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June 2007Beavis and Butthead in London jihadPosted: Saturday, June 30, 2007 ¤ Beavis and Butthead in London jihad Police and securocrats know that there aren't enough real terrorists in the world, which is why they have to keep manufacturing them. This is because citizens tire of being watched by cameras, frisked and x-rayed, having their belongings searched, giving fingerprints to so-called friendly nations on entry, contemplating the myriad government databases where their details and activities are preserved, and wondering if some dour little bureaucrat is reading their email or listening to them on the phone. Citizens tire also of reading the rolls of the war dead fraudulently sacrificed in the name of counterterrorist "victory", and of seeing hundreds of billions spent on surveillance and private security, ridiculous wars, and security-related gimmicks and gizmos, when it could be so much better spent on, oh, needs like housing, medicine and pensions, and mitigating actual mass threats to life via such non-sexy routes as traffic safety, fire safety, vaccinations, buildings and infrastructure inspection, water treatment, and food safety. ¤ London Bomb 'Not Scary Enough', Brown Tells MI5 PRIME Minister Gordon Brown has dismissed the latest London bomb scare as "feeble" and "unlikely to frighten the public". Mr Brown is understood to be disappointed with MI5's effort, describing it as "half-arsed and transparent". A source close to Brown said: "The PM wanted to start things off by scaring the absolute, holy shit out of people. "A badly driven Merc with a couple of gas bottles in the back does not cut the mustard. ¤ In which I become a conspiracy theorist ... OK I'm probably leading with my chin here but let me say that I find the horrifying stories of car bombs planted in the streets of London, ready to shred hundreds of innocent West End theatre-goers ... unconvincing. Which suggests that I'm becoming a conspiracy theorist, much to my horror. I blame that Robert Redford movie Day of the Condor ... ever since I watched it, I haven't been able to trust Western intelligence agencies ¤ It's hard to pull up your socks when your legs have been blown off ¤ Heavy rains continue in most areas of country ¤ Israel launches deadly Gaza attacks ¤ Afghanistan: US airstrikes kill 65 civilians ¤ Iraq condemns U.S. raid; 26 Iraqis killed ¤ Chávez hints at nuclear future for Venezuela ¤ What are Caribbean Govts' Views on Zimbabwe? Israel launches deadly Gaza attacks Posted: Saturday, June 30, 2007 At least seven Palestinians have been killed by a series of attacks launched by Israeli aircraft in the Gaza Strip. Three of the dead on Saturday were members of the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad and were killed when an Israeli strike hit their car in the town of Khan Younis. Samir Abu Shamala, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza, also said that Ziyad Ghannam, one of the senior leaders of the al-Quds Brigades, was among the dead. Israel launched six attacks aimed at increasing pressure on the area controlled by Hamas. Full Article : aljazeera.net Beavis and Butthead in London jihad Posted: Saturday, June 30, 2007 Huh-huh-huh, let's break somethin' By Thomas C Greene in Dublin Police and securocrats know that there aren't enough real terrorists in the world, which is why they have to keep manufacturing them. This is because citizens tire of being watched by cameras, frisked and x-rayed, having their belongings searched, giving fingerprints to so-called friendly nations on entry, contemplating the myriad government databases where their details and activities are preserved, and wondering if some dour little bureaucrat is reading their email or listening to them on the phone. Citizens tire also of reading the rolls of the war dead fraudulently sacrificed in the name of counterterrorist "victory", and of seeing hundreds of billions spent on surveillance and private security, ridiculous wars, and security-related gimmicks and gizmos, when it could be so much better spent on, oh, needs like housing, medicine and pensions, and mitigating actual mass threats to life via such non-sexy routes as traffic safety, fire safety, vaccinations, buildings and infrastructure inspection, water treatment, and food safety. But the guys with the guns and cameras and listening devices have been on a roll since 9/11, embarrassing their clip-board-toting rivals in the race for public money, even though, collectively, they've taken or made meaner far more lives than they can ever hope to protect with their strategy of violence in the name of peace, and fascism in the name of liberty. To keep the billions rolling in, they've got to produce a terrorist every now and then. Only real terrorists are hard to come by, so clowns and stooges with harebrained schemes end up doing bin Laden's perp walk periodically. Full Article : theregister.co.uk Chávez hints at nuclear future for Venezuela Posted: Saturday, June 30, 2007 Luke Harding in Moscow Friday June 29, 2007 The Guardian President Hugo Chávez yesterday hinted that Venezuela could try to become a nuclear power, during a visit to Russia apparently timed to antagonise the White House. Mr Chávez defended Iran's right to pursue a nuclear programme and said it might be a good idea if Venezuela eventually did the same thing. Speaking before an audience of communists and other elements hostile to America, Mr Chávez said: "Iran has a right to have a peaceful atomic energy industry, as it is a sovereign country. "The Brazilian president has declared his atomic energy initiatives, and Brazil has a right to do that as well. Who knows, maybe Venezuela will ultimately follow suit." Mr Chávez said he wanted a "multi-polar world in which "real freedom" was possible as opposed to "American freedom", which he characterised as the right to "threaten other nations and destroy cities". Full Article : guardian.co.uk London Bomb--What a Crock of Crap!! Posted: Friday, June 29, 2007 ¤ Absurd London 'Bomb Plot' Inaugurates 'Control Freak' Brown "British police Friday thwarted a car-bomb attack that would have brought carnage to the streets of London just days before the second anniversary of the July 7, 2005, bombings that claimed 52 lives," writes Nile Gardiner for the neocon house organ, the National Review Online. "The car was packed with nails, gas canisters and petrol containers, and left outside a nightclub near Piccadilly Circus. This latest attempt to kill and maim hundreds of civilians is most likely the work of al Qaeda or one of its numerous British-based affiliates. It was timed to coincide with the departure of Tony Blair, and the entrance of new Prime Minister Gordon Brown. It also coincided with Blair's appointment as the Quartet's new Middle East envoy in the face of strong opposition in the Arab world." ¤ British MI5 Had Hand In Previous Car Bombings ¤ London Car-Bomb and the Need for Intelligent Skepticism ¤ London Bomb--What a Crock of Crap!! ¤ Palestinians massacred in Lebanon ¤ Grand Theft Country: How George W. Bush Looted Iraq George W. Bush invaded Iraq because Saddam Hussein would have lowered the price of oil and would have insisted upon payment in Euros. It had nothing to do with fighting "terrorism" in Iraq where, in fact, there had been none. It had nothing to do with WMD in Iraq where, in fact, there had been none. It had nothing to do with bringing Democracy to Iraq where, in fact, there is none still. It had everything to do with protecting the interests of the big oil corporations who supported George W. Bush from the start. George W. Bush, therefore, completes the transformation of the US to fascism. Bush auctioned off America, sold it out to Big Oil. ¤ And those stealing money from Iraq are ... ¤ Horrendous crime of Interior commandos against Sunnis in the Ghazaliya ¤ Google, the Daily Kos, and the End of Free Speech ¤ When American servicemen and contractors rape American women ¤ Taking the Piss Envoy What a great day for peace enthusiasts! A new envoy to the Middle East has been appointed for the Quartet, and it’s no other than the former British PM, Tony Blair. Blair, the man who gave the Israelis the green light to flatten Beirut. Blair, the man who started an illegal war in Iraq. Blair, a man who, according to the Geneva Conventions, is to be held personally responsible for more than 700,000 dead in Iraq for failing to 'protect civilian populations against certain consequences of war’[1]. A man who is supposed to be charged for genocide at The Hague. That’s right, a man who should end his life behind bars is now becoming a peace envoy. ¤ Tony Blair: A true friend of Israel ¤ One million homeless in Pakistan ¤ The London Car Bomb Supreme Court to Hear Guantánamo Detainees' Case Posted: Friday, June 29, 2007 By William Glaberson The United States Supreme Court reversed course today and agreed to hear claims of Guantanamo detainees that they have a right to challenge their detentions in American federal courts. The decision, announced in a brief order released this morning, set the stage for a historic legal battle that appeared likely to shape debates in the Bush administration about when and how to close the detention center that has become a lightning rod for international criticism. The exceptionally unusual order, which required votes from five of the nine justices, gave lawyers for detainees more than they had requested in a motion asking the justices to reconsider an April decision declining to review the same case. Lawyers for detainees had asked only that the court hold the case open for future consideration. Today's order meant that the court would hear the case in its next term, perhaps by December. Full Article : nytimes.com British MI5 Had Hand In Previous Car Bombings Posted: Friday, June 29, 2007 Intelligence sources are refusing to rule out an Irish connection to a massive car bomb that was discovered in the heart of London this morning. Though at this early stage the facts are sketchy, any link to the IRA or its offshoots would re-open a can of worms concerning the MI5's role in past terror attacks, and specifically car bombings, over the last few decades in Britain and Northern Ireland. The timing of the attempted attack coincides with new Prime Minister Gordon Brown taking over from Tony Blair just yesterday. Full Article : propagandamatrix.com London Car-Bomb and the Need for Intelligent Skepticism Posted: Friday, June 29, 2007 By John Chuckman smirkingchimp.com We should all exercise a healthy skepticism regarding the story of the car-bomb just found in London. There are powerful reasons for this. The grant of an appeal to the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. There is powerful evidence that key evidence in his trial was tampered with or manufactured by the CIA. The U.S. wanted this matter off its plate, the families of the dead being a constant irritation. And who better to pin it on than the then much-disliked Libyans? Actually, nothing is easier to fake than an amateur device like this. It takes little sophistication, and there is low risk of discovery. The CIA has just released papers it terms the 'family jewels' which concern many dark matters