was poisoned in the late 1970s by a close aide who was allegedly recruited by the Mossad, the adviser said, although the official reason for his death was cancer.
"It took Hadad eight weeks to die... he also entered a coma", he said, "Unless they find an antidote, Arafat will die," he added.
IRAQ: FALLUJAH
Observer: Remaining Falluja Residents Face Extreme Danger US Troops To Regard All As 'Potential Insurgents'
US Troops To Regard All As 'Potential Insurgents'
Marines near Falluja call last year's invasion of Iraq 'the first war'. This, then, is the second. They plan to retake the rebel-held city of Falluja and from there crush the insurgency throughout the Sunni Triangle, west of Baghdad.
Last week thousands more combat troops, joined by Iraqi security forces, arrived to back the marines who will lead the assault - expected to begin as early as tomorrow.
'Although it is inevitable that there are some casualties in a city like this, we have done everything we can to let people know coalition forces are here,' said Shupp. 'That's one of the reasons why we have such a large show of force, so people realise they should really evacuate.' More than half the townspeople are believed to have left. Anyone still in the city will be regarded as a potential insurgent and all cars treated as possible suicide bombs.
US Troops To Regard All As 'Potential Insurgents'
Marines near Falluja call last year's invasion of Iraq 'the first war'. This, then, is the second. They plan to retake the rebel-held city of Falluja and from there crush the insurgency throughout the Sunni Triangle, west of Baghdad.
Last week thousands more combat troops, joined by Iraqi security forces, arrived to back the marines who will lead the assault - expected to begin as early as tomorrow.
'Although it is inevitable that there are some casualties in a city like this, we have done everything we can to let people know coalition forces are here,' said Shupp. 'That's one of the reasons why we have such a large show of force, so people realise they should really evacuate.' More than half the townspeople are believed to have left. Anyone still in the city will be regarded as a potential insurgent and all cars treated as possible suicide bombs.
"So anybody who's not leaving fallujah is now regarded as a insurgent and will be shot..that is a warcrime and they even announce that in public. To clear a city under occupation from its inhabitants is regardet as ethnic cleansing by international law. If you target a whole population and don't differ between civilians and insurgents..that's a war crime of the worst kind. The USA is there to spread Democracy and Western Values isn't it? And then they ask why do they hate us? Heil Bush!"
IRAQ: FALLUJAH
NY Times: Invasion of Fallujah Begins
Sunday 07 November 2004
Fallujah - Explosions and heavy gunfire thundered through the outskirts of Fallujah on Sunday night and early Monday as American soldiers and marines swept toward strategic bridges, hospitals and other objectives in what appeared to be the first stage of a long-expected invasion of the city.
Hours earlier, Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, faced with an outbreak of insurgent violence across the country, declared emergency law for 60 days across most of Iraq. The proclamation gave him broad martial powers that allow him to impose curfews, order house-to-house searches and detain suspected criminals and insurgents.
"We declared it today and we are going to implement it whenever and wherever it is necessary," Dr. Allawi told pool reporters inside the fortified compound that houses the headquarters of the interim Iraqi government. "This will send a very powerful message that we are serious."
Troops were on the move by 9 p.m. to the west and south of Fallujah, just across the Euphrates River, and after two hours of steady pounding by American guns, tanks, Bradley armored vehicles, artillery and AC-130 gunships, at least one objective - a hospital less than a mile from downtown Fallujah - had been secured by American special forces and the Iraqi 36th commando battalion.
Tracer fire lit up the sky as the operation began, helicopters crisscrossed the battlefield, and at least one American vehicle was fired upon with a rocket-propelled grenade as American and Iraqi forces converged on the hospital, called Al-Fallujah. Shortly before midnight, American forces were exchaning gunfire across a strategic bridge near the hospital with four to five insurgent positions on the other side.
Sunday 07 November 2004
Fallujah - Explosions and heavy gunfire thundered through the outskirts of Fallujah on Sunday night and early Monday as American soldiers and marines swept toward strategic bridges, hospitals and other objectives in what appeared to be the first stage of a long-expected invasion of the city.
Hours earlier, Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, faced with an outbreak of insurgent violence across the country, declared emergency law for 60 days across most of Iraq. The proclamation gave him broad martial powers that allow him to impose curfews, order house-to-house searches and detain suspected criminals and insurgents.
