One of the rationals given by the Bush Administration to invade Iraq was that "Saddam gassed his own people" i.e the Kurds which Saddam wouldn't have called his own people himself i guess. Not to mention that a CIA report blames the whole incident on Iran (There is the possibility that the report was false because the USA was allied with Iraq in the Iran/Iraq war). Now after first denying the use of white phosphorus by US Forces, than telling it has not been used against civilians and is therfore no chemical weapon, a CIA report from 1991 comes to light which is calling white phosphorus a "chemical weapon" but remember its just a chemical weapon if the enemy is using it. Is there a Hypocrite of the Year award?
NZ Herald: Saddam's Use Of Chem Weapons Bad - US Use Just Fine...
Report Drops Fallujah Bombshell
The controversy over the American use of white phosphorus as a weapon of war in Fallujah deepened yesterday when it was revealed that a US intelligence assessment had characterised WP as a "chemical weapon".
The report was made in late February 1991 during the Iraqi crackdown on the Kurdish uprising that followed the coalition victory against Iraq.
"Iraqi forces loyal to President Saddam may have possibly used white phosphorous (WP) chemical weapons against Kurdish rebels and the populace in Erbil and Dohuk. "The WP chemical was delivered by artillery rounds and helicopter gunships."
Ranucci commented that "when Saddam used WP it was a chemical weapon but when the Americans use it, it's a conventional weapon. The injuries it inflicts, however, are just as terrible, however you describe it".
Watch the Report on Rai:
Windows Media - Real Video & Windows Media Arabic Version
Friday, November 25, 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
BUSH WANTED TO BOMB AL-JAZEERA
Mirror: EXCLUSIVE: BUSH PLOT TO BOMB HIS ARAB ALLY
PRESIDENT Bush planned to bomb Arab TV station al-Jazeera in friendly Qatar, a "Top Secret" No 10 memo reveals.
But he was talked out of it at a White House summit by Tony Blair, who said it would provoke a worldwide backlash.
A source said: "There's no doubt what Bush wanted, and no doubt Blair didn't want him to do it." Al-Jazeera is accused by the US of fuelling the Iraqi insurgency.
The attack would have led to a massacre of innocents on the territory of a key ally, enraged the Middle East and almost certainly have sparked bloody retaliation.
A source said last night: "The memo is explosive and hugely damaging to Bush.
PRESIDENT Bush planned to bomb Arab TV station al-Jazeera in friendly Qatar, a "Top Secret" No 10 memo reveals.
But he was talked out of it at a White House summit by Tony Blair, who said it would provoke a worldwide backlash.
A source said: "There's no doubt what Bush wanted, and no doubt Blair didn't want him to do it." Al-Jazeera is accused by the US of fuelling the Iraqi insurgency.
The attack would have led to a massacre of innocents on the territory of a key ally, enraged the Middle East and almost certainly have sparked bloody retaliation.
A source said last night: "The memo is explosive and hugely damaging to Bush.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
IRAQ: TIMETABLE FOR WITHDRAW
AFP: Iraqi leaders demand timetable for troop withdrawal
CAIRO - Iraqi leaders reached a tentative agreement Monday to demand a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from their war-torn country during talks ahead of a reconciliation conference to be held next year. Dozens of leaders representing most of Iraq's factions have been holding tough talks in Cairo since Saturday in a bid to reach a common agenda. In a draft final statement, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, they demanded "a timetable for the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops".
CAIRO - Iraqi leaders reached a tentative agreement Monday to demand a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from their war-torn country during talks ahead of a reconciliation conference to be held next year. Dozens of leaders representing most of Iraq's factions have been holding tough talks in Cairo since Saturday in a bid to reach a common agenda. In a draft final statement, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, they demanded "a timetable for the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops".
USA: NEW ORLEANS
Time: New Orleans Today: It's Worse Than You Think
Neighborhoods are still dark, garbage piles up on the street, and bodies are still being found. The city's pain is a nation's shame
Neighborhoods are still dark, garbage piles up on the street, and bodies are still being found. The city's pain is a nation's shame
VENEZUELA
AIN: The Pentgon's Plans To Invade Venezuela
The United States has military contingency plans aimed against Venezuela, contrary to the UN Charter and the document guiding relations between members of the Organizations of American States (OAS).
