Independent: Death of a democracy
Gangs of killers roam freely, rape is systematic and the poor eat mud to survive. In Port-au-Prince, Andrew Buncombe finds a people crushed by the dark hand of US foreign policy
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Tuesday, March 01, 2005
PALESTINE
ifamericansknew.org: US-Israel-Palestine Statistics
1,046 Israelis and 3,590 Palestinians have been killed since September 29, 2000.
7,126 Israelis and 28,497 Palestinians have been injured since September 29, 2000.
0 Israeli homes have been demolished by Palestinians and 4,170 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel since September 29, 2000.
CHECK THIS SITE
1,046 Israelis and 3,590 Palestinians have been killed since September 29, 2000.
7,126 Israelis and 28,497 Palestinians have been injured since September 29, 2000.
0 Israeli homes have been demolished by Palestinians and 4,170 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel since September 29, 2000.
CHECK THIS SITE
LEBANON
AP: Lebanese Government Resigns
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karami announced the resignation of his pro-Syrian government Monday, two weeks after the assassination of his predecessor, Rafik Hariri, triggered protests in the streets and calls for Syria to withdraw its thousands of troops.
``I am keen that the government will not be a hurdle in front of those who want the good for this country. I declare the resignation of the government that I had the honor to head. May God preserve Lebanon,'' Karami said
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karami announced the resignation of his pro-Syrian government Monday, two weeks after the assassination of his predecessor, Rafik Hariri, triggered protests in the streets and calls for Syria to withdraw its thousands of troops.
``I am keen that the government will not be a hurdle in front of those who want the good for this country. I declare the resignation of the government that I had the honor to head. May God preserve Lebanon,'' Karami said
KILLING JOURNALIST
Truthout: Dead Messengers
How the U.S. Military Threatens Journalists
"Journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians within the meaning of Article 50, paragraph 1. . . . They shall be protected as such under the Conventions and this Protocol. . . ." Additional Protocol I (1977) of the 1949 Geneva Conventions
"There's nothing sacrosanct about a hotel with a bunch of journalists in it." Lt. Gen. Bernard E. Trainor, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired), The Washington Post, April 9, 2003.
How the U.S. Military Threatens Journalists
"Journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians within the meaning of Article 50, paragraph 1. . . . They shall be protected as such under the Conventions and this Protocol. . . ." Additional Protocol I (1977) of the 1949 Geneva Conventions
"There's nothing sacrosanct about a hotel with a bunch of journalists in it." Lt. Gen. Bernard E. Trainor, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired), The Washington Post, April 9, 2003.
1984
Commondreams: The Language Police
you need any more confirmation that America is the numero uno propaganda nation, look no further than the GOP language meistro Frank Luntz, who has produced a memorandum of “The 14 Words Never to Use.” Thanks to the Internet and the blogosphere, we mere mortals can get our grubby mitts on what the conservative elite persuader Luntz is doing to scrub our brains free of individual thoughts.
you need any more confirmation that America is the numero uno propaganda nation, look no further than the GOP language meistro Frank Luntz, who has produced a memorandum of “The 14 Words Never to Use.” Thanks to the Internet and the blogosphere, we mere mortals can get our grubby mitts on what the conservative elite persuader Luntz is doing to scrub our brains free of individual thoughts.
Monday, February 28, 2005
IRAQ: SELL OUT
Alternet: The Handover That Wasn't
Before his departure, CPA chief Paul Bremer issued 100 Orders to dramatically restructure Iraq's economy to fit free-market ideals. And no Iraqi, including future elected officials, can undo them.
"CHECK IT"
Before his departure, CPA chief Paul Bremer issued 100 Orders to dramatically restructure Iraq's economy to fit free-market ideals. And no Iraqi, including future elected officials, can undo them.
"CHECK IT"
CHOMSKY
Counterpunch: Nuclear Terror at Home by Noam Chomsky
If you can imagine some rational observers from Mars looking at this curious species down here, I don't think they'd put very high odds on survival--another generation or two. In fact, it's kind of miraculous that we've come along this far.
The world has come extremely close to total destruction just in recent years from nuclear war. New Mexico plays an important role in this. There's case after case where a nuclear war was prevented almost by a miracle. And the threat is increasing as a consequence of policies that the administration is very consciously pursuing.
