BBC: Basra warrant for two UK soldiers
A Basra judge has issued an arrest warrant for two British soldiers after an Iraqi civilian was reportedly killed and a police officer injured.
The two servicemen - believed to be undercover SAS officers - were detained after a confrontation on Monday.
UK troops later freed the soldiers from Iraqi custody after storming a police station in the southern Iraqi city.
Defence Secretary John Reid said no warrant had been received - and British personnel were immune from Iraqi laws.
"The MoD has not received any arrest warrant relating to any British personnel in Iraq," he said.
"Iraqi law is very clear: British forces remain subject to British jurisdiction.
"Even if such a warrant was issued, it would therefore be of no legal effect."
"It would be interesting to know who made such a deal with the Occupation Forces. Was ist Bremer, Occupation Puppet Allawi or the new Puppet Goverment? Under internation Law it is not allowed to change the Laws of an country under occupation. Im not a law proffesor but under these circumstances one could argue that in this case the special deal between the Puppet Goverment and the Occupation Forces is irrelavant."
Monday, September 26, 2005
911
Tomflocco: 9-11 crash victim Barbara Olson arrested in Europe
"to be confirmed"
French and American intelligence agents have arrested Barbara Olson, the wife of a former Bush administration official, a few days ago on the Polish-German border, according to agents close to and with knowledge of the incident.The alleged 9.11 Pentagon crash victim was found to be in possession of millions in fake interbank Italian lyra currency, according to the agents.Olson was also reportedly in possession of a fraudulent Vatican passport and was held on charges of counterfeiting.
Barbara K. Olson
The former Fox News TV commentator and Independent Women's Forum activist was said to have called her husband Theodore Olson from her plane to seek help in countering hijackers who had allegedly taken over American flight 77 which the Bush administration said was crashed into the Pentagon- although the impact only left an opening approximately 16 feet across.
"It is by no means possible to check the validity of this story, so i regard it as untrue"
"to be confirmed"
French and American intelligence agents have arrested Barbara Olson, the wife of a former Bush administration official, a few days ago on the Polish-German border, according to agents close to and with knowledge of the incident.The alleged 9.11 Pentagon crash victim was found to be in possession of millions in fake interbank Italian lyra currency, according to the agents.Olson was also reportedly in possession of a fraudulent Vatican passport and was held on charges of counterfeiting.
Barbara K. Olson
The former Fox News TV commentator and Independent Women's Forum activist was said to have called her husband Theodore Olson from her plane to seek help in countering hijackers who had allegedly taken over American flight 77 which the Bush administration said was crashed into the Pentagon- although the impact only left an opening approximately 16 feet across.
"It is by no means possible to check the validity of this story, so i regard it as untrue"
911: PENTAGON
Pentagonstrike.co.uk: What hit the Pentagon on 911?
professionally made Flash Presentation in 11 languages
professionally made Flash Presentation in 11 languages
Friday, September 23, 2005
HYPOCRITES
SFgate: Bush Waives Saudi Trafficking Sanctions
President Bush decided Wednesday to waive any financial sanctions on Saudi Arabia, Washington's closest Arab ally in the war on terrorism, for failing to do enough to stop the modern-day slave trade in prostitutes, child sex workers and forced laborers.
President Bush decided Wednesday to waive any financial sanctions on Saudi Arabia, Washington's closest Arab ally in the war on terrorism, for failing to do enough to stop the modern-day slave trade in prostitutes, child sex workers and forced laborers.
IRAN: COUNTDOWN TO WAR
Aljazeera: EU drops bid to refer Iran case to UN
The European Union has backed off from its attempt to have Iran immediately called before the UN Security Council over its nuclear programme, due to fierce opposition from Russia and China, diplomats said.
The European Union has backed off from its attempt to have Iran immediately called before the UN Security Council over its nuclear programme, due to fierce opposition from Russia and China, diplomats said.
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
Guardian: Bush: Troops will not withdraw on my watch
Meanwhile, the governor of Basra, Mohammed al-Waili, today threatened to halt cooperation with British forces until Tony Blair apologised for the storming of a prison in the southern Iraqi city.
Mr al-Waili also demanded compensation for the damage caused when British forces destroyed part of the prison compound on Monday following the detention of two undercover SAS soldiers.
The Iraqi national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, called the attack by British forces "a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty".
FREE SPEECH
Guardian: This attack on free speech will fuel Muslim hostility
If Britain's proposed laws on inciting terrorism were applied fairly, those who incite wars of aggression would also be in the dock
If Britain's proposed laws on inciting terrorism were applied fairly, those who incite wars of aggression would also be in the dock
Thursday, September 22, 2005
BIRD FLU
Rense: Massive H5N1 Infections At Ragunan Zoo In Jakarta
Apriantono told the ElShinta private radio that 19 out of 27 samples taken from various birds at the zoo, including pigmy chickens and eagles, contained the bird flu virus.
Xinhua: 6 With H5N1 Symptoms Admitted To Jakarta Hospital
6 Indonesian residents, including 4 children, have been admitted to a hospital with avian influenza symptoms, spreading fears of a major outbreak of the deadly disease in the world's fourth most populous nation.
Apriantono told the ElShinta private radio that 19 out of 27 samples taken from various birds at the zoo, including pigmy chickens and eagles, contained the bird flu virus.
Xinhua: 6 With H5N1 Symptoms Admitted To Jakarta Hospital
6 Indonesian residents, including 4 children, have been admitted to a hospital with avian influenza symptoms, spreading fears of a major outbreak of the deadly disease in the world's fourth most populous nation.
PRIVATE PROPAGANDA
SLATE: You Can't Handle the Truth
LONDON—Over the past 24 hours, seven people have checked into hospitals here with telltale symptoms. Rashes, vomiting, high temperature, and cramps: the classic signs of smallpox. Once thought wiped out, the disease is back and threatening a pandemic of epic proportions.
LONDON—Over the past 24 hours, seven people have checked into hospitals here with telltale symptoms. Rashes, vomiting, high temperature, and cramps: the classic signs of smallpox. Once thought wiped out, the disease is back and threatening a pandemic of epic proportions.
The government faces a dilemma: It needs people to stay home, but if the news breaks, mass panic might ensue as people flee the city, carrying the virus with them.
A shadowy media firm steps in to help orchestrate a sophisticated campaign of mass deception. Rather than alert the public to the smallpox threat, the company sets up a high-tech "ops center" to convince the public that an accident at a chemical plant threatens London. As the fictitious toxic cloud approaches the city, TV news outlets are provided graphic visuals charting the path of the invisible toxins. Londoners stay indoors, glued to the telly, convinced that even a short walk into the streets could be fatal.
This scenario may sound like a rejected plot twist from a mediocre Bond flick, but one company is dead set on making this fantasy come to life.
Strategic Communication Laboratories, a small U.K. firm specializing in "influence operations" made a very public debut this week with a glitzy exhibit occupying prime real estate at Defense Systems & Equipment International, or DSEi, the United Kingdom's largest showcase for military technology. The main attraction was a full-scale mock-up of its ops center, running simulations ranging from natural disasters to political coups.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
IRAN: COUNTDOWN TO WAR
Rense: Iran War Clouds On The Harvest Moon
by Webster Griffin Tarpley
by Webster Griffin Tarpley
- The Bush-Cheney war drive continues unabated, despite hurricane Katrina. The US government continues to operate under Cheney's order to prepare in the short term for the nuclear bombing of Iran in the wake of a new 9/11 of state sponsored, false flag synthetic terrorism, as revealed in late July by Philip Giraldi in The American Conservative.
- But Iran is not the only possible target in the wake of a new 9/11. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, speaking at the United Nations this past week, formally accused the US of preparing an unprovoked aggression against his country as well. Chavez promised a hundred years, war to beat back such an invasion.
Monday, September 19, 2005
IRAQ: RESISTANCE CONTROLS BAGHDAD
Juan Cole: Security Situation in Baghdad Sinking like the Titanic
"The situation has deteriorated in Baghdad dramatically today. Five neighborhoods (hay) in Baghdad are controlled by insurgents, and they are Amiraya, Ghazilya, Shurta, Yarmouk and Doura. It is very bad. My guys there report that cars have come into these neighborhoods and blocked off the streets. Masked gunmen with AKs and other weapons are roaming these areas, announcing that people should stay home. One of my drivers in Amiraya reports that his neighborhood is shut down totally, and even those who need food or provisions are warned not to go out.
The government will respond feebly. It will go into a contested neighborhood, and then just like Fallujah, Ramadi, Tel Afar, the insurgents will flee to take over another area on another day. Bit by bit they are taking over the main parts of Baghdad. The only place we are sure they cannot control is Sadr City, unless of course they want to take on Jaish Mahdy [Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army], and that would be bloody.
A few minutes ago Jaafari came on television to tell everyone in Baghdad to stay home. Can't wait for his next bold move.
There are flyers in public areas of Baghdad warning people not to gather in large numbers because they will thereby become targets. I am trying to get a copy of the flyer.
Notwithstanding Al-Hayat's claim that Zarqawi and the Sunni resistance are not together, my street listeners claim otherwise. My folks are convinced that the two groups, broadly defined, are together, "100 percent" is the claim of certainty. It is hard to get a handle on this because people in Baghdad tend to lump all resistance groups, except for Zarqawi, into one large category.
"The situation has deteriorated in Baghdad dramatically today. Five neighborhoods (hay) in Baghdad are controlled by insurgents, and they are Amiraya, Ghazilya, Shurta, Yarmouk and Doura. It is very bad. My guys there report that cars have come into these neighborhoods and blocked off the streets. Masked gunmen with AKs and other weapons are roaming these areas, announcing that people should stay home. One of my drivers in Amiraya reports that his neighborhood is shut down totally, and even those who need food or provisions are warned not to go out.
The government will respond feebly. It will go into a contested neighborhood, and then just like Fallujah, Ramadi, Tel Afar, the insurgents will flee to take over another area on another day. Bit by bit they are taking over the main parts of Baghdad. The only place we are sure they cannot control is Sadr City, unless of course they want to take on Jaish Mahdy [Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army], and that would be bloody.
A few minutes ago Jaafari came on television to tell everyone in Baghdad to stay home. Can't wait for his next bold move.
There are flyers in public areas of Baghdad warning people not to gather in large numbers because they will thereby become targets. I am trying to get a copy of the flyer.
Notwithstanding Al-Hayat's claim that Zarqawi and the Sunni resistance are not together, my street listeners claim otherwise. My folks are convinced that the two groups, broadly defined, are together, "100 percent" is the claim of certainty. It is hard to get a handle on this because people in Baghdad tend to lump all resistance groups, except for Zarqawi, into one large category.
SYRIA
huffingtonpost: US Ambassador To Iraq Predicts US Will Go Into Syria…
Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Ambassador to Iraq, made the off the record prediction that the US will go into Syria to combat insurgents that have been using the country as a staging ground for terrorist activity in Iraq.
Ambassador Khalilzad’s comments were made at businessman Teddy Forstmann's annual off the record gathering in Aspen, Colorado this weekend.
IRAN
Haaretz: Iran calls on UN to probe how Israel acquired nuclear weapons
UNITED NATIONS - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday a UN committee should investigate how Israel acquired nuclear weapons.
In an unyielding speech to the General Assembly, Ahmadinejad said his country had the inalienable right to produce nuclear energy and accused the United States of violating a treaty banning the spread of atomic weapons.
Seeking to turn the tables of Western powers that suspect Tehran of developing nuclear weapons, Ahmadinejad offered to allow other countries and private companies to participate in his country's uranium enrichment program to prove that Tehran is not producing nuclear weapons.
Calling the charge that Iran is seeking to produce nuclear weapons "a pure propaganda ploy," Ahmadinejad said Iran has a right to a nuclear fuel program, but stressed that the country's "religious principles" prevent it from seeking atomic weapons.
UNITED NATIONS - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday a UN committee should investigate how Israel acquired nuclear weapons.
In an unyielding speech to the General Assembly, Ahmadinejad said his country had the inalienable right to produce nuclear energy and accused the United States of violating a treaty banning the spread of atomic weapons.
Seeking to turn the tables of Western powers that suspect Tehran of developing nuclear weapons, Ahmadinejad offered to allow other countries and private companies to participate in his country's uranium enrichment program to prove that Tehran is not producing nuclear weapons.
Calling the charge that Iran is seeking to produce nuclear weapons "a pure propaganda ploy," Ahmadinejad said Iran has a right to a nuclear fuel program, but stressed that the country's "religious principles" prevent it from seeking atomic weapons.