Big News: RE: Documents regarding invasion plan in Venezuela
The United States has military contingency plans aimed against Venezuela, contrary to the UN Charter and the document guiding relations between members of the Organizations of American States (OAS).
Big News: RE: Documents regarding invasion plan in Venezuela
Monday, November 21, 2005
JOHN RENDON
Rense: The Man Who Sold The War
Meet John Rendon, Bush'sGeneral In The Propaganda War
"I am not a national-security strategist or a military tactician," he declared. "I am a politician, a person who uses communication to meet public-policy or corporate-policy objectives. In fact, I am an information warrior and a perception manager." To explain his philosophy, Rendon paraphrased a journalist he knew from his days as a staffer on the presidential campaigns of George McGovern and Jimmy Carter: "This is probably best described in the words of Hunter S. Thompson, when he wrote, 'When things turn weird, the weird turn pro.'"
"Recommended reading"
Meet John Rendon, Bush'sGeneral In The Propaganda War
"I am not a national-security strategist or a military tactician," he declared. "I am a politician, a person who uses communication to meet public-policy or corporate-policy objectives. In fact, I am an information warrior and a perception manager." To explain his philosophy, Rendon paraphrased a journalist he knew from his days as a staffer on the presidential campaigns of George McGovern and Jimmy Carter: "This is probably best described in the words of Hunter S. Thompson, when he wrote, 'When things turn weird, the weird turn pro.'"
"Recommended reading"
CNN: CHENEY
Drudge: CNN MARKS CHENEY
As this DRUDGE REPORT screen capture reveals, while one 'X' flashed over Cheney's face CNN ran a headline at the bottom of its screen: "CHENEY: I DO NOT BELIEVE IT IS WRONG TO CRITICIZE."
DRM
BoingBoing.net: iTunes creates a security hole?
A security research company has reported that Apple's iTunes software creates vulnerabilities in Windows XP and Mac OS X that allow remote parties to install and execute code on your computer -- basically, the vulnerability means that your computer can be taken over by an attacker who can then hijack your connection, your files, and your privacy.
A security research company has reported that Apple's iTunes software creates vulnerabilities in Windows XP and Mac OS X that allow remote parties to install and execute code on your computer -- basically, the vulnerability means that your computer can be taken over by an attacker who can then hijack your connection, your files, and your privacy.
USA
LA Times: This isn't the real America by Jimmy Carter
JIMMY CARTER was the 39th president of the United States
IN RECENT YEARS, I have become increasingly concerned by a host of radical government policies that now threaten many basic principles espoused by all previous administrations, Democratic and Republican. These include the rudimentary American commitment to peace, economic and social justice, civil liberties, our environment and human rights.
JIMMY CARTER was the 39th president of the United States
IN RECENT YEARS, I have become increasingly concerned by a host of radical government policies that now threaten many basic principles espoused by all previous administrations, Democratic and Republican. These include the rudimentary American commitment to peace, economic and social justice, civil liberties, our environment and human rights.
EDWARD LUTTWAK
Rense: Schwarz - Luttwak's Coup D'Etat - A Practical Handbook
My last update introduced you to Edward Luttwak, a hardliner Zionist with ideas about Israel that many Israelis find harsh and belligerent. Mr. Luttwak actually made the well-known comment about bombing in 1990 or 1991, just before George H.W. Bush attacked Iraq in a set-up of Saddam Hussein. In the same way, George W. Bush pulled a set-up in 2003
My last update introduced you to Edward Luttwak, a hardliner Zionist with ideas about Israel that many Israelis find harsh and belligerent. Mr. Luttwak actually made the well-known comment about bombing in 1990 or 1991, just before George H.W. Bush attacked Iraq in a set-up of Saddam Hussein. In the same way, George W. Bush pulled a set-up in 2003
CHEMTRAILS
Las Vegas Tribune: Chemtrails Are Over Las Vegas
Editor's Note: Las Vegas residents are increasingly noticing the appearance of chemical trails overhead. They appear EVERY weekend without fail, the only exception being the two weeks after September 11, 2001. Such "chemtrails" are substantially different in appearance to the normal condensation trails left by jet airliners. The difference is that while condensation trails are composed of water vapor that dissipates rapidly, "chemtrails" linger much longer and spread out over time to eventually cover the sky with a thin haze. This week the Las Vegas Tribune begins a two-part article to examine the undeniable and mysterious phenomena of Chemtrails Over Las Vegas.
