WHAT COMES NEXT?
Rense:Rumors Of Unusual Naval Deployments?
Hello Mr. Rense
There are many rumors flying around the internet concerning the deployment of a large number of U.S. military and navy ships. This is causing all sorts of questions, one being of course why? Where are they going? Is some big "event" or terrorist attack about to occur?
Not only that, but, apparently, large numbers of naval fleets from many other countries are heading out to sea, as well!
Monetary Forecast: Is The Fed Expecting Catastrophe?
From Robt McHugh's Monetary forecast of 5-30-4and Richard Russell today 6-2-4
Let me just say from the outset that the Federal Reserve has confirmed our Stock Market Crash forecast by raising the Money Supply (M-3) by crisis proportions, up another 46.8 billion this past week. What awful calamity do they see? Something is up. This is unprecedented, unheard-of pre-catastrophe M-3 expansion. M-3 is up an amount that we've never seen before without a crisis - $155 billion over the past 4 weeks, a $2.0 trillion annualized pace, a 22.2 percent annualized rate of growth!!! There must be a crisis of historic proportions coming, and the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States is making sure that there is enough liquidity in place to protect our nation's fragile financial system. The amazing thing is, the Fed's actions mean they know what is about to happen. They are aware of a terrible, horrific imminent event. What could it be?"
"One can draw no other conclusion except that the Fed is acting irresponsibly in its managing the money supply, in fulfilling its duty to "maintain a stable currency." I reject the notion that the Fed is acting irresponsibly. No, something is up, bigger than we have ever seen in the history of the United States. Let me ramble. Perhaps they simply see the ominous technical landscape we have been warning about in recent issues, and are attempting to pull out all the stops to avert the predicted crash. The recent rally in just about everything is similar to 2003's market behavior when the Fed pumped massive amounts of liquidity into the system during the first half of the year. This time seems different. The amount of liquidity is too large. The Fed is deflating the value of the monetary base by a fifth! Why are they willing to do this? Wisdom says something bad is up - big time."
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
USA
Independent: E-mail 'links Cheney to Halliburton deal'
The links between Dick Cheney and the Halliburton oil services company were under new scrutiny yesterday with the revelation of a Pentagon memo suggesting that the award to Halliburton of Iraq contracts was "co-ordinated" with the Vice-President's office.
The memo, reported in the latest issue of Time magazine, dates from March 2003, just before the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, and deals with Halliburton's involvement in the multibillion-dollar contract RIO, or "Restore Iraqi Oil".
The e-mail says that the arrangements for RIO were approved by Douglas Feith, the under-Secretary of Defence for policy and the third-highest ranking civilian official at the Pentagon, "contingent on informing WH [White House] tomorrow. We anticipate no problems since action has been co-ordinated w [with] VP's [Vice-President's] office".
Independent: E-mail 'links Cheney to Halliburton deal'
The links between Dick Cheney and the Halliburton oil services company were under new scrutiny yesterday with the revelation of a Pentagon memo suggesting that the award to Halliburton of Iraq contracts was "co-ordinated" with the Vice-President's office.
The memo, reported in the latest issue of Time magazine, dates from March 2003, just before the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, and deals with Halliburton's involvement in the multibillion-dollar contract RIO, or "Restore Iraqi Oil".
The e-mail says that the arrangements for RIO were approved by Douglas Feith, the under-Secretary of Defence for policy and the third-highest ranking civilian official at the Pentagon, "contingent on informing WH [White House] tomorrow. We anticipate no problems since action has been co-ordinated w [with] VP's [Vice-President's] office".
IRAQ
Guardian: 'It is the Iraqi people who want to nominate me'
A profile of Sheikh Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar, who was today appointed as Iraq's interim president
Guardian: 'It is the Iraqi people who want to nominate me'
A profile of Sheikh Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar, who was today appointed as Iraq's interim president
MEDIA WATCH
Guardian: NY Times Says It Was Duped By Pentagon 'Cunning'
The New York Times donned sackcloth and ashes again yesterday when its ombudsman said the newspaper had been duped by "the cunning campaign" of those that wanted the world to believe that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
Some stories, Daniel Okrent said, "pushed Pentagon assertions so aggressively you could almost sense epaulets on the shoulders of editors". The half-page critique of the newspaper's coverage during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq followed a separate admission signed by "the editors" last week that said the newspaper had not been as "rigorous as it should have been" in questioning Iraqi exiles.
