ISRAEL
Independent: Israel arrests protesters as 'security risk'
Eight foreign nationals have been arrested in the occupied territories as Israeli authorities clamp down on international peace activists on the ground that they pose a "security risk".
The case of a Belfast journalist and language teacher who was mistakenly arrested by Israeli security forces in the belief he was a bomb-maker has put the spotlight on the latest arrests.
The eight, who included two Britons, were being held in an Israeli police station in the West Bank and were refused bail. The Britons, Alex Perry and Saul Reid, were among a group of four arrested while removing a crude roadblock put up by the Israeli army to block Palestinian traffic - for security reasons, the army says. The other four were arrested while staging a sit-in to protest against Israel's construction of a "security fence" inside the West Bank. The Israeli authorities have been trying to deport them.
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
USA
Independent: Cheney under pressure to quit over false war evidence
Anger grows on both sides of Atlantic at misleading claims on eve of Iraq conflict
Dick Cheney, the US Vice-President and the administration's most outspoken hawk over Iraq, faced demands for his resignation last night as he was accused of using false evidence to build the case for war.
He was accused of using his office to insist that a false claim about Iraq's efforts to buy uranium from Africa to restart its nuclear programme be included in George Bush's State of the Union address - overriding the concerns of the CIA director, George Tenet.
Mr Cheney was also accused of knowingly misleading Congress when the administration sought its authorisation for the use of force to oust Saddam Hussein.
Independent: Cheney under pressure to quit over false war evidence
Anger grows on both sides of Atlantic at misleading claims on eve of Iraq conflict
Dick Cheney, the US Vice-President and the administration's most outspoken hawk over Iraq, faced demands for his resignation last night as he was accused of using false evidence to build the case for war.
He was accused of using his office to insist that a false claim about Iraq's efforts to buy uranium from Africa to restart its nuclear programme be included in George Bush's State of the Union address - overriding the concerns of the CIA director, George Tenet.
Mr Cheney was also accused of knowingly misleading Congress when the administration sought its authorisation for the use of force to oust Saddam Hussein.
IRAQ
Rense: US Troops Shocked By Move To Keep Them In Iraq
FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) -- Under fire and unwanted by Iraqis, soldiers in the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division in the volatile town of Falluja were bitterly disappointed on Tuesday by a decision to keep them in Iraq indefinitely.
"It's a big shock," said Sergeant Josh Holt of Montgomery, Alabama.
Facing mounting threats in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Monday thousands of soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanised) would stay in the country despite previous plans to bring them home in July and August.
The division was the first American unit to enter Baghdad during the war and has been in the Gulf since September. Thirty- seven soldiers from the division have been killed in the war and its aftermath.
Rense: US Troops Shocked By Move To Keep Them In Iraq
FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) -- Under fire and unwanted by Iraqis, soldiers in the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division in the volatile town of Falluja were bitterly disappointed on Tuesday by a decision to keep them in Iraq indefinitely.
"It's a big shock," said Sergeant Josh Holt of Montgomery, Alabama.
Facing mounting threats in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Monday thousands of soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanised) would stay in the country despite previous plans to bring them home in July and August.
The division was the first American unit to enter Baghdad during the war and has been in the Gulf since September. Thirty- seven soldiers from the division have been killed in the war and its aftermath.
SITE OF THE DAY
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check THE BLINGKING and represent the ghetto in your town too
link provided by Nic
wanna be gangsta? wanna be like 50 cent? wanna sport those ill iced out bling bling watches?
check THE BLINGKING and represent the ghetto in your town too
link provided by Nic
Thursday, July 10, 2003
IRAQ
London Times: Iraq Families Live In Fear Of Midnight Call By US Patrols
Never again did families in Baghdad imagine that they need fear the midnight knock at the door.
But in recent weeks there have been increasing reports of Iraqi men, women and even children being dragged from their homes at night by American patrols, or snatched off the streets and taken, hooded and manacled, to prison camps around the capital.
Children as young as 11 are claimed to be among those locked up for 24 hours a day in rooms with no light, or held in overcrowded tents in temperatures approaching 50C (122F).
On the edge of Baghdad International Airport, US military commanders have built a tent city that human rights groups are comparing to the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Remarkably, the Americans have also set up another detention camp in the grounds of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad. Many thousands of Iraqis were taken there during the Saddam years and never seen again.
London Times: Iraq Families Live In Fear Of Midnight Call By US Patrols
Never again did families in Baghdad imagine that they need fear the midnight knock at the door.
But in recent weeks there have been increasing reports of Iraqi men, women and even children being dragged from their homes at night by American patrols, or snatched off the streets and taken, hooded and manacled, to prison camps around the capital.
Children as young as 11 are claimed to be among those locked up for 24 hours a day in rooms with no light, or held in overcrowded tents in temperatures approaching 50C (122F).
On the edge of Baghdad International Airport, US military commanders have built a tent city that human rights groups are comparing to the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Remarkably, the Americans have also set up another detention camp in the grounds of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad. Many thousands of Iraqis were taken there during the Saddam years and never seen again.
MEDIA WATCH
Asia Times: The power of silence
OSLO - "If the reality in Iraq is one thing and the reporting of it remains another, it is because much of the media want it that way," say two leading journalists who have earned reputations for reporting the "other" side of the Iraq story.
The level of self-censorship in the media has risen not just during the Iraq war but also since September 11, says Robert Fisk from The Independent newspaper published in Britain and John Pilger, Australian broadcaster and film maker.
Pilger and Fisk both spoke to Inter Press Service on visits to Oslo recently. Pilger was to receive the US$100,000 Sophie Prize for 30 years of work to expose deception and war against humanity. Fisk gave a lecture at Fritt Ord, a Norwegian media foundation.
"Propaganda is not found just in totalitarian states," Pilger said. "There at least they know they are being lied to. We tend to assume it is the truth. In the US, censorship is rampant."
"CHECK IT"
Asia Times: The power of silence
OSLO - "If the reality in Iraq is one thing and the reporting of it remains another, it is because much of the media want it that way," say two leading journalists who have earned reputations for reporting the "other" side of the Iraq story.
The level of self-censorship in the media has risen not just during the Iraq war but also since September 11, says Robert Fisk from The Independent newspaper published in Britain and John Pilger, Australian broadcaster and film maker.
Pilger and Fisk both spoke to Inter Press Service on visits to Oslo recently. Pilger was to receive the US$100,000 Sophie Prize for 30 years of work to expose deception and war against humanity. Fisk gave a lecture at Fritt Ord, a Norwegian media foundation.
"Propaganda is not found just in totalitarian states," Pilger said. "There at least they know they are being lied to. We tend to assume it is the truth. In the US, censorship is rampant."
"CHECK IT"
IRAQ
Asia Times: In Iraq, 'v' doesn't stand for victory
Vietnam and Watergate are two overwhelming metaphors of the American political lexicon with which no sitting president wants any association. The first one is related to the United States's rather humiliating withdrawal from South Vietnam, and the second axiom epitomizes political corruption that led to the ignominious ouster of a president from office. That is one reason why the administration of President George W Bush is fighting an uphill battle to nip in the bud all the suggestions of similarities between its presence in Iraq and the Vietnamese imbroglio. But there are similarities, to be sure, and they are intensifying. Shadows of the ghosts of Vietnam are growing tall.
Asia Times: In Iraq, 'v' doesn't stand for victory
Vietnam and Watergate are two overwhelming metaphors of the American political lexicon with which no sitting president wants any association. The first one is related to the United States's rather humiliating withdrawal from South Vietnam, and the second axiom epitomizes political corruption that led to the ignominious ouster of a president from office. That is one reason why the administration of President George W Bush is fighting an uphill battle to nip in the bud all the suggestions of similarities between its presence in Iraq and the Vietnamese imbroglio. But there are similarities, to be sure, and they are intensifying. Shadows of the ghosts of Vietnam are growing tall.
TURKEY
Pravda: Turkey Disgusted with Americans
Relations between Ankara and Washington have unexpectedly aggravated recently
This is said to be connected with an arrest of 11 Turkish servicemen by US military forces three days ago. It is reported that the people were plotting to assinate the governor of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, a Kurd by nationality. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan had to settle the tension in relations between Turkey and the USA. The prime minister called actions of American military forces disgusting. On the whole, the situation looks rather strange indeed
Pravda: Turkey Disgusted with Americans
Relations between Ankara and Washington have unexpectedly aggravated recently
This is said to be connected with an arrest of 11 Turkish servicemen by US military forces three days ago. It is reported that the people were plotting to assinate the governor of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, a Kurd by nationality. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan had to settle the tension in relations between Turkey and the USA. The prime minister called actions of American military forces disgusting. On the whole, the situation looks rather strange indeed
ACEH
Sidney Morning Herald: Crushing Aceh rebels may take years, says chief
The Indonesian military has said its offensive against rebels in the north-western province of Aceh, supposed to last six months, will last much longer, perhaps 10 years.
The statement by the military's chief, General Endriartono Sutarto, to Indonesian reporters on Sunday followed the United States' first public rebuke of Indonesia over the war. A Bush Administration official urged President Megawati Soekarnoputri to end the nearly 30-year-old conflict.
But Washington's diplomacy - including meetings between a National Security Council official, Karen Brooks, and Ms Megawati, as well as one with General Sutarto - appears to have had little effect on the military's conduct in Aceh.
Sidney Morning Herald: Crushing Aceh rebels may take years, says chief
The Indonesian military has said its offensive against rebels in the north-western province of Aceh, supposed to last six months, will last much longer, perhaps 10 years.
The statement by the military's chief, General Endriartono Sutarto, to Indonesian reporters on Sunday followed the United States' first public rebuke of Indonesia over the war. A Bush Administration official urged President Megawati Soekarnoputri to end the nearly 30-year-old conflict.
But Washington's diplomacy - including meetings between a National Security Council official, Karen Brooks, and Ms Megawati, as well as one with General Sutarto - appears to have had little effect on the military's conduct in Aceh.
IRAQ OIL
Pravda: Poland Acknowledges Oil Ambition in Iraq
Washington and London still hesitate to acknowledge the fact that the war in Iraq was launched because of oil. However, their true ally - Poland - does not see anything blameworthy about it. Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz has recently stated that Poland has never concealed its aspiration to gain a direct access to oil deposits. Saddam is a tyrant and a monster, of course, but oil is much more important.
Pravda: Poland Acknowledges Oil Ambition in Iraq
Washington and London still hesitate to acknowledge the fact that the war in Iraq was launched because of oil. However, their true ally - Poland - does not see anything blameworthy about it. Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz has recently stated that Poland has never concealed its aspiration to gain a direct access to oil deposits. Saddam is a tyrant and a monster, of course, but oil is much more important.
IRAQI RESISTANCE
MSNBC: Urban combat frustrates U.S. Army
As attacks on occupation forces in Iraq escalate, assailants in Baghdad have used the capital’s bustling crowds, tall buildings and busy streets as avenues for surprise strikes and easy escapes — elements of urban warfare that U.S. troops managed to avoid during the military campaign to topple the government of Saddam Hussein.
MSNBC: Urban combat frustrates U.S. Army
As attacks on occupation forces in Iraq escalate, assailants in Baghdad have used the capital’s bustling crowds, tall buildings and busy streets as avenues for surprise strikes and easy escapes — elements of urban warfare that U.S. troops managed to avoid during the military campaign to topple the government of Saddam Hussein.
IRAQ
LA Times: Occupation's Ordeals Ravage Iraqi Psyche
BAGHDAD -- Iraqis think of it as the social security office. And as the court of civil complaints and the central police station. It also goes by the generic name "the Authority." A single American soldier was on duty at its side gate, sitting on a chair behind spools of barbed wire.
Ikbal Abbas Muhsen, a onetime employee of the Youth Ministry, called out to the soldier. "I need to talk to the general!" she said in Arabic. She had come to ask for her job back from the people now ruling Iraq: the U.S. officials installed at Saddam Hussein's old Republican Palace.
Muhsen had dressed in a black jacket for the occasion. The soldier, sitting a dozen feet away, seemed unaware of her presence.
LA Times: Occupation's Ordeals Ravage Iraqi Psyche
BAGHDAD -- Iraqis think of it as the social security office. And as the court of civil complaints and the central police station. It also goes by the generic name "the Authority." A single American soldier was on duty at its side gate, sitting on a chair behind spools of barbed wire.
Ikbal Abbas Muhsen, a onetime employee of the Youth Ministry, called out to the soldier. "I need to talk to the general!" she said in Arabic. She had come to ask for her job back from the people now ruling Iraq: the U.S. officials installed at Saddam Hussein's old Republican Palace.
Muhsen had dressed in a black jacket for the occasion. The soldier, sitting a dozen feet away, seemed unaware of her presence.
COLUMBIA
Guardian: Secret aid poured into Colombian drug war
Continuing human rights abuses have not hindered flow of equipment and advice to Bogota
Britain is secretly stepping up military assistance to Colombia as the war on drug trafficking becomes increasingly entangled in the effort to defeat leftwing guerrillas and drive them back to the negotiating table.
Despite continuing reports of serious abuses by the security forces and the concerns of human rights groups about President Alvaro Uribe's tactics, Tony Blair has encouraged the Foreign Office to hold an international conference on support for Colombia, beginning today.
Whitehall refuses to disclose the extent of British military involvement on the grounds of national security. "We provide some military aid but we don't talk about the details," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.
Guardian: Secret aid poured into Colombian drug war
Continuing human rights abuses have not hindered flow of equipment and advice to Bogota
Britain is secretly stepping up military assistance to Colombia as the war on drug trafficking becomes increasingly entangled in the effort to defeat leftwing guerrillas and drive them back to the negotiating table.
Despite continuing reports of serious abuses by the security forces and the concerns of human rights groups about President Alvaro Uribe's tactics, Tony Blair has encouraged the Foreign Office to hold an international conference on support for Colombia, beginning today.
Whitehall refuses to disclose the extent of British military involvement on the grounds of national security. "We provide some military aid but we don't talk about the details," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.
CAPITALISM
Guardian: The lost decade
They were promised a brighter future, but in the 1990s the world's poor fell further behind
Taking issue with those who have argued that the "tough love" policies of the past two decades have spawned the growth of a new global middle class, the report says the world became ever more divided between the super-rich and the desperately poor.
The richest 1% of the world's population (around 60 million) now receive as much income as the poorest 57%, while the income of the richest 25 million Americans is the equivalent of that of almost 2 billion of the world's poorest people. In 1820 western Europe's per capita income was three times that of Africa's; by the 90s it was more than 13 times as high.
The poster children of the 1990s are among those who didn't do terribly well," he said. "There are structural restraints on development. Market reforms are not enough. You can't just liberalise; you need an interventionist strategy."
Economic growth alone would not rescue the world from poverty, the report said. "Without addressing issues like malnutrition and illiteracy that are both causes and symptoms of poverty, the goals will not be met.
Guardian: The lost decade
They were promised a brighter future, but in the 1990s the world's poor fell further behind
Taking issue with those who have argued that the "tough love" policies of the past two decades have spawned the growth of a new global middle class, the report says the world became ever more divided between the super-rich and the desperately poor.
The richest 1% of the world's population (around 60 million) now receive as much income as the poorest 57%, while the income of the richest 25 million Americans is the equivalent of that of almost 2 billion of the world's poorest people. In 1820 western Europe's per capita income was three times that of Africa's; by the 90s it was more than 13 times as high.
The poster children of the 1990s are among those who didn't do terribly well," he said. "There are structural restraints on development. Market reforms are not enough. You can't just liberalise; you need an interventionist strategy."
Economic growth alone would not rescue the world from poverty, the report said. "Without addressing issues like malnutrition and illiteracy that are both causes and symptoms of poverty, the goals will not be met.
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Guardian: US forces attacked in Falluja
US forces in Iraq came under renewed attack today as insurgents in the troubled town of Falluja fired two rocket-propelled grenades at a US-occupied building.
The US army and police in the town, which is 35 miles west of Baghdad, said that there were no injuries.
Iraqi police lieutenant Iyad Abed said that one of the grenades exploded in the air, with the second landing on the street outside a building being used by US troops.
The Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite station reported a second skirmish in Falluja, during which a US patrol came under fire.
Guardian: US forces attacked in Falluja
US forces in Iraq came under renewed attack today as insurgents in the troubled town of Falluja fired two rocket-propelled grenades at a US-occupied building.
The US army and police in the town, which is 35 miles west of Baghdad, said that there were no injuries.
Iraqi police lieutenant Iyad Abed said that one of the grenades exploded in the air, with the second landing on the street outside a building being used by US troops.
The Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite station reported a second skirmish in Falluja, during which a US patrol came under fire.
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
IRAQ
common dreams: Are We Committing War Crimes in Iraq? by by Dennis Jett
The Bush administration is doing some serious diplomatic arm-twisting to ensure that Americans do not fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Washington is threatening to cut off aid to dozens of our allies, including countries that supported our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, if they don't go along with an exemption for Americans.
The administration argues that American troops must be protected from politically motivated prosecutions by the court, which came into being a year ago.
Another reason may be that the highest officials in Washington don't want to worry about being tried themselves
Dennis Jett, a former U.S. ambassador, is dean of the University of Florida's International Center.
common dreams: Are We Committing War Crimes in Iraq? by by Dennis Jett
The Bush administration is doing some serious diplomatic arm-twisting to ensure that Americans do not fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Washington is threatening to cut off aid to dozens of our allies, including countries that supported our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, if they don't go along with an exemption for Americans.
The administration argues that American troops must be protected from politically motivated prosecutions by the court, which came into being a year ago.
Another reason may be that the highest officials in Washington don't want to worry about being tried themselves
Dennis Jett, a former U.S. ambassador, is dean of the University of Florida's International Center.
