Saturday, January 07, 2006

SHARON

Independent: Ariel Sharon by Robert Fisk

Israel's Prime Minister was a ruthless military commander responsible for one of the most shocking war crimes of the 20th century, argues Robert Fisk. President George Bush acclaims Ariel Sharon as 'a man of peace', yet the blood that was shed at Sabra and Chatila remains a stain on the conscience of the Zionist nation. As Sharon lies stricken in his hospital bed, his political career over, how will history judge him?

IRAN/ISRAEL

Truthout: Axis of Fanatics: Netanyahu and Ahmadinejad

With Ariel Sharon out of the picture, Benjamin Netanyahu has a better chance to become prime minister of Israel.

He's media savvy. He knows how to spin on American television. And he's very dangerous.

CURRENCY WAR: IRAN

Muckracker Report: The Approaching War with Iran

January 4, 2006 – On November 10th 2005, the Muckraker Report published an article that described one of the unspoken reasons why the United States had to invade Iraq; to liberate the U.S. dollar in Iraq so that Iraqi oil could once again be purchased with the petrodollar. See The liberation of the U.S. Dollar in Iraq

In November 2000, Iraq stopped accepting U.S. dollars for their oil. Counted as a purely political move, Saddam Hussein switched the currency required to purchase Iraqi oil to the euro. Selling oil through the U.N. Oil for Food Program, Iraq converted all of its U.S. dollars in its U.N. account to the euro. Shortly thereafter, Iraq converted $10 billion in their U.N. reserve fund to the euro. By the end of 2000, Iraq had abandoned the U.S. dollar completely.

Two months after the United States invaded Iraq, the Oil for Food Program was ended, the country’s accounts were switch back to dollars, and oil began to be sold once again for U.S. dollars. No longer could the world buy oil from Iraq with the euro. Universal global dollar supremacy was restored. It is interesting to note that the latest recession that the United States endured began and ended within the same timeframe as when Iraq was trading oil for euros. Whether this is a coincidence or related, the American people may never know.

In March 2006, Iran will take Iraq’s switch to the petroeuro to new heights by launching a third oil exchange. The Iranians have developed a petroeuro system for oil trade, which when enacted, will once again threaten U.S. dollar supremacy far greater than Iraq’s euro conversion. Called the Iran Oil Bourse, an exchange that only accepts the euro for oil sales would mean that the entire world could begin purchasing oil from any oil-producing nation with euros instead of dollars. The Iranian plan isn’t limited to purchasing one oil-producing country’s oil with euros. Their plan will create a global alternative to the U.S. dollar. Come March 2006, the Iran Oil Bourse will further the momentum of OPEC to create an alternate currency for oil purchases worldwide. China, Russia, and the European Union are evaluating the Iranian plan to exchange oil for euros, and giving the plan serious consideration.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Who controls the Food supply controls the People;
Who controls the Energy can control whole Continents;
Who controls Money can control the World"


-Henry Kissinger

Friday, January 06, 2006

FREEDOM

ICH: The Quiet Death of Freedom by John Pilger

Bush has carried out the recommendations of a Messianic conspiracy theory called the "Project for a New American Century". Written by his ideological sponsors shortly before he came to power, it foresaw his administration as a military dictatorship behind a democratic façade: "the cavalry on a new American frontier" guided by a blend of paranoia and megalomania

Thursday, January 05, 2006

SHARON: DEATH?

Israel Insider: CONFIRMED: PM ARIEL SHARON IS (AT LEAST CLINICALLY) DEAD

Reliable sources indicate to Israel Insider that PM Ariel Sharon died at 11 am. Israeli media channels still report his condition is "very grave." Director of Hadassah Hospital Shlomo Mor-Yosef officially denies "rumors" of death and says Sharon's condition is "serious but stable." Channel 10 reports those closest to Sharon as saying he has suffered "brain damage." A likely explanation to reconcile the two reports is that Sharon has suffered brain death -- the lack of cerebral activity -- but that his heart continues beating, while he remains anesthetized and respirated.

SHARON

Haaretz: Sharon still in grave condition but vital signs 'in order' after surgery

Ariel Sharon emerged from hours of surgery Thursday morning with vital signs showing proper levels, but the prime minister's condition remained grave, said Professor Shlomo Mor-Yosef, director of Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem. Neurosurgeons had fought to stabilize Sharon's condition and stop new bleeding detected in his brain Thursday morning, more than eight hours after the prime minister was rushed into emergency surgery having suffered a "far-reaching" stroke and a massive brain hemorrhage.