"We declared it today and we are going to implement it whenever and wherever it is necessary," Dr. Allawi told pool reporters inside the fortified compound that houses the headquarters of the interim Iraqi government. "This will send a very powerful message that we are serious."
Troops were on the move by 9 p.m. to the west and south of Fallujah, just across the Euphrates River, and after two hours of steady pounding by American guns, tanks, Bradley armored vehicles, artillery and AC-130 gunships, at least one objective - a hospital less than a mile from downtown Fallujah - had been secured by American special forces and the Iraqi 36th commando battalion.
Tracer fire lit up the sky as the operation began, helicopters crisscrossed the battlefield, and at least one American vehicle was fired upon with a rocket-propelled grenade as American and Iraqi forces converged on the hospital, called Al-Fallujah. Shortly before midnight, American forces were exchaning gunfire across a strategic bridge near the hospital with four to five insurgent positions on the other side.
USA: ELECTION THEFT
Rense: House Dems Ask GAO To Investigate Voting Machines
Common Dreams: Evidence Mounts That The Vote Was Hacked
When I spoke with Jeff Fisher this morning (Saturday, November 06, 2004), the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 16th District said he was waiting for the FBI to show up. Fisher has evidence, he says, not only that the Florida election was hacked, but of who hacked it and how. And not just this year, he said, but that these same people had previously hacked the Democratic primary race in 2002 so that Jeb Bush would not have to run against Janet Reno, who presented a real threat to Jeb, but instead against Bill McBride, who Jeb beat.
"Election night, I'd been doing live election coverage for WDEV, one of the radio stations that carries my syndicated show, and, just after midnight, during the 12:20 a.m. Associated Press Radio News feed, I was startled to hear the reporter detail how Karen Hughes had earlier sat George W. Bush down to inform him that he'd lost the election. The exit polls were clear: Kerry was winning in a landslide. "Bush took the news stoically," noted the AP report.
But then the computers reported something different. In several pivotal states.
Conservatives see a conspiracy here: They think the exit polls were rigged. "
Greg Palast: Kerry Won - Here Are The Facts
I know you don't want to hear it. You can't face one more hung chad. But I don't have a choice. As a journalist examining that messy sausage called American democracy, it's my job to tell you who got the most votes in the deciding states. Tuesday, in Ohio and New Mexico, it was John Kerry.
Most voters in Ohio thought they were voting for Kerry. At 1:05 a.m. Wednesday morning, CNN's exit poll showed Kerry beating Bush among Ohio women by 53 percent to 47 percent. The exit polls were later combined with-and therefore contaminated by-the tabulated results, ultimately becoming a mirror of the apparent actual vote. Kerry also defeated Bush among Ohio's male voters 51 percent to 49 percent. Unless a third gender voted in Ohio, Kerry took the state.
TWD: Palm Beach County Logs 88,000 More Votes Than Voters
According to the official election results posted on the Palm Beach County election website, 542,835 ballots were cast for a presidential candidate while only 454,427 voters turned out for the election (including absentee). This leaves a discrepancy of 88,408 votes cast for the presidential candidates.
Palm Beach County's supervisor of elections is Theresa LePore who is known for the 2000 Presidential Election and the notorious "butterfly ballot" that caused confusion among seniors and other Floridians.
Other election oddities occurred throughout Florida with some counties registering a 400% increase in expected voter turnout among Republicans while Democrats supposedly experienced a -60% decline in expected support within certain counties. The 50+ counties experiencing the high percentage fluctuations in expected turnout used optical scan voting machines on November 2nd.
Vote discrepancies were also found in Gahanna, Ohio which gave an extra 4,000 votes to President Bush. The error was explained away by Franklin County administrators as a "glitch" in the electronic voting system.
Truthout: Broward Machines Count Backward
Fort Lauderdale - It had to happen. Things were just going too smoothly.
Early Thursday, as Broward County elections officials wrapped up after a long day of canvassing votes, something unusual caught their eye. Tallies should go up as more votes are counted. Thats simple math. But in some races, the numbers had gone . . . down.
Officials found the software used in Broward can handle only 32,000 votes per precinct. After that, the system starts counting backward.
Why a voting system would be designed to count backward was a mystery to Broward County Mayor Ilene Lieberman. She was on the phone late Wednesday with Omaha-based Elections Systems and Software.