SPAIN
WSWS: Spain: Madrid threatens withdrawal of Basque autonomy
Relations between the Spanish government in Madrid and the local government of the Basque Autonomous Region have worsened since the recent local elections.
Madrid has threatened to suspend the region’s autonomy for the first time since it was granted under the 1979 Constitution. Criminal charges have been filed against members of the Basque parliament.
The tension has been mounting for some time. The Basque region has been used by the Popular Party (PP) government of Jose-Maria Aznar as a test bed for a widespread assault on democratic rights. Aznar’s active support for the American-led onslaught against Iraq alienated him from a large part of the Spanish population (up to 91 percent opposed the war). He had also been an enthusiastic supporter of the post-September 11 “War on Terror,” seeing in it an opportunity to suppress finally the Basque separatist terror group).
Repression against Basque separatist parties has been mounting steadily. Last year’s Political Parties Law allows the state to ban any political party that “supports,” “justifies” or “covers” for terrorists. (Significantly, application of this law is not restricted to the Basque region.)
WSWS: Spain: Madrid threatens withdrawal of Basque autonomy
Relations between the Spanish government in Madrid and the local government of the Basque Autonomous Region have worsened since the recent local elections.
Madrid has threatened to suspend the region’s autonomy for the first time since it was granted under the 1979 Constitution. Criminal charges have been filed against members of the Basque parliament.
The tension has been mounting for some time. The Basque region has been used by the Popular Party (PP) government of Jose-Maria Aznar as a test bed for a widespread assault on democratic rights. Aznar’s active support for the American-led onslaught against Iraq alienated him from a large part of the Spanish population (up to 91 percent opposed the war). He had also been an enthusiastic supporter of the post-September 11 “War on Terror,” seeing in it an opportunity to suppress finally the Basque separatist terror group).
Repression against Basque separatist parties has been mounting steadily. Last year’s Political Parties Law allows the state to ban any political party that “supports,” “justifies” or “covers” for terrorists. (Significantly, application of this law is not restricted to the Basque region.)
IRAQI RESISTANCE
straitstimes: Guerilla attacks spreading to Western civilian targets
BAGHDAD - Rogue Iraqi elements have killed a British journalist and attacked a United Nations compound, raising fears that Iraqi insurgents are widening their targets from coalition troops to Westerners in general.
With three more United States soldiers killed in separate incidents over the past two days, some US military officials are worried that such attacks on foreigners will hamper news gathering and humanitarian efforts.
British journalist Richard Wild, who arrived in the country two weeks ago to be a war correspondent, showed no outward signs of being a reporter.
Around midday on Saturday, he was killed by a single pistol shot fired into the base of his skull at close range, colleagues said.
On the same day, insurgents also fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the UN's International Organisation for Migration office in Mosul, 386km north-west of Baghdad.
straitstimes: Guerilla attacks spreading to Western civilian targets
BAGHDAD - Rogue Iraqi elements have killed a British journalist and attacked a United Nations compound, raising fears that Iraqi insurgents are widening their targets from coalition troops to Westerners in general.
With three more United States soldiers killed in separate incidents over the past two days, some US military officials are worried that such attacks on foreigners will hamper news gathering and humanitarian efforts.
British journalist Richard Wild, who arrived in the country two weeks ago to be a war correspondent, showed no outward signs of being a reporter.
Around midday on Saturday, he was killed by a single pistol shot fired into the base of his skull at close range, colleagues said.
On the same day, insurgents also fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the UN's International Organisation for Migration office in Mosul, 386km north-west of Baghdad.
ISRAEL
Straitstimes: Militants demand release of 6,000 in Israeli prisons
JERUSALEM - A Palestinian spokesman has rejected as 'insufficient' Israel's decision on Sunday to consider the release of some 350 Palestinian prisoners, warning instead of a resumption of violence unless all 6,000 prisoners held in Israeli jails were freed.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected the demand. 'There is no way that prisoners with blood on their hands will be released,' he said.
Officials of the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad said that if Israel does not release all of its prisoners, they would consider ending the ceasefire they agreed to last week.
Straitstimes: Militants demand release of 6,000 in Israeli prisons
JERUSALEM - A Palestinian spokesman has rejected as 'insufficient' Israel's decision on Sunday to consider the release of some 350 Palestinian prisoners, warning instead of a resumption of violence unless all 6,000 prisoners held in Israeli jails were freed.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected the demand. 'There is no way that prisoners with blood on their hands will be released,' he said.
Officials of the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad said that if Israel does not release all of its prisoners, they would consider ending the ceasefire they agreed to last week.
IRAQI WMD
Independent: 'Easter egg hunt' for WMD is abandoned
When the first American soldiers advanced through Iraq in March, every warehouse with bags of pesticide was eagerly examined in case they might be weapons of mass destruction.
"I can't get hold of any American officers because they are all out trying to win promotion by being the first to find WMD," said a Kurdish official in exasperation just after the fall of Mosul. "It is like a giant Easter egg hunt."
The search now is much more muted. US officers are more worried about the escalating guerrilla war. The Iraqi opposition, which in exile found no difficulty in passing on information about Saddam Hussein's stocks of WMD to intelligence agencies and journalists, has lost interest.
Independent: 'Easter egg hunt' for WMD is abandoned
When the first American soldiers advanced through Iraq in March, every warehouse with bags of pesticide was eagerly examined in case they might be weapons of mass destruction.
"I can't get hold of any American officers because they are all out trying to win promotion by being the first to find WMD," said a Kurdish official in exasperation just after the fall of Mosul. "It is like a giant Easter egg hunt."
The search now is much more muted. US officers are more worried about the escalating guerrilla war. The Iraqi opposition, which in exile found no difficulty in passing on information about Saddam Hussein's stocks of WMD to intelligence agencies and journalists, has lost interest.
IRAQI RESITANCE
Independent: Shootings of three US soldiers mark escalation of resistance
Three American soldiers were killed in separate attacks in Iraq in the last 24 hours amid signs that many Iraqis approve of the killing of the occupying soldiers.
One died in a firefight late last night Sunday after two armed men opened fire on a US Army convoy. In the second incident, insurgents threw a homemade bomb at another convoy early today killing a soldier. Both were from the 1st Armored Division, the Germany-based division which is charged with occupying Baghdad.
In the third incident a soldier was shot in the neck and killed yesterday as he queued to buy a soft drink at Baghdad University. An Iraqi man came up to him and said "Hello mister", drew a pistol from his pocket and fired.
Paul Bremer, the US chief administrator in Baghdad, has blamed remnants of the old regime who are still loyal to Saddam Hussein. He said they were "desperate men" who had no place in the new Iraq.
– very soon – a guerrilla resistance must start. No doubt the Americans will claim that these attacks are "remnants" of Saddam's regime or "criminal elements". But that will not be the case. Robert Fisk, 17. April 2003
Independent: Shootings of three US soldiers mark escalation of resistance
Three American soldiers were killed in separate attacks in Iraq in the last 24 hours amid signs that many Iraqis approve of the killing of the occupying soldiers.
One died in a firefight late last night Sunday after two armed men opened fire on a US Army convoy. In the second incident, insurgents threw a homemade bomb at another convoy early today killing a soldier. Both were from the 1st Armored Division, the Germany-based division which is charged with occupying Baghdad.
In the third incident a soldier was shot in the neck and killed yesterday as he queued to buy a soft drink at Baghdad University. An Iraqi man came up to him and said "Hello mister", drew a pistol from his pocket and fired.
Paul Bremer, the US chief administrator in Baghdad, has blamed remnants of the old regime who are still loyal to Saddam Hussein. He said they were "desperate men" who had no place in the new Iraq.
– very soon – a guerrilla resistance must start. No doubt the Americans will claim that these attacks are "remnants" of Saddam's regime or "criminal elements". But that will not be the case. Robert Fisk, 17. April 2003
911
Rense/CNN: US Agencies Charged With Delaying 911 Probe
Commission Says Problems With Pentagon 'Particularly Serious'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The commission investigating the attacks of September 11, 2001 said Tuesday that the first six months have been slow going largely because government agencies have been slow to turn over documents.
"Extensive and prompt cooperation from the U.S. government, the Congress, state and local agencies, and private firms is essential," according to the interim report by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.
Rense/CNN: US Agencies Charged With Delaying 911 Probe
Commission Says Problems With Pentagon 'Particularly Serious'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The commission investigating the attacks of September 11, 2001 said Tuesday that the first six months have been slow going largely because government agencies have been slow to turn over documents.
"Extensive and prompt cooperation from the U.S. government, the Congress, state and local agencies, and private firms is essential," according to the interim report by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
George w Bush jr.:
I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things.
-- aboard AirForce One, June 4 2003
First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill.
-- Washington, DC, May 19, 2003
Check:
The Dubay Report for other funny quotes
George w Bush jr.:
I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things.
-- aboard AirForce One, June 4 2003
First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill.
-- Washington, DC, May 19, 2003
Check:
The Dubay Report for other funny quotes
Monday, July 07, 2003
IRAQI RESISTANCE
ABC: 2 U.S. Troops Die in Iraqi Convoy Attacks
Two American soldiers were killed in separate attacks on their convoys over the weekend in the Iraqi capital, the military said Monday
Rense:
US Soldier Critically Wounded In Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier was shot and critically wounded at Baghdad University on Sunday, witnesses and the U.S. military said.
Students near the scene said the soldier had been inside the university campus in the southern part of the city when he was shot. A U.S. military helicopter evacuated the soldier and troops sealed off the campus, they said.
ABC: 2 U.S. Troops Die in Iraqi Convoy Attacks
Two American soldiers were killed in separate attacks on their convoys over the weekend in the Iraqi capital, the military said Monday
Rense:
US Soldier Critically Wounded In Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier was shot and critically wounded at Baghdad University on Sunday, witnesses and the U.S. military said.
Students near the scene said the soldier had been inside the university campus in the southern part of the city when he was shot. A U.S. military helicopter evacuated the soldier and troops sealed off the campus, they said.
Sunday, July 06, 2003
IRAQ
Spiegel: "Wobei haben sie noch gelogen?"
Ein amerikanischer Ex-Diplomat erhebt schwere Vorwürfe gegen die US-Regierung. Die Fakten über vermeintliche Massenvernichtungswaffen im Irak seien falsch dargestellt worden.
Spiegel: "Wobei haben sie noch gelogen?"
Ein amerikanischer Ex-Diplomat erhebt schwere Vorwürfe gegen die US-Regierung. Die Fakten über vermeintliche Massenvernichtungswaffen im Irak seien falsch dargestellt worden.
Friday, July 04, 2003
IRAQI RESITANCE
ZMAG: This Is What A Guerilla War Looks Like
While it's now apparent that The Pentagon made no substantial plans for how to run post-war Iraq, somebody else in Iraq has certainly made plans for how to sabotage U.S. rule.
Before the war began, military strategists insisted that they had a plan for Iraq after the fighting was over. Their plan was to swoop in, seize or kill Saddam Hussein and his top cadre, and leave the mid-level government managers, city officials, village mayors, and police forces in place to run the country. The Pentagon expected the Iraqi military to refuse to fight, to depose Saddam in a coup, and to maintain control of the security situation in Iraq so U.S. troops could waltz into Baghdad and set up a new government.
None of these optimistic scenarios has played out as planned. In fact, while Congress slowly nibbles on the intelligence data from the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency in search of the people who overestimated Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, no one has thought to demand hearings over which military planners or upper level Bush administration officials took us into a war with a long-term plan that resembles a Harry Potter novel.
ZMAG: This Is What A Guerilla War Looks Like
While it's now apparent that The Pentagon made no substantial plans for how to run post-war Iraq, somebody else in Iraq has certainly made plans for how to sabotage U.S. rule.
Before the war began, military strategists insisted that they had a plan for Iraq after the fighting was over. Their plan was to swoop in, seize or kill Saddam Hussein and his top cadre, and leave the mid-level government managers, city officials, village mayors, and police forces in place to run the country. The Pentagon expected the Iraqi military to refuse to fight, to depose Saddam in a coup, and to maintain control of the security situation in Iraq so U.S. troops could waltz into Baghdad and set up a new government.
None of these optimistic scenarios has played out as planned. In fact, while Congress slowly nibbles on the intelligence data from the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency in search of the people who overestimated Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, no one has thought to demand hearings over which military planners or upper level Bush administration officials took us into a war with a long-term plan that resembles a Harry Potter novel.
USA
Fromthewilderness: BEYOND BUSH - Part I
"There is no longer any serious doubt that Bush administration officials
deceived us into war. The key question now is why so many influential
people are in denial, unwilling to admit the obvious...But even people who
aren't partisan Republicans shy away from confronting the administration's
dishonest case for war, because they don't want to face the implications...
"After all, suppose a politician - or a journalist - admits to himself that
Mr. Bush bamboozled the nation into war. Well, launching a war on false
pretenses is, to say the least a breach of trust. So if you admit to
yourself that such a thing happened, you have a moral obligation to demand
accountability - and to do so in the face not only of a powerful, ruthless
political machine but in the face of a country not yet ready to believe
that its leaders have exploited 9/11 for political gain. It's a scary
prospect. Yet, if we can't find people willing to take the risk - to face
the truth and act on it - what will happen to our democracy?" -- Paul
Krugman, The New York Times, June 24, 2003
"CHECK IT"
Fromthewilderness: BEYOND BUSH - Part I
"There is no longer any serious doubt that Bush administration officials
deceived us into war. The key question now is why so many influential
people are in denial, unwilling to admit the obvious...But even people who
aren't partisan Republicans shy away from confronting the administration's
dishonest case for war, because they don't want to face the implications...
"After all, suppose a politician - or a journalist - admits to himself that
Mr. Bush bamboozled the nation into war. Well, launching a war on false
pretenses is, to say the least a breach of trust. So if you admit to
yourself that such a thing happened, you have a moral obligation to demand
accountability - and to do so in the face not only of a powerful, ruthless
political machine but in the face of a country not yet ready to believe
that its leaders have exploited 9/11 for political gain. It's a scary
prospect. Yet, if we can't find people willing to take the risk - to face
the truth and act on it - what will happen to our democracy?" -- Paul
Krugman, The New York Times, June 24, 2003
"CHECK IT"
ISRAEL
Haaretz: Enough playing games
The dismantling of outposts episode is turning into
a parody. For every "unauthorized outpost"
ostensibly dismantled by the IDF, two others are
constructed by settlers. Just like the former were
mainly uninhabited, so are the latter. The game is
one of appearances in an attempt to make a
favorable impression on public opinion. The
director-general of the Yesha Council of Jewish
settlements, Adi Mintz, told Haaretz yesterday
that the struggle he and his colleagues are waging
"is an attempt to sear into the [public]
consciousness what it means to evacuate Jews from
their homes." To judge from public opinion polls,
this attempt has failed miserably so far.
Haaretz: Enough playing games
The dismantling of outposts episode is turning into
a parody. For every "unauthorized outpost"
ostensibly dismantled by the IDF, two others are
constructed by settlers. Just like the former were
mainly uninhabited, so are the latter. The game is
one of appearances in an attempt to make a
favorable impression on public opinion. The
director-general of the Yesha Council of Jewish
settlements, Adi Mintz, told Haaretz yesterday
that the struggle he and his colleagues are waging
"is an attempt to sear into the [public]
consciousness what it means to evacuate Jews from
their homes." To judge from public opinion polls,
this attempt has failed miserably so far.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Guardian: Israel defies peace plan with land grab on West Bank
The Israeli government has confiscated hundreds of acres of Palestinian land on the West Bank this week - for the purpose, Palestinians allege, of building settlements - in flagrant breach of commitments under the US-led road map to peace.
Yesterday, an Israeli official and soldiers were marking out swaths of olive groves and other ground outside the villages of Beit Eksa and Beit Souriq, north of Jerusalem.
"State land. Entry prohibited," read a sign erected on village land in the name of the civil administration of Judea and Samaria, the Israeli body that oversees military rule in the West Bank.
The Palestinians say the Israelis plan to build settlements to link two Jewish towns constructed on land seized from the Arab villages in the 1980s. The accusation would fit with existing Israeli plans for a "greater Jerusalem".
Guardian: Israel defies peace plan with land grab on West Bank
The Israeli government has confiscated hundreds of acres of Palestinian land on the West Bank this week - for the purpose, Palestinians allege, of building settlements - in flagrant breach of commitments under the US-led road map to peace.
Yesterday, an Israeli official and soldiers were marking out swaths of olive groves and other ground outside the villages of Beit Eksa and Beit Souriq, north of Jerusalem.
"State land. Entry prohibited," read a sign erected on village land in the name of the civil administration of Judea and Samaria, the Israeli body that oversees military rule in the West Bank.
The Palestinians say the Israelis plan to build settlements to link two Jewish towns constructed on land seized from the Arab villages in the 1980s. The accusation would fit with existing Israeli plans for a "greater Jerusalem".
GLOBAL WARMING
Independent: Reaping the whirlwind
Extreme weather prompts unprecedented global warming alert
In an astonishing announcement on global warming and extreme weather, the World Meteorological Organisation signalled last night that the world's weather is going haywire.
In a startling report, the WMO, which normally produces detailed scientific reports and staid statistics at the year's end, highlighted record extremes in weather and climate occurring all over the world in recent weeks, from Switzerland's hottest-ever June to a record month for tornadoes in the United States - and linked them to climate change.
The unprecedented warning takes its force and significance from the fact that it is not coming from Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth, but from an impeccably respected UN organisation that is not given to hyperbole
Independent: Reaping the whirlwind
Extreme weather prompts unprecedented global warming alert
In an astonishing announcement on global warming and extreme weather, the World Meteorological Organisation signalled last night that the world's weather is going haywire.
In a startling report, the WMO, which normally produces detailed scientific reports and staid statistics at the year's end, highlighted record extremes in weather and climate occurring all over the world in recent weeks, from Switzerland's hottest-ever June to a record month for tornadoes in the United States - and linked them to climate change.