USA: KATRINA
Rense: Unreported Deadly Force In Katrina Aftermath?
by Wayne Madsen
Pentagon covering up shooting incidents in New Orleans and environs? Reports are emanating out of New Orleans that National Guard, regular military, officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and private security personnel have shot to death homeless and needy survivors of Hurricane Katrina. One shooting incident is alleged to have occurred last week at Louis Armstrong International Airport where over a hundred people were subjected to lethal force after troops feared they were going to "riot." It is uncertain how many people have been killed by lethal force in New Orleans, but the numbers mentioned are in excess of 150.
by Wayne Madsen
Pentagon covering up shooting incidents in New Orleans and environs? Reports are emanating out of New Orleans that National Guard, regular military, officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and private security personnel have shot to death homeless and needy survivors of Hurricane Katrina. One shooting incident is alleged to have occurred last week at Louis Armstrong International Airport where over a hundred people were subjected to lethal force after troops feared they were going to "riot." It is uncertain how many people have been killed by lethal force in New Orleans, but the numbers mentioned are in excess of 150.
USA: KATRINA
Bella Ciao: The Great New Orleans Land Grab-The 17th Street Canal levee was breached on purpose
s the world watched the events unfolding, one could not help think that something was terribly afoot concerning the rescue by FEMA of the city’s poor and predominate Black population. It seems that a well laid out plan was put into effect to grab valuable real estate from well established but poverty stricken Black families of New Orleans? What is being implemented now is nothing less than a sophisticated scheme to purge and ethnically cleanse what Whites have termed "Black and ’welfare bloated’ New Orleans".
Another telling incident that points to a "nefarious plan" is what New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said at the height of the crisis. He said publicly, "I fear the CIA may take me out!" Mayor Nagin, a Black, said this twice. He told a reporter for the Associated Press: "If the CIA slips me something and next week you don’t see me, you’ll all know what happened." Later he told interviewers for CNN on a live broadcast that he feared the "CIA might take me out." What does Mayor Ray Nagin know and why does he fear the CIA?
ork that deployed throughout the hurricane ravished region reported that the airwaves were being "jammed" making it impossible to communicate emergency information. Churches, hospitals and other essential community groups reported that the first thing that the US military did, when they arrived, was to cut their telephone lines and confiscate communications devices.
s the world watched the events unfolding, one could not help think that something was terribly afoot concerning the rescue by FEMA of the city’s poor and predominate Black population. It seems that a well laid out plan was put into effect to grab valuable real estate from well established but poverty stricken Black families of New Orleans? What is being implemented now is nothing less than a sophisticated scheme to purge and ethnically cleanse what Whites have termed "Black and ’welfare bloated’ New Orleans".
Another telling incident that points to a "nefarious plan" is what New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said at the height of the crisis. He said publicly, "I fear the CIA may take me out!" Mayor Nagin, a Black, said this twice. He told a reporter for the Associated Press: "If the CIA slips me something and next week you don’t see me, you’ll all know what happened." Later he told interviewers for CNN on a live broadcast that he feared the "CIA might take me out." What does Mayor Ray Nagin know and why does he fear the CIA?
ork that deployed throughout the hurricane ravished region reported that the airwaves were being "jammed" making it impossible to communicate emergency information. Churches, hospitals and other essential community groups reported that the first thing that the US military did, when they arrived, was to cut their telephone lines and confiscate communications devices.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
Forbes: Al-Qaeda-linked group says it fired chemical arms in Baghdad
An Al-Qaeda linked Sunni group in Iraq said it used chemical weapons to attack targets in Baghdad today, according to their statement released on an Islamist website.
Jaish al-Taefa al-Mansura (Army of the Victorious Community) said its fighters fired shells filled with chemical agents at the interior ministry, foreign ministry, the 'green zone' and Baghdad's security academy.
In Baghdad, the interior ministry said five rounds of mortar fire exploded, including two in the heavily fortified green zone which houses the Iraqi government as well as the US and British embassies.
Two struck the heavily protected 'green zone' which is home to the government and to the US and British embassies, but it was not immediately known if there were casualties.
An Al-Qaeda linked Sunni group in Iraq said it used chemical weapons to attack targets in Baghdad today, according to their statement released on an Islamist website.
Jaish al-Taefa al-Mansura (Army of the Victorious Community) said its fighters fired shells filled with chemical agents at the interior ministry, foreign ministry, the 'green zone' and Baghdad's security academy.
In Baghdad, the interior ministry said five rounds of mortar fire exploded, including two in the heavily fortified green zone which houses the Iraqi government as well as the US and British embassies.
Two struck the heavily protected 'green zone' which is home to the government and to the US and British embassies, but it was not immediately known if there were casualties.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
IRAQ
Aljazeera: The Iran Trap by Scott Ritter
the complicated world of international diplomacy surrounding the issue of Iran's nuclear program, there is but one thing that the United States, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the so-called EU-3 (Germany, France and Great Britain) and Iran can all agree uponIran has resumed operations of facilities designed to convert uranium into a product usable in enrichment processes. From that point forward consensus on just about anything begins to fall apart.
the complicated world of international diplomacy surrounding the issue of Iran's nuclear program, there is but one thing that the United States, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the so-called EU-3 (Germany, France and Great Britain) and Iran can all agree uponIran has resumed operations of facilities designed to convert uranium into a product usable in enrichment processes. From that point forward consensus on just about anything begins to fall apart.
GUANTANAMO
Independent: Revealed: the diary of a British man on hunger strike in Guantanamo
More than 200 detainees are starving themselves to protest against conditions at the camp in Cuba where they are being held without trial. Here the Independent on Sunday publishes a shocking extract from the journal of Omar Deghayes, a British resident, who has been imprisoned there since September 2002
More than 200 detainees are starving themselves to protest against conditions at the camp in Cuba where they are being held without trial. Here the Independent on Sunday publishes a shocking extract from the journal of Omar Deghayes, a British resident, who has been imprisoned there since September 2002
IRAQ
Reuters: Militants put price on Iraqi PM's head
DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iraqi militant group has offered up to $100,000 for killing the prime minister and top officials who launched an offensive on rebels in a northern town, according to an Internet statement posted on Monday.
The Islamic Army in Iraq, among several insurgent groups fighting U.S. troops and Iraqi forces, said Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari and the defense and interior ministers should die for the fighting in Tal Afar.
"The leadership of the army has issued orders to all the mujahideen to intensify their attacks... to avenge the mass extermination occuring in Tal Afar," said the statement which was not dated but bore the group's logo
DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iraqi militant group has offered up to $100,000 for killing the prime minister and top officials who launched an offensive on rebels in a northern town, according to an Internet statement posted on Monday.
The Islamic Army in Iraq, among several insurgent groups fighting U.S. troops and Iraqi forces, said Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari and the defense and interior ministers should die for the fighting in Tal Afar.
"The leadership of the army has issued orders to all the mujahideen to intensify their attacks... to avenge the mass extermination occuring in Tal Afar," said the statement which was not dated but bore the group's logo
IRAQ: TAL AFAR
Iraqwar.ru: Tal Afar Residents Send Out SOS
Residents of the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar has sent out an SOS to the international community to interfere with the US occupation authorities to stop their continuing bombing of their devastated city, revealing a terrible humanitarian situation. "US and Iraqi forces are still besieging Tal Afar amid ongoing intensive bombing, ordering residents of Hassan Kawi and Sarray neighborhoods to evacuate immediately," a Tal Afar tribal leader told IOL over the phone Thursday, September 8.
"The Americans are seemingly bombing the city with chemical weapons," he said, adding Tal Afar residents are speaking of suffocations and other health problems upon exposure to any hit area.
Residents of the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar has sent out an SOS to the international community to interfere with the US occupation authorities to stop their continuing bombing of their devastated city, revealing a terrible humanitarian situation. "US and Iraqi forces are still besieging Tal Afar amid ongoing intensive bombing, ordering residents of Hassan Kawi and Sarray neighborhoods to evacuate immediately," a Tal Afar tribal leader told IOL over the phone Thursday, September 8.
"The Americans are seemingly bombing the city with chemical weapons," he said, adding Tal Afar residents are speaking of suffocations and other health problems upon exposure to any hit area.
USA: KATRINA
CNN: Judge Blocks Feds News Ban On Recovery Of N.O. Dead
At the request of CNN, a federal judge in Texas Friday night blocked emergency officials in New Orleans from preventing the media from covering the recovery of bodies from Hurricane Katrina.
Attorneys for the network argued that the ban was an unconstitutional prior restraint on news gathering.
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison issued a temporary restraining order against a "zero access" policy announced earlier Friday by Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, who is overseeing the federal relief effort in the city, and Terry Ebbert, the city's homeland security director.
At the request of CNN, a federal judge in Texas Friday night blocked emergency officials in New Orleans from preventing the media from covering the recovery of bodies from Hurricane Katrina.
Attorneys for the network argued that the ban was an unconstitutional prior restraint on news gathering.
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison issued a temporary restraining order against a "zero access" policy announced earlier Friday by Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, who is overseeing the federal relief effort in the city, and Terry Ebbert, the city's homeland security director.
USA: KATRINA
Rense: Explosive Residue Found On Failed Levee Debris
Note - This story below is racing around the net and we present it *only* as something to be so noted. 'Well placed sources' and unnamed sources 'speaking on conditions of anonymity' have essentially no credibility from a journalistic standpoint. Unless one of the principals steps out of the shadows and comes forward with proof of the allegations below, this story must be considered as just another internet rumor
Divers inspecting the ruptured levee walls surrounding New Orleans found something that piqued their interest: Burn marks on underwater debris chunks from the broken levee wall!
One diver, a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, saw the burn marks and knew immediately what caused them. He secreted a small chunk of the cement inside his diving suit and later arranged for it to be sent to trusted military friends at a The U.S. Army Forensic Laboratory at Fort Gillem, Georgia for testing.
According to well placed sources, a military forensic specialist determined the burn marks on the cement chunks did, in fact, come from high explosives. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity said "We found traces of boron-enhanced fluoronitramino explosives as well as PBXN-111. This would indicate at least two separate types of explosive devices."
Note - This story below is racing around the net and we present it *only* as something to be so noted. 'Well placed sources' and unnamed sources 'speaking on conditions of anonymity' have essentially no credibility from a journalistic standpoint. Unless one of the principals steps out of the shadows and comes forward with proof of the allegations below, this story must be considered as just another internet rumor
Divers inspecting the ruptured levee walls surrounding New Orleans found something that piqued their interest: Burn marks on underwater debris chunks from the broken levee wall!
One diver, a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, saw the burn marks and knew immediately what caused them. He secreted a small chunk of the cement inside his diving suit and later arranged for it to be sent to trusted military friends at a The U.S. Army Forensic Laboratory at Fort Gillem, Georgia for testing.
According to well placed sources, a military forensic specialist determined the burn marks on the cement chunks did, in fact, come from high explosives. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity said "We found traces of boron-enhanced fluoronitramino explosives as well as PBXN-111. This would indicate at least two separate types of explosive devices."
ISRAEL
Uri Avnery: Who Murdered Arafat?
The day before yesterday the Haaretz headline screamed: "Doctors: Arafat died of AIDS or poisoning". Aids appeared in first place.
The key word is, of course, "AIDS". Throughout the long article there is no trace of proof for this allegation. The reporters quote "sources in the Israeli security establishment". They also quote Israeli doctors "who heard from French doctors" - an original method for medical diagnosis. A respected Israeli professor even found conclusive proof: it was not published that Arafat had undergone an Aids test. True, a Tunisian medical team did test him in Ramallah and the result was negative, but who would believe Arabs?
The day before yesterday the Haaretz headline screamed: "Doctors: Arafat died of AIDS or poisoning". Aids appeared in first place.
The key word is, of course, "AIDS". Throughout the long article there is no trace of proof for this allegation. The reporters quote "sources in the Israeli security establishment". They also quote Israeli doctors "who heard from French doctors" - an original method for medical diagnosis. A respected Israeli professor even found conclusive proof: it was not published that Arafat had undergone an Aids test. True, a Tunisian medical team did test him in Ramallah and the result was negative, but who would believe Arabs?
USA: KATRINA
Guardian: Mercenaries guard homes of the rich in New Orleans
Hundreds of mercenaries have descended on New Orleans to guard the property of the city's millionaires from looters.
The heavily armed men, employed by private military companies including Blackwater and ISI, are part of the militarisation of a city which had a reputation for being one of the most relaxed and easy-going in America.
After scenes of looting and lawlessness in the days immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck, New Orleans has turned into an armed camp, patrolled by thousands of local, state and federal law enforcement officers, as well as 70,000 national guard troops and active-duty soldiers now based in the region.
Hundreds of mercenaries have descended on New Orleans to guard the property of the city's millionaires from looters.
The heavily armed men, employed by private military companies including Blackwater and ISI, are part of the militarisation of a city which had a reputation for being one of the most relaxed and easy-going in America.