Haaretz: Sharon's illness draws mixed response in Arab world

Pan-Arab satellite television broadcasters beamed out largely straightforward, nonstop live coverage early Thursday from outside the Jerusalem hospital where Prime Minister Ariel Sharon struggled for his life.While the Palestinian militant groups expressed satisfaction at Sharon's declining health, some Arab commentators praised him for last summer's disengagement from Gaza.

Officials from the Palestinian Authority voiced concern for the future of the peace process in Sharon's possible absence. "On a purely humanitarian level we feel sorry for Mr Sharon," said Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Nabil Shaath.

AP: Israeli Leader Suffers 'Significant' Stroke

Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke Wednesday and was on a respirator after falling ill at his ranch. Doctors operated to drain excess blood from his brain.

Powers were transferred to his deputy, Vice Premier Ehud Olmert.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

IRAN

UPI: German media: U.S. prepares Iran strike

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The Bush administration is preparing its NATO allies for a possible military strike against suspected nuclear sites in Iran in the New Year, according to German media reports, reinforcing similar earlier suggestions in the Turkish media.
The Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel this week quoted "NATO intelligence sources" who claimed that the NATO allies had been informed that the United States is currently investigating all possibilities of bringing the mullah-led regime into line, including military options. This "all options are open" line has been President George W Bush's publicly stated policy throughout the past 18 months.

IRAN

Wayne Madsen: Intelligence Indications And Warnings Abound On Bush Iran Military Strike

Intelligence and military sources in the United States and abroad are reporting on various factors that indicate a U.S. military hit on Iranian nuclear and military installations, that may involve tactical nuclear weapons, is in the final stages of preparation.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

IRAQ

Knight Ridder: Kurds In Iraqi Army Proclaim Loyalty To Militia

Iraq - Kurdish leaders have inserted more than 10,000 of their militia members into Iraqi army divisions in northern Iraq to lay the groundwork to swarm south, seize the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and possibly half of Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, and secure the borders of an independent Kurdistan.

Five days of interviews with Kurdish leaders and troops in the region suggest that U.S. plans to bring unity to Iraq before withdrawing American troops by training and equipping a national army aren't gaining traction. Instead, some troops that are formally under U.S. and Iraqi national command are preparing to protect territory and ethnic and religious interests in the event of Iraq's fragmentation, which many of them think is inevitable.

PROPAGANDA WATCH

Washington Post: IRAQ INFORMATION OPERATIONS INCREASE

The military has paid money to try to place favorable coverage on
television stations in three Iraqi cities."
The military gave one station "about $35,000 in equipment," is "building a new facility for $300,000," and pays $1000 to $2400 a month "for a weekly program that focuses positively on U.S. efforts."

An Army National Guard commander confirmed his officers "suggest" stories for the weekly program and review it, before it is aired. The payments are not disclosed to viewers. At least two bloggers have been embedded with U.S. military units; Michael Yon with the Army in Mosul and Bill Roggio (who was credentialed by the American Enterprise Institute)
with the Marines in Anbar province.

PR WATCH

Wallstreet Journal: A CANCER RISK CONVENIENTLY LOST IN TRANSLATION

A groundbreaking public health study by Chinese doctor Zhang
JianDong in 1987 was used by U.S. regulatory agencies "as evidence
that a form of" the chemical chromium "might cause cancer."

Tenyears later, "a 'clarification and further analysis' published under
his name in a U.S. medical journal said there was no cancer link to
chromium."

But "Dr. Zhang didn't write the clarification" - it was
"conceived, drafted, edited and submitted to medical journals by"
ChemRisk, a firm hired by PG&E, "a utility company being sued for
alleged chromium pollution" by California residents. ChemRisk was
previously paid $7 million to help "save industry hundreds of
millions of dollars in cleanup costs for chromium pollution in New
Jersey."

ChemRisk claims Dr. Zhang signed off on the
"clarification," but records show the final version was not
translated into Chinese for his review. Dr. Zhang died in 1999, but
his son said, "It's impossible that he would have overthrown" his
earlier work linking chromium and cancer.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

PROPGANDA WATCH

Businessweek: FAKE OP/EDS: THINK TANKS AND PIGGY BANKS

Two opinion columnists and fellows at conservative think tanks have
admitted to taking money from indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff to
write favorable columns about his clients. The Cato Institute's Doug
Bandow, who had a syndicated column with Copley News Service,
"accepted money from Abramoff for writing between 12 and 24 articles
over a period of years, beginning in the mid '90s." Bandow resigned
from Cato, and his column has been suspended. The Institute for
Policy Innovation's Peter Ferrara also wrote "pay for play" columns
for Abramoff, but, unlike Bandow, he isn't remorseful. "I've done it
in the past, and I'll do it in the future," Ferrara said. Ferrara's
boss also says the arrangement isn't "wrong or unethical." None of
the columns contained any disclosure. BusinessWeek noted that the
columns "provided a seemingly independent validation of the
arguments the Abramoff team were using to try to sway Congressional
action."