Guardian: NY Times Says It Was Duped By Pentagon 'Cunning'
The New York Times donned sackcloth and ashes again yesterday when its ombudsman said the newspaper had been duped by "the cunning campaign" of those that wanted the world to believe that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
Some stories, Daniel Okrent said, "pushed Pentagon assertions so aggressively you could almost sense epaulets on the shoulders of editors". The half-page critique of the newspaper's coverage during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq followed a separate admission signed by "the editors" last week that said the newspaper had not been as "rigorous as it should have been" in questioning Iraqi exiles.
MIDDLE EAST
Jerusalem Post: Egypt Tells Arafat: Reform Or Be Removed
Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman has reportedly warned Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to relax his grip on the reins of Palestinian power or face the possibility that Egypt and the US will cease to block Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from carrying out his threat to "remove" the chairman.
According to a report Monday in the pan-Arab Al-Quds-al-Arabi, Suleiman handed Arafat three demands:
First, to unite all the Palestinian security forces under one command authority, and into three components. These include the police, the Preventative Security Service (equivalent of Israel's General Security Service), and the Palestinian foreign security service (equivalent of Israel's Mossad).
Jerusalem Post: Egypt Tells Arafat: Reform Or Be Removed
Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman has reportedly warned Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to relax his grip on the reins of Palestinian power or face the possibility that Egypt and the US will cease to block Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from carrying out his threat to "remove" the chairman.
According to a report Monday in the pan-Arab Al-Quds-al-Arabi, Suleiman handed Arafat three demands:
First, to unite all the Palestinian security forces under one command authority, and into three components. These include the police, the Preventative Security Service (equivalent of Israel's General Security Service), and the Palestinian foreign security service (equivalent of Israel's Mossad).
Monday, May 31, 2004
Friday, May 28, 2004
USA
Rense: Terror In The US? - Back To The Old Shell Game
Back to the old shell game - or back to the land of make-believe.
Only this time, the consequences of not "following the ball" for the American people and their way of life are fatal. In the land of make-believe, you can make it all up as you go.
The Bush administration has come out full force this week with what they claim are mountains of intelligence that claim Al Queda is determined to hit America before the elections in a massive attack.
They claim the intelligence is stronger than anything since 911.
Yet they refuse to move the terror alert color coding off "yellow" and they say they have no idea what will be hit, though it will be "big", and they have no idea where the terrorists are, where they will hit or when.
Some of their big intelligence? Al Queda members may be moving around with their families to appear normal. Al Queda may be recruiting white people or others who "look" European.
Could this be a way of trying to cover the fact that Israeli reservist teams have been found in this country working for "moving companies", yet they keep getting arrested around US nuclear facilities? And why do these people keep getting arrested, only to have the Feds step in to make sure they are released?
Rense: Terror In The US? - Back To The Old Shell Game
Back to the old shell game - or back to the land of make-believe.
Only this time, the consequences of not "following the ball" for the American people and their way of life are fatal. In the land of make-believe, you can make it all up as you go.
The Bush administration has come out full force this week with what they claim are mountains of intelligence that claim Al Queda is determined to hit America before the elections in a massive attack.
They claim the intelligence is stronger than anything since 911.
Yet they refuse to move the terror alert color coding off "yellow" and they say they have no idea what will be hit, though it will be "big", and they have no idea where the terrorists are, where they will hit or when.
Some of their big intelligence? Al Queda members may be moving around with their families to appear normal. Al Queda may be recruiting white people or others who "look" European.
Could this be a way of trying to cover the fact that Israeli reservist teams have been found in this country working for "moving companies", yet they keep getting arrested around US nuclear facilities? And why do these people keep getting arrested, only to have the Feds step in to make sure they are released?
IRAQ: NADJAF
Independent: US retreats after failing to capture militia chief
United States forces agreed yesterday to withdraw from the Shia holy city of Najaf and end fighting with the militia of the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. In a climbdown by the Americans, who had vowed to kill or capture Sadr, it now appears he will be allowed to remain free. His Army of Mehdi militia will also withdraw under the deal.