After scenes of looting and lawlessness in the days immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck, New Orleans has turned into an armed camp, patrolled by thousands of local, state and federal law enforcement officers, as well as 70,000 national guard troops and active-duty soldiers now based in the region.
USA: KATRINA
Prison planet: Blackwater Mercenaries: Coming Soon to Your Town
It is now obvious how martial law (not officially declared as such) will work in America in the wake of the devastation of New Orleans. Instead of federal troops or an influx of National Guard troops sent to “restore order” (the latter mandated in our now anachronistic Constitution; see Article 1, Section 8) and empowered to “suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions,” in Louisiana the state and federal governments have brazenly violated the Constitution by sending in Blackwater Security and other private goon squads. “Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm, infamous for their work in Iraq, are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans,” write Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo.
“Some of the mercenaries say they have been ‘deputized’ by the Louisiana governor; indeed some are wearing gold Louisiana state law enforcement badges on their chests and Blackwater photo identification cards on their arms. They say they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority to use lethal force.”
It is now obvious how martial law (not officially declared as such) will work in America in the wake of the devastation of New Orleans. Instead of federal troops or an influx of National Guard troops sent to “restore order” (the latter mandated in our now anachronistic Constitution; see Article 1, Section 8) and empowered to “suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions,” in Louisiana the state and federal governments have brazenly violated the Constitution by sending in Blackwater Security and other private goon squads. “Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm, infamous for their work in Iraq, are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans,” write Jeremy Scahill and Daniela Crespo.
“Some of the mercenaries say they have been ‘deputized’ by the Louisiana governor; indeed some are wearing gold Louisiana state law enforcement badges on their chests and Blackwater photo identification cards on their arms. They say they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority to use lethal force.”
USA: KATRINA
Online Journal: New Orleans: covert operations underway?
September 10, 2005—Wednesday's broadcast of KPFA's "Flashpoints" featured a telephone interview with Malik Rahim, who gave a gut-wrenching and shocking firsthand account of the staggering horror of still-neglected New Orleans that he and other survivors are facing.
In stark contrast to increasingly optimistic mainstream media coverage (cover-up) about "improving relief efforts" and "rebuilding," Rahim exposed the fact that there is no relief. No Red Cross, no food, no emergency medical care under a FEMA lockdown that has kept any relief from getting into New Orleans.
Meanwhile, as the Bush administration's combat operations ramp up, and troops prowl the streets, no help whatsoever has been offered to residents, according to Rahim. Rotting corpses litter the streets. People, heroically fending for themselves and their own, are being left in shocking conditions to suffer and die.
September 10, 2005—Wednesday's broadcast of KPFA's "Flashpoints" featured a telephone interview with Malik Rahim, who gave a gut-wrenching and shocking firsthand account of the staggering horror of still-neglected New Orleans that he and other survivors are facing.
In stark contrast to increasingly optimistic mainstream media coverage (cover-up) about "improving relief efforts" and "rebuilding," Rahim exposed the fact that there is no relief. No Red Cross, no food, no emergency medical care under a FEMA lockdown that has kept any relief from getting into New Orleans.
Meanwhile, as the Bush administration's combat operations ramp up, and troops prowl the streets, no help whatsoever has been offered to residents, according to Rahim. Rotting corpses litter the streets. People, heroically fending for themselves and their own, are being left in shocking conditions to suffer and die.
KATRINA
About.com: Dumb Quotes About Hurricane Katrina
"We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did." –Rep. Richard Baker (R-LA) to lobbyists, as quoted in the Wall Street Journal
"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." –President Bush, to FEMA director Michael Brown, while touring Hurricane-ravaged Mississippi, Sept. 2, 2005
"What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) – this is working very well for them." –Former First Lady Barbara Bush, on the Hurricane flood evacuees in the Houston Astrodome, Sept. 5, 2005
"I have not heard a report of thousands of people in the convention center who don't have food and water." –Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, on NPR's "All Things Considered," Sept. 1, 2005
"We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did." –Rep. Richard Baker (R-LA) to lobbyists, as quoted in the Wall Street Journal
"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." –President Bush, to FEMA director Michael Brown, while touring Hurricane-ravaged Mississippi, Sept. 2, 2005
"What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) – this is working very well for them." –Former First Lady Barbara Bush, on the Hurricane flood evacuees in the Houston Astrodome, Sept. 5, 2005
"I have not heard a report of thousands of people in the convention center who don't have food and water." –Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, on NPR's "All Things Considered," Sept. 1, 2005
Thursday, September 08, 2005
NEW ORLEANS
ICH: The Siege of New Orleans
by Mike Whitney
Neither the Mainstream media nor the alternative-Leftist web sites have told the true story of what really happened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. For the people of the region it was the greatest natural catastrophe they'd ever faced. For the Bush administration it was just another opportunity to use fear and anarchy to advance their global agenda.
by Mike Whitney
Neither the Mainstream media nor the alternative-Leftist web sites have told the true story of what really happened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. For the people of the region it was the greatest natural catastrophe they'd ever faced. For the Bush administration it was just another opportunity to use fear and anarchy to advance their global agenda.
Monday, August 22, 2005
PEAK OIL
The New York Times: The Breaking Point
Shaybah, one of Saudi Arabia's oil fields, which all told can produce 10.5 million barrels of oil a day. The Saudis say they can boost production to 12.5 million barrels a day, or 15 million, or more. But there is a limit to how much you can ask of the earth, and it is fast approaching, some experts say.
Shaybah, one of Saudi Arabia's oil fields, which all told can produce 10.5 million barrels of oil a day. The Saudis say they can boost production to 12.5 million barrels a day, or 15 million, or more. But there is a limit to how much you can ask of the earth, and it is fast approaching, some experts say.
Friday, August 19, 2005
1984
New Statesman: Fears for Free Speech by John Pilger
If those who seek to understand what drives people to commit terrorist acts are vilified as "just one notch less despicable" themselves, we can say goodbye to freedom of speech. By John Pilger
On 15 July, Blair's Britain of the future was glimpsed when the police raided the Iqra Learning Centre and bookshop near Leeds. The Iqra Trust is a well-known charity that promotes Islam worldwide as "a peaceful religion which covers every walk of life". The police smashed down the door, wrecked the shop and took away anti-war literature which they described as "anti-western".
Among this was, reportedly, a DVD of George Galloway addressing the US Senate and a New Statesman article of mine illustrated by a much-published photograph of a Palestinian man in Gaza attempting to shield his son from Israeli bullets before the boy was shot to death. The photograph was said to be "working people up", meaning Muslim people. Clearly, David Gibbons, this journal's esteemed art director, who chose this illustration, will be called before the Blair Incitement Tribunal. One of my books, The New Rulers of the World, was also apparently confiscated. It is not known whether the police have yet read the chapter that documents how the Americans, with help from MI6 and the SAS, created, armed and bankrolled the terrorists of the Islamic mujahedin, not least Osama Bin Laden.
CHECK IT
If those who seek to understand what drives people to commit terrorist acts are vilified as "just one notch less despicable" themselves, we can say goodbye to freedom of speech. By John Pilger
On 15 July, Blair's Britain of the future was glimpsed when the police raided the Iqra Learning Centre and bookshop near Leeds. The Iqra Trust is a well-known charity that promotes Islam worldwide as "a peaceful religion which covers every walk of life". The police smashed down the door, wrecked the shop and took away anti-war literature which they described as "anti-western".
Among this was, reportedly, a DVD of George Galloway addressing the US Senate and a New Statesman article of mine illustrated by a much-published photograph of a Palestinian man in Gaza attempting to shield his son from Israeli bullets before the boy was shot to death. The photograph was said to be "working people up", meaning Muslim people. Clearly, David Gibbons, this journal's esteemed art director, who chose this illustration, will be called before the Blair Incitement Tribunal. One of my books, The New Rulers of the World, was also apparently confiscated. It is not known whether the police have yet read the chapter that documents how the Americans, with help from MI6 and the SAS, created, armed and bankrolled the terrorists of the Islamic mujahedin, not least Osama Bin Laden.
CHECK IT
GLOBAL WARMING
Independent:Global warming: Will you listen now, America?
Two of the leading contenders to contest the next US presidential election have delivered an urgent warning to the United States on global warming, saying the evidence of climate change has become too stark to ignore and human activity is a major cause.
GEOPOLITICS
Independent:Russia and China join forces to challenge US dominance
Ten thousand Russian and Chinese troops were preparing to invade the Shandong Peninsula in the Yellow Sea yesterday in a first joint military exercise, seen as a reaction to US dominance of world affairs. The eight-day exercise, called Peace Mission 2005, will use air, sea and land forces to simulate a mission stabilising a restive country, and marks a new friendly phase in a bilateral relationship that has often been characterised by open hostility
Ten thousand Russian and Chinese troops were preparing to invade the Shandong Peninsula in the Yellow Sea yesterday in a first joint military exercise, seen as a reaction to US dominance of world affairs. The eight-day exercise, called Peace Mission 2005, will use air, sea and land forces to simulate a mission stabilising a restive country, and marks a new friendly phase in a bilateral relationship that has often been characterised by open hostility
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
AL-QAEDA FAKE
Zaman: Al-Qaeda, a Secret Service Operation?
Countries facing the al-Qaeda threat are awaiting the intelligence Turkish security is to provide. Amid the smoke from the fortuitous fire emerged the possibility that al-Qaeda may not be, strictly speaking, an organization but an element of an intelligence agency operation. Turkish intelligence specialists agree that there is no such organization as al-Qaeda. Rather, Al-Qaeda is the name of a secret service operation. The concept “fighting terror” is the background of the “low-intensity-warfare” conducted in the mono-polar world order. The subject of this strategy of tension is named as “al-Qaeda.”
Zaman: Sakra: i dispatched men toUSA and UK
Sakra who assumed a mysterious personality during the police interrogation confessed that the US Central Intelligence Agency, Syrian al-Mukhabarat, and the Turkish National Security Organization wanted to employ him as an intelligence agent. Security officials noted that whatever Sakra might tell during his trial could be very important, considering his obscure relations. “If during his trial, Sakra tells half of the information we heard from him, al-Qaeda’s real face will emerge. But what he has said so far has more to do about a formation permeated by secret services rather than the terror organization of al-Qaeda.”
Journal of Turkish Weekly: A ‘Strange’ Al Qaeda Leader: “I Don’t Pray, I Drink Alcohol’
NKARA - Luai Sakra, one of the 5 most important key figures in Al Qaeda, was captured last week by Turkish Police. Israel police was almost spoiling all operation, Turkish officials say. Sakra, who has been interrogated in Istanbul Police Department Anti Terror Office for 4 days has made many interesting confessions. He noted that he knew Muhammad Ata, planner of the attacks on the WTI and Pentagon. Sakra claimed that he has organized terrorist activities for Jihad but he said that he drinks alcohol and does not pray.
Countries facing the al-Qaeda threat are awaiting the intelligence Turkish security is to provide. Amid the smoke from the fortuitous fire emerged the possibility that al-Qaeda may not be, strictly speaking, an organization but an element of an intelligence agency operation. Turkish intelligence specialists agree that there is no such organization as al-Qaeda. Rather, Al-Qaeda is the name of a secret service operation. The concept “fighting terror” is the background of the “low-intensity-warfare” conducted in the mono-polar world order. The subject of this strategy of tension is named as “al-Qaeda.”
Zaman: Sakra: i dispatched men to
Sakra who assumed a mysterious personality during the police interrogation confessed that the US Central Intelligence Agency, Syrian al-Mukhabarat, and the Turkish National Security Organization wanted to employ him as an intelligence agent. Security officials noted that whatever Sakra might tell during his trial could be very important, considering his obscure relations. “If during his trial, Sakra tells half of the information we heard from him, al-Qaeda’s real face will emerge. But what he has said so far has more to do about a formation permeated by secret services rather than the terror organization of al-Qaeda.”
Journal of Turkish Weekly: A ‘Strange’ Al Qaeda Leader: “I Don’t Pray, I Drink Alcohol’
NKARA - Luai Sakra, one of the 5 most important key figures in Al Qaeda, was captured last week by Turkish Police. Israel police was almost spoiling all operation, Turkish officials say. Sakra, who has been interrogated in Istanbul Police Department Anti Terror Office for 4 days has made many interesting confessions. He noted that he knew Muhammad Ata, planner of the attacks on the WTI and Pentagon. Sakra claimed that he has organized terrorist activities for Jihad but he said that he drinks alcohol and does not pray.
IRAQ
Independent: Iraqis extend deadline for new constitution
by Robert Fisk
AS usual in Iraq, a grotesque political failure was being dressed up as a semi-victory last night by an Iraqi government that controls little more than a few square miles of Baghdad.