The unprecedented warning takes its force and significance from the fact that it is not coming from Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth, but from an impeccably respected UN organisation that is not given to hyperbole
IRAQ
floridatoday: US Pumping Iraqi Oil To Kuwait???
On May 25, while scanning the Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite
Program images pipelined into his desktop from 450 miles in orbit, Hank
Brandli skidded at a nighttime photo of Iraq. It looked familiar. But not
exactly. Brandli retrieved another DMSP image he'd archived from May 3. He
compared the two. The most recent photo showed a blazing corridor of light
running the length of Kuwait, south to north, all the way to the Iraqi
border. The image wasn't there on May 3. "It's going right up to Iraq's
oil fields," says the retired Air Force colonel from his home in Palm Bay.
"Maybe I'm full of s---. Maybe all they're doing is building a highway to
put in McDonald's and sell hamburgers. But why go that way? I think we're
in bed with Kuwait. I think we're pumping oil out of Iraq to pay for this
war."
floridatoday: US Pumping Iraqi Oil To Kuwait???
On May 25, while scanning the Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite
Program images pipelined into his desktop from 450 miles in orbit, Hank
Brandli skidded at a nighttime photo of Iraq. It looked familiar. But not
exactly. Brandli retrieved another DMSP image he'd archived from May 3. He
compared the two. The most recent photo showed a blazing corridor of light
running the length of Kuwait, south to north, all the way to the Iraqi
border. The image wasn't there on May 3. "It's going right up to Iraq's
oil fields," says the retired Air Force colonel from his home in Palm Bay.
"Maybe I'm full of s---. Maybe all they're doing is building a highway to
put in McDonald's and sell hamburgers. But why go that way? I think we're
in bed with Kuwait. I think we're pumping oil out of Iraq to pay for this
war."
ISRAEL
Guardian: Israeli claim of victory denounced
Israel's army chief claimed victory over the Palestinian intifada yesterday, saying the ceasefire announced by Hamas and other groups was an admission of defeat.
Lieutenant General Moshe Yaalon told the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that, after 1,000 days of uprising, the Palestinians had been forced to realise that "terror doesn't pay". He said Israeli society had withstood the test and terror was fought with heroism. "We now need to announce that we have won and carry on. We managed to bring a war that could not be won with a crushing attack ... to the point where the other side realises that using force will not bring a solution."
"und nebenbei hat Israel Gestern die gezielten T?tungen von Militanten Palästinensern wieder aufgenommen und einen Anführer der Al-Aqsa Brigaden erschossen, die Al-Aqsa Brigaden haben daraufhin den Waffenstillstand gekündigt und Vergeltung versprochen. Soviel zum Israelischen Friedenswillen"
MSNBC: Israel kills militant, blocks highway
After tentative steps toward peace, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian militiaman during a West Bank raid Thursday, and the two sides bickered over who won the past 33 months of fighting. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces temporarily closed an important junction after rockets were fired at a Jewish settlement, casting a shadow over a hand over of territory to Palestinians.
Guardian: Israeli claim of victory denounced
Israel's army chief claimed victory over the Palestinian intifada yesterday, saying the ceasefire announced by Hamas and other groups was an admission of defeat.
Lieutenant General Moshe Yaalon told the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that, after 1,000 days of uprising, the Palestinians had been forced to realise that "terror doesn't pay". He said Israeli society had withstood the test and terror was fought with heroism. "We now need to announce that we have won and carry on. We managed to bring a war that could not be won with a crushing attack ... to the point where the other side realises that using force will not bring a solution."
"und nebenbei hat Israel Gestern die gezielten T?tungen von Militanten Palästinensern wieder aufgenommen und einen Anführer der Al-Aqsa Brigaden erschossen, die Al-Aqsa Brigaden haben daraufhin den Waffenstillstand gekündigt und Vergeltung versprochen. Soviel zum Israelischen Friedenswillen"
MSNBC: Israel kills militant, blocks highway
After tentative steps toward peace, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian militiaman during a West Bank raid Thursday, and the two sides bickered over who won the past 33 months of fighting. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces temporarily closed an important junction after rockets were fired at a Jewish settlement, casting a shadow over a hand over of territory to Palestinians.
Thursday, July 03, 2003
IRAQI RESITANCE
Independent: More attacks on US troops in Iraq despite reward
US offers $25m for Saddam, dead or alive
Another American soldier was killed in an attack on a convoy in Baghdad and at least 19 were injured in a mortar attack as attacks against US forces in Iraq showed no sign of abating.
The latest attacks followed the announcement by the United States yesterday of a $25m (£15m) reward for information leading to the capture of Saddam Hussein or positive confirmation of his death in an effort to reduce the number of attacks on American and British troops.
A reward of $15m was announced for similar information about the former dictator's two sons, Uday and Qusay.
Independent: More attacks on US troops in Iraq despite reward
US offers $25m for Saddam, dead or alive
Another American soldier was killed in an attack on a convoy in Baghdad and at least 19 were injured in a mortar attack as attacks against US forces in Iraq showed no sign of abating.
The latest attacks followed the announcement by the United States yesterday of a $25m (£15m) reward for information leading to the capture of Saddam Hussein or positive confirmation of his death in an effort to reduce the number of attacks on American and British troops.
A reward of $15m was announced for similar information about the former dictator's two sons, Uday and Qusay.
LIBERIA
Spiegel: Bush stellt Taylor 48-Stunden-Ultimatum
Die USA haben dem liberianischen Präsidenten Charles Taylor nach US-Medienberichten ein Ultimatum für einen Rücktritt gestellt. Demnach wurden Taylor 48 Stunden Zeit gegeben, um das afrikanische Bürgerkriegsland zu verlassen.
"blackhawk down"
Spiegel: Bush stellt Taylor 48-Stunden-Ultimatum
Die USA haben dem liberianischen Präsidenten Charles Taylor nach US-Medienberichten ein Ultimatum für einen Rücktritt gestellt. Demnach wurden Taylor 48 Stunden Zeit gegeben, um das afrikanische Bürgerkriegsland zu verlassen.
"blackhawk down"
AFGHANISTAN
the star: Oust foreigners, Afghans urged
Warlord vows to fight U.S. troops
Recorded message sent to media
ISLAMABAD—In his first video message since returning to Afghanistan last year, rebel leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar urges Afghans to "cut off the hands of the foreign meddlers" and drive all American and other foreign troops from the country.
Hekmatyar, who led one of the factions in Afghanistan's civil war a decade ago, mocked the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai as unscrupulous opportunists who are "fighting their own people under the command of foreigners.''
"I invite all Afghan factions to come and forget our differences ... and oust the foreign troops, cut off the hands of the foreign meddlers," Hekmatyar said, speaking in Pashtu.
The video, on a compact disc received yesterday by Associated Press in Pakistan, underlines the resistance still facing U.S. troops as they try to bring order to Afghanistan 1 1/2 years after the Taliban regime and its Al Qaeda allies were ousted.
the star: Oust foreigners, Afghans urged
Warlord vows to fight U.S. troops
Recorded message sent to media
ISLAMABAD—In his first video message since returning to Afghanistan last year, rebel leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar urges Afghans to "cut off the hands of the foreign meddlers" and drive all American and other foreign troops from the country.
Hekmatyar, who led one of the factions in Afghanistan's civil war a decade ago, mocked the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai as unscrupulous opportunists who are "fighting their own people under the command of foreigners.''
"I invite all Afghan factions to come and forget our differences ... and oust the foreign troops, cut off the hands of the foreign meddlers," Hekmatyar said, speaking in Pashtu.
The video, on a compact disc received yesterday by Associated Press in Pakistan, underlines the resistance still facing U.S. troops as they try to bring order to Afghanistan 1 1/2 years after the Taliban regime and its Al Qaeda allies were ousted.
DON BERLUSCONI
Spiegel Presseschau: "So nicht, Silvio!"
Italiens Ministerpräsident Silvio Berlusconi hat mit seinem Nazi-Vergleich im EU-Parlament international ein verheerendes Medienecho ausgelöst. - Eine Auswahl:
La Repubblica, Rom: "Exakt drei Stunden und 25 Minuten, die Zeit zwischen dem Beginn der Sitzung des Parlaments in Straßburg und der Bemerkung Berlusconis, haben ausgereicht, um die Rolle zu zerstören, die der italienische Ministerpräsident formell begonnen hat, in der Europäischen Union auszuüben. Es ist selten, dass ein politischer Führer eine derart wertvolle Gelegenheit so rasch vergeudet. Ein Rekord."
Frankfurter Rundschau: "Berlusconis Ausfälle vor dem Europäischen Parlament waren in der Sache zwar außerordentlich geschmacklos, ihre eigentliche Bedeutung liegt aber in der erschreckenden Erkenntnis, dass der nun höchste EU-Repräsentant schnell die Kontrolle über sich verliert und partiell von Sinnen ist. Wer so in einer, wenn auch scharf geführten parlamentarischen Debatte ausklinkt, der ist ein Risiko für die gesamte Union."
Tages-Anzeiger, Zürich: "Ausgerechnet dieser Mann steht nun für ein halbes Jahr an der Spitze der EU. Im Grunde sollte Europa ein halbes Jahr Ferien nehmen, abtauchen, die Fahnen einziehen, bis das Mandat dieser Figur abgelaufen ist. Das geht natürlich nicht. Das Mindeste aber wäre, dass die anderen Staats- und Regierungschefs ihrem Kollegen unmissverständlich sagen: So nicht, Silvio!"
Spiegel Presseschau: "So nicht, Silvio!"
Italiens Ministerpräsident Silvio Berlusconi hat mit seinem Nazi-Vergleich im EU-Parlament international ein verheerendes Medienecho ausgelöst. - Eine Auswahl:
La Repubblica, Rom: "Exakt drei Stunden und 25 Minuten, die Zeit zwischen dem Beginn der Sitzung des Parlaments in Straßburg und der Bemerkung Berlusconis, haben ausgereicht, um die Rolle zu zerstören, die der italienische Ministerpräsident formell begonnen hat, in der Europäischen Union auszuüben. Es ist selten, dass ein politischer Führer eine derart wertvolle Gelegenheit so rasch vergeudet. Ein Rekord."
Frankfurter Rundschau: "Berlusconis Ausfälle vor dem Europäischen Parlament waren in der Sache zwar außerordentlich geschmacklos, ihre eigentliche Bedeutung liegt aber in der erschreckenden Erkenntnis, dass der nun höchste EU-Repräsentant schnell die Kontrolle über sich verliert und partiell von Sinnen ist. Wer so in einer, wenn auch scharf geführten parlamentarischen Debatte ausklinkt, der ist ein Risiko für die gesamte Union."
Tages-Anzeiger, Zürich: "Ausgerechnet dieser Mann steht nun für ein halbes Jahr an der Spitze der EU. Im Grunde sollte Europa ein halbes Jahr Ferien nehmen, abtauchen, die Fahnen einziehen, bis das Mandat dieser Figur abgelaufen ist. Das geht natürlich nicht. Das Mindeste aber wäre, dass die anderen Staats- und Regierungschefs ihrem Kollegen unmissverständlich sagen: So nicht, Silvio!"
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
CANNABIS
N-TV: Kiffen schädigt Gehirn nicht
Der Konsum von Cannabis schädigt einer US-Studie zufolge nicht dauerhaft die Hirnfunktion. "Die Ergebnisse waren schon überraschend", sagte Studienleiter Igor Grant von der Universität von Kalifornien in San Diego. "Man hätte mehr Schädigungen der höheren mentalen Funktionen erwarten können", fügte der Mediziner hinzu.
Anders sieht es bei Alkohol und anderen illegalen Drogen aus. Diese könnten durchaus Hirnschäden hervorrufen, hieß es.
Die Untersuchungen von Cannabis-Konsum zeigten nur einen marginalen schädlichen Effekt auf die Lernfähigkeit und das Erinnerungsvermögen. Gar keinen negativen Einfluss zeigte das regelmäßige Rauchen von Marihuana auf andere Funktionen wie Reaktionsvermögen, Sprache oder Aufmerksamkeit.
Das Team wertete für die Analyse 15 frühere Studien aus, die das Verhalten von insgesamt 704 Personen analysierten, die regelmäßig Cannabis konsumieren und verglichen dies mit dem Verhalten von 484 Personen, die kein Cannabis nahmen
"Das ist eine US-Studie! smoke weed everyday"
N-TV: Kiffen schädigt Gehirn nicht
Der Konsum von Cannabis schädigt einer US-Studie zufolge nicht dauerhaft die Hirnfunktion. "Die Ergebnisse waren schon überraschend", sagte Studienleiter Igor Grant von der Universität von Kalifornien in San Diego. "Man hätte mehr Schädigungen der höheren mentalen Funktionen erwarten können", fügte der Mediziner hinzu.
Anders sieht es bei Alkohol und anderen illegalen Drogen aus. Diese könnten durchaus Hirnschäden hervorrufen, hieß es.
Die Untersuchungen von Cannabis-Konsum zeigten nur einen marginalen schädlichen Effekt auf die Lernfähigkeit und das Erinnerungsvermögen. Gar keinen negativen Einfluss zeigte das regelmäßige Rauchen von Marihuana auf andere Funktionen wie Reaktionsvermögen, Sprache oder Aufmerksamkeit.
Das Team wertete für die Analyse 15 frühere Studien aus, die das Verhalten von insgesamt 704 Personen analysierten, die regelmäßig Cannabis konsumieren und verglichen dies mit dem Verhalten von 484 Personen, die kein Cannabis nahmen
"Das ist eine US-Studie! smoke weed everyday"
US EDUCATION
Guardian: The last resort (part one)
The last resort (part two)
When you have a teenager on the rampage, who are you going to turn to? In America, parents send their troubled offspring to Jamaica's Tranquility Bay - a 'behaviour-modification centre' which charges $40,000 a year to 'cure' them. Decca Aitkenhead, the first journalist to gain access to the centre in five years, wonders if there isn't too high a price to pay
Were you to glance up from the deserted beach below, you might mistake Tranquility Bay for a rather exclusive hotel. The statuesque white property stands all alone on a sandy curve of southern Jamaica, feathered by palm trees, gazing out across the Caribbean Sea. You would have to look closer to see the guards at the wall. Inside, 250 foreign children are locked up. Almost all are American, but though kept prisoner, they were not sent here by a court of law. Their parents paid to have them kidnapped and flown here against their will, to be incarcerated for up to three years, sometimes even longer. They will not be released until they are judged to be respectful, polite and obedient enough to rejoin their families.
"CHECK IT"
Guardian: The last resort (part one)
The last resort (part two)
When you have a teenager on the rampage, who are you going to turn to? In America, parents send their troubled offspring to Jamaica's Tranquility Bay - a 'behaviour-modification centre' which charges $40,000 a year to 'cure' them. Decca Aitkenhead, the first journalist to gain access to the centre in five years, wonders if there isn't too high a price to pay
Were you to glance up from the deserted beach below, you might mistake Tranquility Bay for a rather exclusive hotel. The statuesque white property stands all alone on a sandy curve of southern Jamaica, feathered by palm trees, gazing out across the Caribbean Sea. You would have to look closer to see the guards at the wall. Inside, 250 foreign children are locked up. Almost all are American, but though kept prisoner, they were not sent here by a court of law. Their parents paid to have them kidnapped and flown here against their will, to be incarcerated for up to three years, sometimes even longer. They will not be released until they are judged to be respectful, polite and obedient enough to rejoin their families.
"CHECK IT"
1984
ABC:U.S. Develops Urban Surveillance System
U.S. Develops System to Track Vehicles in Foreign Cities; Project Raises Privacy Concerns at Home
The Pentagon is developing an urban surveillance system that would use computers and thousands of cameras to track, record and analyze the movement of every vehicle in a foreign city.
Dubbed "Combat Zones That See," the project is designed to help the U.S. military protect troops and fight in cities overseas.
Police, scientists and privacy experts say the unclassified technology could easily be adapted to spy on Americans.
The project's centerpiece is groundbreaking computer software that is capable of automatically identifying vehicles by size, color, shape and license tag, or drivers and passengers by face
Its other projects include developing software that scans databases of everyday transactions and personal records worldwide to predict terrorist attacks and creating a computerized diary that would record and analyze everything a person says, sees, hears, reads or touches (Die CIA besitzt schon Heute ein Programm um Weltweit Wertschriftentransaktion in Real-Time zu überwachen. Damit sollen aufällige Transaktionen ausfindig gemacht werden die auf Terroranschläge hindeuten. Scheint allerdings nicht zu funktioieren, die massiv erhöhten Volumen bei Optionen von Rückversicherern und Fluggesellschaften am 10. September 2001 wurden nicht bemerkt oder erregten keine Aufmerksamkeit)
ABC:U.S. Develops Urban Surveillance System
U.S. Develops System to Track Vehicles in Foreign Cities; Project Raises Privacy Concerns at Home
The Pentagon is developing an urban surveillance system that would use computers and thousands of cameras to track, record and analyze the movement of every vehicle in a foreign city.
Dubbed "Combat Zones That See," the project is designed to help the U.S. military protect troops and fight in cities overseas.
Police, scientists and privacy experts say the unclassified technology could easily be adapted to spy on Americans.