Editor's Note: Las Vegas residents are increasingly noticing the appearance of chemical trails overhead. They appear EVERY weekend without fail, the only exception being the two weeks after September 11, 2001. Such "chemtrails" are substantially different in appearance to the normal condensation trails left by jet airliners. The difference is that while condensation trails are composed of water vapor that dissipates rapidly, "chemtrails" linger much longer and spread out over time to eventually cover the sky with a thin haze. This week the Las Vegas Tribune begins a two-part article to examine the undeniable and mysterious phenomena of Chemtrails Over Las Vegas.
Friday, November 18, 2005
IRAQ: TORTURE
Guardian: International outcry greets allegations of police abuse
· Ministers launch inquiry after detainees found
· Shia paramilitaries now control force, say Sunnis
Manfred Novak, the UN special envoy on torture, based in Geneva, yesterday called for an independent inquiry. He has received various allegations of torture and degrading treatment by both US and Iraqi forces in Iraq. "That torture is still practised in Iraq after Saddam Hussein is no secret," he said.
Reuters: Iraqi says he was held with hundreds in secret jail
An Iraqi man told on Thursday how he was tortured along with hundreds of other detainees in an Interior Ministry building similar to a secret bunker at the centre of a prisoner abuse scandal.
"There was an average of 800 prisoners at any one time in a building controlled by the Wolf Brigades (Interior Ministry special forces)," the man, who asked that he only be identified by his initials H.H., told Reuters.
"They had lists of people and lists of charges and they tortured people to get confessions."
The Times: On the spot: 'torture prison is tip of the iceberg'
"There is not the same kind of shock and controversy over the discovery of the basement prison in Jadriya as there was over abuse scandal Abu Ghraib, because everyone has known for some time that this has been going on. Everyone knows someone to whom this has happened. "There is more of a sense of relief that it has finally been brought into the open - although people are angry that it has taken so long.
FT: Torture photos fuel scandal of secret Iraqi jail
Graphic photographs of injuries allegedly suffered by detainees in Iraqi custody surfaced today as the government attempted to dismiss international criticism over a secret torture prison.
ICH: Torture Photos gathered from contacts in Iraq
Warning: The pictures are very disturbing and should only be viewed by a mature audience
· Ministers launch inquiry after detainees found
· Shia paramilitaries now control force, say Sunnis
Manfred Novak, the UN special envoy on torture, based in Geneva, yesterday called for an independent inquiry. He has received various allegations of torture and degrading treatment by both US and Iraqi forces in Iraq. "That torture is still practised in Iraq after Saddam Hussein is no secret," he said.
Reuters: Iraqi says he was held with hundreds in secret jail
An Iraqi man told on Thursday how he was tortured along with hundreds of other detainees in an Interior Ministry building similar to a secret bunker at the centre of a prisoner abuse scandal.
"There was an average of 800 prisoners at any one time in a building controlled by the Wolf Brigades (Interior Ministry special forces)," the man, who asked that he only be identified by his initials H.H., told Reuters.
"They had lists of people and lists of charges and they tortured people to get confessions."
The Times: On the spot: 'torture prison is tip of the iceberg'
"There is not the same kind of shock and controversy over the discovery of the basement prison in Jadriya as there was over abuse scandal Abu Ghraib, because everyone has known for some time that this has been going on. Everyone knows someone to whom this has happened. "There is more of a sense of relief that it has finally been brought into the open - although people are angry that it has taken so long.