For inside the infamous Green Zone - the castellated, concrete-barricaded pseudo-castle in which most of Iraq’s principal politicians are now forced to live - the almost equally infamous constitution, which was supposed to have completed its drafting yesterday, appeared to be falling to pieces.
by Robert Fisk
AS usual in Iraq, a grotesque political failure was being dressed up as a semi-victory last night by an Iraqi government that controls little more than a few square miles of Baghdad.
For inside the infamous Green Zone - the castellated, concrete-barricaded pseudo-castle in which most of Iraq’s principal politicians are now forced to live - the almost equally infamous constitution, which was supposed to have completed its drafting yesterday, appeared to be falling to pieces.
IRAQ
Independent: Secrets of the morgue - Baghdad's body count by Robert Fisk
Bodies of 1,100 civilians brought to mortuary in July Pre-invasion, July figure was typically less than 200 Last Sunday alone, the mortuary received 36 bodies Up to 20 per cent of the bodies are never identified Many of the dead have been tortured or disfigured
We are not supposed to know that the Iraqi capital's death toll last month was only 700 short of the total American fatalities in Iraq since April of 2003. Of the dead, 963 were men - many with their hands bound, their eyes taped and bullets in their heads - and 137 women. The statistics are as shameful as they are horrifying. For these are the men and women we supposedly came to "liberate" - and about whose fate we do not care.
It is clear that death squads are roaming the streets of a city which is supposed to be under the control of the US military and the American-supported, elected government of Ibrahim al-Jaafari. Never in recent history has such anarchy been let loose on the civilians of this city - yet the Western and Iraqi authorities show no interest in disclosing the details. The writing of the new constitution - or the failure to complete it - now occupies the time of Western diplomats and journalists. The dead, it seems, do not count.
Bodies of 1,100 civilians brought to mortuary in July Pre-invasion, July figure was typically less than 200 Last Sunday alone, the mortuary received 36 bodies Up to 20 per cent of the bodies are never identified Many of the dead have been tortured or disfigured
We are not supposed to know that the Iraqi capital's death toll last month was only 700 short of the total American fatalities in Iraq since April of 2003. Of the dead, 963 were men - many with their hands bound, their eyes taped and bullets in their heads - and 137 women. The statistics are as shameful as they are horrifying. For these are the men and women we supposedly came to "liberate" - and about whose fate we do not care.
It is clear that death squads are roaming the streets of a city which is supposed to be under the control of the US military and the American-supported, elected government of Ibrahim al-Jaafari. Never in recent history has such anarchy been let loose on the civilians of this city - yet the Western and Iraqi authorities show no interest in disclosing the details. The writing of the new constitution - or the failure to complete it - now occupies the time of Western diplomats and journalists. The dead, it seems, do not count.
LONDON ATTACKS
Telegraph: Shot Brazilian 'Did Not Jump Barrier And Run'
- The Brazilian electrician shot dead by police on the London Underground last month was being restrained when he was killed by officers from Scotland Yard's firearms unit, according to documents leaked last night.
- Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, was shot seven times in the head by two plainclothes policemen who had followed him on to the train at Stockwell station in the mistaken belief that he was a potential suicide bomber. Documents and photographs leaked to ITV News also confirmed that Mr de Menezes did not run from the police, as had been reported, had used his Tube pass to enter the station, rather than vault the barrier, and had taken a seat on the train before being grabbed by an officer.
- He was wearing a light denim jacket and not as previously reported a padded coat which could have concealed explosives.
9/11
rense: 'Shut Him Down' Letting 9/11 Happen
A Seattle woman who was a close informant of former FBI agent and Al Qaeda hunter John O'Neill during the crucial months prior to the 9/11, said they both provided vital information in an attempt to stop the attack but were blocked by officials in the New York and Washington bureaus every step of the way.
A Seattle woman who was a close informant of former FBI agent and Al Qaeda hunter John O'Neill during the crucial months prior to the 9/11, said they both provided vital information in an attempt to stop the attack but were blocked by officials in the New York and Washington bureaus every step of the way.
Monday, August 15, 2005
GAZA PULLOUT
Uri Avnery: A Miracle of Rare Device
A picture engraved in memory: Ariel Sharon in the Knesset. Around him the storm is raging. The Members rush about, shouts ring out from all sides. The Member on the podium waves his arms, denounces and curses him. Sharon sitting at the government table. Alone. Immovable. Massive and passive. No muscle in his face is moving. Not even the nervous tic of his nose, that was once his trade-mark (and that many people considered a kind of lie-detector). A rock in the raging sea.
This is the man who decided alone to withdraw from Gaza and dismantle the settlements. The man who is implementing this practically alone. The man who will stand this coming week facing a hurricane that has no equal in the history of Israel.
A picture engraved in memory: Ariel Sharon in the Knesset. Around him the storm is raging. The Members rush about, shouts ring out from all sides. The Member on the podium waves his arms, denounces and curses him. Sharon sitting at the government table. Alone. Immovable. Massive and passive. No muscle in his face is moving. Not even the nervous tic of his nose, that was once his trade-mark (and that many people considered a kind of lie-detector). A rock in the raging sea.
This is the man who decided alone to withdraw from Gaza and dismantle the settlements. The man who is implementing this practically alone. The man who will stand this coming week facing a hurricane that has no equal in the history of Israel.
PEAK OIL
BBC: Oil Tops $67 As US Demand Soars
The US thirst for gasoline and fears of a hurricane have pushed the oil market further into uncharted territory, with prices breaking the $67 mark on Friday.
US light crude closed $1 up at $66.80 a barrel, after hitting $67.10 earlier, while in London Brent crude closed $1.12 higher at $66.50.
Worldwide petrol and gasoline prices are at unprecedented levels.
The US thirst for gasoline and fears of a hurricane have pushed the oil market further into uncharted territory, with prices breaking the $67 mark on Friday.
US light crude closed $1 up at $66.80 a barrel, after hitting $67.10 earlier, while in London Brent crude closed $1.12 higher at $66.50.
Worldwide petrol and gasoline prices are at unprecedented levels.
USA VS. IRAN
Haaretz: US, Israel United Against Iran's Nuclear Ambitions - Bush
U.S. President George W. Bush said on Israeli television he could consider using force as a last resort to press Iran to give up its nuclear program.
"All options are on the table," Bush, speaking at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, said in the interview with Channel 1 TV broadcast on Friday.
In the interview, Bush said the United States and Israel "are united in our objective to make sure that Iran does not have a weapon."
Asked if that included the use of force, Bush replied: "As I say, all options are on the table. The use of force is the last option for any president and you know, we've used force in the recent past to secure our country."
BBC: Germany Attacks US On Iran Threat
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has warned the US to back away from the possibility of military action against Iran over its nuclear programme.
His comments come a day after President Bush reiterated that force remained an option but only as a last resort.
U.S. President George W. Bush said on Israeli television he could consider using force as a last resort to press Iran to give up its nuclear program.
"All options are on the table," Bush, speaking at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, said in the interview with Channel 1 TV broadcast on Friday.
In the interview, Bush said the United States and Israel "are united in our objective to make sure that Iran does not have a weapon."
Asked if that included the use of force, Bush replied: "As I say, all options are on the table. The use of force is the last option for any president and you know, we've used force in the recent past to secure our country."
BBC: Germany Attacks US On Iran Threat
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has warned the US to back away from the possibility of military action against Iran over its nuclear programme.
His comments come a day after President Bush reiterated that force remained an option but only as a last resort.
ELECTIONS 2004
Commondreams: Election Fraud Continues in the US
New Data Shows Widespread Vote Manipulations in 2004
More importantly national exit polls showed Kerry winning in 2004. However, It was only in precincts where there were no paper trails on the voting machines that the exit polls ended up being different from the final count. According to Dr. Steve Freeman, a statistician at the University of Pennsylvania, the odds are 250 million to one that the exit polls were wrong by chance. In fact, where the exit polls disagreed with the computerized outcomes the results always favored Bush - another statistical impossibility
New Data Shows Widespread Vote Manipulations in 2004
More importantly national exit polls showed Kerry winning in 2004. However, It was only in precincts where there were no paper trails on the voting machines that the exit polls ended up being different from the final count. According to Dr. Steve Freeman, a statistician at the University of Pennsylvania, the odds are 250 million to one that the exit polls were wrong by chance. In fact, where the exit polls disagreed with the computerized outcomes the results always favored Bush - another statistical impossibility
Friday, August 12, 2005
ABU GHRAIB
New York Times: Officials See Risk in the Release of Images of Iraq Prisoner Abuse
enior Pentagon officials have opposed the release of photographs and videotapes of the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, arguing that they would incite public opinion in the Muslim world and put the lives of American soldiers and officials at risk, according to documents unsealed in federal court in New York
"The Problem is not longer what they did in Abu Ghraib but the reaction of the people if they are allowed to know what was going on there"
enior Pentagon officials have opposed the release of photographs and videotapes of the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, arguing that they would incite public opinion in the Muslim world and put the lives of American soldiers and officials at risk, according to documents unsealed in federal court in New York
"The Problem is not longer what they did in Abu Ghraib but the reaction of the people if they are allowed to know what was going on there"
KAMINSKI
Rense: Who's Wagging Whom?
"But what may be the even more significant aspect of the question "Who's Wagging Whom?" is the growing notion that world politics is not really determined by its recognizable political entities. People are beginning to figure out that it's not a simple matter of the capitalists vs. communists, whites vs. blacks, or North vs. South. It's not simply the U.S. vs. Germany and Japan, U.S. vs. USSR, or the free world vs. the supposed Muslim terror menace.
"But what may be the even more significant aspect of the question "Who's Wagging Whom?" is the growing notion that world politics is not really determined by its recognizable political entities. People are beginning to figure out that it's not a simple matter of the capitalists vs. communists, whites vs. blacks, or North vs. South. It's not simply the U.S. vs. Germany and Japan, U.S. vs. USSR, or the free world vs. the supposed Muslim terror menace.
- This growing notion senses a more authentic line of demarcation that identifies rich vs. poor as the more appropriate label between sides in this new war, which is also the old war, and the endless war."
Thursday, August 11, 2005
USA VS. IRAN
Wayne Madsen: Bush/Cheney to grab Irans Oil in Nuclear Attack
August 10, 2005 -- U.S. prepared to grab Iran's southwestern majority Arab and oil-rich province after saturation bombing of Iranian nuclear, chemical, and command, control, communications & intelligence (C3I) targets. According to sources within the German Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst - BND), the Bush administration has drawn up plans to hit Iran's nuclear, other WMD, and military sites with heavy saturation bombing using bunker buster bombs and tactical nuclear weapons. The attack will be coordinated with urban and rural critical infrastructure sabotage carried out by elements of the People's Mujaheddin (MEK), Pentagon Special Operations units, and other Iranian dissident groups. The German intelligence comes from classified briefings provided by elements within the CIA that are concerned the neocons in the Bush administration will, in attacking Iran, set off a chain of events that will lead to world war.
August 10, 2005 -- U.S. prepared to grab Iran's southwestern majority Arab and oil-rich province after saturation bombing of Iranian nuclear, chemical, and command, control, communications & intelligence (C3I) targets. According to sources within the German Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst - BND), the Bush administration has drawn up plans to hit Iran's nuclear, other WMD, and military sites with heavy saturation bombing using bunker buster bombs and tactical nuclear weapons. The attack will be coordinated with urban and rural critical infrastructure sabotage carried out by elements of the People's Mujaheddin (MEK), Pentagon Special Operations units, and other Iranian dissident groups. The German intelligence comes from classified briefings provided by elements within the CIA that are concerned the neocons in the Bush administration will, in attacking Iran, set off a chain of events that will lead to world war.
9/11
Daily Mail: 911 On Trial
Note: So Far this is the largest Article ever printed by the UK Mainstream Media raising many of the serious questions about the 9/11 coverup
Note: So Far this is the largest Article ever printed by the UK Mainstream Media raising many of the serious questions about the 9/11 coverup
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
LONDON ATTACKS
Globalresearch: 7/7 Mock Terror Drill: What Relationship to the Real Time Terror Attacks?
fictional "scenario" of multiple bomb attacks on London's underground took place at exactly the same time as the bomb attack on July 7, 2005.
fictional "scenario" of multiple bomb attacks on London's underground took place at exactly the same time as the bomb attack on July 7, 2005.
Peter Power, Managing Director of Visor Consultants, a private firm on contract to the London Metropolitan Police, described in a BBC interview how he had organized and conducted the anti-terror drill, on behalf of an unnamed business client.
The fictional scenario was based on simultaneous bombs going off at exactly the same time at the underground stations where the real attacks were occurring:
POWER: At half past nine this morning we were actually running an exercise for a company of over a thousand people in London based on simultaneous bombs going off precisely at the railway stations where it happened this morning, so I still have the hairs on the back of my neck standing up right now.