Common Dreams: Evidence Mounts That The Vote Was Hacked
When I spoke with Jeff Fisher this morning (Saturday, November 06, 2004), the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 16th District said he was waiting for the FBI to show up. Fisher has evidence, he says, not only that the Florida election was hacked, but of who hacked it and how. And not just this year, he said, but that these same people had previously hacked the Democratic primary race in 2002 so that Jeb Bush would not have to run against Janet Reno, who presented a real threat to Jeb, but instead against Bill McBride, who Jeb beat.
"Election night, I'd been doing live election coverage for WDEV, one of the radio stations that carries my syndicated show, and, just after midnight, during the 12:20 a.m. Associated Press Radio News feed, I was startled to hear the reporter detail how Karen Hughes had earlier sat George W. Bush down to inform him that he'd lost the election. The exit polls were clear: Kerry was winning in a landslide. "Bush took the news stoically," noted the AP report.
But then the computers reported something different. In several pivotal states.
Conservatives see a conspiracy here: They think the exit polls were rigged. "
Greg Palast: Kerry Won - Here Are The Facts
I know you don't want to hear it. You can't face one more hung chad. But I don't have a choice. As a journalist examining that messy sausage called American democracy, it's my job to tell you who got the most votes in the deciding states. Tuesday, in Ohio and New Mexico, it was John Kerry.
Most voters in Ohio thought they were voting for Kerry. At 1:05 a.m. Wednesday morning, CNN's exit poll showed Kerry beating Bush among Ohio women by 53 percent to 47 percent. The exit polls were later combined with-and therefore contaminated by-the tabulated results, ultimately becoming a mirror of the apparent actual vote. Kerry also defeated Bush among Ohio's male voters 51 percent to 49 percent. Unless a third gender voted in Ohio, Kerry took the state.
TWD: Palm Beach County Logs 88,000 More Votes Than Voters
According to the official election results posted on the Palm Beach County election website, 542,835 ballots were cast for a presidential candidate while only 454,427 voters turned out for the election (including absentee). This leaves a discrepancy of 88,408 votes cast for the presidential candidates.
Palm Beach County's supervisor of elections is Theresa LePore who is known for the 2000 Presidential Election and the notorious "butterfly ballot" that caused confusion among seniors and other Floridians.
Other election oddities occurred throughout Florida with some counties registering a 400% increase in expected voter turnout among Republicans while Democrats supposedly experienced a -60% decline in expected support within certain counties. The 50+ counties experiencing the high percentage fluctuations in expected turnout used optical scan voting machines on November 2nd.
Vote discrepancies were also found in Gahanna, Ohio which gave an extra 4,000 votes to President Bush. The error was explained away by Franklin County administrators as a "glitch" in the electronic voting system.
Truthout: Broward Machines Count Backward
Fort Lauderdale - It had to happen. Things were just going too smoothly.
Early Thursday, as Broward County elections officials wrapped up after a long day of canvassing votes, something unusual caught their eye. Tallies should go up as more votes are counted. Thats simple math. But in some races, the numbers had gone . . . down.
Officials found the software used in Broward can handle only 32,000 votes per precinct. After that, the system starts counting backward.
Why a voting system would be designed to count backward was a mystery to Broward County Mayor Ilene Lieberman. She was on the phone late Wednesday with Omaha-based Elections Systems and Software.
USA: THE BUSH VOTER
Rense: God's Anointed One Was Elected
What you are about to read is an actual email Jeff Rense received...
Mr. Rense,
Hello! I believe what we have here as far as the 2004 elections is a close tie between the devil and God. Not Kerry and Bush. And God prevailed obviously and placed the most morale person in office during the "end times".
Abortion and Christanity are reasons for my voting for Bush along with the gay marriage ban! I have been rejoicing since Bush's (the good Lord aboves Win!) victory. He is a family and moral man and believes in the sanctity of marriage, honesty, anti-choice/pro life. He is going back to the beliefs of our founding fathers of the U.S.A.
Of course since God is with Bush the world hates him because they don't want to turn to the bible and away from their vile-sinful lifestyles that are abominable to God. Jesus was hated by the world too. Doesn't it make since when you are born again TRULY through the blood of Christ the world would hate you too? Well, that is Bush. Wake-up. Bush sincerely cares about this nation because he has the love of God living within him. So, it is ones choice to accept Christ or not. If not they send themselves to hell by living in opposition to Gods rule. Don't blame him.
God Bless,
(Name removed)
What you are about to read is an actual email Jeff Rense received...