from decades ago. While these papers are carefully selected to make the CIA look more ineffectual than it is and to give it a public-relations boost in light of its torture and kidnapping activities today, they still document a perfect willingness to engage in the most unethical behavior. Mr. Brown has just taken office, and expectations are high that he will distance himself from Blair's foreign policy, a policy many thoughtful people regard as foolish, destructive, and rather servile. In the United States, paranoid games have been regularly - such as phony terror alerts and ridiculous arrests -played concerning threats to keep fears fired up. www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/8404 London Bomb--What a Crock of Crap!! Posted: Friday, June 29, 2007 So I turn on the telly this morning and find breathless CNN anchors hyperventilating over the nuclear suicide car weapon of mass destruction discovered smoldering outside of a London nightclub. One report from the scene notes that: London police were contacted when witnesses saw a Mercedes being driven erratically near London West End night club Tiger Tiger, and the driver jumped out of the automobile and ran away. The car was reported to have two gasoline canisters and be full of nails. Full Article : prisonplanet.com The American Massacre at al-Khalis Posted: Thursday, June 28, 2007 ¤ The US Colonisation of Somalia and the 'Power Vacuum' Fallacy Few days ago, I had published at an internet blog a paper. In it, I argued that Ethiopia's occupation of Somalia will continue, as long as this is possible, because it serves the U.S imperialist objectives in Somalia: to gain a total control over Somalia's unexplored energy and other natural resources and as a geopolitical outpost in support of other US imperial projects in Africa and the Horn and Africa in particular. In that work, I have also argued that in order to gain a total control over Somalia, the US is using the UN and other international bodies, such as the Security Council, African Union and EU, in order to overcome local resistance to US colonial takeover of Somalia. ¤ Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Kill 11 Palestinians including 4 unarmed Civilians and 2 Children in the Gaza Strip In the early morning hours of Wednesday, 27 June 2007, IOF conducted two incursions into the town of Khuza'a to the east of Khan Yunis and into Sheja'eya Quarter in the eastern part of Gaza City. Up to the publication of this report, these incursions resulted in the death of 11 Palestinians. Among those killed are 6 civilians, including 2 children and two brothers. In addition, 50 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been injured. In the afternoon, IOF withdrew from Sheja'eya, leaving behind considerable destruction. The incursion into Khuza'a continued at the time of publication. In light of this escalation and the persistence of IOF military operations, PCHR is concerned over the falling of additional civilian victims. It is noted that this escalation coincides with the continued hermetic closure of the Gaza Strip imposed two weeks ago; thus threatening to cause a humanitarian crisis in the Strip. ¤ How to Destroy an African American City in 33 Steps ¤ Bombing kills 22 at Baghdad bus station ¤ A Fruit Picker From South Africa Reveals The Human Cost of Cheap Food ¤ Fiddling While America Burns ¤ Blair's Middle East role tainted by associations with Bush ¤ 16 Dirty Secrets About Nuclear Power ¤ The Footprints of Democracies ¤ Pakistanis Baffled by US Support for Their Military Regime ¤ Where's the CIA's Missing Jewel? ¤ Slandering the Dead: The American Massacre at al-Khalis ¤ 30 killed in Iraq violence ¤ 'No' to false trappings of sovereignty ¤ Democracy at Gunpoint This states exactly our present policy toward Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, and on and on. We are not alone in this cold, Kisssingerian approach: like any other nation the United States has no friends; nations, as Charles de Gaulle said, have only interests. What, then, are our interests? During the last half century America's foreign policy makers of both parties have demonstrated a near-total inability to identify and pursue our real self interests. ¤ iPhonies ¤ The Banality of Greed As the Iraq war that Vice President Dick Cheney created continues to shred American--and many more Iraqi--lives, further documentation has emerged proving that, even during failed wars, the merchants of death profit. No company has profited more from the carnage in Iraq than Halliburton, which Cheney headed before choosing himself as Bush's running mate. One shudders at the blissful arrogance of this modern Daddy Warbucks, who sees no conflict of interest over the blood-soaked profits garnered by the once-bankrupt division of the company that left him rich. ¤ 20 beheaded bodies found in Iraq Twenty beheaded bodies were discovered Thursday on the banks of the Tigris River southeast of Baghdad, two Iraqi police officers said. The dead — all men aged 20 to 40 years old — had their hands and legs bound, and some of the heads were found next to the bodies, the officers said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. ¤ Torrential rains ravage central Texas ¤ UN inspectors visit N Korea reactor ¤ The possibility of a US attack on Iran ¤ Ahmadinejad: "I am not anti-Semitic" ¤ Record opium crop in southern Afghanistan ¤ 13129 ¤ Sex, Lies, And Censorship --Zionism's Lifelines ¤ Government said to have lost control of Basra ¤ The Four Biggest Myths about the US War Against the People of Iraq Lies about Iraq are easily disproved. The myths die harder. Bush lied about Iraq in order to attack and invade. The many myths, however, have to do with the geo-political significance of Iraq, US motives and incompetence, and the nature of the resistance to the illegal US occupation. ¤ Gen Taguba Unveils Abu Ghraib, US Gulag - "The abused are only Iraqis!" CIA opens the book on a shady past Posted: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 The CIA declassified nearly 700 pages of secret records Tuesday recording its illegal activities during the first decades of the Cold War, publishing a catalog of adventures that run the gamut of spy movie clichés from attempts to kill foreign leaders and intercept Americans' mail to garden-variety break-ins and burglaries. "Most of it is unflattering, but it is CIA's history," the CIA's director, Gen. Michael Hayden, said last week in announcing plans to release the documents, which had been considered so sensitive that they were known internally as the agency's "family jewels." The documents were compiled beginning in 1973 at the order of then-CIA Director James Schlesinger, who wanted to be prepared for congressional investigations he expected in the wake of disclosures that arose during the Watergate scandal. Schlesinger's successor, William Colby, was outraged at much of the material, which he collected in a report to President Gerald Ford in 1975. Full Article : msnbc.msn.com Egypt's Female Pharaoh mummy found Posted: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 CAIRO, June 26 -- The centuries-old search for the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt's most famous female pharaoh, may finally have ended. According to US-based Discovery Channel, Egypt's antiquities supremo Zahi Hawass will announce at a media conference in Cairo on Wednesday "the most important find in Egypt's Valley of the Kings since the discovery of Tutankhamun" in 1922. Egyptology discussion boards have been abuzz with the news that the one of the most important discoveries in Egypt's history could be announced soon. Full Article : africast.com Will Sudan be Re-Colonized? Posted: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 ¤ Poll: Even More Americans Blame Saddam for 9/11 As distrustful as I am of polls conducted by the corporate media, I had to take note of the following. "A new Newsweek poll out this weekend exposed 'gaps' in America's knowledge of history and current events," writes Josh Catone for Raw Story. "Perhaps most alarmingly, 41% of Americans answered 'Yes' to the question 'Do you think Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was directly involved in planning, financing, or carrying out the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001?' That total is actually up 5 points since September 2004." I wouldn't call this lack of knowledge a "gap" but rather a chasm, the result of years of brainwashing—indeed, a process instituted from grade school onward, right up the present as millions of Americans sit idly before the tube with their brains disengaged, absorbing the incessant propaganda dispensed by Fox News and CNN. ¤ Will Sudan be Re-Colonized? The United States is maneuvering to introduce a UN peacekeeping force into Darfur, as a first step to securing control of the region's vast supply of oil. US control of Darfur's petroleum resources would deliver highly profitable investment opportunities to US firms, and scuttle China's investment in the region, thereby slowing the rise of a strategic competitor whose continued industrial growth depends on secure access to foreign oil. Washington is using highly exaggerated charges of genocide as a justification for a UN intervention it would dominate, while at the same time opposing a workable peacekeeping plan acceptable to the Sudanese government that would see the current African Union mission in Darfur expand. ¤ UN: World drug problem stabilising ¤ The Language of War One plus one is three. Oops. I didn't mean to hit the 'send' button. George HW Bush not using a condom, giving us W. These are mistakes. In today's media, and even in many leftist and 'progressive' outlets, we are seeing a very disturbing accounting of America's mood on the war. The majority of Americans believe the war to be a mistake. The first definition of that term, using www.dictionary.com, is “an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc.” ¤ Chechnya — The Forgotten Struggle ¤ Be ready for guerrilla war against the US ¤ CIA Releases Key 1970s Files, Including Spying on Journos ¤ New Scrutiny as Immigrants Die in Custody ¤ The Real Casus Belli: Peak Oil ¤ Africa United in Rejecting US Request for Military HQ The Pentagon's plan to create a US military command based in Africa have hit a wall of hostility from governments in the region reluctant to associate themselves with the Bush administration's “war on terror” and fearful of American intervention. A US delegation led by Ryan Henry, principal deputy under-secretary of defence for policy, returned to Washington last week with little to show for consultations with defence and foreign ministry officials in Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Djibouti and with the African Union (AU). An earlier round of consultations with sub-Saharan countries on providing secure facilities and local back-up for the new command, to be known as Africom and due to be operational by September next year, was similarly inconclusive. The Libyan and Algerian governments reportedly told Mr Henry that they would play no part in hosting Africom. Despite recently improved relations with the US, both said they would urge their neighbours not to do so, either. Even