The project's centerpiece is groundbreaking computer software that is capable of automatically identifying vehicles by size, color, shape and license tag, or drivers and passengers by face
Its other projects include developing software that scans databases of everyday transactions and personal records worldwide to predict terrorist attacks and creating a computerized diary that would record and analyze everything a person says, sees, hears, reads or touches (Die CIA besitzt schon Heute ein Programm um Weltweit Wertschriftentransaktion in Real-Time zu überwachen. Damit sollen aufällige Transaktionen ausfindig gemacht werden die auf Terroranschläge hindeuten. Scheint allerdings nicht zu funktioieren, die massiv erhöhten Volumen bei Optionen von Rückversicherern und Fluggesellschaften am 10. September 2001 wurden nicht bemerkt oder erregten keine Aufmerksamkeit)
IRAQI RESITANCE
Intervention magazine: U.S. Troops Trapped In Iraq
According to Confused Rummy & Chickenhawk George, the Iraq War is over, there are only small pockets of criminals; according to this Vietnam veteran, the war has not ended but changed, changed to a guerrilla war the U.S. will lose.
Nearly two months after President Bush declared an end to the war in Iraq, with great fanfare and total self-confidence, 61 U.S. soldiers have died and the Iraqi attacks are escalating on our troops. Clearly the fighting is not over, some say it’s only beginning. But what kind of fighting?
The New York Times wrote that U.S. troops in Iraq are facing “an organized campaign of guerrilla warfare.” Yet, when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was asked whether the recent assailants of U.S. troops were guerrillas, he replied, “I don't know that I would use that word.” The word Rumsfeld did use was “criminals.” The problem is not guerrilla war, according to Rummy, but criminal activity.
As for the public, it seems to be perplexed, which is risky for Republicans since being perplexed has been known to lead to serious thinking. Americans witnessed our troops being warmly embraced as liberators, the hugs, the kissed and all of that, after a quick victory spin in their SUVs, they returned to the “fair and balanced” to hear our troops were being angrily killed as occupiers. The typical American is beginning to think something isn’t kosher about this peace.
President Bush is wrong, the war is not over. Secretary of Defense is wrong, the attackers are not criminals. It is a guerrilla war. Guerrillas do not need a jungle to operate, only somewhere to hide, somewhere to pounce from and somewhere to retreat into. Urban environments can be ideal, the sprawing, maze-like Iraqi cities certainly are.
Intervention magazine: U.S. Troops Trapped In Iraq
According to Confused Rummy & Chickenhawk George, the Iraq War is over, there are only small pockets of criminals; according to this Vietnam veteran, the war has not ended but changed, changed to a guerrilla war the U.S. will lose.
Nearly two months after President Bush declared an end to the war in Iraq, with great fanfare and total self-confidence, 61 U.S. soldiers have died and the Iraqi attacks are escalating on our troops. Clearly the fighting is not over, some say it’s only beginning. But what kind of fighting?
The New York Times wrote that U.S. troops in Iraq are facing “an organized campaign of guerrilla warfare.” Yet, when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was asked whether the recent assailants of U.S. troops were guerrillas, he replied, “I don't know that I would use that word.” The word Rumsfeld did use was “criminals.” The problem is not guerrilla war, according to Rummy, but criminal activity.
As for the public, it seems to be perplexed, which is risky for Republicans since being perplexed has been known to lead to serious thinking. Americans witnessed our troops being warmly embraced as liberators, the hugs, the kissed and all of that, after a quick victory spin in their SUVs, they returned to the “fair and balanced” to hear our troops were being angrily killed as occupiers. The typical American is beginning to think something isn’t kosher about this peace.
President Bush is wrong, the war is not over. Secretary of Defense is wrong, the attackers are not criminals. It is a guerrilla war. Guerrillas do not need a jungle to operate, only somewhere to hide, somewhere to pounce from and somewhere to retreat into. Urban environments can be ideal, the sprawing, maze-like Iraqi cities certainly are.
SARS BIOWEAPON
Newsinsider: Investigating the SARS Virus
A Product of Bio-Economic Warfare?
Evidence is mounting that the Bush administration may be engaging in a new form of warfare: bio-economic attacks against countries that either opposed the US war on Iraq or were showing signs of surpassing the US in economic vitality and growth. Revelations that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) does not occur naturally and that anthrax may have been introduced onto an Egyptian merchant vessel bound for Canada from Brazil has raised eyebrows among biological warfare experts.
"CHECK IT"
Newsinsider: Investigating the SARS Virus
A Product of Bio-Economic Warfare?
Evidence is mounting that the Bush administration may be engaging in a new form of warfare: bio-economic attacks against countries that either opposed the US war on Iraq or were showing signs of surpassing the US in economic vitality and growth. Revelations that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) does not occur naturally and that anthrax may have been introduced onto an Egyptian merchant vessel bound for Canada from Brazil has raised eyebrows among biological warfare experts.
"CHECK IT"
SOUTH AFRICA
Independent: Bush delivers unprecedented snub to Mandela in Africa visit
President George Bush will make history next week when he becomes the first head of state not to ask for a meeting with Nelson Mandela while on a visit to South Africa.
Officials say there is no precedent, except during large summits such as the UN earth summit in Johannesburg last year when heads of state visited in huge numbers. But even then, world leaders lined up to visit Mr Mandela at his upmarket residence in Johannesburg, and others met him at official events.
But when Mr Bush lands in South Africa next week on his first visit to Africa, the world's most powerful leader will not meet the world's most famous statesman. Mr Bush had not asked for a meeting with Mr Mandela, the former president's spokeswoman said.
The two met at the White House soon after the 11 September suicide attacks, and Mr Mandela expressed support for Mr Bush in hunting down those responsible in Afghanistan. But they fell out when Mr Bush turned on Iraq, and Mr Mandela dismissed the US leader as a President who "cannot think properly" for bypassing the United Nations.
Mr Mandela also made a scathing attack on Tony Blair, labelling him the "Foreign Affairs Minister of the United States
Independent: Bush delivers unprecedented snub to Mandela in Africa visit
President George Bush will make history next week when he becomes the first head of state not to ask for a meeting with Nelson Mandela while on a visit to South Africa.
Officials say there is no precedent, except during large summits such as the UN earth summit in Johannesburg last year when heads of state visited in huge numbers. But even then, world leaders lined up to visit Mr Mandela at his upmarket residence in Johannesburg, and others met him at official events.
But when Mr Bush lands in South Africa next week on his first visit to Africa, the world's most powerful leader will not meet the world's most famous statesman. Mr Bush had not asked for a meeting with Mr Mandela, the former president's spokeswoman said.
The two met at the White House soon after the 11 September suicide attacks, and Mr Mandela expressed support for Mr Bush in hunting down those responsible in Afghanistan. But they fell out when Mr Bush turned on Iraq, and Mr Mandela dismissed the US leader as a President who "cannot think properly" for bypassing the United Nations.
Mr Mandela also made a scathing attack on Tony Blair, labelling him the "Foreign Affairs Minister of the United States
BBC VS UK GOV/ISRAEL
the scotsman: Army joins assault on BBC's war
ARMY chiefs last night joined the attack on the BBC over its accuracy in reporting the war in Iraq, accusing it of painting a distorted picture of the British campaign.
Senior figures in the army are furious about the BBC’s coverage, which they say bears no relation to events on the ground. They are particularly angry about suggestions in a BBC documentary, broadcast on Sunday night, that the army embellished reports of a militia attack on Iraqi citizens for propaganda purposes.
ABC: BBC defended by its former critic
As PM Blair and the BBC wage a running battle over the issue of bias, the broadcaster has received some support from an unlikely source. A former Thatcher supporter and Conservative Party chairman, Lord Tebbit was a trenchant critic of BBC reporting during his own time in Government. But, on this occasion, he's written to The Independent newspaper to openly support the corporation against Alastair Campbell's attacks.
Baku today: Israel Breaks Off the Deal With BBC
Israel announced yesterday that it has broken all its ties with the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) of England as a reaction to a program entitled, "Nuclear and other unconventional weapons in Israel" broadcast last Saturday.
Israeli officials had warned BBC when the program was broadcast in England last March and it was rescheduled to broadcast again on Saturday. The BBC did not agree to the demand to remove the program from its broadcast.
'A country not announcing its nuclear weapons'
Israel's nuclear reactor and weapon facilities in Dimona, and biological research centers in Ness Ziona were shown clearly in the program, and the report made a parallel between Israel and Iraq by posing the question, "Which country in the Middle East has not announced its nuclear and biological weapons?"
According to the decision that anticipates the break in ties with the BBC, Israeli government offices will no longer be able to assist BBC program producers. They will not allow BBC correspondents to report, and the Prime Ministry Office of the Press will make it difficult for BBC employees to receive employment visas and press tags. BBC was removed from Israeli Cable TV broadcasts since they have not agreed on financial issues for a long time.
Zaman / Kerim Balci / Jerusalem / ISRAEL
"BBC sollte nur noch Staatspropaganda senden...wie Fox TV, dann haben sie in Zukunft auch keine Probleme"
the scotsman: Army joins assault on BBC's war
ARMY chiefs last night joined the attack on the BBC over its accuracy in reporting the war in Iraq, accusing it of painting a distorted picture of the British campaign.
Senior figures in the army are furious about the BBC’s coverage, which they say bears no relation to events on the ground. They are particularly angry about suggestions in a BBC documentary, broadcast on Sunday night, that the army embellished reports of a militia attack on Iraqi citizens for propaganda purposes.
ABC: BBC defended by its former critic
As PM Blair and the BBC wage a running battle over the issue of bias, the broadcaster has received some support from an unlikely source. A former Thatcher supporter and Conservative Party chairman, Lord Tebbit was a trenchant critic of BBC reporting during his own time in Government. But, on this occasion, he's written to The Independent newspaper to openly support the corporation against Alastair Campbell's attacks.
Baku today: Israel Breaks Off the Deal With BBC
Israel announced yesterday that it has broken all its ties with the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) of England as a reaction to a program entitled, "Nuclear and other unconventional weapons in Israel" broadcast last Saturday.
Israeli officials had warned BBC when the program was broadcast in England last March and it was rescheduled to broadcast again on Saturday. The BBC did not agree to the demand to remove the program from its broadcast.
'A country not announcing its nuclear weapons'
Israel's nuclear reactor and weapon facilities in Dimona, and biological research centers in Ness Ziona were shown clearly in the program, and the report made a parallel between Israel and Iraq by posing the question, "Which country in the Middle East has not announced its nuclear and biological weapons?"
According to the decision that anticipates the break in ties with the BBC, Israeli government offices will no longer be able to assist BBC program producers. They will not allow BBC correspondents to report, and the Prime Ministry Office of the Press will make it difficult for BBC employees to receive employment visas and press tags. BBC was removed from Israeli Cable TV broadcasts since they have not agreed on financial issues for a long time.
Zaman / Kerim Balci / Jerusalem / ISRAEL
"BBC sollte nur noch Staatspropaganda senden...wie Fox TV, dann haben sie in Zukunft auch keine Probleme"
ARGENTINA
Scotsman: Leader's bold reforms surprise Argentines
HIS campaign pledge was clear: combat the corrupt political elite and
vested interests that grew rich as the nation plummeted into economic
collapse. But few Argentines expected Nestor Kirchner, the president,
to keep his promise - saying one thing and doing another is a well-worn
tradition in the country’s politics. A month after assuming office, the
sceptics are having to eat their words. Mr Kirchner has unleashed a
flurry of measures to renovate the nation’s
discredited institutions, has taken an aggressive stance on human
rights and has begun rolling back an era of economic liberalisation with
stronger state intervention.
Scotsman: Leader's bold reforms surprise Argentines
HIS campaign pledge was clear: combat the corrupt political elite and
vested interests that grew rich as the nation plummeted into economic
collapse. But few Argentines expected Nestor Kirchner, the president,
to keep his promise - saying one thing and doing another is a well-worn
tradition in the country’s politics. A month after assuming office, the
sceptics are having to eat their words. Mr Kirchner has unleashed a
flurry of measures to renovate the nation’s
discredited institutions, has taken an aggressive stance on human
rights and has begun rolling back an era of economic liberalisation with
stronger state intervention.
IRAQ AID
Asiatimes: Now, all Iraqis need food aid
ROME - The war in Iraq has made the entire population of 27 million people dependent on food aid, leaders of aid programs say. Before the war that the US and Britain launched March 20 to remove the Saddam Hussein regime, 60 percent of the population had depended entirely on food aid.
"Today, the lives of 100 percent of the Iraqi population, 27 million people, depend on the provision of monthly food rations," UNICEF chief representative in Iraq, Carel de Roy, told Inter Press Service in a telephone interview.
Asiatimes: Now, all Iraqis need food aid
ROME - The war in Iraq has made the entire population of 27 million people dependent on food aid, leaders of aid programs say. Before the war that the US and Britain launched March 20 to remove the Saddam Hussein regime, 60 percent of the population had depended entirely on food aid.
"Today, the lives of 100 percent of the Iraqi population, 27 million people, depend on the provision of monthly food rations," UNICEF chief representative in Iraq, Carel de Roy, told Inter Press Service in a telephone interview.
IRAQI RESISTANCE
straitstimes: Guerilla warfare in Iraq?
CAMP BOOM (Iraq) - Insurgents fired a rocket- propelled grenade at a
military vehicle in the restive town of Fallujah yesterday. 'The first clear message is this
war is not over, it's not ended. All of us in uniform are targets. We're
subjectto being engaged.' - A senior US military official in Iraq.
The incident occurred as US military officials were talking
openly for the first time about the possibility of having to wage a
long-term battle to quell Iraqi resistance to the American presence.
The Pentagon might prefer not to use the term 'guerilla warfare' but
judging from descriptions given, that is precisely what US troops are facing in
Iraq.
Guardian: Hostages of the empire
The words of Paul Bremer, Washington's overlord in Iraq, need no
"sexing up". "We are going to fight them and impose our will on them and we
will capture or... kill them until we have imposed law and order on this
country," he declared at the weekend. "We dominate the scene and we
will continue to impose our will on this country." Neither General Dyer at
Amritsar nor General Westmoreland in Vietnam could have put it any
clearer. Welcome to the new colonialism. Bremer's words are not just bluster. US
forces are now engaged in massive search-and-destroy sweeps in central
and northern Iraq against forces opposing their rule.
"GOOD MORNING VIETNAM"
straitstimes: Guerilla warfare in Iraq?
CAMP BOOM (Iraq) - Insurgents fired a rocket- propelled grenade at a
military vehicle in the restive town of Fallujah yesterday. 'The first clear message is this
war is not over, it's not ended. All of us in uniform are targets. We're
subjectto being engaged.' - A senior US military official in Iraq.
The incident occurred as US military officials were talking
openly for the first time about the possibility of having to wage a
long-term battle to quell Iraqi resistance to the American presence.
The Pentagon might prefer not to use the term 'guerilla warfare' but
judging from descriptions given, that is precisely what US troops are facing in
Iraq.
Guardian: Hostages of the empire
The words of Paul Bremer, Washington's overlord in Iraq, need no
"sexing up". "We are going to fight them and impose our will on them and we
will capture or... kill them until we have imposed law and order on this
country," he declared at the weekend. "We dominate the scene and we
will continue to impose our will on this country." Neither General Dyer at
Amritsar nor General Westmoreland in Vietnam could have put it any
clearer. Welcome to the new colonialism. Bremer's words are not just bluster. US
forces are now engaged in massive search-and-destroy sweeps in central
and northern Iraq against forces opposing their rule.
"GOOD MORNING VIETNAM"
GM FOOD
Heise: "Frankenstein Food" - die Neuauflage
Großbritannien schickt sich an, dem amerikanischen Präsidenten auch im Kampf für genveränderte Nahrungsmittel beizustehen. Die Hintergründe sind geeignet, Misstrauen zu wecken
Die Bezeichnung "Frankenstein Food" für genveränderte Nahrungsmittel wurde Ende der 90er Jahre zum Schlagwort für die Gefahr, die von Biotechnologen in der Nahrungsmittelindustrie ausgeht. Bald begann es still zu werden um das Schimpfwort. Als "Frankenfood" kehrte es wieder und jetzt als Schlagzeile in der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung durch Matthias Rüb, der seine Eindrücke aus Washington mitbrachte: von der BIO 2003, der führenden Messe der Biotechnologieunternehmen.
Der Stein des Anstoßes war im Herbst 1998 ein BBC-Interview des Ernährungswissenschaftlers Arpad Pusztai, in dem er berichtete, dass bei Ratten nach dem Verfüttern von transgenen Tomaten das Immunsystem gestört ist und Veränderungen der Lektine nachweisbar werden ( Lancet). Die Ergebnisse wären wahrscheinlich untergegangen, hätten nicht Londoner Kreise aus dem Stand und ohne die weiteren wissenschaftlichen Diskussionen abzuwarten, eine Prüfkommission durchgesetzt
Was damals unter den Tisch gekehrt wurde, kommt nun als Bumerang zurück. Der britische Premierminister Tony Blair, der dem US Präsidenten in der GM Food-Frage folgt wie im Irakkrieg, wurde kürzlich ohne Vorwarnung von seinem ehemaligen Umweltminister angegangen. Michael Meacher gehörte bis zur Demissionierung mehr als 6 Jahre zum Kabinett. Er war der dienstälteste Minister und, da er sich heute daran erinnert, offenbar auch mit dem "Fall" Arpad Pusztai befasst. Um so mehr trifft sein Vorwurf: Blair, die ehemaligen Kabinettskollegen und die beratenden Ärzte seien dabei, systematisch die Evidenz zu ignorieren oder zu untergraben, wonach genverändertes Getreide gesundheitsschädlich sein kann oder die Umwelt schädigt. Einflussreiche Leute in der Regierung seien von der Biotech Industrie abhängig. Der Scotsman Korrespondent, Alison Hardie, vermutet neben Tony Blair als Drahtzieher Lord Sainsbury, den Wissenschaftsminister, dessen Familie eine Supermarkt-Kette besitzt.