FT: Torture photos fuel scandal of secret Iraqi jail
Graphic photographs of injuries allegedly suffered by detainees in Iraqi custody surfaced today as the government attempted to dismiss international criticism over a secret torture prison.
ICH: Torture Photos gathered from contacts in Iraq
Warning: The pictures are very disturbing and should only be viewed by a mature audience
IRAQ: US WAR CRIMES
Counterpunch: How the Pentagon Justifies Phosphorous Bombs on Fallujah
In Post Saddam Iraq, There are No Civilians
it is important to note how slippery the Pentagon is being about its claim not to have used this dreadful weapon against "civilians."
In a grotesque and blatant war crime, the U.S. began this assault by first encircling Fallujah, and then declaring that it would allow women, children and old people to leave, but not "men and boys of fighting age" (whatever that may be). Several hundred people in a group of families trying to flee the city over the weekend were actually detained, and then, after allowing the women and children to go, U.S. troops tested the men's hands for gunpowder traces. Finding none, they nonetheless sent them back to the doomed city to face their fate.
By trapping as many as 100,000 men and boys in the city before invading it, the U.S., acting for all the world more like a group of Bosnian Serb thugs than like the army of the Free World, has assured that it will be killing many, many civilians, but we won't be hearing much about that. As far as the Pentagon and Centcom in Iraq go, the dead in Fallujah are and will be all rebels. If they die, they must have died fighting.
In Post Saddam Iraq, There are No Civilians
it is important to note how slippery the Pentagon is being about its claim not to have used this dreadful weapon against "civilians."
In a grotesque and blatant war crime, the U.S. began this assault by first encircling Fallujah, and then declaring that it would allow women, children and old people to leave, but not "men and boys of fighting age" (whatever that may be). Several hundred people in a group of families trying to flee the city over the weekend were actually detained, and then, after allowing the women and children to go, U.S. troops tested the men's hands for gunpowder traces. Finding none, they nonetheless sent them back to the doomed city to face their fate.
By trapping as many as 100,000 men and boys in the city before invading it, the U.S., acting for all the world more like a group of Bosnian Serb thugs than like the army of the Free World, has assured that it will be killing many, many civilians, but we won't be hearing much about that. As far as the Pentagon and Centcom in Iraq go, the dead in Fallujah are and will be all rebels. If they die, they must have died fighting.
Besides the fact that denying civilians the right to flee a battlezone is in itself a war crime under the Geneva conventions, US actions before and during the assault and destruction of Fallujah mean that current assertions that white phosphorus weapons were not used against civilians are total lies. The Pentagon simply defined away all people left, or stranded, or trapped in the city as insurgents.
IRAQ
Washington Post: Among Insurgents in Iraq, Few Foreigners Are Found
Analysis of offensive in Tall Afar suggests U.S., Iraq may be inflating foreign role in insurgency.
Analysis of offensive in Tall Afar suggests U.S., Iraq may be inflating foreign role in insurgency.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
IRAQ: WMD
Guardian: The US used chemical weapons in Iraq - and then lied about it
Did US troops use chemical weapons in Falluja? The answer is yes. The proof is not to be found in the documentary broadcast on Italian TV last week, which has generated gigabytes of hype on the internet. It's a turkey, whose evidence that white phosphorus was fired at Iraqi troops is flimsy and circumstantial. But the bloggers debating it found the smoking gun
Did US troops use chemical weapons in Falluja? The answer is yes. The proof is not to be found in the documentary broadcast on Italian TV last week, which has generated gigabytes of hype on the internet. It's a turkey, whose evidence that white phosphorus was fired at Iraqi troops is flimsy and circumstantial. But the bloggers debating it found the smoking gun
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Guardian: Not guilty. The Israeli captain who put 17 bullets into a Palestinian schoolgirl
An Israeli army officer who fired the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into a 13-year-old Palestinian girl and then said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old was acquitted on all charges by a military court yesterday.
The soldier, who has only been identified as "Captain R", was charged with relatively minor offences for the killing of Iman al-Hams who was shot 17 times as she ventured near an Israeli army post near Rafah refugee camp in Gaza a year ago.