Morocco, considered Washington's closest north African ally, indicated it did not welcome a permanent military presence on its soil. ¤ How Can Bush Free Iraq When He Brings Tyranny To America? ¤ CNN blows it. Truth told about Gaza. ¤ 'al Qaeda in Mesopotamia': The Numbers Just Don't Add Up ¤ U.S. losing its power over China ¤ The Coup Against Hamas ¤ China's New Weapons "China's new investments in its military are, like so many things about China, heavily criticized by the American establishment. The truth is they represent a small fraction of what the U.S. spends, no matter what accounting you use. Widely accepted, published data put China's military spending at about 10% of America's, although some say it may be about half again more than that through hidden spending. They may be right, but they ignore the reality of a great deal of hidden spending in America, particularly when it comes to so-called black programs, and the unquestioned fact remains that America accounts for fully half of the entire planet's military spending." ¤ The world that Bob made ¤ Quartet considers Blair envoy role ¤ Conditions in Iraq 'terrifying', says U.N. envoy ¤ The Australians who are outcasts in their own land ¤ Political Attention Deficit Disorder: New Psychiatric Condition According to a report not yet released, the Council on Science and Public Health of the American Medical Association has recommended that a chronic and widespread affliction of Americans be officially declared a psychiatric disorder. It has been named the Political Attention Deficit Disorder (PADD). It is recommended that the disorder be included in a widely used mental illness manual created and published by the American Psychiatric Association. The current manual was published in 1994; the next edition is to be completed in 2012. The benefit to people of an official classification is coverage by health insurance. The Australians who are outcasts in their own land Posted: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 Walk around the sprawling community of Wadeye and you will be assailed by children, quick to spot a stranger in town. They crowd around curiously and talk to you in broken English but chatter among themselves in Murrinh-patha, the indigenous language of this former Catholic mission. Six other languages are spoken here, all of them endangered, making Wadeye a laboratory for linguists. 'Language is our identity and if we forget our identity, we are nothing,' says Patrick Nudjulu, sheltering from the sun on the veranda of his house. A patriarchal figure, with white beard and a leg withered by leprosy, he points to his grandchildren playing nearby. Speaking in their mother tongue will keep them connected to their culture, says this old man. But he encourages the children to go to school to do their sums and to learn how to speak in English. 'You need to be able to talk to the white fella,' he says. Full Article : guardian.co.uk Political Attention Deficit Disorder Posted: Monday, June 25, 2007 Political Attention Deficit Disorder: New Psychiatric Condition by Joel S. Hirschhorn / June 25th, 2007 According to a report not yet released, the Council on Science and Public Health of the American Medical Association has recommended that a chronic and widespread affliction of Americans be officially declared a psychiatric disorder. It has been named the Political Attention Deficit Disorder (PADD). It is recommended that the disorder be included in a widely used mental illness manual created and published by the American Psychiatric Association. The current manual was published in 1994; the next edition is to be completed in 2012. The benefit to people of an official classification is coverage by health insurance. "The symptoms of PADD are all around us and treating it professionally can do more for our country than any election," said Dr. Mable Wank in the report's introduction; she is chairwoman of the Council and a professor at UCLA. Full Article : dissidentvoice.org African states oppose US presence Posted: Monday, June 25, 2007 ¤ 37 reported dead in string of suicide bombings in Iraq ¤ UN no longer seen as neutral, says former chief ¤ Hundreds killed by flooding in Karachi ¤ Suicide bomber kills 12 in Baghdad hotel attack ¤ African states oppose US presence The Pentagon's plans to create a new US military command based in Africa have hit a wall of hostility from governments in the region reluctant to associate themselves publicly with the US "global war on terror". A US delegation led by Ryan Henry, the principal deputy undersecretary of defence for policy, returned to Washington last week with little to show from separate consultations with senior defence and foreign ministry officials in Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Djibouti and with the African Union (AU). ¤ Afghan civilians reportedly killed more by U.S., NATO than insurgents U.S.-led coalition and NATO forces fighting insurgents in Afghanistan have killed at least 203 civilians so far this year — surpassing the 178 civilians killed in militant attacks, according to an Associated Press tally. Insurgency attacks and military operations have surged in recent weeks, and in the past 10 days, more than 90 civilians have been killed by airstrikes and artillery fire targeting Taliban insurgents, said President Hamid Karzai. ¤ Hamas acted on a very real fear of a US-sponsored coup ¤ Chavez warns of resistance war with U.S. ¤ How to Buy Coffee with a Conscience ¤ China's New Weapons ¤ Those Lazy Iraqis I can't take this anymore. It was bad enough when the White House started pushing that “when the Iraqis stand up, we'll stand down” crap last year, but now the Democrats are chiming in with this “lazy, ungrateful Iraqis” trash, seemingly all at once. Where is this bullshit coming from? No doubt, some Frank Luntz type—possibly Frank Luntz—held a focus group and found that Americans respond better to criticism of the war when it doesn't hint at American culpability in the embarrassing disaster it has become. Politicians, desperate to avoid the logically meaningless but emotionally powerful charge of “not supporting the troops,” have hit upon a new formula: You can talk all you want about the hopelessness of continuing the occupation in Iraq, as long as you blame it all on the Iraqis. ¤ Zoellick confirmed World Bank chief ¤ Germany's plot against Zimbabwe exposed At least the world can now see for itself the extent of the cowardice, dishonesty and lies that characterise the West's engagement over Zimbabwe. A few days back, the Germany Embassy in Harare denied visas to two key members of the Zimbabwean delegation that was supposed to attend the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly underway in Wiesbaden, Germany, scuttling Zimbabwe's participation in the process. It is important to note that Zimbabwe was supposed to feature prominently on the agenda, yet the West did not want Zimbabwe to be present to defend itself against their malicious propaganda. ¤ Building a Justification for Waging War on Iran? ¤ While playing tricks with Abbas and Arab leaders African states oppose US presence Posted: Monday, June 25, 2007 Simon Tisdall in Washington Monday June 25, 2007 Guardian Unlimited The Pentagon's plans to create a new US military command based in Africa have hit a wall of hostility from governments in the region reluctant to associate themselves publicly with the US "global war on terror". A US delegation led by Ryan Henry, the principal deputy undersecretary of defence for policy, returned to Washington last week with little to show from separate consultations with senior defence and foreign ministry officials in Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Djibouti and with the African Union (AU). Full Article : guardian.co.uk Germany's plot against Zimbabwe exposed Posted: Monday, June 25, 2007 The Herald At least the world can now see for itself the extent of the cowardice, dishonesty and lies that characterise the West's engagement over Zimbabwe. A few days back, the Germany Embassy in Harare denied visas to two key members of the Zimbabwean delegation that was supposed to attend the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly underway in Wiesbaden, Germany, scuttling Zimbabwe's participation in the process. It is important to note that Zimbabwe was supposed to feature prominently on the agenda, yet the West did not want Zimbabwe to be present to defend itself against their malicious propaganda. What is more, they were only too happy to grant a visa to MDC legislator, Nelson Chamisa, whom they expected to grandstand on their behalf. Head of delegation Senator Forbes Magadu, who was supposed to table a resolution to expose the West's hand in the ongoing political and economic problems in the country, was conveniently denied a visa. Secretary to the delegation Dr Godfrey Chipare, the principal director (external relations) with the Parliament of Zimbabwe, who was supposed to help Senator Magadu with the paperwork, was also denied a visa. Of course, Senator Clarissa Vongai Muchengeti of Zanu-PF was granted a visa, but it was evident that the EU wanted to use her as a cover for Chamisa, as they considered her a soft-target since she did not have the responsibility of tabling the resolution. There you have it; Zimbabwe was supposed to be present but not represented, giving Westerners the opportunity to trash the country at will. Fortunately, their nefarious agenda was exposed and we hail the Parliament of Zimbabwe for withdrawing the credentials of the entire delegation. What is shocking about the saga is not Germany's wanton violation of the Cotonou Agreement that guarantees immunities and privileges to state parties conducting ACP-EU business, but the manner in which the Germans shamelessly lie that no applications were lodged with them when they refused to issue the application forms for the two delegates in the first place. They should tell the world why Chamisa and Cde Muchengeti had visas if no applications had been forwarded. The scandal is, however, consistent with the West's treatment of Zimbabwe, their strategy is simple — create problems and blame it on the victim. That is the whole story behind the land reform programme. White settlers of Western origin created the skewed land ownership with their racist policies. It was Britain that refused to honour its obligations to fund land reforms in Zimbabwe. The countries that reneged on the promises they made at the Land Donor Conference of 1998 were from the West. It was the West again that tried to internationalise a purely bilateral dispute between Harare and London. It is the West that imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe, which sanctions are behind the economic problems bedevilling the country today. It is the West that is sponsoring subversive political activities in Zimbabwe. It is the West that blames Zimbabwe for everything. This is why we hope those who are quick to judge, quick to be swayed by Western propaganda learn from this scandal. The West does not want the real Zimbabwean story to be heard. They would rather keep feeding the world with lies. If, as they say, they are right, they should give Zimbabwe the chance to present its side of the story and