If you can imagine some rational observers from Mars looking at this curious species down here, I don't think they'd put very high odds on survival--another generation or two. In fact, it's kind of miraculous that we've come along this far.
The world has come extremely close to total destruction just in recent years from nuclear war. New Mexico plays an important role in this. There's case after case where a nuclear war was prevented almost by a miracle. And the threat is increasing as a consequence of policies that the administration is very consciously pursuing.
ISRAEL VS. SYRIA
Internet Herald Tribune: Israel blames Syria for bombing
Israeli defense officials on Saturday blamed Syria and a Palestinian militant group based there for a suicide bombing that killed four Israelis outside a Tel Aviv nightclub — threatening to shatter an informal truce with the Palestinians — and Israel warned it may attack Syria in retaliation. Syria denied the charges, saying the offices of Islamic Jihad, the militant group that claimed responsibility for the suicide strike, have been closed. Israel has attacked Syrian targets in the past and will do so again if it deems necessary, a senior Israeli defense official said Sunday. Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim said an attack will ‘‘send a message to (Syrian President Bashar) Assad’’ that he must clamp down on Islamic groups based in Damascus, his capital city. Israel’s Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz blamed Syria for the suicide bombing Friday in a Tel Aviv nightclub. Four Israelis were killed and dozens of others were wounded in the bombing. But Mofaz stopped short of threatening to attack Syria.
Israeli defense officials on Saturday blamed Syria and a Palestinian militant group based there for a suicide bombing that killed four Israelis outside a Tel Aviv nightclub — threatening to shatter an informal truce with the Palestinians — and Israel warned it may attack Syria in retaliation. Syria denied the charges, saying the offices of Islamic Jihad, the militant group that claimed responsibility for the suicide strike, have been closed. Israel has attacked Syrian targets in the past and will do so again if it deems necessary, a senior Israeli defense official said Sunday. Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim said an attack will ‘‘send a message to (Syrian President Bashar) Assad’’ that he must clamp down on Islamic groups based in Damascus, his capital city. Israel’s Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz blamed Syria for the suicide bombing Friday in a Tel Aviv nightclub. Four Israelis were killed and dozens of others were wounded in the bombing. But Mofaz stopped short of threatening to attack Syria.
ONLINE VIDEO
ICH: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
How the U.S. Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of TrillionsWe speak with John Perkins, a former respected member of the international banking community. In his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man he describes how as a highly paid professional, he helped the U.S. cheat poor countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by lending them more money than they could possibly repay and then take over their economies.
How the U.S. Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of TrillionsWe speak with John Perkins, a former respected member of the international banking community. In his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man he describes how as a highly paid professional, he helped the U.S. cheat poor countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by lending them more money than they could possibly repay and then take over their economies.
USA: ECONOMY
The Australien: US Budget Deficits RiskCrash
Peter Costello's closest adviser fears the US is heading for a devastating financial crash that could ravage Australia's economic growth.
As the Reserve Bank considers raising interest rates at its board meeting next Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Ken Henry likened the flood of money pouring into the US to support its budget and current account deficits to the stockmarket's dotcom bubble of the late 1990s.
Were it suddenly to stop, there would be shockwaves felt throughout the world's economies.
Peter Costello's closest adviser fears the US is heading for a devastating financial crash that could ravage Australia's economic growth.
As the Reserve Bank considers raising interest rates at its board meeting next Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Ken Henry likened the flood of money pouring into the US to support its budget and current account deficits to the stockmarket's dotcom bubble of the late 1990s.
Were it suddenly to stop, there would be shockwaves felt throughout the world's economies.
MEDIA WATCH: QUOTES
Rense: They Spoke The Truth
"In March, 1915, the J.P. Morgan interests, the steel, shipbuilding, and powder interests, and their subsidiary organizations, got together 12 men high up in the newspaper world (think this might have carried through to other forms as communications expanded, such as TV etc? Hmmmm, could be ) and employed them to select the most influential newspapers in the United States and sufficient number of them to control generally the policy of the daily press of the United States.