The Americans appeared to have given up their two main demands to end the fighting in Najaf: that Sadr surrender to them and that the Mehdi Army be disbanded immediately.
The American agreement to withdraw without capturing Sadr will be seen in Iraq as a second embarrassing capitulation in as many months, after US forces ended their April siege of the Sunni city of Fallujah without capturing those responsible for killing and mutilating the bodies of four American contractors - the original reason for the siege in which hundreds of Iraqi civilians are believed to have died.
Independent: US retreats after failing to capture militia chief
United States forces agreed yesterday to withdraw from the Shia holy city of Najaf and end fighting with the militia of the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. In a climbdown by the Americans, who had vowed to kill or capture Sadr, it now appears he will be allowed to remain free. His Army of Mehdi militia will also withdraw under the deal.
The Americans appeared to have given up their two main demands to end the fighting in Najaf: that Sadr surrender to them and that the Mehdi Army be disbanded immediately.
The American agreement to withdraw without capturing Sadr will be seen in Iraq as a second embarrassing capitulation in as many months, after US forces ended their April siege of the Sunni city of Fallujah without capturing those responsible for killing and mutilating the bodies of four American contractors - the original reason for the siege in which hundreds of Iraqi civilians are believed to have died.
Thursday, May 27, 2004
USA
Salon: The Bush orthodoxy is in shreds by Simon Blumental a former senior adviser to President Clinton, is Washington bureau chief of Salon.com
Thursday May 27, 2004 "The Guardian" -- At a conservative thinktank in downtown Washington, and across the Potomac at the Pentagon, FBI agents have begun paying quiet calls on prominent neoconservatives, who are being interviewed in an investigation of potential espionage, according to intelligence sources. Who gave Ahmed Chalabi classified information about the plans of the US government and military?
The Iraqi neocon favourite, tipped to lead his liberated country post-invasion, has been identified by the CIA and Defence Intelligence Agency as an Iranian double-agent, passing secrets to that citadel of the "axis of evil" for decades. All the while the neocons cosseted, promoted and arranged for more than $30m in Pentagon payments to the George Washington manque of Iraq. In return, he fed them a steady diet of disinformation and in the run-up to the war sent various exiles to nine nations' intelligence agencies to spread falsehoods about weapons of mass destruction. If the administration had wanted other material to provide a rationale for invasion, no doubt that would have been fabricated. Either Chalabi perpetrated the greatest con since the Trojan horse, or he was the agent of influence for the most successful intelligence operation conducted by Iran, or both.
.....Washington, just weeks ago in the grip of neoconservative orthodoxy, absolute belief in Bush's inevitability and righteousness, is in the throes of being ripped apart by investigations. Things fall apart: the military, loyal and lumbering, betrayed and embittered; the general in the field, General Sanchez, disgraced and cashiered; the intelligence agencies abused and angry, their retired operatives plying their craft with the press corps, seeping dangerous truths; the press, hesitating and wobbly, investigating its own falsehoods; the neocons, publicly redoubling defence of their hero and deceiver Chalabi, privately squabbling, anxiously awaiting the footsteps of FBI agents; Colin Powell, once the most acclaimed man in America, embarked on an endless quest to restore his reputation, damaged above all by his failure of nerve; everyone in the line of fire motioning toward the chain of command, spiralling upwards and sideways, until the finger pointing in a phalanx is directed at the hollow crown
Salon: The Bush orthodoxy is in shreds by Simon Blumental a former senior adviser to President Clinton, is Washington bureau chief of Salon.com
Thursday May 27, 2004 "The Guardian" -- At a conservative thinktank in downtown Washington, and across the Potomac at the Pentagon, FBI agents have begun paying quiet calls on prominent neoconservatives, who are being interviewed in an investigation of potential espionage, according to intelligence sources. Who gave Ahmed Chalabi classified information about the plans of the US government and military?