HOST: To get this quite straight, you were running an exercise to see how you would cope with this and it happened while you were running the exercise?
POWER: Precisely, and it was about half past nine this morning, we planned this for a company and for obvious reasons I don't want to reveal their name but they're listening and they'll know it. And we had a room full of crisis managers for the first time they'd met and so within five minutes we made a pretty rapid decision that this is the real one and so we went through the correct drills of activating crisis management procedures to jump from slow time to quick time thinking and so on.
(BBC Radio Interview, 7 July 2005)
WORLD WAR 3
Uruknet: Why Iran will lead to World War 3 by Mike Whitney
“As President Bush scans the world’s horizon there is no greater potential flashpoint than Iran, the President and his Foreign Policy team believe the Islamic regime in Tehran is actively pursuing nuclear weapons.” Chris Wallace, FOX News
The facts about Iran’s “alleged” nuclear weapons program have never been in dispute. There is no such program and no one has ever produced a shred of credible evidence to the contrary. That hasn’t stopped the Bush administration from making spurious accusations and threats; nor has it deterred America’s “imbedded” media from implying that Iran is hiding a nuclear weapons program from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). In fact, the media routinely features the unconfirmed claims of members of terrorist organizations, like the Mujahedin Klaq, (which is on the State Depts. list of terrorist organizations) to make it appear that Iran is secretively developing nuclear arms. These claims have proved to be entirely baseless and should be dismissed as just another part of Washington’s propaganda war.
“As President Bush scans the world’s horizon there is no greater potential flashpoint than Iran, the President and his Foreign Policy team believe the Islamic regime in Tehran is actively pursuing nuclear weapons.” Chris Wallace, FOX News
The facts about Iran’s “alleged” nuclear weapons program have never been in dispute. There is no such program and no one has ever produced a shred of credible evidence to the contrary. That hasn’t stopped the Bush administration from making spurious accusations and threats; nor has it deterred America’s “imbedded” media from implying that Iran is hiding a nuclear weapons program from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). In fact, the media routinely features the unconfirmed claims of members of terrorist organizations, like the Mujahedin Klaq, (which is on the State Depts. list of terrorist organizations) to make it appear that Iran is secretively developing nuclear arms. These claims have proved to be entirely baseless and should be dismissed as just another part of Washington’s propaganda war.
MONSANTO
Greenpeace.org: Monsanto files patent for new invention: the pig
Geneva, Switzerland — It's official. Monsanto Corporation is out to own the world's food supply, the dangers of genetic engineering and reduced biodiversity notwithstanding, as they pig-headedly set about hog-tying farmers with their monopoly plans. We've discovered chilling new evidence of this in recent patents that seek to establish ownership rights over pigs and their offspring.
Geneva, Switzerland — It's official. Monsanto Corporation is out to own the world's food supply, the dangers of genetic engineering and reduced biodiversity notwithstanding, as they pig-headedly set about hog-tying farmers with their monopoly plans. We've discovered chilling new evidence of this in recent patents that seek to establish ownership rights over pigs and their offspring.
Monday, August 08, 2005
TERROR
Newsweek: CIA Commander: We Let bin Laden Slip Away
CIA field commander for the agency's Jawbreaker team at Tora Bora, Gary Berntsen, says he and other U.S. commanders did know that bin Laden was among the hundreds of fleeing Qaeda and Taliban members. Berntsen says he had definitive intelligence that bin Laden was holed up at Tora Bora—intelligence operatives had tracked him—and could have been caught. "He was there," Berntsen tells NEWSWEEK
CIA field commander for the agency's Jawbreaker team at Tora Bora, Gary Berntsen, says he and other U.S. commanders did know that bin Laden was among the hundreds of fleeing Qaeda and Taliban members. Berntsen says he had definitive intelligence that bin Laden was holed up at Tora Bora—intelligence operatives had tracked him—and could have been caught. "He was there," Berntsen tells NEWSWEEK
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Reuters: Security incidents in Iraq, Aug 7
TIKRIT - Bomber killed at least five people in an attack on police headquarters : BAQUBA - Bomb kills two Iraqi policemen and a civilian. BAGHDAD - Gunmen killed three Iraqi soldiers in civilian clothes. BAGHDAD - Gunmen killed two Ministry of Oil employees. TAL AFAR - Bomb kills two Iraqi civilians. SAMARRA - The bodies of two police officials were found in Samarra
TIKRIT - Bomber killed at least five people in an attack on police headquarters : BAQUBA - Bomb kills two Iraqi policemen and a civilian. BAGHDAD - Gunmen killed three Iraqi soldiers in civilian clothes. BAGHDAD - Gunmen killed two Ministry of Oil employees. TAL AFAR - Bomb kills two Iraqi civilians. SAMARRA - The bodies of two police officials were found in Samarra
GALLOWAY
ICH: Straight-shootin' George Galloway by Mike Whitney
"I am utterly against the punishing of innocent people for the crimes of the guilty, whether it is done on the underground of London or the streets of Falluja by George Bush's air force".
George Galloway MP George Galloway is quite a guy.
His trip to the Middle East is causing a ruckus back in London, where his criticism of Bush and Blair is appearing like a spread-sheet on the front-page of the tabloids. Congrats, George; those two deserve a good lambasting. Yesterday he fired-off another barrage, landing a direct hit on Prime Minister Milquetoast and his Texas-twin. He said,
"There's far more blood on the hands of George Bush and Tony Blair than there is on the hands of the murderers who killed those people in London."
Ka-boom! Right on target.
Galloway was stellar; praising the Iraqi resistance as "martyrs" and telling them that they "are not just defending Iraq, but defending the whole world against American hegemony."
Bulls-eye.
"I am utterly against the punishing of innocent people for the crimes of the guilty, whether it is done on the underground of London or the streets of Falluja by George Bush's air force".
George Galloway MP George Galloway is quite a guy.
His trip to the Middle East is causing a ruckus back in London, where his criticism of Bush and Blair is appearing like a spread-sheet on the front-page of the tabloids. Congrats, George; those two deserve a good lambasting. Yesterday he fired-off another barrage, landing a direct hit on Prime Minister Milquetoast and his Texas-twin. He said,
"There's far more blood on the hands of George Bush and Tony Blair than there is on the hands of the murderers who killed those people in London."
Ka-boom! Right on target.
Galloway was stellar; praising the Iraqi resistance as "martyrs" and telling them that they "are not just defending Iraq, but defending the whole world against American hegemony."
Bulls-eye.
ENGLAND
Independent: Intelligence chiefs warn Blair of home-grown ' insurgency'
Intelligence chiefs are warning Tony Blair that Britain faces a full-blown Islamist insurgency, sustained by thousands of young Muslim men with military training now resident in this country. The grim possibility that the two London attacks were not simply a sporadic terror campaign is being discussed at the highest levels in Whitehall. Fears of a third strike remain high this weekend, based on concrete evidence supplied by an intercepted text message and the interrogation of a terror suspect being held outside Britain, say US reports.
Intelligence chiefs are warning Tony Blair that Britain faces a full-blown Islamist insurgency, sustained by thousands of young Muslim men with military training now resident in this country. The grim possibility that the two London attacks were not simply a sporadic terror campaign is being discussed at the highest levels in Whitehall. Fears of a third strike remain high this weekend, based on concrete evidence supplied by an intercepted text message and the interrogation of a terror suspect being held outside Britain, say US reports.
Friday, August 05, 2005
TERROR
Independent: Al-Qa'ida deputy warns of more bombings and blames Blair
Al-Qa'ida has warned that Britain can expect more terrorist attacks because of the foreign policies pursued by Tony Blair.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, insisted that the London suicide bombings were the direct result of the Prime Minister's decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq. The statement, in a videotape broadcast by the Arab satellite channel al-Jazeera, was the first message from al-Qa'ida since the London blasts.
The Statement:
As for the English, I say to them: Blair has brought destruction upon you, to the centre of London, and he will have more of it, Allah willing.
Oh the peoples of the Crusader coalition, we have offered you, at least, to stop your aggression against the Muslims ... The lion of Islam, the mujaheed sheikh Osama bin Laden, may Allah protect him, has offered you a truce, so you will leave the lands of Islam. Did sheikh Osama bin Laden not tell you that you could not dream of security before we live it as a reality in Palestine and before all the infidel armies leave the land of Muhammad?
But you have made rivers of blood in our countries, so we blew up volcanoes of rage in your countries. Our message to you is clear: You will not be saved unless you withdraw from our land, stop stealing our oil ... and cease your support of the corrupt (Arab) rulers.
Oh Americans, what you have seen in New York and Washington, and the casualties you witness in Afghanistan and in Iraq ... are nothing but the casualties of the initial clashes. If you continue the same policy of aggression against Muslims, you will see, Allah willing, horrors that will make you forget what you saw in Afghanistan... I mean, in Vietnam.
A fact that [George] Bush, [Condoleezza] Rice and [Donald] Rumsfeld conceal from you is that there is no way out of Iraq other than immediate withdrawal, and that any delay in making this decision means nothing but more dead ... If you don't leave today, you will definitely leave tomorrow, but with tens of thousands of dead ...
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
ICH: Video: Iraqi Resistance Kills U.S. Marines
This video is purported to have been taken on 08/01/05 by a section of the Iraqi resistance and shows an attack in which 6 U.S. marines are killed.
This video is purported to have been taken on 08/01/05 by a section of the Iraqi resistance and shows an attack in which 6 U.S. marines are killed.
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
ICH: Video: Iraqi Resistance Attacks And Kills U.S. Marines
This video is purported to have been taken on 08/01/05 by a section of the Iraqi resistance and shows an attack in which 6 U.S. marines are killed.
This video is purported to have been taken on 08/01/05 by a section of the Iraqi resistance and shows an attack in which 6 U.S. marines are killed.
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
Guardian: Elusive sniper saps US morale in Baghdad
They have never seen Juba. They hear him, but by then it's too late: a shot rings out and another US soldier slumps dead or wounded.
They have never seen Juba. They hear him, but by then it's too late: a shot rings out and another US soldier slumps dead or wounded.
There is never a follow-up shot, never a chance for US forces to identify the origin, to make the hunter the hunted. He fires once and vanishes.
Juba is the nickname given by American forces to an insurgent sniper operating in southern Baghdad. They do not know his appearance, nationality or real name, but they know and fear his skill.
HALLIBURTON
Moscow Times: Blood and Gravy
Although Halliburton has already entered the American lexicon as a byword for rampant cronyism, the true extent of its dense and deadly web of graft is only now emerging, most recently in a remarkable public hearing that revealed some of the corporation's standard business practices in Iraq: fraud, extortion, brutality, pilferage, theft -- even serving rotten food to U.S. soldiers in the battle zone
Although Halliburton has already entered the American lexicon as a byword for rampant cronyism, the true extent of its dense and deadly web of graft is only now emerging, most recently in a remarkable public hearing that revealed some of the corporation's standard business practices in Iraq: fraud, extortion, brutality, pilferage, theft -- even serving rotten food to U.S. soldiers in the battle zone
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
ISRAEL
Ynetnews: 'Israeli Terror Is Worse' Says Former Israeli Minister
- Former Education Minister Shulamit Aloni blasts 'megalomaniac' Prime Minister Sharon in interview with Arab-Israeli newspaper, says he should face justice. Aloni also charges Israel a racist state that commits war crimes
-
- TEL AVIV - Israel is a racist state that commits war crimes and resorts to terrorism worse than that employed by the Palestinians, former Education Minister Shulamit Aloni charged in an unusually scathing interview with Nazareth-based Arab-Israeli newspaper Kul al-Arab.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
LONDON ATTACKS
Rense: Former MI5 Agent Says Bombings Look Like Inside Job
A former British intelligence agent, jailed in 2002 for linking the British government with paying an Islamic militant group $160,000 in a failed assassination attempt on Colonel Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi of Libya, said this week the recent London bombings have all the earmarks of an inside job just like 9/11.
"It's amazing how many aspects of the two events are so similar," said David Shayler, the former MI5 agent and whistle blower, in a telephone conversation this week from his home in East Bonn on the southern coast of England.
Shayler, a thorn in the British government's side ever since he blew the whistle in 1997 about rampant corruption within both arms of British intelligence, MI5 (domestic) and MI6 (foreign), said he has just began looking into the details of the 7/7 attacks, but what's being released through the press and government reports shows a strikingly similar pattern to what he calls "the same type of misinformation thrown out after 9/11."
A former British intelligence agent, jailed in 2002 for linking the British government with paying an Islamic militant group $160,000 in a failed assassination attempt on Colonel Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi of Libya, said this week the recent London bombings have all the earmarks of an inside job just like 9/11.
"It's amazing how many aspects of the two events are so similar," said David Shayler, the former MI5 agent and whistle blower, in a telephone conversation this week from his home in East Bonn on the southern coast of England.