These 12 men worked the problem ( Problem? What problem? Whose got a problem? JP Morgan and "interests"? Hmmmm ) out by selecting 179 newspapers, and then began, by an elimination process, to retain only those necessary for the purpose of controlling the general policy of the daily press throughout the country. They found it was only necessary to purchase the control of 25 of the greatest papers. The 25 papers were agreed upon; emissaries were sent to purchase the policy, national and international, of these papers; an agreement was reached; the policy of the papers was bought, to be paid for by the month; an editor was furnished for each paper to properly supervise and edit information regarding the questions of preparedness, militarism, financial policies, and other things of national and international nature considered vital to the interest of the ( ...citizens? Nope! The US? No, not even our country BUT the ) PURCHASERS. ( emphasis mine. Well, all for freedom of the press. Wonder why the founders thought that was so important anyway. But who cares about those guys, they are just a bunch of outdated old fogies anyway, right? )
This contract is in existence at the present time, and it accounts for the news columns of the daily press of the country."
--Congressional Record of 1917, page 2949.
"There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history in America, as an independent press You know it and I know it. There is not one of you who dare to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the street looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my' paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone. The business of the journalist is to destroy the truth; to lie outright; to pervert; to vilify; to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities, and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes."
--John Swinton, former chief of staff, The New York Times, in a 1953 speech before the New York Press Club
"We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promise of discretion for almost forty years... It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto determination practiced in past centuries."
-- David Rockefeller, in an address given to Catherine Graham, publisher of The Washington Post and other media luminaries in attendance in Baden Baden, Germany at the June 1991 annual meeting of the world elite Bilderberg Group.
"We are going to impose our agenda on the coverage by dealing with issues and subjects that we choose to deal with."
-- Richard M. Cohen, former Senior Producer of CBS political news
"In March, 1915, the J.P. Morgan interests, the steel, shipbuilding, and powder interests, and their subsidiary organizations, got together 12 men high up in the newspaper world (think this might have carried through to other forms as communications expanded, such as TV etc? Hmmmm, could be ) and employed them to select the most influential newspapers in the United States and sufficient number of them to control generally the policy of the daily press of the United States.
These 12 men worked the problem ( Problem? What problem? Whose got a problem? JP Morgan and "interests"? Hmmmm ) out by selecting 179 newspapers, and then began, by an elimination process, to retain only those necessary for the purpose of controlling the general policy of the daily press throughout the country. They found it was only necessary to purchase the control of 25 of the greatest papers. The 25 papers were agreed upon; emissaries were sent to purchase the policy, national and international, of these papers; an agreement was reached; the policy of the papers was bought, to be paid for by the month; an editor was furnished for each paper to properly supervise and edit information regarding the questions of preparedness, militarism, financial policies, and other things of national and international nature considered vital to the interest of the ( ...citizens? Nope! The US? No, not even our country BUT the ) PURCHASERS. ( emphasis mine. Well, all for freedom of the press. Wonder why the founders thought that was so important anyway. But who cares about those guys, they are just a bunch of outdated old fogies anyway, right? )
This contract is in existence at the present time, and it accounts for the news columns of the daily press of the country."
--Congressional Record of 1917, page 2949.
"There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history in America, as an independent press You know it and I know it. There is not one of you who dare to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the street looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my' paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone. The business of the journalist is to destroy the truth; to lie outright; to pervert; to vilify; to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities, and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes."
--John Swinton, former chief of staff, The New York Times, in a 1953 speech before the New York Press Club
"We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promise of discretion for almost forty years... It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto determination practiced in past centuries."
-- David Rockefeller, in an address given to Catherine Graham, publisher of The Washington Post and other media luminaries in attendance in Baden Baden, Germany at the June 1991 annual meeting of the world elite Bilderberg Group.
"We are going to impose our agenda on the coverage by dealing with issues and subjects that we choose to deal with."
-- Richard M. Cohen, former Senior Producer of CBS political news
RUSSIA
Rense: NeoCons, Israeli Lobby Declare War On Putin
America's neo-conservative elite and their collaborators in the pro-Israel lobby in Washington have fired a first shot in the opening guns of a new Cold War being launched against Russian Premier Vladimir Putin.
Although it hasn't been reported widely in the America mass media, Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), two of the Israeli lobby's leading congressional stalwarts, introduced a resolution in the Senate on February 19, condemning Putin and urging President Bush to push for suspending Russia's membership in the G-8 group of industrial nations.
America's neo-conservative elite and their collaborators in the pro-Israel lobby in Washington have fired a first shot in the opening guns of a new Cold War being launched against Russian Premier Vladimir Putin.