let an informed world decide who is right and who is wrong. We have no doubt Zimbabwe will be vindicated. Neo-cons Spinning Hearts and Minds Posted: Sunday, June 24, 2007 ¤ Hamas's victory in Gaza is a blow to Bush's plans The stunning military victory by the Palestinian Hamas movement over the rival Fatah organisation in the Gaza Strip last week was a strike against imperialism in the Middle East. The US and its allies have described the Islamist group Hamas's driving out of Fatah from Gaza as a "military coup" aimed at creating a "mini Taliban state". It is nothing of the sort. Hamas is the democratically elected Palestinian government. Its victory last week stopped an attempted military takeover sponsored by the US and its Israeli and Egyptian allies. George Bush rushed to embrace the "Fatah moderates" in "the battle with extremism". ¤ Black people and criminal justice: 'Target the system, not black culture' ¤ The Australians who are outcasts in their own land Walk around the sprawling community of Wadeye and you will be assailed by children, quick to spot a stranger in town. They crowd around curiously and talk to you in broken English but chatter among themselves in Murrinh-patha, the indigenous language of this former Catholic mission. Six other languages are spoken here, all of them endangered, making Wadeye a laboratory for linguists. ¤ Decline for Military in Black Recruits The number of blacks joining the military has plunged by more than one-third since the Afghanistan and Iraq wars began. Other job prospects are soaring and relatives of potential recruits increasingly are discouraging them from joining the armed services. According to data obtained by The Associated Press, the decline covers all four military services for active duty recruits. The drop is even more dramatic when National Guard and Reserve recruiting is included. ¤ Israeli jets pound Gaza ¤ Over 230 killed, 200 injured in Karachi rain-related incidents Over 230 people were killed and more than 200 others were injured as a result of rain-related incidents in Karachi including collapse of roofs, walls and houses as well as up rooting of trees, poles and sign boards, besides the electrocution incidents in several parts of the city. Torrential rain and thunderstorms have killed at least 228 people and injured about 200 others in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, provincial health minister Syed Sardar Ahmed said Sunday. He said 43 people were killed as rain and high winds lashed the city on Saturday, while "the bodies of 185 more victims were identified today (Sunday)." ¤ Heavy rains kill 228 people in southern Pakistan ¤ The CIA's No-Questions-Asked Travel Agent ¤ 'It is time to put right the wrongs' ¤ Neo-cons Spinning Hearts and Minds As the George W. Bush administration struggles through its last two years in office, it appears that the agenda of neoconservative ideologues has finally lost its appeal among strategic parts of the U.S. foreign policy apparatus. But as their influence has waned at the Pentagon and State Department, neo-conservative hawks have taken charge on the battlefield of public diplomacy.Intent on fixing what American Enterprise Institute (AEI) fellow Joshua Muravchik termed Bush's "public diplomacy mess," right-wing hawks have gained control of the weapons in the "war of ideas" — U.S. government-funded and supported media outlets such as Voice of America (VOA), Al-Hurra, and Radio Farda, which broadcast to the Middle East and aim to offer an alternative view of the news. ¤ Abu Ghraib: The Rest of The Story We were reminded again last week that in this administration, no good deed goes unpunished, and that no scandal is so great that it can't be hidden until it's forgotten. The sad spectacle that transpired inside the crumbling walls of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq came roaring back to life with Seymour Hersh’s on-target article in The New Yorker magazine telling the story of an honest general who investigated and reported on events that shocked the world. Maj. Gen. Anthony Taguba, U.S. Army retired, was an accidental choice to conduct one of 17 Pentagon investigations of the prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib. He was grabbed because he wore two stars, and they needed someone of that rank to probe a case that involved a one-star general. ¤ Lebanon blast kills Unifil troops ¤ US Muddles Along In The Middle East ¤ They'll Break the Bad News on 9/11 ¤ Iraq's 'Chemical Ali' sentenced to hang Abu Ghraib: The Rest of The Story Posted: Sunday, June 24, 2007 by Joseph L. Galloway We were reminded again last week that in this administration, no good deed goes unpunished, and that no scandal is so great that it can’t be hidden until it's forgotten. The sad spectacle that transpired inside the crumbling walls of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq came roaring back to life with Seymour Hersh's on-target article in The New Yorker magazine telling the story of an honest general who investigated and reported on events that shocked the world. Maj. Gen. Anthony Taguba, U.S. Army retired, was an accidental choice to conduct one of 17 Pentagon investigations of the prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib. He was grabbed because he wore two stars, and they needed someone of that rank to probe a case that involved a one-star general. The trouble was that Tony Taguba was honest and thorough and reported in detail, early and often, to his superiors on evidence he was uncovering – film and photos of abuses far worse than those the public saw. There was sexual abuse of female prisoners by their American guards and forced sex acts between a father and his young son. Full Article : commondreams.org Bush's Incredible Shrinking Coalition Posted: Saturday, June 23, 2007 ¤ Israeli Apartheid is the Core of the Crisis ¤ How Could Blair Possibly Get This Job? ¤ The Hidden Cost of War ¤ Bush's Incredible Shrinking Coalition Bush's "Coalition of the Willing," that motley crew of cajoled and pressured mostly minor nations that provided token troops to send to Iraq along with the U.S. juggernaut during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, is looking decidedly smaller today. Since 2004, 17 countries, which had sent a total of 10,500 troops have pulled out entirely and brought everyone home. These include Italy, which at one point had the fourth-largest contingent of troops in the coalition (3200) and Ukraine, which had 1650 troops in Iraq, and also Iceland, which at one point had sent 2 soldiers, making it the smallest member of the invasion force. ¤ Bush to New Orleans Jazz Legend: "Pick Up All the Trash" Before Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans and ruined many of its cultural landmarks, people from all over the city — all over the country, in fact — would flock to the Bywater section to see trumpeter Kermit Ruffins’ weekly gig. I was in New Orleans immediately before Katrina and had the privilege of hearing Ruffins play. Inside a small, smoky bar, with his band positioned literally inches from its raucous audience, Ruffins commanded the room, using popular R&B arrangements like John Legend’s "Ordinary People" as his platform for long, cathartic improvisations.After the show, I spent twenty minutes talking music with Ruffins’ sidekick, the then-19-year-old prodigy, Trombone Shorty. A few of Shorty’s young friends stood nearby and listened in. The street was filled with the sound of easy chatter from liquor-sodden revelers who had stepped outside for a smoke. A Stevie Wonder song drifted from inside the bar. I think it was "My Cherie Amor." I was a world away from the dour east coast jazz scene where staggering door fees, drink minimums, and dress codes created an uptight atmosphere that favors the well-to-do, excludes young people, and keeps listeners at a distance from performers, who are often conferred undue reverence. ¤ Bombings Prompt Curfew in Colombian City ¤ 20 killed in Nairobi night of violence ¤ Darfur conflict heralds era of wars triggered by climate change, UN report warns ¤ The fight for the world's food ¤ Everyone we fight in Iraq is now "al-Qaida" That the Bush administration, and specifically its military commanders, decided to begin using the term "Al Qaeda" to designate "anyone and everyeone we fight against or kill in Iraq" is obvious. All of a sudden, every time one of the top military commanders describes our latest operations or quantifies how many we killed, the enemy is referred to, almost exclusively now, as "Al Qaeda." But what is even more notable is that the establishment press has followed right along, just as enthusiastically. I don't think the New York Times has published a story about Iraq in the last two weeks without stating that we are killing "Al Qaeda fighters," capturing "Al Qaeda leaders," and every new operation is against "Al Qaeda." ¤ A river of corpses ¤ The occupation forces destroy cars and houses in al-Ameriya ¤ Iraq Deaths Don't Mean Failure, Pace Says ¤ Over 40 killed in Karachi rainstorm Karzai Angry Over West's Tactics Posted: Saturday, June 23, 2007 by BBC staff Nato and US-led troops are failing to co-ordinate with their Afghan allies and thereby causing civilian deaths, President Hamid Karzai has said. He criticised his Western allies' "extreme" use of force and said they should act as his government asked. "Innocent people are becoming victims of reckless operations" because the troops had ignored Afghan advice for years, Mr Karzai told reporters. He was speaking after a week in which up to 90 Afghan civilians were killed. "You don't fight a terrorist by firing a field gun 37 kilometres (24 miles) away into a target. That's definitely, surely bound to cause civilian casualties," he said. Full Article : commondreams.org Zimbabwe 'Dooms Day' Report Seen as Promise not Prediction Posted: Friday, June 22, 2007 ¤ When Asking For Directions In America Proves Disastrous We like to think of this country as a pleasant place where, if we get lost and need directions, our fellow citizen would bring forth his Good Samaritan side, be engaging and helpful, and see us back on the right track. We see it in movies and advertisements all the time. And in our own interactions, we might have seen it on occasion work in this manner. However, do not be fooled into thinking this is the way it works all the time. If you happen to look Middle Eastern you might have a totally different and very disastrous experience. Like the ongoing nightmare Abdul Kewan is experiencing for simply asking for directions in America, this wonderful melting pot of humanity, where a person's rights and freedoms are considered sacred and protected at all costs. At least that is what we are told. Mr. Kewan knows better. ¤ Alliance With Atrocity: Bush's Terror War Partners in Ethiopia The New York Times paints a pretty picture of George W. Bush's bosom pals in Ethiopia, in an important story that once again gives the howling lie to the Bushists' pretensions of advancing freedom and democracy in their world-encircling Terror War. Of course, the story itself, by Jeffrey Gettleman, is marred by the usual uncritical acceptance of Administration spin on its key role in aiding the Ethiopian