Mr. Rense,
Hello! I believe what we have here as far as the 2004 elections is a close tie between the devil and God. Not Kerry and Bush. And God prevailed obviously and placed the most morale person in office during the "end times".
Abortion and Christanity are reasons for my voting for Bush along with the gay marriage ban! I have been rejoicing since Bush's (the good Lord aboves Win!) victory. He is a family and moral man and believes in the sanctity of marriage, honesty, anti-choice/pro life. He is going back to the beliefs of our founding fathers of the U.S.A.
Of course since God is with Bush the world hates him because they don't want to turn to the bible and away from their vile-sinful lifestyles that are abominable to God. Jesus was hated by the world too. Doesn't it make since when you are born again TRULY through the blood of Christ the world would hate you too? Well, that is Bush. Wake-up. Bush sincerely cares about this nation because he has the love of God living within him. So, it is ones choice to accept Christ or not. If not they send themselves to hell by living in opposition to Gods rule. Don't blame him.
God Bless,
(Name removed)
Friday, November 05, 2004
USA: BIN LADEN
Prison Planet: Update: New Bin Laden tape said to be on ice
At least one ‘new’ Bin Laden video, said to be in the possession of the Arabic televsion network Al-Jazeera, is nearing the end of an embargo allegedly enacted at the pressure of U.S. authorities, though the tape may still be withheld.
The site reporting on the video, TrackingTerrorism.com, told RAW STORY in private correspondence that they are respecting the embargo. They have been tracking unconfirmed reports for more than two days.
The tape is said to be currently leaked online on a few remote and clandestine Al-Qaeda websites. Militants are already praising its release, making comments such as, “soon the American People will see the edited version,” the site reports.
The site’s editors saying they hope to make the full tape’s presence known to the national media before it is broadcast, saying the last broadcast only included a fraction of the entire tape, the remainder of which was largely ignored by the American media.
At least one ‘new’ Bin Laden video, said to be in the possession of the Arabic televsion network Al-Jazeera, is nearing the end of an embargo allegedly enacted at the pressure of U.S. authorities, though the tape may still be withheld.
The site reporting on the video, TrackingTerrorism.com, told RAW STORY in private correspondence that they are respecting the embargo. They have been tracking unconfirmed reports for more than two days.
The tape is said to be currently leaked online on a few remote and clandestine Al-Qaeda websites. Militants are already praising its release, making comments such as, “soon the American People will see the edited version,” the site reports.
The site’s editors saying they hope to make the full tape’s presence known to the national media before it is broadcast, saying the last broadcast only included a fraction of the entire tape, the remainder of which was largely ignored by the American media.
ARUNDHATI ROY
SMH: What we call peace is little better than capitulation to a corporate coup by Arundhati Roy
The Iraq war is a sign that the world has lost the will to fight for true justice
-- Sometimes there's truth in old cliches. There can be no real peace without justice. And without resistance there will be no justice. Today, it is not merely justice itself, but the idea of justice that is under attack.
The assault on vulnerable, fragile sections of society is so complete, so cruel and so clever that its sheer audacity has eroded our definition of justice. It has forced us to lower our sights, and curtail our expectations. Even among the well-intentioned, the magnificent concept of justice is gradually being substituted with the reduced, far more fragile discourse of "human rights".
CHECK IT
The Iraq war is a sign that the world has lost the will to fight for true justice
-- Sometimes there's truth in old cliches. There can be no real peace without justice. And without resistance there will be no justice. Today, it is not merely justice itself, but the idea of justice that is under attack.
The assault on vulnerable, fragile sections of society is so complete, so cruel and so clever that its sheer audacity has eroded our definition of justice. It has forced us to lower our sights, and curtail our expectations. Even among the well-intentioned, the magnificent concept of justice is gradually being substituted with the reduced, far more fragile discourse of "human rights".
CHECK IT
USA: FOUR MORE YEARS
ICH: Americans Endorse War, Religious Fanaticism And State Terrorism
Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.” George Orwell
11/04/04 "ICH" -- The childish charade of this so-called ‘free’ election in the US has finally come to an end. This ‘free’ election was in fact not ‘free’ at all, when you consider that it offered a limited ‘choice’ of only two candidates. This fact alone shows that the US is already very close to a dictatorship. More importantly, both candidates had identical agendas that differed only in style but not in substance, which is not surprising since both were supported and handled by the same corporate Capitalism and Zionist lobbies that American democracy has become known for. In reality, this is a dictatorship that has entered through the back door under the illusion of a ‘free’ election.