Although it hasn't been reported widely in the America mass media, Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), two of the Israeli lobby's leading congressional stalwarts, introduced a resolution in the Senate on February 19, condemning Putin and urging President Bush to push for suspending Russia's membership in the G-8 group of industrial nations.
Friday, February 25, 2005
USA: MEDIA WATCH
Counterpunch: Do Americans Even Care?
As is often the case with AP's coverage of news having to do with Israel, there's a serious omission in its reporting on the Russia-Israel connection even when it involves oil and the United States.
The day after the State of the Union Address, two Interpol fugitives attended the "National Prayer Breakfast" held in Washington DC. The day before that, these fugitives from the law were the guests of honor at an hour-long meeting of the International Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, invited by ranking Democrat Tom Lantos (Calif.)
You would think it would be hot news when wanted men being hunted by European police suddenly pop up in the US particularly on Capitol Hill and at events attended by the US president.
Who are these fugitives from the law, wanted by Interpol, who are meeting at the highest levels of the US government? And why didn't we learn of them?
Therein lies the story. These two men, it turns out, are just the tips of a colossal iceberg. And this iceberg doesn't just have 90 percent of its mass hidden under water; this iceberg is almost entirely submerged.
As is often the case with AP's coverage of news having to do with Israel, there's a serious omission in its reporting on the Russia-Israel connection even when it involves oil and the United States.
The day after the State of the Union Address, two Interpol fugitives attended the "National Prayer Breakfast" held in Washington DC. The day before that, these fugitives from the law were the guests of honor at an hour-long meeting of the International Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, invited by ranking Democrat Tom Lantos (Calif.)
You would think it would be hot news when wanted men being hunted by European police suddenly pop up in the US particularly on Capitol Hill and at events attended by the US president.
Who are these fugitives from the law, wanted by Interpol, who are meeting at the highest levels of the US government? And why didn't we learn of them?
Therein lies the story. These two men, it turns out, are just the tips of a colossal iceberg. And this iceberg doesn't just have 90 percent of its mass hidden under water; this iceberg is almost entirely submerged.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
IRAQI RESISTANCE
JUS: Resistance Claims Many More US Dead In Fighting
Fighting erupts after US besieges ar-Ramadi, threatens population with "harsh reprisals" if Resistance does not return captured American prisoner.
US occupation forces encircled and totally sealed off the city of ar-Ramadi, 110 km west of Baghdad, at 5am Sunday morning local time. preventing all persons from entering or leaving. The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in ar-Ramadi reported that the move closed the roads to Hit to the west, al-Fallujah to the east, al-Madinah as-Siyahiyah to the south, and to the north they closed access to the International Highway that runs to Samarra'.
7th Fire News: Entire US Column Wiped Out By Iraqi Resistance
A US military column was completely wiped out in fierce fighting with Resistance forces according to the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in the town of al-Mundhiriyah, near the Iranian border, east of Ba'qubah.
The correspondent, who was at the scene of the battle, wrote that a US column made up of eight vehicles came under Iraqi Resistance attack in the Jalabiyah area, known as the at-Tilal or hilly area, at 10pm Friday night. The Resistance fighters holed up in strongholds in the hills unleashed a sweeping attack on the US column, using missiles, pipe rockets, bazookas, and land mines that they had planted in the path of the American forces before their arrival.
Four US tanks, three Humvees, and one armored vehicle were destroyed in the fighting that lasted two hours, the correspondent reported. He said that US dead were in excess of 60 men. An adjutant commander of the Iraqi border guards confirmed that the entire US column was wiped out.
Fighting erupts after US besieges ar-Ramadi, threatens population with "harsh reprisals" if Resistance does not return captured American prisoner.
US occupation forces encircled and totally sealed off the city of ar-Ramadi, 110 km west of Baghdad, at 5am Sunday morning local time. preventing all persons from entering or leaving. The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in ar-Ramadi reported that the move closed the roads to Hit to the west, al-Fallujah to the east, al-Madinah as-Siyahiyah to the south, and to the north they closed access to the International Highway that runs to Samarra'.
7th Fire News: Entire US Column Wiped Out By Iraqi Resistance
A US military column was completely wiped out in fierce fighting with Resistance forces according to the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in the town of al-Mundhiriyah, near the Iranian border, east of Ba'qubah.