Shayler, a thorn in the British government's side ever since he blew the whistle in 1997 about rampant corruption within both arms of British intelligence, MI5 (domestic) and MI6 (foreign), said he has just began looking into the details of the 7/7 attacks, but what's being released through the press and government reports shows a strikingly similar pattern to what he calls "the same type of misinformation thrown out after 9/11."
SADDAM
Reuters: Defense Team Says Saddam Attacked, US Denies It
Lawyers for Saddam Hussein said on Saturday their client was attacked by an unidentified man during a court appearance in Baghdad this week, but U.S. forces guarding him denied any such incident took place.
A statement issued by Saddam's international legal team, which has an office in Amman, Jordan, said the former president was attacked and exchanged blows with another person in a hearing attended by Saddam's main Iraqi lawyer Khalil Dulaimi, on Thursday.
"As the president (Saddam) stood to leave the courtroom one of those present attacked him and there was an exchange of blows between the man and the president," the statement said, adding that the head of the tribunal did nothing to stop the assault.
The statement quoted Dulaimi as saying the American guard who protected Saddam in the courtroom did not intervene and that he lodged a formal complaint against the tribunal.
Lawyers for Saddam Hussein said on Saturday their client was attacked by an unidentified man during a court appearance in Baghdad this week, but U.S. forces guarding him denied any such incident took place.
A statement issued by Saddam's international legal team, which has an office in Amman, Jordan, said the former president was attacked and exchanged blows with another person in a hearing attended by Saddam's main Iraqi lawyer Khalil Dulaimi, on Thursday.
"As the president (Saddam) stood to leave the courtroom one of those present attacked him and there was an exchange of blows between the man and the president," the statement said, adding that the head of the tribunal did nothing to stop the assault.
The statement quoted Dulaimi as saying the American guard who protected Saddam in the courtroom did not intervene and that he lodged a formal complaint against the tribunal.
USA
BBC: Bush Forces Through Appointment Of Bolton
Hard-Edged Choice Creates Friction
After five months of wrangling and recriminations, US President George W Bush has forced through the appointment of his UN ambassador while Congress is in recess.
But the move may just be the start of the controversy over John Bolton, whose hard-nosed management style and past criticisms of the UN have angered critics.
Mr Bolton's appointment comes just six weeks before UN heads of state and governments meet in New York to discuss wide-ranging and potentially divisive reforms of the world body.
There are fears that just as the US is reaching out diplomatically in other ways, its hard-edged position at the UN will be entrenched.
Domestically, it is certain to inflame the partisan ill-feeling between Republicans and Democrats, just as senators are considering Mr Bush's choice for the new Supreme Court justice.
Hard-Edged Choice Creates Friction
After five months of wrangling and recriminations, US President George W Bush has forced through the appointment of his UN ambassador while Congress is in recess.
But the move may just be the start of the controversy over John Bolton, whose hard-nosed management style and past criticisms of the UN have angered critics.
Mr Bolton's appointment comes just six weeks before UN heads of state and governments meet in New York to discuss wide-ranging and potentially divisive reforms of the world body.
There are fears that just as the US is reaching out diplomatically in other ways, its hard-edged position at the UN will be entrenched.
Domestically, it is certain to inflame the partisan ill-feeling between Republicans and Democrats, just as senators are considering Mr Bush's choice for the new Supreme Court justice.
LONDON ATTACKS
Infowars: London Bombings Mastermind is MI6 Asset
On FOX News Channel's Day Side, Terrorism Expert John Loftus revealed that Haroon Rashid Aswat, the suspect wanted by British Police for "masterminding" the July 7th London bombings and July 21st attempted bombings is in fact an asset of MI6, the British Secret Service. According to Loftus, Aswat has been under the protection of MI6 for many years.
see the videoclip
On FOX News Channel's Day Side, Terrorism Expert John Loftus revealed that Haroon Rashid Aswat, the suspect wanted by British Police for "masterminding" the July 7th London bombings and July 21st attempted bombings is in fact an asset of MI6, the British Secret Service. According to Loftus, Aswat has been under the protection of MI6 for many years.
see the videoclip
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"These gentlemen are the moral equivalents of America's founding fathers."
(Ronald Regan while introducing the Mujahideen leaders to media on the White house lawns. (1985)
(Ronald Regan while introducing the Mujahideen leaders to media on the White house lawns. (1985)
LONDON ATTACKS
The Times: I name the four powers who are behind the al-Qaeda conspiracy
From a certain point of view, the journalist, the politician, the police chief and the terrorist can be seen as locked in a macabre waltz of the mind, no less distorting for being unconscious. We should not to join that dance.
"wow Times Matthew Parris is critical about the medias role in hyping the al-qaeda threat"
From a certain point of view, the journalist, the politician, the police chief and the terrorist can be seen as locked in a macabre waltz of the mind, no less distorting for being unconscious. We should not to join that dance.
"wow Times Matthew Parris is critical about the medias role in hyping the al-qaeda threat"
GAZA PULLOUT
Uri Avnery: The march of the orange shirts
Israeli democrats silent in the face of the fascist onslaught
In their fight against the "rotten" Israeli democracy, the settlers have adopted the Holocaust symbols. They are ostentatiously wearing the Yellow Star that was imposed by the Nazis on the Jews before their extermination, only substituting orange for yellow. They inscribe their forearm with their identity number, like the numbers the Nazis tattooed on the Auschwitz prisoners. They call the government the "Judenrat", after the Jewish councils appointed by the Nazis in the ghettoes, and liken the evacuation of the settlers from Gush Katif to the deportation of the Jews to the death camps. All this live on television.S
So, there is no reason any more for not calling the spade a spade: a large fascist camp is now threatening Israeli democracy.
Israeli democrats silent in the face of the fascist onslaught
In their fight against the "rotten" Israeli democracy, the settlers have adopted the Holocaust symbols. They are ostentatiously wearing the Yellow Star that was imposed by the Nazis on the Jews before their extermination, only substituting orange for yellow. They inscribe their forearm with their identity number, like the numbers the Nazis tattooed on the Auschwitz prisoners. They call the government the "Judenrat", after the Jewish councils appointed by the Nazis in the ghettoes, and liken the evacuation of the settlers from Gush Katif to the deportation of the Jews to the death camps. All this live on television.S
So, there is no reason any more for not calling the spade a spade: a large fascist camp is now threatening Israeli democracy.
Monday, July 25, 2005
LONDON: ATTACKS
Faulkingtruth: The "Magic Bomb" Theory
This is a story about disappearing terrorists, nonexistent bags, and botched investigations, but most of all, this is a story about magic bombs.
It's Crime Scene Investigation 101. It's the basic law of physics. It's so elementary, my dear Watson, that even a dancer who was dazed from the shock of being seated directly over the spot where one of the bombs was planted in the London tube carriage two weeks ago could figure it out.
This is a story about disappearing terrorists, nonexistent bags, and botched investigations, but most of all, this is a story about magic bombs.
It's Crime Scene Investigation 101. It's the basic law of physics. It's so elementary, my dear Watson, that even a dancer who was dazed from the shock of being seated directly over the spot where one of the bombs was planted in the London tube carriage two weeks ago could figure it out.
LONDON: ATTACKS
Dawn.com: 911 Rerun - Dead British Bombing Suspect Very Much Alive
An interview of a British teenager broadcast on a Pakistani television network has thrown into doubt investigators, claims that all the three London bombers of Pakistani descent visited Pakistan last year. According to the investigators, the three bombers had died in the July 7 attacks.
But 16-year-old Hasib Hussain, a namesake of one of the putative bombers and of Pakistani descent, said in the interview that a photograph of a passport purporting to show bomber Hasib Hussain, 19, was his, and not that of the bomber,.
CNN: 'He looked like a cornered fox'
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Eyewitnesses to Friday's shooting at a London Underground station described seeing a man being chased onto a train and then shot several times at close range.
CNN: Shooting victim's kin: Sorry not enough
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Police say the man they shot dead at a London Underground station was a Brazilian national "not connected" with this week's attempted bombings on the city's transit system.
An interview of a British teenager broadcast on a Pakistani television network has thrown into doubt investigators, claims that all the three London bombers of Pakistani descent visited Pakistan last year. According to the investigators, the three bombers had died in the July 7 attacks.
But 16-year-old Hasib Hussain, a namesake of one of the putative bombers and of Pakistani descent, said in the interview that a photograph of a passport purporting to show bomber Hasib Hussain, 19, was his, and not that of the bomber,.
CNN: 'He looked like a cornered fox'
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Eyewitnesses to Friday's shooting at a London Underground station described seeing a man being chased onto a train and then shot several times at close range.
CNN: Shooting victim's kin: Sorry not enough
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Police say the man they shot dead at a London Underground station was a Brazilian national "not connected" with this week's attempted bombings on the city's transit system.
BIRD FLU
Rense: Boxun News China Confirms Bird Flu In Qinghai Is NEW TYPE
Today (July 13), China officially claimed that bird flu in Qinghai is not H5N1, but a new type. "It is much more dangerous than H5N1", according to this official report released today.
In an unconfirmed news on May 25 2005, released by Boxun, it stated that the bird flu in Qinghai is a new form of virus rather than H5N1, "its symptom is slightly different from H5N1, but it can resist high temprature, faster to show symptoms and more likely to transfer".
In a series of reports (released but not unconfirmed by Boxun), it claimed to have people dead of this virus, but this claim has been denied by the government. (boxun.com)
Rense: Qinghai China Outbreak May Be Biowar 'Tweaked' Bird Flu
Jeff, I think the outbreak in China is something other than straight H5N1 bird flu. As I mentioned, it is different. Man-tweaked. Maybe their Plum Island had power outage and loss of biosecurity. If dealing with an altered bird flu - or worse, Ebola/flu - then we would see the high death toll that we are seeing. I think Dr. Niman knew all along that the Chinese bird flu samples would be different.
Today (July 13), China officially claimed that bird flu in Qinghai is not H5N1, but a new type. "It is much more dangerous than H5N1", according to this official report released today.
In an unconfirmed news on May 25 2005, released by Boxun, it stated that the bird flu in Qinghai is a new form of virus rather than H5N1, "its symptom is slightly different from H5N1, but it can resist high temprature, faster to show symptoms and more likely to transfer".
In a series of reports (released but not unconfirmed by Boxun), it claimed to have people dead of this virus, but this claim has been denied by the government. (boxun.com)
Rense: Qinghai China Outbreak May Be Biowar 'Tweaked' Bird Flu
Jeff, I think the outbreak in China is something other than straight H5N1 bird flu. As I mentioned, it is different. Man-tweaked. Maybe their Plum Island had power outage and loss of biosecurity. If dealing with an altered bird flu - or worse, Ebola/flu - then we would see the high death toll that we are seeing. I think Dr. Niman knew all along that the Chinese bird flu samples would be different.
LONDON: ATTACK
Cambridge Evening News: Bomb Was UNDER The Train Says Eyewitness Closest To It
"The policeman said 'mind that hole, that's where the bomb was'. The metal was pushed upwards as if the bomb was underneath the train. They seem to think the bomb was left in a bag, but I don't remember anybody being where the bomb was, or any bag," he said.
"The policeman said 'mind that hole, that's where the bomb was'. The metal was pushed upwards as if the bomb was underneath the train. They seem to think the bomb was left in a bag, but I don't remember anybody being where the bomb was, or any bag," he said.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
FAKE TERROR
From Xymphora:
Professor Torture himself, John Yoo, is advocating that the United States set up a phony terrorist organization in order to assist in fighting the 'war on terror'. I thought the United States already had such an operation. I think it's called something like 'al Qaeda'. By the way, advocating some kind of intelligence operation in a newspaper article when the author has lots of ways to suggest it to the proper authorities through the regular channels is itself evidence that the article is intended to do something different than what it suggests.
John Yoo: “It could have its own websites, recruitment centers, training camps and fundraising operations. It could launch fake terrorist operations and claim credit for real terrorist strikes, helping to sow confusion within Al Qaeda’s ranks, causing operatives to doubt others’ identities and to question the validity of communications.”
I wonder if Yoo knows that such an organisation is aleady in place, it's called P2OG and is designed to “to bring together CIA and military covert action, information warfare, intelligence and cover and deception,” as David Isenberg writes. “P2OG would launch secret operations aimed at ’stimulating reactions’ among terrorists and states possessing weapons of mass destruction, meaning it would prod terrorist cells into action, thus exposing them to ‘quick-response’ attacks by US forces. The means by which it would do this is the far greater use of special operations forces.”