MIDDLE EAST: ARAFAT
AP: Arafat Reportedly in 'Irreversible Coma'
PARIS - Yasser Arafat has lapsed into a coma in a French hospital, a senior Palestinian official said Thursday, a day after the Palestinian leader was rushed to intensive care following a sharp deterioration in his health.
French President Jacques Chirac went to the hospital and saw Arafat and his wife, "to whom he expressed his best wishes," Chirac's office said. The president also met members of the Palestinian Authority and doctors "who are doing everything possible for the health of the president," Chirac's office said.
PARIS - Yasser Arafat has lapsed into a coma in a French hospital, a senior Palestinian official said Thursday, a day after the Palestinian leader was rushed to intensive care following a sharp deterioration in his health.
French President Jacques Chirac went to the hospital and saw Arafat and his wife, "to whom he expressed his best wishes," Chirac's office said. The president also met members of the Palestinian Authority and doctors "who are doing everything possible for the health of the president," Chirac's office said.
USA: PRESIDENT BUSH
NY Times Op/Ed: No Surrender by Paul Krugman
President Bush isn't a conservative. He's a radical - the leader of a coalition that deeply dislikes America as it is. Part of that coalition wants to tear down the legacy of Franklin Roosevelt, eviscerating Social Security and, eventually, Medicare. Another part wants to break down the barriers between church and state. And thanks to a heavy turnout by evangelical Christians, Mr. Bush has four more years to advance that radical agenda.
Democrats are now, understandably, engaged in self-examination. But while it's O.K. to think things over, those who abhor the direction Mr. Bush is taking the country must maintain their intensity; they must not succumb to defeatism
President Bush isn't a conservative. He's a radical - the leader of a coalition that deeply dislikes America as it is. Part of that coalition wants to tear down the legacy of Franklin Roosevelt, eviscerating Social Security and, eventually, Medicare. Another part wants to break down the barriers between church and state. And thanks to a heavy turnout by evangelical Christians, Mr. Bush has four more years to advance that radical agenda.
Democrats are now, understandably, engaged in self-examination. But while it's O.K. to think things over, those who abhor the direction Mr. Bush is taking the country must maintain their intensity; they must not succumb to defeatism
USA: ELECTIONS
Greg Palast: Kerry Won - Here Are The Facts
Kerry won. Here are the facts.
I know you don't want to hear it. You can't face one more hung chad. But I don't have a choice. As a journalist examining that messy sausage called American democracy, it's my job to tell you who got the most votes in the deciding states. Tuesday, in Ohio and New Mexico, it was John Kerry.
Most voters in Ohio thought they were voting for Kerry. CNN's exit poll showed Kerry beating Bush among Ohio women by 53 percent to 47 percent. Kerry also defeated Bush among Ohio's male voters 51 percent to 49 percent. Unless a third gender voted in Ohio, Kerry took the state.
So what's going on here? Answer: the exit polls are accurate. Pollsters ask, "Who did you vote for?" Unfortunately, they don't ask the crucial, question, "Was your vote counted?" The voters don't know.
Kerry won. Here are the facts.
I know you don't want to hear it. You can't face one more hung chad. But I don't have a choice. As a journalist examining that messy sausage called American democracy, it's my job to tell you who got the most votes in the deciding states. Tuesday, in Ohio and New Mexico, it was John Kerry.
Most voters in Ohio thought they were voting for Kerry. CNN's exit poll showed Kerry beating Bush among Ohio women by 53 percent to 47 percent. Kerry also defeated Bush among Ohio's male voters 51 percent to 49 percent. Unless a third gender voted in Ohio, Kerry took the state.
So what's going on here? Answer: the exit polls are accurate. Pollsters ask, "Who did you vote for?" Unfortunately, they don't ask the crucial, question, "Was your vote counted?" The voters don't know.
Thursday, November 04, 2004
USA: PRESIDENT BUSH
Moscow Times: Defeat, Dissent And The Bush Machine
Well, that's it. The great American electoral agony is over at last. Now George W. Bush - the duly elected, finally legitimate president of the United States - can get back to doing what he does best: killing people for corporate profit and personal aggrandizement.
Well, that's it. The great American electoral agony is over at last. Now George W. Bush - the duly elected, finally legitimate president of the United States - can get back to doing what he does best: killing people for corporate profit and personal aggrandizement.
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