The Iraqi neocon favourite, tipped to lead his liberated country post-invasion, has been identified by the CIA and Defence Intelligence Agency as an Iranian double-agent, passing secrets to that citadel of the "axis of evil" for decades. All the while the neocons cosseted, promoted and arranged for more than $30m in Pentagon payments to the George Washington manque of Iraq. In return, he fed them a steady diet of disinformation and in the run-up to the war sent various exiles to nine nations' intelligence agencies to spread falsehoods about weapons of mass destruction. If the administration had wanted other material to provide a rationale for invasion, no doubt that would have been fabricated. Either Chalabi perpetrated the greatest con since the Trojan horse, or he was the agent of influence for the most successful intelligence operation conducted by Iran, or both.
.....Washington, just weeks ago in the grip of neoconservative orthodoxy, absolute belief in Bush's inevitability and righteousness, is in the throes of being ripped apart by investigations. Things fall apart: the military, loyal and lumbering, betrayed and embittered; the general in the field, General Sanchez, disgraced and cashiered; the intelligence agencies abused and angry, their retired operatives plying their craft with the press corps, seeping dangerous truths; the press, hesitating and wobbly, investigating its own falsehoods; the neocons, publicly redoubling defence of their hero and deceiver Chalabi, privately squabbling, anxiously awaiting the footsteps of FBI agents; Colin Powell, once the most acclaimed man in America, embarked on an endless quest to restore his reputation, damaged above all by his failure of nerve; everyone in the line of fire motioning toward the chain of command, spiralling upwards and sideways, until the finger pointing in a phalanx is directed at the hollow crown
IRAQ: HANDOVER
Independent: UN fury over Bush attempts to install PM
The Bush administration was accused yesterday of undermining the work of the UN envoy attempting to put together an interim Iraqi government, by suggesting that a respected nuclear scientist was tipped to be prime minister.
The spokesman for Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN envoy in Baghdad, reacted with fury after US officials were quoted as saying that Hussain Shahristani had emerged as the leading candidate. Mr Shahristani, a Shia, spent almost a decade in prison under Saddam Hussein after refusing to build a nuclear weapon, but he escaped into exile in 1991.
"There is no final list yet, we are still working on it," said the spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, who denied that Mr Shahristani was the leading contender for the post. "Now his life could be in danger," he added, now that Mr Shahristani's name had been leaked. "This is a dangerous city." In New York, a UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said the report in yesterday's Washington Post was "pure speculation which is not helpful to the process".
Independent: UN fury over Bush attempts to install PM
The Bush administration was accused yesterday of undermining the work of the UN envoy attempting to put together an interim Iraqi government, by suggesting that a respected nuclear scientist was tipped to be prime minister.
The spokesman for Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN envoy in Baghdad, reacted with fury after US officials were quoted as saying that Hussain Shahristani had emerged as the leading candidate. Mr Shahristani, a Shia, spent almost a decade in prison under Saddam Hussein after refusing to build a nuclear weapon, but he escaped into exile in 1991.
"There is no final list yet, we are still working on it," said the spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, who denied that Mr Shahristani was the leading contender for the post. "Now his life could be in danger," he added, now that Mr Shahristani's name had been leaked. "This is a dangerous city." In New York, a UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said the report in yesterday's Washington Post was "pure speculation which is not helpful to the process".
IRAG: BERG BEHEADING FAKE
Prison Planet: Digital Watermarks Prove Berg and Abuse Cameras Were the Same?
There are several postings on message boards suggesting that the digital watermarks on the Berg and Abu Ghraib videos are exactly the same. While at this point we have no concrete confirmation of this, it would fit with other examples of how the Berg execution and Abu Ghraib torture scenes are very similar. The contention is that Berg was killed by the US military as a staged psy-op to distract attention from the torture scandal, an execution blamed on 'CIArabs'.
The following is from a Yahoo message board...
Word is spreading around Kodak Park here in Rochester NY. And will break on national News tonite that Kodak film experts have analyzed the Nick Berg video and some of the Abu Grhaib Prison videos comparing them for certain encrypted recording signatures.
Each video camera leaves a certain signature mark, much like a fingerprint or striation markings on bullets in gun barrels. Same goes for CD-ROM Burners, they leave a trace or type of Cookies on the finished product.