Heise: "Frankenstein Food" - die Neuauflage
Großbritannien schickt sich an, dem amerikanischen Präsidenten auch im Kampf für genveränderte Nahrungsmittel beizustehen. Die Hintergründe sind geeignet, Misstrauen zu wecken
Die Bezeichnung "Frankenstein Food" für genveränderte Nahrungsmittel wurde Ende der 90er Jahre zum Schlagwort für die Gefahr, die von Biotechnologen in der Nahrungsmittelindustrie ausgeht. Bald begann es still zu werden um das Schimpfwort. Als "Frankenfood" kehrte es wieder und jetzt als Schlagzeile in der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung durch Matthias Rüb, der seine Eindrücke aus Washington mitbrachte: von der BIO 2003, der führenden Messe der Biotechnologieunternehmen.
Der Stein des Anstoßes war im Herbst 1998 ein BBC-Interview des Ernährungswissenschaftlers Arpad Pusztai, in dem er berichtete, dass bei Ratten nach dem Verfüttern von transgenen Tomaten das Immunsystem gestört ist und Veränderungen der Lektine nachweisbar werden ( Lancet). Die Ergebnisse wären wahrscheinlich untergegangen, hätten nicht Londoner Kreise aus dem Stand und ohne die weiteren wissenschaftlichen Diskussionen abzuwarten, eine Prüfkommission durchgesetzt
Was damals unter den Tisch gekehrt wurde, kommt nun als Bumerang zurück. Der britische Premierminister Tony Blair, der dem US Präsidenten in der GM Food-Frage folgt wie im Irakkrieg, wurde kürzlich ohne Vorwarnung von seinem ehemaligen Umweltminister angegangen. Michael Meacher gehörte bis zur Demissionierung mehr als 6 Jahre zum Kabinett. Er war der dienstälteste Minister und, da er sich heute daran erinnert, offenbar auch mit dem "Fall" Arpad Pusztai befasst. Um so mehr trifft sein Vorwurf: Blair, die ehemaligen Kabinettskollegen und die beratenden Ärzte seien dabei, systematisch die Evidenz zu ignorieren oder zu untergraben, wonach genverändertes Getreide gesundheitsschädlich sein kann oder die Umwelt schädigt. Einflussreiche Leute in der Regierung seien von der Biotech Industrie abhängig. Der Scotsman Korrespondent, Alison Hardie, vermutet neben Tony Blair als Drahtzieher Lord Sainsbury, den Wissenschaftsminister, dessen Familie eine Supermarkt-Kette besitzt.
IRAQ
Heise: Ich will dich auf den Knien
Amnesty International rügt Verhalten des US-Milit?rs im Irak
Gleich zu Beginn der zweit?gigen UN-Konferenz über Menschenrechte in Bagdad gab es eine Rüge für den Sieger: Irak-Beauftragter Paul Bremer, der angekündigt hatte, dass die USA dem Irak ihren Willen "aufzwingen" würden, bekam einen Brief von Amnesty International, der ihn Manieren lehren soll.
Heise: Ich will dich auf den Knien
Amnesty International rügt Verhalten des US-Milit?rs im Irak
Gleich zu Beginn der zweit?gigen UN-Konferenz über Menschenrechte in Bagdad gab es eine Rüge für den Sieger: Irak-Beauftragter Paul Bremer, der angekündigt hatte, dass die USA dem Irak ihren Willen "aufzwingen" würden, bekam einen Brief von Amnesty International, der ihn Manieren lehren soll.
USA VS ICC
Spiegel: USA streichen 35 Staaten die Militärhilfe
Weil sie US-Soldaten vor dem Internationalen Strafgerichtshof keine Immunität zugestehen wollen, bekommen 35 Staaten keine Militärhilfe der Amerikaner mehr. Zu den bestraften Ländern gehören auch sechs Nato-Anwärter.
Die verhängten Sperren werden sich erst im kommenden Jahr voll auswirken, weil der Großteil der Militärhilfe für das laufende, Ende September zu Ende gehende US-Haushaltsjahr bereits ausgezahlt ist. Für die noch drei verbleibenden Monate beläuft sich die Summe der zurückgehaltenen Mittel auf insgesamt 47,6 Millionen Dollar. Washington werde auch weiterhin bisherige Verweigerer dazu drängen, die Immunität in bilateralen Vereinbarungen festzuschreiben, kündigte Richard Boucher, Sprecher des Außenministeriums, an.
"obey the REICH"
Spiegel: USA streichen 35 Staaten die Militärhilfe
Weil sie US-Soldaten vor dem Internationalen Strafgerichtshof keine Immunität zugestehen wollen, bekommen 35 Staaten keine Militärhilfe der Amerikaner mehr. Zu den bestraften Ländern gehören auch sechs Nato-Anwärter.
Die verhängten Sperren werden sich erst im kommenden Jahr voll auswirken, weil der Großteil der Militärhilfe für das laufende, Ende September zu Ende gehende US-Haushaltsjahr bereits ausgezahlt ist. Für die noch drei verbleibenden Monate beläuft sich die Summe der zurückgehaltenen Mittel auf insgesamt 47,6 Millionen Dollar. Washington werde auch weiterhin bisherige Verweigerer dazu drängen, die Immunität in bilateralen Vereinbarungen festzuschreiben, kündigte Richard Boucher, Sprecher des Außenministeriums, an.
"obey the REICH"
IRAQ
Spiegel: Bush schwört US-Soldaten auf langen Kampf ein
Der Aufenthalt im Irak gestaltet sich für die US-Soldaten nach dem Krieg gefährlicher als von Washington angenommen. Präsident George W. Bush hält einen baldigen Abzug seiner Truppen deshalb für unwahrscheinlich.
Spiegel: Bush schwört US-Soldaten auf langen Kampf ein
Der Aufenthalt im Irak gestaltet sich für die US-Soldaten nach dem Krieg gefährlicher als von Washington angenommen. Präsident George W. Bush hält einen baldigen Abzug seiner Truppen deshalb für unwahrscheinlich.
EU
Spiegel: "Ich schlage Sie für die Rolle des Lagerführers vor"
BERLUSCONIS EKLAT IM EUROPAPARLAMENT
Unter tumultartigen Protesten im Europäischen Parlament hat der italienische Ministerpräsident Silvio Berlusconi den EU-Vorsitz übernommen. Nach seiner Antrittsrede musste er sich zahlreiche Zweifel an seinem Demokratieverständnis anhören. Auf die Kritik reagierte er mit Nazi-Witzen.
Straßburg - Auslöser dieser Ausfälligkeiten waren Äußerungen von Martin Schulz, dem stellvertretenden Fraktionsvorsitzenden der Sozialdemokraten im Europäischen Parlament. Der 47-jährige SPD-Abgeordnete hatte sich über Berlusconis Politik ereifert und von einem "Virus der Interessenkonflikte" gesprochen.
Auch die Äußerungen des an der Regierung beteiligten Liga-Nord-Chefs Umberto Bossi, man sollte mit Kanonen auf Flüchtlingsschiffe schießen, seien mit den Grundwerten der EU nicht vereinbar.
Da platzte dem Italiener der Kragen: "In Italien wird gerade ein Film über die Nazi-Konzentrationslager gedreht, ich schlage Sie für die Rolle des Lagerchefs vor", sagte er zu Schulz.
"forza italia!"
Spiegel: "Ich schlage Sie für die Rolle des Lagerführers vor"
BERLUSCONIS EKLAT IM EUROPAPARLAMENT
Unter tumultartigen Protesten im Europäischen Parlament hat der italienische Ministerpräsident Silvio Berlusconi den EU-Vorsitz übernommen. Nach seiner Antrittsrede musste er sich zahlreiche Zweifel an seinem Demokratieverständnis anhören. Auf die Kritik reagierte er mit Nazi-Witzen.
Straßburg - Auslöser dieser Ausfälligkeiten waren Äußerungen von Martin Schulz, dem stellvertretenden Fraktionsvorsitzenden der Sozialdemokraten im Europäischen Parlament. Der 47-jährige SPD-Abgeordnete hatte sich über Berlusconis Politik ereifert und von einem "Virus der Interessenkonflikte" gesprochen.
Auch die Äußerungen des an der Regierung beteiligten Liga-Nord-Chefs Umberto Bossi, man sollte mit Kanonen auf Flüchtlingsschiffe schießen, seien mit den Grundwerten der EU nicht vereinbar.
Da platzte dem Italiener der Kragen: "In Italien wird gerade ein Film über die Nazi-Konzentrationslager gedreht, ich schlage Sie für die Rolle des Lagerchefs vor", sagte er zu Schulz.
"forza italia!"
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Spiegel: Drei US-Soldaten getötet
Schon wieder hat es im Irak Angriffe auf US-Soldaten gegeben. Bei insgesamt drei Attacken sollen mindestens drei Amerikaner ums Leben gekommen sein.
Bagdad - Augenzeugen berichteten dem arabischen Fernsehsender Al-Dschasira, bei einem Panzerfaust-Angriff auf ein Militärfahrzeug im Norden Bagdads seien drei Soldaten und ihr irakischer Übersetzer getötet worden. Mehrere Iraker, die mit ihrem Auto vorbei gefahren seien, hätten zum Teil schwere Verletzungen erlitten. Der Sender zeigte Bilder eines völlig ausgebrannten Fahrzeugs.
Spiegel: Drei US-Soldaten getötet
Schon wieder hat es im Irak Angriffe auf US-Soldaten gegeben. Bei insgesamt drei Attacken sollen mindestens drei Amerikaner ums Leben gekommen sein.
Bagdad - Augenzeugen berichteten dem arabischen Fernsehsender Al-Dschasira, bei einem Panzerfaust-Angriff auf ein Militärfahrzeug im Norden Bagdads seien drei Soldaten und ihr irakischer Übersetzer getötet worden. Mehrere Iraker, die mit ihrem Auto vorbei gefahren seien, hätten zum Teil schwere Verletzungen erlitten. Der Sender zeigte Bilder eines völlig ausgebrannten Fahrzeugs.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Independent: The Homecoming
"I cried in blood," Fawzi al-Kafarneh told me as we walked through the ruins of his brick factory in Gaza, "all my savings of 20 years are blown away."
Unshaven and disheveled, the 58-year-old Palestinian man talked ceaselessly to himself in a low voice yesterday, sweating profusely under his flowing, tan-coloured shirt.
The Israeli army wrecking crews left his factory in smithereens as they left, much like the orange groves, homes and other factories that used to line the main road into Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. Finally, after months under curfew - which kept workers from their jobs, farmers from their fields and children from schools - the relief is palpable.
Independent: The Homecoming
"I cried in blood," Fawzi al-Kafarneh told me as we walked through the ruins of his brick factory in Gaza, "all my savings of 20 years are blown away."
Unshaven and disheveled, the 58-year-old Palestinian man talked ceaselessly to himself in a low voice yesterday, sweating profusely under his flowing, tan-coloured shirt.
The Israeli army wrecking crews left his factory in smithereens as they left, much like the orange groves, homes and other factories that used to line the main road into Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. Finally, after months under curfew - which kept workers from their jobs, farmers from their fields and children from schools - the relief is palpable.
AFGHANISTAN
Rense/Asia Times: US Shooting In The Dark In Afghanistan
KARACHI (ANI) --Despite the best efforts of its military and intelligence apparatus and political manipulation in Pakistan, the U.S. and its allies have failed to break the Taliban and Al Qaida in Afghanistan.
Indeed, the resistance movement in Afghanistan has fully reorganised itself, even setting up offices, and despite official claims to the contrary, American forces are fighting in the dark.
Investigations carried out by Asia Times Online reveal the following:
-- The resistance movement has been named Saiful Muslameen (Sword of Muslims).
-- The central office is located in Asadabad, near the Pakistani border, while several training camps have been established in Parachinar and Miran Shah (both in Pakistan) and other places. These are mobile camps that can be moved quickly according to required needs.
-- The main military committee is headed by Mullah Omar, supported by his commanders, including Mullah Dadullah and Ahktar Usmani.
-- Under Saiful Muslameen, Afghanistan has been divided into five operational zones.
Rense/Asia Times: US Shooting In The Dark In Afghanistan
KARACHI (ANI) --Despite the best efforts of its military and intelligence apparatus and political manipulation in Pakistan, the U.S. and its allies have failed to break the Taliban and Al Qaida in Afghanistan.
Indeed, the resistance movement in Afghanistan has fully reorganised itself, even setting up offices, and despite official claims to the contrary, American forces are fighting in the dark.
Investigations carried out by Asia Times Online reveal the following:
-- The resistance movement has been named Saiful Muslameen (Sword of Muslims).
-- The central office is located in Asadabad, near the Pakistani border, while several training camps have been established in Parachinar and Miran Shah (both in Pakistan) and other places. These are mobile camps that can be moved quickly according to required needs.
-- The main military committee is headed by Mullah Omar, supported by his commanders, including Mullah Dadullah and Ahktar Usmani.
-- Under Saiful Muslameen, Afghanistan has been divided into five operational zones.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Haaretz: EU rejects U.S. demand to halt Hamas funding
Leaders of the European Union have rejected a key
U.S. demand to cut off funding to Hamas, and to
include the civilian-political wing of the
organization in the EU's list of terror
organizations, along with its military branch.
Haaretz: EU rejects U.S. demand to halt Hamas funding
Leaders of the European Union have rejected a key
U.S. demand to cut off funding to Hamas, and to
include the civilian-political wing of the
organization in the EU's list of terror
organizations, along with its military branch.
IRAQ
Moskow Times: Errand Boy - God Personally Told Bush To Invade Iraq
God told me to strike at al-Qaida and I struck them, and then He instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East."
MOSCOW -- SO, now we know. After all the mountains of commentary and speculation, all the earnest debates over motives and goals, all the detailed analyses of global strategy and political ideology, it all comes to down to this: George W. Bush waged war on Iraq because, in his own words, God "instructed me to strike at Saddam."
Moskow Times: Errand Boy - God Personally Told Bush To Invade Iraq
God told me to strike at al-Qaida and I struck them, and then He instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East."
MOSCOW -- SO, now we know. After all the mountains of commentary and speculation, all the earnest debates over motives and goals, all the detailed analyses of global strategy and political ideology, it all comes to down to this: George W. Bush waged war on Iraq because, in his own words, God "instructed me to strike at Saddam."
Monday, June 30, 2003
strong>IRAQ
Spiegel: "Grausam und unmenschlich"
Etliche irakische Widerstandskämpfer sind den Amerikanern durch die "Operation Klapperschlange" in die Hände gefallen. Die Menschenrechtsorganisation "Amnesty International" hält den USA jedoch vor, die Gefangenen in den Lagern menschenunwürdig zu behandeln.
Bagdad - Amnesty International (ai) kritisierte die Haftbedingungen im US-Auffanglager am Bagdader Flughafen und im Gefängnis Abu Ghreib westlich der irakischen Hauptstadt. Die Organisation warf den Amerikanern vor, gegen internationales Recht zu verstoßen. Es gebe Hinweise, dass Insassen "grausamen, unmenschlichen oder erniedrigenden" Bedingungen ausgesetzt seien, hieß es in dem Bericht, der zu Beginn einer zweitägigen Uno-Konferenz über Menschenrechte in Bagdad veröffentlicht wurde.
Spiegel: "Grausam und unmenschlich"
Etliche irakische Widerstandskämpfer sind den Amerikanern durch die "Operation Klapperschlange" in die Hände gefallen. Die Menschenrechtsorganisation "Amnesty International" hält den USA jedoch vor, die Gefangenen in den Lagern menschenunwürdig zu behandeln.
Bagdad - Amnesty International (ai) kritisierte die Haftbedingungen im US-Auffanglager am Bagdader Flughafen und im Gefängnis Abu Ghreib westlich der irakischen Hauptstadt. Die Organisation warf den Amerikanern vor, gegen internationales Recht zu verstoßen. Es gebe Hinweise, dass Insassen "grausamen, unmenschlichen oder erniedrigenden" Bedingungen ausgesetzt seien, hieß es in dem Bericht, der zu Beginn einer zweitägigen Uno-Konferenz über Menschenrechte in Bagdad veröffentlicht wurde.
Sunday, June 29, 2003
REVOLUTION
Tagesanzeiger: Andrea Stauffacher im Visier
Die Wohnung einer Aktivistin des «Revolution?ren Aufbaus Zürich» ist bei einer Terroristenfahndung durchsucht worden. Und für Delikte an Demos soll sie 14 Monate ins Gef?ngnis
Gleich mehrere Wohnungen hat die Polizei Anfang Woche in Zürich auf den Kopf gestellt. Zahlreiche Dokumente und Computer wurden beschlagnahmt. Die Polizei suchte Hinweise über Unterstützer oder gar Beteiligte an terroristischen Aktionen in Italien. Hintergrund der Durchsuchungen sind zwei immer noch ungekl?rte Morde an Wirtschaftberatern der italienischen Regierung 2002 in Bologna und 1999 in Rom. Die Anschl?ge sollen auf das Konto einer neuen Generation der linksradikalen «Brigate Rosse» gehen
Andrea Stauffacher wird bereits in einem anderen Zusammenhang vorgeworfen, mehr als eine Agitatorin mit Flugbl?ttern und Megafon zu sein: In einer dem TA vorliegenden Anklageschrift des Zürcher Bezirksanwaltes Michael Scherrer wird sie beschuldigt, an der unbewilligten Anti-WEF-Demonstration vom 1. Februar 2001 eine «Hochleistungsschleuder» samt Metallmuttern als Geschosse mit sich getragen zu haben. Wegen Vergehens gegen das Waffengesetz und weiterer Delikte (darunter Landfriedensbruch, Gewalt und Drohung gegen Beamte und geringfügige Sachbesch?digung im Zusammenhang mit mehreren Demonstrationen) beantragt die Anklage 14 Monate Gef?ngnis unbedingt.