Frank Morales comments: “Bush’s war on terrorism could be the ultimate manifestation of the provocateur state; carrying out of clandestine ‘executive actions’ and ’special operations’ directed against populations, including our own, who are truly ignorant of the real ‘enemy’ in the face of the ever-present manufactured one, traumatized by strategic terror designed to engender fear and acquiescence to further ’security measures’—thereby enriching the military, police agencies, and munitions and nuclear business enterprises.”
Europe already had such groups. Remember the italian P2 Network which tried to convince the italian public that communism was a bad thing with bombing the bologna trainstation in the 80's and blaming it on the Red Brigades City Guerilla. P2 was part of the secret Gladio "Stay Behinf" Network. Most of European countries had such "stay behind" units operating without the knowledge of Parliments. In Switzerland it was called "P26" in France it was called "Glaive", Austias Unit was named "Schwert" and so on.
Daniel Ganser a Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich wrote a book about it.
Professor Torture himself, John Yoo, is advocating that the United States set up a phony terrorist organization in order to assist in fighting the 'war on terror'. I thought the United States already had such an operation. I think it's called something like 'al Qaeda'. By the way, advocating some kind of intelligence operation in a newspaper article when the author has lots of ways to suggest it to the proper authorities through the regular channels is itself evidence that the article is intended to do something different than what it suggests.
John Yoo: “It could have its own websites, recruitment centers, training camps and fundraising operations. It could launch fake terrorist operations and claim credit for real terrorist strikes, helping to sow confusion within Al Qaeda’s ranks, causing operatives to doubt others’ identities and to question the validity of communications.”
I wonder if Yoo knows that such an organisation is aleady in place, it's called P2OG and is designed to “to bring together CIA and military covert action, information warfare, intelligence and cover and deception,” as David Isenberg writes. “P2OG would launch secret operations aimed at ’stimulating reactions’ among terrorists and states possessing weapons of mass destruction, meaning it would prod terrorist cells into action, thus exposing them to ‘quick-response’ attacks by US forces. The means by which it would do this is the far greater use of special operations forces.”
Frank Morales comments: “Bush’s war on terrorism could be the ultimate manifestation of the provocateur state; carrying out of clandestine ‘executive actions’ and ’special operations’ directed against populations, including our own, who are truly ignorant of the real ‘enemy’ in the face of the ever-present manufactured one, traumatized by strategic terror designed to engender fear and acquiescence to further ’security measures’—thereby enriching the military, police agencies, and munitions and nuclear business enterprises.”
Europe already had such groups. Remember the italian P2 Network which tried to convince the italian public that communism was a bad thing with bombing the bologna trainstation in the 80's and blaming it on the Red Brigades City Guerilla. P2 was part of the secret Gladio "Stay Behinf" Network. Most of European countries had such "stay behind" units operating without the knowledge of Parliments. In Switzerland it was called "P26" in France it was called "Glaive", Austias Unit was named "Schwert" and so on.
Daniel Ganser a Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich wrote a book about it.
OSAMA BIN LADEN
AFP: Qaeda warns European nations to quit Iraq by August 15 or risk attacks
The Al-Qaeda terror network warned European nations to pull their troops out of Iraq within a month or face more attacks like the deadly London bombings, according to an Internet statement."This message is the final warning to European states. We want to give you a one-month deadline to bring your soldiers out from the land of Mesopotamia (Iraq)," said the statement signed by Al-Qaeda group the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades and dated July 16.After August 15, "there will be no more messages, just actions that will be engraved on the heart of Europe."It will be a bloody war in the service of God," said the statement, the authenticity of which could not be verified."It's a message we are addressing to the crusaders who are still present in Iraq -- Denmark, the Netherlands, Britain, Italy and those other countries whose troops continue to criss-cross Iraqi territory.
"Osama told us before but as usual nobody will listen and the next time they attack Goverments will be again in denial of reality blaming "their hate of our values" and not our policies as the reason for their actions"
The Al-Qaeda terror network warned European nations to pull their troops out of Iraq within a month or face more attacks like the deadly London bombings, according to an Internet statement."This message is the final warning to European states. We want to give you a one-month deadline to bring your soldiers out from the land of Mesopotamia (Iraq)," said the statement signed by Al-Qaeda group the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades and dated July 16.After August 15, "there will be no more messages, just actions that will be engraved on the heart of Europe."It will be a bloody war in the service of God," said the statement, the authenticity of which could not be verified."It's a message we are addressing to the crusaders who are still present in Iraq -- Denmark, the Netherlands, Britain, Italy and those other countries whose troops continue to criss-cross Iraqi territory.
"Osama told us before but as usual nobody will listen and the next time they attack Goverments will be again in denial of reality blaming "their hate of our values" and not our policies as the reason for their actions"
IRAQ: VOTE MANIPULATION
Democracy Now: Seymour Hersh: Bush Authorized Covert Plan to Manipulate Iraqi Elections
Pulitzer prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reports that President Bush authorized covert plans last year to support the election campaigns of Iraqi candidates and political parties with close ties to the White House. Hersh cites unidentified former military and intelligence officials who said the administration went ahead with the plan over congressional opposition. [includes rush transcript]
Pulitzer prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reports that President Bush authorized covert plans last year to support the election campaigns of Iraqi candidates and political parties with close ties to the White House. Hersh cites unidentified former military and intelligence officials who said the administration went ahead with the plan over congressional opposition. [includes rush transcript]
IRAQ: VOTE MANIPULATION
New Yorker: Get Out The Vote by Seymour M. Hersh
Did Washington try to manipulate Iraq’s election?
"must read"
Did Washington try to manipulate Iraq’s election?
"must read"
Friday, July 15, 2005
USA: PLAMEGATE
OP/ED News: Rove Lied To FBI
Looks like Karl Rove did break the law, the same federal law that got Martha Stewart sentenced to six months in prison.
It now appears that Rove, President Bush’s chief of staff, may have lied to the FBI in October 2003—a federal crime—when he was questioned by federal agents investigating who was responsible for leaking information about a covert CIA operative to the media.
Looks like Karl Rove did break the law, the same federal law that got Martha Stewart sentenced to six months in prison.
It now appears that Rove, President Bush’s chief of staff, may have lied to the FBI in October 2003—a federal crime—when he was questioned by federal agents investigating who was responsible for leaking information about a covert CIA operative to the media.
LONDON: ATTACKS
Prison planet: Documents and explosives, a few simple questions
Following the "revelation" that the so called London Bombers left personal documents at the scenes of the attacks, plus a car load of explosives at Luton Station, there are a few unanswered questions that need addressing.
1. Why would suicide bombers carry personal documents?
2. How is it that paper documents can survive bomb blasts that rip apart steel and people?
3. Why were two of the men's papers found in two or three different locations?
4. If you were going to use four bombs in four locations, blowing yourself up in the process, why would you leave extra bombs in your hire car for the police to find?
5. The bombers have been described as four "nice lads", "normal kids who played basketball and kicked a ball around" , one was the son of a fish n chip shop owner, one was a primary teacher. Their immediate family of one of the bombers, the 22 year old sports science graduate, have been quoted as saying they "could not comprehend why he had become a mass murderer."
Following the "revelation" that the so called London Bombers left personal documents at the scenes of the attacks, plus a car load of explosives at Luton Station, there are a few unanswered questions that need addressing.
1. Why would suicide bombers carry personal documents?
2. How is it that paper documents can survive bomb blasts that rip apart steel and people?
3. Why were two of the men's papers found in two or three different locations?
4. If you were going to use four bombs in four locations, blowing yourself up in the process, why would you leave extra bombs in your hire car for the police to find?
5. The bombers have been described as four "nice lads", "normal kids who played basketball and kicked a ball around" , one was the son of a fish n chip shop owner, one was a primary teacher. Their immediate family of one of the bombers, the 22 year old sports science graduate, have been quoted as saying they "could not comprehend why he had become a mass murderer."
HOW DID THESE NICE YOUNG LADS GET THEIR HANDS ON MILITARY GRADE HIGH EXPLOSIVES AND IF THEIR HOUSES WERE FULL OF THEM, ENOUGH TO WARRANT THE EVACUATION OF 600 PEOPLE FROM THE AREA THEN WOULDN'T THEIR FAMILIES HAVE NOTICED?
LONDON: ATTACKS
Prison Planet: London Stagecoach Employee Says Bus Bombing Suspicious
We received an e mail from an employee of Stagecoach, the company responsible for the majority of London buses.
Our contact works a route roughly one mile from the site of the bus bombing last Thursday.
The bus driver pointed out that the number 30 bus was the only one to be re-routed after the initial bombs went off in the London Underground, every other bus carried on its normal journey, but for some reason this bus was diverted.
The driver notes the following about CCTV maintainence.
"CCTV gets maintained at least 2 or 3 times a week and can digitally store upto 2 whole weeks worth of footage. this is done by a private contractor....So when I heard that the CCTV wasn't working on a vehicle that's no more than 2 years old since last June.....I'm sorry that's rubbish, I work for the company I know different."
Also a point of interest....last saturday a contractor came to inspect the CCTV on the buses at the depot, According to my supervisor the person spent more than 20 hours over that weekend, 20 hours to see if the CCTV is working? Also that person who came was not a regular contractor, for security reasons the same few people always come to the depot to carry out work, this time it was differentThursday, July 14, 2005
USA: CORPORATISTAN
BBC: Worldcom's ex-boss gets 25 years
Former Worldcom boss Bernard Ebbers wept openly as he was sentenced to 25 years in jail for his part in the scandal that brought down the firm.
Bernie Ebbers leaves the Manhattan court after sentencing
Former Worldcom boss Bernard Ebbers wept openly as he was sentenced to 25 years in jail for his part in the scandal that brought down the firm.
Bernie Ebbers leaves the Manhattan court after sentencing
LONDON: ATTACKS
Rense: The London Bombs, The Rogue Network And Iran
by Webster G. Tarpley
Last week's London explosions carry the characteristic features of a state-sponsored, false flag, synthetic terror provocation by networks within the British intelligence services MI-5, MI-6, the Home Office, and the Metropolitan Police Special Branch who are favorable to a wider Anglo-American aggressive war in the Middle East, featuring especially an early pre-emptive attack on Iran, with a separate option on North Korea also included.
by Webster G. Tarpley
Last week's London explosions carry the characteristic features of a state-sponsored, false flag, synthetic terror provocation by networks within the British intelligence services MI-5, MI-6, the Home Office, and the Metropolitan Police Special Branch who are favorable to a wider Anglo-American aggressive war in the Middle East, featuring especially an early pre-emptive attack on Iran, with a separate option on North Korea also included.
LONDON: ATTACKS
Propaganda Matrix: London Patsies: A Replay Of The Pristine 9/11 Passport
The cover stories are flying thick and fast as British investigators try to put some kind of cap on the London attacks.
It turns out, if you believe the Brooklyn Bridge is for sale, that actual IDs of bombers were found in separate piles of rubble at the sites of the blasts.
These IDs must have been engraved deeply in three-foot-thick steel.
Remember the 9/11 hijacker passport that floated out of the crashing jetliner on 9/11 and landed intact on a New York street?
LONDON: ATTACKS
Prison Planet: New Developments In London Underground Exercise Story
Due to the bombardment of e mails that Peter Power and Visor Consultants are receiving on the issue of the London Underground exercises, Power has been forced to issue a standard e mail response to all inquiries, which forms the basis of his only response to the 'exercise' firestorm that has gripped the Internet since this website first highlighted the matter on Saturday.
Prison Planet: How the Government Staged the London Bombings in Ten Easy Steps
Due to the bombardment of e mails that Peter Power and Visor Consultants are receiving on the issue of the London Underground exercises, Power has been forced to issue a standard e mail response to all inquiries, which forms the basis of his only response to the 'exercise' firestorm that has gripped the Internet since this website first highlighted the matter on Saturday.
Prison Planet: How the Government Staged the London Bombings in Ten Easy Steps
PR WATCH
MOVE KURDISTAN FORWARD
"The Kurdistan Regional Government has hired Republican lobby firm
Russo Marsh & Rogers to get 'free media' to promote the interests of
the Kurds in the post-Saddam Hussein Iraq," reports O'Dwyer's. One
goal of the Kurdish leaders is "the return of Kirkuk," an oil-rich
northern Iraqi city populated by Kurdish and Turkmen people.
O'Dwyer's notes that the head of RM&R, Sal Russo, is no stranger to
international politics, having "worked on the campaign of Violetta
Chamorro in Nicaragua." The Kurdish contract was announced as Move
America Forward, a group RM&R helped found and whose "chief
strategist" is Russo, is going to Iraq. Move America Forward's
"Truth Tour" is bringing conservative talk radio hosts to Iraq, to
"report the good news on Operation Iraqi Freedom you're not hearing
from the old line news media."
SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub. req'd.), July 5, 2005
"The Kurdistan Regional Government has hired Republican lobby firm
Russo Marsh & Rogers to get 'free media' to promote the interests of
the Kurds in the post-Saddam Hussein Iraq," reports O'Dwyer's. One
goal of the Kurdish leaders is "the return of Kirkuk," an oil-rich
northern Iraqi city populated by Kurdish and Turkmen people.
O'Dwyer's notes that the head of RM&R, Sal Russo, is no stranger to
international politics, having "worked on the campaign of Violetta
Chamorro in Nicaragua." The Kurdish contract was announced as Move
America Forward, a group RM&R helped found and whose "chief
strategist" is Russo, is going to Iraq. Move America Forward's
"Truth Tour" is bringing conservative talk radio hosts to Iraq, to
"report the good news on Operation Iraqi Freedom you're not hearing
from the old line news media."
SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub. req'd.), July 5, 2005
USA: IRAN/CONTRA
LA Times: Pentagon Hires Shredder Expert
In 1987, Robert L. Earl told a grand jury that he had destroyed and stolen national security documents while working for Lt. Col. Oliver L. North during the Iran-Contra scandal.
Now, he sits in one of the most coveted offices in the Pentagon as chief of staff to Gordon R. England, acting deputy secretary of Defense. Earl has clearance to review the kinds of classified documents he once destroyed.
In 1987, Robert L. Earl told a grand jury that he had destroyed and stolen national security documents while working for Lt. Col. Oliver L. North during the Iran-Contra scandal.
Now, he sits in one of the most coveted offices in the Pentagon as chief of staff to Gordon R. England, acting deputy secretary of Defense. Earl has clearance to review the kinds of classified documents he once destroyed.
USA: CORPORATISTAN
Washington Post: Business Pushes Its Own Brand Of Justice
Setting up a potential clash with religious conservatives, the national business lobby for the first time is marshaling its forces to persuade the White House to pick an industry-friendly Supreme Court nominee.
  Sandra Day O'Connor often ruled on the side of business. (Rick Bowmer - AP) |
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
IRAQ: US CASUALITIES
Costal Post: Number Of Iraq Casualties Is Double Official Figures, Says Puerto Rican Government
Official US. government reports on soldiers under US command killed in Iraq are so fragmented that they account for less than half of the total number, according to information uncovered as part of an inquiry by the Government of Puerto Rico regarding the total number of Puerto Rican war casualties.
Official US. government reports on soldiers under US command killed in Iraq are so fragmented that they account for less than half of the total number, according to information uncovered as part of an inquiry by the Government of Puerto Rico regarding the total number of Puerto Rican war casualties.
Monday, July 11, 2005
LONDON: ATTACK
Rense: Lest We Forget - These Were Blair's Bombs
In all the coverage of last week's bombing of London, a basic truth is struggling to be heard. It is this: no one doubts the atrocious inhumanity of those who planted the bombs, but no one should also doubt that this has been coming since the day Tony Blair joined George Bush in their bloody invasion and occupation of Iraq. They are "Blair's bombs", and he ought not be allowed to evade culpability with yet another unctuous speech about "our way of life", which his own rapacious violence in other countries has despoiled.
Indeed, the only reliable warning from British intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq was that which predicted a sharp increase in terrorism "with Britain and Britons a target". A House of Commons committee has since verified this warning. Had Blair heeded it instead of conspiring to deceive the nation that Iraq offered a threat the Londoners who died on Thursday might be alive today, along with tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis.
In all the coverage of last week's bombing of London, a basic truth is struggling to be heard. It is this: no one doubts the atrocious inhumanity of those who planted the bombs, but no one should also doubt that this has been coming since the day Tony Blair joined George Bush in their bloody invasion and occupation of Iraq. They are "Blair's bombs", and he ought not be allowed to evade culpability with yet another unctuous speech about "our way of life", which his own rapacious violence in other countries has despoiled.
Indeed, the only reliable warning from British intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq was that which predicted a sharp increase in terrorism "with Britain and Britons a target". A House of Commons committee has since verified this warning. Had Blair heeded it instead of conspiring to deceive the nation that Iraq offered a threat the Londoners who died on Thursday might be alive today, along with tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis.
IRAQ
The Times: Allawi: this is the start of civil war
IRAQ’S former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi has warned that his country is facing civil war and has predicted dire consequences for Europe and America as well as the Middle East if the crisis is not resolved. “The problem is that the Americans have no vision and no clear policy on how to go about in Iraq,” said Allawi, a long-time ally of Washington.
In an interview with The Sunday Times last week as he visited Amman, the Jordanian capital, he said: “The policy should be of building national unity in Iraq. Without this we will most certainly slip into a civil war. We are practically in stage one of a civil war as we speak.”
IRAQ’S former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi has warned that his country is facing civil war and has predicted dire consequences for Europe and America as well as the Middle East if the crisis is not resolved. “The problem is that the Americans have no vision and no clear policy on how to go about in Iraq,” said Allawi, a long-time ally of Washington.
In an interview with The Sunday Times last week as he visited Amman, the Jordanian capital, he said: “The policy should be of building national unity in Iraq. Without this we will most certainly slip into a civil war. We are practically in stage one of a civil war as we speak.”
AFGHANISTAN
Courier-Journal: Afghan alarms
News from Iraq is so disturbing that it is easy to overlook the increasingly grim reports about Afghanistan.
But that would be a mistake.
Violence is increasing rapidly in Afghanistan, and the Taliban and other radicals are getting stronger. According to a report last week in The New York Times, Afghans are increasingly fearful for their future and uncertain about America's commitment to their welfare.
News from Iraq is so disturbing that it is easy to overlook the increasingly grim reports about Afghanistan.
But that would be a mistake.
Violence is increasing rapidly in Afghanistan, and the Taliban and other radicals are getting stronger. According to a report last week in The New York Times, Afghans are increasingly fearful for their future and uncertain about America's commitment to their welfare.
LONDON: ATTACK
Guardian: This terror will continue until we take Arab grievances seriously
It must now be obvious, even to those who would like us to think otherwise, that the war on terror is failing. This is not to say that the terrorists are winning. Their prospects of constructing the medieval pan-Islamic caliphate of their fantasies are as negligible today as they were four years ago when they attacked America. It is simply to point out that their ability to bring violence and destruction to our streets is as strong as ever and shows no sign of diminishing. We may capture the perpetrators of Thursday's bombings, but others will follow to take their place. Moreover, the actions of our leaders have made this more likely, not less. It's time for a rethink.
It must now be obvious, even to those who would like us to think otherwise, that the war on terror is failing. This is not to say that the terrorists are winning. Their prospects of constructing the medieval pan-Islamic caliphate of their fantasies are as negligible today as they were four years ago when they attacked America. It is simply to point out that their ability to bring violence and destruction to our streets is as strong as ever and shows no sign of diminishing. We may capture the perpetrators of Thursday's bombings, but others will follow to take their place. Moreover, the actions of our leaders have made this more likely, not less. It's time for a rethink.
LONDON: ATTACK
Salon: "The time of revenge has come"
by Juan Cole
Blowback from Bush and Blair's incompetently pursued war on terror has hit London. When will the U.S. figure out how to fight smart?
Credit for the horrific bombings of the London Underground and a double-decker bus on Thursday morning was immediately taken on a radical Muslim Web site by a "secret group" of Qaida al-Jihad in Europe. By Thursday afternoon, as the casualty toll rose above 40 dead and 700 wounded, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw was saying, "It has the hallmarks of an al-Qaida-related attack." Although U.S. President George W. Bush maintains that al-Qaida strikes out at the industrialized democracies because of hatred for Western values, the statement said nothing of the sort. The attack, the terrorists proclaimed, was an act of sacred revenge for British "massacres" in "Afghanistan and Iraq," and a punishment of the United Kingdom for its "Zionism" (i.e., support of Israel). If they really are responsible, who is this group and what do they want?
by Juan Cole
Blowback from Bush and Blair's incompetently pursued war on terror has hit London. When will the U.S. figure out how to fight smart?
Credit for the horrific bombings of the London Underground and a double-decker bus on Thursday morning was immediately taken on a radical Muslim Web site by a "secret group" of Qaida al-Jihad in Europe. By Thursday afternoon, as the casualty toll rose above 40 dead and 700 wounded, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw was saying, "It has the hallmarks of an al-Qaida-related attack." Although U.S. President George W. Bush maintains that al-Qaida strikes out at the industrialized democracies because of hatred for Western values, the statement said nothing of the sort. The attack, the terrorists proclaimed, was an act of sacred revenge for British "massacres" in "Afghanistan and Iraq," and a punishment of the United Kingdom for its "Zionism" (i.e., support of Israel). If they really are responsible, who is this group and what do they want?
TERROR
New Statesman: Paymasters Of Carnage
by John Pilger
In the orgy of summit coverage something has been overlooked: the two men at the heart of it, telling us how the world should be run, are the men responsible for Fallujah and Abu Ghraib.
Over the past two weeks, the contrast between two related "global" events has been salutary. The first was the World Tribunal on Iraq, held in Istanbul; the second the G8 meeting in Scotland and the Make Poverty History campaign. Reading the papers and watching television in Britain, you would know nothing about the Istanbul meetings, which produced the most searing evidence to date of the greatest political scandal of modern times: the attack on a defenceless Iraq by America and Britain.
by John Pilger
In the orgy of summit coverage something has been overlooked: the two men at the heart of it, telling us how the world should be run, are the men responsible for Fallujah and Abu Ghraib.
Over the past two weeks, the contrast between two related "global" events has been salutary. The first was the World Tribunal on Iraq, held in Istanbul; the second the G8 meeting in Scotland and the Make Poverty History campaign. Reading the papers and watching television in Britain, you would know nothing about the Istanbul meetings, which produced the most searing evidence to date of the greatest political scandal of modern times: the attack on a defenceless Iraq by America and Britain.
LONDON: ATTACK
Heise: Politiker fordern mehr Überwachung zur Verhinderung von Terror
Größerer Schutz durch biometrische Ausweise, Überwachungskameras, Sensoren zur Sprengstofferkennung, Gen-Datei oder Speicherung der Verbindungsdaten?
Der Anschlag in London hat zu den üblichen Verurteilungen und Gesten der Einheit im Kampf gegen den Terrorismus sowie zu den erwartbaren Forderungen nach erhöhten Sicherheitsmaßnahmen und neuen Gesetzen geführt. Gerechtfertigt werden schon beschlossene Antiterror-Maßnahmen, beispielsweise in Deutschland oder Großbritannien die Einführung der Ausweise mit biometrischen Merkmalen. Aber die Bomben in London lehren vermutlich gerade, dass die meisten Sicherheits- und Überwachungsmaßnahmen entschlossene und einigermaßen intelligente Terroristen, auch wenn sie mit wenig ausgeklügelten Strategien und relativ primitiven Mitteln vorgehen, nicht daran hindern können, Anschläge im öffentlichen Raum von Städten auszuführen. Um das Risiko wirklich zu minimieren, wäre schon ein Überwachungsapparat Orwellscher Dimension oder ein Repressionsregime notwendig, wie man es etwa in Nordkorea findet.
Größerer Schutz durch biometrische Ausweise, Überwachungskameras, Sensoren zur Sprengstofferkennung, Gen-Datei oder Speicherung der Verbindungsdaten?
Der Anschlag in London hat zu den üblichen Verurteilungen und Gesten der Einheit im Kampf gegen den Terrorismus sowie zu den erwartbaren Forderungen nach erhöhten Sicherheitsmaßnahmen und neuen Gesetzen geführt. Gerechtfertigt werden schon beschlossene Antiterror-Maßnahmen, beispielsweise in Deutschland oder Großbritannien die Einführung der Ausweise mit biometrischen Merkmalen. Aber die Bomben in London lehren vermutlich gerade, dass die meisten Sicherheits- und Überwachungsmaßnahmen entschlossene und einigermaßen intelligente Terroristen, auch wenn sie mit wenig ausgeklügelten Strategien und relativ primitiven Mitteln vorgehen, nicht daran hindern können, Anschläge im öffentlichen Raum von Städten auszuführen. Um das Risiko wirklich zu minimieren, wäre schon ein Überwachungsapparat Orwellscher Dimension oder ein Repressionsregime notwendig, wie man es etwa in Nordkorea findet.
LONDON: ATTACK
MSNB: Islamic group claims London attack
"But MSNBC TV translator Jacob Keryakes, who said that a copy of the message was later posted on a secular Web site, noted that the claim of responsibility contained an error in one of the Quranic verses it cited. That suggests that the claim may be phony, he said.
"This is not something al-Qaida would do," he said. "
"But MSNBC TV translator Jacob Keryakes, who said that a copy of the message was later posted on a secular Web site, noted that the claim of responsibility contained an error in one of the Quranic verses it cited. That suggests that the claim may be phony, he said.
"This is not something al-Qaida would do," he said. "
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