These are tested by computer and not visible by the naked eye. Experts here after lunch have concluded that one of the 2 video cameras used in the Nick Berg "beheading" was also used to film US troop abuses of Iraqi detainees.
Prison Planet: Digital Watermarks Prove Berg and Abuse Cameras Were the Same?
There are several postings on message boards suggesting that the digital watermarks on the Berg and Abu Ghraib videos are exactly the same. While at this point we have no concrete confirmation of this, it would fit with other examples of how the Berg execution and Abu Ghraib torture scenes are very similar. The contention is that Berg was killed by the US military as a staged psy-op to distract attention from the torture scandal, an execution blamed on 'CIArabs'.
The following is from a Yahoo message board...
Word is spreading around Kodak Park here in Rochester NY. And will break on national News tonite that Kodak film experts have analyzed the Nick Berg video and some of the Abu Grhaib Prison videos comparing them for certain encrypted recording signatures.
Each video camera leaves a certain signature mark, much like a fingerprint or striation markings on bullets in gun barrels. Same goes for CD-ROM Burners, they leave a trace or type of Cookies on the finished product.
These are tested by computer and not visible by the naked eye. Experts here after lunch have concluded that one of the 2 video cameras used in the Nick Berg "beheading" was also used to film US troop abuses of Iraqi detainees.
IRAQ: CHALABI
Guardian: The trail to Tehran
He was Washington's favourite Iraqi, a prized intelligence source and a dream post-Saddam leader. Now his former CIA masters are rubbishing him, saying he helped Iran trick the US into war. No one, says Iraq expert Andrew Cockburn, should be surprised
Guardian: The trail to Tehran
He was Washington's favourite Iraqi, a prized intelligence source and a dream post-Saddam leader. Now his former CIA masters are rubbishing him, saying he helped Iran trick the US into war. No one, says Iraq expert Andrew Cockburn, should be surprised
CORPORATE DICTATORSHIP
Reuters: MTV Refuses To Air Ads For 'Super Size Me'
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- Film documentary "Super Size Me," a critical look at the health impact of a fast-food only diet, has been downsized at cable network MTV which has refused to air advertisements for the film, its distributors said on Wednesday.
Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films said in a statement the cable TV channel targeted to young audiences has told them the ads are "disparaging to fast food restaurants."
The distributors said MTV sister network VH1 was planning to use clips from the movie in a program called "Best Week Ever," but the clips were pulled before the show aired.
An MTV spokeswoman was not immediately available to comment. MTV and VH1 are owned by media giant Viacom Inc, which depends on advertising for a major portion of revenues.
Reuters: MTV Refuses To Air Ads For 'Super Size Me'
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- Film documentary "Super Size Me," a critical look at the health impact of a fast-food only diet, has been downsized at cable network MTV which has refused to air advertisements for the film, its distributors said on Wednesday.
Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films said in a statement the cable TV channel targeted to young audiences has told them the ads are "disparaging to fast food restaurants."
The distributors said MTV sister network VH1 was planning to use clips from the movie in a program called "Best Week Ever," but the clips were pulled before the show aired.
An MTV spokeswoman was not immediately available to comment. MTV and VH1 are owned by media giant Viacom Inc, which depends on advertising for a major portion of revenues.
MEDIA WATCH
Guardian: New York Times Admits Failures In Run-Up To War
NEW YORK -- The New York Times yesterday admitted that its coverage in the run-up to the Iraq war was "not as rigorous as it should have been" and failed to adequately question the credibility of Iraqi defectors or challenge their tales of terror camps and the presence of weapons of mass destruction.
In a 1,200-word article signed From the Editors, one of America's most prestigious newspapers wrote: "Looking back, we wish we had been more aggres sive in re-examining the claims as new evidence emerged - or failed to emerge."
The paper is particularly critical of its dependence on Iraqi informants, defectors and exiles "bent on regime change in Iraq - people whose credibility has come under increasing public debate in recent weeks". Chief among them, the editors concede, was Ahmad Chalabi, the former Pentagon favourite, whose offices in Iraq were raided last week after he fell out of favour.