dictatorship's aggression in Somalia, and ignores entirely the American airstrikes during the invasion that killed scores of civilians (and are still going on in the Somali hinterland). This is not surprising, given that Gettleman's last big piece from the region was a truly odious bit of propaganda hackwork that essentially painted the victims of the aggression as greedy, worthless, anarchic trash who got what was coming to them. (See "The Lies of the Times: NYT Pushes Bush Line on Somalia.") ¤ Zimbabwe 'Dooms Day' Report Seen as Promise not Prediction Several Western media agencies are pushing an unnamed report from a group of unidentified "private consultants" urging organizations such as the United Nations, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Oxfam to prepare for a "total collapse" of Zimbabwe within 6 months. Western news agencies pushing this report, which many in the Pan-African community are calling propaganda, include the BBC, CNN, and the Associated Press (AP). At least 10 other new agencies have syndicated the AP story on their websites. The report from the AP states that, "If the worst happens, private consultants in Zimbabwe say, aid groups should brace for shops and businesses to close and for Zimbabwe to declare a state of emergency." This report is basing its prediction of a "doomsday scenario" on the fact that Western countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have pulled out nearly all of their financial resources causing not only a lack of confidence in the Zimbabwean currency on the international market but also causing hyperinflation that has been reported as high as four thousand percent, the highest in the world. ¤ Zimbabwe Watch ¤ Head-to-toe Muslim veils test tolerance of secular Britain ¤ 'Ridiculous' visa rulings set out ¤ Carter says US, EU must bring Hamas and Fatah together The United States, Israel and the European Union must end their policy of favoring Fatah over Hamas, or they will doom the Palestinian people to deepening conflict between the rival movements, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday. Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was addressing a conference of Irish human rights officials, said the Bush administration's refusal to accept the 2006 election victory of Hamas was "criminal." ¤ Oily Incompetence ¤ U.S. Corporations Aren't Disclosing Biological Warfare Research Work ¤ People are Disgusted with Them and Congress Doesn't Have a Clue! ¤ The Democratic Party and the Infantile Omnipotence of The Ruling Class Why did the Democratic Congress betray the voting public? Betrayal is often a consequence of wishful thinking. It's the world's way of delivering the life lesson that it's time to shed the vanity of one's innocence and grow-the-hell-up. Apropos, here's lesson number one for political innocents: Power serves the perpetuation of power. In an era of runaway corporate capitalism, the political elite exist to serve the corporate elite. It's that simple. Why do the elites lie so brazenly? Ironically, because they believe they're entitled to, by virtue of their superior sense of morality. How did they come to this arrogant conclusion? Because they think they're better than us. If they believe in anything at all, it is this: They view us as a reeking collection of wretched, baseborn rabble, who are, on an individual level, a few billion neurons short of being governable by honest means. ¤ The tortured world of US intelligence ¤ Saving Darfur or Salvation Delusion? ¤ Sudan's Crisis ¤ A Tunisian in Guantánamo ¤ US air strike kills 25 Afghan civilians ¤ Completion of a Wall, Beginning of Suffering ¤ "They see us all as criminals" Carter says US, EU must bring Hamas and Fatah together Posted: Friday, June 22, 2007 The United States, Israel and the European Union must end their policy of favoring Fatah over Hamas, or they will doom the Palestinian people to deepening conflict between the rival movements, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday. Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was addressing a conference of Irish human rights officials, said the Bush administration's refusal to accept the 2006 election victory of Hamas was "criminal." Full Article : iht.com Head-to-toe Muslim veils test tolerance of secular Britain Posted: Friday, June 22, 2007 LONDON: Increasingly, Muslim women in Britain take their children to school and run errands covered head to toe in flowing black gowns that allow only a slit for their eyes. Like little else, their appearance has unnerved Britons, testing the limits of tolerance in this stridently secular nation. Many veiled women say they are targets of abuse. At the same time, efforts are growing to place legal curbs on the full Muslim veil, known as the niqab. Full Article : iht.com 'Ridiculous' visa rulings set out Posted: Thursday, June 21, 2007 UK tourist visas are often denied to would-be visitors because they "plan a holiday for no particular purpose other than sightseeing", a report says. Others were turned down because they had never previously taken any foreign travel or could not speak English. The "ridiculous reasons" for rejecting visas were set out in a report by the independent monitor of UK visas. Full Article : news.bbc.co.uk Fox News and Venezuela Posted: Thursday, June 21, 2007 ¤ Sippy Cups as WMD's ¤ Fox News and Venezuela Thousands of Venezuelan students have been in the streets of major cities protesting the Chavez governments' actions against RCTV, the country's oldest and most popular TV station, and what they perceive to be an assault on freedom of speech in general. Perhaps ironically FOX News should be applauded for giving so much coverage to Venezuela - not necessarily a "popular" story. But unfortunately the highest-rated network so thoroughly butchered the truth, that it is not surprising that many Chavez supporters are becoming conspiracy theorists vis-à-vis the US media. In segment after segment, FOX News anchors, along with its main correspondent Adam Housley, told falsehood after falsehood. The issue here has nothing to do with condemning or supporting Hugo Chavez, nor his actions regarding RCTV . This is about how FOX News spread demonstrably false information on several occasions over the course of a week. The manipulation of fact was so extreme, that one has to wonder if it was deliberate. ¤ The New York Times vs. Hugo Chavez ¤ US occupation troops' war videos on web ¤ US Is Fighting A Contractor War ¤ Dividing Palestinians Won't Work ¤ The (Drug) War on 'Cheese' Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." The total failure of the Drug War to decrease drug use exemplifies this definition of insanity, and now it seems there is a new chapter. There is a new drug down in Texas. It is called "Cheese," and according to police Cheese is a combination of black tar Mexican heroin and crushed medications that contain the antihistamine diphenhydramine, found in products such as Tylenol PM. Tylenol PM is marketed as a combined analgesic and sedative, or more simply, pain reliever and sleep aid, to treat occasional headaches and minor aches and pains with accompanying sleeplessness. Heroin is an opioid, synthesized from the opium poppy, that mimics the action of endorphins, creating a sense of well-being. Cheese produces "A double whammy – you're getting two downers at once," says Dallas police detective Monty Moncibais. "If you take the body and you start slowing everything down, everything inside your body, eventually you're going to slow down the heart until it stops and, when it stops, you're dead." ¤ Faced with the tragedy of Iraq, the US must rethink its whole foreign policy ¤ Abu Ghraib Cover-up About to Explode Gen. Antonio Taguba is one of America's most respected senior officers, was put in charge of the Abu Ghraib investigation, and has now leveled a series of powerful public charges that will soon blow this case sky-high. Gen. Taguba went public early this week in long on-the-record interviews with Sy Hersh reported in his New Yorker piece now on newsstands. ¤ Tyranny and the Military Commissions Act ¤ A Moratorium Wired to Stop the War ¤ Egypt Trying to Avoid Policy Clash With US ¤ The West Chooses Fatah, But Palestinians Don't ¤ Bush pledges to increase US funding to Israel ¤ Solution for Darfur Genocide: Stop Breathing ¤ House Vote on Condemning Ahmadinejad This afternoon the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to urge the United Nations to indict the President of Iran for inciting genocide. The charge is over a disproven allegation (based on a mistranslation) that Ahmadinejad was called for the destruction of Israel. Only two members of the House voted against the resolution, Republican Ron Paul and Democrat Dennis Kucinich. Eleven members voted 'present' indicating a weak opposition. Usually-consistently-antiwar Rep. Barbara Lee supported the hawks in this vote. The West Chooses Fatah, But Palestinians Don't Posted: Thursday, June 21, 2007 In the west, there's a huge sense of relief. The Hamas-led government that has been causing everyone so much trouble has been isolated in Gaza, and a new government has been appointed in the West Bank by the "moderate," peace-loving Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. So why then do Palestinians not share in the relief? Well, for one thing, the old government had been democratically elected; now it has been dismissed out of hand by presidential fiat. There's also the fact that the new prime minister appointed by Abbas--Salam Fayyad--has the support of the West, but his election list won only 2% of the votes in the same election that swept Hamas to victory. Fayyad and Abbas have the support of Israel, but it is no secret that they lack the backing of their own people. There is a reason the people threw out Abbas' Fatah party in last year's election. Palestinians see the leading Fatah politicians as unimaginative, self-serving and corrupt, satisfied with the emoluments of power. Full Article : counterpunch.org Egypt Trying to Avoid Policy Clash With US Posted: Thursday, June 21, 2007 Egypt, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, is trying to avoid clashing with Washington over its very different approach to dealing with the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, an Israeli expert said here on Thursday. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is hosting a summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Monday. Jordan's King Abdullah II will be there as well. But Mubarak is seeking a different outcome than the one discussed earlier this week between Olmert and President Bush, said Dr. Yoram Meital, chairman of the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Full Article : cnsnews.com Bush and Rumsfeld 'knew about Abu Ghraib' Posted: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 ¤ Repatriated to Torture Fears that the governments of both the US and the UK are conspiring to break international safeguards preventing the return of prisoners held without charge or trial to their home countries--where they face a serious risk of torture and abuse--have gained prominence in the last few days. On Saturday, I wrote on these pages about the case of Abdul Rauf al-Qassim, a Libyan prisoner in Guantánamo who is struggling to prevent his enforced return to the country of his birth, and on Tuesday the Pentagon announced that two Tunisian prisoners in Guantánamo, cleared for release since last year, had been returned to Tunisia on Sunday. Zachary Katznelson, Senior Counsel at Reprieve, a London-based legal charity representing one of the Tunisians, Abdullah bin Omar, immediately denounced his client's enforced repatriation, stating that he was "cleared by the United States--found not to be a threat and not to have information about terrorism. But the US has not apologized and set him free after five years in Guantánamo. Instead, he has been shipped to Tunisia, where abuse and possibly torture await. What has happened to American justice? How are we any safer by sending cleared men back to notorious regimes in the dead of night?" ¤ Countering Terrorism ¤ US-occupied Iraq is now ranked second among the world's failed states Last year US-occupied Iraq was ranked fourth in the Failed States Index produced by America's Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace. Now, in the 2007 Failed States Index released on Monday, Iraq has emerged as the world's second most unstable country, behind Sudan, giving the lie to the Bush administration's oft-repeated assertion that conditions in Iraq are improving. In fact, conditions in US-occupied Iraq continue to worsen and the country is now in a state of chaos, with the death toll from bomb explosions and other attacks averaging running about 100 people a day. According to the respected British medical journal The Lancet, more than 600,000 Iraqi civilians have died as a result of US bombing and missile strikes since March 2003. ¤ The Record of the Newspaper of Record Dictionaries define "yellow journalism" variously as irresponsible and sensationalist reporting that distorts, exaggerates or misstates the truth. It's misinformation or agitprop disinformation masquerading as fact to boost circulation and readership or serve a larger purpose like lying for state and corporate interests. The dominant US media excel in it, producing a daily diet of fiction portrayed as real news and information in their role as our national thought-control police gatekeepers. In the lead among the print and electronic corporate-controlled media is the New York Times publishing "All The News That's Fit To Print" by its standards. Others wanting real journalism won't find it on their pages allowing only the fake kind. It's because this paper's primary mission is to be the lead instrument of state propaganda making it the closest thing we have in the country to an official ministry of information and propaganda. ¤ The CIA and Fatah; spies, quislings and the Palestinian Authority ¤ The 8 Fallacies of Bush's Abbastan Plan ¤ Iraqi Orphanage Nightmare ¤ Gaza Strip - A Deceptive Calm is Lingering ! Israeli is to punish the Gaza Palestinians for their support to the victory of the Hamas movement. - Winners of the Palestinian parliamentary elections 2006 - the victory over Fateh militia and gunmen in the ground battles on the Gaza Strip the past week - the tumultuous break down of Palestinian institutions and the Fatehist's deceptions in within the three months old Palestinian unity government, that also fell apart because of them the[Israelis] - The Israelis must also punish Hamas Islamic movements for it' s findings and the successful apprehension of a compromising Fateh' Intelligence archive. - ¤ 78 Killed by Bombing at Baghdad Mosque ¤ Exposed : Abu Ghraib - Sodomy And Humiliation Audio ¤ The Mother of All Scandals ¤ Bush and Rumsfeld 'knew about Abu Ghraib' ¤ Hamas to work to free BBC journalist Hamas to work to free BBC journalist Posted: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 Intensive negotiations are underway toward freeing British Broadcasting Corp. journalist Alan Johnston, who was kidnapped three months ago in Gaza, a senior Hamas official said Tuesday. Ahmed Youssef, an aide to deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, said the talks are with the Doghmush family, a violent clan with its own militia, and he hoped "in the next 24 hours, either this man will be released or something will be done to solve this problem." He did not elaborate. Full Article : chron.com U.S., Russia: Iraq had no WMDs Posted: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 ¤ Palestinians won't accept a Vichy government The vast bulk of Palestinians, at home and in the Diaspora, will not accept a quisling government in Ramallah that might be at Israel's beck and call. This is precisely what the Bush administration and Israel expect the new government, headed by Salam Fayyad, to be. Of course, it is entirely up to Fayyad and his cabinet to prove the falseness of Israeli bedding and American expectations. ¤ The Measure of a Life, in Dollars and Cents What's an Iraqi life worth? How about an Iraqi car? For the U.S. military in Iraq, it may be roughly the same. A report released late last month by the Government Accountability Office examines the practices and rules guiding condolence payments that the U.S. military can distribute to families of Iraqi civilians killed "as a result of U.S. and coalition forces' actions during combat." These voluntary payments -- known as "solatia" payments -- can also cover injuries and loss or damage to property. They constitute "expressions of sympathy or remorse based on local culture and customs, but not an admission of legal liability or fault," according to the report. ¤ Dozens killed in Iraq as house-to-house search becomes violent battle ¤ Aides' e-mails likely destroyed ¤ Car bombing in Baghdad kills 22 ¤ Iran: Blowback, detainee-style ¤ The Bush/Cheney Holocaust in Iraq ¤ 22 killed in US –led Iraq operation ¤ Rise and Fall of the Bizarro Empire ¤ Bush Policy Detained in Iran ¤ Iraq now ranked second among world's failed states ¤ 100 Killed In 3 Days In Afghanistan ¤ A different kind of hell for one American in Iraq ¤ U.S.-led coalition airstrike kills 7 children in eastern Afghanistan ¤ How Antonio Taguba, who investigated the Abu Ghraib scandal, became one of its casualties On the afternoon of May 6, 2004, Army Major General Antonio M. Taguba was summoned to meet, for the first time, with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in his Pentagon conference room. Rumsfeld and his senior staff were to testify the next day, in televised hearings before the Senate and the House Armed Services Committees, about abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, in Iraq. The previous week, revelations about Abu Ghraib, including photographs showing prisoners stripped, abused, and sexually humiliated, had appeared on CBS and in The New Yorker. In response, Administration officials had insisted that only a few low-ranking soldiers were involved and that America did not torture prisoners. They emphasized that the Army itself had uncovered the scandal. ¤ Blair feared US would 'nuke' Afghanistan Sure.... ¤ U.S., Russia: Iraq had no WMDs The U.S. and Russia have agreed to dismantle the U.N. agency that searched Iraq for weapons of mass destruction and affirm that Saddam Hussein's government had no such arms at the time of the American invasion in March 2003. The Security Council will adopt a resolution the last week in June to close the U.N. Monitoring, Inspection and Verification Commission, created in 1999 to search Iraq for biological and chemical weapons, Belgian and British diplomats said. The measure will also end the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency's mandate to look for nuclear arms in Iraq. U.N. inspectors found no banned weapons before or since the invasion. ¤ Tragedy in Gaza ¤ The Vast and Messy Neocon Experiment in Iraq and the Middle East Like apprentice sorcerers, a group of pro-Israel Neocons, took hold of U.S. foreign policy under President George W. Bush and designed the most wicked and the most improvised war of aggression by any country against another that one can remember. This small group of ideologues, lacking in judgment, knowledge and wisdom but full of fanaticism, arrogance and hubris seized upon a double opportunity to advance their narrow interests at the expense of the American people, the Iraqi people and world peace and order. ¤ UK occupation troops kill 30 Iraqi civilians ¤ Many killed by car bomb in Baghdad ¤ Millions of Desperate Iraqis Stream into Syria ¤ The Reign of the Tyrants is at Hand ¤ War at the Remote It's a popular notion: TV sets and other media devices let us in on the violence of war. "Look, nobody likes to see dead people on their television screens," President Bush told a news conference more than three years ago. "I don't. It's a tough time for the American people to see that. It's gut-wrenching." But televised glimpses of war routinely help to keep war going. Susan Sontag was onto something when she pointed out that "the image as shock and the image as cliche are two aspects of the same presence." ¤ America's Guilty Silence Crimes against humanity don't happen unless it is possible to commit them with impunity. Government corruption and gross imbalances of power will bring them closer to the edge of possibility. But the anticipation of impunity must be personal and social as well as legal and political. The perpetrators need to make sense of their crimes within a positive sense of themselves. A shared sense of impunity that can pay for mass murder and torture chambers without self-reproach requires denial, distortion, and ignorance of swaths of reality. In totalitarian societies, the state handles these chores to try to keep the people unaware of its most criminal activities. ¤ Why We Must Break with the American Crazies When Gordon Brown returned from his fact-finding tour of Iraq on Monday, he proclaimed the importance of learning from our mistakes but also of looking forward instead of backward. Did this admission hint at a shift in Britain's foreign policy when Mr Brown takes over in ten days' time? To judge by the announcement he made in the next sentence - a restructuring of the British security apparatus to guard against future intelligence failures such as the nonexistent weapons of mass destruction - the answer is "no". Mr Brown's foreign policy will remain as backward-looking and self-deluding as Tony Blair's. US and Israel Stir Up Palestinian Crisis Posted: Monday, June 18, 2007 by Ira Chernus, CommonDreams.org Published on Friday, June 15, 2007 It's so obvious that Fatah and Hamas should work together to achieve an independent Palestine. Not long ago, they were proclaiming their unity. So why are they now destroying each other? If you get your news from the mainstream U.S. media, you might well think that they are just two irrational factions, driven crazy by lust for power. But if you know how to read between the lines, even our mainstream media tell a much more complicated story, one that implicates Israel and the U.S. government too. All the quotes that follow are from reporting on the crisis in the mainstream's flagship newspapers, the New York Times and the Washington Post. "An Israeli analyst of Palestinian affairs, Danny Rubinstein, said the 'primary reason for the break-up is the fact that Fatah has refused to fully share the Palestinian Authority's mechanism of power with its rival Hamas, despite Hamas's decisive victory in the January 2006 general elections.'" "Fatah leaders failed to heed warnings that the party's corruption and arrogance were alienating voters." "Fatah 'was forced to overrule Palestinian voters because the entire world demanded it do so,' Mr. Rubinstein added. 