Tagesanzeiger: Andrea Stauffacher im Visier
Die Wohnung einer Aktivistin des «Revolution?ren Aufbaus Zürich» ist bei einer Terroristenfahndung durchsucht worden. Und für Delikte an Demos soll sie 14 Monate ins Gef?ngnis
Gleich mehrere Wohnungen hat die Polizei Anfang Woche in Zürich auf den Kopf gestellt. Zahlreiche Dokumente und Computer wurden beschlagnahmt. Die Polizei suchte Hinweise über Unterstützer oder gar Beteiligte an terroristischen Aktionen in Italien. Hintergrund der Durchsuchungen sind zwei immer noch ungekl?rte Morde an Wirtschaftberatern der italienischen Regierung 2002 in Bologna und 1999 in Rom. Die Anschl?ge sollen auf das Konto einer neuen Generation der linksradikalen «Brigate Rosse» gehen
Andrea Stauffacher wird bereits in einem anderen Zusammenhang vorgeworfen, mehr als eine Agitatorin mit Flugbl?ttern und Megafon zu sein: In einer dem TA vorliegenden Anklageschrift des Zürcher Bezirksanwaltes Michael Scherrer wird sie beschuldigt, an der unbewilligten Anti-WEF-Demonstration vom 1. Februar 2001 eine «Hochleistungsschleuder» samt Metallmuttern als Geschosse mit sich getragen zu haben. Wegen Vergehens gegen das Waffengesetz und weiterer Delikte (darunter Landfriedensbruch, Gewalt und Drohung gegen Beamte und geringfügige Sachbesch?digung im Zusammenhang mit mehreren Demonstrationen) beantragt die Anklage 14 Monate Gef?ngnis unbedingt.
IRAQ
Guardian: Bring the British troops home
The long-awaited uprising in Iraq has begun - not to welcome the invaders as some imagined, but to demand their withdrawal. The spread of resistance to the south and the killing of British soldiers around Amara on Tuesday might have come as a surprise to the British public. But such developments have been anticipated within Iraq for several weeks.
The US administration is trying to convince us that it is the "remnants" of Saddam's regime that are resisting the occupation. We are invited to believe that Saddam's "fanatical" supporters, who were not prepared to die for him when he was in power, are engaged in astounding heroics after he has been deposed and the Iraqi state machine crushed. Much of the British media has been willing to go along with this deception, which helps to cover up the truth about the developing dirty war in Iraq.
"And last week, the US 3rd Infantry Division forces began punitive demolitions, Sharon-style, of the family houses of those allegedly fighting against the occupation forces."
Guardian: Bring the British troops home
The long-awaited uprising in Iraq has begun - not to welcome the invaders as some imagined, but to demand their withdrawal. The spread of resistance to the south and the killing of British soldiers around Amara on Tuesday might have come as a surprise to the British public. But such developments have been anticipated within Iraq for several weeks.
The US administration is trying to convince us that it is the "remnants" of Saddam's regime that are resisting the occupation. We are invited to believe that Saddam's "fanatical" supporters, who were not prepared to die for him when he was in power, are engaged in astounding heroics after he has been deposed and the Iraqi state machine crushed. Much of the British media has been willing to go along with this deception, which helps to cover up the truth about the developing dirty war in Iraq.
"And last week, the US 3rd Infantry Division forces began punitive demolitions, Sharon-style, of the family houses of those allegedly fighting against the occupation forces."
NIKE: PR WATCH
The Guardian: Nike loses case over freedom of speech
The US supreme court yesterday dismissed a claim by the footwear maker Nike that a publicity campaign to counter allegations that it uses sweatshops to make its products was protected by the right to free speech.
The media, advertising and public relations industries had eagerly anticipated a ruling by the supreme court in what was viewed by many as a crucial case.
A Californian anti-globalisation activist is suing the company for allegedly making false claims and the refusal to rule on Nike's rights under the US constitution means the case can now proceed.
In the advertising and PR statements in question, Nike defended the wages and conditions at its plants in Asia where workers make trainers and other leisurewear. The company has issued various press releases and fact sheets about its use of overseas labour and said that the statements were protected by the First Amendment right to free speech.
The supreme court did not make a judgment on the case but ruled that the claim had no place in the court.
The Guardian: Nike loses case over freedom of speech
The US supreme court yesterday dismissed a claim by the footwear maker Nike that a publicity campaign to counter allegations that it uses sweatshops to make its products was protected by the right to free speech.
The media, advertising and public relations industries had eagerly anticipated a ruling by the supreme court in what was viewed by many as a crucial case.
A Californian anti-globalisation activist is suing the company for allegedly making false claims and the refusal to rule on Nike's rights under the US constitution means the case can now proceed.
In the advertising and PR statements in question, Nike defended the wages and conditions at its plants in Asia where workers make trainers and other leisurewear. The company has issued various press releases and fact sheets about its use of overseas labour and said that the statements were protected by the First Amendment right to free speech.
The supreme court did not make a judgment on the case but ruled that the claim had no place in the court.
ISRAEL
Uri Avnery: The Best Show in Town
The most talented director could not have done better. It was a perfect show.
Television viewers all over the world saw heroic Israeli soldiers on their screens battling the fanatical settlers. Close-ups: faces twisted with passion, a soldier lying on a stretcher, a young woman crying in despair, children weeping, youngsters storming forward in fury, masses of people wrestling with each other. A battle of life and death.
There is no room for doubt: Ariel Sharon is leading a heroic fight against the settlers in order to fulfil his promise to remove "unauthorized" outposts, even "inhabited" ones. The old warrior is again facing a determined enemy without flinching.
The conclusion is self-evident, both in Israel and throughout the world: if such a tumultuous battle takes place for a tiny outpost inhabited by hardly a dozen people, how can one expect Sharon to remove 90 outposts, as promised in the Road Map? If things look like that when he has to remove a handful of tents and one small stone building - how can one even dream of evacuating real settlements, where dozens, hundreds or even thousands of families are living?
This must have impressed George Bush and his people. Unfortunately, it has not impressed me.
It makes me laugh.
Uri Avnery: The Best Show in Town
The most talented director could not have done better. It was a perfect show.
Television viewers all over the world saw heroic Israeli soldiers on their screens battling the fanatical settlers. Close-ups: faces twisted with passion, a soldier lying on a stretcher, a young woman crying in despair, children weeping, youngsters storming forward in fury, masses of people wrestling with each other. A battle of life and death.
There is no room for doubt: Ariel Sharon is leading a heroic fight against the settlers in order to fulfil his promise to remove "unauthorized" outposts, even "inhabited" ones. The old warrior is again facing a determined enemy without flinching.
The conclusion is self-evident, both in Israel and throughout the world: if such a tumultuous battle takes place for a tiny outpost inhabited by hardly a dozen people, how can one expect Sharon to remove 90 outposts, as promised in the Road Map? If things look like that when he has to remove a handful of tents and one small stone building - how can one even dream of evacuating real settlements, where dozens, hundreds or even thousands of families are living?
This must have impressed George Bush and his people. Unfortunately, it has not impressed me.
It makes me laugh.
IRAQ
dailytimes: How British troops became a soft target by robert Fisk
It could not have been more predictable or better planned. The British were the soft underbelly of the American occupation, the nice guys who didn’t wear helmets and patrolled on PC Plod bicycles through the souks of Basra.
No one would hurt the Brits, with their friendly public relations machine and all that experience from Northern Ireland which - when you come to think of it - might have warned them of yesterday’s attack
dailytimes: How British troops became a soft target by robert Fisk
It could not have been more predictable or better planned. The British were the soft underbelly of the American occupation, the nice guys who didn’t wear helmets and patrolled on PC Plod bicycles through the souks of Basra.
No one would hurt the Brits, with their friendly public relations machine and all that experience from Northern Ireland which - when you come to think of it - might have warned them of yesterday’s attack
TERROR
Toronto Star: Al Qaeda mutating like a virus
Terror networks operating with renewed vigour
Iraq war helping bin Laden recruit suicide bombers
Two years after the devastating Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S., the "war
on
terror" has not been won, say analysts. Nor has U.S. President Bush's
assertion that a "corner's been turned" against terrorist groups been
borne
out. Instead, there is evidence the Iraq war has actually helped
strengthen
and expand their networks.
Toronto Star: Al Qaeda mutating like a virus
Terror networks operating with renewed vigour
Iraq war helping bin Laden recruit suicide bombers
Two years after the devastating Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S., the "war
on
terror" has not been won, say analysts. Nor has U.S. President Bush's
assertion that a "corner's been turned" against terrorist groups been
borne
out. Instead, there is evidence the Iraq war has actually helped
strengthen
and expand their networks.
IRAQ
Alternet: 10 Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq
Today, more than three months after Bush's stirring declaration of war and nearly two months since he declared victory, no chemical, biological or nuclear weapons have been found, nor any documentation of their existence, nor any sign they were deployed in the field.
The mainstream press, after an astonishing two years of cowardice, is belatedly drawing attention to the unconscionable level of administrative deception. They seem surprised to find that when it comes to Iraq, the Bush administration isn't prone to the occasional lie of expediency but, in fact, almost never told the truth.
Alternet: 10 Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq
Today, more than three months after Bush's stirring declaration of war and nearly two months since he declared victory, no chemical, biological or nuclear weapons have been found, nor any documentation of their existence, nor any sign they were deployed in the field.
The mainstream press, after an astonishing two years of cowardice, is belatedly drawing attention to the unconscionable level of administrative deception. They seem surprised to find that when it comes to Iraq, the Bush administration isn't prone to the occasional lie of expediency but, in fact, almost never told the truth.
Saturday, June 28, 2003
Friday, June 27, 2003
USA-EU
Heise: Einheit statt Multipolarit?t, Ordnung statt Chaos
US-Sicherheitsberaterin Condoleezza Rice ruft die Europ?er zum Kampf gegen Iran und Nordkorea auf und fordert den Schulterschluss mit den USA
Condoleezza Rice, die Sicherheitsberaterin des Wei?en Hauses, forderte in einer Rede am International Institute for Strategic Studies in London die Europ?er auf, sich nun endlich im Fall von Nordkorea und Iran hinter die USA zu stellen, um die Welt von Massenvernichtungswaffen zu befreien - wenn sie in den H?nden der Falschen sich befinden. ?hnlich wie vor dem Irak-Krieg drohte sie mit einem Alleingang der USA, wenn die Europ?er nicht mitmachen, wobei sie milit?risches Vorgehen nicht ausschloss. Mit deutlichem Wink nach Frankreich gei?elte sie die Idee einer multipolaren Weltordnung: Einheit ist verlangt.
Aber es ist extrem wichtig, dass L?nder wie Nordkorea merken, dass sie dafür zahlen müssen, wenn sie ihre internationalen Verpflichtungen nicht einhalten.
Danke liebes Amerika. Danke das ihr andere L?nder lehrt wie sie mit internationalen Verplichtungen umgehen müssen. Die Usa k?nnen das ja besonders gut. Wie beim internationalen Strafgerichtshof, Irak, Kyoto-Protokoll, Guantanamo, Kriegsgefangen, Lateinamerika.......Amerika ist ein leuchtende Beispiel. Der leuchtende Pfad dem wir folgen sollten
Heise: Einheit statt Multipolarit?t, Ordnung statt Chaos
US-Sicherheitsberaterin Condoleezza Rice ruft die Europ?er zum Kampf gegen Iran und Nordkorea auf und fordert den Schulterschluss mit den USA
Condoleezza Rice, die Sicherheitsberaterin des Wei?en Hauses, forderte in einer Rede am International Institute for Strategic Studies in London die Europ?er auf, sich nun endlich im Fall von Nordkorea und Iran hinter die USA zu stellen, um die Welt von Massenvernichtungswaffen zu befreien - wenn sie in den H?nden der Falschen sich befinden. ?hnlich wie vor dem Irak-Krieg drohte sie mit einem Alleingang der USA, wenn die Europ?er nicht mitmachen, wobei sie milit?risches Vorgehen nicht ausschloss. Mit deutlichem Wink nach Frankreich gei?elte sie die Idee einer multipolaren Weltordnung: Einheit ist verlangt.
Aber es ist extrem wichtig, dass L?nder wie Nordkorea merken, dass sie dafür zahlen müssen, wenn sie ihre internationalen Verpflichtungen nicht einhalten.
Danke liebes Amerika. Danke das ihr andere L?nder lehrt wie sie mit internationalen Verplichtungen umgehen müssen. Die Usa k?nnen das ja besonders gut. Wie beim internationalen Strafgerichtshof, Irak, Kyoto-Protokoll, Guantanamo, Kriegsgefangen, Lateinamerika.......Amerika ist ein leuchtende Beispiel. Der leuchtende Pfad dem wir folgen sollten
Thursday, June 26, 2003
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Gott befahl mir, al-Qaida anzugreifen und ich griff sie an, und dann trug er mir auf, Saddam anzugreifen, was ich auch machte, und jetzt bin ich entschlossen, das Problem im Nahen Osten zu l?sen. Wenn Sie mich unterstützen, werde ich handeln, wenn nicht, dann werden die Wahlen kommen und ich werde mich darauf konzentrieren müssen
george w. bush jr. zum palästinensischen Regierungschef Abbas (Quelle: Haaretz)
"Jesus is Homeboy"
Gott befahl mir, al-Qaida anzugreifen und ich griff sie an, und dann trug er mir auf, Saddam anzugreifen, was ich auch machte, und jetzt bin ich entschlossen, das Problem im Nahen Osten zu l?sen. Wenn Sie mich unterstützen, werde ich handeln, wenn nicht, dann werden die Wahlen kommen und ich werde mich darauf konzentrieren müssen
george w. bush jr. zum palästinensischen Regierungschef Abbas (Quelle: Haaretz)
"Jesus is Homeboy"
ISRAEL
Heise: "Gott hat mir befohlen, al-Qaida und Saddam anzugreifen"
Waffenstillstand im Nahen Osten fast von allen Seiten unerwünscht, zudem ist US-Präsident Bush ungeduldig bei der Umsetzung der "Road Map", da Wahlen anstehen
Die "Road Map" zum Frieden im Nahen Osten, die Präsident Bush mitsamt einem autonomen palästinensischen Staat vor dem Irak-Krieg versprochen hatte und mit der er die Glaubwürdigkeit seiner Politik demonstrieren muss, kommt nur sehr stotternd voran. Der palästinensische Regierungschef hat nun im Rahmen der Gespräche über einen Waffenstillstand von seinen Verhandlungen mit dem israelischen Ministerpräsidenten Scharon und dem US-Präsidenten Bush berichtet - und von einer nachdenklich stimmenden Äußerung des mächtigsten Mannes der Welt erzählt.
Bush, der den Waffenstillstandsgesprächen skeptisch gegenüber steht, fordert indes, dass Hamas völlig zerschlagen werden müsse. Erst wenn diese Terrororganisationen ganz zerschlagen seien, könne es Frieden geben. Bush übersieht freilich, dass Hamas nicht nur als Terrororganisation Unterstützung bei den palästinensischen Menschen findet, sondern auch mehr und mehr als soziale Organisation in dem verarmten Land und als politische Alternative zu Arafat und Abbas. Die Verantwortung für die Gewaltspirale weist Bush wieder einzig Hamas und den Terrorgruppen zu:
Progress toward this goal will only be possible if all sides do all in their power to defeat the determined enemies of peace, such as Hamas and other terrorist groups. Nearly every hopeful moment in the region, nearly every sign of progress toward peace is followed by more murders in the guise of martyrdom, as those who oppose peace do all they can to destroy the hopes and aspirations of those who desire to live in peace.
"Leider wird dabei vergessen das die Hamas sozusagen von Israel gegründet wurde und zwar als Gegenpol zur PLO von Arafat.Solche Sachen können ins Auge gehen wie Amerika am 11. September erfahren musste. Darüberhinaus sollte Israel mal seine eigene Geschichte studieren da die Zionisten zu genau den gleichen Mittel griffen um den Engländern einen Staat abzupressen. Aber wer erinnert sich schon gerne daran das der grosse Israelische Premier Menachem Begin mal der Anführer der Terrorgruppe Irdun war, die unter Anderem das Britische Hauptquartier in Jerusalem in die Luft jagten wobei 91 Menschen getötet wurden. Ein Anderer Israelischer Premier, Yitzhak Shamir war einer der Anführer der Stern-Gang, die Araber massakrierten und 1946 den Britischen Gouvaneur Lord Moyne bei einem Attentat ermordeten."
Heise: "Gott hat mir befohlen, al-Qaida und Saddam anzugreifen"
Waffenstillstand im Nahen Osten fast von allen Seiten unerwünscht, zudem ist US-Präsident Bush ungeduldig bei der Umsetzung der "Road Map", da Wahlen anstehen
Die "Road Map" zum Frieden im Nahen Osten, die Präsident Bush mitsamt einem autonomen palästinensischen Staat vor dem Irak-Krieg versprochen hatte und mit der er die Glaubwürdigkeit seiner Politik demonstrieren muss, kommt nur sehr stotternd voran. Der palästinensische Regierungschef hat nun im Rahmen der Gespräche über einen Waffenstillstand von seinen Verhandlungen mit dem israelischen Ministerpräsidenten Scharon und dem US-Präsidenten Bush berichtet - und von einer nachdenklich stimmenden Äußerung des mächtigsten Mannes der Welt erzählt.
Bush, der den Waffenstillstandsgesprächen skeptisch gegenüber steht, fordert indes, dass Hamas völlig zerschlagen werden müsse. Erst wenn diese Terrororganisationen ganz zerschlagen seien, könne es Frieden geben. Bush übersieht freilich, dass Hamas nicht nur als Terrororganisation Unterstützung bei den palästinensischen Menschen findet, sondern auch mehr und mehr als soziale Organisation in dem verarmten Land und als politische Alternative zu Arafat und Abbas. Die Verantwortung für die Gewaltspirale weist Bush wieder einzig Hamas und den Terrorgruppen zu:
Progress toward this goal will only be possible if all sides do all in their power to defeat the determined enemies of peace, such as Hamas and other terrorist groups. Nearly every hopeful moment in the region, nearly every sign of progress toward peace is followed by more murders in the guise of martyrdom, as those who oppose peace do all they can to destroy the hopes and aspirations of those who desire to live in peace.