Guardian: New York Times Admits Failures In Run-Up To War
NEW YORK -- The New York Times yesterday admitted that its coverage in the run-up to the Iraq war was "not as rigorous as it should have been" and failed to adequately question the credibility of Iraqi defectors or challenge their tales of terror camps and the presence of weapons of mass destruction.
In a 1,200-word article signed From the Editors, one of America's most prestigious newspapers wrote: "Looking back, we wish we had been more aggres sive in re-examining the claims as new evidence emerged - or failed to emerge."
The paper is particularly critical of its dependence on Iraqi informants, defectors and exiles "bent on regime change in Iraq - people whose credibility has come under increasing public debate in recent weeks". Chief among them, the editors concede, was Ahmad Chalabi, the former Pentagon favourite, whose offices in Iraq were raided last week after he fell out of favour.
USA: TERROR ALERT
Rense: Why Is Aafia Siddiqui On John Ashcroft's Wanted Poster? by Kurt Nimmo
It's like a bad movie you've watched one too many times. AG Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller stand before the cameras and tell the people of the United States al-Qaeda is out there lurking. "Credible intelligence from multiple sources indicates that al-Qaeda plans to attempt an attack on the United States in the next few months," Ashcroft warns.
It is by now all so drearily familiar and predictable. It's the same song and dance the Bushites have tirelessly performed since the twin towers fell and everything changed. Even faithful flag-wavers and sleepless paranoids must be bored with it after nearly three years.
Ashcroft rolls out a big wanted poster bearing the mugs of several dour-looking Muslim bad guys. Each presents "a clear and present danger" to the United States because of their language skills, familiarity with American culture, and ability to travel under multiple aliases and use forged documents, explains Ashcroft.
But wait a minute. Something is wrong here.
Rense: Why Is Aafia Siddiqui On John Ashcroft's Wanted Poster? by Kurt Nimmo
It's like a bad movie you've watched one too many times. AG Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller stand before the cameras and tell the people of the United States al-Qaeda is out there lurking. "Credible intelligence from multiple sources indicates that al-Qaeda plans to attempt an attack on the United States in the next few months," Ashcroft warns.
It is by now all so drearily familiar and predictable. It's the same song and dance the Bushites have tirelessly performed since the twin towers fell and everything changed. Even faithful flag-wavers and sleepless paranoids must be bored with it after nearly three years.
Ashcroft rolls out a big wanted poster bearing the mugs of several dour-looking Muslim bad guys. Each presents "a clear and present danger" to the United States because of their language skills, familiarity with American culture, and ability to travel under multiple aliases and use forged documents, explains Ashcroft.
But wait a minute. Something is wrong here.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
IRAQ: TORTURE
Independent: GIs Raped, Rode Prisoners Like Animals In Abu Ghraib
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington, Justin Huggler in Baghdad and Leonard Doyle
The abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison continued yesterday with the publication of fresh pictures and sworn statements that detailed a teenage boy being raped, prisoners being ridden like animals and other Iraqis being forced to eat pork and drink alcohol in contravention of their religion. For the first time video footage of some of the abuse was also broadcast, a development likely to increase the political impact of the scandal.
The new details caused fresh outrage around the Arab world and further rocked the Bush administration - already floundering after a week in which US forces killed dozens of guests at a wedding party in Iraq after mistaking them for insurgents. The latest pictures and allegations - chronicling more calculated attempts to humiliate Muslim prisoners - have only added to the suspicion that they were part of a policy formulated at a high level of authority.
Independent: GIs Raped, Rode Prisoners Like Animals In Abu Ghraib
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington, Justin Huggler in Baghdad and Leonard Doyle
The abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison continued yesterday with the publication of fresh pictures and sworn statements that detailed a teenage boy being raped, prisoners being ridden like animals and other Iraqis being forced to eat pork and drink alcohol in contravention of their religion. For the first time video footage of some of the abuse was also broadcast, a development likely to increase the political impact of the scandal.
The new details caused fresh outrage around the Arab world and further rocked the Bush administration - already floundering after a week in which US forces killed dozens of guests at a wedding party in Iraq after mistaking them for insurgents. The latest pictures and allegations - chronicling more calculated attempts to humiliate Muslim prisoners - have only added to the suspicion that they were part of a policy formulated at a high level of authority.