'Matters have come to the point where Hamas attempted to take by force what they believe they rightfully deserve.'" The U.S. and Israel have led the world in forcing Fatah to resist Hamas' democractically-won power. In a just-released document, "the United Nations' former top Middle East envoy has sharply criticized U.S. and Israeli efforts to isolate the Hamas-led Palestinian government, saying the policy has further radicalized Palestinian opinion and undercut long-term efforts to establish a viable Palestinian state. The broadside by Alvaro de Soto was contained in a confidential 52-page report he filed before resigning from the United Nations last month. Starting in May 2005, de Soto directed U.N. efforts to ease the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." "With all the focus on the failings of Hamas," De Soto observed, "the Israeli settlement enterprise and barrier construction has continued unabated." But Hamas' complaint is more specific. "Hamas wants a restored unity government where the security forces would all report to the interior minister." Why is that so important? The security forces have been controlled by Fatah and its security chief Mohammed Dahlan. "During 12 years in power, Fatah had repeatedly cracked down on the [Hamas] Islamists, including in 1996 when the Preventive Security Service, then led by Dahlan, arrested Hamas leaders." "Many of those who were imprisoned remember the treatment they received as cruel and humiliating." Now "Hamas spokesmen said the movement had no political goal except to defend itself from a group within Fatah collaborating with Israel and the United States. They said they wanted to bring the security forces under the control of the unity government." "A Hamas spokesman said the movement was defending itself, not reaching for unalloyed power. He said Hamas 'is doing the work that Fatah failed to do, to control these [security] groups,' whom he accused of crimes, chaos and collaboration with Israel and the United States." Indeed, Israel "has made no bones about backing Fatah and attacking only Hamas targets." And the U.S. has funded and supported the Israeli efforts. "Since the election victory of Hamas in January 2006, the United States and Israel have worked to isolate and damage Hamas and build up Fatah with recognition and weaponry." The weapons go to Fatah's security forces, led by Dahlan. CIA operatives have long worked closely with Dahlan's security apparatus. According to De Soto, "U.S. officials 'clearly pushed for a confrontation' between Hamas and Fatah. ... A U.S. [diplomatic] representative, he recalled, said: 'I like this violence . . . it means that other Palestinians are resisting Hamas.'" In the midst of the current crisis, the Bush administration continues to take sides and stir up the conflict. "Administration officials were pushing Mr. Abbas to dissolve the power-sharing agreement between Fatah and Hamas [and] dismiss the entire government." When Abbas did just that, "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed support for Mr. Abbas's decrees." Also, "administration officials were weighing the possibility of ... pressuring Egypt to seal the tunnels leading from its territory into Gaza; American and Israeli officials say the tunnels are often used to smuggle weapons to Hamas. One administration official suggested Wednesday that the United States might then try to prod Israel into taking down Israeli settlements in the West Bank as a way to shore up Mr. Abbas." Of course this strategy is likely to turn the Palestinian public even further against Abbas and Fatah. But that seems to be what Israel wants. The Times and Post omitted a key passage from De Soto's report charging that Israeli policies seem "perversely designed to encourage the continued action by Palestinian militants." Israel has always tried to keep the Palestinians divided. It played a central role in creating Hamas to prevent Fatah from consolidating its political power. But now Israel seems to have a new reason for fanning the Fatah-Hamas feud into a civil war. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "is expected to tell Mr. Bush that Israel favored sealing off the West Bank from the turmoil in Gaza, continuing to prevent contact between the two territories." "Some Israeli security officials say Israel wants to see the West Bank isolated from Gaza." Why? "A Hamas-run Gaza would likely seal the coastal strip's pariah status and Israel could well block the borders." "One official suggested that Hamas's show of strength in Gaza would make it more likely that the Israeli military would intervene there this summer to cut back Hamas's military power." "Israel would be forced to retaliate harshly to protect its civilians, despite the fact that previous military incursions into the densely populated territory have failed to halt the rocket fire." If military action is likely to be fruitless again, why would Israel still pursue this strategy? There are several reasons. "Israel would like to seal off Gaza from the West Bank as much as possible to prevent the spread of Hamas military power there [in the West Bank], where Israeli troops still occupy the territory. Israel would also like to confront Hamas with the responsibility for governing Gaza - providing jobs and food and security to people." Meanwhile, "Israeli officials suggested that Israel would work with Mr. Abbas and a Fatah government in the West Bank." There is also the political benefit any Israeli government reaps by taking a tough stand against the enemy, especially after last summer's fiasco in Lebanon. Most importantly, perhaps, "rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza would finalize that split, and push prospects of a Palestinian state even further away. Efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, including a recent push by moderate Arab states, would be dealt a big blow because Abbas could no longer claim to represent all Palestinians and would lose his credibility as negotiating partner." "Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Hamas control of Gaza would limit Israel's ability to negotiate with Mr. Abbas." There are still plenty of Israelis who can see that this is self-defeating, that eventually their government must make peace. "Some in Israel are beginning to ask whether it might make sense to have indirect discussions with Hamas, which is clearly not going away." But doesn't Hamas refuse to negotiate? Isn't it sworn to Israel's destruction? In fact, "there is debate within Hamas about how far to go in meeting Israeli and American demands. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh says Hamas's goal is the creation of a Palestinian state in the pre-1967 borders of West Bank and Gaza. The group's military wing, based in Syria, says it will only consider a long-term truce when Israel withdraws from the West Bank." "The offensive in Gaza is driven by Hamas hard-liners. It's not clear, however, how much direction they are getting from Hamas' exiled supreme leader, Khaled Mashaal. The movement's pragmatists, including Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, have been largely silent in recent days." The pragmatists have been silenced by a civil war abetted, if not fomented, by Israel. It's hardly the first time. At least twice last year, when the pragmatists prevailed and Hamas united with Fatah to promote a plan for peace, Israel used violence to provoke Hamas hard-liners and block the peace process, as I have reported here before. Why would the Bush administration support this Israeli policy? Martin Indyk of the Brookings Institution describes the fears that haunt our foreign policy elite: "'Gaza will be a full terrorist state, right on the fault line of the Western world. ... a haven for all the bad guys - Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad.'" "Hamas is seen as a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel, and much of the West." "A Hamas victory in Gaza would put an Iranian-backed militia not just on Israel's northern border, but also its southern one" — or at least a supposedly Iranian-backed militia, since "it's not clear how much direction they are getting from Iran." "Equally alarming to Bush administration officials is the prospect that if Hamas does not take over control of Gaza, and the fighting there continues, more of Gaza's young and increasingly frustrated population might be driven into the embrace of Al Qaeda, a rival of Hamas that, until now, had largely been shunned in Gaza." Perhaps this is all overheated imagining. If it is accurate, though, it may not really be so alarming to the administration's hawks. Perhaps it would help them create the radically polarized world they have warned about, the only kind of world that can sustain the policies they still so ardently promote. Whether they want it or not, that's the kind of world they may be helping to create as they fan the flames of Palestinian civil war. Ira Chernus is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder and author of Monsters To Destroy: The Neoconservative War on Terror and Sin. Email: chernus@colorado.edu Reprinted from: www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/06/15/1897/ FAIR USE NOTICE This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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Why We Must Break with the American Crazies Posted: Monday, June 18, 2007 by Anatole Kaletsky When Gordon Brown returned from his fact-finding tour of Iraq on Monday, he proclaimed the importance of learning from our mistakes but also of looking forward instead of backward. Did this admission hint at a shift in Britain's foreign policy when Mr Brown takes over in ten days' time? To judge by the announcement he made in the next sentence - a restructuring of the British security apparatus to guard against future intelligence failures such as the nonexistent weapons of mass destruction - the answer is “no”. Mr Brown's foreign policy will remain as backward-looking and self-deluding as Tony Blair's. I say this with growing despair, because I too have returned from a fact-finding tour, to America. Viewed from across the Atlantic it is clear that the parochial British obsession with WMD and “sexed-up dossiers” bears no relationship to the catastrophes now unfolding in the Middle East and beyond - not only in Iraq, but also in Gaza, Lebanon and Afghanistan, and soon maybe Syria, Iran and Pakistan. What people are talking about in America is not whether the invasion of Iraq was legally or morally justified but why it went so disastrously wrong and whether the same blundering fanatics will launch another catastrophic military adventure, most likely a bombing campaign against Iran, to distract attention from failure in Iraq. After all, the neoconservative ideologues who still run the Bush Administration have nothing