The correspondent, who was at the scene of the battle, wrote that a US column made up of eight vehicles came under Iraqi Resistance attack in the Jalabiyah area, known as the at-Tilal or hilly area, at 10pm Friday night. The Resistance fighters holed up in strongholds in the hills unleashed a sweeping attack on the US column, using missiles, pipe rockets, bazookas, and land mines that they had planted in the path of the American forces before their arrival.
Four US tanks, three Humvees, and one armored vehicle were destroyed in the fighting that lasted two hours, the correspondent reported. He said that US dead were in excess of 60 men. An adjutant commander of the Iraqi border guards confirmed that the entire US column was wiped out.
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Sunday Times: Iraq's Sharpshooting Rebel Legend
With elbows bandaged and knees padded for comfort, Abu Othman lay face down on a Ramadi rooftop and cradled his Russian-made sniper rifle as he waited for the tall American soldier to appear.
The soldier's habit of urinating into the street from the top of his Bradley armoured vehicle had angered Sunni Muslim inhabitants of the tree-lined suburb he patrolled. It was not the urinating as such that offended them; it was the way he exposed himself regardless of whether any women were around.
Ramadi's insurgents twice tried to take out the Bradley, first with a rocket-propelled grenade and then with a Russian C5K missile. They missed both times - and that was when they sent for Abu Othman.
It was a long, hot wait that summer's day on the rooftop and Abu Othman, 30, was glad of his headphones. He played his favourite verses from the Koran and their soothing flow cleared his mind, infusing him with a determination to see through the assignmnt, come what may. He prayed for God to deliver his target.
"Then the call came on my mobile phone, informing me that the soldier and his vehicle were finally heading my way," he said.
"The moment arrived. The Bradley stopped and the soldier stood on it ready to relieve himself. He was relaxed. He put his hand on his trousers. I took aim and fired one shot and saw him drop dead."
With elbows bandaged and knees padded for comfort, Abu Othman lay face down on a Ramadi rooftop and cradled his Russian-made sniper rifle as he waited for the tall American soldier to appear.
The soldier's habit of urinating into the street from the top of his Bradley armoured vehicle had angered Sunni Muslim inhabitants of the tree-lined suburb he patrolled. It was not the urinating as such that offended them; it was the way he exposed himself regardless of whether any women were around.
Ramadi's insurgents twice tried to take out the Bradley, first with a rocket-propelled grenade and then with a Russian C5K missile. They missed both times - and that was when they sent for Abu Othman.
It was a long, hot wait that summer's day on the rooftop and Abu Othman, 30, was glad of his headphones. He played his favourite verses from the Koran and their soothing flow cleared his mind, infusing him with a determination to see through the assignmnt, come what may. He prayed for God to deliver his target.
"Then the call came on my mobile phone, informing me that the soldier and his vehicle were finally heading my way," he said.
"The moment arrived. The Bradley stopped and the soldier stood on it ready to relieve himself. He was relaxed. He put his hand on his trousers. I took aim and fired one shot and saw him drop dead."
DEPLETED URANIUM
Rense: US Military, President Out Of Control
What Does 'Mildly Radioactive' Mean, Anyway?
"I believe in the end that ... you will comprehend that the amount of DU [Depleted Uranium] released into the atmosphere since 1991 is far more than my estimate. Whatever you or I think or differ about, the disaster is worse than we even know ... but that tale will be told each year, each decade, each century. Humanity has changed the genome of the entire planet forever." - Leuren Moret
Remember the 100-hour-long First Gulf War? Only an unlucky few were killed. We Americans used 375 tons of uranium munitions. Out of the one half million, or so, soldiers in the prime of life in the war, 11,000 are now dead. and hundreds of thousands are on Medical Disability.
Well, this is kind of a bummer for all US citizens. President Bush and the US Military have gone and screwed the pooch. Turns out that using uranium for weapons is, like, kind of a "Big Time" War Crime. Not only is it a War Crime, it is a War Crime four different ways, according to famous UN War Crimes and humanitarian lawyer Karen Parker, JD.Parker stated "My 'four-point' test is especially intelligible: people understand. "It spreads" (beyond the field of battle); "it lasts" (can't be turned off when the war ends); "it injures people in impermissible ways" (as in making an as yet unborn child deformed); and "it harms the environment".