BERG BEHEADING
Rense: Berg Beheading? - No Way Say Medical Experts
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/05/289031.shtml
Ritt Goldstein (posted by G)
"...according to what both a leading surgical authority and a noted forensic death expert separately told Asia Times Online, the video depicting the decapitation appears to have been staged. "
"I certainly would need to be convinced it [the decapitation video] was authentic," Dr John Simpson, executive director for surgical affairs at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, said from New Zealand. Echoing Dr Simpson's criticism, when this journalist asked forensic death expert Jon Nordby, PhD and fellow of the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators, whether he believed the Berg decapitation video had been "staged", Nordby replied: "Yes, I think that's the best explanation of it."
""The way that they pulled him over, they could have used a dummy at that point," reflected Simpson regarding what the video portrayed. "
Asia Times
Rense: Berg Beheading? - No Way Say Medical Experts
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/05/289031.shtml
Ritt Goldstein (posted by G)
"...according to what both a leading surgical authority and a noted forensic death expert separately told Asia Times Online, the video depicting the decapitation appears to have been staged. "
"I certainly would need to be convinced it [the decapitation video] was authentic," Dr John Simpson, executive director for surgical affairs at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, said from New Zealand. Echoing Dr Simpson's criticism, when this journalist asked forensic death expert Jon Nordby, PhD and fellow of the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators, whether he believed the Berg decapitation video had been "staged", Nordby replied: "Yes, I think that's the best explanation of it."
""The way that they pulled him over, they could have used a dummy at that point," reflected Simpson regarding what the video portrayed. "
Asia Times
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Washington Post: Key Israeli Condemns Offensive In Gaza
Deputy Premier Says Images Evoke Holocaust Memories
JERUSALEM, May 23 -- One of the key political moderates in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet deplored on Sunday the Israel army's offensive in the Gaza Strip, saying television images reminded him of the suffering of his family during the Holocaust.
In stark and emotional language, Deputy Prime Minister Yosef Lapid, who also holds the Justice Ministry portfolio and is a Holocaust survivor, told Israeli radio that the country risked further international condemnation if the army continued its campaign of pursuing Palestinian gunmen, demolishing homes and expelling civilians from the heart of the populous Rafah refugee camp.
Washington Post: Key Israeli Condemns Offensive In Gaza
Deputy Premier Says Images Evoke Holocaust Memories
JERUSALEM, May 23 -- One of the key political moderates in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet deplored on Sunday the Israel army's offensive in the Gaza Strip, saying television images reminded him of the suffering of his family during the Holocaust.
In stark and emotional language, Deputy Prime Minister Yosef Lapid, who also holds the Justice Ministry portfolio and is a Holocaust survivor, told Israeli radio that the country risked further international condemnation if the army continued its campaign of pursuing Palestinian gunmen, demolishing homes and expelling civilians from the heart of the populous Rafah refugee camp.
PROFIT OVER PEOPLE
Wired News: Monsanto Prevails In Patent Fight
The Canadian Supreme Court Friday narrowly upheld a ruling against a farmer who used genetically modified canola seeds patented by Monsanto while replanting his field.
In a 5-4 decision, the court sided with the biotech giant, which sued Percy Schmeiser in 1997 after Monsanto agents found the company's patented gene in canola plants on his farm near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The court agreed that he stole Monsanto's seed, even though Schmeiser maintained that he inadvertently used seed that had blown into his field.
Despite the ruling, Schmeiser, 73, said the decision is a personal victory because the court also ruled that he did not profit from the seed. Schmeiser will not have to pay the $200,000 sought by Monsanto to cover court costs and the profit the company said Schmeiser had gained by using its seed.
Also at issue is the ability to patent a higher life form (including plants), which was previously barred by Canadian law. But the legislation was written a century ago, before genetic modification was considered, and Schmeiser's supporters are urging Parliament to update the law.
"Our original intent was to not allow the patenting of higher life forms," said Nadege Adams, a spokeswoman for the Council of Canadians. "This was lost today. The Supreme Court said you don't have to patent the higher life form, just the gene, and you have control over the whole organism."