left to lose politically - and in their fevered imaginations they still think they could inflict military defeat on the “Islamofascists” in what they now see as an even greater historical confrontation than the Cold War. While Mr Brown and the British media are still fretting about who said what to whom about WMD intelligence, the talk in American policy circles is about an article, The Case for Bombing Iran, published two weeks ago in Commentary and The Wall Street Journal and cited approvingly to anyone who cares to listen by officials close to Dick Cheney. Its author, Norman Podhoretz, is an intellectual mentor to the people who took America into Iraq. His self-explanatory message is that Iran today is more dangerous than Hitler's Germany, since it could soon have nuclear weapons - and that Israel's very existence is menaced now as never before. Full Article : commondreams.org Government collapse a blow to diplomacy Posted: Sunday, June 17, 2007 The Saudi king was said to be angered by the US's failure to support the accords or end its year-long boycott of the Palestinians - one key factor that Arab officials say undermined the agreement. The lack of US support left Israel under no pressure to help the government survive by, for example, ending a freeze on tax transfers it owes the Palestinian [National] Authority - estimated at $700 million (about Dh2.5 billion). "The Americans are the ones who are now delighted by what happened because they were furious at the Makkah accord," said an Arab official yesterday. "But it's a shameful state of affairs. We've been afraid of this all along." Full Article : gulfnews.com Haniyeh: 'We Are the Legitimate Government' Posted: Sunday, June 17, 2007 by Patrick Saint-Paul LE FIGARO EXCLUSIVE: The Palestinian Prime Minister of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, received our correspondent in his house in the refugee camp of Shati, targeted by bombardments on Thursday. Le Figaro: Some accuse Hamas for having carried out a coup d'état in the Gaza Strip. How do you respond to them? Ismail Haniyeh: I respond to them with a question: a coup d'état against what? Against ourselves? We are the legitimate. We are the legitimate government, which originates from the democratically elected Parliament. Full Article : mrzine.monthlyreview.org Secret New Plan For EU Superstate Posted: Sunday, June 17, 2007 TONY Blair wants to hand the European Union radical new powers in his last act as Prime Minister, it emerged today. The Prime Minister has welcomed controversial plans to bring back the troubled EU constitution by the back door - totally bypassing the need for public referendums on sweeping new powers for Brussels. Full Article : dailyexpress.co.uk Israel plans attack on Gaza Posted: Sunday, June 17, 2007 ISRAEL's new defence minister Ehud Barak is planning an attack on Gaza within weeks to crush the Hamas militants who have seized power there. According to senior Israeli military sources, the plan calls for 20,000 troops to destroy much of Hamas's military capability in days. The raid would be triggered by Hamas rocket attacks against Israel or a resumption of suicide bombings. Barak, who is expected to become defence minister tomorrow, has already demanded detailed plans to deploy two armoured divisions and an infantry division, accompanied by assault drones and F-16 jets, against Hamas. Full Article : timesonline.co.uk OAS Secretary General Assures Venezuelan Democracy is Not Threatened Posted: Sunday, June 17, 2007 By Chris Carlson - Venezuelanalysis.com Friday, Jun 15, 2007 Democracy is not being threatened in Venezuela according to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Jose Miguel Insulza yesterday at a press conference in Uruguay. Insulza explained that the decision of the Venezuelan government to not renew the broadcast license of the private television channel RCTV does not threaten democracy in the country but he maintained that he would still be willing to head a mission to Venezuela to investigate the case of RCTV if the OAS member nations request it. The Secretary General made the statement yesterday in Montevideo, Uruguay, where the Second Meeting of Government Spokespeople of OAS Member Countries is being held. During the last OAS General Assembly meeting in Panama, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice requested the organization to send an OAS mission to Venezuela to investigate the recent conflict that emerged around the RCTV decision. "If the United States made a formal petition, then I would contact Venezuela and the rest of the countries. If they believe I should go, then I will go," said Insulza to reporters at a press conference. "I have an obligation to make consultations, which does not diminish the fact that the Secretary General has a certain degree of freedom to take actions. However, in this case I have to make consultations with the member states," he explained. Insulza went on to explain that the Venezuelan government's decision to not renew the broadcast license of the private channel RCTV was not debated by the General Assembly of the OAS two weeks ago because the decision was an administrative decision taken by a member state of the organization and did not "threaten its democracy." "We should wonder why a number of democratic countries where freedom of expression prevails decided not to take a stance on this issue," he said upon being asked about the RCTV case. "I believe the reason is that they believed this is an administrative measure taken by a member state which does not threaten its democracy." The Secretary General explained that the OAS charter allows for this type of political action "only when there is a serious threat of a rupture in the democracy." When asked about the confrontational discourse of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his government in response to different OAS member countries, including the United States, Insulza guaranteed the union of the organization. "I do not think this rhetoric is likely to disturb or jeopardize union," he said. The Insulza also affirmed his willingness to formalize "constructive dialog" with Cuba, which has not participated in the Organization of American States since 1962 when relations were suspended. The dialogue would have the purpose of Cuba's re-entry into the regional organization. Insulza clarified that the situation of Cuba was not an "expulsion" but rather a "suspension" of relations which evidently "has never produced any effect, to the contrary it has caused harm for the civilian population." For that reason, Insulza considers it time to review the situation after 45 years. The Second Meeting of Government Spokespeople of OAS Member Countries concluded on Thursday that both freedom of expression and access to public information in Latin America and the Caribbean have made progress, but still have a long way to go. "Democratic governments should always be ready to be checked by their citizens, as they have to be accountable for their decisions. We should spread the culture of transparency," concluded Insulza. Source: www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=2331 Welcome to 'Palestine' Posted: Saturday, June 16, 2007 by Robert Fisk How troublesome the Muslims of the Middle East are. First, we demand that the Palestinians embrace democracy and then they elect the wrong party - Hamas - and then Hamas wins a mini-civil war and presides over the Gaza Strip. And we Westerners still want to negotiate with the discredited President, Mahmoud Abbas. Today “Palestine” - and let's keep those quotation marks in place - has two prime ministers. Welcome to the Middle East. Who can we negotiate with? To whom do we talk? Well of course, we should have talked to Hamas months ago. But we didn't like the democratically elected government of the Palestinian people. They were supposed to have voted for Fatah and its corrupt leadership. But they voted for Hamas, which declines to recognise Israel or abide by the totally discredited Oslo agreement. No one asked - on our side - which particular Israel Hamas was supposed to recognise. The Israel of 1948? The Israel of the post-1967 borders? The Israel which builds - and goes on building - vast settlements for Jews and Jews only on Arab land, gobbling up even more of the 22 per cent of “Palestine” still left to negotiate over? Full Article : commondreams.org The Reality Of U.S. Occupation Posted: Saturday, June 16, 2007 ¤ Calling Evil By Its Name ¤ Up and Down the Bush Philosophy Every president has a political philosophy that guides him and, sometimes, the nation. George W. Bush believes he has divine inspiration to do what he wants to do, when he wants to do it, and to make his subjects adhere to whatever beliefs he holds for the moment. His political philosophy is a chunk of swiss cheese that is being forced down the throats of a lactose-intolerant nation. ¤ Paris Hilton's Punishment ¤ The Gaza Cage ¤ Omphaloskepsis, Coprophagia, and War Without End, Amen. ¤ 'Honest Conservatives': Oxymoron? ¤ Iran Strategy Stirs Debate at White House ¤ North Korea's 23 million dollars frozen in Macau finally moving back to communism via Russia ¤ Uprooted Iraqis move into "atrocious" camps ¤ The Reality Of U.S. Occupation ¤ OAS Secretary General Assures Venezuelan Democracy is Not Threatened Democracy is not being threatened in Venezuela according to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Jose Miguel Insulza yesterday at a press conference in Uruguay. Insulza explained that the decision of the Venezuelan government to not renew the broadcast license of the private television channel RCTV does not threaten democracy in the country but he maintained that he would still be willing to head a mission to Venezuela to investigate the case of RCTV if the OAS member nations request it. ¤ Suicide bombers hit Afghanistan ¤ US backing for Musharraf ¤ Venezuela Launches Sale of "Bolivarian" Computers Gaza: Another Mess Made in U.S. Posted: Friday, June 15, 2007 Zimbabwe's Interception of Communications Bill Gaza: Another Mess Made in U.S. Everyone following the conflict in Gaza knows full well that the reason for the violence is not that Palestinians have not "sorted out their politics" — they've made their political preferences abundantly clear in democratic elections, and later in a power-sharing agreement brokered by the Saudis. The problem is that the U.S. and the corrupt and self-serving warlords of Fatah did not accept either the election result or the unity government, and have conspired actively ever since to reverse both by all available means, including starving the Palestinian economy of funds, refusing to hand over power over the Palestinian Authority to the elected government, and arming and training Fatah loyalists to militarily restore their party's power. Unfortunately, after three days of some of the most savage fighting ever seen in Gaza, that strategy now lies in tatters. Fatah is, quite simply, no longer a credible fighting force in Gaza, where it has long been in decline as a credible political force. US and Israel Stir Up Palestinian Crisis Gaza: Not Just a Prison, a Laboratory Afghanistan: The west has to accept that there is no military solution The west has |