"Leider wird dabei vergessen das die Hamas sozusagen von Israel gegründet wurde und zwar als Gegenpol zur PLO von Arafat.Solche Sachen können ins Auge gehen wie Amerika am 11. September erfahren musste. Darüberhinaus sollte Israel mal seine eigene Geschichte studieren da die Zionisten zu genau den gleichen Mittel griffen um den Engländern einen Staat abzupressen. Aber wer erinnert sich schon gerne daran das der grosse Israelische Premier Menachem Begin mal der Anführer der Terrorgruppe Irdun war, die unter Anderem das Britische Hauptquartier in Jerusalem in die Luft jagten wobei 91 Menschen getötet wurden. Ein Anderer Israelischer Premier, Yitzhak Shamir war einer der Anführer der Stern-Gang, die Araber massakrierten und 1946 den Britischen Gouvaneur Lord Moyne bei einem Attentat ermordeten."
EURO VS DOLLAR
UPI: Malaysia Advocating Switch To Euro
SINGAPORE (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Malaysia, whose currency the ringgit has been pegged to the U.S. dollar since 1998, has become an unlikely advocate for the Euro.
Of late, the oil producing Malaysia has been advocating a review of international oil prices, currently denominated in dollars, to protect oil producers from the uncertainties of the currency market.
And Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed has also been urging the private sector to use the Euro in their export trade believing the dollar was likely to depreciate further.
UPI: Malaysia Advocating Switch To Euro
SINGAPORE (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Malaysia, whose currency the ringgit has been pegged to the U.S. dollar since 1998, has become an unlikely advocate for the Euro.
Of late, the oil producing Malaysia has been advocating a review of international oil prices, currently denominated in dollars, to protect oil producers from the uncertainties of the currency market.
And Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed has also been urging the private sector to use the Euro in their export trade believing the dollar was likely to depreciate further.
IRAQI WMD
AFP: Expert Says He Was Pressured To Distort Iraqi WMD Intel
A top State Department expert on chemical and biological weapons told congressional investigators he had been pressured to change his analysis of intelligence on Iraq and other issues, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed congressional officials.
The expert, identified by the daily as Christian Westermann, reportedly told the House of Representatives Intelligence committee during private hearings last week that he had felt pressure from the administration of President George W. Bush to tailor his analyses to the administration's positions.
AFP: Expert Says He Was Pressured To Distort Iraqi WMD Intel
A top State Department expert on chemical and biological weapons told congressional investigators he had been pressured to change his analysis of intelligence on Iraq and other issues, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed congressional officials.
The expert, identified by the daily as Christian Westermann, reportedly told the House of Representatives Intelligence committee during private hearings last week that he had felt pressure from the administration of President George W. Bush to tailor his analyses to the administration's positions.
IRAQ
Tagesannzeiger: Erneut irakische Ölpipeline gesprengt
In Irak haben Saboteure nach Informationen des arabischen TV-Senders al-Jazeera zum vierten Mal innerhalb von zwei Wochen einen Sprengsatz an einer Pipeline gezündet
Tagesannzeiger: Erneut irakische Ölpipeline gesprengt
In Irak haben Saboteure nach Informationen des arabischen TV-Senders al-Jazeera zum vierten Mal innerhalb von zwei Wochen einen Sprengsatz an einer Pipeline gezündet
IRAQ
Spiegel: Die Gotteskrieger stehen auf
Der Widerstand gegen Amerikaner und Briten im Irak wird immer stärker. Zu den jüngsten Attacken auf die Siegermächte haben sich die Mudschahedin bekannt. Die religiösen Fanatiker kündigten neue Anschläge an
Spiegel: Die Gotteskrieger stehen auf
Der Widerstand gegen Amerikaner und Briten im Irak wird immer stärker. Zu den jüngsten Attacken auf die Siegermächte haben sich die Mudschahedin bekannt. Die religiösen Fanatiker kündigten neue Anschläge an
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
EU
Spiegel: Dem "Seite-eins-M?dchen" droht das Aus
Die EU-Kommission will die Darstellung von Frauen als "Sex-Objekt" in s?mtlichen Medien und in der Werbung verbieten. Der europ?ische Verleger-Verband ist entsetzt und fürchtet um den Fortbestand der redaktionellen Freiheit.
Brüssel - TV-Programme, in denen Frauen nur klischeehaft dargestellt werden sollen laut Pl?nen der EU-Kommission genauso verboten werden wie Werbung, in denen Frauen "ohne Respekt vor der menschlichen Würde" gezeigt werden. Wie die "Financial Times" berichtet, sei der Entwurf der Kommission einer der ehrgeizigsten Pl?ne innerhalb der europ?ischen Sozial-Gesetzgebung überhaupt
Spiegel: Dem "Seite-eins-M?dchen" droht das Aus
Die EU-Kommission will die Darstellung von Frauen als "Sex-Objekt" in s?mtlichen Medien und in der Werbung verbieten. Der europ?ische Verleger-Verband ist entsetzt und fürchtet um den Fortbestand der redaktionellen Freiheit.
Brüssel - TV-Programme, in denen Frauen nur klischeehaft dargestellt werden sollen laut Pl?nen der EU-Kommission genauso verboten werden wie Werbung, in denen Frauen "ohne Respekt vor der menschlichen Würde" gezeigt werden. Wie die "Financial Times" berichtet, sei der Entwurf der Kommission einer der ehrgeizigsten Pl?ne innerhalb der europ?ischen Sozial-Gesetzgebung überhaupt
IRAQ
The New Republic: THE SELLING OF THE IRAQ WAR.The First Casualty
oreign policy is always difficult in a democracy. Democracy requires openness. Yet foreign policy requires a level of secrecy that frees it from oversight and exposes it to abuse. As a result, Republicans and Democrats have long held that the intelligence agencies--the most clandestine of foreign policy institutions--should be insulated from political interference in much the same way as the higher reaches of the judiciary. As the Tower Commission, established to investigate the Iran-Contra scandal, warned in November 1987, "The democratic processes ... are subverted when intelligence is manipulated to affect decisions by elected officials and the public
"In dieser Schrift legen die Autoren John B. Judis und Spencer Acker-
man aus liberaler Sicht klar, daß die US-Administration mit der
bisherigen Politk zum Irak immer mehr Vertrauen verspielt.
Bedeutend ist diese Schrift deshalb, weil der New Republic den
neokonservativen Leitlinien von Lawrence F. Kaplan folgt"
The New Republic: THE SELLING OF THE IRAQ WAR.The First Casualty
oreign policy is always difficult in a democracy. Democracy requires openness. Yet foreign policy requires a level of secrecy that frees it from oversight and exposes it to abuse. As a result, Republicans and Democrats have long held that the intelligence agencies--the most clandestine of foreign policy institutions--should be insulated from political interference in much the same way as the higher reaches of the judiciary. As the Tower Commission, established to investigate the Iran-Contra scandal, warned in November 1987, "The democratic processes ... are subverted when intelligence is manipulated to affect decisions by elected officials and the public
"In dieser Schrift legen die Autoren John B. Judis und Spencer Acker-
man aus liberaler Sicht klar, daß die US-Administration mit der
bisherigen Politk zum Irak immer mehr Vertrauen verspielt.
Bedeutend ist diese Schrift deshalb, weil der New Republic den
neokonservativen Leitlinien von Lawrence F. Kaplan folgt"
911
Salon: BUSH'S 9/11 COVERUP
"While the administration of President George W. Bush is
aggressively positioning itself as the world leader in the war on
terrorism, some families of the Sept. 11 victims say that the facts
increasingly contradict that script," reports Eric Boehlert. "The
White House long opposed the formation of a blue-ribbon Sept. 11
commission, some say, and even now that panel is underfunded and
struggling to build momentum. And, they say, the administration is
suppressing a 900-page congressional study, possibly out of fear
that the findings will be politically damaging to Bush." According
to Monica Gabrielle, whose husband Richard died at the World Trade
Center, "As soon as we started looking for answers we were blocked,
put off and ignored at every stop of the way. We were shocked. The
White House is just blocking everything."
Salon: BUSH'S 9/11 COVERUP
"While the administration of President George W. Bush is
aggressively positioning itself as the world leader in the war on
terrorism, some families of the Sept. 11 victims say that the facts
increasingly contradict that script," reports Eric Boehlert. "The
White House long opposed the formation of a blue-ribbon Sept. 11
commission, some say, and even now that panel is underfunded and
struggling to build momentum. And, they say, the administration is
suppressing a 900-page congressional study, possibly out of fear
that the findings will be politically damaging to Bush." According
to Monica Gabrielle, whose husband Richard died at the World Trade
Center, "As soon as we started looking for answers we were blocked,
put off and ignored at every stop of the way. We were shocked. The
White House is just blocking everything."
PROPAGANDA WATCH
Fair: LINKING 9/11 TO IRAQ
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting says major media is ignoring the
story that flawed intelligence " may have been a result of
deliberate deception, rather than incompetence." According to FAIR,
"former General Wesley Clark told anchor Tim Russert that Bush
administration officials had engaged in a campaign to implicate
Saddam Hussein in the September 11 attacks-- starting that very
day. Clark said that he'd been called on September 11 and urged to
link Baghdad to the terror attacks, but declined to do so because
of a lack of evidence. ... Clark's assertion corroborates a
little-noted CBS Evening News story that aired on September 4,
2002. As correspondent David Martin reported: 'Barely five hours
after American Airlines Flight 77 plowed into the Pentagon, the
secretary of defense was telling his aides to start thinking about
striking Iraq, even though there was no evidence linking Saddam
Hussein to the attacks.' According to CBS, a Pentagon aide's notes
from that day quote Rumsfeld asking for the 'best info fast' to
'judge whether good enough to hit SH at the same time, not only
UBL.' (The initials SH and UBL stand for Saddam Hussein and Osama
bin Laden.) The notes then quote Rumsfeld as demanding, ominously,
that the administration's response 'go massive...sweep it all up,
things related and not.'"
Fair: LINKING 9/11 TO IRAQ
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting says major media is ignoring the
story that flawed intelligence " may have been a result of
deliberate deception, rather than incompetence." According to FAIR,
"former General Wesley Clark told anchor Tim Russert that Bush
administration officials had engaged in a campaign to implicate
Saddam Hussein in the September 11 attacks-- starting that very
day. Clark said that he'd been called on September 11 and urged to
link Baghdad to the terror attacks, but declined to do so because
of a lack of evidence. ... Clark's assertion corroborates a
little-noted CBS Evening News story that aired on September 4,
2002. As correspondent David Martin reported: 'Barely five hours
after American Airlines Flight 77 plowed into the Pentagon, the
secretary of defense was telling his aides to start thinking about
striking Iraq, even though there was no evidence linking Saddam
Hussein to the attacks.' According to CBS, a Pentagon aide's notes
from that day quote Rumsfeld asking for the 'best info fast' to
'judge whether good enough to hit SH at the same time, not only
UBL.' (The initials SH and UBL stand for Saddam Hussein and Osama
bin Laden.) The notes then quote Rumsfeld as demanding, ominously,
that the administration's response 'go massive...sweep it all up,
things related and not.'"
PROPAGANDA WATCH
twincities.com: "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" FOR BUSH ON IRAQ
In George Orwell's 1984 "Ignorance Was Strength" for Big Brother's
regime, and so it is for President Bush. "A third of the American
public believes U.S. forces found weapons of mass destruction in
Iraq, according to a recent poll. And 22 percent said Iraq actually
used chemical or biological weapons. Before the war, half of those
polled in a survey said Iraqis were among the 19 hijackers on Sept.
11, 2001. But such weapons have not been found in Iraq, and were
never used. Most of the Sept. 11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.
None were Iraqis. ... These results startled the pollsters who
conducted and analyzed the surveys. ... Pollsters and political
analysts see several reasons for the gaps between facts and
beliefs: the public's short attention span on foreign news,
fragmentary or conflicting media reports that lacked depth or
skepticism and Bush administration efforts to sell a war by
oversimplifying the threat. ... Bush has described the preemptive
attack on Iraq as "one victory in the war on terror that began
Sept. 11." Bush officials also claim that Iraq sheltered and helped
al-Qaida operatives. ... And GOP pollsters said any controversy
over weapons wouldn't change public attitudes because ridding Iraq
of an oppressive regime was reason enough for war for many
Americans. 'People supported the war for national security reasons
and that shifted to humanitarian reasons when they saw evidence of
Saddam's atrocities,' said Republican strategist Frank Luntz."
twincities.com: "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" FOR BUSH ON IRAQ
In George Orwell's 1984 "Ignorance Was Strength" for Big Brother's
regime, and so it is for President Bush. "A third of the American
public believes U.S. forces found weapons of mass destruction in
Iraq, according to a recent poll. And 22 percent said Iraq actually
used chemical or biological weapons. Before the war, half of those
polled in a survey said Iraqis were among the 19 hijackers on Sept.
11, 2001. But such weapons have not been found in Iraq, and were
never used. Most of the Sept. 11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.
None were Iraqis. ... These results startled the pollsters who
conducted and analyzed the surveys. ... Pollsters and political
analysts see several reasons for the gaps between facts and
beliefs: the public's short attention span on foreign news,
fragmentary or conflicting media reports that lacked depth or
skepticism and Bush administration efforts to sell a war by
oversimplifying the threat. ... Bush has described the preemptive
attack on Iraq as "one victory in the war on terror that began
Sept. 11." Bush officials also claim that Iraq sheltered and helped
al-Qaida operatives. ... And GOP pollsters said any controversy
over weapons wouldn't change public attitudes because ridding Iraq
of an oppressive regime was reason enough for war for many
Americans. 'People supported the war for national security reasons
and that shifted to humanitarian reasons when they saw evidence of
Saddam's atrocities,' said Republican strategist Frank Luntz."
PROPAGANDA WATCH
Lewrockwell.com: Fibbing It Up at Fox
If you're wondering whatever happened to all those alleged weapons
discoveries that Fox News reported during the war, Lew Rockwell has
compiled a list, along with other examples of dishonesty, error,
bias and propaganda at Fox News.
"CHECK IT"
"Fox News: fair and balanced reporting...die würden sich besser comedy channel nennen"
Lewrockwell.com: Fibbing It Up at Fox
If you're wondering whatever happened to all those alleged weapons
discoveries that Fox News reported during the war, Lew Rockwell has
compiled a list, along with other examples of dishonesty, error,
bias and propaganda at Fox News.
"CHECK IT"
"Fox News: fair and balanced reporting...die würden sich besser comedy channel nennen"
PUBLIC SPACE
NY Times: The Town Square as Billboard
"This property for rent. That's what an increasing number of
strapped municipalities are proclaiming to Madison Avenue as they
make available for advertising, marketing and promotional purposes
an expanding range of public places - whether zoos, parks and train
stations, or museums, piers and beaches. And while you still may
not be able to fight City Hall, in some instances you can rent it
for an event. ... 'We call it the city-for-sale phenomenon,' said
Gary Ruskin, the executive director at Commercial Alert in
Portland, Oregon, an organization dedicated to fighting what he
terms ad creep. 'Every one of these is a victory of crass
commercialism over local values. Places like parks are intended to
be sanctuaries from the more noxious aspects of our commercial
culture, refuges from the hustle and bustle of marketing. Instead,
they're now degraded into huckstering, up for bid to the
corporations with the deepest pockets.' "
SOURCE: New York Times, June 23, 2003
NY Times: The Town Square as Billboard
"This property for rent. That's what an increasing number of
strapped municipalities are proclaiming to Madison Avenue as they
make available for advertising, marketing and promotional purposes
an expanding range of public places - whether zoos, parks and train
stations, or museums, piers and beaches. And while you still may
not be able to fight City Hall, in some instances you can rent it
for an event. ... 'We call it the city-for-sale phenomenon,' said
Gary Ruskin, the executive director at Commercial Alert in
Portland, Oregon, an organization dedicated to fighting what he
terms ad creep. 'Every one of these is a victory of crass
commercialism over local values. Places like parks are intended to
be sanctuaries from the more noxious aspects of our commercial
culture, refuges from the hustle and bustle of marketing. Instead,
they're now degraded into huckstering, up for bid to the
corporations with the deepest pockets.' "
SOURCE: New York Times, June 23, 2003
USA
NY Times Op-Ed: BUSH DECEIVED US INTO WAR - WHY THE DENIAL ? by Paul Krugman
Politics is full of ironies. On the White House Web site, George W. Bush's speech from Oct. 7, 2002 — in which he made the case for war with Iraq — bears the headline "Denial and Deception." Indeed.
There is no longer any serious doubt that Bush administration officials deceived us into war. The key question now is why so many influential people are in denial, unwilling to admit the obvious.
CHECK IT
NY Times Op-Ed: BUSH DECEIVED US INTO WAR - WHY THE DENIAL ? by Paul Krugman
Politics is full of ironies. On the White House Web site, George W. Bush's speech from Oct. 7, 2002 — in which he made the case for war with Iraq — bears the headline "Denial and Deception." Indeed.
There is no longer any serious doubt that Bush administration officials deceived us into war. The key question now is why so many influential people are in denial, unwilling to admit the obvious.
CHECK IT
PR WATCH
CRAZY LIKE A FAUX
It was apparently just a matter of time. A parody website called
the "Faux News Channel, P.N.N. (Pentagon News Network)" has
received a letter from attorneys for the Fox News Network. The
attorneys object, among other things, to the sale by Faux of "Bill
O'Reilly Hitler Youth" t-shirts. They express concern that people
may confuse the real Faux with the fake Fox ... or is that
vice-versa? Faux responds: "Now isn't that a hoot: to be accused of
'incredibly poor taste' and being 'highly offensive' by a
representative of the network responsible for such benchmarks of
good taste as 'Temptation Island 3,' 'Joe Millionaire' and 'Stupid
Behavior Caught On Tape.' Folks, the irony is so thick around here
you can cut it with a knife."