What Does 'Mildly Radioactive' Mean, Anyway?
"I believe in the end that ... you will comprehend that the amount of DU [Depleted Uranium] released into the atmosphere since 1991 is far more than my estimate. Whatever you or I think or differ about, the disaster is worse than we even know ... but that tale will be told each year, each decade, each century. Humanity has changed the genome of the entire planet forever." - Leuren Moret
Remember the 100-hour-long First Gulf War? Only an unlucky few were killed. We Americans used 375 tons of uranium munitions. Out of the one half million, or so, soldiers in the prime of life in the war, 11,000 are now dead. and hundreds of thousands are on Medical Disability.
Well, this is kind of a bummer for all US citizens. President Bush and the US Military have gone and screwed the pooch. Turns out that using uranium for weapons is, like, kind of a "Big Time" War Crime. Not only is it a War Crime, it is a War Crime four different ways, according to famous UN War Crimes and humanitarian lawyer Karen Parker, JD.Parker stated "My 'four-point' test is especially intelligible: people understand. "It spreads" (beyond the field of battle); "it lasts" (can't be turned off when the war ends); "it injures people in impermissible ways" (as in making an as yet unborn child deformed); and "it harms the environment".
HUNTER S. THOMPSON R.I.P
Marketwatch: Hunter S. Thompson Dead At 67
Hunter S. Thompson, author of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Hell's Angels," and an inspirational figure for writers and political activists, fatally shot himself Sunday night at his home near Aspen, Colo., according to media reports. He was 67.
Salon: Interview With Hunter Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson, author of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Hell's Angels," and an inspirational figure for writers and political activists, fatally shot himself Sunday night at his home near Aspen, Colo., according to media reports. He was 67.
Salon: Interview With Hunter Thompson
USA VS. IRAN
Rense: Scott Ritter: US Attack On Iran Set For June
On Friday evening in Olympia, former UNSCOM weapons inspector Scott Ritter appeared with journalist Dahr Jamail. -- Ritter made two shocking claims: George W. Bush has "signed off" on plans to bomb Iran in June 2005, and the U.S. manipulated the results of the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq....
Scott Ritter, appearing with journalist Dahr Jamail yesterday in Washington State, dropped two shocking bombshells in a talk delivered to a packed house in Olympia's Capitol Theater. The ex-Marine turned UNSCOM weapons inspector said that George W. Bush has "signed off" on plans to bomb Iran in June 2005, and claimed the U.S. manipulated the results of the recent Jan. 30 elections in Iraq.
The former Marine also said that the Jan. 30 elections, which George W. Bush has called "a turning point in the history of Iraq, a milestone in the advance of freedom," were not so free after all. Ritter said that U.S. authorities in Iraq had manipulated the results in order to reduce the percentage of the vote received by the United Iraqi Alliance from 56% to 48%.
Asked by UFPPC's Ted Nation about this shocker, Ritter said an official involved in the manipulation was the source, and that this would soon be reported by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist in a major metropolitan magazine -- an obvious allusion to New Yorker reporter Seymour M. Hersh.
CHECK IT
On Friday evening in Olympia, former UNSCOM weapons inspector Scott Ritter appeared with journalist Dahr Jamail. -- Ritter made two shocking claims: George W. Bush has "signed off" on plans to bomb Iran in June 2005, and the U.S. manipulated the results of the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq....
Scott Ritter, appearing with journalist Dahr Jamail yesterday in Washington State, dropped two shocking bombshells in a talk delivered to a packed house in Olympia's Capitol Theater. The ex-Marine turned UNSCOM weapons inspector said that George W. Bush has "signed off" on plans to bomb Iran in June 2005, and claimed the U.S. manipulated the results of the recent Jan. 30 elections in Iraq.
The former Marine also said that the Jan. 30 elections, which George W. Bush has called "a turning point in the history of Iraq, a milestone in the advance of freedom," were not so free after all. Ritter said that U.S. authorities in Iraq had manipulated the results in order to reduce the percentage of the vote received by the United Iraqi Alliance from 56% to 48%.
Asked by UFPPC's Ted Nation about this shocker, Ritter said an official involved in the manipulation was the source, and that this would soon be reported by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist in a major metropolitan magazine -- an obvious allusion to New Yorker reporter Seymour M. Hersh.