The manner of Iman's killing, and the revelation of a tape recording in which the captain is warned that she was just a child who was "scared to death", made the shooting one of the most controversial since the Palestinian intifada erupted five years ago even though hundreds of other children have also died.
An Israeli army officer who fired the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into a 13-year-old Palestinian girl and then said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old was acquitted on all charges by a military court yesterday.
The soldier, who has only been identified as "Captain R", was charged with relatively minor offences for the killing of Iman al-Hams who was shot 17 times as she ventured near an Israeli army post near Rafah refugee camp in Gaza a year ago.
The manner of Iman's killing, and the revelation of a tape recording in which the captain is warned that she was just a child who was "scared to death", made the shooting one of the most controversial since the Palestinian intifada erupted five years ago even though hundreds of other children have also died.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
TORTURE
Independent: Torture’s out. Now they call it abuse by Robert Fisk
No screaming, no cries of agony, no shrieks of pain. Yes, it sounds much better, doesn’t it?
CHECK IT
No screaming, no cries of agony, no shrieks of pain. Yes, it sounds much better, doesn’t it?
CHECK IT
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
FRANCE: REBELLION
Reuters: France backs curfews to curb riots
PARIS (Reuters) - The French government approved emergency measures on Tuesday to allow curfews to be imposed in riot-hit areas after youths torched more than 1,000 vehicles in a 12th night of unrest across the country.
The protests, blamed on racism and unemployment, receded in the Paris region after shots were fired at police the previous night but continued unabated in other parts of France in the early hours of Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said.
Turkey urged its citizens living abroad to stay calm and an influential Muslim cleric called for calm. But five cars were torched in Brussels, in addition to five set ablaze on Sunday, in what officials say might have been copycat attacks.
IRAQ
IC: Al-Qaeda threatens Iraq mayhem unless US-led assault halted
Militants loyal to Al-Qaeda in Iraq threatened to sharply intensify their campaign of violence unless government and US forces end a major offensive near the Syrian border, in an Internet statement posted Monday.
Al-Jazeera: Iraqi politicians condemn US offensive
Iraqi politicians have condemned the latestUS
Militants loyal to Al-Qaeda in Iraq threatened to sharply intensify their campaign of violence unless government and US forces end a major offensive near the Syrian border, in an Internet statement posted Monday.
The statement also promised to destroy the homes of all Iraqi soldiers and government employees in response to recent comments by Defense Minister Saadun al-Dulaimi warning that those who sheltered insurgents in their homes would be considered targets.
"The organisation has decided to give the apostate government and itsmaster 24 hours to end their campaign against the Sunni people. After that they will only see from us the worst and something that's going to make the earth tremble under their feet," warned the statement signed in the name of spokesman Abu Maisara al-Iraqi.
Reuters: IRAQ: Dozens dead, thousands displaced in west, doctors say
L-QAIM, 7 November (IRIN) - Dozens of civilians were killed and injured on Saturday when US-led forces launched an offensive on the western Iraqi town of Husaybah, according to local doctors.
The attack forced thousands to flee to camps on the outskirts of the nearest town of al-Qaim, some 12 km from the Syrian border.Al-Jazeera: Iraqi politicians condemn US offensive
Iraqi politicians have condemned the latest
The leader of the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue, Salih al-Mutlaq, on Sunday denounced the massive
Al-Mutlaq, who is also a member of the committee that drafted the new constitution, accused the Americans and their Iraqi allies of mounting "a destructive and killing operation of secure cities and villages" on the "pretext that they hide and secure terrorists".
USA: WAR CRIMES
ICH: Fallujah - The Hidden Massacre
Shocking revelation RAI News 24.
Right Click and click on "save target as" to save to your computers hard drive.
Windows Media - Real Video & Windows Media Arabic Version
Warning:
This video contains images that depict the reality and horror of war. It should only be viewed by a mature audience
Shocking revelation RAI News 24.
Right Click and click on "save target as" to save to your computers hard drive.
Windows Media - Real Video & Windows Media Arabic Version
Warning:
This video contains images that depict the reality and horror of war.
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