CRAZY LIKE A FAUX
It was apparently just a matter of time. A parody website called
the "Faux News Channel, P.N.N. (Pentagon News Network)" has
received a letter from attorneys for the Fox News Network. The
attorneys object, among other things, to the sale by Faux of "Bill
O'Reilly Hitler Youth" t-shirts. They express concern that people
may confuse the real Faux with the fake Fox ... or is that
vice-versa? Faux responds: "Now isn't that a hoot: to be accused of
'incredibly poor taste' and being 'highly offensive' by a
representative of the network responsible for such benchmarks of
good taste as 'Temptation Island 3,' 'Joe Millionaire' and 'Stupid
Behavior Caught On Tape.' Folks, the irony is so thick around here
you can cut it with a knife."
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
IRAQ
Independent: Bush Now Blames Looters For Failure To Find WMD
It has taken more than two months. But belatedly, from his Democratic challengers for the White House and in committee rooms on Capitol Hill, President George W Bush is starting to feel the heat of the controversy over Iraq's missing weapons stockpiles.
In his weekly radio address yesterday, Mr Bush was forced to produce a new explanation of why the US has not found Iraq's alleged chemical and biological weapons. He told listeners that suspect sites had been looted in the closing days of Saddam Hussein's regime.
But this rationale is no more likely to still the gathering debate than the President's dismissal last week of the "revisionist historians" who doubt the administration's pre-war claims that Iraq not only possessed a huge chemical and biological weapons arsenal and an active nuclear weapons programme, but had close links with the al-Qa'ida terrorist organisation.
"Nach Umfragen glauben 1/3 aller Amerikaner es seien im Irak Massenvernichtungswaffen gefunden worden. 83% glauben Sadaam habe Atombomben entwickeln lassen "
Independent: Bush Now Blames Looters For Failure To Find WMD
It has taken more than two months. But belatedly, from his Democratic challengers for the White House and in committee rooms on Capitol Hill, President George W Bush is starting to feel the heat of the controversy over Iraq's missing weapons stockpiles.
In his weekly radio address yesterday, Mr Bush was forced to produce a new explanation of why the US has not found Iraq's alleged chemical and biological weapons. He told listeners that suspect sites had been looted in the closing days of Saddam Hussein's regime.
But this rationale is no more likely to still the gathering debate than the President's dismissal last week of the "revisionist historians" who doubt the administration's pre-war claims that Iraq not only possessed a huge chemical and biological weapons arsenal and an active nuclear weapons programme, but had close links with the al-Qa'ida terrorist organisation.
"Nach Umfragen glauben 1/3 aller Amerikaner es seien im Irak Massenvernichtungswaffen gefunden worden. 83% glauben Sadaam habe Atombomben entwickeln lassen "
SCIENCE
Guardian: How two students built an A-bomb
It's one of the burning questions of the moment: how easy would it be for a country with no nuclear expertise to build an A-bomb? Forty years ago in a top-secret project, the US military set about finding out. Oliver Burkeman talks to the men who solved the nuclear puzzle in just 30 months
Guardian: How two students built an A-bomb
It's one of the burning questions of the moment: how easy would it be for a country with no nuclear expertise to build an A-bomb? Forty years ago in a top-secret project, the US military set about finding out. Oliver Burkeman talks to the men who solved the nuclear puzzle in just 30 months
SYRIA
Spiegel: US-Armee greift syrische Grenzsoldaten an
Auf der Jagd nach den Führern des gestürzten Baath-Regimes haben US-Soldaten offenbar einen syrischen Grenzposten angegriffen. Dabei gab es mehrere Verletzte. Die GIs sollen auch die irakische Grenze nach Syrien überschritten und Gefangene gemacht haben.
Damaskus - Die Amerikaner hatten von einem früheren Saddam-Berater den Hinweis bekommen, von ihnen gesuchte, hochrangige Iraker befänden sich in einem Konvoi auf der Flucht nach Syrien. Die US-Armee nahm die Verfolgung des Trecks auf. Wie jetzt bekannt wurde, endete die Jagd in einem Feuergefecht mit syrischen Grenzsoldaten.
Spiegel: US-Armee greift syrische Grenzsoldaten an
Auf der Jagd nach den Führern des gestürzten Baath-Regimes haben US-Soldaten offenbar einen syrischen Grenzposten angegriffen. Dabei gab es mehrere Verletzte. Die GIs sollen auch die irakische Grenze nach Syrien überschritten und Gefangene gemacht haben.
Damaskus - Die Amerikaner hatten von einem früheren Saddam-Berater den Hinweis bekommen, von ihnen gesuchte, hochrangige Iraker befänden sich in einem Konvoi auf der Flucht nach Syrien. Die US-Armee nahm die Verfolgung des Trecks auf. Wie jetzt bekannt wurde, endete die Jagd in einem Feuergefecht mit syrischen Grenzsoldaten.
IRAQ
Spiegel: Sechs britische Soldaten getötet
Bei zwei Angriffen auf britische Truppen im Irak sind nach Angaben der Regierung in London sechs Soldaten getötet worden, acht weitere wurden verletzt.
Spiegel: Sechs britische Soldaten getötet
Bei zwei Angriffen auf britische Truppen im Irak sind nach Angaben der Regierung in London sechs Soldaten getötet worden, acht weitere wurden verletzt.
ISRAEL
World Socialist Website: Terrorism and the origins of Israel—Part 1
Terrorism and the origins of Israel—Part 2
The following is the first of a two-part series. The concluding part will be published June 23.
Last month the National Archives, formerly known as the Public Record Office, released MI5 Security Service files showing that Zionist terror groups planned to set up cells in London and assassinate the post-war Labour government’s British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin.
“Present Trends in Palestine”, an MI5 briefing paper written in August 1946, reported on the activities of the Stern Gang. This was the terrorist group that had assassinated Lord Moyne, the British military governor in Egypt in 1944.
“In recent months it has been reported that they [the Stern Gang] have been training selected members for the purpose of proceeding overseas and assassinating a prominent British personality—special reference having been made several times to Mr. Bevin in this connection,” the paper noted.
One of the leading lights of the Stern Group, which had by this time renamed itself Lehi, was Yitzhak Shamir who became prime minister in 1983 and whose tenure in the highest office in Israel was second only to Ben Gurion.
World Socialist Website: Terrorism and the origins of Israel—Part 1
Terrorism and the origins of Israel—Part 2
The following is the first of a two-part series. The concluding part will be published June 23.
Last month the National Archives, formerly known as the Public Record Office, released MI5 Security Service files showing that Zionist terror groups planned to set up cells in London and assassinate the post-war Labour government’s British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin.
“Present Trends in Palestine”, an MI5 briefing paper written in August 1946, reported on the activities of the Stern Gang. This was the terrorist group that had assassinated Lord Moyne, the British military governor in Egypt in 1944.
“In recent months it has been reported that they [the Stern Gang] have been training selected members for the purpose of proceeding overseas and assassinating a prominent British personality—special reference having been made several times to Mr. Bevin in this connection,” the paper noted.
One of the leading lights of the Stern Group, which had by this time renamed itself Lehi, was Yitzhak Shamir who became prime minister in 1983 and whose tenure in the highest office in Israel was second only to Ben Gurion.
Monday, June 23, 2003
VENEZUELA: EURO VS DOLLAR WAR
VHeadlines: Venezuelan move to replace US$ with the €uro upsetting Washington more than Saddam's €uro conversion last November
VHeadline.com editor & publisher Roy S. Carson writes: A move by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias to replace the US$ with the €uro is seen as upsetting Washington more than when Iraq's Saddam Hussein started using the €uro for oil transactions last November ... precipitating the US-led action to invade Iraq. Beltway bullies are now said to be angered by Venezuela's decision to barter oil with thirteen other Latin American countries, dealing moves to dollarize South America currencies. Intelligence reports say that while the US was able to pull the wool over the international community and ally with Britain's Blair to bulldoze action against former Iran War ally Hussein, the situation with Venezuela is proving more difficult.
CIA and other intel organizations, including Britain's MI5, now fear that the next step is that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is about to switch to €uros ... the immediate effect would be a massive devaluation, perhaps sparking of domino-effect devaluations worldwide in US$-related foreign reserves and foreign debt calculations.
With a massive budget deficit, the United States is running scared of latest intel that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is on the brink of converting to the €uros and the opinion held by many OPEC ministers is that the conversion is an inevitability ... the only question left is WHEN?
"Coupe d'Etat underway"
VHeadlines: Venezuelan move to replace US$ with the €uro upsetting Washington more than Saddam's €uro conversion last November
VHeadline.com editor & publisher Roy S. Carson writes: A move by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias to replace the US$ with the €uro is seen as upsetting Washington more than when Iraq's Saddam Hussein started using the €uro for oil transactions last November ... precipitating the US-led action to invade Iraq. Beltway bullies are now said to be angered by Venezuela's decision to barter oil with thirteen other Latin American countries, dealing moves to dollarize South America currencies. Intelligence reports say that while the US was able to pull the wool over the international community and ally with Britain's Blair to bulldoze action against former Iran War ally Hussein, the situation with Venezuela is proving more difficult.
CIA and other intel organizations, including Britain's MI5, now fear that the next step is that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is about to switch to €uros ... the immediate effect would be a massive devaluation, perhaps sparking of domino-effect devaluations worldwide in US$-related foreign reserves and foreign debt calculations.
With a massive budget deficit, the United States is running scared of latest intel that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is on the brink of converting to the €uros and the opinion held by many OPEC ministers is that the conversion is an inevitability ... the only question left is WHEN?
"Coupe d'Etat underway"
IRAQ
Independent: Powerless Iraqis rail against ignorant, air-conditioned US occupation force
As temperatures reached a scorching 45C (113F) in Baghdad last week
people in al-Thawra, a sprawling working-class slum, unearthed hidden rifles
and threatened to kill the manager of the local electrical sub-station if
he did not resume power supplies. "Some had guns and others threw stones
at us, but I told them this was just a sub- station and we aren't
receiving any electricity," said Bassim Arman, the harassed-looking manager. "Now
I have to close down anyway, because employees are too frightened to come
to work."
Electricity is vital to life in the Iraqi capital where the temperature
can soar as high as 60C (140F) at the height of summer. Without it there is
no air-conditioning, no refrigerators to prevent food rotting and no light
in a city terrified by looters. The failure to get the electrical system
working has become a symbol for Iraqis in the capital of the general
failure of the American occupation to provide living conditions even at
the miserable level they enjoyed under Saddam Hussein.
Independent: Powerless Iraqis rail against ignorant, air-conditioned US occupation force
As temperatures reached a scorching 45C (113F) in Baghdad last week
people in al-Thawra, a sprawling working-class slum, unearthed hidden rifles
and threatened to kill the manager of the local electrical sub-station if
he did not resume power supplies. "Some had guns and others threw stones
at us, but I told them this was just a sub- station and we aren't
receiving any electricity," said Bassim Arman, the harassed-looking manager. "Now
I have to close down anyway, because employees are too frightened to come
to work."
Electricity is vital to life in the Iraqi capital where the temperature
can soar as high as 60C (140F) at the height of summer. Without it there is
no air-conditioning, no refrigerators to prevent food rotting and no light
in a city terrified by looters. The failure to get the electrical system
working has become a symbol for Iraqis in the capital of the general
failure of the American occupation to provide living conditions even at
the miserable level they enjoyed under Saddam Hussein.
IRAQ: CENSORSHIP
Zmag/Independent: Censorship Of The Press by Robert Fisk
A Familiar Story For Iraqi's
Paul Bremer has ordered his legal department in Baghdad to draw up rules for press censorship. A joke, I concluded, when one of the newly styled Coalition Provisional Authority officials tipped me off last week. But no, it really is true. Two months after "liberating" Iraq, the Anglo- American authorities and their boss Paul Bremer - whose habit of wearing combat boots with a black suit continues to amaze his colleagues - have decided to control the new and free Iraqi press.
Newspapers that publish "wild stories", material deemed provocative or capable of inciting ethnic violence, will be threatened or shut down. It's for the good of the Iraqi people, you understand. A controlled press is a responsible press - which is exactly what Saddam Hussein used to say about the trashy newspapers his regime produced.
"Wenn etwas zur Herstellung einer
Zmag/Independent: Censorship Of The Press by Robert Fisk
A Familiar Story For Iraqi's
Paul Bremer has ordered his legal department in Baghdad to draw up rules for press censorship. A joke, I concluded, when one of the newly styled Coalition Provisional Authority officials tipped me off last week. But no, it really is true. Two months after "liberating" Iraq, the Anglo- American authorities and their boss Paul Bremer - whose habit of wearing combat boots with a black suit continues to amaze his colleagues - have decided to control the new and free Iraqi press.
Newspapers that publish "wild stories", material deemed provocative or capable of inciting ethnic violence, will be threatened or shut down. It's for the good of the Iraqi people, you understand. A controlled press is a responsible press - which is exactly what Saddam Hussein used to say about the trashy newspapers his regime produced.
"Wenn etwas zur Herstellung einer
USA: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Spiegel: US-Unis dürfen Minderheiten weiter fördern
In den USA gilt es als das wichtigste Bürgerrechts-Urteil seit einem Vierteljahrhundert: Der Oberste Gerichtshof hat entschieden, dass US-Hochschulen Schwarzen auch künftig bei der Zulassung einen Bonus geben können - allerdings nach strengen Regeln.
Ny Times: Supreme Court Splits on Diversity Efforts at University of Michigan
In its most important statements on affirmative action in a quarter-century, the Supreme Court narrowly upheld the admissions policy of the University of Michigan law school today, finding that minority applicants may be given an edge, but struck down the part of the university's undergraduate-admissions system that relies on a point system.
Spiegel: US-Unis dürfen Minderheiten weiter fördern
In den USA gilt es als das wichtigste Bürgerrechts-Urteil seit einem Vierteljahrhundert: Der Oberste Gerichtshof hat entschieden, dass US-Hochschulen Schwarzen auch künftig bei der Zulassung einen Bonus geben können - allerdings nach strengen Regeln.
Ny Times: Supreme Court Splits on Diversity Efforts at University of Michigan
In its most important statements on affirmative action in a quarter-century, the Supreme Court narrowly upheld the admissions policy of the University of Michigan law school today, finding that minority applicants may be given an edge, but struck down the part of the university's undergraduate-admissions system that relies on a point system.
ISRAEL
Spiegel: Scharon lässt Siedler heimlich weiterbauen
Israels Ministerpräsident Scharon scheint auf den Friedensprozess zu pfeifen. Während einer Regierungsberatung soll er sich gegen den in der Roadmap vorgesehenen Baustopp jüdischer Siedlungen im Westjordanland ausgesprochen haben. Die Siedler, so wird er in Medienberichten zitiert, sollen heimlich weiterbauen.
Tel Aviv - Die israelische Zeitung "Jediot Achronot" meldete am Montag, Scharon soll während des Regierungstreffens gesagt haben: "Wir können in den Siedlungen bauen, jedoch nicht darüber sprechen. Und es ist auch nicht notwendig, jedes Mal öffentliche Freudentänze aufzuführen, wenn eine Baugenehmigung erteilt wird." Mit dieser Aussage verstößt Scharon klar gegen die Roadmap, den internationalen Friedensplan für den Nahen Osten.
Spiegel: Scharon lässt Siedler heimlich weiterbauen
Israels Ministerpräsident Scharon scheint auf den Friedensprozess zu pfeifen. Während einer Regierungsberatung soll er sich gegen den in der Roadmap vorgesehenen Baustopp jüdischer Siedlungen im Westjordanland ausgesprochen haben. Die Siedler, so wird er in Medienberichten zitiert, sollen heimlich weiterbauen.
Tel Aviv - Die israelische Zeitung "Jediot Achronot" meldete am Montag, Scharon soll während des Regierungstreffens gesagt haben: "Wir können in den Siedlungen bauen, jedoch nicht darüber sprechen. Und es ist auch nicht notwendig, jedes Mal öffentliche Freudentänze aufzuführen, wenn eine Baugenehmigung erteilt wird." Mit dieser Aussage verstößt Scharon klar gegen die Roadmap, den internationalen Friedensplan für den Nahen Osten.
ZÜRICH
20min: Illegale Party artete aus
Schwere Auseinandersetzung zwischen Besuchern einer illegalen Party und der Stadtpolizei Zürich: Feiernde Jugendliche griffen zwei Beamte tätlich an.
Die Party fand auf dem Dach eines Parkhauses an der Pfingstweidstrasse statt. Zwei angerückte Polizisten verlangten vom DJ in den gestrigen frühen Morgenstunden, die Musik abzustellen. Als dieser der Aufforderung nicht nachkam, brachte einer der Beamten den Plattenteller von Hand zum Stehen. Dann eskalierte die Situation.
"Aint no party like a ZEE RIOTZH party"
20min: Illegale Party artete aus
Schwere Auseinandersetzung zwischen Besuchern einer illegalen Party und der Stadtpolizei Zürich: Feiernde Jugendliche griffen zwei Beamte tätlich an.
Die Party fand auf dem Dach eines Parkhauses an der Pfingstweidstrasse statt. Zwei angerückte Polizisten verlangten vom DJ in den gestrigen frühen Morgenstunden, die Musik abzustellen. Als dieser der Aufforderung nicht nachkam, brachte einer der Beamten den Plattenteller von Hand zum Stehen. Dann eskalierte die Situation.
"Aint no party like a ZEE RIOTZH party"
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
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