CHECK IT
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
LEBANON
ICH: Israel and/or America Implicated in Killing of Rafik Harriri:
"This is the work of an intelligence service, not a small group," said Rime Allaf, Middle East analyst at London's Royal Institute of International Affairs.
We must do as they do in other criminal cases, look at who had the most to gain from the assassination of Prime Minister Harriri. The Lebanese had a lot to lose, as did the Syrians (he was close to Bashir Al Assad, the leader of Syria), as did the other Arab countries in the region who saw him as a strong leader and a stabilizing force in Lebanese politics. On the other hand, Israel has wanted chaos in Lebanon, as has America, and both countries have been agitating to get Hezbollah outlawed and both America and Israel have wanted the Lebanese to oust Syria. In both cases, the Lebanese government has said, “NO,” that Hezbollah is a respected part of Lebanese life and that Syria is there to protect Lebanon from Israeli aggression.
"This is the work of an intelligence service, not a small group," said Rime Allaf, Middle East analyst at London's Royal Institute of International Affairs.
We must do as they do in other criminal cases, look at who had the most to gain from the assassination of Prime Minister Harriri. The Lebanese had a lot to lose, as did the Syrians (he was close to Bashir Al Assad, the leader of Syria), as did the other Arab countries in the region who saw him as a strong leader and a stabilizing force in Lebanese politics. On the other hand, Israel has wanted chaos in Lebanon, as has America, and both countries have been agitating to get Hezbollah outlawed and both America and Israel have wanted the Lebanese to oust Syria. In both cases, the Lebanese government has said, “NO,” that Hezbollah is a respected part of Lebanese life and that Syria is there to protect Lebanon from Israeli aggression.
IRAQ
Asia Times: US fights back against ' rule by clerics'
Asia Times Online has learned that in a highly clandestine operation, the US has procured Pakistan-manufactured weapons, including rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, ammunition, rockets and other light weaponry. Consignments have been loaded in bulk onto US military cargo aircraft at Chaklala airbase in the past few weeks. The aircraft arrived from and departed for Iraq. The US-armed and supported militias in the south will comprise former members of the Ba'ath Party, which has already split into three factions, only one of which is pro-Saddam Hussein. They would be expected to receive assistance from pro-US interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqi National Accord. A military analyst familiar with strategic and proxy operations commented that there is a specific reason behind procuring arms from Pakistan, rather than acquiring US-made ones. "A similar strategy was adopted in Afghanistan during the initial few years of the anti-USSR resistance [the early 1980s] movement where guerrillas were supplied with Chinese-made AK-47 rifles [which were procured by Pakistan with US money], Egyptian and German-made G-3 rifles. Similarly, other arms, like anti-aircraft guns, short-range missiles and mortars, were also procured by the US from different countries and supplied to Pakistan, which handed them over to the guerrillas," the analyst maintained. The obvious reason for this tactic is to give the impression that the resistance acquired its arms and ammunition from different channels and from different countries - and anywhere other than the United States.
Asia Times Online has learned that in a highly clandestine operation, the US has procured Pakistan-manufactured weapons, including rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, ammunition, rockets and other light weaponry. Consignments have been loaded in bulk onto US military cargo aircraft at Chaklala airbase in the past few weeks. The aircraft arrived from and departed for Iraq. The US-armed and supported militias in the south will comprise former members of the Ba'ath Party, which has already split into three factions, only one of which is pro-Saddam Hussein. They would be expected to receive assistance from pro-US interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqi National Accord. A military analyst familiar with strategic and proxy operations commented that there is a specific reason behind procuring arms from Pakistan, rather than acquiring US-made ones. "A similar strategy was adopted in Afghanistan during the initial few years of the anti-USSR resistance [the early 1980s] movement where guerrillas were supplied with Chinese-made AK-47 rifles [which were procured by Pakistan with US money], Egyptian and German-made G-3 rifles. Similarly, other arms, like anti-aircraft guns, short-range missiles and mortars, were also procured by the US from different countries and supplied to Pakistan, which handed them over to the guerrillas," the analyst maintained. The obvious reason for this tactic is to give the impression that the resistance acquired its arms and ammunition from different channels and from different countries - and anywhere other than the United States.
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