Washington Post: Monsanto Beats Farmer in Patent Fight
Sometimes, Goliath wins.
Capping a seven-year, globally watched legal battle between biotechnology giant Monsanto Co. and a scrappy 73-year-old Saskatchewan farmer, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled yesterday that Percy Schmeiser violated Monsanto's patent by growing the company's high-tech canola and saving the valuable seeds produced by those plants.
The landmark 5 to 4 decision marks the first time a high court in any country has ruled on how extensively a company can control a farmer's use of its gene-altered seeds and plants. By affirming broad proprietary rights for Monsanto in Canada -- a country that allows only limited patents on life forms and is considered relatively friendly to farmers' rights -- the court set both national and global precedents that strengthen the hand of agricultural biotechnology corporations.
Wired News: Monsanto Prevails In Patent Fight
The Canadian Supreme Court Friday narrowly upheld a ruling against a farmer who used genetically modified canola seeds patented by Monsanto while replanting his field.
In a 5-4 decision, the court sided with the biotech giant, which sued Percy Schmeiser in 1997 after Monsanto agents found the company's patented gene in canola plants on his farm near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The court agreed that he stole Monsanto's seed, even though Schmeiser maintained that he inadvertently used seed that had blown into his field.
Despite the ruling, Schmeiser, 73, said the decision is a personal victory because the court also ruled that he did not profit from the seed. Schmeiser will not have to pay the $200,000 sought by Monsanto to cover court costs and the profit the company said Schmeiser had gained by using its seed.
Also at issue is the ability to patent a higher life form (including plants), which was previously barred by Canadian law. But the legislation was written a century ago, before genetic modification was considered, and Schmeiser's supporters are urging Parliament to update the law.
"Our original intent was to not allow the patenting of higher life forms," said Nadege Adams, a spokeswoman for the Council of Canadians. "This was lost today. The Supreme Court said you don't have to patent the higher life form, just the gene, and you have control over the whole organism."
Washington Post: Monsanto Beats Farmer in Patent Fight
Sometimes, Goliath wins.
Capping a seven-year, globally watched legal battle between biotechnology giant Monsanto Co. and a scrappy 73-year-old Saskatchewan farmer, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled yesterday that Percy Schmeiser violated Monsanto's patent by growing the company's high-tech canola and saving the valuable seeds produced by those plants.
The landmark 5 to 4 decision marks the first time a high court in any country has ruled on how extensively a company can control a farmer's use of its gene-altered seeds and plants. By affirming broad proprietary rights for Monsanto in Canada -- a country that allows only limited patents on life forms and is considered relatively friendly to farmers' rights -- the court set both national and global precedents that strengthen the hand of agricultural biotechnology corporations.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Guardian: The Day The Tanks Arrived At Rafah Zoo
Among Ruined Houses, A Haven For Gaza's Children Lies In Rubble
AL-BRAZIL, Rafah -- Ask to be directed to the latest wave of Israeli destruction in Rafah's al-Brazil neighbourhood and many fingers point towards the zoo.
Amid the rubble of dozens of homes that the Israeli army continued yesterday to deny demolishing, the wrecking of the tiny, but only, zoo in the Gaza Strip took on potent symbolism for many of the newly homeless.
The butchered ostrich, the petrified kangaroo cowering in a basement corner, the tortoises crushed under the tank treads - all were held up as evidence of the pitiless nature of the Israeli occupation.
Guardian: The Day The Tanks Arrived At Rafah Zoo
Among Ruined Houses, A Haven For Gaza's Children Lies In Rubble
AL-BRAZIL, Rafah -- Ask to be directed to the latest wave of Israeli destruction in Rafah's al-Brazil neighbourhood and many fingers point towards the zoo.
Amid the rubble of dozens of homes that the Israeli army continued yesterday to deny demolishing, the wrecking of the tiny, but only, zoo in the Gaza Strip took on potent symbolism for many of the newly homeless.
The butchered ostrich, the petrified kangaroo cowering in a basement corner, the tortoises crushed under the tank treads - all were held up as evidence of the pitiless nature of the Israeli occupation.
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