PROPAGANDA WATCH

LA Times: CUTOUTS SPEAK OUT

"U.S. military officials in Iraq were fully aware that a Pentagon
contractor regularly paid Iraqi newspapers to publish positive
stories about the war, and made it clear that none of the stories
should be traced to the United States, according to several current
and former employees of Lincoln Group," report Mark Mazzetti and
Kevin Sack. Military officials have claimed that they didn't know
what the Lincoln Group was up to, but leaked documents and company
employees say otherwise. "In clandestine parlance, Lincoln Group was
a 'cutout' - a third party - that would provide the military with
plausible deniability," said a former Lincoln Group employee. "To
attribute products to [the military] would defeat the entire
purpose. Hence, no product by Lincoln Group ever said 'Made in the
U.S.A.'" Another employee said that Lincoln's $20 million, two-month
contract in Iraq had them doing work that was largely ineffective.
"It's a total waste of money," said another former Lincoln employee.
"Every Iraqi can read right through it."

Monday, December 19, 2005

IRAQ: ELECTION FRAUD?

Guardian: Rise in poll complaints troubles Iraq vote monitors

Suspected polling violations on voting day last week far exceeded the number in Iraq's first election in January, local and international monitors said yesterday.

On the deadline for filing complaints, the number of alleged violations which could swing results in the 275-seat parliament was "well into double figures", an accredited international election observer, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

In January there were only five of these "red" complaints, the observer added. Red complaints are alleged breaches serious enough to potentially hand a seat to a party or election bloc unfairly. The election commission has declined to say how many such complaints it has received, but several parties handed in dossiers listing breaches allegedly seen by their monitors.

ISRAEL

Reuters: Sharon recovering after minor stroke

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's condition improved on Monday after he was hospitalised overnight for a minor stroke that raised questions about how long he could dominate Israeli politics.

The hefty 77-year-old former general, battling for re-election after pulling Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and remaking Israel's political landscape, was rushed to hospital on Sunday and stayed overnight for tests.

"I am fine. I guess I should have taken a few days off," Sharon told Israeli media overnight after his stroke. "There are people who are already interested in a replacement? Well, maybe it's too soon. I'm still here, no?"

Friday, December 16, 2005

IRAQ: ELECTIONS

Juan Cole: High Turnout Expected as Iraqis go to Polls

The guerrillas got off some mortars as voting began Thursday in Iraq, one striking the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad where the government offices are. A mortar was also fired in Mosul at a polling station but appears to have missed. A huge bomb was found and disarmed in Fallujah. On the Jan. 30 elections there were numerous attacks that left dozens wounded or dead, but they did not deter a big turnout.

From all accounts,the voter turnout is likely to be good, given that more Sunni Arabs are going to the polls this time than last. Still, a lot of polling stations could not open in Anbar Province, a severe problem for the legitimacy of the voting outcome. (Aboveboard elections of a sort that can be internationally certified require that security permit people throughout the country to vote if they want to.)

IRAQ WAR

Reuters: Bush defends Iraq invasion, preemptive war doctrine

WASHINGTON (AFP) - One day before Iraq's historic parliamentary elections, US President George W. Bush defended his decision to invade that country and reserved the right to preemptive war in the future.

"In an age of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, if we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long," he said in a speech aimed at shoring up flagging US support for the conflict.

VIDEO: KIDNAP AND TORTURE

UK-Channel4: Kidnap and Torture American Style

Kidnap and Torture American Style follows the stories of terror suspects. Some of them are British residents, who have been snatched from streets and airports throughout the world before being flown to the Middle-East and Africa. In countries such as Syria and Egypt, they undergo agonising ordeals before being incarcerated, without ever facing an open trial.

Testimonies from those suspects allege that Britain has a key role in these shady operations from supplying intelligence information on which interrogations are based, to ordering their arrest and detention.

ONLINE VIDEO

TERROR

Independent: Enemies of the state? Police fail even to question men held as a terror threat

Suspected of plotting terror, a group of men have been held for four years but never charged. Now, in their first testimonies, they reveal the authorities have not even questioned them since their arrests